Reading Lists for the Other Courses, Fall Semester 2010

Another follow-up to my humiliating confession post. The titles are linked to Amazon in case you want to read more about any of these! 

POPULAR SCIENCE

The Tree: A Natural History of What Trees Are, How They Live, and Why They Matter. Colin Tudge.

I’m already convinced that trees matter, but it’ll be good to learn why.

The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science. Norman Doidge.

Neuroplasticity!

The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality. Brian Greene.

Seems like something I should know about.

The Serpent and the Rainbow: A Harvard Scientist's Astonishing Journey into the Secret Societies of Haitian Voodoo, Zombis, and Magic. Wade Davis.

 Wade Davis spoke at my company several years ago. He mentioned that he went to Haiti to learn about zombies, and that zombies did exist, but that wasn’t the interesting part. It sounded like the interesting part to me. I didn’t see the horror movie Wes Craven made about this book, but I guess Davis wasn’t too happy about it. 

Winter World: The Ingenuity of Animal Survival. Bernd Heinrich.

I love winter and I think I’ll enjoy reading this while drinking hot chocolate.






TRENDS IN GENRE ROMANCE

After reading about things like the fabric of the cosmos, I may need a palate cleanser. Besides, I'll probably finish at least one of the two romance projects I've started. And when I was walking the dogs this morning, I thought about writing some literary poems about genre romance to add to my poetry collection in progress called Bedtime Stories. Like the poems could be homage, and feminist critique, and wrong and fun. Hmm.

Anyway, the idea here is really just to read some recent releases, because I don’t like all the romance trends. For instance, ménages gross me out, and I hate vampires. Vampire ménages are the worst.

Seduced by the Wolf. Terry Spear.

I'll give werewolves a chance though.

Warrior (The Blades of the Rose). Zoe Archer.

I’ve chatted with Zoe a little online and she’s smart and funny and I really like her. But that’s not why I’m SERIOUSLY EXCITED about this one, the first of a trilogy. Victorian setting, though I can't remember exactly where--I think it's something unexpected...Greece? Mongolia? Anyway, strong heroine, magical artifacts, secret societies, what’s not to like?

Wicked Intentions. Elizabeth Hoyt.

18-century London slums should be a fun change of pace from 19-century London drawing rooms.

Assassin’s Heart. Monica Burns.

He’s a half-angel, half-demon, telepathic assassin with some very snazzy pants.

One Unashamed Night. Sophia James.

The hero is going blind! That’s kind of daring. The only other romantic hero who goes blind that I can think of is Mr. Rochester, who was an asshat. And that brings us to...

CLASSIC ENGLISH LITERATURE

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. Anne Bronte.

I’ve already listened to some of the audiobook. It’s shockingly feminist.

Beowulf. Verse translation by Seamus Heaney.

Heaney is a pretty good poet, and I’ve been meaning to read this. Apparently the Kindle version doesn't include the original Middle English, but the printed one does.

North and South. Elizabeth Gaskell. And afterwards I’ll watch the miniseries!

Astrophel and Stella. Phillip Sidney.

"Fool" said my Muse to me, "look in thy heart, and write." This guy was around at the same time as Shakespeare. It’s usually Sir Phillip Sidney, but please, this is America. I’ve only read a couple of sonnets from this 108-sonnet sequence before.

The Original Illustrated Sherlock Holmes. Arthur Conan Doyle.

I’ve never read any of this! 








I'm pretty excited about all this reading! I'm a dork. I start classes the day after Labor Day, because then it's officially fall (according to me) and by then my I should be done wallpapering my studio. (See? Dork.)