Hello everyone!! So sad to say this is our last blog post I honestly cannot believe it. Overall this semester just flew by I am honestly shocked we are going into our last week. I always feel like the second semester always moves faster than the first.

Overall out of this whole semester, this was one of my favorite classes. It was a nice break from all my psychology courses and textbook readings. This course gave me the chance to explore different texts, learn new reading styles, and expand my skills. Before this course, I felt I had stayed in my comfort zone. Oftentimes I have read novels that usually follow this linear progression. There is usually a main plot, conflict, and ending. In this course, we had many readings that were quite the opposite. For instance, we explored the themes of past and present as we read The Book of Chameleons by José Eduardo Agualusa, “Combrary” by Marcel Proust, and ‘The Shrouded Woman’ by María Luisa Bombal. This travel between time and memory has been a continuing theme in these texts. Whether it be through a gecko, childhood recollections, or memories from beyond the grave we have seen time burrows in space. My favorite text indeed was The Shrouded Woman’ by María Luisa Bombal. I feel the narration and story were so capturing and interesting. I felt the most engaged when reading this book. I feel like this book like the others really emphasized the importance of memory. It shows us how at the end of life it’s all we really have. The regrets and recollections we have along with the relationships we form are what stick out in our memories and we really see this in this book.

On the other hand, my least favorite book would probably be “The Hour of the Star” by Clarice Lispector. I felt like it was very short and abrupt. The ending also made me kind of sad and it felt like her life was just seen as lacking significance. Overall I wasn’t the biggest fan of this book. To conclude I am grateful for the skills this course has taught me. The ability to express our thoughts and feelings on the books we read, be able to read different material, engage in class discussions, and connect with our peers whilst also breaking down the texts we read together. Since coming to UBC there are very few courses that do this and it is why I would recommend this course to anyone.

My question for this week is what was your favorite book from this course and what was your favorite drink pairing?

• conclusion