The kickoff event for "Newport Reads 2008 : Read What Teens Are Reading" will be 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, March 6, in the Newport High School Boone Center.
This year's book is "Ender's Game," by Orson Scott Card, a science fiction novel describing the experiences of young Ender Wiggin, who has been chosen to save the world from the Buggers. Organizers say that whether you have already read the book, or plan to read it, the evening will prove to be very interesting and fun.
NHS advanced junior English classes are reading the book as part of their school work. Tiana Tucker, NHS English instructor, is excited about the enthusiasm in the classroom. She said, "The students are pleasantly surprised the story is about a boy and his life, not necessarily the typical science fiction scenario. They have been involved in ethical discussions in class regarding war, the draft, personal responsibility to society, and predetermined futures. They like how the story revolves around games - something they are interested in."
The featured speaker will be Margaret McBride, who will speak about reading science fiction in general, the genre of science fiction, and 'Ender's Game' in particular. McBride has been reading and enjoying science fiction since she was a child, and is a member of the Science Fiction Research Association and the International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts.
Several NHS students will come and have games set up, including Guitar Hero, Dance Dance Revolution, Wii, and several others, even one written by Card himself. It will be a fun opportunity to play games you may have only heard about.
The hope of the library foundation for Newport Reads 2008! is to promote multi-generational interactions and discussions, with the young people having an opportunity to share their interests and strengths.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Computers, and robots, and Wiis, oh my!
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5 comments:
Yo, dawg! I luv all the Ender books. This is great. I'm gonna give the 411 to all my peeps.
The kickoff event was a blast. It seemed to have went off beautifully. I especially liked the guest speaker. I learned a lot about science fiction including the difference between it and fantasy. I have always had trouble determining the difference between the two. This really helped me and now I have no problem determining which is which.
i thought Enders Game was an alright book, although it isnt one of my favorites. It did have good character development, and i could also really picture what everything looked like when the author was describing it. i had alot of fun at the video game night! it was fun to see some of the adults trying out the different games.
-madeleine
I really liked that they incorporated science fiction into our reading, since it was a first. However, I didn't enjoy Enders Game, and wouldn't want to continue out the series. Also, I didn't attend any of the activities for Ender's Game.
It both intrigues and excites me that a community can be united by something as common and small as reading a book at the same time. Unfortunately, there are important portions of the community that missed this oppurtunity. Perhaps more advertising (and "giving the 411 to my peeps", as suggested by anonymous) in the future will have a hand in acquiring more participants.
As far as Ender's Game goes, I did not particularly enjoy it, however a change in genre from the normal required reading in high school was refreshing. Some central concepts of the book appealed to me, such as the consequences of early maturity and exploitation of children, but I disliked the format in which they were presented, in addition to feeling isolated from the book's pre-adolescent target audience.
However questionable I found the book, the kickoff event was much fun, and more than I expected. I got a kick out of seeing teachers and adults from the community try their hands at Dance Dance Revolution and Mortal Combat. In addition to being quite funny to watch, it felt like the adult community genuinely tried to understand us crazy, reckless teenagers and the trivial, frivolous things we do in our free time.
Overall, Newport Reads is something I would consider participating in again, even outside of the school requirement. I didn't much care for Ender's Game, but the prospect of a united community makes me willing to give it another shot next time around.
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