the Addison Recorder

Pop culture dispatches from the Great Lakes

  • About
    • Authors
      • Travis J. Cook
      • -J.
      • Meryl Williams
      • Karen Martin
      • Christopher Walsh
      • Christina Brandon
      • Alex Bean
      • Andrew Rostan
      • PK Sullivan
    • Round-Ups
    • Submit to the Recorder
  • Arts
    • Films
    • Television
    • Music
    • Theatre
    • Games
    • Culinary Arts
  • Books
    • Books and Literature
    • Comics & Graphic Novels
  • Sports
    • Baseball
    • Basketball
    • Football
    • Hockey
    • Other Sports
  • Chicago
    • Events
    • History
    • Op/Ed
  • Podcasts
Pop culture dispatches from the Great Lakes

Author: Christina Brandon

Made of Books: Finding Courage in Rilke

February 4, 2015 by Christina Brandon 2 Comments

Drawing of Rainer Maria Rilke

Made of Books is a monthly column (partly inspired by hero Roxane Gay) where Christina discusses writing that has been meaningful to her, in one way or another. 

I first read Rainer Maria Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet at a time of transition. I had recently finished college and scraped together two part-time jobs to pay rent. Other kids had ambitions to go to grad school, or they were moving in with their partners, or getting jobs in their field. I had no field—only a undesirable history degree—and without school ahead of me anymore I felt myself floundering.

I wanted to make some kind of decision about my new adult life, to actively choose to do something to move forward instead of getting a job at a mall because I needed money and working with my friend would be fun. So I sought advice in book form. The page allows time and space to open up, and it was easier to feel vulnerable with a book because a book doesn’t know you, has no expectations for what you supposedly are, or for how you should be.

[Read more…]

Posted in: Books and Literature Tagged: Letters to a Young Poet, poetry, Rilke, writing

Made of Books: The Magical Worlds of Dr.Seuss

January 21, 2015 by Christina Brandon 2 Comments

Image of Dr.Seuss books

Made of Books is a monthly column (partly inspired by hero Roxane Gay) where Christina discusses writing that has been meaningful to her, in one way or another. 

There’s a photo of me when I was three or four reading to my sister, who was a couple years younger than me. This was the only time I wanted to be around her— when I could read to her. Of course I’m not actually reading. I’m too young to know how. But I knew the story of The Cat in the Hat so well I could recite it from memory. I even turned the pages at the right time.

It’s been years since I’ve picked up any Dr. Seuss book, and I was sad to realize there isn’t one anywhere in the four six-foot tall bookshelves in my apartment. I think my sister surreptitiously wrangled them— Cat in the Hat, Fox in Socks, Green Eggs in Ham, Hop on Pop, The Sneetches— out of my parents’s house before I could.

[Read more…]

Posted in: Books and Literature Tagged: books, Dr.Seuss, made of books, reading

Made of Books: Growing Out of Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead

December 10, 2014 by Christina Brandon Leave a Comment

Image of Gary Cooper and Patricia Neal from The Fountainhead

 

Made of Books is a monthly column (partly inspired by hero Roxane Gay) where Christina discusses writing that has been meaningful to her, in one way or another.

I was 15 when I stumbled across mention of Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead in the local paper. I hadn’t heard of the philosophical and romantic tale of Individualism before, but something, I don’t remember what, in that article piqued my interest. I found a tattered copy printed in the 1960s at a used bookstore. It had a romance novel-y image in the lower right: a naked man’s arm is wrapped around the waist of a similarly naked woman, her hand is on his neck, and her face is tilted up, eyes are closed in an expression of pleasure. I bought it for $1.

[Read more…]

Posted in: Books and Literature Tagged: Ayn Rand, books, reading, The Fountainhead

Meryl and Christina Discuss Roxane Gay’s Bad Feminist

November 24, 2014 by Christina Brandon Leave a Comment

Image of Beyonce with 'Bad Feminist' written behind her

Meryl and I hung out, ate some soup and drank some wine while talking about Roxane Gay’s kickass essay collection, Bad Feminist. While discussing this book, we fell into many tangents about past relationships and dogs and humor. That’s the awesomeness of the book— it opens up doors and gets you talking.

[Read more…]

Posted in: Books and Literature Tagged: Bad Feminist, books, essays, feminism, reading, Roxane Gay, women

Made of Books: On Mary Karr’s Lit

October 29, 2014 by Christina Brandon 2 Comments

Image of Marry Karr and her memoir, Lit

Made of Books is a monthly column (partly inspired by hero Roxane Gay) where Christina discusses writing that has been meaningful to her, in one way or another. 

I don’t know what compelled me to purchase Lit, Mary Karr’s third memoir, back in 2010. This seriously disappoints me because this book has so profoundly shaped how I think about reading and writing I feel that Lit and me should have some kind of origin story. Instead, I remember curling up on my parents’s sofa, Mary Karr’s sharp humor and gorgeous prose drowning out How I Met Your Mother or the sports my father was watching.

[Read more…]

Posted in: American Literature, Books and Literature Tagged: books, Lit, Mary Karr, memoir, non-fiction, reading

So You Want To Be A Writer

September 5, 2014 by Christina Brandon Leave a Comment

A guest post by Jason Fabeck, who lives in Chicago and is currently writing a book while trying desperately to match his socks. 

when it is truly time,
and if you have been chosen,
it will do it by
itself and it will keep on doing it
until you die or it dies in you.

there is no other way.

