I read the "dinosaur comics" website every day. For the past week or so, I've been wishing that they were appropriate to use in class, since I really wanted to show this one to my students.
Digestive energy! It's like food chains!
Toni, my cooperating teacher, would call me a nerd for liking this comic. We have a *supportive* *special* relationship. aka we've really bonded and get along well!
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Saturday, December 13, 2008
new adventures
It's been occurring to me that I could be continuing to use this site for my more recent adventures. I wonder why I haven't been?
Since September, I have been going to the U of W (that's Winnipeg, for all of you who will think Waterloo), working on a B.Ed. in senior years education. I applied when I got back from Europe last year, and never really expected to get in. Not entirely sure why - something about undergrad taught me the feeling of "can't". But two great references and an entrance essay later, and what do you know.
This program is two (academic) years long, and has two parts to it. The first is our university courses. We have 9-week terms. In the first term, I had three curriculum-based courses (math, physics, and the theory of science teaching) that are designed to introduce us to the MB curriculum, ideas for teaching, activities, evaluation, planning, etc etc. I had the same prof for all 3, and he is extremely knowledgeable and his courses were a great help. The other two were more theoretical - one called Foundations of Teaching and Learning, and the other was Intro to Special Ed. Fdns has mainly been philosophy and psychology so far. Interesting, though not immediately practical. Spec.Ed. was a lot more like a course in classroom management with a section on special ed., which is vaguely unfortunate since I am quite interested in special ed. specifically. Not that the other stuff wasn't useful, but... Next term I continue with math, physics, and Fdns, and add a course about literacy at the senior years. Overall the stuff at U of W is alright, but not stellar.
Student teaching is where most of the learning happens. I am working at a small K-8 Catholic school called Holy Cross. It is amazing. I was placed with a teacher who does grade 7 and 8 science, and K-3 phys. ed. It's an interesting mix, and she's amazing to work with. I've always known that junior high is not my forte or preferred age group, and this experience has verified that for me, so it's great that we have the breaks of being with the little kids. I have a few days left in a block of 5 weeks of being there full time. I've been teaching a unit to our two classes of grade 7s called "Interactions Within Ecosystems." Food chains, photosynthesis, that sort of thing. I've really been enjoying getting in to the community of the school. I will be sad to leave at the end of the year. I've been doing so well on my official evaluations when a woman from the university comes to visit, and my cooperating teacher says she's seen me improving as well. It just seems natural.
Since September, I have been going to the U of W (that's Winnipeg, for all of you who will think Waterloo), working on a B.Ed. in senior years education. I applied when I got back from Europe last year, and never really expected to get in. Not entirely sure why - something about undergrad taught me the feeling of "can't". But two great references and an entrance essay later, and what do you know.
This program is two (academic) years long, and has two parts to it. The first is our university courses. We have 9-week terms. In the first term, I had three curriculum-based courses (math, physics, and the theory of science teaching) that are designed to introduce us to the MB curriculum, ideas for teaching, activities, evaluation, planning, etc etc. I had the same prof for all 3, and he is extremely knowledgeable and his courses were a great help. The other two were more theoretical - one called Foundations of Teaching and Learning, and the other was Intro to Special Ed. Fdns has mainly been philosophy and psychology so far. Interesting, though not immediately practical. Spec.Ed. was a lot more like a course in classroom management with a section on special ed., which is vaguely unfortunate since I am quite interested in special ed. specifically. Not that the other stuff wasn't useful, but... Next term I continue with math, physics, and Fdns, and add a course about literacy at the senior years. Overall the stuff at U of W is alright, but not stellar.
