Summer Reading Assignment: Entry Four

The Michael L. Printz award is given to the best books suited for teenagers and young adults, and the array of winners is quite vast. However, for this blogging project, one book was only necessary. Out of the expansive list of winners and honorary winners, I chose Looking for Alaska by John Green. Here are some reasons behind my decision of reading this book for school.

First things first, this is one of the few books on the list that I have previously heard about. In fact, I had already read this novel prior to this project. I just didn't read it "well enough" and didn't observe any themes or any certain writing style. I first heard about this book in the 7th grade, when a classmate in English did a book report on it and presented it to the class. Of all the reports presented, mine included, his made the book seem the most interesting, hence my initial interest in the novel.

Second of all, around the same time I chose this book to read for the summer, a very particular romantic movie came out to theaters, The Fault in Our Stars. This movie was initially a book, acquiring the same title, and was written by John Green--the same man who wrote Looking for Alaska. And to plop the cherry on top of the sundae, there is an excerpt from TFIOS in the final pages of my copy of the novel. So given all the hype that occurred upon the film's release, I figured it wouldn't be all that bad of an idea if I gave one of Green's books a shot.

Nothing personal really inspired me to read this book, however. Just witnessing soap operas and school-set dramas kind of reminds me of this novel. But despite my personal experiences having nothing to do with this book, I do have an idea of what kind of people it reminds me of and who I'd recommend it to. Genders are mixed, but it depends on how much they care about romance and drama. So, based on the demographic, I'd recommend it to a female, in high school, who is easily lured in with romances such as Twilight and, of course, The Fault in Our Stars. And trust me, there will be a cult based on this book. How would I know this? There's a movie in the works.

So, seeing the sorts of literature that's out right now, it's good to be a John Green fan. So a good way to catch up with what's being praised in his fandom, because its movie rendition might come right after, is to start from the very beginning with his debut book, Looking for Alaska.

Summer Reading Assignment: Entry Three

Sure, the novel Looking for Alaska by John Green contains a whole slew of emotion, but when looking for any part of the book that is "gripping," it shouldn't necessarily mean leaving you at the edge of your seat, much rather giving you a significant interest in the novel, making you want to read more. When Alaska dies, the moment is described, but not creatively. In fact, there wasn't even a narration as it happened. The news was revealed by the Eagle, after the accident occurred. It was described as more of a headline than anything else. If the story of Alaska's death was told as it happened, now that would have left the reader at the edge of their seat.

So in this novel, what makes a certain segment "gripping" is having some kind of meaning or philosophy behind it that will make you want to dig deeper to find its meaning, and by "dig deeper," I mean continue reading.

"I have here Alaska's final. You'll recall that you were asked what the most important question facing people is, and how the three traditions we're studying this year address that question. This was Alaska's question." (written on the chalkboard) "How will we ever get out of this labyrinth of suffering?-A.Y." (Green, 58)

Spoiler Alert; the meaning of this quote is revealed before this quote was even said. Alaska had stated this quote from Simon Bolivar before she made it the topic of her final. She told Pudge the meaning of "suffering" specifically. "It's not life or death, the labyrinth. Suffering. Doing wrong and having wrong things happen to you. That's the problem." (Green, 84). She also describes the things you feel in the labyrinth. "You spend your whole life stuck in the labyrinth. Thinking about how you'll escape it one day, and how awesome it would be, and imagining that future keeps you going, but you never do it. You just use the future to escape the present." (Green, 54) Now, thinking of the future may be the coping mechanism, but the way to escape this labyrinth is also mentioned. However, just because it is mentioned doesn't mean I will.

So to summarize, the way to get hooked to Looking for Alaska is to think rather than to listen, and a main theme, that theme being the "labyrinth," is quite involved in that thought process. Your brain is the detective, rather than the television. You are Columbo, you're not just watching it.  That's how you get hooked.

Summer Reading Assignment: Entry Two

As with every novel, each character has its own unique complexities. To increase the amount of interest given to that character, they are given one or more certain desires, or goals they would like to fulfill in life. And with the variety of characters in Looking for Alaska by John Green, that's a given.

