Harry potter and the philosophers stone

We are reading through Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and more than likely we are wondering what makes this book so memorable to us as a reader in general or why you liked this book. The book contains a bunch of stuff we as children laughed at and now as adults still laugh at and some of the things we missed as children as well.

One thing that is important is how the book grabs the attention of the reader by creating factions in Hogwarts. These factions make kids even after they read something like the sorting hat. It kept us thinking about this famous piece of literature and what group we would join. Each one had a different characteristic and it would've been funny to call a kid a Hufflepuff. The experience was interactive.  

Another clever but widely used thing is the trio. Basically three characters that have different personalities usually one is the hero, one is smart and the other is the comical relief. A lot of people love this with it being used in movies or tv shows. Its just a common trope used that many people can connect to especially children. That is part of the magic this book has connections to us especially as children with its realistic settings, characters, and magical twists.  

 

More information about why we were in love with the book or still are can be found here http://chavelaque.blogspot.com/2007/08/seven-reasons-why-people-love-harry.html

Persepolis 2 part 2

Personally I love the art style for Persepolis. It's great for not having to explain every detail about a person through text and could be easier to read depending on the person. Or if you even want to look at and study the pictures of a graphic novel over the text of a novel. Due to the popular comic book styling of the comic book most older people turn it down and some would've called it childish.







Persepolis told as a novel probably would have sold as much as a graphic novel and be in a larger book but instead it was told in a comic book format. The graphic novel look on it would give a less serious look on it to most vets but plenty of others claimed it to be just as good. The story can be told in a short amount of time without having to describe every single event like "I picked up my morning milk." and can be shown in a less annoying manner. a better place to describe it is here. It also helps not having to consider who is talking every time with people and crowds being  easier to identify after introducing 3 or more characters in book. Again however I think preference trumps all having looked at the two ways of writing a story.

Persepolis 2 blog part 1

Marjane when moving around has had a lot of experience with different people and ideas that have changed her thoughts in Persepolis one and two. Her movement from book one and two, a child to an adult, left a large change to her character.

In adolescence it is very hard to move even if it's only a couple states away. You lose contact with most people you meet and usually only become a bad or good memory. Most people don't even move that far more than likely it is only across town or a couple streets away to a new larger home. Marjane was constantly moving in with others and was never really alone. However that does not mean people would not be friends with her and she met many and went on her way. This is very usual with people who move and it's a nice advantage to meet many people with her moving experience.
Marjane when moving around has had a lot of experience with different people and ideas that have changed her thoughts in Persepolis one and two. Her movement from book one and two, a child to an adult, left a large change to her character.

Page 40 Persepolis 2 by Marjane Satrapi

 Marjane's high school experience was casual it happens to everyone. We meet a couple of mean people, do some drugs, and or make a couple of friends. However her opinion was very different from the people who lived there even after living Vienna for a while. A example is when she was moving from one religion to the home of another religion it's very stressful for anyone causing a little more segregation. With customs and ideas changing others might find hard or challenging however Marjane was finally free from religious pressure when she roomed with eight homosexuals. She accepted it and despite being around religion for a while and did not think badly of her roommates.

My Sister's Keeper part 3

 The ending is very hard and for some and reveals all the secrets the characters have, showing us a ending we could sort of believe. We learn about Jesse who does good and not just bad constantly, Sarah accepting Anna's choice, and tells us of Campbell with Julie.

Anna dying in the end felt too sudden and did not feel like a good ending at all. It was too sudden and unnecessary with the shock factor well deserved. It was cheap. The end of the book was fine it most likely left the reader with tears after reading about the characters for so long.

The writing style of the book was neat giving each character their own font so it was easier to tell the characters apart. Learning about the past of the characters was useful and the Campbell's and mother's perspective was mostly taken in the past or only when needed to give some context to the character's actions.

The book was good and well written. I enjoyed it and actually read one of these books all the way through. It was unlike Tales From Earthsea and gave a very different atmosphere not involving dungeons and dragons instead it gave a realistic setting not far off from our reality. This helps with the emotion it gives off really well, probably too well at times.

The Help blog number 2

The author does splitting the multiple Perspectives in the story really well between Skeeter, Aibileen, & Minny. The multiple perspectives can be very confusing but The Help pulls it off well. The only problem could occur is if a character does not know some fact the other knows and the reader forgets that fact. An example is when Skeeter leaves her bag at Hilly's home and she only tells Aibileen while Minny is left in the dark. But that is mostly the readers fault. Another thing the Author does right is put the names of the perspective character in the beginning other books tend to not do that.

The character's emotions are easily captured in their respective chapters. From Minny's sass to Skeeter's Knowledge the characters are fleshed out and easily recognized. Kathryn Stockett keeps in many social standards around that time decently well and has many examples. For example on page 220 Albileen talks about how she borrows clothes from Hilly and how a white women would get a higher up and force a "Notice of Eviction" on unwanted persons. Or how she knows people that will get others constantly in trouble not only forced to move out but also keep them out. Similar to what happened to Minny after she got fired after working with miss Hilly's mother. Word spread around town that Minny stole some silver and her work career around town was destroyed. There is also the job structure and how people white and black react to each other. It was war for everyone. A little talk about equality back then was very risky and usually left someone shot. There is also talk about Martin Luther King Jr. and the KKK. It helps keep the time line and I like how the book takes place here and actually references to those days that our cultures were split. 

