February
The Complete Tales & Poems of Edgar Allan Poe – Edgar Allan Poe (312 of 864)
The Guidebook: The NRSV Student Bible – Harper Bibles (234 of 1352)
Total Pages Read – 546 (19.5 pages/day)
I am satisfied with my reading rate this month. I do believe it could be better, but, in my eyes, it was not an unsuccessful month. I only read two books this month, and I did not complete either one of them,which is slightly disappointing, but I will try to make up for the lack of variety in March. I’ve mainly been reading Edgar Allen Poe’s stories and poems for enjoyment, and I’ve been reading the bible to further my understanding and knowledge on the christian religion. In March I would like to read more of both of these books, and hopefully finish one if not both of them.
My favourite book this month was of course The Complete Tales & Poems of Edgar Allan Poe and my favourite story within it was The Murders in the Rue Morgue. Mystery and horror have always been two of my favourite genres, and Poe does an amazing job incorporating those into his stories. In very minimal pages, he is able to affect me, personally, as a reader more than some authors can in a whole novel.
Being a citizen in North America, Christianity is quite prevalent in popular culture, so I decided to read The Guidebook: The NRSV Student Bible to educate myself. Many of the stories in the Bible are not talked about in media, and being able to learn about and read those was a very interesting experience. Reading the stories that come up most in movies, music, and TV was also helpful because it allowed me to understand the true story, as it appears in the bible.
March
The Complete Tales & Poems of Edgar Allan Poe – Edgar Allan Poe (437 of 864)
The Guidebook: The NRSV Student Bible – Harper Bibles (112 of 1352)
Total Pages Read- 549 (17.7 pages/day)
My reading rate has dropped this month, and although I am disappointed with that, I understand the circumstances that led to it. I hope that my reading rate improves; however, I feel like with the amount of things going on in my life at the moment, this will prove to be a difficult task. I have continued reading the same books as last month, and hope to finish them soon, but the long pages and little text seem to slow my progress.
My favourite short story that I read from Edgar Allan Poe this month was A Descent into the Maelström. The way Poe described the scene allowed me to visualize myself on the cliff and on the ship watching the events take place. The story was beautifully destructive. The imagery combined with the life or death conflict had contrasted perfectly to create a scene that will forever remain in my mind.
In the bible I read the stories of the creation of our world, and was surprised by the amount of details and facts I did not know. I still have a lot left to read, but what I have read so far have been really enlightening. Reading the bible is allowing me to understand more about the world and has taught me a lot about the beliefs of many people in my life.
April
The Complete Tales & Poems of Edgar Allan Poe – Edgar Allan Poe (115 of 864)
The Guidebook: The NRSV Student Bible – Harper Bibles (62 of 1352)
‘Night Mother – Marsha Norman (96 of 96)
I Never Saw Another Butterfly -Celeste Raspanti (51 of 51)
Afterimage -Robert Chafe (83 of 83)
My Hands Were Made For This – Alysha Mohamed (34 of 34)
Total Pages Read- 441 (14.7 pages/day)
I am quite disappointed with my reading rate this month. In all areas of school I have fallen behind, and reading is one of those areas. I really hope that May is different and that I am able to bring my reading rate up again.
This month my three favourite reads were My Hands Were Made For This, ‘Night Mother, and The Balloon Hoax (a short story by Poe)
My Hands Were Made For This was such a powerful piece and really touched me. It was one of the few works to which I have teared up while reading, and seeing it translated to a stage was even more powerful. To me this play showed the truth of the Syrian war, as well as how love is similar all over the world.
‘Night Mother was a play that hit really close to home for me. The play, which only had two characters, spoke about mental health and how it can influence a person to make a decision that will affect everyone they know. The way that Jessie’s depression was portrayed by her lack of emotion moved me, and the ability of Marsha Norman to create such powerful imagery and emotion through only dialogue was very powerful.
The Balloon Hoax by Edgar Allan Poe was a story that motivated me as a writer. Poe pays so much attention t detail and this story really displayed that. Poe is able to utilize all 5 senses to create imagery unequal to anything I have ever read before. Poe is an author whose skills I wish to adopt and reading his work really influenced me as a writer.
February 2019
A Fault In Our Stars – John Green (318/318) 4/5
I haven’t read many, if any, true romance novels, but I was glad I chose to read this book. The voice used by the characters and the tone of the novel were both very captivating and helped to solidify my immersion into the story. This book has convinced me to broaden my selection of books to read, as I really enjoyed reading something different.
I only read one novel this month, and my reading rate was much lower than I would wish for it to be. I just got back into reading this semester and hope to up my reading rate to at least 15 pages/day next month. I am hoping to read more famous fiction novels to help me prepare for diplomas next year, such as The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini.
