Browsing through old photos I took in Canada - with the intent to use them as blogging content, but never got around to (surprise, surprise) - I stumbled upon a handful of shots I took whilst sorting out my university pile *cough hoard collecting centre * in the basement. I finally binned the old notebooks and papers I would never again need in my life. Yep. I still had those. Every single one - down to my very first lecture EVER in my Shorter Genres class! I can't believe I know/remember that... what is the matter with me... I donated a huge tote full of books back to McMaster, figuring they could re-use the books more than any other donation centre ever could, but allowed myself to keep the handful of books/novels that I whole-heartedly enjoyed over the course of my 4 year career as a post-secondary student:
This photo stirs up a mixture of longing, sadness and heartache.... that's the landing right outside of my bedroom... oh how I miss home :(
If ever I was probed to list my "top 10", the above stack would be an automatic, go-to response:
Maus I and II by Art Spiegelman.
Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh.
Obasan by Joy Kogawa.
A Small Place by Jamaica Kincaid.
Kiss of the Fur Queen by Tomson Highway.
The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall.
Breakfast on Pluto by Patrick McCabe.
High Fidelity by Nick Hornby.
Maria Chapdelaine by Louis Hémon.
If I close my eyes and think hard enough, I can still envision the various places I sat whilst reading these books... the spaces into which I curled myself up, the nooks and crannies I allowed myself to get lost in; where time stood still and I lost all track of it... Each of the books listed above - but not limited to - were ones that I used in what feels like the hundreds of papers and analytical essays I produced in uni. Perhaps that is why I love them so - because not only did I read them for the sake of reading, rather, I was forced to dig a little deeper, into meaning beyond the words that simply appeared on the surface at first glance. Don't they say that should make you loathe a novel? When you have to pick it apart? I suppose I'm strange in that regards if such is true, ha-ha.
Were I to sit here and write a review for each of them, I would be here all day! If you are interested in any of them, please by all means, message me, and I will get back to you :) I just wanted to throw a handful of titles out there for anyone who may be seeking a good read!
I remember thinking to myself, back in uni, how it always seemed the book lists were ambiguously likeable and appealing; profs were asking us to purchase novels I would never give a second glance to, let alone pick up in my hunt for novels at a bookstore. And yet, after finishing a book, I always managed to find something to love about it. I am so grateful for all the doorways my degree has opened for me, in that it allowed me to explore stories, concepts, and ideas I would never have imagined myself liking or thinking of in the first place!
I must give a shoutout, however, to at least one novel up there: Kiss of the Fur Queen. I was required to read that book on three separate occasions in Uni., for three separate classes. Needless to say, I know the story like the back of my hand. I feel it's one of those books you instantaneously love, or hate. There is no limbo, or resting space in-between. Truthfully, I think I enjoy it so much because of my keen interest and liking in any area/novel related to Indigeneity... Knowledge and power, I think, become interchangeable concepts when it comes to the struggle they face, and the ability to surface or bring about change... but that could be a whole other post in and of itself ;)
I know this post was a bit random, but again, I thought it would be fun to share these titles for those seeking a good read and to stir up some uni memories whilst I'm so far from home! I know some of my English Lit. pals will have a good laugh at my selection of novels, he-he.
Have a lovely Sunday my sweets. Relax. Curl up with a good book ;) and I'll talk to you soon.
Steph xxx
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