Quarter 2- A NEW BLOG.

For this blog I have chosen a few quotes from the section I have read, and I am going to reflect on them. I will reflect on them regarding the book, by making connections with other books, and making connections to my own life.

The first quote I have chosen is:
“There were too many of us for the kitchen table, so Charlie and Harry brought chairs out to the yard, and we ate spaghetti off plated on our laps(pg.149).”
In this quote what I really like is this the imagery. It shows how familyish, and close the people in Bella’s town really are. It reminds me of my family and sitting together with all of them.

The second quote I have chosen is:
“I giggled quietly. The sound made my eyes widen in wonder. I was laughing, actually laughing, and there wasn’t even anyone watching. I felt so weightless that I laughed again, just to make the feeling last longer (pg. 141).”
This quote reminds me so much of teenage girls falling in love. Almost every teen novel I have ever read has had the image of a girl who seems to just be “floating” through her life because she is so happy. Although Bella is not in love, she still had caught that bug of teenage girl happiness. After this point in the book everything starts to change for Bella, and things start to become brighter- this is also a very good thing.

Another outside reading. I have lost count which one..

One thing about the book I am currently reading is that there is an absense of one of the main charecters- that character being Edward. For this blog I am going to write a letter to him. Without him in the novel we are missing a lot of information, and I have some questions I would ask.

Dear Edward,
I wonder a bit how you found the strength and courage to just leave Bella. I don’t think I am mistaken by saying you were completely in love with her, and when you truely love someone as much as her, it’s a very difficult task to simply walk away. You have the rest of your life to live without her by your side. How will you cope with that? How can you deal with knowing just how miserable Bella is without you? Another question I have for you is how long you will be able to stay away. I think fate will end up playing a role between you and Bella, I’m sure you have heard it said, what is meant to be will always find its way. Everyone who has heard of you and Bella know your meant to be. So hopefully you will find your way back to each other. Also I just would like to comment on how admirable I find you not making Bella into a vampire. If Bella were to be a vampire many things in your life would be a lot easier, but yet you still have the ability to think of her soul, and her life. It truly takes a good person to do that.

Edward all in all I think you and Bella NEED to be with one another.
Yours Truly
Linnea Champ

Annotated bibligoraphy

Hass, Nancy. “In Your Facebook.com.” New York Times Jan 2006. SIRS Researcher. SIRS Knowledge Source . Edina High School. 8 Dec 2008 http://www.sirs.com.
The author has done some research involving the prosecution of people through what they have found on their facebooks. It talks about many different issues revolving officials use of facebook. One college speaks of how a large number or the police force have facebooks, and check it frequently looking for talked about parties. It also touches on the anger of students prosecuted for pictures of illegal pictures on facebook. It is currently an issue deciding if facebook is working positively, or negatively against students.



Montagne, Renee. “Companies check out applicants on Facebook.” Monring Edition Oct 17. 2008.
Gale. Edina High School Library. 8 Dec. 2008 find.galegroup.com

A talk show host comments on how many companies are beginning to check into people facebook before they hire them. They claim there is many things to know about a worker that can simply be found on there facebook. The site Careerbuilder.com did a study questioning whicb busineses look into the site. It was estimated that about 1/5 do.

Quarter 2- Blog # 4

Once again this week I attempted to read the book My name is Red, but I just ended up giving up. Over the thanksgiving break I had more time to read and quickly read through a lot of New Moon. I think if I finish New Moon I will start my name is red again. In this last section of New Moon, Bella is learning more how to deal with life and all of its situations without Edward at her side. Her father describes her as lifeless. He just wants her to have some emotion, not even a happy emotion necessarily just an emotion. Charlie, her father, even threatens to send Bella back to live with her mom. Bella knows she can not do this because leaving forks would also mean leaving her memories with Edwards. Bella decides to go hang out with one of her friends. Of course all of the thoughts she had lead back to Edward, and her friend was a bit frightened by her actions. At one point of their outing Bella believes she sees the men who almost attacked her the last night she had been in port Washington. As she neared the men Bella began to hear Edward’s voice, though obviously he was not there.
I have heard from many of my friends that this book does not include much about Edward. This somewhat disappoints me, he was one of my favorite characters. Personally the only reason I am still reading this book is to get to the part where Edward comes back in the end…( my friends aren’t good at keeping the ending from me).

