Welcome to my blog. On this site, you'll find my personal musings, ideas about teaching, some of my latest writing, and assignments for my class.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Sophomore Independent Reading Blog #2
Write a paragraph telling people who haven't read the book what the book is about so far. Read other people's posts and ask at least one person a question about his or her book.
Newjack is about a real journalist named Ted Conover. He really wanted to do a story on "correction officers" (known by most of the public as prison guards) but they wouldn't allow journalists in. To get the story, he had to become a CO(correction officer) himself. At the start of the book he is in the Academy, training to become a prison guard. The rest of the book (he works as a CO for about 2 years) is about him working; the lifestyles of the inmates and the CO's and the affects of being a CO.
So far, Watership Down is mainly about a rabbit named Hazel and his brother, Fiver. Fiver is special, because he is able to sense danger very well. They come upon a constroction site, and Fiver feels that there is "very bad danger" coming to the warren. They attempt to tell the chief rabbit, but he doesnt believe them. Hazel and Fiver gather a group of friends and plan to leave the warren.
So far, my book, "One Hundred years of Solitude" is about the Buendia family, who live in a small and isolated town, Macondo. The family consists of Jose Buendia, Ursula Buendia, and their children. Jose is enchanted by the mystery and allure of the visiting gypsies magic, as well as their gadgets. He becomes estranged from his wife and children because of incessant experiments with alchemy and other forms of new and strange science.
Brave New World so far is about a futuristic world in which people are being manufactured as thousands of siblings and twins. The first few pages are basically about the process in which people are being manufactured, and it is written from the point of view of a group of students touring the facility's.uperman7rocks
So far my book is about a boy and his brothers. they are living in africa. their parents r divorced. their town gets attacked by rebel soldiers and they run away. they get so hungry that they have to go back to the town they where staying in. the soldiers catch them. thats is as far as i got.
So far my book, A Long Way Gone, is about a young African boy and his brother stuck in an African war-zone. Their home town has been attacked by rebels and they do not know where his parents are. The whole situation is extremely confusing to him. Hey Nick. What made you choose that book? I am interested.
Eagle Strike is about Alex Rider who is a former MI6 agent who sees a man who killed his Uncle. He is with his friend on vacation. He does not know what to do.
Marley and Me is about the life of a newlywed couple. So far, they just got Marley and he has already done some funny stunts. Jenny is also pregnant; it will get even more interesting with Marley's reaction to the baby. I am really liking the book!
So far, Jenna is basically trying to figure out who she is. Her parents are keeping secrets from her. Jenna is constently becoming stressed at her lack of memory. She begins to feel lonely as the weeks drive on since she woke up. She makes a new friend: her neighbor. Finally, Jenna brings up the idea of school to her mother. Her mother seems to be very protective over Jenna and almost seems to be guilty for something though we dont know what yet. After much difficulty, Jenna convinces her mother to allow her to go to school. When she goes to her school, she finds that it is a small charter school and the four other students have complications either mentally or physically. She makes friends though and even meets a boy whom she seems to be attracted to.
So far, The Book Thief is basically about a girl named Liesel Meminger who has been placed in foster care and her brother dies on her way to her new home. It is a little confusing, but starting to become clearer the further I get into it. @Sage- Your book sounds interesting! Would you recommend it to me or others in the class?
Marley and Me is about a couple who buy a new puppy. They couple live in Florida and they both work for newspapers. The wife, Jenny, tries to grow plants. Every time her husband, John, buys her one she always manages to kill it. After a while Jenny gives up on plants and decides getting a dog is better because it is better practice for when they have a baby. They look in the newspaper and find an ad for new born puppies. The go to the farm where the puppies are and fall in love with this very energetic puppy. The lady who is selling the puppies sold them the dog at $350 instead of $400 because that dog is such a handful.
Daughter of Fortune is about a young orphaned girls named Eliza who is brought up by a wealthy european family in Chile. Her adoptive mother, Rose, found Eliza on her doorstep in a milk crate wrapped in an old sweater. at this point in the book, Eliza is about 14, and is beginning the steps of becoming a proper lady in society.
So far, my book, The Mistress of Spices, is introducing how the main character, Tilo, got to where she is currently. She is actually a younger woman trapped in an old persons body, working in a spice shop in Oakland, CA as a Mistress. She tells about how her special powers have helped and destroyed people in the past, and how she got to meet the Old One on a secluded and private island. I like it so far, although it gets a bit tricky at some points to follow.
