Bryson, Bill
Bryson and his travel companion had been hiking for weeks and were exhausted and overwhelmed by the trail. They were fitter than they had been in a long time and were having a good experience but they realized how much they had done in comparison to the entire trail. They reached a lodge in Tennessee, i believe, and there was a large to scale 3D map of the trail in one of the rooms. They saw where the beginning was and saw where they had reached after their tireless efforts and they were less than a quarter of the way through. This was discouraging but also eye opening and brought them down to earth. They knew they would never be able to do the whole thing. They were behind schedule and struggling to continue and eventually decided to just skip a large chunk of the trail. Bryson got to see his family and was incredibly happy for that and once they got home they greatly appreciated all of their comforts from their home. Bryson hiked on the trail doing day hikes with his car for the time in between the two parts of their trip and began to enjoy these day trips.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Independent Reading Entry 16
Bryson, Bill
A Walk in the Woods
Since I began this book I've been thinking of attempting at least part of the Appalachian Trail at some point in my life. With the climate change occurring and other ecological problems eating away at a lot of the trees and natural beauty of the American wild, as Bryson described, it seems that the sooner the better. The statistics of people who actually complete the trail are astounding and, to me, pretty realistic. Had I not read this book and gone out to the AT i know I would have had a completely different perspective. This book has given me probably the most realistic view of the trail from personal experience of a completely realistic person. I know i am more in shape than Bryson is at his age and doing this but it is less about that than pure mental endurance. The many factors that occur on the trail are more than just being tired.
The level of appreciation that Bryson seems to have attained from his experience is very humbling and great. I have had experiences that have made me more appreciative of the life i live but on the trail the level of appreciation at even the smallest things, like a hamburger after a week of eating only noodles, is far greater than i have had to experience. His description's of the small things that you get after the extreme deprivation of being on the trail make me want to go for months on the trail because of the value of the luxuries in life afterward.
A Walk in the Woods
Since I began this book I've been thinking of attempting at least part of the Appalachian Trail at some point in my life. With the climate change occurring and other ecological problems eating away at a lot of the trees and natural beauty of the American wild, as Bryson described, it seems that the sooner the better. The statistics of people who actually complete the trail are astounding and, to me, pretty realistic. Had I not read this book and gone out to the AT i know I would have had a completely different perspective. This book has given me probably the most realistic view of the trail from personal experience of a completely realistic person. I know i am more in shape than Bryson is at his age and doing this but it is less about that than pure mental endurance. The many factors that occur on the trail are more than just being tired.
The level of appreciation that Bryson seems to have attained from his experience is very humbling and great. I have had experiences that have made me more appreciative of the life i live but on the trail the level of appreciation at even the smallest things, like a hamburger after a week of eating only noodles, is far greater than i have had to experience. His description's of the small things that you get after the extreme deprivation of being on the trail make me want to go for months on the trail because of the value of the luxuries in life afterward.
Independent Reading Entry 15
Bryson, Bill
A Walk in the Woods
After the intense ending of the LeCarre novel that was a spectacular action filled ending i went on to begin the outdoors guide written by Bill Bryson. I had read some of Bryson before and was aware of his comedic genius and was glad that his style of humor continuously showed up in this novel. His subtle, and sometimes not as subtle, sarcasm and various other ways to display humor keep me turning pages. As well as the entertaining humor the information that he includes about the trail and everything involved with hiking the trail is expertly included and there's just enough of it to be interesting and not overbearing or boring. all the information he gives the reader is incredibly novel to me and the geographic info has educated me of some extremely strange occurrences that have happened in the U.S. So far my favorite bit has been about a town in New England that was over tons and tons of coal. There was a fire one day on the edge of town that caught a small chunk of coal on fire. The flame spread to eventually light the entire underbelly of the town aflame. As the whole town began to crumble into the earth with children nearly falling into eighty foot craters the government came up with an evacuation plan. The town is still there today and is almost completely uninhabited. A ghost town. When Bryson walked through the town his reaction and description were entertaining. I've learned a lot so far in this book.
