Reading Log

Pages read this week: 130
Pages read total: 2984

The day has finally come. This is it. After this reading log, I, along with my fellow classmates, will be done with keeping anyone who reads this up to date on what I'm currently writing. Pretty crazy how just some odd weeks ago, the syllabus was just being given to us. I decided to pick up the book Steve Jobs which was written just shortly before Jobs' death. It is interesting to see who Jobs was as a person other than the Apple genius that he obviously was. The book explores his life to solely give the purpose of his kids knowing who he was since they're too young to probably remember him when they grow up. This book was boring at parts but a funny story would be told and I would be re-motivated to continue reading it. The cover really struck me as interesting with the white background and the gray scale Jobs. As a whole over this semester of reading, my goals were very hard to reach and I hardly was able to accomplish them. Reading 20 minutes a day was one of the harder goals as I am busy with piles of homework a night and working part-time at a local frozen yogurt shop. Better luck next time?

Reading Log

Pages read this week: 240
Pages read total: 2854

I decided to take a quick little break from Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins as I was getting slightly tired of reading about the same characters that I had been reading about for quite some time. I picked up the book Here's the Deal: Don't Touch Me by Howie Mandel. It's an autobiography that describes Howie's up and rising come to fame. I enjoyed this particular part of the story because it I was fascinated about reading road Howie had to take to become so famous and how he met his wife. However, even today, the most interesting part I found of the story was his germaphobia. He explains that he shaved off all of his hair because of his fear of germs. He then goes into a comical story about how his daughter had to go to the bathroom while they were driving on a high way. He then pulled over to the side of the road and carried her into the woods. He decided to hold her up high while she urinated forgetting that she couldn't "aim" resulting in him being covered in urine on his face. Talk about a germaphobe's worst nightmare..

Reading Log

Pages read this week: 127

Pages read total: 2614

This week, I read a total of 127 pages of  Divergent. This particular book was recommended to me by a friend who really enjoyed it and said I would love it just as much. She said it was similar to the Hunger Games, in which case, I fell in love with that book so why shouldn't I with this one? Although it may be somewhat similar to Suzanne Collins' book, it has its major differences as well. For example, once you reach a certain age in your teens in which you must decide what faction you will belong in for the rest of your life. Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent) are the 5 factions you can choose from. Be aware. Choose wisely.

Reading Log

Pages read this week: 226
Pages read total: 2487

Watch the Hunger Games trailer here!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNxb28j5C1w

I finished the Hunger Games and boy, was it quite the adventure and nail bitter. So many twists and turns existed page after page which made me wanting more and more. When I first started reading it, I told myself that I had to read at least the first 100 pages and if I enjoyed it then, finish it. Once you get into the actual hunger games, you witness alliances, desperation to survive, a "romance" (read the book to understand why that's in quotes), and death. This book takes place into the future and seems highly unlikely to actually occur in reality but even with that said, it's hard to to think if these games were to actually exist and I was chosen during the reaping to represent my district, I would survive? On my personal behalf, I know there is no way to survive for I am no way able to survive with practically only a bow and arrow in my possession like Katniss does. If you are debating about reading this book, I highly encourage it! It keeps you guessing one what's going to happen next, there's plenty of action, and if you're a girl, the most important part, there's romance. I recommend that you read the first part of the book (the book is divided into 3 parts at approx. 120 pages a piece: "The Tributes," "The Games," and "The Victors") so you can get into the actual games themselves and I guarantee you'll be hooked. May the odds be ever in your favor.

Reading Log

Pages read this week: 484
Pages read total: 2261

I look forward to spring break the most out of the entire second semester (aside from the feeling of putting the pencil down on your last final on the last day of school.. HURRY UP MAY 29!!!) because not only are you able to get away from the same old Fort Wayne scenery, sleep in, and not worry about tomorrows homework assignment, but it also gives me the chance to finally slip into a reading coma and just read my days away on the beach. I was fortunate enough to be able to go on a cruise to the Virgin Islands and Bahamas with my best friend since first grade. We both brought a few books with us to read so it was nice to have a reading buddy and share some quality reading time together. I began and finished a Nicholas Sparks book, The Lucky One. I became intrigued by the novel after watching the movie trailer for it (coming out April 20) and it was a recommendation from a friend. In a nutshell, a boy named Logan finds a photo of a woman in the desert while he was deployed in Kuwait. His friend Victor swears that the photo is Logan's lucky charm for he has survived roadside bombs and other remarkable happenings that no one could imagine. It isn't until Victor dies tragically that Logan decides to go search for the girl in the photo. He walks by foot from Colorado to North Carolina to find her with his beloved dog, Zeus. Quick side note, I oddly became emotionally attached to Zeus for he was so obedient and did exactly as he was told as if he was Logan's servant. It brought me back to that Chicken Soup book I had read just a little while ago and how I loved those dogs in each of the short stories. Enough about the dog.. Logan finally reaches her home and, well, you have to read the book yourself to find out what happens to the two of them. It's a journey to put it at the least. Once I wiped my tears from my face and got the nerve to close the book and realize the story was over, I picked up, drum roll please... The Hunger Games. *GASP* My friend was reading this while I was reading the Lucky One and then we flip flopped. I had tried to read the Hunger Games what seems to be a year ago if not longer and didn't under stand the hype which resulted in me quitting after the first chapter. I decided to push through the slow beginning and decided to give it a chance until page 100. Once I reached to that milestone, it was interesting yet slow but I was coming up to the Hunger Games actually starting. I'm now about half way done from the end and it's just starting to pick up some speed for Katniss, Peeta, Rue, and the others have begun to participate in the actual Hunger Games. I'm excited to read this until the end and may end up finishing it tonight. But shhh! Don't tell my mom...

Reading Log

Pages read: 100
Pages read total: 1777
I have continued my reading of The Road by Cormac McCarthy this past week. I find myself a little tired of reading it but I just have to find the motivation to really sit down with it for a long period of time. Currently, the story follows a man and his son around a future America and how they are trying to survive on a day-to-day basis with little food and supplies. Even sometimes, they cannot have a fire to keep warm with the coming of the winter weather. Not only is heat beginning to become an issue as the two of them make their way down south, but they must watch their back at all times and they even have a review mirror attached to their shopping cart that acts as fifth eye to the pair. I read only the minimum amount this week because of the school homework load, having to work, and getting things ready for spring break. These next four days cannot pass soon enough.

Reading Blog

Pages read this week: 127
Pages read total: 1677

My dog

Teddi

As I finished up the Chicken Soup for the Soul: My Dog's Life, I came to the tragic realization that my own dog is on the last leg of the tour. She just turned 6 about two weeks ago which gives her a comfortable four or so years but even the simple thought of her being gone puts me into a completely new state of mind and perspective of how quick life passes us by and how not everything is going to last forever. The more I read these very personal memories of people's dogs, I grasped how much of an impact they had on them. Even after they passed, they mourned just as if their son or other family member was the one who had died. As I finished the book, I just wanted to hold on to my dog and never let go. Never let go of my best friend.