Okay, so I sit for the GRE II (it's the Subject Test to get into graduate school for those not familiar, the one in English Literature in my case) in just over fifty days.
This means I need to get off my ass and focus on preparatory reading (mostly re-reading).
In order to keep myself accountable and maintain a record of what I've covered, I'll post a running tally of what I've gotten through in my journal here. This will also have the fringe benefit of giving me an excuse to pop onto the site for a bit every day or two without feeling entirely guilty for slacking.
My only regret is that this is going to really minimize my time for Latin study, which has already been sidetracked by my recent week long holiday back home. I'll try to put in an hour or two a day so as not to become completely rusty, but forward progress in Wheelock's is going to be very slow until the third week of April after I've gotten through the test. Also, there will be no time for dabbling in non-English literature till then, so I'm going to need to stop re-reading Tolstoy's short works, which had been a very pleasurable diversion.
In any case, wish me luck in re-grounding myself in my field. It's been years since I read English Lit. alone in any systematic way, and I'm rather looking forward to it. If anybody happens to see what I'm reading at any given time and wants to share their experience of the work (positive or negative), I'd be happy to hear it. The thing I miss most about the years pursuing my B.A. is the constant ability to discuss the literature with other individuals as engaged as myself.
I'll be starting at the beginning, and it's obvious what that means:
This means I need to get off my ass and focus on preparatory reading (mostly re-reading).
In order to keep myself accountable and maintain a record of what I've covered, I'll post a running tally of what I've gotten through in my journal here. This will also have the fringe benefit of giving me an excuse to pop onto the site for a bit every day or two without feeling entirely guilty for slacking.
My only regret is that this is going to really minimize my time for Latin study, which has already been sidetracked by my recent week long holiday back home. I'll try to put in an hour or two a day so as not to become completely rusty, but forward progress in Wheelock's is going to be very slow until the third week of April after I've gotten through the test. Also, there will be no time for dabbling in non-English literature till then, so I'm going to need to stop re-reading Tolstoy's short works, which had been a very pleasurable diversion.
In any case, wish me luck in re-grounding myself in my field. It's been years since I read English Lit. alone in any systematic way, and I'm rather looking forward to it. If anybody happens to see what I'm reading at any given time and wants to share their experience of the work (positive or negative), I'd be happy to hear it. The thing I miss most about the years pursuing my B.A. is the constant ability to discuss the literature with other individuals as engaged as myself.
I'll be starting at the beginning, and it's obvious what that means:
You're a fan of Wheelock too? I have the Latin book, the workbook and the reader all sitting on my floor here mocking me. I keep meaning to dive in and I just cannot bring myself to do it with any sort of regularity. I'll be good for a week or two and get through some, then I get sidetracked and never get back to it.
Speaking of Tolstoy, I think I may move Anna Karenina up on my to read list. I was thinking the other night that it is just wrong that I haven't read it. I love War and Peace, I love all of the shorter stuff I have read by him. I just never got around to reading AK.
Beowulf makes me happy. In about 55 days or so (after the test is over and you go on a few day long bender), you should check out some Icelandic Sagas if you haven't. If you love Beowulf, you're bound to love stuff like Njal's Saga and Egil's Saga.
Tell you what....after you've finished the GRE and can read non-English stuff, we'll tackle Anna Karenina concurrently so we have someone to discuss it with.