"How to Mark a Book" by Mortimer Adler

In Adler's essay "How to Mark a Book" (1940), he proclaims that, "Full ownership of a book comes when you make it a part of yourself, and the best way to make yourself a part of it is by writing in it," (Adler). To say that this goes against everything I was taught when I was younger would be an understatement. I can remember teachers declaring WWIII if they saw an inch of a pencil mark in our text books. I can even remember kids being put in time out for writing in books that weren't "made for writing in." It wasn't until Freshman year in college that I was told it was acceptable, and sometimes necessary, to write in textbooks. At first I was a little apprehensive, but now I completely understand why Adler and my professors deemed it necessary to write in the books. If you write in the book as you're reading, it forces you to grasp a better concept of what you are taking in, whereas the average reader will skim or speed read through the text and not really come away with much from it. You can better appreciate the author and the text if you get a good understanding of what the text truly means. 

Although I did find Adler just a tad bit obsessive with his point, I completely, 100% agree with him. As a big reader myself, I find it helpful to jot a note here or a scribble there. It helps me to remember any questions that I may have while I'm reading. And if I'm reading with a group I can always come back to the question and I won't forget. Although I  don't feel as passionately about the subject as Adler, I do encourage people to jot down little notes just to help keep yourself on track, But HEY....TO EACH HIS OWN!!!!! Until next time my soul hungry readers........

IM OUT!!!!!!

-Francis

Why Leaves Turn Color in the Fall By Diane Akerman

 
   In Akermans concept essay “Why Leaves Turn Color”, it is quite interesting how she mixes her scientific knowledge with amazing imagery that also appeals to the senses of the reader. Maybe she is writing for a person interested in poetry, but she could also be appealing to the scientific minds out there. I like how she goes through the scientific steps of the leaves changing colors, but it makes it also sound so peaceful and serene to the mind even though the reader is learning. My favorite quote that supports the serenity is when Akerman says: "Walk down a lane overhung with trees in the never-never land of autumn and you will forget about time and death, lost in the sheer delicious spill of color." It brings back memories of my childhood and back when we had no worries but maybe scraping our knees. We got pushed on the playground only to forgive this person an hour later because we all were friends and had nothing to worry about. The author somehow spill science into a wonderful relaxing poem about the most beautiful season of the year.

"That's How I Roll" by Ginny Donaldson

Also Britney Spears is dealing with the "How I Roll"-Phrase

In the concept essay "That's How I Roll" by Ginny Donaldson it is talking about the development of phrases and common speeches. The author is bringing up the example of her instructor to think about the phrase “That’s how I roll”. She did her research online and she noticed that each day the amount of input increased every day. With the help of this example she is explaining that these phrases are used to simplify the proper English and let it sound “cool or less complicated” (p.51). By trying to find the origin of the slang we are more and more likely to use, she found out that some phrases or slang words stick while others cannot resist. We are developing the phrases but we still let the people decide if the word will exist the next day or not. There exists principles how they will be known as sticky but these are not a common rule. Sometimes they just exist without any reason, they are not less important than others with an easily found explanation about their origin.  The audience is more for the folk to illustrate them where our slang English is coming from and how it gets developed.

I can find myself as the author of this text. It is often that I am fascinated and interested in the origin of words. Just looking at the sequence of the letters is already curious. How cool is it that everybody understands what the five letters “bread” means. Also playing with words, joking around and developing new phrases, this can still verbalize in proper English. It is fun creating new words and the people understand what you want to say. It makes your language unique.

Spanglish by Janice Castro, Dan Cook, and Christina Garcia

In the essay "Spanglish" (1988), the authors Castro, Cook, and Garcia give us a personal look into the blend of Spanish and English spoken everyday by a growing number of Americans and Hispanics. This style of speaking has been and is currently growing more and more amongst the Spanish and English speaking cultures alike. The commonly used colloquialism "Hasta la bye bye," is the perfect example of how the two cultures are combining to create a language all its own. In states like Florida and Texas, this way of speaking is more prevalent because over half of the inhabitants are of Spanish decent. In my opinion, Spanglish could be looked at as a method of acceptance. We as Americans have accepted the Spanish influences into our everyday way of speaking, as well as accepted the people who have exposed us to the language. In all actuality, Spanglish could be looked at as more than just some type of slang that teenagers are using. It could also be viewed as a bridging of the gap between Americans and Hispanics or a wake up call. Spanglish just forces us to realize that we are actually not that different from one another, despite how bad some may want to be! 

