Personal Blogs

2 November 2025

I downloaded a version of The Mill on the Floss, and did some gardening. I read the text over the summer, and really enjoyed it, but I have a fragile memory (and understanding of the story). I found myself chuckling whilst wielding a pair of shears, probably looking like a madman.

This morning, I turned my attention to the first of the Eliot chapters, and had a listen to the final audio clip. There was an interesting chat between the block author and a couple of academics. Note to self: it contains topics that I might want to return to later on in the module.

It’s time for a bike ride.

11 November 2025

I have about ten hours to go with The Mill on the Floss. There was a chapter that I only vaguely recognised. This must have been a bit I read after having some wine; I recognised all the other chapters, events and characters. In fact, I’m quite enjoying listening to it all. It’s also interesting to see how Eliot is occasionally dropping pointers to foreshadow the ending. I might get it finished by this time next week if all goes to plan. I should certainly manage to get an hour in tomorrow.

I’ve now read three critical sources about the Tennyson poem that I’m going to focus on. They do vary in quality. One is quite long and goes into the text in quite a systematic way. The other one takes a thematic approach. The other one barely says anything. I think I know which critical source I’m going to use.

I’ve also been over bits of the poem again. It might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I really like it. It really speaks to me. I have an idea about how I’m going to take the essay question and make an argument about it, whilst also connecting back to something that a critic has said.

Something else: on 8 November 2025 I attended something called the Arts and Humanities Day School. They are taking place in different cities across the UK.

12 November 2025

I’m getting way ahead.

Just this morning I’ve had a good look at TMA 3. There are two bits to it: a collaborative bit, and an essay bit. I have a rough idea of what needs to be done. I have the two deadlines already in my diary: the interim deadline, and the main deadline. I think I’m going to like TMA 3.

As an aside, I think I would quite like to read a biography of Dryden. I think this interest comes from reading two other literary biographies: one of Behn, and another of Swift. Also, reading about Tennyson has led to an interest in Dryden. One biography I’ve noticed is John Dryden and his World by James Winn. I might add that to my Christmas list.

If anyone had told me ten years ago that I would be looking for biographies about Dryden, I would have thought they were on drugs.

16 November 2025

I have just under six hours of The Mill on the Floss to go. I’ll try to get through it by taking it to the gym, which I did with Bleak House. No doubt I’ll get lost and confused whilst using the elliptical machine. I’ll see.

Today I’m spending an hour to look for sources for TMA 3. Whilst I was in the area, I had a look through the Alexander Street audio library, to see if there was an audio version of Stuff Happens by David Hare. There wasn’t. I had a look on Audible, and that didn’t have anything either. There was, however, a book called Stuff Happens, which was a guide to decluttering your house, which wasn’t quite what I was looking for.

Whilst I was in the area of the Alexander Street library, I had a quick look to see whether there were any plays by Behn. None were listed. Not even The Rover. This said, I did find a recording of Playboy of the Western World by Synge, which will be really useful when it comes to TMA 3.

I’ve found four articles that look like they might relate to the TMA question. I’ve downloaded them and have made a note of their citations. I’ll leave the task for sending them all to my Kindle for another day.

19 November 2025

Two days, two tutorials. I’ve made notes.

The first one was about Tennyson and Clough. I kind of liked it. We went through one of his poems, looking at key lines, and the use of language. My focus drifted when we got to the Clough section.

The second one was about The Mill on the Floss. After a bit of talk about Eliot’s biography, our tutor took us to two fragments, where we then had a chat about the role of two of the main characters. We then had a quick chat about the ending, before starting to look at the different bits of the TMA question.

Over the next two days there are two more tutorials.

My next task? To try to find some more papers for TMA 3, and then to try to have a listen to the production of Playboy of the Western World. But before I get there, I’ve got to context switch and find my way back to Software Engineering.

21 November 2025

I missed a tutorial last night despite it being in my diary. There’s one tonight which more aligns with my TMA choice. Note to self: don’t forget it!

I did two things yesterday. I managed to listen to the audio version of The Playboy of the Western World, which was very good. I started to browse through the catalogue of other plays that were available, but thankfully I got distracted before I went in too deep.

The second thing was that I managed to find some papers that might be relevant to the TMA 3 question that is coming up. I know I’m getting way ahead of myself with this, but even if I end up using different papers when we get to the assessment, I roughly know where to look.

My next task is to send all those to my Kindle.

23 November 2025

I spent yesterday moving between different parts of the module, and carrying out different study tasks. After listening to a Tennyson and Clough tutorial (and making a bunch of notes), I then revisited my two sources with a more critical eye. This clarified what I’m going to do, and how I’m going to approach the assessment. I think I’ll go to one more tutorial, read through the question and the text we’re supposed to read again, and then get cracking with TMA 2, just so I can get it in before my own TMAs arrive. I have about a week.

I jumped forward a bit in the module materials, reading the chapter about Synge, and then starting the chapter about Ford. I then re-read the opening of the very sad story, which is The Good Soldier.

