School’s just around the corner

School starts next week for another exciting year. I’ve been busy this summer finishing up my masters in reading at NEIU, traveling the Midwest and taking a short trip out to the east cost, attending lots of weddings, and reading for pleasure.

In Chicago my wife and I have been hosting guests, cycling around, and enjoying the city. We also attended Lollapalooza for all three hot and sunny (and sometimes rainy) days.

I’m currently working my way through the novel Shogun by James Clavell. I love historical fiction and am quite a Japanofile (since I lived and taught there for two years) so I don’t know how it took me so long to finally read this book. I often have a short attention span and while I read a lot there are few authors that can keep me interested for 1200 pages but I’m over 800 pages in and can’t put the book down. The personal stories, culture clash, and political intrigue are all interwoven so well that you’re immersed in the story.

In addition to reading some historical fiction novels I’ve also been reading some graphic novels, including the often recommended Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. It’s an autobiographical coming of age story set in turbulent Iran of the 1980s.