So a friend of mine recently did a live video while playing an Anti-Flag song, of course that ended with me jumping on youtube to listen to Anti Flag, which I haven't done in so, so long.
And the flood gates of memories opened.
Anti-Flag was my first real concert. I was 16 or 17, and I was already angry at the president, at the problems of the world that seemed so obvious and so simply fixed to me, and so incredibly ambitious that my friends and I (and people like us) could change everything. Anti Flag was doing a release tour for The Terror State. It was fall when my friends and I piled into Jen's car (pretty sure it was hers, either that or Suzi's) and started the journey to Philadelphia. I remember stopping at the King of Prussia mall before the concert and it felt like such an amusing juxtaposition of events to me. At some point we pulled over because I saw a muffler sitting on the side of the road and I had to have it.
Honestly I think remember almost everything about the day, better than I remember what happened to me yesterday. I remember getting to the venue (the First Unitarian Church) way early and being in love with all of the punks kids hanging out front, it was what I wanted to see every day for always. A tall, kid approached us slightly awkwardly (in a very charming kind of way though) as Michelle was taking pictures of everyone and everything and I was bouncing off the walls with excitement to be there. He asked if Michelle wanted to take his picture as well (an image I own to this day), introduced himself as Erik (with a k), and stuck around to talk to us, at some point offering me his coat because I looked cold. We ended up walking around a little while before the concert, including going to a little hole in the wall pizza place to use the bathroom where he bought a 8 ball bouncy ball from a quarter machine (I still have that too). We explained one of our weirder in-jokes to him, he introduced us to the friends he went to the concert with and we all queued up to go inside, talking about books (a fellow Salinger fan!). When we got inside the room was packed, the opening bands played (Thought Riot, Paint it Black, and Pipedown) and were all just great, I don't think I had heard any of them before that night, and I think Suzi ended up getting a Thought Riot shirt/cd? At some point some kid got shoved into the mosh pit and his backpack spilled open, with a bunch of stuff flying everywhere, and everyone stopped and handed it back to him so he could shove it back in* and I was in love with the feeling of unity the punk community exhibited. (*this may have happened at the Unseen concert, same venue, similar crowd, but I am pretty sure it was Anti Flag).
I had the most surreal moment when I was walking around between bands and saw Jen talking to some guy, only to get closer and realize it was Justin Sane. Of course she was, that's Jen, coolest girl in any room. I remember asking him to prom, because of course I did, it was actually something Jen and I had joked about before the concert, he politely and passively declined. They played and it was....the single best concert I have been to. Everyone was so full of passion and hope and anger and we screamed along to songs we had never heard before, and even louder to songs we knew, and shared sweat, with zero cares given, I stood right up front with Erik and felt like no night could ever be more perfect. After they played I hung around and ended up talking to almost all the people in Anti-Flag, they signed the shorts I was wearing and I remember joking with Justin Sane that it was a shame he couldn't go with me and he whispered in my ear that he was sad about it because I was cute, it is probably a good thing it was dark because I have no doubt I turned 10 shades of pink. I also recall Pat Thetic being so damn excited that I asked for a hug (drummers never get enough love).
We got our free cds ($10 show with a free copy of their newest release? I love you Anti-Flag) and spilled out into the night, soaked through with sweat. Erik and I parted ways, for what I hoped wouldn't be the last time, after he gave me the bouncy ball he had bought earlier. [It wasn't the last time, I saw him twice more, including once at the Unitarian Church again, this time to see The Unseen, to this day I think he is probably the single sweetest guy I have ever met, and a perfect gentleman, and I hope he doesn't get too awfully embarrassed if he reads this]. We called all of our parents to let them know that we wouldn't be coming home that night (too damn late for that drive and we were all exhausted), crashed at Jen's grandma's house and went home the next day. I had to go to school, I think everyone else's parents just let them skip and sleep. I was so excited to wear my new shirt that I didn't care, the back said "Bullets can't silence ideas" and all the clever kids I went to school with had to dispute the point. Damn, I loved that album, by their next one I was already becoming less angry and more jaded, but listening to it again now I can still feel that burning passion to effect change and end injustice that I had then.
Wednesday, January 31, 2018
Thursday, November 10, 2016
Millennials
So, this has been bothering me, and especially over the last few days, really over the last 24 hours. There has been a large volume of conversations I have been involved in online regarding the election. In almost all of them it ends up being one or two people my age debating with someone of my parents generation and in almost EVERY conversation there comes a point where the older person in some way dismisses the opinions of the younger as being childish or immature, in many cases when that younger person is presenting their view points in a reasonable and articulate fashion.
People want to complain about millennials, a lot. About everything. And I get it, we are tied to our phones (but so are you), we still indulge in childish passions (comics, cartoons, YA novels), and we only care about ourselves (unlike the previous generation, who wait...are exactly the same).
Some food for thought.
I know that we complain about adulting, in a way that, I assume, other generations haven't. Have you considered it is because a lot of us were utterly failed by our parents? I know so many people who never learned to cook or clean or handle money because their parents didn't teach them, didn't involve them, and then they got thrust into the world on their own and had to figure it out, usually after a lot of messing up, and you just see all the missteps they took in learning, but really, what can be expected in that situation? You complain about schools not teaching stuff anymore, but what right do you have to complain when you couldn't be bothered to teach things to your own kids.
And I get it, there are shitty situations that make it hard to do so, you know you were working two jobs and raising 3 kids on your own and you did the laundry at 2 am because that is when you had a minute, so you couldn't show your kids, except that isn't true for most of you. You just never bothered because either you didn't do it yourself or you were too controlling to let someone else do it.
Participation trophies. Again you want to complain about this, but kids don't give themselves participation trophies, so if this was really a problem it was one you created. I never got a participation trophy in my life, granted I didn't do a lot of participating in anything, but I think you guys are really exaggerating the extent to which this happened.
Also there is this tendency for people of our parents generation to shut us down as adults, like we aren't real adults, we can't understand politics, we can't understand finance, or complex situations, our opinions are invalid. We are treated like we are still children who should be quiet while the "real" adults talk. At 30+ years old we are talked down to in a way that our parents would NEVER have put up with from their parents.
But when I look around, when I see people who are looking for problems to solve, who are coming up with novel solutions to issues, to the people who are reaching out to people unlike themselves to make sure they are included in conversations and decisions, I am seeing people who are usually much closer to my age than my parents age.
