[ENGLISH II]: Summer Reading Blog Post #3: Book Section: The Hook and Explanation.

Hook:

A "Hook" is what authors use to bring in the reader, or get the reader into the book better. To me, a good hook at the beginning of a story is the use of a cliffhanger, context leaving you thinking about it, basically persuading you to read on.

The hook I picked out for The Book Thief is listed below.

"A mountain range of rubble was written, designed, erected around her. She was clutching at a book. Apart from everything else, the book thief wanted desperately to go back to the basement, to write, or to read through her story one last time. In hindsight, I see it so obviously on her face. She was dying for it--the safety of it, the home of it--but she could not move. Also, the basement didn't even exist anymore. It was part of the mangled landscape. Please, again, I ask you to believe me. I wanted to stop. To crouch down. I wanted to say: "I'm sorry, child." But that is not allowed. I did not crouch down. I did not speak. Instead, I watched her awhile. When she was able to move, I followed her. She dropped the book. She knelt. The book thief howled." -Zusak 13-14



A scene from the movie "The Book Thief" (above) depicting what it looked like on Himmel Street after the bombing.

Explanation:

The explanation behind this hook is, to me, kind of obvious. The last part seems like a cliffhanger, at least when I read that part for the first time. I had many thoughts running through my mind. Did she get shot? Did her family die? Did her friends die? Did she lose her home? What happened? Why is she "howling"? But after reading the book, everything made sense. The narrator in the hook, and the entire book was Death. He was summoned to the area where Liesel was because her foster parents died from the bombing. He wanted to tell Liesel that he was sorry, but him being Death, he couldn't. The basement that used to exist became rubble from the bombing, along with the rest of the house and some neighboring houses. To me, it was one of the best hooks I've read.

[ENGLISH II]: Summer Reading Blog Post #4: Review

After reading The Book Thief, I do believe the book is a good book, not a great book, but not a bad one either. I did enjoy the book, it was very interesting to see how history played its course through the plot, being the main centerpiece for the plot. The plot was enjoyable, and probably one of the better features of the book. Moving on to the main part of the blog.

I chose The Book Thief as the my book for this year's Summer Reading Assignment for many reasons, among them, were my love for history, in that history books, I also was recommended to read the book by many of my friends and teachers.

For what drew me into reading the book, my love for history really pushed me to read it, as well as me wanting to learning more about what it was like living in Germany during Nazi Rule. So my love for history was a huge motive,

I could only find one personal connection to the book,and it was that me and Rudy both love running, as Rudy's role model was Jesse Owens, and he would pretend he was Jesse Owens and run on his local track. I sometimes, yet not really pretend like I am one of the track greats, like Steve Prefontaine, or Louis Zamperini in the distance events.

As far as recommendations to who should read the book, I'd recommend anyone who likes reading historical fiction novels, as well as anyone who wants to read something extraordinary, because books like The Book Thief don't come around often, you do have the political books, but almost all of those are biased, making The Book Thief, at least for me, a must read for historical fiction.

[ENGLISH II]: Summer Reading Blog Post #2: Character Complexity, Themes, and Book Structure.

I have to say this is one of the best historical books I have read, along with Killing Patton By Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard,  11/22/63 By Stephen King, and Night By Elie Wiesel. The book has as of now, an excellent reference with history, moving along throughout The Holocaust and World War II. Moving on to the main points of the blog.

Character Complexity:

Character Complexity is all about what each character wants, desires, or in some cases needs. For some characters, it could be as deep as finding themselves, for others, it could be just an item or resource. For The Book Thief, there are characters that pertain to both categories. But keep in mind, some characters could want/need/desire multiple things. Without further to do, here are the main characters' character complexities.

Liesel Meminger:

• Wants: Happiness, Books, Food, and Family.

If it hasn't come obvious to readers by now, something is wrong. Liesel has been struggling throughout the entire course of the book, but some of her wants have been satisfied with the Hubermann's taking her in, as well as her hobby of stealing. Her stealing has helped her get food and books, further leading her to her happiness, in some respects. I say only some respects because she wants her mother back, as well as a normal life, going to the point of which the Hubermann's started hiding a Jew named Max Vandenberg, putting life for the Hubermann's and Liesel alike at constant risk.

• Desires: Stealing.

