This is now officially my favorite week, even though I'm antsy for October to arrive. The view from my bedroom window is simply stunning (I tried to take a picture, but it's a little blurry because I didn't open the window) with the fall colors and the way the sun shines right after it rains. Even better than fall? Coffee Day!
Almost a year ago I wrote a post about how much I love curling up with a book and a cup of coffee. I wish I could do that today, but I have class this evening (and they don't encourage coffee in the library) and my mom is off work so she's on a cleaning rampage. I'm staying in my room for the time being working on homework and, apparently, updating my blog instead. Perhaps I will spend some time at the local starbucks with a pumpkin spice latte before heading to the city for class, but until that time, he's a link for you.
http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/221993/20110929/national-coffee-day-2011-where-to-get-free-coffee-thursday-sept-29.htm (thanks, Kara)
It lists some free places for coffee. 7-11 is probably out by now, and we don't have a Caribou around here, so I'll probably end up paying, but go celebrate! Coffee and a banned book; what could be better??
September 29, 2011
September 28, 2011
Happy Banned Books Week!
I feel like in honor of this celebration, I should start off the entry with something controversial. DAMN. Now I feel like Holden Caulfield...
The last week of September is celebrated as Banned Books Week -- we in the know refer to it as BBW -- and it's not only a recognition of banned and challenged books, but also a celebration of our freedom in this country to write and read the things we choose. Yes, there will always be people who dislike a book for some personal, political, religious, etc. reason, but as readers (and as teachers!) it is our duty to expose ourselves and others to things that push our limits.
As a firm believer in the First Amendment, I find the idea of banning books to be ridiculous. I think a parent has a right to tell a child he/she cannot read something, but for a school board or government to decide that a book is so indecent that no one should be able to read it is ridiculous to me. In some places it's taken to the extreme. Teachers have been fired for assigning certain books to classes, and I even received a scathing email from a parent who was furious that I was teaching To Kill A Mockingbird to my class due to the use of the word 'nigger' throughout the book. When I later called to explain my reasons for teaching the novel and how I approached the use of that term, she told me she'd never actually read the book, but had seen the word over her daughter's shoulder. Interesting.
If you read further, you'll find that many accusations against books are leveled by people who have never actually read the entire book. I've had the same problems when teaching The Catcher in the Rye. Is the language in that book gratuitous? Not at all! Holden is a teenager, and if you've ever overheard a conversation between two 17 year olds, you'll realize that Holden censors himself quite a bit. Okay, it was 1950 so the language uses aren't as extreme, but who are we to deny art that mimics real life?
Banning books goes beyond simply removing a book from a library or a curriculum. Certain authors have faced expulsion from their homes, political strife, even death threats (most notably, Salman Rushdie, who is on my list of 52 with his novel Midnight's Children). Banning books stifles the creativity of the author, but it also makes a society with strict limits on personal agendas. What bothers you probably doesn't bother me. There's a lot of sex in the book? Then I probably read it in a Becky or Dr. Mary class in college -- if you are a reader from the English department at McDaniel, you know what I'm talking about. Someone curses? It questions the stability of a democratic government, questions religion, questions the history of a country? Then that's a book I want to read. Why would I settle for white-bread literature when I can read a novel that means something. I don't have to agree with the view points set forth, but my god, could I possibly learn something from stepping outside of my own boundaries?
The ALA (American Library Association) has a really great website on this week, including a list of the most commonly challenged classics. Many of the books on the list are books I read in school or assigned to teach. Some of the books have caused teachers to be fired. The list is below. Those in bold are books I have read or taught. See where you stand on the list, and then I encourage you to step out of your comfort zone and read a book that clashes with your standings.
The last week of September is celebrated as Banned Books Week -- we in the know refer to it as BBW -- and it's not only a recognition of banned and challenged books, but also a celebration of our freedom in this country to write and read the things we choose. Yes, there will always be people who dislike a book for some personal, political, religious, etc. reason, but as readers (and as teachers!) it is our duty to expose ourselves and others to things that push our limits.
As a firm believer in the First Amendment, I find the idea of banning books to be ridiculous. I think a parent has a right to tell a child he/she cannot read something, but for a school board or government to decide that a book is so indecent that no one should be able to read it is ridiculous to me. In some places it's taken to the extreme. Teachers have been fired for assigning certain books to classes, and I even received a scathing email from a parent who was furious that I was teaching To Kill A Mockingbird to my class due to the use of the word 'nigger' throughout the book. When I later called to explain my reasons for teaching the novel and how I approached the use of that term, she told me she'd never actually read the book, but had seen the word over her daughter's shoulder. Interesting.
