Showing posts with label reading. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reading. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Another Update to the CRL

So rather, going all the way back to January 2014's entry post highlighting my updated Comprehensive Reading List (compare this list with the original from Jan. 2013!), I decided to just create a new post instead (and it'll make it easier for me to go back in case I add (0r subtract books in the near future, which probably will happen quite soon). Without further ado, here is my current (and updated) reading list:

Color-Code:

Books added Pre-2013: Orange
Books added in 2013: Green
Books added in 2014: Fuchsia
Reading in Progress: Blue
Finished Title: Black/White (in published form)

001. This Bridge Called My Back - A Feminist Anthology
002. Go Ask Alice - Anonymous
003.-004. The Iliad and Odessy - Homer
005. Tuesdays With Morrie - Mitch Albom
006. The Five People You Meet in Heaven - Mitch Albom
007. Borderlands (La Frontera) - Gloria E. Anzaldùa
008.-010. The Divine Comedy - Dante Alighieri
011. The Long 20th Century - Giovanni Arrighi
012. What You Have Left - Will Allison
013. Invitation to Sociology - Peter L. Berger
014. Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
015. The Social Animal - David Brooks
016. The Zombie Survival Guide - Max Brooks
017. The Stranger - Albert Camus
018. The Rebel - Albert Camus
019. Myth of Sisyphus - Albert Camus
020. Notebooks - Albert Camus
021. Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card
022. Jurassic Park - Micheal Crichton
023. Next - Micheal Crichton
024. Dancing in the Dark - Morris Dickstein
025. Room - Emma Donoghue
026. Drudge Manifesto - Matt Drudge
027. A Tale Of Three Kings - Gene Edwards
028. The Lost Witness - Robert Ellis
029. Dead Space: Martyr - B.K. Evenson
030. Then We Came To An End - Joshua Ferris
031. The Unnamed - Joshua Ferris
032. The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
033. A Thing or Two About Curtis and Camilla - Nick Fowler
034.An Abundance of Katherines - John Green
035. The Fault in Our Stars - John Green
036. Looking For Alaska - John Green
037. Paper Towns - John Green
038. Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales (On A Break...)
039. The Books Of Rachel - Joel Gross
040. Policing As Though People Matter - Dorothy Guyot
041. Retribution - Jilliane Hoffman
042. Prince of Thieves - Chuck Hogan
043. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
044. The Know-It-All - A.J. Jacobs
045. The Year Of Living Biblically - A.J. Jacobs
046. Drop Dead Healthy - A.J. Jacobs
047. Shining Like Stars - Douglass Jacoby
048. Survivors - Zion Ben Jonah
049. What Technology Wants - Kevin Kelly
050. Angry White Men - Michael S. Kimmel
051. Masculinity as Homophobia - Michael S. Kimmel
052. Flowers For Algernon - Daniel Keyes
053. Cell - Stephen King
054. The Walking Dead Compendium I - Kirkman/Adlard/Moore/Rathburn
055. The Walking Dead Compendium II - Kirkman/Adlard/Moore/Rathburn
056. Getting The Most Of The Bible - G. Steve Kinnard
057. Frankenstein - Dean Koontz
058. Unequal Childhoods - Annette Lareau
059. The Satanic Bible - Anton Szandor LaVey
060. Fresh Kills - Bill Loehfelm
061. Our American King - David Lozell Martin
062. The Communist Manifesto - Karl Marx
063. The German Ideology - Karl Marx,  Friedrich Engels
064. The Gift - Marcel Mauss
065. Sin City: The Hard Goodbye - Frank Miller
066. Sin City: A Dame to Kill For - Frank Miller
067. Sin City: The Big Fat Kill - Frank Miller 
068. Sin City: That Yellow Bastard - Frank Miller
069. Sin City: Family Values - Frank Miller
070. Sin City: Booze, Broads, & Bullets: Frank Miller
071. Sin City: Hell and Back - Frank Miller
072. The Complete Guide to the Bible - Stephen M. Miller
073. The Sociological Imagination - C. Wright Mills
074. V for Vandetta - Alan Moore/David Lloyd
075. Watchmen - Alan Moore/Dave Gibbons
076. The Will to Power - Friedrich Nietzche
077. 1984 - George Orwell
078. Animal Farm - George Orwell
079. Damned - Chuck Palahnuik
080.Three Dollars - Elliot Perlman
081. Seven Types of Ambiguity - Elliot Perlman
082. The Reasons I Won't Be Coming - Elliot Perlman
083. 01-01-00 - R.J. Pineiro
084. Bahgavad Gita (As It Is) - His Divine Grace Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
085. Where The Red Fern Grows - Wilson Rawls
086. Save Your Marriage Ahead of Time - Jacqueline Rickard
087.The Happiness Project - Gretchen Rubin
088. The Book Of Vice - Peter Sagal
089. Cosmos - Carl Sagan
090. No Exit - Jean-Paul Sartre
091. The Wall - Jean-Paul Sartre
092. Married To Murder - Robert Scott
093. Derailed - James Seigel
094. The Dark Room - Rachel Seiffert
095. Hamlet - William Shakespeare
096. Much Ado About Nothing - William Shakespeare
097. Forces of Labor - Beverly Silver
098. Coping with Crisis - Gustave Simons
099. The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ - Joseph Smith
100. Mostly Murder - Sydney Smith
101. A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning - Lemony Snicket
102. A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Reptile Room - Lemony Snicket
103. A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Wide Window - Lemony Snicket
104. A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Miserable Mill - Lemony Snicket
105. A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Austere Academy - Lemony Snicket
106. A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Ersatz Elevator - Lemony Snicket
107. A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Vile Village - Lemony Snicket
108. A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Hostile Hospital - Lemony Snicket
109. A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Carnivorous Carnival - Lemony Snicket
110. A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Slippery Slope - Lemony Snicket
111. A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Grim Grotto - Lemony Snicket
112. A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Penultimate Peril - Lemony Snicket
113. A Series of Unfortunate Events: The End - Lemony Snicket
114. Baseball In April And Other Stories - Gary Soto
115. Of Mice And Men - John Steinbeck
116. AMERICA (The Definitive Guide) - Jon Stewart
117. Mr. Clarinet - Nick Stone
118.Brief Interviews with Hideous Men - David Foster Wallace
119. The Purpose Driven Life - Rick Warren
120. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism - Max Weber
121. The Methodology of the Social Sciences - Max Weber
122. I Am The Messenger - Markus Zusak
123. The Book Thief - Markus Zusak
124. A+ Guide To Managing And Maintaining Your PC 6th Ed. (Textbook)
125. Criminal Justice, Citrus College Custom Ed. (Textbook)
126. Electronic Technology Fundamentals (Textbook)
127. Psychology 2nd Ed. (Textbook)

