Q3 Post: Book Thief

Liesel and Rudy's friendship has continued to grow. They still walk to school together everyday, and he sometimes comes with her when he does the washing. Liesel knows that Rudy wishes that there could be more to thier friendship, but Liesel claims she does not want anything more than friendship. The narrator describes a scene where it seems as if there could be more to it then just friendship "'Saukerl' she laughed, and as she held up her hand, she knew completely that he was simultaneously calling her a Saumensch. I think that's as close to love as eleven-year-olds can get" (145). Liesel and Rudy know each other so well, that they know what they each other is saying, even if they're miles apart. Their minds seem to think in the same way, which is probably why they became such close friends.
On one of her many trips to the mayor's wife's house, Liesel finds out that they had a son who died in WW1. The mayors wife (Isla) feels as if she should punish herself for what happened "...Isla Hermann had decided to make suffering her triumph. When it refused to let go of her, she succumbed to it. She embraced it" (146). Isla does thinks like leave the window open on a winter day, and have to endure the cold. She wants to be uncomfortable, and this makes Liesel pity the mayor's wife. The mayor's wife has so much more money and power than Liesel, and yet Liesel still feels sorry for her. That's just the type of person Liesel is.

Q3 Post: Book Thief

In the next few chapters, Liesel begins to become obsessed with books. Any book she can get her hand on, she instantly wants to read it with her Papa. At Hitler's birthday celebration, the town burned many books. Liesel returned to the blaze to pick up a half burned book called The Shoulder Shrug. There was nothing particularly special about this book, she simply felt obligated to pick it up. After retrieving it, she looks around and sees that the mayor's wife (who's chlothes she washes) had seen her pick it up! Liesel began to worry that the Mayor's wife would get her into trouble. It describes her worry as "every minute, every hour, there was worry, or more to the point, paranoia" (129). Liesel felt that everyone was watching her, and everyone knew. This wasn't true at all, although it was true that the mayor's wife had seen her take the book. Liesel worried about what would happen when she next went to pick up the washing.
When she rang the bell, they mayor's wife answered as usual. Only she didn't have the washing, she had a stack of books in her hand. She led Liesel back to the mayor's library. It had more books than Liesel had ever seen in her entire life. She spent a long time simply looking and touching the books "She ran the back of her hand along the first shelf, listening to the shuffle of her fingernails gliding across the spinal cord of each book" (135). This surreal experience made Liesel even more confused. Just when she thought the mayor's wife was going to turn her in, she shows Liesel a magical library filled with thousands of books. This sight encourages Liesel to read even more.

Q3 Post Book Thief

Most of the section I read focuses on the event of Hitler's birthday. The town has a big celebration where speeches are made, and unsuitable (mainly Jewish) books are burned. This is the first time that Liesel hears that Germans do not like communists. Liesel knows her real family had something to do with communism, but she didn't know it was something bad. Liesel asked her foster father "'Is my mother a communist?... They were always asking her things, before I came here" (115). Liesel misses her real family very much. When she hears that they were possibly doing things Germans were'nt supposed to, it changed her views completely. She had always invisionded her mother as just being sick, and that that was the reason why Liesel couldn't stay with her. But Liesel finds out that they took her mother away.

This information makes Liesel believe that all of the problems that are going on is Hitler's fault. She gets angry, and claims that she hates him. Her foster father Hans slaps her, saying "'Don't ever say tht!"' (116). He then goes on to explain to her that it is fine for her to privately feel that way (and hints that he does too), but for thier family's safety, they must pretend to love Hitler, especially out in public. Hans then makes her stand up, raise her arm, and say "Heil Hitler".

Q3 Post: The Book Thief

It seems like Liesel Mueller is finally getting used to her new life. Although not great at school, she is improving with the help of her foster father. She plays soccer with all the other neighborhood kids. Most importantly, she has met her best friend, Rudy Steiner. The narrator says that "she loved and hated her best friend, Rudy Steiner, which was perfectly normal" (85). They walk to school together everyday, and they get closer and closer every time. Rudy keeps wanting to kiss Liesel, but Liesel thinks this is the most ridiculous idea in the world.
She is also used to her foster parents. It says in the novel "She loved her Papa, Hans Hubberman, and even her foster mother, despite the abuses and verbal assaults" (85). She has different bonds with each foster parent. Liesel is closed to Hans, most likely because he is the kindest to her. He comes into her room every time she has a nightmare, and is even helping her learn to read even though he himself is not very good. Liesel's foster mother loves Liesel too, but has a strange way of showing it. Although Rosa calls Liesel names, Rosa loves Liesel in a way that is attempting to teach Liesel to be strong. Rosa is the type of person who believes that punishment is the best way for someone to learn. Despite their different ways of loving, both Hans and Rosa love Liesel.

