Q2, P15. Stormy Weather #3

My outside reading book - Stormy Weather by Carl Hiaasen - just keeps getting better and better. I have been reading a lot since I last posted so a lot of new things have happened in the book. Bonnie and Augustine have added a third person to their hunting party. Jim Tile is a highway patrol man and also Skink's Ex-bodyguard. He is always keeping tabs on Skink and making sure he doesn't get into to much trouble. The three are finally able to contact Skink and they are able to get back Max along with brining Skink along. Meanwhile, Snapper and Eddie Marsh couldn't be happier because Tony Torres was murdered by a disgruntled Brooklyn-mafia-involved son of a woman killed in a mobile home during the storm. This leaves Snapper and Eddie as the only people receiving the hurricane money. But suddenly Tony's Ex-Wife, Niria Torres calls the house and starts asking a lot of questions to Snapper. He panics and hangs up the phone, leaving Niria no choice but to drive down to Florida and collect her hurricane money in person. As soon as Max was rescued, all he could think of was his job back in New York and took the first flight back there to make sure his job was safe. Bonnie didn't want to go and decided to stay with Augustine until Max came back. Max was mad about her decision but still left without her.

The story is really rolling now and I think that it will only get better and more exciting. I really love how there are a bunch of different story lines inside the book. I think it makes the book more interesting and makes it so there are a ton of twists and turns in the story. Another reason I like having multiple story lines is because Hiaasen likes to connect the characters together to help solve the problem in the story. It is fun to read the book and watch the characters slowly come together and create on big plot instead of multiple smaller ones.

Q2, P14. Stormy Weather #2

As I told you last week, I have decided to read Stormy Weather by Carl Hiaasen for my second quarter outside reading project. What is happening in the book now is Bonnie is still looking for her husband. Skink brought Max back to his home in the woods and to control him, he put a electric panther collar on Max. Also another story line has entered the story. Edie Marsh and "Snapper" came to Florida to get lawsuit money for faking accidents in damaged neighborhoods. They came to the house of Tony Torres, a mobile home sales men who realizes they are trying to pull a fast one on him and demands they stay at his house or he will call the police. He makes them stay with him because he doesn't want his Ex-Wife to get any of the hurricane money so he is going to pretend Edie is his wife, sign the insurance papers, and collect all the money. Back with Bonnie, her search is going no where until she meets a man named Augustine who was the newly made owner of many rare animals including a Lion, Panther, Water Buffalo, Grizzly Bear, and the monkey that stole Max's video camera. They team up to search for the animals and Max.

I am really enjoying this book and it has been really hard to put down. I feel like the story is just starting to get going and I think there are going to be a lot of twists and turns in the story coming up. So far my favorite character is Skink. He is my favorite because he is always unpredictable and doing spontaneous things. I like how he uses a lot of sarcasm and his dry sense of humor. I also like him because he has a weird path that is different from any other character I have read about. I'm very excited to keep reading and once again, Carl Hiaasen has not disappointed me.

Q2, Outside Reading. Blog Comments

12/9/08 - Pat B. Outside Reading Post #1

12/9/08 - Steven F. Outside Reading Book

12/11/08 - Joey K. Outside Reading #1

12/11/08 - Andrew C. No Title

12/15/08 - Ben O. Extreme Measures

12/15/08 - Rutger H. Basketball

12/15/08 - Marcus J. The Hatchet

12/16/08 - Aleman A. Outside Reading Book

12/17/08 - Alex N. The Road (2)

12/30/08 - Max I. My Book: The Blue Star

Q2, P13. Stormy Weather #1

For the second quarter outside reading project, I decided to read Stormy Weather by Carl Hiaasen. I love all of Hiaasen's books and just like all of the other ones I have read, I find it hard to stop reading andput this one down. So far the book is mainly about a newly wedded couple - Bonnie and Mike Lamb - who are on their Honeymoon in Disney World. Their plan was to stay at Disney and visit all of the parks. But when Max learns a big hurricane is headed to another part of Florida, He drags Bonnie with him to go see the aftermath. Then when Max is filming the damage the hurricane did, a monkey takes his camera. While chasing the monkey, Max runs into the Ex-Governor-Turned Hermit, Skink who doesn't like him filming the destruction and his tourist ways. Skink gets mad and ends up "kidnapping" Max. Bonnie then realizes he's missing and she starts to search for him.

