Johnny Manziel Column

http://www.cleveland.com/livingston/index.ssf/2014/05/johnny_backup.html#incart_river

I was reading a column about the role of Johnny Manziel on the Cleveland Browns because I am a Browns fan.  I have heard many opinions about how Manziel will do in Cleveland, but I thought I should read from a Cleveland sports columnist to see what they thought about him.  Bill Livingston reports that the organized team activities happening right now are what will have the biggest impact on who plays quarterback for the Browns this year.

Livingston explains that it will be a long process for Manzeil to get used to the Browns' offense.  To describe this he uses a simile,"'Install,' the noun, is sort of like 'rebuild,' the noun."  The use of this simile keeps the readers interested and helps them understand his point.  He also states that Brian Hoyer is not willing to give up his position to Manziel and both QB's have a chance at starting this season.

The two quarterbacks are compared in the article.  Unlike the attention hungry Johnny Football, Hoyer is quiet, diligent, industrius.  However, Manziel has a chance to do great things in Cleveland, and he gets the fans very excited.  Bill Livingston is very informative for fans of Cleveland sports.  For the fans in the Dawg Pound, Livingston is their entire news.

Columnist Assignment

Krista Ramsey discusses the benefits of children playing with Legos that they don’t get from other activities.

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/opinion/columnists/krista-ramsey/2014/02/15/krista-locking-into-the-magic-of-legos/5521245/

“Because this is not just the World According to Legos, this is the World According to You.”  This is a quote from Krista Ramsey’s column that is very powerful.  This line shows how kids become very creative by playing with Legos.  Because she makes the World According to You a proper noun, the reader thinks of this as an actual place they can go.  It makes the imagination that comes with Legos seem without end.  This line is very impactful on the reader of the column.

Krista Ramsey uses high diction in all of her columns.  She uses figurative language and sophisticated words to enhance her writing.  She also uses many proper nouns to say where she gets her facts from.  Overall, her writing is very impactful and she makes readers think about things they might not have thought about before.

Questions for Krista Ramsey:

How are you personally impacted by all of the people you interview?

Where did you study to become a columnist?

How do you find ways to incorporate so much figurative language in your writing?

What I like best about A Time to Kill

A Time to Kill by John Grisham is a very exciting and intense book.  It keeps me reading and wanting to turn the page each time.  I would recomend this book to anyone who likes thrillers.  I like the intensity of the book, but another thing  I like is its elevated diction.  Grisham uses many sophistocated words with many syllables. He also uses a lot of figurative language, such as personification.  In one part of the book, Grisham describes a man turning off his alarm clock.  He says, "He found it where he had left it, and killed it with a quick and violent slap."  Grisham uses personification in this passage.  He makes the clock seem alive by saying that the man killed it.  We as readers can understand this personification because the alarm clock is making annoying noises like something that might be alive, and the man silences it.  This is only one of many examples of figurative language in the book that enhances the story.

Characterizing Sheriff Ozzie Walls

Ozzie Walls is the sheriff of Ford County, Mississippi in A Time to Kill by John Grisham.  He is an African-American and he is respected by the citizens of Ford County, who are mostly white.  He played football in college and then went to play professionally for the Rams.  An injury caused him to come back home to Mississippi.  He has authority over others and criminals fear him.  He can relate to Jason Bourne, because he is a good person, but he can be tough when he needs to be.  Like Bourne, he is without fear and he will do whatever is necessary to carry out the law, just like Bourne would do what ever is necessary to protect himself.  Although Boune did not have legal authority over others, he had physical authority over them so Bourne and Ozzie are very similar.  This scene shows how Sheriff Ozzie has authority and he can scare criminals, "Looney handed Ozzie the longest, blackest nightstick ever used in Ford County.  Willard was panic-stricken.  Ozzie cocked it and struck the center of the table, sending beer and cans and foam in all directions."

Why I chose to read A Time to Kill

 

I have just started reading A Time to Kill by John Grisham.  I have only read one chapter so far, but the book is already intense.  It starts with a ten year old girl who has been abducted and is being beaten, but she escapes and is found and returned home at the end of the chapter.  I am very intrigued to continue and find out what will happen to the men who did this.

I chose to read this book because I have read the Theodore Boone series.  This is also by John Grisham, but these books are intended for kids in middle school, and that is when I read these books.  I wanted to read some of his adult books and I was recommended this book.  I am glad I started reading it because it is very good so far and I think I will read more books by John Grisham in the future.

Post #10: The Bourne Identity Review

                One of the most suspenseful and intriguing books out there is The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum.  There is suspense from the very beginning of the book as an unknown man is shot six times on a boat and falls into the sea.  This man wakes up with no memory of who he is and people are trying to kill him for reasons he doesn’t understand.  The book is about him looking for clues to find who he is, with a lot of danger along the way.  This book is an intense page-turner.

