A discourse on my unfortunate leave from the blogosphere but also hopeful return (?)

Where has all the time gone? I had such high hopes for jumping right on back into the blogging world, but all those dreams were smashed when exams, Christmas, and general exhaustion kicked in. I just want to talk a little to just to get back into the swing of things. 

The last time I posted about a book was in October, and that was a truly half-assed attempt at a review. Before that, my last real posts were before my move and the start of grad school. I think that latter thing is really the biggest stopper to my blogging. It is amazing how much time it takes up! During undergrad, even during the hardest I-have-to-finish-my-40-page-research-for-tomorrrow-and-I-just-deleted-a-fourth-of-it parts, I was still able to write posts and visit y’alls blogs. It’s not that grad school is harder per se but more that it is certainly more time consuming and exhausting. I’d rather spend my time watching Netflix than reading and reading than blogging. I didn’t much get past that first step, to tell the truth. 

In general, it was just hard to organize myself to really have all that much free time aside for on weekends when all I wanted to do was HANG. With all this said, however, it was always in the back of my mind that I needed to get back into blogging/tweeting/goodreadsing. I needed to read posts and write posts and read, for goodness sake! I thought that if anything, I would begin again during my month long winter break, but it has taken until the last week of this break to even write up a post. I also thought I was going to read a ton over break– wrong — I only just finished one book. A 200-page book at that.

I truly miss it all! I was sad to see my 100 book goal go down in flames. I was super sad to not have participated in the RIP challenge as it is one of my favorites. I was also very sad to not have calculated all my New Years totals, etc. etc. as I just didn’t feel all too right in doing it. I also just have a general sadness in missing all the comraderie. All you wonderful blogger friends who give great advice, recommendations, and just generally put a smile on my face. I feel as though I abandoned it all. 

Of course school is super duper important, so I can’t just say ‘screw school! blogger 4 lyfe’, but I do want to make more of a conscious effort to be here. I feel as though I’ve missed so much! So many things going on in your lives. So many new, awesome books. So much drama, as there is wont to be. I also have a lot in my life that I would like to share with you! 

As a goal (a resolution, maybe?), I think over this next week I will try to catch up. I will try to catch up with you and have myself caught up with you. Maybe a post a day? A list of ten awesome things you should know? An amazing attempt at posting on all your blogs? It will be like a great return or something. And for real this time! I ain’t jokin, ladies and gents!

So, before I go on and on, let me ask you, what’s new? Any fantastic new books? Any fantastic new bloggers I should be aware of? Anything fantastic in your lives? Catch me up, people!

Adorable (Bookish) Video

So, I can’t figure out how to put this up as a forreal video, so I am just going to link to it : CLICK HERE FOR ADORABLE (BOOKISH) VIDEO. It really is very adorable. And has books. And is a little… riskay… for those of you who care.

Also, just wanted to say helloooooo. Life has taken over once again, so my posting has obviously gone out the window. I hope to be back soon with posting at least once a week, but I make no promises! I’ll try to post about what’s been going on (Voodoo Fest!), so look out for that this weekend. How are y’all doing?

Wordless Wednesday

New Orleans / Louisiana / 2011

Beautiful Boy : A Father’s Journey Through His Son’s Addiction – David Sheff

What had happened to my beautiful boy? To our family?What did I do wrong? Those are the wrenching questions that haunted every moment of David Sheff ’s journey through his son Nic’s addiction to drugs and tentative steps toward recovery. Before Nic Sheff became addicted to crystal meth, he was a charming boy, joyous and funny, a varsity athlete and honor student adored by his two younger siblings. After meth, he was a trembling wraith who lied, stole, and lived on the streets.David Sheff traces the first subtle warning signs: the denial, the 3 A.M. phone calls (is it Nic? the police? the hospital?), the rehabs.His preoccupation with Nic became an addiction in itself, and the obsessive worry and stress took a tremendous toll. But as a journalist, he instinctively researched every avenue of treatment that might save his son and refused to give up on Nic. Beautiful Boy is a fiercely candid memoir that brings immediacy to the emotional rollercoaster of loving a child who seems beyond help.

Books are a wonderful way to connect. You lend one out, you take one in, you learn read things you possibly wouldn’t have read otherwise. This one was lent to me by my roommate, and I think it was a success!

The book itself is the memoir of a father as he goes through the process of watching his son fall in and out of addiction. It’s an interesting perspective, to look at addiction from the outside. There is a lot of analyzation of cause, blame, and woulda-coulda-shoulda. To see the man try to figure out where his son’s addiction came from, stemmed from, even  from the earliest memories was extremely intriguing. Or at least to a psychological mind.

