So, I haven't exactly been reading Jane Eyre like I'm supposed to be doing. Instead, I've been reading Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. And I know it ws behavior like this that got me into this project in the first place, but I'm just not in a "Classic Literature" mood right now. I'm more in a "YA/Nerdfighter Awesomeness" kind of mood, and even though I'm only fifty pages into the book now, I have Thursday off. Meaning: Thursday will be a sleeping in/reading a lot kind of day. Well, that and possibly making "Aunt Petunia's Baked Custard Pudding." Aunt Petunia, of course, being the only Aunt Petunia I know of...Petunia Dursley (formerly Evans).
I think that talking about a book I found at the library is okay for a little bit. It's a cookbook, and all the recipes are inspired by literature. It's called The Book Lover's Cookbook, and:
a.) I'm going to buy it one day soon, and
b.) in the meantime, I'm making everything I can out of it (well, everything that looks good to me).
Okay, onto Uglies...
Title: Uglies
Author: Scott Westerfeld
Number of Pages: 425
Brief Summary: Tally is about to turn sixteen, and she can't wait. Not for her license--for turning pretty. In Tally's world, your sixteenth birthday brings an operation that turns you from a repellent ugly into a stunningly attractive pretty and catapults you into a high-tech paradise where your only job is to have a really great time. In just a few weeks Tally will be there.
But Tally's new friend Shay isn't sure she wants to be pretty. She'd rather risk life on the outside. When Shay runs away, Tally learns about a whole new side of the pretty world--and it isn't very pretty. The authorities offer Tally the worst choice she can imagine: find her friend and turn her in, or never turn pretty at all. The choice Tally makes changes her world forever.
How I Came To Own This Book: Bought it a few weeks ago
History With This Book: I became aware of this series in my sophomore year of college. At the time, one of my friends was reading it because the kids she was student teaching were reading it. I dismissed it at the time, but it stayed in the back of my mind for ages. Ever since watching the vlogbrothers videos on YouTube, and reading John Green's books, I've wanted to read this series. The author is a close friend of John Green, and pretty much any book John Green likes...well, I tend to like them.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Gone Bovine
Time went from being "almost Wednesday already" to "only Wednesday" way too quickly. Well, that's probably because I couldn't put Going Bovine down.
When I first heard about the book, I didn't really know what to expect. I don't even think I expected to like it, but it's definitely earned its spot on the top shelf of my main bookshelf.
I'm not even sure what to say about this book, except that the quote I found about it was absolutely right. (The one about The Phantom Tollbooth and Holden Caulfield.)
There's a shitload of foreshadowing, and it's pretty easy to pick it out. So, there's that. And I've never been more in love with a dwarf in my entire life!
I'm going to get into some spoilerific stuff now, so if you don't want to know things about the ending, just kind of skip what I've written until you see some bold red lettering. That'll tip you off that I'm done.
I'm a little disappointed that she took the Kings Cross way out of this book. Well, Kings Cross without the addition of the horcrux. Even though I knew what was happening to Cameron couldn't be based in the reality of our own world, I so wanted it to be. I wanted him to have actually met Junior Webster, I wanted Balder to actually be a Viking god trapped in a yard gnome, I wanted Dr. X to have the cure, and I wanted Cameron and Gonzo to be BFFs forever and ever. But, I must say, Libba kept me on my toes. I went back and forth with whether the story we were following was real or not. On one hand, it totally could have been. It's a book, not reality! On the other hand, some of the passages and connections between what Cameron thinks is happening and what is happening outside his mind sealed the deal that it was all going on in his imagination.
I did like that Cameron learned to care about other people and to want to make an effort in his life because he was a completely depressing character at the beginning. In some ways you could relate to him, but...um, I'm going to finish this later...I just can't seem to put coherent thoughts together tonight. Blech.
CONTINUE READING!! SPOILERS ARE DONE!
For my next book, I chose to read Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. Kind of a fan of her sister, Emily, so let's see what we have in store...
Title: Jane Eyre
Author: Charlotte Bronte
Number of Pages: 624 (my version is, anyway, but the pages are small)
Brief Summary: Orphaned at an early age, Jane Eyre leads a lonely life until she finds work as a governess at Thornfield Hall, where she meets the mysterious Mr. Rochester and sees a ghostly woman who roams the halls by night. This is a story of passionate love, travail and final triumph. The relationship between the heroine and Mr Rochester is only one episode, albeit the most important, in a detailed fictional autobiography in which the author transmuted her own experience into high art. In this work the plucky heroine is outwardly of plain appearance, but possesses an indomitable spirit, a sharp wit and great courage. She is forced to battle against the exigencies of a cruel guardian, a harsh employer, and a rigid social order which circumscribes her life and position.
