I'm having some sort of mid(ish) life crisis here. I don't intend to get all whiny here but the upshot is that I'm just not doing lists and goals for the school year. I'm done. I am beginning to think that these reading goals are more like a security blanket. They are as much a distraction as anything else and I think there are probably other things I should be doing.
Now obviously, I'm going to keep reading. I like reading. I'm going to do it. But I'm going to read what I want, when I want, and as I think I ought to be for other things I'm working on. I think I'm just going to be having a year of getting my head in order. I'd like to keep the blogs up, if for no other reason than they help me think through what I think. I really love my list of books that everyone assumes I've read, and I'll probably keep picking at it, but I'm not going to be pushing it.
The goal is to stop worrying so much and figure out what I actually want. Then do that. It's scary....so I'm probably on the right track.
Sunday, August 4, 2019
Saturday, July 13, 2019
Failed Attempt
Ended up with a null day. Tried getting into Kidnapped, but I just wasn't feeling it. I guess I'm still processing the Larsson. I'll try shifting to a different book tomorrow. I guess everyone has an off day from time to time.
Friday, July 12, 2019
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Day 3 and finished!
Through all 590 pages
I love it when I hit the flow! There's nothing quite like it and it beats watching a screen any day. The flow is that magical reading where the words fade into the background and it's like experiencing the story directly in my imagination. It sounds daft whenever I try to explain it, but it really is the best thing ever. I finished my 200 page goal by 11 this morning and just kept going. Before I knew it the book was done.
I remember trying and failing to read this some years ago. I'm really glad I tried again. I can see why it was such a sensation some years ago. Usually a mystery novel has a single mystery to unravel. Once that mystery is solved the book tends to be virtually over. This book had at least three. While they weren't all interconnected, they did fit together in the narrative in a satisfying way.
The relationship between Blomkvist and Salander is. . . unusual. While there is very little explicit material, there is a lot of sex and a lot of sex happening in non-conventional relationships. It didn't really bother me, but it didn't seem necessary. I guess Blomkvist gets portrayed as a extraordinary non-possessive and attractive guy, but I think there were other ways of establishing that. If there was one thing I didn't like about the story, it was how things were left with them at the end of the novel. From a writer's point of view, it's obvious that Larsson was clearly preserving the tension between the two characters for the next book in the series. As a reader, it made me unhappy.
Ok, that all sounded very negative, but I really enjoyed the mystery elements and, while I had a couple of early inklings, I never figured anything out more than a step ahead. It was great.
I love it when I hit the flow! There's nothing quite like it and it beats watching a screen any day. The flow is that magical reading where the words fade into the background and it's like experiencing the story directly in my imagination. It sounds daft whenever I try to explain it, but it really is the best thing ever. I finished my 200 page goal by 11 this morning and just kept going. Before I knew it the book was done.
I remember trying and failing to read this some years ago. I'm really glad I tried again. I can see why it was such a sensation some years ago. Usually a mystery novel has a single mystery to unravel. Once that mystery is solved the book tends to be virtually over. This book had at least three. While they weren't all interconnected, they did fit together in the narrative in a satisfying way.
The relationship between Blomkvist and Salander is. . . unusual. While there is very little explicit material, there is a lot of sex and a lot of sex happening in non-conventional relationships. It didn't really bother me, but it didn't seem necessary. I guess Blomkvist gets portrayed as a extraordinary non-possessive and attractive guy, but I think there were other ways of establishing that. If there was one thing I didn't like about the story, it was how things were left with them at the end of the novel. From a writer's point of view, it's obvious that Larsson was clearly preserving the tension between the two characters for the next book in the series. As a reader, it made me unhappy.
Ok, that all sounded very negative, but I really enjoyed the mystery elements and, while I had a couple of early inklings, I never figured anything out more than a step ahead. It was great.
Thursday, July 11, 2019
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo - Day 2
Up through page 273
I made my goal today! Since I got a little behind on page counts I'm trying to read 200 pages a day to get in some catch up. It's not undoable if I'm into the text, but it isn't something that I will be able to keep up indefinitely. Lucky enough for me, I'm thoroughly enjoying The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo so reading goals shouldn't be a problem for a couple days.
I'm surprised that the two protagonists haven't met yet. Blomkvist has been working on the financial intrigue/murder mystery angle of the plot. It should be boring, but it's not. He's essentially reading through information on a 40 year old disappearance while simultaneously writing a history on the victim's family. Salander, who is the girl with the dragon tattoo by the way, just went through a hair raisingly awful conflict with her legal guardian. Apparently she was deemed legally incompetent some time ago and her previous guardian just died. The new one is a bastard. I can't really tell what Larsson is trying for with her. She's obviously brilliant, but at the same time she didn't finish their version of high school and allowed herself to be deemed mentally incompetent. It's possible she is supposed to be autistic but that doesn't feel quite right to me. I suppose she could just be horribly damaged on an emotional level.
Salander seems to think she's dealt with her guardian problem. I think she is wrong.
Wednesday, July 10, 2019
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo - Day 1
Up through page 68
There is something about reading literature in translation. No matter how good the translator is, it just feels different. I'm not sure if it's turn of phrase, sentence structure, or vocabulary, but there's always this initial slog in getting used to the oddity of it. The eye has to grow accustomed to the flow of words; it's like the difference between swimming in an ocean versas swimming in a river. Once the adjustment happens, it's often smooth sailing - or smoother anyway.
The prologue and first chapter were rough going due to the adjustment in language. Larsson drops straight into the heads of his characters and I found myself rereading whole pages to try to hold onto the thread. It was worth the effort. By chapter two, I had the narrative voice down and it became immersive. A true omniscient narrator is pretty rare, but I think that is what I have here. The narrative is told mostly within the close perspective of certain characters but every so often the voice pulls back to editorialize on events or on the characters. It is an interesting effect.
So far I have two main characters: a disgraced reporter named Mikael Blomkvist and a social outcast turned P.I. named Lisbeth Salander. They have very different personalities and I have to wonder how they will interact. So far they are following different narrative lines but it is obvious that they will have to meet soon.
There is something about reading literature in translation. No matter how good the translator is, it just feels different. I'm not sure if it's turn of phrase, sentence structure, or vocabulary, but there's always this initial slog in getting used to the oddity of it. The eye has to grow accustomed to the flow of words; it's like the difference between swimming in an ocean versas swimming in a river. Once the adjustment happens, it's often smooth sailing - or smoother anyway.
The prologue and first chapter were rough going due to the adjustment in language. Larsson drops straight into the heads of his characters and I found myself rereading whole pages to try to hold onto the thread. It was worth the effort. By chapter two, I had the narrative voice down and it became immersive. A true omniscient narrator is pretty rare, but I think that is what I have here. The narrative is told mostly within the close perspective of certain characters but every so often the voice pulls back to editorialize on events or on the characters. It is an interesting effect.
So far I have two main characters: a disgraced reporter named Mikael Blomkvist and a social outcast turned P.I. named Lisbeth Salander. They have very different personalities and I have to wonder how they will interact. So far they are following different narrative lines but it is obvious that they will have to meet soon.
Whoops
I remember that summers used to be lazy. I used to laze around and read all the time... or play video games. Somehow summers have become almost as busy as the school year. It's crazy. I have been reading but not nearly at the rate that I need to be to keep up with goals. This isn't surprising, but that I'm having a hard time with the daily journals is a little mind boggling to me.
Ryan and I finally pulled all of our books out of boxes and organized them on shelves (we had to buy four extra bookcases to do it). It took about a week of unpack, sorting, building, and shelving but it's mostly done now. It's incredible the number of books we've accumulated and distressing that over half of them are unread. It's a crazy project for some day to get through all of them; there are at least 1,000 books down there.
In terms of reading...
I finally finished Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. I actually found the ending much more satisfying than how the mini series turned out. It all wrapped up fairly neatly.
I read Washington Black by Esi Edugyan which was not on the list but fulfilled a category for summer reading. It wasn't what I expected it to be. From reading the back of the book, it looked like an adventure story in the vein of Robert Louis Stevenson. There were elements of that in there, but it was more of a historical character drama examining the various attitudes and motivations around slavery in the early 1800's. It seemed particularly critical of the motivations of some segments of the abolitionist movements. Sometimes people do good things for selfish reasons. It's an interesting point. I'm not sure at this point whether I like the book or not, but it has made me thoughtful and that is a good thing.
Finally, I just finished The Spy Who Came In From the Cold by John LeCarré. This was a pretty dense and dreary read. Cold War lit just tends to be that way and I guess it makes sense that a spy novel set during the Cold War would be doubly so. It did present a nifty little puzzle to the reader. Information and confirmation was doled out in intervals which keep me reading but it was slow. It was a continual pattern of "what the heck is going on," to "maybe this is happening," and finally "yup, that's what happened." One cycle led to the next all the way to the end where the characters reap the dismal rewards of their labors. So much fun! At least it was short.
On to Steig Larsson....because scandinavians are known for their cheery dispositions...right?
Ryan and I finally pulled all of our books out of boxes and organized them on shelves (we had to buy four extra bookcases to do it). It took about a week of unpack, sorting, building, and shelving but it's mostly done now. It's incredible the number of books we've accumulated and distressing that over half of them are unread. It's a crazy project for some day to get through all of them; there are at least 1,000 books down there.
In terms of reading...
I finally finished Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. I actually found the ending much more satisfying than how the mini series turned out. It all wrapped up fairly neatly.
I read Washington Black by Esi Edugyan which was not on the list but fulfilled a category for summer reading. It wasn't what I expected it to be. From reading the back of the book, it looked like an adventure story in the vein of Robert Louis Stevenson. There were elements of that in there, but it was more of a historical character drama examining the various attitudes and motivations around slavery in the early 1800's. It seemed particularly critical of the motivations of some segments of the abolitionist movements. Sometimes people do good things for selfish reasons. It's an interesting point. I'm not sure at this point whether I like the book or not, but it has made me thoughtful and that is a good thing.
Finally, I just finished The Spy Who Came In From the Cold by John LeCarré. This was a pretty dense and dreary read. Cold War lit just tends to be that way and I guess it makes sense that a spy novel set during the Cold War would be doubly so. It did present a nifty little puzzle to the reader. Information and confirmation was doled out in intervals which keep me reading but it was slow. It was a continual pattern of "what the heck is going on," to "maybe this is happening," and finally "yup, that's what happened." One cycle led to the next all the way to the end where the characters reap the dismal rewards of their labors. So much fun! At least it was short.
On to Steig Larsson....because scandinavians are known for their cheery dispositions...right?
Sunday, June 23, 2019
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell - Day 8
Up to page 658
I have to admit, sometimes I wonder what the point of all this reading is. Objectively, I know why it's all important. Really I do, but when slogging through a book and feeling like no progress is being made... well what else could I be doing with this time? This feeling passes, eventually.
The farther I get with this book, the more I wish Childermas was more of a main character. There's something enigmatic about the man. The longer I read, the more I dislike Norrell. The more I read... well the more antsy I get for the end. Clarke is using language deliberately to make the writing reminiscent of the gothic romances. She does a good job but it slows down the reading significantly.
I have to admit, sometimes I wonder what the point of all this reading is. Objectively, I know why it's all important. Really I do, but when slogging through a book and feeling like no progress is being made... well what else could I be doing with this time? This feeling passes, eventually.
The farther I get with this book, the more I wish Childermas was more of a main character. There's something enigmatic about the man. The longer I read, the more I dislike Norrell. The more I read... well the more antsy I get for the end. Clarke is using language deliberately to make the writing reminiscent of the gothic romances. She does a good job but it slows down the reading significantly.
Saturday, June 22, 2019
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrel - Day 7
Up to page 607
The biggest thing I've noticed about reading these monster books is in how my attention span works. If I can't get through a book in five days or less, my attention starts to wander and I have to deliberately focus on continuing the text. This has nothing to do with whether I'm enjoying it or not. I mention this because it is one of the big problems my students cite when they are having difficulty finishing texts. It's not that I discounted this as a problem, it's just one I don't frequently encounter myself and therefore have trouble finding solutions. Reading things like this and Anna Karenina reminds me what it is like to slog. In short...it's good for me. (shudder)
I've also noticed that I've trained myself into this idea of only blogging when I've finished something....however if I'm reading a 1,000 page tome, that's not going to happen with any frequency and this explains why my writing habits seem to have deserted me. They apparently didn't work the way I thought they did.
