01) title of the book // The Glass Castle
02) author // Jeanette Walls: born on April 21, 1960 in Phoenix, Arizona to Rex Walls (deceased 1994), an electrician, and Rose Mary Walls, an artist. Walls' family life was rootless, with the family shuttling from Phoenix, Arizona, California (including a brief stay in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco), Battle Mountain, Nevada, and Welch, West Virginia, with periods of homelessness. Walls moved to New York at age 17 and graduated in 1984 with honors from Barnard College. Walls is one of four children; she has two sisters and one brother.
03) other books // Half Broke Horses, Dish: How Gossip Became the News and the News Became Just Another Show, gossip columnist for MSNBC.com
04) short synopsis // Jeannette Walls grew up with parents whose ideals and stubborn nonconformity were both their curse and their salvation. Rex and Rose Mary Walls had four children. In the beginning, they lived like nomads, moving among Southwest desert towns, camping in the mountains. Rex was a charismatic, brilliant man who, when sober, captured his children’s imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and above all, how to embrace life fearlessly. Rose Mary, who painted and wrote and couldn’t stand the responsibility of providing for her family, called herself an “excitement addict.” Cooking a meal that would be consumed in fifteen minutes had no appeal when she could make a painting that might last forever.
02) author // Jeanette Walls: born on April 21, 1960 in Phoenix, Arizona to Rex Walls (deceased 1994), an electrician, and Rose Mary Walls, an artist. Walls' family life was rootless, with the family shuttling from Phoenix, Arizona, California (including a brief stay in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco), Battle Mountain, Nevada, and Welch, West Virginia, with periods of homelessness. Walls moved to New York at age 17 and graduated in 1984 with honors from Barnard College. Walls is one of four children; she has two sisters and one brother.
03) other books // Half Broke Horses, Dish: How Gossip Became the News and the News Became Just Another Show, gossip columnist for MSNBC.com
04) short synopsis // Jeannette Walls grew up with parents whose ideals and stubborn nonconformity were both their curse and their salvation. Rex and Rose Mary Walls had four children. In the beginning, they lived like nomads, moving among Southwest desert towns, camping in the mountains. Rex was a charismatic, brilliant man who, when sober, captured his children’s imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and above all, how to embrace life fearlessly. Rose Mary, who painted and wrote and couldn’t stand the responsibility of providing for her family, called herself an “excitement addict.” Cooking a meal that would be consumed in fifteen minutes had no appeal when she could make a painting that might last forever.
Later, when the money ran out, or the romance of the wandering life faded, the Walls retreated to the dismal West Virginia mining town—and the family—Rex Walls had done everything he could to escape. He drank. He stole the grocery money and disappeared for days. As the dysfunction of the family escalated, Jeannette and her brother and sisters had to fend for themselves, supporting one another as they weathered their parents’ betrayals and, finally, found the resources and will to leave home.
05) what is the feeling of the book (descriptive words at least 12) // resilience, redemption, dysfunctional, vibrant, loyal, daunting, compassion, witty, unconditional love, neglection, forgiveness, inconsistency, shocking, warm, dumbfounded
---------3 of the next 5--------------
06) what is the message? // triumph against all odds, but also a tender, moving tale of unconditional love in a family that despite its profound flaws gave her the fiery determination to carve out a successful life on her own terms.
07) protagonist does...
08) antagonist does...
09) 1 - 3 quote(s) from a character(s) // “We laughed about all the kids who believed in the Santa Clause myth and got nothing but a bunch of cheap plastic toys. ‘Years from now, when all the junk they got is broken and long forgotten,’ Dad said, ‘ you’ll still have your stars.” // “...he said it was interesting. He used the word ‘textured’. He said ‘smooth’ is boring but ‘textured’ was interesting, and the scar meant that I was stronger than whatever had tried to hurt me.”
10) why did you pick this book to redesign? // Junior year in high school, we were required to read this book in my AP Language class. So far we had read three different memoirs: ‘The Kite Runner,’ ‘The Narrative of Frederick Douglass,’ and ‘Three Cups of Tea.’ For some reason, matching Walls’ humor with the raw destruction that was going on in her family really made me appreciate the story so much more. I enjoyed ‘The Kite Runner,’ but there was so much going on in the story, that it was hard for me to seperate everything. I love to write, and since reading ‘The Glass Castle,’ I’ve begun to find my own humor in my writing and in my life.
06) what is the message? // triumph against all odds, but also a tender, moving tale of unconditional love in a family that despite its profound flaws gave her the fiery determination to carve out a successful life on her own terms.
07) protagonist does...
08) antagonist does...
09) 1 - 3 quote(s) from a character(s) // “We laughed about all the kids who believed in the Santa Clause myth and got nothing but a bunch of cheap plastic toys. ‘Years from now, when all the junk they got is broken and long forgotten,’ Dad said, ‘ you’ll still have your stars.” // “...he said it was interesting. He used the word ‘textured’. He said ‘smooth’ is boring but ‘textured’ was interesting, and the scar meant that I was stronger than whatever had tried to hurt me.”
