Readalongs

While my blog is looking suspiciously empty again this summer, I've actually been blogging quite a bit.  For the fourth summer in a row, I'm reading classics with some of my students from New York (who are now all grown up and in college!)  I've put my notes on those books online for three books, and I'm in the middle of a fourth (the very first summer, it was just me and one student, so we used email rather than a blog; this summer, we felt ambitious and decided to do two.) 

Our current book is A Tale of Two Cities, which I read in tenth grade and just absolutely hated.  Most of what I remember is one endless packet of reading questions and vocabulary to define and use in sentences, though, and I have since come to love other Dickens, so I decided to give it another chance.  (Plus, my best friend in 10th grade--my very first internet friend, who lived a few hours away and whose teacher must have taken a different approach--told me I had it all wrong, it was a great story and so romantic and when she talked about it I felt kind of cheated.  So I've always kind of wanted to go back for it.)  If you'd like to join in, I posted notes on the first two chapters here.

The full list of readalong blogs is below; they're still up and running, so if you ever feel like revisiting an old favorite (or trying out one you never got around to) leave your impressions in the comments and we'll have a little classics club!  (Also, because I'm writing for my students--even if they are adults now--I keep things pretty PG.  So if you know a kid or teenager who wants to read one of these--or who has been assigned to--feel free to bring them along!)

Great Expectations
Little Women
Northanger Abbey
A Tale of Two Cities