22-23 English 9 Hour 3 Independent Reading Project by Lindsay Zimmerman

DEADLINES & REQUIREMENTS:

lindsay_zimmerman — 2022-09-18 19:34:59 UTC

(Note: Deadlines subject to change if needed.)

Before Monday, 10/17:

At the top of your column, add a new post. Type your topic in the subject, and your list of linked texts in the body of the post. (Feel free to copy over from the proposal.)
Keep this post at the top of your column. If you need to change texts later, indicate that you are doing so by replying to this post.

Monday, 10/17: Book 1 finished and posted on IRP Padlet before the start of class.

In a video or in writing, give a summary and a book review for your first book.
- Summary: (at least one paragraph, labeled "Summary")
  - What was the theme? Who were the characters and what were the key events? When and where was the setting?
  - Be sure to avoid spoilers, or label them clearly so we can skip them if we want.
- Review: (at least one paragraph, labeled "Review")
  - To earn full credit, you MUST use at least 3 literary terms! PLEASE BOLD THEM.
  - What was good about the book? What made it valuable? What did the author do well? What could have been better? BE SPECIFIC!
  - Would you recommend this book? What audience would enjoy it? Try to make your review as precise and useful to a potential reader as possible.
- Your entire post should include proper spelling, grammar, and punctuation. You may use first person, "to be" verbs, and contractions. Otherwise, you should follow the 20 Style Guidelines.

Monday, 12/5: Book 2 finished and posted on IRP Padlet before the start of class.

Summary: (at least one paragraph, labeled "Summary")
- What was the theme? Who were the characters and what were the key events? When and where was the setting?
- Be sure to avoid spoilers, or label them clearly so we can skip them if we want.
Review: (at least one paragraph, labeled "Review")
- To earn full credit, you MUST use at least 3 literary terms! PLEASE BOLD THEM.
- What was good about the book? What made it valuable? What did the author do well? What could have been better? BE SPECIFIC!
- Would you recommend this book? What audience would enjoy it? Try to make your review as precise and useful to a potential reader as possible.
Comparison: (at least one paragraph, labeled "Comparison")
- To earn full credit, YOU MUST MEANINGFULLY COMPARE this book with your first book!
Your entire post should include proper spelling, grammar, and punctuation. You may use first person, "to be" verbs, and contractions. Otherwise, you should follow the 20 Style Guidelines.

Monday, 2/20: Book 3 finished and posted on IRP Padlet before the start of class.

Summary: (at least one paragraph, labeled "Summary")
- What was the theme? Who were the characters and what were the key events? When and where was the setting?
- Be sure to avoid spoilers, or label them clearly so we can skip them if we want.
Review: (at least one paragraph, labeled "Review")
- To earn full credit, you MUST use at least 3 literary terms! PLEASE BOLD THEM.
- What was good about the book? What made it valuable? What did the author do well? What could have been better? BE SPECIFIC!
- Would you recommend this book? What audience would enjoy it? Try to make your review as precise and useful to a potential reader as possible.
Comparison: (at least one paragraph, labeled "Comparison")
- To earn full credit, YOU MUST MEANINGFULLY COMPARE this book with your first two books!
Your entire post should include proper spelling, grammar, and punctuation. You may use first person, "to be" verbs, and contractions. Otherwise, you should follow the 20 Style Guidelines.

Monday, 4/24: Book 4 finished and posted on IRP Padlet before the start of class.

Summary: (at least one paragraph, labeled "Summary")
- What was the theme? Who were the characters and what were the key events? When and where was the setting?
- Be sure to avoid spoilers, or label them clearly so we can skip them if we want.
Review: (at least one paragraph, labeled "Review")
- You MUST use at least 3 literary terms! PLEASE BOLD THEM.
- What was good about the book? What made it valuable? What did the author do well? What could have been better? BE SPECIFIC!
- Would you recommend this book? What audience would enjoy it? Try to make your review as precise and useful to a potential reader as possible.
Project Wrap-Up: (at least one paragraph, labeled "Project Wrap-Up")
- Summarize what you learned, what you recommend, and what you'll read next. Wrap up any final overall thoughts about this project, and make any last meaningful comparisons among your fourth book and the previous three.
  - Will you read more on this subject? Do you have new opinions on your topic that you didn't have before?
  - Would you recommend the texts that you read? Did you have a favorite?
  - Do you think this project was rewarding for you? If so, why? Should we continue to do this project in the future?
  - Your entire post should include proper spelling, grammar, and punctuation. You may use first person, "to be" verbs, and contractions. Otherwise, you should follow the 20 Style Guidelines.

TOPIC:Magic/Supernatural/Fantasy

isabellajosey — 2022-09-27 20:12:06 UTC

CHOSEN BOOKS:

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber

All of Us Villains by Amanda Foody

All of Our Demise by Amanda Foody

Book One: Once Upon a Broken Heart

isabellajosey — 2022-09-27 20:13:04 UTC

Summary:

Growing up in a shop full of curiosities from the Magical North, Evangeline has always been fascinated with curses, spells, and magic. When the man she loves is destined to marry another she prays to The Fated Prince of Hearts, a Fate that knows heartbreak all too well, that he will stop the wedding. Jacks, the very same Fated Prince, is not what he seems, and Evageline’s world is about to be turned upside down in a story of broken hearts, magic, curses, and stories twisted with time.

