Wow, how has time passed by so quickly! It seems like it was just last week when I felt intimidated by the workload and was scrambling to place holds on the Vancouver Public Library websites for all the books I wanted to read. But nope, it’s now week twelve and I can’t believe we’re at the end now!

I’ll admit that I initially had mix feelings about taking this course. There was definitely a bit of anxiety in the beginning because I didn’t know what to expect. I’ve never taken a course where there is a contract grading system and I had was unsure if I could handle what I was signing up for.

Also, I felt a little bit wary about not liking the books and having reading them seem like a chore for each week. However, that wasn’t the case at all! Although there were some texts that felt disengaging, I also found myself enjoying many books that I wouldn’t have read otherwise! Just to list a few, I really enjoyed Françoise Sagan’s Bonjour Tristesse and Elena Ferrante’s My Brilliant Friend. After reading all the books, it is also clear that despite being novels written by different authors, there are many overarching themes that link them all together. I think the connection that all the books had made the experience reading them a lot richer! I even appreciate the books that I didn’t enjoy as much because of what they add to the themes and ideas presented in this course.

What I also grew to like are the weekly discussion! Initially, the class time that we had on Zoom felt a bit awkward and lacklustre, however the in-person classes were really engaging and fun! The day when we played Wordle and tried to come up with the longest summary of Georges Perec’s W, or the Memory of Childhood, is probably my favourite (this may or may not be influenced by how chocolates were given as a reward)!

Lastly, I think I also grew to enjoy writing these blogs and also reading what everyone else has to say! Finals season is coming up really soon and I wish the best of luck to everyone 🙂

For the last time, here are some questions for everyone else:

What was your favourite book from this course? Do you think you would have read it if it weren’t for this class? Also, is there a book that you think deserves or doesn’t deserve to be one of the required texts?