Weekly Wrap-up for January 29, 2012: Plans and Some Book Loot.

It has been a bit of a crazy week. It wasn't that I had a lot to do. Since it was exam week in the districts I sub for, I had no sub jobs. But I feel a little drained and lazy. I guess that is what happens when you don't work with a normal schedule!

I have been making some progress on some of my goals for 2012. I started watching what I'm eating this week-making healthier choices and monitoring my calorie intake. I haven't decided if I am going to go on a "diet." I find that once I restrict my food options too much, I cheat. Instead, I want to have a healthier relationship with food, and I think that comes with watching what I am eating and how much. For right now, I am simply looking at calorie intake. I'll let you know what I decide in the future.

I also cooked three times this week-which believe me, is a BIG deal. I'm not the best cook, but I am slowly learning some new recipes and trying to be a little more proactive with my own eating. :) Speaking of-do you guys have any good, easy, and healthy recipes for me? I would love to pick your brains.

Anyway, I am gearing up for a productive February. I'm going to wrap up Shakespeare Reading Month on February 10, so I need to finish the last couple of items and posts I have planned for the event. I'm also participating in a Roots Readalong hosted by the lovely Christina at Reading Thru the Night. If you're interested, you should go sign up! I'm also planning on immersing myself in some Dickens, so we'll see how that goes. :)

Matt surprised me yesterday by taking me out to breakfast and then to the library for their used book sale! I had completely forgotten about it, so I was really excited.

Funny thing was, when I was scouring the classics section, I already owned most of them. :) I suppose that's a good problem to have, right? I did find some things, including some old editions that are pretty cool. Here is a look at what I brought home with me for $6 (It was their 50% off day)!

Lots of good things! I was really excited by the Twain collection, as well as the paper copy of Volpone by Ben Jonson (I am going to read it to round out Shakespeare Reading Month since he was a contemporary of Shakespeare's!). I also did a happy dance when I found that complete collection of Thomas Hardy's poetry! Hardy always believed himself to be a better poet than a novelist, so I snatched that book right up. :)

Well, I have some more reading to do and quite a few posts to write. I hope you all had a lovely reading week!

Weekly Wrap-up for September 18, 2011: Bits on School, Sicknesses, and the Book Buying Ban.

I am finding it hard to believe that I have been back at school for two weeks already! But I am kind of glad the first two weeks are over. It was stressful starting in a new place, with new kids, and a new routine, but things are settling firmly into place. We are finally moving into some heavier content this week in both of the English classes I am teaching, and we're moving into fun documents with the Government kids.

My sophomores are starting their "What is an American?" unit this week by reading the Declaration of Independence. I am hoping we are going to have good conversations about the ideals the U.S. was founded on, as well as their rights and privileges (it could be interesting). At the end of the week, they are writing me a "break-up" letter to show they understand it all...should be a fun assignment.

The seniors are in the midst of the memoir unit. Those of you around last winter might remember that I had to teach The Glass Castle. I am teaching it again and they were given their first big reading assignment due Wednesday (I have more kids who work at this school, so I decided giving them big reading assignments over the course of a few days would be better than reading every night-we'll see how it works). I also modified their memoir writing assignment. They are doing 4 short in-class vignettes before I assign them a longer (3-4 page) assignment. They're going to compile the whole thing into a blended genre/memoir paper. So far it is working out, but they are whining a bit about all the writing. It IS a composition class, so I guess they better get used to it. :)

I started to feel a bit off on Thursday night. It was a really long week, with a couple of before/after school meetings, curriculum night with the parents, and Homecoming activities gearing up-our game and dance is this week, so we have spirit days and shenanigans all week. Should be a riot.... Anyway, I woke up feeling like knives were stabbing my throat on Friday, toughed it out, and went to the doctor that afternoon. Turns out I have a case of strep. So, it has been a good weekend of sleeping, reading, and cuddling with my cats, who have been feeling rather neglected since I went back to school.

My father-in-law started his chemo treatment on Wednesday. It sounds like he had a rough couple of days after, but at least his treatment has started (I can't come in contact with anyone who will see him, so as not to pass on my germs). They finally staged his lymphoma at stage 2, which was good news (they thought it was more advanced than that to begin with). We're all hopeful the chemo knocks it out of his system.

The only other exciting news is that I bought books. Again.

Yeah yeah, I know. It all started when Matt came home on Wednesday and told me that our local Borders was officially closed. I was surprised to hear this because it was scheduled to close today. I was bummed, since he promised me one more book excursion before putting a ban in place. He decided to let me buy a few books on Amazon and be done with it.

