1.Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
2.Survival of the Sickest by Sharon Moalem
3.A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
4.The Great Influenza by John Berry
5.The Hot Zone by Richard Preston
6.Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton
7.My Sisters Keeper by Jody Picoult
8.Mountains Beyond Mountains; The quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World by Tracy Kidder
9. In Defense of Food by Micahel Pollan
10.Botany of Desire by Micahel Pollan
11.Gorrillas in the Mist by Dian Fossey
12.Chanda’s Secrets by Allen Stratton
13. Your Inner Fish by Neil Shubin
14.The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements by Sam Kean
15. Napoleon's Buttons: How 17 Molecules Changed History [Hardcover]
16. Uncle Tungsten by Oliver Sacks
17. Chasing Molecules by Elizabeth Grossman
18. Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time by Michael Shermer
20. Hoot by Carl Hiaasen
21. Scat by Carl Hiaasen
22. Ishmael, by Daniel Quinn
23. Silent Spring, by Rachel Carson
24. The World Without Us, by Alan Weisman
25. Big Red Jim Kjelgaard
26. Call of the Wild by Jack London
27. Double Helix by Nancy Werlin
28. Chemical Chaos by Nick Arnold
29. Phineas Gage by John Fleishman
30. Animal, Vegatable, Miracle by Barbra Kingsolver
31. An Inconvienent Truth by Al Gore
32. Chew On This by Eric Schlosser and Charles Wilson
Imani Gladden
ReplyDeleteMy Sister's Keeper By Jodi Picoult pg. 1-18 Anna
Summary
The first part is basically about Anna and her family's situation. Anna explains why she is born and how she believes that if Kate( her sister with cancer) wasn't sick, then she wouldn't be born. in this chapter Anna also goes to a pawn shop to sell her 24 kt. gold necklace to get money to pay for her lawyer, Campbell Alexander.
The one part that I liked about this book, right of the back was it got into what the book was going to be about as soon as you began to read the first page. There was no confusion, you didn't have to really guess what was going on.
Questions
When did Anna really understand what her parents were making her do? I ask this because Anna was 13 and she knew what was happening, so I really want to know when this all clicked for her.
Quote
"Don't mess with the system Anna" Anna's older brother Jesse says this to her when she tells him of her plans to seek medical emancipation from her parents. I think this quote was very powerful because even their brother fully knew and understood that their parents were working a system between Anna and Kate
Comment
This part of the book makes me feel really lucky that I don't know anyone that has to go through this situation for themselves or a family member like Anna does. The only part that I really don't like is how Jesse acts. I mean your sister is dieing for God's sake, you would think a person would act a lot better so there is one less thing their parents have to stress about. But maybe that's just it, with Kate's disease that may be all Brian and Sara(the parents)pay attention to...
Predict
I think once Campbell realizes how serious Anna is about her case the train will start to leave the station. Court will soon begin and the book will start to pick up.
Imani Gladden
ReplyDeleteMy Sister's Keeper By Jodi Picoult pg.20-26 Campbell
Summary
This chapter/section explains what Campbell thinks of Anna as she presents her case to him. This section also gives a brief history of Campbell's past. Campbell begins to think about how he will work Anna's case and if he really wants to represent her or not
Questions
I wonder why Campbell in the end chose to represent Anna's case? Since we aren't given his success rate. This also makes me wonder if he is representing her case to boost his success rate, correct a wrong interpretation of him or boosts reputation.
Quote
"When you only have a hammer everything looks like a nail. pg.20
I think this quote is important because it links to Anna's situation. Her parents are the hammer and she and her body are the nails. But instead of hammering the nails down, her parents are removing them, just the same way they are removing her body parts for her sister.
Comment
I thought that this part of the book was boring in comparison to the first section. There was nothing lively about this part and that's why i think it was hard for me to read.
Predict
I think that Campbell will offer Anna to live with him since she can't live with her parents during the case.