A Tale of Two Cities starts in London just after the American Revolution. A man working for Tellison's bank goes in search of a girl he had dealt with on business terms several years ago. Him and his colleague take her to Paris to introduce her to her natural father.
So far, The Help is about three women living in Mississippi in the early 1960's: Aibileen and Minny, black maids and Miss Skeeter, a white woman recently out of college. Things are extremely explosive; there's incredible amounts of racism and hate crimes going on, but Miss Skeeter wants to change things and is writing a book about what it's like working as a black maid through interviewing Aibileen and Minny.
@Kelsey: was it difficult for you to understand at first who was narrating? (I'm assuming you've figured it out by now). I think it's a fascinating perspective that has the potential to be way too dark and morbid yet isn't. What do you think?
Im reading a random book that I pulled off the shelf of Mr. Hodara's collection called "The Woman Warrior" written by Maxine Hong Kingston. Surprisingly this is a nonfictional piece of literature. The beginning starts off with the main character's mother who tells her that she had an aunt. This aunt was found dead, floating in the family's well along with her new born baby. The girl analyzes the story, remembering that the villagers had, just the night before, surrounded their house and killed all their live stock, ruined rice fields, bombarded the house and splattered animal blood everywhere. This horrid night was all to make sure that the aunt was to give birth to her child in chaos, because the child was not the aunt's husband's child. The main character draws similarities to her own personality and trys to understand her aunts situation as a Chinese immigrant living in California. This book is really interesting and makes me appreciate the value the Chinese had for their ancestors much more.
Steven, you book does sound "supah nutz bradda". But what kind of kid is he? Was he born and raised in the ghetto, or was his family life some how scarring? How does he get the opportunity to fight in the MMA? How old is the young man?
So far, A Long Way Gone is about a boy, his brother and his friends that are interested in rap music and hip hop dancing. Their home town is attacked by rebels and they are forced to become apart of all the horrors and struggles of war. They become extremely hungry and weak and they keep walking from town to town not knowing where they might end up.
Jessie- I heard Marley and Me was a really cute book, is it really as good as people say?
A Tale of Two Cities is so far about the era in 1775 where France and England where "it was the best of time" as well as "it was the worst of times". Both countries competes with each other with different ideas.
@Sage- Is it what u think would happen in the future?
So far my book, Kite runner, is about a middle eastern man that is living in San Fransisco. So far he is recounting his child hood memories about living in Afghanistan. So far it is a very interesting book. Hey Nicholai, How is Long Way Gone so far? is it worth reading? would you recommend it?
Sage, your book seems crazy intresting haha(: do they manufacture people as they would a machine? or are they grown through cloning and embryos and stuff like in starwars?
megan, hahahaha! That book actually sounds really interesting. Let me know if you continue reading it
The Last Song is about a girl named Ronnie who just finished high school. She lives in Manhattan with her mom and is being forced to spend the summer with her dad at his beach town in North Carolina. She seems to be bottling up a lot of negative emotion for some reason and wishes she were staying home. The prologue takes place 6 months after this, where Ronnie's mom is staying with her at her father's beach house, but her dad is unexpectedly no longer there. She is crying and begins telling her mother her regrets.
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo- About a detective company with two agents (Armonsky and Salander) who are investigating a controversy that involves Wennerstrom and Blomkvist. Blomkvist, a journalist trying to stay out of the spotlight, takes up a job writing a biography of a man who wants to find who killed his niece in the information of the biography.
Gracie- Is it worth reading? Is Marley as lovable and annoying as I have heard he is?
Bleachers by John Grisham is about this guy who comes back to his hometown for the first time since he was an all star quarterback for the football team. He has to forgive his old coach for something he did. I don't know what yet. It's gonna get good I bet.
So far in The Kite Runner, our narrator tells us he's young at the time growing up in Afghanistan. He tells us about this summer that changed his life. Amir the narrator is living in a city and sees a kite, which makes him remember about Hassan. He starts to tell about the things him and Hassan would do, like climb trees.
So far in my book, Crocodile Tears by Anthony Horowitz, the main character, Alex Rider has been introduced. Also, the story opens up in a nuclear power plant where a poor Indian man unknowningly blows up the nuclear reactor.
In the beginning of "What is the What," the protagonist, Valentino Achak Deng has been robbed inside his home in America. It seems like the story is ready to go back in time to his days in Africa. It is very interesting so far and resembles "A Long Way Gone," for those who have read it.
