I have taken it upon myself to read 100 books which are all considered classics of the literary world before the summer is out. Originally I thought this was going to be an easy task because:
1. I love reading. Anything with any form of script on it and I will read it. I have read cereal boxes, theses and even the Argos catalog.
2. One would assume that the classics would be given that title on the basis of them being the best of the best. Books so thrilling that they have been passed through the generations and put on a pedestal as the hierarchy of the written word.
3. I wanted to prepare myself for university by putting a huge workload ahead of myself. And that I did.
Thirty-six days into summer 2011 and I have read roughly nine of the classics. I have already come to a startling conclusion...they are classically unbearable. Fame in the literary world is most certainly capricious. This is why I was expecting greatness from the likes of George Orwell and Jane Austen as they have had acclaim as great writers for years. As the saying goes...life is full of surprises.
I thought that maybe I was being overly critical so I asked the most well read person I know, Mummy dearest. She confirmed with conviction that the classics were complete tat. She has a collection of classics which could rival the national library and said that most of them wouldn't even be worth the paper they were written on.
But why have they become so famous? Why have they been praised since they were published? Why do millions of people claim that they are their favourite books?
I have come to the conclusion that these books have reached their standing because people use them as a way of gaining respect. Choosing a book like "Wuthering Heights" or "The Mill On The Floss" demands respect and gives the impression that you are of a higher intellect. I think choosing a classic as your favourite book is a form of name dropping in essence. A question which I often ask people is what is their favourite book and if they say something like "Ulysses" or "1984" then I immediately know that they are pretentious and quite noticeably lying. Reading "Ulysses" could be compared to Nazi-style torture and "1984" is a very dull book about conspiracy theories, a solipsistic choice indeed.
As woeful as my task has been thus far I will continue looking for a true classic. A book which deserves its recognition and its author's place as one of the greatest writers of the English language. Until then I will use the title of my next classic written by Jack Kerouac as a pun: back "On The Road" to the search for the ultimate classic.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Saturday, June 18, 2011
It's Not Over, Not Over, Not Over Yet...Well Yes It Actually Is.
The bane of my life is finally finished. That is right...the Leaving Cert has left the building. To say it was absolutely horrid would be a lie. Okay there were those moments in which I thought that I would never see the 16th of June, that I would never smile again and I thought I had become an insomniac. I had heard all those stories from my Leaving Cert predecessors:
1. Childbirth is like a sun holiday compared to the Leaving Cert.
2. It is by far the worst and most exhausting year of your life.
3.You will experience a "winning the lottery" euphoria at the end of your final exam.
Well in classic Leaving Cert style: Are the above true or false?
False, definitely false.
I can't speak for everyone but I enjoyed my last year at school. I spent the majority of it laughing and joking with all the girls I had grown up with. I was sleep deprived but that had less to do with the big LC and more to do with my new reality TV addiction (if I fail maths those Kardashians are to blame). And finally on Thursday when I finished Biology, I was too sleepy to be euphoric.
I am certainly not saying that it was like a trip to Disneyland. Those weeks of relentless work before it were laborious, the exams were very boring and I was getting cabin fever from being locked indoors like a prisoner. The most awful part of it all was how it seemed to drain all of fun out of previously exciting people. It was like Leaving Cert of the living dead. The rate of bant was at zero, I have had more fun doing the dishes.
I seem to have become weirdly lost without it. I have no direction in my life. I am still working on the timeline of my Leaving Cert. I wake up spontaneously at 8am and feel so lazy because I am doing nothing productive. What has happened to me? I went from the queen of procrastination to productivity overdrive. This metamorphosis should please me but I feel uneasy, I liked my old, lazy self.
I am looking forward to the best summer of my life. Nothing to concern me only where I am going to find my next outfit or when the next episode of Gilmore Girls is on. Then there is Galway, my brand new life as a college student. I absolutely can't wait and I hope it works out how i have been planning...qui vivre verra!
The urban myth about the Leaving Cert has been proved to be fictitious. It can be filed between carrots make you see in the dark and the Easter Bunny. To all the future LC's may the force be with you and always remember two weeks before is never too late!
1. Childbirth is like a sun holiday compared to the Leaving Cert.
2. It is by far the worst and most exhausting year of your life.
3.You will experience a "winning the lottery" euphoria at the end of your final exam.
Well in classic Leaving Cert style: Are the above true or false?
False, definitely false.
I can't speak for everyone but I enjoyed my last year at school. I spent the majority of it laughing and joking with all the girls I had grown up with. I was sleep deprived but that had less to do with the big LC and more to do with my new reality TV addiction (if I fail maths those Kardashians are to blame). And finally on Thursday when I finished Biology, I was too sleepy to be euphoric.
I am certainly not saying that it was like a trip to Disneyland. Those weeks of relentless work before it were laborious, the exams were very boring and I was getting cabin fever from being locked indoors like a prisoner. The most awful part of it all was how it seemed to drain all of fun out of previously exciting people. It was like Leaving Cert of the living dead. The rate of bant was at zero, I have had more fun doing the dishes.
I seem to have become weirdly lost without it. I have no direction in my life. I am still working on the timeline of my Leaving Cert. I wake up spontaneously at 8am and feel so lazy because I am doing nothing productive. What has happened to me? I went from the queen of procrastination to productivity overdrive. This metamorphosis should please me but I feel uneasy, I liked my old, lazy self.
I am looking forward to the best summer of my life. Nothing to concern me only where I am going to find my next outfit or when the next episode of Gilmore Girls is on. Then there is Galway, my brand new life as a college student. I absolutely can't wait and I hope it works out how i have been planning...qui vivre verra!
The urban myth about the Leaving Cert has been proved to be fictitious. It can be filed between carrots make you see in the dark and the Easter Bunny. To all the future LC's may the force be with you and always remember two weeks before is never too late!
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