What have you discovered about the power and influence of books?
There are many books around the world that have changed the perspectives of people. These kinds of books usually change the way that someone thinks and their daily life. For many centuries, books have been written to share knowledge, inspiration and discoveries with all kinds of people around the world. Some of the books that have actually made a difference in the world make such an impact that they change the way the world thinks about things. I have discovered that books are very powerful and that they can change the lives of many even though they aren't visual and in a movie format. There are many powerful books out there that have
provided readers with mind-striking information including education in politics, the government, literature, society, academic subjects such as science, math and religion.
During the presentation that we did on "How books have changed the world" I have also learned how just a book can change someone's life and the things they do everyday.
Have you discovered any books that you now intend to read?
While I was watching the presentations of other and during the research in which I did, I have come up with a list of books that I now would love to read because of their following inspirations on the world. I cam across so many different types of genres including science, history, romance, drama and fiction. Some of these books include:
- To Kill a Mockingbird
- Anne Frank- the Diary of a young girl
- Romeo and Juliet
- On the origin of species by Charles Darwin
- War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
- 1984 by George Orwell
- The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx
- Moby Dick by Herman Melville
- The Harry Potter series
- The Christmas Carol
I have read some of the Christmas Carol and have seen the movie several times. However, now that I have learned how influential it is from my fellow classmates I would like to read it again!
During our presentations not only did we research about books that have influenced other people and the world, we also thought of the books that have had a significant influence on us. Therefore, when I was listening to other people speak about the books in which have changed their lives I discovered books that I would love to read next. Some of these books include:
- The Fault in Our Stars
- Goodnight Mr. Tom
- Animal Farm
The book that has changed my life and that has had an influence on me is "The Pig man" by Paul Zindel. The Pig man is a story about two teenagers that meet a man named Mr. Pignati who owns a collection of pigs in a secret closet inside his house. The teenagers throw a party at Mr. Pignati's house without his permission and when he's not even there. Mr. Pignati is an elderly man who has lost his wife and has no one to live with and the last he needs is a couple teenagers throwing a party at his house. When he arrives at the house he doesn't know what is going on and then actually ends up having a hard attack at the hands of the two young teenagers.This story has had a great influence on me to never grow up to be like those teenagers.
Which books have significantly changed the world?
Throughout the research that I have done I found many different kinds of books that have changed the world and the everyday lives of people. The books in which I researched came under many different types of categories including: education in politics, the government, literature, society, academic subjects such as science, math and religion. These books are very important for our life to teach us new things about the world. Some of the books that have significantly changed the world are:
- On Liberty by John Stuart Mill
- The Republic by Plato
- The Rights of Man by Thomas Paine
- The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
- The Diary of young girl
- The Odyssey by Homer
- Beowulf
- On the Road by Jack Kerouac
- The Autobiography of Malcolm X
- Common Sense by Thomas Paine
- To Kill a Mockingbird
- Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
- The Dictionary
- The Bible
- The Qur'an
Which books have changed the world of Politics
There are also many books that have changed the world of Politics. During our research I didn't come across many books about politics, although I do know some off the top of my head including:
- 1984 by George Orwell
- The Communist Manifesto
- The Famine Mystique
What Skills have you developed?
Throughout the preparation of my presentation on books that have changed the world I gained many new skills. I learned how to become an independent learner and how to search on my own. I also learned how to speed up my research in order to finish work by a certain amount of time. I usually take my time on homework. However, on this task I typed really fast and found as much information about books that have changed the world in less than 2.5 hours. I also learned more about how to work in a group more intently and productively.
Was our presentation effective?
I believe that our presentation was very effective! I think this because we followed the process of Pecha Kucha quite well, keeping in mind that we had 20s to speak on each slide and complete as many slides as we can. During the presentation we kept our audience interested by asking them questions to keep them updated with our information. Instead of looking at our computers the whole time we kept looking up at our audience one in a while to make sure that they were falling asleep. However, there were a few moments during our presentation when we didn't speak for 20 seconds on our slides. Therefore, next time we would like to practice as a team more because we didn't make the time to even practice at all.
I have read a few of the books in which we need to read by the end of the course. So far I have completed reading "Wonder", "The Weight of Water" and I am now reading "Midwinter Blood." All of these books were great and a really quick read! I really enjoyed them and I am really proud of myself from finding the time to read these books because they were truly worthwhile. The best of the books that I have read so far was definitely"WONDER" because I changed the way that I think towards people of special needs and deformities. This book is also one of the many books that have changed my world because looking at the way people in the book treated August Pullman, now if I see someone bullying another person, I won't be a bystander an stand up for the person being bullied. It is an amazing story as it ranges from different character's points of view of August Pullman involving his friends and family. This is very interesting as the storyline isn't just told from one person, but many. Therefore, this makes the story more fun and not as boring as some other books!
