Updates and Things

I have made some great "progress" this year with my Reading Challenge- I've finished 92 books out my goal of 100, and it's only the beginning of November! This sounds really impressive, but a lot of filler books and mindless books in series make up the majority of the list.

I have severe reader's guilt, though, that when I'm reading books about Percy Jackson or Sookie Stackhouse I should really be more interested with classic and modern literature, stuff that scholars all have under their belts by this point. I consider myself well-read, though, and I think part of being well-read and thinking critically about texts is the ability to do so in any genre and with a book from any time period. Symbolism isn't dead in YA fantasy, okay? Fantasy novels are ripe with metaphors and interesting ways of dealing with problems (mostly psychological/coming-of-age, but there's way more if you look), and even when I think I'm reading a "mindless" novel, I can never simply STOP thinking critically about it.

Interpreting art in modern forms is really done the same way as interpreting art classically. I mean, you can engage a current text with the same kind of checklists and questions which you use to analyze a respected or classic novel. I count music, video games, and movies with this category as well. I think analyzing video games and movies the way we do literature is a huge step that a lot of people in pop culture just aren't taking-- the consumer, of course, not the creators. The creators just layer all these ideas and metaphors in these under-represented forms of media and we just ignore it. Ask a 17 year old kid what he thinks the implications of the ending of BioShock Infinite are, and if they are indicative of any current political/social/economic crises, and he will probably look at you confusedly and try to explain to you the plot or something. NO, OKAY? THIS IS NOT OKAY! We should be teaching kids how to apply critical thinking to everything. Listen to your music like you would read a poem in English... I think all but the most shallow of songs have intricately woven stories behind stories, and metaphors that could potentially change the way you think. In life, things are scheduled into tiny, neat boxes that contain Science in one slot and English in another and History in another, although that's kind of how we are taught to think. Pop culture and the problem-solving and analytical skills we learn in school aren't ever presented in the same box, much as the separate subjects aren't every really taught compatibly. Life in no way reflects this, but it's really hard for people to get out of that mindset after 12 years of being trained to think that way.

How what I am experiencing right now will change me and allow me to percieve the world in different ways is my favorite part of watching movies and playing video games, listening to music and reading books, sitting through lectures and listening to educational podcasts, even learning foreign languages. I really hope that one day I can convince just ONE person to apply their analytical skills to their pop culture intake, and see how that changes their view on even one tiny detail. I would really consider myself a success if I could convince that one person that there is merit and even necessity to this way of thinking... I just really want to influence someone for the better. Can I be a teacher now if I promise to try and make one infinitesimally small slice of the world a more analytical and harmonious place?

Molte beine, Allons-y!

August Book Haul

To go nicely with the theme of summer (... books, of course!...) I spent quite a bit of time adding some books to my library that I have read and loved, and others that I intend to read soon based on recommendations. I scored some truly wonderful books this month at some astonishingly low prices- I didn't pay more than 2 bucks for anything on this list! I would love to include a small summary or note/review with each item, but because I bought SO MANY this month, I am just going to leave the list, as well as a link to the website of the store I bought it in. As always, I would love to hear from you on Goodreads, or at my blog on tumblr! Send me your recommendations and reviews!
* - denotes books I am reading in courses this semester

Once Upon A Time Books- Springdale, AR.

