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Over the second nine weeks I plan to read Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins. I have already read the first two in the Hunger Games trilogy and I am anxious to see how the story ends. I already know and love the characters so this book will be easy for me to understand. I got this book out of our classroom library.I also plan to read The Book Thief. Several of my friends have read this book and strongly recommended it to me. We mostly have the same taste in books so I should enjoy it. I can also find this book in our classroom library.
I may also read Lord of the Flies. This book was also recommended to me and is available in our classroom library. I have talked with friends about this book and I think i would enjoy the story.
Collins, Suzanne. Mockingjay. New York: Scholastic, 2010. Print.
After being rescued from her second time in the arena, Katniss Everdeen faces the biggest challenge of her life: being the face of a rebellion against the capitol. She feels so many pressures from Coin, the leader of District 13, and Heavensbee. She tries to be a good leader, but can't seem to get the acting right. So she is forced to get her propaganda footage in actual fight scenes. Peeta, her beloved friend, is still captured, and being tortured she is sure, by the capitol. Trying to do her best to be a leader, Katniss finds herself missing Peeta. She must do this for him. President Snow is Katniss's number one enemy. He is the one who put her through the pain of the hunger games and is now threatening and actually hurting the ones she loves. Katniss is determined to kill the evil Snow but can the rebellion be that successful? Katniss's character is one of immense bravery and strength. While on the outside she appears to be a little seventeen year old girl, she possesses the power to lead a country to fight it's leader. Loving and passionate towards her family, this is where she finds weakness; when those she loves are in harm.
(390 pages)
Griffin, Kathy. Official Book Club Selection: a Memoir According to Kathy Griffin. New York: Ballantine, 2009. Print.
I re-read one of my favorite books ever! Official Book Club Selection by Kathy Griffin. She has been one of my favorite comedians for a long time and i really appreciate her humor. In the book, she tells it like it is and doesn't spare any of the details. Even the rougher parts of her life like her plastic surgery battle and family issues are brought into daylight. While reading the book I just felt like Griffin was telling me a story herself. She used the same language I've become used to from watching her comedy performances and hit show My Life on the D-List. Kathy loves talking about her family. She is from Chicago and makes fun of her mom's accent throughout the whole book, quoting things like, "CHR-EYE-SSAKE!” Her struggle to fame is a great story and major part of the book. With her start at The Groundlings, an improve club, she worked long and HARD to be where she is today. She is talented to tell her story in a fun and humorous way. I love this book but would only suggest it to a more mature audience.
(331 pages)
Kinsella, Sophie. Shopaholic Ties the Knot. New York, NY: Dell Book, 2004. Print.
What girl doesn't dream of her wedding day? This is exactly what Becky Bloomwood has done for her entire life. She enjoys all girlie things like SHOPPING, being pampered, and having a wonderful handsome boyfriend, Luke. While living in New York and working as a fashion consultant at Barneys (the perfect job!!) Becky can't help but to be jealous of her best friend Suze who is getting married at home in Britain. Becky and Luke travel home for the fabulous event. Even though Becky is thrilled for her friend's lavish wedding, she can't help but to feel a pang of jealousy. These girls have gone through everything together, and Becky can't help but feel that she is being left behind. Romantically, Luke ends up proposing to Becky at Suze's wedding while all her family and friends are there. OMG! Becky can't believe this actually happened! She gets started right away looking at dresses, trying cake, every little detail that brides love to ponder over. Becky's mom immediately says she will throw Becky and Luke a wedding in their quaint little country home in Britain. Even though this is always what Becky had realistically imagined for herself on her wedding day, she can't help but to dream for a little more. After all, her fiance IS a millionaire! But she could never hurt her mother's feelings and reject the wedding she has waited her whole life to plan! Back in New York, Becky gets constant updates from her mother on the wedding plans. Just as she begins to become sure she made the right decision, Luke's mother steps into the picture. Luke's mother was mostly absent from Luke's childhood but Luke still seems to adore her just the same. Becky can clearly see, however, that he just desperately needs to have her approval. Not liking the woman too much herself, Becky is blown away by her offer; a fabulous wedding at the Plaza hotel!!!! It is just what Becky has always dreamed of! So glamorous and classy! Designers to transform the already beautiful ballroom into a magical ceremony site! Without hesitation, Becky accepts the offer for the wedding. After coming down from cloud nine, Becky soon realizes there is a major problem; she now has TWO weddings planned, for the same day! Realizing she really wants the New York wedding she calls her mother to deliver the news. So anxiously she listens to her mother go over every special little detail and hard work that she has already put in and Becky decides there is no way she could crush her mother's feelings like that! Ready to call off the Plaza wedding, Becky is swept off her feet by the designers willing to jump at her every wish to give her exactly what she wants. She simply cannot decide! So in typical shopaholic fashion she does the unthinkable: doesn't decide. She simply lets both wedding plans continue on for months without one set of planners knowing about the others. As the days tick down, Becky has no idea what she is going to do. How will she manage to get out of this one?