For all that this is an absolutely huge text, it is very good. I was reminded of it when the BBC miniseries based on it showed up on Netflix. I committed the cardinal sin of watching the miniseries before reading the text, so now I'm spending a ridiculous amount of time comparing the two. Certainly, the miniseries has captured the feel of things and many of the events but they've been liberal with how the events connect together which changes how the characters come across in some instances.
I'm not done with the novel, obviously, but at this point I would say that they are both quite good. However, I would not recommend watching the miniseries first.
The biggest thing I've noticed about reading these monster books is in how my attention span works. If I can't get through a book in five days or less, my attention starts to wander and I have to deliberately focus on continuing the text. This has nothing to do with whether I'm enjoying it or not. I mention this because it is one of the big problems my students cite when they are having difficulty finishing texts. It's not that I discounted this as a problem, it's just one I don't frequently encounter myself and therefore have trouble finding solutions. Reading things like this and Anna Karenina reminds me what it is like to slog. In short...it's good for me. (shudder)
I've also noticed that I've trained myself into this idea of only blogging when I've finished something....however if I'm reading a 1,000 page tome, that's not going to happen with any frequency and this explains why my writing habits seem to have deserted me. They apparently didn't work the way I thought they did.
For all that this is an absolutely huge text, it is very good. I was reminded of it when the BBC miniseries based on it showed up on Netflix. I committed the cardinal sin of watching the miniseries before reading the text, so now I'm spending a ridiculous amount of time comparing the two. Certainly, the miniseries has captured the feel of things and many of the events but they've been liberal with how the events connect together which changes how the characters come across in some instances.
I'm not done with the novel, obviously, but at this point I would say that they are both quite good. However, I would not recommend watching the miniseries first.
Friday, June 14, 2019
Watership Down
Ok, so here's a book worthy of its hype. This is a very good story which is surprising given that it is about a bunch of rabbits. I mean they are just rabbits who behave like rabbits. Obviously Adams gave them coherent thoughts and motivations, but they don't come across as humans in rabbit form which is often a danger of these sorts of things.
Can I just say that I love road trips, it's one of the few places in my life where I get to really sit and dig into a book. Life is full of disruptions and distractions - which is great, but it disrupts good reading time. I've been doing well keeping the reading going but I've been straying from the journalling, which I will work on.
I've been thinking more about Anna Karenina. Originally a tragedy was defined by the fall of a person of high status in the narrative. By that definition Anna Karenina is a tragedy, and even a good one. Anna's fall, while predictable, affects everyone around her in many ways, some of which are pretty subtle. It's like a stone falling though a web and that's what is interesting about it. Anna is less interesting for her sake to me; it is more interesting to me how her fall from grace has a rippling effect outward.
Can I just say that I love road trips, it's one of the few places in my life where I get to really sit and dig into a book. Life is full of disruptions and distractions - which is great, but it disrupts good reading time. I've been doing well keeping the reading going but I've been straying from the journalling, which I will work on.
I've been thinking more about Anna Karenina. Originally a tragedy was defined by the fall of a person of high status in the narrative. By that definition Anna Karenina is a tragedy, and even a good one. Anna's fall, while predictable, affects everyone around her in many ways, some of which are pretty subtle. It's like a stone falling though a web and that's what is interesting about it. Anna is less interesting for her sake to me; it is more interesting to me how her fall from grace has a rippling effect outward.
Sunday, June 9, 2019
Anna Karenina - Finished at Last
Finally! I finished it. I woke up at 2 AM and couldn't get back to sleep so I started reading. Part 7 wraps up Anna's story and Part 8 is this weird meandering philosophical narrative from Levin's point of view.
Anna ended as it seemed obvious that she would. Honestly, she started to get so tedious with all of her doubts and histrionics. Tolstoy does an excellent job in presenting Anna's point of view as unreliable. At the same time Vronsky comes across as hopelessly childish and lost. I know that they are supposed to be the central tragedy of the book, but I can't help feeling like they are both incredibly naive. If Anna and Vronsky's story was the only thing going on in the novel, I wouldn't have been able to finish it. Many of the side characters I found much more interesting. I really liked Levin and Kitty and I even warmed to Dolly and Oblonsky.
While I feel very satisfied by managing to finish it, I'm a little mystified by the people who proclaim it the best novel ever written. It is quite good but I'm not pulled in by the love story between Anna and Vronsky in any way. Maybe that's not the point of it. Maybe I'm missing something. Maybe it is the consequence of being a high school teacher and watching similar love affairs play out over and over. Tolstoy is very good at portraying people with verisimilitude, but perhaps too much so. It made them somewhat predictable. I don't necessarily mind that, but it is what made Anna so irritating. Just once, I really wanted her to make a good decision and stick with it.
Just once.
Anna ended as it seemed obvious that she would. Honestly, she started to get so tedious with all of her doubts and histrionics. Tolstoy does an excellent job in presenting Anna's point of view as unreliable. At the same time Vronsky comes across as hopelessly childish and lost. I know that they are supposed to be the central tragedy of the book, but I can't help feeling like they are both incredibly naive. If Anna and Vronsky's story was the only thing going on in the novel, I wouldn't have been able to finish it. Many of the side characters I found much more interesting. I really liked Levin and Kitty and I even warmed to Dolly and Oblonsky.
While I feel very satisfied by managing to finish it, I'm a little mystified by the people who proclaim it the best novel ever written. It is quite good but I'm not pulled in by the love story between Anna and Vronsky in any way. Maybe that's not the point of it. Maybe I'm missing something. Maybe it is the consequence of being a high school teacher and watching similar love affairs play out over and over. Tolstoy is very good at portraying people with verisimilitude, but perhaps too much so. It made them somewhat predictable. I don't necessarily mind that, but it is what made Anna so irritating. Just once, I really wanted her to make a good decision and stick with it.
Just once.
Saturday, June 8, 2019
Death of a Salesman
I'm not sure why I never read this before; it is a quick read and it really is a masterpiece of literature. I think masterful literature makes the reader look inward and evaluate something in themselves. "Death of a Salesman" is, at its core, a story about the lies we tell to ourselves and the fictions we turn our lives into. We all do it, I certainly do, and it's chilling to have something like that reflected back at me. On some level I hate that I identify with Biff, but it is unavoidable.
It's strange that I've heard about this play for years and yet never had any real idea what it was about. It's also amazing how relatable the characters are in something that was written in 1949. There's some odd phrasing and archaic attitudes but mostly the writing transcends its era.
I hate and love reading things like this. It's good. It's very good, but now I'm all agitated and rattling around in my head. It's uncomfortable. I probably should just go to bed and let it process overnight.
It's strange that I've heard about this play for years and yet never had any real idea what it was about. It's also amazing how relatable the characters are in something that was written in 1949. There's some odd phrasing and archaic attitudes but mostly the writing transcends its era.
I hate and love reading things like this. It's good. It's very good, but now I'm all agitated and rattling around in my head. It's uncomfortable. I probably should just go to bed and let it process overnight.
Friday, June 7, 2019
Anna Karenina - the saga continues
I've fallen behind in both my blogging and my reading but I've spent a very productive week otherwise. It's strange for me to be stuck in a book this long, I'm now at the end of three weeks on it. It's funny that even though I am still enjoying the story, I have a restless urge to just put it down. I guess in general I tend to be the reading equivalent of a sprinter and this is more like running cross country.
I finished Part 6 this morning (two more to go) and it was a bit of a shift in tone. Most of it revolved around Levin and his household instead of shifting as regularly between the three groups. What really struck me was how insanely complicated russian imperial politics were. Levin is completely awash in it for the first time and seems absurdly confused by it while everyone around him seems to conspire to make it look like it is the simplest thing. I wonder if, by his choice of point of view, Tolstoy was making a point about the politics of his day. I have to admit that my sense of russian history is a little shaky and I certainly haven't a clue what Tolstoy's personal politics were. I just get the idea that he was making a point somehow.
In a funny way, I'm feeling inspired to pick up a history on late imperial Russia.
I finished Part 6 this morning (two more to go) and it was a bit of a shift in tone. Most of it revolved around Levin and his household instead of shifting as regularly between the three groups. What really struck me was how insanely complicated russian imperial politics were. Levin is completely awash in it for the first time and seems absurdly confused by it while everyone around him seems to conspire to make it look like it is the simplest thing. I wonder if, by his choice of point of view, Tolstoy was making a point about the politics of his day. I have to admit that my sense of russian history is a little shaky and I certainly haven't a clue what Tolstoy's personal politics were. I just get the idea that he was making a point somehow.
In a funny way, I'm feeling inspired to pick up a history on late imperial Russia.
Sunday, June 2, 2019
Sirens of Titan
Vonnegut's a weird guy. I finished Sirens of Titan today and I'm left with the feeling that it is a weird religious meditation on predestination and the Miltonian Satan who was set up by God to be a villain. Except it's a sci fi book with flying saucers and sentient machines.
There are so many ideas crammed in here that I'm not really sure what I think except that it seems to me that Vonnegut is sceptical to the idea that we truly have free will. It seems like in all of his books that I've read that his protagonists always end up manipulated by some form of outside agency that operated in such a complicated system as to appear random at first blush.
I spent about half my read fearing that I'd already read it but it turns out that there are certain ideas that were also in Slaughterhouse V and I was getting the two confused in my head.
There are so many ideas crammed in here that I'm not really sure what I think except that it seems to me that Vonnegut is sceptical to the idea that we truly have free will. It seems like in all of his books that I've read that his protagonists always end up manipulated by some form of outside agency that operated in such a complicated system as to appear random at first blush.
I spent about half my read fearing that I'd already read it but it turns out that there are certain ideas that were also in Slaughterhouse V and I was getting the two confused in my head.
Thursday, May 30, 2019
Anna Karenina - Day 10
Up to page 550
Fun fact: Anna Karenina was published in serial installments over a 5 year span in the 1870's. In other words, trying to read it all in one span is a bit soul crushing. It's a good book, but Tolstoy is a master of getting into his characters' heads. After a while I start absorbing all the unhappy mush that are these characters.
So, new plan. At the end of each part I'm going to take a sanity break and read something else, preferably one of my shorter list items. I just finished Part 5 and man what a heart wrencher. Mostly, I have very little patience for Anna but there is this scene with her son that slew me. I don't think it would have affected me as strongly before I had my son but when Anna breaks into her husband's house to see her son on his birthday. . . it's an amazing moment.
Mind you, if she hadn't acted like an entire idiot for the preceding four parts, she wouldn't have had to sneak in. I guess part of the draw is watching someone cope with the consequences of some really bad decisions. In the meantime, her husband, Alexi Alexandrovich, has become a religious nut mocked by society for the behavior of his wife (and also because he's a bit of an over serious bafoonish character). In a spot of happiness, Levin and Kitty finally got married but then Levin's brother died.
The whole part closes with Anna being confronted with society's' attitude toward her and it is devastating.
I can't wait to find out what happens next....but really I'm taking a break.
Fun fact: Anna Karenina was published in serial installments over a 5 year span in the 1870's. In other words, trying to read it all in one span is a bit soul crushing. It's a good book, but Tolstoy is a master of getting into his characters' heads. After a while I start absorbing all the unhappy mush that are these characters.
So, new plan. At the end of each part I'm going to take a sanity break and read something else, preferably one of my shorter list items. I just finished Part 5 and man what a heart wrencher. Mostly, I have very little patience for Anna but there is this scene with her son that slew me. I don't think it would have affected me as strongly before I had my son but when Anna breaks into her husband's house to see her son on his birthday. . . it's an amazing moment.
Mind you, if she hadn't acted like an entire idiot for the preceding four parts, she wouldn't have had to sneak in. I guess part of the draw is watching someone cope with the consequences of some really bad decisions. In the meantime, her husband, Alexi Alexandrovich, has become a religious nut mocked by society for the behavior of his wife (and also because he's a bit of an over serious bafoonish character). In a spot of happiness, Levin and Kitty finally got married but then Levin's brother died.
The whole part closes with Anna being confronted with society's' attitude toward her and it is devastating.
I can't wait to find out what happens next....but really I'm taking a break.
Wednesday, May 29, 2019
I Am Legend
I ended up taking a break and reading I Am Legend all in one gulp. I have to admit it was reassuring. I was really beginning to worry there that my general reading rate wasn't where I thought it was, but I managed 160 pages in one day with no problems.
