THE WORST THING about "Book Thief"

Distractions are everywhere.....

When I flipped through the virtual pages of the book on my iPad, I was shocked by all the bolded sections separated from the book. It took a long time to get used to, but I have to admit, they were 

EXTREMELY DISTRACTING, IT BECOMES HARDER TO CONTINUE READING WITHOUT ALL THESE BREAKS.

HOWEVER, these breaks must be important right? They mostly offer background information to a character, setting, or event. 

If curious why Markus Zusak makes all these bolded sections, this page explains it very well, by the way, death is the narrator. http://novelinks.org/uploads/Novels/TheBookThief/Concept%20Analysis%20Strategy.pdf

The Best Thing about this Book however,

The best thing about this book is that Death narrates the book which gives the reader an interesting perspective to look from especially since Death is considered an angel, it teaches people to think about their actions and what it may look like from a different point of view such as Death's. For example, Death will often say things that show how people think and the action they take because of it showing true human nature, 

"Erik Vandenburg and Hans Hubermann glanced at each other. If someone stepped forward now the platoon would his life a living hell for the rest of their time together. ...On the other hand, if someone was to be nominated..." (Zusak 381 0f 1178

"It sat at his feet, waiting for a good kicking. It said, 'Hubermann, sir.' The voice belonged to Erik Vandenburg" (Zusak 381 of 1178)

"'You know,' Hans explained to her, 'he saved my life." (Zusak 385 of 1178)

"'He-if there's anything you ever need.' He slid a piece of paper with his name and address on it across the table" (Zusak 385 0f 1178)

This is a series of quotes showing Erik Vandenburg's,  a Jewish soldier in WWI fighting for Germany, relationship with Hans Hubermann first showing how Hubermann believed that Erik saved his life and returns after the war to tell Erik's wife and show appreciation for "saving his life", this guilt creates an interesting life for Hans Hubermann and makes him do things he otherwise wouldn't do under the guilt of sacrificing Erik's life for his. 

Text to Text, Self, World Connection

As of Right Now...

I've just read about a fourth of the book and read about Liesel's worries of stealing books in Germany, during WW2. Apparently, Liesel has been stealing too many books and is afraid that the mayor's wife would notice, especially when she delivers clean clothes to the mayor's wife. However, she attempts to steer clear from this issue by telling her foster mother that the mayor's wife wasn't home, which the foster mother told Liesel to go try again. This time, however, Liesel arrives to the mayor's wife, holding a tower of books and invites Liesel to her library. This is similar to many situations I encountered in my life, all of which, happened at school. It's not uncommon to hear a telephone call from the teacher's desk, but if you are a 10 year old child who has just stole an eraser, when the teacher asks you to go to the principal's office, you will be scared. After my 10 year old self had walked out of a classroom shouting "OOooooooo", I arrive to the principal's office to find a welcoming congratulations for being student of the month. It's easy to tell from both stories that the surface of an issue is not the basis of it. 

Text to Text Connection

"Book Thief" doesn't spark a distinct book, but rather a combination of them. Of course, the "City of Thieves" is a very strong one; starting with "City of Thieves" is because both books take place in the same time period and the struggle is not the same for either books. While the two teenage boys in "City of Thieves" struggle for survival in war, Liesel in "Book Thief" is starving for a good read, she desires books and is struggling to find her identity and direction in life from books. While the struggle is different, the setting is the same, it is cold, people are starving, and life, in general, is tough. 

Text to World Connection

As technologically advanced we are now, much of society is controlled by words, and that's what Markus Zusak wanted to demonstrate in his book, "Book Thief". He wanted to show how Hitler could use words to control others while demonstrating that words could be used in a better way. In his book, Liesel arrives to her foster home illiterate, she is laughed at in school and doesn't understand much of her classes. Until she starts learning at midnight classes with her foster dad, Hans Hubermann, she begins to unravel a new world, Markus uses books to show how Liesel's life made a turning point from dark to light because of books and the powerful sanctuary it provided people. And as Kurt Vonnegut believed, books are very real, no matter how fictional the story, the message is more concrete than stone. 

http://www.lettersofnote.com/2012/03/i-am-very-real.html

Above is a link to Kurt Vonnegut's letter to a school district demonstrating how "real" he is. 

Reading About Krista Ramsey

"Locking into the magic of Legos"

1. Krista Ramsey writes about how Legos, although they are simply toy blocks, and how they affect kid's thinking. She continues to write about the lessons that Legos teach that schools don't tell them, and how they allow children to expand their creativity.

2. http://www.cincinnati.com/story/opinion/columnists/krista-ramsey/2014/02/15/krista-locking-into-the-magic-of-legos/5521245/

3. "Legos let them claim the two things adults don't even realize they need: space and silence." (Ramsey) 

This quote stuck out to me because it shows that Legos benefit and teach to more than just children, but also to adults who may also need it. Syntax wise, Ramsey uses the colon at the end to emphasize the 

lesson taught  by creating a "drumroll" like pause. This sentence uses logos to effectively allow the reader to understand that if Legos can teach so much to adults, then, it must be able to teach children a lot more. 

