before coming back to school, i read Tweak by Nic Sheff. it's an autobiographical book about Nic's addiction to meth and then his recoveries and relapses. i was walking around border's one day during my break from work and i picked it up because the cover looked interesting. (yes, i did judge the book by its cover) i opened it, read the first page and was instantly hooked. his account, in somewhat a journal layout, is addicting (no pun intended). the way he writes is realistic, he writes as if he's speaking to you. he doesn't try to make it politically correct or try to make himself sound like someone else. it's real. and rarely do you feel like you're reading something someone wrote in first person in such an honest account. he's inspirational. he opened up completely, and it was like a therapy for him. he has many problems, but i admire his strength and his constant struggle to stay clean. maybe it's just me that likes books in a journal/letter format that simultaneously have drugs in the storyline, like Go Ask Alice or Perks of Being a Wallflower. nonetheless, if it sounds interesting to you, i definitely recommend it.i'm now currently reading The Devil's Highway by Luis Alberto Urrea for my cultural diversity in the u.s. course. it's the true story about Mexican immigrants/border patrol/immigration issue, written in a very informative and eye opening, newspaper article type way. you don't feel like you're reading a sad and long story about the difficulties of the desert, but you become sucked into this intense journey that many take and not all come out of. it has made me think a lot about the issue in a new light, putting myself in their shoes by knowing the entire story and journey that they undergo just to cross into the u.s.. i never new that it was this extensive and how many people there are just trying to trick them out of money or have them tortured or deported. i'm half way done, and it's not like it's a happy story. it's pretty grotesque and honest about the realities that go on. Urrea doesn't try to clean up other people's actions, he tells it like it is. but that just makes it even more impressive. so, if you're into the whole nonfiction and issues books, i recommend you go check it out.
i'm going tonight to go see Taking Woodstock and i'm super excited. i've been waiting for this movie for it seems like too long. i shall be back to let you know how it is. hope your weekend is going well,
-Genevieve
