Catcher in the Rye

Related to the other book "Perks in being a Wallflower" I discovered an almost similar book. "Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger.

Set in the 1950's we begin with the main character is called Holden Caufield, a seventeen-year-old boy with a lot attitude, explaining to us "this madman stuff" that has come to pass last Christmas.

We begin at Pencey Prep School of Pennsylvania, where Holden has been kicked out for failing all of his classes apart from English. However, throughout the book he explains that being kicked out of school is not something new to him, and that the Prep School in Pennsylvania is in fact his fourth school.

Holden is informed that he is to leave the school and that he is to pack his things and leave. However, he was only due back to Manhattan on Wednesday.

Other than having many problems, and having problems of being calm when he is provoked, Holden seems to have shared quite a troubled past.

Throughout the book he shows his character when he writes about his younger brother, that passed away three years earlier from leukaemia. Holden shows his anger, and explains that on the night of his brother's passing he broke all the windows in his garage with his bare hands.

I will not continue to explain anything more about this book, (as not to spoil). However, as I have read Perks of being a Wallflower, i find that Charlie is a more sensitive, and misunderstood teenager in a very depressed way. A way that makes the reader feel pity and sadness for Charlie, while Holden is an aggressive teenage boy that is also misunderstood, however he has a grand attitude and quite a stereotypical view of how a relationship with a girl is, while Charlie sees it as a very soothing and calming thing.

Comparing these two books actually helped me understand both of them in a greater depth, comparing the two boys, and showing that even though they have different personalities, they are more than similar. Even though the book is quite old, being published in 1951, seeing the two present day and early 20th century meet made the book very interesting.

Even though this book might have been originally published for adults, it became very popular with teenagers all over the world. I found out about the book from 'Perks of being a Wallflower', because Charlie related himself to Holden in his own way. However, many people have been talking about the book, and I was very curious to read it myself. Personally, I wish that I had read this book first, and then read the other one, because my idea of Holden in the beginning was a little influenced by the character from the other book. Later on, I managed to make a difference between the two.

The book was very engaging, and I found it a very good read. Even though it is the second book I read talking about a boy's troubled life, it was very interesting, and I find it something that people should read.

"Perks of Being a Wallflower"

Annabelle recently gave me the book "Perks of Being a Wallflower", and after literally devouring the book in the airplane flight back to school, I decided to write a book report on it as well.

From my opinion the book was very interesting from two key points. The first point is that the entire thing is written like a letter to an anonymous person (being the reader), and the second point is that, he involves the person he is writing to in such a way that you feel that you are becoming part of his life. The books gives you the idea that you are giving Charlie, the main character, a sense of closure. 

Charlie is a fifteen year-old boy that has been through a lot throughout his life, and no matter how much he tries to cope with it, his past haunts him, stories of his depressing past always seem to linger around him no matter what.

As the book begins, we encounter the death of Charlie's best friend,  the suicide of Michael a teenage boy that was actually one of Charlie's only friends. Charlie is very shaken by the event and does not know how to cope with it. As he begins his first High School year Charlie finds that the girlfriend of his passed away best friend, was now no longer wanting to talk to him. Therefore, alone, in the "wild high school veldt", Charlie finds that he feels out of place, and that many people find him 'weird' and a 'freak'. Some people do try to talk to him, however, those that do, eventually give up, since they do not want to be seen talking to the 'freak'.

As time goes by and Charlie tells the story of his past, and what has happened to his aunt. However, we never really know why Charlie blames himself for her passing until the very end, causing a slightly more gloomy tone his diary entries. The fact that he constantly remembering, and thinking about everything he has done, every action done by the main character, he reflects on it. Every time he concludes his diary, he ends on either a very thoughtful, sad, or happy note, never anything other than that. His emotions are conveyed very well through these endings, therefore causing the reader to know more from the next letter or diary entry.

Going farther into the book Charlie finally meets two seniors that will change his life entirely. Charlie begins to hang out with them. Each of them having their own reputation throughout the school, they begin to talk and get along. As they all begin to talk and go places together, one of the key moments is when they are all staying together, some of them smoking drugs, and drinking, however, they describe him as as wallflower.
The official definition of a wallflower is: A person who has no one to dance with or who feels shy, awkward, or excluded at a party. 
They find that Charlie is a wallflower, but a beautiful and unique one, and therefore the title derives from this moment, that there are perks in being a wallflower. 

I do not want to spoil anything else in the book. However, personally I found this book very touching and emotional. Seeing the complicated ideas and way of thinking of a teenage boy that clearly had his fair share of traumas in his life. This book shows the cruel reality that nothing everything is just perfect. That there are always problems, everyday, its just with what attitude you answer with these problems. Charlie is a soft, caring boy, that has a difficulty in understanding the raw reality, therefore creating his own wonderland as closely related to reality as possible. In the book this wonderland is presented as metaphors to the actual happenings in his life. It was inspiring and made me look at everything with different eyes, and that there never actually is a guaranteed bright side to everything. 

