Hate

Have you ever read a book or watched a movie where you really HATED a character? It has been a long time since I have truly hated a character.

I'm reading a book recommended by two of my students, Song of the Sparrow by Lisa Ann Sandell. One student chose to read it 1st semester and said I would really like it and that I should read it, although from other conversations with her I don't know if we have the same taste in books. The other student said she reads this book every year. It is her go to when she doesn't have a book to read. So I picked it up to read. It is based on King Arthur legends, which I love, and specifically references The Lady of Shallot, a favorite poem of mine since high school and the peak of my Anne of Green Gables days.

I was a little surprised that it is written in narrative verse. It's not bad, but I don't usually prefer it. It is the story of Elaine which I haven't read a lot about, other than she loved Lancelot, but he loved Guinevere and it crushes Elaine.

Today, while I was reading, I'm sure my students saw my jaw clench and my face get red. I was so mad at Lancelot and Guinevere in this part of the book. I really like Elaine, so all of the horrible things Guinevere says to her and Lancelot ignoring her made me angry at them. How could they be so hateful?!

I was surprised at my own reaction. How could I feel such loathing to these book characters? As I continue to read, I am dying to know what happens to Elaine next and how closely this book follows the poem. I am invested in the artfully crafted characters. I wish Elaine and Tristan could fall in love and everyone be happy. I worry about Elaine and her well being.

Now I'm not sure if I can leave the book at school for the night. Well played, author, well played.

Reading Opportunity

This week has been a rough week for teaching but a great week for reading. I have been fighting a cold that has affected my voice and my head this week so I've been out of school a lot, but I haven't been completely couch ridden. Between naps I read a book called The Sparks. I heard about it from an email I got about an author who is doing some school visits in Michigan soon. I wanted to see if it was worthwhile to see if he could come speak at our school, so i read the book. It was pretty good. I read the 300 pages in less than 2 days. It drew me in and I am curious about the next books in the trilogy.

I am working to get him to come to the school to speak to us and to come visit my creative writing class. I'm excited about the opportunity for our students, but I am a little nervous too since it will require a preorder of 70 books to cover the cost of his visit, Yikes!

It's a really great opportunity for the students, and I hope it lives up to my expectations and my readers' expectations too.