So, I did order 3 books on Amazon and they'll be here sometime this week. I'll include them in next week's post.

But then, I got a coupon for Barnes and Noble, FOUND an old gift card that hadn't been quite used up, and discovered that all of their classics are on sale (buy 2 get 1 free). So I went (you all knew I would). I found some great things, even scouring their used department for some AMAZING deals (yes, our B & N has a used department, does yours?). So, I promise that the damage wasn't too bad-it just looks bad. Here is what I got:



From top to bottom:

1. Night and Day by Virginia Woolf
2. The Voyage Out by Virginia Woolf
3. The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare
4. Henry V by William Shakespeare
5. Hamlet by William Shakespeare
6. The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare

All of these were part of the classics sale, so two of them were completely free! The Woolf titles make me especially happy, since the other publishers who have these titles charge an arm and a leg. I was also excited to finish my set of B and N Shakespeare (I really love these editions. They are WELL done). Now I have all the available B and N editions-the rest of my Shakespeare is Folger's...sometime I should take a picture of my Shakespeare collection...remind me. I really wanted these so I could have them for the readathon next month.

Also, ALL of these are list books. So that's super-duper.



From top to bottom:

1. Plays by George Bernard Shaw (contains "Mrs. Warren's Profession" which is on my list).
2. The Oregon Trail by Francis Parkman
3. The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
4. A Mercy by Toni Morrison
5. The Trial by Franz Kafka
6. A Passage to India by E.M. Forster
7. Nana by Emile Zola
8. The Ambassadors by Henry James
9. The Bostonians by Henry James

The top five books were all found in the used section of the store. I was kind of geeked out by The Oregon Trail since I loved the game as a kid. I was also happy to find the O'Brien, since I have been meaning to replace my copy ever since I lent it out in college and never got it back (LOVE that book). The copies of A Mercy and The Trial were amazing finds, since both of them are brand new, but were in the used section. They seriously look like no one has opened them (score). But the best part is that I got more classics at a really good deal. Of this pile, the Kafka, Forster, and Shaw are the only list books....but who really cares? The others were a great deal!

BUT, I am done. The book buying ban has been put into place. From now until January 1, I am not allowed to buy any more books. If I win a book in a giveaway, get a giftcard, download free ebooks, or receive books for Christmas, I am okay. But I am not allowed to purchase anything. I'm not even allowed in the bookstore. I am slightly sad, but I honestly don't need to buy any more books (obviously). I have more than enough reading material to last me a few years. So, we'll see how I do. I still get to look forward to my amazon package.

Anyway, this turned out to be much longer than I wanted it to be! I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Happy reading!!

Weekly Wrap-up for September 4, 2011: Thank You, Giveaways, and Book Loot.

Wow, what a week. In addition to the events going on here on the blog, which I'll get to in a minute, I had a crazy busy week. I reported to the school I am long-term subbing at on Tuesday for a couple of days of Professional Development. And while I got something of out of about half the sessions, some were a little awkward for me (like the union/pay scale session. That doesn't apply to me at all since I am paid by a private company for subbing). But, it was fine and I did get to see the teachers from last year's school during one PD session (I am subbing in the same district, but at a different high school).

I also had some meetings with some other teachers to figure out what I am doing. My classes are very similar to what I taught last year. Again, I am teaching sophomore English and senior English. The senior class is only a semester, so I am fairly familiar with the content (the teacher I am covering for has never taught it!). As for the sophomores, it is a year-long course, so I am basically teaching the other half of what I already taught. Not too shabby. The one new course I am teaching is Government, but I am rather excited to dive in!

I already have things prepped and ready to go for the first week, so I am ready to get to it. I also have a firm ending date in place, so I will only be there for 12 weeks (I am done the Tuesday before Thanksgiving). After that? Who knows! All I know is that I am excited to be in a classroom for a little while and to have students again!

In blog news...

This week I celebrated my blogversary with a bunch of giveaways. There are still a couple open, so go enter before midnight tonight for a chance to win. I'll announce all the winners in one big post tomorrow.

I wanted to say thank you to all of you who have supported me in the last two years. I think I would have gone completely crazy without this project and blog to rely on. I started it because I needed to find purpose and do something with my life. I think I am accomplishing that, one book at a time.

