Books Quotes Poetry

Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma

2011-04-30T03:02:00.001-04:00

A sad story about more than just brotherly/sisterly love

The novel is about a brother and sister, Lochan,17, and Maya, 16, who are left in charge of their three siblings, Walla, 5; Tiffin, 9; and Kit, 13, since their mother is a waitress, an alcoholic, and is currently dating the owner of the bar in which she works. Now, she is coming home less frequently. And so, Lochan and Maya must make sure to get their siblings to school on time, pick them up from school, make sure they do their homework, and be entertained until their bedtime. The two of them must also cook, clean the house, do groceries, and beg their mother for some money etc. Thus, Lochan and Maya were acting almost like the parents of their siblings.

Lochan has trouble speaking with others outside of his family. His words don’t come out and when he tries to speak, the words escape him. Thus at school, he is a loner, and home is where he can be himself.

(Spoilers ahead!)

Eventually the Lochan and Maya notice how attractive the other one has become. And eventually they realise how much they depend on each other, even need each other, and how attracted they are to one another.

Incest, however, is against the law and so it’s against what society considers right. Will Lochan and Maya’s relationship be found out while living in a house with their three other siblings and having their mother drop by every once in a while?

Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma is written from the prospective of a brother and sister, Lochan and Maya Whitely, so we know what’s going on in both of their minds. Their world is well described that I felt like I was a part of it. One of the characters in particular named Kit, 13, was so realistic, with his want to bother others for no reason at all, and try to oppose authority that it seemed like Tiffin, 9, the younger brother, wasn’t as real as him. The story revolves around the two protagonists, Lochan and Maya, their sister Walla, and their brothers Kit and Tiffin.

The novel wasn’t bad, however the last one hundred pages seemed to be dragging on a bit. I felt like I was emotionally connected to the story, because I didn’t want the protagonists to get caught. But at the same time, I felt like the ending wasn’t bad at all. In this novel, the protagonists do get caught, and we see the result of that. Which I found was different than what might have happened in other novels.

Rating: 3.5/5

Genre: older teens

Pages: 418

ISBN - 10: 9781862308169

QUOTES (contain spoilers!):

Lochan’s thoughts: “At what point does a fly give up trying to escape through a closed window – do its survival instincts keep it going until it is physically capable of no more, or does it eventually learn after one crash too many that there is no way out? At what point do you decide that enough is enough?” (1)

Lochan’s description of himself: “My eyes slide past theirs as I enter the classrooms and they gaze past me, through me. I am here but not here. The teachers tick me off in the register but no one sees me, for I have long perfected the art of being invisible.” (2-3)

Lochan’s thoughts: “Family: the most important thing of all. My siblings may drive me crazy at times but they are my blood. They’re all I’ve known. My family is me. They are my life. Without them I walk the planet alone. The rest are all outsiders, strangers. They never metamorphose into friends. And even if they did, even if I found, by some miracle, a way of connecting to someone outside my family – how could they possibly compare to those who speak my language and know who I am without having to be told.” (35-6)

Lochan’s thoughts about his sister, Maya: “Over the last year she has turned from pretty to beautiful in an unusual, delicate, unnerving way. Boys chat her up endlessly – alarmingly.” (37)

Lochan: “I cannot distinguish one sentence from another: it has all turned into a blanket of noise.” (67)

Maya: “The sound of silence fills the air like a beautiful smell: no raised voices, no slamming doors, no pounding feet, no deafening music or babbling cartoons.” (108)

Maya’s thoughts: “I can’t bear to think I might have lost our closeness, our friendship, our trust. He was always so much more than just a brother. He is my soul mate, my fresh air, the reason I look forward to getting up each morning. I always knew I loved him more than anyone else in the world – and not just in a brotherly way, the way I feel about Kit and Tiffin. Yet somehow it never crossed my mind there could be a whole step beyond…” (132)

Lochan: “And the hands of the kitchen clock will continue moving forwards, reaching midnight before starting all over again, as though the day that just ended never began.” (148)

Lochan: “…the fear that we will have no choice but to bury this night as if it never took place, a shameful secret to be filed away for the rest of our lives until, brittle with age, it crumbles to dust – a faint, distant memory, like the powder of a moth’s wings on a windowpane, the spectre of something that perhaps never occurred, existing solely in our imagination.” (176)

Lochan: “The sky is on fire and the night has ended.” (180)

Maya: “Everything greys in comparison. The world becomes bland and vacuous, there seems little point to anything any more.” (182)

Maya: “The pedestrians around me don’t feel quite alive. I don’t feel alive. I’m not sure who I am any more. The girl who existed before that night, before the kiss, has been erased from life. I am no longer who I was; I still don’t know who I will become.” (189)

Maya: “Pupils hurrying this way and that look like extras on a film set. I must move in order to fit into all this activity, just as an electron must obey the current.” (189-90)

Maya: “If I keep going, maybe I will find my way back – back to the person I used to be. I am moving more slowly now. Maybe even floating. I swim through space. The earth has lost its gravity, everything feels liquid around me.” (191)

Maya speaking to Lochan: “I don’t care if you happen biologically to be my brother. You’ve never just felt like a brother to me. You’ve always been my best friend, my soul mate, now I’ve fallen in love with you too. Why is that such a crime?” (200-1)

Lochan: “The human body needs a constant flow of nourishment, air and love to survive. Without Maya I lose all three; apart we will slowly die.” (200-1)

Lochan: “Everyone else is permitted to have what they want, express their love as they please, without fear of harassment, ostracism, persecution or even the law. Even emotionally abusive, adulterous relationships are often tolerated, despite the harm they cause others. In our progressive, permissive society, all these harmful, unhealthy types of ‘love’ are allowed – but not ours.” (341)

Lochan: “We are being punished by the world for one simple reason: for having been produced by the same woman.” (341)

Lochan: “Sometimes, worse than watching her at school from a distance is seeing her at home, too close to touch, together but apart, so near and yet so far.” (341)

Maya thinking about Lochan: “His hands are like vices round my wrists, still trying to prevent me from touching him.” (354)

Lochan: “…I am overcome by a feeling of complete detachment. I am a mere object to these people. I am barely human any more.” (384)

Maya: “…I’ve learned that for me, as with everything I do now, there is no point to it. Nothing can relieve the pain. Not crying, laughing, screaming, begging. Nothing can change the past. Nothing can bring him back. The dead remain dead.” (409-10)

A Season of Eden by J.M. Warwick

2011-02-19T03:50:00.003-05:00

An tale of a student falling for her teacher

A beautiful eighteen-year-old girl named Eden thought she could have everything, that she even set her eyes on her new music teacher who is four years older than her. After seeing him, James Christian, Eden can think of nothing but him. She no longer wishes to be with her current boyfriend, Matt, since she feels that any excitement their relationship had died long ago, and that she and Matt were only together so that they would have someone to date.

Not only that, Eden starts to feel too immature compared to her twenty-two-year-old teacher. She starts listening to classical music, which James refers to as food, while all other types of music are referred to as junk food. She starts to find her pastimes, such as partying, childish compared to what she imagines James would do during his pastimes. Eden starts coming to school early to get a chance to talk to him alone before class begins, and to help pass out any papers, and even to give him hints about her thoughts of him.

Will Matt let go of Eden so easily? How will Eden get her teacher to like her enough to forget that they’re not allowed to date? Will James succumb and fall for his beautiful student? If so, will Eden and James get caught?

Every here and there, there are word omissions, indicating the need for more editing. And at times, the sentences were too short. But those errors are easy to avoid because of the gripping story. At first I thought the progression that Eden experienced of leaving her boyfriend and of no longer partying happened too quickly. But then I thought about it and remembered that she just used to party because she didn’t really have a family to go home to ever since her mother died and her father remarried. Thus, perhaps Eden was looking to move on for a long time and her new teacher gave her enough motivation to do so.

I wish the ending had been more precise of what to imagine would happen, but even without that, it was a great story about a girl neglected from parental love for about ten years.

Overall, if the book had been edited a few more times it could have been much better to read. But regardless of that, it was a great story and it left me thinking about the characters after I had completed the novel.

Rating: 4/5

Genre: teens

Pages: 234

ISBN - 10: 1933963905

QUOTES (may contain spoilers)

Eden describing James: “His skin wasn’t the honey tan of most southern California boys I knew, but rather a pale luminescence, like a candle just starting to glow.” (2)

“At first only the piano, light trickling notes that danced on the fringe of heaven. Then the voice. The sound stopped me.” (11)

“My heart started to thump as his fingers swept the keys, taking my pulse and blending it with the melody.” (11)

Eden: “Matt and I had really only been two people playing at liking each other because being alone was the lame alternative. We’d both be news tomorrow. I’d be barraged by leftover guys.” (20)

Eden describes James playing the piano: “His fingers taunted the ivory keys.” (33)

“Boys could be disgusted by honesty. But then I realized he wasn’t a boy. He was a man. Were men disgusted by honesty?” (40-1)

“Verbalizing meant admitting that we were all about the show, some intricate spectacle that might run down, like a clock inevitably unwinding. Then everything would stand still. Others could examine us.” (42)

“For a second I saw myself inside one of those confession boxes. I wondered what it would be like, to share my sins with a hidden stranger. I wondered if James Christian had anything to confess.” (44)

A Season of Eden by JM Warwick (trailer)

2011-01-19T21:12:00.001-05:00

I haven't read this book yet, 'A Season of Eden' by J.M. WarWick. Here's the description that amazon.com gave:

"He's my teacher. I shouldn't be alone with him. But I can't help that he's irresistible. I let the door silently close at my back. He stared at me, and a taut quiet stretched between us. "I like hearing you play," I said, moving toward him. He turned, in sync with my slow approach. He looked up at me but didn't say anything. I rested my clammy hand on the cold, slick body of the baby grand. "May I?" The muscles in his throat shifted, then he swallowed. "Eden." My knees weakened, like a soft tickling kiss had just been blown against the backs of them. "Is it okay?" I asked. His gaze held mine like two hands joined. He understood what I was really asking. "Let me stay," I said. "Please." "You're going to get me in trouble," he said."

Soulmate by L.J. Smith

2011-01-07T23:16:00.002-05:00

Night World 6: Soulmate by L.J. Smith

Okay...Another forbidden love

Soulmate was an okay story. The beginning was extremely interesting, but after a chapter or two, it somehow went downhill. I did like that the protagonist, Hannah, has had many past lives, but she fails to remember them. What I didn’t like was that sometimes while I was reading the story, I felt like I was inside a box. Although the story was a little different from the previous stories in the Night World series, all the stories are about forbidden love and so in the end cannot be very different. I also didn’t like the decision that Hannah made in the end.

The story starts with Hannah Snow, a girl with a large birthmark on her face, in the psychologist’s office, telling him that she has finding notes in her room in her own handwriting but she has no recollection of writing them. She writes notes such as: “Dead before seventeen.” (435)

Then the bell rings and Paul the psychologist goes to open the door even after Hannah instinctually warns him not to, and at the same time a wolf breaks in through the window and tries to attack Hannah.

Only with the help of her psychologist will she be able to find out why she keeps writing notes to herself about death. How many past lives has she had? And why does Hannah keep dying before the age of seventeen in each one of them? How did the birthmark on her face come to be?

Rating: 3/5

Genre: fantasy, teens

Pages: 229 (from page 434 to 662)

ISBN - 10: 1416974512

QUOTES (CONTAIN SPOILERS!)

Hannah’s thoughts: “She didn’t know why she felt this way—but it hurt her terribly. It was as if she were losing something . . . infinitely precious . . . before she’d had a chance to know it.” (496)

About Thierry: “He wanted her. He loved her . . . adored her. He thought of her the way poets think of the moon and the stars—in ridiculous hyperbole. He actually saw her surrounded by a sort of silvery halo.” (513)

Hannah’s thoughts: “I don’t know why people are afraid of vampires, she thought. A human could tease or torture a vampire this way, driving him insane—if she were cruel.” (516)

About Hannah: “The house was too bright. The clock on the kitchen wall was too loud. She had the distracted feeling that it wasn’t either night or daytime. It was like coming out of a theatre and being surprised to find that it’s still light outside. She felt that this couldn’t be the same house she’d left an hour ago. She wasn’t the same person who had left. Everything around her seemed like some carefully staged movie set that was supposed to be real, but wasn’t, and only she could tell the difference.” (521)

Hannah’s thoughts about Thierry: “His dark eyes seemed pensive again, the sort of expression a star might have if it cared about anything that was going on underneath it. Infinitely remote, but infinitely sad, too.” (576)

Also see my reviews for the previous five books in the Night World series: Secret Vampire, Daughters of Darkness, Spellbinder, Dark Angel, and The Chosen.

The Chosen by L.J. Smith

2011-01-07T23:05:00.002-05:00

Night World 5: The Chosen by L.J. Smith

Rashel the vampire hunter

The Chosen did not excite me. Perhaps it was because it revolved around a vampire hunter and it was not the type of book I was looking for. After telling us the background information of the protagonist, the story seemed to start later on. I kept zoning out when I was being told of Rashel’s vampire hunting adventures. I thought it was interesting that there was a secret club that teens went to who were really into death and darkness, and I also liked Quinn the vampire.

On Rashel’s fifth birthday party, inside a tube structure, she saw a man with red hair who seemed to be devouring her friend, Timmy. She managed to call for help, but when her mother came, the vampire broke the mother’s neck. Rashel then got sent to her only relative’s house to live, but that same vampire set the house on fire, and Rashel’s relative died.

After that, Rashel started moving around a lot, going from one foster family to the next. But what she knew most was that she must learn to protect herself from vampires, and that she wanted that very vampire, the one that killed her mother and Timmy, dead.

In the future, Rashel becomes a vampire hunter, and has a few vampire hunter friends. They are observing a warehouse area because they suspect something is going on there. Rashel has knocked down a vampire named Quinn and they have taken him to a room. She tells her fellow vampire hunters that she will look after the vampire until go run an errand. Secretly she is thinking about staking him and not letting the others see this happen.

May contain spoilers ahead:

But she can’t stake a vampire that hasn’t done anything to her, especially one that’s knocked out. Nothing goes according to plan. Once she starts speaking to John Quinn the vampire, she starts to see him as a person, not as a rogue vampires that she often kills, and she doesn’t want to kill him.

When Quinn escapes from his wooden handcuffs, Rashel fights him with her hands because she doesn’t want to use her blade. And once their hands brush together, she feels a shock going through her and everything changes. Quinn starts to take the scarf off her face to see how she looks, just when her fellow vampire hunters walk in.

Rashel doesn’t want Quinn to get hurt and tells him to leave, and eventually he does. But with this, she has lost all respect from her fellow vampire hunters who start to think that she is in fact a vampire lover.

Now, Rashel is all on her own to discover what’s going on in the warehouses and to win back the respect she has lost from her fellow vampire hunters. They no longer believe her when she finds out that something big is actually going on in those warehouses.

Rating: 3/5

Genre: fantasy, teens

Pages: 213 (from page 215 to 427)

ISBN - 10: 1416974512

QUOTES (MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!)

Definition of ‘rogue’: “a depraved monster who killed human kids foolishly close to human habitations.” (233)

Rashel: “The night has a thousand eyes.” (234)
Elliot: ““And the day only one,” came the reply from the intercom.” (234)

Poem written by Daphne: “There’s warmth in ice; there’s cooling peace in fire, / And midnight light to show us all the way. / The dancing flame becomes a funeral pyre; / The Dark was more enticing than the Day.” (307)

Quinn’s thoughts: “He let the cold air soak into him, permeating his body, mixing with the cold he felt inside. He imagined himself freezing solid—a rather pleasant thought.” (342)

Quinn to Rashel: “Besides, now that I have seen your face, I can’t stand the sight of myself in your eyes. I know what you think of me." (379)

Quinn to Rashel when she’s unable to hit him: “I told you before. You’re an idiot.” (379)

Quinn to Rashel, speaking in her mind: “It’s the idea that everyone has one and just one soulmate in the world, and that if you find them, you recognize them immediately.” (399)

Rashel’s description: “It was as if a dragon had breathed suddenly into the room, sending a roaring gale of fire through it.” (415)

Also see my reviews for the previous four books in the Night World series: Secret Vampire, Daughters of Darkness, Spellbinder, and Dark Angel.

Dark Angel by L.J. Smith

2011-01-02T03:14:00.004-05:00

Night World 4: Dark Angel by L.J. Smith

Somewhat different from the previous three Night World stories

Dark Angel was somewhat different than the previous three stories in the series since it doesn’t just introduce two characters and say that they’re soul mates. Throughout a great part of the story I wondered who exactly a character named ‘Angel’ was. The previous stories never had such a character who would speak inside the mind of the protagonist.

One day, while walking home from school, Gillian hears a child crying near the creek. She has to help and thinks that the child might be drowning, so she looks into the creek only to lose her balance and falls in.

Somehow she manages to make it out of the creek, but it’s wintertime and she’s freezing. Her body eventually stops creating heat and she has no strength to move. She sees a tunnel with light at the end of it. Then she hears a beautiful boy who asks her if she wants to live. But she doesn’t know what to live for since her mother is an alcoholic, her parents are unhappy together, and she is unpopular in school. But somehow the beautiful boy makes her see that there are things to live for and so Gillian chooses to live.

She is told by the beautiful boy’s voice to go in front of the car that is passing by. It’s David’s car, the boy that she has had a crush on for a long time. He helps get her home.

She starts to hear the voice of the beautiful boy inside her head. He tells her what she must do in order to become popular. And he tells her to trust him and to call him ‘Angel’ because he’s her guardian angel.

But who really is Angel? And how difficult will it be for Gillian to become popular and get David, the boy she likes?

Rating: 3.5/5

Genre: fantasy, teens

Pages: 205 (from page 5 to 209)

ISBN - 10: 1416974512

Quotes (CONTAIN SPOILERS!):

David: "And I never saw you at school?" he muttered. "I must've been blind." (67)

Angel: "Have you ever had the feeling that you don't really know reality?" (144)

Gillian: "This is about being a witch, isn't it? You're saying that I've always felt that way because it's true. Because for me there is a different reality. . . ."
"Nah." Angel grimaced. "Actually everybody feels exactly the same. Doesn't mean a thing." (145)

“‘An earthbound spirit is a damaged soul. . . .’” (182)

Melusine: “Spirits in the between-place can watch us, sometimes talk to us, but they can't really interact with us.” (182)

Angel: “What's life?” He bared his teeth. “‘Out, out, brief candle’—or something like that.” (192)

Also see my reviews for the previous three books in the Night World series: Secret Vampire, Daughters of Darkness, and Spellbinder.

The problems with using -ing

2010-11-13T23:03:00.003-05:00

As I edit my work, I notice that I use a lot of sentences that start with –ing, or that use –ing somewhere in the middle. But that’s where the problem comes from. The use of –ing signifies that two things are happening simultaneously.

Using –ing and ‘as’ too often, actually weakens the writing, and using –ing at the beginning of the sentence makes it looks amateurish, which is what it says in Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Brown and Dave King.

There is an example of this too:

“Disappearing into my tent, I changed into fresh jeans.” The –ing construction forced simultaneity on two actions that can’t be simultaneous. The doctor didn’t duck into the tent and pull on clean pants at the same time—she was a biologist, not a contortionist. (194)

Another example is when ‘–ing’ and ‘as’ are used in proper sentences:

“Pulling off her gloves, she turned to face him.” (193)

and

“As she pulled off her gloves, she turned to face him.” (193)

However, Self-Editing for Fiction Writers says that this makes the action seem incidental and unimportant.

There are some alternatives to change this sentence around:

“She pulled off her gloves and turned to face him,” or even “She pulled off her gloves, turned to face him.” (194)

The book also gives advice. It says to look for alternatives if you see more than one or two uses of ‘as’ or ‘-ing’ on a page. And to place the verb that uses ‘-ing’ in the middle of the sentence to make it appear less noticeable.

Have you ever noticed the use of –ing in your writing?

The Beginnings of Stories

2010-10-11T01:23:00.004-04:00

Why is it that writers think they can tempt you enough by showing you a glimpse of the present condition of the characters, then take you back into their pasts to show you how the characters came to be that way? It might interest some, but that method certainly doesn’t interest me.

Today was my third encounter that I can recall with a story that started off in the present then went back into the past and stayed in the past for a very long time. It was too bothersome for me to even continue watching the film, “Love in the Time of Cholera,” that I fast-forwarded it just to see if the story returned to the present and continued the story a little further from there. It did. I should also mention that I knew before I had started watching it that the film did not receive very good reviews.

Two novels I read some time ago also used the same strategy: Conceit by Mary Novik and Camille by Alexandre Dumas Fils (this is not Alexandre Dumas, it is his son). Neither of the two left a great impression in my memory, although Conceit had beautiful prose, Camille was one of the most boring stories I’d ever read.

In Camille, the narrator discovers that the prostitute he loved has died, and then he goes on to tell us about his affair. Why would I care about the affair if I already knew the outcome of it? I didn’t want to know the ending just as I began reading – it made it even more difficult for me to get through the story.

Have you ever felt frustrated by how a story began? Has any strategy ever bothered you so much as this one did me?

