Semester 1 Reflection

    I read a few books this semester.  I'm sad to say it was a lot less then I usually read, high school really takes up time.  As far as books go, I read: Girl Overboard by Aimee Ferris, Safe Haven and The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks, Brian's Winter by Gary Paulsen, The Maze Runner by James Dashner, and The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.  I also started and then ditched two books, when you don't have much time to read it's hard not to skip books that don't really spark your interest from the start, one of those books was: Perfectly Dateless by Kristen Billerbeck, I don't remember the title of the other one.  On the informal reading side, I read Seventeen and J-14 magazine for all 5 months and the occasional Entertainment magazine.  I also read countless Disney blogs and such, on new advancements in the parks as well as the new movies coming out (Toy Story 4), and just for fun stuff.  I read a few books to my baby cousin, such as: The Cat in the Hat;  One Fish Two Fish, Red Fish Blue Fish; The ABC book, and Green Eggs and Ham.  I am at least happy that I finished my required reading and got to read two of the most popular books of the year. 
 
     I would say that my blogging is very inconsistent.  I have posted all my blogs and comments on time, but the quality has been sporadic.  Sometimes I would have a blog where I just wrote my heart out and felt really good about what I was posting, or included a cool or interesting link that I felt would really get my point across, or inspire others to read the book as well.  At other times in my blogs, I felt that I didn't do a very good job and that I was writing just to get my assignment complete; which happens sometimes when the book isn't a favorite, but really shouldn't be happening often.  In my 4-5 point blogs, I included lots of links or pictures to accompany a post that had a clear message and point to them. I felt that if I could get my opinions about a book across, like I did when I blogged about The Book Thief, then it might get people to read the book, or a least consider it instead of saying that it isn't really in their interests.  I know that sometimes I don't get my point across effectively, but that is one of the things I am trying to work on, and feel like I am improving in that area.


     In the second semester, I would like to improve on a few things.  First, I would like to be more focused about the content of my blog then just getting the requirement complete.  I think that I need to be more thoughtful in my posts.  Secondly, I think that I need to use more resources, technology wise, so that it will enhance the message of my blog post, not just adding pictures or Goodreads webpages.  The third thing that I would like to accomplish in the second semester is to add more details from the text.  I have included some details previously, but sometimes they aren't relevant and I was told that sometimes they don't make sense with just my post.  Of course, I would also like to get in more reading time and finish the books that have been sitting at my house since the summer, and finish my 30 book goal.