Group Book Selection Focus

We, Alli and Erika, have picked Ever by Gail Carson Levine. Ever is a fantasy and about Kezi, a beautiful mortal women, and Olus, the Akkan god of the wind. Throughout Ever, their love is put through highs and lows. This not the first time that we have heard of the author Gail Carson Levine: she wrote Ella Enchanted, one of Erika’s favorite books when she was younger. Also, fantasy and romance are two of our favorite genres. The fact that this book contains elements of both of these genres is one of the primary reasons we picked it. Another reason is because of the element of Greek mythology, a topic that interests us both and we know a good amount about. (We’ve both read the Percy Jackson series and Allison takes Latin.) Even though we know next to nothing about this book, the reviews have been very positive and we know people who have read the book (Allison’s mom and sister) and have said that it was a wonderful, spellbinding read. This positive feedback was another contributing factor to our book selection. One of our goals is to try to connect this to any prior knowledge that we have on relative topics. In Global, for example, we have studied the ancient Greek civliization in depth, and Alli takes Latin, so she had read and learned about a lot of the mythological creatures and heroes of the time period. Since this is a love story, there should be some concepts that are easily relatable to two teenage girls—our goal is to relate to those concepts to increase our understanding of Ever. Our last goal is to be able to find and identify archetypal themes and characters; this is probably the most interesting goal, as it requires us to be constantly aware of details in Ever.

Wuthering Heights: Book vs. Movie and Finishing It

I have just finished reading Wuthering Heights; in truth, the reason I started to read Wuthering Heights is because of the multiple times it's referred to throughout the Twilight Saga.

A question I think is incredibly thought-provoking is would Wuthering Heights make a better movie or book. Honestly, I think I'd prefer it as a movie. Some of the parts in this book can drag a little, and a movie would easily edit those parts out. In addition, I think having visuals would help people to be able to better picture the story. The story is very insightful into human character and nature and deserves to have people fully understand it. For example, there would be the little details in elements such as body language and tone of voice between characters (specifically Heathcliff and Catherine) that aren't mentioned in the book--it's up for the reader to infer. But maybe the reader doesn't realize that they need to make these inferences? I believe that human interactions with other humans are very interesting to see unfold, and I want everyone to be able to witness that. Other subtleties include that under analysis, Nelly Dean's character can be seen as willing to tell white lies in order to not cause people excess grief. (She tells Edgar that young Catherine is happily married when he is near death instead of how she was forced into marriage.) She also manipulates facts and puts a biased spin on them in an attempt to help others. She did this when she tells Mr. Lockwood about young Catherine. She made Catherine seem beautiful, adventurous, and independent in the hopes that Mr. Lockwood might want to marry Catherine and save her from life at Wuthering Heights. If this book was a movie it would also be interesting to start off seeing things through the eyes of Mr. Lockwood and then change to seeing them through the eyes of Nelly Dean. A movie may also enable readers to be able to better interpret how time is passing. I know at the end it got a little confusing for me and at times difficult to understand how recently what was happening in Nelly's point of view related to Mr. Lockwood's.

Although some may see Catherine and Heathcliff as selfish and spiteful, I prefer to see them and souls tortured by love. They were meant for each other but society was skeptical. Ultimately, Catherine ends up marrying someone who society thinks is better for her. This in turn leads to Heathcliff getting eloped just as a way to express how hurt he is by Catherine's actions. Hence, through this evidence--as well many more examples I don't want to say because I don't want to give away too much--I've found two messages/themes in this story:

1. When people are in love, the do irrational, thoughtless, unhealthy things that can only be explained through one conclusion: they are in love.

2. Unfortunately, people are affected by society in ways that can be destructive. We shouldn't contribute to this negative force that affects people and can be life and fate altering.

Wuthering Heights First Blog for 3rd Quarter

I have started to read Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. Being written in 1847, the language is incredibly different from language used today; hence, it is a difficult, slow read. However, it is manageable. If I was reading this book a year ago, I think I may have abandoned it or I would have continued to push through reading it but not really understamd what I was reading. (The reason I think I may have continued to read it is because it is mentioned multiple times throughout the Twilight Saga.)

