Selections From My Virtual Library: January 2014

Last year I decided to cultivate a library of Thought Catalog articles because it would give me an excuse to check the addictive, and now relatively mediocre, site on a regular basis because I had a purpose. This year, I have applied the same idea with a different purpose: create a library of online articles from various sources that can expose me to more rhetoric and literature overall. 

Now, I attempt to check The Atlantic, The New Yorker, BBC, McSweeney's, and NPR on a daily basis. Often times there are no articles that warrant a bookmark in the folder entitled "Virtual Library 2014" on my computer, but at least once or twice a week I find myself really loving a work. As I continue to expand my library, I hope to create a monthly post about the current best in my library. Here are January's picks:

Nobody's Son - I always associate The New Yorker with my Grandpa Pietz and early mornings spent in the farmhouse living room looking only at the cartoons embedded within the text. If only I could go back and read everything I skimmed as kid. Maybe I could have read something just as beautiful as this multiple part piece on the death of a father. I can't wait to read more from the magazine this upcoming year to make up for all the lost time. 

Edit Your Novel With Math - At this point it's redundant to tell you that McSweeney's is hilarious, but this in particular was just ridiculous to imagine as a real practice. 

The Danger of Telling Poor Kids That College Is the Key to Social Mobility - Thought-provoking and urgent, all college students know that at this point, college is not really leading us to tons of success and/or money. It may after five years of graduation, but it certainly won't create the sums of money that flash before our eyes as we eat yet another crappy cafeteria meal waiting for the future. Intellectual curiosity needs to be at the forefront of college education for every class of citizen and not just those that can afford college.

"Life Keeps Changing": Why Stories, Not Science, Explain the World - This article reaffirms my complete infatuation with words. Science can explain so many things, but many of the nuances in life can be found with even the scrutiny of a microscope. This article is part of a great series of interviews with authors about their favorite passages of literature and I think the conversational tone of all of them add to their reaffirmation that words may be the only thing that can capture the enduring beauty of life.

4 Ways To Hear More In Music - As someone who used to be a musician and considers themselves relatively well-versed, I first thought that what the author discusses was sort of an elementary way at deconstructing music. And while my observation is true to an extent, I also think that Tsioulcas chooses wonderful examples for her points of instruction. NPR does a great job once again.