Tiffany's comments
(member since Jan 28, 2008)
Tiffany's comments from the 50 Books A Year group.
(showing 1-20 of 120)
48. The Sun Also RisesA good book ... I don't quite get what all of the hubbub over this book is about, but maybe if I'd read it in its own era...
Still, a good read.
47. Shuffle and BreakdownI took my time with this small book of poetry because I wanted to be able to enjoy every poem on its own merits, and to not rush through them. Very enjoyable!
Phew! I finally finished reading all of the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die! Well, okay, I didn't read all of the books, but I read all of the book about the books :)46. 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die
Let's face it: our lifetimes are limited, and I doubt I'll have time to read all 1001 books, along with non-list books that I want to read. So I made my way through the Big Book, and made a list of all of the books that I might want to read, thus weeding out the stuff I know life is too short to begin.
Now I just have to add that list to my to-read shelf ... another big project.
45. The Best in Rock FictionNot so much "the best," actually. Not horrible, either, though. Some stories were really good, and some... well, maybe someone else would like them, but not me.
A big weekend for me, book-wise, already -- 40. Myths and Mysteries of Washington
I realized late last year that I'd never read The War of the Worlds, even though we listened to the radio broadcast for Halloween when I was in sixth grade, so I decided that October would be the perfect time to finally read it, and I kind of went wild with it this month.
41. The Complete War of The Worlds
I also wanted to hear the radio version again, and I found a book at my local library that 1) was about H.G. Wells and his The War of the Worlds, 2) was about science fiction and our fascination with visitors from other planets, 3) was about Orson Welles' radio broadcast, 4) included a CD with Welles' radio version.
42. The War of the Worlds
The above book also included the full text of Wells' story, so I'm counting them as two separate books read.
43. The War of the Worlds
And to round it all out, I'll be listening to the audiobook of TWotW this week at work. I think this is a wonderful way to get in the Halloween spirit -- a whole month of Martians!
44. Vanishing Seattle
Has anyone noticed the theme of me liking Seattle history? This time, I did actually follow along with a map, so I could try to visualize what is currently in the various locations mentioned.
39. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet A NovelI'm in love. This is an amazing and beautifully-written historical fiction about a Chinese American boy and his Japanese American (girl)friend during World War II in Seattle.
The story was so captivating, I couldn't put the book down. I even stayed up late tonight (well, "late" for my current schedule) so I could finish it, then resented Ford for not writing a longer book! :)
38. The Marrow of TraditionI bought this book for an English class I ended up not taking, but once I buy a book, I almost NEVER return it without reading it. So despite the fact that I didn't think I'd like it (I figured Chesnutt would be very heavy-handed with the moral of race riots), I read it.
I ended up really enjoying the book. Chesnutt's such a good storyteller that even though the moral was heavy-handed at times (especially the last few chapters), his writing flows so well that I wanted to keep reading.
I enjoyed the book so much that I made up reasons to read. This was a book that I intended to read on the bus or at my night job, but after a while, I started sneaking in a few pages here and there at my day job, too. "Oh, well, my computer takes so long to start in the morning, I'll sit here and read." "Well, my computer is *on* now, but, um, my mail is still downloading, so I'll read." "Um, I get 2 15-minute breaks a day, so I'm going to go read." "Um, the internet is down, and my work needs the internet, so I'll read until it's back up." :)
37. Tender Is the NightTender Is the Night (With Author's Final Revisions)
The original version of Tender Is the Night wasn't the big success that F. Scott Fitzgerald thought it should be, so he thought that perhaps readers were confused by the order of the sections. He re-ordered them in chronological order, hoping that would help the story make more sense to readers, rather than a timeline that bounced around.
I don't think the chronology made the story make more or less sense, but this version gave a new way of reading the story.
36. Birds of a FeatherI didn't think this was as good as the first Maisie Dobbs book, but it was still good.
Thanks, Kathy! Unfortunately, the one drawback to reading while students are working is that sometimes they think they'd be bothering me if they come and interrupt, which makes me not want to read in front of them (Of course they're not interrupting! I'm there for them!), so it's a fine line.
Cherylann - The night classes are lab classes, so it's pretty much a free-for-all. With Reading being just one of the five subjects on the GED test, however, we can't really spend all that much in-class time focused on the one subject, especially something that's much more difficult to "teach" (Math, sure, we can spend lots of time on in class because a teacher can stand in front of the room, instruct, students can ask questions, and at the end of the class, you can tell how much progress the student made. I'm not sure it's as easy with reading and comprehension). Plus, with reading being the subject that most students hate the most (which I totally don't understand!), the "Read more! It'll help!" line doesn't fly much with the students :) But I keep trying... also try to push that "reading" doesn't have to *strictly* be high-brow Literature... it can be reading newspapers, or magazines about a student's hobbies or interests, and some fiction or nonfiction that you can analyze thrown in...
Hmmm.... you've given me some stuff to think about before school starts again :)
At my day job, I read while I'm waiting for my VERY SLOW computer to start in the morning, and during breaks during the day. While I'm working, I'll sometimes listen to audiobooks, if I have a good one. My night job is working in ABE/GED classes, so I spend a lot of time reading whenever students don't need my help. I know most of the students think I'm a geek for spending that much time reading, but I enjoy it. Plus, I'm always trying to emphasize the importance of reading to students who are trying to pass the GED test, or who are trying to improve their basic reading/comprehension skills, so I hope that I'm at least planting a little "Reading is good" idea in the backs of their minds.
(Cherylann, you sound like my kind of teacher! That's a very cool way of getting students to read and to learn comprehension skills. I hope the students and parents appreciate your strategy.)
I'm feeling amazingly hopeful about getting to 50 this year! With my night job on summer break, I decided that I'd read at least 1 hour every night, and it's surprising how that little guideline/goal has helped me plug along through my to-read list. (Also, the guilt of seeing my bookcases overflowing and knowing I need to move those books somewhere else has helped force me to read when I otherwise might be watching TV or playing on my computer.)
32. The Pat Hobby StoriesLoved these short stories!
33. The Book on the Bookshelf
Awesome book for bookgeeks and people interested in the evolution of furniture and structures.
31. Pride and Prejudice audioSurprisingly, I didn't dislike the book! I've always thought I'd hate Austen, or that her novels would be too smart for me, but I actually thought it wasn't bad. Even enjoyable!
30. The Voyage of the Dawn TreaderGood book! A delightful read! I know I read this in elementary school, but I didn't remember any of it as I read it this time around.