Spellbinder by L.J. Smith

2010-09-22T10:00:00.019-04:00

Night World 3: Spellbinder by L.J. Smith

Rating: 4.5/5
Genre: fantasy, teens
Pages: 239 (from page 491 to 729)
ISBN - 10: 1416974504

So far, the most exciting book in the series

Spellbinder by L.J. Smith is the third book in the Night World series. I found it to be the most exciting so far. L.J. Smith has a way to catch you with the first sentence or in this case the first world, “Expelled.” There was tension in the story, and I didn’t know how one of the characters, Blaire, would react. Consequently, I couldn’t do anything else before I finished this book. It can be read within five hours or less for faster readers.

I’m getting used to L.J. Smith’s quick endings that leave you curious about what will happen next. I’m hoping to see these characters in future books and see what has happened. If you haven't noticed already, the last sentence in each of the stories has the word 'night' in it.

Two cousins, Thea and Blaise Harman, are witches, but not pure witches, they have a bit of vampire blood in them and are related to James and Ash, vampires from the previous two books. Thea and Blaise have been sent from one relative to the next because they keep getting expelled from school. Now they are living with their Grandma Harman in Las Vegas, but they are running out of relatives, and so Thea does not want to get expelled from this school. Usually the expulsions occurred because of Blaise; she has a way of wanting boys to chase her, and she puts magic on them to make them do crazy things to amuse her.

The first day of school, Thea sees a group of students around a rattle snake, trying to poke it, some even shouting to kill it. She is afraid for the snake, and then she sees it getting ready to strike. She tries to calm it, to merge their minds together, and just when she's getting it to calm down, a boy named Eric Ross sends her flying to the side.

Eric gets bitten by the snake, and she knows it, but he still remains calm and tells all the surrounding students that the snake didn't bite. Thea takes her cousin Blaise's necklace, and she and Eric carry the snake into the bushes. There, she looks at Eric's leg and heals it with the stone on the necklace, then pretends that he was just imagining it when he felt so sickly. She feels some sort of odd connection with him. Why was he willing to risk his life for the snake? When Eric shows his interest for, she tells him that she doesn't want to see him again.

Thea really does like Eric, but he isn't a Night person, and she is forbidden by law to fall in love with him. But what is she to do if her cousin Blaise starts to show interest in Eric? Blaise–the same cousin that has turned boys crazy for her with the use of magic. And what if Thea's spell goes wrong and she releases a terrible spirit into the world?

Also see my reviews for the two previous books in the Night World series: Secret Vampire and Daughters of Darkness.

Daughters of Darkness by L.J. Smith

2010-09-19T20:48:00.007-04:00

Night World 2: Daughters of Darkness by L.J. Smith

Rating: 4/5
Genre: fantasy, teens
Pages: 239 (from page 247 to 485)
ISBN - 10: 1416974504

Interesting story, but with too many characters

“And what if that happened to you–if you found somebody and you were soulmates with them and you didn’t want to be?” (377)

Daughters of Darkness by L.J. Smith is the second book in the Night World series. It was a difficult story to get into, perhaps because there were so many characters. Even now, I cannot recognise the difference between two of the sisters. The story seemed to be enclosed around a box, it felt like it was lacking a real world, even though there were many main characters; perhaps it was because it took place during the summer. Like the previous story in this series, Secret Vampire, this too is about soul-mates, just like the other stories in this series I except will be about.

Mary-Lynnette is a human, who is very interested in astronomy and star-gazing, and who has often spoken to and helped out an old, crazy neighbour named Mrs. Burdock. She is told that Mrs. Burdock’s three nieces are coming to live with her: Rowan, Kestrel, and Jade.

Mary-Lynnette’s younger brother, Mark, does not have a girlfriend, which Mary-Lynnette finds odd, and wishes on Jupiter that he finds one; perhaps one of Mrs. Burdock’s nieces would be good for him. He’s going to be in junior high after the summer is over and he is shy. Even Mary-Lynnette doesn’t have a boyfriend, although there is one boy that interests her, Jeremy. She thinks all good-looking boys are lacking in intelligence.

Rowan, Kestrel, and Jade are vampires trying to escape from the Night World’s laws, from the old, traditional way of life. They do not want to get married to a person of their father’s choice. And so, they run away from home to live with their aunt and live a normal life. They wait for their Aunt Opal Burdock to come pick them up, but their aunt doesn’t show up. In the end, they try to hitch a ride to their aunt’s house. There, they find a scrawny, unrecognisable body in a pile of clothes – their aunt’s dead body.

After the nieces had moved in, Mary-Lynnette has only been seeing them, but there is no sign of their aunt. One night she even saw them carrying a large black sack and burying it in the yard. Mary-Lynnette wants to investigate the girls, something that Nancy Drew would do. She even thinks that the three sisters have murdered their aunt. But her brother, Mark, wants to do no such thing; he has become quite fond of Jade.

That’s when Ash shows up, the brother of the three girls. He irritates Mary-Lynnette so much. He wants to decide who his sisters should talk to, what they should do. But there’s something about him, that handsome jerk, something that sends sparks flying throughout her body.

When Mary-Lynnette finally convinces Mark to help her investigate, that is when the two discover an awful secret. Who has killed Mrs. Burdock? And why does Mary-Lynnette get that weird feeling when she is around Ash, even though she detests him?

The following are a few quotes I liked (may contain spoilers):

Kestrel: “When you’re soulmates, it hits you like lightning, and you know that’s the one person in the world you were meant to be with. You don’t think you’re soulmates; you just know it’s your destiny whether you like it or not.” (362)

Rowan: “With love you get to find out about a person first. Being soulmates is involuntary –you don’t even have to like the person when you meet them. They may be completely wrong for you in every way–wrong species, wrong temperament, wrong age. But you know you’ll never be completely happy again without them.” (377)

Rowan: “… Wolves aren’t people who sometimes turn into wolves. They’re wolves who sometimes look like people.” (417)

“Anyway, I’m drinking blood and liking it–maybe because it doesn’t taste like blood. Not like copper and fear. It tastes weird and magic and old as the stars.” (451)

Also see my review for the previous book in the Night World series: Secret Vampire.

The Historian Read Along

2010-09-11T17:50:00.000-04:00

I've been struggling for the past eleven months to get through The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. The story has much more details than I'm used to. In each chapter, there are endless descriptions before something starts to happen. I've read to about page 300 before I stopped reading.

Now, I'm starting to read it again because of all the details that I must have forgotten by now. I also got my hands on an unabridged copy of the audiobook, so that's going to help significantly. I loved Dracula by Bram Stoker, and so I want to figure out what will happen in this story, which is about Dracula still being alive.

If you want to join the read along, here's the link.

Reading Schedule:

Sept 20 to Sept 26 -- Chapters 1 through 14
Sept 27 to Oct 3 -- Chapters 27 through 39
Oct 11 to Oct 17 -- Chapters 40 through 48
Oct 18 to Oct 24 -- Chapters 49 through 66
Oct 25 to Oct 31 -- Chapters 67 through Epilogue

This is being hosted by Coffee and a Book Chick and Tedious & Brief.

Keep the Aspidistra Flying by George Orwell

2010-09-11T17:05:00.001-04:00

Keep the Aspidistra Flying by George Orwell

Rating: 4.5/5
Genre: classic
Pages: 248
ISBN: 9780156468992

A story of a man that chooses to live in poverty

“What he realised, and more clearly as time went on, was that money-worship has been elevated into a religion. Perhaps it is the only real religion–the only really felt religion–that is left to us. Money is what God used to be. Good and evil have no meaning any longer except failure and success. Hence the profoundly significant phrase, to make good.” (43)

The story starts off with Gordon Comstock, a man of about 30, who observes as people come and go from the bookstore in which he works; the descriptions are quite amusing. He is a writer, who is struggling to finish a work called ‘London Pleasures.’ He wrote a book of poetry called ‘Mice’ that did not sell very many copies, and the discounted copies that remain in the store have been untouched for the past two years. But Gordon is no ordinary bookseller; he has declared war on money.

Throughout the story, he thinks about his past, his poor genteel family. And of his sister, Julia, who was not given an education because all the money was put into Gordon’s education. Of his old well-paying job that he left to realise his dreams as a writer, and what he soon discovered: the world is run by money. His girlfriend won’t even sleep with him for the fear of having a child that they won’t be able to afford. See the struggles Gordon Comstock faces throughout his war against money.

I enjoyed reading Keep the Aspidistra Flying by George Orwell; the story was amusing at parts. The insight of what Gordon observed was immense, of money being at the bottom of everything. The prose is magnificent, and like Orwell’s other novels (1984, Animal Farm, Down and Out in Paris and London), this is one to be read.

The following are some of the many quotes I enjoyed:

“Money writes books, money sells them. Give me not righteousness, O Lord, give me money, only money.” (9)

“Money, once again; all is money. All human relationships must be purchased with money. If you have no money, men won’t care for you, women won’t love you; won’t, that is, care for you or love you the last little bit that matters. And how right they are, after all! For, moneyless, you are unlovable.” (14)

“But he grasped now what was the matter with them. It was not merely the lack of money. It was rather that, having no money, they still lived mentally in the money-world–the world in which money is virtue and poverty is crime. It was not poverty but the down-dragging of respectable poverty that had done for them. They had accepted the money-code, and by that code they were failures. They had never had the sense to lash out and just live, money or no money, as the lower classes do.” (44)

“There are two ways to live, he decided. You can be rich, or you can deliberately refuse to be rich. You can possess money, or you can despise money; the one fatal thing is to worship money and fail to get it.” (44)

“The first effect of poverty is that it kills thought. He grasped, as though it were a new discovery, that you do not escape from money merely by being moneyless. On the contrary, you are hopeless slave of money until you have enough of it to live on–a “competence,” as the beastly middle-class phrase goes.” (49-50)

“Faith, hope, money–only a saint could have the first two without having the third.” (57)

“Possibly there were some other, more distantly related Comstocks, for Gran’pa Comstock had been one of a family of twelve. But if any survived they had grown rich and lost touch with their poor relations; for money is thicker than blood.” (60-1)

“That is the devilish thing about poverty, the ever-recurrent thing–loneliness. Day after day with never an intelligent person to talk to; night after night back to your godless room, always alone.” (64)

“A starling sat in the naked boughs of a plane tree, crooning self-pitifully as starlings do on warm winter days when they believe spring is in the air. At the foot of the tree a huge sandy cat sat motionless, mouth open, gazing upwards with rapt desire, plainly expecting that the starling would drop into its mouth.” (66)

“He swung the iron gate open. It creaked with a lonely sound.” (67)

“Seven million people, sliding to and fro, avoiding contact, barely aware of one another's existence, like fish in an aquarium tank. The street swarmed with pretty girls. By scores they streamed past him, their faces averted or unseeing; cold nymph-creatures, dreading the eyes of the male. It was queer how many of them seemed to be alone, or with another girl. Far more women alone than women with men, he noted. That too was money. How many girls alive wouldn't be manless sooner than take a man who's moneyless?” (71)

“More girls streamed past, unseeing. Girls alone, girls with youths, girls with other girls, girls alone. Their cruel youthful eyes went over him and through him as though he had not existed. He was too tired to resent it. His shoulders surrendered to their weariness; he slouched, not trying any longer to preserve his upright carriage and his you-be-damned air. They flee from me that sometime did me seek. How could you blame them? He was thirty, moth-eaten, and without charm. Why should any girl ever look at him again?” (72)

“London! Mile after mile of mean lonely houses, let off in flats and single rooms; not homes, not communities, just clusters of meaningless lives drifting in a sort of drowsy chaos to the grave! He saw men as corpses walking.” (84)

“Don’t you see that a man’s whole personality is bound up with his income? His personality is his income. How can you be attractive to a girl when you’ve got no money? You can’t wear decent clothes, you can’t take her out to dinner or the theatre or away for the week-ends, you can’t carry a cheery, interesting atmosphere about with you… If you haven’t got money there isn’t even anywhere where you can meet.” (94)

“Never stay too long with those you love–another commandment of the moneyless.” (95)

“The humiliation of poverty! … The way it gives everyone the right to stamp on you. The way everyone wants to stamp on you.” (99)

“There is no attitude that money or the lack of it cannot puncture.” (144)

Gordon: “Don’t you understand that one isn’t a full human being–that one doesn’t feel a human being–unless one’s got money in one’s pocket?” (146)

“He trailed homeward through the wastes of Marylebone and Regent's Park. It was the fag-end of the day. The streets were dark and desolate, with that strange listless feeling of Sunday night when people are more tired after a day of idleness than after a day of work. It was vilely cold, too. The wind had risen when the night fell.” (149)

“Your money goes and your freedom with it.” (149)

“However delicately it is disguised, charity is still horrible; there is a malaise, almost a secret hatred, between the giver and the receiver.” (198)

“Charity kills friendship.” (213)

“To abjure money is to abjure life. Be not righteous over much; why shouldst thou die before thy time?” (237)

“He wondered about the people in houses like those. They would be, for example, small clerks, shop-assistants, commercial travellers, insurance touts, tram conductors. Did they know that they were only puppets dancing when money pulled the strings? You bet they didn't. And if they did, what would they care? They were too busy being born, being married, begetting, working, dying. It mightn't be a bad thing, if you could manage it, to feel yourself one of them, one of the ruck of men. Our civilization is founded on greed and fear, but in the lives of common men the greed and fear are mysteriously transmuted into something nobler. The lower-middle-class people in there, behind their lace curtains, with their children and their scraps of furniture and their aspidistras—they lived by the money-code, sure enough, and yet they contrived to keep their decency. The money-code as they interpreted it was not merely cynical and hoggish. They had their standards, their inviolable points of honour. They “kept themselves respectable”—kept the aspidistra flying. Besides, they were alive. They were bound up in the bundle of life. They begot children, which is what the saints and the soul-savers never by any chance do.” (239)

Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne & Dave King

2010-08-20T06:53:00.001-04:00

Self-Editing for Fiction Writers: How to edit yourself into print by Renni Browne & Dave King

Rating: 5/5
Genre: writing reference
Pages: 267
ISBN: 9780060545697

A great reference to have on every writer's bookshelf

Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne & Dave King is an excellent editing book that isn’t at all boring. At the end of each chapter, there’s a check list for quick consultation or to see if you understood the main points. And after that, there are questions to see if you can fix the problems that that chapter pointed out, none of which I did, but they seemed helpful. Their answers were in the back of the book.

“As you read, be on the lookout for places where you are tempted to change the wording. Give in to this temptation whenever you can.” (112)

Each chapter is divided into the small sections that help you learn with examples from other works or novels in between every few points. There were hints on how to read your work and notice certain details to help you improve in that aspect and make you aware of your own writing. The following are the chapters in the book and some points I learned. Of course the entire chapter covers much more than what I state below:

1. Show and Tell: Rather than saying the word explicitly, sometimes when you show the character doing a certain action, the point is made clear. Thus, needless explanations aren’t needed. “Rather than telling your readers that your hero’s car is an old broken-down wreck, you can show him twisting two bare wires together to turn on the headlights or driving through a puddle and being sprayed from the holes in the floor.” (18)

2. Characterization and Exposition: “What information (technical details, characters’ past histories, backgrounds on locations or families) do your readers need in order to understand your story? At what point in the story do they need to know it?” (37)

3. Point of View: If you want intimacy, use first person. If you use the third person point of view, then don’t make it confusing by going through each of the characters’ minds in the same scene without having a space in between.

4. Proportion: “Are the details you give the ones your viewpoint character would notice?” (80)

5. Dialogue Mechanics: Do not explain your dialogue, it’ll annoy readers. Such as if your dialogue portrays annoyance, don’t say ‘she said, annoyed.’ But if your dialogue doesn’t portray the annoyance well enough, then change it so it does.

6. See How It Works: Read your dialogue aloud and see if it sounds realistic.

7. Interior Monologue: Don’t use interior monologue for things that should be told.

8. Easy Beats: Between quotes, characters move around or do something, these actions are called beats. Don’t interrupt the dialogue with too many actions. Usually readers just need a few beats to involve them in the scene. And don’t use clichés.

9. Breaking Up Is Easy to Do: Changing the number of paragraphs in the scene might heighten the suspense. Make sure there aren’t paragraphs that are more than half a page long.

10. Once Is Usually Enough: Don’t repeat the same thing again and again in different words or the same. The more times the same thing is repeated, the weaker the effect is.

11. Sophistication: Stay away from verbs ending in –ing and phrases with ‘as’. Also, limit –ly adverbs and don’t italicise many verbs.

12. Voice: Reread your story and look for lines that you like, and also look out for lines that “make you wince or seem to fall flat…” (229)

Top Ten of the Moment: Childhood Favourites

2010-08-19T16:54:00.000-04:00

It's hard to track down books from a time you can hardly remember.

Nate the Great by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat

Franklin Goes to School by Paulette Bourgeois

Where's Spot? by Eric Hill

Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss

Thomas' Snowsuit by Robert Munsch

The Berenstain Bears' Trouble with Money by Stan & Jan Berenstain

Corduroy by Don Freeman

Charlotte's Web by E.B. White

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown

Little Miss Bossy by Roger Hargreaves

This meme is hosted by Swimmer.

Some Books on Writing

2010-08-12T07:07:00.000-04:00

Evidently, I like to get books about writing but never end up finishing them. The following are two that I’ve recently started on.

‘The Elements of Style’ by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White is a concise book, and with its 85 pages, it gets straight to the point–I might actually finish it with this length. The following, I found, are things that I have to change about my writing.

“Use the word not as a means of denial or in antithesis, never as a means of evasion.” (19) And two of the examples given were: instead of “He was not very often on time.” say “He usually came late.” And instead of “She did not think that studying Latin was a sensible way to use one’s time.” say “She thought the study of Latin a waste of time.” This is because “…when a sentence is made stronger, it usually becomes shorter.” (19)

Thus, instead of “not honest” use “dishonest” and instead of “did not remember” use “forgot.” “Negative words other than not are usually strong.” (20)

With statements, unnecessary auxiliaries or conditionals sound weak. Thus, instead of “If you would let us know the time of your arrival, we would be happy to arrange your transportation from the airport.” say “If you will let us know the time of arrival, we shall be happy to arrange your transportation from the airport.” This is because “If your every sentence admits a doubt, your writing will lack authority. Save the auxiliaries would, should, could, may, might, and can for situations involving real uncertainty.” (20)

As for ‘179 Ways to Save a Novel: Matters of vital concern to fiction writers’ by Peter Selgin, of the few pages I’ve read thus far, what I found interesting was about the dreaded first sentence. Selgin says that the “narrator’s voice should be human.” (204) As though “Someone is reaching out from a piece of paper to talk to me.” (204)

And the example that was given of the first few lines was one from Kurt Vonnegut’s ‘Slaughterhouse-Five’:

All this happened, more or less. The war parts, anyway, are pretty much true. One guy I knew really was shot in Dresden for taking a teapot that wasn’t his. Another guy I knew really did threaten to have his personal enemies killed by hired gunman after the war. And so on. I’ve changed all the names.

I hope to discover more information on topics that I haven’t thought much about or needed more clarification on. Have you recently discovered something about grammar or writing?

Top Ten of the Moment: Favourite Quotes

2010-08-11T07:58:00.018-04:00

This is my top ten quotes list. Of course I did not keep track of the quotes that stood out for me in each book that I’ve read, so I might never see those again. But here are some favourites so far. It was hard to decide only ten. Tell me what you think of the quotes.

“There’s only one kind of happiness, but misfortune comes in all shapes and sizes. It’s like Tolstoy said. Happiness is an allegory, unhappiness a story.” (Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami)

“There’re many things we don’t know. It’s an illusion that we know anything at all.” (A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami)

“So I left, and since I was sure I would never see Marthe again I tried hard not to think about her, with the result that I thought of nothing else.” (The Devil in the Flesh by Raymond Radiguet)

"To feel responsible ... is to understand your own existence." (NANA volume 18 by Ai Yazawa)

“I should have seen what was coming next. But the future has no substance until it turns the corner into history.” (The Bishop's Man by Linden Macintyre)

“On a telephone pole, three plump pigeons burbled mindlessly away. Something had to be on their mind to be going on like that, maybe the pain from corns on their feet, who knows? From the pigeons’ point of view, probably it was I who looked mindless.” (A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami)

“Experience was of no ethical value. It was merely the name men gave to their mistakes.” (Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde)

"I'm fat, but I'm thin inside. Has it ever struck you that there's a thin man inside every fat man, just as they say there's a statue inside every block of stone?" (Coming up for Air by George Orwell)

“When your dreams come true … everything turns into simple reality and loses its glamour.” (NANA volume 18 by Ai Yazawa)

"We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be." (Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut)

This meme is hosted by Swimmer.

Top Ten of the Moment: Favourite Novels

2010-08-09T14:25:00.003-04:00

I have not yet read ten books that I was particulary fond of. I've only read about sixteen books this year, and three of them were children's books. Thus, I will be forced to include one manga below.

1. The Devil in the Flesh by Raymond Radiguet

This was one of the most beautiful love stories I've ever read. And it's based on a sixteen-year-old boy's affair with an older, married woman while her husband is off to fight in the war.

