Improvement over the Trimester

The 4^th ever blog post I did was on Sunday, September 15, 2013 called Amped. It wasn’t very long and I used pictures to make it look longer. I wasn’t very interested in blogging just wanted to get a good grade. So, I did not explain my opinions like I should when writing a review of the book.  “I thought the book was very detailed.” I did not go on in my post to explain how the book was detailed or why I liked detailed books.” In my newest post from Tuesday, October 29, 2013 called Allegiant, I wrote; “I know many people who were very irritated with Tris, the main character, but I think it made her feel more human and the ending had a bigger impact because of this.” I went on to explain why Tris being disliked moved the book forward rather than saying “people didn’t like Tris.” I would have done something to this affect in my earlier blog posts. I wrote more in detail in my newer post compared to my old one. “I liked that the story was being told from different characters point of views, not just one.” (Old one) I personally never got bored while reading. I kept on wanting to read on and on! Roth writes in a more advance way, but makes it understandable by using context clues. I love how the author clues in little pieces of information, that you don’t notice, but it completely impacts the ending! I'm always really surprised! Allegiant kept me on my toes!” (New one) In my new blog post, I went into to detail why I never got bored when reading! I list my reasons why I didn’t get bored. But, in the old one I stated how I like the different point of views. I did not explain how this impacted the story and me as a reader. I feel like my organization helped improve my writing because people were more interested in my writing because it was broken up rather than being one big paragraph. In my newer post I used headings like; “Theme”, “Dislikes”, “Ending”, “Characters”, and “Veronica Roth's writing style”. I had no headings in my older blog post. In my old post, I included no quotes. I included a quote in my newer blog to help support what I thought the theme was in the book.

 I really struggled with thinking of what to write about. I thought my blog had to be about the categories contain within the rubric we received. I would be at points in my book where I couldn’t write about things like theme. I overcame this by empathizing questions I had during the book, and what I wondered. When I did these things I could then predict and analyze my reading. It really helped me write good, detailed, interesting blog post. I also struggled with not containing spoilers in my blog. I really wanted to tell the people who were reading my blog exactly how I felt at each point of the book, but then I would give away things. This really frustrated me because I wanted to write good post. I didn’t really overcome this. I need to work on this, so I can find a way to blog about it, but not reveal too much. One strength I had was asking good questions. I asked so many question when I was reading, it help me write efficient blog post. It helped people reading my blog see and understand my thinking.  My reading goal was 15 books and I did not meet this goal. I only read 12 goals. I didn’t really remember my goal while reading books, so next time I will focus on meeting my goal. I used Goodreads.com to find books I want to read. I also commented on my friends status to know what if the book was good and if I should read it. I did update good reads often. I have improved a lot as a reader. I ask more thought provoking questions and predict better. I learn some new words because sometimes I would include words I didn’t know from my book into my blog. I can now analyze the text better. I had to do this to put into my blog, so now it’s automatic for me to do this while reading. I make more connections to the characters and the books themselves. This makes the book more understandable and relatable.

Allegiant

Last week I started and finished Allegiant by Veronica Roth!!! I loved this book and the series!!! I finished Allegiant in one day!

I'm afraid if i give a summary I will spoil the book, so I'm going to break down what I like and dislike.

Veronica Roth's writing style

I personally never got bored while reading. I kept on wanting to read on and on! Roth writes in a more advance way, but makes it understable by using context clues. I love how the author clues in little pieces of information, that you dont notice, but it completely impacts the ending! I'm always resally surprised! Allegiant kept me on my toes!

Characters

There are so many characters in Allegiant. I think some Veronica prupsoly made likeable and dislikeable. I know many people who was very irrtaited with Tris, the main character, but I think it made her feel more human and the ending had a bigger impact because of this. I believe Veronica Roth did this on purpose. There was common people that were hated, Evelyn, the dictator, and Marcus, who abused Tobias. I loved seeing these characters change and not doing what you except them too.

Ending

The ending is sad and a surprise. But I like it. It's something diffrent. You except a happy ending from this triology, and it doesn't happen. It's a total surprise.

Dislikes

I love this book! I don't hate anything about it!