Two years ago I considered myself a good and solid reader, with a lot of titles under my belt. I was proud of the numbers of books I read and how important reading was to me. I laugh at the old me now. It has only been through reading 112 classic books that I have truly discovered who I am as a person and what I truly love. I know I am not the same person I was two years ago, and I fully attribute that to the material I am reading. I don't know if I could have handled some of the things I have in these past two years without these reading experiences to back me up. I know that may sound silly, to say that books have had that kind of healing impact on me as a person, but it is very, very true. Words heal.

Here's to many more years of reading and loving the classics.

I have acquired quite a few books over the last month. I feel like I should emphasize the word MONTH because I don't want you all to think I have gone insane. Well, I probably have.

Anyway, there are a few Borders closing nearby. Some people might believe that going in and buying books at hugely discounted prices is rather Vultureish. I don't agree. For me, I see buying those books as a way of rescuing them. I find the whole ordeal depressing-bookstores closing-but I am going to save some of those books if I can. And many of the titles I picked up had some dust on them, so who else would save them but me?

So here is what I've gotten in the last month or so... (Oh, and I am not typing out titles and authors since there are so many books...you can click on the pictures to make them larger).


This is the most recent haul. Matt took me on Friday to our nearest store. The only book not pictured was a surprise he got for me-a huge guide to the TV show "I Love Lucy." It has been my favorite since I was maybe 6 or 7. I own the whole series on DVD and can quote every episode. I was excited. Oh, and I am in love with the big Mark Twain collection on the bottom left (it has his humour pieces!!). That book was a SCORE.


These are the goodies I got from Melville House for participating in The Art of the Novella Challenge. I was pretty excited about winning, and I cannot wait to read these (especially the Turgenev-I LOVED the other title I read by him (Fathers and Sons)).



This is the big pile, and is the result of my mother and me shopping at two different Borders a couple of weeks ago (I feel I should point out that this was taken at my parents house. I was worried about bringing them home and making Matt angry, but he wasn't!). While a few of these books wound up in some of my blogversary giveaways, most were just for me. :) I was most excited to find the Persephone title (first time I have seen one in a store-except for the one I found "used" a year or so ago). I was also excited about the two lesser-known Gaskell titles on the bottom left, as well as the copy of Birdsong by Sebastian Faulk (top middle). I had been looking for a copy since I began the project two years ago and was about to give up!

And the pile on the right is for funzies. :)

Anyway, that's my book loot. Matt has given me permission to go to ONE MORE store before Borders finally closes their doors, and then I am done with book purchasing until next year. Yeah, you read that right, NEXT YEAR. I really shouldn't complain. I have more than enough on my shelves to last me a long while, so it isn't as though I NEED more books. But, you know...I get that book buying itch. :)

So how was your week? Did you read this whole thing? If you did, pat yourself on the back-you deserve it. ;)

Some Book Loot.

I don't think anyone is ever surprised to hear that I am constantly acquiring new books. I have problems, you know? I just have this desire to collect, so when there are details, I lose control.

I do want to say before I show you my loot is that I was very restrained. I went with my mom to the other Borders (about 20 minutes away), since I thought they would have a different selection that my local one (only 5 minutes away). I was right. There were MANY things I wanted, but I only brought home 8 books with me this time.

And you all know I will be going back multiple times when the discounts get better.



From top to bottom:

• Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs: I found this lonesome copy hiding in the history section. And I really liked the green cover. Bite me.
  
• Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne. I just finished my first Vernes a few days ago and LOVED it, so when I saw it I needed to add this one to my pile.
  
• Three Plays by Ayn Rand: I know RAND. How could I? But it was the only one, and I am REALLY curious about her plays. There won't be a 70 page speech, right?
  
• The American by Henry James: All of my experiences with James have been really positive so far and I adore his writing style, so I figured I should add his other work to my library for the future.
  
• The Wings of the Dove by Henry James: See above. :)
  
• Traitors' Gate by Kate Elliott. I have had the hardest time finding this book, and it is the third in a trilogy. I had to pick it up.
  
• Pnin by Vladimir Nabokov. I've been having a hard time locating this one, and since it is on my list, I grabbed it quickly.
  
• The Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton by Edith Wharton. This is one of the few Whartons I don't have on my shelf, so...you know...

So question....how often do you all go on book shopping sprees? Will you go to a Borders near you if you have one to get deals?

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!

Weekly Wrap-up for February 20, 2011: Outta the Rut Readathon, New Books (yes, again), and Reading Plans.

What a week!

