Semester 1 Reflection

     Over the semester I really showed how big of a book nerd I was. Totally around 11 or 12 books read I think we can all agree that it's a decent number. I love books and I had a diverse selection of novels that I devoured. You may be asking how do you find all these books? The answer is I don't really know. I pick out my books almost unintentionally, I go to Barnes and Noble to buy a book for class and walk out with 3 others that I had collected while searching. The criteria I have is nonexistent if I like a book description it will worm its way onto my shelves. The books that I completed included Let It Snow, The Art of Wishing, Killer Instinct and The Bourne Identity which you already know due to my blog posts. But I also read a few others, A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby is an honorable mention because it was really out of my comfort zone. It was adult fiction, a satire and tackled big issues that really aren't present in my life. Despite all this, I liked the challenge and I'm glad to add it to my 'read' shelf. I feel like I accomplished a lot of reading this year and many of them are stories I will remember forever.

     My blog posts did evolve over the semester, I apologize for the first few that happened to be clinical and no-nonsense. They weren't relate able but as the semester moved on I got more comfortable showing my personality in my blog posts and allowing them to be more interesting. I honestly think that they became a higher quality the further into the year we went. As the rubric states, "The writer uses a variety of syntactical structures and effective diction. The writer's voice is present in all pieces..." I achieved this in my blog posts, I love to utilize diction to get my point across. I remember in one of my Bourne blog posts I used the word insurmountable to emphasize just how hard reading the book seemed. I think that in most of my blog posts I have portrayed a voice across, connected with the reader. I try to make them seem casual and laid back. In my "Worst Thing About My Book" Post I had a comment praising me on the voice I included.

     I have to admit my faults, I'm not a prefect blogger,and I need to fix things in my blog in order to get better. I have goals that I would like to achieve many of them relating to time. My blog posts are sometimes on time but I do have quite a few that aren't. Next semester I aspire to be on-time, to deliver the posts when they are do and not a few days (or weeks) late. Another goal has to do with the textual evidence that I use in my posts. I do include a line from the book I am reading every week but picking through my posts I've come to realize not all of them are relevant. In the blogging criteria it states, "contain compelling ideas, examples and specific textual evidence." I want to work on finding the best piece of evidence for my blog and I hope that it will come to be second nature by the end of the year. My final goal is to utilize my widgets a little bit more. I only update Goodreads every once in a while and by then I generally am not on top of my currently-reading books which is a list available to people on my blog. I want to keep up with that so it is more accurate in the future.

Top 5 "Stuff You" Books

In honor of Thanksgiving I'm going to do a blog post about my top 5 "stuff you" books. The ones that make you feel full and satisfied.

1. So you guys have probably figured out that I love fluffy chick books but honestly there is one that fills me up to the brim with happiness every single time I read it.  Let It Snow by Maureen Johnson, John Green and Lauren Myracle. First off this book has 3 amazing writers that worked together to create magic. Second, the names in this book are little treats themselves. Jubilee, Stewart, Jeb, The Duke, and Teagan are all names that add a quirky and interesting side to the story. Thirdly and Lastly, not only is there 1 love story but 3. This book will no doubt leave you full from all the fluffy, holiday love stories jam packed into this book.

2. I also love thrillers/mystery books. One of my favorites is Pivot Point by Kasie West. This book is a 'stuff you" book because it's a fresh breath of air. It fills you up with wonder and excitement. The main character in the book, Addie, has a special power in which she can see how a decision impacts her future. The book follows the two choices that she can make and how that path would play out. Both include love interests, danger and a mystery with her best friend. This book not only will fill you up but will keep you invested in it until the last page. Which incidentally is where I rushed out and bought the second book in the series...

The professional? author John Green

3. Going back into the great author John Green's books comes An Abundance of Katherines. *Sighs lovingly* Colin, the greatest main character ever to be written is the star of this book. A child prodigy that hasn't achieved anything great with his intelligence goes on a road trip to find opportunists and to run away from his ill-fated romances with not one but 18 separate Katherines. Along the way there is injuries, comedy and an amazing love interest: Lindsey. This book stuffs you with laughs and amazement as you read the text.

4.This next book is a little weird I have to admit but I love it too much to care. The Art of Wishing by Lindsay Ribar is a wonderful love story between Margo and a genie, yes a genie, Oliver. I love this book so much because while it's not realistic the romance that is in this book is unforgettable. It may be lacking cancer but it makes up for it with actual magic. Margo describes the feeling of magic as "More like the heat that you felt on your tongue after eating something spicy," (67). That elemen of magic makes the book so special. Reading this book I couldn't help but fawn over the clever ways that Oliver impressed and wooed Margo. This book filled me with the oh-so-dangerous faith in a perfect relationship.

5. I saved the best for last. I think this may be cheating but I created the rules of this prompt so I'm gonna put it in anyway. The Naturals series is by far the best books out of all of these. The series by Jennifer Lynn Barnes is so thrilling that I almost died waiting the 9 months it took for the second book to be released. Cassie, the main character is just so relate-able and the detail the book is written with made me feel like I was in it. There was no disappointment with this series and the thing it stuffed me with was suspense (the best thing)
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Killer Instinct

So I recently finished Killer Instinct by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. This book is my one true love. The writing the characters, the fact that its a sequel to the best book ever (The Naturals) all make me want to read it again and again and again. But alas, I can't I need to move on to other books. However, I still didn't want to let it go, so, the fangirl that I am, I naturally started thinking about what it would be like if it was a movie. This blog post is just my random thoughts on who I would cast to be the main characters.

Cassie:
Cassie is the main character of the series: A red-headed, fiery teen from a broke family. She is a natural, a teenager recruited to the FBI because she has a natural ability. She is a profiler, she's independent and strong. But wildly empathetic. Who else would I have play her than Emma Stone? She would kill this roll. Emma Stone is one of my favorite actresses and she would totally pull off the character. Not only did her role in The Amazing Spider man 2 solidify this for me (because she managed to be strong and stubborn and an amazing Gwen) but I think that she would add an interesting dimension to the love triangle that runs through the series.

Lia:
 Lia is a lie detector. She was one of the first recruits to the Naturals program. I don't' know much about her, she's allusive, defensive and protective Dean. But she's afraid of letting people in, of letting them know who she really is. She changes her outfits every day, not letting anyone see her style but maintains her non-nonchalant, wicked, and sarcastic personality. I would cast Vanessa Marano as Lia. In Switched At Birth she plays Bay, a unruly and rebellious teen. I think that adding her into the mix would be interesting to how Lia was adapted. Would she turn her into more of a softy or add venom to her bite? Who knows, but one thing I do know is that Vanessa would be the perfect choice.

Michael: Michael is the resident bad boy. He reads emotions but with a personality like Lia's no one ever really figures him out. He's got a crush on Cassie and is the first guy in the love triangle. He's got a huge rivalry with Dean and doesn't get along with many of the other naturals. However, I couldn't stop loving him and being torn on who should win Cassie's heart.  I would cast Liam Hemsworth as Michael. After watching his amazing rivalry (as Gale) with Peeta in The Hunger Games he would make the perfect Michael. Vindictive, jealous and downright cruel sometimes Michael's a hard man to portray but Hemsworth could pull it off while showing great chemistry with Cassie.

