Long Weekends & Martin Luther King Day

I'm back to the keyboard today--finally.  Life spun maniacally out of control after Christmas Break with our end of term at school, so I literally got next to no sleep for ten days.  I had 20 hours of sleep over six days, then crashed one day, went right back to four hours of sleep a night for one more week of school to start a new semester.  It wasn't just at school, but in my online job as well.  They had finals, so it was the mania of students who had procrastinated an entire semester and decided to do everything in two weeks.  As you can imagine, I'm happy to now collapse into a heap of fatigue over this three-day weekend and try to finally log back on! 

Today is a monumental holiday in terms of humanitarian work and giving back, as Martin Luther King Jr. was an amazing humanitarian, activist, and leader who heralded a change that called for the good in all of us to come forward.  I've thought a lot about his bravery today and ways that I can be brave in my personal and professional life.  I don't want to go off on a long, philosophical post, but I think we can agree that there is much that we can still do to achieve King's dream of equality for so many. 

Well, I hope that over the coming days and weeks I can find some balance and write a bit more.  I'm hoping to do some mini book reviews and even get onto some film reviews before the Oscars in March.  For tonight, I'm off to write a few posts and then escape into some more reading before this long weekend is over!

What have you been up to this weekend?

After Holiday Sunday Blatherings

What a Thanksgiving Break!  I can't believe it has come and gone, and I have so much and so LITTLE to show for it.  *sigh*  (Meaning, I still have an 8" stack of papers that I didn't touch...)

This week was amazing.  Sleep ruled the roost around here, which should always top the list over a holiday break.  I actually started my break a little early by taking my Pop. Lit. students to see Catching Fire on Tuesday, since we read it as a class this semester.  What a fun way to start the break!  I always stress myself out--unnecessarily--about all the little details that come with managing money, students, and lesson plans, but it turned out great and the movie was really good.  I have to say that although the movie left out some of the scenes that I thought were interesting in the story, that the movie was pretty true to the novel and well done.  I'm eager to see how they roll out the last two films in the franchise.

For the break, I had a major list of things I needed to take care of, so I spent much of Wednesday running errands and going to doctor appointments.  I only mention it because it has been something I've shared here before.  I went to see my doctor again about these crazy migraines I fight on a continued basis.  I started taking a new medication called Topomax that has had a pretty negative impact on my memory.  Listen, I don't have brain cells to sacrifice!  As far as headaches and migraines go, it's a miracle drug, but I find myself forgetting basic language, which is NOT okay.  I'm an English teacher, so not having access to basic language can be a huge issue.  It's not really forgetting things, it's having this strange lack of access to certain language.  Ugh.  Not a fun trade off.  I'm going to lower the dose a bit and see if that helps the big "dope" factor (as I call it), but hope that the crippling migraines don't come back.  I know that many of you who blog and are big readers also suffer from migraines.  Have any of you had this issue?

Anyway, the rest of the break has been really nice.  My mother has been under the weather off and on, but other than that, it has been pretty laid back and relaxing.  I've really only managed to get through a couple of novels, which is not great for me, but will work for now.  We also went to see About Time, which was by the creators of Love Actually.  I thought it was SO good and would recommend it to all of my friends, 100%.  If you want a feel-good movie that will have you thinking about what matters, day to day, this was that movie.  It is rated R, which I know matters to some of my readers, so you would want to keep that in mind.  I thought the story between the father and son was really touching and had me crying by the end of the film, which was pretty surprising.  Overall, it was a touching film about taking advantage of each and every day, which carried so much more depth than the romantic comedy that we thought we were walking into. 

Although my list of reading accomplished over the break was pretty small, I'm happy with what I got through.  Here's what I read:

What books or movies did you get through over the Thanksgiving Break?  Or, what are you finishing up that you got started?

Banned & Challenged Book Week 2013

Each year the ALA (American Library Association) hosts the Banned and Challenged Book Week to highlight awareness about the freedom to read.  As an avid reader and educator, I've always been aware of good books and who was able to read them and who was not allowed to read them, for one reason or another.  Reading books seems like such a simple thing in some ways, but talk about bravery on their part to keep talking about it!

I wanted to make sure I posted a little something at the beginning of this week, so here is my nod to Banned Book Week.  This could be a huge discussion, but let me just say that I appreciate their hard work to continue the conversation about books being banned and challenged across the country--and globe, for that matter.  I think that they help us to remember how one person's offense is another person's lived experience and/or life-changer.

Here is a great presentation to flip through with information about Banned & Challenged Book Week.

Also, here is the Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books of the Last Decade

Here is a list of the Top Challenged Books from 2012.

2012

Out of 464 challenges as reported by the Office for Intellectual Freedom

1. Captain Underpants (series), by Dav Pilkey.
   Reasons: Offensive language, unsuited for age group
2. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie.
   Reasons: Offensive language, racism, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group
3. Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher.
   Reasons: Drugs/alcohol/smoking, sexually explicit, suicide, unsuited for age group
4. Fifty Shades of Grey, by E. L. James.
   Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit
5. And Tango Makes Three, by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson.
   Reasons: Homosexuality, unsuited for age group
6. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini.
   Reasons: Homosexuality, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit
7. Looking for Alaska, by John Green.
   Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group
8. Scary Stories (series), by Alvin Schwartz
   Reasons: Unsuited for age group, violence
9. The Glass Castle, by Jeanette Walls
   Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit
10. Beloved, by Toni Morrison
    Reasons: Sexually explicit, religious viewpoint, violence

http://www.ala.org/bbooks/bannedbooksweek

Have you read any of the books listed above, or will you read any of the books listed on any of the "banned/challenged" lists?