Levi- Your book does not seem very interesting so far. What about it do you like?
Jessie- Yea a ton of crazy things happen there! It's nonfiction though so none of it's made up there's just like fights and a twisted society. How is your book going? Everyone seems to see Marley differently.
Greg-That sounds really cool! Do you recommend it? Does it go into depth or something about his internal thoughts and conflict and change?
Into Thin Air is a book about the experience of climbing Mt. Everest. Unlike most other books, which describe the glory of climbing the tallest mountain in the world, Into Thin Air goes into detail about the struggles and difficulties that go along with accomplishing that goal.
So far my book, "Crocodile Tears" is about a man who works at a nuclear reactor. He is very poor and his lifestyle is very squalid. He lives in India. The man has 2 children and a wife. He is approached by some english men and offered money if he does something. That something is to put a bomb in a a part of a nuclear reactor. He is told by the englishmen that the bomb has a 10 minute delay, giving him time to escape. He goes into a certain part of the nuclear reactor and places the bomb. As he sets the bomb it explodes, he was never going to be able to get any money and was planned to be killed all along. That is the first chapter.
SO far my book is about a newly wed couple who wants to start a family but the wife, Jenny, is nervous about not being a good mother. They answer an ad in the paper about new puppies and decide to adopt one to ease themselves into caring for other things and in hopes of starting a family and having a dog for their children to grow up with. As they start they're new life with this Marley he ends up being a handful.
Ariana- your book sounds good so far. Do you like it and who is the author?
A Long Way Gone so far is about a boy named Ishmael who is walking with his friends and his brother to another town to do a talent show, when a group of rebels attack their village. Ismael loses all of his family and is trying to survive by going town to town until the war ends. He ends up being pulled apart from his group and his brother and him are currently in a town that is for the first time in awhile being nice to him and not trying to kill him.
46 comments:
Newjack is about a real journalist named Ted Conover. He really wanted to do a story on "correction officers" (known by most of the public as prison guards) but they wouldn't allow journalists in. To get the story, he had to become a CO(correction officer) himself. At the start of the book he is in the Academy, training to become a prison guard. The rest of the book (he works as a CO for about 2 years) is about him working; the lifestyles of the inmates and the CO's and the affects of being a CO.
So far, Watership Down is mainly about a rabbit named Hazel and his brother, Fiver. Fiver is special, because he is able to sense danger very well. They come upon a constroction site, and Fiver feels that there is "very bad danger" coming to the warren. They attempt to tell the chief rabbit, but he doesnt believe them. Hazel and Fiver gather a group of friends and plan to leave the warren.
So far, my book, "One Hundred years of Solitude" is about the Buendia family, who live in a small and isolated town, Macondo. The family consists of Jose Buendia, Ursula Buendia, and their children. Jose is enchanted by the mystery and allure of the visiting gypsies magic, as well as their gadgets. He becomes estranged from his wife and children because of incessant experiments with alchemy and other forms of new and strange science.
Brave New World so far is about a futuristic world in which people are being manufactured as thousands of siblings and twins. The first few pages are basically about the process in which people are being manufactured, and it is written from the point of view of a group of students touring the facility's.uperman7rocks
So far my book is about a boy and his brothers. they are living in africa. their parents r divorced. their town gets attacked by rebel soldiers and they run away. they get so hungry that they have to go back to the town they where staying in. the soldiers catch them. thats is as far as i got.
@nick how is it so far? is it worth reading?
So far my book, A Long Way Gone, is about a young African boy and his brother stuck in an African war-zone. Their home town has been attacked by rebels and they do not know where his parents are. The whole situation is extremely confusing to him. Hey Nick. What made you choose that book? I am interested.
Sage do you think you would recommend your book to other people in the class??
Eagle Strike is about Alex Rider who is a former MI6 agent who sees a man who killed his Uncle. He is with his friend on vacation. He does not know what to do.
Nicholai sounds like a good book. Which country does this take place in?
Marley and Me is about the life of a newlywed couple. So far, they just got Marley and he has already done some funny stunts. Jenny is also pregnant; it will get even more interesting with Marley's reaction to the baby. I am really liking the book!
Angelique, your book sounds really interesting so far. Why were they attacked? Do you like the book so far?
