I finally finished the book. Amazing book all in all. It was confusing with the different narrators. But that's what made it funny and sad. I think Leopold Gursky's life was the saddest because he found out things a little to late. Alma kind of gained the most knowledge of things. Litvinoff wanted to impress those around him. Bird just wanted to be acknowledged.
The characters that were the most alike was Leopold and Bird. They both wanted attention. Even though after a while Leo didn't make a big thing everywhere he went. I think the main reason that Bird acted the way he did was because he felt ignored. His mother was going through a tough time in life. His sister wasn't exactly there for him. Leo thought that everywhere he went he should be noticed. He wanted people to know if he died. When I finished the book there was this kind of obituary for Leopold and I wondered if he actually is a real person.
One quote in the book that would probably have been chosen as top ten. The top ten in being of relation to coming of age. I found it on page 155. "There were other refugees around him experiencing the same fears and helplessness, but Litvinoff didn't find any comfort in this because there are two types of people in the world:those who prefer to be sad among others,and those who prefer to be sad alone. " I thought that this had to do with coming of age because sometimes when your sad you want people to comfort you and you want them to feel what you feel. When you're sad and you want to be alone you feel like no one could ever feel what you feel. This relates to Litvinoff because he went through troubling times. Him and Leo were best friends but he plagiarized Leo's book.
Alma searched all over to find the author of this book that her mother loved. She went from innocence to experience. I think this because she didn't at first know what she was doing but as everything fell into place she found out a lot. She realized the true meaning of her name. She accepted it as it was. Some kids growing up they hate their name but when they find the true meaning they learn to accept it. Most kids would have the meaning of their name given to them. Alma searched for something completely irrelevant and found out something else that was valuable to her.
Another quote I thought related to coming of age was found on page 251. "And then I realized that I'd been searching for the wrong person. " There was a scenario similar to this in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Both of the main characters were searching for something. When they did in fact find it they were disappointed. It wasn't exactly what they expected. When Alma met up with the author of the book she thought she was searching for the wrong person. Se probably felt like she wasted her time. But in doing that she also gained some knowledge about herself.
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Sunday, May 27, 2012
The History of Love❤
The History of Love is an amazing book. So far I read only half of it and I love it so much. In the beginning it started off with Leopold Gursky as the narrator. Then it was Alma Singer and it went back and forth. Leo's way of living is very funny to me. Usually old people keep to themselves but no Leo he tried to give himself as much attention possible everywhere he went.
Leo has a friend named Bruno and they have one of the strongest relationships in the book. They always check up on each other to see if one of them died. When they do that they use excuses. I think it's so nice but they only know each other from their country. When Leo first came to New York he lost connection with Bruno and one day he saw Bruno at fruit store. Bruno dropped the fruits because he was so surprised and happy.
Alma Singer is growing up in a difficult time for her family. He father died and her mother is lonely. She is on a quest to find the author of the person who wrote "The History of Love". Her mother has been on two dates since her father died. Recently her mother was asked to translate "The History of Love" and the man who wanted this wrote letters to her. Her mother replied but Alma interfered and she re-wrote the letter and signed her mothers name. She tried to make the letter romantic so her mother could be happy again. It didn't really have much of an affect on the man.
This book was for coming of age. There was one quote in the book that reminded me of coming of age. "Its one of those unforgettable moments that happen as a child,when you discover that all along the world has been betraying you. " Alma said this because her dad was an engineer and she thought it meant he drove trains but he corrected her. Most kids believe in a lot of things that their parents make up. Eventually they find out that the things they were told weren't exactly the truth. When Alma said it felt like the world has been betraying you she mean that all this time you've been thinking something was true. But when you find out it wasn't you feel broken and might not know what to believe at first. This feeling also goes for things that aren't made up. To go on thinking something for a long time and finding out the truth you feel hurt.
I can't wait to finish the book because I would really love to know how everything turns out for Alma and Leo. This books genre is really something to think about because maybe these events really happened and maybe they didn't. Maybe all Alma's mother needs is herself and her kids support. She doesn't have to have a boyfriend or husband to be happy. I think that Alma interfering with the letter was wrong. I think it was wrong because Alma has no right messing either her mothers business. Maybe her mother doesn't want her father to be replaced even though no one could ever take his place. Maybe the only one she ever loved was him besides her kids.
Leo has a friend named Bruno and they have one of the strongest relationships in the book. They always check up on each other to see if one of them died. When they do that they use excuses. I think it's so nice but they only know each other from their country. When Leo first came to New York he lost connection with Bruno and one day he saw Bruno at fruit store. Bruno dropped the fruits because he was so surprised and happy.
