I am taking an online media class and one of the assignments this week was this questionnaire. I'd thought I'd post my response because I've been wanting to to a Reading List or at least a list of Favorite Books on here, and for now this will suffice. I posted the questions below so that you can see the whole flow of how this piece was written. Enjoy
-R
The most important books in my life
are the Bible, The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, Pride and Prejudice by Jane
Austen, Ariel by Sylvia Plath, Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking
Glass by Lewis Caroll, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Girl
Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen, It by Stephen King, The Unbearable Lightness of
Being by Milan Kundera and Naked by David Sedaris. Then, of course, there are
the plays and sonnets by Oscar Wilde and William Shakespeare, as well as the
poems by Edgar Allen Poe, of whom I’ve been a huge fan since the third grade,
and honorable mention goes to the Series of Unfortunate Events, I’ve yet to
finish the entire series (I’m two books away) and these stories are incredible.
These books are the “most” important because
they have influenced me greatly. They have influenced the way that I think and
my perception of the world around me; most importantly, they have influenced my
writing style. Most of these books are books that I’ve read over and over
again, and some that took me a while to finish; which is notable because I am a
very fast reader. The Bible is obviously up there because I believe in God and
it has the biggest influence on my life and how I treat others. I haven’t read all of it but the passages I have read have all been memorable and
moving. The Bell Jar was a book that I related to 100%. Sylvia Plath really
brought me into the 21 century with my poetry style; before her I was stuck
religiously to iambic pentameter, after her, there was flow and something more
natural and raw. Jane Austen is my hero; I’ve read Pride and Prejudice too many
times to count and have it listed as #1 on every summer reading list. She is
remarkable and Pride is still my favorite among her works. The books by Lewis
Caroll are notable because I’ve read them both a hundred times each, and not as
a child but as an adult and the amount of creativity and descriptiveness is
staggering; I admire his offbeat tone and find it refreshing against his more
scientific work. The Catcher in the Rye shook me just like The Bell Jar did, I
found it funny and relatable and freeing.
Girl Interrupted was simply hilarious; I had always wanted to go to a
ward similar to the one described in this book and write something as clever
and heartfelt as this piece, the notion of which is ridiculous, but still great
for those creative juices. It by Stephen King was by white whale; I could never
find it in a thrift store or for a cheap price because I was broke. It fell
into my lap when a new friend had told me it was great, and when I told him I
had yet to read it (I was a King fan for years) he gave his copy which just so
happened to be in his trunk at the time. It was the longest book I’ve yet to
read, other than Anna Karenina and the Bible, and epically fantastic. I hated
the film as a kid, than loved it as a teen and practically worshiped the book
thereafter. The Unbearable Lightness of Being is a favorite, mostly because its
title suggests some serious ostentatious notions, but also because it was beautifully
descriptive and jarringly relatable, I’ve read it several times. Naked by
Sedaris has also really helped me develop my writing style; I’ve discovered the
art of satire through him and find that it comes quite naturally for me.
Writers such as Shakespeare and Wilde are simply great; Shakespeare’s words are
always grandiose, and whenever I write I try to match his level of
sophistication, while still including some intrigue and confusion. Wilde is
hilarious, in a way that only people who truly love words can understand. There
is a level of education and sense of humor involved in everything he writes,
and enjoying it requires the same, for lack of a better word, perspective. Edgar
Allen Poe has been my favorite poet since grade school, he is a true
storyteller and that what makes his work so rich; he is not just plotting words
down on the page, he is weaving a tale, one that is enthralling and
captivating. The majority of the books
mentioned are novels. These books became available to me through my parents;
they are both avid readers, especially my dad. When I had money I would buy my
own, either from a bookstore or online or at a thrift store. And when I didn’t
have the money I would steal books; I don’t anymore, but I don’t feel that I
should be too apologetic. I was stealing books, not makeup or candy or toys. I
did get books as gifts, but that was rare. School libraries, especially in
grade school, where my favorite part of the week. We would go to the library
and check out books or a teacher would read one aloud and it was incredible.
