Defense!

I have to defend one answer on my comprehensive exam. This means that I passed 2/3 of the exam. This also means that I have to go before three faculty members and make my case about why I answered the way I answered. I'll know in a few days when I will go defend, which will be within the next two weeks.

What I also learned yesterday, apart from my score, is that defenses generally last 30 minutes to an hour. AN HOUR! And that the faculty members will ask me questions and MAY ask questions outside the scope of the original question.

I have too much to do (all due Monday) to start studying for my defense now, so I hope that I have ample time to prepare for the defense before I actually have to defend. I also hope I don't turn into a babbling, puking fool in front of the faculty members.

And I really hope I pass.

Books Read in 2011

Last year, I made a goal to read at least 50 books and keep track of what I read. As I had two intensive literature classes last year, it was not difficult to reach my goal. So, this year, I made the same goal. I don't have any literature classes this year, so this will be a more accurate count of how much I read in a year. As with last year, I will not count books I start but do not finish and picture books I read for story time.

1. The Orchid Affair - Lauren Willig
2. Anna and the French Kiss - Stephanie Perkins
3. Looking for Alaska - John Green
4. True Grit - Charles Portis
5. Into the Wild - Jon Krakauer
6. The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
7. Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins
8. Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins
9. Bossypants - Tina Fey
10. 13 Little Blue Envelopes - Maureen Johnson
11. The Heart Is Not a Size - Beth Kephart (TBA Committee Requirement)
12. The Things A Brother Knows - Dana Reinhardt (TBA Committee Requirement)
13. A Little Wanting Song - Cath Crowley (TBA Committee Requirement)
14. Jane - April Linder (TBA Committee Requirement)
15. You - Charles Benoit (TBA Committee Requirement)
16. The Mockingbirds - Daisy Whitney (TBA Committee Requirement)
17. Ostrich Boys - Keith Gray (TBACR)
18. Before I Fall - Lauren Oliver (TBACR)
19. Some Girls Are - Courtney Summers (TBACR)
20. The Help - Kathryn Stockett
21. The D.U.F.F. - Kody Keplinger (TBACR)
22. Lockdown - Walter Dean Myers (TBACR)
23. Sorta Like a Rock Star - Matthew Quick (TBACR)
24. Hothouse - Chris Lynch (TBACR)
25. Bright Young Things - Anna Godbersen (TBACR)
26. Crazy - Han Nolan (TBACR)
27. Forever - Maggie Stiefvater
28. One Day - David Nicholls
29. The Book Thief - Markus Zuzak
30. A Discovery of Witches - Deborah Harkness
31. Once Was Lost -Sara Zarr
32. The Lightning Thief - Rick Riordan
33. The Sea of Monsters - Rick Riordan
34. The Battle of the Labyrinth - Rick Riordan
35. The Titan's Curse - Rick Riordan
36. The Last Olympian - Rick Riordan
37. The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb - Melanie Benjamin
38. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - Ransom Riggs
39. Lola and the Boy Next Door - Stephanie Perkins
40. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks - E. Lockhart
41. Dead Until Dark - Charlaine Harris
42. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
43. The Summer I Learned to Fly - Dana Reinhardt
44. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil - John Behrendt
45. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) - Mindy Kaling
46. The Name of the Star - Maureen Johnson
47. His Good Opinion - Nancy Kelley
48. Ivy & Intrigue - Lauren Willig
49. Matched - Ally Condie
50. Divergent - Veronica Roth

Note: TBA Committee Requirement - I am reading books this year as a reader for a teen book award process. There are lists of nominated books and I am required to read about 16 books between April 15 and July 28, 2011. This may also be referred to as TBACR.