What's this about?

What I'm about to share with you are my adventures in literature--the ups and downs, the great triumphs and the unbearable losses. I love to read, and it's a passion that I want to share with others, either through teaching, writing, or through this blog (if anyone bothers to read it). Over the course of the summer, and hopefully through the upcoming Fall and Spring semesters, after I finish a book (hopefully there will be many), I plan on posting a review. If anything, the writing of the review will be an exercise for me in working with literature, something I certainly need. At the most, I hope this blog might someday become a tool for someone in choosing a good book. I don't claim to be an expert in literature, inherently knowing what is "good" or what is "bad" by our culture's somewhat arbitrary standards (I still don't get what's so great about Hemmingway...), but I read a ton, and I read a pretty large variety of books, and that, I feel, gives me some level of credibility. Expect to see everything from old classics (think Dickens, Austin) to contemporary (McEwan, Atwood) to completely random children's books I've been reading my 14 month old. And please, please feel free to let me know you're reading along. Comment on reviews. Tell me they're great, tell me they're total crap. Let me know if you've read the book, too, and what you think! I want to know that I'm not the only one on this adventure. So, c'mon, let's go!