If you read further, you'll find that many accusations against books are leveled by people who have never actually read the entire book. I've had the same problems when teaching The Catcher in the Rye. Is the language in that book gratuitous? Not at all! Holden is a teenager, and if you've ever overheard a conversation between two 17 year olds, you'll realize that Holden censors himself quite a bit. Okay, it was 1950 so the language uses aren't as extreme, but who are we to deny art that mimics real life?
Banning books goes beyond simply removing a book from a library or a curriculum. Certain authors have faced expulsion from their homes, political strife, even death threats (most notably, Salman Rushdie, who is on my list of 52 with his novel Midnight's Children). Banning books stifles the creativity of the author, but it also makes a society with strict limits on personal agendas. What bothers you probably doesn't bother me. There's a lot of sex in the book? Then I probably read it in a Becky or Dr. Mary class in college -- if you are a reader from the English department at McDaniel, you know what I'm talking about. Someone curses? It questions the stability of a democratic government, questions religion, questions the history of a country? Then that's a book I want to read. Why would I settle for white-bread literature when I can read a novel that means something. I don't have to agree with the view points set forth, but my god, could I possibly learn something from stepping outside of my own boundaries?
The ALA (American Library Association) has a really great website on this week, including a list of the most commonly challenged classics. Many of the books on the list are books I read in school or assigned to teach. Some of the books have caused teachers to be fired. The list is below. Those in bold are books I have read or taught. See where you stand on the list, and then I encourage you to step out of your comfort zone and read a book that clashes with your standings.
1984, by George Orwell
A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess
A Farewell to Arms, by Ernest Hemingway
A Separate Peace, by John Knowles
All the King's Men, by Robert Penn Warren
An American Tragedy, by Theodore Dreiser
Animal Farm, by George Orwell
As I Lay Dying, by William Faulkner
Beloved, by Toni Morrison
Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
Brideshead Revisited, by Evelyn Waugh
Catch-22, by Joseph Heller
Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut
For Whom the Bell Tolls, by Ernest Hemingway
Go Tell It on the Mountain, by James Baldwin
Gone with the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell
In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote
Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison
Lady Chatterley's Lover, by D.H. Lawrence
Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov
Naked Lunch, by William S. Burroughs
Native Son, by Richard Wright
Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, by Ken Kesey
Rabbit, Run, by John Updike
Satanic Verses, by Salman Rushdie
Slaughterhouse Five, by Kurt Vonnegut
Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison
Sons and Lovers, by D.H. Lawrence
Sophie's Choice, by William Styron
The Awakening, by Kate Chopin
The Call of the Wild, by Jack London
The Catcher in the Rye, by JD Salinger
The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck
The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair
The Lord of the Flies, by William Golding
The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Naked and the Dead, by Norman Mailer
The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway
Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston
To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
Tropic of Cancer, by Henry Miller
Ulysses, by James Joyce
Women in Love, by DH Lawrence
September 22, 2011
Going to the Library with Anthony (and other stories)
Let me just start by saying how much I love libraries. And book stores. I just love seeing shelves and shelves of books in any one location. Libraries are wonderful for a variety of reasons; mainly that they are free, unless you have a bad habit of losing or forgetting to return books. I spent at least 4 days out of the week in the library when I was in college, and even now, I love getting to campus early to sit in the library and work. There is something really relaxing, for me, about being surrounded by books.
Libraries are great because every book has a story -- a story within a story, if you will excuse my horrible attempt at saying something erudite -- but it's true. Each book is there for a particular reason; some have been donated, others purchased for some event or by a particular person, and the best part is each book is used. That might seem like a strange thing for me to love, but nothing makes me smile more than opening a library book and finding someone else s receipt (I can judge them based on what other books were checked out) or seeing things left behind. Someone else wanted to read this very same book, for whatever reason, and in that way our lives are interconnected. I may have checked out the book because I need to read it for a class, another may love that author, another still may have enjoyed the picture on the cover, or picked it up on a recommendation, but each book has its own story.
I went to the library by boyfriend's today to check out a few things. I plowed through Memoirs of a Geisha (really, anything after Sophie's Choice would seem like an easy task) and I was hungry for another book. I picked up On the Road, The Naked Lunch, and Food Rules: An Eater's Guide. And I made Anthony go with me.
