Reading Log #6 – Week #7
READING FOR: 10/4/21
- NOVEL: Real Life by Brandon Taylor
- Chapters: 1-3 Pages 3-138
- Chapter 1 – Pages 3-57:
- To me chapter one seems to be about Wallace’s social life.
- His father has been dead for several weeks. (3)
- “The noise demanded vague and strange things from Wallace.” (4)
- Wallace’s college class is the first in many to have a black students. (4)
- All through summer Wallace had been trying (but failed) to breed this one strain. (6)
- “Petty God.” relates to ENG 276. (7)
- Details of his friends. (4 and 9)
- “… the kind of private sadness you could conceal from yourself until one day you surfaced and found it waiting.” powerful line. (11)
- Are Cole and Vinncent together? (19)
- “Stupid boy he thought. Stupid, stupid boy.” this is Wallace talking about himself (20)
- I feel as though Cole and Vincent might break up by the end of the novel. (20)
- “New year, new data.” (21)
- Why was Wallace surprised he opened his mouth and said something? (23)
- Why is Cole crying? Cause of the fight? (26)
- He didn’t want to leave school, he wanted to leave his life. (27)
- Why in the world were there no signs about the water? (29)
- “Because you never [know] what might happen that would make the trash worth keeping.” (30)
- Wallace told Emma about his dad, the first person he told. (32)
- Why is she so upset that his father died while Wallace isn’t that upset? (34)
- Wallace has never kissed anyone, boy or girl. Wallace thought now that had been stolen from him after Emma kissed him. (35)
- Miller ordered Wallace a cider knowing he doesn’t drink, while everyone else ordered themselves alcohol. (37)
- Wallace helped Miller with his eyes. (40)
- Wallace and Miller held hands!! (42)
- Miller said he doesn’t like boys. (46)
- Miller and Wallace kissed!! (49)
- Wallace had his first two kisses on the same day. (55)
- Did Wallace want to puke on purpose? (53)
- “They aren’t people until they are gone.” (54)
- Miller said he likes what they did, but he’s still confused. (56)
- Chapter 2 – Pages 61-103:
- To me chapter two seems to be about Wallace’s work life.
- Henrik was a big part of Wallace’s life. (64)
- If Henrik was such an awful guy and scared Wallace, why does Wallace praise him on the page before? (65)
- Wallace is better at generating than anyone else in the lab. (66)
- I would hate to have Wallace’s job. (68)
- “… searches, waits, searches, rotates, waits, searches.”
- Woohoo! The animals aren’t dead. Only 599 more worms to go. (70)
- I’m also confused, how come everyone else is okay? (71)
- He thought everyone in the lab was insecure. (72)
- Why don’t they believe him? (74)
- Everyone keeps calling Dana gifted. (75)
- Why is Dana so rude? (76)
- If Dana is so smart, why can’t she do anything in this lab? (77)
- “Wallace got to know the way light moved through Henrik’s beard.” (79)
- Wallace had a crush on Henrik. (79)
- “In the end, it doesn’t matter who did this. In the end, none of it matters.” (80)
- “It all rises and falls on money.” (81)
- Both Miller and Wallace don’t know what they are doing with each other. (86)
- They kissed in the lab. (87)
- I always say “play it by ear” so I thought it was funny the author used that. (88)
- Wallace can’t figure out if he regrets doing stuff with Miller. (89)
- “How strange to be a bird… To have the world beneath you.” (90)
- Wallace’s family let a friend stay on their couch, but the man would go into Wallace’s room at night. (91)
- “Why does it return to him now?” (91) and by “it” it refers to the uncomfortable feeling from that night with the man. (91)
- Dana asks why Wallace and Brigit are so clique, but Wallace says that they are just friends. (93)
- So I officially do not like Dana. (93)
- She is literally verbally attacking him, last paragraph. (94)
- Dana said that she thinks Wallace is a misogynist. (95)
- Sorry but she is literally putting words into his mouth, I cannot believe some of the things she said to him. (95)
- I’m speechless, she just said “… woman are the new n*****s and the new f*****s.” probably the worst section/line to have happened so far in the novel. (96)
- “She is gifted, and he is merely Wallace.” (96) I hate this line, that is so not true. Yeah Dana might be considered gifted but if Wallace was just some ordinary guy he wouldn’t be in his program, he wouldn’t be in the lab. He is there for a reason.
