Sunday, February 3, 2013

Weekly Wrap-up for February 3, 2013: February Reading Plans.

Between school, Matt's illness last week, and the stress of just keeping up with everything, this week went by rather quickly. I'm actually a bit behind in grading and planning, so today's post will be on the short side.

The only school-related thing I'll mention is that we're in the midst of The Great Gatsby and while not all of my students love the novel, there are a few who do! I've been trying to get them to see some of the smaller details as we go along, which is helping them understand the bigger ideas. I'm sure that when we finish the novel on Tuesday/Wednesday, I'll have to help make those connections.

In terms of my own reading, it slowed down a LOT from where it was at the beginning of the year. I did read Alexander's Bridge this past week, and obviously I am in the middle of The Great Gatsby with my students, but reading has taken a little bit of a backseat (and will until I catch up on some grading). I do have some things sitting on my desk that I want to get to before my Modernist event kicks off in March. I'd really like to finish Forster's A Passage to India, which I started last JUNE and haven't finished yet. There is also Anna Karenina, which I started early in January and set aside for a few weeks. Ideally I'd also like to read a Dickens novel (A Tale of Two Cities) in honor of his birthday month, but that isn't a priority.

I'm also extremely focused on my Willa Cather Project. I've finished 4 titles so far (of the 7 books I've finished this year), and I don't see an end in sight. It feels good to be experiencing her work one right after the other, so I imagine I'll dive into O Pioneers! this month, as it is the next title on the project list.

Anyway, a stack of papers to grade and some breakfast is calling to me. I hope you all have wonderful reading week!

3 comments:

  1. Teaching gets in the way of reading as much as you want to, doesn't it! :P

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  2. The Great Gatsby and A Tale of Two Cities are in my top ten. I hope you enjoy the latter. It's my favorite Dickens. I'm glad that Matt is doing better.

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  3. Yes, I saw the picture of the stack of papers you have to grade and completely understood the whimpering. Here's to finishing them soon.

    Great job on your Willa Cather project! You're doing amazingly. Also, do let us know if you read A Tale of Two Cities this month. I'm starting it tonight, and I'd love to exchange impressions. :)

    Have a great month!

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