Q3 Post 2:Book Thief

Liesel Mueller's foster mother is not described as being very nice or as being the best parent for Liesel. Mrs. Hubberman is verbally abusive to Lisel. She tells Liesel "'You filthy pig! Why won't you get undressed?' She was good at being furious. In fact, you could say that Rosa Hubermann had a face decorated with constant fury" (32-33). Calling someone, let alone your new foster daughter, is never a good way to start a solid relationship. I'm guessing that the two of them will not get along throughout the book.
On the complete other side of the spectrum is Liesel's foster father Hans. Many people think he is quiet, but Liesel notices even more about him "Liesel observed the strangeness of her foster father's eyes. They were made of kindness, and silver. Like soft silver, melting. Liesel, upon seeing those eyes, understood that Hans Hubermann was worth a lot" (34). Hans doesn't push Liesel around like Rosa does. Although he won't necessarily tell his wife to back off, Hans does seem to be there for Liesel. I see their relationship growing throughout the book, and I see Liesel leaning into him for support.

Q3: The Book Thief

This quarter, I chose to read The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. It takes place just before WWII in Germany, and follows the character Liesel Meminger's life of stealing books after her brother dies. Liesel is not the one who narrates, though. The narrator is someone who has been watching her at different points in her life "I saw the book thief (Liesel) three times" (5). The reader is not supposed to know who the narrator is yet, but they say that they will reveal themselves later in the novel. I don't know why Zusak would choose to have such a mysterious narrator, but I'm sure it will make for a good view point on Liesel's life.
We do know a few things about the narrator. Although we don't know if it is male or female, he/she does talk about some of their character traits. They seem to have a negative view on most things, such as death, but they also claim that "I most definitely can be cheerful. I can be amiable. Agreeable. Affable. And that's only the A's" (3). These separate ideas about the character makes me wonder which part of him/her will dominate throughout the book: the negative or cheerful part. Seeing that the novel takes place during a sad and depressing time, my prediction is that it will most likely be the negative side of the narrator that comes through most strongly.

Outside reading post 6: Golden Girl

The end of my biography ends with what everyone is doing after the Olympics. While some are already focusing on the next big meet, Natalie is thinking differently. She said "I don't really have the time constraints that I did before the last Olympics, and since I've already gotten that gold, I don't have that hanging over my head" (283). Natalie was very excited to have some time to relax. She could now focus more on her studies, and a lot of pressure had been taken off her shoulders, since she had won the gold she had been working for all her life. Natalie's coach Teri Mckeever had similar thoughts. She told Michael Silver that "On the flight home from Athens, I told myself that first and foremost, I'm going to get a life" (276). Teri was ready to relax too. She wanted to catch up with her family, who mostly lives out of state. Athens also inspired Teri to do some more traveling, and focus less on swimming, and more on the people who inspire her daily.

Q2 Outside Reading Post 4

The section I read in my book was about the Olympic trials. Everyone from all over the US were getting ready, and getting nervous. Days before the trials, Natalie's coach Teri Mckeever said "Obviously I'm nervous. It's such a tense atmosphere around here" (229). Everyone in the trials all had the same goal: make the Olympic team. Only few could make it, though, which probably was the reason for all the nervousness. Swimmers were feeling the nerves too. Mckeever said that "most people are going slower than you'd expect, and that's because this meet is so emotionally overwhelming" (229). Not only were the swimmers anxious for the meet, but sometime the nerves would end up affecting their performance. When there is a meet as big as the Olympic trials, there are bound to be a lot of nerves.
The meet is also an emotional one. Some ecstatic, some devastated. A former swimmer Amanda Hall said "you should see the warm-down pool. It's half chlorine, half tears" (236). Most of these tears were disappointed ones. Many swimmers childhood dreams of going to the Olympics had just been lost, and the were very upset. On the other hand, some were very excited. When Coughlin made it in her event. Coughlin was "dancing around in her black sweats like a prizefighter, all smiles" (242). She accomplished what she meant to do, and was now fulfilling her dream of going to the Olympics.

Q2 Outside Reading post 4: Golden Girl

Many times in a swimmers life they feel like they want to quit. Sometimes, Natalie Coughlin used to want to tell swimmers to give up "Get out, now, before this sport devours your body and spirit. Trust me. I know" (126). The toll swimming takes on your mind, body, and spirit, can be overwhelming. Some people would quit just to get away from it all. One of Natalie's teammates, Lauren Medina, used to think the same thing. She said "So many times I just wanted to quit. I felt like I was beginning to burn out. People who I used to beat were now beating me, I swam lousy in meets and my parents started getting down on me: 'You just don't want it bad enough' At least twice a day I would think about quitting" (136). When you aren't dropping a lot of time, one may have these same thoughts. Pressure from your parents doesn't help either.
Often what helps someone not quit is a good coach. Medina said "Teri was so supportive...She said everybody makes mistakes. You're not the first person this has happened to... I felt really comforted by that" (137). Teri ended up keeping her in the sport and helped her improve. Another time Lauren thought she couldn't breathe and wanted to stop in the middle of the set. Teri said "Lauren, you're having a panic attack. It's OK; you're going to be fine. Trust me" (134). Her helpful words calmed Lauren down and she continued swimming.