Reading with Style discussion
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Lynn wrote: "So things changed, but it was lovely. "Lynn, it sounds very lovely. What a wonderful event...and I am so glad this pandemic did not stop her plans.
Lynn wrote: "Update on our last week. I am theoretically "distance teaching" my 8th Grade English class from home. I post voluntary assignments for the students online and they ignore them. Another English teac..."Your daughter's wedding sounds very nice. The most memorable weddings I've been to have been in 'alternate' settings (to a church).
I am curious about the ignored assignments. The feeling here is the kids won't be going back this (school) year. What is the thinking in your area - will the school year have to be extended or will the students be held back?
Lynn wrote: "Update on our last week. I am theoretically "distance teaching" my 8th Grade English class from home. I post voluntary assignments for the students online and they ignore them. Another English teac..."It sounds like it worked out beautifully, if not exactly as your daughter had imagined. Congratulations to the newlyweds!
I just got done with a week at work--flights are being canceled left and right and I was so scared that I'd end up stuck on the East Coast (I'm based in New York, live in Utah). The largest load we had in my week at work was 51 passengers, lightest load was 8, average load was 14-16-ish--and these planes hold 162 passengers. I was wearing gloves and washing hands and wiping down everything that I could, but the anxiety (am I going to become infected? am I going to be able to get home? etc.) was such that I didn't get a single page read--and that's ALL I normally do in my downtime on the plane...
Anika wrote: "Lynn wrote: "Update on our last week. I am theoretically "distance teaching" my 8th Grade English class from home. I post voluntary assignments for the students online and they ignore them. Another..."Thank you for the update Anika. I had been wondering how it had gone. It sounds like you got home. Let’s hope in good health. I had been hearing stories of planes flying with 10 passengers.
Valerie wrote: "Lynn wrote: "Update on our last week. I am theoretically "distance teaching" my 8th Grade English class from home. I post voluntary assignments for the students online and they ignore them. Another..."I have found that if I try to predict policy, I am always incorrect! I still think we might have a month of school in May. I do not think we will have the state testing. I am worried about next Fall. I am afraid some of our more motivated, better students will find home school programs they love. I am also afraid that the upcoming recession, like all other recessions, will make school budgets very tight. This usually means large classes. I already teach two remedial reading small groups and 4 classes of 30 - 31 students. I fear classes of 35 +.
We have been out of school for two weeks basically. It has felt like Spring Break. Hopefully, once the novelty wears off, there may be more participation. We must tell the students that all assignments are voluntary at this point.
As a parent who is trying to keep a small business open while everyone works from home, I will say that I'm finding it nearly impossible to provide much real education to my kids (2nd and 5th grades). I've given them schedules just to try to keep them busy enough that their father and I can plausibly work. I'm also up at 4-5am to get in a few hours before the family wakes.This is hard.
If they don't really advance in their schooling this year, so be it. They'll have to catch up later. But I'm sure I'd be more worried if they were older and/or if they were struggling students.
I made a note of this in the task thread, but in case you don't read every post(!), I'll put the info here too:If you have access to Hoopla they are having a promotion(?) for 'a limited time' (which I think at this point is until the end of April) where you can borrow items from the 'Bonus borrows' titles. They won't count against your monthly entitlement. You may have to dig to find something you like, but there seems to be a lot of choice.
OK. So what is hoopla? It's twice today I've heard it referenced.
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "OK. So what is hoopla? It's twice today I've heard it referenced."https://www.hoopladigital.com
At my local library, it's a digital lending system that is available like Libby, Overdrive, etc. I love that it's another platform on which to borrow items when I've maxed out my checkouts on the other apps!
Thanks. I think we just have Overdrive, but I haven't investigated further.I'm excited that a digital hold just came through - In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette. I enjoyed his Ghost Soldiers so much, that I was anxious to read another.
:-( I just looked - no hoopla for me.
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: ":-( I just looked - no hoopla for me.":-( Bummer re: Hoopla but: Congrats on your digital hold coming through! It feels a little like Christmas every time I get a notification that a book I've been looking forward to is waiting for me ;-) Can't wait to read your review, it sounds like a fascinating book!
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: ":-( I just looked - no hoopla for me."Oh, that's too bad. You'll have to start bugging your local library to sign up. I don't know if this is true, but I have been told it is a more expensive service for a library to belong to. But as Anika says, it is useful as an extra resource. Hoopla has ebooks, audiobooks, TV + movies and music so it is a nice resource for a library to be able to offer. I have more luck finding old or oddball things there.
When I looked at it, I saw that Juneau was a member library. I think Ketchikan uses Overdrive through the state consortium. It is our local Friends of the Library that pays whatever local costs there are for that. I have to be honest and say that I feel pretty spoiled by my library opportunities. No, it isn't like having a big city library, but for a community of about 10k year round population, it is much better than one might expect.
