2nd Quarter Reading Book Project

ANSWERING MACHINE MESSAGE SCRIPT
BOLD=WOMAN
REGULAR=MEN
Bella and Edward: *beep*Hey you’ve reached Bella and Edward we’re…preoccupied at the moment yea preoccupied good one Edward thanks Bella you do know that it recorded that I haven’t pushed the button yet…Really??? Oh um sorry I kind of ruined your take just rerecord it no I think I’ll leave it its kind of cute the two of us talking But it‘s not perfect your message should be perfect like you… I‘m far from perfect Bella…Don‘t start that again Edward Cullen your perfect in every way you out shine me…no I don‘t your way better looking…your biased*beep*

Emmett and Rosalie: *beep* Rosalie and Emmett’s phone we’re not here leave a message after the beep…that’s lame Rose I want my message to be fun…It’s not just yours and I think a traditional massage is fine…that may be fine for you but not for me I want one like E and R have left the building talk into your speaker and we’ll run it back again and don’t forget to leave your digits…that’s stupid why are you talking like an idiot??? That’s how people talk now a days… yea idiots…Emmett you totally ruined our answering machine message what the *beep*

Jasper and Alice: *beep* {reading off a card} Jasper here…Alice too…our phone is either off…dead…or we just don’t feel like…answering it…Oh Jasper don’t shut it off Edwards gunna be the first one to call and he’s going to need your help…Alice what’s the point of having an answering machine message if your just going to predict who’s calling and what they want…I wanted to do it ok just keep reading off the card I gave you…we’ll get back to you…just leave your name and number after the beep, like they really need to leave their name and number Alice what are we deaf and have amnesia or something??? That’s how you do a message Jasper you tell them to leave their name and number… I still don’t see the point *beep*

Jacob: *beep* Hey you’ve reached the Black residence Jacob speaking were not here at the moment…PAUL GET OUT OF THE FRIDGE….{stomps away hear a muffled HEY! Then the slamming of a door} If your Paul’s mother looking for him I just sent him out he’ll be home in a few…thanks for calling leave us a message. Oh and if this is Charlie if you hear from Bella please keep calling you’ll get me eventually I really want to know thanks {sigh} *beep*

Carlisle and Esme: *beep* Hey this is Carlisle I’m in surgery right now and Esme must be out with one of our foster kids please leave a message after the beep…I think that you should talk some more dear…why they know we’re not hear they know to leave a message what else is there I can’t think of anything and I’m…HUSH! You don’t know who would listen to this…I can just delete it an make a new Esme I’m not a new born any more…I know...it’s just people like to hear other people a two second message would seem like we don’t care what they think…Ok then let’s just use this one there’s nothing incriminating and has both of us talking happy??? Yes thank you my love *beep*

2nd Quarter Reading Book Review

Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer. Little, Brown and Company, 2008. Genres: Fantasy; Romance

Breaking Dawn is the fourth and final book in the twilight series. The protagonists are still Isabella Swan (Bella) , Edward Cullen, and Jacob Black (Jake). Bella and Edward get married in the first few chapters of the book then they go on their honey moon. Bella becomes pregnant and they fly back home to Forks, Washington. Now the book switches from Bella's point of view to her best friend Jacob's to best describe what's happening to Bella. Jake is a werewolf with the rest of the boys in his home town and one girl. He and one of the other wolves leave their pack because the Wolves decide to kill Bella to get rid of the fetus. Edward and his family are vampires which is why the wolves find the fetus to be dangerous its never been heard of, a half human and half vampire baby. Jake and Ben, the other wolf, warn the Cullen's and help to keep the peace. When the baby is born she is named Renesme and Bella almost dies if it weren't for Edward turning her by injecting venom right into her heart. The book switches back to Bella's point of view here to show her first experiences as a vampire. When the oldest vampire community in the world belongs to the Vulturi vampires bent on protecting their kind and keeping their species secret. When the Vulturi hear of an ;immortal child' or a child being turned into a vampire. They come to kill the whole Cullen family. Even though Renesme is very much alive. This leads to a stand off which ends in peace. Everyone safe and sound in their beds. Edward and Bella together forever.

"[Meyer is] the world's most popular vampire novelist since Anne Rice."-Entertainment weekly reads the inside back cover. ""Seethes with archetypal tumult of star-crossed passions, in which the supernatural element serves as a heady spice."-New York Times

Breaking Dawn has many elements that are very much the same as the other four books in the Twilight series. They have the same style and characters, more because it's a series. This is the worst book in the series in my opinion, the best is the second New Moon. Some fans would have liked to see it end a little different and there was far less action than some of the previous books.

