Currently Reading (4)

1. Les Misérables Volume 1 by Victor Hugo 

'The Paris of 1862 is a city which France has for its suburbs... a maelstrom in which everything is lost; & everything disappears in this whirlpool of the world as in the whirlpool of the sea.'

500 pages of fainting women, the French Revolution & Paris' failed sewage system of the 19th century... Only took two months to read. Only. It's undoubtedly a classic of our time, of course, & I'm glad I finally trawled through the French epic novel but it's going to be a while before I pick up volume 2.

2. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

'No matter how dreary & gray our homes are, we people of flesh & blood would rather live there than in any other country, be it ever so beautiful. There is no place like home.'

Delightful. A classic, albeit in a different way. Anyway, there was a sore need for children's literature after two months of reading Hugo ;)

3. The Cider House Rules by John Irving

'What is hardest to accept about the passage of time is that the people who once mattered most to us wind up in parentheses.' 

I read John Irving's A Widow for One Year sometime in 2012 & swore of his novels forever. A Widow for One Year was an absolute nightmare with its sparse story lines, tiresome characters & unbearably long-winded writing style & I swore I would never put myself through 600 pages of something like that again except that one day whilst youtube surfing, I saw the movie trailer of The Cider House Rules & with an inward groan, decided to give it a go. No regrets at all. While there isn't much of a plot in this novel, the settings are rich & powerful, the events, visceral, & the characters are strong enough to drive the story forward. Irving's writing in The Cider House Rules is also inarguably excellent, with its plot starting slow but swelling like a wave while also tackling sensitive issues without exaggeration or hyperbole, making it believable to readers. Enjoyed it immensely.

4. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway

'Listen, Robert, going to another country doesn't make any difference. I've tried all that. You can't get away from yourself by moving from one place to another. There's nothing to that.'

The first novel Hemingway ever wrote, & a personal favourite. In The Sun Also Rises, the cityscape of Paris & the violent throes of Spanish bull-fighting are merely embellishments to the main attractions, which are the spirited, but lonely characters & the quick dialogue exchanged between them. There's really nobody who writes witty banter & captures the restless spirit of the Lost Generation better than early Hemingway.

5. By Grand Central Station I Sat Down & Wept by Elizabeth Smart

'Under the redwood tree my grave was laid, & I beguiled my true love to lie down. The stream of our kiss put a waterway around the world, where love like a refugee sailed in the last ship. My hair made a shroud & kept the coyotes at bay while we wrote our cyphers with anatomy. The winds boomed triumph, our spines seemed overburdened, & our bones groaned like old trees, but a smile like a cobweb was fastened across the mouth of the cave of fate.' 

I love love love this book. It's an obvious re-read: the slim volume of prose-poetry is criss-crossed with lines & heavily-marked with circles, the margins filled with ink & exclamation points, simply because this book is so full of beautiful phrases that every line stands out in its own way to me.  Prose-poetry is still a relatively new field of literature to me but even as I explore more of this genre, I am constantly pulled back to this one because of its brilliance. Lovely.

6. Tales of the Jazz Age by F. Scott Fitzgerald

'...as if borne on the dreamy revolution of a slow merry-go-round.'

More literature from the Jazz age. Schizophrenic, quick & grand, & nothing short of the writings of F. Scott Fitzgerald.




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It's been kind of a slow 2013, reading wise. I've been savouring every chance I get to do some reading, but it's hardly ever enough.Need to set aside whole days for this! Besides work & late-night coffee/ice-cream sessions & random trips to IKEA, nothing much has been happening. Still, I can't help but feel that a full two weeks of sleep would do me some good. So far I'm holding it together, if only by God's grace!

Loads of exciting things are coming up but as far as tonight goes, I'm too tired to type them all out ;) I'll just have to update this space as the events unfold. For now, au revoir!





Other book lists from other times
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In paper & ink

Sometimes, stories are the only things that matter.

Shift

Sorry if I've been neglecting this space. We've moved!

(I) If Comfort Were a Room

I like the look of my room.

It is what I imagine Comfort to look like,

If Comfort were a room.

Especially when it is raining outside.

When the sky is dark & weeping & heavy.

It’s a secret guilty pleasure I have,

enjoying the rain.

But there’s a certain melancholic sadness in watching rain fall

like watching a grown man cry…

Not that I would ever take pleasure from that.

(Who would anyway?)

I take pleasure in ordinary & simple things,

like Loneliness.

Loneliness is a wonderful thing,

if you let it be.

Most people haven’t really realized this,

Which is okay because we are all learning.

You’ll get there somehow,

But only if you want to.

The Only Place

Today I skived school & spent the whole day making photo collages on a new photo app. It was a day well-spent, I think. Sometimes it's alright to play hooky, only once in while, to catch up on life. I miss reading and my guitars. I miss summer.


