Favorite Books

Thinking back over the semester (and conveniently unable to include Luis' book in the survey since I am still in the middle of it!), two of my favorite authors were Didion and Dillard. LADIES! Again, as has been discussed, I think this has a lot to do with where I am in my life- mainly, GRAD SCHOOL. I really think I would love "Fear and Loathing" if I had the liberty to read it over the summer or another time, but this semester, I was sort of like- "MAN, I don't have the time/patience to entertain all of your crazy tangents". So, I suppose, in that vein, Didion appealed to me because she was really clear- and that's just what I want when the rest of my life/brain/thinking is chaotic and factured, pulled in a million directions. Dillard too. She focused in on precise objects and, while being more philosophical, really directed the viewer's attention that gave me a calming sense of clarity. I suppose too, H.S.T. maybe would have appealed too much to my high school self- you know, when I was super into Burroughs and Kerouac... and perhaps not enough time had passed since then. I don't really want to be reminded of that time quite yet. I also feel at a time in my life when I am looking for sustainable role models-- not just get high, joy ride, and eventually kill yourself types. More moderate types. Yes, I am becoming sensible and boring. They are surprisingly hard to find. Maybe this could turn into research for my final class project. I am increasingly curious how artists can lead healthy lives- that deromanticizes the image of the manic-depressive writer/artist. Maybe Anne Dillard is a good role model, but I suppose we can't all write about nature. I went to a tour at the Hull House Museum today and they talked about how pleasure and work were entertwined-- Jane Adams' midnight bike ride was as important to her work as sitting in a room discussing how to enact social change- and, living in a cooperative environment, the public/private, work/play were often intermingled. Both were needed to sustain the other. So- grad school/chaos needs Didion/Dillard/clarity. It is a bit surprising because I remember when I started to read Didion I was afraid the book was going to be toxic in her pessimism, but her clear images just stick with me. At the beginning of the semester I thought what I needed/wanted was romance and beauty and then I realized that was just TOO different from my life right now. I just needed someone to cut through all the b.s. and give me something I could hold on to.