Grad School Readings

I started classes for my masters last week, and from what I can tell the reading load is going to be prohibitive of me actually getting to read books and do reviews for my blog.  I’ve been reading a lot of interesting things — Democracy in America by Alexis de Toqueville, and The Good Citizen by Michel Schudson, to name a few — but it’s not the sort of fiction and other stuff I’ve had time to consume this summer.  As such, I think the focus of the blog is going to be changing a bit in the coming months, moving towards writing and reflecting on my required readings more than on just the stuff I choose to read.  Hopefully I will still get to update, but I think it may become less frequent.

One class I am really excited for is called “Literary Aspects of Journalism” which is a class focusing on the history and techniques of literary journalism.  I’ve read a lot of literary journalism this summer, so I think that will provide some good insights for this blog.  In addition to a lot of essays, we’re reading books by Joan Didion, Buzz Bissinger, Trevor Corson, and Peter Godwin.  I’m so excited!

However, I decided I did need some fiction and easy reading to help me decompress at night for a few minutes before I go to bed.  One book I got from the library was Alanna: The First Adventure, a young-adult fantasy novel I loved when I was in high school.  It’s part of a series by Tamora Pierce about a young woman trying to become a knight in a man’s world.  It’s a good mix of strong women, fantasy, and some light romance that’s fun to read.

I’ve also been sort of consumed with election coverage.  I’m originally from the Twin Cities, so I’ve been totally absorbed with coverage from the RNC — particularly the protests.  Boyfriend participated in the peaceful protest on the first day of the convention, but I also know some former classmates who were part of the final protests where almost 400 people were arrested.  I’m also really intrigued by Sarah Palin — I can’t decide what I think of her yet, so I’ve been reading a ton of material about her and her politics.  I don’t really like all of the focus on her family and whatnot, but I did read a great article by the Washington Post today about how family and politics have been interconnected in Palin’s life.  The article — Palin’s family always held a place her politics — is one of the better-written articles I’ve read about her so far.

Anyway, that’s what I’ve been reading and thinking about lately.  Back to work!