Finding My Mentor

I finally had the chance to meet with my poetry mentor today.  And we discussed poetry, publishing, etc.  And he told me he liked my writing.  And he wants to keep in contact, and help me in my career.  He even wants to get me a copy of his latest book, when it comes out in September!  I'm very excited :)

 

I know I still have a long way to go, but with his assistance and guidance, I have a feeling I'll be able to make it in the poetry world someday.

Summer Reading Prep 2013

My graduation from college is less than a week away.  And I'm already thinking about my summer reading challenge for the year. (Are you surprised??  I'm an English major who is going to be working in a library!)  So, that being said, it's time to start thinking about what I want my summer reading theme to be.  And also, how to establish the boundaries of what summer is for me (since I won't be going back to school for a little while).

To start: summer boundaries.  For summer 2013, summer starts after I graduate and will end with my brother returning to college in the fall (which is basically where my summer would end if I was going back as well.)  I'm going to hopefully start a graduate program in the spring.  So, Summer 2014 will be bookended by my graduate classes.  For now, that's all the summer I'm going to try and figure out.

And right now, my biggest question is what my reading theme will be for the summer.  Here are a few of my ideas.  Please feel free to tell me what you think of these/add your own.  Since I've started this blog, I've had three summers worth of reading themes.  Just to refresh your memory, they were:

2010: Gothic Novels
2011: Scary Stories/Mythical Monsters
2012: A Summer in Middle Earth
2013: ????

And here are some possible themes for this summer:

Summer at Sea: Maritime novels and stories (ie. Moby Dick, Treasure Island, Typee)

Summer School: All those books I didn't read for class after all... (Lolita, The Sound and the Fury, Bleak House)

Summer of Psychos: Watching horror movies and reading the books which inspired them (The Exorcist, Psycho, The Shining)

A One-Author Summer: Choose to focus theme on the writings of just one person (John Steinbeck, Ernest Hemingway, Jeanette Winterson)

So!  Just let me know which of these themes you like (or if you have another awesome one, please suggest it!  When you give me a theme, try to include a few book titles as well, so I have an idea of what sort of reading this would be!  I'll be posting a poll in the sidebar, and will announce my theme a week from today!)

Looking forward to hearing from you :)

Final Finals

This week is my last official finals week as an undergrad.  And I'll be honest, I'm not sure if it just hasn't hit me yet, or perhaps I'm finally starting to become comfortable with the fact I'm graduating, but honestly, it doesn't look like things are going to be too bad.

 

I completed my Detective Fiction final this afternoon, after a coffee date with a friend.  I have a paper due on Wednesday and a collection of creative writing due on Friday.  Other than that, I have another coffee date tomorrow, dinner with a couple of my professors on Wednesday, and I'm helping out a friend with her acting final on Thursday.  Time has finally slowed down just enough, and I'm preparing for summer.  This is really the first time since the semester started that I'm actually looking forward to school being over, for real.  I mean, I wish it would last forever, but at the same time, I need a bit of a break.

 

What will my summer consist of?  Books, mostly.  I'll be working at the local library, and participating in two book discussion groups (on top of my own personal reading schedule).  I'm not sure exactly what I'm going to start with, but I know for sure that Sarah and I were planning on reading Moby Dick together.  I was supposed to read it for class last semester, so I'm looking forward to reading it for real this time around.

 

Going off book recommendations, I've started a few new series that I'm really looking forward to completing.  The first is The Dresden Files.  This is a series about a detective wizard named Harry Dresden, who solves supernatural crimes (like rogue wizards, vampires, werewolves, hell-spawn; you get the idea).  Anyways, I'm on book two, Fool Moon (book one was Storm Front).  As you can probably guess from the title, this is a werewolf book.  Personally, I preferred the first one, but I heard that the series gets better and better, so I'm looking forward to reading onward.

 

Also, I've been reading the Space Odyssey books.  (You know, like 2001: A Space Odyssey, etc.)  And those have been really interesting.  I just finished book two last week (2010: Odyssey Two).  I've been told that the other books aren't really worth reading (I'm guessing like the last two books of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series), but even so, I'd like to read them just to say I did.

 

After I finish Fool Moon, I'm going to attempt to wrestle Cloud Atlas into literary submission....before finals are over.  Or whenever the library closes.  We have a week of senior activities coming up.  I hope that they don't mind if I keep the book during that time....

 

In other news, I've been drinking WAY too much coffee, so I'm super-hyper and my metabolism is racing.  That means I'm jittery and hungry.  And I'm at work.  Not a good combination, people!

Email Me Those Books, Godot!

There is nothing quite like the agonising feeling of waiting for a book to come in at the library, or waiting for someone to email you back, and no matter how long you wait, or how many times you check your email, that book and that response just aren't there............

 

I'm dealing with both of these right now....I have not one, not two, but THREE books on request from other libraries, and according to my account, have been IN TRANSIT for the past three days.  I'm dying to read them before I have to return everything to the library again for graduation.......

 

And of course, I'm waiting on email responses from several people regarding an event I was hoping to set up.  It's not like they NEED to get back to me right away, but I would really like a response regardless, and I'm terribly impatient.

