Reading Assignment: Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

Our final book for the year is the young adult science-fiction thriller, Little Brother, by Cory Doctorow. Inspired by George Orwell's dystopian science fiction novel, 1984, and the concept of Big Brother, the story follows four teenagers in San Francisco who, in the aftermath of a terrorist attack on the Bay Bridge and BART system, defend themselves against the Department of Homeland Security's attacks on the Bill of Rights.

Unfortunately, physical copies are unavailable, but you can read and download the book at the following link:

Download/read Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

You should be able to access the PDF file of the book from any computer, iPad, iPod, iPhone, smart phone, etc. If you have trouble, please e-mail me or see Mrs. Lucia.

Chapter 1 begins on page 6.

**It would be a good idea to put the PDF on a flash drive so that you can access it at any time.

You can work hard all day but you won't always meet everyones expectations no matter how hard you try.

Many times you will fail but in the end you'll be the one at the top if you work hard.

Practice as though you're going to play.

1. The human race has only one affective weapon, and that is laughter.  -Mark Twain

  Mark Twain is one of the most important authors in history. To me I think that laughter completes everyone’s life. I like to see people laughing or smiling it makes me happy. Laughter is also a universal remedy. This quote means that laughing could hurt you if you laugh for a long time.

LeBron James is a star athlete. He is on my favorite team which is the Miami Heat. Him and Dwayne, they are my role models. LeBron is a true teammate. He never hogs the ball, but when he has the ball he makes some amazing shots. This quote means that he is a good teammate

This quote is from Call of Duty Black Ops 2. This such an amazing game. This quote means that you shouldn’t trust everyone.

1. The human race has only one affective weapon, and that is laughter.  -Mark Twain

Mark Twain is one of the most important authors in history. To me I think that laughter completes everyone’s life. I like to see people laughing or smiling it makes me happy. Laughter is also a universal remedy. This quote means that laughing could hurt you if you laugh for a long time.

2.

LeBron James is a star athlete. He is on my favorite team which is the Miami Heat. Him and Dwayne, they are my role models. LeBron is a true teammate. He never hogs the ball, but when he has the ball he makes some amazing shots. This quote means that he is a good teammate

3.   

            

This quote is from Call of Duty Black Ops 2. This such an amazing game. This quote means that you shouldn’t trust everyone.

1. " Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain."- Dance Academy. This is from my all time favorite TV show. It explains that instead of waiting for opportunities, make yours. It's saying to get out there and do something. I take as many opportunities as I can.

2."A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend, a successful woman is one who can find such a man."-Lana Turner. I relate to this quote cause I love to shop, but I don't like to spend my own money.

 

3." Only you can control your future."- Dr. Seuss. This means that you have control of what you want to do with your life. This relates to me because I know what I plan on doing with my future.

“I find that the harder I work the more luck I seem to have.”

This aphorism means that if you always work hard, at anything, good things will happen.  This relates to my life because always try to do this. I try to do my best and normally nothing bad happens.

“I have learned to use the word "impossible" with the greatest caution.”

Very few things in life are impossible. You just have to try. I never give up on something without trying to do it first. If you don’t try, then you will never know what could have happened.

“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”

This means that you can’t be stubborn or close-minded if you created a problem. If you make a problem you aren’t going to be able to fix it with the same mind frame. I can relate to this because I know people who do this. They create a problem, ask how to fix it, but don’t listen when you give them your opinion.

“I find that the harder I work the more luck I seem to have.”

This aphorism means that if you always work hard, at anything, good things will happen.  This relates to my life because always try to do this. I try to do my best and normally nothing bad happens.

“I have learned to use the word "impossible" with the greatest caution.”

Very few things in life are impossible. You just have to try. I never give up on something without trying to do it first. If you don’t try, then you will never know what could have happened.

“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”

This means that you can’t be stubborn or close-minded if you created a problem. If you make a problem you aren’t going to be able to fix it with the same mind frame. I can relate to this because I know people who do this. They create a problem, ask how to fix it, but don’t listen when you give them your opinion.

1."Opportunity is not a lengthy visitor"Stephen Sondheim


This means that we should seize every chance we get to do something good or to change out lives.  We need to use opportunity we have because it won't be around forever.









