Lego Lifesavers

Locking into the magic of Legos

When they say Krista Ramsey makes the invisible visible, they were right. I mean, who thinks about Legos? Ramsey's column, Locking into the magic of Legos, was very insightful. She talks about how Legos are great for kids and for parents. Kids develop good characteristics when they build Legos that they learn all on their own. Parents get quiet and alone time that they sometimes do not realize they need.

One line that really stood out to me was when she was talking about how kids are so involved with other stuff that Lego's are a good thing to sit down with every once in a while. "They're in a world beyond learning objectives and select soccer, safely out of reach of arranged play dates and online language programs." Krista Ramsey is using a listing technique to try to put an effect on the reader on how the children these days and what they do for fun is very serious with a lot of pressure on them. They need something simple and something they can use their imagination with; like Lego's.

Krista Ramsey's writing style is meant to bring out your emotions; sadness, humor, thoughtfulness, curiosity.

Some questions I would ask her:

Did she know she wanted to be a columnist and how did she know what to do in college to be a columnist writer?

Did she experience a lot with her voice and writing style before she found the right one?

Do the situations she writes about just come to her, or does she go out and find them?

The Pigpen Cipher

Usually, I read because I love the adventures books take me on, and how they help me escape from the real world. But reading The Lost Symbol, I realized a whole other reason I read.
My dad tells me that whoever reads is really smart because you are gaining knowledge and getting smarter. Well, I don't know that if you read you automatically become smarter. (But I am smart and I read a lot so it just might work!) But I can definitely agree that you are gaining knowledge when you read and that is the other reason I read. To gain knowledge. And I have realized this when reading The Lost Symbol. Want to know what I learned? ↓↓↓↓↓↓

The Pigpen Cipher! When I saw this, I thought this was so cool! In the book, the main character, Robert Langdon, discovers a small pyramid with this code on it. This was the old Masonic code that the Masons used to write in code. But since it was so easy to break they went to another code.

Using the key above try to decipher this:




Hilarious right? But if you do not have an incentive to read books, read them for new, cool knowledge. And start with this series by Dan Brown!

The Cunning Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes is not a book you hear a lot of freshman are reading right now. Even I wouldn't usually read this kind of book but the reason I am reading this book is first of all, I like mystery and Sherlock Holmes is all about mystery. Second of all, I have recently finished all the seasons that are out right now of the television show Sherlock on the channel BBC. That show is one of the best TV shows ever in my opinion. I wanted to learn more about Sherlock Holmes because all I knew about him was everything I learned in the TV show; which is not always accurate. So I went straight to the source of the television show which was the book. So I am now on page 348 of 1712. The book is made of a collection of short stories about Sherlock's adventures. The story I am currently on is The Five Orange Pips.

A funny thing about the character Sherlock, is he can take things in from a scene and know almost everything about it. You would think there is absolutely no possible way he can know that, but then he explains it. Then your thinking, "Anybody can do that!" But this mostly happens in the TV show because I can see what is going on. But this makes Doyle that much better as an author because not only does he just say Sherlock does this and figures this stuff out, but he also explains this and makes it seem real which means not only is Arthur Conan Doyle as smart as Sherlock, but he is smarter. But a good example of this is in The Boscombe Valley Mystery, in the book, when Sherlock was describing the murderer based on things found at the crime scene:
"'[The murderer] Is a tall man, left-handed, limps with the right leg, wears thick-soled shooting boots and a gray cloak, smokes Indian cigars, uses a cigar-holder, and carries a blunt penknife in his pocket.'"

So you're probably wondering just how he knew that much about the murderer like he was looking at a picture of him. He does explain what he just said but I am just going to show you a little snippet:

"'And the cigar-holder?'

'I could see that the end had not been in his mouth. Therefore he used a holder. The tip had been cut off, not bitten off, but the cut was not a clean one, so I deduced a blunt penknife.'"

After I read stuff like that I am just thinking, "How did Doyle think of that?" In the TV show I can see what is going on which makes it easier. But someone had to write this and think this up! It is not that easy to just think up a thing like that which makes Doyle that much better as an author because not only does he just say Sherlock does this and figures this stuff out, but he also explains this and makes it seem real which means not only is Doyle as smart as Sherlock, but smarter.

So I would also suggest watching the television season Sherlock, because it is not just a mystery show, it is a comedy!

