twentytime

[twentytime]

Stephen King part the third- The Glimmering

Welcome to the LAST BLOG POST!!! I’ve gotten a lot done and I’ve got a lot still to do! Maybe! Not sure exactly how much work the rest will be! Anyway, let’s begin some analysis.

And once again, the #1 lens is psychoanalysis!! And boy oh boy, is there a LOT there. It’s now been revealed that our dude Danny is definitely psychic and that he’s not the only one. The Chef also “shines,” a term he coined. That kid Danny and his shining...let’s talk about that. After Danny asks the Chef about the lady wanting to get into a man’s pants, the Chef says that Danny’s going to know too much too soon. He was right, and Danny already does. He already knows his parents’ thoughts and the many, many issues that the face. He knows about his father’s alcoholism and his parents’ impending divorce, and he gets a recurring nightmare vision about something terrible happening. Imagine hos messed up that kid must be. I bet it’s just gonna get worse.

(it’s still horror)

Now. AP elements. #1, most fun- POV. It’s super interesting to see the various plot developments from varying characters, especially the procession and end (?) of Jack’s alcoholism. Everything is the MOST interesting from Danny. His inherently childlike perspective is being revealed to be tarnished by all of the darkness that surrounds him. Seeing such a childlike interpretation of the events makes it all the more unsettling. Danny’s both painfully hyper-aware of his surroundings and slightly softened by his age. It’s pretty sad and bewildering to read. #2, easy to do- setting. Being trapped alone at the hotel is inevitably going to lead to some issues. It’s gonna happen. Jack has a terrible temper even when sober (the hotel is, indeed, free of alcohol right now). He’s going to be isolated with his family which already has a strained dynamic. I think that the setting’s going to be a major catalyst. Suspense...

And the final reflection :(..... Okay..... I have well over a hundred pages of this novel done, fulfilling my 700 necessary pages. For the next week or so, I’ll focus on finishing the other requirements. Short stories galore. I’ll need to find my old sheets from way back when. I think it’ll be fairly easy. Maybe. If i manage to finish all of that with time to spare, I’m finishing The Shining. No question. I wont study or do anything else probably. I need to finish it. It’s so good. Anyway.....

Parting is such sweet sorrow....

[twentytime]

The Small Assassin by Ray Bradbury

Welcome to another blog post. I’m gonna jump straight into the essential blog stuff (despite my love of flamboyancy) because I am tired and sick but I will have to go to school tomorrow because my parents are already stressed about me missing two days :(.

Lens. Psychoanalysis, obviously. This entire story is about the follies of the human psyche. Postpartum depression/psychosis is probably the worst messups of the human brain. The things that are thought by people going through ppd/pps can be some of the most disturbing things conceived by the human mind. Normal, mentally healthy women can become monsters purely due to the chemical imbalances of their brain, Showing the darkness of the human brain is true horror. The fact that these thoughts could be produced by a formerly normal person is truly terrifying. (does this really count as psychoanalysis if she’s right? yes)

The easiest element to talk about is conflict. The conflict is that Alice wants to kill her baby and she thinks her baby is trying to kill her. The conflict is within her own mind, and with her husband, and eventually actually the baby, who does indeed want to kill her. Yikes. The baby then gets in a conflict with the doctor, who kills him with a scalpel. Also yikes. Characterization: all of this happens because nobody believes Alice, who is initially portrayed as neurotic, which her husband and doctor dismiss as typical behavior.

Connection:Rosemary’s baby. Pretty easy.

this is bare bones and I apologize.

good night.

[twentytime]

The Drowned Man by Alexander Pushkin

Okay to be frank I've had no time to do any homework at home for the past two weeks. I'm very tired. Come see Nana's Naughty Knickers. I'm in it. Anyway, I had no time to read a book so I just read a poem. A few, actually. I'm writing about this one (see title). This is definitely a horror thing. The paranormal aspects are used in an unsettling and creepy way. Honestly, I couldn't see any lenses besides mayyyyybe symbolism. It was a poem, not much room for lenses. There is, however, probably symbolism in the ocean/net in which the body was found. The conflict of the poem is that a peasant accidentally caught a corpse in his fishing nets. Instead of taking the proper measures, he just released the body back into the ocean. As a result, the corpse haunts him every year. Pretty straightforward. The theme of the poem seems to be "don't be a bad person or else a corpse will haunt your window for the rest of your life." I have not gotten a very sufficient amount of reading done as of late. I'm overwhelmed. Why, I wonder, did I choose to read an 800 page book in order to fill the 100 remaining pages of novel? Because I'm an idiot. Real world connection-- crows, which often symbolize death, are known to terrorize people that have wronged them. They have amazing memories. Like the corpse. Good night