-Charles Bukowski

Before you ask, the answer is yes. I titled my first piece after a Bukowski poem. I decided to take a risk and quote a famous writer. But guess what? That’s what writers do: take risks. We wear hats! We have relationship problems! We own dogs with dead celebrity names! Now, you say, “So do I. And I’m not a writer.” Well, you might just be. The first rule of becoming a great writer-human is to know that you are capable of being one. Sounds silly but I really think it starts as simple as that.

[Read more…]

Posted in: Books and Literature Tagged: Charles Bukowski, creative process, creativity, writing

Happy Birthday, Addison Recorder!

June 30, 2014 by Christina Brandon Leave a Comment

 

Image of a J mixing a cocktail

-J., staff mixologist

The Addison Recorder turns two this year and to celebrate, the staff and their spouses gathered at Travis and Andrew’s pad in Wrigleyville where we had a little cocktail party. What better way to celebrate a milestone than with friends, drinks, cake, and cheese?

Posted in: Cocktails & Spirits Tagged: anniversary, birthday, cocktails, two

Mapping Awesome With John Green

June 16, 2014 by Christina Brandon Leave a Comment

Ever the history nerd, I was all too willing when my boyfriend suggested we watch ten-minute, “crash course” youtube videos on World History. The host was not the stereotypical, boring teacher from middle school who fixated on dates and the reigns of King X and Queen Y. No, John Green was a dude who was passionate about history.

[Read more…]

Posted in: Books and Literature, Op/Ed Tagged: books, crash course, empathy, John Green, literature, nerdfighter, reading, TFIOS, The Fault in Our Stars

An Open Heart: Reading The Empathy Exams

May 23, 2014 by Christina Brandon Leave a Comment

The Empathy Exams came into my life at the right time. I’d been experiencing a flare up of anxiety, which, on certain days, manifested in panic attacks. Though at the time, I didn’t know the skipping heartbeat and unnerving, misdirected surge of adrenaline was panic.

I read an article about the book and its author, Leslie Jamison, online, though I don’t remember where.This book is a collection of essays — which I love — but the title was what really caught me: empathy. I needed empathy. I was reluctant to talk about my health concerns for fear of seeming melodramatic. I wanted to understand why I was having these issues now and maybe in learning there would be some healing, some piece of mind. A book seemed like a perfect helper for a bookish person. I picked it up at a Barnes and Noble the day I read the article. There is a drawing of a heart on the cover.

[Read more…]

Posted in: Books and Literature Tagged: anxiety, books, empathy, essay, Graywolf, Leslie Jamison, reading, The Empathy Exams

To Read or Not to Read: The Fault in Our Stars

March 25, 2014 by Christina Brandon Leave a Comment

Flowchart asking "Should I Read The Fault in Our Stars"?

Have you been living under a rock and have no idea what The Fault in Our Stars is or even who John Green is? Awesome-fail. Check out his tumblr, read about/buy the book, and watch a Crash Course video.

Posted in: Books and Literature Tagged: books, chart, infographic, John Green, literature, reading, TFIOS, The Fault in Our Stars
1 2 Next »

Share

Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Share on Facebook
Facebook

Addison Recorder on Twitter

Addison Recorder
  • Andrew pays tribute to George Martin, producer without peer, and keyboard maestro Keith Emerson. https://t.co/I3N5iKiMXY 01:00:56 PM March 14, 2016 ReplyRetweetFavorite
  • 90 minutes to #Oscars so one more time - Alex, Andrew, and Travis make their picks. https://t.co/X23YYQ4J3i 06:59:57 PM February 28, 2016 ReplyRetweetFavorite
  • The annual Oscar Picks column is up! Alex, Andrew, and Travis tell the cold, hard truth about the nominees. https://t.co/X23YYPN7EI 01:21:01 PM February 26, 2016 ReplyRetweetFavorite
  • T-minus two hours to the @TheGRAMMYs - more than enough time to revisit Andrew's Album of the Year recap. https://t.co/BhUdmb97Wi 05:59:46 PM February 15, 2016 ReplyRetweetFavorite
  • Andrew previews the @musicboxtheatre 70mm Festival starting 2/19 and recommends some essential films! https://t.co/C2S6y3gkgq 01:04:12 PM February 12, 2016 ReplyRetweetFavorite
@addisonrecorder

Recent Posts

  • The Smartest Guys in the Room: Remembering George Martin and Keith Emerson
  • Oscar Picks 2016
  • Mr. Rostan at the Movies: 70 Millimeters of Sheer Adventure
  • The Claustrophobic Folklore of The Witch
  • 2666 at the Goodman Theater

Archives

Follow Us!

Follow @addisonrecorder

Recent Comments

  • Mr. Rostan at the Movies: 70 Millimeters of Sheer Adventure on Alex and Andrew Debate the Sight & Sound List: Part One
  • The Claustrophobic Folklore of The Witch on The Horror of Metaphor in It Follows
  • Mr. Rostan at the Movies: Catching Up With Oscar on Our Month in Pop Culture: May 2015
  • Mr. Rostan at the Movies: Catching Up With Oscar on Oscar Nomination Reactions – 2016
  • War Damn Peter on Celebrating 50 Years of “A Charlie Brown Christmas”

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Copyright © 2023 the Addison Recorder.

Church WordPress Theme by themehall.com