Water for Elephants

Currently, I’ve been reading Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen. To be honest, at first, I really didn’t take a liking to this book. In fact, I only recently took a liking to it. But, for now, I’ll keep reading.

Anyway, Water for Elephants begins by introducing an elderly man, named Jacob Jankowski. Maybe ninety, possibly ninety three, (for Jacob cannot remember his own age), the man becomes extraordinarily angry when another man at his residential home begins to brag that when he was young, he gave water to the elephants at the circus. Enraged, Jacob begins to cause a scene, yelling and screaming at the man, informing him that he has no idea what he’s talking about, because carrying water for elephants is extremely difficult.

With that, begins a flashback...

Jacob remembers himself as a young man, in his twenties, when he first began working for the circus. His father had been a veterinarian, and, with hopes to take over the family business, Jacob was also in line to become a veterinarian. Just a few days before his final classes of his final year, Jacob receives news of his parents’ disastrous accidental death. With the shock of having to identify their dead bodies, Jacob is unable to take his necessary final tests. He simply gets up, hands in his blank test, and runs away. Jacob runs until he finds the circus which he joins, and the story continues from there.

But, what do I think of all this? And how does it relate to me?

Well, it doesn’t. At all. But like I've said in previous blogs, I love to read books that don’t relate to me. I love getting to experience a life I don’t live, an existence I don’t know, or a destiny I hope never to receive. Jacob’s experience actually makes me feel bad for him. I literally have an aching feeling in my chest when I read about how he threw away all those years of veterinary school. Personally, I always try to work hard, do my best, and set a goal. If I’m so close to a goal and I throw it all away... I’d be so upset. Even if I no longer want the same things anymore, I may as well still get it, right? You’re so close and you’re going to throw it all away? I get that his parents just died, and I’m not trying to be insensitive here but come on, really? Anyone I know would definitely have just taken the test. Or, why did the professors have to tell him? They could have just let him be, told him after finals. Yes, that would still be the worst news ever to receive, but at least he would have a better shot at passing his tests and becoming a vet! But no, Sara Gruen. You made him become a circus worker. 

Later in the book he reveals that he may use some of his veterinary abilities to help some of the animals in the show, so maybe all those years of vet school will come in handy. Also, he mentioned a girl in a sequin costume whom he seemed to have taken a liking to. I’m going to give a wild guess that they eventually end up together, (but that’s not because Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson are on the cover of the book or anything...). Apparently though, she seems to be someone else’s girl, so we’ll see where this little love triangle takes us.

In conclusion, although the beginning was confusing and somewhat dry, I’m beginning to like this book. Jacob seems so passionate about the circus. In fact, he spends so much of his time angry over what this man had said about water for elephants, that his nurses are convinced he is depressed, and with that he is put on medication.

As for the future of this book, I hope I grow more and more to like it. At this point, I have no idea what the end will bring, but I’m very excited to find out.

The Lady With the Alligator Purse

Miss Lulu had a baby, she called him tiny Tim.
She put him in the bathtub, so see if he could swim.
He drank up all the water! He ate up all the soap!
He tried to swallow the bathtub, but it wouldn't go down his throat!!
Call for the doctor!
Call for the nurse!
Call for the lady with the alligator purse!
"Mumps!" said the doctor. "Measles!" said the nurse.
"Vote!!" said the lady with the alligator purse!!

Ever wondered who the lady with the alligator purse is? 

I was shocked to learn that 'the lady with the alligator purse', is actually Susan B. Anthony. But, who the heck is Susan B. Anthony?

Susan B. Anthony was born on February 15, 1820 and stood for many things. She was known most for her work with woman's suffrage. Never known to back down, Susan B. Anthony and her alligator purse traveled the country in the hopes to educate and change the laws that banned married women everywhere from simple things such as; opening bank accounts, entering into a contract, renting a place to live, or being able to sue someone.

What's woman's suffrage?

