Believe it or not, I have been reading. I finished Mayflower in mid-July and haven't really been engaged by anything I've picked up since. Mayflower was fascinating though and I find myself randomly rattling off statistics about the Pilgrims, the Indians, and those rotten Puritans who used to beat up Quakers in the street. The Quakers figured in pretty prominently though and it was fun to read about them and my ancestor who came across on the Mayflower as an indentured servant.
I also realized that I wish I remembered more from my American history classes. Fortunately, most of it sounded familiar so I attribute the gaps to old age instead of a poor education. I need more - any recommendations for history non-fiction? I was thinking about reading John Adams but need to locate a copy.
Well, I tried to start another book I checked out from the school library. I forget the title, but it is one of a genre of high school "coming out" books that deals with issues surrounding homosexuality for teenagers. The library aide recommended it for me because I teach a class called "Teen Issues in Literature" so the subject matter is relevant. The book is okay, not too preachy which is my pet peeve with YA lit. But I'm not gay, I'm not a teenager, and I'm not a boy. It's hard for me to relate but I want to get through to the end so I can recommend it to students.
I also started reading You Must Remember This by Joyce Carol Oates. I can't "get into" it. I'm not sure why but I have a couple of other books by her around that I should try instead.
With two weeks of summer vacation remaining I am waiting for the next book in the Mormon teenage vampire series to arrive from Amazon tomorrow. I should start rereading some of the summer reading material I assigned. I also need to get some more motivation for posting to my blog!
Showing posts with label YA lit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label YA lit. Show all posts
Monday, August 4, 2008
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
update
I just took a quiz on Flixster called "Pharmaceutical or Tolkien Character?" and scored a 70%. It was pretty seriously geeky and I think used character names from The Silmarillion which I was geeky enough to buy, but not to read.
So, I just couldn't "get into" the McCarthy book - I'll get back to it later this summer. For now, I am reading The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult. I think it falls into a genre somewhere between Young Adult lit and chick lit. I know she's really popular (perhaps for her controversial subject matter?) and I like the graphic novel within the novel, but I don't really like the book. I really dislike all of the characters but the father and, strangely enough, the accused rapist. I'm making weird faces to myself as I write this post so let me move on.
I spent over a week between putting down McCarthy and picking up Picoult reading almost nothing. Well, magazine articles in TIME, Bicycling, and Runner's World, if those count. Also, snippets of books on potty training (they need to come with magic wands) and lots and lots of story books. It was relaxing and sometimes I just need a break from literature.
I've also been following my father's blog and dreaming of hitting the road.
So, I just couldn't "get into" the McCarthy book - I'll get back to it later this summer. For now, I am reading The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult. I think it falls into a genre somewhere between Young Adult lit and chick lit. I know she's really popular (perhaps for her controversial subject matter?) and I like the graphic novel within the novel, but I don't really like the book. I really dislike all of the characters but the father and, strangely enough, the accused rapist. I'm making weird faces to myself as I write this post so let me move on.
I spent over a week between putting down McCarthy and picking up Picoult reading almost nothing. Well, magazine articles in TIME, Bicycling, and Runner's World, if those count. Also, snippets of books on potty training (they need to come with magic wands) and lots and lots of story books. It was relaxing and sometimes I just need a break from literature.
I've also been following my father's blog and dreaming of hitting the road.
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