Third Month of No New Books? Maybe…

Or maybe not. I may or may not have purchased some books. And not just from the used bookstore. I might have bought some NEW books.

Second Month of No New Books—The Anticipation, The Joy

So, I’ve realized what really makes buying new books addictive…well, for me, that is.

My Year In Books—The Measure of 2014

It’s no secret I love books. I love reading them. I love looking at them before I’ve read them, wondering about their secrets. I love looking at them after I’ve read them, because I know they are a physical representation of a story that I’ve lived in some way, and that now lives within me.

A Month of No New Books—The Wish List

It would seem that, over time, I’ve accumulated quite a wish list of books. Given that, I’ve decided to split up the “Wish List” post into three parts. First, you get the list, such as it is.

A Month of No New Books—Day 15

I am halfway there! Isn’t that amazing? I think it’s amazing…then again I’m the one trying to detox myself from buying books. You might also think it’s amazing. Then again, you might also think I never should’ve been buying that many books to begin with. And you’d be right.

A Month of No New Books—Days Four Through Six

When the idea for this series germinated in my head, I had several ideas floating around in my head. One of the ideas was that I would take a picture of my to-be-read pile, and write a short explanation of how I came to own the books, and in some cases why I want to—or don’t want to—read them. In the process of taking the picture(s), I realized I have a TON of books I need to read, and that I should take more than a month-long break from buying books.

The Top Ten Book “Thing”

I received numerous tags on Facebook for this “list ten books that have stayed with me in some way” thing that’s going around, and I finally gave in and made a list, which I posted on my personal Facebook page and am reproducing here.

I Miss Shakespeare

This year, I am teaching AP Language and Composition, and “standard level” World Literature. AP Lang is all nonfiction, and since it is my first year teaching said subject, I tried to adhere to the nonfiction focus as much as possible (some teachers include a nonfiction novel). My World Literature class focuses more on the skills needed to do well in senior English and in the “real world” beyond school. There is no Shakespeare for me this year, and it’s a sad, sad affair.

Sexiest Book Alive?

I came across a tweet ages ago that referenced the idea of “Sexiest Book Alive,” and in honor of World Book Day, I thought I should return to the topic.

What makes a book sexy? Can a book even be sexy?

I don’t think so.

Image courtesy of stockphotosforfree.com

On the way home yesterday, I heard an NPR story about how a computer program at MIT has apparently learned how to “help” an MIT media lab student “compose” a sonnet using a database of Shakespeare’s works.

Including only words used by Shakespeare, the program suggests words that The Bard might have used in “that situation,” or, when writing a sonnet.

The transcript clarifies: “It was [Mathias’] sonnet confined to authentic Shakespearean language. It’s the same predictive software we see when our devices try to finish our sentences and suggest the next word.” Great, so a new application of technology.