Reading Reflection (2)

I am going to try this again since I left out some information on the last reading reflection post. I think my reading has extremely increased by reading at least 90 minutes per week. Well, my reading interest has greatly increased at least. I used to view myself as a strong reader - way ahead of my age group. However, I kind of stopped reading when it was no longer "cool" to be a good reader towards the end of 4th grade. This assignment has helped me find the interest to read again, even more so than last semester. I did not read as much before because I always felt like I had enough work to do and activities; therefore, I felt like I did not have the time to read. Fortunately, I found that you can always make time to read, especially when it is a really great book. I think it is great to continue reading new texts and even old texts that you used to love reading. As far as reading in the future, I definitely see myself reading next semester, next year, and even in 5 years. I am now reading books with the focus that students may ask me what particular books are about, and I do not want to appear dumb and a "non-reader" to them. Maintaining an active reading life SHOULD be easy since I like to read again, but I need to keep pushing myself to read as well. Overall, I liked being "forced" to read for a grade since it made me have to do it. However, this is something I am glad I had to do now. Great job of helping me find enjoyment in reading again!! :)

Reading Blog Reflection

I wrote down in my planner that I needed to include a reflection for my reading blog. I don't know if I am supposed to or not, but I am including one anyways just in case. The reading blog was ten times better than writing out our weekly reflections for reading. It also made me more accountable on keeping up with my blogging each week since the computer cannot lie about the date the new post was added. This made reading reflections much easier to do and keep track of doing. Also, I feel that I write more when I can type things up since writing things out on paper takes FOREVER sometimes. Therefore, I think I was able to add more detail and feelings into my blogs this time. I have noticed that I really enjoyed reading this semester a lot more than last semester. This may be just because I pushed myself to read more this time around. I have really gotten into a lot of the 4th-6th grade reading level books since I am wanting to broaden my knowledge of these books to be able to capably recommend books to the students. I still need to read a lot more, but I really am planning on reading about the same amount during the summer that I am now. I just really need to keep pushing myself to make time to do this because I always seem to enjoy it once I get into the story. Overall, I am very glad we switched to electronic blogging rather than paper-pencil writing reflections. I think this will definitely benefit students in the future as well since we are a technological-based world now. I am looking forward to summer reading without HOMEWORK to worry about. Now I can just focus on reading books I want to read. This makes me feel good!! :)

The Sign of the Beaver (2)

I read 90 minutes today in this story and found that I really, really like this book a lot. I am already fascinated about anything with Indians (my room used to be decorated with all Indian stuff and I even had a tepee in one corner). It was thanks to the movie Dances With Wolves that I got hooked on Indians and believed I was one since I get really dark in the summer. Now back to the story... Matt has been learning TONS from Attean about the way of the Indians. He wanted a bow and arrow and tried several times to make one, but they were all failures since Matt did not know what kind of wood was the best for making bows. Attean helped him make a good bow and the two ended up meeting a bear eventually. This was actually really funny because Matt had just caught a rabbit and slung it at the bear's face. I thought this was kind of dumb of him (but funny) until I figured out that it gave Attean enough time to put an arrow in his bow to shoot the bear between the eyes. Therefore, Matt's actions weren't as dumb as I initially thought. Attean told him he moved swift like an Indian, which was really cool because Matt had been longing for some type of praise from Attean all this time since he was not as clever as Attean. Matt was then led to the Indian village where Attean lived for the ritual of killing a bear. He learned a lot about this ceremony and found that Indians were actually full of life rather than dull as he originally thought. He slept the night in a tepee and then traveled home the next day to find Attean's dog caught in a white man's trap that the Turtle tribe had set out (Attean's tribe are the Beavers). He goes back to the village to find only the women and children there since the men were gone to hunt. Matt finds Attean's grandmother - who initially did not like Matt since he was white - and tells her of the incident. She sends Marie (Attean's sister) with Matt and they get the dog out of the trap. Attean informs Matt that he is now welcomed to the village any time since his grandmother appreciates what he has done. Everything is getting really good and Matt is learning so much from Attean and the Indians. I still do not know where his family is, but Matt is not as worried since he has the Beaver tribe to watch out for him and learn from. I am suspecting something bad has happened to his family, however, but I will find out more next time.

