Brice Reinman (Comment)

In response to Taylor Newman I agree that whenever you read the book and then see the movie you are generally disappointed. I do not think that there is one movie based off a book that ever surpassed the book in any way. This is why I generally read the books after watching the movies, so that my impressions of the subject have only the option of improving. Because of this habit, I have chosen to read Rocket boys after previously watching the movie. Also I did not read One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest because I have heard bad reviews from last years students.

Brice Reinman Rocket Boys

The book I decided to read this summer is Rocket Boys by Homer H. Hickam, Jr. Previously the year before I had seen the movie october sky and had enjoyed it. So, concidering that books are better than the movie I made my choice. Reading the book has been enjoyable even though I already know whats coming. The book almost seems more concrete because it is based on the true story and is not merely fiction. I would definitely recommend the book to anyone that asks about it. This book is not only an easy read, but it is also interesting to a certain degree

kevin o'kelley: rocket boys

I choose this book because I have seen the movie before. It is very interesting to see which parts and characters from the book did and did not make it into the movie. And also why some parts of the book were altered in the movie and why others were allowed to remain the same. For example in the book it seems like they set off twice as many rockets as they did in the movie. This book was really easy to read and I would recomend it to my friends.

Kevin O'Kelley: Presidents Calling

In the tapes it seemed that Nixon was a bit unsure of himself in a few of his responses and was even caught off guard at a few of the questions. This is surprising because most presidents know the answers to all the questions that they are asked and never hesitate while answering. Nixon may have hesitated some because he knew more than he was willing to tell and was thinking of what he was and was not going to tell the press.

Kevin O'Kelley: In response to Alan Kung

I saw part of Band of Bloggers on TV but I did not know that there was a book about it. I thought that the show was very exciting. I hope to see the rest of the series and read the book in the future.

Kevin O'Kelley: Rocket Boys

I choose this book because I have seen the movie before. It is very interesting to see what parts and characters from the book did and did not make it into the movie. And also why some parts of the book were altered in the movie that did not even need to be changed. For example in the book it seemed like they set off about twice as many rockets as they did in the movie. This happens in every book based movie I have seen and yet it still bothers me. The book was really easy to read and I would recommend it to others.

Rocket Boys

For summer reading, I read the book "Rocket Boys". I had previously seen the movie October Sky a few years ago and was wondering just how much the book differed from the movie. I noticed a good many differences, but was suprised in how similar the two actually were. The book and movies theme of never giving up on your dream was upheld in both and I was quite impressed with what Homer went through to achieve his goal in the hard times of the 50's and 60's.

Logan Flesher

Chris Boley response to Wizard of Oz

I chose the book because i heard it was very different from the movie and I was intrigued to learn these differences. I also chose it because I am a big fan of the movie. I figured that if I liked the movie, I would like the book. I turned out to be wrong. I did not like the book very much. It was probably because it was a childrens book and we are obviously on higher reading levels now.

Deanna Hamm in response to Mary Katherine Tebo

I like how Mary Katherine brings up the point that The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is such an important American classic because of its symbolism and morals. Of course how the movie is so well recognized, the choice in reading the book was popular because most of us are so familiar with it. I think reading The Wonderful Wizard of Oz will help to understand and focus on other morals and details that are not portrayed in the movie.

Nandi Rosier's comment to Apiphany

I didn't like the the Wizard of Oz either. It makes me laugh though. So did you end up liking the book?

Nandi Rosier's : president calling JFK

I listened to president Johnson opposing segregation in front of congress and the nation. I like the fact that he said that the every independent problem during segregation was an American problem. He also said that America was the only country founded with a purpose I never really thought about that. I apprciate the fact that he believed that every one should be created equal and that he thought it was important for African Americans to have the right to vote.

Nandi Rosier's reading

I have decided to Read Malcolm X's autobiography. I chose this because I have learned alot about African American history but i have yet to learn about Malcolm X. I find the book to be very enlightening. I almost done reading the book and he brings up great points in African American history.


Nandi Rosier

Andrew Sadler The President Calling: JFK

The podcast I listened to was quite interesting. Initially I was disturbed by the president referring to our hockey team as girls because we lost. But later in the tape, hearing his conversation in response to the issue at the Bay of Pigs, I saw he cared more about the wellfare of our country than his initial conversation about hockey.

Deanna Hamm: Rocket Boys

The book that I have read this summer is Rocket Boys by Homer H. Hickman. I was interested in reading Rocket Boys since I first saw the movie October Sky in 2007 and loved it. I liked how genuine the story was and that it wasn't exxagerated as some Hollywood movies are. Rocket Boys also was recommended by someone who previously read the book as an assignment, and one was one of the few books for school that they enjoyed.

Andrew Sadler in response to Keeha Levitan's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Keeha this is one of my favorite books and movies. You definitely picked a good book!!

Andrew Sadler, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

I chose to read "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" by Ken Kesey. I chose it because the movie is one of my favorite's. But upon reading the book, I realized the point of view differs from the movie greatly, and certain events are removed in the movie.

