High Fidelity

High Fidelity - Reading log

• 1.      Page 11 chapters 0-1

You know when you see T-shirts piled up in a clothes shop, beautifully folded and colour-coded, and you buy one? It never looks the same when you take it home.

I chose this quote because I think that it's beautiful. Some things just belong together and therefore should be together. It loses its shine and soul when you split it up. The T-shirts is just a metaphor.

• 2.      Page 44 chapters 2-3

Tonight, though, I fancy something different, so I try to remember the order I bought them in: that way I hope to write down my own autobiography without ever have to do anything like pick up a pen.

He is talking about gradify his records in the order he bought them. This is a fun thought, to sort your CD's and remember what happened in your life at that time, and why you bought it. I feel inspired by this and I'm thinking of classifying my own CD's in the order I bought them.

• 3.      Page 48 chapters 4-5

The song that makes me cry has never made me cry before; in fact, the song that makes me cry used to make me puke.

It's cute when guys cry as they hear a special song. You see that there has been a big change in Rob's life; a song which used to make him puke to now makes him cry. I chose this quote for the reason that it's beautiful and reveal that Rob's got a sensitive side as well.

• 4.      Page 69 chapter 6-7

It took hours to put this tape together.

I got very annoyed because it doesn't take several hours to put a tape together. Rob talks about it like it's a science to make a tape, but it's not. I make playlists all the time and it's easy. I know that it's not the same thing, and the tape has got an emotional value behind it.

• 5.      Page 78 chapter 8-9

Because I'd never stuck at anything before, and I'd made a promise to myself when we started seeing each other I'd make it through at least one bad patch, just to see what happened.

I think that he made a good decision. You can't always quit when things get hard or not the way you want them to. But if things wouldn't get better after he tried, I think that he should leave her.

• 6.      Page 90 chapter 10-11

A while back, when Dick and Barry and I agreed that what really matters is what you like, not what you are like, Barry proposed the idea of a questionnaire for prospective partners, a two- or three-page multiple-choice document that covers all the music/film/TV/book bases.

This is stupid and childish, I don't like it at all. You can't give someone you like a questionnaire about music and films and see if they like the same things, and if he or she doesn't, you dump the person. There is more to give and take than movies.

• 7.      Page 141 chapter 12-13

...rubbishing each other's five best one track ones off all time...

I'm tired of them always listing their top five books/records/songs/albums. It's boring to read about and I don't care about which album from 1960 that Barry likes the most.

• 8.      Page 120-121 chapter 14-15

I call her all the time. I call her late in the afternoon, when Barry has gone out to get something to eat and Dick is busy sorting out some mail order stuff out in the back. I call her after six...

I don't understand why he keeps calling her. Does Rob think that Laura will get back together with him again if he calls her all the time? I would be very scared if a person did that to me because it's creepy and unpleasant.

• 9.      Page 131 chapter 16-17

See, records have helped me fall in love, no question. I hear something new, with a chord change that melts my guts, and before I know it I've found her.

That was very beautiful and I like it. It's a fun thing how great a deal music can impact on someone's life.  It helps people with different things, gives them courage, make them feel good or just relax.

• 10.  Page 140 chapters 18-19

Sarah still sends me Christmas cards with her address and phone numbers on them.

Which of the girls is Sarah? To me it's quite hard to keep track of Rob's complicated relationships. I can't remember which girl did what and who left who. He talks about different girls all the time. I guess that I can't figure this book out so far.

• 11.  Page 159 chapters 20-21

Why isn't my life like this?

Rob just saw Laura's friends and wondered why his life isn't like theirs with fancy clothes. My opinion is that it doesn't matter what clothes you wear, clothes is just an extra attribute that doesn't make you truly happy. My point is that Rob shouldn't judge them from what they're wearing

• 12.  Page 154 chapters 22-24

Barry's band is going to play a gig and he wants me to put a poster in the shop.

‘No. Fuck off.'

‘Thanks for your support, Rob. I really appreciate it.'

I start to dislike Rob more and more. He isn't very nice to his friends and can never be happy for someone else. He hasn't even heard Barry's band but he still says they're crap. I think that he could support his friends and not be so self-centred.

• 13.  Page 180 chapters 24-25

If I'm honest, I'm only going because it might do me some good in the long run.

Rob is so insensitive and I just hate him!! The only thing he's thinking about is girls and what he can do to get off with them. I wish he could do something in favour of someone else for once and not just do things for his own benefit.

