Student Blogs

These past few months have been an amazing journey into the Romance World and its vast array of novels. It’s hard to believe this is our last week of class already! Each week has been a new exploration into different worlds that brought new concepts, new people, and new experiences to learn from. If I … Continue reading Week 12: Conclusion → read full post >>

I really enjoyed reading “My Brilliant Friend” by Elena Ferrante for this weeks novel. It feels a bit like a nice little break and a good way to end of this class’s reading list with a novel like this one. The writing style was so nice and easy to follow. I found that Elena didn’t […] read full post >>

I can’t believe this is the very last post for this class. I have learned so much through this class and it has opened a new type of genre of books for me. I really enjoyed this class since it almost seemed like taking a break for myself to just sit and read and engage …

Continue reading "RMST 202 Conclusion"

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 The concluding post already! It doesn’t feel like that long ago when I was looking at the long list of books I was going to read for this class and feeling a little bit intimidated. I really enjoyed how this class was structured, my favorite part is probably the fact that we had choices most weeks. I also liked how the contract allowed for freedom and the need to adhere to a routine, the risk of not fulfilling the contract was so high that it was not an option! I am an avid reader and I love literature which is why as intimidated as I was by having to read a book a week (I’m a psychology major, its A LOT of reading), I was also excited and curious about these books. 

I will briefly talk about the book that might not have been my favorite but the most important to me. The passion according to G.H. was a book that I did not think I enjoyed reading, in fact, I felt annoyed through a big portion of the book and I had to push myself to keep reading. But at some point, that must have shifted and I must have become curious because I’ve thought about this book a lot more than any of the others. I would randomly think about different excerpts of things she said or moments of her looking at the cockroach and questioning her humanity, I also talked about it a lot, at least two of my friends are currently reading it. I love literature that surprises me and this is a book that did. 

Another aspect of the course I really enjoyed was the blogs. I really enjoyed the freedom to write without prompts because every book we read was so full of different factors that affected how each of us interpreted it and getting to see what others thought about as they were reading and what resonated with them was very enjoyable.

I got into the routine of starting a new novel right after I wrote my blog post. I have been keeping a record of books mentioned in class (besides the books I didn’t read) so that I would keep this routine. My next read: The Savage Detectives!

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 The concluding post already! It doesn’t feel like that long ago when I was looking at the long list of books I was going to read for this class and feeling a little bit intimidated. I really enjoyed how this class was structured, my favorite part is probably the fact that we had choices most weeks. I also liked how the contract allowed for freedom and the need to adhere to a routine, the risk of not fulfilling the contract was so high that it was not an option! I am an avid reader and I love literature which is why as intimidated as I was by having to read a book a week (I’m a psychology major, its A LOT of reading), I was also excited and curious about these books. 

I will briefly talk about the book that might not have been my favorite but the most important to me. The passion according to G.H. was a book that I did not think I enjoyed reading, in fact, I felt annoyed through a big portion of the book and I had to push myself to keep reading. But at some point, that must have shifted and I must have become curious because I’ve thought about this book a lot more than any of the others. I would randomly think about different excerpts of things she said or moments of her looking at the cockroach and questioning her humanity, I also talked about it a lot, at least two of my friends are currently reading it. I love literature that surprises me and this is a book that did. 

Another aspect of the course I really enjoyed was the blogs. I really enjoyed the freedom to write without prompts because every book we read was so full of different factors that affected how each of us interpreted it and getting to see what others thought about as they were reading and what resonated with them was very enjoyable.

I got into the routine of starting a new novel right after I wrote my blog post. I have been keeping a record of books mentioned in class (besides the books I didn’t read) so that I would keep this routine. My next read: The Savage Detectives!

read full post >>

I really enjoyed this book and thought it was fairly engaging. The book discusses an odd friendship between two women, Lila and Elena, who both grew up together in the same neighbourhood and environment. Their friendship was certainly brilliant, and left readers with much reflection on this odd duo.  The book began when Elena received …

Continue reading "My Brilliant Friend"

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Hi everyone! I can’t believe that the term is over so fast. I truly enjoyed this class so much because... read full post >>

Hi everyone! It’s pretty hard to believe we’ve reached the end of the course, and it’s a pretty bittersweet occasion. I’m definitely looking forward to the summer, but having the opportunity to explore the Romance world has been an amazing experience. I’m very glad I read all the books I did, and was exposed to […] read full post >>

