About the Absence / 100th post

Things that have always been difficult: reading and writing about what I read. Yet I chose to make it my profession.

It takes me forever now to finish reading--but then again, hasn't that always been a problem?

I stopped blogging because I just didn't know what to write anymore. I'm back because now I know--for now I know.

This and That

It's embarrassing how little I update these days.

I had such a big plan back in August to update more often and regularly. That has become impossible--or is it? Maybe I'm just lazy. Maybe I should manage my time better. Maybe--maybe--you'll never know.

I remembered earlier that one of the reasons this blog is important to me is that my blog entries are the only kind of notes I have on the books that I read. Many English majors like to write in their books, many actually write or type up notes and keep them in folders; I do neither of these things. I always think that I'm going to have to reread these books anyway if I'm ever going to do any work on them in the future, so why bother? Taking the time to do these things actually slows down the reading.

But the other side of my brain argues that perhaps it is important. It could be useful to remind myself of the impression I had on the book when I first read it, what I particularly liked or didn't like, etc. I have had some entries that I am really proud of, because I was really moved by the books and that made writing about them much easier and more fun. Unfortunately not all books move me in such a way.

I finished reading E.M. Forsters' "Passage to India" months ago, and have tried so many times to write about it. For some reason I just can't finish the entry, even though I enjoyed that one quite a bit. Maybe someday soon I will be able to.

Currently I'm taking a lot of time to read books about improvisation, since that is my new hobby/obsession. I probably won't be writing about them much since they don't really have much to do with my literature studies. But you never know.

This and That

I have been trying to update regularly, but it hasn't been easy with the life I'm living now. I've been working very hard on improvisation, because I don't know how long I will get to do it and I want to make the best out of it. I have made a lot of sacrifices to work on this particular art form, and will continue to do so at least for a while.

But I'm still a literature scholar, and that will never change. This blog is one of the things that help to keep that part of me alive, and therefore I will continue to keep it.

I have been accepted into an MA program at University of Alberta. This is a very exciting news; it had assured me that I'm at least good enough to continue doing this, and that choosing to major in English wasn't a bad idea, since I turned out to be quite decent. While I feel that there are other majors that would suit my fine too, I don't regret my choice one bit. The things I have learned, the people I have met, and the works I had been exposed to are priceless, and I would not trade them for all the world.

If you're new to this blog, welcome. If you haven't been here for a while, say hi. Have fun reading.

This and That

It feels like a long time since I last blogged. I have obviously ignored my blogging schedule--I can't believe I couldn't even stick to it for a month. I guess I will just have to play it by ear from now on.

I've been reading a lot, and that's all that counts, right? There surely will be a post about Charles Dickens's "Hard Times" in the near future--I've been reading it and really loving it.

This month I'm planning to read Shakespeare's "Henry IV Part II" and Ben Jonson's "Volpone." I haven't read any of Jonson's works, but this one is on my study list so I'll attend to it.

Lastly, before I graduated from college I thought of how sick I was of Portland. The truth is that I was sick of my life, which consigned me to very few parts of Portland. Yesterday I went for an hour-long walk while listening to Stephen Greenblatt's "Will in the World," and fell in love with this city all over again. There are many beautiful neighborhoods, interesting shops, and some gorgeous houses in the southeast side. There is so much of Portland that I have yet to know, and I'm sure I will only love this place more once I get to know those parts. I'm planning to go on these walks regularly, while listening to some book, of course, and hopefully I will have some beautiful photographs to post

This and That

And another week had just gone by.

I've been swamped, constantly getting called in to cover other people's shifts. It is possible that this will continue to happen for the next couple of weeks. Anyway, it is one of the reasons I haven't been updating.

I've been meaning to pick up some books that have writing exercises in them so that I can do my weekly exercise entry, but of course I've been too lazy to even do that. As a result there won't be one of those entries this week.

I am reading "Henry IV." That's going to be the Shakespeare entry of the month. Hopefully I'll be able to get a short story read by the end of next week as well. I also have to cook something...

I'm out of school but still overwhelmed--this time by my own ambitions, which is good; it means I'm not wasting time and constantly pushing myself and working my brain.

A few days ago when I was on my vacation in Ashland, I got a new idea about a new blogging project. As an aspiring writer, I know that I will only get better if I write more. Quantity eventually brings quality, I believe. So, I decide to blog more. At first I was going to start a new blog, because the new idea doesn't really fit in with what I intended this blog to be. But then I thought, who cares? I can do what I want with my own goddamn blog! So here we are.

