Dec 2

So reading the graphic novel Nevermore I really didn't know what to expect. I really don't have much knowledge on Edgar Allan Poe. I mean I know I have read The Tell-Tale Heart, but other than that I really haven't read much of his material. For the most part I have enjoyed the stories. The pictures however have given me some mixed signals. Like with Tell-Tale Heart the pictures were really cool and added a sweet addition to the story. I really liked looking at the eyes and how they have changed throughout the story. With The Fall of the House of Usher and its pictures it made it harder to follow for me. I couldn't tell the two guys apart at sometimes and I noticed in class that I wasn't the only one. I guess overall I would have really appreciated these stories on their own or with little illustrations. When we read the first story The Raven I really didn't enjoy the story at all. I just didn't like it. I didn't understand it and it didn't allow me to connect or anything. I really like how before the story starts the author gives you a glimpse of what the story was or what it’s kind of about. I love how they have made a lot of these stories more modern so that we can relate to them. And with a lot of pictures it helps with the understandings of what Poe is trying to say.

One question that was brought up in class was if the blind woman in The Tell-Tale Heart and if she was insane before she met the patient or if the patient drove her to that. I think it was mostly the feeling she got from the patient but also there had to had been some underlying issues along the way to make her snap at this point.

Nov 18

So as I got to the end of the book I really was kind of shocked that it had ended just like that. I was totally with Lisa in that when I finished I was really surprised that, that was it. It was still a good ending in my mind though. I thought it showed how it was time for the boy to be on his own. It was just something that had to happen with this story. At least that’s what I believe needed to happen. A question that was raised today in class had to do with the father and how he died. Like do you believe that he died from the arrow or from his sickness? I personally believe that it was because of his sickness more. I mean this guy is a tough guy. He could have made it through that somehow but it was just too much for him. And like most people I am sure thought. It was too convenient I thought, I mean seriously? I don’t know I thought it was kind of lame to me. I thought it would have set up another book fine if the kid was on his own. Either way I guess it works for a sequel. This book really did impress me. I really didn’t think it was going to be as good as it ended up being. I really thought that it was going to be kind of lame. But then it was definitely worth the read. I would have to say I would most likely recommend this book to someone else. I really feel like it is a good read for a guy for some reason. I don’t know every guy loves adventures and survival stories and so I feel like it would go over really well with them.

Nov 11

So I am going to talk a little bit about the writing style. I kind of like it. It wasn’t my favorite but it was good. At first I was unsure about it but as I continued to read it got gradually better for me. I really didn’t enjoy the way the writing is just blocked… I don’t know how to explain it but I don’t like it. It also bothers me that it lacks quotes. For me the style also really made me think of what I could do in their situation. I don’t know the book kind of sucks you into that, in a sense that it makes you want to know what’s going on, whether that be the father and son finding their way, if they have a safe place to sleep, or even enough food.

I really liked the amount of suspense that is going on in this book. I see this suspense through the way we don’t know what is going on. For example, we don’t know what the character’s names are, who or what they are running from and it makes you continue to wonder and speculate what could be going on. It is hard not to get into this book. Sure it starts slow or at least for me it started slow but it has picked up. To me it is truly mysterious and interesting.

I don’t know I am just really sucked into this book. It really is good and interesting and I am excited to see what happens next. You automatically have to have this emotion for the characters in that you have to worry for them. Just hoping that they can make it through whatever they are going through right now.

Bonus Blog Post

So… My expectations of contemporary literature are pretty much the same as everyone else I think. I mean I just want something to hook me and keep me interested. I guess the biggest deal with me is that the book has to catch my interest. And that’s what’s tough for me, I think I am closed off form a lot of books because even if the book is written well and has a good storyline if it isn’t a topic that I am interested in I won’t give it the time of day. I guess you could say I am a very closed off reader.

If I do get hooked to a story, one of the main components I need to make really appreciate the book is character development. The reason why I really enjoy this component of stories is that it makes the stories so much more personal once you feel like you know the characters at a personal level. If I feel like I don’t know the characters that well I might start to lose some interest.

Now don’t get me wrong I am not closed off from everything that doesn’t relate to me. I love fantasy books for the most part. I love stretching the imagination and getting myself to think outside the box. A Place so Foreign was a book that was fantasy and it caught my attention for the most part. I just get intrigued with books that look into the future and such.