Dean: Dean is the competitor. He wants Cassie and distracts her from Michael even though he doesn't think he can ever be with her. Dean describes being a profiler to Cassie,“Maybe, to do what you and I do, we have to have a little bit of the monster in us.” He truly thinks that he can't be with her because he'll make her a full monster. Dean was the first person recruited into the Naturals program, the son of a serial killer makes a pretty great profiler. It also makes a teen who is so scared of ruining the people around him that he closes himself off. Broken, poisonous and brooding, he's the darkest character there is. But he's so lovable, while you are reading the book you want to fix him, you want to rip him away from his tragic back story and give him a better life. One where he is already with Cassie. That's right, he's the one I rooted for the entire book. Brett Dalton is my one and only choice for this movie that I imagine in my head. The actor who already plays HYDRA Agent Ward from Agents of Shield is the one I think could bring darkness and brooding like it was the easiest thing ever. It would feel natural having him playing Dean and I can see him and Cassie playing out the romance that's almost forbidden while Michael fights his own war for Cassie.

Sloane:
The last of the naturals, Sloane is awkward, alone and hopelessly smart. She's a genius, she knows patterns and statistics like they're common knowledge. She's timid and believes that no one likes her, probably because her family didn't. She's the character I relate with most. Socially awkward girls have to stick together. I would cast Elizabeth Henstridge as Slaone. She is also an actress from Agents of Shield, she plays Gemma, a nerdy, smart and awkward scientist. I think that she would do well as Sloane.



If you were me, who would you cast as these characters?

I Am Malala: Text-to-Society

I am reading I Am Malala which is the story of a girl from Swat Valley, Pakistan. As she grows up, the Taliban, a terrorist group, begin to control and oppress Pakistan, mostly focusing on the end of women's education. Malala's father is the owner of a girls' school and speaks out against the Taliban with Malala soon following in his footsteps. After a few years of rebellion against Taliban ways, they shoot Malala in the head at point-blank range, hoping to silence her, and set an example for others. The memoir follows her life before and after and how she used it (her injury) to further her cause.

    The central idea that Malala passes onto her readers is that education is important. But as you read the novel the idea of education blooms into the idea that education is important but out of reach to millions. This idea is apparent all over the world, and applies to many others besides just  Malala. An article from The Washington Post went into detail about college drop out rates, stating, “For many, the socioeconomic barriers become insurmountable. Only a fraction claim their diploma: The six-year graduation rate is 31 percent”. While many people think that the middle-east is the only one struggling with education, many Americans are struggling with the finances.

Financing problems may not be the same as Taliban officials oppressing education, but it still limits how far people can go in life. Malala stood up for education in Pakistan and Americans are pulling their own weight when it comes to their future. People all over the world suffer from lack of education, whether it be from financial problems or school being forbidden. Malala is just one beacon of hope in the eyes of these people.

Malala is an inspiration to many, at only 17 she has understood the importance of schooling and dreamed it be available to all one day.  Using medians such as a radio show, she urged students to do whatever they have to, in order to earn the education they deserve. Malala even goes as far as to say, “Education is education. We should learn everything and then choose which path to follow. Education is neither Eastern nor Western, it is human.” Her protests have already gained many girls all over the world access to education, and she continues pursuing these goals to this very day.

Sources:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/7064545.Malala_Yousafzai

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/storyline/wp/2014/10/20/why-poor-kids-dont-stay-in-college/

The Worst Thing About My Book

 

 

So I am currently reading the Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum. Let me start this off by saying that I do enjoy this book. There are many things that are intriguing and well-written. However, I have some complaints. But I'm going to avoid talking about all the little things that set me off and focus on the thing I despise about it. The worst thing about my book by far is the length. When I started I did know that it was 600 pages and I was okay with that. I didn't know that he packed in so much plot within those pages that reading it felt like an insurmountable task. In the 300 pages that I have completed I could write my own 600 page book with the right spacing.

 I know what you are thinking. What's wrong with an action packed plot? Doesn't that make it interesting and easy to read? No, no it does not. I said it had a ton of plot, however most of it is lulls where Bourne is trying to figure out who he is. While that can be interesting it gets so boring when there are chapters and chapters of unanswered questions. I like suspense, I welcome mystery, I tell angst to hitch a ride with me because they are my friends. I love those things in a book but when it is stretched to the point where there is no satisfaction, no break in the infinite questions it irks me. I want to know the answers, I want to keep reading but if Ludlum could've brought some answers forth faster I would like this book even more.

