“So, I kept the door open, just a crack, and felt comforted that the letter taped to my fridge might slam it shut at a moment’s notice.” Page 120, Paragraph 2

“rushing like the Colorado River” Page 129, Paragraph 3

“her tongue became dry and her lips were cracked” Page 130, Paragraph 2

“over vodka, cognac, homemade wines, homegrown vegetables, freshly cured cheeses and fish from the nearby lake” Page 120, Paragraph 4

fifth grade-poem memorization

senior year-book reports

kindergarten-started reading

favorite book discovery

Purpose: explore past and share a memory

Audience: share experience if they have a fav book; a bit of explanation about life

Stance: Affectionate; nostalgic; be seen as happy/glad that i did these things

Media/Design: In print/ on blog;

• Setting: white walls, staircase, pictures and art, a kitchen throught he doorway, a large round window high on the wall, a room full of toys for the baby, a dark dining room, closed curtains over the windows that keep the room dark
• quiet except for dogs whining, occasional car driving by
• foreign and familiar, sweet, syrup
• anxious and accomplished, ready to get out the door quickly
• waffle and butter and syrup from my breakfast, water

bf; brown hair, blue eyes, quiet around people he doesnt know. somewhat long face with a nose that fits his face. dresses comfortably in t-shirts and jeans. speaks quickly, but sometimes drops a word and has to repeat himself. he talks like his mom.

sister: long red hair, speaks quickly, is somewhat mean in manner and word

“why did you take so long” “i was reading” “wheres the book?” “it’s not mine, so i left it.” “well try to be faster next time, we have to get to school by 8” “sorry! it’s not my fault you’re always running late”

Summary: im dogsitting for my neighbor, who I usually babysit for. they left on a trip and i have to let the dogs in and out and feed them. im inside, waiting for my ride. the wals are white and there is art on them but i dont remember what. on a table next to the door leading into the kitchen is a book. Im bored so i pick it up and start reading, only because i have nothing else to do. the book cover is not particularly interesting, but the title is. “the book thief”. i thought it was funny to have a book about a person who steals them, in a kind of ironic way. theres a comfy chair next to the curved staircase so i sit, the high round window letting in just enough early morning light for me to read by. the orangy yellow cover has dominos on it, which i dont realize the significancde of and think is a bit odd. the dogs are finally outside after a lot of coaxing. their food bowls are full and so is the water. im waiting for my phone to buzz, signaling that my best friend is outiside in his sisters car, waiting for me to get in to leave. other than that, its silent. everything is off, no ac, no heat. The only think i hear is the whine of the dogs as they beg to be let in. its sunny out, like always. another hot day. it smells sweet and indescribable, the inside of someones house. To me, it smells comforting and nostaligic and also a bit like trespassing even tho im supposed to be there. familiar yet foreign. i feel a bit anxious but i forget about that once im reading. i fall into the story. it starts off in such a unique way that im immediatley smitten. ive never seen anything like it before. its a bit too hot in the house so i take off my hoodie and curl up into the chair and i take my phone out os i wont miss the text. i think i feel content, just happy to sit there andf read.i had waffles for breakfast, so i suppose i taste that, but i dont really taste anything i dont think.  

Significance: This book affected me by telling me a story and actually making the characters and setting come alive. i cried and i laughed and i smiled and i got angry and i felt emotional, and this was the first adult book i read that made me feel this way. Id read books before that id connected to emotionally but they were less complex. this book actually was something i had to read a couple times through to completely understand the significance of every little part of it. the way it was written, the dialogue and just every single detail, not too much or too little was just amazing. i made my best friend read it and I recommend it to everyone I know because it helped form me in some way. I just connected to it on some level and i dont know for sure why, but it definitely has helped me to try to see the other side, to see all possible angles and perspectives because thats the point of view it was written from. the people who we thought were the enemy who were actually victims as well, who tried to save people and were hurt and who lost their lives even though they were trying to do the right thing. who were on the wrong side because of where thy lived, not who they were. It just makes you think of them as people. instead of seeing a collective whole, you see them as individuals. as people who didn’t deserve what happened to them, even though they were on the wrong side, in the wrong country at the wrong time. Not everyone was evil. They were the people who were fighting from the inside when neither side knew. they were the innocent, the good people who were forgotten, who were never known. I definitely wouldnt have gone to see the movie with my best friend had i not read this book. i definitely wouldn’t care so much about how things are written, about how to make your words come alive and dance through your readers brain and make them visualize all the things they never saw before and the ways that words can affect not just your mind but your soul. This story matters to me because it was just a book that turned into a huge part of my life, something that I have read countless times i order to relive the same scenes because they are so good and in a way delicious. its just written so well.