Friday, December 30, 2011

Reading Log Week 9

Book: The Fifth of March by Ann Rinaldi

Saturday 12/24
Pages Read: 1-47
Minutes Read: 45

Details
Rachel appears to be a girl who wants to become very intelligent and has a strong determination to achieve that goal.

"I liked to hear him talk. I was learning already," (Rinaldi 44).
"I would, from this day on, try to better myself... Perhaps someday someone highborn would adore me, too," (Rinaldi 47).

These quotes show that Rachel is striving to become smarter so that she can be liked by everyone, including the upper class. She also was willing to try anything to become more intelligent like Mrs. Adams. This is why Rachel went into Henry Knox's bookstore.



Sunday 12/25
Pages Read: 48-87
Minutes Read: 35

Monday 12/26
Pages Read 88- 135
Minutes Read: 50

Unanswered Questions
The relationship between Rachel and Matthew is unknown due to the mixed signals that they send each other.

"I pulled my hand out of his...My own feelings were in turmoil," (Rinaldi 126).
"Here I am near crazy with what I feel for you and you keep pushing me away and then you tell me to be content with seeing you once a week," (Rinaldi 127).

Does Matthew understand that Rachel only wants to be friends? Does Rachel like Matthew in a friendship way? Is there the possibility that Matthew only wants to be friends?

Tuesday 12/27
Pages Read: 136-173
Minutes Read: 35

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Reading Log Week 8

Book: If I stay by Gayle Forman

Tuesday
Pages Read: 1-26
Minutes Read: 20
Unanswered Questions
Mia's family gets into a car accident, but she is confused about what she is seeing.

"I see a hand sticking out....I edge closer and now I know that it's not Teddy lying there...It's me," (Forman 17).

Is she a ghost looking down on herself and her family? Can her other family members see themselves? Is Mia dead?


Thursday
Pages Read: 27- 60
Minutes Read: 30

Friday
Pages Read: 61- 101
Minutes Read: 35

Changes Over Time
Mia's relationship with her boyfriend improves as she gets to know him better, as well as herself.

"But the you who you are tonight is the same you I was in love with yesterday, the same you I'll be in love with tomorrow," (Forman 101).

In the past, Mia thought that the relationship between her and Adam was a joke. It wasn't very strong and they were only overly friendly with each other. Now, Mia realizes that even though her and her boyfriend don't have much in common, they can still be perfect for each other. I predict that as the story develops, more scenes between Mia and Adam will be revealed from their past and as she continues to stay in the hospital.

Sunday
Pages Read: 101- 138
Minutes Read: 35

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Reading Log Week 7

Tuesday 11/29
Pages Read: 102- 123
Minutes Read: 20

Unanswered Questions 
Lia meets a mysterious guy named Elijah that was the last person to see Cassie alive. She wants him to go to Cassie's funeral with her.

"I need you to go to Cassie's funeral with me. Saturday morning," (Anderson 123).

Why does Lia want Elijah to go to the funeral with her so badly?
Is Elijah going to play a huge role in this book?
If she just met Elijah, how does she know that Elijah is safe to be with?

Thursday 12/1
Pages Read: 124- 157
Minutes Read: 30

Friday 12/2
Pages Read: 157- 180
Minutes Read: 20

Changes Over Time

Lia's past is revealed through flashbacks she had about her and Cassie trying to be thin.

"I bet I'll be skinnier than you," (Anderson 179).

In the past, Lia and Cassie made a bet about who was going to be skinnier. Now, Cassie is dead and Lia is still alive trying to be thin. She wants to stop, but she can't. I predict that Lia will continue to be skinny so that she can "win" the bet. Or until she dies.