How I Came To Own This Book: Bought it
History With This Book: I'm certain that I bought this in high school, sometime after freshman year, because I bought it alongside The Count of Monte Cristo. So, this has sat on my shelf for a very long time. There must have been a buy one, get one x amount off sale on classics, and I felt that I just needed to buy this one. I have absolutely no idea why I felt this one was the right one, but that doesn't really matter.
When I first heard about the book, I didn't really know what to expect. I don't even think I expected to like it, but it's definitely earned its spot on the top shelf of my main bookshelf.
I'm not even sure what to say about this book, except that the quote I found about it was absolutely right. (The one about The Phantom Tollbooth and Holden Caulfield.)
There's a shitload of foreshadowing, and it's pretty easy to pick it out. So, there's that. And I've never been more in love with a dwarf in my entire life!
I'm going to get into some spoilerific stuff now, so if you don't want to know things about the ending, just kind of skip what I've written until you see some bold red lettering. That'll tip you off that I'm done.
I'm a little disappointed that she took the Kings Cross way out of this book. Well, Kings Cross without the addition of the horcrux. Even though I knew what was happening to Cameron couldn't be based in the reality of our own world, I so wanted it to be. I wanted him to have actually met Junior Webster, I wanted Balder to actually be a Viking god trapped in a yard gnome, I wanted Dr. X to have the cure, and I wanted Cameron and Gonzo to be BFFs forever and ever. But, I must say, Libba kept me on my toes. I went back and forth with whether the story we were following was real or not. On one hand, it totally could have been. It's a book, not reality! On the other hand, some of the passages and connections between what Cameron thinks is happening and what is happening outside his mind sealed the deal that it was all going on in his imagination.
I did like that Cameron learned to care about other people and to want to make an effort in his life because he was a completely depressing character at the beginning. In some ways you could relate to him, but...um, I'm going to finish this later...I just can't seem to put coherent thoughts together tonight. Blech.
CONTINUE READING!! SPOILERS ARE DONE!
For my next book, I chose to read Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. Kind of a fan of her sister, Emily, so let's see what we have in store...
Title: Jane Eyre
Author: Charlotte Bronte
Number of Pages: 624 (my version is, anyway, but the pages are small)
Brief Summary: Orphaned at an early age, Jane Eyre leads a lonely life until she finds work as a governess at Thornfield Hall, where she meets the mysterious Mr. Rochester and sees a ghostly woman who roams the halls by night. This is a story of passionate love, travail and final triumph. The relationship between the heroine and Mr Rochester is only one episode, albeit the most important, in a detailed fictional autobiography in which the author transmuted her own experience into high art. In this work the plucky heroine is outwardly of plain appearance, but possesses an indomitable spirit, a sharp wit and great courage. She is forced to battle against the exigencies of a cruel guardian, a harsh employer, and a rigid social order which circumscribes her life and position.
How I Came To Own This Book: Bought it
History With This Book: I'm certain that I bought this in high school, sometime after freshman year, because I bought it alongside The Count of Monte Cristo. So, this has sat on my shelf for a very long time. There must have been a buy one, get one x amount off sale on classics, and I felt that I just needed to buy this one. I have absolutely no idea why I felt this one was the right one, but that doesn't really matter.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Progress in Going Bovine
At this point, I'm roughly 120 pages into the book, and it's every bit as good as the Gemma Doyle trilogy. It's a little stranger, but I've come to expect nothing less from Libba. She's really into possible hallucinations. Gemma had quite a few during her series, and Cameron has had almost as many. Which totally sucks for him.
One thing I love about Libba's writing is that she expects that her readers are bright. They don't have to be geniuses, but she's also not writing for brainless teenage girls but want to appear smart by carrying around a large book. She doesn't write for young adults as if they are unable of comprehending complex characters and emotions, yet she writes these things a language with which they'll easily identify. This isn't Gertrude Stein's The Making of Americans: The Hersland Family, but it also isn't...oh...let's just say Twilight. I don't like picking on those books as much as I appear to. I own them all, and they present an interesting story. I just have problems with character glorification, horrible children's names, and protagonists of best selling novels being complete Mary Sues.
