Blog Post #5: Truth In Memoir

To be non-fiction, a book has to be almost completely true. For me, this means that there are not 100% fictitious characters in the story and there are not events in the story that are fabricated. If it's made up and not true, it's fiction. That's what fiction means. Half-truths are at times okay if they don't offend anyone. In Frey's "memoir" he is somehow involved in an accident that resulted in a young girl's death. In reality, he was not involved in it whatsoever, he just heard about it. That particular half-truth is not passable because that could hurt the feelings of those close to that young girl. They were the ones affected by it, not him. I don't think lines between genres matter at all. The only thing that really matters is the honesty of the author. Authors should not be able to write an entirely made up story and call it a memoir because it "kind of" happened around them. A novel is a made up story. A memoir is a recalling of someone's life and life events that truly happened. Usually, if I'm reading a book or watching a movie that is based on a true story, my emotions are more intense because I think that it really happened. The sad parts are way sadder and the happy parts are way happier when you think it's reality. So, if authors make up something that didn't happen and say that it's a memoir, that's blatantly deceiving the readers.

Blog Post #4: Adapting The Book Thief

          With The Book Thief, adapting it into a movie makes the most sense since it is a long, drawn out story. A musical wouldn't make much sense to me because there are no songs and it is not a particularly happy story. A TV series doesn't quite fit the writing because the events in the book don't really happen individually. It's more of everything happening all at once.
          Some events and side stories in the book could be cut without altering the story. These events would be the back story of Rudy painting himself black and imagining that he was Jesse Owens, and when Liesel and Rudy go with the other boys to steal apples and potatoes. I really don't feel that those events contributed anything to the actual story. Even though those events should be cut, the character of Rudy shouldn't because he plays a very vital role in Liesel's life.
          The most unique thing about The Book Thief is that the whole story is told from the point of view of Death. It really personifies death and gives him a "grim reaper" image. It is interesting how this character of Death becomes so fascinated in this little girl who steals books. When doing a movie about The Book Thief, it should be narrated by Death, like it is in the book.

Blog Post #3: Book 1 Project: Fan Experience

Everybody, despite their background, upbringing, or current situation, gets horribly bored from time to time. It’s actually kind of ridiculous how often we can get bored with smartphones, tablets, computers, etc., but we do. In the book Room by Emma Donoghue, Jack lives in an 11 foot by 11 foot shed with his Ma, who was kidnapped at 19 by a mysterious and evil man named Old Nick. Jack, of course, doesn’t learn the truth of his situation until much later. At the beginning of the book, he has just turned 5 and doesn’t know of anything outside this shed he calls “room”. He doesn’t know about going to the park, malls, museums, or even LEGOS. So how does he keep himself preoccupied? Aside from watching TV when his mother allows it, doing physical activities, coloring, and reading, he plays with toys. Most of which he has made himself with the help of his Ma. One of these few toys is named “Eggsnake”.

                Eggsnake is exactly what it sounds like - eggshells formed in the shape of a snake. Every time Jack and his Ma eat eggs, they save the shell to put on the snake to make him longer and longer. Jack and his Ma had been building this toy since jack was three, and Jack plays with the snake a lot to pass the time. Eggsnake “lives Under Bed all coiled up”(21), keeping him and his Ma safe. Jack has many toys, but I feel that this toy is the most important because him and his Ma built it together over the course of two years.

 With Prince  JackerJack’s Kit For Eggsnake you never again have to worry about being bored! This kit will start you on your way to having the time of your life playing with a snake constructed of eggshells. The kit includes a couple eggshells, a needle, and some red string to get your snake started. As time goes on, you can keep adding to Eggsnake just like Jack and his Ma do. This item is perfect for the fans of Room who want to – in a sense – experience what Jack did. Of course, fans can’t always experience being raised for five years in a tiny shed, but playing with Jack’s toys would bring you one step closer to experiencing life as he did. There are hundreds of possibilities of what your individual snake can look like, but Jack’s snake had  “patterns on [it] from pencils or crayons or Pen or bits stuck on with flour glue, a foil crown and a yellow ribbon belt and threads and bits of tissue for hairs”(21). What his eggsnake looks like is all up to the reader’s imagination.

Building Eggsnake is simple! All you have to do is thread the needle and stick it through eggshells! Jack says that Eggsnake’s “tongue is a needle, that keeps the red thread going right through him”(21-22). Since the needle is a part of Eggsnake, it may not be safe for most children to play with. This would be a good way for fans to connect with the book because very seldom do you read a book and have the ability to buy the objects described in said book. Having Eggsnake curled up under your bed just like Jack had, will help you experience how it was to have to make the toys you play with. The only difference between you and him is that he didn’t know anything else.

 

Blog Post #2: What Is A Book?

          A book is a container that holds the most unimaginable treasures. What a book holds can vary from person to person. For some, they read to put their minds at ease and to not think. For others, they read to think of everything that has been or will ever be. What a book can offer two individuals can be extremely different, but it does the same thing. It holds something inside that you cannot see, or touch, smell, taste or hear. In the literal sense, a book is made of paper and a spine, usually has a cover, words, and tells a story that the author thought of. It’s just an object if you look at it that way. 

          For some of the more literary types of people, a book can be a portal that takes you to a whole other world or a black hole that sucks your mind in.

I don’t really care if other people prefer books over kindles, or kindles over computers, or computers over books. It does not matter to me how they wish to read their stories and escape their mind. That’s all them. For example, some argue that if it’s not a hard copy, it’s not a book. That’s like saying a watercolor painting is not art, but an acrylic painting is. Joe Meno says that “the message, the content [is] more vital than the medium”. I agree with this wholeheartedly. Personally, I’d prefer a hard copy of a book rather than a digital version for many reasons, but if all I had was a kindle, I would still be perfectly fine. One of the reasons I prefer hard copies is that it is just easier on the eyes – no artificial light straining your eyeballs.

          I think it’s a bit ridiculous that this is even a debate. You can’t tell someone how they should feel, no one has the right to do that. It’s great and all that everyone has their own opinion, but that’s all it is: an opinion. My final verdict: a book (whether it be tangible or digital) is a container that holds what you need to be happy.

Blog Post #1: Why I Read

          I read for a lot of different reasons. Sometimes I read only for the sake of reading, to practice and get better at it so that I can read faster in hopes that it will help with school. I read when I can't sleep, and it usually puts my mind at ease. I read to see what else is out there and to experience new things. I like to read books that are somewhat relatable and realistic. I tend to stay away from fantasy and other-worldly books because I feel that the stories in those books, I could never experience for myself. My two favorite books that I've read are A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard and Go Ask Alice by Anonymous. I think I like Go Ask Alice a lot better than A Stolen Life, but Jaycee Dugard’s life story is still very noteworthy. I read A Stolen Life because my mom said I should. I had seen Jaycee Dugard’s story on Nancy Grace a couple times when she was still missing, and I remember seeing on the news when she had been found. When she came out with her own book my mom was ecstatic, so she read it and so did I. I started reading Go Ask Alice because my friend and I were bored and wanted to read a book together. We looked through the library here at school for a while. I found Go Ask Alice and I saw that it was written by “Anonymous” and that really intrigued me. So, both me and my friend read it and loved it. I also read to see what others have experienced.