literature

January 30, 2016

Please share this letter!

No, this is not some “reblog to solve a major world crisis” post and you won’t end up with bad luck for a year if you don’t share. Odds are that if you ignore this altogether, nothing bad will result. However, I truly am asking you, my fellow lover of books, to share this post Continue reading

A Bit of Light Reading, literary living

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January 20, 2016

Everythingism

I promise I’ll explain the cat sandwich in space picture in the end, so just bear with me for a few paragraphs, okay? Thanks. I am what most would consider a perfectionist, which is in itself both a blessing and a curse. On the positive side, it leads me to, more often than not, accomplish Continue reading

Musings

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January 10, 2016

Literary Tourism

Don’t be a tourist. I don’t mean don’t travel; by all means, see the world and explore new places! But don’t be a tourist, defined as “a person who travels for pleasure, especially sight-seeing and staying in hotels.” That doesn’t sound so bad, but can one really experience a place through simply seeing sights and Continue reading

literary living, Literature, Musings

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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

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October 20, 2015

Reading Rainbow: College Edition

Sometimes my color-coded annotation system gets a little out of hand, but it sure is pretty. In the wise words of Buddy the Elf, “It’s like a Christmas tree!” This rainbow artwork of a first page gives me hope as I push through “ye olde English”. But then again, maybe old English isn’t so Continue reading

Musings

annotations, faerie queene, literature, Reading, spenser, torrey, twilight
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

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September 24, 2015

Clever Odysseus and Wondering Me

In reading the epics of Homer and Virgil, I was struck by the use of titles for each character, from “clever Odysseus” to “circumspect Penelope” to “glorious Hector” to “pious Aeneas.” Rarely is a character mentioned, even in the most unimportant instances, without his or her name being preceded by an adjective of some sort. If Continue reading

Musings

aeneid, homer, literature, the iliad, the odyssey, titles, torrey
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

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April 3, 2015

On Senioritis (and also brownies)

Upon entering this year, I thought that I was prepared to face that dread combination of restlessness, fatigue, and frustration that has been plaguing high school seniors since the dawn of time (or at least the dawn of secondary education). I was wrong and realize now, having forsaken productivity for a few hours to breathe for the first Continue reading

Recipes for Readers

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March 28, 2015

Perplexingly Postmodern

Sometimes reading postmodern literature is like reading those texts where people just type the first words their iPhone suggests… For instance, compare the authorship of: 1) My iPhone and that of a friend: 2) A revered postmodern author: Oddly similar…yet only one is deemed worthy of annotations! Disclaimer: I honestly do have appreciation Continue reading

Literature, Musings

annotations, AP Literature, beloved, iphone humor, literature, postmodern
March 1, 2015

7 Steps to Overcoming a Haircut Crisis: by Rapunzel, Anne, Jo, and Me

“It looks so good!” gushes the stylist. You nod vaguely, but inside you’re screaming, “Since when does ‘two inches’ mean ‘take it all’?” You came in wanting a simple trim (freshen up the layers, cut the split-ends, the usual), but one ambitious beautician and several pairs of scissors later you’re sitting open-mouthed in a nest Continue reading

Bookish Style

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February 26, 2015

Sophisticated Simplicity

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” ― Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo da Vinci is remembered as one of the most ingenious men to have walked the earth. Even those unfamiliar with art recognize his name as the painter of the “Mona Lisa” and the innovator of ideas ahead of his time. And yet, this man, the epitome Continue reading

Musings

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