This interesting story follows the erratic life of Henry DeTamble. He is not an ordinary man and his life with Clare Abshire is not an ordinary love story. Henry is a time traveler, though many don't believe his story. I found Henry to be very similar to Holden from The Catcher in the Rye. Just like Holden, Henry often finds himself in an unfamiliar place. While that place for Holden was adulthood, the unfamiliar place is literal for Henry as he time travels to various areas and does not always know where he ends up. Because Henry usually doesn't know anyone in the area, or even what time period it is, he roams around looking for activities just as Holden aimlessly explored New York City. Similar to the time when Holden passed time ice skating at Rockefeller Center, Henry "skate[d] for an hour or so, then return[ed] the skates, pull[ed] on [his] boots, and walk[ed]" (117). Both men are lost in their own ways. Holden goes on a journey to remain in his past; Henry goes on a journey back to his past.
I enjoy the uniqueness of this story. However, I do find it confusing at times. I could never imagine writing a story with all the time changes. At times I need to refer back to the beginning of the chapter because even I forget what year Henry is in--imagine how difficult it is for Henry! I would recommend this book to anyone who likes love stories, but keep in mind that it can be confusing.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Saturday, November 14, 2009
The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
The Last Lecture is a book written by Randy Pausch, who was a professor for many years. He has also been diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. You would think this book would be quite the downer. However, it is just the opposite. Randy talks about what a good life he has had, even though it has been shortened due to his disease. He also gives tips on how to live out your own life to fullest. I was extremely moved and inspired by this book.
Randy decided to write this book based on his last lecture presented at Carnegie Mellon (the college he taught at). The theme of his lecture focused on achieving childhood dreams. As a teenager, I began thinking about my dreams when I was reading this book. Randy had already developed specific goals for his life at my age and here I am, with almost no clue about my future. I know I want to be a teacher, so that's a start. But for now, I guess I will just have to start thinking about my future goals more carefully.
Proving his eternal youth, Randy compares life to Winnie-the Pooh. Towards the end of the book he states, "As I see it, there's a decision we all have to make, and it seems perfectly captured in the Winnie-the-Pooh characters created by A. A. Milne. Each of us must decide: Am I a fun-loving Tigger or am I a sad-sack Eeyore?" (180). I have always loved Winnie-the-Pooh. I grew up watching the cartoon and still have my stuffed animals of the characters in my room. I hope that I will always hold onto these pieces of my childhood, just like Randy has. I also hope that I will always be a Tigger in life. Of course, everyone has their Eeyore days but overall remaining happy is very important. I loved how Randy incorporated childhood memories to teach lessons about staying true to your childhood.
The last book I read was also about a person struggling with cancer (A Time for Dancing). Both characters end up losing their battle to cancer in the end. But, these characters are very different from each other. While Julie in A Time for Dancing chose a sooner death over painful chemotherapy, Randy has done all he can to enjoy a few more moments of life. Now I am surely not passing judgement on either of their decisions; I have never had to make such a tough decision. But it was interesting to explore the contrast between the two.
I believe everyone should read this book. It was a real story with truly valuable lessons. Randy says at one point in the book that he is not grateful for his diagnosis, but he is grateful for the time that it granted him to live. He said that he preferred death to come with a warning, rather than say a heart attack or car accident. Each person should take his appreciation for time and live their lives out to the fullest.
Randy decided to write this book based on his last lecture presented at Carnegie Mellon (the college he taught at). The theme of his lecture focused on achieving childhood dreams. As a teenager, I began thinking about my dreams when I was reading this book. Randy had already developed specific goals for his life at my age and here I am, with almost no clue about my future. I know I want to be a teacher, so that's a start. But for now, I guess I will just have to start thinking about my future goals more carefully.
Proving his eternal youth, Randy compares life to Winnie-the Pooh. Towards the end of the book he states, "As I see it, there's a decision we all have to make, and it seems perfectly captured in the Winnie-the-Pooh characters created by A. A. Milne. Each of us must decide: Am I a fun-loving Tigger or am I a sad-sack Eeyore?" (180). I have always loved Winnie-the-Pooh. I grew up watching the cartoon and still have my stuffed animals of the characters in my room. I hope that I will always hold onto these pieces of my childhood, just like Randy has. I also hope that I will always be a Tigger in life. Of course, everyone has their Eeyore days but overall remaining happy is very important. I loved how Randy incorporated childhood memories to teach lessons about staying true to your childhood.
