Books Bought This Month
Books Borrowed This Month
Darker Still by Leanna Renee Hieber
The Future of Us by Carolyn Mackler and Jay Asher
Reading in the Brain by Stanislas Dehaene
Gossip Girl: Psycho Killer by Alloy Entertainment ghostwriters
Continue reading
Posted in books
Tagged books, fiftyfiftyme, monthly roundup, procrastinating, reading, sick
When I joined CouchSurfing.org a million years ago, I filled in the “my mission” field on the profile as “My mission is to be happy with myself.” Since it was a few years after that before I started using the website regularly, it has remained my “mission.”
I like it, and it’s been a perpetual struggle. I’ve always tried to be too many people, and I’ve always been socially awkward, and I’ve always been better at doing/saying/appearing to be one thing in my head, and it always comes out different in real life.
Aaaaanyway, I think I’m on the road to that now. I’ve definitely gotten to the point where I am comfortable with myself–I don’t care if other people like to go to clubs and I prefer drinking parties with Scrabble; I don’t feel bad about not associating with people whose politics or personalities are offensive to me; and I’m happy to be a nerd. Continue reading
The other day I explained to a friend that as soon as you meet someone else who is adopted, you instantly have a connection. Regardless of whether you later find out that the person is annoying, a Republican, has bad taste in music, or whatever, you always retain that small semblance of “I am he is me and we are one” because it’s just a thing. You’re both adopted. Obviously you can say that about any shared interest or quality, but I’m fairly sure it’s different when you find someone else who is adopted/Jewish/mixed (and that’s just for me) or shares another quality that makes you different and minority(-ish) status, as opposed to finding someone who, on that day, at least, likes the same types of movies as you do.
So I’m glad to finally see that in a novel. I just read If I Tell
I’ve clocked a lot of iPod time lately instead of reading time. My new job (!) is usually just me hanging out at the computer doing computer stuff, so music is necessary for my sanity. I’ve been downloading a lot of good stuff lately, thanks to deals from Amazon and this lovely new thing called Freegal that is cropping up at libraries here and there. So I’ve added some Neko Case, Vanessa Carlton, Ingrid Michaelson, and more to my library. But no matter how much music I accumulate, I tend to glom onto certain albums and listen to them excessively, until I am sure of which songs are my favorites and until I imagine myself inside the album and live and swim in it and just love it unconditionally and forever.
I do this mostly with albums that are by bands or duos where two people are pretty much equally the lead singer. It’s especially my favorite when it’s a male and female voice because it feels really intimate, which I admit is rather heteronormative and not actually very fair, but hey, I grew up in America. Also, the Pierces go onto my list of duos I can listen to forever, and they’re sisters.
Anyway. Bands/albums I listen to way too much because I love the dual quality of the lead vocal: Jenny and Johnny’s I Am Having Fun Now, anything by the Pierces, a lot of Rilo Kiley’s Under the Blacklight (okay, I also have a Jenny Lewis fetish), most stuff by Stars, same with She & Him, and the latest album I’ve added to that list is the Civil Wars’ Barton Hollow. Continue reading
Posted in music
Tagged angst, boys, girls, love, music, other people, relationships, wishful thinking
