So that is the motivation behind this endeavor. In order to avoid insanity or some rotting of the brain that my mother threatened would occur if I watched too much TV, I intend to start reading. I can’t just start reading, however. The world of literature is too vast, too awesome to choose from. After two years of reading dry historical theory, choosing a book to read from the shelves of a bookstore would, for me, be something like letting loose the proverbial kid in a candy shop. I also want to read something wonderful. After I finished college, I read Charles Dickens’ Bleak House and it was both incredible and rewarding. I want to re-experience that. I did a search for lists of great literature and I found The Guardian’s list of the 100 greatest novels of all time. After looking over the list and, having read or wanted to read several of the novels listed, I have decided that this will be my project. I will read all 100 novels and record my thoughts, reactions, and general musings in the hopes that this will help me fill the void that grad school left. I’m hoping that this project will prevent me from adding another 900 movies to my list.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
An Introduction
My Netflix account informed me last week that I had just rated my nine hundredth movie. From time to time I click on the “Movies You’ll Love” tab to update my film queue and find more shows that I might enjoy. The service keeps a running tab on the films I rate, and as I rated Masterpiece Theater’s recent hit Sherlock (five stars because I absolutely LOVED it), my total updated to 900. This sparked three subsequent realizations. First, I watch way too many movies. I recently graduated with a Master’s Degree in history, and for nearly three months after, I was unemployed. In between recovering, recuperating, and searching for jobs, I distracted myself by watching insane amounts of sows on Netflix Instant. The second realization was that I really watch too much TV. I try to maintain a standard for rating Netflix movies: I have to have seen the movie recently to rate it so I can give it an accurate rating. Movies from my childhood--Disney cartoons notwithstanding--must be rewatched or remain unrated. This means that my movie count is inaccurate. This fact both frightens and embarrasses me. And finally, I realized that I am bored. Despite having secured a nine-to-five job I enjoy, I feel unsatisfied in a way that even an endless string of shows cannot remedy. The past two years accustomed me to days (and, more often that not, nights) of reading and analyzing. I am happy that I am no longer reading 500 pages a week or writing five-page analytical papers. At the same time, I find myself craving more intellectual challenge than my current situation can provide. Looking at that movie tally, I realized I needed a project.
So that is the motivation behind this endeavor. In order to avoid insanity or some rotting of the brain that my mother threatened would occur if I watched too much TV, I intend to start reading. I can’t just start reading, however. The world of literature is too vast, too awesome to choose from. After two years of reading dry historical theory, choosing a book to read from the shelves of a bookstore would, for me, be something like letting loose the proverbial kid in a candy shop. I also want to read something wonderful. After I finished college, I read Charles Dickens’ Bleak House and it was both incredible and rewarding. I want to re-experience that. I did a search for lists of great literature and I found The Guardian’s list of the 100 greatest novels of all time. After looking over the list and, having read or wanted to read several of the novels listed, I have decided that this will be my project. I will read all 100 novels and record my thoughts, reactions, and general musings in the hopes that this will help me fill the void that grad school left. I’m hoping that this project will prevent me from adding another 900 movies to my list.
So that is the motivation behind this endeavor. In order to avoid insanity or some rotting of the brain that my mother threatened would occur if I watched too much TV, I intend to start reading. I can’t just start reading, however. The world of literature is too vast, too awesome to choose from. After two years of reading dry historical theory, choosing a book to read from the shelves of a bookstore would, for me, be something like letting loose the proverbial kid in a candy shop. I also want to read something wonderful. After I finished college, I read Charles Dickens’ Bleak House and it was both incredible and rewarding. I want to re-experience that. I did a search for lists of great literature and I found The Guardian’s list of the 100 greatest novels of all time. After looking over the list and, having read or wanted to read several of the novels listed, I have decided that this will be my project. I will read all 100 novels and record my thoughts, reactions, and general musings in the hopes that this will help me fill the void that grad school left. I’m hoping that this project will prevent me from adding another 900 movies to my list.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)