I Am Legend showed up due to one incident ten years ago that somehow stuck in my memory. For some reason the Will Smith movie came up and Nathan asked me what I thought about the differences from the book. This was the first I knew of the book and obviously Nathan just assumed that I had read it.
Having read it now, it has very little to do with the movie. The Will Smith movie is good. It is one of my favorite zombie flicks but there are no zombies in the book. The book has vampires. That being said, the movie did preserve many of the themes. I found the idea of isolation particularly difficult to shake. Usually in these apocalyptic stories, it seems like you have a small band striving for survival. In I Am Legend it is just Robert Neville under siege by hordes of vampires. As far as he knows he's the last human left in the world. In many ways it's more about the psychology of isolation and what makes a monster monstrous than a vampire story.
I Am Legend showed up due to one incident ten years ago that somehow stuck in my memory. For some reason the Will Smith movie came up and Nathan asked me what I thought about the differences from the book. This was the first I knew of the book and obviously Nathan just assumed that I had read it.
Having read it now, it has very little to do with the movie. The Will Smith movie is good. It is one of my favorite zombie flicks but there are no zombies in the book. The book has vampires. That being said, the movie did preserve many of the themes. I found the idea of isolation particularly difficult to shake. Usually in these apocalyptic stories, it seems like you have a small band striving for survival. In I Am Legend it is just Robert Neville under siege by hordes of vampires. As far as he knows he's the last human left in the world. In many ways it's more about the psychology of isolation and what makes a monster monstrous than a vampire story.
Tuesday, May 28, 2019
Anna Karenina - Day 8 or 9 or something
up to page 480
Ok this is a long freaking book. Like really freaking long...and dense. And it's good. It is really, really good but I'm fighting the impulse to put it down to read something else for a while. I worry if I do that, I will have a very hard time picking Anna Karenina back up. On the other hand, I'm fighting with myself trying to get pages in. I'm averaging something like 70 pages a day, which I consider a triumph given the material, but I'm falling behind my page schedule.
Honestly, this is what reading a novelisation of Downton Abbey would be like. There's all this character drama and it's good but after a while I feel like I need to sit the characters down and say... "So tell me about your relationship with your mother." Really. They all just need therapy, which is fun to read for the same reason that people like watching daytime soap operas.
If I keep reading at my current rate, I'll finish off the book sometime this weekend.
Maybe I need a break.
Ok this is a long freaking book. Like really freaking long...and dense. And it's good. It is really, really good but I'm fighting the impulse to put it down to read something else for a while. I worry if I do that, I will have a very hard time picking Anna Karenina back up. On the other hand, I'm fighting with myself trying to get pages in. I'm averaging something like 70 pages a day, which I consider a triumph given the material, but I'm falling behind my page schedule.
Honestly, this is what reading a novelisation of Downton Abbey would be like. There's all this character drama and it's good but after a while I feel like I need to sit the characters down and say... "So tell me about your relationship with your mother." Really. They all just need therapy, which is fun to read for the same reason that people like watching daytime soap operas.
If I keep reading at my current rate, I'll finish off the book sometime this weekend.
Maybe I need a break.
Saturday, May 25, 2019
Anna Karenina - Day 6
up to page 369
It is the nature of this kind of challenge that I tend to know a fair bit about the books before I'm picking them up either because people talk about them or because I've read sections of them before. It's easy, in fact, to think that I know all I really need to and the reading itself is just icing. That's probably how I landed with this list.
So, before picking up Anna Karenina I already had a rough idea of the plot. I knew about Anna and Vronsky. I knew there was a Kitty in there, but I didn't know how she was connected. I did not know about Levin and it seems to me at this point that Levin is the most likable of the characters.
I'll admit that Levin is a bit moody, but he's also the character that makes the most sense to me. He's a member of the aristocracy but goes out to do manual labor on his estate in order to get the mood lifting effects of heavy exertion. He doesn't like the conflict between the classes and strives to find ways to change things which opens him up to some mockery. When Kitty rejects him in favor of Vronsky, he can't imagine trying her again when Vronsky ditches her for Anna. All in all, I get Levin and I like him even when he does foolish things.
I was talking to Ivan the other day. He and I argue about the relative merits of Shakespeare on an annual basis. He hates Shakespeare and I'm constantly defending it. In one of these conversations I noted that reading anything in translation was bound to kill some of what makes a piece of literature good. As a slovak, Ivan read Shakespeare in translation but he read Anna Karenina in russian.
Yesterday, Ivan noticed I was reading Anna Karenina so we chatted about it. It also turns out that our media specialist, Susan is a big fan. It's weird how different an experience reading in this challenge is.
It is the nature of this kind of challenge that I tend to know a fair bit about the books before I'm picking them up either because people talk about them or because I've read sections of them before. It's easy, in fact, to think that I know all I really need to and the reading itself is just icing. That's probably how I landed with this list.
So, before picking up Anna Karenina I already had a rough idea of the plot. I knew about Anna and Vronsky. I knew there was a Kitty in there, but I didn't know how she was connected. I did not know about Levin and it seems to me at this point that Levin is the most likable of the characters.
I'll admit that Levin is a bit moody, but he's also the character that makes the most sense to me. He's a member of the aristocracy but goes out to do manual labor on his estate in order to get the mood lifting effects of heavy exertion. He doesn't like the conflict between the classes and strives to find ways to change things which opens him up to some mockery. When Kitty rejects him in favor of Vronsky, he can't imagine trying her again when Vronsky ditches her for Anna. All in all, I get Levin and I like him even when he does foolish things.
I was talking to Ivan the other day. He and I argue about the relative merits of Shakespeare on an annual basis. He hates Shakespeare and I'm constantly defending it. In one of these conversations I noted that reading anything in translation was bound to kill some of what makes a piece of literature good. As a slovak, Ivan read Shakespeare in translation but he read Anna Karenina in russian.
Yesterday, Ivan noticed I was reading Anna Karenina so we chatted about it. It also turns out that our media specialist, Susan is a big fan. It's weird how different an experience reading in this challenge is.
Friday, May 24, 2019
Anna Karenina - Day 5
Up to page 294
Observation: The fascination of watching a trainwreck of a social situation is apparently a universal appeal. Anna Karenina is reminding me of similar stories in both British and Japanese literature. It also seems universal that most of the time we want it to work out ok....not sure yet about the russians.
Observation: The fascination of watching a trainwreck of a social situation is apparently a universal appeal. Anna Karenina is reminding me of similar stories in both British and Japanese literature. It also seems universal that most of the time we want it to work out ok....not sure yet about the russians.
Wednesday, May 22, 2019
Anna Karenina - Day 3
Up to page 200
I finally found sympathy for Count Vronsky. I still think he's an arrogant, self-important, jerk-face, but I finally hit the first major crisis in his relationship with Anna and the disastrous steeplechase.
Anna falls pregnant which is of course the big fear in any illicit affair. While I don't think he really understands what will happen if she decides to run away with him as he suggests, I am impressed that he was less concerned for saving his own hide and seems legitimately concerned for her. I do still feel like he was the worst kind of guy to pursue her in the first place, but at least he's taking in seriously.
The steeplechase is a heart-breaker. I hate the idea of horses dying and the way Fou Fou dies is just tragic. However, Vronsky's response shows there's more to him than a pretty face. He really cared about that horse and feels guilt for what happened to him, even if it was an accident.
I'm not saying that I'm turning into a Vronsky fan, but I've finally found something sympathetic in him.
Levin seems to be recovering from his "humiliation" but it has been a while since the narrative checked in on him. I'm kind of hoping that he decides to go after Kitty, but we'll see.
I finally found sympathy for Count Vronsky. I still think he's an arrogant, self-important, jerk-face, but I finally hit the first major crisis in his relationship with Anna and the disastrous steeplechase.
Anna falls pregnant which is of course the big fear in any illicit affair. While I don't think he really understands what will happen if she decides to run away with him as he suggests, I am impressed that he was less concerned for saving his own hide and seems legitimately concerned for her. I do still feel like he was the worst kind of guy to pursue her in the first place, but at least he's taking in seriously.
The steeplechase is a heart-breaker. I hate the idea of horses dying and the way Fou Fou dies is just tragic. However, Vronsky's response shows there's more to him than a pretty face. He really cared about that horse and feels guilt for what happened to him, even if it was an accident.
I'm not saying that I'm turning into a Vronsky fan, but I've finally found something sympathetic in him.
Levin seems to be recovering from his "humiliation" but it has been a while since the narrative checked in on him. I'm kind of hoping that he decides to go after Kitty, but we'll see.
Tuesday, May 21, 2019
Anna Karenina - Day 2
up to page 133
Anna Karenina is written in eight parts and there is a large chronological gap between the end of part one and the beginning of part two. I'd say it's at least six months and in that time Vronsky's followed Anna back to Petersburg and Kitty is wasting away in an excess of despair.
I hate that. What kind of a self-respecting woman chooses to waste away because some jerk of a guy ditches her. What's worse is that she keeps thinking that it's all about that pretty boy Vronsky when it seems to me that her issue is more that she's embarrassed. She refused poor Levin's proposal because of pretty boy and now she regrets her decision. She's pouting.
There are signs that she's going to get her act together and I remain hopeful for her, but she's got to let go of that waste of space. I mean he ditches her to chase after a married woman and he tells himself that there's something admirable in this.
Anna, in the meantime, seems to be struggling with herself. She's trying to be faithful but enjoys the attention. I get that, but it can come to no good in the end.
Hopefully, I can get more read tomorrow. I got a little bogged down today.
Anna Karenina is written in eight parts and there is a large chronological gap between the end of part one and the beginning of part two. I'd say it's at least six months and in that time Vronsky's followed Anna back to Petersburg and Kitty is wasting away in an excess of despair.
I hate that. What kind of a self-respecting woman chooses to waste away because some jerk of a guy ditches her. What's worse is that she keeps thinking that it's all about that pretty boy Vronsky when it seems to me that her issue is more that she's embarrassed. She refused poor Levin's proposal because of pretty boy and now she regrets her decision. She's pouting.
There are signs that she's going to get her act together and I remain hopeful for her, but she's got to let go of that waste of space. I mean he ditches her to chase after a married woman and he tells himself that there's something admirable in this.
Anna, in the meantime, seems to be struggling with herself. She's trying to be faithful but enjoys the attention. I get that, but it can come to no good in the end.
Hopefully, I can get more read tomorrow. I got a little bogged down today.
Monday, May 20, 2019
Anna Karenina - Day 1
Up to page 83.
Let me begin by saying, I did not know what to expect really. I knew that I would probably enjoy Anna Karenina if I could get into it because I enjoy most classics once I take on the ordeal of reading them. I don't think that I expected to be captured by the narrative in the first 12 pages, but there is something enchanting about Tolstoy's writing (and Pevear and Volokhonsky's translation too.)
It's the characters that are drawing me in. I haven't met them all yet but I already consider Prince Stepan Arkadyich Oblonsky one of those useless people that irritate me at parties. All smiles and two-faced agreeableness and no real substance. They always agree because they haven't spent time really thinking about anything. His wife, Princess Darya Alexandrovna (Dolly), I feel really sorry for. Oblonsky is a cad and a cheat and she has every right to be angry with him. The whole book begins with Oblonsky being distressed because he got caught in an affair with his children's french governess, except he's not really distressed. He knows he ought to be, but he's infuriatingly unaffected by it in any real way. He reminds me of the puppy who gets scolded for chewing on shoes but keeps trying to continue chewing on them while crying for being scolded. It makes me want to smack him with a rolled up newspaper.
Then there's Konstantin Dmitrich Levin. I find myself wondering about poor Levin. He's practically Oblonsky's foil. If Oblonsky doesn't really care or think about things in a meaningful way, Levin goes off the other end and cares/thinks way too much. He's perfectly infatuated with this girl Kitty, or Princess Ekaterina Alexandrovna, but keeps convincing himself that he is unworthy of her, then changing his mind, then getting discouraged and giving up again.
Kitty on the other hand is a complete idiot, but I forgive her...I think she is just really very young and more than a little silly. She's infatuated with Count Vronsky who is younger and handsomer than poor Levin. I'm really hopeful that Kitty will get her head screwed on right and reconsider Levin, but that seems unlikely. Vronsky, by the way, is a jerk. So far he seems like an analog for the all-American football star/prom king, who takes female attention as a kind of God given right in appreciation of his splendid testosterone prettiness.
