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September 24th, 2008 at 6:51 pm
These hands
These hands that I see everyday,
Make me happy when I’m sad,
And comfort me when I need it.
When I see these hands,
They are large…
My fists are always engulfed by them.
Roughly tender…
As cliché as it seems…
They’re full of love,
And full of hate.
Cut, bruised, scarred,
The memories of the past
Are never easily forgotten.
I can feel those hands
Run through my hair,
And carry me
When I can’t walk.
These hands that I see
Are aged,
Indeed,
But young,
Never the less
In the heart
Of their beholder.
Darken skin,
With blue veins to see…
They’ve been here with me
All the way.
In sickness
And
In health…
Even in past memories
I can see…
Those hands that hold mine gently,
That teach me how to be myself…
The hands that protect me,
And are afraid to let me go…
Even now.
These hands…
Will be with me,
Even when they wither away.
When I stumble,
And when I fall
And when I walk the isle…
Those hands that love me kind,
And love me tenderly,
Will always be there next to me.
Even when I feel they’re gone.
Those bone worked hands…
Those callused hands…
Those roughly gentle hands…
The hands of my father.
September 25th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
Pure
You’re sitting on a
fluffy
white
cloud
near the most
beautiful
island you have ever seen.
Air
thick with humidity
seeps into your taste buds,
sugary like
ice
cream
but warm.
Smell the nights rain,
hear the wind through the trees,
feel the silk on your skin.
You are in
serenity.
*I’m not sure about the title.
September 25th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
For Paige Ha: I thought the poem was amazing. When you read it out loud in class, you made me feel the bond between you and your father. You told such a strong story and let the class feel how much your father meant to you. It is truly a deep hearted work of art and I think your father will appreciate it.
September 26th, 2008 at 2:33 pm
Returning to the Garden
My grove of serenity…
The white flowers shine
Through the darkness of my wayward heart
A lone tree stands,
The perfect metaphor
Crumbled twigs and shattered leaves
Closely mirror shattered dreams
But offer comfort
In knowing that in death,
They are still together
Released from pain and panic
No longer corrupted by the Vice of Man,
Embraced by the Virtues of the universe
The ethereal energy of all being
Cries wordlessly
Through this forest of tranquility
And the mighty oak,
The deepest skies
They could never make me feel small,
Not when the world’s injustice
Requires, of all of us, a mighty hero
Someone to quench
The flames of crimson hatred
Someone to rust the blade of War
Someone to lead us
To pools of enlightenment,
Someone to exalt humanity
To its highest plateau
In this world of darkness and bigotry,
There is no time for ineptitude
There is, in all the disharmony of the modern world,
No room for doubt
No room for fear
And as I stand in my peaceful grove,
The winds call my name
They whisper all the secrets of the universe
And I euphorically whisper back,
Praising the Goddess
For the blessings of this life
And I know, when my time has come to die,
When I have spent my life fighting,
When I have given everything besides given up,
I will be content in knowing
That in the end,
I will return to the peace of the Garden.
September 26th, 2008 at 2:36 pm
For Paige Ha: I really enjoyed your poem. I think the duality of your poem in describing your father’s hands as full of love as well as hate was very creative. Showing the beauty of your father despite the imperfections is a classic and admirable theme. Very nice work
For Haley: Very good imagery. I could taste clouds on my tongue, sugary and airy, and very relaxed. Nice job. (Good title though. I don’t see much need for change, though if you did, maybe something like ‘Bliss’?)
September 28th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
I am gonna show this to my friend, man.
September 28th, 2008 at 5:08 pm
Paige H’s poem painted a bright picture into my head of the relationship between her and her father. I could just tell how close they are together. Sometimes we forget the simple things in life that really matter and I just wanna say thanks to Paige for making me realize that right now.
September 29th, 2008 at 1:50 pm
If Only…
What if
There was a world in which
Hatred reigned supreme?
Where bigotry was the standard
And brotherhood was the exception?
Where oppression claimed the hearts
Of everyone it touched?
What if
There was a world in which
Progress was slowed by collective falsities?
Where discovery was blatantly halted
And ideas were restrained?
Where we were too afraid to accept the idea
That everyone is beautiful?
What if
There was a world in which
Human compassion was a myth?
Where love and peace were considered archaic
And violence was an honored tradition?
Where Hatred,
Anger
Violence
Disdain
Crime
Repression
Corruption
Apathy
Sorrow
Fear
Ruled the lives of everyone?
The truth is…from where we’re headed,
That world doesn’t look too fictitious
Our paths lead down a frightening road
And we perpetuate the vicious cycle
By passing down evil doctrines
Down to the next generation
But let me ask another question…
What if
There was a world in which
We lived out the dream of all humanity?
Living in perfect serenity,
No war
No hate
No violence
Discovering the mysteries of this Beautiful world
Together, hand in hand, as brethren
What if
There was a world in which
There was nothing left to fight for?
We immediately gave
Our trust
Compassion
Freedom
And the freest form of love
Without having to fight for it?
Without struggle?
Embracing the unending beauty of the Universe
Without any form of conflict…
The truth is
I’d be kind of bored.
But that’s a risk I’m willing to take.
What if
Every day was sensation?
If we embraced the endless beauty Surrounding us
The universe,
Our precious world,
And most importantly, each other
Surrounding ourselves
With the truest beauty of love
And our Mother God
Then we could truly bring
Heaven to Earth
Make this life a glistening Paradise…
Oh, if only…
September 29th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
Kyle C’s poem(s): Kyle you always write these wonderful poems, but…I feel as if I can’t really understand them with all the fancy word play. I’ll admit…sometimes I don’t know what you’re talking about in your poems.
September 29th, 2008 at 2:33 pm
for Haley S.
I like the idea of this poem. My favorite part was,
“Air
thick with humidity
seeps into your taste buds.”
If this was my poem, the only thing I would change is my description of the clouds because ‘fluffy’ is a little cliche and overused.
What is so beautiful about the island that it makes you feel serene?
For condensing: Do you need ‘you are in’ before the word serenity?
Again, very nice poem.
September 29th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
Fireflies interweave
Between red embers
Left to right
Right to left
In a desperate chase
To reach their
Destination first
While glazed
Unseeing
Luminous eyes
Bedecked with
Golden-rod beads
Pass indifferently
Trudging along
On their own
Concrete path
*I really need a title for this*
September 30th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
Haley:
I really like it actually.
I really get a sense of it. If it were mine, I’d do a little more with “You are in serenity.” It seems a little bland compared to the rest of the poem.
But I really like it other than that.
=D
October 1st, 2008 at 2:15 pm
For Mary G: Your poem was pretty good. I liked the rhythym of imagining the so-called ‘fireflies’ dancing. Also, words like ‘interweaved’ and phrases like ‘bedecked with goldenrod beads’ paint a nice picture. I’m not 100% sure if you need the ‘unseeing’ part when describing the ‘eyes’, but I can see where you’re going with it. Maybe you could take it a little further? As for the title, my first thought is something like ‘Wayfarer’ to help with the idea of traveling, but you could also play with the metaphor of the fireflies and some variation of that. Experiment and have fun! Good work, though.
October 1st, 2008 at 2:15 pm
The Negative Realms of Being (Death)
Where is the dream I once called reality?
Dangled before my eyes, like a pendulum
Tick, tick, tick
This realm of darkness
Has no birds; there are no blue skies
Only the darkest sky below, around, and within
Working its magic within a new domain
Consumes me, though it has no mouth
Burns me, though there is no warmth
Oblivion calls my name wordlessly with disdain
This scornful darkness annihilates my body
Strikes relentlessly with its contempt for life
Creating paradoxical disbelief
Caressing me with the silken kiss of breathless air
Singing the disharmony of its spite, and sounds so surreal
Unlike the night of reality…
Ah, to remember! The crispness of the air!
The moon, the stars…
This night has no stars, no moon
Entering through my mouth,
Leaves the taste of cruelty on my tongue
Yet I can taste it only in memory…
I only have the dream of a body…
I only have a vision of what life was like
In the splendor of its vastness
Is this darkness a nightmare I cannot see?
With no heart, I agonize
With no body, I struggle
With no eyes, I cry cold tears
With no mouth, I argue
Struggle as I may to see the world again,
My actions are vain
For the words have as much a sound
As these tears have warmth upon my cheek
For I know I can never be released from this pain
Not even in the solitude of Death…
October 7th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
Congrats, Mom! The blog looks great! I’m looking forward to an upcoming post regarding your favorite non-fiction works, or possibly just a ranking of your favorite Shakespeare.
November 15th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
To Love One’s Self
In my struggle with myself,
There is no poetry
In my quest to understand,
There is vanity
In my ordeal of decadence,
There is no beauty.
In my search for transcendence,
There is mockery
This countenance I bear,
This visage that I wear,
Hides helplessness beyond repair
A parody of man,
Claiming greater pain
Where I grant the world my love,
I give myself disdain
Why, then, do I seek glory,
If man would soon forget?
For what cause am I exalted,
If they never comprehend?
Can wings grant me ascension
If their plumes will burn to ash?
Where revelation beckons me
Will I have the power to oblige?
This countenance I bear,
This visage that I wear,
Is but a mask that cloaks despair
A parody of man,
Claiming greater pain
Where I grant the world my love,
I give myself disdain
I will never be a sainted hero,
For a darkness fills my veins:
The perversion of my vanity,
The filth of its refrain
The causes of my servitude
Are traced to my ineptitude
Leaving me ashamed
Ambition deep inside of me
Will yield inside to vanity
Leaves myself to blame…
This world demands a hero,
To cast away its chains
A champion of rectitude
Who cannot be restrained
This countenance I bear,
This visage that I wear
A pale façade beyond compare
A parody of man
Claiming greater pain
Where I grant the world my love,
I give myself disdain
This world, it lacks a hero
While cities writhe in flames
Somehow, I hear it calling,
The message it contains:
“You can’t afford your servitude
No room left for ineptitude
You have no other choice
Cast away insanity
Be freed from what was vanity
In redemption, now, rejoice!”
This doubtfulness impaired,
My fortitude repaired,
Released from dark in which I was ensnared
Where hate will pressure onwards,
I will make its efforts vain
I have learnt to love myself
And rise above my pain
I know I am the hero,
Who shall cast away the chains
The one to ride on wings of dreams
And free humanity of pain
I shall raze those left to servitude,
And shatter all ineptitude
I will cry my heart’s refrain:
This love that burns inside of me
Stretches on for all infinity
I am bereft of my disdain
February 5th, 2009 at 10:22 pm
Midnight Dance
The stars were shining above us. Each dazzling star was a light that Adam and I danced under. The night was dressed in inky black to match my clothes. We swerved in and out of the trees to our own beat. Grass was the perfect dance floor. The soft texture cushioned our steps. Nature was all the music we needed. The chilling wind was our pipes, seedpods were our maracas, and the pecking of a bird was our drum. The leaves so high on the trees were swaying with us in the wind. This secluded park on the corner of the world seemed meant for us, away from all the hardships of life.
How long could this last? A second, an hour, a lifetime? The crisp air held no answer for us. We just kept weaving back and forth in each other’s arms. Time was not our problem. Nor was the hate, envy or competition of the outside world. This moment was perfect, and would never be forgotten.
We twirled past a rose bush as viscous thorns tugged at our clothes leaving small pricks of blood on our legs. It weakened our steps but didn’t end this wonderful moment. The world could strike at us but no little puncture wound could break us.
Adam and I spun around the same bush; our feet off beat with nature’s orchestra, when I heard a crack of a gun and Adam went limp. Reality from the hateful world came rushing back to us. Confusion overcame me. I didn’t know what was happening.
Adam’s body fell into the rose bush with a sickening crack. The thorns of hate lashed out at him cutting deep into his arms and legs. I could see the blood of innocence seep through his shirt and spill onto the thirsty ground, becoming food for the ravenous plant. The dry reality of the soil sucked up the blood and once again, hate pricked the innocent till it could stand no more.
I dived into the bush after Adam. The viscous thorns reached out to me also but I ignored their calling. My precious Adam was losing so much blood. The enmity of the gun and bush broke him down into this vulnerable being. My tears mixed with his blood, or were those thorns? Each thorn was some kind of hate in our world that slowly took over the innocent. I couldn’t even pick out the innocent from evil anymore. What has this world come to?
I could hear police sirens in the distance. They weren’t going to arrive in enough time. My compelling tears turned into agonizing sobs that came with the realization that Adam would leave me forever.
Sirens could be heard getting closer and closer to us. When finally a floodlight fell upon me did I pull myself apart from Adam. The ground was stained with my tears and Adam’s blood as I released myself from the bush. I crushed a rose with my heel, punishing the bush for what it had done to Adam, when a faint sound could be heard. I turned to face Adam and then realized his pale lips were moving.
I fell back into the thorny roses to kneel at his side listening. Taking both his trembling hands in mine, did he whisper, “ Remember me Alli and our midnight dance.” The thorns had taken a toll on his life, while the gun pushed him over. Then Adam left the horrible world, left me, and left an unfinished dance that could have lasted a lifetime.
I was wondering if I should add something about the rose bush first being beautiful at fist glance or just leave the bush being evil?
April 11th, 2009 at 12:16 pm
Hi Mrs. Kennedy i was just wondering if you could please tell me how to do the reading logs, because i forgot to grab the handout. thank you Lauryn
April 11th, 2009 at 11:14 pm
Hi, Lauryn–
Divide each page into two columns. On the left side, record interesting/intriguing quotations; on the right side, write your reactions to the quoted passages. Do not summarize. Write several sentences for each reaction. Write at least 20 entries. Make sure your entries represent the entire book–beginning, middle, and end.
Good luck,
Mrs. K.
June 19th, 2009 at 10:11 am
So I guess I am the first person to post a log, unless I am doing this in the wrong place.
Well anyways, I am reading the novel A Northern Light written by Jennifer Donnelly. I am currently on page 227, and so far I love the book! The best thing about this novel, or the part that makes this book become a story, is the characters. These people in the book are so lively and real to me that I feel I am in the story right along side them. Lou is my favorite caracter in this book by far. She has a certain spark about her, and I love they way she doesn’t care what people think of her; she just is who she is. I bet the reason she is my favorite character is because I can relate really well to her in the sense of not caring what people think of me.
The story line to this book is really enjoyable also. I love how it is a story of a young girl chasing her dreams when no one around her wants her to. That takes a lot of courage for just a little farm girl from nowhere.
Well that is about all I have for now, so I’ll check back later to see if people have posted anything new.
June 19th, 2009 at 11:20 am
Hey, Danielle! You are indeed the first to post; too bad there’s no prize–except, of course, a really good summer read. I love this book too and love sharing it with appreciative readers like you.
