Week of 31/3/14: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight

Prompt:  Explain how you have been surprised by what you are reading.
Pages read: 0-235 **finish**

This is not normally a book I would read; at least, not by choice.  So naturally, I was surprised when I saw myself getting emotionally invested in this book.  I'm not ashamed to say the title scared me off, and they were some eye-rolling moments.  Ultimately, this book was an enjoyable read and I would recommend it to anyone coming out of a challenging book, or if you just enjoy stories about young love...

I should've known, I just should've known! that there would be family drama.  It's obviously going to make the story more believable, and add that relatable bit that makes a good YA novel a best-seller.  I just didn't expect it to be as deeply rooted in The Statistical Prob-... (overly long title).  Hadley going to her father's wedding and meeting her new stepmother was the only part I expected, because it was to be.  I imagined she would eventually make up with her father and like Charlotte (the step-mother) which happens a lot in books like this one.  But *spoiler alert if anyone's reading this far* Hadley's sudden realization about Oliver's father dying hit that small section in my brain I allow emotions to get into in a horrible way.  And that surprised me.

If you're reading this paragraph, don't.  Well not unless you want spoilers, and I would appreciate your dedication.  Arguably (with myself...) Oliver coming back to see Hadley after they met just 24 hours on plane was sweetly surprising.  She had gone to the funeral after skipping out on the wedding for a few hours, but that was disastrous. The almost ending scene where her and Oliver dance at the wedding was just perfect for this type of book.  I would like to explain this in a more in-depth way, as well as go over the plot in next week's blog.  Unfortunately due to time constraints, I must end this blog short. Until next time.

Oh and some exciting news, just because this is a literature blog - This Saturday I am going to a teen book fest, LitWorks.  The author who wrote this book and several others will be there for Q and A, so I am very excited.  Jack Gantos, a hero of mine, will be there, so I cannot wait.

Poetry Unit Reflection

Poetry has been a vital, real part of my life for some time now.  This has become apparent to me through this poetry unit, which has allowed me to answer the following questions.  

 This is a tough question to answer, because I have grown up reading poetry and usually I either love it or hate it, there isn’t really an “in-between”.  So when I was asked “What place does poetry have in your life”, I was a bit confused.  Being someone who’s favorite pastimes have always been reading and writing, poetry has just come along naturally with that.  In short, poetry is, and always has been, something I’ve enjoyed immensely, but something I don’t want to get too deep into.  My mother used to work at the Oak Park Public Library and she organized all the teen programs.  One of those programs was the poetry slam/coffee house that she held one Saturday every month.  Sometimes she would take me, and I absolutely loved it.  It just had that feel you get when you read beat poetry, that sophisticated yet aloof aura that you want to experience, but also want to stay away from.  Those nights have taught me poetry belongs to everyone, and I know from the emotion and depth of the poems I’d often hear.  From moody and mad at the world teens, to the security guards at a library, to even the nerdiest IT guys.  

Although those poetry slam nights taught me that the life and experiences of poets affect their poems, I’d like to elaborate.  One person everyone should know, Oscar Wilde, really proved that statement to me.  You might know Wilde was prosecuted and sent to jail (then spelt/referred to as gaol) and that he wrote many reflections from his experience.  His best known from those works, “The Ballad of Reading Gaol”  clearly expresses his feelings about jail and details his experiences.  “Dear Christ! the very prison walls/Suddenly seemed to reel/And the sky above my head became/Like a casque of scorching steel/And, though I was a soul in pain/My pain I could not feel.”  was written in response to the bleak conditions of the prison he was kept in.  

From my personal experiences, to those of Oscar Wilde’s, I have found that poetry has a place in my life, and can be part of everyones’.  I have also learned that a poet’s life can greatly influence their work.  

5 Flavors of Dumb

Prompt:  What ideas do you have about what is going to happen? What clues have you

read to give you those ideas?