Notice that the title character hasn't even shown up yet. Anna Karenina shows up, finally, on page 61 in my edition. Within 20 pages she has fixed, at least temporarily, Oblonsky's marriage, become a sensation in Moscow society, and caused Vronsky to ditch Kitty at a ball. So she's like a bizarre Russian Mary Poppins - a catalyst that turns everything upside down and who everyone falls in love with. I don't know what I think of her yet, but I'm itching to get back to it so I can find out.
Let me begin by saying, I did not know what to expect really. I knew that I would probably enjoy Anna Karenina if I could get into it because I enjoy most classics once I take on the ordeal of reading them. I don't think that I expected to be captured by the narrative in the first 12 pages, but there is something enchanting about Tolstoy's writing (and Pevear and Volokhonsky's translation too.)
It's the characters that are drawing me in. I haven't met them all yet but I already consider Prince Stepan Arkadyich Oblonsky one of those useless people that irritate me at parties. All smiles and two-faced agreeableness and no real substance. They always agree because they haven't spent time really thinking about anything. His wife, Princess Darya Alexandrovna (Dolly), I feel really sorry for. Oblonsky is a cad and a cheat and she has every right to be angry with him. The whole book begins with Oblonsky being distressed because he got caught in an affair with his children's french governess, except he's not really distressed. He knows he ought to be, but he's infuriatingly unaffected by it in any real way. He reminds me of the puppy who gets scolded for chewing on shoes but keeps trying to continue chewing on them while crying for being scolded. It makes me want to smack him with a rolled up newspaper.
Then there's Konstantin Dmitrich Levin. I find myself wondering about poor Levin. He's practically Oblonsky's foil. If Oblonsky doesn't really care or think about things in a meaningful way, Levin goes off the other end and cares/thinks way too much. He's perfectly infatuated with this girl Kitty, or Princess Ekaterina Alexandrovna, but keeps convincing himself that he is unworthy of her, then changing his mind, then getting discouraged and giving up again.
Kitty on the other hand is a complete idiot, but I forgive her...I think she is just really very young and more than a little silly. She's infatuated with Count Vronsky who is younger and handsomer than poor Levin. I'm really hopeful that Kitty will get her head screwed on right and reconsider Levin, but that seems unlikely. Vronsky, by the way, is a jerk. So far he seems like an analog for the all-American football star/prom king, who takes female attention as a kind of God given right in appreciation of his splendid testosterone prettiness.
Notice that the title character hasn't even shown up yet. Anna Karenina shows up, finally, on page 61 in my edition. Within 20 pages she has fixed, at least temporarily, Oblonsky's marriage, become a sensation in Moscow society, and caused Vronsky to ditch Kitty at a ball. So she's like a bizarre Russian Mary Poppins - a catalyst that turns everything upside down and who everyone falls in love with. I don't know what I think of her yet, but I'm itching to get back to it so I can find out.
Sunday, May 19, 2019
A Quick Start
Yesterday I blasted through Louis Sachar's Holes which is about 233 pages and ended up on my list because it's a common middle school assigned text. This wasn't the first time I'd picked it up, but somehow I never got through it before. This time it was a breeze.
I picked it up this time because it was easy to get an e-copy on my library through the Dekalb Library.
On its surface it's about a penal camp for bad boys where they dig five foot holes in a desert. However, this is really a multi-layered story with a lot going on. The main story of Stanley the wrongly accused delinquent is interwoven with the story of his great-great grandfather who was cursed by a gypsy. The fascinating thing here for me as a writer is that there are no wasted words. Everything interconnects. I ended up really liking both Stanley and Zero.
All in all, this was a good place to start for me, but obviously not all the books are going to be easy quick reads like this.
I picked it up this time because it was easy to get an e-copy on my library through the Dekalb Library.
On its surface it's about a penal camp for bad boys where they dig five foot holes in a desert. However, this is really a multi-layered story with a lot going on. The main story of Stanley the wrongly accused delinquent is interwoven with the story of his great-great grandfather who was cursed by a gypsy. The fascinating thing here for me as a writer is that there are no wasted words. Everything interconnects. I ended up really liking both Stanley and Zero.
All in all, this was a good place to start for me, but obviously not all the books are going to be easy quick reads like this.
Saturday, May 18, 2019
Reboot - A New Challenge
I have come to the conclusion that I'm bored and that's why I'm having such a hard time lately keeping up with the blog. The reading is relatively easy the blogging not so much any more. It's not a surprise, I've been doing the same thing, more or less, for the last five years, so it really is time for a change up.
To that end I've been thinking. There are a lot of books that, as an English teacher, people just assume I've read. Being a British Literature teacher seems to up the ante somewhat although I'm not sure why being a Brit Lit teacher should mean that I am any better read than any other English teacher, but oh well. On a fairly regular basis someone launches into an observation that assumes I've read what they are referring to. Mostly, this is students who seem to think that I've read every classic in existence, but it also happens at times with family, friends, coworkers, and the parents of students.
In most cases, there is no particular reason I haven't read the books in question. Usually it's a case of haven't gotten around to it yet, so I put together a list of 100 books. To show up on the list, someone at some point has expressed the idea that it's a surprise to find out I haven't read it. Obviously, I only put books on the list that I haven't read yet (or haven't fully read - no matter how many times I've started them.) The list is pretty heavily weighted towards heavy classics which is also not a surprise. Just as a reality check, I somewhat indiscriminately estimated the total number of pages by pulling page numbers from goodreads. I didn't worry too much about editions, so the total number in reality could be either over or under my estimate. I came up with 41,511 pages which means reading about 114 pages a day which feels doable.
So, here's the new project: Student graduation was yesterday. I'm going to try reading all the books on the following list by graduation next year. Since I'm reading some really serious classics here, the last thing the world needs is another review, instead I'm going to journal daily about the experience.
If I start a book and it turns out I have read it before, I will simply swap it out on the list for a book I haven't. (Having finished the list, I immediately came up with five more titles that could have been on the list.)
100 Books People Tend to Assume I've Read....But I haven't
To that end I've been thinking. There are a lot of books that, as an English teacher, people just assume I've read. Being a British Literature teacher seems to up the ante somewhat although I'm not sure why being a Brit Lit teacher should mean that I am any better read than any other English teacher, but oh well. On a fairly regular basis someone launches into an observation that assumes I've read what they are referring to. Mostly, this is students who seem to think that I've read every classic in existence, but it also happens at times with family, friends, coworkers, and the parents of students.
In most cases, there is no particular reason I haven't read the books in question. Usually it's a case of haven't gotten around to it yet, so I put together a list of 100 books. To show up on the list, someone at some point has expressed the idea that it's a surprise to find out I haven't read it. Obviously, I only put books on the list that I haven't read yet (or haven't fully read - no matter how many times I've started them.) The list is pretty heavily weighted towards heavy classics which is also not a surprise. Just as a reality check, I somewhat indiscriminately estimated the total number of pages by pulling page numbers from goodreads. I didn't worry too much about editions, so the total number in reality could be either over or under my estimate. I came up with 41,511 pages which means reading about 114 pages a day which feels doable.
So, here's the new project: Student graduation was yesterday. I'm going to try reading all the books on the following list by graduation next year. Since I'm reading some really serious classics here, the last thing the world needs is another review, instead I'm going to journal daily about the experience.
If I start a book and it turns out I have read it before, I will simply swap it out on the list for a book I haven't. (Having finished the list, I immediately came up with five more titles that could have been on the list.)
100 Books People Tend to Assume I've Read....But I haven't
- Adams, Douglas - Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency
- Adams, Richard - Watership Down
- Alcott, Louisa May - Little Women
- Andrews, V.C. - Flowers in the Attic
- Angelou, Maya - I know Why the Caged Bird Sings
- Atwood, Margaret - Handmaid's Tale
- Atwood, Margaret - Oryx and Crake
- Austin, Jane - Pride and Prejudice
- Babbitt, Natalie - Tuck Everlasting
- Blume, Judy - Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.
- Burgess, Anthony - A Clockwork Orange
- Burroughs, Edgar Rice - Tarzan of the Apes
- Camus, Albert - The Stranger
- Capote, Truman - In Cold Blood
- Cervantes, Miguel de - Don Quixote
- Crichton, Michael - Andromeda Strain
- Clarke, Arthur C. - 2001
- Clarke, Susanna - Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell
- Cooper, James Fenimore - The Last of the Mohicans
- Dahl, Roald - Matilda
- Defoe, Daniel - Robinson Crusoe
- Delillo, Don - White Noise
- Dickens, Charles - Christmas Carol
- Dickens, Charles - Great Expectations
- Dickens, Charles - Oliver Twist
- Dostoyevsky, Fyodor - Crime and Punishment
- Dostoyevsky, Fyodor - Brothers Karamozov
- Du Maurier, Daphne - Rebecca
- Dumas, Alexandre - The Count of Monte Cristo
- Follett, Ken - Pillars of the Earth
- Forbes, Esther - Johnny Tremain
- Frank, Anne - Diary of A Young Girl
- Greene, Graham - Power and the Glory
- Greene, Graham - Brighton Rock
- Hardy, Thomas - Tess of the D'Urbervilles
- Heller, Joseph - Catch 22
- Hemingway, Ernest - The Sun Also Rises
- Herodotus - The Histories
- Jordan, Robert - Eye of the World
- Kafka, Franz - Metamorphosis and Other Stories
- Kesey, Ken - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
- Kerouac, Jack - On the Road
- King, Stephen - Cujo
- King, Stephen - It
- Kingsolver, Barbara - Poisonwood Bible
- Krakauer, Jon - Into the Wild
- Larsson, Stieg - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
- Lawrence, D.H. - Lady Chatterley's Lover
- Le Carre, John - The Spy Who Came in From the Cold
- Lewis, C.S. - Out of the Silent Planet
- London, Jack - The Call of the Wild
- Lowry, Lois - Number the Stars
- Machiavelli, Niccolo - The Prince
- Martel, Yann - Life of Pi
- Martin, George R.R. - A Game of Thrones
Matheson, Richard - I am Legend(finished 5/29/2019)- McCammon, Robert - Swansong
- Melville, Herman - Moby Dick
Miller, Arthur - Death of a Salesman(finished 6/8/2019)- Milton, John - Paradise Lost
- Moliere - Tartuffe
- Montgomery, L.M. - Anne of Green Gables
- Morrisson, Toni - Beloved
- Myers, Walter Dean - Fallen Angels
- Nabokov, Vladimir - Lolita
- O'Dell, Scott - Island of the Blue Dolphins
- Orwell, George - 1984
- Ovid - Metamorphoses
- Plath, Sylvia - The Bell Jar
- Rand, Ayn - Atlas Shrugged
- Rawlings, Marjorie - The Yearling
- Rawls, Wilson - Where the Red Fern Grows
Sachar, Louis - Holes(finished 5/18/2019)- Sagan, Carl - Contact
- Salinger, J.D. - The Catcher in the Rye
- Satrapi, Marjane - The Complete Persepolis
- Shakespeare - Othello
- Shakespeare - King Lear
- Shaw, Bernard - Pygmalion
- Shonagon, Sei - The Pillow Book
- Sinclair, Upton - The Jungle
- Smith, Zadie - White Teeth
- Speare, Elizabeth George - The Witch of Blackbird Pond
- Steinbeck, John - Of Mice and Men
- Steinbeck, John - East of Eden
- Stevenson, Robert Louis - Kidnapped
- Sun-Tzu - Art of War
- Swift, Jonathan - Gulliver's Travels
- Tan, Amy - The Joy Luck Club
- Thompson, Hunter S. - Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
- Tolstoy, Leo - Anna Karenina
- Tolstoy, Leo - War and Peace
- Toole, John Kennedy - Confederacy of Dunces
- Travers, P.L. - Mary Poppins
- Verne, Jules - 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Vonnegut, Kurt - Sirens of Titan(finished 6/2/2019)- Vonnegut, Kurt - Breakfast of Champions
- White, T.H. - The Once and Future King
- Woodson, Jacqueline - Brown Girl Dreaming
- The Epic of Gilgamesh
Alternates:
- Collins, Wilkie - The Woman in White
- Euripides - The Trojan Women
- Jones, Dianna Wynn - Howl's Moving Castle
- Sophocles - Antigone
- Wharton, Edith - Ethan Frome
Sunday, April 28, 2019
Week 17 - Race to the End
Page Numbers since the last tally: 2,552. Total Pages for 2019 so far: 11,328. Page Average Per Day: 97. Total Number of Books: 38.