Same deal with this bullet, Liesel has been into stealing from the beginning. From books to food, Liesel has stolen for pleasure and for survival. She hasn't seemed to ever try to quit stealing. Hans certainly doesn't have much of a problem with it, Rosa prefers that Liesel tries to not steal, even though it seem that she cannot overturn Hans' decision. In some ways, stealing became a hobby for everyone around Liesel, once the winter came, with bomb threats, as well as real bombings, food was scarce, and some things, such as books, were needed to pass the time of an airstrike. But it seems that Liesel's hobby of stealing is here to stay.

Hans Hubermann:

• Wants: Happiness.

It seems that throughout the book, there is always a time that Hans could be happier. But look at his scenario, he is very poor, he has two children who are now adults, one child who is going through school, during one of the hardest times to live in ever, World War II. Hans has seemed to be happy with Liesel, and Max, despite the fact he has put everyone in his family's life at risk. Overall, Hans could really use some more cheer in his life.

• Desires: Peace.

Don't we all? Hans has made it clear throughout the book that he is not with the Nazis on any terms, whether its hate against the Jews, aryanism, you name it, Hans is against it. He has proven this with using his home as a "Safe House" for Jews to hide in, even if he has only helped one Jew, he has made a difference by keeping him alive. Hans generally prefers peace over fighting, he was in the German Army for a short period during World War II, but that was to try to get up close to Hitler and kill him. Unfortunately, the attempt never existed, and he returned to Molching with a broken leg.

• Needs: Slack and Business.

Sometimes Hans is like an invincible punching bag, he takes so many hits from people to the point it seems that its wearing him down. Part of the problem is his wife, Rosa, who doesn't stop slamming him with hurtful words, but words alone. Most of the time Hans just absorbs it and does nothing, but I feel it has been hurting him at low magnitude on the inside. Business wise, Hans and his family are part of the lower class in Germany, meaning he doesn't have that much money, or income. I believe in order for Liesel and the Hubermann's to strive, Hans needs to get better income or have Rosa start working somewhere of decent income.

Rosa Hubermann:

• Wants: See Needs.
• Desires: Work from Others.

Rosa is the kinda person that expects more than others than from herself, she usually picks on Liesel to do her work, such as picking up the laundry, doing chores such as ironing, cooking, etc. Rosa's actions have also caused others to think less of her, and in some cases, show no respect for her, examples include cursing at her and spitting on her porch/door. She also has the attitude of having no wants, just needs and desires.

• Needs: Wealth, Happiness, Normal Life.

For Rosa, there are no wants in life, just needs and desires. She made it clear early in the book that she doesn't like the life she lives in, when she is lower class, usually angry and depressed, and starting with adopting Liesel, she hasn't had a normal life. I think that some of her needs she already has, but hasn't realized it, like happiness, she seems so ungrateful sometimes, and in her situation, there were people in Germany who had it worse than she did, the Jews, beggars, the homeless, etc.

Rudy Stiener:

• Wants: Greatness.

Rudy Stiener, the white and German Jesse Owens. Rudy made it clear that he wanted to be the best, like Jesse Owens, his idol. Owens was notorious for his performances at the 1936 Berlin Olympics in the 100 meter and 200 meter dashes, as well as 4x100 meter relay and long jump. Rudy tried to be like Jesse Owens before, like really Jesse Owens. He covered his face in charcoal and commentated himself at a local track near his house. The event was known as "The Jesse Owens Incident".

• Needs: A Kiss from Liesel and Food.

Throughout the book, Rudy has asked Liesel for a kiss, cheek or lips, but a kiss. Even if Liesel has promised herself that she would never kiss that "Saukrel", Rudy has made it hard to pass it. From rescuing her books to helping her steal food, Rudy has been quite the gentleman for Liesel. Secondly, food. Towards the end of the book, the Stiener Family had a very hard time trying to get everyone in the family food, mostly because Alex Stiener, the father, wasn't getting lots of business due to the fact that most of his costumers were Jewish, yet due to the Holocaust, there weren't many Jews around, and if there were, they were in hiding. Rudy has done everything he could to get food, trading, stealing, everything.

Max Zandenberg:

• Wants: See Needs.
• Desires: See Needs.
• Needs: Safety, Family, Happiness, Food, and a Normal Life.