- “They are the fox in the henhouse.” (97) I thought that this line was powerful.
- Wallace doesn’t hate her because she matters very little to him. (98)
- He said “Just totally fuck you.” to Dana. (99) As he should!
- Chapter 3 – Pages 107-138:
- To me chapter 3 seems to be about his love life in a way.
- I’m confused, why did the boys talk to Wallace? (108)
- Vincent is on a dating app… (110)
- Cole and Wallace play tennis. (111)
- Cole and Vincent have been together for almost 7 years. (115)
- Cole and Wallace almost kissed their first year, and then Cole got a boyfriend a few months later, and it was Vincent. (115)
- There is a dinner with all of his friends, but he doesn’t know if he wants to go, but Cole wants him to. (118)
- Cole todl Wallace that Yngve is setting Miller up with a girl. (119)
- “… we’re never the same. We’re always changing.” (125)
- “Love is a selfish thing.” (127)
- Cole said that he thought about dating Wallace. (129)
- “Plans change. That doesn’t mean they’re bad or broken. It just means… you want something else.” (128) Realest line ever wow!
- Cole doesn’t want Wallace to leave school, Wallace doesn’t think he will. (132)
- I get why Cole is upset but I feel like he’s taking to much of it out on Wallace. (135)
- Why is Walalce telling Cole what he wants to hear? (137)
READING FOR: 10/6/21
- NOVEL: Real Life by Brandon Taylor
- Chapters: 4 Pages 141-192:
- Chapter 4 – Pages 141-192:
- Wallace doesn’t drink. (141)
- His mother was a horrible person. (144)
- Miller definitely has feelings for Wallace since he initiates everything sexual the two have done. (153)
- Miller is acting like he wants to be with Wallace. (154)
- The seating arrangement is a big part of this section, they all seem to sit next to the person that they have a problem with. (155)
- “I’m first off the island, I guess…” (155) Vincent said this.
- Zoe and Ygnve are bonding. (158)
- Roman and Wallace get in an argument. (160)
- Wallace saw Miller and Zoe looking at each other. (163)
- Wallace just asked Vincent wh the was on the app. (164)
- There is so much going on. (167)
- Everyone is trying to unravel what had just happened. (168)
- Wallace talked about everyone from the night. (170)
- “… the world smells like summer turning to fall.” which is ironic because that’s happening right now. (171)
- Wallace and Emma get into an argument about privacy. (173)
- For some reason I thought Ygnve was a girl… (174)
- “… Yngve will always choose Lukas and Lukas will always choose Yngve: they don’t have to say it to know it’s true.” (175)
- “But the difference, Wallace wants to say, is that you have the option of not thinking about it. His misery is not novel, but it is distinct.” (176)
- Emma calls Wallace “wally”. (177)
- “But there are other kinds of misery, the misery that comes from other people.” (177)
- Roman goes up to Wallace and tells him that he thinks Wallace is lying about being on the app. And that he’s covering for Cole. (180-181)
- Roman saw Miller and Walalce look at each other and look away and then said “fascinating.” (181)
- Wallace hates Roman so much that “… he could kill him with his bare hands.” (182)
- Wallace pukes in the bathroom and Miller eventually finds him and takes him to his room. (182-183)
- “What he fears, though… is that now he’ll never be able to face the dark alone again. That he’ll always want this… once it’s lost to him.” (185)
- I feel like we all can think of someone who makes living unbearable. (186)
- Miller really wants Wallace to tell him about himself, practically begging him. (189)
- Why does Wallace say he’ll tell Miller after Miller is already asleep? (192)
