Finally

When I started this class I almost never read anything other than texts or small articles here and there. I've always been a slow reader so my inspiration for reading gets drowned out by things that I'm more productive and quick at. I was extremely independent and I always have been and probably always will be. I would much rather work alone than with another person, no offense to the other person, but its just who I am. Like I said before I really wouldn't read much if at all and when I did it was small things such as texts and articles. Most of the time when I see words I just turn away from whatever it is and find something I can do without reading. I will never read on my own, its just how I work. I can't say I enjoy reading, not one bit and I doubt that will change anytime soon. The only reason I would ever read on my own would be because my mother wanted me to or I was so bored I was ready to gouge my eyes out with a rusty nail. Reading is not my forte and I'll leave it at that.

Response

Over the course of the semester I have read several books that I really enjoy. I've read "Voices from Chernobyl", "Tom Clany's Rainbow Six", and "Dragon Rider". Each of these books appealed to me in its own way. Now I've never been much for reading but these books really seemed to keep me interested. I've always struggled to find a book that can hold my attention for more than three sentences and these books did so I was truly impressed. "Voices from Chernobyl" gave insight into the pain and agony that the people of Chernobyl had to suffer through. It provided the most tragic stories I've ever heard or read about. It created the feeling of hopelessness and despair as you read it, making it harder to read but also making it interesting. "Rainbow Six" is the complete opposite of the Chernobyl. It gives you the real action filled scenarios and all the live word action that readers want. It gives you the feel as if you are there helping John Clark in his attempts to save the world over and over again. "Dragon Rider", one of my favorite books, although old and somewhat for younger kids, I enjoy it. Its an amazing book that takes you as a reader into a vast and nearly endless world of imagination. As you read of flying over the seas you feel the cool wind blow through your hair and when you enter the Himalayas you can feel the cold winter air nip your skin. As you read of riding on dragons you can feel the smooth scales beneath your butt and legs. When you read of the extreme battles between many mythical creatures such as Sand Nymphs, elves, and giant golden dragons you feel as though you are there, fighting along side the boy and his dragon companions. That is why I enjoy those books.

Response

So today I picked up the book "Flags of our Fathers" and started to read it after the vocab test. It starts with the son of one of the six men who raised the flag that day during the battle on Iwo Jima. He tells of his life growing up unknowing of the heroic deeds in which his father had done. As he tells of his childhood he describes how his father never wanted to speak of that day during the war. His father would always quickly change the subject if someone tried to bring it up. There were never-ending reporters trying to barge down their door to hear the story of the father. Man years later after the boys father had passed he gathered his brother, his mother, and his sister and the made a journey to Iwo Jima. The island now again controlled by Japan and somewhat by the U.S. the family must gain special access to venture to the island. A well renowned general of the U.S. Marine Corp. personally flew them to the island in his plane and when they landed they were greeted by the Japanese prime minister, a red carpet, and a wall of Japanese soldiers to the right and Marines to the left. They ventured around the island seeing the once decimated place of war in which their father and husband had risked his life to win. His son found the very spot in which the flag had been raised and then he began to realize how tragic it all really was. The son tells of how they searched for their fathers will in his house but instead of finding the will they found three large boxes full of their fathers past in the military. They learned that their beloved father and husband was a decorated hero of war. He saved a young boys life by pulling him out of the line of fire after being shot. He was the first of all the troops to arrive at the top of the volcano and claim it as theirs. The son always wondered what had happened to the five other soldiers that helped his father raise the flag. He finally found the answers when he opened the boxes. Three of the soldiers went on to die in the very same battle. The other two went on to die in a battle later in the war. His father was the only survivor of the men who raised the flag. As he ventured across the island he looked across the rough terrain and picked up what he thought to be a rock but after a closer look he realized it to be shrapnel from the battles on Iwo Jima. His father had taken some of the very same shrapnel to the grave with him. The son walked through a bunker where a Japanese soldier sprayed bullets at incoming American soldiers only to be burned alive by a lone marine with a flamethrower. The gun was still mounted to the wall and the barrel was melted down the wall. 

Currently

Books: Dragon Rider
Total Pages: 163

Sentences of the week:

1.) "Through the vast nothingness of the tall dark tower of the golden one."

2.) "Me!? A fool!? I think not!"

3.) "Nevertheless we ventured through the forgotten land of the sand pygmies only to find ourselves surrounded by endless hills of sand."

I like these sentences because they use pretty good description and because I say the quote from #2 all the time. The book Dragon Rider is full of great descriptions of the magical places they travel and the great battles they endure.