Student teaching is where most of the learning happens. I am working at a small K-8 Catholic school called Holy Cross. It is amazing. I was placed with a teacher who does grade 7 and 8 science, and K-3 phys. ed. It's an interesting mix, and she's amazing to work with. I've always known that junior high is not my forte or preferred age group, and this experience has verified that for me, so it's great that we have the breaks of being with the little kids. I have a few days left in a block of 5 weeks of being there full time. I've been teaching a unit to our two classes of grade 7s called "Interactions Within Ecosystems." Food chains, photosynthesis, that sort of thing. I've really been enjoying getting in to the community of the school. I will be sad to leave at the end of the year. I've been doing so well on my official evaluations when a woman from the university comes to visit, and my cooperating teacher says she's seen me improving as well. It just seems natural.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
I think Blogger is permanently in French for me. Maybe because I've used it way more overseas that I have here?
This isn't Europe-related, but I figure I might as well keep using the blog for updates on my adventures. In a week, I am heading off on the next one... back to camp! 4-month officially starts on Friday - 5 sleeps! My goodness. I am once again heading back out to the shores of MacKinnon island for my fifth go at 4-month staff. It's going be a big and exciting season in the life of MPC, with a new director, new programs, and an awesome staff team. Stay tuned....
This isn't Europe-related, but I figure I might as well keep using the blog for updates on my adventures. In a week, I am heading off on the next one... back to camp! 4-month officially starts on Friday - 5 sleeps! My goodness. I am once again heading back out to the shores of MacKinnon island for my fifth go at 4-month staff. It's going be a big and exciting season in the life of MPC, with a new director, new programs, and an awesome staff team. Stay tuned....
Saturday, February 2, 2008
and the moral of the story is...
... stay on the rails, no matter what!
(super bonus points to anyone who knows that one, my parents and sister are excluded from answering)
(super bonus points to anyone who knows that one, my parents and sister are excluded from answering)
Cardiff and onward
I am attempting to finish my blog. Scroll down to the entry below this one for links to pictures.
The last time I posted about where I was, it was my first night in Cardiff. The next day, I walked down to the waterfront to explore for the morning. They have statues along the shore that lay out the stanzas of a poem, which was neat. I visited a museum called Techniquest, which is a children's museum with tons of interactive displays. Physics is fun! It was a very loud place, and mainly was school groups, but I liked it. Very hands-on. Had lunch at a pseudo-1950's American diner. Tasty, but so full! The hostel there was nice, but the sheets were really odd. The bottom sheet, top sheet, and pillow case were all one piece. The sides of the sheets were sewn together for the first couple of feet, like the beginnings of a sleeping bag. The fact that the pillow case was a part of this meant you couldn't move the pillow, and when you are longer than a regular length twin, as I am, it makes for uncomfortable positioning. I had fun there, otherwise. Got to talking with one of the girls who works there, and watched Borat with one of the other guests.
From Cardiff, I went back to the train station in Bristol to meet my mom's cousin William. William and Sara live in a village about 45 minutes outside of Bristol. It was so good to be in a house and not a hostel! I spent a couple of nights with them, mainly relaxing, reading, and talking. No tourism! Home-made food! Of course, as I'm writing this, these things have once again become typical, but at the time, it was such a relief. They have a friendly dog named Molly. On Sunday William and I went to the lessons and carols service at the church they attend. We also tried visit the cathedral in Wells, but it was closed as they were preparing for their own carol service.
After leaving William and Sara's, I had a very very long day on the train going from Bristol to Edinburgh, via Glasgow. There were delays on the northern part of the line in England, which meant I was on trains from 09:29 to 18:00. The other thing about being on the train is train food. In airports, food is expensive, but at least there is some choice about it. On a train, you have to buy the train food, or go hungry. When I got to Edinburgh, I heard bagpipes right away when I left the station! Very good. It was dark already, so the monuments were lit up. Because it was getting close to Christmas as well (Dec 3 by now), their Christmas market was set up near the train station, with an ice rink, some rides, and lots of food stalls. The next day, I saw the Palace of Holyroodhouse. It is the Queen's official residence in Scotland, built by Charles II, although he never made it there. Lots to see and learn about Bonnie Prince Charlie and Mary Queen of Scots and whatnot. I'm catching up on my history... From there, I went to The Museum of Childhood, on the royal mile (the road between the palace and Edinburgh castle). It's a huge toy museum! So cool. Lots of really old stuff. I learned a lot. For example, piggy banks are called that because earthenware containers for coins were called pigs - the animal shape came later as a result of the name. They had many Hairy Maclary books in the shop at the end! I noticed that both the museum and the church I visited did not charge admission, but you had to pay 2 quid if you wanted to take photos. Interesting.