Speaking of online reading resources and you may already know about this, but there is a University in Florida that has a website called Lit 2 go lit2go.edu. They have a selection of out of copyright texts. There is audio to go with text. I think the best part is that each chapter or short story will be its own downloadable mp3. I use this for commuting to work. Since I am not commuting now, I thought that A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle would be a nice read/listen while getting out in my yard and trimming azaleas.
https://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/authors/in...
Do most/many of you listen to books instead of (or in addition to) reading them? I don't use audio. I listened to a book many years ago, but found my mind wandering and I missed a lot. Also, now I don't hear as well as when I was younger.
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Do most/many of you listen to books instead of (or in addition to) reading them? I don't use audio. I listened to a book many years ago, but found my mind wandering and I missed a lot. Also, now I ..."I prefer to read.
I do listen to audio books, when I am doing something quiet or that requires extended sitting, in my studio. It can make a nice break from the radio. As well, some books I can only find an audio version.
Don (The Book Guy) wrote: "Valerie wrote: "Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: ":-( I just looked - no hoopla for me."Oh, that's too bad. You'll have to start bugging your local library to sign up. I don't know if this is true, but ..."
I suspect they decided to choose Hoopla because of movies. Of course, this is a complete guess. I was surprised when I started in the fall as part time temp Circulation assistant how many people borrow DVDs. My husband likes quality TV + movies, so he insisted on Netflix and Criterion Channel when they came to Canada - so I was completely out of the loop about DVD use. As well, in Canada (it may be the same in the US, I don't know) there aren't any/many DVD rental places any longer.
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Do most/many of you listen to books instead of (or in addition to) reading them? I don't use audio. I listened to a book many years ago, but found my mind wandering and I missed a lot. Also, now I ..."My problem is eyestrain especially now when I seem to be spending too much time on screens. I like to go to bed with a book (kindle or physical) and also have the audio. I can close my eyes and listen, but I often will stop and reread a section to check the names or better understand. It is just important that I get the "rest my eyes" time.
Oh and one more thing. I need to keep a physical copy or kindle copy because I lose my place in the audiobooks otherwise. So when I read Anne of Green Gables, perhaps 40% was on audio and 60 % was eyes only. The audio was usually both eyes and audio. Reading with the eyes is so much faster.
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Do most/many of you listen to books instead of (or in addition to) reading them? I don't use audio. I listened to a book many years ago, but found my mind wandering and I missed a lot. Also, now I ..."I’d say I’m about half and half—I love audio when I’m cooking/cleaning/walking/sewing/etc...basically, any time I don’t have the luxury of sitting down and reading an actual book/kindle I’m listening to a book. I find that when I listen to a book wearing headphones I can really immerse myself and have no problem with a wandering mind. Finding a book with an amazing reader makes a huge difference as well. I’ve listened to the entire Louise Penny Inspector Gamache series and can’t imagine those books in another format (and my gateway to audiobooks: Tim Curry reading the Lemony Snickett series—pure genius!).
Anika wrote: "Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Do most/many of you listen to books instead of (or in addition to) reading them? I don't use audio. I listened to a book many years ago, but found my mind wandering and I..."That's funny you should mention the difference a reader can make, Anika. The last two I've listened to had fantastic readers, but I just started another (a Hoopla bonus book again) and as soon as she started reading I thought 'oh no.... I'm not going to like this as much'. She reads in a 'flat' voice. I'll try to ignore that and rate the book fairly.
I'm also listening to the Gamache series and loved the Tim Curry Snickett series! I find that there are some books I like on audio (like Gamache) and just must listen to them if it's a series as you said, Anika. I use audio books for gardening and housework also. I do choose carefully. I know that if it isn't a good narrator, I won't actually "hear" the book and I won't know what is going on!
As to the narrator ...I have a GR friend who is visually impaired, and so listens to audio exclusively. He reviews always include at least a sentence or two - sometimes more - about the narration and includes a rating for it.
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "As to the narrator ...I have a GR friend who is visually impaired, and so listens to audio exclusively. He reviews always include at least a sentence or two - sometimes more - about the narration..."
It really does make a huge difference and effects the way that you experience the book. I’ve read books I’ve loved and then listened to them and suddenly I don’t like the book nearly as well (narrator has the “wrong” voice/style of narration), but also had the opposite experience where I’ve read a book and not terribly enjoyed it then end up listening to it and the narrator is engaging and stresses things I didn’t give heed to in the reading and end up having a positive experience...It’s so interesting how the same words said aloud can have such a different effect on one. Also, when I find I’m having difficulty understanding a text (especially with Shakespeare, Chaucer, etc), hearing it spoken aloud helps things click in ways that are wondrous! I hear jokes amd foreshadowing in ways that words on the page don’t quite convey to my modern reader’s eye.
