Review 12/13

This week I finished my first book, The Dead Zone. In the last chapters John is faced with many different challenges. He realizes his new safe house is compromised; his new talent leads him down a dark path.

                While in hiding as a tutor for a wealthy family’s son, he becomes close to them almost like family. During his stay he emerges himself into politics, meeting the candidates and shaking their hands. Right at the touch he knows what going to happen in the race weather they win or lose. One politician sticks out more than the rest, Greg Stilson. Stilson is a loud politician who’s for the people his rallies are more like rock concerts than political rallies. Stilson runs around on the stage in a hard hat and casual clothes, and he’s heavily guarded by ex-bikers that he’s helped. John has a uneasy feeling about him he discusses this with his boss, the father of the child he tutors, he says to blow it off and the Stilson is just a pony show and people eat him up because he listens to him.

                Another person he discussed the politician about is the gardener, a middle age Vietnamese man who’s in the midst of getting his citizenship. He sees Stilson in the same light as John. He describes Stilson as a tiger. He tells a story of a game that people in his old village used to play called Laughing Tiger. The game consists of one child dressed in a tiger’s skin, he chases the other children growling and snarling but also laughing. He sees Stilson as the kid in the tiger skin.

                Once John begins to emerge himself whole-heartedly into researching Stilson, his student graduates from high school and during the after party John hugs him and then he has a vision of a fire at the restaurant the senior class as reserved for the night. John tells everyone and scares some parents into keeping their children home or sending them elsewhere.

Reflection 12/11

                A book is a gateway, a gateway to a new world, to a new point of view, to a whole new life. For me reading on a kindle or iPad is like reading on a brick I can’t focus, I can’t get comfortable, they’re awkwardly shaped, too big or to small and you have to adjust the brightness the word size. There are way too many distractions when using them who would to just read when you could surf the web, shop online etc.

                A book isn’t just words, it’s a perfect harmony of that sweet rain smell of the pages and however you sit it’ll fit perfectly in your lap. The only distraction maybe technology, music’s too loud, TV’s on. There nothing that can compare to that comfort, I especially enjoy getting into my favorite sweat pants and curling up on the couch with my cat and book in my lap. If your cat so much as sniffs your iPad you could lose your page, your whole book, or open a whole new browser and send the machine into a complete breakdown.

                So we don’t just read for the words we read for how those words make us feel, how comfortable we are when we read them. Nothing beats reading your book and your cat pokes his head over it. So no more technology reading.... for the sake of cats.

Review 12/4

John has come far, beginning in a hospital bed unable to move, under nourished, to working at home with his father. He’s recovering well, walking to the mailbox at the end of the drive every day is becoming easier and easier. The only problem is when he arrives there it’s stuffed to the rim with packages upon packages of peoples personal belongings. Since John’s “new talent” has become public against his will people are trying to reach out to him. Trying
to get him to answer they’re unsolved questions. John returns their belongings. He accidentally touched a scarf a woman sent him, she sent it wishing john would touch it and tell her where her brother is, and he disappeared on a camping trip. John’s feels that her brother died, he accidentally walked into quicksand. John felt every emotion and all the agony he went through during his last moments of life, after this john vowed never to do it again.

This happens today, people are eager to know everything that’s a mystery. Is there spouse cheating on them? Is grandma safe on the “other side”? People reach out at extremes to find out these small almost ridiculous requests and demands. They’re people who are assumed to be “psychic”, they milk every ounce of the curious mind. Using things like cold readings, palm readings, and tarot cards. Gypsies are very popular for this kind of trade. Most of them are just hacks but some seem too accurate to be just coincidence aren’t they?

John wants to stay out of the spotlight, but a cop seeks him out. He’s asked to help in a 5 year investigation. John is angry that one of his closest comrades told about his gift. At first John denies the officers offer. But once he looked into the murders he reconsiders and decides to humor the officer and joins him at one of the recent crime scenes. John is suddenly overcome by the killers emotions what he did to all the women. John tells the officer who refuses that the killer is a fellow officer. But once he looked into it turns out John was correct.

There is such thing as Psychic Detectives, there’s actually a TV show based on it,but they do paranormal investigations. They look at haunting's. So unlike john they deal with the undead.

Reflection 12/4

My idea of a 21^st century English class is that books should be chosen by students. Like a total of three books from a certain genre. And the students can choose which of the three they’d prefer to read. We would read a total of three main genres: which would be popular fiction that’s age appropriate, Historical fiction and nonfiction.