Suffrage means the political right to vote, therefore woman's suffrage is a woman's right to vote. In the time period between 1870-1920 this was a heated debate. Even now, the discussion about inequalities between men and women is still heated and seems unending. Susan B. Anthony took us from little rights to every right a man has, but still we fight over the idea that woman only earn 70 cents to a man's dollar.

Susan B. Anthony stood firm in her beliefs. She gathered 10,000 signatures and got 26 states to petition with her for woman's suffrage, but still she was met with resistance from Congress who simply laughed in her face. Despite this, on August 18, 1920, American adult women finally gained the right to vote when the Nineteenth Amendment, nicknamed the Susan B. Anthony Amendment, was passed. The Nineteenth Amendment states that no one should be denied the right to vote on account of their sex.


The following is a video posted on youtube discussing the history of woman's suffrage:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwPy8ScRkQc&feature=related

Without Susan B. Anthony, we, as women, may never have reached the point of where we are now. Divorced women are not shunned by the community, single women are not in a race to the chapel, and married women have the same rights a man does. Women have come an extremely long way since the time of the lady with the alligator purse, and as a nation we should be completely grateful for her contributions to our society.

"Susan B. Anthony House :: Her Story." The Official Susan B. Anthony House :: Home. Web. 11 Nov. 2011. <http://susanbanthonyhouse.org/her-story.php>.

"The Nineteenth Amendment." UMKC School of Law. Web. 11 Nov. 2011. <http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/nineteentham.htm>.

The Five People You Meet In Heaven

All the time I, most likely along with most other people, wonder what will happen after I die. Where will I go? Will I go anywhere? Will I be reunited with my loved ones? Will there be nothing? Will there be a bright light and an old man with a beard waiting for me to arrive for judgment? No one really knows for sure, but this book gives it's own opinion about what happens after death.
In The Five People You Meet In Heaven, written by Mitch Albom, you meet the main character, named Eddie. Eddie lived a simple life. He never did anything extraordinary, never moved, never did what he wanted, and at the end, he was lonely, depressed, and had nothing to live for.
As you read more in the book, you learn more about Eddie's life. He had a wife whom he adored named Marguerite, he served in the Vietnam War, and he worked as the maintenance man at a boardwalk called "Ruby Pier", all his life. Although Eddie, (much like how all of us live our lives), thought he knew everything about his life, he was in fact, very wrong. 
The author writes about heaven as a place to truly understand your legacy on Earth in ways you never knew. For example, you are playing in the park with your little brother. You throw a ball at him, and of course, he misses when trying to catch it. You don't want him to run into the street and risk him getting hurt trying to get the ball, so you decide to chase after the ball yourself. You follow it into the street where a car just misses you. You're scared for a moment, but you shake it off, pick up the ball and return to your brother. The car that nearly hit you continues to travel down the street. The driver of that car is trembling, remembering how he almost hit you. Not thinking about the road he swerves around an oncoming car on the road, and hits a tree. The driver dies in the accident. You, still down the street playing ball with your brother, have no idea that this has occurred. You continue to live your life never knowing that you caused the driver's death. Many events such as this, happen all the time, and we never know a thing. I'm not suggesting that you ever killed anyone, but I agree with the author when he says there are many things we don't understand about our lives. In addition to this, Eddie learns many other things about his life such as forgiveness and love. Eddie learns these things through the five people he meets in heaven. The author says that everyone has a different five people they meet, and these are the people who influenced your life the most while on earth.
"Eddie looked lost. 'I figure it's in the Bible, the Adam and Eve deal?' the Captain said. "Adam's first night on earth? When he lays down to sleep? He thinks it's all over, right? He doesn't know what sleep is. His eyes are closing and he thinks he's leaving this world, right? Only he isn't. He wakes up the next morning and he has a fresh new world to work with, but he has something else, too. He has his yesterday.' The Captain grinned. 'The way I see it, that's what we're getting here, soldier. That's what heaven is. You get to make sense of your yesterdays.'" -The Five People You Meet In Heaven, Mitch Albom, pg. 92
I love this book. It's definitely the best book I have ever read, and I suggest it to anyone looking for a great read. I love the way the character is portrayed, I love what he learns, and most importantly, I love thinking that some day I too might get the chance to reunite with my loved ones in heaven.