The thoughts of the protagonist, I found, were significant, and I felt that I could really get into the mind of a teenage boy. Regardless of how the cover looks, nothing is told so explicitly and this is not a romance genre book.

2. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Hearing that Dorian is untainted, Lord Henry wants to show Dorian the world, and to help Dorian experience new thoughts and emotions. That’s how innocent Dorian’s life changes. Lord Henry tells Dorian that he can have everything he wants in his youth, because of his appearance, but that beauty won’t last forever. Dorian becomes upset, and after his friend named Basil is finished painting picture of him, Dorian wishes that he could look like the Dorian in the picture forever, and that the Dorian in the picture would age instead him. His wish is granted.

See the wicked evils that Dorian commits to alter the face in the picture. Read the thoughts and ideas Lord Henry plants into Dorian’s mind, like a devil whispering into his victim’s ears. The prose are beautiful like poetry.

3. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Raskolnikov finds himself without work and without money. He starts starving himself, and as a result suffers from delusions and strange thoughts, and becomes easily irritable. While sitting at a restaurant one day, he overhears a conversation between two men, speaking of a pawnbroker who is so stingy that she buys their items at too low a price. One man says that he would be doing everyone a favour by killing that old lady, the pawnbroker. But he wouldn’t actually do it, he concluded.

Raskolnikov, however, was very touched by the conversation of the pawnbroker who he has been going to for money. He starts imagining how he would like to kill her in his mind, and goes about trying to initiate his plans. How will Raskolnikov’s life take a sudden turn as a result of his plans? What punishment must he bear because of his crime?

4. Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut

This is a story of Howard W. Campbell Jr., an American who moved to Germany, and became a famous playwright and a Nazi propagandist. In the beginning, we see Howard inside an Israeli prison, waiting for his trial. He is told to write his story, because people think that they will discover something from it. Thus, Howard commences to write his memoirs. A very entertaining novel with a remarkable end.

5. Living in a Happy World by Maki Usami (French language manga)

Kanae's boyfriend has just dumped her for her friend, and she is heartbroken. She doesn't have a lot of friends, finds it difficult to open up to people, and is from a wealthy family, so she decides to go learn skiing to get her mind off of things. There, she meets her skiing instructor, Eiji, who she finds to be pretty rude to her, always calling her 'Princess' and telling her to take beginner skiing lessons because she can't ski well.

Later, she really starts liking her Eiji, who actually comforts her and tells her to change for the better, and Eiji, he sees that she isn't who he thought she was at first. When the skiing lessons end, they exchange numbers, and he tells her that he's getting a new job that might be nearby where she lives. And it is... He's her replacement high school teacher.

This meme hosted is by Swimmer.

Books Read in 2010

2010-08-04T18:35:00.000-04:00

1. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
2. Love Letters of Great Men edited by Ursula Doyle
3. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
4. Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut
5. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
6. A House of Night: Tempted by P. C Cast & Kristin Cast
7. A Wild Sheep Chase: A Novel by Haruki Murakami
8. Gone by Lisa McMann
9. Robert's Rules of Writing by Robert Masello
10. The Devil in the Flesh by Raymond Radiguet
11. The Bishop's Man by Linden MacIntyre
12. Self-Editing for Fiction Writers: How to edit yourself into print by Renni Browne & Dave King

The most impressive books I've read this year are
- The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
- The Devil in the Flesh by Raymond Radiguet

The most disappointing books so far are
- A Wild Sheep Chase: A Novel by Haruki Murakami
- Gone by Lisa McMann
- The Bishop's Man by Linden MacIntyre

The Lost Years of Merlin by T.A. Barron

2010-06-10T01:34:00.002-04:00

The Lost Years of Merlin by T.A. Barron

Rating: 3/5
Genre: fantasy
Pages: 270
ISBN: 0441010288

Too simplistic with unconvincing characters

The Lost Years of Merlin by T.A. Barron was not an impressive book. It was a story of Merlin’s childhood and how he came to acquire the name Merlin. The world was not convincing and the characters were not realistic – I did not feel any connection towards them. The story wasn’t complex enough that it felt like a straight line, because everything was given to the protagonist Emrys with very little struggle. It might be a satisfying story for a younger audience, but not adults.

I felt like Emrys was not at all clever. He was given so many clear answers to what he was supposed to do, yet he never even pondered upon them. In fact, he seemed to forget them all together, making him even less convincing. He kept talking to strangers even though he was in dangerous territory and most of the time the strangers turned out to be friendly. Some of the strangers had no purpose, others had little purpose.

Emrys washes up shore, where he encounters a boar. He realises that the boar is trying to attack an unconscious woman and tries to save her. A stag appears from the forests and fights off the boar. Emrys and the woman, who calls herself Branwen, start living together in a hut. She has the ability to heal people through mixtures of different plants.

Some years later, Emrys discovers that he has magical powers. There are rumours in the town that Branwen is a witch. One day while trying to protect Branwen, Emrys sets the bully on fire, and at once regrets it. He runs into the fire to save the burning man, and fails. Emrys, as a result, loses his eyesight. He later discovers that he has a second sight, that he can see without his eyes, and with that discovery, he swears that he will never use his powers again.

Branwen tells Emrys many Greek myths and sings about a land named Fincayra that stands somewhere between heaven and earth. Emrys cannot understand why Branwen won’t tell him about his past since he cannot remember anything from before he washed up on shore. Who is his mother? Where did he come from?

CONTAINS SPOILERS:

Emrys tells Branwen that he is leaving to discover his home. She tries to dissuade him but it’s futile. Then she hands him her necklace, which is called the Galator. Emrys builds a raft and sets out. Eventually he reaches land – the Isle of Fincayra. He encounters giant rats and saves a merlin bird that is fighting them. Then, Emrys journeys into the Druma Woods he meets a girl named Rhia who can talk to rivers and trees.

Rhia tells him that the forest is dying and asks Emrys to help her save it. She tells him that giants once lived in Fincayra, but have been killed by the King Stangmar. The forest that was once green died and the sky darkened. Now, goblins roam the land and kill for enjoyment, and ghouliants, warriors that cannot die, guard King Stangmar’s Shrouded Castle that’s always spinning so fast in the darkness that no one can attack it. King Stangmar has burned villages, silenced trees and rivers, and killed birds and animals. Emrys discovers that Stangmar is in search of one of the treasures of Fincayra, the last one that he doesn’t yet possess – the necklace called the Galator. Will Emrys be able to save all of Fincayra from the evil King Stangmar? Is someone else controlling the king?

Day #19: A Page a Day Writing Challenge

2010-05-24T03:49:00.001-04:00

I’m still too lazy to write an outline. The terrible thoughts of the time when I tried to write one for another story still remain. Every time I had written more of that story, I realised that I could not follow the outline because it would mean that the characters would be forced to act in a way that they wouldn’t normally act.

I think I’m going to run into a dead end soon. Right now I ran out of the notes that I had written about various scenes that played in my head about two months ago. I had expanded them that they now fill a few pages. I mostly skipped what happened in between the scenes, so I have to go back to fill in what happened between them. I’m still in the process of thinking of a name for the protagonist. I don’t know how I haven’t decided on one yet. Since I’m writing in first-person, so far it hasn’t been needed yet.

I wrote 359 words, bringing me to a total of 5703 words.

Today, I finished watching the two seasons that are currently released of a British series called Merlin. It’s quite an amazing series and now I’m waiting for the third season. It’s about King Arthur when he is just a prince, and Merlin, who is around the same age. Merlin’s destiny is to protect Prince Arthur for the future of Camelot. There are dragons, knights, druids, trolls, sorcerers, and so many other magical creatures. And there’s sword fighting too! I think James Bradley who plays Prince Arthur is quite good looking.

I really feel like reading some books about King Arthur now. I've always loved the legend and watching films based on it. Currently, I'm in possession of two books: Le Morte D'Arthur by Sir Malory, who wrote it when he was in prison; and The Lost Years of Merlin by T.A. Barron. If you can recommend some really good ones, that would be great.

Day #4, #5: A Page a Day Writing Challenge

2010-05-10T23:59:00.021-04:00

For many months now, I noticed that when I was writing, I was sometimes unsure of what word to use, and it was the same few words that I kept having problems with. So, as I already have access to a couple of grammar books at home, I decided that I should actually start reading them, and I ordered two more. A writer should be very good with grammar! I wrote another two random scenes that occur somewhere in the middle. Perhaps tomorrow I will decide to continue with one of them.

For day four, I wrote 1688 words, and for day five, I managed 826 words, bringing me to a total of 5344 words.

A grammar rule: farther is used when it refers to distance. And further is used for any other situation, especially when it refers to the degree or extent. (The Little Red Writing Book by Brandon Royal)

Right now, I am trying to edit my other story and everything sounds like something that no one would want to read. Does this also happen to other writers when they’re going back over their work?

A poem by Robert Frost

2010-05-10T18:01:00.000-04:00

The first time when I read this poem, I was listening to classical music, and it sounded absolutely amazing with the calm tune that was playing. I love the way it starts off: "Tree at my window, window tree" - that line makes me smile. Window tree, I found after reading this, was the perfect name to call that tree that was by his window.

Tree at My Window
Robert Frost (1874-1963)

Tree at my window, window tree,
My sash is lowered when night comes on;
But let there never be curtain drawn
Between you and me.
Vague dream-head lifted out of the ground,
And thing next most diffuse to cloud,
Not all your light tongues talking aloud
Could be profound.
But tree, I have seen you taken and tossed,
And if you have seen me when I slept,
You have seen me when I was taken and swept
And all but lost.
That day she put our heads together,
Fate had her imagination about her,
Your head so much concerned with outer,
Mine with inner, weather.

Day #2, #3: A Page a Day Writing Challenge

2010-05-08T23:29:00.002-04:00

I didn’t continue writing from the same place I stopped at last time. I added two scenes that would happen later on – one of which is very short and has to be expanded upon. I felt more motivated to write them. Some time soon, I’ll have to fill in the gap of many months between the first chapter and the one I wrote.

Day two was unsuccessful. I didn’t get any writing done. I went to school after I woke up, and when I got home at night, I got too lazy. For day three, I wrote 1265 words, bringing me to a total of 2830 words.

Why force yourself to continue writing from where you left off last time when you have more ideas about other scenes?

Day #1: A Page a Day Writing Challenge

2010-05-06T22:13:00.002-04:00

I noticed that there is so much to say when I am away from the computer or have no paper nearby. When I am walking outside, I describe the scenery to myself in my mind. Yet when I come near the computer screen, I get distracted. I look through every website I can until a few hours later I decide that it’s time to get some writing done. Sometimes I get that writing done, and at other times I’m unsuccessful. Luckily I came across Swimmer’s a Page a Day Challenge and hoped to get some writing done so that I could blog about any success.

Before I started this challenge, I had 839 words, and now I'm at 1565. And it didn't even take very long to write that many.

I realised for the second time how difficult it is to name characters. Last time when I was writing a few days ago, I named two characters. This time I named two more characters and even gave these two a last name (they have the same last name though)! Now all I have to do is decide a name for the protagonist. This is going to be hard. I find myself searching for baby names online trying to find a name that doesn’t bring anyone’s face in mind. I cannot name any of the characters with a name of a person I know or I’ve known in the past.

Is it as difficult for others to name their characters as it is for me?

The Bishop's Man by Linden MacIntyre

2010-05-05T02:02:00.001-04:00

The Bishop's Man by Linden MacIntyre

Rating: 2.5/5
Genre: fiction
Pages: 399
ISBN: 0307357066

Disappointing

The Bishop's Man by Linden MacIntyre is written in first person, and revolves around a priest named Duncan MacAskill. I was surprised that there was so little discussed about religion considering that it was in the viewpoint of a priest. I neither liked nor disliked the protagonist, which is exactly what I felt about this book. There were many different scenes that started off with people talking, and I would have to guess who they were. A lot of the scenes, I found, were pointless. There were flashbacks to a time when MacAskill had visited the Honduras, to his attempt at a teenage relationship, and of his abusive father. These flashbacks and the problems the protagonist faced made him more human.

Overall, there wasn’t as much excitement as I was led to believe. Everything is very subtle, everything happens slowly. I was just reading without being amused or fascinated, and for that, I kept getting lost in the words and forgetting what I had just read and then having to reread those sections. Perhaps if I were a Catholic, I would’ve enjoyed this book more. I don’t know.

The priest, Duncan MacAskill, is seen running errands for the Bishop to prevent bad news related to priests from becoming public information. MacAskill meets with those that have been sexually abused by a priest to help cover up the information, reassuring them that something will be done to the abuser, the priest. ‘Victim’ is a word that the Bishop refuses to use because victims are only creations of an over-active imagination. It is the Bishop who says that he wants priests to keep their “noses out of public matters." So that the public will “keep their noses out of ours.” (209)

MacAskill is trusted by the Bishop, and whatever work he is assigned related to situations such as the above one, he is to keep it a secret. Later on, he is assigned his own perish of Creignish. Yet wherever he is appointed, in essence, the job of a priest entails the priest to be alone most of the time. And being the man the Bishop relies on, the bearer of bad news, he is lonelier than most priests. Once MacAskill thinks, “A storm gives purpose to my idleness… Or justifies the lack of purpose.” (94) He mentions that when he was choosing to become a priest, he was explicitly told to choose “between the desires of the world and the life of sacrifice and service.” (133) It is seen that the loneliness eventually gets to MacAskill and he develops an addiction to alcohol.

MacAskill does wonder what leads a priest to do such things, but he believes that “Deviance is a loss of faith.” (96) There is this one former priest named Brendan Bell that MacAskill believes might be the cause of some occurrences. A boy residing in the perish next to MacAskill’s, named Danny MacKay, is behaving badly, and in the past had been in contact with the former priest, Brendan Bell. MacAskill wonders if Bell has been the cause of Danny’s depression.

The following are some lines I enjoyed (may contain spoilers):

“…words in the absence of action are meaningless. Someday, I’ll dare to say that somewhere.” (49)

“I thought I heard a strange, sad murmur, a voice I hadn’t heard for years.” (75)

“The troubled mind drifts like snow, rearranging banks of memory.” (99)

“Age reopens forgotten places in the memory…” (124)

“The sorrow comes in waves, the way the restless shoreline sighs and rustles long after the passage of a distant vessel.” (137)

“A creeping uneasiness intruded like a cloud.” (171)

“…a tune so sad, I thought, that even nature weeps.” (195) is referring to Neil Gow’s ‘Lament for the Death of His Second Wife.’

““A conscience is an awful curse… Guilt can turn into a disease if you’re not careful. That’s the trouble with diaries, at least if you’re honest in them.”” (203)

“I should have seen what was coming next. But the future has no substance until it turns the corner into history.” (228)

“They say the eyes reveal the state of the soul, and his eyes were clear as the blue sky that day.” (231)

““People do bad things for complex reasons. But nobody is bad, essentially. Right? Evil is rare. We have to believe that. Otherwise memory becomes a toxic pool.”” (367)

““…Damaged people recognize each other. They see the signs of damage where even experts can’t. He trusted me because of that.”” (383)

The Devil in the Flesh by Raymond Radiguet

2010-04-23T01:38:00.003-04:00

The Devil in the Flesh by Raymond Radiguet

Rating: 5/5
Genre: classic, romance
Pages: 127
ISBN: 071450913X, a translation by A.M. Sheridan Smith

Beautiful prose, remarkable story

The Devil in the Flesh by Raymond Radiguet is a short novel that was entertaining throughout. The author was thought to have written this when he was about sixteen to eighteen-years-old; he died at the age of twenty in the year 1923. It is based on his own affair that he had with an older woman.

Written in first person, the prose is beautifully chosen, and the thoughts of the protagonist are poetic and insightful, making this story even more memorable. I enjoyed that the protagonist narrated the story in such a way that we knew how he felt in the future about what he was doing in the past, and he didn’t give too much away.

The story starts off with the protagonist being twelve-years-old. The war has been declared and he talks of his experiences in school. He declares his love to a girl through a letter he has sent through the hands of a boy named Messager.

Later on in his life, he meets a friend named René. They are inseparable and learn more together than the protagonist could ever have learned alone. The parents of the protagonist don’t want him to go to high school yet, to Lycée Henri IV, so he studies at home and ends up reading two-hundred books in two years.

By the time the protagonist is fifteen-years-old, he has kissed many girls, and so has his friend, René. But he never loved any one of them, and so he did not enjoy kissing them.

On an outing with his family, he meets M. and Mme Grangiers, and he meets their daughter, Marthe Grangier. She is eighteen-years-old and she is good-looking, compared to her badly aged mother. And she takes him, the protagonist, seriously. They speak about literature, and he later learns that she is engaged and that her fiancé has forbidden her to read some books. The protagonist tells her that her hair doesn’t look good that way, and then thinks, “What sort of a girl was she … to allow a boy of my age to criticise her hair?” (21)

Marthe’s husband, Jacques Lacombe is a soldier who is often gone from home. An affair eventually starts between Marthe Lacombe and the protagonist, which makes the protagonist question if he really loves her, if she is in fact speaking the truth, and which makes him act in cunning ways that he never before imagined.

The following are a lot lines that I enjoyed (CONTAIN SPOILERS):

“But is the selfishness of children so very different from our own? In the country, in summer, we curse the rain, but farmers pray for it.” (10)

“So I left, and since I was sure I would never see Marthe again I tried hard not to think about her, with the result that I thought of nothing else.” (26)

“I then noticed a flower-stall nearby. I got out and bought some red roses, which I chose one by one and had made up into a bunch. I was thinking not so much of how pleased Marthe would be with them, as the fact that she would have to tell another lie that evening, in explaining to her parents where the roses had come from. Our secret plan, formulated at our first meeting, of attending classes at an art school; the lie on the telephone, which she would have to repeat that evening to her parents, and to which must be added the lie about the roses–these were for me favours more sweet than a kiss. For I had often kissed girls on the lips and had not found it particularly pleasurable. I forgot that this was because I had not loved them, and as a result, I had no great desire to kiss Marthe.” (28-9)

“I asked her to show me a photograph of her fiancé. I thought he looked handsome enough. But sensing already the importance she attached to my opinions, I was hypocritical enough to say that he was very handsome, but in such a way as to give her the impression that I was not very convinced and was saying so only out of politeness. This, I thought, would plant a seed of doubt in her mind, and at the same time win me her gratitude.” (29)

“Freedom soon became a kind of drug.” (31)

“If we live constantly with the same ideas, if we see only one, passionately desired object, we become unaware of how criminal are our desires. Naturally I had no wish to cause my father distress; yet I desired the very thing that would distress him most.” (32)

“When the ties between two people are not yet firm, a single meeting missed is sufficient to lose sight of the other. Through thinking of Marthe so much, I thought of her less and less. My mind was reacting in the same way as one’s eyes react to the wallpaper in one’s room. Through seeing it so often, they cease to see it at all.” (33)

“‘You can’t choose your bed and lie in it.’” (34)

“The joy of pleasing my father at last helped to fill the emotional void in which I now found myself. For if I thought that I no longer loved Marthe, I at least regarded her as the only person who would have been worthy of my love. Which amounts to saying I still loved her.” (36)

“Her hands clung to my neck; they would not have held me so fast in a shipwreck. And I did not understand whether she wanted me to save her or to drown with her.” (40)

“Like the first taste of a strange fruit, my first kiss had been something of a disappointment. We derive our greatest pleasures not from novelty but from familiarity. A few minutes later I had not only grown accustomed to Marthe’s mouth–I could not do without it. And then she spoke of depriving me of it for ever.” (41)

“She made me swear a thousand foolish things.” (41)

“The one who loves always annoys the one who does not.” (43)

“I find it impossible to appreciate anything the first time I experience it. So my enjoyment of the pleasure of love was to increase each day.” (49)

“I did not hate Jacques, I hated the knowledge that we owed everything to the man we were betraying. But I loved Marthe too much to regard our happiness as a crime.” (50)

“Envisaging death calmly is valid only if one envisages it alone. Death in the company of the beloved is no death, even for unbelievers. The painful thing is not to leave life, but to leave whatever gives it meaning. When love is one’s life, what is the difference between living together and dying together?” (52)

“‘Yet,’ I told myself, ‘there are moments when lips and eyes cannot lie.’” (57)

“It pained me that I was unable to penetrate her real thoughts.” (57)

“Our happiness was a sand-castle. But the tide had no fixed time, and I hoped it would come in as late as possible.” (68)

“…she was intelligent enough and in love enough to realise that happiness is not to be found in the opinion of neighbours, but she was like those poets who, knowing that true poetry lies under a ‘curse’, nonetheless suffer because they cannot win the approbation they despise.” (69)

“I never wanted to kiss Marthe so much as when her attention was taken up by something else; or to touch her hair and undo it as when she was pinning it up.” (74)

“All love has a youth, a maturity and an old age. Was I already at that final stage when love no longer satisfied me unless accompanied each time by some new trick?” (74-5)

“The field shivered in the evening breeze.” (75)

“I saw how her weakness was like my own; we hoped that the sea would spare our sand-castle, whereas other children hasten to build higher up the shore.” (80)

“It must be admitted that if the heart has its reasons which reason knows nothing of, it is because the reason is less reasonable than the heart.” (80-1)

“This alarm made me curse the fact that love places us in the situation of having to justify our actions, when I would so much have liked never to have to justify anything I did, even to myself.” (94-5)

“But at what point does the inhuman become the human?” (109)

“We were like children standing on a chair, proud to be taller than the grown-ups. Circumstances had hoisted us up, but this did not make us adults. And if, in our experience, certain complicated things seemed very simple, other very simple things became serious obstacles.” (111)

“Misfortune never seems just. Only happiness is one’s due. In accepting this misfortune without demur I was not being brave. It was simply that my mind could not encompass it.” (117)

“I listened, stupefied, to the doctor’s decree, as a condemned man listens to his sentence being passed. If he does not flinch, people say how brave he is. It isn’t bravery at all, but a failure of the imagination. He does not actually hear the sentence until they wake him on the morning of his execution.” (117)

“Is it true perhaps that love is the most violent form of selfishness?” (121)

“In my incoherence I was grateful that for a few moments I had known what it was to suffer–or so I thought. But nothing is less like a thing that that which is closest to it. A man who had been near to death thinks how he knows death. When the day finally comes for him to meet it, he does not recognise it. ‘This is not it,’ he says, as he dies.” (123)

“A disorderly man who is about to die, and does not know it, suddenly begins to put everything around him in order. His life changes. He files his papers. Her rises early and retires early to bed. He gives up his vices. His friends are pleased with the change that has come over him. As a result, his sudden death seems all the more unjust. He was going to have a happy life. Similarly, the regularity of my new life was merely the final preparation of a condemned man.” (125)

A poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

2010-04-20T23:36:00.000-04:00

Recently, I discovered two amazing poems by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. I didn't even know before this that she existed. But the biggest part that I'm impressed with is this poet is a woman. I often find male poets that I admire, not female ones. I suppose they don't get as popular.

