Fahrenheit 451 Narrative Response

This is written from the perspective of Ms. Bowles

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     As I walked home from the Montag's house, the words Guy read kept pounding in my head. Over and over. I don't know why I reacted that way...it was such a pretty piece of poetry. Dover Beach I think it was called. I don't believe Mildred about Guy being able to bring a book home once a year, it doesn't add up. That piece just fit so well into the moment, Guy couldn't have just pulled it out of nowhere to scare us into not reading. I have to stop over thinking this. It was just a book. Just a silly...illegal book.
     Maybe I should report Guy? No, that would do nothing but upset poor, Millie. Oh, I know. I could call Captain Beatty and ask him if the once a year thing is true! Yes, that's what I'll do! As soon as I get home I will. Not too much further now. What should I say to such an authoritative man though?

     'Hello, Captain Beatty, this is Mrs. Bowles. I have a rather odd question for you.' Yes that's very good.
     Maybe I should just wait and go to the station in the morning instead...hmm. Would he have more respect towards me if I do? I think so. I'll just go in to the station tomorrow morning, maybe take something in for the firefighters. Donuts and coffee. That'd be nice. Oh, my mind's wandering again. I need to pick up the pace and get home.

~10 minutes later~

     Ahhhh, home sweet home with my 'family'. I'll leave the parlor walls on tonight while I sleep. That'll be nice. Let's see, I need to put on pajamas and brush my teeth now. Then straight to bed. Big day tomorrow!

~The Next Morning at the Fire Station~

     "Good morning, Mrs. Bowles. If you don't mind me asking, why are you here?" Captain Beatty 'greeted' me.
     "I'm here because I have a rather important question for you, and, I brought some donuts and coffee for you and the others." I smiled as I handed him the dozen box and the large thermos.
     "Ah, thanks. What's your question?" The captain asked as he chose a donut from the box,
     "I was wondering if you allow firemen to take a book home to their families one night once a year?" I questioned the firey man.
     "Absolutely not! That's positively absurd! Why would you of all people as a question like that?!" He was clearly a bit irritated.
     "Well, I was just wondering because of an odd experience I had at the Montag's last night, but I really shouldn't speak of it. I must be going. Have a nice day, Captain!" I waved as I quickly walked out of the station before he could ask me anymore questions. Just as the door was closing, I heard Beatty going into a fit of rage
   "MONTAG!!!" He screamed. And that's all I heard.

The Fault in Our Stars (AGAIN!)

Hello again! After a good break from my reading blog, I'm back. I have decided to read The Fault in Our Stars by John Green for the 4th time. Each time I read, I find something new. There are little hidden gems in that book. Since I have already posted about this book, I won't bore you with a summary, but I will link to one below. I thought that for this post, I would share my top three favorite quotes from the book with you. I have gone through my book twice now and highlighted my absolute favorite lines, but there are way too many to post, so, here three of them.
Summary Link
1.) “I'm in love with you," he said quietly.
"Augustus," I said.
"I am," he said. He was staring at me, and I could see the corners of his eyes crinkling. "I'm in love with you, and I'm not in the business of denying myself the simple pleasure of saying true things. I'm in love with you, and I know that love is just a shout into the void, and that oblivion is inevitable, and that we're all doomed and that there will come a day when all our labor has been returned to dust, and I know the sun will swallow the only earth we'll ever have, and I am in love with you.” This was said by Augustus to Hazel when they were out to dinner while on vacation in Amsterdam.

2.) "As he read, I fell in love the way you fall asleep; slowly, and then all at once." This was thought by Hazel Grace as Augustus was reading her favorite book to her over the phone.

3.) “You don't get to choose if you get hurt in this world...but you do have some say in who hurts you. I like my choices.” Augustus says this to Hazel as Hazel is speaking of how she is a grenade, ready to explode and hurt everyone she loves when she dies.

