Welcome to Advanced Placement English Literature for Fall 2011! I usually describe each class I teach as an "experiment" in teaching and learning since every class brings different personalities and experiences to our study and discussion...and I try to do something different in my teaching with each class.
I am still trying to figure out how to make this medium effective in both my teaching and your learning. You will find here assignments for postings as well as a place for you to ask questions, react to other students' posts, and generally participate in our ongoing conversations about all sorts of topics.
Your first assignment is to sign in and write your first post (Due by Monday, 8/29, 8:00 AM):
Write in your post here about what you have been reading since last school year. Give more than a list! Why did you read those works? What did you most enjoy? Why? How has the start of school influenced your reading?
My summer reading was a bit sporadic. I start each day (except for school days) with The Omaha World-Herald newspaper so I can check on what's been happening in the world and keep up with the comics--I read them all and have for years! I follow a few RSS news feeds on my computer, so sometime during most days I check on those. Occasionally I receive a golfing magazine that I read for tips (boy, do I need tips!).
I am a Star Wars fan and not only enjoy the movies but read all of the books! I caught up with the series with a couple of novels adn still have one or two to read. I started to read Volume One of Mark Twain's official biography. The Introduction is over 250 pages.... I think I'm about 2/3 through Twain's actual writing. I need to finish before the next volume comes out! I have a new mystery waiting for me, as well.
As you can tell, I'm an eclectic reader. What have you been learning??
Well sad to say it, I've never really been much of a reader, and when summer rolls around reading usually hits the back burners for me. Not only am I just more busy in the summer with work and activities, but when I am free the social butterfly in me won't let me sit inside. I always have to be out doing something. Some of the fun things were a big camping trip with friends, stalking Lady Gaga, and a canoe trip down the Elkorn river with friends. But anyways my reading that I accomplished is a bit sad. I always kept up with current events online, and every month you could catch me reading the latest Glamour magazine (a girls gotta have her beauty and heath tips right?). Much to my mothers happiness I even cracked out the ACT prep books every now and then. But other than that I didn't get much reading done. On a church trip I started reading a friends book "Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang" by my favorite comedian Chelsea Handler, so I've been meaning to go out and buy it because what I started was really funny. Also I plan to read "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" because my mom read it a few weeks ago and was absolutely glued to it, so it has to be good! So that's about it, even though I didn't get much reading done I still had a really great summer and when the weather gets too cold for me to go outside I'm hoping I'll have some extra time to get some books read!
ReplyDeleteSummer Reading? Well we've got the Scarlet Letter, I don't think I'd have ever read that if it wasn't for class, and honestly, upon reading it, I think that decision is completely justified. Well it wasn't all that bad, but it's not a) in any way sweet and romantic and b) written by Jane Austen. I tend to like books under those two points. So! Moving along, I read, again, for the ____ (insert big number) time Pride and Prejudice! So good. Lizzy and Mr. Darcy are just, oh so wonderful. I also read Wuthering Heights, for the most part, I'm not a fan--I mean really, Heathcliffe and Cathy are CRAZY. However, I like the end, with Hareton and Catherine they're really sweet, once the stop fighting. I attempted to read (because the library always seems to have it checked out) Tina Fey's 'Bossy Pants' it looks good, Tina is awesome--I plan on cloning her one day and copying everything she does. Last, but not least, I read the first three chapters of Mansfield Park, but on that particular day it was very nice and sunny, and a pool was just 10 yards from where I sat, the book suddenly seemed less interesting than beating my brother at a diving competition. Alas, that is all for now.
ReplyDeleteThis summer went by so fast it's hard to remember what I did. I read a series called "Preying for Mercy" which was a total of five books It was very hard to put them down, they were so good! Yes, preying is spelled right! Anyway, my summer was pretty busy. My two priorities were sleeping and working so I can't say I read as much as I would have liked...
ReplyDeleteWell I can't remember everything I read this summer but I know I read some books off the list you gave us. I read East of Eden which I really liked. I read Cannery Row which was good but kinda weird. I read a lot of magazines such as Glamour and seventeen. I read this book called College Girl that I thought was awesome. So yeah I read a lot of books this summer but I can't remember all of them.
