Finally

This semester I only read three books. The Kite Runner was my favorite, although I do like reading The Help as well. I would either read in study hall or at night before bed and usually big chunks at a time instead of spacing it out. I didn't manage my time well when it came to reading (or blogging for that matter). I've found that my favorite types of books are books about friendship and growing up, but I would still like to broaden the genres of which I read.While reading The Kite Runner I would get lost in it, but for the other two books I found myself checking my phone, texting, or even staring at the wall, for whatever odd reason. It's not that the books were bad, I'm just easily distracted. That's why I like reading in silence the best, music and the television would distract me beyond belief, which is why I should really stop doing my homework in the family room. I have stayed the same as a reader throughout this semester and will probably always stay the same. When it comes to reading it's patchy in a sense. Sometimes I go for long spurts without reading, and other times I'll be engross in books for weeks, it just depends. A lot of it depends on how busy I am, how motivated I am, or even my emotions. When I want to get something off my mind, I read because it is a decent distraction from what I am trying to avoid. Reading allows me to temporarily forget about my problems, which can make me feel better, even if it is short lived.

Currently 11/4/11

"The Help" by Kathryn Stocket
Pages for week 2: 100
Pages for week 3: 78
Pages this semester: 1050

Sentences of the week:

1.) The she say, "Aibee, you're my real mama."
 2.)"It's true. There are some racists in this town."
3.)Miss Celia takes a deep breath in that tight pink skirt and for a second I guess we all think she gone pop.

Close Reading Bingo

Chillin In The Nyle-  Rule #6- (use) 
http://letsgetawesome5.blogspot.com/

Apples to Apples- Rule #4 
http://wowfaktor.blogspot.com/

That one guy's blog- Rule # 9 (this)
http://mrbsbooks.blogspot.com/2011/10/activity-2.html

As Told By Ginger- Rule #4 (use)
http://mbutchko.blogspot.com/

Practice Diction Analysis

The Mezzanine by Nicholson Baker has a somewhat straightforward diction. The description is precise and has a somber bitterness to it. The rubber handrails "wavered slightly" and had a "black luster." On  sunny days there was an "escalator of daylight" which conveys a poetic dullness, yet a common denotation. The word choice is dull and low-level, but it still has a high level of description like the escalators described as a "pair of integral signs swooping upward." Overall, Baker wrote a very descriptive paragraph, but lacked colorful and exciting diction.

Currently

The Help by Kathyn Stockett.
Pages this week: 110
Pages this semester: 872

Style Mapping
http://the-squirrel-monkey.blogspot.com/
http://thatperuviangirlathomestead.blogspot.com/
http://ticanthunder.blogspot.com/

Favorites ^

Style Mapping

The Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy has a musical and elegantly figurative sound to it. The words used for description are somewhat poetic and melodious. McCarthy writes, "Days of riding where there rode no soul save he. He's left behind the pinewood country and the evening sun declines before him beyond an endless swale and dark falls here like a thunderclap and a cold wind sets the weeds to gnashing." Stardust by Neil Gaiman is more denotative and specific however. His way of description is littoral, precise, and common. His description is seen by the excerpt, "The houses are square and old, built of grey stone, with dark slate roofs and high chimneys." The Help by Kathyrn Stockett is lower and blunt, but is still somewhat poetic with a figurative rhythm to it. One of the characters, Aibileen, says, "But I ain't never seen a baby yell like Mae Mobley Leefolt. First day I walk in the door, the she be, red-hot and hollering with the colic."

The Help

I'm about a quarter of the way through The Help! At first it was somewhat hard for me to understand the way Aibileen talks but I've gotten a little more used to it now. Right now in the book, Aibileen is feeling really sad because it's the three year anniversary of her son, Treelore's death. Treelore wanted to be a writer and wanted to write a novel about what it was like being a negro working for white people in Jackson, Mississippi. He died before he could write it though and now Miss Skeeter wants to take his idea. She wants to interview the help (maids) in white people's homes. So far however, she can't find a maid to agree to interview with her. I don't blame the maids either. Aibileen sums it up by saying, " if I agree to take this interview, I might as well burn my own house down." Which at the time, it was a good possibility to have your house burned down for using the wrong bathroom. Aibileen's neighbor was blinded by a mob of white men for using the wrong bathroom, when there wasn't even a sign indicating it was a white only bathroom! Different bathrooms?! ridiculous.