A Return

sunrise massachusetts photo
Photo by ™ Pacheco

It won’t be too much longer before the school year starts again. It will be my 20th year. It’s hard to believe. It will be my fifth year at my current school. That time has flown by. I started four years ago as a technology integration specialist. Now I’m the English department chair. I love it. The people I work with are amazing. I have made some great friends. I love where I live. I feel good. I feel successful. I have an education blog where I tend to write about teaching. This blog originally started as a personal blog. A hodge podge of whatever I was interested in at the moment. Over time, it evolved in a books-only blog. I have been missing the hodge podge lately.

I am thinking a lot about a book I’m reading, The Bitch is Back: Older, Wiser, and (Getting) Happier, edited by Cathi Hanauer. I’m reading it as part of a book tour. So far, I am really getting a lot out of it. One thing that impresses me as I read the essays in the book is that these women have an outlet and audience for things they’re thinking about. There is no reason I have to write just about books here, but some reason, for a long time, that’s what I’ve been doing. I don’t know if I thought people wouldn’t be interested in other things I might write (though it has crossed my mind), or if I thought that people would be confused about what, exactly, this blog is (as though it has to be something or other). I don’t think I would want to use a different blog to write about these topics, so I think I will use this one. I did contemplate starting another blog, even something without my name attached. I don’t need that kind of compartmentalization or confusion, though. I’m getting older, and with it has come a certain amount of, for lack of a better term, bravery. I find I care a little less what people think, though as someone with anxiety, I can’t stop caring completely—I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t care. I have things I want to say. I have worries about getting older. I have health issues. I have a wonderful family. I love music. I live in a beautiful state. There is a lot going on in my head besides books and reading.

What I’m trying to say is that I want to use this blog more like I used to use it. More like a hodge podge. I’ll still review my books here. But I will write about other things, too.

Sunday Post #25: I’ve Discovered I’m a Writer

Sunday PostI didn’t write a Sunday Post last week. I was out of town at the Kenyon Writer’s Workshop for Teachers at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. It was a transformative experience, which I wrote about on my education blog (if you want to read about it). Kenyon has many other writer’s workshops if you are interested.

I didn’t finish reading anything over the last week, excepting the first Harry Potter book, which I finished on the plane. I actually didn’t read those books too long ago, but for some reason, I decided to read them again. I’m not sure I’m investing in re-reading the whole series right in a line, as I have a lot of other reading I need to do and a lot of other reading I want to do, but it’s been nice to get into again. I really love the British versions so much more than the American ones. After about Book 5, I don’t think the differences are all that great, but they sure are in the first couple of books. Language matters quite a great deal. I was always bothered by the fact that Hermione described the difficulties of using Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom, trying to “have a pee” while ignoring her wailing. It just didn’t sound like anything Hermione would ever say, and it turns out, she says “go to the loo,” which is totally in character. Might seem like a small thing, but it bugs me a great deal, and I just can’t understand why the American publishers made that change and why they didn’t trust their readers to figure out what “go to the loo” means.

I did add quite a few books to my TBR pile, and I even ordered a few of them already.

      

All of these books were either recommended by others at Kenyon or else I found them through readings and other circuitous means as a result of being at Kenyon.

How was your reading week?

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news, recap the past week on your blog, and showcase books and things we have received. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme.