Author: Danni

Glaswegian in Northern Ireland. Writer, recent PhD completer, cyclist, camp cinephile.

July Bookshelf: Sour Stories of Heartburn

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“Did you know, Putnam, more people are murdered at ninety two degrees Fahrenheit than any other temperature? I read an article once — lower temperatures people are easy-going, over ninety two it’s too hot to move but just ninety two, people get irritable!“

Sheriff Warren, It Came from Outer Space

Let us just agree that June didn’t happen. It was a sweaty, stagnant month and I spent too much of it depressed and not reading. Continue reading “July Bookshelf: Sour Stories of Heartburn” →

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May Bookshelf: My Thesis is Completely Fine

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“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” →

The Matriculated Marker: On being both student and teacher

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“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” →

April Bookshelf: Bitter Little Murders

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“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” →

February Bookshelf: We Were Eight Years in the Bardo

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“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” →

On Safe Spaces and Samuel Richardson

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“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” →