Finally

My reading has transformed into a dedicated hobby. Some of the books I have read this semester have been challenging, difficult to get through, and interesting. Some of the books have made me tap out, submitting me with their dragging sentences, and boringly eloquent words, to the undesirable fate of setting the book down. On the contrary, others have captivated me, motivating me with a magnetic force to keep picking that same book up. I put it down and its like a flame flickers out, the only way to satisfy the cold left in it's wake is to pick up the book, every page turn fuel to the fire. The flame of reading has grown bigger for me. Now when I go to Jefferson Point I find myself wasting away hours, not looking for anything specific, but just reading. I go to the cooking section and look up a random, tasty recipe that I will never make, then I put myself in the middle of a mystery, hopping from that into the middle of a raging battle in the biography of a great war general. The books that I read at the bookstore, I never finish, or even see again. The interest that is there, the fire, is what is most important to me. I still stay to a couple of genres of books, or to a few authors, but that is just when I want to read a book all the way through. I have found myself expanding the reaches of my knowledge through reading this semester, and that is a trend I hope to continue. I have read interesting facts in magazines, skimmed articles about celebrities and drug busts, things that I never thought to read, I have begun to pick up. I want to continue to feed the reading fire. I want to be able to, as I have done this semester, to pick up a book and enjoy it for what it is, not that I have to finish it, or understand it, but to lose myself within the confines of the dark ink of the white pages. Reading has become a way to focus my mind, to give me different views of the world that I can compare and relate to. What was once a laborious task of schoolwork has now become a passion of pleasure that has helped me grow, focus, and expand. Its amazing what can happen in books, and through books. I especially want to thank Mr. Hill for being a hipster, English teacher, and whose revolutionary class has allowed me to glimpse the mysteries of reading for pleasure and fun, thanks again.

Walkers with the Dawn
 By Langston Hughes

Being walkers with the dawn and morning,
Walkers with the sun and morning,
We are not afraid of night,
Nor days of gloom,
Nor darkness--
Being walkers with the sun and morning.

Currently, bout to be the weekend

lAST wEEK:
pAGES: 278
bOOKS: 1 (cITIES OF THE pLAIN)

ThIs WeEk:
PaGeS: 562
bOoKs: 2 (The ROAD & Tick Tock)

Close-reading Bingo

B-I-N-G-O and Bingo was his name O'

Chillin in the Nyle- Rule #6
Salinger uses common words and even slang some slang like dough to try and communicate his story.http://letsgetawesome5.blogspot.com/

Apples to Apples- Rule #4
It holds an uncensored array of words that give you the perception that nothing matters and the main character doesn’t feel a necessity in explaining any factual minutiae about his parent’s past.http://wowfaktor.blogspot.com/

As Told By Ginger- Rule #3  
he also uses figurative language when he mentions the escalator “as the handrails slid on their tracks, like the radians of black luster.” 
 http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=6298112448369333548

The lost message of words- Rule#2
Mezzanine, Baker’s business like figurative language characterizes the refined workplace which he describes. Baker describes the escalators themselves that rise to his office, “They were the free-standing kind: a pair of integral sins swooping upward between the two floors they served without struts or piers to bear any intermediate weight.” 
http://thelostmessageofwords.blogspot.com/

Close Reading: Transcendatalist focus in the Work Place: Nature in the office of Nicholson Baker

The lofty adjectives of Nicholson Baker’s precise and seamlessly flowing language conveys an enjoyable office where nature and man collide in a harmonious medley. The narrator relates common, inanimate objects around him, such as his “small white CVS bag” and the escalators that are rising “toward the mezzanine,” to set an everyday type, routine mood. He brings nature into the picture with a general description, “sunny days like this one,” but then delves into the results it has on the workplace. The sunlight dances through the windows, its omnipresence shining “against the brushed-steel side panels” emphasizing the handrails with “long glossy highlights.” Baker weaves the environment and workplace together into an atmosphere of peaceful focus.

