8/27/20
5-5:10pm: What are you writing in your journal? Haven’t started? All good…. Please try it!!
5:10-5:30pm: Sedaris findings… Share your thoughts. What sources did you find?
5:30-5:50pm: His character…. How would you describe it?
5:50-6pm: Before we read, what do we want from our read? That is… do you have certain expectations? What do you like to read? How do you like to feel after reading something?
6pm-6:15pm: Tell us about how you read…. Do you take notes? Write in the margins of your book? In a journal? WHAT?
6:15-6:35pm: As a student, we are constantly challenged, and show new approaches to working on our projects. We are “taught”, yes, but we also self-educate. How do you teach yourself to do something new, or improve at something? ‘Cause really, in the end, it’s all you and your efforts. And, how you study your efforts and the production from your productivity.
6:35-6:40pm: Think about how you use your time, be as efficient as possible. Any suggestions for us?
6:40-6:50pm: Closing…. What’s in your notes for tonight/on tonight’s page?
Assignment: Read the first four essays in Sedaris’ book. Please also read the “Author’s Note”. Be prepared to discuss and offer ideas on Tuesday. And as with every assignment, WRITE IN YOUR JOURNAL. Let me know if have any questions. Enjoy your weekend!!! Find Happiness and Humor, EVERYWHERE.
I give a lot of credit to David Sedaris for being the person who will talk to anyone and has the skill to talk to everyone and have new experiences because of it. That is something I have always wanted to get better at.
I took the question literally. If Sedaris was a character in a show, I feel like he’d be the comic relief of the series. But then he’d have that one episode that digs down into his past and the viewers see why he resorts to comedy as a copping mechanism.
There would be layers to him that wouldn’t be pealed back because of his hysterical comedy choice
If anyone has watched Foster Home for Imaginary Friends, Wilt (the tall red one) is like Sedaris in the sense he is the most kindhearted and friendly person even though they have a troubled past they never let it get them down at the moment.
You just unlocked a memory I forgot I had ! But yes what a great example
What is it, since you mentioned it…?
It’s a cartoon that played on Cartoon Network in the early 2000’s. Great show !
Also, his sister, Amy, is hilarious, too! They’re both very spunky and energetic with how they speak
Yes!
I saw some of his interview and articles. The interview for The Guardian was the one I liked the most. He talks about him, his family and how he felt when he wrote about his sister suicide. In another interview he says he never mapped his books, even thought there is sequence between them, you don’t necessary need to start from the beginning. He really passed me the feeling of free writting
Free, and freeING!!
I didn’t realize how funny he’ll be . He honestly surprised me of what type of person he’ll be and his ideas of cutting of short talk and actually getting to know one was actually very intriguing
I really enjoyed how he spoke about self reflection on the agenda with Steve Paikin. He stated in order tp write about personal stuff involving his sisters suicide he had to self reflect in order to better his writing and get a deeper understanding.
From your research, do you see Sedaris as curious? About life, his own family, himself?
I don’t think you can be a writer without curiosity. They go hand-in-hand.
Agreed, Dominic.
Well yes in a sense that in order to better his writing he has to reflect on all those parts of his life, he uses his life as a tool to better his writing.
I do think he is curious. First of all because his a writer and there is no way to be a writer without curiosity. Also because he said he likes to arrive earlier on his shows so he can talk to his audience. That means he is curious to know and talk to other people
C’mon y’all….. Where you at??????
To be honest, I don’t find him as curious. I think he’s a go with the flow type of guy and tries not to think too far into the future. Taking his life one step at a time
Good perspective. Build upon that idea and observation as you read his essays!
I agree with you too. He seems very go with the flow and takes advantage of the opportunities and uses them in his writings
Note for you notes….. Sedaris shows us not just new forms of essay writing and story telling, but LIVING.
Leading by example to better everyone, a little humor goes a long way.
One of the things I’ve picked up on about his character is how courageous he is. It takes an admirable amount of courage to express the things he does
His persona reminds me of an old friend you haven’t seen in awhile and wants to catch up with you and get along with their day. A pretty big contrast to most celebrities who treat most interactions as part of a job they’ve been assigned. Quotes from Sedaris are some of the best I’ve heard in a while particularly his one about crystal meth and art.
Good!
I would definitely call him curious. I think a lot of the time people forget to be “curious” about themselves. I think he does that very well. He reflects upon himself and his own work. I think it’s not only a way for the reader to engage, but for him to constantly build upon himself and grow.
What did you find in your research that gave you that curious vibe?
Listening to the podcasts about his family and his experiences, the way that he’s able to write about them from such a vulnerable, yet humorous point of view. It may just be me, but when talking about my family, particularly the low moments, I find it hard to be vulnerable. Let alone crack jokes. Being able to see the humor in something that would otherwise be considered misfortunate comes off to me as someone who has processed and really explored within themselves. Which takes a certain level of curiosity.
