You read 3 (or more) books this past summer. Which book from the summer reading list did you find to be the most "interesting"? In a paragraph or two, tell me what it takes to make a book interesting (in your opinion) and how the summer book you chose met the standard of "most" interesting. If NONE of the books qualified for that title (again, in your opinion) tell me where and why they fell short of your standard.

Finally, tell me what things you read OTHER than assigned books? Did you read magazines, other novels, travel guides for a vacation, instructions for how to work something, whatever? Think it over, this could be a longer list than you first imagine! Which of these other things was the most interesting.... did you use the same standard as you did for paragraph one? If not, why not?

Over the summer, I read 1984, Sense and Sensibility, and Catch-22. The book that I found to be most interesting was 1984. For me, an interesting book is one that I don't have to set myself a schedule, or divide up into sections, in order to finish. For instance, when I read Sense and Sensibility, I found that the only way to make any sort of progress was to read in 50-page sections. However, when I read 1984, I was able to read it, almost start to finish, without interruption in one afternoon. I found that the strange, almost alien world crafted by Orwell was its most interesting facet, but I also found the reactions of the people in the book to the government to be very interesting as well.

Other than the assigned reading, I did little other reading. I did read Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series, however. I read the newspaper and Time magazine, in order to stay connected to what was going on in the world, and I read several things in preparation of AP Government. Robert Jordan's books, while rather long-winded, were very interesting to me. The attention to detail and his ability to intertwine a great number of plotlines that contain many diverse characters into a single grand story is really what intrigued me about his work.

** If you enjoyed 1984... you are definitely going to want to take a look at Brave New World and Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake or The Handmaid's Tale.  I am impressed that you devoured 1984 in almost one sitting! Wow!

Nice variety in your outside reading!

Summer Reading Question #2

What exactly was it that the novel's main character discovered about himself/herself? Explain how this discovery was an integral part of the novel's substance or core.

How was this discovery applicable to you as the reader? In what sense could it be applicable to ALL readers? What did you learn about YOURSELF as you watched the character change within the novel?

For the theme Self-Discovery, I read Catch-22. The main character, Yossarian, was an airman who constantly schemed to avoid having to fly more combat missions by feigning injuries and illnesses that the doctors couldn't do anything about. He is constantly unhappy because his commanding officer keeps raising the number of missions needed before the men can go home, and because he is convinced that the world and everyone in it is out to get him. As more and more of his friends die over the course of the novel, he becomes more and more paranoid. In the final chapters, Yossarian is walking through the streets alone, where he witnesses the worst of humanity: children and animals are beaten, a soldier has a siezure, a woman is raped, and the sidewalk is strewn with broken teeth. Back at the base, he is stabbed by a woman bent on revenge, and falls unconscious. When he wakes up, he has a flashback of one of his friends dying during a mission, where he realizes that without their souls, humans are just matter, garbage even. This leads him to understand that life must be lived, not just survived, and when the news of another friend's escape to Sweden comes, he jumps out of bed and runs to follow him. This brings closure to the reader, who has watched Yossarian brood throughout the entire novel, and we suddenly see a happy ending to a very melancholy book. This book taught me that I should not just go through life with the ultimate goal of simply surviving, but I should live and be happy for what I have, and I think that many people could learn the same lesson. As I read this book, I reflected on the image of the American soldier that I had always been spoon-fed throughout my life, of the brave, vital young man who went out every day to fight for freedom and apple pie. I saw that everyone is flawed, and that many people are scared and unhappy with what they've been given, but that I need to be grateful for what's good in my life, and focus less on the negative, and more on the positive.