Middlesex (thoughts so far)

Middlesex has been an interesting read so far. The narrator, Cal, describes her life as a hermaphrodite. The story is so incredibly moving. I could not ever imagine living the way Cal lives. The pain she has to endure must be very hard to handle. During the beginning of the book, Cal talks about her family before her birth. Cal's grandmother has always had a talent for predicting the sex of an unborn child, using things like a spoon to work her magic trick. Cal's birth was the only time her grandmother had ever been wrong about the prediction. I thought that this was a very intriguing way to begin this book. It really got my attention. Cal also begins with describing various events of her life, such as being the specimen of a gender study program. She then proceeds to say that these incredible events all occurred before her 16th birthday. I cannot wait to get further into this book.

Girl With a Pearl Earring (how the setting shapes Griet's life)

The main character, Griet, is working as a servant for the artist, Vermeer, and his family. Griet's life is heavily shaped and influenced by the setting of the book. Griet lives in the poor area of Delft. When she goes to work for Vermeer, she doesn't know exactly what to expect. She feels slightly odd around the Vermeer's family because they have more money than hers. For example, when Griet goes to their family's butcher to get meat, she sees that even the butcher is of a higher class than the butcher that Griet's family gets their meat from. The setting of the Vermeer household is also important. For example, it influences Griet's chores. They live right on the canal, therefore one of Griet's main chores is to fetch water. Griet also lives in the basement of the Vermeer household. It is dark and muggy down their which sometimes influences how Griet feels.

Girl With a Pearl Earring (first impression)

I've only read the first 12 pages of Girl With a Pearl Earring, and I already can't put the book down. The language is so incredibly descriptive. I can see every scene happening in my head as I read through every sentence. So far, Vermeer and his wife have come to see Griet (the main character) to see if she is fit to work for them. Griet is supposed to go live with Vermeer and clean his studio. From the authors descriptions, I have already learned so much about Griet. Just from the opening scene, I can tell that she is very attentive to detail, she's organized, smart, shy, a hard worker, etc. I could tell all of this just from a few pages describing Griet cooking in her kitchen, arranging sliced vegetables on a table. While reading this book, I am interested to learn about Vermeer and his paintings, and his twisted relationship with Griet. I can't wait to keep reading.

Thirteen Reasons Why: The Most Interesting Tape (thanks for the idea Ms. OB!)

The most interesting tape so far is quite creepy! The tape talks about one night when Hannah is in her room, getting dressed and she starts to hear a clicking noise. She hides on her bed and looks out the window. She sees a figure who begins to run away, and she quickly realizes that the clicking noise was coming from a camera. When I read this part of the book, I got really scared. I was reading late at night, so I kept trying to look out my own window, just to see if anybody was there. The next day in school, Hannah asks around about peoples' whereabouts the night before, and she figures out that the figure outside her window was a boy in her grade names Tyler. Hannah barely even knows Tyler. She and a friend decide to make a scene in her room to scare Tyler away, when he comes to Hannah's house the next night. The plan somewhat works because Tyler doesn't come by again. This was definitely the most interesting story on the tapes!