Sunday, July 24, 2011

Weekly Wrap-up for July 24, 2011: New Books, Decisions, and Reading.

This has been a really great week. Coming back from Florida, I went into an interview first thing Monday morning. Not only did I land the job, but they hired me on the spot! It was a great feeling and I am looking forward to teaching again (if you missed the post, there will be a link at the bottom of this one). I will be long-term subbing in the same district I was in this past school year. I will be at one of the other high schools (it is actually the high school I graduated from!) and I am teaching a vary similar set of classes to what I was teaching. I'll have sophomore and senior English again (the senior class is only a semester, so I can refine some of the things I taught this past year!), as well as one section of Government. I haven't taught Government before, so it should be a great experience.

I also had my toe check-up with the doctor on Wednesday and it looks like everything is healing nicely. It is still a little tender if I accidentally touch it just so or put too much downward pressure on the nail, but it looks great. The only bummer is that I still can't remove the nail polish from it and it is starting to look a little scary (I like pretty toes).

In reading news, I finished two books this week (not great, but good enough). I also hit the magical 100 books off my list late last night! Yay! I've been reaching for this milestone for quite some time, and I am proud to say I have read 40% of my list. Woot for that!

My 100th book was Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and was the first full book I read on Homer (my NookColor). I really enjoy how light Homer is, but my eyes do get tired a bit faster than from a paper book. That's really the only big downside. I like being able to flip easily between footnotes and the page I am reading, the search options are great, and Homer is easier to hold up in bed. So far, I am really loving it!

I am also debating making change to my list. I have a couple of poems lingering on there (you might recall I counted "The Waste Land" as a book last year), but I am thinking of removing them and adding a few larger titles that didn't make the cut. I took off 5 non-fiction titles in the first few months of this and replaced them with the Gaskell and Collins, but left those poems on there. One of the books I want to add is East of Eden by Steinbeck. If I decide to do this, what other missing titles should I add?

I already posted about the sad news of Borders closing. I still have a Barnes and Noble within ten minutes of home, so I won't be without a bookstore, but I know others won't be so lucky.

I went to Borders on Saturday just to look around. They have everything on "sale," but I knew from my experience with the store that closed a few months ago that items would only be 10% off. The store was packed and people were grabbing things like it was a race. I felt bad for the workers, many of whom I know from being in the store so often. There were a few things I wanted, so this is what I walked away with:



The stack from top to bottom:
  • Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
  • The Turn of the Screw
  • Notes from Underground
  • The Double and the Gambler
  • East of Eden
  • Hawthorne's Short Stories
  • Outliers
Don, the cashier who rung me up, told me my selections looked bleak colorwise.. I laughed. The Borders near our house is sometimes unorganized, but I really enjoy the staff (the other one 20 minutes away...not so much). Don is someone I seem to run into every time I'm there. He always comments on what I'm buying. I will certainly miss him!

My plans for the rest of the evening are to read and catch up on a little housework. But mostly read. :)

If you missed any posts from this week, here they are:
Happy Reading!

8 comments:

  1. I love that your nook is named Homer! Such an excellent tie-in to your blog. Mine is named Alfred, which is not connected to my blog and is therefore not as clever.

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  2. I went to Borders Saturday too! I wanted so much, but I only ended up buying a book of classic poetry that I really, really wanted. I'm on a personal book buying ban until I make a dent in what I own. :-)

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  3. I'm trying to hold out until the sale is much bigger and more appealing. The 10% is about how much I'll pay at B&N for my books.

    I just hope the books I want won't be gone! I'm thinking of compiling a massive, massive list of books that I want to look for and printing it out. Thankfully, these books aren't the types of books people usually trip over themselves for, so I have hope!

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  4. Borders seems to have been the place to be last night! I was there too. I didn't get much, both because I was short on time, and because much of what I would be interested in is still only at 10% off. (Of course, I will probably be back again as the sale goes on...) However, I did learn that the local Borders is one of the 30 that might be bought by Books-a-Million, so we have some hope now that we will still have a bookstore! I don't know anything about BaM, what their selection is like or anything, but my fingers are crossed that this would be a good thing.

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  5. Oooh, I read Sir Gawain in college in my Brit Lit class and really enjoyed it! I went to Borders yesterday myself and the line was insane and I only walked away with 3 things because I didn't have the patience to REALLY look around. The closest B&N to be is about a half hour and its a huge PITA to get to.

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  6. Loved me some Gawain. (I also love saying the name. It's a good thing that I never want kids; knowing me, I'd do something drastic like name it 'gawain' *snort*)

    I'm scheduled to read East of Eden for the Classic Circuit this go around. Super excited and hopeful. Every thing that I've read by Steinbeck I've thoroughly enjoyed.

    And YAYYYY for the job!

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  7. Congrats on the job! I'm so happy for you. I love your latest purchases. Don't listen to Don, I think it looks pretty ;)

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  8. Congratulations on the job! :) Also, East of Eden is definitely a must-read. I read it while on a camping trip last summer and I still can't believe how much of an impact it had on me.

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