I think that Readicide is a problem in today’s schools. Teachers focus on so much detail in one book that it takes away the fun of reading. Personally, whenever reading a book and having to annotate or stop for a discussion, it makes the book dreadful to read. It does help us understand the book more and point out specific details but at the same time it takes you longer to read the book, which is a turn off, and makes the book less intriguing. I think that literary fiction and books like Of Mice and Men and Macbeth should still be in the curriculum but it shouldn’t be so drawn out. When we have to stop every chapter to take notes or quizzes, it tends to make the students count down the days until that unit is over. Quizzes over detail that isn’t a main part in the book also takes away from the main plot. Yes it is good to understand everything that is going on and that’s a good trait to learn, but at the same time, the main plot is the main plot and that is what should mainly be focused on.

With the way we read in classes, it tends to make kids not want to read outside of school. It can be dreadful because we have to stop and listen to every little detail when all we want to do is finish the book so we know the whole plot. Learning how to find the plot of books is very important but I think teachers tend to exceed with it. Reading books is very important. Not only does it give you a bigger spectrum on things, but it heightens your vocabulary and it teaches you all different writing styles and techniques. It is important for us to learn this because we need to know how to write in different styles because in almost any type of work force you need to know how to read and write. I feel that teachers don’t make reading as interesting and fun as it should be. If it weren’t for the constant stopping and note-taking or quizzes, I think students would be more intrigued and would want to read outside of school.

Post #5

Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick is definitely a book that I would recommend. It has already been made into a film and so I’ve heard, does not follow the book exactly. From where I am in the book so far, it is intriguing but definitely can be slow at times. It is easy to visualize what the movie would be like as I am reading it even though I have heard that the book does not live up to the movie. I understand that sometimes some parts of the book have to get cut in order to make the film, but I'm curious as to what parts are different.

One scene that definitely has to be kept is the first chapter "An infinite Amount of Days Until My Inevitable Reunion with Nikki". This chapter is really important because you learn all about the main character, Pat. It tells you all of the struggles that he has been going through and some of the things that he has had to do in order to try to cope with them. It goes in to talk about his family and what it’s like when he returns home. It puts the whole main story into perspective so that the other chapters allow you to understand what is going on. With everything that is going on, Pat is not able to see his wife which puts a huge toll on his life along with everything that that he has to deal with.

Even though he cannot see his wife, Nikki, he still thinks about her constantly and does everything in his power to do whatever he can to please her even if she isn’t there. In another chapter, "The Worst Ending Imaginable", Pat reads a book that he thinks Nikki would read or have read. I think this is an important scene to keep because it shows how much he cares about her and will even please her when she’s not around. It is a big part of the book because even if it is something as little as reading a book, it shows that he doesn’t stop thinking about her and how she is such a huge part in his life.

The third scene that I would keep is "Sing and Spell and Chant." In this scene, Pat is at home with his mom, dad, brother and best friend. Even though he is still trying to get into the groove of living a normal life again, it’s hard for his family to accept him with all of the changes that has been going on lately. His brother has been really nice to him and bought him a Green Bay Packers jersey so they can all watch the game together. Usually Pats dad doesn’t pay any attention to him because it is hard for him to accept him with all of the changes that are going on. But on this specific game day, his dad completely changes. As they were standing up and singing the fight song, Pats dad puts his arm around him and they all sing together. This is an important part to keep because it shows how time is heeling everything.

A scene that I think could be taken out would be "If I Backslide". At this part in the book, Pat is talking to his therapist, Dr. Patel. Not that it isn’t important that Pat is meeting with him and talking about everything that is going on lately, it is just an unneeded conversation. For the most part he is talking about a party that he is going to and doesn’t have any clothes that fit him. He goes to a therapist to talk about the struggles that has been changing his life; something more important could have been said.

The last scene that I would cut out is when he takes his friend Tiffany out to dinner. "I Can Share Raisin Bran" is about how he walked to Tiffany’s house, met her there, walked to the diner without talking, ordered a bowl of Raisin Bran, and then walked her back to her house without talking. The scene just seemed unneeded because nothing really went on. Yes he went out with a friend and tried to have a good time, but nothing special happened and kind of made that part boring.