Showing posts with label books. Show all posts
Sometimes when life hands you lemons and, instead of lemonade, it delivers your Amazon.com book order a day earlier than expected. When you return home, tired of the bitter taste that those lemons, there's something so sweet about the phrase "Pull Tab to Open". For now, I have to subsist on photographing and dreaming about prying open those covers. Tomorrow, though, we dance.
Despite the hectic, insane, breakneck agenda that claimed my day, I found two hours this evening to fit in a creative writing workshop. Obviously I write something daily, and I'm consistently reading two books at once, but I wouldn't consider myself imbued with the gift of storytelling.
I always finding it somewhat comforting to put pen to paper, even when it's rough and undeveloped. Something else that I took away from this workshop, though, is how easy it is to take good writing for granted. As the instructor worked with us, she urged development by asking questions about the scene or the character, prodding us for more detail and enlightenment. It makes you consider how seamlessly a good writer can bake in sensory perceptions and spatial relations, but all you're comprehending is the aggregate scene.
Although I already have a tendency to observe writing style when I pick up a new book, I have a feeling that I'll be paying attention to the more nuanced aspects of engaging writing now. Honestly, how anyone can not be in loving with reading and writing is beyond my conception.
future planning \11.15\
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Labels:
books,
box,
words
Sometimes when life hands you lemons and, instead of lemonade, it delivers your Amazon.com book order a day earlier than expected. When you return home, tired of the bitter taste that those lemons, there's something so sweet about the phrase "Pull Tab to Open". For now, I have to subsist on photographing and dreaming about prying open those covers. Tomorrow, though, we dance.
Despite the hectic, insane, breakneck agenda that claimed my day, I found two hours this evening to fit in a creative writing workshop. Obviously I write something daily, and I'm consistently reading two books at once, but I wouldn't consider myself imbued with the gift of storytelling.
I always finding it somewhat comforting to put pen to paper, even when it's rough and undeveloped. Something else that I took away from this workshop, though, is how easy it is to take good writing for granted. As the instructor worked with us, she urged development by asking questions about the scene or the character, prodding us for more detail and enlightenment. It makes you consider how seamlessly a good writer can bake in sensory perceptions and spatial relations, but all you're comprehending is the aggregate scene.
Although I already have a tendency to observe writing style when I pick up a new book, I have a feeling that I'll be paying attention to the more nuanced aspects of engaging writing now. Honestly, how anyone can not be in loving with reading and writing is beyond my conception.
Some combination of time constraints and laziness resulted in a lapse of my library card and lack of effort to renew it. That was over a year ago. It's amazing that in all of these months of non-employment, I only just thought to change that.
In the months since February, I've scoured my own bookshelves for re-reads, borrowed books from friends, downloaded some free classics on my phone, and even invested in a few new paperbacks with assistance from a gift card. For some reason, the library fell to an option of last resort. Admittedly, my closest branch doesn't have a stunning collection and is approximately the same square footage as the row house next to my apartment building.
As soon as I stepped inside the library, despite those things, it felt like home and I started uncovering treasures that I didn't even know I was looking for. Lonely Planet (my favorite travel book brand) put out a guide in 2006 for taking urban travel photography. In a world filled with tutorials, blogs and books on taking engagement and toddler photos, this was like a holy grail. It didn't even last through the afternoon - I devoured it.
Some of the non-fiction books that I expressed interest in recently, I've been dragging my feet on the purchase. Hardcover books are pricey. Unless you check them out of the library. I'm currently on a waiting list for both books; apparently I'm not the only person interested in a behind-the-scenes look at introverts.
Now that my library card is back in working order, my to-do list includes a trip to the Harold Washington Library in the Loop. It's unacceptable that I've never been. And I hear they have some great spaces to hunker down for reading or working. Enough writing about books, time to go read one.
booking it \08.08\
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Labels:
books
In the months since February, I've scoured my own bookshelves for re-reads, borrowed books from friends, downloaded some free classics on my phone, and even invested in a few new paperbacks with assistance from a gift card. For some reason, the library fell to an option of last resort. Admittedly, my closest branch doesn't have a stunning collection and is approximately the same square footage as the row house next to my apartment building.
As soon as I stepped inside the library, despite those things, it felt like home and I started uncovering treasures that I didn't even know I was looking for. Lonely Planet (my favorite travel book brand) put out a guide in 2006 for taking urban travel photography. In a world filled with tutorials, blogs and books on taking engagement and toddler photos, this was like a holy grail. It didn't even last through the afternoon - I devoured it.
