Tag: books

Sunday Snapshots

The week was busy; you’d think I’d enjoy having some time off right at the beginning of a school year (several of my classes were cancelled due to fields trips), but reality dictates that deviations from routine must result in tiredness. Such is life.

So, what did I do this week?

I wrote lesson plans, prepared projects, caught up on grading, and found some time to read. I also wrote a more student-friendly adaptation of “The Story of the Flood” from The Epic of Gilgamesh.

One of my coworkers brought in a cheesecake for her birthday. She didn’t want us to know ahead of time (at least, I didn’t know), yet she brought in food to celebrate. It went well with this Dunkin Coffee the same teacher gave me for helping her with our upcoming Veteran’s Day program.

Friday marked the 14th anniversary of 9/11. I remember where I was at 8:46 that day – I was at the dentist, just as I was for the Oklahoma City bombing, the attack on the USS Cole, the Atlanta Olympic bombing, and at least one other tragedy I’m forgetting. For the first time, none of my students were alive on 9/11/01; does this officially make me “old”? I imagine this is how others remembered Pearl Harbor or the Kennedy assassination. I was responsible for placing the flag at half-mast fourteen years ago. Today, I did so again.

This weekend I began working with K and my cousins on a webshow (coming October 2015). Here are some of the promotional materials we developed:

Nerdeek Portrait

Nerdeek Panorama

Check out our website-in-progress and tell your friends!

On some of my downtime I surfed the net and messed around with Siri. Here’s two notable things I found:

 

What Did You Do This Week?

 

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Don’t forget to follow me on:

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Instagram – where I show you my Life in Motion and share quotes and such. The widget only shows my last three photographs – don’t you want to see them all?

Twitter – where you can see my thoughts in 140 characters or less. Also, funny retweets.

Teaser Tuesday: Rubicon

I am now officially one book behind on my Goodreads’ challenge.

But never fear, dear readers, for I have a little extra time over the next few days and hope to regain my “on track” status.

While I don’t subscribe to a circular view of history as such, the Wheel of Time has come full circle to

Teaser TuesdayJust in case you don’t know, Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can play along! All you have to do is grab the book you’re currently reading, open to a random page and share a few sentences from that page. But make sure you don’t share any spoilers!*

*I wish I could take credit for this introduction, but I shamelessly stole it from Heather over at bitsnbooks. To help me make amends, you should go check out her blog.

This week I’m reading Rubicon by Tom Holland (the author and cricketer, not the actor).

I had wanted to read Persian Fire by the same author, but someone had already checked the book out.

Yes, it’s my fault for not placing it on hold.

Anyway, the Truly Random Number Generator sends us to page 243:

Only Spartacus himself appears to have fought
for a genuine ideal. Uniquely among the leaders
of slave revolts in the ancient world, he attempted
to impose a form of egalitarianism on his followers,
banning them from holding gold and silver and 
sharing out their loot on an equal basis.

rubicon cover

In Retrospect

Confession: I’m only 7 or so pages into Chaucer’s Tale: 1386 and the Road to Canterbury by Paul Strohm. Don’t worry, I vow to finish both Chaucer and Rubicon by next Tuesday!

I’m also still working my way through Er Ist Wieder Da (English Title: Look Who’s Back) by Timur Vermes. Since it’s taking me a bit longer to read this (you know, it being in German and all), I’m trying to read between 5 and 10 pages a day. I’ll get through it in a month or two. I’ll keep you updated.

 

 

What have you been reading?

 

 

Have a suggestion for a poem, photograph, or future post?

Drop a note in the prompt box!

 

Don’t forget to follow me on:

Facebook – where I share news stories, articles from other blogs, and various and sundry miscellany that happens to catch my eye. It’s stuff you won’t see here! Well, mostly.

Instagram – where I show you my Life in Motion and share quotes and such. The widget only shows my last three photographs – don’t you want to see them all?

Twitter – where you can see my thoughts in 140 characters or less. Also, funny retweets.

