So Alex Kotlowitz came to our school to talk about "The Interrupters" and There Are No Children Here both of which I almost fell asleep reading/watching. So I wasn't expecting much.
Turns out: His talk was (in one word that I'd pick in less than LESS THAN a heartbeat) inspiring. It really was. He was someone much like ME, MYSELF, and I.
He's this dude who went straight out of high school to college to be a biologist. He was a "science guy" and had no plans to change that (Sound familiar?). Well, he decided it wasn't, in fact, his thing, after taking organic chemistry, and he dropped out for a year. AND GUESS WHAT??? He decided books were something he couldn't live without!! (Sounding familiar yet?) So he decided to be an author and ended up in the projects of Chicago- somewhere he never thought he'd be. (SOUNDING FAMILIAR??). And judging by his appearance, he ain't doin' half bad!
DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS TO ME?? I've been so afraid, I'm a science person, yes, but I... I... LOVE READING!! And I'm so afraid I'm not smart enough to be sciencey, and I could wait until after college to decide what I'm really going to do! This guy could be me! And I really wanted to write him, email him, I mean. Is that a good idea? I feel so silly, but this means just so much to me that I could turn out as a somebody, without realizing it even after college!!
Alex Kotlowitz is going on my list of people to read this. Mr. Kotlowitz- I'm sorry if I spelled your name wrong, people butcher mine all the time, I sympathize- you have inspired me and made me feel so much better about my life. Thank you.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Let It Snow
My friend, DD, was where I found this one. She was reading it at lunch, looking so much like younger version of myself, so I of course HAD to ask the question Caroline is VERY familiar with "What book?" She wasn't very eager to tell me, but I saw it was by Lauren Myracle, John Green, and Maureen Johnson- three of my absolute favorite authors, so I had to read it.
This story is great, it really is. The individual stories are fabulous in their shortness, lack of drama (or maybe lots of drama squeezed into a small space is the appeal), and utter romantic-ness (I'm a teenage girl- I LOVE romance ^-^). Well, it's about time someone wrote the perfect romance!! I'm not surprised it took three amazing authors to do it.
The problem with Twilight, Marked, and all the non-vampire romances I'm forgetting, is the amount of drama that's needed to complete a novel. I just don't want to cope with it all. THIS story, however, took place in the same night, from three different romances that tied together sparingly, but made the epiphany ending QUITE enjoyable.
Because each story was >100 pages, the drama needed to complete the story was TOTALLY PERFECT. All each author needed was one problem: one cheating situation OR one breakup OR one case of jealousy to write a whole lovely, adorable story. When you put three of these perfections together, then TWINE them together... it's just utter perfection!!! A utopic romance! (see how I made something up there? This book deserved something to be made up for it.)
This story is great, it really is. The individual stories are fabulous in their shortness, lack of drama (or maybe lots of drama squeezed into a small space is the appeal), and utter romantic-ness (I'm a teenage girl- I LOVE romance ^-^). Well, it's about time someone wrote the perfect romance!! I'm not surprised it took three amazing authors to do it.
The problem with Twilight, Marked, and all the non-vampire romances I'm forgetting, is the amount of drama that's needed to complete a novel. I just don't want to cope with it all. THIS story, however, took place in the same night, from three different romances that tied together sparingly, but made the epiphany ending QUITE enjoyable.
Because each story was >100 pages, the drama needed to complete the story was TOTALLY PERFECT. All each author needed was one problem: one cheating situation OR one breakup OR one case of jealousy to write a whole lovely, adorable story. When you put three of these perfections together, then TWINE them together... it's just utter perfection!!! A utopic romance! (see how I made something up there? This book deserved something to be made up for it.)
Monday, March 5, 2012
Boys and Endings: Paper Covers Rock
(Spoilers).
So Mrs. E gave me this book (via my mom) called Paper Covers Rock. I don't even know if Mrs. E will read this... but just in case someone who is mean and a stalker reads this I made her name secret. Even though I'm the only one reading this blog. Anyway.
