From my early years to around late middle school, I inhabited the role of the quiet, shy, and excruciatingly reserved kid. My life was chiefly internal — I withheld everything tightly into my tiny frame. While I had strong bonds with my friends, and deep extracurricular interests to foster my
Books
Under the covers: The racial gap in romance
Abs so sculpted they belong in an art museum. Luscious, flowing-with-the-breeze, heartthrob hair. Heaving bosoms in low-cut, lace dresses. I’ve been reading a lot of romance novels recently. Somehow, I’ve managed to get away with writing a senior thesis about them, which means I’ve seen cover after cover with all
The in-group: How aliens have become reflections of ourselves
It is the mere possibility of alien existence that enables us to walk into the tight-knit, exclusive hangout down the hall, feeling a little less awkward and flushed than the time before. Let me explain. When I think of the quintessential alien of the science fiction genre, I immediately see
Let the brows run wild: A defense of lowbrow literature
Richard Steele, an 18th century Irish writer who always looks like he just ate something sour, wrote: “Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.” Well, Richard, sometimes my body doesn’t want to wake up at 6 a.m. to go on a run before my 8 a.m.
‘The Book of M’: Seeking out others’ shadows
This article contains a mild spoiler. I have come to realize that a lot of great literature plays with figurative shadows. William Shakespeare infringes on his reader’s chaste loyalty in “The Winter’s Tale” by brewing a shadow plot of incest underneath the direct story, while Bronte thought it best
Dating and Dostoevsky
Last December, while the Skirball Fire tore through the Los Angeles neighborhood nestled next to my own, I was studying abroad 5,000 miles away in Salamanca, Spain. When my sister texted me asking what she should rescue from my room during the evacuation, I didn’t respond with “my cherished childhood
Book Column: The Perennial Importance Of Fiction
As college students, when our focus yields to academic material and research, there is a general inclination toward academic journals, news articles, autobiographies, reports — any deviant from pure fiction. These scholarly texts begin to situate themselves above our fiction novels, and our immersion into our vocational pursuits gradually alters
‘When Breath Becomes Air’ Explores The Meaning Of Life, In Death
At each stage of his life — from English student to philosopher and neurosurgeon — Paul Kalanithi has searched for what makes life worth living in the face of human mortality. “When Breath Becomes Air,” the autobiographical book which he details this search, is nothing like the traditional coming-of-age novel.
Minato’s Novel ‘Confessions’ Explores Motherhood And Revenge
Beach balls soaring above hay-yellow sand, on which crowds of restless teenagers mingle under the strobe lights of the drunken sun isn’t the typical spring break montage for all. For some, the week-long break entails awkward family reunions, when elated mothers parade their college-proficient kid — now well-versed in the
Robin Roe’s ‘A List of Cages’ May Be Fiction, But Abuse Is A Reality For Many
CW: Domestic abuse, violence Robin Roe’s novel “A List of Cages” details the lives of two characters: Julian, a present-day high school freshman, and Adam, a high school senior. The two characters are a mentor-mentee pair from elementary school, until they turn into foster brothers after Julian’s parents die