First Day of School--Book Talk Day!

Tomorrow is the first day of school and I'm doing something I've never really done before--I'm pretty much doing "Book Talk" in two of my three courses.  I thought long and hard about it, and decided that I'm going to come out of the gates swinging.  I've been teaching now for 14 years (*silent scream*--No, I can't believe it!), and the kids know what I'm about and I don't often have to set the stage.  Why spend the first day reading my disclosure document, handing out rule books, and explaining school policies?  I want to get them excited about reading and use that to set the stage for our year.  I hope it works!

One of the things I've noticed that gets my students interested in reading is a continued enthusiasm on my part for all things book related.  The more often I can share what I'm reading, let them share what they're reading, or share what they could be reading--the better!  So, tomorrow I'm going to do this cool little book talk activity to introduce two of my classes.  (AP Lit. gets to dive in on a discussion of Frankenstein, so it's a different type of "Book Talk," I suppose.)

We'll see how it goes, but I have a feeling that it's going to be a lot better than some of my normal methods.  Besides, it's all about books.  How can you go wrong with awesome books?!?  

Quick Update...

It's the end of the year, and I've had some interruptions lately.  As is normal, my online job had finals at the same time as the school where I teach.  Grades are all finished now (Yay!) and I can refocus on all that is coming up.  As mentioned earlier, my mother is moving soon, and has sold our family home.  It's such a mixture of emotions that I tend to block it all out of my mind.  I'm sad to say goodbye to the home I grew up in, but know that it's the right choice for my mother.  I suppose you have to be practical.

I'm finishing up school with graduation on Thursday and then I head off to my yearly online conference on Monday.  In fact, I was asked to lead a break out session at the conference, so I'm starting to switch gears and start thinking about that one.  Once that conference is finished, we'll finish packing up the house so my mom can move for good.  Lots of craziness!  I hope to be back to my blogging routine soon.

Here's what I'm reading at the moment:

This is Kinsella's newest release that I was sent from the Amazon Vine program.  I really liked her last novel, so I have high expectations for this one as well. Once I'm finished with Kinsella's novel, I have a HUGE stack to sort through.  I love having so many choices.  :)

I'm curious if you all have a large stack of novels waiting for you this summer, and if so, what are you most looking forward to reading?

The Great Gatsby Read Along: Chapters 7 to Finish

With the release of The Great Gatsby movie tomorrow, I had to pull it together to get our final discussion up for the novel.  Today my AP Literature students took their AP test, so I'm praying that I stop dreaming of sonnets, thesis statements, and the best way of teaching iambic pentameter.  Seriously.  The other morning I woke up reciting types of poetry, "Elizabethan Sonnet, sestina, ballad, ode, elegy..."  It was maddening, and has left me exhausted.  I have had a really great group of students this year, who worked like crazy.  I'm sure they did great.

So, back to Gatsby and his crazy life.  What's not crazy about these final chapters and why did I love it so much?  It's not that I love to see things fall spectacularly and dramatically apart, but that I love to see the mind of an author throw down on the page.  What can we say?  Fitzgerald royally threw down on the page and left it all there for us to mull over for years to come.

How much do I recount from these final chapters?  Do we talk about Daisy icing Gatsby out?  Do we talk about why Gatsby stuck around and didn't see the writing on the wall?  Do we talk about Tom's crazy lover, Myrtle, and her date with a speeding car?  Do we dive into the crazy jerkish person Tom is, who seems more lacking in conscience than any character we've encountered?  Or, do we look at Nick one last time and ask how much of all of this his narration shaped for us?  I don't even know.  I can see that any one of these could make for a full and exhaustive post.  Instead, here's what stood out to me:

• Mr. Wilson. 
  
  He seemed so pathetic and sympathetic all at the same time.  His massive panic over his wife's affair and determination to take her away from that crazy place was understandable.  I think we can all see that Myrtle wanted to escape her mundane life with her mechanic, gas station owning husband, but Mr. Wilson seemed like a truly pathetic character that I finally saw with new eyes.
• The color blue.  Back in my post "The Great Gatsby Read Along: Chapters 3 to 4," I mentioned the strange use of the color blue to describe the yard.  Here in the final chapter of the novel, Nick comments, "So when the blue smoke of brittle leaves was in the air and the wind blew the wet laundry stiff on the line I decided to come back home" (176).  I get that smoke can be blue, but the way Fitzgerald has used it on several occasions in the novel has left me thinking about its significance--if any.  I just haven't pictured lawns or yards as blue.
• The fact that Gatsby admits he originally only got together with Daisy because he wasn't sure he could, and then only wanted to get what he could for a time.  In the end, he didn't expect to fall in love with Daisy.  I don't remember Gatsby being a playboy.  No judgment here.  I just didn't remember that detail from his story.
• Nick's soft spot for Gatsby.  After the dirty business with the murder, Nick is the one who finds him.  Nick is the one who feels it deeply that Gatsby should not be alone in his death.  Nick is the one who recalls telling Gatsby, after a party, "'They're a rotten crowd,' I shouted across the lawn. 'You're worse the whole damn bunch put together.' I've always been glad I said that" (154).    Nick saw something in Gatsby, perhaps as the true tragic, mislead figure in the whole story?
• Zelda.  Yes, I thought about Fitzgerald's wife Zelda, who was supposed to have suffered from schizophrenia and whom he supposedly fashioned his character Daisy.  Was there a twisted sort of love/hate relationship with Daisy and Zelda?  On page 179, Nick reflects, "They were careless people, Tom and Daisy--they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let others clean up the mess they had made..."  Having had a relative with schizophrenia, parts of these lines resonated with me with a frustration that I wondered whether Fitzgerald might have been dealing with?
• The past.  This theme, reliving the past or facing the past, runs through the novel until the very end.  I love the last two paragraphs of the novel and their final dealings with Gatsby's desire to relive the past or to recreate it.  Maybe it's something we all want, because we idealize the past in some way?  In reality we can't escape the past, because it is our present, and yet we also can't relive it.  How ironic.  As Nick concludes, "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back carelessly into the past" (180). Beautifully thought provoking.