What are the desire of Miles "Pudge" Halter? Well, let's just say they are also the desires of many other boys who are attending boarding school at Culver Creek. Go to parties, hook up with a girl (or two, maybe more...) and the rest is classified, yet quite obvious. However, his goals go way farther than just that. He wants to make some friends that are not just drama geeks and people who have no one else to talk to. That's when he met the Colonel, Takumi and Alaska, so right off the bat he got some boxes already checked off.

The only desire that the Colonel, Chip Martin acquires is to have another fun year at Culver Creek. He also did some things that he should have done a while ago, such as breaking up with his picky, frustrating girlfriend Sara. Another goal of his is to end the constant torment of the Weekday Warriors gang at the school. After the hateful acts they have committed towards him and Alaska, their main target, for seeing each other such as urinating in their shoes and flooding their dorm rooms, payback and vengeance is at bay for his list of missions to accomplish.

Takumi's goal is simple. Impress some people. He has lots of talents, and he wants to show them off. He is the class clown of Culver Creek. He gains an audience every time he cracks a joke or slips up. He's also almost a professional rapper. On Page 68, he starts a rap cycle when he hangs out with Pudge, the Colonel, Alaska and Lara. They all eventually join in, cracking their own creative rhymes.
He also doesn't want to get caught, because you can't catch the Fox.

Alaska doesn't have that many desires. She feels as if her life's wishes have already been fulfilled. She has a faithful boyfriend, she has tons of other friends who are always on her side. However, throughout the continuation of the novel, she seems to have an empty space inside, the gap constantly widening. I suspect that she is secretly falling in love with Pudge. That being said, Pudge secretly falls in love with Alaska, for her beauty and personality, so this situation will very much engage the reader to see what happens next.

A theme that is starting to convey throughout the book is that whenever the chips are down or the going gets rough, your friends shall always be by your side. Whether it'd be your defeat by a bitter rival or just some type of personal misfortune, your pals will have your back.

The structure of Looking for Alaska is very much conventional, only however there are no chapters. There are two main sections, "Before," and "After." The different "chapters"are formed in a sort of "countdown" fashion, for example "Ninety Eight Days Before." That fragment being in the "Before" section of the novel.

Summer Reading Assignment: Entry One

For summer reading, I am currently in the midst of reading Looking for Alaska by John Green. You may have well heard of this novel, as it is the debut novel of the same author as of The Fault in Our Stars, which its movie rendition is currently ripping through box offices across the globe. But while that book sheds more tears than anything else, the book I am on right now is more of a gripping, entertaining read.

 Our protagonist in this book is Miles Halter, who later acquires the nickname "Pudge" for the sake of irony due to his thin, dainty physique. His existence is an embodiment of awkward, and his interests are anything but abundant. His life wasn't all that fun in his Florida public school. The only friends he had were drama geeks who didn't devote their lives to anything else but that. But then he makes the decision to transfer to boarding school, Culver Creek in Alabama, to be specific. His father had previously went there, and often times shared of his fun times there. And once Pudge had moved into his dorm room, his social and emotional life is changed forever.

Miles' roommate, Chip Martin, who bears the nickname, "The Colonel," has been to Culver Creek before. He is a more laid back, irresponsible human being who leisurely drinks and smokes, His favorite drink being Ambrosia, a 5:1 mix of milk and vodka, and his favorite drug being cigarettes. He has a good relationship with video games, and a bad relationship with his girlfriend, Sara, whom he later breaks up with.

Alaska Young is the cute, pretty, funny, attractive, fun, crazy, outrageous, stupid and emotionally unstable girl who lives two doors down from Pudge and the Colonel. She lives alone in her dorm, for her roommate got expelled for the Trifecta (being drunk, high and having someone else be in your bed with you). It turned out that Alaska had ratted her out, which made her a huge target for the Weekday Warriors, the group of antagonists in the novel. She is also the main distributor for drugs and alcohol in Culver Creek, dealing and frequently smoking cigarettes, and drinking primarily red wine. She has a boyfriend, Jake, who is a southern gun and makes both Pudge and the Colonel feel an enormous sense of jealousy.

