Of course, my horse.

scout: thenotes: Sorry: the state of reading is quite simply...

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:03:52 -0600

thenotes:

Sorry: the state of reading is quite simply never as bad as people make it out to be. If it were, would there be the constant deafening roar of a million hysterical readers telling us we aren’t reading as much as we used to?

And just what sort of reading do we mean here, or wherever we’re stirring up a literary moral panic? Plenty of people who never pick up a newspaper or sprawling nonfiction book are reading acutely written political and cultural commentary online every day. If, as I suspect, fiction is what we talk about when we talk about the death of reading, then the worry is even more unfounded: don’t ever start giving a shit about how other people choose to entertain themselves. I’m not about to argue that Twilight isn’t intellectually bankrupt, but we may want to remember that back in Cervantes’ day, all contemporary fiction was considered escapist, hollow and ultimately dangerous trash by those who weren’t on the bandwagon. Don Quixote himself is an association of absurd fantasies and the feeble-mindedness that allows them to prosper.

Except, of course, the vividness of our errant knight’s hallucinations belie an intensely focused cognitive power that undercuts the notion of reader as unwitting prey. What self-righteous readers hate most about the latest Bad Popular Book, be it by Dan Brown or Danielle Steel, is the level of engagement its fans have with the material, their ability to fully enter a world. I think we long to experience the undeniable rapture and ecstasy of purpose evidenced by midnight book releases and awkward attempts and fan fiction. We talk about such things as though they are somehow beneath us, because we know we will never feel about Joyce and O’Connor and other Important Literature the way these devotees feel about their idols. We relish distance and resist real intimacy or fixation at all costs. And though critical detachment may allow us to mitigate some bias only important in matters of cold evaluation, it keeps us from truly losing ourselves in that rare place which is half the author’s making and half our own.

scatteredwords: re:stacks - bon iver

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:00:26 -0600

scatteredwords:

re:stacks - bon iver

ashalee: quote-book: kari-shma: via: Notebookdoodles

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:00:00 -0600

ashalee:

quote-book:

kari-shma:

via: Notebookdoodles

lovebot: avajean: happythings: ~JustNatalie05

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:57:01 -0600

lovebot:

avajean: happythings: ~JustNatalie05

ashalee: quote-book: kari-shma: quote of the week (via...

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:48:45 -0600

ashalee:

quote-book:

kari-shma:

quote of the week (via Creature Comforts)

panito: (via likeneelyohara) pretty.

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:48:19 -0600

panito:

(via likeneelyohara)

pretty.

panito: (via bearsbeetsbattlestargalactica)

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:45:55 -0600

panito:

(via bearsbeetsbattlestargalactica)

panito: (via bearsbeetsbattlestargalactica)

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:44:35 -0600

panito:

(via bearsbeetsbattlestargalactica)

GORGEOUS! via images06.alloy.com

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:13:04 -0600

GORGEOUS!

via images06.alloy.com

theamazon: thaithai: corkeyrene:oohlalala: “Love is patient,...

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:00:11 -0600

theamazon:

thaithai:

corkeyrene:oohlalala:

“Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.” — 1 Corinthians 13:8.

Photo via Axioo Photography

Such a universal passage but totally key to note where it came from. Nothing but the original book of Love. The Word.

theamazon: hello-helicopter:brasilpop:iheartlove:lame-stamp:(via...

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 18:58:23 -0600

theamazon:

hello-helicopter:brasilpop:iheartlove:lame-stamp:(via infinitebutterflies)

31

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 22:51:51 -0600

Necesito un disfraz. Tengo algunas ideotas por ahi.

woool: Peace & Calm 55/365 (via shes_jack)

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 22:49:39 -0600

woool:

Peace & Calm 55/365 (via shes_jack)

lickystickypickyme: It has made life so much more enjoyable.

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 20:51:43 -0600

lickystickypickyme:

It has made life so much more enjoyable.

It's clearly Whiskey 'o Clock.

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 20:35:11 -0600

(via lickystickypickyme)

day-breaking: peterchristran: (via hollaitsdanielle)

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 20:34:09 -0600

day-breaking:

peterchristran:

(via hollaitsdanielle)

"The truth is, everyone you meet will hurt you at one point or another. You just need to decide who..."

