Barking Mad: Patrick Ness’ “Chaos Walking” Strikes a Chord

A graphic of a train track in the middle of a field. The title of the post is displayed on the image. The title says, "Barking Mad: Patrick Ness' Chaos Walking Book Strikes Chords Despite Dystopian Setting."
Image courtesy of picjumbo_com on Pixabay (Link here)

Patrick Ness thought of two ideas when he created the Chaos Walking trilogy. First, he thought of information overload. Then, he considered the idea of hearing a dog’s thoughts. The result is agonizing sweetness and thoughtful exploration of humanity. As readers often note, there is a tragic event that takes place in the first Chaos Walking book. I will refrain from spoiling the details of this incident. However, the story remains powerful in its chilling examination of social media oversaturation, censorship, and the conflation of masculinity and its toxic image within Prentisstown.

Hear Patrick Ness’ Chaos Walking Pitch

Read More »Barking Mad: Patrick Ness’ “Chaos Walking” Strikes a Chord

Content Creator Gems: Meet Fox

It is my intention to celebrate the gems I find as a reader, writer, blogger, and (small) world trotter. Today, I am sharing a conversation I had with Fox, a queer and non-binary mental health blogger. They have been blogging for a while now and they have been frank in sharing their journey of self-acceptance as someone with mental illness. In particular, I admire their ability to step back and be a force for educational goodness.

Check out our interview below, and please give their blog a follow. They write over at: https://thepatchworkfox.com/

On to the conversation!

Read More »Content Creator Gems: Meet Fox

The 5th Wave Book and Exploring the Fear of Human Extermination

Summary of Post:

This post is a discussion of Rick Yancey’s The 5th Wave and its reflection on humanity’s anxiety around the future and the unknown. In particular, I want to talk about Yancey’s focus on the effects of the alien invasion on the characters within the story, especially: Cassie Sulivan, Ben Parrish, and Evan Walker.

Read More »The 5th Wave Book and Exploring the Fear of Human Extermination

Meeting History and Toxic Masculinity in Classic Naguib Mahfouz Novel

Some of you may know that I lived in Egypt in the 90s. I was mostly isolated by my mental illness, but even then, I had noticed the prominence of the Si-Sayed figure. What I didn’t ever expect is that this figure appears in Naguib Mahfouz’s 1956 classic called The Palace Walk. 

Give This a Listen: Popular Music Around Mahfouz’s Time**

This is a violin cover of the classic Umm Kulthum song called “Enta Omri.” The song is way too long (at least nine minutes long. And, it doesn’t have awesome variety like a Queen song).

Read More »Meeting History and Toxic Masculinity in Classic Naguib Mahfouz Novel

My Mental Health Emotional Toolkit

**Image by: Free-Photos on Pixabay
Rather than having a blog entirely dedicated to books, I want to raise awareness on my intersectional existence across different communities. One of those landmarks is mental illness. As someone trying to cope with mental illness, I am exploring options for my emotional, emergency toolkit.

The Emotional Toolkit

An “emotional toolkit” is a bouquet of ways to deal with negative emotions. You can read more about it here. 

Part of my journey with mental illness has to do with recognizing my own patterns. I get really angry and frustrated by the isolation my condition brings about. When I do feel “up” enough, I reach out only to go “down” again before I can see the relationship through.

But, more than anything, it’s the lack of emotional self-help and micro-management of the tiny spikes and dips in my mood. This is why an emotional emergency toolbox is of use.Read More »My Mental Health Emotional Toolkit