books

January 1, 2016

A Bookish take on New Years Resolutions

As with every new year, we find ourselves drafting lists of resolutions. Eat healthier. Wake up early. Finish that novel. Run. Get to know that person. Keep your room clean. Practice daily. We all know these resolutions and, more likely than not, we’ve all broken them. Every year it seems we make the same sort… Continue reading

literary living

Anna Karenina, Anne of Green Gables, austen, book characters, books, characters, classic literature, gone with the wind, literary, literature, montgomery, new year, new year resolutin, new year resolution, novels, pride and prejudice, resolution, tolstoy
October 6, 2015

The Word Crimes Inferno

In reading Dante’s Inferno, I was struck by his ability to identify, categorize, and assign fitting punishments to various sins. This is not perhaps the most cheerful observation, but it was certainly intriguing and made me think (apologies for the morbidity): what crimes I would punish were I to write a modern Inferno and how would I… Continue reading

Literature, Musings

AP Literature, author, Book, books, bookworm, dante, dictionary, english humor, essay, grammar, grammar humor, grammar nazi, grammarly, humor, inferno, literate, literature, novel, pun, punctuation, puns, Reading, syntax, the inferno, word crimes, writer, writing
August 28, 2015

#WriterGoals by Homer, Odysseus, and Ryanne

Yes, my title is a hashtag. Sometimes I like to break the trend of ordinary prose. Sorry not sorry. Ironically, however, this post is based on writing standards set waaaaaaaay back in the days of Homer. In reading through The Odyssey for my university’s honors institute, I realized two things: First, listening to Chopin’s nocturnes whilst reading makes… Continue reading

Literature, Musings

AP Literature, Art, author, authors, beautiful, beautiful wriitng, beauty, Bible, Book, book review, books, brainstorming, C.S. Lewis, character, Children’s Books, chopin, classic literature, creativity, enduring books, epic, good writing, great books, homer, poetry, prose, the iliad, the odyssey, torrey honors institute, true writing, truth, writer, writer goals, writing
August 15, 2015

Literary Living

Standing at the checkout at the grocery store, I found myself incredibly bored having forgotten both my book and my phone. Most people in such a predicament would probably do one of two things: 1) make small-talk with fellow shoppers or 2) flip idly through the magazines on the racks. Similar to Mr. Darcy, I… Continue reading

literary living

Anne, Anne of Green Gables, AP Literature, author, authors, best friends, books, bookworm, character, Children’s Books, classic literature, kindred spirits, magazine
July 16, 2015

A Europe State of Mind

It has now been over a month since I returned from the trip of a lifetime: a two-and-a-half week journey through Europe with my family. When I call it the “trip of a lifetime”, I mean it! Sure, I had to punch my snoring relatives in the middle of the night once in a while,… Continue reading

Musings

accents, American, austria, bicycle tour, books, europe, france, germany, holiday, humor, ice cream, inspiration, literature, london, macarons, Music, paris, prague, senior trip, sound of music tour, tourism, tourist, trip, vacation, writing
July 3, 2015

Rest and Laziness: They are Different!

I am a busy person, not necessarily because I have committed to a lot or because my parents expect a lot from me, but because I make everything I am passionate about into a serious commitment and expect a lot of myself. (Started piano lessons? Practice to be accepted as a piano major at a conservatory. Enjoyed… Continue reading

Musings

AP student, Bible, books, breakdown, calm, conservatory, diligent, earned, exhaustion, Genesis, God, hard work, INTJ, labor, laziness, lazy, macaron, nap, peace, perfectionist, piano, piano major, pinterest, Proverbs, rest, rested, resting, Sabbath, weekend, work
June 25, 2015

A Lovely Combination

I recently visited my favorite indie bookstore and somehow managed to leave without using all of my credit! (I needed an excuse to return next week…) What did I purchase? A combination I believe works quite well: 1) A book with a setting that drew me in. (Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, taking place… Continue reading

A Bit of Light Reading, Musings

book shopping, books, Bradbury, buying books, gaiman, indie bookstore
May 17, 2015

Cookie-ception Cookies

One of my friends who knows more about movies than I do informed me that “Inception” does not actually refer to having one thing within itself but rather having a story begin at the end (or something like that) and that my cookies more accurately could be compared to nesting dolls, with one thing holding a… Continue reading

Recipes for Readers

AP Literature, baking, books, chocolate chip, chocolate chip cookie butter cookies, cookie, cookie butter, cookie butter cookies, fluffy cookies, inventing recipes, pudding mix, reading and eating, speculoos, stress baking, trader joes
May 12, 2015

The Window Washer

Once more, I find myself in the uncomfortable situation of actually enjoying my homework. A lot. I know that many people in my class find this irritating, but I can’t help it; I like to write, so naturally I will like an assignment that requires me to write a short story using the literary elements… Continue reading

Literature

Anne of Green Gables, annotation, AP Literature, authors, beauty, Book, books, bookworm, Bradbury, classic literature, english class, homework, how to read literature, inspiration, library, scribbling, sherlock holmes, short story, writer, writing, writing assignment
January 9, 2015

Poetic Purpose: Why Meter Matters

“Poetry is the rhythmical creation of beauty in words.” ~Edgar Allan Poe Aside from signing my friends’ yearbook with personalized limericks, I admit that I have little experience with poetry. However, I adore reading it, as it was meant to be read, aloud. I love the sounds of its rhymes, the flow of the lines,… Continue reading

Musings

AP Literature, books, chopin, dance, edgar allan poe, hamlet, iambic pentameter, jazz, literature, love song, meter, Music, poem, poet, poetry, poets, rhythm, shakespeare, swing dance, waltz, writer
December 13, 2014

The Bookworm’s Guide to the Galaxy: Understanding Readers

Most of my best friends are bookworms. We all have our favorite genres, authors, eras, you name it. We are an eclectic group of athletes, honors students, writers, artists, musicians, and gamers, yet we are united by books and our need for words. However, it has come to my attention that this is not how… Continue reading

Musings

author, Book, books, bookstore, bookworm, character, Fiction, library, literature, non-reader, reader, relationships, story
December 11, 2014

The Necessity of the Reader: A Literary Criticism of Heart of Darkness

Modernist author Joseph Conrad once said that “of all men’s creations, books are the nearest to us for they contain our thoughts… they resemble us in their precious hold on life.” According to Conrad, books not only act as the vessels that preserve the themes of human life, but as mirrors that reflect the variations… Continue reading

Literature

AP Literature, author, book review, books, classic literature, frame story, heart of darkness, imperialism, lit crit, literary criticism, literary gap, modernist, novella, reader, reader’s response, writing