One unique quality to this book is that you do get to see life from one of the other characters point of view where as the rest are all from Bella's point of view. Jacob's point of view is much more focused on detail of the surroundings where as Bella is more focused on people and emotions. This gave the book a little bit of a twist over the rest.

"Jacob pulled back a little bit and straightened up. He left one hand on the small of my back and grabbed my right hand with the other. He cradled our hands to his chest; I could feel his heart beat under my palm, and I guessed that he hadn't placed my hand there accidentally. 'I don't know if I get more then this one dance,'he said and began pulling me around in a slow circle that didn't match the tempo of the music coming behind us. 'I'd better make the best of it.'" (59)

Stephanie Meyer has a different perspective on vampires than most. Things you thought you knew about vampires might be totally flipped around in these novels. I own all four books in this series and I've read the first one four times, the second five, and the third and fourth twice, they are that good. These books sparked my imagination and it's reflected in my creative writing almost all of them now include vampires.

What really matters?

What is value? In the art world value is a degree in lightness or darkness of color. But the value I'm talking about is relative worth, merit or importance. In other words value is when something is important to you, as well as how important it is. Value can be found in material objects, but can also be found in people, places, and moments. Your best friend might have more value to you than that bratty little kid that lives down the street.

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Pushing back off of the floor I slide with my chair and start walking straight for the door. I grab the moss green iPod nano chromatic and the book on which it lay. Shutting the door behind me, I flinch as the crash rocks the house. I open the door a crack rolling my eyes at the mess before me. Closing the door once more, gentler this time, I make my way to the living room. I pass the love seat and take my spot at the corner of the couch, cross my legs, sighing contently. I pick up the iPod frowning at the tangle of wires that's supposed to be my ear phones. After what seems like an hour of detangling I finally place the ear phones into my ears. I pick up the iPod and circle through the songs. Once a decent one pops up I press play, placing it into my pocket in one swift movement. Nodding my head to the beat I open the book that has been lying ready on my lap. Carefully finding the page I left off that is marked by a dog eared corner, flattening it out perfectly so that it looks like there never was a crease. I jump right back into the plot of the story.

The sound of my voice breaks the perfect silence of the night. Claire shushes me and I bring my laugh down to a giggle. She smiles and we both look out over the deck onto the lake, the moon reflected in the calm water of Lake Whinnapasaukee. The call of an owl can be heard and we turn towards the noise hoping to catch a glimpse of this wise bird. I shiver and nod to Claire who agrees it's time to head down to our little sanctuary. Smiling and laughing we make our way past my grandparents watching a movie before bed. We descend the stairs to the basement, which also serves as our apartment for the two weeks out of the year we spend up here. We move into the living area and sit down on the separate couches we use for beds. Grabbing three separate quilts I wrap them around myself. Claire laughs once and says, "You look like a cocoon." I look down and smile, "Yup!" She slides into her sleeping bag and I toss her the movie to put in. She groans but leaves the warmth to put the disk into the DVD player. I grab the remote and press play. We both lay awake until around eleven at night where we shut off the T.V. and turn off the lights. The night is far from over but we have to keep up appearances like we're asleep. We decide to play scattegories tonight. So I pick the category of colors and she picks the letter M. I pick a song and start it. We write down as many colors that start with M that we can think of and when the song ends we put our pencils down. Reading off our answers we each earned two points and it continues in this fashion using different categories and colors. In the end sadly Claire wins by two points. By now both tired we lay down and chat for a while. She is asleep first and I am assured of that by the gentle snoring coming from her side of the room. I smile as I drift off to sleep awaiting the joys to come the next day.

Those are two examples of things that have value to me. My iPod and books and one night in New Hampshire with my friend Claire both the moment and the person have value. All four things help me relax. My iPod and books block out the outside world so that I can feel something different, be someone different, and live their life. My summers in New Hampshire help me escape from the world but in a different way, I am still me but I don't need to worry about chores and schoolwork whereas Claire is one of my best friends we always have a great time and I treasure her company. I just get to have fun with a friend. I treasure this moment because it was one where I was truly happy. We both were. The instance with my iPod happens almost every night. I go through books faster than anyone of my friends. They think I'm weird because I enjoy sitting there in the quiet but it's peaceful and calming to me. These things I treasure, I bet you have some too.