Reading Log 3/18 - 3/24

I finished reading Catching Fire and moved on to Mockingjay! So far I've been reading a lot more that I usually do, and I'me really enjoying it. I usually set time at night before bed to read, and I find time during many of my classes at school. Since my bus ride is about an hour long every morning, I get a lot of reading time then, too. Catching Fire ended with a total cliffhanger, and it wasn't as good as The Hunger Games, and I've heard that the third book is even worse. The Picture of Dorian Gray is such a slow read, and I really don't like it at all. I know it's good to try new types of books that I wouldn't normally read, but I can never seem to focus on it when I'm trying to read it.

This Week: 367
This Quarter: 892

Exercise #3

1. Black Boy White School by Brian F. Walker
2. In Darkness by Nick Lake
3. Double by Jenny Valentine



1) An introduction is given about them main character and the main conflict is brought up.
2) A "content rating" and more formal review usually follow the intro. This is more formal and reviews the story itself instead of summarizing the book
3) The reviewer tells how they feel about the book and rate it themselves.

Note #1

"The Darker Sooner"
By Catherine Wing

Then came the darker sooner,
came the later lower.
We were no longer a sweeter-here
happily-ever-after. We were after ever.
We were farther and further.
More was the word we used for harder.
Lost was our standard-bearer.
Our gods were fallen faster,
and fallen larger.
The day was duller, duller
was disaster. Our charge was error.
Instead of leader we had louder,
instead of lover, never. And over this river
broke the winter’s black weather.

An inescapable despair is evoked by "The Darker Sooner." Everything has transformed from delightful to disgusting. Catherine Wing carries the words to a darker, emptier place which is "father and further" from "happily-ever-after" and closer to "disaster." The poet introduces the sense of change during the first couple of lines which mandates an unwilling hopelessness.

Exercise 1

The Mud Below is almost sung with a monotonous and common language. Annie Proulx's depiction creates a heated sense of urgency when Diamond "slapped his face forcefully, bringing the adrenaline roses up on his cheeks." The author enhances the stress by throwing the reader straight into the action. Rito brings the bull-rope "delicately to his hand from under the bull's belly." There are small things being noticed instead of the large roaring crowd. Annie Proulx stresses that everything must be perfect when riding a bull when Diamond noticed that "everything had gone a little slack." The tiny details are all magnified when about to ride a bull.

Anthology Theme Statement

I might make my anthology about missing something, or being outside/outdoors. I often feel like there's something missing, but I also like being outside and there are many texts that I can use for that.

Reading Log 3/11 - 3/17

So I've been reading the Hunger Games trilogy, and I can't put these books down! One of my goals is to beat my girlfriend in finishing the series. She started about a half a week ahead of me, so I've had some catching up to do. So far, I've finished the first book, and gotten half way through the second. This means I've read over 500 pages this week, plus about 20-30 pages from Dorian Gray. I think I've done well with my goals. I don't really have a specific number of pages that I'd like to read each week, but just to try and read more than I usually do, which has gone well. I've noticed that I like books with outdoor hunting/gathering stuff in them, because I really like Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, and it's similar to the Hunger Games in a way. I think the Hunger Games has a good balance of drama and action which attracts a wide range of readers.
Goals:
1) Finish The Hunger Games first
2) Read more than I'm comfortable with
3) Finish a book every week (if it's short enough)

This Week: 525
This Quarter: 525

Reading Log 3/9/12

I'm reading The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins right now. So far, I really like this book and I can't seem to put it down. I actually can't wait to finish this post so I can read it lol. The author's use of imagery brightened my mind and made me feel like I was in the story when she described the Capitol. Her description of the colors and materials used in building the city was welcoming and exciting at the same time. The city seems like a mix between Willy Wonka's factory and the world from Ratchet and Clank. The people seem really creepy and grotesque, but the story is so hooking.