BOOK
Ji-Soo Kim
Junior, Department of English Language and Literature
10 Steps to Earning Awesome Grades by Thomas Frank
While the idea of reading a book about improving study habits may not excite many students, I also know that there are motivated learners who want to maximize their efficiency in school. If you are that type, I could not recommend a more practical guide that lets you in on the hacks to make your school career a more productive one. From general text book reading tips to strategies for studying less, the author Thomas Frank not only touches upon what you need to do, but also on the psychological reasoning behind what makes that action effective. He wrote this book as a college graduate, so he keeps the concepts relatively simple for even novices to understand.
If one manages to establish solid habits of self-management during their college years, he or she is already well on the way to having a good work ethic in jobs. Paraphrasing what the American author and businessman Stephen Covey said, it is more time-efficient to cultivate a skill that you'll be using, rather than (in this case) to struggle for four years in college just because you do not want to put in the time to hone the technique.
SONG
Ji-Soo Kim
Junior, Department of English Language and Literature
Golden Train by Justin Nozuka
Currently, there are two versions of this song available - the album version (2007) and the single version (2009), which newly incorporates the drum set. Personally, as an avid fan of Justin Nozuka since the release of his debut album containing this song, I prefer the former, and will be discussing the characteristics that are more emphasized in it than in the latter.
Although this was not the most popular hit from the album, Nozuka's unique voice quality, as well as his general musical style, is showcased well in this song. His vocals start out sounding very mellow and smooth in the beginning. With higher notes, they break out into a throaty yet intense tone, as if holding back uncontrollable emotion. In terms of its musical style, the song has fairly short and simple lyrics that are repeated quite often, yet throughout the whole song, it does not grow dull because of its varying dynamics that work to build up to a culminating instrumental near the end.
This song was first introduced to me by a friend of mine who is heavily involved in researching underground artists. I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking to tune into musicians who are under the radar, yet over the top.
MOVIE
Ji-Soo Kim
Junior, Department of English Language and Literature
Holes (2003)
As a reader of the book this movie is based on, I can support the popular claim that this is one of the few movies that rivals in quality with its original novel. Even in the way the movie progresses, the director allows the audience to experience the story as though they were inside of a book - by artfully switching back and forth between the present and flashbacks of the past. Through this, the audience can't help but be on the edge of their seats for the anticipated resolution that resolves the conflicts of both the past as well as the present storyline. A motif of the film is contained in the lyrics of one of the songs repeated throughout: "If only, if only," the woodpecker sighs, "the bark on the tree was as soft as the skies." Here, Louis Sachar, the author of the original book, beautifully put into poetic language the universal experience of wishful thinking amidst daily hardships.
On a side note, I actually first watched this movie when I was in the 5th grade of elementary school. I recall with clarity that it was when I decided for the first time in my life that movies do not need to have action in order to be engaging. Not only that, but also having watched it again recently (for the twentieth time or so), I can say that this is one of the few movies in my life that keep getting better and better as I watch it more.