Other side characters include Takumi, the perverted Japanese exchange student who proudly bears his fox hat upon his head, Lara, the Romanian-American who ends up dating Pudge for a short while, and the "Eagle," the strict, uptight school dean.

There are tons of conflicts in this novel, but the primary one being that Pudge, being the newbie, needs to catch up with social life at Culver Creek. You probably have already guessed the main setting, being Culver Creek. It is an older Boarding School, bearing a hexagonal-shaped campus. (and it also serves the best fried bean burritos you will ever find)

A good literary connection to this work would be something like Grey's Anatomy or any other drama/soap opera that takes place primarily in a certain setting. There are many dormitory dramas out there on television, but I'm not all that familiar with any of them.

A CONTINUED RECOMMENDED POST

Well, as a unique prompt, I will be giving some recommendations for the small screen. I am very much into comedy, but I can take some drama if I want to.

RULES: Shows must be scripted. That is all.

TIE: The Office, 30 Rock and Grey's Anatomy

Workplace sitcoms are always fun. I wouldn't call Grey's a sitcom, but it does have its funny moments. It's about a hospital in Seattle and its whereabouts. Mainly, the show revolves around its interns, who have an intertwined love life with each other and the staff. The patients also vary, which gives it a nice touch of anticipation. As for the true sitcoms, I prefer older seasons of the office simply because of Steve Carell. It's about the average day in an ordinary office--and all the shenanigans that go on within. It's sad the show's over now. I'm also depressed about the discontinuation of 30 Rock. It's about an ordinary day in and out of work at NBCUniversal. Specifically, the staff of a sketch comedy show, similar to Saturday Night Live.

Arrested Development

This show is hilarious. At least the first three seasons were. The Netflix version sucked. The series is about the wealthy Bluth dynasty, whose patriarch gets arrested for fraud. The family copes with the misfortune with a series of misadventures. For example; Michael's failing love life, Gob's failing magic life, Lindsay's failing sex life, Tobias' failing acting/coming out life, George Sr.'s failing prison life, Lucille's failing rich life and Buster's failing school/losing his left hand life. The show is filled with tropes and references that will come back to you as life goes on. It is sure to make your sides split into two.

Okay, so that's it. Stay classy.

THIS POST IS RECOMMENDED

This blog is all about literature. Whether it'd be books, movies or TV shows. You may have come to this site to expect some type of recommendation source. Well, I'm going to give the people just that in this post. Here is my list of literary recommendations.

Carrie, by Stephen King (and both the movies)

If you are unpopular at school, and want to take a stand to your social status on the school's Caste System, Carrie would be a good guide. As Stephen King's debutant novel, the horror book tells a tale of the High School Glory Days, and a dorky girl's discovery of an amazing power she acquires. She uses it to avenge her enemies at school and her extremely religious, almost insane mother, in a very sinister way. It is a very suspenseful, yet above all relatable read.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

This one makes you think a little bit. It tells the story of Guy Montag, who lives in a dystopian society as a book burner. In his society, books are illegal, and must be burned down along with the buildings they reside in. However, Montag smuggles a couple of books here and there from the sites. His wife discovers, and soon the whole city knows. He then declares war against the Status Quo who believe that books are the source of some evils, and the outgoing who like to read, like you guys!

The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling

Yes, we've all seen this one. The famous fantasy series has recently come completely to a close, with the last movie adaptation being released a couple years ago. So here's the plot. A boy who witnesses the death of his parents by the dark wizard Lord Voldemort who was out to defeat the DA (Dumbledore's Army). In revenge, Harry sets out to try to defeat Voldemort as vengeance and at the same time, deals with school drama at Hogwart's. Good book for a kid.

So those are my recommendations as far as literature goes. G'night!

Well, what can I say?

The question mark is a common form of punctuation. It also often describes one's mind. Everybody is stupid. Even when somebody knows a lot, they don't know a lot. You could answer a billion questions, yet you have more than a quintillion in the remains. Everyone expects the brain's capacity to acquire the same enormity as does the triceps of a bodybuilder, and it does. However, it is flabbergastingly close to impossible to fulfill that space. So I would like to give you a task. Ask yourself a question. Then answer it. Afterwards, ask another question, then answer that. Keep the pattern going on and on. Keep it going until you die. Ask and answer questions to yourself until you reach your demise. In fact, ask yourself some more questions in Heaven, and then answer them there. The queries you can present yourself are infinite. It's implausible to halt the everlasting chain of questions. So this should be your lifelong project. Ask yourself a question. I bet you're doing it right now. Answer these questions, store your responses in your mental intake, and see where life goes from there.

