Free Choice- Different Kinds of Reading

What kinds of reading have you done in the past and what kinds do you do now? Remember that there are many more kinds of reading than those you’ve done in school. You read at your job and read posts on Facebook and read copious amounts of text messages. What is different about your experience with different kinds of reading?

The kinds of reading I have done in the past was mainly reading easy accelerated reader books for high school, or reading chapters in different classes to know the information more, and be prepared for the tests. It seemed like I didn’t have to read as much in high school compared to reading in college. The kinds of reading I do now are normally longer and have much harder words to understand. In my English 111 class, we had to read chapters of argument writing, and argument articles. The words in that book are harder for me to read since I didn’t learn a big vocabulary at my high school. Few semesters ago in my READ 102 class, we had to read autobiographies of famous people; they were so long and hard to understand. But noticing after taking these classes with all the reading, I felt more confident in understanding what was read. Any class you take in college, you will have to read at any point or another. If you don’t read the material the teacher will assign, you will have no idea what they will cover in class the next day. I had some past experiences of that and pretty sure everybody has because some people may not like reading. I am the type of person that dislikes reading and would put reading off any day because I think it’s boring. You need to be interested in what you’re going to read. If the teacher assigns you to read something that seems boring, obviously you’re going to think it’s pointless, but you need to read it anyways because it’s your benefit of succeeding. What’s different about my experience with different kinds of reading is that I didn’t care much of reading in the past but once going to college and having more reading to do in each class; I realized I need to step it up and care more. I will still think reading is not my first priority, but will eventually feel the need to read it sooner or later.

GR- Praise and Criticism In The Main Characters

The main character in the book JERK, California is Sam Carrier. In the book, I’m trying to figure out why the author changed the main characters name to Jack Keegan. I think Sam was praised and criticized by the other characters in the book, for example, his mom Lydia, his stepdad Old Bill, his real dad’s friend George the Coot, and his crush Naomi.
It seemed like Sam’s mom cared about him in the beginning of the book, because she was worried about him having tourette’s, but now after marrying Old Bill it seems like she doesn’t care much of him because she takes his side on everything. She praised him then would criticize him for not doing what Old Bill said to do.
His stepdad Old Bill shows no praise to Sam at all in the book so far because he teases him and treats him like he’s no good. He blames the tourette’s on everything and it’s not Sam’s fault that he has this syndrome. He will show criticism towards Sam because he is not his real son. Old Bill shows he loves his biological son Lane, because there is nothing wrong with him. I feel it’s not right for him to degrade Sam down like he does because it makes him feel even more down on himself. I feel that Old Bill won’t change in the book because he will keep criticizing Sam for his own being. I also feel that the tourettes is getting worse because of his stepdad.
His real dad’s friend George the Coot has showed praise and criticism to Sam because he offered Sam to live with him, has Sam help him with the gardening, wants him to know more about his real dad. He showed a lot of criticism towards Sam by him doing cruel things with him behind the truck, is making him change is name to Jack, because his father wanted it to be that. In the 2nd part of the book is when it’s going to talk more about “Jack”. I feel that he shouldn’t have been pressured to change his name because nobody needs to change their name if they don’t want to. It must be something to do with the headstone that Coot showed him on the bulldozer blade because that’s where it all started.
His crush Naomi has showed praise and criticism to Sam by her keep popping into his life when he is doing things for others. Sam thinks that she likes him because she keeps coming back. Well it seems like she does and doesn’t because her friends think he’s a freak, and she thinks he is and sometimes isn’t. There were instances in the book that she thought he would be a freak and then some she seemed like she was starting to like him more as person. She shows criticism by being two-faced to him because as she steps into his life each time he sees her, his heart sinks, and she doesn’t realize that he is deeply in love with her. I need to keep reading and see what happens if she ends up popping up into his life more or if she’ll ignore him completely.
I’m hoping that Sam doesn’t give up on loving Naomi because it seems like that’s all he needs in his life. As I keep reading, hopefully things start to happen more and keep getting more interesting, because it seemed like I was getting lost in the beginning, but as I keep reading I noticed its getting a little easier to get the idea of the situations.

Problems, stuck points, and breakthroughs. What’s hardest for you or what gets in the way most?