                                                              Naughts and Crosses    

In the world of Noughts and Crosses, Noughts are Black and Crosses are white. The Noughts have all the rights over the Crosses just like 1960s America.
 The main characters of the story is Persephone Hadley (Sephy) who is a cross and the daughter of the president Kamal Hadley, the richest man in the country. Then there is Callum who is a nought and in a family of five. The two meet on the nearby beach a lot and slowly they start to fall in love. Callum who puts hard work into his schoolwork gets to go to the same school as Sephy. As you can imagine Callum
gets a very hard time, with the students and the teachers.
 Then Callum saved Sephy's life, when his father who was a member of the Liberation Militia (A terrorist organisation that are Noughts) set a bomb in the Dundale shopping Center and Callum had saved her life by dragging her out of the bombs reach. His Dad was eventually found out and was sent to prison and Callum's brother, Jude, had something to do with the incident and left before the police got to him. Then four days later, Callum's Dad was killed when he tried to escape from the prison.
 Sephy than writes a letter to Callum to run away with her, but Callum received the letter twenty minutes before she was leaving to boarding school and he had just missed her as she was being driven to school.
Three years later, Jude found Callum and said for him to be in the Liberation Militia. Callum accepted this offer because his life was becoming lonely and his mother was becoming depressed. His mission for the Liberation Militia was to capture Sephy to get her father to pay a lot of money or they will kill her and he had to this with Jude and three other high class members as he was. This was hard for Callum because he still loves Sephy, but he was grieving over the fact that her father got his father killed when he sent him to prison. When they capture her they lock her in a prison cell and force her to do a video about her father giving money to them or she will be killed if he declined. When the group went out and Callum was left with Sephy, they had sex and when they came back she started crying and Callum and Jude got into a fight and she escaped. They chased after her and Callum found her and sent the others in the wrong direction and told her how to escape.
 Sephy found out that she was pregnant and Callum that heard on the radio that his father admitted Sephy was pregnant than went out to find her. They met in the rose garden discussing about what the name of their daughter would be and Callum decides if it is a girl the baby will be called Callie Rose and if a boy Sephy would call the baby after his father Ryan. Callum then gets knocked out by one of the guards and sent to prison.
 Sephy had a choice between keeping the baby then Callum gets hanged, or Sephy has an abortion. Sephy wanted to keep the baby and Callum would not be aloud out of prison, so she decides to keep the baby.
 Callum then gets hung in front of the crowd and Sephy screaming to him of how much she loves him and Callum the same.
Callie Rose was then born at midnight later.

Ready or Not by Meg Cabot

Top ten things Samantha Madison isn't ready for:

10. Spending Thanksgiving at Camp David

9. With her boyfriend, the president's son

8. Who appears to want to take their relationship to the Next Level

7. Which Sam inadvertently and shockingly announces live on MTV

6. While appearing to support the president's dubious policies on families, morals, and yes, sex

5. Juggling her new after-school job at Potomac Video

4. Even though she already has a job as teen ambassador to the UN (that she doesn't get paid for)

3. Riding the Metro and getting accosted because she's "the redheaded girl who saved the president's life," in spite of her new, semipermanent Midnight Ebony tresses

2. Experiencing total role reversal with her popular sister Lucy, who for once can't get the guy she wants

And the number-one thing Sam isn't ready for?

1. Finding out the hard way that in art class, "life drawing" means "naked people.

I did not enjoy this book because it does not have so much of a story. This book talks about how the main character, Samantha Madison saves the President's life by taking a bullet for him and breaking her arm (we don't know any details other than that) and then starts dating the President's son, David. 

Her boyfriend, after dating for several years, asks her to join his family for Thanksgiving which makes Samantha immediately assume that he wants to take their relationship the the next level. There is this whole build up of tension and on the day it's self, she has prepared herself to let him down nicely and to tell him she is no ready, he does not come so she barges into his room. They end up having sex. 

This book, in my perspective, was a real let down because I liked some of Meg's other books so when I heard about this one, I didn't bother reading the reviews. I definitely should have because this book was not enjoyable to read. 

Notes from a Big Country by Bill Bryson

This book was written in 1998 by Bill Bryson, a man who, after living in England for twenty years, moves back to his homeland, America and finds that things are very different from England.

I have been reading this book in class. This is a very good book to read because it is a book that has no beginning, middle or end and it usually takes the time that we are given in class (ten minutes) to read one story. You can simply open this book at a random story and read from there. It is written completely with a sarcastic tone about America and all of it's quirks.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

This book is all about two magicians, Prospero the Enchanter and Mr. A.H., (we never find out his full name) that enjoy showing off their skills though competitions that involve their apprentices, Celia Bowen and Marco (he is an orphan that was never given a last name). 

Their arena for this competition is the enchanting Night Circus. This circus seems to never end and is always adding on new tents. 

The details of the competition are never clear right up until the very end but they mainly consist of these two apprentices to battle up until their deaths. However, Marco is the only one aware pf the fact that Celia is his opponent. Celia is oblivious. Sadly, these two characters fall madly in love. 

Will they be able to live together? Or will they one, or both of them, perish?

I enjoyed this book because it is extremely captivating and gripping. The author keeps the suspense right up until the very end. 

"Heat" by Mike Lupica

This book was a quick read. It is about a boy named Michael Arroyo, a talented 12 years old Little League Baseball player. He lives without his parents and only lives with his seventeen year old brother in the shadows of the Bronx, New York.

In this novel, the big dilemma is that one of his little league rivals accuse him of being older than twelve. Without his birth certificate, which is stuck in Cuba, he has no way of proving himself.

