Reading Day

     Today is Reading Day at North Park University. Classes ended yesterday. Finals begin tomorrow. Today? Well, today is Reading Day meaning, really, that it is a study day for finals. This is exactly how Reading Day is defined in the Urban Dictionary. Some universities, per Wikipedia, have several Reading Days. When the number of successive Reading Days equals five, this set of Reading Days is called a Revision Week in the UK.  Go figure.
     North Park University is the first university I have been either a student or instructor at where I have seen this term. It was obvious that it was a study day for final exams. But, part of me, the wishful and hopeful, wanted it to be something more. I wanted to be a day where I be obligated read a book I have been meaning to read and just haven’t got around to it yet.
     I did not have the time today to read a full book. It would have been a delightful extravagance to read a novel, doze off, read some more, doze again, and then sit outside with a cigar and a cup of coffee to finish the book. The bulk of my reading, today, was more practical. I read and graded papers and online discussions.
     Per the photograph, I did read other things. I began with the Wall Street Journal which is part of my daily, well almost daily, regimen. It is the perfect way to start the day by getting an update on the general and business news. I like to clip stories on of higher education, economics, retail, and a variety of other topics into Evernote. I tend to use them in the classroom to relate topics we are covering to current events. I believe this piques student interest and learning.
     I read a few poems by the Armenian poet Sarmen, nee Armenak Sarkisian (1901 Van – 1984 Yerevan). Sarmen is a minor Armenian poet but his language of his poems Knjouki Yerk and Siro Yerk are lyrics to two of my favorite songs. Certainly, reading Sarmen on this Reading Day fulfilled my desire both to read literature and something obscure and something esoteric. When reading something this obscure, I often wonder just how many others might be reading the same thing around the world and conclude that maybe I might be the only one.  While, it is kind of an odd Reading Day thing to contemplate, it makes reading something obscure quite special... in my mind.
     Lastly, I read a chapter of book on the development of the Ford Taurus. It is the story of how Lew Veraldi lead a team to design and engineer a customer-focused vehicle. The Taurus was the last passenger car to be number one in national sales for Ford. It was clear Veraldi crafted an improved product develop process, but Ford never made it the norm. It is arguably one of the largest errors in the history of the company. I was motivated to buy and read this out of print book because my own blog posts: Ford Motor Company: Another Turnaround?and Ford Drives Sedans Out of their Showrooms. I wanted to have a better view of what Veraldi and his team did.
     I like the idea of Reading Day and may have to schedule another soon.