Archive for May 2008
AHWOSG
A
Heartbreaking
Work
of
Staggering
Genius
Amazing.
Amazing.
Amazing.
Like, seriously, David Eggers (founder of McSweeny’s–yet another fantastic literary journal which I will at some point be thoroughly engaging) is my hero. Okay, he does have a bit of a language problem (which probably could have cut the book about 100 or so pages), but we have time to work on such things.
I am just starting to get into memoir, having had a serious fiction fixation (ooh! that was some fun alliteration right there, yeah, buddy!) and found that Dave Eggers book was a fantastic starter choice. Having lost both of his parents within 12 weeks of each other to cancer, he found himself raising his brother, Toph, on his own. The moments of humor combined with utter male stupidity (I would like to think that a female would have a bit more of a motherly instinct in some of the scenarios mentioned) work to push the momentum of the story forward.
For those readers who are a bit touchy about memoir given recent authorial authority being used to it’s utmost, my favorite part of the book is when Eggers addresses this directly in the introduction:
Well, suddenly the clouds broke, the sun shown, and once again, the author knew this: that even if the idea of relating a true story is a bad idea, and even if the idea of writing about deaths in the family and delusions as a result is unappealing to everyone but the author’s high school classmates and a few creative writing students in New Mexico, there are still ideas that are much, much worse. Besides, if you are bothered by the idea of this being real, you are invited to do what the author should have done, and what authors and readers have been doing sense the beginning of time:
PRETEND IT’S FICTION.
So, yes, the book is a bit self-realized at times, but you know what? Dave Eggers is still my hero. And he should be yours, too.
Actually, I am thinking about making a button. It will probably say: I like cheeseburgers.
3 comments May 26, 2008
The Little Guide toYour Well-Read Life
by Steve Leveen
Well, I figured if this is going to be a reading summer, then I should probably read about how to read.
As, I was selecting books on CD to take with me for my ride home, I came across this short (3.75 hours) informational book on how to get more from your reading and how to incorporate more reading into your life.
Most of the suggestions I already follow:
Reading list for books I want to read: Check
Reading list for books I have read: Check (That kind of started with this blog, so not all of my ‘read’ books are catalogued).
Reading audio books: Yup! Seriously, if you all are not into audio books, you should be!
Some things I am thinking about incorporating into my reading life:
Book clubs: Now that I am no longer in graduate school, I feel like I still want to continue a discussion about good books, so joining a book club might be the way to do that, yes?
Memorization: I would love, love, LOVE to work on my memorization technique. One of my English class discussions on rhetoric really inspired this. Some of my friends are so good with pulling up quotes or facts during the middle of conversations, and I know (or assume) this is because they have spent time memorizing. I think this would not only help my memory, but also my rhetoric.
Writing to authors: I usually try to shoot off an email to an author after I have read their book, especially if it is someone I know. But, I would like to make a more conscious and professional effort of engaging this practice.
Vocabulary: Really, I need to improve my vocabulary. I want to use big words.
So, what about you? What’s your reading life like? Do you make conscious choices in your reading life? What’s on your summer reading list? What was the last book that you read that completely inspired you to, say, do a cartwheel?
1 comment May 22, 2008
Summer Plans
Well, now that my name looks something like this: Sarah Joy Freese, MA, MLIS, you may all be wondering… what’s next?
Will you continue YA blogging? (Yes, sometimes).
Will you put your toilet paper on the roll backwards (No, probably not.)
Will you eat your vegetables? Scrapbook? Save the whales? (Yes, I like broccoli. Maybe, but I doubt it. I was always more of a dolphin person).
So… what will you do?
Well, Professor George Clark put it rather succinctly, and so I would kind of like to follow his plan:
* Writing (Goal: 2-3 Short Stories)
* Reading (Reading list forthcoming)
* Experience (Colorado?)
* Drafting (Work on drafts from my thesis defense)
In regards to making money, I have a potential job opportunity lined up in Chicago… so, we’ll see.
What to look for here: Blogging about books, blogging about writing, blogging about Colorado, blogging about the pain of drafting and writer’s block, and blogging about wicked cool new authors, and maybe more… much, much more.
Peace!
Add comment May 19, 2008
Front-loading My Project
Just thought I would post the link to this at the top (and then plan on not blogging for a while–eek! can I do it? can I refrain? I don’t know…)
IMPORTANT: CLICK ON THE CAUTION TAPE IF YOU WANT THE ACTUAL 709 PROJECT (the ENTER! section is what I did for 691, so feel free to explore that if you want, but it’s not what I created for this class).
4 comments May 9, 2008
Sarah’s Bibliography
(All of the articles/sights mentioned can be found as links and/or commented about and/or both somewhere throughout my blog)
Add comment May 9, 2008
Sarah is…
Worried.
After a lovely conversation with Elizabeth, now I am worried that I am not critical enough in my project. And I am freaking out.
A bit.
2 comments May 8, 2008
“Two Novembers… Or The Other Blog”
About two years ago, when I had just moved to Vermont, 16 hours from my family and home, I started really keeping up on my other blog. Mostly, it was fluff (favorite TV shows, what I had for dinner, etc.), but it kept me in contact with my family and allowed me to “vent” about daily life. This blog, I Heart YA, was always meant to be more “professional”, and I think, for the most part, it has stayed that way.
Something I have never really written about online (namely because I feel a bit uncomfortable about it) is the death of my cousin and best friend, Michael Joseph Mason. Shortly after he died, I changed the name of my other blog to “Two Novembers” because he passed away in October and I realized that after he died I stopped blogging until mid-Novemberish.
What was there to say? I remember thinking, I wish I could have been given “Two Novembers” so that I could have written more–I didn’t want October back–but, I wanted more time, and I thought November was the month which would give me that time.
That said… it’s time for pictures.
Today was the first day I showed anyone at UW-Milwaukee my Michael pictures, and I realized that was kind of sad, but I understand it, too. It’s a delicate topic and it’s not like you can just walk up to people and say, “Hey, want to see a picture of my dead cousin?” Mostly, they would look at you wierd.
And, I guess I’m ready to blog about it now. Just a little bit.
4 comments May 7, 2008
Done!
I haven’t officially proofread yet, so BEWARE of spelling errors and broken links, but I think I am pretty much golden! 
http://www.uwm.edu/~sjfreese (Click on the one that says “Caution.” You can click on the other one, too, but that was for a different class).
Add comment May 6, 2008
Checking in…
Well, I am about half way done. No fires yet, though I am anticipating one. There is a part of my project where things start to get a bit divergent. They make sense story wise, but are a little kludgy web page wise. I think before I get frustrated, I am going to get re-caffeinated, etc.
But, because I can see the end in sight (though it might be a few hours off still), I am going to keep going until I get absolutely stuck. Besides, no one is in my office now so I can crank up my Kenny Chesney
Off to go get un-crosseyed.
Add comment May 5, 2008
It’s working!!
Sarah is anticipating an up-and-running new website later this evening, provided no fires occur (literally or figuratively). Woot!
Check out: http://www.uwm.edu/~sjfreese to see changes.
I will post later when I am “officially” done. Off to play in Photoshop!
Add comment May 5, 2008
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