Reading-Related World Records by Julia Young

Reading-Related World Records by Julia Young

While we were discussing our independent reading books, I remember somebody mentioning someone who's read over 300 books in a year. Curious, I decided to find out on my own if there was a world record for the amount of books read in a year. Sadly, this type of record, I discovered, would be extremely hard to police, and therefore there isn't an official formal record. Yet, this did not stop me from learning about various other reading-related world records!

Most Abandoned Book

When I first saw this record on the Guinness World Records Page, I was immediately intrigued... how could there be the world's most abandoned book? Well, believe it or not, "Simon Cowell: The Unauthorized Biography" by Chas Newley-Burden is the book that is most abandoned according to a survey of 452 Travelocities in Britain.

This is a picture of the most abandoned book, according to a survey of thousands of books left behind at hundreds of Travelocities in Great Britain.

Longest Marathon Reading Aloud

Reading aloud in class for even a minute can be extremely intimidating to me. First of all, everyone is looking at the text you are reciting, adding more pressure on making sure that you not only say every word, but also that you say it correctly. Second, in really any form of public speaking, you have to be conscientious of your tone, making sure your words flow and are pleasant to the ear. Now, imagine publicly reading out loud for 113 hours and 15 minutes-- that is the world record for the longest marathon reading aloud, accomplished by Deepak Sharma Bajagain from Nepal.

This is Deepak Sharma Bajagain reading a multitude of books aloud in Nepal.

Most Books Toppled Like Dominoes

When I think of books, I think of stories, reading, and writing... not lining them up like dominoes! Yet there is a world record for most books toppled in a domino fashion. People working for the United Biscuits UK Sales Team successfully arranged and toppled 5,318 Guinness World Record books. Here is a link to the taping of the event: https://youtu.be/WWUPA-xUsFo

Other Book Related World Records:

Youngest person to write a published book- Dorothy Straight, Age 4
Largest book signing- Orwin Woodward's book "And Justice For All", 6,786 signings
Highest earning adult fiction author- E L James, $95million from June 2012-June 2013
Fastest selling book of fiction in 24 hours- J K Rowling's "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows", 8.3 million copies within the first 24 hours
Largest private collection of books- John Q. Benham from Indiana, over 1.5million books

Sources:

guinnessworldrecords.com

Christ-Like Characters in Modern Media by Julia Young

Christ-Like Characters in Modern Media

by Julia Young

In the most recent discussion in class, it was brought up that Simon could potentially mirror Jesus in The Lord of the Flies. To start, like Jesus, Simon was very compassionate and kind. For example, when Piggy's glasses were hit off of his face, Simon gave them back to him... Also, he tried to comfort Ralph when he was in distress by saying, "‘You’ll get back to where you came from…You’ll get back all right. I think so, anyway’” (Golding 111). Another parallel between Simon and Jesus would be his intellectual thoughts and understandings of the real truth. Rather than go along with the other boys and fear a physical monster inhabiting the island, Simon proposed that they themselves were the real beasts, he says, “‘What I mean is…maybe [the beast’s] only us…we could be sort of…’” (Golding 89). However when he begins to receive confused looks and doubt he trails off. Just like Jesus, Simon was seen as almost ludicrous for his views; no one believed him, even though what he preached was true. The most similar aspect between Simon and Jesus, however, would be their moments before death. Before Jesus was crucified, he went through solitary mental suffering at the Garden of Gethsemane. Similarly, before Simon was killed, he was faced with the very horrifying experience with the Lord of the Flies. Furthermore, like Jesus, Simon died trying to save the boys; Jesus died for our sins, and Simon died for theirs.
After making these connections, I wondered if other characters I knew could be considered Christ-like figures... And these are the ones I found:

Mufasa from The Lion King

In The Lion King, Mufasa can be portrayed serving as a Christ-like figure. Right from the start of the film, he consistently shows wisdom and insight on life, which is an an attribute that is often associated with the Messiah. Like Jesus, Mufasa also sacrifices his own life for the sake of others-- in this case he is trampled by a stampede in order to save his son. Furthermore, not only does Mufasa provide life lessons for Simba while he's alive, but he also appears in the sky during Simba's 'teen years' to provide even more insight (shown in the picture above). This scene can also be related to Jesus' resurrection.

Gandalf and Frodo Baggins from The Lord of The Rings

Gandalf can be closely related to Jesus in many ways. Throughout the story of The Lord of The Rings, Gandalf serves as not only a prophet, but also a teacher. He guides the dwarves/elves/men on their journey and brings them together to maintain peace. Also, similar to Christ performing miracles, Gandalf is able to use magic and enacts seemingly miraculous gestures. His death also follows very closely with the conditions of Jesus' crucifixion. When faced with his adversary, Gandalf stands firm and sacrifices himself in order to save everyone else.

Alongside Gandalf, Frodo Baggins can also be considered a Christ-like figure in The Lord of the Rings... but in a completely different way. In the Christian faith, although he himself was sinless, Jesus carried the sins of everyone on his own back, eventually dying for these sins at his crucifixion. In The Lord of the Rings, Frodo is faced with a similar burden: he was the bearer of the ring, which was created by the greed of mankind.

Iron Giant from The Iron Giant

Growing up, The Iron Giant was one of my all-time favorite movies that I watched pretty much every other week. And just now looking at the relationships between this character and Christ, I can really see the connections. To start off, the Iron Giant essentially comes down to Earth to save the state of Maine during a time of war; this can be related to when Jesus is sent to Earth to save mankind. The Iron Giant also shows attributes of gentleness, kindness, and innocence, which mirror many of Jesus' characteristics. And like most of the characters on this list, the Iron Giant's death is a key similarity between this robot and Christ. The Iron Giant sacrifices himself by throwing himself in front of a missile to save his young boy companion. His death can also be said to reflect the sins of mankind, considering he died through nuclear warfare.

Works Cited

Heard, Sam. "10 Greatest Christ Figures In Film." WhatCulture.com. N.p., 07 June 2014. Web. 28 Mar. 2017.

Golding, William. Lord of the flies. Place of publication not identified: Hodder Education, 2016. Print.

"A Recipe for Good Books" by Liz Ukstins

A Recipe for Good Books
By Liz Ukstins

My Grandma, Joyce, finds joy(ce) in reading. It is her favorite pass time, and she never leaves home without a book in hand. When she makes her weekly trip to the library, she brings her worn-leather notebook that has the title and author of every single book that she has ever read so that she does not re-read anything. But, why does she continue to read? After reading for a long time, don't things get repetitive and cliche?

Well, I asked her these questions once. She told me, 

"Elizabeth, all good books begin with the same recipe...

...1 cup of character development

3 cups of plot

 1/2 teaspoon of protagonists

1 1/2 teaspoon of theme

a sprinkle of setting

a dash of antagonists

a heaping cup of action

point-of-view, to personal preference

1/2 cup of conflict

6 fluid ounces of resolution"

She continued, "Authors, just like cooks, can add seasonings that make their masterpiece special. Though all books' bases may be similar, the details are what make them new and unfamiliar. Yes, the love stories get cliche sometimes, but how many Allies and Noahs can you really have without some sort of change? That is why I read. I read for the change. I read to be transported to other universes. I hope that you soon find something that gives you as much joy as reading brings me. Refer back to this recipe when you start reading a new book, and take note of the seasonings and details. Perhaps you can use the recipe to create a masterpiece of your own. Believe me, Elizabeth, reading will change your life."