                The reason I chose these three genres is because they’re more compelling than the basic books (aka the classics). I’m not saying ban every classic book from English, I’m saying they have to be read in moderation like certain segments of a classic. For example, the scene where scout is attacked on her way home from the play and is saved by Boo Radley. You could have a class discussion on the sudden realization that the kids were wrong about him and how the town of Maycomb is too quick to judge a book based on its cover. But for the core reading, it’ll be the three genres I mentioned earlier. Popular fiction is a good choice because we can compare the books to see how related they are and how cliché they are and prove that just because its popular doesn’t mean it exceptionally  good. I chose historic fiction because it’s informative. The reason I say this is historical fiction books give us an insight on how people lived in certain eras from the time of British royalty to the Wild West. Nonfiction was chosen not because its factual but because nonfiction can be interesting to for example a book about a controversial topic such as immigration.

                Class would be more discussion based and less grade based because grades make an English class more stressful and disable the student from exploring the literature fully by tunneling there learning for certain tests and exams. The class is supposed to be based off of how the literature make you think and feel and how the main theme is carried out thought the book. The class will be mainly discussion and precipitation along which a few checkpoints and essays to make sure the whole class is on the same level and no one is left behind because of a test grade.

Reveiw 11/27

I’m currently reading “The Dead Zone” by Stephen King. In the novel King ties in supernatural qualities into the plot. For example the main character John Smith falls into a coma after a fatal car accident. After Sleeping for 5 years he comes to and meets his family for the first time along with his ex- girlfriend. Whilst he waking he comes into contact with his nurse, they accidentally brush hands and John knows exactly what’s happened and happening in her life and reassures her that her sons retinal surgery will be a success. The doctors blow this off saying it’s just a fluke, or is it?

                John is taken for tests to get an idea of what the coma did to his brain. Along with the muscle damage he suffered while remaining stagnant for so long. During the tests one of his doctors mentions more about comas, and how doctors don’t even know much about them. All they know is that it can be caused by severe brain injury, but they still can’t estimate how long someone will be in one. It could range from a day to forever. Which is true even though were in a age of technology we don’t know much about the strange state of the coma. The muscles deteriorate over time and the longer a person spends in a coma they’ll soon contract slowly back into the fetal position. But the person remains unconscious and unresponsive to many different treatments.

                Once John’s second sight secret gets out he’s soon gets badgered by reporters who are curious if he’s a hoax or not. John’s invited onto talk show after talk show. He denies all of them only wishing for a normal life. But unlike John some people today actually live off talk show interviews. Many people would give an arm and a leg  for five seconds in front of the camera. Many of these people have disabilities or have had a life changing incident.

                We can all learn something from John he doesn’t care about any special gift he was given he just wants his life back and will do anything for that. He doesn’t want anyone to feel bad for him he wants to be his self not “that psychic guy.”

Reflection 11/27

               When a book is on the “Best Sellers” list it’s on there because it’s very popular and has lots of sales. Many people are obviously interested in them in order to buy it and put it on the list. If a book is seen on the list it’s more of a mainstream read which is very popular for the adult that just wants a good read instead of looking into certain authors and going on an extensive search for the right book. So when you see the “Best Sellers” label you think that since it’s on a list it must be good.

                So being on any list is beneficial to a book. Cause it obviously means something about the book. This is the case for the “best sellers” list. Since a book has a list it looks like it has credentials to say it’s a “good” book.  People like to look at what other people like in order to feel included and to know what good or bad.

                It shows that a book is so popular and his very defining qualities that it’s very eye catching to the public. And what is interesting to the public is interesting to the individual.

Why I Read

                I read every day and if I could every hour. I love being sucked into a new world where my imagination is guided by the author. All the characters come to life and become actual people. In first person stories it’s almost like playing dress up. You’re taken into a new world stripped of everything that made you you, you’re given a whole new life and every turn of the page you become more and more engulfed by it almost becoming the character, learning to know the other characters and how they relate to you.

                Reading isn’t just an escape for me, I learn. I learn how the people lived in certain eras. I learn how certain careers work for example lawyers and doctors. I learn how some people react in certain social situations.

                Another reason I read is because I’m an artist and books are a good source of inspiration. Especially fiction with all the crazy situations and interesting creatures and I get to create them with my own imagination which helps me put them down paper. All the different things books create they inspire me to create my own.

                Books have really evolved who I am today, they’ve introduced me in to the adult world. I’ve gone from Dr. Seuss  “ The Foot Book “ to Stephen King and James Patterson.