June 23rd, 2009 at 7:28 pm
Well, I finished A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly and I loved it! You were right about a great summer read! Like I said, I loved the book, but the ending was shocking in a way; I didn’t see it coming! I don’t want to ruin the ending for anyone, so I’ll just say that it left me hanging. Although they may have Donnelly’s purpose, to let the reader fill in the rest of the story with their own imagination. The best part of the book, for me, was when Matt returned home to find her family all so sick. I don’t really know why this is my favorite part, but it was the part that I couldn’t put my book down. My other favorite character besides Lou was Cook, because she was such a strong person and figure that flowed well into this novel. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and hope my classmates who reads it will also.
June 24th, 2009 at 11:14 am
Hey Danielle!
I read the same book. I just couldn’t find the posting spot until today so now I will type the two blogs I have already written.
(First blog) Right now I’m reading Jennifer Donnelly’s A Northern Light. I’m finding it to be very enjoyable and one of my all-time favorites. The setting and time keeps shifting from the past to the present, leaving me wondering what happened to Grace Brown and how Mattie Gokey was able to go work at the Glenmore (despite her Pa’s unwilling nature). Towards the middle of the story, these questions became answered. That is also when the plot took a little twist. As soon as I thought Mattie was doing just fine and her life was going alright at the Glenmore, Jennifer Donnelly adds a shocking event. I won’t say what happened, but it definitely took me by surprise! I can’t wait to finish the novel and find out what path Mattie will take: if she will choose her passion of reading and writing and go to college, follow her heart and be with Royal, or stay with her family, that need and love her.
June 24th, 2009 at 11:36 am
(Second) I am done with A Northern Light, and I totally agree with Danielle about how great it was. I don’t really know whether I liked the ending, but I am glad that Mattie stayed true to herself and did what she felt like doing. I do, however, wish the novel kept going! This book was so good that I couldn’t stop reading it; I even finished it a few days before school got out!
The main pieces of Jennifer Donnelly’s work that make A Northern Light shine are the plot and characters. The book has a great story line that twists and turns; one never knows what will happen next! It also is very realistic, with the Gokeys’ financial struggle, not having enough food on the table, etc. A Northern Light shows the world as it truly can be and not like a fairy tale. The characters are also very real and down to earth. Mattie would have to be my favorite of them all; she is relatable and has great morals.
To sum it up, I thought this novel was a great summer read and I hope Friday Night Lights (the other book I chose) will be that enjoyable.
June 24th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
Well, I’m reading A Northern Light like Danielle. I am currently on page 270, but am just finding time to do a log. So far I am really enjoying this book. What I most enjoy is that you get the sense that the characters are normal people. I also enjoy the story plot and how Mattie is trying to make a decision between two things she wants. Early on in this book I was confused with the chapters switching from Mattie at home to Mattie at Glenmore, but now I understand what the point of this is. Other than that I really understand this book. I was also very interested to see what the words starting the chapters stood for and think it is a good idea that connects the chapter title to the chapter. I can’t wait to keep reading and find out what happens next.
June 26th, 2009 at 3:09 pm
Danielle, Andrea, and Kaylee, I’m so happy that you had much the same reaction to the book as I had. Did you know that part of the plot is based on a famous true-life crime? Theodore Dreiser’s novel An American Tragedy is also based on that crime. You might like to take a look at Jennifer Donnelly’s website: http://www.jenniferdonnelly.com/
You can see what inspired her to write this novel and info about other books Donnelly has written.
June 28th, 2009 at 11:59 am
I had read that in the “Author’s Note” in the back of the book. I always enjoy reading those kinds of true but made-up (I believe it’s faction) stories. It reminded me of the book I did for a book reduction, Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood. I will have to check out An American Tragedy the next time I go to the library!
July 8th, 2009 at 4:23 pm
Right now I am reading H.G. Bissinger’s Friday Night Lights, I am on page 179 and so far I love the book! I really like that it’s about football, because I am a huge fan!
That is probably why I chose to read this book. The characters are explained very well and it shows how much they truely care about their school’s pride and legacy. I also like how the author flashes back to bits of a big game or scrimmage right in the middle of explaining a character. So far my favorite character is Boobie, he seems like two totally different people, the mean jock and also the softie. I can relate to him because he loves football and so do I. The ordinary citizens from Odessa are Permian football fanatics, everything they wear is Permian, and that’s pretty much all they talk about.
I can’t wait to finish this book and see how it ends!
July 9th, 2009 at 9:34 pm
Hey, Andrea, Kaylee and Mrs Kennedy, I am so excited that you guys(girls) all feel the same about the book that I do. I also read the ‘authors note’ and found it interesting about how the book was based on a true story. That just goes to show you that the author really did her research before she wrote the book.
July 12th, 2009 at 8:27 pm
Hey, Andrea the same thing happened to me; I couldn’t find the blog site thing either. I also read A Northern Light written by Jennifer Donnelly, and i thought it was an amazing book and I thought it was even better after i found out it was based on a true story. This book is something different from what I usually read but I feel like I can really relate to the characters because donnelly doesn’t write what teh people should be like, she writes the real deal with money problems and hidden truths. For some odd reason my favorite part was when Mattie’s friend was having her baby, I think this is because it doesn’t just say she began to have her baby then jump to when everything is all clean and happy;it shows the truth behind the memorable part of a mother’s beginning.
I can’t wait to post my other log because I have alot more stuff to say, but I have to post two logs.
July 12th, 2009 at 8:35 pm
(log 2)
I finished reading A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly. It was one of my favorite books even though it’s not what i usually read. I like how Mattie had been slowly heading towards her dream and in the end she had some rightful duties at home but she chose to go for her well deserved path to reading and writing. I loved the story line! Jennifer Donnelly made the people and problems so real that it just made you have to love the book. When i started reading the book and by the time i finished i didn’t really have time ot post a blog; I read the book in a little less than 2 days if you count the hours. i think I finished the book one day at four o’clock in the morning while i was at my dad’s. By the time i woke up the next day I couldn’t remember the last three chapters becuase i was so tired when i finished the book, that I had to go back and reread them. It was such a good ending though, that I didnt mind rereading it. The only part I didnt like is that the story had to end and that when it did, it kind of left me hanging.
July 15th, 2009 at 4:37 pm
For my first book i read A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly. So far i think that this is a really good book. One problem that i had was in the begging it couldnt hold my attention but as i was able to get farther in the book i have a hard time puting it down… I would have to agree with Danielle on how when you read this book you feel like you are apart of the story.
One person in the story that i cant stand is Aunt Josie… I don’t like the way that she was able to Emmie Hubbard’s mail and read it. It also bugs me how she is able to tell Mattie how she thinks her pa is nothing and how he is the reason that her ma is dead.
One thing in the book that I love is the relationship between Mattie and Royal… I say this because Mattie has no idea what to think of Royal because she has never had a boy like her… But then you have Royal and he pretty much knows what he want…
Anther thing that is buging me in the story is how it is going from past to present. I dont really like it because it starts out with when they find Grace Brown and then the next part Mattie doesnt even work at Glenmore.
July 17th, 2009 at 12:12 pm
I hope everyone’s enjoying their summer vacation!
The first novel I am reading is A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly. The only thing that i am confused about is when it switches chapters from the Glenmore, then to Mattie’s home life. I think that the book is good so far eventhough Im not every far. The characters are really interesting and they are enjoyable to follow in the story. The way that Donnelly describes the characters makes them seem more real because i can easily compare poeple i know to the characters in the story. Lou is my favorite character so far becasue she says whats on her mind, and many people can relate to that. The storyline of the novel is very enjoyable and it keeps you wanting to read. I can’t wait to see how the story ends!
July 19th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
Hey everybody. For my first book I’m reading Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card. At first I wasn’t sure if I would enjoy the book. I usually don’t read science fiction novels but so far I have been pleasantly surprised.
I’d have to say my favorite character so far are Ender Wiggin. Ender has a very good strong morals that he won’t stray from, and I admire that. Ender is sent to a battle school because he is a prodigy, and there, his morals are quickly tested. Peter, Ender’s brother, is horrible and treated Ender terribly so, as a result, Ender strives to be the exact opposite of Peter. Peter is a killer while Ender is not.
Ender is forced to struggle not to be a killer because the universe is at war. It’s humans against buggers. The battle school Ender attends is to prepare him to be a leader in the war. In preparation of war Ender has to attend battles against other teams made of students and play video games. Ender has planned many strategies in the battles and becomes the top student. In the manipulative video game Ender has completed levels that no one has done, but in order to win he had to kill things in the game. Ender concludes that this battle school is strange and built off of lies. Ender learns that,”Sometimes lies are more dependable than the truth”(Card 2).
One of the commanders feeding the students lies is Colonel Graff. Colonel Graff knows how to get his way and knows how the world works. He isn’t a good person, but strangely enough he is another one of my favorite characters. Graff introduced a reoccurring theme in this novel. My favorite quote from him is, “Human beings are free except when humanity needs them”(Card 35). This greatly applies to Ender’s life because he is a great student but is forced to learn and to fight.
In the end of the book I think Ender will have have to kill Peter. Peter is trying to control the world and Ender is trying to save it. The two boys are great in an evil and good way. Ender tries not to kill and Peter put that passion in him. Peter is the only one who can kill Ender and Ender is the only one who can kill Peter. They were “born” from each other. That is just my opinion but I do think I am right.
I’m about half way through the book now and I can’t wait to read the rest. Peace!
July 21st, 2009 at 5:54 pm
I just finished Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card and loved it. It didn’t end like I thought it would though. I would have sworn that Ender would have to kill Peter, but I like Card’s ending better. It was very creative having the Giant’s Drink game be the place Ender realizes that he can be good. I’m glad Card made the buggers a good species. I thought that would happen when Ender asked Colonel Graff what started the war and he didn’t know. Being the Speaker for the Dead is a good job for Ender. It will make him feel that he can make up for all the people he was forced to kill.
The best symbol in the book I feel is the dead giant. It kind of represents Ender’s whole life. At first the giant lied saying that Ender can pass through if he drinks the right drink. Colonel Graff built the school on lies and unfair games. Even getting Ender to the school was a lie. Next Ender drinks one of the giant’s concoctions he dies and needs to think of new ways to beat the giant. Graff forced Ender to think of ways to feel involved with the students and to think of new moves when he was made commander. Later Ender learns that he has to kill the giant and kick over the glasses-which represent lies- to pass through. Ender kills the buggers along with the lies the two different schools have been feeding him. Next when Ender returns to the giant he is dead and elves turned his dead body into a home. They created a life in the midst of the lies and death. After Ender killed the buggers he colonized in their land and learned that they were good creatures that wanted forgiveness. Ender than took on the job to take the single living bugger left and put it on a different planet so it can live after all the death.
This symbol is one of the reasons I think the book is brilliant. I recommend that everyone else reads this book.
July 21st, 2009 at 9:54 pm
Taren, will you read another Orson Scott Card book?
July 22nd, 2009 at 3:05 pm
I finished A Northern Light last week and I was very shocked on how it ended. In a way I wish it would have ended differently but I am very pleased Mattie stayed true to herself like Andrea said. I’m not really sure who my favorite character was but I was drawn to Weaver and what he had been through. It made him seem like a real person. That is one thing Jennifer Donnelly did very well. She made the characters seem just like normal people. I also like the fact that this book was based around a real life murder. It just adds to the book and how it makes you look at things in a different way. Overall I think this book was very well written despite that I thought things should have happened in another way. I only hope Friday Night Lights is just as good.
July 22nd, 2009 at 8:57 pm
I just finished resding A Norhtern Light by Jennifer Donnelly… I thought that this was an amazing book over all. i like the way that it was based around a true event. One part in the book that I didn’t like would have to be would be when Mattie when home to her family because they were all sick…
One thing that I like was the plot line and the dissciption… I liked how she could put so much decription in one small part. Another part that I like was the end when Mattie was waiting for her train and she said how “Graces words echo in my memory. I have been bidding good-by to some places to-day. there are so many nooks, dear, and all of them so dear to me. I have lived nearly all my life…oh, dear, you don’t realize what all of this is to me. I know I shallnever see any of them again…”(Donnely 378). The reason that I like this quote is because Grace knew that she wasn’t going to live much longer but she left because her family didn’t know she was pregnat so she didn’t care what happend…
I hope that Friday Night Lights is as good as A Nothern Light…
July 23rd, 2009 at 11:47 am
Just a couple of reminders, everyone: Please use your first name and last initial when you identify yourself. Also, remember to proofread before you submit. Those forgotten typos really jump out once they are in print!
July 23rd, 2009 at 12:32 pm
Hi everyone! Right now I am reading Friday Night Lights by H. G. Bissinger. I chose to read this book from the nonfiction category because I knew it was about football and I just happen to love football! I am more than halfway through with the book and I’m currently on page 226. The book has been very enjoyable and quite interesting to read. I have also learned a lot. Did you know that in 1987 the amount of oil produced in North America was the same amount of oil being produced in the Middle East? I am learning many interesting facts such as this one while reading Friday Night Lights, which is one of the reasons why I like this book so much, you are learning about things that happened in the past, yet the book is still intriguing.
H. G. Bissinger did an amazing job in writing this book. The characters he describes seem to come alive again and they are so easy to relate to. I can’t wait to finish reading this book and to find out what happens to the Permian football team!
July 24th, 2009 at 10:52 am
Hey! It looks like I’m th only person to read The Other Side of the River so far…
Well in the beginning of The Other Side of the River, I was kind of bored, I think it was because I had a negative opinion of reading it before I even started, which isn’t good. But I started and then stopped for a little while and ended reading about 5 other books before I picked it up again…sorry. I started reading it again while we were on a car trip and then I started getting into it more. My favorite parts so far is when he described the autopsy and when Eric’s teacher was describing how he was doing bad in her class, but then when he joined gymnastics it improved because she made a deal with Eric and his friend; if they do their homework then the entrance fee is waived for them.
The book in general though, I think, has too many characters. I couldn’t keep mental track of them all, and I got confused when they would leave then bring them back up 4 chapters later.
July 27th, 2009 at 6:13 pm
The first novel I’m reading is A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly. The only thing I have found confusing is when the chapters switch from the Glenmore to Mattie’s home life. Even though I’m not very far into this book, I’ve found it to be very interesting, and the characters are very easy to relate to. My favorite character would have to be Lou mainly because she’s comfortable with being herself, she doesn’t care what other people think about her, and she tells it like it is. My favorite part of the book so far is when Mattie and Weaver have a duel while picking fiddleheads. I expected more of a physical duel then a vocabulary duel, but it was very funny, and entertaining.