I miss having time.

Quotes from the Lesser-Known: The End

'The idea for this compilation came about like most ideas often do: while I was checking Twitter & Tumblr & the rest of the new-fangled social networking sites on an otherwise mundane afternoon. I don't quite know how it happened, but I was just suddenly aware of how much & how often we quote famous people. People, myself included, are constantly filling their blogs with verbatim from the influentials: authors, poets, celebrities, musicians, politicians, artists, philosophers, & the like... & for some reason, it got me a bit upset. Please don't get me wrong: it isn't bad to quote the aforementioned. They were, are, famous for a reason; if not for wisdom or advice or life experience, at least for being wildly entertaining. It does lead us to the question though... What is worth quoting? What is it exactly that deems a person 'quotable'? Surely it is not based solely on the worldly prominence or social status of the individual, but the weight of meaning in that statement that deigns itself worthy to be remembered. I'd like to think ordinary people like you & me say extraordinary things every day, that everyone in this seven billion population on Earth has something to say, simple or profound. 

So here we go, these are Quotes from the Lesser-Known.'

Prologue to the QFTLK compilation

Stacy T, 20

Too embarrassed to write a self-professed, self-praising, one-liner biography

___________________________________________________



It all started from a creative writing project final. I remember writing something like this in my journal, two weeks before it was due: 'Oh god I have no idea what to do. A blank slate. Nil nil nil. Gods of creative writing, HALP!' Excuse me, I was a bit deranged by then, starved of sleep & good ideas.

When I finally struck creativity gold (or at least, I'd like the think I did), the problem of the number of subjects came up. Who would help me with this mad prospect? I had less than two weeks, so I set my bar pretty low: at least fifteen people would be good enough to make a decent final project. But it was amazing, the amount of help that poured in. Family, friends, colleagues & even acquaintances, all of you amazing people. People set aside time for video interviews, long talks over coffee, phone calls (long-distance, mind you), random polaroid-taking sessions, answering emails etc. After two weeks of working, I looked at my scrapbook consisting of nearly forty interviews & a video compilation, & almost wept with relief. I was exhausted, but overwhelmingly happy.

There were so many more wonderful interviews, but the ones that were put up here best represented their respective fields & topics of music, photography, writing, acting etc etc. (You can ask me for the video or the complete book if you'd like a peek though, I'd be happy to pass it to you). It's a little late, but I just want to say that I loved every minute of this project, & that I enjoyed sharing all of it with you.

Here are the previous QFTLK entries:

(1) Claudia, Paris & Travel
(2) Lizzie M,Theater 
(3) Samuel, Running
(4) Jennifer, Books
(5) J.J, Music
(6) August, Photography & the Arts
(7) Myself, Love & Finer Things 
(8) Megan, Art & Happiness
(9) Nicholas, Music
(10) Swee Cheng, Travelling & Photography
(11) Samantha, Writing
(12) Alarice, Purpose
(13) Marc, Journalism
(14) Vanessa, Books & The Imagination
(15) Jayne, Dance
(16) Sheri, Art 
(17) Alex, Love
(18) Dylan, Music & The Beatles
(19) Tiara, Education
(20) Melanie, Fashion

Quotes from the Lesser-Known: Part 20

'Give a brief description of yourself.' 

'Melanie. Mel for short. I don't like my name Melanie, so call me Mel. I'm like a nanna. I think like one & behave like one. I like to do things that nannas do. Baking, cooking, rocking on my swivel chair & looking totally clueless when a teenager asks me to name three albums about desert island which I kept pronouncing as dessert island which I had to Google to find out that it was an actual island, but that is besides the point because this is supposed to be a description about me.' 

'Three things whilst backpacking around the world. Go.' 

'IPhone - It's basically your 3-in-1, except that it's more 3-in-1. Camera, writing, cell phone, music, internet, etc. Shitloads of cash - So that I won't have to live the life of a backpacker. I can check myself into a decent hotel & dump my backpack in there & start exploring in the most comfortable way. A companion - What? You're going to exclaim how great this macaron is to yourself? Get out of here.' 

'If you could live in any other place in the world, where would it be?' 

'Paris. There's something about Paris that makes it nostalgic. And also, I live for butter. No one does it better than the French.' 

'Why is fashion an integral part of our lives?' 

'Fashion distinguishes you from the rest of the people! You can go out wearing your pyjamas & be known as the pyjamas girl, that might set you aside from the rest (but seriously, is that what you want?). Fashion displays the amount of confidence that you have for yourself. What you wear is how you want people to see you. Impressions. Not to impress someone, but to leave an impression that could possibly inspire someone else. The needle pulls the thread & this could go on & on, & you're changing things with a mere impression.' 

