i chose rebekah's blog, for a few reasons
first of all, her posts do NOT slack off. she leaves no idea unexplored, and no thought unexplained. when you finish her post, you feel like you've actually read something, instead of just reading someones homework. that's really important, because not only is the post more interesting, but you feel like it's not just a homework assignment. like it's a review, or an essay. i think that it's very important for a post to have substance.
secondly, she goes outside the books. one problem that i have is that i usually retell too much. rebekah never has that problem. she gives you the basic feeling of the book. but then she goes to a completely different place. that's great because retelling is quite boring, while new thoughts are very interesting.
the last reason why i like rebekah's blog is because she gives examples from her life to help support her ideas. this is a great technique because it both makes the post more believable, and grounds it.
so here's saluting a blog far supreior to my own
good job rebekah!!!
her blog: http://rebekah-hickson.blogspot.com/
Monday, February 28, 2011
Thursday, February 10, 2011
'hardball' by sara paretsky-can a girl be a gunslinger?
right now i've started reading a book called, as you might have guessed, 'hardball'. it's a long, curly-upy detective story about a woman, V. I. Warshawski, (a private investigator) who takes on an impossible case that may or may not be linked to family history, and helps her cousin.
the helping of the cousin and the case appear entirely disconnected, but when the cousin (petra) goes missing, i'm starting to wonder if they're all linked... and this is a detective story...
the most obvious, and provoking, issue in this book is one of gender. though this book is quite realistic, it still has the tone of the classic detective story. but in classic detective stories, the girls don't do the work, they scream and get assaulted. at best, they use theis 'womanly charms' to get info and shoot endlessly sarcastic lines at the detective, the 'real man'. (not that that's a bad thing.)
but vic warshawski is the real deal. even calling her the real deal makes her seem less real then she is. and she's a proper detective too, not on good terms with the police, facing up gangs, learning about corrupt law and still going to a few glamourous parties. and through all that, the world still hates her. what is it about the detective that means that they have to be against the world? but anyway.
the gender issue is thrown into light especially in a recent scene, where four men, all previous acquaintances of vic's, one even related to her, confront her. she's just out of the hospital after almost burning to death, and many people are blaming her for at least one death. the press are swarming all over her and her apartment's been trashed, all her prized possessions thrown on the floor. the meeting should be a catch up, a meeting between friends or at least co workers to try and find what's going on. instead, it feels strangely like an attack. it's also hinted that they know a crucial secret to her case, but will rather die then tell. so in the end, it's just vic, trying to do her job, and these mean, powerful men stopping her. would it be the same if she were a boy? there men are openly racist, they're probably sexist too. they see her as the daughter of a cop, playing her own little game.
is this realistic? will there ever be a girl equivalent of the classic detective? or, in her not being accepted by society, does vic become the ultimate private detective? an outcast, the lone fighter for justice, still trying to find the truth because it's right, even when the worlds against her? or does them not taking her seriously just make her another girl, trying to fill shoes that she knows will never fit?
the helping of the cousin and the case appear entirely disconnected, but when the cousin (petra) goes missing, i'm starting to wonder if they're all linked... and this is a detective story...
the most obvious, and provoking, issue in this book is one of gender. though this book is quite realistic, it still has the tone of the classic detective story. but in classic detective stories, the girls don't do the work, they scream and get assaulted. at best, they use theis 'womanly charms' to get info and shoot endlessly sarcastic lines at the detective, the 'real man'. (not that that's a bad thing.)
but vic warshawski is the real deal. even calling her the real deal makes her seem less real then she is. and she's a proper detective too, not on good terms with the police, facing up gangs, learning about corrupt law and still going to a few glamourous parties. and through all that, the world still hates her. what is it about the detective that means that they have to be against the world? but anyway.