Total Books Read: 60 of 127 (47.24%)

Saturday, May 24, 2014

Quality Time With "Veronica"

Recently, I did something that I haven't done in such a long time on my university campus - I had quality time with a friend and we spent almost 2 hours just talking, making lame jokes, and just having some bit of fun. Considering we're down to the wire (our final week of the Spring Semester), I was somewhat surprised that we somehow made some time to just talk and develop our friendship together, and getting to know more about each other.

Spending time with "Veronica" (not her real name, but she did request that I use that pseudonym for her) was quite an exquisite respite from the inexorable pressures of these remaining few weeks. I haven't had this type of quality time with a fellow friend and classmate in months. It seems that I have spent just about all of my free time studying and conducting research for two demanding essays and reading the text for four classes in our campus library. Now that it's all behind me (for the most part), it was a nice change of pace to be outside, enjoying the gentle breeze, the flora, the fauna (just some squirrels, really), people watching, and the company of a friend. I hope to have more experiences in the future. I can't help but feel these little moments create those defining "college moments" that many of us fondly recall as we age over time.

Friday, February 7, 2014

"The Twilight Road to Dawn..."

"What are you making me choose now?"
"Between the road to light and the road to darkness."
"Neither suits me...I'm taking the middle road."
"Do you mean the twilight road to nightfall?"
"No...it's the twilight road to dawn."

Since I was 18, I was an "active" church-goer. I say "active" loosely, for if I am critically honest with myself, I was actually a "mediocre" (perhaps "sub-par") church-goer. The five years I was there, I've had my ups, but it seems like I was always down. Many people don't know, but during that time, I was wrestling with depression (and still do), a crumbling foundation of a moral support structure (dear friends who have walked away from their faith, inadvertently walking away from those who matter to them, myself included), doubt (for what I know, what I've done, and what I'm capable of, I dare not speak), and even apathy. After five years, I finally decided to also leave. I've had enough.  It's been over a year since then.