So what stood out to you in these final chapters? Does the title then tell us that Nick put aside the tall tales of our main hero and found him to be "The Great"?  I kind of like to think so, but wonder what that then says about the other characters that brought about Gatsby's demise. 

Anyway, here are a few questions:

1. What do you think happened to Daisy after the "accident" with Myrtle?  What conversation do you think happened between she and Tom?
2. Was the laser-point focus of Gatsby his own sick fault, or did he ever have a real chance with Daisy?  Could they have ever had a life?
3. What is it about the past that we somehow can never escape it or relive it?  Or can we actually relive parts of it, and so that gives us some sick hope?
4. What most stood out to you in these final chapters?
5. What do you most look forward to seeing in the film?

Well, thank you to all who joined in on the Read Along!  Now I hope we can all get to the movie this weekend and have one last Gatsby chat.  Thanks again!  Don't forget to leave a comment with a link to your post, if you choose to participate.  

The Great Gatsby Read Along: Chapters 1 & 2

The opening of novels is all the same--establish setting, characters, and situation.  Sometimes that opening feels like it drags along, especially if you have to learn a whole new language of sorts, like when I read a dystopian novel and have to figure out the rules of the world.  In the case of The Great Gatsby, we are obviously introduced to West and East Egg, as well as a complex collection of characters who start to build their back story so we can catch up with the present.

For our first two chapters, I wanted to look at what we ran across and get your own two cents and feedback.

Setting:

Set on Long Island--West Egg and East Egg, to be precise.  Separated by a "bay" of water, West Egg was the poorer, less socially affluent side of the bay, while East Egg supported the richer, more connected side of society.  Our narrator, Nick Carraway, lives on West Egg in a small rental cottage between two larger mansions.  One of these mansions is owned by none other than Mr. Jay Gatsby.  The other main characters, Daisy and Tom Buchanan, live in East Egg in a giant mansion of their own.

What is the significance of this setting?  Is the proximity to New York City significant to the tale?  How do the size of the homes and location all play into the social hierarchy being used by Fitzgerald?

Obviously, at the end of Chapter 1, we see that Gatsby must be yearning for whatever is across the bay from him--at the Buchanan's mansion:

"...--fifty feet away a figure had emerged from the shadow of my neighbor's mansion and was standing with his hands in his pockets regarding the silver pepper of the stars...I didn't call to him, for he gave a sudden intimation that he was content to be alone--he stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and, far as I was from him, I could have sworn he was trembling.  Involuntarily, I glanced seaward--and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of a dock..." (20-21)

I loved this conclusion to the first chapter, since I kept reminding myself that Nick was the narrator, so everything is filtered through his own sense of curiosity.  His lack of omniscience here adds a nice foreshadowing and a longing that echoes through this conclusion.

Also, I think that you can never quite discount the social divides that are set up in a novel.  Knowing who has money and where those with money live or don't live is important to keep in mind.  As always, money talks.  It doesn't always say very sensible things, but the desperation of folks either not having it or having too much of it can make for a tricky and interesting side narrative.

Characters:

Point of View--We know that Nick Carraway is telling the story.  What do we really learn about him?  He comes from a "Middle Western city," where his family was of some prominence.  After WWI, Nick moved to the East to study the bond business.  In some ways, Nick sets us up to believe he is a humble, young character; he is living in a humble little cottage of sorts and is not set up like his neighbors.  And yet, isn't he also able to easily mingle in rich society pretty easily and quickly?  His relation to Daisy Buchanan might be part of it, but even that might suggest he comes from at least enough money to set him on the path that others might only dream about.

Should we question our reading of the characters in the novel since Nick is the narrator?  Aren't we getting everything filtered through Nick's point of view?

Tom Buchanan is Daisy's ex-football hero husband, said to have had his glory days playing his football, only to find he could never reach those heights again.  He is described as being almost a brute of sorts: "supercilious manner," "shining arrogant eyes," "a cruel body," and "his speaking voice, a gruff husky tenor" (7).  Then, he seems to say to the reader and to Nick:

"Now don't think my opinion on these matters is final, " he seemed to say, "just because I'm stronger and more of a man than you are."  (7)

 Um, can we say he's kind of an arrogant pig?  He not only can't live down his glory days, but he also has to continue to prove he's a bigger and badder man than anyone else around him.  Nick notices how he interrupts Daisy continually throughout their first night when Nick comes over, and we end Chapter 2 with Nick's introduction  and night in the city with Tom and his mistress.  Maybe a thing of the times, and maybe Daisy needed a break, but we have to see Tom as a pretty puffed up character who it will be easy to want to see fall from his high horse!