The Sign of the Beaver

One again, I am glad that I was able to read a book of my choice this week. I read another book that I bought for my future classroom (mainly because I do not want to look dumb if a student asks me what the book is about). The Sign of the Beaver is also another Newbery honor book, so I figured it must be worthy of reading. Plus, it has Indians in it, so I knew it would be interesting at least. I read somewhere between 90-100 minutes in the story and already really like it. Now to the story... Matt and his pa built a nice log house in the Maine country for their family that stayed back in Massachusetts. Matt stayed behind to protect the house and territory as his pa went back to get his ma, sister, and new baby sibling (don't know yet since it was born while they were gone). I think Matt's pa said he would be back in 7 weeks, so Matt has to make a mark in a stick seven times per stick until he uses up 7 sticks. This will allow him to keep count of the days and know when to come find his family if they are not there yet. I thought this was pretty cool because it is a cool way to keep track of time. While his pa is gone, Matt is supposed to tend to the corn and pumpkin patch behind the house and build some more shelving/different things in the house. He was doing fine on his own and shooting with his pa's nice gun (who gave it to him since it was nicer than his old gun). However, he ran into some trouble with a fellow who appeared to be a nice man who just needed a place to stay for the night and a meal. I knew Matt should not have trusted him because this man was constantly complimenting Matt on the place, his gun, the corn, etc. Matt had a bad feeling about this man who passed out on the floor, but he also knew his pa would be upset with him if he did not welcome a good-hearted stranger. Real good-hearted this man happened to be as he stole the gun and disappeared in the wilderness. Therefore, Matt does not have any way now to get food other than picking berries once in a while and fishing. The molasses and salt ran out and made Matt sick of eating his fish plain. I do not think I could eat fish plain either... it kind of made me sick thinking about it. Matt then remembers a beehive and tries to steal a bark of honey from the bees; however, this was a bad idea. The bees swarmed and stung him until he fell in the water and got hung up in weeds. He eventually got withdrawn from a pair of strong hands - Indian hands in fact. He was led back to his house and tended to by this older Indian. Once Matt finally came through, this Indian made a treaty with him to teach his grandson (Attean) to read the words of the white man in exchange for food everyday. At first Attean resented Matt's attempts at helping because Attean did not wish to learn about the white man's ways. However, he knew his grandfather highly recommended it since he could communicate better with the white men as more settlers would establish residence in the area. Matt and Attean had troubles at first with their lessons, but they eventually end up learning from each other. I ended when Attean was teaching Matt how to fish with a spear (which sounds ten times more fun than with a fishing pole). I would have ended up just like Matt probably and embarrass myself by falling in the water. Still, it would be fun to try it some time.

A Single Shard (3)

