Book 2 Trailer

Book 3 Listicle

Five Reasons Why Abby Puts Up a Wall

Abby Abernathy is your normal college freshman, except that she has a gambler as a father, she played poker with professionals starting when she was 13, and by the end of freshman year…she’s married. She didn't jump into her marriage though; it took heartbreaks and allowing someone she didn't know into her life, mind, and heart. To understand the ball of fire that is Abby, you have to know her background and why she has a solid wall built around her that only a few can penetrate.

1.       Her Father Blames Her

Abby’s father was a gambler, and he was winning, until Abby’s 13^th birthday. On her 13^th birthday her father’s luck changed for the worse. He started losing money, causing him to drink. Starting on her 13^th birthday and continuing to the present, she is now 19, her father blames her for the turn in his luck. He believes that she took everything away from him.  Abby’s father, Mick, yells about Abby, “‘If it weren't for her, I woulda had my own money. You took everything from me, Abby. I have nothin’ ’” (261). This quotes exposes that Mick blames Abby for his bad luck, making Abby put up a wall of defenses around her. She thinks that is she won’t let people in, then they can’t hurt her.

2.       She Used to be a Gambler

Because her dad believes that she took his luck away, Abby herself started playing poker to make money for her father and for herself. She was forced to play professionals and to win all the money she could to try to keep her dad happy. Abby talks to her father, “Mick’s eyes were suddenly animated. ‘You can double that in a weekend…’” (260). This quote shows that Abby used to be an extreme gambler, a popular gambler. Abby wants to stay away from gambling but this quotes tells the readers that Abby could make, and used to make, a lot of money off of gambling, so she tries to hide it.

3.       She Doesn't Want Anyone to Know Her Past

She moved away from her home to have a fresh start, but she is constantly worrying someone will figure out that she is “Lucky Thirteen,” the name she was given because her luck picked up on her 13^th birthday.  At Travis’s dads house Abby says, “‘That was the nickname the papers gave me. And the story wasn’t exactly accurate.’ I said, fidgeting,” (233). This quote demonstrates that Abby tries to push away the past and tries to keep the attention away from what she used to do.

4.       She is Afraid of Who She Was

Abby doesn't want to be “Lucky Thirteen” anymore, in fact she doesn't even want people, including her boyfriend (later husband), to know her father’s name. She is scared of her past: the gambling, drinking, and fake ID’s. She doesn't want to go to Vegas to win money that she knows she could live off of. Abby later apologizes to Travis when he finds out about who her father is, “‘I’m sorry I didn't tell you, but it’s not something I talk about,’” (235). This quite reveals that Abby keeps things to herself, even from the most important people in her life, because she doesn't want to be the same person she used to be.

5.       She Doesn't Want to Drag Anyone Down With Her

Abby thinks that if she slips up and breaks the “perfect” girl way, that she will slip back into her gambling and drinking lifestyle. She is afraid that is she does she will be the weight that drowns everyone that is close to her. She separates herself from things that could potentially be a setback in what she is trying to make herself. She pushes people away to make sure that she doesn't hurt anyone with her old ways. In Vegas Abby says to Travis, “‘I don’t want you there, Trav….If I’m going to win fourteen thousand dollars in one weekend, I have to concentrate. I don’t like who I’m going to be while I’m at those tables, and I don’t want you to see it, okay?’” (262). This shows that Abby tries to cover up her “rebellious” side, in order to keep the people she loves out of trouble.

This is important because it shows that some people are not who they seem and may have something to hide, but it also shows that you can get to know someone if you wait patiently. Some people need to separate themselves from their home and that is their decision, and people should respect it.

Post #5: Truth in a Memoir

Books that are considered non-fiction need to be completely nonfiction in the authors mind. A nonfiction book needs to be factual. Laila Lalami says, “Naturally, in the process of writing, there are things that you remember differently than other people.” If the author recalls a certain event one way, but another author recalls that same event in a different way they can both be nonfiction. People experience things differently, but that shouldn't make how they feel fiction.  Books that are written to be called nonfiction need to have a strong factual evidence of what happened along with the author’s way of interpreting that event.