Theme

I think there is a clear theme in this book; Sometimes you have to do things you hate, even if it means dying, for the ones that you love. There is so msany examples of this! Evelyn, Tris, Caleb and Tobias all do some form of this! I can't give you examples because I don't want to spoil the book. Here an quote from Tris that shows you this; "I love my brother. I love him, and he is quaking with the terror at the thought of death." This quote then goes on, but I don't want to spoil want Tris does for her brother! What she does is a huge event in the book!

I give Allegiant five stars!!! Please check out Maya's blog post about Allegiant. It's a really intresting perspective!

FINALLY finished with Running Cold

I actually finished Running Cold Tuesday night, but it took my until now to write a blog post.

I really want to tell you what happened, but I don't want to spoil it!!!! I would recommend this book to people who like mysteries!! This book take you through many twist and turns and the end was not predictable. (At least for me)

Things I liked

• Characters developed throughout the book
• Many characters/factors although small, really contributed to the ending
• Wide use of vocabulary
• Not predictable

Things I didn't like

• Slow start
• Some long boring passages

Overall, I give Running Cold four stars!

Trying to figure things out...

I have a feeling that everything will come together on the last page. I usually can solve mysteries or at least know who did it/why. Not with Running cold!  I have 50 pages left and its not clear!!! I did figured out a little more. Somebody (I don't know who) is looking for somthing they think Wes McCann has. They killed his girlfriend and almost him trying to find it. Wes doesn't know what they are talking about. Wes blames Mick for the death of his dad because Mick is trying to find out who these people are. Mick isn't any closer than I am  in figuring this mystery out...

Update on Running Cold

Running Cold is taking me awhile to read because to completely understand the book, I sometimes have to reread passages. I am about 3/4 done. At this point in books, the pieces of the puzzle starts to come together. But not with Running Cold. There are new pieces of the puzzle that don't seem to fit with the old ones. I'm trying to figure out what was the terrorists trying to steal in the prologue, why Calvin McCann was killed and how it all fits together.

You find out more about Calvin McCann's death. He was tortured. I don't think the people who killed him were after the money he owed. I think that Calvin had some information they wanted or they thought he had this information. At this point, you don't know who the killers are. I thought it might be Roth and Quinn, the men Calvin owed money to, but that seems a little too obvious.

There are two chapters that are narrated by new characters. One chapter is narrated by this women who reported a gang to the police for smoking weed. The other is narrated by one of the gang members. The gang member is supposed to deliver this suit case to men he doesn't know. He is not allowed to look in the suitcase. I think what ever was stolen from the casino in the prologue is in the suitcase. The gang delivered the suit case and then they were killed. I am very confused at who killed them because it is not clear.

Books I want to read

There are so many books i want to read! I really want to finish the book I'm currently reading to move on to the other books!


House of Hades by Rick Riordan

This book just came out last week and I've been waiting to read it! It is the 4th book in the Heroes of Olympus series. The Heroes of Olympus series is a companion series to Percy Jackson. I really loved the Percy Jackson series, so I started to read The Heroes books, and I'm hooked! I've been waiting a little less than a year for the book to come out, and now i just need to finish the book I'm currently reading.

Allegiant by Veronica Roth

Allegiant is the third book in the Divergent series. I can not wait until this book comes out. It comes out October 22nd. The last book left me on the edge of my seat and I've been dying to read this one! I read the first two books in a combined 3 days! That's how good these books are! The movie for the first book in the series, Divergent, comes out in March. I'm itching to see the movie! I will embed the video below.

Questions about Running Cold

I am officially half way done with Running Cold and now I'm starting to understand it. If you read my other posts, you know I have a lot of questions about Running Cold. A lot of them have been answered and I have some new questions!

My question: Why would a therapist want to be in the middle of a murder case?

Answer: Mick is an ex Navy Seal and his client was murdered.

My question: Who's the women on the cover?

Answer: I'm not sure on this one, but I'm 90% sure it's the cop, Darlene. The description of her in the book matches the cover. But why is there blood on the bed? I don't know.

My question: How does the terrorist attack fit into the puzzle of the murder of Mick's client?

Answer: I don't know, but Mick's client had a gambling problem and the terrorist attack happen in a casino.

My question: Why does Mick keep thinking "she can't save you.."? Who is she?

Answer: Again, I don't know. The "she" might be Darlene because Mick won't contact her anymore.

Update on Running Cold

I haven't read in a while, so I'm still trying to understand what's going on in Running Cold.