This morning my TMA 1 was returned. I’m pleased with the result. My tutor has given some useful points of criticism, but some of the comments do relate to points that I already made in the TMA. Maybe my willingness to criticise the tutor means that I’m now feeling a bit more confident in what I’m doing.

I am less confident in my understanding of what literary modernism is all about, other than disjointedness, and the slippery nature of language, which means it’s difficult to pin down meaning. There’s also something about the effect on the reader, but I haven’t really nailed that bit of understanding yet.

25 November 2025

Another tutorial last night. I picked up some useful tips. I think I’m just about pretty much ready to start. First thing this morning I read a paper that I’ll use when answering the essay question. I’ve highlighted a bunch of useful quotes. I’m going to get cracking this afternoon after a meeting about exam papers and assignments. I need to get it in by this time next week if I’m going to manage my workload.

During the tutorial, a fellow student mentioned something called the Poetry Foundation, which looks like a fabulous resource. After learning about this, I went down a poetry rabbit hole, and found my way to a Behn poem about her coterie called “our cabal”. My immediate question was: who are these people? My Kindle tells me that Behn’s biographer, Janet Todd, has some suggestions.

27 November 2025

I had a good go at my TMA 2 this morning, and I think I have broken the back of it. I began by re-reading the text, making a bunch of highlights, and then stirring the mess of notes that I had made. After a couple of hours of writing and rewriting, having a cup of tea, and going back to it, I had something that had a reasonable structure. I quite liked the assignment, since it really develops the practice of close reading a critical source, as well as close reading the text that relates to it. I do feel that we could have had something similar earlier on in the programme.

My next tasks will be to edit what I’ve done and to go through all the papers that I’ve downloaded in anticipation of TMA 3. There’s a risk that they might entirely inappropriate. The tutorials will help me figure that out.

28 November 2025

After a morning of proof reading and editing, my TMA 2 has gone in. This gives me back a bit of time to work on TM354 TMA marking when it comes in early next week.

I noticed that there were a couple of audiovisual resources that related to The Mill on the Floss that I hadn’t seen. I had a quick listen to these, and ticked of where I was in the module materials. I’m definitely ahead, and I would like to keep it that way.

A note to self: I must find the time to read through those papers that I’ve downloaded, and to read the second half of the Salih novel. This said, I think I need to start again to really understand what it is about, what what is going on.

1 September 2025

I managed to finish reading Thoreau’s Walking yesterday. I quite liked it. It did feel that it was an extension of Walden. There was less description of actual walking than I had expected but Thoreau did continue his enthusiastic description of squirrels, which was something I appreciated.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve discovered that there are quite a few really helpful resources on BBC Sounds. There is an episode of Free Thinking that covers the Mill on the Floss. There are also In Our Time episodes on Dickens as well as Calvino. After listening to the one about Calvino one night (whilst trying to get to sleep), I started the read the introduction to Cosmicomics. Since it was pretty long, and I wasn’t quite sure how much of that text we would be reading, I decided to put it to one side.

My last bit of reading yesterday was the very beginning of Season of Migration to the North (Wikipedia). I didn’t get very far. I read the introduction, which really piqued my interest, and then fell asleep on the sofa. That will teach me to listen to podcasts about Calvino in the very early hours of the morning.

My objective is to try to finish (or, restart) reading the Salih text this week.

11 September 2025

I’ve not read Salih yet, but I’ve packed the text for a trip to the midlands (along with Mayhew, and a book about stand-up comedy).

From the WhatApp group chat, I was reminded that the text of the assignments were available. I had a quick look to see what they are all about, after putting all the TMA cut-off dates in my diary, so I know what is going on. (I’ve entered them with the heading ‘A335 25J’ so I can find them using my calendar search function pretty easily.

TMA 1 looks a bit like a ‘warm up’, for which I’m thankful for. We have a three set texts to choose from. Although it’s too soon to decide about which way I’m going to jump (I’m going to attend as many tutorials as I can, since I’m a swot), I think I’ve rules one of the texts out.

I really like the look of TMA 2, and I appreciate its emphasis on the identification of critical sources, and how they relate to a question. Like with TMA 1, we have to make a choice – and they all look pretty difficult, if I’m being honest.  In a masochistic way, I’m ‘kind of’ looking forward to this one.

TMA 3 is all about collaboration and group work, which I know many students hate. There’s an interim cut-off date, and a period where we must work together with each other. I’ve put both of these in my diary. I’ve read through the question quickly, and it all sounds a bit involved, but I’m not going to worry. The harder bit looks to the second half, the essay.

The final TMA looks tricky, perhaps because it is quite a few months away. It’s longer than the other texts, and we’ve got to pick on two texts (and other than the Rhys text, I’m not too keen on it). It does like there’s a bit of flex in it, in the sense that one of the options permit a wider choice of texts beyond those that are suggested by the module team. This one might be interesting.