Style Mapping

The tres books that I'm going to put on the style map are, Stardust by Neil Gaiman, The Mud Below by Annie Proulx, and Cities of the Plain by Cormac McCarthy.

I would place Stardust at an elegant high, with precise denotation, and a middle sound that is neither hamonious and sweet nor discordant and bitter.
The Mud Below is poetic yet basic, it impliments common language with a simple country twang, and it has a sweet and musical sound.
In Cities of the Plain McCarthy uses a middle of the road language to both conotate and denotate during different parts of the novel, although the language implies messages, it is coarse and blunt, this low language always has a harsh, dull sound to it.

Currently

pages this week: 164 :(
I finished 1 book this week.

I read About a Boy which was pretty good. It was all about Will who basically has no depth and its his interactions with a boy, MArcus, that forces him into the reality that he is not a complex person and that what you see on the outside is all there is. He has no dimension. This realization is very sad but he tries to change it. solid.

Quarterly

I have been reading way more than I usually do. I find myself wanting to read more, expanding my genres and book selections to types that I wouldn't have read before. I've been trying to read more, sometimes late at night, or right after school, even, to my teachers' dismay, during lectures and in class. I have taken to ask people their recommendations for books and have liked some of those. My goals for the rest of this semester are, basically, to read like a champ. I want to finish some more books, read at least 200 pages a week. I want to have the elusive 1000 page week. I really want to finish first in the class in pages and top seven overall.

About a Boy

I started About a Boy this week. It is written by the same author who wrote my last book namely, Nick Hornby, and is starting off more interesting than the last. Many of the character's actions make me wonder not whether or not this really happens, but rather how often it happens in real life. The boy, Marcus, who is twelve, is basically a geek. He just moved and is living with his depressed single mother. His mother is to sad to really help him with his problems and he has no friends. Well he kind of had friends, but they started to get bullied, just like him, and so they asked him to never hang near them again. Pretty harsh for a kid around the seventh grade. He is also made fun of for a time when he started singing a song during English class, you know one of those pesky tunes that wont get out of your head, and it just happened to be during a silent reading time. He is now made fun of by his whole grade and the upperclassmen. His infamy is spreading. What a life, aye?

The real character is Will. He is a single, thirty six year old guy who, because of one mix up, is trying to get with single moms. He really enjoys his life, not displeased at all, when he mixes up two blondes. One he sees in a record shop, and the next, who he thinks is the first, he sees at a coffee shop and approaches. He starts off embarrassed but they quickly become buddy buddy and arrange for a second date. At the next encounter she tells him that she has kids. He says it doesn't bother him even though he turned down being a godfather and is trying to never talk to some of his friends again because they have kids and are "boring". He lies to her and keeps up the routine for about six weeks when she breaks up with him. The reason for the split is that her son isn't ready to be on good terms with anyone because he is still upset at his parents divorce. Now comes the kicker: 1) Will's favorite part of the relationship is the break up because she cries and its not really his fault 2) his only disappointment is that he will no longer get to share physical intimacies with a single mum 3) He plans on trying to now prey on single moms instead of just single women. He tries, unsuccessfully, for the next few weeks to meet up with single moms. Because he has gotten nowhere, he hatches a new plan: join a single parents group (called SPAT) after making up a fake child (a two year old son named Ned) so he can hook up with the single moms of the group. This is as far as I've gotten but it is very well written so far and also humorous, hopefully Will doesn't get himself mixed up in too much trouble?

Currently

Sentences of the week:
1. Yessir.
2. You catch the snowflake but when you look in your hand you don't have it no more.
3. But ther aint but one reason... It's that their word's no good. That's the only reason there ever was or ever will be.