Daisy Buchanan is Tom's wife and Nick's cousin.  Nick describes her as having, "a conscientious little laugh," and that she laughed, "as if she said something very witty," with a "low, thrilling voice."  He also added depth to his descriptions by showing that, "Her face was sad and lovely, with bright things in it," and that, "...there was an excitement in her voice that men who had cared for her found difficult to forget" (9).

Does this mean that's how she really was, or just how Nick perceived her?  Is Daisy this flirting, trilling little character that is laced with a certain amount of sadness?  Well, it would certainly seem so by our introduction to her and Tom in these opening chapters.  Tom spends his time cutting her off, and it is suggested that she knows about Tom's mistress, Myrtle.

There's so much we could talk about in these chapters!  I could go on and on!  I don't even want to dabble in the bit with the mistress just yet, mainly because I keep mulling over our main characters and their lives.  I think that one of the most famous, and poignantly sad moments comes when Daisy tells Nick what she felt at the time of her daughter's birth, saying:

"She told me it was a girl, and so I turned my head away and wept. 'All right,' I said.  'I'm glad it's a girl. And I hope she will be a fool--that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.'" (17)

 These lines really strike me, because they say a lot about Daisy and the head space she is in here.  This doesn't seem like a flippant comment to me, but one from a place of despair and personal experience maybe?  I think Daisy understands her world a bit too well.

Okay.  Enough from me on these opening chapters!  I can't say enough how much I'm loving this reread.  It's been way too long since I last read The Great Gatsby, so I've forgotten so many key details!  Now it's your turn.  Share with us!

1. What role(s) do you see for the setting in the novel?  Do you like this setting, and does it affect the way you read the story?
2. Since Nick is the narrator in this story, do you think it's possible he might be setting us up to like or dislike certain characters?  Do you trust his retelling?
3. What do you think of Tom, Daisy, and Myrtle?
4. What else stood out to you in these opening chapters?

 Please share if you would like!  Whether you've drafted up a blog post with your thoughts (which I hope you'll link), or you share some of your thoughts in the comments, I hope you jump in.

Just as a reminder, this coming week we'll be reading Chapters 3-4.  Happy reading!  I hope to see what you're thinking!

Sunday Blatherings: The Reboot Edition

One week back after Spring Break and you quickly feel like you're back to where you were before we were off.  It's craziness!  We're prepping our students for state testing, which I shouldn't fret about, but with as "high stakes" as things have been the last few years, I do fret.  I know we've all worked really HARD, so my hopes are always that the test actually show the hard work going on in the classroom.

Anyway, this weekend has been about  "rebooting" so I can be my best at work.  Dare I admit that I feel more and more like my age lately?  It's scary, and something I'd prefer not to admit.  People say it, but I don't know why I didn't ever think about it.  Well, here it is.  :)  I've had to redouble my efforts to take my vitamins, eat well, sleep well, exercise, and all that stuff that you could get away without completely thinking about when you were in college, staying up all night studying--or talking to a roommate.  Now, I look at the clock around 9 pm and start to get ready for bed, for fear I won't get in enough sleep and wreck my day the next day!  Kind of makes me laugh.  I've always been the night owl.  Not anymore.

Okay, on a less whiny note, one of the thing I love about the weekends is that I get to be the master of my domain.  Yes, I love taking care of my house!  What's not to love about changing your sheets so you have lovely, fresh linens?  Or, how nice is it to do all the laundry and see the linen closets filled with beautiful, clean towels?  I love it.  That's the other reason I know I might be putting myself in the "adult" category, because I find myself shopping for lovely bedding and towels sometimes more than I do anything else.  My own lovely addiction.  I love it.

Well, here's what up in my world...

What I'm Gnoshing:  A couple of years ago at our local farmer's market, there was this awesome food truck there with authentic Mexican tacos.  The food was so simple, but completely D-elish!  They served simple grilled or braised meats in a corn or flour tortilla of your choice, and then you could serve yourself from a variety of toppings like white onion, pickled jalapenos, diced peppers, cilantro, and shaved cabbage or lettuce.  You didn't see a speck of cheese, sour cream, or salsa anywhere (and I love that stuff), so these were a revelation to me. 

Needless to say, I think I finally mastered one version of my own.  These lovely tacos are made from some pork ribs that I cooked in the oven in an apricot & jalapeno jelly I purchased, that I then mixed with a touch of honey and minced garlic.  They came out sticky and caramelized in the most delightful way, so they made the perfect taco filling, topped with just a little white onion and cilantro.  I will definitely be making these again and then sharing them! 

What I'm Watching:  Thankfully, Call the Midwives Season 2 is back on.  The Christmas special was pretty good, but nothing that made me dying to keep watching.  That was until I started in on Season 2.  It's so good!  I really love it.

I also, finally, started watching The Walking Dead and have to say it's pretty freaky!  I can't watch it late at night, but I can see why it has been so addicting.  It's definitely not like anything I've ever seen before. 

What I'm Reading:  What am I not reading?  Obviously, I'm reading The Great Gatsby for my own "The Great Gatsby Read Along," but also rereading Brave New World  and Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children for two of the classes I'm teaching at school.  It's good stuff!

Outside of that, here are some of what I'm enjoying at the moment:

Just finished this one today!  Good stuff.

I need another vacation so I can just read this in one sitting!

Always love a Sophie Kinsella novel.

 What have you done to "reboot" this weekend?

The Great Gatsby Read Along: Starting Line!

Today we're starting off on our reading of The Great Gatsby.  If you missed signing up or just want to join, here's the link, and here is the reading schedule:

•  4/10 to 4/17  Chapters 1-2  (40 pages)
• 4/17 to 4/24  Chapters 3-4 (47 pages)
• 4/24 to  5/1  Chapters 5-6  (34 pages)
• 5/1 to 5/8  Chapters 7-End (72 pages)
• 5/10 --Go see the movie!

