Well Struszy, it has been a long run, and to be honest im not quite sure that I managed to beat you. You were a worthy opponent and i commend you on your outstanding valor. But alas, this competition between two titans of the books must end. I may have lost once but the eternal reading competition is not over. During this assignment I read two books, i read the the third book of the Eragon series called Brisingr, this book was a whomping 752 pages. And now im finishing up Witch and Wizard which is a little over 300 pages. i finshed the book and it wasnt really that great of an ending since nothing exciting happened. but all in all i think i had some fun reading!

Time reading 5 hours

Total Time: 35 hours and 22 minutes

In the book that I am currently reading, i think the theme is hard work pays off. The kids are showing this in the way they go after their parents.

Now were back with Wisty. she is currently sprinting around trying to find a way away from the guards. she runs out on to the roof and gets chased to the edge. she tries to run along a tight rope but she fails to notice the knot. she starts to fall but her fall is shortened by the lifeless corpse of the person who used to visit them in jail.

time read: 1 hour

Total time: 30 hours 22 minutes

So this week my friend Mr. Strusz told me that I needed to relate my book to a passage from the Bible. Well I know that this might not be original at all.....but I picked Proverbs 16:3a which says "Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed." I pick this because during the book the main characters never give up in trying to get back their parents. Although the book doesn't mention anything biblical it still shows a great amount of perseverance.
Now the book. We left of with Wisty plummeting towards a pack of hungry rats in a garbage pile. Since she is a rat you can see why she would be a little scared. The rats surround her, but just in the nick of time she transforms back into a human which makes all the little rats run in fear. Lets check back in with Whit. Oh man, hes getting chased down the railroad tracks in his van, by a train. Who would have thunk? Well anyways, he can't seem to get the van to start and the train is barreling towards him and the passengers in the van. He frantically shouts at the van and at the last second life is breathed into the van and it takes off down the tracks. I sure cant wait to see what happens next.

Time Reading: 1 hour 22: minutes

Total Time: 29 hours 22 minutes

Wisty haas the ability to become covered in flames.

Her drumstick that her parents gave her is used as her wand

Wisty is a witch. haha.

Whit is a wizard. duh.

Wisty turn into a mouse to hide from the New Order

you may be asking yourself, what the heck are all these random pictures here for? well let me tell you. All of these correlate to the book I am reading. As you now know from my last blog Whit and Wisty are on a hunt to save their parents. The only way to do this, as Wisty decided, is to turn herself into a mouse. Along with that Whit had to undergo an aging spell to make him look like a guard. At first it seems that they may encounter a few rough spots when they try to put the guards to sleep but the magic just doesnt seem to work. Then after much persuading in their minds the magic kicks in and they fall asleep. Now it is Wisty's turn. She begins to crawl through the maze of vents strewn throughout the New Order's insane asylum. She is moving along quite well but then unknowingly walks over the edge of the vents and begins to plummet. She crashes into a thin metal screen the breaksher fall, and her leg. But shes still alive. When I ended my reading Wisty was looking down through the screen into the eyes of thousands of rats waiting for her to fall through and make her their lunch.

Time Read: 2 hours

Total time: 28 hours

This week I am required to discuss the issue of how my reading goals are comin along. So to be honest, they are coming along very nicely. I have already logged 20 hours which is an A but I said that I wanted to beat Strusz. I need only a few more hours before I catch up.

Anywho, back to my book. When Wisty and Whit left the diner they were then forced to sneak back to Garfunkels, which is the kids hideout. A shaman comes in to try and aid them in controlling their powers and actually being able to tell when to use them. This proves useless as the shaman stands in awe of how powerful the kids really are. Their lesson is cut off abruptly when the leader for a week tells the duo that the new order has captured their parents and that they plan on "vaporizing" them along with some kids. So now plans change for them and Whit and Wisty must now launch an elaborate plan on how to save their parents and many a child from being vaporized by the one who is the one.

Time read: 3 hours

Total Time: 26 hours.

So this week I was required to review a podcast or book review. I decided to review Guys Can Read. To be honest I enjoyed most parts but one of the parts I didn't really like was how much they beat around the bush before they discussed the book. Other than that it was good.

In my book Witch and Wizard by James Patterson we left Whit and Wisty stranded in jail and hungry beyond belief. It is at this point in time that the two begin to try and hone in on their magical powers. They also soon realize this is easier said than done. For instance, one night Whit wakes up to see his sister floating in midair. This freaks him out and when he shouts her name she wakes up and falls to the floor. Then the next day Whit unintentionally runs through the wall. This is where he sees his ex girlfriend. She tells him that the New Order has killed her and that what he sees of her now is her spirit in the Shadowland. After a brief discussion she tells Whit that he and Wisty must break out of the prison that day. So as soon as the Matron comes back the make a bolt for it. Luckily enough they make it into Freeland which is a place run by pretty much children. Sasha(another spirit) leads the duo towards the leader of the kids in Freeland and she shares with them how they are needed to help break out some more kids from the New Orders prison. Reluctantly they agree and now go back into the world of the New Order. And while eating at a diner, an old lady calls Wisty out on being a witch, she cleverly denys it by picking up a fork on the ladies table and throwing it at herself making it look like the lady was a witch too, which she turned out to be. When I finished reading Whit and Wisty were leaving the diner.

