Suggestion Saturday: October 30, 2010

Written on October 30, 2010 by Lydia in Uncategorized

Here is this week’s list of blog posts, poetry and other tidbits from my favourite corners of the web.

Paranormal Investigation of the Amargosa Hotel, Part 1. Happy Halloween! I thought I’d share Erin Pavlina’s 5-part series on a night she recently spent investigating spirits and ghosts at the Amargosa Hotel. Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5. I tend to believe that most hauntings can be explained as either mind tricks or misinterpretations of natural events. It’s an intriguing subject to explore, though.

From Somewhere In Between:

We’re not altogether as loving as we could be, but we’re concurrently not as mean-spirited or hateful as we could be either. Most of us certainly are more selfish than we might like to think, but most of us can also be very selfless, at times.

Here’s to Being Willing to Fall Down a Few Times for Our True Callings. Yes, it is incredibly hokey to tell people to follow their dreams. Many an after-school special and feel good movie of the year has been dedicated to this topic. This doesn’t make it any less true, though.

Debt and Success: Why I Said No to Graduate School. As a teen and young adult I thought I’d earn at least a Master’s degree, if not a Ph.D, in 19th century literature. I hadn’t picked a specific body of work or author to focus on yet, but I had narrowed it down (probably) to my favourite authors from that century: Emily Dickinson and Edgar Allen Poe. Ultimately the massive student loans I’d have to take out for that degree (and the low probability of finding a tenure-track position after a decade or so of intense learning) changed my mind. I still read and think about their poetry and stories, though.

Glory. A poem about the because I/God/*insert holy book here* said so aspect of religious teachings by my friend Sarah. This vaguely reminds me of another poet I once read. If only I could remember the name of the poet or his or her poems!

What have you been reading?

Twyseschoch

good article on college loans. it makes all the difference in the world if one graduates with debt or without it. i also liked how he thought about the necessity of the degree … is it needed for the career, or not?

your area of preferred study, literature … its tough to make it pay off unless you go all the way to PhD and become a professor in the field.
- http://www.on-the-other-hand.com Lydia Schoch
  
  Yes, and even then it’s hard to find stable, full-time work because there’s so much competition. It would also be very long hours and low pay. If these trends ever changed I’d seriously consider jumping in. In the meantime I read and write quite a bit on my own instead.
  - Twyseschoch
    
    tell me … I wonder how you do it when you make book suggestions to me and hit almost 100% on what I will like. Do you read lots of books that you don’t especially like and then suggest only the good ones to me? or do you have a way of choosing books that are almost always winners? I ask because if you or Teresa are not suggesting books to me, then I rarely request it from the library. When I go there and browse, I get mostly books that are average at best. what’s the secret?
    - http://www.on-the-other-hand.com Lydia Schoch
      
      1) I read a lot. Most of what I read is either not something I think you’d be interested in or not well-written enough to recommend.
      
      2) You’re my Momma. I (almost always) know what you’d like, just as I imagine you could (almost always) know what tickles my fancy!
      
      3) If I find an author I really like I pay close attention to quotes or references to other works in his or her books. Often this leads to more good stuff to read.
      - Twyseschoch
        
        so you read a lot of average stuff along the way. do you finish every book you start?
      - http://www.on-the-other-hand.com Lydia Schoch
        
        No! I’ll give a book a few dozen pages. If it doesn’t catch my attention I go on to something else.
teresa

I liked reading posts from your friend Sarah’s blog. I’m always amazed at the interesting things you find on the web.
I also enjoyed reading your comments in response to your mom’s question about book recommendations. One thing I do to get ideas for books is to pay attention to the
Sunday paper list of most requested books at the local library as well as the best seller’s lists, etc. I’ve found good ideas that way, and I also do what you said you do and pay close attention when reading to books mentioned while reading, as well as to anytime I hear someone mention a book on NPR…another good source!
- Twyseschoch
  
  i have never once in my life paid attention to the most requested books list nor the best sellers lists. i rely totally on recommendations from friends.
  - http://www.on-the-other-hand.com Lydia Schoch
    
    Rarely I will take a look at the best seller’s list. Most of the books on there aren’t stories that I’m interested in although there have been exceptions to that “rule.”
- http://www.on-the-other-hand.com Lydia Schoch
  
  NPR is a good idea. I don’t own a radio so I’ll have to look up their website to see how many programs I can listen to or download.