Heaven is for Real.

I finished Heaven is for Real in a day! It's very short and easy to read. I didn't want to read this at first, because I thought it was just another book describing a person's "trip" to heaven. However, that's not the case at all. I had heard many people talking about how good this book was, so I decided to try it.

I must say, the first 5-7 chapters are extremely BORING. So, if you decided to read this, be warned. Once it gets going, though, you won't be able to put it down.

The story revolves around a little boy (4 at the time) who had his appendix burst for 5 days before the doctors realized what it was. During his surgery he recounts his meeting with Jesus to his dad.

I won't give away too many details, but the little boy, Colton, tells his journey to heaven to his father or anyone who asks. All of the details he gives match up perfectly with the Bible. He even claims to meet his sister whom he had never met. His parents had a miscarriage years before he was born and obviously never told him about it -- yet Colton is able to tell his parents all about her.

His parents show him pictures of Jesus (there are many in the world) -- and none ever seemed to satisfy him. He would always say what was wrong with the ones he was shown. A couple of years after his surgery, Colton's dad got an email from someone about a little girl who also said she has seen heaven. The girl had an uncanny ability to paint beautiful paintings from the age of 4. She had painted one of Jesus.
Colton's dad found the picture and showed it to Colton, expecting him to find something wrong with it. Colton stared at it in silence for a while and then said "there's nothing wrong with that one."

It's such an itneresting book that totally changes your perspective on heaven and, surprisingly enough, makes you really believe heaven is for real!

Here is the video of that little girl

I write too much on these things. Sorry! Enjoy :)

More Books!

I finished 1984 over the weekend. There is so much to say about it. It is a very well-written novel that I can now see why is considered a classic. I won't give any spoilers away because I know a couple of you are wanting to read it! I'll just say that it's frightening to think about some of the concepts Orwell makes. It's not my favorite book by any means, but I definitely feel enlightened after having read it. I still recommend reading it at least once!

Next I'm on to a number of books. I want to read Heaven is for Real. I've heard wonderful things about it. Then, my friend, Jessica, is supposed to be giving me a book called The Secret Fan. Plus, we're reading a book called The Black Duck in the 8th grade class I'm observing with. Updates to follow!

Happy Reading,
Katie

1984

I just finished part 1 of 1984. It's a very interesting book that reminds me of Lowry's The Giver. The book, so far, revolves around Winston Smith. He has a small memory of what life was like before this new dictatorship began. The people living in Oceania follow strict rules -- even thinking about things of the past or anything that goes against "The Party" (the government) can cause a person death.It's a scary book, but what makes it even scaier is the fact that this sort of thing has actually happened in our world. Parts of this book has reminded me of Hitler and Nazi Germany. In 1984 children living in Oceania are trained to turn in their parents for breaking any sort of rule. This is very similiar to what happened in Germany during Hitler's dictatorship.

These people are constantly being watched through telescreens in their home. There is no sense of privacy whatsoever. Even thinking bad things about the government is prohibited -- it is considered "thoughtcrime." The government, or "Party," destroys all documents of the past in order to make people believe whatever the government says is true. They are even going as far as creating a new dictionary so that people cannot remember things of the past -- only what the government controls in the present and future.

This book would be excellent to teach in high school. There could be so many supplementary texts to go along with it. It would be fun to see how students react to such a scenario and to inform them on how this can and HAS happened in our world and what they can/should do to prevent it in the future. My mind is going crazy with creative projects/activities/discussions for this book!!!!!!! 

1984

This book has been sitting on the shelf staring at me for a long time. So, I finally picked it up. I have only read the first two chapters so far, but I am pretty interested already! Obviously I can't post much, only having read 10 pages or so. Next time!

Also -- have any of you heard of Katherine Owen? She started following me on Twitter, and I have no idea if her novels are even worth reading. Let me know!

The Best of Me

Okay -- quick update for anyone who still reads this!

As I was trying to finish The 19th Wife, I was given Nicholas Sparks The Best of Me for Christmas. I had been waiting to read this book for months, so I put The 19th Wife on hold.
The Best of Me is wonderful, as expected. I know that all of his books are similar (think young lovers, someone dying, happy ending) -- well, this was really no exception but still wonderful. It was very similar to his novel The Notebook in a lot of ways, yet very different in a lot of ways.

Anyway, classes have started and I know that is a poor excuse for not reading at the moment, but I'm getting back to it! I think I'm going to read 1984 next. I've had it on my bookshelf forever now.

I did get a little further in The 19th Wife -- it is still very interesting and I plan to finish it soon. If you haven't read this, I still highly recommend it!

Also, if you have not checked out or followed my other blog that I actually post on more -- check it out at www.katiemcnett.blogspot.com  -- thanks!

-Katie

The 19th Wife

Okay -- It has been a while since I've last updated. I probably won't remember what all I have read since my last post, but I'll try.

First of all, I highly reccomend reading The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff. I haven't quite finished it yet, but it is very compelling! I almost got through half of the book in one sitting just because I couldn't stop reading!

I'll post most more about it when I've finished the entire novel. Expect great things :) -- or just pick it up yourself!

Final Post for Class!

I am so glad that I was given the assignment to read for fun and blog about my experience. Because college requires SO MUCH reading out of me, I forgot how much I loved to read what I wanted, when I wanted, for FUN! Not only was I able to read books that I had been putting off reading due to a massive amount of required texts, but I was able to read them in a new light -- thinking about how to TEACH them one day. This assignment and class made me realize how important reading for pleasure really is and how I will continue to read for myself through the chaos that is college. IT IS POSSIBLE! Who would have thought? :)
Yay for reading!