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I was recently reading an article about how the Bush administration has until tomorrow the 21st to make any last minute rules that Obama can’t change with the stroke of a pen when he gets into office. The rule eliminates the advice of scientist about whether building projects will endanger species in the area, so that federal agency can decide for themselves. This article was effective in drawing the reader in but it doesnt explain itself very well. The article jumps around alot which is also confusing. The article also describes more issue about regulating greenhouse gases, and it doesnt connect it very well to the endangered species problem. The article hints that it is wrong what the Bush administration is doing so fast, so that Obama cannot change it so easily, but I’m sure that all Presidents make quick changes before they leave office. This article was all over the place and very confusing.

I just started reading an excerpt from the Story of Edgar Sawtelle. At first it was a little dull and hard to get into, but then the author talks about the dedication of this man named Schultz making his living as a farmer. She wrote about how hard he worked to create his farm and then one day he sold it all off out of the blue. I believe the author used this to hook the reader in because the reader acts himself/herself why did he do this? The author then introducing Edgar’s grandfather when your wondering what happened to Schultz, so of course the reader has to keep reading through to figure out what happened. The author writing is easy to read after that. The vocab is easy to understand, and it flows nicely. The only problem with the author’s writing is it tends to jump around, but overall it draws you in and is easy to read.

Catholic Church Architecture has gone through many changes from the period of 1930-1960s to the modern day. During the 1930-1960s, there were many resources to build churches, but many stuck with the traditional building material of thick stone for tradition. The walls had to be thick because of the weight and poor adhesiveness of stone to hold the building up. Also, many times columns were added to take off the weight. This added to the grandeur of the churches. The lighting inside the church was often very dim representing a mystery of God. Catholic Churches were also very large which was thought to make the person feel humble in such a big space. Modern Catholic Churches are very different. Many have explored the other resources such as wood and brick. Some argue because the expense is less. Many churches also wanted a multipurpose building, so churches were more modest. To incorporate a movement of unity, modern churches have fewer rooms than churches built in the 1930s-1960s. Lighting was also changed; Modern churches are much brighter to be more inviting to members. Society has changed based off the Catholic Church Architecture.  Obviously, architects would only build what people demand or need, so people have dictated the way the Churches have progressed. The churches have changed from huge, stone, and very elaborate to more modest, warm, inviting. 

I am in agricultural economics, and we are required to read a little bit each day. The book is fairly new, but it takes a long time to read just a little section because it has a lot of diagrams and graphs. I think the diagrams and graphs are very distracting. I think the graphs and diagrams are helpful, but not thrown in with the writing. I think the writer should have put the graphs/diagrams off to the side, so that the reader can read the page and understand the concepts and then look to the side of the page and analyze the graphs. One thing I like about the book is that there is a summery for each section. I think that is helpful to reinforce the important points. The book also bolds some words in the text, which probably isnt a good idea just because some students when highlighting think that the bold is the only important thing to know which isn’t true. I think if the writer takes these things into consideration it would make the book a lot easier to read.

I just started reading a new series called Twilight. It seemed like a silly book at first because I heard it was about dark romance and vampires, but to my surprise the books were very interesting. Stephenie Meyer, the author of the book, writes very descriptive. She makes you feel and see the things the characters are going through in the book. I was very dissapointed, however, when I saw a trailer for a movie for the first book. The characters didnt look anything like I pictured them, and it seemed to rob the book of its magic. Because of the authors writing style I imagine the characters and the setting and how things happen in a very different way. I am sure other people imagined it in their own way to and everyone pictured something different. I think everyone should read the book before seeing the movie.

An article titled “Why you’ll soon be 4,635 dollars poorer” caught my attention as I was browsing the internet. I’m sure the article caught a lot of people’s attention because of how much we are concerned about money and the economy these days. I read on to find out congress was 700 billion dollar bailout by the government which would cost us. I wonder how we can afford a bailout by the government if we are hundreds of trillions in debt. The article just confused me. It threw out a bunch of numbers and statistics, but didnt really summarize or explain anything. It just seemed like it was there to stir up fear and panic. The article was very short and then threw out another idea of if we didnt have the bailout we would go into recession.

This week I finished reading Harvesting the Heart. It was a really good book. I like how it has a very complex list of character. It shows different perspectives of people. It also can present a problem; sometimes I get very confused on who is talking. The story was center around a woman who grew up without a mother and ran away to marry. She had a child but could never connect to him, so she ran off just like her mother. She found her mother and then went back to her family. It makes me wonder how growing up without a parent effects children. In society, it seems that boys that grow up without a father effects them more than a girl growing up without a father, and it effects girls more growing up without a mother than boys growing up without a mother.  It also seems that single fathers get more sympathy than single mothers, as if mothers are expected to handle it well.

My Animal Science textbook is not very engaging. First off, I believe it’s not intriguing because of the small text of the words and also the pictures it does have look like there from 1960. Although that has nothing to do with the writing ability of the author, I think presentation of writing is very important to draw the reader in and not bore the reader. Because it is a science book, it seems to jump around and not connect things very well. Its text is very plain and to the point. I think the author should have brought in more colorful diagrams and tied things in better that way it would have kept the readers interest.

Jodi Picoult is one of my favorite authors. I think she really draws the reader into the book. How does she hook the reader and make it so interesting in the first few pages? I think in the very beginning she starts to drag the reader in by starting in the middle. The reader has no idea what is really going on, so they have to read more to find out. She also has many complex characters. She tells the story from each one of their views. I think it makes it more interesting because its more like a mystery. Also, what makes her writing so interesting is that she has lots of twist. The reader will think it is going somewhere and towards the end everything changes. She constantly keeps the reader on their toes. I think a combination of all these makes Jodi Picoult’s books so intriguing.

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