The Enterprise: 52 Books
I had the pleasure of having drinks and dinner with the Principal, Head Football Coach, Mr. Everything, and Rector of my high school alma mater. If this seems weird to you, keep in mind I went to an all-boy Catholic high school where, if you so choose, the relationship is one for life. Plus, as the best high school sports program of all-time (sorry, had to), my high school would beat my college alma mater in every sport - I need to be able to claim something athletically superior at work.
The current Principal took over the year after I graduated but had been an English teacher my first two years. Unfortunately, as I certainly know now, I did not have a class with him. Among other things, we discussed this 52 books enterprise where I discovered that Dr. McMahon has read over 100 books in a calendar year (a few times). The number has been "reduced" to about 60 books per year recently with one book particularly at fault. The completion of that book, The Shadow of The Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, apparently halted Dr. McMahon from reading for the next 5 weeks. This is a man who will finish a book and complete half of the next in the same night (crazy). Given his reading interests and the nature of this book, I feel like his reaction alone to the reading warrants entry onto my list of 52.
We also discussed his favorite teaching book, The Invisible Man (Ralph Ellison's), and the fact he has re-read it every year since he was 14 (gangsta). He has also re-read 1984 - 0ne of my top 3 favorite books - a number of times as well. His re-read experience seems to have been so rewarding that I feel I should also re-read one of these as well, something I was already considering. I am unsure yet whether to make this one of my weekly reads or for it to be a bonus book, the latter being a stretch as I won't be finished with my Week 3 reading until mid Week 4 and I already have an additional book that I'm reading in the background here and there (given the way its composed, it makes sense to break it up). But I'm still reading and I'm still energized and my conversation with Dr. McMahon only helped the process.
The current Principal took over the year after I graduated but had been an English teacher my first two years. Unfortunately, as I certainly know now, I did not have a class with him. Among other things, we discussed this 52 books enterprise where I discovered that Dr. McMahon has read over 100 books in a calendar year (a few times). The number has been "reduced" to about 60 books per year recently with one book particularly at fault. The completion of that book, The Shadow of The Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, apparently halted Dr. McMahon from reading for the next 5 weeks. This is a man who will finish a book and complete half of the next in the same night (crazy). Given his reading interests and the nature of this book, I feel like his reaction alone to the reading warrants entry onto my list of 52.
We also discussed his favorite teaching book, The Invisible Man (Ralph Ellison's), and the fact he has re-read it every year since he was 14 (gangsta). He has also re-read 1984 - 0ne of my top 3 favorite books - a number of times as well. His re-read experience seems to have been so rewarding that I feel I should also re-read one of these as well, something I was already considering. I am unsure yet whether to make this one of my weekly reads or for it to be a bonus book, the latter being a stretch as I won't be finished with my Week 3 reading until mid Week 4 and I already have an additional book that I'm reading in the background here and there (given the way its composed, it makes sense to break it up). But I'm still reading and I'm still energized and my conversation with Dr. McMahon only helped the process.
posted by Aristocrates at 7:51 PM
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