I don’t know how I fell behind on my required reading … ah, yes – now I remember! I put aside Understanding Research Methods for a weekend and read Shadowfever, instead. Shadowfever is the fifth and final installment in a saucy, spellbinding tale of the epic battle between good and evil. It’s a cross between paranormal romance (and we’re not talking Twilight-chaste; there are some – ahem – heated scenes) and suspense. Personally, I think the author used too much gratuitous swearing, but the storyline was gripping … unlike Understanding Research Methods, which I have to force myself to read. (It isn’t really fair to compare a textbook to a novel, I suppose.)

 

Under the looming deadline of my midterm exam next week, I finally caught up on my required reading. There are no evil fae trying to take over the world in my statistics manual, but I do feel like I’ve been victorious in a small conquest. I have a better understanding of paradigms (not to be confused with paranormal), independent & dependent variables and correlation coefficients.

 

I still need to practice calculating some formulas (prof said there will be word problems along with short answer essay questions) and review the chapter summaries, but I am not as nervous about the test as I was a few days ago.

 

Perhaps I’ll reward my labors with another novel after the test! Next on my list is Android Karenina, a mash-up of Tolstoy’s classic with a steampunk twist. I made it through the first few chapters during the Christmas break, so I’m looking forward to finishing it.