Prompt-Where are you in your 40 Book Challenge? How have your blogs been progressing since August? What strategies have benefited you? What has it taught you about the world?
It is the end of the first quarter, and I am supposed to reflect on how my blogging changed from last year. I felt that I have improved in almost every way possible, but I'll try to trim that down a bit.
In my 40 book challenge, I am on book nine out of 40. I have noticed that my books are much more based on action and adventure instead of books such as classic literature or poetry. I however have had some non-fiction adventure novels, that I find strangely
interesting because of events that had taken place in real life, had taken so much energy and thought process, but where pulled off as if they where easy.
Since August I have been progressing with my word choice as well as with the length of my blogs. I have recently been able to retrieve more information from my books than I feel I used to be able to comprehend. Especially when using character development, I have predicted the actual ending to a very good number of books, although that could also have to do with my reading of very similar stories. My vocabulary has increased greatly, as I read from my first blog in August, I realized that I could be using a better choice of words. Instead of "meets" I should have used "Rendezvous". Even though it would have taken more time I would have made my writing just a little more interesting while doing so.
Through my writing Blogs, I have found that the world is a "get what you pay for" kind of place. These writers put in such great hours, and an amazing amount of effort and a lot of the time they don't become famous. But It showed me that luck is very scarce in our world, and that hard work is your only sure way to become successful.
Friday, October 17, 2014
Monday, October 6, 2014
Reflective Writing, Stanley S.
My writing has changed from last year by my use of new and higher tiered words. I've read some of the passages I wrote last year and I found myself using words such as "bad" and "happy" instead of increasing the use of my vocabulary with words such as "substandard" or "ecstatic". This year I felt that this has increased because the books I have read are of much higher difficulty, and I feel I am getting used to how they speak, and maybe sort of reflecting it.
Another part of writing that I think I greatly improved on would be my sense on where to uppercase letters and just general formatting errors that I possessed before. Things like "Im" to "i'm", to which I feel that my teachers in elementary school didn't cover as well as they should have. I increased this by, again, reading better books, and also I think that the work that I did over the summer really helped me get a head start into this year because it is known that children lose about two months of school over summer. Instead, I gained at least the equivalent.
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
Chesapeake, By Stanley Suter
Prompt-What are techniques used in your book?This week I have finally restarted reading "Chesapeake" and I really like it. A woman from across the Chop-tank river is sent for to be married to a Steed. This was celebrated unusually because the man, Fitzhugh Steed, had been married before. However, he was part of the first family on the Chop-tank river and his family was of the highest nobility. The woman's name was Rosalind, named after a character in Shakespeare's play, was set on making the world in Massachusetts as good as possible for her children. While doing so she embarrasses her husband and children, earning her a very bad spot in the town's court, where she is being persecuted constantly for the smallest of "crimes". Thats where I am in the story so far.
The first technique that I think is crucial to the story is James Michener's purpose in his writing. The purpose of this story was a Narrative, because it slowly goes through the lines of generations of three different families, with certain explanations and comments through the chapter. This allows for much better understanding for the chain of events and how the families interact. Without his narrations, we would not know the storyline behind Fitzhugh being the father of three children that where not Rosalind's. Without his narration, we would be completely lost in the story.
The second technique that I think was very important to the story was James Michener's style through his writing. I found a page in the book that had four vocabulary words from about two weeks ago. He uses very high tiered words that I used to have trouble understanding, but now it really enhances the old-agedness of it. I think it makes it much more exciting as a whole when the well educated characters have arguments about some things so simple, and some life and death situations. The words that James uses improves scenes in the story that would have otherwise been plain and boring.
Friday, September 26, 2014
Banned Book Read Out, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" By-Stanley Suter
Script- Hello, I’m Stanley Suter. This week is banned books week and in honor of it I have chosen the banned book “Harry Potter and the chamber of secrets” to talk about.
“Harry Potter and the chamber of secrets” was a book that greatly changed me. When I was in 3rd grade, I absolutely hated reading. I thought it was time wasting to learn about other people, especially at that level with the stories that third graders read. You know how was, “Tom went the the store. He bought milk. Then, he dropped it and the container exploded, but he still had to pay for it! The end.” Maybe not the middle sentence, but again, you know what I mean. At that age, books where extremely redundant, and so I found them boring. Then, a close family friend sent me three Harry Potter books, #2, #4, and #5 (don’t ask me why). And because it was the first book I owned from young adult literature, I started reading it.
I loved it immediately. Over the summer, I timed myself reading and I had surpassed 26 hours in 4th grade with just that book. Now, the reason I have been talking about the book is because for a while now, it has been banned. For reasons that seem so silly, but they had taken hold. It had been banned for having witch craft and they feel it set a bad example. Some parents thought that the book was not age appropriate because it had witchcraft, which most people view as dark. I can show you that they are wrong, directly from the book.
I chose this quote because it shows how lighthearted the book really is. I would understand if the book was banned because it had black magic, or really violent parts in the story, but it is rated young adult, and if they can’t handle something as nice as Harry Potter, maybe they should look for help. I do not think that Harry Potter was banned for a valid reason, simply because it has nothing very offensive or explicit in the entire series.