How could this be any different for the other Jews of Germany? Max was one of over ten million Jewish Men, Women, and Children who have struggled with life ever since the start of The Holocaust, being placed into concentration camps, or being on the run, hiding. With the camps and hiding, it has been hard to keep themselves alive, with not a lot of food to eat, and with their families breaking apart due to sickness, cruel treatment, etc, it made life seem so horrible. Max managed to be one of the lucky ones to be hiding outside of the camps, but food was barely obtainable, no real safety, almost never happy until the Hubermann's took him in, and a normal life. Saldy, he would never get any of those until after World War II.

Adolf Hitler:

• Wants: See Needs.
• Desires: See Needs.
• Needs: No more Jews, Aryanism, Total Control of Europe, Asia, and Africa, A bigger army.

Hitler was against Jews from the beginning. He downright hated them, for stealing his costumers, money, etc. Hitler also started the belief of Aryanism, where everyone in Germany is of pure German Blood, meaning they have no ties to other countries. In addition, Hitler wanted to spread his policies of Aryanism and anti-semitism to the rest of Europe and Africa, later to Asia (Not Japan). And lastly, a bigger army. The German Armies were fighting a two-front war, against the Soviet Union, Great Britain, and The United States of America. They got pushed out of North Africa, and lost the western coast to the D-Day Invasions. Hitler was meeting Germany's doom before his eyes.

Themes:

A Theme of a book gives the reader a moral or meaning of the story.

For The Book Thief, there are several themes that have appeared, here they are:

Courage: Courage has appeared within the first couple chapters in the book, and has been one of the biggest themes in the book. (Examples: Liesel stealing books, Hubermann's hiding Max).

Conflict: Conflict has been all over the book since the first couple pages, and has formatted almost all of the plot. (Examples: The Holocaust, Liesel's family separating, World War II, Bombings).

Finding Yourself: A story wide struggle for some of the characters has been finding themselves, such as Liesel. (Example: She tries to figure herself out throughout the entire course of the book, who she is, what she likes doing, etc.).

Family: One of the best themes from the book, family. When Liesel came to The Hubermann's, she was scared, and Hans and Rosa took her in with loving arms, they cared for her, protected her, they were there for her when she needed them most. (Examples: Liesel with The Hubermann's, Rudy with The Stieners.).

Book Structure:

Book Structure is basically the writing style or how the book is written.

For The Book Thief, the narrator, Death, tells the story in a way where there are short announcements or bolded and underlined text, showing some spoiling and some important information that could be used to better understand the plot. Aside from that, the book is written as if everyday was a new chapter, with part sections to show if there was a big time change, say six months, a year, it usually changes.

For other parts of the book, such as the chapters entitled "Death's Diary", generally the first page or so has nothing to do with the book, but the closing statement is almost always a cliffhanger, leaving readers at that one line, thinking what will happen next.

[ENGLISH II]: Summer Reading Blog Post #1: Major Characters, Setting, Conflict, Predictions, and more.

     For my Summer Reading Book going into English IIA, I chose to read The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. I decided to read this book because I heard great things about the book, as well as the movie, and I am really into history, such as World Wars, Rise of Political Parties, etc. Alright, now onto the main point of the blog. For the characters of The Book Thief, there are a lot of characters who have a good size part to play within the story, which is why I have minimized the list of only the significant characters.


Main Characters:

Liesel Meminger, a nine year old girl who is said by the narrator that she will be later known as The Book Thief, she started off with her mother and younger brother in the book while on a train to Munich, Germany. Her brother died, and her mother, being too poor to take care of her and Liesel, had to put Liesel up for adoption.The Hubermann's, a lower class family decides to take her in in a small subdivision of Munich called Molching. After Liesel moved in, she developed the habits of stealing books, food, and more.She isn't quite your ordinary girl, stealing from others, as well as fitting in with the boys more than the girls. She is the absolute main character in the book, and can be described as sneaky, clever, confident, and caring.

Hans Hubermann, the foster father of Liesel, husband of Rosa Hubermann, and a resident on Himmel Street. Hans can be accurately described as caring, for letting in Liesel, and courageous, for holding a jewish man while it was against the law and considered an act of treason to do such a thing. He also loved to smoke, and he was very talented as a musician, when in the winter he would make money off of it in pubs, diners, etc.