Two new characters were introduced. Calvin Macann and his son Wes. One of the chapters was even narrated by Wes. They are both drunks who have a gambling problem. My initial thought was they were in the casino when the shooting happening. But the I thought why didn't they mention in to their therapist (the main character) Mick Callahan. Mick is trying to help out with Calvin's financial needs. Calvin owes Marvin Roth a lot of money. Marvin has threatened Calvin. I then thought Marvin might be one of the shooters in the terrorist attack in the prologue.

Mick Callahan talks about his on and off again girlfriend, Darlene. Darlene is a cop, so I think Mick and Daralene will make up and he will help her with the case of terrorist.

Mick's friend Hal, who he hasn't seen in years because he is on top secret missions, suddenly wants to meet with Mick and Daralene. I think Hal wants them to help solve the shooting case. My predictions didn't make sense to me at first because why would he want a therapist to help him? Then i thought maybe if they have the shooters Mick will try to talk to them, so he can figure out why they did it.

I'm really not sure how this book will play out, but it's keeping me on my toes!

Article on Stink Bugs

Has your room been stinker than usual? It might not be your fault! Blame it on the stink bugs!

I read an article today about the rising number of stink bugs! I was very interested in this article because in the last week, I've noticed about a dozen stink bugs on my window at one time!

The article starts off by saying this problem is a "stinkpocalpyse". (Which I thought was very clever) The article also talks about in the beginning that the stink bugs came from Asia. I always thought they were indigenous to the U. S. This reminded me of the invasive species project I did in 7th grade. We were given a species that was not originally from the U. S. and we  had to create a presentation on it.

The articles that there are 60% more stink bugs then last year! I don't even remember seeing a stink bug last year. I think I've seen more this year than I have in my whole entire life! I also thought the fact that people suck up stink bugs in vacuum cleaners was interesting. Does it kill the stink bugs? You can actually buy a bug vacuum.

 

The article continues to talk about more ways to prevent/get rid of stink bugs.

The articles also talks about why stink bugs move indoors in late September and early October. When the temperatures get cooler, the stink bugs look for a warmer place. What's more perfect than a heated a house?

I encourage you to read this article for yourself! It's very interesting!

Here is a short video on ways to get rid of stink bugs.

This video shows you what stink bugs do in 2 minutes. They are very boring creatures!

 

 

The Start of Running Cold

I just recently started Running Cold by Harry Shannon. I'm only 20 pages in and I already have a lot of questions!

I'm not sure what Running Cold is about (again only 20 pages in) The prologue is a heart-racing start to the book! It starts off four men entering a casino minutes apart, communicating by signals. Instantly I knew something terrible was going to happen. The men end up stealing a canister, and killing a lot of people in the process. I have no idea what's in the canister. I thought it might be money, but money would be kept in a safe. You know for sure that two of the men die gruesome deaths, but you don't know what happen to the other two. I thought maybe if they got away, one of the men would be the main character hinting at the title. But i was wrong. The first chapter starts with a therapist named Mick Callahan narrating the story. Mick is trying to help out a Iranian decent women, who is being criticise by other Iranians. The women mention something about the attack in the prologue as a terror attack. This confused me because how will the terrorist attack and Mick tie together? I think their is another main character because the cover is a picture of a women. I do not think it's the Iranian women. I do not know much more at this point, but I'm excited to read and find out.

Overall thought of The Good Thief

I excepted more out of The Good Thief . I found it boring at most  parts and very predictable. I was struggling getting through the last few pages. Although I wanted to abandoned it, I finally finished it.

Things I liked about The Good Thief

• Good setting and imagery

Things I didn't like about The Good  Thief

• Ren didn't learn any lesson
• Ren was not 'good'. He was a bad person
• There was no clear theme
• Ren completely developed in 50 pages
• Uninteresting conflict
• Plot was very predictable

Overall, I would give The Good Thief one star.

I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone. Especially people who get bored reading certain books. Do not waste your money buying this book.

Update on The Good Thief

I am now roughly 200 pages done with The Good Thief. I am not liking this book anymore! I believe it was two post ago when I said I was excited to see what happens next, but i was only 30 pages in. The most exciting parts happen in those first 30 to 50 pages. In the beginning there were some really unexpected plot twist, now they are all predictable! They are pretty much things I have read in other books.