After all this time, I think it's time for me to come back, and try again. In fact, one of my resolutions for this year is to "find a spiritual calling (of sorts)," so I've been mindful of the friends that are still there, the ones who are waiting for me to return. I see some of them daily (they're my coworkers, after all), and the question of when I'll return looms about frequently. Which I don't mind at all, since there are quaint, sincere questions of genuine curiosity (could they be otherwise?) and such questions were often responded by "I don't know" or "I don't think I'm ready to go back." Recently, those responses have been, "Not yet." Now, the only I answer I can give is, "Soon."

In my absence, I've grown tremendously as a person. "Rachel" and the aftermath, "Sophia" and how I met her, the misadventures with Ophelia, my first time, a new experience, the insatiable thirst for knowledge that I have, the victories I've had, my share of defeats, meeting new people, losing old friends, and so much more! All because I chose to step back and walk away from familiar territory.

However, I've got a darker side to myself as well. Over the life of this blog, I've given glimpses as to how how angry, carelessly foolish, bitter, and (if misdemeanors and felonies weren't so costly) how violent I can become (or wish to become). Even now, with so much gained, I still have these capabilities with me. What makes this so frightening is that I have no problem being this way. I can easily embrace this side of me. Much of this comes from a turbulent past, while some of it comes with the knowledge that I'm capable of being able to embrace such a vulgar display of power.

And now, much like the quote above, I, too, am faced with the same question: having gone through so much in so little time, do I go back to the blissful light of my faith, and reject (or rather cast away) a huge part of me that helps make me whole? Or do I reject the light, eternally walking the road of darkness, forever doomed to wander without purpose, direction? The answer is "neither." Much like the first person in the quote, I must learn to walk the narrow road between what I aspire to be and hope I'll never become. I've made too many mistakes (and learned from them, thankfully) to walk freely in the light, but I've yet to relinquish all of me to a side that I know I won't ever return from. Miraculously, I'm still capable of doing good unto others, to share whatever dim light that lingers within. So now, I must learn to have these two polar opposites coexist within me, so while my past is never forgotten, the future ahead of me is bright. It's the only way I can live my life from now on.

Friday, January 17, 2014

New Books

This is actually a first: normally, whenever I mention that I added books to my CRL, I usually make a simple post to say so. This time around, I figure I'll mention which books I've added to my ever-expanding (seldom-shrinking) CRL, rather than have you attempt to figure out what books have been added to the list. Without delay, here the additions I have made to my list:

002. Go Ask Alice - Anonymous

010. The Long 20th Century - Giovanni Arrighi

024. Room - Emma Donoghue

034. Looking For Alaska - John Green

083. Forces of Labor - Beverly Silver

106. It's Kind Of A Funny Story - Ned Vizzini

This now brings up the total number of books up to a nice round number of 111 books on my list. Until next time, friends!

Friday, January 10, 2014

The New (and Color-Coded) CRL

So, in short, I've decided to take some time and redo my whole Comprehensive Reading List (or CRL, for short) to make it more colorful and modern (somewhat). To recap, this list began about 3 years ago, with the intention to motivate me to simply read as much as possible. While this list has been around for some time, it wasn't until last year that I've became quite persistent to cross off every title in my list. Although, the tricky part of this list that I can easily manipulate the list to add/subtract books from the list, which  can make the whole "read --% of the books in my CRL" a pain in the neck or a piece of cake. So without much ado, here is my new, improved, and color-coded CRL for this year!

Color-Code:

Pre-2013: Orange
2013: Green
2014: Fuchsia
Reading in Progress: Blue
Finished Title: Black/White (in published form)

