Catherine Talbert

Finals are ahead, and it's all coming to an end so quickly. I don’t know if this will be my last blog, but here are some graduation reflections and many final book/author recommendations. Reflecting: Graduating feels like standing in a doorway caught between endings and beginnings, between who I was and who I am becoming.  I wasn’t supposed to graduate this early. Spring was the plan.  But life moved faster than I expected. Mostly, I was excited to graduate early, until I put on my cap and...

Something I’m a big nerd for is ballet, and this weekend I went to see the Joffrey Ballet at the Harris Theatre in Millennium Park. The performance, Broken Wings  by choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, is an ode to Frida Kahlo. The music, composed by Peter Salem, was performed by the Chicago Philharmonic alongside a live band with two guitarists and singer Denis Vélez. I t was absolutely incredible. The piece drew deeply from Kahlo’s work, featuring male dancers who portrayed her...

Here is a list of some of my favorite books to read during autumn / Halloween. A few of the characters are iconic enough to inspire last-minute costumes too. Right now I’m rereading Wuthering Heights , and the ghostly moors and death from consumption give me serious Halloween vibes. It’s the story of Heathcliff and Catherine’s doomed love, full of obsession, haunting landscapes, and tragic endings. The book is gothic, wild, and stormy, with characters driven by passion and revenge. Dressing...