There was a good amount of dysfunction in his home but nothing that wasn’t normal. The boy’s parents were divorced early on in his life, both remarried, and he was shuffled between the two. His father did drugs earlier in his life– and smoked a joint with his son to prove a point. There was the somewhat alternative life that is sometimes connected with California, but like I said, none of this is so outrageously out there to say that any one of these things caused the addiction. It’s impossible to say that anything can in itself cause addiction. There’s the natural predisposition to addiction, which is where, I think, the boy’s father didn’t want to go. He didn’t want to say that his son had an addictive personality or wanted to fit in with a certain group, so he began to do drugs. It’s easier to put the blame on something else, even himself, but who can blame him?

All in all, I do think this was a very compelling memoir. It looked at all faucets of the boy’s addiction aside from his own viewpoints on it. It looked at the father’s history, the boy’s childhood and adolescence, the world around him. What I think I most picked up on, though, was the feeling of love the father had for the son. It wasn’t saccharine or put on, not at all. You felt the love he felt through the memories he brought up, the smile on his face. You also felt his confusion at why this was happening. His anger when things were stolen, broken. His pain at the choices he had to make in order to try to help his son through tough love. The writing was clipped and straightforward, but it still came with all the emotions that such events could carry.

Finally, I really appreciated the fact that there was no ending. There was no tie up  conclusion stating that the son was now better forever and ever. It was real and open to the possibility that he will fall into his addiction again. Oh, and I should mention that the son has out a companion memoir, which I am interested to read. Oh, oh, and I should also also mention that this is a memoir sans disturbing images. FYI. .

Wordless Wednesday

Mathews Arm / Shenandoah / Virginia / 2009

July, August, & September Wrap-Up

Books Read in July, August, & September:

Of Human Bondage – W Somerset Maugham

King’s Shield – Sherwood Smith

Howl’s Moving Castle – Diana Wynne Jones

Luck in the Shadows – Lynn Flewelling

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell – Susanna Clarke

Beautiful Boy – David Sheff

Total : 6

Started in September, Finish in October:

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil – John Berendt

The Last of the Mohicans – James Fenimore Cooper

The Razor’s Edge – W Somerset Maugham

Challenges:

Back to the Classics – 4/8

Victorian Lit –  1/4

What’s in a Name 4 – 2/6

Other Schtuff

Well now. Six books in three months? Not my usual way of going, but I am not too sad about it. I was busy! Plus, around three of them were close to if not over 1000 pages. Also, a majority of the books were those that were already on my TBR pile. A success I say! A success! I feel like I am getting back into my reading groove, so we’ll see if I can get back up to my normal reading levels.

I’ve already posted about IRL stuff for the recent past, so I’ll save you that. If you’re interested, just go back a few posts.

Plans for October?

Nothing too much bookish wise. I suppose the only thing is the read-a-thon that’s happening on the 22nd. I am not really sure if I’ll be able to commit to a whole day (i.e. 24 hours) of reading due to the amount of work I will have to do around then, but I’ll certainly be in for reading for a few hours at least. Or I might just say screw it all and read all day with y’all. Who knows! I’m going to try to get together a list of potential reads though. I also need to find out if there is a public library here. That would help.

In real life, October has a lot going on! School is certainly speeding up. I am having to give my first intelligence tests which is kinda scary, no lie. I don’t know if you’ve ever given one, but there is so much to remember. I know it sounds dumb, but you have to do everything just so, no substitutions. I like substitutions! Plus I have to give it to children. I don’t get them. I also have to give a week long presentation on sexual and gender identity disorders. YES.

More importantly though, I will be going to New Orleans this upcoming weekend which will be a nice little respite after this hell of a week. I’m not too sure what I’ll be doing, though. I’m going down with my roommate on Friday, but then he and his friend are going to a LSU game on Saturday, so I’ll be all by my lonesome for Saturday day. I’m thinking of stopping in at Anthropologie and maybe the art museum?? I don’t know. Any suggestions of interesting things are welcome! I’ve done all the touristy things, so I’m guessing this trip will be a sponge trip. Just soaking up the city.

That’s not it for October though! Later in the month I’ll be heading back down to New Orleans for Voodoo Fest, which I am very, very excited about. With all this stuff going on though I need to get on it with my work! No procrastinating. No naps. No more fun!

What about you? How was your month? Have any October plans?

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell – Susanna Clarke

At the dawn of the nineteenth century, two very different magicians emerge to change England’s history. In the year 1806, with the Napoleonic Wars raging on land and sea, most people believe magic to be long dead in England–until the reclusive Mr Norrell reveals his powers, and becomes a celebrity overnight. 