I read it. I was like... wow this is just like the Dead Poets Society. I think that's just because it's a boys' boarding school though.
When I was in the middle I just couldn't stop thinking to myself.. well boys just SUCK. But I feel like that's not true. So all i could think was boys suck shit. These kids are just horrible. They need to go die or something cause I don't want to share a world with them lol.
Then I realized how bad that sounded and how it sounds like any down to earth person when they state the way someone is. And I'm not that person. I won't generalize these boys, or say they need to die, or claim I know something about them and why they do what they do. But! I will say that I dislike the way they treat each other, and that whole boarding school scene. But sometimes, I think you have to read books you dislike. So you can get a feel for the world. People live in such extremes...
WAY IN ADVANCE SPOILER ALERT.
So anyway, in the midst of all these sucky boys, there's the narrator, who doesn't suck too horribly. (lol if my mom reads this... she'll get all up in my case for saying "sucks" so much xD). So you think he's fine. Way too much peer pressure and he can't stand it, but he'll over come it in the end right?
WELL WRONG. He gets the teacher FIRED. And I'm like the HELL??? So yeah, that's pretty much why my initial conclusion was that boys suck.
Spolier over... but I've kinda ruined the ending here anyway
But I'm always saying I don't want a happy ending right? I want a realistic one yeah? Well I guess I did get a normal ending, the end that, if I were in the story, would have happened. Because I'm not as magical as that. No one is. There's me generalizing again.
So I guess it was the right ending, the author's choices were the right ones... but I don't feel satisfied. Like it wasn't a complete book without the special ending. Maybe books have the unrealistic endings they do because that's why the book was written. Like the unlikely stories are the ones people bother to write about about because they are unlikely? That's the conclusion I've come to anyway. If anyone reads this... what do you think? Hah, no one's gonna read it anyway. But still. I think I'm right. (I'm always right though ;D ).
So Mrs. E gave me this book (via my mom) called Paper Covers Rock. I don't even know if Mrs. E will read this... but just in case someone who is mean and a stalker reads this I made her name secret. Even though I'm the only one reading this blog. Anyway.
I read it. I was like... wow this is just like the Dead Poets Society. I think that's just because it's a boys' boarding school though.
When I was in the middle I just couldn't stop thinking to myself.. well boys just SUCK. But I feel like that's not true. So all i could think was boys suck shit. These kids are just horrible. They need to go die or something cause I don't want to share a world with them lol.
Then I realized how bad that sounded and how it sounds like any down to earth person when they state the way someone is. And I'm not that person. I won't generalize these boys, or say they need to die, or claim I know something about them and why they do what they do. But! I will say that I dislike the way they treat each other, and that whole boarding school scene. But sometimes, I think you have to read books you dislike. So you can get a feel for the world. People live in such extremes...
WAY IN ADVANCE SPOILER ALERT.
So anyway, in the midst of all these sucky boys, there's the narrator, who doesn't suck too horribly. (lol if my mom reads this... she'll get all up in my case for saying "sucks" so much xD). So you think he's fine. Way too much peer pressure and he can't stand it, but he'll over come it in the end right?
WELL WRONG. He gets the teacher FIRED. And I'm like the HELL??? So yeah, that's pretty much why my initial conclusion was that boys suck.
Spolier over... but I've kinda ruined the ending here anyway
But I'm always saying I don't want a happy ending right? I want a realistic one yeah? Well I guess I did get a normal ending, the end that, if I were in the story, would have happened. Because I'm not as magical as that. No one is. There's me generalizing again.
So I guess it was the right ending, the author's choices were the right ones... but I don't feel satisfied. Like it wasn't a complete book without the special ending. Maybe books have the unrealistic endings they do because that's why the book was written. Like the unlikely stories are the ones people bother to write about about because they are unlikely? That's the conclusion I've come to anyway. If anyone reads this... what do you think? Hah, no one's gonna read it anyway. But still. I think I'm right. (I'm always right though ;D ).