Half-truths are not okay when telling a story. A half-truth book changes from nonfiction to fiction with each lie. A memoir is not truly a memoir unless the events actually happened to the writer. Seth Greenland says, “And a memoir if it’s not…if it has things in it that are made up…I’m not sure it’s a novel…you could make the argument that it’s a novel, but it’s certainly not a memoir.” If the truth is stretched, if scenes are made up, or if choices are differing from what actually happened it should be considered a realistic fiction novel, rather than a memoir. There is room for error in places such as dialogue because no one is going to be able to remember the exact words said in a situation that happened 5 years ago, 5 months ago, or even 5 weeks ago. Dialogue can be falsified as long as the conversation did take place and the gist matches what the real life conversation was about.

We do need lines between fiction and nonfiction. One way a reader can classify themselves is as a fiction or nonfiction reader, without the genre lines readers would have a harder time finding what they want to read. I like to read dystopian and realistic fiction novels, but if I didn't have those labels it would be much harder to find books that are similar to books that I have read in the past. Also, the genre of the book is its purpose. If the genre is taken away so is the books main purpose, this is why books need to be classified into genres.  

Post #4: Adapting Book 2

1. The Perks of Being a Wallflower makes the most sense as a movie. It is not long enough to make a TV show out of, but a good length and a good plot that would work well for a movie. If it were to be made into a TV show it would probably show Charlie as he goes through high school, but almost all of it would have to be made up because the book ends after his freshman year.
2. A scene that would have to be kept in the movie is when Charlie sits with Sam and Patrick at the football games. This scene would have to be in the movie because it is the beginning of Charlie's friendship with Sam and Patrick. It shows how kind Patrick and Sam are to Charlie even though they don't know him. Without the football game scene the rest of the book would be very different because instead of Charlie having new friends and meeting new people he would be alone and the book would be very different and would probably be boring. Another scene that would be needed in the movie is when Charlie gets high. This scene is important for comic relief in the otherwise more dramatic and serious book. It also shows how Charlie is growing over time and some of his character development. An important scene that would need to be portrayed in the movie would be when Charlie kisses Sam even though he is dating Mary Elizabeth. This takes place when Patrick dares Charlie to kiss the prettiest girl in the room. This scene is important because it shows how Charlie is in love with Sam and how after he does this many things change for him.  After this happens Charlie's friends don't talk to him for awhile and he starts to smoke a lot of pot.
3. A scene that would need to be taken out is when Charlie is just sitting at the mall watching people. This scene would not be in the movie because it is not that important to the overall story, it would just take away time from the overall movie if it was in the movie. Also, the movie would not need to show when Charlie buys pot from Bob because there is not much in that scene except for the exchange of money and pot.
4. Some of the things that Charlie see's and hears would not be able to be in the film because it would not remain PG-13; the film would need to be PG-13 or else it would lose a lot of the audience for it.
5. The character's would have to be played by young adults who have experience with acting. The actors would need to be semi-popular to create more of a fan base for the book/movie. The actor that plays Charlie would need to be able to take on a tough role.
6. The songs referenced in the book should be used because that is a big part of how Charlie feels. Music is also important to Sam and Patrick, so their favorite songs should be used too. Also, strong instrumental songs should be used in the movie to explain how Charlie feels happy and sad at the same time, and how there are many different moods throughout the book.
7. The movie would need to capture how Charlie is writing letters to his "friend" that he does not actually know. This would need to be portrayed because it is the unique writing style of Stephen Chbosky and is how Charlie's story is told in the book.

Post 3: Book 1 Project

Want to know how Clay was feeling when he was walking the streets of Crestmont? How about when he was sitting at Rosie’s Diner? Do you want to see the real size model of the party (you know which one I’m talking about)? Now you can. Come visit the actual size model of Crestmont Town and take a reality tour of every place you would want to see.