Pages: 159 this week

BOoks BoOks booKS

This week I finished my book High Fidelity? It was very interesting as he ends up proposing to his girlfriend, Laura, after an intense funeral and a weird get together. They start up his old club, called The Groucho, which is basically just an old people's throwback retro-club. He is interviewed for the start up of his club by a cute, sophisticated reporter whom he is immediately infatuated with. He plans to meet up with her for a drink although he has just reunited with Laura. When he realizes what has occured he has an epiphany. The next page he is sitting at a bar, with butterflies flittering through his stomach, he proposes to Laura. He sees that by getting married he is opening his wife, When your thirty something and not married thats all you can think about, being single or in a relationship, but when you get married it opens you up to pursue whatever you want. He realizes that he is completely dependant on Laura, his friends, social life, habits, money, all includes her but she is not dependant on him. She has taken time to pursue other aspects of her life so that she has something to fall back on while he can't progress until he gets married. This was an interesting turn of events in the book because, personally, I didn't know what Rob was going to do and I'm pretty sure he didn't have an idea of what he was going to do. High Fidelity was a good book and I would recomend it but its definately not for everyone. Rob is a hard character to like if you dont understand his relationship to music and if you dont like music, you wont get it.

I also am reading The Crossing which is getting good already. Billy is just a kid who traps a wolf. Right now he is walking around with the wolf muzzled and he is trying to take it back to Mexico. The most interesting part so far, which included heavy foreshadowing, was his meeting with an old man. McCarthy uses spanish during their small talk but when he wants to emphasize the important parts he lets them talk in English so that the reader understands the importance of their words. McCarthy uses this to make it clear to the reader the unimportance of the surroundings but the importance of the words. Basically the man says that once you have caught the wolf everything will change. I'm excited to read Billy through his quest.

Sentences of the Month

1. I have to say that it was the best milkshake I ever had in my life. It was so delicious, it almost scared me.

This is one of my favorite sentences ever. It makes me want to go to Steak and Shake and buy every type of milkshake they have; or possible, go to the  store and buy supplies to make a million, malty, mingling, mixalicious, milkshakes. Thats what I want, a scary delicious milkshake.

2.Step on a crack, and you'll soon be eaten by the bears that congregate at street corners.

I like this because you never know what awaits simple decisions or seemingly, unimportant actions. Sometimes the smallest decisions make the biggest difference, like being eaten by bears. Awwwwwwwsome.

3. "There is a shabby nobilitiy in failing all by yourself."






CURRENTLY
Books:
Pages:

High Fidelity

This book that i'm reading, High Fidelity, is really interesting? The guy, Rob, is basically a bum. he owns his own record shop in London, but its not doing to hot. He has had to borrow money to keep from going under, his girlfriend (who was living with him) left him for the guy who lived in the apartment above him, and he has this weird desire; he feels that to bring closure to his past, he has to meet up with all of his his top five worst break-ups and ask them why they rejected him.His struggles are really interesting and funny.

Throughout his journey, mid-life crisis, rediscovery, whatever tickles your fancy, he compares his problems to the one bearing in his life, music. His life becomes this endless playlist of different genres and melodies. At soon as his most recent girlfriend, Laura, leaves him, he re-organizes his whole record collection. His music is his life, therefore, by reorganizing it, he is reorganizing himself. He does it chronologically to how he bought the records, instilling in himself a purpose to get to the bottom of his problems by looking at where they started, chronologically. While Rob is trying to sort through his mess of a life, he meets this American singer, Marie. He has always wanted to get with a recording artist, which Marie is, and with an American, which she also is. He finds himself disoriented and, often times, off-guard by her frankness and classic American attitude.

The way Rob narrates his story, relating everything through albums and different songs, made me wonder what if we all do this, which to a point we do. Its like when school is hard or there is a girl you like that you don't know how to ask out, you put your problems into terms you understand. Everyone has something their good at and I feel like that's where your problems go. For me I can put stuff in wrestling terms and its funny to think about your problems in such terms, but it works because its all relative. Relating your problems like this puts the seemingly unsolvable in the simplest terms to yourself.

New Books?

Lately now, I've been reading alot of easy, breezy books? I've decided, after reading The Perks of Being a Wallflower, that I want to read more substantial literature that has deeper meanings, metaphors, and qualities.

