December 21 - 27

The Host by Stephanie Meyer
I've read this so many times before, but this time it was an audiobook. I was having trouble falling asleep one night, and reading always makes me sleepy, so I thought a book being read to me would be just as good if not better. I borrowed this one from my online library, and I was asleep in no time. Then I fell into the story again, and put it on whenever there was some silence that needed filling: while cleaning my room, while driving in my radio-less truck (seriously, it's just a plastic dash--I don't even have the option of a cassette!) or any other time.

Victory of Eagles by Naomi Novik
Another solid installation of the Temeraire series, although to be honest, this one took me so long (for whatever reason) that I can't really remember what happened in this book or the one(s) before it. Regardless, the story is still progressing! I'm excited too, because judging from the ending, with Laurence and Temeraire getting shipped off to Australia, I think there might be a bit of a break from all the military combat. It's very well done, but these little breaks that Novik works in the series are perfectly timed to keep me going. I'm looking forward to the next one (which I already have downloaded!).

Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas
Yay, I finished it! I actually finished this so early in the week that I forgot I finished it this week and had to edit this in here after checking the other entries! I plowed through this once I got home for break, and it was incredibly well done. It was very exciting to go to a new land, and the new potential allies and enemies there have me all excited for what's coming next. This one had a lot of back story and revelations and lore, but it was woven into the action so as to prevent it from becoming a dull historical recitation. Maas seems to be very good at that, because I made similar comments about the last book (noting that the second book in a series is often the dull "character development" one). I'm glad the main character finally got herself together and moved past the wallowy sadness phase, although even that wasn't overdone or annoying. However, I'm excited to see what she can do when she's actually thinking and in control of herself. As for the romance plot, I'm actually pretty unsure of any of those possible tangled ends, for any of the characters. Very well written! And thank goodness that those are taking a bit of a backseat to the true drama of the world. Romance is good as a spice, but not so much as the main flavor, at least not here.


How odd...
This is the last post of the year! Kind of anyway: next post will be a few days of this remaining year and few days of THE FUTURE! Whoohoo, and look out for a new label!

December 14 - 20

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas
This is the second book in the Throne of Glass series, and it was better than the first because there was more freedom for the main character, which isn't surprising considering the first one had her shackled and trailed by guards and such. Now she's able to move about more or less freely. I plowed through this book in about a day (again) despite the piles of work that I was wading through for finals week---THAT'S how you know it was good! There were some really great twists, especially at the end that TOTALLY caught me off guard, which is again, pretty impressive because I'm usually pretty good at predictions. It ended on a super strong note! Very impressive! Basically, yeah, I'm a fan of this particular book (and series, so far).

Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas
Unfortunately this book just came out in September, so waiting lists and such are quite long. Fortunately, I managed to get a copy anyway! :D This one takes you to a new land with a bunch of new creatures, including some chapters narrated by those creepy Ironteeth witches. The King is planning some crazy evil stuff, as any good evil King does. I'm probably about a third of the way through this one because finals work finally needed to be done. It's pretty solid so far though.

On another note...
Now that I'm home for a bit, I went to the used bookstore that's part of the town library and picked up a bunch of promising new titles. Can't wait to dive into those! I got a few Malcolm Gladwell books, as well as Ishmael which my brother has been encouraging me to read for years now. Also, it's an odd thought that soon I won't be using the 2014 tag! We're getting close now!

December 7 - 13

The Country of Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett
Well, I finally finished this! And... it continued in largely the same vein. We learn about the characters when they tell us stories. The narrator left and then it ended. I wish we had had class to discuss this because I'm still not feeling like I got much from it. Discussing it with a group of intelligent people would have helped.

Cultural Anthropology: A Toolkit for a Global Age by Kenneth J. Guest
Its finals week, and I have re-read several chapters of this in-depth now. I have mentioned it before, and it's still holding up okay...for a textbook.

Victory of Eagles: A Novel of Temeraire (#5)  by Naomi Novik
This book is so exciting! I love hearing from Temeraire's perspective. Also, I was totally right: he led a rebellion of epic proportions and became a ranking officer! HA! I guess the joke is on them now! Anyway, it's just fantastic. After trying to kill all the dragons in the world, those officers deserve such an appropriate kind of embarrassment. I'm still suspicious of Iskierka, though she's acting all obedient and such now. I just don't see it lasting. Temeraire and some of the others are headed off to the front to keep Napoleon at bay, so we're getting to the exciting ending, I'm guessing!

