Sunday Post – Page 3 – Much Madness is Divinest Sense

Sunday Post #25: I’ve Discovered I’m a Writer

Posted on July 5, 2015July 5, 2015 by Dana

I didn’t write a Sunday Post last week. I was out of town at the Kenyon Writer’s Workshop for Teachers at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. It was a transformative experience, which I wrote about on my education blog (if you want to read about it). Kenyon has many other writer’s workshops if you are interested.

I didn’t finish reading anything over the last week, excepting the first Harry Potter book, which I finished on the plane. I actually didn’t read those books too long ago, but for some reason, I decided to read them again. I’m not sure I’m investing in re-reading the whole series right in a line, as I have a lot of other reading I need to do and a lot of other reading I want to do, but it’s been nice to get into again. I really love the British versions so much more than the American ones. After about Book 5, I don’t think the differences are all that great, but they sure are in the first couple of books. Language matters quite a great deal. I was always bothered by the fact that Hermione described the difficulties of using Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom, trying to “have a pee” while ignoring her wailing. It just didn’t sound like anything Hermione would ever say, and it turns out, she says “go to the loo,” which is totally in character. Might seem like a small thing, but it bugs me a great deal, and I just can’t understand why the American publishers made that change and why they didn’t trust their readers to figure out what “go to the loo” means.

I did add quite a few books to my TBR pile, and I even ordered a few of them already.

All of these books were either recommended by others at Kenyon or else I found them through readings and other circuitous means as a result of being at Kenyon.

How was your reading week?

Re-Reading Harry Potter: The Pensieve

Harry Potter

A Note on Ravenclaws

Sunday Post #23: Walden

Posted on June 21, 2015September 19, 2015 by Dana

I finished reading Walden this afternoon. I had no idea it was going to be such a demanding read. I had only ever read excerpts of it (turns out, those would be the “good parts” versions). While I do completely get its importance in American literature, I can’t exactly say I liked it. I liked parts of it. I didn’t see the connections between the various chapters very well (and sometimes not even within the chapters themselves). It seemed a bit meandering. I know some criticize Thoreau because he was actually not that far from town, and he was fairly social (rather than living off on his own). I think he makes it relatively clear that he was not literally living a solitary life. I think was he was really after was trying to live as simply as he could. How much time he actually spent in the cabin he built, I don’t really know, but it’s clear he spent a lot of time there, and he seems to be actively trying on the clothes of hermit, even if he’s not really one. But I don’t really care about that, anyway. Some really interesting nuggets throughout, but as a whole, it didn’t do it for me.

More irritating was trying to work the annotations in the Kindle version I bought. You’d think the notes would be in order (for instance, that note 73 would have followed note 72 in a given chapter). You would be wrong. That made it a real pain when I was trying to read notes that I had difficulty opening because they were either close to the edges of the Kindle page (and thus, all I could succeed in doing was turning the page) or when the hyperlinked text was only a small number, which even my small fingers couldn’t seem to touch in order to activate the link. It was really frustrating. I am sure the index is quite good, but it’s in the back before the notes and not so easy to navigate. Perhaps it’s not necessary given the search feature in Kindle. And finally, I found a bunch of notes on the text that were never hyperlinked. Who knew those were even there? Also, some of the text was oddly laid down (half a word might be half a line beneath the other half). I don’t know how that happens. I don’t know if reading the paper version would be as frustrating or not.

Rating:

So, on to other things. I have not added any books to my TBR pile, which is probably a good thing given how slowly I’m reading the ones in my currently-reading pile. I spent three days this last week at a conference, and I am going to another one this coming Saturday. I am hoping I’ll have time to write my usual blog post here next Sunday, but we will see what happens.

I am about an hour and a half from finishing All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven. I might try to finish that one today, either making soap or doing dishes. Or both. Who knows. If I do finish it today, my review will likely appear on this blog tomorrow. I don’t really like to post more than once a day.

So, what are you reading?