Final Blogging Assessment in English 1B

As this is my final post for a while, I suggest that the theme for this post should comply with the occasion.

 The final line in any book is, when you strip it down to the basics, the most important.

 Many leave a reader thinking what would happen next, like adding ellipses to a mysterious sentence which takes you a couple of minutes to comprehend, then you infer what happens next, even though it's not written in fine print in the book.

 There are also very simple closing verses that leave the reader with a sense of satisfaction rather than suspense. For example, the famous line from any Grimm tale, "...and they lived Happily Ever After." You know exactly what happens next once you read that line. Princess/Damsel marries Unlikely Groom who initially saves the day, they have kids, get old together, you get the gist.

Besides that ending to most Fairy Tales, there are many other famous closing lines out there. Like from Romeo & Juliet, "Never was there a tale of more woe, than this of Juliet and her Romeo."

The closing line to The Great Gatsby, the book which I had just completed reading, is also very famous, indeed. It makes you ponder a little on your sense of vocabulary and sentence structure, but it is none but satisfying in the end of it all. "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."

You don't really know what exactly is going on in this quote. According to the first few words, "So we beat on, boats against the current," maybe, using setting, Nick and Jordan set sail after the Gatsby's death. Obviously, the last few words there, "...borne back ceaselessly into the past," suggests that he is trying to forget it all. All the material, the cars, the drinking, the sex, he is trying to evict from his head.

Those are just some ideas. You can think up some of your own, but using context clues, characters, setting, plot, diction and syntax, basically all the elements of writing and text analysis, those are the ones that I came up with and most likely you would come up with if you weren't thinking. But rememeber, writing is about creativity and expressing yourself, so don't rerstrict your talent and jot down your thoughts without any thought. Dive deeper in your expertise, and make something fun out of it.

And, turn the back cover.

Commencing My Journey Through a Classic Novel: The Great Gatsby

My mother, specifically, likes to keep me busy. If I'm bored, then she'll suggest me a book to read. I'd rather be a lazy bum and watch TV, but thet's just my 21st. Century self. My mother suggested me last weekend to read Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. I told her that I will see what I can do, and insted of reading the thousand page neckbreaker, I decuided to go for an easy classic read, made into a movie rendition last year. I am, of course, speaking of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The main plot is about an aristocrat, Jay Gatsby, who used to be very unfortunate, and during his years of poveryty, he has a crush on a girl who had a thing for rich guys. She marries a rich man, just in time for Gatsby to make his journey from rags to riches. He tries to win her heart, despite the fact that she is married. The plot, here, is very interesting, and I would love to dive deeper into this famous novel.

Post-Reading Analysis of Characters

In the book Christine by Stephen King, the main character is Arnie. This is the character that I will be analyzing. I don't think of him as "the good guy" at all. I think of him as the antihero, or even more as the "Goodie Two Shoes gone bad" sort of character. The car is what gets him into all this trouible. Not far into the story, he gets arrogant with his parents when his father opposes him of his possession of that car. It wasn't because of some sort of bad feeling in his gut, more likely because he simply didn't have enough space in his garage. He starts to scare Dennis, his best friend, and his girlfiend Leigh. In the end, his prized possession gets the best of him, and eats him up. The plot is too complex to be comprehended by a preschooler, but it is amust-read for the true reading enthusiast.