Pages read:  Start to mid 40s

Because I've only just started this book this morning, I felt this was a good prompt to respond to.  To summarize what has been going so you are not lost, I'll give you the basics.  Our main character is a deaf teenage girl attending a school her parents can barely afford, which has already created problems she has to face.  If you're wondering what "Dumb" is, or thinking it is a stupid title, I'll tell you it is the rock band within the school. They have won the Seattle Battle of the Bands (which is really cool, Seattle is my favorite city, even if it is fictional) and are looking to getting a record deal.  As you can imagine, they aren't the easiest people to deal with.  After a bit of an awkward scuffle with the band's lead singer, Piper, our main character, was asked/demanded to get them a gig as soon as possible and become their manager.  So going from this information, and prior knowledge, I can make a few predictions.

I can already tell there's going to be disagreements between Piper and the band.  It's hard enough that she's deaf and they aren't patient, but musicians are stereotypically high maintenance.  Piper's a busy girl with school work and taking care of her siblings, so I can only imagine the struggle that is to come.  Along those same lines, though a bit different is the fact that they are in high school.  Although I don't feel this statement needs an explanation, I'll warn you of the drama that usually occurs.  And what's a good YA novel without its share of drama.  Relationships, crushes, friendships are all promised to come up, reading from the back cover.

I've mentioned this earlier -but it's a point that deserves to be brought up more in depth.  Piper's deafness (for lack of a much better word) gives her many limitations.  A harsh truth that she knows she has to face, but her socially inept nature restricts her from facing head on.  You can imagine the criticism, the disbelief, at a deaf band manager.  Sure there have been deaf musicians but with Piper's lack of funding and uncharisma (not a word, oh well) it will make it hard for her to stand up and get a gig.  Which would most likely seem like the end of the world.  So I predict either she'll have a miraculous recovery, and this book will not be as good as I thought, or she will find a way to get a gig doing as little talking and on as little money as possible.  Honestly, I wish her the best of luck.

Week of 24/2/14: Eleanor and Park

Prompt:  Describe the similarities and differences between the main character and you. Though I was tempted to the playlist prompt, but the whole book talks about music, so I thought it redundant..
Pages: Start to 220

Normally, I wouldn't even bother to read a book like this; a teenage romance set in the mid-80's with the characters saying "I need you" and "I want to eat his face" on every other page.  But the thing that drew me in, besides their promised love of punk rock and new wave music (my two favorite music genres) was the female protagonist, Eleanor.  A larger un-girly girl with huge (not stereotypical 80's huge) red hair with a broken family. I find we have a few things in common.  I also have a few things in common with the male protagonist, Park.  But not everything, which I'm happy about.  I prefer when characters are more foreign to me in personality and the way they go about life, it makes for an interesting read.

Starting with similarities, and Eleanor, the biggest thing I have in common with her is a love for the Smiths and The Cure, and so on with those dark-wave new-wave bands.  Though I hate labeling music.     Now Eleanor's family is a lot worse off than mine, but our parents are divorced, so that counts as a similarity.  One of my favorite things about her is her resistance to makeup and any other fake mass-produced product.  I feel the same way, so I would say we have that in common.  She is built bigger, bigger than I am, but I also have a more muscular, athletic frame.  I love that she's not model-looking or stunningly beautiful because it makes the story more beautiful.  The back of Eleanor and Park even says 'two misfits' so I can totally relate.  Well one misfit here.  For differences, the biggest one that popped out at me was that she hates the Sex Pistols, and I absolutely love them.

Park is not an overly-masculine boy, which makes him a really cool character.  The boy's not afraid to wear eyeliner, he's a keeper!  He and I both share a love for loud, brash, painfully politically honest punk music.  Who cares if they aren;t good musicians or if they can't sing, it's not the point!  A difference between us is that he wears Vans and I wear Chuck Taylors, but that's not a big deal.  We both wear all black whenever we can, and have stereos that get us in trouble because we play them too loudly.  He has a Walkman, I have my CDs.  We both have turntables.  You know, fun stuff like that.  This entire book is fun outlined in sadness and sympathy.  It's not a cry your heart out, or at least not to me, but it's definitely bittersweet.