Saturday 12/3
Pages Read: 180- 203
Minutes Read: 20

Sunday, November 13, 2011

National Day of Writing Essay: Soul Mates


Although I didn’t realize it at the moment, I’d just made the single biggest mistake of my life. Or so I thought. It also might become a decision of mine that is superlative.
            The secretion was dripping off my oscillating hand, splattering the marble floor in a deep scarlet shade. I lifted my hand and covered my face in shock of the scene. The metallic smell of blood began to fill my nostrils, almost suffocating me. The blood covered parts of my face and I could feel drips of blood slowly fall off of my chin hitting the floor. I buckled to my knees as I recounted the events reiteratively.
            Whoever committed this crime has no soul. This person was so cruel hearted as to obliterate them execution style until the man and his paramour were dead. This individual cunningly planned the assassination, knowing that the death of the victims would benefit everyone. Whatever the reason, the killer is me.
*********************************************
            From the moment I first met him, I knew we were destined to be together. This was in junior high when we did everything together. When one of us went out, the other one would follow.  Even though we were best friends, I could feel my heart yearning for him. Every time his sparkling hazel eyes stared at mine, my heart raced as fast as the speed of light. There would only be one person that could make me happy, and it would be him. I was not going to capitulate to another girl. He had to be mine.
If I had more time, none of this would have happened. Why did she step into our fantasy and snatch him away with her flawless coiffed hair, perfectly manicured nails, and exorbitant wardrobe. She dragged him away from me before I realized he was gone. It was at that juncture, that I despised her. In the hallways of our tiny community college, I abhorred their shared laughter and how everything between them seemed harmonious. While everyone else viewed a happy couple on a movie screen, I was watching a best friend that betrayed me by stealing my soul mate from me. They would languish for inflicting such misery on me.  I was no longer going to be the victim, but I was going to become the criminal that taught them a lesson. *********************************************
            My musing stopped, as the door to his house was forced open by a swarm of officers who kicked me into a fetal position on the ground. One by one officers began to run through the house to surround me with guns. My wrists were cuffed by metal icy bands that dug into and irritated my skin. Medical examiners rushed in to view the corpses, while I was forced to my feet. Although they were reading me my rights, I wasn’t listening. I strained my head to see examiners running tests on the newly dead. I saw the lifeless eyes of the deceased staring back at me. As the bodies laid inert, I felt a thorny sting in my heart. They were gone. I could not undo my actions. A smirk crept onto my face, as my head was shoved into the police vehicle. I was now leaving behind what was once the guy I loved and my best friend. My thoughts continued.
*********************************************
            “Don’t you think it’s great?” Delia asked.
            “What is?” I asked.
            “That Elliot and I are together,” Delia said, eyes gleaming.
            “Sure,” I forced through my smiling teeth.
            “It’s like we were meant to be together. After all, we are getting married next month,” Delia said with a massive smile on her face.
            No, he’s supposed to be mine! You don’t get it!
            “Jenie!” Delia yelled.
            I lifted my head up to see her in another Carolina Herrera dress that looked like a dress made for an angel rather than a wedding.
            “The dress looks good,” I said softly and saw her nod her head once in acknowledgement.
            I watched her take a few slow steps, trying not to mark up the dress, and shut the door to the dressing room. She began to start talking to me, but a plan was beginning to form in my head. When they won’t expect it, I will make them pay, and it is guaranteed that they will no longer be together.