Karen Michele wrote: "I'm also listening to the Gamache series and loved the Tim Curry Snickett series! I find that there are some books I like on audio (like Gamache) and just must listen to them if it's a series as yo..."I love listening when I’m gardening!
Sometimes when I’m tending to different flower beds I’ll remember the book I was listening to when it was planted...so I have a garden of flowers that doubles as a growing library :-)
Valerie wrote: "That's funny you should mention the difference a reader can make, Anika. The last two I've listened to had fantastic readers, but I just started another (a Hoopla bonus book again) and as soon as she started reading I thought 'oh no.... I'm not going to like this as much'. She reads in a 'flat' voice. I'll try to ignore that and rate the book fairly. “I’m impressed that you’re sticking with it—if I listen to the sample of a book and the reader doesn’t grab me, I know I’m either going to find a hard copy of the book or just write it off altogether. I *hate* flat narrators! That being said, there is one book I check out from the library all the time which has a pretty flat narrator about the history of the English monarchy and I listen to it to help me fall asleep ;-D I’ve never heard more than the first twenty minutes of it...
Anika wrote: "Also, when I find I’m having difficulty understanding a text (especially with Shakespeare, Chaucer, etc), hearing it spoken aloud helps things click in ways that are wondrous! "I have given up on Shakespeare (and plays in general) because the written word for those doesn't appeal. But I'll also say, that back in the day when I *was* reading them, I would read them out loud to myself. And you're right, it does make a difference! (OK, maybe I'll break down and try one again next time we have a task, but don't hold your breath.)
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: “(OK, maybe I'll break down and try one again next time we have a task, but don't hold your breath.)"LOL!!! You crack me up, Elizabeth :-)
Nothing beats reading an actual book—the feel of the paper, the connection to the written word, the smell of it...so many senses engaged in the experience. But I’m a book addict (it’s a problem...) and will take them in any form I can get them so long as it will inject a story into my head and since the dishes will always need doing and the weeds won’t pull themselves I turn to audiobooks and have found true joy in them.
Anika wrote: "Valerie wrote: "That's funny you should mention the difference a reader can make, Anika. The last two I've listened to had fantastic readers, but I just started another (a Hoopla bonus book again) ..."Well, we'll see! I've only listened to the first chapter, but I had planned on listening to it while I work on a new project. I may bail on it and go back to the (internet) radio!
I usually don't listen to nonfiction except maybe memoir. I find that I miss being able to look at maps, photos, etc. and I do loose concentration. For audio I usually stick to books that have a strong narrative. But I did listen to The Library Book on a day where I had a very long drive. Most chapters start with a list of books including their Dewey Decimal number. I used that time to check my progress, decide when I needed to stop for gas, etc. :)I find that I prefer to listen to comedy rather than reading it. I read a David Sedaris book and it wasn't nearly as funny as his books that he reads.
I definitely agree about the narration affecting how enjoyable a book is to listen to. I enjoy audiobooks but I listen to maybe five or six a year, compared to reading around a hundred books. One that I did really enjoy recently was Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah. As it’s an autobiography I felt that hearing it read by the author really added to my enjoyment of the book.
Do any of you dream in stories? I find that I will frequently dream a story from some of the books I was reading prior to sleep!
Anika wrote: "Karen Michele wrote: "I'm also listening to the Gamache series and loved the Tim Curry Snickett series! I find that there are some books I like on audio (like Gamache) and just must listen to them ..."That's lovely.. Your garden is a library of memories.
Bea wrote: "Do any of you dream in stories? I find that I will frequently dream a story from some of the books I was reading prior to sleep!"Well, I definitely dream stories! :) However, they seem to be original, not based on what I've read.
Valerie wrote: "Bea wrote: "Do any of you dream in stories? I find that I will frequently dream a story from some of the books I was reading prior to sleep!"Well, I definitely dream stories! :) However, they see..."
Sometimes, I do that, too, Valerie; but lately they seem to have some element from my reading in them.
Just a note: I moved the Group Projects thread to the Archives folder. It would still be available there should you choose to look at it for any reason. However, the map, spreadsheet, and the list of countries in that thread are no longer being updated. The countries still to go with its own spreadsheet are available for your perusal and planning.
Anika wrote: "Set 100% in Morocco, which would be the third book for that country for the group project...but I don't know if such things are still being recorded ;-)Oh, yes, they are! Especially when it's noted and I have a head's up, but I try to pay attention anyway. And you made me smile to be able to turn a country green!
