Recently Read:
The Guinea Pig Diaries: My Life as an Experiment
by AJ Jacobs
I really loved this book. Interactive, investigative journalism is my favorite. I love when people immerse themselves in the story, or try to live that life for a set period of time.
See: Scratch Beginnings,
Nickel and Dimed,
Self-Made Man, etc. AJ Jacobs is the king of doing just that. He's written two previous books:
The Year of Living Biblically and
The Know-It-All, which I have yet to read, but I'm pretty sure I will.
The Guinea Pig Diaries is a book of essays that could stand alone, but some call back to previous experiments. I think most were originally published as articles, but I like having them all combined here. Jacobs did some interesting experiments, like pretending to be a girl on an online dating site
(filtering results for his kid's nanny), outsourcing work, daily tasks, errands -
everything - to companies in India, and posing as a lesser-known celebrity at the Oscars. He does each experiment for a month. I'll admit, there were a few I wanted to try... Being brutally honest? Sounds difficult, not to mention dangerous. Focusing on being a "unitasker" instead of a multitasker.
The only one I kind of had a problem with, and therefore skimmed over, was the chapter about living by George Washington's rules. The idea itself was fine, but Jacobs couldn't keep himself from getting preachy. He spent several paragraphs praising Obama, saying he already seems like he'll be as honorable as Washington, blah blah blah. I know it's Jacobs' book, and he can say what he wants, but it alienated me, and affected the way I read the rest of the book. I think it should have
at least been scaled back, if not removed completely. I'm sure the vast majority of his readership would agree with him, but he was
so preachy and just wouldn't shut up about it, and it seemed a bit of a stretch to me, since this was written before Obama had been in the office for very long. But now
I'm the one ranting, so I'll stop.
Overall, a good book to read. I'm kind of torn on if I'll read his others - one in which he does exactly what the Bible says, and one in which he reads the encyclopedia. They don't sound that fascinating, but if I have a time when I need a book to read, then there's a good chance I'll pick up the others.
Just Finished:
Columbine
by Dave Cullen
The only required reading
(since Into the Wild earlier this semester) I've actually enjoyed - and therefore completed. It seemed daunting, originally - over 400 pages in paperback?! The chapters are thankfully short - thankfully because I picked it up every time I had two seconds to spare, and could finish smallish portions of the book. Thankfully, because some sections are
really hard to read. I had to squint through my tears several times, until I started putting the book down to cry several times. Powerful stuff. It as a tragedy, yes, but I think it says a lot about the writing if simple nonfiction, the retelling of facts, can bring me to tears.
We haven't had a class discussion of the book yet, but some of us talked about it while waiting for the teacher last week. One girl said it was one of the best books she's read, though it sounds strange to say that about such a horrible subject. I totally agree. Another girl said that she was glad the chapters were short, because they depressed her. I didn't necessarily agree with that. It's a sad tragedy, yes, but the book made me more paranoid
(is that possible?!) than anything. These teenage boys had planned the attack for
a year and a half! That is incredible, and unbelievably scary. They weren't bullied; they had friends, prom dates; they went to football games - they didn't hate jocks. The people explicitly named on the "Hate List" weren't even killed. This wasn't an impulsive killing by two boys pushed to the limit. This was a carefully calculated mass murder committed by two teenagers - one of whom was diagnosed a psychopath. It makes me antsy when I'm walking around campus and sitting in classrooms. I know it's paranoia, but it's not something to be disregarded, as shown by the Virginia Tech killer, and the other school shooters Cullen references in his book.
The book is very well-written and well-researched. Cullen includes big sections in the back about references, notes, drawings and notes from the killers, diagrams of the school and the crime scenes. His website has even more information about the tragedy and the case that followed. I remember the day of the shooting. I remember not being allowed to carry backpacks for the rest of the school year. I remember going through metal detectors every day for the rest of that year. I remember having random metal detectors almost every week in high school, being picked for one because I was wearing a black "Toxic Twins" shirt with a skull on it - whoooo! I remember the zero tolerance rules, which we still use today at my university. I remember hearing the media's spin on the case - that these boys were bullied, they targets jocks and blacks, they loved Hitler, and chose his birthday to commit the murders. All false. Cullen's book disproves them all, with significant evidence backing it up. He includes interviews with survivors, families, all who were affected.
READ THIS BOOK.
Currently Trucking Through:
Can I Wear My Nose Ring to the Interview?
by Ellen Gordon Reeves
I've only read the first few pages of this book so far, but it's pretty funny, as well as practical. It's really recent, as shown by the title. I bookmarked it a long time ago on Amazon, because the title was right up my alley. I wore my nose ring to my job interview at my last job, and when I asked about it, they said there's a chance it could hinder my chance at promotion. I wore a retainer for awhile, but got tired of switching out rings every morning and evening, so I took it out completely. After a year or so there, I re-pierced my nose, and nothing ever came of it. I think that year just gave me a chance to show my personality and show the higher-ups that I can do good work regardless of my appearance. I eventually stopped covering up my tattoos, and nothing came of that, either. But I haven't searched for a job in a long time. I don't remember what to do, really. I don't remember how to go about it. And this is for a big-time-real-career-kinda-job. I don't want to flub up on anything stupid. For instance - now you don't need objectives on resumes. WHO KNEW?! Last time I applied for a job, it was necessary, or at least smiled upon. Now - apparently not. And a friend in the industry tells me that the one-page resume is a myth.
Just get all the information out there! she encouraged me.
We'll see how it all goes...
