The Lucky One, and The Hunger Games (Personal Addition)

The Lucky One, and The Hunger Games.

Two books I want to read, two movies I need to see. There has been so much buzz on The Hunger Games lately, and finally I had to ask. What are the "Hunger Games"! Turns out it is a book series, and soon to be a movie. After being told the plot -that two kids are chosen from different "districts" for an annual fight to the death- I have become so interested in reading these books! And I think it will make a great movie.

Last Friday night, I went out with a few friends to go see The Vow
at the theatre, and one of the trailers shown was for the movie The Lucky One, based on Nicholas Sparks' novel of the same name. So many good things about this. I love Nicholas Sparks. I love romantic comedies. It is starring Zac Efron. And as a bonus, the female character and I share the same name.

Now I have two books on my waiting list. Four, if you count the other two Hunger Games books. Where to begin. Should I see the movie first, or read the book? The movie renditions often don't do the novels justice, maybe I should leave reading second?

Reading and Writing Reflection #2

Reading Reflection

As I continue to read further into Night, I am still astounded by how much Elie loves his father.  The camp has changed him in many ways, but he never leaves his father’s side. I cannot relate to the amount of courage he has to move forward, I am far too timid. Bravery is a common trait in this book, as well as optimism, something I am lacking when in bad situations. I have also commented a few times about losing his faith in God, which I can definitely understand his reasoning for, but if he believed in God once (or still does), he needs Him now more than ever! I also can’t believe the different kinds of hardships these people go through, and that these things really did happen. The imagery is haunting, but I can’t stop reading. 

I had one question written for the portion of the novel that I read, and that was: What is Rosh Hashana? So I looked it up on good old Wikipedia, and it turns out it is the Jewish New Year! I had no idea that it what a holiday, it sounded more like a name to me. I also had another question that I do not have the answer to. Where are Elie’s mother and sisters? Are they still alive? Maybe the answer will come before the end of the book. My prediction is that they died not long before entering the camp, and Elie and his father did not know it. We'll see!

Writing Reflection

I enjoyed writing the six word memoirs! They were short, and easy to write. The only thing is, they don’t tell your whole story, they are just a piece of it. That being said, it was difficult to choose which one to use for my final memoir! I wrote so many on a whole bunch of topics, some more casual, some more serious, so it was a challenge choosing just one. 

I am still loving blogging. I can do my homework anywhere! At the library, at school, on my iPod, or on my desktop. I like not dragging notebooks around everywhere with me. The hardest part of this blogging thing is still personal additions. I don’t really get what their about, and since I am not in tune with literature and things of the like, I feel like I have nothing to write about. My blogging goal is to get on it, and create some personal additions!

Reading and Writing Reflection

On our first full reading class two weeks ago, I forgot to bring post-it notes to comment on, so my notes begin on page 32, which makes it difficult to remember what happened, much less what I was thinking while I was reading. I guess I could have written my thoughts on a piece of paper and indicated page numbers. Oh well, live and learn! Now that I am using post-it notes, I find it difficult to pay close attention to what I am thinking while I read. I get too involved with the story! But using post-it notes is very useful, and reading them reminds me of what was happening at that point in the plot, without having to reread. 

So far, at page sixty-two, Elie and his family have been taken away to a concentration camp, and have spent several weeks there. Right away he was separated from his mother and sister, but has remained by his father’s side. Right now, Elie and his father have it easy, working in an old warehouse, sorting and counting spare parts. 

Many of my written comments have to do with how positive and strong Elie is being. I also have two post-it notes regarding the book and movie, The Boy In the Striped Pyjamas, by John Boyne (I loved the movie so much, I had to buy the novel! The Holocaust really interests me for some reason, apparently!). The first being about the electrified fences in Night, versus the plain fences in the movie The Boy In the Striped Pyjamas. Which is true? I want to lean towards Night being more accurate, since it is a true story, written by someone who lived through it. As I was reading through Night, I came across a paragraph where some German guards starting flirting with “young German girls” who were watching through the fence. This immediately reminded me of the attraction between Lieutenant Kotler and Gretel  in The Boy In the Striped Pyjamas.

So far I have really enjoyed writing in a blog as opposed to on paper. It is much more convenient for me, I don’t have to lug around binders from school to home, I can access it anywhere, and I type much faster than I write. It is also easier to manage and edit what I write before posting. I am up to date on mostly everything, but I could definitely be making more personal additions. I’ve really only made one, about The Magic Tree House!  I am not huge on doodling, really, and on my Listography photos, you can see that I did not draw much at all. But if we do this again, I will make sure I do more. I am not sure what I would like to do next as a writing project, but I’m sure whatever we’re handed out will be fine with me.

Listography, and The Magic Tree House

Here is my Listography doodle. There is much more listing than doodling, I got a little carried away. I didn't get a chance to get to all of the prompts, and there are some I skipped, but I still had to spill over onto the back! It was easy to collect the lists once I got going, discussing (or listing!) things that interest me are fun! Some thoughts would trigger another addition to a list I had previously written!

In other news, I feel so scholarly, because when I was babysitting my cousin's daughter the other night, I mentioned to her how much I loved the book series The Magic Tree House, by Mary Pope Osborne when I was her age. She told me she had never heard of the series, and I was so appalled that I went out today and bought five to give to her. I hope she enjoys them as much as I did. You feel like you're in a different world when you read them, without having to leave your room. :)

My Digital Footprint Doodle

Googling Myself

Today we googled ourselves. I found two things I had no idea about two of the things I found! One was a profile I made on hi5.com, but when I clicked on it, it said the request could not be carried out. I also have no recollection of ever making that profile, nor have I ever heard of hi5.com, but in the google description, it says that I live in the states, which I did. So I guess I made it a long time ago and don't remember?

The second thing I found was a page on deviantart.com, by my girl friend's boyfriend, where he posted a photography portrait I took of her. He gave me credit by name, but he never asked or told me about it, so I had no idea it existed!

Other than those two pieces, my two usual sites came up. Facebook, and Pinterest. I also found some different things, like my grandmother's online obituary, which I didn't know existed, and my sister's Facebook page. I guess information really does stay on the internet for a long time, because I just found a page with information on my sister, with the exact address and city of where we lived in the states, and the correct zip code. Creepy! We moved back here almost seven years ago! I will definitely be careful with what I put on the internet.

Introduction

Hello! This is Beth. I am a grade 12 student, new to the blog scene, but I am eager and willing to get started. I am currently reading Night by Elie Wiesel. I have read and watched movies about the Holocaust (even been to the museum when I was seven!), but this is the most serious book I've read about the topic. Although I am only on page 32, it seems like quite a somber novel. I am excited to finish it because I have owned it for years and never opened it.