I have felt like this past week was a super long week. The kids felt it too. I am glad that we have Monday and Tuesday off for mid-winter break. I think we all need to recharge so we can push through till their spring break in April.

We finished reading Of Mice and Men and The Glass Castle in the classes I am teaching and had some great discussions about both books. The kids really seemed to like them and as we move on into their paper assignments, I hope that feeling continues. My sophomores were especially into the ending in Of Mice and Men, since they didn't expect it. But we had a great conversation about the end of the book and what it meant. It was great to talk books with them. :)

Earlier this week, I was feeling kind of grumptastic about my lack of reading recently. It seems that beyond my read-along titles, I have made little progress on my project list. I can also attribute that to the fact I am teaching full-time, but it is frustrating to not see progress. I was thinking about having a mini-readathon this weekend when I saw Christina's post that she was also in a rut. We decided to have a readathon and invited whoever wanted to join in fr a day or two this weekend to do so. And I feel that I should point out that she is responsible for the fun name and button.

Yesterday was not a good kick-off to my unofficial readathon. I failed...miserably at making a lot of progress. I did manage to finish the last 150 pages of Oliver Twist and start Siddhartha last night, but I was so run down from having a migraine Friday night/Saturday morning, that I didn't get any further than that.

I am feeling much better today. After posting this, I am going to spend a half hour reading some other Sunday morning posts, finishing breakfast with the hubby, then snuggling down on the couch with my tea and my pile of books. Matt is working this afternoon and all night, so I should be able to get a lot done. Besides, he is taking the Jeep and its 4-wheel drive, so I will be stranded here anyway (We're supposed to get snow and ice today-his car is a little Neon and doesn't handle well in the snow, whereas my Jeep likes to play in snow and ice). I figure that since I am stuck here anyway, I really have no excuse. Right? I'll be posting periodically during the day to let you know how I am doing.

In bigger news, my mom and I went to a local Borders that is closing to see about their sales yesterday. Everything was only 20% off. I showed some restraint seeing as I went into the store with a GIGANTIC list, but I still walked away with a lot of classic titles. I only picked up books in mass market size, since that seemed the only way to get good value out of it (let's be honest, we can get books for 20% off on Amazon or Book Depository, or any other online book site). My mom is going to be watching for when they reduce even further. I have a long list of YA titles (for future reading-I promise!) and larger editions that were simply too expensive to buy yesterday. Mom is going to hook me up! :)

Anyway, here is what I walked away with, plus three books Matt picked up for me earlier in the week:



I know they are kind of hard to see. Let's start with that back row on the left hand side:

• Anthem by Ayn Rand: Amanda at The Zen Leaf was saying that this would probably be the only Rand title she would read (or start with). And after reading what it is about, I definitely agree. Rand is scary, but this one seems accessible.
  
• We the Living by Ayn Rand: I figured why not? :)
  
• The Red Pony by John Steinbeck: I am loving all of the Steinbeck I have been reading and I needed to add more to my collection. I know nothing about this little title, but I am intrigued!
  
• The Pearl by John Steinbeck: See above!
  
• Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck: I have seen lots of reviews about this one on quite a few blogs, so I am excited to get to it.
  
• Delirium by Lauren Oliver: This is one Matt picked up for me. I had been talking about how this new title sounded so interesting and right up my alley, so he bought it for me. He's a sweetie, huh? I might try and read it tomorrow.
  
• Pygmalion and My Fair Lady by George Bernard Shaw: This was another great steal and again, two more plays that I have heard a lot about.
  
• Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee: I have had the hardest time finding a copy of this, so as soon as I saw it, I grabbed it. I think I will get to this one sooner rather than later.
  
• The Pathfinder by James Fenimore Cooper: Another one of the "Leatherstocking Tales," I have had a hard time finding a copy of this one as well.
  
• The Black Arrow by Robert Louis Stevenson: This is another one that looked really intriguing and that I simply couldn't pass up.
  
• Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya: I have been searching for this title every time I go into a book store, but like a few other titles on here, I was having a really hard time finding a copy. So glad I grabbed it.
  
• The Story of King Arthur and His Knights by Howard Pyle: I have always been fascinated by King Arthur and Arthurian legends, so I am excited to dive into this at a future time.
  
• The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle: See above. :)
  
• The Merry Wives of Windsor by William Shakespeare: This is one of the three Matt got me. I am slowly collecting all of Shakespeare's works so I can read all of them. This is something I have always wanted to do, so I am slowly going to!
  