In preparation for today, I went to find my old, annotated copy of the novel on my bookshelves.  To my horror, it was nowhere to be found!  I tore through all my shelves at home, went through my books at work, and back through any closet or work bag I owned, but couldn't find it anywhere.  I'm so sad that I couldn't find it.  Losing an annotated copy of a novel kind of feels like losing a journal! Thankfully we had a textbook company send us an extra permabound copy at work, so our librarian was nice enough to give that one to me so I can start over.  It's time to "re"annotate, as well as reread!

Well, to get us going today, I thought I'd post a link to F. Scott Fitzgerald's Biography from bio.com.  The site includes a nice video about Fitzgerald and some great pictures that I thought you might be interested to check out.

Finally, to get started, I'd like to know about your background with The Great Gatsby.  Below are some initial questions about Fitzgerald and the novel:

1. When did you first read The Great Gatsby? 
2. What was that first reading experience like?
3. Have you read any of Fitzgerald's other works?
4. Similar to other famous authors, why do you think Fitzgerald's work received more attention and acclaim after his death than before?

Respond in the comments below, or if you have a post up, post a link to your blog post so we can drop by!

For this first week we have a pretty easy read of just the first two chapters.  Start reading and drop by if something cool stands out to you!  I'm going to get reading and might be back to post an update or respond to my own questions.  :)  Good luck, and happy reading!

Midweek Meandering

First off, don't forget to stop in on the giveaway for Phillipa Ashley's book Miranda's Mount and the Downton Abbey 2013 calendar.  This giveaway runs through Friday, 11/16 so stop in and check it out!  This was a fun escape read, so I hope you check it out.

As for life, things have been good and bad all at the same time.  It was really excellent on one hand, since I had the chance to go see the Ballet West perform Shirley Jackson's, "The Lottery."  Let me be completely honest.  I really did think I'd have a moment or two of boredom--yawn, yawn, stretch, stretch.  That wasn't the case at all!  This ballet company was so good that I was really sucked into the story they told through movement.  Now I think I'll have to get tickets to other performances in the future, because it was really amazing.

On the crazier side of life, I'm not sure when I'm going to learn that it is all a combination of good and bad.  I've just been so incredibly burned out this year that it sometimes really frustrates me.  This burn out so early in the school year might be evidence to me that I have to slow down and stop taking on projects, classes, grants, summer school, etc.  We all need a little extra money, but my peace of mind and sanity might be more important at this point.

Having said that, I can't wait for Thanksgiving and am counting down the days!  I'm excited for five days of family and relaxation.  I mentioned on Twitter that my mom and I might do a 5K on Thanksgiving morning, but I still haven't signed us up yet.  (What's up with that?)  This could be a problem.  Let's hope I can make the decision and just do it!  Besides, it's for a great cause--the local food bank--and it will burn off some calories before the big meal, right?  Please talk me into it!!!

Anyway, enough of my craziness.  Had I posted on Sunday, I could be back to the business of review writing.  As it stands, I now have a stack of quizzes to grade for my AP class and a bed screaming my name.  Below are the stack of lovelies I picked up from the library today.  Thanksgiving can't come soon enough so I can dive into some of these.

Happy midweek to you.  What are you up to, or what are you excited to start reading? 

Holiday Reading Recommendations...

"Christmas Dreaming" painting done by one of my students. Love it!

I need help.  I'm starting to think ahead to the holidays and would really like to do a little holiday-themed reading.  After putting out a call on Twitter, Colleen @booksnyc came to my rescue with some great recommendations:  Comfort and Joy by India Knight, Over the Holidays by Sandra Harper, and Last Christmas by Julia Williams.  Thank you so much!

In the past, I've read a few holiday books:  Dating Mr. December by one of my faves--Phillipa Ashley, A Darcy Christmas by a collection of amazing authors, and a few by Marcia Evanick.  I'm just really in the mood to read a few great holiday reads, so I'm going to appeal to all of you.  Do you have books that you've read that feature holiday scenes in them?  Thanksgiving is an especially tricky one, but really I'm just looking for the holidays in general. 

Help a holiday-starved reader!

Sunday Blatherings--Canning and Preserving

What a great week.  I am panicking just a bit though, since we're heading into those last two weeks before school is back in session.  The "gearing up" has begun.  There are things you have to do around the house that take precedence, and that's what I've been doing.  Reading?  Not so much.  I've been busy online during the day and then watching the Olympics at night.  I'm hoping to get back to my reading soon!

Here's what I've been doing this weekend:

My mother is here for a long weekend, so we canned tomatoes and made freezer raspberry jam.  Thank you to my aunt in Idaho for supplying the raspberries!  They are on a road trip to Iowa to drop off their eldest son and his wife to medical school, so she let us pick the raspberry patch.  I'm mad I didn't take a picture of the pretty raspberries when they were in process, but we were multitasking like crazy so we didn't end up canning until midnight.  You'll have to trust me that they were beautiful!  The tomatoes came from our local farmer's market, so we were bursting with produce yesterday. 

I don't think canning is a dying art, but I do know that a lot of my friends think it's crazy that I enjoy it.  We always canned each fall, so I have some pretty fond memories of spending time with my family, especially my short grandmother who would stand at the sink for hours on end without a single complaint of achy feet or pruned up fingers.  I really miss those moments!  Thankfully, my mother and I keep up the moments and continue the tradition.

