ibmonkey Posted July 10, 2009 Report Share Posted July 10, 2009 hey guys, so i have my reading list for this summer, it is a list of four books that we have to read before the start of our first semester, and i was wondering if anyone had any insight to the book i am currently reading,(100 years of solitude by gabriel Garcia Marquez) i am currently only on the third chapter of the book and i am finding it extremely hard to get into. the literary imagery is wonderful in the book and, the literature is really methodical and descriptive, however i am finding it extremely sluggish....the book is taking an extremely long time to get to the point, and i do not want to juxtapose reading another book and sending an email to my IBC stating why i hate the book...so has anyone read this book.. did u like itis it worth the read Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetnsimple786 Posted July 10, 2009 Report Share Posted July 10, 2009 Haha I don't know how kindly your IBC would take to that email, but don't send it. I'd think IB teachers don't assign busy-work for the most part. You'll be discussing the book or relating it to other books sometime in the next two years. Haven't read the book, but I've heard of it. Just buck up, I guess. =/ Also, annotating helps a lot! You're making more of an effort to be interested and you start understanding things better. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ibmonkey Posted July 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2009 Haha I don't know how kindly your IBC would take to that email, but don't send it. I'd think IB teachers don't assign busy-work for the most part. You'll be discussing the book or relating it to other books sometime in the next two years. Haven't read the book, but I've heard of it. Just buck up, I guess. =/ Also, annotating helps a lot! You're making more of an effort to be interested and you start understanding things better.haha thanks. i am not the type of person who would have sent the email but you know my frustration. we are gonna be reading 15 books so why waste time on one that is not worth it you know. but then i will never hear the end of it from my new english teacher:P Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arista Posted July 11, 2009 Report Share Posted July 11, 2009 I've read other books by Gabriel García Márquez, and my initial experience was similar to yours. His books are interesting in retrospect, but unfortunately, I cannot say I am a fan of reading Márquez hahaha.I expect the flow of time is somewhat achronological in that book? Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Márquez in particular was like that, as are a lot of Latin American books. That's what made it confusing for me. For the aforementioned book I read a chapter, read the Spark Notes summary, and then re-read the chapter... which I think can be helpful - I'd stay away from the analysis section though; you should be forming your own analysis.I would suggest not reading too much at a time, and taking mini-breaks. You might find that as you do IB reading assignments you'll have to engage in active reading as opposed to the passive reading reserved for reading fluffy leisure books. As you read, you could relate the part you're reading back to other parts you read and draw certain connections, from which you can predict forthcoming events. Try to see the direction the author is going, asking yourself why an author gives certain elements more attention than others and why he chooses to do something. And yes, annotating / writing margin notes gets your mind thinking.My friends have said audio recordings of books are helpful in getting through boring books... but those are not always easy to procure at a low price. I personally dont recommend it. When I have to get through a freakishly boring book, I read aloud. That way, you're forced to read and absorb and think about every word. It works because I like listening to the sound of my own voice (=p), but it doesn't work for everyone.Sorry I couldn't be more of a help, but I wish you luck in getting through your summer reading. 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vvi Posted July 11, 2009 Report Share Posted July 11, 2009 It doesn't matter if the book is "worth the read" to you personally, you're still going to have to read it because you'll be doing classwork on it, and it's very likely that you will have to use the book for IA's (I don't know what section of the syllabus your teacher started with, but you could end up using the book for your World Literature assignments/oral presentation/oral commentary). There were several books I didn't like reading for English either, but reading them anyways improves your analytical skills and will pay off when it comes to exams (I have several classmates who skipped reading some books they said were "too long" and they got 4's in their English exams). 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tilia Posted July 11, 2009 Report Share Posted July 11, 2009 If it's on your list of books for A1 or A2, you better read it, regardless of whether it's enjoyable or not. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yasmeen Posted July 11, 2009 Report Share Posted July 11, 2009 My school set us A Clockwork Orange to read over the summer - w00t! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rrswong Posted July 13, 2009 Report Share Posted July 13, 2009 I agree - you're going to have to use it sometime in your IB English life. I haven't read One Hundred Years of Solitude, but I have read Love in the Time of Cholera and Chronicle of a Death Foretold.. I have heard that that book can drag, though. