My Vote...

I have to say that I think everyone did a good job on their presentations. It made me want to read all the books, which makes this voting thing harder. I will say that I am down to two books that I think will be good books to read for the next English 110 class and those books are “My Most Excellent Year” by Steve Kluger and “The Road” by Cormac McCarthy. Both groups gave really good presentations and kept my attention the most throughout their speeches. Why I like The Road was because it seemed like a giant mystery. The kind of book that you would want to keep turning the pages because there’s so much going on but you don’t know what is actually happening. I like the fact that the group made it seem that this book is so unnerving, with the whole cannibalism thing, and yet you know if you are going to read it you’re not going to put it down. Apart from The Road, the group that presented My Most Excellent Year made me think of another book called “The Year of Secret Assignments” by Jaclyn Moriarty. Why it reminded me of that book was because when they said that My Most Excellent Year had a lot of notes and e-mails and journal entries that you would read throughout the book to get to know the characters better, The Year of Secret Assignments also did that same thing. Of course I haven’t read My Most Excellent Year but I do know that My Year of Secret Assignments was completely written in that format, and that it actually made the reading a lot more fun but yet still kept to a plot line. I also like the fact that My Most Excellent Year had so many modern day cultural aspects in it, like one of the characters being gay, another being deaf, one who lost a parent, and so on. I agree that it would be a book that would have so much to talk about and that everyone would enjoy.

So I guess from this my vote goes to…..My Most Excellent Year! But The Road would definitely be a close second.

In The Shadow of No Towers

Before I say anything about this book I first have to say that I never read a graphic novel. I did read the Sunday comics growing up but I never bought a book that was a “graphic novel” so I can’t really put down graphic novels because this was the first one I’ve ever read. Now, about this book, I’m fifty-fifty when it comes to liking it and hating it. At first I was put off by it because it was so confusing and hard to really get into. I didn’t like how each panel went from one emotion to another emotion to another thought to another fact, it just made me confused as to the point that Spiegelman was trying to get at. But after really looking at the panels again I realized that during that time that is how it was, that emotions where everywhere and there wasn’t a lot of answers to anything. That and the way that you had to look at the pictures just to try to understand it all was the main reason behind why I liked this novel. Granted I probably wouldn’t recommend this to anyone but as a first time look at a graphic novel for me I don’t think it was a terrible choice. I will say (and a lot of people probably might not agree with me) but I really liked the second half of this novel. With all the historical comics. Especially the “Little Nemo in Slumberland” and “The Glorious Fourth of July,” I liked them mostly just because they made me laugh, and the Little Nemo one just reminded me of the movie. All in all, my review of this graphic novel is fifty-fifty.

Fight Club

First off I have to say that I have never seen Fight Club before this class. For some reason I never really wanted to see this movie. I think it was mostly because I was never really a fan of Brad Pitt (other than the “Ocean’s” movies, but that was mostly because George Clooney and Matt Damon were in them), so I would usually shy away from any movie that had him in it. I know not a good way to really judge a movie but that’s what I did. It actually wasn’t until I talked to my really good friend (who loves this movie) that I started getting interested in it. He would describe to what the movie was like and just keep repeating, “You really need to see it.” When I found out that we were going to watch it in class, I was a little excited. After seeing the movie, I can officially say that I really really like it. Also, for someone who hasn’t read the book either, I thought that the movie was very well written. You were able to really get into the characters and the stories behind them. There wasn’t really a character in that movie that didn’t have some kind of key role in the movie. After talking in class about how people didn’t want to play this movie after the 9/11 attacks, it makes sense to me because of just that overall threat to peoples’ lives and to America. But when you really think about it, most “thriller/crime/action” movies have that sense of threat to someone or to some place. But I do understand that it is hard to see anything bad happening (even if it’s fictional or not) because you don’t want to really see someone get hurt.

Nonrequired Reading

Prompt: Sufjan Stevens writes about his acquisition of literacy at a grocery store. What are the hidden meanings and metaphors of his education process? How does this relate to the concept of nonrequired reading?