For example, the book starts with Bourne having amnesia and it takes him 50 pages to find out his name. Not where he is from, what he does or even if he has family. Just. His. Name. Now do you see the madness? The insanity this book is forcing me into? Also there are a lot of internal thoughts. I love internal thoughts but they are just another portal into the suffocating suspense that is this book.  About 200 pages into the book and Bourne's thoughts are "Stop it. How many times do I say that to myself? You are my love, the only woman I have ever known, and you believe in me. Why can't I believe in myself?" Even his thoughts are cryptic, tiny mysteries the reader has to unravel through the pursuit of the story. Because the reader doesn't know why he can't trust himself, why he feels like he'll hurt Marie by sticking around or why he can't believe I himself. Yet Ludlum has to taunt us with blindingly obvious questions that we already have and want to answer.

 But even with all the waiting I love this book and can't wait to finish it and delve into the adaptation of it by watching the movie.

Summer Of Yesterday by Gaby Triana

So over the weekend I decided to binge read. I picked up and book and didn't put it down until I finished it. Sometimes these impulse reads disappoint me but not this book. Summer of Yesterday was the perfect read to indulge myself on. The romance in it was tangible, the connection between Haley and Jason was perfect. It was a romance that I wanted for myself and that was why I enjoyed it. Because reading books is about dreaming, imagining for yourself and for the characters. As I was reading their love story, I couldn't help but remember songs that related. So for this week I'm going to create a sound track for the book.

The first song that I chose was Paradise by Coldplay. The exposition of the novel starts with Haley wanting to get away from her family. From her Dad and her step-mom and their protectiveness. She dreams of a place that she could be free. The song captures that, it's a girl dreaming of a place where her parents don't fight. I think that it shows how important it is for Haley to learn a lesson, to learn to love her family no matter what. This part of the book sets the stage for everything that follows.

The second song that I selected for the book was Kiss Me Slowly by Parachute, It fit Jason and Haley's relationship in the best ways. The song is about the whirlwind of a new relationship, not knowing where its going or how its going to end but knowing that he (the lead singer) likes this girl and wants to see how it will go. In the book Jason and Haley have just met, but both feel a connection. Haley knows that it will never work out because she's from the future (which is actually modern times because the majority if the book is set in 1982) and she will have to return but she wants to see where it will go anyway.

The next song that I selected was Dark Side by Kelly Clarkson. As the novel progresses, you really see into Jason and Haley's lives. Jason doesn't want to go to college for reasons revealed later in the book. Haley is hiding who she really is from Jason, she's hiding the truth, that she traveled back in time. Instead lying to Jason about being ditched by her Father to teach her a lesson about respect. Both of them have secrets, things that they believe the other can't handle. Dark Side is one of my favorite songs because it bluntly tackles the problems with dating. The fear that if you let people in they won't like what they see. At this point in Summer of Yesterday the characters are at this point, suspended, afraid to let all of themselves show.

The last song that I chose was If You Ever Come Back by the Script. I have a warning here, this will show spoilers, for me to fully explain why I chose this songs I will have to reveal the ending. So If you would like to keep the ending a mystery, or want to read this book later, you can scroll down to the bottom of the page where I will have all the songs linked. Moving on, At the end of the book Haley must return back to the future, where she belongs. But neither Jason or Haley want to let go. Jason accepts that it is the right thing to do and encourages her to leave. When Haley makes it back to her time, Jason's brother Jake, now older, leads her to a place where he left her a letter. Part of the letter says "I don't know if I will ever see you again, but you need to know that I owe everything I have to you." (Triana 139) First off, that quote is just swoon worthy, he believed in what Haley said and make his life into what he wanted. Second, that quote shows that he didn't know if he was going to see her again, but he would always welcome her. Always love her. The song by The Script is about waiting for a girl t come back, leaving a key under the mat so she could always get in. I just felt that they connected so well.

