Famous First And Last Lines Of Books

"The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there."  - The Go-Between (1953)
Author Summary:
The author of The Go-Between is L.P. Hartley. This is his most well-know piece of writing. Hartley was born December of 1895 and died 76 years later in December 1972. He was a student at Oxford University.
Book Summary:
Leo is a young boy who is going to stay the summer with his friend, Marcus, who he knows from boarding school. Marcus' family is very wealthy. Leo really likes Marcus' older sister, Marian. He is a very naive kid. He helps Marian by delivering messages between Marian and a lower class boy named Ted. Eventually Marian goes on to marry a wealthy man, but Ted's reputation somehow was ruined. Years later Leo visits Marian and she tells him that her brothers and her husband were all killed in World War One.





"Maybe I will go to Paris. Who knows? But I’ll sure as hell never go back to
Texas again." - The Final Country (2001)
Author Summary:
James Crumley is the author of this book. He was born in October of 1939 and died in September of 2008. He was educated at the University of Iowa. He wrote novels, short stories, essays, and screenplays.
Book Summary:
This book is about a man named Milo who moves from Montana to Texas and is becoming bored with his life there as a businessman. He has a midlife crisis and becomes a private investigator. He begins his search for a missing girl and gets caught up in a lot of violence with drug dealers and more. The book is action packed with plot twists.










Maybe I will go to Paris. Who knows? But I’ll sure as hell never go back to

Memorable Passage

“Success is determined not by whether or not you face obstacles, but by your reaction to them. And if you look at these obstacles as a containing fence, they become your excuse for failure. If you look at them as a hurdle, each one strengthens you for the next.” 
― Ben Carson: Gifted Hands

This is the best explanation I've ever read about success. Ben Carson is my favorite success story. He was a troubled kid who grew up poor and he always thought he was not as smart as the other students. His mother pushed him to always try very hard in school to get a good education. He grew up and became an extremely successful neurosurgeon who loves the Lord. God and his effort helped him figure out how to separate conjoined twins at the head--this man, who once thought he was too dumb to pass a spelling test! It's amazing that his fixed mindset turned into a growth mindset and now he ecourages all children to do the best that they can do in EVERYTHING they do! And now he's running for president of the United States! When I read this passage I think of all his accomplishments and think, if he can do all this in life, what's stopping me from achieving my own success?

Six Word Memoirs

every weekend with different people lately

hi im piper, what's your sign?

you think you're such a saint

still love you, but screw you

you are grimes, i am miley

i don't know what i want

My Favorite Quotations

"Brutes have been gentled where lashes failed.
The growth of a frail flower in a path up
has sometimes shattered and split a rock."
- Carl Sandburg: A Father To His Son
This quote is saying that sometimes in life it is best to be gentle and easygoing rather than hostile because it can leave a stronger effect. This is important to me because I usually react too harshly to things that would turn out better if I were to be kind. When I have followed this quote in life I've seen things work out better for everyone in the long run.

"They say love grows, but I've only seen it die.
I'm too young to feel like I'm running out of time."
- Miley Cyrus: I Get So Scared
This first verse from Miley's song is very accurate in my opinion. All around me I see relationships ending and I don't see them continuing to grow stronger after a long time--it's more like they reach a peak and then go downhill. I'm too young to be worried that I won't find real, unconditional love for the people in my life and that if I do, it'll be too late.

“There’s what’s right and there’s what’s right and never the twain shall meet.”
- H.I. McDunnough
This is a playoff of a poem by Rudyard Kipling that says “Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet.” which actually goes on to explain that people who are completely different can still understand each other. I'm not sure what the Coen brother's meant by this version when that added it to the movie but it makes you think...
http://www.quotecounterquote.com/2011/02/east-is-east-and-west-is-west-and-never.html 

Dream Thread Story

I feel a soft, cool breeze on my face but my neck is hot and the rest of my body is numb. Slowly I open my eyes to see a grey sky boarded by the tops of snow-covered pine trees. I'm not sure where I am or why I'm here.
"Ow!"
I feel a sharp pain on my side as I shift to sit upright. There is severe bruising and a deep laceration that I can't even feel unless I move. As I try to stand to my feet my breath feels short and my vision goes completely dark. I fall back down to sit because I must be having a panic attack or something. Then I remember my glasses... which should be on my face? I feel around in the snow and find them. I still can't see anything clearly because everything looks so dark and I put my glasses on but they don't help.
"Okay. Breathe... Just breathe."
I open my eyes again and the darkness is gone but my vision is blurred. In frustration I throw my glasses into the snow, but to my surprise everything is clear now. In fact, everything is amazing! I can see perfectly--even better than my glasses ever let my see!
I hear a rustling sound to  my left and turn to see a bear. Even more startling than that is the fact that I can see THROUGH the bear--like I'm standing here watching it's heart beat! Looking around I notice my vision shifting from normal to, like....x-ray?
What the hell happened to me?

