Tag: Project More

Project More- January

I am aware that I have not blogged for almost two weeks now, but I have good reason not to do so. What with my grandaunt’s funeral followed by Chinese New Year immediately after that and being sick in between, I didn’t really have the time and motivation to blog. Hence, this post is somewhat of a result of forced motivation since today’s the last day of January and I still haven’t done this month’s recommendations yet.

Before I continue, What is Project More?

January Recommendations

ROOM by EMMA DONOGHUE

Room tells the story of 5-year-old Jack, who has lived all five years of his life in Room, an eleven-by-eleven garden shed, with Ma. In the morning, he has breakfast cooked by Ma on Stove, then they do exercises on Rug or read a book or two in the afternoon but his favourite past time is watching Dora the Explorer on Television. At night, he enters Wardrobe to Switch Off when Old Nick comes to see Ma, because he is often uncomfortable with the creaks and the grunts that ensue with Old Nick’s arrival. He thinks Old Nick is hurting Ma, but Ma never complains.

Narrated from the perspective of a child who thinks Room is the whole world, this novel is hauntingly beautiful as we witness the transformation of an innocent soul when Jack starts to learn that the people in Television are actually real, the small piece of Skyline he sees through the window is not all there is and that both Ma and him are actually trapped in this eleven-by-eleven foot space…forever.

Apparently inspired by the real-life Josef Fritzl case, Room was a stunner for me. This book is highly disturbing, made even more so by the fact that we’re reading it through the eyes of a 5-year-old who questions everything in life (or Room). When you put the book down to really think about it, it’s a horrible string of events Jack is facing- but he doesn’t know it, which makes the heartache worse as you silently weep for Jack’s fate.

This is a book that will not only tug at your heartstrings, but tear them into shreds and stomp on them repeatedly.

Rating: 4/5

Also, a side recommendation to make up for my absence:

TIME TO REPLY- CHARLIE MCDONNELL

I have to say, I was overwhelmed with emotions when I heard this song for the first time. I don’t care about the critics, I’m giving this full stars because it is awfully relatable. Ever sat in front of your computer sifting through the life of that one person to find that they are surprisingly delightful? Ever waited for that one person to reply to your comment on Facebook or tweet on Twitter? There’s that giddy climactic feeling you get when you do, and then there’s the anti-climax of it all. With time, there comes change and despite the sourness, you have no choice but to let go. I don’t know if this song is also an insight to Charlie’s current life, because if it is, then ahem.

I find we’ve so much in common, 
How weird can it be?
That I feel I know you,
Though you don’t know me. 

Rating: I said, “full stars”.

PS. A post about what really happened while I was away coming right up, worry not.

Introducing Project More and also a Couple of Other Stuff about Books

With a new year comes many aspirations and ambitions!

I was inspired by WordPress’s blogpost on blog projects so I decided that this year, Careful Confessions will not be filled with posts only about Michelle’s emotions and feelings and weird outlooks but also posts on Project More.

What is Project More?

The “More” in Project More is a combination of the words “monthly” and “recommendations” to form the phrase “monthly recommendations” and that is exactly what it is! Each month, a post will be dedicated to book, album and movie recommendations. Simple as.

I also like to think that Project More will be able to introduce more great books
(“more     great books” and not “more great     books”, just to clarify), music and movies to more people out there. Great things deserve to be shared with everyone else. So, stop tacky vampire YA novels, horrible teenybopper music and Razzies-worthy movies!

Of course, while everyone has their own opinions, and not everyone will agree with my recommendations, I would also like to make it known that this project is not created merely for other people; it’s created for myself too. Perhaps one day I might want to go through all these posts and re-indulge in the glory of each masterpiece; or guffaw at my different outlook then. Whatever it is, it’s totally fine if you’re not happy with these recommendations because you’re not obliged to like them and thus not obliged to express your extreme disagreement. I am okay with debates and discussions but comments like, “OH MY GOD THIS IS CLEARLY THE WORST BOOK RECOMMENDATION POSSIBLE GOD YOU ARE SO STUPID YOU NEED TO GET OFF THE INTERNET” will be happily ignored.

Just a little paranoid of negative feedback, is all.

If you haven’t noticed it yet, there is a little Goodreads’ 2012 Reading Challenge widget on the right sidebar and one of my 2012 resolutions is to read 50 books this year, as stated in aforementioned widget. It’s only 50 because this year is SPM year.

I would also like to announce two new pages to Careful Confessions:

  • The Next Change 2011 is the page about the YNN Camp I was talking about since a few posts ago. It is now up and running, complete with relevant photos and videos, so if you’d like to read about my 3-day job as a real videographer and that time I was almost killed by a durian, click the link above!
  • Michelle’s Booklist is exactly what it is, my booklist. It is a list of all the books I want or need to read and this booklist also corresponds to my Reading Challenge so you’ll know what books I’ve read for the challenge.

I know both the project and challenge will be sort of a hindrance because it’s SPM year and I shouldn’t be doing anything but studying for SPM…but that’s just it. I don’t want 2012 to be a year of studying only. Because contrary to what most of the teachers think, I personally don’t believe that SPM should take over an entire year of our lives. A year; there’s a lot of things you can do in year. Yes, SPM is greatly important, but I don’t want to succumb entirely to an examination. I want to be able to say that I’ve done something I like and am proud of by the end of the year (besides doing well in SPM, of course…but that’s not the point).

This is such a strange post. I’ve never blogged about this kind of thing before. Oh well, like they say, there’s always a first time for everything.

Little update on school: I have more or less gotten back some threads of motivation for the past few days. Ironically, I find being in Form 5 classes more comfortable and enjoyable than Form 4 classes. I’m even anticipating Add Math tuition later! The sheer horror of it!