Rating:

I would give this book a five out of five. It has everything fans of fantasy, lovers of magic, and consumers of books with twists and turns will all fall in love with. I would recommend this to anyone, even people fans of other genres because this book has a bit of everything. The imagery of this fantastical world is sublime, as well as some ambiguity that is sometimes clarified in later scenes, but some are left still a mystery which makes it easy to fall inside the world the author has made for the readers. The book is filled with some symbolism that makes the book feel like it is wrapped up at the end, but not in a nice, clean way. The book ends on the cliffhanger and I am excited to read the sequel.

Book Two: City of Bones

isabellajosey — 2022-09-27 20:14:09 UTC

Summary:

Clary Fray is a normal sixteen year old girl… or so she thought. Secrets of her mother’s past and who her father really was brings her into a world full of demon-slaying humans who call themselves Shadowhunters. She one day stumbles upon three shadowhunters killing a demon, and her world is completely turned upside down. Her mother is kidnapped and Clary learns her mother had hidden an artifact crucial to the survival of Shadowhunter kind, The Mortal Cup. She learns people she’s known all her life aren’t what she knew them to be, and her memories may be misguided. Clary must learn to adapt and trust her new friends to find her mother and The Mortal Cup.

Review:

Five out of five. Well written, with sarcastic characters, adventures, and magic. What more is needed in a good book? Add in the plot twists and this is basically perfection. Half way through the book, I thought I learned the twist, but this book keeps the reader on its toes. Imagery is something I desperately need in a book to fall in love with it, and the way this describes places of beauty and horror alike can leave readers with chills. There is not a ton of ambiguity, but when there is a moment or two of it, it doesn’t do much for the storyline. Also, little symbolism, but the symbols included end up being major for this book.

Comparison:

While Once Upon a Broken Heart may have an edge in a sense of mystery, City of Bones has an edge up in combat scenes. This is a book about people who have been fighting demons from a young age, basically born and bred to do this task. For readers looking for a book where magic is more of a support to combat rather than a major role in everyday life, then City of Bones would be the better choice. But, for a more of a romantic tale with a sense of fairytail magic, Once Upon a Broken Heart is the choice to go with. Though, if possible, read both. They are both a part of something bigger, Once Upon a Broken Heart has a prequel trilogy and a sequel which I recommend reading too, and City of Bones belongs to a series made of series.

Book Three: All of Us Villains

isabellajosey — 2022-10-10 01:41:54 UTC

Summary:

Every twenty years, in the town of Ivernath, the sky turns the color of the blood soon to be spilt as seven families participate in the games to control the most powerful thing in the world, high magick. For centuries, each family would select a champion, hoping to gain control of this resource for the next twenty years, until the next Blood Moon Tournament, a curse that has never been broken. To win, one must kill all of the other champions before the three month limit ends, or else they all end up dead. This year, we follow the games through the eyes of the champions: Briony Thornburn who took her sisters place, Alistair Lowe who was raised to be like the monsters feared in stories, Isobel Macaslan who might be in more danger than she realized, and Gavin Grieve who hopes to change his families seemingly eternal losing streak while paying a heavy price. The Blood Moon Veil falls, and the tournament begins. This time, something is different. The rules are bending, and things are changing. This set of champions may be able to break the cycle of death that the seven families are put through, but can they do it in the remaining time? Alliances will be made and broken. Friends will become enemies. Lovers will turn their backs on each other. Death awaits those who fail to survive. And which of these villains will win?

Review:

I would give it a four-point-five out of five. There are only two things that make it hard for me to give it a full five out of five. First off, it takes a while to get started. Prolonged explanations of their families and how they were chosen from each champion that tells the story makes it hard to get going at first. However, once it did get going, I had difficulty putting it down, which is why after the first one hundred or so pages, it took me one sitting to read. The second problem is it ends on a major cliffhanger. (Possible spoiler alert!) They break through the barrier, talk to one of the local cursemakers, and figure out two possible ways to break the curse. The right way means they will live to see another day after it's broken. The second way, and the wrong way, mean they will break it at the cost of all the participants' lives. (Spoiler has ended) Other than that, the imagery in the battles, some of the symbols within the tournament, and then their is definitely lots of ambiguity as to figuring out curses and spells they were hit with or even some relationship ambiguity. Even though it can be dark and a little morbid, I still recommend reading it. I would say, it is almost like a magical version of Hunger Games. There is a arena of sorts where only participants can go, there are special places that a person can claim with magical benefits, as well as Relics that have special high magick abilities like the places, and of course the weapons are their curses or spells, which are contained in rings and have a limited amount of uses.

Comparison:

Unlike Once Upon a Broken Heart and City of Bones, magic isn’t unlimited, especially high magick, which only the family of the winning champion can have for the next twenty years, or longer if the family keeps winning, as seen with the Lowe's history. In the other books, magic could be used by anyone, the only limit being how much they could take using it. Although, this book still has the concept as we see people get tired after using spells as well as the spelling charges wearing out, so they have to remake the spell inside. This definitely isn’t as romantic as Once Upon a Broken Heart although there are some moments where characters fall for one another, but it also isn’t as violent as City of Bones. Also, unlike the other two books, this can be grotesque and dark, as we see some of the dark curses used and what they do to whomever it is cast upon, or the lengths that these champions and their families alike are willing to go to. But, something similar to Once Upon a Broken Heart is the little bit of romance we get. In both books, there is a relationship that both want to have, but know could only do them both harm. We see this between two champions here, as well as between Jacks and Evangeline. One element that I have also seen stay consistent throughout these three books, is the constant backstabbing for power or magic. Like these other books, there is a sequel, which is why All of Us Villains left off on a cliffhanger, just as Once Upon a Broken Heart did, although its cliffhanger wasn’t as major. I would still recommend reading all of these books, although if you do, be warned, you might just become sucked into them so much you won’t want to put them down.