I cannot wait to finish this book and find out what Mattie does with Grace Brown’s letters, and I’m really wondering how she tells her father and family she was accepted into Barnard College in New York City. I guess I will find all of this out as I continue to read.
July 27th, 2009 at 6:20 pm
My last post was an oops! Sorry!
The first novel I’m reading is A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly. The only thing I have found confusing is when the chapters switch from the Glenmore to Mattie’s home life. Even though I’m not very far into this book, I’ve found it to be very interesting, and the characters are very easy to relate to. My favorite character would have to be Lou mainly because she’s comfortable with being herself, she doesn’t care what other people think about her, and she tells it like it is. My favorite part of the book so far is when Mattie and Weaver have a duel while picking fiddleheads. I expected more of a physical duel then a vocabulary duel, but it was very funny, and entertaining.
I cannot wait to finish this book and find out what Mattie does with Grace Brown’s letters, and I’m really wondering how she tells her father and family she was accepted into Barnard College in New York City. I guess I will find all of this out as I continue to read.
July 29th, 2009 at 12:19 am
Hello everyone, I hope everyone’s summer is going good!
I think it had a fantastic storyline to it and it deffinately kept you reading. I read the last 100 pages in one night, also I was very shocked at how it ended. I think it was sad that the Permian Panthers didn’t make it to the State Championship game. I really thought that the drive the team had and their determination would push them all the way to the end but unfortunately they came up short. It was also uplifting that new players, a new team, and a new season were on the way. I loved how Odessa citizens loved the game of football and what it really meant. H.G. Bissinger did an amazing job writing this book. I would deffinately read more books written by him. I hope A Northern Light is just as good!
Anyways, I just finished Friday Night Lights, and it is now my favorite book! I absolutely loved it!
July 30th, 2009 at 1:13 pm
Hey everyone, I just finished The Other Side of the River! yay!
I was kind of disappointed to find that at the end, Kotlowitz didn’t reveal who the killer was…I really wanted to know. But I guess that even if he did know, he wouldn’t have revealed them because of the danger of being hunted down… maybe.
I didn’t necessarily like the book all that much, but it made me think about how true everything is. For example, the racial issues, those are all over the place. And the fact that Benton Harbor and St. Joseph aren’t that far away is even more surprising to me. A bright side to this, is that I’m not so ignorant of racial issues anymore…I didn’t really acknowledge it actually until I read about it, then told my stepmom and she gave me a whooooole sermon on it, which wasn’t that bad…but I wasn’t expecting it because all I did was tell her about it.
I don’t know if I like nonfiction books, or if its just that Alex Kotlowitz was more factual than others, but my next read is A Northern Light and I hope it’s more entertaining.
August 1st, 2009 at 4:18 pm
After two weeks I have finally finished reading Friday Night Lights by H. G. Bissinger! I really liked the book and the way that Bissinger chose to write it. The book had a way of drawing you in and making you feel like you too were a person living in Odessa, waiting and hoping for the Panthers to win every friday night. Like Courtney was, I too am disapointed that the team didn’t make it to state after all the endless months and years of hard work and detication just to make it to that one moment, and then have it taken all away from them. Friday Night Lights is a great read and I would recommend the book to anyone, even if football isn’t your favorite sport.
August 1st, 2009 at 6:40 pm
Hello everyone, I hope you all are having a terrific summer! (:
I just finished A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly and I loved it! The book kept me hooked throughout the entire story, and I fekt like I was back in 1906 with Mattie.
I was incredibly surprised by how the book ended. I expected a Mattie saves the day, and everyone lives happily ever after ending, but that was not the case. Mattie got to go pursue her dream as a writer at Barnard College, but she didn’t get the love story of her dream. I really thought she was going to marry Royal, she seemed so into getting married to him and having someone who would hold her in their arms, but I was obviously wrong. I also seemed to finally have gotten the answers to my confusion about the setting changes in the story, and also why Grace Brown wanted Mattie to burn those letters, all the answers behind Grace Brown’s death were in those letters. The feeling and thought put into writing this book made it seem like a true story. I absolutley loved this book!
August 1st, 2009 at 10:25 pm
Betsy, what if Mattie had married Royal? Would this be a happy ending? Why did Mattie become involved with Royal in the first place? Was he a good match for her? Was she ready for a “match”?
August 2nd, 2009 at 1:02 pm
Hope your summer’s good everyone!
The first book i read was A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly! I liked the story for the most part, but i did’nt like some parts of it. I did’nt understand why Mattie’s dad didnt want her to go get an education at a good college. Mattie was very strong through out the story, and her decision to go to New York was good. I honestly thought that Mattie was going to marry Royal, and it was suprising when she broke it off because I wasnt expecting it at all! I think alot of girls can relate to Mattie in different ways. I personally think that the story got better towords the end of it when she started reading grace’s letters. I really liked that Donnely tied in a fictional character and a non-fictional character in a book and tied it all together.
I hope Friday Night Lights is as good as this!
August 2nd, 2009 at 6:32 pm
Hey everyone! I’m a little over half way of The Other Side Of The River by Alex Kotlowitz. It’s kind of confusing to me at some parts, but that might be because I read it at night before I go to bed and sometimes I don’t read it for a day or two because of band. It has really brought out the issues in the world to me more. Things like racism and how things can seem like they would be normal but when you get behind the lines it’s a totally flipped around scenario have always been something I knew in the world but now it’s more noticeable. When I first started reading it I understood everything but it gets more complex for me as I read on, which I enjoy because summer can be boring at some points and that gives me a challenge.
Can’t wait to finish it!
August 9th, 2009 at 6:10 pm
I just started reading A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly today and I’m already almost half way through it! So far the book is very good and it may be one of the best books I’ve read! I like how Mattie has her word of the day, it’s helping me add a few more words to my vocabulary too. The characters in this book are described so well that I feel like I’ve met them myself and they are easily related to as well, in particular the main character Mattie. She is such a strong girl that gives up so much to help her family that sometimes her needs come last. I love her passion for learning and especially her passion for writing, which is where I can relate to her well and that makes the book even more enjoyable to read. I can’t wait to finish reading A Northern Light and see what Mattie decides to do with the secret letters, and whether or not her dad lets her go to college in New York or not.
August 15th, 2009 at 5:32 pm
Before I start my blog I’ll answer your question Ms. Kennedy. I don’t think I will read any more books by Orson Scott. It felt like the story of Ender Wiggin came to a close for me. I don’t usually like a books sequel if the first book finished the story for me. For example the Harry Potter series always had a cliffhanger ending but Ender’s Game didn’t. If someone else read the sequel and said it was good I might consider reading it.
August 15th, 2009 at 6:30 pm
For my last book I’m reading Barefoot Heart by Elva Trevino Hart. I’m a little over half way done with the book. I don’t really like this book. Out of the ten chapters I’ve read I only liked about two or three of them. Hart drags on and on about irrelevant things. I dislike how Hart will talk about a character for three pages or even a chapter and never mention them again.
While reading the first chapter I was looking forward to the rest of it, but that quickly changed. She spent a whole entire chapter talking about family members. The book is supposed to be about her, not her family. There is a huge age difference between Hart and her siblings so she wasn’t even born when she told stories about her siblings as children. I think Hart needs to stick on the topic of her and her own life.
I feel sorry for Hart as a child. She was the youngest child in her family and had five older siblings. Hart always felt overlooked and unloved. She loved attention. Hart mentions when she had chicken pox everyone came and spoiled her. She was “Princess of the day” (pg.56). Out of all the things she could remember she remembers being sick (Even thought I think most of these stories in this book a family member told her about it). That is kind of sad. To be fair to the parents she was loved. They spent so much time working so they could have a good life Hart never really saw them. I read the acknowledgements and it sounds like Hart eventually realized this.
Out of all my complaints I must say I am learning what the life of a migrant child was like. They were poor and worked hard. Her family (I don’t know about others) believed in a more natural healing process. They went to curanderos which are like healers. They seem to be very proud people, almost too proud.
I must say if you still have to choose a nonfiction book to read do not read Barefoot Heart. I suggest that you do not to read The Other Side of the River by Alex Kotlowitz either. I couldn’t get past the third chapter. Maybe I don’t like nonfiction books. When I think back the only one that I have liked was The Color of Water by James McBride. Hopefully the last half of the book will be better.
August 16th, 2009 at 6:55 pm
Hello everyone! I am reading Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissinger for my second book. I am really enjoying this book. What makes this book so interesting is that it tells you the history, but it’s not boring. It draws the history of segregation in the town to a football team and their season. It gives you that history you need and puts it together with something people can connect to in places other than Odessa. The players in this book I think many people can also relate to. Many of the reasons these football players play football I think people can understand and agree with too. I can’t wait to finish this book and find out what the rest of the season for the Permian Panthers has in store for them.
August 17th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
Hi everyone! Wow, I feel like I am really far behind in my summer reading. But right now I am a probably 2/3rds of the way done with my first book, The Other Side of the River, by Alex Kotlowitz. I had started reading it a while ago, but I just picked it up again and it was really hard to get back into it. I would say that this is not one of my favorite books, but it is very interesting. I like how Alex puts a fairly upbeat mood into a depressing book.
Anyway, i think my favorite part in the book is where Sherwin Allen got fired, because I think it’s very interesting that a town would chooose to fire someone who has brought the school system so far in such a short time. He gave Benton Harbor Schools hope, and they went right on and had him recalled. Hm.
By the way, Holly and Taren and anyone else who is reading this book, is it just me or are there a lot of vocab words you don’t know? I have to look up a word every few pages sometimes.
August 18th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
Well Mrs. Kennedy, if Mattie had married Royal, I think she would have ended up a housewife cooking and cleaning. I don’t believe this would have been a happy ending for Mattie she probably would not have been able to move to New York and fulfil her dream of becoming a writer.
Mattie became involved with Royal, I believe, because he kissed her, and she was so into the thought of him liking her because she never thought someone like Royal would like her, let alone kiss her.
Now that I think about it, Mattie and Royal probably wouldn’t be a good match because Royal was more of a farmer boy, and Mattie wanted to be more than a housewife, more than what everyone expected her to become. Mattie wasn’t ready for a match, and I can see now why she made the decision she did.
August 18th, 2009 at 1:46 pm
So, I’m currently reading Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissinger. So far I love it! It not only talks about the importance of football to Odessa, Texas, but it also explains how important football is to many Texas high schools, and it explains the history of how Odessa became the town it is!
I chose to read this book because I love football!
My favorite player on the Permian Panther football team so far is Boobie. He may have seriously injured his knee, but he’s not giving up on his dream of becoming a big time football player. No matter what people say about him, no matter what his coaches and team mates call him, he is not done pursuing his dream, and that is amazing to me.
Friday Night Lights doesn’t candy coat the football experience (how it is to get scouted, what it takes to become a college football player). This book explains the pain the players have to endure, the adrenaline that rushes through players’ bodies as they prepared for the big Midland Lee game, it explains the pressures of coming back from an injury just so you can play long enough for a recruiter to watch.
Friday Night Lights explains that football is much more than a sport to Odessa, the fans, friends, and families of the Permian Panther football player’s see every friday night as a dream come true.
I can’t wait to get farther into this book to figure our how everything turns out!
August 19th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
Hey, Mrs. Kennedy and everyone. Sorry about not posting until now but I’ve been hopping all around the country, lol. Anyways, I finished reading A Northern Light in July and I found it very gripping. Even though it took place around 1906, I felt like I could relate with Mattie, regardless of the boundary of time. Teenagers from today and teenagers from back then still have tough decisions, have to deal with tragedies, and have to find themselves. The theme I saw was sort of like Minnie’s, Weaver’s, and most of all Mattie’s personalities were flowering and coming of age. I always find the historical context in a novel interesting. You can place yourself in the past easier and take a walk in their shoes. In fact, I felt like Mattie’s problems were mine. When she struggled, I felt myself frustrated as well. The descriptive representation of everything she felt and saw definitely contributed to falling into the story. I agree, this book was indeed an incredible book, surprise ending and all. More later. :]
August 19th, 2009 at 5:17 pm
Like most, I was astonished how A Northern Light ended.
My favorite character was Emily Baxter because she seems the most like me and she has a past, which is always admirable. Fleeing to Paris, or somewhere in general is a solution I would choose as well. Also, she helped Mattie to reach her dream of going to college, and I respect that. Jennifer Donnelly was good at portraying this very interesting character.
I think its interesting that it’s based on a true event, it makes you look at things in a different light.
I didn’t like that Mattie agreed to marriage with Royal Loomis and then gave the ring back because she was going to New York City. That was an upset. Even though he is very simple-minded, he seems like a good guy. The book had difficulty capturing my attention until I was into it further.
August 20th, 2009 at 11:16 pm
Haha I’ve just started reading A Northern Light…it’s pretty good, I’m not that far into it yet, but I like Weaver, he seems like a nice guy. Mattie is an excellent character to compare to, because she seems very responsible and weary because she has to take care of her siblings and work, but she still finds time to read and write, even though it’s getting harder for her to do. Her father seems like one of those men that are hard on the outside but soft as a marshmallow on the inside, I like that. I can foresee a heart to heart moment from him to Mattie later in the book
I was surprised that someone died so soon. I knew that someone would, but I didn’t realize it would be within the first 10 pages! So I’m going to take a guess and say that someone else is probably going to die too. From the couple of people I’ve talked to, I’m happy that Mattie is going to be able to go to New York City, because she hasn’t gone yet.
August 21st, 2009 at 5:21 pm
Right now I’m almost finished with The Other Side of the River by Alex Kotlowitz and surprisingly loving it. I say surprisingly because usually every book I choose to read ends up being horrible. I was a little bit bored with it in the beginning but as I read on, it got more and more interesting. It gets confusing at times but I can manage. My favorite part so far is when Kotlowitz describes the night that Eric had disappeared. It has a lot of description to it and leaves me really anxious to find out what will happen next. I agree with Julia that the book does have many characters but I think that it helps the storyline flow a little more smoothly. Although I said I was bored at the beginning, I’m very excited to hear the ending and find out what REALLY happened to Eric McGinnis that night he died.
August 21st, 2009 at 6:04 pm
I’m about half way done with Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissinger.So far its not one of my favorite books…I like how one Friday nights the whole town comes together to watch the football games…Another thing i like is how Bobbie had his knee injury but he still wanted to go out and play because football is on thing he loves to do…
It is also different to see how everything is segrigated…
I like to see how the town of Odessa came to be though…
It was also different to read about how Gorege W. Bush went down to campain for becoming president.
