The Reading List for This Summer
I haven't written in this thing for a long time. I guess I'll start now, and use something else besides my Xanga. The Xanga has more of my literary attempts and intensely more personal, and I'll link to it in due time. I think this will be my "dumping grounds" for the everyday things.
For example, despite my internship and my classes and the working out that I do now, I am unemployed right now, and although my parents are okay with me not working, especially after applying to lots of places. But I'm not. Outside of the fact that I have very little disposable income, and too much free time-- I also feel like I'm not doing anything. At this point in my life, I want to be working.
ETA: And now I am! St. Rose bookstrore. Basically, until summer classes end, and probably for the rest of the school year.
And this time has given me a long time to think. I finally figured out where I me going in my life and I know who my friends are. However, I think I spent a bit too much time in my head, and that can often times lead one to be miserable. I thought a friend hated me, and I thought I had created a death sentence for myself by staying Albany. Luckily, all has been resolved. I also had two guys hit on me on Facebook, so I'm not complaining.
This hasn't stopped me from reading, I mean, my CIS 111 class is a joke. So here is the list.
1. Self-Made Man: One Woman's Journey into Manhood and Back by Norah Vincent
I had to read this one for my AMS 220: Men and Masculinities Class. I was interested by the premise of woman pretending to be man, and to fully immerse herself in guy culture. I had to read it in one or two days for the sake of the class, and maybe that is why I didn't like it as much. It wasn't really much of an experiment, and looking through that lens it fails. I think it says a lot that in this day in age, that "guy" culture can't be clearly defined, and the author went after the "worst" of masculinity. However she did shine a light on how restricting being the "average" guy in this culture can be. (Don't I know it.)
2. Kinky by Denise Duhamel
This was a collection of poetry about Barbie of all things, by one of the poets who came to the College of Saint Rose's Frequency North readings. She's also a friend of the Daniel Nester, one of my favorite professors who I'm interning with for this summer, which is where half his readers come from. It's a great book, and the poems almost form a story towards the end. It's great poetry on a surface level, and as a metaphor for how women are viewed in society. She's is also awesome to hang out with. (Which is why certain persons should come to Freq North readings.)
3. Attention Deficit Democracy by James Bovard
Obviously, not a happy book. Basically, the argument is that people are not paying attention to the government, and the government plans on keeping it that way. So that our democracy is just really one in name. So on both sides, hypocrisy and corruption, in foreign affairs and at home. Like I said, not a cheery read. Made me want to register to vote., which is funny, because I tried to last year but I guess living 3 hours from my hometown confused things. The better story is how I got this book. My friend Ashley is working at St. Martin's Press, and her boss wanted her to get rid of this book. So, I read a great book, and now I also have an idea what I want to do next summer.
4. Teahouse of the Almighty by Patricia Smith
Another collection of poetry from Frequency North poet, who the audience absolutely loved. She, with each poem, puts you in the moment. I don't know how to explain it. She knows words. She knows it when it needs to be a song, when it needs to be poetry, when it needs to be a conversation. It's just amazing. She's also really fun at dinner too.
5. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
This book I read for a few reasons, one most of my friends were AP English during high school and had read the book. There are other reasons but let's not get into that.
Hrm. One the one hand, Jane Austen's characters never shut up. I know that is relative to the time period and place, where the only way you could express anger without seeming uncivilized was to be horribly passive aggressive. On the other hand, she pushed far, for the lower classes and for women as she could. As for the actual story, it was typical romance and admittedly I kind off got sucked in towards the end. I found my self wanting to be both Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy. (I'm probably Mr. Collins.) So yes, despite my best efforts this book has bewtiched me.
Yes, I do want to see the movie. Yes, Matthew Macfadyen as Mr. Darcy is very attractive. I don't see what you're driving at.
6. The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli
I'm going to admit, I really just pounded through this book in a night or two. I read it because it seemed like one of the books that it sounded like I had to read, and a friend had it on hand. The precursor to The Evil Overlord Guide, if anything.
7. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
Funny story about this book as well. I only read two books this past winter, and both were recommendations by friends. One was In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, which was great. The other was this book. I started to read it in the winter, but I never got around to finishing it. So I was worried jumping back into it this summer, but I figured that if I bought it, I might as well read it and finish. Well, I didn't have to worry about the nature of the book. Yossarian will always be in trouble, and sadly thus is the nature of war. To people who haven't read it may wonder why it's a comedy, but sheer absurdity of events is what reminded me that tragedy and comedy are two sides of one coin.
Definite recommendation.
8. Welcome to the Monkey House by Kurt Vonnegut
This was the other book my friend who I'm living with in the dorms. After reading this collection of his short stories why the world has lost another great mind to death. All these stories are brilliant social commentaries ranging from the realistic to science-fiction. Not all the stories stuck with me, but those stories were few and far between. The best were Harrison Bergeron, The Euphio Question, and Report on the Barnhouse Effect. The great part, (or bad part, depending on the story) is how relevant his work is today.
9. Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer
I thought this book was going to be overrated Not to be cynical but holocaust story + book publish barely out of college (very easily could) = something that would be just another book in Oprah's book club. Well, the author deserves the praise he gets. He does push all the right buttons, but you don't feel manipulated by it. The book is so well crafted, but at the same time it is far too human as well.