What I like most about this poem is that after Browning describes all these things that happen in nature, such as "Five months ago the stream did flow" and how five months ago, her cheeks were blushing, she goes on to conclude, "It was thine oath that first did fail, - / It was thy love proved false and frail, - / And why, since these be changed now, / Should I change less than thou." The conclusion to this poem, I found, was amazing. I liked how she related her relationship to the changing of the nature around her.

Change Upon Change
Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861)

Five months ago the stream did flow,
The lilies bloomed within the sedge,
And we were lingering to and fro,
Where none will track thee in this snow,
Along the stream, beside the hedge.
Ah, Sweet, be free to love and go!
For if I do not hear thy foot,
The frozen river is as mute,
The flowers have dried down to the root:
And why, since these be changed since May,
Shouldst thou change less than they.

And slow, slow as the winter snow
The tears have drifted to mine eyes;
And my poor cheeks, five months ago
Set blushing at thy praises so,
Put paleness on for a disguise.
Ah, Sweet, be free to praise and go!
For if my face is turned too pale,
It was thine oath that first did fail, -
It was thy love proved false and frail, -
And why, since these be changed now,
Should I change less than thou.

Robert's Rules Of Writing by Robert Masello

2010-04-20T23:19:00.001-04:00

Robert's Rules Of Writing by Robert Masello

Rating: 4/5
Genre: writing
Pages: 224
ISBN: 1582973261

Rules that get straight to the point

Masello’s 101 unconventional rules are quite good, especially for people who haven't read any other writing books before. It was a greatly entertaining book, which had amusing examples of many of the rules that were given that I found myself flipping pages and soon finishing the book. I have some lines from almost every one of the rules highlighted to look back at. The following are some I found interesting:

- Rule 40: Cook Up a Story. Masello recounts a time when he went to a reading of unpublished writers, and noticed that everything was well-written, but nothing really happened in the story. “If there was any conflict, it was in a distinctly lower key; if there was any change in a character’s situation, it was so modest as to be almost imperceptible. If anything happened, it was off-screen, downplayed, or barely acknowledged.”
- Rule 46: Go for Broke. One of his writing students told him that they were saving their best work for their novel, instead of including it in their assignments. Masello says, “… you may think you’re saving it up for later use, but in fact you’re letting it get stale, you’re letting it lose some of its vitality. Material you think is unforgettable today, you will have forgotten by this time next year.”
- Rule 68: Kill the Passion. “…write out of all the passion you can manage–but just don’t expect it to be very good.” Why? Because, “Passion has a way of clouding the judgement…”
- Rule 69: Grumble and Fuss. “Only the bad writers are ever truly satisfied.”

- Rule 1: Burn Your Journal. You won't get you any closer to being a writer by keeping a journal.
- Rule 4: Zip the Lip. Just like Stephen King, Masello believes that any part of your story should not me made public. He says, “Professional writers know that the more you talk about something you’re planning to write, the less likely it is that you’ll ever write it.”
- Rule 5: Call Out the Though Police. The best ideas are all in your head, you just have to pay attention to them.
- Rule 9: Lose the Muse. He says, “… you cannot build your writing life around her.” But, “She is irresistibly drawn to the aroma of hard work.” - Rule 15: Wave Good-bye. Anything that is popular in fiction right now will likely be unpopular by the time you are done writing about it.
- Rule 22: Pick Your Poison. Instead of giving up writing, which will result in disappointment for the rest of your life, keep writing. Your fear “evaporates with every word you write.”
- Rule 25: Wing It. Make a plan for your story to save you from getting stuck and from weeks of revision. And keep revising your plan because your story will keep changing.

He also mentioned that you should give your work a title, which you can change later on, just to know what direction you’re heading in, and not to look back at the words that you have written. You should leave the editing for when you’re supposed to be editing, which is after your first draft.

I have been using this approach for a long time now, and was able to make some progress when I stopped looking back. Also, with making a plan to refer to, I no longer had to edit or try to put in extra words here and there. Masello also does not like to read stories in present tense, because when you’re reading a story, it’s already in the past. I thought I was the only one who felt bothered by reading in the present tense.

A poem by Edgar Allan Poe

2010-04-10T17:15:00.004-04:00

My favourite lines from this poems are when he states in the first section, "All that we see or seem / Is but a dream within a dream." And then he later questions himself, saying, "Is all that we see or seem / But a dream within a dream?" It makes you wonder what reality really is.

A Dream Within a Dream
Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849)

Take this kiss upon the brow!
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow-
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.

I stand amid the roar
Of a surf-tormented shore,
And I hold within my hand
Grains of the golden sand-
How few! yet how they creep
Through my fingers to the deep,
While I weep- while I weep!
O God! can I not grasp
Them with a tighter clasp?
O God! can I not save
One from the pitiless wave?
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?

A quote by William Congreve

2010-04-09T19:03:00.003-04:00

"What cannot a day produce? The night before I thought myself a happy man, in want of nothing ... In the midst of crowds I remain in solitude. Nothing but you can lay hold of my mind, and that can lay hold of nothing but you."

- William Congreve

Gone by Lisa McMann

2010-04-01T18:33:00.003-04:00

Gone by Lisa McMann

Rating: 1/5
Genre: teen fiction
Pages: 224
ISBN: 1416979182

Series should have ended with Fade

In Gone by Lisa McMann, nothing really happened in the story. I didn't like the writing style at all and the fact that it was written in present tense. There were so many sentences that didn't even contain a subject. For example, "Lies back down on the couch, full of cake. Thinks about what happens next. Knows that she'll say..." (182) Also, Janie started swearing a lot in this book and even at her mother. It didn’t sound like a realistic choice of words that she would use.

Overall, I felt like I wasted my time reading this book. Janie is complaining a lot and her thoughts are very repetitive. The story should have started and ended with the second book, Fade. I don't understand why authors are trying to create trilogies when they have nothing to write about.

Janie has to make a decision. She can either get a scholarship and attend school and eventually lose her eyesight and the function of her hands. Or she can become a recluse and live on her own somewhere far away from town where no one will dream, and as a result preserve her eyesight and the feeling of her hands. Little does she know that her second option comes with more consequences than she first thought.

Janie discovers that her father is still alive. But he is in a coma. He had been living alone all this time. Her mother, the alcoholic, has told her that his brain exploded. When Janie goes to visit his room, she always experiences the same dream, with bright colours and static and feels that she can barely make it out of it alive.

What is going on in her father’s dreams? What will Janie discover about her father’s past? What will Janie choose to do?

A quarter of the book is committed to Janie and Caleb visiting his brother’s house for vacation. Another half or so is dedicated to Janie not knowing what to do about her father, secretly visiting his house, and trying to help him. And the last quarter is about Janie still trying to help her father and making her big decision. So, all in all, nothing really happened that couldn’t be explained in one or two sentences.

Here are some quotes I enjoyed. Contains spoilers:

“They stand near the grave and wait. Even the birds are quiet as they approach the heat of the day.” (172)

I also liked the concept of Morton’s Fork, not the quote ahead, which Janie explains as, “A totally suck-ass choice between two equally terrible outcomes.” (191)

A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami

2010-03-27T18:17:00.032-04:00

A Wild Sheep Chase: A Novel by Haruki Murakami

Rating: 2.5/5
Genre: Japanese fiction
Pages: 353
ISBN: 037571894X

What exactly happened?

Like Haruki Murakami’s other novels, A Wild Sheep Chase consists many events and characters that are similar to his other novels. The protagonist has some entertaining thoughts.

I found the concept of a sheep embodying a person to achieve greatness quite interesting. Genghis Khan was even mentioned as a person who the sheep entered. The sheep forms its host’s will and makes the host do extraordinary things that the sheep wants accomplished, such as build a network of people. And once the host has served his purpose, the sheep leaves to find another host, leaving the former host sheepless.

I am still at a loss for why people think this novel is so incredible. The characters weren’t so extraordinary, and the story felt like every other one of Murakami’s novels that I’ve read. His best work, I find, is Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World.

There is an unnamed protagonist, who has a pet cat and has had a divorce after four years of marriage. He is bored of life. His wife left with everything he bought for her, and everything she bought for herself. She even cut out herself from any pictures she was in, as though she was never there.

After, while at work, he stares at pictures of ears and one day has a strange urge to meet the woman they belonged to. The woman has a sort of sixth sense and becomes his girlfriend. She looks plain and hides her ears, but when she shows them, she looked incredible. She tells him that she has closed her ears, because opening them gives her a headache, and he can train himself to do the same.

One day, he receives a letter from his friend called the Rat, who has enclosed a picture of sheep on a mountainside and requested that the protagonist display this picture for everyone to see. There is a sheep in the photo that is of a breed that is not supposed to exist. It has a mark of a star on its back. Thus, the protagonist publishes the photo, which results in him being forced to go on a strange adventure by a rich man’s butler. In this case it is to find a sheep within the time limit of a month, otherwise his life will be over. The rat disappeared some months back, and now the protagonist has nothing to work with except his girlfriend and the fact that he is trying to find a sheep.

We learn about the history of sheep being kept in Japan. And the town in which the sheep’s picture was taken. And of many people that that sheep possessed – those people were sheeped. The sheep would create a cist in the people’s minds, a way to control the host, sort of like a whip. After the sheep used those people, and those people served their purpose, the sheep would leave them, and they would become sheepless. Being in that state makes those people lose the will to live.

And then the protagonist solves the mystery, and the woman leaves him. He later discovers that she has lost her sixth sense. And in the end, the protagonist ends up alone.

At the beginning the protagonist talked about a girl he used to sleep with many years ago. She told him that when she would turned the age of twenty-five, she would kill herself. And so, she did. When she was twenty-six, she died, and he attended her funeral. This somewhat foretells how other characters might think like – being bored with life and not being afraid to die.

Here are some quotes I enjoyed:

“As I started out long and hard, things began to melt in the rain. In fact, everything in town was melting.” (113)

“She reminded me of a girl I used to know in the third grade, when I was taking piano lessons. … But her name and face, entirely forgotten. All I remember about her are her tiny pale hands and pretty hair and fluffy dress. It’s disturbing to realize this. Have I stripped her of her hands and hair and dress? Is the rest of her still living unattached somewhere else? Of course, this can’t be. The world goes on without me. People cross the streets through no intervention on my part, sharpen pencils, move fifty yards a minute west to east, fill coffee lounges with music that’s refined into nothingness.” (114)

“There’re many things we don’t know. It’s an illusion that we know anything at all.” (148)

“On a telephone pole, three plump pigeons burbled mindlessly away. Something had to be on their mind to be going on like that, maybe the pain from corns on their feet, who knows? From the pigeons’ point of view, probably it was I who looked mindless.” (161)

“Summer had faded to a distant memory almost beyond recall.” (164)

“The wad showed no sign of going down no matter how many bills I used. Only I showed signs of wear.” (165)

“The buildings began to look like backdrops in a photography studio, the people walking the streets like cardboard cutouts.” (203)

Tempted by P. C Cast & Kristin Cast

2010-03-25T18:11:00.003-04:00

A House of Night: Tempted by P. C Cast & Kristin Cast

Rating: 3/5
Genre: teen fiction, vampires
Pages: 336
ISBN: 0312567480

Could have been much shorter

Tempted by P.C. Cast is the sixth book in the House of Night series. It starts off slow and dull, but after about a hundred pages, the story becomes more interesting.

I think the most interesting character was Rephaim. The normal cast of characters: Zoey and Stevie Rae, both kept having repetitive thoughts about doing one thing but not wanting to do it at the same time, or explaining too much of what we already know. That is how much of the unnecessary parts passed.

I was not impressed that Erik was seen as the bad guy although it was Zoey who was hurting his feelings by dealing with so many guys at the same time she was going out with him. Zoey is seen as young, and even her grandma states that she has a lot of time to choose one guy, thus it is alright to have many guys on the side.

CONTAINS SPOILERS:

Kalona is not dead. He still wants Zoey and he visits her in her dreams. Erik could tell by the way Kalona looked at Zoey before that he felt something for her. Erik is annoyed that she isn’t giving him much attention even though they are dating. Zoey feels that Erik wants to control her because he doesn’t want her being so close to other guys, so she breaks up with him.

Stark had sworn himself to Zoey to be her warrior, but she is only learning what it means to have a warrior. A warrior can feel what is going on in the mind of the person they are protecting, which is good and bad at the same time.

Stevie Rae and Erik and a few others go in groups to search the premises to see if all of the Raven Mockers are gone. Stevie Rae, who is searching a section on her own, finds a live one, who calls himself Rephaim. He wants her to kill him, but she takes pity on him, for a reason she cannot understand. It was when he laughed that Rephaim, seemed so human that she could not end his life. He is terribly hurt and thinks he will never be able to fly again.

Stevie Rae feels that Zoey knows that she is hiding something. After all, Aphrodite is imprinted with Stevie Rae. Thus, Stevie Rae decides to tell Zoey about the red fledglings that she has been hiding, who have not yet chosen good over evil.

However bad hiding the Raven Mocker might have seemed to her, she will not tell of his existence. She wants to help Rephaim, so she sends him down to the tunnels to where the evil red fledglings are now residing. The good red fledglings are residing with the nuns.

Kalona shows Zoey visions of his past. He used to be Nyx’s warrior, but then he started to feel more for Nyx than he should have. That was when he was banished from that realm and became the type of person he used to detest. He suggests to Zoey that it might be possible for him to change if she was with him, just like how she changed Stark, making him good, because of the possibility that Nerferet is corrupting him.

Aphrodite sees a vision that has two end results. One in which Zoey is Kalona’s lover, and everyone, human and vampire, is burning in a wheat field. The other one is of Zoey saying something to Kalona that destroys him. Zoey is confused and doesn’t know if she should trust Kalona, but she knows that her body wants him, because her soul used to be A-ya, a maiden that was made to love Kalona. Zoey feels as though Nyx shouldn’t have banished Kalona because he started to love her. Zoey imagined that Kalona felt an immense pain for having been banished and breaking the centuries old bond of no longer being Nyx’s warrior.

Zoey thinks that she can locate Kalona by the places she is seeing in her dreams. While searching online, her friend, Jack, discovers people writing about Kalona on their blogs. This leads the group to Venice. Kalona is claiming to be Erebus, and Neferet is claiming to be Nyx Incarnate. Zoey wants to speak against them.

Stevie Rae refuses to go with Zoey because she claims that the red fledglings need her. She suggests that Aphrodite fill her place in the circle. Stevie Rae wants to convince the evil red fledglings, to come join her at the House of Night, where the rest of the red fledglings are residing.

The evil red fledglings detest Stevie Rae and want to kill her. They are looking forward to the return of Neferet. Just before the sun comes up, Stevie Rae comes to convince the evil ones, and they tell her that Rephaim is on top of a building and is hurt. The evil fledglings threatened him to go up there. She goes to save him, however, it’s a trap and she’s caged in. Rephaim attempts to save her from the sun.

Burned and damaged, the two make it into the ground. He offers her his blood, which smells odd, but she has no choice, otherwise she’ll die. Her imprint is then broken with Aphrodite and a new unusual imprint is created with Rephaim.

Heath overhears Neferet and Kalona speaking privately, and is killed. This results in Zoey’s soul shattering, leaving her body an empty shell. Will Zoey be able to stop the evil? Or will Aphrodite’s vision become reality?

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

2010-03-15T17:48:00.003-04:00

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Rating: 4/5
Genre: classic
Pages: 272
ISBN: 0199535981

A notable ending

“[W]hat does it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose … his own soul?’” (Chapter XIX)

The Picture of Dorian Gray was entertaining to read and had an unexpected ending. The prose was beautiful, and there were many references to roses. The idea of this story is very creative and I was surprised that the story was this interesting. The only problem I had was that there were too many conversations to demonstrate Lord Henry’s thoughts.

One day, Basil Hallward, an artist, sees Dorian Gray at a gathering and feels instantly connected to him. Basil feels that Dorian can inspire his work to be tremendous.

Basil befriends Dorian, and asks him to come to his studio so that Dorian can get his picture painted. Dorian is beautiful and young, and Basil always tells him that.

Soon after, however, Basil hints to his friend, Lord Henry, about his strange meeting with and interest in Dorian Gray. And that Dorian has inspired him, and his paintings to be the best that he has ever painted.

Hearing that Dorian is untainted, Lord Henry wants to show Dorian the world, and to help Dorian experience new thoughts and emotions. Although Basil wants to keep Dorian to himself, because he knows the mind games that Lord Henry plays with all of his friends, Henry ends up meeting Dorian by accident, when Dorian comes to the studio. That is how innocent Dorian’s life changes.

Later, Lord Henry tells Dorian that he can have everything he wants in his youth, because of his appearance, but that beauty won’t last forever. Dorian becomes upset, and after Basil is finished painting picture of him, Dorian wishes that he could look like the Dorian in the picture forever, and that the Dorian in the picture would age instead him.

See the wicked evils that Dorian commits to alter the face in the picture. Read the thoughts and ideas Lord Henry plants into Dorian’s mind, like a devil whispering into his victim’s ears.

The following are a few lines I enjoyed:

“The advantage of the emotions is that they lead us astray, and the advantage of science is that it is not emotional.” (Chapter III)

“Experience was of no ethical value. It was merely the name men gave to their mistakes.” (Chapter IV)

“It often happened that when we thought we were experimenting on others we were really experimenting on ourselves.” (Chapter IV)

“... who were extremely old-fashioned people and did not realize that we live in an age when unnecessary things are our only necessities…” (Chapter VIII)

“So I have murdered … her as surely as if I had cut her little throat with a knife. Yet the roses are not less lovely for that. The birds sing just as happily in my garden.” (Chapter VIII)

“‘To cure the soul by means of the senses, and the senses by means of the soul!’” (Chapter XVI)

“It is said that passion makes one think in a circle.”(Chapter XVI)

“Knowledge would be fatal. It is the uncertainty that charms one. A mist makes things wonderful.” (Chapter XVIII)

“Crime belongs exclusively to the lower orders … I should fancy that crime was to them what art is to us, simply a method of procuring extraordinary sensations.” (Chapter XIX)

Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut

2010-03-09T17:40:00.002-05:00

Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut

Rating: 4/5
Genre: classic, comedy
Pages: 288
ISBN: 0385334141

An odd ending

"We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be."

The moral of the story is stated in the introduction, I suppose for people that might ask themselves what happened. The most shocking part is the ending, which happened somewhat unexpectedly that I didn’t know what I was supposed to think. Vonnegut manages to weave a tale full of comical characters, not that they seemed unrealistic. I noticed the beginning of the story was more humorous, and by the end of the story, it become quite serious.

In Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut, we follow Howard W. Campbell Jr., an American who moved to Germany, and became a famous playwright and a Nazi propagandist. In the beginning, we see Howard inside an Israeli prison, waiting for his trial. He is told to write his story, because people think that they will discover something from it. Thus, Howard commences to write his memoirs.

We follow Howard through his married life with Helga, how he transmitted secret codes during the war as a secret agent for America that not even he knew of, and when he started living in New York.

How does Howard, without his wife, live? If he isn’t considered a spy for America, what is he considered?

CONTAINS SPOILERS:

I enjoyed greatly how Howard, the playwright, claimed that as a writer, he should've known when was a good time to end his story, his life.