I am not saying that we are some magic, superior generation. We can be too wrapped up in the internet and its assorted nonsense, we have a tendency to blow things out of proportion, some of us are more involved in our looks and instagram likes then is probably healthy, and some of us can't handle any amount of critcism without shutting down. We have problems, but so do our parents, and much like them, a lot of our problems stem from ones they passed on to us. Each generation inherits issues from the previous ones, some get recognized as problems and fixed, others just get passed on. It didn't start with us and it won't end with us, but we aren't lesser adults because of it either.
You don't have to "get" us, just accept that we are real adults, we have real opinions and we have real things to say, even if we are wearing a batman shirt and have my little pony colored hair while we say them.
You do not get to treat us like children because we are disagreeing with you.
Sunday, January 19, 2014
a new low
Remember when I used to be interesting and cool???
Yea, I don't either.
I think I hit a new low though, I seriously just looked up how to clean my garbage disposal. I mean, yea it needs done, it's pretty gross...but I really wish I had better things to do with my time.
I probably do. I just don't feel like doing them because I am a deadly boring person.
Alright, anyone who might be reading this give me a challenge so I won't be so bored/boring, help me not be such a waste of space and oxygen.
annnnnd GO!
Yea, I don't either.
I think I hit a new low though, I seriously just looked up how to clean my garbage disposal. I mean, yea it needs done, it's pretty gross...but I really wish I had better things to do with my time.
I probably do. I just don't feel like doing them because I am a deadly boring person.
Alright, anyone who might be reading this give me a challenge so I won't be so bored/boring, help me not be such a waste of space and oxygen.
annnnnd GO!
Friday, September 20, 2013
Thigh gaps?
So according to pinterest (which basically is how I judge trends, DON'T JUDGE ME!) the new thing to show you are skinny or fit or whatever, the new desirable trait is a gap between your thighs.
Uhm...why??
Because I am fucking skinny and have wee skinny legs and I have had a gap in my thighs most of my life. You know what a thigh gap means?
It means that pants fit me weird.
People don't make pants for really skinny thigh-ed people, I mean except maybe yoga pants, but they are stretchy and shit so it doesn't really matter. I have spent my whole life wearing pants that don't fit my legs where they were supposed to. Remember how flares were popular when we were in high school and they had the weird sculpted thighs? I looked like I was wearing those weird military pants:
Ohhh yeaaa, so good looking.
Uhm...why??
Because I am fucking skinny and have wee skinny legs and I have had a gap in my thighs most of my life. You know what a thigh gap means?
It means that pants fit me weird.
People don't make pants for really skinny thigh-ed people, I mean except maybe yoga pants, but they are stretchy and shit so it doesn't really matter. I have spent my whole life wearing pants that don't fit my legs where they were supposed to. Remember how flares were popular when we were in high school and they had the weird sculpted thighs? I looked like I was wearing those weird military pants:
Ohhh yeaaa, so good looking.
You know how skinny jeans are a trend now?? Well it looks ridiculous to wear skinny jeans that are baggy (I was going to post a picture to go with this but then google presented me with this link and I was like wtf? http://live.drjays.com/index.php/2010/10/18/the-dos-and-donts-of-mens-skinny-jeans/ scroll down until you find it!). Baggy Skinny jeans is what you get with thigh gaps.
It's weird and overrated.
Just try to be healthy and stuff
There is my advice for the day.
It's weird and overrated.
Just try to be healthy and stuff
There is my advice for the day.
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
My list of 100 books
I want to preface this. There may be lists of this nature that will probably be much better at expanding your mind, that probably have a lot more classic literature that you really should read and all of that. That's fine. This is my list. Not a list of my favorite books either, some I loved, some I sort of hated in all honesty some I haven't even read. So it goes..
(also forgive any spelling errors or mistakes, I finished this up in one go around midnight)
I am going to sort of break this into lumps, first one:
Books I loved that I think you should read
1. Nine Stories by JD Salinger.
This is my favorite book of all time. I love it, just as it says it is a collection of 9 stories. They are abrupt, sad, shocking and full of squalor. My daughter is partially named after one of them.
2. Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson
If you are an introvert and have ever been a misfit, just read it and know you have found your tribe.
3. Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger
Listen I could put every book by him on this list but I won't. This is his most commonly read book, I liked it. Some people like Holden, some people hate him, I both love and hate him, he's a whiny bastard but he's not wrong.
4. Tiffany Aching Series by Terry Pratchett
Technically a young adult series but they are good and I love the emphasis on standing on your own two feet and finding your own way to do things.
5. Bossypants by Tina Fey and/or How to be a Woman by Caitlin Moran
You don't need to read both. If you were a geeky kid growing up who tried to be cool but ended up being captain of the debate team, Bossypants is most likely going to seem familiar to you. If you decided who the hell wants to fit in when you can do things your own damn way (and you will go down fighting over things you knew were mistakes just to save face) go with How to be a Woman.
6 and 7 Lord of the Rings Trilogy and The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien
I don't think I have to tell you why you should read these. They are good. Start with The Hobbit and don't try to rush the trilogy. It is is easy to get bogged down in Two Towers.
8. Girl With the White Flag by Tomiko Higa
A heartbreaking account of the battle of Okinawa by someone who was painfully young when it happened. Worth reading, be prepared to cry.
9. Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr
The story of a girl who was just a baby when the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and how she developed cancer years later because of it. This has been one of my favorites since I was a child. It is a true story and there is a statue of her in the Peace Park in Japan that has the inscription "This is our cry. This is our prayer. Build Peace in the World"
10. Princess Bride by William Goldman
I know you have seen the movie, and you really aren't missing that much story wise by not reading the book but the way this book is written is just fantastic and you need to experience it for yourself.
11. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
I read this in school and it became a favorite of mine. I love Atticus Finch, I love basically everything about him. He was portrayed perfectly by Gregory Peck. The movie is good but it leaves out many things, read the book.
12. Hitchhikers Guide series by Douglas Adams
I am not even going to try to sell this, just read it. It's good.
13. Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
Two of the best modern authors wrote a book together, really this book recommends itself. For added fun get really use to each author's writing style and try to figure out who wrote what.
14. American Gods by Neil Gaiman
It's good, it has an interesting premise (gods are brought to the US by immigrants but they never seem to take root) and you should read it before they make it a TV series.
15. Hogfather by Terry Pratchett
A story on the importance of belief and how it colors our world. It's by Terry Pratchett which is recommendation enough.
16. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Really the only work by Steinbeck I have read, but I liked it well enough.
17. Big Sur/On the Road/Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac
I think everyone should read something by Kerouac, I am not going to say you have to read On the Road though, find one that seems interesting and plunge in.
18. Drawing with the Right Side of your Brain- Betty Edwards
Just kind of a cool book about learning to tell the left side of your brain to stfu for a little while so the right side can have some fun.
19. Tao of Jeet Kune Do- Bruce Lee
A little exercise routine, a little philosophy. This is one book that anyone who is hoping to achieve calm in their life should read.
20. Foxfire Series-The Foxfire Fund
A collection of books that cover knowledge and stories of the Appalachians, you will learn weird skills like making your own soap (100% from scratch, I mean making your own lye and everything). I am gonna say you can't appreciate America until you read at least one of these books.
21. Cat's Cradle- Kurt Vonnegut
It's all a lie and it is absolutely the truth. See the cat? See the Cradle. Busy, Busy, Busy.
Now if you had read the book, some of that would make sense.
22. Slaughterhouse Five- Kurt Vonnegut
It might be that I just like Kurt Vonnegut
23. Siddhartha-Hermann Hesse
Find your own path to enlightenment and you are more likely to find it.
24. Black Beauty- Anna Sewell
This has been a favorite of mine since I was a kid. If I want to be philosophical I could talk about how the fact that the same horse can end up having so many different roles reflects our own tendency to morph as we grow up, but really, it's just a good book about a horse.
25. Chronicles of Narnia-CS Lewis
I mean yea it has that whole religious thing about it, but it's a pretty good story as well. Except Voyage of the Dawn Treader.
26. God Bless you Doctor Kevorkian- Kurt Vonnegut.
Listen. Do yourself a favor and just go out and read everything he has ever written.
27. Dune- Frank Herbert
I didn't read it, but I watched the movie. My sister has read this book like 40 times. I am really not exaggerating that number, so it has to be a pretty good book.
28. Hunger Games-Suzanne Collins
Alright, there might be better books about dystopian futures and the barbarism they create and making kids fight for sport and stuff, but I haven't read them. I read this after watching the movie, the movie made me feel very, very uncomfortable. The book went into things better. Read the book.
29. Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
It always breaks my heart how she carries on more or less normally while hiding in an attic.
30. A day no Pigs would die-Robert Newton Peck
I had to read this book in high school. I am not going to say that it is some amazing piece of literature, but this book made me cry my eyes out. That, my friends, is the sign of a good book. Also the bits about baptists are funny.
31. The Jungle-Upton Sinclair
One book changed the way an industry operated. Parts of it are disgusting and will make you want to be a vegetarian. I like the wedding.
32. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance-Robert M Pirsig
Be the type of person who takes the bike apart to figure out how it works, not the type that takes it to a shop for an oil change. Something I am still working on
33. Perfume- Patrick Suskind
Being honest I haven't read it. I saw the movie and I need to read it eventually. Why am I recommending it? Because it is about 'orrible murders and one man's strange quest for perfection.
34. Are you there God? It's me Margaret- Judy Blume
I didn't read this one either. I read other things by the author so I can speak for her writing ability, and I love the idea of this book. Even though I am no longer a preteen struggling with finding my identity I think the book holds value.
35. One Hundred years of Solitude- Gabriel Garcia Marquez
I was told about this book in 9th grade by my Spanish teacher and I keep intending to read it but then forgetting before I get the chance, then seeing something about it and thinking I should read it all over again. I need to actually get to it. A book that after 15 years I still feel I ought to read has to have something going for it.
Books of a Political/Subversive/Counter Culture nature
36. Fahrenheit 451- Ray Bradbury
As screens become bigger I am worrying more and more about this becoming true. I like to think I would be the old lady with the match, going down with the ship.
37. 1984- George Orwell
This is a book you should actually read, because it is one of those stories that has become so embedded in our culture that most people haven't actually read it. It is probably not quite what you think it is.
38. Days of War, Nights of Love-crimethInc
You probably won't agree with most of the stuff in this book. That's fine. I don't agree with a lot of the things in this book. This book will make you think about what you do and why you do it and I think everyone should embrace a good opportunity to examine their own lives.
39. Naked Lunch- William S Burroughs
This book is bizarre and I can't figure out if it would make more sense if I was on drugs or not, I haven't gotten all the way through it. I get bogged down in the middle. Some how that is my recommendation for it though.
40. Animal Farm-George Orwell
Perfectly shows off how an unchecked government uses the good intentions of the people and turns them to benefit only themselves.
41. A Clockwork Orange- Anthony Burgess
Read this 3 times until you actually understand the slang. I sort of love how this book follows a completely horrible character and makes him just short of actually likable.
42. Catch 22- Joseph Heller
This one took me two tries to get through but it is a great book. What's the catch? Catch 22.
It is best summed up here "Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn't, but if he was sane, he had to fly them. If he flew them, he was crazy and didn't have to; but if he didn't want to, he was sane and had to." Life is a lot like that, most of the time.
43. Art to Choke Hearts and Pissing in the Gene Pool- Henry Rollins
You didn't think you would get through this list without some Henry Rollins did you??
Kids/Young Adult books
44. Just So Stories- Rudyard Kipling
Because you need to know how the leopard got it's spots
45. Howl's Moving Castle- Diana Wynne Jones
I loved the movie by Studio Ghibli, and I think it did a good bit of honor to the story. This book is awesome though, and I say that as someone who read it as an adult. It has an awesome twist they left out of the movie about Howl's origin.
46. Neverending Story- Michael Ende
It is very long, it is sometimes tedious and you often want to slap the characters around a bit. You should read it once through anyway.
47. Anne of Avonlea- Lucy Maud Montgomery
I like Miss Anne Shirley (with two n's) she talks too much, she is a bit dreamy but she doesn't put up with other peoples crap and she goes for what she wants. Sounds like a book I want my kid reading.
48. Calvin and Hobbes- Bill Watterson
If you haven't read any of these in a while go read some. They are surprisingly enlightening.
49. and Tango makes Three- Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson
A cute story about a pair of penguins that adopted a baby penguin. They happened to both be boys. For some reason this has upset people even though it is a true story. Whatever. It is cute, Niko loved it. Support banned and challenged books.
