November Wrap-Up

Hello, y'all! Man, November has been a roller coaster, and I want to get off. (Except that means it would be time for final projects, and I'm not ready for break to be over. XD) It's not been an entirely bad roller coaster, just a lot of ups and downs, and it's moved fast! I hope all y'all had a very happy Thanksgiving, and are enjoying some time off, ideally...

So, here's what I did this month! 
-Watched Coco...again
-Freaked out over school and how little time I have to finish everything
-Went to a friend's performance of Urinetown, which is the most satirical and farcical musical I have ever seen in my whole entire life. She did an excellent job, and I went with a bunch of other friends to surprise her, which was incredibly fun. 
-Got my belaying certification, and took friends climbing a couple of times
-Went to several musical performances of various kinds--have I mentioned I love having music major friends? 
-Went to a new book bar/coffee shop in the college town, which was FANTASTIC
-Ice skated with a bunch of Newman people
-Got to drink tea at one of our new priests' newly instituted Teatime (at 3, every day of the week, to help him stay away for 4 pm Confessions. XD) and chat about all kinds of things
-Flew to New York City for Thanksgiving Break (from whence I am writing this post), to visit family who live in Manhattan, and sightsee (NYC is one of the best cities for Landscape Architects), and I am having an ABSOLUTELY AMAZING time and freaking out on the regular about how awesome it is here. (Plus, my three little cousins are an Absolute Joy, especially since I haven't seen them in quite a bit.)
-Got to see HADESTOWN on BROADWAY while in NYC, and I STILL HAVE NOT GOTTEN OVER THIS IT WAS INCREDIBLE (many blog posts upcoming XD). I had JUST become familiar with Hadestown this month when I realized it was on Broadway, and I managed to get a ticket, and ahhhhhh it was such a wonderful coincidence! Praise God, because I enjoyed it IMMENSELY. (Would highly recommend listening to the music if you haven't.)

Fun Quotes:

Me: "Mr. Elliot is a vain fop..."
Kay: "I need to start calling people vain fops more often."

Em: "You can't stare at Samantha while sniffing your chicken!"

*overheard while at the climbing wall*
Belayer: "You need to get your fingers in the crack."
Climber: "That's what she said!"

My genetics prof: "...get wild tigers, and make you study in that room for the genetics test!" 

Shelly: "If all the guys at Newman Hall become priests, there won't be anyone left for us to marry!"

Shelly (describing a movie): "They make test tube babies, instead of making babies by...conventional...methods."

Museum Guide: "Unfortunately, most of his religious works are still in the hands of the Church..."

My seven-year-old cousin: (to my grandmother) "You can't raid my candy bag, because everything in it is poisonous to people over sixty-five."
[Reader, this did not stop her from raiding his candy bag.]

Worth Reading...

...if you're interested in fascinating feminist/minority history

The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict & Victoria Christopher Murray
(I mean feminist in the loosest way possible, for the record.) My grandmother suggested I read this book as prep for the trip, because we ended up going to the library (belonging to J. P. Morgan) referenced in the title. The book is about Belle da Costa Greene, Morgan's long-time librarian, and complier of many of the most impressive items in his collection. The twist: Belle is actually Black, and passing as White in order to have this job. And all of this is a true story. I found it overall fascinating, but I will note that the actual writing is kind of info-dumpy and clunky at times, and there is a bedroom scene that it behooves one to skip. 

...if you want a collection of enigmatic short stories

Moira's Pen by Megan Whalen Turner
Megan Whalen Turner has finally released a collection of short stories to go with her Queen's Thief series...and I can only hope that she has the smarts to stop there. XD (That was dead serious, though. I will very irritated if she adds more books in this series. Seriously bad authorial move. *side-eye at John Flanigan*) BUT this collection was an absolute delight, containing all of the stories which already have existed as back-of-the-books content, with a whole bunch of new ones, that often raise more questions than they answer...as usual. (I loved seeing little tiny Eddis! Just! So perfect!) I would recommend not reading it unless you've read the other QT books, but it could hypothetically be read as a standalone.

...if you're invested in art and what it means to be an artist

My Name Is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok
I actually read Asher Lev for the first time last Thanksgiving Break, so this felt kind of full-circle...and it was SO good to read it again. I've spent a lot of time in the past semester thinking about art, Catholic art, and Flannery O'Connor's view of art in particular, and this felt like a fictional version of all of her thoughts on art embodied in Asher, the artist. It grapples with the big problems of what art is, whether it's more important than relationships, whether it must be seen, and so on...and never feels like it comes to a satisfying conclusion. It's beautiful and poignant and thought-provoking, and it comes highly recommended. :)

...if you like existential time travel

A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeleine L'Engle
I reread this one over Thanksgiving Break because it's set on Thanksgiving, and November seems the rightest time to reread it. I had forgotten that some of the dialogue can be a little info-dumpy, but really, since the reader is hopping between several sets of characters as Charles Wallace & Gaudior travel through time, it's the best way for the story to be told. Which was interesting, because I hadn't thought of info-dump-y dialogue as ever having a place in storytelling. Anywho. If you're not familiar with STP, it follows Charles Wallace on a journey through time with the unicorn Gaudior in order to attempt to stop nuclear war, and it involves genetics and family lines and brotherly enmity and St. Patrick's rune, and I love it dearly. It may not be everyone's cup of tea--I've definitely talked to people who don't like the fact that Meg is all grown up in it--but I would recommend giving it a try.

(I really haven't read that much this month, so that's what you're going to get. Sorry! I've been insanely busy with school, as ever...)

So, how has your November been? Have you ever thought about places where info dumps might work? Are you ready for December? How was Thanksgiving?