So if you want to keep me entertained with your books just make sure that they consists of a lot relationship stuff, not necessarily marriage and love but relationships between friends and just the interaction between people. I don’t know why but that is probably something that gets me the most is observing relational environments.

Nov 4

I tried to post this yesterday but I guess I must have exited out before I clicked post, so here comes round 2…
I am not exactly into mystery novels. It just isn’t my type of book so really this is pretty much my first time with reading one. So far I have enjoyed Still Life for the most part. It hasn’t been my favorite type of genre or anything but it has already opened my eyes to more mysterious books. With these types of books you definitely catch yourself thinking about who you think did it. You put yourself in the shoes as the detective because you want to solve the mystery first. The problem with this is that the author has made it really hard for you to really narrow it down to figure out who the suspects are. I just love when different clues come out to make you think. I almost want to say that it could just be a curveball; I mean yeah Jane was killed by an arrow but I really think that it might just be someone that you would never expect to shoot an arrow. I think when you hear that she was killed by an arrow then you almost have to assume that it was by a male but I think it could end up being a female. I think there are a lot of signs that point to Ben at the moment but I think once again that the author is just messing with our minds. She wants us to think we have it figured out when really we have no idea. So I am just really excited to see which direction she goes with this because no matter what she is going to surprise us. Overall I’m excited to see what happens.

Oct 28

This new book called Interpreter of Maladies is pretty decent. I really like it compared to the other collection of short story books that we have read previously. This one for some odd reason has caught my attention more than the other books. I think that each of these short stories had enough story in them that I could get hooked enough to stay interested, but at the same time they weren’t too long to get you tired of the story.

I really enjoyed one of the questions we talked about today. It was #3 on the sheet. It said something along the lines of this, “What do you think the point the author is making about marriage and its place in the Indian culture?” My opinion that I have drawn from the stories was that the Indian culture values marriage so much more than we in America do. In the Indian culture it is so important to get married especially for a woman. From the story The Treatment of Bibi Haldar, I could draw that if you weren’t married in this society then you really couldn’t live life to the fullest. You weren’t treated equally and basically thrown away. This would be compared to a woman who is married which would have rights and have a man, children, and a household to take care of. In an Indian culture if a woman doesn’t have things to take care then they basically have nothing else to do with their lives.

Overall I am semi excited to read the remaining stories in this book. I really hope that I can learn from them and get insight into other cultures that I don’t know much about. So far there are a lot of relationship stories and I hope that continues because I really think they are kind of enjoyable.

Oct 21

So we are just finishing up the book Round Ireland with a Fridge. I have been semi interested in this book. I like the change of pace this book has compared to My Sisters Keeper. I love the concept of Tony taking on this bet just to take on a bet. I think it is so important to just get away and have time on your own. Every guy thrives for an adventure and that is exactly what Tony is doing. To most people this wouldn’t make sense since it is clearly costing him more money to do this journey then the winnings from the bet. I LOVE it though. I really hope someday I could take a trip like this sometime, not necessarily the bet part though.

So I was thinking of places that would be cool to do this at. I mean what about taking this bet, but for a different place. Like how about around the United States in four months? I mean that sounds reasonable right? What about Hawaii in one day? You would have to hit every island somehow. It would definitely take some skill and planning. I would say that the bet would have to be more money though.

We have talked about how this book is supposed to be funny book. I would have to say that it is a decently humorous but it could be better. I mean there are some things that he does that are funny like when that guy sees Tony’s genitalia twice. I guess his actions have been funnier for me then just his jokes. All in all, it has been an amazing change in reading material. I really like traveling narratives. I have never really read anything like this before. I would really like to read something else about a place that I have been so I can relate.

OCT 14

Wow. So first of all, all I have to say is that I was very impressed with the book. It was much better than I anticipated. I thought the ending was very surprising. I guess I really thought that if anyone was going to die that it was going to be Kate. But sure enough the author really threw me a curveball with killing Anna, and letting Kate live on off of Anna’s kidney. I guess it was a good ending because it wasn’t what everyone thought would happen.

I am really glad it did end in this sort of fashion because it got to show what others thought of Anna. I know that I kind of thought that they just loved her to save her sister. I was glad to see how everyone really did care for Anna as a person, not just an organ bank. I really was impressed the way Kate wanted all along for her sister Anna to have a life to the full. That Kate was to the point of giving up hope for herself so her little sister could have the life that Kate had always wanted. It truly was touching.

