Reading and Writing Reflection #8

Reading Reflection

Book: The Bond
Author: Wayne Pacelle
Pages Read: 104-239 (skipping around)

So far I am really enjoying this book. Since it does not have a storyline, it being non-fictional, I skip parts that get a little long or I don't really find super interesting. Like when he gets all these acronyms for companies and associations going, and timelines, and what they fought for, it can get a little confusing for me. The cover of the book is a bit deceiving, I thought it would be solely about us and our household pets. But... one more chapter and that's what I will be reading about! Very excited about chapter five :)

In chapter three, it was all about how animals go through unnecessary cruelty when being bred and used for food. My text to... media (or whatever it is) is the film Food Inc. That is all I could think about the entire chapter. That movie is so gross, but I think everyone should see it. Anyway, it breaks my heart that people treat animals that way. Cows stand on concrete floors, knee deep in mud and their own manure, turkeys are bred to have breasts so large that they can no longer stand. One quote from the book really shocked me and put things into perspective (I don't have the book with me so I won't put it into quotation marks); Turkeys grow so quickly now (to be ready to use for food) that it is the same as a human being 239 pounds at age two. That's sick. I will not stop eating meat, eggs, and the like (they're too good to stop) to protest or whatever, but it is certainly worth looking into buying free-run farm eggs -I think that's what they're called- and equivalents for meat. I want to watch Food Inc again...

Writing Reflection 

This week we did black-out poetry, inspired by Austin Kleon. I really enjoyed doing it a lot, minus the headaches from the markers. I kind of hate writing my own poetry from scratch (bad times in middle school), but I found it came pretty easily for me! My sister even wants to keep one for her inspiration corkboard! I guess since the words were already there, I just had to choose a few and arrange them. The only real challenge I had was choosing a theme that carried through all three poems. I think my second poem, about being popular, is really cheesy. I don't really believe that it is all we think about in high school, but its all I could think of with the words from that specific article. Also, the one about summer is kind of dumb... I think I was starting to lose my steam. But the one about perfection I think is really good :)

This style of writing is unique, I think because with the six-word memoirs and moments, you have to create something entirely new, which can be difficult. Especially for me! But when you use a newspaper article, its like half the work is done for you! You're taking a cue from someone else, and forming it into something entirely your own. Its like using your inspiration for your finished piece.

I learned that I don't always fail at poetry. :) But sometimes I do, lol.