literature
Geek literature from the New York Times or the recesses of online. Our favorite stories showcase geeks.
Reading and Re-reading Vonnegut
First thing first: I think that Vonnegut is one of the best American authors, and there is nothing that can convince me otherwise. However, in my experience, not everyone gets him. There was a point in my life when I also did not get his writing style. Luckily, over the years, I grew curious about the high school readings I never completed (sorry, Mr. Bevins). One of the first books I decide to reread from high school was Slaughterhouse 5.
By Jay Cordero6 years ago in Geeks
Top 5 Latin American Authors
As a bookworm, I love reading, it is one of my favorite things to do. However, it has been hard for me to share my love for Latin American literature while growing up in the U.S. The literature curriculums are not diverse enough for students here to learn about the vast richness of Latin American culture, especially now with the wide divestment of education (this is the case in NYC at least). That being said, today I’m going to share my favorite Latin American authors and some of their best work.
By Jay Cordero6 years ago in Geeks
"The Pale King" by David Foster Wallace
This book is based on the mundane atmosphere of the everyday lifestyle of the common worker. It ranges from summaries from the IRS, snippets of the life of a man who profusely sweats, conversations between various people who work for the IRS, a man who is taking an examination and feels very anxious about it and so much more. Within the book, we get various interruptions from the author himself in which he tries to explain the difference between this book and a piece of nonfiction creative writing. He calls it “substantially true and accurate” (p.71) and explains it as a “nonfiction account (with) some slight changes and rearrangements” (p.72). Whereas, previously he had not actually referred to the changes and said that “all of this is true. This book is really true.” (p.69) and thus, we do not make note of the problems encountering fiction and nonfiction definition until later on in Chapter 9. But between characters like Lane Dean Jr, David Cusk, Leonard Stecyk and the unforgettable anxieties of Claude Sylvanshine - I honestly believe that this book is a piece of creative semi-autobiography where the only thing everyone has in common is their ability to work their way into the IRS from very different walks of life. The book admittedly, does not have a plot since David Foster Wallace left it unfinished and unedited. It is therefore raw and emotional in its nature of talking about the human psyche and our reaction towards the fact that life is really quite meaningless. The nihilism and the constant fear that is portrayed by nearly every character in the book is a great way of getting across the message that there are other things far better than being alive in the modern age.
By Annie Kapur6 years ago in Geeks
What I Read When I Was Growing Up in Belgium
Sometimes, when people are talking about classic books from their childhoods — Anne of Green Gables, say, or Charlotte’s Web — I stay very quiet. I haven’t read a lot of those, and I wish I had. I shouldn’t feel ashamed, though, because there’s a good reason I haven’t. I grew up in French-speaking Brussels in the ’80s and we had a whole different set of children’s classics.
By Claire Amy Handscombe6 years ago in Geeks
"The Brothers Karamazov" by Fyodor Dostoevsky
I first read “The Brothers Karamazov” by Fyodor Dostoevsky when I was about fourteen years’ old and I’m not going to lie to you, it confused me. It confused me because it was unlike any other Russian novel I had read up to that point and I realised then that things were about to get ever more interesting on my journey in literature. The way in which I discovered this book wasn’t actually at all that interesting. I had heard of it because I had seen the classic movie poster and thought it was a book cover. I looked it up and I got turned towards the book rather than the film (I would only realise some years later that it was actually a film poster I was looking at and not a book cover). I did not yet know, looking at that picture, that this book would come to change everything about my perception of Russian Literature and my perception on the possibilities of human connections in literature. It was almost overwhelming.
By Annie Kapur6 years ago in Geeks
20 Books of 2020 (Pt.26)
Reading books has been the answer to my life. Sometimes I think about how I'm spending my life, getting up every morning just to read books on books on books. I think about how I'm spending my existence reading all these books and that one day I'll die and I'll wonder if it's all been worth it. Well, I can honestly say - life well spent. Everything about reading is brilliant and here are a few reasons you should read if you don't already. And whether it's comic book or classic novel, romance or racing magazines, whatever you like to read it doesn't matter as long as it's for your enjoyment.
By Annie Kapur6 years ago in Geeks
"War and Peace" by Leo Tolstoy
I first read “War and Peace” by Leo Tolstoy when I was fourteen years’ old. It took me a while because on hand, I would have a notebook in order to write down how characters were related to each other, words I would look up in the dictionary and concepts I didn’t really understand upon first reading - prompting me to read the book again. The way in which I discovered the book was through the school library. The school library had the book in volumes, but only volume 1-3 was available and so, I had to seek out a full version of the book myself. I had read the blurb to the first three volumes and was convinced that this, though a long read, was going to change my life forever. By the age of fifteen, I was re-reading the book in order to get a better grasp of the characters and concepts and I had noticed that this book had changed my entire opinion on how war impacts human beings. Back then, I understood bits and pieces about PTSD of course, but when it came to people who weren’t soldiers, but just regular people - I never knew that they too, could be that far done by war. It was like staring into the soul of a group of people who were constantly nervous that one day, they would have to pack up and leave everything behind. They would have to run away from the approaching army in order to spare their own lives. It is quite emotional really.
By Annie Kapur6 years ago in Geeks
Five Books That Changed My Life
Throughout the years, there have been many books that have changed my existence for the positive. Some of these books I have read multiple times over the years and some of them I have even annotated. When it comes to reading, it is the one pleasure I have in my life in which I have never said to myself 'I don't feel like it' - when it comes to reading, I always feel like it. There's many books I could've put on this list, but the five I have ultimately chosen are extra special.
By Annie Kapur6 years ago in Geeks