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

2010-02-09T17:33:00.002-05:00

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Rating: 4/5
Genre: classic
Pages: 484
ISBN: 1840224304

Lengthy but amusing

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky is a novel that takes a lot of dedication to read because of its length, but I found it to be a satisfying experience. The story isn’t like any other I have ever read. The beginning lures you into reading it, and after a while you want to know how the protagonist will change. What I found at first to be confusing were the some of the many different characters that were introduced not only had one name, but had a nickname too, which were used quite often. Constance Garnett does an excellent job in translating; I read the Wordsworth Classics edition.

The most interesting part of this novel, I found, was when Raskolnikov, the protagonist, spoke to another about the article he had written some months prior. This argument seemed to be the heart of the novel. “[A]ll men are divided into “ordinary” and “extraordinary”. Ordinary men have to live in submission, have no right to transgress the law, because … they are ordinary. But extraordinary men have a right to commit any crime and to transgress the law in any way, just because they are extraordinary.” (221) By reading that, you can imagine what category Raskolnikov wanted to be a part of.

The story commences with Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov, also called Rodya, sneaking out of the room that he rents, because he is “hopelessly in debt to his landlady...” He used to be a student and he used to give lessons to earn some money, but he found himself out of work, and the only pair of clothes he had became too worn out to get any respectable employment. His mother had not sent him money recently because he had her own expenses to take care of.

Without money, Raskolnikov has been starving himself, and as a result is suffering from delusions and strange thoughts, and becomes easily irritable.

While sitting at a restaurant one day, he overhears a conversation between two men, speaking of a pawnbroker who is so stingy that she buys their items at too low of a price. One man says that he would be doing everyone a favour by killing that old lady, the pawnbroker. But he wouldn’t actually do it, he concluded. Raskolnikov, however, was very touched by the conversation of the pawnbroker who he has been going to for money. He starts imagining how he would like to kill her in his mind, and goes about trying to initiate his plans.

How will Raskolnikov’s life take a sudden turn as a result of his plans? What punishment must he bear because of his crime?

“[A]n extraordinary man has the right – that is not an official right, but an inner right – to decide in his own conscience to overstep . . . certain obstacles, and only in case it is essential for the practical fulfilment of his idea (sometimes, perhaps, of benefit to the whole of humanity). … if the discoveries of Kepler and Newton could not have been made known except by sacrificing the lives of one, a dozen, a hundred, or more men, Newton would have had the right, would indeed have been in duty bound . . . to eliminate the dozen or the hundred men for the sake of making discoveries his known to the whole of humanity. But it does not follow that Newton had a right to murder people right and left and to stead every day in the market. … [L]egislators and leaders of men, such as Lycurgus, Solon, Mahomet, Napoleon, and so on, were all without exception criminals, from the very fact that, making new law, they transgressed the ancient one, handed down from their ancestors and held sacred by the people, and they did not stop short at bloodshed either, if that bloodshed – often of innocent persons fighting bravely in defence of ancient law – were of use of their cause. It’s remarkable, in fact, that the majority, indeed, of these benefactors and leaders of humanity were guilty of terrible carnage.” (222)

Love Letters of Great Men by Ursula Doyle (Ed.)

2010-01-20T17:27:00.002-05:00

Love Letters of Great Men, edited by Ursula Doyle

Rating: 5/5
Genre: nonfiction - a compilation of love letters
Pages: 176
ISBN: 033050665X

A pleasure to read

Love Letters of Great Men edited by Ursula Doyle is a compilation of old love letters all of which are written by men, as the title states. Some letters were of war and didn't consist of anything amazing, while others had truly remarkable verses. In most of the letters I at least found one or more lines or parts of sentences that I was thoroughly fascinated with, and those parts I highlighted because this is one of those books that I know I will be picking up and reading many times again the lines that once fascinated me and then of course the letter in its entirety if it need be necessary.

Between each writer, there is a brief summary of the significance of the letter to the writer's life, such as when he fell in love, how it happened, when he married, and how it resulted. This summary truly did give the letters their significance, otherwise the reader might be left trying to decipher what was going on.

I enjoyed William Congreve's letter the most, in which it stated the following: "If you do not believe my tongue, consult my eyes, consult your own." (9) And, "What cannot a day produce? The night before I thought myself a happy man, in want of nothing..." (10)

There were other amazing letters as well, such as George Farquhar's: "I came, I saw, and was conquered ... where others go to save their souls, there have I lost mine..." (16)

I highly recommend reading these love letters that are so explicit and different than what I am used to being expressed at this period in time. It was enjoyable to read the beautiful prose and to see the slight differences that love was to each of the writers. Some of the writers were jealous, some felt hatred towards the person they loved most, and most declared their love in some interesting way. I am now in want of love letters of great women.

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

2010-01-09T17:18:00.014-05:00

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Rating: 4/5
Genre: teen fiction, fantasy
Pages: 392
ISBN: 0545123267

Surprisingly enjoyable

While reading Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater, I was impressed that the story and dialogue weren't as typical as I had imagined them to be. It's written in first-person through the eyes of both Grace and Sam. The prose was enjoyable, especially the description of the scenery. My only problem was that the ending should have been at least a few paragraphs longer with a brief explanation of how it came to be that way. I also wanted to know what would happen next.

I liked that there was six years of longing between the two lovers in this novel, thus making the characters’ actions more credible. I enjoyed the few references to Rainer Maria Rilke’s poetry, and when Sam created lyrics in his mind. The beginning and end were interesting, some of the middle part was slightly less, but overall, the pages seemed to fly by.

When Grace was eleven, she was carried away from her backyard swing by a pack of werewolves. It was winter and the pack was famished. Sam, one of the werewolves, stood at the back, watching the others. When he came forward, he saw Grace bleeding on the ground, not even struggling for her life. He thought she looked like an angel. She merely gazed into his yellow eyes, mesmerised. Sam, then, instructed the pack to leave her be, and they did.

That was six years ago. Grace, 17, still watches the woods, still looks for her yellow-eyed wolf. And her wolf, in turn, comes to watch her. However, when summer comes, her wolf no longer comes. And as the cold of winter returns, the wolf, too, returns.

May contain spoilers:

One day everything changes. Jack Culpeper, a boy at her high school is found dead as a result of being attacked by the wolves. Jack is from a rich family, and his father wants the wolves in that area to be shot. Jack, however, isn’t really dead; he is undergoing the transformation to become a werewolf.

Grace, upon hearing this news, races back towards her house, whose backyard faces the woods. She wants to save her wolf, the one that saved her many years ago. But her car breaks down. She does make it back to her house later, and when she races to the backyard to see the woods, she sees a naked boy leaning on the glass door with a bullet wound on his neck. All she recognises are his yellow eyes, and she knows that it’s him, her wolf.

Sam changes into a human in the summer, and back into a werewolf in the colder months. However, this can’t go on forever. One year, a werewolf stops changing into a human, and stays a wolf forever. And Sam knows that this year will be his last year to turn into a human. Knowing that Sam cannot stay in his human form forever, the scenes with him and Grace seemed more sacred to the characters themselves.

Grace was bitten by the werewolves as a child, but didn’t change into one. Could there be a cure? Or is her and Sam’s few weeks’ meeting going to soon come to an end? Will Jack be successful in exposing the werewolves?

Books Read in 2009

2009-12-31T02:07:00.007-05:00

1. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
2. The Midnighters: Blue Noon by Scott Westerfeld
3. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
4. The Quick Resume and Cover Letter Book by Michael Farr
5. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
6. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
7. Lizard by Banana Yoshimoto
8. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
9. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
10. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling
11. On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
12. Othello: The Moor of Venice by William Shakespeare
13. A House of Night: Hunted by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast
14. Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) by Ann-Marie MacDonald
15. The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
16. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
17. Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
18. Technology and Society by Jan L. Harrington
19. The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
20. Vampire Diaries: The Return: Nightfall by L.J. Smith
21. Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell
22. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
23. Wake by Lisa McMann
24. Fade by Lisa McMann
25. Coraline by Neil Gaiman
26. A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick
27. A Sookie Stackhouse Novel: Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
28. The Day It Snowed in L.A. by Charles Bukowski
29. A Sookie Stackhouse Novel: Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris
30. Post Office by Charles Bukowski
31. The Twelve Kingdoms: Sea Of Shadow Volume One by Fuyumi Ono
32. The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty by Anne Rice
33. Angels & Demons by Demons by Dan Brown
34. Coming Up For Air by George Orwell
35. If You Want to Write by Brenda Ueland
36. My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent
37. Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
38. Women by Charles Bukowski
39. The Art Of Fiction: Notes On Craft For Young Writers by John Gardner

The best books of the year:
- The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
- Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell
- Othello: The Moor of Venice by William Shakespeare
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
- Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) by Ann-Marie MacDonald
- The Twelve Kingdoms: Sea Of Shadow Volume One by Fuyumi Ono

And the most disappointing books are:
- Lizard by Banana Yoshimoto
- The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
- Vampire Diaries: The Return: Nightfall by L.J. Smith
- A House of Night: Hunted by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast
- Women by Charles Bukowski

The Art Of Fiction by John Gardner

2009-12-20T17:04:00.013-05:00

The Art Of Fiction: Notes On Craft For Young Writers by John Gardner

Rating: 3.5/5
Genre: fiction writing
Pages: 240
ISBN: 0679734031

Helpful with vague explanations for many conceptsThe basic idea for The Art Of Fiction by John Gardner seems to be that writers should not do “things that distract the reader’s mind from the fictional dream.”

Gardner does not believe in a secret formula to writing a good work of fiction, thus he explains common errors, technique, and plotting. He also explains different forms of fiction writing: the novel, novella, and short story; and discusses a few different types of stories one can write: the energeic novel, lyrical novel, and architectonic novel. He examines the limitations to different points of view, such as the first-person, third-person, and third-person limited point of view. There were also several group and individual exercises at the back. I fount that what was stated was quite helpful, much more than what many other writing books offer.

The following are a few points that I found useful:

-Fiction that ends up nowhere, with no win or loss, makes us think we are in a hurry, and later we discover that there was nothing to be in a hurry about.

-Fiction cannot have any real interest “if the central character is not an agent struggling for his or her own goals but a victim, subject to the will of others.” (65) This is a common mistake for beginners. It is important for the central character to act because the readers then care about what will happen, the character’s desires, and their values.

-To make the character’s motives convincing, the origins must be shown throughout the plot. Thus, a lot of what goes into a story is because the writer needs it there to justify a later action, show the source of motivation, or to reveal a character trait.

-Don’t use ‘that’ or ‘which’ to stretch out your sentence because it causes the sentence to have an anticlimactic ending.

-"Dig out the fundamental meaning of events by organizing the imitation of reality around some primary question or theme suggested by character’s concern." (176)

-"Theme ... is not imposed on the story, but evoked from within it-initially an intuitive but finally and intellectual act on the part of the writer." (177)

-Research the theme to make fiction a serious thought. For example, if nakedness is the theme, then discuss if openness is a virtue or defect, what is said in Christianity and pagan myth about it, and how naked should people be. Search for connections between images.

-Create connections: our minds return to images and events, thus if the hero meets a person in the graveyard, then that “character’s next appearance will carry with it some residue of the graveyard setting.” (192)

Women by Charles Bukowski

2009-12-19T16:53:00.003-05:00

Women by Charles Bukowski

Rating: 2/5
Genre: fiction
Pages: 304
ISBN: 0061177598

Interesting at first, but soon becomes repetitive

Written in first-person, Women by Charles Bukowski starts off interest, but soon you realise that that the protagonist's life consists of two main things: drinking and women. After that, it is noticeable that the entire novel is based on those two things. The beginning is interesting, but about more than two-thirds of the novel is uninteresting, and I was hoping that the story would end.

If you have read Post Office before reading Women, then you will not find the humour greatly amusing. You will find the protagonist unchanging, and the story repetitive because of the many women that the protagonist deals with.

The protagonist, Henry Chinaski, a recluse, drinks all day long and somehow or another, even though he is his fifties, he ends up with a lot of women, most of which admire his writing. Henry has a problem, however, that he cannot settle for just one woman. Thus, you will notice that there are many different women involved throughout the novel, some of which make one appearance, while others make a few. Henry cannot stay sober, so he drinks all day long. He cannot stay faithful to one woman at a time, so he sleeps with many different women, and causes himself problems.

Women is written as though it was an autobiography, which I believe it is. The protagonist, Henry Chinaski, was born in 1920 and is German, which is the same as the author. Henry used to work at the post office, and now is a writer of poetry, novels, and short stories, which is exactly what the author did. Of course, when you are reading such works that are based on real life, you should not expect a proper plot or very much character development. There is just a trace of some development in Henry on the last few pages.

All in all, I recommend reading either Post Office or Women, but not both. I greatly enjoyed Post Office better, and it was shorter too.

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

2009-12-09T16:41:00.024-05:00

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

Rating: 3.5/5
Genre: contemporary fiction, Japanese literature
Pages: 480
ISBN: 1400079276

An odd adventure that leaves you perplexed

“The world is a metaphor…” (465)

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami is a difficult novel to understand, and the ending is not detailed. This is one of those novels that Murakami suggested should be read more than once to fully comprehend.

I thoroughly enjoyed the references to Greek tragedies and philosophy. And the translation of his prose was magnificent.

The story itself seems to be inspired by Greek tragedy, mainly Oedipus Rex. Nothing was told about how the oedipal prophecy came to be, but there were hints given through out the narrative. I believe that this is a story about fate, and how it has the power to bring people together.

If you do not like the story, than at least you can appreciate the ingenious way the story is plotted and the way that the characters’ dialogues were crafted. Through some of the dialogues, it seems as though Murakami is trying to let the readers know about his tastes in music and literature. The journey of the characters is odd yet remarkable. The most interesting character, I found, was Oshima, the one with who Kafka had intellectual conversations with.

“Waves of consciousness roll in, roll out, leave some writing, and just as quickly new waves roll in and erase it. … Before I can read it the next wave's washed it away. All that's left are puzzling fragments.” This seems to be what the title and the story are about. Kafka goes into the world of his conscious and subconscious mind, but can never fully put into words what he learns from the experience. Near the end, we learn that the other world that the characters experienced was in fact the same place. Thus, you must attempt to decipher it yourself.

This novel consists of two stories running parallel to one another. The odd numbered chapters are of Kafka, which are written in first-person and in present tense, and the even numbered chapters are about Nakata, which are written in third-person in past tense.

Throughout the entire story, Murakami tries to demonstrate that “Things outside you are projections of what’s inside you, and what’s inside you is a projection of what’s outside.” (352) Oshima says that human intestines were the prototype of a labyrinth for the ancient Mesopotamians. “So when you step into the labyrinth outside you, at the same time you’re stepping into the labyrinth inside.” (352) With this in mind, you will notice that throughout the story, dreams are as real as reality.

Read the prologue after completing the novel.

DISCRIPTION

Kafka Tamura, in the beginning, is seen talking to “the boy named Crow,” which seems to be in inner voice, about running away on his fifteenth birthday. And he does run away, from his father, from the terrible prophecy that his father used to mention to Kafka, telling him that there was no way he could avoid it. Kafka was prophesied to kill his father, and be with his mother and sister.

Kafka finally understood what the prophecy meant when he was older. However, his mother had taken left him when he was a child, taking his sister with her, and he could not remember how the two looked like.

Kafka goes on an odd adventure, where he meets Sakura, who he suspects to be his sister. And visits a private library, where he meets distinct characters, such as Oshima, the desk clerk who Kafka often asks for advice, and Miss Seiki, the head of the library, who seems to be living in the past. Kafka even stays in a cabin surrounded by a forest alone, reflecting on his life. Can Kafka escape the prophecy and change his fate? Or, like in Oedipus Rex, is fate’s tug too strong for a mortal man?

In the concurrent story is about Satoru Nakata, an old man, who lost his memory as a child because of odd circumstances. He lives alone, is illiterate, and can talk to cats. Like cats, Nakata lives in the present and accepts things as they are.

While searching for a cat that someone asked him to, Nakata goes on an unexpected adventure, meeting the cat killer, Johnnie Walker, and is led by fate to where he must go. Where he must go is what he does not know until the time comes. What mission much Nakata accomplish? Why does he only have half a shadow – a shadow that is lighter than a regular person’s? Will an illiterate man be successful in accomplishing his mission?

QUOTES

“Silence, I discover, is something you can actually hear.” (138)

“There’s only one kind of happiness, but misfortune comes in all shapes and sizes. It’s like Tolstoy said. Happiness is an allegory, unhappiness a story.” (157)

“‘The pure present is an ungraspable advance of the past devouring the future. In truth, all sensation is already memory.’” (273, quoted from Henri Bergson’s Matter and Memory)

“‘At the same time that ‘I’ am the content of a relation, ‘I’ am also that which does the relating.’” (274, quoted from Hegel)

“But beyond any of those details of the real, there are dreams. And everyone’s living in them.” (300)

My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent

2009-12-05T16:30:00.020-05:00

My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent

Rating: 2.5/5
Genre: teen fiction
Pages: 288
ISBN: 0373210035

Becomes less interesting as story progresses

My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent is the first book in the Soul Screamers series aimed for older teens. I was disappointed that the relationship between the protagonist, Kaylee, and Nash, developed too fast. Thus by page sixty, the two were already kissing. There were numerous parts in between that I lost interest in what I was reading and was hoping that those parts would quickly finish.

This novel has mystery and romance. The concept of the story was interesting, with banshees (bean sidhes), grim reapers, and other creatures that inhabit the underworld. The abilities of banshees and grim reapers were the most fascinating to read about.

Overall, it was a quick read, but I'm not sure if I want to continue reading the series. After reading a few teen novels, I am seeing repetition in the stories, and feel like I am looking for more from a story. There isn't even a slight hint of a moral to this story, like many others in this genre; they are written merely for the purpose of entertaining. Maybe the many novels of this category will please younger readers, but not those that are looking for something satisfying to read.

Kaylee Cavanaugh lives with her Uncle Brendon, Aunt Val, and cousin, Sophie. Her mother died when she was three, and her father resides in Ireland. Sometimes Kaylee faces problems if she encounters someone that is supposed to die soon while she is in a large crowd. Once that person is spotted, Kaylee can no longer speak. She has an urge to scream that doesn't die until the person dies or she gets away from them. Unfortunately, Kaylee doesn't know why she has this urge and who she truly is.

The story starts with Kaylee and her friend, Emma Marshall, sneaking into a club called Taboo because Emma's sister, Traci, works there. Emma is beautiful and Kaylee feels lucky to be her friend. There, as Kaylee watches Emma dance with any choice of partners available to her, Nash Hudson shows up and actually tries to have a conversation with her. Nash is one of the most good-looking guys from Kaylee's school and has a reputation of having a lot of girlfriends in the past.

While Kaylee and Nash dance, she spots a beautiful blond girl in her teens who seems strange. Then, with a drink in her hand, Kaylee spots the blond again with an odd shadow around her. In an instant, Kaylee can no longer do anything but to try to stop herself from screaming. She knows that the blond will die very soon.

How will Kaylee recover from the humiliation of Nash seeing her in such a state? Will Nash still talk to her when they see each other in school? Why is Nash talking to her and what is he hiding? Why are teenage girls dying without any cause?

If You Want to Write by Brenda Ueland

2009-10-05T16:28:00.002-04:00

If You Want to Write by Brenda Ueland

Rating: 4/5
Genre: writing instruction
Pages: 180
ISBN: 1555974716

Inspiring

If You Want to Write by Brenda Ueland is an inspirational book about people writing without the fear of not being as good as Shakespeare or any other famous writer. The beginning I found was the most interesting, and the latter half of the book was less. Her thoughts are encouraging and will make you want to write. The most important topic in this book seems to be writing from your true self.

Some of what was discussed in the book includes the following:

Ueland says that everyone is original and has something to write about. If a person writes from their true self – which is quite difficult to do, because people often censor their writing or write what they think that they should be writing – they shall attain the best results.

If you write a bad story, you should write three more stories, and then come back to the first one to see what went wrong. Do not let critics discourage you, because they are people who have never practiced the art of writing themselves.

Do not be afraid of writing and do not become a perfectionist when writing your first draft. When you write whatever is on your mind without changing it and without trying to use complicated words to better your writing, you shall finally be able to write from your true self and be able to write beautifully. Of course you must edit afterwards.

Anyone that has told a story to a child can write a story. Tolstoi said that everything should be expressed in such a way that a seven-year-old boy should be able to understand it.

If you cannot think of what to write, try not to think of it at all. Go for a walk, do other things alone and in silence, and your creativity will flow into you. Write for yourself, not for the purpose of getting published. But do write with an audience in mind, otherwise your story will be boring. If you read your story and any parts drag on, then cut them out.

Coming Up For Air by George Orwell

2009-10-01T16:12:00.002-04:00

Coming Up For Air by George Orwell

Rating: 4/5
Genre: fiction, classic
Pages: 288
ISBN - 10: 0156196255

Unique

Coming Up For Air by George Orwell is unlike any other novel I have read. It is about a man whose life changed after World War I. One day brings back countless memories of his past - the days when he used to fish, his first girlfriend, World War I, the times when he read, his father's unsuccessful seeds business, the time when his older brother ran away etc. The protagonist finally goes back to the town that he once lived in, and finds that whatever he recalled from his memory has changed. It was the ending that gave me a shock.