I definitely think I've matured as a thinker. I've always been good at making connections and inferences into human nature, but throughout this school year I think I've continued to grow and learn. I've specifically been continuing to ask questions to try to get to the underlying significance: the "so what?". Also, I think I'm better as working through different variations of prose through reading things such as Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Both Romeo and Juliet, and Wuthering Heights are written in a form of old English and have a different assortment of vocabulary than what is used presently that takes a while to adjust to, but as I make the adjustment, it feels really good to be able to work my way through the story and understand it.

End of Second Quarter Blog Reflection

It's really difficult to choose a single best moment of independent reading this past quarter. However, it would definitely be part of reading the Mortal Instruments series. Those books are easily in the same league as Harry Potter, but still aren't quite as amazing of Twilight. I've become so attached to the characters in the Mortal Instruments series, and I've enjoyed every moment of the whole series. (Except maybe at the very beginning when I was a bit confused.) Sorry, this strayed of bit from my favorite moment of independent reading, but if I specifically said some of my favorite moments, I would give away some of the best parts of the series.

Through my reading experiences, I, as a blogger, would like myself to reflect exactly what I think about the book--and add a degree of insight as well. Something I would like to improve on would be to write more responses to book reviews. Specifically, I would like to read a book review of the Mortal Instruments series. Yes, my blogs are as detailed as I'd like them to be. I've diligently worked to try to reach a balance between including detail but not so much detail that my blog entries become a drag to read. Once again, yes. I am interested in what I have to say. I really enjoy being able to write down and organize my thoughts as I am reading books. Something I think would further enhance the blogging experience would be to write a book review and then have one of my peers respond to it and vice versa.

Response to Book Review on Tempted and The House of Night Series

The latest book in the House of Night Series is Tempted, a book I finished late last year (in 2009). I was thinking about doing a book review on The Mortal Instruments series, but I want to make sure nothing will spoil the end of an unbelievable series I am nearing the end of.

Right off the bat, this book was given a 5 out of 5 rating--something I completely agree with. It captivated me and leaves me on edge waiting for the next book of the series to come out in April. However, the review says it's a series that can entertain adults. Personally, I can in no way see either of my parents enjoying this series... or any other adult I can think of.... I would probably recommend an age range from around 9th grade to sometime near the end of college. This is because I think the concepts are mature for middle schoolers, but at some time, adults may find them immature. A point I do agree with though is that this series has "hot Vampyres, true friendship, budding romance, a Loving Goddess, and a twist of the unexpected." Throughout this series, I have loved how this series intertwines so many different elements into a story that flow so well. Furthermore, I agree with the whole "have to own it" aspect of this series. In fact, when my mom wanted to borrow Tempted from the library, I asked her to buy it instead because the House of Night is a series in which I enjoy rereading parts of over and over.

Book Review: http://howlinggoodbooks.com/index.php?id=197

AN ABSOLUTELY AMAZING SERIES

The Mortal Instruments

This is by far the best series I have read so far this year! I'm currently over half way done with the final book to this trilogy, and I find myself rereading my favorite parts over and over in an effort to make the series last for as long as possible. :)

Finishing A Countess Below Stairs

Although at times this book seemed to drag on a bit, it picked up so nicely at the end that it really made up for the relatively slow parts. In other words, in relation to the book as a whole, the ending was definitely the best part. That's all I'll say though. If I go into any details, I'll likely give away the ending. I also believe that one of the reasons I enjoyed it as much I did is because of the way it intertwined an element of romance in with the the historical fiction. Continuing with the idea of romance--specifically forbidden love--I think that the message of A Countess Below Stairs it to follow your heart. I don't want to give the book away, but people get themselves entangled in nearly irreversible webs because they're following other people's expectations. For example, Anna, a Russian countess, flees Russia after the Bolshevik Revolution and starts to work at a mansion of the Westerholme family in England to help support her family. Inevitably, she falls in love with the young Earl of Westerholme, Rupert, but can't do anything about that because every one around her believes she is merely a maid. Likewise, Rupert is caught up in being engaged to a rich woman he doesn't really love because people expect upper class citizens to intermarry.