Quarter 2- Blog # 3

Although I was challenging myself by reading my name is red, I just don’t think I can handle it right now. With so much literature already assigned, I have decided I want my outside reading to be more laid back. Therefore, for this quarter I will be reading the sequel to twilight, called New Moon, by Stepahanie Meyer. After reading twilight I really wanted to know what is going to happen next in the series. Since a lot of my friends talk about Twlight constantly, and always have to make sure they don’t give anything away in the series, Its best I just find out what happens on my own. For this blog I have read about 100 pages, which didn’t take me long because it’s a very quick read. What has happened is that Bella was celebrating her birthday and accidentally got a paper cut, and Jasper attempted to attack her. Luckily Edward was there to save the day, but tensions arise after the accident. Edward and his family decides it is best for them to move. Because no one in the family ages, they all have to “start over” somewhat frequently. It would become suspicious if Carlisle for example worked in the hospital for 20 years, yet never seemed to age. Bella does not take the news of them leaving well. She is heartbroken, it is almost as if the soul in her is taken out. Edward had been such a large part of her life for so long and now to have him gone is horrible. It will be interesting to learn how she deals with this trouble.

Quarte #2- Blog 2

This book was recommended to me by one of my teachers, and it is turning to be a lot different than what I first expected, which is not a bad thing, just different. To begin, I thought the book was going to be told only by the perspectives by the murderer and the victim. But as it turns out, its not just those to characters its any eyewitness that would help give a clue onto solving the mystery. For example, the chapter I just read was written by a dog. This book is all written in first person, so it was kind of weird to hear a dog’s perspective… I really like this because the book is essentially giving you all the clues but you have to work out the mystery. Another thing I am not completely content with on the book is its level of difficulty. I have been having a bit of trouble reading it because of the language, and the length of the pages. Going from McCarthy to this book is quite a stretch. In My Name is Red, there is a lot of description, and it is not as to easy to “quickly skim the pages.” You really have to be involved ( and not tired ) to get something out of the book. Another thing about this book is I find myself not knowing a great deal of the words, I guess this is good though because I will be learning more vocabulary by reading it!

Quarter 2- blog #1

For this quarter, I have chosen to read My Name Is Red, by Orhan Pamuk. This book is a murder mystery, and every other chapter is written by either the murderer or the victim- but it is unknown to the reader which it is. The fist chapter is obviously written by the victim, because it talks about his death, but does not reveal the murderer. As I continued to read the 2nd chapter it gives you background information on the life of a man, but we don’t know who it is. The book is set in ancient times, I’m not quite sure when, and is set in the middle east. I am going to have to get used to the culture of the characters. For example, one of the characters in the novel is in love with his cousin.
On a different note- One quote I enjoyed from the first chapter is:
“‘Is there life after death? Where’s the soul? What about heaven and hell? What’s death like? Are you in pain?’ You’re right, the living are extremely curious about the afterlife(pg. 4).”
I like this quote because the speaker begins to talk about his life, but then we see this quote where he is talking about how humans care so much about the afterlife. I can relate to this- it seems that in life so many people are just worried about what is going to happen after they die. Its very interesting to see this topic brought up within the novel.

Blog #7

The current “fad” book for the teenage population is Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. All of my friends have read it and constantly talk about it, so I decided it was finally time for me to read it. I was hesitant at first because all I knew about it was that it had to do with vampires- and I don’t really like science fiction… As I began to read it though, much to my surprise I was hooked. It was something about the plot being easily related and then the huge mystery of who Edward Cullen was and why he acts the way he does. I think this book has become so popular because it definitely has something for everyone to enjoy. For the rest of this blog I am going to write a bunch of questions that I have for certain characters in the novel.
1. Charlie- Why did you and Bella’s mother break up in the first place?
a. Do you know the story behind the Cullen family? Do you know they are vampires?

2. Bella- Why is it that the only boy you really like is Edward? Couldn’t you give anyone else a chance?
a. I know we read a lot about this but how can do you manage to keep talking to Edward even when he is so terrible to you? Do you believe in love at first sight?

3. Jacob- Do you believe the story about the vampires is true? Do you feel like you need to worn Bella about Edward?

Blog #6

For this blog, I am going to write about an article I just read in Time Magazine. It’s a magazine that is always around my house but I usually never get around to reading it! The article I read is called “The Dish on Green Disposables.” One issue our nation is currently facing is the large amount of waste that we produce. We have a lot of waste- and our nation does not know what to do with it. The article says, “Americans trash an estimated trillion disposable plates and utensils ever year; a single-use plate’s useful life averages only about five minutes.” This number somewhat shocked me, but I already knew of the nations waster problem, not to the extent of a trillion though. One small business is trying to take a bite out of this number. Michael Dwork sparked the idea of biodegradable dishes while spending the summer of 2006 in southern India. Known as Verterra, his dishes biodegrade in 6 weeks and are made without chemicals and waxes. The downside is some of the dishes are expensive. The article says, “dishes are priced at $.75 unless ordered in bulk.” In my opinion I think this business will really take off. There are so many people in our society who are trying to become “eco-friendly,” that it is in my opinion there will be lots of support from our nation. Reading this article made me think of all of the little things people are trying to do to help be eco-friendly.

