City of Bones- Cassandra Clare

 The song I chose to represent this book is Iris by Goo Goo Dolls. I chose this song because I believe it does a great job of describing the characters and their relationships. City of Bones is all about a race of half human- half angels so I think that when the song says,"You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be," it describes it perfectly. The main character, Jace Wayland, is very mysterious and you don't really know his story at first but when he meets the other main character of the book, Clary Fray, his character starts to open up more. One of the things that makes Jace such an interesting character throughout this book and the rest of the series is the fact that he doesn't " want the world to see " him because he doesn't " think that they'd understand". This definitely drew me into the book because I wanted to know why he felt the need to close himself off from everyone who loved him. I loved that he opened up to Clary because he "wanted her to know who he was". It showed his past and secrets in a romantic and different way. Overall I believe this song is the perfect fit for this book and that City of Bones is a definite
                                                      must- read!

Blog Post - Andy

The Mark of Athena.

 I chose this poem to go with the book The Mark of Athena by author Rick Riordan because I felt that they both had a similar mood to them. In the novel, it shows the audience  how "sometimes things aren't always as they seem" and how sometimes things "aren't meant to be seen" (Kristin). This is shown throughout the novel as mortals are not able to see through the mist that hides monsters. If they were able however they would likely be in more danger, this protects them. The novel also shows how "sometimes life just isn't fair", the protagonists throughout the story have horrible luck but have to deal with it if they want to continue living (Kristin). 

The protagonists in the story must recover an ancient lost treasure against all odds with people they have just met. Things often "get out of hand" and they find themselves in dangerous situations constantly (Kristin). These characters have extraordinary powers and abilities but this doesn't seem to be enough in most situations, they need to start relying on others to achieve their goal. The story ends in a cliff hanger which makes the reader wanting more, it makes the audience wonder if they will end up accomplishing what they all  want.

Sometimes

Kristin
Sometimes we see things that aren't meant to be seen.
Sometimes things aren't always as they seem.
Sometimes we need someone to call our own,
Especially when we’re alone.
Sometimes people just can’t understand,
Why things get out of hand.
Sometimes life just isn't fair,
Especially when people just don’t care.
And sometimes it's hard to say,
Why things have to be this way.
Sometimes it’s all you can do to get by,
Especially when dreams continue to die.
Sometimes it’s nice to sit in the rain.
Even to just relieve the pain.
And when we've had a really bad days,
Sometimes we just need to get away.
We never know what’s wrong with out pain.
Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same.
And sometimes when people get hurt,
Even the strongest ones may need comfort.

Source: http://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/sometimes-life-is-hard#ixzz2BMv5djIZ  

http://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/sometimes-life-is-hard

The Hobbit by: J.R.R Tolkien

                                             The Hobbit by: J.R.R Tolkien

To go along with the hobbit, I selected a song from the book the Hobbit. The song works well with the book because it foreshadows and it also matches the books theme and adventurous mood. In The Hobbit the main character Bilbo Baggins is asked to join in an adventure with thirteen dwarves to retake their "long forgotten gold" (Tolkien) and their dwarven homeland which is inhabited by the evil dragon Smaug, so the dwarves and hobbit set out "to win [their] harps and gold from him" (Tolkien).

The Firm by John Grisham

The Firm by John Grisham

        I choose the song Somebody that I used to know by Gotye because in the story the main character Mitchell Y. McDeere got a new job at the Bendini Building in Memphis, Tennessee. In his first week of his first job he worked more than one hundred hours and his wife thinks it is going to become a habit. His wife had never had a problem when he was in law school because he called every time he was going be late but now with his new job, he doesn't call and spends the night at the office. 