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows By:Stanley Suter
Prompt-Who is your favorite character and why? who is your favorite character?
This week I have been reading "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling, and I have picked up much more than I had the first time I read it. Right now, Harry is camping in various places in order to escape Voldemort and the Death eaters that are now able to track Harry, and he has no idea how they are doing it. He and his friends Ron and Hermione are trying to find out what Dumbledores gifts meant and fulfill their quests to set things right in the Wizard world. That is where I am so far.
This week I have been reading "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling, and I have picked up much more than I had the first time I read it. Right now, Harry is camping in various places in order to escape Voldemort and the Death eaters that are now able to track Harry, and he has no idea how they are doing it. He and his friends Ron and Hermione are trying to find out what Dumbledores gifts meant and fulfill their quests to set things right in the Wizard world. That is where I am so far.
My favorite character in the book would have to be Ron Weasley. He is by far the funniest character in the book. This is mainly because of the supplies he uses, the rat/man that all of his brothers used, the wand that shoots slugs in his face, and mostly the tiny owl that is good for nothing but disobeyment. He is super quick to fight and argues with Harry pretty much every year except for their first year at Hogwarts.
My least favorite character would be Snape. This is a "Of course" moment, but it is for different reasons than you might think. I don't like him because he liked Lily and Harry, but he treats Harry with no favoritism or affection at all. In fact, he often seems to abuse Harry and puts him in detention, even though the only reason Harry acts up in his class is because he was mean Harry first. So, I dislike Snape because of his seemingly Bi-polar attitude towards Harry and his friends.
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Ripper, By Stanley Suter
Prompt-Character development
This week I finished the book, Ripper and I absolutely loved it. At the end of the book Carver finds out that his mentor, Mr.Hawking, is actually his dad. After he finds out he goes ballistic and starts trying to get back at Hawking. He meets up with him on a subway and saves everyone on the train, and then fights his father. He got his father chained up with a new special type of handcuff and it looks like he's going to end it, when they can slow down the train. He jumps and later finds out his dad broke his wrist and got free. I'm sorry, but kind of a disappointing ending.
This week I finished the book, Ripper and I absolutely loved it. At the end of the book Carver finds out that his mentor, Mr.Hawking, is actually his dad. After he finds out he goes ballistic and starts trying to get back at Hawking. He meets up with him on a subway and saves everyone on the train, and then fights his father. He got his father chained up with a new special type of handcuff and it looks like he's going to end it, when they can slow down the train. He jumps and later finds out his dad broke his wrist and got free. I'm sorry, but kind of a disappointing ending.
The first character I would like to talk about is Commissioner Roosevelt. He really adds a lot of imagery to the story. He is the wealth of New York, invited to all the parties and always wearing very fancy three piece suits. Through the story every place he goes is suddenly organized and never negative (unless he's upset). He's the head of the police force and is very formal up until the fight preceding the final battle. He adds the imagery of the book as very grand, formal, and usually very respectful (again, preceding the final battle).
The other character that I would like to talk about is Carver young, the main character and the son of the Ripper. He happens to be very intelligent, well educated, and clever. However he is also a street rat basically through the entire book. He escapes from a sewer full of freezing cold snow water that would have given him hypothermia. Carver is easily spotted at one of Roosevelt's parties, mainly because of his clothes and the way he acts. He adds the imagery of a wild dog, unclean and loud, but very intelligent.
The other character that I would like to talk about is Carver young, the main character and the son of the Ripper. He happens to be very intelligent, well educated, and clever. However he is also a street rat basically through the entire book. He escapes from a sewer full of freezing cold snow water that would have given him hypothermia. Carver is easily spotted at one of Roosevelt's parties, mainly because of his clothes and the way he acts. He adds the imagery of a wild dog, unclean and loud, but very intelligent.
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Book List Challenge, By:Stanley Suter
1. Harry potter and The Chambers of Secret, By, JK Rowling
I read this book in 3rd grade and it was the first chapter book that I loved, and what got me into reading other books. I read it probably 7-8 times, and it was strangely more interesting every time. It was my favorite book because it had such a good story line, but yet as a 3rd grader I was able to comprehend it and enjoy reading a 250 page book.
2. Ripper, By Stefan Petrucha
I read this book in 8th grade, and it has been important to me because it opened my eyes to a new difficulty to the books that I like to read. This has been my first action novel that is interesting, and I've read on a regular basis, that has taken so long to read.
3. Weapons of World War 2
This was the book that opened me up to violent books. I read it in 4th grade and learned about all the weapons, including armored cars and tanks, that where used in the war. It brought me to read books about zombies or first person stories about war. In the book, it explains all about the components of the Nuclear bomb and where they where dropped in japan.
4. Huckleberry Finn, By Mark Twain
Huckleberry Finn was the first piece of Old english literature that I ever read with the original
language still intact. I read this book in 7th grade, and it taught me a lot about the vocabulary of someone who lived in the 1800's. It also showed me how violent a person could get if they are fighting to survive. In the book, when a character gets bitten by a rattle snake, he drinks 2 bottles of whisky and somehow fights the poison off.