Blog # 5

After completing my last novel, I decided to read Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen. This novel will be quite a contrast to what I just completed reading. For my first blog I have decided to reflect on a quote, towards the beginning of the novel.
After one of the dances, the characters Elizabeth, Mrs. Bennett, and Mrs. Lucas are all speaking. Elizabeth is feeling regret because she did not dance with Mr. Darcy. At first, Mrs. Bennett thinks it is alright she didn’t dance with him because he has too much pride, but Mary explains his pride is ok. In her explanation she says this,” Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves; vanity to what we would have others think of us” (pg. 21).
This novel was written a very long time ago (published in 1813 to be exact), and the language used is not always the easiest to understand. I had to look of the word “vanity” in the dictionary to help me understand the quote. The definition was, “Excessive pride in one’s self.” I think this quote is trying to explain that Pride is not necessarily a bad thing. For instance you do not need to be vain in order to have pride. Whereas vanity relates merely to what other would think and it relates to being vain.
This novel was written in an era where pride and marriage were very important things. From this quote I infer the novel to be a lot about what goes on in society. Everything in this novel seems so “prim and proper” to say the least, and I am excited to continue reading and see how much I can understand.

Blog # 4

The author of the novel, Prep, captures the lives of teenagers very well, making it seem almost as if she is in high school, experiencing all of the events right now. In the novel the main character Lee decides to get her ears pierces. Because Lee doesn’t have too many friends she goes alone, and to a “scary” place. “‘Do you ever miss?’ I asked. I laughed, and my laugh came out high and nervous. ‘No’ the man said. ‘Does it hurt?’ ‘No’ (pg. 49).” This quote to me is so funny! The author captures the anxiety of Lee, in a funny and relatable way. Compared to other “teen” novels I have read, this book in my opinion is the most mature in what is happening, because besides just the normal teen drama that happens, the book also talks about school stresses, and other relatable things. It’s nice to read the book and compare my high school experiences with it!
One part I liked about the part I just read was about something there school has called “Surprise Holiday.” This is a day where the teachers surprisingly cancel school. The night before the holiday Lee has the choice to study for a very important test the next day. She had heard rumors that there would be a surprise holiday- but didn’t know for sure, in the end she chose not to study. If it were me, I probably would’ve studied. Lee could have put herself in a very bad position if there were no surprise holiday- and I like to be “safe rather than sorry.” Luckily though there was a surprise holiday for them.

Blog Post #1

( Ms. Jarrett- I posted this on your blog when mine wasn't working but now its on mine!)


I have read the book Pine Nuts for this blog. This past summer I went to a somewhat well known arts camp in Michigan. The book Pine Nuts was written by a former camper, who became a counselor. In the book he remincses on his times as a counselor. I found it so interesting how not much has changed since the era of the book (1970's). One thing the author wrote about which paralled my experiences was how high the competition was. As said in the book many of the people went on to be famous, and there work ethics mirrored there striving to be famous. There were many instances where the author would write about someone, and then say later they went on to be famous. It makes me think about my experiences and the people I met- and what they will accomplish in their futures. Another thing the author wrote about was the competition between all-state and the all summer long campers. The competition is still there today, which is another thing i compared to my experiences. On page 70 it says " One afternoon, Sheldon came into the cabin and said, ' Okay, listen up guys... I've got some really good news' ' Camp is discontinuing any form of sports and no longer putting saltpepper into our foods?' eric snorted." The camper Eric replies in hopes that they will no longer have to do sports. Since the camp is an arts camp, I just think it's funny how any form of sport is extraordinarily unwanted. Reading this book was lot’s of fun to see the story from a perspective of a counselor, and see how things really haven’t changed in around 30 years.

Blog Post # 3

In the novel, the main charecter Lee, is faced with a decision which involves lying to help a friend. In the beginning of the story, there is an issue faced throughout the girl's dorms of stealing. Their are many suspects and Lee is determined to figure out who the culprut is. Her first suspect is Dede, her roommate. Lee catches Dede searching though Sin-Juns drawers, and is faced with the decision of turning her in or not. If I were Lee, I think I probably wouldn't tell. Already she doesn't have many friends ( its hard to fit in when you are at a prep school on a scholarship, and not the most popular girl), and turning in Dede would just make her roommate dislike her even more. Although this would be the morally wrong thing to do, Lee doesn't know for sure Dede is stealing. It doesn't make sense for her to steal if she already has alot of money. I have read past this point in the novel, and where I am right now is that she has just caught her friend Little stealing. Little is one of Lee's true friends. Like Lee little is here on a scholarship. Now she is faced with the same decision of turning her in or not. If it were me, I would have not turned her in. I know it seems like I am a severely morally wrong person- but i'm not! I think it would be better for Lee to talk to Little about the stealing, and even make her give it back. Lee shouldn't turn her back on Lee, even if it is wrong. I am excited to keep reading and find out what she decides to do! This novel is so interesting to me because it is about a freshman starting at a prep school, it's very relatable!

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