I am counting Walden as my Nonfiction Classic for the Back to the Classics Challenge. Just for my own reference, I’m making note of my progress on this challenge so far:

19th Century Classic
20th Century Classic: The End of the Affair
Classic by a Woman Author: Wuthering Heights
Classic in Translation: The Lais of Marie de France
Very Long Classic Novel
Classic Novella
Classic with a Person’s Name in the Title
Humorous or Satirical Classic
Forgotten Classic
Nonfiction Classic: Walden
Classic Children’s Book
Classic Play: As You Like It

Review: The Age of Innocence, Edith Wharton

Review: Station Eleven, Emily St. John Mandel

Breaking Dawn

Sunday Post #22: Lazy

Posted on June 14, 2015June 21, 2015 by Dana

I have been pretty lazy this week, and I haven’t done a lot of reading. I have been watching TV and videos, reading things on the Internet, playing games, and making soap, but I haven’t been reading much. I think the problem is that I am not really enthralled by the books I’m currently reading.

Bad English teacher confession time. Here goes. I am finding Walden to be quite a slog. I am going to finish it, and honestly, I’m trying, but it is not grabbing me. It’s one of those things I think I should read so I can say I read it (I know, I know… there is no such thing). I am an English teacher, though, and an American literature teacher at that. I have only ever read parts of Walden before, and those parts are good. I do find myself highlighting certain chapters heavily. But for the most part? It’s kind of boring. There, I said it. (Ducks and runs.) Seriously, though, I think we have a classic like that. We know we’re supposed to like it because it’s a classic, but we just don’t. I feel doubly bad, though, because Walden is one of the most iconic books about Massachusetts, and I have actually been there and found it to be what Thoreau did—a very special place. It was in the middle of February, and the pond was frozen over. I was actually standing on it.

My current paper book, I Always Loved You by Robin Oliveira is one of those slow starters. I can tell it’s about to get good. I can. But it isn’t there, yet. I am not giving up on it at this point, but if it doesn’t start showing itself pretty soon, I am. I will be sad to do so as I was looking forward to this book. I have stuff to read, however, and I don’t have a lot of time to waste on two books that aren’t doing it for me.

I am, however, enjoying All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven, but it is an audio book, so it is taking me longer. On the other hand, you know it must be good if I just volunteered to do the dishes tonight so I can listen to the book while I work. I don’t do well just sitting and listening to an audio book, but if I’m busy—traveling somewhere, doing chores, making soap—I love listening to a book. I have about three hours left in that one.

In other news, all of my herbs are coming up in my herb garden!

The cilantro is especially fast. The parsley just started coming up, so it might be kind of hard to see, and the oregano is kind of tiny, so also hard to see. But those little leaves are there! I didn’t think they’d really be coming up this fast. I am pretty proud that I was able to get them to grow. I am terrible with plants. I mean really terrible.

So what is cooking in your reading life at the moment?

Sunday Post #44: No Snow

Reading Update: September 20, 2010

WWW Wednesdays—August 17, 2011

Sunday Post #21: School’s Out

Posted on June 7, 2015 by Dana

I have two days of professional development at school, and then school is out for me. My children are still in school until around the end of the month, however. I am also going on several professional development trips, including a multicultural teaching institute, the Kenyon Writer’s Workshop for Teachers, and AP English Literature training. Busy summer! I have said it before, and I’ll say it again, don’t believe anyone who tells you that teachers don’t work during the summer.

I just watched the most recent adaptation of Wuthering Heights directed by Andrea Arnold. Let me save you two hours of your life. Avoid it. While the scenery is certainly atmospheric, the movie captures nothing that makes the novel special, and, like many other adaptations, completely cuts out the Cathy/Linton/Hareton storyline. I don’t know why movie adaptations consistently cut that part. It is the hopeful, redemptive part of the story. Ugh. As polarizing as that book can be, the movies are so much worse. I was bored watching this version. Bored! When it wasn’t boring, it was plain weird.

This week I started listening to All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven and narrated by Kirby Heyborne and Ariadne Meyers. Ariadne Meyers also narrated We Were Liars, which I finished last Sunday. So far, so good.