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
This was one of the books I found by browsing through books that were available as an e-book through my library at home. What a find! While it wasn't anything insane or totally new, it was enough to draw me in and keep me in until I finished it. I almost let myself be late for a dinner date so that I could finish it! I managed to put it down for a few hours though, and finished it in about a day. So, definitely a solid book. An 18-year-old female assassin of incredible renown is taken from a slave labor camp and entered into the king's competition for royal assassin, basically. There's some magic sprinkled in, and of course a love story with a handsome prince. **SPOILER UPCOMING** LUCKILY, their love story was ended before the end, thank GOODNESS, because I didn't really like that direction. It ended as well as it could, but the prince was all dramatic and "I could never be with someone else now that I know her!" so we'll see how he does with it, I guess. I'm glad she's going for the guard instead. He's more real, and I suspect he has ties to magic somehow...maybe he can see it too? He also has a way cooler name. **END SPOILERS*

Anyway, I'm currently waiting for a copy of the next one in the series. It made for a nice day's light read in a time of turmoil (so much work for finals!!).

November 30 - December 6

Empire of Ivory: A Novel of Temeraire by Naomi Novik
I finally finished this one! It was pretty solid, and introduced some new issues and elements. I also finally got o the point where I found out in the eighth book which I accidentally began what Laurence does to commit treason (!!). It was pretty much excellent, especially the ending. It dropped off in the middle of the action on a cliffhanger---very well done!


Victory of Eagles: A Novel of Temeraire by Naomi Novik
Luckily, this one picked up right where the last one left off, so I didn't really have to wait to see what happened. I"m only about a third of the way through, but the threat of death is hanging over Laurence's head (pretty literally!). I really like that I'm getting the novel straight from Temeraire though since he's super interesting. He seems to be up to something, something rebellious and exciting!


The Country of Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett
So far, not much has really happened in this book. The majority of our class discussion was "does this book have a plot?" Not "what is the plot?" but does it even have one. We also talked about old people. So yeah, not a lot going on. Unsurprisingly, it takes place in Maine. ;) It's largely an examination of the characters of the old people who live in the town that the narrator is visiting. Not much really happens. I'm genuinely not super sure what... was... why it was written, I suppose. My thought is that it was somewhat meta, and the novel was sort of a post-product of an actual experience of the writer that was hinted at in the novel. That doesn't really sound right either, but I can't think of anything else despite lengthy group discussions.

November 23 - 29

Empire of Ivory: A Novel of Temeraire by Naomi Novik
Unfortunately, I haven't had as much time to read this as I had hoped, even with Thanksgiving break this week. I am nearly at the end though, so I guess I've knocked out more than I thought! It's had some pretty unexpected twists in it, and the burgeoning (more or less friendly) rivalry between Temeraire and Izkierka is delightful! I can't wait to see where it goes! In keeping with hitting nearly every continent in the world already in the course of the series, this one takes place mostly in Africa (the southern part). Keep the tradition going!

November 16 - 22

Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins
This is one of only two audiobooks I've ever listened to. I was looking for something to occupy my brain while I did some fairly simple tasks for school, and I found this while scouring the e-library offered by my school. It sounded easy enough, and it was. The voice of the character (not the actual reader's voice, but the stylistic voice) was hilariously realistic, and I loved it. The plot was predictable, but still something I had never heard before. There were a few moments that caught me off guard, and overall I quite enjoyed it! A nice simple read.

When it starts with the prom queen almost getting murdered by her history teacher in the bathroom and then kissed by the janitor-in-disguise? That's pretty promising. Throw in some things like "assasination attempt with a letter opener," "paladin," and "super badass alchemy" and you've got my attention for sure! I'll read the next one whenever I have time and can find it.

