Weekly Wrap-up for July 24, 2011: New Books, Decisions, and Reading.

This has been a really great week. Coming back from Florida, I went into an interview first thing Monday morning. Not only did I land the job, but they hired me on the spot! It was a great feeling and I am looking forward to teaching again (if you missed the post, there will be a link at the bottom of this one). I will be long-term subbing in the same district I was in this past school year. I will be at one of the other high schools (it is actually the high school I graduated from!) and I am teaching a vary similar set of classes to what I was teaching. I'll have sophomore and senior English again (the senior class is only a semester, so I can refine some of the things I taught this past year!), as well as one section of Government. I haven't taught Government before, so it should be a great experience.

I also had my toe check-up with the doctor on Wednesday and it looks like everything is healing nicely. It is still a little tender if I accidentally touch it just so or put too much downward pressure on the nail, but it looks great. The only bummer is that I still can't remove the nail polish from it and it is starting to look a little scary (I like pretty toes).

In reading news, I finished two books this week (not great, but good enough). I also hit the magical 100 books off my list late last night! Yay! I've been reaching for this milestone for quite some time, and I am proud to say I have read 40% of my list. Woot for that!

My 100th book was Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and was the first full book I read on Homer (my NookColor). I really enjoy how light Homer is, but my eyes do get tired a bit faster than from a paper book. That's really the only big downside. I like being able to flip easily between footnotes and the page I am reading, the search options are great, and Homer is easier to hold up in bed. So far, I am really loving it!

I am also debating making change to my list. I have a couple of poems lingering on there (you might recall I counted "The Waste Land" as a book last year), but I am thinking of removing them and adding a few larger titles that didn't make the cut. I took off 5 non-fiction titles in the first few months of this and replaced them with the Gaskell and Collins, but left those poems on there. One of the books I want to add is East of Eden by Steinbeck. If I decide to do this, what other missing titles should I add?

I already posted about the sad news of Borders closing. I still have a Barnes and Noble within ten minutes of home, so I won't be without a bookstore, but I know others won't be so lucky.

I went to Borders on Saturday just to look around. They have everything on "sale," but I knew from my experience with the store that closed a few months ago that items would only be 10% off. The store was packed and people were grabbing things like it was a race. I felt bad for the workers, many of whom I know from being in the store so often. There were a few things I wanted, so this is what I walked away with:



The stack from top to bottom:

• Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
• The Turn of the Screw
• Notes from Underground
• The Double and the Gambler
• East of Eden
• Hawthorne's Short Stories
• Outliers

Don, the cashier who rung me up, told me my selections looked bleak colorwise.. I laughed. The Borders near our house is sometimes unorganized, but I really enjoy the staff (the other one 20 minutes away...not so much). Don is someone I seem to run into every time I'm there. He always comments on what I'm buying. I will certainly miss him!

My plans for the rest of the evening are to read and catch up on a little housework. But mostly read. :)

If you missed any posts from this week, here they are:

• Home at Last and Some News.
• Top Ten Tuesday: Required Reading for Teens.
• Book 95: Inspiration and Finished.
• Book 96: To Kill a Mockingbird and Book Stats.
• Why the Closing of Borders Breaks My Heart.

Happy Reading!