35. 
Title: [Forever Bound]
Author: Cynthia Eden
Pages: 342
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Medium: Kindle
Acquisition:
Date Completed: April 27, 2013
Rating: ***

These novellas by Cynthia Eden, bound as one Kindle book, establish the trend in her writing that I saw in Bound in Death.  While standard for the genre - male werewolf finds his "mate" in a vampire female, and defends their relationship despite the taboo - the collection that is so clearly defined by the conflict between races left me thinking about the racism inherent in - and accepted in - paranormal fiction.  That is essentially what so many of these stories come down to - racism that is defended by arguments of tradition and nature - that these supernaturals are different by birth and blood, and therefore cannot help but try to dominate the others.  My mulling may perhaps turn into a project this summer...

36.
Title: Papers Graded
Author: 100 Students
Pages: 1,400+
Genre: Work
Medium: Word
Acquisition:
Date Completed: April 30, 2013
Rating:

I first began keeping track of my reads while a graduate student, and would include any academic article over 40 pages as part of my reading list.  As I waded through the last of my grading over the weekend I decided to take a minute to calculate just how many pages of student work I had read ... and came to approximately 1,400.  As the volume is Richardson-esque, I've decided to include the pages here.  After all, paper grading is my biggest reading deterrent.  This number does not include classwork, creative assignments, or extra credit, but rather all formal essays submitted by the approximately 100 students I've had the pleasure to work with this semester. 

As ready as I am for a grading break, I already miss my students, and, as usual, this break is bittersweet.