50. The Jungle Book- Rudyard Kipling
Filing this under, you saw the movie, read the book
51. Charlotte's Web- EB White
Good story, pretty sad, I still don't like spiders
52. Harry Potter Series- JK Rowling
This series pretty much got people into reading again. It helped create a demand that was filled with more awesome young adult series that are also well worth reading, even as an adult. It was ridiculously well thought out and planned as well.
53. Aesop's Fables....by Aesop..
You should read them, I mean you probably already know a handful, but some of the less common ones are pretty interesting.
54. The Giver- Lois Lowry
An important book for kids, we all must at some point open our eyes to things that happen in the world or decide to keep them shut and pretend that it is OK.
55. The Giving Tree- Shel Silverstein
Such a simple book, such a beautiful story.
56. Serendipity books- Stephen Cosgrove
Beautiful, sometimes sad stories that always have a decent moral without smacking you over the head. My favorite series as a child and I still enjoy the stories.
57. Matilda- Roald Dahl
I particularly like Matilda, but you can't go wrong with any of his books.
58. Alice in Wonderland- Lewis Carroll
Again, read the book, don't just watch the movies. It is much trippier anyway.
59. Oz series- L Frank Barum
Oh the wonderful land of Oz, movies keep trying to capture it but there is so much there. Also you can't appreciate the political allegory from the movie.
60. Peter Pan- JM Barrie
One last time guys. Book is better.
61. Cautionary Tale for Children by Hilaire Belloc (I prefer the one illustrated by Edward Gorey)
They are abrupt and not very nice and sometimes that is what children need.
62. The Tongue Cut Sparrow- Japanese folk tale
I love this story, I read it often to Niko. I like that most of the time in Japanese folk tales the people who are cruel get way more than they deserve.
63. Hans Christian Anderson collection
64. Brothers Grimm Collection
Both of these just need to be read by people, as they were written. You should know the real story and not what Disney and other people have changed them to over the years. Cinderella's sisters cut off their toes and heel to try to fit the shoes and later have their eyes pecked out. The Little Mermaid does not have her happy ending. They were made this way for a reason.
Classic Books that I have read (at least in part)
65. Shakespeare
I won't say that you have to read everything by him, but I think everyone should read a few plays and sonnets, get comfortable with his work, get to the point where you understand what he is saying. Some of the jokes are hilarious.
66. Paradise Lost- John Milton
67. EA Poe
68. Arabian Nights
69. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn- Mark Twain
70. Call of the Wild- Jack London
71. A Christmas Carol- Charles Dickens
72. Jumping Frog of Calaveras County- Mark Twain
73. Gulliver's Travels- Jonathan Swift
74. Once and Future King- T.H. White
75. Don Quixote- Miguel De Cervantes
76. The Courtship of Miles Standish- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
I read it because I was told I was related to John Alden and Priscilla Mullins, but it is a pretty good story as well.
77. Moby Dick- Herman Melville
78. A Modest proposal- Jonathan Swift
79. Greek Mythology- whoever
Okay I am not going to go into each and every one of these, but they are classics for a reason. They are not the only ones you should read, but I think they all have their own merits and lessons. I tried to pick a few things over a range of subjects and origins and I tried for a few things that don't always come up in lists but I think everyone should take a peek at.
Classic/Other books that I haven't read but intend to at some point and you probably should read as well.
80. Pygmalion- George Bernard Shaw
It's what My Fair Lady was based off of!
81. Lord of the Flies-William Golding
Kids fighting for dominance and the human nature and stuff
82. Common Sense- Thomas Paine
It is part of why we are our own country
83. War and Peace- Leo Tolstoy
Just to say you conquered this behemoth
84. Middlemarch- George Eliot
It's about ladies and education and marriage
85. Little Women-Louisa May Alcott
It's about sisters and growing up and stuff
86. The Iliad- Homer
Trojan War!
87. Sherlock Holmes-Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
I have read a few of the stories, but not enough. Also you can think of Benedict Cumberbatch while you read.
88. 20,000 Leagues under the Sea- Jules Verne
Honestly, I think everyone should read something by Jules Verne. I picked this story at random
89. Dracula- Bram Stoker
90. Frankenstein- Mary Shelley
These two are on here because, classic monster books! Also, it's the same idea of you shouldn't be content to watch the film.
91. Uncle Tom's Cabin- Harriet Beecher Stowe
This is on there because of the King and I. That made me feel like I should read it, I still feel that way. I will get around to it.
92. Lolita- Vladimir Nabokov
It is kind of an uncomfortable story, and one that has permeated our culture, so I think it should be read.
93. Divine Comedy- Dante
Reading just The Inferno doesn't count. Read the whole damn thing.
94. The Canterbury Tales- Geoffrey Chaucer
I remember we sort of picked at this in English class one year. It picks at elements of society and I am always for that
95. Les Miserables- Victor Hugo
I have seen a few film adaptions, curious as to how they stack up against the book.
96. Phantom of the Opera- Gaston Leroux
Who doesn't like mad opera ghosts?
97. Three Musketeers- Alexandre Dumas
I feel like the movies are always missing something, maybe the book has it?
98. Pride and Prejudice- Jane Austen
I dunno if it is because I am a lady, or because it is so well known, but it seems like one of those books that you just sort of have to read eventually.
Zombies are optional.
99. Don Juan By Lord Byron
Who doesn't like reading about sort of slutty guys?
and 100 is a special Mention (also I forgot to put it in the first section and realized when I was already in the 80's and I am NOT renumbering all of that)
Silver Hollow by KL Little.
I might be a little biased because I know the author, but it is really genuinely good, it's a nice little collection of short stories and they all sort of intersect and cross over one another in great ways. And it's like a $1. You can't beat that.
(also forgive any spelling errors or mistakes, I finished this up in one go around midnight)
I am going to sort of break this into lumps, first one:
Books I loved that I think you should read
1. Nine Stories by JD Salinger.
This is my favorite book of all time. I love it, just as it says it is a collection of 9 stories. They are abrupt, sad, shocking and full of squalor. My daughter is partially named after one of them.
2. Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson
If you are an introvert and have ever been a misfit, just read it and know you have found your tribe.
3. Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger
Listen I could put every book by him on this list but I won't. This is his most commonly read book, I liked it. Some people like Holden, some people hate him, I both love and hate him, he's a whiny bastard but he's not wrong.
4. Tiffany Aching Series by Terry Pratchett
Technically a young adult series but they are good and I love the emphasis on standing on your own two feet and finding your own way to do things.
