The 5 Love Languages
The Art of Asking
Sonnet 18
The Hunger Artist
Hills Like White Elephants
Hamlet
The 5 Love Languages- Someone once told
me that this was a life-changing book. It saved her marriage. Then a
friend got it for me for Christmas. And it's true. I was eating it
up. It was a quick read. It's not very long, but it uses every bit of
its space to change your life. I learned that my husband and I are
complete opposites, and that my love language (quality time) is
really difficult to attain with the military lifestyle. EEK! But
seriously, if you're having trouble in your marriage, if you're not
connecting to your partner, or if you're thinking about having a
partner, get this book. It's amazing. You find out what you need to
feel loved, and you find out what your partner needs to be loved.
Then you can both make the effort count. It's fabulous. Read it.
The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer-
Amanda Palmer is one of those famous people who is almost more famous
for being her than she is for what she's famous for (kick ass tunes,
btw). Her internet presence is fantastic with regular tweets and
facebook posts. She posts longer things on her website blog and
frequently connects with her fans. The book talks about her life and
her music, but it's mostly about how she funded an amazing album
through Kickstarter. People call her a crowd-funding pioneer. I think
that misses the point completely. She's a people pioneer. What I got
out of her book was courage. Courage to be vulnerable, courage to
feel my feelings, courage to reach out for help, and courage to ask
for what I want. If you're an artist, or if there's anything you want
to do, but can't, I recommend this book highly. I'm currently in the
process of asking for what I want (a career in writing in case you
were wondering, and I know you might actually have been), and all
because she gave me the courage. Also, there are some super cute
parts about her relationship with Neil Gaiman. Wastepaperbasket.
Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare-
“Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?” It's that one. If you
know it, like it, like poetry, or think you might, you need to stop
right now, pick up your phone, and download The Love Book app. This
sonnet is read by Tom Hiddleston. Yeah. You're welcome. I chose this
poem to do a paper on in one of my classes, so I thought I'd grace
you with my review. I've read/listened to this poem tons of times,
but all of a sudden this time I suddenly realized, “Holy crap! It's
about death/dying!” Ahh!!! Basically using the seasons of the year
for seasons of life, ole Bill there is telling his love that she is
beautiful, and he's sorry she's sick, that it really sucks, but it's
part of life and at least this way, she won't ever be an old woman
and be well, not beautiful. And as long as there are people around to
read the poem, she will live forever. How effing romantic is that?
Hashtag for real. I love it. I think it is a wonderful expression of
love. There's a reason Billy S is a master. And I will always highly
recommend him as a must read! So, I highly recommend this as a must
read!
The Hunger Artist by Franz Kafka- Whoa.
This. Just this. Let me sum it up first. Way back in the day, people
would pay to watch someone come into their town and not eat. This is
the hunger artist. People buy tickets to see an emaciated man fast
even longer. It's commercialized as what, so it's profitable. Until
people lose interest and then what is the hunger artist to do? This
particular one has a sort of obsession with fasting for as long as he
possibly can. This cannot be healthy. Anywho, he joins a circus,
withers away, and then divulges his motive. The reason will surprise
you! I like spoilers, but others don't so send me a message if you
want to know why without reading this. It's a short story, and
probably worth it, but only if you're committed to it. I found it to
be really slow through the first reading. It starts out a bit dull,
but then it sort of gets a bit strange. Then you're like oh my gawd,
are you for real. It's a really interesting study in human nature. We
all do things that sound all up and altruistic, but there's some kind
of not-so-noble motivation behind them. It begs the question, Does
that make our actions any less good? Hmm... Thought provoking. Fair
warning, this is character-driven, not plot-driven, so if you're
waiting to see what happens next, keep waiting. The point of this is
to find out what's up with this guy. You follow his journey, if you
want to. I leave this one up to you. I'm still on the fence. It's a
good story, but I'm not in a hurry to reread it or anything. But you
can say you read Kafka, so there's your conundrum for the day.
Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest
Hemingway- Hem's my bro, so it's a safe bet I will always recommend
him as well. Everything I've read by Hemingway has been beautiful and
tragic. Makes sense right? He was depressed as hell, so he had an
excellent grasp on the beauty of tragedy and sadness. The phrase that
comes to mind is “All the Feels” because seriously, all the
feels. Hemingway evokes a total range of emotions even in a short
story. This one leaves you wondering what happened, and while you're
trying to figure out what the couple was arguing about, you realize,
it doesn't matter. The point of this piece is how people interact.
I'm really into that lately. I love things that are studies of the
human condition. Things that don't really have anything to do with a
plot, so much as you want to know what's going on with the
characters. Hemingway captures all kinds of emotion, preserving it in
a little jar so people don't forget it exists. Because we're all
people, and we all feel things, and everything we feel is beautiful
in its own way. Anyway, you won't know what's going on, but it's
beautiful. And you'll be disappointed at the ending. I always am with
him. But it's worth it.
Hamlet by William Shakespeare- This
one's for my class, too. But I love reading Shakespeare. I read him
when I feel not-so-smart. I've found that if you can remove yourself
from the minutia, and see the thing as a whole, you can get it. Then,
of course you run into the problem of not noticing theme and tone and
what-have-you, but as far as getting the story, I've got it down.
Hamlet is seriously quotable. To be or not to be. To thine own self
be true. It's all there. Along with a ghost, a skeezy mother/aunt,
uncle/father situation, and madness. Everyone goes cray. (Do people
even say that anymore?) They all lose their shit and everyone dies.
It's great. I enjoyed it. Plus, you can watch the Royal Shakespeare
Company's version with David Tennant and Sir Patrick Stewart.
Winning.
Stay tuned, for (hopefully)
Macbeth
Yes, Please
Drums of Autumn
probably some Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