[twentytime]

Horror- The Shining- Part Two- The Glistening

Already I’m pretty hooked on this book. I got really annoyed today when I had to put it down to rehearse. (Come see Nana’s Naughty Knickers next week) This is getting intense. Let’s get deep.

#1 literary lens is psychoanalytical. Obviously. This would be obvious to anybody who knows anything about the story, which was not me 1 week ago. This is getting wild. So the son’s psychic. Yeah. The most interesting part of these bits from the son (other than the violence yikes) is the way really adult topics are told from his obviously childish perspective. The recurring things are presented in all caps- DIVORCE, and THE BAD THING- which refers to Jack’s alcoholism (that took me way too long to figure out. I am not a bright man.). SO, yeah, I love this book, and I am WAY excited to see how much darker this gets.

Still horror, see previous post. Also, now there’s ~spooky supernatural elements.~ We are getting some legit horror up in here.

So far, the conflict in the novel has remained the same. Tough times brought upon a family by the father’s raging alcoholism. BUT. POV has gotten interesting. Obviously. The novel continues to somewhat recount events from different perspectives, including, most importantly, the psychic son’s POV. Which adds a ton, obviously. The thoughts of all the adult characters as told by a child are very trippy. I can only imagine it’s gonna get trippier as the family gets trapped in the hotel. I wonder if there’s gonna be alcohol in the hotel? Hmmmm

And, of course, my reading. Have I bitten off more than I can chew? Yes, probably. Am I stopping because technically I only need to read ~100 more pages of a novel? NO. I’m in love with this book. I’m gonna spend way too much time reading it, probably. 

Connection time...What will it be....Honestly, I can’t relate to this book a lot. I’ve got good parents who are not alcoholics. However, as a young child, I was legitimately convinced I was psychic. I still think I get very strange deja vu and premonitions... Interesting

Adieu

[twentytime]

Horror- The Shining by Stephen King

Okay- It turns out that the collection of short stories I started last week was actually a novel- good job, me. I’ve decided to hold off on short stories for now and to knock out another novel while I still have time (more time than I will in May, anyway). I’ve started Stephen King’s “The Shining,” and let me tell you, I’m pumped. I led a pretty sheltered childhood and adolescenthood, so I’ve never seen the movie as many have. I don’t even really know the plot, which is surprising, considering the fact that it’s pretty much a cultural phenomenon. This is an entirely new experience for me. Reading an actual ~novel~ by Stephen King is new as well. In seventh grade I borrowed/accidentally stole a book of his short stories, Night Shift, which I also intend to use for 20Time, but a novel is..... novel.

ANyway, let’s get down to business. Analysis time.

First of all, YES, this belongs in the horror genre. First of all, it’s Stephen King. Second of all, hooooly crap. 20 pages in and I was already immensely unsettled. It hasn’t even gotten into the supernatural bits, (which I think happen? Maybe? I really don’t know anything about this) just normal human stuff is terrifying, especially the way King writes it. The protagonist talks about the time he drunkenly broke his 3-year-old son’s arm and it’s like..... Jesus man...... how can this get scarier.... but I know it will.

#1 lens so far is psychoanalytic lens. This dude broke his kid’s arm because of his rampant alcoholism. And then it happened again and he got fired from his job as a schoolteacher. You’d think that his regret from the first time would’ve caused sobriety, but I guess not. Why is his addiction so strong? Is he just a bad dude? What’s gonna happen when he gets locked in close quarters with his family for weeks? Questions, questions. Gotta keep reading.

