Learning From Home

With my graduation drawing that little bit closer, I'm beginning to notice how little I learn these days when compared to life in formal education. And you know what? It sucks. I hate not learning something new every day.

I've remedied this, slightly, by beginning to read the business and marketing books I've got on my shelves. I think I would have hated studying them in college and having to write about what other people did in those fields, and studying general principles of them - as opposed to having a look at literature as a whole, and studying religion both in depth and as a basic concept, and studying child psychology and education - but they're two of my favourite things to read about at home.

The books vary depending on my mood, but most recently I read through two of the books in the Teach Yourself (In a Week) series. One of them I read in a day - something like three chapters before work and four afterwards - instead of spreading it out over the week. More recently, though, I'm reading Brendon Burchard's The Millionaire Messenger.

Now, I'm under no misconceptions that I might become a millionaire in a short period of time. It's not a get-rich-quick book. What it is is a book that's getting me thinking, specifically about my strengths and experience, and in a positive light. I'm on a few chapters in and it's already had me pick up a pen and paper and jot down (in key words) everything I know about a topic, and begin writing a book because of that list. Best of all, though, is that I'm only getting started on the book.

One of things that's been missing since I finished up in college was a sense of direction. With modules, there's always something to aim towards, some assignment that needs doing, or an exam to...anticipate. While I'm glad to be free from the strict and horrible deadlines and stress that arise from such things - especially exams - I do miss having the defined course in front of me, and miss learning what someone else sees as being important.

Hence the learning from home, and reading through entire books on a wide range of topics under particular subjects. Basically, I have a need to learn something that hasn't gone away since my final exams. I'm glad for that, and even happier to have actually gotten back into the habit of reading regularly.

It's not just the business books, mind you. I mean, I'm not testing myself on any of this, but part of what made my course fun was having fiction thrown into the mix. So, I've been reading fiction. My home reading is non-fiction, but my lunches in work and every bus journey I take are devoted to reading. I'm half-way through book 4 in the Mortal Instruments series already, having also read a number of other books too, since September.

If I'm remembering my reading list correctly, since reading City of Bones, I've also read Everyday, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, and Numbers, with City of Ashes and City of Glass following them up. Before those, I read Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, and Severed Heads, Broken Hearts, and volume one of Morning Glories.

While it's not a huge amount, it's more than I had time to read in the same amount of time while I was still a student. My hope is to finish up the Mortal Instruments books soon, then give something else a try. If I have a lot of hours in December for the run up to Christmas, I know I'll have plenty of lunch breaks to fill with books.

What I'd love is to actually get myself into a routine of reading a book per week of fiction and of non-fiction, while also writing. However, the way things are working out of late, I haven't had much of a chance to set up a weekly routine. It had been my hope at the end of the summer to have a full schedule lined up for myself, but work hours haven't been regular enough for that. (And, I'll admit, I've been lazy at times.)

Generally speaking, though, I think I'm getting on to a good start in terms of reading, and my new writing project could set me on the path to writing more regularly as well. I've done just enough work on it that abandoning it now is just wasteful, so that's a relief. That said, I'm only 12% into it. Tomorrow night might see me add another chunk to it, but it won't be much. Still, early starts and (almost) daily contributions to the book will see it finished in no one. Just like Planning Before Writing before it, this book can be done in bits and pieces, steadily over a period of time, without me worrying about losing my place.

And here's my question for you: are you reading anything interesting at the moment? Any Young Adult or Business recommendations you can make?

Back Into Writing

So, the weekend was fun. Actually, that's only mostly true. Work was a bitch and a half of boredom, but Saturday evening got me back on track in terms of writing. While my "output" will certainly decrease as the exams loom closer, I've gotten back into being able to think about stories and actually do something with them. I wrote eight thousand words over the Easter weekend, and I consider that something of a good start.

Those eight thousand words finished off what I call the Sooper Sekrit Project, called so because I don't want to reveal the intimate details of work that may or may not see the light of day. Ever. The public eye is so glaring and menacing sometimes, and I had to protect my fifteen thousand word baby. It's a novella, and a short one at that, and that's about as much of it as I can reveal without feeling like I'm holding it over a balcony.

With the Michael Jackson jokes out of the way, and the novella completed - first draft, anyway - I had to do something else. Not just a want, but a must. I can't just sit idle, and it still seems too early to get to studying like it's my job. It's not, nor will it ever be, my job to study. I might end up doing research for a book or an article at some stage in my life, but my job, for now, is to sell books. And I only do that at the weekends.

