Lizett

I'm reading **//Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas// by Hunter S. Thompson**. I chose this book, because it was recommended to me by Kersia Salazar. It's non-fiction/journalism. I decided to read it, because Kersia greatly admires Thompson. I was cursious to see why she loved his writing so much.
 * What I'm Reading Now**

So far I've read about Hunter and his attorney renting a red convertible, buying a truck full of drugs I've never even heard of before, pick a hitch hiker, and start their journey to Las Vegas. Hunter is trying to make it in Vegas in time for the Mint 400. He brings along his attorney for "legal advice".
 * What I've Read**

1. I'm thinking about how this man, Hunter, took so many drugs and //still// lived to write this book. And I'm also trying to figure out if he is really seeing the bats or if it's just a hallucination. What is ether? I haven't bothered to look it up yet, but it sounds //ridiculous//!
 * What I'm Thinking About**

2. This ether is still something that gets to me. They way Thompson describes being high on ether is intense. It's like you're having an out-of-body experience. You know what you're doing, you're brain is functioning somewhat normally, and yet you can't stop yourself from acting like an idiot. This is what I found out about [|ether]. So now knowing that it's a flammable just makes it even more of a daring and stupid drug to do.

3. [|The Mint 400] I thought this was a guns club at first. Almost like a gun show. But, it turns out that it was a race in the desert! Apparently, the visibility isn't so great after a while. All of the sand just rises up and blurs everything. I didn't mention that this book was made into a movie starring Johnny Depp as Hunter. Here's the [|trailer].

4. I still think about how Thompson talks about the "American Dream." He makes it seem like it's this horrible thing when people want to take a road trip while they're high on drugs. I think that he really wants to say that the American Dream is being able to have the privilege to just take a break from whatever you're doing in life and just go out into the open road. We all want to be able to just get away when we want to. We all want the money to be able to do what he and his attorney are doing: take a big, red convertible and drive up to Las Vegas just for the hell of it (even though they're going to report on the Mint 400, but they never actually do it). We all want the freedom to do what we want when we want to.

5. I'm concerned about Hunter and his attorney. Mostly about their health. What problems does doing so many drugs do to a person? How long can they go on doing different types of drugs together until they finally reach that horrible combination that will kill them? Obviously, they don't die. But how has their health been effected. I would never be so courageous or stupid to try drugs like ether and cocaine at the same time. I guess I'm not as willing to try new things as they are. Or maybe I'm too afraid of experiencing life even though you're not supposed to do drugs. Still, I can't help but think of them as being more open than I am. I admire them. Not for risking their lives for a high, but for just willing to try something dangerous even though it's incredibly stupid to do. I found this [|website] that gives the symptoms of an overdoes for different kinds of drugs. I think it's useful for me to know just so I can keep a closer eye on how the people in the book are doing. Maybe they encounter someone who dies from an overdose. It doesn't seem to be very unlikely at this point.

6. I feel that I've talked too much about the book directly. I wanted to take this time to talk about why Hunter and his attorney are doing what they're doing. My focus will be mainly on Hunter since the book is in his perspective. The first thing that comes to mind is the question of why Hunter is even doing these things. Does he have nothing or no one to live for? Is nothing worth living for? Because to constantly be risking your life on something as meaningless as a drug is too far out of my grasp. I would think that as a grown man, Hunter would know all of the possible effects of his use. But to consciously choose a drug over something as precious as a life is idiotic.