(407 pages)
During the first nine weeks of this school year I have developed a habit of regular reading to get my required 150 minutes per week. I usually read one or two nights on school days before bed. The rest I usually did over the weekend. I took a book to work and read when we weren't busy. The first nine weeks I became obsessed with The Hunger Games books so my reading diet probably wasn't as balanced as it should have been. I did, however, read Brave New World by Huxley. I did a pretty good job inking my thinking. That helped me realize the deeper meanings of the books I read and analyze the text. Next kate is stupid and she has a red dog, that is really mean and sometimes bites black people. conclusion? she's racist. Next nine weeks I plan to vary my choice of books a little bit more and choose some more challenging texts. I want the read the third book in The Hunger Games trilogy, Mockingjay. I also might read The Book Thief because it has been recommended to me by several people.
The Socratic seminar over Brave New World was an enhancing experience that helped me develop my understanding and opinion of the book. I encountered new ideas about Helmholtz. I realized I didn't fully understand his character before the discussion. Because he was an artist in a society that didn't allow full creativity, he was confined and he was one of the few who realized he was so controlled. Through his art, he was able to break the boundaries that society had placed on him. My thought on Huxley's main idea about societies was wrong. I thought he was trying to say society had to be either completely free like the Savage Reserve or strict like the society in Brave New World. When I discussed this concept with my group, I realized that an in between society could exist; our own! I now think Huxley's idea was to show the two different extremes in society as a way to compare the two and show what you must give up in order to obtain one or the other. Preparing for the discussion was the most educational part. Further thinking about the ideas and concepts really helped me go deeper in my understanding.I did very well in the Socratic seminar. I voiced all my opinions while listening to and considering others ideas. I found it difficult to jump into the conversation because I was worried I would interrupt someone. Everyone was talking so fast, it was hard to get a word in. I enjoyed the natural flow of the conversation. It felt like I just sat down with some of my friends to have a conversation. If i had a do-over I would try to speak up a little bit more. Even though this would still be hard to do without talking over other people. As a communicator, I learned that I am sometimes shy, but never afraid to voice my ideas, even when they are different. I think the Socratic seminar went very smoothly and was helpful to everyone. I would, however, change the rubric the observing students used. Things need to be more specific so people can't let others off easy or be unfairly critical.
Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games. 1st ed. Vol. 1. Scholastic, 2008. Print. The Hunger Games.
Collin's The Hunger Games takes place in a nation called Panem. The rich capitol controls all of the 12 districts. Each one specializes in producing a certain good to provide for the country. The districts are all poor mostly containing families with very little money and even starving children.
Katniss Everdeen and her family lost their father in a mining accident. Now, with her mother always feeling depressed, Katniss has to provide for the family, which includes her little sister, Prim. When the annual Hunger Games come around, Prim's name gets called to be the female competitor for District 12 in the games. These games are horrible! Children fight to the death while the whole event is broad casted all across the nation for the people to watch. Loving her sister too much, Katniss volunteers to take Prim's place. Her male counterpart is a boy named Peeta. Katniss promises Prim that she will do everything possible to come home alive. Katniss won't let herself get too attached to Peeta, knowing that even if they were lucky, only one of them could come home alive. This changes dramatically when Peeta publicly announces his love for Katniss. Is this part of the strategy or does he really feel this way? Katniss can't decide. The two head into the arena and Katniss doesn't know what to think. All she knows is that she will do everything in her power to come home to Prim. I really enjoyed this book because it was unlike anything I have ever read before. The interesting setting and details of the book really kept me focused and addicted. (384 pages)
Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. New York: Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2006. Print.
Huxley's Brave New World focuses on a society very different from our own. People are genetically engineered and then taught from birth to be exactly what society wants them to be. There are different class levels with different jobs and levels of intelligence. Bernard and his friend Helmholtz are different from everyone else. Instead of flying through life without meaning or deep thought, they question things and realize the restraints society has placed on them. When Bernard takes a visit to the Savage Reservation, he truly begins to understand his own society and the freedoms it lacks. John the Savage goes back to the Brave New World society with Bernard expecting it to be beyond wonderful and happy. Realizing the nonexistence of individuality there, John would love nothing more than to go back to his old life. Being friends with the savage, Bernard becomes very popular and slips into the way of life that he longed to be a part of in the past. Was Bernard truly different then if he merged into the way of life he had looked in upon for so long as soon as it became possible? Helmholtz was, however, truly different. Through his inability to fully express himself, he realized that society had these restraints over him. He was able to break these restraints even though they had been forced on him since before he was born. The author's writing style was very unique. Telling multiple stories all at the same time. It got a little confusing sometimes and I found myself wanting to just focus on one plot at a time! This book really opened my eyes to the intricate effects society can have on people. Society can't be completely stable and safe without giving up certain luxuries. Is it worth it? (268 pages)
Collins, Suzanne. Catching Fire. Vol. 2. Scholastic, 2009. Print. The Hunger Games.
Tossed back into the arena for another round of Hunger Games, Peeta and Katniss are in big trouble. In their first games, they defied the capitol by threatening to both kill themselves when they were the only two competitors remaining. This act didn't sit well with President Snow at all. He threatened to kill Katniss, her family, and her friends unless she could convince the citizens that she did it as an act of love for Peeta, not to defy the capitol. In the arena Katniss and Peeta team up with Finnick and Mags from District 4. Little do they know there is a huge plan in the works to destroy the arena and begin a huge rebellion against the capitol. This book makes me thankful for the great country I live in and all the freedoms I have. There is no evil capitol or President to control things. This was a fun read and great sequel to The Hunger Games. (391 pages)
