Dover Beach Post (4th Post)

         I walked away from Montag and Mildred's front door as I wiped my wet cheeks with my silk sleeve. Mrs. Bowles drove away trying to avoid me. I rode with her to Mildred's but I didn't want to now after my emotional scene. My heels clamped the sidewalk as I sped up faster and faster. My heart beat sped up faster and faster. I sat on the lawn of a stranger's home but they would probably be consuming themselves with TV like the rest of our society. Why did I allow Montag to read me that poem? I'm a rule follower. It just makes me feel guilty about my marriages. I miss Pete. Retreating, to the breath of the night wind. What if he doesn't come home I will be all alone. I sobbed harder. This is the only marriage that has worked in a long time. I think I have happiness but what if it is all lies and I'm not seeing something. Mathew Arnold just was married to the love of his life and is already doubting that it will not last. I breathed heavily trying to catch it. Where do me and Pete stand? Retreating, to the breath of the night wind. For all I know he could be dead in combat. Maybe Montag is right: books are insightful pieces of information unlike television. What am I saying? I must be crazy. Books are illegal I am crazy. I closed my eyes and pictured Mathew in a movie of the poem as I recovered. The waves crashed against the sand as the tide brought them all back home. Dover Beach.
2 Weeks Later
"Hello Mildred! How are you?" I say hiding my letter behind my back.
"Good good. Are you okay? I haven't seen you since uh you cried after Montag read us that poem." Mildred sympathized.
"I'm okay. I had a little bit of a panic attack on a nice fellow's lawn but I have made some important decisions lately that I think will make me happy. I'm going to the post office now where are you headed?" I confessed while staring at the edge where the sidewalk and grass met each other.
"I am heading home. Soap Oprah Marathon is on in ten. Got to go! Hope to see you soon." Mildred yelled as she rushed away.
"You too!" I said processing the time of events. As long as the war doesn't get to us.
1 Week Later
            My hands were brown from the rifle but I tore the letter open anyways. It was from my lady. It read:
             Dear Pete,
                    I am sorry we are not together for me to explain this to you. Over the past three weeks I have put a lot of thought into are relationship and don't believe that it is right. I know I am not the expert on marriages and more on divorces but someone and something has taught me that we can never be happy and in love with someone because the world always brings pain and suffering just like waves moving pebbles. I will always love you.
                                                             -Mrs. Phelps

3rd Blog Post- Fahrenheit 451

I am taking a break from reading My Sister's Keeper for now because my honors English class is reading Fahrenheit 451. The book is written by Ray Bradbury and I have liked it so far. The genre is science fiction and my teacher said that it was one of the first futuristic books written but many modern authors today have modeled their own books after Bradbury's. When I started reading the first twenty pages I was a little confused because the author doesn't straight out tell you all the rules of the futuristic society but I actually liked it. Learning about how the society worked engaged me even more in the book. In the short book that Bradbury wrote in 9 days, you meet a fireman named Montag who is married to Mildred. A television addict. The reader also meets a girl named Clarisse that has a wild family and makes Montagu question his relationship along with his point of view of reality.
The houses are also fireproof but it's the fireman's job to burn down any houses with kerosene that have books in them. Books are not allowed in the United States during this time period instead television is consumed by most human beings and is the source of most information. Montag soon realizes that the lack of knowledge that his society has is threatening every aspect of life. Through this journey to revive reading he meets more characters and inspires them to help change the country. One of my favorite quotes in the one hundered eleven pages I have read is, "...and the feeling that the sky might fall upon the city and turn it to chalk dust, and the moon go up in red fire; that was how the night felt"(Bradbury 90). In my opinion, the quote gives a really cool visual to readers and also is a metaphor that is describing the night. Bradbury uses really cool techniques in his writing like illusions, parallels, diction, dramatic irony and metaphors. I am really enjoying the book so far and can't wait to finish it. It really makes me think about society today in a different perspective. Here is a link to a video about Rad Bradbury writing Fahrenheit 451: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzD0YtbViCs