Oh and anyone who can get what song the poll's quoting from can, like, get a brownie I made.

Aren't they adorable?  Wow, never said that before.

Nonsense poem "Late Night Reverie"

Word key:

Marleve - nightmare

aaroens - alien like creatures

altesers - parasite like birds

ambolenses - evil hounds

mycran - cliche

underquereum - a dream you have in comatose

yolsusll - peaceful and quiet

Last part: You can probably figure it out, they're real words in a different order...

How My Blogging Has Been Improved

Current book: Eleanor & Park 

After reading my earlier blogs, and then my latest blogs, I realized a few things.  One of the most prominent things was word choice.  Over the past few weeks I have tried focusing on my diction, and I think (hope) my blog has improved in that way.  In earlier blogs, I found that my writing was less appealing to a larger audience, which I'm fine with, but blogging has helped me connect with an audience through writing.  Probably one of the most important things I have improved upon is shortening run-on sentences.

A favorite post of mine is back when I was reading the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series.  It was the first time in my "blogging career" that I'd got carried away with my writing, in a good way.  As the weeks progress, I often find myself wanting to write more than the three paragraph requirement, usually, I do.  There are a few things I want to continue working one throughout the rest of the year.  As always, one of those things is word choice.  I think you can never have too broad of a vocabulary, and so I hope to broaden mine.  Another thing is staying on topic, because I often rant a bit or just get bored and move on. Finally, one other thing I think I should work on is adding more to my blogs than just talking about the book for the whole three paragraphs.

Part of a blog I'm proud of 

Week of 18/2/14: The Picture of Dorian Gray

Prompt: What emotions do you feel about your reading? Describe what is going on in the reading that makes you feel that way.
Pages: Whatever was said last week until finish (yay!)

Anyone who reads this book, regardless of age, life experiences, or intellectual capability, will definitely feel a wide range of emotions that this book will stir inside of them.  Of course, this is on purpose. Lord Harry/Henry, or more fitting, "Prince Paradox" lives for a good epigram and will tire endlessly to get the last word in.  This makes many of the book's statements thought-provoking and kind of make you evaluate yourself through Dorian's life and experiences.  I feel as though I make most of my blog posts with the phrase "Spoiler Alert" tacked on at the end, so I shall refrain from doing so this week.  Because I really, really, really, really, really recommend this book to you, or whoever is reading this.  Nobody takes the spoiler alert seriously, and to spoil this book would be to spoil a revelation... A valuable experience really. Really, really, really, really, real-.... Ok I'll stop.

I learned from the 'forward' in this book that Oscar Wilde often liked to think of himself as someone very close in personality to Prince Paradox (that's just a more romantic name, don't you think?) so I can see where this book's multitude of epigrams, which some might call pretentious, but I wouldn't say anything against Prince Paradox.  He's much to cool of a character.  Lord Harry/Henry is one of those character's who you totally are enamored with while seeing/reading about them but in real life, you know you would punch them in the face every time they opened their mouth.  Which makes them even a more fascinating character.  Everybody loves the lovable jerk.

Now I'm beginning to realize I haven't answered your query in the prompt yet.  I have my reasons!  It's basically the same emotion you have when everything just kind of makes sense but it really doesn't.  You want it to make sense so badly yet you haven't had the experience you need to let it make sense yet.  Which leads you into a freaking paradox!  Because as soon as you experience one of these things, it shuts a door but opens yet another one, and another one, and another one!  You see my frustration?  It is one of the most endearing things I find, having to go back and reevaluate something and a book that makes you self-evaluate and entirely changes your opinion.  And then you can't see why you thought something earlier in your life when it is all so clear now.  But it really isn't clear now, because you want to feel this sense of satisfaction again so you're stuck endlessly.  I believe it was Prince Paradox who said something about repeated pleasures being an essential part of life, or something along those lines.  It fails me now, but I will remember it in time.  Kind of like how I will never forget this feeling, a whole new emotion, this book has given me.