The Help blog post 1

The Help is a good and interesting book to read taking place in Jakson, Mississippi in 1962. But is the book correct on the characters and surroundings that are pointed out in the book?

Home placement is accurate if not segregated by law it was segregated by the banks and home owners with red tape. Literally splitting up property on maps with red tape and banks can approve or deny any loan to separate the people how they please. Even in the book it talks about the neighborhoods segregated by race so that is absolutely correct. Also called Housing Segregation.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/05/15/housing-segregation-is-holding-back-the-promise-of-brown-v-board-of-education/

We also have a Little read about Skeeter's dress wear for her date with Stuart. The dress is described as thin black crepe dress (the beginning of ch 9) What does it look like I don't know but the internet does. It looks appropriate for the 60's. So no errors found here

http://www.retrowaste.com/1960s/fashion-in-the-1960s/

The small bus scene on page 15 describes it as a bus both white and black people can sit on and share the ride. However people were still rioting in the south and odds are Mississippi would be very angry about sharing a bus where both races could sit anywhere they wanted on a bus. I doubt that the number six bus would tolerate that kind of seating. But that is only a possibility. Who knows the white people could be boycotting or driving their own cars around. 

http://find.galegroup.com/gic/infomark.do?&idigest=fb720fd31d9036c1ed2d1f3a0500fcc2&type=retrieve&tabID=T001&prodId=GIC&docId=CX2831400031&source=gale&userGroupName=itsbtrial&version=1.0

My Sisters Keeper blog #2

So My Sisters Keeper part 2 has been in production for too long, I apologize. Anyway Anna and Sara relationship is doing poorly and we are learning about the past of Jesse. Jesse is alone all the time and is now a pyromaniac and drug user, Fun. The condition Jesse has is also know as pyromania where the impulse to control the urge to not burn has twisted and turned into burning stuff to make himself feel better.


pyromania also known as an impulse-control disorder. Jesse, from what we know, is antisocial and only has one "friend" Dan who watches after his fire kits. One thing however is that Jesse sets fires with a goal not to hurt others proven on page 247 when Jesse saves Rat from his fire. Jesse suffers from individual and environmental situations, with only one friend that Jesse hangs with and neglect from his parents who constantly are taking care of Kate and using Anna as a constant donor.  So Jesse is more than likely doing this to be noticed in his own family from the neglect since Kate had leukemia. The signs are obvious when he was around 11 and he never grew out of his situation. Wandering everywhere with no one seemingly aware of his existence Jesse turned to a life of burning flames, alcohol, and drugs. 
http://www.minddisorders.com/Py-Z/Pyromania.html

My Sister's Keeper pg 7-130

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult is a great story that hits hard at your feelings. Right when you start reading you realize what is going on and how Jodi tells the story through the many perspectives of the characters. Some questions come up for this book like what makes a good parent and could one person make a difference. One person can make a difference about anything that is true but what makes a good parent? Jodi seems to have written Anna's father as a good parent and in the beginning Sara is put in the bad parent category. Sara does things wrong for the right reason, to save one of her daughters. However she does care for Anna as well, for the wrong reasons. Wanting Anna to drop the case is wrong. But comforting Anna was not wrong at all it was all about the implication given to us the reader with the quote "This is Jesse all over again… She's doing it for the attention" Sara wants Anna to give up a part of herself to save Kate but Anna has no choice in this because of Sara, people deserve to think about themselves. Besides all we know is that Anna wants a say in the matter not if she won't give up a part of her to save Kate. Another hint is how Jodi in the beginning showed Sara constantly trying on dresses like it was nothing easy to judge however she really does care for Kate a good parent to one of three children does not make a good parent. Also dress shopping without the money to pay for the clothes, she's a bit crazy.

My Sister's Keeper

Book # 01-09

Interesting blogs

http://techcrunch.com/2015/01/13/slide-into-your-dms-like/

The blog is a funny read talking trashing the Hovertrax in a joking manner and giving a couple reasons why you would actually buy one. Standing up right you lean your feet forward and you push forward it is simple to work and keeps you up with gyroscopes. SoloWheel the company who made it seems that they don't even know who it is meant for. However they explain the controls are tilt based and gives it a reasonable rating of too weak and expensive, the blog was funny but had errors with their english.

http://techcrunch.com/2015/02/01/the-storm-ebike-is-a-499-entry-level-electric-bike/?ncid=rss&cps=gravity_1730_-6141417382582042553

The bike also called The Storm eBike is not well known and has crazy tires that are very large and look like you will need to pedal way too much. Thankfully the bike is electric powered and you won't need to pedal too hard on flat surfaces. The tires look over inflated but it allows for seemingly smooth movement over gravel or not so smooth surfaces. However I feel the bike won't be able to go on trips to the mountains anytime soon.

Link to class blog

contemporaryliterature2015.blogspot.com

Book # 01-09