• The Two Gentlemen of Verona by William Shakespeare: See above. :)
  
• Henry VIII by William Shakespeare: I grabbed this one at Borders. There were more....but I've kind of forgotten which ones I still need to get and I didn't want to buy a repeat. But I knew I didn't have this one.
  
• The Jungle by Upton Sinclair: I have heard so many things about this one...and I can't wait to read it. The woman in front of me in line told me I'll never want to eat meat again, but we'll see.
  
• A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams: I have the hardest time finding this one as well, so it needed to come home with me.
  
• Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams: See above. :)
  
• Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson: I thought I had a copy of this one, but when I went looking for it, I couldn't find it. Apparently not? So this little edition also found a home with me.

I did up confessing to Matt when he got home yesterday about my new editions....and yes, he was a little grumpy with me. I am on a book buying ban for the next month to make up for this...unless my mom finds some of my titles at the closing Borders. But, I think I have acquired quite a few books in the last month and I do need to stop my acquisitions and read a bit, yes? My classics shelf is completely full, so I need to get some reading done before I buy anymore...

(I will point out that I have a box on its way from Amazon with another 6 books I got a week or so ago. whoops).

Anyway, I am off to go read some blogs before diving back into my book pile for the weekend. My goals for today are to finish Siddhartha and read one of the two YA titles on my shelf (Across the Universe and Delirium). I also want to start another class-any ideas what I should go for?

Happy Reading!

Weekly Wrap-up for January 30, 2011: Library Book Sales, New Acquisitions, and Reading.

This last week was finals week as the kids finished their first semester and took their final exams. I get all new kids next Tuesday and I am excited to start fresh and implement some of my own ideas into the classroom. Right away I will be teaching The Glass Castle to my seniors and instructing them on how to write their own mini-memoirs. My sophomore American Literature students will be diving into Of Mice and Men, a book I am not a fan of. I will have a big challenge in front of me to make sure that I can teach it in a way that I end up loving it as well!

My two U.S. History classes will start learning about WWII, so that should be a fun few weeks. I have a lot of interactive activities planned, including a few webquests. Hopefully it all turns out well!

Besides being stressed out about grading essays, I also had some fun moments this week. My library was having their used book sale, so I made sure to set aside time on the first day to head over there. It was packed, as usual, but there were a lot of great things! I managed to walk away with a quite a few new additions to my shelves. I'm apologizing in advance for picture quality. I was fighting the kitties who wanted to attack and eat my new books as well as explaining to the husband where all these came from. :)



This first stack from top to bottom contains the following:

Echoes from the Macabre by Daphne Du Maurier: Since I adored Rebecca, I had to snatch up this collection of short stories as soon as I saw it.

Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse: I have this one on my list and just haven't gotten my hands on it. It has a glorious cover and was in great condition, so it was a good find!

Midwives by Chris Bohjalian: A fellow teacher had this with her at lunch and the premise sounded interesting, so I grabbed it for a future read.

The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck: This is one I have heard great things about. I'm a little annoyed with the amount of tape all over the book, but hey, it was $1!

The Book of Laughter and Forgetting by Milan Kundera: I have another title by the same author on my shelf (The Unbearable Lightness of Being), so this gets to join it (it was an impulse buy)

Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt: I was certain I didn't have this and since the book looked brand new, I bought it. Then I came home and realized I already owned it...anyone want it? I'll ship it to you if you live in the U.S.!

The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope: This was another book that looked brand new and since its a classic, it needed a home on my classics bookshelf.

Howards End by E.M. Forster: I read A Room with a View as my 3rd book off my list and loved it, so hopefully this one is as good!



This second stack from top to bottom contains the following:

Three Comedies by W. Somerset Maugham: Since reading The Painted Veil and loving it, I decided to start collecting other pieces by Maugham. This has three of his plays.

The Social Contract by Rousseau: A philosophical piece I once read in college for a history class. I lost my copy and have been looking for one ever since. I really enjoyed it, so I hope to read this again (eventually).

Evangeline by Longfellow: This is another piece I read in college and really enjoyed. This was a cute little edition, so I had to have it.

The Sea, the Sea by Iris Murdoch: Yet another book that just called to me. I seem to recall reading a review of it recently, so I picked it up and shoved it in the bag.

Four Major Plays by Henrik Ibsen: This was a pretty Oxford Edition (which I do love) and contains a couple of the plays on my list, including A Doll's House, which is being read for A Year of Feminist Classics in March.