Michael's dream is to lead his little league team to the little league World Series in order to play in Yankees Stadium. His chances are very high because he has a pitch with "serious heat."His dream is to meet his all time hero, the great Yankees pitcher, El Grande.

The Soloist Steve Lopez

The Soloist by Steve Lopez is a book, and currently a major movie about a homeless, rather old man who plays the violin. Steve learns that Nathaniel Ayers is a schizophrenic, who once, long ago attended the famous creative arts school, Juilliard.
As time passes the two men form a strong bond of friendship, and Steve can see a future for Ayers' life. For each step forward, there are five back however, the man never gives up.
Their friendships will change their lives in ways they could never have seen them change before.

I am exicited to read this, rather modern book. Even though I am only a few pages into it I am hooked. It is also based on a true story which Steve Lopez encountered. Which makes the book just that much more interesting!

The Hobbit

The Hobbit, written by J. R. R Tolkein, is the beginning of the Lord Of the Rings trilogy. The protagonist is Bilbo Baggins who is a hobbit, a mythical version of a man. The story focuses on his adventure with others who are in search of a treasure guarded by a dragon. This fantasy centers on the hardships of the journey and obstacles that are thrown in the paths of the travelers.
Not only is the story itself intriguing, but it is the writing that is most exceptional in this novel. The author leads this tale with such description and detail that the chapters became scenes in my head as I read. The Hobbit is not a very easy book to read because it can be dense in parts. However, I would recommend anyone in our class to read this book; especially those interested in fantasy and adventure. After reading The Hobbit, I felt that I had a better understanding of writing descriptive and imaginative scenes. This book provides an entertaining story as well as beautiful writing.
Beatrice de Vaulx

Anna Karenina

Since I didn't have as much time to read during the 1st vingtaine, I haven't gotten very far in Anna Karenina. In the 117 pages that I have read, I have followed the lives of 5 different individuals. Prince Stepan "Stiva" Arkadyevich Oblonsky, Princess Ekaterina "Kitty" Alexandrovna Shcherbatskaya, Nikolai Dmitrievich Levin, Princess Anna Arkadyevna Karenina and Count Alexei Kirillovich Vronsky. 

The book begins focusing on Prince Stepan Arkadyevich Oblonsky, or Stiva. A drama surfaces in the Oblonsky household when Dolly, Stiva's wife finds out about her husband's affair with the family's governess. The Oblonsky house is a mess and Stiva and Dolly do not wish to speak to each other. The family only begins to speak to one another when Stiva Oblonsky reminds Dolly that his sister Anna Arkadyevna Karenina is coming to visit from St. Petersburg. 

In the meantime, Nikolai Dmitrievich Levin has come to Moscow to propose to Dolly's youngest sister, Princess Ekaterina "Kitty" Alexandrovna Shcherbatskaya. Levin is an aristocratic landowner who lives in the country. He is very passionate about Kitty and has been dreaming to marry her for some time now. He later delays his proposal learning that Kitty has another suitor, Count Alexei Kirillovich Vronsky. 

Later on, Stiva goes to the railway station to pick up his sister Anna Karenina and bumps into Count Vronsky. Count Vronsky is at the railway station picking up his mother, which has been conversing with Anna Karenina on the train. When the train arrives, Count Vronsky sees Anna for the very first time and is completely under the spell of Anna's beauty and elegance. Count Vronsky leaves the train station with his mother, while Anna leaves with Stiva Oblonsky to his household. 

When Anna Karenina arrives in the Oblonsky household, her brother Stepan informs her of the scene in the house. Anna persuades Dolly that despite the affair, her brother is still in love with her and that he is ashamed of his infidelity. Dolly decides not to get a divorce and chooses to forgive Prince Stepan. 

Kitty visits Dolly and Anna and, like Vronsky, is overwhelmed by Anna's beauty. Kitty is a young woman and is expected to choose a good husband, due to her social status. She believes that Vronsky is in love with her and expects to dance with him at the ball that evening. After her meeting with Anna, Levin confesses his love for Kitty and proposes. Kitty refuses, believing that she is in love with Count Vronsky, and leaves Levin heartbroken. 

At the ball, Count Vronsky dances with Anna. Vronsky was flirtatious with Kitty as a source of amusement, and believed that her response was nothing serious. Kitty sees that Vronsky has fallen in love with Anna and has no interest in marrying her. Kitty is heartbroken. Anna is distressed at her physical and emotional response towards to Count Vronsky and returns home to her Husband Count Alexei Alexandrovich Karenin and her son Sergei "Seryozha" Alexeyich Karenin in St. Petersburg. Count Vronsky follows her on the same train. On the train ride back to St. Petersburg, Count Vronsky confronts Anna Karenina and confesses his love for her, she refuses; this encounter affects her emotionally.  

Devastated from Kitty's refusal, Levin returns to his country home so wallow in sorrow. Anna returns to St. Petersburg, but since her encounter with Count Vronsky, she no longer finds her own husband attractive and is disgusted by his very presence. 

