Okay, so this week, I didn't do much reading. As a matter of fact, I think the only things I read were my mom's magazine, scbwi (Society of Children's Books Writers and Illustrators), and the prologue to Romeo and Juliet.
scbwi Magazine wasn't normally something I would pick up, but I was flipping through it while doing my Geometry homework and found an article, "The 15 Most Overused Things in YA Fiction." Although the list didn't include Vampires and Werewolves, it still had a ton of stuff I could relate to reading. Here are a few examples, and examples that go with them:
15) Irresponsible parents (Twilight, Shiver)
4) Main characters who are the only ones in the world without a cellphone (The Mediator Series)
2) Guys with _____ (insert adjective of your choice here) green eyes (Harry Potter, Wicked Lovely)
1) Main characters who depise math (The Princess Diaries)
Anyway, the article was really interesting, I'm thinking about bringing it to class Tuesday.
The prologue to Romeo and Juliet seems to me like it should belong in an opera. I've always had that feeling about it, it's dramatic and suspenseful, if you didn't know the storyline. It's actually a lot like a Shakespearean movie trailer...
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
Weekly Reading
Well, this week I went up to Traverse City on Sunday, and on the way up there I read "The Children of Húrin," by J. R. R. Tolkien. It's really neat, and I was over the moon to read it. Basically, in "The Simarillion," Morgoth (the baddie) wants to be the supreme ruler of Middle Earth, and to do so, goes to war with the Elves. However the Elves, for the most part, hold their own, and procede to go and siege Morgoth's fortress, Angband for three centuries (pretty impressive). Then, though, Morgoth fights back, and kills a fair amount of the Elves. But despite the losses, there are still some unconquered Elf kingdoms, such as Dor-lómin, where Húrin Thalion is Lord. This is where the actual story starts in. Húrin and his brothertravel to the hidden Elf city of Gondolin, and stay there a year. Finally, they leave, promising not to tell anyone about the city's location. However, during a battle, Húrin is captured alive and brought to Angband, where Morgoth personally tortures him for Gondolin's location. Yet, Húrin manages to not give in. As punishment, Morgoth curses Húrin's family so that their lives will be plagued by evil, and then he imprisons Húrin on a mountain, forcing him to watch his family's fate. It's a pretty cruel punishment, though I must give Morgoth some credit for coming up with such an original wayto torture his prisoners...
Anyway, I loved the book. J. R. R. Tolkien is one of my favourite writers, so it made me extremely happy to read another one of his stories. The only downside to the story was that I could feel Húrin's pain a lot of the time, which wasn't fun. It made me wonder how I would react in that situation. There were several times in the story where I just wanted Húrin to commit suicide, because I felt so bad for him. And the ending almost made me cry, because... (SPOILERS!) he gets released to see his wife, and she croaks while they meet by his children's graves.
Romeo has nothing on this guy.
Anyway, I loved the book. J. R. R. Tolkien is one of my favourite writers, so it made me extremely happy to read another one of his stories. The only downside to the story was that I could feel Húrin's pain a lot of the time, which wasn't fun. It made me wonder how I would react in that situation. There were several times in the story where I just wanted Húrin to commit suicide, because I felt so bad for him. And the ending almost made me cry, because... (SPOILERS!) he gets released to see his wife, and she croaks while they meet by his children's graves.
Romeo has nothing on this guy.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Thoreau, Part 2
"Henry! Henry! What are you doing in jail?"
"Waldo, what are you doing OUT of jail?"
So, this week, I finished and also reread "The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail." I was disappointed that it ended, simply because I enjoyed reading it so much. It was like when Harry Potter ended, but on a much more miniature scale. It was funnier than Harry Potter though, with Aunt Louisa paying his tax and all. Poor Thoreau, having to deal with his relatively normal family members. :) I guess in a way, the ending made me feel like I was at some awesome sleepover. You know, the type where you stay up all night and do the most random things, like rubbing electric blue eyeshadow all over the faces of your sleeping friends at 2 AM. Bailey was one lucky man; If I ever had a cell mate I would definitely choose Thoreau.
I also came to a conclusion about Waldo this week, although I like him, he's far too into the thinking and wording part of things. Also, he says things, but at the same time doesn't exactly do them. It's like he expects everyone else to do them for him. However, since he's so powerful, I feel like he probably must tread lightly in order to make a difference, so will give him a bit of rope there...
Anyhow, it was a great story. Happy we read it.
"Waldo, what are you doing OUT of jail?"
So, this week, I finished and also reread "The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail." I was disappointed that it ended, simply because I enjoyed reading it so much. It was like when Harry Potter ended, but on a much more miniature scale. It was funnier than Harry Potter though, with Aunt Louisa paying his tax and all. Poor Thoreau, having to deal with his relatively normal family members. :) I guess in a way, the ending made me feel like I was at some awesome sleepover. You know, the type where you stay up all night and do the most random things, like rubbing electric blue eyeshadow all over the faces of your sleeping friends at 2 AM. Bailey was one lucky man; If I ever had a cell mate I would definitely choose Thoreau.
I also came to a conclusion about Waldo this week, although I like him, he's far too into the thinking and wording part of things. Also, he says things, but at the same time doesn't exactly do them. It's like he expects everyone else to do them for him. However, since he's so powerful, I feel like he probably must tread lightly in order to make a difference, so will give him a bit of rope there...
