Exercise #3

Reviews:
1. A Bridge to the Stars
2. 21
3. A Kiss in Time

Elements/Requirements:
1. Introduction: Short biography of author. History behind the novel.
2. Summary: Introduction of main characters. Setting of the novel. What is the problem that the novel will focus on? Expostion.
3. Reflection: What do I think of the book? Why?

Caddy For Life: John Feinstein #2

The book only gets better. I started on page 111 and got all the way to page 226, the end of chapter 14. There are only 50 or some more pages to go and I'm sad to see that I am almost done with it. The new section I started reading this week had a lot to do with what I had read last week, a lot of information on the earlier ages of his life. There were stories on his childhood and also interesting stories on how he become a professional golf caddy for the PGA tour. I remember reading about when he had first meet Tom Watson and I still can't believe how laid back their first time meeting was. The differences of golf then and what golf is now is drastic and I can't even imagine all the stuff he talks about. For example, when Edwards was looking for a job as a teenager, he would show up at the golf course the day of the tournament and find himself a person he would caddy just for that day. Now-a-days, I know that just showing up for a tournament won't land you a caddying gig; almost all caddys are full time employees. Towards the end, there was some stories on when Edwards was first diagnosed with ALS. The book went from happy to sad in less than five pages. I can't wait to finish the book even though I know it'll get a little sad. I'm going to have to get out my tissue box!

Note #1

 Leaves Fell by Juhan Liiv
    By employing calm, dreamy images of the falling leaves, Juhan Liiv creates a majestic setting in the poem, "Leaves Fell," while the world in contrast, impotently embraces the return of autumn. As if the universe is mourning the last days of summer, the depressed "ash-gray" waves and "tin gray" skies are saying their farewells to their favorite season and are hesitantly welcoming the intruding season, autumn. The world does not know what will come with autumn and so chaos breaks out.  To reassure that nothing bad will happen in the months to come the hectic waves and dreary skies are left to witness "autumn and autumn befriend each other." The mysterious season autumn, causes "leaves [to blow] in the water," and "winds [to bring in] cooler air," emphasizing the uncertainties of change that anyone can feel. 

Exercise 2

Weaknesses:
(1) "Who can't even CONCENTRATE TO WRITE this because her little sister will NOT shut up," announces the narrator illustrating the harsh reality to her life.
(5)  The " cruddy time on a crudddy street on the side of a cruddy hill in the cruddiest part of a crudded-out town in a cruddy state, country, world, solar system, universe."
 (5) He "kept his butt cocked to one side, his feet up on the shut rails so that the bull couldn't grind his leg, brad him up, so that if it  thrashed he could get over the to in hurry."

Best post:
More Cowbell, Please

 

Exercise 1

Lynda Barry's dissonant and grating tone in her novel "Cruddy," foreshadows a dark story yet to come for the young, immature protagonist, Roberta Rohbeson. As she spends her time "writing the cruddy book of her cruddy life," Roberta displays childish acts that can only belong to a juvenile, self-centered child. Living in "the cruddiest part of a crudded-out town," the stressed out child spurts random phases of anger. Bold colloquial language is also evident and suggests an atonal tone the author feels towards writing. Barry's low diction, which includes a repetition of the word "cruddy," along with Roberta's bipolar attitude verifies the hardships Roberta is going through as a hormonal adolescent in the midst of punishment. 

Caddy For Life: John Feinstein

I am working on those reading goals for this quarter and am so far on a roll! I have read the 18 page introduction of the book, "Caddy for Life" by John Feinstein, and have started the book. So far, I have gotten from the first page of the book all the way to chapter 8, page 111. "Caddy for Life" by John Feinstein is a biography dedicated to and written on the story of Bruce Edwards, an all-time golf star, Tom Watson's committed caddy. The biography shows how strong Edwards is, before and even after he is diagnosed with the neuro-degenerative disorder, ALS. I really enjoyed the introduction and am happy I didn't skip out on it; it informed me that Feinstein is a friend of Edwards so I feel like this book will not be a boring book of facts, but an actual story with emotions. I'm excited I picked it up because, of course, I'm a golf fan!

Anthology

I haven't quite decided on what to do for the project, but I was thinking on maybe doing something on the uncertainties of life. I've been looking around and find a lot of songs about the "what ifs" in life. For example, I could write about a song, "What If" by Jason Derulo, or even a poem, "Whatif" by Shel Silverstein. The possibilities are endless but I think I might have a hard time finding different genres on the topic, so I have a back-up plan.

The other thing I was thinking on writing on is the season fall. I was born in the fall and can say it is my favorite time of the year, when it's not too hot or too cold. I would be able to find lots of text to analyze, for example, "Leaves Fell" by Juhan Liiv.

If worse comes to worse I was also thinking on writing on the universe (aka. the stars and the planets).

Reading Log: Reading Goals

Along with the required 100 pages due each week,  I would like to:
a) read at least 10 non-school related books
b) read 1,500 pages in total.
c) read to my dog
d) read outside when the weather is nice

The End of "Something Blue"

I finished the last 200 pages of Something Blue which means that I have now completed the series. The twist at the end of the book surprised me! My prediction about the wedding was right, it was Darcy that got married in the end. I also didn't find out where the title come from until the last five pages too. I'm excited that I've finished and sad that there isn't a sequel.
As I reflect on both Darcy and Rachel, I can't help but notice  the similarities between them and me. I think of myself f a person like Rachel and my friend, I can't help but notice, reminds me of Darcy. They're both outgoing, talkative, and just so darn funny. Rachel, like myself, is a more keep it to yourself person. My friend and I are complete opposites but we always have a blast when we hang out. Rachel and Darcy's friendship was destroyed at the end of  "Something Borrowed" but was finally restored with a single phone call after the birth of Darcy's twins in England. I'm glad to see the two are civil again after such a harsh departure; the book couldn't have ended in any better way. I'd definitively recommend this series to anyone out there looking for a read on friendship. It taught me an importance life long lesson on friendships.

yummy cakes: a work of art