Keeha Levitan response to Apiphany Lawyer's Wizard of Oz

Although I haven't read the book, and do like the movie, I would definitely have expected what you have described about the book verses the movie. Your comments about the book capturing the movie's essences of the childish mood encourage me to read the book and makes the already evident corniness of the movie even more evident.

Keeha Levitan - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

I chose to read One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest because the plot seemed interesting and worth learning about. I had heard of the book before, but didn't know much about it, and figured that since I had to pick one of the books on the list, it might as well be that one.

Robert Cilek "President Calling" JFK with Gov. Barnett

after listening to the phone conversations between Gov. Ross Barnett and JFK, i was able to clearly see the amount of racial tension in america at that time especially in the south. the main part of the conversation that interested me and almost made me laugh at the governor was when he didnt want to let an african american into Ole Miss though he just served for the United States in WW2. on the other hand, JFK is the exact opposite of Gov. Barnett in the sense that he didnt believe in racism and segregation and believed in equality and oppurtunity for all which made conversations between the two almost pointless because both men had opposite ideals causing them to have trouble working together and never being able to work anything out.

Robert Cilek's response to Sean Rady's "Rocket Boys"

though i have not read the book, i have seen the movie "october sky" several times and i enjoy the movie every time i watch it. though the movie may differ from the book which i dont know for sure, the directors do a good job of portraying the life of a poor coal miners son growing up trying to resists his fathers pressure to work at the mine to pursue his own dreams which i think captures the main idea of the book

Robert Cilek- Band of Brothers

I choose Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose because i have alwasys been intrested in world war 2 and i enjoy learning about the war. the book was very interesting and i learned a lot about the war. normally in class we only learn about the halocaust or a brief overview of the war and ive never really read or seen anything about the american side of the war in the european theater. i felt that this book captured the real picture of what it was like fighting for the E company of the 506th during the war that cant be matched to because of the actual events recalled by the surviving members of the company. all in all, band of brothers was a great book which was very entertaining and fun to read while also being educational

Andrew Campanile The president calling: JFK

I found this podcast extremeley interesting as it gives us an insight into the secret political trivials of the presidents during important events such as the cold war, the watergate scandal, and time of racial tension in america. My podcast that i listened to was mainly about JFK and his conversations with eisenhower, Governor Barnett, and Doyle. I found eisenhowers view of cuba and russias alliance as weak interesting along with how he believed invading cuba would not result in nuclear war, which turned out to be true. i found the conversationd with governor Barnett the most interesting because of the racial segregation issues going on ther and how the polica and the Governor were not cooperating with JFK. these taped conversations are very important to american history

Andrew Campanile in response to Sean Rady's "Rocket Boys"

I also think that this is a very good novel that portrays the true, hard life of american coal mining families. Although i havent read the novel I have seen the movie twice and i enjoyed it finding it funny and sad. It is interesting to get a glimpse of the lives of poor americans and into a town where nearly everybody works at the same place, a coal mine.

Andrew Campanile - Catch-22

I decided to Read Catch-22 because it seemed to be the most interesting book available. i enjoy reading war novels and I wanted to learn more about World War II. although it is a fictional book i think it gave me valuable insight about the lives of the U.S. soldiers during WWII. This novel was very entertaining and funny, and i thouroughly enjoyed reading this novel.

Susanna Moore- The Wizard of Oz

I chose to read The Wizard of Oz by Frank Baum. I decided to read The Wizard of Oz because I loved the movie as a kid, and would watch it all the time. Also, I thought it would be neat to see the differences between the book and the movie. I'm reading it now, and I think it's fun to read about the characters that I grew up with.

Sean Rady commenting on Jane Xiao One's Flew Over the Cuckcoo's Nest

The movie was very good on how it portrayed the patients within the asylum. Jack Nicholson is a genius actor and his spunk and attitude is amusing to watch. I also found it funny that most of the patients didn't even have mentality issues. The staff at the asylum are so bad that the patients literally are convincing themselves that they are insane. I would've read this book if not for already seeing the movie at least three times. I didn't want to have to watch it again to compare it with the book, but don't get me wrong it was a well made film. I think the narrator was confusing too, some inccidents I was confused as well.

Sean Rady Rocket Boys

Rocket Boys stood out to me because it looked semi-interesting. I've already viewed One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and the others didn't catch my attention. I have not seen the movie October Sky yet so it will be interesting as to how the novel relates to the movie. My guess is not very closely. Most directors cut out a lot from the novel because of budget concerns. It is hard to cram a 424 page book within only two hours of film. I like Rocket Boys because of their dream to strive and be successful at something that is so unknown and unfamliar in the 1950's 60's and 70's. The relationship between Sonny and his family members was a tough one to decipher. Homer Hickam was a work-alchoholic,Elsie Hickam doesn't like the life of a coal miner's wife and Jim is the town chiche of a high school football Jock. I like the fact that Sonny had very little to no support from his family and yet he still reached his goal!