The point of view is interesting, obviously. An alcoholic abusive dad is telling the story, primarily. Unreliable narrator possibly? I hope so, because I love things with unreliable narrators. I also hope he gets his arm broken by his son. Calling it now. If it happens, I’m a genius. Setting is also very important. This is going to take place in a hotel that this family will be locked into for weeks on end. I’m very very excited to see how that plays out.

It’s hard to think of a real-world connection that’s not related to my parents’ parents, honestly. I’m gonna make a really loose connection to Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever. This novel follows the events of the Heffley family as they navigate the issues that result from being confined in their house together. It provides a gripping insight into the human psyche when trapped in a small area with others. I expect that The Shining will explore very similar themes.

Good night, Night Vale. Good night.

[twentytime]

Horror- Books of Blood by Clive Barker

New book, how strange. A foreign land to explore. Let’s dive in.

So this book- Books of Blood- is a collection of short stories BUT it seems so far that they are all interconnected, like you can’t get the full experience without reading all of the book. Is this a novel or short stories? Mrs. Palmer, I need your guidance. Anyway, I’ve read the first part (and a bit of the second)- one of four, if I recall correctly. Quick aside for reflecting on my reading: it keeps getting more and more difficult to set aside time for reading. It’s making me nervous. Let’s be real, though, I think it’s impossible for anything to NOT make me nervous at this point.

The number one literary lens I’ve noticed so far is the psychoanalytic lens. The characters are acting super weird. The boy featured in the first bit claims to be a sort of medium. He is lying. It seems to mostly be for the sake of the glory and attention. A bunch of ghosts attack him for misrepresenting them, and then a woman who works with him ends up saving him. She has a lot of weird thoughts about him-- mostly about wanting to be intimate with him, even though he is (I think) a teenaged boy. That’s... pretty weird, obviously. I can’t tell if this attraction on her part occurred as a result of the weird semi-possession she experiences, or as a misguided form of parental/mentoral (is that a word? Mentorial?) affection. This book is weird.

Speaking of this book being weird, it is DEFINITELY a horror books. The title in itself exudes spookiness- Books of ~Blood~. The first story places sexual and horror elements so closely together, making it a very unsettling read, not to mention the inappropriate dynamic between the two main characters. Given the fact that there is a literal ghost attack, this book is 100% horror. The second section tells of a series of strange and grisly murders in NYC. The murders themselves are done in a very strange way, obsessive, too clean, and almost fetishistic. It’s weird. Skin-crawlingly so.

The first section alternates POV between being told from the perspective of the woman and the perspective of the boy. This increases the suspense due to the dramatic irony caused by this pattern. The characterization of the woman changes quickly in the middle of the chapter. She is, at first, a professional and eagerly ambitious woman. Soon, however, she begins fixating on the boy.Whether this was already a hidden part of her character or it was a result of the paranormal activity is a mystery.

It’s hard to make a connection, especially given this book’s major differences from Handmaid... but the one thing that comes to mind are the massive amounts of fake psychics and mediums in the media. Just like the boy, in a search for attention, they fake miraculous abilities and misrepresent the dead. I would not be surprised if one of them were to be attacked by ghosts.

[twentytime]

Horror- The Handmaid’s Tale- Conclusion

We made it, lads. All 295 pages of The Handmaid’s Tale have been read. I’m pretty proud of myself, especially considering that none of this reading happened over break. I read approximately 1/3 of the book today because I set that deadline for myself and like heck am I letting it slip through my grasp.So here we are, 11 pm CST. I want to be asleep but I am also filled with self-satisfaction. Let’s analyze this baby one last time.

As always, there was a massive amount of feminism lens stuff all over the place. The most prominent example that I can think of was when “The Commander,” Offred’s kinda owner dude, talks to her about the state of society.The dude has the audacity to claim that it isn’t that bad.... He claims that stuff was also ad for men, that they also had “nothing” (pg 210). C’mon, man, at least you weren’t sex slaves. Men could have jobs and everything. This is pretty clearly making a statement about men- self-centered and able to victimize themselves in any possible way. They minimize the struggles of women by exaggerating their own perceived issues.

After finishing this book, I can confidently say that it was part of the horror genre. Why? It was horrifying, plain and simple. One thing that stuck with me was that the reason people were so desperate to make babies (hence the sex slavery) was that somehow mutations became really prevalent. They called the failed, mutated babies “shredders,” which I really don’t want to think too hard about right now. Yikes.

