Jall's Blog

The more I reflect on my reading, the more I appreciate my 3rd grade teacher for his book choices!! Another book I recalled reading in his class was The One and Only Ivan , a book about a silverback gorilla named Ivan who lives in a run-down mall circus. I remember finishing the story before my teacher revealed to the class that it was inspired by a real gorilla, which was a fact that surprised a lot of people. I still have my copy of the book from more than 6 years ago now, so I took the opportunity to reread it. The story is told from Ivan’s point of view and the basic gist of the book is that Ivan has been living in this small glass cage and has grown used to life in captivity. Soon, a baby elephant named Ruby arrives, causing Ivan to view their situation in a different way. Determined to protect Ruby, Ivan uses his talent of drawing to try to change their future and seek a better life outside of their cage.  There’s also a few things I’ve noticed on a reread that I’d like to po...

Minute Cryptic by Angas Tiernan and Liam Runnalls was published in September of 2025. It’s a puzzle book, and in my very professional opinion, the best puzzle book for puzzlers.  While scrolling online, I kept coming across videos of zencryptic solving minute cryptic puzzles, and I was hooked. I love all puzzles: minesweeper, blockblast, wordle, logic puzzles, zen word, find the hidden object, etc. I had never heard of minute cryptic prior to these videos and I immediately wanted to learn how to solve them.  Minute cryptic puzzles are made for overthinkers. It’s not like a normal puzzle; you really have to decipher each part of the clue, while still looking at the whole picture to be able to solve it.  I will give 3 examples of my favorite beginner friendly puzzles with hints and explanations, hopefully, you’ll enjoy them too. Reading my blog should only take about 5 minutes, so take time to figure out each puzzle SCROLL SLOWLY!!!! ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ Puzzle #1: Puzzle:...

                   The Pedestrian , published in 1951, is a dystopian science fiction short story by Ray Bradbury. This story follows Leonard Mead in the year 2053 in a society where the norm is to stay home during free time, staying glued to the television with no human interactions. Leonard Mead is different though. Every night, he goes outside and takes a walk, something he loves to do. He enjoys going out for the fresh air, to just look at nature, and walk. When he goes on his walks, he is the absolute only person out there. He has never seen anyone else outside and as he walks by houses, he sees complete darkness besides the glowing light casted from the televisions. The street is always silent and empty at this time. However, during the day, the highways are always bustling with many cars and people going to work, but by night, it’s completely empty.  One day as Mr. Leonard Mead is going on one of his nightly strolls, he ...

In 7th grade, I recall having to read the book Legend for class, and it was one of the first dystopian fictions I had ever read. After finishing the book, I was captivated enough to read the next book in the series in my free time that same school year. Unfortunately, however, I couldn’t manage to find the third book, Champion . That is, until recently when a friend of mine said she had it and could lend it to me—so, I immediately knew I had to immerse myself back into Marie Lu ’s world. The book follows two very different teens, June Iparis and Day , who get pulled into a much bigger fight than either of them could’ve participated. It’s full of political drama, fast pacing, and also perhaps an enemies-to-lovers dynamic 👀 The series opens with Legend , in a future version of the western United States, ruled by a nation called the Republic , with a highly controlling and militarized government. We meet June, a prodigy raised by the Republic and Day, the Republic’s most wanted crimi...

  There Will Come Soft Rains I recently read the short story There Will Come Soft Rains by Ray Bradbury and thought it was interesting, so I wanted to write my thoughts about it. You may know Bradbury from some of his other well known works such as Fahrenheit 451 , The Martian Chronicles , and Something Wicked This Way Comes . An important detail to note about There Will Come Soft Rains is that it was written during the Cold War, when the fear of nuclear destruction was everywhere, and that’s something to consider when thinking about the story’s mood.  There Will Come Soft Rains is a short story about an automated modern day house that continues to function even though it’s completely untenanted. The story is told by descriptive scenes that are set by the house itself, especially the talking clock that announces reminders and daily routines that were once meant for the family who lived there. It says things like “ Eight-one, tick-tock, eight-one o'clock, off to school, off ...