10) why did you pick this book to redesign? // Junior year in high school, we were required to read this book in my AP Language class. So far we had read three different memoirs: ‘The Kite Runner,’ ‘The Narrative of Frederick Douglass,’ and ‘Three Cups of Tea.’ For some reason, matching Walls’ humor with the raw destruction that was going on in her family really made me appreciate the story so much more. I enjoyed ‘The Kite Runner,’ but there was so much going on in the story, that it was hard for me to seperate everything. I love to write, and since reading ‘The Glass Castle,’ I’ve begun to find my own humor in my writing and in my life.
01) title of the book // Running with Scissors
02) author (short bio) // Augusten Burroughs: Born Christopher Robison (he changed his name when he turned 18), Burroughs is the son of an alcoholic father who abandoned his family and a manic-depressive mother who fancied herself a poet in the style of Anne Sexton. At age 12, he was farmed out to his mother's psychiatrist, a deeply disturbed -- and disturbing -- man whose medical license was ultimately revoked for gross misconduct.
03) other books // Take Five: Four Favorite Essays, Dry: A Memoir, You Better Not Cry: Stories for Christmas, A Wolf at the Table: A Memoir of My Father, Possible Side Effects, Magical Thinking: True Stories, This Is How: Proven Aid in Overcoming Shyness, Molestation, Fatness, Spinsterhood, Grief, Disease, Lushery, Decrepitude & More. For Young and Old Alike.
04) short synopsis // RUNNING WITH SCISSORS is the true story of a boy whose mother (a poet with delusions of Anne Sexton) gave him away to be raised by her unorthodox psychiatrist who bore a striking resemblance to Santa Claus. So at the age of twelve, Burroughs found himself amidst Victorian squalor living with the doctor’s bizarre family, and befriending a pedophile who resided in the backyard shed. The story of an outlaw childhood where rules were unheard of, and the Christmas tree stayed up all year-round, where Valium was consumed like candy, and if things got dull, an electroshock therapy machine could provide entertainment. The funny, harrowing, and bestselling account of an ordinary boy’s survival under the most extraordinary circumstances…
05) what is the feeling of the book (descriptive words at least 12) // tension, suspense, uneasy, vulgar, disturbing, surprising, unusual, horrifying, generous, twisted, funny, different
02) author (short bio) // Augusten Burroughs: Born Christopher Robison (he changed his name when he turned 18), Burroughs is the son of an alcoholic father who abandoned his family and a manic-depressive mother who fancied herself a poet in the style of Anne Sexton. At age 12, he was farmed out to his mother's psychiatrist, a deeply disturbed -- and disturbing -- man whose medical license was ultimately revoked for gross misconduct.
03) other books // Take Five: Four Favorite Essays, Dry: A Memoir, You Better Not Cry: Stories for Christmas, A Wolf at the Table: A Memoir of My Father, Possible Side Effects, Magical Thinking: True Stories, This Is How: Proven Aid in Overcoming Shyness, Molestation, Fatness, Spinsterhood, Grief, Disease, Lushery, Decrepitude & More. For Young and Old Alike.
04) short synopsis // RUNNING WITH SCISSORS is the true story of a boy whose mother (a poet with delusions of Anne Sexton) gave him away to be raised by her unorthodox psychiatrist who bore a striking resemblance to Santa Claus. So at the age of twelve, Burroughs found himself amidst Victorian squalor living with the doctor’s bizarre family, and befriending a pedophile who resided in the backyard shed. The story of an outlaw childhood where rules were unheard of, and the Christmas tree stayed up all year-round, where Valium was consumed like candy, and if things got dull, an electroshock therapy machine could provide entertainment. The funny, harrowing, and bestselling account of an ordinary boy’s survival under the most extraordinary circumstances…
05) what is the feeling of the book (descriptive words at least 12) // tension, suspense, uneasy, vulgar, disturbing, surprising, unusual, horrifying, generous, twisted, funny, different
---------3 of the next 5--------------
06) what is the message? // triumph against all odds, but also a tender, moving tale of unconditional love in a family that despite its profound flaws gave her the fiery determination to carve out a successful life on her own terms.
07) protagonist does...
08) antagonist does...
09) 1 - 3 quote(s) from a character(s) // “You deserve to need me, not to have me.” // “My mother began to go crazy. Not in a ‘Let’s paint the kitchen red!’ sort of way. But crazy in a ‘gas oven, toothpaste sandwhich, I am God’ sort of way.” // “It’s a wonder I’m even alive. Sometimes I think that. I think that I can’t believe I haven’t killed myself. But there’s something in me that just keeps going on. I think it has something to do with tomorrow, that there is always one, and that everything can change when it comes.”
10) why did you pick this book to redesign? // I bought the book and finally started reading it during break, but never finished it. After hearing the assignment, I knew that it fit really well with ‘The Glass Castle.’ Burroughs has the same dry humor that mimicks Walls, that for some reason keeps you reading about the childhood that no one should really ever have.