Now this may not seem like a big deal. He was off work and I didn't have to leave for class until 3:30, so we went to run errands together. (Side Note: Do not take me into discount stores in any way shape or form when I am on a time and budget crunch. I spent about 10 minutes in Kohl's walking around in 5 inch glitter heels trying to rationalize when and where I would need them. They were on sale!) The library was the first stop, and I was amazed to find that some people actually don't have library cards. Nor do they know the way around the library. Nor do they want to even go to the library. Nor (I know that's too many nor's) had they ever even been there. I'm not judging; school libraries are where most students go, but to never have been to the library down the street? I asked him if he really meant he'd never been to his library, and he replied something along the lines of "what do you mean MY library?"
Am I weird for being surprised by this? As it turns out, most people do not love libraries to the intense degree that I love libraries. The way I sometimes talk about MY sports teams (We played horrendously last night, I'm so glad we signed so-and-so) is the way I often talk about books, authors, and apparently libraries.
Growing up I spent my summers at the Jersey Shore, and going to the library was always a treat. It was air conditioned, and since the house was hot as, well, hell when a west wind blew and the heat index crept up, going to pick out books was a perfect way to spend a few hours. Yes, I said a few hours. There's just such simplicity in the way a library works. You 'share' books, but instead of just with friends or family, you share them with an entire county or school or even state, depending on how your (there we go with possessive pronouns again!) library works.
I have class in a bit, so I'm cooling off and relaxing in the library. I don't like it as much as McDaniel's library, which was beautiful and huge and I stayed in there after hours (I mean, the library was closed and we weren't actually supposed to be in there) several times, but it's my place. I even have a chair I always go to, and if someone is here one afternoon, I might have to cut a bitch. Just saying.
Libraries are great because every book has a story -- a story within a story, if you will excuse my horrible attempt at saying something erudite -- but it's true. Each book is there for a particular reason; some have been donated, others purchased for some event or by a particular person, and the best part is each book is used. That might seem like a strange thing for me to love, but nothing makes me smile more than opening a library book and finding someone else s receipt (I can judge them based on what other books were checked out) or seeing things left behind. Someone else wanted to read this very same book, for whatever reason, and in that way our lives are interconnected. I may have checked out the book because I need to read it for a class, another may love that author, another still may have enjoyed the picture on the cover, or picked it up on a recommendation, but each book has its own story.
I went to the library by boyfriend's today to check out a few things. I plowed through Memoirs of a Geisha (really, anything after Sophie's Choice would seem like an easy task) and I was hungry for another book. I picked up On the Road, The Naked Lunch, and Food Rules: An Eater's Guide. And I made Anthony go with me.
Now this may not seem like a big deal. He was off work and I didn't have to leave for class until 3:30, so we went to run errands together. (Side Note: Do not take me into discount stores in any way shape or form when I am on a time and budget crunch. I spent about 10 minutes in Kohl's walking around in 5 inch glitter heels trying to rationalize when and where I would need them. They were on sale!) The library was the first stop, and I was amazed to find that some people actually don't have library cards. Nor do they know the way around the library. Nor do they want to even go to the library. Nor (I know that's too many nor's) had they ever even been there. I'm not judging; school libraries are where most students go, but to never have been to the library down the street? I asked him if he really meant he'd never been to his library, and he replied something along the lines of "what do you mean MY library?"
Am I weird for being surprised by this? As it turns out, most people do not love libraries to the intense degree that I love libraries. The way I sometimes talk about MY sports teams (We played horrendously last night, I'm so glad we signed so-and-so) is the way I often talk about books, authors, and apparently libraries.
Growing up I spent my summers at the Jersey Shore, and going to the library was always a treat. It was air conditioned, and since the house was hot as, well, hell when a west wind blew and the heat index crept up, going to pick out books was a perfect way to spend a few hours. Yes, I said a few hours. There's just such simplicity in the way a library works. You 'share' books, but instead of just with friends or family, you share them with an entire county or school or even state, depending on how your (there we go with possessive pronouns again!) library works.
I have class in a bit, so I'm cooling off and relaxing in the library. I don't like it as much as McDaniel's library, which was beautiful and huge and I stayed in there after hours (I mean, the library was closed and we weren't actually supposed to be in there) several times, but it's my place. I even have a chair I always go to, and if someone is here one afternoon, I might have to cut a bitch. Just saying.