Thus my selection of new novels is High Fidelity which is a book by Nick Hornby that is similar in style and characteristics as wallflower. It is a story of a man, Rob, who owns a music shop in England that isn't doing so hot. He tells some of his story in flashbacks and lists and discusses everything that comes up in his life. I'm near the beginning and he has talked about his past girlfriends who hurt him the most when they broke up because recently, his girlfriend Laura, has moved out to be with someone else. I wanted to read it because its similar to wallflower and both remind me of a book I really liked, Catcher in the Rye.

My other selection was going to be Suttree a Cormac McCarthy story until I got my hands on The Crossing, the second part of The Border Trilogy, also written by McCarthy. The Crossing is really interesting. I'm not very far into it but Billy, the main character, has already met an Indian, who I think will come up sometime in the future to either help or hinder him, and set off on an adventure. He is with his dad tracking a she-wolf, who they hope to capture. She has started to prey upon cattle of the ranchers near by and so Billy and his dad take it upon themselves to track her down. I look forward to reading it because I really enjoyed All the Pretty Horses and I like to read McCarthy. His writing style forces me to focus on what I'm reading and to "participate" in the novel, instead of mindlessly going through it. It should be a good one?

Claims of the day

XC Hoosier 3366: In the music video “The Adventure,” by the band Angels and Airwaves, resonant and alive music, roaming and adventurous surroundings, and powerful, real energy convey that a man’s life should be lived with passion and adventure, as long as his true love is by his side.

Swimstrong:
In Versace's purple ruffled gown, his fading colors, smooth lines, and rough and fragile textures along with a flowing and clean shape create a complimentary and whimsical sense of beauty in fashion-art.

Less Than Three: The interior decorator's use of strange, modern furniture, simple color, a careful use of space, and distinct, quirky architecture express an energetic confidence and absurd frivolousness of the inhabitant. 

hipsteroku: In this creepily strange video, the innocent looking girl becomes prey to the dark, unusual looking guy, who then follows her into the dark with disturbing intentions, until the shocking climax in which the now evil seeming girl attacks the man with a strange force and ends with an ironic, twisted ending you wouldnt expect in a thousand years.

Case

The majestic, distinctive color with the deep, wild detail add to the heavy contrast and proud focus of this lion, a dignified and appreciative beast who hunted his prey out of resigned necessity, and for a disgruntled, hungry family.

4 Subjects:

1. Color- Defined, Majestic, Distinctive, Alive

2. Focus- Captivating, Proud, Stands-Out, Inevitable

3. Contrast- Heavy, Current, Polar, Numb

4. Detail- Gleaming, Vivacious, Deep, Wild

“Tournez, Tournez, Bon Chevaux De Bois”

By Edith Sitwell 

 

Turn, turn again,

Ape’s blood in each vein!

The people that pass

Seem castles of glass,

The old and the good

Giraffes of the blue wood,

The soldier, the nurse,

Wooden-face and a curse,

Are shadowed with plumage

Like birds, by the gloomage.

Blond hair like a clown’s

The music floats—drowns

The creaking of ropes,

The breaking of hopes,

The wheezing, the old,

Like harmoniums scold;

Go to Babylon, Rome,

The brain-cells called home,

The grave, new Jerusalem—

Wrinkled Methusalem!

From our floating hair

Derived the first fair

And queer inspiration

Of music, the nation

Of bright-plumed trees

And harpy-shrill breeze . . .

     *  *  *  *

Turn, turn again,

Ape’s blood in each vein!

 

I think this is about the fragility of men and the primal instincts that drive us. How we just happen on good ideas sometimes and how its best to just go through life sometimes and try not to break.

Currently...

pages: 464
Books 1.5

I read Mockingjay which was good and started onto "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" which is solid.

Sentences of the Week:
1. I love Twinkies, and the reason that I am saying this is because we are all supposed to think of reasons to live.
2. I have to say that it was the best milkshake I ever had in my life. It was so delicious, it almost scared me.
3. I let the quiet put things where they are supposed to be.