I noticed in the past and now I had some problems, stuck points, and breakthroughs while reading. The hardest obstacle for me while reading something is trying to understand the situation of the text. I noticed while reading JERK I was getting confused because the book had a weird introduction. It threw me off when I read it then I tried to understand it while I kept reading on. I have to re-read paragraphs over just to understand the material. Every time I read something for any class; I have to block out any noise and try to understand what’s going on. If there is any slight of discussion from people or anything that makes a noise, I will not understand what I am reading. I would rather read in a quite place so I can take each page slowly and know the context. That’s what gets in the way when I am trying to read anything that is in my importance. I will get frustrated because everybody else can’t get their reading accomplished with distractions. Everybody is different because other’s can read with the distractions. I just don’t understand how they can read something; comprehend it, and not block the distraction. What really gets in the way most is trying to get the reading done while you have other classes that have assignments for you to do as well. I noticed that I haven’t got very far in the book JERK because I have other classes that stop me. I thought the reading plan would have helped me since we got to choose how much we wanted to read per week, but I guess since it’s at the end of the semester, every other class has pushed me away from it. It being the end of the semester, the professors have a lot of material we need to learn, so I need to take each assignment at a time, and squeeze the reading in between the available time.

JERK

The title of my book says for itself, because the title is JERK, California. Could you imagine yourself jerking or twitching at one point or another, or even constantly in your lifetime?
Well the main character in the book, Sam Carrier twitches when he feels nervous about something. I think it would be terrible having Tourette’s syndrome. Everybody made fun of him because of his syndrome and he felt like it wasn’t his fault. He was born with it and couldn’t help it. A person having Tourette’s would be made fun of constantly because other people seeing them would think that person is a FREAK. Sam Carrier was known as a freak in the book and seemed like he knew it all along, but didn’t want to keep showing it. He fell in love with a girl that he met in the woods during a race. He noticed when he would talk to her; he wouldn’t have the urge to jerk. When I noticed that, I thought hopefully this girl keeps seeing Sam because then he would have someone to be with, not make him twitch as much, or even have less people making fun of him.
I noticed it is very hard to watch someone having Tourette’s because people have different types of Tourette’s. I’ve watched people on TV that had Tourette’s and I imagined myself having it and I don’t know how they go about their days with that not holding them back. I would not want to step in public and have an urge to jerk every so often. I used to know a friend that had Tourette’s, I would tell my mom that there was something wrong with her, and my mom told me the truth. I couldn’t believe what I heard and it all came to me that was the answer. I felt bad seeing what I saw but I couldn’t help the person. I feel bad as I read along about Sam Carrier dealing with his Tourette’s too. As I read along I hope that I get a better understanding of how he reacts with these jerks.
Jerk is an excellent title for this book because it shows an understanding of how Sam Carrier is dealing with Tourette’s and gives you a mental image of how he jerks. The title of this book is the main reason why I chose to read it because people need to know how an individual acts with Tourette’s.

Free Choice - JERK

I noticed that most people in the classroom picked similar books that they wanted to read for the next half of the summer. I chose something that was totally out of my comfort zone to read. I chose the book JERK and pretty excited to start reading it. Most of the classmates in the class chose the book 13 Reasons Why to read, and I voted for that book in the beginning of the semester to read as a class, but I don’t like reading a book that EVERYBODY is going to be reading out side of school because they may talk about a part that you haven’t read; it makes you wonder if that’s true, and it screws up the ending for you. So I wanted to pick a book that none of the students wouldn’t think of reading. You have to pick a book you want to be interested reading and learn more about it. I noticed that nobody picked the book JERK; that was shocking because I must have been the only one thinking how it would be different reading a book about a teenager diagnosed with Tourette’s syndrome, going about his life living with this syndrome, and trying to live each day like it’s the last. The main character Sam Carrier seems like a normal teenager trying to live a normal life but has the Tourette’s syndrome holding him back. I have experienced people with Tourette’s syndrome and it’s hard to see them in pain, by them twitching, jerking, and fighting the urge. I’m hoping this book is an interest to me, like I hope it is and makes me imagine I’m Sam Carrier and how Tourette’s syndrome really is in life.

