Reading times

whoops, draft again.

LOTF-12/1= 45 mins, 12/2=1 hour
Dance for dragons- 11/30=25 mins, 12/1=1 hour

Semester Reading

List:
The Mark of Athena
Son of Neptune
Ship Breaker
The Drowned Cities
Maze Runner
The Scorch Trials
The Death Cure
The Alchemist
The Magician
The Sorceress
The Necromancer
The Warlock
Short Story Book (does it count?)
Lord of the Flies
The Last Child
The Iron House
The Life of Pi
Palace Walk
The Fellowship of the Ring
The Two Towers
The Return of the King
A Game of Thrones
A Storm of Swords
A Clash of Kings
A Feast For Crows
A Dance for Dragons
The Unfinished Tales
The Simillarion

Writing Part:
     I learned this semester that I am okay with reading non-fiction books. However, I much prefer fantasy to anything else, other that science fiction. Nonetheless, I know that reading will remain one of my passions for quite a while.

  My goal for next semester is mainly to keep up my reading habits, but this time remember to put them up on my blog.

Reading times

Dance For Dragons: 11/26 1 hour, 11/27 20 mins, 11/28 1 hour, 11/29 1 hour, 11/30 50 mins 12/1 20 mins, 11/2 30 mins

sorry its late again, posted as draft and I woke up this morning to fix it.

Reading times

Times for the break
Thanksgiving break: 6 hours LOTF, 2 hours A Feast For Crows, 3 hours A Dance For Dragons

My obscure(for now) reading focus

Okay guys, my reading focus is one of the most obscure and unmentioned characters in the book (or at least at the moment, but no spoilers), Roger. I have noticed that he seems to be the sidekick or helper of whomever is winning an argument (I'm referring to the Jack vs. Ralph arguments) However, in recent chapters, he has turned more to Jack's side permanently. Later in the book however... he becomes far more noticeable and a bit scary... but once again no spoilers.

Semester reflection

     We've accomplished alot as a class, particularly in the field of grammar and reading skills. We have mainly studied the traits to look for in good writing through our annotations, and also covered common errors like comma splices. However, most of this I know already.
     It is the material involving writing techniques that are a bit harder. I say this because we have covered several different types of writing. For each different type of writing I use, I have to change the style of writing that I have grown accustomed to.

In-Class Chaos

Sorry it's late again, but my blogs seem to continue to post as drafts. Thank goodness i caught this one earlier.

     The activity that we did in English with island survival was... interesting, to say the least. It started off with some people logically deciding what to do, and who held the highest authority *cough cough me*. Some were intent on trying to find things, like shelter or food. And some simply weren't doing anything at all, either keeping their thoughts to themselves or not caring
     Then it began to get chaotic. Everyone was fighting over who did what, and people were indecisive or unhelpful. Then out of nowhere, fantasy football. The national sport of our island, because we certainly would have access to computers, right? It all ended in confusion and chaos.

Reading Response

(sorry its really late but I was just looking at my blog and this post was marked as a draft so I guess I'll just post it now.)




     Well, I'm almost done with the fourth installation in the A Song of Ice and Fire series, called A Feast for Crows.  The plot of this book is very complex, similar to all of the other books in the series, but this one is particularly suspenseful. As always, I am extremely impressed with the work of George R. R. Martin
      The suspense of the book is actually kind of annoying in a really good way, because right before something very important or dramatic happens, the point of view switches to another character. This strategy makes me want to keep reading and finish the book, and then read the newest book in the series, A Dance for Dragons. The most annoying part, however, is the fact that i cannot move on to the next book because I lost my current one. So if anyone happens to see A Feast for Crows in lost and found, do me a favor and bring it to me.


(nevermind the last part, I found the book after I wrote this)

Metro meet

             Well, tomorrow, I have another cross-country meet. This meet is known as the metro meet, and all of the teams in or near Baton Rouge attend. It is the last meet of the season, excluding state, which is kind of sad, if you ask me. The Episcopal Cross-Country team hasn’t won this meet in quite a while, so this year, it is one of our top priorities to win (feel free to come out and watch after school… hah, who am I kidding. But seriously, fans would be appreciated.).

