I+Am+America

=I am America and So can you=


 * Week 1-October 1st, 2010**


 * Quotes and Questions-**Jake Linden-

"Stephen, if you don't like to read then why did you write a book?... I didn't I dictated it."

"Do not sleep sleep with a 9mm under your pillow."

"Wash your hands before you talk to strangers."

"Second cousins have different enough genes so that you could marry one and have kids without your kids looking like the movie the hills have eyes."

"Hope I die before I get old"

Questions:

Do you enjoy reading this book so far? We all think the book has been an enjoyable read so far and we look foward to reading next weeks fifth. It is very funny and makes your day that much better.

Do you like the writing style of the book or prefer traditional stories? The writing style is cool for a change and the quick change of subjects and idea keeps you interested wondering why would make you laugh next.

Do you do all of the fun pages at the end of each chapter skip over them? Why or Why not? We all do the fun pages at the end of the chapters because they are just like an extension of what he has to say except it is in the form of an activity rather than a paragraph of page.

Does there seem to be a theme to the book so far? The theme to the book so far seems to be Stephen Colbert must criticize everything and he loves his mother.

Our group is reading the book “ I am America and so can you” The only main character in our book is the narrator, Stephen Colbert. The thing that makes Stephen interesting is the fact he can say whatever is on his mind. In this book he speaks his opinion on every world issue. In the book there is a story per chapter. I read his opinions on family, animals, and old people. I am drawn to Stephen because he uses humor.
 * Discussion Leader**- Daniel Chiriani

**Group Summarizer**- Joe Carlo On Friday our group sat together and were eager to talk about our book. We all decided that I Am America (And So Can You!) was the funniest book that we all have read. As Jake gave us our questions we all answers and chuckled at the ridiculously bold quotes. I brought OREO's for our group. We spent the rest of the period laughing as we read on to the next fifth of the book.


 * Week 2 **

**Quotes and Questions**-Joe Carlo

Quotes 1. Nation nothing restricts freedom more than buckling a seatbelt.

2. Religion is the cornerstone of civilization

3. Quakers these folks produced only two things I like Oatmeal and Richard Nixon

4. Sports are a waste of both testosterone and blind fervent allegiance both of which would be better directed towards our military

5. There’s an easy way to tell which came first the chicken or the egg. Attach a cockspur to both of them and let them fight it out

Questions 1. What do you think on Stephen Colbert’s view on the evolution of religion? We think that it almost makes sense because it goes in order of ideas. 2. Why do you think that the author does not like sports? We think that he probably did not do well in sports and was always benched from them. 3. How does the author view religion? He thinks that religion is a big part of society 4. What was your reaction to the picture of the author from his adolescence? We all laughed at his braces and acne 5. Did you think it was interesting when the author related all wars to religion? Yes because they all made sense when he put them together.

This week was great. We had a lot of fun. I brought in good food. I brought in Mallomars and forgot to bring drinks. They were really good. After we ate we went to work. Joey asked his questions to the group. We had a long discussion but finally we posted his questions on the computer. The questions took up most of the period. In the book "I am America and so can you," Stephen talks about the worlds religions. He makes fun of atheists and Protestants.He says that, "religion is the cornerstone of civilization." In the next chapter he talked about sports and athletes. The questions Joe asked were very good. We had a very long discussion on the first question. We liked the way that Colbert described religion in the book.
 * Summarizer**- Dan Chiriani

The type of language that Stephen uses is a huge part of what makes this book so great. He uses casual words that everyone knows, and also he throws in some bigger words that sound funny. He writes in a very funny way and also makes it feel like he is talking to you instead of just writing to everyone. The casual way he writes makes it more enjoyable to read.
 * Discussion Leade**r-Jake Linden

Week 3

**Group summarizer**- Joe Carlo

This week Jake was not here. But Dan and I made the best of the situation. We started off by talking about the two chapters we read, Sex and Homosexuals. While laughing at the quotes that Jake sent us, and answering his questions. Dan started the conversation about the themes and tone of the book. This week was all about sex and sexual orientation. The tone is pretty republican and generally comical. After going over the our favorite parts of the book, we used the gay test to see if people we know were in Stephen Colbert’s eyes gay. We finished off the meeting reading ahead for next week.

**Discussion Leader**- Dan Chiriani  The mood and tone of I Am America is comical and relaxed. The book is funny because it takes the worlds problems and ideas and summarizes it in a comical way. The book is written from a very republican standpoint and weights heavily on only one side of the issue. The book is like taking a stroll in the mind of Stephan Colbert.  The overriding emotion of the book is cheerful. Stephan Colbert always looks at one side of an issue and says it in a very comical way. For example, Stephan talks about all religions but is one sided towards Christian. In the book Stephan says that the Jewish are 50% right because they believe only in the Old Testament.

