The Goals of Reading

My reading goal this quarter is to  read at least 1 distopian, 1 science fiction, and 1 historical fiction by the end of the quarter, which will be suggested by people outside my family.  I think this will help me as a reader by making me listen to what books other people like so I can actually see if I like them, and not just stick to the books I know.  I've already read the science fiction, and I really enjoyed it.  Now I'll read the whole series too!

I think that I might have trouble getting the books to read, because I usually read books my parents suggest, and that's basically it.  My book waiting list is The Silo and Into the Black, but now they'll have to wait. I'm not sure who I'll ask to suggest books, so that'll also be a challenge.  But to prevent this from happening, I'll ask early, so I know what books to read in advance so I don't panic a week from my deadline

Hunger Games Salute

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After a ban of public protesting, Thai protesters show the Hunger Games salute in public to show disapproval.  This trick confuses the general authorities, because they aren't protesting in riots, so should they shoot them?  Arrest them?  “If it is an obvious form of resistance, then we have to control it so it doesn't cause any disorder in the country,” said a spokesman for the junta to the Associated Press.  An article in the newspaper said that the authorities shouldn't track down the protesters who make this sign, because that didn't work well for Panem in The Hunger Games.  And the sign didn't start the revolution.  It was the execution of the man who made the sign.

This was interesting to me because it was cool that a book/movie affected these people so much.  They use a sign from a book to do almost the same thing it was used for in the book!  That is very cool.  I don't know what the people are protesting against, so I don't have an opinion about who is on the right side, but I just think it's awesome they're using the Hunger Games salute.

Myth Wars!

The Mayans and the Greeks believed in two very different things.

For one, the Mayan Myth of Creation.  They believed two gods (Tepeu and Gucumatz), Created the world. They were proud of themselves, and wanted something to appreciate the thing they created. They mad jaguars and snakes, but they could speak, and however hard they tried, they could not worship their creators. They created many humans, until one appreciated them. They were so perfect, they could see everything. Tepeu and Gucumatz had to make them less perfect.

Eris is different from Tepeu and Gucumatz because she doesn't exactly like humans. She loves discord and chaos. Her golden apple makes friends turn to enemies and wars start. Tepeu and Gucumatz liked their world and the people they created. They wanted the best for them. They didn't enjoy wars. When Eris saw a war, she and Ares went into it. They really enjoy watching these wars.

The myth Eris was in wasn't about her. It was about Ares. His myth explained why there were wars. Eris's part of it explained why friendships end, and why wars start. Tepeu and Gucumatz's myth explained how the world was created.