Maybe I ought to give Persuasion yet another go this summer?
Category: Trivia
Reading Stats
Now that we’re closing in on the middle of July, lots of book bloggers are reviewing their 2008 statistics, and I didn’t want to be left out of the fun [via Bookgirl].
- Books read: 14 (which makes me feel woefully inadequate next to Bookgirl’s 48)
- Mysteries: 1
- Fiction: 12
- Books by women: 8
- Library copies: 1
- Books I have, will, or might teach this year: 4
- Books I didn’t like: 1
- YA books: 2
- Classics: 5
- Online (DailyLit): 1
- New-to-me authors: 9
- Books published this year: 2
- Average Goodreads rating (out of 5 stars): 4.21
I am a little surprised about the high rating. My overall Goodreads rating is 4.36. I think that’s because I rarely finish I book I don’t like, and I don’t review or rate books I don’t finish. Therefore, all of the books I’ve read this year (with one exception) received 4 or 5 stars.
What are some of your reading stats for this year?
Sporcle Games
Sporcle is a website I would probably never visit if not for its fun games section. I found Sporcle’s games via StumbleUpon (which I highly recommend if you are not already using it). With some practice, I can name all the countries of Europe and South America. I can get most of the countries of Asia, Africa, and North America, but I stink at Australia/Oceana. I do pretty well with the United States and their capitols. My score on the US presidents was abysmal. I did respectable on Shakespeare’s plays, but should have done better as I am an English teacher. I aced Star Trek: TNG crew, but forgot Sulu on the Star Trek crew (and Nurse Chapel, too). I only did OK on Bible books, both Old and New Testaments. I stank at Tom Hanks films. I didn’t even try British Prime Ministers (although if there had been a quiz on British monarchs, I feel confident I would have aced it).
The games are addictive, especially the geography ones. I found myself remembering better each time I played. I always liked geography and used to spend hours looking through my stamp collection and examining my globe. So many changes have occurred with countries created and names changed. Names I remember from my stamp books, like Dahomey and Upper Volta are no longer used, and the break-ups of the USSR and Yugoslavia have changed the the map considerably. I thought it was interesting that the Asia quiz accepted either Burma or Myanmar and the African quiz accepted either Côte d’Ivoire or Ivory Coast, although whichever answer you type, the map will read Myanmar and Côte d’Ivoire respectively. And I learned how to spell Kyrgyzstan, but I still don’t know how to say it.
[tags]geography, games, sporcle, stumbleupon[/tags]
Related posts:
Johari Window
Wow. No memes for a long time, then suddenly, memes all over the place over here at Much Madness.
This one is a Johari Window. Tell me how you see me.
Via Dana Elayne.
Related posts:
Another Meme
Wow. Two in one week!
|
#################################################### #################################################### #################################################### #################################################### #################################################### #################################################### #################################################### #################################################### #################################################### #################################################### #################################################### #################################################### #################################################### #################################################### #################################################### ####################################################
|
|
Your personality type is RLUAI
|
| You are reserved, moody, unstructured, accommodating, and intellectual, and may prefer a city which matches those traits. |
| The largest representation of your personality type can be found in the these U.S. cities: Washington DC, Portland/Salem, Richmond, New Orleans, Norfolk, Denver, Albuquerque/Santa Fe, Kansas City, St. Louis, New York City, Indianapolis, San Antonio and these international countries/regions Slovenia, Croatia, Caribbean, Czech Republic, Netherlands, Belgium, Guam, Ukraine, Argentina, Greece, Brazil, Israel, Wales, Finland, Germany, Poland |
What Places In The World Match Your Personality?
City Reviews at CityCulture.org
What’s weird is that I have lived in three of the U.S. cities — Denver, St. Louis, and Norfolk. Actually, I should say I lived in suburbs of those three cities. I’ve also lived in Germany. And I can totally see myself living in Wales one day.
Via Dana Elayne.
I’m Boston
| You Are Boston |
 And quite frankly, you think you are the best. Famous people from the Boston area: Conan O’Brien, Ben Affleck, New Kids on the Block |
I can’t remember the last time I posted one of these memes, but I liked the fact that I was Boston. If it wasn’t so far from home, I’d probably move there.
George Sand
Have you ever heard of George Sand? George Sand was the pen name of Amandine-Aurore-Lucile Dupin, Baroness Dudevant, a novelist and proto-feminist who lived in 19th century France. She wore men’s clothing, which was considered shocking for the time. I can’t remember anymore how I first heard of her, but I remember when. I was a freshman in college, and I had come across some writings from her journal after her parting from Alfred de Musset. I remember being so affected by what I read. This was a woman in pain — so in love and so forlorn. Clearly, I thought, she would never love another. Then I discovered she was Chopin’s lover until shortly before his death.
Right after I became aware of George Sand, it seems, a movie called Impromptu starring Judy Davis and Hugh Grant as Sand and Chopin, respectively, was released. It was OK. I ran out and bought a bunch of Sand novels, but I only ever read one: Indiana. Maybe it was the translation (probably not the translation linked, as I couldn’t find it on Amazon), but I thought it was awful, and I wondered if the author’s unconventional life might not be the only reason it’s even still available.
If you can read French, several of her works are available from Project Gutenberg. Her letters and journals are well worth checking out. In a letter to Frederic Girerd, she wrote:
People think it very natural and pardonable to trifle with what is most sacred when dealing with women: women do not count in the social or moral order. I solemnly vow — and this is the first glimmer of courage and ambition in my life! — that I shall raise woman from her abject position, both through my self and my writing, God will help me!…let female slavery also have its Spartacus. That shall I be, or perish in the attempt.
Honore de Balzac wondered, “What will become of the world when all women are like George Sand?”
Update: A weird bit of serendipity… July 1, when I posted this entry, was George Sand’s birthday.
Related posts:
Trivia #10
What was the result of Jake Barnes’s war wound in Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises?
As Tudor so eloquently put it: “Poor Jake lost his balls in the war — which significantly affected his love life … ‘silly place to get shot,’ he said.”
Silly, indeed. Tudor does not suck.