Blog for Week 12/14/15 The Time Keeper

The Time Keeper

Pages: 1 - finished 

Genre: Fiction

        The book I have currently finished reading is The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom. The book is about a man name Dor, who was the first man ever to measure time. Dor, was a young man when he started to be obsessed with the way time works, so he started to use sun dials, sticks, stones, and water to measure when the sun set/rose and if it followed that pattern. As Dor got older, he married a woman named Alli, whom he was friends with when he was younger. He was still obsessed with time, but as he made this discovery, his other friend named Nim, who wanted to use his discovery to try and defeat the gods that he believed lived up in the sky. Dor turned down Nim's idea. so Nim banished him, which meant Alli and him had to leave where they were from and go somewhere else. They traveled far, but eventually found a place to stay and they were sad, but they also made the most of it. That all changed though when Alli got sick and Dor ran back to where Nim banished them to ask for more TIME to get her help and so started to run up one of the tallest buildings. As he was running up the building, something started to happen and he fell, but he didn't die, he found himself in a cave with an old man. He was sent to the cave to listen to people for a century, even an eternity to beg for more time and listen how they discovery. Therefore, this made him Father Time, but he eventually will get out and his mission is to help two very different individuals understand the meaning of time.

 

        The theme of this book, is to never take what is given to for granted because in just one second it can all be taken back. I believe this is a theme because Dor was given Time, but he was so obsessed with measuring time that he never noticed all the other things that were given to him. For example, he was given a wife and kids, but he mainly focused his attention no time. He ignored the other wonderful people/things that were given to him, so it was taken away from him and he was forced in a cave to listen to others beg for MORE time, LESS time, and TIME. He lost everything because he took it for granted. He took time for granted, so when his wife got sick and he wanted more time for her to live, he was taken away from her, which left her all alone . Therefore, you can see that is a very good them for this book.

 

        This book, is one of my favorite books because it gives me a different perspective on the world. This book teaches me so much on how some people think of what is given to them and how they use time for themselves. In this book, there is so many different types of good lessons. For example, it talks about a girl who was hurt by someone and she wanted to shorten her time on Earth, by committing suicide. On the other hand, the book also talks about a man, who is going to die soon and how he wants to increase/have more time on Earth, so he can live. Those two individuals fine themselves in two very different situations, but both involve time, so that is where Father Time comes into the picture and talks to both. I really like this book because it is written differently compared to other books I have read and there is just something about it that drags it's readers in. Its a book about time and how/when it was created, but its also a story about being grateful for what you have and that's what truly makes this story beautiful.

 

 



Nonfiction Blog for Week 12/1/15

Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul 3 by: Jack Canfield

Pages Read: 1 - 230

Genre: Nonfiction

Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul 3, is a book written by people and their experiences in life that have taught them very good life lessons. This book is truly my favorite nonfiction book because it has multiple lessons that the author focuses on and what's especially amazing about this book is that it written by people our age. This book is filled with real life stories about love, friendship, family, and ect. that is written by people that are in middle school to high school. In the book, so far I have read many stories about love (relationships), friendship, and tough stuff (troubles that people have). 

There are many interesting sections in this book. One of them was, "To my daughter, I will always love you and be with you. The waves come rolling into shore high and fast. And wash the lines away, but not the memories we shared that day, where we have trod this sandy shore. Our traces we left there will be no more. But, wherever we are, the memories will never be far. Although I may not be with you, know that my love for you will always be true. Those memories will last forever, and in them shall always be together, Hold them close to your heart, and know that from your side I will never part." (Paragraph 10, Page 229 -230)  This section was about a girl named Elizabeth Stumbo, and the section is actually something that she found as she was in her mother's hospital room. The section was part of her mother's letter that she wrote to Elizabeth before she passed away of cancer. I found this interesting because of the way she found the letter, which she found inside a sea shell that her mother picked up as they were leaving a beach that they went to each summer for vacation. Another reason why I found this so interesting is because of how her mother wrote the letter, she wrote it so beautifully, and the way she talked about how even if she were to write her name into the sand, it will soon wash away by the water, and no one will know it was there. After her mother died, she did write her name in the sand and watched it wash away.

Another interesting section was, "Her mother was driving her home from soccer tryouts, and the made it hard to see. They were crossing the tracks by your house, and a train crashed into them...Throwing myself upon my bed, sobbing into my pillow, I thought back to the carefree days of our childhood when Manda had tripped on the tracks. 'It's just a little blood. Here, you hop on my back and I'll carry you home.' Only this time, I couldn't carry her home." This was written by a girl named Alison Hamby, Manda was her best friend since they were little. I found it interesting because when they were little, Manda had fallen over a pair of train tracks and started to bleed, so that is when Alison told her that she will carry her home, which she did. I found that interesting because Alison described everything that happened on the day her best friend died, and it was interesting that this really did happen, but instead of never talking about it, Alison decided to share it to be written in this book. 

Most people in life, talk and say things about topics or stuff that they have no idea about. Some people feel as if no one knows what they have been through, whether they feel that no understands their pain or the way think, but reading this book that is filled with these real life stories by people who know one knows, talking about what half of those people are feeling, is truly fascinating. I learned so many things about so many people and even though I don't actually know them personally, I have found myself having a connection of some sort with half of them. Some of the stuff they have talked about I have happened to me.  I learned many things about tough stuff, growing up, and love, which I have all learned by reading this book. 

People all over the world have had something similar happen to them, that also happened to someone in this book. We all have some sort of connection with each other and we can learn from each other as well. We can teach other so many different life lessons and be there for one another. We no longer have to feel lonely or anything else because this book proves, by what these real life people have faced, that out there other people are probably having the same problem as you. That proves that you are not alone. This has to be one of biggest things that I have learned out of this, which is you are NOT alone.

I commented on: Evelyn's Blog, Darya's Blog, and Jude's Blog