What I read this week

Known effects of long-term space flights on the human body

I read this article because it was an assigned reading for science research.

The unknown words in the article was nasal congestion.

It is from this sentence: As fluids move up from the lower body to the trunk, the heart rate increases and blood pressure rises. Astronauts experience puffy faces, headaches, nasal congestion and skinny “bird” legs as a result.

Nasal congestion can be defined as a stuffy nose.
Another unknown word was nausea.
It is from this sentence: Along with nausea and vomiting, symptoms include headaches, malaise and dizziness.
Nausea basically means feeling sick in your stomach and like you are going to vomit. 
From the same sentence I also didn't know malaise which turns out to be feeling sick and uncomfortable.

Greek Mythology and Religion by Haitalis

255p
This week and probably next week I will be reading the book about Greek mythology and religion. I chose to read this book because I found the book on my bookshelf and I decided to read it. The unknown word that if found while I was reading was usurp. Usurp came from the 3rd sentence on page 28. "Zeus the most senior of the Olympian gods, was the son of Rhea and Cronus, the cruel titan who devoured his new born children out of the fear than one of him might usurp his throne." usurp means "take (a position of power or importance) illegally or by force." I found the definition online.

Lord Edgware Dies!

This week I have chose to read a "Lord Edgware Dies" by Agathe Christie. As the title entails, a character called lord Edgware is killed. I have so far read 89/241 pages. At this point in the plot, Hercule Poirot the main detective is in his stage of interviews. Very often this can consist of the bulk of the book. At this point in the book I feel like I am learning things but am not getting anything conclusive, but it makes one want to read on into the grand reveal. I chose this reading on Saturday when I was bored and just looked for books to read on my kindle. I browsed through many until I found this book. I hadn't read it yet so I began to read. The unknown word I encountered was : Histrionic. It was on page 43 and it is in the context "First she gives you her conception of how the part of a wife suddenly learning of her husbands death should be played. Then having satisfied her histrionic instinct, her native shrewdness makes her send for a solicitor". I also decided to research a little more and found a psychiatric case called HPD or histrionic personality disorder. It appears that people with this are overly dramatic, and always want to be the center of attention.

Life of Pi

Life of Pi

by Yann Martel

428 pages in this book

          This novel is about a man named Piscine Molitor Patel, also known as Pi. I did not get very far into the book, but I do know the basic outcome of the story as I have already seen the movie, which I now truly regret. In the first chapter of the book, we are not really familiarized with neither the protagonist, nor the story. We find out the protagonist's (who is also the narrator of the novel) name only around half way though the third chapter. Although, by that time we already know some basic information about his family. Then, we start to know and understand more about the protagonist alone, when he was a young boy. Piscine, or Pi, lived in a zoo, and his family owned and cared for the zoo. His father was the true owner of it, and he was head of 56 staff members at their zoo. Pi grew up in the zoo, so he sort of explains some examples of his daily life through the zoo, as well as telling us something about the animals. 

          I chose to read this novel because, even if I watched the movie already, I am expecting it to be a really good and interesting book. I have been planning to read this book for a while now, and while I was searching for a good book to read and I could not find The Fault in our Stars by John Green in the library, I remembered I had a copy of Life of Pi in my room, so I went home and started reading it.

   One unknown word: hierarchy 

   Sentence: "Animals in the wild lead lives of compulsion and necessity within an unforgiving social hierarchy in an environment where the supply of fear is high and the supply of food low and where territory must constantly be defended and parasites forever endured." (Martel 20)

   Meaning: a system in which members of an organization or society are ranked according to relative status or authority.

                                 Novak Djokovic Foundation

Title: What do Novak and Troicki advise you

This week I read an article, and watched a video about Novak Djokovic and his foundation. I was looking through the news on the internet on b92, with my dad and we decided to look whats new when it came to sports. We had come upon this article and how Troicki and Djokovic support children which want to be athletes, and they have made a video as well as campaign in the Novak Djokovic Foundation.         

Unknown word: International Sports Day

Definition:  It is organized on April the 6th in the UN, united nations. It recognizes the power of sport in promoting peace and erasing cultural barriers worldwide. 

Sentence: I am looking forward to International Sports Day on April 6th. 

The book was reading this week was The Girl Who Stopped Swimming written by Joshilyn Jackson. This novel has 319 pages. This book seemed really interesting by its title. When I saw the book I wondered why did she stop swimming? I just wanted to find out more so I read it, and it also seemed like a mystery book and I love reading mystery books. 

Unknown Word: Gunmetal 
Definition: ''A gray corrosion resistant from bronze containing zinc formerly used for making cannon. ''

Example Sentence: 

'' He took tiny,  picking steps, and his nose was up, searching the air for the flag tang of gunmetal.'' 

Jane Eyre #2

Tittle: Jane Eyre
Author: Charlotte Bronte
Pages: 62/682

I am still reading Jane Eyre. As, I before mentioned I was looking for something to read, and since I've been reading a lot of classics this year, I choose this book. I also, choose it because of its feminist value.


Unknown word: erect (adjective)
Definition: upright position or posture
Sentence: The first was a tall lady with dark hair, dark eyes, and a pale and large forehead; her figure was partly enveloped in a shawl, her countenance was grave, her bearing erect. (Bronte, 59)

Picture: 


            

"The Black Cat " 

April 6, 2014  

Eggar Allan Poe 

One night, returning home, really drunk, from one of my haunts about town, I  liked that the cat avoided my presence. I grabbed him; when, in his fright at my violence, he made a slight wound upon my hand with his teeth.

The first thing the narrator tells us is that he doesn't "expect" us to believe the story he's about to write, or ask us to believe it .He says he'd have to be crazy to think we'll believe him – he can hardly believe it himself.

If you want to find out more read the short story.

I still retained sufficient regard to restrain me from maltreating him

Maltreating: treat (a person or animal) cruelly or with violence

The World Almanac 2014

The World Almanac 2014
by ?
pages 351
Read 142

This week I am reading The World Almanac 2014. It is a book full of facts. I am reading this book because it has a lot of random facts in it that I like to read so I just bought it and started to read it. An unknown word in this book is numerals. Numerals are digits in some cultures. they are letters but they have different number values. On of them is L = 50.  A sentence with numerals in it is "Roman numerals are easy to understand."

HERO

Hero
By: Mike Lupica
PG read: 40

I chose to read this book because my older brother recommended it to me and he really seemed to like so i thought to give it a try. The book is about a young boy who loses his father (a super hero). The story is first told by the perspective of his dad Tom Herrman. His life is strange. Everyone wanted to kill his father  but now they want Zach Herrman his son to follow in his foot steps. Zach is no ordinary kid he is a 14 year old superhero and other peoples lives depend on him. Zach has yet to discover what he can really do. Right now Zach and his mom are still trying to get used to the death of his dad trying to settle in even though they miss him very much.

Unknown word: Globetrotter
Definition: Person who travels the globe
Sentence: "Tom Herrman had become the presidents Addison's, troubleshooter, the globe-trotter"