I added Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt to my TBR pile. What decided me there was seeing a really glowing recommendation, and I forget now who shared the recommendation.

I started an herb garden this weekend. I really hope something grows. My problem when I buy fresh herbs is that I don’t use them up before they wilt in the fridge. I know I could freeze them, but I also have a small freezer. I think if I can get these herbs to come up, it could be quite a lot of fun to use them in cooking. I am growing Italian parsley, sweet basil, oregano, thyme, cilantro, and sage. I have a notorious brown thumb, so wish me luck. I will post pictures if and when anything starts growing.

Sunday Post #6: A Year in France

Sunday Post #27: Summer

Top Ten Books I Want to Reread

Sunday Post #20: Summertime

Posted on May 31, 2015May 31, 2015 by Dana

Looks like summer is starting pretty much all over (at least in the northern hemisphere). I’m beginning to see vacation pics on Facebook, and I’ve been eying my TBR pile, looking for good summertime reads.

I have a bit of a busy summer ahead. I am going to at least four teaching workshops. If anyone tries to tell you teachers don’t work during the summer, don’t you believe it. In addition, I have a new course to plan.

This week, I finished two books. The first I’ve already reviewed: The End of the Affair by Graham Greene. The second I have not yet reviewed, but will review and post about tomorrow (so good that it really needs its own post rather than a review rolled into the Sunday Post): We Were Liars by E. Lockhart. Both were audio books.

I am still finishing up Walden, though my other books are on a bit of a hiatus, with the exception of I Always Loved You by Robin Oliveira. I don’t know if other readers do this or not, but I have to have at least one paper book, one e-book, and one audio book going at all times. The paper books I can read in the tub without fear of destroying an expensive device. The e-books I can read pretty much everywhere, including in bed with the lights off, so I don’t disturb my husband. The audio books I can listen to while I do housework or make soap.

I love to read books set in my adopted home state of Massachusetts, so that was one reason why I liked We Were Liars so much, and I admit, seeing Massachusetts as a setting will push a book higher on my list. Here is a partial list of some of my favorite Massachusetts reads.

Some I’m looking forward to diving into or finishing:

I wonder if other readers are like me and like to read about places they have lived. I also certainly read a lot of books set elsewhere, too.

I added some books to my TBR list this week:

I know what you’re thinking: some variation of either “why haven’t you read The Things They Carried?” or “why wasn’t it already on your list”? It sort of was on my list, to address the second question, but now an oversight is corrected in that it’s on my Goodreads to-read list. As to the first question, yeah, I know.

Not at all a bad reading week, and I’m looking forward to more time (I hope) to read this summer. What about you? Have any recommendations or books you’re anxious to read?

Booking Through Thursday: National Book Week

Friday Finds—May 27, 2011

Sunday Post #35: Ghosts are In

Sunday Post #19: Memorial Day Weekend

Posted on May 24, 2015January 13, 2017 by Dana

Final exams have been taken, and I am finishing up grading for the year. I’m sipping my morning coffee. In a little while, I have to go to school to perform my last weekend duty assignment of the year. I always seem to have duty on Memorial Day weekend. I’m not sure what’s up with that.

Anyone out there use the Audible app and have a major issue with the last iOS version app update? Apparently lots of people were unhappy. I opened my app yesterday to listen to my book while I was making soap, and I had an error message. Nothing I did seemed to work, so I emailed tech support and was told to delete the app and reinstall it (logging out first, of course). I was so nervous about doing that because I was afraid I’d lose all my record-keeping and badges, not to mention my place in the current book. I’m not a big one for taking notes or using bookmarks in Audible, so I wasn’t as concerned. I followed the process, and I did have to mark all the books I had read as “finished” again, but other than that, it seems okay. I will give it whirl later and make sure. If you ever run into the problem, here is the error message I received:

All the spaces are just as I saw them in the error message, copied word for word exactly as I saw it.