Alma Singer is growing up in a difficult time for her family. He father died and her mother is lonely. She is on a quest to find the author of the person who wrote "The History of Love". Her mother has been on two dates since her father died. Recently her mother was asked to translate "The History of Love" and the man who wanted this wrote letters to her. Her mother replied but Alma interfered and she re-wrote the letter and signed her mothers name. She tried to make the letter romantic so her mother could be happy again. It didn't really have much of an affect on the man.
This book was for coming of age. There was one quote in the book that reminded me of coming of age. "Its one of those unforgettable moments that happen as a child,when you discover that all along the world has been betraying you. " Alma said this because her dad was an engineer and she thought it meant he drove trains but he corrected her. Most kids believe in a lot of things that their parents make up. Eventually they find out that the things they were told weren't exactly the truth. When Alma said it felt like the world has been betraying you she mean that all this time you've been thinking something was true. But when you find out it wasn't you feel broken and might not know what to believe at first. This feeling also goes for things that aren't made up. To go on thinking something for a long time and finding out the truth you feel hurt.
I can't wait to finish the book because I would really love to know how everything turns out for Alma and Leo. This books genre is really something to think about because maybe these events really happened and maybe they didn't. Maybe all Alma's mother needs is herself and her kids support. She doesn't have to have a boyfriend or husband to be happy. I think that Alma interfering with the letter was wrong. I think it was wrong because Alma has no right messing either her mothers business. Maybe her mother doesn't want her father to be replaced even though no one could ever take his place. Maybe the only one she ever loved was him besides her kids.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Harriet Tubman: Civil War Spy
http://www.havefunteaching.com/worksheets/reading/reading-comprehension/harriet-tubman.pdf
Harriet Tubman is well know for risking her life to help escaped slaves get to freedom in the North. She also served as a spy for the Union in the Civil War. Harriet Tubman was the first woman in American history to lead a military expedition.She helped the Union because she wanted freedom for those forced into slavery.Back then women were restricted to work in the house.Harriet did that but she also worked side by side with men. Some may call her a secret agent.
This was written to show the strength and spirit of Harriet Tubman. She wasn't able to write or read.But she could do so many other things. She really is someone to look up to.Even if she wasn't that smart. She was 5 foot 2 inches. Yet she was able to lead many men some who were probably much bigger than her.
I really look up to Harriet Tubman for her bravery. Most wouldn't even risk their lives like she did. She accomplished many things in her life. When she helped free slaves for the first time I'm sure that she knew that she could get in trouble. She didn't stop there she kept on going. She practically joined the army as a spy. There was a boon written about her by Tom Allen. The book is called Harriet Tubman, Secret Agent.
Harriet Tubman is well know for risking her life to help escaped slaves get to freedom in the North. She also served as a spy for the Union in the Civil War. Harriet Tubman was the first woman in American history to lead a military expedition.She helped the Union because she wanted freedom for those forced into slavery.Back then women were restricted to work in the house.Harriet did that but she also worked side by side with men. Some may call her a secret agent.
This was written to show the strength and spirit of Harriet Tubman. She wasn't able to write or read.But she could do so many other things. She really is someone to look up to.Even if she wasn't that smart. She was 5 foot 2 inches. Yet she was able to lead many men some who were probably much bigger than her.
I really look up to Harriet Tubman for her bravery. Most wouldn't even risk their lives like she did. She accomplished many things in her life. When she helped free slaves for the first time I'm sure that she knew that she could get in trouble. She didn't stop there she kept on going. She practically joined the army as a spy. There was a boon written about her by Tom Allen. The book is called Harriet Tubman, Secret Agent.
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Modern Dances
http://m.articlesbase.com/hobbies-articles/modern-dances-5810169.html
Modern dance is popular and most people dance it. But they don't know about all the other kinds of dancing. All dances are similar. But the main idea is the spirit of freedom. There are so many kinds of dance forms. There's house dance,R&B,hip hop,GoGo,and many more. You can see that these types of dances represent the spirit of freedom by the way they are performed.
There are so many dance genres. You can choose whichever one suits you. There is a dance out there for everyone. In the article the author describes the way each dance is performed. If it appeals to you,go for it. For hip hop dancing the author says, "Dancing with rap music promotes absolute freedom not only in moves while dancing but in the clothes of dancers too". So of your interested in just being free and expressing who you are hip hop was meant for you.
To me the type of dance you dance is who you are. It's how you show your feelings. It's how you show you. I take ballet dance class. I think ballet is for very organized people who want every move to be precise and perfect. I like when things are precise. It may help you later on in life.
