February 8 - 14

Since I'm on break from school next week, I have some time to read non-school-related books! (Well, kind of.) Here's what I've got for now.

Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
I've never read this. It didn't come about in high school, and I felt like I should know it, especially if I'm going to be a teacher. My thoughts so far are that the narrator is super annoying. Does he really need to sweat so often? I know it's part of the character, which totally nails a 14-year-old boy, but jeez, does that get on my nerves. It's so unnecessary. The character, BEYOND the constant goddamns, is quite interesting and rather endearing. He's so obviously trying hard to be aloof and suave (and actually thinks he's so suave at times!) that it's just adorable and sweet to watch, even as he tries to save his nervous little face by cussing in every sentence. I'm not too far in yet, but I'm interested to see where this goes.

The Gate Thief by Orson Scott Card
I grabbed the audiobook of this, the sequel to The Lost Gate that I read/listened to over the summer. It was helpful on my 3-hour drive home for break. Stefan Rutnicky narrated again, so of course it was wonderful. There was actually a part, a part about "angry gates" from the heart-hoards of other mages, that was pretty sad and freaky, so I stopped listening that night. I didn't want those images in my head or in my dreams! It's quite interesting though. We've gone to Middlegard!! Pretty awesome. And of course all kinds of new magery are possible. I'm nervous about the friends, though... they seem like clueless high school idiots. I guess we'll see how that goes, but I sense betrayal, even if by accident, in the future.