 

Waiting for three books and about a dozen email responses is slowly eating away at what is left of my soul...............................

 

At this point, I feel as though I'm just waiting for Godot.

Reasons Why You'd Want Me on Your Team if the Zombie Apocalypse Starts

So....not gonna lie, but I've been thinking a bit about the zombie apocalyse recently.  Not seriously, of course.  Honestly, I think we have a better chance of being taken over by sentient super-computers than zombies, and even that is not very likely in my book.  Still, I've been thinking about zombies.

Now, everyone has their ideal "team" for the zombie apocalypse.  And a lot of these teams involve characters like Chuck Norris or that weird kid down the street with the guns.  And I confess, I haven't thought much of it.  But, I do have a few people I would put on my own list.  First would be that shady character I alluded to a few months back: the Weasel.  Personally, I'm not a fan of him, but the guy is ex-military, he likes me...a lot, and he's still a bit "off".  That means I'd have a crazy ex-solider with guns and knives who wants to protect me and would possibly do reckless things, such as jumping into a crowd of zombies, which would give the rest of us a chance to escape.  I'd also bring my brother, because he's athletic and smart and funny (so he could keep all our spirits up).  I'd also bring a priest friend of mine who happens to be a black belt in several types of martial arts (great for defense and religious support).  Finally, I'd bring my friend Sarah (super smart) and maybe one or two of the guys from Physics club.  Oh!  And this really ripped sophomore in my writing class.

The question here of course is "But, Em, why would all those people want you on their teams?"  And honestly, I can understand the confusion.  But, there are plenty of reasons why I'd be great on a zombie survival team....and here's why....

1. Bookworm.  So, this might not seem like a great survival tactic, but I'm really well-read.  This knowledge ranges to all sorts of topics, and makes me a useful well of information.  At first it might not be that important, but trust me, there will come a time where you wish you knew how to identify some poisonous plant or figure out if your symptoms are zombiism or something less fatal, and I'll be the person to come to.  My speed reading will also allow me to take in a lot of information very quickly.  In addition to that, I can tell plenty of stories from the books I've read, which will provide entertainment on those cold, dark, terrifying nights.

2. Writer.  Being a writer provides its benefits, too.  For starters, I pay a lot of attention to people.  Human nature is the bread and butter of the writer, and I spend an unhealthy amount of time observing the behavior of people around me.  Not sure if that guy is going to hurt or help us?  I might not be able to tell every time (especially if he's a good actor), but I could give you some pretty solid advice.  And of course, you'll need someone to chronicle our adventures and detail anything we've observed concerning the epidemic.  This, and the sense of deductive reasoning which comes with being a writer, will also help us in our travels.

3. Emotional Support.  I might not be the easiest person to get to know but I do feel very deeply for people when they are suffering.  And in this ragtag group, I'd be the one to emotionally support each of our members.  Best friend turned and you had to shoot him?  I'll hold you until you stop crying.  And if you need to make a difficult decision, I'll be there to act as your sounding board.  Sometimes, that's all a person needs.

4. Convenient Zombie Snack.  Yes, as much as I hate to admit it, this last entry is also true.  I'm slow.  I'm unathletic.  So, if the zombies are chasing us and you need to get away, just shoot me in the leg or something and I'm down.  I have a high tolerance for pain, so hopefully I won't suffer too much, and you'll all be able to escape.  Plus, if I don't get eaten, but instead just turn, then I'll be a pretty slow and pathetic zombie.  I won't be able to get you without a lot of trouble.  So, at least at this point, you won't have to worry about killing me.  I'll just stumble after you for a little while, rotting and bleeding everywhere with my new-found zombie pals, and eventually starve to death.

What about you guys?  Any of you think you'd be valuable assets to a zombie apocalypse survival team?  And what about survival plans?  Or the zombie apocalypse even happening?  Tell me what you guys think in the comments!

Reason #1 Why I Can't Wait Until Summer

Summer will mean I'll have time to read!  Even if I'm working, chances are pretty high that I'll have more free time than I do right now.  There are a few jobs I'm looking at, but the most hours I'd be getting (as of right now) is 20.  That only averages out to about 3 hours a day, leaving plenty of time to do with as a please.  And that's going to be nice, especially after having a schedule that doesn't end for the day just because my classes did.  I'm really looking forward to that part of work when you come home and you don't have to do homework afterwards.  And of course, it'll be nice to get paid in addition to all that.

According to my Goodreads account, I have a whopping 503 books on my to-read list, in addition to all the titles listed in my little reading list notebook.  In short, I have a lot cut out for me, and while I'm looking forward to it, at the same time, I'm a bit overwhelmed by just how much I have to tackle.  Still, it should be fun.

The biggest issue is just going to be figuring out which books to start with.  But, then again, that's always a fun problem, not something too terribly painful ^^

A Bit Stressed.....

I just got back to campus after Easter Break, and already, I'm being pummelled with work!  And graduation is looming like the hound of the Baskervilles....I'm just a bit stressed out right now.  Ah well....at least I finished my homework for tomorrow, which leaves time for a beer and then bed.

Goodnight, all.