Rosa Hubermann, the foster mother of Liesel, wife of Hans Hubermann, and known for having a negative attitude towards almost everyone she talks to, including Liesel and her husband Hans. She is very demanding and strict towards Liesel, which impacts her character in small amounts, Rosa is still considered a protagonist because in the wake of her being strict and cruel, she also shows that she cares for Liesel and her husband, even though she sometimes doesn't show it.

Max Zandenberg, the Jewish man that the Hubermann's hide in their basement. Max is well known for being a fist fighter, most of the time losing but he still fights, According to Hans, he had connections with relatives of Max during World War I, but didn't address them to Rosa or Liesel. Being a German Jew during the early 1940's, Max cannot be seen in public, that being said, he, like the rest of the Jews who weren't in a Concentration Camp at the time, can hide places, such as houses, barns, etc. Max's situation has made life for the Hubermann's uneasy, with it being considered treason for hiding Jews. Max being with the Hubermann's has in a few ways, helped them. Liesel thought of Max, in a way, that he was her brother's replacement in her life, even if she was unwilling to say it, she, and the Hubermann's, cared for Max a lot.

Rudy Stiener, the first person Liesel befriends after settling in with her new family. Rudy is a very unique character, especially for a 1930's German, his idol is the legendary track star Jesse Owens, who was the fastest sprinter in the world at the time. His parents, along with some of his friends despise him for his desire to be like Owens, because he was African-American. This didn't serve well for Rudy, knowing that Germans hated Jews and African-Americans at the time. Rudy is described in the book as Liesel's best friend, but she vows never to like him more than a friend.

Adolf Hitler, as much as it is weird to say he's a main character, he actually controls most of the plot. Hitler, at the time was the ruler of Germany, and the Head of the Nazi Party. Hilter headlined the desire to burn books, hate against certain people and their beliefs, as well as the dominance of the Third Reich. Hitler also influenced German Pride with the start of World War II, while invading Poland.



Setting:

The setting of the book is Germany, during the late 1930's and early 1940's. The time period is a huge influence to the plot, with the start and end of World War II being the timeframe of the story. Customs of the Germans during this time make the characters who they are and impact them greatly, for good and bad.

Conflict:

The conflict(s) of the book are somewhat confusing, thinking that it would be mostly about Liesel. But actually its more than that. Persecution and intolerance of the Jews is the overall conflict of the time period. But more to the book, Liesel's internal conflict of helping the Jews, as well as Liesel's hobby of stealing books has started to grow on her to the point of it being dangerous to do so.

Predictions:

I have several predictions about what could, or even will happen throughout the course of the book. Note that these predictions were made fifty pages in to the book. Here they are:

• Liesel will not be able to retain her hobby for thievery.-This one I thought was pretty obvious to be honest, the way the book started was just very dark and full of loss for Liesel and her mother when Liesel's brother died on the train. I think the only thing that could cure her love for thievery would be having her mother back in her life, doing well, not starved or depressed, it's just that Liesel took a hard hit after losing her mother, let alone the death of her brother.
• The War will get the best of Germany, and Liesel. - History doesn't lie here, at least for this time period, Germany might have had the early victory in hand after the victorious invasions of Poland, France, and Stalingrad, Russia. But later in the war Britain and the United States started winning in North Africa and the Soviet Armies drove German Troops out of the Motherland, along with the successful D-Day invasions across the English Channel, Germany would be boxed in by 1944. Enough with Germany, Liesel would most likely not be allowed to move out of Germany due to the war, and if she does continue stealing books from book burnings and maybe hiding Jews in her home, the Gestapo, or German SS, will track her and her family down, there will be no escape, either way her and her family goes, an army will be coming from the other direction, leaving them with no chance for a peaceful life.
• The Hubermann's allegiance will determine their future. - From what it looks like, the Hubermann's are against Nazism, as well as the principles of anti-semitism, aryanism, and communism. If you lived in Germany during Hitler's rule, and you didn't support him,like the Hubermann's, not only were you hated upon by nazis, but life was extremely hard, and this went for Jews too.

Questions:

• Will Liesel help the Jews?
• Will Liesel resolve her thievery?
• How will the Hubermann's live while they are going against the law?

Connections:

The book is filled with connections to history, which I love. World War II, The Holocaust, and The Rise of The Third Reich are just the major historical connections The Book Thief addresses.