November 9 - 15

The Hermaphrodite by Julia Ward Howe
This is a book for my early American novel class that has one of those names and covers that makes you feel a little weird to read it in public. I am, however, enjoying it for the most part. It hasn't been a struggle to get through and reads like a memoir, so of course I love it. There was a section of pages where the main character turns to God in a philosophical, rambling kind of way that I skimmed pretty generously, but other than that, it's been intriguing at the least. As for the history of the book itself, it was actually an unpublished set of manuscripts that aren't super related or even close to complete. The random sections that could be found were compiled by the man who put my edition together in the order he thought made the most sense, but there's really no set way to do it since the author never seemed to intend to publish it. It's very outside her canon, so it's even more intriguing. Reading the scattered bits at the "end" was quite interesting, and it's definitely a good thing I'm not one of those people who has issues when the author "doesn't tell you what happens at the end."


Empire of Ivory: A Novel of Temeraire by Naomi Novik
Yes! I was finally able to get the copy and time to read this! I'm only about a quarter of the way through at the moment, but there was an excellent twist that I did not see coming at all! I'm really excited to keep reading and I hope I continue to have time to do so! Temeraire is, as always, an excellent and intriguing character, and the addition to the wily young Kazilik dragon (a fire-breather!) has me groaning in frustration and smiling indulgently at her antics. The ferals are a clever addition, and quite frankly, the dragons are always the most interesting characters. This could be my own personal inclination rather than the writing, but I think in this case it's just inevitable. They're so interesting! Anyway, I'm going to go read some more of it while I have the time!

November 2 - 8

Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
Yep, I finally finished it, and for the most part enjoyed this novel. We discussed the juxtaposition of how this novel provided a great push for abolition in the United States, and yet portrays largely stereotyped and racialized characters such as Chloe as Mammy, Tom as the Good Christion (reminds me of Equiano a bit there), Tom's children and Topsy as the Wild African, and various cunning Sambos throughout. Some good stuff in here, and I also enjoyed the journeys that moved away from each other: Tom to the south, George and Eliza to the north.

Twitter help pages
Yes, Twitter. I finally created an account after reading so much and hearing firsthand from teachers I respect that Twitter is an excellent source of information and ideas for teachers. I bit the bullet, and I'm actually really loving it! However, Twitter is quite different from other social media I've played around with, and has taken some adjusting and some Google searches. In addition to these help pages...

Various Education Articles
My hopes for Twitter came true, and I actually discovered a new app just for organizing all of the readings and links and videos I've been finding! Twitter is a concise feed of helpful ideas and interesting theories, when you use it properly (i.e. not following meme characters).

As for the app I mentioned, it's called Pocket, and it's pretty fabulous. It saves articles, videos, whatever you want, across different platforms (laptop, tablet, smartphone) and downloads them so you can view them offline. You add things through the share button, read it later. It has tagging features as is pretty standard these days, and you can easily send an article to someone else (regardless of if they have the app or not). If you're interested, check it out here at getpocket.com, or search for it in whatever your smartphone store may be. I'll see you there!

October 26 - November 1

Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
I have plowed through about half of this, although I still have a few hundred pages to go before class this upcoming week (yikes!). Luckily, it's a wonderful novel, one that I'm enjoying immensely and quite thankful for the required reading. The characters are delightful. Stowe did a great job blurring and simultaneously stressing the lines of race in this book, and I thoroughly enjoy the wit and fervor that appears in unexpected places and people. I must admit, everything about this book is not what I expected---in the best kinds of ways!

Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, 1864
This is part of a really cool project for my American Novel class. We were assigned to choose a newspaper from the 1800s and read several copies of it. The one I chose was Frank Leslie's, as mentioned above, and it was based out of New York. The newspapers each had a specific format, which mainly featured a front page story on current civil war developments, followed by a summary of war events by state, as well as some local news and "chit-chat." The rest of each issue was split between submitted stories, poems, and even jokes by readers, and about two pages of ads to end. I developed favorite sections, which I would skip to first (those being "chit-chat," "accidents and offences," "Fun for the Family" jokes, and the ads). There was also a contest winner's story that was in the process of being published serially, about a chapter a week. The illustrated portion of the title was showcased in numerous multi-page sketches and illustrations done by a nameless "special artist" who would recount battle scenes, last week's fair, and decorated war heroes. Apparently they were featured as inserts that were sometimes even carved on wood or thin sheets of metal! How cool! Anyway, it's pretty awesome, and the year that I was reading (1864) can be found here.