Imani Gladden
ReplyDeleteMy Sister's Keeper By Jodi Picoult pg.26-36 Sara
Summary
This part explains how Sara and Brian Fitzgerald figure out that Kate has cancer. At first they were both in denial and believed that the Hospital they were taking Kate to misdiagnosed Kate. They continuously tried to find something wrong with the hospital and in the end Sara believes that her genes mixing with Brian's genes is the reason that caused Kate to have cancer.
Questions
I wonder who was in denial more, Sara or Brian. In the book Brian didn't seem to be in much denial at all, he seemed to accept it pretty fast. I also want to know that if Brian was accepting what made him accept what was happening to their daughter so quickly?
Quote
"Every holocaust starts with an ember. You just have to know what you're looking for"-Sara Fitzgerald. I think this is a way that Sara uses to explain how she feels about Kate's situation. I think this is important because this is the first time we get to see how someone feels about Kate's situation.
Comment
I don't like Sara because she seems to think that she knows everything and she clearly doesn't. Especially when she was in the doctor's office when Kate first got sick and tried to tell the doctor Kate had Anemia. Like really lady, you didn't go to medical school so you probably don't know half as much as man sitting in front of you that did. So get real and let the man do his job.
Predict
I really am not sure of what's going to happen beyond this point. I'm kind of hoping that Kate gets better and Anna drops the case
Okay so i forgot to clarify for my chapters
ReplyDeleteAnna
-headlong:with the head foremost, without delay; hastily
-allogeneic:related but sufficiently dissimilar in genotype to interact antigenically
-retain:to keep possession of
Campbell
-withholding:to hold back; restrain or check
-callous:made hard; hardened.
-subsequent:occurring or coming later or after (often fol. by to )
Sara
-lurch:an act or instance of swaying abruptly.
-sluice:an artificial channel for conducting water, often fitted with a gate (sluice gate) at the upper end for regulating the flow
-tourniquet:Medicine/Medical, Surgery . any device for arresting bleeding by forcibly compressing a blood vessel, as a bandage tightened by twisting.
Daniel Afridi
ReplyDeleteTitle: A short history of nearly everything
Author: Bill Bryson
Page number read: 1-40
Summarize: This part of the book is very interesting. This book talks about a lot of things. Some of the things it talks about are atoms. Since i have Chemistry class i forgot how little an atom really is, but with this book it just made me amazed on how little an atom really can be. Like for example, this dot on this "i" has millions of atoms. Now that is amazing.
Clarify: intriguingly- to arouse the curiosity or interest of by unusual, new, or otherwise fascinating or compelling qualities.
obliging-willing or eager to do favors, offer one's services, etc.
congenitally-of or pertaining to a condition present at birth, whether inherited or caused by the environment, esp. the uterine environment.
Question: I didn't understand when the book called the bing bang the false vacuum.
Quote: on page 21 it says : "There might be a planet X."
Comment: When the book talks about science it really makes me wonder how fast we have learned all of these discoveries and our rate to finding more is increasing, making me wonder what we will know in 10 more years.
Predict: The author might talk about the sun and how it was formed seeing that he likes talking about how things originate.
Victor Halili – The Call of the Wild – Jack London – Chapters 1, 2 & 3
ReplyDeleteSummary – Buck is a strong St. Bernard breed who is owned by Judge Miller. He lives a happy life and is the king of the castle. However the groundskeeper at the house, who is Manuel changes all of that. Manuel steals Buck and sells him to people who will take him North in search for gold; as he would be a valuable sled dog. Buck tries to fight all of his captors off but is always end up being beat and transported to another crate. Buck soon learns not to attack his new owners, this is why the first chapter is called primitive law I’m guessing. In the second chapter it gets even more primitive (haha) Buck is sent North to Alaska. Upon arriving he meats a dog named Curly, who in the first few minutes gets in a fight with another dog and is killed instantaneously by other dogs… Buck realizes he’s gonna have to be strong and cold if he wants to survive here. Francois is Buck’s owner and they travel over 30 miles a day , Buck is in the middle of the squad. The team leader (dog ) is Spitz, a cold hearted killer dog. As that try to sleep Buck can’t find a warm spot, until he realizes he can dig a whole and sleep under the snow. More and more buck is turning towards his instincts as a wild dog. Chapter 3 gets a little hectic. Him and Spitz argue daily, and they nip at eachother each chance they get. Francois and Perrault are waiting for them to fight to the death. When they get to town all the dogs spot a rabbit in the snow. Over 20 dogs run after it, Spitz catches it first. Buck in anger tackles Spitz and the fight begins. Eventually Buck is loosing lots of blood and Spitz is barely scratched. However in a quick leap of faith Buck tricks Spitz and Rips his legs up. Left immobilized Buck finishes Spitz and takes his rightful place.