Unboxing The Shepherd’s Crown

Tuesday was bittersweet. I received a package: the American release of The Shepherd’s Crown by Sir Terry Pratchett! This is also the first book I’ve ever pre-ordered – the first book I’ve ever received on the very day of its release.

However, many of you know The Shepherd’s Crown is the last Discworld novel; Sir Terry passed away 12 March, 2015.

I’m not ashamed to say it:

I took my time opening the box.

I savored the new book smell.

I read the dust jacket.

Then, I placed The Shepherd’s Crown back in the box,

closed the lid,

and cried.

No man is ever truly gone until the ripples they make in the world die away

May Sir Terry’s ripples last forever.

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His fantasies sit alongside – and are the equals of – those of Rabelais, Voltaire, Swift, Kurt Vonnegut, and Douglas Adams. . . . But whereas all these are neatly arranged on the bookshelves, my Pratchetts are strewn under the beds, in the bathrooms, the glove compartments. They have shopping lists, takeaway orders, and Scrabble scores scribbled on the fly leaves. They were part of life. – Frank Cottrell Boyce

Teaser Tuesday: Er Ist Wieder Da

Last week I made a prediction:

School is now in full swing; I suppose my 1-book lead on my Goodreads Reading Challenge won’t last long.

As I type this, Goodreads says I’m “On Track” so I my lead is gone but I also haven’t fallen behind . . . yet.

As my students get back into the school routine and as I try to schedule dedicated blogging and reading time, the Wheel of Time has come full circle to

Teaser TuesdayJust in case you don’t know, Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can play along! All you have to do is grab the book you’re currently reading, open to a random page and share a few sentences from that page. But make sure you don’t share any spoilers!*

*I wish I could take credit for this introduction, but I shamelessly stole it from Heather over at bitsnbooks. To help me make amends, you should go check out her blog.

This week I’m reading Er Ist Wieder Da (English Title: Look Who’s Back) by Timur Vermes.

This book requires a bit of explanation:

Berlin, Summer 2011. Adolf Hitler wakes up on a patch of open ground, alive and well. Things have changed – no Eva Braun, no Nazi party, no war. Hitler barely recognises his beloved Fatherland, filled with immigrants and run by a woman.

People certainly recognise him, albeit as a flawless impersonator who refuses to break character. The unthinkable, the inevitable happens, and the ranting Hitler goes viral, becomes a YouTube star, gets his own T.V. show, and people begin to listen. But the Führer has another programme with even greater ambition – to set the country he finds a shambles back to rights.

The Truly Random Number Generator sends us to page 243:

»Wir halten also Fest«, sagt ich weiter, »der 
Judenhund ist unter den Hunden zu suchen. Das 
weitere Vorgehen ist naheliegend: Wir müssen 
nach einem kriecherischen Hund Ausschau halten, 
einschmeichelnd, einspeichelnd, aber jederzeit zum 
feigen Angriff aus dem Hinterhalt in der Lage - 
es ist selbstverstaendlich der Dackel.«
 
Approximate English Translation:
 
"So we keep strong," I continued, "the Jewish dog 
looks at the other dogs. The way forward is 
obvious: we must look out for insinuating, 
ingratiating, cowardly dogs, ready at any time for a 
cowardly attack - an ambush from any location - 
every night, we are the dachshund."

Some notes:

I’m reading this in German, but it’s been a while since I’ve read anything in German, so my translation isn’t quite accurate. Hence, I’m unsure of the exact translation of einspeichelnd.

The last phrase probably refers to the original purpose of the dachshund: hunting and catching varmints.

Native German speakers and readers, feel free to correct my rough and probable crude, inaccurate translation.

Er Ist Wieder Da cover

In Retrospect

I’m just finished reading July 1914: Countdown to War by Sam McMeekin; I gave it 3 stars – mainly because the last 80 pages or so just dragged on and on and on and on. The last three pages, though, were excellent and saved the book from a 2-star review.