Friday Night Knitting Club- Kate Jacobs
The City of Falling Angels- John Berendt
Certain Girls- Jennifer Weiner
Bookends- Jane Green
Atonement- Ian McEwan
The Time Traveler's Wife- Audrey Niffenegger
Three Tragedies- Shakespeare
Death of a Salesman- Arthur Miller
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy- Douglas Adams
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish- Adams
Water for Elephants- Sara Gruen
The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing- Melissa Bank
The Sound and the Fury- William Faulkner
I Know This Much Is True- Wally Lamb
Alias Grace- Margaret Atwood*
A Northern Light- Jennifer Donnelly*
Surrender- Sonya Hartnett*
The Book of Lost Tales- JRR Tolkien
This Side of Paradise- F Scott Fitzgerald
Reading Lolita in Tehran- Nafisi
Dogs of Babel- Parkhurst
Little Bee- Cleave
Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister- Gregory Maguire
Queen of Babel- Meg Cabot
Twilight- Meyer
Eclipse- Meyer
Breaking Dawn- Meyer
The Bonesetter's Daughter- Amy Tan
Confessions of a Shopaholic- Sophie Kinsella
The Portrait of a Lady- Henry James
The Notebook- Nicholas Sparks
Dear John- Sparks
In Her Shoes- Weiner
Atlas Shrugged- Rand
The Fountainhead- Rand
The Moonstone- Wilkie Collins
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone- Rowling
The Chamber of Secrets- Rowling
Prisoner of Azkaban- Rowling
Goblet of Fire- Rowling
Tales of Beedle the Bard- Rowling
The Red Pyramid- Riordan
The Last Olympian- Riordan
The Vampire Lestat- Rice
Vampire Academy- Richelle Mead
Oryx and Crake- Atwood
Room- Emma Donoghue*
Thirsty- MT Anderson*


The Friendly Bookstore- Rogers AR
Othello- Shakespeare
King Lear
As You Like It
King Henry IV Part I
King Henry IV Part II
King Henry V
The Taming of the Shrew
Wuthering Heights- Emily Bronte*
Jane Eyre- Charlotte Bronte*
Beloved- Toni Morrison*
Sula- Toni Morrison
The Road- Cormac McCarthy
To The Lighthouse- Virginia Woolf*
A Room of One's Own- Woolf*

Goodwill- Fayetteville AR
The Book Thief- Markus Zusak
The Kite Runner- Khaled Hosseini
The Other Boleyn Girl- Philippa Gregory
Running with Scissors- Burroughs
The Psychology of Love- Freud

Hastings.com
Darkest Mercy- Melissa Marr

2013 Book Challenge- August

This month I read 8 books, so for the 2013 book challenge I am now at 82 books!

1. Sense and Sensibility- Jane Austen (5/5 stars)
2. Clockwork Angel- Cassandra Clare (4/5 stars)
3. Clockwork Prince- Cassandra Clare (5/5 stars)
4. Clockwork Princess- Cassandra Clare (eight thousand/5 stars)
5. A Room of One's Own- Virginia Woolf (5/5 stars)
6. The Ocean at the End of the Lane- Neil Gaiman (3/5 stars)
7. Unnatural Creatures- Neil Gaiman (3/5 stars)
8. The Poems of Dickinson- Emily Dickinson (4/5 stars)

For reviews and more details about each of these books, you can add me on Goodreads!

July Book Haul

Yesterday I found a great used bookstore close to my house, and I was only able to spend a few minutes inside, but I am very impressed! If you live in the Northwest Arkansas area, I definitely recommend that you go over and check it out. It is called Once Upon A Time Books, and you can visit their website by clicking here. Their pricing is terrific- paperbacks are 25 cents, soft covers 50 cents, and hardcovers 75 cents to $1. Some of their vintage books are a bit more expensive, but from the general collection you won't find anything more than $3.

The very limited time I spent inside was amazing, and I was able to pick up some books that I've always wanted to read but never had immediate (or cheap) access to. I am planning on making another trip soon for some more additions.

Tender is the Night- Fitzgerald
Angela's Ashes- McCourt
Memoirs of a Geisha- Golden
The Hours- Cunningham
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil- Berendt
The Illustrated Sherlock Holmes Treasury- Doyle
Message in a Bottle- Sparks
A Walk to Remember- Sparks
Song of Solomon- Morrison
White Oleander- Finch
The Weight of Water- Shreve

July Book Challenge Update/ Sookie Stackhouse review

Hey guys! So, I haven't been doing too great of a job on reviewing, rating, and listing the books I've been reading lately... Honestly, I haven't been doing very much reading at all, anyway, thanks to life and the wonderfulness that surrounds it (in both a sarcastic, actually pretty horrible way and a cheesy, nonsarcastically I-am-very-blessed way). This month I read 13 books, and that brings my total for the 2013 reading challenge up to 74. (Whew! That's a big number, I'm actually really proud of myself! :D)

