30 Days Meme [4/30]
The 30-Day Meme
Day 01 | Your favourite song
Day 02 | Your favourite movie
Day 03 | Your favourite television programme
Day 04 | Your favourite book
This one is really hard to say, because, well, I haven't been reading books -- not even graphic novels/manga -- on a regular basis for a very, very, very long time now. I used to be a voracious reader when I was younger, and even though I didn't read as much in high school I still had the time for a good book once in a while. Now, I either don't have the time to read, I don't have the energy, I don't have the motivation, or I'm just too sick and tired to pick up a book and actually read. School has taken a lot of fun out of reading, because if it wasn't for overanalyzing everything, it was trying to read 200+ pages in less than a week, which meant that any attempts at trying to understand and appreciate what you're reading flies out the window. Being addicted to the Internet and getting used to instant gratification that way doesn't help matters either. It's almost as if life is a sentient being conspiring against me to actually pick up a book. -_-;
Nonetheless, of all the books I've read recently, two have really stood out:
The big reason why I like The Handmaid's Tale is because it's a damn good read. Margaret Atwood's clear prose near-perfectly conveys the thoughts of someone forced into sexual slavery (so much that it could very well be an autobiography of someone living in an alternate universe), the mechanics of the society she lives in from her perspective (which can sometimes be far more interesting than from the perspective of someone who holds power), and the confusion, misery, and occasional joy she feels, even when she doesn't say it outright. It may not be the most purely fun read out there, but it's hella entertaining and engrossing. This book is an inspiration to me; I want to be able to write like this one day (in my own voice/style, of course), and it was this book, along with Race!Fail and ontd_political and other things, that started making me more conscious of sexism, privilege, and women's issues. It does have a few issues -- it's very much dated, the narrator can be a bit whiny at times (though can you really blame her?), etc. -- but these are all relatively minor issues. A book I highly recommend.
Anyone who's been on my f-list for a while knows how much I love gushing over Fun Home, so I'm not going to do too much of it here. In what is probably one of the best memoirs I've ever read, Alison Bechdel talks about her tumultuous relationship with her father, who she found out was gay soon after he died in a freak accident, just as she herself was coming of age and out of the closet. It also shows the wonderful effects the comics format can achieve (full disclosure: I haven't read too many graphic novels, so maybe there's something better?) -- the old adage "a picture speaks a thousand words" fits perfectly here, and it's a book that truly funny, heartbreaking, and profound, and doesn't use cheap and clichéd tactics to tug at the heartstrings and get the adrenaline moving. Bechdel also does a great job at explaining literary heavyweights like Wilde, Joyce, and Proust to people not familiar with them all that much (like me!) without dumbing them down. It was very engrossing, and a great read overall.
Day 05 | Your favourite quote
Day 06 | Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 07 | A photo that makes you happy
Day 08 | A photo that makes you angry/sad
Day 09 | A photo you took
Day 10 | A photo of you taken over ten years ago
Day 11 | A photo of you taken recently
Day 12 | Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 13 | A fictional book
Day 14 | A non-fictional book
Day 15 | A fanfic
Day 16 | A song that makes you cry (or nearly)
Day 17 | An art piece (painting, drawing, sculpture, etc.)
Day 18 | Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 19 | A talent of yours
Day 20 | A hobby of yours
Day 21 | A recipe
Day 22 | A website
Day 23 | A YouTube video
Day 24 | Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 25 | Your day, in great detail
Day 26 | Your week, in great detail
Day 27 | This month, in great detail
Day 28 | This year, in great detail
Day 29 | Hopes, dreams and plans for the next 365 days
Day 30 | Whatever tickles your fancy
**********************************************************************************
Not much different has been going on over the past day or so. I'm not going to complain much more about being sick other than that a.) it hasn't gotten worse, but it hasn't gotten better either, and b.) I've been having trouble sleeping the past few nights, to the point where I wake up completely drained. :(
After class today one of my professors approached me about two things:
So I plan on watching the SOTU tonight, and after that I plan on going to bed early because, well, I need it. ;-) In the meantime: sad news, and more sad news. :(
Day 01 | Your favourite song
Day 02 | Your favourite movie
Day 03 | Your favourite television programme
Day 04 | Your favourite book
This one is really hard to say, because, well, I haven't been reading books -- not even graphic novels/manga -- on a regular basis for a very, very, very long time now. I used to be a voracious reader when I was younger, and even though I didn't read as much in high school I still had the time for a good book once in a while. Now, I either don't have the time to read, I don't have the energy, I don't have the motivation, or I'm just too sick and tired to pick up a book and actually read. School has taken a lot of fun out of reading, because if it wasn't for overanalyzing everything, it was trying to read 200+ pages in less than a week, which meant that any attempts at trying to understand and appreciate what you're reading flies out the window. Being addicted to the Internet and getting used to instant gratification that way doesn't help matters either. It's almost as if life is a sentient being conspiring against me to actually pick up a book. -_-;
Nonetheless, of all the books I've read recently, two have really stood out:
The big reason why I like The Handmaid's Tale is because it's a damn good read. Margaret Atwood's clear prose near-perfectly conveys the thoughts of someone forced into sexual slavery (so much that it could very well be an autobiography of someone living in an alternate universe), the mechanics of the society she lives in from her perspective (which can sometimes be far more interesting than from the perspective of someone who holds power), and the confusion, misery, and occasional joy she feels, even when she doesn't say it outright. It may not be the most purely fun read out there, but it's hella entertaining and engrossing. This book is an inspiration to me; I want to be able to write like this one day (in my own voice/style, of course), and it was this book, along with Race!Fail and ontd_political and other things, that started making me more conscious of sexism, privilege, and women's issues. It does have a few issues -- it's very much dated, the narrator can be a bit whiny at times (though can you really blame her?), etc. -- but these are all relatively minor issues. A book I highly recommend.