The Arabian Nights: The Young King of the Black Isles

This story is about a sultan who travels and finds a king half man and half marble. After hearing the unfortunate story of the king, the sultan made it his goal to help him. The king had been bewitched by his wife. She bewitched her husband because he had put her lover into a coma by hitting his head very hard. After cursing the king, she tried forever to heal her lover. The sultan listened intently and devised a plan to help the king whose lower body was trapped in marble. This story uses very descriptive language and captures the deceit between husband and wife.

Beatrice de Vaulx

The Arabian Nights: The Fisherman and the Genie

This story is about a poor fisherman who has to sustain his family on the fish that he catches. One day, he throws out his nets and catches a lamp. After rubbing it clean, a genie emerges from within the lamp.  However, this spirit does not offer the fisherman any wishes, but tells the fisherman that he is going to kill him. By means of deceit, the fisherman traps the genie once again in his prison. After much arguing, the genie promised to make the fisherman wealthy. The genie showed the fisherman a pool with the richest fish in the world. But as the fisherman later discovered, it was much more than that.
Beatrice de Vaulx

peeling back the mask part 3

all violence has stopped and peace was agreed beetween raila and kibaki and the head of the UN came to kenya to help resolve the problem beetween them. It was agreed that raila would be prime minister and kibaki the president of the republic of kenya but not all the problems were solved

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

This whole story is told by Jacob Jankowski, a Polish American and the narrator. When he tels his story, he is 90 or 93 years old (we are never sure). He is in a nursing home and is a very grumpy man. 

This book starts on a terrible note. The narrator named Jacob, a 23 year old  college student studying to be a veterinarian, has just learned that his parents passed away in a fateful car accident. Grieving and looking for something new, he jumps onto a passing train. What he doesn't know is that particular train is a circus train for the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth on it's way to perform. Jacob soon becomes the circuse's veterinarian and falls madly in love with Marlena, the horse-performer and the wife to August, a man who is a paranoid schizophrenic and his boss who likes to beat his animals and his wife. 
After several weeks of the circus moving from own to town, they get word of the fact that another circus is going out of business. They rush over there as quickly as possible and start paying a very low price for most of the animals. One of their mane prizes is Rosie, the elephant. Rosie is said to be extremely stupid but they soon find out that she does not understand english but does understand polish.   
She soon becomes the focus of the circus and Marlena and August work together to put on her show with Jacob helping with the polish frases. 
During this whole episode, everyone is terrified of being "red-lighted" which is essentially being thrown off the train while it is moving. Most of this happens at night as they wake you up. 
As Augusts case worsens, he starts to beat Rosie and Marlena more and more. After a very brutal beating, Marlena leaves August to stay in a hotel while she is not performing. After finding this out, Jacob attempts to kill August in his sleep but finds he can not. He then decides to leave his knife on Augusts pillow as a threat. Once he comes back to his room, he finds that his roommates have been "red-lighted" in his absence. 
The next morning, some of the people that were "red-lighted" return and promptly let out all of the animals during one of the performances which caused a stampede. During the commotion, Rosie the elephant smashed Augusts head and he died instantly. Due to this, the circus lost all of it's respect and customers and it was forced to shut down. Marlena and Jacob then leave the circus to begin their life together while taking with them Rosie, a monkey that Jacob has come to love and Marlena's horses. 
At the end of this book, it describes a circus appearing in front of the nursing home. With slow steps, Jacob makes it across the road and into the circus just to catch the end of the acts. He then meets the owner of the circus who was called Charlie and tells him that he was the veterinarian for the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. Jacob then asks him if he could stay with the circus and sell tickets because that's what the old folk are for. Charlie agrees and Jacob finally feels home again. 

I enjoyed this book very much because it contains so much detail about all the animals and I enjoy the fact that this book uses many flashbacks to tell it's story. 

'Field Grey'

'Field Grey' is a novel written by Philip Kerr.
Having reached Chapter 2, we have so far met Dona Marina, a young woman. She is wanted by the Havana Police for shooting an officer. She is a revolutionary and owns the largest Brothel in Havana. Dona and Bernie Gunther have known eachother for a long time. The story takes place in Cuba, 1954.

The book instantly caught my attention and I am eager to find out more.

Doctor Fisher of Geneva

DOCTOR FISCHER OF GENEVA OR THE BOMB PARTY

For my english book this term I wanted to read something slightly different, a book which I have posted about before, 1984 was on my list, however the library had already signed it out.
I found a book, by the author Graham Greene, names Doctor Fischer of Geneva or the Party Bomb.  
I started reading it this thursday, and since then I cannot put it down. It is about a man in his late 40s / early 50s, how falls in love with Doctor Fishers daughter, Anna-Luise. She loves fall in love likewise and they get married. However Anna-Luises father shows so little interest, nonetheless, Jones (the main character), seems to feel it would be a good idea at least to tell Doctor Fischer about the marriage. Doctor Fischer does not care the slightest bit. But that would be too perfect to be true. Jones receives a letter from Anna-luises father, saying that he was invited to the, famous, private, well known parties which Doctor Fischer holds.
When Jones arrives, he notices how badly Doctor Fischer treats his guests, and how the rich, always want to be given more. The guests would receive presents if they did what was told, e.g. eat some digesting, cold porridge, and say what Doctor Fischer wanted. Those who hath, shall be given was a quote in the book, describing the greed of the rich.
This book is great, I love the way its written, and a slight detail, which makes the book more enjoyable is the short chapters (just a personal preference). It gives you a lot to reflect on, and as I am in one of the most expensive, yet extraordinary schools in the world, I can relate.

