Finally

This semester I read more than I thought I would, however it wasn't always easy for me to reach the required amount of pages or to find time to read. I read a lot of romance novels, of course, and a variety of other books that were recommended to me by someone else. One challenge I had was pushing myself to stick with a book that I found boring to read or hard to read, but I did. I read during any amount of time I could find, at night, during commercials while watching tv, etc. If I find a book that instantly grabs me and interests me, I can read for hours totally absorbed in the book. However, I don't think that's happened completely since I read the Twilight series. Whenever I find a good book that I think someone else would enjoy, like a family member or friend, I talk about it to them and suggest they read it.

At the end of the semester I still think I'm the same reader I always have been. I still read the same types of books because the books I read are the ones that interest me. But, by doing the "Art of" projects and exercises I look at writing in a different way. I have a new perspective of how to be descriptive and analytical. This summer I will most likely read independently because I do almost every summer. I'll probably be reading the same types of books because I like to enjoy what I read. If I'm reading a book that I don't get into until the very end, I don't enjoy reading it. I think you should enjoy what you're reading, especially if you're reading independently and have a choice of what you read. As of right now I'm going to finish reading Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen and then read another one of her books.

Riding Through the Pages

Rebecca...still difficult to read; enough said.

Currently absorbed in Along for the Ride.

Auden continues her conflict with her dad, and I still want to reach through this book and give her dad a little talkin' to. Aside from that I'm happy to read/see Auden making friends, even though the friendship is not what I had expected to form between Auden and Leah, Esther, and Maggie. In the beginning of their "friendship" Maggie had been nothing but nice to Auden until Maggie found out that her ex-boy toy was flirting and suddenly interested in Auden. Auden, already socially awkward, being new to the town, and being just a visitor for the summer, has no intention of having a relationship with the ex-boy toy, Jake, or of getting on anyone's bad side, aka Maggie. But, Auden starts working at her father's wife's store, Auden is forced to face Maggie everyday, where eventually a friendship is formed between her, Maggie, and the other two girls who work there. I personally think it's great that they became friends because Auden needs a couple of girlfriends, for more than one reason. First of all, she doesn't know hardly anyone in the town. Second, she's always had a relationship with her books and numbers and school work, but never with boys or friends. Not being much of a social butterfly, she could use some friends like Maggie, Esther, and Leah. And, while gaining some friends, she's also content back in the office at Hiedi's store, working with the checkbook and money. Best of both worlds.

Week 10

Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly
Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen

Pages this Week: 103
Total Pages: 1110

Along for the Ride

So, the beginning of Along for the Ride was a little slow but now that I'm farther into it, it's pretty good. It does frustrate me though how inconsiderate and ignorant Auden's father is. He barely helps out with his newborn baby, just like he hadn't with Auden or her brother, and he's so focused on his work that he barely spends any time with Auden even though he doesn't see her often at all. Sometimes I wish I could just jump into the book and talk some sense into him. Auden is a very independent and intelligent girl, as she's been brought up to be. And I see why she's the way she is in regards to personality. Her mom, being so caught up in her successful writing career, expects the best from her and always over assumes when it comes to responsibility. Not to mention her mom's partial absence due to her consistent dinner parties with students who are a little more than overly intrigued by her. Auden is often left to fend for herself, which is probably why she's used to staying up doing homework and then going to a small little diner at 2 o'clock in the morning, by herself. I can also see how the relationships with her parents have caused her to be some what of a social outcast.The smart one, and then mix in the contentedness of being alone and you get, Auden. I almost feel bad for her because she's missing out on vital parts of being a teenager, like having fun. Auden needs a little fun in her life, which is why I'm happy that she decides to go to her dad's for the summer. Her dad lives on a beach, for the record.

Week 9 Currently

Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly
Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen

Pages this Week: 105
Total Pages: 1007

Bingo

1. "When describing a simple he book, he states, "black Penguin paperback," when he could have just stated paperback." The Written Word

2. "Throughout the excerpt Barker used excellent verbs and description to explain all of the sentences."Let's Start!

3. "On the subject of his parents, he says "they're touchy as hell." T-Rex

4. "Salinger uses boring, depressing words to shape his character's harsh and "crumby" living environment and how he came to live there." Live, Laugh, Read

Best: In the opening page of Catcher in the Rye, J. D. Salinger underscores the teenage angst bursting though the young, yet disillusioned, Holden Caulfield. Lowbrow words like "lousy,"
"crap," "stuff,' "hell," "crumby," and "damn" accentuate Holden's anger as he rambles the opening of his story. Furthermore, sentence fragments, such as, "One of those little English jobs that can do around two hundred miles an hour," destroy any last vestige of formality, further developing the aura of simply telling a story to a friend. Despite a Dickens allusion, the majority of the passage is purely denotative, lacking symbolism. This expository passage helps develop Holden's past. Although the majority of this passage is about Holden's family and past, the majority of the character development shines through Salinger's diction and style.
A Scrap of Parchment 

Practice Diction Analysis

J. D. Salinger’s loutish and reverberating style in his excerpt from Catcher in the Rye, expresses the narrator’s unenthusiastic and lethargic attitude towards his own life and world in general.The narrator begins by addressing the desire of readers to know more about his "lousy childhood" in which he doesn't want to describe because "that stuff bores" him. His outlook displays the disconnection and unwilling relationship between his parents and himself. The only history the narrator seems to inform the reader about is "madman stuff" that happened to him before he becomes "pretty run-down." His cloistered approach to most people, even his family, implies that he is guarded and informs about most anyone or anything, except for himself. Aside from his connections with family the narrator reveals a pessimistic attitude towards the place he lives describing it as a "crumby place." Clearly, the narrator isn't satisfied with his current situation, from his public relations to living situations.