However, the study bug must bite eventually. For now, I'm putting it off by writing articles and planning a Young Adult Fantasy novel. I got my inspiration for it a couple of weeks ago while walking down to the cinema, listening to music. Specifically, I was listening to The Cake Sale, an album of Irish "indie" music, featuring the likes of Lisa Hannigan and Nina Person. It was the latter that lit the candle of inspiration under my fantasy novel, with her song Black Winged Bird. It's not so much that the novel has anything to do with a bird. In fact, as far as I know, I don't have any ideas for birds in the book at all. It's other things in the song that got my attention.

So, I've been planning the book. It has a title, but that's a secret from everyone but That Guy I Am, mainly because no one else is around who might take an interest. I don't even know if he cares, but he was within proximity, so I sprung it on him over a cup of tea. Five chapters of planning into the book, and working on getting other ideas around in my head into some sort of order, and I might be sorting myself out for books for the next few years. Or decades.

Now I just need a publishing contract.

But in all seriousness, this is just the beginning. I mean, you need to have a book or books to get published, not just the contract. Because no one will just publish your signature and sell it for 7.99 at your local bookshop and call it a work of literature. Unless you happen to be like Allah, with 99 names. Then it might be something special to watch how someone signs their name.

Did I just make a Muslim joke? I'm going to hell, aren't I?

Now, the writing bug has taken me, and it's time to put it to some use: I need to write the first chapter of my Research Paper. Still need to do research on that. It's going to be fun... Well, you know, some of it will be.

Review - The Perks of Being a Wallflower

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a relatively old book by bookseller standards, but still one that can massively impact on readers today. The author, Stephen Chbosky, wrote the book as a series of letters from the pseudonymous 'Charlie' to the person known only as 'friend'. Charlie is is starting high school, a freshman, too smart for his own good but by all accounts socially inept. While it's not officially stated in the book, Charlie could count all the people he spoke to on a daily occurrence with one hand; only one of these goes to his school: his sister. So, things are a little bit desperate for Charlie, and as far as teenage socialising goes you wouldn't want to look at Charlie at the start of the book to see how to do things "right". But early on things take a twist, and a couple of seniors in the school take Charlie under their wing. We can presume they realised he had no friends, which affected their decision to keep him around, but it is also clear that they see friendship material in the young freshman; what happens after this encounter changes Charlie's life in a fantastic tale of love, friendship, parties, music, books and the discovery of regular conventions of human life that become part of the wallflower's life.

(Side note: a wallflower, in terms of a social status, is someone who knows how to listen and how to keep quiet about what they hear so that people can't directly relate experiences Charlie retells to his addressee 'friend' to the real people he writes about.)

So, what made you buy this book?
Well, I was browsing for books similar to John Green's Paper Towns and this one popped up, over and over again, on a number of sites online. I looked into the book, and decided to go out on a limb and buy it. I did not regret my choice. It definitely is something for John Green fans to consider! Charming, funny, easy enough to read, somewhat heartbreaking, it has the elements of a Green novel (including new experiences in school and lots of driving!) that so many people love.

How did it compare to Green's books in terms of quality?
In terms of humour, this isn't as good. There are less laugh-out-loud moments in the book than Green exposes us to, but there is a certain warmth to be found in the reality of the people Chbosky writes about. There always seemed to me to be a certain exaggerated (albeit delightful) quality to some of Green's characters that, while adding a wonderful thrill to the reader's understanding of them, Chbosky downplays, making his book seem somewhat more realistic. And in terms of content, Chbosky certainly covers a lot more issues in this book than Green does in his, though I do find that the effect of Green's books is that the underlying messages are driven in very deeply without being forced upon you (relaxing narrative, use of humour, etc. all being helpful in making sure the reader is not overwhelmed by Green's philosophies of life that he passes on in his literature).

What exactly does Chbosky deal with?
A number of issues, ranging from sex, homosexuality, first dates, drugs, high school, friendship, love, literature, music, depression and domestic violence. Though that is a somewhat blown-out-of-proportion list.

Is it recommended?
For fans of John Green - definitely. (Also fans of authors in the same bracket of wonderful literature, like Maureen Johnson and David Levithan.) For everyone else... pretty much definitely, too. It's a coming-of-age novel that reads more maturely than you'd expect, and deals with a range of issues and emotions that anyone and everyone can appreciate in a good book. Not just for the socially awkward, either!