photo of the day

a brief reading catch-up

The term is almost over. I’ve spent most of my time reading essays, marking presentations and lesson planning for Romeo and Juliet (which lasted six weeks, but felt like six months). Oh, and yes, let’s not forget the joys of an almost daily supply period.

It’s been really good overall though, and once I have a “life” rather than “work” focus again in a week’s time, I’ll probably reflect on the term in more detail. But for now I thought I’d catch-up on the books - the very small number of books - I’ve been able to read since I started teaching full-time.

First up, Eat, Pray, Love. I started this pretty close the time I started teaching. The first few sections really struck me, particularly her moment on the bathroom floor. I was feeling a bit like that myself at the time actually. I found as I read on though that it wasn’t everything I wanted or needed it to be. I felt every time she came close to telling me something very important, she backed away and just reflected on having gained this insight or had this experience. There are some pages turned down, but they were often wisdom from other characters. I’d share one of them - something about not letting yourself breakdown because once you do it becomes easier and easier to give in to that impulse - but I lent it to the Artsy Mama.

I also managed to fit in two fiction reads: The Monsters of Templeton and The Outcast by Sadie Jones. I enjoyed both of them, though I can’t remember too many details right now. The Monsters of Templeton appealed to me because of the cover initially, and then I always like stories that blend the present and the past, particularly when there is some kind of mystery to solve. In terms of The Outcast, I was half-in and half-out for much of the novel, but what I liked was how it surprised me. I was expecting, based on the rest of the novel, a sad ending, and the direction in she went in surprised me and gave me a closure that was unexpected and that was one of the things I liked the best about.

I’ve started the new David Sedaris (more on that soon) and I’ve just started The House at Riverton, which seems like precisely my kind of book.

wordle

Regular blogging should begin in approximately a week and a half. Until then I’ve found another site to rave about (in additoin to Picnik and Lunapic) - Wordle.

I created the following image using words from a paragraph from an article I wrote about Sarah Daniels madness plays.

Good thing I have two months of spectacular unemployment ahead of me to play with all these new websites.

the garden is planted

Playing with LunaPic

required reading: mother to son

Work has been keeping me really busy (but what’s new there).  That means no time for reading or blogging about the reading I’m not doing.

I did discover this poem while prepping my poetry unit and it is now one of my favourites.  A little Langston Hughes for all of you:

Mother to Son by Langston Hughes

Well, son, I’ll tell you:
Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.
It’s had tacks in it,
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor –
Bare.
But all the time
I’se been a-climbin’ on,
And reachin’ landin’s,
And turnin’ corners,
And sometimes goin’ in the dark
Where there ain’t been no light.
So boy, don’t you turn back.
Don’t you set down on the steps
‘Cause you finds it’s kinder hard.
Don’t you fall now –
For I’se still goin’, honey,
I’se still climbin’,
And life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.

February Reading

I haven’t finished any books this week.

I’ve finished all sorts of lesson plans. No, not quite the same things.

So instead of reviewing my recent reads, I thought I’d look ahead to some of what February holds reading-wise.

First off, I’m about halfway through The Book of Other People. This was a Christmas gift. The Artsy Mama picked it out for, seeing as it has some short stories from my favourite authors. The collection is edited by Zadie Smith and the concept is that several authors were asked to invent a character and base their story around that character.

So far my favourite in the collection is the very first story, but I haven’t got to the one by Jonathan Safran Foer yet and I’m really looking forward to it. I’ve found the collection a bit hit-and-miss so far. I enjoyed the first few stories, but nothing has grabbed my attention in the last few I read, including the one by Zadie Smith.

Next on the reading list is my selection for the “My Year of Reading Dangerously” Challenge. I was initially thinking of sticking with the main list, but I’ve decided to deviate for the month of February. I’ve never read anything by Toni Morrison, but Beloved has sat on my self for quite some time so I’m going to swap that in instead of reading The Bluest Eye. My main reason is that I still have about four shelves (and that estimate might be on the low side) of books I haven’t read and reading it will satisfy not only the “My Year of Reading Dangerously” challenge, but also my own person challenge to get through at least a third of the To-Be-Read books by year’s end.

I have several others books piled up and ready to go including A View from Castle Rock by Alice Munro and Engleby by Sebastian Faulks.

But the two above might end up being the only two I get through with my new position starting (and the long commute that goes with it).

Then again, maybe I’ll get the odd snow day and those I can set aside for a bit of light reading.

Or lesson planning.

Why Blogging Might Be Difficult Today…

…someone’s decided to take a nap on my MacBook.