Modern dance is popular and most people dance it. But they don't know about all the other kinds of dancing. All dances are similar. But the main idea is the spirit of freedom. There are so many kinds of dance forms. There's house dance,R&B,hip hop,GoGo,and many more. You can see that these types of dances represent the spirit of freedom by the way they are performed.
There are so many dance genres. You can choose whichever one suits you. There is a dance out there for everyone. In the article the author describes the way each dance is performed. If it appeals to you,go for it. For hip hop dancing the author says, "Dancing with rap music promotes absolute freedom not only in moves while dancing but in the clothes of dancers too". So of your interested in just being free and expressing who you are hip hop was meant for you.
To me the type of dance you dance is who you are. It's how you show your feelings. It's how you show you. I take ballet dance class. I think ballet is for very organized people who want every move to be precise and perfect. I like when things are precise. It may help you later on in life.
ALWAYS BE A STUDENT
Though your graduation's done;
Your whole life's an education
That has only just begun.
For knowledge is the special key
To winning what you want in life
And being who you want to be.
You'll find the secrets to success
And travel on the golden road
To peace and happiness.
This poem is saying that even if your finished with school there are still many things to learn in your lifetime. The author is saying so what if you graduate you still have to go into the world and you most likely will learn something new everyday. Just because you graduated it doesn't mean you're done with learning.The first step into your life education is getting that diploma.
"Your diploma is the first big step", so going through a little over 12 years of education and you still haven't been through the toughest. During those 12 years alot goes on. There are challenges and difficulties. Many of them too."Your whole life's an education", even after those 12 or so years you still have a whole while until the end. This poem is saying that you're never to old to learn.
When I graduate this year I still have about 8 more years of education until I'm on my own. Of course I will still be learning and I am sure of that because of this poem. Most people think that after they get their high school diploma that's it for education if they don't want to go to college. This poem says to those people to not give up. It doesn't directly say that. But if you are one of those lazy people most likely the poem would be seen as encouragement.
Mockingjay**spoiler alert**
In the last book of the Hunger Games Katniss is yet again used as a piece even if there is no game. When I say that I mean she is a piece in the revolution against Capitol and she is the main piece. She is the mockingjay. At first she doesn't really accept it because she feels responsible for what has already happened. The things that take place in this book make Katniss feel more responsible.
Katniss was rescued from the middle of the seventy-fifth Hunger Games and was taken care of. Then she found out what exactly was going on. There was in fact a District Thirteen. She also found out that almost every victor in the seventy-fifth Hunger Games were tying to save her and Peeta. There was a secret group formed to overthrow the Capitol. The head gamemaker of the seventy-fifth Hunger Games, Plutarch Heavensbee, organized the rebels in Capitol. Plutarch being the head gamemaker only made the rebels plans stronger.
One of Kaniss' allies Beetee is able to link their networking to the Capitol's and can show Katniss talking to the districts and giving them messages. This of course makes the Capitol upset and they know now for sure that Katniss is alive. Katniss saw Peeta a couple of times on Capitol television and the first time he looked healthy the second time he looked like he was being starved and he looked a little healthy. The rebels made a plan to rescue Peeta and the succeeded. Peeta thought Katniss was a mutt from the Capitol. But the people of District Thirteen and the remaining from District Twelve helped Peeta to get better. Things worked out pretty well for the rebels.
Katniss was rescued from the middle of the seventy-fifth Hunger Games and was taken care of. Then she found out what exactly was going on. There was in fact a District Thirteen. She also found out that almost every victor in the seventy-fifth Hunger Games were tying to save her and Peeta. There was a secret group formed to overthrow the Capitol. The head gamemaker of the seventy-fifth Hunger Games, Plutarch Heavensbee, organized the rebels in Capitol. Plutarch being the head gamemaker only made the rebels plans stronger.
One of Kaniss' allies Beetee is able to link their networking to the Capitol's and can show Katniss talking to the districts and giving them messages. This of course makes the Capitol upset and they know now for sure that Katniss is alive. Katniss saw Peeta a couple of times on Capitol television and the first time he looked healthy the second time he looked like he was being starved and he looked a little healthy. The rebels made a plan to rescue Peeta and the succeeded. Peeta thought Katniss was a mutt from the Capitol. But the people of District Thirteen and the remaining from District Twelve helped Peeta to get better. Things worked out pretty well for the rebels.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
This poem is saying to just relax and live in the moment. Don’t worry about the past and don’t even think about thinking of the future. A father and son/daughter went camping and they built a fire. This person’s dad told them that if they look into the dire they could read their future. This person asked themselves questions before actually trying to see if it would work. They wanted to look but would they be satisfied with what they saw? Did they even want to see their future?