'The Perks Of Being A Wallflower' by Stephen Chbosky

The Perks Of Being A Wallflower is so far one of my favorite books.

The main story is based on a young freshman at high school. He is a quite an unusual protagonist; emotional and sensitive in spite of only being a teenage boy. He leads an antisocial life until he meets two siblings who become his best friends; Sam and Patrick. The entire book is written in Letters addressed to 'a friend'. He changes the name of the characters in the book for anonymous reasons. The book is essentially about important events and situations 'Charlie' deals with daily. The book investigates both the subject of abuse and awkward teenage situations.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend this book to anyone who is amused by the trials and tribulations of being a teenager.

"The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky

Recently, I started reading the book, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. This novel is narrated by a teen boy named Charlie and shows parts of his life by writing anonymous letters to a person he doesn't know. This book shows the life of teenagers and human personality theories.

Charlie is a freshman in high school. A few month before school started, his best friend Michael committed suicide and he has no one else to talk to and he feels as if no one else understands him. By the end of the book, he learns that he can go through life because he is a wallflower.

Through his letters, he expresses how it feels like to fall in love, adolescent life, and much more. By the end of the book we see how much Charlie has grown and how he learns how to deal with life.

1984 George Orwell

I was in the library the other day when a book catches my eye. 1984 there stood with big, bold red letters. It made me stop and think, what happened in 1984? I personally love history, so curiously I picked up the book and read the blob.
As far as I understood, a man starts a journal, on his thoughts about "the Party", where he writes his rebellious thoughts against them. If this journal was found, it would result in his execution.
I still am not 100% aware of the story line of the book, but it seems very interesting. I am suggesting it as a class book, or else, I shall get it myself as my next reading book!

The meaning of things

I think that this title "Applying Philosophy to Life" is one that suits this book quite well. This book helps us understand many things about life. This book also gives us definitions such as a definition of the word Betrayal, that there can be no betrayal without pre-existing trust.
This book helps us apply a philosophical point of view to life.
I found this book very helpful and very interesting to read. This book, however, had some very difficult passages to comprehend but if we stick to it long enough, we can grasp the knowledge that A C Grayling is trying to express.This book took me a while to get through and it is still unfinished but that is the beauty of this book, the fact that you do not have to read the little chapters in any order whatsoever, you just have to read what interests you and what you feel like reading.
Overall, if you enjoy reading about philosophy and actually having to think about the content, then this is a very good book.

The Arabian Nights

The Arabian Nights is a book which holds short stories that have been passed on for centuries. I am currently reading the story called "The Talking Bird, the Singing Tree, and the Golden Water." It is a story about jealousy, greed, and nagging dissatisfaction which leads to the death of many people. The main story is about three things; a talking bird, singing tree, and golden water. A girl who hears of these three prizes becomes obsessed with the thought of having them. In order to satisfy her wants, her brothers set out for them. However, they are killed due to black magic. So the girl goes out for herself and finds the talking bird which then leads her to the singing tree and golden water. However, the story continues because the girl does not yet seemed satisfied. I have not yet finished the story, but have read up to where she returns home with her prizes.
The collection of stories in the Arabian Nights are mesmerizing and paint a picture in my mind as I read them. - Beatrice de Vaulx

The Betrayal Update

In my last post I spoke about my current reading book, The Betrayal.
As I mentioned the book is a continuation of the first, The Siege. Now, The Siege takes place during the war, as it comes and goes, and The Betrayal is once the war was over. But still under the rein of Stalin, there are many lies yet to be uncovered.

Andrei is a doctor, he mostly works with children. One day, his colleague tells him about a new patient, a patients whose name, is one of those you don't need to repeat twice. The child is the only one of a very important family. Anna, Andrei's wife, also works at the children's section of the hospital, she is very busy, and she is mad, because their son, Koyla, is out, and seems to have no care in the world, yet she is not really mad at him, but rather at herself. She longs for spending more time with Andrei, and she feels as if she is being pulled in half by the two. She was offered to take another job, but she would have to have extra schooling hours, onto the long working hours. She does not know what way to go yet.
A Ball is approaching, both Andrei and Anna are looking forward, (and so am I!).

The book is simply genius, I love the way it is written, it is very hard to put down at times. I am exited to read on, and find out more about this mysterious patient, and the Ball which is soon to take place.

Tender Is The Night

I have started reading an interesting book called 'Tender Is The Night' by F. Scott Fitzgerald. It is a modern classic set in the 1920s, genred as a fictional autobiographical novel. I have just started and am already enjoying it immensely. So far the main character, Rosmary, a famous actress has taken a trip with her mother to the south of France, Cannes. They are staying at a glamorous hotel and Rosemary is adapting to the place perfectly.
It is beautifully written and I am excited to read on.

"Cosmpolis" by Don Delillo

Cosmopolis by Don Delillo is a book that I would never have imagined myself reading. However, after watching the movie, even though many have criticised it, I found it extremely intelligent and much more complicated then the already superficial and predictable movies in the present day.

After seeing the movie, I discovered that there was a book, and as in many cases the book is much better then the movie due to detail and more dialogue, there is much more depth and understanding of what the main character is going through.

