I know my blog is about authors and books and I know I said I was going have a book review for today but it is 8pm and I only have a few hours to make a post. I have so much homework this weekend that I am not about two spend to hours trying to finish a book. My roommate gave me an idea to talk about what kind of books I would write if I was an author and in an attempt to stay on topic I’m going to run with it. Ideally I would like to write mystery novels because you can do so many things with them and I love how complex they are. I think writing a mystery would be really fun because of all the layers you can incorporate into the story and all the character development that usually accompanies mystery novels. Also, I like how you have the opportunity to trick your readers. That being said, I don’t think I would be very good at writing mystery novels because I feel I’d be the kind of author who wouldn’t know the end of my book until I’ve got to the end of the story, and with mystery novels you really can’t do that. I’m so feminist sometimes that I would probably end up writing women’s rights books like Eve Ensler. When I write for fun I like to write about issues that matter to me and my observations about the world and truths that I’ve discovered through experience. I feel the kind of writing I do fits in with activist writing, and I would end up writing books about what I think is wrong in the world and what we could do to try and change it. I am pre-nursing major and I definitely want my career to be in the nursing field, but I also wouldn’t mind trying to write some kind of activist literature in the future. So yeah, I’ve got a history exam on Tuesday, and I need to get back to studying, hopefully I’ll have a book review next week.
Alright, I started the Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly because I think it was made into a movie and coming out in theaters soon.I’m about to start Necessary Targets by Eve Ensler because contrary to my last post I actually have not read all of her books.I was hoping to do todays post on Necessary Targets because in my experience her books only take one day to read, but alas I had more pressing things to do so I will be picking another author for today. Hopefully tomorrow will be a book review post. My author for today is Tana French. I am not about to pretend I know a lot about her, I have only read two of her books, Into the Woods and The Likeness, but from what I read she is a very talented writer. I would classify her genre as murder mystery/psychological thriller. She is one of the best writers I have read in that genre, and she definitely keeps you in suspense and wanting more. Her books were both page turners and had very interesting concepts. I found that her writing and the way she describes things is much different than any other books I’ve read in a very good way. I am very interested in reading more of her books and the way she tells mysteries leaves you thinking about the book long after you’ve finished it. Her endings are unpredictable and even though her books are a mystery and I am always desperate to find out who the killer is, they are not the typical “whodunit” books, and the person who did it is never obvious. She gets an 8 and that score will probably rise as I read more of her books.
So, doing another author because my roommate is gone for the weekend and I am not about to sit alone in my room and read The Shining because it is creepy and I get scared easily. I am going to review Eve Ensler today. She is absolutely incredible, I have read every single one of her books and am looking forward to more in the future. She writes monologues and performs them worldwide, they are also printed in book form, and she has written a few things meant solely for print. She is activist and her books are primarily about women’s struggles including body image, politics, and violence against women. She travels the world hearing women’s stories and adapts them into monologues. I think she writes with a lot of soul and she definitely writes with purpose. Every single one of her books I have read in one sitting, not because they are necessarily short which they can be, but because they are so powerful and moving. I have cried while reading her books before because she tells these women’s stories from her heart and she really captures their emotions. She understands the important issues in women’s lives and she faces them head on and addresses them head on. She is not afraid to say whatever is on her mind and her books definitely seem very honest and very raw. Her words are simple, but well chosen, making her points that much more powerful. I have to give her a 10 because of her message and the way she can write to convey her message. While she writes mostly about women, her books are not made for just women, anyone with a heart and a thirst for knowledge and change in the world should read them. Everything she has written is worth reading, but especially make sure to read The Vagina Monologues and Insecure at Last: A Political Memoir. She has a website titled V-day (http://www.vday.org/home)dedicated to ending violence against women across the globe. -J.
I ended up finishing Real Live Boyfriends and while I would call it an adorable book I honestly don’t want to subject you to a review about high school love, I don’t even think I can stomach writing that sort of review. So I suppose I am onto another author. I think I’ll review David Sedaris; that man writes funny. I believe my, what I like to call “trendy hipster,” friend showed me Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris in Barnes & Noble one day and it rocked my reading world. I had never really tried to read comedy in books before and his is so subtle it’s great. He addresses humor in a way that he’s not outright telling a joke, but he is saying something either so outrageous or so true that it is hilarious. His humor can be dry, and it also can be very dark, and often times you just think to yourself did this really happen? His humor is very self-deprecating and he knows how to describe a funny situation perfectly and say it so it’s about ten times funnier. Many of his stories focus on an embarrassing moment of his, but also the witty ways he deals with people. I highly recommend all his books, but Me Talk Pretty One Day had me laughing out loud which is so rare for me. I usually enjoy my books in complete silence unless something is really amazing and I might gasp or insult the book, my point being that making me actually laugh means this book is pretty freaking funny. I’ve heard from a past teacher of mine that listening to him read his books on tape is even funnier than reading them in print so I’ve attached a clip of David Sedaris reading the beginning of his book Holidays on Ice.
