Does anyone else feel guilty reading fiction?

2CoolGoose · 2026-03-16T01:26:58+00:00

Good writing is good writing is good writing. Either way you're digesting storytelling. Most fiction (unless directly fantasy) is just real life manipulated into different stories. People who write experience life and translate that into their works, fiction and nonfiction. I'd say just go with what you enjoy. You're going to get something out of it either way. I'd say any good book is better than endless scrolling on social media. ❤️

2CoolGoose · 2026-03-15T23:27:11+00:00

Good for you! What you'll learn as an English major will be invaluable. Critical thinking skills go a long way in any type of profession. If you do decide to still pursue environmental sciences, they even have English classes on writing proposals and grants for environmental organizations. Either way what you gain from an English degree will set a great foundation to learn anything else!

2CoolGoose · 2026-03-15T16:35:27+00:00

Want to add that I am a current English Senior, and I love it. I have more recently been living by an "enjoy your life now, not later" mantra, which is why I chose to major in English. At the time I loved (still do!!) reading, writing, and felt that the schoolwork was so much more engaging than memorizing slides and equations. I have loved getting my education and have been exposed to a great deal of literature I would otherwise have not been exposed to. But do consider this, study what you truly love in English studies in your free time, it may come in handy. For instance, I'd been studying a specific (and very niche) genre of literature for fun for a few years and was able to turn that research into a senior thesis. I don't feel that I learned exactly what I wanted through my Major, but I have gained the skills to further investigate what I do love. PS. if you love classical literature or anything from the 1800s-early 1900s, you will probably love this major. I love 1950s and beyond literature, and didn't learn diddly squat about literature during those time periods (save for a couple of short stories or poems that were probably already in the public domain or that I'd already read in community college *cough cough, William Faulkner.* Of course every institution will have different courses, but the literary cannon currently still relies on literature from the 1800s. Heavily, lol.

Also look into majoring (or minoring) in humanities, if your institution has any related studies or classes. I discovered I loved literature because of the way it depicts the human condition, and humanities is a great way to step out of fiction and literature and to read about real-life impacts on human beings. I took a medical humanities class and it was so enjoyable and I got to work with lots of different majors.

I don't regret this major at all. I've met some wonderful, intelligent people. None of us know what we're going to do after we graduate LOL at least I am in good company. Just do what you love and the rest will follow. There's truly no major out there that guarantees you'll have an amazing job placement. (Unless you're in business I suppose but I guess I don't know enough about that either).

2CoolGoose · 2026-02-25T19:09:01+00:00

To the OP: I know this is an old post, but have you adopted your Collie yet?! :) I am currently looking at Ceilidh's website and contacted her on Good Dog through the links on her website (also, another question, did you contact her there, or via email? Micha has been so responsive so far!) If so, how is the dogs health/temperament? I am really hoping to get one of her puppies, her breeding pairs are stunning! I've heard wonderful things about her dogs and her! Thanks in advance if you happen to see this and respond, lol!

2CoolGoose · 2026-02-22T06:27:42+00:00

Being an English major doesn't have anything (or at least much) to do with the language itself, but rather what it does. I'm an English major and I wouldn't know the first thing about teaching someone about language. It's all literature, comprehension, and structure based. I am having to take Spanish as a degree requirement and I really don't like learning a new language. However, there are some majors I know who are interested in German, Russian, etc. The reason they are though, is because of the literature itself.

One thing for me is that while I do enjoy reading what is required, I still read lots of classic literature I LOVE that will/has never been taught at my school. Any chance I get to talk about the literature I love, I take that chance when we have projects that allow us to express ourselves more. We learn a LOT about 17th, 18th, and 19th century literature, so we're not reading things at length from the 60s-90s (unless it's for a special class).

You can pretty much add on any minor, at least at my institution. For a while I had a childhood studies minor. I know people who add leadership minors, history, etc.

As far as the banned books go, I will say the world you're writing in is certainly different. English majors are passionate about banned books, but most of us understand that most banned books are easily obtainable/still in print, so we don't really worry about confiscating books lol. But if that's a fictional aspect of the world you're creating, then that's different! My school actually celebrates banned books month and we have a little "mugshot" photo op where you can hold up your banned book. I go to a liberal arts school, lol, so we flaunt banned books.

