Mrs+JL's+page

//It is week two of term and I am impressed with how focussed you all are in class. //

Books on the go: __Uncle Tom's Cabin__ by Harriet Beecher Stowe. Fiction. Classic American literature - this is part of my goal to read my way though the classics. __Shakespeare's Tragic Heroes__ - Slaves of passion by Lily B. Campbell. Non-fiction.

What I've read so far: __Q & A__ by Vikas Swarup. Fiction. The book behind 'Slumdog Millionaire'. The structure of the story is built around each question in the main characters winning game show round. Really, really good contemporary fiction. I love books about India and its people and this is excellent. __Mother's Day__ by Laurence Fearnley. NZ Fiction. Contemporary story of a solo mother struggling to manage her day to day life. This was a good read but I did find myself wanting to shake the lead character and shout 'get a backbone!'. __Nina of the Dark__ by Ken Catran. Fiction. Fantasy. __Shakespeare on toast__ by Ben Crystal. Non-fiction. Really really wonderful, packed with riveting tidbits about how to read and access Shakespeare's works. More on this on the Year 12 page and I'll be raving about it in class too! __Outliers__ by Malcolm Gladwell. Non-fiction. Fasinating theories about the determining factors for success. __Homeland__ by Barbara Kingsolver. Short stories. Middle American self-realisation encased in some wonderful figurative language. Great for a 'dip' since I didn't feel like comitting myself to a whole novel. __Queen of this Realm__ (Elizabeth 1st) by Jean Plaidy. Historical fictionalisation. Had to plough my way through this. It is very good, I think I was just in the wrong frame of mind to tackle it. __Tolkiens Gown.__ Rick Gekoski. Non-fiction. Written by a rare book dealer this promised to be an entertaining series of anecdotes about famous books and their origins. Interesting but very very dry. __Other People's Daughters__, The life and times of the Governess. Non-fiction. Accounts of the struggles of middle class 18th century women to make a living as Governesses. Social history.