                The plot of The Bourne Identity has many twists and turns.  This makes the book very exciting and interesting to read.  One instance in the book when the plot turns is when Jason is in a bank in Zurich and as he is leaving, he sees a man pull a gun out.  This man and other men attack Jason and he fights them off, but then he realizes there are many other killers coming after him.  This was very suspenseful because we don’t understand why Jason is being attacked, since we don’t know about his past.  Another moment of suspense in the book occurs just as Jason thinks he has escaped the killers in Zurich.  It says, “His eyes were looking at two thin intersecting lines!  Crosshairs!”  This was very suspenseful because it seemed like the killers were everywhere and it seems to the reader like it is going to be impossible for Jason to get away from them.  As in the examples mentioned so far, the plot in the book is very fast-paced at most times.  However, the plot can also be very slow-paced.  For example, the plot is very slow at the part when Jason and Marie are working to find clues in order to discover his identity while they are in Paris.  This part of the book is slow because there is a lot of dialogue and not a lot of action.  The book is still interesting at this point even though the plot is slow, because the reader is intrigued to discover more of Jason’s past and answer questions that might have come up earlier in the plot.  There are many unknowns in the book and it can become very confusing.  Overall, the plot of The Bourne Identity is intriguing and suspenseful.  It forces the reader to turn the page and keep reading.  The author also uses characterization to add to the book.

                The main characters in The Bourne Identity are well-developed.  Jason Bourne and Marie St. Jacques are both very likeable characters.  Robert Ludlum characterizes these characters through their dialogue and their actions.  We can see that Jason is willing to do anything to discover his identity when he abducts Marie and uses her to get himself to safety.  We can also see that Jason is a good person even though he does this because he was only doing this to keep himself safe and he also keeps her safe.  We can also see that Marie is a good person because she refuses to leave at any of the times Bourne tells her to leave because it is too dangerous.  Carlos is a very mysterious and evil character.  He is not characterized as much as Jason and Marie, but he still adds a lot to the plot of the book.  The reader sees small glimpses of Carlos throughout the book and is intrigued to find out more.  The characterization of Jason, Marie and Carlos enhances the book, as does Robert Ludlum’s writing style.

                Robert Ludlum does many things with his writing to make the book more interesting.  The book is written in third person, but sometimes it changes to first person in italics for one sentence to show Jason’s thoughts.  These thoughts come to show what Jason thinks about the things he finds and what he thinks those things might mean about him.  They also show him remembering what the doctor told him to do when he sees something familiar.  One time when Jason was thinking, the book said, “Specifics may come to you…certain repressed conduits…prodded into functioning.  Was it happening now?  Oh Christ, I can’t stand it!”  Jason’s thoughts add suspense to the book because they are popping up in his head when he needs to focus on getting to safety.  The writing style of the book definitely adds suspense.

                The Bourne Identity is a great read.  Anyone would like this book, but especially people who enjoy thrillers.  It is intense, suspenseful and hard to put down.

Post #4: Informal Reflection on 11/22/63

11/22/63 by Stephen King was the longest book I have ever read.  It was worth my time though.  I enjoyed the book very much with all of the plot twists.  It wasn't the best book I have ever read, but I would give it 4 out of 5 stars.  From the very beginning of the book, I was intrigued and I wanted to read more.  I read 100 pages at one time when I first started the book because I thought it was so good.  The middle of the book is sort of slow and that is why I struggled to get the book done on time, but overall I still enjoyed the book.  I would reccomend this to someone who likes history or suspense, but you have to be able to make a commitment to this book because it is 850 pages long.

Post #12: Reading Wishlist

After this Best Sellers course is over, I will continue to read.  There are many books that I want to read, and the book I will read next is The Hunger Games.  I have never read it and everyone else enjoys it so much so I think I should read it.  Other books I plan to read in the future are: The Bourne Supremacy by Robert Ludlum and the rest of the Jason Bourne series, Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk, The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, Let Me Off At the Top! by Ron Burgandy, Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin, A Time to Kill by John Grisham, and more.

Post #11: Book Talk Presentation

Post #9: Charachter Reflection

The two main characters in The Bourne Identity are Jason Bourne and Marie St. Jacques. Both characters are very likeable.  Although we dont know about Bourne's previous life for most of the book, we can see how he acts after his memory loss and can tell that he is a good person.  Readers of the book really learn to root for Bourne after reading the beginning when he struggled for nineteen weeks to try to regain his memor because you really want him to find out who he is.  Even though he abducted Marie, he made sure she was safe the entire time.  One example of him trrying to protect her is when they were at a restaraunt and a man walked over to the table they were sitting at to speak to Jason.  Jason said to Marie, "A man's coming over here.  A fat man, and he's afraid.  Don't say anything...And dont look at him...For your own good,.  There's no point in him being able to identify you."
Marie is very likeable as well because she cares about Bourne.  She realizes he abducted her because of the situation he is in, and she is greatful that he saved her life.  Many times Bourne tries to tell Marie to leave so that she can stay safe, but she cares to much about him, so she stays with him and helps him figure out what is going on.