Reading Meme

Danielle at A Work in Progress posted Eva’s Reading Meme that has been making the rounds and left it open to everyone so I thought I would give it a go.

Which book do you irrationally cringe away from reading, despite seeing only positive reviews? A tricky one right at the start. There’s not much that I cringe away from reading. I suppose it would have to be Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, which makes me cringe every time I see it on the self, but that’s more because I have started it twice and wish I never bought it. Getting off topic already, have I mentioned that Richard B. Wright’s Clara Callan has the opposite effect on me? Every time I see it in a bookstore I almost reach out to grab it and run to the cash, even though I’ve read it and wasn’t particularly fond of it. And yet, everything time I see it I just have this urge to buy it.

If you could bring three characters to life for a social event (afternoon tea, a night of clubbing, perhaps a world cruise), who would they be and what would the event be?

First I would probably go with Alexander Perchov from Everything is Illuminated because I’ve never laughed so hard in my life as I did reading the first few chapters he narrated. Second, David Sedaris is already alive and not so much a character, but there might be quite an entertaining conversation between him and Alex. And finally, Anne Elliot from Persuasion as I feel a kinship with her - I had to pick someone from Austen

(Borrowing shamelessly from the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde): You are told you can’t die until you read the most boring novel on the planet. While this immortality is great for awhile, eventually you realize it’s past time to die. What book would you expect to get you a nice grave?

I’d probably have to go with The Rainbow by D. H. Lawrence. It has been by far the most painful reading experience I’ve ever had and would not like to re-visit it anytime soon.

Come on, we’ve all been there. What book have you pretended, or at least hinted, that you’ve read, when in fact you’ve been nowhere near it?

I’ve never actually done this. Even in school I read everything that was assigned. Yes, I was that kind of student.

As an addition to the last question, has there been a book you really thought you had read only to realize when you read a review about it/go to “reread” it that you haven’t? Which book?

Not that I can remember. I’m pretty good at keeping track of which ones I’ve read and which ones I haven’t. I’m bad though at remembering which books I’ve bought and are at home on the to-be-read shelves. That’s how I ended up with two copies of Clara Callan. Considering the impulse I talked about in question one, it’s surprising that I haven’t ended up with about ten copies of it.

You’re interviewing for the post of Official Book Adviser to some VIP (who’s not a big reader). What’s the first book you’d recommend and why? (If you feel like you have to know the person, go ahead and personalize the VIP).

That’s a tricky one. I recommend books occasionally, but usually I know a bit more about the person and what they might like. I recommend The Book Thief to everyone so I’ll say that would be my answer.

A good fairy comes and grants you one wish: you will have perfect reading comprehension in the foreign language of your choice. Which language do you go with?

I think I would probably go with French.

A mischievous fairy comes and says you must choose one book that you will reread once a year for the rest of your life (you can read other books as well). Which book would you pick?

Persuasion by Jane Austen. Or maybe The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery.

I know the book blogging community, and all its challenges, have pushed my reading borders. What’s one “bookish” thing you discovered from book blogging (maybe a new genre, or author, or new appreciation for cover art - anything)?

I think the types of books I read are still fairly much the same.  I’ve found reviews of a lot of interesting books and my to-be-read list grows every time I read the book blogs.  I think I’ve discovered a bit more about writing about books.  Sometimes I still find it challenging to write about a book that I’ve read that maybe someone else reading the book hasn’t read.  There’s the challenge of not giving too much away, but also of talking about the book and how it has affected me and making that understood by someone who hasn’t read the book yet.  I’m mainly used to talking about books in an academic setting where there is - or there should be if everyone has read the book - a shared knowledge of the book and I’ve found it can be quite challenging to talk about how good or bad a book is without giving too much away or too little.

The good fairy is back for one final visit. Now, she’s granting you your dream library! Describe it. Is everything leather bound? Is it full of first edition hardcovers? Pristine trade paperbacks? Perhaps a few favorite authors have inscribed their works? Go ahead - let your imagination run free. 

My dream library.  All wood, built in book shelves floor to ceiling and a ladder.  Yes, most definitely one of those bookstore ladders that slides across all of the bookshelves.

I think most of the blogs I read have done this already, but if you haven’t and are keen to give it a go, I’d love to see your answer!

Worst Case Scenario

If things go poorly on the first day of my new teaching assignment, I think I might run away to the Scottish Highlands.

I’m sure the weather isn’t as nice as when this was taken (August), but I’m sure it will be just as peaceful.