Books vs. Movies

These days tons of outstanding books are now becoming motion pictures. Although books take longer to read than watching a movie, books end up telling the story better. Books allow you to imagine how everything looks for yourself. Movies force you to see everything from the directors point of view, rather than your own. I have read many books that are now movies, such as The Notebook, My Sister's Keeper, The Da Vinci Code, Boy in the Stripped Pajamas, and most recently The Lovely Bones. Of all these, I always found the books far more interesting because I have had the ability to picture how everything and everyone looks myself. Being able to picture how a book plays out, gives you the ability to see the book in more than one light. Luckily books contains great detailing, which gives people the chance to build images in their head. Watching a movie only allows you to see through one light and one setting. I enjoy watching movies, and seeing how the director portrays a story, but first I always like to read the book. This way I can compare the book and the movie and see the story in multiple different ways.

Quarter 3 - Blog#1

Recently I completed The Lovely Bones by Alice Seibold, a compelling story of a girl who dies, but still feels the need to look after her family and the people she loved. This book is filled with deep insightful meaning, which I am not sure I would have been able to understand as effectively if my mind was not at its current level. In the past year I have learned so many new things that made me a better reader and writer. Looking back to how I wrote in eighth grade, I noticed that all of my writing pieces are not as well developed as they are now. Also I realized that I have become a more prominent reader and thinker, and that has helped me to better analyze what I see and read. All that I have learned over the past years have made me understand what I read and see so much more clearly. I greatly appreciate all that I have learned because it has made me the greatly improved reader and writer I am today.

Second Quarter Blogging Reflection

This quarter there were tons of changes that occurred while blogging. Luckily I had the chance to do a variety of blogging assignments. I liked this because I found that as I had the chance to do different types of blogs, my blogs were less boring, and a lot more detailed. The best part of blogging this quarter was commenting on my follower's blogs. I liked to see how other people wrote their blogs, and by reading them, I also received some great book suggestions.The best moment of independent reading this quarter is right now, seeing as I am reading The Lovely Bones.

For the next quarter, I wish to read four or more compelling, and complex books. As a blogger I want to write more insightful, and detailed blogs, which give a better understanding of the books I read. I also want to read at a faster pace, and read a wider range of genres. My entries are quite interesting and detailed, when I like the book, and I am often interested in my reflecctions on a book. I think I would become further involved and excited in blogging if I pick a totally amazing book.

Book Review on Keeping Faith by Jodi Picoult

While reading a book review on Keeping Faith by Jodi Picoult, I found myself agreeing and disagreeing with many of the things it stated.

I disagreed with the review from the beginning. Unlike the author of the review, I was captivated while reading in the very beginning. Right in the first chapter Jodi Picoult stated the interesting issues that made me want to keep on reading. I also disagreed with the review when the author stated that the characters were very bland. It was quite easy to portray Mariah, Faith, Ian, and Collin as I was reading the text, and I felt as if they were almost alive. I enjoyed seeing how all of the characters developed as the storyline was carried out. The author the review was neutral on who should get custody of Faith. Unlike the author of the review, I really wanted Mariah to get custody, because I did not think Collin was worthy of having Faith, seeing as he cheated on Mariah.

Despite everything I disagreed with, I did agree with many of the author's points. Reading this book, it does not matter if you believe in god or not, but if you believe Faith, and the story she is telling. Also neither of us knew what the outcome of the story would be, and that made the book even more addicting to read. Like the author of the review, I skipped over the spiritual quotes in between each chapter, because I wanted to see where the story was going.

Book Review Link: http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/printed-books/keeping-faith-jodi-picoult/103128o/

Final Post- Keeping Faith by Jodi Picoult

Keeping Faith is a suspenseful story about a little girl named Faith who suffers through the traumatic divorce of her parents. Through this experience Faith finds God, or what some might think is just an imaginary friend, and she develops stigmata. A month after the divorce, Faith's father comes back for full custody, and claims that Mariah White, Faith's mother, is hurting Faith. Faith is caught in the middle, wanting to be with and loved by both of her parents.
In the end Faith ended up right where I wanted her. The main theme of this book is faith and how you most hold on to it to get what you want and need. Overall I enjoyed this this book, because it was interesting to see where Faith ended up, and how things that happen all the time, like divorce, affect a child's life. I also liked the book because it forced me to pick a side, and made my mind wonder about the things that happened. I also had to ask myself, was Faith seeing god? Does Mariah White deserve custody of Faith? And is Mariah White insane for believing her daughter is seeing god? In the end I came to the conclusion that Mariah White is a strong character who will stick up and protect her daughter even if there is a restraining order keeping her from Faith.

Don't Judge A Girl By Her Cover -Final Post

In this book, Ali Carter is trying to explain that you can't look at things with a blind eye. When you look at things, you have to examine them to find the truth, because if you look at things with a blind eye, you might see a lie. One of the big ideas in this book is trust. Once you lose trust from someone, it is hard to gain it back no matter how hard you try. Ali Carter is also trying to say, never accept a lie or the untruth, and that it is okay not to know everything.

As a whole, I found joy in this book. I liked seeing how the message played itself out, and how the characters never left their mistakes uncorrected. I would rate this book a seven because overall it is fun and easy to read.

First Quarter Reflection on Book Blogging

While reading over all of my blogs, I noticed that in most of them I like to express the problems that the main character is facing or accomplishment made by a character. I also saw that a few of my blogs explained how a character learned from their mistakes and tried to correct them. Although I already knew I enjoy reading books, writing blogs made me remember why I picked out those books. By reading my blogs I noticed that I have interests in books that have an amazing ending, or books where a character does not let you down. When I write my blogs, I usually focus on the internal and external conflicts a character faces, and how that conflict affects a character. Book blogging provides a great opportunity to reflect on a book that I am reading. If I was not blogging, I probably would not get that chance to reflect on a book, or clarify everything that happens in a main part.

For the second quarter I want to finish at least five books. For each book, I plan spending no more than two weeks and I will try to read at least 20 pages every night. As a blogger, I want to try and expand the topics I write about. One thing I want to improve is my reading pace, and I plan to do this by setting aside more time to read. The blogs that are really clear and detailed, I think are the ones about the book I enjoyed the most. Some of my blogs interest me more than others. I am excited about doing more blogs in the second quarter, and I can't wait to pick out some new books.