001. This Bridge Called My Back - A Feminist Anthology
002. Go Ask Alice - Anonymous
003.-004. The Iliad and Odessy - Homer
005. Tuesdays With Morrie - Mitch Albom
006. The Five People You Meet in Heaven - Mitch Albom
007. Borderlands (La Frontera) - Gloria E. Anzaldùa
008.-009. The Divine Comedy - Dante Alighieri
010. The Long 20th Century - Giovanni Arrighi
011. What You Have Left - Will Allison
012. Invitation to Sociology - Peter L. Berger
013. Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
014. The Social Animal - David Brooks
015. The Zombie Survival Guide - Max Brooks
016. The Stranger - Albert Camus
017. The Rebel - Albert Camus
018. Myth of Sisyphus - Albert Camus
019. Notebooks - Albert Camus
020. Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card
021. Jurassic Park - Micheal Crichton
022. Next - Micheal Crichton
023. Dancing in the Dark - Morris Dickstein
024. Room - Emma Donoghue
025. Drudge Manifesto - Matt Drudge
026. A Tale Of Three Kings - Gene Edwards
027. The Lost Witness - Robert Ellis
028. Dead Space: Martyr - B.K. Evenson
029. Then We Came To An End - Joshua Ferris
030. The Unnamed - Joshua Ferris
031. The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
032. A Thing or Two About Curtis and Camilla - Nick Fowler
033. The Fault in Our Stars - John Green
034. Looking For Alaska - John Green
035. Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales (On A Break...)
036. The Books Of Rachel - Joel Gross
037. Policing As Though People Matter - Dorothy Guyot
038. Retribution - Jilliane Hoffman
039. Prince of Thieves - Chuck Hogan
040. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
041. The Know-It-All - A.J. Jacobs
042. The Year Of Living Biblically - A.J. Jacobs
043. Drop Dead Healthy - A.J. Jacobs
044. Shining Like Stars - Douglass Jacoby
045. Survivors - Zion Ben Jonah
046. What Technology Wants - Kevin Kelly
047. Angry White Men - Michael S. Kimmel
048. Masculinity as Homophobia - Michael S. Kimmel
049. Flowers For Algernon - Daniel Keyes
050. Cell - Stephen King
051. The Walking Dead Compendium I - Kirkman/Adlard/Moore/Rathburn
052. The Walking Dead Compendium II - Kirkman/Adlard/Moore/Rathburn
053. Getting The Most Of The Bible - G. Steve Kinnard
054. Frankenstein - Dean Koontz
055. Unequal Childhoods - Annette Lareau
056. The Satanic Bible - Anton Szandor LaVey
057. Fresh Kills - Bill Loehfelm
058. Our American King - David Lozell Martin
059. The Communist Manifesto - Karl Marx
060. The German Ideology - Karl Marx,  Friedrich Engels
061. The Gift - Marcel Mauss
062. The Complete Guide to the Bible - Stephen M. Miller
063. The Sociological Imagination - C. Wright Mills
064. The Will to Power - Friedrich Nietzche
065. 1984 - George Orwell
066. Animal Farm - George Orwell
067. Damned - Chuck Palahnuik
068.Three Dollars - Elliot Perlman
069. Seven Types of Ambiguity - Elliot Perlman
070. The Reasons I Won't Be Coming - Elliot Perlman
071. 01-01-00 - R.J. Pineiro
072. Bahgavad Gita (As It Is) - His Divine Grace Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
073. Where The Red Fern Grows - Wilson Rawls
074.The Happiness Project - Gretchen Rubin
075. The Book Of Vice - Peter Sagal
076. No Exit - Jean-Paul Sartre
077. The Wall - Jean-Paul Sartre
078. Married To Murder - Robert Scott
079. Derailed - James Seigel
080. The Dark Room - Rachel Seiffert
081. Hamlet - William Shakespeare
082. Much Ado About Nothing - William Shakespeare
083. Forces of Labor - Beverly Silver
084. The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ - Joseph Smith
085. Mostly Murder - Sydney Smith
086. A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning - Lemony Snicket
087. A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Reptile Room - Lemony Snicket
088. A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Wide Window - Lemony Snicket
089. A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Miserable Mill - Lemony Snicket
090. A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Austere Academy - Lemony Snicket
091. A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Ersatz Elevator - Lemony Snicket
092. A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Vile Village - Lemony Snicket
093. A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Hostile Hospital - Lemony Snicket
094. A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Carnivorous Carnival - Lemony Snicket
095. A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Slippery Slope - Lemony Snicket
096. A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Grim Grotto - Lemony Snicket
097. A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Penultimate Peril - Lemony Snicket
098. A Series of Unfortunate Events: The End - Lemony Snicket
099. Baseball In April And Other Stories - Gary Soto
100. Of Mice And Men - John Steinbeck
101. AMERICA (The Definitive Guide) - Jon Stewart
102. Mr. Clarinet - Nick Stone
103. The Purpose Driven Life - Rick Warren
104. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism - Max Weber
105. The Methodology of the Social Sciences - Max Weber
106. I Am The Messenger - Markus Zusak
107. The Book Thief - Markus Zusak
108. A+ Guide To Managing And Maintaining Your PC 6th Ed. (Textbook)
109. Criminal Justice, Citrus College Custom Ed. (Textbook)
110. Electronic Technology Fundamentals (Textbook)
111. Psychology 2nd Ed. (Textbook)

