Welcome to the September Bookworms Carnival!
Our theme, this month, is classics (new or old). I picked this theme because it’s back to school time for many of us, whether it’s kids going back to grade school, or starting a university program ourselves. Because of that, I decided to style the carnival like a college course catalog. Below you’ll find the courses that are offered, and the selected reading for each course. (And yes, for curiosity’s sake, they are REAL college courses I borrowed from the catalogs of a couple of universities.)
Enough blathering. On with the carnival.
ENG 201: Introduction to Literature
An overview of the best literature has to offer. Cami (Turpin Family Blog) offers up her ten favorite classics, spanning both the continents and the centuries.
ENG 210: World Masterpieces
Major world civilizations as see through literature. Nymeth, at Things Mean A Lot, finally got around to reading The Odyssey, and found that she thoroughly enjoyed it. The status of The Last Summer, by Boris Pasternak (of Dr. Zhivago fame) as a classic is questioned by John at Book Mine Set. And Jan (Jan’s Journal) delves into the world of Franz Kafka, reading and reviewing several of his works.
ENG 211: British Literature
Selected readings from medieval times to present. Chris at book-o-rama reviewed one of her favorite authors’ works: George Eliot’s The Mill on the Floss. I read Jane Eyre and decided that I like Charlotte Brontë much better than her sister Emily. Ann at Patternings read Stella Gibbons’ novel Cold Comfort Farm, and found it a delightful parody of Hardy, Lawrence and Mary Webb with superb comic timing. Eva at A Striped Armchair posts her thoughts on a few classics: The Eustace Diamonds, The Scarlett Pimpernell, and Candide (which I know isn’t British, but bear with me here.) Lostcheerio (The Harpoonist) bucks the tendency for people to like everything by Jane Austen and expresses her frustration with Ann Wentworth and Persuasion here. Last-minute addition: Becky (Becky’s Book Reviews) reflects on her relationship with Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein.
ENG 221: American Literature
Selected readings from Puritan times to present. Karen (Misadventures of an Aussie Mom) and Nyssaneala (Book Haven) both weighed in on Harper Lee’s classic, To Kill a Mockingbird. Suzanne at Adventures in Daily Living read, and was surprised she liked, John Gardner’s classic, Grendel. Gautami tripathy at My Own Little Reading Room focused on an F. Scott Fitzgerald work, Tender is the Night. Jan (Jan’s Journal, again) reviewed Richard Halliburton’s lesser known work, The Royal Road to Romance, and highly recommends it. Last-minute addition: Annie (reading is my superpower) reviews Memoirs of an Ex-Prom Queen, a 1970s feminist classic and finds it hopelessly depressing, even if 30 is the new 20.
ENG 305: Critical Reading
Analyzing the meaning of classic and what constitutes a classic work. Corrine at Littlest Bird and Heather (Litter of Leaves) each muse on what defines a “classic work”.
ENG 335: Young Adult Literature
Reading and discussing specific works of middle-grade and young adult literature. Jeremy, at Jeremy’s Consumer’s Corner, proposes The Spiderwick Chronicles as a series that will appeal to children of all ages. Valentina (Valentina’s Room) read Lois Lowry’s Newbery-winning classic, The Giver, and decided that while it was a quick read, it was anything but simple. Last-minute additions: Dewey (the hidden side of a leaf) reviews the 1923 Newbery-winning The Voyages of Dr. Dolittle. Annie at reading is my superpower reflects on the death of Madeleine L’Engle with a series of quotes from her books.
ENG 470: Special Topics in English
This term we will be discussing Fantasy Classics. Alatáriël, at One Blog to Rule them All (which is devoted to Lord of the Rings, itself a classic), asks the question that many a fantasy fan has asked: Narnia or Middle Earth? Olli at Pieces of Speculative Fiction lists his Top 10 classic fantasy novels. Suzanne (Adventures in Daily Living, again) read the latest novel set in Middle Earth, Tolkein’s Children of Hurin. She found that while it was a slow starter, it eventually picked up and was worth the time spent reading it.
Bookstore
If you’re wondering about how to get your hands on a classic, Annette at Homeschooling Journey has a list of links to free literature textbooks.
The next carnival will be hosted at This is the Life. Her theme is Thrills and Chills: Spooky Books That Keep You Up at Night. Deadline for submissions is October 12.
The Book Nut 
Hi, Melissa! The carnival looks great. 🙂 I just sent you an email, by the way. I had emailed you earlier, but didn’t get a reply. Just wanted to let you know to expect it 🙂
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Very impressive! I love how you did the carnival. Clever!
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Very clever, and timely.I’m supposed to be building the syllabus, but you’ve distracted me.
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Very cute. I want that semester. Sounds good to me. Wohoo! I’m famous! I’m on Book Nut! I’ll make a post on the carnival right now.
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That is very well done. Thanks for including me.I am going to have a great time reading the others!
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Great layout and wonderful links as well. Good job! I promoted the Carnival over at my site, I hope it’s a big success.
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I love it! You’re full of great ideas, my friend. Fun to read!
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Thanks for including me! I linked back to you twice, and gave each of the other writers a click. Wonderful carnival, one of the best Ive ever seen!
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I love the course catalogue setup! So creative. I’m heading to bed, but I’ll go visiting tomorrow!
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Oh, and that “Clint” person up there is me, Cami. I guess Corinne’s husband was playing around on my computer . . .
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Aww! This is an adorable set-up. 😀I’ve linked to the carnival in my last post, but I can’t figure out how to link to individual entries on your blog. Do you happen to know how?
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Love the way you set it up… I’m bummed that my submissions weren’t received, though. It can’t be for content, because one would’ve fit in American Literature and the other in Young Adult… I got a receipt from BlogCarnival and everything 😦
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I love this edition!great idea!I’m going to write a post on my blog as soon as I can:)
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I’m bummed, too, Annie. I think I may have not gotten several submissions (Becky’s was one… we had to go the circuitous route to get her submission to me). My spam blocker must have been working overtime. (Do you have a gmail address? I think it automatically blocks everything from gmail….) Ah, well… next time.
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Ah ha! That also explains mine not being included, since I have gmail. I thought it might be because mine was the only kids’ classic (not really YA), and I wasn’t going to ask, because I didn’t to sound like a brat. But this makes sense. Would you like gmail users to use a different email address and send you their stuff again, or leave their links here so you can include them, or do you just feel like it’s done and don’t want to mess with it any more?
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Hmmm…. I managed to squeeze Becky in, but I told Annie next time… I guess I could be consistent, huh? It’s early enough in the carnival: if there’s anyone who had a gmail address and submitted something and wants to resubmit it (using a different email handle if they can, please do. I’ll make updates as they come in.Though it’s odd that yours didn’t go through, Dewey. You’ve emailed me before and it’s been fine. Go figure.
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I used the blog carnival submission form, though. Maybe that was it. I’ll just send you the link.
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That’s so weird about gmail! It’s the only email address I have, though. I also used the BlogCarnival form, like Dewey. Wonder what happened?Thanks, Melissa–I got your email but now I’m not sure if you got mine. Here are the 2 links:http://superfastreader.com/memoirs-of-an-ex-prom-queen-by-alix-shulman.htmhttp://superfastreader.com/as-madeleine-put-it.htm
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I love the layout! Thanks for including me, there are some wonderful posts this month!
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