Another Day Zero goal complete! Friday night I read at EWU’s monthly Voiceover. I read a three-page piece and it marked the first time I’ve ever shared my work in public (it counts as public even if the only non-program-affiliated person there was tending bar…). We had a relatively low turnout (probably due to end-of-year stress), but I think that, on the whole, my piece was well received. And someone even told me afterward that I had a good reading voice. So yay! I should have thought to have someone take a picture or something, but apparently I’m not that thoughtful, so you’ll all just have to take my word. If you’re in Spokane, I’ll be reading again at our graduate reading on June 11. Still no idea what I’ll read then—NOT my thesis.
p.s. I have some thoughts on LOST, but I still think I’m not quite ready to share them; I found the finale to be deeply moving and I want a bit more time to let my thoughts percolate; maybe I’ll even rewatch it before blogging about it.
Always nice to remember the books I meant to read. Here’s my current and (planned) upcoming reading list.
Current:
To-Read
What are you reading? And always remember to support your independent book seller!
I think it’s actually thesis news on my blog here, and if it’s not it should be since I started over in September, and I know I haven’t posted since long before then.
I’m working on a novel for my thesis, one of the few students, I think, who is. And I see why. It’s draining to come back to the same piece day after day, to not get a break from the characters and their lives. Don’t get me wrong–I’m loving writing these characters, and I’ve somehow managed to find a soft spot for each of them–but it’s challenging. Especially when it isn’t going well.
Tonight, however, was one of my best writing nights so far. Yeah, some of the middle of the scene I’m working on is pretty flimsy, but I feel that I’ve always had trouble with conflict. Tonight’s scene dealt with the usage of the word raped to describe, well, things other than actually getting raped. What I found most challenging about this scene was to write it from the point of view of a character who is uncomfortable at how much another is offended by the usage rather than from the point of view of the character whose opinion I share (which, if you know me, you know what it is). I’ll be curious, in my meeting next month, to see how well I pulled off separating my own opinions from those of my characters.
So now my question: What books/stories/films have you read/seen that put you in an uncomfortable situation in regard to your own beliefs? For me it’s currently Lolita, a book which I love and am currently rereading as part of my thesis list.
It’s strange to me to be starting summer in mid-June, but that’s how it works on the quarter system. Last week I officially completed my first year of graduate studies, and that’s means two things: First, it’s time for me to start writing my thesis and, second, that it’s time to start on my summer reading. I’ve amassed quite a stack of books to read over the past months, and my goal is to read at least a book per week all summer.
What am I reading, you ask? Here’s a list:
I’m sure there’s going to be more (much more), since I’m reading for my thesis, but I also know I’m going to need some lighter books to break up some of the more challenging ones. Just a few days ago I finished a wonderful book about an owl (Wesley the Owl).
What are you all planning on reading this summer?
The new quarter started and with it came my second form and theory class, this one on the short story. Now as I don’t have a strong short story background, I was feeling rather anxious about the class, especially since the first set of assigned stories were Chekhov. I don’t know if it’s 19th century literature or Russian literature, but I’ve read him as well as some Tolstoy this year, and I can’t say I much cared for either of them. And yes, I know, the literary gods are probably preparing a thunderbolt for my head as I type this.
Still, I have to say that I was able to pick up on some of Chekhov’s techniques and participate in the class discussion. I was particularly interested in things I saw in his stories (we read five) that modern readers might not be able to get away with such as authorial intrusion and insignificant lead characters. We move into Hemmingway next, another great whom I’ve never really read. Except for “Hills like White Elephants,” because everyone raves about it.
Has anyone here read any Chekhov or Tolstoy? Am I way off base here when it comes to conventional tastes or is liking certain authors just a sort of status mark? What do you think?
This is the first spring break (since I graduated high school) that I can remember having no real commitments: no job, no homework (except writing, but that doesn’t count to me), no pressing commitments. I’m devoting myself to two things: reading and basketball. This post is about reading.
I don’t get much reading done during the quarter due to my workload, so I’m trying for a few hours every day. And here I present to you my spring break reading list. The first section is books I’ve started I want to finish.
Then there are the books I haven’t started but want to read (or at least make a good dent in).
Look for reviews on a least a few of these. I’m off to get some more reading done! What are you reading?
I recently finished reading Susan Faludi’s The Terror Dream: Fear and Fantasy in Post-9/11 America. This book was recommended to me a little over a year ago by my professional writing advisor at MSU. I bought it on a brass trip (Houston for the sweet sixteen, maybe?) and finally got around to reading it.
In some ways I’m disappointed I put it off: It had so many interesting and well-researched points that I feel would do well to be put more in the mainstream media. But on the other hand, I’ve only recently really developed the language with which to talk about those ideas, so perhaps much of it would have been lost on me a year ago.
First, an overview.
It is undeniable that the attacks of September 11, 2001, had devastating consequences for our nation, for the events of a presidency, our foreign policy, and our sense of what it means to be patriotic. Faludi argues, however, that the attacks were responsible for another change in our national identity, a change that has extensive consequences yet has gone mostly unremarked. When the “phallic” symbol of our nation was essentially cut off, we responded by reverting traditional gender roles. When towers that housed predominately male workers fell, taking mainly male firefighters with them, we talked about how the attacks were against the American family and way of life. The media talked about how we had become an overly feminized nation, how feminism and a departure from traditional John Wayne era gender roles were responsible for making us vulnerable. Fauldi explores the gender-blaming reactions to the attacks, how they are situated in history, and what it might mean for us as a nation.
Now, my thoughts.
This book was incredibly well researched, and Faludi does an excellent job situating the responses into a greater American historical context, which helps her open up her issue from possibly isolated incident to yet another symptom of a specific and gendered way of thinking. She explores such topics as
- the sudden decline in women’s voices in the public sphere in the days and months following the attacks
- why the flight attendant who threw coffee at a terrorist is not discussed but men who only might have been involved are
- the ideas of heroism and sacrifice post-9/11
- the malfunctioning communications equipment that may have resulted in hundreds of firefighter deaths
- the supposed “rescue” of Jessica Lynch and the ways in which the media wanted to (and did) present it
I would recommend this book to anyone interested in digging beyond the myths the media presented (and continue to present), for anyone interested in exploring more deeply the long-lasting and tragic consequences of the events surrounding 9/11.
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