P.S. I'm sorry if this offends anyone in their religious beliefs, the version of heaven in this book is simply a guess made by the author of what heaven could be like.

Reading History 2.0 (A Year Later)

I guess I'm not sure what my first experience with a book really was. All I know is, when I was little, every single night, my Dad would read a book to me at night before tucking me in. Every night I would pick the book and the two of us would sit in my bed and he would read. I remember he would purposely mess up the words to make it more fun, to which I would respond, "Hey, that's not right!". I loved having my Dad read to me. But eventually as I grew older, the roles changed, and I started reading to him.
My favorite books to read with my Dad was a series called "The Berenstain Bears". There was Mama Bear, Papa Bear, Brother Bear, and Sister Bear, pretty unique names, eh? I remember I had something like sixteen of these books varying in plots from "No Girls Allowed" to "Too Much Junk Food" to even "The Babysitter". I absolutely loved this series and never grew tired of it. I must have read these books with my Dad cover to cover, more than just a few times. These books have a special place in my heart because it always reminds me of the fun times I spent reading in bed with my Dad.
From this experience, reading with my Dad, I found myself to always be a good reader. I was always the one asked to read in class or to be the narrator because I was a pretty "fluent" reader, I guess you could say. Even in middle school I was asked to read the morning announcements. I'm sure I'm like this because of the way I would read with my Dad. Every time I messed up a word he would make me go back and read the word again, even the sentence again, to make sure I got it right. Of course, I hated that, but it definitely helped me become a great reader.
I think I've always liked reading. I don't think you could say I love it, but I really don't hate it. I'm not sure why I don't love it though. I feel like I should like it more than I do, seeing as I had such a good relationship with it when I was younger, but I just don't. I find that I won't like a book for a variety of reasons - if I can't get a clear picture of the character, or the plot, I won't like the book because it just bores me and I have no idea what's going on. I'll even find that if I don't like the texture of the pages of a book, it'll be very hard for me to read it. I have absolutely no idea where I got that from, but it definitely plays a key role in my choice of book.
I still feel the same way about books. I definitely read more now then I did in middle school, but I still find it hard to pick a good book that will suit me just right. I'm not a very picky person, but there is just something about books - I can't explain it!
As for reading goals, I hope I can figure out what types of books I know I'd like to read. Whenever someone asks me, "Well, what's your favorite genre?", I have no idea what to say. I like many different books, but I don't like one specific genre. I'll like a mystery book, but not all mystery books. I'll like a biography, but not all biographies. I think you're catching my drift here when I say it's hard for me to choose a book. But this year I believe my absolute overall goal would be to really connect with my reading identity so I can be able to easily pick a book I know I'll like. 

A Year Later:

As a sophomore, I wrote this blog post about my reading history. But now, as a junior, and having had an entire school year filled with reading in Miss Barnicle's class, I can actually say I enjoy reading. In this last paragraph, I spoke about how I didn't know what genre of books I liked, but after reading and experiencing countless books last year, I realized that the genre is not what attracts me to a book. And surprisingly enough, I love books that I can't relate too. I'm sure you've heard the saying "opposites attract", well, that's kind of how I feel about the relationship I have with books.

