Beginnings

Welcome friends! I have started this entry in the global technosphere because I have been in love with books since the age of 2. Among the busy business of being a new teacher, this is my outlet for sharing thoughts on a love of reading a wide variety of books. My inspiration can be summed up with a yearbook quote from a teacher written when I was 8: "To the only girl at recess I see reading a book. Good for you!"
My blog title is quoted from a classmate who asked me this once. Believe it or not, I've also heard it as a teacher :D

Monday, October 31, 2011

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?


A weekly meme hosted by Sheila @ Book Journey.


Happy Hallowe'en!

I had an annoying nose & throat cold all this week, so it was the perfect time for reading.  Luckily I'm well in time for handing out candy at the door tonight and will be watching Nightmare Before Christmas as I do every year on this day (*What's this? What's this?*) and I taped Invasion of the Body Snatchers (the 1978 version) I've wanted to see for a long time.  The 1950s original is still really good and I'd watch Donald Sutherland read the phone book, so there you have it :)

Read This Week: (3)
Reviews coming soon for these two:
The Count of Monte Cristo- Alexandre Dumas--Awesome!  Highly recommend.
The Old Man & the Sea- Ernest Hemingway--Read in one sitting. 

and 1 DNF:

We Need to Talk About Kevin- Lionel Shriver
I got through about 60 pages.  I understand that this was a critical masterpiece to some people but it was way too depressing for me to continue with it.  I knew it wouldn't be a book I could "like" given the subject matter (yet I liked The Handmaid's Tale, Atonement, The Stand, and other books with very sad, even downright miserable circumstances).  The perspective of the novel was not what I expected (not necessarily a bad thing), and I found the vocabulary was impressive, the style interesting, but it was the protagonist, Eva, that made me want to chuck the book across the room.  I've never read about such a dark, depressing character and it actually made me nauseous.  No thanks...

Currently Reading:  (3)
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter- Carson McCullers--Off to a good start.  I saw the movie a few years ago and thought Alan Arkin and Sondra Locke were amazing.

U2 by U2- U2 (Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, Larry Mullen Jr.)
My Life- Bill Clinton

Reviews Written This Week:
Teacher Man- Frank McCourt (A)

Next to Read:
I haven't planned what to read next.  My options are wide open :)

Other Blog News:
Thinking About Challenges...
I could use your input on writing a wrap-up post.

Have a great reading week :)

Posted by Teacher/Learner at 12:30 PM
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7 comments:

  1. Tanya PatriceOctober 31, 2011 at 1:52 PM

    I loved the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers - such a classic flick to watch around Halloween. Happy reading this week.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anne@HeadFullofBooksOctober 31, 2011 at 2:59 PM

    You are reading some heavy-duty stuff. Loved Teacher Man by McCourt. It heard him read a chapter at a conference. It was hilarious.

    Anne
    My Head is Full of Books

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sam (Tiny Library)October 31, 2011 at 4:31 PM

    I read We Need to Talk About Kevin when it first came out and just didn't like it. I felt it was all too Freudian and over-analytic. Apparently the film is supposed to be good though, mainly because of Tilda Swinton.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Bev HankinsOctober 31, 2011 at 4:39 PM

    I'm a Donal Sutherland fan too! I love him in The Great Train Robbery with Sean Connery. I could watch that over and over and over (and have).

    Glad to see you liked The Count of Monte Cristo. That's one of my favorites!

    Here's my Monday: http://myreadersblock.blogspot.com/2011/10/its-monday-what-are-you-reading_31.html

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sheila (Bookjourney)October 31, 2011 at 7:26 PM

    I understand your thoughts on We Need To Talk About Kevin- while it is a hard harsh read, I found a lot of discussion in it, however when my book club read it - many felt like you and could not, would not finish it.

    Hope your throat is better soon.. a friend of mine has the same thing going on.

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  6. Brooke from The Bluestocking GuideOctober 31, 2011 at 9:13 PM

    I enjoyed The Count of Monte Cristo greatly.

    Here is mine

    ReplyDelete
  7. Carol November 1, 2011 at 8:40 AM

    Have a great week whatever you choose to read.

    carol

    ReplyDelete

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