Free Choice - JERK and The Perfect Shot

It was hard for me to choose a particular book I wanted to read for the rest of the semester. I honestly had no idea what book I wanted to read because there were so many to choose from. I wanted a book that was just like the feeling of Hate List. I was debating on two books that looked like they had the same compelling feeling. The first book I thought looked great was JERK. Jerk is about a guy named Sam Carrier and his bitter, abusive stepfather, Old Bill, is ashamed of his son’s Tourette's syndrome, and makes the teen feel that shame at every turn. He also makes Sam's life a misery by constantly telling him that his father was a no-good deserter. Upon his high school graduation, Sam meets George, a friend of his long-dead father, who attempts to undo the harm that Old Bill has done over the years. Sam (whose real name turns out to be Jack) embarks on a cross-country road trip to discover his roots, his identity, and his love for Naomi, who tags along, bringing some unexpected baggage.
After reading the information about the book JERK, I thought this would be a compelling book because of the boy dealing with a girl and having Tourette’s. I want to know why Sam Carrier changed his name to Jack. This book had a lot of reviews on it and the people said it was a must-read so I figured it looks good to me so why not give it a try. My first feeling about this book was if it was going to be describing how the Tourette’s affects Sam’s life and describes how a person reacts having Tourette ’s syndrome. It would be very hard seeing a person with Tourette ’s syndrome trying to function and they twitch every so often. It would make me want to try and help them but you can’t because they were born with this syndrome and they can’t even stop the jerks. I think the title is a great one because you know it’s going to be about Sam jerking from his Tourette’s and dealing with his life with the syndrome. I am excited about reading this book because I know that having Tourette’s syndrome will affect a person’s life very much and I want to know how the book affects Sam’s life.
The second book I wanted to read was The Perfect Shot. This book seemed really intense because the description of the book is stated that it’s about someone murdering Brian's girlfriend, Amanda. The police think it was her father. Brian isn't so sure. But everyone he knows is telling him to move on, get over it, and focus on the present. Focus on basketball. Focus on hitting that perfect shot.
Brian hopes that the system will work for Amanda and her father. An innocent man couldn't be wrongly convicted, could he? But then Brian does a school project on Leo Frank, a Jewish man lynched decades ago for the murder of a teenage girl—a murder he didn't commit.
Worse still, Brian's teammate Julius gets arrested for nothing more than being a black kid in the wrong place at the wrong time. Brian can't deny any longer that the system is flawed. As Amanda's father goes on trial, Brian admits to himself that he knows something that could break the case. But if he comes forward, will the real killer try for another perfect shot—this time against Brian? After reading this description, my first thought was Wow! I want to read this book because it seems like Hate List. I like reading books that are intense and want to know how the murder happened.
I would have got both books and read one of them for extra credit but I like to take time reading one book at a time. I would like to have the time one day to read The Perfect Shot though, but I am really psyched in reading JERK and seeing if my thoughts are brought within the book.

My Reading Process Physically

Where do you read? When? How fast or slow? Tell everything that could be figured out from a complete video recording of your reading from start to finish.

It really depends what I’m reading and where I will choose to read it at. When reading Hate List, I chose to read in my room because it is away from everyone else and there are fewer distractions around me. I would rather read there than anywhere else because it is my comfort zone for reading easier. If I had to read something in a classroom, it would be harder for me to concentrate because there are students surrounding me while they are trying to read as well. I would be pressured getting the reading done on time in the class, whereas reading at home there would be no time limit and no people around me.

When reading the sections of Hate List every week, I would read a few days before the reading was due because I can’t start reading then stop and start up again a few days after, ill forget what I read previously. I would rather read the pages in one sitting then starting all over again because I wouldn’t remember what I read. I would probably turn the pages back a lot just to remember what I read previously. When Stephanie said we could use the notes on the Down and Dirty Quizzes, I was thankful because I sometimes forget what I read earlier. I loved the idea that we could of wrote notes while we read because it’s easier for me to take notes, refer to them later on, and understand what I wrote about the reading.

Whatever I am reading really depends on the speed. If I do not understand what’s going on in the reading clearly, ill read real slow. If I don’t understand it, I tend to reread the sentence or paragraph a few times to understand it more. If I’m interested in the reading I will pick up the pace a little by reading it faster. I noticed while reading Hate List, that I read slower because there were a lot of characters to remember, plus I stopped every time I thought something was important and wrote notes on it. There were a lot of flashbacks in the reading so you would sometimes stop and think what all ready happened then go on reading.

If I had a complete video recording of me reading from start to finish, I would be in my room, laying on my bed, reading my book that I’m going to hopefully be interested in, take notes if necessary, and try not to take any breaks away from the reading so I understand the book more.