So Long a Letter by Mariama Ba: I have seen reviews for this pop up everywhere, so when I saw it, I grabbed it and clutched it close (I also scared a little old lady in the process). I may have squealed as I grabbed it. Apparently it is hard to find??

Looking Backward by Edward Bellamy: This is actually a title I cut off my original list. Now that I have a copy, I want to read it....but we'll see.

The Prince by Machiavelli: Yet another book off my list, and a pretty Oxford classic!



This third and final stack contains the following from top to bottom:

The Best American Short Stories 2005, 2002, and 1998: I am going to try and make a point of reading more short fiction, so when I saw these I picked them up. Flipping through them, I can tell that only a few stories will appeal to me, so I am glad I didn't buy these at a regular book store.

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon: I have been intrigued by this one since seeing it in the bookstore years ago, so I was happy to find a nice copy.

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides: A long-time goal is to read all the Pulitzer Prize winning novels, so this is a step towards that goal.

The Reader by Bernard Schlink: I grabbed this thinking I didn't already own it. But I do. So if you say the word and live in the U.S., I'll mail it to you. :)

The Emperor's Children by Claire Messud: This was another impulse buy.


Quite the loot, huh? I actually restrained myself this time, mainly because we are running out of room. :) But I saw people walking out with bags of books, so I was quite tame.

The first time I went a year ago, I didn't check the books for writing on the inside before I bought them and regretted that when I got home and looked at the more closely. Now I always check to see the inside condition as well. Do you have requirements for buying used books?

Even with finals and grading, I still had a decent week reading. I read A Raisin in the Sun for my pseudo buddy review with Amanda, a large chunk of Oliver Twist in preparation for the upcoming readalong, and more of War and Peace for the post going up tomorrow morning (although, at the time of writing this, I am behind and don't know if I can finish volume 2 in time for the post tomorrow!).

This week I need to make a lot of progress reading War and Peace, as well as reading the first three chapters of Ulysses for that readalong. Yeah, I'm a little nuts.

I also want to start something fun to alleviate all that heavy reading...any ideas?

Lastly, I want to point you in the direction of three excellent posts (that all went up on Friday) that I think you all need to read. I know that all three of them got me thinking about my reading process and how I view reading:

1. Jillian from A Room of One's Own: Are we crazy to be reading so fast?
2. Jaime from The Broke and The Bookish: To read or not to reread?
3. Darlyn from Your Move, Dickens: "That the world may know he loved me once..."
   

Hope you have a great reading week!

Weekly Wrap-up for July 18, 2010: Birthday and More Books.

Another week has flown by and since it was spent on vacation, I feel like it has REALLY gone by quickly! I also had my 25th birthday on Thursday and decided to do a giveaway in honor of it, so I hope you will enter.

I spent most of this past week up north at my family's cottage in Gaylord. We spend a lot of time simply relaxing and doing nothing. I got a lot of "fun" reading done while we there too! I took One Hundred Years of Solitude with me to make sure I had the first half done in time for yesterday's post. I really enjoyed it and I look forward to reading the second half in the near future (hopefully this week). In addition, I decided to take a few light-hearted and fun books with me. I took books 7 and 8 in John Flanagan's Ranger's Apprentice series (Erak's Ransom and The Kings of Clonmel) as well as all three novels in Sara Douglass' Darkglass Mountain trilogy, of which the third was just released.

It was really, really weird to be reading something not from my list. I flew through both of Flanagan's novels at breakneck pace and started in on Douglass. I am almost done with the 600 page first book of the trilogy, but I am loving it. It is nice to take a little break from the heavy reading I have been doing. But, I can't wait to get back to An American Tragedy which was shoved aside this past week.

While up north, I made Matt do a little book shopping with me at a glorious used book store in downtown Gaylord. My aunt had told me about it so I made it a point to go. It was a glorious little shop called The Book Swap. The owner was in and she was a lot of fun to talk to. Matt found a couple of books as well. I wish we could have spent more time in the shop looking around, but it was dreadfully hot and someone (not me) was a getting a little grumpy.

Anyway, here is what I found:


The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupery. Believe it or not, this is really one of the only "children's books" on my list. In the future I plan on reading some more children's classics from my past as well as other recommendations, but this one should be coming up soon. And, believe it or not, I have never read this. I am really looking forward to it.


Therese Raquin by Emile Zola. Back in December I fell in love with Zola's Germinal so I am going to make it a point to read Zola's works (eventually). I read some mixed reviews of this one during the Classics Circuit Tour, but I have a gut feeling I am really going to enjoy it.

