Quarter 3 has you all choosing modern novels to read, analyze, and enjoy. So, tell us, what are you reading, analyzing, and enjoying?
Get excited for the last quarter of independent reading and the last book project, too!
Quarter 3 has you all choosing modern novels to read, analyze, and enjoy. So, tell us, what are you reading, analyzing, and enjoying?
11 Comments
Ethan DeWitt
2/5/2016 08:08:08 am
Man, A Clockwork Orange is weird. I'm not very far in yet, but I immediately noticed Anthony Burgess' writing style: 50% English; 50% made-up slang terms with no root in any Latin-based language. Seeing the movie (or half of it, at least) has made it a little easier to follow the story, but this book should only be undertaken by readers who are prepared to be very confused by the diction employed throughout the novel.
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Rachel Franzen
2/5/2016 08:09:12 am
So, for third quarter, I am reading Life of Pi. The book started off a little slow because Piscine, also known as Pi, mainly talks about how his family owns a zoo, and what it was like growing up with one. He also talks a lot about his schooling and college life. The book doesn't get exciting until about a third through the book when the cargo ship his family is on sinks. The rest of the parts of the book I have read is Pi telling his story of how he survives everyday on this little boat with a tiger name Richard Parker. It is a really interesting read so far, and I really enjoy it and cannot put it down.
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Jack Hannack
2/5/2016 08:27:23 am
Dear Rachel,
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2/5/2016 08:12:02 am
Well I am reading Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson. I have read the first few chapters already, and the book doesn't seem to be too cheery and bright. The novel has a racial tension brewing with a murder trial unfolding in northwestern Washington. At this point in the book I can't tell if I will enjoy it yet, but it has been interesting to read up to this point. Hopefully I will get this book done in a timely fashion so I don't have to hurry through the project.
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Esther Gland
2/8/2016 12:50:56 pm
So I read A Handmaid's tale this quarter. Read, as in already done. The book was extremely compelling and I found myself unable to put it down until I finished. The book takes place in the possibly alternative future where society is religion oriented. Women are not allowed to read, are essentially male property, and are supposed to be chase and proper at all times. The book details how our current society fell into this new culture through a series of flashbacks. I would highly recommend this book; it was emotional and dramatic, but also addressed some very serious issues about sexism and what our world could turn out to be if we aren't careful.
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Mrs. S
2/17/2016 09:10:45 am
This is definitely on my reading list! That said, I am getting a little over dystopian novels with the current influx of this genre-- did you find it to be unique in this sense?
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Jordan Walkky
2/19/2016 08:33:03 am
For quarter three I am reading Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee. I am not super far into yet so I have not reached the really graphic, disturbing parts that we were warned of but the beginning is still pretty messed up. Basically the main character, David Lurie who is a professor and teaches literature, really likes women and sex, but he doesn't like having one woman for a long period of time. He would rather spend a short amount of time with them but not be there with them the next morning. He spends a lot of time with prostitutes and has even had an affair with a student of his which has gotten him into some trouble. The thing is, he does not want to get attached to these women, yet he is angry when he sees they have a life outside of him which I find extremely hypocritical. He saw one of the prostitutes he sees regularly with her children and was angry because she didn't appoint him the father yet he told us, the reader, he doesn't want to be with her and have the responsibilities of the husband. That is probably a good thing because he has already been married twice and kind of failed at the whole marriage thing. He also tries to justify his actions. Whether it is to society or to himself, he says what he is doing is fine and that this is just a lifestyle that fits him. With this, since he is very intelligent and is very good in literature, he is very convincing. At one point I thought it could be just a different kind of lifestyle and that it is alright to behave this way because he told it in such a way that was intelligent and convincing. I had to step outside of his words to remember that it is still pretty bad and in this case, illegal. Lurie is an extremely complex character and I am curious how it will affect him in the future.
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Becky Fesenmaier
2/20/2016 06:49:27 pm
I am reading The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison and I still can't really decide how I feel about it. I am about a third of the way done and although it is a pretty easy read I still haven't hit a point where I have gotten super hooked on the book. I do think however something exciting has to be happening soon, otherwise I don't know where the book is going. But so far, the book is about an African American girl and her sister and another girl that comes to live with them. Their family doesn't have very much money and I am pretty sure it is taking place at the end of the great depression or during it.
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Ethan DeWitt
3/23/2016 09:09:48 am
I'm over 50% complete with my novel, and I've warmed-up to the slang Anthony Burgess uses. By analyzing the context of the unknown word, it is actually pretty easy to understand the words. These slang terms enrich Burgess' storytelling, and give the whole novel a charm. The fact that A Clockwork Orange is actually a funny book may go unnoticed. So far, I'd give the book a 9/10.
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Bailey Manor
3/27/2016 04:49:26 pm
I read The Lovely Bones and loved it! I really didn't expect Susie to get murdered right away. I expected that there would be some suspense leading up to the murder, but I was wrong! The story got kind of boring towards the middle, but then there was more action and mystery. I expected the affair because I have heard several stories where the death of a child tears families apart. It is also a super easy read! :)
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Jenn Hayes
4/1/2016 11:28:06 am
The book I read is about Celie’s perspective from writing letters to God about her life. She is raped by her father (who she later finds out is actually her stepfather) who she has two children from. Her father marries her, the supposed uglier daughter, to Albert because he does not want to give Nettie up even though Albert is obsessed with Nettie. Celie ends up falling in love with Albert’s mistress, Shug Avery. Meanwhile Nettie runs away from home to live with Celie and Albert but Albert still is obsessed with Nettie so she goes to Africa to do mission work.Celie doesn’t hear from her in years and assumes she is died but really it is just Albert hiding the letters to Celie from Nettie. Nettie works with this couple Samuel and Corrine, that it turns out had adopted her sister’s children. Celie and Shug Avery, who are accompanied by Squeak, fed up with being abused leave Albert and his family to live in Tennessee. They raise up a business for themselves and later find out Albert has renounced his ways and become friends with him. Meanwhile Nettie is now taking care of Celie’s children after Samuel’s wife Corrine dies. The book ends with Celie and Nettie being reunited and Celie feeling younger that she ever has. It is a very good book on women's rights and sisterhood. I recommend it to anyone who wants a good emotional moment.
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