Ratings, Readings, & Travels

Ratings:

After getting all excited about rating the books posted, I have mellowed a bit. Originally I had hoped to come up with a system that considered items such as level of engagement, level of recommendation and other areas; however, I think I simply want to use a one-to-five star rating system. As an educator I know the importance of descriptors, but right now my descriptors are kind of simplistic and probably even cheesy.

Loved it / Highly recommend

Liked it a lot / Strongly recommend

Enjoyed it / Recommend

Did not like it / Do not recommend

I can't believe I wasted my time / Stay away from this one

I will go back and add my personal rating to books from previous posts. Who knows if this system will stay or if I will change it in the future. Personally I wouldn't be surprised if I make some changes in the future.

Readings:

I have already made some reading changes. I am embarrassed to say that I started Love Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli in January and then I put it down for no real reason. While picking up a pile of books near my bed, I saw Spinelli's novel. Now, I am the type of person that loves a sense of accomplishment and does not like to leave things hanging. With this in mind, I decided that I need to complete this book before going to something else. So Love Stargirl will be my next read, and I think a will write it up with Stargirl as well. From there I have a few options (actually I have about six books in the same pile as Love Stargirl that I would like to get too). Remember, I am a slow reader so I truly don't expect to get all of these completed before next semester starts.

Travels:

Within the past three weeks I have been to a remote island in Canada (to work...not for pleasure), Seaside, FL (one of my favorite vacation places), and in a few days I leave for Santa Barbara, CA (20 year anniversary trip). Now many people might consider these great opportunities to read, but I like to mix reading with other ways to spend my time. For example, while on the beach, one day I read Twisted, by Anderson. The next two days on the beach, I listened to the radio and talked with family. Of course the plane ride to California would be conducive to some quality reading, but I'll probably opt for the in-flight movie even if I have already seen it. Sometimes my ADD keeps me from relaxing and focusing on a book. Sorry if that disappoints you, but that's just the way I roll.

Happy Reading,

Dr. Quinn