Overall I thought the book was very well written and not just for chicks. It burns to say it but maybe I will have to check out the movie and see how well they did compared to the book. Like most movies that are made off of books, the books are generally way better so maybe I’ll have to see for myself. Oh and for the record I can see why this book appeals to all sorts of females. There is tons of emotion in it. Almost too much if you ask me. Correction, it was too much for me but that doesn’t take away from how good the book was as a whole.

Oct 7

When I first looked at this book I said to myself, “Great, a freaking huge book to force myself to read through”. Once I read the title I realized that this book was also a chick flick. It has been a book read by many different women all over that I have known, from moms to sisters to friends. So do you think I was really excited to read this piece of work? Not exactly. I started this book and realized that even if I didn’t want to read it that I would try to go in with an open mind. I mean maybe I would warm up to this thing.

When I read the first 100 pages of this book, I took one thing away and that is Kate and Anna’s parents are nuts to have a kid to basically serve as an organ donor to their middle child. I mean how could they justify this to themselves that this was at all okay? I mean in my eyes they went from trying to save one child to ultimately making two of the offspring miserable. I mean what were they thinking?

If you imagined yourself as Anna, how would you feel about this whole situation? I know that I would feel like crap. I mean I feel like I would start to realize that the only reason I was really conceived was to help my sibling live. If I was in Anna’s position and had the parents she had I would definitely press charges. The main reason I would press charges was so that I would have my own choices about my body. I mean if I had my own choice on if I wanted to donate to a sibling I would do it in a heartbeat.

September 30

The previous two stories were not exactly my favorite types of books. A topic that did strike my interest had to do with something we talked about in class. It was the topic about if your library can define you as a person. I don’t think that someone’s library could truly define everything about that person but I do believe that you can tell some things about them from what they read. For example, I think that you can tell a little about of someone from what they read, but don’t get me wrong this doesn’t work for everyone. But can you really say that just because someone has a really old book that is worth a lot that that person is therefore rich? I wouldn’t say that’s true every time either, because someone could have easily just inherited an old book not realizing that value that it possessed.
The story also made me think about how sweet it would be to have my own library. It doesn’t have to be exactly like the one from the story. It doesn’t have to be all leather bound books with a place for you to smoke a pipe while reading. It would just be wonderful to have my very own collection of hard and paperback novels that represented the types of books I like to read. I think my library would have a large family portrait of my family. In the room there would be a coach where I could bring my kids to read them a story. This library wouldn’t consist of only books but also books of the rest of my family. I can’t wait to cozy up next to my kids and read them my favorite book from my past. Even if I don’t have a library, at least a bookshelf will do.

Letter

Dear Charlie,

I know you don’t know me but I have been reading your letters lately. Since I started reading your letters I really can’t stop. It is exciting to hear your stories of being a kid in high school. Even if some of these stories come off as being a bit strange. Some of the letters that really got me confused on why you are writing them was the letter about the “dirty” details. The stories I am talking about are about you walking in or sitting in on people having sex. They were just a little too strange for me.

I am really glad that you can be as honest with us as readers. This honesty makes the letters and book more interesting to read. Some questions I was wondering about was why are you so different? I mean not a bad different, but a unique different. Like do you have like a disability of some sort? I love your personality either way though. I also don’t understand why you started to do drugs. I mean you were totally fine with being around drugs but not taking them at the beginning and then it just turned into something that is part of your life. I just hope you know the consequences from drugs.

I totally agree with Bill in that you should totally start to participate. I mean you are only in high school one time and it is truly one the best times of your life. I just hope that you live it up to its full potential and live it out with no regrets. And when it comes to you and Sam, I say keep on trying. You can’t help feelings. You just have to wait it out and be a friend caring for someone before you can truly date them.

Love Always,

Brad

Foreign 2

I will have to agree with Lisa that one of my favorite chapters in this book would definitely be The Market, to Market: The Rebranding of Billy Bailey. I really got into this chapter because of the way the kids acted. It was just funny seeing these kids do business. It just makes you think about how much of logos and business we really buy into. For some reason we get it stuck in our heads that we need to have this brand or that. We feel like what kind of brand we sport defines who we are as an individual. When you read that the school was called Pepsi it blew my mind but it made me wonder. How long will it be before we need to sponsor things like schools in order to pay for them? I mean as of now we have sponsors for just about every sporting event. Why wouldn’t the advertising world expand?

