1st semester reflection

     During this semester, I read several good books. The books I read covered a great variety of topics. Starting off the semester, I found myself reading "The Universe versus Alex Woods", and I enjoyed the story much more than I thought I would. One book I read this semester that was out of the norm for me was " A long Way Gone" by Ishmael Beah which showed me a different perspective and taught me lessons I will never forget. this inspired me to finish off the semester a little farther out of my comfort zone, and I read the book "12 Years A Slave" by Solomon Northup. I found this book very moving and couldn't put it down. I finished this book a lot faster than a thought I would because of this. The book really gave me a new appreciation of the life I live. The one regret I have finishing this semester is that I didn't read more.
     I would definitely say that the quality of my posts fluctuated throughout the semester. Most of my posts were focused and engaging. with a few exceptions, my posts generally contained specific textual details. I was pretty consistent in using purposefully placed syntax and diction. I did not make grammatical errors but very occasionally I left my voice out my my posts. I feel that I used a good amount of pictures, links, and videos in my posts but I didn't update goodreads often even though I still displayed quotes and my "read bookshelf". This blog is close to my best but I could take a few of my posts to a higher level.
     Next semester I would like to aspire to be more consistent in posting the highest-quality material. I would also like to make a personal goal to update goodreads often. I want to continue to use my voice in posts and make purposeful diction and syntax choices. Along with this, I would like to continue using textual details to engage the reader. I want to make all my posts so that they are predictably outstanding. I have enjoyed blogging this semester and i hope that the reading i do next semester provides me with interesting material for my posts.

New book: 12 years a salve

This week I started a new book, 12 Years a Slave  by Solomon Northup. I finished the first chapter today and I like what I've read so far. The true story really draws me in and its interesting to learn about experiences that I will probably never have. I think that I will like the rest of the book and learn from it as well. This seems like a great book to help me gain some perspective on what it was like to be a slave.

So far I've learned about Solomon's family history and gotten a taste for what the book will be about. I was really drawn in when Solomon said, "My object is to give a candid and truthful statement of facts: to repeat the story of my life, without exaggeration…” I will continue to read over this next week.

New Independent novel

 This week/weekend we were supposed to find a new independent novel. I am usually on top of things and would have one by now but I had something pop- up. To start off our wrestling season this year, the team traveled up to Penn State for the weekend. I will not go into detail because this is supposed to be about reading, not wrestling. Anyway, the end result of all my time being consumed this weekend was that i have come out of these last 2 very long days without a new book. I know that the rest of you are 2 steps ahead and are already reading, and that the rest have at least read good books in the past.

If anyone could recommend their current novel or a past one that I might enjoy,  please comment.

Text to society connection for " A Long Way Gone" by Ishmael Beah

war ruins the lives of everyone who gets caught in it. War is like a hurricane, reckless and lethal, it cannot be controlled. While those at the eye of the storm aim to solve conflicts, the lives that are caught in the edges of the hurricane are ripped violently to pieces. Ishmael is one among millions who were sucked up into the Sierra Leone civil war. He had no argument with either side, an innocent bystander. In the beginning, the war didn't seem real to him. It seemed to far off and too surreal to be true. The war put him in state of complete and utter desperation, stripping his family and friends from him like meat is torn off the bones of a defeated animal, leaving nothing but a bare skeleton. Ishmael was only 12 when the war became a reality for him. He was travelling to a neighboring village to compete in a talent show as a rapper. Rebels attacked the village before they got there, and ishmael was separated from his family. He and his friends wandered from village to village searching for food, surviving several close encounters with death along the way. Ishmael was eventually separated from his friends. He was taken by the sierra leone military, given an AK-47, and made a child soldier. Ishmael and his fellow soldiers were given drugs to keep them fighting. He watched his comrades die. He killed rebels. After this went on for a few years, men from UNICEF showed up and took many of them into rehab. To find out how the book ends, you can read "A Long Way Gone" for yourself.

To synthesize our new realizations with society, we researched the effects of war on children. The article that we looked at talked about how some children are put on the front lines of the battlefield, completely wrecking all chances of a complete childhood right in front of their eyes. War ruins childrens education. Because most development of the brain occurs in the early years of a person's life and child soldiers spend most if not all of their time fighting, opportunities for education are not present. Most child soldiers (if they do not die on the battlefield, which sadly most do), are not able to 'catch up' with the educational standards of today. This connects to Ishmael's life because the war ripped everything he had right out of his hands, leaving him with nothing but drug addictions and faded memories of his family and friends. All opportunities that a human being should have were crushed for him. The war destroyed everything he had.

-Written by Ahmed Ashraf and Matt Le Cras-

10/18/2014

Our class is reading a new book called "The Color of Water". This has interrupted my current reading of "The Universe Versus Alex Woods" so I thought it would make more sense to post on TCOW this week. The book is about James McBride, the author of the book and the life of his mother. The chapters are the alternating stories of their lives. It is almost like James is making a comparison of his life to his mothers. So far i have enjoyed the book and the lessons it stands to make on race.

James reflects on the lessons his mother taught him and how she impacted his life. he describes her odd style of parenting and how she managed to raise 12 children of her own. So far I am enjoying the book and I think that it will coninue to get better.

9/28/14

     To start off this post, I would like to apologize that it was not posted earlier. This is the post from last week that I wrote on 9/28/14 but I left it in my drafts folder by accident and it was never posted. I'm still trying to figure out these blog posts every week- I think this was the fourth one? Im not used to this sort of thing and its odd having a scheduled post every week.

