Currently Reading....

"The Messenger"... by the author of the "Book Thief"... Zusak.

Zusak's writing is excellent. I am as equally intrigued with the plot of this novel as I was with "The Book Thief".

Murder, love, taxi driving, barefoot running and barefoot soccer, a 17 year old dog named The Doorstop... I can't wait to finish the story!

Currently Reading....

The Scarlet Letter.

I've got to be honest... I'm struggling with it.

BUT, it is better than my first reading of the novel.

I am reading "TSL" on my Nook. I get a brief satisfaction of clicking the button to advance the page after I've plowed my way down the screen, returned to the stanzas I didn't comprehend, and then re-reading the entire passage again. :P

Trish and I are looking for "exciting" ways to introduce the novel... so far, no luck.

Any suggestions???

Spooner... Done. Eat, Pray, Love... Done

I finished the two books that I was reading.

Spooner... I think Spooner and I just did not mesh. I waded through that story with no sense of enjoyment, only curiosity. I can't say that I got any personal enjoyment or reward from reading the entire saga of Spooner's life.

Eat, Pray, Love... I had tried to read EPL when it was first published and could not. Maybe because I'm older or maybe b/c I traveled to the first locale of the book, I immersed myself into the story this time.

I enjoyed Gilbert's adventures in Italy. I could certainly relate to eating gelato for each meal! :) I also found I could relate to her meditation experiences in India from the last five years I've spent on a table doing my BEST therapies. And finally, when the old medicine man in Indonesia tells Gilbert that her shakras are aligned and all is well, I knew exactly what that feels like... complete bliss! (I attempt to reach that stage each week... some weeks are better than others :P)

Would I ever had the faith (patience? courage?) to leave all that is familiar and travel/live abroad for an entire year?

What I do know is that everything happens for a reason. I did not read this book until I was older, had traveled to Europe, and had spent 5 years working on aligning my mind/body/spirit. The book and Gilbert's experiences mean more to me now than they would have back in 2006.

Still haven't decided whether to go and watch the movie...

Almost There!!!

I am ALMOST done with Eat, Pray, Love!

I just have this little thing called work in my way of reading the ending!

arrrgggghhh...

Eat, Pray, Love / Spooner / junior textbook

Yes, I am simultaneously reading all three of these.

Spooner and I go to sleep together. Liz Gilbert takes me to a foreign location while I'm waiting for something to begin... like another committee meeting. The junior textbook is being read while feverishly figuring out what I'm teaching for the next nine months.

• (Sidenote... I have a student teacher this semester. Trish will start on the 16th and greet the students with me the next day. She will be with us until December.)

This reading schedule reminds me of my English-major, undergrad days . I would have one novel in progress for Dr. Morgan, another for Dr. Couch, and yet another for one of my social studies courses.

I once wandered into the PE department and visited my Uncle Max. He suggested I use the scales to weigh my backpack. That semester I was carrying 35 pounds worth of books across the MSSC campus, including that mammoth "Complete Works of Shakespeare". (I couldn't WAIT to turn that one back in to the rental compound!)

Anyway, I digress.

Christy asked me if I was going to see the movie "Eat, Pray, Love". We discussed that we are afraid the movie will damage the images in our minds that we developed as we read about Liz and the people she met while in Italy, India and Indonesia. We agreed that the scenery from Italy would make us homesick for the beautiful country we left 6 weeks ago.

I hope Jake develops a love of reading. I didn't think I would get Tyler to that point, but he enjoys a good book and he likes to read. (Shhhh... don't tell him I said that in my blog!)

I'm reading "Spooner" by Pete Dexter.

Mr. Dexter's prose reminds me of Faulkner's... by the time I finally find the punctuation at the end of the sentence, I have no idea what the context of the sentence was in the first place.

The only thing keeping me going is that I am now too involved in Spooner's life and I have to find out the rest of his story.

This is on the list that we are using for the junior AR reading. It is suppposed to be classic American literature. I'm having a hard time putting it on the same list as "To Kill A Mockingbird".

Getting ready...

My room, with the exception of the closet, is ready for the school year.





I walked into that room today and got that "anticipatory" feeling!





I dusted, arranged my personal pictures, put up my diploma frames, put up all the visual aids, arranged the furniture, removed the covers from the SmartBoard equipment, got the computer in working order, and straightened my desk.

I have to tackle that closet and the AR books when I return.

Ten more years until retirement...eleven if I stay until Jake graduates... and I think I can make it!