ANYWAY!
Back to Going Bovine...if you've read any or all of Libba's previous works, you know you need to use a lot of your imagination. You'll definitely have to stretch your imagination much further in this book. This is not necessarily a bad thing. I would liken it to Maureen Johnson's Devilish, if you've read it (also a great book). It's much easier to insert magic into a fantasy past or in its own little sector of our own world which is also somewhat stuck in the past. Take, for instance, a book everyone's heard of (unless you've been living under Everest for the past twelve years), Harry Potter. It's easy to accept magic or odd events because the majority of them happen away from us. They happen at Hogwarts or other wizarding world locations. And the wizarding world has its own government, its own dress code (sort of), its own...well, pretty much everything. The way wizards and witches normally dress is so different from how we dress now, that it makes them an "other," taking them away from our own world. In Going Bovine, we're presented with the here and now. Okay, the Texas and now.
Seeing, though, that it is almost Wednesday and I'm only a quarter of the way done...well, you know this means goodbye for now.
One thing I love about Libba's writing is that she expects that her readers are bright. They don't have to be geniuses, but she's also not writing for brainless teenage girls but want to appear smart by carrying around a large book. She doesn't write for young adults as if they are unable of comprehending complex characters and emotions, yet she writes these things a language with which they'll easily identify. This isn't Gertrude Stein's The Making of Americans: The Hersland Family, but it also isn't...oh...let's just say Twilight. I don't like picking on those books as much as I appear to. I own them all, and they present an interesting story. I just have problems with character glorification, horrible children's names, and protagonists of best selling novels being complete Mary Sues.
ANYWAY!
Back to Going Bovine...if you've read any or all of Libba's previous works, you know you need to use a lot of your imagination. You'll definitely have to stretch your imagination much further in this book. This is not necessarily a bad thing. I would liken it to Maureen Johnson's Devilish, if you've read it (also a great book). It's much easier to insert magic into a fantasy past or in its own little sector of our own world which is also somewhat stuck in the past. Take, for instance, a book everyone's heard of (unless you've been living under Everest for the past twelve years), Harry Potter. It's easy to accept magic or odd events because the majority of them happen away from us. They happen at Hogwarts or other wizarding world locations. And the wizarding world has its own government, its own dress code (sort of), its own...well, pretty much everything. The way wizards and witches normally dress is so different from how we dress now, that it makes them an "other," taking them away from our own world. In Going Bovine, we're presented with the here and now. Okay, the Texas and now.
Seeing, though, that it is almost Wednesday and I'm only a quarter of the way done...well, you know this means goodbye for now.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Starting Going Bovine
I'm starting to think that I should actually begin this project retroactively. My starting date is now...um, yesterday, September 20, 2009. Which moves my ending date up a week as well. Why this change of heart? I bought the book that's *actually* going to be my first book, Going Bovine by Libba Bray.
I'm still deciding how I'm going to structure this, so bear with me. Let's see how this goes, and we'll go from there.
Title: Going Bovine
Author: Libba Bray
Number of Pages: 480
Short Summary:Can Cameron find what he’s looking for? All 16-year-old Cameron wants is to get through high school—and life in general—with a minimum of effort. It’s not a lot to ask. But that’s before he’s given some bad news: he’s sick and he’s going to die. Which totally sucks. Hope arrives in the winged form of Dulcie, a loopy punk angel/possible hallucination with a bad sugar habit. She tells Cam there is a cure—if he’s willing to go in search of it. With the help of a death-obsessed, video-gaming dwarf and a yard gnome, Cam sets off on the mother of all road trips through a twisted America into the heart of what matters most.
How I Came To Own This Book: Bought it
History with the book: I don't have that much of a history with this book...except that I've been waiting for it for nearly two years!! Ever since I finished Libba Bray's last novel, The Sweet Far Thing, I've wanted to read more from her. And then she came up with this idea for a book about a sixteen-year old boy with the human version of Mad Cow disease. I was discussing with the Borders cashier how odd this choice was considering that the last three took place in Victorian England. Though, having read her LiveJournal for over a year now, it's not too surprising.
One of the quotes on the cover says that it's "like discovering an alternate version of The Phantom Tollbooth, where Holden Caulfield has hit Milo over the head and stolen his car, his token, and his tollbooth." Um, AWESOME! And it's descriptions like these that give me hope for the world. When it's possible for one of my favorite books from middle school to be invaded by one of my favorite books from high school by one of my favorite authors from college, I couldn't be more enthusiastic.
