This is a crazy time of the year for me. My Science Fiction class is dashing to the finish. I give a final on Wednesday and start the Urban Fantasy class on Thursday. I’ve been grading and grading, reading and rereading. I always reread whatever I make my students read. There’s no way to remember a novel to the same degree as someone who’s just read it no matter how many times you’ve read it or how many notes you’ve taken on it. Fortunately, I enjoy rereading good books. I just finished Robert Charles Wilson’s Blind Lake and found myself deeply moved at the end even though I’ve read it a half-dozen times by now. The class has watched all the films we’re going to watch, so I asked them to vote one off the syllabus. The loser was the 1978 version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers though several students said they wouldn’t replace any of the five films—something of a first. Tomorrow the booklist will get a similar reevaluation. I fear Murakami might fall though the Bradbury would be my personal choice. I can’t say I particularly enjoyed rereading Fahrenheit 451 no matter what Ray says it’s about these days. It’s just too ham-handed. Sarah and I did manage to play a little with a couple of expeditions to the James River to beat the heat. We went down to Texas Beach and rock-hopped out to the islands. Alas, Alice (our aged pup) is too old to make the journey these days. Here’s an old millwheel we came across.
If you know what’s good for you, you won’t take Murakami off of the syllabus.
I’m just saying…
😛
Considering how badly Blind Lake tanked in class today, Wilson may get the nod to hit the exit door. Shorter is better is a good rule of thumb for these summer classes but good slender novels can be hard to find. Some days it feels like the more I love it, the more they don’t.
Hrm…I guess I can understand their lack of love for Blind Lake. I really enjoyed it but it did take me two stabs to get the momentum up to finish it.
I don’t think I really know many svelte sci-fi novels actually. They all tend to be little chunky things. You should assign Circuit of Heaven. And then you can explain to the kidses about Aimee Mann.
Unfortunately Circuit of Heaven is out of print or else I’d be tempted.
What! Out of print! Bastards! But it is an epic work of hellbent genius! You know…you could always make it a course pack…muahaha!
But speaking of which, did Aimee Mann ever have anything to say about being the prototype for the love interest?
I have no idea whether she read the novel. All my correspondence was with her agent, who was most kind and helpful. So if she said anything, alas, she didn’t say it to me. Her music’s only gotten better since, so I think I chose well.