What I'm Reading
My GoodReads "Currently Reading" shelf is quite cluttered at the moment. I just finished rereading MOCKINGJAY (I liked it a lot more this time. I think I finally "got it," which feels good.) and immediately afterward started HOW TO LOVE by Katie Cotugno, which I've heard nothing but good things about. I'm also reading two books for school right now: GOOD FAITH by Jane Smiley (so far it's earned a "meh" rating from me) and THE GIRL IN THE FLAMMABLE SKIRT, Aimee Bender's first short story collection (which I'm LOVING).
What I'm Writing
My short story professor is having us bring in five new pages of something each week for small group workshops, so I've started a new story through that. It's pretty different from my normal style, much more sensory detail than I usually include. The idea came from an in-class excercise about sensory detail, so I guess that makes sense. I'm the first to go up for full class workshops in February (guess who the sign-up sheet reached last?) so I'm looking forward to getting that over and done with!
What Inspires Me Right Now
Both this semester and last semester I've responded really well to in-class writing exercises. Normally I hate them and spend ten minutes staring at a blank piece of paper and get absolutely nothing from the prompts, but something is different at Chatham. I don't know what it is, but I've gotten multiple stories from in-class prompts.
What Else I've Been Up To
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| Afghan I made. |
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| My school colors! |
Crocheting EVERYTHING. I finished an afghan that I'd started during winter break and then made some granny squares to eventually include in a blanket and then made a cozy for my coffee cup. It's an ADDICTION!
Hope everyone is having a good week so far!
HOW TO LOVE! I *heart* that book, and I hope you do too, Kaitlin. Speaking of love, that afghan you made is gorgeous. What talent you have. The colors look beautiful together. Best of luck with your short story, and have a wonderful rest of the week. :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks Katy! <3 I was super happy with how the afghan turned out. :) And I adore HOW TO LOVE so far! The language is lovely, especially the images/sensory details, which coincidentally is something I'm trying to work on in my short stories. So perfect timing for me to read this book! Hope you have a great week too!
DeleteMaybe I need to read the MOCKINGJAY again. I liked it and all, but not nearly as much as the other two books. You go to Chatham? That's awesome. My brother goes to the Uni of Pitts, and I absolutely love the city. I was thinking about applying to that school, but ended up going with only Canadian universities.
ReplyDeleteHappy belated birthday!
I still like the other two Hunger Games books better, but the first time I read MOCKINGJAY, I just remember being so disappointed and a lot of Suzanne Collins's choices didn't make sense to me. I read all three books really fast, so I think a lot of things slipped past me, and I was able to catch them this time. I think the movies are so well done that they've helped me understand the books on a new level. Definitely give it another read! :)
DeleteAnd yup, I'm at Chatham! I'm loving the MFA program so far, there isn't that competitiveness in workshop classes that I've experienced at other schools. At least in my little group of first year fiction writers, we're all very supportive of each other and have become great friends. Oooh, Pitt is such a cool school, I've spent a little time on their campus and went to a reading there. It was great!
I know what you mean about MOCKINGJAY. My first time through it I wasn't sure that I even liked it. But the second time I felt like I got it, like you. I love all of your crochet projects. They're totally fantastic!
ReplyDeleteThanks Jaime! :)
DeleteHooray! I'm not alone in my MOCKINGJAY opinions. I think because I read all 3 books so fast the first time around, I missed a lot of things and didn't appreciate some of the (less popular) choices Suzanne Collins made, especially about some of the characters she killed (cough cough *those darn parachutes* cough cough). But I understand it more now...which probably will make the movies even harder to watch when they come out!!!
Ooh, ooh, ooh, new story?! I want to hear more! :)
ReplyDeleteCheck your eeeeeemail!!! ;)
DeleteWow, that's a lot of crocheting you've got going on. Lovely afghan!
ReplyDeleteBelated Happy Birthday :D
Have a fantastic week!
Thanks! Crocheting has become my new hobby for when I'm watching TV. :) Gotta multitask!
DeleteHave a great weekend!
I love that cozy for your mug! Love!
ReplyDeleteI learned to knit last winter and made it through half a scarf...which is still half a scarf a year later. I like knitting, but I'm usually writing in my down time. I am not quite good enough to knit while watching TV yet. I get too distracted and mess up the stitches.
Thanks so much! I've heard knitting is way harder than crocheting, so I give you tons of credit for learning. My grandma tried to teach me to crochet years ago and the yarn sat in my closet for the longest time until I finally got motivated to teach myself.
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