5. Bossypants by Tina Fey and/or How to be a Woman by Caitlin Moran
You don't need to read both. If you were a geeky kid growing up who tried to be cool but ended up being captain of the debate team, Bossypants is most likely going to seem familiar to you. If you decided who the hell wants to fit in when you can do things your own damn way (and you will go down fighting over things you knew were mistakes just to save face) go with How to be a Woman.
6 and 7 Lord of the Rings Trilogy and The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien
I don't think I have to tell you why you should read these. They are good. Start with The Hobbit and don't try to rush the trilogy. It is is easy to get bogged down in Two Towers.
8. Girl With the White Flag by Tomiko Higa
A heartbreaking account of the battle of Okinawa by someone who was painfully young when it happened. Worth reading, be prepared to cry.
9. Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr
The story of a girl who was just a baby when the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and how she developed cancer years later because of it. This has been one of my favorites since I was a child. It is a true story and there is a statue of her in the Peace Park in Japan that has the inscription "This is our cry. This is our prayer. Build Peace in the World"
10. Princess Bride by William Goldman
I know you have seen the movie, and you really aren't missing that much story wise by not reading the book but the way this book is written is just fantastic and you need to experience it for yourself.
11. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
I read this in school and it became a favorite of mine. I love Atticus Finch, I love basically everything about him. He was portrayed perfectly by Gregory Peck. The movie is good but it leaves out many things, read the book.
12. Hitchhikers Guide series by Douglas Adams
I am not even going to try to sell this, just read it. It's good.
13. Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
Two of the best modern authors wrote a book together, really this book recommends itself. For added fun get really use to each author's writing style and try to figure out who wrote what.
14. American Gods by Neil Gaiman
It's good, it has an interesting premise (gods are brought to the US by immigrants but they never seem to take root) and you should read it before they make it a TV series.
15. Hogfather by Terry Pratchett
A story on the importance of belief and how it colors our world. It's by Terry Pratchett which is recommendation enough.
16. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Really the only work by Steinbeck I have read, but I liked it well enough.
17. Big Sur/On the Road/Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac
I think everyone should read something by Kerouac, I am not going to say you have to read On the Road though, find one that seems interesting and plunge in.
18. Drawing with the Right Side of your Brain- Betty Edwards
Just kind of a cool book about learning to tell the left side of your brain to stfu for a little while so the right side can have some fun.
19. Tao of Jeet Kune Do- Bruce Lee
A little exercise routine, a little philosophy. This is one book that anyone who is hoping to achieve calm in their life should read.
20. Foxfire Series-The Foxfire Fund
A collection of books that cover knowledge and stories of the Appalachians, you will learn weird skills like making your own soap (100% from scratch, I mean making your own lye and everything). I am gonna say you can't appreciate America until you read at least one of these books.
21. Cat's Cradle- Kurt Vonnegut
It's all a lie and it is absolutely the truth. See the cat? See the Cradle. Busy, Busy, Busy.
Now if you had read the book, some of that would make sense.
22. Slaughterhouse Five- Kurt Vonnegut
It might be that I just like Kurt Vonnegut
23. Siddhartha-Hermann Hesse
Find your own path to enlightenment and you are more likely to find it.
24. Black Beauty- Anna Sewell
This has been a favorite of mine since I was a kid. If I want to be philosophical I could talk about how the fact that the same horse can end up having so many different roles reflects our own tendency to morph as we grow up, but really, it's just a good book about a horse.
25. Chronicles of Narnia-CS Lewis
I mean yea it has that whole religious thing about it, but it's a pretty good story as well. Except Voyage of the Dawn Treader.
26. God Bless you Doctor Kevorkian- Kurt Vonnegut.
Listen. Do yourself a favor and just go out and read everything he has ever written.
27. Dune- Frank Herbert
I didn't read it, but I watched the movie. My sister has read this book like 40 times. I am really not exaggerating that number, so it has to be a pretty good book.
28. Hunger Games-Suzanne Collins
Alright, there might be better books about dystopian futures and the barbarism they create and making kids fight for sport and stuff, but I haven't read them. I read this after watching the movie, the movie made me feel very, very uncomfortable. The book went into things better. Read the book.
29. Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
It always breaks my heart how she carries on more or less normally while hiding in an attic.
30. A day no Pigs would die-Robert Newton Peck
I had to read this book in high school. I am not going to say that it is some amazing piece of literature, but this book made me cry my eyes out. That, my friends, is the sign of a good book. Also the bits about baptists are funny.
31. The Jungle-Upton Sinclair
One book changed the way an industry operated. Parts of it are disgusting and will make you want to be a vegetarian. I like the wedding.
32. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance-Robert M Pirsig
Be the type of person who takes the bike apart to figure out how it works, not the type that takes it to a shop for an oil change. Something I am still working on
33. Perfume- Patrick Suskind
Being honest I haven't read it. I saw the movie and I need to read it eventually. Why am I recommending it? Because it is about 'orrible murders and one man's strange quest for perfection.
34. Are you there God? It's me Margaret- Judy Blume
I didn't read this one either. I read other things by the author so I can speak for her writing ability, and I love the idea of this book. Even though I am no longer a preteen struggling with finding my identity I think the book holds value.
35. One Hundred years of Solitude- Gabriel Garcia Marquez
I was told about this book in 9th grade by my Spanish teacher and I keep intending to read it but then forgetting before I get the chance, then seeing something about it and thinking I should read it all over again. I need to actually get to it. A book that after 15 years I still feel I ought to read has to have something going for it.
Books of a Political/Subversive/Counter Culture nature
36. Fahrenheit 451- Ray Bradbury
As screens become bigger I am worrying more and more about this becoming true. I like to think I would be the old lady with the match, going down with the ship.
37. 1984- George Orwell
This is a book you should actually read, because it is one of those stories that has become so embedded in our culture that most people haven't actually read it. It is probably not quite what you think it is.
38. Days of War, Nights of Love-crimethInc
You probably won't agree with most of the stuff in this book. That's fine. I don't agree with a lot of the things in this book. This book will make you think about what you do and why you do it and I think everyone should embrace a good opportunity to examine their own lives.
39. Naked Lunch- William S Burroughs
This book is bizarre and I can't figure out if it would make more sense if I was on drugs or not, I haven't gotten all the way through it. I get bogged down in the middle. Some how that is my recommendation for it though.
40. Animal Farm-George Orwell
Perfectly shows off how an unchecked government uses the good intentions of the people and turns them to benefit only themselves.