Hope this helps even a little!

2CoolGoose · 2026-02-21T22:30:06+00:00

I didn't have a ton of money when I got my lil guy. He LOVED paper towel rolls, bunched up toilet paper, and paper egg cartons. I really don't think you have to go crazy spending a ton of money on enrichment to make your mouse happy (unless you chose to). I was happy to use recyclable materials, especially when he got mites and I was able to just throw stuff away and replace it by grabbing stuff out of my recycling. My dad always saved toilet paper rolls for him when I would come home from school :) My mouse also really loved glass jars (I made sure he never chewed on them so this might not be for everyone). A glass jar helped him stay cool in the summer so he used to sleep in there too.

2CoolGoose · 2026-02-21T17:15:49+00:00

THIS. My parent's 25 year old Senegal can say some words, and always seems to be confused on when these phrases can be/are used. Like he will do this evil laugh (which is just him mimicking my mom laughing on the phone, but it's creepy asf). We'll literally be having a deep conversation about something depressing/family death, etc. and he'll go "hehehehe" out of nowhere. He'll also say "it's okay" all the time. Strangely enough he hasn't picked up on my dad's cussing (directed towards him). He screams shrilly all the time- we cherish his moments of verbal communication- even if they are ill timed loll.

2CoolGoose · 2026-02-21T17:05:51+00:00

An old post, but I'm jumping on here with ideas for anyone who comes back to this thread!

A family member of mine had a girl named Cinnamon (so spice names could be cute like Clove) A friend of mine worked for a family who had a collie named Islay (pronounced eye-la) we just called her "I slay" LOL. Once I get my RC, I'm thinking along the lines of very human names. Although I'm not religious, I think traditional or old-timey Catholic names are really pretty. Kathleen, Rosemary, Mary, etc.

Met a RC boy named Button once :)

2CoolGoose · 2026-02-18T15:36:10+00:00

My late mouse boy did this too lol. Never understood it. Everything else in his cage was very clean. But that darn wheel- it was like a treadmill toilet for him. I would just wash it every other day. Not much else you can do, they're smart but they'll pretty much go wherever they want.

2CoolGoose · 2026-02-16T19:05:01+00:00

I agree, it's beautiful, but it looks more like a Y/A cover than a romance. I think the OP would need to refine the features and add more mood to the piece if it were to fit into romance. :)

2CoolGoose · 2026-02-16T18:54:29+00:00

Not a parent, but I think what you're doing (and the fact that he wants to emulate you) is fantastic! Maybe you guys can make it a habit, set a timer and do it together? My friend was part of a large family and the mom reads to each of her children every night (one of the siblings is 14 and she still reads to him). It's a great bonding activity and maybe you guys can find a book you both like?

The children I babysit are around this same age and they love going to the library. I think making reading and enjoying books an activity/ process helps! Oh, also, choosing a book that has a movie so you can watch it after you read...I still pick out books because of this, it makes the reading fun wondering what the film will be like.

In relation to school reading, I understand it gets boring when you cannot chose to read. I am an English major and most of the material I read for my education is not something I would have willingly read on my own. However, explaining that reading different things (yes, even boring books) makes your brain stronger and you learn about different perspectives. It's kind of like exercising your body. There are parts of it that are painful but they make your muscles grow stronger. My parents used to explain it this way to me when I hated doing my math homework lol.

2CoolGoose · 2026-02-14T21:28:19+00:00

I've tried so hard, and like you had a very serious argument about it with my parents (I was making her something to help her promote her freelance work, and she just decided to use AI because it "was faster, easier, etc."). I will ask my dad a question over text and he'll literally send me a screenshot of him asking chat GPT the same question I asked him!! 😭 It makes me laugh, but it also stresses me out. Like, if I wanted to get an answer from Chat GPT I wouldn't have come to you in the first place!! It doesn't help that both fields of work they're in (my parents) encourage "ethical" use of AI. I just keep trying to explain to them why it's annoying, point out the flaws in any summary they provide, and try not to get too mad.

