Book Review For Monica

Here's my latest...

It may seem strange, but since my graduation from U of A last year, books have become an addiction of mine. I always enjoyed reading–you don’t become an English major unless you like the written word; however, through my high school and college years (2000-2008), I was required to read books related to course material, not my own interests. With the demands of school, this left me little time to expand my mind. Eight years of drought! Fortunately, as a result of my status as a full-time worker bee, that has recently changed. I am now at liberty to enjoy any book I choose. Needless to say, I am giddy with intellectual freedom.

For those of you who remember the books you were forced to read in high school, J.D. Salinger’s most famous work, The Catcher in the Rye may stand out as an atypically pleasurable read. Written in the mid-twentieth century, the novel became an adolescent call to arms and general favorite. Salinger’s other work is less known, at least for those my age, likely because they weren’t requirements for junior English.

I have recently had the good fortune to discover Salinger’s Franny (1955) and Zooey (1957) on the recommendation of a friend. Both short stories were originally published in The New Yorker, but later distributed as one volume. In Franny, Salinger explores the way in which an American college student portrays a false identity in order to be liked. Although obviously brilliant, Franny is a pretender. She is unhappy, but unsure of the cause, searches for meaning in literature and religion. The reader witnesses her emotional descent and struggle to find herself through Salinger’s skillful dialogue.

Zooey is Franny’s disillusioned actor brother. He has not dealt with the death of his eldest brother and is unhappy in the state of his career and interactions with others. Zooey longs for something about which he can be passionate. Zooey’s desire to demonstrate excellence in his chosen field causes him anxiety to the point of paradoxically lowering his standards.
Both siblings are lost in different stages of young adulthood, in ways in which I have sometimes felt lost myself.

Young people sometimes mistakenly believe that once they graduate from college with a degree, they will automatically know what they’ll want to do with their lives. Salinger’s work makes different claims. I identified with the dilemmas of both Franny and Zooey because I, and many of my friends, had moments of identical confusion during college, and this past year. Like Franny, I searched for meaning in literary texts. Similarly to Zooey, I didn’t know what I wanted to do, but knew I wanted to be passionate about my career. These themes hold true for almost everyone moving into a post-collegiate existence.

Although Franny and Zooey were written in the 1950s, Salinger’s cultural references somehow remain relevant. Both short reads, they are the perfect complimentary introductions to the stress of growing up without a clue as to your direction. Salinger approaches the issues of young adulthood with humor and philosophical insight. I see myself in the characters he portrays because they are so universal. I would recommend this work to anyone at a crossroad, but especially college graduates.

Bonking

I'm sure this version will be edited, but I really enjoyed writing about this lady. "Bonk" was great. I loved reading it. 

Bonk: A Learning Experience

 

The author of Stiff, a history of the scientific life of cadavers, is at it again. The title of Mary Roach’s latest book is enough to catch anyone’s interest. It’s edgy, offbeat, and very fitting. Although Bonk is a slightly silly title, it is a very appropriate name for a New York Times bestseller that combines hard, researched fact with Roach’s oftentimes hilarious personal experiences on her quest to discover the modern scientific community’s take on the verb “to bonk.”

As a concept, Bonk is singularly interesting. Roach studies the history of scientific inquires into human sexuality and physiology over the last century.  She condenses the studies and gives a general explanation of the researched findings to readers unfamiliar with the intricacies of human sexuality. Moreover, the puns, witty footnotes, and oddities described are truly inspired. I laughed out loud on more than one occasion, and it wasn’t even due to my discomfort and uneasiness with some of the material.

Despite the subject’s obvious capability for raunchiness, Bonk is never vulgar. Roach approaches a historically taboo subject with pragmatic frankness and praises the efforts of the sexual research “pioneers.” Roach describes the difficulties involved for researchers who are unaffiliated with pharmaceutical sexual research with several examples. More often than not, they cannot be funded because they are viewed suspiciously by the public and grant reviewers alike as possible “perverts.”

With little known scientific facts and unapologetic and unembarrassed honesty, I would go so far as to suggest that this book be given to teenagers to debunk common misconceptions. Bonk may have made my journey through young adulthood a less confusing endeavor. In my opinion, there’s only so much an educational class or parents’ hedging can accomplish with jaded teens. More knowledge equals more self-confidence and better decisions. Plus, the upside is that the read is actually pretty funny.

Despite my praise of Mary Roach’s Bonk, I will ask you to take notice: Bonk is not for the faint of heart. 

I Hear Neil Patrick Harris

DOOGIE

Rock n Roll of New Technology

Chris sent me this link today (so he deserves the credit)...I was simply blown away. If you don't think this concept is cool, there is something intrinsically wrong with you. The future of technology is looking bright.

http://www.siftables.com/