Summer Reading List (no picture books, unfortunately)

I am terrible at reading. It is not that I cannot actually read, otherwise it would be a miracle that I can write this whole sentence with correct punctuation. The issue lies with my inability to stay focused on a piece of literature long enough to actually get to the last page. It's either my short attention span, or the large amount of work that comes with the school year. So every summer, when boredom rolls around, I make a short reading list, consisting of three to four books that deal with my personal interests, academic-related content, reading material for debate, or books that are currently being adapted to a television show on HBO (a fairly obvious selection). I read as many as possible before I eventually flake and go back to playing video games. Regardless, here is my reading list for the summer. Feel free to steal one of my choices for your own summer list.

Title page of a 1550 page of The Prince 

The Prince, by Niccolò Machiavelli

Considered to be one of the first works of modern philosophy, The Prince continues to be one of the most influential pieces of literature among academics, students, and political enthusiasts in the contemporary era. Written by Niccolò Machiavelli and published in 1532, The Prince evaluates the role of leadership and rule within a political society, and determines that the aims of princes--such as glory and survival--can justify the use of immoral means to achieve those ends. It is one of the earliest depictions of political and societal realism, and is a must read for any political science, history, and philosophy students during their time within academia.     

Resistance, Rebellion, and Death, by Albert Camus 

Last summer, I managed to finish a whole book on my summer reading list (this is a huge accomplishment for me). Unfortunately, finishing the book caused me to have a minor existential crisis, a common effect of reading The Stranger by Albert Camus. Considered to be one of the greatest authors of all time, French Nobel Prize winning author, journalist, and philosopher Albert Camus' heavy contribution to 20th Century literature revolutionized what we now know as absurdism and existentialism. His next work on my list is Resistance, Rebellion, and Death, a collection of essays published in 1960 that covers themes such as freedom, rebellion, capital punishment, totalitarianism, and others that are common centerpieces within political science, history, and philosophy discussions. A good read if you feel like thinking real deep and stuff.

The Nine, by Jeffrey Toobin

Sandra Day O'Connor, former Supreme Court Justice
who plays a large role in The Nine

Jurisprudence is a tricky subject; only a select few can stomach its intricacies, and even fewer do not find it horrendously boring. Within this study of the law and its evolution lies a continuing conversation regarding the makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court, and how its ruling pattern has changed throughout its existence. While most Constitutional Law courses you take in your undergraduate career will cover relevant cases, not often is there a hyper-specific look into the lives and careers of the Supreme Court Justices within the contemporary era. Toobin's The Nine profiles the justices of the United States Supreme Court within the past sixty years, discusses the function of the institution during an important era of social equality and justice, and how the jurisprudence of the branch and its members has changed over the years. It takes a specific look to the conservative revolution that took place within the court after the 1973 ruling of Roe v. Wade, and the key players that created permanent change to the bench, and what those changes mean for society in our current era. A great read for those who crave C-Span and watching old people deliberate on subjectively important matters.

A Song of Ice and Fire, by George R. R. Martin

Among fans of the popular HBO show Game of Thrones, I fall into the category of "non-book readers." That means all of the incredibly surprising, gut-wrenching events the show throws at me are completely unpredictable. Because this book series has been around since 1996, spoilers for the show are fairly common, and the guilty party is often someone who read all the books before the show started and ruin it for the non-book readers. Well, I am personally tired of the spoilers, and I know that they will inevitably continue so long as Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit continue to exist. So, to avoid the painful process of avoiding spoilers week-by-week, I decided that once Season Four of the show ends (two episodes remaining), I will try to read the books (again, like, for the fourth time).

Textbook analysis at UT Tyler

As an English Graduate student a large part of what I want my future to include is teaching. I am a self-admitted loud mouth who always has something to say about everything and this includes wanting people to have the best future possible. In my case I take 'best future possible' to mean 'you can understand why rhetoric and writing are important and you can use this skill to go where you want to go in life.' Every student has different needs and so, as a wanna-be-teacher, my interest often turns to subjects like 'teaching with unorthodox materials,' ie: graphic novels, movies, images, etc...

UT Tyler Winter Break? Read a book!

