These awards have zero impact on grades. But my decision is final and I reserve the right to change the categories as I see fit and/or terminate the awards without warning.
Week 7 (Rodoreda):
- Most Effort Award: Shan, for Political Turmoil? My poli sci skills better come in clutch – Exploring “The Time of the Doves”
- Made Me Laugh Award: Ryan, for I DOVE THINK I CAN COME UP WITH AN INTERESTING TITLE, and specifically for hashtag arse
- Best Title Award: Lauren, for Give My Girl a BREAAAAKKK: Rodoreda. Honorable mention to Gabriella, for This Book Made Me Hate Men Called “Quimet” – The Time of the Doves
- Most Original Award: Dalia, for The Time of the HOLES! Trypophobia in Mercè Rodoreda’s Time of the Doves
Week 8 (Lispector and Calvino):
- Award for Being First: Bilal, for Clarice What the Actual Fuck Girl: A Reflection on Lispector’s “The Hour of the Star”
- Just-in-Time Award for Almost Missing the Deadline, But Not Quite: Alex (at 11:59pm on Tuesday night), for Interactive Exploration – If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler
- Best Title Award: Franchesca, for HELD AT GUN POINT TO FINISH THIS BOOK(S?) ~ IF ON A WINTER’S NIGHT A TRAVELLER BY ITALO CALVINO. Honorable mention to Kendra, for The hour of wishing you could look away but not being able to
- Most Impassioned Rant Award: Alizey, for Week 8 – What the actual f… (If on A Winter’s Night a Traveler)
Week 9 (Duras and Manea):
- Award for Being First: Gaby, for The Little White Girl (The Lover) – Marguerite Duras
- Best Award Suggestion Award: Kelly, for “I think that there’s enough shitty men in every single book so far that its probably worthwhile to hold a shitty man award by the end of the semester to see who can duke it out and win the title for the shittiest man of all,” in I TOO, WOULD CRY IF I WAS SLEEPING WITH CHILDREN (THE LOVER)
- Best Video Blog Award: Jack, for Bring out the tin foil hats and slap on your anti 5g necklaces the government is up to something FUNKY. (Seriously, watch the whole thing!)
- Most Shameless Bid to Bet the “Best Title Award” Award: Sam, for YES MURDER MYSTERY DINNER PARTY (except no one is getting murdered….. maybe? who knows? what if THERES A BOMB IN THE FUCKING TRENCHCOAT. YOU NEVER KNOW. AHHHHHHHHHH)
Week 10 (Piglia):
- Award for Being First: Gaby, for La Casa de Papel | Queer Edition (Money to Burn) – Ricardo Piglia. (This award is now retired, as Gaby wins it in perpetuity.)
- Best Retelling of the Book’s Story in Emoji Award: Maia, for “Money to Burn” – Madness and Morality
- Best Tags Award: Sean, for “built different,” “crime,” “DJI Mini 4 Pro,” “Just kidding,” “lebron james,” “Not an ad,” “sue me (pls don’t),” in I am the Lebron James of Crime – Committing no Bueno in Buenos Aires. Sean also wins the Best Line Award for “Having just finished this book, I can say with full confidence… I would have done a much better job.”
- Best Blog Post Award: Kendra, for A focus on the Blond Gaucho – cycles of violence
Week 11 (Agualusa and Saramago):
- Best Pop Culture Reference Award: Alex, for Zahn and Taylor Swift’s “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever (Fifty Shades Darker)”, in I don’t wanna live forever- Death With Interruptions
- Best Blog Post Award: Jennifer, for The Book of Chameleons: Kafka if He Were a Gecko (Mar 25)
- Best Memes Award: Gabby, for Death With Interruptions – A Permanent Curse Suspended In Limbo
- Most Beautiful, Moving, and Brave Blog post Award: Page Pioneer, for The Reality Catfisher — My Connections to The Book of Chameleons
Week 12 (Luiselli and Ferrante):
- Best Blog Post Award: Jessica, for A Novel in Perpetual Motion: Exploring the Fragmented Realms of Luiselli’s ‘Faces in the Crowd’. Honorable mention to Shan, for So what if Shrimps have small dicks? it’s the personality that counts! 🦐🦐🦐🦐🦐🦐🦐🦐🦐🦐🦐🦐
- All The Feels Award: Maxene, for This one’s for Rachel- “My Brilliant Friend” by Ferrante
- Best Title Award: Ximena, for According to this novel I like my books boring
- Best Line Award: Rhiannon, for “Fiction isn’t real, of course, but it’s here because someone needed a reality that made sense.” In Luiselli, Faces in the Crowd
Week 13 (Conclusions):
- Made Me Laugh Award: Gabby, for Conclusion – Money To Burn Was Iconic And Y’all Are Just Scared To Admit It, especially for the line “Freud is a loser.” (But read the whole thing! Also a strong contender for Best Rant Award.)
- Best Title Award: Ava, for RMST202 in a nutshell: Shitty men, intrusive thoughts, nameless characters, and death
- All the Feels Award: Ellie, for Am I A Reader Now?. Honourable mention to Maxene (Queen of the Feels), for Girl Takes RMST Class and Falls in Love With Literature Again !!- “Last RMST Blog Post” by Maxene Uy.
- Biggest Surprise Award: Bilal, for BONUS: A Reflection on Calvino’s “If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler”
Overall awards:
- Best Blog Post Award: Lots of contenders, but Dalia really got me to think differently about the book with The Time of the HOLES! Trypophobia in Mercè Rodoreda’s Time of the Doves.
- Best Blogger Award: Again, lots of contenders, and many honorable mentions, but for her consistent effort and energy, as well as thoughtfulness, this goes to Shan, at A Romantic Exploration ~ RMST 202.
- Most Voracious Reader Award: Gaby, at ₊˚⊹♡ Gaby’s Book Nook ₊˚⊹♡, had read all the texts by Spring Break, and went on to finish the entirety of Ferrante’s Neapolitan Quartet!
- Most Improved Blogging Award: Lots of you came a long way over the semester, but this goes to Fiona, at RMST 202 BLOG.
People’s Choice awards:
We welcome nominations for what you think were the best of the best (best title? best rant? best line? best blog post? best blogger?), throughout the semester… Self-nominations also welcome.
- Best Memes Award and Number One Money to Burn Fan Award: Gabby (of course), at Gabby Ranu RMST 202
- “The blog with the emoji stories,” i.e. Maia’s Maia Reads and Writes: RMST 202, is nominated “as number 1 blog” by Gabriella.