Okay, so enough of that for today!  As you can see, it has been a busy weekend so far.  I'm going to kick back and enjoy a day off today.  Although, we did pick up some amazingly sweet and glorious little peaches that we're going to make into a peach pie later.  That's a good reason to not "kick back" all day, right? 

What are you doing today?

Paris In July Wrap Up & Other Fun

How did July get away from me?  I've had a delightful time focusing on Paris and France, even though I only posted two posts about it.  Yea, that wasn't so good.  I managed to cook Madeleines (which I will definitely be doing again--maybe I'll make them for my mother, who is coming to visit this weekend) and I also read and posted my review of Paris My Sweet.

I did get through a couple of movies as well, but I didn't get them posted.  That will have to happen here soon.  No worries here.  Thank you to Tamara at Thyme for Tea and Karen at Bookbath for hosting this fun challenge this month.  It was nice to just give it a try!

This summer has been very nice and calm, which was fine.  I went into it knowing that I wasn't going anywhere, that I'd be working, and that I'd have to deal with it.  Personally, I thought I'd go a bit bonkers without a trip planned, but it was just fine.   A small group of us have been planning a pretty major trip to Europe (France, Italy, and Austria) when my mother retires, so I have a goal in mind.  She actually retires this coming February, but we're going to hold off so that my friend "Doc" (as she likes me to call her) can finish up her residency.  The trip should be pretty amazing, so it's definitely something to look forward to down the road.  It's in three years--and counting!

All right.  For now, I'll head back to the glorious Olympics.  Talk about a reason to hit the gym!  Now, does anyone know where I can find a water polo team, because I've been looking in all the wrong places?  :)

I have to include this awesome YouTube video from the U.S. Olympic Swim Team, mocking to the song "Call Me Maybe."  Too darn cute.

The W's of Reading: Required Reading?

I know.  I've been a little MIA again.  The truth is, I've been working on professional development courses this summer that require A LOT of online reading (because the courses are online).  Trust me, it has been a nice change from my normal grind, but all this reading has led me to this "W's of Reading" post.  What do you do when "required reading" starts to weigh you down? 

Honestly, I can hear myself answer this question.  Here's how that would look:

Me:  Well, I like to use fun/choice reading as an incentive to get the required stuff...out...of...the...way!

Me Now:  Yes, I usually do that, but reading all this professional stuff is bumming me out.  I just want to play Jewel Quest or online solitaire when I finish.

Me:  Fine.  Whine about it.  I gave you my answer, so what more do you want?

Horror of horrors, I realized that this is probably how some of my students feel. *sigh*  That means that I have to figure this out. 

Truth be told, I think that this is more about the level of burn out I felt this year.  Maybe I should have considered this before I signed up?  It seems like you have to come at required reading with gusto--which I don't have.  In school, I was that student who got all excited when we checked out a new novel; I was that college student who looked forward (yes, it's crazy) to getting new textbooks!  I just love(d) books.  That's why this feeling is a little odd.

All right, so I think I've figured out that I was just too burned out this year, so all of this professional/required reading is getting to me and driving me away from the things I love (i.e. my blog, my fun reading, etc.).  What about you? 

What do you do (or have done) when required reading (review requests or professional reading) gets you down? 

Anyone else out there escaping to a mind-numbing game of Jewel Quest???  Please come take it away from me!!!  I'm matching three cars in traffic that are alike.  It's just wrong.

Social Media: A Slight Obsession

Since really getting into a variety of social medias, I think we each gravitate to those medias that allow us access to our favorite things.  Here are a few social media sites I know about or use:

• Facebook--Friends, babies, relationships, health, and other personal info.
• Nings--Discussion boards mixed with announcements for the Ning you're involved in.
• Twitter--Advertising, chatting, quotes, links, and general comments on life.
• Tumblr--The equivalent of a decorated high school locker, kicked up a million times!
• Pinterest--Kind of more of the same as Tumblr, but all in one screening area.

Now, I haven't caught on to Pinterest quite as much as I have Tumblr, but have to say that my obsession/love affair with Tumblr is just about getting worrisome!  I love to sort through the funny posts, quotes, pictures, videos, gifs, etc. that people have posted, and then "repost" them to my own account for a bunch of other people to see.  It's like I have a high school locker to decorate all over again!  Now, my adult fan-girling over Colin Firth and anything Austen related can know no bounds.  Yes.  It even frightens me a little.

Here's the real question.  I've created this Tumblr page.  I've posted over a thousand things.  Now what?  I will admit that I've scrolled back through it a time or two, but I'm way more obsessed about the next post coming out.  I. Must. Keep. Up. What if someone finds an even more adorable interview with Colin Firth, Alan Rickman, or the Downton Abbey cast?  I must press on!

The lovely Colin & Meryl at the Oscars.

Conclusions:  I think I've analyzed my own obsession, and here's what I've come to realize about Tumblr (and I suspect this would apply to Pinterest as well).  We love these sites because they reflect the world we live in.  We feel--strangely so--comforted and understood by a series of posts that people, we may or may not know, submit.  All of a sudden, we see our world reflected back at us in all sorts of artistic, beautiful, disturbing, or funny ways.  Most of all, we find out we're not alone in our obsessive love or fan-girling over Colin Firth, looking for recipes, or even just looking for humor.  Yes, there are others like us.  They too are posting yet another picture of Colin Firth slipping Meryl Streep's shoe back on her foot at the BAFTA awards, or posting the proposal scene from Downton Abbey yet again.  We love them, and we know that others do as well.