Offred’s characterization really changed toward the end of the book. As time went on, she became very complacent. Initially, she was willing to join the rebellion of Handmaids, and wanted desperately to fight her situation. After a while, however, she actively shuts down her former ally in favor of maintaining her cushy position as the commander’s pet, illicitly meeting him unbeknownst to his wife. As much as I hate this turn of events. it is all to realistic. No matter the injustice going on around you, it is human nature to ignore it in favor of keeping personal comforts. It sucks. The conflict became less clear to me. At first it was Offred fighting her position and forming alliances in order to escape. After a while, though, it seems like it just shifted to being her struggle to cope. Her complacency did away with an active conflict. It was weird but really the most realistic ending to the novel. As much as I hated it... it was pretty genius. After pretty much only reading stories like this with happy endings and big rebellions, it was intriguing to see Atwood portray the more likely outsome of a dystopian scenario like this,].

Real world comparison time! On page 221, there is a ceremony celebrating the mass arranged marriages of young girls. Throughout the speeches given at the ceremony and others, biblical excerpts are used to justify what is being done, particularly with women and their inferior positions in society. It seems like a stretch from reality, but it really isn’t things exactly like this are happening right now. In America. Trippy.

Well, that’s it for this novel. What a ride.

Good night.

[twentytime]

interlude

So, I have not had time to read during the past week. End of the quarter frenzy combined with poorly-timed mental junk caused a complete lack of spare time. What little “extra” time I’ve had has been spent on sleeping. I intend to finish this novel and another over break. I hope that because this is 20Time (lol) this won’t be detrimental to my grade. This is a perfectly legitimate blog post pretty much.....

until next time.

[twentytime]

Horror- The Handmaid’s Tale #4

Greetings, loved ones.

When I left you last I had finished section 8 of the novel, I believe. The next day, I took a bath that lasted several hours and read through many more of the sections. I have not had time to read since then, so my memory is a bit hazy. Anyway, let us begin.

The feminism lens keeps getting more and more prevalent. Leading up to these latest sections, there have been passing mentions of “Unwomen,” with no explanation of what exactly they are. It is revealed that Offred’s mother was/is an Unwoman. From what I can tell, Unwomen are feminists. Yikes. It’s pretty clear that the society Offred lives in bases a woman’s personhood (if you can call it that) on her femininity and conformity to the will of men. This was revealed during a flashback to Offred’s days in weird sex slave training. The girls were shown various films. Offred tells us that often the films were pornographic. She then goes on to describe grotesque violence-filled videos. I winder what this implies about how far men have strayed from normal sexual urges at this time, viewing women more and more as objects. Or maybe it was just bad phrasing. Who knows?

This still fits the genre, see past posts for details.

A new conflict/plot point has been introduced. The man, Offred’s owner, who is supposed to impregnate her seems to have fallen in love (or more like infatuation) with Offred. He invites her into his office to play a game of Scrabble, which is especially bad because women aren’t allowed to read. Afterwards, he asks her to kiss him, and is sad when she doesn’t seem to “mean it.” This is definitely going to go terribly wrong, I think.

The point of view is contributing greatly to the storytelling. I really like the mentions of terminology that we don’t understand and references to events unknown to the reader. These are beginning to be explained through flashbacks. It really increases the suspense throughout the novel and makes the realizations that the readers have throughout the novel even more shocking.

I discussed my reading so far in the first paragraph, so now I will make my real world connection. Men (and some women) have an awful tendency to act as though being a feminist makes one less of a woman. This is an attempt to make feminism less appealing and damage the movement. These sentiments are dangerous, and this novel shows the potential outcome of this trend.

Until next time.

[twentytime]

Horror- The Handmaid’s Tale #3

This book is getting very hard to put down. I’m probably going to binge-read the rest of it over this weekend because jeez. It’s great.