Recap: This month I mostly just got caught up re-reading the Southern Vampire Mysteries, popularly referred to as the Sookie Stackhouse books (If you're drawing a blank here, these are the books that the steamy, dreamy, kind of crazy HBO series TrueBlood was created from.) The series is great- hardly anything substantial or literary about the books, but as far as brain candy goes, you can hardly make a better pick if you are into supernatural, romantic, funny mysteries with plenty of sexy scenes, gory scenes, and some eye-rolling, completely cheesy scenes as well. I was born in Shreveport, LA and I love reading about the northern LA geography that I'm familiar with; every time a place is mentioned that I know well, it makes me feel like I'm right there immersed with Sookie and her supernatural entourage. Anyway, on with a recap: The plotlines don't always get resolved in a satisfying way, which is obviously pretty disappointing. Sookie is annoying, almost all of the time. There is no deniability in the success of the steamy bedroom scenes, however, and the sexual chemistry between most of the characters is tangible through the pages of an otherwise mostly boring series. There are several laugh out loud moments in each novel, though, and of course I was caught up with my own opinions of the gorgeous slew of men falling over their feet to jump Sookie and claim her as their property. The series ended disappointingly for me, but as I read all 13 books in less than 2 weeks, they are obviously very addicting and absorbing. I may need to bring myself to writing fanfiction in order to cope with (read: change) the outcome of Sookie's romantic encounters... but I cannot deny that I enjoyed reading all of these books! I gave most of them a 3-star rating for the sheer entertainment value -which sometimes feels cheap to me- but there were a few novels in the series that I enjoyed more than others, and they grabbed a 4 star each.

July 2013:
1. Dead Until Dark- Charlaine Harris (3 stars)
2. Living Dead in Dallas (3 stars)
3. Club Dead (3 stars)
4. Dead to the World (4 stars)
5. Dead as a Doornail (3 stars)
6. Definitely Dead (3 stars)
7. All Together Dead (4 stars)
8. From Dead to Worse (4 stars)
9. Dead and Gone (4 stars)
10. Dead in the Family (4 stars)
11. Dead Reckoning (3 stars)
12. Deadlocked (3 stars)
13. Dead Ever After (3 stars)


Send me a friend request on Goodreads at http://goodreads.com/beetle1211 or comment below and let me know what you think of the books I'm reading, or give me some suggestions on what to read and review next! I'm always looking out for good books and new characters to welcome into my life :)

Challenge update-June

1. Mr. Penumbra's 24- Hour Bookstore - Robin Sloan (4 stars)
2. The Night Circus- Erin Morgenstern (5 stars)
3. The Virgin Suicides- Jeffrey Euginedes (2 stars)
4. Never Let Me Go- Kazuo Ishiguro (5 stars)
5. Ready Player One- Ernest Cline (4 stars)






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Le Cirque de Reves

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern


This book already holds a spot among my favorites. The writing is beautiful and elegant, and yet still grounded. The characters are deep and complex and yet still light hearted and fun. The intricacies of how the characters fit together, and the unique presentation of the timeline all resemble the cogs and gears of a finely tuned, extremely detailed and complicated machine- much like the clock commissioned for the circus that enthralls any who look upon it. And though it is hard to discern how the small pieces can fit together to create such a magnificently constructed machine, when viewed as a whole the final effect is breathtaking.

Two magicians pitted against each other without their consent or knowledge of how the contest works, who their opponent will be, or why they are competing. Two instructors who will do anything to provide their contestant with the advantage. And the night circus, the battlefield upon which they are meant to showcase their talents. 

When Celia finally realizes who her opponent is, and how in love with her he is, the contest becomes impossible for them to abide, and instead they collaborate and combine their talents to create beautiful enchantments and attractions. The contest, however, is not something they are able to opt out of, as they are magically bound to finish it in one way or another. And while both Marco and Celia are willing to sacrifice the victory for their lover, neither will allow the other to do so. 

This is a remarkable story of love, magic, skill, and dreams. It is phenomenal and quite unlike anything I have ever read before. I can say without a doubt that I will read this book again, probably several times.The "Circus of Dreams" will stay with me forever.