Hello everyone, it is with sad typing that I bring you my last blog post for the weekly readings. But... read full post >>

Hey Everyone,  I can’t believe this is the last time I’m adding to this 20 paged google doc. After 11 readings and 13 blog posts, we have finished this course! I remember being so intimidated by the contract at the beginning of this course that I was ready to drop the course before I started. […] read full post >>

blog#12 – concluding thoughts — Man. I read a lot of books this year, and it’s only april. I’m not sure if I’ll ever take a course like this again. Not because I didn’t like it but because I’m not sure what to call this kind of class, or where to find it. (Other than […] read full post >>

 This week, I chose to read The Society of Reluctant Dreamers by Jose Eduardo Agualusa. Though this was one of the longer books i read in this course, i quite enjoyed it. I found that it differed quite a bit in terms of genre from the other novellas i read throughout the semester, which is why i think i enjoyed it so much. It felt new and refreshing. This book kind of toyed with the topic of memory (which a lot of the other novels did as well), however, it had an element of fantasy added to it. 

This book mainly follows Daniel Benchimol and a few other characters. Daniel is journalist who dreams vividly about interviewing well known figures. At the beginning of the book, Daniel is faced with divorce and finds himself staying in a beach-side hotel. While swimming one afternoon, he discovers a camera riddled with photos of a woman. The book is then interrupted to tell the story of the hotel owner, Hossi. This man claims to have been struck by lightening twice, and while in hospital discovers that he unknowingly appears in everyone's dreams wearing a purple coat. The book then moves back to Daniel where he travels to visit the lady in the photos. She is a well known artist who uses dreams as her muse. 

One part of this book that i particularly enjoyed reading was Hossi's story of being held in an apartment and his short lived fling with Ana. Though this was only roughly 10 pages of the novel I really enjoyed it, as a story like this would be something i would totally reach for on my own. I found it to be slightly comedic, while also being romantic at the same time. While being questioned about why Hossi might be appearing in other people's dreams he responds with "how the fuck would I know?", a very real answer that made me chuckle. Im also huge romance fan so I definitely enjoyed reading about him and Ana. I had hoped for the rest of the book that they might find their way back to each other. 

Did you enjoy the genre of this book more or less than others we have read this semester? 

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 This week, I chose to read The Society of Reluctant Dreamers by Jose Eduardo Agualusa. Though this was one of the longer books i read in this course, i quite enjoyed it. I found that it differed quite a bit in terms of genre from the other novellas i read throughout the semester, which is why i think i enjoyed it so much. It felt new and refreshing. This book kind of toyed with the topic of memory (which a lot of the other novels did as well), however, it had an element of fantasy added to it. 

This book mainly follows Daniel Benchimol and a few other characters. Daniel is journalist who dreams vividly about interviewing well known figures. At the beginning of the book, Daniel is faced with divorce and finds himself staying in a beach-side hotel. While swimming one afternoon, he discovers a camera riddled with photos of a woman. The book is then interrupted to tell the story of the hotel owner, Hossi. This man claims to have been struck by lightening twice, and while in hospital discovers that he unknowingly appears in everyone's dreams wearing a purple coat. The book then moves back to Daniel where he travels to visit the lady in the photos. She is a well known artist who uses dreams as her muse. 

One part of this book that i particularly enjoyed reading was Hossi's story of being held in an apartment and his short lived fling with Ana. Though this was only roughly 10 pages of the novel I really enjoyed it, as a story like this would be something i would totally reach for on my own. I found it to be slightly comedic, while also being romantic at the same time. While being questioned about why Hossi might be appearing in other people's dreams he responds with "how the fuck would I know?", a very real answer that made me chuckle. Im also huge romance fan so I definitely enjoyed reading about him and Ana. I had hoped for the rest of the book that they might find their way back to each other. 

Did you enjoy the genre of this book more or less than others we have read this semester? 

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The Society of Reluctant Dreamers has probably been my favourite book all term and I would recommend it to anyone, especially people interested in postcolonialism or contemporary Africa. I was really fascinated by the idea of giving life and artistic representations to dreams, and I think the book added an interesting perspective to issues of […] read full post >>

I can’t believe how fast this semester has gone by, just like that, I am done with my first year of university. This course has been a pleasure to take, and I am honestly quite sad there is nothing further … Continue reading → read full post >>