Fahrenheit 451

Fahrenheit 451

   So Fahrenheit 451 is actually the book we are reading in class right now but I had a few thoughts about it that I wanted to share. In case you don't know what it's about I provided a description from goodreads:

   Guy Montag is a fireman. His job is to burn books, which are forbidden, being the source of all discord and unhappiness. Even so, Montag is unhappy; there is discord in his marriage. Are books hidden in his house? The Mechanical Hound of the Fire Department, armed with a lethal hypodermic, escorted by helicopters, is ready to track down those dissidents who defy society to preserve and read books.

   Fahrenheit 451 was originally written in 1953, before tissues, color TV, and smart phones. This makes the futuristic sense of the book that much more appealing to me. I mean it's great hearing them talk about color TV and thinking, "Wow that actually happened!", but I find what they don't mention to make it more interesting than what they do. I think if the book was written today, with today's technology in mind, the whole premise of the book would be different. The whole plot line is books are bad because they went out of style and now people are dumb so we don't want anyone to be smarter than anyone else. As far as the author, Ray Bradbury, knew in 1953, that actually could've happened. It was unlikely, very unlikely, but still more possible than it is today.
  
   I feel as though today this future is near impossible. With all of our new inventions like smart phones and e-books, and even computers books have gone out of style some, but knowledge in general hasn't. People have become lazy when it comes to reading for information, but they are still getting that information. Google is the simplest reason why. Or even more so, Siri. Our society today is not giving up on reading for knowledge, we're getting around it.

 

  Throughout reading this book I've thought a lot about this. About how society is getting information, about how we strive for it, about how somewhere there are people in a lab everyday trying to advance our world. Reading may be going out some, and maybe someday it all will (I hope not), but we are not dumb like the characters in Fahrenheit 451. In fact, I think we're quite the opposite.
  

Kisses from Katie - First Thoughts

Kisses from Katie - First Thoughts

So I have recently begun to read my first non-fiction type book to blog about. It's called Kisses from Katie and is written by Katie Davis about her own life. Here is a short synopsis from goodreads:
 
Katie Davis left over Christmas break her senior year for a short mission trip to Uganda and her life was turned completely inside out. She found herself so moved, so broken by the people and the children of Uganda that she knew her calling was to return and care for them. Her story is like Mother Teresa’s in that she has given up everything—at such a young age—to care for the less fortunate of this world. Katie, a charismatic and articulate young woman, has gone on to adopt 14 children during her time in Uganda, and she completely trusts God for daily provision for her and her family, which includes children with special needs.

 

Katie's New Family:

 

This book is heartbreaking. That's all I'm really going to say about it so far. When and if you ever pick it up do not expect to be able to sit down and read through it quickly. Especially at the beginning. Reading about this life she lives in Uganda, about her daily struggles, makes my life seem so so so easy. Almost pointless. But as much as I'm saddened by the condition of living in Uganda, hearing her own personal struggle with this new life she chose is even harder. She says at one part in the book,

"No matter how many contradictions I struggled with, how difficult certain situations were , no matter how lonely I got, no matter how many tears I cried, one truth remained firmly grounded in my heart... I wanted to be right here in Uganda."

A couple nights ago I was in the car with my mom and my 11 year old sister explaining the story to my sister (my mom has already read the book). I told her how Katie had her whole life planned out ahead of her. Graduate, go to college, get a job, get married, and start a family; until she turned it all around her senior year and moved to Uganda. My sister looked at me straight in the face and told me "That sounds like you, planning your whole life out. Maybe you'll move to Uganda." I laughed. As I read Katie's story I'm realizing I cannot do what she has done and is still doing. And for more reasons than just my paranormal fear of sleeping with cockroaches. I know her story won't push me to move to Africa, but it is showing me what matters in the life I am living. And it's reminding me of what I can do in my own city, in my own home, to make an impact.

Here is a link to Katie's blog : http://katiedavis.amazima.org/

Once Upon A Prince

Once Upon A Prince

So shortly before break I found through another blog (not for school) a series of books that looked really good. It had everything I loved in a book or story all rolled up into one. Romance, Princesses, Weddings, Summertime, and written by a Christian author. I couldn't believe such a book existed. Honestly. So I read the entire 338 paged book in less than 24 hours. It. Was. Amazing. Not entirely sure that literary professors who study the every meaning of every word would like it, but I did.

Here is its description from goodreads:

Once Upon a Prince, the first novel in the Royal Wedding series by bestselling author Rachel Hauck, treats you to a modern-day fairy tale.

Susanna Truitt never dreamed of a great romance or being treated like a princess---just to marry the man she has loved for twelve years. But life isn't going according to plan. When her high-school-sweetheart-turned-Marine-officer breaks up instead of proposing, Susanna scrambles to rebuild her life.

The last thing Prince Nathaniel expects to find on his American holiday to St. Simon's Island is the queen of his heart. A prince has duties, and his family's tense political situation has chosen his bride for him. When Prince Nathaniel comes to Susanna's aid under the fabled Lover's Oak, he is blindsided by love.

Their lives are worlds apart. He's a royal prince. She's a ordinary girl. But everything changes when Susanna receives an invitation to Nathaniel's coronation. It's the ultimate choice. His kingdom or her heart? God's will or their own?

I loved how the book set up the story and even though you could probably figure out the ending pretty quickly it still had a few unpredictable moments. The characters were very lively (my favorite was Avery) and had some of the same problems we do... haha.

The setting was written very well and made me wish it was summertime at the beach so bad! Just listen to this, "Sand washed out from under her feet as the afternoon tide pulled the waves back into their ocean boundaries." That sounds so good as I type this looking out my window into the cold and dark day.