Everyone loved it, because we weren’t sitting in a class actually learning, but
I savored those days. Books were my obsession. When I got older, a visit to the
bookstore with friends was a day well spent; I didn’t always agree with my
company’s choice of book, but nonetheless it was a great bonding ritual. The
role that books currently play in my life, unfortunately is somewhat lacking.
Nowadays, the majority of books I read are textbooks. I’ve been traveling
around a lot lately, so all of my books are currently sitting unread in a
storage unit. If I read anything for leisure it’s a downloaded book from my
phone or laptop. I’ve tried my best to hold onto all of my books. When you
travel as much as I do though; it can become cumbersome. The biggest tragedy of
my teen years was when I moved back from Mexico and lost all but 25 books from
my collection, which had over 300 books in total. I never throw a book out; I
have “Eat, Pray Love” still in my collection, despite the fact that I have
never read it, and nor do I plan on ever reading it. I’d like to have a huge
library of books one day, especially since I predict that they won’t be
printing books for too much longer. At that point they will become beautiful
artifacts. I started reading in grade
school, which is when everyone learns
to read, but I started seriously reading great and classic literature in the
third grade. At the time, the only media activity battling for my attention was
the television. I was a real kid who
thoroughly enjoyed “normal” kid activities, such as riding my bike and reading
books and yeah I watched television but I was an active kid and I feel pretty
lucky to have grown up in the era that I did. I had all positive experiences
when it came to books and reading. Books where assigned at school and they were
all pretty great: Bridge to Terabithia, To Kill a Mockingbird (before it was
banned), Esperanza Rising, The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe, The Diary of a
Young Girl (which is also one of the most influential books of my early teen
years, and even my early twenties; seriously I cry every time I read it and
want to be Anne’s best friend forever), Tuck Everlasting, Hatchet (reread it
recently and it’s incredible still) and Charlotte’s Web etc. The only “coming-of-age”
experience I guess was crying while reading Bridge to Terabithia. It was the
first book that captivated me so much that it brought me to tears. I also got
suspended from school from a book once; I won’t go into details because it is embarrassing
but definitely a coming-of-age experience. I think the role of books in an age
of electronic media is doomed; people aren’t reading, they are watching. All of
our best books are movies or television shows now anyways, people figure “why
bother?” There are the options of online books now, but young people, who are
our future, are not interested in anything related to reading. They are more
preoccupied with social media websites.
(and here are some images, cuz that was a lot of reading you illiterate fucks)
JK
QUESTIONS:
This Critical Process exercise is designed to reevaluate the significance of books in people’s lives, especially in an era of electronic media. These questions also go through the critical process to practice critical thinking.
1. What have been the most important books in your life?
2. (Describe) Consider the books that have made a difference in your life. What kind of books are they (e.g., novels, reference books, religious books, children’s books, comic books)? How did you access these books? Were they already in your home? Did you go to the library? Did you get them as gifts, or did you buy them at a bookstore? What were your early experiences with school libraries, public libraries, and bookstores? What role do books currently play in your life? Have you kept many of the books that are important to you? Why or why not?
3. ( Interpret) Consider your book experiences in relation to the decade in which you started reading and the other media and activities battling for your attention. Did you generally have negative or positive experiences connected to books and reading? Do you have certain coming-of-age experiences connected to books? Why?
4. (Evaluate) After considering your book experiences, what do you think is the role of books in an age of electronic media?
1. What have been the most important books in your life?
2. (Describe) Consider the books that have made a difference in your life. What kind of books are they (e.g., novels, reference books, religious books, children’s books, comic books)? How did you access these books? Were they already in your home? Did you go to the library? Did you get them as gifts, or did you buy them at a bookstore? What were your early experiences with school libraries, public libraries, and bookstores? What role do books currently play in your life? Have you kept many of the books that are important to you? Why or why not?
3. ( Interpret) Consider your book experiences in relation to the decade in which you started reading and the other media and activities battling for your attention. Did you generally have negative or positive experiences connected to books and reading? Do you have certain coming-of-age experiences connected to books? Why?
4. (Evaluate) After considering your book experiences, what do you think is the role of books in an age of electronic media?
