false 1 9 9 true 6793293 read 0 true 294716 currently-reading 0 true 294715 to-read http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2140149 Gregg's review of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
by Dave Eggers

Absolutely! A student gave this book to me and I tried to like it, but alas, I can't stand the voice. I agree, maybe I would have liked this book at 18, but at 35 it fell flat. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2200426 to: A Tale of Two Cities (Paperback) by Charles Dickens
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2200398 to: The Things They Carried (Paperback) by Tim O'Brien
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2200377 to: The Odyssey (Perennial Classics) by Homer
This may be one of the best cures for insomnia I have ever found - at least the Lattimore translation. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2200282 to: King Lear (Arden Shakespeare: Third Series) by William Shakespeare
There were many AP Lit. teachers who scoffed at my choice to read this with seniors. They claimed that kids couldn't relate to Lear or his family. The past three years has shown just the opposite. I love when kids come into my classroom pissed off at Lear and Gloucester and in some sick way can relate to Edmund and his jealousy. I can't wait to see Ian McKellen in it this fall. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2200171 to: The Canterbury Tales: Complete (Paperback) by Geoffrey Chaucer
Yay for the classics! I teach this a selection of these stories every year and I am continually amazed at Chaucer's commentary on the state of the state. Who today writes about government, religion, marriage, sex, economics, and humanity with such elegance and insight? ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2200098 to: Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince) in French by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2199975 to: One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (Paperback) by Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn
This book made me want to learn Russian. I get the feeling that all the slang that is used would be so much more effective if it was in its natural context. I think this novel is a great example of a complicated narrative stance, yet I'm not sure if this is due to translation problems or to a technique the author deliberately employs. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2199889 to: Nine Stories (Paperback) by J.D. Salinger
I can't believe I periodically teach a Short Stories class, yet I have no natural affinity for them. While this collection is interesting, it seems to stunt Salinger's voice - which is what I like best about his writing. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2199894 to: A Clockwork Orange (Paperback) by Anthony Burgess
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