Sunday, January 29, 2006

a note to many

Definitely does not have an "a" in it.

Ridiculous does not have an "e" in it.


That is all.


Do not fret, I was once like you, confused by the seemingly inexplicable vowel spellings of the English language. But I learned! And I will never forget!

Monday, January 23, 2006

life is good.

I'm sitting in my cozy apartment, listening to Andrew Bird as I write this with my computer on my lap. I just finished off the rest of the wine that was left over from a Saturday evening spent with friends. I ate some lovely cheese and crackers 'cause it just seemed to go with it. I'm looking at my new plant [named Ferny], and I don't have a care in the world. I think I'll go to bed early and read my book and cherish the fact that I bought it with a gift card that I didn't accidentally throw away. You can't win them all.

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

a million little cliche headlines

That James Frey sure does take a lot of creative liberty

I read this book a few years ago, when all I could read was memoirs. A friend recommended it, and I tore through it, thinking it was amazing. After a while I realized it's one of those books that drags you in, but then you realize that it wasn't nearly as great as you thought, it's just that you read it super fast. I was way too gullible to ever doubt its validity. Oh well.

The whole thing is interesting, though. Even though I realize memoirists may need to add some spin to keep things interesting, I like the stories better when they seem more real, but just told better than the average person. Everyone has some stories in them, but only a few people here and there are actually writers.

Tuesday, January 03, 2006

8th grade reading level

I haven't had a ton of time to read lately, so my solution has been to read more young people's fiction. Young adult fiction? Whatever it's called. Books for middle schoolers, essentially. I started off borrowing Hey Hmong Girl, Whassup? from a colleague. It's not the best written thing ever, but has all the essential teenage fiction elements...romance, fights with friends, family woes and gangs. Then I read Godless, by Pete Hautman. Very interesting. It's one of those books that one could read at 14, then again at 24 and get that much more out of it. Which is why I hold on to my Louis Sachar books so dearly. Anyway, now I'm reading the third Harry Potter in the hopes that by the time the finale hits the shelves I will FINALLY be caught up.

In other news, a new year has begun, my break is over, I moved into my first very own apartment, and I enter my mid-20s in a little over a month. I guess that means I'm reaching adulthood, even if you can't tell by my book choices.