Quarter 4 Outside Reading #1

Sweethearts
By: Sara Zarr

For my quarter four outside reading assignment I am reading the book 'Sweethearts' by Sara Zarr. I am not too far into the book yet but so far I really like it. This book reminds me of the book 'Nectar in a Sieve' because of the way they both go back and forth in time and the main character things about things in the past a lot and as they are thinking you learn new things about them that you didn't know before. One flash-back in this book is when Jenna, the main character, is remembering her seventh birthday, "I turn to see him, Cameron's dad. He is tall, a lot taller than my mom and most of the teachers at school, and has Cameron's big eyes." This quote is significant to the book because it lets you know why it is that she hates her birthday and dreads it every year. This quote also desribes Cameron's father and lets you know more about Jenna and her past experiences. This book also reminds of me of the Private series by Kate Brian because of the way that both books are written in the point of view of the main character. I like books that let you see inside the main characters head because it really makes you feelw aht they are feeling and lets you know everything that is going on in their lifes at that time. I think this book is really interesting so far and I am looking forward to reading more and finding out what happens next.

Quarter 4 Outside Reading Book

For my quarter 4 outside reading book I choose to read the book Sweethearts by Sara Zarr. I choose this book because a few of my friends have read it and really liked it so when they told me I should read it so I decided I would. I have read a few pages of this book already and so far I really like it and it makes you want to keep reading and reading and never put it down. I am glad my friends recommened this book to me and I am looking forward to reading more.

outside reading 9

Bollywood Confidential
By: Suketu Mehta

For this blog I found an article about Bollywood written by Suketu Mehta that was posted on someones blog. This article is and Indians point of view on Bollywood movies. Mehta says, "Why do I love Bollywood movies? To an Indian, that's like asking why we love our mothers; we don't have a choice. We were born of them." I think that is how most people feel, even in America, we love american movies because that is what we are born into and that is what we are used to and what we have grown to like. I thought this article was very interesting because I found out that a true Bollywood film has between 5 and 14 songs, no blockbuster special effects, just real people singing and dancing and showing respect for their mothers. At the end of this article that author closes by saying, " My shoes are Japanese. My pants English. On my head a red Russian cap. Still my heart is Indian."

Mehta, Suketu. "Bollywood Confidential." New York Times. 14th November, 2004. 1 March, 2009.
http://nirvana73.blogspot.com/2009/03/bollywood-confidential-article-by.html

outside reading 7

Bittersweet Sixteen
By: Carrie Karasyov and Jill Kargman

For this outside reading assignment I read the book 'Bittersweet Sixteen' by Carrie Karasyov and Jill Kargman. This book is about 2 best friends named Laura and Whitney who's lives are changed when a new girl named Sophie comes to their school. Whitney has always been the most popular girl at Tate Academy and everyone knows she is going to have the best sweet sixteen birthday party, until the new girl Sophie comes to their school from L.A. and changes everything. The characters in this book deal with the change by trying to get used to it and making the best of it. Laura and Whitney start by trying to become friends with Sophie and soon Whitney and Sophie have decided to have a combined birthday party and everything seems okay again. Then another change happens and the two girls get into a huge argument and make their parties seperate again. This event changes the entire school; suddenly people have to choose between the girls and Laura, who has become best friends with both, trys to stay in the middle until the two decide she needs to pick side. When Laura can not pick a side the whole school turns on her and she is forced to deal with this change. I think this book shows that the best way to deal with change is to let it happen and go along with it because if you don't things will get out of hand.

Karasoyv, Carrie. Kargman, Jill. "Bittersweet Sixteen." New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2007. 22 February, 2009.

outside reading 6

Privilege
By: Kate Brian

For the outside reading about hope I choose to write about the book Privilege by Kate Brian. This book is a series of the the Private series by Kate Brian. In this book the main character Ariana Osgood is sent to the Brenda T. Trumbull Correctional Facility for Women because she murdered one of her classmates, Thomas Pearson. Ariana had a whole plan for her life and it did not include wasting her life in the Brenda T., so she plots to somehow escape and live the life she should have had. Everyday when Ariana is sitting in the Facility she is always hoping she will make it back out into the world some day and eventually she does. I think the book shows that no matter what you hope will happen, as long as you want it bad enough, can happen if you work hard for it. Even though it was a bad thing for most people that Ariana escaped, it was what she hoped for and because she never stopped working for it, it happened for her, and that is what I think Kate Brian is trying to tell the readers.

