Before this class started, my relationship with reading was an on again off again type of relationship. I would read constantly over the summer and then I would just stop once school started because reading for fun was pulling me away from getting my homework done, so during the school year I would kind of let it go.
When I was reading I was mostly reading The House of Night Series and other vampire love stories like Twilight (Although I read all those in middle school). And this year I got into books by Ellen Hopkins and books about drugs and addiction. I have never been around anyone with addiction and I did not know what it did to people, so these books gave me an insight into the lives of people who had an addiction. This was a really interesting topic because coming from someone who is on the outside looking in you don't understand and books like Tweak by Nic Sheff really help you understand what is going through the addicts mind.
At the beginning of the year when we were all told that we would have to read at least 150 pages I was really intimidated! I thought, How in the world am I going to read 150 pages a week!! But I did, and with reading Ellen Hopkins books it was really easy to meet the requirement even though for me it was 450 pages since her books are written in free verse. In one night I read 400 some odd pages because her books pull you in and you can not put them down. And I found myself getting so involved in the books that when I read Burned and one of the characters died, I actually cried! I would talk to my friends and family all the time about the books I was reading and what was going on in my other life.
Since we are getting so close to end of the semester, I have seen some major changes in the books I read. I am reading books that I normally would never pick up such as Tweak and I am also reading books that I have never heard of. I am so involved in my relationship with reading that all I can think about is going to the book store to find more books to read. My whole life I have been a reader and I can thank my mom for that but now instead of being on again and off again, I want to commit myself to always having a book to read.
Friday, November 11, 2011
My Week.
This week has been an interesting week. I finished Impulse by Ellen Hopkins and while I was reading it I thought, "Oh, this book is going to have a happy ending!" And was I wrong!?!?! It made me sad because I finally thought one of her books were going to have a happy ending but one of the characters who was in a psyche hospital along with the others for trying to kill himself finally succeeds right before the final challenge for him to go home. It made me really sad! Speaking of dead people, I got to go to the Cadaver Lab at The University of Saint Francis for my anatomy class and it was really interesting! It is something I will never forget and I hope I can do it again in the future, as weird as that sounds.
I am overall really happy with how my week has gone even though it dragged on and on :)
I am overall really happy with how my week has gone even though it dragged on and on :)
Friday, November 4, 2011
Currently.
This week I have been reading Impulse by Ellen Hopkins. This has been a busy week so I haven't read as much of it as I would have wanted to but I guess my real homework comes first. And I am really pleased that I am doing so well on my goal for this quarters reading. Anyways, this book is a little different than her other books. This one is about suicide and I have never read anything on this subject.
Description from book:
Sometimes you don't wake up. But if you happen to, you know things will never be the same.
Three lives, three different paths to the same destination: Aspen Springs, a psychiatric hospital for those who have attempted the ultimate act — suicide.
Vanessa is beautiful and smart, but her secrets keep her answering the call of the blade.
Tony, after suffering a painful childhood, can only find peace through pills.
And Conner, outwardly, has the perfect life. But dig a little deeper and find a boy who is in constant battle with his parents, his life, himself.
In one instant each of these young people decided enough was enough. They grabbed the blade, the bottle, the gun — and tried to end it all. Now they have a second chance, and just maybe, with each other's help, they can find their way to a better life — but only if they're strong and can fight the demons that brought them here in the first place.
Sentences of the week:
“Love means holding on to someone just as hard as you can because if you don't, one blink and they might disappear...forever.”
“It [death] chokes you, gags you, but you have to pretend that you're doing just fine, not trembling with this fear because the end is close.”
“Memory is a tenuous thing. . . .
flickering glimpses, blue
and white, like ancient,
decomposing 16mm film.
Happiness escapes
me there, where faces
are vague and yesterday
seems to come tied
up in ribbons of pain.
Happiness? I look for it instead
in today, where memory
is something I can still
touch, still rely on.
I find it in the smiles
of new friends, the hope
blossoming inside.
My happiest memories
have no place in the
past; they are those
I have yet to create.”
Pages read this week: 300
Pages read this semester: 4364
**My goal for the next couple of weeks is to finish Impulse (hopefully this weekend) and Perfect. Then I will have read all of Ellen Hopkins's young adult books! I also want to finish Beautiful Boy and I really want to get back into reading the House of Night Series because last night at the store I realized that 2 new books have been released! Even when this class is over in a couple of months I still want to continue to have a book every week to read because it allows me to escape the stress and drama of high school! :)
Description from book:
Sometimes you don't wake up. But if you happen to, you know things will never be the same.
Three lives, three different paths to the same destination: Aspen Springs, a psychiatric hospital for those who have attempted the ultimate act — suicide.
Vanessa is beautiful and smart, but her secrets keep her answering the call of the blade.
Tony, after suffering a painful childhood, can only find peace through pills.
And Conner, outwardly, has the perfect life. But dig a little deeper and find a boy who is in constant battle with his parents, his life, himself.
In one instant each of these young people decided enough was enough. They grabbed the blade, the bottle, the gun — and tried to end it all. Now they have a second chance, and just maybe, with each other's help, they can find their way to a better life — but only if they're strong and can fight the demons that brought them here in the first place.
Sentences of the week:
“Love means holding on to someone just as hard as you can because if you don't, one blink and they might disappear...forever.”
“It [death] chokes you, gags you, but you have to pretend that you're doing just fine, not trembling with this fear because the end is close.”