Topic: Linguistics

racheljacobs2 — 2022-10-13 20:04:57 UTC

The Stuff of Thought by Steven Pinker

Linguistics by P. H. Matthews

How Language Works by David Crystal

The First Word: The Search for the Origins of Language by Christine Kenneally

The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature

racheljacobs2 — 2022-10-13 23:13:58 UTC

Summary: This book was comprised of nine chapters (and a fifty-eight page index-reference-notes addendum, which is quite funny), of which were titled 1. Words and Worlds; 2. Down the Rabbit Hole; 3. Fifty Thousand Innate Concepts (and Other Radical Theories of Language and Thought); 4. Cleaving the Air; 5. The Metaphor Metaphor; 6. What’s in a Name?; 7. The Seven Words You Can’t Say on Television; 8. Games People Play; and 9. Escaping the Cave.

The first chapter talked of differing ways of construing events and words in relation to thoughts, reality, community, emotions, and social relations.

The second, to quote directly from the author, “ is about my own stumbling upon a microcosm-the world of basic human ideas and their connections- in the course of trying to solve what I thought was a mundane problem in psycholinguistics.” He begins with the verb system and how children learn the seemingly unlearnable. He maunders through the concepts of moving and changing, and of having, knowing, helping, acting, intending, and causing. He strikes the question of whether the intelligence of a language implies the intelligence of every speaker, and he ponders the merits and follies of thought. He advances the theory of conceptual semantics which is, to put it concisely, “word meanings represented in the mind as assemblies of basic concepts in a language of thought”.

The third talks of opposing theories that Dr. Pinker staunchly disagrees with but draws up in order to reinforce his point. These three theories are Extreme Nativism, Radical Pragmatics, and Linguistic Determinism. Extreme Nativism refers to the idea that we are born with fifty thousand innate concepts (hence the title of the chapter), fifty thousand being the estimate of the number of words typical in an English speaker’s vocabulary. Radical Pragmatics is a theory that the mind does not carry a fixed definition of a word, but rather, definitions are fluid and can mean different things in different contexts. Linguistic Determinism disagrees with Dr. Pinker that thought is spoken in an abstract, more serene language, a language of thought, and pronounces our native language to be the language of thought, and determines what thoughts we can think.

Cleaving the Air, the fourth chapter, talks of space, time, and casualty dwelling in language, and how it is different from any other method of expressing such concepts. He talks of physics and logic and count nouns and mass nouns and matter, and all the merry things of the such.

The fifth chapter, the Metaphor Metaphor, expounds on metaphors (as one might deem evident).

The sixth chapter, What’s in a Name?, describes the birth of words and names, and why some words catch on, such as umbrella, and others don’t, such as agathokakological. He talks of things and names and Stevens, and all on the matter of words. For instance, he asks why words in languages commonly share a root for a word like cat, but almost never for a word like butterfly. Words for butterfly include shmetterling, blinder, somerfugl, papillon, mariposa, farfalla, borboleta, parpar, and fefe-fefe. The linguist Haj Ross gives a mirific answer: “Butterflies are such perfect symbols of transformation that almost no culture is content to accept another’s poetry for this mythic creature. Each language finds its own verbal beauty to celebrate the stunning salience of the butterfly’s being.”

The Seven Words You Can’t Say on Television talks of swear words and their taboo and what makes profanities such a blasphemous topic.

Games People Play explains indirect speech and illusion and the concept of “face”. It talks about politeness and deniability and strategies of conflict. It talks about rational ingnorance and choosing not to know something. It also talks about relationship types, and the direct speech that is shattering to some relationships and the indirect speech that is scrumptious to others.

Escaping the Cave is somewhat of a summary of the entirety of the book and somewhat of an explanation about how language is not a cave, shackling us to certain thoughts and refusing us others.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Review:

I found this book to be positively splendiferous. Cleaving the Air, which is the fourth chapter, befuddled me quite a bit as I was reading it, as it was the least concrete and the most theoretical, but I understood it in the end. I learned leagues upon leagues of information, and hope, as was my overhanging dread as I was reading it, that I don’t forget all of it too soon. My favorite chapter was most definitely the chapter called “What’s in a Name?”, and the chapter “Fifty Thousand Innate Concepts (and Other Radical Theories of Language and Thought)” was dashing in quality as well.
I am under the strong opinion that everyone I know ought to read this book seven times over, for if they did, our world would be one of peace and prosperity. It is true that those who are irked and disgruntled by grammar (as I often am) and wish for a silent world of pointing and gesticulating may find this book ugglesome as they begin to read it, but as they continue to read they would be inspired beyond anything they would have ever imagined. Dr. Pinker is a bit rambling in his speech, which might vex certain people, but I found it like he was talking to me like his friend. It did take me quite some time to read, as I read in rather a dawdling gait, but no matter.
Because it is a nonfiction book, there is not really any foreshadowing. The blatant summary at the beginning of the book of what the book will cover could be described as foreshadowing, although I would call it something more along the lines of foreimaging, because it was not a shadow in the slightest. Perhaps there is indeed a motif of language and thought throughout the book, although I don’t believe a nonfiction book can have a motif. The theme was most probably one of conceptual semantics or words, and there was no characterization, unless one would count the characterization of oneself through the knowledge one sprouts upon reading this book.
With all due respect to Dr. Pinker, I think linguistic determinism to be a highly interesting sounding thing, and wished he would have expounded more on it, rather than dismissing it with mounds of evidence on the contrary. Other than that, The Stuff of Thought was the most interesting book I have ever read, and I hope others will read it soon.

