Blog #6: Readicide

I fell like Readicide is definitely an issue in schools. I fell like sometimes by not including the types of things that the students are likely to take any interest in whatsoever. Jennifer Weiner said “I think if the NYT cares about its darlings finding a wider audience, the smartest thing it can do is be a little more respectful toward the books readers are actually reading.  Students are thrown into that “readers” category, and are therefore more likely to read some of the things that Weiner is referring to: genre fiction.

 

 I won’t say that I absolutely have hated EVERY book that I ever had to read for school, but I won’t say I enjoyed them all either. And what is sad is that I DID really like some of the material that was mandatory for a class, I just hated the process of “reading” it within the classroom. For example, when we read Romeo and Juliet, I loved finally getting to hear Shakespeare’s writing. I’ll admit that it was not an easy text and definitely needed to be further analyzed for SOME parts, but that doesn’t mean we all have to stop reading every fourth line to discuss his word choice and if he had an underlying meaning to every word.

I also feel like there IS definitely a line between “the classics” that have (at least it seems) always been taught, and the new “hot items” that are circulating the market right now. We have to keep in mind, the classics present their values and do in fact hold similar themes and ideas that DO still exist today (contrary to popular belief). I don’t think that we should entirely disband the idea of teaching the classics, but schools could include a few Dan Brown novels, or have a class that looks at the sort of “in-betweens” like what some junior-high curriculum covers: The Giver, The Outsiders, etc.           

Just remember to not forget to actually put down the highlighter, and the sticky notes and, God forbid, the SPARKNOTES and just enjoy and READ books!!!

 

Post #7: The Book Thief Trailer

The Book Thief

Post #5: Film Adaptations

Certain scenes and elements of the book thief are without doubt essential to the reader’s (or in this case viewer’s) understanding of the story. There are a lot of “interjections” made by the narrator (Death) and lots of “flashbacks” that give background knowledge that pertain to a certain character, relationship between characters, or in general the historic setting (Nazi Germany).

One scene in particular that could not be removed is the scene where Liesel’s brother is buried after he dies on the train. This is a key turning point in Liesel’s life, and is the beginning of the book. This scene is also where Liesel commits her first act of thievery in stealing The Grave Digger’s Handbook after one of the boys who bury her brother dropped it in the snow. This book is what sparks her interest in books and is basically the whole point of the title…J
 

                Another key scene would have to be the Kristallnacht scene where it is described how bad off the Jews really were, and is the basis for why Max Vandenburg comes to Hans for assistance and shelter. I almost think that this is a scene where you could go into even more detail than in the book itself. It is a majorly significant historical event and could be easily extrapolated upon further.

Finally I feel like a scene that would have to be included (and was in the movie, and yes, I know I’m horrible for seeing then reading… oh well) is the “flashback” of “the Jesse Owens incident”. This “incident” is where Liesel’s friend Rudy Steiner covers himself with coal dust so he appears to be black, and runs around the track pretending to be Jesse Owens from the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. This shows how Rudy is different from many other Hitler Youth and has yet to be entirely brainwashed into thinking that anyone “different” from what he is, is therefore his inferior. Besides, I think that it would just make kind of a funny scene in general…J

However, for the sake of time and money there are definitely some scenes that could easily be removed and viewers would not miss out on the essence of the book.

One such “part” could be the whole background of Max being a fist fighter growing up; although in the book you learn that he made friends with Walter Kugler (the man who helped him escape to Hans) because he was a previous opponent, you don’t need that background to understand the point of the book.

Another part of the book that WAS cut from the movie was the entire sort of “sub-story” of the “apple thieves”. I think that it would have definitely been a good thing to keep in the film adaptation, however it is not essential, and I speak from experience it felt like a very long movie as it was.

Book Project #1

My idea is to sell a picture book that tells The Story of the Pilot. It will include pictures that further expand the story and would make the story more exciting as opposed to the “word-of-mouth” telling of it in the book Reached.

 
           The Story of the Pilot is the basis behind all of the Matched series. It is commonly referred to throughout all of the books, and is the underlying plot for all three books. It explains through a sort of “code” the story of how *the Rising began in the world of the Society (*the Rising is a group that was against the rules of the Society and felt that people should have more choice in their life). In the book Reached the first two pages are titled THE STORY OF THE PILOT (a kind of prologue to help the reader understand what is going on). The story is meant to portray how many people felt they were being cheated out of their life and life’s experiences. Cassia demonstrates this when she says “Writing, painting, singing- it cannot stop everything. Cannot halt death in its tracks. But perhaps it can make the pause between death’s footsteps sound and look and feel beautiful, can make the space of waiting a place where you can linger without as much fear. For we are all walking each other to our deaths, and the journey there between footsteps makes up our lives,” She is trying to explain how the Pilot in the story wanted a better life for himself and the people; a  life that was without fear. And she showed that he stopped at nothing to try and make that happen (even though his notions seemed impossible). Towards the end of the book, Cassia is reflecting back on her and her friends’ journeys and how they have been impacted by the Rising.  She says “I remember what Anna called the three of us.