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Lc~ Posted July 13, 2009 Report Share Posted July 13, 2009 hey guys, so i have my reading list for this summer, it is a list of four books that we have to read before the start of our first semester, and i was wondering if anyone had any insight to the book i am currently reading,(100 years of solitude by gabriel Garcia Marquez) i am currently only on the third chapter of the book and i am finding it extremely hard to get into. the literary imagery is wonderful in the book and, the literature is really methodical and descriptive, however i am finding it extremely sluggish....the book is taking an extremely long time to get to the point, and i do not want to juxtapose reading another book and sending an email to my IBC stating why i hate the book...so has anyone read this book.. did u like itis it worth the readIt is by far the most amazing book ever! you get to points where they describe the civil war for ages, and you're like I honestly don't care! and you will get confused by the many Jose Arcadios and Aurelianos but if you reread it you'll notice you will remember eahc on individually. It's just a very smart technique used by Marquez to dissuade you from the ending, which when you get to you're going to feel such a sigh of OMG! that the whole of the confusion will be worth it. I literally sat down staring at the wall for about 20 minutes feeling " wow" when I finished the book. I did skip 2 chapters of the civil war. The book is hard work to read, and at our age we seem to feel like doing anything that is easy. But everything in life comes with hard work just keep determined to finish it and you can find amazing analysis in that book worth 7s if you give it enough attention.Marquez is my idol so I have a bias here, but don't be dishearted =) if you are to change try going with chronicle of a death foretold for the same writer, it's a bit easier to read!I've read other books by Gabriel García Márquez, and my initial experience was similar to yours. His books are interesting in retrospect, but unfortunately, I cannot say I am a fan of reading Márquez hahaha.I expect the flow of time is somewhat achronological in that book? Chronicle of a Death Foretold The Chronicle is completely different than 100 years of solitude, there aren't many time shifts, instead he calls everyone in the family he's describing with the same two names. Jose Arcadio and Aureliano and then there was the chick who was Aurelianos only wife who's name is repeated as well. So it is much more confusing than the chronicle because this is a massive family that surpassed 5 generations I think. I did rep your post for the effort, but I'm not impressed with the lack of Marquez love. Alas, democracy enables opinion diversity, and I am nothing but a democrat so I will have to let it slip 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flippy Posted July 21, 2009 Report Share Posted July 21, 2009 Everyone comes across a text they hate some point or another during their A1 course. For instance I absolutely loathed "Miss Julie" by August Strindberg...the characters made me so mad I could've screamed with frustration at their stupidity. I found the story boring and pointless. But we had to study it and there was nothing we could do. So keep on perservering. Who knows? Maybe you'll learn to appreciate it after you've studied it more thoroughly (as is the case with other texts you might learn in the IB). Don't despair and keep at it. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
randomlilnikki Posted July 21, 2009 Report Share Posted July 21, 2009 I had to read 100 years and while it was boring and slightly creepy to begin with, it was worth it and I found I enjoyed it, eventually. I am really glad that I read it because I am now studying Creative and Professional Writing at University and in the first 5 lectures Marquez was mentioned. This goes for other books I had to read, like Name of the Rose, by Umberto Eco. They both weren't books that I would normally have read, mostly because of the style, but once you get past that, the narrative becomes interesting. But I understand, his book wasn't the easiest to read. 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandwich Posted July 23, 2009 Report Share Posted July 23, 2009 My school set us A Clockwork Orange to read over the summer - w00t! Prepare to be initially quite confused and then thoroughly disturbed Brilliant book, but not one you would really consider re-reading, trust me!Anyway on the subject of 100 Years of Solitude, Marquez is a superb writer in a literary sense. If you take Spanish B (or Spanish at all), one thing you could do to make it more interesting (depending on what kind of stuff you find interesting, of course ) is get hold of a copy on it in spanish, or a parallel translation. I read some of his short stories in parallel translation and found it quite thrilling to see the translation and appreciate how the effect is of the original spanish. I hadn't considered spanish a beautiful language to write in before, but it really is If you're struggling to read it, I'd go through the sparknotes and get a hold of the storyline, what happens etc etc and then read it already "in the know", as it were, so you'll be less confused and find the pacing of it less frustrating. You can also further appreciate his literary genius in this fashion Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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