What I believe are Sufjan Stevens hidden meanings and metaphors of his education process, is that everyone can learn something by looking at the things around them. He talked about how his third grade teacher Mrs. Lubbers assigned him “a simple task: spend your free time at the pharmacy, the video store, or the grocery store, scanning aisles, browsing cereal boxes, examining coupons, prodding price tags and recipes for nouns, verbs, adjectives…” (p. XV The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2007 (in the introduction)). He would then go to the “local k” when his dad would get paid to perform his task at hand. By going to the store he found that everything had words and different meanings all over the place. It wasn’t just a simple book that you were required to sit down and have to read, no it was just simple phrases or sentences that you can pretty much just take your time to read and understand. This type of learning was what I would kind of do when I was younger. I remember sitting at the counter with my box of Captain Crunch Berries box and my bowl cereal and just looking at the box and reading all the little jokes or games that were on the back of the box. How this relates to the concept of nonrequired reading is that something that is nonrequired (to me) seems like your just reading something for the fun of it. It doesn’t mean that those things aren’t short stories or novels; it just means that you’re not forced to read it. By reading for fun you are able to expand your vocabulary and also your creative mind, which I believe is what Sufjan Stevens is trying to get across.

Last "Kite Runner" Post

PROMPT: Also in Kite Runner, Sohrab saves Amir from Assef's brutality by using a slingshot. This scene mirrors the actions of Hassan earlier in the film. Is Amir's defense of Sohrab to General Taheri Amir's attempt to take a stand he didn't take earlier in the film? Or rather, does Amir redeem himself in the process of accepting Sohrab into his home?

This scene, the scene where Amir finally finds Sohrab and how Sohrab has to dance for the General, I believe was one of the more intense scenes in the movie. Of course it wasn’t as intense as the rape or the execution scene (where they were at the soccer game), but it definitely had a sense of “do I really want to watch this right now?” I say this because it kind of made me angry that General Taheri made Sohrab (Hassan’s son) dance. It seem like it was something that he wanted him to do to degrade him and make him feel like a lesser person, so when Sohrab threatened General Taheri after he attacked Amir I was like “yeah, you go dude!” Of course when he actually hit General Taheri in the eye with a rock from the slingshot I definitely felt a little queasy, and I thought that was weird because seeing blood doesn’t bug me, but that scene for some reason definitely bugged me. Anywho…I do believe that Amir’s defense of Sohrab was his version of trying to redeem himself for not taking a stand earlier in the movie when Hassan needed help, but I don’t think that was the point in time when he redeemed himself. No, I think that was just a way for him to feel better but I don’t think he redeemed himself until he took Sohrab into his home. That was a way for him to feel better about all the crap that he did to his friendship with Hassan.

"Kite Runner" Continue...

PROMPT: Kite Runner ends with Amir going to Afghanistan to retrieve Hassan's son. While Amir hadn't see Hassan since abandoning and betraying him as a youth, Hassan seems to have forgiven Amir, and his letter indicates that he knows he might never see his old friend again. Amir's guilt over the years must have been tremendous, but was this Amir's purpose for going to the Kabul orphanage? Despite the family ties that existed between Amir and Hassan, and their subsequent revelation to Amir, why do you think Amir traveled to Kabul?

Okay, first off I have to say that I really really enjoyed this movie. I actually didn’t know that this movie was taken from a book, but after seeing the movie I am more than tempted to buy the novel and read it. Apart from that, I don’t believe that the guilt that Amir felt towards his friend Hassan was the reason he went to the Kabul orphanage. I mean I see how that could be a possible solution to why he finally traveled back to his hometown but I have a feeling that that wasn’t the reason. I believe that the reason behind why he traveled back to Kabul to get Hassan’s son was because he felt that if he was the son then Hassan would do anything he could to get him. So in a way, it’s his way of showing his courage as well as a return to all the help that Hassan has done for him.

Just Been Thinking...

Ok so this might be a little off topic but due to recent events in my life it made me start to think. You see I’m writing this blog today because I pretty much have more of an appreciation for the character May in Will Ferguson’s “Happiness.” Now you’re probably wondering why I would bring up Happiness when we are clearly way pass that book and have now moved on to movies. Well it’s mostly just because for my groups mid-term project. We are doing ours on Happiness, and for our project I’ve been thinking about different actors who could possibly play May. In order for me to really think of someone good to play her I had to think about the kind of person that May is, and it wasn’t until now that I really noticed what kind of person she really is. I feel that I can completely relate to her in so many ways. For example throughout the book she was desperately trying to get the attention of Edwin. She was always there for him and made sure that she could pretty much be the friend that Edwin always needed because he was always in a foul mood and slightly confused about his life. I don’t know about you but I can definitely say that that has happened to me once or twice in my life, where I’ve tried to be a really good friend and get the guy to finally notice me, but yet nothing happens. Trust me it really really sucks.

Anyways, I like the fact that even though May did slight go a little to “happy” like most of the other characters in the book who read “What I learned on the Mountain,” she still didn’t try to impress Edwin after it all settled down. At first I kind of did wish that they would get together at the end of the story, but now as I look back at it I don’t wish that anymore. I believe that what Ferguson did by pretty much letting May leave on her own was a good idea. It showed that she was strong enough to put the past behind her and move on with her life. Which I believe is a good thing if you are caught up in a situation like this.

