Charlie Brown, meet Inigo Montoya.

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Lots a classics this time around, folks. Nothing but one might say.

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021) The Complete Peanuts 1985-1986 by Charles M. Schulz, finished February 22

More excellence from the inimitable Sparky. Some new characters (and I can't recall meeting Maynard and Tapioca the first time around, so fun for me).

Here are a few highlights.

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a month



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020) The Princess Bride: S. Morgensetern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure, the "Good Parts" version abridged by by William Goldman, finished February 20

Someone bought a hundred or more copies of this book for the textbook room a few years back and no one has taught it yet. So, darn it, I decided to teach it. My freshman are reading the first 100 pages over this week off.

The version we have is the 30th-anniversary edition which includes two new introductions and an after-the-novel abridgment of the first chapter of Morgenstern's sequel and many many many cameos by Stephen King. All of which are a bit enjoyable and none of which add enough to the original to bother with.

One of the most fascinating things to me about The Princess Bride is all the metafictional elements. Another most fascinating thing is comparing the novel to the movie of fifteen years later. Some changes are obviously to cram the novel into a reasonable running time. Other elements seem like distinct improvement, rewrites I imagine Goldman wishes he could make to the novel. Another interesting bit I did not remember when I assigned the book to poor impressionable freshmen is how deliberately sexist the novel presents it as. The character Goldman displays misogynistic attitudes and Morgenstern---and especially his characters---astound with their unenlightened attitudes. I'm a bit nervous to discuss this with the kiddos. I'll be interested to hear their take on suchall.

Given the metafictional real-world structuring of the novel, it won't surprise you that in this edition, instead of writing the publisher for the excised scene, you can go to a website and request it. The crazy thing is that Harcourt failed to pay the bill on PrincessBrideBook.com. Astonishing. Anyway, the form's still online, but it's at http://www.harcourtbooks.com/PrincessBride/request.asp, which is what it is. Maroons. But you should fill it out and get the scene. And note the copyright notice which is a slightly hilarious example of lawyers' inability to appreciate irony.

Finally, a bit of hmmm from the included sequel chapter:

six days





Previously in 2013 . . . . :

Books 14 - 19

019) Magic Tree House #10: Ghost Town at Sundown by Mary Pope Osborne, finished February 17
018) The Report Card by Andrew Clements, finished February 17
017) Justice (volume one) by AUTHOR, finished February 16
016) The Green Mile by Stephen King, finished February 15
015) Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator by Roald Dahl, finished February 12
014) The Silver Cord: Book One ~ Nephilim by Kevin Kelly et al., finished February 7

Books 8 - 13

013) Teen Titans: The Prime of Life by JT Krul and Nicola Scott, finished February 2
012) Batman: Vampire by Doug Moench and Kelley Jones and John Beatty and Malcolm Jone III, finished February second
011) Isaac Asimov's Treasury of Humor by Isaac Asimov, finished January 26
010) Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind, Perfect Collection 1 by Hayao Miyazaki, finished January 22
009) The Complete Peanuts 1983-1984 by Charles M. Schulz, finished January 21
008) My Letter to the World by Emily Dickinson, finished January 21

Books 1 - 7

007) Spacecave One by Jake Parker, finished January 19
006) The Antler Boy and Other Stories by Jake Parker, finished January 19
005) The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons, finished January 14
004) The Crab with the Golden Claws by Hergé, finished January 14
003) The Adventures of Tintin: Red Rackham's Treasure by Hergé, finished January 11
002) Using the Common Core State Standards... edited by Joyce VanTassel-Baska, Ed.D., finished January 10
001) Jellaby by Kean Soo, finished January 8