41. A Clockwork Orange- Anthony Burgess
Read this 3 times until you actually understand the slang. I sort of love how this book follows a completely horrible character and makes him just short of actually likable.
This one took me two tries to get through but it is a great book. What's the catch? Catch 22.
It is best summed up here "Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn't, but if he was sane, he had to fly them. If he flew them, he was crazy and didn't have to; but if he didn't want to, he was sane and had to." Life is a lot like that, most of the time.
43. Art to Choke Hearts and Pissing in the Gene Pool- Henry Rollins
You didn't think you would get through this list without some Henry Rollins did you??
Kids/Young Adult books
44. Just So Stories- Rudyard Kipling
Because you need to know how the leopard got it's spots
45. Howl's Moving Castle- Diana Wynne Jones
I loved the movie by Studio Ghibli, and I think it did a good bit of honor to the story. This book is awesome though, and I say that as someone who read it as an adult. It has an awesome twist they left out of the movie about Howl's origin.
46. Neverending Story- Michael Ende
It is very long, it is sometimes tedious and you often want to slap the characters around a bit. You should read it once through anyway.
47. Anne of Avonlea- Lucy Maud Montgomery
I like Miss Anne Shirley (with two n's) she talks too much, she is a bit dreamy but she doesn't put up with other peoples crap and she goes for what she wants. Sounds like a book I want my kid reading.
48. Calvin and Hobbes- Bill Watterson
If you haven't read any of these in a while go read some. They are surprisingly enlightening.
49. and Tango makes Three- Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson
A cute story about a pair of penguins that adopted a baby penguin. They happened to both be boys. For some reason this has upset people even though it is a true story. Whatever. It is cute, Niko loved it. Support banned and challenged books.
50. The Jungle Book- Rudyard Kipling
Filing this under, you saw the movie, read the book
51. Charlotte's Web- EB White
Good story, pretty sad, I still don't like spiders
52. Harry Potter Series- JK Rowling
This series pretty much got people into reading again. It helped create a demand that was filled with more awesome young adult series that are also well worth reading, even as an adult. It was ridiculously well thought out and planned as well.
53. Aesop's Fables....by Aesop..
You should read them, I mean you probably already know a handful, but some of the less common ones are pretty interesting.
54. The Giver- Lois Lowry
An important book for kids, we all must at some point open our eyes to things that happen in the world or decide to keep them shut and pretend that it is OK.
55. The Giving Tree- Shel Silverstein
Such a simple book, such a beautiful story.
56. Serendipity books- Stephen Cosgrove
Beautiful, sometimes sad stories that always have a decent moral without smacking you over the head. My favorite series as a child and I still enjoy the stories.
57. Matilda- Roald Dahl
I particularly like Matilda, but you can't go wrong with any of his books.
58. Alice in Wonderland- Lewis Carroll
Again, read the book, don't just watch the movies. It is much trippier anyway.
59. Oz series- L Frank Barum
Oh the wonderful land of Oz, movies keep trying to capture it but there is so much there. Also you can't appreciate the political allegory from the movie.
60. Peter Pan- JM Barrie
One last time guys. Book is better.
61. Cautionary Tale for Children by Hilaire Belloc (I prefer the one illustrated by Edward Gorey)
They are abrupt and not very nice and sometimes that is what children need.
62. The Tongue Cut Sparrow- Japanese folk tale
I love this story, I read it often to Niko. I like that most of the time in Japanese folk tales the people who are cruel get way more than they deserve.
63. Hans Christian Anderson collection
64. Brothers Grimm Collection
Both of these just need to be read by people, as they were written. You should know the real story and not what Disney and other people have changed them to over the years. Cinderella's sisters cut off their toes and heel to try to fit the shoes and later have their eyes pecked out. The Little Mermaid does not have her happy ending. They were made this way for a reason.
Classic Books that I have read (at least in part)
65. Shakespeare
I won't say that you have to read everything by him, but I think everyone should read a few plays and sonnets, get comfortable with his work, get to the point where you understand what he is saying. Some of the jokes are hilarious.
66. Paradise Lost- John Milton
67. EA Poe
68. Arabian Nights
69. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn- Mark Twain
70. Call of the Wild- Jack London
71. A Christmas Carol- Charles Dickens
72. Jumping Frog of Calaveras County- Mark Twain
73. Gulliver's Travels- Jonathan Swift
74. Once and Future King- T.H. White
75. Don Quixote- Miguel De Cervantes
76. The Courtship of Miles Standish- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
I read it because I was told I was related to John Alden and Priscilla Mullins, but it is a pretty good story as well.
77. Moby Dick- Herman Melville
78. A Modest proposal- Jonathan Swift
79. Greek Mythology- whoever
Okay I am not going to go into each and every one of these, but they are classics for a reason. They are not the only ones you should read, but I think they all have their own merits and lessons. I tried to pick a few things over a range of subjects and origins and I tried for a few things that don't always come up in lists but I think everyone should take a peek at.
Classic/Other books that I haven't read but intend to at some point and you probably should read as well.
80. Pygmalion- George Bernard Shaw
It's what My Fair Lady was based off of!
81. Lord of the Flies-William Golding
Kids fighting for dominance and the human nature and stuff
82. Common Sense- Thomas Paine
It is part of why we are our own country
83. War and Peace- Leo Tolstoy
Just to say you conquered this behemoth
84. Middlemarch- George Eliot
It's about ladies and education and marriage
85. Little Women-Louisa May Alcott
It's about sisters and growing up and stuff
86. The Iliad- Homer
Trojan War!
87. Sherlock Holmes-Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
I have read a few of the stories, but not enough. Also you can think of Benedict Cumberbatch while you read.
88. 20,000 Leagues under the Sea- Jules Verne
Honestly, I think everyone should read something by Jules Verne. I picked this story at random
89. Dracula- Bram Stoker
90. Frankenstein- Mary Shelley
These two are on here because, classic monster books! Also, it's the same idea of you shouldn't be content to watch the film.
91. Uncle Tom's Cabin- Harriet Beecher Stowe
This is on there because of the King and I. That made me feel like I should read it, I still feel that way. I will get around to it.
92. Lolita- Vladimir Nabokov
It is kind of an uncomfortable story, and one that has permeated our culture, so I think it should be read.
93. Divine Comedy- Dante
Reading just The Inferno doesn't count. Read the whole damn thing.