September 12, 2011
Back to school... Or not.
I miss teaching. There's really no way around it right now; every time I even explain something to another person (even when it's far removed from anything English related) I realize how much I miss being in the classroom. My subbing paper should finally be in order (stupid PA people who can't keep track of anything may have gotten something right finally) and that will hopefully lead to something. For right now I have to be satisfied with my grad class, which does have an education focus, and explaining wine to people. That's educational... in a way... right?
One thing that has made me smile is this blog; I post links to the blog on both of my facebook accounts, so I have a few students that read from time to time, and a few have even left comments (don't think they go unnoticed, kids). I love when I see that my kiddos respond to a blog about books, which they spent most of the time in my classroom complaining about. The fact that my darling Thomas (yes, you) told me he read an entire series of books (The Hunger Games) makes me even more excited to read them. That and the very drunk girl who came into work last night (her name was Lisa, we're besties now, according to her) and talked at length about how much she loves those books even though she hates reading. Mostly I love that a handful of my students give me book recommendations. I had a facebook message the other day from a former student, now graduated, with a quote from a book that used one of our vocabulary words. I responded, and we've been conversing through email about this book. He's really into it, and I love seeing former students (really, any teenager) find and engage with a book.
My reading for class this week is two short stories, "The Cask of Amontillado" and "Young Goodman Brown," both stories I read in high school and then worked with in various ways in college classes. Our focus is on different types of reading. There are three for our purposes:
Am I getting too philosophical about reading? Probably.
Really, it's because I'm still working through my study of Post-Structuralism and what it means to be a reader of a text. Sometimes I hate learning things like this because I get very cognitive about my reading process and find it hard to just READ. Anyway, we're reading the two short stories looking at these three types of reading processes, and I just find myself getting so distracted by all the other things I've done with these stories. It makes me feel pretentious because I do feel like I have an advantage when it comes to Poe; he was the focus of my senior sem, after all, and he is totally my dead literary boyfriend (I think he'd like that, since he was in to the beauty of dead women). But all this study of criticism is clouding my perspective on things.
So here's my new experiment for the next book on my list, Memoirs of a Geisha. I hope my students are reading this, because they'll love it. I'm going to actively read the crap out of the book, really paying attention to my own personal process of reading. How does the literary theory fit in, and how much of my reading is casual, critical, or -- because I can never shake being a teacher -- pedagogical?
I'll be sure to get back to you ASAP. For now, I'm looking for more book recommendations to keep my list growing, and I'm working on my other blog project. It should be up for the initial viewings soon, so I'll put a link up when it's ready to roll. Back to Post-Structuralism and the damn French literary critics. Diana and Pauline are the only Frenchies I will ever love, it seems...
One thing that has made me smile is this blog; I post links to the blog on both of my facebook accounts, so I have a few students that read from time to time, and a few have even left comments (don't think they go unnoticed, kids). I love when I see that my kiddos respond to a blog about books, which they spent most of the time in my classroom complaining about. The fact that my darling Thomas (yes, you) told me he read an entire series of books (The Hunger Games) makes me even more excited to read them. That and the very drunk girl who came into work last night (her name was Lisa, we're besties now, according to her) and talked at length about how much she loves those books even though she hates reading. Mostly I love that a handful of my students give me book recommendations. I had a facebook message the other day from a former student, now graduated, with a quote from a book that used one of our vocabulary words. I responded, and we've been conversing through email about this book. He's really into it, and I love seeing former students (really, any teenager) find and engage with a book.
My reading for class this week is two short stories, "The Cask of Amontillado" and "Young Goodman Brown," both stories I read in high school and then worked with in various ways in college classes. Our focus is on different types of reading. There are three for our purposes:
- Casual
- Critical
- Pedagogical
Am I getting too philosophical about reading? Probably.
Really, it's because I'm still working through my study of Post-Structuralism and what it means to be a reader of a text. Sometimes I hate learning things like this because I get very cognitive about my reading process and find it hard to just READ. Anyway, we're reading the two short stories looking at these three types of reading processes, and I just find myself getting so distracted by all the other things I've done with these stories. It makes me feel pretentious because I do feel like I have an advantage when it comes to Poe; he was the focus of my senior sem, after all, and he is totally my dead literary boyfriend (I think he'd like that, since he was in to the beauty of dead women). But all this study of criticism is clouding my perspective on things.