This article made me see just how often I actually use Spanglish in my everyday life. Who knew that when I called my friends "Chicas" or replied back with a "Gracias," or "De Nada," I was actually speaking Spanglish? It was just everyday habit for me. These are things that I have been saying since I was a little girl and they just came natural to me. I guess from now on I will keep my ears and eyes open for more examples of Spanglish in my everyday life, because they are all around. 

Until Next Time




-Francis Peters

A Lasting Impression by Debra Anderton

The story of “A Lasting Impression” (2010)  is told through a woman named Debi and it is about her beloved mother, who is defined by the narrator on who she was, what she did for her family and what happened to her. 

Debi’s mother, we are told, was the eldest of ten children of a poor family on a farm in Trussville, Alabama.  She is described as a person with a strong positive attitude and great determination.  She also was a very loving and caring woman who did the best she could for her family; even if that meant quitting school to help raise her younger siblings.  Also, when she had children of her own, she had to work two jobs to support her four kids, whose father had passed when their mother was only twenty-seven. 

The narrator moves on to describe her mother as a very beautiful woman.  The mother features are very positively noted by the narrator, but the narrator begins to add that mother’s hard labor was starting to take a toll on the mother’s body.  The narrator felt broken-hearted to see that her mother was aging before her time and the narrator felt an obligation to help her mother with financial burden as soon as she turned fifteen, which was the legal age to work at the time.  This would be conflicted due to the mother’s sudden marriage to man named Jack, who is described as a hulking man with a deep voice and a short temper.   The narrator seems conflicted by the marriage because she wasn’t happy with it, but was glad her mother was happy.

Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse as the mother’s new husband turned to drinking and began abusing the narrator’s mother and the mother also turned to alcohol to help ease the pain.  The narrator seemed willing but helpless to aid her mother and she didn’t find the courage to talk with her mother about her drinking until twenty years later.  The mother is then described as combative and irritable during her drunken state but eventually quelled and begins to feel saddened and lonesome.  It took four more years for everyone to accept what was going on and that the narrator’s mother should get better.  However, the mother decided against one of her sons’ advice in seeking professional help and she figured she could get better on her own.  A decision would regret as she ends up dying two weeks later.  The narrator’s feels saddened but decides to use her mother’s experience and the impression she made on her to help aid her as she experiences motherhood herself.

A Man in the Woods by Andrew White

The power of community

 In the paper “A Man in the Woods” (2010), Andrew  White tells about a group of homeless men living in the  wood and enjoying a live without any rush and drama.  Written in the I-outlook it is plausible that the author  writes about his own experience with these men  community. Together with a friend he brings bags packed  with water and food to this wood people and follows the  personalized forest dweller James when he is handing out  the food to the eight forest dwellers. Everybody is treated  the same. White liked the feeling about this timeless and friendly group. First you may be scared by seeing this people living in the woods but it is just a false impression. By getting closer to them you can feel the peaceful and relaxed atmosphere where everybody is living his own live but also being there for each other. There is a great sense of community. Together they are making their way through the cold winter as also through the hot summer. By knowing there is help from the others keeps them alive through all times of the live like in a marriage.

This Battle Will Not Be Lost by Sandi Millwood

In the paper “This Battle Will Not Be Lost” (2008), Sandi Millwood defines that life is precious.

She is telling her gripping story in a very emotional mood with a meticulous description from the moment when the doctors diagnosed lung cancer in her daughter’s body until they removed the cancer. The young mother seems to be overwhelmed with the situation but with the time she grows with the circumstances to “a stronger mother and person”. Through the love to her daughter she was able to withstand this hard battle and not to give up. She learned from this happening having the possibility to spend time with the persons you love, is invaluable. The audience is impersonalized. It is a report on one’s experiences to everybody to invoke appreciation by having the one you love around you.