Week 8: Reading Review Week

What readings in the class have you enjoyed most/least?

I have enjoyed all of the stories that I have read so far. Each one has been interesting. I really enjoy that we have a different "region" that we have to choose from each week as it forces you out of your comfort zone.

What reading and note-taking strategies have you found that work best for you?

I usually copy the text from the online Un-textbook and paste it into a word document. I then delete all the pictures (since I've already seen them) and print out the texts in half sections. It's a lot easier for me to make notes and to go back to when I am doing my diary post.

Do you use your Reading Diary in connection with the Storytelling assignment?

I would say this is probably half and half. If I come up with a story while I'm reading, I don't need to go back to my Diary. If I still haven't had an idea by the time I'm done reading, I will go back to my Diary and even go back to the readings themselves.

When you look back at your old Reading Diaries from early in the semester, do they help you to recall the reading in a useful way?

Yes, although my Diaries have gotten more concise as the semester has progressed.

Do you read a lot for pleasure? Is there any overlap between the reading in this class and the kinds of things you usually like to read?

I do read outside of class. I usually read Stephen King books, but have recently ventured out of that genre and author. I recently read the A Discovery of Witches Trilogy by Deborah Harkness which is about a witch and vampire and alchemy and history and centers around a missing book from Elias Ashmole's collection. Since starting school for anthropology, I have had some classes overlap in reading, however, I have not had the joy of reading mythology before and I am loving it.

Portrait of Elias Ashmole by John Riley. Source: Wikemedia Commons.

Do you see any good connections between the reading you are doing for this class and any other class(es) you are taking?

Not really, I wish my other classes were as fun as this one. They are interesting and I love them since it is what I want to do for the rest of my life, but it would be very cool to just immerse myself in mythology.

Do you have any suggestions for me to use in improving the reading component of this class?

One thing I think would be helpful is making the readings available in a downloadable PDF format. I don't know if this would violate any trademarks but if it was already done, it would be awesome since I can't read on the computer very well.

Do you have suggestions I can share with future students about the reading?

As with past students ... get ahead. I haven't stayed that far ahead, but I in the beginning I was a week ahead and it has helped that I can just spend Friday night and Saturday morning doing the work from last week that I couldn't do last weekend (like commenting) and them doing my writing and reading for the next week. It frees up a lot of study time during the week and gives me a chance to spend time with my family.