“Memory is a tenuous thing. . . .
flickering glimpses, blue
and white, like ancient,
decomposing 16mm film.
Happiness escapes
me there, where faces
are vague and yesterday
seems to come tied
up in ribbons of pain.
Happiness? I look for it instead
in today, where memory
is something I can still
touch, still rely on.
I find it in the smiles
of new friends, the hope
blossoming inside.
My happiest memories
have no place in the
past; they are those
I have yet to create.”
Pages read this week: 300
Pages read this semester: 4364
**My goal for the next couple of weeks is to finish Impulse (hopefully this weekend) and Perfect. Then I will have read all of Ellen Hopkins's young adult books! I also want to finish Beautiful Boy and I really want to get back into reading the House of Night Series because last night at the store I realized that 2 new books have been released! Even when this class is over in a couple of months I still want to continue to have a book every week to read because it allows me to escape the stress and drama of high school! :)
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Practice Analysis.
In The Mezzanine by Nicholson Baker, Baker has an elevated, refined, and business like diction. The excerpt of Chapter One is connotative, figurative, and dignified straightfoward. The excerpt is very discirptive; there are "long glossy highlights" on each of the "black rubber handrails", and an "esculator of sunlight". Baker discribes everything from the "black penguine paperback" to the "intregral signs" and the "intersections of the lobby". This is just a well put together paragraph.
Close Reading Bingo!
Common Mistake #1
Avoid "he says" quote introductions.
This mistake is found on the blog "Laughapalooza".
http://laughapalooza22.blogspot.com/
Common Mistake #2
Don't use a long quotation as the subject of a sentence.
This mistake can be found on the blog "J-Momma".
http://j-momma.blogspot.com/
Common Mistake #4
When discussing the effects of a passage, avoid referring to the way it affects "the reader" or "the audience".
This mistake can be seen on the blog "Keep It Classy".
http://estella-havisham.blogspot.com/
Common Mistake #6
Avoid the verbs "use" and "shows"
This common mistake can be seen on "The Blog of Epic Proportions"
http://kaylaepicblogger.blogspot.com/
The best close reading of the practice excerpts from class was on "The World Is Ours" blog.
http://star-bellysneetch.blogspot.com/
Avoid "he says" quote introductions.
This mistake is found on the blog "Laughapalooza".
http://laughapalooza22.blogspot.com/
Common Mistake #2
Don't use a long quotation as the subject of a sentence.
This mistake can be found on the blog "J-Momma".
http://j-momma.blogspot.com/
Common Mistake #4
When discussing the effects of a passage, avoid referring to the way it affects "the reader" or "the audience".
This mistake can be seen on the blog "Keep It Classy".
http://estella-havisham.blogspot.com/
Common Mistake #6
Avoid the verbs "use" and "shows"
This common mistake can be seen on "The Blog of Epic Proportions"
http://kaylaepicblogger.blogspot.com/
The best close reading of the practice excerpts from class was on "The World Is Ours" blog.
http://star-bellysneetch.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
My Day.
My Day so far isn't the best. In my second period class I was making marbled paper and in the process of putting black paint on the medium, I spilled the paint on my new shoes and as I write this my left foot is still wet!! I hope my day starts to turn around!!
Over the weekend I started reading Impulse by Ellen Hopkins and I am really liking it even though I haven't made it that far into the book. After I finish Impulse, I will only need to read Perfect and when I walked into the IMC yesterday they had it in, so I decided to get it so I am really excited about that. So far I am really doing good toward my goal for this next quarter.
Over the weekend I started reading Impulse by Ellen Hopkins and I am really liking it even though I haven't made it that far into the book. After I finish Impulse, I will only need to read Perfect and when I walked into the IMC yesterday they had it in, so I decided to get it so I am really excited about that. So far I am really doing good toward my goal for this next quarter.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Currently.
This week I ended up reading Burned by Ellen Hopkins. This was really an awesome book and It might actually be my favorite other than the Crank series. This book broke my heart and is the first book in a really long time to actually make me cry. The book follows a sixteen year old girl, Pattyn. She comes from a strict Mormon family and after she has a dream about sex, her life changes. She ends up getting a boyfriend and then everything really goes downhill. She becomes a different person and her dad doesn't like that so he sends her away to Caliente, Nevada to spend the summer with her Aunt Jeanette. During the summer Pattyn ends up meeting and falling for a boy named Ethan. During this summer she gets her shot at Forever Love.
Decription from inside book:
It all started with a dream. Nothing exceptional, just a typical fantasy about a boy, the kind of dream that most teen girls experience. But Pattyn Von Stratten is not like most teen girls. Raised in a religious - yet abusive - family, a simple dream may not be exactly a sin, but it could be the first step toward hell and eternal damnation.This dream is a first step for Pattyn. But is it to hell or to a better life? For the first time Pattyn starts asking questions. Questions seemingly without answers - about God, a woman's role, sex, love -- mostly love. What is it? Where is it? Will she ever experience it? Is she deserving of it?
Favorite quotes:
“Can a dream be wrong? Aren't dreams God's way of telling you things?”
“Real love finds you once, if your lucky.”
“Do you know how beautiful you are?' I shook my head 'I'm not. But you make me fell like I am.' I wanted to be beautiful. To him. For him. I didn't care how anybody else saw me. Only Ethan.”
Pages read this week: 531
Pages read this semester: 4064
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