“I think that it is perfectly normal to talk to oneself occasionally. It’s not as though I’m expecting a reply. I’m fully aware that Polly is a houseplant.”
Gail Honeyman, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
What a gorgeous May! What a completely excellent specimen of weather! I did so much reading outdoors this month that my skin tone has gone from ‘uncooked bread dough’ to ‘undercooked bread dough’. Continue reading “May Bookshelf: My Thesis is Completely Fine”
“Here, in college… you were supposed to imitate the teacher in such a way as to convince the teacher you were not imitating, but taking the essence of the instruction and going ahead with it on your own. That got you A’s. Originality on the other hand could get you anything – from A to F. The whole grading system cautioned against it.”
Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Last weekend, I set about the task of marking my students’ dissertations. I went to a trendy but usually quiet cafe (there are lots of these around the North West of Northern Ireland, and they usually have identical menus) and after a pot of tea had passed I still hadn’t finished marking even one of them. The bearded barista, clearly a perceptive young man, offered me a refill gratis. “Thank you,” I said, adding darkly “It’s dissertation time.” Continue reading “The Matriculated Marker: On being both student and teacher”
“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.”
Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own
I am not, currently, dining well. Last week I suffered the unique displeasure of having two wisdom teeth removed, and have therefore been on mashed bananas and yoghurt for a few days. Today I attempt solid food and am positively salivating. Continue reading “April Bookshelf: Bitter Little Murders”
“In a world too often governed by corruption and arrogance, it can be difficult to stay true to one’s philosophical and literary principles.”
Olivia Caliban, A Series of Unfortunate Events (2017)
March was a great month for reading and a not-so-great month for my immune system. Continue reading “March Bookshelf: Live Through This Flu”
“The classroom was a jail of other people’s interests. The library was open, unending, free.”
Ta-Nehisi Coates, Between the World and Me
I have read a bit less than usual this month than last, but I have a few good reasons. Firstly, I moved into a new flat in a new town this month, and spent several days reading nothing more dense than an Ikea assembly leaflet. Secondly, February only has twenty-eight days, and there really is nothing I can do about that. And finally, I got a great new job! Continue reading “February Bookshelf: We Were Eight Years in the Bardo”
“Now all we have to worry about is all the other books, and, of course, life, which is huge and complicated and will not warn you before it hurts you.”
Neil Gaiman, Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances
Two weeks ago I found myself encountering an interesting pedagogical challenge: teaching a book that centres upon a woman surviving a sexually traumatic event and reframing her recovery by marrying her would-be rapist. Continue reading “On Safe Spaces and Samuel Richardson”
“Come along with me, misery loves company,
You’re welcome at the home of the blues.”Johnny Cash, ‘Home of the Blues’
It’s no secret that the work of a PhD is heavy going. As candidates, we face poor health, financial drain, and the possibility of failure as standard risks for undertaking this type of project. I think everybody begins with a sense of cautious optimism, of which most are disabused by around the end of semester one. But what’s wrong with a little optimism? Continue reading “Crabs and Cautious Optimism”
“Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read.”
Groucho Marx
I love reading. Which is good, because if I didn’t love reading I would be in the wrong line of work. Continue reading “January Bookshelf: Conversations with Chelsea Girls”
“Cheer up, Dad. Did you know the Chinese use the same word for ‘crisis’ as they do for ‘opportunity’?”“Yes. Crisistunity.”Lisa and Homer, ‘Fear of Flying’, The Simpsons
“I know that you can be overwhelmed, and you can be underwhelmed, but can you ever just be whelmed?”
“I think you can in Europe.”
Chastity & Bianca, 10 Things I Hate About You
How do you know if you’re stressed? Scratch that, of course you’re stressed all the time; it’s 2017 and we breathe stress like oxygen. How do you know if your stress levels are above usual, excessive, prohibitive?
Danni Glover 