Close Reading Bingo

1. "He uses figurative language to describe a “steeper escalator of daylight". Weakness number 5. -http://contemplationsxjones.blogspot.com/
2. This person does not use any intext citations, and weakness 1. -http://bradey.blogspot.com/2011/10/practice-diction-analysis.html
3. "“They were the free-standing kind: a pair of integral sins swooping upward between the two floors they served without struts or piers to bear any intermediate weight.”" Weakness 2. -http://thelostmessageofwords.blogspot.com/
4. "Baker draws a picture in your mind with his descriptions, "escalator of daylight" and "towering volumes."" Weakness 3. http://almostfacebook.blogspot.com/




The highly descriptive and scholarly diction, the almost philosophical and appreciative tone inserted into Nicholson Baker's connotation, and the harmonious flow ringing throughout the first page of his novel, instill dreamy, practically romantic admiration for the mezzanine Baker speaks of, as this first page is read. Define Mezzanine: [mez-uh-neen, mez-uh-neen] the lowest balcony or forward part of such a balcony in a theater, or in this case, an office building (perhaps, I have not read this book). Baker elaborates on the mezzanine, the centerpiece of his novel, with a subtle passion, as he begins his journey to his office. He observes a "needly area of shine . . . [fall] against their brushed-steel side-panels" and the "long gloss highlights" waver on the black rubber handrails-- and he is amazed.  He adores these simple flecks of beauty that he comes across in his office building (?) and he watches them with fanciful amusement, absorbing each simple elegance with the a happy heart.-http://inside-out-lily.blogspot.com/

Day Made. :)

This is how my week has been going. I am so tired, and I have had a long week. And I am really happy that the week is almost over. My classes have been stressing me out really bad, and I have basically just been getting by with sleep and working. 

Dicition Observation

Nicholson Baker's dull, clear, and low diction creates a common and dull tone. His words are very dull and almost common, "At almost one o'clock I entered the lobby of the building where I worked...". The most exotic thing mentioned in the excerpt something about carrying a Penguin paperback, "...Carrying a black Peguin paperback and a small white CVS bag...". He also mostly describes the how the elevator is working on that day, and how it works differently on other days. The passage's low and common diction make the excerpt actually kind of boring, and not extraordinary.

Currently

Pages this week: 445 pages
Pages this semester: 1997 pages

Favortie Style Mapping:
1. "The Mud Below, Annie Proulx creates a poetic and loose style that has somewhat of a country twang which creates a melodious sound." -http://smellslikechlorine.blogspot.com/
2. "There are precise elements but also picuturesque elements. " -http://blogswithfriends.blogspot.com/
3. "In the excerpt from Stardust the words contains a very straight-forward description of a town named Wall that has a very primitive feel with huts instead of houses and tracks instead of roads."

time flys

its hard to believe its already late October. My junior year is 1/4 of the way over and still moving with rapid speed. I can't wait for the next break though, which I believe is on Friday of next week. Thank goodness. I need to continue to keep reading my book,Crescendo so that I can begin to remember. So far I have recalled only a few things but hey, the last time I read the book was the summer before my sophomore year!! Anyway.. I'm getting a bad stuffy nose and its so annoying .. Anyway I have other homework that I should probably be doing.

A boring end to a great series... But the beginning of a Silence

I finally finished reading Mockingjay yesterday. I have to be honest and say that it had a terrible ending. I loved reading all three of the Hunger Games books, but the ending was not good. I feel like it resolved nothing, and just left us hanging. I have had a lot of agreements on my statement. My mother even agreed with me, it kind of tweeks me off a little bit that she finished reading the books before I did. I also probably didn't like it because Katniss didn't end up with the guy that I wanted her too. Thats entirely besides the point though. I am kind of happy I have finished reading them before the movie comes out. Its usually better to read the books before you see the movie. I am a lot happy that I can start reading, Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick. This is the third book in a series called Hush, Hush. They are spectacular books about angels, and humans of course. The series itself is about a 17 year old girl named Nora, and an age old angel named Patch. Patch at first looked like the untouchable bad boy. Always in black, or wearing a ratty old baseball cap. Nora knew instantly that Patch wasn't a normal guy. In fact on numerous occasions Patch gave her the creeps. Eventually they become close and fall in love. That's all in Hush, Hush. Then in her second novel Crescendo. Nora decides to look deeper into her father's murder. And Patch becomes distant and cruel. Falling for Nora's arch nemisis, Marcie Millar. Of course things are resolved, and then Hank Millar, the leader of the Black Hand interferes. The Black Hand are supposedly the people who killed Nora's father because he was a Nephilium. Which is another term for the child of an angel and a human. I might have to reread Crescendo  because I can't seem to recall much from that book. I remember Hush, Hush clearly. I guess we'll have too see.

