Sunday, August 9, 2009

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and a Random Wedding Dance Video



What a crazy few weeks I've had! Honduras for six days, immediately followed by three days in Tampa for a conference, two days back in West Palm for work, and then up to Gainesville for graduation. I'm waiting for all the particles of my life to settle, and I'm excited to focus on the next two big projects of my life: getting my reading students out of mandated reading intervention classes by helping them pass the FCAT reading, and planning a wedding that I feel is reflective of the wonderful relationship I have with my fiance.

In the meantime, I thought I'd post some fun internet finds that reflect these goals. The first is a link to an English teacher's blog in which he writes about teaching literacy. I truly enjoy reading his reflections and the reflections of his students on what it takes to learn to read.

I also wanted to post this fantastic youtube video of a wedding entrance that I would love to replicate (if only I had rhythm)!



I spent my vacation in Honduras reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and The Princess Diaries series. The latter, I consider indulgent research into the female adolescent's psyche, in order to stave off my guilt for thoroughly enjoying these books.


Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
is a book that contains the original Jane Austen text with a zombie apocalypse story line woven into it. I giggled through the beginning, particularly at the illustrations, and Mr. Bennet telling the girls to form the pentagram of death in order to fight off the zombies that are invading the town ball. However, after awhile the extraneous zombies and ninja references distracted me from the loveliness of the original and I began to miss the ordinary zombie-free tale of Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy.


I cannot say enough wonderful things about the Princess Diaries series. I wish I had discovered them when I was an adolescent. The characters are real and funny. Sometimes the main character did get annoying because she had a tendency to turn a mountain into a molehill, but what teenage girl doesn't do that? What I loved especially is the depiction of the adult, imperfect characters. Grandmere in these books is a far cry from the Mary-Poppins-like portrayal of Grandmere in the Disney movie version of the book.


In the end of the series, the main character Princess Mia Thermopolis, writes a romance novel. I learned recently that Meg Cabot actually published the main character's novel as a gimmick to go along with the finale of the series. According to the reviews, it is quite delightful and I look forward to reading it.



Now, when I get a spare moment, I'm trying to read Stephanie Meyer's The Host. This is the third time I've attempted to read this book, but I always end up putting it down and forgetting about it after the first three chapters. Hopefully, it will pick up and I'll get more involved in it. Whatever happens, I'll be sure to post my opinions on the matter.

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