I read about 2 hours and 40 minutes yesterday and finished this book. The ending was by far the best part of this story. As I mentioned before, Min was trying to perfect the inlay pottery design that his rival Kang had made (who received a commission from the royal emissary). Min had worked hard, slept little, and barely ate during this whole process of perfecting this new pottery. The morning Tree-ear arrived to observe the perfectly detailed inlay pottery, he found all the pots shattered about the yard; he realized the kiln had not produced the fine celadon color that was desired. The royal emissary met with Min and stated that he would love to offer him a commission if he were to produce an inlay design pot to present to him in Songdo (which is several towns away). Min's pride got in the way and did not want to admit his flaw, so he did not mention that he had already attempted the inlay design. I thought this was really cool that he would rather not receive a commission than to admit that he had failed at creating a specific design. Tree-ear chimed in that he would be honored to take the pottery to Songdo, but also felt ashamed for this since he would be leaving his friend Crane-man alone for the first time. Again, I admire how much Tree-ear cares for his friend and others. Crane-man insists he goes on this journey and wishes him to stop at the Rock of Falling Flowers in Puyo. Tree-ear does stop at this destination to admire this site, but is robbed by thieves who throw Min's perfect inlay pots off the cliff. Tree-ear finds one pot completely shattered in ashes, but finds that the other one is shattered in bigger pieces; therefore he selects the biggest shard to present to the royal emissary. He wanted to at least attempt to show the royal emissary the fine works of his master's creation since he did not want to disappoint Min. The royal emissary still found that the single shard was intricately detailed and almost perfection on the design; he approved a commission to be given to Min and arranged for transportation by water for Tree-ear back to his village. Tree-ear was so happy and enthused to tell the news to his master and Crane-man and decided to tell Min first. He found Min at the draining site where he heard the news, but he was not overly excited as Tree-ear had thought. This is where Min drew Tree-ear close and told him about the bridge accident that killed his friend Crane-man. This part crushed me since Tree-ear found himself somewhat responsible for not being there to help his friend. Tree-ear stayed the night with Min and his wife and woke before dawn that morning to remember his friend and walk along the river. When he arrived back at Min's house he was ordered to fetch huge logs this time. This made Tree-ear upset, but Min told him that it takes the biggest logs to make a wheel (meaning Min was going to teach him how to throw pots). Min's wife then asked him if he would live with Min and her and to be called a name similar to their deceased son (which showed resemblance of a sibling). She then told him to be "home" for supper. The ending really got to me since this is what Tree-ear longed for his whole life - wishing to be part of a loving family, have a real name, and throw pots with Min (which could only be handed down from father to son). It was almost too bittersweet how it ended. I was really saddened for the death of his friend Crane-man, but also feel that Crane-man was right when he told Tree-ear once that "whenever the wind blows one door close, there will always be another door that it blows open." I think this is exactly what happened for Tree-ear.

A Single Shard (2)

Well, I was able to read 90 minutes this week. Not as much as I wanted to read, but at least I got further in the story and found out a little more. Tree-ear was noticing something "fishy" about one of Min's rival potters; Kang (the rival) kept sneaking red and white slip into the kiln instead of the regular colored slip that everyone else in the village used. Tree-ear let this bother him for quite a while, but he finally found out after hearing the royal emissary was coming to their village to assign pottery commissions for the palace. I thought it was interesting how Tree-ear would never inform Min about the "secret" pottery that his rival was making. However, I found it very classy of him as well since he felt that he may be stealing from Kang because he has not yet exposed his pottery to the village. Once again, I felt really saddened and yet hopeful when Min and his wife gave Tree-ear a present; he received a coat and pantaloons to help keep him warm. I felt sad for two reasons: (1) I hate thinking that little kids like Tree-ear freeze simply because they cannot afford or acquire a coat and (2) that the coat was originally made for Min and his wife's son (who died when he was about the same age as Tree-ear). However, I still felt hopeful because I love that Min and his wife are providing Tree-ear with opportunities to succeed in life and guiding him down a path that will benefit him for his future. Tree-ear is very gracious and appreciative of his gifts, but he wants to give something to Crane-man because he loves him and knows that Crane-man would do the same for him. Tree-ear decides to give Crane-man the jacket and keep the pantaloons for himself. I just cannot get over how unselfish Tree-ear is and yet being so young as well. I think wanting to give his friend, Crane-man, a present that was originally a present for himself shows true kindness, love, and friendship - all aspects we can all learn from in this situation. Other than this... the royal emissary came to scope out the best potter(s) to be selected for the palace. The crowd was all enthused and bewildered about Kang's new black and white pottery that he calls "inlay" work with chrysanthemums as the decor. Obviously, everybody believes he will be selected for the royal palace; however, the emissary was quite impressed with Min's work and graciously comments on his masterpieces. Now Min is trying to outdo Kang's inlay pottery by doing it himself and perfecting it. Hopefully he can show Kang who is the boss!

