Pre-AP: An Ooh-La-La Reading Assignment

In How to Read Literature Like a Professor, read Chapter 16 -- "It's All About Sex...." Be prepared to discuss it and the opening scene of Fahrenheit 451, on Monday, April 25th.

Get all your giggles out over the weekend.

Also, continue reading Fahrenheit 451; we'll discuss "The Sand and the Sieve" after TAKS week.

Pre-AP: Say the Magic Word

There are a bunch of copies of Steinbeck's The Pearl at the Half Price Books at Firewheel Plaza in Garland. I picked up four for $3 each, and two copies of How to Read Literature Like a Professor for $7. (Prices for The Pearl ran from $3 to $6, with many in the $4-$4.50 range. Check the back cover of the newer versions and divide by two for the final price.) Don't forget to get a copy of A Christmas Carol while you're there.

Want one? Say the magic word -- Garfunkel -- and have exact change. (Get both for $10).

Chapters of Lit/Prof That May Help IWA #2

If you're stumped on how to support your IWA #2 thesis -- and/or if you want to write an awesome paper -- consult these chapters from How to Read Literature Like a Professor:

• 2 - "Eating"
• 7 - "The Bible"
• 11 - "Violence"
• 12 - "Symbols"
• 13 - "Politics"
• 14 - "Christ Figures"
• 16 - "Sex"
• 22 - "Blindness"

Remember, all IWA submissions must be typed; see the guidelines.

Also, the Drop-Dead Deadline is November 5th. Turn in early drafts by Nov. 1st so you will have an opportunity to rewrite or revise.

Pre-AP Reading for Friday 9/24

For tomorrow, please read from Foster's How to Read Literature...: Chapter 24: "...And Rarely Just Illness."

(If you still haven't acquired your copy of the book -- quintuple-shame on you -- you can read the most of the chapter online via Amazon's "Look Inside" feature (search for "illness," jump to page 213)).

Pre-AP Reading for Thursday 9/23

For tomorrow, please read from Foster's How to Read Literature...: Chapter 10: "It's More Than Just Rain or Snow."

(If you still haven't acquired your copy of the book -- quadruple-shame on you -- you can read the most of the chapter online via Amazon's "Look Inside" feature (search for "rain," jump to page 74)).

Pre-AP Reading for Wednesday 9/22

For tomorrow, please read from Foster's How to Read Literature...: Chapter 2: "Nice to Eat with You: Acts of Communion"

(If you still haven't acquired your copy of the book -- triple-shame on you -- you can read the most of the chapter online via Amazon's "Look Inside" feature (search for "communion," jump to page 7)).

Pre-AP Reading for Friday 9/17

For this Friday, please read from Foster's How to Read Literature...:

• Chapter 7: "...Or the Bible"


• Chapter 25: "Don't Read With Your Eyes"

(If you still haven't acquired your copy of the book -- double-shame on you -- you can read the most of the chapters online via Amazon's "Look Inside" feature (search for "bible," jump to page 47; search for "eyes," jump to page 226)).

Pre-AP Reading for Week of 9/13

For next week, please read:

• Chapter 26: "Is He Serious? And Other Ironies" from Foster's How to Read Literature... (If you still haven't acquired your copy of the book -- shame on you -- you can read the chapter online via Amazon's "Look Inside" feature (search for "irony," jump to page 235)).


• James Baldwin's "Sonny's Blues." (You were given a copy in class, remember?)

Quest Storyboards

Using a movie or television show as a reference, complete the six-box quest storyboard chart. (Download here if you lost the copy you received in class.) Each section should be illustrated (to the best of your ability; quality stick figures count) and have a brief sentence or two describing that element of the quest.

The six boxes should be completed as follows:

1. Quester: Who is it that goes on the quest?


2. Destination/Prize: Where is the quester going; what does s/he expect to gain?


3. Mentor: Who is it that provides the quester with the guidance and wisdom needed to successfully complete the quest?


4. Challenges/Trials: Divide this illustration box in half and provide two examples of the obstacles the quester must overcome to succeed.


5. Underworld: What is the quester's brush with death/mortality or other symbolic (sometimes, literal) journey through the underworld?


6. True Objective/Self-Awareness: Regardless of whether the quester achieves his/her goal, what new awareness does s/he gain?

Use Chapter One from Foster's How to Read Literature Like a Professor as a guide for steps 1, 2, 4, and 6.

This homework assignment is due Friday, Sept. 10.

Pre-AP Reading for Week of 9/6

For next week, please read:

• Chapter 1: "Every Journey Is a Quest (Except When It Isn't)" from Foster's How to Read Literature...

If you still haven't acquired your copy of the book -- shame on you -- you can read the chapter online via Amazon's "Look Inside" feature (search for "quest," jump to page 1).

Lit/Prof Chapter 9

If you haven't yet acquired your copy of How to Read Literature Like a Professor and/or read Chapter 9 ("It's All Greek to Me"), you can check it out online.

Hat Tip: Ms. Fariñas

Pre-AP Reading for Week of 8/30

For next week, please read:

• "Oedipus" from Hamilton's Mythology


• Intro and Chapter 9 ("It's Greek to Me") from Foster's How to Read Literature...

Be Careful: Don't Buy the Wrong Book

Thomas C. Foster has written two books with similar titles: How to Read Literature Like a Professor and How to Read Novels Like a Professor.

The book you need when school begins is the Literature book.

Remember: the first two letters of NOVELS is NO. Do NOT buy the "novels" book. (Alternatively, the first two letters of Literature is Li and Jet Li is an awesome martial arts actor who will go kung-fu on you if you buy the wrong book.)

Consider yourself informed.

Done with the Summer Project Already?

Following is a list of short stories that will prepare you for reading the first text of the year, How to Read Literature Like a Professor. We'll be reading many of these during class, but the "Professor" book will make a little more sense if you've read these stories ahead of time. Each of the stories is available online, which means they may disappear without warning, and although there may be typos, you should be able to figure them out. (Post a comment/e-mail me if you discover a story to be missing.)

Enjoy!

Araby - James Joyce

The Arrow of Heaven - G.K. Chesterton

Barn Burning - William Faulkner

The Dead - James Joyce

Cathedral - Raymond Carver

Daisy Miller - Henry James

The Fall of the House of Usher - Edgar Allan Poe

The Gingerbread House - Robert Coover (The story is the 42 numbered sections on the left-hand side of the page; ignore the ads.)

The Metamorphosis - Franz Kafka

The Overcoat - Nikolai Gogol

Rip Van Winkle - Washington Irving

Rocking-Horse Winner - D.H. Lawrence

Sonny's Blues - James Baldwin

A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Why I Live at the P.O. - Eudora Welty