Aun Hathiari

aunhathiari — 2022-10-17 14:56:13 UTC

Topic:
Philosophy

WHY I PICKED IT:
I choose to read philosophy books because I have always found thinking and introspection fascinating. I want to hear diffferent perspectives throughout history, hence my diverse choices from different cultures and time periods. I simply want to learn how to think more critically.

Texts:

- The Art of War by Sun Tzu

- Republic by Plato
- The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx
- Tao of Jeet Kune Do by Bruce Lee

Topic: Malcolm Gladwell books

ezrajacobs — 2022-10-17 21:33:04 UTC

TEXTS:
Outliers
What the Dog Saw
The Tipping Point
David and Goliath
The Bomber Mafia

Summary and Review of Refugee

barakalon — 2022-10-17 22:41:17 UTC

Summary: The theme of Refugee is perseverance. The three main characters are Josef, Isabel and Mahmoud. There are three different stories going on in three different decades. Josef is the oldest, he and his family live in Nazi Germany. Isabel lives in Cuba during Fidel Castro's reign. Mahmoud lives in Syria and encounters all different types of trouble such as being robbed and trying to escape to Germany. Josef is 13 years old and tries to escape to Cuba. Isabel tries to get on a raft and make it too Florida but encounters unexpected loss and has to persevere. Each character has their own struggles they have to overcome.

Review: I enjoyed how real it portrayed what it was like to be under the characters circumstances. I personally love page turner books that make me have an adrenaline rush like a Nascar driver. Something that Alan Gratz did well was having a flow between the three different stories and each character having equal time. It was as confusing as waking up from a dream in the beginning but once you get the hang of what's going on then it all makes sense. I would recommend this book for people who want to learn and feel certain emotions of people in different circumstances than themselves. For example Josef made the hardest decision of his life and was as cold as ice. I would also recommend this book to people who like to learn about history like I do.

Book one: The Bomber Mafia

ezrajacobs — 2022-10-17 22:46:31 UTC

Summary:
This book is centered on an ethical disagreement between precision bombing versus area bombing. The book follows two Air force generals during WW2; the "ultimate problem solver" Curtis LeMay, an ardent supporter of area bombing, and General Haywood Hansell, an avid believer in precision bombing. In this book, the author did a very good job with writing round characters. Both generals are very static characters, as they are both devoted to their own methods of combat. The book centers around a group of airmen formed in Air Corps Tactical School which Haywood was a part of, called The Bomber Mafia. This group of people, even before the war started, had planned "Chokepoints" that could allow minimal bombing that has maximum impact. The book foreshadows their failure later on. This group passionately endorses a machine called the Norden Bombsight, which supposedly could allow the bomber to land a bomb in a pickle jar from up in the air. Unfortunately, thanks to many variables, the sight was not accurate in actual combat, only in testing. After several failed attempts at bombing Japan, Haywood's disobedience led to him being replaced with LeMay. LeMay was a strict, ballsy general who distrusted tactical innovations. LeMay, using napalm, devastated 67 cities. In the end, Malcolm Gladwell turns the perspective slightly to show the impacts on the people, and leaves the reader to ponder the main idea of the book; Was it worth it?

Review:
I would rate this book /10. The moral questions, and the deepness of them make the book a good page turner. In the other Malcolm Gladwell books I've read, Malcolm usually takes stories and experiments that seem to have nothing to do with each other, and tie them all together nicely. Unlike those, this book does not do much of that. This book is more of a biography of the two Generals. Besides for that, I think that this is a good read

Theme: Adventure Books

elliottosman — 2022-10-17 23:00:50 UTC

The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy By Douglas Adams
Treasure Island by Robert Stevenson
The Counte of Monte Criso by Alexandre Dumas
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

Topic: Drama

chukwudichionuma — 2022-10-17 23:50:43 UTC

Chosen books:
Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard
Looking for Alaska by John Green
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

Topic:Romance&affection

emorypan — 2022-10-18 00:19:48 UTC

·Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
·Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
·Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
·Love in the Time of Cholera by Garcia Marquez.

Brief summary and review of Speak(Book #1)

chukwudichionuma — 2022-10-18 00:53:58 UTC

Summary:
The book Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, is told from the perspective of a freshman named Melinda Sordino who goes to Merryweather High School in Syracuse, New York. One night before her freshman year, she and her friends go to a party with their seniors. While they were drinking, she began to feel uncomfortable. She then walks outside to get some fresh air. After getting some fresh air, Melinda meets one of the senior boys named Andy Evans He then begins dancing with her and kissing her. However, after she gets too drunk to talk, Andy pushes her to the ground, and rapes her. She later calls the police, but she is unable to tell them what happened. She slowly falls into a deep depression after no one wants to be involved with her, but will this depression last forever?