I try everyday to use the things I read and do to somehow enrich my writing. I want to improve my lifestyle by integrating things that I find beneficial to my writing. This, from now, is what this blog is about. And because I find schedules useful, I decided to make myself one--every month I will post entries about the following:

-a novel (1 entry per month; when finished)
-a Shakespeare play (1/month; when finished)
-a play (1/month; when finished)
-short stories (2/month; 2nd and 4th week)
-an old film (1/month; 3rd week)
-a new dish (1/month; 4th week)
-5 monologues (1/week; every week)

Pretty much I plan to write about one novel, one Shakespeare play, one other play, and two short stories a month--I read a little bit more than that. These entries are for my other blog and will also be posted here. I plan to spend some time watching old films--I like them and think them swell--and write about one of them every month. These films are so complex and worth studying.

I want to learn to cook a new dish every month, because I love being domestic, even though I haven't had much time to do so lately. Every time I try something new it always gives me a sense of accomplishment, so it's only proper to blog about it.

Not too long ago I came up with a writing exercise that I found really intriguing: write down five random words that came up on top of your head, and use them as topics for monologues. Through it I learned many new things about myself, opened numerous doors to the past and discovered thoughts that I didn't even know existed. I wanted to do it consistently, hence it ended up on the schedule.

Encourage me by reading my blog and leaving comments! Your attention counts; it will help me to stick to the schedule.

This and That

After reading a lot of old stuff, I'm feeling the need to take a break and read something newer. Over the past couple of months it's been about Shakespeare, Ovid, Balzac, Proust, Forster...I'm tired. So, here is the list of newer novels I'm hoping to read this summer:

Alice Walker's "Color Purple."
Toni Morrison's "Sula."
Nella Larsen's "Quicksand."

They are all written by African-American women, so I think this could make for an interesting study. But, knowing me, I'm probably going to start feeling like reading old, British things again soon after.

Upon writing the above I realized that I just finished E.M. Forster's amazing novel called "A Room with a View." I will write more about it soon.

French Literature (continued)

I'm not going to lie, Proust is taking a long time to read. I was supposed to have finished "Swann's Way" a few days ago but I've been slacking off. I have also been occupied myself with my writing and other reading, as well as French lessons. Hopefully I will get it done by Wednesday, since I plan to return it to the library on Thursday along with the other books.

Meanwhile I've been enjoying E.M. Forster's book about writing called "Aspects of the Novel." It is absolutely delightful. I will write more about it once I'm done. I'm also planning to read one of his novel once I'm done with the whole French literature program that I created for myself.

French Literature

Usually when I have a lot of time, like during school breaks, I like to come up with some sort of a theme focus my studies on. Somehow French literature is my theme for the beginning of this summer break. I'm not sure exactly how it happened, but it happened unintentionally, and is turning out to be a lot of fun. One of my professors loaned me a copy of Baudelaire's "Les Fleurs du Mal" a little while back, which I have been reading ever since. And I just started reading Proust's "Swann's Way," which is the first of his "In Search of Lost Times" series. I went to a friend's going away party two nights ago, and he was giving away some books. One of the books I took was Balzac's "Père Goriot," which is also French. So I decided that I should just spend the next couple of weeks reading these works, as well as some essays by Derrida and Foucault, just to get a solid French experience before I move on.

Also I'm planning to continue studying French this summer. That will start...any day now.

Afterwards I'll be reading a lot of Shakespeare and some 19th century British novels as well as some epic poems. I feel so motivated; hopefully this motivation won't go away too soon.

This and That #1

So, I waited too long to write a post about short stories, and now I can't write about them anymore because it has been too long since I read them. I would reread them but I seriously do not have time with school going on and all the things that I have to read. But let me suggest the following:

The Enormous Radio by John Cheever
Roman Fever by Edith Wharton
How to be an Other Woman by Lorrie Moore

These are fantastic writings. Check them out.

I'm doing an independent study on modern and contemporary American drama. I just finished reading Paula Vogel's How I Learned to Drive, a superb play about a young girl becoming a woman while having a sexual affair with her uncle in law. It raises questions about the nature of pedophilia and statutory rape, and gives a very interesting take on a character that we might have otherwise condemned.

I also read Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, which is depressing to read, especially during the time where our economy is fucked. But it is a great play. The characters are multi-dimensional and very intriguing to study. What I love about Arthur Miller is that his works (the 4 that I have read) all have timeless qualities. These are the plays that readers and audiences will always be able to relate to. He is very Shakespearean in that way.