Reading the Fall of the House of usher in both a paper and digital form made be think about how I absorb information differently, depending on how I am reading it. The first time I read this was on my computer. The pros to reading things digitally, (computer, phone, tablet, etc) is that it is cheaper, it doesn’t waste paper, and the tools used for this are smaller than most books. On the other hand, the cons to reading things digitally is that it is harder to annotate, it is easier to lose your place, and it is very easy to get distracted while using technology while reading and learning because most people cannot efficiently multi-task. The second time around, I printed the PDF version of the story and read it printed on paper. When I read it this time, the story made a lot more sense to me and I was able to take notes in the margins and highlight words I was uncertain about. Pros to reading things printed is that there is no battery life, you can write on the pages, and it is easier to follow along. However, the cons to reading this way is that it is more expensive and it wastes more paper. I leaned that the best way fro me to absorb information is by interacting with it. When I am able to look up definitions, ask myself questions, and underline main ideas I can better follow my train of thought.

While reading the book The Glass Castle, I tried to focus on how our author, Jeannette Walls’ tone changed throughout the book. I thought that it was very interesting to read and I really enjoyed it because the memoir was very visual, making it easier for me to follow.

I noticed that Jeannette’s tone changed towards her father the most throughout the book. Even though he wasn’t the best father to his kids, she looked up to him a lot as a little girl, he was her hero. She talked about wanting to go on more ‘adventures’ and how she wanted to live the way they were living forever. But as she was growing up she began to realize that that wasn’t the way other people lived and she needed to make a change. As soon as she realizes this, her tone changes from a young, adventure-hungry girl to gloomy and sad. She understood that her family was in poverty, they were always hungry and looking for work. I think a big part of her realizing this was the fact that her dad began to drink more and more, affecting the way her parented his children.

In my opinion, Jeannette’s tone towards her mom stays pretty constant throughout the memoir. The book opens with present-day Jeannette looking out of her window and seeing her mother but being too ashamed to say anything. She always understood that her mom didn’t want to take on all the work of raising a family. They didn’t end up having the normal mother/daughter relationship that is portrayed everywhere today.

In conclusion, I think that this book did a great job of teaching people about poverty and family dysfunction. I noticed that Jeannette’s tone changed at the same time she matured, also making this a ‘coming of age’ story.

In my last nineteen years of life, I have had a number of places in which I have called home.

I consider my first home to be where my parents brought me after I was born. We lived in the top story of a two story house which was shared with a very nice old woman. Most of my memories from that home are with my mom and dad since I am the oldest in my family. A few years later, we moved into another house in the Bay Area in the rural hills. It was dark at night, fairly quiet, and full of wildlife. The wildlife in that neighborhood was my favorite growing up. My fondest memory in that house was learning how to ride my bike and meeting my little brother and sister. After that, we made a big move to Southern California and I ended up living there for about eight years. I thought that I would call this place home for the rest of my life until we moved back to the Bay Area before high school.

The move from Southern California to Northern California the summer before high school was one of the hardest things I have done. I was conflicted about what/where I called home. I had left behind friends and family in Southern California which makes a place really feel like a home, not just a house. On the other hand, I was born and partly raised in Northern California and my parents were happier there. It wasn’t until my senior year of high school, that my house there really felt like it was a home.

Lastly, the move to Eugene was better than I had thought. The thought of moving into a dorm with hundreds of other students scared me to death. I loved having my own space and quiet. However, with the help of my roommate, the dorms felt like home within just a few months. Now, I am settled into an apartment with my best friend and live here ten months out of the year. Now I call this place my home. Home is somewhere where you are surrounded by people you love and somewhere that you can create special memories.