Soon, another practicing magician comes forth: the young, handsome, and daring Jonathan Strange. He becomes Norrell’s student, and they join forces in the war against France. But Strange is increasingly drawn to the wildest, most perilous forms of magic, straining his partnership with Norrell, and putting at risk everything else he holds dear.

I’ve done it! I’ve finally read it. This book had been languishing on my shelf for quite some time while I fought with the dread that comes along with these extra long tomes. I overcame the fear and sunk my teeth in. It was recommended to me a coupla years ago by my pal, Jabe, whose opinion in books I most definitely trust. It sounded like a cool enough premise– magicians? alternate history? NAPOLEON? I’m in. It just took me a little while to rise to the occasion.

It took me a little under a week to read, which I don’t feel is too bad at all! It’s a long one, and the type is quite small. I didn’t feel as though I was wading through it. There was a definite clip to the prose both in plot speed and in the wit that came with the author’s words. She was funny! It made it personable and interesting. I definitely liked her voice and her writing style. It was easy and flowed quite well.

The story itself was filled with action, intrigue, and bumbly old men. It is long, though, and while I was kept pretty much interested the whole time, there were a couple of times I couldn’t see why the story was progressing. There were logical end points where it did not, in fact, end. It seemed as though there were just a ton of ideas that in the beginning were very well formed but lost their traction as the story plowed on. When you got to the end it seemed sort of. . . half done. There wasn’t closure which is fine. I don’t need closure, but it seemed almost like one of those endings that had to be done because the book was getting to be 1000+ pages, but the natural end point had happened about 500 pages earlier, so this one had to be finagled. With all this said, I should say that this is a minor complaint and not really a complaint at all. Purely an observation.

I should mention the footnotes though. Some have complained heavily of them, but in truth, I quite liked them. I found them to be neat little insights with, once again, the author’s lovely wit. There are a few that go on for a couple of pages, but if they really bother the reader, said reader can just skip over them. I don’t think I found them to be of monumental importance.

So, all in all, I enjoyed this one. Do I have the love for it that others seem to? Perhaps not. It wasn’t because of the length– the story went by relatively quickly– but more because there were quite a few of those awkward false end points. It feels wonderful to take this one out of my TBR pile and mark it as read. I would recommend it to those who like alternate histories that have plenty of bon mots and just the right amount of absurdity.

Wordless Wednesday

David (Outside) / Florence / Italy / 2009

 

 

TSS : A Collection of Appreciation, Mini-Reviews, and the Futureeeeeee.

Another Sunday cometh, and a post of random samplings arriveth. In my final attempt to catch up from my little break I’ve decided to post one of those smörgåsbord posts that just kinda summarizes and combines the different thoughts I have into one post instead of a whole bunch of measly little half assed posts that could last a week in and of themselves. Well, this gem is going to consist of appreciation, mini-reviews, and the futureeeeeeeee. Behold!

Appreciation : 

Just wanted to say thanks for all the welcome backs, I really appreciate it! In addition, I just want to give a very big THANKS to all those who gave me advice concerning my Very Tough Decision that was talked about in my last post. Y’all gave me so many insights from so many different angles– it definitely gave me something to think about. I still haven’t made a decision yet, but I’ll be sure to let y’all know how it turns out. Thanks again!

Mini-Reviews

There are two books I read in my time of being MIA. Since I can’t really remember my exact thoughts on them other than knowing for sure that I enjoyed them, I figured they deserved at least a little shout out on here.

Howl’s Moving Castle – Diana Wynne Jones – Oh, my. My first introduction to Howl’s was through Hayao Miyazaki’s animated film, and I loved it. I had no idea there was a book. Imagine my delight when I found out that there was such an existence during, I think, a Diana Wynne Jones appreciation week. I adored this book. I found it so delightful and perfectly fairy tale like. I was struck by the… Welsh-ness of it. I loved it! I would definitely recommend to pick it up for a light and interesting read with just a little bit of darkness thrown in for good measure. This was my first Jones, but I am hoping to read on through more of her stuff. Any suggestions?

Luck in the Shadows – Lynn Flewelling - I was first introduced to Lynn Flewelling’s writing through her Tamir Triad series which I loved! In an attempt to find more captivating fantasy, I decided to give her Nightrunner series a try. It was just what I was looking for. It takes place in the same world as the Tamir Triad only hundreds of years after when those stories took place. The world building continues with more history and culture lessons, and there is, of course, a fantastic amount of intrigue, stealth, and ‘what?!’ moments. The story does seem to delve into sexual orientation and the beginnings of a gay relationship. It does seem a bit… forced, not totally natural, but it’s interesting to see how the society functions in opposition to our own. Just figured I’d mention it. I’ll definitely be on the lookout for the second one!

