This Week's Poetry - and other things...

No, Clara, if I get a candy reward in English I'm not sharing it with the class. I doubt each of us would get more than a mouthful.

Poetry I liked from poem a day: Anne Waldman's Matriot Acts Act I (it intrigued me enough to read three times); Donald Hall's The Things (I enjoyed how the author drew attention to little things that I've thought of as clutter, but they hold meaning to him); Evie Shockley's excerpt from the Farewell Letters; and Carl Phillip's Civilization (I liked the last stanza best).

I've been rereading Romeo and Juliet in English, so Shakespeare's blank verse wakes me up during first hour.

Also, I'm two books away from finishing my Tamora Pierce marathon, and I'm rereading Quidditch through the Ages.

Poetry

Someone commented last week that many of the poems through poem a day are disturbing/gross/weird. I agree, but I like about half of them. Some I even like enough to go into my notebook on poets.org (found here http://www.poets.org/notebookdetail.php/prmNotebookID/381071 (hopefully)). What does this say about my poetry tastes? Interesting question to ponder... I already know that I will read long and/or depressing books. I guess the same applies for poetry.

Favorites so far from poem a day: My love is as a fever, longing still and Self portrait as Thousandfurs.

I reread Sick by Shel Silverstein to add it to my collection, and it made me laugh the however many time 'round. Go check it out if you haven't read it.

I only have three more books to go on my Tamora Pierce marathon, and my English teacher is offering a candy reward for the person who reads the most pages in my English class...

Last thing: My stepdad found a book of Robert Frost poetry that I'm going to start soon, and I've decided that he is my second favorite poet, first being Edgar Allen Poe. The Bronte sisters are good, too. Funny - I just noticed, in listing my fav poets, that all of them were depressed at some point in their life. Hmm.

Spring Break Reading

I have been reading mostly Tamora Pierce and Hoot by Carl Hiaasen (audio book in the car). Hoot is good - I've read it before, but it's a different experience out loud. It seems more real, but it goes so slow. I could have finished it already, but reading in the car gives me major headaches.

I haven't decided which poem to memorize yet.

Tamora Pierce marathon is going extremely well - I have 6 and three quarters books to go, out of 27. I'm currently reading Bloodhound, which is about, essentially, a police force around 1200 AD trying to find a set of counterfeiters. Not my favorite Beka Cooper book, but there are some amazing scenes...

The poem a days I've been reading haven't been sticking out in my mind. There was an interesting one to do with a grasshopper.

Trends and Tamora Pierce... with an Interlude from Octavian Nothing

I've been reading three things this week: Tamora Pierce, books regarding the history of vampire fiction, and The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing.

Octavian Nothing is for book club. It is very good, but a little strange. Morbid, sort of. Haven't gotten very far in it, but I'd recommend it for those who aren't easily grossed out.

Vampire books are disturbing. There is a percentage of the book I'm currently looking at - Our Vampires, Ourselves - that feels like it's persuading me to believe in vampires. I don't believe in vampires outside the imagination. Thanks, but no thanks.

Tamora Pierce marathon still going strong. 15 down, 12 to go.

Tamora Pierce Marathon Update

I finished the third book in the Circle of Magic series. Loved the ending even more than the last time I read it.

13.5 read, 13.5 to go. Dead middle!

Trend Reading this Week

Many, many emails. Many, many author's websites. (I decided to email some authors of vampire novels to get their opinions.) Many authors' websites don't have quick links to their contact info and FAQ, and it takes forever. It's coming along nicely, though.

Also, I've continuing to read for my Tamora Pierce marathon. So far, by series:

Song of the Lioness: done

Immortals: 2/4

Protector of the Small: done

Circle of Magic: 3/4

13 down, 11 to go.

Tamora Pierce Marathon Day Two

I got sick this morning, so I went to school for the first three hours and came home. I crawled onto my bed and picked up a book - Tamora Pierce's Squire.

Update:

Finished Squire.

Finished Alanna: The First Adventure

Finished In the Hand of the Goddess

In the middle of The Woman Who Rides Like A Man.

4 read, 23 to go.