'Talk about the fashion scene in Singapore.' 

'Well, 'fashion' in Singapore is overrated. Everyone is basically a clone of each other & the ones who are trying to stand out are basically trying too hard to be different. It's just baffling how people can don winter coats or unrealistic clothing for such a climate. There's too many people trying to be something else. Just be yourself & wear what fits & suits you best. That's the best accessory that you can put on yourself.'

Melanie Tang, 23

Fashionista, baker, & all-round foodie

Certain half-deserted streets

Ghost Town (noun)
by Merriam-Webster

: A once-flourishing town, wholly or nearly deserted, usually as a result of the exhaustion of some natural resource. First known usage of lexicon: 1931.

Quotes from the Lesser-Known: Part 19

'Hey Tiara! What's a place you'd like to visit before you die?' 

'Africa! I want to be one with nature. And animals. I love animals.' 

'Let's talk about the local education system. Is there anything fundamentally wrong with it?' 

'I think the problem with the Singaporean education system is that there's just too much focus on results. It doesn't matter how you get there, but as long as you hit the mark, you're gold. Even if it means sacrificing sleep, or mindlessly memorising till you can't absorb anything else. Do kids even learn anything that way? Do they even remember half of what they've learnt once exams are through? I know I didn't.'

Tiara C, 20

Doodler. Has a cat. 

Quotes from the Lesser-Known: Part 18

'Give a brief description of yourself.' 

'My name is Dylan (Chan). I'm 16 & I attend SOTA, a local arts school. I specialize in visual arts & even more specifically, graphic design (typography!). I consider music my hobby, an unprofessional art form. Both are things I'm highly passionate about.' 

'Do you have an artistic role model?' 

'I am not really a fan of any human being. Most of the time you develop your own taste & style. But one ultimate designer I look up to is God the creator of the seas & the sky. Like good design, everything has its function & aesthetics. From the intricate nephrons in your kidneys to the expanse of the milky ways, it is impossible to ignore all the beauty around us.'  

'Why do you love the Beatles so much?' 

'The mere mention of their name makes me smile. The Beatles are wonderful! They're legendary. I can say without a doubt that they are the best musicians in the world, although to some people their sounds are a bit outdated, coming from half a century ago... But their melodies, tunes, lyrics & arrangements are just so skilful & thoughtful. 'Foot-tapping beauty'. Some lyrics are frustratingly simple. Simple chords, simple lyrics, all add up to an enjoyable experience of music. Great arrangements credits to the fifth Beatle, George Martin.' 

'What is music to you?' 

'Admittedly, I get excited at the topic of it. Music is immensely powerful. It determines mood, emotion & atmosphere. By nature, it travels through air, which makes it formless & free. What I love about music is the fact that it is there to keep. Forever & ever & ever. Today's technology has made that even more so... Music is unique in form, it exists in sound. It is unseen, which makes it even more real. To me, it's a whole new sense.'

Dylan C, 16

Art student, musician, & clearly suffering from well-known Beatlemania 

Out of the ash

'We should meet in another life,
We should meet in air,
Me & You.'

Sylvia Plath

'Ariel'

_____________________________________________________


We visited a decorative cemetery one weekend, in Whiskeytown CA. We were on our way to do some hiking & swimming in the lake, & so we almost missed it, nearly driving past the trees & wooden gates. I'm glad we didn't though, because it was quite something: those graves furnished with stone plagues, garden gnomes, whole nativity scenes, clay rabbits, toy race cars & assorted knick-knacks.

People don't usually find solace in drab places like cemeteries, but over there, it felt quite different... It was a hint of life, happiness, and most of all, peace. If I had a choice, all cemeteries would be like this... & then visiting them would be quite a different experience.

Quotes from the Lesser-Known: Part 17

'What do you think of the idea of soul-mates?' 

'Soul-mates are real to a certain extent... There may be one person out there for you, but as you change, so does your soul-mate. I believe you can try looking for your soul-mate, and your soul-mate can try to find you, but it doesn't always work that way.' 

'Here's the hard-hitter: what is love to you?' 

'Love simply means giving in & being there when he/she needs you. Love means loving the person at her worst.'

Alex T, 17

Drummer. Specializes in being hilarious, & also, weird.

Quotes from the Lesser-Known: Part 16

'Give a brief description of yourself.' 

'I'm Sheri. I'm a graphic designer, Stacy's sister & an avid believer in originality.' 

'Team Peeta or Team Gale?' 

'Team Gale! But it's never going to happen. I don't mind Peetniss though. Even if it sounds quite like a southern male apparatus.' (The fandom changed it to Peenis soon after, by the way)

'What inspired you to pursue art in school?' 

'I just have a passion for it... I feel the need to communicate through the medium. I don't take my passion for it lightly. I'm very, very lucky to have my passion aligned with what I study.' 

'What do you think of the art scene in Singapore?' 

'Bad. So. Ridiculously bad. We aren't trying hard enough. We have the talent. We don't have the opportunities, or the determination to push ourselves to go overseas. We are complacent & comfortable here, & we will die if we don't change. Art is a central point of my life & I think people who have this gift need to make it the centre of their lives too.'

Sheri T, 18

Graphic design student, curiously aloof 

A Spritely Sky

This post will be written in hash-tag form, because:

a) It's easier,
b) There's no better way to emulate the bursts of emotion one gets from seeing a brightly-lit sky, even if it is only for a few seconds.



#night #fireworks #fourthofjuly #spontaneous #colours #lights #people #families #cities #barbecue #awe #love #hands #America #red #white #gold #snapshots #noisebutthenalsoquiet #independenceday #humanity #joy #hope #tears #goodnights 

Nature, my creator

 'My river runs to thee,
Blue sea, wilt welcome me? 

My river waits reply.
Oh sea, look graciously! 

I'll fetch thee brooks
From spotted nooks, - 

Say, sea,
Take me!'

Love XI

Emily Dickinson

Quotes from the Lesser-Known: Part 15

'What inspired you to start dancing?' 

'It started off as more like an extension of my love for music. I wanted to connect to music on another level... but now dance is on a plane of its own.' 

'What does dance mean to you & can you imagine life without it?' 

'It is definitely hard to assign a specific value to dance as it encompasses so many aspects of my life. This may sound like a cliche, but I feel alive when I dance. It means happiness & fulfilment but also challenge & mental strength. It has also given me a chance to be in a community of great dancers who have taught me many things, not just about dance, but about life. I can't imagine life without it.'

Jayne Y. 20

Dancer & music enthusiast

Currently Reading (3)

 1. Paris to The Moon - Adam Gopnik

'Paris, carrying on in a time of postmodern immateriality,when everything seems about to dissolve into pixels. We love Paris not out of 'nostalgia', but because we love the look of light on things, as opposed to the look of light from things.' 

A series of almost-academic essays from a lesser-known New Yorker journalist. We've all read the odd epistolary novel on the Parisian experience by an expatriate, who is more or less in love with the idea of Paris but doesn't address it for the true city that it is. This one's different though. It took a bit of time to get through, but Gopnik's reflective novel on Parisian culture & community & politics is beautiful, & breathtaking.

2. Great House - Nicole Krauss

'There are moments when a kind of clarity comes over you, and suddenly you can see through walls to another dimension that you'd forgotten or chosen to ignore in order to continue living with the various illusions that make life, particularly life with other people, possible.' 

Known for quite a while as the wife of Jonathan Safran Foer (Everything is Illuminated, Eating Animals), well, at least to me, Krauss has come out as her own as a writer. The prose is almost poetic, with swelling rhythms & sweeping phrases, heavy, yet dream-like. She writes an impressive, albeit slightly-confusing novel, about an imposing desk & the puzzling array of characters connected with it. 
Other notable works: A History of Love & Man Walks Into A Room

3. Wilderness Tips - Margaret Atwood 

A collection of ten short stories. Not Atwood's best, but good enough. 

4. The Transformation of Bartholomew Fortuno - Ellen Bryson

Rubbish.

5. High Fidelity - Nick Hornby 

'What came first, the music or the misery? Did I listen to music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to music? Do all those records turn you into a melancholic person?'

This cult classic, written in Hornby's trademark wit and narrative voice, isn't ground-breaking, but I like it all the time. 

6. What I Talk About When I Talk About Running - Haruki Murakami

'Your quality of experience is based not on standards such as time or ranking, but on finally awakening to an awareness of the fluidity within action itself.'

Have never been a fan of Murakami's writing. Sure, I've read the big ones: Norwegian Wood, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, but I've never seen what the big deal was. And this book on marathon running - Well, I don't really relate well with anything involving physical activity. But strangely, this book was pretty enjoyable. Not a bad read, especially if you're into the sport itself. 

7. 1984 - George Orwell

'We shall meet in the place where there is no darkness.'

Classic utopian novel. Enough said.

Today... I just felt like writing about books I've read/been reading. Summer holidays haven't really felt like holidays at all, with full-time work, youth camp & the American trip, all following neatly behind each other. And college starts in two weeks. It's been nice though, having these snatches of time: half-hours on trains, whole days in a newly-discovered clandestine cafe, or sprawled on the bed at home, to read. 

Also, I've been banned (by anti-hoarder mom, who else?) from buying any more books till I've read all the ones in my room. We're moving again soon (surprise!), and all I want is a separate room to be modelled into my own library. With the requisite scarlet easy chair, and cosy fireplace.

Too much?



Other book lists from other times
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