Finally

At the end of the semester, as I am writing now, I'd say I have changed as a reader. It's weird, because I used to read for fun, and then I stopped. Now, I've kind of gotten into the habit of reading for fun again. I definitely had a range of books that I read this semester, all of them popular fiction though. I read anywhere from Stephen King to James Franco to Nicholas Sparks, all extremely different authors. I started reading Stephen King, who writes kind of creepy books, then I went to religious books like Screwtape Letters and Heaven is for Real, and at the end I was reading Nicholas Spark's love stories!
I think I'll be more likely to read for fun this summer for several reasons. First, I got a pool at the end of the summer, and so I think I'll spend a lot of time relaxing on a float and reading some good summer books. Also, this class helped me to realizing reading is actually fun when you have a good book. I kind of forgot about that considering I hadn't read a book for fun since freshman or sophomore year.
I think this summer I'm gonna try to read all or most of the Nicholas Sparks books because they just seem very summery to me. I think my next thing is going to be to finish It because I haven't done that yet. When I finish that, I'm not sure what I'm going to read next, but it'll probably be some sort of romance, because I think that's what catches my attention and engages me most when it comes to books, or just life in general I guess. Although I'm a very rational person, I'm into romantic movies and books.
I've never read this much in a semester, and I think it was good for me.

last blog?....

Well, this wasn't my intent, but Monday night I finished A Walk to Remember... and I read 200 pages of it. I couldn't stop reading! I think since I already kind of knew what happens I was waiting for a specific part to happen and it never did, so I kept reading and reading...and eventually I came to the point (where Jamie tells Landon she has cancer.) By then I didn't have much left to read so I just kept reading until I finished. And man oh man, was I bawling my eyes out at the end! It's such a bittersweet book....they both find true love, but it only lasts for a few months until she dies. Can you imagine? I kept coming out of my room with tears in my eyes, telling my mom "I wish I was her!! well, sort of..." She was so lucky to have someone be so in love with her like that, and yet extremely unlucky because she had terminal cancer. Sometimes she annoyed me, because she seemed a little boring, but I think her extreme kindness kind of outdid that part of her. Within the last five pages I had tears streaming down my face, and when I got up to brush my teeth I looked in the mirror and had mascara all over my face haha...kinda funny.
It didn't feel like I was reading all that long, but I read 200 pages, so it must have been a while. I didn't do any other homework Monday night, which was bad of me...but with the 200 pages for this week out of the way, I think it's safe to say that I'll have more time to focus on other homework this week. And if I finish it all, I may even start a new book! But I'm pretty darn busy, so we'll have to see. I'm so sick of being busy, I would someone would just cut me a break sometimes. However, I should be grateful for everything I have. After all, Thanksgiving is coming up soon! ahhhh, I love the holidays!!!

a book to remember part 2

The main character Landon's parents decide that he must sign up to be senior class president. So he signs up and wins, no contest. Then he discovers that he has to take someone to the homecoming dance since he is on student council, but the problem is that all the "good dates" have already been taken. So he's looking in his yearbook and he figures out that the only person he can ask is the other main character, Jamie...the one who is obsessed with the Bible. He doesn't really want to ask her, but he realizes she's the only option. So he asks her to go and she says yes. After some pretty crazy events that night, they go home and don't talk much for a couple weeks. Then, he gets a phone call from her, asking him to come over because she has to talk to him about something important. He goes over to her house, and she asks him to play Tom Thornton in the play, which is the lead role. It's the play that her dad created in remembrance of her mom, and she's playing the opposite lead role...she doesn't want to disappoint her dad by having a terrible show. Feeling completely full of guilt, Landon decides to play Tom Thornton. However, this gives him a pretty bad reputation with his friends, because she's a geek.
I'm torn regarding my feelings about Jamie. On one hand, I'm proud of her for being herself and sticking to doing what God says to do. She's really helpful to everyone and always cheerful. But on the other hand, I don't think it's a sin to put on makeup and wear somewhat fashionable clothing, or take your hair out of a bun once in a while. But I guess its whats on the inside, not the outside that counts.

Currently, weeks of 10/28 and 11/4

books and pages read for week of 10/28:
Heaven is For Real by Todd Burpo 105-173 68 pages  (finished book)
It by Stephen King 355-437 82 pages

150 pages this week
Total this semester: 1314 pages 

books and pages read for week of 11/4
Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis  105-209 104 pages (finished book)
A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks 1-46 46 pages

150 pages this week
Total this semester: 1464

Sentences of the (2) week:

1."Jamie didn't care much about outward appearances, because she was always looking for things like "inner beauty," and I suppose that's part of the reason she looked the way she did."

This sentence came from page 21 in A Walk to Remember. Landon is talking about how Jamie is a very plain Jane type of girl, and I think when he says inner beauty is the reason "she looked the way she did," it's kind of insulting to her.

2. "No matter how you sliced it, reading Paul's letters to the Ephesians wasn't nearly as much fun as flirting, if you know what i mean."


Also from A Walk to Remember. I just think this sentence is funny....and kind of true.

3. "I barely slept that night, I tell you, which was just about the strangest thing I'd ever experienced. I don't think anyone ever fretted about asking Jamie out before."

Landon is having trouble finding someone to go to the Homecoming dance with, and his only option who is somewhat decent is Jamie. However there's another guy (weird guy) looking  for a date as well, and he's scared that guy will ask Jamie out before he does, and knowing her charitable heart, she'll say yes to him and Landon will be left "passing out punch and cleaning up barf."

A book to remember....

Pretty clever title, I think. This week I started reading A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks, after I read The Screwtape Letters. I've seen the movie before, and I got bored in Psych class because we were just sitting there, so I went to the library, to the Sparks section, and picked this one up. It's sounding almost exactly like the movie so far, but I'm not very far in. There are some differences. I really liked the movie, partially because it's one of the saddest, most sentimental movies on the Earth, partially because Shane West is one of the hottest actors on Earth, and he's in that movie. I think I'm interested in Nicholas Sparks books because they all have points to them, and teach lessons, rather than some pointless books that have no value in learning really. I also really like sad books, and feeling other people's perspectives. For some reason I find it fun to cry during books and movies, I guess I just feel closer to the characters when that happens. And at least that means I have a heart, right? This book is gonna be a pretty easy read, it's only 240 pages and it goes by pretty fast.  I think I'll probably finish it by next week, and then I'll have 150 pages in. But I don't really want to stop reading after we stop doing the blogs and all that. I think if I have time I'm gonna try to read as much as I can whenever I'm bored. I mean, I'm still probably gonna watch TV because I'm just not that disciplined, but for sure I'm gonna try to read more than I have before I started this semester.
Also, I'm just going to add that tonight's NHS induction was actually kind of fun. And Mr. Hill's dry sense of humor cracked my parents up, they told me.