So, I've realized a flaw in my goals. I had said I was aiming to read 200 pages a day. It turns out I'm only really managing close to 100 pages a day. There's a good reason for that. I've managed almost a hundred pages a day and read about 38 books which is slightly less than normal for the year. However, 76 books (what I'd have if I'd read 200 pages a day) is on pace for 200 books a year. I'm going to adjust the goal.
So, I've realized a flaw in my goals. I had said I was aiming to read 200 pages a day. It turns out I'm only really managing close to 100 pages a day. There's a good reason for that. I've managed almost a hundred pages a day and read about 38 books which is slightly less than normal for the year. However, 76 books (what I'd have if I'd read 200 pages a day) is on pace for 200 books a year. I'm going to adjust the goal.
New goal, I'm aiming for 125 pages a day. It's a little more than I've been managing but more inline with other goals. Additionally, I'm going to start aiming to write 30 minutes a day. While that's not strictly a goal for this blog, I'm going to track it here.
Short List:
Short List:
- Traitor to the Throne by Alwyn Hamilton (Dekalb Library)
- Illuminae by Amie Kaufman (Dekalb Library)
Prodigy by Marie Lu (Classroom Library)- Finished 5/1/2019- Champion by Marie Lu (Classroom Library)
- The Last Girl by Nadia Murad (Dekalb Library)
- Black Powder War by Naomi Novik (Tsundoku Stack)
- Cooked by Michael Pollan (Tsundoku Stack)
- Fiery Ferments by Kirsten K. Shockey & Christopher Shockey (Tsundoku Stack)
- Fermented Vegetables by Kirsten K. Shockey & Christopher Shockey (Tsundoku Stack)
- An Edible History of Humanity by Tom Standage (Tsundoku Stack)
- Thug Kitchen: The Official Cookbook
- The Treatment by Suzanne Young (borrowed from Julia)
- Project Based Writing by Liz Prather (Pedagogy)
- Teaching English by Design by Peter Smagorinsky (Pedagogy)
Sunday, April 21, 2019
Week 16: Sorting it all Out
It is probably time that I recognize as a teacher that there are two months where everything just tends to go to hell and I lose the thread on my personal projects. October and April. I think it's a perfect storm of professional and family obligations. Even Christmas is easier. So to sum up, I'm behind in both my reading and my writing. I am trying to get back up on top of it.
I think in some ways I'm getting burned out on YA. It's getting hard to read at my usual rate. That being said, I've hit some real gems in the last couple weeks that I've been off grid. Dread Nation by Justina Ireland is an action packed sci-fi alternate history Western with undead set just after the American Civil War. Our protagonist is a young black woman trained to fight the undead. It sounds a little hoky, but somehow it really works. Rebel In the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton is a fantasy set in a world straight out of 1,001 Arabian Nights complete with djinni, magic, and ghouls. It's half political intrigue and half crime caper, I loved it. Both books are entry points into series but they are excellent stand alones as well.
Looking to my next week, I think it's time for a break on the YA. I'm including a few for stress relief, but I'm composing it mainly of non-fiction and non-YA fiction. Because of this, it will be a little longer than normal for the sake of choice.
Short List of all Seriousness:
I think in some ways I'm getting burned out on YA. It's getting hard to read at my usual rate. That being said, I've hit some real gems in the last couple weeks that I've been off grid. Dread Nation by Justina Ireland is an action packed sci-fi alternate history Western with undead set just after the American Civil War. Our protagonist is a young black woman trained to fight the undead. It sounds a little hoky, but somehow it really works. Rebel In the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton is a fantasy set in a world straight out of 1,001 Arabian Nights complete with djinni, magic, and ghouls. It's half political intrigue and half crime caper, I loved it. Both books are entry points into series but they are excellent stand alones as well.
Looking to my next week, I think it's time for a break on the YA. I'm including a few for stress relief, but I'm composing it mainly of non-fiction and non-YA fiction. Because of this, it will be a little longer than normal for the sake of choice.
Short List of all Seriousness:
- Illuminae by Amie Kaufman (Dekalb Library)
Hunter by Mercedes Lackey (Dekalb Library)- Finished 4/24/2019Elite by Mercedes Lackey (Dekalb Library)-Finished 4/25/2019Apex by Mercedes Lackey (Dekalb Library)- Finished 4/26/2019- Prodigy by Marie Lu (Classroom LIbrary
- Champion by Marie Lu (Classroom Library)
- The Last Girl by Nadia Murad (Dekalb Library)
- Black Powder War by Naomi Novik (Tsundoku Stack)
- Cooked by Michael Pollan (Tsundoku Stack)
- Fiery Ferments by Kirsten K. Shockey & Christopher Shockey (Tsundoku Stack)
- Fermented Vegetables by Kirsten K. Shockey & Christopher Shockey (Tsundoku Stack)
- An Edible History of Humanity by Tom Standage (Tsundoku Stack)
- Thug Kitchen: The Official Cookbook
- The Treatment by Suzanne Young (borrowed from Julia)
- Teaching English by Design by Peter Smagorinsky (Pedagogy)
Saturday, April 6, 2019
Locomotion by Jacqueline WoodsonMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I picked this up on a whim from a remainder bin. I'm always looking for things to add to my classroom library. I hadn't read it, but I generally trust anything that makes the Printz shortlist.
It's odd that so many books for young audiences feature protagonists with absent parents but so few of them actually deal with what happens to a kid with dead parents. I think this might be the only book I've ever read that deals with a kid in the foster system. Lonnie's parents died in a house fire. Lonnie's sister Lily is adopted. Lonnie is fostered out to Miss Edna. Lonnie has a lot going on. The book is him expressing himself through poetry. Or rather, processing. He's processing.
In terms of narrative thread, it's a little slow. However, in terms of character voice and investment, this is excellent. I gulped this down in about two hours and ended up almost in tears. It's heartbreaking, what Lonnie had to go through but his resilience is inspiring.
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Friday, April 5, 2019
Dinner for Everyone: 100 Iconic Dishes Made 3 Ways--Easy, Vegan, or Perfect for Company by Mark BittmanMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is an interesting approach to a cookbook. Instead of being organized into courses or types of dish the way most cookbooks are, Bittman identified 100 iconic dishes such as pizza, pot roast, chowder, or sunday dinner. He then gave three versions of each dish: quick, vegan, and all out. In some cases, this resulted in some interesting interpretations, especially with the vegan versions of things like pot roast or otherwise inherently meat/seafood dishes. This is not a book built for purists (although the all out versions should satisfy them). This is a book that encourages flexible thinking and adaptability while still valuing food traditions.
In his forward, Bittman mentions that he has friends who won't consider a dish that can't be on the table in under an hour. People are busy and he respects that. So far, I've only tried the quick versions, but all have turned out well and very tasty. This is a good book for anyone with solid basic kitchen skills. The recipes are well written and clear.
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I am a Bittman fan and I make no bones about it. I was a little slow to hop on the bandwagon, but now that I'm there, I've been following avidly for almost 10 years. I'm such an enthusiast that I have a whole passel of people who buy me the new books as they come out. Bittman's not perfect. I generally find that I need to double or triple the spicing on all the recipes and his idea of serving sizes is completely bizarre: I can't imagine eating an entire Bittman serving in many cases. However, his recipes just don't fail. They might need tweaking, but they all come out enjoyably edible.
Out of this one I've so far tried:
- Orzo with Shrimp and Dill
- Peanut Bun
- Sweet and Salty Coconut Rice and
- Pepperoni Pan Pizza
All have been very good.
Thursday, April 4, 2019
Week 13 14 - Spring Break Woo Hoo
Page Numbers for the Week: 759. Total Pages for 2019 so far: 8776. Page Average Per Day: 94. Total Number of Books: 31.
Somehow I got it in my head that this is already done. Of course it was not done and I am dreadfully late so I'm going to go ahead and combine the remainder of this week with the next. I've been working through my back log of book related emails and I've accidently loaded up my reading list with library books again.
Short List for a Reading Glut:
I'm sure I will not get through them all but I need to turn back to writing my reviews. I'm behind again. I've somehow lost the habit and it will have to be regained.
Somehow I got it in my head that this is already done. Of course it was not done and I am dreadfully late so I'm going to go ahead and combine the remainder of this week with the next. I've been working through my back log of book related emails and I've accidently loaded up my reading list with library books again.
Short List for a Reading Glut:
- Flame in the Mist by Renee Ahdieh (Dekalb Library)
- The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (Dekalb Library)
- Guardians of the Galaxy, Volume 4: Original Sin by Brian Michael Bendis (Ryan's Christmas Gift)
- Guardians of the Galaxy, Volume 5: Through the Looking Glass by Brian Michael Bendis (Ryan's Christmas Gift)
Dinner For Everyone by Mark Bittman (Gift from Ryan)- finished 4/4/2019- The Flight Attendant by Chris Bohjalian (Dekalb Library)
- True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey (Dekalb Library)
Dread Nation by Justina Ireland (Dekalb Library)- Finished 4/3/2019- Human Acts by Han Kang (Dekalb Library)
- Black Powder War by Naomi Novik (Tsundoku Stack)
- Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith (Dekalb Library)
- Thug Kitchen: The Official Cookbook
- Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld (Classroom Library)**
- The Treatment by Suzanne Young (borrowed from Julia)
- Teaching English by Design by Peter Smagorinsky (Pedagogy)
I'm sure I will not get through them all but I need to turn back to writing my reviews. I'm behind again. I've somehow lost the habit and it will have to be regained.
Sunday, March 24, 2019
Week 12 in review
Page Numbers for the Week: 751. Total Pages for 2019 so far: 8017. Page Average Per Day: 98. Total Number of Books: 29.
A bit of a busy week. Grades are due and there's a ton of organizational stuff happening at school. I'm behind on reviews again. Seems like I need to get them done during the weekend to make them happen but the weekends get pretty full too.
A Short List:
A bit of a busy week. Grades are due and there's a ton of organizational stuff happening at school. I'm behind on reviews again. Seems like I need to get them done during the weekend to make them happen but the weekends get pretty full too.
A Short List:
- Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli (Dekalb Library)
- Dinner For Everyone by Mark Bittman (Gift from Ryan)
- A Discovery Of Witches by Deborah Harkness (Tsundoku - bought it in Chattanooga last summer)
- Dread Nation by Justina Ireland (Dekalb Library)
- Black Powder War by Naomi Novik (Tsundoku Stack and also got a mention on Book Riot)
- Black Enough: Stories of Being Young and Black in America edited by Ibi Zoboi (School Library)
- Teaching English by Design by Peter Smagorinsky (Pedagogy book - Playing Catch Up)
In other news, I'm thinking of doing Camp NaNoWriMo for April. Unlike the standard November event, there are different kinds of goals, including a time based one. I'm thinking of committing to 30 minutes a day for the month. It feels doable, anyway.
Sunday, March 17, 2019
Week 11 - Back in the Saddle
Page Numbers for the Week: 1,500. Total Pages for 2019 so far: 7266. Page Average Per Day: 97. Total Number of Books: 27.
As promised, I'm back on track and making up ground. I started the week eight books behind pace, and I am now only three behind. I've also pulled my daily average page count up 12 pages. So things are turning around. I also caught up on my back log of reviews which resulted in a new post each day last week. Even though some of this apparent gain is the result of strategy, it still feels good to get my feet under me.
A Short List:
As promised, I'm back on track and making up ground. I started the week eight books behind pace, and I am now only three behind. I've also pulled my daily average page count up 12 pages. So things are turning around. I also caught up on my back log of reviews which resulted in a new post each day last week. Even though some of this apparent gain is the result of strategy, it still feels good to get my feet under me.
