What I have Read (and Taught) Recently

I have finished student teaching! I'm currently finishing up the paperwork and certifications needed to become a hireable and certified teacher! I thought I would recap what I read and taught over the semester, with some thoughts on how I enjoyed reading and teaching each piece. I'll have a second post coming soon with what I read for fun while I've been gone.

Short Stories

My freshman started the year with a short story and literary terms unit. This was the first story in the unit and the first story of the year that I taught. This was also my first short story by Dahl that I have read. I knew that he wrote some adult literature and that it was pretty dark, and this story definitely fits that description. This story is super short; I read it aloud in about twenty minutes, but there is so much there to discuss, unpack, and think about, which made it perfect for English class. I'm really interested in reading more of Dahl's short stories. 

 This is a super popular short story that is in numerous anthologies and textbooks. I did not care for this story all that much. It's long and consists of too much rising action. I don't have a whole lot to say about this one beyond that. There's a lot going on in terms of literary elements which makes it useful for teaching vocab and concepts, but for personal enjoyment, it's not for me.

This is another very short story, but it's very well done. I really enjoyed this story, and to me, it felt like an O' Henry story. It has a great ending, and great build up to the ending, and my students really enjoyed it. I highly recommend taking a few minutes to read this one, as that's all it will take you. 

Novellas and Novels 

My freshman read the original novella version of Flowers for Algernon, which has become a modern science fiction classic. When I finished reading this, I had some mixed feelings. The novella is short and written in diary form which works really well for the plot. This novella deals with some really serious themes, and the ending was super impactful for me. I was left feeling a little uneasy about the truths of the world that the novella had revealed. It was interesting to teach this piece to freshman, as their thinking tends to be more black-and-white at that age, and they didn't have as strong of a reaction to it as I did. After reading, they were required to write an argumentative paper on whether or not Charlie should have had the surgery, and students didn't have any difficulty making their choice, but I could not decide for myself and kept going back and forth in my own mind.  

This was the only novel I read with my sophomores this year was To Kill a Mockingbird. I hadn't read this novel since I was a sophomore in high school, and I loved it even more the second time around. I didn't recognize a lot of the brilliant word usage, wise world views, and humor in the novel when I read it as a teen. I loved teaching this novel. This is a novel I would love to teach again. If I were to teach it, I would want to supplement it with material by authors of color from the time period as that is important, but this book has stood the test of time and will continue to. 

Top Ten Tuesday: The Classics You Really Should Have Read in School (Hidden Gems)

We all know how much I love talking about under-rated classics, so of course I was going to spin this week's hidden gems topic in that fashion. High school and college English classes are always assigning the same reading material, and while most of it is really good, it would be nice to switch it up every once and a while. So here are ten hidden gem classics that I think deserve a spot on syllabus lists everywhere. Unsurprisingly, you will note that 8/10 of these works are written by women. It's 2017 people, let's get some women on our syllabuses!  

Hosted by: The Broke and the Bookish

1. Passing by Nella Larson
I've talked about this one in regard to hidden gems a couple of times on the blog. This is an amazing novel about race, women, and Harlem in the 1920s. I really need to reread this one soon.

2. The End of the Affair by Graham Greene
This short novel packs quite a powerful punch as it covers a lot of really big themes. It comments on religious faith, romantic love, and keeping a sense of self while in a romantic relationship. This is the only Greene I have read so far, even though I own quite a few, so I really need to get to more of his works.

3. We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
I just recently finished this one, so I haven't even reviewed it yet, but it's safe to say that this novel has officially cemented my love of Shirley Jackson. This short novel is eerie, thought provoking, and loveable.

 

4. Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
This novella has been one of my favorites for quite a while, and I talk about it any chance I get. I love the straightforward story line that Wharton amps up by creating complex characters and intricate symbols. Wharton is another author that I need to dive into along with Greene. Suggestions on where to start with her novels are much appreciated!

5. The Kiss by Kate Chopin 
Chopin is a genius, and although at least one of her short stories can usually be found on a reading list, either "Desiree's Baby" or "The Story of an Hour," her shortest story, "The Kiss" is my favorite. Chopin writes powerful feminist literature that gets better and better every time you read it.

6. In Our Time by Ernest Hemingway
While it's not unusual to find Hemingway on a reading list, you almost never find In Our Time on this list, which I think, is one of his best. It was written very early on in his career and contains short stories all loosely connected by vignettes. While I dislike Hemingway as a person very much, I can't deny his incredible writing talent.