Legos: A Kid's Heaven, a Parent's Nirvana

Legos have been around for about 65 years. Originating from Denmark, the building blocks of childhood have been proven a win-win for parents and kids. Sure, it's torture to accidentally step on a lego block, but all it takes to avoid that is to be careful as well as responsible, for cleaning the floor after done with play. These are some of the many morals gained from tinkering with Legos. Creativity can (obviously) be gained by playing with them, piecing together unorthodox designs to express themselves whilst simultaneously enjoying themselves. Good architecture skills can result from that. Math skills are also put to the test while toying with the blocks. Dimensions are used to signify the blocks. There's a veriety of them--1x1, 2x2, 2x3, 10x10, the possibilities are endless, and the kids can learn to multiply. For example, if there are 2 rows of three, there are six pegs. 2x3=6. This is proof that third grade math can be learned by a tike in Pre-K. To top it all off, kids are engulfed by the fun Legos have to offer. They won't bug the parents by reaching for the cookie jar or begging for a sucker. They won't be scavenging for the TV remote just so they can accidentally switch onto a limited-commercial airing of Rambo instead of the usual Dinosaur Train. They'll just run to the giant Sterilite tub and break out the Lego blocks, and they'll be busy for hours on end, while you can break out the greek yogurt you got that was on sale this week and watch your little Real Housewives marathon that you DVR'd and planned on watching for 3 weeks straight now. See? Good for you, and your kid(s).

Source(s): http://www.cincinnati.com/story/opinion/columnists/krista-ramsey/2014/02/15/krista-locking-into-the-magic-of-legos/5521245/

Christine: Discussion Question #1

As I wrap up my journey reading Christine by Stephen King, I notice that a lot of main characters are being killed off, the only people who aren't killed (yet) are Arnie, his best friend Dennis, his girlfriend Leigh (whom he is in a complicated relationship with due to the car) and his parents (also in just as a complicated of a relationship for the same reason). My discussion question this week is this. Does Christine, the demented '58 Plymouth, have any compassion for anyone in the novel? Respond to this question in the comments!

New Trimester, Same Book

I'm still reading Christine. It's quite a long novel. However, I am nearing its end. So, for those who forgot, Christine is about a car who is possessed. Arnie, our main protagonist, buys the car after he gets his license, and soon finds out the secret it has been holding for a long time. Stephen King, the book's author, does a great job of keeping the readers, such as myself, glued to the yellowing pages of this old copy that I'm reading. He uses clever introductions to his chapters, correlating to the names of the segments, split up into thirds, in this book. Many vital characters have been killed off through the duration of this novel, but Arnie stays alive. Maybe we might see a change in that...

Reading Blog Reflections

The post on my blog that best exemplifies how I analyze complex characters, analyze development and theme and show thorough textual evidence throughout the post is the post I did around the beginning of December, last year.

http://farbersreadingblog.blogspot.com/2013/12/summer-reading-what-i-did.html

 The blog is about how I spent my summer reading (what book I read to do my project on). Howevger, I didn't just say 'Well, I read *gibberish* over the summer and I liked it. Fin' No. I took my time typing that up. I rummaged through the pages, both physically and online, to refresh my memory as much as I can about that book. I remembered the author, characters and plot of the book, so I typed that onto my blog with great detail and effort (even though there's not that much effort required in typing up a simple post), but this wasn't a simple post. I put my back into it. Nowadays, my blog posts are kind of dismal, because I have nothing to say. I am doing things poco a poco now, but that post, the one you are reading about right now on this amazing blog I made, my brain was a roladex of a million cards. Fortunately, I found ever card I needed. So the way I analyzed my characters (who do have complex traits, indeed) is pretty long. "It's about a girl named Rosalind, whose lesbian parents die in a car accident (like Paul Walker did a few days ago, may he rest in peace). After a lot of (soul) searching, she moves in with her biological father, Sean, a single man in his mid-thirties whose only friend is an unsuccessful lawyer. He is ecstatic that he finally has someone living with him, but still has second thoughts when it comes to responsibility and taking care of the child. For example, when he notices Ros smoking on the rooftop, he doesn't bother telling her to stop, but just emails her to never do it again, or at least not at his house. Their bond grows stronger and stronger to the point when he goes running from coast to coast in search for his daughter after she runs away to find out more about her late parents." About one third of the entire post. This also included some evidence of progression of theme. The bond between Sean and Ros becomes so strong that Sean acts like a true father figure. He travels coast top coast in search for the daughter that technically wasn't even his. He just donated the sperm.

