LEARNING ABOUT AUTHOR

I noticed on Michael Gerared Bauer's blog that he had put all of his posts in short 'get to the point' sentences which is great because when people are reading on internet sites and they see a big paragraph in front of them they generally loose interest and go to another site. Michael got his start in writing when his book 'The Running Man' was published in 2004, he has always had a dream of becoming a write. Michael Hyde takes cameras, tape recorders,  novels and his journal with him to draw inspiration from the world around him and Michael Gerared Bauer simply writes based upon the ideas that pop into his head i think that these two different things would change the styles of the authors. When Justin D'ath first began writing his brother was bitten by a spider and was taken to hospital after given the antidote for the venom Justin thought that he might be able to base a series on things like this and so he did and the series is called Extreme Adventures.

The Design of the Novel's Cover

When I saw the cover of the most recent novel I am reading I was immediately drawn to it, it features a huge Grizzly bear roaring with its mouth wide open and I boy about 14 years old standing underneath it I picked it up and read the words "Grizzly Trap". I think a good front cover needs to feature something exciting like a picture or even better a 3D picture. A bad front cover would probably feature a bland color with a boring font (that doesn't mean the book will be bad though). I have been won over by a cover once the book was called "World Shaker" it looked like an interesting cover but the book did not live up to its expectations and I was pretty disappointed but I continued reading it anyway because I try to always finish a book if I start to read it. The book I saw was titled "Trash" and the thing that really stood out was a huge pile of trash in the background. This is quite an effective technique in attracting a readers attention as it clearly worked on me.

Electronic Literature

I think that Inanimate Alice sounds awesome and would be a great way to read especially if its interactive. The most attractive thing for younger readers would obviously be the interactivity with the book as you have to drive the story forward. There is a disadvantage though that being that the readers may become frustrated if they cannot pass a certain stage of the book. This reading is quite different from traditional reading however in some traditional books their is also an interactive part such as choosing what decision the character will take by turning to a specific page. There are various other forms of digital literature such as e books, online reading and things like the Amazon Kindle. I prefer the old fashioned way of reading because you can take a book anywhere but you are sometimes limited by technology however that does not defy the fact that reading with technology can dramatically increase your reading experience.

Think About Your Reading Experiences

My favorite place to read is probably on my bed. Being comfortable while I'm reading really helps me to get into "The Zone" when I'm in "The Zone" Its like I'm part of the book and I tend to feel what how the characters feel as in their emotions. I like to read in the afternoon after I have come home from school, it helps me "wind down" after a hard day at school and I feel really relaxed. I really like Robert Muchamore author of the Cherub series. I like the length of his books they aren't too long and they definitely aren't too short either. His genre of book is great because it has so much action and mystery, I guess they are one of those "cant put it down" books, but whats great is that all his books are good like that none of them lack anything compared to the other ones. One of my mates was actually the one that recommended these books to me and I thanked him so much afterwards because I almost immediately fell in love with them. Whenever I find a good read I am usually really happy because its not every day that you find a book that you really enjoy so I usually recommend it too all of my mates but I never find out if they did have a look at it.I could not find any difference between Josh Larkin and Michael Gerard Bauer as there was no background info on Josh.

The 'Blurb' on the back cover

I definitely chose my book because of the blurb on the back of my book. The certain bit "join Ishmael as he and his band of misfits tackle topics like: debating, girls, The Beatles and a whole lot more.I don't think that the blurb from my book displayed exactly what the book was about, at first I thought it was about Ishmael and his friends doing a school talk show in which they covered topics such as the ones mentioned above. I liked how the blurb was displayed in plain handwriting as if it had been written by Ishmael or one of the other members of his gang. Debating, Teachers, Bully's and Exams, Yep you guessed it this is high school but not just any high school,  no, this high school is accompanied by a certain someone, his name is Ishmael Lesuer and he is the only know case in the world of Ishmael Lesuer Syndrome. Come and join Ishmael and his gang on a roller coaster ride of a year as they face the ups and downs of year 9.