My favorite is the second one because milkshakes are soooo good. they are the nectar of the gods. A good milkshake makes any day a good day, and a great milkshake is occasionally the high light of my week.

Wall flower

First things first, I finished Mockingjay? The ending wasn't at all what I expected. While I was reading it I was getting extremely mad and frustrated because: one, I couldn't tell if what was happening was real or not, two It was moving slow and Katniss was on morphling alot of the time, and three, because its not how I wanted it to end. I wanted a ending that wrapped up the book but wasn't too fairy-taleish. The explosion with Prim just sent things into a whirlwind, which are the pages that I don't like. Eventually, I began to like the end though as soon as Katniss shot the President. She began to have a sense of normalcy, slowly coming of the morphling and depressing state she was in, and hunting. She returned to District Twelve without her family which I appreciated because it was one last emphasis that no matter how hard you fight not everything will go your way. It truly added to the Hunger Games because her family was her life and struggle. Her promise to Prim kept her going in the first book, and kept sustaining her through some of her hardest times. Prim dying was probably the most unexpected twist that happened. I think her death was meant to be a symbol of the loss of innocence. No matter how hard she tried, Katniss could not stop Prim from growing up and maturing. There was alot of foreshadowing, with Prim's voice sounding thousands of times older and with her looking like she had changed, but even through that she still symbolized the innocence and love of the world. It was ironic that this innocence was taken away by the people who were supposed to be trying to protect it. Overall I liked the ending and was glad I could read the Hunger Games Series.

The next book I have started on is, "the perks of being a wallflower," a series of letters from an anonymous boy, nicknamed Charlie, to an anonymous reader. It is extremely funny, well pointed, and fun to read. In an off-handed, casual way Charlie introduces the topics of high school. He talks about drugs, dreams, parties, friends, and every topic under the sun. The way Charlie writes is interesting and funny and I'm looking forward to seeing his adventures and the wisdom he gains by going through high school?

Mockingjay

I'm currently reading Mockingjay, the last book in the Hunger Games trilogy? The book has been captivating and extremely hard to put down. I'll be sitting in class and the only thing I can think about is taking it out of my backpack and reading it. The whole idea behind District 13 is really interesting and conflicting. Their whole purpose is to dethrone the authoritarian system of the Capitol. They want to do away with their extremist regime yet district 13 is extreme itself. There are so many similarities between both governments, its appalling. They are basically claiming that to get rid of the tyrants they have to be tyrants themselves. I understand it would be hard for them to do anything else in the given situation but it is still interesting how both parties use control over the media, strict regimes, and regulations to wage their side of the war. Even though both are doing the same thing one is viewed as good and one as bad just because it was already in power. I continue to appreciate the way the author, Collins, displays Katniss. She is just as confused as me because she sees some of the same problems. She realizes that the District 13 uses people and are just as manipulative as the Capitol. She's not even sure if they will do as they plan, releasing their power into a republic. The book is extremely interesting so far and I want to finish it to see how everything works out?

Step on a Crack?

This book is a crime/mystery novel by James Patterson. Detective Mike Bennett is the man of the NYPD. He's their go to guy for Homicides, but his world is turned upside down after First Lady Caroline Hopkin's assassination. Her funeral is being held in St. Patty's cathedral in New York and is in the middle of the procession when it is held up. Hijackers hold hundreds of people hostage within the cathedral including a former president, and many celebrities. "Jack" the main bad guy on the inside is an arrogant but careful man. Almost all of the problems he encounters are pre-thought out and he has a plan in place for all of them. Most of this planning is on account of his head accomplice, the "Neat Man," a guy who is on the outside and helps them by warning them of cop movement. They hold up the scheme and eventually get away, raking in anywhere from 2 to 3 million dollars from each rich, celebrity hostage. The sum is around 70 million dollars. They only lose a couple people on the way, which is where they get caught. Although they had been extremely careful, burning off their fingerprints, cutting off identifiable parts on their dead companions, and planning every detail, the criminals don't get away with it. On one of their dead companions, the forensic scientists uses acid to take off the first layer of dead skin. This enables him to get a partial print off the under layer and identify them with a twist at the end. I wont ruin the ending but after you read it you'll understand the overlying message of the book. The message being that those who are closes to you are the most dangerous. Your friends and family are the ones who know the most about you and can hurt you the worst if they would betray you. They know, like the criminals, how you function because they've been around you the most and have grown close to you. Luckily mmost of them would never do anyting to hurt their own family but if it were to happen they could do the worst damage.