My goals for English 1B is that I wish I could analyze books like this more. My goal is to do that then. Another goal is that I read more often. It's good for the brain. And my final goal is that I study harder and not just wing my tests. That's not good, and usually leads to failing. Well, that's it. That's all I had to say for now. Ciao.

Theme of Christine

Ooh, goodie! This is a tough one. Theme is one of the simplest, yet most complex pieces of the anatomy of a novel. Let me say, that thus far, I have not come up with a legit theme for this book, but I will post a blog later on in the book, once I figure it out. Thank you!

"Christine" Conflict

So far, I have not gotten to the main conflict just yet, however, the only conflict I can see is that LeBay is totally prejudice towards the rest of the world, and Dennis doesn't like Christine at first sight. From the (mental) looks of it, the novel's main conflict should be pretty interesting...

"Christine" Imagery

Taken that this King novel was written in 1983, I expect the roads to be flocking with Caprices, Honda Civics and good old Christine, the 1958 Fury sitting in Roland LeBay's front yard. It's for sale, and he's selling it for $300. It the guy who's interested isn't a maggot, his fee is $250, and that's exactly who the successful buyer, Arnie Cunningham, is. He is a willing buyer of the old roaring fifties clunker, and possibly the only one. However, he may be the only one interested for a reason...

"Christine" Characterization

The main character of the 1983 novel Christine by Stephen King goes by the name of Arnie Cunningham. He is a 17-year old just living his life normally, with his parents, best friend Dennis and his girlfriend Leigh. One day, him and Dennis are driving down the road when he sees an old 1958 Plymouth Fury for sale. Arnie falls in love, and buys it from the racist, patriotic Ronald LeBay, an army dischargee. He buys it for $250, restores it and calls it his own. Something significant about Arnie is that he is way too eager. He instantly buys the car he sees in rough condition in a yard on the road with his best bud. Speaking of which, his best bud disapproves of Arnold's purchase. I have only read the first few bits, but this is all I got in this category.

New Book: Christine

My new book choice is yet another Stephen King novel, Christine. It's about a man who buys a car he names Christine, and since his purchase, things start going haywire. Chances are it might be possessed. Coincidence? Find out when I blog more about the book.

Character Analysis: Devin

Devin is the main protagonist in Joyland. He encounters a murder mystery at an amusement park. I feel as if he worries too much. During the novel, he runs into his ex. From what it seems, through author Stephen King's genius third person storytelling, he's too jittery. You can never tell when he steps in and for a main protagonist, he doesn't get much involvement in the story. I should see him more, or at least the text should give me more indication of seeing him more. He reminds me of a cat. He seems noble and with authority, but he seems to run away from certain situations--big situations.

Plot for "Joyland"

Joyland is a horror novel by Stephen King. It is a story about a boy in his high school years who is working at a theme park, trying to get over an ex-girlfriend. As his summer goes on, however, things at the workplace get fishy. It all piles on top of each other, until it all becomes one big huge catastrophe. It is a chain of events that is advertised to keep you at the edge of your seat and your eyes glued to the pages, but after reading, my thoughts have changed. Hopefully my next King novel would be better, if possible, much better.

Book Choice

I have not possessed a book yet, I don't have the time, but I will keep you posted. Doctor Sleep is at the top of my list right now.

Conclusion for Joyland

I wasn't so impressed. I think I may have expected more from a Stephen King novel. The plot was not as structured as I thought it would be. I liked his other novels,  what happened?  I'm going to read Doctor Sleep next, hopefully it'll be better.

Post Holiday Update

I have read halfway through Joyland by Stephen King as of now. I have read this slowly so I can indulge information it offers, but unfortunately, it does not offer much of that. Based on its description, it seems like a juicy novel, but the climax never seems to appear. This book is more of a snoozefest to me. It just consists of a series of events that just fly by without you noticing. It's like that one class that you have at school, that just has your teacher lecturing to you useful information, but it's so monotone that you can't recognize when the subject is changing. I thought Stephen King could be better, and he is. I don't see a Joyland movie anytime in the future, let's put it that way. So, that's all I have for now, I'll keep you posted once I reach a good point in the novel (If there is one).