Anyone who's been on my f-list for a while knows how much I love gushing over Fun Home, so I'm not going to do too much of it here. In what is probably one of the best memoirs I've ever read, Alison Bechdel talks about her tumultuous relationship with her father, who she found out was gay soon after he died in a freak accident, just as she herself was coming of age and out of the closet. It also shows the wonderful effects the comics format can achieve (full disclosure: I haven't read too many graphic novels, so maybe there's something better?) -- the old adage "a picture speaks a thousand words" fits perfectly here, and it's a book that truly funny, heartbreaking, and profound, and doesn't use cheap and clichéd tactics to tug at the heartstrings and get the adrenaline moving. Bechdel also does a great job at explaining literary heavyweights like Wilde, Joyce, and Proust to people not familiar with them all that much (like me!) without dumbing them down. It was very engrossing, and a great read overall.
Day 05 | Your favourite quote
Day 06 | Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 07 | A photo that makes you happy
Day 08 | A photo that makes you angry/sad
Day 09 | A photo you took
Day 10 | A photo of you taken over ten years ago
Day 11 | A photo of you taken recently
Day 12 | Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 13 | A fictional book
Day 14 | A non-fictional book
Day 15 | A fanfic
Day 16 | A song that makes you cry (or nearly)
Day 17 | An art piece (painting, drawing, sculpture, etc.)
Day 18 | Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 19 | A talent of yours
Day 20 | A hobby of yours
Day 21 | A recipe
Day 22 | A website
Day 23 | A YouTube video
Day 24 | Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 25 | Your day, in great detail
Day 26 | Your week, in great detail
Day 27 | This month, in great detail
Day 28 | This year, in great detail
Day 29 | Hopes, dreams and plans for the next 365 days
Day 30 | Whatever tickles your fancy
**********************************************************************************
Not much different has been going on over the past day or so. I'm not going to complain much more about being sick other than that a.) it hasn't gotten worse, but it hasn't gotten better either, and b.) I've been having trouble sleeping the past few nights, to the point where I wake up completely drained. :(
After class today one of my professors approached me about two things:
- She complimented me on my presentation on Monday, saying in a nutshell that I knew my stuff, that I conveyed it well, and that I might as well go to graduate school and go on to be a professor. Awesomesauce! XDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD And this is apparently after the other professor told me the same thing yesterday. (Also, she's the second person that told me I'd make a great professor, after my dad. Which is totally awesome, and I can see myself doing that, but.......I don't think I want to. Mostly because I want to be able to impact people in a more direct way [not that I wouldn't were I to become an educator, but you can guess what I mean :P], I'm not sure if I'm willing to do more school at this point, and I don't think I want to be writing scholarly articles only other academics and pissed-off college kids would read -- I just don't think it would be all that satisfying, you know? Plus, the girlfriend of a friend of mine freshman year told me professors make the same amount of money as a garbage collector -- I'm not sure how true that is, but, uh, you know. ^_^;)
- She told me she was "sensitive about the exam issue," and that they were still trying to work out something fair regarding it. D: At least they're taking consideration the fact that I did well in pretty much everything else in this class (including the parts of the exam I did finish), and my issues with completing big exams on time, and I'm totally happy for that. But still, the anticipation is killing me! D8
So I plan on watching the SOTU tonight, and after that I plan on going to bed early because, well, I need it. ;-) In the meantime: sad news, and more sad news. :(