The last book I read was also about a person struggling with cancer (A Time for Dancing). Both characters end up losing their battle to cancer in the end. But, these characters are very different from each other. While Julie in A Time for Dancing chose a sooner death over painful chemotherapy, Randy has done all he can to enjoy a few more moments of life. Now I am surely not passing judgement on either of their decisions; I have never had to make such a tough decision. But it was interesting to explore the contrast between the two.
I believe everyone should read this book. It was a real story with truly valuable lessons. Randy says at one point in the book that he is not grateful for his diagnosis, but he is grateful for the time that it granted him to live. He said that he preferred death to come with a warning, rather than say a heart attack or car accident. Each person should take his appreciation for time and live their lives out to the fullest.
Monday, November 9, 2009
A Time for Dancing by Davida Hurwin -- Spoiler Alert
What a tearjerker this book was! I finished it earlier tonight and I am still recovering. The story followed a year in the life of two best friends. However, this year changed life drastically for both of them. They were used to spending all of their time together: laughing, partying, and just having fun. But when one of the girls, Julie, was diagnosed with cancer, both friends took a hard hit. These girls, Julie and Sam, were so close that it was almost as if both had been told they had cancer.
After trying to fight the disease with a positive attitude, Julie was pulled into the harsh reality of her situation. She referred to her battle with cancer as her solo journey. She believed that no one could control how her life turned out at that point. This was hard for Julie to cope with, as it would be with anyone. Though I could never imagine having to go through what Julie went through, I try to empathize with her pain. I can definitely understand her worries about battling cancer on her own. Nobody likes to face a tough situation by themselves. Humans love having safety nets. This reminds me of Holden not wanting to grow up in The Catcher and the Rye because he would have to face life on his own. And Holden still had his life ahead of him.
Sadly, Julie did not. Ultimately, cancer won the battle and she ended up dying at the end of the book. This is when the real waterworks started to come. With tears in my eyes (then and now), I finished reading the book. This really left me thinking. I had a hard day today, but nothing like the year that Julie and Sam went through. I realized that I should really hold on to what I have and not get hung up with what I don't have. Of course I would love to say that I will never take anything for granted again and that I will never get upset over little things. But, I'm only human. There is no way for people to be happy all of the time, even if they should be. I'm sure I will still have my moments, but hopefully I will always be able to keep the ideal state of mind close behind.
The end of the book quotes the song "Imagine" by John Lennon. That was very fitting as the closing scene took place at Julie's funeral. All of her loved ones were left imagining what Julie's life would have been and how this would impact their own life. Likewise, I was left imagining how people go through these struggles everyday. I hope that people can deal with these struggles and others can help those deal with them. Then I hope "the world will be as one" (John Lennon).
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Quarter 1 Comes to a Close
I have just looked over my blogs for the quarter. I noticed that I tend to focus my blogging on what I like about each book. Even if I do not fully enjoy the story, I find a positive aspect to focus on. Also, I write about point of view a lot in my entries. In both my entries about The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and A Time for Dancing I wrote about the unique point of view displayed. I guess I really like commenting on the point of view because it always interests me how authors choose to tell their story.
At first, I did not enjoy the blogging experience. I found myself with nothing to write about. The whole process felt tedious to me. I missed the old system of just reading for independent reading, like we did last year. But then I realized that the blog was a place for me to write anything that I wanted about my book. It didn't have to be like an essay every week; it could be more like free write. Then, I began to open up more and blogging became more fun.
My blogging goal for the second quarter is to summarize less in my blogs. After reading through my blogs, I realized that I spend a lot of each entry telling a summary of what I have read. Though this is good, I aim to write more analysis in the future. I feel that my entries are clear and detailed at this point. I would just like to give fewer details about the actual plot and more details analyzing and writing about the plot. I found that I have definitely become more excited about my blog than I was at the beginning of the year and I hope that this feeling continues!
At first, I did not enjoy the blogging experience. I found myself with nothing to write about. The whole process felt tedious to me. I missed the old system of just reading for independent reading, like we did last year. But then I realized that the blog was a place for me to write anything that I wanted about my book. It didn't have to be like an essay every week; it could be more like free write. Then, I began to open up more and blogging became more fun.
My blogging goal for the second quarter is to summarize less in my blogs. After reading through my blogs, I realized that I spend a lot of each entry telling a summary of what I have read. Though this is good, I aim to write more analysis in the future. I feel that my entries are clear and detailed at this point. I would just like to give fewer details about the actual plot and more details analyzing and writing about the plot. I found that I have definitely become more excited about my blog than I was at the beginning of the year and I hope that this feeling continues!
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