The next day, I visited Edinburgh Castle. It's a huge, proper castle on a hill overlooking the city. They still set off cannons every day at 1 pm. The castle was the only place where I encountered this sort of situation:
Me: Do you have a student price?
Lady at ticket window: Yes! It's the same as the adult price.
Me, thinking: So.. you don't have a student price.
11 pounds just to get in! Oi! It was very neat, though. The weather couldn't decide if it was going to rain or not - it kept starting and stopping. In the afternoon, I went to the Bank of Scotland museum. Very different than any other museum I'd been to! I learned lots about the history of money, and of counterfeiting. Paper bills came in to existence in the late 17th century, and fakes appeared almost right away.
From Edinburgh, I went back south in to England to the station at Darlington to meet my mom's cousin Jill and her husband John. Family! A house! etc. It's actually sort of a shame that I was meeting family in such an exhausted state. Ah well. Next time! Anyway. They picked me up, and we went to the Bowes Museum in the afternoon. It's a 19th century museum built to house the collections of John Bowes (yes, related to the Queen Mother). The neateest thing in the museum was an automaton of a silver swam dating from 1773. It "swims" along, and the little fish try to get away in front of it, but the swan leans down and catches one! In the hands-on section, John and I tried to figure out how the joint called "the impossible dovetail" works, to no avail.
Back at their house, Jill brought out photo albums that belonged to my grandfather's mother. Page 1 starts with my grandfather as an infant! Lawrence Layard Whytehead, born 7 February 1914, weighing this much, this length, etc. Four weeks old, this weight. I thought this was just the neatest, and oddest, thing. It's very hard to picture one's grandfather as a baby. Gradually the other siblings came along into the pictures, the older ones went away to school, wars happened, weddings happened, all the way down to the appearance of some of the next generation, including my mom's christening photos. Family history. Wow.
The next day off we went to York to see the minster. It is very.. lofty. That's the best word that comes to mind. That sort of architecture is amazing - the ceiling really does just seem to float. We also visited the castle keep, the only part of the castle still existing, and Fairfax House, which is a restored Georgian townhouse. There are two things I love about Georgian decorating. The first is the symmetry. They would put fake doors in a hallway just to keep it looking perfect. The second are the pieces of furniture, particularly desks, with dozens of drawers, including many secret ones that could only be uncovered if you did particular tricks in a particular order - opening this drawer, then sliding this, etc.
From Jill and John's, I ventured back to London. That was a crazy day since I didn't actually have anywhere booked to stay that night, and had to call Robert to rescue me when I couldn't find anything affordable. Lots of factors went in to this - drenching rain, the fact that it was a Saturday just before Christmas (dec 8 by now), a bus randomly changing its route mid-course. But in the end, it all worked out. We had Indian food and went to the gallery show of an artist friend of his.
Sunday was incredibly lazy. That worked well.
Monday I took a day trip to Cambridge, but did not see anyone in academic dress. It definitely feels like a university town. Saw the chapel at King's, which was absolutely stunning. Out back of Trinity, the punt boats were still on the river. Dec 10, about 3 degrees, and the boats were out. I did not actually see anyone on them, though. I would have like to have tried if it wasn't so cold! Spent Monday night throwing things out and rearranging my bags, because Tuesday was....
