Tag: Life

Songs For Every Book

Songs for Every Book: An Alternative Happy Ending for Ophelia

Aubrey Leaman

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If tragedies were dark chocolate, Hamlet would be 87% cacao — at least!

Starting with Scene 1, Hamlet’s dad is murdered, his mom marries his evil uncle, and Hamlet himself sends off his childhood buddies to be murdered. Casual. At the end basically everyone dies, including Hamlet and his love interest, Ophelia (…AND his mom AND his uncle AND Polonius AND you get the idea).

For me, Ophelia’s suicide by drowning is one of the most tragic deaths of the play, though. While all the deaths are truly awful, she’s more of a bystander than actively embroiled in all the nasty craziness. She’s doing her best, but can you imagine watching your boyfriend go insane and then hearing that said boyfriend killed your dad??

But what if Ophelia pulled through? Continue reading “Songs for Every Book: An Alternative Happy Ending for Ophelia” →

Books

Your Next Creative Hobby: The Make-Your-Own Lego Movie Books

Aubrey Leaman

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The day I stumbled upon these books was a good, good day.

I always love looking at Klutz books when I go to a craft or toy store, even though I’m technically an adult now. The childhood memories are fun by themselves, and honestly some of the books still look pretty cool! Case in point? This Lego make-your-own-movie book. Continue reading “Your Next Creative Hobby: The Make-Your-Own Lego Movie Books” →

Books

If Literary Characters were Fall Clichés

Aubrey Leaman

From fuzzy socks to pumpkin spice, literary characters have a lot in common with some of our favorite fall clichés:

1. Candy corn = Mr. Rochester from Jane Eyre

Candy corn is one of those things people seem to either love or hate. In a similar way, some people hate Mr. Rochester for being this grumpy, controlling, and demeaning guy, but others love him for being Jane’s other half and for loving her unconditionally.  Continue reading “If Literary Characters were Fall Clichés” →

Books, Music

Music Recommendations for Children of Blood and Bone

Aubrey Leaman

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Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi has been out for a while now, but for some of us we’re still thinking about it. Flooded with determination, adventure, courage, and empowerment, there’s nothing quite like this book.

So here you go! A list of music for when you want to recapture those feelings (and for when you just don’t have time to reread all 544 pages…): Continue reading “Music Recommendations for Children of Blood and Bone” →

Books, The Other Stuff

Holden Caulfield Answers the Sunshine Blogger Award (Exploring What Makes a Favorite Character)

Aubrey Leaman

VS 2Answers coming from both myself and The Catcher in the Rye’s Holden Caulfield in this post!

Thanks so much to Nicole at Sorry I’m Booked for the Sunshine Blogger Award nomination! I’m very honored that such a fun blogger enjoys my blog!

As I was writing out my answers to her questions, I started wondering how some of my favorite book characters would answer the very same questions…so I decided to share one character’s (imagined) answers alongside my own! J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye may have actually recently overtaken Wuthering Heights as my favorite book (gasp), so I was curious as to how Holden Caulfield, the narrator of the story, might answer these questions. He’s one of my favorite book characters, but would our answers be similar or different?

Some of Holden’s answers I drew directly from the book, but some I imagined based on his personality. Here are the results, with both of our answers:  Continue reading “Holden Caulfield Answers the Sunshine Blogger Award (Exploring What Makes a Favorite Character)” →

Classical Music Stories

Classical Music Stories: Anna Karenina’s Mental Illness

Aubrey Leaman

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There’s a frantic undercurrent in this music that reminds me a lot of Anna Karenina’s mental struggles, complete with lush orchestral textures and a solo flute!

Classical Music Stories is a series that connects music to your favorite books and characters. Since listening to classical music can be like hearing a story, imagining specific stories that match the music can make it that much more fun and accessible!

WARNING: As fitting the novel, the story I describe at the end of this music is dark. Please do not enter into the mind of a depressed/suicidal character if this is a trigger for you. Make sure you are comfortable and safe. Continue reading “Classical Music Stories: Anna Karenina’s Mental Illness” →

Books

What “Into the Water,” Buzzfeed Quizzes, and Musical Taste Have in Common

Aubrey Leaman

(No spoilers here.) In Paula Hawkins’ thriller Into the Water, characters aren’t simply “good” or “bad.” While Sean is called a “good man” over and over again he’s done some terrible things, and while Nel is loved by some she’s hated by others (even by the same people at different times). And then there are Lena, Jules, and Louise…

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This is part of what makes a thriller work. We can’t figure out “who dun it” because literally everyone has some kind of nasty history that suggests they might be capable of murder (what a terrifying thought)!

And yet, by writing the book through these characters’ perspectives, Hawkins forces us to empathize with them and understand their motivation. This doesn’t make their actions any less screwed up or horrific, but in experiencing the story in this way we are basically forced to view these people as human, and not as demons who hurt and kill people because they’re twisted and like it. Honestly, in a way that would be a lot more comforting–it would make us feel safer from the possibility of committing such horrific deeds ourselves.

And then there are Buzzfeed quizzes. Continue reading “What “Into the Water,” Buzzfeed Quizzes, and Musical Taste Have in Common” →

Music, The Other Stuff

Thanksgiving Music

Aubrey Leaman

(Because it does exist.)

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Even though the day has passed, I’m still reminded of how much I can be thankful for my family, my friends, to everyone who has supported and continues to support me, and the ability to support myself and study at Northwestern. While it’s all to easy to lose perspective I am truly, deeply grateful.

So in the spirit of continued thankfulness here’s a song specifically about Thanksgiving as sung by Josh Groban. Enjoy!

Books

Which Cat Would Make a Better Pet: Crookshanks or Dinah?

Aubrey Leaman

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I never really thought about it until I started writing this post, but there don’t seem to be a whole lot of pets in literature or YA books. (Maybe because the characters are off on crazy adventures so having a pet just doesn’t fit in the story?) Be that as it may, Crookshanks (Hermione’s cat in Harry Potter) and Dinah (Alice’s cat in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland) are two pretty great felines. Continue reading “Which Cat Would Make a Better Pet: Crookshanks or Dinah?” →

The Other Stuff

Dinosaur Sweaters and Riding Polar Bears (i.e. The Mystery Blogger Award)

Aubrey Leaman

img_5090First, I want to give a shout out to all of my readers, especially those who return again and again to my blog to read and interact with my posts. Lately I’ve been struggling to keep up with my own blogging and especially with reading others’ posts as I’ve been adjusting to Ph.D. life, so I appreciate your patience and support as I find a new blogging schedule that will get me back on track. I’ve also been having some ideas for future posts and post series that I’m really excited about and that are in the works, so I’m looking forward to sharing those with you soon, as well!

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Last week I was incredibly honored to be nominated for the Mystery Blogger Award by Michael Miller over at My Comic Relief. While Continue reading “Dinosaur Sweaters and Riding Polar Bears (i.e. The Mystery Blogger Award)” →