I started reading the chapter The Super man and the Bugout. It talks about the main character named Hershie who is like a super man of his time I guess. Hershie has super human powers such as flying, infrared vision, and super hearing just to name a few. It just makes me wonder how I would use my powers. If I was privileged to have extraordinary powers would I always use them or only when they are necessary. I personally think that I would use them to help make the world a better place but also for my own pleasure. I would love to fly. Think about it… no gas money and you get the best views ever. It just sounds like my kind of thing. I bet it would be really tempting to use this power for evil sometimes too. I mean walk on the wild side at times has always crossed my mind.

A Place so Foreign take one

The first chapter of the book Place so Foreign is actually catching my attention. The first chapter of this book is called Craphound. We later find out that the title of this chapter means trash treasure finders. Craphounds are people who go around looking for junk that they can sell for more money. It makes me wonder how much money there truly is in this whole hidden treasure business. There is this guy who lives down the road from me in my hometown and he is totally a craphound or a yard saler. But I don’t think he is a very successful one. There are just piles of junk everywhere lying around. Every once in a while he will try to have a sale of his own but I doubt he makes that much at all. We were told in class that this book is supposed to be Science Fiction but I struggle to find it really. In like one paragraph the main character in this chapter named Jerry talks about how some people think craphounds should be kicked off the planet. Jerry also says that the aliens keep us in the dark when it comes to technologies. Then Jerry goes on to say how anyone with human DNA could never survive a trip in one of those ships. This little passage of the chapter just confuses me. I guess that helps answer the question about whether it’s a science fiction book or not. I would say it has glimpses as of now from chapter one but other than that I am totally confused about that part of the chapter. Overall the first chapter of this book grabbed my attention for the time being. We will see what happens with this one.

Week 2

For this weeks blog I decided to answer one of the questions we discussed in class about the book, Olive Kitteridge. The question that I decided to answer was question number 4 which says, “What do you think of Harmon’s decision to leave his wife? Is this an instance where you think the character is making the right decision, or is it an instance where you want to yell “Stop Fool!”? My response to that question would consist somewhere along the lines of how I think he made a great decision by telling his wife. I think he is manning up and telling his wife is quite a noble thing in this book compared to everyone else who just hides the dark secrets from their “significant” other. I find the situation with Harmon much easier to understand as well in the sense that his wife and his kids are fully grown up making it a much less difficult situation. In many marriages today the two spouses don’t get along what so ever but they stick together because they have this one thing in common and that is their child. They both love the child so much that they would basically sacrifice each other’s happiness at times just so that their kid would not know that its parents really don’t love each other anymore. But overall I really find the act of him telling his wife noble. Compared to most of the other relationships in this book where one of the spouses in cheating on the other without them even knowing. Surprisingly this book really does show how our world has change in the sense that almost half of all marriages end. It is just sad to think that no one sticks it out or are really in love with their supposedly other half anymore.

The last first blog

I have had many English classes that require me to read, but never as much as this class. So hopefully I don’t fall too far behind. I am not an avid reader. I don't usually read any more than I don't have to. I guess that is one of the reasons I am taking this class. I want to enjoy reading books; I want it to become a hobby, something that is relaxing. I really enjoy reading Christian books that have different ideas and questions about God and ways to live your life. And like most guys I also like reading books that have a great sport story within it. Some notable titles include Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell, The Bleachers by John Grisham, and of course the Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling. Now I am going to be totally honest, I have only read books 5 through 7 of the H.P. Series. I joined the revolution after watching the first four movies… I know weak. The reasons I enjoy the Harry Potter books as much as I do is because they are so easy to read. They are well written and make my imagination run wild. Some of the reasons I enjoy Christian books would be because I really love to learn more about my faith and I can do this through reading other views and beliefs. And of course the reason why I enjoy sport books is because they generally have great stories about perseverance. I just love perseverance. When people battle through problems in their lives it brings out their true character. It shows you who you truly are. Speaking of perseverance, I hope I can persevere through this class. Overall I am really looking forward to a great opportunity to help myself as a reader and for me to improve my attitude towards reading.