*********************************************           

            “The defendant is mentally impaired and unfit for trial,” the prosecutor said to the judge.
            The courtroom was filled with people tightly packed into the room waiting to hear my fate. Delia and Elliot’s families sat across the courtroom from me in the front row behind the prosecution’s seat. Whenever I peeked over, they would return looks of sorrow, which soon turned into hatred. The silence in the courtroom was so eerie that my breathing could be heard. I heard the judge clear his throat and pause. I fidgeted in my seat and lifted my eyes up to look at the judge.
             “The defendant is not fit for trial and will be put under supervision,” the judge stated staring at everyone in the room.
            I could not believe it. I didn’t think I was deranged. There was nothing visibly wrong with me. If they only fathom the reasons why I killed them, this incarceration would not be happening to me. They cannot comprehend that I did them a favor by saving others from being betrayed by the two lovers.            
            My attorney gave me a defeated look as he leaned back in his chair and sighed in exhaustion. I was escorted out of the courtroom in handcuffs by police officers and was rushed by the press at the back of the courthouse to go to my cell at the prison.
*********************************************
            It was only me now. I was now alone in my cell to rot my life away. I could only stare at the cold gray stone walls in front of me as a glimpse of sunshine shined through the tiny window in the cell. I laid down on the metal bed and shut my eyes. I was forced to be in this psychopathic hospital. I would have to go to seminars starting tomorrow. And I would have therapists tell me that there was nothing wrong with me. No matter what would happen, I wouldn’t listen. The only items keeping me company here were my thoughts.
*********************************************           
            I checked again to make sure that everything was in place before ringing the doorbell. Because if one thing went wrong, that miniscule mistake would change how this all played out.
            I pressed the doorbell and waited.
            The door opened and Elliot’s smiling face greeted me. His hair like chocolate glistened as the sun hit it and his eyes danced as he began to speak.
            “Hey! Thanks for coming to our new house!” Elliot said as he gave me a hug.
            “No problem. This makes up for me not being able to come to your wedding.” I said as I gave a slight smile.
            He gestured me inside. I took a look at the layout of the house. I saw the freshly white painted walls, the printed Persian silk carpet, and the interior designer’s layout of the luxury furniture scattered all around the house.
            “It’s a shame,” I mumbled.
            “Hmm?” he said as his head turned towards me in confusion.
            “It’s nothing,” I said with a smile. He would find out soon enough.
            I followed Elliot’s footsteps into the parlor where Delia was sitting.
            Delia was sitting on the couch waiting for Elliot to take a seat next to her. She was dressed in her Ralph Lauren pantsuit with Louboutin heels.           
            “So, what’s up?” Elliot asked me, as he put his arm around Dalia’s shoulder.
            “What’s it like?” I asked.
            “What?” he asked back.
            “After all that we’ve been through, you would think that I didn’t deserve this,” I said stated gripping the bottom of the seat of the chair I was sitting on.
            “Jenie, what are you talking about?” Delia asked with confusion written all over her face.
            “You traitor!” I yelled.
            I pulled out my blade and grabbed them both, shoving them in different directions away from the couch. I pushed Delia so forcefully that she slid across the glass coffee table onto the marble floor.
            “How dare you betray me like this!” I screamed. “How dare you take him away? Before you showed up, he would have been mine, but you had to fall in love with him!” I shrieked. I narrowed my eyes and raised the knife.
            The knife pierced through the tissues of skin on her neck as her scream caught in her throat. The knife broke through layers of cartilage as her neck was loudly disconnecting bit by bit. Blood overflowed onto the floor and on her body as the thick liquid seeped into her clothes.
            She twitched on the floor for at least ten seconds, and then abruptly stopped with her eyes staring at the ceiling.
            I turned on my heel and saw Elliot sitting against the wall, terror in his eyes.
             “Why are you doing this?” Elliot asked almost inaudibly. He stood up, and began to walk towards me.
            “You and I were destined to be soul mates. Don’t you get it? We could have been together if only you did not follow Delia’s plan!” I yelled.
            “Plan? What are you talking about?” he said still advancing.
            “You know what you did. And you have to pay!” I screeched.
            I took the pistol from my coat pocket and aimed it at him.
            “You can’t do this. I know you well enough to know that you wouldn’t shoot me like this.” he said as his voice was trembling. He slowly lifted his hands above his head and his eyes looked into mine one final time. I reached out my arm and tilted down his head so that he was at eye level with me. “Then you didn’t know me as well as you thought,” I said. I shut my eyes and took a deep breath
 I shot him five times. BANG BANG to the head. BANG to the neck. BANG to the chest. BANG to the stomach.
“I just did,” I whispered.
****************************************
I laughed in my cell and then began to cry as tears were blurring my vision.
            Was I truly regretful for killing them? A part of me was, but a part of me was overjoyed that my misery ended. I would never have to see that girl again with my soul mate. Although I was stuck in this mental ward in prison, I know that they will all realize sooner or later that I did them a favor. I’ll always be waiting for that day when I will be released from jail. It will come. I know it will.


            

Happy Belated Introduction!

So after I spent about a good hour pondering over my friend's blogs, I have realized that my blog is in need of an introduction.....

I apologize for this...

My name is Emily and I live in California! This blog was created entirely for academic purposes. Posted on this blog you will find (or soon find) my reading log entries, book reviews, and a few poems.

Thanks to everyone who supports my blog!


~Emily~

Reading Log Week 6

Book: Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

Tuesday 11/8
Pages Read: 1-27
Minutes Read: 20

Unanswered Questions
In Lia's thoughts, she uses crossed out words. She also places in numbers after the foods that she mentions.

"I could eat the entire box I probably won't even fill the bowl," (Anderson 5).
"I eat ten raisins (16) and five almonds (35) and a green-bellied pear (121) (=172)," (Anderson 10).

Are the words that are crossed out is what Lia wants? Are the words not crossed out what she believes? Are the numbers next to the food the calories? Why does she care about the calories so much if her best friend just died?

Thursday 11/10
Pages Read: 27-50
Minutes Read: 20

Friday 11/11
Pages Read: 50-75
Minutes Read: 20

Multiple Perspectives
Lia's mother, Dr. Marrigan is upset at Lia's father due to how he is handling her anorexia.

