Final Blog Reflection

Reflection

The quality of my writing has gotten progressively better due to more practice and reading. One example of this is in my first blog post I have three grammar mistakes and in my newer post I have only one. This is a quick example of how my writing got more refined over the trimester. This helps the reader and shows improvements in quality by having not as many grammatical errors. Another example of my writing quality growth is the length of which my post was near the end compared to the beginning. You might think that this is a quantity over quality but the length of my newer post had more in it with fewer mistakes. I also added in my newer post interactive and viewer friendly comments. I asked questions like “You might ask why do I like the series so much?” I also add a closing sentence talks to the viewer, “Thats all for now, I am close to finishing the 3rd book and moving on to the 4th and by the way, they keep getting better. :)” Adding questions and comments to the reader to help them get actively engaged shows improvement on quality because I have entertained the viewer more than I did in the beginning which is a main objective to be reached in blog posts. Since I am more viewer friendly and open up the reader more they can find enjoyment through connections.  When I wrote my blog post a month after my beginning I felt that my blog posts started to achieve the blogger type writing style more than an essay type of writing. This has helped in quality because I can write in different formats and have expanded my comfort zone as a reader and increased my writing abilities.

One thing I struggled with was the ability to change my writing style by using more casual terms rather than fancy terms used in essays. I overcame this challenge to make my blogs more real and authentic by trying to write my posts as if I was talking to someone in a friendly conversation. What would I say if I was talking to my friend about the book, do I use big words with my friends, etc. I think that this change helped my quality of my blog post by creating a more authentic me reflected in my writing instead of the cheesy words to impress my teachers.  A strength I had in my posts was the dedication to reading books and telling my true feelings instead of hiding to seem normal. This strength helped a lot because I always had material to talk about where some people didn’t read and had to write a ton about Romeo and Juliet instead of books they want to read. This made it easier to want to post blogs and make them lengthier rather than getting them over with as fast as I can. I did not meet my reading goal of 10 books in the trimester which I knew was not going to achieve but pushed me to try. Last year I read a total of 10 books all year which was a pitiful amount but I wasn’t pushed to read or challenged. I was impressed that I read 6 books in the trimester and am happy with my reading abilities. Next English trimester I will try to achieve this goal. I used goodreads.com a lot to help with book recommendations which helped me get into the Heroes of Olympus series which I enjoyed a lot. I think that it helped me connect to other people through books although I stopped updating and checking near the end of the book. I have improved as a reader throughout the trimester a lot. One example is that in the beginning I read one page per minute or so and now I read 2 pages in a minute or so which helped me finish more books in a lot faster time. Another thing that I improved on as a reader was connecting with the author and the book for more enjoyment. Near the end of the trimester I read a lot more and enjoyed books a lot more also. Overall I grew as both a reader and a writer over the course of this trimester which is great.

Romeo and Juliet

     In Romeo and Juliet we are on the fourth act and so far it has been romance with some bits of action. Overall I have not enjoyed Romeo and Juliet.  The action was a little lame because Shakespeare didn't explain or write about the violence. This in my opinion was a lame. You can vividly write about the action an stabbing but he just says Mercutio falls. I know this is not the focus of the event, it inspires Romeo to kill Tybalt and get exiled which leads to problems that help lead to the untimely fates of the young lovers but never the less I think Shakespeare could have added some things in for the male population. This brings me into the next point, Romeo and Juliet are not meant for guys unless they get forced to by their girlfriends and/or school. The whole message and topic are against what guys want; love and romance. Most guys like action and adventure not saying girls don't but that's what guys prefer. Shakespeare had some opportunities to include action and adventure, the fight scene could be elaborated or maybe their are more guy scene about relaxing.

     This paragraph will explain my hopes for the future acts to make them more appealing for guys. Shakespeare can show that the world is nothing beyond the walls of Verona by adding in wildlife and showing Romeo struggling to survive by fighting off bears or spear fishing, something other than Romeo sitting in the woods writing poems and crying because he is separated from his love Juliet. Romeo needs to show he is a man, sure he killed someone but that was out of anger not from him being "manly". I know it wouldn't contribute too much to the plot but it would show how the people of Verona think that the outside world is bad and the reality of it being not bad. I think if I was writing this play I would try to expand my audience as much as possible without losing the real morale and lesson. That what I feel so if your a guy and agree comment if you don't still comment.

