Sunday, April 24, 2011

Using Books for Warmth

Hello readers!  I'm trying to calm myself down and get away from a stupid dance appreciation assignment I have to do so I decided to hop on here quickly and discuss a bit about a book I'm attempting to find the time to finish.  (But first, how unfair is it to put in a class description that there is no dancing and it's all just dance history, and then make us do lots of dancing and base our grade on it????  I've never taken a dance class in my life and I'm getting close to making a huge hissy fit over this.)

The book I'm reading deals with a very interesting (and sort of scary) question.  If you were trapped in a library in a wartorn town during wintertime with nothing left to use as firewood and heat except books, would you be able to burn them?  And which books would you choose to burn?  It's a question I've been pondering since I started reading the book.

I guess at first it seems like an easy question.  I at first was like, "Ha yes, Catcher in the Rye, I'm burning YOU!!"  But then I got to thinking about how much it would really hurt to burn books I disliked reading in school.  Yes, I hated the book.  But at the same time, I understand why it's so well loved and admired and still taught in schools.  And the thought of burning it just for a few minutes of warmth seems quite unbearable.

One of the characters in the book put it best: You don't need a fire for warmth when you've got the books and the stories they tell all around you.  Reading in itself can be like food and like heat because it takes you away to a different time, a different place.

What are your thoughts?

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Crazy Busy!

I just wanted to let my lovely readers know that I haven't disappeared!  I haven't had much time lately to write up any reviews.  I've got just a month (ONE month!!) left of undergrad studies, and it's left me with loads of homework (mostly reading).  I've got some reviews almost finished that will hopefully go up this week, but don't be surprised if I'm not around quite as much for the next month. 

Commencement is May 14th :)  Yay!!

And this coming weekend, I'm taking a trip to NYC with the Buffalo State French Club!  We always try to do things French-related, but usually end up shopping, heh.

So I will hopefully be posting some stuff soon, and once I'm an official college grad, I'll be posting lots more!