Weekly Wrap-up for March 13, 2011.

Hi there.

I am still on a blogging break. I really needed to step back for my own sanity, and with the amount of craziness that has happened this week, I know I made the right decision. I can't talk about everything now, but I am sure I will reveal bits and pieces in the future.

Anyway, you will see some posts going up this week. I am going to continue hosting for my readalongs, as well as getting the one for April up and running. You'll see posts for The Three Musketeers, Atlas Shrugged, and the last post for War and Peace that never seemed to make it up. Again, I am really sorry about that.

I am doing some reading, but my focus has been on other things this week. I already broke my book buying ban since the Borders that is closing near my home reduced their prices again this week. I have a serious problem. I think Matt is on the verge of taking away all book buying rights, so my ban has been reinstated after a serious splurge yesterday. But these are the new titles sitting on my shelves (oh, and I need more of those as well...)



The left pile includes (from bottom to top):

• The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan
• The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan
• Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane by Suzanne Collins
• Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins
• The Witches by Roald Dahl
• The Razor's Edge by W. Somerset Maugham
• Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham

The right pile includes (from bottom to top):

• One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn
• Brighton Rock by Graham Greene
• Possession by A.S. Byatt
• Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner
• Electra and Other Plays by Euripedes
• Ethan Frome (Deluxe Edition) by Edith Wharton
• Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson
• Metamorphoses by Ovid
• Heir to Sevenwaters by Juliet Marillier
• The Sea Wolf by Jack London

Lots of new titles and quite a few from my book list. It is hard to say no to books that are 40% off. It is also incredibly sad to see a bookstore half empty when two weeks ago it was bursting.

I hope you are all doing well, and I hope to be rejoining you all sooner rather than later.

Happy Reading!

Making it Official.

The last week or two I've been a little MIA, so I suppose it is time to make it official that I am on a short blogging break.

I will still post for the readalongs, as well as my weekly wrap-up posts on Sunday, but I am taking a step back for a week or two (possibly more). I have a lot going on at the moment, and I simply can't put in the time or the effort right now.

That makes me horribly sad. I want you all to know that I miss writing here. I have been complaining of late about not feeling like myself, and I think that it has a lot to do with restricting my time here. I wish I had more time to read and write, but I have to sleep sometime. :)

I'll be around if you e-mail, or comment, or tweet me.

Happy Reading everyone!

Weekly Wrap-up: What a Horrible Week.

This week was just awful. I feel like I was productive at school, but that school took over my life in a way that I shouldn't allow it to.

A couple years ago, I had another long-term sub job and I was constantly at school way too late. I was always spending hours grading during the week and my entire Sunday sitting at the kitchen table planning and prepping. Parts of that had to do with the fact I was in my first year and that I was completely on my own for planning. School took over my life.

I promised myself that I wouldn't let that happen again, but this week took me back two years to that level of insanity. I was at school for really long hours. I brought too much home with me at spend all night Tuesday and Wednesday grading until the wee hours. I think me being tired led to a little meltdown Friday afternoon. I was tired and worn out and ready to just sleep.

And sleep I DID. I was in bed by 6:45 Friday night and fell asleep quickly. I ended up sleeping for 16 solid hours-straight through the alarms I had set. But when I woke up yesterday, I didn't feel like myself. My body ached, I had the chills, and my throat was all scratchy and uncomfortable. I took it easy and watched some mindless TV. I also checked the handful of papers some students sent me (I have essays due in 3 of my 5 classes next week. I did not plan that well for grading purposes). The rest of the night was spent with some books.

This morning I am still feeling slightly like death. I have some things to do-like laundry at my parents', but I am not feeling up for it. I just want to lay in bed all day and sleep/read. But if I want clothes to wear to school tomorrow, I suppose I should get to it, huh?

Needless to say, I got little reading and blogging done this week. I tried to spend some time yesterday commenting and reading, but I don't think I got very far. Oh well, it happens.

I am hoping for much better things this week, and progress to be made in my readalong titles. I have yet to crack any of them open, so it might be time to get that done.

Anyway, I have clothes to wash and a few tests left to grade.

Hope you all have a great week!

I'm a Busy Bee.

Just a quick post before I tumble off to bed to let you know that I am still around.

This week is a tough one. We have been testing our Juniors and giving them the ACT and MME (Michigan Merit Exam). I have spent 8 or 9 hours this week proctoring. While proctoring, I was not allowed to do any of the following:

• grade papers
• read
• work on the computer
• write
• drink water or any other beverage

All I was allowed to do was read the instruction manual or walk around to monitor students. It was mind-numbing and a great form of torture. But that also meant that the papers I was collecting really started to pile up.

I also made the mistake of collecting my sophomore students' interactive notebooks (basically their class assignments are done on the right side and for "homework" every night they go home and complete some kind of response on the left side). They were super time consuming to grade and I needed to get them right back to students, so I am currently running on no sleep.

All three of my English classes are working on papers, so drafts and thesis statements and outlines have also found their way home with me every night to "look over."

Needless to say, my brain can't comprehend editing the posts in my draft folder.

This weekend I will get back on track.

Miss you all!

What I Read: The February 2011 Edition.

I had a fairly successful month in regards to the number of books I read, but I won't call this month a success. Most of my reading was outside my project list. In addition, I hit a wall with my reading that I have yet to get over. I think my work at school is finally tiring me out to the point that when I come home, reading isn't my first priority. But, I am pushing on and trying to refocus my energy.

I will say that you may see less posts from me if I continue on this crappy reading spree.

Anyway, here are the titles I read this month:
February:

1. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
2. The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan
3. The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan
4. The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan
5. The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan
6. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (read in school for a class I teach)
7. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls (read in school for a class I teach)
8. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
9. Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
10. Across the Universe by Beth Revis
11. Delirium by Lauren Oliver
12. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
13. Mariana by Monica Dickens

I should point out that half of War and Peace was read in January for the readalong.


Anyway, how was your month? Do you have big goals for the upcoming month?