Just buy it. Definite recommendation.
10. The Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
You can tell two things from this book: 1) Dickens was paid by the word. 2) This was published in series format, so that the former thing was not too bad, and why the story as book is very thick. One of my relatives, who something of a history buff recommend this to me.
Okay, now coming back to this. Yeah. Dickens tried too hard to stuff history and this fiction together, and in the process lost some great characters. I was much more involved with Pride & Prejudice, than this. It's a shame because some of the conceit and other metaphors used were absolutely brilliant. It was too much, and probably should be read in it's original serial format.
* Cousin Mike: A Memoir by Daniel Nester
For some reason, Nester gave me his memoir to read. I can discuss it for a few reasons. One, obviously the man wants this published some time soon. Two, it ain't done yet. Third, some of the stuff hit very close to home.
11. Dubliners by James Joyce
Wow, so very depressing. And so much like Albany.
12. The Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
I thought this would be hard to read, but it isn't. Huh, maybe it's his other books. I, surprisingly, liked the book. I admit I skipped the tour of hell in the third chapter. (My mom was one of my Sunday School teachers, and raised us Lutheran - Missouri Synod. My dad is lapsed Catholic. I love my dad because he's a half Irish, half Italian son of a working class family in Queens and essentially has worked in factories all his life. He's a walking Billy Joel song.)
So, I understood our hero Stephen. However, I don't think I fully connected with this book. I mean, It reminded me of when I read Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke, and that was a total epiphany moment. However, I also felt like I was reading Catcher in the Rye at times. (God, I hate Holden with a passion.) Maybe it's because I feel like I'm a step ahead of Stephen, so I felt like instead of going along with him on his journey, I was looking back, although smiling.
13. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
It's Oscar Wilde. Tragic. Fabulous. Amazing. A must read.
14. The Glass Menagerie
15. A Streetcare Named Desire
16. The Rose Tattoo
17. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
18. Orpheus Descending
19. The Night of the Iguana
all by Tennessee Williams
I wish I had read his plays sooner. My god this man is a talented playwright. I mean, his famous plays were good to amazing, but I figured they would be-- because there's a reason they are famous. But even the plays I chose because I liked the titles were great too. Honestly, if it isn't Shakespeare, I am very put off by reading plays. I blame Neil Simon and community theatre. But, no cliches for this man, mainly because he invented some of the cliches, and well-- they aren't cliches the first time around. I mean, dammit, I actually felt for Brick, and not in the tug at your heart strings way either.
20. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
21. Hamlet by William Shakspeare
22. Blankets by Craigh Thompson
For example, despite my internship and my classes and the working out that I do now, I am unemployed right now, and although my parents are okay with me not working, especially after applying to lots of places. But I'm not. Outside of the fact that I have very little disposable income, and too much free time-- I also feel like I'm not doing anything. At this point in my life, I want to be working.
ETA: And now I am! St. Rose bookstrore. Basically, until summer classes end, and probably for the rest of the school year.
And this time has given me a long time to think. I finally figured out where I me going in my life and I know who my friends are. However, I think I spent a bit too much time in my head, and that can often times lead one to be miserable. I thought a friend hated me, and I thought I had created a death sentence for myself by staying Albany. Luckily, all has been resolved. I also had two guys hit on me on Facebook, so I'm not complaining.
This hasn't stopped me from reading, I mean, my CIS 111 class is a joke. So here is the list.
1. Self-Made Man: One Woman's Journey into Manhood and Back by Norah Vincent
I had to read this one for my AMS 220: Men and Masculinities Class. I was interested by the premise of woman pretending to be man, and to fully immerse herself in guy culture. I had to read it in one or two days for the sake of the class, and maybe that is why I didn't like it as much. It wasn't really much of an experiment, and looking through that lens it fails. I think it says a lot that in this day in age, that "guy" culture can't be clearly defined, and the author went after the "worst" of masculinity. However she did shine a light on how restricting being the "average" guy in this culture can be. (Don't I know it.)
2. Kinky by Denise Duhamel
This was a collection of poetry about Barbie of all things, by one of the poets who came to the College of Saint Rose's Frequency North readings. She's also a friend of the Daniel Nester, one of my favorite professors who I'm interning with for this summer, which is where half his readers come from. It's a great book, and the poems almost form a story towards the end. It's great poetry on a surface level, and as a metaphor for how women are viewed in society. She's is also awesome to hang out with. (Which is why certain persons should come to Freq North readings.)
3. Attention Deficit Democracy by James Bovard
Obviously, not a happy book. Basically, the argument is that people are not paying attention to the government, and the government plans on keeping it that way. So that our democracy is just really one in name. So on both sides, hypocrisy and corruption, in foreign affairs and at home. Like I said, not a cheery read. Made me want to register to vote., which is funny, because I tried to last year but I guess living 3 hours from my hometown confused things. The better story is how I got this book. My friend Ashley is working at St. Martin's Press, and her boss wanted her to get rid of this book. So, I read a great book, and now I also have an idea what I want to do next summer.