The last full day. It was quite possibly one of my favourite days of the trip. I left both my backpack and my day pack in the care of the hostel, and just wandered around London. I visted Westminster Abbey in the morning, and saw memorials of Darwin and... a physicist who I don't remember now! It wasn't Newton, but one of those ones that made me smile when most other people wouldn't get it. Went back to the British Museum to see the Mary Delaney pieces, since I only learned about her after I'd been there the first time. (another family member with items on display). Of course, I went back to the fabulous fish and chips place near the museum for lunch again. So so so good. I've had fish and chips since I've been back in Canada, and they're rather depressing here. I walked along Oxford and Regent Sts, and along the Mall back to Buckingham Palace, where the Christmas tree was up. Went back to the hostel to collect my bag, and headed up to Michelle+Matthew+Alistair's place for the evening. Will came over for dinner as well, and he and Alistair and I played Settlers. It was a nice way to end the trip, hanging out with people I already knew and just having a typical sort of evening.
The next day, I got up and just went straight out the airport. 28 stops on the Tube. "This is. Change here for the lines. Exit here for . This is a Piccadilly line service to Heathrow, Terminals 1, 2 and 3." Over and over. But so convenient. Any city whose metro goes all the way to the airport gets major points. I didn't get there any too soon! I decided I don't like Heathrow, and especially not at Christmas. Queues everywhere, but it was never entirely clear where you were supposed to queue. People everythere. Baggage everywhere. The conveyor belt behind the Air Canada desk had stopped working, so the bags were just being piled up. Then, through security, they do the general sort of put your wallet/keys/coat/carry-on in the plastic bin, go through the metal detector thing. Then they did a passport check. THEN they made you take off your shoes and go through another scan. Why not do this all in one shot? So much easier when you're trying to juggle a small backpack shoved in a plastic shopping bag much too small since it's full already, since Air Canada didn't bother to mention that the British Airway Authorities only allow you through security with one carry-on! Oi. Never again. The plane was full on the way to Toronto. Saw "The Simpsons Movie" (with many scenes edited out), and "Evan Almighty." The drink cart only came 3x in 8 hours. It was a pretty bumpy flight. The line for customs in Toronto was long long long. But then I get out the door of the baggage hall, with all my bits and pieces, and Sarah was there! What a relief.
Then I was in Toronto! And horribly miserable from jet lag.
The last time I posted about where I was, it was my first night in Cardiff. The next day, I walked down to the waterfront to explore for the morning. They have statues along the shore that lay out the stanzas of a poem, which was neat. I visited a museum called Techniquest, which is a children's museum with tons of interactive displays. Physics is fun! It was a very loud place, and mainly was school groups, but I liked it. Very hands-on. Had lunch at a pseudo-1950's American diner. Tasty, but so full! The hostel there was nice, but the sheets were really odd. The bottom sheet, top sheet, and pillow case were all one piece. The sides of the sheets were sewn together for the first couple of feet, like the beginnings of a sleeping bag. The fact that the pillow case was a part of this meant you couldn't move the pillow, and when you are longer than a regular length twin, as I am, it makes for uncomfortable positioning. I had fun there, otherwise. Got to talking with one of the girls who works there, and watched Borat with one of the other guests.
From Cardiff, I went back to the train station in Bristol to meet my mom's cousin William. William and Sara live in a village about 45 minutes outside of Bristol. It was so good to be in a house and not a hostel! I spent a couple of nights with them, mainly relaxing, reading, and talking. No tourism! Home-made food! Of course, as I'm writing this, these things have once again become typical, but at the time, it was such a relief. They have a friendly dog named Molly. On Sunday William and I went to the lessons and carols service at the church they attend. We also tried visit the cathedral in Wells, but it was closed as they were preparing for their own carol service.