I loved this read, if you want a bittersweet book, or a swoon-worthy love story I hope you check it out. If you do decide to read it let me know what songs you would pair up with it.
Songs:
Paradise
Kiss Me Slowly
Dark Side
If You Ever Come Back

The Bourne Identity

     The Bourne Identity is written by author Robert Ludlum. Before his writing career, Robert Ludlum starred as an actor and a producer. He specialized in spy thrillers, and went on to write 21 books during his lifetime. Born in 1927, he wrote his first book in 1972. The Scarlatti Inheritance, his first work was a success, landing a spot on the bestsellers list. He wrote book after book, each becoming best sellers. Many of his books were made into movies, the first one coming out in 1977, 50 years after the writer was born. His Borne series were adapted into 4 movies, the first one coming out in 2002, Matt Damon starred as Jason Bourne, the main character. Out of his novels, the Bourne series is the most well-known, most likely from the success of the movies. The last of the Bourne movies premiered in 2012, a fourth installment in the original trilogy.
 Robert Ludlum adds a mysterious quality to the books, refusing to name the character until after 50 pages in. He uses high vocabulary, the mix of words creating a strong connection to the book, the pages like scenes in a movie. On page 1 he starts the book out with strong visuals, transporting you to the boat, "The trawler's bow dipped suddenly into the valley of two giant waves, lifting the wounded man off his feet; he twisted to his left, unable to take his hands away from his head."
      Robert Ludlum passed away in 2001. But not without a legacy. Readers still connect with his soul as they read his books. The characters his mind made embedded into people's hearts forever. Even after his death, writers add onto his series, including Eric Van Lustbader, who has continued the Bourne series, writing 9 books, the last one coming out this year. The first one made into the 4th movie in the Bourne films.

A Study In Sherlock

     After finishing the remnants of The Beginning of Everything, I plan to read A Study in Sherlock. A Study of Sherlock is a collection of reinterpretations of the original books by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I loved reading the originals, the bright brilliance of Holmes' character bleeding into the plot and experiences. The fantastical and impressive reasoning behind all of the mysteries. Even with it set in the past, I always found myself lured to finish book after book, enjoying the new mysteries alive on the pages in my hands.
     I was first introduced to the characters in winter of last year, a close friend bought them for me. Now, with the friend disappeared to pursue their own education I come back and reread the books as a memory of the past, both Sherlock's and my own. They bring a sense of nostalgia I enjoy.
     I look forward to starting this new book, reading other people's ideas on what happened to the detective in the streets of London, them taking a crack at the peculiar dynamic between Sherlock and John. I feel like it will give me a wide variety, I can chose which stories I enjoy. From modern day times to the past, from London and other cities, I can follow my favorite detective wherever the author leads him. I am intrigued at the idea of every writer molding my view of the character, shaping his reputation in my mind. I need a redeeming accurate viewing after watching the distant and brilliant character played by Cumberbatch in BBC's Sherlock, who defines himself as a "Highly functioning sociopath." I can't wait to start A Study In Sherlock and figure out what adventures wait for the classic detective.

Character Symbols.

  The book I'm reading this week is The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider.

      An object that would represent the main character Ezra would be a phoenix. I would make Ezra a phoenix because the whole book is about how he lost his old life. He was destined to be homecoming king, to have the most popular girl at school as his girlfriend. But then he crushes his leg, ruining his tennis career (which blows up his social status) and his girlfriend cheats on him. But after that he realizes that he doesn't need that and he decides to do what he wants with his life. He wants to end up with Cassidy and he rises from the ashes of his old life to go and conquer a new one.
     I would represent Cassidy with a record. I chose a record because of her personality, She's old fashioned, really retro, and has two sides. Like a record, where you flip it over to get a new song, Cassidy has two tunes, she goes on in the book as a laid-back retro girl but on the other side she has a past. There was something that made her leave her old school, made her give up her debate dream and deter her from ever competing again.
      I would represent Toby with a flute. A flute is a really quiet instrument, usually it fades into the band and you don't notice it until it's gone. Until there is a measure of the song where they don't play, because when they do they add a complex and airy sound to the music. Toby is an old friend of Ezra's, they drifted apart over the years and Ezra doesn't know hat he's missing until he sees Toby again and realizes that Toby added a happiness and cheerfulness to his life that he didn't have with his old crowd.
     A phoenix, a record, and a flute, these three together make up The Beginning of Everything.

