Tuesday, June 3, 2014

As Summer Begins...


As summer begins, so does the joy of summer reading. Without the stacks of essays that typically commandeer my time, I can focus on reading for pleasure, reading in preparation, and reading to dream. Reading for pleasure translates into me finally reading those books that I have purchased throughout the year with the intention of reading. Reading in preparation includes reading/re-reading works that I teach during the school year and developing new approaches in hopes that my students will gain a deeper understanding of the novel (fingers crossed). And reading to dream usually means I'm reading about other people's grand adventures dreaming of the day I'll get to take a life-altering, soul-discovering adventure of my own.

So what titles are included on my summer reading list you may ask... well, I'm a sharer. So get those pens to the ready, here we go...

Pleasure
1. Pale Horse, Pale Rider by Katherine Anne Porter
2. Call Me Zelda by Erika Robuck
3. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Shiguro
4. The Scent of Sake by Joyce Lebra

Preparation
1. On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
2. Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer
3. The Stranger by Albert Camus
4. Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton

Dreaming
1. Holy Cow: An Indian Adventure by Sarah Macdonald
2. Tales of a Female Nomad: Living at Large in the World by Rita Golden Gelman
3. In Patagonia by Bruce Chatwin
4. Long Way Round by Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman

I always add and subtract titles as the summer goes on, so this list is subject to change. But this is the stack on my desk right now.

Let's get lost!

Monday, August 30, 2010

Happiness is...

This delightful mug is by Emma Bridgewater, a brilliant ceramics artist. Sadly, Sadly this mug is in the UK and I am here in West Texas. I can't justify shipping costing more than the purchase, but I wanted to share it anyway. If you feel so inclined...buy it here.

I have been away for quite a long time. I'd like to say I was somewhere exotic reading loads of wonderful novels on the beach. But I was not. Insert sad face. I was attending two brutal semesters of summer school. Blah. And with my two week break over, I am now starting my fall classes. Double Blah!

What I have read in my absence...
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Alexie Sherman
And a couple more of those Sookie Stackhouse novels.

Don't judge. My friend gave them to me and I just can't not read something once they give me the whole series. So I have completed the 9 books my friend Shawna gave me, but apparently there are more. I'm not fully invested, and they read rather quickly. I would not buy them myself, but since they were loaned to me, I have read every last one.

What I am reading now...
Fingersmith by Sarah Waters
Charity Girl by Georgette Heyer
Eat Love Pray by Elizabeth Gilbert

Friday, April 16, 2010

i.heart.book.tees

If you're like me, then you have the impulse to purchase any clothing or bag or anything with a book cover graphic, or people reading, or author quote on it. Through another blog I found this wonderful website, Out of Print Clothing, that has killer book art tees and promotes Books for Africa. For every tee sold, they send a book to Africa and their goal this year is an entire container which is about 20,000 books. It's a wonderful mission and some incredible tees.



So head to the sight and pick up a wonderful tee and help send books to Africa!