Ninsha!

Not too long ago I was reading a bit on martial arts, including the book Learning Martial Arts, by Steve Potts (excellent for younger kids interested in martial arts) and also Ninjutsu, by Aidan Trimblen.
One book I read that I can really recommend is Superdove, by Courtney Humphries. Ms. Humphries takes a look at the seemingly lowly pigeon and explains just why they can strut with pride. I give this book all five stars!
One of my hobbies is reading about random countries/states.
So far, I've read:
Rebecca Stefoff, Nevada
Rebecca Stefoff, Utah
Rebecca Stefoff, Oregon
Rebecca Stefoff, Washington
Leslie Jermyn, Guyana

As I was waltzing down the (library) aisle, I came across the biographical section and happened upon a fascinating book about Stalin that I picked up, which I also give a high rating. After reading this I gained quite an understanding of what occurred in Russia and why Stalin was feared by many. The TAA (Title and Author) is Joseph Stalin, by Steven Otfinoski.
I really recommend it!

I'm nobody! Who are you?

I'm nobody! Who are you? is one of Emily Dickinsons most famous poems. Here is my analysis:

I believe that the speaker in this poem is Emily Dickinson, and she is talking about herself, and her quiet, secluded lifestyle. She enjoys privacy, and yet she looks for friends who enjoy the same thing. “Don't tell! they'd advertise – you know!” seems to indicate that she and her friend would like to be hidden away from the rest of society, in order to have their own little world. She doesn’t seem to want to even be known by anyone other than this friend, who she so enjoys talking to. A nobody would be someone who isn’t particularly known- maybe not as a celebrity, or in Dickinson’s case, not particularly well known by anyone outside her small world. A somebody to her would likely be either the celebrities of her day, or, people in her community. She, despite her being a “somebody” sentient and thoughtful, would like to be somebody to herself, and is, but would not like to be particularly known by anyone else. On the other hand, she may be talking about herself, and talking to herself. After all, if she is nobody, than she can have an intelligent conversation with herself, right? Another possibility is that she had problems with self esteem, and though she knew herself to be somebody, was afraid of being ridiculed for some reason or another, and chose to stay an anonymous ‘nobody’.
It also seems that she was making a statement about vanity, and by comparing being a ‘somebody’ to being a frog, that you would simply be talking to a bog, that being somebody simply wouldn’t matter some time later, that everybody was already a frog, and it is a waste of energy to make yourself popular among the frogs, because in all honesty, what does that earn you in the bog? It certainly doesn’t make you a great person, it simply means you’re a loud croaker! She did, also, mention how public it was to be a frog, perhaps indicating that she’d rather have her privacy, instead of fame, and perhaps, in a way, this was freedom to her.

Some while ago I also read most of Brian Jacques Redwall series, starting with Salamandastron.



So far I read:

• Redwall (1986)
• Mossflower (1988)
• Mattimeo (1989)
• Mariel of Redwall (1991)
• Salamandastron (1992)
• Martin the Warrior (1993)
• The Bellmaker (1994)
• Outcast of Redwall (1995)
• The Pearls of Lutra (1996)
• The Long Patrol (1997)
• Marlfox (1998)^[1]
• The Legend of Luke (1999)
• Lord Brocktree (2000)
• The Taggerung (2001)
• Triss (2002)
• Loamhedge (2003)
• Rakkety Tam (2004)
• High Rhulain (2005)

I need to read more now!

A few opinions...

OK, here would be a review of a few books...
The first is about a series, one of several unfortunate events. In fact, the series is called A Series of Unfortunate Events.
I absolutely loved it, I give it about 4.5 stars. My only complaint is that the series could have been long, but in all honesty, could Mr. Snicket have created 13 more books of misfortune? He's had enough for one lifetime.

By Ernest Hemingway, I read The Old Man and the Sea
It was a very interesting book, I recommend it if you enjoy Swordfish fishing, or books about people trapped in boats. I cannot, however, recommend it if you don't enjoy seeing sharks demonized, as was done in this book. Though the sharks struck me as symbolic (taking away what you worked so hard to achieve) I think Hemingway gives the sharks a bad name.
Despite the small size of the book (around 100 pages) it was very well written, and a recommendable read at four stars.

I know I read it, just don't know when...

OK, a list of books I read...

By Lemony Snicket (A.K.A Daniel Handler)

• The Bad Beginning (1999)
• The Reptile Room (1999)
• The Wide Window (2000)
• The Miserable Mill (2000)
• The Austere Academy (2000)
• The Ersatz Elevator (2001)
• The Vile Village (2001)
• The Hostile Hospital (2001)
• The Carnivorous Carnival (2002)
• The Slippery Slope (2003)
• The Grim Grotto (2004)
• The Penultimate Peril (2005)
• The End (2006)

Note (the years next to the books are the dates they were released, not the dates I read them, until The Slippery Slope, which I read the year it came out, and every other book since then).
Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare

David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens (one of my favorite authors)

Growing up Digital, by Don Tapscott

By Seymour Simon:

Pets in a Jar (my favorite!)
Einstein Anderson Sees Through the Invisible Man
Einstein Anderson: The Gigantic Ants and Other Cases
Einstein Anderson: The Online Spaceman and Other Cases

By Dave Pelzer:

A Child Called It
The Lost Boy

Jabberwocky, by Lewis Carrol

What this Blog is for...

Welcome to I Read This!, a blog all about things I, Jourdan Cameron, read.
I'm here so I can keep track, and also to tell you what I thought about certain books, and maybe you'll want to read them too!
So come along with me on a well-read journey! Not only will I cover the classics, I will also read more modern books, as well as books that could be considered (in a word) middle-aged.