Off The Shelf

A Walk to Remember Nicholas Sparks 240 pages In 1958, Landon Carter was in with the popular crowd, although he didn't know why. He  didn't play football, he was not the Senior class President. Landon didn't question his status though, he just lived it. Jamie Sullivan was the daughter of  Beaufort's Baptist minister, and she always carried a bible with her school books. She was shy and kept to herself, and the last person Landon thought he would fall in love with. A Walk to Remember   is written through Landon's unique teenage voice. Landon changes and grows as a character the more the story evolves, and I can honestly say, I found myself wishing I was Jamie over and over. Over and over. My favorite quote from the book is the following: Love is always patient and kind. It is never jealous. Love is never boastful or conceited. It is never rude or selfish. It does not take offense and is not resentful. Love takes no pleasure in other people's sins, but del...

Before writing, find at least five different colors to use. They can be pens, like shown at the left, or colored pencils work fine too. Be sure to designate them a role as well. (For example, important dates may always be written in orange.) The first thing you should do is give your notes a date. This will help you to go back and find them later. Second, give them a title. Make it a simple one, just stating exactly what the notes are about. Examples: The Civil Rights Movement, Pride and Prejudice - Chapter 1. Next, think of a few categories that will help you to organize your notes. In the example shown in these pictures, I am researching Kurt Vonnegut, so some of my categories are Education, World War II, and Career. Make sure these titles are written larger, or are in some way more defined then the bullets beneath them. (Mine are written in pen and then highlighted.) Making note of quotes that relate to plot, or reveal something about a character or theme, is very import...

The past few days have been very busy, so unfortunately, I was unable to post on Friday and Saturday. In this post, I have several pictures to make up for the lost time.     12:29pm - Happy Fall!     3:45pm - With such nice weather today, I decided to sit outside and draw.     5:00pm - Haven't had time to really sit down and read this yet, maybe after I have finished posting this.

Just as a reminder, this week I am posting in pictures as part of my "This Week in Pictures" series.     8:50pm - A good book, cookies, and milk make a good combination

  7:35pm - Having a little fun with my flashcards!     8:26pm - This is my favorite quote from A Walk to Remember , I know it is a little blurry, but I hope you can still read the powerful message it resonates. (Review to come for this book shortly)

  5:57pm - This picture does not do any sort of justice to the amount of rain that is coming down right now.     7:28pm - Photographed above is my favorite bookmark, purchased in The Birdwatcher's General Store in Cape Cod, MA, and chapter seven of A Walk to Remember.

As stated in yesterday's post, I am trying something different this week, by posting my days in pictures with only short captions. Enjoy!      5:39am -  Oh Monday morning, how I love you!     4:46pm - Truth be told, this is the first time I am reading Martin Luther King Jr.'s most famous speech, I Have a Dream . For homework I was supposed to analyze the speech, making notes and writing down important quotes. This one is my favorite: "With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood."     7:12pm - The library. Isn't it a lovely sight! I was in need of some new reading material, and I had some others overdue...oops!  

For the next seven days, I will be documenting my reading, scenery, and interests in pictures. I plan to write a blurb or two just for photo clarification, but this should be fun as well as a challenge. I spent the day today on the lake, not really reading, but just relaxing and trying to keep warm. The wind had me bundled in a sweatshirt, yet the sky was cloudless and the sun strong. I guess the weather couldn't make up her mind this afternoon.

Between the Lines Jodi Picoult & Samantha Van Leer 358 pages More specifically, Delilah needs a Prince Charming. After falling in love with a children's fairy tale she found in her high school library, strange things start to happen. For instance, the main character (the one she secretly has a crush on) starts to talk to her. At first, Delilah thinks she's going crazy, but soon she finds herself on a mission to help the prince escape from his fairy tale, and into the real world. Between the Lines is told in a unique way: switching from Delilah's point of view, to Oliver; the prince, and passages from the fairy tale itself. These passages are complete with beautiful drawings, like any classic fairy tale. Delilah is a fully developed character, complete with all of the unfortunate high school experiences. For instance, during swim practice, she gives the head cheerleader a black eye, and falls in and out of friendships. The setting of this novel is not as pre...

Cover Credit: Google Images Looking for Alaska John Green 221 pages Miles Halter is the average teenage kid, except for the fact that he has an obsession with famous last words. In the hopes for some adventure, he enrolls at the Culver Creek Boarding School in Alabama. But on top of getting some ridiculous adventure, Miles gets Alaska Young, a sexy, daring, and self-destructive kind of girl. Together, they search for the answer to the question: How do we get out of the labyrinth of suffering? Told in first person, John Green creates Miles to tell the honest to God truth. Miles speaks to you in a way so righteous, so raw, straight down to the explicit language he uses. Looking for Alaska follows the average teenage plot: you crush on a girl, you get in a little trouble, and then something doesn't go as planned. The theme most pronounced throughout the novel is the question above.  How do we make our way through the labyrinth of life, without encounte...