Anyhow, it was a great story. Happy we read it.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Thoreau, Act 1
"The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail" is so far one of my favourite books I've read all year. It's funny, but serious, and it really makes you think. At first, I didn't get what was going on, simply because of the flashbacks. I started the book after three hours of sleep, and thought I was dreaming/not remembering at first, but then I finally figured it out.
This book reminds me of John Lennon's "Imagine." Henry is not the average young fellow for that time era, and is definitely a dreamer. And I also like how he doesn't hesitate to stand up for his beliefs, like in the schoolroom. Henry won't conform to others ways of thinking, especially concerning religion and politics. I feel like people like him are hard to come by, and we never even take advantage of him until they croak. As it is, we really haven't listened to him anyhow. Imagine though, if we had, and how different the world would be today...
Also, I wanna hug Henry for being so kind to Ellen. Many (sexist) men in that time period would have laughed and turned her away, but Henry welcomes her openly just like he would a male, even without the traditional money for tuition. And that girl had GUTS, I mean, she goes out to the meadow where these two men are and asks for an education, a huge thing back then, if you get my point.
As for Deacon Bell, he makes me so mad.I think this may be because of my own... conflicting religious beliefs, but even if they didn't, I think he'd still bug me. He claims to be so "Christian" and elite, yet won't accept others and their ideas, which is what God wanted/wants. What is wrong with the man?
ALSO, VOTE ON THE POLL, DARN IT!
This book reminds me of John Lennon's "Imagine." Henry is not the average young fellow for that time era, and is definitely a dreamer. And I also like how he doesn't hesitate to stand up for his beliefs, like in the schoolroom. Henry won't conform to others ways of thinking, especially concerning religion and politics. I feel like people like him are hard to come by, and we never even take advantage of him until they croak. As it is, we really haven't listened to him anyhow. Imagine though, if we had, and how different the world would be today...
Also, I wanna hug Henry for being so kind to Ellen. Many (sexist) men in that time period would have laughed and turned her away, but Henry welcomes her openly just like he would a male, even without the traditional money for tuition. And that girl had GUTS, I mean, she goes out to the meadow where these two men are and asks for an education, a huge thing back then, if you get my point.
As for Deacon Bell, he makes me so mad.I think this may be because of my own... conflicting religious beliefs, but even if they didn't, I think he'd still bug me. He claims to be so "Christian" and elite, yet won't accept others and their ideas, which is what God wanted/wants. What is wrong with the man?
ALSO, VOTE ON THE POLL, DARN IT!
Saturday, January 1, 2011
TEOGEROMITMM Part 2
Helllooo everyone,
I have officially finished this book, and believe it or not, I actually ENJOYED the ending. I think the thing with TEOGEROMITMM was that it was so dark, the ending seemed happy because it left so much to imagine. For example, I created this scenario after where the story left off:
"The rabbit was the only light in Ruth's life, and he had finally gone out. So in the dead of night, she ran off with Chris Burns to the next town, laughing with the mad joy brought on by freedom. However, this triggered a seizure and being the idiot he was, Chris had no idea what to do. By dawn Ruth was dead and her boyfriend gone for fear of being found guilty of her death. Back at the house, Beatrice was furious. How dare her daughter run away and leave her with Tillie? In a fit of rage, she threw a frying pan across the room, hitting Nanny on the head and promptly killing her as well. Tillie of course came in to see what all the fuss was about, and Beatrice, deciding to blame the morning's events on her other daughter, came at Tillie with a knife. However, she tripped over Nanny's arm and went flying, falling on the knife and killing herself as well. "Oh my," said Tillie. Looking at the bodies though, she could find no tears willing to fall, at least for her mother. Nanny was an entirely different story. Two weeks later, both funerals were held, as well as Ruth's. And as she was walking back to her old house for after the burial, she couldn't help but think about the effects of gamma rays on one's own life..." THE END.
I am aware that this isn't probably the ending, but after reading the book ending (which was pretty open-ended) I felt like Tillie needed a new start. After all, her life wasn't exactly a picnic.
Happy new year, everyone!
I have officially finished this book, and believe it or not, I actually ENJOYED the ending. I think the thing with TEOGEROMITMM was that it was so dark, the ending seemed happy because it left so much to imagine. For example, I created this scenario after where the story left off:
"The rabbit was the only light in Ruth's life, and he had finally gone out. So in the dead of night, she ran off with Chris Burns to the next town, laughing with the mad joy brought on by freedom. However, this triggered a seizure and being the idiot he was, Chris had no idea what to do. By dawn Ruth was dead and her boyfriend gone for fear of being found guilty of her death. Back at the house, Beatrice was furious. How dare her daughter run away and leave her with Tillie? In a fit of rage, she threw a frying pan across the room, hitting Nanny on the head and promptly killing her as well. Tillie of course came in to see what all the fuss was about, and Beatrice, deciding to blame the morning's events on her other daughter, came at Tillie with a knife. However, she tripped over Nanny's arm and went flying, falling on the knife and killing herself as well. "Oh my," said Tillie. Looking at the bodies though, she could find no tears willing to fall, at least for her mother. Nanny was an entirely different story. Two weeks later, both funerals were held, as well as Ruth's. And as she was walking back to her old house for after the burial, she couldn't help but think about the effects of gamma rays on one's own life..." THE END.
I am aware that this isn't probably the ending, but after reading the book ending (which was pretty open-ended) I felt like Tillie needed a new start. After all, her life wasn't exactly a picnic.
Happy new year, everyone!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)