Cold Mountain was a hard book for me to get my self to read. I had to be very disciplined in my reading to keep myself going. I started with 10 pages a day but I realized at the rate I was going I would never get done. So I had to push myself to get a chapter in at a time. I found when I started to read a chapter a day I could follow the story a little easier cause I knew whose point of view I was in. I wasn’t trying to remember wait whose chapter am I in Inman or Ada? Soon I was actually reading more than just a chapter. I was reading a few chapters at a time because I was actually interested. It just took me awhile to actually become interested in what I was reading. It is nice when you actually like a book and you aren’t thinking to yourself “OMG I have 8 more pages till the end of this chapter”.

It’s a good book with a lot of description and thought put into each sentence. The long pros with the colorful adjectives that descried the nouns. She would focus on details that weren’t part of the story but would give you and image that supports the story. When you are finished reading the paragraph she would have given you a feeling for the story by using the details.  That’s the aspect of the text that I would like to discuss. I think a lot of people will be talking about the descriptive writing style Charles Frazier uses in their blogs. I think that it is one of the first things you realize when you read the first page of the book. Right off the batt Charles Frazier is givng deep description about the flys that are flying around Inman.  It’s an interesting writing style that Charles uses. It might be a natural style of writing for Charles or maybe Charles really tried hard to use that style and to make the book more descriptive.

I personally don’t really like how descriptive Charles can be. I think it’s casues the book to drag on and can take it awhile sometimes to get to the point. Instead of talking about where Inman is trying to get to Charles talks about the trees that Inman is passing. Like I don’t really care a whole two pages about the types of trees in the forest. I think in the time spent being descriptive about some detail Charles could get to the point faster. I think it that would make the book so much shorter. I wouldn’t dread turning every page as much if it wasn’t so run on. I respect the way Charles decided to write the book because it takes a lot of time and thought. I also respect people who enjoy reading descriptive books. I feel like it takes a lot of patience to really enjoy the long descriptive sentences. One thing my dad said when I told him I was reading it. He told me to try not to rush it because if all I was doing was trying to read to get it done it would feel like it would take forever to get thrugh the book. If I just read it for the enjoyment of it I would like it more. Of course I didn’t take him seriously when he told me that before I started reading but now I understand what he meant. It is not a book to rush. It is a book to take time and enjoy.

Looking back on the book I do think I had moments of pure enjoyment. I liked the story line and when Charles focused more on that than the details. The long descriptive writing has an certain appeal that makes this book very good. It is just not my cup of tea. Meeting the author will be a lot of fun. I want to ask Charles if he had to work on this book to be so descriptive or if it just came natural to him. If he is modeling another writer who he admires or if it is just how he like to write. It is a good book that just takes some time to motivate yourself to read.

 

Summer work is always a pain in the butt. It’s something that gets pushed off because no one wants to be doing school work during the summer time. Once I started reading this book it no longer felt like summer work. I was reading it because I wanted to know why Pappy was killed. I wanted to find out what was going to happen to Ronsel. I told my dad I felt like I was watching a Soap Opera. There was constantly drama every time I turned the page. That’s what made it the book so interesting to read. There was never really a dull moment. Hillary Jordan does a good job catching the reader’s attention and then keeping it.

The thing that stuck out to me the most as I read this book was the tone that Hillary has each of her characters portray. The book doesn’t just have one tone. It changes every chapter depending on whose perspective we are reading from. Having all the different characters have a different tone allowed the book to paint the story better than it could have with just one perspective. Just one perspective would have made the book boring and well one dimensional. I mean imagine the whole book written from Henry’s perpespecive. We would have read a lot about his farm and the issue’s he was having with his planting. Instead Hillary made the book six dimensional.

Hillary Jordan opens the book writing from Jamie’s perspective. She then ends the book with Ronsel. These two characters have the most in common. The biggest thing different about them is that Ronsel is black and Jamie is white. When reading their chapters they both have the same feel. Although I liked Ronsel better. Ronsel is just a better person than Jamie. I agree with Flournce on the fact that Jamie was trouble. Jamie ruined Ronsel and he knows he did it. Yet, the two of them made a good pair because they understood eachothers problems. When reading these two characters perspective you got the same tone. They both wanted to leave Mudbound and go off and do more things with their lives. I think Hillary’s decision to open and close with Jamie and Ronsel was an interesting way to set the tone. The tone they set opening and closing the book makes Mudbound sound like a place that you would want to leave. That it was a place you got stuck like the mud.

Now every story needs to have two people who are more positive than the rest. I think in Mudbound those two characters are Henry and Hap. The tone that both of these men have in their chapters are trying to make things better. Make the best of the situation they have while making a plan to make it how the want it. Henry wants to live his dream of living on a farm and having a family as best as possible. He knows that his wife wants to live off of the farm and so the whole book he works hard to get them a house just off of the farm. Hap wants to be a farmer who owns his own land. He knows that he has to just keep working hard with what he’s got and that in time he will be able to get what he wants. These two characters are the only tone’s in the book that are both hard working honest men who just try to do everything right.

Now Laura, oh was it so obvious that she and Jamie were going to hook up. Laura’s tone through the whole book was just lonely and sad. She missed how she and Henry were before Mudbound and couldn’t seem to find peace till the very end of the book. I feel bad for her and how depressing her life got, but at the same time her part of the story made the book very interesting. It put into perspective just how life was in Mississippi after World War 2.

The character that I respected most was Flourence. She was the best perspective to read from because she just said it how it was. No one could put anything past her. Her tone was a tough cookie who would do whatever she could to protect her family. She is the mother bear of all mother bears.

Okay I have tried posting this for the past week and a half. I don’t know why I havnt been able to get this to post. Now if this works and it posts (which I don’t think it will) I will be very surprised. But I would like it in the recorded book that I didn’t do the assignment late i just don’t know how to work this website very well.

Hello. I am Serafina Maerten. Also known as Fina.

I was born in D.C. and lived just outside of D.C. until first grade when I moved here to WV.

I love reading because I am able to read menu’s in restaurants. Well that’s just one reason I love reading. I also love reading because in long car rides to soccer tournaments it allows me not to just be in a car but to be in outer space or in a jungle. I can escape the 8 hour car ride by reading. I love writing because I can express my deepest thoughts and fears without saying it out loud.

My least favorite word is injury. I don’t like injuries. I have torn both of my ACL’s playing soccer and it sidelined me for basically two years. I would not wish an injury on even my worst enemy (not like I have one).

Since that moment there was soccer. Soccer has been apart of my life since I was three years of age. It controls every aspect of my life. I have learned to just let it happen.

I have to many embarrassing moments to tell you one.

Switching from St. Joesph School to Spring Mills High School was a pivotal moment in my education.

“Ah, ha, ha, ha, Stayin’ alive, Stayin’ alive” Bee GeesThat’s my song. I know all the words and will sing it live for the class.

My hidden talent shall stay hidden because then it wouldn’t be a hidden talent anymore.

I had to make a very hard decision at the beginning of summer. I made the 19th best girls soccer team in the region but if I played for them I had to give up high school. I knew I couldn’t let this great opportunity pass me by so I took the spot on the Loudoun 98 Red team. Not being able to play high school soccer is going to suck. I’m not sure if  I’m going to regret this decision or thank the lord that I was given the opportunity to play with this team.