I am kind of mad at the book right now because there is nothing "good" about the main character as the title implies. "It was more money than they made from the church, or the stolen jewelry, or from Mother Jone's Elixir for Misbehaving Children." (Tinti 153) When they were at the church, they pretended Ren was homeless and he got even more money from people because he had a missing hand. They also dug up dead bodies and took the jewelry, they sold stolen dead bodies, and they deceived people by selling people a fake misbehaving elixir. It's not like Benjamin and Tom was forcing Ren to do these things. He wanted to! "He wanted to please Benjamin, but he has never done a job by himself." (Tinti 127) Ren wasn't giving the money to the poor, he was using it for himself! How is he any way good? He became friends with a murder! Ren knew he was a murder before he became friends with him. The murdered is not sorry for what he did and Ren still stands up for him!

This book is just making me angry at it! I hope the ending is better!

Analysis of The Good Thief

Although I'm only about half way through The Good Thief,  there were some parts that I had to reread, so I could understand it better. I thought I would share my analysis of certain lines and passages I had to reread.

"A few minutes later Brother Joseph came to gather the children, and said, 'Get to the statue.'" (Tinti 4) At this point in the story, all you know is the main character is in a Catholic orphanage and some man is there to adopted a child. I got really confused when he told the boys to go to the statue even though the man was out front. I read it again and I finally realized they were going to the statue to pray. I infer this by knowing that the orphanage was a Catholic orphanage.

"He stared past the farmer at a maple tree just beyond the stone wall, it's fall leaves beginning to turn. Soon those leaves would be a different color, and then the wind come, and the tree would look like something else completely." (Tinti 9) This is after the head of the orphanage tells the man not to adopted Ten because he's missing a hand. I think what the author is trying to show with the passage is the things around him will keep on changing, but Ren will always stay at the orphanage because nobody wants to adopted a child with out a hand.

"'All right.' Benjamin let go. 'Is that what you wanted to hear?'
'No.'
The man reached over, took hold of the lantern, and blew it out. Night enveloped the barn 'Well,' he said at last to the darkness in between them, 'that's when you know it's the truth.'" (Tinti 48) I was very confused when I first read this passage. Benjamin had told two completely different stories about how Ren's parents died. I infered here thought Benjamin didn't really know what happened. But, if he did, he wouldn't tell him because it was  horrible.

The Good Thief

 

I just started the book, The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti, today. My brother read this book for his summer reading project, so I thought I would read it too.

Even though I am only on Chapter 5, The Good Thief has kept me on the edge of my seat. It is about an orphan boy named Ren, who is about 12 years old. (They don't say his actual age, but a character in the book said he looked 12ish.)  Ren has been at the Saint Anthony's orphanage, since he was a baby .He has not been adopted yet because he's missing a hand. Ren was just dropped off at the doorstep, so no one knows anything about his back round. I think this book takes place in the late 1800s or early 1900s because they talk about clashes with Indians and the priest at the orphanage whips the kids even for a small thing, like not saying who beat you up.

Ren is a thief, but he steals small things like bread and books. Inferring from the title, I'm guessing later in the book Ren starts stealing things for the poor, like Robin hood. I don't want to spoil too much, so let's just say I'm at a point in the book where I don't know what's going to happen next!

In conclusion, The Good Thief  has been a good read so far. 

 

In the picture, the boys left hand is missing!



Amped

I just finish the book, Amped.  While wordy, the book was interesting to read. I was in the edge of my seat until the very end of the book. There were many plot twists in the book. Some were predictable, but most of them were unexpected. Here is my overall thought of Amped by Douglas E. Richards:

 

 

I liked that the story was being told from different characters point of views, not just one. I thought the book was very detailed. But, this means you had to really pay attention to the detail to understand the book. I liked how the plot twists wanted to make you keep reading on. However, there were some chapters that were just explaining the complicated science involved. I thought this could be boring at times, but I'm glad the author included science into his writing. I also liked how the characters, and the plot were developed through out the book. The setting was not developed because it was constantly changing. I liked this because the different places meant different obstacles for the characters to overcome.

 

Overall, I liked the book and I would give it four stars! I would recommend this book to a mature audience, and people who are interested in science.  