"Mom, acid-eyes: You coddle her, you let her call the shots," (Anderson 73).
"Dr. Marrigan leaves an hour later... The front door closes hard with a muffled whoomp," (Anderson 75).

Dr. Marrigan was probably upset because Anderson described her as having "acid-eyes" while talking to Lia's father. She also left after an hour of arguing and slammed the door. Normally when you are upset, you slam doors to vent out your anger, which is exactly what Dr. Marrigan did.

Saturday 11/12
Pages Read: 76-102
Minutes Read: 25

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Reading Log Week 5

Book: Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk by David Sedaris

Tuesday, 11/1
Pages Read: 1-39
Minutes Read: 35
Multiple perspectives

The chipmunk regrets breaking up with the chipmunk and uses it as an opportunity to reflect on that one decision that changed her life.

"the chipmunk forgot that she and the squirrel had nothing to talk about...forgot the definition of 'jazz' as well and came to think of it as every beautiful thing she had ever failed to appreciate,"(Sedaris 21).

The chipmunk was so worried about what the word "jazz" meant and the fact that she and squirrel had nothing to talk about, that she broke up with him. She realizes that she made a mistake as she got older and she soon forgot about the reasons why she broke up with him. She remembered him  as the squirrel she loved and thought of the meaning of the word "jazz", which was something he really loved. In the end, she was sad that she did not have squirrel, but she took it as an opportunity to treasure everything in life she has.

Thursday, 11/3
Pages Read: 39-73
Minutes Read: 30

Friday, 11/4
Pages Read: 74-99
Minutes Read: 25

Patterns

The pattern I notice in this book is that Sedaris switches the theme drastically in each short excerpt.

"The crow moved beside her and plucked out the eyes of the newborn lamb," (Sedaris 82).
"Since she was injected with AIDS, I've detected an outlook a lot less perfumy. Funny... it actually did make him feel better," (Sedaris 89)
" 'You'll see,' his voice a little song that hung in the air long after he'd disappeared," (Sedaris 99).

At the end of each excerpt, Sedaris ends each of them differently. They each have different themes as well. In the crow and the lamb one, Sedaris ends the excerpt with the lamb being tricked by the crow. In the second one with the two mice, the male mice is happy that his female roommate is being injected with AIDS in the lab. In he third excerpt, Sedaris ends it with the turkey not giving the cow his "Secret Santa"  gift but tells him in a more mysterious way. Sedaris set a different mood in each as well as a different theme in each excerpt to set the overall tone of his book. The way he does it however makes it all mix together.

Sunday, 11/6
Pages Read: 75-159
Minutes Read: 90

Sunday, October 16, 2011

October Reading Log Week 2 Part 1

Ethics
8th Confession by James Patterson
Pages 26- 55
Minutes: 20

Yuki and Hoffman both think that they are right and the other is wrong for the case of Stacey Glenn.

Hoffman: "I urge you to find Stacey Glenn not guilty on all charges." (55)
Yuki: "... Stacey Glenn guilty on both charges." (51)

This shows that Yuki and Hoffman both have a different perspective on the Stacey Glenn case. They are both trying to persuade to the jury that their side of the case is correct. In their eyes, they think as the other side as the "evil" side.

October Reading Log Week 2 Part 2

Unanswered Questions
8th Confession by James Patterson
Pages 26- 55
Minutes read: 20

Claire could not find the cause of death for Mr. and MRs. Bailey after the autopsy. She did not see any drugs in the bloodstream, even though "Pet Girl" poisoned them the night before.

"The autopsies were completely negative" (104)

Since Claire couldn't find anything, did "Pet Girl" actually inject poison into them? If so, how come the results were negative? Does Claire have an idea of what happened? What will happen with the next set of autopsy results?

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

October Reading Log Week 1 Part 1

Unanswered Questions
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Pages 295- 308
Minutes read: 20

Why is Pip needed at the internment? Is it regarding his money problems? Is he being punished for his financial debts?

"My attendance was requested at the internment."(308)

This sentence was mentioned the chapter after Pip was sorting through    his lists of debts. I wonder if he was finally getting punished by the authorities for the money he owes.

Sunday, October 9, 2011

October Reading Log Week 1 Part 2

Multiple Perspectives
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Pages 309- 325
Minutes Read: 20

Pip's sister actually cared for Pip.
"... and once 'Pip'... It was just an hour later when we laid it down on her own bed, because we found she was gone."
Pip's sister called out her husband's name and Pip's name in her last moments of life. She cared deeply about them if they were on her mind.