Summer Reading

It seems like last summer I had such an awesome time [okay, this totally goes against my last entry, commenting on Eric telling me not to compare so many things....], but last summer I had the most amazing time in Photography class, I had an amazing time at my job [board of elections with Donn, Aileen, Evan.... it was sooo much fun!] and I got to run all around CT and Marthas Vineyard and Boston with Eric! But this summer I can't even find myself engrossed in my books!?

Last summer I read Natalie Goldberg [my favorite author], the Emily Giffin series, a couple physics books, The Best Buddhist Writing 2008... I was so engaged by all of this reading! I was writing, photographing, [i even made a model for photography class - the house from UP!] and most imporantly - I was dreaming! I had actual hope and aspirations for my future... sure there wasn't a clear 'path' ahead of me, but I had some great love of moving forward, I was open to trying things out and seeing where they lead.

Now, on the other hand, I feel like all that's ahead of me is a conveluded, scribble path that appears so daunting as to make me not even want to attempt it! I'm trying to get into the best buddhist writing 2009... I'm even come across the 'green' chapters about the state of the world and yadda yadda - stuff I usually won't stand for - but I read and listened and it was probably the most honest writing I've found on the topic - extremely realistic and not end-of-everything like those writers and people usually are... but even so the reading hasn't inspired me to go out and do great things like last summer. I mean last summer I'd read a chapter and write like five pages in my sketchbook... [maybe it's this super conventional blog-setup I've got going on, even though I did buy a new sketchbook for the summer]... but ahhh I just feel lost.

Okay, anyway I wanted to write about what I want to read this summer... which includes: the Tibetan Book of the Dead, the koans, more Natalie Goldberg, Christian Norberg-Schulz, Tschumi, probably more buddha stuff? haha that's the main list of it though - I looked into more Edelmann stuff [from the neuroscience-consciousness book I started the summer with] but all of his writing seems to be very circular... he also kind of treats the reader as though we don't remember anything... and he makes up his own terms for things... and while none of these things on their own really ruin a reading for me, it just doesn't work when he uses his writing style... there's just something so detached and unemotional about it, but I guess that's what you'd expect from a scientist? [okay, sorry that was bad... I really don't believe all scientists are bad writers... I'm actually sure many of them are very good].

Ahh, okay that's all... two posts in the last hour [?]... is probably good enough for now.

crazy buddha tattoo.
-c