A Short List:
- Dinner For Everyone by Mark Bittman (Gift from Ryan)
- A Discovery Of Witches by Deborah Harkness (Tsundoku - bought it in Chattanooga last summer)
His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik (Tsundoku Stack and also got a mention on Book Riot)- Finished 3/17/2019Throne of Jade by Naomi Novik (Tsundoku Stack and also got a mention on Book Riot)- Finished 3/21/2019- Black Powder War by Naomi Novik (Tsundoku Stack and also got a mention on Book Riot)
- Black Enough: Stories of Being Young and Black in America edited by Ibi Zoboi (School Library)
- Teaching English by Design by Peter Smagorinsky (Pedagogy book - Playing Catch Up)
I'm sure my gains over the next week will be more moderate. I've started on His Majesty's Dragon and it's absolutely enthralling. I've added the next two books in the series. All three came out of a box donated to me by a coworker. Actually he donated me three boxes and I'm still sorting through it all. Lol. It's a nice problem to have.
Saturday, March 16, 2019
Stand Tall by Joan BauerMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
More and more kids are growing up in divorced households. In previous generations, narratives tended to cast one or the other of the parents as some sort of evil selfish person at worst or at best as simply absent and leaving behind a void in their kids lives. In truth, for most families there is no villain which makes it all much harder for the kids and so much sadder. Without hate and anger, loss is harder to deal with and so much more raw. That’s what Tree, protagonist of Stand Tall, is dealing with.
Tree is six foot three at the age of 12. He visually just doesn’t fit in. (Excellent metaphor for adolescence by the way) He’s a good kid though. He helps his Vietnam vet grandfather with his post amputation physical therapy. He helps the new girl, Sophie, find a place in their school. He just helps people and while doing so finds a place for himself.
I think this is a good book in general, but especially for what it does exploring issues surrounding adjusting to a broken home.
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Friday, March 15, 2019
The House of the Scorpion by Nancy FarmerMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Good science fiction explores ideas. It’s not all zap guns and silly aliens. A good idea drives the story and questions that the central idea raises fuel the conflict. This is why I love science fiction. Unfortunately, many of the novels published as science fiction fall woefully short of this. So many in fact, that I find many of my students have a poor understanding of what science fiction should be. This leads to a phenomenon that has many English teachers scratching their heads.
Somehow The House of the Scorpion has become a common assigned text in middle school. It is true science fiction and every kid I’ve talked to, save one, has hated it. This is really too bad because it’s an excellent book. The House of the Scorpion takes on the idea of human cloning. Told from the point of view of Matt, who is the clone of a drug lord called El Patron, the story takes on the social, legal, and religious perspectives on what being a clone means.
Matt, of course, is just a kid and has no idea what he is for a large chunk of the novel. Religiously and legally, he’s considered sub-human and without a soul, but things get complicated when he, against the odds, survives his original purpose as a living source of replacement organs.
It’s all very interesting and, while not all the questions raised can be answered, the book does its job by illustrating the complexity of the issues. I’m looking forward to tracking down the sequel.
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Thursday, March 14, 2019
Life Below Stairs: True Lives of Edwardian Servants by Alison MaloneyMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I admit it, I love Downton Abbey. The dichotomy of the leisure class and serving class is just so alien to me. As much as I liked all the Granthams, I found myself more interested in the various servants. It’s just such a weird world. So I did what any highly educated person does when confronted with something strange. I bought a book.
Ok, so in all fairness this is a good little book. It provides an overview of the world and concerns of the edwardian servants. While the author has a modern outlook on the plight of the servant class, she is also pretty realistic about relative opportunities of the time. The whole social landscape was just different.
This is just an overview, but it’s a good one and provides good direction for where to find more information.
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Wednesday, March 13, 2019
The Song Rising by Samantha ShannonMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
The Song Rising picks up just after the events of the previous book The Mime Order. Paige Mahoney is now Underqueen of the Mime Order. She’s driven Jaxon into hiding with Scion London and is working with dissident members of the enigmatic Rathan to overthrow their totalitarian regime. Paige’s relationship with Warden is officially on the rocks and the whole narrative takes a hard turn into political intrigue.
Paige really grows in this volume. Despite being a member of a criminal underground, she’s always struck me as bizarrely naive in all the practical ways. Finally, in this novel, it seems that she spends time really thinking about trust and relationships instead of simply reacting to events. While that could make for an exceeding tedious read, Shannon blends the introspection with plenty of action. The end is explosive and opens up the series for more books. I can’t wait.
The biggest challenge with these books is figuring out what is going on. If it’s been a while since you read the first two books in the series, I recommend a quick reread. I’m a huge fan of the Bone Season Series in general. It’s literary science fiction of a sort that challenges the reader. These aren’t books that one can pick up expecting an easy read. They are, however, immensely satisfying.
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Tuesday, March 12, 2019
Modernist Cooking Made Easy: Infusions: The Ultimate Guide to Crafting Flavorful Infusions Using Modernist and Traditional Techniques by Jason LogsdonMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I have recently become fascinated by the idea of infusing flavors into other things - think coffee, tea, vinegar, and yes also booze. My sister and brother in law have always been very supportive of my cooking so they hunted out this book for me. Apparently, there is a whole series of Modernist Cook Made Easy books that play with new technology to cook with. It turns out I’m more of a traditionalist than I would have thought, but my read has me seriously considering playing with sous vide as a technique. (I can do without the whipping siphon)
Alright so, as an overview on infusion this does a good job. While Logsdon spent a lot of time on his ‘modernist’ techniques he did a good job covering the traditional techniques and gives solid guidelines on how to modify a recipe for a different technique. He also does an excellent job describing the effect the different methods have on flavor.
Because his focus is on Modernist technique, most of the recipes are in those sections. Additionally, infusion is an old process, so this feels more like a cookbook that probably is in aid of his other books where infused liquids probably come in handy. He seem particularly enamored of sous vide. In any case, this is a solid text. He did a good job.
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Monday, March 11, 2019
The Poet X by Elizabeth AcevedoMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Xiomara is caught between her mother’s church and what she feels. She is silenced. Her great strength is words and she writes them in the leather bound journal her twin, Xavier, got her. She writes her thoughts and her feelings, no matter how sinful. She is a poet. Her heros are all rappers and beat poets. Mom will not approve. This tension increases and turns into conflict.
This is a beautifully lyrical novel in verse. Acevedo created this genuine voice that reeks of conflict and pain. Xiomara is completely relatable despite being about as culturally different from me as possible. When she writes about her fractured relationship with her mom and the catholic church, it resonates. When she writes about discovering her love of poetry, it hits hard. Despite being an absolute angsty teen, Xiomara is easy to sympathize with.
This is an excellent quick read for the the rap lovers out there and for anyone who ever felt caught between two worlds. While there are some pretty rough moments and strong language, it is all in service of the plot and feels appropriate to the story. I highly recommend this book with the caveat that there are some girl moments that might make adolescent boys a little uncomfortable. (Nothing hair-raising)
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So, this book wound up in my hands long before I discovered it on any of the lists I follow. Nathan dropped it on my desk muttering ominous things about appropriateness. Now Nathan and I have very different ideas about what makes something uncomfortable with very little overlap. That being said, I can usually figure out what it is that bothers him. In this case, I'm at a loss. This is a pretty straight-forward coming of age story with an overlay of immigrant narrative and religious questioning. I guess I'll have to ask him later. Personally, I'm thrilled to add it to my classroom collection.
Sunday, March 10, 2019
Week 10 - The Impossibility of Page Counts
Page Numbers for the Week: 0. Total Pages for 2019 so far: 5766. Page Average Per Day: 85. Total Number of Books: 20.
It will seem, from the numbers, like I'm still stuck. I'm not. I just broke my block on a 700 page book and that takes time to get through...even for me. I'll probably finish it up some time today or tomorrow and next week's numbers are going to look amazing. I'm feeling a little exhausted by it all, I hate falling behind and by any metric one chooses, I'm behind. I also haven't kept up with my writing and it all kind of weighs on me.
Nothing to do in a situation like this but turn into it and keep moving forward. So here we go.
A Long Short List:
It will seem, from the numbers, like I'm still stuck. I'm not. I just broke my block on a 700 page book and that takes time to get through...even for me. I'll probably finish it up some time today or tomorrow and next week's numbers are going to look amazing. I'm feeling a little exhausted by it all, I hate falling behind and by any metric one chooses, I'm behind. I also haven't kept up with my writing and it all kind of weighs on me.
Nothing to do in a situation like this but turn into it and keep moving forward. So here we go.
A Long Short List:
War Storm by Victoria Aveyard (Dekalb Library)- Finished 3/12/2019Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 1 Cosmic Avengers (Ryan's Christmas gift from Thomas)- Finished 3/12/2019Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 2 Angela (Ryan's Christmas gift from Thomas)- Finished 3/13/2019Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 3 Guardians Disassembled (Ryan's Christmas gift from Thomas)- Finished 3/14/2019- Dinner For Everyone by Mark Bittman (Gift From Ryan)
- A Discovery Of Witches by Deborah Harkness (Tsundoku - bought it in Chattanooga last summer)
Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai (Classroom Library)- Finished 3/16/2019- His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik (Tsundoku Stack and also got a mention on Book Riot)
Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris (Tsundoku Stack)- Finished 3/14/2019Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson (Classroom Library)- Finished 3/15/2019- Black Enough: Stories of Being Young and Black in America edited by Ibi Zoboi (School Library)
- Teaching English by Design by Peter Smagorinsky (Pedagogy book - Playing Catch Up)
A longer list than normal that features three books that are almost completed and five that are very short. All determination for hard work aside, boosting the book count number will almost certainly go a ways to improving my overall motivation. Is it strategy or cheating? I can't decide.
Sunday, March 3, 2019
Week 9 - *Head Slam Desk*
Page Numbers for the Week: 0. Total Pages for 2019 so far: 5766. Page Average Per Day: 95. Total Number of Books: 20.
I accomplished nothing. Absolutely nothing. I read maybe 5 pages all week. Can't say why, I just didn't/couldn't. I run into that from time to time, I guess I just needed a break. I'm back to mixing in some library books, so that should help get me going again.
A Tempting Short List
- War Storm by Victoria Aveyard (Dekalb Library)
- Dinner For Everyone by Mark Bittman (Gift From Ryan)
- A Discovery Of Witches by Deborah Harkness (Tsundoku - bought it in Chattanooga last summer)
- His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik (Tsundoku Stack and also got a mention on Book Riot)
- Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris (Tsundoku Stack)
- Black Enough: Stories of Being Young and Black in America edited by Ibi Zoboi (School Library)
- Teaching English by Design by Peter Smagorinsky (Pedagogy book - Playing Catch Up)
Ok, So the Sedaris book is still on the list, but I just have to get through the thing. I'm getting stubborn, I admit it. I just need to get it out of my life.
Sunday, February 24, 2019
Week 8: the first hurdle
Page Numbers for the Week: 533. Total Pages for 2019 so far: 5766. Page Average Per Day: 107. Total Number of Books: 20.
I've hit my first block. It's probably because I got behind while I was sparring with the flu and then I made a mistake. I really think Sedaris is my kryptonite. I really want to like the guy, but every time I pick up Me Talk Pretty One Day, I get bogged down. It's becoming a point of pride to finish the dang thing. Then I'm going to sell it. That thing is bad juju.
I've hit my first block. It's probably because I got behind while I was sparring with the flu and then I made a mistake. I really think Sedaris is my kryptonite. I really want to like the guy, but every time I pick up Me Talk Pretty One Day, I get bogged down. It's becoming a point of pride to finish the dang thing. Then I'm going to sell it. That thing is bad juju.
Tsundoku Stack Short List:
- Dinner for Everyone by Mark Bittman*
- Copper Sun by Sharon M. Draper
- Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman*
- A Discovery Of Witches by Deborah Harkness
- The Wall by John Lanchester
- Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris*
- The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey*
- Teaching English by Design by Peter Smagorinsky (Pedagogy Book)
In light of everything going on, I'm going to to stick with the same list. Lets hit the easy button.
Tuesday, February 19, 2019
The Boyfriend List: 15 Guys, 11 Shrink Appointments, 4 Ceramic Frogs and Me, Ruby Oliver by E. LockhartMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
The most interesting thing about this one is format. The whole narrative is written in the style of journal composed as part of therapy. The narrator has then gone back through the text and inserted footnotes commenting on the events. I can count on one hand the novels that rely on footnotes to move the narrative forward. Often, it’s annoying because footnotes interrupt the flow of the text. In this case though, the footnotes represent a slightly older and wiser voice that comments on the events of the text, often with quite a bit of humor and sarcasm. This older voice adds a layer to the story that I found fun.