A Single Shard

I am glad that I finally got to start reading a book of my own selection (not one for class). I bought several chapter books a while back at a book sale - most of them honor books - for my future classroom; I selected one of these books to read. The one I selected was A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park. I had never read this book before, but it is a Newbery medal book. Therefore, I figured it had to be a great book. I just started reading it yesterday and have read around 90-100 minutes already. It is such a great book and makes me feel very thankful for everything I have in my life. This story begins with a young orphan boy named Tree-ear and his best friend/guardian Crane-man living under their bridge space. I found out that he was given the name Tree-ear because it is a mushroom that does not grow from a parent seed. Crane-man believed this would be a suitable name for the orphan that did not have a name when he was dropped off under the bridge at age 2. He was only supposed to be dropped off temporarily until the monks had gotten rid of their bout of fever, but Tree-ear refused to go with the monks when they came for him and clung to Crane-man's one good leg (the other is twisted and shriveled from birth). This made me feel deeply saddened yet good at the same time because I loved that Tree-ear decided to stay with Crane-man since he is a great guy who was dealt a bad deal of disasters in his life. Crane-man was once somewhat wealthy, but his family died off one by one, leaving him alone and unable to do work due to his handicap. Therefore, Crane-man had to sell everything one by one in order to survive, eventually his home as well. Still, Crane-man is always looking at the positives of life and never once glimpsing at the negatives. He is thankful and appreciative for everything he is blessed with in his life (which is not very much). Tree-ear learns much from Crane-man as well. He is constantly wondering if his actions would be what Crane-man would do. Back to the story... Tree-ear is awed by watching potters during their throwing of pots, especially an older man named Min. Min is one of the best potters in the village - if not one of the best in the country. Tree-ear decides to examine one of his creations and accidentally drops and breaks it when he is startled by Min. He begs to please be able to repay him, and Min allows him to work for him for nine days as his form of repayment. He has to do lots of the dirty work, such as chopping wood all day, gathering clay all day, etc. Once his nine days are up, however, Tree-ear wishes to continue serving Min since he feels that his life has meaning now. Min allows him to continue working for him without pay, but Tree-ear is enthused with the idea of serving such a master potter. He now receives food during mid-day from Min's wife and decides to hide half of his portion because he wants to be able to share the food with Crane-man at the end of the day (which is what Crane-man would do for him). I found this to be inspiring, thoughtful, unselfish, but still sad all at the same time. The entire time I read this book I cannot help but to feel sad for Tree-ear and Crane-man. They are great people who were just unfortunate with their life dealings. I feel that many people can learn from both of these characters' lives. Our world is too caught up in personal indulgence and selfishness (I am many times guilty of this as well). I just really love that these two poverty-stricken people do not beg or moan about anything; they feel gracious for every little thing they are given in life. I especially felt overwhelmed - both with joy and sadness - when Tree-ear discovers his bowl is now being completely refilled when he finds it at the end of the day under his rock. Min and his wife are great people and are helping him out vastly. Tree-ear longs to eat all his food at mid-day meal, but does not want to take advantage of these kind people. There are just too many great aspects to this book, and I am just getting started in it. I cannot wait to see what I will find out next.

The Crucible (3)

Well, I finished my book this week and read somewhere around 2 hours again. I had forgotten how the story ended or the climax of it all; I am pretty sure I didn't read the ending in high school (just skimmed it). Everyone was taken to court who was accused of witchcraft. If they did not admit to worshipping the Devil, they would then be put in jail and sentenced to hang. They were all innocent people and many of them were devout Christians; therefore, many of them would not under any circumstances admit to worshipping Satan. My favorite part during all this was how twisted and foolish the people of the court were during the trials. John Proctor openly admitted to the court that Abigail was a whore and a liar. The judges were furious about him making accusations about her, but Proctor lets everyone know that he "knows" her - meaning he has engaged certain inappropriate relations with her. The court then asked him if he is truly a lechur since they cannot believe this goodly man has a flaw to his demeanor. He fully admits he has ashamedly had relations with Abigail; she denies any of this. They bring in Goody Proctor for evidence of this and make her husband and Abigail face outwards. Since she cannot see her husband's face, Goody Proctor does not know how to respond to the questioning of her husband, so she protects his image and states that she did not believe he has ever committed adultery (even though she really knows he has). I thought this was very classy and courageous of Goody Proctor to not reveal her husband's flaws. I think she did the right thing by keeping matters like this private and between her husband and her. This was really dumb of the court to not understand that a good woman will not spoil her husband's character. Still, Proctor was sentenced for "lying" to the court about Abigail and many others as well. Three months went by that they were all in jail and Proctor was brought out for his hanging. They said that he could live if he openly admitted to worshipping the Devil. He admits to having dealings with the Devil since he will live (and his image is already flawed). Then they want him to admit that the people already hanged worshipped the Devil, too. However, Proctor stated they did not and that he will not bring harm to their respectable images for hanging as true Christians. I thought this was probably the best thing he could have done; he let everyone else know they were false and that God will judge them one day as well. It ends with the drums going off in the background and Proctor heading to his death.