Connections to movies such as "Hitler: The Rise of Evil" and slightly "The Great Escape" have some ties to The Book Thief involving escape from the Death Camps, as well as Hitler's rise to power.

[BEST SELLERS]: Book 4 Project: Killing Patton and Bill O'Reilly's Writing

United States General George Patton was a notorious World War II Officer who had a very unique way of doing things. For one, he had a rivalry with ally Great Britain's prestigious General Bernard Law Montgomery. He also pushed his soldiers MUCH HARDER than any other Allied Officer. The book Killing Patton reflects his life during and after World War II, including his death, which is today considered the most pedestrian way for any military officer to die.

The book starts off when Patton's Battalion is invading Fort Driant, a German Military Base in Eastern France/Western Germany. Here, Bill O'Reilly, the author goes into the point-of-view of one of Patton's soldiers, a Private, to be exact. O'Reilly describes his emotional state of which he feels when the Germans fire at him while he takes cover. This I believe, is one of O'Reilly's pros of writing, he is descriptive. Yet sometimes O'Reilly, and his co-author, Martin Dugard, are at times too descriptive. Some examples of the two authors exercising this practice are when German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel is going through his "execution" for treason which is self-inflicted, as well as Patton's feelings for the other generals, the authors put Patton in third-person as he reflects on the generals demeanor.

O'Reilly and Dugard's writing style has been considered weird at times, with the overly-long reflections of the characters' emotional state, what they are feeling, what they are doing, why they are doing it, many other authors consider this practice helpful, yet not needed, to make the book more appealing to readers. To me, I think in some cases, this practice is useful, yet when it becomes too much, it is no longer needed. I went into Killing Patton hoping to learn more about World War II, as well as the notorious generals who served in it, such as Patton, Rommel, Montgomery, Eisenhower, etc.

But Killing Patton isn't the only book O'Reilly and Dugard have written that have this writing style, books such as Killing Lincoln, Killing Kennedy, and Killing Jesus, all express the same writing style, and for many readers, they say that the writing style doesn't apply to all of the books, the way it did for Patton, Kennedy and Lincoln (somewhat). I guess you know the odd one out then, Killing Jesus, the standout novel from Bill O'Reilly, which dates back to the time before The Bible was written, which for many readers, is a time too far away for O'Reilly to write about.

Back to Killing Patton. As anticipated, the book goes on to the end of World War II, with the Germans surrendering, as well as the Japanese after the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs. You may think that the book is done, the war is over, it's totally peaceful. Well, actually it has been said that after WWII, there was no such thing as peace. The two remaining superpowers of the world, the Soviet Union, or now Russia, and the United States of America, didn't start completely butting heads until after General Patton's death.

This isn't a spoiler, if you payed close attention to history. But General George Patton died after fatal wounds from a car accident in Germany. A truck driven by a few drunk American soldiers was driving down a road, as careless as they could be. Meanwhile, General Patton was going hunting, and was driving along a road, nearly perpendicular to the drunken truck's road. At the intersection which the two roads met, the two cars collided. The general broke his neck, along with several back bones either sprained or broken, most of them broken. He died in a German Hospital 12 days following the car crash.

In conclusion, from all of my reading and research, I believe that most historical biographies are accurate, with some such as Killing Jesus, being questionable, with no completely-truthful proof other than The Bible to justify whether its Fact of Fiction.

[BEST SELLERS]: Reading Wishlist and Book 5

After a great year in Best Sellers, I believe as a change going into this summer, as well as going into Sophomore year of High School, I will be trying to read more, at least one book per month. During Best Sellers, I read titles such as 11/22/63 by Stephen King, American Sniper by Chris Kyle, Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane, and Killing Patton by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard. All of those were great books, and I recommend them to anyone who is interested in a learning experience of reading.

For this Summer Reading Assignment, I have decided to read The Book Theif, in order to learn more about life in Nazi Germany in the 1930's and 40's. The book is written by Markus Zusak, and has been made into a movie, just last year. My goal for the summer reading assignment is to finish the book in less than a month, so I know how to pace myself when it comes to getting the most out of the book.

Regarding on my reading wishlist, it has been added to my blog, and it is located to the right of my posts.

[BEST SELLERS]: Book Talk