The author is  obviously a reader. She is a passionate reader and this shows in her voice while writing this piece. She is trying to spread her love of reading to her audience. I believe it is quite infectious! I believe she is writing to people who do not read too often and to people who “snack on paperbacks.” I also think that she is writing to people who want to destroy the book as we know it and to have everything online. Some may suggest that she is even writing to the creators of The Kindle, and Kindle lovers alike across the world.

Shields is trying to remind her audience of the reasons and joys of reading. She is trying to reignite people’s passion for reading. She wants to remind people of how reading can bring you to different places and make you feel different emotions without leaving the comfort of your home. She is trying to show readers that reading needs to be “unplugged.” Her purpose of writing this piece is show that reading is essential for our minds and our bodies.

The author suggests that reading demands our full attention and that cannot be done while surfing the web. Reading deserves a solid amount of uninterrupted, solitary time. She believes that reading can take the reader places that the internet can never take you. Shields is trying to depict to readers that although we have plenty of information on different cultures and places through the internet, the internet will never give us the same type of experience or emotional connection that reading can. She is also trying to make readers aware of how reading affects our minds and how essential it is for our well-being. We should never take the ability to read for granted. I believe that the author is trying to open people’s minds by telling them that through reading we can experience emotions and moments that we may never get to experience in our own lives. She is trying to show that reading can make the reader into better and more well-rounded people.

Shields’ writes about how often times doing things in solitary, such as eating dinner or watching a movie, can be pitied. She argues though that reading is something that must be done in solitary. No one pities a person curled up on the couch reading a book. She shows that while we are sitting on our couch we can be in a “shabby Manitoba farmhouse.” Shields’ is showing to the author that reading is not escaping our own world but rather “multiplying possibilities and expand[ing] possibilities.” She also argues that we need books on paper because “it allows us to experience more fully, to imagine more deeply, enabling us to live more freely.”

I think that Shields did a good job of showing readers her purpose. I do think that it could have been written a bit more effectively. I did understand the piece and enjoyed it the first time I read it. However I feel that I didn’t comprehend the true meaning of it until I went through it more thoroughly. I believe that Shields has some very good arguments and I agree with her point of view. I do think, however, that the Kindle is pretty cool and wouldn’t be opposed to getting one!

http://march13.wordpress.com/2010/01/21/response-to-carol-geddes-growing-up-native/

March13 provided very good insight into Carol Geddes’, ¨Growing up Native.¨ I agree with March13 that the voice of Geddes was one of education, and pride, however I also believe that she has the voice of hope. The author talks about how she ¨suddenly realized that [she] could go to university too!¨ She learns that the popular stereotype that ¨university [is] for white kids, not native kids¨ is not true when she gets accepted by a university and graduates with a Bachelor of arts in English and philosophy. I think that this shows other native readers, other people who do not believe in themselves, that there is hope.

I also agree with March13 that this piece was written for native people as well as regular people. I think it may be written for  Canadians (possibly even all North Americans).

I agree with March13 that Geedes is trying to provoke change with this piece. Canadians need to be educated about racism and that it is not acceptable. While I read her piece I felt as though it is the racism that people have that sets the native people back. Our society has told them for years that they are not worth anything and they are believing it. I think it would be interesting to see if the racism no longer existed and if our society built them up if their lives would be different. I believe it would be. I think it’s a sad cycle that needs to be broken.

Overall, I enjoyed reading March13’s blog. They brought up some good points and were full of insight!

Willi takes her reader through an emotional journey. The voice that Willi uses is her own, as it is a memoir. As you begin to read the memoir it sounds as though she is using a voice of tragedy but as it progresses you begin to see that it really is a voice of hope and understanding. Throughout the piece she uses an honest voice.  The audience that Willi is writing to, I believe, is anyone of us. More specifically, I believe she is writing to people who feel as though there is little or no hope in life. She is writing to those people who think that life should be easy and are wondering why they are struggling so much.

Willi’s purpose of writing this memoir is to show that ‘life is difficult, sometimes.’ She wants to show her reader that everybody has struggles. Willi was reflecting on the bad and hard times in her life. Even though she probably felt as though she would never get through the hard times, she did. Her story is a story of survival. Willi’s writing takes people to the hard times that they have had, or are currently dealing with in their own life. By doing this she is showing that we are not alone in the difficult times in our life, though it may feel like that at times. Everybody has struggles, and life is not easy.  I think she also wants to show that difficult situations should be dealt with effectively to decrease the negative impacts of the situation.

Willi shows that life is difficult by taking her reader on an emotional journey. She takes us to the times in her life that are very bleak and she feels as though she has little or no hope. Although she takes us to the dark time in her life she also shows us how things in her life have gotten better. She shows the reader why she has hope today, and why life isn’t always so difficult.

Willi went through many hard times in her life.  She had a strained relationship with her father, a forced relationship with the father of her child, and a mother who suffered from bipolar disease which eventually killed her. The only thing that helped Willi get through her tough times was knowing that life is difficult and that if ¨other people had difficult live[s] and get through it [then] so could [she].¨ Willi then goes on to tell how some of the issues have resolved themselves. She shows that even though life is difficult, and it may seem at times that things are unfair, everyone has power to change their difficult situations and make their own life better.

I believe that Willi portrayed that time in her life effectively. She was able to grab a hold of my emotions and at one point I was near tears. She was able to remind me of the hard times in my life and how I was also able to overcome them. I thought that she was able to portray very well that ‘life is difficult, sometimes.’

It is often true in life, that in order to truly understand something, we must study it and make it our own. Adler believes that this is also true in the case of reading. Adler uses is his own voice, as an avid reader, to address his audience. He passionately addresses book readers, to mark up their books. He is specifically addressing those book readers who think marking up a book is an act of mutilation. He is also addressing  ‘owners’ of books. Adler argues that ownership only comes once it has become a part of yourself.  He is trying to convince these people that writing in a book is not a sin but rather a way to understand and value it more fully.

The purpose of Adler writing this piece is to help readers appreciate and understand books fully. Adler wants people to read ‘great book[s], rich in ideas and beauty’ actively to be able to admire them amply. He really wants people to begin to look at reading as a conversation between themself and the author. He is trying to show that to truly read and comprehend a book one must mark it up. Without marking up a book, Adler believes that readers are not reading to their full potential.

Adler believes that ‘marking up a book is indispensible to reading’ for several reason. Marking up a book shows thoughts that are being experienced while reading. This ensures that readers are absorbing what is being read and the ideas of the author. It also enables the reader to have a more interactive experience.  Adler is adamant that reading becomes more about quality and not quantity. Marking up a book is also important because you need to ask questions while reading. By writing questions in the margins you can argue with the author and answer your own questions as you continue reading. It is important, not only to absorb and understand what is being read but also to analyze it critically.

Adler gives several suggestions to mark up a book effectively. He believes that major points should be underlined, key words should be circled, and major points should be numbered.  Questions about the reading should be written in the margins, as well as starring important statements.

I really enjoyed this reading. I thought that it is true that to effectively read and understand a book markings must be made in it. For all of my academic reading I write notes on a notepad. Adler stated, ‘the physical act of writing … brings words and sentences more sharply to your mind and preserves them better in your memory.’ I believe that I am able to better comprehend my academic reading because of my note taking. I enjoyed his style of writing. He took a light-hearted approach to this subject which made it an easy read. I believe that he was able to effectively portray his ideas. While reading his piece I was very inspired to pick up a pen and begin writing notes!

This is a test post! I’m a bit nervous about this whole blogging experience but hopefully over time it will become easier! I also hope that my writing will improve substantially!