So all in all, I pretty much have decided that when (or if I ever read this book again) I’m going to picture Kate Winslet from the movie “The Holiday” as May. She would play May perfectly, and if you really don’t think so, watch this movie and you’ll see why.

The Beginning of "Kite Runner"

Kite Runner prompt queston: Now that you've seen the first half of Kite Runner, what are your impressions of the film thus far? What do you make of the bond between the two boys, Amir and Hassan? Why did their relationship change after the kite running competition?

So far I’m really enjoying watching Kite Runner. I’ve actually always wanted to see this movie since I’ve seen the trailer for it when it played on TV but I was too lazy to actually go to the theater and buy a ticket for it. But I am happy that we get to watch it in class. My impression of the film thus far is it’s really intriguing. I like how it started off showing a grown-up who just recently got his book published, pretty much giving you an incantation to the fact that this movie is going to be based upon his life/childhood. I personally think it’s mostly going to be based on his friendship with the boy, which we obviously get to see throughout the movie. The bond between Amir and Hassan seem both elementary school friends mixed with the love that siblings or family members give to each other. In a way though it kind of makes sense, Amir and Hassan seem like an “older brother, younger brother” type of friends. One pretty much looks out for the other and is willing to get hurt for him, while the other one is safe because of it. Also, there’s the fact that they pretty much grew up together as well. I think the relationship changed after the kite running competition because I can’t remember if it was Amir or Hassan who got hurt (I think it was Hassan) but the other one (the rich one) probably thought that the only reason why he (Hassan) got hurt was because he was trying to get the kite for him. That Hassan wasn’t willing to save his own skin and the other kid pretty much feels like a coward for not standing up as well. Anyways, I’m excited to see more of this movie and too see just how this relationship between Amir and Hassan will work out.

Alternate Ending to 'Happiness'

After both Edwin and Jack spent countless hours working on How to Be Miserable it was finally done. It was ready for the public to see and that’s exactly what they did. The next day How to Be Miserable by Tupak Soiree went on bookstands everywhere. Thousands of people went out and bought the book but only half of the people believed in what it said, especially one important person.

Edwin hasn’t seen this particular person in months. Last he heard she was working as an editor-in-chief at Key West Books, while he was still stuck at Panderic Inc. Of course he’d seen her at countless publishing luncheons and gatherings between the two publishing companies, but it was this one encounter that he finally saw her…the girl that he’s been missing.

She was dressed in a fantastic suit that fit her perfectly and her hair looked like it was professionally styled, but none of this mattered to Edwin. No the only thing that mattered was the perfectly crayola red lips that this girl had.

“Hello Edwin,” said May.
“Hello May. I’ve missed you” Edwin confessed.

Months passed and life went back to normal in the city. Eventually What I learned on the Mountain became a thing of the pass and everyone started to go back to how they use to be. Both Edwin and May ended up together and eventually had kids. Since then, Edwin has walked down the same streets he did every morning, enter the build that he worked at every-day (which was of course Panderic Inc.), and kissed May before he left. Edwin was finally realizing what happiness is. About how it’s not something that has to be perfect twenty-four seven and definitely something that you don’t need a self-help book to get.

Where's my 'Cosmopolitan'...?

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?

When I first read the prompt question all I could think of was, “heck I don’t know, I don’t read self-help books!” It wasn’t until I decided to read the response example that I notice that I kind of do. I will admit I am a total fan of the Cosmopolitan, Seventeen, celebrity this, wear this for fall magazines, (it’s actually the career that I want to get involved in when I graduate from college) but I never really ever looked at these types of magazines as a “self-help” type of writing. I mostly look at them as “well I’m really bored and I rather not do my homework right now, so I’m going to look at the pictures.” After reading a bit of Will Ferguson’s Happiness I can start to see how stupid and crazy self-help books really are. Even though I am a fan of these particular magazines I can definitely say that I am nothing like the character Jenni. I definitely don’t go around labeling everything with motivational quotes and thinking everything is peachy-keen.

On the opposite side though, I will say that there are some self-help books out there that do help people. Everything from how to lose weight to getting out of financial debt, one step at a time. But have you ever thought that maybe music is also a form of self-help. For me, I believe that music is something that helps people because it can motivate someone, cheer them up, or just completely relate to them in a way that nothing else can. All in all, I’m kind of undecided when it comes to self-help books. I think they can be useful as well as a big waste of time.