Review: At first, I though this book was going to be about something related to nature because the cover made it seem like drama happened in a forest. I would rate this book a 5/5 rating. This book felt like I was watching a TV series. It has a lot of drama in this book and gives an amazing POV of a high school student falling into depression. I would recommend it to people who loves to read drama books and books with Dynamic characters in it. The style the author uses in this book really provided a clear image of the main character in my head. I also liked how the book can have more than one theme in it. Speak was an interesting book to read, and I hope that others will read and enjoy this book just as much as I did.

Book one:Love always defeat resent

emorypan — 2022-10-18 02:00:57 UTC

summary:
It writes about the relationships between an outcast called Heathcliff and a young lady called Cathy. This love tragedy appears under a mountain lodge with heavy rain. After reading this , I can see a picture of a distorted society. There are four stages gradually lay out from Heathcliff’s happy childhood with Cathy. At the time of their adolescent, there is a transition because of Cathy’s ignorance and vanity. She chooses to betrayal Heathcliff because of Edgar’s money. After that, the story mainly focus on how Heathcliff plan to revenge and turns hatred into release.
Review:
I don't really recommend reading this book because it might be difficult for us to understand the main idea. Perhaps it would be better to read this book in two years. The book uses a first-person narrative perspective and flashbacks. Unlike timeline, this style gives me a sense of a "time warp". When I feel surprised, I'm also confused.
The whole story looks like they are standing under the sky, a place that may be full of storms or paved with sunshine anytime. Wuthering Heights symbolizes energy, and the Grange symbolizes weakness. In the story, it is the Collision between civilization and savagery, it is also the
Interweaving between love and hatred.
When I closed this story, I can still remember the sentence----" I am Heathcliff." I'm sure that Cathy and Heathcliff are soul partners, but a bad ending always has another beauty. Perhaps it's called theatricality, it shows the tragedy of that society, period, and everyone including us.

Topic: Mental health

andrealee9 — 2022-10-18 02:10:10 UTC

Chosen Books

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
I'm Glad My Mother Died by Jennette McCurdy
The Awakening by Kate Chopin
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

Theme: Fantasy/Hyperion Cantos Book Series

gisellepotts — 2022-10-18 03:26:58 UTC

Texts:
- Hyperion by Dan Simmons
- The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons
- Endymion by Dan Simmons
- The Rise of Endymion by Dan Simmons

Topic: Science Fiction

caydencrosby — 2022-10-18 03:35:40 UTC

Books I'm choosing to read:

Dune by Frank Herbert

Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert
Children of Dune by Frank Herbert
God Emperor of Dune by Frank Herbert

Short Summery and Review of DUNE (book #1)

caydencrosby — 2022-10-18 04:02:15 UTC

Summery: The novel DUNE by Frank Herbert, is about a young teenager named Paul Atreides, the son of a duke, who lives on the planet of Caladan being trained in the arts of combat, war, and intellect. When the Emperor of the galaxy places Paul's father, Duke Leto Atreides, in control of the planet Arrakis to replace the evil House Harkonnen, there becomes a problem: Vladimir Harkonnen, the baron that leads the house, doesn't want to give up Arrakis and its riches. The trouble stars brewing once the House Atreides take control, and they question who's side the emperors on. Will Paul learn from his father during the oncoming war, or fend for himself, living and learning the native way of Arrakis, the Fremen way, and take back the power that he is destined to have ruling dune?

Review: In the beginning, it seemed to me that this would be a book about the privileged dukes son, Paul, taking power and ruling at the age of 15 or 16. However, this quickly changes with the betrayal of a dear friend, and Paul being forced to learn the native ways to adapt and survive. The book has oncoming plot twists around every corner, and when you think you understand it, it changes and takes you on a whole new adventure. Following Paul on his conquest to power through love, loss, strength, and weakness was a joy to think about. I would rate this book a 10/10 because it has that feeling of a huge blockbuster, yet always surprising me. I love reading Si-Fi books and I would say that this is the best one I've ever read. DUNE is a great book for anyone to read, its just that you have to have the patience for almost 900 pages of pure greatness.

Mystery and Horror

eliannaohanlon — 2022-10-18 04:14:21 UTC

Alis Pretty Little Lies by Sara Shepard
Flawless by Sara Shepard
Perfect by Sara Shepard
Unbelievable by Sara Shepard

Review: I would rate Alis Pretty Little Lies by Sara Shepard five stars. It kept me reading and never failed to interest me. All the drama and suspense was impossible to get bored over. I would also like to note that the author uses great imagery techniques showing how Alison was seen as the "queen bee" explaining the shoes and colors she would wear and how her hair was blonde and luscious, which everyone else would have dreamed of being at the time. If I were to say something that could improve about this book, I would say the writing, as it is not as professional in how its just a basic mystery book about a popular teenager, but I also do understand that these types of books are what kids nowadays are interested in; In that case, I would recommend this book for ages 10-14 as that age group commonly requires books to be highly interesting and to keep them reading.

