Third Quarter SSR

For my third quarter SSR book, I read the novel Delirium which takes place a little while into the future.  In this dystopian society, the most common feeling any human could experience: love, is a disease.  At the age of 18, the government forces every man and woman to go through a procedure to remove a part of their brain that makes them believe that feeling certain feelings for someone that you may or may not be compatible with, are completely and utterly wrong and could destroy the world.  After the given procedure, you are to be matched up (by the government) with someone who is 100% compatible with you based on your test results.

Because this book was meant to be written years into the future, I do not think that this novel will be read 100 years from now.  Although at the same time I feel as if it would be read just because maybe people in the future would wonder how people in the past (really the present) thought the future would be like.  But at the same time, I feel as though "the people in the past" thoughts would be long forgotten because of the century time gap.  A century from now, books may or may not even exist anymore which further explains how this book may not be read in the future.  Although the story behind the story of the power of love and what it can do to people is very powerful, and it shows when the main character, Magdalena (Lena), runs away and escapes the government's forces to be with a boy named Alex that she so forbiddingly loved.

3rd Qrt SSR

The book I read for my 3rd quarter SSR was Catching Fire, from the Hunger Game series, by Suzanne Collins. This book will be read 100 years from now because it's a very interesting, thrilling, thought-provoking read that leaves the reader wanting more. Also the main character Katniss is not only admirable and inspirational but also very relatable and a symbol of overthrowing corruption. This world seems to continue to fall back into the pits of destruction so it's very possible something just as cruel as the Hunger Games could occur in the far future. Therefore for people to be reminded that they have a voice and have the power to take action against unjust rulings the government it's essential to read this book and follow Katniss' journey. Additionally, as a woman reader I definitely feel empowered when Katniss rebels against almost everything, she's assertive and passionate when she need to be not caring who it is, she lays her life down and exerts the most compassion for some boy she hardly knows, and she's not the conventional leader.


Even though this is a fictional book with an outrageous conflict and storyline it still symbolizes so much more than just an action packed series. We often confine and abide to unlawful ruling because we believe we're hopeless, that we're the weak ones. However that misconception is very untrue we see this when it goes from small groups to large groups of citizens uniting and revolting against the powerful government, it exemplifies that we're much stronger when together. Another reason the main character is accepted so much is because everyone loves an underdog story, she came from literally nothing struggling all her life to being the one to create a shift in the not only the government but also the society. Also Katniss being very indecisive and uncertain about her identity is something numerous people can empathize with, we see her struggle to pick a boy while at the same time claim she isn't the leader everyone has established her to be but deep down knows she has to be. It's the contrast between petite, typical teenager problems and monumental political and social issues that makes this novel so memorable and fascinating. An adventurous, heartbreaking, and empowering action/sci-fi/romance book like this is sure to be discussed and read by mainly young adults for several years in the future.

3rd Quarter SSR: Firestorm

The book that I read during the 3rd quarter is called Firestorm, by David Klass.  It is a science fiction book, so it has ideas about time travel and advanced technology.  For these reasons, I believe this book may be read 100 years in the future.  The main character, Jack, is being chased by an evil and advanced army from 1000 years in the future because he is supposedly, from prophecies, the person to save the future from this dark army.  The army has advanced weaponry and technology, like advanced submarines and cars, which may be developed in the future.  Thus, the book may be helpful in the future for people reading, so that it may spark their interest and it may be made because maybe in 100 years we will have the technology to make such equipment or cars.  Also, involving time, this book has theories about paradoxes such as the grandfather paradox, which says if you go into the past and kill your grandfather would you cease to exist since you would therefore not be born.  The characters talk about time to understand the time travel in the book and such, for example, they discuss the multiverse theory, but one character disagrees and says time is like a flowing river, that any changes in the past will eventually catch up to the future so there is only 1 continuous universe.  These theories may be discussed in the future so this book may be read for this reason also.