In whatever way, we're having a beautiful cultural conversation about what we love and value in our society--and I love it! Now.  Back to Tumblr.

What are your favorite social medias and are YOU obsessed--even just a little?

*Disclosure:  This post really isn't about getting followers--I swear!  I just wanted to share my love of Tumblr and see what others had to say.  If you really do want to check out my Tumblr though, it's at:  http://oneliteraturenut.tumblr.com/  By the way, if you have a Tumblr account, please let me know!  I'd love to check it out so my obsession can continue!

The W's of Reading: What's the Value of a Book Trailer?

I have to be honest.  For a long time I was kind of a book trailer snob.  I think that to some degree, I still am one.  The thing that has started to turn me around though was the profound affect these trailers have had on my students!  I've shared a number of book trailers, but I have to say that the trailer for Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children and Shatter Me really grabbed their attention.  See for yourself!

Having seen the response first hand, I think there is a great opportunity here to really get the word out to teen readers.  They love these trailers and will go pick up a book because of them.  I suppose you can say that I'm now a believer!

What are some of your favorite book trailers?  Any others that you think I just have to share?

Goodreads Goal: Three to Go!

The holidays have been really great so far.  Here's what I've been up to:

• Staying up late  (love, love, love)
• Sleeping in  (love, hate, love, hate--love getting lots of sleep, hate seeing how late it is once I get going)
• All the junk I couldn't do during school  (i.e. clean, organize, etc.)
• Putting together that treadmill
• Visiting the chiropractor 3+ times for putting together said treadmill  (Nice start to "good health.")
• Graded 33+ essays and over 100 quizzes  (Only 70+ essays to go!  Ha, ha.)
• Shopping for decor for my home  (I picked up some great stuff to go above my kitchen cupboards & an amazing piece of art for my guestroom.)
• Did a LITTLE reading 

I've been waiting to get a document back from a publisher so I can post my interview with Phillipa Ashley, but with the holidays I think people are taking a much-deserved break!  It's still coming, but I have to wait just a bit longer.  No worries though.

Okay.  Now that I've shared a bit of what my holidays have entailed, let me get down to brass tax.  I was doing great on my 100 Book Challenge for Goodreads until the school year hit.  Ever since then, I feel as though I've been chasing that darn app, always managing to be a book or two behind.

Thankfully, setting my challenge has really pushed me to try out books and genres I might not have otherwise.  For instance, I have become a big fan of graphic novels.  Who would have thought?!?  There are some really great reads out there and I've enjoyed trying out ones I haven't read before.  When you only have a snippet of time, a graphic novel is a perfect option.  Audiobooks have also been a great option to fill in the gaps.  When I have had no other time than the drive to and from work, listening to a book has made me feel as though I'm still getting in a little reading.

Well, there's my update and challenge!  Wish me luck, since I'm on my way to finishing those last three books  (and 70+ essays...).  Here's to hoping I can actually finish it up before 2012.  Then I'll need to regroup and have a "Review-Writing" Challenge!

Did you set a Goodreads Challenge and where are you at with it?

Kindle Fire & the Death of Kindle 1

It seems ironic that they just announced the Kindle Fire today as my Kindle 1 just came to a spluttering death.  Three years ago I posted a blog post stating that "I Have a New Boyfriend."  That post was to announce my new love for the first generation Kindle.  As all first generation tech toys go, it was expensive, and my wonderful mother gave him to me as a gift.  I loved my kindle and it has weathered many things, such as all the traveling I did back and forth to my mom's place in Hawaii, long soaks in the tub (no, I didn't cover it--risky, I know), being packed in my purse, and even an occasional reading session on the beach.  I can't say I was nice to Kindle 1, but I sure got a lot of use out of it.

Earlier this year it started losing battery power like water running through a sieve and it was all downhill from there.  Here's what started happening:

• Dark lined screen of death
• Battery power in less than 10 minutes if I left the Internet connection turned on
• Pages that took up to 5 seconds to turn  (Gasp!)
• Burned in letters into the screen from overuse  (Yea, I'm kind of proud of that one.)

I loved my Kindle, but enough was enough.  I finally put it in the same drawer that still holds my flip cell phone from five years ago, my first generation iPod Shuffle, my Blackberry Pearl from two years ago, and any other tech gadgets that I haven't taken to be recycled.  It is the tech gadget graveyard, where all good technology has been made obsolete by something newer, prettier, and more precious.

Back in May I finally succumbed to the incredibly tantalizing pull of the iPad 2.  This was no little purchase, but one that I had been salivating over from the moment it was mentioned.  It was perfect for my trip to Europe, as I could read on it, listen to my iTunes, and catch email from back home.  Why carry the Kindle, an iPod, and a laptop?  The iPad 2 was my godsend.  Now I'm not sure what I'd do without it!  With four different reading apps on it, I can download any ebook sent my way:  Amazon Kindle app, Bluefire Reader, Overdrive, and the iBook. 

As you can see, I'm sold on my iPad 2, but I'll admit that I'm intrigued by the low price and amazing options that seem to come with this new Kindle Fire!  They seem very similar, so far, but we'll see.  I found this article by PCMag.com that compares the three main competitors if you want to check out their specs., "Kindle Fire vs. iPad 2 vs. Nook Color."

My Kindle 1 has died, only three short years into this new e-Reader technology.  Where I once thought I was at the cutting edge of the technology has once again been proven obsolete.  What it really does is show me that I have a serious addiction and need to keep squirreling money away for even newer and cooler tools that are sure to come around the bend!