I chose to read this book because I have read multiple Carl Hiaasen books in the past and I have enjoyed every single one of them. I like Hiaasen's books because they have multiple story lines in every book and in the end all of the story lines come together to help resolve the problem in the story. I also like the books because they all take in place in Florida, and I go there for spring break ever year. So i fell like I can relate to what is going on in the story sometimes and compare the people in the books experiences with my own.

Q2, Extra Credit. The Road Soundtrack

"Landed" by Ben Folds would be a good addition to The Road Soundtrack. Landed relates to The Road when Ben Folds sings "Till I opened my eyes and walked out the door. And the clouds came tumbling down. And it's bye-bye goodbye I tried. Treading the sea of a troubled mind. I had to leave myself behind." Those lines are similar to the book when The Man and The Boy have to make tough decisions. "And the clouds came tumbling down." is like when the characters wold turns into one with out comforts or friends to support them. " I had to leave myself behind" symbolizes The Man deciding to start his journey with The Boy even thought he had to leave a lot of the things he loved behind. From the book, "You cant protect us. You say you would die for us but what good is that? I'd take him with me if it werent for you. You know I would. It's the right thing to do. You're talking crazy (Pg.56)." That quote relates to "Landed" because they both talk about someone trying to do a crazy thing to help others. But someone who care about that person intervenes for the better of everyone. "Landed" would be a perfect addition to The Road sound track because it has a nice tempo to fit the books story line and a lot of the lyrics can be compared to the book.

HERE IS THE LINK TO THE SONG ------ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54eNjLgImLs

Q2, P12. The Road

On Monday (12/1/08), we started reading The Road by Cormac McCarthy. As readers, we don't know much about the two main characters. Their names are unknown and the McCarthy refers to the two as The Man and The Boy. The book so far has been about The Boy and The Man walking along a long road while they head South to avoid a harsh winter. The two characters have not met any other people so far and everything has been shut down and abandoned. The author doesn't give any details of what happened to everyone or why it happened. McCarthy has a unique writing style that I have never seen before. A lot of times he decides not to use punctuation (like periods, commas, and apostrophes) when need. He also changes up his sentence structure and length to help depict the mood of what is happening in the story. He will create run on sentences to keep the flow of a scene going. Or he will use short, choppy sentences to help describe the scene and explain a lot of details.

So far I like The Road. I like the story like and the way the author writes it. I think that it is a depressing story especially because we don't even get to learn the two main characters' names. I hope that in the end The Man and The Boy will meet other people, reach the South and are able to start a new life. I'm excited to keep reading the book and hopefully uncover the reason why The Man and The Boy are on this journey and what happened to the world.

For this quarter I chose to read another Carl Hiaasen book. The book title is Stormy Weather. Here is a little preview of the book from Carl Hiaasen's website:
"When a ferocious hurricane rips through southern Florida, the con artists and carpetbaggers waste no time in swarming over the disaster area. Caught in the middle are Max and Bonnie Lamb, newlyweds torn in wildly different directions by the storm. It is Max's fateful decision to abort their Disney World honeymoon and race to Dade County to see the terrible devastation.
Armed with a video camera, the ambitious young advertising executive can't wait to show his hurricane tapes to his buddies back in New York. Over Bonnie's objections, Max eagerly sets out through the rubble, debris and mayhem - and promptly vanishes. The only clue to his whereabouts: a runaway monkey. The only bio who can help Bonnie's search: a mysterious young man with a tranquilizer gun and a roomful of human skulls."

HERE IS THE LINK TO HIS SITE --- http://www.carlhiaasen.com/books/books-stormy.html