Elizabeth Russell's Blog, page 11
May 3, 2019
Moby Dick Journal – Chapters 35-47
“What do ye do when ye see a whale, men?” “Sing out for him!” Sorry I missed last week’s update! I was out of town, camping with my family and making new friends. It was a magical weekend, so no regrets on my part.
May 2, 2019
Do I Have to Finish the Book I Hate?
Ever sloughed through a painful book, wishing you had not committed to it, but feeling guilty if you put it down and pick up something new? You feel like there’s something wrong with you for not liking a book that everyone else has exuberantly recommended, so you want to finish it to keep up appearances. … Continue reading Do I Have to Finish the Book I Hate?
April 25, 2019
Why Make a Reading Plan?
Reading Without a Plan I’ve never had a reading plan before. My personality craves independence, and I don’t like the idea of structuring my life, particularly my entertainment, so I’ve never chosen to pre-plan my reading, watching, or activities list for the year. I dread the feeling of being ‘boxed’ in. Then last year, I … Continue reading Why Make a Reading Plan?
April 20, 2019
Moby Dick Journal – Chapters 22-34
At last, I have seen the fabled captain Ahab, and slowly, over the course of 12 more chapters, I have begun to get a whole sense of his personality. And yet I still feel like I know him very little, mostly because he strikes me as a man of action, and no action has as … Continue reading Moby Dick Journal – Chapters 22-34
April 15, 2019
A World of Real Fairy Tales
Are fairy tales an escape from reality, or a window into a more real world we cannot see? Sulamith Wulfing, a renowned fairy tale artist of the early 1900’s, is reported to have had visions into this deeper reality, and would be far from saying that fairy tales are a world of falsehood. Her artwork, … Continue reading A World of Real Fairy Tales
April 12, 2019
Moby Dick Journal – Chapters 1-21
Some years ago – never mind how long precisely – having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world. Moby Dick, by Herman Melville Well, I am now more chapters into Moby … Continue reading Moby Dick Journal – Chapters 1-21
My Journey through Moby Dick
I have been reading Moby Dick for a good two weeks now – a fortnight, as they say – and I think I shall keep a record of my observations as I make my way through. I would like to have it later to look back on, and I’d like to invite you to join … Continue reading My Journey through Moby Dick
April 10, 2019
Treading Water with Moby Dick, and the App that Finally Helped Me Read It!
Two years ago, I gave up on reading Moby Dick. It was an extremely well-written work, with beautiful descriptions, vivid characters, and striking scenes; it was a book of mythic magnitude, of fabled fame, of prosperous popularity, and yet – I could not get through the seventh chapter. The sixth chapter had been entirely about … Continue reading Treading Water with Moby Dick, and the App that Finally Helped Me Read It!
April 9, 2019
The Great Gatsby
“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby The first time I read it, I was curled up on the armchair in my room, sick with a mild flu, and I read it from cover to cover without pause. I did not thoroughly … Continue reading The Great Gatsby
2018-19
It was the winter of weepingAs they all cried out “Me too!” “Me too!”In a vale of tepid tearsOver self-inflicted sufferingWhile the root of it all, the curse of it all,Was in their deepest yearningTheir heart-sick, unheard cries forReal love, full love, true loveA love beyond their comprehension.