Why i fight is about a kid that gets into trouble and chooses to balance it out with MMA fighting. Super nuts bradda
So far, Jenna is basically trying to figure out who she is. Her parents are keeping secrets from her. Jenna is constently becoming stressed at her lack of memory. She begins to feel lonely as the weeks drive on since she woke up. She makes a new friend: her neighbor. Finally, Jenna brings up the idea of school to her mother. Her mother seems to be very protective over Jenna and almost seems to be guilty for something though we dont know what yet. After much difficulty, Jenna convinces her mother to allow her to go to school. When she goes to her school, she finds that it is a small charter school and the four other students have complications either mentally or physically. She makes friends though and even meets a boy whom she seems to be attracted to.
So far, The Book Thief is basically about a girl named Liesel Meminger who has been placed in foster care and her brother dies on her way to her new home. It is a little confusing, but starting to become clearer the further I get into it.
@Sage- Your book sounds interesting! Would you recommend it to me or others in the class?
-Angelique, your book sounds really good. Would you recommend it to anyone?
Marley and Me is about a couple who buy a new puppy. They couple live in Florida and they both work for newspapers. The wife, Jenny, tries to grow plants. Every time her husband, John, buys her one she always manages to kill it. After a while Jenny gives up on plants and decides getting a dog is better because it is better practice for when they have a baby. They look in the newspaper and find an ad for new born puppies. The go to the farm where the puppies are and fall in love with this very energetic puppy. The lady who is selling the puppies sold them the dog at $350 instead of $400 because that dog is such a handful.
Kyla! Your book sounds really good! Is there anything exciting that happened while he was training to be a CO??
Daughter of Fortune is about a young orphaned girls named Eliza who is brought up by a wealthy european family in Chile. Her adoptive mother, Rose, found Eliza on her doorstep in a milk crate wrapped in an old sweater. at this point in the book, Eliza is about 14, and is beginning the steps of becoming a proper lady in society.
Amanda-
your book sounds really good. what's the title, i would like to read it.
So far, my book, The Mistress of Spices, is introducing how the main character, Tilo, got to where she is currently. She is actually a younger woman trapped in an old persons body, working in a spice shop in Oakland, CA as a Mistress. She tells about how her special powers have helped and destroyed people in the past, and how she got to meet the Old One on a secluded and private island. I like it so far, although it gets a bit tricky at some points to follow.
Kylie~
Your book also sounds interesting... Who is the author?
~Jessica P.
A Tale of Two Cities starts in London just after the American Revolution. A man working for Tellison's bank goes in search of a girl he had dealt with on business terms several years ago. Him and his colleague take her to Paris to introduce her to her natural father.
Buzz- How are you liking a tale of two cities so far? Would you reccomend it?
Amanda - What book are you reading? What exactly happened?
-Greg
So far, The Help is about three women living in Mississippi in the early 1960's: Aibileen and Minny, black maids and Miss Skeeter, a white woman recently out of college. Things are extremely explosive; there's incredible amounts of racism and hate crimes going on, but Miss Skeeter wants to change things and is writing a book about what it's like working as a black maid through interviewing Aibileen and Minny.
@Kelsey: was it difficult for you to understand at first who was narrating? (I'm assuming you've figured it out by now). I think it's a fascinating perspective that has the potential to be way too dark and morbid yet isn't. What do you think?
Im reading a random book that I pulled off the shelf of Mr. Hodara's collection called "The Woman Warrior" written by Maxine Hong Kingston. Surprisingly this is a nonfictional piece of literature. The beginning starts off with the main character's mother who tells her that she had an aunt. This aunt was found dead, floating in the family's well along with her new born baby. The girl analyzes the story, remembering that the villagers had, just the night before, surrounded their house and killed all their live stock, ruined rice fields, bombarded the house and splattered animal blood everywhere. This horrid night was all to make sure that the aunt was to give birth to her child in chaos, because the child was not the aunt's husband's child. The main character draws similarities to her own personality and trys to understand her aunts situation as a Chinese immigrant living in California. This book is really interesting and makes me appreciate the value the Chinese had for their ancestors much more.
Steven, you book does sound "supah nutz bradda". But what kind of kid is he? Was he born and raised in the ghetto, or was his family life some how scarring? How does he get the opportunity to fight in the MMA? How old is the young man?
So far, A Long Way Gone is about a boy, his brother and his friends that are interested in rap music and hip hop dancing. Their home town is attacked by rebels and they are forced to become apart of all the horrors and struggles of war. They become extremely hungry and weak and they keep walking from town to town not knowing where they might end up.
Jessie- I heard Marley and Me was a really cute book, is it really as good as people say?