October 19 - 25

Reckless (#3), Unforgettable (#4), Lucky (#5), Tempted (#6) by Cecily Von Ziegesar
Yep, so... these books are just so easy to read that I've pretty much read one each day. They're just so simple! And catty! And although some of the romantic encounters stuff is pretty predictable, the more interesting plot-related things are still coming as surprises. It's enough to keep me reading! I think these books sort of became my break from reading things that require more thought. Very simple, comparatively.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon
I have to say, this book got me. I did not see the twists coming. The first one wasn't too surprising; you could kind of infer it from earlier hints and suggestions that the narrator couldn't figure out because of his difficulty with understanding others' emotions. But the second one? The resolution of who killed the dog? WHOA! Didn't see that coming!! So well done. The whole journey to London was intriguing as well, and the ending was perfectly done: it didn't answer every question, and I had to wonder what would become of the characters. Very good!

October 12 - 18

The It Girl (#1) & Notorious (#2) by Cecily Von Ziegesar
For whatever reason, this gossip girl spinoff series popped into my head recently and I decided to re-read it. Is a silly, catty series with lots of drinking, partying, and casual sex... Not my usual. I powered through the first two books though, them both being relatively short, and I'm working on the third one. However, I'm getting kind of sick of the plot, so it probably won't last very long.

Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
So, I have to read this from my American novel class, and I never realized that it was a novel and not a speech or manifesto kind of thing. I had no idea what to expect, and it's going pretty well. It is actually pretty interesting and funny, and I'm generally enjoying reading it. I'm already loving the characters, and hoping to see a happy ending, although I feel like that's not how it will go. I'm not very far in yet, so I guess we'll have to wait and see.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon
I saw this book in my advisors office on her big shelf of young adult novels. I've seen it before, and been intrigued by the name even though I had no idea what it was about. I seem to have been on a kick of reading books that I have no idea what they are about lately. Anyway, I started this one, and I really love it. It's written from the perspective of a boy with autism, and it's definitively an interesting read. The language is straightforward in an incredibly refreshing way, and the character is cleverly developed to for the story.

October 5 - 11

The Blithedale Romance by Nathaniel Hawthorne
This was a book I read for my early American novel class. It was pretty interesting to read something by Hawthorne that wasn't The Scarlet Letter because now I have a better sense of his style. This story features a well-to-do Bostonian poet in 1835 who bands together with some idealists who try to start a Utopian-like farm together. The kind of thing where everyone shares the work and lives off the land, that sort of idea. The romance implied in the title is distantly narrated by the author. A stunning and proud woman nicknamed Zenobia, a determined philanthropist with a focus on rehabilitating criminals, and a wispy young girl who appears without explanation are the key players in the romance. There's spying, sympathy, intrigue, myths, hallucinations, and even a dramatic suicide (!!) with the final line of the novel revealing the biggest secret of all.

 (But not really, if you pay attention.)


Bullied: What every parent, teacher, and kid needs to know about ending the cycle of fear by Carrie Goldman
I stumbled by this book when I was idly searching my online e-book library to see what I might read next (since the fourth Temeraire novel is refusing to download properly, for whatever reason). I was intrigued by my educator side, and the synopsis was more interesting than I would usually expect from something about bullying anyway. I've heard so much about it that you'd think I'd be sick to death (terrible, terrible pun...) of it by now. BUT, like I said, the format is different from what bullying pamphlets and lectures I've usually encountered usually take. There are anecdotes! Ones that aren't horribly depressing! It's even funny sometimes, and often hopeful! It also covers an impressive scope of the "who" part of bullying: the usual targets of LGBTQ and students with disabilities, but Goldman also acknowledges that some kids just get flak for being in the wrong place at the wrong time (or wearing the wrong shoes at the wrong time, or whatever). I'm about a third of the way through, and although I don't feel like I've learned any particular strategies as an educator, I do feel like I've grown a bit in how to think about it and approach it. There's a lot of good stuff in here for parents, as well, so I've got some ideas on that part of my future now as well.