After leaving William and Sara's, I had a very very long day on the train going from Bristol to Edinburgh, via Glasgow. There were delays on the northern part of the line in England, which meant I was on trains from 09:29 to 18:00. The other thing about being on the train is train food. In airports, food is expensive, but at least there is some choice about it. On a train, you have to buy the train food, or go hungry. When I got to Edinburgh, I heard bagpipes right away when I left the station! Very good. It was dark already, so the monuments were lit up. Because it was getting close to Christmas as well (Dec 3 by now), their Christmas market was set up near the train station, with an ice rink, some rides, and lots of food stalls. The next day, I saw the Palace of Holyroodhouse. It is the Queen's official residence in Scotland, built by Charles II, although he never made it there. Lots to see and learn about Bonnie Prince Charlie and Mary Queen of Scots and whatnot. I'm catching up on my history... From there, I went to The Museum of Childhood, on the royal mile (the road between the palace and Edinburgh castle). It's a huge toy museum! So cool. Lots of really old stuff. I learned a lot. For example, piggy banks are called that because earthenware containers for coins were called pigs - the animal shape came later as a result of the name. They had many Hairy Maclary books in the shop at the end! I noticed that both the museum and the church I visited did not charge admission, but you had to pay 2 quid if you wanted to take photos. Interesting.
The next day, I visited Edinburgh Castle. It's a huge, proper castle on a hill overlooking the city. They still set off cannons every day at 1 pm. The castle was the only place where I encountered this sort of situation:
Me: Do you have a student price?
Lady at ticket window: Yes!
Me, thinking: So.. you don't have a student price.
11 pounds just to get in! Oi! It was very neat, though. The weather couldn't decide if it was going to rain or not - it kept starting and stopping. In the afternoon, I went to the Bank of Scotland museum. Very different than any other museum I'd been to! I learned lots about the history of money, and of counterfeiting. Paper bills came in to existence in the late 17th century, and fakes appeared almost right away.
From Edinburgh, I went back south in to England to the station at Darlington to meet my mom's cousin Jill and her husband John. Family! A house! etc. It's actually sort of a shame that I was meeting family in such an exhausted state. Ah well. Next time! Anyway. They picked me up, and we went to the Bowes Museum in the afternoon. It's a 19th century museum built to house the collections of John Bowes (yes, related to the Queen Mother). The neateest thing in the museum was an automaton of a silver swam dating from 1773. It "swims" along, and the little fish try to get away in front of it, but the swan leans down and catches one! In the hands-on section, John and I tried to figure out how the joint called "the impossible dovetail" works, to no avail.
Back at their house, Jill brought out photo albums that belonged to my grandfather's mother. Page 1 starts with my grandfather as an infant! Lawrence Layard Whytehead, born 7 February 1914, weighing this much, this length, etc. Four weeks old, this weight. I thought this was just the neatest, and oddest, thing. It's very hard to picture one's grandfather as a baby. Gradually the other siblings came along into the pictures, the older ones went away to school, wars happened, weddings happened, all the way down to the appearance of some of the next generation, including my mom's christening photos. Family history. Wow.
The next day off we went to York to see the minster. It is very.. lofty. That's the best word that comes to mind. That sort of architecture is amazing - the ceiling really does just seem to float. We also visited the castle keep, the only part of the castle still existing, and Fairfax House, which is a restored Georgian townhouse. There are two things I love about Georgian decorating. The first is the symmetry. They would put fake doors in a hallway just to keep it looking perfect. The second are the pieces of furniture, particularly desks, with dozens of drawers, including many secret ones that could only be uncovered if you did particular tricks in a particular order - opening this drawer, then sliding this, etc.
From Jill and John's, I ventured back to London. That was a crazy day since I didn't actually have anywhere booked to stay that night, and had to call Robert to rescue me when I couldn't find anything affordable. Lots of factors went in to this - drenching rain, the fact that it was a Saturday just before Christmas (dec 8 by now), a bus randomly changing its route mid-course. But in the end, it all worked out. We had Indian food and went to the gallery show of an artist friend of his.
Sunday was incredibly lazy. That worked well.
Monday I took a day trip to Cambridge, but did not see anyone in academic dress. It definitely feels like a university town. Saw the chapel at King's, which was absolutely stunning. Out back of Trinity, the punt boats were still on the river. Dec 10, about 3 degrees, and the boats were out. I did not actually see anyone on them, though. I would have like to have tried if it wasn't so cold! Spent Monday night throwing things out and rearranging my bags, because Tuesday was....