The Crucible (2)

I was able to read 2 hours this week in The Crucible and things are getting crazy in the story. Rev. Hale got angered with Abigail while coming to see what was wrong with her cousin Betty (sick in bed). Rev. Parris exclaimed that the girls were dancing, which made Rev. Hale snap at Abigail and tell her that her cousin's life is at stake if she doesn't admit to her wrong-doing of conjuring the Devil. Abigail obviously didn't want the blame for all this, so she accused Tituba of conjuring the Devil. She then accuses Tituba of trying to force both Betty and her to drink the concoction that night; she goes on to put all the blame on Tituba. Abigail then accuses numerous people in the village of being seen with the Devil. Betty suddenly wakes up and joins in with several accusations of her own. This part was both funny and literally dumb because the people believed every word that these two immature GIRLS were professing. Everyone took their accusations to heart and believed that whoever the girls chose to be of witchcraft must obviously be part of the Devil. The story goes on to accuse about 14 people of witchcraft the first night and then some 39 more the very next day!! People were accusing their very own neighbors of witchcraft, such as one man who accused his neighbor woman of cursing him and killing a pig of his 4 weeks after he bought it from her. Goody Putnam accused someone of cursing her babies that died, and Abigail accused Goody Proctor of witchcraft even. She did this obviously because she felt she could have John Proctor all to herself if Goody Putnam were hanged. It was ridiculous how Goody Putnam got accused; they claimed that a needle in a poppet was all the evidence they needed to put her away. Abigail had been found with a needle in her stomach, which I believe she stabbed into her own stomach to set-up the malicious scheme. It's just all crazy and ridiculous everything being done in the town and nobody having the power to stop this nonsense. Everybody feels that Abigail "KNOWS" something they do not since she claims she can feel the dark powers around her and knows who is bringing them forth. I get a little bewildered sometimes by some of the actions and accusations, but it is very interesting to see how each person is accused and how simple it is to put them away for it. I can't wait to see what John Proctor is going to do next in the court...