Brian, Kate. "Privilege." New York: Simon Pulse, 2008. 17 February, 2009.

outside reading 5

How China Got Religion
By: Slavoj Zizek

For this outside reading assignment I read the article called, 'How China Got Religion' by Slavoj Zizek. This article focuses on almost all of China's religions and talks about each one and how the government of China is a lot different then it was many years ago. A long time ago China was a country thats government was mainly focused on religion but now it has a seperate government and economy. I think this article was good but it was also very long and had too many facts that I do not think were necessary to put into the article. Another thing that this article talks about is how some people like Falun Gong want their religion to be seperate from the state control. Over all I thought this article was very interesting and I'm glad I had the chance to read about this because I didn't really know anything about it before.

Zizek, Slavoj. "How China Got Religion." New York Times. 11 October, 2007. 15 February, 2009.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/11/opinion/11zizek.html

outside reading 4

Female cops test traditional gender roles in Afghanistan
By: Mark Sappenfield

For this outside reading assignment I read the article 'Female cops test traditional gender roles in Afghanistan'. This article was about female Afghans searching for equality in their country. The Afghanistan police department is an occupation dominated by men and as women try to make it into it they are faced with a frustrating lack of opportunity. There are some 80,000 men working in this department and no more then a few hundred women. In most countries the gender role in the job area has been fixed long ago but in places like Afghanistan they are still having difficulties with the change. I do not think this article was very well written because it offered little information was filled with useless facts that made the article very long.

Sappenfield, Mark. "Female cops test traditional gender roles in Afganistan". The Christian Science Monitor. 7 January, 2009. 6 February, 2009.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0107/p01s03-wosc.html

outside reading 3

Paradise Lost
By: Kate Brian

For this outside reading assignment I finished the book Paradise Lost by Kate Brain. This book is a great example of a culture different from mine because the girls in this book go to an exclusive boarding school names Easton Academy. The girls in this book have all the money in the world and never have to worry about how much things cost. In our culture we have to worry about saving money for things like college, clothes, and for some even food. In some ways I also think the people in this book are somewhat like the people at my school because everyone cares about what the wear, what they look like, and what others think of them but the real difference is that in this book the girls have all the money they want to make sure they have all the newest and coolest things.

Brian, Kate. "Paradise Lost." New York: Simon Pulse, 2009. 8 February, 2009.

outside reading 2

Paradise Lost
By: Kate Brian

For my outside reading this week I read a new book called Paradise Lost by Kate Brain. This book is the 9th book in the series of the Private novels. In this book Reed Brennan is on vacation trying to forget everything that had happened to her over the past year. Reed finally starts having a good time until everything she got away from comes back to her and she is faced with the feeling that she is being watched. Everyone tells Reed she is just being paranoid and only thinks that because that is what happened to her last year so Reed tells herself that they are right and shes just being crazy. A few days later Reed has the same feeling and again she pushes it aside. I think this book is a perfect example of someone overcoming struggle because no one has been through as much in one year as Reed Brennan has, and managed to overcome it all. I think in other texts, the characters are faced with predictable challenges and it is obvious that they are going to overcome it but this book shows someone really struggling just to make it through one day at a time.

Brian, Kate. "Paradise Lost." New York: Simon Pulse, 2009. 5 February, 2009.

outside reading 1

Hurricane Relief for Haiti & Cuba
By: The Global Exchange

Over the month of November, Cuba and Haiti have been hit with many devastating hurricanes. In Haiti over 1,000 died and about one million are homeless due to flooding. In Cuba, 30,000 homes have been destroyed and the land is ruined. I thought this article was very well written because it starts by stating the facts about how the hurricanes and tropical storms have devastated people and their homes and also tells information about the storms. This article is not very long and does not waste time with useless information. Compared to other natural disasters, this one is probably up there on the list of ones that has affected people the most. In the article it lists some things that you can do to help them with the problems they are facing and it also tells you what other countries are doing to help.


No author. "Hurricane Relief for Haiti & Cuba" The Global Exchange. 10 November 2008. 1 February, 2009.
http://www.globalexchange.org/countries/americas/hurricanerelief.html

Reading Minute (outside reading)

Scratch Beginnings
By Adam Shepard

For my reading minute i decided to read a book that i just started reading. This book is called Scratch Beginnings and is written by Adam Shepard. This book is about Adam search to find the "American Dream" still alive today. Adam thinks that the American Dream is starting at the bottom and working your way up to the top to achieve success. Adam started a new life with 25 dollars, a duffel bag, the clothes on his back, and nothing more. His goal was to make 2,500 dollars, have a working car, and a furnished apartment in one year. I am not to far in this book yet but I really like it so far and i think it has a good message to read to the class.