ReplyDeleteI started off my summer reading Mr. Popper's Penguins. I read the book back in the second grade and at the time it was my absolute fave. When I saw a preview for the movie, no matter how hard I thought, I couldn't recall any of the storyline. After rereading it I realized how vastly my interests had changed. In the process of recovering Mr. Popper's Penguins I came across some other novels that had been collecting dust. One of these was Jane Eyre which I've seen referenced in other books I've read so I decided to give it a try. I found that I actually thoroughly enjoyed it. Everybody loves a good happily-ever-after. After completing a semi-classic like this I was feeling brave so I decided to give another a try. Last year I thought it was interesting to read about historical Nebraska so I decided I would read another Willa Cather novel, My Antonia. It started off pretty well, but about halfway through I lost interest and have yet to finish it. In the past year or so I’ve discovered that my favorite sort of genre is romantic suspense and anything by Brenda Novak. This summer I finished one of her series and was sad that I didn’t have any left to read.
ReplyDeleteWell, similar to Amy, I found myself reading "The Hobbit" by JRR Tolkien once again, after hearing all the hype about it's movie companion coming next winter. I've always loved Tolkien's and CS Lewis' books, they seem to be almost all I read and have read when it comes to fantasy. Also, before delving into The Scarlet Letter, I read a really interesting biography of Abraham Lincoln, although I have yet to finish it. But other than that I spent most of my summer working, or just out of the house. Now as school starts, I'm getting started on a book exploring some aspects of Christianity lent to me by Chase Jensen. I've taken great interest in it, and that's what I'll be spending pieces of my free time this week finishing.
ReplyDeleteWell, after hearing a lot of buzz from my mom, sisters and some friends, I read the book "Heaven is for Real." It is about a little boy's account of visiting heaven while having to undergo a high-risk surgery. This book had a huge impact on me, really got me thinking. I loved it! I spent a majority of my summer biking across 4 states and a province, so of course I spent a lot of time reading maps. (That counts, right?) I also kept a journal! This school year, I hope to read more books for enjoyment. I really really like reading, it's just about finding the time to get a book and DO IT! Hopefully this class will help me to do so. :)
ReplyDeleteI didn't read as much as I probably should have over summer. Of course I read the Scarlet Letter which was pretty much the end of my novel reading. I read sports illustrated every week though if that counts. I read most stories, some aren't interesting so I skip them. I did find a book while reading sports illustrated called Swinger, it's a fictional story about tiger woods. I'm really excited to find it somewhere so i can read it. I hope this year that i will read more.
ReplyDeleteThis summer was a blast...but my reading time was extremely limited seeing I was out of town or working for most of it. I did manage to keep up on my twitter and facebook feeds though:) I also continued to read my Bible. One book I did complete was "From Head to Foot" by Annie Downs.-highly recommended. Unfortunately that pretty much summarizes my reading life over the summer. Hopefully I can squeeze some more in over the school year!
ReplyDeleteThis summer I did not find myself reading as much as I usually do. I did however get around to reading "The Host" by Stephanie Meyer for literally the twentieth time. (It's so good!) In addition to that, I read "Across the Universe" by Beth Revis. It tells a futuristic tale of a murder mystery, as well as a search for personal identity. Obviously I read the Scarlet Letter. The storyline was interesting, but the old english text was a bit difficult to comprehend at times. At the beginning of the summer I started reading "Forgotten Love" by Francis Chan, which is more of a Christian, soul seeking novel. So far it's great, and I'm almost done.
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ReplyDeleteI didnt get to read much this summer because I was at Basic. Our options were religious books or our Warrior code books. So I spent some time reading the bible this summer. I skipped around through the books a lot, but I got a lot of it read. Some pretty cool stuff in there, and a good way to pass the time.
ReplyDeleteIf I didnt go to Basic I probably would have found something to read at the Library or would have gotten something off of that 'summer reading list.'
I sometimes read the Army issued newspaper at Basic, wasnt anything interesting in there. It was ususally depressing actually, seeing the list of the soldiers that died recently in combat. But I also read a movie review for the Planet of the Apes, which inspired me to go watch it this weekend.
And it feels great to finally comment. I never thought this day would come.