Reading skills I've used while reading Amped

Amped  by Douglas E. Richards is a challenging book due to the deep scientific analysis in the book. Through out the book, I have made predictions, asked questions, looked up words I didn't know, and made connections,

Predictions

You have to really consider Amped to understand it. Making prediction has helped me accomplish this.  "The moment it hit, Jake felt though the weight of the world has been lifted from his shoulders. There was no end to possible threats from WMD , but none were like this one. Given Miller's ability to dole out superhuman intelligence and Desh's training and skills, he had eliminated what he was convinced were the two most formidable people on the planet." (Richards 25%) This quote is describing when Jake bombed Kira  Miller and David Desh's headquarters and heat sensors showed that they were inside. I knew that they wouldn't be dead because they are the two main characters. Then i thought, how could the escape a bomb that they didn't know was coming that torched the whole felicity? I then predicted that Kira must of planted heat sensors that made it look like their was two people in there but there was really no body in the building.

Another prediction I made was when Kira gave her self up, so David and Seth Rosenblatt could be set free. I immediately knew the Kira wouldn't just give her self up to the people trying to Kira. She probably had a plan to escape. Kira was shot by a stun gun and when she woke up, she kept asking what the time was. I knew that something was going to happened at certain time because Kira wanted know how long before it was going to happen.

Questions I asked/Words I looked up

There are many chapters in Amped where it's just explaining the science going on. This really confused me, so I had a lot of questions about it. "'So relative velocities Ire just a matter of addition of subtraction." (Richardson 35%) My first thought was, what's relative velocity? So, i looked it up. Here's a link I use to understand relative velocity and thus, understanding what the character was saying in the quote.

There is a point in the book where Kira is kidnapped by her own scientist that adores her. He kept on saying: "I'm sorry for this, I think you are amazing women." I started to think: If she was an amazing women, then why are you kidnapping her? Is somebody threatening you to do this? How did you get a hold of these weapons? And so on. This part of the books leaves you hanging until Kira's kidnapper finally explains himself chapters later. 

I have to look up many words while reading Amped. Some of those word are, galactic, pious, distilled, and conjecture.

Connections

Text to text:

I made a connection of Amped and the Maximum Ride books by James Patterson. In Amped, there are several narrators through out the book. The narrators are main characters, minor characters and the author. Amped is centers around science. From new technology, to the pills that boost your IQ and aliens. Amped's chapters are short, but there is a lot of them. The Maximum Ride books set up is almost exactly like Amped's. The Maxium Ride books also includes many narrators and not just the main characters. The Maximum Ride books are centered around kids who were experimented on and has bird DNA. Both books included a fantasy factor and a science factor.

Text to world: 

In Amped,  the ship that all the greatest scientist are on, who are trying to stop the Alien nanites from destroying the earth, is called Copernicus. Copernicus was a brilliant scientists who discovered the heliocentric theory that led to the rejection of the geocentric theory. I think Richards purposely called the ship Copernicus, so people can make the connection and realize the scientists want to make a break through like Copernicus.

Text to self:

I personally connected to the character Colonel Jacobson, aka Jake. Jake is very determined to finish the job he is given. Jake has trouble being convinced that some thing is untrue when he is told otherwise. Jake is very true to his word and never breaks a promise. In some ways, I see myself in Jake. We are both determined, stubborn, and trustworthy.





Characters in "Amped"

I am currently reading the book "Amped" by Douglas E. Richards. "Amped" is the sequel to "Wired". The story follows a women name Kira Miller who has discovered how to raise human IQ temporarily  to levels that are off the IQ scale, but there is a catch. While enhanced you become absolutely ruthless, and its very hard to control your actions. There's somebody after Kira Miller who wants to use her IQ pills for all the wrong reasons.

Kira Miller is a very complex character. In the book, "Amped" Kira is very developed because she was developed in the previous book. But, she continues to be shaped and refined. For example, Kira would never just give her self up to the enemy. Kira is very invested in self-pride. Kira begins to develop into a person who would sacrificed for the ones she loves. "'That's right. Me for the two of them.'" (Richardson 33%) A man named Jake, who is trying to kill Kira, captures her husband, David Desh, and a fellow scientist, Seth Rosenblatt.  She offers her self up, they can be set free. The quote shows Kira talking to Jake, presenting her offer. Kira doing this creates a plot twist because you except Kira to break David and Seth out, not give her self up.