Sheesh. I guess my post above might have been a tad confusing. Amanda's original post with the map and her spreadsheet are what I've archived.There is still the "Countries Still to Go" thread, and in that is a link to the current spreadsheet that it is my intention to keep updated.
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Sheesh. I guess my post above might have been a tad confusing. Amanda's original post with the map and her spreadsheet are what I've archived.There is still the "Countries Still to Go" thread, an..."
Yay! Okay, I understand now...I was worried that we were benching the group project as we (perhaps?) prepare for a new project. I still have a few books on my TBR that I put there specifically to work on our group project and will hopefully get to the them soon--dependent upon when they re-open our local library to the public. :-)
In the Task Ideas thread Ed wrote: "I don't have any ideas yet....but I know that my library is going to remain closed at least until May 22.....and I suspect longer. And even when it does open, I suspect the hold process is going to be a total mess since the city budget shortages will require drastic cuts. So, I'm thinking that Summer tasks that require one to read books that one physically owns would be helpful.Maybe tasks based on page counts rather than using other more specific criteria?."
Kate and I have not yet started working on summer, but the time is growing close, so thanks for reminding us about library closures. Not knowing what kinds of books people have on hand makes this sort of difficult. Many of us are struggling to pare down our holdings, though.
CT's libraries are closed indefinitely now. We're only a few hours away from New York City, a transportation hub that brought in the virus from all over the world. The virus has not peaked yet here, and there will probably be another wave in the fall and next spring. Our oldest daughter is a physical therapist in a hospital so we worry a lot. It's hard to concentrate on reading some days so I try not to watch too many news reports, and read some light stories. I may have to look for a basket of romances I won in a drawing a few years ago :-)
I managed to get the group read for this season from our library before it closed, but I will have to buy a book for one task if I'm close to a mega finish. I would appreciate not having to buy a lot of books for the summer season in case the libraries don't reopen...
Rosemary wrote: "I managed to get the group read for this season from our library before it closed, but I will have to buy a book for one task if I'm close to a mega finish. I would appreciate not having to buy a l..."Yes...I bought three books also....and even though it wasn't a lot of money.... it bothers me. I have bought so many books in my life..... I try not to do so anymore unless there is a very good reason.
I am buying some books from our local independent stores. I do truly want to help them, but it’s also a good excuse to buy a few more titles!
For those of you concerned about access to titles ...If you were to write a 3-/4-task poll for the summer season, what would it look like (in general)? (It's to learn what kind of tasks you hope to see next season. Nothing will be written in stone, so be as broad/general as you feel/think.)
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "For those of you concerned about access to titles ...If you were to write a 3-/4-task poll for the summer season, what would it look like (in general)? (It's to learn what kind of tasks you hope ..."
I wonder if a task based on book titles could work. For example, a book with a one word title, a book with a two word title beginning with The, a book with a proper noun in the title, or a book with a word of 8 or more letters in the title. My reasoning is that all these are fairly common and aren’t specific to any genre so readers are quite likely to have books on their shelves that fit.
Or, perhaps a task based on authors’ birth dates or book publication dates, for example a book by an author born in the 19th century, a book by an author born in the last 50 years, a book by an author who has published works in two different centuries, a book by an author whose works were all published within 20 (or longer to make the task easier) years of each other. Again, I think those would be open enough that many of us will have plenty on our shelves that count.
Edited to add: sorry if these have already been used in previous seasons, I haven’t been a member of the group long enough to know if they have.
I'd agree with what Bryony says. Or tasks based on ratings, page numbers, etc.The ones I tend to need library books for are the more unusual list-based tasks, award-based tasks, specific non-fiction subjects, or geographical tasks. Not always, of course - but for example 20.5 Detroit/St Louis/Pittsburgh/Buffalo/Cleveland is the one that I'll need to buy a book for. I've also already bought a book for 20.1, the nonfiction Pulitzer/NBA - but it was a Kindle special deal, very cheap :)
One other idea just occurred to me. I imagine lots of us will have multiple books by the same author on our shelves so could a task idea be to read a different book by an author who wrote a book you read for another task in the season?
I think the book title idea is potentially a good one (Yay, Bryony!)In the the 'task idea' thread I suggested a very simple alphabet author task. Bryony's suggestions are good, but I was thinking to simplify it even more, so that more of us have a chance of participating.
Page numbers seems to be a theme that comes up often (recently, Ed + Rosemary). On reflection, I do think this may be fairly doable for most people. Maybe if the ranges were broad.
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About my daughter's wedding!! Nine days ago now she and Brian were married. It was very small. The church would not let us use the building at all, so she was married outdoors. For those of you near Chattanooga you may know Lookout Mountain. They were married on Sunset Rock. It was a little cold, but there are beautiful pictures. Her photographer came. We all wore the formal clothes just as if we were in the church. So things changed, but it was lovely.