[Gotye:]
Now and then I think of when we were together
Like when you said you felt so happy you could die
Told myself that you were right for me
But felt so lonely in your company
But that was love and it's an ache I still remember

You can get addicted to a certain kind of sadness
Like resignation to the end, always the end
So when we found that we could not make sense
Well you said that we would still be friends
But I'll admit that I was glad it was over

But you didn't have to cut me off
Make out like it never happened and that we were nothing
And I don't even need your love
But you treat me like a stranger and that feels so rough
No you didn't have to stoop so low
Have your friends collect your records and then change your number
I guess that I don't need that though
Now you're just somebody that I used to know

Now you're just somebody that I used to know
Now you're just somebody that I used to know

[Kimbra:]
Now and then I think of all the times you screwed me over
But had me believing it was always something that I'd done
But I don't wanna live that way
Reading into every word you say
You said that you could let it go
And I wouldn't catch you hung up on somebody that you used to know

[Gotye:]
But you didn't have to cut me off
Make out like it never happened and that we were nothing
And I don't even need your love
But you treat me like a stranger and that feels so rough
No you didn't have to stoop so low
Have your friends collect your records and then change your number
I guess that I don't need that though
Now you're just somebody that I used to know

[x2]
Somebody
(I used to know)
Somebody
(Now you're just somebody that I used to know)

(I used to know)
(That I used to know)
(I used to know)
Somebody

Slumdog Millionaire By: Vikas Swarup

Slumdog Millionaire by: Vikas Swarup

Slumdog Millionaire is about Ram Mohammed a boy who grew up in poverty in the slums of india and he became an orphan at birth. It tells his story of him growing up and all the hardships he had to deal with. But once he finally grew up he had a bit of luck and got to participate in ‘Who wants to win a billion?’( the indian version of who wants to be a millionaire). He ends up winning the billion rupees but no one believed him because he grew up in the slums.

I chose this song because its about poverty and racism and thats what this movie is about. The main character grew up without a family and that is how some people are brought into poverty. People in poverty have “too much work and too little to eat”, they work all day but don’t even get enough to fill their stomachs. In the Slumdog Millionaire Ram worked his whole life to get to where he was and he is being accused of cheating. That is why i picked this song.  

 





Poverty Hill By:Kingston Trio

They come in their summery dress and jackets so fine
Rich folks who measure success with a big dollar sign
They gaze with delight at the rocks and the scraggly pine
They come in the spring and they stay til the fall
On Paradise Mountain, away from it all

Stubble and stone make a hard row to hoe
What little will grow the drought will kill
The summer folks call it Paradise Mountain
We call it Poverty Hill

They say we have beautiful faces as grainy as wood
Yeah, they'd like to live here, of all places,
if only they could
Well we don't get these wood grainy faces from living too good

Its the rocks and the dust and the sun and the heat
Its too much work and too little to eat
They pack and they say what a pity that they have to go
They say that Old Smoky's so pretty all covered with snow
But how we get thru the winter they never will know

No lard for the pantry, no grist for the mill
And winter's are hard over Poverty Hill

I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

I chose the poem "Desert Places" by Robert Frost because the lyrics fit with the story line. In the novel the main character moved to earth from a distant planet. He was one of the 7 people left of the lorien legacy which gives him special characteristics. But since he is number 4 he knows he will be the next one killed by so he must stay on the run. Since he is always on the move "the loneliness" Is starting to get to him. As he stays moving he looks out is window into forests or "a field" thinking about if he will ever get to stop and have a life.  But of course he could not or he would be killed just as the others were.

John and Henri have to leave their life because the third person was killed. They move to a small town called Paradise where they find a house with "the woods around it" to not be noticed. He still goes to school but must be discrete about being noticed. He must show "no expression" but show enough so he doesnt stick out like a sore thumb.

John must learn and mast his legacy to be able to survive. He must learn to fit in and accept that earth is now "home".

Desert places

Snow falling and night falling fast, oh, fast
In a field I looked into going past,
And the ground almost covered smooth in snow,
But a few weeds and stubble showing last.

The woods around it have it - it is theirs.
All animals are smothered in their lairs.
I am too absent-spirited to count;
The loneliness includes me unawares.

