I'm finally reading a lot of literature again. Truly, I am a bit of an enigma and a contradiction for an English teacher because I don't always read novels regularly, and I really have no desire to teach AP English Literature, as opposed to AP English Lang. Like many men, I am far more interested in non-fiction writing, and that emphasis in Lang is really where I find my calling. That said, I am often a "literature admirer" from afar - there are many books I would like to read or at least have read. For there is so much honesty about the human experience, and that knowledge and insight is truly a part of who I want to be.
So, I've been haunting the library and bookstores again like I used to, and I am pulling more books off the shelves than I could ever read in the time alloted. For example, I am currently working my way through Skios by Michael Frayan - it's a delightful satire of academia and the world of large foundations and their conferences.
And I recently grabbed Madam Picasso by Anne Girard off the shelf. Not sure if I will get around the reading it before it's due and I've finished other books on the desk, but the back page alone was compelling enough - "... the mesmerizing and untold story of Eva Gouel, the unforgettable woman who stole the heart of the greatest artist of our time."
I truly hope I have time to crack open the sci-fi-ish story The Subprimes by Karl Taro Greenfeld. It has a fantastical setting in a future dystopian world where people are known primarily by their credit score. What a fascinating and timely discourse on the dangers of an increasingly finance-driven world, and it reminds me a bit of another great dystopian satire Jennifer Government by Max Barry.
There are more, of course. My desk and shelf are piled high, as an English teacher's should be. And, I believe I will be reading and writing more.
No comments:
Post a Comment