There is still a very strong symbolism lens as well as a gender/feminism lens. A very prominent recurring symbol is the eye. These eyes appear everywhere, from curtains, ceilings, to a “small tattoo on [Offred’s] ankle” (pg 65). Eyes are also the name given to government spies. The symbolism of this is pretty obvious on the surface, but Offred occasionally refers to the eyes as “blind,” which makes me think that she’s going to do something sneaky and very illegal (I can’t find the page but I definitely remember Offred saying “the blind eye” trust me). Obviously the feminism lens is prominent as well. An interesting part that I just recently read describes “Testifying,” during which girls confessed their supposed wrongdoings, such as getting gang-raped at the age of fourteen. After these confessions, the other girls were to torment the confessor, telling her it was “her fault... chant[ing] in unison” (pg. 72). Yeah, that’s freaky. It seems like this was meant to beat the girls into submission to society, to men. 

This piece still fits the genre standards. See post one on this book for details.

The point of view seems to have focused on the past a lot more during these previous chapters. This gives us glimpses of Offred’s past life with her husband and daughter before the disaster (my name for now, there is no established name yet). Offred does not know what became of her daughter or her husband. These glimpses of her life show the readers what was taken away from her and how drastic a change this is for the women of this time.

The major conflict thus far is a “man versus world” type. Offred must deal with her horrendous circumstances while often having flashbacks of her past life. She is not allowed to read, she is not allowed to love, and she is raped (though she dismisses the use of this word) every month. As of right now, this is the only conflict. She battles with her situation, fighting for some semblance of control, even resorting to extremely petty theft just to have something of her own.

I’ve now read through section 8. I’m making much more progress than I anticipated. A major connection I made is to the real world. Like in the book, women are blamed for being raped, facing accusations of leading men on. I believe this for the same reason it is done in the novel. Male control.

[twentytime]

Horror- The Handmaid’s Tale #2

Welcome back. You’ll recall that last week, I started reading A Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, abandoning The Trial by Franz Kafka. Thankfully, I am greatly enjoying the new novel, and I intend to stay with it until I have completely finished it. No more book-hopping for me. 

The new prominent lens is the feminism lens. Obviously in this book, women are treated as possessions, or as if they are inferior to men. This objectification and male ownership of women is hinted at very early on, before the reader truly knows what happens in the novel (there is a lot of history and lore that precedes the story chronologically, but is not necessarily included in the beginning). I just picked up on a trend in the Handmaids’ names, and I believe my theory regarding this trend is true, soon to be confirmed. The protagonist’s name is Offred, which we learn was not her name before the great societal changes. We soon meet another Handmaid named Ofglen, and I didn’t pick up on anything because I’m an idiot. Later, more handmaids are introduced, and I realized that all of their names are a man’s name preceded by “Of,” obviously implying ownership. Despite this and the many other issues that Offred faces, she claims that women are more “protected” since all of these restrictions have been placed (pg. 24). This gives an insight into the way these women think of their positions. They are horrifyingly accustomed to the oppression they face.

This piece still fits the standards of the horror genre. The circumstances that Offred faces cause great discomfort and unease to the reader. People are regularly executed publicly, their bodies displayed to the public along with the reason for execution. The people often look at these bodies, and take them as a warning (pg. 32). Obviously, this is pretty unnerving.

I’m not gonna lie, the 5 elements of writing haven’t changed in any ways I can see. See the last blog post for details.

I’ve read up to chapter 10 of this novel. I’m really enjoying it. I love the spirit that remains in Offred despite her circumstances and the dark humor it contributes to the commentary. I’m gonna make a connection to myself. In dark times, I have a string tendency to joke about my circumstances. This can be greatly unnerving to other people, or even make it seem like the circumstances aren’t as dire as they are. This causes a really weird outlook on life, because sometimes I manage to trick myself into thinking that things are okay when they’re not. This adds a very interesting psychoanalytic element to the novel, and makes me wonder if Offred is a reliable narrator.

Until next time.

[twentytime]

Horror- The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

If you read my blog last week, which you did because you are Mrs. Palmer, my only reader, you’ll know that I began my delve into the horror genre with some good old Kafka. You’ll also know that I had some major struggles with it. I was a bit bored. Instead of pushing through like a normal and functional human being, I decided to drop it (for now, I do intend to return to it) and start reading The Handmaid’s Tale.