The EMA question looks suitably demanding (since the question is quite ‘searching’), and mentions some digital texts that we’ll cover towards the end of the module.  I’m sure it’ll make sense when we get to it.

I tried to book in to as many tutorials as I could, but they were not yet available. I’ll keep my eye on the WhatsApp group.

My final activity today was to review Generative AI Literacy for Arts and Humanities, which is located within the Arts and Humanities subject centre area, under the Study Skills Activities subheading. There is helpful section on referencing and academic conduct.  I really liked the flowchart which has a heading ‘is it safe to use ChatGPT for your task?’  From my own perspective, I’m going to avoid using any generative AI for a very simple reason: it make stuff up, and I’m going to have enough to read, and I could do without having to read computer generated nonsense.

18 June 2025

A former A335 student has been kind enough to send me most of the set books they had bought for their studies, for which I am immensely grateful. There’s a couple of books that are missing which I need to buy. It’s always good fun finding copies of books online. (In return, I’m going to give away my A334 sets to someone. If you’re after a set of A334 texts, do get in touch!)

So far, I’ve listened to 5 hours of Bleak House whilst driving. I’ve also started to read the text since my concentration can necessarily drift whilst overtaking juggernauts on the A1. Since starting to read the text, I’m getting more of a feeling the characters and their importance. I’ve packed my newly acquired (and much thumbed) edition of Bleak House for my current travels, but I’m going to be taking my Kindle on holiday; 900 pages is a lot of pages to get through.

Since my mystery package of books also contained the module blocks, I’ve had a quick skim through the first two. I’m really looking forward to Mayhew’s London Labour and London Poor and, as mentioned, the George Elliot text. The lack of drama texts in this module is striking, but I understand we’ll be looking at two drama texts: one by Synd and another by Hare.

Whilst studying literature modules over the last few years, I’ve been trying to get ahead during my summer holidays. Here’s a reading list blog post that I prepared last year for A334.

What follows is a version of the A335 Literature in Transition reading list. Where possible (in the cases where the books are out of copyright), I’ve added a link to an accompanying Project Gutenberg download page. My aim and intention is to get as much reading done as possible (after taking a bit of a break after the submission of my A334 end of module assessment, which look to be pretty hard going) over the summer. What tends to happen is that I start quite well, but then end up struggling towards the end of the module. 

Just as with my earlier A334 blog, I’ve adjusted the format of each of these references to make sure they more directly comply with the OU Harvard format. Do refer to the CiteThemRight website for further guidance.

Here are a list of the texts:

Eliot, G. (2015) The Mill on the Floss. Edited by G.S.Haight. Oxford World's Classics.

Calvino, I., McLaughlin, M., Parks, T. and Weaver, W. (2010) The Complete Cosmicomics. Penguin Modern Classics.

Ford, F. M. (2013) The Good Soldier. Wordsworth Editions.

Rhys, J. (2000) Good Morning, Midnight. Penguin Modern Classics.

Synge, J. M. (2021) The Playboy of the Western World. Edited by C. Collins. Methuen.

Salih, T. and Johnson-Davies, D. (2003) Season of Migration to the North. Penguin Modern Classics.

Lahiri, J. (2009) Unaccustomed Earth. Bloomsbury.

Dickens, C. (1996) Bleak House. Edited by N.Bradbury. Penguin.

Thomas, D. (2014) Under Milk Wood. Weidenfeld & Nicolson.

Thoreau, H.D. (2008) Walden, Civil Disobedience and Other Writings. Edited by W. Rossi. W. W. Norton & Company.

Hare, D. (2006) Stuff Happens. Faber and Faber. 

Eliot, T.S. (2001) Four Quartets. Faber and Faber.

Mayhew, H. (2008) London Labour and the London Poor. Wordsworth Editions.

Mansfield, K. (2008) Selected Stories. Oxford World's Classics.

Winterson, J. (2014) Oranges are not the Only Fruit. Vintage.

Woolf, V. (2023) Between the Acts. Edited by F. Kermode. E-BOOKARAMA 

Reflections

This is a pretty extreme example of preparing to study a module. This is also quite an intimidating list of texts. It is an interesting mix of classics and the modern. For a couple of these I haven’t managed to find a Gutenberg eBook equivalent. An example is, of course, Mansfield. Gutenberg also seems to offer a number of different volumes for the Mayhew text.

I’m not going to pretend I can get through even a quarter of these texts over my summer holiday. Besides, our reading is directed through the module materials. When I’m studying the module properly, I’m also likely to make use of the officially recommended version of the text, since the notes by the editor and the author are often really useful.

I have a memory of once seeing a production of Under Milk Wood at The National Theatre in 1995. I remember being blown away by the production. I'm looking forward to formally studying Thomas, along with reading Elliot and Rhys.

Acknowledgements

This reading list has been directly liberated from the A335 module summary page. I have no connection with the module team, and it is entirely possible that this reading list may change. Always rely on the recommendations from the module team, rather than any materials that are mentioned in this post.