Nostalgia and a Good Book

One of my absolute favorite books from childhood is The View from Saturday by E.L.  Konigsburg. I probably read it between 4-6 times in 5th grade and I couldn’t seem to stop telling everyone what a great book it was.

 The View from Saturday is about a sixth-grade Academic Bowl team and their path through the competition, but it’s also about the teacher and the four students she chooses to make up the team. The book is about each of the student’s paths to discovering each other and in turn discovering something about themselves.

With a style similar to that of Slumdog Millionaire, the book moves between the present, the Academic Bowl Championship, and the past, the months leading up to the Bowl. Each question asked by the Bowl Commissioner leads to a short story that explains why the team member knows the answer. Each story gives us a deeper look at the students so that we understand why Mrs. Eva Marie Olinski chooses them as the team even before she does.

As I am no longer in 5th grade, I can only guess the reasons I enjoyed this book so much, but I think there are two main reasons. First, this book taught me a lot of interesting things. Second, this was probably the first book I ever read where the plot moved back and forth between past and present and the fact that I was able to follow the story made me feel intelligent.

I recently reread The View from Saturday and even as an adult I can really appreciate all this book has to offer. It is a clever book about smart kids who are often wise beyond their years. There are humorous moments and there are touching moments. And each time I read it, I am once again slightly in touch with my ten-year-old self, if only for 150 pages.

Guess the Quote 11/30

I’m not really sure how to preface this quote. I really enjoy how simple it is. Sometimes the most profound statements are just fancy words stating the obvious.

So many people enter and leave your life! Hundreds of thousands of people! You have to keep the door open so they can come in! But it also means you have to let them go!

Feel free to leave a comment with your guess or just to let me know what you think of the quote.

This Book Is So Awesome

I’ve read an amazing book. It’s one of those books that you finish reading with a smile on your face. And to prove how awesome this book really is, it just won the 2012 National Book Award.

The book I’m talking about is Goblin Secrets by William Alexander.

Although this book is technically juvenile fiction and the recommended age range for readers is 8-12, I have to say people of any age would like this book. The reading level may be grade school, but the story is in no way diminished by that.

Plenty of people more literary than me have written eloquent reviews and descriptions about why they enjoy this book. So I’m just going to keep it short, simple, and sweet.

If I were a kid, I would love this book. But even as a relatively-young adult I appreciate this book and enjoyed it immensely, which really impresses me. This story is imaginative, fast-paced, intriguing, and even a bit scary. I think many people could read it and something different would stand out to each one of them. There are so many fascinating facets of the world of Zombay and each one resonates differently.

Word of advice: Please remember that this is a children’s book. Although I have just mentioned that I believe adults can enjoy this book too, you are guaranteed to dislike it if you go in expecting Lord of the Rings or some other fantasy equivalent. It is, after all, only a 200 page book.

P.S. If anyone can tell me where the title of this post came from, I will be incredibly impressed.

The Pirates! In an Adventure with Napoleon

The answer to this “Guess the Quote“ is: The Pirates! In and Adventure with Napoleon by Gideon Defoe.

“‘WHO THE BLAZES IS THAT?’ roared the figure in a voice that sounded like a whole fleet of ships firing their cannons at a massive sheet of metal. ‘GET OFF MY THRONE!’ He winked at the audience, who all cheered as he bounded through the auditorium and onto the stage in two huge strides, pausing only to burst a hot water bottle by blowing into it and rip a telephone directory in half.”

 Oh Gideon Defoe!! I really do enjoy your books.

I was in a book store with my friend just roaming around when she found The Pirates! In an Adventure with Communists (another equally funny book by Gideon Defoe). All it took was the line, “If the Pirate Captain were a font, he would be…” and we were sold. Our love for The Pirates! began.

As I mentioned before, The Pirates! books are extremely funny, but only if you like quirky characters who meet important historical figures, often while doing odd and nonsensical things.

If you found anything humorous in the quote above, there may be hope for you yet. 🙂 But just in case, I recommend visiting Gideon Defoe’s website, where you can read excerpts from the books and get a better idea of his writing style. If you find the website amusing, you’ll enjoy the books.

Here’s another quote to send you off:

“The Pirate King paused for a moment to pull a great white shark from behind his throne and punch it in half with a fist. A fair amount of shark guts went over the tables at the front, but none of the audience minded at all.”

City of Boredom

I’m not certain when or where I first heard of Cassandra Clare’s Shadowhunter novels, but the book summaries intrigued me so I  decided to check them out.

I’m not sure why, I just didn’t love them.

So far I have only read the first two books of The Mortal Instruments series, but I have absolutely no inclination to continue with the series.

City of Bones held my interest mainly because it was an introduction to the Shadowhunter world and all the main characters. It was something new and I found the world and plot line interesting.

Unfortunately, City of Ashes did not meet my expectations. Although the plot was interesting and dramatic, I should have been much more engrossed in the book. You know, when a book is so good you can’t put it down… Sadly, this was not so. I had trouble bringing myself to finish the book.

And let’s not even mention the fact that I actually checked the third book, City of Glass, out at the library, brought it home, and didn’t look at it again. I let it sit on my shelf for three weeks and when it was due back I returned it without once glancing at the pages.

Even my usual OCD need to finish any book or series I start wasn’t able to cure my complete apathy towards these books.

As I said earlier, I’m not even sure what it is I didn’t enjoy. The idea of the story is really interesting to me and the book summaries make me want to read the books, but I didn’t enjoy the actual books. The sum of all the aspects that intrigued me don’t equal great books.

At some point in my  life, maybe I will bring myself to finish this series. But realistically, I don’t think I will be returning to it. In my humble opinion, there are millions of books/series that are worth my time, and this isn’t one of them.