Summary: Set in Rosewood, Pennsylvania, It starts off with a girl named Alison who was the queen of Rosewood High and got everything she wanted. Soon later, her twin sister, Courtney, took her place. No one realized who they were talking to wasn't actually Alison. She became best friends with five girls named Aria, Spencer, Emily, and Hanna, but of course Courtney was their group leader. Soon later, she mysteriously died, leaving Aria, Spencer, Hanna, and Emily with only each other. They were closest with Ali, which foreshadows they will be dealing with the mystery in the future. Little did they know, Courtney was the one who actually died, so where might Alison have gone?

Topic: Books by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

dhruvkapur — 2022-10-18 04:15:30 UTC

Books:
Inheritance games, Hawthorn Legacy , The Final Gambit, Deadly Little Scandals

Inheritance Games review and summery

dhruvkapur — 2022-10-18 04:20:41 UTC

Summery: The Inheritance Games features Avery Grahams, a poor high school student planning for a better future. She is trying to graduate on a scholarship, but that changes when billionaire Tobias Hawthorn leaves her with his entire fortune. Avery moves into his mansion full of disinherited family members. Most of the Hawthorns grew up with the expectation of receiving the billion dollar fortune. The supposed heir named Grayson thinks Avery is a con artist while his brother believes Tobias gave her the inheritance for a special reason. (Foreshadowing) Avery figures out why she was in the will, revealing an odd history of the Hawthorne family. Almost everything after that is spoilers.

Review: This book made the reader feel like Avery. It was descriptive and had a vivid setting, while some events seemed almost supernatural. The main character is quite relatable as they go through high school struggles in the beginning. She faces struggles that real people go through. During some scenes you feel how upset the main character is, and it makes the reader a little mad. The cliffhanger at the ending of the book drove me insane, making me read the next book. Jameson Hawthorne is a unique character who protects Avery from the money hungry family. He remains a static character but he has a unique personality. He could act serious or make jokes during a funeral. His constantly changing emotions cause him to be a love/hate character in this story. He helps Avery grow into a Dynamic character. This book kept me on the edge of my seat and I never regretted reading it.

Book One: Hyperion

gisellepotts — 2022-10-18 04:31:35 UTC

Summary:

Hyperion by Dan Simmons follows 7 chosen individuals as they journey to a planet called “Hyperion.” Each chapter follows their journey while uncovering one person’s story or attachment that they have to Hyperion. It is set in the 29th century, and takes place on multiple different modes of transportation, such as boats, tramcars, and spaceships. Hyperion’s overall theme is a sense of destiny. Each pilgrim was chosen for a certain reason. They each have their set of skills that matters on this quest. The book takes place over rough;y 5 days to less than a week's time.

Review:

I love this book. Each protagonist is likable and characterized realistically. There is plenty of diversity within the main group, and they all interact with each other in a fun dynamic. I feel like some understanding of time periods and certain concepts are hard to understand, specifically in the 5th and 6th chapter. I heavily liked the flashback aspects of each chapter. It feels like a bunch of tiny stories in one book and I am loving it. While there is an ensemble group of protagonists, there is no clear sign of an antagonist by the end of the book, which I think serves the story better. I highly recommend Hyperion to anyone who is interested in multiple worlds, time and space travel, and future fantasy. It is such an interesting book and I can not wait to read the next one.

Theme: Mystery/Thriller

storywright — 2022-10-18 10:45:23 UTC

TEXTS:

Verity by Colleen Hoover
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee by Casey Cep

Book One: Verity by Colleen Hoover

storywright — 2022-10-18 10:50:22 UTC

Summary: The book Verity follows an author named Lowen. She is not very well known, and is struggling with the recent death of her mother. She is asked to continue writing a popular series by an author named Verity. Lowen is asked to complete this task because Verity was in a car accident and is now severely injured and confined to a hospital bed. Verity is unable to move or speak. Lowen accepts this task and moves into the home of Verity and her husband Jeremy. She soon finds out that the family also has a sad past before the accident. Both of their twin daughters died, months apart and for different reasons. Lowen starts to uncover a dark past of Verity, and begins to fall in love with Jeremy all while she stays in their home.

Review: I really enjoyed this book! It had lots of suspense throughout that kept me wanting to know what happens next. There were many plot twists, especially towards the end of the novel that were very surprising. Most mystery books have a predictable ending, but this book did not. It was also fast paced. I also enjoyed how it was told from a first person point of view, it added to the story. The main protagonist, Lowen, is an enjoyable character as well. The imagery in the novel helps add to the suspense and mood of the story. I think that if you like books that are suspenseful, mysterious, scary, and eventful you would enjoy this book! I would rate this book 4.5/5 stars!

The Art of War

aunhathiari — 2022-10-18 11:24:57 UTC

a brilliant military treatise by Sun Tzu.

Summary
Sun Tzu’s The Art of War for the first time laid down the principles of war as imagined by Sun. He wrote it for King Helü of Wu in order to defeat another state in the period. In it he outlines many strategies and ideas. While at first many think of this book as a book with ingenious strategies during battle, The Art of War has much more offer than that! The Art of War proposes a myriad of tactics and strategies (the two are different!) in events leading up to battle, like sabotage and deception. He actually advocates for battle only after several preconditions are sown and only in a superior position. Sun also says siege (war of attrition) should be employed only as a last resort, because it hastily drains the attacker of resources. Although this may sound cliché, he also claims that a superior commander can punish any army, no matter the size. There are clear modern-day examples of this as well.