Anyway, I loved this book and I loved the story. Can't wait to read the next three!!! :) 

 

 

 

 

Camilla-Final Thoughts

Camilla-Final Thoughts

So I did it, I finally did it. After working on this book all semester I finally finished it. It was a very long and slow book but definitely worth the read. I don't want to spoil anything in case you end up reading it (not that anyone will), so I will only share a few broad points.

1. This book has sooo many, wow I didn't really expect that to happen, parts. Which is good, it helps out with the extreme slowness of the book.
2. I really learned to appreciate my life a whole lot more. Poor Camilla just keeps having her world fall apart more and more, losing everything she once knew.
3. I learned how radically different culture was in her time period compared to ours. At 15 she would be treated like a child, then be given alcohol. 

Overall, I thought the book was really good and can't wait to keep reading next semester!

Where the book takes pkace...

The Book Thief

The Book Thief

For my summer reading I read The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak. It was one of my favorite books I've read as you can see from My Top Ten! The best part about this book was the perspective it was written in, death. This makes it a little confusing at the beginning but once you figure it out it makes it sooo interesting. The Book Thief  was also a little slow since the events were spread out with lots of time in between.

It's going to be really hard trying to explain just how good this book is without giving away the ending, but I'll try. Markus Zusak is a genius. The figurative language used in his book is some of the most inventive I've ever read. (Okay, maybe I've been exaggerating a little bit, but it is a really good book.) I also really like how he would give away hints to the ending of the book. Some people might not like this, although I think it adds to the story.

Whenever I found out something that hinted at the ending it pushed me to want to read more. This helped with some of the book's slowness. It also made the parts leading up to the ending so much more meaningful. The characters seemed more alive to me.

 

The above picture is from the movie. I watched the movie after I finished the book and as good as it was, it obviously didn't measure up to the book. So many of the scenes that meant the most to me never even made it into the movie. I know they couldn't of added every scene or the movie would be 5 hours long but, I still liked the book better.

 

Okay, I'm going to just keep going off on random rants so I will wrap this post up. Basically, read the book. That's all this post really needs to say. Power through it and finish it. By the end you will have learned more than expected and gained a great story in the process.

 

 

Ok, I had to add this adorable quote from the book. :)

 



The Chance

The Chance

Okay, so I just finished this book I got for my birthday called The Chance. It was sooo good. A little cheesy, as most of my friends made fun of me for reading a "hallmark" type book, but I loved it! The main storyline is pretty simple. Boy meets girl when they are 8. Boy and girl become best friends. Boy and girl start to fall for each other. Girl finds out she has to move. Boy and girl write letters to each other to open in 11 years and burry them beneath a tree. Wow, hard to guess the ending huh? Anyway, even though the ending is predictable the whole process on how they got there wasn't. I loved the book and can't wait to read the quote-on-quote prequel around Christmas.

(by the way the author is the same as my previous 23 book series)

 

The Chance by Karen Kingsbury

 

 

Here is the book trailer to show you even more of the storyline...

 

 

 



Someday... I Will Finish

Someday... I Will Finish

 

Camilla has been taking a loooooong time to read due to its slowness, so I will hopefully finish that book and get a final post for it before the end of the semester.

 

Meanwhile, I've been reading more of The Baxter Family Series, by Karen Kingsbury. This is a really long series I started last year and am reading whenever I have spare time. The total series has 23 books in it, 5 mini-series, and 1 stand alone at the end. To help you out, I'll order them below:

 

Redemption Series

1. Redemption

2. Remember

3. Return

4. Rejoice

5. Reunion

Firstborn Series

6. Fame

7. Forgiven

8. Found

9. Family

10. Forever

Sunrise Series

11. Sunrise

12. Summer

13. Someday

14. Sunset

Above The Line Series

15. Take One

16. Take Two

17. Take Three

18. Take Four

Bailey Flanigan Series

19. Leaving

20. Learning

21. Longing

22. Loving

And it ends with...

23. Coming Home: A Story of Undying Hope

 

So now you can see what I've gotten myself into. If you've figured it out by the title yet, I just finished Someday (#13) and have quite a ways to go. The series revolves mostly around the Baxter Family and all the drama in their life. Some other families that live in their town are in it too but it's mostly them. You can kind of tell it's a book because no one has that many bad things happen to them in their lifetime, but it makes for a great story. :)

The book Someday revolves around 4 or so main stories going on at once, each of them intermingling with each other. The biggest story is about Dayne and Katy Matthews, (Dayne is one of the Baxter kids but was adopted and therefore has a different last name). They are both actors and during this book they are separated. Dayne is in Mexico shooting a film with his ex (who is still very interested  in him) and Katy is in London shooting a film. Their story is about them fighting for their new marriage while every tabloid is splitting them up.
Meanwhile, Dayne's brother and attorney Luke Baxter is struggling in his own marriage with his wife Reagan. Luke goes down some bad paths in this book, but I won't get into that and am hoping it gets revolved in the future.
Another main story revolves around Ashley Baxter Blake. She and her husband Landon lost their first daughter, Sarah, an hour after her birth in the last book. It was realllllly sad!!! Anyway, in this book they are recovering and Ashley is trying hard to find good things that came, or could come out of Sarah's life. She ends up opening a pregnancy crisis center called Sarah's Door with her sister Dr. Brooke Baxter (I don't think it ever mentions her married last name??).
The last major story is about their dad, John Baxter. Books and books before, in Reunion, their mother, Elizabeth Baxter, passed away and now John is proposing to Elizabeth's best friend, also a widow. His story is about him finally coming to terms with his wife's death enough to propose again. He is also planning on selling the Baxter house where he and Elizabeth lived while they raised 5 of their children.
Basically, a LOT of drama happens, and I'm sure more is to come.