At its core, this is just a highschool drama told from a tight first person point of view. Ruby, the narrator, has found herself at the center of a lot of drama and starts having panic attacks. As a result, her parents make her go to a therapist. The therapist has Ruby compose a list of all her boyfriends regardless of the seriousness of the relationship. The result is a list of 15 relationships, most of which are just flirtations or might-have-beens. One doesn’t even involve a real person.
In any case, Ruby’s narration of why each of these boys is on the list forms the core of the story and leads her to some realizations about herself. It’s a good book. I’ll have to track down the sequel.
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Some books I pick up because I’m looking for material for my students. I’m a big reader, but I tend to read a lot of fantasy, sci fi, and speculative fiction. Not everyone is into that. I have student, Erin, who likes teen high school dramas. She’s not alone so I’ve been building my “Erin Collection” the guiding principle of which is, “would Erin like this?” In the process of building the collection, I’ve found that I actually like some of these books.
Sunday, February 17, 2019
Week 7 - From My Histrionic Sick Bed
Page Numbers for the Week: 560. Total Pages for 2019 so far: 5233. Page Average Per Day: 109. Total Number of Books: 18.
I was correct when I said I was coming down with something last week. Turns out I was coming down with influenza...the real stuff. It's been a while since I've been quite that sick. The biggest problem was focus. I'm used to sinking into books, but I had a hard time maintaining the thread...even when I was enjoying them. As a result, I'm about halfway through four books. (Denoted with an *) This is going to make the weekly list longer. I'm going to to give myself ten slots instead of the usual six. Hopefully, I'll knock out those half done titles with expediency.
Tsundoku Stack Short List:
I was correct when I said I was coming down with something last week. Turns out I was coming down with influenza...the real stuff. It's been a while since I've been quite that sick. The biggest problem was focus. I'm used to sinking into books, but I had a hard time maintaining the thread...even when I was enjoying them. As a result, I'm about halfway through four books. (Denoted with an *) This is going to make the weekly list longer. I'm going to to give myself ten slots instead of the usual six. Hopefully, I'll knock out those half done titles with expediency.
- Dinner for Everyone by Mark Bittman*
- Copper Sun by Sharon M. Draper
- Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman*
- A Discovery Of Witches by Deborah Harkness
- The Wall by John Lanchester
The Boyfriend List by E. Lockhart- Finished 2/18/2019Modernist Cooking Made Easy: Infusions by Jason Logsdon- Finished 2/19/2019- Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris*
- The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey*
- Teaching English by Design by Peter Smagorinsky (Pedagogy Book)
Sunday, February 10, 2019
Week 6 Reviewed
Page Numbers for the Week: 956. Total Pages for 2019 so far: 4,673. Page Average Per Day: 117. Total Number of Books: 16.
It's interesting going through my stacks. I think I must have thousands of books stuffed in the house. Strangely, for most of them, I know where they came from. I know where I bought them and why, even if it was just on a whim. It's like a strange little literary scrapbook of my life. Anyway, Tsundoku Fest continues. I seem to be averaging about three books a week.
Tsundoku Stack Short List:
The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo- Finished 2/11/2019- Stand Tall by Joan Bauer
- Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman
- The Wall by John Lanchester
- Modernist Cooking Made Easy: Infusions by Jason Logsdon
- Teaching English by Design by Peter Smagorinsky (Pedagogy Book)
Short post this week, I think I'm coming down with something.
Friday, February 8, 2019
Lu by Jason ReynoldsMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
The final book in the series, Lu follows the last of the newbies on the Defenders track team. He’s an albino and oh-so-slick. In the previous books, Lu made the decision to learn the hurdles and this novel picks up after his first somewhat humiliating experience at a meet where he wiped out and ended up disqualified. Hurdles are tough and not because they are high, they aren’t really. It’s because they look massive when you are sprinting up to them. More than any other high school level track event, the hurdles are a head game.
Lu is all about the head game. He psychs himself up every day and he talks a big game because this is a novel about growing up different. Albinism is incredibly uncommon and it comes with a lot of other complications. Lu’s whole life is one of being visibly different which means dealing with an awful lot of jokes from friends and bullies both. I can’t imagine what it’s like having your difference literally on display like that. What’s incredible is the people around Lu. All the side characters in Lu’s family and on the team are well developed and rounded. I was particularly impressed by the development in coach Otis.
This is an excellent finale to the Track Series.
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Wednesday, February 6, 2019
Elevation by Stephen KingMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Elevation is a novella with a straight-forward premise: what would happen if someone started mysteriously dropping weight without dropping physical mass. Nothing else changes, just less and less weight each day. That’s what’s happening to Scott Carey. It doesn’t take long for him to realize that this mysterious process can only have one ultimate end.
This is a story about closure and about mortality. Scott uses his remaining time to live well and put a few things right. The focused story coupled with King’s typically immersive storytelling makes for a quick read. While I can’t say I’m feeling my mortality quite the way Mr. Carey is, I hope that I face my end as well as he does.
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Monday, February 4, 2019
Odd One Out by Nic StoneMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
To start with, this is excellent book for teens to read regardless of sexual or gender orientation. This isn’t a book about being gay, or straight, or even bi. It’s a book about teens trying to figure it all out, both who they are and how to be ok with what other people are. I think that’s a topic everyone needs to explore a little.
Here’s the set up: there are three teens. Coop: male, straight, and completely in love with his childhood friend Jupiter. Jupiter: female and gay. She’s never been anything else but gay and she’s known this since she was very, very young. Coop and Jupiter are close, and Coop knows his love for Jupiter can’t go anywhere. He’s trying to deal with it when Rae enters the story. Rae is a big ole question mark. She hasn’t really considered what she likes until she meets Jupiter and Coop. Things get complicated fast.
I really like there are no easy answers here and Stone doesn’t give her characters any easy outs. She doesn’t make it less complicated or paint a rosy picture. However, she does make the characters equal to their personal challenges and present the possibility that friendships can evolve and change enough to persist despite challenges (and some pretty phenomenal bad decisions)
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Sunday, February 3, 2019
Week 5 in Review
Page Numbers for the Week: 688. Total Pages for 2019 so far: 3,717. Page Average Per Day: 113. Total Number of Books: 13.
Welcome to Tsundoku Fest. All of February all I'm reading are books I already own. All the library books are back in their respective homes. That was really hard actually. I had to give back about seven books unread. I started the last week with about seven books, read three, but they just kept coming in from previously made requests. There's pressure somehow to read them which I suppose in a community way makes sense. Other people can't have those copies because I have them. I guess I just get too excited when faced with a library catalog.
Tsundoku Stack Short List:
The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer (from my classroom library)- Finished 2/9/2019- The Wall by John Lanchester
Life Below Stairs by Alison Maloney- Finished 2/4/2019- Ringworld by Larry Niven
The Song Rising by Samantha Shannon- Finished 2/7/2019- Teaching English by Design by Peter Smagorinsky (Pedagogy Book)
So, it seems like my comfortable reading rate during school is about 100 pages a day. Next to the national average, that's none too shabby but it's not where I thought I was. I need to decide whether I'm changing my goal or if the average comes up significantly during off school times. It's going to be a big wait and see game.
I'm having to put January's pedagogy book aside. That isn't because it is bad or slow, it's because I picked a grammar text to start with. I'm going to continue picking at it...but my brain goes swimmy if I spend too much time on it at once.
Wednesday, January 30, 2019
The Mortal Word by Genevieve CogmanMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
The Mortal Word is the fifth book in the Invisible Library Series. It picks up soon after the somewhat disastrous events in the fourth book where Kai had to retire from the Library and return to dragon society. Peregrine Vale is urgently summoned to investigate the murder of a dragon diplomat during a peace talk between the dragons and the fae. Irene is asked along as representative of the Library on the investigative team. The plot is high stakes political intrigue with dragon kings and high powered fae.
In some ways I think this is the best book of the series. Lord Silver, Kai, Irene, and Vale are all reunited in investigating the crime. On the face of it there are motives for all three of the groups to have done it: The Library, Fae, and Dragons. This introduces tension back into the group. No one wants to believe their own side culpable. The new relationship between Kai and Irene (now that he’s no longer his apprentice) sees some development too. I guess it’s the end that’s got me all fan girl squee about this. I won’t ruin it for you, but it really is excellent.
I really hope there is another book coming in the series.
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Monday, January 28, 2019
Zahrah the Windseeker by Nnedi OkoraforMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Zahara was born dada which means with a full head of hair that has little green vines growing in it. Being dada is to be suspect, kind of like a bad talisman. Her best friend Dari doesn’t think that though and constantly encourages her to explore the gifts that come with being dada, namely the ability to fly. Trouble comes when they step foot in the mysterious (and forbidden) greeny jungle. Dari is bitten by a snake and Zahara must search the jungle for the antidote.
This is the very definition of a coming of age story. Zahara starts out shy, unsure, and almost self-loathing. Through trial she discovers who she is and the value of what she is. She builds confidence by surviving the dangers of the mysterious greeny jungle. Her character development is masterful. The setting, however, almost overshadows Zahara’s story. The Ooni Kingdom and the Mysterious Greeny Jungle are so richly described that it sticks in the imagination. The whole Ooni culture is fascinating. Okorafor, through her narrator, describes a people who are inherently vain, but also invested in living in harmony with their environment. All their technology is plant based. They grow their buildings from specially bred plants, their lights come from a bioluminescent pod, and they even grow a plant version of a computer.
It’s a very fun, well written story aimed at high schoolers.
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Sunday, January 27, 2019
Week 4 Review
Page Numbers for the Week: 398. Total Pages for 2019 so far: 3,029. Page Average Per Day: 117. Total Number of Books: 10.
Last week was an off week for reading. Everyone has to rest from time to time, I guess. However, I'm swamped by library books so I'm dispensing with other considerations to sweep the deck. All my library books go on the list this week in preparation for February. I have arbitrarily declared February Tsundoku month. All February, I'm clearing my stacks of owned and unread books.
A Very Long Short List for the Week:
At the end of the week, I'm taking all my library books back to their respective libraries so that I can focus on evening up my ratios.
Last week was an off week for reading. Everyone has to rest from time to time, I guess. However, I'm swamped by library books so I'm dispensing with other considerations to sweep the deck. All my library books go on the list this week in preparation for February. I have arbitrarily declared February Tsundoku month. All February, I'm clearing my stacks of owned and unread books.
A Very Long Short List for the Week:
Odd One Out by Nic Stone (Dekalb Library)- Finished 1/28/2019- War Cross by Marie Lu (Dekalb Library)
Elevation by Stephen King (Dekalb Library)- Finished 1/30/2019- What If It's Us by Becky Albertalli & Adam Silvera (E Loan - Dekalb Library)
- Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertali (Dekalb Library)
- Black Enough: Stories of Being Young & Black in America edited by Ibi Zoboi (School Library)
Lu by Jason Reynolds (School Library)- Finished 2/2/2019- Grammar to Get Things Done by Darren Crovitz and Michelle Deveraux (Pedagogy Book for January - also School Library book)
At the end of the week, I'm taking all my library books back to their respective libraries so that I can focus on evening up my ratios.
Sunday, January 20, 2019
Week 3 Review
Page Numbers for the Week Jan 13-19: 692. Total Pages for 2019 so far: 2,631. Page Average Per Day: 139. Total Books: 9.
I hate doing it, but I'm abandoning Michael Donkor's Housegirl. I kept trying to pick it up, but I guess I'm just not in the right place for it. I can tell that it's probably excellent so I'll try again at some point. I'm continuing to struggle with page count. I'll give it another week, but I think I might need to set a different goal. I'm generally coming in at around 100 pages
Short List for the Week:
I've been library heavy for a couple of weeks now. I tend to run through phases and right now I'm loving the library. However, I'm only slated for 50 library books. . . I'm already at six which means if I stick to this pace I'll read 144 library books -- big win for the library system, but it's not the goal. Maybe I'll declare a week of Tsundoku love for February... although it occurs to me that the nebulous other category is going to be the real problem.
In other words...it's time to diversify posts.