5. The Old man and the Sea
The first time that I read this book (not completely read, I was on page 20/100) I found the literature sub-par and much of the book very redundant. So, I waited a year and when I read it again, I felt I understood much more of the vocabulary used in the book at that point, allowing me to enjoy it. I think that this book marked my passage into being a mature reader.
6. Quarantine By Lex Thomas
If the stakes for life where not so high, I would actually love to be in this book. It is about a school that was quarantined when a patient from a lab not far away escaped with a disease that would infect teenagers going through puberty, but would instantly kill adults or children.
7. The Outsiders, Hinton S.E.
This book got me interested in books about the crime life, stealing, murder, hideouts, disguises, etc. It's what got me hooked on books like what I have listed for #2 (Ripper). Only this was the only book that had a character above the age of 10 named something like "Pony-boy".
8. Of mice and Men By John Steinbeck
This was my first Steinbeck book, I read it in fith grade. This made me like Steinbeck as an author and read more classic novels. The only thing I didn't like was how the story would set you up. It took these two characters, very close together and practically brothers, and they have a dream to get their own land. Right as their about to have enough money to buy the place, one of them gets in trouble and the other one kills him for his own good. That was kind of depressing.
9.The Fear By Charlie Higson
This has been my favorite horror book for quite a while now. I've read it at least 3 times and I'm still not bored with it. Each time I read it I get something different out of it. Last time I really picked up on details, the time before that I noticed more connections to things happening at different times in the story, picked up by different people, but that where all related. The first time I read the book, I was simply drawn in by the heroic scenes and their systems to survive the zombie apocalypse.
10. Charlotte's Web By E.B. White
This was my favorite chapter book as a child and it made me much more interested in reading, and in talking animals. I was in kindergarden when my mom first read this book to me, and it opened me up to loving stories in general, especially verbal.
I read this book in 3rd grade and it was the first chapter book that I loved, and what got me into reading other books. I read it probably 7-8 times, and it was strangely more interesting every time. It was my favorite book because it had such a good story line, but yet as a 3rd grader I was able to comprehend it and enjoy reading a 250 page book.
2. Ripper, By Stefan Petrucha
I read this book in 8th grade, and it has been important to me because it opened my eyes to a new difficulty to the books that I like to read. This has been my first action novel that is interesting, and I've read on a regular basis, that has taken so long to read.
3. Weapons of World War 2
This was the book that opened me up to violent books. I read it in 4th grade and learned about all the weapons, including armored cars and tanks, that where used in the war. It brought me to read books about zombies or first person stories about war. In the book, it explains all about the components of the Nuclear bomb and where they where dropped in japan.
4. Huckleberry Finn, By Mark Twain
Huckleberry Finn was the first piece of Old english literature that I ever read with the original
language still intact. I read this book in 7th grade, and it taught me a lot about the vocabulary of someone who lived in the 1800's. It also showed me how violent a person could get if they are fighting to survive. In the book, when a character gets bitten by a rattle snake, he drinks 2 bottles of whisky and somehow fights the poison off.
5. The Old man and the Sea
The first time that I read this book (not completely read, I was on page 20/100) I found the literature sub-par and much of the book very redundant. So, I waited a year and when I read it again, I felt I understood much more of the vocabulary used in the book at that point, allowing me to enjoy it. I think that this book marked my passage into being a mature reader.
6. Quarantine By Lex Thomas
If the stakes for life where not so high, I would actually love to be in this book. It is about a school that was quarantined when a patient from a lab not far away escaped with a disease that would infect teenagers going through puberty, but would instantly kill adults or children.
7. The Outsiders, Hinton S.E.
This book got me interested in books about the crime life, stealing, murder, hideouts, disguises, etc. It's what got me hooked on books like what I have listed for #2 (Ripper). Only this was the only book that had a character above the age of 10 named something like "Pony-boy".
8. Of mice and Men By John Steinbeck
This was my first Steinbeck book, I read it in fith grade. This made me like Steinbeck as an author and read more classic novels. The only thing I didn't like was how the story would set you up. It took these two characters, very close together and practically brothers, and they have a dream to get their own land. Right as their about to have enough money to buy the place, one of them gets in trouble and the other one kills him for his own good. That was kind of depressing.
9.The Fear By Charlie Higson
This has been my favorite horror book for quite a while now. I've read it at least 3 times and I'm still not bored with it. Each time I read it I get something different out of it. Last time I really picked up on details, the time before that I noticed more connections to things happening at different times in the story, picked up by different people, but that where all related. The first time I read the book, I was simply drawn in by the heroic scenes and their systems to survive the zombie apocalypse.
10. Charlotte's Web By E.B. White
This was my favorite chapter book as a child and it made me much more interested in reading, and in talking animals. I was in kindergarden when my mom first read this book to me, and it opened me up to loving stories in general, especially verbal.
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