The Pilot. The Poet. The Physic.         

They are in all of us. I believe this. That every person might have a way to fly, a line of poetry to put down for others to see, a hand to heal,” This shows how Condie used each of the characters to symbolize a key component that takes place in all revolutions, and societies that are formed; The Pilot is the driving force that takes the brunt of the work/labor, the Poet is the one who keeps the past’s history and culture alive, while paving the way for new ideas to come through, and the Physic helps to heal the aftermath of what had been done for revolution to occur. Finally, the very last line of the book resounds as Cassia states “There is ebb and flow. Leaving and coming. Flight and fall.

Sing and silent.

Reaching and reached,”

She is referring to the struggles and changes that come with revolutions, but that ultimately in the end, goals can be “reached”.  Bottom line is that by providing the readers with a better understanding of THE STORY OF THE PILOT it will hopefully give them a better understanding of what is going on in the books, and will give them a new insight.

 

This idea will help the reader to better understand and experience the book Reached because it will provide a background (along with a visual) that will help them to better understand the underlying plot and meaning that is incorporated into the book, of how there is a struggle to achieve revolution, and ultimately a better world. It could help broaden the book’s audience because it will help to better explain some of the more complex details of the story, in a new, interesting way. People who are already fans will enjoy it because it’s another “partner” for the series, or a “companion-book”. Lots of authors have created similar things that have sparked readers’ interests to stay interested in their future works (Rick Riordan’s Demigod Files or Cassandra Clare’s Shadowhunter’s Codex).

These are pictures of what every page of the book could look like...

 (Sorry about picture quality... had to upload images a different way)

 

Reached

     I have recently been reading the book Reached by Allie Condie. So far, I have found the book to be very drawn-out and I feel like there is not much that has happened. What HAS happened so far took (at least in  my opinion) far too LONG to start. It is just now beginning to be more interesting. It falls a bit short of my expectations, based on it predecessors.

Post #2: What is a book?

 

A book is an idea. And it isn't only one idea, but it's a collection of them. They are the ideas and thoughts of the book's author that slowly transcend to the reader’s mind, where they are then expanded upon. A book embodies not only the message trying to be conveyed by the author, but also the reader's interpretation of it, and how they chose to experience it.

 

I nearly find myself agreeing with Tom Piazza when he states, "You get no sense of the feel of things, of the nature of the artist's ambition..." and feel that he has captured something of great importance. However, I do not honestly view myself as an “anti-technology/device” person (I use a Kindle myself). I also think that to some degree Joe Meno is correct in his statement that “…the idea of the book is more important than the actual form it takes…”  I feel like you shouldn’t completely ignore the benefits of having an entire bookshelf at your fingertips. It is a stubborn and unwilling attitude that will likely be viewed upon by today’s society as “old-fashioned”. Yet I also feel like you should never forego the experience of holding that 734 page hardback of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.  

 
     I think that it will be a very sad day if/when the book (as in the sense of a literal BOOK) disappears. Can you honestly imagine reading to your children only from and iPad (or whatever is around by then)? I just don’t feel like it’s the same experience, especially for young children. I don’t feel like they should be robbed of the joy of turning their books’ pages by ACTUALLY turning them, and not pushing a button with an arrow.

We shouldn’t as book lovers banish the idea of e-readers and downloads; but we also as a people shouldn’t be so swept up in the whirlwind of excitement that surrounds our new technologic devices. We should try and all agree to be open to the idea that a book is just that; an idea. And one person’s idea of what a book is could be completely different than that of someone else’s. Does it really matter? Does it really have to be all or nothing?

 

 

Post #1: Why I Read

     Why do you read? Do you read for enjoyment or for information? Do you read for the educational value, or just so that you have something new to talk about with your friends and fmaily? I think that I honestly read for all of these reasons, and many more.

     In the video Why I Read (below) one aspect of reading is mentioned on more than one occasion, adn that is the idea that when we read we are often pulled into another world and on an adventure. We are able to experience things that we just don't get in our everyday lives when we read. We can go to places we have heard tell of, and be there in our mind by-way of the author's description. We can imagine what life would be like if a significant event hadn't happened, like Stephen King's new book 11/22/63.  Or maybe we are whisked away by a book where we can depict our posterity's future conflicts in books like The Giver or the Matched Trilogy that portray seemingly utopian societies that as time goes by prove to be anything but utopian. Bottom line is that when we read, we are taken to new places without ever having to leave.

 

 

     One of my personal favorites about reading, is that although you take into account what you think the author wants you to depict from his or her writing, you are still free to create your own interpretation. I know from experience that often times, readres are dissapointed when their well loved books become movies. That alternate world, almots like a miniature TV playing inside our minds is often replaced by the director's interpretation of the story. Nevertheless, we all still seem to pay to go and see the movies, hoping that we are not walking into a dissapointment;)

 

BOOK TRAILERS:

 

The Giver by Lois Lowry

 

11/22/63 by Stephen King