“Good literature substitutes for experience which we have not ourselves lived
through.” – Alexander Solzhenitsyn

I believe that Alexander Solzhenitsyn is expressing that reading can allow you to perceive an experience without living through it, even if that experience is fictional. This is true, because books describe these situations with such vivid detail that it allows you to feel as though you were there. Though, you may also notice that this quote only applies to "good" literature, so not all books allow you to experience the situation as well as others.

This quote applies to "The Time Traveller" because it allows me to experience time travelling without actually traveling through time. This book allows me to do this because of its precise details and amazing descriptions. This book also actually explains time traveling is a seemingly possible manner by comparing it to the other three dimensions.

"The Time Machine"

I am now reading the time machine. So far, it has just been about the time machine itself, and not much about time travel. I decided to read this book because it was written by H.G. Wells, who wrote "The War of the Worlds".

Alice in Wonderland

I am now about halfway through "Alice in Wonderland." This book is pretty good, but mostly just ridiculous. So far, there has been a smoking caterpillar, talking animals of every kind, a baby that turned into a pig, and much much more. The Cheshire cat is my favorite thing in the book, and it reminds me of my old cat, because he would appear at random places, too. I believe that the author of this book may have been a little bit crazy, crazy, or insane. But, it is still an interesting and slightly humorous book and i will enjoy reading the rest of it.

SONGS

4 songs that relate to "The Giver" are:

1. The "Happy Days" theme song, because at the beginning, everybody is happy and safe inside "The Community."

2. "Scream Aim Fire" by Bullet for my Valentine (the clean version, of course), because Jonas receives a memory of war, and this song is about war.

3. "Intro" by KoRn, because this song is very scary and foreboding, which is what Jonas discovers "The Community" to be.

4. "We are the Champions" by Queen, because Jonas and Gabriel successfully escape "The Community."

The Giver chapters 1-16

So far this book is very... creepy. To sum it up, everyone lives in a perfect town called "The Community" where no one feels pain,there is no conflict, and people can't even see colors. Also, everyone is assigned their job and their "family unit." But, at the assigning of the jobs, Jonas, the main character, is assigned to be the Reciever, the only person to hold memories of thimes long before The Community. So, the book is mostly about Jonas and his training to become the next reciever.

The Giver

I have just finished reading "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea," (which has a very good and suprising ending/ I highly reccomend it/ YOU SHOULD READ IT!) and I will now begin reading "The Giver." This is the first book that I'm reading for this project that I have no idea what it is about. I just know from seeing the cover before that it involves an old man. I'll show you what the cover looks like:

“Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies that daily life requires and provides; and in this respect, it irrigates the deserts that our lives have already become.” - C. S. Lewis

In saying this, C.S. Lewis wishes to express that literature is fantastic and improves the quality of the life of any reader. I believe this to be factual because C.S. Lewis so rightly explains that "[Reading] irrigates the deserts that our lives have become." This would lead one to believe that C.S. Lewis supports reading and literature of all forms. This fine quotation also allows me to conclude that C.S. Lewis was an avid reader himself.
This quote relates to 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea because the book does add to reality, with its vivid description, believable characters, and unbelievable events. This quote also relates to me, because I believe that reading is very interesting and important.

P.S. I highly recommend 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

Calamars...

Turns out a calamar is a squid... in french...... I'll show you what squids look like:

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Chapters 1-11

"20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" was very strange. It was not at all how I expected it would be. The only tentacled creatures they have come across so far are "calamars" (which sounds like calamari) and some shellfish type things. But, other than the lack of creatures with tentacles, this book has been very interesting. The main character, along with some friends, are in a submarine being led around the world by a captain. A main conflict is that the main characters do not know if they are guests or prisoners inside the submarine that they stumbled upon, because the captain can be bossy at times. But, overall, the main characters are seeing amazing sights in the sea and enjoying themselves (somewhat). The name of this submarine is The Nautalis (shown below).

"20,000 Leagues Under the Sea"

I have finished "The War of the Worlds" and will now begin to read "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea." I believe that this book is about squids, sailing, tentacled creatures of the sea, boats, octopi, and the sea.

The War of the Worlds, Chapters 1-16

So far, this book has been very good. Basically, aliens have been coming from Mars by traveling in capsules, like this:

After they landed, the lid of the capsule would unscrew and the aliens would emerge. The aliens, or Martians (because they are from Mars), then began building giant, walking tripods equipped with a gun that could shoot invisible rays of heat.

These machines also can launch small cylinders that deploy a poisonous black gas. These machines went on a rampage, destroying everything in sight, except their allies. The tripods keep moving onward and threatening many. All of this is causing mass panic and chaos, which the main character and his brother happen to be right in the middle of.

Question Answers

1. I choose The War of the Worlds because it seems like a very interesting and action-packed book. It also involves aliens, which is cool.

2. I believe that some of the words in this book may challenge me. I also believe that it will be challenging to remember that this book takes place around 1900 while I'm reading it, so they don't have very good cars, powerful weaponry or any very modern technology.

The War of the Worlds

The first book that I have selected for my independant reading project is "The War of the Worlds" by H.G. Wells. My understanding of this book is that it is about a war between humans and alien-machine-tripod things (like the one pictured on the left). I believe that this will be a very enjoyable classic book to read because it involves action, giant machines, and aliens.

First Post

This is my book blog. I will be reading The War of the Worlds, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and The Giver. If I finish these three books before the deadline, then I will read some other classic book. Enjoy the "blog of book" (I designed the header of this page. all other images used in this blog were found on the Internet using Google (though I slightly edited some...))