August 22nd, 2009 at 4:46 pm
I’ve now finished The Other Side of the River by Alex Kotlowitz. I was a little disappointed with how the book ended because the real reason Eric McGinnis died was not revealed. Normally I don’t like non-fiction books but this one was pretty good. The story was kind of like a puzzle that ended unsolved. Also, it made me realize how serious racism is at times. In school when we talked about it, I would just take in what was needed to get 100% on the worksheet. Now that I read The Other Side of the River, I will pay more attention to how serious this topic is in the future. I may even read another book by Kotlowitz too. The next book on my list is A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly, I hope that it is just as entertaining as this book was.
August 22nd, 2009 at 9:40 pm
I finished Barefoot Heart by Elva Trevino Hart a few days ago. The book did get a little better but I still did not like it. From about the last time I wrote a blog Hart added 26, repeat 26, characters. I hope I don’t need to know all of them because there is no way I can. The characters she added didn’t really seem relevant. The characters that sounded interesting and a bigger part of her life only had a few pages written about them (other than the family). I get that she had to cram her whole life story into a 236 page book but she could have cut a lot of characters.
Out of the whole book only 7 out of approximately 49 characters stuck out to me. I remember Marielena and Derderian for their teaching skills. Marielena was a storyteller in the migrant camp and Derderian was her High School language arts teacher. I also enjoyed reading about Ama and Delimira. They are the people kindest to Evla in the book and are part of her family. Lourdes is another character I liked reading about. She was a nice girl but had no way of earning money, so she became a very dirty dancer at a club. Apa is the character I found myself analyzing the most. At first I didn’t like him. I considered him as too proud and arrogant but later he turned out to be a kind and caring father. Evla, obviously, is another character that really stuck out to me. This whole book is about her written by herself.
In spite of the books many faults of the book, that were given by myself, I liked the novel’s theme. Throughout the book Evla and her family struggles to figure out who they are and where they stand in society. At the end of the story they all have and identity but they had to work hard for it in a matter of speaking. Apa and Ama worked their whole lives to better their children’s lives. Their place in society was doing honest work for their children. They were parents through and through. That is just one example in finding ones identity in the book. Therefore I believe the theme of the book is in order to find out who you are as a person you need to work hard and find your strengths. Your social class doesn’t determine who you can be.
I also found it interesting how a migrant child use to live. They were very poor and many worked in fields. Another detail in the book I don’t like comes in here. Evla claims that she worked in the fields most of her life but she only suffered from the effects of a migrant workers income. Her family quit going to the fields in Minnesota when she was 12 and 12 is the legal working age there. Evla also stated that in the last years of her father going to Minnesota she stayed home. In conclusion we learned about a migrant child living off of a migrant farmers income.
I did not enjoy this book, but I must admit it had a few parts that were OK.
August 24th, 2009 at 2:23 pm
Hello, to everyone. I’m currently reading Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissinger. I chose to read the book because I love football and I’ve heard such high remarks about it. It isn’t my favorite book, but it is educational and enjoyable to read. The flashbacks really help me understand why things happened the way they did there. I never realized how racism was (or maybe even still is) such a huge issue even into the 1980s. I also never realized that a whole town could come together and love one thing so much. The author goes very in depth to every character. Like Megan said, the characters seem to come alive again. My favorite character so far is Ivory Christian. He’s the same way I am about sports; he hates the game, but loves it at the same time. I am currently half way through the book, and I can’t wait to finish it!
August 25th, 2009 at 3:41 pm
So, I have just finished The Other Side of the River, by Alex Kotlowitz. I think I have some of the same views as Mackenzie on her blog. the book makes me want to dig a little deeper into the subject of race and makes me think how serious this topic really is. How many of our lives have been affected by race? I think the answer is every single one of us, in some way or another. I just have never realized how much impact race can have on the lives of others.
The Other Side of the River was not the best book I have ever read, but it was one of the best nonfiction books. I liked how honest Kotlowitz was with the book and how he gave all of his opinions openly. It made it more relatable.
My other favorite part of the book was actually the conclusion. When Kotlowitz pointed out that it was “just a river” that separated the two towns, I believe that that was really the whole point of the book. It’s just a small body of water, but the symbolism is so very powerful. Kotlowitz knows how to use good literary devices to make the book more interesting. He also put a lot of his voice in his book, so it doesn’t sound so boring. Overall, though, this was not a very enjoyable book for me.
Now I am on to read A Northern Light!
August 25th, 2009 at 5:03 pm
hey everybody, summers almost over!
Well I finished The Other Side of The River and I must say that it wasn’t my favorite book to read. I mean it was a good story but all the characters and jumping around from plot to plot, story from story, was a little bit confusing. I was disappointed when Kotlowitz didn’t reveal the killer because if you try to figure it out in the book…well you really cant if you don’t have all the facts. It really opens up the racial issues and discriminations but I really wouldn’t recommend it to any of my friends, that might also be because my friends don’t really like reading.
Mallory, the same thing happened to me, every about 6 pages I had to ask my mom what a word meant and if she didnt know I had to look it up.
Have a great rest of the summer guys!!
August 25th, 2009 at 5:32 pm
I’m reading A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly. I actualy got a little caught up in the book and finished it in one sitting. This blog will be about my favorite part and the next one is my opinion of the whole book. I had many favorite parts of this book. The one that stood out from the rest was the part where Weaver and Mattie have there first word duel of the book. Its pretty early in the book. It amused me that they did this to solve one of there arguements. Plus it looked kinda fun and i wouldn’t mind trying that once. It is very original. I also liked the parts with Royal in them, because i liked the love story that went between him and mattie. I was just as suprized as mattie was when he said he liked her. I kind of saw it coming but it was still astonishing. There are more parts that i could tell about ,but i dont want to end up telling the story again. ( =
August 25th, 2009 at 5:38 pm
This is my second blog about The Northern light. I enjoyed this book, but i wasn’t pleased how it ended. I was happy that Mattie was able to live her dreams. The part I didn’t like about the ending was that she left everybody behind without a goodbye. I was glad that she at least said bye to Weaver. It was a very well told story though. I was a little confused at the beginning when it kept switching from present to past and back again. I figured out what was happening after a little more reading. Other than a couple of things it was an excelent book. I’m very glad i read this one.
Cant wait to see everybody at school ( :
August 26th, 2009 at 5:26 pm
This is my first blog for Friday Night Lights. It’s taking me longer then i had expected to finish this book. The novel has some interesting parts but nothing that is making me want to keep on reading! I don’t have that much left to read, so i hope i get done soon! My favorite character in the story is Boobie because of the drive that he has about playing football. I am really hoping that the story gets a lot better towords the end!
August 29th, 2009 at 9:39 pm
This is my first blog about A Northern Light. I am currently on page 350 and just haven’t found time to do a blog about it so here it goes…I love the book! Personally I think it was very easy to get into this book, it had a way of attracting the reader and make them wonder what would happen next. My favorite part in this book so far is when Mattie is trying to help her family when they are all sick. She had to leave her job at the Glenmore to help them and it shows how much love and care she has for her family. I bet it wasn’t easy to leave a job when you desprately need the money. Mattie had some big dreams and I love how she always thought positive about achieving them. I really admired that about her. Well i can’t wait to finish this book and tell you all how I feel about it
August 30th, 2009 at 7:58 pm
Hey! Right now I am just starting chapter four of Friday Night Lights. Like Dominique, this book is taking me awhile to read! I chose to pursue this novel not because I am a huge football fan (I am not that big on the sport), but because it sounded genuinely interesting and very exciting. So far it is not quite living up to my expectations, but it is getting better and better the farther on I read. When I was just a little way into Friday Night Lights, I was really bored, but the book has started to pick up and now things are clicking! Perhaps this is my favorite part of the novel, how H.G. Bissinger can tie in as many stories as he can to the main story line and eventually it all comes together so the audience is able to understand what he is getting at. Hopefully the rest of the book captures my attention and in the end I will also rave about Friday Night Lights. :]
August 31st, 2009 at 1:33 pm
As of right now, I am reading Jennifer Donnelly’s novel: A Northern Light. At this point I am about mid-way through the book where it’s starting to get interesting. Through out the first couple of words(chapters) I began to become involved in the book, with Mattie working on the farm. After a death of a parent I would have never realized the amount of work the eldest has to take on, eldest girl I should say becasue her eldest brother did decide to leave. When I was first introuduced to Weaver, I fell in love. He to me, can make this story, the best friend of Mattie who always starts the interesting conversations and helps might find her way and pushes her to follow her dreams. When I found out how literate Mattie was I related to her, further in the book I hopes she goes to get a higher education with Weaver. There has just been so much going on in the story. The death of Grace Brown has had me itching this entire time. As soon as the death occured, with possibly her secret lover, has had me on edge. And now the fact that Mattie has finally had the courage to read the letters, i’m finally in the part where I can’t put the book down, unless to write my blogs of course.
I do apologize how jumpy it it’s i’m just finally having my thoughts all written down about the book. And there is so much that I find incredibly fascinating about the book. So, far I have found it an enjoyable read. And i can’t wait to finish it.
August 31st, 2009 at 5:34 pm
I finished A Northern Light yesterday and personally I wasn’t very happy about how the book ended. I liked how Mattie chose to pursue her dream of going to college and becoming a writer. But i didn’t like the fact that she left her family and how she broke the promise she made to her mother. My favorite character in this book was Weaver, he was a genuine guy and seemed like a really great friend. I hated what Royal did to Mattie, that was not a good choice to ask someone to marry you just to get her father’s land. I found it very very suprising that Mr. Loomis was cheating on his wife with Emmie Hubbard. But overall I really enjoyed this book but just didn’t like how it ended. I would deffinately read another novel written by Jennifer Donnelly.
September 1st, 2009 at 9:19 am
Hey! Well, I am reading A Northern Light, by Jennifer Donnelly. I think she is a very talented writer, and she has her own unique style. Through her diction and syntax, she creates the mood of down-home, ordinary, early 1900’s people, and she makes them very relatable to people today.
My favorite part of the book so far is possibly when Mattie’s family fell sick and she had to leave her job and everything she was working for to go take care of them. Now that is true commitment. Another one of my favorite parts is the story of Grace Brown that is slowly unfolding as Mattie reads the forbidden letters. I think it is very interesting that Mattie made the choice to read them instead of burn them, especially since she is breaking a promise by doing so. But, she is also uncovering the secret of how Grace died and maybe she will find a way to avenge the killer. If Chester really did kill her.
I have a little more to go in A Northern Light, but I love how fast and easy-reading this book is so I think I should be done by today.
September 1st, 2009 at 5:01 pm
So, i’m left a little disappointed. I do admire the fact that Mattie in the end choose to pursue her dream, and go to college. I think towards the end of the book with the fire to Weaver’s house, that she realized people could take care of themselves, with the help of others around. I do believe Mattie was indecisive through the book, then Grace’s murder and letters triggered Mattie’s decision, for her to do what she loved and go to New York.
I find myself a little confused too. When I read this story I manage to find it enjoyabe. To me, I found it an easy ready and easy going. But now that I sit back and think of things I believe it’s complicated in a sense. Making life decisions as Mattie had to do was hard. The complexion of the themes and plot of the story found me wondering is there more. I do realize that this was a murder and the fact that Mattie took it upon herself to read Grace’s letters, made it just that much more intriguing. What leaves me torn is the title. A Northern Light…could it be one’s hope, as in Mattie’s home(northern) but that light is her hope. hmmm. but she says she’s going south? i’m left clueless. Any other scenarios? I need to ponder more.
I found this an amusing book, the characters were so realistic, I found myself with their humor. The man at table six, was a bit disturbing, but I found hilarity in it. They way the girls decided to deal with made me laugh aloud. Even though the book was more of a serious one I did find humor in it along with compassion, love, care, and sincerity.
P.S. The author’s note left me at ease, but still wanting more.
September 1st, 2009 at 10:45 pm
I am done with A Northern Light now, and I must say i really enjoyed it… there were some very important themes I found. One was follow your dreams, and I know this sounds cliche, but its true that Mattie chose to do the right thing, to go to college, even though her family and friends would need and miss her. Another important theme is to value your friendships. mattie relied on her friends through all the tough things that she went through. Never take advantage of such a god friend as Weaver or Minnie or even someone like Cook who disciplined her to ready her for the real world.
I also thought about what the name A Northern Light could mean. I came up with: maybe Grace Brown was Mattie’s northern light, because she showed Mattie that she needed to not turn out like Grace and make her own future instead of letting others choose it for her.
I think it’s sad that Mattie didn’t marry Royal, but i kind of felt it coming all along. He never really cared for her at all, and he didn’t deserve her.
Lastly, my favorite part of the whole book was when the Glenmore girls tripped “Table Six” into Hamlet’s dog poop. That made the characters even more relatable to me, since that is like a plan I might cook up to get back at someone.
I think this book will stay with me, at least some parts of it, including Grace’s letters, that turn out to be nonfiction. I thought Donnnelly made a really nice contribution to Grace by putting her in the book and letting everyone know her story. I think it made a light and easy book go a little deeper and a little more serious, which is just how I like it.
September 3rd, 2009 at 5:43 pm
I just finished Friday Night Lights about an hour ago, and I must say that I was impressed with it! Though a few parts of the novel bored me, the rest captured my interest like I had hoped. One thing I enjoyed about the book was the ending; it was still pretty optimistic, despite the devastating loss to the Cowboys, and it showed that life can, will, and does go on. I also was happy that Boobie and L.V. made up. After reading Friday Night Lights, I feel more appreciative of football as a sport and a way of life really, and I hope someday to experience a game or two as intense as they were in the 1988 season of the Permian Panthers.
September 4th, 2009 at 12:24 pm
I just finished the book Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissinger… This book over all not that bad but still one i wouldnt read again…
In the end it was hard to see the team work hard and not win. Like they were saying in the end of the book it was hard to loss to a team that doesnt work as hard as you.
One thing that i have learned is that through it all you have to remember that through it all life goes on…
Another thing that i enjoyed about this story was being able to experience this story of the team and the town…
September 4th, 2009 at 5:32 pm
I loved reading A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly. It was so good that I could never put it down and finished reading it in 2 days! I would have written this blog sooner, but after the storm and losing power, our computer wouldn’t turn back on.
Before I started reading the book, I was unsure what to expect because it’s not the type of book I would normally choose to read, but after the first chapter, I was hooked! My favorite character would have to be Mattie Gokey, the main character. I love and can relate to her for her love for books and writing. I also admire her for taking over everything her mother did before she died and being able to take care of the rest of her family, all while still trying to finish high school and go to college.