The novel was difficult to relate to, and hard to read at times (especially when the protagonist goes in depth about the subject of fishing) but will be one that I shall remember for a long time. The story is written as though the protagonist is speaking to the reader.

I was really impressed with the following lines:

"I'm fat, but I'm thin inside. Has it ever struck you that there's a thin man inside every fat man, just as they say there's a statue inside every block of stone?" (24)

CONTAINS SPOILERS:

The story starts with George Bowling, 45, a fat middle-aged insurance salesman going to get his new false teeth. Bowling is married with two children but is quite unhappy with his family. He sometimes feels like strangling his wife, Hilda, because she is always worrying about stupid things, such as the price of butter. If he had known about the thoughts of the class of people that Hilda came from, the poverty-striken officer class of an Anglo-Indian family, he would not have married her. After getting married, Hilda was ready for middle-age to hit her.

Reading a poster regarding King Zog, reminds Bowling of a biblical character, and so his Sundays at church as a child. Little by little during his day, he goes into different aspects of his past.

With the smell of dung, after so long, he recalls his parents, and his father's business in Lower Binfield. He is glad that his father died before going out of business because of the new large store that opened up as the new seeds merchant. His father was unwilling to change his ways in his business.

As a youth, Bowling was fond of fishing. He could spend his entire day fishing. One time he witnessed huge fish in a forgotten pond. The fishing rod he had with him wasn't strong enough to catch the fish of such a grand size. He decided that he would earn money to buy a rod strong enough. After that, he stops fishing, and his life moves on. He meets a girl, and then the war starts. That was the last time he fished. Bowling still wonders if those fish in that forgotten pond would still be there waiting for him to catch them.

In the beginning, Bowling bets on a horse race, using someone’s theory of the colour that the rider wears and the day. He wins a considerable sum of money and wonders what to do with it. He wants to spend it on a woman, but after spending the day recalling his past, he decides to go back to Lower Binfield.

After getting a week off of work and lying to his wife to that he had to go on a business trip, Bowling drives to Lower Binfield and finds the place quite unrecognizable. The small town is now filled with so many people. No one that he once knew seems to be still alive or living there. He feels like telling someone about the town that he once used to know, of the old Lower Binfield, but decides that no one would be interested in the talks of an old man. Nobody remembers his last name, Bowling, which was that of the old families that used to live in the town. He visits the graves of his parents and spends a considerable amount of time going through the town and trying to recall everything that has changed.

Finally, he does meet two people that he once knew - a priest and his old girlfriend. Neither of the two recognize him, and he does not bother to tell either who he is. He is disappointed to see that his old girlfriend's appearance has changed for the worse and she no longer possesses any of the qualities he once admired.

Bowling buys a fishing rod and hooks large enough to catch the huge carps from his memory. However, when he goes to the spot that they were, it has become a dump.

After a bomb lands on Lower Binfield, and Bowling hears a radio announcement about Mrs. Bowling being very sick, he leaves his fishing equipment in his hotel room and goes back home.

Bowling regrets going to Lower Binfield - his memory of his past, of the pleasant days before the war, of his town, of the grand fish that he was to catch that could have been waiting for him have shattered. The ending that shocks me is that Bowling goes back to his home, and lives as he always has.

The Claiming Of Sleeping Beauty by Anne Rice

2009-09-22T01:46:00.008-04:00

The Claiming Of Sleeping Beauty by Anne Rice

Rating: 2.5/5
Genre: fiction, adult
Pages: 253
ISBN - 10: 0452281423

Okay with a lot of repetition

The Claiming Of Sleeping Beauty by Anne Rice (writing as A.N. Roquelaure) is the first of the Sleeping Beauty trilogy. I found that there was much repetition in the descriptions and the events that occurred - apparently the characters noticed the same thing about different characters, and the similar problems were inflicted on the characters. Thus, I grew tired of reading because of this. I cannot even imagine how much repetition the second and third book will have.

This is a book that only adults should attempt to read. A lot of the time I was very shocked at what I was reading; I guess I am not used to this genre.

After sleeping for one-hundred years, Beauty is awakened by the Prince after he has sexual intercourse with her without consent. Beauty's entire kingdom awakens and she is consistently reminded by the Prince that the curse was lifted and her kingdom was restored because of him. Thus, the Prince has attained right to take her with him to his kingdom.

Beauty is taken to the Prince's kingdom naked, and she becomes slave there. She discovers that she is not the only naked slave there; there are so many more, and all of the slaves are princes and princesses from surrounding kingdoms that were offered to the Queen – the Prince’s mother – as a tribute.

In the palace, the slaves are trained to become submissive and obedient. Everyone, even those in the lowliest ranks are above the slaves. The slaves are spanked, displayed publically, must crawl at times, kiss people’s feet, and entertain their masters.

Will Beauty adjust to this place where pain and pleasure are one and the same? Will she be able to submit and become an obedient slave to please the Prince? Or will Beauty be sent to the village along with the other princes and princesses that were unable to please their masters?

The Twelve Kingdoms: Sea Of Shadow by Fuyumi Ono

2009-08-27T17:53:00.005-04:00

The Twelve Kingdoms: Sea Of Shadow Volume One by Fuyumi Ono

Rating: 5/5
Genre: fiction, fantasy
Pages: 459
ISBN - 10: 1427802572

Fast paced and exciting

I picked up The Twelve Kingdoms: Sea Of Shadow Volume One by Fuyumi Ono about a year after I had watched the anime, and even though I knew what would happen, I still could not put the book down. I wanted to relive those moments, and follow Yoko Nakajima through her journey into a strange world.

Yoko is an intelligent but shy student. She doesn't seem to care about anything. She wants to fit in, but she doesn't bother making proper friends. She has no strong relationships with anyone; she is just there.

One day, while in school, a strange man with long golden hair comes and asks her to follow her. He claims that she is his master and he will protect her. She does not want to follow him, but strange things start happening. A huge demon that resembles a large bird starts attacking her.

The strange man, she learns, is named Keiki. Keiki doesn't want the people at school to get hurt so he takes Yoko on the rooftop. Yoko is given a sword with a large gem on its scarab that only she is able to wield.

She refuses to fight the demon because she does not want to see blood shed, and in the end, she goes with Keiki to the other world. The other world consists of twelve countries. Flocks of demons come to follow them and on the way, Keiki goes missing.

Yoko waits for Keiki for days, but still he does not return. And so she begins her quest to find Keiki and return home. On the way she meets different people, learns lessons she had never been taught in Japan, and grows as a person. Yoko must learn the true reason why she was brought to the strange world and learn to adapt.

I wished it was better translated, because some sentences were cliché. Other than that small problem, the story was gripping and creative. Ono created a remarkable world that I wanted to know more about.

Post Office by Charles Bukowski

2009-07-09T22:02:00.005-04:00

Post Office by Charles Bukowski

Rating: 4.5/5
Genre: fiction, classic
Pages: 115
ISBN - 10: 0876850867

Hilarious yet sad

Post Office by Charles Bukowski is a very short novel that should only be read by older readers because of the numerous references to women and sex. There isn't really a climax to the story because it revolves around work, but it has humour throughout, thus it will not bore the reader. I did not like that the women in the novel are seen as worthless things that are only there for Henry to sleep with and are not good for anything else.

Post Office is written through the eyes of Henry Chinaski, a middle aged man, whose life revolves around drinking and women. Henry's life at the U.S. Postal Service began as a mistake during Christmas season when the post office would hire anyone.

As a substitute mail carrier, Henry tells about his life at the post office and his carelessness of his work. There are his superiors with impossible demands, and Henry talking back to them and disappearing from work for days at a time. Every morning when he comes into work, he has a hangover. Henry hates work and his workplace is unorganized and irrational, yet he must earn to survive.

After getting bored of the post office numerous times, Henry quits, yet always makes it back there after going through different jobs and different women. Although Henry describes his life humorously, he seems like a terribly lonely man, which will seem more noticeable in the later parts of the novel. The story then continues in Charles Bukowski's other novel called Women.

Living Dead In Dallas by Charlaine Harris

2009-07-09T19:41:00.003-04:00

Sookie Stackhouse Novel 2: Living Dead In Dallas by Charlaine Harris

Rating: 4/5
Genre: fiction, mystery, fantasy
Pages: 291
ISBN - 10: 0441009239

Another entertaining mystery

Living Dead In Dallas by Charlaine Harris is the second of the Sookie Stackhouse novels. The novels are entertaining and unpredictable. There are so many different events that take place to make the story more exciting.

Sookie finds Lafayette is dead in Detective Andy Bellefleur's car. Andy is being suspected by the townspeople, but who murdered Lafayette? And why? Andy asks Sookie to look into the minds of people to discover the culprit, but telepathy is not as easy at it sounds.

Not only that, Eric takes up Sookie on her offer of helping out whenever her assistance is needed, as long as the humans that were involved would not be killed. Sookie is to go to Dallas with Bill to talk to Stan, whose vampire brother, Farrell, has been abducted. The Fellowship of the Sun, a religious anti-vampire group, is suspected. Will Sookie be able to provide her assistance and recover Farrell alive?

Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

2009-06-30T18:13:00.001-04:00

Sookie Stackhouse Novel 1: Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

Rating: 3/5
Genre: fiction, mystery, fantasy
Pages: 312
ISBN - 10: 9780441015979

Entertaining

Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris is the first of the Sookie Stackhouse novels and is written in first person through the eyes of Sookie. I wish I had read it before completing season one of True Blood because I knew the results of many of the events. There are some parts, however, that were not shown on True Blood. The novel became much more interesting after getting through a hundred pages.

Sookie's life changes when she encounters a vampire in Bon Temps, Louisiana at her workplace, Merlotte's. She's no ordinary 26-year-old bar waitress, she can read people's minds. She hears the ill intentions of a couple and rescues Bill Compton the Vampire, thus acquiring his affection.

Although vampires are now being accepted into the world, it does not mean that everyone is willing to consent to this change. For the first time after six years, a murderer is loose in Bon Temps and is strangling women who associated with vampires.

Will the murder be discovered? Or will it be too late for Sookie? Discover more about Bill and the world of vampires.

A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick

2009-06-20T00:57:00.007-04:00

A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick

Rating: 4/5
Genre: fiction, romance
Pages: 291
ISBN - 10: 1554685036

A captivating narrative

A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick is written in third person with the narrator going into the heads of three main characters: Ralph Truitt, Catherine Land, and Antonio Truitt. The cover attracted me most to pick up this novel, but I was not disappointed. There is a proper ending leaving the reading certain of the characters' positions.

At first the narrative seems somewhat uninteresting, but as the author reveals more about the characters, the story becomes quite engaging that I had to force myself to put the book away. The prose is beautiful. I believe women eighteen and older will definitely enjoy this tale of romance.

Ralph Truitt is a rich man in his forties, living in Wisconsin in 1907. His heart broke twenty years prior when he caught his wife, Emilia, cheating on him. Incapable of looking at Antonio’s resemblance to his mother, Emilia, Ralph beat his son unnecessarily until Antonio runs away. Unable to bear his lonely life any longer and regretting the terrible deeds he did to his son, Ralph advertises for 'a reliable wife.' Catherine Land answers the ad, claiming that she is 'a simple honest woman,' and soon she comes to Wisconsin in the wintertime to marry Ralph.

Discover the clandestine pasts of Ralph and Catherine. Without any love for Ralph and always lying about her own identity, what intentions does Catherine have? Will Antonio ever forgive his father for ruining his childhood? Will Catherine ever truly love Ralph?

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

2009-06-16T17:36:00.007-04:00

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

Rating: 3.5/5
Genre: fantasy, adventure, children's book
Pages: 162
ISBN - 10: 0061649694

Enjoyable for children and adults

Coraline by Neil Gaiman is a short, eerie and enjoyable tale about a girl learning to appreciate her parents through a peculiar experience. The story is interesting enough to keep a person's attention throughout. The story was brilliant and aspects of it reminded me of 'Alice Through the Looking Glass' by Lewis Carroll. The writing is amazing and makes the most ordinary events seem exciting. I believe I would have enjoyed it more if someone didn't ruin the ending for me.

Coraline's family moves into a part house that has a door in it, which when opened, leads to a brick wall. In the other parts of the house lives a crazy old man named Mr. Bobo, and two elderly women that claimed to be actresses, named Miss Spink and Miss Forcible.

One summer night, Coraline awakens to find that the other side of that strange door leads to another world in which lives the other mother, the other father, the other crazy old man, the other Miss Spink, and the other Miss Forcible. These parodies of the people she knows have buttons for eyes, and the other mother does not want Coraline to leave.

Will Coraline ever manage to make it back home to her true parents?

Fade by Lisa McMann

2009-06-09T22:15:00.005-04:00

Fade by Lisa McMann

Rating: 4/5
Genre: fiction, fantasy, teens, Young Adult
Pages: 248
ISBN - 10: 1416953582

An entertaining sequel

Fade by Lisa McMann is the second book in this trilogy. I did not know what to expect after the first book, but I was impressed. The novel is short, quite entertaining, but somewhat sad. I found myself laughing at many scenes. I am looking forward to the sequel, Gone.

Janie Hannagan and Cabel Strumheller are in their last year of high school and their relationship continues to evolve. They cannot date in public because of the undercover work that Cabel does. Janie is asked to do some detective work too. They are to find a sexual predator at their own school.

What will Janie find when she looks into the dreams of students? Will Janie and Cabel find the sexual predator even when no victims admit to it? What dreadful things will Janie discover about her gift as a dream catcher?

Wake by Lisa McMann

2009-06-09T14:18:00.006-04:00

Wake by Lisa McMann

Rating: 3/5
Genre: fiction, fantasy, teens, Young Adult
Pages: 210
ISBN - 10: 1416974474

Enjoyable and short

Wake by Lisa McMann is written in present tense and can be completed within a few hours. The story is interesting, although I did not like the beginning so much. Janie, 17, kept getting sucked into random people's dreams and was helpless about it. I guess the author wanted the readers to know how often that happened, but I felt that it was unnecessary since it did not move the story forward.

I liked that Janie was from a poor family because otherwise her experiences would be different if she were not. The antagonist in the story was not as bad or scary as I expected. I did not like that there were such short sentences and paragraphs.

The story starts off with Janie Hannagan, a lonely girl, who gets taken into people's dreams whenever they are around her in the same room, or when there isn't a closed door or window between them. Once when she is driving by a certain street, she sees a dreadful dream about a middle aged man burning someone, and the victim turning into a monster with swords. She is terrified of that dream and decides she should not take that road anymore to go to school.

Janie lives with her mother, an alcoholic, and they are on welfare. She does not have all the luxuries that others in her school have, such as new clothes. She notices that another individual in her school, Cabel Strumheller, is also in that situation without new clothes.

Who is dreaming such a terrifying dream? Will Janie be able control herself when she is in other people's dreams? Will Janie’s relationship evolve with Cabel?

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

2009-06-08T21:10:00.007-04:00

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Rating: 3/5
Genre: fiction, classic
Pages: 259
ISBN - 10: 0060850523

A world of drugs and instant gratification

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley starts off slow and uninteresting. All sorts of chemicals are named and the description of how the children of A.F. 632 are created and grow up. After the first three chapters, the real story starts and it becomes more interesting.

I did not like how later on in the story, John, a savage, was the main focus. I was hoping that the story would centre on Bernard the entire time. The idea was interesting as to why the world was created to its present state and the reasons why the new humans are told to live in a community. There is no such thing as marriage or seriousness in relationships. There is no such thing as aging or disease or pain over loss. There is great importance placed on how the children are raised to perform their assigned roles.

May contain spoilers:

It is a world in which humans are not born by mothers, but are created and grow up in the hatchery and conditioning centre. There are different casts to keep the world operating efficiently and keep everyone happy with their jobs. The higher castes are created to be more intelligent, while the lower castes are less intelligent.

Everyone is said to belong to everyone else, thus everyone is encouraged to sleep with as many people they desire. There is a drug called soma that everyone is greatly addicted to, which makes one imagine everything they desire without a headache.

The children are conditioned to have certain beliefs by having a speaker repeat the same lines numerous times for many years while they sleep. Solitude is discouraged, and only reference books are available to the public.

Lenina Crowne has been seeing only one man for the past few months and this behaviour is looked down upon, since promiscuity is encouraged. Bernard Marx, who works at the same place as Lenina, feels that people should not just sleep with anyone else without getting to know them better, because that is what children would do. Another employee is Helmholtz Watson, who feels like there is something missing from his life because he doesn't feel satisfied.

One day Bernard visits a savage reserve and meets John there. John is the child of a woman that was not born of a mother. Bernard becomes interested in John and wants to take him to the outside world. The story then focuses on John, the savage who is obsessed with Shakespeare, and how he reacts to the Brave New World.

Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell

2009-06-03T02:34:00.004-04:00

Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell
Rating: 5/5Genre: fiction, classic
Pages: 228
ISBN - 10: 015626224X

A tale of poverty

Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell is an incredible story about poverty. Orwell describes the experiences of being out of work, then of working as a plongeur (a dish washer – one of the lowest jobs imaginable) in Paris, and of becoming a tramp in London. Orwell writes beautifully with humour and describes each of the experiences with great details while maintaining the reader’s interest. This novel is about poverty, but if you are looking for a story with a proper plot, then this in not the book for you.

The novel is written in first person, yet the protagonist is never named. This story is thought to include many events from Orwell’s life. Orwell’s stories are magnificent and are those that I always recall because they can be related to the real world.

The protagonist is an Englishman whose money is one day stolen, and as an English teacher, he is left without work because he no longer has any students. The little money he has left is getting spent too quickly, and each day he has less and less. He contacts the only man he seems to know in Paris, and finds that he is, unfortunately, in the same situation – almost penniless and without work. Work is terribly difficult to find. The lodging houses are uncomfortable to sleep in for the night. How does the Englishman deal with poverty?

It is a sad tale that makes you feel grateful that you have a roof above your head; are not forced to eat bread, margarine, and tea as your only meals; and never have to starve yourself for days at a time if you are ever left penniless. It is shocking to see how far vagabonds traveled just for free tea or food.

May contain spoilers:

I believe one of the main points of this work was to emphasise that poverty is a cycle that likely will not come to an end unless the government steps in and does something productive with the tramps. The last paragraph states all that the protagonist learned throughout the tale: “I shall never again think that all tramps are drunken scoundrels, nor expect a beggar to be grateful when I give him a penny, nor be surprised if men out of work lack energy, nor subscribe to the Salvation Army, nor pawn my clothes, nor refuse a handbill, nor enjoy a meal at a smart restaurant.” (213) Even after his tale, the protagonist concludes that he feels he has merely seen the fringes of poverty.

The Return: Nightfall by L J Smith

2009-05-31T23:45:00.011-04:00

The Vampire Diaries: The Return: Nightfall by L J Smith

Rating: 1/5
Genre: fiction, fantasy, teens, Young Adult
Pages: 587
ISBN - 10: 0061720771

Dull, I was hoping for more excitement

The Vampire Diaries: The Return: Nightfall by L J Smith is a bit slow. It has 587 pages in total and it starts to get exciting after page 135. However, only the parts with Damon, I found, were the most exciting. It was quite funny when he kept flashing smiles to no one in particular, just because of his evil thoughts. It's good to find out what happens with Elena and Stefan too, but I wanted a more exciting tale.

I was just hoping for this book to end, and it really could have been about 200 pages shorter. Maybe it's because it should have been read right after I finished the other books in the Vampire Diaries series, or maybe I am bored of this genre, or also it could be aimed for a younger audience. The prose was also dull to read. There isn't much of a complete ending, so you will still need to read the next book in the series when it comes out to find out what happens. I will not be reading that.

The novel continues where the other one left off. Elena Gilbert is alive and is only a few days old. She has powers that no ordinary human possesses. With Damon, Stefan, who are both vampires, and Elena residing in Fell's Church, where the Ley lines meet, more supernatural beings are being attracted to it.

Two creatures from hell have come and started to possess girls and even Damon. Will the people of Fell's Church stand a chance against creatures from hell? Will Elena become a human once again? Will Damon ever get over Elena?

The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

2009-05-28T18:23:00.005-04:00

The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Rating: 5/5
Genre: fiction, romance
Pages: 518
ISBN - 10: 0676976336

An amazing story of love outside the bounds of time
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger captures the reader in the first few pages, and refuses to let them go. The story is brilliantly written with beautiful descriptions, and the order of the dates is chosen well to build a greater effect. It is a romantic story that gives a different take on a time traveler's life. There is sorrow, and a lot humour. The pages pass by unnoticeably quickly, and I liked how there were many references to other literary works.
The novel creates a world that I did not want to leave, so I am glad it was long. It is written in first person, through the eyes of Clare and Henry, and it takes place in Chicago and Michigan. It is a story of love, waiting, and uncertainty.
Clare Abshire, an artist, first meets Henry DeTamble, a librarian, when she is six-years-old, in the clearing behind her house. Clare has been waiting to meet Henry again, but Henry first meets Clare when he is twenty-eight, although he is only born eight years before her.
Henry's life is a loop: from the future he goes back in time and does something in the past that creates the future that he already has. Being chronologically-displaced has its downfalls too though. Henry is afraid for his life with each time traveling adventure.