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore

- by Robin Sloan


This is a truly magical book. At first I felt like the reviews were exaggerated and generous... The story is interesting but certainly there are no earth-shattering insights or deep, provoking statements that cause you to question your entire existence. This book is actually more of an affirmation that your life is being lived right if you embrace friendships and try to remain optimistic. I like the message, and I enjoyed the story quite a bit. I love the mysterious plot that centers around books and letters and codes, and the hopes and desires of so many different people to discover a secret message about life within an ancient book is really beautiful. Overall, a phenomenal book, although sometimes the main character was a little complain-y and boring for my tastes. The writing style is also very plain, realistic, and choppy- I think this was a great choice for the style of the book now that I'm done reading, but while in the middle of the book I was kind of frustrated with it. The plain realism and the short choppiness are sort of the morals of this story, so the writing style reflecting that was magical in a completely different way. Overall, worth all the buzz and definitely deserves a spot on your to-read, and more than likely it will end up with a spot on your bookshelf as well.

4/5 stars

The Perks of Being a Wallflower Review

The Perks of Being a Wallflower- Stephen Chbosky

This is the quintessential coming-of-age, "no one understands what I'm going through" Teen Novel. And there is nothing wrong with that... This is a great book that causes you to empathize with the characters and with adolescence in general, as if we need any reminder how terrible it was when we went through it. I understand all of the hype and glowing reviews surrounding the book, but sometimes I think the excitement is just parroted along. I have read many books very similar to this, although this may be the best example of that specific combination of outsider-teen-with-haunted-past, makes-friends-who-accept-him-for-who-he-is, but-then-he-messes-it-up-and-things-might-get-really-almost-suicidally-bad, but-then-it-is-ok-in-the-end books. The writing is clipped and purposely unemotional, which I think reflects Charlie really well. And since the novel is epistolary, the style of writing of the character is the most important thing. Chbosky does a great job of keeping his own voice out of the narrative, and the reader really feels that he is reading Charlie's personal letters and thoughts.

As far as the plot, I honestly was not very impressed. Charlie is a kind of freakazoid kid (something I am all too familiar with from my own adolescent days), who suffers from some mental deficiencies that aren't explicitly described, and only occasionally hinted at. He, I think, finds it hard to understand emotions and social interactions, because he describes them in a technical, clinical, detached manner. He is very much the troubled young adult searching for someone to understand him. And he does eventually find a group to fit in with, although his limited understanding of teenage interactions, romantic and otherwise, causes several problems that threaten to rip the circle apart. I like this representation of a circle of friends who are brought together by their distinct other-ness and intelligence, but who are fighting hormones and shitty boyfriends and controlling parents, and even each other occasionally. Meanwhile, Charlie develops a special bond with one of his teachers who fosters his love of books and intellectual pursuits, and their bond becomes more of friends than simply teacher-student. That was my high school experience in a nutshell.

The distinction of "young adult" comes from the rather mature situations and complex relationships that push an adolescent into the world of responsibility and complicated reality. Charlie and his older friends are no longer in the realm of children, however, as all teenagers know (until they are old enough to have teenage children themselves) they are still treated as such by their parents. The sad fact is, children have to deal with sexual assault, physical and sexual abuse, ostracization, the discovery of their sexual identity, pregnancy, suicide, abortion, drinking, drugs, death, and other hard choices all the time. These issues are very real and present in the lives of teenagers and the reality is that without a guide to look to, many times these kids will make the wrong choices out of ignorance or misguided emotions. Books like The Perks of Being a Wallflower can act as a guide to teens who might not have anyone else to turn to, and can help them navigate situations they are unfamiliar with. Even more importantly, books like this show teens that they aren't alone, even when they are considered an outsider by everyone they know. Because kids like Charlie can be interacted with through reading, teenagers can have at least one person who understands what they're going through, even if it is just a fictional character. Teenagers can turn to self-mutilation like cutting, doing drugs, drinking, and suicide when faced with these situations, and I think that feeling like you aren't alone is probably the best deterrent for that self-harming behavior. Teenagers need to read about boys like Charlie and Patrick, and girls like Sam and Charlie's sister, so that they can see that their problems are universal, and they can be navigated successfully.