Last year for example, I read A Million Little Pieces by James Frey. The supposed memoir describes the journey of Frey through a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center. Although there were definitely some dry parts where all you wanted was for the book to end, I can definitely say I enjoyed reading it. Now, I am not a drug addict or an alcoholic, nor do I hope that this is what destiny has in store for me, but I loved reading it. It was like I could live vicariously through James to be a different person, understand what he was going through, and his situation. In addition to A Million Little Pieces, I loved reading The Crucible, which depicts the salem witch trials in the sixteen hundreds. With each unfolding scene I felt myself wanting more and more to jump into the book myself and strangle Abigail for lying about what she'd done. And although this book was definitely more similar to my life than a drug addict resisting treatment in rehab, it still could take me on a journey through a world in which I did not know. One of the last choice read books I read in Miss Barnicle's English 2A Science Academy class, and probably my favorite, was The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls. The book described Jeanette's very different life growing up, as her parents chose to be homeless. Her parents, in a deep whole of debt, move throughout the country to everywhere from; the desert, where they slept under the stars; her late grandmother's home, which eventually gets robbed; and an abandoned house where Jeanette finally realizes she must save her siblings, and herself. The Glass Castle opened my eyes to my own past, and how I got here. I enjoyed the book very much and would definitely recommend it to anyone in search of a great read.

As far as this year, my reading goals have definitely changed. I hope to read more frequently than I did last year, and find time in my busy schedule to read outside of class too. I still don't know if I'd choose reading over being with my friends, but I definitely enjoy reading much more than I ever did in middle school or even as a freshman.

The Glass Castle

Over break, I finished the book I was reading in class called, The Glass Castle. The book was about a girl named Jeanette and her family. The family lives in a very difficult world. Debtors are always chasing them and Jeanette's father becomes an alcoholic by the time she turns ten.
Her and her family move throughout random towns, and do not always have food, clothes, or shelter. They are shooed off beaches and don't wear shoes. The only thing Jeanette and her siblings have is the fact that they are extremely smart.
Once Jeanette and her siblings are old enough, they leave their parents for New York to start a new life, but unfortunately their parents follow them. At this point, Jeanette's parents decide to live homeless, or in empty one room apartments.
Her entire family is effected by how they grew up and today they do not spend much time together.
This book has really made me think about the past. I think it's amazing how your past completely effects the future and how people get places or what they even do in life. I loved this book and would recommend it for anyone who loves true stories that will really make you think.

Sorry.... ;)!

Thankfully, I just finished A Million Little Pieces by James Frey. As I have said before, Frey lied about his book. He claimed it was a memoir, when really it wasn't. In interviews, Frey claimed he just took out the boring stuff to make it more interesting and easier to get through, (by how long it took me to get through this book, clearly his second idea did NOT work.)
Throughout the novel, the idea of "a simple decision" was a big theme. Frey would often say that when he got out he wouldn't do drugs just because it was a simple decision - do them or don't do them - and he wouldn't need the twelve steps or anything.
Now, think about addiction. Obviously I'm not addicted to drugs or alcohol, but think about a different type of addiction, maybe a habit such as eating cereal every morning. Let's say you eat cocoa puffs every morning. You grab a bowl, poor in the milk,take your spoon and have yourself some tasty cocoa puffs. What if you had cocoa puffs in the morning everyday for freshman, sophomore, and junior year. Then, as a senior you decide you want to start a healthier eating habit before college and decide to eat special k every morning before school. For the first few mornings, you might be adamant about eating special k, but after the first few mornings you might find yourself switching back to cocoa puffs just because you forget or you miss them.
With this in mind, explain to me how in the world Frey could resist one of the strongest addictions of all by just saying "oh no thanks". If I can't resist cocoa puffs in the morning, how am I supposed to believe a drug addict and alcoholic can just wake up one day and say "no"?!
Maybe all that Frey said in the book was true, but I think when Frey tried to make the book more interesting, he should have left in the parts where battling addiction (the whole point of the book) is hard. If I were a struggling drug addict or alcoholic I would not find comfort or a hero in this novel to look up to.


P.s. I also really didn't like what happened to all of his friends at the center, especially Lily. I mean if it's not even true can we at least make the ending happy?? Please and thank you Mr. Frey...