Paper Towns

For my third quarter SSR book I read Paper Towns.  Paper Towns is a romantic, young adult novel written by John Green.  I would say yes, this book will be read in 100 years because more famously known John Green is also the author of The Fault In Our Stars, so I would guess people would like to read his other novels.  However, I believe the story it self is very interesting and relatable to teens.  For example, Margo is a senior in high school on the verge of graduating; who doesn't want to follow the expectations and assumptions everyone has of her.  Therefore, she runs away to a place where she can live life how she wants to live without the worry of meeting others' expectations.  This is a conflict many teens have and will continue to have 100 years from now, so this story will not go out of date as long as society constantly stereotypes people.  Throughout the novel, I felt like I was in Margo's shoes even though the story follows Quentin, her childhood friend, in his search for her.  Reading the novel, in a way let me live a wish of mine to get up and leave everyone's opinions, expectations, and assumptions of me, which I enjoyed very much.  Also, the novel wasn't the cliche love story I was expecting, but in fact one of the few novels that had kept me on my feet.  Therefore, people 100 years from now will enjoy the novel since it isn't a spin off of "Romeo and Juliet" or follow the same storyline as a damsel in distress.  Overall, Paper Towns was very unique and not like every other love story but rather focused more on suspense and character development, which I wasn't expecting.

The Automatic Millionaire

For my third quarter book I chose to read The Automatic Millionaire by David Bach. 100 years from now I feel like this book will still be read. I found that this is kind of a self-help book. It goes through a bunch of different ways on how to be successful in real estate. David Bach explains the approach on making your financial life automatic and different ways on how to become rich slowly but surely. He talks about his journey on becoming an automatic millionaire and all that he has learned along the way. Bach’s book has appeared on New York Times bestseller list, The Oprah Winfrey show, The View, NBC’s Today show, CNBC, and CNN sharing his strategies for living and finishing rich. He also teaches many leading seminars around North America. One of the small simple tips he gives is to find your “latte factor.” This simply means to find the things that you are spending money on that is not necessary and limit it. For example, if you buy a cup of coffee everyday from Starbucks maybe a muffin or breakfast sandwich with that. Then say you buy something to drink or a snack a little bit into the day. So,basically you already spent over $10 and it’s not even lunch time yet. It’s good just to think through your day and see what kind of changes can be made to saving your money because that can be costing you almost 2 million dollars in the long run. But see, I’m not even talking about his real estate part yet. This isn’t the plot twister novel I would usually read, but I am glad I did because I really enjoyed it. It was very interesting learning others stories on how they started off with just being financially okay to now rich. I learned a lot on how to manage my finances, so yes, I believe this book will still be read for a long time especially for people like me who is interested in business, real estate, or making money.

Traveling Pants: The Third Summer of the Sisterhood

For my third quarter SSR Book, I read The Third Summer of the Sisterhood by Anne Brashares. The book and series are revolved around a pair of pants that all fit each other and keep a tight friendship between four girls: Tibby, Lena, Bee, and Carmen. This book starts off with Lena in depression and is isolated from her friends and her family. Carmen finds out that her mom is pregnant with her new husband and that there would be an addition to her family, this will ultimately force Carmen to find a new pathway in College. Each book from the series has an interesting storyline and the conflict is always different and ties in from the previous books in the series. However I doubt this book or series will be read in one hundred years from now, currently in my opinion, there are just far more interesting novels that I have read and are decades older than this one. Sure, this one can get the attention of some readers who are willing to find it and read it, but I just doubt that this book will be read in 100 years.

3rd Quarter SSR

This past quarter I read the book Lies My Teacher Told Me by James W. Loewen. Its main focus was to point out the faults and inaccuracies within American textbooks that the author believes is designed to reinforce common myths told to the American public. The topics that are discussed within the book range from the fictional myth of Columbus first "discovering" America to more modern topics such as the flaws of the war in Iraq and the Middle East in general that remain relatively undiscussed. The Preface of the newest edition talks about the rise of alternative fact to the American Political scene and how they have negatively impacted the news scene. Loewen discusses how the rise of these alternative facts has not only spread lies to the American public but actual networks that do dispense the truth are now being overshadowed by the conspiracy theorists and Trump aides who only seek to further their own agenda by dispensing these falsehoods. By continually updating and revising his novel Loewen continues to make the novel relevant with the ever-changing political landscape. However, the content that remains relatively unchanged from the first edition revolving around the original Americans lies such as those about the Pilgrims and Columbus are still very much as relevant today as they were thirty years ago because American History textbooks still continue to subvert the truth by teaching the American children lies. That's why I believe even 100 years from now Lies My Teacher Told Me will still be read.