Reading in Store

It's been awhile...I think that's my most common thought on the blog the past few months. Life has been plugging away. Before my own college classes began again, I had to prep for the senior classes I teach at the high school. They are part of a college in high school program. We will work from a college level syllabus I wrote and textbooks the local college requires and at the end of the semester, my students will have a college class credit to transfer wherever they may go when they graduate.

In other news, my own college classes are back in session. I have two literature classes - African-American Lit and The Anthropocene. I'm sure you're questioning that last one. Anthropocene is out current epoch. Scientists (and whoever else is in charge of this naming of time periods) haven't decided where the starting point of the Anthropocene is, but it "dates from when human activities started to have a significant global impact on Earth's geology and ecosystems." Anyway, we are reading a good stretch of books (mostly 20th century, which I like) and tracing the picture they paint (although some unwittingly) of Anthropocenic events. Something different and The Great Gatsby made the reading list, so you know I'm in!

In all, my work this semester consists of reading two books per week, adding up to approximately 30 books by May; thirteen short analysis papers; one five page book analysis; and two 20 page papers. We are heading into week three and after this weekend I should have three of my thirteen short papers done. Keeping on top of it is the key and my plan is to write my short papers now and save the end of the semester to sweat out the two larger papers.

I spent the entire last weekend at B&N, working 6-8 hours a day reading, note-taking, and writing. It truly worked so much better than trying to work at home. I'm so distracted by house and family things when I work from home, so I plan on spending the next 15 weekends at B&N as well. When all is said and done, B&N should start paying me for my advertising of their premises here and on social media! (Not to mention my dual meaning post title - something they can offer that Amazon can't!)

My outlook is much better this semester, which I credit to knowing what to expect. That makes SO much difference. Last semester really broke me in and God gave me some direction that completely helped calm me for all I have ahead. I'm excited and already enjoying it, although already facing the challenge of balancing life, work, and study with time constraints. Part of that balance includes things to add to the schedule. I've done a lot of taking things out, but there are important pieces missing too, like time to work out. I've mostly maintained my weight loss from this time last year, but last semester has started to challenge my gains. I'm more interested in endurance and toning/strengthening now, so I've fit a workout hour in three days a week based on times when I'm already out and about and can stop at the gym. I also saw a trainer for a customized plan, so my time and effort isn't wasted. Working smarter, not harder. Well, in this case working smarter and harder, lol. And maybe picking up with some fitness update posts again.

Hope all is well for you readers. I will hopefully remember to put some of my analysis papers here on the blog...kinda a throw back to book reviewing. Til next time...

So We Read On: How The Great Gatsby Came to Be and Why It Endures

Source: NetGalley.com

So We Read On: How The Great Gatsby Came to Be and Why It Endures, by Maureen Corrigan
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Publication date: September 9, 2014
Category: Nonfiction
Source: I received this e-galley from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

From the second I saw the title and cover art of So We Read On, I had to have it. I requested it past the publication date, so when NetGalley approved my request (quickly, thank God), I pushed aside all other reading to dive in. My students were to start reading The Great Gatsby the following week, so I'm glad I did.

Part of the book reads at a slower pace because it is meant to be read carefully, but that is to be expected. It is informational, not a fiction story. If you are a Fitzgerald, Gatsby, and/or literary Jazz Age fan, then the pace doesn't matter because you will want to soak in any new insight on these topics. I was particularly interested to see whose side Corrigan would take: Team Scott or Team Zelda. After reading Z: A Story of Zelda Fitzgerald, by Therese Ann Fowler last year, I made the jump to Team Zelda. Corrigan takes up with Team Scott, but at the same time, does not excuse his possible part in Zelda's lifelong problems or his own.

My favorite thing about this book is that it focuses on The Great Gatsby. Corrigan's look into the Fitzgerald's life correlates to the writing and events of The Great Gatsby. Sadly, like Edgar Allan Poe, Fitzgerald's work is enhanced by the sad events of his life, both in the actual writing and in the knowledge of his background. My students are always enthralled with Poe's life and look forward to his life story as much as his writing. This year, as I've read this book, I've been able to point out how pieces of Gatsby and its characters are from Fitzgerald's life, and my students' interest level has risen.
For example, when Daisy tells Nick she hoped her daughter would be a "beautiful little fool," we discussed why she'd say that in the context of the 1920s. When I told them Fitzgerald didn't write these words, but took them from his own wife's journal about their own daughter, that hit home. It's one thing for a male writer to write such things based on a time period and another to know an actual woman living in that time really thought such things due to society, life experience, etc.

Also, sadly like Poe, Fitzgerald would not see an acknowledgement of his success, nor the slight after fame, in his lifetime. This constitutes the other piece of Corrigan's research: what contributed to the revitalization of Fitzgerald's work in the years after his death.

I enjoyed So We Read On, the title so cleverly mimicking the famous last line of The Great Gatsby. It would be awesome to see more of such books discussing other highly famous titles and the authors. And I guess there are quite a few out there, but I liked Corrigan's accessibility and passion. Especially her passion. I could tell she was completely committed to her research and analysis of Fitzgerald and his work. Passion is contagious.

Which famous title/author would you want to see a book about?