Anyway, I gave Perks 5 stars. I think it deserves that rating for the characters, the showcase of the all-too-real issues that are thrust upon teenagers, and the good music and books that Charlie describes and falls in love with.




** Join me on Goodreads at http://www.goodreads.com/beetle1211

May 2013 Books

The total number of books I read this month was 20. That brought my total for the book challenge up to 56.

1. Paradise- Toni Morrison *

2. Smith of Wooten Major/ Farmer Giles of Ham/ Leaf by Niggle- J.R.R. Tolkien *
3. The Eternity Code (Artemis Fowl 3)- Eoin Colfer
4. Pandemonium (Delirium 2)- Lauren Oliver
5. The Mabigonion- Sioned Davies*
6. Requiem (Delirium 3)- Lauren Oliver
7. The Opal Deception (Artemis Fowl 4)- Eoin Colfer
8. The Road to Middle-Earth- Tom Shippey *
9. The Lost Colony (Artemis Fowl 5)- Eoin Colfer
10. The Time Paradox (Artemis Fowl 6)- Eoin Colfer
11. The Atlantis Complex (Artemis Fowl 7)- Eoin Colfer
12. The Last Guardian (Artemis Fowl 8)- Eoin Colfer
13. The Writing Class- Jincy Willet
14. Lament (Books of Faerie 1)- Maggie Stiefvater
15. Ballad (Books of Faerie 2)- Maggie Stiefvater
16. Fallen (Fallen 1)- Lauren Kate
17. Torment (Fallen 2)- Lauren Kate
18. Passion (Fallen 3)- Lauren Kate
19. Rapture (Fallen 4)- Lauren Kate
20. The Perks of Being a Wallflower- Stephen Chbosky

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* noted for coursework reading

Fallen and Torment by Lauren Kate

Have you ever put off reading a book series because you were intimidated by , or embarrased by, or just uncomfortable with the cover art? I bought these books more than a month ago and I just mustered the courage to read them, because the gothic-emo-girl supernatural cover art just really makes me cringe and go back to a time when I was that gothic-emo girl. Not pretty memories, okay? But I was really pleasantly surprised by Fallen.

The setting is wild and fantastically gothic and ridiculously kitsch, don't get me wrong. The characters range from "I hate myself" to "I hate you" to "I hate everything". Nothing much happens, plot-wise, until half way through the book, when you begin to realize that the people around Luce are not the people she, (and you, by proxy), thought that they were. It is far from boring, however. I think that it is painfully realistic the way Luce's situation is portrayed and the confusions and emotions she is dealing with are easily relatable. The flashes of humor and the small bits of light-heartedness that can be glimpsed through the otherwise heavy and gloomy atmosphere of the book are well-placed and not overworked. The big reveals at the end don't answer every question, and plot holes that you may be questioning feel like they will, at some point, be revealed. I was honestly reminded of Harry Potter- Dumbledore tells Harry and his friends only the bit that they absolutely need to know, and waits for them to figure out the majority of the answers themselves. I really despise YA fantasy novels that leave no mystery or room for growth for their world to take shape in the rest of the novels in the series, so I really appreciated that Luce is on a need-to-know basis and there is a huge promise of more secrets to be revealed- and even more questions, as well.

So I tore through Fallen and immediately started Torment. I was hooked right away, especially since there is a very distinct timeline given for Luce to get her act together and figure things out, and for her friends to prepare themselves for some major stuff. 18 days! That is all that happens in this whole novel- the agonizingly slow "torment" of waiting 18 days for the pot to boil over. Of course, there is still the torment of Luce's uncomprehending stupor to enjoy (sarcasm, sarcasm, sarcasm). She meets so many new complex and achingly REAL characters in this episode, and each of those characters go through a lot of identity searching. Luce is trying to find her identity, but it is sort of impossible for her to really find who she is while allowing the boy she loves to tell her who she is instead. I'm not implying anything here, I just found it annoying that she was so complacent after getting so angry at Daniel for telling her what she can and can't do. The love story feels real, although I will admit that at times it is kind of forced. A new love interest is introduced (because of course!), and Luce has to decide between the cycle of arguing/fighting and kissing/loving relationship of passionate love, and the easy-going, dependable, unfaltering faith of sweet love. Not really fair, given the inability of ANYONE to tell her what is going on- although it's clear just about everyone understands the big issues. I was so sad and a little disappointed that not much more of the lore of this world is embellished, and of course, because the novel is just a maddeningly devout effort to keep any answers away from Luce, it is hard for the reader to get any real substance out of the book besides straight character development. I was a bit disappointed that the answers never came to the questions that feel very urgent to everyone in the story and that more questions were added on, but I STILL want to know what happens, so I'm going to be starting Passion right about... MEOW. Anyway, 4 1/2 stars for Fallen for being a great introduction to a paranormal romance series, but only 3 1/2 stars for Torment, because I was hoping that the teasing agony of not knowing information that all of the characters but Luce have access to would lead to some answers, but it never did.

