Weekly Wrap-up for January 23, 2011: Rearranging, Explanations, and Productivity.

I had an interesting week to say the least. My schedule was a little off because of MLK day on Monday and not having school. So, four days of class flew by without a whole lot getting accomplished. The kids have exams this coming week, so last week was spent finishing up assignments and papers. My seniors are turning in their satire narratives tomorrow, and I am anxious about grading all 90 of them before grades are due. Should be fun, yeah?

I also spent Thursday and Friday super sick. I had a high fever, aches, and chills, but thankfully the fever and the symptoms went away by the time I woke up on Saturday. I still feel a little weak, but a million times better than I did on Thursday. A lot of the kids have been out sick, so I am assuming they gave me the bug, whatever it was.

I know that Bloggiesta was going on this weekend, but I didn't officially sign-up for it. I am usually pretty good about keeping links working and my different pages updated that regular maintenance has become routine for me, but I did have some goals that I knew I wanted to take care of this weekend.

One of the big ones was to rearrange and fix my bookshelves. I have two "big" shelves (Billy bookshelves from IKEA), as well as one skinny shelf. The skinny shelf is home to hardcovers and signed copies of books. It has a lot of random things on it, from Harry Potter to the Ranger's Apprentice series by John Flanagan, so a couple titles from Lisa Mantchev, Carrie Ryan, Markus Zusak, and Naomi Novik. I also have my David McCullough books on there. One of my big shelves is called my "fun" shelf, with random assorted titles that are just plain fun-mainly a lot of YA, fantasy, and science-fiction. The other big shelf is my classics shelf. And that is the shelf that was bursting and overflowing with books. So, I rearranged and cleared off two shelves on the "fun" shelf for some of my classics. I ended up moving my Shakespeare titles and Sherlock Holmes books, as well as all of my hardcover Penguins. They take up a whole row by themselves, so now everything seems to be set.

The books I removed have found a new home in a box, which is being stored with all my other boxes of books in the closets of the apartment. I really wish we had room for all my books, but displaying 1200 books takes up a lot of wall space. Perhaps one day all my books will be out.

Anyway, the classics shelf is now set, but there isn't a lot of wiggle room. I'm sure that'll be a problem when I go to the library book sale this coming weekend. :)

I've also been working on posts, which probably requires some explanation. Since I have had quite a little influx of new readers and more hits, I figured it was time to re-explain my little philosophy on posts. First, I write multiple posts on each book I read. When you click on "Finished Books" at the top of my site, it takes you to a long list. The post that is linked there is just my favorite of the ones I wrote about each book, not a full review. I always write at least two posts for every book. They always include a formal "Book Stats" post, as well as one I just label "Finished." Usually I write more than that, but the number is never set in stone.

When I am reading a book, I will write a post when the mood strikes me. Sometimes I will stop halfway through, or when I am done reading that book for the day. Posts are always written at haphazard times and saved as drafts. These drafts are my thoughts on the book through the part that I have read and are usually a little scatter-brained.

When it is eventually time to put the posts up, I go back to my drafts, edit them as needed (usually fixing typos and misspellings) before scheduling them to go up.

Because of all of this, my posts are usually behind when I read a book. Right now, for example, you have seen posts go up for Maugham's The Painted Veil. I actually finished this book back in December. With a backlog of posts, readalong info, and other things I want to discuss, this happens. I used to put up multiple posts in a day, but it got tiring and was even more confusing for readers. Now, I really try to limit my posts to one per day, unless one is short or silly. This whole system may seem silly to you, but it works for me and I am sticking to it.

If you ever want to know what I am currently reading, your best bet is to pay attention to what I have listed in the left column on my blog, as well as my account on Goodreads.com (you can find me at Allie Danielson). I always have the intention of getting "caught up" but with life, other posts that I write weekly (like this one), and random bookish happenings, I don't think that will ever happen. Again, I am totally okay with it, but I know my style of blogging isn't for everyone.

Anyway, I am glad I re-clarified that, so that I don't get 40 million e-mails asking. :) Not that I ever get 40 million e-mails, but you know what I mean.

In reading news...

I had a fairly successful week given the fact I had the plague. I managed to read all of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare as well as Lysistrata by Aristophanes for my upcoming Classics Circuit post. I had Ceremony by Leslie Marmom Silko with me at all times this week, but I never started it. I think I might wait to dive into it. I did ask around on Twitter Friday night for another recommendation (everyone was trying to peer pressure me into read Jane Eyre), but I ended up choosing Doyle's The Lost World instead. I was looking for something with action, and truth be told, I am scared to read Jane Eyre in case I don't love it.

This week I need to continue making progress for the second War and Peace post, as well as finishing the Doyle book. I will also be freaking out in anticipation of the madness happening next month with the Ulysses readalong and Oliver Twist. I may be jumpstarting the Dickens this week, but we'll see what happens with exams and all.

What about you all? Reading plans for this week? What did you accomplish this weekend if you were taking part in Bloggiesta?