Well, it seemed better than writing a history essay.

Well. After 5 years of lurking about, I'm finally opening shop in the blogosphere. I've been grappling with this idea for a while, and my opportunity arose a few days ago when the SuperBloggers in my life embarked upon a Blogging Literacy Challenge (SuperBloggers would link to their own pages here, but I haven't figured out how to yet). I think we are writing about things that we read.

Over my spring break last week, I started The Bell Jar. I connected to The Bell Jar more than I can remember connecting to any novel I've read in the past three years. The problem is, I was borrowing it from a friend who needed to read it for English class, and I didn't finish it by the end of the week. There are zero copies available in Berkeley's enormous library. Thus, I will enter the Blogging Literacy Challenge- and blogosphere proper- with an assigned book for English 45C.

That's the bad news. The good news is, that book is The Sound and the Fury. I am three-quarters done with this book. It's pretty damn sad. There's a lot of misogyny, a lot of racism, a lot of violence, and a lot of familial disfunction. Kind of like the Flannery O'Connor and Tennessee Williams I read in high school. The impression I get from Faulkner and the rest of these folks is that being a creative genius in the South is a harsh gig (unless your name is T.I.). One of my roommates, who is from San Francisco, has talked a lot this year about wanting to take a road trip through the South. Some of my favorite relatives live in the greater Atlanta area, but other than that I would rather go to almost any other region of the country. I would like to see the Cadillac Ranch in Texas, and I would like to go to the Badlands. And other places mentioned in Springsteen songs, like Atlantic City, the streets of Philadelphia, and Candy's room. That being said, The Sound and the Fury is sensational. Really fantastic. You should read it if you get a chance.