Total Books Read: 57 of 111 (51.35%)

Friday, January 3, 2014

A New Year and A New(er) Me... (Pt. II)

Now that I've reflected on my previous resolutions, here are my New Year's Resolutions for 2014! You'll notice that some goals are still the same from last year's and there are some completely new ones for me to accomplish!

2014 Resolutions:


1) Be happier (I've decided that this will always be a life-long resolution for me)
2) Be healthier, physically and mentally (also, another life-long resolution)
    -begin exercising
    -improve diet
3) Read 60% of books in my reading list
    -also, buy at least 10 e-books
4) Complete another CD collection
5) Learn to cook
6) Explore California
    -visit 3 museums
    -go hiking on 3 trails
    -try new food
    -go to 3 new cities
7) Learn a new language
8) Create 2 photo albums
    -one for the family to have
    -one for demonstrating my best photography
9) Find a spiritual calling (of sorts)
10) Learn to dance! (especially like nobody's watching ;-P)

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

A New Year and the Old Me... (Pt. I)

Well, before I even begin to write my upcoming New Year's Resolutions and the goals I will set for myself, I feel it's best to revisit the 10 goals I set for myself and see how much I have (or have not accomplished) - this is taken directly from my ""Reflections and Resolutions" blog almost a year ago. 

Also to note: Green means I had successfully accomplished that goal; Red means that I failed to accomplish that goal. 

2013 Resolutions:


1) Be happier
2) Be healthier
    -begin exercising
    -improve diet
    -improve dental health
3) Read 75% of books in my reading list
    -also, buy at least 5 e-books
4) Complete my CD collection
5) Make more vlogs on YouTube
    -make at least 25 videos
    -find new channels to subscribe to
    -Be more interactive in YouTube
6) Work on writing skills
    -finish the "Dearly Beloved" series
    -start a new series
7) Learn a new language
8) Take more pictures of family, friends, self, and artistic
9) Deal with nagging tasks
    -check engine light
    -New tires/rims
    -physical checkups
    -dental care
10) Get a girlfriend


6/10 2013 Resolutions Accomplished! 

Wow, I can't believe that I've had such a great year! I mean, it's still a "D", but when so many people struggle to even accomplish even one resolution, this is amazing. I personally was only expecting to only complete 4 of these 10, but I did quite well this year. And with the new year looming around the corner, I'm excited to see just how much further I will grow! Thank you all for an amazing year! Until next time, my fellow readers!

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

New Reading List (CRL UPDATE!)

Perhaps what had made this Fall Semester so successful is the fact that I've learned to approach my professors with all sorts of questions - from the class material itself, to supplemental readings, and even discussing critical observations of the real world (these discussions were the favorites among myself and my professors). At the end of my semester, I've made it a point to talk to each of my professor to develop more academically focused reading list for me to have and to develop further as time passes on.

In some ways, there's an ulterior motive to this list: I hope that the readings will help me develop a focus in the field I'm studying (Sociology) for the sake of my final semester (research, internship, and thesis) and, if I'm daring enough, Grad School (wherever I may go since I've yet to really give this much thought). 

In the sake of fairness, these titles will also be a part of my (personally) infamous Comprehensive Reading List. These books, plus all the personal novels (and the like) that I want to read this year will skyrocket the number significantly. This will, in fact, force to reconsider my 75% goal that I always set for myself and perhaps consider a lower number (roughly 50-65%, if I'm fortunate enough). But the new and improved CRL won't be available for another few days (to add and even color code my reading list to account for the major changes soon to come).

In some ways, I do hope that you (the reader) will perhaps consider reading some of the books on my list and perhaps gain the same insights I've had from Flowers for Algernon (for example). Until next time, my fellow readers!