A Tale of Two Cities is so far about the era in 1775 where France and England where "it was the best of time" as well as "it was the worst of times". Both countries competes with each other with different ideas.
@Sage- Is it what u think would happen in the future?
So far my book, Kite runner, is about a middle eastern man that is living in San Fransisco. So far he is recounting his child hood memories about living in Afghanistan. So far it is a very interesting book. Hey Nicholai, How is Long Way Gone so far? is it worth reading? would you recommend it?
Sage, your book seems crazy intresting haha(: do they manufacture people as they would a machine? or are they grown through cloning and embryos and stuff like in starwars?
megan, hahahaha! That book actually sounds really interesting. Let me know if you continue reading it
The Last Song is about a girl named Ronnie who just finished high school. She lives in Manhattan with her mom and is being forced to spend the summer with her dad at his beach town in North Carolina. She seems to be bottling up a lot of negative emotion for some reason and wishes she were staying home. The prologue takes place 6 months after this, where Ronnie's mom is staying with her at her father's beach house, but her dad is unexpectedly no longer there. She is crying and begins telling her mother her regrets.
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo-
About a detective company with two agents (Armonsky and Salander) who are investigating a controversy that involves Wennerstrom and Blomkvist. Blomkvist, a journalist trying to stay out of the spotlight, takes up a job writing a biography of a man who wants to find who killed his niece in the information of the biography.
Gracie- Is it worth reading? Is Marley as lovable and annoying as I have heard he is?
Sage- I heard A Brave New World is like 1984, is it true and is it any good?
Bleachers by John Grisham is about this guy who comes back to his hometown for the first time since he was an all star quarterback for the football team. He has to forgive his old coach for something he did. I don't know what yet. It's gonna get good I bet.
Steven- is it a true story?
So far in The Kite Runner, our narrator tells us he's young at the time growing up in Afghanistan. He tells us about this summer that changed his life. Amir the narrator is living in a city and sees a kite, which makes him remember about Hassan. He starts to tell about the things him and Hassan would do, like climb trees.
Angelique is your book good??
So far in my book, Crocodile Tears by Anthony Horowitz, the main character, Alex Rider has been introduced. Also, the story opens up in a nuclear power plant where a poor Indian man unknowningly blows up the nuclear reactor.
Alex, where does you book take place?
In the beginning of "What is the What," the protagonist, Valentino Achak Deng has been robbed inside his home in America. It seems like the story is ready to go back in time to his days in Africa. It is very interesting so far and resembles "A Long Way Gone," for those who have read it.
Levi- Your book does not seem very interesting so far. What about it do you like?
Jessie- Yea a ton of crazy things happen there! It's nonfiction though so none of it's made up there's just like fights and a twisted society. How is your book going? Everyone seems to see Marley differently.
Greg-That sounds really cool! Do you recommend it? Does it go into depth or something about his internal thoughts and conflict and change?
Into Thin Air is a book about the experience of climbing Mt. Everest. Unlike most other books, which describe the glory of climbing the tallest mountain in the world, Into Thin Air goes into detail about the struggles and difficulties that go along with accomplishing that goal.
So far my book, "Crocodile Tears" is about a man who works at a nuclear reactor. He is very poor and his lifestyle is very squalid. He lives in India. The man has 2 children and a wife. He is approached by some english men and offered money if he does something. That something is to put a bomb in a a part of a nuclear reactor. He is told by the englishmen that the bomb has a 10 minute delay, giving him time to escape. He goes into a certain part of the nuclear reactor and places the bomb. As he sets the bomb it explodes, he was never going to be able to get any money and was planned to be killed all along. That is the first chapter.
@Rocky could you add a little more information? it sounds very interesting?
SO far my book is about a newly wed couple who wants to start a family but the wife, Jenny, is nervous about not being a good mother. They answer an ad in the paper about new puppies and decide to adopt one to ease themselves into caring for other things and in hopes of starting a family and having a dog for their children to grow up with. As they start they're new life with this Marley he ends up being a handful.
Ariana- your book sounds good so far. Do you like it and who is the author?
A Long Way Gone so far is about a boy named Ishmael who is walking with his friends and his brother to another town to do a talent show, when a group of rebels attack their village. Ismael loses all of his family and is trying to survive by going town to town until the war ends. He ends up being pulled apart from his group and his brother and him are currently in a town that is for the first time in awhile being nice to him and not trying to kill him.
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