1. Discuss your all-time favorite book. Explain why it is your favorite. Persuade others to read it.
2. Discuss what you look for in an author's style.
3. When was the last time you read poetry for pleasure? Why do you think people don't read poetry like they used to? Should this be a concern? Discuss.
4. Which character was your favorite in Watership Down? Explain.
My all time fave book would have to be the "Life as We Knew It" trilogy by Susan Beth Pfeffer. It is more of a sci-fi book, but I love it. I have read it at least 3 times. It is about a freak natural disaster, (the moon is hit by a meteor) and the world just turns to chaos and natural disasters occur from the displacement. The main character is a 16 year old girl who with her mother and brothers endure the hardships that come with this disaster. The 2nd book is about a 17 year old boy, in New York. And the third is, well, you should just read it yourself. :) I absolutely would say it was my favorite book as everytime I have read it, it makes me really think. In my opinion it is a really good discussion book as it brings a lot of questions and opinions to mind. It also makes me think a little about "the end of the world in 2012" if you believe it or not. All in all it is a GREAT trilogy, but my fave is the 1st one. So you all should just read it!
ReplyDeleteWhen I am looking for a new good author there are several things I look for. I like when an author writes in letter form, like when the "chapters" are like 2-3 pages long, it really draws me in and makes me want to keep reading,(Susan Beth Pfeffer does this). Along with that note I like when a book is split into sections, like seasons or parts, it gives me a little bit of hope when I get tired of reading. I like when there isn't a ton of description, some is nice but after awhile it becomes to much. But most of all I look for an author who can just draw me in with the plot and characters who I can relate to.
ReplyDeleteIn Watership Down my favorite character is Hazel-rah! He was just the born leader and was very sensible. He never left anyone behind and did his best to protect everyone. He was more concerned with the well being of the group then his own.
ReplyDeleteIn all honesty, I don't think I have ever sat and read poetry for pleasure. I believe that to many people, including myself, poetry is very intimidating. It can be hard to understand what the poet is trying to say. This is a concern because eventually these poems will die out if no one wants/ needs to read them. That is why it is important to study them in school and try to remove the stigma that they are hard to understand. Mrs. P- These were some great blogging topics this week :)
ReplyDeleteMy favorite character in Watership Down was the non-existent Violet... Just kidding! I have to say my favorite character is actually Captain Holly. He made the biggest turn around in the story, I think. He went from trying to arrest Hazel and the rest to joining them. I know that was just because he discovered that Fiver was right but to go from blatantly against something to joining it and taking in all the new rules and such that takes a lot. Holly is definitely my favorite character.
ReplyDeleteThis may sound really, nerdish, but my all time favorite book has to be Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. The reasoning for this is because my favorite character for this series, Hermione, gets a really important role that saves the lives of Buckbeak the Hippogriff and Sirius Black. She receives a time turner that allows her to go back in time. Such a good book, the movie honestly made me mad because it destroyed the story line. Stupid movies, ruining good books. If you watched the movie, definitely read the book. The movie cut apart the story and left so many good parts out. Just like movies normally do. If you read the book and haven't watched the movie? Just don't watch the movie, for your own good.
ReplyDeletePeople do not read poetry like they used to because it takes way too much thinking to process. Its so deep that the reader may not relate or don't find someone that looks at it from the same point of view. That is something I like about books. I can find people who agree with me on a book easier than I can find someone who agrees with me on a poem.
ReplyDeleteI am the kind of person who either likes the story or does not. I am sure that I would not like any of Faulkner's stories even if they were written in a different style (especially not As I Lay Dying, yuck). I would not enjoy Madame Bovary any more if it was written differently. I would still think the ending of Romeo and Juliet was bogus if it was not written as a play. The style helps me get into a story but the story is what keeps me going. (I hope what I just said made sense.) (P-Rock! I agree with Kyla, good topics.)
ReplyDeleteThe book one is so so hard because I love so many books! Little Women, The Life of Pi and The Power of One are all definitely up there. My all time favorite I have to say is A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Housseini. I love this book because the story is really compelling, it is the type of book you can't put down. I also love it because it really "humanizes" people who live in the Middle East which I feel like the media really dehumanizes. The women in the end really grow and discover their own strength. I don't want to give too much away because you guys really should all read it but it is a story of two women married to the same oppressive man. This book had been very influential in my life, it has really inspired me to travel to countries and help those who can not help themselves due to their society.
ReplyDeleteI love when author's start in the middle of the story (media res I think?) because it compels me to continue to read to figure out what is going on. Kyla I know what you mean by "letter form" and short chapters, you want to read more that way. I also like when the author completely challenges my way of thinking (The Life of Pi for example) I swear I sat and stared at that book for a half hour after I read it. Authors should unveil a story in front of a reader and let them choose how to interpret it, you should have questions at the end of a good story, not everything should be set in stone.
ReplyDeleteThe last time I read poetry for pleasure was last year. I read Blackout Poems a lot because they were fun and interesting. I really like poetry because like a good book, you can read and reread it and each time interpret it differently. I think the main reason people don't read poetry for pleasure anymore is because there does not seem to be the "time". Most people read for informative purposes, the newspaper for example. Those who read for pleasure usually read "formula fiction". You can't just understand the exact meaning of a poem by reading it quickly once. You need to take the time to interpret each word and most people do not have the patience for this. This is a concern just like it should be a concern that people just do not read very much anymore.
ReplyDeleteHAZEL!! I find Hazel relateble. I like how he leads not to have power, but for the good of all rabbit kind. He is very clever of knowing all the other's strengths and like a good leader utilizes this.
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