Independent Reading Book - Post # 3

NAME: Faith Burila 

DATE: October 24, 2010

TITLE: A Million Little Pieces

TIME: 2 HOURS

AUTHOR: James Frey

TOTAL PAGES THIS WEEK: 47

START:  FINISH: 114 - 160

 Do you think you would read another book by this author? Why or why not?  

Which character would you like (or not like) to be your friend? Why? 

 What in the book upsets you or bothers you? Why?

         A lot of things have happened in this book when I read this week. One thing was James, the main character, was thinking about committing suicide. He missed his drugs and alcohol terribly. He attempted to leave the facility but Leonard (another patient, and friend of James) encouraged him to try again at becoming better and healthy. James agreed to stay for twenty-four more hours, but if he felt like he did at that moment, he would leave 100%. This really made me mad because I thought it was his goal to become sober other than making it seem like he's forced to be at that clinic. I hope his feelings change and that he stays there until he is absolutely normal again, and healthy. 


         I would definitely read another book by this author, though I'm no where close to finished with A Million Little Pieces yet. I like how James Frey writes, because it is a non-fiction story and it explains his everyday life as a drug addict, and how he tries to overcome his problems. Though most of his grammar and punctuation is incorrect, I think it's just great that someone like him would have the courage to write a book about his personal memories / life. I like reading his books because it's different with the way he writes, making it really interesting and enjoyable to read. Overall, I find James Frey a great author and I would encourage him to write more books or life changing stories.




         If I personally knew James, I'm not exactly sure I would want to be friends with him. I'm thinking this mostly because of how he is an alcohol and drug addict, and also for his criminal records. If I didn't know his background, that would make me even more against with being friends with him. He would seem like a psycho to me and I wouldn't want to be around him at all because I detest drugs a million percent! I'm sure once you get to know him though James is a great and kind person, but just knowing he is addicted to things such as cocaine, meth, etc. makes me not want to be around that even though he is (or has) changing his ways of life.

Independent Reading Book - Post # 2

NAME: Faith Burila 

DATE: October 17, 2010

TITLE: A Million Little Pieces

TIME: 2 HOURS

AUTHOR: James Frey

TOTAL PAGES THIS WEEK: 52

START:  FINISH: 61 - 113

What is confusing in this book? Why? (Be specific)  How did what you read today make you feel? Why? 

         During my reading this week, a lot of things happened. James (Drug and alcohol addict), had a very frightening dream. The chapter explained that he was in a room, alone, with bottles of liquor and wine everywhere, along with a large pile of white cocaine and a giant bag of yellow crack. There was also more items on the table such as glue, a pipe, a torch, and a can filled with gasoline. In this dream, James knew that no one was watching him and that no one could stop him from doing anything with the drugs or drinks on the table. He started with the alcohol, because his body was craving it. Eventually, he consumed everything on the table, and enjoyed the high. This kind of confused me at first because I thought it was real and not a dream. Thinking it wasn't a dream, it really disappointed me that he knew this was bad for him, but continued to do otherwise. I really thought he was going to do anything to get better and to become sober. Then I found out it was a dream.

         Another thing that happened in my reading this week was James got into a fight with one of the patients in the clinic named Roy. Roy immediately dislikes James and tries to get him thrown out. He threatens James to clean the group toilets thoroughly and make them "sparkle", or else he will tell on him. This really annoyed me that someone could be so rude, but I later read that Roy has some type of personality disorder. James responds to Roy's threat by grabbing him by the throat, and throwing him against the wall. He does this several times until a few clinic workers come and stop the fight. I was really shocked by this, because I don't see James as a violent person. It made me think about James twice, and weather or not I should be on his side. Something that confused me in this part was James said, "The Fury has risen." I think he was talking about his temper, but he used this term a couple times and it's not clear to me what it is. 

         One last thing that happened in this book so far is he thought of his loneliness, eventually thinking about his friend Michelle. This part made me really sad. She was James' only friend. She was beautiful, popular, and got straight A's in school. She was the only one who saw through his flaws; the only one who didn't care that James was very violent and juvenile. During their 8th grade year, she got asked out by a high school student, who she knew her parents wouldn't approve of. James helped her lie to them, saying he was taking Michelle to the movies while she was really going on a date with the guy. On his way driving back to the Theater to take her back there, he tried beating a train across train tracks. Unfortunately, he was too slow and the train came in contact with the car. She was hit on the passenger side and instantly killed. James was blamed for this accident, and people continuously wanted to fight him for her death. This made me feel really bad, quickly seeing how bad his life was even as a teenager. I felt sympathetic for him, and it made me think about how tough his life is. I hypothetically put myself in his shoes, and imagined his life as a child, growing up and getting a lot of crap from people. This changed my perspective of him, and now I kind of understand why he is the way he is.

Weekly Reading Response

NAME: Faith Burila 

DATE: October 7, 2010

TITLE: A Million Little Pieces

TIME: 2 HOURS

AUTHOR: James Frey

TOTAL PAGES THIS WEEK: 60

START:  FINISH: 1 - 60

 What exciting events just happened? What do you think will happen next, and why?

How did what you read today make you feel? Why?

          A lot of crazy things have happened so far in this book. I got introduced to the character (also the author) James Frey. He is addicted to alcohol, and uses cocaine everyday. He also does pills, acid, mushrooms, meth, PCP and glue. His life is extremely messed up! He drinks when he wakes up, consuming as much alcohol as he possible can get. This made me feel really bad. It made me mad too because I cannot tolerate people who do drugs. This made me one thousand percent against things like that! It makes me sick to see that many, many people are addicted.

          Something else that happened in this book which was in the beginning is that he woke up on a plane not knowing where he was going. His front four teeth were missing, his nose was broken, he was unable to open his eyes, and there was “a mixture of spit, snot, urine, vomit and blood” on his shirt. At first I was thinking, “Wow what’s wrong with him?” But later I read on and it explained everything to me; he fell down a fire escape. He then found out he was going to Chicago where his parents would pick him up, and take him to the oldest Residential Drug and Alcohol Treatment Facility in the World. I got excited for him because there he would fix his drug addictions and become a real, healthy human again.

          One last thing that happened in my reading this week is that he is not getting better, being in the treatment facility. He’s tired and feels terrible 95 percent of the day, and I can tell he misses doing drugs. He wants to get well and sober though, so he deals with this pain. I really am glad that he decides to go through with this program because I want him to get better! What I think will happen next though is that he will try to run away or find coke because he can’t handle not having it. I really hope he just stays away from it all 100% while there because in the end I want him to complete his goal of becoming a human again. 

Independent Reading Book

A Million Little Pieces by James Grey