Writers As Readers

1.) When you read, what do you need to be comfortable?
Zero distractions. I think that I can read in pretty much any quiet space so when it comes to what I need to be comfortable the only thing that comes to mind is quiet and a comfy chair. No blanket, no snacks, no particular amount of lighting (although, obviously, I'll need to be able to see the words). I'm a very particular person, usually, but when it comes to reading I'm not picky.
2.) What genres interest you? What specifically about these genres interest you?
I really love suspenseful action books. Something like mystery would interest me.I also like a little bit of fantasy. The perfect combination of these would be a book about a superhero or something, like how in ASHES the main character and a few other people suddenly got extraordinary abilities such as enhanced sense of smell or vision and they were fighting to stay alive post-apocalypse. It also helps to have a little bit of romance added to the story but I wouldn't say romance novels are really my thing.
5.) Have you ever picked up a book and been excited to turn the next page, then the next, then the next? What book? Why couldn't you stop reading? Is there a book you just had to trudge through to finish?
Like I mentioned before, ASHES is the perfect combination of genres for me. I couldn't wait to find out what would happen next! The book even worked it's way into my dreams some nights. Although it's basically a book about zombies (which is not something I ever thought I would want to read), it was actually very interesting and it was more than just "a book about killing zombies." There were plenty of surprising new twists that kept me wanting to read more.
One of the worst books I have ever read was Numbering The Bones. I read it when I was pretty young because it was assigned to me for school so it was probably beyond my reading level, but I promised myself that I'd never pick up that book again and I am going to keep that promise. I hated this book with all my heart. I don't really remember what it was about (the civil war/slavery I think) which is probably because I wasn't really paying attention to what was happening--I just needed to get the grade and then forget about that boring book forever.

Caged Bird: I Don't Know Why...

I don't know why they don't trust me
I've never given them reason not to
I don't know why they don't understand
I think I've been pretty clear
I don't know why they can't give me my space
They keep pushing me farther and farther away
I don't know why they trap me in this cage...
as if someday I won't escape?

If I Were In Charge Of The World

If I were in charge of the world I'd cancel cheesecake, rainy days, slow drivers, and also staying late at work.
If I were in charge of the world there'd be fair government, friendships without flaws, and cheaper healthy food option.
If I were in charge of the world you wouldn't have homework. You wouldn't have fat. You wouldn't have stress. Or "that's weird." You wouldn't even have "weird."
If I were in charge of the world a mint chocolate-chip milkshake would be a vegetable. All bugs would stay away from people and a person who sometimes forgot to smile and sometimes forgot to text back would still be allowed to be in charge of the world.

Purple

Her life was lived in blue. Her eyes pulled you in; suddenly you were lost at sea. She painted with the same brush, unwashed, dipped in dark hues and light tints to create a splotchy sky--this is how she felt most of the time. Vibrant lights above the bar made her skin look pale and sickly late into the night. She'd watch her delphiniums lean low under the weight of winter's snow.
His life was lived in red. Skin warm to the touch; he looked you in the eyes and your cheeks went flush. He spoke the language of your love so you'd allow him the rite of passage to your rapidly beating heart. Even when a party was over, he'd let the fire burn bright late into the night. He'd pull up in a cocky crimson corvette. It took a lot to get him riled him up, but when he was his anger was hot.
When they met their world went purple. Sometimes soft, gentle moments; sometimes powerful perse passion. Their strongly opposing condition completed each other. He became her intense flame, while she was his light late into the night.

Maya Angelou

1.) We talked about the title of Maya Angelou's first autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. What did Angelou say is the reason a caged bird sings? What does That mean? Do you agree with or understand that idea?
The reason the caged bird sings is because it feels trapped and the singing is actually more like a cry for help. "The caged bird sings of freedom." I do agree with this idea even though I had never even thought of it like that before. This poem is so relatable for me and I'm sure for almost everyone. We all feel trapped sometimes like the caged bird, seeing other people free/successful/happy.
2.) Maya Angelou's work celebrates "the universal human power to triumph over adversity." Do you personally have that power? How do you know? When have you had to use it? Or when have you observed someone else use that power?
I believe that everyone has that power whether or not they want to use it, or whether or not they even believe they have it. I know this because even though I am a pessimist most of the time, I can still find positive outcomes from negative events.Like the caged bird, there was a time when I felt trapped in my home under my parents' strict rules and judgement. Finally, when I turned eighteen, my parents and I got into a huge fight over something small and I decided I wanted to get out of the house for a little bit, but they wouldn't let me leave even though I am of legal age to go wherever I want whenever I want! They took my car keys so I walked out of the house and got a ride from a friend. All of their stalking and calling became too much for me so I decided not to come home until they stopped and gave me the freedom to make my own decisions. I didn't see my parents for a week. Even though this was one of the worst experiences of my life, I knew that in the end I would have the freedom I always wanted and needed. Now I feel like I can my adversity and finally be me.
3.) Angelou says she doesn't even like to talk about her bad dreams because talking about them "gives them too much power." Do you think talking about bad dreams or bad news or other bad things gives those bad things more power? When have you known this to happen?
This is so true! If you let a bad thought about yourself stay on your mind or come out of your mouth very much, you are basically adding fuel to the fire and that bad thought can take over! Likewise when you give good thoughts attention you also give them power. If you think badly about your body image, like maybe you think you're too fat because somebody teased you, you could lead yourself to having an eating disorder if you give the thought too much power. Or if you lose a close friend and feel lonely, you might let yourself think that you'll never be that close to anyone again.
4.) Angelou and many others suggest that dreams "tell the truth about us. Do you think dreams reveal things about us that we may not realize or that others don't see? Can you recount a dream that revealed something about you that you were surprised, ashamed, terrified, etc. by?
Most of my dreams are really weird and confusing, but I don't think that any dream comes into your head for no reason (whether or not you ever know that reason). There is one dream that I had reoccurringly for a long, long time in which I was being chased/I was running away from something but couldn't ever truly get away. The scene of my dream was always different and so was whatever I was running from (sometimes I think I couldn't identify what I was running from so it may have been nothing at all). But after I left home for that one traumatic week, I stopped having that dream. Was the dream correlated to that? Was I really just trying to run from the pressure of my parents' watchful eyes? Possibly. I guess that makes sense.