September 28 - October 4

Cultural Anthropology by Kenneth J. Guest
This is the textbook for my anthropology class. I know, I debated including it in here---but honestly, it's probably the most well-written and interesting textbook I've ever read. It's definitely targeted toward college students, as it addresses us specifically as such on occasion. As far as textbook reading goes, it's quite interesting. It's easy to follow and has interesting and helpful examples for each section. It's also quite visually appealing, as well. The textbook readings are actually helpful, and I often find myself telling a friend about something I read in it.

The Black Powder War by Naomi Novik
Hooray, I finally finished it! I hit a block around the time school first started again due to the sudden decrease in free time, but this week I powered through and finished it up. Very satisfying ending, and I can't wait to start the next one! The incorporation of dragons into otherwise historically accurate information is surprisingly well done. Novik wove the extra story line in very well.


The Linwoods, Volume 2 by Catharine Maria Sedgwick
I finished this up early this week, and I was as pleased at the end as I was throughout! The plot came to a satisfying conclusion, the narrator revealed her ultimate purpose (which was quite an interesting aspect, I thought), and I had the prideful moment of finishing a 2-volume novel that topped 600 pages in two weeks, as well as without losing interest. That is not only a good feeling, but a promising sign for the readings yet to come in the class!

September 21-27

This week, I have been reading...

The Linwoods, Volume 2 by Catharine Maria Sedgwick
This one is for my Early American Novel class, but I'm still surprisingly into it! There's actually an interesting plot. It's really quite similar to a historical fiction novel I would read now anyway, with a slight difference in expressions and language. Even that, though, is suited to the period it's set in. I'm definitely enjoying it. Thank goodness that the first two books for this class have been relatively easy to get through! Considering the fact that I've already read and loved another on the course list gives me high hopes for the rest of them as well. Stay tuned!

Also, this book is out of print and is available online for free in lots of place: Project Gutenberg, archive.org, and even Google Books. I highly suggest checking it out!

September 15-19

This week I have been reading...

The Linwoods, Volume 1 by Catharine Maria Sedgwick. 
This is one that I'm reading for my Early American Novel class, but I've been enjoying it a lot! It's very compelling and actually has a relatable plot and characters. It's pretty much a young adult novel! Awesome! It's set in the time of the American Revolutionary War and follows several sons and daughters of families who are split in alliances and beliefs between the Whigs and Tories, despite their friendship. There are relationship troubles, fits of insanity, plotting mothers, imprisonment, questioned ideals, and so much more! It's lucky that I'm so interested in it because it's a good amount to plow through in just a week!

This book is also available for free online in many places, so it's easy to read if desired. Project Gutenberg, Archive.org, and even Google Books have different versions including .mobi, .epub, .pdf, and plain old scanned pages. Give it a look!

The Black Powder War: A Novel of Temeraire by Naomi Novik
This is third book in a series that I stumbled upon and have been reading for a bit now. It's pretty cool. It focuses on the British side of the Napoleonic era of wars, but there's a twist:dragons exist and are used as a special division within the armies of each country. The basis of this story is that a ship captain finds an egg as loot on a captured French ship---an egg that is about to hatch and needs someone to try to harness it, or else the dragon will be "rogue" and not helpful to the army. Much fun and interest ensues, and each novel has so far featured a different country (or multiple!) which is quite interesting. The characters (particularly the dragons) are delightful, and it's a highly engaging look at Napoleon.

The Reason

Hello there!

The reason that I have created this blog is because I am always trying to remember and record the things that I read. The best parts, the ones that come to mind in certain situations. The clever parts, where I want to quote it, but cannot quite remember it. The terrible parts, where I draw ideas of what not to do and teach as a teacher. 

I want a personal little database that allows me to reflect on what I've read. I want to see trends: in my first year of teaching, did I look into how to help students with disabilities? during the summer, did I read a lot of young adult novels? did I prepare for my trip abroad with travel novels and guides? Reading is always important and key in my life, and now I'm just curious about how exactly it is. 

Finally, I also just love books. I love to read them and to share them and to think about them and to interact with them! If anyone ever reads this besides me, then I want this to be a way for them to think and share and interact with reading as well. (Not to mention interacting with me. :P)

So, that is the basis for this existence. Who knows how long it will last? One or two posts? A few months? A lifetime? It might devolve into a sporadic splurge of things I have read. I hope not.

--Jennifer