The Crucible

I started my second book for Responsibilities for the Future. The Crucible, a book written by Arthur Miller, takes place in 1692 when people accused others of witchcraft and black magic. I read this story I think in my junior English class; therefore, I kind of already know what to expect. It is more interesting to read now because I do not think I payed very close attention to it the first time for some reason. I have read for 90-100 minutes this week while I was on the airplane, but I was still able to get through a lot of important information. It was kind of interesting to read some of the introduction (although it's very long) since it gives you a better sense of what was actually true, altered a bit, why, etc. regarding the story. I must admit, however, that I did not thoroughly read the introduction because it began to bore me. The beginning of the story takes place with Rev. Parris' daughter sick in bed with him by her side. I don't really like Rev. Parris because he seems arrogant and self-centered. He's one of those people that think people owe him something because he's "better" than everyone else. Betty (his daughter) is in bed and many people come to the room to see how she is including the following: Abigail (Rev. Parris' niece), Tituba (Parris' servant), Susanna, Mr. and Mrs. Putnam, Mercy (Putnam's servant), John Proctor (rebellious farmer), Mary Warren (Proctor's servant), Giles Corey, and Rebecca Nurse. The Putnams say that their daughter is ail in the same way that Betty is and that somebody is cursing them with witchcraft. A bit of a side note here is that Mrs. Putnam had to bury 8 of her 9 babies, so she is bit hysterical about her only child "deathly" ill. The whole community is frantic and gathered outside, so Rev. Parris decides to read them all psalms from the Bible (the only thing they can reference from). I think this shows that the community is somewhat naive and unrealistic, but I also respect them for their strong faith and beliefs in the Bible. While Rev. Parris and the Putnams go outside, Abigail shakes Betty to quit "sporting" with her since she knows nothing can be wrong with her. Mary Warren and Mercy are the ones who eventually let spill that Abigail drank blood during their dancing ritual in the woods that Rev. Parris caught them doing; this is when Betty fainted. Abigail drank blood to cast a spell on John Proctor's wife to make her die since she longs to be with her love who had been slipping around on his wife and having relations with Abigail. I can't stand John Proctor either because he reminds me of a teacher/coach I once had in high school. He thinks he's all that and a bag of chips and thinks he can run around on his wife with the girls half his age. Also, he believes himself to be truly "Christian" and a man of Christ. I guess I shouldn't be this harsh, but his cocky demeanor annoys me quite a bit. I even picture him in my head EXACTLY looking like this teacher/coach I once had. And Abigail... she's just a dumb and insecure girl that is longing for someone to love her. I don't think she means anything by it, but she is still in the wrong trying to carry out an affair with a married man. I'm at the part when it's beginning to get heated between John Proctor and Rev. Parris. It's quite funny because John lets Parris know exactly what he thinks about him, which is a true sin to speak about him in this manner within the community (even though most the community may agree with John). I guess I will see how this arguement pans out.

Oryx and Crake (4)

I finished my book this week, and I read roughly around 3 hours I would say at least. The finale of everything coming together was a fast read; I really did not want to put the book down until I finished everything. Although I could see some of the events coming, I was completely shocked by some of the events that happened in the ending. We find out that the "plague" that has hit the entire world and completely destroying the whole human race is actually a result of a drug that Crake and his company has created. This drug, called BlyssPluss, is a single pill that would do all the following:
(a) would protect the user against all known sexually transmitted diseases, fatal, inconvenient, or merely unsightly;
(b) would prolong youth;
(c) would provide an unlimited supply of libido and sexual prowess, thus reducing the frustration and blocked testosterone that led to jealousy and violence, and eliminating feeling of low self-worth.
Since I already knew that "something" had to be killing the entire human race, I kind of figured there was something involving these drugs that had to be the cause. Crake had Oryx go around to various parts of the world (pretty much every country) to sell these BlyssPluss pills that the company knew that NO ONE could resist but purchase the pill. While Oryx was going around and doing this, she would come back and "please" her boss (Crake), but she only did this for business affairs, not because she had feelings for him. Shortly after she pleased Crake, Oryx would go spend the rest of her time with Jimmy (Snowman) since she actually enjoyed his company and had feelings of love for him. Jimmy, however, constantly asked her why she "pleased" Crake and pestered her by saying that they could run away together to the pleeblands (the real world outside of the Compound). Oryx simply insisted that Crake was good to her and that Jimmy had nothing to worry about since her feelings were not for Crake but for him instead. On one of these late night excursions Oryx told Jimmy that she would go pick up some pizza for them to eat. She did not return for hours. Worried and frantic, Jimmy knows that something must be wrong since she would not take this long to return to him. Then he heard his cellphone ring and answered it to find a frantic Oryx crying on the other end of the phone. She sobs to Jimmy and says that she is sorry and did not know... Jimmy is confused by this statement and questions her about this. She tells him that it was in the pills she was giving away, the ones she was selling to all those countries. She says that they were supposed to help people. Then she goes on to say what Crake said to her, but the phone call was cut and Jimmy cannot get ahold of her again. Jimmy could not bear to think that something had happened to Oryx or if she had taken the pill herself and wondered if she was already infected with the fatally contagious bleeding disease the pills brought upon the user. Then Jimmy has everybody leave the airlocked biodome where the Crakers are at; he tells the workers to all go back to their suites and rest up since they would need to work strenuously after their night's rest. He lied to them and locked everyone out but himself and the Crakers. Crake shows up with Oryx in his arms and says she's had a hard time tonight and to let him in. Jimmy does not want to in case both of them have acquired the disease, but Crake insists that Jimmy is already immune to it all since they both have taken pleeb vaccines before entering the pleeblands. Jimmy codes the door to let them in and finds blood all over Crake's collar. Crake lets Oryx fall into one of his arms and directly tells Jimmy unsmiling that he is counting on him (to take care of the Crakers). Crake then slits Oryx's throat and Jimmy shoots Crake at the same time. Jimmy finds himself alone without his best friend (his only friend) and his true love both dead on the floor. Everyone else dies outside of the biodome as Jimmy waits it out inside and then guides the Crakers to the outside world where they begin their new life outside of the enclosed biodome. The ending is strange because Snowman finds three surviving humans of his own kind. He wonders whether they will accept him, kill him, or if he will end up killing them. He turns to look at his watch which shows zero hour (a blank face). He then decides it's time to go.