These are just a few of my favorite quotes from The Fault in Our Stars. John Green has been one of my favorite authors since I read this book for the first time. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it, and I recommend seeing the film version, which John Green directed. Because I have read this wonderful novel so many times, it is a very easy, fast read for me, I am counting on finishing it today (January 23, 2015). Next, I am planning on reading Paper Towns by John Green. I began this book last year, but became very busy and didn't get past the second chapter. I have heard amazing things about this novel, and John Green is directing a film version of Paper Towns. I am not sure when it will be out, but from what I've seen on social media, it is coming along great. Below I am going to post movie trailers for TFIOS if you are interested and an interview with the actors that portray Hazel (Shailene Woodley) and Augustus (Ansel Elgort). I hope you enjoyed this post, I am glad to be back. See you next time! :)

The Fault In Our Stars Movie Trailer

Shailene and Ansel Interview

Post #11: Final Blog Post for Semester 1

Final Blog Post for Semester 1

     Hello everyone! I hope you are all well. As the holidays are quickly approaching, many schools are rounding up their first semester and having final grades, exams, etc. including my school. Finals are only a week and a half away! As most of you know, I do this blog for my Freshman Honors English Class, and this post is an assessment/reflection of the semester long assignment. In this post, I will be covering the books I have read on my own over the past sixteen to seventeen weeks, a reflection of my blog posts quality and how they improved, and some goals I am going to set for myself for second semester independent reading and blogging.

     Over the course of the past sixteen to seventeen weeks, reading has become a big part of my daily life because of my English class. Whether it is independent, in-class, or for homework, I read at some point every day. I did not quite reach my goal of independently read books this semester, but I did read more books in the first semester than I have in probably a year. The books that I read this semester include The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, The Shack by William Paul Young (I did not finish this book all the way through, but I am counting it because I did get a very good chunk of it read), I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai, and Jimi and Me by Jaime Adoff. My goal was to read seven books this semester, fifteen books by the end of my freshman year. I was only two away from reaching my goal for first semester, which I think is pretty good. I believe that the reason for me not reaching my independent reading goal this semester was because it was my first semester of my first year in high school, so I was still learning how to deal with more classes than I was previously used to and more homework. I still think I did a pretty good job reading wise this semester!

     My posts over the first semester were very consistent. I kept up with my due dates and tried my best, but that isn’t was counts 100%. What counts is the content of my posts, how I engaged my readers, and how I hopefully encouraged some of you to read a bit more. My blog posts always included voice and character. Most of the time I included links, pictures, or videos somehow related to the book I was posting about.  A few of my posts did not include links, pictures or videos, but were still engaging. One thing that I really struggled with in all of my posts was using textual evidence from the book. Whether it was talking about a line I really enjoyed, or supporting my idea of what the theme was, I never really cited any specific textual quotes. I really intend to work on this issue next semester, as long as trying to include a few more technological gadgets in my posts.

     I had a very positive experience with blogging this semester and I am excited to continue with blogging when I return from winter break, but I am going to set some goals for myself for next semester. First, I am going to include textual evidence/quotes in my posts. I am doing this because I think this adds an element to the blog that my blog was lacking. The textual evidence also tends to engage the reader more and provide a better understanding. Second, I am going to read up to my goal of 15 books by the end of my second semester. This means I will have to read 10 books, but now that I am in the swing of things here at school, I don’t think that will be a problem for me to do. Finally, I am going to try to comment more on other people's blogs and stay up to date on my class blogging chart. I did not stay up to date with my chart like I should have this past semester and it really hurt me. I had a lot of extra home work that I could have done without.
     I hope you all enjoyed my reading blog over the past weeks. I will be taking a short break from it while I am on holiday break from school, but as soon as I return I'll start posting again. Until then, thanks for reading and I hope you have a great holiday season. Bye for now!

Post #10: Romeo and Juliet

     Hello everyone! As you know, I am in Freshman Year Honors English, and we are reading William Shakespeare's famous play, Romeo and Juliet. Going into it, I had a very negative feeling towards Shakespeare because of previous experiences, as most kids my age do, but as we began to get into it and break it down piece by piece, I really began enjoying it. Most everyone knows the story of Romeo and Juliet, so I won't bore you with a summary of it. (If you would like to read a summary of Romeo and Juliet, click the link below.)
Amazon Link to Romeo and Juliet
      I feel that kids get a negative feeling towards Shakespeare because of the way it is taught to them, pounded into their head over and over until they get sick at the thought of Elizabethan language and sonnets. My teacher does it a bit differently, careful not to make us that way towards this man's amazing writing. She takes it slow, making sure to stop and explain if we don't understand, which really helps me to have a better understanding for both the story line and the Elizabethan language it is written in. As of now, we are on Act 1 Scene 5, the Capulet party. I won't spoil anything for you if you haven't read this masterpiece, but I really do enjoy reading Shakespeare. If you read this post, I am asking you to do yourself a favor if you haven't already and read Romeo and Juliet. If you have read Romeo and Juliet, then read another play written by Shakespeare, like A Midsummer Nights Dream. I will post again next week, until next week, stay literate. I shall see you upon thy morrow!
Amazon Link to A Midsummer Nights Dream

