The other day a student asked me a question. Very quiet kid, been in my classes for 2 years, and 95% of his contributions have been smiling and nodding. Then, with no context, he asked me, “What do you think is going to happen to books?” I had many responses, but asked him to elaborate, […]

According to lore, Ernest Hemingway re-wrote the final sentence of his classic novel A Farewell To Arms 25 times.  After Frederic’s struggles to survive the war, and to be with his beloved Catherine, she dies suddenly.  And in typical Hemingway terseness, Frederic finally leaves her body at the hospital and Hemingway concludes: “After a while I […]

So, JK Rowling, I see you announced the title, release date, and synopsis of your new novel, The Casual Vacancy.  Your first foray in to the world of adult fiction, yeah?  Big step, Ms. Rowling.  Big step. Now, JK – can I call you Janet?  No?  The “J” isn’t for Janet?  Oh.  You sure?  Consider […]

Pride & Prejudice & Zombies; Abe Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.  Popular entertainment is just chock full of mash-ups between classical imagery and the supernatural the last few years, isnt it?  Why?  Who knows. You got stuff, you might as well mash it up, I guess.  The problem is that these books and films have been… what’s […]

I am not, by nature, an organized person.  I tell my students this on the first day.  Because of this, I have a strict system for keeping track of their papers.  It involves a virtual Rube Goldberg device-like system of baskets and trays. I recognize this weakness in myself, and have compensated in a way […]

Many years ago I tried to take a new approach to first dates.  Instead of dancing around the “getting to know you” questions, I tried to come up with some fun questions to just throw right out there.  Full disclosure: these questions were only field-tested once in an actual “date” capacity, and it was a New-Coke-level […]