And lonely as it is, that loneliness
Will be more lonely ere it will be less -
A blanker whiteness of benighted snow
WIth no expression, nothing to express.

They cannot scare me with their empty spaces
Between stars - on stars where no human race is.
I have it in me so much nearer home
To scare myself with my own desert places. 

Robert Frost

The Girl Who Played With Fire

THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE
BY STIEG LARSSON


Poem: "The Girl Who Played With Fire" by A Nobody's Life

I chose this poem as it fits well with the character Salander in the novel "The Girl Who Played With Fire" written by Stieg Larsson. Salander is a very misunderstood girl with obvious social limitations, but in no sense is she mentally incapable. In the novel, Salander is on the run from the cops for the accused killing of three people, DNA evidence links her to the scene of the murders, and she was spotted in the areas of the killings around the approximated times of death. With strong evidence against her, she must try to prove her innocence and uncover the conspiracy surrounding her and her mysterious past.

   The book ship breaker is a story on the gulf coastal regions were old tanker ships have washed up on the shore. The ships arnt used for anything any more so different crews go in and take the ship apart for scrap mettle or "scavenge". The main character Nailer is a boy about 15 years old and he is on the light crew when one day he fall out of the vents and into a huge pool of oil. as he was about to drown when " [he]will watch as it all goes down It won't get far I will sink I will sink as I weigh a tonne I will wait I will wait but it wont be long I could give it everything I've got" he eventually get out and surprisingly lives. Nailer and pima were out looking for food after a huge storm hit their little beach and they came across a clipper ship that could make them rich. But inside they find  girl that will change their lives. Nailer and Pima dont know what to do but Nailer thinks"I'm a waste im a waste im a waste of skin
I will take I will take almost anything I will leave myself a little rope and then I'll go". Nailer decides to take the swank home and leave his ship breaker life for something mysterious and new. He leaves his friends behind to help this girl find her father in hopes he may get a better life. 

I'm bored I'm bored on a sinking ship

i've lost a lot of time, lot of time on it

I will watch as it all goes down It won't get far
I will sink I will sink as I weigh a tonne
I will wait I will wait but it wont be long
I could give it everything I've got

Chorus
But don't you think
It's better its better to find out these things
It's better it's better to say what you mean
or be alone before you hurt someone

Verse 2
I'm a waste im a waste im a waste of skin
I will take I will take almost anything
I will leave myself a little rope and then I'll go
I'm a waste im a waste im a waste of skin
I will take I will take almost anything
I will leave myself a little rope

Chorus
But don't you think
It's better its better to find out these things
It's better it's better to say what you mean
or be alone before you hurt someone
But don't you think
It's better its better to find out these 
things
or be alone before you hurt someone

Verse 3
I've waited a long time
For this and now that it's here
I don't have nothing to say to you, why is that the way?
No there's no point in trying
It seems like we'll end up dying
The same way that everybody does

Chorus
But don't you think
It's better its better to find out these things
It's better it's better to say what you mean
or be alone before you hurt someone
But don't you think
It's better its better to find out these 
things
or be alone before you hurt someone

I've seen it I've got a better plan
I'll be there I got a better plan
I need it I got a better plan
Abide myself so I can be merrily
I've seen it I've got a better plan
I'll be there I got a better plan
I need it I got a better plan
Abide myself so I can be merrily
I've seen it I've got a better plan
I'll be there I got a better plan
I need it I got a better plan
Abide myself so I can be merrily

Read more at http://www.songlyrics.com/general-fiasco/sinking-ships-lyrics/#cKeB722VAl8LmKJE.99 avenge"

Dear John by Nicholas Sparks

       I chose the song "No air" by Jordin Sparks ft. Chris Brown because the lyrics explain a relationship much like the one in the book "Dear John".  "Dear John" is a love story about an army Sergeant named John who is on leave in his home town when he meets a visiting college student named Savannah and they instantly fall in love. John has to go back and finish his tour but he and Savnnah write letters to eatch other. As the song states "Cause my world revolves around you It's so hard for me to breathe" when they are apart it's extremely difficult for the both of them. They slowly drift apart after john re-enlists in the army due to 9-11 and eventually Savannah falls in love with someone else. John's feelings directly relate to the line "Losing you is like living in a world with no air". Once John realizes that Savannah is happy he realizes that they wern't meant to be and moves on with his life.


"No Air"
Jordin Sparks ft. Chris Brown

[Jordin]Tell me how I'm supposed to breathe with no air

If I should die before I wake
It's 'cause you took my breath away
Losing you is like living in a world with no air
Oh

[Chris Brown]
I'm here alone, didn't wanna leave
My heart won't move, it's incomplete
Wish there was a way that I can make you understand

[Jordin]
But how do you expect me
to live alone with just me
'Cause my world revolves around you
It's so hard for me to breathe

[Chorus:]
Tell me how I'm supposed to breathe with no air
Can't live, can't breathe with no air
It's how I feel whenever you ain't there
It's no air, no air
Got me out here in the water so deep
Tell me how you gonna be without me
If you ain't here, I just can't breathe
It's no air, no air

No air, air
No air, air
No air, air
No air, air

[Chris Brown]
I walked, I ran, I jumped, I flew
Right off the ground to float to you
There's no gravity to hold me down for real

[Jordin]
But somehow I'm still alive inside
You took my breath, but I survived
I don't know how, but I don't even care

[Both:]
So how do you expect me
to live alone with just me
'Cause my world revolves around you
It's so hard for me to breathe

[Chorus]

No air, air
No air, air
No air, air
No air, air
No more
It's no air, no air

[Chorus]

No air, air
No air, air
No air, air
No air, air

Tell me how I'm supposed to breathe with no air
Can't live, can't breathe with no air
It's how I feel whenever you ain't there
It's no air, no air

Got me out here in the water so deep
Tell me how you gonna be without me
If you ain't here, I just can't breathe
It's no air, no air

No air, air
No air, air
No air, air
No air

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I selected the song "Without You", by  David Guetta, because the lyrics shows the relationship between Katniss and Peeta during the Games, and the need for each other. In the book Katniss and Peeta have to fight to death in an arena, the game-makers change the rules "Two Tributes can win this year, if they are from the same district.(Hunger Games,231) During that time Katniss and Peeta fight together against all the other tributes. They realized that they can't go without each other. The first line of the song states "I can't win, I can't reign / I will never win this game / Without you, without you". This is a great example of how Katniss and Peeta feel, and how they depend on each other. And in the end of the book the Game-makers change the rule back so that only one of them can win and both are willing to kill themselves instead of killing the other.





Without You
David Guetta

I can't win, I can't reign
I will never win this game
Without you, without you

I am lost, I am vain,
I will never be the same
Without you, without you

I won't run, I won't fly
I will never make it by
Without you, without you

I can't rest, I can't fight
All I need is you and I,
Without you, without.... You!

Oh oh oh
You you you
Without
You you you
Without you..

Can't erase, so I'll take blame
But I can't accept that we're
Estrange
Without you, without you

I can't quit now, this can't be right
I can't take one more sleepless night
Without you, without you

I won't soar, I won't climb
If you're not here I'm paralyzed without you, without you

I can't look, I'm so blind
Lost my heart, I lost my mind without you without... You!

Oh oh oh
You you you
Without
You you you
Without you..

I am lost, I am vain,
I will never be the same
Without you, without you, without you.

Pilgrims Progress by John Bunyan

         I chose the poem, "A Boy and a Watchmaker" by John Bunyan, because of the similarities between the poem and the book. The first and most obvious reason is because they are by the same author. Another reason is that they both use multiple "comparisons". They use "comparisons" to show the difference between the real world and the spirit world. "The watchmaker is Jesus Christ, ... His counsel, the directions of his Word" (John Bunyan 3), and in "Pilgrims Progress" Jesus is the lord of the castle to which Christian is going. "[The] boy is of a convert"(John Bunyan 3) as is Christian in the book. 

