day 22: a website

Can I be honest about something?

I'm really boring on the internet.

For real, I am. I only really check about six sites frequently-- facebook, gmail, twitter, livejournal, this blog, and postsecret like clockwork every Sunday. I also use the UVU website a lot because of work, which I guess makes sense.

I do read a lot of blogs, but not as many as I could, or nearly as many as I should if I want other people to read mine and then I can become a magical blog goddess.

So what website should I blog about that doesn't make me sound boring? Or pretentious (because I have frequented The New Yorker in the past hair toss cigarette tap. Which reminds me I should frequent it again. Hmmmmm).

THIS ONE.

I've mentioned it here and there on this blog since it and I were introduced my junior year at BYU, Winter semester 2008. This is the semester I discovered essays, which topic I've also mentioned here and there on this blog. QUOTIDIANA is a website dedicated to the collection of classical essays, interviews with essayists, selections and links to the "Essayist American Essays," and writing of Patrick Madden-- my former professor who taught me what an essay is.

A note on Patrick Madden: he has published a number of essays in a number of journals, and has recently published a book called, appropriately, Quotidiana (available on amazon.com). I took his Creative Non-fiction writing class, as well as his History and Theory of the Essay class, both of which changed my life (though clearly not enough to avoid such a cliche that grosses me out). Frankly, I'm afraid my participation in both classes didn't exactly prove this, which may be partly due to how formidable I found him, which will probably be a shock to Dr. Madden if he ever reads this because he was just about the most laid-back professor ever since we'd just sit around in a circle and discuss essays. Also he likes to be called Pat, which is difficult for me to call him because somehow I feel like I shouldn't feel so familiar with him, given how far I have to go in writing, see. But for real, visiting his office or turning in work was always terrifying to me (in the best way possible) because of my high opinion. We did really cool projects, like interviewing practicing and publishing essayists, and we always had to be writing writing writing so that pretty soon all I could think about was essays essays essays, which is not really a bad thing. He'll probably laugh at me for this-- if he ever reads it.

Anyway.

This website.

It's really good for passing time but not wasting it. There are lots of poignant essays, and funny ones, and sarcastic-but-true, and they tend to be universal. And I mean, you start reading enough and then you can start quoting (essays are always quotable), which makes you sound really smart and well-read-- which you will be, when you start reading essays. You've heard of Francis Bacon, haven't you? Well, haven't you? And probably Jonathan Swift, and A. A. Milne, and T. S. Eliot, and Oliver Goldsmith, and Mark Twain? Essayist, essayist, essayist, essayist, essayist, essayist.

It's too bad E. B. White is too contemporary (thus, copyrighted) so his work can't really be posted because he is just a delight, I tell you, a delight. So you can go pick up a book of his essays somewhere like Borders, but not on the website, which this post is about.

But yes. If you like websites, this is a good one for you to browse. And you might just become an Essay Person like me (thanks to Patrick Madden).