So, I was dealing with quite a bad cold last week and didn't feel like doing much but lying in bed and reading. Checked the bookshelf and pretty much grabbed the first thing that came to hand. It happened to be Kurt Vonnegut's "Breakfast of Champions". I had first read it during an American Literature course in university (I was an English major). ( Read more... )

Has anyone out there read these books? I haven't, but I've read several articles recently about the Rowling-esque hype surrounding them, how the fourth book with all the answers is coming in two weeks' time and bookstores are planning to be open at midnight to sell the books (my local bookstores are full of breathless posters advertising midnight ( Read more... )

Today is the "Buck-a-Book" sale in our school library. It's an annual fundraiser where parents are encouraged to donate gently-used books to the library, plus books culled from the library itself, so that the students can come in and buy them at a loonie each to recycle them back into the community. Always a fun and cheap way to get some new ( Read more... )

For the last week or two I've been following a series of drabbles rabidsamfan has been writing in her journal based on the Sherlock Holmes books. RSF writes beautiful and thought-provoking scenes and my fingers have been itching to pick up my Sherlock Holmes paperbacks again and fall back into that world. It's kind of a crazy week right now, but I found ( Read more... )

Well, I teach in a Catholic school board, so it's not too surprising that a letter like this would eventually go home with the students, especially since at least one Catholic school board in Southern Ontario has already banned the "Golden Compass" books recently. I'm pleased with how my school board has responded.

( Letter beyond and a QUESTION. )

Hey ho, another morning, another nine parent-teacher interviews. One down, eight more to go. I anticipate a couple of tense interviews this morning, though... But then I'm going for -sushi-, a working lunch with a couple of other teachers as we prepare for the choir/drama school Christmas presentation in three weeks' time. And then back for a staff ( Read more... )

telynor has asked us all
To speak in verse or rhyme,
It needn't be inspired,
Or stand the test of time.

It only needs to bring a smile,
A literary "HI!",
To let friends know I miss them
And will see them by and by.

(in prose now)

I've loved seeing all my friends writing little verses due to telynor's prompt in her journal today. I encourage you all to release ( Read more... )

( Read more... )

As ohiblather mentioned this morning, Urban Tapestry has a "second week encouragement" song for the novel writers of NaNoWriMo up on their official website today. Deb wrote the song and recorded it in her office with Jodi and me singing and Scott Snyder (bardiclug) providing musical accompaniment ( Read more... )

Here's a fun Halloween project that made my day :).

About ten days back lemonlye launched the idea of preparing a LJ group reading of a scene from "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" to be posted on Halloween. She invited everyone reading her journal to volunteer to be involved and when we did she sent us each two or three lines of the story to record onto an ( Read more... )