         The poem is a shorter version of what the book also says. Although they both talk about some of the same things, the book and the poem are very different. The poem is more about how Jesus counsels us and the book is more about the troubles we may face when we become Christians. I recommend both, and especially the book. Although the book is a hard read seeing that it is written in old English there are other versions that are paraphrased in the language we use nowadays.

A boy And Watchmaker

This watch my father did on me bestow,
A golden one it is, but 'twill not go,
Unless it be at an uncertainty:
But as good none as one to tell a lie.
When 'tis high day my hand will stand at nine;
I think there's no man's watch so bad as mine.
Sometimes 'tis sullen, 'twill not go at all,
And yet 'twas never broke nor had a fall.

Watchmaker.

Your watch, though it be good, through want of skill
May fail to do according to your will.
Suppose the balance, wheels, and springs be good,
And all things else, unless you understood
To manage it, as watches ought to be,
Your watch will still be at uncertainty.
Come, tell me, do you keep it from the dust,
Yea, wind it also duly up you must?
Take heed, too, that you do not strain the spring;
You must be circumspect in every thing,
Or else your watch, were it as good again,
Would not with time and tide you entertain.

Comparison.

This boy an emblem is of a convert,
His watch of the work of grace within his heart,
The watchmaker is Jesus Christ our Lord,
His counsel, the directions of his Word;
Then convert, if thy heart be out of frame,
Of this watchmaker learn to mend the same.
Do not lay ope' thy heart to worldly dust,
Nor let thy graces over-grow with rust,
Be oft' renewed in the' spirit of thy mind,
Or else uncertain thou thy watch wilt find. 

John Bunyan

A Game of Thrones

   

The song that I have picked to represent this book is "War of the Thrones" by Blind Guardian. I picked this song for two reasons. The first reason is that this song was that this song is specifically written for the series, and it had special author permission to be written.  The second reason is that even though this book was written for the series that if it wasn't it would have so many things that relate to the book. "All I ever feel is/All I ever see is/Walls they fall"(blind guardian) is referring to the "Wall". The "Wall" is the home of the nights watch. The nights watch is the guardian of the realm and the sword in the night. They are sworn to protect and not to interfere with the realm. This song relates to the main character on the wall. His name is Jon Snow. He become the nine hundred and ninety-eighth lord commander of the nights watch. This gives him all the control of the nights watch.





Nothing will grow hereIcy fields - blackened sorrowLegacy of a lost mindFeed my voidWhat you're waiting for
I'm too lateIt is more than a gameThe river revealsNow I'm in between these linesI cannot escape it seemsSail on, my friend
All I ever feel isAll I ever see isWalls they fallWhen the march of the Others begins
All I ever feel isAll I ever see isRise and fallWhen the War of the Thrones shall begin
While I sit there in silenceCome and talk to meI can't free my mindIt is all I'm begging for
While I sit there in silence
Will it ever end?Will I find what I'm longing for?Will I ever walk out of shadows so grey?I'm condemned, I am hallowedIcy fields they won't hurt anymore
Will you walk with me?Any furtherThere at world's endIt's meI sing
I cannot escape it seemsSadly I sing
All I ever feel isAll I ever see isWalls they fallWhen the march of the Others begins
All I ever feel isAll I ever see isRise and fallWhen the War of the Thrones shall begin
AwayWatch the river it flowsNow and everI cannot believe in moreAnd now my time will comeCarry on
Will I ever learn from the past?Will I fade away?Will I ever stay where the shadows will grow?There is luck at the gallowsI will free my mindSoon it will show
Let it rainThere'll be no springMy dream is a mirrorIt reveals a matter of lies
All I ever feel isAll I ever see isRise and fallWhen the War of the Thrones will begin
All I ever feel isAll I ever see isRise and fallWhen the War of the Thrones has begun
Leave a fee for the tillermanAnd the river behind