So here's my new experiment for the next book on my list, Memoirs of a Geisha. I hope my students are reading this, because they'll love it. I'm going to actively read the crap out of the book, really paying attention to my own personal process of reading. How does the literary theory fit in, and how much of my reading is casual, critical, or -- because I can never shake being a teacher -- pedagogical?
I'll be sure to get back to you ASAP. For now, I'm looking for more book recommendations to keep my list growing, and I'm working on my other blog project. It should be up for the initial viewings soon, so I'll put a link up when it's ready to roll. Back to Post-Structuralism and the damn French literary critics. Diana and Pauline are the only Frenchies I will ever love, it seems...
September 11, 2011
September 11th,,,
I finished Sophie's Choice on Tuesday. My library books were due back the 7th, so I plowed through the last quarter or so of the book. And let me say, her choice? I was COMPLETELY wrong about it. Seriously though, the book is massive and what her choice is doesn't even get revealed until almost the very end. I understand it's a literary technique, not revealing everything up front, working on the suspense and the build-up, and I understand it parallels Sophie's own mental state, where she can't tell our narrator everything up front, but it seemed like there was so much additional pointless stuff in the novel. I guess the one really great thing about it is that now I can finally watch the movie, which is supposed to be excellent. Maybe the movie is short...
I'm pretty sure that book spanned almost 2 months of my life. I will say I'm glad I didn't give up on it and made it through to the end. I know I'm not going to meet my goal of 52 books in a year, but I will read every book on that original list, even if it kills me, like Sophie almost did. The next book is Memoirs of a Geisha, which I started many months ago because it happened to be laying around, but I didn't want to take it on vacation (the Kindle was a much more logical choice for a cruise) so it fell by the wayside. Now it's back! Maybe when the 52 books are done, I should plan a movie marathon weekend/week/month and watch the film versions of these books; Dorian is recording on my DVR right now, actually, watch Sophie, and I think Memoirs of a Geisha is a movie, too... Perhaps if we get a massive snow storm like the past two winters, I can look into that.
Today is also September 11th, and it's been a decade since the historical 9/11. That is our generations' JFK shooting, for sure. Most people around my age remember where they were. I was in gym class in 9th grade at Newtown JR high and I remember they wouldn't tell us what was going on, we just didn't have to get changed for gym. I was very excited about that. Most of us were, actually, because we didn't know what was happening. Now, looking back, I think those gym teachers did us a disservice by not telling us. They didn't think we were mature or old enough, but other teachers turned on the TVs in classrooms to watch all of it live.
Aside from my own personal family connections to that day, it's a powerful day for most Americans. Books upon books have been written about that topic, and in an extensive google search (I put in work for my readers! Okay, I really just typed in 9/11 books and went to a few links... whatever, guys, it took extra effort) I found some decent lists. One of my favorites, which I will now attempt to find, is actually a children's book called Fireboat: The Heroic Adventures of the John J. Harvey. It's based on true events of an out of commission fireboat that helped save people during the attacks. The illustrations are great, and it's a good teaching tool for younger children.
I read some reviews on goodreads, and I have to say, a few parents really bothered me with their comments. One woman complained that the book needed a warning label because it included deaths, which "can be hard to explain to those little kids." Then she went on to say maybe she should have read the book before giving it to her son, but it was a picture book, so she shouldn't have to.
Wait, WHAT? This woman is in for a rude awakening if she thinks all pictures books are appropriate for her young son. Is this woman going to give her child a graphic novel and assume it's all fine and dandy? Sheesh. And damn right she should be reading them first! She should really be reading them with him, since I got the impression her son was pre-school age. Anyway, besides that idiot woman's review, every review said the book was wonderful, and I imagine if you have to teach or explain the events of 9/11 to children, this can be a good way to go about it.
I think I'd like to add a 9/11 themed book to my list, other than the children's book. Any suggestions?
I'm pretty sure that book spanned almost 2 months of my life. I will say I'm glad I didn't give up on it and made it through to the end. I know I'm not going to meet my goal of 52 books in a year, but I will read every book on that original list, even if it kills me, like Sophie almost did. The next book is Memoirs of a Geisha, which I started many months ago because it happened to be laying around, but I didn't want to take it on vacation (the Kindle was a much more logical choice for a cruise) so it fell by the wayside. Now it's back! Maybe when the 52 books are done, I should plan a movie marathon weekend/week/month and watch the film versions of these books; Dorian is recording on my DVR right now, actually, watch Sophie, and I think Memoirs of a Geisha is a movie, too... Perhaps if we get a massive snow storm like the past two winters, I can look into that.