A Northern Light was a great book to read and it became even more interesting to me after I found out that it was based on real letters from Grace Brown. This book is definitely one of my new favorites!
September 5th, 2009 at 10:51 pm
I am reading A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly right now and I am about three-quarters of the way done with it. Everyone has been telling me how great this book has been to read. To be honest, I am going to have to disagree. I had a really hard time trying to get into it and this far through, I still am not hooked. It probably has to do with me not being much of a reader though.
So far, my favorite part has been when Mattie’s family is ill and Mattie leaves her job to care for her family. It just shows the love she has for her family. There is s a few things I am still curious about a few things at this point in the book. As I continue to read, hopefully I will figure these out. I also hope the book will turn out to be a good one!
September 6th, 2009 at 3:03 pm
It does look like A Northern Light, and Friday Night Lights are the favorites amongst Honors 10, I also am reading Friday Night Lights, H.G. Bissinger’s novel. My opinion: I love the book, again i’m also about half way through, but I really can’t wait until I complete the reading. When I first opened the book, myself was suprised at how much detail it was then just the Friday night football games. When it began to deep dig into the roots of Odessa and Permian and they were split due to desegregation. I find and intriguing story. It reminds me quiet alot of Remember the Titans. I love the hard-work and dedication players have to put forth. When these football games bring thousands of fans into the stands, sometimes I have a hard time believing that. Then I wish for our football team to be that supported too. I like how the author tackles all of what’s going on during a football game, the screaming adoring fans, the marching band in the stands, the sound of helmets hitting each other on the field and the sound of the press box announcing. Being a huge fan of football all I was expecting out of this book was games with play by play’s that you could see in your mind. The clock stopping for time-outs and coaches yelling plays. It’s all so real, that it feels as though I’m in a Permian High football game, it’s amazing. I have not found myself a favorite character yet, not that i agree with the book on how short the characters really are. I get all the details about the the extras, where i’m beginning to want more from the characters, sure they get mentioned here and there, but I do want more. So far I love the book and can’t wait to finish it. I really am inspired by this work of football words.
September 6th, 2009 at 6:12 pm
I am now finished with Friday Night Lights by H.G Bissinger. I really actually enjoyed this book very much. If I was to read it again I would defiantly look for things I may have missed. For some reason I was drawn to football player Mike Winchell. He has a lot of pressure put on him from his coaches, his team, and the whole town. And somehow he over comes all of the pressure to be a great quarterback. Toward the end of the book I kind of got tired having all the history in the book. I was like just tell me how they win, but I know that it was needed in the book to get the point of how football can become such a huge part of a town. I was sad that in the end only one Permian football senior went on to big time college football and that football had become not as important to the town of Odessa as it had been. This book was very good and I hope to get the chance to read more books like this one this year.
September 6th, 2009 at 8:44 pm
I finished reading A Northern Light, it was by far one of the best books I have read. I could definetly feel the emotions Mattie was going through as I was reading her story. She had some hard decisions to choose and she knew they would change her life not matter which way she decided to go. I like the fact she didn’t marry Royal Loomis, I didn’t really like his character because he didn’t seem good enough for Mattie. I know he was good looking and rich, but holding a conversation that isn’t about crops is also a good trait to have, he also seemed to just want her body, like he was all for lust instead of love. Mattie would have done better with Weaver in my opinion.
He was really nice, well when he was at their house, when he left without coming back and breaking his promises I was disappointed.
The twists in the plot kept me in a suspense, I would never have imagined the relationship between Mr. Loomis and Tommy’s mother, and I was scared when Mattie’s family got sick, I didn’t want any of them to die.
My favorite part of A Northern Light is when Mattie’s Uncle Fifty just showed up
Jennifer Donnelly wrote a great book, and I think I would read it again, not anytime soon, but I would read it.
September 7th, 2009 at 11:57 am
The Book i chose for the nonfiction reading was Friday Night Lights by H.G Bissinger. I am about half way through it.So far im am finding it very interesting.The Teens on the Panthers foot ball team all seem to have a unigue backgrounds.James Miles or better known as Boobie has been my favorite to hear about. I felt bad for him when he got that knee ingury at the begeging on the season. By the sounds of it without football he has nothing else he is really good at. I can only hope that it will get better for him. I also have been noticeing that a lot of the dads of the players are kind of living through there sons. Most of the dads seem to have a rough life growing up just like the players seem to. I am actualy not a huge football fan so im suprized that i am sort of enjoying this book. I’m going to keep reading and i cant wait to see how it ends.
September 7th, 2009 at 12:20 pm
I just finished reading Friday Night Lights by H.G Bissinger. It amazes me how a town can be brought together or torn apart over a high school football game. I do believe that the players on this team should spend more time on studies and less time depending on getting on a collage football team. They should at least have a back up plan just in case they failed to get on one. Pretty much all the players on the Panthers football team did not make it to collage level football.
I Think that the fans of the Permian Panthers are a little too hard on the players.They are,after all, just high schoolers. They shouldn’t be putting for sale signs in the yard of a player that didn’t do to good at the previous game.
I also believe that the coaches were too hard on the players. Boobie is a great example. He was injured at the beginning of the season and the couches didn’t even care that his life depended on football. He wasn’t at all good at anything else.
Even though i have many criticisms of the book i enjoyed it very much. Cant wait to see everybody at school again.
September 7th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
Finishing Friday Night Lights, made me want to cry. I’m a sucker for sport stories. I know what it feels like to be put in a postion such as that, being in a final game where there’s only minutes to go and you lose by a strand of string. I felt as though I was in that story through the whole thing. That game had me so on edge that I couldn’t believe what it came down to. I feel like crying because of all that hard work all the sweat blood and tears you put in a season to get that far, when your so close you can taste it. The rest of the book, had me going. At the end I wasn’t disappointed at all, through their season you just can’t win everything, they had a good football season don’t get me wrong, but in order to know what it feels like to win to really truly feel the glory of it, you need to feel the hurt the agony of what it takes. When I read the epilouge and the afterword, I was happy with some of the characters, but I was just at awe with disappointment with Boobie. After, his injury his life went downhill and I can’t believe he let his life crumble to such a lifeless nothing. I’m glad I choose to read this book, i would read another book by H.G. Bissinger. they way he captures everything, they way his words flow together with people on the yard lines. I am so amazed and feel so satisfied with the real town dream of a Firday Night football game in the lights.
September 7th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
I can’t believe we start school tomorrow! I hope everyone has had a great summer!
I just finished Friday Night Lights, and quite honestly I wasn’t impressed. There were parts throughout the book that I thought were cool in a way, like every friday night a small town that deals with racism, and segregation can all come together to watch a football game, they put all of their differences aside for that one night! I agree with Alex, in order for a team to truly appreciate winning, you have to lose also. I also agree with Shai, Boobie got injured, and his coaches didn’t really tell him to stick around, they could care less! He had such a good future set for him, but he had no support to fulfil his dreams. I did think this book was overall boring. I didn’t feel as captured and on the egde of my seat like I was when i read, A Northern Light.
September 7th, 2009 at 5:54 pm
Okay… i guess since I have not posted for my second book that I should get started. I have had these written down because I was on vacation.
The second book I read was Barefoot Heart by Elva Trevino Hart, and the book was pretty enjoyable. In the middle of the book I was having troubles getting real interested in the book. The story was still good, but it was just moving slow for me. My favorite thing about the book so far into it was the fact that the story was real. I think that if the story was fiction than it would have been less enjoyable because I could have never believed it. I also like the way the family treats eachother; just like a real family. So far into the book, I would for sure recommend it.
September 7th, 2009 at 6:04 pm
When I finished the book Barefoot Heart written by Elva Trevino Hart, I would have to say I was surprised. I would have never guessed that Hart would eventually become something. Actually, I never doubted she could do it, I just was surprised because it must have been so hard for her. Hart came from a place that was so hard to thrive in. I was just surprised.
The book was very entertaining, and I would have to disagree with Taren and recommend the book. People who like reading of a family who has struggled to survive will like it I think. People who also enjoy books about the unbelievable, as in Hart becoming more than a migrant.
This book has taught me to dream and there is nothing that can stop me.
September 7th, 2009 at 7:45 pm
Hope everyone enjoyed their last summer day!
I just finished Friday Night Lights, and i didn’t really think it was as good as lots of people said it was. I thought i was going to like it a lot more, and i was kind of disappointed. The thing i liked about the book was the characters; the drive and passion that they have in the game they play is inspiring for anybody that loves to play sports. Boobie’s story was sad because he had to give up his dream just because of his knee and nobody tried to stop him. I also enjoyed reading about the struggles that the Permian Panthers went through individually and as a team. I learned that when you have a dream that you want to make a reality, then you need to go after it without letting people bring you down or take it away from you. If it wasn’t for some certain characters, then I wouldn’t have enjoyed this book at all because truthfully I found it quite bland. I would recommend this novel to somebody that is a really big fan of football.
September 7th, 2009 at 8:32 pm
My last post was a little late because I wrote the blog a while ago, but my internet wasn’t really working. Anyway, I just finished Friday Night Lights about a week ago.
I did find some parts in the book to be a little boring, but overall I would recommend it.
I think that it’s almost a good thing that the Permian Panthers didn’t win the state championship in 1988. I was rooting for them, and I know it would’ve meant a lot to them, but I think it also taught them something. Maybe they learned that in life, sometimes you get let down. If you’ve give it all you’ve got though, then it’s the best you can do, and the rest is out of your hands. I thought it was insane when Gary Edwards’ algebra II grade was so debated, that it went all the way to court. In my opinion, the ruling should have gone the other way.
I loved the follow ups at the end of the book. I thought it was also pretty cool how the people of Odessa read the book and realized how crazy they were with football and didn’t necessarily like it.
I’m going to rent the movie soon and see how that compares. A Northern Light is my next book and I hope that it’s just as good as Friday Night Lights!
September 7th, 2009 at 8:37 pm
First off, I’m glad to be done with Summer Reading. Also, I hope everyone had a fantastic summer.
I have finally finished A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly. I actually seemed to enjoy it once it got closer to the end. Not many people talked about this, but I loved when it was Mattie’s birthday and she had thought everyone forgot. When she was told she was “in trouble,” they actually had a birthday surprise for her. I thought that was sweet of everyone.
I liked the way it ended and how Mattie chose to pursue her dream and be a writer. Even though, surprisingly, Royal and Mattie did not end up getting married, I beleive that Weaver and Mattie would have made a better couple in the first place anyways because all Royal wanted was her father’s land.
I may actually read A Northern Light again, just to see if I can enjoy it a little more.
See you all tomorrow!
September 7th, 2009 at 9:43 pm
I have been reading The Other Side of The River by Alex Kotlowitz. I struggled to get through this book. It’s written well, but just not as interesting to me as the other book I read, The Northern Light. That book grabbed me from page 1. In fact, I would read it more. This one has failed to hold my attention, although the theme is interesting in itself. I mean, racism is bad. Actually, this was an interesting look at the difference in point of view from two towns. I didn’t like that the author had spent so much time doing research on the case that he doesn’t know when to stop talking about it. I felt like he took three hundred pages to admit he’s still clueless about what happened.
September 7th, 2009 at 10:40 pm
My next two posts are late as well. I write them then forget to post them.
For my second book, I have chosen to read A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly. I’m a little more than half way through the book right now. I really like it so far. It holds my attention, and seems to have more of a storyline than Friday Night Lights did. From what it says on the back of the book, I thought that it would focus more on the murder than what it has so far. It’s still pretty interesting though.
I relate the most with Mattie. I’m pretty picky with grammar too. I think that it’s cool how she learns a new word every day. I’m learning a few new words along the way as well. I don’t think I’d ever be able to remember all those words if I did what she did though. Well, I’m off to finish my book!
September 7th, 2009 at 11:31 pm
Hi, everyone. I hope you had a great summer!
I finished A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly a while ago. I loved the book, and would definitely recommend it. I thought that Mattie’s emotions really came through in the text. I admired some of the decisions she made about her life, and how quickly she grew up in times of need. I also thought that the Grace Brown aspect of the story came together really well. I liked how it was a large part of the story, but the facts surrounding her murder didn’t overshadow Mattie’s story. Like many others, I’m also glad that Mattie left and didn’t marry Royal. He may have been a pretty face, but he lacked personality. All he ever talked about was farming. He didn’t sound like he was as adventurous and insightful as Mattie was. They just didn’t mix very well. I also was a little confused at first when it changed from Mattie’s home life to the Glenmore, like Betsy was. My favorite part was when Mattie realized that she held the truth about what really happened to Grace.
Overall, I really enjoyed the book.
September 22nd, 2009 at 2:22 pm
Cinema
A box of many-splendoured dreams
A tender scheme so filthy-pure
…dreams of dreaming
…dreams of living
…dreams of shining
…dreams of screaming
…dreams of giving
…dreams of dying
I’m taking, making, breaking dreams
And forging broken, shattered schemes
These dreams, they see
And flee through me
And I see me and you see thee,
And dreams are me as dreams are we
Through me, and thee, they dream
And with their bodies see me scream
And schemes see me,
And, scheming, seem a tired dream.
They topple all the stitching seams
And shatter all these fixing dreams
And rise below the screaming things
And fly into the dreaming wings
And sink above the ringing,
winging,
thinging,
scheming,
dreaming, screamingdreams
Dreams of love and dreams of skies and dreams of loving, living lies,
These dreams are yours and his and theirs and hers and its and ours and mine
They touch and play and kiss and dance and love and sing and fly and dream!
They break and cut and bite and jump and hate and growl and swim and scream!
The fire slips betwixt their lips, and by their ears, between their thighs
The water dances on their hips and ‘cross their fears and in their eyes
They glide and gleam across my hand and through my ebbing, whirling mind
They drift and fly across the sands, the grains that hold together time
They twist and turn so gracefully upon their silken, goss’mer strings
And on their tight-rope act of daze they sing and
Glide and
Ride and
Glow and
Show and
Die and
Fly and
Mate and
Hate and be…and…
See,
I’ve got a lovely box of dreams
Sitting here,
So filthy pure…
October 1st, 2009 at 2:37 pm
For the past two weeks i have been doing the incense and walking. I am A LOT more faithful to my incense than the walking. When i burn incense i watch the smoke and wonder why it makes all the swirls it does. why it doesnt smell like it says on the box, and just smells like a campfire. I wonder if thats what I want to smell instead of cinnamon or honey or vanilla, maybe i want to go back camping and sit around a nice warm campfire. Burning incense has increased my questioning and creativity, why?
November 5th, 2009 at 8:19 pm
Hi Mrs. K.