Total pages- 318
Total days – 28
Reading rate- 11.35 pages/day
March 2019
A Game Of Thrones – George R. R. Martin (521/864) 5/5
I have started to rewatch the Game of Thrones show in preparation for Season 8, so I decided to read the books and see what kind of things are different in each. I love how the book is written from different individual’s perspectives and there is so much subtle foreshadowing that is hard to catch on your first time reading it. This isn’t a classic good vs. evil book, so it is genuinely suspenseful when my favourite characters were put through dangerous situations because it is entirely possible they could die. It was a book that made me never want to stop reading, and I’m glad I chose to read it while watching the show. I also was able to learn a lot about how to write characters for my own fiction pieces.
Once again I only read one book this month, but I am quite content because my reading rate did increase and this is a novel that I really enjoyed and learned from. Next month I plan to finish “A Game Of Thrones” and begin “A Clash Of Kings”- the next novel in the series.
Total pages=521
Total days=31
Reading rate=16.8pages/day
April 2019
A Game Of Thrones – George R. R. Martin (343/864) 5/5
Again, A Game Of Thrones was the book I read/finished this month. I loved this book because it not only taught me about how to write better, but it also taught me about life and the human condition. The characters in this book were written so realistically and it helped to immerse me in this fantastical world. I was taught a lot about love, betrayal, and faith, and how they can affect an individual’s life. I can’t wait to begin reading the next book in this series, A Clash Of Kings.
In April I finished A Game Of Thrones but I did not read anything else. I was very busy with One Acts so I did not get as much time to read. I am hoping to increase my reading rate by June, to at least 17 pages/day.
Total pages=343
Total days=30
Reading rate=11.4 pages/day
May 2019
The Illustrated Book of Sayings: Curious Expressions from Around the World – Ella Frances Sanders (112/112) 3.5/5
A Clash of Kings – George R. R. Martin (412/969) 5/5
The Illustrated Book of Sayings was a fun book to read, and was an easy way to increase my reading rate in this month. I learned about different language and cultures and how to say different insults and compliments. Although I liked this book, I wasn’t affected by it. It did inspire me to want to read books from different cultures and explore the main themes that they explore.
A Clash of Kings, the second novel in the A Song of Ice and Fire series, was a wonderful book to read. It always kept me on the edge of my seat, and I was constantly getting surprised and heartbroken at the shocking reveals. In this book George R. R. Martin used a lot of subversion to throw reader off and make sure that big reveals really made the reader double take at what just occurred. I hope to finish this book next month.
This month, I read one more book than I did last semester, and I increased my reading rate back to higher than what it was in March. I am hoping that I can increase my reading rate by at least 0.1 for next month, but hopefully I can increase it by more than that.
Total pages=524
Total days=31
Reading rate=16.9pages/day
Dear Jatinpal,
Your selection of reading was certainly diverse; great job on expanding your barrier of knowledge.
The format for this reading latter was great, way better then mine. In the future I think i’m going to use your format for my reading ladders. I loved how you decided to read the bible, it’s always important that people learn the ways of other individuals rather then be ignorant about it, very proud of you. I always wanted to read Edgar Allan Poe, and since you enjoy it, that should be enough assurance for me to finally give it a shot.
The only suggestion I have for you is to into more depth on your opinion on the books. You said that Poe can affect you more then a reader in very minimal pages, what are those pages about? How do you get affected? Overall, great job though.
SIncerely,
Akaash
Dear Akaash,
Thank you so much for the feedback. I will definitely add more to my explanation and description of the books I read when I have time, and will ensure that I keep that in mind for future reading ladders. I hope you enjoy Edgar Allan Poe’s work, and I would be really interested to hear your opinion on it.
Sincerely,
Jatinpal
Dear Jatinpal,
I love how eloquently you expressed yourself in all of this.
I am able to effectively see a little bit into very beautiful soul.
I’m very happy you’re still reading the Bible and that you’re enjoying it.
I’m still yet to read some of Edgar Allan Poe’s work after several recommendations but I’ll definitely check it out after reading this.
My only suggestion is that the B in Bible should be capitalized.
With love,
Tolu x
Dear Tolu,
Your comment means so much to me and I’m very thankful for your kind words. I apologize for not capitalizing the B in Bible and will change that imminently.
Love, Jatinpal
Dear Jatinpal,
I really like how you were honest with your readers that your reading is slacking because of the work load being put on us as students. Its not our fault but I really encourage you to try and read as much as you can throughout the rest of the year.
I’ve always heard of the poet Edgar Allan Poe and I’m always told to read his work, and I think I might now because you said its good. I have a few book recommendations I’d like to give you because I enjoyed reading them and I think you might too, “Looking for Alaska” by John Green and :”The Knife of Never Letting Go” by Patrick Ness. They’re really good reads and let me know of you come around to reading them!
Love, Sarah Omar
Dear Sarah,
Thank you for your words of encouragement, I will definitely try to improve my reading rate. I highly recommend you read some of Edgar Allan Poe’s work, and more specifically I would recommend you read The Balloon-Hoax. I will definitely read both the books you recommended and will add them to my list, and I’ll tell you what I think of them when I do.
Love, Jatinpal