My writing is cool, but I could definitely do better. Looking back on a few of my practice AP essays, I completely realize just how much I've slacked off. Luckily for me, I'm now submerged in books and connected to a bunch of people with or pursuing some sort of degree in literature or creative writing. Getting back on track probably will not be easy, but I picked up "How to Read Literature" by
Terry Eagleton and "Stylish Academic Writing" by
Helen Sword the other day, and I'm quite eager to go through them and get some fine tuning done.
In terms of leisure reading, I've decided to put down
1Q84. Earlier today I described the novel (which I only read 48.34% of) as the act of individually beating the great-grandchildren of the maggots that ate the beaten decomposed horse with a toothpick. I'm completely here for repetition, but for goodness sake,
move on already! All these words, all this time, and I'm just reading myself in circles. This book seems like Murakami wrote it as if it were to be a side-by-side drama of the lives of Tengo and Aomame. In the meantime, I did enjoy J.K. Rowling's
The Cuckoo's Calling. I found the novel quite cinematic; her descriptions of London to the point and very realistic without making a Russian novel out of a crosswalk. With every part my suspicions switched, and it was only until the last ten pages that I figured out what was really going on. I'm not really into crime fiction, in fact this is the first crime fiction novel I can remember reading, so I might not be a good judge of the difficulty of figuring out
whodunnit. When it comes to fictional crime, I'd rather see it being deconstructed on my TV. Even with
1Q84 put aside and
The Cuckoo's Calling randomly added in, I still want to stick to my original plan of reading (or rereading, in some cases) many, if not most, of George Orwell's most popular works. I bought
The Complete Novels of George Orwell, and while it might not be the easiest thing to lug around (1186 pages, thank goodness it's a paperback), I really do think it's great for collectors.
Now, to my favourite part. One of my favourite Tumblwriters
Shakeima Boston, is partaking in a thirty day writing challenge for August, which she posted about the topics
here. Not sure if we're supposed to link back or not, but I figure the challenge is worth a shot. To turn it up a notch, I'm going to try writing only in the second person. Clear the link below to read my first response!
01.
The first time you asked for a perm. The first time you chose Beyonce's straight hair on the box of hair colour in the pharmacy over the curly weave she rocked on TV. The first time you realized how many levels you had yet to experience in being black in the white part of town. It didn't matter how smart, it didn't matter how creative, it didn't matter how much you listened, it didn't matter how well you played soccer. You are forever going to be the black girl. Black instead of white. Curly fro instead of long and straight. Curry chicken and rice instead of lasagna and meatloaf. Reggae and soca instead of punk rock and pop. Whoever says race doesn't matter wouldn't know what to do with all the feelings of that little black girl in that Juventus jersey; even the colour blind can tell the difference between black and white.
You take that blow and move on. You watch boys from the Spanish colonized countries around your home island attentively, and glow when you find someone with an accent and colour like yours. Your hair isn't too thick, your broken comb is normal, your accent isn't means for snickering, your food isn't too spicy, and you've finally got a dance partner who can keep up with you.
But sometimes when you hear that last name and remember, a small part of you in the pit of your stomach wishes you were what he liked.
Labels: 1Q84, august writing challenge, george orwell, personal, the cuckoo's calling, writing
photo taken by the one and only ghost
