When you read those novels that leave you breathless and a tight ache in your chest. When your heart seems to cling to every word. And when it’s over, reality seems dull in comparison. You sit down and let the story flow through you again, recapping every perfect moment that sped your heart up or made it stop completely. It’s painful and envious, but a beautiful feeling.
The Atlantic has just released its list of 15 books to look forward to in the New Year. I, for one, am looking most forward to “The Moon Over High Street” by Natalie Babbitt, “The New Republic” by Lionel Shriver, “In One Person” by John Irving, and “Telegraph Avenue” by Michael Chabon.
Which ones are you excited for from the list and off the list?
This is Amazon’s list of the top best-selling books this past year. Check it out and let me know if you’ve read any and your review on it! If you send me a review, I’ll post it on the blog (crediting you). I haven’t read any of them yet, but I promise you that most of them are on my very long list.
Also, Merry Christmas!! =)
Which one of these ten banned books have you read, and do you really think there was a legitimate reason for the book to be banned?
I’ve read Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. I absolutely love Brave New World — it was inventive, interesting and had a really great plot. We had to read it in Grade 11 and I finished far earlier than everyone else. I understand why it was banned, because it covered a lot of topics that people would find inappropriate. But even with the mature subject matter, I still enjoyed it. The Grapes of Wrath, on the other hand, was a really difficult book for me to go through. I found it so dry in Grade 12, and I ended up “dozing off” at most parts of it. So I can’t really say if I agree with its banning, because I don’t even remember most of the book anymore. I want to read it again, but when I’ve got nothing better to do and when I have a better feeling about it.
Book Review #5 Book: Emma
Author: Jane Austen
Genre: Fiction
Synopsis: (as taken from Chapters.Indigo.ca) The most perfect of Jane Austen’s novels begins with twenty-one-year-old Emma Woodhouse comfortably dominating the social order in the village of Highbury, convinced that she has both the understanding and the right to manage other people’s lives-for their own good, of course. Her well-meant interfering centers on the aloof Jane Fairfax, the dangerously attractive Frank Churchill, the foolish yet appealing Harriet Smith, and the ambitious young vicar Mr. Elton-and ends with her complacency shattered, her mind awakened to some of life’s more intractable dilemmas, and her happiness assured. Jane Austen’s comic imagination is so deft and beautifully fluent that her stories probe the deepest human ironies while setting before us a dazzling gallery of characters-some pretentious or ridiculous, some admirable and moving, but all utterly true.
Days to read: 7
Rating: 5/5
My thoughts: I’m going to start off saying that Jane Austen is amazing. I had a teacher in grade 11 who said that she is over-rated and not worth all the hype, but I completely disagree. Her writing is so eloquent and pure; she makes reading a pleasure. I’ve only read Pride and Prejudice and Emma so far, but I can’t wait to read her other novels. I loved Emma. The characters are stereotypical in today’s eyes, yes, but they are real and have many interesting complexities, that make them impossible to forget about and not learn from. Everyone can relate to at least one of them. I, personally, think I’m a mix between Emma (I love to match people together and think I know best) and Harriet (I am quite naive when it comes to love and often seek the advice of my friends). As a typical Austen novel is, all the characters are happy in the end, and are together with the person they are best suited for. But even with its predictability, it’s still an amazing read — one that every woman should indulge in. I can promise you that you won’t be disappointed.
Ladies and gentlemen, the first official trailer for “The Hobbit” is here! This already looks amazing, and I know that Peter Jackson will do the book justice.
What do you guys think?
I read this really interesting article today from The Globe and Mail about whether or not kids should be reading from an actual book or from an electronic device.
I know I’ll probably be setting myself up for a war, but I’m going to be honest: There is no way I will ever buy a Kindle, iPad, or any of those other book-reading devices. I’m so against those things. In my eyes, books are the only way to go. I understand that this is the 21st century and all that, but I firmly agree with Greenfield and Stanovich; books allow people to go deeper into what they’re reading, they allow imaginations to grow. On a screen, there are way too many distractions. I know I was meant to have lived in a different century — I’m so old fashioned (which I know is odd, considering I have an online blog…) but I always imagine reading with a nice beverage, sitting somewhere comfortable, holding my book pages in the very odd way that I do (no matter what I’m reading, I always have to evenly distribute the pages between my fingers. Actually, don’t bother trying to imagine it… it’s way too weird) and just falling into the story with absolutely no distractions. That’s how I write, too.
My kids will probably hate me and they’ll always say how cool everyone else’s moms are, allowing them to use all these devices. But I will never get them a Kindle. I’ll buy them books until I die.
“Reading was my escape and my comfort, my consolation, my stimulant of choice: reading for the pure pleasure of it, for the beautiful stillness that surrounds you when you hear an author’s words reverberating in your head.”
– Paul Auster
I saw this story on The New York Times a few months ago, and I had the chance to read it again this morning. I’m an author myself, and while I haven’t had the opportunity to finish my novel, I have had short stories and poetry published before. I love to write, but I have been known to just stop writing my novels and abandon them. I could really relate to this article because it’s nice to know that I’m not the only author out there that feels discouraged and stops that novel in its track. So far, I’ve abandoned two novels — one I’m glad to have stopped (I just couldn’t see where the story was going anymore) and the second one I know I’ll get back to one day (three years ago just wasn’t the right time).
But that got me thinking… for all you writers out there, how do you know when it’s the “right time” to go forth with a story idea? When I write, I want to have experienced some of what my character is going through, so I don’t sound fake in my story. When I attempted my second novel (a very Sarah Dessen-esque novel) three years ago, I had absolutely no idea what love was, and yet I wanted to write about it. That bothered me, so I just stopped writing. But I’ve gone through relationships now (however bad they may have been), and know how they truly are. I don’t have to lie anymore. With the story I’m writing at the moment, I have experience with suicide attempts and depression, so I can write honestly and plainly. Do you write like me, too? Or do you simply ignore the fact that you haven’t experienced some of the character’s stuff, and just write about how you think it would be? I’m curious. Also, if you’ve abandoned a novel, why did you?
Talk soon, L =)
