Jas > Recent Status Updates

JK Rowling read this goddamn book and bastardized it to create Harry Potter, I'm not certain but I'm sure just reading up to chapter 6 😭 This book is killer!

chapter five: in order to fight the proximity to the toxins, you must build a strong immune system with strength and stamina and be your best, even go beyond yourself.

chapter six: i didn't come here to walk, i came here to run / if i break my rules once, i'm bound to break many more / the natural flower garden on the long penninsula, evening had come on and the air had a special clarity to it.

continued from previous note (ch. 4): how much should i be focused on my inner world? how much should i start being confident or doubting myself? / it's important to push yourself to the limits but exceed those and it goes to waste.

notes on chapter five: murakami gets weird about young harvard women in this particular chapter.... / the tastiest part of a poisonous fish is next to the poison, same as writing.

thoughts on chapter three: a water-vein that doesn't dry up, especially in literature, is a rare blessing. depend on your training and you'll find them, no matter how deep. it will be difficult. / everything i've learned about writing, i've learned from running: how much can i push myself? how much rest is appropriate? how can i take something and still keep it going, keep it decent? when does it become narrowminded?

thoughts on chapter two: you need a lot of training to do the sustained, long work you want to do! you really do get what you pay for / training is about tying up loose screws, trying to see what you can really do. you cannot half-ass it, you cannot be arrogant, you must learn from mistakes through the training.

thoughts on chapter three: "everything i know about fiction i learned from running."

notes from chapter two: as long as the one person out of ten really likes your stuff, you're doing your due diligence. but in order to do your due diligence, you must find your philosophy and stay steadfast to it. / when the redlight is obvious, the unfairness of a situation, count it as a blessing as others have it easy and, therefore, later on, they wouldn't.

thoughts on chapter two: the pleasure of being a writer is getting up early and going to bed early / wake up with the sun, go to bed earlier. it's the kind of life "respectable people live" and you could see the people you WANT to see---what a straightforward pleasure. / people might get mad at the simplicity LOL / find your priorities now, build your day around it. welcome days that only improve from the last.

thoughts on chapter two: reason why he started running was because he was idle, gaining weight, and smoking 60 cigs a DAY. running is something you can do alone and with no equipment. / he changed his life entirely and moved to another prefecture / he could never do what he didn't want to do when he didn't want to; when he wanted to do something when and how he wanted to, he gave it all he had.

continued thoughts on chapter one: running is a thought-void, he's meditating, and he wouldn't compromise on entering this vastness

thoughts on chapter two: he sent a chapter off to a lit mag and didn't keep a copy, he was more concerned with finishing the story rather than if it would see the light of day or not / "i just couldn't be clever", he had to do one thing as a time, not half-heartedly.

listening to the audiobook, he said something that absolutely struck me and i'm paraphrasing from chapter one: i'm just trying to beat myself from yesterday and the way i define that win has changed over time. it doesn't necessarily mean distance or speed, but moreso about sense of accomplishment / running is a metaphor / peaking time / running is an opportunity not to talk or be spoken to, this cannot be compromised

thus far, i've only read what was really brief to read, seemed easy at the time, or most piqued my interest. all the essays are striking and truthful to me. they describe so many similar, simple experiences despite the clear consensus that black existence is obviously not monolithic; and that too is shared understanding. it's marvelous to read.

reading this for awhile. her essays are sad and tiny and un/relatable at times. love reading this.

she’s so funny and inspiring.

i read “c-Kira” and found it so bizarre. the ending was so jarring. interesting start to the collection.

my momma making me read this so we can talk about it but LORD i expected this to have some semblance of goodness to it--the first chapter literally agonized me. going to "spoil" something unessential to the plot but tabitha is pulled over and, god, the reaction, narration, and conversation that ensues made me immediately hate this woman. she not too bright, bro...

bell hooks' politics are vastly different than what i've been led to believe. can't believe some of her thoughts on women and how she has come to conceptualize abuse/victimization. just holy moly, would not have loved to talk to her should i have shared a class with her.

some work makes me question if i 1. like being a poet and if i 2. am a good poet. not because i am a bad poet or the poems are so good but, because i literally have no idea what's going on OR, when i do know what's going on, i'm rolling my eyes. this is one of those works. i am lost often. saying i'm 25% of the way because i'm going to take a few read-throughs (i predict 4) to figure out what is going on.

gonna have to read a section a day now that i finished half of the book. her life experience, as someone that i don't aspire to be and cannot relate to in many ways, taints the text. i also am curious as to why she renames the same sources over and over. the simplicity of hooks' writing hallmarks her writing; however, when talking about simple matters, it comes off as tiring. this book could have been reduced.

let me be honest--i have never been a big fan of bell hooks and this book is no exception. appreciating the summarizations on the matter of love but some of her thoughts are outdated, make me roll my eyes, or have limited elaboration (and, therefore, could have been cut). it's a nice book but i start skimming when she gets too personal. i've read her memoir so ? keep it in the memoir...

Anton Hur has to be the culprit of why this book reads so pitifully. however, Bora Chung's story conclusions also strike me as half-finished and poorly constructed. really disappointed in this book thus far. two more stories to go.

first book of my four week "read as much as you can" challenge and i am CHALLENGED. 90 minutes / 108 pages read / 4 short stories. either anton hur's translation is lacking or bora chung's writing simply doesn't thrill me. this book is cringing me out!

really loving this book so much im learning so much. hope to finish this month.

loving the build-up currently