Post #7: No Country for Old Men Trailer

Post #8: Truth in Memoir

In order to be considered a non-fiction book, a book must be completely true.  James Frey claims that his book, A Million Little Pieces, is non-fiction, although some of it is untrue.  He claims that 95% of it is true, which makes it non-fiction.  I disagree with this.  If you tell someone that a book is non-fiction, they are going to believe that everything in the book is true.  You can't put fiction in a non-fiction book.  His book might still be a good book, but it is fiction because he made some of it up.  People shouldn't be misled into believing what they are reading if it is labeled as non-fiction, but is really not true.  There does need to be a line between fiction and non-fiction.  It matters so that people know what they are reading.  In order for A Million Little Pieces to be non-fiction, Frey would have to take out the part that is not true.  If he wanted to keep that part of the book, it would have to be labeled as fiction.  I disagree with David Shields when he says there doesn't need to be a distinct line between fiction and non-fiction.  He encourages readers of Reality Hunger: A Manifesto to cut out the pages where he cites all of the quotes he plagiarized in his book.  I think that it is important for people to know what they are reading, so there does need to be a line between fiction and non-fiction, and people should know where the information in his book comes from.

Post #5: Adapting No Country For Old Men

One scene from No Country For Old Men that is important to be in the film adaptation is when Moss returns to his wife and says he is in danger and he might not come back home.  This is important because it introduces his wife and it is when Moss first states that he is going to keep the money and face whatever danger comes at him.  Another important scene is when Chigurh flips the coin at the gas station for the first time.  This is a very important scene because this scene develop's the character a lot so you get to know more about him.  One more important scene is when Moss and Chigurh meet at the hotel, because it is an intense confrontation between the two of them and it helps move the plot along.

One scene that is not important is when Chigurh gets hit by a car.  Although this part of the book is cool, it does not move the plot along at all and it would have to be cut in the movie.  (Although this part is kept in the real movie.)  The scene when Moss goes back to where he found the money is important, because an assailant sees him and shoots at him, but the movie should not include all of the detail from this scene, because there is not that much time in a movie to give a lot of detail and the scene would still make sense without all of the detail.

The best thing about The Bourne Identity

I am still reading The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum.  I am enjoying the book very much and I would recommend it to anyone who likes thrillers with a lot of action.  The best thing about my book is the suspense.  Jason Bourne is always in danger.  As soon as you think he is safe from some danger that he was facing, something else comes up.  This example comes from a time in the book when Bourne thinks he has escaped people who were trying to kill him, "His eyes were looking at two thin intersecting lines. Crosshairs!  A scope... an infrared scope of  a rifle."

The Bourne Identity: The most important line from a chapter is...

I have recently started reading The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum.  I decided to read this book because I have seen the movie before and I really liked it.  So far I am really enjoying the book also.  I have wanted to keep reading for a long time without putting it down.

In chapter four, the most important line is,"The clerk continued writing, then lifted up the card, reversing it for the guests signature.  Mr. J. Bourne. New York, N.Y. U.S.A."  This quote is very important because Jason Bourne was working very hard to get some of his memory back for a long time and he finally has some closure on who he is.  This quote from chapter two shows how long he had been working on this: "The weeks passed; the verbal exercises continued as the pages grew and the man's strength returned.  It was mid-morning of the nineteenth week..."

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who likes crime thrillers or any exciting books.

Post #6: Readicide

Readicide is a problem in schools.  The love of reading is dying because all we are reading in school is literary fiction and it is boring to students.  Students like to read genre fiction and lessons can be made out of those types of books also.  If genre fiction was used more in school, maybe students would actually read the books and not just use Spark Notes.  It is still important to teach some literary fiction, but the 50/50 idea should be used so that students can read some genre fiction in school as well.  Literary fiction is not relevant to our current culture.  Kelly Gallagher said that one of his 18-year old students didn't know what Al-Qaeda was.  The student asked, "Who is this Al guy?"  This is ridiculous because this student was about to graduate and would be able to vote in the next election.  It is important that we read genre fiction that is more relevant today than literary fiction.  Not only do school curriculums need to start incorporating more genre fiction, but book awards also need to recognize the popular books that people enjoy.  What the book awards are doing now is preaching philosophical books that few people enjoy and trying to get people to read them.  Genre fiction is not less "worthy" than literary fiction, because it actually entices readers with interesting plots.  Books do not have to be based on ideas in order to be great.  It would be good for students if Macbeth were swapped for Hunger Games.  Things like that need to be done so that people will continue to enjoy reading.  Readicide will always be a problem until the curriculum is changed to include more interesting books.

Research about Cormac McCarthy

I have recently started reading No Country For Old Men by Cormac McCarthy.  Cormac McCarthy is 80 years old.  He is an author and screenwriter who has won awards for his works.  His novel, The Road,  won a Pulitzer Prize and he has also won a National Book Award.  No Country For Old Men was adopted into a film that won an Oscar for Best Picture.  He writes western novels and post-apocalyptic novels.  He has had 3 wives who have all died while he was married to them.  He has had a son with two of his three wives.