I hate doing it, but I'm abandoning Michael Donkor's Housegirl. I kept trying to pick it up, but I guess I'm just not in the right place for it. I can tell that it's probably excellent so I'll try again at some point. I'm continuing to struggle with page count. I'll give it another week, but I think I might need to set a different goal. I'm generally coming in at around 100 pages
Short List for the Week:
- Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff (Ryan's Recommendation)
- The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer (Tsundoku Stack - Classroom Library)
The Mortal Word by Genevieve Cogman (Dekalb Library)- Finished 1/23/2019- Odd One Out by Nic Stone (Dekalb Library)
- War Cross by Marie Lu (Dekalb Library)
- Elevation by Stephen King (Dekalb Library)
- Grammar to Get Things Done by Darren Crovitz and Michelle Deveraux (Pedagogy Book for January)
I've been library heavy for a couple of weeks now. I tend to run through phases and right now I'm loving the library. However, I'm only slated for 50 library books. . . I'm already at six which means if I stick to this pace I'll read 144 library books -- big win for the library system, but it's not the goal. Maybe I'll declare a week of Tsundoku love for February... although it occurs to me that the nebulous other category is going to be the real problem.
In other words...it's time to diversify posts.
Saturday, January 19, 2019
Binti - Home and Night Masquerade
Sometimes when I'm working on a series, it feels a little silly to make separate posts for each book. I think this is my solution. Here are my goodreads reviews for the last two books in the Binti Series. This is a excellent introduction to the author. All three book come in right at 200 or few pages, so in many ways reading all three in quick succession feels like reading a single more sizable book.
Home by Nnedi Okorafor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Home is very much a story about the price of change. It picks up about a year after the first story of Binti. Binti and the Meduse, Okwu, are enrolled at the Oomza University, but Binti is struggling. In the previous story Binti is physically changed by the Meduse and that change has consequences especially for a girl from a very insular people. Binti feels the need to return home and Okwu goes with her as friend and Meduse ambassador.
It’s very clear that this is a bridge book, or the central story, in a series. As such, it opens more conflicts than it resolves. The relationship between the Meduse and Khoush is developed. More problematically, Binti is shoved into more change as she discovers a previously unclaimed heritage from her father’s side that pulls her away from her home just as crises strikes and the book ends. It’s all rather abrupt.
It’s an excellent story but it cannot stand on it’s own the way either Binti or the next book, The Night Masquerade, can.
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and...
The Night Masquerade by Nnedi Okorafor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
There’s a piece of advice often give to creative writing students to start their stories in the middle of the action. This avoids the common problem of getting lost in exposition. Okorafor is a master of this. Night Masquerade starts with a nightmare that might be more than just a dream. Binti’s family is trapped in a burning cellar. This opening passage establishes a dark tense mood that pervades the first half of the text. It also introduces a sense of Binti’s state which is full of insecurity and fear not only for herself but for her family.
I have to say that I rarely get surprised by a story these days. I read a lot and narrative structure tends to follow certain patterns, so when an author succeeds in surprising me, I take note. Okorafor, pulled it off. Without saying too much and ruining the surprise, in a series about transformation, Binti undergoes the ultimate in transformation stories. I sat there around page 120 or so going….surely not, there’s still 80 pages to go. It’s excellent. It is worth reading the rest of the series (which is very good and worth reading anyway) just to get to this book.
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Home by Nnedi OkoraforMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Home is very much a story about the price of change. It picks up about a year after the first story of Binti. Binti and the Meduse, Okwu, are enrolled at the Oomza University, but Binti is struggling. In the previous story Binti is physically changed by the Meduse and that change has consequences especially for a girl from a very insular people. Binti feels the need to return home and Okwu goes with her as friend and Meduse ambassador.
It’s very clear that this is a bridge book, or the central story, in a series. As such, it opens more conflicts than it resolves. The relationship between the Meduse and Khoush is developed. More problematically, Binti is shoved into more change as she discovers a previously unclaimed heritage from her father’s side that pulls her away from her home just as crises strikes and the book ends. It’s all rather abrupt.
It’s an excellent story but it cannot stand on it’s own the way either Binti or the next book, The Night Masquerade, can.
View all my reviews
and...
The Night Masquerade by Nnedi OkoraforMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
There’s a piece of advice often give to creative writing students to start their stories in the middle of the action. This avoids the common problem of getting lost in exposition. Okorafor is a master of this. Night Masquerade starts with a nightmare that might be more than just a dream. Binti’s family is trapped in a burning cellar. This opening passage establishes a dark tense mood that pervades the first half of the text. It also introduces a sense of Binti’s state which is full of insecurity and fear not only for herself but for her family.
I have to say that I rarely get surprised by a story these days. I read a lot and narrative structure tends to follow certain patterns, so when an author succeeds in surprising me, I take note. Okorafor, pulled it off. Without saying too much and ruining the surprise, in a series about transformation, Binti undergoes the ultimate in transformation stories. I sat there around page 120 or so going….surely not, there’s still 80 pages to go. It’s excellent. It is worth reading the rest of the series (which is very good and worth reading anyway) just to get to this book.
View all my reviews
Tuesday, January 15, 2019
The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives by Dashka SlaterMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
The 57 Bus is an excellent piece of YA nonfiction that follows what happened one day on the 57 bus in Oakland when Richard, a young African American man, impulsively pranks Sasha, a young biologically male agender person. This prank took the form taking a lighter to Sasha’s skirt. Richard’s expectation was that it light, flicker, and go out very quickly and give Sasha a start. Unfortunately Sasha’s skirt was made of a highly flammable material and instead resulted in a fireball and deep burns all across Sasha’s legs.
Slater tells the story of both youths, both members of minorities that face prejudice as a part of daily life. She presents Sasha’s gender identity and world views well and Richard’s situation with compassion. The crime, and no one argues that it wasn’t a crime, was termed a hate crime even though there was evidence that it wasn’t motivated by hate but rather an extremely bad choice made by a very impulsive young man. The legal system failed here. It could have been worse, of course, and if Sasha’s parents hadn’t stepped in, it probably would have been worse for Richard. Slater could have presented this as a story of hate, but instead she puts the situation under the microscope to illuminate the genderqueer community and illustrate the inequalities embedded in the legal system. Her text poses a question as to how justice is served and what justice means in a situation like this.
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Sunday, January 13, 2019
Week Two Review
Page Numbers for the Week Jan 6-12: 834. Total Pages for 2019 so far: 1,939. Average Per Day: 162. Total Books: 6.
As predicted, school started back and that 200 page a day reading goal got hard. I slipped behind some. I got serious stuck on Bridge to Terabithia. For a 120 page book, it really took me a long time to get through. It's always weird how that goes. Who Fears Death was every bit as good as I hoped and I'm going to try and finish up reading all of Okorafor's work over the next couple weeks. Maybe I'll put together an Author Review post.
Short List for the Week:
There is an extra book on there this week because two of them, the Binti books, are very short. Generally, I want to keep the lists around five with an additional pedagogy book for a total of six. I have a bad tendency to get over ambitious with my lists. Five feels about right. To stay on track in terms of number of books I need to read about three books a week. However, being human and all I tend to go in streaks. I'll read obsessively, four or five books a week, for weeks and then read nothing at all for a couple weeks. I'd like to make sure that I read at least one book a week for the year and even things out some. In any case, a five book list means there's some variety in there but that it is feasible for me to complete it if I'm on a reading jag.
As predicted, school started back and that 200 page a day reading goal got hard. I slipped behind some. I got serious stuck on Bridge to Terabithia. For a 120 page book, it really took me a long time to get through. It's always weird how that goes. Who Fears Death was every bit as good as I hoped and I'm going to try and finish up reading all of Okorafor's work over the next couple weeks. Maybe I'll put together an Author Review post.
Short List for the Week:
- Housegirl by Michael Donkor (Dekalb Library) - abandoned 1/18/2019
- Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff (Ryan's Recommendation)
Binti: Home by Nnedi Okorafor (Dekalb Library)- (Finished 1/13/2019)Binti: the Night Masquerade by Nnedi Okorafor (Dekalb Library)- (Finished 1/18/2019)Zahrah the Windseeker by Nedi Okorafor (Dekalb Library)- (Finished 1/17/2019)- The Mortal Word by Genevieve Cogman (Dekalb Library)
- Grammar to Get Things Done by Darren Crovitz and Michelle Deveraux (Pedagogy Book for January)
There is an extra book on there this week because two of them, the Binti books, are very short. Generally, I want to keep the lists around five with an additional pedagogy book for a total of six. I have a bad tendency to get over ambitious with my lists. Five feels about right. To stay on track in terms of number of books I need to read about three books a week. However, being human and all I tend to go in streaks. I'll read obsessively, four or five books a week, for weeks and then read nothing at all for a couple weeks. I'd like to make sure that I read at least one book a week for the year and even things out some. In any case, a five book list means there's some variety in there but that it is feasible for me to complete it if I'm on a reading jag.
Saturday, January 12, 2019
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine PatersonMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into with this one. I hadn’t seen the movie and no one had ever described much of the plot. With a title like “Bridge to Terabithia” I was expecting something like a YA fantasy novel. My first hint that something was up was when people, seeing me carrying it around, started gushing about how much they always cried at the end of the book. Despite my mistaken expectations, I can see why this is considered a classic of children’s literature.
This is a nice story about a friendship between two very different kids. Jesse’s family are poor farmers struggling to make ends meet and Leslie’s are well-off authors who are trying to get closer to the land. Leslie’s a bit of a free spirit and Jesse is just trying to fit in. It’s a sweet story that ends in tragedy. It’s a good book, but a bit one-note for me. The tragic elements seem out of place to me and unnecessary because in a story about an unusual friendship, the death adds nothing. I would have rather seen more development between the two characters even if that meant the friendship fracturing under their dissimilar world views. Leslie’s death just seemed to chop the narrative off at the knees. Still, I wouldn’t argue with anyone who tells me they love it.
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Wednesday, January 9, 2019
Who Fears Death by Nnedi OkoraforMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Okorafor has a talent for mixing science fiction and fantasy. Who Fears Death is set in a post-apocalyptic future so distant that apocalypse itself has become mythologized in the “Great Book” which is something very like the Bible. In this book, the people are split into two people: the dark skinned Okeke who pay for causing the apocalypse by being willing slaves to the lighter skinned Nuru. Over time, things become violent and the novel commences during a time of violence when the Nuru believe that the Great Book wishes the Okeke to be exterminated. The main character, Onyesonwu, is born out of the violence and conflict and is lighter-skinned like her mother’s Nuru rapist. Children liker her are called Ewu and are reviled. She quickly discovers that she has mystical talents and she struggles against convention and tradition to train her gift.
I opened with a short summary because it illustrates the many themes running through this novel. There are many difficult things to this book such as rape and violent prejudice, but it was not a difficult read. Onyesonwu is a fighter and I found myself cheering for her even when she was childish and temperamental. There is an aspect to this that is a messiah story. It is not over-blown and it adds a layer to the read that made me very thoughtful. There is so much violence in religious texts, is that because we a violent species? Or is it because we so desperately need saving?
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Monday, January 7, 2019
The Schwa Was Here by Neal ShustermanMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a “what if” story, by which I mean that it easily flows from the statement “what if there was a kid who was so boring he seemed to disappear?” I like what if stories. They are accessible and have a purity of of focus to them. I admit when I picked this up I knew nothing about it other than that it won some ALA designations and was by an author I generally respect. However, once I started into it, I had a hard time putting it down. The Schwa is a kid named Calvin who somehow is completely ignorable - to the point of being practically invisible. This is discovered by the stories narrator, Antsy Bonano. The two of them team up and for the first time in his life, The Schwa has a friend. However, what must that be like for an invisible kid to finally be noticed? What is it like if he and his friend are both vying for the attentions of the same girl? And what is it like for Antsy who is just a kid but now finds himself the emotional touch point for this fantastically broken kid? The story is fast-paced and the voice is delightfully flippant.
What I really love about this book though is how Shusterman writes a story for middle school kids that is utterly non-condescending. He tackles some really tough issues too. I think most kids, of both genders, experience falling for the same person as their friend. It's not an easy thing, at any age. I also think most kids feel invisible at some point. What kid hasn't felt alone? Shusterman is speaking to some very fundamental issues here and he does a good job with it.This is a great read for the middle school set.
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Morning Star by Pierce Brown
(The current list) Finished April 17, so it's been a minute and the details are fuzzy at this point. As a reminder, Darrow was born...