May To- Read

May To-Read List 

(Forgot to picture Clockwork Prince)

Black Heart by Holly Black - (Curseworkers #3)

The rare and highly sought-after spectacular finale to a spectacular series. Holly Black has totally encapsulated what it means to love, what it means to be a good or bad person, and what it means to be a friend and brother/son/grandson. Cassel is wonderfully and beautifully "flawed". This series is absolutely fantastic. My only complaint with this book is that it was too short, I wish that there was much more for me to read about Cassel, Lila, Barron, Daneca, and Sam. And also, WHERE IS THE FREAKING MOVIE FOR THIS SERIES?!?!

Paradise by Toni Morrison

I didn't exactly enjoy the process of reading the novel, because the writing is hard to follow and demands full attention of the reader. Overall, I think this is a great read for literature students, African studies, gender studies, etc. The novel was difficult for me to wade through, but the unique fluidity of the timeline and the events and character developments are very gripping and provide a driving force that makes the less interesting parts bearable. I think this novel has added to my knowledge of literature, and women, and just the psychology and social interactions of people as a whole. There is a lot contained here: some things expected and over-worked, many surprising elements and ideas, enough mystery to keep you hooked, enough detail to keep you analyzing, and enough action to provide an interesting plot in a genre typified by plot-less, character-intensive styles of writing. Overall, a great novel to read and be able to discuss with someone else in the context of critically thinking about lit, sociology, and psychology (a book club, a close friend, a high school or college class, etc), but probably not a leisurely read for pleasure. The genealogies and painfully detailed histories add depth and give the town a basis in reality, but they subtract from the pure enjoyment of reading.

April Book Haul

The Devil Wears Prada -- Lauren Weisberger
amsterdam -- Ian McEwan
From Dead to Worse --Charlaine Harris
Dead and Gone -- Charlaine Harris
Dead Reckoning --Charlaine Harris
Deadlocked -- Charlaine Harris
Black Heart -- Holly Black
Fight Club -- Chuck Palahnuik
Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun-- J.R.R. Tolkien *
Artemis Fowl- #1 Eoin Colfer
The Arctic Incident -#2  Eoin Colfer
The Eternity Code- #3  Eoin Colfer
The Opal Deception- #4  Eoin Colfer
The Lost Colony- #5  Eoin Colfer
The Time Paradox- #6  Eoin Colfer
The Atlantis Complex- #7  Eoin Colfer
The Last Guardian- #8  Eoin Colfer

Book Challenge (April)

Another monthly update! I read 13 books this month, which brings my total for the challenge up to 35.

1. White Cat- Holly Black (Curse Workers #1)
     -young adult, fantasy, suspense
2. Monsters and Critics- J.R.R. Tolkien*
     -nonfiction, essays, tolkien-universe, medieval scholarship
3.Red Glove- Holly Black (Curse Workers #2)
     -young adult, fantasy, suspense
4. The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun- JRR Tolkien *
     -mythology, fantasy, saga, epic
5. The Devil Wears Prada- Lauren Weisberger
    -young adult, romance, narrative
6. Black Heart- Holly Black (Curse Workers #3)
     -young adult, fantasy, suspense
7. Delirium- Lauren Oliver (Delirium, #1)
      -young adult, fantasy, romance
8. Housekeeping- Marilynn Robinson*
     -coming of age, fringe, regionalist
9. The House on Mango Street- Sandra Cisneros *
     -coming of age, fringe, regionalist
10. Artemis Fowl- Eoin Colfer
     -young adult, fantasy, adventure
11. Monsters and Critics (and other Essays)- J.R.R. Tolkien *
     -nonfiction, literary criticism, medieval literature
12. The Silmarillion -J.R.R. Tolkien *
     -fantasy, adventure, epic
13. The Arctic Incident- Eoin Colfer (Artemis Fowl #2)
     -young adult, fantasy, adventure