Today is also September 11th, and it's been a decade since the historical 9/11. That is our generations' JFK shooting, for sure. Most people around my age remember where they were. I was in gym class in 9th grade at Newtown JR high and I remember they wouldn't tell us what was going on, we just didn't have to get changed for gym. I was very excited about that. Most of us were, actually, because we didn't know what was happening. Now, looking back, I think those gym teachers did us a disservice by not telling us. They didn't think we were mature or old enough, but other teachers turned on the TVs in classrooms to watch all of it live.
Aside from my own personal family connections to that day, it's a powerful day for most Americans. Books upon books have been written about that topic, and in an extensive google search (I put in work for my readers! Okay, I really just typed in 9/11 books and went to a few links... whatever, guys, it took extra effort) I found some decent lists. One of my favorites, which I will now attempt to find, is actually a children's book called Fireboat: The Heroic Adventures of the John J. Harvey. It's based on true events of an out of commission fireboat that helped save people during the attacks. The illustrations are great, and it's a good teaching tool for younger children.
I read some reviews on goodreads, and I have to say, a few parents really bothered me with their comments. One woman complained that the book needed a warning label because it included deaths, which "can be hard to explain to those little kids." Then she went on to say maybe she should have read the book before giving it to her son, but it was a picture book, so she shouldn't have to.
Wait, WHAT? This woman is in for a rude awakening if she thinks all pictures books are appropriate for her young son. Is this woman going to give her child a graphic novel and assume it's all fine and dandy? Sheesh. And damn right she should be reading them first! She should really be reading them with him, since I got the impression her son was pre-school age. Anyway, besides that idiot woman's review, every review said the book was wonderful, and I imagine if you have to teach or explain the events of 9/11 to children, this can be a good way to go about it.
I think I'd like to add a 9/11 themed book to my list, other than the children's book. Any suggestions?
September 6, 2011
Sophie makes a decision
This post is worth nothing, literary merit-wise.
I THINK I FIGURED OUT WHAT CHOICE SOPHIE HAS TO MAKE!
Check back later for more details. (is this a twitter post, or did I just write the shortest blog entry known on this site?) Editor's note: I was COMPLETELY WRONG. F*cling Sophie.
I THINK I FIGURED OUT WHAT CHOICE SOPHIE HAS TO MAKE!
Check back later for more details. (is this a twitter post, or did I just write the shortest blog entry known on this site?) Editor's note: I was COMPLETELY WRONG. F*cling Sophie.
Published with Blogger-droid v1.7.4
September 5, 2011
Labor Day Weekend: An exercise in working and drinking
I don't want to work today; I just want to write and blog and read f*cking Sophie's Choice. (I sent that in a text to Anthony, then decided it was the best way to start the blog post because it's the truest line I can think of right now).
Yes, I am at work. Probably shouldn't be on my computer working on this, but it's raining in town and pretty much dead, so I don't feel too bad. I stocked a lot of wine and cleaned things and arranged Lolita glasses (thrilling) so now I'm just standing around trying to smile at the people passing by as encouragement to come in and try/buy wine. Someone tried to offer me a sales job yesterday that paid commission, and I have to say I considered it for a hot minute, until I realized I'm still holding out for a teaching job. Or a job at La Salle so I can get my masters for... uh... free.
I had my first graduate class on Thursday, and I must say I'm really excited to get back into a classroom, even if it's on the 'wrong' side of things. We're reading most YA literature (check a previous post for the reading list) because the focus is on a blend of literary criticism and English classroom pedagogy. For an upcoming class we picked schools of criticism that we will have to present to our classmates. The professor challenged us to go outside of our normal realm of knowledge, so I of course picked something I don't really understand and haven't spent much time working with. Post-Structuralism.
F*CK Post-Structuralism. I broke down and googled the phrase (my Handbook of Literary Theory and Critical Approaches to Literature is so confusing, I had to try and find something more simple) which lead me to the OWL at Purdue (Side note: for any grammar, citation, writing need, the OWL at Purdue -- Online Writing Lab -- is the greatest website in the world. Honestly). Obviously I trust this website. The page on Post-Structuralism starts with this: "Note: Structuralism, semiotics, and post-structuralism are some of the most complex literary theories to understand. Please be patient."