Oryx and Crake (3)

I really, really am into this book now. It is already becoming one of my favorite books ever to read. I am losing count of how much I read since I try to do it when I get little breaks, but I assume I read somewhere between 3 and a half to 4 hours this week. The story has become increasingly "twisted" and completely spins you off track the more you find out. Snowman is slowly dying - to put it bluntly - from starvation and lack of essential nutrients. He has decided to leave his safe shelter in the tree where the wolvogs, pigoons, snats, and all the other animal splices cannot reach him; he does this since he has already eaten all the nearby food within reach. He decides to tell the Crakers (the newly created species) that he has decided to visit Crake on a voyage, but they should not follow him. He tells them this lie since he does not want them to come looking for him while he is searching for food near the Compounds, which is where he used to live (the enclosed perfect community). On his way to the Compounds, he hears what he believes is the typical mating ritual of some of the Crakers. Crake had developed a new way for these species to procreate. He was always telling Jimmy (Snowman) that you could find everything you needed in nature and just adapt it. This is exactly what Crake did for these species as he used the same genes from the chimpanzees. The chimpanzees only mate when the female's bottom brightens to a red (I think the same goes for the males as well). Therefore, the Craker female is in "heat" only when her girl parts become blue, thus signaling to the Craker males that it is time for mating. Crake has also adapted from the penguins that during this "blue" time that the males would present her with flowers (penguins present the females with rocks) and the female would choose four different flowers. The four selected flowers would end up being her four chosen mates. The five of them are supposed to do their mating somewhere private and secluded from the rest of the Crakers, though. This is where Snowman believes he hears one of these rituals going on. Once Snowman makes it to the Compounds he finds the whole place completely desolate except for all the dead bodies around. I could not figure out at first why everyone was dead, but I know for sure that whatever it was they (the real human species) acquired was contagious, spread rapidly, and fatal - much like an epidemic or plague. Snowman searched in one house to find food and found a man in the bathroom. He finds everything in place except for the broken mirror, which he assumes that the deceased man smashed in a fit of rage as he watched himself agonizingly die of the "outbreak" that makes people bleed from their eyes, gurgle up their own blood, and even excrete their internal organs and everything inside of them. This part was very extreme to read about, but it has also helped me to find out more about what has happened to the human species. I still have not figured out HOW this outbreak became, so I need to keep on reading to find out more about this dilemma.