The steps to resolve it are as follows:

Turn on Airplane mode (not sure this is strictly necessary, but I did it).
Open the Audible app.
Go to settings.
Press and hold on my email address at the top.
At prompt “Reset Sign In,” tap “Sign Out” option.
Delete the app.
Turn Airplane mode back off (not one of the steps sent me, but necessary to proceed).
Re-download it from the App Store.
Open the app and sign in again.
Re-download any current books (my book seems to be where I left off).
Mark any previously read books “finished” again.

This process seemed to work for me. All my badges and records are still intact.

I added some more books to my ever-growing TBR pile this week.

I seriously may have to pick some of these up for the summer. They look pretty good. Gorgeous covers. I’m particularly excited for Language Arts by Stephanie Kallos—one of the main characters is an English teacher who has a son with autism. I think I can relate to that one!

I obviously didn’t finish anything else this week (no reviews), and once again, I’ve only really made any progress on The End of the Affair by Graham Greene. At this point, I’m probably behind in the number of books I should have read to reach my goal of reading 52 by the end of the year, but I’m not too worried because I have been around a book ahead for most of this year, and the summer beckons with more time to read.

In the coming week, I need to focus on finishing my grading and finishing up the year. I’m not sure I’ll get a ton of reading done, but who knows? What are your plans for the week?

Review: Madhouse at the End of the Earth: The Belgica's Journey into the Dark Antarctic Night, Julia...

Sunday Post #42: Ratings

Sunday Post #15: Wuthering, Wuthering Heights

Sunday Post #18: Sundays in Spring

Posted on May 17, 2015January 13, 2017 by Dana

I am not sure it gets a whole lot better than Sundays in spring unless it’s Sundays in fall (which is actually my favorite season).

School is winding down. I have one more day of regular classes, then it’s final exams. I only have one final exam this year. I hope not to have any next year. I’m not sure such exams are the best way to assess learning in English classes.

The end of the school year is always so busy right up until final exams, and then it seems to relax. I have had a really good school year—perhaps the best one of my teaching career. I am really happy with some of the things I tried this year, and I think the students did some great work for me. I have wonderful students.

I got up early this morning (for me), and made a batch of Heavenly Honeysuckle soap. I don’t always post my soap pictures here because I have another blog for that, but I really love the colors. Honeysuckle is one of my absolute favorite scents.

It should be ready to cut tomorrow and ready to use in about four weeks.

I didn’t finish any books this week or really write on the blog, but I did keep listening to The End of the Affair by Graham Greene. That’s the only book I’ve made any real progress on this week. I haven’t done a lot of reading, but I did finish watching several episodes of Doctor Who—I’ve had that DVD from Netflix for about a month, so it’s time to send it back already. It’s not the longest I’ve kept a DVD. Though I didn’t do much reading, I did add some more books to my TBR pile.

I am especially excited for Circling the Sun. I really enjoyed The Paris Wife. This new book by Paula McLain looks fascinating.

Sometimes I think my TBR pile is just a lovely collection of pretty covers of books I’ll never get to read. I keep telling myself I will someday.

I’ve been listening to my classical Spotify playlists today. I thought you might enjoy the Spring Classical playlist on this lovely spring day.

Sunday Post #37: Complete

WWW Wednesdays—June 15, 2011

Matthew Pearl's The Last Dickens

Sunday Post #17: Happy Mother’s Day!

Posted on May 10, 2015 by Dana

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms! I didn’t get breakfast in bed, but I did make pancakes with my new griddle. I have to say that it was much easier. I have always hated making pancakes because you have to make them one or two at a time with a frying pan, but with a griddle, I was able to make them for the whole family in nothing flat.

I’m not sure if I have any other plans, aside from perhaps making some soap and also doing some reading. Speaking of soap, I’m giving away a bar of the Dead Sea Mud Spa Soap I just made. Head over to my soaping blog to check it out if you’re interested. What are your Mother’s Day plans?

It seems appropriate to start with a list of my favorite literary moms.

