Bats in the Belfry, Cats in the Attic

There are some exciting things developing in my life recently, and I'd like to share a little because, naturally, I'm excited. I'm on Spring Break right now, and it's not really a break, because I will be doing a considerable amount of schoolwork. I'm gearing up for a writing tutor conference being held at my school. I will be one of the speakers, and I will be presenting on the inherently contradictory oppressive yet liberating situation of writing studios. I'm very much looking forward to it, but as of now, I'm completely unprepared. I don't even have a paper written up, but when I do, I hope to be able to get it published in a journal. Wish me luck! I'm also taking a couple of courses this Summer. They're Brit Lit and Applied Linguistics! I'm taking the linguistics courses to earn me my TEFL certificate, so I could do literacy outreach with refugees in the states, or I could teach abroad if that's where life takes me. I'm also

link Just recently, I finished reading I Would Have Loved Him If I Had Not Killed Him by Brazilian author, Edgard Telles Ribeiro. The novel was for a World Literature class in which five contemporary authors visit to host a reading and short lecture.With a title like the one it has, I expected the book could have gone one of two ways: reminiscent of a soap opera, or an interesting read. What I didn't expect was the work of art that unfolded before me.  The book is set mostly in Brazil, and it is narrated by a failed film-maker and an antiques dealer. The film-maker, Fernando, bumps into an old friend, Andrea (the antiques dealer). They begin to talk, when Fernando asks about why she decided to settle down and open an antiques shop in Brazil's capital city. Andrea explained by telling him the story of her recently deceased great-aunt. The great-aunt, Guilhermina, was married off at the age of 14. She was given by her parents to a 66-year-old man and raped on her wedding ni