On My Nightstand: June



 

 

{An odd mix of classic literature and blockbuster contemporary}

 

Currently Reading

I am currently reading The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty. I went to the bookstore (in fact, I drove to the bookstore :)) a few weeks ago hoping to buy something in particular, but ended up coming out with something entirely different. I bought The Chaperone because of it's beautiful cover and of course because of the ever-deciding factor: the blurb on the back, which in a brief summary states:

 

Cora Carlisle, a traditional woman from Kansas, has volunteered to chaperone the beautiful, yet arrogant 15 year old, Louise Brooks to New York City. Louise is on her way to becoming the silent-film star of a generation, with her famous black bob with blunt bangs and lack of respect for convention. Cora has her own reasons for making the trip, but the five weeks the two spend together promise to change their lives forever. Set in the 1920s and drawing on the events of Prohibition and the movement for women's rights, The Chaperone beautifully illustrates women in this pivotal era.

Interested In
I am so excited to FINALLY go see The Fault in Our Stars movie tomorrow! I feel like I have been waiting for it forever, as after I read (and reviewed) (and read again) the book in 2012, I thought it would make a great movie. And now here it is! Just one day away! My friends and I can't wait to wear our TFiOS t-shirts, quote lines from the book along with the movie, and gush about how perfect Augustus Waters is (and of course, his metaphorically resonant cigarette).

Lately, I've been spending far too much time reading news articles about the book/movie. Here are some that I found interesting:

Video: On the TFiOS Blue Carpet - Today Show Interview
'The Fault in Our Stars' By the Numbers: Just How Huge Is This Movie Going to Be?
'Fault in Our Stars' Author John Green: Why He's 'Freaking Out' About Hollywood Success

John Green and His Nerdfighters are Upending the Summer Blockbuster Model
John Green: TIME's 100 Most Influential People 

 

Working On

Not even ten minutes ago, I concluded my research paper on Virginia Woolf's To the Lighthouse. The assignment was to write a literary criticism about a classic novel of our choice.  I discussed throughout my paper, how Woolf uses the distant Lighthouse as a symbol for the meaning of life that humans are always trying to somehow reach. Unlike other students in my English class, I enjoyed writing this paper, as it gave me a chance to analysis this book at a deeper level, and to learn new things about literature.

Here's my favorite passage from To the Lighthouse:

 

 "What is the meaning of life? That was all - a simple question; one that tended to close in on one with years. The great revelation had never come. The great revelation perhaps never did come. Instead there were little daily miracles, illuminations, matches struck unexpectedly in the dark..." -Lily Briscoe, page 161