**Questions and Quotes**- Jake Linden

Questions- >> >> >> >> a. I am enjoying the writing style so far in this book and I think it is a nice change from a story with a single plot.
 * 1) Does the way Stephen Colbert talks about homosexuals offend you?
 * 2) No I think the way Stephen talks about them is in a pure comical way and is not meant to be offensive.
 * 1) Do you find his dirty humor funny or has he gone to far? Explain.
 * 2) I think in most of the situations what he says are funny, although there may be a few in there that went a little too far.
 * 1) Do you think the section on sex is too inappropriate for school or do you think it is within the educational goal of this facility?
 * 2) I think the section is perfectly suitable for school, because it does not go into great detail. It is mostly talking about vague topics in a comical way.
 * 1) Do you think that Stephen should write about more than homosexuality, sex, and religion? If so what?
 * 2) I think what he wrote about so far in the book is fine, but it would help his book if he wrote about less common topics that we do not usually hear about.
 * 1) Are you enjoying the writing style of this book by sections with no plot, or would you prefer a story with a plot at this point in the book?

Quotes- “For women it’s the balls. Nothing the Ladies love more than a big sack.”

“And did you know that ants have sex?”

“Every day, scientists report more species engaging in homosexual behavior, while cable television offers a full slate of animal sex propaganda ranging from Animal Planet to Dora the Explorer.”

“Now marriage involves a lot of sacrifice. For instance my wife frowns on me having sex with anyone but her.”

“If you refuse the power you will be cheating yourself, and in my case hundreds of lovely ladies of something very special (my P***s).**


 * Week 4**


 * Questions-** Dan Chiriani

1. Do you believe that ignorance is bliss? Yes because it’s better then living in fear. If you know what is going on then you may worry about it.

2. Stephan says that it is nearly impossible for the uneducated to break into the world of highly paid professionals. Do you agree? <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Yes because it is nearly impossible to become rich without an education. The only ways to become rich is to win the lottery or play professional sports.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">3. Do you agree, with Stephen that the movie industry is destroying America? <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Yes I believe that the movie industry is destroying America because all the movies today are about violence and sex.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">4. Do you agree, with Stephen that the media is also destroying America? <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Yes because instead of reporting news many news stations report on celebrities. They care more about ratings then reporting.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">5.Why were you happier when you were young? <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> This is because as a kid you do not know anything.

In the book __I Am America and so can you__ image takes up a great portion of the book. There are tons of visual aids that help explain the point he is getting across. An example would be when Stephen Colbert was talking about how old people do nothing but fart and eat pudding, on the next page he has a coupon for his own brand of pudding. Stephen seems to bash every section of his book, like old age, education, and religion. Stephen really states what is on his mind in a very bold and strong ways.
 * Discussion Director** - Joe Carlo

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> 1.”The more you know the sadder you get.”
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Quotes **- Dan Chiriani

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2. “Ignorance is not bliss, it is Paradise.”

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">3. “Within minutes, you find yourself ushering your children out the exit while you desperately try to explain to them God is not Black.”

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">4. “There is a dark side to Hollywood…It’s not just shattered dreams.”

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">5. “If I die, I want to know if I’m going to heaven or to hell. There is no gray area.”

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Summarizer-** Jake Linden

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> This weeks meeting on I am America and So Can You went very well. Even though we had less time for book club after watching video we accomplished just as much as normally. Also, no one brought in food this week, but that was okay because it gave us the opportunity to focus on the book more. We first discussed the section of the book we read which was on the Media and Hollywood. After we talked over the book we started to go over the questions and quotes that Dan wrote. The questions were very interesting and we spent five or ten minutes going over all of them. After we went over them and discussed answers we then read over his quotes which made all of us laugh. Overall it was a good day for book club and I think we accomplished a lot.


 * Week 5**


 * Summerizer-**Dan Chiriani

This weeks meeting went very well. We accomplished a lot this week even though we had no food. No one brought in food but it is ok because it gave us more time to write and answer questions. We first discussed how we enjoyed the book. We all enjoyed the book and had a good laugh. It was probably the most funny book we have ever read. After this we went and discussed the questions. We talked a lot about science and illegal immigrants. Eventually Joey read all his quotes. Overall it was a good last week even though the book club was shortened.

**Discussion Leader-** Jake Linden

The book "I am America (and so can you)" was a fantastic book and I would absolutely recommend it to one of my peers to read. This book is a very funny book and also has a different style of reading in it, so if someone is interested in stuff like that they would love this book. I have never seen such a wide range of topics talked about in any book but this, and you can get a good laugh while finding out about anything, ranging from illegal immigrants to Super Bowl predictions. Although this is a great book and a fun read I do not think that this book should be included in the curriculum for the school, because it would just ruin the book and take the comical situations out of it if you had to work while reading it. Overall it was a great book.