Danielle+Welsher

May 24, 2011

I'm reading For One More Day by Mitch Albom. I really loved Tuesdays With Morrie, so I figured I'd read this one!

CHARACTERS: Chick is the main character. Otherwise know as the protagonist. He wants to kill himself because he doesn't believe his life has any more purpose. He thinks no one will miss him when he's gone. Chick's dad, another character, told Chick that he could be either a "Mama's Boy" or a "Daddy's Boy," but you can't be both. He's important, because Chick chose to be a Daddy's boy. Another character is Chick's mother. The author hasn't mentioned her name quite yet. She's important because after Chick's dad left, Chick had to suddenly become a "mama's boy." Chick's daughter, Maria, is important because the fact that she didn't invite Chick to her wedding is significant. That event really pushed Chick over the edge.. that's the main reason he decided to kill himself. SUMMARY: Chick's life didn't go as he'd planned. He once played in the World Series, but he's not an athlete anymore. He's become an alcoholic and was fired from various salesman jobs. Because of this, his family had money troubles. Him and his wife fought constantly about it and eventually split up. Now, Chick feels like his life has no more purpose. His own daughter didn't even invite him to her wedding- she sent him a note. Chick decided that he wants to kill himself, and he drives to his hometown to do it... but he finds his mother in his old home, who has been dead for years. RATING: I give this book a five. I can't put it down! It pulled me in from the first page. DISCUSSIONS OF CLASSMATES' READING: I was reading Jaslyn's blog on The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven. The title even sounded like it would be good! I read the summary, and it sounds like one of those books that I'd cry over. I think I'll have to read it sometime! WIKI REFLECTIONS: I enjoyed doing this, because I not only got to look at all the old books I read throughout the semester, but I could see what other people were reading. It was a lot easier to decide what I wanted to read next because I could just go see what other people thought of certain books. I didn't like it at first, because I HATE having a certain deadline for reading, but I got over that aspect of it and I've started to really like blogging.

April 24, 2011

To be honest, I haven't been reading a whole lot lately because I'm busy with soccer and other school-related things. I'm still reading Tomorrow by Graham Swift, though. I found out that it's set in about the time of World War 2. It never said anything about the time towards the beginning of the book, but I could tell that it wasn't supposed to be present day. Paula is pretty much the narrator throughout this book and just tells the reader about past evens in her life. I mentioned in my last blog about her husband and all of his different careers- since he quit the job he love the most, he seems unhappy. I don't know what to think about this book. It's hard to predict what happens next, and I love to predict.

April 18, 2011

I'm reading Tomorrow by Graham Swift still. Since my last blog, I've read about 100 pages. Paula (the mom) is describing events in her life to the reader. Technically, she's talking to her kids, but they aren't there. So far, she's described what her husband used to do for a living. He was a scientist and studied snails. He loved his career, but one day he had to quit his research. Paula doesn't say why, but she says her husband seemed different after that.. as if he was sad. Paula is still trying to put off telling the secret to her kids, even though it's almost the next morning. So far, I like the book, but I think it's going really slow. Some of the things that Paula talks about don't seem to have any significance in the story, but she tells them anyway. I think the author drags on a bit too much. Otherwise, I like the book.

April 1, 2011

I'm still reading Tomorrow by Graham Swift. I've read approximately 55 pages this week, and I still don't know what the big secret is that the mother is keeping from her kids. She's describing past events in her life. So far, one of my favorite quotes from the book has to be, "You never think your life is going to include the feeling 'that was another age, another time, another world.' But it does, it will for you. Even sooner perhaps, than you think." The mom was saying this to her kids. Since I'm young, I've never really thought about getting that feeling.. so this quote made me think.

March 23, 2011

I've just started reading Tomorrow by Graham Swift. I got this book from the Ericson Public Library. I was just walking around at the shelves and pulled books out that I thought looked interesting, and I happened to choose this book. I haven't gotten very far into it, but from what I've read it has to do with a family and a big secret that the mother has been keeping from her kids. In the part I'm at, the mother is laying in bed thinking about what's going to happen the next morning once she tells her kids the secret. I'm curious to know what this secret is. So far, I like this book because it's keeping me interested.