I was absent today and I am trying to use these links to get the practice in for the test but none of the links work..
November 6th, 2009 at 9:22 am
Rachel, I wish I knew why the links don’t work at your house. They are working fine at school and at my house. Sorry about that.
November 19th, 2009 at 7:28 pm
Imagery on November 18 was great. There were great poems and an excerpt from a novel. Can’t wait until the next meeting!!!
November 20th, 2009 at 4:45 pm
Jonathon, I agree wholeheartedly. Bodes well for Escape 2010!
December 2nd, 2009 at 1:27 pm
A good book, in my opinion, would be about a teenage girl who loves swimming. She spends all of her extra time in the pool, and she is always trying to improve her times. Her coach is her biggest inspiration in life. She started swimming when she was young, and quit when her mom passed away. The next time she got on that diving block, she realizes that she can forget all of her worries, the second she hits the water. Her coach tells her that if she’s truly passionate about it, she needs to keep going. She trains all the time, and soon tries out for the olympic team.
December 2nd, 2009 at 1:29 pm
If someone approached me and wanted to write a book for me I would want the writer to write a book about a character that could relate with me, something that seems realistic. And the book would have to be fiction because I find fiction more fascinating the non-fiction. Nothing from back in the day but something based on this time period. Probable about a female because it would be easier for me to relate to. The book would have to be fun and easy to get into, nothing boring.
December 2nd, 2009 at 1:30 pm
5th Hour
If I were to have an author that would be so kind as to write a book specifically for me, it would probably have to be a mystery book. I also like fiction, because usually, in my opinion, fiction is much more interesting as opposed to nonfiction. I would like it to be centered on an investigator, just a young investigator, in her twenties. I would like to also have a teen my age helping her. A very suspenseful interesting killer mystery would also be nice. I would like it to be written by a Christian author and be a Christian book.
December 2nd, 2009 at 1:30 pm
Well I have a lot of favorites, but just for me I would want to have a love (romance) story. It would be somewhat like the story Cinderella. It would have to involve a girl my age in high school that is trying to find her “true love”, but she would also have to be involved in sports like basketball. So honestly I want it to be about me in high school because I love basketball and I’m trying to find my true love…. the right one of course. But it also has to have a life lesson into it. Teaches people that find that one guy isn’t the world but it would be nice in a while to at least have someone care for you.
December 2nd, 2009 at 1:31 pm
If the perfect author offered to write a book about whatever I wanted it would be fiction and about a fifteen year old boy who is bullied throughout high school. He moves many times because he gets in to much trouble at school. His mom and dad are separated, and he lives with his dad who is an alcoholic, and abusive towards his son. His mom left him when he was three. When he can’t take be bullied at his new high school and the teachers disrespecting him he decides to bring a gun to school and put it all to an end.
December 2nd, 2009 at 1:31 pm
If an author wanted to write the perfect book for me it would have to be a fiction book. There would have to be multiple main characters because I like books with multiple points of view. Also it would have to be in this time period because I don’t really like books that are set in the past. The book couldn’t be small because it wouldn’t last very long. I like any books about vampires because so many authors have different ways of portraying them. Books written in verses are very interesting since there’s so many ways the author can put the words on the page.
December 2nd, 2009 at 1:32 pm
If there were an author that was one of the greatest authors in the world that asked me what the perfect book should be about I would say that it needs be about something in the woods. It could be about a guy that’s been out in the woods for his whole life. The book would include how he survives and possibly some tips on how to survive. Then a family on a camping trip finds him and brings him in to the real world. His whole life style changes.
December 2nd, 2009 at 1:32 pm
If an author came and told me that they wanted to write me a perfect book, this is what I would want my story to be like. I would want a movie type book that’s easy to read with a really good story line. I would like my story to be about wrestling. I would want a book about how a wrestlers life and what he goes through to make weight, turn down parties, and practice really hard. I would want this story to have a girlfriend who just doesn’t like wrestling because her boyfriends love it too much into the sport. I would want the book to explain his home situation with his family being split up and he lives with his dad who is poor. This would be the best book for me because my perfect book would be about me.
December 2nd, 2009 at 1:33 pm
The story from the author would have to write me a fiction book. And it would have to be about vampires, witches, or warlocks. And it would have to be in the present time. Ti would have to deal with either magic or vegetarian vampires. I would love me name to be in the book and the main character would have to be both a guy and a girl. And I would also like to be a main character also known as the girl character and there would have to be lots and lots of drama in it. And the vampires and witches would all have to be friends in it. Also they would have to fall in love with someone in the book. And it cant be a mortal.
December 2nd, 2009 at 1:33 pm
If the world’s greatest author were to write a book for me it would probably have to be a fiction book. The book would have to be about the depression in the 1920s or I would really like a book about World War 2, because that thoroughly interests me. I’m not sure whom I would like to write the book for me, yet. Even though I would like to have a book about the history of the 1920s era, I would like to the main character to be able to find love. There might be a book out there just like this, but I haven’t read it of even found it, but maybe someday I will!
December 2nd, 2009 at 1:34 pm
If I were to have the perfect book written for me it would have to be a mystery book. It would have to be less than 300 pages, and it would have to have a man for the main character. It would have to either be modern day or in the future, because I do not like the past very much. It would have to be about a modern day civil war or something on blacks fighting for freedom. I would have to be able to read it quickly and easily with no problems. That is the type of book I would want written for me.
December 2nd, 2009 at 1:34 pm
To start off, if an author wanted to write a book just for me. It would have to be Fiction. It would be about me growing up in a bad neighborhood with gangs all around the city. There would be a lot of people being killed. And me trying to save everyone. That’s what my favorite story would be about. Also at the end I would get money from everyone in the city because I saved their life.
December 2nd, 2009 at 1:35 pm
if an author were to write me the perfect book, i would want it to be romantic and about two people (boy, girl), who are confused about wanting to be together. so its kind of in a way a conflict too. they like each other, but the boy doesnt want to risk going out with her and loosing his friends. and on the other hand the girl is ready to be with him and knows her friends dont care, but she doesnt know how long she can wait for him. and along the way he ends up getting a different girlfreind and pushes the other girl away, while she trys her best to hold on and wait for him to come back. thats the book i would love to read.
December 2nd, 2009 at 1:35 pm
If I were to have the opportunity to design my own book, with only things I liked in it, I would have Mitch Album write it. Because he is the author, it would have an interesting meaning, or message, at the end to wrap up the book. It should also be a true story about something that happened in the past. I love reading about the Holocaust or slavery, so it could be about someone in that time period. If there is a book out there about this, I would love to read it.
December 2nd, 2009 at 1:36 pm
I wouldn’t know where to start if an author were to write a perfect book just for me. The book would have to be realistic fiction and contain a lot of adventure. I also like historical books, so I would have the book’s setting be in the past. Typically I like to read books with a male main character my age that has something in common with me. I would have the book be about a young man signing in to the Marine Corps straight out of high school. The book would describe the hardships he faces during his time in the Marines.
December 2nd, 2009 at 1:36 pm
If the world’s best author was going write a book specifically written for me it would be mainly an adventure book. It would be about some one my age preferably a boy. It would be about a kid who gets lost in the woods while he is hunting and cannot find his Dad. The book would talk about his triumphs and losses in his desperate struggle to survive the wilderness.
December 2nd, 2009 at 1:37 pm
If the perfect author came up to me to write a book just about me it of course would have to have something to do with sports. I like fictional books so it would have to be that genre. The book would have to be about a guy like me that just finished High School and got a basketball scholarship to MSU and how he had to make the transition from high school basketball to college basketball. It would tell about his first game as a college athlete and the difficulties he faced from being a walk on player. That is what the book would be about me.
December 2nd, 2009 at 1:37 pm
A book that has a setting in Michigan or possibly in Fruitport would be a book that I would like to read. It would be interesting to see another person’s views of my state or town but the author would have to write about some of my hobbies or activities in order for it to be my perfect book. If they wrote about hunting trips that the main character had with their dad or if they wrote about being out on the lake fishing every day it would certainly be a good book.
December 2nd, 2009 at 3:14 pm
I like so many different types of novels—which makes it difficult to think about a perfect book. To start, it would have to be fiction. It would have to have a female main character—preferably one with something in common with me. I really enjoy historical fiction, so the setting needs to be in the past. Okay, I’d like to read a book about a young woman who comes of age in the 1970s—through the social turmoil of the late 60s, through the Vietnam War. Then she decides to go into education just as all the old rules are thrown out, and the social chaos affects her students too. She grows up along with her students in those years; they probably teach her more than she teaches them. Hey, maybe I should write this book!
December 2nd, 2009 at 3:29 pm
The perfect book would probably be something that keeps me reading it and makes sense. I like all kinds of books mostly the Twilight books though they keep me reading them and they are very interesting. Another perfect book would be a romance and mystery because something bad could happen then something good could happen at the end of the book but sometimes nothing does. And the book would take place in the way future because i always wanted to know what will happen in the future.
December 2nd, 2009 at 3:30 pm
The perfect book for me would be a fiction book. It would have dragons and magic in it. It would take place during the mideval age. I love books that take place during that time but it does need to have magic and dragons. I do not like books that do not have dragons in it or anything like that. That is what the perfect book for me.
December 2nd, 2009 at 3:32 pm
The perfect book for me would have to be fiction. The main character would have to be a teenage girl in high school. The book would be a love story about her and her boyfriend over a one year time span in 2009. The book would talk about both of their lives and their times they spent together. I would want the book to not just be all lovey dovey all the time. It would talk about bad times too and how hard high school can seem. My perfect book would deffinately be something i could relate to. I hope an author writes this book someday.
December 2nd, 2009 at 3:36 pm
If an author were to write a book for me it will be like an action book. Lots of people would die and have pictures of cool parts in the book. There wouldn’t be any hard plot to figure out. It would have some swearing because that would be cool. I don’t like to read boring books they annoy me and this book would be really short. I don’t really like to read books that are really long because they bore me. That would be the perfect book for me. One that’s not boring lots of action and really cool.
December 2nd, 2009 at 3:37 pm
The perfect book for me to read would probably have to deal with a sports star. A sports star that makes bad decisions with school and drugs. This sports star would have to play football, basketball, or baseball because those are three sports that I play. This book would not be a super long book either because I don’t like reading super long books so it would be between 200 and 300 pages for me to enjoy. The sports star would have to have to deal with problems with ethnical issues as well because that’s something I like to read about to.
December 2nd, 2009 at 3:40 pm
Well if I had the choice of books to write it would be about baseball and how I love the game it would be about my life and a kid similar to me starting with my first game of baseball when I was about 5 years old and going all the way till the the pros I will hopefully go to college to make it there. I would want it to have all of my life trips in like the grand canyon trip I took in the spring of 9th grade, I have been to four tiger games since I was born I love the game of baseball if I cant find a book like that I would find a way to write one.
December 2nd, 2009 at 3:42 pm
My perfect book would be a book that is about history. The book could be about any history from the pyramids of Egypt to history of Obama. I would prefer to read a book about the civil war. It would be about one soldier telling his times in the war. He would tell about the hard times of the war and the time his friend got shot. He would tell about what he left back at his house. Then he would come back home and find his wife. That would be like the best book I could think of.
December 2nd, 2009 at 3:44 pm
If the best author in the world wrote the best book to my specifications it would go something like this. A young werewolf would travel his planet searching for evil dwellers to slay. If no action were taken the evil aliens to his planet would wipe out the werewolf population. The aliens aren’t really after the werewolves, but they’re after the plot of land they are on. It contains large amounts of gold and diamond underneath it. The story ends as the lords of the wolves and the leader of the evil aliens make a deal. The werewolves will allow them to retrieve the gold and precious jewels as long as the aliens will feed the werewolf pack for the rest of eternity…
Lucas C. 12-2-09 6th hour
December 2nd, 2009 at 3:45 pm
If the best author wrote the best book in the world just for me it would be a fiction book about a young man who just got out of high school and had his whole life was ahead of him and he was drafted by the U.S Marine Corps during World War II. The book would be all about what it is like to be soldier in combat with the stress of your life on the line. It would have its high intense and scary moments and also its sad and heart breaking moments. I believe that the only way you could think of a book like this is if you were in the actual situation. This book would have valuable life lessons that many people could learn from.
-Chris E
December 2nd, 2009 at 3:45 pm
First off, if an author were to write the perfect book for me it would have to have action and suspense. It would have to be non-fiction about a young girl’s horrible childhood, from having her mother abandon them, to being sexually abused by her father all her life, to now being 16 and pregnant, but also proving to the world that she is able to overcome all those tragic things, that she is strong enough for herself and her baby.
December 2nd, 2009 at 4:55 pm
I like what cris said because when i grow up i want to be a Marine. It would be pretty cool to serve for my contrie.
December 2nd, 2009 at 5:12 pm
A good book in my opinion would be one that actually seems like it could be the real life of a teenager, a book that has the rough times with the friend, family, and boyfriend/girlfriends. It also has to have the good times that the character has with the same people. They also need to portray the fact that yes some people have had a really bad past, and that can cause some trust issues. Or it could cause some one to be a lot shyer, but if the character has had a bad past that other characters would realize that you cannot judge someone by their past.
December 2nd, 2009 at 5:31 pm
Well, if an author would write my perfect book it would be about a 15 year-old sophomore who has to try to make time with her friends, her family, her boyfriend, and try to do the one thing she loves most: hunting. Of course it would have to involve some drama, and have a happy ending. But somehow it would have to be a mystery because that makes everything more suspenseful. But yeah, that’s about it.
December 2nd, 2009 at 7:04 pm
6th Hour.
If there were an author who would be willing to write the perfect book just for me, i would want it to have a really good story line. I would like the story to be about a teenage girl, and what she goes through in life. I would want a book about a girl and all her struggles, achievements, and dedications. It would include this teenage girl to fulfill her one dream of being a high school varsity cheerleader. It would have to include the boy situations shes gone through. Also how this certain girl has this roller coaster life, and just when it gets good, things go bad, and then gets good again. This teenage girl, loves what she does, loves her friends, and family. Even if there’s a problem in her life, she fights threw it, because she wants to live the life shes dreamed of having. And in the ending, even with things that had happened threw out her life, she loves the life she is living. That would be the perfect book for me.
December 2nd, 2009 at 7:21 pm
If someone wanted to write a book for me I would tell them my perfect book would have to about true athletes and what they went through in high school. I of course want it to be about a girl like me that is in many sports. I want it to tell me about their struggles to make the team keep your grades up and balance this all. It would have to be a biography about them from high school to collage. Also it would be in the older days where athletics would take steroids and her struggle to keep away from it when everyone on the team does it and they want her to take it also. This would be my perfect book, so who wants to make it for me.