06) what is the message? // triumph against all odds, but also a tender, moving tale of unconditional love in a family that despite its profound flaws gave her the fiery determination to carve out a successful life on her own terms.
07) protagonist does...
08) antagonist does...
09) 1 - 3 quote(s) from a character(s) // “You deserve to need me, not to have me.” // “My mother began to go crazy. Not in a ‘Let’s paint the kitchen red!’ sort of way. But crazy in a ‘gas oven, toothpaste sandwhich, I am God’ sort of way.” // “It’s a wonder I’m even alive. Sometimes I think that. I think that I can’t believe I haven’t killed myself. But there’s something in me that just keeps going on. I think it has something to do with tomorrow, that there is always one, and that everything can change when it comes.”
10) why did you pick this book to redesign? // I bought the book and finally started reading it during break, but never finished it. After hearing the assignment, I knew that it fit really well with ‘The Glass Castle.’ Burroughs has the same dry humor that mimicks Walls, that for some reason keeps you reading about the childhood that no one should really ever have.
01) title of the book // The Liar's Club
02) author (short bio) // Mary Karr: three volumes of poetry are Abacus, The Devil's Tour, and Viper Rum. Her memoir, Cherry, published in 2000, was also a New York Times bestseller. She is a Jesse Truesdale Peck Professor of Literature at Syracuse University.
03) other books by the same other // Lit, Cherry, Sinners Welcome, Viper Rum, The Devil's Tour, Abacus
04) short synopsis // Karr's comic childhood in an east Texas oil town brings us characters as darkly hilarious as any of J. D. Salinger's—a hard-drinking daddy, a sister who can talk down the sheriff at twelve, and an oft-married mother whose accumulated secrets threaten to destroy them all. Now with a new introduction that discusses her memoir's impact on her family, this unsentimental and profoundly moving account of an apocalyptic childhood is as “funny, lively, and un-put-downable” (USA Today) today as it ever was.
02) author (short bio) // Mary Karr: three volumes of poetry are Abacus, The Devil's Tour, and Viper Rum. Her memoir, Cherry, published in 2000, was also a New York Times bestseller. She is a Jesse Truesdale Peck Professor of Literature at Syracuse University.
03) other books by the same other // Lit, Cherry, Sinners Welcome, Viper Rum, The Devil's Tour, Abacus
04) short synopsis // Karr's comic childhood in an east Texas oil town brings us characters as darkly hilarious as any of J. D. Salinger's—a hard-drinking daddy, a sister who can talk down the sheriff at twelve, and an oft-married mother whose accumulated secrets threaten to destroy them all. Now with a new introduction that discusses her memoir's impact on her family, this unsentimental and profoundly moving account of an apocalyptic childhood is as “funny, lively, and un-put-downable” (USA Today) today as it ever was.
05) what is the feeling of the book (descriptive words at least 12) // brutal, graphic, integrity, good v. evil, betrayal, thoughtful
---------3 of the next 5--------------
06) what is the message? triumph against all odds, but also a tender, moving tale of unconditional love in a family that despite its profound flaws gave her the fiery determination to carve out a successful life on her own terms.
07) protagonist does...
08) antagonist does...
09) 1 - 3 quote(s) from a character(s) // “A dysfunctional family is any family with more than one person in it.”
10) why did you pick this book to redesign? // Honestly, Barnes and Noble suggested the book because I had looked back on ‘The Glass Castle’ so much. The comments and notes were enough to convince me that it was enough of a tragic memoir to engage me. The writing, unfortunately, was nothing compared to Walls and Burroughs, but the story still put me at a standstill with my own life as I compared my childhood against hers.
THEM WORDS
Sign // A conventional or arbitrary mark, figure, or symbol used as an abbreviation for the word or words it represents.
Index // A more or less detailed alphabetical listing of names, places, and topics along with the numbers of the pages on which they are mentioned or discussed, usually included in or constituting the back matter.
Symbol // Something used for representing something else; a material object representing something, often something immaterial; emblem, token, or sign.
06) what is the message? triumph against all odds, but also a tender, moving tale of unconditional love in a family that despite its profound flaws gave her the fiery determination to carve out a successful life on her own terms.
07) protagonist does...
08) antagonist does...
09) 1 - 3 quote(s) from a character(s) // “A dysfunctional family is any family with more than one person in it.”
10) why did you pick this book to redesign? // Honestly, Barnes and Noble suggested the book because I had looked back on ‘The Glass Castle’ so much. The comments and notes were enough to convince me that it was enough of a tragic memoir to engage me. The writing, unfortunately, was nothing compared to Walls and Burroughs, but the story still put me at a standstill with my own life as I compared my childhood against hers.
THEM WORDS
Sign // A conventional or arbitrary mark, figure, or symbol used as an abbreviation for the word or words it represents.
Index // A more or less detailed alphabetical listing of names, places, and topics along with the numbers of the pages on which they are mentioned or discussed, usually included in or constituting the back matter.
Symbol // Something used for representing something else; a material object representing something, often something immaterial; emblem, token, or sign.
No comments:
Post a Comment