 

7. The Lamplighter by Maria Susana Cummins 
This is a very long, and semi-forgotten, novel of nineteenth century America. It's a Dickens-esque drama written by a female author about a female character. Although it's long, it is quite enjoyable and was a huge success during its time. This is a key domestic novel in the era of the independent women writer. See this post for more on these independent women writers.

8. Memoirs of a Beatnik by Diane di Prima
This novel has such an interesting back story, I suggest you read my review (linked above) before reading this novel. This is not a truthful memoir, but what was requested of di Prima from her publisher and it perfectly embodies di Prima's struggle as a woman poet in the male lead Beatnik era.

9. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Sparks 
Another short novel that packs a punch, although a quieter punch than some of the others. This novel is such an interesting look at the complicated feelings between children regarding adults.

10. Trifles by Susan Glaspell 
This one act play is about as clever as it gets. I loved this play when I read it for the first time and thought I had never read anything quite as true and clever in my life. It's heavy feminist themes were perfect for its 1916 debut and current times. 

Recently Read: Gigi and The Cat

Author: Colette
Genre: Classic- Novellas
Publication Date: 1953
Page Count: 156
Rating: 4/5

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This is my first experience with Colette, who I have been wanting to read for quite some time. This edition contains two short novellas, both of which are translated from French. I have never seen the movie Gigi, so I was unfamiliar with the both stories in this edition.

I really enjoyed both of these stories, but I think I enjoyed The Cat a bit more. Both stories take an interesting look at women's rolse in love and marriage, and I really enjoyed the writing. I'm interested to see the movie Gigi now, and I'm definitely searching out more of Collette's works. I would also love to read more about her as a person, as what I know so far is pretty interesting. A lot of her works seem to deal with women, love, and sexuality in interesting ways. 

Gigi is the story of a young women being groomed to be a courtesan by her grandmother and mother. I found this story to be pretty enjoyable and I read it in one sitting. Of course, because it is only sixty pages I felt like it could have been more fleshed out and the characters more developed, but I really enjoyed it for what it was. I know the movie is pretty watered down and contains a lot of singing so I would love to compare the two.

The Cat is about a young and newly married man's love for his pet cat and his reluctance to give up the cat once he is married. This story was a bit odd, but really interesting. The young couple were both fully developed characters, as well as the cat. I thought the themes and ideas in this one were pretty interesting and the way it looked at marriage was interesting as well. I know Colette had a bad marriage in her lifetime, which could be why her ideas on love and sexuality are so interesting for her time. 

I think these two stories are a really good introduction to Colette and I'm really glad I put them on my Classics Club Women's Literature list! 

You can see all the posts I've done in the series so far here.

Recently Read: Uncle Tom's Children

Author: Richard Wright

Genre: Classic- short story/ novella collection

Publication Date: 1938

Page Count: 263

Rating: 4/5

The latest read for my American Literature class is Uncle Tom's Children by Richard Wright. This is a collection of short stories that all connect thematically. All of the stories center around racial violence in the American South during the time of the Jim Crow Laws.

I really like short story collections where the stories connect to each other so I really enjoyed the form of this book. Not only were the stories connected by their obvious racial violence themes, but there was also smaller elements such as weather and water that could be traced throughout the stories. These stories were really hard to get through at some points. They are very honest portraits of the violence and intolerance that frequented the American South, and some of the characters that are on the other end of this violence are very young. But these stories are absolutely necessary in American Literature and should be read and shared into the infinite future. 

My version, which is the centennial edition pictured above, starts off with a narrative essay by Wright entitled, "The Ethics of Living Jim Crow" which was amazing, and possibly more powerful than the violent images in the short stories that follow it. I highly recommend checking out that short essay even if you plan on skipping the rest of the novel. 

Novels about such heavy themes can be difficult to talk about because of how heavy and undesirable the themes are, but it's important that they continue to be read and discussed instead of just being pushed aside because the topic is uncomfortable. If you are looking for a read that covers racial violence, or the Jim Crow laws, I really recommend this one. Wright is a brilliant writer and he doesn't shy away from the truth, which is exactly how you want authors to tackle such difficult topics. 