• 14.  Page 189-190 chapters 26-27

‘You're still going to die, so there's not much point in us carrying on, is there?'

If that's his attitude to relationships I think that he could just die right now, because that's life. You live it and then you die, but the important thing is what you fill it with. But if he doesn't dare to be with the girl he is in love with he's going to live an unhappy life and nothing is worth fighting for. This quote upsets me, he reasons in the same way as a suicidal.

• 15.   Page 220 chapters 28-29

She's great and when she sings, I wish I weren't living with Laura, and that my night with Marie would have gone better than it did.

Can't he just make up his mind and choose one girl and stay with her since he can't have them all. He wants different girls depending on his mood, but that doesn't work in the long run. That's why I chose this quote, and now it's his turn to choose.

• 16.  Page 225 chapters 30-31

No says my dad. They're repeats, aren't they? We've got them on video from the first time around. See, this is typical of my dad. It's not enough for him to say that he never watches repeats...

If it makes his father happy to say that he doesn't watch the repeats Rob should leave it that way and not argue. It doesn't matter when his father watches it, does it? Rob's making mountains out of molehills and that's unnecessary.

• 17.  Pages 228-229 chapters 32-33

c) Someone else had decided to restart the club for me. I reckon that explanation ‘c' is the best bet, and go home to wait for Laura.

This was very kind and considerate of Laura, to restart a club where Rob used to DJ. I would really appreciate it if someone made that great effort just for me.  Laura must have had this idea in her head for a relatively long time and thought that Rob would like it. And I hope that he does.

• 18.  Page 242 chapters 34-35

That's where I've been going wrong. I've been letting the weather and my stomach muscles and a great chord change in a Pretenders single make up my mind for me, and I want to do it for myself.

I'm really happy for Rob, he has finally figured out that you can't always do what feels good for the moment. Equally important, you can't let the lyrics in a song or something similar make your decision. Occasionally you have to think beyond that and see the consequences that might come out of that.

B) I think that Rob's a very complicated man. He can't make up his mind about anything. Laura has also pointed out to Rob that he's so scared of making a mistake that he doesn't take any chances. My opinion is that if you don't take any chances your life will never change and you can't move forward. It's not the end of the world if you change your mind after a decision. Sometimes it's even good if things don't turn out the way you wanted them to, for the reason that it will put you in an unexpected situation that forces you think in a new track.
 For an example, if I hadn't had the courage to be in the pupils council I'd never met some of the lovely personalities there. If my attitude would have been that it was going to be boring and every one would hate me, I would hava missed out on knowing the people there.
   Rob's very insensitive throughout the whole book. The jargon in his shop is dreadfully hard. For instance, when Barry told Rob that he was playing in a band and that they were going to make a performance on the Harry Lauder and that he wanted to put up a poster in the window of the shop, Rob just answered with; No. Fuck off.
I don't think that that is an acceptable behaviour. They are co-workers and friends and therefor ought to support each other instead of making another feel bad.

Special quote (see number one)

I chose my first quote for the reason that it's so beautiful. It's philosophic and a bit like something that could be in a song-text. Furthermore, this caught my attention for the reason that it's so true. Things are never like you expect them to be, and you always desire the things you don't have.

C)

1. What issues are at the centre of Rob's dissatisfaction with his life? If he had to make a list of the top 5 reasons why he was dissatisfied, what would they be?

The book is about love, and that is one of his problems. He can't seem to find the right girl and make her stay with him. I think that is because he takes them for granted, at least Laura, the woman he desires the most. They argue about insignificant causes.
Other things that would make the list are his shop; Championship Vinyl, his debt to Laura, the loss of money and his circle of friends.

But if I had to make his list I would have his self-esteem as number one.

2. Why is it so important for Rob to contact and meet the women who have dumped him? Does he find what he was hoping to discover? What does he learn that surprises him?

All of Rob's relationships have been a recurrence of his first one. But from now on he wants to succeed and therefore needs to say goodbye to his exes in order to have a fresh start. Besides that he wants to know if he has affected their lives. But he finds out that he hasn't. The only girl he had an impact on was Penny Hardwick, he broke up with her for the reason that she wouldn't want to have sex with him. After that she had sex but felt forced to it and therefore didn't feel comfortable having sex until she finished college.

3. Why does Rob turn to familiar songs in times of crisis? What solace do they provide?

He has a hard time expressing his feelings, so he uses songs instead. Songs also help him to make decisions, but that's not always a good thing. They also make him feel as he's not alone, the person writing the songs have felt the same way...