94. The Canterbury Tales- Geoffrey Chaucer
I remember we sort of picked at this in English class one year. It picks at elements of society and I am always for that
95. Les Miserables- Victor Hugo
I have seen a few film adaptions, curious as to how they stack up against the book.
96. Phantom of the Opera- Gaston Leroux
Who doesn't like mad opera ghosts?
97. Three Musketeers- Alexandre Dumas
I feel like the movies are always missing something, maybe the book has it?
98. Pride and Prejudice- Jane Austen
I dunno if it is because I am a lady, or because it is so well known, but it seems like one of those books that you just sort of have to read eventually.
Zombies are optional.
99. Don Juan By Lord Byron
Who doesn't like reading about sort of slutty guys?
and 100 is a special Mention (also I forgot to put it in the first section and realized when I was already in the 80's and I am NOT renumbering all of that)
Silver Hollow by KL Little.
I might be a little biased because I know the author, but it is really genuinely good, it's a nice little collection of short stories and they all sort of intersect and cross over one another in great ways. And it's like a $1. You can't beat that.
Friday, September 6, 2013
100 books to read?
So here is a a pretty reasonable list of books to read before I die, I mean skimming through I have read a number of them, I have thought sincerely about reading a few more (hey I grew up being told it's the thought that counts :P)
Let's see just how many I have read (and no mom I am not interested to know that you have read like 95 of them, you are older than me and that's my excuse)
1 Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen
I started reading it, then I started reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. I have finished neither. I did see the 6 hour version which I think should count for something
2 The Lord of the Rings – JRR Tolkien
I totally read this one! The whole trilogy.
3 Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte
Nope, haven't even touched it
4 Harry Potter series – JK Rowling
Ya'll know I read it. Every time book, and I threw a few of them across the room for good measure
5 To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
One of my favorite books actually. I wish I knew Atticus in real life.
6 The Bible
I have read some of it, I have several times considered doing a straight read through, you are allowed to skip over all the people begetting other people right?
7 Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte
Nope...no Bronte. I am saving Bronte and Austen for my 30's? That is my new excuse.
8 Nineteen Eighty Four – George Orwell
Read it, of course I have read it. Also I think most people who talk about it haven't. Which is a damn shame.
9 His Dark Materials – Philip Pullman
We own it, Skull read it, I haven't yet...
10 Great Expectations – Charles Dickens
Nope, haven't read it, haven't ever really thought about reading it. I probably should though.
11 Little Women – Louisa M Alcott
Haven't read it. We are throwing this in with Austen and Bronte. 30's
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles – Thomas Hardy
NO. NO. And I refuse to. My 11th grade English teacher thinks I read it and that is close enough, I aced that final essay.
13 Catch 22 – Joseph Heller
Read it, 1.5 times actually. I got half way through the first time and then finished it the second time.
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
I have read many works of Shakespeare, not everything though.
15 Rebecca – Daphne Du Maurier
"REBECCA!!"- Catbug Never even heard of it.
16 The Hobbit – JRR Tolkien
Read it! It was very good. Working on getting Niko to a point where we can read it to her at night. Her attention span isn't quite long enough yet.
17 Birdsong – Sebastian Faulk
uhm Nope, never head of it
18 Catcher in the Rye – JD Salinger
Haahahahahahahahahahahahaha. Yes. I have read it. I have read pretty much all there is to read by Salinger. Nine Stories is better.
19 The Time Traveler’s Wife – Audrey Niffenegger
Nope, can I just watch the movie for this one?
20 Middlemarch – George Eliot
Haven't gotten around to wanting to read this one yet
21 Gone With The Wind – Margaret Mitchell
I started reading it, and you know what? I am just never going to read this book again. It is boring and just a damn romance novel. So NO.
22 The Great Gatsby – F Scott Fitzgerald
Nope
23 Bleak House – Charles Dickens
Can we get some Dickens on this list that I have read?
24 War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy
I checked it out of the library once
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams
Read it! Whoooo, I was starting to feel bad there for a while.
27 Crime and Punishment – Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Listen, I am just really not into Russian literature.
28 Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck
I haven't read it, but I have considered reading it
29 Alice in Wonderland – Lewis Carroll
This one I got! I have read Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass.
30 The Wind in the Willows – Kenneth Grahame
Haven't read this either
31 Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy
See above note about Russian Literature (No, Anna, I don't care. You only like it because they spelled her name the right way)
32 David Copperfield – Charles Dickens
"If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth." Again, I have thought about it but not read it.
33 Chronicles of Narnia – CS Lewis
I read half of them. Voyage of the Dawn Treader happened and I couldn't keep going.
34 Emma – Jane Austen
Goddamnit Jane Austen I told you! 30's!
35 Persuasion – Jane Austen
30's!!!!
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe – CS Lewis
Didn't we cover this already?
37 The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini
Nope, never read it
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin – Louis De Bernieres
If someone can recommend it I will read it, doesn't sound that good.
39 Memoirs of a Geisha – Arthur Golden
I looked at it in a bookshop once.
40 Winnie the Pooh – AA Milne
Read at least several Winnie the Pooh stories as a kid.
41 Animal Farm – George Orwell
Read it! Yay something I read!
42 The Da Vinci Code – Dan Brown
Did not read this book. Don't really care about the Illuminati or whatever
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude – Gabriel Garcia Marquez
I should read this one, I remember my 9th grade Spanish teacher telling us about it
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney – John Irving
Never heard of this one, being honest.
45 The Woman in White – Wilkie Collins
This one either
46 Anne of Green Gables – LM Montgomery
I am half way through this book, I put it down somewhere......
47 Far From The Madding Crowd – Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy we meet again. Maybe after I forgive you for Tess...
48 The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood
I think I own this somewhere
49 Lord of the Flies – William Golding
I am apparently the only person ever who didn't have to read this in school
50 Atonement – Ian McEwan
What?
51 Life of Pi – Yann Martel
I saw the movie and I am pretty sure the book is better, will get around to this one soon.
52 Dune – Frank Herbert
Anna read it enough that I don't have to.
53 Cold Comfort Farm – Stella Gibbons
Cold is not comfortable, what kind of farm is this?
54 Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austen
Jane Austen! Leave me alone. I have you on my kindle, it will happen eventually.
55 A Suitable Boy – Vikram Seth
This guys name seems backwards, no I haven't read it
56 The Shadow of the Wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Nope
57 A Tale Of Two Cities – Charles Dickens
Ha! See some Dickens I have read. It was alright. Bunch of people who didn't have their own language, just a stupid accent. Let's end this meeting on a high note...