Finding New Books

     Now that I have finished the House of Hades I have to wait a full year before the next one comes out and then that series will be over forever. The Percy Jackson and Olympus series have been my favorite series as I told you earlier and it seems sad that it will all be over in year. I hope I can find another series as good as this one. With that being said I can get into the purpose of my blog; finding new books and the difficulty. I find new books difficult because I want to keep reading the same series even after it’s over everything I think will suffer in comparison. Time after time I find that a new series that is just as good or even better. You would think I would learn but it just happens time after time and it discourages me to read. I am positive that you have once felt that way and as readers we wish that it could be easier to find a new book. 

          

      I think that to help these problems you should find a book before you finish the one you are currently reading. This may seem weird but it would eliminate worries about the new series and you can get straight in. I have been using this and so far it has worked great for me so I hope it does for you too. Another strategy is to go on websites like Goodreads and find books that are related to the series you are reading now. I love recommendations and find that the Goodreads ones are accurate. My last tip to find a book speedy fast is to ask a friend about books they like. This is a pretty obvious one but I think people underestimate the ability to find good books through friends. I have gotten a lot of recommendations like the Heroes of Olympus from my friend and it has turned out to be one of my favorite book series of all time.  So keep reading so you don’t question your books! That’s all the recommendations I have so far so until next time see you.

The House of Hades-Tartarus

     The House of Hades tells views from different main characters; two of which are located in the Underworld in the place of Tartarus. This place Tartarus is the place where monsters go for eternity to reform after death  and face their misery for the bad deeds done by them. Riordan describes Tartarus as a  person rather than a place which has intrigued me through the book. I never thought Tartarus could be a person but it looks and feels like one in the description provided through the book. A line I liked was, "The Doors of Death was Tartarus's heart it all made sense now." This is an important part of the story and also tells us that Tartarus is in fact a person. Along with this is talked about monsters acting like blisters on Tartarus's skin, reforming and always coming back and when they were full grown they pooped and let out monsters. This was a great metephor for the reader to understand what was happening in this Underworld.

     I feel that Tartarus really is a person, an immortal god of course but not a place anymore. This has changed my thoughts on the afterlife of these monsters, they don't go somewhere Tartarus guards them in his body, he has to be one of the oldest Gods around with a job like that. This was a fun and interesting take on the underworld and I liked every bit. It was a bit weird at first but then I got used to Percy and Annabeth climbing on Tartarus and going through him like blood in a human body. The view had changed how I viewed Percy and Annabeth's journey maybe it was like they made up Tartarus and without monsters Tartarus was without blood, he would die and shrivel up. There is always to sides to things and the monsters kept Tartarus alive and vice verse.

Theme for Mark Of Athena

 I read another book in the series I'm reading over the week from Monday to Wednesday and this book I felt had a great theme I could write about. This book is about a team of 7 demigods with amazing abilities stopping this rising of giants and the Mother of the Gods. Each one of them has an important role in the quest. A theme presented in this book would be; even the smallest abilities and actions can save the day or keep up the structure.  

One thing I have learned is that weaknesses are in everyone but if you have someone to pick up for that than you are a perfect team. All these demigods have weaknesses and all of them are covered with each other, Percy hates the sky, Jason is Zeus’s son. The best team is one that has no weaknesses because they all can be counteracted by each other. One demigod who thought he was a third wheel was Leo and he changed this entire trip. He built the transportation they have been using for this whole entire trip and was willing to sacrifice some things to keep them going. Leo feels like he has done nothing but really he has done and affected this entire quest. Another person who feels like he has done nothing is Frank and he has saved his crew-mates so many times it’s unbelievable. He can shape shift and has caught, swam, and flown to so many rescues that keeps this journey alive. This story is all about one person struggling and the rest of the members helping him/her through their struggles whether that is emotional, mental, or physical.