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Authors I own the Most Books From

This week's Top Ten Tuesday is authors that you own the most books from. A lot of the authors I own a lot of books from are authors that write large series, so I just complied my list by counting the number of books I owned. Many of these authors are series writers, but a few are standalone writers. 

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

1. Oscar Wilde (15) I own the Barnes and Noble collected works of Wilde that contains: The Picture of Dorian Gray, Lord Arthur Savile's Crime and Other Stories, The Happy Prince and Other Tales, A House of Pomegranates, The Importance of Being Earnest, Lady Windermere's Fan, A Women of No Importance, An Ideal Husband, Salome, The Duchess of Padua, Vera, A Florentine Tragedy, La Sainte Courtisane. I also own The Ballad of Reading Goal and De Profundis 

2. Cassandra Clare (11) City of Bones, City of Ashes, City of Glass, City of Fallen Angels, City of Lost Souls, City of Heavenly Fire, Clockwork Angel, Clockwork Prince, Clockwork Princess, What Really Happened in Peru, The Course of True Love and First Dates, What to Buy the Shadow Hunter who has Everything. 

3. Rick Riordan (9) Percy Jackson and the Lighting Thief, The Sea of Monsters, The Titan's Curse, The Battle of the Labyrinth, The Last Olympian, The Lost Hero, The son of Neptune, The Mark of Athena, The House of Hades 

4. Laura Ingles Wilder (9) Little House in the Big Woods, Little House on the Prairie, Farmer Boy, On the Banks of Plum Creek, On the Shores of Silver Lake, The Long Winter, Little Town on the Prairie, These Happy Golden Years, The First Four Years 

5. Andrew Clements (9) Frindle, The Report Card, The Last Holiday Concert, A Week in the Woods, No Talking, Things Not Seen, The Janitor's Boy, The School Story, The Landry News

6. Jane Austen (7) Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion, Northanger Abbey, Sense and Sensibility, Emma, Mansfield Park, Northanger Abbey and Other Works, which contains the Watsons and Lady Susan 

7. F. Scott Fitzgerald (7) The Great Gatsby (2), Babylon Revisited, Flappers and Philosophers, This side of Paradise, Tender is the Night, The Beautiful and the Damned   

8. Sarah Dessen (7) That Summer, Someone Like You, This Lullaby, The Truth about Forever, Lock and Key, Just Listen, Along for the Ride

9. J.K. Rowling (7) Harry Potter series 1-7

10. Gyles Brandeth (6)  Oscar Wilde and the Death of No Importance, Oscar Wilde and A Game Called Murder, Oscar Wilde and the Dead Man's Smile, Oscar Wilde and the Vampire Murders, Oscar Wilde and the Vatican Murders, Oscar Wilde and the Murders at Reading Goal 

Well there's my list! I have all of the books listed with numbers 2,3,5,8,9 and 10. But the rest of the numbers contain books I haven't read yet. Let me know which authors are on your list. 

Recently Read: The Assassin's Blade

I have been reading two books at the same time all month this month for some reason. I never do this so I have no idea why it started now. I'm having trouble committing to just one book at a time. I have been working on The Picture of Dorian Gray for about a week, which was stressing me out because its summer and I want to read everything on my shelves! I'm enjoying Dorian greatly, but it is a slower read and takes more effort to read than other books on my shelf. The point of that tangent was to say that I picked up The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J. Maas while taking a break from Dorian.

This is a collection of the five novellas that go along with her Throne of Glass Series which I love. I have read the first two books, Throne of Glass and Crown of Midnight, and am excited for the third book which is released this September. I had not read any of the novellas so I was eager to pick them up.

What's cool about these novellas, is that the five of them together make a prequel for Throne of Glass. Each novella builds upon the previous one, and they don't feel like filler or fluff which can happen with novellas sometimes, they feel like a complete novel. These novellas give so much insight in Celaena's character and her past. In this book we meet Sam, Celaena's first love and Arobynn, the Assassin King who has trained Calena since she was a young girl and learn more about the betrayal that landed Celaena into Endovier.

This book was very fast paced, just like Maas' other novels, and I would recommend it to those who read the first two books and need more Celaena before the third book, Heir of Fire comes out in September. (which by the way has another gorgeous cover) These novellas really add to the series, and although I don't think you'll be totally lost if you don't read them, they are very enjoyable to read and do add to the series and the character development.

 Throne of Glass Review
Crown of Midnight Review