Reading Proposal

Madelyn Carroll:

Sleepless Nights by Elizabeth Hardwick

I propose that we read this book because it is very unique and unlike any that I can recall reading before. Sleepless Nights blurs the lines between fiction and memoir and also uses the technique of collage to tell its story. Also, it reveals certain truths about writing, so I think it will be helpful to us as writers. A scrapbook of memories and an occasional look into the lives of the characters, the book is essentially plotless, and really focuses on the lyrical and prose aspects, which is why I found it so appealing.

Liam Lynch:

In order to challenge myself as a reader, I must push myself to read texts that exist outside of my normal scope and comfort zone for book selection. Specifically, this could include narratives that challenge the written form, such as graphic novels. Because I have never read a graphic novel before, I feel that doing so would force me to confront storytelling in a different way, and to explore the differences between text and subtext present in such a highly stylized format. In particular, I wish to read a graphic novel called Seconds by Bryan Lee O’Malley. In addition to being a work that challenges the normal conventions of storytelling, this graphic novel is supposed to focus on a female protagonist, which is a feature I do not seek out in books nearly often enough. I also believe that exploring a narrative that offers just as much visually as it does textually will offer new insight into the ways I process and store information while reading, as well as strategies for reading comprehension.

Jesse Tafel:

Driver’s Ed was a book that my younger brother really wanted me to read. He was introduced to it in his class in High School and found it interesting. We both know each other very well and know what each other like and would like. This is how he felt about Driver’s Ed regarding me. He read the book and thought “Jesse would love this”.

It is a tragic story about kids being stupid and young and living with the guilt and developing characters. An event so catastrophic in these kids lives that they are changed forever. I want to see where this story goes and how the characters deal with an awful event that they caused. Character development is my favorite aspect of a story so this seems like a prime example of a simple plot to see the journey of young characters.

Melanie Rajpal:

The second work that I chose for my reading proposal list is the collection of poetry, Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur. This collection of poetry discusses topics such as, “violence, abuse, love, loss, and femininity.” I have not read a lot of poetry collections, so I think that this will be an interesting experience in trying to limit the amount of projection I have while reading something that is unfamiliar to me. I chose this collection of poetry because I believe that it would be interesting to see how the controlling idea affects the overall reading experience and how that affects the audience. I would also like to see if the poetry writing style has any effect on trying to close read and uncover the true meaning of what the author is trying to to say in her writing and limit projection. In addition, I would like to see if figures of speech such as metaphors or analogies have any effect on trying to determine what is actually written on the page versus the true meaning that the author is trying to imply.