Book Voting: The Road

The book that I thought would make the best read for next semester was The Road by Cormac McCarthy. The group presented it very well, going over everything from the book cover to the very details of why they never gave names to the characters. It was very entertaining to listen to how the book unfolded, you were never quite sure whether or not the human race was still alive; all was shrouded in mystery and only a little was ever revealed. The cover is also visually eye catching, it’s not the color, it is the lack of that makes you look at it.

Another good thing the group did was when they went over the plot they didn’t give away the ending and it left the audience wanting to know what happened and what the whole mystery was about. Because of this presentation I am going to run down to the local bookstore and buy myself a copy and if they don’t have it there I might have to track it down.

Compared to the other groups (who did very well in their own rights) the group that presented this took their time and really seemed like they enjoyed reading it even though it was a sad ending (which they wouldn’t tell us). When they gave their argument they looked the crowd in the eye and told us what they honestly felt about the book (even though some of the groups comments were to honest).

At this point if this book wasn’t chosen I would be very surprised, it has all the requirements and it is an enjoyable read. So I choose The Road.

The Best American NonRequired Reading Cont.

:Second Assignment:

Rock the Junta - Scott Carrier

Litature Unnatured - Joy Williams

Middle-American Gothic - Johnathan Ames

It is rather sad but I have to say it, the second part of this book was not as good as the first; in fact it is rather depressing. This is like every other book we read in this class; except for Water for Elephants which was awesome. The Middle-American Gothic was mildly entertaining, except for the fact that he was out of sorts and he himself was depressing adding up to the depressing atmosphere. At this point I just want to stop reading these stories.

The last story about literature and nature was very deep and profound; going on about how we are losing our colorful language and become a sort of grayscale. At least that is how I perceived it, it is sort of like words are no longer profound and meaningful, instead we just have a lot of words that mean the same thing but there is only a slight difference. So I guess in a way that is happening but it has happened a lot throughout history, I bet that we will get some more words somewhere; we always seem to.

The middle story was Rock the Junta, this story I didn’t understand and like one bit; it was just boring as hell. I couldn’t wait to get it over with, it was like walking though a bog; wishing for death and a swift end. All I can do is look forward to a time when we read stories that will hold my interest long enough to get a point across instead of just boring me to death.

The Best American NonRequired Reading

Section 1

I have got to say that this section of the book was rather entertaining, I read it in one sitting while I was eating breakfast. It was hard to keep from laughing, and when I did; people stared which is rather annoying.
My favorite part to this section would have to be Personals from around the World. Some of those things were so outlandish that you just had to stop and have a good laugh:

American Man, 57. I just want a girlfriend. What the hell is going on here?

Some people are so blunt when they say stuff; of course when you get desperate I guess you will say anything.
Then when I was reading Ten Stories about Ponies I had to stop and look at the title. I have to say that when I saw what it was called all I could think was what the hell? Then as I made my way through it I began to see that every paragraph was a different popular story but the noun of a character was substituted for a pony; which really threw me off.
And then I enjoyed the six-word memoirs immensely:

Being a monk stunk. Better gay.
-Bob Redman

Bad brakes discovered at high speed.
-Johan Baumeister

I like big butts, can’t lie.
-Dave Russ

These were some of my favorites, I just couldn’t put it down and when it was finally over I was so disappointed. If I could, I would have just kept on reading; but of course all things must come to an end.

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

I have got to say, this was one boring read; I almost died part way through. I could feel the life draining from me every time I picked it up; I guess you can tell that I really disliked this book, huh? And yeah, you are right; I would have preferred to read the dictionary.

This book was about the life of Oscar’s family, bouncing from one family member to another; explaining why they and their family were the way they were. Oscar, the outcast was one who I felt connected yet disconnected from; we are both into some of the same things. Lord of the rings and such, I bet he was into superheroes and comics to DC and Marvel are full of my heroes. If anything I am sure the author could have made a good comedy book.

The sister was a rebel, sort of reminds me of my sister but the Oscar’s sister was nicer. She had her off moments but she was a caring person, especially for her brother; who needed all the care that he could get.

But the deepest character I thought was the mother. At first you thought she was a heartless woman but in reality she had gone through a lot when she was younger. She went from geek to goddess then of course she got herself into trouble with a gangster because she thought she was more mature and grown up then she actually was. Inside she is actually a child who wants others to see how far she has gone and be admired for what she has. I really cared for her character.

Everything Is Illuminated Cont.

YES!! I am back again, with one of the best movies I have seen; ever. Everything is illuminated is so awesome…it deserves another post.
Continuing from the characters I have to say that this movie had a lot of deaths and none of them were tearful; al least I didn’t see any of the characters crying. The first death was the grandfather then the grandmother and along the way the main character was doing his annoying habit. Collecting.
I thought it was odd the way in the begging of the movie they were talking about the Jew family business in such a weird way. Throughout the whole thing I was wondering what it meant and slowly it came together. The way the grandfather knew where he was going, he would suddenly veer off into the trees where there were no paved roads and his mood became darker as they got closer to their destination.
So when it was finally revealed that the grandfather and his family were from the village they were looking for I was shocked but in the way I knew it was going to happen but it was still unexpected.
When the old woman led them to the river and the grandfather looked so peaceful I knew that his death was near; I really didn’t want to see him go. I have to admit I cried when he died, not the type of crying where your eyes get puffy and you have to blow your nose; just the kind where your eyes burn a little and you cover it up.
I loved that movie and I will un-doubtfully watch it again soon.