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 19:05:17 -0600

“The truth is, everyone you meet will hurt you at one point or another. You just need to decide who is worth the pain.”

- Unknown (via littlemiss)

panito: (via audreyhepburncomplex)

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 22:54:37 -0600

panito:

(via audreyhepburncomplex)

panito: (via tryphena)

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 22:38:40 -0600

panito:

(via tryphena)

100 most beautiful words in the the english language

Sun, 20 Sep 2009 22:29:37 -0600

constantwanderlust:

coffeeandlipstick:

walkthewaves:

Ailurophile A cat-lover.
Assemblage A gathering.
Becoming Attractive.
Beleaguer To exhaust with attacks.
Brood To think alone.
Bucolic In a lovely rural setting.
Bungalow A small, cozy cottage.
Chatoyant Like a cat’s eye.
Comely Attractive.
Conflate To blend together.
Cynosure A focal point of admiration.
Dalliance A brief love affair.
Demesne Dominion, territory.
Demure Shy and reserved.
Denouement The resolution of a mystery.
Desuetude Disuse.
Desultory Slow, sluggish.
Diaphanous Filmy.
Dissemble Deceive.
Dulcet Sweet, sugary.
Ebullience Bubbling enthusiasm.
Effervescent Bubbly.
Efflorescence Flowering, blooming.
Elision Dropping a sound or syllable in a word.
Elixir A good potion.
Eloquence Beauty and persuasion in speech.
Embrocation Rubbing on a lotion.
Emollient A softener.
Ephemeral Short-lived.
Epiphany A sudden revelation.
Erstwhile At one time, for a time.
Ethereal Gaseous, invisible but detectable.
Evanescent Vanishing quickly, lasting a very short time.
Evocative Suggestive.
Fetching Pretty.
Felicity Pleasantness.
Forbearance Withholding response to provocation.
Fugacious Fleeting.
Furtive Shifty, sneaky.
Gambol To skip or leap about joyfully.
Glamour Beauty.
Gossamer The finest piece of thread, a spider’s silk
Halcyon Happy, sunny, care-free.
Harbinger Messenger with news of the future.
Imbrication Overlapping and forming a regular pattern.
Imbroglio An altercation or complicated situation.
Imbue To infuse, instill.
Incipient Beginning, in an early stage.
Ineffable Unutterable, inexpressible.
Ingénue A naïve young woman.
Inglenook A cozy nook by the hearth.
Insouciance Blithe nonchalance.
Inure To become jaded.
Labyrinthine Twisting and turning.
Lagniappe A special kind of gift.
Lagoon A small gulf or inlet.
Languor Listlessness, inactivity.
Lassitude Weariness, listlessness.
Leisure Free time.
Lilt To move musically or lively.
Lissome Slender and graceful.
Lithe Slender and flexible.
Love Deep affection.
Mellifluous Sweet sounding.
Moiety One of two equal parts.
Mondegreen A slip of the ear.
Murmurous Murmuring.
Nemesis An unconquerable archenemy.
Offing The sea between the horizon and the offshore.
Onomatopoeia A word that sounds like its meaning.
Opulent Lush, luxuriant.
Palimpsest A manuscript written over earlier ones.
Panacea A solution for all problems
Panoply A complete set.
Pastiche An art work combining materials from various sources.
Penumbra A half-shadow.
Petrichor The smell of earth after rain.
Plethora A large quantity.
Propinquity An inclination.
Pyrrhic Successful with heavy losses.
Quintessential Most essential.
Ratatouille A spicy French stew.
Ravel To knit or unknit.
Redolent Fragrant.
Riparian By the bank of a stream.
Ripple A very small wave.
Scintilla A spark or very small thing.
Sempiternal Eternal.
Seraglio Rich, luxurious oriental palace or harem.
Serendipity Finding something nice while looking for something else.
Summery Light, delicate or warm and sunny.
Sumptuous Lush, luxurious.
Surreptitious Secretive, sneaky.
Susquehanna A river in Pennsylvania.
Susurrous Whispering, hissing.
Talisman A good luck charm.
Tintinnabulation Tinkling.
Umbrella Protection from sun or rain.
Untoward Unseemly, inappropriate.
Vestigial In trace amounts.
Wafture Waving.
Wherewithal The means. Woebegone Sorrowful, downcast.