Ian McKay > Recent Status Updates

I'm rereading To Kill a Mockingbird. This time through, the book is more of a pleasure than it was when I was compelled to read it in Sophomore English class.

I subconsciously believed that nothing bad would happen to these upper class socialites of Long Island, while consciously I knew that Fitzgerald would offer some sort of conflict. I did not expect such a sudden, violent, gruesome turn from the drinking, the mystique, and the parties.

The question on my mind is what will Tom do when he finds out that Daisy and Gatsby are in love? I know he's violent. Will he kill someone?

Tom Buchanan seems cold upon first impression and is revealed to be actually violent and cruel. Chapter 2 begins with a dreamlike depiction of Myrtle Wilson's neighborhood in Queens, a bleak, gray land "where ashes grow like wheat into ridges" and where "ashes take the forms of men who move dimly." This description was so unclear and vaporous as to fail the reader. The beginning of a chapter should be more concrete.

The opening chapter is a dinner scene hosted by Tom and Daisy Buchanan for the narrator, Nick Carraway and Tom and Daisy's friend Jordan Baker. I was entertained by the dialog and the imagery of food, landscapes, figures, light and color. A full spectrum of passion is portrayed in the emotions of the characters, making the reader aware of how each one feels.

The Ministry of Love is a nightmare.

I've gotten through "The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism." It was a long stretch of the book which provides the organizational structure of Oceania's internal, foreign, and social politics.

O'Brien has given Winston the book: The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism. Orwell expounds its contents word for word as if the reader were listening to him read it aloud to Julia, perhaps from the courtyard below the windows of their secret room.

Julia's message becomes the only color in Winston's gray world and he is awakened by hope and love.

Winston interviewed the 84-year-old Prole with a bad memory.

1984 is an enormously bold criticism of corrupt government which was intended as a polemic against the Soviet Union of the 1940's, but which has other features which make the book's content relevant to certain modern governments as well.

Buck's suffering seems to end when he meets John Thornton. It was worth reading through the brutal first five chapters to get to chapter 6.

I got to the end of Chapter 5 and learned how Buck parts ways with Hal, Charles, and Mercedes.

Sometimes it's hard to stomach the brutality of this book, but within the brutality there are breathlessly clear depictions of the beauty of nature. These seem to make it worth pulling through the scenes of animal suffering.

I'm starting to get used to Morgenstern's unconventional style. The mystery of the book is opening up and I'm curious about what will happen next.

I'm trying not to let myself be too annoyed by the author's frequent use of one sentence paragraphs.

Barnes has something neat to share about psychological states at each stage of life - beginning, middle and end.

This book is as gripping as "The Name of the Wind."

Can't wait to get started. The experience of reading the Name of the Wind was a rediscovery of my adolescent love of fantasy.

These well-crafted, concise essays confront challenging questions from the forefront of the humanities on topics such as gender politics, internet echo chambers, and racial conformity. Will reading them improve my GRE score? Hopefully.

I’m loving this so far. I’ll express a common opinion: Hemingway is a brilliant author. Readers love him because his narrative focuses entirely on the present moment and every word matters to the story. I’ve found that the former is mostly true with the exception of the occasional frame narrative while the latter is entirely true.