Week 2: Maybe it was good being sick

Waking up on Monday with a 102 fever didn't seem like it had any bright side. After feeling a little better, and exhausting everything on my Tivo, I figured I might as well read. I finally got a book done in a reasonable time. So far I've enjoyed most of the books I read this year. Five people you meet in heaven, Extremely loud and Incredibly close, and the Da Vinci Code. Of these, five people you meet in heaven was probably the most thought provoking. This book really got you thinking, especially while reading the inferno. It's very interesting to consider Albom's theory that Heaven is a reflection point, and people can look back on their lives. It's also interesting to see how much the main character, Eddie, grew in his (although never defined) relatively short time in heaven. He managed to forgive his Dad for mistakes made over a 30+ year period, re- fall in love with his wife, validate his thinking from while he was at war, and learn what happened to him in the Philippines causing his permanent leg injury. This book is a must-read classic, one that I feel I will not soon forget!

Quarter 2: New Goals, New Books. Week 1: Heaven V Hell

In retrospect, last quarter I messed up in the beginning, and made it too hard to come back in the end. This quarter I'm trying not to do that. In doing so I've made great headway in the Mitch Albom Book, The Five People You Meet in Heaven. I thought reading this was interestingly timed considering we are also reading The Inferno, in which Dante recounts the details of a trip through Hell. So far in the 115 pages I've read, I learned a lot about the life of the repairman at an amusement park who dies in an unfortunate accident, saving a little girl from a falling ride. Once reaching heaven, the reader learns that rather than being everything soft and perfect (as heaven had been described to me -- bear in mind I'm not religious at all), heaven is a stage in which one can reflect on his or her life. Interestingly enough, this is very different from what we read in The Inferno, in which people are pettily punished for their sins, in heaven people are not (according to Albom) rewarded in the same sense. Additionally, Albom seems far more forgiving the Dante. In Dante's world, someone who takes the life of another is deemed at minimum violent against thy neighbor and condemmed to a life soaked in a pool of blood. In Albom's world, a former militant can apparently still make it to heaven.

Week 6: A busy week of reading

As the end of the quarter was approaching even more rapidly, I knew I had a lot of work to do to get anywhere in independent reading. Last week (Sunday, so maybe that counts as this week) I finished the Da Vinci Code. It was a great book, other than the ending which had a little too much about religion for my liking. That was the end of 1.5 books. Great only 1.5 more (since this is online you can't tell, but I mean this very sarcastically). To try to get one book in I asked my parents to get me, from the library, Five People You Meet in Heaven (a book that I'd assumed was rather short). When it came in, I took a look at it and realized that it wasn't as short as I'd assumed (actually 200 pages). So... I chose a book that I'd actually contemplated reading over the summer, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon. The lucky placement of Tuesday's day off gave me the chance to get a great deal of the way through it, and by Wednesday I had finished. It was a pretty good read, but not as exciting as the Da Vinci Code. The story was told through the eyes of an autistic boy, framed for a crime he didn't commit. The story has some surprises (like the fact that instead of dying, his mom just divorced his dad), but definitely none comparable to that of the identity of the teacher in the Da Vinci Code. Although I only got 2.5 books done, I'm satisfied with the reading I got in (being more than I've done in a while), and I will work to get the full three in next quarter.

Week 5: Not Where I Want to be

As the quarter comes to an end (only one week after this one), this post is a little more about me as a reader than the book. As I thought about independent reading, more than anything, I felt disappointed. I thought about what I'd gotten done this quarter and must say I'm not pleased. I have worked much harder this year in English (and all my other classes too), yet I still fell behind in a critical area, independent reading. With a requirement of 3 books, I only managed to read 1 this quarter. I started Da Vinci Code knowing it counted as 1 and a half books. I am definitely far enough along to consider it one book, but to my standards, ms. O'Brian's standards and my parents standards that is not enough. I am nearly finished with The Da Vinci Code, and plan to finish it during the weekend (I have also been reading during the weeks too, just apparently not enough). I plan to then finish one book (The Five People You meet in Heaven) by Wednesday (we have Tuesday off, it's doable). Then, I'll do my best to get somewhere in Kite Runner (if possible). One thing's for sure though. As we roll into next quarter, I will do my best to not let this happen again.

Week 4: A secret Civilization

My fourth week of Independent reading (going strong, so far I've read more this year than all of 7th 8th or 9th grade, I'm impressed), took me to a new world of an ancient mystery. In these chapters, Robert Langdon -- a harvard professor who works with symbology and renaissance art -- learned from french police cryptologist, Sophie Neveu that Sanuiere (if you recall he is the murdered curator of the Llouve) belonged to a secret organization. This secret organization was started in the 11th century and greatly impacted by the work of Leonardo Da Vinci. Carrying a well kept secret, crucial in the catholic religion, members of this organization kept its presence little known. Langdon explained a history involving the secret they protect which includes a great deal of violence and blood shed. As the story progresses, the reader is left curious what this could possibly have to do with a murder 500 years later of a prominenant man in the world of art. Additionaly while all this happens, a meeting takes place between the Pope and the archbishop of Opus Dei. I am anxious for independent reading in class tomorrow where I will get the chance to see how this all unfolds.

3rd Weekly Post

Now this book is really starting to get good. Much of the last passage I read took me to the world of the mystery's antagonist, Sillas. Sillas is part of a small branch of the catholic church known as Opus Dei. Opus Dei members believe that people have sinned to a great extent; so to make up for the mistakes of mankind they condemn themselves to a life of pain. Much like clergy in a catholic church, they may not marry, but worse than that they wear a swaddle (or band) around their backs which will cause a great deal of pain to remind members of this sect of sins committed by mankind. Sillas adopt catholicism to this extent after escaping jail (he was imprisoned for stealing food that he needed to survive). During the chapters I read, Sillas was admitted into saint-sulpice, a grand catholic church in France, and he was last seen breaking open the floorboard to obtain a keystone. Expected to tell Sillas what to do next (following his murder of Sanuiere). These chapters are truly spine chilling as the reader learns of the villain in action, committing a crime for reasons beyond the readers knowledge.

2nd Weekly Reading Post

Oops. Just realized my last post was only saved as a draft and never published. Let's hope this one works. Other than that my reading experience has been pretty good. Continuing in The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, I found that I actually really like mysteries. When I left off, Robert Langdon had just left Sophie Neveu in his attempt to escape to the embassy. Yet much more happened to lead up to that. Langdon had just cracked the code left by the murdered curator of the Lourve, Jacquess Sanuiere. This code states the phrase "Leonardo Davinci/ The Mona Lisa". This only sparked my curiosity and interest in the book. What could artwork from about 500 years have to do with the murder of such an important figure in the world of art? While that problem emerges, the book returns to the main problem: Langdon must get to the embassy! I hope that during independent reading tomorrow some of these mysteries get solved, and of course this store continues to be as intriguing as it is now.