Dystopias
So I guess I'll start with dystopias (Sp? Google says it's right. Or whatever is sponsoring this automatic spellcheck I see before me that says "Sp" is spelled wrong. Ironic, no?). Dystopias are the best, most fun waste-of-time books out there. Hell, they ARE the most fun books out there. Last night I polished off the last half of... see, I can't even remember what it was called. Okay, it's Legend by Marie Lu. Why the hell its called Legend, I don't know.
Alright, I've downed a coffee so things might get hyper from here on out.
But anyway. So yeah, it's one of the many dystopia books that I LOVE reading, but waste my time so much because I can hardly remember them even a few weeks afterward. This is why I can never read their sequels. The library hold list is long enough to forget half the plot and characters.
I'll give you some more dystopia books. CAUTION: ONLY read these in the case that the entire series is out, and you are holding them all in your lap RIGHT NOW.
Divergent. This is an AMAZING one that is blissfully long so you can have hours and hours of delightful way-past-my-bedtime reading. I don't think it's a series. Edit: it's a trilogy. Beware lol, the next book comes out May 1. Look out for Insurgent! I'll probably read it... such a bad idea >.< WHY, Veronica Roth? WHY?
The Hunger Games. If you read this, you MUST read the Gregor the Overlander series. They are ten times better. But anyway, the whole Hunger Games series is out. Get them all at once and spend max one weekend reading them, otherwise you will be endlessly confused.
Matched. I have no freaking clue if the whole series is out. I personally haven't read past the first one. This is a depressing case where I've read the first one and remember exactly enough of the plot that I don't want to re-read it, but I won't remember enough of it to get started on the sequel. So only read this if the entire series is out. Warning, Matched is the most anti climatic (is that even the right word? I'm too hyped up to know.) story you will ever read. The whole thing is just a build up for the sequel.
And finally Legend. This is beautiful. Haha, kidding. But it's a great, amazing (shorter) dystopia. It's basically the most unoriginal one yet, but I do love it. It's the only one where the boy is the main character. At least, I liked him best.
All of these contain romance, action (Matched needed hella more action for the huge build up it created), and wonderful addictingness.
Alright, I've downed a coffee so things might get hyper from here on out.
But anyway. So yeah, it's one of the many dystopia books that I LOVE reading, but waste my time so much because I can hardly remember them even a few weeks afterward. This is why I can never read their sequels. The library hold list is long enough to forget half the plot and characters.
I'll give you some more dystopia books. CAUTION: ONLY read these in the case that the entire series is out, and you are holding them all in your lap RIGHT NOW.
Divergent. This is an AMAZING one that is blissfully long so you can have hours and hours of delightful way-past-my-bedtime reading. I don't think it's a series. Edit: it's a trilogy. Beware lol, the next book comes out May 1. Look out for Insurgent! I'll probably read it... such a bad idea >.< WHY, Veronica Roth? WHY?
The Hunger Games. If you read this, you MUST read the Gregor the Overlander series. They are ten times better. But anyway, the whole Hunger Games series is out. Get them all at once and spend max one weekend reading them, otherwise you will be endlessly confused.
Matched. I have no freaking clue if the whole series is out. I personally haven't read past the first one. This is a depressing case where I've read the first one and remember exactly enough of the plot that I don't want to re-read it, but I won't remember enough of it to get started on the sequel. So only read this if the entire series is out. Warning, Matched is the most anti climatic (is that even the right word? I'm too hyped up to know.) story you will ever read. The whole thing is just a build up for the sequel.
And finally Legend. This is beautiful. Haha, kidding. But it's a great, amazing (shorter) dystopia. It's basically the most unoriginal one yet, but I do love it. It's the only one where the boy is the main character. At least, I liked him best.
All of these contain romance, action (Matched needed hella more action for the huge build up it created), and wonderful addictingness.
THE BEGINNING
I started this blog for myself- to keep track of the books I read. As the name has already told you. I'm probably the only one who will read this. And I'll probably write life stuff here too. In sentences that start with conjunctions. And prepositions lol. I don't see why I shouldn't.
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