Here's what the English Major is...
...reading: Well, I zipped through the copy of Bait and Switch that J.D. very kindly sent me for a review (wait for the review, but in general, this isn't a read-over-and-over kind of book, so don't buy it) and went back to Wide Sargasso Sea.
...watching: Six Feet Under. Yes, again. Yes, from the beginning.
...listening to: Begin to Hope, Regina Spektor's latest. Listen first. If you like it even a little bit the first time, it will only grow on you--buy it. (I wasn't a big fan the first time I heard it, but K. and my best friend are both big fans, so I heard it over and over and now I love it.) If not, cleanse musical palate and avoid forever.
Showing posts with label friday feedback. Show all posts
Showing posts with label friday feedback. Show all posts
Friday, February 02, 2007
Friday Feedback: Redux Edition
Friday, January 26, 2007
Friday Feedback: Katherine Hepburn Double Feature Edition
It's Friday, so here's what the English Major is...
Reading: Well, same as last week, but I've also picked up Jean Rhys's Wide Sargasso Sea. I'm only a little ways in. It's enjoyable--it's written in a pared-down style that always manages to be sort of hypnotically evocative (and that also persistently reminds me of Rousseau's paintings). I'm looking forward to the intertextuality kicking in full-force, which hasn't yet happened. My problem with the book is the same problem I had when I read Fear of Flying a few years back--though I know, intellectually, that this book predates the trend (of postcolonial reimaginings of canonical texts, in this case, frank memoirs of female sexual desire with a dash of artistic neurosis in the other case)--that it was, in fact, pioneering, groundbreaking, I can't help reading it in light of its successors, and finding it a little bit dull. Nevertheless, recommended. Every library worth its salt will have this book.
Listening to: Aimee Mann, Bachelor No. 2. For me, this is mood music. If you like to take contemplative walks (and don't mind the whole singer-songwriter approach), you need this on your iPod.
Watching: Nothing, out of respect for Six Feet Under. I'm breaking my fast tonight, though, with the first of a Katherine Hepburn double feature at the Loew's Jersey, an olde-time moviehouse (it's cheap, but then again, I have to buy a PATH ticket). Tonight is Philadelphia Story, tomorrow is an archival print of The African Queen. If you haven't seen them, put them in your Netflix queue, now.
Friday, January 19, 2007
Friday Feedback
I've seen and liked this feature on other blogs, and mostly I really want to talk about Six Feet Under right now, so I thought I'd initiate a weekly update on what I'm watching, reading, and listening to. I'll offer a "buy or don't buy" recommendation on each. It's like a mini-Consumer Reports.
Without further ado, here's what English Major is
watching: Last night, K and I watched the finale of Six Feet Under, thus completing our sprint through the series made possible by his parents' gift of the full-series gift set. Seriously, if you have any way of getting your hands on this--Netflix, your local video store, the public library, whatever--please do so today. Watch every episode in order. There are two television shows that I really feel have added to my life--not in the contexts of watching them with friends or making jokes about them, but in and of themselves--and Six Feet Under is one of them. (The other is Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and any nonsense about "guilty pleasures" or "teenybopper television" will earn an overacademic diatribe in the comments, so I wouldn't, if I were you.) I love this show. I love it. I've never seen anything that really resembled life on television before, and that's a cheesy thing to say, but also true. I feel like I learned something from this show when it was at its most brilliant, but even when it wasn't, I enjoyed watching it. The acting is superb, the writing sparkles, and the direction is remarkable. Watch it. I suggest watching it with one of the cost-effective methods above before making the purchase leap (because it's worth it to buy the gift set if you like the show, but it's a big purchase), but if none is available to you? Yeah, go ahead and buy it. It's worth it. I promise.
reading: The new ninth edition of A Random Walk Down Wall Street by Burton Malkiel, for a book review on Get Rich Slowly. Naturally, this means I can't tell you anything about it except that it's the first book about investing I've ever read, and I find the experience both interesting and confusing.
listening to: Dave Ramsey podcasts & the Six Feet Under soundtracks. K is a big fan of Sia--he owns an import copy of her first album, which never got U.S. distribution--and feels vindicated by the use of her song "Breathe Me" in the finale's final moments. I wouldn't go out and buy these albums or anything (ours came with the gift box) because no one will like everything that's on there, but there are some great songs. If you're a fan of the show, I'd recommend checking Wikipedia's episode lists, which list the music in each episode, and purchasing via iTunes any of the songs that really grabbed you. The Dave Ramsey podcast is also available (free!) (though it's just one hour's worth, which without commercials is about 40 minutes) through iTunes.
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