Some of the non-fiction books that I expressed interest in recently, I've been dragging my feet on the purchase. Hardcover books are pricey. Unless you check them out of the library. I'm currently on a waiting list for both books; apparently I'm not the only person interested in a behind-the-scenes look at introverts.
Now that my library card is back in working order, my to-do list includes a trip to the Harold Washington Library in the Loop. It's unacceptable that I've never been. And I hear they have some great spaces to hunker down for reading or working. Enough writing about books, time to go read one.
This may not get your heart pumping or be the slightest bit exciting, but I spent all day in anticipation of this delivery. The book fairy (a.k.a. USPS via Amazon.com) left me three indulgent treats. Perhaps I mentioned this little online shopping trip at the end of last week? Followed by an anecdote about my family trips to Borders? Ok, well I have one more book-related tidbit. Then I'm done...maybe.
There's a good chance that it was just me, and maybe a few classmates, but I considered elementary school book orders to be an occasion. You better believe that my eyes scanned every single one of those little blurbs and my writing utensil was immediately making circles. I could barely walk in the door after school before I was bargaining with my Mom, trying to convince her that I actually NEEDED all of those books. I don't recall ever getting away with more than two at a time. Apparently libraries were supposed to fill the void.
Earlier this week, I saw an article about Justin Bieber graduating high school. (Stay with me, this is actually related.) It included a comment about how he's done things in his life like travel the world, but school makes you do things like reading and writing...and he's not really into that. At that moment in time, it pained me that he could be considered a role model. I have also traveled to many places in the world, but I still place extremely high value on reading and writing in my life. Then again, maybe this is another one of those occasions where it's just me.
Final thoughts on reading for today. I really wish that I knew how many books I had read in my lifetime. Unfortunately, that seems fairly impossible. It's plausible that I could manage to track back most of the books I've read thus far in 2012. So, I'm adding that to my 2012 agenda: book timeline.
bookworm \05.10\
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Labels:
books
There's a good chance that it was just me, and maybe a few classmates, but I considered elementary school book orders to be an occasion. You better believe that my eyes scanned every single one of those little blurbs and my writing utensil was immediately making circles. I could barely walk in the door after school before I was bargaining with my Mom, trying to convince her that I actually NEEDED all of those books. I don't recall ever getting away with more than two at a time. Apparently libraries were supposed to fill the void.
Earlier this week, I saw an article about Justin Bieber graduating high school. (Stay with me, this is actually related.) It included a comment about how he's done things in his life like travel the world, but school makes you do things like reading and writing...and he's not really into that. At that moment in time, it pained me that he could be considered a role model. I have also traveled to many places in the world, but I still place extremely high value on reading and writing in my life. Then again, maybe this is another one of those occasions where it's just me.
Final thoughts on reading for today. I really wish that I knew how many books I had read in my lifetime. Unfortunately, that seems fairly impossible. It's plausible that I could manage to track back most of the books I've read thus far in 2012. So, I'm adding that to my 2012 agenda: book timeline.
It was one of those days where I could only be amazed at how lucky I was to be unemployed. After all of the gray, cloudy and cold dreariness...I saw the sun. And it brought 60-something degrees with it. I opened my apartment windows, scoffed at my jacket, and walked out the door. And walked. And walked. And walked. Somewhere after two miles I turned around. After I got back home, it seemed fitting to settle onto a park bench with my book.
Those simple hours in the sunlight were enough to bolster my spirits and motivation. It also helped confirm thoughts I've been having about my next move in terms of employment. I wasn't made to operate effectively in a cubicle life; it feels too much like a cave. Having enough freedom to call a hiatus in the work day for a couple hours, so I can enjoy the great outdoors, is more up my alley. Obviously that narrows my options, but my craving for autonomy is pretty adament.
spring fever \03.06\
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Labels:
books,
spring,
urban
Those simple hours in the sunlight were enough to bolster my spirits and motivation. It also helped confirm thoughts I've been having about my next move in terms of employment. I wasn't made to operate effectively in a cubicle life; it feels too much like a cave. Having enough freedom to call a hiatus in the work day for a couple hours, so I can enjoy the great outdoors, is more up my alley. Obviously that narrows my options, but my craving for autonomy is pretty adament.