Time Read: 3 hours

Total time: 23 hours

For this post we are not expected to associate our book with a particular theme. So I will pick up where I left off last time. The two kids are now done with their hearing. They were sentenced to death. After the hearing they were taken to a place that used to be a psychiatric hospital but now it is a place that people of the New Order call "Death Row". They are walked down to there cell by a horrid lady called the Matron. Their cell is rather dingy and there is no running water and the bathroom has no toilet paper. Whit and Wisty are visited once in awhile by a person that calls himself The Visitor. He issues out punishment for even the slightest thing that goes against his will. They also need to fight for food. The food supply is a straight shot down a hallway filled with rabid killer dogs. The matron only allows 4 minutes for the duo to get their food. So Whit, the older of the two, decides to make a dash for it. He gets down there with ease but the coming back is what is hard. On his way back he is nipped on the back of his leg and when he returns to Wisty, rejoicing about the food, the Matron takes it because it took him 4 minutes and 6 seconds. So they are sent back to their room without any food or water and that is where I left off.

Time read: 2 hours.

Total time: 20 hours. (yay) (:

I have now started a new book called Witch & Wizard by James Patterson. One song that I think correlates to this book would be......Indestructible by Disturbed. I know that title may scare some people but it is actually a good song. its about fighting and being, well, indestructible.

I started this book earlier this week. It is about a brother and sister who were torn away from their parents because of some "disorder" that is unknown to them. So when the new government finds the kids they come in, take them and put them in jail. When they arrive at the jail they notice that the only other people in the jail are kids. When i left off it was when they were going to the court room for their hearing.

Time Read: 1 hour.

Total time: 18 hours.  

This week I am supposed to pick a song to relate to my book. I picked the song Don't Blink by Kenny Chesney. The reason I think this relates is because in both things we see how life goes by way faster than it seems.

Now for the big doozie. Now when we left Eragon he was trying to find the right sword inside the varden camp. He tries out many of them and finally settles with the falchion. A few days pass and it comes to the day of Roran and Katrinas wedding. Merely a few hours before the ceremony Murtagh and Thorn (the evil dragon and rider) show up with and army to attack the Varden. The people scatter to assume fighting postions and Eragon and Saphira fly to meet them in the sky. The battle between the two powerhouses ends in a stalemate with Eragon on the ground unconscious and Murtagh and Thorn flying away for their lives. After magicians heal Eragon and the Varden assesses the damage, they think it would be best to continue as planned with the wedding. The wedding goes smoothly and the two are married by nightfall. In the morning Roran is sent on a raiding mission and we don't hear from him for awhile. Meanwhile Nasauda tells Eragon that she needs him to leave Saphira behind once again and go to Farthen Dur to oversee the election of the new dwarve king. Eragon doesn't like this plan because he knwos that Galbatorix could attack anytime that he was away. He reluctantly agrees to go but on the conditions that after the election him and Saphira can travel to Ellesmera to resume training with Oromis and Glaedr (the hidden dragon and rider). After Eragon arrives at the meeting spot he find his friend Orik who is currently trying to win the election. During the first try to elect a king Eragon steps out for some air and while he is walking around he gets attacked by dwarves and is nearly killed. He tells this to Orik who launches a full blown investigation into who did it. After they find the perps, Orik announces which clan was behind it and that clan was then banished. Finally when the skirmish was settled the leaders of the clan sat down and chose a new leader. Much to the delight of Eragon they chose Orik to lead them. He contacted Nasauda about and as soon as she told Saphira, Saphira took off and flew straight to Eragon. Then, in honor of the newly anointed king, she restored the magic stone of the dwarves. After this parting gift Eragon and Saphira fly to Ellesmera to resume training. When they finally arrive Eragon discusses his need for a Rider's sword seeing as his falchion broke. Oromis points him toward the smith Rheunon. She has made every Riders sword. After much argument she agrees to make Eragons sword. When she finishes the sword everyone can tell it is her finest piece of work. On his way back to Oromis' hut he sees the old man and his dragon suited in full blown war-armor. Then Glaedr gives Eragon his "Heart of Hearts" which contains the soul of the dragon. When that is all said and done the two part ways to help the Varden attack two seperate cities. Little do they know that this is the last time that they will ever see each other. During Eragon's attack on Feinster he hears Glaedr's thoughts through the heart of hearts. When he hears this he hears Murtagh and Thorn brutally killing Oromis and Glaedr. This is one of the saddest parts of the book. However meanwhile at Feinster several magicians are trying to summon a Shade (a demon). Right before Eragon and Arya kill the last magician the Shade is summoned and starts to choke Arya. Eragon tries to hit him but to no avail. Then Arya manages to break the arm he was choking her with and in the split second she was free she takes the sword and put it through his heart, killing the Shade. That signifies the end of the battle. Right after the battle is where the third book ends. I can't wait until the fourth and final book comes out so I can read that.

