Don't Put Me In, Coach (#2 Why I chose this book)

I chose to read Don't Put Me In, Coach by Mark Titus because I had heard it was a good book from multiple people. I had a friend that read it last year and he said that it was probably one of the most hilarious and relatable books he has ever read. Also the book is about college basketball and college basketball has just started, so there is no better time to read it than now. Even though it is about the OSU Buckeyes I think I will be able to get through it. (Go Hoosiers!) As of this point in the book he is talking about before he became a Buckeye. He was supposed to go to and play at Harvard, but his coach sat him out the first half of the game that the Harvard coach came to. This was partialy because the day before the game Mark called his coach some not so nice words to his face. When Mark had came out to the court for the second half the Harvard coach left along with his scholarship to one of the most prestigious colleges in America. Now I definitely know what my friend meant it was hilarious when I read the events leading up to this game. Now I can not wait to get deeper into this book.

Don't Put Me In, Coach (#1 about the author)

Don't Put Me In, Coach is written by Mark Titus. Mark Titus is a former OSU Buckeye basketball player. He is now the holder of the most individual career wins in all of Ohio State University Basketball history. Although, he only scored 9 total points in his entire career. He is now one of the nations most famous benchwarmers. Mark Titus became very popular from writing his blog Clubtrillion.com. Mark Titus is also known as a hero for all of those who are picked last. So far the book is a hilarious and inspirational novel that I just can't wait to keep reading.

Fahrenheit 451

The setting of Fahrenheit 451 is the future. This society is a small, futuristic, and controlled society. It is placed sometime after the year of 2022, and as of then they have won and started 2 atomic wars. In this society jet cars move down the road past huge billboards because the billboards that we have today weren't noticed by the cars that sped by. Also in the book it said that in peoples houses they had parlors in which people could watch TV on all of their walls. The setting is where the main characters live; Guy, Mildred, Clarisse, Captain Beatty, and Faber. In this town books are not allowed, so firemen such as Guy Montag must burn all books. This creates the plot and the setting in which Fahrenheit 451 is based on.

Blog Reflection

Click here to view my best blog post.

I believe that my theme and summary post was my best post and met all of the requirements for this post. In this post the first requiremnet was to determine a theme or central idea of the text. I did this by stating that the theme was to never give up. Next I had to analyze the theme on how it has developed throughout the text. Like in book the main character Nailer never gave up when he was drowning in the oil. If he would have given up he would have died. To never give up was the answer to the books very first conflict. As Nailer and the story develope to never give up has became a reacurring theme as he faces more and more conflicts throughout the book. The next part of the post was to provide a specific piece of evidence to support this claim from the text. My quote was"He hooked his elbow through the wheel. He was running out of air, but he didn't want to give up"(Bacigalupi 34). This quote provides the evidence needed to explain the central theme of the book. The final part of this post was to provide a summary I did this by stating a small summary of what happened in the book so far.

 My biggest struggle in blogging was mostly being able to analyze characters and how the grew throughout the book. I overcame this struggle by as I read I would mark pages that had strong textual evidence of how characters developed in the text. My main strength in blogging was making connections with the book, especially text to world connections.

Reading Skills #2

I predict that the girl that Nailer just recently found will be very pleased that Nailer saved her life. I also predict that for Nailer and the girl it will be true love at first sight. How will Nailer's best friend, Pima react to this girl that Nailer finds on the wrecked boat? A text to text connection I have is that Nailer has to make very large decisions soon and this is like Steve from my summer reading book had to decide if he was going to play even though he was hurt. A text to text connection is that I have made a couple big decisions in my life.  A text to world connection is that all people make big decisions in their lifetime.

Ship breaker Post #6

I'm a little over half way through my book now. It has gotten progressively better especially through the suspense and the build up of the plot. It's getting better by the day; can't wait to read how the book will end.

Ship Breaker Post #5

Right now in my book it is mostly about; how the decision of whether or not to save the girl he found on the clipper ship is a very large decision and will effect his life forever. I infer that he will most likely save the girl because it will make the book more interesting and Nailer is thinking very hard on what to do.

Analysis Post

My book is getting better by each chapter. Once Nailer and Pima found the ship they were very excited. Pima is one of Nailer's best friends. In the chapter that I am on Pima is starting to play a bigger role in the book. I'm learning many new characteristics about her through what she says and her actions. "Come on!" Pima said. "Let's clear it out before anyone else shows up. We're rich, Lucky Boy"(Bacigalupi 88). This quote shows that Pima is a very greedy person and is in it to win it.

Book Recommendation

In my opinion Ship Breaker by: Paolo Bacigalupi is a very suspenseful, fast paced, and page turning book. Ship Breaker is about a teenage boy named Nailer who scavenges old oil tankers in the Gulf of Mexico. Each and every day he puts his life on the line to get the job done and live another day. Ship scavenging is a dangerous and harsh job that brings many challenges for Nailer. One day, after a tropical storm a clipper ship washes up on to the shore. On this ship is one lone survivor, a young, beautiful, and wealthy girl. Now Nailer has on important decision; scavenge the ship or save the girl...