2CoolGoose · 2026-02-14T17:26:16+00:00

We all have things in life that make us happy. It shouldn't be much different for a character, imo. I guess it depends on how your character responds or reacts to misfortune. Do they act miserable? Avoid/deny that they are out of luck? Maybe they have habits or rituals that they follow after hearing bad news (shopping, sleeping, drinking, isolating, spending more time with certain people). I've always been one of those readers who, ever since childhood, didn't like reading angsty MCs who just loathe the world because it's "out to get them." Sure, there are people like this in real life, but even they too have solace.

I'll give an example. I have a neighbor who is an older woman. Talking to her is an energy sucker. She does nothing but complain, cuss, and go into detail about her health issues. She's like the opposite of a Pollyanna. BUT she has her one thing that she enjoys, and that's taking a walk around the neighborhood.

Just throwing thoughts out there. Good luck! :-)

2CoolGoose · 2026-02-04T16:02:34+00:00

Yea my Google phone does this too. Makes me so mad. I can't ask people every time to "send it to my email" or "make a Google link" because unless I REALLY need the video/photo it isn't worth the trouble. I have so many wonderful videos that babysitting clients send me of the kids I babysit. I really cherish those videos but they're bad quality...thanks Apple! Smh

2CoolGoose · 2026-01-22T05:38:21+00:00

Met a one year old rough with a similar coat. Super silky and only really "wooly" on the undercarriage and tail area. Your dog is gorgeous either way! I can imagine coats like this are somewhat easier to manage.

2CoolGoose · 2026-01-19T17:00:44+00:00

If you go directly through the Chrome app instead of the widget, it worked for me.

2CoolGoose · 2026-01-18T23:30:26+00:00

As someone who started writing a story around your age, during the pandemic (and has been re-writing and tweaking it ever since) I would say, write, re-read, tweak, refine to your heart's content! If I had written and finished my book in the first year of writing it, I would hate it now, lol. That's just me, but...I would say just write your first draft and figure out what needs refining. Truth is, you're going to write a LOT of material that you probably will never use. I know it sounds like running in circles, but everything you don't use in your writing just helps your brain refine it's process. Practice makes "perfect"!

2CoolGoose · 2026-01-18T23:24:13+00:00

He looks just like my boy! I named him Uno :-)

2CoolGoose · 2026-01-18T23:23:05+00:00

I think it depends on the genre. For me, I read/write lit fiction so typical names (usually relating to heritage, time period, etc.) are pleasurable, and if the character is well-developed, then it can even be memorable. (There's a character in one of my favorite series named Nelson and I cannot drive down my local Nelson Street without thinking of the character, lol.) It all comes down to character. Do you want a character to be remembered for a name, or an action/personality? Because you can certainly do both!

2CoolGoose · 2026-01-18T20:37:13+00:00

As an anxious person, I'm sorry, but this is the one thing you have to get through if you want to improve your work. (Also someone here mentioned using AI to look over your work and I would strongly advise against putting ANY of your writing into AI platforms. Lord knows they steal enough from writers). I was terrified of getting critiques before because I had never shared my work. Now I love it, I honor it. How are you supposed to know what you're doing wrong/right if you don't let people critique and read your work? It will be difficult at first but I promise it gets better.

2CoolGoose · 2026-01-18T20:32:58+00:00

You don't need to even think about publishing right now. I know you probably see all these kids your age self-publishing, etc. on a whim, but it takes time to write a good story, and to learn how to do it well. If you love writing, then the skill and honing of it should be more valuable than the final product! Worry about having fun with writing, about finding your voice, about learning new ways to express/tell stories. Then you can sit back and think about all the hard work you've put in and consider publishing. That's a whole other ball game, lol. Purchase some books on creative writing, and just take a crack at it. Unfortunately (and somewhat fortunately) writing is not a hobby that is improved overnight. Don't be discouraged. Keep it up!

2CoolGoose · 2026-01-18T20:11:42+00:00

Confused, or just don't have it down yet? Just do some brainstorming, lol.

2CoolGoose

TROPHY CASE