Oryx and Crake (2)

I continued reading in Oryx and Crake this week. It has gotten really, really good. This may be why I read more than 4 hours in the story this past week. As I said previously, the book reminded of The Giver. It did, however, remind me a lot of The Giver at first, but it has now thrown me into a completely different loop. It is definitely for a mature audience; I probably would not let high school students read this book even due to much of the content. Still, it is a very great story for those able to handle it. Our world is completely mocked through the book as I have noticed. Jimmy (Snowman) remembers his time with Crake and how their friendship became so close. Crake is a complete genius - the opposite of Jimmy who is merely a mediocre individual who is decent with words. One of the things Crake and Jimmy do together is look at pornographic websites and videos. This is when they both get their first glimpse at Oryx as a little sex slave for one of the sites. They save the picture and there are some pieces missing here because Snowman (Jimmy) thinks about his time with Oryx and their conversations together at an older age. I just haven't read enough to piece together when they met up. A lot that I read has to do with Oryx explaining how she was sold to some man whom treated her well, as she says, because she sold flowers and gave all her money to him at the end of the day in exchange for minor scraps and a shabby place to sleep. Eventually she was told that she should go with the gentlemen who asked her to go up to their rooms with them for more money. Although her "boss" always saved her before anything actually happened, Oryx was exposed to a lot of real world situations. She was then sold to another man who made her a "movie star" where she revealed herself in nude shows. Jimmy hates her past, but Oryx keeps on insisting that she didn't know any different and that Jimmy needs to not worry about the past - the present is all that matters now. I left off at Jimmy's college years (before he met Oryx). So, I will know more the more I keep reading.

Oryx and Crake

I began reading a new book this week - partly because I need to read this book for my Responsibilities for the Future class. The book is Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood. It is a BIG book!! (I usually tend to not select books that are too big). However, it is a national bestseller novel; therefore, I decided it couldn't be anything too bad then. I read the first page and was confused, so I googled the book's summary online. I read this and then decided I could tackle this book after knowing the basics to it. I began reading the story yesterday and have read for at least 2 hours now, which is a common rarity for me to read this much in a book in such short of time. The story is a bit different and kind of weird, but I tend to enjoy books of this sort. Right now the book reminds me a little of Lois Lowry's The Giver - one of my favorite books. It is different, however, from The Giver in that this society is based in the future of the 21st century. This society is the aftermath of many of the things we are researching today and close in perfecting. For instance, Jimmy (the main character) has a mother and father who work for a genetic engineering place where they grow organ tissues inside "pigoons" in order to replicate more organs for a better system of transplants to humans. They live in a closed-in community that is away from the rest of the real world; this is to help keep out any diseases or viruses that could infect the pigoons. The community is almost utopian that is filled with malls, schools, clubs, golf courses, pools, restaurants, etc. However, it is completely blocked off from the rest of the world. Therefore, there are some problems within this "perfect" community, which I guess I will find out the more I read in this book.

Where The Red Fern Grows

I read a couple hours this past week in one of my favorite books of all time. Where The Red Fern Grows, a children's novel written by Wilson Rawls. The first time I read this book was aloud in fourth-grade, which is about the average age level I would recommend beginning this book due to some of the book's content. Billy is a twelve-year-old boy who lives in the Ozarks (I think it's somewhere along the eastern Oklahoma border). He longs for some hunting dogs; he cannot even sleep or eat because he yearns for his own coon hounds to hunt "Mr. Ringtail." He finally decides if he wants his own hunting dogs then he will have to get them himself. Therefore, he spends two years collecting money from travelers selling minnows, crayfish, fresh fruits, and picking blackberries for his grandfather's store. He eventually saves enough money to order his own dogs somewhere in Kentucky. He cannot even wait for them to be delivered, so he decides to leave in the middle of the night and head to Tahlequah to pick them up. Town is very different for Billy; he sees fancy-dressed people, stores that contain sodas, houses with neat lawns, and an unknown building that has tons of kids his age playing on swings and a slide (the school). Billy gets a little roughed up by some troubling kids, but the marshal saves him and buys him his first soda before heading home. Billy and his two pups - Little Ann and Old Dan - spend the night in a cave where a mountain lion interrogates their night. However, his pups remained loyal at his side and barked what they could to protect their master. The fire also helped keep the mountain lion away. Billy gets home and his mother is upset that she was unaware of his absence. He gives her the material he bought in town with the extra money he had collected to buy the dogs. He also gives his three younger sisters candies and his father a pair of overalls that he bought, too. This somewhat compensated and settled matters due to his leavings in the middle of the night.