The Earth by Emile Zola. Well...I couldn't pass up one Zola for another and I was having a hard time deciding between the two. This one ended up coming home with me as well and while I don't know as much about it as the previous title, I think it is another title I will like.


Sapphira and the Slave Girl by Willa Cather. I found this in a random hidden pile and the glorious cover called to me (seriously, isn't it awesomely 70s?). It is one of Cather's lesser known works and I am insanely curious. This title is also hard to find so I had to snatch it up.


Lucy Gayheart by Willa Cather. This is another lesser known Cather novel and it shared the same glorious cover as the previous (I could not find a picture and our camera is currently dead, but believe me, it is just as awesomely 70s as the previous).

After I found the Cather novels Matt was getting grumpy (told you it wasn't me), so we headed out in Alpenfest and enjoyed the rest of our day downtown. These new editions are going to find their way onto my shelf in the near future!

I hope you all have a great reading week!

Weekly Wrap-up for July 11, 2010: Book Plans and Acquisitions.

It was a decent week after we hit the mid-way point. I fortunately had two of the four days of the heat wave off so I spent them blissfully in bed with the air conditioning working hard. I was grateful I didn't have to go and work (I work outside, so when it gets really hot, it is super nasty). I also feel slightly better, but still tired. Mono is different for everyone and I certainly have the fatigue and muscle aches!

We've been getting ready to go up north tomorrow, which we are both really excited for. We both need a break and it will be wonderful to sit out in the sun (or sleep) and read some wonderful books. Matt is planning on making me go fishing, but he agreed I can just accompany him on the boat and read while he fishes. We'll see though!

On Thursday we might be making a trip up to Mackinaw Island, which is about 45 minutes north of my family's cottage. I haven't been up the island since I was 2 or 3, and since Thursday is my birthday, I wanted to do something fun (I'll be turning 25). There are also some new bookstores in downtown that my aunt was telling me about, so I think we are going to have to do some more book shopping.

I have gotten quite a few books over the last week or so. I got a good chunk for my birthday from my parents and brothers and sister, and some I bought with a gift card another relative gave me. I also just out and purchased one since I am planning on bringing it with me next week.
Here is what I have added to my shelves:

I had asked for 6 or so titles to finish the first two sets in the beautiful Penguins Classics series (the picture shows the full set of three different printings. The third printing is available yet in the U.S.). This made me so excited as I love the vintage feel of this set and I am so glad that I have a bunch of great titles on my shelves. The books I now have are: Emma, The Odyssey, Treasure Island, Lady Chatterley's Lover, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Great Expectations, Wuthering Heights, Sense and Sensibility, Cranford, Tess of d'Urbervilles, Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, and The Picture of Dorian Gray. Of those pictures, two of these books are now out of print. Apparently they only printed a limited number and only in the U.K. Those are Madame Bovary and Crime and Punishment. The rest of the collection will be out in September and it includes: The Hound of the Baskervilles, Oliver Twist, The Woman in White, Shakespeare's Sonnets, and Little Women. You can guarantee that I will try and add them to my collection as well!

I also wanted to add another Steinbeck and this title has been hard to find in my local bookstores. For some reason, they carry almost every other Steinbeck but this title!

The Winter of Our Discontent is a favorite of my brother-in-law so I am curious to see if I am going to like it or if I will forever banish Kyle from giving me suggestions. I have already two Steinbeck's for my challenge, Of Mice and Men and Travels with Charley in Search of America. I felt indifferent about Of Mice and Men, but I loved the other. I'm not feeling up to tackling Grapes of Wrath quite yet, but I think this might be a good solution to get a Steinbeck fix. And I have a feeling I am going to like it a lot anyway.

I also was excited that they had the Penguin edition. I love the sleek black look of Penguin Classics and while they cost more than some other editions, they look so pretty on a shelf. Because yes, buying books is all about putting them on display, isn't it?

I thought I had a copy of Virginia Woolf's Orlando somewhere, but when I went looking, I couldn't find it. And since I have been craving some more Woolf (I love the lyrical tone to her writing), I wanted to read this title.

I ended up buying a new copy that matches the others in my Woolf set. I had an older edition that was far less pretty anyway, so this cover is fine with me. But when I got home and checked my list, Orlando wasn't on it! It looks like I won't be reading it to fulfill my 250 titles, but I'm glad I have a new copy anyway. I know I'll get to it eventually since Woolf is a favorite of mine.