Review
Sun Tzu’s brilliant work has influenced military work to this day. War itself attributes itself to immoral and disgusting deeds, but what is divine about this treatise is that it can be applied to nearly everything! You don’t have to be a general in order to read this piece of genius. This can be applied to the most rudimentary concept: daily life. For example, the most famous passage from The Art of War is as follows: ‘“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle” (Sun Tzu). This is essentially a metaphor for everything in life! Ah, right, metaphors. Often Sun Tzu employs metaphors and perhaps similes if my memory proves correct, and one must understand many things for themself. He also doesn’t use foreshadowing; he tends to enunciate on consequences of mistakes! All in all, The Art of War is brilliant, god-like, truly amazing! Everyone should read it. But, let’s try to end war instead of wage it.

Book One: I'm Glad My Mother Died

andrealee9 — 2022-10-18 14:08:34 UTC

Summary: This book is a memoir by Jennet McCurdy a famous childhood actor from the hit show Icarly and Sam and Cat. The theme of this book is mental health. The book is mainly about Jennet McCurdy's mental health while filming the performances and the abuse she suffered from her mother. The memoir starts off with childhood memories and her mother's abusiveness. Jennet McCurdy's mother was an abusive person who promoted anorexia and forced Jennet to be an actor because that was her dream. The book has a split before and after her mother died, it depicts how impactful everything is and the mistreatment she faces even after her mother passed away. Not only did Jennet McCurdy suffer from her mother's abuse that led to eating disorders and mental issues she also suffers from the mistreatment from the producers and writers of her shows on Nickelodeon. This book has a lot of dark humor and a lot of sensitive topics.

Review: I would give this book a 5/5 it displays a lot of dark humor and figurative language that made the reading experience
a lot easier to understand the trauma Jennet McCurdy faces. What made this book valuable was the emotions that people can feel while reading this book and the imagery that sculpted a picture in everyone's mind. People could feel like they were there with her. This narration is told in first-person which invites readers to be in her perspective. The book centers on mental health and is really good for readers that have mental health issues because it displays that people do get better and going to therapy works and helps.

Genre: Mystery

inayagadit — 2022-10-18 14:43:43 UTC

WHY I PICKED IT:
I loved to read mystery books and to be on the edge of my seat. Mystery books are very thrilling to me, and I can read the for hours on end.

TEXTS:
Girl Stolen
The New Girl
In Cold Blood
The London Eye Mystery

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

elliottosman — 2022-10-18 14:57:01 UTC

Summary
Arthur Dent wakes up thinking that this would be a normal day, unbeknownst to him earth was ordered to be destroyed in order for a new hyperspace route by the galactic government, forcing Ford Prefect, a close friend of Arthur, manages to escape earth with Arthur. After the destruction of earth Arthur is always on the move, and is never able to find a place where he feels at home, because of this the book's main theme explores finding where a person feels safe and at home. Something that Arthur was unaware of however is Ford is an expert on how to explore the galaxy, and has a copy of “The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy” which is a book filled with definitions of terms from around the galaxy. Eventually Ford and Arthur coincidentally get picked up by an old friend of Ford, Zaphod Beeblebrox, who is president of the galaxy, and his friend Trillian. Ford and Arthur join Zaphod and Trillian on their journey, because Arthur is constantly introduced to new environments the book has no clear setting although most of their journey was in space.

Review

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy employs a substantial amount of made up species or objects that the reader would not be able to understand. To help readers understand these terms Adams employs imaging to help understand the terms along with similes and metaphors to describe objects that are non existent. Along with the smooth transition of new terms Adams also does an outstanding job at incorporating humor as the book is mainly light hearted and is filled with jokes mainly being puns. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy also contains many instances of the use of puns to create humor. Although I was very confused towards the ending as there are plot turns that do not make sense or changed from a good plot line to one that was very odd Overall I would recommend The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy to people that love adventure books or sci fi because of how unique The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is compared to other Sci Fi books.

summary on Norroway

sophiapurcell — 2022-10-18 15:02:13 UTC

summary: Sibylla and her sisters went to a witch that told them who they would marry in the future. the sisters had to get an egg from a birdnest and eat the egg raw to fin out who they'd marry. Sibylla had to marry a bull that was cursed and they have to travel around the world and help him forgive the people that he has hurt for him to break the curse he has to marry The Who could break the curse. they have to find the "Old one" to break the curse. But when Sibylla was trying to save her future husband she was in a village and could not find anyone that she knew and couldn't find her future husband.

Review: I enjoined how the author teaches us that when you mistreat people you will have to pay for what you did to them. and the only way you can fix it is to make it up to them and see if they forgive you. I have to wait for the other books to come out. but it a good book to read, it teaches you a good lesson.

Brief Summary and review

inayagadit — 2022-10-18 15:11:38 UTC

Summary:
The Book Girl, Stolen, a novel by April Henry shows Cheyenne, the main character, being kidnapped and held for ransom. This novel is told from a third person limited point of view between Cheyenne and Griffin, the guy who kidnapped Cheyenne. It was never his intention to kidnap her, he just needed a car and she happened to be sleeping in the backseat while her step-mom went into a pharmacy. Griffin then finds out that Cheyenne is blind and has pneumonia. The whole book Cheyenne shows how she is trying to outsmart her captors.