(How this applies to the real world)

This thematic statement can apply to the real world because if you play a sport and you make one play that could change the game. You block the shot that would have gone in and made tie or lose; or you catch the ball which gives you the first down to keep the drive alive. In a job maybe you kept the project on time or you made up for a missing person to make sure the restaurant went smoothly. There are so many applications for this thematic statement. I would say that this theme is universal and can be related to humans at any time.

Review of The Son Of Neptune

      Over the weekend I virtually had nothing to do on Monday because all my friends were out of town and I was alone in my house with nothing but an Xbox 360, pool table, ping-pong table, T.V, Ipod, Bikes, etc. So I decided I would read The Son Of Neptune which turned out to be an addiction. I got so hooked I read for 7 hours the whole entire book which took up most of my day. I was so happy to be reunited with Percy and his thoughts I couldn't put the book down. I loved the book so much I had to finish the 510 page book in one day. This is why you won't see any other post about this book.

     This book starts you off just like Jason was in the beginning of The Lost Hero. Percy is running away from monsters with zero memory of his past life an not understanding his abilities and position. I think this was a great similarity for Riordan to make because you can see that Percy and Jason are in the same position trying to get the same job done to hopefully save the world. This book was better because it referenced back to Percy's past which I knew about and in The Lost Hero I didn't know much about Jason's past. When I would remember old characters and things Percy faced and he had know clue what or who they were I found humor and sadness which made me feel sympathetic towards Percy's position. I got to know Percy so well in his previous series that I felt like I got to relearn everything about him in a new book. This made me feel nostalgic and this created so much happiness that I couldn't stop reading, I wanted to know more about Percy and his adventures. I also learned a great deal about the Roman side of the Gods and the twin camp of Camp Half-blood. The Roman camp (Camp Jupiter) was very different from the Greek camp, more serious about war, stricter, and had favoritism towards other Gods that the Greeks' really hadn't considered important. This made me feel like I was learning about the Gods and series all over again.

     You might ask why do I like the series so much? I love this series so much because it is a Home-run in every category. I love history especially the Greeks which it has. I also love action and fight monsters that you don't see everyday and this books sure covers this all right. Another thing I enjoy which is weird is riddles and this book has prophecies that are composed of tons of riddles. I also love to read book that has some romance and awkwardness but not tons. One last thing that really makes this book the whole 9 yards is its charcters who have real, authentic personalities and cool powers like controlling water and shapeshifting. I would say this book is perfect to anyone who loves those things. I would put it higher that Divergent series by a long way, this is easily my most favorite series I have ever read and highly recommend it to anyone. Thats all for now, I am close to finishing the 3rd book and moving on to the 4th and by the way, they keep getting better. :)

Review of The Lost Hero

     The Lost Hero was so good I read the last 350 pages in 2 days. I think that this book is easily one of my favorites and should be rated high as well. I love history and the Greek Gods have always fascinated me. I love reading if I can find a book that satisfies my tastes of action and interesting backgrounds; then I will read that book as fast as I can. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who liked the Percy Jackson series and is interested in Greek and Roman Gods. 

     One thing I loved about the book overall is that it connects to the other world of Percy Jackson and the Greek side of the story. I loved the Jackson series and to have it all connected was a huge bonus because I wouldn't want to have to start all over again. I also think Riordan made a great transfer to Jason being the 'main character because he is so common to Percy that it feels almost like the same person. This book is also setting up for Percy to come back in the next book and that would be amazing if Riordan can make his beloved Percy come into this series also. I hope Riordan does make this connection into this series because I loved the other one and would love to see some of the book have Percy Jackson do some chapters and make it like old times. 

     Another thing I loved about this series is the uncanny similarities to the Jackson series. One thing I noticed is that Riordan use 3 characters and two of them are getting more serious about there relationship. This is exactly how Percy and his series was like. Another thing I noticed is how the leader of the group is always scared he can't succeed and doesn't want to be in power. I think not wanting power is a great leader quality because then the leader won't try to take it all when he is placed with power. I also noticed that they have an ability to really make the Gods mad at them and not create friends among them. Al though these similarities might seem small they make the reader still interested in the book because these are similar to the other series.

    Overall I would recommend this book to anyone who likes Gods or the Percy Jackson series. I don't recommend this book to anyone who hasn't read the Percy Jackson series.