I've also started Catching Fire and it is gripping so far. I'm interested to see how things turn out with Katniss and how she will handle her inevitable fate. It seems, so far, that eating the raspberries, which really was not eating them, has been a fait accompli for her, her family, and her friends.

Currently?

I read The Giver and The Chronicles of Nania: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. I also started reading Step on a Crack, a crime novel by James Patterson if you've heard of him. Should be epic.

Giver?

Finished reading The Giver and I forgot how good of a book it is? I forgot that the ending was happy too. It just reminded me how much better I can read now that i'm in high school and how much more I understand when I read, thanks to Jankow for destroying our class last year. I found it interesting that the Giver and Jonas had to break the rules and completely  undermine the whole society just to show them their weak points. It goes to show that change comes from change and that when nothing changes life just goes on. The society never experienced real joy or real sorrow, they just went through the motions. The inception of emotions was bred into them with precision, they never actually got to experience it. I also finished Narnia. Narnia had a slight variation from the movie and the book especially at the end but overall I enjoyed the book. It was like being told a story. It brought back some good memories when people read books to me, man those were the times. My next read is a book called, Step On a Crack, by James Patterson. I've read some of his novels before (Worst Case  being one of my favorites) and they are amazing. They have the most ridiculous hidden messages and plot twists, along with them being detective novels. It makes the books amazing because, like the main character, you try and figure out what the psychopathic killer is going to do next. Most of the time I end up just figuring it out as the main character does because it tells you but its still fun to be a part of the case. I'm also looking forward to reading Catching Fire soon, I just need to have a couple of days freed up so I know I will just be able to read?

Giving to Gnarnia?

I know that's not how you spell Narnia but its an Epic Movie reference? Right now I'm reading The Giver and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. The Giver is interesting to say the least. The utopia presented in it is very systematic, culturing society within its youth since their birth. Every baby in the whole community celebrates their birthday on the same day, no matter when the baby was born. They also stop celebrating birthdays after twelve, the same age they get assigned a job for the rest of their lives. The only choice and variety kids really have is what they play with and where they volunteer their time at. This type of society would be an awful change for me. Freedom is something I've had since my birth, and every birthday I could celebrate that freedom in my own way. I see similarities because somethings are regulated,such as school, so that people aren't just bums. Other than that we get to choose our own path and our own future. No one can choose what job I am going to have except for me and the company I apply at. Within the net year I'll even choose what place I want to further my education at. Choice wont create a utopia but it will create adventure and happiness because wherever I end up will be on my own accord, not predetermined by someone else.

Narnia is also good. The movie followed the book very closely and up to this point is a very good visual representation of what has occurred in the book. Its also an easier read than I thought it was going to be. Its just a two hundred page story book, a long version of Peter Pan maybe.   ?

Friday Post?

I took the personality test and I was a Rational Mastermind? I think that the test was pretty accurate and well done. I think it was spot on about alot of stuff. Some of the questions seemed rather absurd when I was doing the test though.

Currently?

