Great Expectations, House of Leaves, the Writer's Market, and Freelancing

     Quite a few things have happened since I published my last blog post on Friday. I reached the one hundred page mark in Great Expectations by Charles Dickens; I got through half of House of Leaves; and I have decided that I am going to pursue a career as a freelance writer.
     You can expect a post on Great Expectations by the 2nd of October and a post on House of Leaves soon after. I have always found it difficult to read two books at once. I am always getting confused if I try to read more than one novel at a time. For your sake and mine, dear reader, I will not be rushing through these books but I will be pacing myself, and these are the projected dates that I will be done reading the novels. I want to write about the books accurately and in a way that you will get a clear picture of what I have read and how I feel about each book. In order to become a better writer, I must learn the art of functional writing and I must start somewhere, so why not here?
      Also, I am hoping to branch out in the future and post here more than once a week as I had originally planned. I want to have plenty of things for you to read. If I am not posting more than once or twice a week, I at least want to post long articles. Short posts are good. Long posts are better. In order to branch out to other reaches of the internet, I will be befriending the writers of other blogs that are strictly about books and/or writing. This is not an easy task for me to accomplish due to the fact I am the most socially awkward person in existence, but do it I shall. I want to make myself proud and I want you all to be proud of me. At some point I want to do guest writing for blogs as well and have others do guest writing on my blog.
The more the merrier.

So long for now readers!

House of Leaves Pt. 2

This book is messing me up bad. How bad? SO bad.
The thing about a psychological thriller is that you do not know why it scares you, but it does for some reason anyway. Parts of it are laughable in this book; like the parts in which Johnny talks about sex and other stuff I am too polite to mention here (this blog is for all audiences right...?). Then come the scary parts that should not be scary at all, but they are! I am over two-hundred pages into this book; very close to three-hundred. My mental state seems to be getting a little bit worse with each progression through the book. I have not left the couch except to use the bathroom (showers and stuff) and go to school since I started it yesterday.
I have the feeling that tonight I will be taking my dad's spot in my parent's bed tonight since he is working third shift. This is what happened with Blair Witch and The Raven too. I have not gotten to the point that I am sleeping with a Louisville Slugger next to me, but it is too soon to make a judgement on that.
Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers as my sanity is about to go down the toilet.

House of Leaves Pt. 1

House of Leaves is by Mark Z. Danielewski. Tim gave it to me today to borrow for a short time. It will be back in his possession once I finish reading it. It is listed as part of the horror genre and I can somewhat see it, but everyone who has read the book says it is more than that. I was able to read a little bit of it at school today and then I had to take the bus home. That means more reading on the ICC bus and then none on the University bus. On the University bus, though, this woman sat down across from me and immediately recognized the cover. She told me that it was the best book ever written and that it is a total trip. I am somewhat excited to read it and a little apprehensive. It has the feel of the Blair Witch Project to me, and I have the feeling that these thoughts are not unfounded.
We will see where this book takes me and I will be back to write more about this book later as I figure out more about it.

A Few Musings Over Tea

          I received a real punch in the face tonight when my school email account would not let me access my blog. All three years worth of it. I started this blog when I was sixteen in the attempts to not clog people's' newsfeeds with my nanowrimo updates. I am planning to post more here as I get into reading again. I have been in a massive reading rut for multiple reasons, but I am finally finding good books to occupy my time with and great people too.
          I recently read The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, which was quite an interesting book in all honesty. It was a coming of age novel in the oddest sense of the term. Holden Caulfield realizes what he wants to be and what his purpose in life is. I think that he showcases the emotions of most teenagers during their middle to late teen years. I will not dwell on the book now, though, for I will be posting more on it later in a different post once I find the time to.
          I mentioned in my last previous post that I was not spending late nights at the hospital anymore. I figured I should explain why I was barely here this past school year. Long story short, my grandmother was very sick and I spent most of my time with her. She passed away back in May and the pain is still very raw for me, but I am feeling better. Thus, I am posting this. I believe now that I am feeling up to posting here every week, if people are still willing to read my posts.
          I also started up classes again. It is technically my sophomore year of college and it has already revealed to me the struggles that are to come. Currently I am taking English Literature, Math 110, Psy 110, Comm 110, and German 210.  I have met some really rad people. I have a new friend out of all the five classes I am taking and his name is Tim. He seems to love reading just as much as I do and we are swapping books with each other on Thursday (which I am extremely excited about). I am always happy to make new friends. Especially those who read lots of books.
          I have many blog posts in the making for this semester, so please come back every week and read what I have to say about books.

Happy reading and go enjoy a cup of tea!