I have been...
Writing
Oh so many things lately! Nothing creative right at this moment, except insofar as criticism is creative (and I think it is! In fact, I feel like everything I write has an element of the creative, which is why I love it.)
First, I am writing on what is now my primary blog, Booknotes from Literacy-chic. I am blogging my way through Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series, and I am working on book 3, Voyager. This is not a book review project, but a "notable moments" project. Rather than discuss any one particular thread, theme, or issue, or the book as a whole, in a "big picture" way, providing lots of examples to illustrate my point, I am isolating scenes, moments, paragraphs or lines that resonate--with me, or with the work as a whole. Sometimes these "notable moments" posts connect, suggesting ways in which they might form a whole literary argument, but... I'm not ready to go there yet.
More recently, I created the blog Teaching, Training, Blogging in order to have a place to blog the connections between university teaching as I learned to practice it, and training, which I am doing now. Although training makes a big issue of the needs of adults, the ways in which training literature seeks to engage the adult learner resemble the ways in which university instructors talk about engaging the undergraduate learner. However, training has a biased and unfavorable view of university teaching, while higher education sees only utilitarian aims in training. I want to bring these together, if for nothing else, to help me stay connected to the higher education classroom and learn from my present situation.
Finally, I have been volunteer-blogging new updates for Marc Gunn on his blog, and occasionally on Celtic Music Magazine. Marc is a Celtic musician, promoter of Celtic music, and producer of numerous podcasts including my favorite (and really, the only one I listen to regularly), The Irish & Celtic Music Podcast. I have loved his podcast for years, and it's fun connecting with Marc's efforts to promote Celtic music while developing my "blogging for others" and "blogging for promotion" skills.
Oh so many things lately! Nothing creative right at this moment, except insofar as criticism is creative (and I think it is! In fact, I feel like everything I write has an element of the creative, which is why I love it.)
First, I am writing on what is now my primary blog, Booknotes from Literacy-chic. I am blogging my way through Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series, and I am working on book 3, Voyager. This is not a book review project, but a "notable moments" project. Rather than discuss any one particular thread, theme, or issue, or the book as a whole, in a "big picture" way, providing lots of examples to illustrate my point, I am isolating scenes, moments, paragraphs or lines that resonate--with me, or with the work as a whole. Sometimes these "notable moments" posts connect, suggesting ways in which they might form a whole literary argument, but... I'm not ready to go there yet.
More recently, I created the blog Teaching, Training, Blogging in order to have a place to blog the connections between university teaching as I learned to practice it, and training, which I am doing now. Although training makes a big issue of the needs of adults, the ways in which training literature seeks to engage the adult learner resemble the ways in which university instructors talk about engaging the undergraduate learner. However, training has a biased and unfavorable view of university teaching, while higher education sees only utilitarian aims in training. I want to bring these together, if for nothing else, to help me stay connected to the higher education classroom and learn from my present situation.
Finally, I have been volunteer-blogging new updates for Marc Gunn on his blog, and occasionally on Celtic Music Magazine. Marc is a Celtic musician, promoter of Celtic music, and producer of numerous podcasts including my favorite (and really, the only one I listen to regularly), The Irish & Celtic Music Podcast. I have loved his podcast for years, and it's fun connecting with Marc's efforts to promote Celtic music while developing my "blogging for others" and "blogging for promotion" skills.
Reading
Blogs, for one. I have taken to perusing my feeds in Google Reader again, taking a look at the blog circle that I once thought of as home.
Series, for another. I am enjoying reading fiction series in a way that I haven't in years (if you count The Chronicles of Narnia and the Little House books). I am conflicted about this. It's one thing to read a series when the author is dead. There's no waiting involved. But living authors just keep writing, which keeps me reading. I enjoy Rick Riordan, Gail Carriger, Cassandra Clare (well, mostly), and Diana Gabaldon in particular, each of whom has one or more series on the go.
And finally, eBooks. I have a Kindle Paperwhite now. I thought long and hard about it, but I do love the immediacy of always having--or being able to acquire easily--a book that I want. It makes for a different kind of reading experience, especially since I like to write about what I read. And I do still like physical books--of course--but they only occupy one location at a time, which means that if you leave the book at home, it's at home, and you can't get to it if you're not at home. With my Kindle books, I have them on my iPod, my Kindle, my work computer, and my home computer--oh! and on Google Chrome!--and each of those locations can come in handy. But I sometimes make poor reading choices based on free or $0.99 books. Ugh. I'll never get those hours back...
Blogs, for one. I have taken to perusing my feeds in Google Reader again, taking a look at the blog circle that I once thought of as home.
Series, for another. I am enjoying reading fiction series in a way that I haven't in years (if you count The Chronicles of Narnia and the Little House books). I am conflicted about this. It's one thing to read a series when the author is dead. There's no waiting involved. But living authors just keep writing, which keeps me reading. I enjoy Rick Riordan, Gail Carriger, Cassandra Clare (well, mostly), and Diana Gabaldon in particular, each of whom has one or more series on the go.
And finally, eBooks. I have a Kindle Paperwhite now. I thought long and hard about it, but I do love the immediacy of always having--or being able to acquire easily--a book that I want. It makes for a different kind of reading experience, especially since I like to write about what I read. And I do still like physical books--of course--but they only occupy one location at a time, which means that if you leave the book at home, it's at home, and you can't get to it if you're not at home. With my Kindle books, I have them on my iPod, my Kindle, my work computer, and my home computer--oh! and on Google Chrome!--and each of those locations can come in handy. But I sometimes make poor reading choices based on free or $0.99 books. Ugh. I'll never get those hours back...
Listening
Mainly, I listen to the sound of my my keyboard clicking, or the deafening silence of my office. But in the car, to and from work, I listen to the The Irish & Celtic Music Podcast, my Celtic playlist (largely comprised of songs I discovered through the podcast) and my Alternative playlist. This morning, I was listening to Cake.
Mainly, I listen to the sound of my my keyboard clicking, or the deafening silence of my office. But in the car, to and from work, I listen to the The Irish & Celtic Music Podcast, my Celtic playlist (largely comprised of songs I discovered through the podcast) and my Alternative playlist. This morning, I was listening to Cake.
This meme has 9 items, so I'll be posting again on Wednesday and Friday! Hope you've still got me in a feed reader!
