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Thursday, December 27, 2007

Seasons' Readings, Fall 2007

Only managed a paltry four books read this season, as the majority of my time was consumed with my new full-time teaching gig. In fact, the only reason I was able to read these books was that they were on audiobook on the way to school (or rather, schools - one I learn at, and one where others learn from me).

But now that I am on Winter Break from both schools I am hoping to play some reading catch-up.

Ah well, on to what I read:

I continued Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series, reading "The Fortune of War" and "The Surgeon's Mate." Both continued O'Brian's tradition of stirring sea tales with characters to invest in; I particularly enjoyed "The Fortune of War" for it's descriptions of early 1800s Boston.

Then I read the first two travel books by Monty Python alum Michael Palin, "Around the World in 80 Days" and "Pole to Pole." I preferred "80 Days" for its wealth of exotic locales, but both were excellent for Palin's humorous perceptions, relating his curious experiences in circum( and semi-circum)navigation.

In addition, I read several short stories by Guy de Maupassant, Leo Tolstoy, and others, in order to have an idea of what I was talking about when I taught them.

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