recent books
The Post-American World by Fareed Zakaria is surprisingly un-academic and easy to read. Still not something I would have done outside of class, but I was expecting to drag through it more than I actually did. It's interesting, but we discussed it to death in seminar so I'm just going to leave this at that.
When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris was good and amusing, as Sedaris always is, but it was really his last piece on life in Tokyo that I liked best and perhaps the only one I really liked. It was funny, and I like the way he writes and encapsulates things in all of his anecdotes about life, but this is not something I will go back and re-read the way I do Me Talk Pretty One Day.
Fairest by Gail Carson Levine is a prime example of why you should continue to idealize your childhood favorites but never look at them again. Ella Enchanted is still one of my favorites, but this one was lukewarm at best. The content was very much what you would expect from a supermarket book.
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe was illuminating in the way that a tragedy occurs and people just seem to accept and get over it. That such a reaction is institutionalized suggests something about the society itself. This is definitely memorable, but I don't know if it's because I liked it-- I was uncomfortable with the main character (but then he is uncomfortable with himself) and each page made me dread the next, but maybe that makes it real. The storytelling also has a different flavor and a different structure and convention, which was interesting to observe.
Side note: how did I go through AP World Literature having only read one novel from the continent of Africa, written by a white South African?
Also, for our_scars, the lyrics to Kyosuke Himuro's Keep the faith:
Keep the faith
Music and Lyrics: 氷室京介
Don't wanna stay? The sparkling city
that voice that entwines everything is a sweet trap
on the verge of rusting, even now, there's no changing Destiny
A dried-out heart, fearful of getting hurt, continues to await a goddess's invitation
No! No! No!
I show you the faith, I'll definitely keep it for you
Even if the world loses shape, just one thing remains, keep the faith
Holding that extended hand to your chest, alone you won't reach the day dream
I can hear the screaming, now's the time keep the faith
Don't wanna stand? Don't pretend
Time in overdrive causes the pain to build
don't be afraid, the road ahead is cut off Yourself in the mirror
with a frozen gaze, watching a stubborn tomorrow, shards of the broken past tightly in hand
No! No! No!
I show you the faith, I'll definitely keep it for you
Even if everything loses its warmth, I'll shout it keep the faith
Holding out my hand, I feel a definite desire in these fingertips
Carve this deeply into your chest until the gasps of sadness subside, keep the faith
For whose sake is the easy way of your life, your heart will wilt
You've got to keep believing in only way of my life
A rhythm that will change the world just keep the faith
No! No! No!
I show you the faith, I'll definitely keep it for you
Even if the world loses shape, just one thing remains, keep the faith
I can hear the screaming, now's the time keep the faith
Carve this deeply into your chest until the gasps of sadness subside, keep the faith
Original Japanese lyrics here: http://listen.jp/store/artword_1004381_63276.htm.
The idea that these were written with Jin in mind is very intriguing.
I think these lyrics are much more interesting than the ones KAT-TUN ended up with. Perhaps this takes the romance out of the song, but just because they're a boy band, everything doesn't have to be about love...