Kira is a take-charge kind of women. She listens to others, but ultimately does what she thinks is right and she is a natural leader. In multiple situations, Kira makes the decision. An example is when Kira was kidnapped by her own friend, she did not wait for rescue, she devised a  plan to make an escaped. She is so brilliant, even without her IQ pill, that she escaped while wearing a straightjacket and being strapped down to a chair.

The other characters in the book, marvel at Kira Miller for her brilliance, even those who want to kill her. "'I have to admit," said Kolke, 'I always thought you were giving Kira too much credit. She couldn't possibly be as good as you thought. But I was wrong. I still can't believe what she was able to do. In addition to you, she took out four of our men without even breaking a sweat, and then managed to run a gauntlet and somehow escape.'" (Richardson 46%) Kolke is Jake's right hand man. He believe that Kira was going to destroy the world, but he still admires her. "David laughed out loud . "'Weak? Your will is stronger than any man or woman I know." (Richardson 53%) David thinks Kira is the strongest person in the world. Kira has this affect on people by her actions, words, and accomplishments 

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Theme in "The Kite Runner"

I read "The Kite Runner" for my summer reading book. The theme of standing up for others is constantly reinforced throughout the book. The idea of standing up for others emerges in Chapter 3. Amir is always trying to get his father's attention and impress him. Amir's father, Baba, thinks Amir should be like him, but Amir is the exact opposite. In chapter 3, Amir cries because he sees a horsemen get killed, and he cries all the way home. Baba does not approve of Amir's behavior. "Mostly, I will never forget Baba's valiant efforts to conceal the disgusted look on his face as we drove in silence." (Hosseini 21) This then leads to the conversation Amir overhears between his father and a family friend, Rahim Khan. "'Sometimes I look out this window and I see Amir playing on the street with the neighborhood boys. I see how they push him around, take his toys from him, give him a shove here, a whack there. And, you know, he never fights back. Never. He just... drops his head... You know what happens when the neighborhood boys tease him? Hassan steps in and fend them off. I've seen it with my own eyes. And when they come home, I say to him, 'How did Hassan get that scrape on his face?' And he says, 'He fell down.' I'm telling you Rahim, there is something missing in that boy." (Hosseini 22) This is where the theme emerges. Hassan is standing up for Amir even though he might get hurt himself. I think it also shows that Amir is too afraid to stand up for himself. Amir is also afraid to back up Hassan.

The theme is shaped in Chapter 5. In Chapter 5, Assef, a boy who comes from the upper class, starts to bullying Hassan because Hassan is a servant. Amir does not stand up for Hassan he starts thinking things like, "But Hassan is not my friend! I almost blurted. He's my servant!" (Hosseini 41) When Assef tries to punch Amir, Hassan gets in the middle and stops Assef. At this point, the theme starts to shape into stand up for others, even though there is a risk.

In Chapter 7, Amir turns the corner to see Assef and his friends, threatening Hassan. Amir is scared of what Assef would do if he would stand up for Hassan. Assef starts to beat up Hassan. "I had one last chance to make a decision. One final opportunity to decide who I was going to be. I could step into that alley, stand up for Hassan- the way he'd stood up for me all those times in the past-and accept whatever happen to me. Or I could run."(Hosseini 77) This quote shows the theme and hard it is to stand up for people because it mean scarifying yourself in the process.

The theme from Chapter 5 is refined in Chapter 10. Amir and his father are trying to escape Afghanistan because the Russians are invading. They were in a back of a truck with a lot of other people, when a solider wanted to take a women from her family. Baba stands up for the women and says what the solider is doing is wrong and he wont let it take place. The solider threatens to kill Baba. Baba says, "Tell him I'll take a thousand of his bullets before I let this indecency takes place." (Hosseini 116) Baba knows he can get killed, but he knows the right thing to do is stand up for the women.

The theme in "The Kite Runner" is illustrated all through out the book. By doing so, Khaled Hosseini shows how important standing up for others and yourself is. He also shows that it's a hard thing to do. I, personally do not like to get in the middle of things, but after reading "The Kite Runner" I realized, in most situations you need to stand up and help that person out.

 

"The Kite Runner" hits home for a lot of people. This Kite Runner article explains the great success of the book as well as the movie. It also explains Khaled Hosseini inspiration to write "The Kite Runner"