The last full day. It was quite possibly one of my favourite days of the trip. I left both my backpack and my day pack in the care of the hostel, and just wandered around London. I visted Westminster Abbey in the morning, and saw memorials of Darwin and... a physicist who I don't remember now! It wasn't Newton, but one of those ones that made me smile when most other people wouldn't get it. Went back to the British Museum to see the Mary Delaney pieces, since I only learned about her after I'd been there the first time. (another family member with items on display). Of course, I went back to the fabulous fish and chips place near the museum for lunch again. So so so good. I've had fish and chips since I've been back in Canada, and they're rather depressing here. I walked along Oxford and Regent Sts, and along the Mall back to Buckingham Palace, where the Christmas tree was up. Went back to the hostel to collect my bag, and headed up to Michelle+Matthew+Alistair's place for the evening. Will came over for dinner as well, and he and Alistair and I played Settlers. It was a nice way to end the trip, hanging out with people I already knew and just having a typical sort of evening.
The next day, I got up and just went straight out the airport. 28 stops on the Tube. "This is
Then I was in Toronto! And horribly miserable from jet lag.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
photos!
I have put photos online to show people!
If you are a member of facebook, you can find the albums from my profile.
If you are not a member of facebook, you can see them without joining the site. Unfortunately, you have to click on the link of each album you want to see in turn - it won't let me give you the link to my list of albums. They are arranged by theme rather than place. So you can decide which ones you want to see, here are descriptions of the different albums:
Typical Tourist pt. 1: This set is the first of two in a general collection of photos of the typical sites I saw. Good for a general overview of the trip.
Typical Tourist pt. 2: The second part. All photos in this album are from Great Britain.
My #1 and #2 destinations: Photos from the Greek island of Crete, and the Cinque Terra in Italy. These two stops were my favourite parts of the trip.
Churchy Photos: I am my parents' child. This means that I visited churches in every city I went to.
Museum pieces: Sculpture, art, and other exhibits I enjoyed from the many museums I went to.
Less typical, still touristy: Some of my personal picks.
Do a double take" Things I saw that amused me. Out-of-the-ordinary, or entirely ordinary! It's all in the caption.
Pretend to be a photographer: Nature shots, me trying to be artsy, beauty.
If you are a member of facebook, you can find the albums from my profile.
If you are not a member of facebook, you can see them without joining the site. Unfortunately, you have to click on the link of each album you want to see in turn - it won't let me give you the link to my list of albums. They are arranged by theme rather than place. So you can decide which ones you want to see, here are descriptions of the different albums:
Typical Tourist pt. 1: This set is the first of two in a general collection of photos of the typical sites I saw. Good for a general overview of the trip.
Typical Tourist pt. 2: The second part. All photos in this album are from Great Britain.
My #1 and #2 destinations: Photos from the Greek island of Crete, and the Cinque Terra in Italy. These two stops were my favourite parts of the trip.
Churchy Photos: I am my parents' child. This means that I visited churches in every city I went to.
Museum pieces: Sculpture, art, and other exhibits I enjoyed from the many museums I went to.
Less typical, still touristy: Some of my personal picks.
Do a double take" Things I saw that amused me. Out-of-the-ordinary, or entirely ordinary! It's all in the caption.
Pretend to be a photographer: Nature shots, me trying to be artsy, beauty.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Friday, January 18, 2008
Books
Alright. I am now in the business of finishing up my blog, talking about the last bits, the aftermath, etc. Blogger is still in French.
One question that was posed of me upon my return was what books did I read while gone? I started off with "The Scientists" as my long one, and "Les Liasons Dangereuses" as my paperback to trade. "The Scientists" I didn't actually finish until I got home. I would pick it up and put it down, read it when I hadn't gotten a new paperback in a while, etc. Les Liasons Dangereuses I read while in Italy, absolutely loved, and didn't want to trade it! Thankfully, one of the other people on the kayaking trip gave me her read-on-the-plane novel, which started the train of trading.