Wk 6 - GR - Characters With Praise/Criticism

When preparing my Movie Poster of the book “Hate List” I was deciding who the main characters were in the book so far. The main characters I think is Valerie, Nick, Valerie’s mom: Jenny, Valerie’s dad: Ted, Dr. Bill Dentley, Dr. Rex Hieler, and Detective Panzella.
All of these characters have some praise or criticism of one another in the book. Valerie was getting picked on by her classmates at Garvin High School and her boyfriend Nick, was praising her by thinking of making “The Hate List”. Valerie is not being praised by all the characters in the book because they think she has something to do with The Hate List because her boyfriend, Nick killed the students in the cafeteria. Well come to realize it, the book finally mentioned that Valerie was the one that came up with the Hate List. She started thinking of people she disliked and jotted the name down in the notebook. Nick thought it was a great idea to add names that he disliked as well. Nick was criticizing his enemies in the book by killing each of the ones on the list.
Valerie’s mom, Jenny thinks Valerie is crazy in the head and knows she has something to do with the shooting. Jenny made Valerie go back to school after the shooting happened and was criticizing her the whole time because she disliked her boyfriend Nick and knew him as “The Murderer”.
Valerie’s dad Ted doesn’t praise Valerie in the book so far because he thinks she’s crazy in the head too. Her dad is hardly home because he is a lawyer. Jenny and Ted have relationship issues, they criticize Valerie that she has issues and her boyfriend is no good because he shot the students. But I do think the parents praise her while she’s in the hospital because there by her side and want the best for her.
Dr. Bill Dentley is the staff psychiatrist at Garvin General and suggested that Valerie enters an inpatient residential program so she can get help to battle the suicidal urges. She will have group therapy, individual therapy, and medication to help the suicidal urges. Her parents and Dr. Bill Dentley think she’s suicidal because she lost her boyfriend since he killed himself after he killed the students and she doesn’t have anybody to cope with. Dr. Bill Dentley showed criticism and praise because the criticism was not having her make the decision if she wanted to enter the program, but in return he wants the best for her so he praised her by making her get help in the program.
Dr. Rex Hieler is her other psychiatrist that helped her talk while attending Garvin High School. In the beginning, he was praising her most because he was there for her whenever she needed to talk because in the beginning of the book Valerie didn’t seem close anybody but Nick.
Detective Panzella was the brown-suited male that was at Valerie’s bed side when she woke up in the hospital. He seemed like he showed a lot of criticism to Valerie because he was asking her a lot of questions every day when she was in the hospital. He was trying to get the “right story” out of Valerie because he is the detective and needs to find out if she was involved or not.
All of these characters showed criticism and praise with Valerie and I’ll have to see if they continue doing this in the rest of the book.

In-School Reading Vs. Out-of-School Reading

Some of you may agree or disagree with me on this topic because I would rather read out-of-school than in-school. I’m the type of person that has to have the area completely quiet. I don’t like any distractions while reading because I won’t remember what I read. I tend to misread the words where there is commotion going on around me. My room is the best area for me to read because it is away from everyone else and no distractions. Whereas reading in-school is more complicated because the teacher may assign us to read an about of pages in class and I won’t even get it read on time, because I can’t concentrate like I do out- of -school. I don’t really have a problem with reading out loud in class; it’s just getting the reading done in class. People may like in-school reading more because they would rather get the reading done in class than out. I’m the total opposite, I’d rather read out-of- class because it’s easier to understand. The only in-school reading I can handle is when the teacher is reading something out-loud, I follow in the book with them, and comprehend it. Other than that, I dislike in-school reading. Having your reading being timed is crazy, because nobody should be pushed while they read. You need to understand the reading as much as possible and be able to explain what you read afterwards. If I don’t understand the reading, there is no way of getting the point of the story. That’s why I would rather read out-of-school than in-school because of less distractions, it’s easier to understand, and not timed.

Wk 4- Hate List

The day we got to choose our books was exciting because it meant we would be able to actually choose the book we really wanted to read. I'm not gonna lie, i dislike reading. I would rather do anything but read a book. I'm no the type to sit down and enjoy reading something, i think that is boring. But once the class voted on Hate List, i was super excited. The book had an eye catching cover than the other ones, because it looked like a scary book. I haven't got much reading done in the book though, but when the time is right, i will keep reading and reading because this book seems like it would be more interesting. I cannot read a book that i'm not interested in. I think everybody is that way because its just going to be BORING and have no point of understanding whats really going on. Hate list's introduction though caught my eye and i was not bored reading it;they went into great detail about what happened with the shooting. We wont know for sure if the author Valerie made the right title for the book until later on in the book because, yes in the beginning it seemed like it could be called that, but in most books actions always differ so as we keep reading well have to point out if that was the correct title. But honestly what else could have it been because it is based a hate list that they made up with people's names on it. We only knew 2 characters in the book, Valerie and Nick. So we'll have to see what really happens with that Hate List.

Wk 3 - Child Called IT

For my mini book chat, i chose to talk about one of my favorite high school books- The Child Called IT, A Child's Courage to Survive by Dave Peltzer. Of all the books I've read I liked this one because the most because its based on a true story about Dave Peltzer being abused by his alcoholic mother from the ages 4-12. She did this for no apparent reason and thought it was right to do it. This book touches everyone's hearts right when you start reading it. I checked it out in the library one school day and couldnt put it down because of how great of a book it is. The book shows how child abuse is and shouldnt be allowed after what this mother has done to her own son.
There were so many different intense moments the novel had that the mother used to abuse her child. Every attempt she did nearly kills her son. For example, she smears her baby's poopy diaper in Dave's face and tries to make him eat it, but he refuses. Or even worse make him lay on the stove with the burners on HIGH! It's terrible for any mother to think of anything like these to kill her own son. He plays her games in order to survive because she will keep doing it in order to kill him. For how young Dave is, he puts up with the pain and will do anything and everything in order to survive.
People are saying these are terrible things the mom did, they wont read the book, and see what she really did to him; but you have to realize he survived all the awful things she did to him, and you have to at least imagine the idiotic ideas of what she came up with. It will touch your heart and make you realize that child abuse is COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE!!