Will Clare and Henry's love survive? What problems will Clare and Henry face together? Will Henry ever find a cure for his genetic disorder? What struggles does Henry encounter during his time travels?

Death Of A Salesman by Arthur Miller

2009-05-15T23:09:00.001-04:00

Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller

Rating: 3/5
Genre: drama, tragedy
Pages: 139
ISBN - 10: 0140481346

A tragedy of a low man

Death Of A Salesman by Arthur Miller was written in 1949 and changed what tragedy meant. Instead of the usual fall of a man in a high position, it was about Willy Loman, a small man. The play is centered on conversation that is mostly dull. The most interesting part of it is seeing the wrong beliefs of Willy that he instils in his two boys, Biff and Happy, which greatly affect their lives in the future. Willy's interpretation of manliness and the American Dream are also the features that make this play great.

Willy Loman, 60, has been working as a salesman for many years. The company that he has been working for has taken him off a salary and placed him on commission. He hasn’t been able to sell anything and is resorting to borrowing money from his only friend. His two children, Biff and Happy, are unable to help Willy pay for his mortgage and expenses. Willy feels that it his duty to provide for his family, and being unable to do so lowers his manliness.

What has happened to Biff and Happy that has made them as they are as adults? How will Willy, who is seeing hallucinations, react to his loss of manliness? How did growing up without a father or brother affect Willy? What are Willy’s motives for what he does? Does Willy’s belief in success as a result of being well-liked work? What dreams do the two brothers choose to follow in the end? What does ‘free’ mean in the ending?

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

2009-05-15T23:07:00.011-04:00

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

Rating: 3.5/5
Genre: fiction
Pages: 304
ISBN - 10: 0151191549

Interesting

Alice Walker's The Color Purple, written in 1982, is a story about an African-American woman that is oppressed most of her life and mistreated. By writing letters to God does she find her salvation. I did not like how the story was written through letters, but that was the most effective means to communicate it. I was not able to relate to the protagonist, Celie, but I did pity her situation and wanted to know more of the story she was trying to tell.

The story starts when Celie is younger, 14, living with her father and dying mother. Celie has been raped by her father and impregnated by him twice. Unable to be properly educated, the part of the novel that consists of her letters is told without the use of proper English.

Her father takes her children away from her and gets her married off to a man referred to as Mr. _____. The use of such names shows Celie’s rejection of the marriage. Celie works hard for her husband and his children, but is looked down upon as ugly, and even beaten.

Mr. _____ brings Shug Avery, an independent woman that Mr.______ was and is in love with, into his home. Shug is predicted not to live long because of her weak state. She is rude to Celie, but Celie thinks she is beautiful, and cares for her. This starts the relationship between two women, from which Celie is able to realize that she is worth something.

Watch Celie grow up and become empowered with the love of a woman. Will Celie ever find her missing sister, Nettie?

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

2009-04-28T23:04:00.006-04:00

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Rating: 2.5/5
Genre: fiction, fantasy, teens, Young Adult
Pages: 485
ISBN - 10: 1416955070

Disappointing and somewhat typical

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare is the first book in The Mortal Instruments series that I found to be disappointing from what I had expected. I found the writing style to be somewhat boring and slow. I felt that the book could have at least been a hundred pages shorter. There were too many unnecessary comparisons.

I did not feel like I was reading something original. The story was interesting but it seems to be heading in a more predictable direction especially when Clary is hit with boy problems: two boys but only one of her. There is, however, a twist in the relationship she has with one of the characters.

I felt like I was reading for the sake of reading, and after it was over, I didn’t feel the urge to pick up the next book immediately. I felt that there were unnecessary battle scenes to make the characters’ objective more difficult. I will not be finishing the series.

City of Bones is about Clarissa Fray, 15, who thinks she is unattractive. She is at a club with her friend, Simon, when she sees a cute guy following a girl dressed in white to a broom closet. There are two other guys heavy equipped with weapons that follow behind the pair. Thinking that the cute guy will be beaten up by the three, Clary follows behind and tells Simon to run for help.

When Simon returns, he sees Clary alone in the broom closet. However, there are three other people present there that only Clary can see: Isabelle, Alec, and Jace.

See the world through the eyes of a Shadowhunter – a world full of demons, faeries, werewolves, vampires, witches, and warlocks. Discover Clary’s hidden past and the truths that were kept from her. Who is Valentine? What is the Mortal Cup?

Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) by Ann-Marie MacDonald

2009-04-28T22:56:00.007-04:00

Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) by Ann-Marie MacDonald

Rating: 4.5/5
Genre: drama, comedy, fiction
Pages: 112
ISBN - 10: 0676971695

Impressive and entertaining!

I was extremely impressed by Ann-Marie Macdonald's play Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet), which is a feminist perspective of how Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, and Othello should have been if a Fool were present during the turning points. The turning points are when Tybalt is trying to fight with Romeo, and when Iago is convincing Othello with lies.

Constance, an employee at Queen's University, is writing a thesis about Romeo and Julie, and Othello having originally been comedies, were turned into tragedies because of the Fool's lack of appearance. The Professor whom she works with is taking the post that she always wanted. Annoyed and hurt, Constance throws many of her possessions in the trash bin and continues on her thesis. Soon after, there is a whirlwind and she is sucked into the trash bin and transported into the world of the two plays.

If you have read Romeo and Juliet and Othello, then this will be an entertaining twist of the stories.

Hunted by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

2009-04-06T02:27:00.008-04:00

House Of Night 5: Hunted by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

Rating: 3/5
Genre: fiction, fantasy, teens, Young Adult
Pages: 336
ISBN - 10: 031237982X
Repetitive

Hunted by P.C. Cast is an enjoyable book except for the fact that the protagonist, Zoey, is really starting to bother me. She just doesn't learn and likes to cause herself to be in love triangles or love rectangles and even love pentagons (who knew there was such a thing). The story takes place almost immediately where the previous one, Untamed, ended. Hunted is an account that takes place in merely two days.

Kalona has been freed but many have given in to him, students and teachers alike, and his reign over The House of Night. The students have be called back to The House of Night, where the Raven Mockers are residing, and there is a huge electrical storm going on, isolating the school from the rest of the world. Zoey is seeing the fallen angel, Kalona, in her dreams.

Can she stop herself from falling for the evil being, Kalona? What is it that Kalona wants from Zoey? What will become of the dead un-dead Stark? Will Zoey ever figure out a way to rid the world of Kalona?

Zoey is reminding me of Oedipus from Oedipus the King, in which the protagonist has a huge character flaw of blindness and is unable to see what is right in front of him. In this case, Zoey is unable to see the cause of mistakes she is making, which and she keeps making them. It is getting extremely annoying since I know that Zoey will always keep making herself get into boy troubles to keep the story going on and getting longer.

The quality is certainly decreasing, and I believe the next book in the series will be about all the guys that like Zoey getting upset with her, and her being unable to choose between them.

Othello by William Shakespeare

2009-04-06T02:20:00.006-04:00

Othello: The Moor of Venice by William Shakespeare

Rating: 5/5
Genre: drama, tragedy, classic
Pages: 512
ISBN - 10: 0199535876

Memorable

Othello: The Moor of Venice by William Shakespeare is an enjoyable drama to read, and this Oxford edition makes it more understandable than other editions. There are definitions and explanations of words on the same page in which they occur that make the dialogues capable of being read, and there is a long introduction too, which I did not read. I liked the fact that there were few characters to follow throughout the play. The main ones included: Othello, Desdemona, Iago, Emilia, and Cassio.

Othello, the army general, has just married Desdemona secretly without her father’s permission. Now, Othello suspects Desdemona of cheating on him with his lieutenant, Cassio, because of all the lies and situations Iago is creating to catch Othello in his trap. Will Othello discover the truth about Desdemona?

There were memorable characters in this drama, such as Iago and Othello. Iago was pure evil, the kind of character that would not even repent regardless of what occurred. And Othello was foolish enough to succumb to Iago’s plots. The dialogues are entertaining and I remember laughing several times. Overall, the story is short and will not be forgotten.

There were memorable themes too, such as otherness, which Othello experienced since he was an outsider, the only person of colour in the drama. Thus, he may not understand the Venetian norms.

Othello is in somewhat of an odd category since he is a male, which is that he is the self, but he is also an outsider, which makes him the other. And not only that, Othello possesses characteristics thought to be feminine, which also make him the other because females are thought to be the other, such as passion, emotion, and jealousy.

Also, Othello was a military man and was trained to kill whenever he was threatened, thus he may not have had a great understanding of women having been surrounded by men all day.

There may have been flaws in Othello’s character depending on the reader’s opinion, such as Othello being too naïve, foolish, gullible, and not a Renaissance man, thus not deeply thoughtful. Othello trusted Iago too easily and so he made the greatest mistake ever.

Othello was written in the time when Greek texts such as The Odyssey by Homer were revived, since they were previously unavailable for the public. There are many connections to Othello and The Odyssey, such as men that aren’t thoughtful die. Othello made his past seem epic, by telling Desdemona of his past battles, and how he saw men whose heads grow beneath their shoulders, and cannibals too, which makes his past like Odysseus’s past with many mythical creatures and events.

On Writing by Stephen King

2009-03-07T00:12:00.007-05:00

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King

Rating: 4.5/5
Genre: nonfiction, autobiography, writing
Pages: 291
ISBN - 10: 0743455967

An entertaining autobiography with some writing advice

On Writing by Stephen King is an interesting autobiography that showed how the famous author got started writing. I feel like I know so much more about Stephen King and that writing takes a lot of practice to get it right. This book certainly gave me the motivation I needed to get started and practice writing.

It was a passion from his childhood, which was when he started writing stories. Like all beginning writers, he first copied his ideas from works he enjoyed, then later on formed his own stories.

The writing section in this book was extremely helpful as well, giving bits of advice that other writing books may not include.

Some advice includes:

- Writing a lot and reading a lot are a must for writers.
- Find a place that you will be able to concentrate on your writing, preferably a place with few distractions.
- Try to get the same number of pages or words competed per day and you may need a set time. Start off with a fewer number of pages so you do not become discouraged.
- Don’t open your room door until you have completed your work.
- Don’t tell people what you are working on and try to complete the novel as soon as possible or work on it daily so it stays fresh in your mind.
- Try to read everywhere you can, for example long line ups, the park, the waiting room.
- Novels consist of three parts: narration (situation comes before the characters prior to narrating), description, and dialogue. Plots are not important since life is plotless, and because spontaneity cannot be created with the use of plots.
- Whole novels can start from what if questions.
- Don’t over-describe or under-describe. Try to think of the few things that you remember about a particular place, and don’t include unnecessary things unless they relate to the story.
- The dialogue should be realistic. Do not try to censor what you are saying because of what you think another person might think.
- Try to pay attention to the way real people behave and talk to help with your characters.
- Don’t use unnecessary adverbs. A reader should be able to tell how the character is feeling without having to write it. The use of “he/she said” is the best of all.
- Not every novel has a theme.
- Try to cut down about 10% for your second draft.
- Not every best-seller is fast-paced.
- Research is a sort of back story; readers don’t want to know too much information about it.
- Writing classes are not recommended, because they make you wonder if what you are writing is trying to symbolize something and slow down the speed of completing your novel.
- When searching for publishers, getting a copy of Writer’s Market or Literary Market Place is a good idea. I aware of false agents trying to get your money.

The Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling

2009-03-04T01:02:00.006-05:00

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling

Rating: 5/5
Genre: fiction, fantasy, Young Adult
Pages: 608
ISBN - 10: 1551929767

A great ending with many twists

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling is the seventh and last book in the series. It is extremely important to read these books in order, otherwise you will not find them enjoyable, because of the many things that are mentioned from previous books.

I found it exceptionally good, especially because I was expecting that it would be predictable as a result of what happened in the previous book. The sixth book mentioned that Harry would be in search for the remaining Horcruxes, and he was, but it was more interesting than that.

I loved the ending too, it showed a brief glimpse of nineteen years in the future, when Harry should be thirty-six years old. I never expected the series to end, but the ending was not disappointing at all. Here, Harry discovers many secrets of Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape's pasts and discovers treasures that he had never imagined before. The only thing I wished was mentioned in the end was what had happened with the Dursleys. As with the other books, J.K. Rowling's writing style was amazing; I was really impressed.

SPOILERS:
Harry is about to come of age and his protection charm that his mother had given him will be lifted off. Voldemort is taking over the wizarding world slowly, and his Death Eaters are on the lookout for Harry. The Order of the Phoenix must escort Harry out of his Aunt's home and into safety before the protection wears off.

With Professor Dumbledore gone, Harry is left with the task of locating and destroying the remaining five Horcruxes, in which Voldemort has placed a part of his soul, so that he could live forever. Somehow, Harry must find the missing clues, all of the information that Dumbledore failed to tell him, on his own. Luckily, his friends Ron and Hermione won't let him go alone. With their help, watch Harry's adventure as he sets up on a nearly impossible mission tracking down Horcruxes and discovering the Deathly Hallows of the way.

The Deathly Hallows are three items that make the one who possesses them all, the master of death. They are merely legend, the Elder Wand, the most powerful wand in existence; ring that allows people to return from the dead (to a certain extent); and the invisibility cloak to hide from death.

The ideas presented in this adventure of Harry's were extremely creative, with many plot twists that I would not have expected. I still cannot believe this series ended, I was hoping it would last forever.

The Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling

2009-02-24T22:21:00.005-05:00

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling

Rating: 4/5
Genre: fiction, fantasy, Young Adult
Pages: 607
ISBN - 10: 155192756X

Shocking

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling is the sixth book in the series, which I found was not as great as the other Harry Potter books and was lacking in humour. However, I did not mind the humour part, because this novel was more on the serious side. I did love all the shocking surprises I received: deception, betrayals, deaths, and some romances too.

In this adventure, Dumbledore himself comes to meet Harry during his summer vacation. Thinking it cannot possibly be true, Harry decides not to pack. However, Dumbledore has something he thinks only Harry can do. Dumbledore's hand, as Harry notices, is injured with an injury that does not seem to be healing. Dumbledore is growing slower as a result of his age. Dumbledore has offered Harry private lessons this year.

Find out new pieces of information never before known about Lord Voldemort. Will Harry and Dumbledore stand a chance against Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters?

I cannot wait to discover what will happen in the last volume in the Harry Potter series.

The Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowling

2009-02-12T17:07:00.007-05:00

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowling

Rating: 4.5/5
Genre: fiction, fantasy, Young Adult
Pages: 766
ISBN - 10: 1551927241

Brilliant and nothing like the movie

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowling is the fifth book of the series and was an exciting edition and definitely showed how much Harry had grown. There were many emotions experienced in this novel that Harry had never felt in the previous books. There were also many parts that resulted in some tears. J.K. Rowling is an excellent writer that chooses her words very accurately. I was very impressed that her books kept me interested and I keep growing attached to the characters, who are very convincing. Do not read this book if you haven't read the previous books, otherwise a lot of parts will not make sense.

This novel was nothing like the movie, since it was so long, the movie had to change many parts. Did Cho Chang tell the secret? No. Did Fred and George light up the dragon fire crackers during exams? No. Cho Chang definitely had a larger role and so did Dobby the house elf.

In this adventure Harry has been stuck at the Dursley's house all summer, hoping for some news to come from the wizarding world. However, none does - well, none of any importance. His friends, Ron and Hermione have been secretive all summer.

One evening during summer, while wandering down a dark alley with his cousin Dudley, a pair of deadly Dementors attack. Harry is being ridiculed by the wizarding world, and none seem to believe him and Professor Dumbledore about the return of Lord Voldemort. OWLs (Ordinary Wizarding Levels) are upon the fifth year students at Hogwarts. There’s a new person in charge, who is out to exercise her powers. And an illegal secret society is formed, the DA.

Lizard by Banana Yoshimoto

2009-02-05T02:22:00.005-05:00

Lizard by Banana Yoshimoto

Rating: 2.5/5
Genre: fiction
Pages: 174
ISBN - 10: 0671532766

A mediocre collection of short stories

Lizard by Banana Yoshimoto is a mediocre collection of six short stories, each of which discuss the turning point of the main characters’ lives. None of the stories was exceptional, since the stories can hardly be recalled even though I have just competed the novel. But if I had to choose the best one, it would be Dreaming Of Kimchee. Lizard can be completed with 3.5 hours. If you are starting to read Yoshimoto’s works, I would suggest reading Kitchen first, as it is her best novel that I have read thus far.

Newlywed: A 28-years-old man that has been married for one month is unwilling to leave the train and go home to his wife. He meets an odd fell that makes him think and realize.

Lizard: Is about 29-years-old male counsellor and therapist for emotionally disturbed children. Lizard – what he calls the woman he’s been seeing with a lizard tattoo on her thigh has a secret to tell him.

Helix: About a writer and his girlfriend. The writer comes to a realization about people.

Dreaming of Kimchee: A woman is having difficulty coping with her relationship which first started off as an affair with a married man.

Blood and Water: Chikaka, a girl that fled to Tokyo at the age of 18, after getting fed up of living in the village for 12 years.

A Strange Tale from Down by the River: Akemi’s hobby was sex, until one day she gave it up. She found love, but her old life is coming back to haunt her.

"It amazed me how utterly different things can look, just with a change of heart." (173)

After reading Kitchen, Yoshimoto’s other novel, I feel that she has the potential to write a good story, but sadly usually manages to write short stories, some of which feel incomplete. I am glad that Lizard was not about the loss of a loved one. I have read three novels by Yoshimoto about loss, and I don't think I could have read another.

Evelyn Wood Seven-Day Speed Reading and Learning Program by Frank Stanley

2009-02-04T14:30:00.002-05:00

Evelyn Wood Seven-Day Speed Reading and Learning Program by Frank Stanley

Rating: 1/5
Genre: nonfiction, reading
Pages: 216
ISBN - 10: 1566194024

Not at all helpful

Evelyn Wood Seven-Day Speed Reading and Learning Program by Stanley Frank sounded too good to be true and ... it was. The only thing I learned from it was to read by using your fingers, because your eyes will go the same speed as your finger goes. And if you do not recall what happened in the sentence that you just read, then it probably wasn't important, and keep on going on.

Then there were concepts that I could not do: read out of order, read vertically, understanding the gist of the reading, and read your words with your eyes do not hear them in your mind (still working on this one).

This book kept selling the Evelyn Wood Program, which is, I believe, a class that helps you to speed read.

The Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling

2009-01-28T00:39:00.005-05:00

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling

Rating: 5/5
Genre: fiction, fantasy, Young Adult
Pages: 640
ISBN - 10: 155192515x

Loved it!

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling is the fourth and best book in the series so far. I was waiting to read about the Triwizard Cup and when it did finally come, it was extremely exciting. The characters from the other schools did not make up such a great part in the movie, but the novel was much more exciting and detailed. The pace was excellent and the words were well chosen. There were great plot twists when I least expected it and the characters were convincing.

In this adventure Lord Voldemort and the Death Eaters play a larger part in the story. He is regaining his powers and is planning something great to restore his body. And, he is still after Harry Potter. The Triwizard Cup will take place, so students from two other schools will be competing. Watch the champions compete in three exciting tasks, which will surely keep the readers hooked. There’s also a new professor for Defence Against the Dark Arts, Mad-Eye Moody, who is an Auror.

The Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling

2009-01-20T19:02:00.006-05:00

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling

Rating: 4.5/5
Genre: fiction, fantasy, Young Adult
Pages: 320
ISBN - 10: 1551926709

The series just keeps getting more interesting
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling is the third in the series. It was great that I didn't want to stop reading. I wanted to know more and more about the magical world of Harry Potter. I loved how the endings are like, usually they are quite funny.

In this adventure, Aunt Marge comes to visit the Dursley’s, and Uncle Vernon has lied to her about where Harry has been going if not normal school. Aunt Marge has a terrible opinion of Harry's parents and greatly dislikes Harry. Can she say something bad enough to go against his word, his promise to Uncle Vernon?

Sirius Black, the great criminal that had murdered so many Muggles and even his close friend, Peter Pettigrew, twelve years ago has escaped! He has a history with Harry's parents, and there is reason to suspect that Harry may be in danger.

Things and creatures are not always as they seem. Finally we learn more about Dementors and the Azkaban Prison.

The Quick Resume & Cover Letter Book by Michael Farr

2009-01-20T18:33:00.005-05:00

The Quick Resume & Cover Letter Book 4th Ed by Michael Farr

Rating: 3/5
Genre: nonfiction, resume writing
Pages: 416
ISBN - 10: 1593575173

Very helpful

The Quick Resume & Cover Letter Book 4th Ed by Michael Farr was mainly focused on resumes with a short section at the end on cover letters, JIST cards and methods to find jobs quicker. The best method is definitely to ask people for help and contacts because a lot of jobs are not advertised. There are different types of resumes that may minimize some points that you would not like the employer to know.

