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.
Friday, November 28, 2014
Sunday, November 16, 2014
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 As for the history of the book itself, it was actually an unpublished set of manuscripts that aren't super related or even close to complete.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!
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!
Friday, November 7, 2014
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!
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!
Saturday, November 1, 2014
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.
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.
Thursday, October 23, 2014
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!
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!
Friday, October 17, 2014
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.
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.
Thursday, October 9, 2014
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.
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.
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