Well, now that I switched my starting date, I better get going! Times a wastin'!
I'm still deciding how I'm going to structure this, so bear with me. Let's see how this goes, and we'll go from there.
Title: Going Bovine
Author: Libba Bray
Number of Pages: 480
Short Summary:Can Cameron find what he’s looking for? All 16-year-old Cameron wants is to get through high school—and life in general—with a minimum of effort. It’s not a lot to ask. But that’s before he’s given some bad news: he’s sick and he’s going to die. Which totally sucks. Hope arrives in the winged form of Dulcie, a loopy punk angel/possible hallucination with a bad sugar habit. She tells Cam there is a cure—if he’s willing to go in search of it. With the help of a death-obsessed, video-gaming dwarf and a yard gnome, Cam sets off on the mother of all road trips through a twisted America into the heart of what matters most.
How I Came To Own This Book: Bought it
History with the book: I don't have that much of a history with this book...except that I've been waiting for it for nearly two years!! Ever since I finished Libba Bray's last novel, The Sweet Far Thing, I've wanted to read more from her. And then she came up with this idea for a book about a sixteen-year old boy with the human version of Mad Cow disease. I was discussing with the Borders cashier how odd this choice was considering that the last three took place in Victorian England. Though, having read her LiveJournal for over a year now, it's not too surprising.
One of the quotes on the cover says that it's "like discovering an alternate version of The Phantom Tollbooth, where Holden Caulfield has hit Milo over the head and stolen his car, his token, and his tollbooth." Um, AWESOME! And it's descriptions like these that give me hope for the world. When it's possible for one of my favorite books from middle school to be invaded by one of my favorite books from high school by one of my favorite authors from college, I couldn't be more enthusiastic.
Well, now that I switched my starting date, I better get going! Times a wastin'!
Friday, September 18, 2009
The Inpiration, The Realization, and The Challenge
As you may or may not know (depending on whether or not you read my note on Facebook or my latest Livejournal entry), the other night, I went to see Julie & Julia with my grandma. Despite really enjoying the movie, I couldn't help but thinking that I wanted a blog with a purpose. I've had a blog for almost six years, but that one is simply what I'm doing in my life and how I feel about it. This one is for my project.
One of the things I decided was that whatever this project was going to entail, I had to be currently passionate about it. Not that it's hard for me to get passionate about something, but it's much easier to become more passionate about something you already love.
I should mention that, earlier that day, I was commenting in my head that some people have jobs to support certain habits, many of them illegal. I, however, earn money in order to support my book buying habit. Since grade school, I've bought books in such a quick pace and large quantity that I haven't had time to read them all before my next purchase or holiday. That being said, I now own one hundred books that I have never either read or finished. As much as I love to read, one hundred of my books have remained on my shelf, unloved.
The challenge I have set for myself is to read one hundred and four books I've never read in the next two years (Sunday September 27, 2009-Monday September 26, 2011). That is one book for every week (52 weeks in a year, 2 years, 104 weeks). Not that I will limit myself to one book a week because other books will definitely take me more than a week. London, the Novel, an intimidating 800-some page tome covering hundreds of years, comes to mind.
I still need to acquire four more books, one of which I will be buying on Monday. Now, I just need to find three other, much less expensive books. Anyone know of any garage sales or library sales in the near future?
One of the things I decided was that whatever this project was going to entail, I had to be currently passionate about it. Not that it's hard for me to get passionate about something, but it's much easier to become more passionate about something you already love.
I should mention that, earlier that day, I was commenting in my head that some people have jobs to support certain habits, many of them illegal. I, however, earn money in order to support my book buying habit. Since grade school, I've bought books in such a quick pace and large quantity that I haven't had time to read them all before my next purchase or holiday. That being said, I now own one hundred books that I have never either read or finished. As much as I love to read, one hundred of my books have remained on my shelf, unloved.
The challenge I have set for myself is to read one hundred and four books I've never read in the next two years (Sunday September 27, 2009-Monday September 26, 2011). That is one book for every week (52 weeks in a year, 2 years, 104 weeks). Not that I will limit myself to one book a week because other books will definitely take me more than a week. London, the Novel, an intimidating 800-some page tome covering hundreds of years, comes to mind.
I still need to acquire four more books, one of which I will be buying on Monday. Now, I just need to find three other, much less expensive books. Anyone know of any garage sales or library sales in the near future?
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