4. Teahouse of the Almighty by Patricia Smith
Another collection of poetry from Frequency North poet, who the audience absolutely loved. She, with each poem, puts you in the moment. I don't know how to explain it. She knows words. She knows it when it needs to be a song, when it needs to be poetry, when it needs to be a conversation. It's just amazing. She's also really fun at dinner too.
5. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
This book I read for a few reasons, one most of my friends were AP English during high school and had read the book. There are other reasons but let's not get into that.
Hrm. One the one hand, Jane Austen's characters never shut up. I know that is relative to the time period and place, where the only way you could express anger without seeming uncivilized was to be horribly passive aggressive. On the other hand, she pushed far, for the lower classes and for women as she could. As for the actual story, it was typical romance and admittedly I kind off got sucked in towards the end. I found my self wanting to be both Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy. (I'm probably Mr. Collins.) So yes, despite my best efforts this book has bewtiched me.
Yes, I do want to see the movie. Yes, Matthew Macfadyen as Mr. Darcy is very attractive. I don't see what you're driving at.
6. The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli
I'm going to admit, I really just pounded through this book in a night or two. I read it because it seemed like one of the books that it sounded like I had to read, and a friend had it on hand. The precursor to The Evil Overlord Guide, if anything.
7. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
Funny story about this book as well. I only read two books this past winter, and both were recommendations by friends. One was In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, which was great. The other was this book. I started to read it in the winter, but I never got around to finishing it. So I was worried jumping back into it this summer, but I figured that if I bought it, I might as well read it and finish. Well, I didn't have to worry about the nature of the book. Yossarian will always be in trouble, and sadly thus is the nature of war. To people who haven't read it may wonder why it's a comedy, but sheer absurdity of events is what reminded me that tragedy and comedy are two sides of one coin.
Definite recommendation.
8. Welcome to the Monkey House by Kurt Vonnegut
This was the other book my friend who I'm living with in the dorms. After reading this collection of his short stories why the world has lost another great mind to death. All these stories are brilliant social commentaries ranging from the realistic to science-fiction. Not all the stories stuck with me, but those stories were few and far between. The best were Harrison Bergeron, The Euphio Question, and Report on the Barnhouse Effect. The great part, (or bad part, depending on the story) is how relevant his work is today.
9. Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer
I thought this book was going to be overrated Not to be cynical but holocaust story + book publish barely out of college (very easily could) = something that would be just another book in Oprah's book club. Well, the author deserves the praise he gets. He does push all the right buttons, but you don't feel manipulated by it. The book is so well crafted, but at the same time it is far too human as well.
Just buy it. Definite recommendation.
10. The Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
You can tell two things from this book: 1) Dickens was paid by the word. 2) This was published in series format, so that the former thing was not too bad, and why the story as book is very thick. One of my relatives, who something of a history buff recommend this to me.
Okay, now coming back to this. Yeah. Dickens tried too hard to stuff history and this fiction together, and in the process lost some great characters. I was much more involved with Pride & Prejudice, than this. It's a shame because some of the conceit and other metaphors used were absolutely brilliant. It was too much, and probably should be read in it's original serial format.
* Cousin Mike: A Memoir by Daniel Nester
For some reason, Nester gave me his memoir to read. I can discuss it for a few reasons. One, obviously the man wants this published some time soon. Two, it ain't done yet. Third, some of the stuff hit very close to home.
11. Dubliners by James Joyce
Wow, so very depressing. And so much like Albany.
12. The Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
I thought this would be hard to read, but it isn't. Huh, maybe it's his other books. I, surprisingly, liked the book. I admit I skipped the tour of hell in the third chapter. (My mom was one of my Sunday School teachers, and raised us Lutheran - Missouri Synod. My dad is lapsed Catholic. I love my dad because he's a half Irish, half Italian son of a working class family in Queens and essentially has worked in factories all his life. He's a walking Billy Joel song.)
So, I understood our hero Stephen. However, I don't think I fully connected with this book. I mean, It reminded me of when I read Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke, and that was a total epiphany moment. However, I also felt like I was reading Catcher in the Rye at times. (God, I hate Holden with a passion.) Maybe it's because I feel like I'm a step ahead of Stephen, so I felt like instead of going along with him on his journey, I was looking back, although smiling.
13. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
It's Oscar Wilde. Tragic. Fabulous. Amazing. A must read.
14. The Glass Menagerie
15. A Streetcare Named Desire
16. The Rose Tattoo
17. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
18. Orpheus Descending
19. The Night of the Iguana
all by Tennessee Williams
I wish I had read his plays sooner. My god this man is a talented playwright. I mean, his famous plays were good to amazing, but I figured they would be-- because there's a reason they are famous. But even the plays I chose because I liked the titles were great too. Honestly, if it isn't Shakespeare, I am very put off by reading plays. I blame Neil Simon and community theatre. But, no cliches for this man, mainly because he invented some of the cliches, and well-- they aren't cliches the first time around. I mean, dammit, I actually felt for Brick, and not in the tug at your heart strings way either.
20. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
21. Hamlet by William Shakspeare
22. Blankets by Craigh Thompson