Popular?

I have been reading the book Shattered by Eric Walters.

I would define a classic as a book that is able to prove the test of time and still be just as good 20, 30, 40 etc. years after it was written. To become a classic a book generally had to be quite popular to begin with, it also had to create strong bonds with it's readers that wouldn't break over a long period of time. A classic also must have a relatable story and likeable characters to draw the reader in. If a lot of people still love a book many years after it was released then I would definitely consider it a classic.

Shattered is a good book but I honestly do not think that it will become a classic. It's a good book that I think people would like, but isn't quite memorable or lovable enough to be a classic. One qualification to be a classic that Shattered meets is that it has a timeless concept, the idea of a soldier coming back from a war changed and damaged is something that has and will always happen. Whether it's Rwanda or not, it happens after every war, including the ones that future generations will be fighting. It isn't the best book that I've read, but I do think that more students should have probably read it as it does teach some important things about the world beyond our own. The biggest reason why I don't think it would be a classic is because it isn't popular enough and probably never will be.

This reminds me of...

"But the million people, we don't know them so we don't care about what happened to them. A million is just a number, a statistic." -Ian, from Shattered by Eric Walters

The book that I am currently reading is about a boy who volunteers at a soup kitchen where he meets a homeless man who was a UN soldier that served is Rwanda. This book reminded me a lot about when Eric Walters came to our school in grade seven. When Eric Walters asked how many of us had heard of Rwanda, no one raised their hand, just like how the kids in the book hadn't heard of it either. He then went on and gave a very good talk about the genocide in Rwanda and taught us very similar things to what Ian had learned in Shattered. It also reminded me of watching the film Hotel Rwanda in class last year. It was a very scary movie that showed all of the horrible things that had happened. These aren't the only connections that I have to this book, but I feel these are the most significant.

My book's main character

Currently I am reading the book Fear The Worst by Linwood Barklay.

"I do know it was instinctual. Someone suggests you killed your own daughter, that you took the life of the person more dear to you than anyone else in the world, what else are you going to do but try to get your hands around his neck and try to choke the life out of him."
-Tim Blake, from Fear the Worst

The main character of the book I am currently reading (Fear the worst) is a man named Tim Blake. Tim Blake makes a living selling cars at a car dealership and has a 17 year old daughter named Sydney (Syd). Tim is a divorced father and when Syd was staying with him, she didn't come home one night. Tim's daughter was then confirmed missing and Tim is very scared and worried about what might of happened to his daughter. Ever since Tim has been searching all over for her. Tim is a good guy and is good at his job but this has all had a massive effect on him. As the story progresses Tim starts to uncover clues that slowly start to unviel answers to where his daughter may be. I think in the end Tim will probably find Syd but there will be a lot more to it than it seemed at first.

The video below is a video done to the song "A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall" by Bob Dylan. I think this is a good song to represest what Tim is thinking because the lyrics are about a father worrying about his child that he can't find.

Swim the Fly Summary and Review

I have recently finished reading the book Swim The Fly by Don Calame.

Swim the Fly's story mainly revolves around three friends who have set a summertime goal to see a real live naked girl. The story is told from Matt's perspective and therefore is mainly based around him. Matt and his two friends, Sean and Coop, are also part of a swim team. I won't go into too many plot details but as the summer progresses the boys continuously get caught up in more and more trouble in their many adventures. They do accomplish their goal but with a twist.

Despite having a funny concept Swim the Fly isn't executed as well as it could have been. It has some funny moments but it gets quite repetitive and therefore drags on way past the 300 page mark. The plot is very predictable and as a result did not keep my interest in it's story. The characters aren't really that likable and I didn't find my self identifying with them. Chances are you'll really enjoy the book at first but be disappointed by the end. While it's an okay read for teenagers, there are certainly better reads available.

I give it a 5 out of 10.

George Eliot Quote Part II

While I was looking through different famous quotes about reading I didn't really come across many quotes that I really liked or that spoke to me, until I found this one by George Eliot. I liked this quote because I found that it was unique and I agreed with what it was saying. Instead of just being another quote about how wondrous reading is and how life is pointless without books (the latter is taking it a bit too far) this quote really made sense to me. People always talk about how you get something different out of books or stories after time passes and I think George Eliot was able to translate that idea very effectively into her quote. Maybe in the future I'll go back and read books that I've read in my childhood and I'll find something different in them. I wonder how I'll feel about The Catcher in the Rye in thirty years, especially if I am a parent?

See you in my next post!

George Eliot Quote

"No story is the same to us after a lapse of time; or rather we who read it are no longer the same interpreters." George Eliot 

Welcome to Book Bits and Bytes!

This is the very first post of my new blog. In future posts I will be talking about and reviewing different books that I've been reading. Currently I am reading the book, Swim the Fly by Don Calame. I'm roughly half way through the book and will likely post a complete review of it when I'm done, but I will post other things about it in the meantime. See you in future posts!