I can bounce off a couple others when I say that I think he is curious for sure. I has a very real aspect to him where you can tell there really is no fluff he just is a guy who is relaxed and humorous but can say what he needs to say and not be afraid to say it OR do it.
Does curiosity indicate a strength of character, to you?
what do you mean?
If one is curious, do you think that contributes to strength…?
No however If you can cleverly use that curiosity towards your advantage somehow or use it as a tool to be able to understand something better or maybe conjure a new perspective you might’ve not had on a topic before. Nonetheless I can say that if he does that I would believe it’s a strength of character.
I believe it does because if one if truly curious that means being the curious person you are eventually you are gonna find something you won’t like. From that moment you have the choice to turn away from it and ignore it, but if you are truly curious you will still search for those answers even if they are unpleasant to you and I think that takes strength.
To be able to look at those dark moments in your past and write about them is hard enough, but for him to know to wait and distance himself from certain moments before writing about them is crazy self-awareness and shows mental toughness.
Excited my book should be here tomorrow it’s taken so long. I’m ready to read and get his thoughts and jokes running through my brain
You’ll love it! And, will encourage you to look further into your own moments, past and present.
Hello everybody! Although I have yet to start writing journal entries. I found myself overthinking them because of the overwhelming amount of events going on in the world both locally and nationally. I realized I needed to take a couple steps back and just try to focus on daily events in my life and so far I’ve had better success! I also realized how much a personal perspective I have on events. Even though that is a given in any situation. The start of my journal entries have made that point so much clearer!
Based on my research I’d say he’s curious about everything.
Yes! He really challenges some of my ideas.
From the novel i expect it to have a general message or theme in the book shrouded by comedic relief that’ll require you to read between the lines. From the novel i hope to gain a better insight into the kind of person Sedaris is as Wikipedia and his website doesn’t give much insight. Also sorry for showing up late i had to go shopping for my grandmother and it took longer than i expected to get everything she needed.
Not a novel, FYI…
Comedy requires you to think in a different way. In order to create humor, one must be curious about their surroundings. That’s where the best material comes from
Well said!
Honestly I just want to truly understand the reading. I’m dyslexic so it’s harder for me to comprehend a book’s plot / story line. I have high key high expectations because of how much we’re hyping him up here lol.
Just take your time, don’t read fast. And most importantly, enjoy.
Curiosity is only a strength when used wisely, you can’t just be curious about everything you have to think about the consequences
I can’t really say how I feel after reading because I’ve maybe read two books in my life lol. But I can’t wait to see how Sedaris writing will impact me
What do you want to read? What do you want to experience from the reading?
The books I ordered lol. I want to be able to gain some knowledge on how to become a writer. I want to think about the meaning and the process they had to go through to produce something amazing. I can only get that from reading the books
Good.
I just want to be captivated. No matter what kind of writing, I just want to feel like I can’t put it down.
I want to read something that can open a new perspective on things or an idea to think about.
I want to be intrigued about things I read, I want it to challenge my opinions. Maybe also learn some new words and also learn how to read on a deeper level.
i want to experience enlightenment while reading sedarius
I like that he ask people and his readers questions that they sometimes don’t want to be asked or he’ll say something that some people take offensively too. Which shouldn’t be the case because he seems like a good hearted people that just states the obvious about things. No filter
Yeah, totally making you think a different way!
I believe that when we read something, we want to feel a connection with the writer . I need to find a way to learn something from it.
Hunger for learning is beneficial …
I want to read things that make me feel something! If I can understand and appreciate what you’re selling, I will keep buying
What you feel from a text is what determines how memorable it is.
I don’t really expectation on the read. I don’t know what type of books I like but I am reading a book called Washington Black which is about a runaway slave. After reading something I always feel accomplished like I just saved the world or something.
I’d like to learn something new out of it. I personally don’t read for fun. Every single book Ive read was about something that I wanted to learn or about some mindset that I wanted to develop.
I want to read something I can relate to but at the same time it has a lot of material I can learn from
From this read I would like to have a better understanding of Sedaris’ writing or at least more than a plain interview could provide. Over summer I read up on psychology for fun but my favorite type of books definitely have to be realistic fiction. After reading I like to feel as if I will remember that story forever or that I’ve learned something. Thinking about how reading makes me feel reminds me of the days in 7th grade where I would read a book in a couple weeks and I completed a few series doing that. I miss that feeling.
You’ll feel that again this semester, if you take your time and let the authors speak to you.
I don’t write notes when I read; unless it’s for a class and we have to get quotes or something. I prefer to read the book and focus only on the book and not having to take notes the whole time.
ahmen
Me asking what you want to experience in reading is the same as someone asking you want you want feel on a trip, travel.