What do you think of the newest e-Reader on the block?  Any interest?

The Value of a Re-Read: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

In preparation for this year's AP English Literature and Composition class, I assigned the novel Frankenstein for their summer read.  Despite knowing the wealth of information and analysis waiting in this famous novel, I've never been a real fan.  So why assign it, right?  Well, my first reading of the novel had more to do with ME than actually not liking the novel.

Here's my deal.  The first time I read Frankenstein was actually not long after graduating from grad school, just over four years ago.  At the time, I was coming out of a four year relationship that I didn't want to see end, but knew was necessary.  In short, I was bitter, sad, and angry.  So there I was reading Frankenstein, about this monster who keeps getting rejected by any human being he came in contact with, including his creator.  Not only that, but his big resolution was to ask for Victor Frankenstein (his creator) to make him a mate so that he wouldn't be alone?!?  Bah!  Even now, when I put myself in the mindset I was in at the time, I know exactly why I hated that stupid monster and the novel altogether.  The monster was justified in feeling kicked around and derided by everyone he knew, but thinking that a girl monster as a companion would just solve everything made me annoyed to no end!  Yes, I 100% read myself into the story.  Yes, I saw myself as that monster, as continually kicked around by life.  The difference was that I saw the reality of needing to suck it up and move on!  Poor monster.  I was guilty of reading myself into the text way too much.

Let's fast forward four years.  My own heart has had a chance to heal and be thankful for the conclusion of a relationship that wasn't meant to be.  I went back and re-read Frankenstein so that I'd be ready to discuss the themes and plot lines in the story with my students.  This time around, I found myself more sensitive to the monster's anguish and much more frustrated with Victor for being so self absorbed and narcissistic that he couldn't realize his role in all the bad that had happened.  With a little aesthetic distance on my part, the themes came out a bit stronger and I wasn't consumed by emotional conclusions I couldn't escape that first time around.

This led me to question other books that I might have read myself into or even misunderstood at a different time.  For instance, I know that I didn't get all the nuances of The Glass Menagerie when I first read it in high school. That didn't, however, eliminate me from seeing many different themes from the beginning.  I can't say that I would just not read a book or dissuade someone from reading a novel or play because they couldn't directly connect with it, because there is still a lot to get out of them.  Although, on the other hand, I would say that I've learned that you just might have to give novels you've had a strong reaction to a second chance.  In some cases an experience or two, or year or two, can change your entire perspective on a novel and its themes.

Now, where can we get the extra time we need so we can re-read?

What books have you read again and had a different response to the second time around?

Saying Goodbye to Harry in My Own Way

Last month I posted a quick "Denial. Thank You." post for the final installment of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, pt. 2.  It took me awhile to figure out why I was so opposite to the crowd; why I ignored it all and refused to even think about heading to that final film.  Well, it finally felt right to go see it, and I finally understood why I reacted the way I did.

For just about every book and film, I've either stood in line or pre-ordered the newest installment.  When other people wanted to talk about it or cram themselves into a crowded place to have access to the newest release, I was right there with them.  That's what it was like for a decade, right?  This time, I wanted nothing to do with any of it.  Zip.  Zero.  Zilch.  Nada.

If I'd remembered back to when book seven was released, I responded pretty similarly.  Although I got the book on the day it came out, I didn't rush through it.  I took a week to read it, cherishing a couple of chapters at a time, in the hopes that I could extend that final book as long as possible.

So, this last week I finished reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows again and finally crept into the theater, with only about ten other people there, and settled in to say goodbye my way.  What can I say that others have not, except to say that I thought it was amazing.  Sure there were things that I wondered about or knew were missing (ie. Harry offering Voldemort a chance to change and repairing his wand), but it really was a great finish. 

Like many fans, I shed a tear or two.  The first was when McGonagall stepped in to protect Harry against Snape.  In fact, that scene brought more to the story for me than it did in the book.  Played by Maggie Smith, she really brought so much to that character, and I loved her for being the force for good that she was! 

On the flip side, Mrs. Weasley's famous showdown with Bellatrix was way more serious than I read it.  In the book, I laughed and cheered when she called Bellatrix a "Bitch" because she really was!  It was so out of character for her that I read it as the ultimate "step off" moment.  In the movie, it was just way more serious than I expected.

Of course, I got choked up when we finally got to see Snape's back story.  Who didn't fall in love with this character, for his complex set of traits and strength of character?  What kind of person can stay dedicated to their love for another in such a way that they become so self-sacrificing?  It kind of made all those Potter-torturing days endearing.

Finally, Harry's showdown with Voldemort was the obvious moment we'd all been waiting to see.  It was everything about magic that I loved.  The obvious message of good over evil, love over hate, is all over these films and this final scene.  Harry's own faith in this truth is what carried him to this moment and allowed him the courage to face Voldemort.  What more can be said?

Okay, so why couldn't I get all that with a crowd full of people, with friends or family by my side?  After I left the theater it dawned on me that it was my way of saying goodbye.  As an only child, books were my companion when no one else was around. I had read the books by myself, and experienced everything with Harry by myself, so I had to end it by myself.  It was perfect.  I let go of the denial, closed the book, and knew that I'd return to it again.

For those who find connecting to books and characters is weird, I suppose you'll think my stubborn streak was also weird.  For the rest of you who have ever loved a book or character so much that you were angry or sad when the story came to an end, I know you'll understand and have a story all your own.  This is just my story and my final tribute to a much loved series that I know I'll read again.