A Literary Mess

[tison-hannah-blog]

Movie

Wel that movie was pretty intense. Some how I was able to read the book without getting that horrified, but the movie? scared the heck out of me. I don’t really care for gore so the eating humans bloody gross part weren’t really for me….at all. When I read the book when something terrifying would happen, such as the people in the basement, I could read it super fast and move on and not picture it but watching the movie made me realize how horrifying this book really was, needless to say I wont be re-reading this book, and probably wont read the rest of McCarthys books either. Also! The guy who wrote “The Things They Carried” Will be speaking at UNF this summer or in the fall, I cant remember which and I think it would be interesting to go, so I just might. Cant believe we have finished all the books. This semester flew by fast! :)

[eldridgekayla-blog]

I agree! Most horrifying movie I have ever seen/book I have ever read! I am totally not into books like this! I am more the Nicholas Sparks romantic novel kind of girl, so this book was absolutely terrifying to me! I did like some of the underlying messages that it taught about a father's love for his son and such, but I really wish it could have been presented in some other way. I will not be re-reading this book either. Never!

[eldridgekayla-blog]

Post 14

I could see some differences in the movie and the book. I think that for the most part that the movie stayed true to what the book was about. I am super glad that the movie left out the roasting baby scene because the whole cannibalism house was enough for me. I really liked how the movie gave more vivid flashbacks of he and his wife, of happier times. It made the movie a little less depressing and not so grey! I think my favorite scene in the movie was when the papa found a can of coca cola and gave it to the little boy. I love coca cola and I always think of good memories when I drink it! I don't think I will ever be reading this book or watching the movie ever again. I don't think that I could handle that!  

[daniellehumphreys-blog]

Post 12

I am one hundred percent happy that I have finished the book.  I believe it was a good story to represent the love between a boy and his father, but it is not something I would pick up to read myself for fun.  The aspect of the book that bothered me the most was how real the actions in the book felt to me.  I felt the pain and worry that the characters were experiencing.  I’m very relieved to be finished.  However, I am not excited about watching the movie in class because I do not want to feel the same emotions for the characters again.

[eldridgekayla-blog]

I am also very glad that I have finished the book. Even among all of the destruction that is in the book, I could too see the love between a father and a son. I could not imagine ever going through something like that and responding to it the way that the father did with such strength and morale. I love how the little boy kept his innocence even after seeing all that he has. No matter how bad it was for them he still felt this need to help others! I am not looking forward to watching it in class either. I do not want to have to see what I have already imagined while reading the book. 

[eldridgekayla-blog]

Post 13

I cannot believe that we are almost finished with this class. What is more baffling to me is that  we have already finished reading all four books! I really liked the way that The Road  ended. Even though it was kind of open ended, it leaves me, the reader, room to imagine for myself what really became of the little boy after he left with that family and what the world became later on. I had thought about using this book for our paper and doing the third option, but I think it would be very difficult to keep up McCarthy's writing style!

[pineda-joanna-blog]

SO far I’ve been nothing but depressed throughout The Road. But the saddest part of the entire book, so far, is that the boy was born into this apocalypse. He’s been running since even before he was born. I guess its kind of redundant to say that we’re all born into some kind of crisis, but the...

[eldridgekayla-blog]

I think this book is super depressing too! And to think that he has been running his life is so sad! I couldn't imagine ever having to live like that. I think the saddest part to me so far is the mom just giving up and the dad not wanting to tell the son. But the son already knew that she was gone. I almost cried!

[eldridgekayla-blog]

Post 12 Theme

I think that the theme of A Visit From the Goon Squad is that time flies by so fast and we may never know where we are going to end up, but at least we have the memories. I think it ties in with the title and the phrase in the book about how"time is a goon." It can just get away from you sometimes and you wonder where it went.  

[pineda-joanna-blog]

"Time is a Goon"

Well, after catching with a Visit From the Goon Squad and finally realizing what the “Goon Squad” really was, plus recently having a birthday, I feel like I can relate to what Jennifer Egan was saying all throughout her book. I hate hate hate birthdays. I can literally feel myself getting older, and yes, I know twenty isn’t that old. But still. I look back at what I’ve done with my life, and all of it has been spent in school, trying to get a degree… Of course I haven’t looked back and had any regrets, but I still see how I got from point A to point B. Time is a goon, and it really takes its toll on you after it gets done with you. No one can survive time… Sad part is we all still try…   

[eldridgekayla-blog]

I have gotten to past the part about how "time is a goon" and it it kind of starting to make sense. I also can kind of relate to the book in some way. Even though I am only 20, I can look back and it feels like it was not all that long ago I was just starting Kindergarten and now I am about to graduate with my AA! Time sure does fly!

[eldridgekayla-blog]

Post 11

I am kind of starting to like the book a little bit more, now that we have almost finished it up. It is becoming a little more easy to read for me too. I know I am a little (okay maybe a lot) behind, but my favorite chapter so far has been the safari chapter. I guess because it has been the most interesting and because I have always wanted to go to Africa. Granted the reason I really want to go to Africa is for a mission trip and not just to have fun. I am not looking forward to writing this critical response even though I am starting to understand and get into the book. I still have no clue which option I plan to pick.

[tison-hannah-blog]

Goon Squad

I’m still enjoying this book! I like how it seems to skip around and I can’t wait for everything to fall in to place, and I’ll be able to understand everything.  I think my favorite chapter so far is the Safari chapter. This could be because I love lions, BUT it is also an interesting chapter. I like how it was split in to 3 different sections, and I didn’t even notice how the names of each section were related to where they were on the safari like the grasslands and stuff.  I enjoyed going over it in class and learning about the symbolism in the section where the lion is shot because I usually don’t pick these things up while I’m reading.