2nd Blog Post: My Sister's Keeper

            I am still reading My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult and I'm on page 116 of the 423 page book. I try to read about 20 pages a night but I'm going to take a break from it this week. Are class is reading Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury so I'm going to focus on that book so I can really understand it for in class discussions and activities. But so far in my personal reading book Anna Fitzgerald, the sister of Kate who has leukemia, is in the process of talking to an attorney and judge about wanting medical emancipation from her parents. Anna's mom was an attorney so she is familiar with what is going on and is not happy about her daughter's decision. Through out that dilemma the different characters' chapters flashback to the past. Some stories are about Kate being diagnosed with cancer, others are about the effects her cancer had on the family and some more are about how Sara, the mother and Brian, the father decided to make an embryo who now is Anna so that Kate could have a perfect match for organ donations and other medical needs.
            The author Jodi does a great job of using high vocabulary and it isn't just medical words but also elevated diction. I am reading the book on the kindle app on my phone and on there is a feature where you can click on the unfamiliar word and it will bring up a side note. The note gives the definition of the highlighted word. I like it because it is a fast and easy way to look up the meaning of the word. Also, sometimes if I like the word and think I could use it in my future writing there is another feature where you can highlight it with a color so you can always go back and see your highlights. One sentence that I highlighted using a new word is, "In bed that night, Brian is an obelisk, another shape breaking the darkness,"(Picoult 36). I encourage for you to use these features if you are reading something on a Kindle or the Kindle app. Here is a link about more features on the Kindle and how to use them: http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/kindle-shortcuts-and-tips.html

           

1st Blog Post of New Semester

"Maybe who we are isn't so much about what we do, but rather what we're capable of when we least expect it"(Picoult). This quote is from the that I am reading the book. Its called My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult. There has been a movie made based on the book starring Abigail Breslin who is the main character named Anna Fitzgerald and Cameron Diaz who plays Sara Fitzgerald. Anna is the younger sister of Kate who has a type of leukemia. Sara is Kate's mom who has been through a lot for the past 16 years of Kate's life. But she fights with her daughter courageously and with love along with the rest of her family: brother Jesse, husband Bryan and daughter Anna. The movie is very sad and is sort of like The Fault in Our Stars by John Green which is my favorite book. So I recommend it to people who loved the tear jerking, cancer stricken romance.

I am 60 pages into the 417 page book so it is kind of a long novel. The book is divided up into shections that are named by the days of the week so it is pretty easy to know the time frame of the plot of the story. The chapters are each named by a character and they are from their point of view. I have never read a book that has had this many point of views but I like it because I can really understand the problems through theta characters eyes. But on the other hand it is also hard to switch my brain from each point of view. The book goes through the story of how Kate fights her cancer while Anna files a lawsuit to have medical emancipation. Both these things cause many problems that the family have to overcome. So far in my opinion the book's genre is realistic fiction and drama. I am really enjoying it so far. Here is a link to the author Jodi Picoult's blog on the page about My Sister's Keeper: http://www.jodipicoult.com/my-sisters-keeper.html.

5th blog post

I just finished one of the three stories in the collection Let it Snow. The story was called The Jubilee Express by Maureen Johnson. A girl named Jubilee has to go on a train ride on Christmas Eve to see her grandparents in Florida because her parents got thrown into jail. She is upset because she can not see her boyfriend Noah. On the train she meets two boys named Jen and Stuart. On her ride she learns that Noah is not the guy for her and falls in love with one of the guys on the express. This story was a really good book that had romance and Christmas combined! This is my fifth blog post so I know I should have made more time for myself to create another one. I have been stressed with studying exams and just lost track of when the due date was. Next semester I will definitely make sure that I have six blogs at the end of the year and maybe this semester make a reminder for myself so I will remember.

4th Blog Post

I am not currently reading a book right now because I have been reading The Color of Water and writing my essay but here is one book I want to read and its book review link......


http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/let-it-snow-john-green/1102380229?ean=9780147515018

I want to read this book because it consists of "three holiday romances" which is my favorite genre and it is going to be winter and the holidays pretty soon so it would be a good book to read to get into the mood of Christmas. One of the stories is written by John Green who wrote my favorite book The Fault in Our Stars so I think I would enjoy them all.

3rd Blog Spot

I am currently reading Maze Runner by James Dashner. I saw the movie before I read the book and fell in love with it. I usually don't like reading action books like Hunger Games but the movie was so intense and had a futuristic concept that I wanted to read it. I am half way through the book but it is really good so far. The author describes the setting of the maze and the characters thoughts really well so I can visualize what's happening throughout the plot. The movie I think was better than what I have read so far because the visuals make the conflict so much more intense but I am really like the book. I highly recommend the movie and book!