This is in no way a comprehensive list, since I didn't think to keep track of book titles while on the road:
-a handful by John Grisham. The Last Juror, The Pelican Brief, A Time to Kill. There was at least one more that I can't remember. classic in the trashy paperback world.
-Jodi Picoult's Nineteen Minutes, The Tenth Circle, and The Pact. Tense. Thought-provoking. I really enjoy her books. I read "The Pact" twice before I gave it away.
-three or four by Kathy Reichs. Her character is a forensic anthropologist, and the basis for the tv series "Bones." Also intruiging.
-a rather cheesy book called "Circle of Friends" by Maeve Binchy
-the hilarious, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy-meets-doomsday novel "Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnus Nutter, Witch" by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. So funny. And it was my last trade, which means I get to keep it!
-Dan Brown's "Angels and Demons." So much better than The Da Vinci Code.
-several random murder mystery, crime novels by authors I forget
-The Life of Pi. I'd actually never read this before, so it was a great find
-Jules Verne's "Journey to the Center of the Earth." makes me want to read more of his stories!
-Marian Keyes' "Anybody out there?" which was sad and tragic and such a girl book, but still humourous and lovely
-Madaleine L'Engle's "A Wrinkle in Time" and "Swiftly Tilting Planet." These were not trades, but belonged to the Beaches, in Geneva
-"The Time Traveller's Wife." Wow. wow. Also not a trade. Amazing.
-I started "The Cunning Man" by Robertson Davies while staying with my cousin Jill and her husband John. Didn't have time to finish it, so it's a good thing I own it! What a first line: "Should I have taken the false teeth?"
Not bad for not keeping track as I went! Brings a whole new meaning to the term "trade paperback."
One question that was posed of me upon my return was what books did I read while gone? I started off with "The Scientists" as my long one, and "Les Liasons Dangereuses" as my paperback to trade. "The Scientists" I didn't actually finish until I got home. I would pick it up and put it down, read it when I hadn't gotten a new paperback in a while, etc. Les Liasons Dangereuses I read while in Italy, absolutely loved, and didn't want to trade it! Thankfully, one of the other people on the kayaking trip gave me her read-on-the-plane novel, which started the train of trading.
This is in no way a comprehensive list, since I didn't think to keep track of book titles while on the road:
-a handful by John Grisham. The Last Juror, The Pelican Brief, A Time to Kill. There was at least one more that I can't remember. classic in the trashy paperback world.
-Jodi Picoult's Nineteen Minutes, The Tenth Circle, and The Pact. Tense. Thought-provoking. I really enjoy her books. I read "The Pact" twice before I gave it away.
-three or four by Kathy Reichs. Her character is a forensic anthropologist, and the basis for the tv series "Bones." Also intruiging.
-a rather cheesy book called "Circle of Friends" by Maeve Binchy
-the hilarious, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy-meets-doomsday novel "Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnus Nutter, Witch" by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. So funny. And it was my last trade, which means I get to keep it!
-Dan Brown's "Angels and Demons." So much better than The Da Vinci Code.
-several random murder mystery, crime novels by authors I forget
-The Life of Pi. I'd actually never read this before, so it was a great find
-Jules Verne's "Journey to the Center of the Earth." makes me want to read more of his stories!
-Marian Keyes' "Anybody out there?" which was sad and tragic and such a girl book, but still humourous and lovely
-Madaleine L'Engle's "A Wrinkle in Time" and "Swiftly Tilting Planet." These were not trades, but belonged to the Beaches, in Geneva
-"The Time Traveller's Wife." Wow. wow. Also not a trade. Amazing.
-I started "The Cunning Man" by Robertson Davies while staying with my cousin Jill and her husband John. Didn't have time to finish it, so it's a good thing I own it! What a first line: "Should I have taken the false teeth?"
Not bad for not keeping track as I went! Brings a whole new meaning to the term "trade paperback."
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