Saving Wishes ~ G. J. Walker-Smith

So in this book the main character is Charlotte Blake (a.k.a. Charli). She wants to get out of the small town of Pipers Cove. Probably the most boring place she will ever be. She wants to go out and explore the world. She does not want to be held up in a small town. Then she meets Adam. He comes bearing a postcard that she made. Or more took a picture of. She said, "Fate brought you here." (pg. 108) She believes it is fate that brought him here bearing this beautiful postcard that she made that came all the way from New York to Australia. I am just going to go out on a limb here and say they are going to end up together! Wouldn't you say so? But I am only in the beginning and they are sort of coming together already so what is going to happen the next 800 pages? (It is not as big as you would think since there are more pages on a smaller screen; I am reading this on my phone)

I believe that something is going to happen to make the other person mad or something happens where they can't be together any more or Adam leaves because he has to go back to New York some time. Isn't that almost what always happens? Then sometimes they get back together

or they don't but I will have to keep reading to find out!

My Sister's Keeper ~ Jodi Picoult

OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG. BEST. BOOK. EVER. This book is so good and soooo well written! The author is amazing and you feel like you are living each characters emotions! What the author does is she writes each chapter in first person. But each chapter is a different person! So you get the whole book from all the perspectives in first person, which is really helpful in this book because you need to know what is going on to understand. I have almost cried several times during the duration of this book. One of those times I was in class and the only reason I didn't cry was because I didn't want to embarrass my self...
Anyway! Imagine you were only born so you could be used to help your sister get through cancer. You would feel a little used right? Well that is how Anna Fitzgerald feels. She has to go to the hospital every time Kate, her sister, goes. Well, she won't let that happen anymore because she is suing her parents for the rights of her own body. (oh no she didn't!) The only confusing thing is, she is best friends with her sister! So why is she doing this? And that is one thing you are just to have to find out. :)

I have heard the movie is a real tear jerker too! Almost everybody that I have asked has watched the movie and have cried. I really want to watch it now!!! But below is the trailer so enjoy :) (you might even cry at the trailer; that's what I did)

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The Bone Season ~ Samantha Shannon 3

Okay, throughout the whole book, I will admit that I have been a bit confused...I was always thinking: what, how, why? But I just came across a memory of the main character that possibly explained the whole book!
"'Do you have any idea what clairvoyance means?'
Clairvoyance. The forbidden word. I glanced around the restaurant, but nobody was looking. Or listening it seemed.
'Unnaturalness,' I said.
Jaxon smiled thinly. 'So the Archon calls it. But do you know what the word means? From the French.'
'Clear vision. A kind of extrasensory perception. Knowing things that are hidden.'
'And where are they hidden?'
I hesitated. 'In the subconscious?'
'Sometimes yes. Or sometimes' --he blew out the candle in the middle of the table--'in the æther.'
I looked into the smoke drawn to it. A chill spread through my chest. 'What's the æther?'
'The infinite. We come from it, we live within it, and when we die, we pass back into it. But not all of us are willing to part ways with the physical world.'
'Jax,' Nick said, keeping his voice low, 'this is meant to be an introduction, not a lecture series. She's sixteen.'
'I want to know,' I pressed.
'Paige--'
'Please.' I had to know.
His expression softened. He sat back in his seat and sipped his water. 'You choice.'
Jaxon, who was looking at us with raised eyebrows, pursed his lips before continuing. "The æther is a higher plane of existence," he said. 'It exists alongside the corporeal plane. Clairvoyants--people like us--have the ability to draw on the æther.'
I was sitting in a restaurant with two unnaturals. 'How?' I said.
'Oh, there are an infinite number of ways. I've spent fifteen years trying to categorize them.'
'But what does it mean to 'draw on the æther'' Asking questions about clairvoyance gave me a sinful little thrill.
'It means you can commune with the spirits,' Nick clarifies. 'The dead. Different voyants can do it in different ways.'
'So the æther is like the afterlife?'
'Purgatory,' Jaxon said.
'Afterlife,' Nick said." (pg, 186-188)

THis wasa when she got introduced to her"gang" of people. They were trying to explain it to her to try and get her to join them. She did. So now, if you ever read the book, which I highly recomend you do, you will be ahead of the game. :)

Relativity ~ Cristin Bishara

Looking at what I have read so far, I think that the cover has something to do with space and wormholes and lighting and that stuff. What I don't understand is the the saying on the front cover:

"What would you give up for the perfect life?"

I thought a little bit, and then I got to thinking. This book is about alternate universes and exploring them. I think maybe the main character found the perfect universe to live in and wants to abandon her own universe. But she has things in her universe that she won't have in the perfect one. How bout' that theory?

I think there is something, not entirely the same but similar to this story. Have you ever seen or heard of the movie groundhog day? Apparently it's quite hilarious. But that's besides the point. What strikes me as familarr to this story is he keeps on waking uop in the same place over and over again sort of like alternate universes. Here's a clip:

In this clip, he knows he will keep waking up each day at 6:00 am and he gets REALLY annoyed at his alarm clock. But the point is that he wakes up on the same day. This kind of reminded me of this book.