December 2nd, 2009 at 7:34 pm
If an author wrote a book just for me I would like there to be action and struggles. I like to read how people have struggles in life and eventually get out of them and end up being happy. So maybe the book could be about a drug addict or an African American escaping slavery in the south to the north. I like to read about teen related issues and things I can relate to. It could be about a girl in high school going through struggles in school or even at home. Having her trying to keep up with all the drama and gossip of her friends and others. making wise and smart decisions when it comes to her boyfriend. I like books that cover topics you here about very often in the real world, like teen pregnancy and a girl struggling at home with her family accepting her now along with her child.
December 2nd, 2009 at 7:46 pm
I am responding to Carissa P.’s post. Besides the fact that we are great friends, we also have something very in common like having a boyfriend over a long period of time. I think Carissa’s post is a great idea for a book. I could also definitely relate to this topic. I would definitely like to read a romance story of a couple and learning how they get over each others flaws and problems. I think it would be great, after the couple in the book that goes through struggles and are all lovey after, would end up getting married after high school and spend the rest of their lives together. The reason for this because it gives silly high school girls like me and Carissa hope.
December 2nd, 2009 at 8:00 pm
Well, I have read many books, and I always find that I like the books that deal with either high school situations, or kids expressing their feelings and problems the best. I’ve read the chicken soup books before, and I really enjoyed learning about how people look at their life situations. If I were to have an author write me a custom book, I would have it involve a teenage girl, that expresses her outlook, feelings, and also any problems that she encounters in high school. I wouldn’t have the author make the book extremely lengthy, but long enough to get me attached and make me not want to stop reading. My personal book would have to be realistic fiction, because I think that Non-Fiction is too boring.
December 2nd, 2009 at 8:08 pm
Im not exactly sure how to respond to a classmates post, but this is how I am going to do it! I agree with Lindsay A because I thought Tuesdays With Morrie was a very good book, and if Mitch Album was to write another book, I think that one would be interesting too. I have complete confidence that if Mr. Album wrote the book it would grasp the readers attention, and also have a very good “wrap up” for the ending. I also agree with Lindsay on the part about slavery and the Holocaust. I have never really learned about the Holocaust to the extent that I have wanted and it would be nice to find a good book out there that offers me to extend my knowledge, and teach me more about it. So as far as this post goes, I totally agree with Lindsay, and the fact that Mitch Album could definitely write a good book about an interesting topic!
December 2nd, 2009 at 10:14 pm
I normally am not the world’s most avid reader so my perfect book would have to be a major adventure. There would be no slow parts. I need to have the feeling that I can never put it down. There would be more than one main character in my book. It would take place in this time period. The details would be so good you would think you were in the book. My book would be about runaways. As the book went on you would learn more and more about the characters because they would be opening up about themselves. This book would be all about teamwork, trust, relationships and life in the wilderness.
December 3rd, 2009 at 10:52 am
i can’t really think of one because i find better stuff that is more intereasting then reading books that we don’t have at my house.
December 3rd, 2009 at 10:59 am
If an author were to write a book just for me it would probably have to be about this amazing football player who really came from nothing in his childhood and grew up in a small town and just started playing football because he had nothing better to do. And then he gets to high school and his high school team has this amazing year and then he starts getting recruited by the top college football teams in the country and then he goes on to play college football. But while he is at college something goes wrong with his life and he has to fight through all the adversity to maybe someday make it into the NFL.
December 3rd, 2009 at 11:00 am
If the best author wrote a book for me it would be a mixture between a love story, and historical fiction. The main character would be just like me. The time period would be set in World War II and in Germany. She is a blonde with green eyes, and not Jewish. School was very easy for her, until she meet this Jewish boy named David. He was so sweet and nice it didn’t matter that he was Jewish, But she knew that if anyone knew that they would be in so much trouble. It was a secret romance, it was very romantic they had secret picnics in the dark and moonlight walks on the beach.
December 3rd, 2009 at 11:01 am
If an author wrote a book just for me it would have to have biking in it probably snowboarding and it would have to be about a fifteen year old kid who moved a lot in his childhood and now lives with his mom in a small town and some times gets into trouble so has to move to his fathers house in a real big town but his father is an alchohalic and beats him from time to time when his bad but he just wants to move back in eith his mother back in the small little town so he doesnt have to go to school with people he doesnt even know or like he hates it in the big town and sometimes hates his father for beating him and finnally moves back with his mom.
December 3rd, 2009 at 11:03 am
If a best author could write a perfect book for me, it would totally be about a typical teenage girl who goes to high school and talks about her typical life and how she likes music, hanging out with friends and being in different sports. I would make the author use really good descriptive words and details about the girl’s life and how she is going through high school and dealing with pain and enjoying the happiness. I would make the author talk about cross-country and track and make the author write about the teenager’s music life and how she enjoys band.
December 3rd, 2009 at 11:04 am
If someone were to write a book just for me it would most likely be about either extreme sports or traveling. They are both a huge part of my life. I’ve traveled since I was about two weeks old. I was almost born on a plane. I absolutely love traveling & extreme/ dangerous sports are what I thrive on. I’m always trying something I might not get the first time and I may end up with a couple broken bones but they all heal!!!
December 3rd, 2009 at 11:05 am
If an author were to write a book just for me, it would have to have alot of comedy or action. Also a unsuspecting ending, like the one in The Kay.
December 3rd, 2009 at 11:06 am
If any author where to make a book about me it would be. About how iwant a better life to live . i also would want that thier was something that could help me rewind time when ever i made a mistake or mess up.It would also show you life lessons on how to have a better life.It would be very important to learn from everything that has happend in life. so that way people dont make so many mistakes.And everybody doesnt have such a bad life becaues most of the bad things that happen to people in life is because they dont pay attetion to what they spend thier money and time on . Just people takeing care of things like that i think they would have a better life and we wouldnt have so many homeless people
December 3rd, 2009 at 11:07 am
The perfect book for me would not really have any specifc guidelines because I like so many different types of book. Fiction or non-fiction would work, I like both. It would have to be exciting, never boring. Never a dull moment in the entire book. There would probably be some romance involed, almost all books have some of that. There wouldn’t be any clichè drama that adult authors tend to throw into books because that’s what they think happen in teenage life but really doesn’t. That’s really annoying to read. I wouldn’t really care if it was a happy or sad ending, both are good to read about. I’m pretty much up for any book that isn’t boring or dull.
December 3rd, 2009 at 11:07 am
I believe that the Jimmi Hedrix Shares a great message, because if the power love can overcome the love of power than we probably will all be happy and in peace.
Personally I wish that were the case but its not. There is to many greedy and ignorant people and there always will be.
December 3rd, 2009 at 11:08 am
Well, my favorite book type would have to be scary books. I also like to read mysterious. If I had to make up a book it would have to have characters my age. They have to be somewhat like me also. It has to be set in the present time frame. It would have to be a lot of action, and also make me think at the same time. I don’t want there to be to many important characters because that makes it harder to follow along. I dont like it when theres so much going on that your confused about whats what and whose whose etc. So thats my perfect book.
December 3rd, 2009 at 11:08 am
I agree with Chris E about his book because I think that a book about a young man who just graduates from high school and gets drafted into the U.S. Marine Corps. During World War II Would have a lot of lessons to learn, like how to handle so much stress of knowing that you might not see another day. I think that it would have its hard times, easy times, and some heart breaking times if you lose one of your buddies while you are fighting. I also think, Along with Chris, that this book could teach some people some valuable life lessons. One of those lessons being that your life could change at any moment.
December 3rd, 2009 at 11:08 am
xochitl i thing your book would be really good to read and it does remind me of a couple things that have happened to many people in thier life. i really like your book
December 3rd, 2009 at 11:09 am
If someone asked to write a book that was just for me, it would be something about a love story. The main character would have to be girl who I can somewhat relate too. I like stories that are set in present days or maybe a little older, but not too old. The story line would be something about a girl falling in love with a boy, but it’s a confusing love. I really like to read about stories about people who never really were meant to be, but they end up together in the end anyway. I like stories that can relate to my life problems and situations that I’m currently going through.
December 3rd, 2009 at 11:09 am
My book would be all about the things I love to do if I had a book written just for me.
It would be about how I love to be with my friends and it would talk a lot about my family. I would rather do more of a biography then a book, starting when I was little all the way until now and to be continued.
There are so many events in my life and enough events to keep the readers attention, and many more ways of explaining my point of view on my life and some of my views on things that happened when I was little or things that happened in the world.
So if I had my dream book written just for me, I would have my life written out to get my point across and so other people can view my ways of life and the things I have experienced.
December 3rd, 2009 at 11:11 am
I love to read, so it’s hard to think of a book thats perfect for me. I would probably like my perfect book to have a little action involved, and it would be a mysterious love story. The couple should be around the same age as me or maybe a little older, and they would have to have a similar life as most teens. The book would also have to be fairly long, so it could involve lots of details and insight to the characters, and I wouldn’t mind if it was a series of books, so that once I’ve read the first one, I have more to look forward to. Maybe I will get lucky in the next couple years,and a book or series that is perfect for me will be written and published. Until then, I’ll have to settle for the other great books in the world.
December 3rd, 2009 at 11:40 am
tony p.
I really think that book would be very interesting because I myself am a big fan of romance. I love it when it has people fighting over one person for their love.
December 3rd, 2009 at 2:34 pm
If an author were to write a perfect book just for me I would want it to be something that captures my attention. I’m not really sure what topic it would be based around but it would be very suspenseful. I love reading mysteries because I can put all the clues together in the back of my mind. My books characters would have to be around the same age as me and live almost the same life style as I do. There is not really anything specific I would want him or her to write but something I could relate to.
December 3rd, 2009 at 8:28 pm
The perfect book for me would have to be fiction. It would be about a 17 year old girl who is just finishing her senior year and has been in the same relationship since she was a freshman. Her and her boyfriend are going off to seperate colleges and they dont see eachother that much anymore. As she goes through college she meets this charming and mysterious guy. As she gets to know him more she starts to have feelings for him. She doesn’t know what to do now. Does she pick the one who she has been with and loved for a long time or the charming and mysterious guy she just met. That would be the perfect book for me.
December 3rd, 2009 at 11:42 pm
The ideal book for me would be one where a girl is reading her journal and everything that happend in her life, school, home, problems, crushes.She has a dream,to be a famous businesswoman and have a big family. But she’s not much luck with boys,because she is very outgoing, and the boys treat her like a child,what makes her feel sad sometimes.I the end she is 85 years old,and was actually reading for her granddaughter..=D
December 4th, 2009 at 7:46 am
I prefer scifi thrillers with a firm base in scientific theory, and having a conflict at its center. I have always loved to fantasize about colonizing other worlds, which makes these novels quite appealing. I also enjoy a large dose of action, but a somewhat complicated plot line. I prefer them to relatively long (300 pages or more) so it could keep occupied for a long period of time.
December 4th, 2009 at 10:50 am
The perfect book for me would have to be about a boy that had a troubled childhood, say his dad was a drunk and beat him or his mom neglected him and the only time he has that he is not mad or depressed is when he is with this girl. Now the boy and this girl aren’t going out but they both secretly like each other and the girl try to fill the gap with another kid that ends up hitting her or just treating her badly in any way and after she leaves the kid the only person there for her is the boy and after a couple of weeks they realize that they both like each other and end up dating.
December 4th, 2009 at 11:25 am
My dream book would consist of everything that goes on in my life, both my dreams and goals with all of my future plans. I would like to have it be more of a love story with a perfect ending. I picture it to be a simple book that people can relate to and enjoy reading. As well as having it inspire them to be the best person they can be. My life is full of curve balls so I think people would find it very interesting to read and I don’t think they would be disappointed during their read.
December 7th, 2009 at 5:16 pm
Would be fun! I have a fun word game!I Will try to go!!
December 7th, 2009 at 10:01 pm
sorry the first one i did not mean to post this is the one
If an auther were to write a book just for me , it would have to be fiction, fanticy, or a historical fiction. It also has to be exciting. Like a horror, mystery , or an action book. The plot would need to be able to capture my attention and most importantly keep it. The book for me would probably be about a young man who stumbles apon a couple of men who have just robbed his fathers bank and atempts to stop them. And then gets placed on tha hit list of a natorious gangster and must choose running or fighting for his life.
December 12th, 2009 at 1:40 pm
First week down! My creativity commitment choices were to listen to classical music and take walks/exercise. I have felt an improvement, but only slight. While I take walks, it helps me relax and enjoy the outside. As I walk my mind wanders and I think so many thoughts. The same thing happens when I listen to music, I just think. It’s kind of crazy. I feel like a different person when my mind wanders. The music I listen to allows me to express myself depending on what I’m feeling while listening to that song. Depending on how I’m feeling, is what leads my mind to think the stuff I do.
The exercise is not only getting me in shape for softball, but allowing my to allow my mind to think. When I run, it’s just me, no one else. So, I have my thoughts to myself. I hear the usual noises; cars running, animal noises, even conversations around me. When I hear that, it makes me use my brain and I start to think of how I could turn that into a work of literature whether it’s a poem, short story, or anything of that sort. I really think it’s helping and I think the more I run, the more my creativity level boost.
My creativity boost with the music is also helping. The same with running, except I hear music instead of the world. If I hear woodwinds or brass, I mean there are different feelings with those. Woodwinds make you feel light and happy and normally they carry the melody of the piece. Brass is more commanding and dominant. When you listen to them work together you get a real unexplainable feeling. That’s why I love music so much.
December 12th, 2009 at 11:38 pm
I think Imagery is awesome! I haven’t gone to any of the meetings yet.
December 13th, 2009 at 4:33 pm
Hi all,
My creative commitment is to listen to classical music and draw everyday. It’s really easy to enjoy the drawing part of my commitment, but I’m finding it a little hard to get into the classical music. As of this moment I don’t think that I’m feeling anymore creative. Yet I hope that it does work, it would be nice to be in control of my own creativity.
December 13th, 2009 at 9:01 pm
Hello,
For my creativity commitment I chose to draw and listen to classical music. I have been doing both things at once. It seems to be working for me. I feel much more alert and open-minded after I finish my commitment. It winds me down before I go to bed. I have trouble sleeping, and this has really helped. I usually have my creative thoughts a hour or two before I actually fall asleep. Now, all my ideas get out of my mind before I even think about sleep.
The listening to classical music portion of my creativity commitment is definitely my favorite part. The music just slips into the background when I think or draw. I can hear the music when I listen for it though. Listening to the different types of classical music is interesting. I found a website that offers classic guitar or piano music. The piano is my favorite. I think it’s because I’m used to listening to pianos over guitars. I’m really enjoying this part of my commitment.