The main character, Eric Packer a twenty-eight multibillionaire man that travels most of his time in his sleek white limo filled with the latest possible technology, all of them fitted to the shape of the limo. It is an entirely spacey car, bullet proof and very carefully cork-lined to keep the outside street sounds outside. The limo is a very important detail throughout the book because Eric Packer spends most of his time inside it.

He is visited by various employees that work for him, to which he discusses about the rise of the yen. He loses incredibly large amounts of money from himself and his clients as he bets against the currency. He has meetings with his wife, and some other women, showing the carefree life the young philanthropist leads. Throughout the book Eric's voyage is obstructed by traffic jams by a visit from the president through the city, as well as a massive anti-capitalist riot, that ends up redesigning his limo in propaganda graffiti art. The last of the traffic jams is the large funeral procession of a sufi rap star. (Presented in the film as K'naan the rapper in present day).

As he loses such large amounts of money, he starts relishing in this loss, and along the way on his final meeting with his wife, he makes sure that he loses part of her fortune as well, so that he makes sure that no one can ever say that his fall was stupid and unpredictable, that it could not have been caused by himself.

Eric is followed and then attacked by two stalkers, one of which is a professional "Pastry assassin" that throws a plate of whipped cream in his face. He is then attacked by a second one, who is a former employee of the business-man and dedicated his life to be the one true assassin of Packer, this being the last meaningful thing in his life. Packer's story ends radically after a very impressive end conversation with the attacker, where he is murdered.

This was a very interesting book, it was not filled with much action, but with engaging and intelligent conversations regarding the economy and the true meaning of present day capitalism. I found the book edgy, yet it showed a different side to present day society. Eric Packer is a peculiar character, an only child that matured far too early after his father's demise, his marriage being set up with another peculiar and insanely rich person. This strange edge created a capturing environment of the book.

Handmaid's Tale

Where I am reading now, Offred is recounting more stories of her past. She speaks of Moira, an old friend who underwent the same fate as she. However, when Offred was with Moira they were under the command of someone called Aunt Lydia. Moira was more rebellious and much more anxious and determined to escape their prison. Because talking and mingling was suspicious, the two friends would have to sneak in the bathroom and speak, but only for minutes. Moira then decided to fake ill by not taking her vitamins and developing Scurvy, she was found out and punished. It is not yet clear, but it sounds as though at some point Moira did leave. Offred remembers her but does not know of her whereabouts or even if she is still alive. - Beatrice de Vaulx

Darren Shan - Dark Calling

Im currently half way through Dark Calling which is the 9th book in its series. Dark Calling is a horror. This is the kind of book for people who are into supernatural, demons and magic. This is book can be utterly unputdownable as somethings constantly happening.There can be very gruesome parts where demons are split apart or eyeball are being eaten by deformed maggots, as Kernel and the disciples travel through the supernatural universe and the Human universe. Their aim is to protect the humans from demons coming and slaughtering everyone. This book can keep you interested throughout the whole time your reading it, and so do all the others in the series. Darren Shan has done a few different series, like the demonata series which is the one i'm currently reading and also the vampire series. Here is the blurb from Dark Calling "I know it's ridiculous. Lights can't whisper. But I swear i heard a voice calling to me. It wounded like static to begin with, but then it came into focus, a single word repeated over and over. Softly, Slyly, seductively, insistently. Come.... The disciples are being manipulated by beings older than time. Only Kernel Fleck knows that something is wrong. But he is in the grip of a creature who cares nothing for the fate of humanity. Voices are calling to him from the darkness and he's powerless to resist. Kernel has already been to hell and back. Now he's about to go further..." This book has a lot of suspense and is very interesting.

peeling back the mask part 2

in the first part of the book it describes why the tragic post election violence happened some people say the corruption of president Mwai Kibaki and others say that prime minister Raila Odinga was to confident to lose. In my opinion i think that Kibaki rigged the elections, because on the day after the votes were finished that is when it was supposed to be released but it took a whole week for them to be released. That is when the tension started building up and when the results were released 2 days after the violence started in my home ground Machakos the violence went into other rural towns and spread through most rural towns. weeks past and the two main partys each went on separate retreats ODM(orange democative movement, Raila) and PNU (Party of national union, Kibaki) to sort everything out but they ended up with nothing. The violence became to much for kenya to handle so then Kofi annan head of the united nations at the time came and sorted everything out and Raila was made the prime minister of kenya

                                                 DUBLINERS BY JAMES JOYCE
The Dubliners is a collection of 15 stories from 20th century irish middle class life by James Joyce. He took his city to the world for the first time when it was first published in 1914. The rich detail of irish life portraying ordinary, often defeated lives with realism. Mainly about social decline, sexual desire, corruption and personal failure.

