Favorite Part

In my last post, I talked about finishing Black Boy and how I enjoyed parts where I could relate to Richard's feelings. Here is one passage from the book that really excited me:

"Reading was like a drug, a dope. The novels created moods in which I lived for days." (Wright 250)

This feeling, or mood, has occured within me every so often, and the feeling is truly exilerating. The first time I can recall it happening was during my eighth grade year at VVMS. My friend introduced me to the book Blue is for Nightmares, and after finishing the book, I became obsessed. I read the next three books at light speed, using every spare minute I had to be sucked into their enchanting story. I couldn't concentrate on anything else, not even shopping! It was hard to descirbe what I felt to anyone else, the yearning for more plot, character development, story... but slowly and reluctantly, the feeling faded. However, another came again in mere weeks, taking the form of the band The Click Five. At the time, I called it a "music high", for I couldn't go between classes without listening to a bit of their music. This obsession did not entirely match my lastest book obsession, for it was not as strong and went away sooner. The next one I can recall was after seeing the movie Casino Royale with my best friend. I was already a huge James Bond fan, but walked out of that movie theater determined to be Mr. Bond's female equivilant. This movie high lasted an even shorter period than my music one. I was beginning to wonder if my obsessions were beginning to deminish in passion as I grew older. I was definetly wrong. It seems these moods, obsessions, whatever you call them, are stronger with literature, just like Richard's. For, the last week of summer vacation '07, I discovered the amazing novel Twilight. The mood began again, all I wanted to do was read, not paying attention to anything else. I read about 1,500 pages in the span of a week. The three books by Stephenie Meyer, Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse, are the best I've ever read, and are still on my mind, as I imagine they will be for quiet a while!

Wright's quote is the best way to describe this feeling I get, and therefore I can relate exactly the way Richard felt. I admire Wright for being able to sum up this emense feeling in seventeen words, whereas it took me the length of a small memoir to describe!

The End of Black Boy

Wednesday night, I finished reading Black Boy. For my Enr. English 10 class, I only had to finish part one: Southern Nights. There is a second part however, called The Horror and The Glory, which I hear is very political and does not follow the same style of writing as the part one. I found the ending to part one very abrupt, as I'm sure many of my peers did. Even though the story continues, I wish the ending to Southern Nights would have given more closure.

Nevertheless, as I look back on my reading experience from this book, I liked it overall. I did find some parts repeatitive or boring, but the story was inspirational and different. I can't remember the last time I read a memoir, if ever, but I enjoyed the thought while reading that these events actually happened and the author really felt these feelings. It was especially neat when I could relate to the main character, Richard's, feelings.

Let the Outside Reading Begin!

I started my outside reading book, Until They Bring the Street Cars Back, today. So far the story is relatively interesting, but not enough to get me through large amounts at a time. However, I like the fact that the story takes place in a town (St. Paul) that I've visited many times and am very familiar with. I hope that I'll be able to finish this book before the next Breakfast Book Club meeting when we meet the author, but there are so many other distractions! School, tennis, New Moon... (which I plan to finish for a second time tonight). Stay tuned to see how this all turns out.

Black Boy

We've begun reading the memoir of Richard Wright, Black Boy, in English class. The writing is very discriptive, which I like, but is also very straightforward. I enjoy books more when the pace of the writing is varied a bit. Nevertheless, Richard's childhood is interesting to read and learn about, but his life is so different from my own that I cannot sypathize with his feelings or situations.

In class today, I had a good discussion with my group about the events occuring in chapter three. We talked about why they happened and if they foreshadowed any upcoming events. I definetly got some "food for thought" on the book.

too much?

Well.... I feel like I'm blogging a lot, especially since we haven't gotten any homework yet, but my weekend in Milwaukee with my grandparents isn't too exciting, and it's fun to have a place to reflect a bit on books I've read. I just finished A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray. Out of five stars, I give it four. It was interesting, and kept me reading, but was not my favorite book. However, I plan on reading the sequal, Rebel Angels, because I would like to find out what happens to Gemma and her friends, and see what's up with Kartik. :)

Stephenie Meyer remains #1

I just finished a book called Blue Bloods, hoping it might be similar to the Twilight series, but it cannot compare. I really love Stephenie Meyer's character development in Twilight, I feel like I personally know the whole Cullen family, Bella, and Charlie. I guess that they're my favorite books for a reason, and I won't be able to find another series exactly like it. I don't know how I'll be able to wait an entire year before Breaking Dawn, the fourth book in the Twilight series is released!

For now, I'm reading A Great and Terrible Beauty which I hope to finish this weekend, and then I plan to read Until They Bring the Street Cars Back for the Breakfast Bookclub. (I hope I like the book because it will be fun to meet the author.)

Here's My Blog!

I just made my blog! I'm listening to "High School Musical 2" and am going to go finish the rest of my homework now. :)