In the last stanza they are deciding to just not look. Enjoy the dancing flames while they lasted and the moment of peace. Rather than read the fire like a book. They wanted to take in the beauty of things, the beauty of now. This person wouldn’t want to ruin it for themselves and look into their future. It would be better to wait it out and maybe be surprised at how good or bad your life turned out. If you look into your future what if you try to stop what happens because you don’t like what you see?
If someone was to go to a palm reader and found out their future and didn’t like it they would obviously try and change the course of things. It’s good that the narrator didn’t look into the fire because whatever happens happens and it was meant to happen anyway. Your future is destiny. Why look ahead when it’s best to be surprised? Looking at your future is like ruining a surprise party.
Catching Fire **SPOILER ALERT**
"But Gale is not one to keep secrets from me." "Katniss there is not District Twelve."
When I read the last lines of book two I was so upset. I was confused. “… There is no District Twelve.” I thought he meant they were living in District Thirteen the whole time because I remember when Katniss met Bonnie and Twill in the forest. They had assumptions that District Thirteen in fact actually did exist. Capitol was just keeping it a secret because they thought District Thirteen would die off eventually without the Capitol’s help.
Bonnie and Twill mentioned that they thought Capitol was showing the same footage of District Thirteen over and over again. They also thought it was done with a lot of other Districts. Therefore they didn’t really know what was going on in the country of Panem. They probably only knew what was going on in their district and what they thought they knew from the other districts.
After I started the last book everything fell into place. District Twelve was attacked by Capitol and all the District Twelve people moved to District Thirteen. Life has changed for Katniss. She feels like she’s lost everything she’s ever loved but all of those people are out of reach except for her “fiancé” Peeta. Capitol thinks he knows about the revolution but he doesn’t have a clue. When Peeta tries to give them signals about attacks he gets punished all while Katniss is watching and it’s only making things worse for her.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Romeo and Juliet
When reading the book the words are hard to understand but after awhile things are easier to comprehend. While watching the movie the dialogue was hard to follow but the movie was an image therefore it made things simple. When I read the book the whole time that scene of the movie is being played in my head.
When Romeo gave the speech about love the setting matched the words he said. While reading the book I saw his grieving face and the setting.Throughout the whole movie the setting matched precisely with what was happening.
There's always a part in a movie that annoys some people and that part for me was at the end when Romeo was about to drink the poison and Juliet saw him yet she didn't really stop him she just laidhere and watched. Before that when her eyes kept fluttering and finally they opened Romeo just didn't see her eyes open.
When Romeo gave the speech about love the setting matched the words he said. While reading the book I saw his grieving face and the setting.Throughout the whole movie the setting matched precisely with what was happening.
There's always a part in a movie that annoys some people and that part for me was at the end when Romeo was about to drink the poison and Juliet saw him yet she didn't really stop him she just laidhere and watched. Before that when her eyes kept fluttering and finally they opened Romeo just didn't see her eyes open.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Along for the Ride *SPOILER ALERT*
Along for the Ride. I just started this book and so far the main character Auden isn’t having such a great life. Her parents are divorced. She’s fine with that. It’s just the fact that her parents don’t really pay much attention to her and she does what she pleases. She was brought up the right way and was the mature one out of her and her brother Hollis. She’s the one with good grades and the one that works her butt off as hard as she can.
Her parents are proud of her for that but whenever her brother finds a new career path her mother is all for it and doesn’t pay attention to her. one part in the book they were talking on the phone and Auden asked about Hollis and her mother almost immediately moved on to how its great that he has a new career, then Auden tries to change the conversation but her mother still sticks to the topic of Hollis.
This book takes place in the summer so Auden decides to stay with her dad, his wife and their daughter for the summer. She’s been there for about a couple days and already there are problems and she hears the truth about why her dad thinks she’s here. her dad thought she was coming down to help with the baby not so he could spend time with her, as him and his wife are talking about that Auden hears and that makes me feel so bad because what father doesn’t want their own daughter????
Her parents are proud of her for that but whenever her brother finds a new career path her mother is all for it and doesn’t pay attention to her. one part in the book they were talking on the phone and Auden asked about Hollis and her mother almost immediately moved on to how its great that he has a new career, then Auden tries to change the conversation but her mother still sticks to the topic of Hollis.
This book takes place in the summer so Auden decides to stay with her dad, his wife and their daughter for the summer. She’s been there for about a couple days and already there are problems and she hears the truth about why her dad thinks she’s here. her dad thought she was coming down to help with the baby not so he could spend time with her, as him and his wife are talking about that Auden hears and that makes me feel so bad because what father doesn’t want their own daughter????