            This is a big meet for the entire team, not just the top seven runners who compete at the varsity level. This is because, unlike most meets, everyone runs three miles, while in most other meets everyone but the varsity team runs two miles. SO naturally, most people who have never run three miles competitively are pretty nervous (again, fans would really help make us less nervous). After Metro, all that’s left is the State meet, which we haven’t lost in quite a while. So, wish us luck, and come out if you can (Just observing a pattern here, but at the state meet, there are usually a few fans that come out to watch. Just saying…).

Short story Comparison

The short stories that I read last quarter were Sucker, The Sniper, and Hills Like White Elephants. In each book, there were certain elements present that were common. There were not very many similarities between the three stories, as the purpose of each one was different from the other two entirely. Sucker was in the first person, whereas The Sniper and Hills Like White Elephants are both in the third person limited Point of View. The

 Characters of each story were also completely different. For example, the man in The Sniper is described as a fanatic and a skilled soldier. The main character in Sucker is hardly described at all, as the story mainly focuses on Sucker himself. The main characters in Hills like white elephants are just relaxing while waiting for a train to pull in. There were almost no similarities between these three stories.

Reading Times

A Clash of Kings- 10/15= 60 mins, 10/ 16= 20 mins, A Storm of Swords- 10/17= 30 mins, 10/18= 45 mins, 10/19= 20 mins, 10/ 20= 20 mins, A Feast for Crows- 10/21= 60 mins

POV of "And of Clay we are Created"

I noticed that there was a lot of focus on point of view in the story And of Clay We are Created. There was a constant change in point of view between a man named Rolfe and his wife, who is watching Rolfe try to save a little girl who was half-buried in an avalanche.

When the story is focused on Rolfe, it switches to the third person view, where Rolfe is referred to as “he.” When the story is focused on the wife of Rolfe, it is in the first person perspective, with the use of the pronouns “I”, “me”, and “you”. At the end of the story, there even seems to be a second person paragraph, with uses of the pronoun "you".

1s Quarter Reflection

            This quarter, I think that fairly well behaved, with maybe a few exceptions. I complied with all of the rules and requirements for the class, and I always came to class prepared. I always made a point to do my free reading, and I have been attentive in class. I usually participated in class and I have been productive to the best of my ability.

            However, sometimes I may not have been as well behaved as well as I would’ve liked. Sometimes, I was talking to others, or reading while I should’ve been listening. I sometimes may have distracted my peers by talking. I also often forgot to do homework, which doesn’t usually happen to me, but I am busy very often with AP World History homework as well. Overall, I think that I’ve had a fairly decent quarter.

Reading times

A Game of Thrones 10/1 30 mins 10/2 20 mins 10/3 40 mins 10/4 The Sorceress 50 mins 10/5 20 mins 10/6 60 mins.

I am a Writer Who...

I am a writer who is short and concise. I like to keep my work brief. My writing sometimes looks fairly small. It seems to make people think that I am not a very good author or that I don’t try. This aggravates me because I do try, and, in my opinion, my work usually turns out all right. It’s just in my nature to write very short papers.

I am a writer who is pretty creative. My work sometimes jumps out at me. I try to use good word choice and make my sentences flow, so that my writing sounds nice. I sometimes like to write fictional things, because then I can be as creative as I want, without any limitations.

I am a writer who likes to write about the past. I like this because when I write about my past, I am forced to delve into the depths of my memory, and maybe remember things that I am fond of, or important moments in my life. For me, writing about my past is the form of writing that come the easiest to me. 

Reading Response for A Game of Thrones

READING TIMES: Dead Man Walking 9/24 20 mins., 9/25 10 mins. A Game of Thrones 9/26 50 mins., 9/27 120 mins., 9/28 25 mins., 9/29 60 mins.

            This week, I read A Game of Thrones at the request of Charles and Garrett. I am very glad that they recommended this book to me. It was one of the best book that I have ever read, second only to The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Anyway, A Game of Thrones had a ridiculously complicated plot structure, filled with war and politics. It is narrated in the first person, from the viewpoints of several different characters, some being protagonists, others being antagonists.

 The story began with introductions to each character, and made it very obvious which were antagonists or protagonists. As the story unraveled through each character’s eyes, and the tension built, I could see their various stories eventually came together a the climax, which was a series of treacheries committed by unsuspected assassins that started a war. As the world of the protagonists fell apart, I realized just how intricately written this plot structure was. I hope that this series continues to impress me with its complex plots in book two, A Storm of Swords.