the gender issue is thrown into light especially in a recent scene, where four men, all previous acquaintances of vic's, one even related to her, confront her. she's just out of the hospital after almost burning to death, and many people are blaming her for at least one death. the press are swarming all over her and her apartment's been trashed, all her prized possessions thrown on the floor. the meeting should be a catch up, a meeting between friends or at least co workers to try and find what's going on. instead, it feels strangely like an attack. it's also hinted that they know a crucial secret to her case, but will rather die then tell. so in the end, it's just vic, trying to do her job, and these mean, powerful men stopping her. would it be the same if she were a boy? there men are openly racist, they're probably sexist too. they see her as the daughter of a cop, playing her own little game.
is this realistic? will there ever be a girl equivalent of the classic detective? or, in her not being accepted by society, does vic become the ultimate private detective? an outcast, the lone fighter for justice, still trying to find the truth because it's right, even when the worlds against her? or does them not taking her seriously just make her another girl, trying to fill shoes that she knows will never fit?
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
The end of Mr. Y- impulses
Right now, in order to take a break from Dracula, I'm reading 'the end of Mr.Y'
it's about (I'll try and keep this short) a woman who is studying weird authors and works at a university in England, and she is especially interested in this one author from the 1900s called lumas, and she finds his last book and everyone else who reads it has died. but guess what she does! does she decide to go back home and get a better job? does she burn the book? does she decide that her lieing, cheating, smoking, misstressing days are over and lead a happy and simple life? NO! she reads it. of course.
there's a point like that in almost every fiction book. when the main character goes down into the scary basement with the power out. and every time you say 'stupid! you're obviously walking into a bad situation! get away while you still can!'
this happens only in fiction. in real life there are very few creaky stairs, and almost no monsters waiting in the basement.but people still have impulses. people still do things that they regret. maybe the creaky staircase is just an exaggerated version of something that happens in our own minds. an impulse. a recklessness that everyone has.
but is it just an impulse? in the book, when the main character decides to read the book, it's a very conscious and thought out thing.it's not just an impulse. it's more of a... a last resort.
because in this book, as i am finding is the case with a lot of adult books, the main character is very depressed. she was really messed up as a kid, and hid from her crazy family in books. she spend most of her time reading, and doesn't really care about anything but her books. she feels like books are her life. some people are crazy old cat ladies, she's a crazy old book lady. and she's been looking for this book for a long time. i think that she feels like if she doesn't read it, her life would be meaningless. also, of course, she's really curious.
all of the things which i said above are parts of an impulse. you feel compelled to, no matter what the consequences are. but in a way it's more then an impulse. it's a choice.
like all the scary stories. like all the creaky staricases.
you choose to do it, but you know that you'll regret it if you don't. and so even though it's your choice, you have to.
it's about (I'll try and keep this short) a woman who is studying weird authors and works at a university in England, and she is especially interested in this one author from the 1900s called lumas, and she finds his last book and everyone else who reads it has died. but guess what she does! does she decide to go back home and get a better job? does she burn the book? does she decide that her lieing, cheating, smoking, misstressing days are over and lead a happy and simple life? NO! she reads it. of course.
there's a point like that in almost every fiction book. when the main character goes down into the scary basement with the power out. and every time you say 'stupid! you're obviously walking into a bad situation! get away while you still can!'
this happens only in fiction. in real life there are very few creaky stairs, and almost no monsters waiting in the basement.but people still have impulses. people still do things that they regret. maybe the creaky staircase is just an exaggerated version of something that happens in our own minds. an impulse. a recklessness that everyone has.
but is it just an impulse? in the book, when the main character decides to read the book, it's a very conscious and thought out thing.it's not just an impulse. it's more of a... a last resort.
because in this book, as i am finding is the case with a lot of adult books, the main character is very depressed. she was really messed up as a kid, and hid from her crazy family in books. she spend most of her time reading, and doesn't really care about anything but her books. she feels like books are her life. some people are crazy old cat ladies, she's a crazy old book lady. and she's been looking for this book for a long time. i think that she feels like if she doesn't read it, her life would be meaningless. also, of course, she's really curious.
all of the things which i said above are parts of an impulse. you feel compelled to, no matter what the consequences are. but in a way it's more then an impulse. it's a choice.
like all the scary stories. like all the creaky staricases.
you choose to do it, but you know that you'll regret it if you don't. and so even though it's your choice, you have to.
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