In the book Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, Clay Jensen receives thirteen tapes. These tapes are from narrated by a dead girl. A dead girl that killed herself just two weeks ago. She created two sets of 13 reasons why she killed herself on tapes, each reason is a person. The tapes go from one person to the next, in order of the tapes. It is Clay Jensen’s turn to hear the tapes. Clay listens to the majority of the tapes in a Walkman and travels around the town listening to them. He visits some of the places starred on the map Hannah gave him before she killed herself. You have probably wondered how that would feel. To hear the reasons someone killed themselves… and you are one of them. No one has ever experienced that and now you can. In Thirteen Reasons Why it says, “They swap flashlight for wrench and, at that moment, I grab for the Walkman.” In the reality tour you will start at Clay’s house, receive a map of the town, and listen to the first tape, you will then walk to Tony’s house and get a yellow Walkman for the Mustang.   You will then continue your walk through Crestmont town listening to the tapes. You will be able to walk the streets of the town as you want. You can visit Monet’s, listed at E-7 on the map, and listen to the third tape where Hannah talks about Jessica Davis being one reason for her killing herself. At Monet’s you can order what you want: hot chocolate like Hannah or you can be like Clay and order coffee because he is cheap. It’s up to you. You can go to Rosie’s Diner because as the book says, “Everyone goes to Rosie’s.” You can see the cool, quirky place that is described in the book. Be sure to not go alone.  This connects you to reason 6, or cassette 3, side B. Unlike Clay, you can revisit the house where the party is at. You will be able to walk through the town how you please. The scene of the accident will be there. You can see where Clay and Hannah worked together even though it isn’t a big part in the book. The reality tour allows you to see, visit, and experience what you want to. You can follow Clay’s example and, “… I crumple it up, crushing the map…” There is no rule that says you have to do it as Clay does, you don’t have to do it as Hannah says the places in the tapes, and you can do what you want to get the experience that you want. Every three months there will be a day where Jay Asher will come and sign your copies of the book.

Thirteen Reasons Why is geared toward a young adult and probably mainly girl audience. This tour will allow more people to understand what the book is about and that anyone can read it. The tour will be advertised and will gain popularity for the book in that way and because of the Jay Asher appearances. Also, this will help the book by people understanding better how Clay feels and it may compel more people to buy the book. Fans of the book will be able to feel connected to Clay’s world and will be able to see the big and small places/events of the book. Fans will be able to stay connected with the book because people at the tour will also have read the book and so people can meet each other there. Fans will stay connected with the author because of the visits made by Jay Asher. This will give everyone a chance to understand the book better.

Post 2: What is a Book?

A book is a journey. Every book has a personality: a different way of communicating what it believes, how it feels, and what it likes. Book are like movies – each showing a new and different life.

Some people believe that books should become all electronic, that the idea of the book is what matters, not the form what it comes in. But some believe the opposite – that all books should be tangible, that the way the book feels is important. I believe both.  Joe Meno says, “… what I’ve come to acknowledge or slowly accept is that the idea of the book is more important than the actual form it takes…” But on the other hand Nancy Jo Sales says, “There’s something about that physicality of a book, the way it looks and feels and even smells…” Both people are writers and I believe that both are right. The idea of the book is very important, but so is the ability to physically turn the page of a book. Sure that the characters of a book will be portrayed the same either way, but when you are reading a book electronically you lose the feel of how a book is made and you miss how much effort is put into the book. Don’t you want the smell of that old or new book? Don’t you want to hear the sound of a page turning?  

Books are needed; you need to create the image of that character you are obsessed with not be shown what he or she is supposed to look like. Books give you the power to create images of what is happening not just staring at a screen. Using imagery when reading helps your brain (mental stimulation), but when you stare at a screen watching a movie you don’t use your brain as much. It is really exercising your brain when reading vs. just sitting and taking everything in as you would do if you were watching a movie.

Books help stimulate our brains, increase our vocabulary, reduce stress, expand our knowledge, improve our memory, give us tranquility, and learn better writing skills. Books help us with all these things without us even realizing. Movies and TV shows can’t give us all the benefits that use the brain like a book can.

We need books to take an adventure, to help our brains, and for the feel of the book. 

Why I Read

Why do I read? Here is my simple explanation: Reading to escape my mundane destiny.

I read to take an adventure, to experience things out of this world, to be a new self, and to find a new reality.

When I read I want to be taken to a new place: to a place where I can forget the real world, to a place that is different, to a place that makes me think differently, and to a place that puts the world into a different perspective.

When I read The Fault in Our Stars(for the first time) it took me less than twenty-four hours. I was taken to an alternate universe. This universe was sarcastic, witty, smart, and awful. It had many characters staring life-altering experiences in the face. It showed me how amazing life could be even when there are terrible circumstances. It reminded me that I could be in way worse situations and that I should make the most out of everyday.

Books are something to be thankful for, to be happy that they are not censored by the government, and we should be grateful that we can read whatever we want(unless our parents say no).

I read because it gives me an escape, make me happy, and make me who I am.