The Futureeeeeeee

Read-a-thon - The fall 24 Hour Read-a-thon has been announced! It is going to be on Saturday, October 22. I went to get a link to the page for your convenience, but it seems to have been hacked, so I’m not going to post it. Anywho, I hope to see y’all there. I am crossing my fingers that my work load will stay steady as it is now, and I’ll get to participate. If nothing else, I’ll try to read for a few hours, if not the whole time.

Currently Reading - I am actually in the process of reading three books right now, which is a major feat for me! One is usually my limit. Here’s what’s on :

Beautiful Boy – David Sheff – It’s a memoir of a father’s experience with a son who is addicted to crystal meth. I’m about a third of the way through, and I’m really liking it so far! Apparently the son wrote a counter book about his own experiences which I’m looking forward to picking up.

Last of the Mohicans – James Fenimore Cooper – I’ve actually been ‘reading’ this one for a while now but am only on page 45. It’s not that it’s boring, per se, but I am just not gung ho about it at the mo.

The Razor’s Edge – W Somerset Maugham – I’ve only just started this one, but hopefully my love for Maugham will continue. I was kind of put off by the first little introduction, but I’m hoping it’ll come around.

Any thoughts on these?

As always, don’t forget to find me on Goodreads or Twitter. I like friends!

 

Crossroads : Never thought I’d be at one.

(C) by www.martin-liebermann.de

So, this post really has nothing to do with books, but it’s something that has been on my mind for quite some time. It’s something I would love advice for or for someone to tell me concretely what I should do (i.e. a psychic), but it’s not one of those situations. The few people I’ve talked to about it have basically said that it’s my decision and I will make the right one for me, and I’ll be successful no matter what I choose. Which is nice, I suppose, but it really just isn’t that easy for me.

More to the point, I have come to a crossroads in my life. I just never really thought I would have to make a choice between two options that have two distinct outcomes. It’s all been pretty easy peasy up until now. My life course was set. I lived in the same house up until I was 18 in the same city, same schools, same friends. I knew where I wanted to go to college, and I went there. I knew what I wanted to study and I did that. It was all set. I knew what I wanted to do, and I did it.

That was until grad school hit. What a (minor) fiasco! I don’t know if I really posted it on here, but my whole grad school process went down to the wire. I was accepted to one school, the one I am attending now, pretty quickly, so I knew I was going to go somewhere. I was, however, later contacted by a lovely school (where I really wanted to go) in the lovely city of New Orleans for an interview, which I went to in a firey blaze of skirt suited glory. I was waiting and waiting and waiting to hear from them before I put my deposit down on the first school, but finally the deadline hit and I still hadn’t heard from the other school, so I had no choice. I put the deposit down.

Enter the dilemma. I was driving down through Mississippi on the way to my new location when I got a call from the New Orleans school. They offered me a spot in their program starting in the spring semester. Right on, you would think. You really want to go there! You have your chance, now go! But it isn’t as simple as that.

The more I’ve thought about it, the harder it is for me to make a decision. Truthfully, if you would have asked me a month ago what I would have chosen in this situation, I would have immediately told you I would drop it all and go to the school in New Orleans. It’s different now, though. Now that I am living in this other place, I like it. I like my professors, I’ve made good friends, I like my roommate, and I would feel bad leaving both him and my friends. I am content, happier than I’ve been in a year.

On the other hand though, the program at this other school is infinitely more prestigious, the connections better, the school’s reputation better (not that the one I’m at now is bad, not at all), and it’s in an exciting and vibrant city that I love and have always wanted to live in. It is also infinitely more expensive, especially coming from out of state. But it is what I wanted in the beginning.

I can just see that having these two choices, my life could come out to be in two totally different places. I know that I’ll make my life what I want it to be, but I hate thinking about having that feeling of ‘What if…?’ always hanging over my head. I suppose it is all part of growing up, but that still doesn’t mean it doesn’t suck big time. This whole crossroads thing is no fun!

I’ve been told that it doesn’t matter where you get your Master’s, but I just can’t believe that. I’ve been told to go for the cheaper option. I know that no one but me can make the decision. I just wanted to put it out to you all to see if you’ve had a similar situation. Not even one about grad school but any crossroads. How did you deal? If you have had one similar to mine, AWESOME, how did you deal? I’m just finding it so difficult, and I only have until October 1st to ruminate.