Oh, great, OWL is telling me to be patient? I have no patience! Anyway, I've been plowing my way through this convoluted and obtuse information and at the same time trying to read Sophie's Choice. I didn't go down the shore this weekend at all, even though that was the plan for Saturday, and instead spent my weekend day-drinking (and night-drinking, who am I kidding) and working. Like right now. So no reading, except for literary theory, for me so far. Hopefully today I can get a bit more read, considering the book is due back at the library on Wednesday and I've already renewed it once.
I doubt anyone is jumping to check out Sophie's Choice (although I can't imagine why not; it's obviously the greatest book I've ever read) but where do I draw the line at renewing? Does the library limit the amount of times I can re-check out a book? How long before I simply throw up my hands and wave the white flag on this one? The answer is NEVER. Although there have been books in the past I haven't finished (several of them ended up on my reading list for this project, CATCH-22, you jerk) I really hate leaving them behind. The project is forcing me to follow through on those types of books, and that's where Sophie and her goddamn choice comes in.
Even when I've hated certain books and series I have a hard time just putting them aside. I read all 4 Twilight books even though every single one after the first was awful because I just hated the idea of not finishing such a short series. I may have thrown the 4th book at a wall toward the end because, my GOD Stephanie Meyers, you fail as a plot driven author, but I did finish them. If I can deal with horrendous "and it was all a dream" type endings, I think I can get through Sophie's Choice.
How many posts now has it been about that book?
Yes, I am at work. Probably shouldn't be on my computer working on this, but it's raining in town and pretty much dead, so I don't feel too bad. I stocked a lot of wine and cleaned things and arranged Lolita glasses (thrilling) so now I'm just standing around trying to smile at the people passing by as encouragement to come in and try/buy wine. Someone tried to offer me a sales job yesterday that paid commission, and I have to say I considered it for a hot minute, until I realized I'm still holding out for a teaching job. Or a job at La Salle so I can get my masters for... uh... free.
I had my first graduate class on Thursday, and I must say I'm really excited to get back into a classroom, even if it's on the 'wrong' side of things. We're reading most YA literature (check a previous post for the reading list) because the focus is on a blend of literary criticism and English classroom pedagogy. For an upcoming class we picked schools of criticism that we will have to present to our classmates. The professor challenged us to go outside of our normal realm of knowledge, so I of course picked something I don't really understand and haven't spent much time working with. Post-Structuralism.
F*CK Post-Structuralism. I broke down and googled the phrase (my Handbook of Literary Theory and Critical Approaches to Literature is so confusing, I had to try and find something more simple) which lead me to the OWL at Purdue (Side note: for any grammar, citation, writing need, the OWL at Purdue -- Online Writing Lab -- is the greatest website in the world. Honestly). Obviously I trust this website. The page on Post-Structuralism starts with this: "Note: Structuralism, semiotics, and post-structuralism are some of the most complex literary theories to understand. Please be patient."
Oh, great, OWL is telling me to be patient? I have no patience! Anyway, I've been plowing my way through this convoluted and obtuse information and at the same time trying to read Sophie's Choice. I didn't go down the shore this weekend at all, even though that was the plan for Saturday, and instead spent my weekend day-drinking (and night-drinking, who am I kidding) and working. Like right now. So no reading, except for literary theory, for me so far. Hopefully today I can get a bit more read, considering the book is due back at the library on Wednesday and I've already renewed it once.
I doubt anyone is jumping to check out Sophie's Choice (although I can't imagine why not; it's obviously the greatest book I've ever read) but where do I draw the line at renewing? Does the library limit the amount of times I can re-check out a book? How long before I simply throw up my hands and wave the white flag on this one? The answer is NEVER. Although there have been books in the past I haven't finished (several of them ended up on my reading list for this project, CATCH-22, you jerk) I really hate leaving them behind. The project is forcing me to follow through on those types of books, and that's where Sophie and her goddamn choice comes in.
Even when I've hated certain books and series I have a hard time just putting them aside. I read all 4 Twilight books even though every single one after the first was awful because I just hated the idea of not finishing such a short series. I may have thrown the 4th book at a wall toward the end because, my GOD Stephanie Meyers, you fail as a plot driven author, but I did finish them. If I can deal with horrendous "and it was all a dream" type endings, I think I can get through Sophie's Choice.
How many posts now has it been about that book?
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