Oliver Twist and NASCAR

What do Oliver Twist and NASCAR have in common? Absolutely nothing, except that I am currently reading Oliver Twist, and a book on the history of NASCAR, Driving with the Devil: Southern Moonshine, Detroit Wheels, and the Birth of NASCAR. I am enjoying the heck out of both of them! I really didn't think I would like Oliver Twist, as I have a fear of Dickens that remains from my high school English class, but I am really getting in to the humor. Poor Oliver! What hideous adults surround Oliver! Driving with the Devil is great fun--I love reading about the wild roots of NASCAR! It is well-written and fast-paced (no pun intended).

The Fear and Hope Paradox in SciFi

It seems to me that one of the key distinguishing characteristics of science fiction literature is its strange and sometimes paradoxical mixture of fear and hope. Let's talk about those ideas in the literature circle books: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Jurassic Park, Stranger in a Strange Land, The Martian Chronicles, and I Robot. Anyone may comment, of course. I'll start. In Androids I see a deep-down fear that there is really no difference at all between man and machine. When you come right down to it, says the author, it's impossible to tell them apart. Even given super advanced technology, is there a point at which machine development can stop. (Remember, what looked like science fiction 50 years ago is now reality.) What do you think makes a human human? How hopeful are you for mankind's continued existence? Let's hear some chatter out there, scifi class (and others, of course).

Enders Game (Spoiler warning!!!!!!!)

wow, i have to say i did not see that coming. i was getting towards the end an was like, well whens the battle gonna happen? then i come to find out, it had been happening all along. did anyone else see this coming? its kinda wrong they make ender stay up in space, but i suppose its for his own good. what are some of y'alls thoughts on this?

Sweetening the Oliver Twist Pot!

OK. Here's my addition to the Classics Challenge featuring Oliver Twist. What I'd like to do is to meet after school on Friday, March 23 and have a few snacks while we talk about Dickens' life, Oliver Twist, values and problems of the Victorian culture, and other stuff that interests us. Mr. White can drop by to talk a bit about the play adaptation and the film history. Then at around 4:45 or so, we'll go out to eat. Now here's the good part--the adults will pay for the kids' dinners! (Up to a point, of course.) We will get back to school by 6:45 in time to see the play. So get your friends to check out the book and get involved in the challenge--and not just for a free meal!

My Antonia?????

Mrs. R decided that it made perfect sense for us to take the test on Cold Mountain on Thursday and start a NEW book on Monday. SOOOO......has anyone read or started reading My Antonia?? I read the back of it, and to be perfectly honest, i think this novel sounds ridiculously DULL. I'm hoping it's not, or else it's an easy read...

**fingers crossed**