Short but Long Days

I haven't worked on my novel-in-progress in 2 weeks. Life gets in the way sometimes; I hope to get back to work this week. I did finalize my Spring 2010 syllabus for my class Insane Characters in Literature. Here is the reading list (not in order of appearance), for anyone who is interested:

A Separate Peace by John Knowles
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
The Crucible by Arthur Miller
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
Being There by Jerry Kosinski
The Stranger by Albert Camus
Hamlet by William Shakespeare

Short Stories to be Provided:
Excerpts from “Madwoman in the Attic” (essay)
“The Yellow Wall-paper” by Charlotte Perkins-Gilman
“The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allen Poe
“Rappaccini’s Daughter & “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne
“A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner
“The Battler” by Ernest Hemingway
“The Shawl” by Cynthia Ozick
“The Heroine” & “The Terrapin” by Patricia Highsmith

Films to be Discussed (viewed in class):
Heavenly Creatures directed by Peter Jackson
The Silence of the Lambs directed by Jonathan Demme

It's 2010...

...and I know you want to read my thoughts on the many movies I've seen lately. Check back soon for movie reviews and the reason I haven't (and won't) posted the short story I wrote recently.

I may also use this venue (and/or FB) to brainstorm the syllabus for the new class I'm teaching in a few weeks, Insane Characters in Literature. I've chosen which novels and stories to teach, but am undecided as to how to group them, i.e., chronology in which to teach. More on this soon.

Happy New Year to the few and dedicated readers of my blog. Much health and happiness in 2010. And remember, "The most terrifying thing is to accept oneself completely." - Carl Jung