The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch by Philip K. Dick

     I have recently been reading the book "The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch" by Philip K. Dick. It is set in a future where the Earth has heated up to the point where people need to stay indoors most of the time and can't face the sun with bare skin ever. On colonies on other planets such as Mars, people resort to an illegal drug called Can-D to look into the eyes of a doll in a "Perky Pat" layout in past Earth. But a man named Palmer Eldritch comes back with a strange lichen from the universe outside of the solar system and makes a new company called Chew-Z that sells legal Chew-Z.
     The protagonist is someone named Barney Mayerson. He is a pre-cog (someone who can glimpse into the future at future possibilities) who works for P.P. (Perky Pat) Layouts. I can relate to him because I have made the wrong decision and it has had consequences.
     Another leading character in the story is the CEO of P.P. Layouts, Leo Bulero. He lives lavishly and holds many mistresses, but everything falls apart when Eldritch becomes competition. I can relate to him because I have worked hard on something only to have someone else take the reward from right under me. It is hard to get over it.

Solar Lottery by Philip K. Dick

     I recently read the book "Solar Lottery" by Philip K. Dick. It is about a system that determines who will be the next leader, or "Quizmaster", of the whole class system. The problem about this machine is due to it being similar to spinning a bottle (the author doesn't go into much detail about what actually happens to determine the Quizmaster), many randomly chosen people are very bad leaders. This is why the previous Quizmaster can send an endless stream of assassins, albeit one by one, to try and kill the new Quizmaster. This insures that only the best of the best survive.
     The book follows many main character, one of which is the new Quizmaster, named Cartwright, who is 65. He is scared about the assassins, and moves to Luna to try to get away, because everything around a resort on the planet is bleak, airless space, so no one would survive to try to get to him. The only problem about this plan is that the assassin is not human. He is a synthetic humanoid robot who can be controlled by human thoughts from very far away. This insures that people who are telepathic that are working for Cartwright will become confused, because they follow the trail of the robot, named Keith Pellig, only to have it stop suddenly. Many go crazy, or die because they can't find him and he gets to them first. I can relate to the main character, because I've been scared in my life about things that I could not control, but nothing as bad as what he is facing.

Review on Winston's Blog Post, "Eldest"

http://readingbooks2479.blogspot.com/2013/02/eldest.html

     I read Winston's blog post "Eldest" about how the book relates to real life. I feel like this is very true based on his post, about how people sometimes need to do things that they are not necessarily comfortable with doing, for the sake of themselves and/or other. I agree with this statement, because if everyone were to stay in their comfort zone, then nothing would get done. No change generally means no progress.

     I have not read this book, though the post that Winston has written has made me think that it might be a good book for me to read. It reminds me of a lot of fantasy games and movies that I've seen and played, and I can find common threads between this and fantasy books that I have read, such as the Lord of the Rings series and the Hobbit. I can connect the book to my life because I've had to step out of my comfort zone in certain things, especially academics, with the spelling bee.

     I haven't read any other posts by Winston, but this post stood out among the others because it showed a full understanding of the book, and explained very well, with good thoughts on how it ties into the real world. I feel like the post is engaging because though it is rather long, it kept me hooked for the duration of the blog post. It was almost like a story in and of itself!

First Blood by David Morrell

I recently read the book "First Blood" by David Morrell. It is about an ex-military man named John Rambo, who kills a police officer. The entire book is about the chase that ensues due to this. The second main character is a sheriff named Will Teasle who is the person who chases Rambo, and the only person who survives the initial chase. I can relate to Rambo because I've felt closed in (he originally killed the police officer because the jail cell he was supposed to go into reminded him of torture chambers in Congo) and done things that I wasn't sure why I did. I can relate to Teasle because I've wanted revenge before and not known what I was getting myself into (John Rambo, though Teasle doesn't know this until the middle of the book, was actually a Green Beret, who won the Medal of Honor, the best medal in the army).

Middle School, the Worst Years of My Life by James Patterson

I recently read the book "Middle School, the Worst Years of My Life" by James Patterson. It is about a boy named Rafe who starts 6th grade with no friends, a nosy sister, and a mean stepfather. He gets through the year with his imaginary friend Leo, who makes up a game where Rafe tries to break every single rule in the school rule book. Many people influence Rafe throughout the book, namely Leo and Rafe's mother. Some things preventing Rafe from reaching a resolution are that though he's trying to get by, even with tutoring from a classmate he still fails classes. Many of the conflicts are internal, but there are also some external problems. A few of these are the school bully named Miller, Rafe's English teacher named Ms. Donatello, and Rafe's stepfather, who he calls Bear.

Spanking Shakespeare by Jake Wizner

I recently read the book "Spanking Shakespeare" by Jake Wizner. It is about a senior in high school, Shakespeare Shapiro, and his struggles. The protagonist is influenced by almost everyone in the book. Some influences are good, while others are bad. For instance, Danny, a student at his school, gets Shakespeare to do drugs for the first time in his life, and he goes home high and his parents get angry, so it does not go his way. One character relationship that developed throughout the book is the relationship between Shakespeare and Charlotte. At first, Shakespeare doesn't ever talk to Charlotte, but then they slowly become friends, and in the end they are dating. The internal conflicts in this book are  that Shakespeare always cuts himself down, and the external conflicts stem from this inner hatred towards himself.

Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can't Have by Allen Zadoff

I recently read the book "Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can't Have" by Allen Zadoff. It is about a 307 pound sophomore named Andrew Zansky. He falls in love with a girl named April at a wedding that his mother set up, who turns out to come to his school for sophomore year. During the first day, the bully that Andrew has been bullied by since middle school bullies him, but Andrew is saved by O. Douglas, the football star. O. is very nice to Andrew, and helps him join the football team. Andrew gets in after trying out in practice as center and feels good about himself for the first time in a long time. But things go wrong when he discovers that O. and the entire team were using him to win a game. The author wants me to feel bad for Andrew, but also understand the side of the team. I think that the author wants me to choose a side on my own.