Best mom in my book is Molly Weasley. She not only keeps all the unruly Weasleys in line but also adopts Harry, too. And when Bellatrix Lestrange tries to attack Ginny, she famously intervenes, yelling, “Not my daughter, you bitch!” before destroying perhaps the most deranged and evil of Voldemort’s Death Eaters. She’s nurturing and bad-ass.
Hester Prynne devotes herself to Pearl and becomes a model mother even as her entire community is castigating her for having Pearl out of wedlock.
Scarlett O’Hara is devoted to her mother Ellen in Gone With the Wind, but let’s get real—her mother is actually Mammy, and Mammy was the best mother for a headstrong, stubborn person like Scarlett.
Mrs. Quimby from Beverly Cleary’s Ramona books. I think it’s in Ramona and Her Mother when Ramona squeezes an entire tube of toothpaste into the sink, and her mother makes Ramona scoop it into a baggie. Ramona has to use that toothpaste until it’s gone, while the rest of the family gets to use a brand new tube. Serves her right!
Marmee from Little Women whose reputation precedes her, as I still need to read this book. I know, right? How did that happen? I’m not sure. I promise to fix it soon. But the authorities say that Marmee is about as perfect as it’s possible to be.

Bookish Updates for the week: I finished listening to Conversion by Katherine Howe and started listening to The End of the Affair by Graham Greene (read by THE Colin Firth). I have also started reading an annotated Walden by Henry David Thoreau, but truthfully, I might have started that last week rather than this week. Memory’s fuzzy. I definitely started
Waking Up White, and Finding Myself in the Story of Race by Debby Irving this week, however.

I added the following books to my TBR pile:

The Appearance of Annie van Sinderen by Katherine Howe
The Penguin Book of Witches, ed. Katherine Howe
The Mapmaker’s Children by Sarah McCoy
The Silver Witch by Paula Brackston (I can hardly resist reading a book set in the same place where I set one of mine!)

And finally, U2 busking in the subway:

Re-Reading The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane

Harry Potter

Sunday Post #22: Lazy

Sunday Post #16: Belle Époque

Posted on May 3, 2015 by Dana

My school year is rapidly drawing to a close. In fact, I just have about two weeks of teaching time left! I am really hoping we have a strong finish to the end of the year. We are working on projects in both classes, and the students seem excited about the projects. Of course, the exciting thing is more time for reading. I’m definitely looking forward to some great books this summer.

Spring finally arrived for good (I hope) when calendar changed to May. We had such a snowy winter. I hope it doesn’t mean we are in for a really hot summer. I would love it if it stayed temperate and never got into the 90’s.

Today is my grandfather’s 90th birthday. Happy birthday, Papa!

This week, I finished reading The Annotated Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë and edited by Janet Gezari. I took some pictures of the inside of the book that I forgot to post in my review.

I mentioned in the review that Byron was perhaps an inspiration for Catherine’s most famous speech.

And also that Percy Shelley’s Epipsychidion was a source.

This week, I finally dove into one of my two Belle Époque books, I Always Loved You by Robin Oliveira. I am already enjoying that one quite a bit. It’s about Mary Cassatt and Edgar Degas. A few years ago, I had the wonderful opportunity to visit the Art Institute of Chicago and see Mary Cassatt’s painting. I took this picture, which is not as good as what you can see online, but I took it, which is evidence I was in front of it.

If I have one favorite type of painting, it would definitely be Impressionism. So far, this book is really reminding me in the best ways of Susan Vreeland’s books. If you like art and haven’t read her short story collection, Life Studies, do check it out. One of the best short story collections I’ve ever read. There is simply nothing like looking at these paintings in person. I was actually told off for getting too close to a Van Gogh, but it’s only when you get close that you can see the brushstrokes and the paintings really become real, not just just pictures.

I have to say that if I could go visit any era in Paris, it would definitely be Belle Époque. Who wouldn’t want to see that flowering of art? At least I can read about it in these wonderful books.

I’m also still reading, or rather listening to, Katherine Howe’s novel, Conversion. I have about three hours left to go. This one is really good. I hope that Katherine Howe plans to write more YA novels. I do love that her characters Connie Goodwin and Deliverance and Mercy Dane have cameos in this novel.

