Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Quarantined

Happy Humpday people. I woke up this morning with a horrendous cold (think the guy in the Nyquil ads) so I dragged myself to my two classes and am now snuggled so deeply inside my bed I don't think I'll ever get out. Thank whatever Gods there may be that we have a day off in our sorority recruitment process, or I would probably be scaring hordes of younger girls away tonight with my terrifying croaky voice and gross amount of tissue use. Anyway, I bought myself my favorite sick snacks (V8, cranberry juice, and a bag of pretzels so spicy that they are surpassing my original intent of clearing my sinuses and instead making me weep like a child) and I will probably be spending most of the afternoon here. While I would like to be one of those people who can be obediently sick and just laze around in bed all day watching Friends, I actually have what I believe to be a truly shocking undocumented case of ADD. Even in my current zombie state, I can watch no more than two episodes of something without needing a new activity. Luckily, I'm a big reader. As an English major, I find myself spending the majority of September-May reading thick scholarly texts and critical literary reviews, or classical novels. Don't get me wrong-I love my major and can even read such assignments with enthusiasm and/or joy. (Joy might be pushing it.) But I always find myself missing my summertime pleasure reading during the year. So as policy, I always try to bring a few good books that have nothing to do with my classes to crack open on the rare night that I have neither homework nor a wine glass being shoved at me by my professors/friends respectively. (but wouldn't it be so nice if your professors handed you a glass of wine!?) anyways. I've tried to work my small collection into my decor this year as well, since I find books to be some of the best decorations in a room. They are colorful, take up a good amount of space, and best of all-you can take them down and read them. I've arranged them with some pictures and trinkets as you can see, and I find they really brighten up my space.
I go through books way too quickly, so I try to keep a fresh arrangement. "This is Water", by David Foster Wallace, (far right, small white one) is one of my all time favorites and I take it with me wherever I go. I've read it a million times (it's a convocation speech given before his untimely death) and it's great to flip through or read a section of when you're feeling uninspired. "Orange is the New Black" by Piper Kerman, about a white collar woman who spends a year in prison, is what I'm currently devouring. The Netflix show by the same title is allegedly great, but I haven't seen it yet. Leave it to the English major to read the book first. "New York Diaries", edited by Teresa Carpenter, is a collection of diary entries from people living in New York City from the 1600s-present. I haven't gotten to it yet but I can't wait. "The Art of Fielding", by Chad Harbach, is the big kahuna book I'm very slowly making my way through. It would take about twelve pages to explain the whole thing, but definitely worth reading, and not bad for learning a few tips and tricks about baseball as well. Finally, Anna Quindlen's "Lots of Candles Plenty of Cake" is one I tossed into my bag just before leaving home, and to be honest I haven't even read the back cover yet, but I'm excited and would love to hear suggestions!

Bottom line: books make great fodder for decoration, reading (Duh) and for when you've heard Ross' whiny voice one too many times during your sick day.

No comments:

Post a Comment