Book to Read in Class

The Book Thief written by Markus Zusak, is one of my favorite books because of it's unique perspective on WWII and beautiful writing. The story takes place in a poor section of Germany where the inhabitants obey the rule of Hitler, but not out of respect, out of fear. The main character, Liesl, is a young girl who is struggling in this society of hidden truths and fascist rule. She lives with her foster parents; and once her foster father starts teaching her how to read, her life changes. I highly recommend anyone to read this book. It is full of history entwined with emotion and everyone who I know that has read it has loved it. This would be a good book to read in class because not only does it teach more about the Holocaust, Markus Zusak's writing style is breathtaking. He writes the book from the perspective of death and the whole story is written in a very poetic prose. I have read and reread this book a few times and love it every time. - Beatrice de Vaulx

City Of Fallen Angles

I have been advancing in the book 'City Of Fallen Angles' and it has become more interesting and gripping. The book is revealing more about the main characters and their actions. Some are becoming stranger and others are losing control of their well being. In this book, humans are not the only inhabitants on earth; there are shadow hunters as well as vampires. There are many unanswered questions and mysteries  yet to be solved which make it even more exciting to read on and find out.

The meaning of Things

   The book is divided into three sections. Part 1 deals with the "Virtues and Attributes" of Tolerance, Mercy, Civility, Courage, Hope, Loyalty and Love; part 2, "Foes and Fallacies" is concerned with some of the things considered to be enemies to human flourishing such as Racism, Speciesism, Hate and Depression; and the final part, "Amenities and Goods" focuses on such themes as Reason, Excellence, Art, History and Leisure. The structure of the book and the arrangement of the topics works well so although the pieces are self-contained--allowing one to dip in and out randomly--one gets a sense of continuity if you read it cover to cover.
Opening with Montaigne's salutation "Reader, lo a well-meaning Booke", The Meaning of Things is reminiscent of Montaigne's Essays in form, content and spirit. Grayling has a reverence for classic liberal humanist virtues and a deep conviction that philosophy has an indispensable role to play if we are to live what Socrates called "the considered life": that is, a life "enriched by thinking about things that matter--values, aims, society, the characteristic vicissitudes of the human condition, desiderata both personal and public, the enemies of human flourishing, and the meanings of life". A book such as this is unusual and refreshing because it aims to edify the reader and is written without a trace of cynicism or irony. Grayling is a champion of Enlightenment values, a defender of high culture if you will but who writes for a popular audience without moralising. Peppered with nuggets of philosophical wisdom and written with clarity and economy, the book succeeds in showing how philosophically informed thinking about the things that matter can help us become better people and better citizens of the world. --Larry Brown

"Forgotten Country" by Catherine Chung

Over the summer I have read quite a few books, some that are in the more paranormal fiction, others in the dramatic, the non-fiction and of course the realistic fiction.

One of these books was the "Forgotten Country" by Catherine Chung.
To begin with the author was born in Evanston, Illinois. She has been in love with writing ever since she was small, and would always write, it was her "life-long passion". She was a promising student in the University of Chicago. Catherine Chung then moved to Santa Monica, where she would write by the sea on the constantly sunny days. She not only wrote stories, she wrote poems, and then attended the Creative Writing program at Cornell University. She then spent the following years as a teacher, working on her first and very much loved novel "Forgotten Country". She now lives in New York City as assistant editor for fiction of Guernica Magazine.

The book is a 'darkly luminous' debut to Catherine Chung, and presents the struggle of a young Korean American woman that finds herself in constantly competing roles as a daughter, a scholar and a sister. When her sister Hannah drops out of college and moves to California, she cuts off all communication to her family, causing a massive tension throughout the family. The father is diagnosed with a form of cancer that can only be treated in Korea, ironically. The father had left Korea due to his being a mathematician and not respecting the authoritarian government at the time. The parents send Janie to search for her sister, she is found in Los Angeles, and therefore this leads to a series of fights between the sisters, causing Janie to leave Hannah behind and follow her parents to Korea.

The story follows with Janie's stay in the new Korean house, visited by extremely devoted family and friends, making Janie appreciate her parents' history, more precisely her father's. Throughout this time his health improves but suddenly deteriorates. Hannah travels to Korea after receiving a call from their mother. The family accepts her back as if she never left. As their father's condition worsens Janie's and Hannah's sibling rivalry grows, however brings them together.

The book starts gloomily with "The year that Hannah disappeared, the first frost came early, killing everything in the garden." This gives a very sad beginning to the story, enrapturing the reader on how it jumps from the disappearance of the sister, Hannah, to the death of the garden. The writer compares the leaving of the younger sister a factor in the recklessness of the family, not taking care of the garden because the daughter left.

The author uses a series of cold words, they all describe the cold, abandoning, death and a lost memory. Personally it gave the story a very serious yet dark beginning. The author seems to create a mirror character of herself in the main character of Janie. They both attend the university of Chicago as a graduate student in mathematics, accepting the ways of their family.

Throughout the entire novel Catherine Chung challenges and delves with utter and painful honesty the grand questions of "What are the strengths and limits of family? What is the definition of home? Are there or are there no boundaries between duty and love? If there are what are they?" She challenges and rummages through such questions based on an entire Korean experience.

Personally the book was touching, and showed an entirely different side of family, it shows the struggles and the imperfectness of siblings. The novel shows how fully the boundaries of love and family can be pushed and bent. It presents the author's emotional intelligence and the true depth of the writer's appreciation and devotion to the topic.

no easy day by mark owen

no easy day is a book about a firsthand account that lead into the killing of Osama bin Laden. This book describes a man of how he got into the team to kill Osama.

The Betrayal - Helen Dunmore

As I wanted to try to reading something different, I thought back on some books I enjoyed reading, and the authors.