A Walk in the Woods
After the intense ending of the LeCarre novel that was a spectacular action filled ending i went on to begin the outdoors guide written by Bill Bryson. I had read some of Bryson before and was aware of his comedic genius and was glad that his style of humor continuously showed up in this novel. His subtle, and sometimes not as subtle, sarcasm and various other ways to display humor keep me turning pages. As well as the entertaining humor the information that he includes about the trail and everything involved with hiking the trail is expertly included and there's just enough of it to be interesting and not overbearing or boring. all the information he gives the reader is incredibly novel to me and the geographic info has educated me of some extremely strange occurrences that have happened in the U.S. So far my favorite bit has been about a town in New England that was over tons and tons of coal. There was a fire one day on the edge of town that caught a small chunk of coal on fire. The flame spread to eventually light the entire underbelly of the town aflame. As the whole town began to crumble into the earth with children nearly falling into eighty foot craters the government came up with an evacuation plan. The town is still there today and is almost completely uninhabited. A ghost town. When Bryson walked through the town his reaction and description were entertaining. I've learned a lot so far in this book.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Independent Reading Entry 14
The Spy Who Came in From the Cold
Lecarre, John
The novel is in the process of setting itself up completely for the end. I am not really sure what is going on in the beginning but more and more information builds up and it is clear that he leaves it up to the reader to organize it all. I cannot understand which side anybody is on because of conflicting and difficult to understand false identities and intentions. It seems that there is always a hidden motive that the higher ups do not inform field men even as important to the cause as Leamas and therefore the reader does not find out until Leamas does. So when Leamas is sent to do something or when someone thinks they are doing one thing when they are really doing something for the opposite side and the reader is caught up in all of the confusion. It is incredibly interesting to watch the workings and the lying of the business of espionage. The bosses keep even their own men in the dark in order to effectively carry out a plan. The fight between socialism and capitalism is ongoing and everyone is against one another. Most spies die very young as described by Leamas but he is now in his fifties because of "luck." Leamas knows the tricks of the trade and it carries him through the book and through endless confusion and tricks.
Lecarre, John
The novel is in the process of setting itself up completely for the end. I am not really sure what is going on in the beginning but more and more information builds up and it is clear that he leaves it up to the reader to organize it all. I cannot understand which side anybody is on because of conflicting and difficult to understand false identities and intentions. It seems that there is always a hidden motive that the higher ups do not inform field men even as important to the cause as Leamas and therefore the reader does not find out until Leamas does. So when Leamas is sent to do something or when someone thinks they are doing one thing when they are really doing something for the opposite side and the reader is caught up in all of the confusion. It is incredibly interesting to watch the workings and the lying of the business of espionage. The bosses keep even their own men in the dark in order to effectively carry out a plan. The fight between socialism and capitalism is ongoing and everyone is against one another. Most spies die very young as described by Leamas but he is now in his fifties because of "luck." Leamas knows the tricks of the trade and it carries him through the book and through endless confusion and tricks.
Independent Reading Entry 13
Unfortunately I left Scar Tissue in a bathroom at the A terminal in the Philadelphia airport recently. That really disappoints me because it was shaping up to be my favorite book that i've read in a long time. I had brought it as my main source of entertainment on the two day trip and was incredibly not entertained the whole time. I plan to buy another copy of the book soon so i can finish it.
In the mean time I read The Spy Who Came in From the Cold by John LeCarre. My uncle suggested it to me on the trip that i went on where i had lost my previous book and i began reading it right away. He described it as the best spy novel ever written and so did Graham Greene on the back of the book. Graham Greene was a British spy for a while but became an author later in life and i have enjoyed the books that i've read by him so i trusted that this would be a great novel. It started off a little over my head in some parts and it began somewhat slow. Not that there was a lack of action i just couldn't put it together until much later on in the book. Alec Leamas is the main character of the book and he is rarely referred to as Alec and almost always referred to as Leamas. This i think is to give a greater distance from the reader to the main character who is an aging field man that is an alcoholic with no real ups or downs. His numbness and lackluster are apparent in the novel but he is still incredibly smart and good at what he does.
In the mean time I read The Spy Who Came in From the Cold by John LeCarre. My uncle suggested it to me on the trip that i went on where i had lost my previous book and i began reading it right away. He described it as the best spy novel ever written and so did Graham Greene on the back of the book. Graham Greene was a British spy for a while but became an author later in life and i have enjoyed the books that i've read by him so i trusted that this would be a great novel. It started off a little over my head in some parts and it began somewhat slow. Not that there was a lack of action i just couldn't put it together until much later on in the book. Alec Leamas is the main character of the book and he is rarely referred to as Alec and almost always referred to as Leamas. This i think is to give a greater distance from the reader to the main character who is an aging field man that is an alcoholic with no real ups or downs. His numbness and lackluster are apparent in the novel but he is still incredibly smart and good at what he does.
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