Over the summer I read several different books, but the two that stuck out the most to me was Salt A World History by Mark Kurlansky and SUB 4:00 by Chris Lear. When I am asked which author was more successful in creating a good piece of literature I would say Lear was.

The book Salt was structured in the way to inform the reader and not so much to tell a story. You’ll be created by a gigantic wall of text as Kurlansky quotes other works on the same subject left and right. I thought at first this would be a good characteristic for this kind of book but it turned out to be an annoyance when Kurlansky started quoting old recipe books that told you how to make sauerkraut or pickles and seemed rather pointless. Kurlansky also throws in words and phrases in different languages and then would tell you more about the origin of those words and there significance. For example on page fifty four it says this,

“It is a sad fate for a people to be defined for posterity by their enemies. Even the name, Celt, is not from their own Indo-European language but from Greek. Keltoi, the name given to them by Greek historians, among them Herodotus, means “one who lives in hiding or undercover.” The Romans, finding them less mysterious, called them Galli or Gauls, also coming from a Greek word, used by Egyptians as well, hal, meaning “salt.” They were the salt people. The name of the town that sits on the East German salt bed,
Halle, like the Austrian towns of Hallein, Swabisch Hall, and Hallstatt, has the same root as do both Galicia in northern Spain and Galicia in southern Poland, where the twon of Halych is found. All of these places were named for Celtic saltworks.”

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I was starting to write my essay for summer reading and wold like to know what's wrong with it.

It's the first two paragraphs
I was writing the second one and realized I had to include quotes and would like to include the one above the only problem is that it's to long. I don't know how to make it shorter so that it still gets across the same point that I want to.

Ignoring the first section above (introduction draft), you should put the second and third sections into one paragraph, but because you have a long quotation, you'll need to indent it and then add un-indented commentary/interpretation after it, all in the same paragraph. It won't be too long. You'll be fine.

If you don't know how to make indented long quotations, here's an explanation:
http://www.bookrags.com/articles/10.html

Also, here is an excellent explanation of how to write about literature (what to include, etc.):
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/618/01/

Please revise ONLY your second paragraph and repost. Then work on your third paragraph draft and post it. I'll check on you in a couple of hours or so.

=)

Well I got to got to cross country practice so I'll check those websites on long quotes later and might finish it later if I can get on the computer later

thanks for your help

To summarize the quote you provided, it explains the origin of the name "Celt" and its connection to the word "salt." It also mentions various towns and regions named after Celtic saltworks. Given that you find the quote too long for your essay, here's a suggestion for making it shorter while conveying the main idea:

"The name 'Celt' originated from the Greek word 'Keltoi,' meaning 'one who lives in hiding or undercover.' The Romans later referred to them as 'Galli' or Gauls, which comes from the Greek word for salt, 'hal.' This connection to salt can be seen in various towns like Halle, Hallein, Swabisch Hall, Hallstatt, and Halych, which were all named after Celtic saltworks."

By condensing the information and removing some of the specific examples, you can still convey the essential points and include it in your essay without it being too long.