Post #9: Jimi and Me

Hello! This is my 9th post as you can see and this week I'm going to be posting about the book I'm reading called Jimi and Me by Jaime Adoff. As odd as it may sound, I love Jimi Hendrix. I wasn't born in the 60s or 70s when he was popular, but I did grow up around his music because my parents are big fans of his. So, this book did spark some interest. I have been extremely busy the past week, so I haven't gotten very much time to read, but the few pages that I did read were structured differently than your normal novel. This book is written like a song or a poem. I thought that only the first few pages were like that to introduce you to the story line and things of that nature, but after flipping through, I realized that all the pages are written this way. Veering away from the way the book is written and structured, it is about a 13 year old boy, which has not been named yet, whose father passed away so his family is moving out of their old house into a new one. Through all of this, the boy finds an escape in music, particularly that of the talented guitar player, Jimi Hendrix. I think that I am really going to enjoy this book once I get the time to actually read a good amount of it. If you would like to read a more in depth summary of Jimi and Me or purchase it, you can click the link below, Other than that, I hope you have a great week, and if you have read this book, please comment below and let me know how you liked it. Bye Bye! :)
Amazon Link to Jimi and Me

Blog Post #8: Multicultural Memoir

Multicultural Memoir Blog Post: I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai

Central Idea of the Text:

When women are educated, they can have the power to change the world.

Synopsis of the Memoir and Visual:

I Am Malala is about a young Pakistani girl who has to deal with the hardships of growing up in a society where women have no rights. She has a strong love for education and will do anything to bring equality into the schools. Malala is very smart and quite the public speaker. As the Taliban took over her village, she and her family were brave and stood up for their beliefs. Shown below is the Yousafzai family and the book cover of I am Malala.

Images from: timeopinions.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/yousafazai_iammalala.jpg

communitytable.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/yousafazai-family-ftr-1024x640.jpg

Connecting Memoir to Outside Research Including Links to Outside Articles:

This memoir illustrates the everlasting war and inequality in the middle east. Malala though, decides she wants to make a difference and stand up to the horrible Taliban that was trying (and is still trying) to create a Holocaust. After Malala’s incredible recovery from the shooting, women have gained more strength to also stand up for their personal beliefs. In the link below, the article describes how women now are making a change in the middle east.

A Crucial Moment for Afghan Women

Malala continues to speak and teach about how women should be equal all over the world. She has even won the Nobel Peace Prize and is the youngest to ever receive one. For more information about Malala being the youngest to get the Nobel Peace Prize, click the link below.

Malala Yousafzai Is the Youngest Nobel Peace Prize Winner in History
Malala continues to impact many people all throughout the world, specifically young women. She believes that women can change the world. Throughout this book, she has proven that even though challenges are inevitable, absolutely anything is able to be accomplished through hard work and constant determination.

Post #7: The Color of Water by James McBride

Hello everyone! It has been quite some time since I posted something, so here we go! For the past week or two I have been reading The Color of Water by James McBride. This book is about a young boy who has a white mother and a black father during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's. I am absolutely LOVING this book! My class is reading it as a whole, so right now we are supposed to be on chapter 18-20, where as I am already on chapter 22, but hey! That means less homework for me! One of the reasons why I am enjoying this book so much us because it teaches you some things that you never would have really considered. It gives you a different perspective on life really. I have highlighted, underlined, annotated, and noted until I am blue in the face! One of the lines from The Color of Water that really caught my eye and made me think was this one on page 63, (I am using the e-Reader version on my iPad so my page numbers are different from that of the paperback book,) "Yet conflict was a part of our lives, written into our very faces, hands and arms, and to see how contradiction lived and survived in its own essence, we had to look no farther than our own mother," (McBride 63). I think this particular line stuck out to me so much because everyday I see how people are different, yet very much alike in multiple ways. This quote is saying that because the children were all half white half black, they were living conflict of the events going on during that time period. The line is also saying that because the mother is white but is married to a black man, she is a living contradiction within herself. Overall, I am really enjoying this book, a lot more than I thought I would to be completely honest. I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone, as long as they are mature enough to handle certain adult conflict within the book. I encourage you to look into The Color of Water. Bye bye for now!