Questions – What is Judge Miller doing to find Buck? How come Francois and Perrault just let them fight to the death, they’re valuable dogs and should be kept alive?
Comment – The more you get into the story the more you realize that Buck is transforming into a completely different dog. His hunting techniques and genes kick in for survival.
Predict – I predict there’s gonna be lots of fights to come, and Buck is gonna end up surviving, because he is doing so well.
Victor Halili – The Call of the Wild – Jack London – Chapters 4, 5 & 6
ReplyDeleteQuestions – In chapter 4 Francois realized Spitz is missing and finds Buck in his spot. Buck is covered with blood and they all now know what has happened. A dog named Solleks is given first position however Buck also takes that from him, and is now the leader of the pact. With Buck being in the lead, they make it to their destination in record time and are famed in the town. One of the dogs named Dave is very sick however never stops. Shortly later, the dog collapses and has to be put to sleep. Buck and all the other dogs knew what had happened. In chapter 5 the dogs are tired and must be sold away. They are sold to 3 people, 2 men and a woman, I can already sense the trouble >_> When they load the sled, it can’t be moved because of the weight obviously these new owners are very in experienced. Once they break the weight in half, they get moving. First the dogs are over fed which is alright, but later on they run out of food, and then the dogs are starved. More dogs are bought as they die and Buck continues on. However the dogs keep dying due to the starvation. They make it to John Thornton’s camp where he helps them out and tells them not to keep traveling or they’ll fall in the melting ice. Hal doesn’t care and tries to continue and beats Buck. Buck won’t budge and John Thornton frees Buck and takes him in. While watching them leave John Thornton hears a cry for help and sees that they have fallen in the river, and so have the dogs. Now Buck has a new owner. Buck slowly starts to feel affection for John Thornton since he saved his life. John asked Buck to jump off a cliff and Buck ran to do it. John barely stopped him before he had fallen off. Seeing Buck’s dedication he added him to the crew. Buck proved useful when he saved John’s life twice. Buck jumped at a man who was about to attack John and almost ripped his throat out. Also John made a bet that Buck can pull 1000 pounds and Buck won!
Comment – Seeing the turn around in the story is quite amazing. Buck is finally being treated like a companion.
Predict – I predict John Thornton will treat Buck the way he deserves and show him compassion.
Victor Halili – The Call of the Wild – Jack London – Chapters 4, 5 & 6
ReplyDeleteQuestions – In chapter 4 Francois realized Spitz is missing and finds Buck in his spot. Buck is covered with blood and they all now know what has happened. A dog named Solleks is given first position however Buck also takes that from him, and is now the leader of the pact. With Buck being in the lead, they make it to their destination in record time and are famed in the town. One of the dogs named Dave is very sick however never stops. Shortly later, the dog collapses and has to be put to sleep. Buck and all the other dogs knew what had happened. In chapter 5 the dogs are tired and must be sold away. They are sold to 3 people, 2 men and a woman, I can already sense the trouble >_> When they load the sled, it can’t be moved because of the weight obviously these new owners are very in experienced. Once they break the weight in half, they get moving. First the dogs are over fed which is alright, but later on they run out of food, and then the dogs are starved. More dogs are bought as they die and Buck continues on. However the dogs keep dying due to the starvation. They make it to John Thornton’s camp where he helps them out and tells them not to keep traveling or they’ll fall in the melting ice. Hal doesn’t care and tries to continue and beats Buck. Buck won’t budge and John Thornton frees Buck and takes him in. While watching them leave John Thornton hears a cry for help and sees that they have fallen in the river, and so have the dogs. Now Buck has a new owner. Buck slowly starts to feel affection for John Thornton since he saved his life. John asked Buck to jump off a cliff and Buck ran to do it. John barely stopped him before he had fallen off. Seeing Buck’s dedication he added him to the crew. Buck proved useful when he saved John’s life twice. Buck jumped at a man who was about to attack John and almost ripped his throat out. Also John made a bet that Buck can pull 1000 pounds and Buck won!