After reading the resume section I realized how terrible my resume actually was, which was the reason why I was not getting job offers. There are also many example resumes and cover letters, but after reading many chapters about resumes, you will not feel the need to browse every single example in there. There is even a chapter about skills in case you do not know your skills and if you do, you can get many ideas of what other skills you possess. It explains the need to customize your resume to emphasize the skills you already possess for the job.

Even though there are a lot of pages, they pass by quickly with the large font and a lot of the pages are examples. I highly recommend this book if you are looking to improve your resume.

The Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

2009-01-13T20:09:00.006-05:00

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

Rating: 4.5/5
Genre: fiction, fantasy, Young Adult
Pages: 251
ISBN - 10: 155192370x

Another exciting adventure

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling is the second book in the series and is almost as great as the first. I don't know whether it was the movie that made the book less exciting than it could've been, but it was still great. The series is excellent; making me feel that I am being drawn into the mysterious world of Harry Potter. Everything is well-crafted and seems to have been given a significant amount of thought.

After Harry's first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he goes back to Privet Drive to stay with the Dursley's again. Harry scares his cousin Dudley and his aunt and uncle into thinking that they may be cursed in case they try to do something to annoy Harry. Thus, Harry gets treated better this summer.

However, everything is turned upside down when Dobby the house elf shows up, trying to protect Harry, by stopping Harry from returning to Hogwarts. Dobby causes a great disaster and the Dursley's discover that Harry is not allowed to use magic outside of Hogwarts. Now that they know the truth, the Dursley's decide to lock Harry in his room so that he never returns to his school. And, if Harry does decide to use magic to escape, he will be expelled.

In this adventure, the Chamber Of Secrets has been opened. Follow Harry and his friends, Ron and Hermione, to obtain clues about where this chamber is and what it actually contains. Harry learns that he actually possesses an incredibly rare ability and many exciting events occur. Gideroy Lockhart is an incredibly funny character.

Blue Noon by Scott Westerfeld

2009-01-06T23:08:00.008-05:00

Midnighters 3: Blue Noon by Scott Westerfeld

Rating: 4/5
Genre: science fiction, fantasy, Young Adult
Pages: 378
ISBN - 10: 0060519576

Great

Blue Noon by Scott Westerfeld is the third and final book from The Midnighters series. It was great, but I found that it dragged on a bit with repeated thoughts. Compared to the second book, this one wasn't as exciting. The ending was somewhat sad but a good ending, since being a Midnighter comes with a lot of responsibility. I wish more was revealed about the main characters' future lives, but I guess since they are merely teenagers, we cannot know so far ahead in the future.

Just when everything seems to have gone back to normal, odd things start happening. The blue moon starts appearing randomly during the middle of the day and the darklings seem to be celebrating this event. There seems to be a rip between the normal time and the secret hour that seems to be spreading. Will the Midnighters ever find a way to stop it? Or will the old darklings finally feed after waiting centuries?

Overall, the Midnighters is a great Young Adult series with creative ideas that can be enjoyed by anyone over the age of fourteen. Fourteen because there are words used in here that I wouldn't want younger children reading.

Proof of the Illuminati by Seth Payson

2009-01-04T22:01:00.008-05:00

Proof of the Illuminati by Seth Payson, A.M

Rating: 5/5
Genre: nonfiction
Pages: 201
ISBN - 10: 1931468141
Publisher: Invisible College Press, LLC
A great tale of the Illuminati to open your mind

Proof Of The Illuminati by Seth Payson was originally written in 1802. This non-fiction tale of the Illuminati is exciting to read with many well-known people involved. After each chapter ended I was left wondering what would happen next. It is written well and makes you wonder if what you are reading and watching and your beliefs weren't influenced by the Illuminati. This book will make you look at this world in another perspective.

It all started with Mary Francis Arouet, born in 1694, who we all know as the philosopher Voltaire. He planned to overthrow religion by mixing philosophy with impiety. Since it took twelve disciples to form Christianity, he decided he would try to overthrow Christianity all by himself. However, he soon discovered that one person wasn't enough.

Voltaire recruited some conspirators to help him with the job. He would tell his fellow conspirators "...hurl the Javelin, but hide your hand." (34) Voltaire wrote many books and encouraged anti-Christian writings that made the reader question their belief by trying to show that "...the strongest proof of the existence of a God is contradicted by daily experiments." (36)

Read Proof Of The Illuminati to discover how the Illuminati grew, plotted, and evolved. I highly recommend this to all who want to broaden their knowledge and question what is going on in this world.

The Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling

2009-01-04T18:46:00.008-05:00

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling

Rating: 4.5/5
Genre: fiction, fantasy, Young Adult
Pages: 240
ISBN - 10: 0747532745

Great for all ages

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling is a great novel for people of all ages, because the story is creative and the length isn't too long. I just recently reread it after nine years and it was just as exciting as the first time. The narrator is funny, making the most ordinary situations something pleasant to read. The words are carefully selected and they create images in your mind as you read. Even after watching the movie, reading the novel is a different experience. I am very eager to start the second book, since books are not as easily forgotten as movies.

Harry Potter has been living with the Dursley's for as long as he can remember. One day, a little before his eleventh birthday, he checks the mail and sees that a letter is addressed to him. However, Uncle Vernon doesn't allow him to see his letter, or the other hundreds of letters being mailed to him, tracking them wherever they try to hide.

Harry learns that the Dursley’s were lying to him about how his parents died, that he is a wizard, and the letters are for his admission to Hogwart’s School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Harry and his friends, Ron and Hermione, learn about the Philosopher's Stone and suspect that it may get into the wrong hands. Will Harry Potter get anyone to believe that the Philosopher's Stone is in danger? Learn more of their magical world.

I highly recommend this novel to children to develop their interest in literature.

Books Read in 2008

2008-12-31T17:41:00.009-05:00

1. The Communist Manifest by Karl Marx
2. Hard-boiled Wonderland And The End Of The World by Haruki Murakami
3. The Wind-up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
4. Atonement by Ian McEwan
5. Hardboiled and Hard Luck by Banana Yoshimoto
6. The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea by Yukio Mishima
7. 1984 by George Orwell
8. Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl
9. George's Marvelous Medicine by Roald Dahl
10. Animal Farm by George Orwell
11. Camille by Alexandre Dumas Fils
12. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
13. New Moon by Stephanie Meyer
14. Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer
15. Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer
16. Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto
17. The Twits by Roald Dahl
18. The Giraffe And The Pelly And Me by Roald Dahl
19. Asleep by Banana Yoshimoto
20. Vampire Diaries: The Awakening by L.J. Smith
21. Vampire Diaries: The Struggle by L.J. Smith
22. Vampire Diaries: The Fury by L.J. Smith
23. Vampire Diaries: Dark Reunion by L.J. Smith
24. The Enormous Crocodile by Roald Dahl
25. Secret Vampire by L.J. Smith
26. Esio Trot by Roald Dah
27. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
28. Danny The Champion Of The World by Roald Dahl
29. Charlie And The Great Glass Elevator by Roald Dahl
30. The Story Of A Widow by Musharraf Ali Farooqi
31. Dracula by Bram Stoker
32. Stardust by Neil Gaiman
33. Teach Yourself Beginner's Urdu Script by Richard Delacy
34. Conceit by Mary Novik
35. Selected Portraits by Ron Charach
36. The BFG by Roald Dahl
37. Loyalty Management by Glen Downie
38. A House of Night: Marked by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast
39. A House of Night: Betrayed by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast
40. How to Grow a Novel by Sol Stein
41. The Midnighters: The Secret Hour by Scott Westerfeld
42. A House of Night: Chosen by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast
43. A House of Night: Untamed by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast
44. The Midnighters: Touching Darkness by Scott Westerfeld

The best books of the year were:
- 1984 by George Orwell
- Dracula by Bram Stoker
- Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
- Hard-boiled Wonderland And The End Of The World by Haruki Murakami
- The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea by Yukio Mishima

And the most disappointing books of the year were:
- Camille by Alexandre Dumas Fils
- Danny The Champion Of The World by Roald Dahl
- Asleep by Banana Yoshimoto
- Hardboiled and Hard Luck by Banana Yoshimoto

Touching Darkness by Scott Westerfeld

2008-12-31T16:15:00.012-05:00

Midnighters 2: Touching Darkness by Scott Westerfeld

Rating: 4/5
Genre: fiction, fantasy, Young Adult
Pages: 330
ISBN - 10: 006051955X

Keeps getting better

Touching Darkness by Scott Westerfeld is the second book in The Midnighters series and is so much more interesting than the first novel in the series. This book starts off somewhat uninteresting, but after the first chapter, the story goes in an unexpected direction. I had no idea what would happen next, which made the story all the more better.

Jessica and her boyfriend Jonathan are jumping around during the secret hour that occurs at midnight. Only the Midnighters are able to live through that hour, while the normal humans freeze in their spots. Jonathan spots a man taking pictures of Jessica's window. Someone knows about the secret hour and that someone wants Jessica dead.

I especially liked the fact that no new main characters were introduced, but the story went more in-depth with new antagonists. There are so many secrets of midnight and of the disappeared Midnighters of the past that are revealed in this novel.

I highly recommend this series for people of all ages, especially those that enjoy a unique fantasy.

Untamed by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

2008-12-22T18:38:00.007-05:00

House Of Night 4: Untamed by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

Rating: 4.5/5
Genre: fiction, fantasy, teens, Young Adult
Pages: 338
ISBN - 10: 0312379838

More secrets are revealed and a terrible evil is unleashed!

Untamed by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast is the fourth novel in the House Of Night series, which is just as exciting as the three previous novels that I had to complete it in one day. There is a lot of drama and relationship problems that the characters deal with, which is interesting to read about. The ending is very shocking and I am looking forward to the next novel, Hunted.

Untamed is different from the previous novels since different mythical creatures are involved from the Cherokee myths, such as Raven Mockers, Tsi Sgili, and Kalona. This was interesting to read about, since it made this novel completely different from other typical vampyre novels, not that it wasn't already unique.

Will Zoey’s friends forgive her from what happened in the previous novel, Chosen? Will Zoey finally decide on which guy she wants to be with? Vampyres have been killed, and Neferet has declared a war on humans. What is Neferet plotting and will her plan go through? Find out secret plots and intentions, which makes it difficult to see the people’s true faces.

This is definitely an enjoyable read that I highly recommend to those older than sixteen.

Chosen by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

2008-12-21T01:52:00.010-05:00

House Of Night 3: Chosen by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

Rating: 4.5/5
Genre: fiction, fantasy, teens, Young Adult
Pages: 307
ISBN - 10: 0312360304

Secrets are finally revealed!

Chosen by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast is the third book in the House Of Night series. It is different from the previous two books, but is definitely worth reading. In Chosen, secrets are revealed, thus true identities are revealed! It’s very exciting to read and find out what will happen and how it will happen. Teenagers are able to relate to Zoey as she experiences happiness, confusion, indecisiveness, and isolation.

I highly recommend this series for older teens that are looking for a unique vampyre novel with a lot of drama, romance, and suspense. Don't expect this series to improve your vocabulary greatly, since it is mainly written in a way that a teenager would talk.

Zoey Redbird must keep everything a secret from her group of friends, since the High Priestess Neferet is able to read their minds. Not only is she hiding important information from her friends, Zoey finds herself with three boyfriends, and unable to choose just one. Vampyres are turning up dead, with their heads cut off, which may lead to an unthinkable disaster. Everything is going wrong and nothing is at is it seems.

To find out how is the House Of Night series unique from other vampire novels read my review of Marked. I cannot wait to read the next book in the series!

The Secret Hour by Scott Westerfeld

2008-12-21T01:40:00.008-05:00

Midnighters 1: The Secret Hour by Scott Westerfeld

Rating: 4/5
Genre: fiction, fantasy, Young Adult
Pages: 297
ISBN - 10: 0060519517

Creative and exciting!

I greatly enjoyed reading The Midnighters: The Secret Hour by Scott Westerfeld, the first in the trilogy. It is a Young Adult novel, but is great for all ages and is built around very creative ideas. Everyone is sure to enjoy this YA fantasy that has suspense, some action, and some romance.

In Bixby, Oklahoma, there is a 25th hour that occurs at midnight. Everyone is frozen in their spots and technology stops working (ie. electricity, cars). Only the Midnighters are able to live through that hour, along side the creatures of the dark (darklings). Each Midnighter possesses their own special ability.

Jessica Day is new in town, recently having moved from Chicago. However, she is no ordinary newcomer, she is a Midnighter, but not a normal Midnighter either. With her arrival into town, the darklings start behaving abnormally in the secret hour.

What is Jessica’s talent at midnight? Why are darklings behaving abnormally? Discover the secrets of Bixby and the rules of midnight.

How to Grow a Novel by Sol Stein

2008-12-10T12:56:00.006-05:00

How to Grow a Novel by Sol Stein

Rating: 3/5
Genre: nonfiction
Pages: 240
ISBN - 10: 0312209495

Helpful for beginners, but doesn't go into much detail

How To Grow A Novel by Sol Stein is a great book that explains the necessary things for a novel to have. This includes: the necessity of a conflict, dialogues, point of view, action, making characters that seem real, precision of words, pace, creating scenes, revising etc. It’s a great book to help a writer to understand what readers will be looking for, since writers usually overlook that fact while trying to get all their words on paper.

Only read this if you are planning to purchase Stein On Writing. If I condensed all of the helpful parts from the book together, without any unnecessary details, it would only make a few pages. It is great for beginner writers, who do not know what is necessary for a great story.

What I did not like, however, was that Stein kept making references to his other book, Stein On Writing, and kept telling what great techniques would be included in it to help with your writing. Also, there were many unnecessary experiences of his own that he included. Overall, it’s a good read that will help a writer to understand their own mistakes, by knowing what the reader is looking for.

Betrayed by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

2008-12-02T22:55:00.009-05:00

House Of Night 2: Betrayed by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

Rating: 4.5/5
Genre: fiction, fantasy, teens, Young Adult
Pages: 310
ISBN - 10: 0312360282
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

A great sequel of a unique vampyre tale

Betrayed by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast is the second novel in the House of Night series and it was great. The entire book was so suspenseful that I had to finish it immediately. Betrayed goes over the main parts that a reader may have missed from the first book, Marked, so that anyone can start reading the series without having read the first book. This is definitely a vampyre series worth reading, since it is so unique from other vampyre tales that you will enjoy its creativity.

Unlike the first book, Betrayed actually leaves the reader with suspense and curiosity as to what would happen in the next novel, Chosen. I liked how there were hints given in this novel, through the characters’ actions as to what may be a problem in the next novel. Once you start approaching the end of the novel, you will hope that the novel could have been longer.

Zoey Redbird is getting used to the House of Night as the new high priestess in training. There is a new professor that will only be staying the year, Loren Blake, the vamp poet Laureate, who is gorgeous and seems to like her. Then there’s Erik Night, the guy who Zoey is dating. And then there’s her ex-boyfriend, Heath Luck, who she still seems to have feelings for. How will Zoey ever decide who she wants as her boyfriend?

There are high school boys that Zoey knew that are going missing and are being found dead with a loss of blood and multiple lacerations. Being chosen by the vampyre goddess Nyx, Zoey feels responsible to find out who or what is killing them. Discover the terrible secrets that are being hidden by people in the House of Night.

With paranormal fantasy, suspense, adventure, and some romance, what more could you ask for? I definitely want to continue the House of Night series, but I hope that the rest of the books in the series are released soon.

Marked by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

2008-11-30T05:05:00.012-05:00

House Of Night 1: Marked by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

Rating: 4.5/5
Genre: fiction, fantasy, teens, Young Adult
Pages: 306
ISBN - 10: 0312360266
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

A unique vampyre tale, and just in time!

Marked by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast is different from other vampyre novels I have read, which is a great, since reading about vampyres was starting to become a boring topic. Marked is an incredible book that I was hoping would not end. I highly recommend it to any teenage girl or older.

In Marked, the existence of vampyres is known by all. Vampyre trackers hunt for potential vampyres and mark them with a crescent on their forehead. The fledgling vampyres are then forced to give up their old life and attend a new school, the House of Night, in which they will train to become adult vampyres. However, not everyone that is marked can survive through the Change.

Living an ordinary existence, the protagonist, Zoey Redbird’s life changes the day she is marked. Having to deal with her family problems and her stepfather, Marked will make an enjoyable read for any teenager and adult. With Cherokee ancestors, Zoey is no ordinary vampyre, she has been chosen by the vampire Goddess Nyx.

Step into Zoey’s school and see everything through her eyes. What problems will this unusual vampyre face? What handsome vampyre will Zoey fall in love with? Zoey deals with problems that every teenager deals with, thus readers can relate to her. She deals with family problems, bullies, boy problems, fears, etc. Marked does not deal a lot with the guy Zoey likes, but have patience, I am sure the next novel will. Marked deals with the protagonist, her encounters and her experiencing the Change.

I greatly enjoyed Marked, it was a great first book to the House of Night series, and the story just seemed to get more and more interesting as it progressed. The descriptions are great, not too much or too little is told about anything. The story is told in first person, which makes it even more interesting, since you know every detail that the character is thinking and feeling. The story is written in such a way that it draws your attention, and the protagonist truly sounds like a sixteen-year-old teenage girl. The characters are convincing, which is the most important part.

The only concern I have is that since a couple of parts use real names of brands and of celebrities, that after some time when those brands and celebrities become unpopular, then the readers may not know who the authors are referring to.

I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series, Betrayed, very soon!

Loyalty Management by Glen Downie

2008-11-21T02:42:00.004-05:00

Loyalty Management by Glen Downie

Rating: 3/5Genre: poetry
Pages: 114
ISBN - 10: 1894987160
Publisher: Wolsak and Wynn Publishers Ltd.

Unique and interesting

Loyalty Management is a collection of poetry by Glen Downie that are unique, yet interesting. Written about a wide variety of topics, none of the poems makes use of periods or commas. The poems are exciting to read, giving an unthought-of perspective on the situation or object. Many of the poems are challenging to understand, thus it feels like an accomplishment completing Loyalty Management, making you want to reread what you have just read to thoroughly understand each poem.

There are five different sections in this book, each discussing different topics of poetry, this includes: Prologue; Brick talking about brick; Baby food for thought; Let the sun never fall into the hands of the government; and A dream, a wake. My favourite section in Loyalty Management is “A dream, a wake,” which included poetry that I found a greater interest in, about the creatures of your dreams, the underworld, etc.

I highly recommend everyone to give Loyalty Management a try, since there are many topics of poetry discussed that everyone is bound to find a subject matter that interests them, and learn more of other topics.

The BFG by Roald Dahl

2008-11-19T00:02:00.011-05:00

The BFG by Roald Dahl

Rating: 4.5/5
Genre: fiction, children's book
Pages: 208
ISBN - 10: 0142410381

One of Roald Dahl's best

The BFG by Roald Dahl is one of his best children's books that neither taught bad lessons, nor was uninteresting for adults. There were many interesting concepts about dreams being caught and giants living secretly among humans. There wasn't many repetitive sentences, there was humour in the descriptions, and a shocking ending. The beginning of the novel is extremely interesting that it makes you want to know more. If an adult enjoyed this children's book, then children will definitely enjoy The BFG!

The BFG begins when Sophie, an orphan, awakes in what she believes is The Witching Hour, when everything is so quiet that is seems like the whole world is asleep. She looks outside and sees a huge giant, 24 feet tall, peeking into the neighbours’ houses. She is terrified, but is unable to scream. The giant spots her, and notices that she has seen him, so he takes her from her bedroom to his own country. Learn the secrets of the giants and the dangers they bring to humans.

Selected Portraits by Ron Charach

2008-11-18T03:00:00.015-05:00

Selected Portraits by Ron Charach

Rating: 3/5
Genre: poetry
Pages: 128
ISBN - 10: 1894987209
Publisher: Wolsak and Wynn Publishers Ltd.

Poetry like no other

Selected Portraits by Ron Charach contains main poems from Charach’s six previous poetry books. It is like no other poetry I have read before. The poems are realistic and revolve around people and situations that the people are in, which is seen in the title for this book. The language can be easily understood, but reflection is at times required to understand the message the poem is trying to convey or the portrait the poem is trying to paint. Without any rhymes, each line is separated at a precise point.

Charach’s reason to write about such topics may be since his poems were inspired by his career as a psychiatrist. Being given a psychiatrist’s point of view, the poems are out of the ordinary. Once I start reading a poem, I could not stop myself from continuing to read a couple more. Some of the poems also refer to World War II and other Jewish related references possibly because of Charach’s background. It is interesting to see what the war reference will actually refer to when reading the poem as a whole. The only thing Selected Portraits is lacking is the translations for some of the French and Yiddish terms. My favourite poem in this collection is Visitations, which truly reminds me of reality.

I highly recommend Selected Portraits to both avid poetry readers and non-poetry readers. Both will definitely enjoy Selected Portraits, with unique poems from a psychiatrist’s perspective.