I also picked up another Woolf novel, A Room of One's Own. This one I haven't read before, so hopefully I enjoy it. At least this one counts for my challenge! The other novels by Woolf I have to read are Night and Day and To the Lighthouse. I already read and reviewed Mrs. Dalloway about a month or so ago.


I have been in the mood for some wonderful Greek writing, so when I saw this on a display, I grabbed it. The edition of The Odyssey that I love most is Fagles translation. He really knows how to make the story come alive, so I know that I will benefit from his translation of Virgil's The Aeneid. And yes, translation DOES matter.



Sara Douglass is one of my favorite fantasy writers. She is a great world-builder and I am fascinated by what she has created. The Infinity Gate is the third in a trilogy (the other two titles are The Serpent Bride and The Twisted Citadel) that I have been anxiously waiting for. I haven't read any of the books. I always try and wait if I can for a series to be finished before starting it if it is by an author I really love and cherish. That way I can fly through it and be absorbed all at once. All three of the books are making their way up north with me and they will be part of the "fun reading" I am doing up north as part of my glorious vacation time.



My last new buy was the newest book in John Flanagan's Ranger's Apprentice Series. I love this series more than anything. It is fun and action-packed. And while it is certainly YA, I love every word of it. I bought the 7th book in the series, Erak's Ransom back in January when it came out as well. Both that one and this title will be making their way up north as well. I might even bring the 6th book, The Seige of Mackindaw with me as well.

Anyway, those are my newest additions and if Matt has anything to say about it, they will be the last for a little while. I still have plenty of unread books on my shelves,

And speaking of shelves, Matt couldn't figure out what to get me for my birthday, so we settled on getting another book shelf (yay!) so I can put more of my books on display. I currently have one shelf in our bedroom that houses all of my classics, but I would love to display some of my favorites on another shelf. The rest of my books are in boxes in one of our closets. I own about 1200 books, so you can imagine how when I say the closet is full of books I am not exaggerating. But it will be awesome to have more out and within reach.

Happy Reading everyone!

Sunday Salon: May 16, 2010.

I finally feel like I have a chance to breathe this weekend! I have been on the go at work for a while and I thankfully am enjoying a 4-day weekend that started yesterday. The break is much needed and I have a lot of plans for what I want and need to accomplish.

We went to a wedding yesterday for a good friend I went to college with. We really are at that age where everyone we know is starting to settle down a bit.

Today I am going to relax with my little sister, bake some goodies, and have a Disney movie marathon. It will be a great time to relax and chill out, and cuddle with the kitties.

Yesterday I made a post giving the details of the Cranford Read-Along. If you haven't already, go and visit (and perhaps sign up) to participate! Later on today, you're going to see the sign-up for Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift if Cranford is not your cup of tea. Either way I hope you will consider reading at least one of these with me.

I went to my library's used book sale on Friday, which I had been looking forward to for weeks. Imagine my disappointment when I went in to find that there were not nearly as many books as in past sales. I made it a point to ask a volunteer if donations were down, but she told me that on Thursday a man and a woman came and loaded up 35 boxes of books. When they were asked about the quantity they were buying, they said they were buying them to sell on Ebay.

I was really upset with this. I understand that the sales are open to the public and anyone can come in and buy the books, but I was always under the impression that the sales were also for the community, not for someone to make a profit. I said as much to the volunteer, but she told me the library still made money off what the couple bought, so it was all the same to them.

When I went to the sale in September, I went armed with the list of books I am planning to read. I found a great selection and ended up bring home something like 40 books. I even left a great number there that I wanted so I wasn't going overboard. However, by the time I made it to the literature and classics section, I was lucky to find a grand total of 30 or so books there (there were hundreds at the previous sale). I picked through and found a few that I wanted, but it is obvious that the couple who purchased so many really picked out everything.

So, that was a huge bust and I am sorely disappointed, but I ended up with a couple of great finds, including a beautiful green hardcover collection of some of Mark Twain's novels. I also found a great teaching resource book, as well as 4 more books off of my list. I also bought a couple of fun things for the future, including a two book collection of D.H. Lawrence short stories, and another Willa Cather novel.

I managed to finished The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy yesterday, and I rather enjoyed it. I was worried I wouldn't like it, since I have quite a number of Hardy novels on my list, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was a wonderful novel.

I think I am going to dive into Of Mice and Men to finish off the LOST books challenge, and try to get through some more of Holmes.

Happy Reading!