Weekly Wrap-up for May 13, 2012: Work, Book Loot, and Book Indecision.

A stack from just ONE of my classes earlier this week!

I am in a really good place this week. I'm feeling like I am caught up with work and that I have some free time available! I was really behind on grading for a few weeks. I usually try to get things back to the kids within a day or two of collecting an assignment (except for essays. Those take a week or two). But somehow, I was WAY off. I blame trying to get a unit planned, etc for eating up my prep time. This past week, I was determined to get caught up. And catch up I did. The only things I brought home this weekend were an assignment I collected on Friday and the essays from my sophomores. That's an accomplishment! And I have vowed not to fall behind again!

Covering a lunch break for an employee in the booth.

I've also been working a few shifts at the park the last few weeks. I started back near the beginning of April, and spend both my weekend days there. It has been pretty low-key so far, as we don't get busy until June. But we've been working hard on finishing some maintenance issues, as well as prepping the trails for a busy season of 5K races, mountain bike races, and for our hikers and dog-walkers. We've also been training our new employees as they come back from college. Yesterday was especially exciting since we had some of our returners start up again.

Sparty and Lily cuddling earlier this week in the sunshine.

I really enjoy my time at the park. While sometimes it can get crazy busy, there is always something new going on. That's what I love about the job, even though it can drive me nuts sometimes!

In bookish news...

I've acquired quite a few books in recent weeks. A couple of lovely students chipped in to get me a generous gift card to Barnes and Noble last week (for Teacher Appreciation Week), so I went and bought some new releases I've been meaning to get to. I also picked up a few other things. To be honest, I really haven't bought much this year in an effort to keep my book acquisitions in line, but sometimes I go a little nuts. :)

From top to bottom, left to right:

• Presence by Arthur Miller: I just finished The Crucible with my sophomores and loved it (again), so when I saw this collection of Miller's short stories, I was intrigued.
• Insurgent by Veronica Roth: I read Divergent last year and was intrigued enough to see where the story would go.
• A Million Suns by Beth Revis: Again, I read the first book, Across the Universe, last year, and want to see where the story will head.
• An Uncommon Education by Elizabeth Percer: I was given an ARC by the publisher, but I loved the book so much that I bought a finished copy (need to support authors I like!). Hopefully I can meet Percer one day to get it signed.
• The American Short Story: I've been reading a lot of short stories recently with my sophomores (for their American writer research project), and I want to keep on that trend. When I saw this huge collection for only $10 I had to grab it.
• Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver: I wasn't completely sold on Delirium, but after hearing lots of praise for the second in the trilogy, I decided to give it a chance. I'm glad I did as it was far better than the first book (except for the end. I didn't appreciate that Oliver). I actually read this one for the readathon a few weeks ago. Not sure if I am going to do a review...
• Fever  by Lauren DeStefano: I bought Wither last year solely for the cover (I know, I know), but haven't read it yet. I do plan on reading the trilogy, but might just wait till the third comes out.
• Symposium and Phaedrus by Plato: Plato has always intrigued me, and since this was there, I picked it up. :)
• The Communist Manifesto and Other Revolutionary Writings: All I can say is that it looked interesting and while I have read parts of Marx's manifesto, I haven't read the whole thing.
• Island by Aldous Huxley: I've been looking for a copy since I read Brave New World, so when I saw it, I grabbed it.
• The Black Tulip by Alexandre Dumas: I call this my impulse buy. I eventually want to read it, but probably won't for a couple of years. What can I say, I wanted another classic to balance out all these YA titles!
• The Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson: Amanda convinced me to join in on a readalong for the trilogy (everyone has already finished the first book, so I have to catch up) so, I needed the books. Right? Right.
• Two bookmarks: I bought the I Love Lucy one, since I love that show. The one with the kitten was a gift from my students. :)

There might be a couple more I've acquired in recent months, but I'm not positive!

And you would think, that with all those books I would be a reading fiend, and while I have been reading, I've been feeling pretty fickle towards the books on my shelves. I've been grabbing random titles off the shelf, reading 30-50 pages, then setting them aside in order to get to something else. It is starting to get out of control! I am currently in the middle of the following:

• Clarissa by Samuel Richardson: Started it in April, and have read about 100 pages since the beginning of this month...which, in Richardson length, is no progress at all.
• Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens: Started this in February and set it aside in March and April to focus on school reading and other projects. I've read another 50 pages or so, but can't seem to get as into it as I was in February.
• Oedipus Rex by Sophocles: I started this right after I finished Antigone, but am only about 10-15 pages in. I should just finish it because of how short it is...
• A Passage to India by E.M. Forster: I actually think my book stats post when up this past week, so I should probably finish this one first to save confusion....
• The Voyage Out by Virginia Woolf: I was craving Woolf the other night, so I sat down and read 40 pages before yes, setting it aside.
• Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson: I started this one last night to catch up on the readalong.
• Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin: I've been watching the series, and finally decided to take the first book to work at the park yesterday.
• American Short Stories: This goes along with my school stuff, since my students are reading a ton of different short stories. I've been so excited to discover new ones right along with them!
• Ender's Game  by Orson Scott Card: Technically I'll be done with this one by Tuesday morning, since my class who is reading this will finish it by then, but hey, I'm reading it again with them! 

 See how it's getting to be a problem? I know I should probably focus on a couple of these until they're finished, but I'm having a hard time concentrating on any one thing. I have never done this before, so I'm feeling a little stressed out about the books piled everywhere (it's also making Matt get a bit twitchy). My norm is to read a book or two at a time. I like to focus on one thing until I'm finished with it (I can hyper-focus like whoa), but I seem to be lacking that skill recently....

I know some of you do this...tell me, how do you balance reading so much at once? And for those of you who don't do this, what should I finish first?

Happy Reading everyone!