In other news, I've been recently accepted to a dual degree program at Simmons College in Boston for English and Children's Literature. So, expect a lot of children's book posts in the future. I know you're excited. That being said, I need to formulate a list of books/authors that I need to read before then. Help from you, reader, would be appreciated.
Though I am generally very critical of fantasy, Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings are about my only exceptions, I think I'll include some C. S. Lewis on the list and maybe some Madeline L'Engle--but that's only a maybe because I hate Hate HATE A Wrinkle in Time. I'd love to reread a bunch of Dahl and Seuss and Sendak, too.
Do you ever feel like there's so much out there to read and that you haven't read enough and that by the time you die one hundred years from now you're not going to be any smarter than you were when you were twenty-one? Yeah, me too.
Speaking of Harry Potter, last Friday there was a mini Harry Potter conference at Pitt put on by the Children's Literature Department, in which I presented a paper I wrote for Fantasy and Romance last semester. It was a lot of fun and there was free breakfast and lunch. Two children's lit gurus came from Kansas State to talk about Harry. It was a pretty big nerd fest that day, but also really fun. Everyone knew stuff about Harry Potter and you didn't have to be sneaky about who killed whom and who died in Order of the Phoenix and what happens in the epilogue. Good stuff.
This Friday, there will be a similar event in which I will present a paper on Roald Dahl's Matilda, one of the best books I've ever read. More free food and English nerds!
Now, on to the things I've been a-readin'.
The Cat in the Hat
The Phantom Tollbooth
The Canterbury Tales
The Lais of Marie de France
Are Prisons Obsolete?
Things I've a-written:
"Fall From Grace: The Blink-182 Story"
"Biopower, Security Moms, and Juan Williams"
Like, what the h e double hockey sticks have I been doing this last semester? Medieval romances, Blink-182, and prison abolition, that's what. Sometimes classes cross over and make sense together. Not this semester.
Of the above readings and writings, the most important has been Are Prisons Obsolete? by Angela Davis. This woman will blow your mind. I can't even begin to articulate how important this book is to read. It's quite brief but very poignant. In short, the prison industrial complex has taken over our lives. Prison is modern-day slavery. Read this book. Then talk to me about it.
The Phantom Tollboth, which I had somehow managed to go my whole childhood (and adulthood) without reading until now, was pretty good. A little didactic at times, this book is relatively imaginative without being disgustingly fantastic. It sort of reads kind of like School House Rock, if that's what you're into.
That's enough for now. Maybe I'll post more frequently or maybe I'll start writing more interesting posts about stuff that matters. Likely not.