My drawing skills have improved. I now know how to properly create guides to help me draw. I’ve noticed that I pay a little more attention to details after I started the commitment. I don’t really feel more creative though. Does it depend on what you draw? I use a book to draw. Maybe if I draw an object in front of me I will feel more creative. I’ll do that tonight and see how it goes. Hopefully, my drawing skills will continue to improve.
December 13th, 2009 at 11:50 pm
If an author came up to me and wanted to write a book for me, it would be a fiction, thriller, or mystery. I like books that have a lot of action and suspense that you cannot put down.
December 14th, 2009 at 10:05 pm
Hi everyone,
My creative commitment is to excercise and aroma therapy which includes dropping lemon juice onto a cotton ball and taking in the scent. It’s definitely different but I find it an interesting way to try to being out a more creative side of myself. One week in I do not feel I am any more creative than before. Hopefully next week that statistic will change, and I’ll become more creative.
December 15th, 2009 at 4:55 pm
Hello everyone!
My Creativity commitments are listening to classical music and drawing. I believe that both of the commiiments are working wonderfully. I discovered that I actually like classical music, especially when I’m doing my homework. I’ve also noticed that drawing has boosted my creativity in scrapbooking which is one of my favorite hobbies. I am really enjoying my time during this creativity commitment and I might even keep up on it.
December 15th, 2009 at 6:41 pm
Well, first of all, if there were to be an author who wanted to write a book just for me the book would have to be suspenseful, and I would probably like it to be either a Thriller or a Mystery. I would also like the book’s characters to resemble my real life friends, but with different names.
December 16th, 2009 at 5:11 pm
Hi Everyone!!!!
My commitments are going really well. I chose to draw and play with my passion (coloring). I’m drawing with a , “How to draw monster book.” Then when i’m done I color them in. It’s really fun and i feel pretty good after i’m done doing each thing for a half an hour. Well hopefully everyone is doing great and keeping up with their commitments!!!!!!!
December 16th, 2009 at 5:15 pm
Hello,
I just finished my first week of our creativity commitment and I have really enjoyed it. I choose to find a time to relax, which is normally curling up with my favorite book, and to exercise. Allow i feel more creative after spending time on myself I believe that the relaxation time is more useful to me rather than the exercise. Unfortunately I was ill earlier this week and was unable to run on Monday. I started feeling better however and cannot wait to get back to exercising.
December 16th, 2009 at 6:41 pm
Hello,
My creativity commitments were to listen to classical music and read every day. I think the classical music works better than the reading. When i listen to the music all these ideas flow through my brain. It sounds weird but it happens almost every time. My favorite part of the music was hearing the violin. When i read for periods of time it just felt like i was reading and nothing was happening. Every once and a while it would help me think of somthing creative, but not much. I’m hoping to listen to classical music every now and then to help me boost my creativity in the future.
December 16th, 2009 at 11:10 pm
Hello,
My creativity commitments were body & mind(exercise) and eat better. As I went through the first week I found out that I need more exercise and I’m trying to fit it into my schedule but I can’t find the energy to do so. I walk everyday, sometimes after school to the middle school.I also babysit a lot and I get a whole 2 days worth of exercise then from being on my feet most of the time. I was however eating better by eating breakfast every morning. As I went throught the day I had much more energy than I had ever before. I actually stayed wide awake in classes and payed more attention to what was going on. One thing I didn’t like about eating in the morning was that it kept me hungry all day long. I always wanted food. So for this week I am lowering my intake on food in the morning. I still have the engery and I’m not as hungry as much.
December 17th, 2009 at 8:01 am
I am finding that the tea is causing headaches… allergic reaction? I am not quite sure but I have discontinued using that aspect of my “creativity” experiment.
Lemon scents are wonderful, although I do not see how they are energizing. My creativity has not fluctuated, although I do find myself drawing little lemons every time I smell them.
December 17th, 2009 at 8:04 am
Classial music seems to be the highlight for everyone. I myself enjoy classical music but perhaps instead of Bach or Beethoven or even Mozart, try more urban yet instrumental composers such as Frank Ticheli, Robert W. Smith, or even John Philip Sousa.
December 17th, 2009 at 5:32 pm
Well hello there,
I’m sort of hooked on the aroma therapy part, and as for eating well I love my vegetables and fruits. Yum. I actually think it might be working. At first I didn’t, but I’ve been more awake lately and I feel a lot better with everything. Although eating in the morning makes me hungry during the day. So i’m going to not eat as much in the morning and more during the day. I really feel as if my creativity commitment is working for me. I hope everyone else is getting the same outcome. 
My creativity commitments were to eat better(get minerals)and to use aroma therapy. They have been going pretty well.
December 17th, 2009 at 7:44 pm
Hi,
For my creativity commitment, I had to listen to music and draw everyday. I don’t mind listening to the music, but I realized from this experience that I really do not like to draw. So far, I can tell that I’m a tiny bit more creative than I was, but it’s not by much!
December 17th, 2009 at 9:23 pm
My creativity assignment is writing three pages in a journal every other day and listening to classical music. I have noticed that i think a lot throughout the day too much and by writing down in my journal what im doing and thinking, im remembering things a lot easier, its kind of a stress reliever and i also think that its helping me with my poems that i have been writing for class. Classical music is hard for me to get into, but ive noticed listening to classical music while doing homework makes me concentrate instead of silence. I think i’am benefiting from this assignment and i like it.
December 18th, 2009 at 11:13 am
The perfect book for me is an adventurous book with fighting. And it has to interest me and with cool facts. I also like books from the author Gary Paulson.
December 18th, 2009 at 4:21 pm
Hey everyone,
My creativity booster, as I call it, has helped me not only in creativity but as a student. I was to listen to classical music and exercise more. I have been running more than my 1 mile a day type of thing. I have been running 3.5 miles and i have noticed that it helps me think clearer and actually sleep better.
My other booster was listening to music. I have found that i love Yo-Yo Ma and mozart. I used to play the volin, so i have some of thiese songs ,but never have i really listen to them with out thinking about playing. I think that i will keep doing this.
December 19th, 2009 at 5:19 pm
My creativity commitments were to eat better and get more sleep. i am on the end of the second week. i forgot to post the first week but the first week was kinda rocky and took some getting use to. i sometimes did miss breakfast and went to bed late but the second week i got better at getting sleep and eating breakfast and lunch. eating dinner is tough because i work everyday through dinner so by the time i get home i have to do homework and get to bed so fitting a meal in there can be tough. by getting more sleep ive noticed that is had cleared my thinking and helped me at work a lot too. i can now do activities with the little kids and make up new projects for them because i work at nortan pines childcare and believe me i do need a lot of energy for that. while eating breakfast i noticed that i dont get hungry before lunch and i can think better about class not about how much longer until lunch. i am going to try my hardest to keep up with this so i can get through the days with the energy i need for work, homework, and just feeling better about myself.
December 19th, 2009 at 10:45 pm
Hello,
The creativity commitment ends tomorrow, which is kind of a good thing, because I used up most of my drawing books. I really enjoyed participating in this commitment. Many things that I used to find dull, are now very interesting. These new interests were caused by my drawings and listening to classical music.
Two weeks ago, if a person told me that I would be drawing halfway decent pictures, I would have laughed in his or her face. As it turns out, he or she would have been right. My drawing skills have drastically improved over the past few weeks.
This improvement could have been caused by the classical music I have been listening to. The music is calming, allowing my mind to wander freely. My grandpa always thought I would enjoy classical music, and he was right.
I feel that both the music and drawing have boosted my creativity. After I completed my commitment for the night, I would read the Bible. Twice, the Bible inspired me to write a poem. Currently, I am writing about one of the ideas. The other is written on scrap paper, kept in my binder. I would say that this creativity commitment was successful, and hopefully, whenever I am stuck without ideas, I will reuse these techniques.
December 20th, 2009 at 12:20 am
The Christmas Party was fun and enjoyable. I had a great time chatting, exchanging gifts, and playing games with everyone. Can’t wait to see everyone again for the next Imagery meeting. Thanks, Mrs. Kennedy!
December 20th, 2009 at 11:22 am
Hey everyone!
My creative commitments were keeping a journal and aromatherapy. Keeping a journal is really fun, I don’t really feel any different creatively, but writing everything down does clear my head and my mood seems to be full of energy. I think that I’m probably going to keep writing after the commitment is done because I’m having a lot fun doing it!
Aromatherapy on the other hand hasn’t been doing much of anything. I don’t know if it’s just because I’m not doing it right or if I’m just not open enough to believe that it would work. I did find that I like the smell of lavendar the most, but that’s pretty much it.
December 20th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
Hi again everyone
This is last day for the creativity commitment. I feel a lot better and more relaxed, but not really more creative. My coloring and drawing has gotten better. I dont believe I’m more creative but if I stuck with it for a few more weeks there is a chance that I could feel it then!!!!!!!!
December 20th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
This is last day for my creativity commitment. And I actually feel as if it worked so well, that I want to continue on with it. I feel like I have more energy and as if I can think clearer.
I’ve been more awake lately and I feel a lot better during the day. I feel as if my creativity commitment wored for me. 
I hope everyone else got something good out of doing this project.
My creativity commitments were to eat better(get minerals)and to use aroma therapy. They went well for me and were very relaxing. I’m addicted on the aroma therapy part, and as for eating well I love my fruits and veggies.
Shalom.
December 20th, 2009 at 8:14 pm
Hello,
Today i am so excited that the creativity commitment is finally ending. It was great in the beggining, but now i am ready to stop. I found that i liked doing the experiments and seeing if they worked, but i hated having to write everything down. Out of both of my commitments i would say that the classical music was the better of the two. I hope to listen to it again in the future, but for now i just want a break.
December 21st, 2009 at 12:31 am
For the past two weeks I’ve been exercising and listening to Bach. I have to say that I was more interested in listening to Bach because I love listening to classical music, especially John Williams(highly recommended)! I’ve learned that listening to classical music helps me over the years, but Bach makes it so much better. His cello suites performed by Yo-Yo-Ma were very good and helped me write my poems for class, as well as my creativity commitment logs. Its not the big, orchestral scores that I normally listen to, but instead it was quiet, calming cello pieces, as well as some other Victorian-esque, quiet orchestral compositions. Bottom line, I believe that listening to Bach does stimulate creativity and concentration in the brain because it provides a quiet, soothing, focused environment and stimulates strong imagery. I say Imagery because people usually try to imagine a particular event, place, or thing when they listen to a song, be it classical or rap. I am so glad that many people in the class chose to listen to classical music because not many people have an appreciation towards it and by listening to it, they start to think, “wow, this actually sounds really cool!”. It exposes them to classical music and allows them to grow an interest and appreciation for the genre.
Now, the exercising was a challenge for me because I am not very physically active, unless you count Golf, which I only play in the spring/summer. When I exercised, I mainly did sit-ups, shin-ups (yes, shin-ups), and push-ups. Like I said, since I’m not physically fit, these exercises were difficult for me to complete. However, one thing is true about exercising: It is good for you mentally and physically. It is good for the brain because it increases blood flow to the the brain so a person can focus and invent new ideas, and good for the body because it builds up muscle tissue and burns calories. I listened to music too as I exercised and it helped distract me from the pain and pushed me to keep going. I think one could say that music and exercise is a very productive combination because you are stimulating the brain with both the music and the exercise, and listening to the creative styles of different musicians. I have to admit, I did not get the chance to exercise Dec. 18 because I fell asleep before I could do them, so B it is.
I’m sorry for not typing the first blog; I completely forgot. I thought I’d make up for the lost blog by writing this neat, detailed blog. In short, I actually had a insightful, creative, experience with this Creativity Commitment. I think that I’ve just started to walk the path to finding my creativity again, and I’m looking forward to the day where I can come up with neat, imaginative ideas quickly and without struggle.
December 21st, 2009 at 11:37 am
The second blog: I’ve really enjoyed the commitment and I think I will pursue with doing it on my own terms. I really enjoyed running and letting my mind breathe every once in awhile. My music horizon is now expanded and I feel very creative. I wrote the personification poem with ideas literally pouring out of my ears. I kept a journal through the two weeks and those logs will go into further detail about how it affected me over the period of time. I’m almost relieved though for it to be over, two weeks isn’t long, but it is when you’re busy. I made room for everything and now I feel like I did something right for my body. Other than that, I feel I could have chosen something more out of range for my activities, but I think these worked just fine.
December 21st, 2009 at 1:31 pm
You’re very welcome, Jonathon. I had fun too. I’m impressed with yet another great Imagery group.
December 21st, 2009 at 1:54 pm
I chose to eat better and journal for my commitment. I’m actually really excited to start journaling. I’ve always been intrested in writing but never chose to persue practicing it. I’ve ben trying to make sure I write a lot. But with my life being hectic as it is, everythign gets difficult. But what can you do?
December 21st, 2009 at 1:55 pm
For my second blog I’ve decided to tell you about my diet changes. I’ve cut out pop, and replaced my dinner with salads and milk. Anything really fattening I’ve completely cut it out. But, I dont’ like it very much. I feel like I have less enegry and I’m just down in the dumps all of the time. But I am hoping it’s just because my body is ajusting.
December 21st, 2009 at 2:00 pm
Hello again,
After finishing my final week of the creativity commitment, I have found that some methods of enhancing someone’s creativity may have worked out better for me. I choose to spend my time relaxing and running, but the running seemed to be the only method that really helped me out. The time I spent relaxing was not a complete loss however, it helped me realize that I may be having a problem concentrating and even some difficulty with my other course work due to stress. I plan on conituing to try to advance my creativity, but perhaps I will try different methods to see which one works best for me.
January 5th, 2010 at 3:40 pm
My book is coming along pretty good. This book is a very exciting book and im almost 3/4 way done with it. I think that anyone that is a baseball fan should read this book because it shows that anyone can be great at something if they set there mind to it. I usually prefer fantasy books but this book is a good one because I used to play baseball when I was little so I can relate to the charecters in the book.
February 8th, 2010 at 4:11 pm
If there was a perfect book for me it would have to be about hunting or fishing.It would have to be about adventures that I could relate to.And for the books ending, it would end with the main character catching the biggest bass or shooting the biggest deer with the nicest antlers.
February 18th, 2010 at 10:18 pm
The book that I am reading is a pretty good one. It is another sports one and is about basketball. The name of the book is called The Travel Team. As I read the book I thought to myself that it related to lot of what my basketball life was like at FHS. So that is probely why I liked the book so much.