Review:
I rate this book a 4.5/5. This book for me was a real page turner. I love reading mystery books and just wondering what was going to happen kept me up at night. This book is based on true events making it a realistic fiction. Cheyenne is a static character because she doesn't really change so much in the book. This book was also told in a third person limited point of view between Cheyenne and Griffin. I plan on reading this book again and again, and I highly suggest it to anyone who likes a good mystery.

text:

sophiapurcell — 2022-10-18 15:33:14 UTC

Norrway by Kit & Cat Seaton.
To All The boys I Loved Before by Jenny Han
P.S. I Still Love You By Jenny Han
Always And Forever Lara Jean by Jenny Han

Linguistics: A Very Short Introduction

racheljacobs2 — 2022-12-05 22:22:14 UTC

Summary: Linguistics: A Very Short Introduction by P.H. Matthews particularizes linguistics as a field in a slim, serenely bounded volume. Linguistics: A Very Short Introduction was born of a vast family of books intended for those curious of things they know nothing to little about, called “Very Short Introductions”. “Very Short Introductions” contain, according to a rather tremulous blurb at the beginning of the book, over 500 volumes in any subject one can possibly think of. Anywho, back to Linguistics: A Very Short Introduction. The chapters were as follows: 1. The study of language; 2. ‘Homo loquens’ 3. Language in time and space; 4. Language families; 5. In praise of diversity, 6. What is a language?; 7. How much is systematic?; 8. Sounds; and 9. Language and the brain. With the chapter titles being, for the most part, self-explanatory, I shall not delve too deeply into what each chapter covers, for if I did, I might as well type out the entirety of the succinct text. But, I shall suffice by saying that Dr. Matthews covered everything from how one creates the brabble of speech by use of a certain merry-feathered larynx to the philosophy of language itself. The characters featured, if one could call it that, included a host of lesser known linguistic scholars including Giulio Lepschy and Max Weinreich, and expounded upon the ideas and thoughts of towering linguistic behemoths as well, including the illustrious Noam Chomsky. There is not a setting, per se, but a setting in the sense that anyone anywhere (as long as they are, for the most part, literate and interested) can connect with the text.

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Review: I thought this book to be vivid in prose, lucid in character, and ever the fascinating snazz. Linguistics: A Very Short Introduction was intended for arbitrary passerbys such as myself who haven’t happened to have acquired a PhD and or a masters’ degree regarding the subject (hence the “A Very Short Introduction’ piece of Linguistics: A Very Short Introduction) and it friendled the muddle of linguistics to me. I read it rather last-minute in scramble-mode, but even read hastily reads leagues upon leagues of information. I found the chapter pertaining to and adequately titled “What is a language” to be perfectly ensorcelling. It is written in a first-person narration style,with the author frequently employing the use of the word “I”. Dr. Matthews did not hammer any particular characterization out of the pages, unless (here, I admit, I am going to snaffle a phrase I used from my The Stuff of Thought review) one counts the characterization of one’s self as they wander through the book. There was also what one might call Foreshadowing, with the chapter names listed quite nicely in the table of contents, the list of illustrations (which were, in case you were wondering, mostly made up of photographs), and the list of maps. All-in-all, this book would appeal to those curious about a crucial aspect of mankind, and as to what Dr. Matthews could improve on, his examples could most definitely be tweaked, some of which included “Mary liked Jane paying it to herself” which, the structure to the wayside (as the structure was the reason of its being brought up) were most particularly boring, though perhaps rather fitting a middle-aged tenured professor.

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Comparison: Both Linguistics: A Very Short Introduction and The Stuff of Thought covered language (all we know of it and all we don’t), and both expounded upon the theory of linguistics. The Stuff of Thought was more centred on thought and the brain and language’s influence on both, whilst Linguistics: A Very Short Introduction concerned everything regarding linguistics, from speculating on how language evolved to the fineprints (or as fine as one can get in a trifling overview) and mechanics of grammar. They were both under the same topic, but one a broad introduction and the other about the interesting language of thought.

Flawless by Sara Shepard

eliannaohanlon — 2022-12-06 06:22:38 UTC

Summary: Flawless by Sara Shepard is about four teenage girls who experience drama and crises. The first girl is Spencer, who stole her sister's boyfriend. Then, there is Aria who is in love with her teacher and then gets her heart broken. The third girl is Emily, who has a crush on her best friend, Maya. The last girl, Hanna, has insecurities taking over her and forcing her to attempt to look as best as she can for others. Their past friend, Alison, who tied them together, has been dead for three years. The four girls have received countless threats from an anonymous person with the title of "A". "A" mostly uses symbols to convince them to figure out more clues to figure out the murder themselves, while also using foreshadowing so they know what might happen in the future to prevent major crises from happening. If they expose A, their life could be ruined, but if they tell the police, they could help solve the mystery of Alison's death.

Review: Personally for my reading level, I would rate this book a 5. There are constant mysteries that never keep you bored. Flawless is easy to understand and comprehend what is happening at all times. Sara Shepard includes great uses of imagery to help her readers process and picture to make the book even more interesting and intriguing to the readers. If you keep on reading, clues on the mystery keep revealing, leaving you able to predict what is going to occur next.

Comparison: The first book I read was mysterious and interesting. It's different than the second because you learn so many more clues to solve Alison's murder and there is more action going on with threats, deaths, and more