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Cheers for Gabi's Blog
myclubhouseforbooks.blogspot.com
I choose this blog as my mentor blog because almost every single post is detailed and has personal connection. I really admire that every post seems never ending because all the paragraphs are long and packed with the best context. When this person writes you can tell that they take the time to do their blog posts. I think the reason why is so that the people reading the posts feel like they just have to read the book this person is writing about. That’s why I choose this blog as my mentor blog.
The Awakening
I have just finished reading the first book of Vampire Diaries, called The Awakening. There is this character named Elena who is basically the queen of the school. There is also this new boy named Stefan who is very attractive and he has caused Elena to embarrass herself by trying to get his attention.
I found that part in the book very funny because it’s crazy what people will do just to impress someone. Not only is it crazy but its dumb. Why can’t you just stick with what you have already instead of trying to get more and hurting the people around you?
After she gets this boy she hasn’t told her friends any of the details. Obviously that would make them feel bad. Prior to Stefan she went out with Matt. When she broke up with him he was hurt because after that she just did stupid things to get Stefan’s attention. For a while Elena’s character just annoyed me. But know I feel bad for her.
I found that part in the book very funny because it’s crazy what people will do just to impress someone. Not only is it crazy but its dumb. Why can’t you just stick with what you have already instead of trying to get more and hurting the people around you?
After she gets this boy she hasn’t told her friends any of the details. Obviously that would make them feel bad. Prior to Stefan she went out with Matt. When she broke up with him he was hurt because after that she just did stupid things to get Stefan’s attention. For a while Elena’s character just annoyed me. But know I feel bad for her.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Come Together
In the book Fallout there are these kids that don't really know each other but a linked because of their mother. At the time in the beginning of the book I thought they had no clue about each other at all. Turns out they did know each other.
Hunter, Autumn, and Summer. Hunter and Summer knew each other and have even meet a few times, they heard about Autumn but didn't really believe she existed. Autumn didn't even know about her other siblings because her aunt and grandpa kept her away from her parents.
When Autumn found out that she was kept away from them, everything clicked into place. The reason why she had been all over the place with different schools and friends. All to keep her away from her drug addict mother and invisible father. Later on in the book everyone meets everyone and its all very awkward because their mother is confronted and eventually no one knows what to say.
Hunter, Autumn, and Summer. Hunter and Summer knew each other and have even meet a few times, they heard about Autumn but didn't really believe she existed. Autumn didn't even know about her other siblings because her aunt and grandpa kept her away from her parents.
When Autumn found out that she was kept away from them, everything clicked into place. The reason why she had been all over the place with different schools and friends. All to keep her away from her drug addict mother and invisible father. Later on in the book everyone meets everyone and its all very awkward because their mother is confronted and eventually no one knows what to say.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
FALLOUT
Autumn, Summer, and Hunter have absolutely no idea of each other yet they are linked to each other in some way. Weird enough they are joined together by their mother. You would think that a mother would be in their child's life even if it’s not for their whole life. At least a period of time. Their mother choose the monster over her own children.
The monster being crystal meth, of course. They gave it that nickname because it takes over your whole life and even if you try it just once it may ruin your life forever. These kids are all grown up now and so far in the book they have gone through like half of their life and they have their separate families. Sometimes they get calls from their mom but their mom is usually drunk or high all the time. Their mother is also always in a problem, she’s either getting beat up by past boyfriends or she owes people money.
They all have little problems in their life but something tells me that they will all meet up because of something that their mom did. Hunter knows his mom has other kids but those kids are 2 little boys not 2 teenage girls by the name of Autumn and Summer. I hope that the reason why they meet each other is because their mom died. Even though they didn’t know her that well it would still be kind of sad because even though she wasn’t in their life they still had something to do with each other.
The monster being crystal meth, of course. They gave it that nickname because it takes over your whole life and even if you try it just once it may ruin your life forever. These kids are all grown up now and so far in the book they have gone through like half of their life and they have their separate families. Sometimes they get calls from their mom but their mom is usually drunk or high all the time. Their mother is also always in a problem, she’s either getting beat up by past boyfriends or she owes people money.
They all have little problems in their life but something tells me that they will all meet up because of something that their mom did. Hunter knows his mom has other kids but those kids are 2 little boys not 2 teenage girls by the name of Autumn and Summer. I hope that the reason why they meet each other is because their mom died. Even though they didn’t know her that well it would still be kind of sad because even though she wasn’t in their life they still had something to do with each other.
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