And writing inside a book is crazy to me ! Don’t ruin the book, use a notebook or something, plus a regular book doesn’t have enough space to write on tbh
It’s not crazy if it works for some people.
I totally do it all the time haha, if there aren’t sticky notes around! I need notes there is much in my brain!
if I like a quote in a book that I own Ill underline it or high light it for when I want to come back and take a quick look in a book
What I want from reading is the entertainment aspect and seeing things from a different perspective
When i read anything i retain information very well so ive never had to take notes really or write in the margins the closest ive ever had to doing that was copying my textbook word for word in my anatomy and physiology class my Jr year of high school and that was because our tests were ridiculously hard.
Dang! I have to close read and write notes etc or else is can’t keep track of things!
In terms of preferred reading. I do prefer anything that touches or relates to optimism. As I consider myself somewhat of a optimistic person. Whenever I find a character with optimism. I can instantly connect and interpret the text This also helps me find comparisons to the text whether they be other characters or real life events within my life.
A practice in reading is more found than forced.
I can never write in a book ew I think that’s gross. I don’t believe in the ownership of books- they belong to everyone. By writing in a book, I feel like I am defacing the work of someone else and ruining their characters’ stories.
I like reading things that I can relate to or have an interest in. I also like learning about things I don’t know about and the author makes it come together for me, like puzzle pieces. I sooooo lve learning learning about Sifi and feeling like I’m learning how it works. I also love when the author makes it so I feel connected to the character/s. The book I just finished read made me ball my eyes out but in a sad and happy way. Man I’m so sad I finished it.
When I read, I want to escape. I want to be enveloped in the world I’m reading about. It may not always be a perfect, idyllic world, or even one too different from my own, but if a book can take me to another world, that’s what gets me hooked.
I like that!
Completely agree! It’s an escape for me where my imagination can create images about what I’m reading
For me, It’s like a movie inside my head!
I am expecting to be a really enjoyable book where you can’t stop reading it. It will bring a ”home” feeling once he talks about his family. Which for me is really important as my family is so far.
How does one become a more ACTIVE reader?
By engaging more in what you are reading. To write down questions you have, make comment, and try to establish connections
Writing down questions… LOVE THAT!
I agree with you completely!
Writing down questions from the text has always just led me to more questions of my own. Now I don’t see this as a negative thing but I sometimes I do find myself in a question loophole lol.
Love this emphasis of questions. Questions lead to answers and understanding, and new life.
To become a more active reader you should explore different genres (especially those you don’t usually tend to read), give yourself time throughout the day to read and also maybe join/start a reading group or club.
for you to become more active reader you should explore all genres, separating time during the day to read something, even for just 10 minutes and talk to people about the books they have been reading and telling what you have been reading. Actually it is a really good way to approach people or just start a discussion with your friends
I like that others read to escape! I do this, too. It makes it better to live the story as you read it rather than looking at words on a paper
What does the ‘escape’ feel like?
Like a weight is off your shoulders and nothing in the world is wrong. The only thing that matters at that second is the book, it pull your senses from you
Yes!!
a different reality aside from the present
You dont want to put the book down. Someone tries to talk to you and you can’t even hear them because you’re so focus
Such a great feeling when you can’t put it down, like you don’t want it to leave you…
The escape for me feels I don’t have to worry about whats happening around me and when I’m done reading I get the same feeling of driving 6 hours to somewhere and I’m finally back home feeling free and relaxed
when you walking and reading and you forget you are even walking
I’ve so felt that before..
Being a more active reader involves a little note-taking if not that mental note-taking and re-reading for better understanding
👌👌👌
Note for your notes…. If you don;t enjoy reading, you’re not doing anything wrong, you’re not letting yourself enjoy it. You’re deciding something before you progress to any notable length.
I don’t want to feel like the read when I’m reading. I. feel like I have to be able to connect to the story and relate to it or carry some kind of educational value or lesson to it that gets me hooked. A book, novel, essay, whichever, words are meant to describe things but they also are just words and especially in composition can be, and should be taken out of context so that you can have your own way of seeing what was being written down on the paper.
I feel like you can be a more active reader by writing your thoughts and questions down in the book.
That’s what I do! And in the journal, as well!
Journaling helps my thoughts flow
My old English teacher would make us write down every little thought in the book as we read
It can help!
Being an active reader is being involved. It could be by taking notes, researching questions, or simply reading the book in depth. Everyone has a different system and it works for them to be actively reading.
I like to re read books a lot and look at them from a different view.
I like that! And, what you experience in life influences how you read a text. So if you read it one year, the read will be different in a couple years..
I feel like sometimes I have to lose myself in the book sort of forget who I am an insert myself deeper into the story.
totally!