At this point in The Universe Versus Alex Woods, I am substantially sure that almost all (if not all) of the main characters have been introduced. I'm no fortune teller (although Alex's mom is) but I think that the characters at this point in the novel will follow and influence the plot until the end of the novel. For this reason, i think that this would be a good post to "determine a symbol for each of your characters"(thats straight of the prompts sheet.)

so here goes-

Alex- The Meteorite: I don't want to pick the most obvious option, but this is a very fitting symbol for alex because it symbolized a huge change in his life that separates him from many people because of the experience with the meteorite itself and because of the epilepsy that will follow him for the rest of his life.

Alex's mom- Tarot card: Alex's mom is a "psychic' which is a very large set apart from other people. She considers this her religion and it changes her outlook on life which makes it very easy to say that she is not the typical parent in alex's case.  

Mr.Peterson- Because this is for school, I will not explicitly name Mr. peterson's symbol but I feel that it is the most figurative way to symbolize his approach on life because of the things that he has experienced. Mr. Peterson has experienced some of the most horrible things in his life that some might consider things that no person should have to endure. Of these are the horrors of warfare with lasting injury to accompany the memory, and the loss of his wife. He has now almost given off on life and no longer seems to enjoy living. I will let you make an inference on what the symbol I chose for him is by using a quote from alex trying to understand what Mr.peterson was doing naively  by saying "... Mr. Peterson had gone outside for a herbal cigarette."

 

9/21/14

Text to self connection in The Universe Versus Alex Woods

     In this weeks reading, I made a strong text to self connection. I connected with The main character Alex because of what he is going through right now.  Alex has  Epilepsy because he was hit with a meteorite earlier in the story. Because of this, Alex has seen many doctors and has been homebound for a while now. Alex describes his condition as 'brain bound' because the reason he has to stay at home has to do with a problem in his brain. The damage caused by the meteorite causes alex to have seizures, which he has to learn how to control.

     I connected this to when I broke my collarbone in 7th grade. I broke my collarbone doing a backflip on a snowboard, Which meant that it was a pretty bad break. I had to stay home for around 2 weeks before i was able to return to School. During this time, I had to learn to do things a new way. I had to learn how to get up and go to the bathroom without hurting myself, I had to learn how to fall asleep in a chair, etc. I also saw  more than a few doctors during the time my collarbone was broken, and I needed a lot of help to do ordinary tasks. Although my problem didn't last as long as Alex's did, This connection helped me understand what he is going through.

9/10/14

     The Universe Versus Alex Woods: Chapter 4

     Progress in my book is moving pretty slow right now because of how busy I've been. I managed to get a chapter done this week and I'd like to share the most important line from chapter 4.

"But discovering a physiological cause for my epilepsy was not necessarily a good thing" 

     this line is important to the plot because not only does it help to further explain the beginning of the book, it also foreshadows what is to come. The damage to Alex's brain means that he will have recurring seizures for the rest of his life. This could majorly affect him later in the book. Alex's condition will separate him from everyone else, and he will have to learn how to live with his condition. Alex's epilepsy will probably cause several problems later in the book.

Predictions for The Universe Versus Alex Woods

     I haven't gotten very far in the book yet and i'm still in the exposition part of the plotline.
I like what I've read so far and i think that it will be a good book. At this point in "The Universe Versus Alex Woods", alex has been stopped at the airport in customs. He was in his car and the security guard at the gate told him to get out of the car after alex had a partial seizure causing him to be stopped at the gate with loud music blaring for a lot longer than expected. Alex is taken in for questioning about the contents of his car.

    after long questioning and accusation, Alex flashes back to his"accident" that was brought up in questioning. Alex goes on to explain that he was hit by a meteorite a few years before and the people he met during his recovery. He says that this is why he has seizures.

    this is far as I am in the book so I want to make a few predictions about what will happen:
1. I think that alex will explain how the "Accident' with the meteorite affected his childhood.

2. I think that Alex will explain what happened to his mother.

3. I think that Alex will tell about how he meets this "Mr. Peterson" that he mentions during questioning as the man whose ashes are in an urn that was found in alex's car.

4. Lastly, I think that Alex will tell how Mr.peterson ended up in the urn.

8/28/14

     New book: The Universe Versus Alex Woods

     I just started reading a new book by Gavin Extence, The Universe Versus Alex Woods. so far I think I'm going to like it. But, I'm only done with the first chapter so I may be wrong. I've never read anything by him before, so I did a little research to see what I am getting myself into. 

     Gavin extence was born in 1982 and spent his childhood in Swineshead, Lincolnshire; a country in the UK. The Universe Versus Alex Woods is his first book. He won the Waterstones 11 literary prize for the book. He has a PhD in Film studies. Gavin is also married and he and his wife have a daughter. 

Ready Player One

        In my summer reading book, Ready Player one, the main character is wade. wade is a complex character because he is changed by his experience. At the beginning of the book, wade wants to do nothing but play video games and escape reality. Wade hates his life and he would do anything to escape the real world. By the end of the book however, Wade doesn't have that urge anymore. He wants to live in the real world, with his newfound friends because he appreciates what reality really has to offer. 

The article I read talks about how not-so-far-off the book really is. There is a very good chance that something similar to this could happen in the future but at the same time the book is very enjoyable.