Everything Is Illuminated

Well, I re-watched this movie and I have to say that even watching it a second time it didn't lose the feelings that it portrayed the first time. This movie was captivating and funny and I can't forget serious.

The tone of this movie at first I thought was going to be humorous, then I thought it would be depressing, then humorous; throughout the whole thing I wasn't completely sure which feeling it would eventually settle on. At every turn, the audience as a whole was on the edge of their seats; whenever the movie was turned off, we were disappointed beyond belief.

As for the characters, I have got to say that the main character was rather strange; collecting everything in sight. He may have said that he just didn’t want to forget, but I think he may have gone a bit overboard. Especially with the potato and that poor grasshopper, respectfully they are going to die and rot. He may have changed a bit throughout the movie but he still kept that annoying habit.

And the grandson, he was a hoot alright; most of what he did sent me giggling. His English was terrible but he had great acting, I really wanted to see more of him throughout the movie; I believe he is the one that kept the movie going (with a little help from his grandfather).

Which then brings me to the grandfather; he was a loveable old geezer with his ‘Seeing Eye Bitch’. That had too of been my favorite character name, of course I had to laugh ever time it came on screen.

The rest is going to have to wait XD

The Best American Short Stories

The few stories we read out of this book were rather depressing, if I had the choice agian to read this book I would decline the offer.

Balto (one of the stories) was rather hard to understand. Reading it was easy but when you tried to understand the motive behind the story; that is when everything gets a bit blurry. The little girl who speaks in the trial on her fathers behalf says it was herself who was driving the car when the accident happened. But why would she lie so large when she could have told a smaller lie...or told the truth instead. Some things just dont make sense.

The other three stories, "Toga Party" and the others were equally as drepressing. Toga party was about death and dying, old people think to much on that. Horseman was just to slow to actually enjoy, I couldn't get into the story. The last I cant even remember the name becuase it was so slow and boring.

I could have been enjoying a completely different book about another subject...I might even have read Happiness again just to not read this one.

My Year of Meats

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was a exciting ride of emotion and action that kept me rivited and finished it on the first day. When I first picked up this book, I wasnt sure what to make of it; somehow it seemed so odd. But as I got through the pages I began to get addicted, I wanted to know what was going to happen next. Was Jane going to get the chance to keep showing her own programs? Would Akiko stand up for herself?

When I finally finished I was a bit sorry to see the story go. The ending was also a bit...well I found it rushed, I believe she should have gotten a better job offer for something as good as the program she put out for the public.

I have no doubt that I would enjoy reading this book several times within the next year. When the books are good enough, I do read them over and over.

Happiness: Alternate Ending

Okay, this is my idea of an alternate ending for Will Ferguson's 'Happiness':

1. Mr. Ethics while threatening Mr. Mead in his office with the gun, fired and killed himself when the weapon back-fired.

2. Mr. Mead (Leon) and Edwin went to track down Tupak Soiree and found the man who was Jack McGreary's stand in. He was left alive in an act of compassion...after breaking both his arms.

3. Being an old man, Leon stayed out in the car while Edwin stormed the house to come face to face with a terrible sight.

4. Edwin comes to kill Jack only to find May in the man's arms. He kills Jack in a jealous rage.

5. When he goes to rescue May another shock is given to the would-be hero, May is Tupak Soiree. With that, May kills Edwin and dispatches of Mr. Mead. Insuring her secret.

6. With that she controls the world from behind the scenes.

I Can Read You Like A Book

I do not restrict myself to class reading material.

Recently and to my delight; I stumbled across a self-help book that caught my interest. Recently I have become interested in human body language, what reactions and movement we do unconciously really tells others about us. Wheither it be lying, when we flirt or just moving naturaly.

The author lets certain facts be known as false. Such as looking up and to the right is lying, not all things are so simple; humans are complex as our communication is a mix of verbal and non-verbal. (Interesting fact: as I was writing this, the movie 'Hitch' was playing. The main Will Smith plays a relationship consultant that helps guys understand women to help them with relationships. Which entails the verbal and non-verbal communication that women use).

Understanding communication on all levels will be able to help out in your life, it goes along with possible careers that you may decide to go into to. This book claims that "Step by Step, you will devolp the same skills that best interrogators and detectives use to assess spies, criminals, and witnesses". I will be looking very closely at this book because I know that most of these self-help books are just scams or ideas that will only work for one or a few people. But I am not closed minded, I will enjoy it because sometimes; a book is a book.

Happiness *within the pages*

First prompt question: Ferguson's Happiness presents the self-help book as nothing more than a packaged production meant to fill a publishing catalog. What is your opinion of self-help books, and why?

To me, self-help books are an interesting source of insight into a wide range of topics. They hit people on the psychological level, influencing their feelings and stimulating their minds. I myself do not read self-help books, sure they are interesting but I do not like sitting down and reading something that wants to tell me all the things I am doing wrong. All those chicken soup books for the soul? Never read a single one. Books such as 'Who Moved My Cheese?' by Spencer Johnson, I found that one to be odd; I could sense it was putting a point across but I just couldn't find the 'motivation' to keep reading.

My dad is a collector of self-help books and makes me read them, I guess he is trying to 'help' me in his own way. Self-help books I admit, do help some people but really it is just advice that most people already know; yet reading it suddenly makes they 'see the light'.

I see self-help books this way because I see myself being just about the way I should be. So when others are desperate for words that will magically make them feel better about themselves, I don't fully understand the human mind.