You can visit this month’s carnival at This is the Life… it looks like she got a fairly sizeable turnout, and a lot of good posts, too. Drop by and take a look. Next month’s theme is, just so you’re thinking ahead, short stories. The carnival will be hosted by The Book Mine Set and the deadline for submission is November 9. You can use the Blog Carnival submission form (which worked fine this time… don’t know what happened last month!) or email jmutford at hotmail dot com.
carnivals
Another Friendly Reminder
Just wanted to let you know about this month’s carnival!
The theme of is: Thrills and Chills: Spooky Books That Keep You Up at Night and is hosted by Kristin at This is the Life.
The deadline for submission is October 12.
If you’d like to submit something, you can use the blog carnival submission form or email the link to your post to kjoywilliams at gmail dot com. As Dewey pointed out, we had problems with the form last month (though it may have been my spamblocker!) and emailing is (highly) recommended.
September Bookworms Carnival: New and Improved Edition
It has been brought to my attention over the past couple of days that several people submitted posts for the carnival that never made it to me. We’ve tentatively figured out that either the blog carnival submission form was faulty for a few days or my spam blocker eats gmail addresses. Don’t know why. As a result, if you submitted something and you didn’t get a rejection notice from me (I did try to send those out), I probably didn’t receive it. So, I’m opening up the carnival for submissions again until Friday. (And, yes, if you didn’t get one in and you want to participate, I’ll take those submissions, too. Why not?) If you don’t have another email address, leave the links to the post here or here. I’ll be sure to get them that way.
Sorry for the inconvenience.
September Bookworms Carnival: Class is in Session
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.
Last Chance
To send in those submissions for September’s Bookworm Carnival. You have until tomorrow night to send me an email (mmfrafATsbcglobalDOTcom) or use the Blog Carnival submissions form. I’m accepting anything that has anything to do with classics (English, American, World, YA, Fantasty, Sci-Fi, modern interpretations of classics, literary criticism, musings… whatever!).
I can’t wait to see what you send!
Labor Day Updates
I was going to wait until Andi had the new Estella’s Revenge up (Oh, Andi, where are you? — she plaintively cries — Is work totally slowing you down?!), but I realized that the deadline for the September Bookworm Carnival is only 11 days away, and I decided not to wait.
Get those books read, posts up, and submissions in… time is running out! (Though, if you haven’t noticed, I haven’t read anything for the September carnival. Yet.)
And, if you also haven’t noticed, I’m finally caving (after what, nearly three years) and posting pictures of the books I’ve read. I don’t know if I’m going to go back and do ALL of them, but I will do it from here out. If I remember.
Have a great holiday. 🙂
A Contest and An Assignment
I’ve been looking for a mildly creative way to advertise that I’m hosting September’s Bookworm Carnival (deadline September 14th). Not having come up with one, I thought I’d just give it out as an assignment. Consider yourself assigned. The theme? Since it’s back to school time for most everyone, I thought classics would be interesting. Anything on any classic, old or new. It would also be worth exploring the merits reading classics. Who decides what are “classics” anyway? Your thoughts and posts, people, are more than welcome!
Which leads me to the Back-to-School contest being hosted by Book Binge.
The Assignment:
Tell us what your favorite read in school was. What book was required reading that you just loved? Something you completely devoured. Or, if you can’t think of one, what was the WORST read you had in school?
The Prize:
Leave your answer in the comments or on your own blog with a link and in honor of this being a Back To School contest, we’re giving one lucky winner:
The entire Susan Elizabeth Phillips Stars/Bonner Brothers Football Series (Who didn’t love a jock in HS? Even if he was an ass, he was still good to look at, right?)
or
Perfect and Paradise by Judith McNaught (A teacher, in keeping with our theme, and an old High School Flame)
Or
if you’re not interested in any of those…2 books of your choice.
The Homework:
We’re asking that you do a guest review for Book Binge for at least one of the books (or all of them, if you prefer).
Deadline:
The contest ends Friday, August 31st and the winner will be announced Saturday, September 1st.
Due Date:
Homework review is due no later than two weeks after you receive your package of books (We’ll be flexible about this, however, because we know real life intrudes on reading time now and again).
Kick the school year off right. Enter today!
My Answer:
This is a hard one. (Mostly because I’m having a hard time remembering the books I read in high school!) The Red Badge of Courage, by Stephen Crane was quite powerful, and I loved Huckleberry Finn. But my favorite for years and years was Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. I think I must have read it for my AP History class (I don’t remember, but it seems to fit), and I remember being shaken and moved by the stories told in it. The highlight, though, was when we went as a family to the Badlands on my way out to college. I loved that book. Now that I think about it, it’s been much too long since I’ve read it.
The worst read, hands down, was The Scarlett Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne. I hated it. (I re-read it a few years back and hated it less, but I still think it would have made a much better short story.)
Getting in on the Ground Floor
Dewey, over at the hidden side of a leaf, is hosting the first ever Bookworms Carnival. This month’s theme is novels, so feel free to submit any and all posts on that theme (though I think the “rule” is one post per person…). The deadline is July 13th (that’s tomorrow, folks!), and the posts can be sent to her at dewpie (at) gmail (dot) com.
Come join the fun!
The Book Nut 