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. 

34. 
Title: [Bound in Death]
Author: Cynthia Eden
Pages:
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Medium: Kindle
Acquisition:
Date Completed: April 22, 2013
Rating: ***

I didn't realize until posting the title that Bound in Death is the fifth in an established series; this may explain some of the confusing allusions made by various characters, but the novel can certainly stand on its own.  The story follows a werewolf who has tracked his lover for 200 years, trying to find the place of her imprisonment.  When she is finally released she has no memory, and is left navigating a confusing world - one in which she finds herself at the mercy of a number of men around her. 

Jane Smith, as she calls herself, is not a sympathetic protagonist, as she is incredibly two-dimensional, and her eventual growth is sudden and inexplicable.  However, the struggle of her alpha partner is interesting, and proved to be more rewarding than my other recent reads in the genre.  I will likely find the first four to idle away an afternoon, post-semester. 

32. 
Title: [The Island of Doctor Moreau]
Author: H.G. Wells
Pages: 176
Genre: Scientific Romance (aka Science Fiction, although I would call this more of a horror...)
Medium: Paperback
Acquisition: Work Text
Date Completed: April 18, 2013
Rating: ****

I reintroduced The Island of Doctor Moreau to my syllabus, with some minor trepidation (in a previous semester it lead to an uncomfortable after-class discussion with a student which began with, "You can't honestly believe we came from monkeys..." and ended with a letter that begged for the souls of my children), but was once again pleased with the discourse generated.  Though short on pages, Wells' second novel is ripe for analysis  and consideration, and Margaret Atwood's introduction "Ten Way of Looking At..." is a great guide for freshman readers.  This time around we focused most on defining humanity and examining sympathy, both within the novel and on the part of the reader.  I find that I have less sympathy for Prendick, the narrator, as he shows greater apathy and loathing for the Beast Folk.

Our final discussion inspired me to begin notes for another paper, although I have no idea if I'll find a place to publish and/or deliver it.  The idea of missing stories is haunting me at the moment, and actually ties in to another piece I had started on Sappho...  

I'm going to have a fun summer trolling the CFPs. 

33.
Title: [A Bit of Bite]
Author: Cynthia Eden
Pages:
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Medium: Kindle
Acquisition:
Date Completed: April 19, 2013
Rating: **1/2

Not as cheesy as werehedgehogs, but meh.  I should start looking at length more carefully - I'm tired of reading bad short stories that are marketed as novels.