Tone and Mood

The tone of Ship Breaker is hopeful. A quote to prove this is "That's a clipper ship, isn't it?" He swallowed, took a step forward. Stopped. Was it a mirage?"(Bacigalupi 78). The mood in my book right now is renewal. A quote to prove this is "The soot was gone, the oil in the waters, everything shone brightly under the blaze of the tropic sun. "It's so blue," Pima murmured. "I don't think I have ever seen the water so blue." Nailer couldn't speak. The beach was cleaner than he'd ever seen in his life"(Bacilupi 69). In the beginning of my book Nailer was miraculously saved from drowning in oil by opening a door that was submerged in oil. His friends mother was explaining to him that he is very lucky that he is still alive. The mother's tone of seriousness helped persuade Nailer into being thankful for whatever was watching over him.

Ship Breaker Post #4

My book has been very exciting and very interesting. If this book became a movie I would definitely go see it. But, first I would have to finish the book first.

Links and Displays

This article and video help explain to you what ship breaking is exactly.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/07/12/bangladesh.hasan.shipyards/index.html

This video is pretty much just a trailer for my book Ship Breaker.

 

 

This picture shows some of the damage of harsh tropical storms like the one that happened in the book.



So far this book has been very exciting, and I highly recommend that you read it. This is just a short recommendation of the book.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/07/AR2010120706726.html

This video is an interview of the author of Ship Breaker, Paolo Bacigalupi.

Ship Breaker Post #3

As I keep reading my book I have noticed that at the end of each chapter there is a cliff hanger. This makes the book very exiting and suspenseful. Making it one of the better books that I have read in a while.

Characters

The main character in Ship Breaker is a teenaged boy named Nailer. He is a round and dynamic character. In the beginning of the book Nailer was weak and hopeless. A quote to prove this is "Bapi laughed. "What? You gonna fight me, boy? Try and pigstick me from behind the way your old man would?" Bapi touched his knife"(Bacigalupi 15). Though as the book progresses Nailer is becoming braver and luckier. A quote to prove this is "You're lucky," Pima's mother said. " you should be dead"(Bacigalupi 37). Nailer interacts a lot with his best friend Pima. Pima is like family to him because his dad is usually never home and when he is he is a drunk. The plot in my book advances as Nailer meets new challenges and faces more and more conflict.

Ship Breaker Post #2

     The book has started very good and has met all of my expectations. Though I would have liked to have more explanation on why he was here. So I was a little confused in the beginning and I am slowly starting to understand why everything is the way that it is. 

Reading Skills

In Ship Breaker the main character, Nailer, has just came very close to dying. Though luckily he the he was able to get off of the ship with what he needed to get. In the process of doing so a small piece of rusted metal cut into his chest and all of the oil he was swimming in spilled out into the ocean. I predict that Nailer will soon get an infection because of this piece of metal along with the oil tank that he was drowning in. Also a question that I have is who will get to sell the oil that Nailer found and was left in the oil tank. A text to world connection that I can make is in the book when the oil spilled into the ocean that is not as big as but is like the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. A text to self connection is that Nailer is a very hard worker and so am I. A text to text connection is Ship Breaker is like Point Blanc because the characters in both books come close to dying.

Theme

The central message or theme in Ship Breaker in to never give up. Through the first few chapters this is the theme because Nailer has met his first conflict. If he had given up he would have drowned in oil. A quote from the book to prove this theme is "He hooked his elbow through the wheel. He was running out of air, but he didn't want to give up"(Bacigalupi 34). This theme has been shaped into the book because never giving up was the answer to his first conflict. A short summary of Ship Breaker is a boy named Nailer has grown up working on old ships scavenging for metals like copper. This job is very dangerous and has terrible work conditions, but Nailer must face these challenges in order to live to see another day.

Ship Breaker

This is my first post on my independent reading book, Ship Breaker. This is the first time that I have read a book written by Paolo Bacigalupi and so far I am very pleased. I like books that have lots of action and conflict throughout the book. As of this point in the book it seems that it will very action packed. So far the book is about a boy named Nailer that works for the light crew, which is a group of people that scavenges through old oil tankers in search of materials such as copper. He does this to make money so that he live to see another day. Nailer has met many challenges so far and will definitely have more throughout the book.

Summer Reading

1.) In my summer reading book, One Shot at Forever,  the major theme throughout the book is don't take everything too serious. This theme is evoked in the book through the main character Sweet. Sweet is an out-going, free-spirited, and something of an idealist throughout the book. He teaches English the way he wants and coaches baseball by letting the players pick where they want to play. At first when Sweet asked the players where they would like to play at the first practice most of the players were confused why Coach Sweet wasn't like all of the other coaches through yelling and discipline. A quote that shows this theme is "They told him to "have fun with it," that everything doesn't need to be "serious and negative," that he was a positive force on a lot of people" (Ballard 223). This quote was when Sweet was talking to Steve Shartzer about the baseball team and his impact on the town.

 

      This article is about how One Shot at Forever is an inspiring and a great read for all baseball lovers.  One Shot at Forever Article