Right off the bat, I’m noticing a TON of symbolism (which, if I recall correctly, is indeed a lens). The strongest of this lens is color symbolism. The “handmaids” of this novel are forced to wear all red clothing, “the color of blood, which defines [them]” (pg. 8). The handmaids are forced to allow men to impregnate them. Everybody and their mother knows that red commonly symbolizes lust. Other classes have assigned colors, from what I can tell, which will be fun to analyze when the time comes. Interestingly, the protagonist’s name is Offred. Off-RED. hmmmmm....

This novel is set in the near future (or the future relative to when it was written) in a world where something, not yet elaborated on, has gone terribly wrong and women were forced into various classes of servitude. It is told from the perspective of a “handmaid,” who has just moved into her third assigned home.

I’m really enjoying this novel so far. The premise is bleak as hell, but the protagonist’s witty commentary on her scenario lessens the blow, which is pretty jarring considering how disturbing her life is. I’m gonna connect this one to the real world again, because the world is scary. It seems that sexism has hit a disturbing high recently. This book puts women into the situations that some men think women should really occupy. Child-bearing sex object, cook, housekeeper, et cetera. Of course this is horrifying to me as a girl, but what’s even more horrifying is that some men in this world may read this and see it as an ideal, a goal. “stay in the kitchen, shut up you’re just a woman, you’re not as smart as a man, you don’t belong here.” Sound familiar? It’s a slippery slope we walk.

[twentytime]

Horror- The Trial by Franz Kafka

All of my books have finally arrived! The Trial was the only one to arrive on time for our first 20Time reading day, so that is the one I am currently reading. Frankly, I’m not a huge fan of it thus far. I’m not that far into the book, so maybe it just hasn’t picked up in pace. However, since it’s been translated from German, so I feel that a lot of important elements of the text may have been lost in translation. I don’t have a lot of experience in reading text that have been translated from other languages, but I assume that it’s difficult to translate figurative language, which is obviously really important for interpreting text.

Because of this issue, I obviously have not been able to properly interpret the text. Word choice and figurative language have essentially gone out the window. I’ve been looking for things that can be interpreted through literary lenses, and I haven’t found anything as of yet, but I will continue to keep an eye out. 

The requirements for horror are that the work in question creates a sense of fear, panic, alarm, and/or dread for the audience.At this point in the story, the main emotion that has been evoked is curiosity and confusion. I suspect that as the story progresses, this emotion will evolve into something more sinister, based on the plot synopsis, which claims that states that this novel is a vision of “the mad agendas of... totalitarian regimes.” This may not be a conventional horror concept, but the more realistic horrors that don’t use supernatural elements may well hit closer to home, evoking stronger emotions.

The novel is told from the point of view of Josef K., who has been arrested for reasons beyond his knowledge. The arrest itself is very strange, as he is given a large amount of freedom, and the typical protocol for arrest is not at all followed. The arrest is obviously very strange, and the main conflict in this first section is Josef’s struggle to gain knowledge of his situation, which is being purposefully kept from him.

I can’t make a lot of connections so far, but a very strong connection my mind is making is between this story and today’s American society. I truly believe that a totalitarian system is on the rise, just as Kafka warns. Additionally, there has been a large increase in police forces withholding information from people they arrest, sometimes arresting people for no reason just to brutalize them. The amount of connections I can make between a horror novel and today’s society is what truly horrifies me.

[twentytime]

Horror stories that I have not started reading yet and other short works

Having read over the questions provided for us, I have come to the conclusion that I cannot actually answer any of them. This is because I have not received any of the books that I am reading yet. I recently ordered approximately 50$ worth of books off of amazon. These are set to arrive over this coming weekend, which I am very excited about. Since the last blog post, I have decided which books I am getting. These books include collections of short stories, from which I will choose the ones I will read for this project. Here is the list of books I ordered:

The Shining (Stephen King)

The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)

Books of Blood vol. 1-3 (Clive Barker)

The Trial (Franz Kafka)

The October Country (Ray Bradbury)

Frankly, I’m pretty miffed that these cost me (read: my dad) fifty dollars. I wanted to buy more, but I have to be financially responsible, which is really a huge issue with me. I once spent 56$ on a steak and I didn’t regret it at all. That was half of my bank balance. Moral of the story: maybe I should’ve checked somewhere besides amazon before purchasing all of these books.

