81 and 82 classroom research

as i have come towards the end of my education studies (YES!), i have come to the realization that not only is my spelling, grammar, and ability to think going downhill, i have also not read nearly enough young adult literature to help any future student out.  which is why i hit the AWFUL college library's young adult/children's section.  it is horrendously under-represented for such a vast and unimpressive library,  and books are only available for 7 day check out, but i will not use this space to air my grievances with the university library here.  i will just say that 81 and 82 were my own form of research, and the book i am in the middle of right now is too.  Dangerous Skies and The Chocolate War kept me company last week, and i can now say that i have no idea why they speak so highly of Cormier's The Chocolate War.  There is a lot of random inferences to "jacking off," as they most commonly refer to it, and really weird boys' school dynamics, but i suppose boys would like it.  i can never see reading this as a classroom though, it'd be pointless.  and Dangerous Skies is my own pick, not something frequently discussed in class, but i thought it'd be worth a chance.  It might be a good introduction to racism in 50's/60's south for 5th or 6th graders.  we'll see i guess, if i even get that chance.  other things are happening, and i hope to sit down with Lois Lowry's Number the Stars tonight and wrap it up.  which would mean 83, in case i don't get to writing it. because i am too busy rushing to the library within 7 days to return it.... don't get me started.
ciao (look how rediculous i am tonight.  crazy weekend results, eh?)

53.& 54. charlie's literary chocolate factory and a vat of vanity

if i were a literary prick, like many of the people in my literature classes, i would tell you how i re-read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl because of the deep, second layer of meaning that Dahl origiinally intended for an adult audience of this youthful tale.  i would tell you that i read to capture the essence and meaning of the westernized child and how they have become spoiled and wrotten by today's society in a way that is irreversible.  if i were a know-it-all future literature teacher of america, i would tell you i re-read Charlie to gain another insight into the chikl psyche so as to better understand how they take in early literature and compare my reading today with my interpretation of yesteryear.  BUT I'M NOT a literary prick, nor am i a know-it-all future literature teacher of america, so i'm going to state outright that i read this book because it is one of my favorites, even if (probably because) it is intended for a younger audience.  my brain needs a break sometimes, and i like to imagine willy wonka's magical chocolate factory with its pink candy boat soaring down a chocolate river.  who doesn't want to imagine something so fanciful and amazing?  i love roald dahl for creating his fanciful yet somehow realistic worlds for me to imagine as a child and again as me, as i am right now.  literary analysis as they do in college classrooms is bullshit.  it doesn't do a damn thing but give us more to blabber about and get/give grades on.  sometimes you just need to read the damn thing for enjoyment.  i am so sick of college because of these pricks and know-it-alls (who all have way too much to say on EVERYTHING) and their high horses.  they are ruining my school experience, not enlightening me.  if any of you people reading can identify with these bastards that commandeer classrooms, i'm asking you right now to please knock it off. 

on a lighter note, i also read a magazine that had as much verbiage as a book, and was just as thought-provoking and informative, so I am counting the August 2010 issue of "Vanity Fair" as my number 54.   this is also on the same brain wave as literary pricks and high horses, however i like to think of vanity fair as high brow.  i felt so classy buying this magazine rather than that trashy crap (that i love) that i usually buy.  i also learned a lot from this issue: for example: frank gehry is a famous architect who used a fish as a model of movement for inspiration; angelina is thinking of giving up acting (yeah right); saudi arabia is an interesting place for foreigners- hard to penetrate, but once in, very welcoming; and finally, betty white's 'most treasured possession' is her golden retreiver.  i only wish they had told me what his or her's name was.  i would like to know what betty white names her dogs, i think they would be amusing and cute.

50. pretty little liars