My dear Mr. Dickens, I hope you are well and not at all rolling over in your grave. (It is, after all, nearing Christmas and renditions of your famous holiday tale are promenading before audiences who are mostly wondering whether they actually turned off the oven or whether the turkey they pretend to like is…
Yesterday was the birthday of renouned American author, Ray Bradbury. Three more years and we can celebrate his 100th birthday. But even in 2017, Bradbury's birthday is special to me because his stories provided the kick-in-the-pants I needed to take my writing seriously. Before entering high school, my family and I made a trip to…
Dystopian novels have been "in" for several years now. The Hunger Games and Divergent were the most popular reads of my high school days. Brave New World, 1984, and Anthem were on the AP reading lists. I continue to devour Ray Bradbury's work. However, we forget the purpose of dystopian fiction, which is to warn and protect us from creating such futures in reality.…
I'm back from a six week tour and study trip to four different countries and, thanks to jet lag, my brain is wide awake while my body is still confused as to whether it's time for second breakfast or a mid-morning nap. So I will take advantage of this forced downtime to go on my…
Last night I had the opportunity to attend Romeo and Juliet at the Globe Theatre in London. Having read it not long ago, I arrived expecting heartrending professions of love, stately background characters, comic relief now and then, and period costumes. I also half expected to fall asleep as it has been a long week…
Current mood: Homework and bagpipe music. (It helps me focus.) Finals are almost upon us. Juries are just around the corner. And my motivation is 40% coffee, 30% chocolate, 10% memes, and 10% hugs. The other 10% got lost, along with most of my enthusiasm. BUT. I am finding ways to deal with the awful combination…
I love children's books: always have, always will. However, so many people pass the age of 12 and think they must "grow up." They somehow rationalize leaving behind the lovely rows of Newberry Medal winners for the cringe-worthy gratuitousness of the "teen paranormal romance" section. When did that even become a section?! Or rather, WHY?! But I…
Me: "Just one book..." Friend: "No, you promised yourself you wouldn't spend any money." Me: "But...George Eliot!" Friend: "No." Me: "Treat yo self?" Friend: "Nope." Me: *buys it when she isn't looking* I am willing to admit I have an addiction to literature...but when it's half price for beautiful editions of classics, I can hardly…
It's the most wonderful time of the year! Unless you're in college. Still, though, Christmas serves as the light at the end of the dark tunnel of finals and juries. While the adult world is out shopping for gifts at the mall, we are on our laptops ordering them through Amazon during lectures. If you…
I have already blogged a series of writers' confessions, but find I must once more come clean about some things... I (somewhat) enjoyed my term papers. Yes, they were torturous and I singlehandedly contributed to deforestation when it came time to print them (all 40 pages of them....), but there is something so satisfying about…