Now I can start serious reading of  Chaucer’s Tale: 1386 and the Road to Canterbury by Paul Strohm.

 

 

What have you been reading?

 

 

Have a suggestion for a poem, photograph, or future post?

Drop a note in the prompt box!

 

Don’t forget to follow me on:

Facebook – where I share news stories, articles from other blogs, and various and sundry miscellany that happens to catch my eye. It’s stuff you won’t see here! Well, mostly.

Instagram – where I show you my Life in Motion and share quotes and such. The widget only shows my last three photographs – don’t you want to see them all?

Twitter – where you can see my thoughts in 140 characters or less. Also, funny retweets.

Sunday Snapshots

Sometimes I forget what I’ve done over the past week.

Then I look at the photos on my camera and think “Oh yeah! I remember that!”

Such was the case this week.

Mr Toms Birthday CupcakesMr. Tom’s birthday was this week.

He turned 97.

He wanted cupcakes, so he got cupcakes.

I”ll be honest, the “balloons” looked a bit odd.

Blackened WalmartApparently I went to Walmart at some point. I know it was during a storm, and for whatever reason the overhead lights were out. Everything else was working just fine . . . just not the lights. Go figure.

I’m fining I take quite a few pictures of food . . . maybe so I can remember what I ate? For example: I went to Wendy’s when K was craving something salty and we had nothing in the house; I picked up some french fries and a vanilla frosty to go with them. On Monday, a student brought me a bacon and egg croissant from Dunkin’ Donuts. And, for reasons yet unknown, I took a picture of buttered bread.

I think I took this picture of a book and coffee for last week’s photo challenge (today was a good day) but never posted it. In other book news, the last Discworld novel The Shepherd’s Crown was released. The last book is for me to keep track of stuff in. So long as I don’t lose that book, I’m ok.

And finally, this past Friday was National Bow Tie Day (International??)

Red Bow Tie

Teaser Tuesday: Chaucer’s Tale

School is now in full swing; I suppose my 1-book lead on my Goodreads Reading Challenge won’t last long.

reading challenge aug 23 2015Along with lesson plans, seating charts, and handouts, the Wheel of Time has brought with it

Teaser TuesdayJust in case you don’t know, Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can play along! All you have to do is grab the book you’re currently reading, open to a random page and share a few sentences from that page. But make sure you don’t share any spoilers!*

*I wish I could take credit for this introduction, but I shamelessly stole it from Heather over at bitsnbooks. To help me make amends, you should go check out her blog.

This week I’m reading Chaucer’s Tale: 1386 and the Road to Canterbury by Paul Strohm.

The Truly Random Number Generator sends us to page 134:

Not only would he [Chaucer] have had every
incentive toward vice, but he was deprived of
the rudimentary tools for maintaining virtue.
. . .
Rather surprisingly, and perhaps unaccountably,
Chaucer seems to have realized little personal
profit in a post normally occupied by egregious 
profit takers.

chaucer's tale cover

In Retrospect

I’m just about done reading July 1914: Countdown to War by Sam McMeekin.

I haven’t finished it yet because my reading was interrupted by three books, all by Andrew Carroll: War Letters, Behind the Lines, and Grace Under Fire.

Why these three? I was tasked with writing a Veteran’s Day program in under 48 hours; I did it in 24.

Each book earned 5 stars, by the way, and are each well worth the read.

Sticky Notes Veteran's Dayso many sticky notes!

 

 

What have you been reading?

 

 

Have a suggestion for a poem, photograph, or future post?

Drop a note in the prompt box!

 

Don’t forget to follow me on:

Facebook – where I share news stories, articles from other blogs, and various and sundry miscellany that happens to catch my eye. It’s stuff you won’t see here! Well, mostly.

Instagram – where I show you my Life in Motion and share quotes and such. The widget only shows my last three photographs – don’t you want to see them all?

Twitter – where you can see my thoughts in 140 characters or less. Also, funny retweets.

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