That being said, I would probably still go see the movie. And, on a more positive note, I do think that the cover art on these books is really cool.

As always, I’m open to opinions. Let me know what you think. What is it that others see in these books that I don’t?

Just in Time for Halloween

Halloween

It’s all about monsters, and zombies, and mummies, and ghosts. It’s all about the supernatural and the terrifying. It’s all about being allowed to believe, for one day, that some of these things are real.

This year I decided that I wanted to branch out, read books I wouldn’t normally consider reading and genres that I generally avoid. One of these genres happens to be horror, and scary stories in general. So, in my quest to branch out, who better to introduce me to this genre than Stephen King?

After some research online to determine which of his many novels to start with, I settled upon Salem’s Lot. And I look forward to starting it later tonight…

But in the mean time, here are two books that I have read that might get you in a Halloween mood:

Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Something Wicked This Way Comes  by Ray Bradbury

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They are both fantastic books.

Guess the Quote 10/19

This is a quote from one of the quirkiest, most odd-ball, yet hilariously funny books I’ve ever read.

“‘WHO THE BLAZES IS THAT?’ roared the figure in a voice that sounded like a whole fleet of ships firing their cannons at a massive sheet of metal. ‘GET OFF MY THRONE!’ He winked at the audience, who all cheered as he bounded through the auditorium and onto the stage in two huge strides, pausing only to burst a hot water bottle by blowing into it and rip a telephone directory in half.”

Feel free to comment if you want to guess what book this quote is from.

Find the answer here.

Pride and Prejudice

The answer to the previous “Guess the Quote” is: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.

“Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously. A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us.”

I’ve been trying to think of something profound or interesting to say regarding this quote, that is why it has taken me so long to give the answer. But I am still at a loss about what to say, I can’t quite describe why I like this quote so much.

So, I will just share a couple thoughts with you:

1. Pride and Prejudice is my favorite Jane Austen novel. I know that’s a total cliché, but I have read all six of her novels so I can actually say with some authority that it is my favorite.

2. I really enjoyed the way this book was written. Austen has a certain style and tone to her writing that is intriguing. She writes a romantic story with wit and personality.

3. This quote reminds me to be proud of myself, it’s okay to believe in and have a high opinion of yourself. You just have to be careful that your pride doesn’t evolve into vanity.

 

Have you read Pride and Prejudice? Or any of Jane Austen’s other novels? Which is your favorite?

The Secret Life of Abraham Lincoln

“While Abraham Lincoln is widely lauded for saving the Union and freeing millions of slaves, his valiant fight against the forces of the undead has remained in the shadows for hundreds of years.”

Like many, I saw the movie trailer for Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter and a multitude of thoughts passed through my mind. The following is the progression of my thoughts:

1. Wait…WHAT!!??!!

2. Are you serious…

3. **sigh**  …not more vampires

4. This has got to be a joke.

If you have yet to see either the movie or the trailer, I would recommend watching it. (I have provided a link above)

I had not heard of the book, nor did I have any desire to see the movie. It seemed to me the movie would be completely unrealistic and ridiculously stupid. But then my sister and I got to talking and decided to go see the movie with the expectation of massive “cheese factor” and a barrel of laughs. What we got was something completely unexpected, intriguing, and almost enthralling. Somehow, Seth Grahame-Smith made the idea of our 16th president as an ax-weilding vampire hunter completely believable. Yes, I did just use the word “believable.” 🙂

I was intrigued enough to read the book.

  And this is where it got interesting. The movie is slightly different from the book, the plot is changed a little and the story is adapted for a more Hollywood-style story. But the book is incredible because it takes a more subdued approach. Seth Grahame-Smith writes Lincoln’s story as a biography using Lincoln’s long lost journals as reference. The style of writing took a little getting used to, but once I was further into the book, the constant switching between narrative and passages from Lincoln’s journals was relatively unnoticed. In my personal opinion, the biographical style added an element of believability (if you can really call it that) to the story. I would go so far as to say that because the book had less of a Hollywood element, it was more realistic than the movie….if you can call a vampire story realistic.

Obviously, anyone who considers reading the book or watching the movie should generally be open-minded about it and not be offended by the “historical blasphemy” of the whole idea.

If you have read the book or seen the movie, let me know what you thought. I’d love to hear other opinions.

3 Books I Don’t Understand…And Probably Never Will

                                                    

1. The Catcher in the Rye  J.D. Salinger

I read this book in my 10th grade English class and let’s just say I could have done without it. Unlike the other two books on this list, I was able to follow the plot of this book quite easily. It’s not too complicated: Boy leaves school, boy contemplates life, boy swears a lot…loss of innocence…blah blah blah. I even followed the symbolism about the “catcher in the rye” and all that. What I don’t understand is how this book is life altering or profound. All I remember is a whining kid who complained, swore, and contemplated inane topics in attempts to be profound.

2. Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man  James Joyce

According to my 12th grade teacher, there were allegories right and left in this book. Needless to say, I was unable to find and/or understand most of them. I felt as though I was reading a book of completely unconnected anecdotes purposely strung together in the most complicated illogical fashion. Can you tell this book confused me?  If anyone can explain to me what this book is about, I would greatly appreciate it. Enough said.

3. Heart of Darkness  Joseph Conrad

I read this book cover to cover and promptly forgot everything that happened, the entire plot, and any symbolism there might have been. I can sum up what I got from this book in 7 words: boats, Africa, Congo, ivory, river, chaos, colonialism. That’s it.

If anyone disagrees with me, understands, or loves any of these books, more power to you. Please feel free to enlighten me. I would love for someone to comment and explain to me the genius of these authors, something that has obviously gone over my head.