Internet Picture Story 2

Benny was a diver. He was a pretty good one as well, he had all the latest gear and he also doubled as a photographer as he sometimes took photos under the sea. One day, when he was just returning from a dive he was approached by a man in a pin stripped suit. "Hello" he said "Are you Benny Argyle?"
"Yes I am" Benny replied
"My name is John Brown and I am interested in some pictures that I have seen of yours" Benny new straight away that this was the handy work of his mischievous friend Callum. "Now I was wondering if you could get me a photo" said John.
"What sort of photo Mr Brown"
"Not quite sure yet, but I want it to be amazing, I;m willing to pay you $5000 for it". Benny couldn't believe what he was hearing. "5000 bucks?" he asked
"Well Mr Argyle I've seen some of your photos and I think  5000 is a reasonable price wouldn't you agree?"
"Well, uh, yeah, of course!" Benny said, hardly able to contain his excitement.
"Good then its settled have it to me by Friday morning". Benny was overwhelmed, so he set out the next day in what he thought would be a long tiring search to find a magnificent photo, little did he know, he would have the perfect photo right when he jumped in the water. Benny got all geared up, put in his mouth piece, jumped in the water, and almost had a heart attack! Right in front of him lay a 4 meter long great white shark. "Holy Crap!" Benny thought and he froze, not sure of what to do next . Then his brain kick started into action meanwhile the shark just stared at him. Benny fumbled with the camera and took a photo, unfortunately for him the flash was on and when the shark saw the flash he became extremely agitated then he went for Benny. They where both swimming as fast as they could as if they were having a race to see who could get to the boat first but the reality of it was one was going for the boat and one was going for a delicious lunch. Benny jumped onto the boat but the shark grabbed his flipper it was pulling him back, Benny made a desperate lunge for his flipper and luckily unhooked the flipper from his foot. The next day Benny presented the photo to Mr Brown blown up into a much larger size. "Holy cow how did you get this?" exclaimed John
"Trust me" Benny said "You don't wanna know

Internet Picture Story

It was a cold quiet afternoon. Rick Shaw was at the lighthouse, which he had grown up in as as young boy, a strong sea breeze rustling through the trees and the waves crashing onto the rocks, far far below where the only noises to be heard. Rick was here because he had recently lost his father. Rick thought back to the day he got the news. He was sitting at home quite drinking a warm cup of coffee when the telephone rang. "Hello" said Rick, "Hello is this Rick Shaw?" "Yes it is whom am i speaking with may I ask" "This is Doctor Charles Deller from St. James' hospital, I'm afraid I have some terrible news for you". Rick got a horrible feeling in his stomach. "What, what is it, whats happened" he said with a note of horror in his voice. "Its your father.... Im sorry Rick I know how terrible this must be for you to hear but... well... the truth is hes had a heart attack... and... he uh... he didn't make it... I'm sorry". Rick put down the phone, and he began to cry. That is why he was where he was he had his fathers ashes and was about to spread them into the ocean when he saw something on the horizon that made him stop in his tracks. A enormous wave was heading for the light house. He ran to the door and tried to unlock it with the key but because he was in such a rush he fumbled with it and then dropped it. He watched in sheer horror as the key to his survival slipped over the edge of a seventy-five foot high light house and down to the choppy waters below. The wave was so close now that he could feel the mist on his face. He decided to seek shelter on the other side of the light house so he ran around the side and waited for the impact.Suddenly the walls shook and a deafening roar exploded as walls of water surounded both sides of the light house and then fell away. Rick could not believe that he was alive. Later he decided that the freak tsunami was a message to keep the ashes and so he did

Whats in a title?

I think that Ishmael and the hoops of steel could be portrayed better if it had a different title. The title of the book is confusing at first and then, later on in the book it becomes clearer what "The hoops of steel" means. This book could have been called "Ishmael and Last Chances" or "Ishmael and The Final year.Dont call me Ishmael! could be called, It had to be Ishmael or The Ishamel Lesuer Syndrome because he believes that he has a unique syndrome which makes causes bad things to happen to him. Ishmael and The Return of the Dugongs could be called Ishmael and the big reuniting or Ishmael and the Memorie Sea because this book has alot to do with his fathers band "The Dugongs" reuniting.