4. Krista Ramsey has a writing style that has a very conversational and relaxed tone and is very informal, persuasive, yet casually written. She doesn't include fancy inverted sentences and seems to speaking to the general public and the community about fears, issues, and fixes that don't seem to be a problem but are. For example, "The sight of sport jerseys and sweat pants at a carefully planned memorial service could be hurtful" (Ramsey) She writes about our outfits and how we dress to events such as memorial services, although it may seem minor, this is a social mannerism issue in society that we must deal with before it becomes something that affects our lifestyle and change us to become more than just lazy. Another example of this assertion against doubts and fear, "Cynics say what parents are actually buying is quiet time for themselves" (Ramsey) Here, Krista Ramsey points out a possible obstruction that gets forces parents to claw Legos away from children using, again, casual diction and writing style using "buying" figuratively since no one can actually "buy time". 

5. First-How long does it take for you to compose one article?

    Second-Do you argue with your editor on what should be deleted?

    Third-Do you believe you have a really "bad" article, not as well crafted in other words?

Info on Markus Zusak, research on the author of "Book Thief"

Inspirations for Writing

Markus Zusak, the author of Book Thief, lived in a household whose parents lived throughout World War two in Austria and Germany. He says that Book Thief is mainly inspired from the many stories about Germany during World War two, and he believed that in order to make his story unique, he had to make it personal and include the fact that the main character loved to steal books to demonstrate the importance of words and knowledge. Why Zusak chose to emphasize on the importance of words was because he believed that it wasn't guns and violence that made war, but how Hitler used words to murder and ostracize and then juxtaposed that to the main character's use of words in the story. 

Zusak's Childhood Pushed Him to Be the Writer he is Today

 Markus's dad was a house painter, which heavily influenced young Markus to also become a house painter, even though he was horrible at the job. Markus then realized, at the age of 16, that he wanted to become a writer after reading two inspirational books The Old Man and the Sea and What's Eating Gilbert Grape. At 18, he finished the manuscript to his first book and tried getting it published, after numerous rejections, it pushed Zusak to write even better he believed that this indicated that he needed to work harder.

Markus Zusak's Lifestyle as a Professional Author

Living in Sydney, Australia, Markus Zusak works at leisurely pace. He starts his day with writing from 7 AM to 11 AM and then take a long afternoon break with a few hours of writing added at the end. However, when Zusak nears the end of a book, he changes his schedule, starting his day off with some early morning surfing and then starting off his writing at 10 AM. 

SMALL FACT: Zusak doesn't attempt writing crime and fantasy novels

Although Markus Zusak may live a leisurely lifestyle down south in Australia, his past with his immigrant parents define his life in every step he takes and the way he crafts his writing. 

The Setting of "The Book Thief"

Setting
This excerpt from the Book Thief describes an eerie shop owned by and even describing Frau Diller, a good German, or in other words, one who supports the Nazi party. The shop seems to cast a sense of unease over the street, perhaps that's why the building near by it "shivers" as it is "compressed", suggesting the loss of independence, against this dead and bloodless shop.
“The shop itself was white and cold, and completely bloodless. The small house compressed beside it shivered with a little more severity than the other buildings on Himmel Street" (Zusak 106-107).

In contrast to Diller's shop, Liesel's foster home on Himmel Street may not seem as unwelcoming as it looks. Himmel literally translates to "heaven" in German, but it's name contradicts its description.
“The buildings appear to be glued together, mostly small houses and apartment blocks that look nervous. There is murky snow spread out like carpet. There is concrete, empty hat-stand trees, and gray air.” (Zusak 56) The buildings seem to depict a deeper and more horrible event, where the subjects walk in groups and nervously wait for something to happen. I believe this setting is almost whispering to the reader's ear of the horrors of NAZI reign, almost as if, describing the buildings to be more human like and being nervous as they stick together marching on towards a bleak plateau, just like Diller's shop. As loyal and prideful of a country you can be, the direction this movement takes people may be bleak.

Time
The time period of this book takes place before and during World War 2, near the beginning of the story, Zusak fills in a vital that is self-explanatory at least. “SEPTEMBER-NOVEMBER 1939
1. World War Two begins” (Zusak 157). If that didn't exist to clarify what time period the story took place, then this quote will. “Ten years old meant Hitler Youth. Hitler Youth meant a small brown uniform” (Zusak 85). Joining the Hitler youth was a tradition for Germany's youth whenever they turned ten. It also meant learning how to perform the infamous "heil Hitler" and following the youth programs developed by the Nazi. Especially, if the main character joined the Hitler youth, it most likely means that the story takes place during the WW2 era, because the Nazi reign only lasted around that period of time. Enjoy the video below of an example of some a Hitler Youth Rally for boys, and they are all 10-14 years old some of them as old as Freshman high school students today.