As the theme of war really interests me, I thought of the book I read last year named The Siege, which is a war novel about a family struggling to survive in Russia when the germans start to invade ( or something similar along those lines, I do not remember 100% clearly ). The book was amazing, and was quiet the emotional read. I asked Mr. Berube about the book, and, my luck, I found out there is a second book! 

I am exited to read this book, and will post more as soon as I have started the book properly! 

"Moneyball" by Michael Lewis

I began reading this book on the plane and just recently finished. Moneyball is about the Oakland Athletic's, a baseball team in the MLB and how they mysteriously succeeded from becoming the worst, poorest baseball team in MLB. The main character, Billy Beane, the general manager on the Oakland A's finds a way to outsmart the richer teams by signing undervalued players and rookies. Since most of the players were not very good, they tried to play the "cheap way" of baseball. By trying to walk balls and not hit. The book is mainly about the financial side of baseball and how everything is depended on if you have more money. Moneyball shows the secret success to baseball and it also has a lot to do with baseball knowledge. Although there were many hardships, in the end the A's ended up winning the 2002 World Series. So, I would only advice it if you understand baseball or watch it. Recently, a movie was made out of it with Brad Pitt. 

The Road To Hell

I am currently reading a book named ' The Road to Hell - The ravaging effects of foreign aid and international charity ' by Micheal Maren, who has spent more than 20 years working as a foreign aid worker and journalist. He was an eyewitness to the worlds worst wars, famine and natural disasters.
      The book is amazing, it makes very valid points about the way Africa is used as a source of money for the west. The charities may have a good cause, and yes they may reach Africa, but the people who benefit mostly are those who are westernized, those who have a proper house and enough food, this obviously does not refer to every charity.
      For as far as I have gotten, the book is written very well, and really makes you think twice.

ROOM

I thought that maybe "ROOM" would be a good book to read together as a class. I haven't read it but my best friend in China just read it and she told me that it was a very good book (we are both interested in the same books). I did some research on "ROOM" and I now have a small general idea about what "ROOM" is about.
The entire book is narrated by five-year-old Jack. To Jack, Room is his entire world. He has never known any other world other than Room. Born and raised in Room and he lives in Room with Ma. They eat, sleep, read and play all day long but at night, Ma locks Jack up in the closet where he sleeps while Old Nick visits. Room is home to Jack but to Ma, Room is where Old Nick has been holding her captive for the past 7 years. Ma created Jack's world for him but Ma knows that Room isn't enough for Jack to grow up and for Ma to live. So she composed a escape plan but the entire plan relies on luck and, on Jack.

Atonement

The book I have currently started reading is a fascinating story of three main characters. It is written by a remarkable author, Ian McEwan. Even though I have not yet gone far with the book, it is a very captivating novel. Of what may seem ordinary for adults, there are just some things that a thirteen-year-old cannot understand. Briony Tallis is an over-imaginative girl that has gone way beyond the boundaries of reality and into the world of fantasy. After having to witness an explicit and bizarre event, her imagination began to create chaos, later scarring the lives of two star-crossed lovers forever. So far, it is a very perplex yet gripping book.

Anna Karenina

At the moment I am reading two books, Life of Pi by Yann Martel and Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina.  I am more focused on reading Anna Karenina because the writing is more complex and difficult to understand, the book is a lot longer than Life of Pi, the book is absolutely magnificent and because I have to return it to the library as soon as possible.

Anyways, Anna Karenina is a very interesting and beautiful book. Anna Karenina is a beautiful, wealthy and popular woman. She has a very important husband and an adored son. Anna has everything a woman could have possibly wanted in the time that this book is set but, she still feels empty. Until she meets Officer Count Vronsky. Their following affair outrages the Russian society and brings jealousy and resentment to both Anna and the Count's families. The book also tells an intense story of love and recklessness of Konstantin Dmitrich Levin. Levin tries to find happiness and a meaning to his life. Its an amazing book (so far).

I've only just started the Life of Pi (maybe 2 pages?) and I don't plan on continuing to read it until I'm finished with Anna Karenina. To be honest, I know practically nothing about this book except the information that the blurb gives me. I'll post more about the Life of Pi after I've read more of it.

I'm reading The Curious Incident, and I must say the style of writing is very unique. The narrator is a young aspie, uses very simple and straightforward sentences, and in an effort to make the book more interesting he adds chapters where he talks about things that he think are interesting, often about maths or outer space. Another thing that I love about this book which is also unique is that the chapters are numbered with only prime numbers.

Which book would you like us to read next in class?  Add your suggestions as a comment.

The meaning of things

I recently started reading the meaning of things by A. C. Grayling. It has proven to be very complex but very interesting.

The book that I am currently reading is an amazing short history of private life called "At home". It's a lot more interesting than I thought it would be, It explains in extreme detail the story behind everything in every room of the  entire house and I mean everything.

"City of Fallen Angels" by Cassandra Clare

I am currently reading ‘City Of Fallen Angles’ by Cassandra Clare. It the fourth and most recent publication in the series. The next one is coming out in May 2013. They are science fiction/fantasy novels, aimed at a teenage audience. I am really enjoying this book. The vivid description captured me immediately making me feel like I was a bystander in the book.