Keely

= April 15, 2011 = *

=  ﻿ ﻿ April 1, 2011 = I am reading //The Stranger// by Albert Camus and translated to English by Matthew Ward. So far I have read 20 pages in total, but am planning to read more this weekend. I don't really have a favorite line yet, because I don't like how Meursault is talking about what happens before & at his maman's funeral. It seems that everything happening to him because of he maman's death is o much of a bother to him instead of a tragedy. The only line that really caught my eye was the first paragraph. "Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe I don't know. I got a telegram from the home: "Mother deceased. Funeral tomorrow. Faithfully yours." That doesn't mean anything. Maybe it was yesterday.”

**﻿ ** [[image:camus.jpg width="204" height="320"]]
= March 28, 2011 = The book I choose to read this quarter is The Stranger by Albert Camus and translated to English by Matthew Ward. I got the book from the high school library. I choose to read this book because it gives us a chance to see a different side of life that we would never notice before or that we purposely try to forget. The book starts out with the main character, Meursault, finding out that his mother or maman is dead. He then travels for two hours by bus to an home for the elderly in Marengo where she was living. Meursault then meets the director of the home who tells him that he should not feel bad for having his mother sent there since he has a small salary. He then meets the caretaker when he is visiting his mother's body, but refuses to see the body & instead drinks coffee with milk. Shortly later all of his mother's friends come to see the body. In the morning, Meursault, the director, a nurse, & Thomas Perez, a friend of his mother who was always with her so much that people joked that they were engaged.

=** Final Blog **=
 * __ Characters: __**
 * Hazel—the main character & protagonist. He is from the Sandleford warren where he lived with his younger brother Fiver. He is one of the leaders of the group of rabbits that left. He was the only rabbit who believed Fiver about the danger & need to leave the warren.
 * Fiver—another main character & protagonist. He is from the Sandleford warren where he lived with his older brother Hazel. He is another leader of the group of rabbits that left. He is a seer that “saw” the destruction of Sandleford warren. His visions usually center on Hazel. Name means “Little Thousand”.
 * Bigwig—from the Sandleford warren & was a member of the Sandleford Owsla in the beginning, but leaves in order to go with Hazel & Fiver. He is the largest & best fighter of rabbits that leaves the warren. He is very blunt & impatient for dangerous action & fighting. Is usually selected for the most dangerous missions. Name means “Fur-head”.
 * Silver—from the Sandleford warren & a member of the Sandleford Owsla. He is Threarah’s, Chief Rabbit of Sandleford, nephew. Is very reliable especially when Bigwig's hot-headedness is more a hindrance than help.

__** Summary: **__
 * The story begins with Fiver getting a vision of the warren’s destruction. He & his brother Hazel then ask their chief rabbit Threarah to have everyone leave. He refuses & has them leave. They decide to leave that night with anyone who will go with them. They are joined by Bigwig, Pipkin, Hawkbit, Dandelion, Blackberry, Buckthorn, Speedwell, Acorn, & Silver. Before they are able to leave they are stopped by the Owsla led by Captain Holly, who tries to arrest Bigwig & Silver. They fight back with some help from Buckthorn & Dandelion. They then travel through the woodland & come to face the Lendri, a skunk, which they run away from & the Enborne which is a 12-15 feet wide river that they have to cross in order to get to open fields. At first they want to wait, but when Bigwig crosses the river to see what is beyond it, he sees a dog coming up behind them in the woods with a broken chain. Blackberry then finds a way for Pipkin & Fiver to cross on a floating piece of wood because Pipkin is hurt & Fiver is too tired.

__** Rating: 2 **__
 * I rated Watership Down with a 2 because it took forever to read what I did. I was only able to read the very beginning of the book because it seemed to go on & on & I couldn’t seem to get into it. The only times it seemed to get interesting is when something happened to put the rabbits in danger. The rest of the time it was really boring.

I don’t know what I am going to read next quarter yet. I asked my mom what books on the list that she thought I might like & she had a hard time. = ﻿ = = Blog #3. February 18, 2011. =

Watership Down
[|Watership Down Review]

Summary: Fiver, a rabbit who has a sense of when something bad is going to happen before it happens, "sees" something bad coming to the warren. He goes with his older brother Hazel to see the Chief Rabbit Threarah & warns him that something really bad is coming & everyone should leave. Threarah refuses thinking it is a ridiculous idea & asks them to go home. They then decide to leave the warren that night & will take anyone else who is ready to go with them. Bigwig, a former member of the Owsla, who are the strongest rabbits in the warren, tells them that he wants to go & thinks that there are a few members of the Owsla that might go with them. He then leaves & says he will bring them with him when he joins them that night. About an hour after the moon had risen, Hazel & Fiver with a shy rabbit named Pipkin travel to the meeting place. They then met Hawkbit who was asked to join by Dandelion. Dandilion showed up shortly later after being questioned by Toadflax if he was plotting against Threadrah. Blackberry then arrived with Buckthorn, Speedwell, & Acorn who seemed to expect to find Fiver foretelling doom. Bigwig then arrived with Silver, Threarah's nephew & a new member of the Owsla. Not too long after they showed up, Captain Holly of the Owsla appeared to arrest Bigwig for inciting mutiny & Silver for failing to report to his uncle.

Favorite Line: "I can feel the danger like a wire round my neck--like a wire--Hazel help!"

I think this is my favorite because use can imagine Fiver's fear. It is important because if Fiver wasn't so scared, then the rabbits probably would have never left the warren.

= Blog #2. January 27, 2011. = As if right now, I haven't choosen a book to read yet. I am thinking about reading //Watership Down// by Richard Adams. //Watership Down// is a story about a group of rabbits who leave their home. The book is one of the of the first animal fantasy books that is loved by people of all ages. Watership Dawn originally started as some stories Adams told to his daughters for long car rides when they were young.

= Blog #1. January 14,2011. =

My Favorite Books/Series
Right now I don't have certain favorite books. I am currently reading or rereading many different series. The main series I am reading right now is the FBI Thrillers by Catherine Coulter. She has currently 14 books in the series & I am on the 5th book called Riptide. I read books 1-13 last year, but I haven't finished the 14th book Whiplash yet. The series is about FBI Special Agent Dillion Savich & his wife Special Agent Lacy "Sherlock" Savich. They show up in every book to help stop serial killers. Dillion is the head of the Criminal Apprehension Unit (CAU). In Riptide you join political speechwriter Becca Matlock who is being stalked. She ends up running to Riptide, Maine where her old college friend lives.