March 4, 2011

Since I've finished The Tenth Circle, and I am getting a new book this weekend, I'm going to blog about The Twelve Angry Men. This book was about a jury comprised of twelve men who had to decide if a young man was guilty or acquitted of killing his father. There was a lot of evidence that showed the young man really did kill his father, however some of the jurors proved that a lot of this evidence wasn't reliable. In the end, the jury came to a decision, but you'll have to read it to find out what their decision was. Well, I guess I have to name and describe four main characters from the reading. Throughout the play, the jurors only go by their numbers. Juror 3 was an important character. He was actually the last person to come to a decision, and he was an extremely stubborn character. Another main part would probably be Juror 10. He was an extremely racist man, also known as a bigot. Juror 9 is also an important part. An old man testified that he actually heard the young man murder his father, and Juror 9 was able to relate with this old man and how he was feeling. The fourth main character is my favorite, Juror 8. He was able to get everyone to think about the whole case. Without him, there would never have been any controversy over whether or not the young man had actually murdered his father. The jury would have just said the boy was guilty, and they'd all be out of there. So, he's a very important character in the play. Overall, I'd rate this play a 5. The author did an excellent job of coming up with different characters as jurors. There are really people out there who are racists like Juror 10, stubborn like Juror 3, and insightful like Juror 8. He also did a great job making his readers think about how effective our court system is. You know you've read something good when you're thinking about it days afterward. I'd definitely recommend this play to others.

February 26, 2011

I'm now reading The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult. I have to be honest, I didn't really check out the back of the book before I started reading. I didn't even look at the author. But when I got home and looked at it, I realized it was one of my favorite authors. (: Weird, huh? Anyway, It's about this forty-something year old comic book artist named Daniel and his family. Or rather, it's about what they go through. Daniel's teenage daughter, Trixie, goes out one night with a friend to a party. (But she doesn't tell him it's a party..) The author makes it very unclear as to whether or not it actually happened, but Trixie claims she was raped by her ex-boyfriend. D: Trixie only knows her dad as a calm, mild-mannered guy, but she doesn't know how he used to be. He used to steal, drink, cheat.. you name it, he probably did it. He changed his lifestyle for his family. But when he finds out that his daughter may have been raped, he doesn't know if he can keep his cool anymore. The character of Daniel kind of reminds me of my dad, because before he settled down, he wasn't exactly doing good things himself. Anyway, I'm really anxious to see what actually happened at the party, and what Daniel is going to do. Personally, I hope he loses his cool, because I do not like Trixie's ex-boyfriend whatsoever. I'm really enjoying this book so far! Jodi Picoult is one of my favorite authors.

February 10, 2011

I am reading One Week In December by Holly Chamberlin. I just recently started reading it, and so far it has only talked about the character Becca Rowan. The author is describing her as a "workaholic." She's very dedicated to her work. Becca had to get off of work early to drive down to her parents' house for Christmas. It's actually the first time in a while since she's been to see her family. The author also mentions that Becca's family is very large. The reason why Becca doesn't wan t to visit her family is because of a mistake she made when she was 16- she got pregnant. Instead of giving the kid up, s he had her oldest brother and his wife raise it as if it was their own. The child doesn't know who her real mother is. I think the best part of this book so far is when Becca is driving and is reliving the story of how she gave up her daughter, Rain, to her brother. The worst is Becca describing how she feels about giving her daughter up. She wishes that she could tell Rain the truth. [|One Week In December Review]

January 27, 2010

I am reading The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks. I got this book from the library, because a friend told me I should read it. I also got it because I watched the movie. I couldn't think of a reason why I shouldn't read the book, so I started to read it. The main character's name is Ronnie, and she's around seventeen. If I had to describe her in one word, it would probably be moody. That, or grumpy. Ronnie is basically a typical teenager. She rebels against her parents and doesn't listen to them. For example, instead of spending time with her dad, she decided to walk off by herself and not come back until the end of the day. The main conflict for this character right now is the fact that her mom is making her spend the summer with her dad instead of in New York with her friends. I like this book so far, because each chapter is from a different character's point of view. It makes it more interesting to read. I'm enjoying the book!

January 13, 2011

Today, I have successfully created a Wiki account, joined this Wiki, and am ready to blog!