David Sedaris gets a 9.5 from me simply because his books make me laugh from cover to cover, and I still feel intelligent reading them.
Alright so I am definitely doing an author for the second post this week because I have no books I can report on right now. I amcurrently about a third of the way through The Shining (Stephen King), a fourth of the way through The Complete Fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm, and almost done with Real LiveBoyfriends by E. Lockhart (which is yes way too young for me and below my reading level but it is too entertaining to pass up). For my first author post I’m going to have to go with Stephen King. As far as ratings go I’m giving him a perfect1o because thus far I have never read a book by him that I have not found astounding or even one that’s hasn’t left me thinking about it for days afterward. He really just knows how to tell a story in writing and writes well. A common misconception about him is that all of his books are terrifying and if you aren’t into that you shouldn’t read them. However, I’d say I’ve read maybe a third of his books because trust me there are A LOT, and some truly do not fall into the horror genre. If you don’t like horror I would recommend Thinner,The Green Mile, and Shawshank Redemption though all contain a few creepy elements. If you want a good first book to read by Stephen King I would go with Thinner because it is short unlike most of his books and very compelling, I read The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon first and its one of those books you just can’t put down, but warning it is a bit creepy. If you’re like me and are reading for some action and goose bumps then you should read my favorite books by him: Desperation, IT, Bag of Bones, The Stand, and The Green Mile (even though it’s not scary). Most of books have been made into movies and I really wouldn’t recommend any of them because they don’t do the books justice however I am going to include the trailer from Desperation to give you an idea of what the story is about (so you are then hooked and can go read it immediately)
So now that I just shoved a list of books at you I’m going to try and convince you why this is a guy you need to read. The way he uses words is sincerely different from any other author I have read. He just pulls you in and when he tells a story he tells it completely, he gives so much character development and it’s not boring. There’s always some creepy element every once in a while to keep you engaged while he builds up to horror filled climax. He is just one of those page turning authors that also knows how to write well and describes things to the fullest at the same time. I don’t know what else to say, just go give him a try, thank me later, and you will not find another author who can tell a story better from his generation.
Oh one more thing, Stephen King wrote some of his books using a pen name I believe because he wanted people to read his books without knowing he was the author in order to see if the name King was selling books or if his books were actually still good also he wanted to publish multiple books at the time and only one a year was the norm so he used a different name to get around that. So, if you see any books by Richard Bachman that is Stephen King.
One more side note, movies that were adaptations of his books that I’ve seen and actually liked include: The Green Mile, The Stand, The Secret Window, Dream Catcher, Misery, and The Shawshank Redemption.
Okay sorry, last thing I swear, when My sister and I love this website, it is basically a cartoon animation of bunnies re-enacting popular movies in 30 seconds and its hilarious so I wanted to share the one Stephen King movie they did.
Hey ya’ll, my name is Jillian. I suppose I should start with some things about me, I’m a freshman in college and I have to say I really am enjoying this whole college experience thing. I grew up in the bay area in Northern California and now I live in Long Beach. Also I love toe-socks. That’s enough about me, let’s talk about this blog. This blog is about reading because reading is the one of the most relaxing and thought provoking things I know of. I’d like for this blog to deal primarily with authors because when I read I am always loyal to authors and continue to choose books by the same good authors over and over. I am going to try and throw in some books reviews as often as I can but I can’t read a million books a week, I have a life. I will try my best to read books that are connected to the authors I’ve been talking about and give updates on what I am currently reading. When I rate something I will be using a 10 point scale, 10 being the highest. I assume most of my reviews will end up being a rave because I only read books that I think are going to be good. My top genres are horror, mystery/thriller, and every once in a while I like to read those chick-flick books that are made for like 14 year olds. My top authors are, in no particular order except for number one, Stephen King, Chuck Palahniuk, David Sedaris, Eve Ensler, Tana French, and Michael Connelly. When I run out of stuff to say in my posts which I already know is inevitable I might post my book list, which is all the books I want to potentially read at this point in my life. I feel like the type of books you choose say a lot about who you are, or at the very least obviously what interests you. So I hope my book choices and authors are at least mildly interesting, the only thing else I can really say is enjoy the blog!