Style mapping

Blood Meridian                           Star Dust                           Crescendo

Connotative                              Low                                     Elevated

Figurative                                  Common                            Elegance

Poetic                                         Boring                                Figurative            

Bright word usage                   familiar                               Metaphoric

"Blood Meridian" by Cormac McCarthy is a very connotative and figurative piece. The piece is calm and almost poetic. "...and dark falls here like a thunderclap and a cold wind sets the weeds to gnashing." "Stardust" by Neil Gaiman is a low and common piece. Talking solely about a small town called Wall. "The town of Wall stands today as it has stood for six hundred years..." And Crescendo has very high language. Becca Fitzpatrick uses elegant and elevated words and grammar. "We waited until Scott had angled himself behind the steering wheel and backed out of the parking space before we exited the building."

Quarterly

I am surprised at how much I actually do read. I read a lot and I enjoy doing it. I often find myself checking out multiple books from the library, while I am reading a book already. I am pretty proud of how fast I have been reading the Hunger Games books. Usually I finish each book within a week, but unfortunately due to the fact that I havent had anytime, I have yet to finish Mockingjay. I usually find myself reading late at night, or while watching "That 70's Show" or "Friends." Working in a library does not help my love for books, because I continously find books that I want to read, and then i speed through the new books.

Mockingjay

I am breezing right through Mockingjay. The book is in the boring stage where the author is describing whats happen. There is no action going on. So far the revels have ventured into the Capitol, and came back with prisoners. Peeta has been returned to Katniss, but he is crazy. The Capitol has distorted all his memories of Katniss. When they see each other for the first time after a while, Peeta tries to kill Katniss. He starts yelling terrible things at her. She eventually leaves District 13 to go to the heart of the problem, District 2. District 2 is the place where the Capitol's military is, and where the Peacekeepers are trained. This is the only district that has yet to be taken over by the rebels. Katniss has gone in so that she can help the take over. Katniss has one thing on her mind, killing President Snow. By now, I think he deserves it. Gale has become a main person in District 13. His trapping abilities have made him vital to the take over. Hopefully I will finish this book this weekend. That way I can start reading my new book, Silence.

Currently...

Pages this week: 170
Pages this semester: 1552

Sentences of the Quarter:
1. "The search for God's presence, he understood now, was as much of a mystery as God himself, and what was God, if not mystery?"  The Last Song

2. "Because when he sings, even the birds stop to listen..." The Hunger Games

3. "He was running out the fire in his wings." Passion

The Mockingjay

After the tearful ending to the Last Song, I began reading Mockingjay. It's hard to believe how far Katniss has traveled in her life in such a short time. I love reading these books though, because it makes me feel like I can't put the books down. So far in Mockingjay, Katniss has finally accepted her role as the Mockingjay. People actually look up to Katniss, and they are so happy to see that she is alive. She awakens in District 13. District 13, was supposedly blown to pieces and wiped of the map. They have been hiding underground and making a living. They are now known as the rebels. Katniss is now the "Icon" of the rebels. She goes out to district 8 and its a disaster area. She goes to a hospital, and finds lots of people that have fought and are now wounded because of the Capitol. Now the Capitol begins to bomb the hospital, and Katniss and Gale, with their perfect accuracy, take lots of planes right out of the sky. Supposedly the Capitol is sending the rebels a message. So Katniss sends a message of her own. She says, in a nut shell, if you try and burn us down, we'll take you down with us.

The true Last Song

I finished "The Last Song" on Friday night of last week. I cried and cried. Reading a book about a revel daughter turned good beccause of a love interest is absolutley amazing. As a spoiler, Ronnie's dad dies. It is one of the sadest endings. Steve begins to slowly deteriorate. He gets more frail and white everyday. Jonah is forced to return to New York with his mom, and Ronnie refuses to leave her father by himself. She takes care of him until the moment he dies. During all of the madness with her father Ronnie discovers the truth about why her father was so determined to make the stained glass window for the church. He thought that the fire was because of him, and he couldn't truly remember what happened the night the church burned down. She found the real absolute truth way to late. What truly happened to the church, was Marcus. Marcus threw one of his fireballs, and it went through the window. What Will thought was true was that the church was burnt down by Scott and his bottle rocket. For years Will has been covering Scott's tracks, that way Scott wouldn't get into trouble. Will finally broke down and told Ronnie the truth, and unfortunately the truth hurts. Ronnie and WIll were done after that, and then Ronnie found out what Marcus did. Of course after such a traumatic event a happy ending must be in tact. At Ronnie's dad's funeral Will returned, and him and Ronnie talked. They decided they would wait for each other. Will decided he would go to Colombia in NY, and Ronnie would audition for Juliard in NY as well. That way they would be together, and both get what they truly wanted. But what makes the story is Ronnie. Ronnie finished the last song her father had began to write. His last day Ronnie played the song for him. This is where I truly lost control of my emotions. Ronnie only started playing the piano because of her dad, and she stopped because of him. Now she plays for him, and she auditioned for Juliard for him. Its all very beautiful.