Reading:
Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

Read:
Brisingr 
 The Hunger Games

Ending the Games

I finished The Hunger Games? I appreciate the way it ended because it just ended. It didn't need to be a happy ending, and it shouldn't have been. I like that, even though it wasn't the true ending (because there are still two more books), that the ending was kind of sad. Some books I can't stand because they always have a happy ending just to appeal to society. The Hunger Games are an tense, epic, series of fighting and political scheming and it is a blow and a shame to any book when they ruin the intensity of the previous pages just to have a happy ending. Happy endings are for fairy tales and "feel good" books, and not every book needs to have one. Even in fantasy or any type of fictional genre some realism should be added. I think that authors can add this realism through endings and plot twists. In a series or single novel if one main character doesn't die or have something tragic happen to them it isn't complete. To feel emotionally connected to a character and a book a reader needs to be taken through almost every emotion. If the author is continually ending everything picture perfectly a reader never has the opportunity to experience a whole expanse of emotions such as grief, sadness, pain, or loss. Again I appreciate The Hunger Games because there was a proper and fitting ending to the novel and because it leads me to believe that there will be more similar, sad twist to come in the next two books. I respect that as a reader and look forward to starting Catching Fire?

The Hunger Games?

SO, I started and have almost finished The Hunger Games, in a span of about three days. The other night was when I read the bulk of it and the words had a complete grip over my every thought and action, which amounted to my ever so constant thought, "I wonder what is going to happen next?" and my continuous cycled actions of reading and turning the pages. After reading most of the book I started to think why it was so intriguing, and this is what I came to conclude:

Characters: I usually prefer the main character of a book to be male, not because I'm sexist or anything of the sort, but because I can relate to them better. Katniss completely blew my stereotype out of the water though. This is the first book where I've ever felt empathy and really connected to a female character. Her will to fight, not always for herself, but her for her family is something I can really relate too. Her sense of self worth and pride as she always tries to pay back her debt and allows her word to be her bond and oath. Her extreme determination to keep trying even though the odds are against her, and especially, her outbursts of rage as she struggles against the world. I could even relate to her confusion with all the political scheming and her conflicting emotions about who she really liked and about her future. Katniss is truly an admirable character and an embodiment of a fighter, I look forward to reading more in the next book, Catching Fire.

Plot: The plot, although extreme, is right on the money about life for me. Everyday people are struggling and you see all the good that you could do in the world but its hard enough to get by without helping others. Your priorities are sorted by necessity and thus you end up just looking out for yourself and family. One person can only do so much in the place their put in and sometimes its an accomplishment just to survive. This is how life is in District 12. Then the games begin and I see characters being thrown into turmoil and tricky situations. There is a nonstop cycle of trying to beat someone out or trying to impress an important person so maybe they'll help you in the future. The more the characters, and essentially us, try to escape the more fate bears down on them and forces them to realize that this is their path and its better to embrace it then to fight it. After fate knocks the characters down they realize there is no escape, just wiggle room in which to plant rebellion. Limited space and time in which sticking it to the man is possible and while they may not be able to escape, they can bend the rules to their favor. In the end of the games its not really who is better, its who can think the best. Society today is exactly the same. Governments and bosses and teachers and administrators all try and get you to do what they want. Do the job you've been assigned to. Not everyone is given an equally hard assignment but everyone has to follow the rules or be punished in some way, whether it be a poor grade, expulsion, or even being fired, everyone has to suffer their consequence. Those who succeed aren't always those who get the best grades or score highest in the SAT, its who outsmarts everyone else. The one kid who sucks up to the teacher might just be given that extra grade bump at the end of the semester, the guy who brings in donuts and works hard, staying late sometimes gets the promotion over the guy with the better ideas. Just as Katniss sows her small signs of rebellion throughout the games: the pin, volunteering for a job nobody wants, winning in a losing district, or appearing to commit suicide with Peeta at the end of the games; we must approach life with the same type of attitude. We ought to use the little freedoms that we have under the rules to be creative and change the rules to our favor. Show the "Capitols" of life that we have just as much right to make the rules as they do and that were free to do what we want.


This has been a long post but I can't stop talking about this book and the impact it can have if you look below the surface at all the symbols. I would strongly recommend reading it and hope that I'll find the last few chapters as riveting as the previous pages.