The Devil Wears Prada- Lauren Weisberger (book review/movie tie-in)

High fashion, bitchy gossipy girls, and a confused, fresh-out-of-college girl looking for her first foray into the adult world. I really enjoy the coming-of-age stories that pertain specifically to college-age adults, who have never really been in the adult world before. The story was not necessarily well-written but it did have its moments. The characters weren't exactly deep, but they were at least realistic. The story didn't flow very well, because there were several jumps in time, which would often happen in the middle of the page with no transitioning, and no page break to indicate that this was a different time, a different memory, or a different event. It was actually really difficult to determine where in the story the narrator was when she began telling it- she acts like all the beginning events happened in the far past, but she is not telling the story from the chronological end of events, either. The timeline was hard to figure out as well, with the terrible transitions and not even a mention of time passing until a chapter after the shift supposedly took place.

Humorous, and frustrating, and sometimes intelligent... but overall disappointing. The high fashion girls were stereotypical, the boyfriend was redeemable but weak... The only character I really enjoyed was Christian, the bad-boy writer who wants to help Andy in her career, and obviously is romantically interested. She lusts after him, but even after she and her boyfriend split, she still ignores him. He was the only character that I was actually rooting for- I wanted him to get the girl. In the end, no one gets the girl, Andy doesn't learn anything about how to survive in the professional world, the boss never gets her comeuppance, and Andy and her roommate are living back with her parents. Really? Is this the moral? That you can bust your ass for a year but you still have to move back home to your parents' house? There was no character development, no lessons learned, and ultimately no point. Lily, after slipping into a coma upon the car crash she causes, actually does "begin" coping with her alcoholism. And that is the 400-plus page book in a nutshell. I give 2 stars- it was just ok. Mildly entertaining, mindless time-consuming words... If you're in the mood for a brain nap and several hours to waste, this is the book for you!

The movie, however, was actually kind of redeeming for me. Anne Hathaway can play pretty much any role with grace, and come on.. Meryl Streep? Ya, I can sit through that much easier than the damn book! Cute man candy and a co-starring Emily Blunt add enough entertainment value to make it worthwhile, as well.

Red Glove by Holly Black, Curse Workers #2

Finally a sequel that takes all the excitement, wonder, and mystery of the world that is introduced in its predecessor, and flips it back onto the reader in such a way that it actually adds to those qualities. Instead of growing familiar- and therefore bored- with the universe, I was more drawn in and I was more emotionally invested than before. Only the truly best fantasy worlds do this, like Harry Potter's world or that of Middle Earth in Lord of the Rings. 

The characters are so real. The relationships between them are far from cliche, and their complexity allows insight into not just the fictional characters but into our relationships in the real world as well. It is so refreshing to have a paranormal young adult novel play with the themes of love and lust and desire without overworking them or letting them overrun the actual storyline. The side plots are a help in making the fantasy of the novel come to life in more ways than one- it's so interesting to see how these supernatural powers affect relationships between people and how their emotions are conflicting but not angsty. More telling, though, are the familial relationships. Often in young adult stories parents are strongly stereotyped. In this series they are just as realistic as the teenagers, and as such they have just as complex relationships with their children as you would expect to find in your own house, or maybe the house next door. Cassel is so torn between wanting to protect his criminal family and wanting to be a normal guy, but the thing is he never comes out and says it. He hints, but subtly, that he is exhausted with his floozy, over-the-top mother and his reckless and obnoxious brothers. Yet he still loves them, he still fights for them, and he still keeps his ties to them open. He should hate his mother but he just protects her, and shows that familial love is unconditional. No matter how many times your own mother curses you to agree with her emotionally, at the end of the day she's still your mother. You still love her, need her, and depend on her. 