58 Brave New World – Aldous Huxley
I have heard of this one, I think I will probably read it eventually
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night – Mark Haddon
What? No I didn't read this.
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera – Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Love and Cholera do not mix
61 Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck
Read it and loved it. I cry every time
62 Lolita – Vladimir Nabokov
I will read this eventually.
63 The Secret History – Donna Tartt
Her last name is Tartt. hehehe wonder what her secret history is.
64 The Lovely Bones – Alice Sebold
The bones were very lovely (didn't read it either)
65 Count of Monte Cristo – Alexandre Dumas
This one is also on my kindle waiting to be read
66 On The Road – Jack Kerouac
The code will be "on the road..yea" Read it..on the road.
67 Jude the Obscure – Thomas Hardy
NO Thomas Hardy.
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary – Helen Fielding
I don't think I can read this because I saw the movie and I am just going to be seeing Renee Zellweger the whole time
69 Midnight’s Children – Salman Rushdie
Again never head of it
70 Moby Dick – Herman Melville
Read it, I think it was an abridged version though
71 Oliver Twist – Charles Dickens
Please sir, may I have some more? Never actually read it.
72 Dracula – Bram Stoker
It's on the list of things to read
73 The Secret Garden – Frances Hodgson Burnett
Read it. Might as well just watch the movie.
74 Notes From A Small Island – Bill Bryson
Obviously not a deserted island though...
75 Ulysses – James Joyce
Not a work by James Joyce I have read
76 The Inferno – Dante
The Divine Comedy would be better suited for this list.Do it right. I have read some of The Inferno, but not all of it.
77 Swallows and Amazons – Arthur Ransome
That sounds like a porno
78 Germinal – Emile Zola
Nope
79 Vanity Fair – William Makepeace Thackeray
Nope
80 Possession – AS Byatt
Nope
81 A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens
Read this one a few times.
82 Cloud Atlas – David Mitchell
Didn't hear of this until the movie came out
83 The Color Purple – Alice Walker
Wasn't Oprah in the movie? Never read the book
84 The Remains of the Day – Kazuo Ishiguro
Nope
85 Madame Bovary – Gustave Flaubert
Nope, but I think I will eventually
86 A Fine Balance – Rohinton Mistry
Not this one either
87 Charlotte’s Web – EB White
I have read this one, I still don't like spiders, sorry Charlotte
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven – Mitch Albom
Heard of this one, never read it
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
I have read a few Sherlock Holmes stories but no where near all of them. I own it though.
90 The Faraway Tree Collection – Enid Blyton
Nope (only 10 more!)
91 Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad
Not this one
92 The Little Prince – Antoine De Saint-Exupery
I own it, read a bit of it
93 The Wasp Factory – Iain Banks
That sounds terrible
94 Watership Down – Richard Adams
Haven't actually read it
95 A Confederacy of Dunces – John Kennedy Toole
Nope, sounds a bit dim....
96 A Town Like Alice – Nevil Shute
Is Alice the name of a town that they want their town to be more like...or does someone want a town to be like a person?
97 The Three Musketeers – Alexandre Dumas
I have read like the first chapter? It is also on my kindle
98 Hamlet – William Shakespeare
I did read it, this seems like cheating since Shakespeare was already listed
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Roald Dahl
Not one that I have read actually. Shockingly.
100 Les Miserables – Victor Hugo
Uh, I saw the non musical movie adaption. I will get around to it
Typical, no Vonnegut or Pratchett, only Kerouac is On the Road and the only Salinger is Catcher in the Rye and way too much Jane Austen and Thomas Hardy.
Come back.....Wednesday when I present MY list of 100 books that people should read.
Thursday, September 5, 2013
Just you? ha!
This is the post the bloggess put up today http://thebloggess.com/2013/09/is-it-just-me/
Basically this is how I feel, minus all the medications. I am too poor for medications.
It's not that I am so fundamentally depressed that I think the world would be better without me in it, it's just that I feel like I don't do anything, contribute or add anything to it. I just exist. I float through each day on a fog of numbness and complete lack of motivation to do anything other than the bare minimum. I can put it away for a little while at a time, be normal for hours, sometimes even a whole day or two but it always comes creeping back.
I can sit on the internet for hours and not do anything, pretending to engage with the world.
It's not that I am an internet addict, I do just find without it. It just gives me something to do other than lay on the couch or sleep. Otherwise I find myself wandering around the house, looking at all the things I should be doing and pretty much going Nope to every single one of them.
I have the best family in the world because they put up with it like it's normal. My kid goes and keeps herself entertained for hours WITHOUT causing widespread destruction and panic. My husband quietly goes about doing all the things that I can't motivate myself to do. I love them for it and I hate myself for making them be that way.
Not to get all political, but this is sort of the reason I am looking forward to the new health care system. I can't afford healthcare, my husband is a freelance artist and I work part time. Hell even when I did work full time I couldn't afford healthcare. With the new system I can go see a doctor, maybe by this time next year I will feel normal. I really, really want to feel normal.
Alright...enough of a pity party.
Here is to more optimistic posts in the future.
Basically this is how I feel, minus all the medications. I am too poor for medications.
It's not that I am so fundamentally depressed that I think the world would be better without me in it, it's just that I feel like I don't do anything, contribute or add anything to it. I just exist. I float through each day on a fog of numbness and complete lack of motivation to do anything other than the bare minimum. I can put it away for a little while at a time, be normal for hours, sometimes even a whole day or two but it always comes creeping back.
I can sit on the internet for hours and not do anything, pretending to engage with the world.
It's not that I am an internet addict, I do just find without it. It just gives me something to do other than lay on the couch or sleep. Otherwise I find myself wandering around the house, looking at all the things I should be doing and pretty much going Nope to every single one of them.
I have the best family in the world because they put up with it like it's normal. My kid goes and keeps herself entertained for hours WITHOUT causing widespread destruction and panic. My husband quietly goes about doing all the things that I can't motivate myself to do. I love them for it and I hate myself for making them be that way.
Not to get all political, but this is sort of the reason I am looking forward to the new health care system. I can't afford healthcare, my husband is a freelance artist and I work part time. Hell even when I did work full time I couldn't afford healthcare. With the new system I can go see a doctor, maybe by this time next year I will feel normal. I really, really want to feel normal.
Alright...enough of a pity party.
Here is to more optimistic posts in the future.
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