[eldridgekayla-blog]

Yet again, I almost forgot to reblog! I am so super tired, but I'm glad that it popped into my head as I was about to fall asleep! I am really glad that you are enjoying this book. I really hope that I can make myself get caught up and actually begin to enjoy what we are reading. I can also see why you like the Safari chapter. Mostly only because I know how much you LOVE the Lion King!!

[eldridgekayla-blog]

Post 10

This book has been such a difficult book for me to get into and I am having a hard time catching up because I dread having to pick it up. I know that I have to get it finished and it is really not all that terrible but it's not fun having to read a book that you really don't want to read. I have, however, grown to like how the stories flop between each chapter. Especially now that I have been able to draw the connections between each chapter. I am hoping it gets better!

[vansoff-thewall-blog]

There’s something in that kids face, I’m not sure if it’s fear, confusion, it’s his eyes. He looks so innocent and pure. He’s young. Looking closer at this picture, there are many other young men all giving their lives for this war. Eager to get the job done so that they can go home to their lives; little do they know nothing will be the same. This picture is pretty depressing to me, after reading the things they carried and listening to the perspective of the soldiers and how hard it really was for them, and all of the details we often look over. I look at this picture and I cant help but remember many quotes from the book, “he was just a kid at war, in love” and “beyond all this, or at the very center, was the raw fact of terror. I did not want to die. Not ever. But certainly not then, not there, not in a wrong war.” I feel like this photo captures what O’Brien was saying in the things they carried. We sent our children (because that’s all they were, just kids) over to fight this war and endure pain that they should not have been forced to feel. Like he says “certain blood was being shed for uncertain reasons.”

[eldridgekayla-blog]

I almost forgot to re-post, but I am glad I remembered! I saw your post earlier this week and I really like it! I agree, as I look at this picture it totally reminds me of The Things They Carried.. Not just because it is a book written about the Vietnam war, but also because of how the soldiers are all lined up and walking with their packs. It makes me wonder what they are thinking about. You know, what they are really carrying around with them, not just physically but emotionally as well.

[eldridgekayla-blog]

This reminded me of the scene of the Dresden Bombing in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. It make me think of what the planes looked like as the were sending down the fiery bombs to destroy the city of Dresden. I mean, if you could have even seen them in the air at that time. I do not know much of the bombing except what was in the book, but it has made me want to know more about what happened and why it did. 

[tison-hannah-blog]

Excited!

I am so excited that it is spring break! I love it, I don’t have to worry about tests or homework. This is a much needed break. I cant wait to start Visit From The Goon Squad, I know you aren’t supposed to judge a book by it cover, but just looking at it gets me excited! I got it for my kindle and I’m ready to start! I really hope I enjoy this one, Things they Carried never really got my attention long enough for me to enjoy it.

[eldridgekayla-blog]

I am excited that it is spring break too! It was a much needed break for me too that I have been looking forward to since the first week of the semester! I can't wait to start reading Visit From The Goon Squad Either! I agree, just looking at the cover makes me excited to read it. That's the same way I felt about EL&IC because the cover of my book had the hand on it and I thought it looked interesting!

[eldridgekayla-blog]

Post 8

I cannot believe that we are already halfway through the course and that it it time for spring break! It is hard to believe that we have been in school this semester long enough to have already just taken our mid-term! I hope that everyone did well!!... Anyway, I am looking forward to reading A Visit from the Goon Squad. It sounds like an interesting book! I am also looking forward to reading and watching The Road! I hope that everyone has a great and safe spring break!!

[tison-hannah-blog]

Generation X

So any class that requires me to read books is an automatic plus in my mind, but a class that requires you read good books, is even better! I have been enjoying reading out of the POMO book, I enjoyed reading Generation X. I loved how it had the fairy tale twists with beauty and the beast, Romeo and Juliet, and sleeping beauty. It made me want to go home and watch Disney movies. It also reminded me a lot of the Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy, in that it was syfy-ish and the way it was written and kind of a fast paced read. I don’t think I liked the actual story, but the author does a good job of keeping your attention, with the way it is written.

[eldridgekayla-blog]

I do not know why, but for some reason (even though we talked about it in class) when I was reading Generation X, I did not draw a connection between the exert and the different fairy-tales. But now that I think really, really hard about it I can totally see it! How he turns into a Frankenstein creature and has to find love to change him back as Beauty and the Beast and the one of the girls having to die in order to save him is kinda like Romeo and Juliet. I haven't made the Sleeping Beauty connection, but I'm sure I will figure it out!

[eldridgekayla-blog]

Post 7

I have been trying to catch up on my readings this weekend and the readings from this week were pretty strange. Generation X by Douglas Coupland is probably one of the weirdest so far. The way the second page was written and how you had to finish the sentences on the other side of the picture really confused me and I had to re-read it a few times to get everything straight. But, even tough its weird, it is still pretty interesting. 

[danyellwilson-blog]

PAF readings

I am enjoying reading out of the PAF book because all of the stories are so random. It is really helping me expand my ideas and mind while I read. As the reader, I have to dig deep to understand what may be going on because they are excerpts from books.

I liked “Come Over, Come Over” and “Shiloh”. I would have never guessed that the author of “Come Over, Come Over” resembles her cartoons. But I guess its true that when people doodle or draw a person it turns out to look like the artist because that is the face they see every day in the mirror. “Shiloh” was an interesting story. It was sad how he wanted to build that log cabin and she did not want it and he could not see it until the end when she wanted to leave him. So many people do that in life. They carry things with them that have no meaning or purpose turning into a burden or hinderance.

[eldridgekayla-blog]

I am enjoying reading out of the PAF as well. I also like that the readings in there are so different and random and that's kinda why I like them. It is helping me expound upon what I know about literature and is also exposing me to different types than I normally enjoy reading!