I Love Lucy

There's this very special person in my life. Her name is Lucy, and I love her. She is my youngest sister at 16 years old. She works hard and pursues the Lord whole heartedly. Lucy is an incredible encouragement to me. I am so thankful for the blessing God has given me in the form of a very skinny, hilarious teenager who I have the privilege of calling my best friend.


Dear Lord,
Thank you for your blessings. Thank you that you give your children good gifts, and thank you for the gift you gave me in giving me Lucy. Bless her life and give her peace to finish high school well. Prepare her for the truth she will receive this weekend at Disciple Now. Thank you so much for her life and the joy that she is. I love you Lord. Amen.

Fahrenheit 451, Part One

I am loving Fahrenheit 451 so far. This has been my favorite book we've read in class. The book is interesting and unlike any other book I've read. I pray that Americans will never turn into people like the self-centered, one-dimenisional people described in by Bradbury in Fahrenheit 451, and that future does not look like his idea of the future. The name Bradbury gave Montag's wife, Mildred is perfect for her awful personality. I was sad when Clarisse died, but her death shows the greatly decreased value of life humans in Bradbury's futuristic dystopian society have. Her death was also so unexpected.  As is expected, Montag is my favorite character, and his bravery is incredible, even though he still has doubts. The idea of burning books is so strange and unusual. I really want to see him make it to the end of the book. Though Professor Faber is a wimp, I still like him, and his decision to defy the government with Montag. I honestly can't wait to finish the book to see what happens in the end.

Life of Pi, Part Four

I've finally finished the Life of Pi. It wasn't my favorite book, and it was hard to get into but at least I've finished. I find it hard to enjoy books that start off in such a boring manner. The end was very interesting and surprising. The whole time Martel made me believe that Richard Parker, the hyena, Orange Juice, and the zebra really existed as was his intention. When I found out it was all false, just a rationalization Pi created to maintain sanity, I was certainly intrigued. The Japanese officials were harsh and critical is a demeaning way. It's tough but true that his story involving real people is actually more believable than Pi's imaginary story. Humankind is so harsh and brutal that we are more likely to believe that awful truth than a story involving wild animals. In many ways, Pi became a wild animal to survive and overcome life lost a sea. Overall, Martel is an excellent writer. His diligence to the story is astounding. He spent so much time researching and preparing to make the story seem real. He used incredible detail and write professionally. It's really enjoyable to read a fictional novel and learn more about things you'd never expect to learn without looking them up in a text book. I don't think I'd re-read this book unless forced.

Life of Pi, Part Three

The Life of Pi becomes more and more intense as I continue reading it. At this point, Pi is in the life boat learning to survive. His initiative is quite impressive. If I were in his place I would have probably already gone insane and found the nearest volleyball to name Wilson. I think a volleyball would make a better companion than a starving tiger named Richard Parker. I guess the marking of the territory was necessary, but it wasn't pleasant to read about. This book really lays out the seriousness of being stranded at sea with a raging tiger. Pi really is quite the survivor. The "prusten" sound Richard Parker makes is neat because it makes me wonder if they'll ended being friends. In only a week Pi accomplished a lot on his lifeboat with the raft and the stills and the fish. I can't believe how long Pi spent on that boat. 227 days is a loong time with only a tiger as company. Seeing how Pi progessively becomes more able to survive on his own is interesting. He is constantly learning and trying to improve the way he lives on the boat and raft. Pi trying to eat tiger feces is not okay....NOT okay. I like that he keeps spirituality involved as he struggles to survive on his lifeboat. i'm really enjoying this, but I just can't find time to read!

The Life of Pi Part 2

The second section of the Life of Pi begins with the a completre change in Pi's life- the Patel family moves to Canada. On the way to Canada, "the ship sinks." Martel's use of short chapters to go back in time and fast forward to the future keep the story enteraining and the reader on her feet. The book's plot progressively becomes more interesting as Pi becomes trapped in a life boat with only a zebra, a huge Bengal tiger named Richard Parker, and a hyena for company. The story becomes disgusting as Martel describes the events of the first few days' in the boat and the hyena's savagery. Had I been in Pi's situation, I would not have acted rationally. I would have thrown that mean hyena overboard. The death of the hyena couldn't have come soon enough! hyenas are terrible. so I was happy to see him fall to Richard Parker. Pi uses wit to separate himself from Richard Parker and potentially save his life. The story only gets more interesting as I contine reading. I can't wait to see what Martel writes next.

The Life of Pi Part 1

My feelings towards the first one hundred pages of the "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel, contrary to those of many of my peers, are positive. Though at time confusing, the constant story switching keeps me on my feet and interested in each new story. Having read a multitude of books, I've come to expect the metaphorical mountain climb the first 100 pages of any book can potentially be. I've trained and conditioned myself to persevere through even the most boring of back stories to get to the good stuff in a book. I expect the first 100 pages of the Life of Pi to be challenging and boring, but I was pleasantly surprised by the color and intrigue of chapters 1 through 29. Martel uses vivid detail to describe things I know very little about. 

One reason the book is so interesting is the fact that I have very little knowledge of India and zoo keeping. I have already learned so much about in just these few chapters. For instance, keeping a zoo is almost the opposite of running a hotel though the jobs seem similar, the zoo is to the animal as the Ritz Carlton is to the human, and hungry tigers are very ferocious animals. 

Pi's story becomes confusing where he becomes confused: religion. He changes religions often, never satisfied, but always passionate about prayer and religious rites. I enjoy the switches in point of view from Pi's to Martel's then back to Pi's. This adds depth and intrigue. 

Overall, I am really enjoying the Life of Pi, and I look forward  to reading and learning more from this book.

The Color of Water Part 1

     The Color of Water by James McBride is a great book. I've really enjoyed reading it so far. Though it's about life in the 1950s and the struggle involved with being a black son of a white Jewish woman it's very interesting. I can only relate to the author and his mother through the spiritual aspect of the book. McBride's mother's passion for Christ is one I crave. I can't relate to his struggles or his mother's struggles, but reading a book should not be about relating to the people in it. Reading a book should be about stepping outside of your world and into the author's world. Reading a book allows us to relate to people in a way that would never be possible otherwise. That's why i'm loving this book, because it is like nothing I've ever read. I'm learning so much about life in McBride's setting in the years in which he grew up. I'm also learning about what early life was like for a Jewish immigrant to American. How else would I be learning this in so intimate a way? I won't be surprised if a few people are not as open to the book as I am just because I know there are so many people with differing opinions in the English class.
        If nothing else, I'm learning about the struggles blacks went through in the early 1900s, and the struggles of an American immigrant in a interesting, enjoyable way. Both McBride, and his mother suffered greatly in ways I could never imagine.