Most Important Line

     The most important line from chapter 211 is: "And then there was a sound like people fighting with swords and I could feel a strong wind and a roaring started and I closed my eyes and the roaring got louder and I groaned really loudly but I couldn't block it out of my ears and I thought the little station was going to collapse or there was a big fire somewhere and I was going to die" (Haddon 176). This line is important to the chapter because it humanizes the main character Christopher. Christopher is a 15 year old boy with Asperger's and all through the book you struggle to connect with him. He's so logical and he doesn't see the point in stories and he refuses to eat certain foods. When you are reading the book you are floating, trying to find a tether to hold onto and keep the reality of the book in mind. And this line is really important because it gives you that line, you feel his pain when he is in the train station. You hear the screech of the train and the terror it causes in him. 
     The line is also really important to the chapter because it allows you to realize how hard it is for Christopher to overcome his nature. How his brain picks up everything and the train is sensory overload for him. It makes the chapter easier to understand, you comprehend that its not easy for him to drop everything he knows and go to London on his own. But he is fighting for it, for the life with his Mother that he wants and the life without his father that he needs. It ties the whole  point of the chapter and the story together and gives you something to root for. You want to root for Christopher, you want him to succeed.

Monstrous Beauty

     There are 3 main characters in my summer reading book, Monstrous Beauty. It starts off with introducing the readers to a mermaid named Syrenka. Syrenka is a dynamic character as the story proceeds. In the beginning she has resigned herself to a lonely existence, with the only company being the rest of the mermaids. But then she falls in love with a human named Ezra. Ezra is the next main character, who is introduced to us as he discovers Syrenka. Throughout the book, Syrenka and Ezra bond and Syrenka decides that she wants to be human. She changes from the laid-back and resigned mermaid to a determined one. She tells Ezra the conditions of becoming human and fights for that right, eventually winning and being able to devote her life to Ezra.

     Ezra is a dynamic character because at the beginning he is lost. After the death of his father Ezra's life is at a standstill and he doesn't know how to move on. After meeting Syrenka for the first time, clarity blooms in his life. He studies her, marking out her species in his scientific journal. Every day he spends with her, he falls a little more in love. By the end of the book, Ezra is logical, willing to do anything to save Syrenka. Even sacrificing himself so that she may live on.

     The third main character is Hester, who by far is the most important. Hester lives a few generations after Syrenka and Ezra. And the book during this part takes place in modern times. Hester is a dynamic character because at the beginning of the book she, as Syrenka once did, has given herself a life of loneliness, as illustarted in this quote by Hester. “I haven’t got any lovers, smart aleck.’ She startled herself with the thumping emptiness she felt in her chest as she added, ‘I can only ever be alone.” (Fama 117) For her family is cursed, every women in her ancestry has died after giving birth to their first baby (a girl.) But when she meets Ezra one day (which is explained further in the book) she decides to fight for her life to live. She digs into her family's past, piecing together the mystery that is her family. By the end of the book Hester has fought for her happiness and chosen her own destiny. 

     Within the development of the characters, the story delves into the theme. The layers of Hester's past revealing that taking someone's life into you own hands can result in disaster.

 

Book Review

This is a summary of the book, discussing some of the elements that are incorporated in the book. 

Video

This video ties to an article video that connects to my theme. Its about a mother who sacrificed her life so that her child could live and my book's theme is about protection. And many elements in the book deal with the mothers giving their lives to their children.