[twentytime]

Welcome back, lads.

This is blog post number one of semester number two. 20time is back and better than ever. This time we are doing a period/genre study. I’m stoked.

As I read the list of potential genres, I very quickly narrowed down my choices, and swiftly settled on horror. I’ve always been a horror buff, and I spent much of my time in middle school reading age-inappropriate horror stories online. Though much of my time was dedicated to scaring myself into insomnia, I never had the opportunity to venture outside of short stories posted on public forums by amateur writers. As good ad they were (are, this is still a pastime), I am incredibly eager to dive into a whole novel in this genre. I’m excited to expand my horror horizons.

In my research, I discovered that I am very indecisive and I have a lot of incredible material to choose from. I had an absurd amount of tabs open, each describing a horror novel from lists of the best. Each of these had greatly piqued my interest, so eliminating the few I did was very tough. I still have a list of at least ten novels that I have to narrow down to two or three. That’s not even the tip of the iceberg,considering the short stories and poems. Throughout this process, I never rethought my choice. I love horror and the research process just solidified my excitement to begin this project.

The only problem I ran into during my research process was my own inability to choose just a few stories from the astounding amount of possibilities. Everything looks so intriguing and I want to read so much.Unlike the short stories, I know I wont be able to read extra novels in the time allotted, so I can’t simply work my way around this problem. I have to force myself to make these choices. That’s on the to-do list.

The only definite choices I have made regarding my reading have been very vague. I know for sure that in regards to my short stories, I will definitely be reading some Lovecraft and King. I’ve read some of King’s short stories before, and I adored them. I’d love to read more. I have no prior experience with Lovecraft, but given his reputation, I am eager to discover what he has to offer. I am also fairly certain that I will be reading some Bradbury, who I didn’t even know wrote horror.

This will be fun.

[twentytime]

All right, this week’s 20Time day was the last of the semester! Everything is done and it was crazy. Today was the day that I had to incorporate the paper into the compost pile. This turned out to be an absolute nightmare.

 I was utterly disappointed by the amount of compostable material that the culinary department contributed. This, of course, doesn’t reflect poorly on the department at all. This just means that they use their food efficiently and my pile was lacking. Incredibly lacking. Essentially it was a pile of dirt, maybe previously composted material but most likely dirt, and MAYBE a cubic foot or two of food. 

Gloriana and I started tearing some of the paper I had collected, and we attempted to incorporate it into the pile. We quickly realized that we had no way to incorporate it into the already existing pile of dirt, which we found to be incredibly dense. We ended up alternating throwing haphazardly shredded paper onto the pile and shoveling dirt with our bare hands from a nearby pile on top of the paper to keep it from blowing away. I will probably never forget the feeling of standing barefoot in a compost pile, ankle-deep in dirt, nearly in tears as I desperately scoop dirt onto my aforementioned bare feet.

In the end, we didn’t manage to incorporate even a quarter of the paper we had. The paper we did manage to get in was not fully covered by dirt. There was no time, which seemed to be a running theme over the course of the semester. It was covered enough to not blow away, though.

Through this project, I learned that some goals simply cannot be achieved. I also learned that Olathe North hates the environment.

I suppose that I’m on track for my deadlines, considering that the last one was today.

Next, I will be preparing my TED Talk. Wish me luck.

[twentytime]

I googled “nothing stock photo” because nothing happened this week.

We did not have 20Time this week so I’m not all that sure what I’m supposed to write about.

I have worked very sparingly on the pile. I have gathered paper within my home, which will be added to the pile. There is nothing else to report. Nothing went wrong, because if nothing happens, nothing can go wrong. If only I could apply this logic to my entire life.

I suppose my paper-gathering skills have improved slightly. I have a keener eye for paper that can be used in the pile. Every time i see a recycling bin i want to steal its contents.

I am on track for my deadlines. There are no more major steps that I need to take, so all I have to do now is maintain the pile.

Next, I intend to gain access to a paper shredder, so I can convert my paper into smaller bits, which is more conducive to the composting system.

Goodbye.