Comment – Seeing the turn around in the story is quite amazing. Buck is finally being treated like a companion.
Predict – I predict John Thornton will treat Buck the way he deserves and show him compassion.
Victor Halili – The Call of the Wild – Jack London – Last Chapter
ReplyDeleteSummary - John has paid away all his debts. He now goes to search for a place to pan gold with Hal and Pete, he brings Buck and some other dogs along. Settled down in the woods for weeks on end Buck goes on his own. He leaves the camp days at a time. He starts hunting with a wolf he has befriended, soon he becomes more wild than dog. After being away for a whole week Buck comes back and sees that everyone is dead even John. He sees Indians and rips 8 of their throats off. He then goes to join the wolf pack seeing as John is dead.
Questions – If Buck was there to defend John would they have still died?
Comment – This book really touched me even though this is the second time reading it.
Predict – I predict Buck will come back to the grave of John and mourn as much as he can.
Victor Enem
ReplyDeleteTitle : Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Author : Rebecca Skloot
Pages : 23 - 43 (chap 1 - 3)
Summary: - Henrieta was an African American who was complaining that she had a "knot" in her womb. She went to Hopkins hospital and after some test on her, the found out that she has a lump in her cervix, which is a sign of a cancer.
A couple of doctors did a diagnosis on her and toke a sample of the lump to do some research on it. The tried to grow the Henrietta's cell in see what wiil happen
Question : Why did the government allow doctor to do experiments on people, even when they knew that the experiments could lead to cancer?
Quote : This was the era of Jim Crow - when black peple showed up at white-only hospital, the staff ws likely to send them away, even if it meant they might day in the parking lot" pg 25-26
Predict : I predict that Henrietta's cell sample would be different from most another and would grow
Matilda Patterson
ReplyDeleteMy Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult Chapter one
Summary:its about a girl who was born into this world specifically because of her sister.its more of like she was the body repair part for her sister Kate. And she was always wandering the reason why she never got to be like any other kids like it was supposed to be. she thought she cam here for a purpose and when her sister dies, then there is no reason why she should have been her ayways.
Quetions: if anna didn't like the chain that her father gave her she could have at least putted it away for the time being but why sell the
chain?
Quote:"you look..." tired the word bubbles right under my lips. this is important because it is showing how she acts around her siblings and what point shes trying to get to. its showing how she fell and what she also thinks about the dress
Comment:she was just a simple girl who never got the freedom she actually wanted. she was never a child..this part makes me think of my character and it makes me think that i at least some of all i ever wanted in the world what else?
Prediction:i think in this book, there is going to be some emotional problems and it will involve all the family. Then the Kate is going to survive.