Hiiiii guys! How are you doing? I am a very happy girl today because I finished up my work for this semester, which means no more finals, no more class blogs, no more papers, no more NOTHING for an entire month! Hooray! That means I'm back to the season of Christmas lights, trees, gift shopping, and reading my little tush off. It's been a long time so some of you might not remember that a while back I started my own book blog (www.wishfulinkling.com) , which sadly has been gathering dust for months now because I self-destructed into a tiny little "no writing" zone after the end of last semester trying to manage three blogs and write four papers a week. 

Yeah, nightmares I don't want to relive. BUT! I'm happy to tell you that I'm back, at least for the holidays, and that I would like to share a review for a book you guys might love to read while you too have a month between hectic semesters and may find yourself feeling a little bored. Are you ready? Here goes!

I Like Libraries

I mentioned a few posts back that I also work at the public library and I talked about what we offered along with the summer programming. Fall programming is in full swing and there's some cool stuff that you should know about.

For out high school readers, the library is introducing a Teen Advisory Council and those who participate can earn volunteer hours. Those of you that are in groups like National Honor Society or the International Baccalaureate Program that require community service hours, you can fulfill those here.

After every meeting, there will be a movie matinee at 2:00 PM.  The council meets the first Saturday of every month. The next meeting is on October 5th at 1:00 PM. So you get your volunteer hours and a movie.

Our greatest goal of the library is to get more children reading. For our readers that have families with younger children, we have four different story times. We try to accommodate all kinds of time constraints when it comes to our story times. 

The amount of time a child spends reading books is related to the child's reading level in the fifth grade and growth in reading proficiency from the second to the fifth grade. The case can be made that reading books is a cause, not merely a reflection, of reading proficiency (x).

We also have programming for older children:

Of the three learning activities—reading, studying, and television—only reading was linked to achievement. We found that children who spent time reading for pleasure did better on tests of cognitive achievement (x). 

Since Halloween is a little over a month away, we're doing a costume exchange as well. 

For all our other readers that want to volunteer at the library (who wouldn't?), you can sign up through The City of Tyler. You can help promote literacy, work with cool people and make children happy.

What Words Mean

What Words Mean

   I was recently lucky enough to attend the English Honors Society’s ( Sigma Tau Delta ) event, “Open Mic Night”. The purpose of the event was primarily to warm up students to the idea of presenting before others here on our UT Tyler campus. We were lucky to get a good number of students who felt comfortable presenting, but we were also lucky to get a very good turnout for the event.

Time for reading?

When you're trying to struggle with time management, some activities tend to fall through the cracks and you lose time to do them. Reading in my spare time is one of those things I have dropped with the new semester. I like reading. For a number of reasons. But mostly cos' it's relaxing for me and the right novel envelopes you into the words and you are no longer existing just in the moment but also existing inside the pages of the novel.
 But alas, back on topic, I somehow managed time to finish two pretty good size novels over the past two novel WHILST still being semi-social and a part of society. This is an accomplishment for me. Now I just have to follow through with this new leaf and continue my reading in my spare time!
  So, readers, if you've left something in the dust as life consumed the time for a activity you enjoyed. We should all TAKE the time BACK to this activities we once coveted!
The next time I'm adding more time for is spending some time with my  xbox!

  :)

Clearly, I'm reading too many books~

Another snippet from one of my professors:
“You should either love it, hate it, or feel nothing for it at all.”

Now in the context of writing, why settle for something mediocre? I understand this. If it isn’t moving you forward and informing you, why do it?

Yes, I understand that life itself is not a zero sum game. That does not change that you have to take the risk. You will be good for nothing if you are too afraid to tune in and stop living in the past, doubting yourself, or visiting your ex’s social networking sites. It is not about losing, but you are never giving yourself the ability to win. Things have changed, and yes, it is frightening, but accept it is happening. This leaves room for those dreams you secretly never thought you would quite make it to. Now is the time to read that book, learn that language, and start telling the truth. Start telling the real true truths that we are afraid of telling ourselves.
I need help sometimes, and that is okay.
I can do this.
I appreciate individuals that put in quality time with me.

A full life will not just fall into our laps. Sometimes “good enough” isn’t “good enough” and we know we can do better. Be real.

“This is your life and it's ending one minute at a time.”
-Fight Club, Chuck Palahniuk


Man alive, I guess I should push forward with it instead of blogging about all the work in my lap.