2. "What would life be like if we had no courage to attempt anything?" Vincent Van Gogh

This means that we should all take chances.  If we are not brave then life would be boring.














3."During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act."George Orwell
This means that telling the truth can change the world.  Being honest can change someone's mind or point of view.

"Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid."

A really good friend told me this quote and it really stuck in my heart. This quote means to me that everyone is good at something. You just have to try everything to find that one thing that you love and that makes you happy. Once you find that happiness no one can take it away from you.

"Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius, and its better to be absolutely ridiculous then absolutely boring."- Marylyn Monroe

 

This is my all time favorite quote. It means that you should be who you are even though people might not like you, its better to be you than anybody else. Everyone else is already taken so you might as well be yourself, no matter how ridiculous or crazy you might be. If people don't accept who you really are than they are missing out on your pure awesomeness.

"Sometimes good things fall apart so better things fall together".- Marylyn Monroe

Bad things happen, I am pretty positive that bad things happen to everyone. But sometimes bad things happen so better things can come into your life and change it for the best. Life sucks quite honestly, but we all have to power through the bad things so we can experience the brilliant things that life has to offer all of us!

My Three Aphorisms

Aphorisms

1. "I have no fear, for fear is the little death that kills me over and over. Without fear, I die but once."-          Frank Herbert

This quote is an excerpt from Dune by Frank Herbert. It tells us to face our fears in order to reach our goals. This quote applies to me because I attempt to conquer my fears so that I can achieve what I strive for and become a stronger individual.

2. "Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes,        but they don't quit."-Conrad Hilton

I think of this quote whenever I start giving up. It means that people must try in order to succeed. This quote helps motivate me to continue to work hard to accomplish my goals.

3. "Everybody stutters one way or the other so check out my message to you. As a matter of fact, don't let              nothing hold you back, if the scatman can do it so can you."-John Scatman

This quote means that people should not be ashamed of who they are and they should always persevere. This applies to me in that I am proud of who I am and I will not cease to be who I am due to other people's judgement of me.

1.) Dream as if you'll live forever. Life as if you'll die tomorrow.
                          - James Dean

This means you shouldn't waste your life because you never know how long you have.

2.) It's all mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter.

                   - Albert Einstein

 This means you shouldn't overthink things because then you'll worry too much.

3.) Remember, no one can make you feel inferior without your consent.  - Eleanor Rooselvelt

This is saying to stick up for yourself and don't let anyone push you around or tell you you're something your not.

-This quote means that's everyone is different and you are your own person, don't compare yourself to anyone else.








This quote is telling you to be yourself, do with what you feel and don't worry about what others think. I really like this one because its kind of like me, I do what I want by being myself and I love it.








This quote means I'm not the only person who hates math.

“Life’s too short to drink crappy coffee and cry over boys who don’t care.” -Matty Healy

I think this quote is saying that you should treat yourself and you shouldn’t mull over people who don’t care about you. You should treat yourself to nice things as often as you. If someone treats you bad or acts like they don’t care about you, you shouldn’t overthink it and you should just move on.

“In order to be irreplaceable, one must always be different.” -Coco Chanel

This quote is saying that you have to be different in order to be remembered and so people won’t replace you. You will stand out better as well.

“I’d rather be hated for who I am than loved for who I am not.” -Kurt Cobain

This quote means that you should not change who you are to please others and to be loved. You should be yourself no matter what others say.

An aphorism is a short pithy instructive saying



"If you climb in the saddle be ready for a ride."

The meaning is that when you get on a horse you must be ready for the things the horse might do.

  I often love to ride horses, and sometimes they take you on a wild ride. I never know when something will spook them or when they will want to join the other galloping horses ahead, but all you can do is just keep balanced and hold on.

"To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing is not boring - it was peace"  - Milan Kundera

The meaning is that sitting with your dog is enjoyable. I often love taking my dogs for walks and enjoying the fresh air while she swims in the pond and I sit on the bank. 

"I do hunt, and I do fish, and I don't apologize to anybody for hunting and fishing"

Norman Schwarzkopf

It means that you shouldn't apologize for hunting and fishing just because some people don't like it.

I do enjoy to hunt and fish. Fishing is more enjoyable because its warmer.