February

Edgar Allen Poe

Tell-tale heart    5/5

The mask of Amontillado  5/5       

The house of Usher   4/5

Harper Lee

To Kill a Mocking Bird (281 pages)      3/5

Maya Angelou

Still, I rise (32 pages)     5/5

 

Total Pages Read: 323 (11 pgs a day)

 

Edgar Allan Poe is one of my favorite writer/ poets because he writes such dark poetry which gives me goosebumps and chills when I read is short stories and poems. These three short stories that I have read intrigue me in a sense that it takes you into the mind of someone who isn’t “well”. You see what’s happening in their eyes. Reading their thoughts and of course, see their actions. It’s different when u read about a person who is ill than actually reading what they are thinking and what they are going to do next. It’s a real page-turner for me and just how Edgar Allan Poe describes everything that is happening is so vivid and realistic.

                                            

 

To Kill a Mockingbird, in the beginning, did not do justice for me. I didn’t enjoy reading the first part of the book and it was boring. But once I began reading more into the second part of the book it got really interesting. At that point, I think that’s when I realized why the first part of the book was important. It was at the time were African Americans were not treated properly and were degraded by the white people. It showed me how easily people can accuse people without really having evidence and how easily people at the time believed anything that the “dominant race” said. Even though it was a slow book I still learned a lot from it.

The poem itself Still I rise has so much meaning to it and it really moved me. How Maya Angelou said things it was absolutely beautiful. How no matter what society hots her she still gets up because she is a strong woman. She doesn’t let anyone define who she is and lives how she wants to. How I take the poem she talks about how she won’t let anyone stomp on her and let them degrade her because she is stronger than that. I inspire to have that kind of attitude and to have the ability to conquer any challenge that I come face to face with and to just prove everyone who ever doubted me wrong.

 

I feel satisfied that I actually did read something this month but for next month I need to read books to get my pages per day up. I have a few books that I have lined up for me to read for this month. Two of the books are Stephen kings books. Mr. Mercedes and under the dome. I’ve also been meaning to read a thousand splendid suns. I’ve heard that it is an amazing book and I can’t wait to read the book itself. I’m excited to read these three books and more short stories/poems this march and to encourage myself to read more each month.

 

“And Still I Rise.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 5 Mar. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/And_Still_I_Rise.

“To Kill a Mockingbird.” The Censorship Files, 26 July 2017, thecensorshipfiles.wordpress.com/to-kill-a-mockingbird/.

“A Literary Criticism to Edgar Allan Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart – 928 Words.” Study Guides and Book Summaries, 25 Apr. 2017, freebooksummary.com/a-literary-criticism-to-edgar-allan-poes-the-tell-tale-heart-12218.

Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Cask of Amontillado – Edgar Allen Poe.” Barnes & Noble, www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-cask-of-amontillado-edgar-allen-poe-edgar-allan-poe/1110113285.

guidedbygreed.deviantart.com/art/the-fall-of-the-house-of-usher-46247630.

 

 

 

 

 

 

March

Edgar Allen Poe

The Masque of the Red Death (Short Story)   5/5

Annabel Lee (Poem)    4/5

The Black Cat (Short Story)     4/5

 

Jennifer Donnelly

These shallow graves  (482 pages)    4/5

 

Total Pages Read: 493  (14 pgs a day)

 

I have continued to read more of Edgar Allen poes short stories and poems and these three specific stories/poems I felt like I had to read them a couple of times to fully understand what the whole story was about. I really enjoy annotating poems and short stories. I enjoy trying to dig deeper into the literature and trying to understand what the writer is trying to say.

 

                                              

 

I read “These Shallow Graves” over the spring break and it is a very well written. It is a book of murder and mystery and in my opinion, it is a very easy read if someone is looking for a light read. It is such a page turner and I really enjoyed this book. What I also love about this book is that it shows woman empowerment in the 1800s. A girl goes out in order to figure out who had killed her father. Instead of being “ladylike”, she wants to be able to work and to be able to do things that men can do at the time. She was a very strong character in the book in my opinion.

 

 

For April for sure I want to be able to read at least two of the books that I wanted to read which was Mr. Mercedes and A Thousand Splendid Suns. I sadly didn’t read these book in March, but I would like to make the goal for April to read these two book because it’s a must in my opinion. I want to be able to read more books in the future and to be able to keep that up and to make a habit of reading books.

 

 

Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Black Cat.” Feedbooks, www.feedbooks.com/book/759/the-black-cat.

Spacey, Andrew. “Analysis of Poem ‘Annabel Lee’ by Edgar Allan Poe.” Owlcation, Owlcation, 6 Oct. 2017, owlcation.com/humanities/Analysis-of-Poem-Annabel-Lee-by-Edgar-Allan-Poe.

“Thoughts on ‘The Masque of the Red Death’ by Edgar Allan Poe.” Stuff Jeff Reads, 8 Oct. 2017, stuffjeffreads.wordpress.com/2017/10/08/thoughts-on-the-masque-of-the-red-death-by-edgar-allan-poe/.

Donnelly, Jennifer, et al. “These Shallow Graves.” By Jennifer Donnelly, www.goodreads.com/book/show/24187925-these-shallow-graves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

April

 

Stephan King

Mr. Mercedes  (202/421 pages) 5/5

 

Edgar Allan Poe

Berenice  (2 pages)  4/5

 

 

 

Right now I am still trying to finish up the book Mr. Mercedes. Just how Stephan King rights it gives me chills. How he describes certain events or things. I absolutely love his work because I’m into the creepy scary stuff. He just puts it in a way where I can see everything that is going on the book. I really recommend this book if you are into crime fiction. It is an amazing book.

 

 

 

 

 

So I have been reading a lot more of Edgar Allan Poe’s work and its just so creepy but i love it though. This one specific short story that I read was just really creepy. His stories are stories that you wouldn’t really think of. Every time I read his stuff I always wonder how these ideas came to mind because some of them are really bizarre but I LOVE it. I love reading his work. Every story I read of his, always has me speechless in the end.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Mr. Mercedes.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 30 Apr. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Mercedes.

Poe, Edgar Allan. “Berenice.” Feedbooks, www.feedbooks.com/book/758/berenice.

 

 

 

 

May

 

Fahrenheit 451  (158 Pages) 5/5

 

 

 

Fahrenheit 451 is something that i had to read a couple of times to actually understand what the author was trying to say. Its a book whee books are forbidden and if you had one they would basically burn your house down. What i found clever was the title itself. Books burn in 452 Fahrenheit. Its like a dystopian novel. They don’t want people to read and to gain more knowledge so they keep the citizens “busy”. By having them be in this virtual world. Overall its about a fireman who starts questioning what he does for a living and starts looking a books in a different way.

 

 

 

 

 

So this month I only read one book which is pretty sad but i suddenly got busy and a lot of stuff happened in may that i wouldn’t have expected to happen. I want to make a goal for myself to read a lot during the summer because i will have lots of time to read. That is what i hope to do.

 

“Fahrenheit 451 Book Summary by Hawthorne Publishers.” Goodreads, Goodreads, 19 July 2011, www.goodreads.com/book/show/20332170-fahrenheit-451-book-summary