This series has a firm hold in my favorites list, and I'm absolutely positive my heart will never stop aching for the tragically beautiful love between Cassel, Lila, and their families. I just want to walk into the pages of this book, slip between the lines of text and curl up between the letters in the words, and stay there. If I pretend like I belong long enough, maybe the story will accept me and let me live between it's covers forever.

Updating my book challenge!

I'm actually going to attempt 100 books this year, since I am already 12 books ahead of the recommended reading schedule for the 50 books. And, I feel like 50 books wouldn't actually be a "challenge" for me. So, laterkins while I go read (I am one book behind the recommended schedule according to Good Reads.)

Oh yeah! Add me on good reads!! :)

http:/www.goodreads.com/beetle1211

White Cat by Holly Black review (Curseworkers #1)

So, today I finished the first novel in the Curseworkers series by Holly Black. I had heard a lot of hype about Holly Black in general but I have never actually gotten around to reading one of her novels. I am actually really impressed, and I think that her writing lived up to the overall good opinion and reviews.

So, White Cat starts out with Cassel and his sleepwalking dream state that makes him follow a cat who has stolen his tongue onto the roof of his boarding school.The veil between dream and reality is thinned by the sleepwalking, and leaves a lot to the imagination of the reader- how much of these events are actually happening to him and how much are only in his dreams?

I found the world to be fascinating. I think I would be rather paranoid of the "workers"- who can do things like change another's emotions, alter their dreams, physically hurt them, change or delete their memories, or even kill them with just a slight touch of a finger. These characters wear gloves constantly, because a bare hand could mean that you are susceptible to being "worked" by them. I really like what Black has done in making it to where these powerful curseworkers- living among people who have no abilities whatsoever- actually have repercussions with every single curse they work. This blowback that they feel after they've cursed someone adds some complexity and believability to the world, and the overall paranoia that non-workers have surrounding them at all times makes the universe feel dark, dangerous, and suspicious of everyone.

Adding Cassel's hate/love relationship with his family which is full of workers, and his own lack of powers to this mix creates motives and ambitions and desires that never even have to be fully spelled out by the author. The characters are emotionally and psychologically deep, and the thrilling plot teeming with twists, mysteries, suspense, and the side dashes of love, humor, and sarcasm within this world all made me really enjoy the story. I'm totally entranced, and I haven't been this captivated by a fantasy novel in quite a long time. I have already picked up the second book in the series and I plan to devour it just as quickly as I did the first.

Congrats, Holly Black. You've given me a reason to fall in love with young adult fantasy literature once again!

50 Books Challenge- March

So here is the full list of books I have completed so far this year, up until April 1st. Those that I had to read for my courses are denoted with an asterisk*.

1.The Hobbit- JRR Tolkien*
2.The Help- Kathryn Stockett
3. An Abundance of Katherines- John Green
4. The Fellowship of the Ring- JRR Tolkien*
5. My Antonia- Willa Cather*
6. Sweet Tooth- Ian McEwan
7. John Dies At the End- David Wong
8. The Two Towers- JRR Tolkien
9. World War Z- Max Brooks
10. The Dollmaker- Harriet Arnow*
11. The Return of the King- JRR Tolkien*
12. The Color Purple- Alice Walker*
13. Crossed- Ally Condie
14. Reached- Ally Condie
15. Shiver- Maggie Stiefvater
16. Linger- Maggie Stiefvater
17. Forever- Maggie Stiefvater
18. Sir Gawain and The Green Knight (Sir Orfeo, and Pearl)- JRR Tolkien*
19. The Women of Brewster Place- Gloria Naylor*
20. Looking for Alaska- John Green
21. Paper Towns- John Green
22. The Fault In Our Stars- John Green


The literature courses that I'm taking this semester are American Women Regionalists, Tolkien Literature, and Medieval Welsh Literature. These are special topics courses which fall under larger headings (Modern American Literature, Modern British Literature, and Medieval Literature and Culture).

Get to reading! Cheerio.