---- Hamza Shah ----
ReplyDeleteBook: Double Helix
Author: Nancy Werlin
Pages read: 1 - 248
Summary - This book was composed with a great story about a smart teenager who is trying to put his life together. Eli, is living though tough times. His mom had Huntington disease (HD), and the relationship between him and his dad have taken a turn for the worse. With Eli knowing his life has/is fallen/falling apart, the only people why he relies in is his girlfriend Viv. After deciding to not go to college Eli starts working is an extremely famous scientist, and a person who know Eli really well. Even thought he gets a elite job Dr. Wyatt, his dad is not happy with his taking the job. Throughout the novel it is inferred that Eli's dad hates Dr. Wyatt, but he never tells Eli. After getting close to Dr. Wyatt, Eli is introduced to Kayla, later found to be Eli's "half sister." Eli's relation With Viv stays broken for a while until his mothers death. Later Eli finds out that Dr. Wyatt is the reason why Eli doesn't have HD. Eli's mother donated her eggs to Dr. Wyatt, in exchange for a child without HD. Wyatt gave her that, but did take the extra eggs which were given. With those eggs Wyatt made more "experiments." By looking at Kayla and a picture of his mother, Eli finds out Kayla is his sister, and one of Wyatt's experiments. While working at Wyatt’s institution Eli figures out; there is an extra level to the building. An extra level were something could possibly be hidden. After consulting with his dad, Eli figures out Kayla is his half sister. He also figures out the extra lever at Watt’s institute is full of mysterious; mysterious just there to be turned into answers. Eli and Kayla work together to find what is hidden at the last level of the elite institute and so they go on a quest. When they get to the 5th floor (basement) they see freezers; freezers with frozen eggs. Eli begin to inducer rage and he starts to destroy everything. He opens the freezer and let the frozen eggs get exposed to the heat. He knew his mother’s frozen eggs were here and he knew he had to destroy them, so he did. After destroying everything Eli and Kayla, when leaving, come face to face with Dr. Wyatt. Wyatt knowing everything was destroyed, did not have a frown on his face, but a smile. It was as if he wanted Eli to know what he has done. After a little talk Kayla starts to attack Wyatt and there he gets injured and gets away in the elevator. Eli and Kayla were not aware of the fact that, Wyatt could disappear and would never been seen again. Wyatt was later looked for but, there was no direction to look at, it was as if he has disappeared in the thin air.
Clarify - Throughout the book, there were many world in which I had to use to context clues or the dictionary to know what they meant. Here a number of such words:
- Encompasses - to include a wife or comprehensive range
- Mezzanine - a low story (building structure connotation)
- Solemn - having or showing no humor
- Nugget - a small item
- Reprimanded - to rebuke somebody for a wrongdoing
- Lasagne - an Italian dish (food)
Question - I didn’t really had a question regarding the book, but I did often have questions for the author.
- Who/What inspired you for writing this book?
- Why did you have an open ending?
Answers -
- Well I can’t really answer the first one just because it’s about what the author has to say.
- But, I think I have a legitimate answer for it. Well after take Ap Language, and taking Ap language, we often talk why authors have open ending for their books. An open ending gives the reader a chance to think about the book more, rather then moving on quickly. This not only enhances one’s critical thinking skills, it also enhances the what one would look at something when reading. It gives readers a chance to learn how to look at things openly rather then with a close prospective.
* For some reason I could only post 4097 characters at a time to here is the rest -
ReplyDelete---- Hamza Shah ----
Book: Double Helix
Author: Nancy Werlin
Pages read: 1 - 248
Quote - “Genetics enforces one’s destiny. One cannot escape.” This quote is not only well said in to book, but it is well understood by everyday people. It is correct that genetics enforces out destiny, a destiny we can not chance or escape. This saying goes great with the novel, just because the novel has a main focus on Eli trying to escape his/his mother’s destiny (HD).
Comment - This book is a well written book. I usually don’t like to read fiction books, but this book uses non-fictional facts, which makes the book stand out. Much of the book has a sad/angry mood but, as the book comes to the end excitement starts to build, which takes the book to another level. A level which makes the book stand out compared to others. I like medical books, books with facts, this book not only gave me facts, but it gave me thrills of excitement
Predict - The book has an open ending, so the author could very well make a sequel. If the author was to make a sequel, it would most likely focus on Dr.Wyatt, and what he is doing to run for the crimes he has committed. The tone of the book would shady. Shady just because it would focus on the character of Dr. Wyatt running for the unlawful acts had committed