Sunday, September 8, 2013

Reading and Falling Behind

Once again, I've edited my Comprehensive Reading List, CRL for short (as always), for what seems like the 10th time this year. My book count, over this year, has jumped exponentially from 51 or 52 (pretty much somewhere in the low 50's) to a new total of 68. As of now, I'm at approximately 63.63% of accomplishing my goal of this year. It's been such a hard trek in trying to read as much as possible. The cool (and annoying part) of this is that I'm more likely to go down on my progress than go up. This is so mostly because I add books than cross them off, but I'm doing my best to read two books for every one that's added. So, that's a good thing. =D

However, that's not where I'm falling behind actually. For one of my classes that is studying social changes on a macro level (this meaning across a lengthy period of time - in this case, human history), we have to read this textbook called Social Transformations: A General Theory of Historical Development (Expanded Edition) by Stephen K. Sanderson. Our professor warned us that this book will be a challenging read, since the book was written for Sociology grad students, not undergrad students. And reading this book is, well, pretty damn hard. In one of my earlier sociology classes, my professor pointed out that many books academic books are written with a specific lingo or lexicon that seems to shut out any other curious minds outside of that particular field (in other words, she argues that academic books should serve to enlighten everybody, including the everyday man, instead of a select few). 

Anyhow, reading this book makes running in water an easier task to perform. I was supposed to read chapter 1 by Saturday (yesterday), chapter 2 by tomorrow (Monday, which I haven't) and chapter 3 by (Wednesday, which probably won't happen) if I'm going to fully comprehend the lectures and classwork that I'm expected to complete effectively. Hence, I've fallen behind already.

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

The Fault In Our Stars & Hesitation Marks (100th Post!!!)

The Fault In Our Stars...just wow. I spent almost all of my free time reading all of it. While it sucks to admit that I didn't tear up (which I thought I would), the love, the loss, and the side effects of dying were truly, deeply felt. I really appreciated the wry humor that had emerged from tragic situation, revealing the very human side from a very inhuman disease. For some reason, Hazel seriously reminded me of Juno from...Juno. At some point, I put Ellen Page's face to Hazel, for that reason alone. Perhaps I'm thinking too much into it, but John Green did an amazing job revealing just how very differently people with diseases are treated differently. This was most obvious with girl's mother at the mall, as well as Hazel and Augustus acknowledging the myriad eyes watching them at the airport. Kaitlyn, Lidewij, and even that little girl at the mall were outstanding (as far as social norms go) by not treating Hazel with unnecessary sympathy and pity. All in all, The Fault In Our Stars was an amazing read. I'm quite happy with myself for buying the book.

In other news, I've got my hands (rather ears) on the new Nine Inch Nails' album, Hesitation Marks. My quick review is that the band is definitely heading in a new direction. However, I will say that my first impression of the album is fairly positive. Musically, it doesn't sound as post-industrial as his other band How to Destroy Angels, nor does this new material sound remotely similar to any of his previous work. Lyrically, still the same Reznor we've all always known. Hence, it's safe to say that album is a reflection of the band going in a new direction. 

Also, I realized that this is my 100th post!!! Wow, I didn't think I'd spend so much time here. For a while, I debated on terminating this account and beginning a Tumblr account, but out of laziness (I'm being honest here), I've decided to stick with this quaint Blogger account. Thank you for your love, support, and constant reading. Here's to another 100 posts. Cheers, mates!

Friday, August 30, 2013

"The Fault In Our Stars"

I finally finished reading Robert Ellis' The Lost Witness yesterday. Though it wasn't an "edge-of-your-seat" thriller kind of book (though honestly, I don't know what that looks like), I'm looking forward to reading John Green's The Fault In Our Stars now. I honestly have no idea what this books is about. Like at all. When I stumbled upon the book, it was first featured as "this month's book club reading" at a store, I immediately dismissed it. The Fault In Our Stars didn't really capture my attention at the time. Now friends, fellow bookworms, and even some YouTube personalities were positively responding to how well the story was written. Thus, I impulsively bought a collector's edition the book at a Barnes and Noble (I know, I know - though in my defense, I knew that I would be able to find the book there: the collector's edition of the book was just icing on the cake). So here I am, telling you that I'm about to read the book, while the book is sitting to my right, just waiting to be read. Life is funny like that.