Time read: 9 hours

Total time read: 17 hours

This week I am required to compare my reading habits to another habit I have. Well I pick golf. I golf nearly every day of my life...for the past 4 years of my life. It varies day to day how much I practice but when all is said and done I do practice a lot. Now let's compare this to my reading habits. My reading habits are very inconsistent seeing as that before this reading project i had yet to pick up a book this year. Now I'm kind of liking it. So I figure if I read as much as a practiced golf I'd be like a pro reader or something like that.

Now for my book. We left off with Eragon and Arya sound asleep out in the middle of nowhere. When we rejoin them they are sprinting towards the safe haven known as the Varden. Since they both can run as fast as cheetahs this only takes about half a day. When they reach the Varden, Eragon can sense Saphira's mind and as soon as that happens she vaults in to the air to come and greet him. The reunion between them consists of Eragon telling her about all he did after she left. (I don't know if I mentioned this earlier but they can communicate with their thoughts.) So after all this occurs, the group heads towards the center of the camp where Nasauda's pavilion is located. Nasauda is the leader in the Varden. Eragon reports to her and although she is mad that he made Saphira leave, she is happy to see him in one piece. Since he has returned they throw a huge banquet during which Roran, Eragon's cousin, asks Eragon to be the one to marry him and Katrina. Eragon says yes which makes Roran extremely happy. Eragon heads back to his tent for the night. In the morning he realizes that he needs a sword and that the one he has now wont do. When I stopped reading he was walking through the camp looking for Horst the blacksmith.

Time read: 2 hours

Total time: 8 hours

For this blogging segment I am required to discuss my last trip to the library, and to be honest, it has been awhile. The last time I went there was quite a big fiasco because I had to renew my library card and the kind ladies behind the counter did not appreciate that. I only wanted to check out a few golf books but because of the renewal process, what should have been a 5 minute ordeal turned into a 30 minute disaster. I forgot my drivers license so that threw a wrench in my plans right away. After much begging and pleading one lady finally said "OK" we'll let you take it out but only for a week. I accepted seeing as I had no other choice.

Now for the book part...During the part that I read this time involves Eragon asking Arya questions about her life before he knew her. And seeing how she is nearly 300 years old there are a lot of questions to ask. It basically broils down to what made her act the way she does now. She mentions her best friend Faolin. They used to do everything together but tragically he was the first to die for the cause of the Varden against Galbatorix. Her story is heart-wrenching. Eragon loses his feelings of sexual love for her and is overcome with friendship love. To show this he uses magic to make a lily out of the ground. It drains much of his strength but in doing this kind act their bond grows stronger as they fall asleep.

Time Read: 1 hour 30 minutes

Total Time: 6 hours

This part of the book covers Eragon escaping the Empire and trying to return to the Varden (the good guys). He finally meets up with Arya and they pair up on their escape. I think this section of reading applies to my life in the sense that when sometimes troubles happen in my life, I tend to run away from them instead of standing up to them.

Time Read: 1 Hour

Total Time: 4 and a half hours

We last left our heroes near Helgrind, the expected home of the evil Ra'zac and Lethrblaka. Early in the morning  Eragon, Roran, and Saphira search all over Helgrind for an entrance into the cave but find come up empty until they stumble upon the secret entrance hidden within the walls of the cave. A huge battle commences between Saphira and the Lethrblaka and Eragon and the Ra'zac. They both escape with wounds that Eragon then heals with magic. They have to search through the caves to find Katrina (Rorans lover) and finally do. She is harmed but not fatally. Eragon forces Saphira to leave against her will in order for him to kill the final Ra'zac. He succeeds and we leave Eragon sprinting out of the empire toward the Varden (a safe haven). A scene change happens and now we're with the elves and other members of the resistance who are waiting for Eragons return. They see Saphira coming towards them so they all go out to talk to the dragon and her ride only to find out that Eragon has stayed behind. Many are furious with him and Arya, an elf, takes off on a mission to find him.

Time read: 2 hours 30 minutes.

Total Time: 3 and a half hours

Tonight at 7:35 p.m. I started to read Brisingr, the third book of the Eragon series written by Christopher Paolini. I read until, well, now. Which is 9:02. I read to page 36. From pages 1-36 we join our heroes doing some recoinassance work on their foes: King Galbatorix and the dreaded Ra'Zac. (Ra'Zac are creatures that can kill you with breath). They scope out the worship place known as Helgrind which is when they see many of the leaders cutting themselves and allowing the followers to drink their blood. Pretty gruesome. After seeing this the duo, Eragon and Roran, (Eragon is the dragon rider) return to camp where Saphira, the dragon, is waiting. All three then discuss the next days activites and Eragon attempts to teach Roran some magic which in turn fails. Seeing that it is late at night they all fall asleep and this is where I ended reading for tonight.

Time read: An hour and a half.

Goals for independent reading

During these twelve weeks I plan on competing and/or beating Strusz to acheive the ever elusive A. I plan on reading the the third book of the Eragon by Christopher Paolini. I also want to read the book Witches and Wizards by James Patterson because I am for books in general I am more interested in fiction that non-fiction.

By reading for twelve weeks or so I want to enhance my reading knowledge and allow my imagination to expand and grow for a lifetime.