I added a couple of new books to my TBR pile. Some time back, I started a course on historical fiction on Coursera taught by Bruce Holsinger, but I didn’t have time to finish it. I just found out he’s published two novels about John Gower (and Chaucer). Literary thrillers. Of course I want to check that out!

Wrapping this up because Wolf Hall is coming on, and I can’t miss it. I thought this link was interesting this week. Some great world books on that list.

Review: The Daughters of Temperance Hobbs, Katherine Howe

Summer Reading

Musing Mondays—August 29, 2011

Sunday Post #15: Wuthering, Wuthering Heights

Posted on April 26, 2015May 3, 2015 by Dana

What has been happening this week? It’s been crazy busy. I haven’t had a ton of time to read, so I sat down and read most of today (with the exception of doing a little bit of work and washing the dishes). I have been spending most of the day wandering the moors, reading The Annotated Wuthering Heights. What a great addition to my library. I am truly enjoying it. Each time I read Wuthering Heights, I notice something I didn’t pick up on last time, and this time, it’s how horrible Nelly Dean is. I mean, I have often thought of her as mostly a reliable narrator, and because of her, I have really disliked Catherine. Heathcliff is just plain hard to like, no matter what. As soon as you start feeling sympathy for him, he goes off and kills lapwings for no reason or hangs a dog. Perhaps because I’m reading an annotated version, I am noticing so many more things than I ever have before. All the birds, for one thing; I’m sure I noticed that before, but even though the annotations don’t discuss the birds in a great amount of detail, I think my antennae are up, so to speak, and I’m noticing the symbolism more than I usually do. And there are birds just everywhere in this book. Another thing I am seeing are the close connections to the Romantic poets. The annotations help there, and I am really pleased I chose to read this one for the Literary Movement Reading Challenge. Hope I can finish it in time! Even if I don’t, I definitely want to finish reading this lovely annotated version. I realize a lot of people hate this book, but I think if you peel it apart and and see what makes it work, it is genius. I am especially enjoying the nuances I am noticing in Nelly’s character this time around.

I finished reading Pleasantville by Attica Locke and wrote a review for the TLC Book Tour this week as well. A good read. I am also still working away on Katherine Howe’s Conversion on audio. The reader for that one is really good. I recommended it to a bunch of my students this week when I saw it was one of their choices for a summer read.

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic was top ten favorite authors of all time. You know, I am actually liking the idea of saving these for my Sunday Post instead of doing them on Tuesday. I just have less time to write during the work week. To qualify as a favorite author, I decided that I needed to love multiple books by the same author. So I didn’t count authors who have only written one novel. I also didn’t count authors if I had read only one of their works (even if I loved it). So here is my list:

William Shakespeare
Jane Austen
J. K. Rowling
J. R. R. Tolkien
Diana Gabaldon
Ernest Hemingway
Sharyn McCrumb
Jasper Fforde
Neil Gaiman
Judy Blume

Who would be on your list?

Authors whose work I love, but whom I didn’t count because of my self-imposed rules are Toni Morrison, Zora Neale Hurston, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Harper Lee, and Emily Brontë.

Some links I enjoyed this week:

Here’s a bonus for you:

For the record, I have always believed it really was Catherine’s ghost who disturbed Lockwood early in the novel.

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Re-Reading Harry Potter: The Pensieve

Harry Potter

A Note on Ravenclaws

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Review: The Age of Innocence, Edith Wharton

Review: Station Eleven, Emily St. John Mandel

Breaking Dawn

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Sunday Post #44: No Snow

Reading Update: September 20, 2010

WWW Wednesdays—August 17, 2011

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Sunday Post #6: A Year in France

Sunday Post #27: Summer

Top Ten Books I Want to Reread

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Booking Through Thursday: National Book Week

Friday Finds—May 27, 2011

Sunday Post #35: Ghosts are In

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Sunday Post #42: Ratings

Sunday Post #15: Wuthering, Wuthering Heights

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Sunday Post #37: Complete

WWW Wednesdays—June 15, 2011

Matthew Pearl's The Last Dickens

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