Portal Reads

I almost always read series in order. Can you imagine reading the 7th Harry Potter before any of the rest of them? Maybe, but I would never. Call me compulsive, but I just couldn’t get another blog done because I left myself hanging in Japan. But, maybe there are series that are okay to read out of order. I know when I was younger I enjoyed Phyllis Reynolds Naylor’s books about the boys vs. girls, no matter what order I read them in. Maybe it’s okay to piece in my Japan memories here and there and forget about the order. Chronology isn’t everything, especially when it stops me from talking about the books I’m reading. You’ll be hearing more from me soon!

We were pretty excited, (and tired) when we reached Iwakuni. Billie Dysinger picked us up at the train station as planned, but then she took us to the Chicken Shack where people were waiting for us. It’s a fun traditional Japanese place where you sit on the floor, cook beef on small grills, and enjoy their gyoza (potstickers), rice, and delicious chicken on a stick.

After that we went to the hotel we were staying at on base. When we woke we went to the Sakura Theater where we were doing the presentations. The powerpoint didn’t work for the first one but it was great anyway. After that was done, we went to the school to figure out more tech solutions and get ready for the night show.

Barry took me over to the Boys and Girls Club. It was pretty fun. The day after, Saturday, we went to Hiroshima with Billie before leaving. First we went to a bakery where we got some lunch, then we ate it in the Peace Park by Sadako’s memorial.

We walked past the eternal flame to get to the Peace Museum. When you get in, you see all kinds of things about the bombing. They have videos, artifacts, and diagrams. These two displays stood out for me…

The first one is Shin’s tricycle. Little Shin always wanted a tricycle. When he got it, he was very excited and treasured it. One day he was riding it with the neighbor girl and the bomb blew up. His parents made it through, but Shin did not. His father buried him in the backyard with a charred helmet and his trycicle for forty years before digging up his remains and burying him in a cemetary. At that time he gave the helmet and tricycle to the museum.

Below is a great realistic before/after model of Hiroshima.

I was glad to have the long train ride to Sasebo to recover.

Yesterday we got off the plane in Narita after a nine hour flight, arriving one hour later than we left because of the time change. I was tired. My mom said that the third day is the hardest, but to me, it already seemed pretty hard. We got to the airport and almost immediately I heard a billion voices all speaking a foreign language as fast as they could. I got the feeling that I was in Japan. Some things were the same, and some things different. The writing and the signs are different, but the grass is green and the sky is blue. You cant really argue with that.

I asked my mom to take a picture of just the sign, but she included the temple anyway. I thought it was a stop sign, but later found out it was actually a no-parking sign. One slash means no parking, and two slashes means no parking and no stopping.                                            

Another no-parking sign, but what’s the other one? A stop sign! 

Naritasan Shinshoji Temple covers many acres. A service was going on when we got there. Chanters, drummers, a bell ringer, and a few grill-size incense burners filled the air and our senses. Many of the ponds surrounding the temple contained turtles that loved to lie on the rocks. Some of them lay so still they appeared to be made of stone. Gigantic carp swam around them. As we were about to leave, I noticed that the island the turtles were on was shaped like a stone turtle.

We shopped our way back to the hotel. The first shop was a seafood place. For some reason they had roasted grasshopper. I was brave enough to try one. It had a little crunch and a sweet coating. My mom said I went through a series of faces afterwards. It was less the taste, and more the idea of what I had just done.

We went through other shops, but none were as interesting, except for maybe the clothing shop that carried T-shirts with sayings in English.

“I knew they would be major, I will like this popularity.”

“This popularity we have brought it up.”

“sunlight is strong, burnt, a drought continues in a place with no water and water is lost, keep moisture drying with care.”                                                                                                                                    

I’ll leave it to you to decide what to make of those, but they remind me of THE TRUE MEANING OF SMEKDAY, a parody of America. J-Lo, a Boov, and Gratuity, a human, meet up and become instant friends.You’ll laugh out loud at their hilarious partnership. We were reading it at school, and we weren’t quite done with it. Tomorrow I’ll be at a school library, but what books (besides SMEKDAY) should I look for? Send me your list! Really!

I just finished J.R.R. Tolkien’s book, The Lord of the Rings. It is a literature lover’s dream in which elves, orcs, humans, dwarves, eagles, ents, wizards, wraiths, spiders, balrogs, oliphaunts, dragons, spirits, wights, and definitely hobbits all have a part to play. It’s amazing! Once Tolkien grabs you, there’s no letting go. And this is totally the book for all you enthusiastic fiction freaks (like me) to dig into. (It’s fine if you don’t, but it helps to read The Hobbit first.)

It’s just too bad I finished The Lord of the Rings already so I can’t bring it to Japan. My mom (the author) and I are doing presentations there. I’m leaving on Monday, but I’ll be visiting lots of school libraries, and I get to pick up books to read. Anyone got suggestions?

I ran into this book because of my mom. I wasn’t interested, but once I picked it up I found out that Derek Landy is a fabulous author. This may seem like a girl’s book because of the main character, but it’s action-packed and witty. Stephanie’s life is changed when a walking, talking skeleton named Skulduggery breaks down her door and introduces her to a world of magic. It’s not like she didn’t want to go. They face terrible danger, but you’ll laugh out loud as Skulduggery jokes his way through attempts on their lives and sinister plots to bring back the evil Faceless Ones. In this book, you’ll meet things that should only belong in nightmares and magic that should only belong in dreams. Once you pick it up, you won’t set it down until you’re done. I promise.