If You Say So...

This first blog post I wrote in this 4 week chunk was about how The Memory of Running was my favorite of the books we'd read so far, and that Smithy is a very likable character. My opinion hasn't changed much, but here's a list of things I don't like and/or find unbelievable:

1. How did Smithy ride after being hit by a truck and not actually treated? He claimed to have had cuts all over his behind, right? Well I got bitten in the behind by my neighbor's beagle when I was in 4th grade (long story, but it wasn't my fault) and it wasn't even a bad bite, more like a nip, but I couldn't sit down for like a week (my best friend wouldn't stop laughing when I'd stand at my desk during writing time).
2. Smithy has been shot legit SO MANY TIMES! How the hell is he still alive? First Vietnam, then almost shot in (East!) St. Louis, then kinda in the neck in that snowstorm wherever he was at that point. And he was also hit by a truck? Yea... and then he continued biking hundred's of miles? Yea...okay.
3. Like Shaleen mention in his post, Smithy managed to have enough energy to bike across the country essentially eating only tuna fish and bananas? I mean if you say so...
4. Also along the lines of what Shaleen mentioned, no withdrawal symptoms or anything from just going cold turkey on smoking and drinking? Now that's incredibly unrealistic.
5. WTH?! Why is Norma on the exact beach in California he showed up on? At the same exact time.

And what I have a problem with even more than the ending (therefore I find this to be a huge problem) is that Smithy should have been concussed. First he gets hit by a truck, then he get's beat up. I'm pretty sure he's not okay. Let me point out the section on pages 184 and 185; "He kicked me hard in my ass, and I lurched forward, lost my balance, and fell down the eight or ten steps to the walk." So Smithy is, essentially, kicked down the stairs. "At the bottom of the stairs, my face bounced next to a pink azalea," means that Smithy's head impacted the ground so hard that it bounced and hit the ground again. "I was swaying a little, and the more I tried not to say, the more I swayed." Smithy is really, really dizzy and can barely stand on his two feet. "I fell again, got up, fell, got up. My head felt worse than when Carl's truck hit me. I could feel flows of things crashing up my neck, rolling to the front of my head." Does this really need to be explained? And it should also be noted that Smithy threw up twice. So just think about that.

And then a quick Google search.

Signs and symptoms of a concussion may include:

• Headache or a feeling of pressure in the head.
• Temporary loss of consciousness.
• Confusion or feeling as if in a fog.
• Amnesia surrounding the traumatic event.
• Dizziness or "seeing stars"
• Ringing in the ears.
• Nausea.
• Vomiting.

Smithy has like half of these. Pretty sure he has a concussion. But then less than five days later (In chapter 37 Smithy tells Norma it's been five days since their phone call had been interrupted at Carl's house, and by that time he was in Indiana).

Okay, when Taharka got his concussion from soccer the fall of two years ago, he had issues with concentration and stuff and wasn't okay for like a week. It also took him a few weeks to be able go back to soccer. And then when I had my concussion the following spring (also from soccer, but I swear the sport is fabulous and lots of people don't end up concussed. I've always gotta follow in my big bro's footsteps) I was not allowed to do any physical activity either. So I find it a bit hard to believe that Smithy is just right back on his bike as if nothing had really happened a mere few days later without insane headaches or nausea spells or anything.

Not to say that this wasn't a good book anyways, as I enjoyed it the most so far. However, there are aspects of the novel that caused me to raise my eyebrows in disbelief.

I Might Have an Obsession...

Note: If you're feeling lazy and don't actually feel like reading all of this post (no worries, I've been there), can you at least scroll to the bottom paragraph and contemplate responding to my questions?

I've decided to write about Harry Potter for my research project. I know it's an obvious pick, but I think it's fitting. However, the Harry Potter series has been a constant in my life ever since I was very little.

Almost every year my family makes the 12-14 hour drive to Virginia for family reunion, and the summer I turned five my grandpa had the brilliant idea to purchase Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone for family entertainment on the car ride. My mom, Taharka, and I were all enamored by the story, and it soon thereafter received a spot in our nightly reading rotation. I loved having my mom read the story to me because she was a master at changing her tone of voice and giving the main characters different distinctive voices.

That all happened over the summer, but by the time school rolled around -- I was in kindergarten that year -- we had finished the book. I wanted to hear the story again but my mom was too busy to read to me every night. I tried to get Taharka to read to me, and that worked for a while, but he never mastered the voices the way my mom had. I decided it was up to me to just read the book by myself. I know I struggled with some of the words, but I had already heard the story before and knew the gist of what was happening, and by the end of kindergarten I had finished the book all by myself.

After that, I convinced my mom to buy the rest of the Harry Potter books (that were out at that time) and my obsession with Harry Potter grew over the years. I still remember fourth grade me lining up outside of Pages for All Ages when the 7th book came out. Sometime within a year after I finished the 7th book, I became unsatisfied by simply re-reading my Harry Potter books (of which I have read each over 20 times) and I somehow stumbled across fanfiction.

I always have a hard time explaining fanfiction, so I googled it: Fanfiction is "fiction written by a fan of, and featuring characters from, a particular TV series, movie, etc." In my case, it was a book series. Though I do sometimes write my own fanfiction, I have never posted it anywhere online and, instead, am an avid reader of other people's stories. I currently probably spend a lot more free time reading Harry Potter than it is socially acceptable to admit; I found some really great stories and the crossover opportunities between other series (eg. Percy Jackson, Avengers) are boundless.

Though I really like Harry Potter fanfiction, I could never dream of giving up the original series. I have read the books over and over again, and I turn to them when I'm sad. It's such an addiction that even my blog title, Just A Bit Of A Saving People Thing, is from Hermione telling Harry "...don't you think you've got a bit of a -- a -- saving people thing?" in Harry Potter and the Order of The Phoenix.

I even have a whole section of my bookshelf in my room dedicated to Harry Potter; it holds my private collection of all the books which my mom got me in England, other HP spin-off books such as The Tales of Beedle the Bard and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, my wand and butterbeer mug from HP World, the bracelet I made at Computer Science GAMES camp last year with a deathly hallows emblem and with a light up LED in the middle, etc. I also found a light switch cover with the Dumbledore quote: "Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times if one only remembers to turn on the light."

Sorry this was so long, but I was just trying to emphasize that I love Harry Potter. I don't know why; it might be because the series has been integrated into my life since I was such a young age, it might be something completely different. However, I know that some people don't like the series, or do but not to the extent I do. Or you might love the series even more than me. I would appreciate if you guys would please comment if you do or do not like the Harry Potter series. If you don't like the series, try to explain why, I won't judge anyone.

Here are some potential questions, maybe pick a few to answer:

What age were you when you were introduced to the series?

How did you discover the series?

Which book was your favorite?

Is there any particular aspect of the book you like most?

Have any of you guys been aware of HP fanfiction?

Did you read the books or just watch the movies? Which do you like better?

Do you like the series or have you never really been into it?

Anything else you can think to add would be nice :) Seriously, it'll be really embarrassing for my if no one answers anything.