Journey to the Centre of the Earth

Hello again! Long time no see and I hate to admit this, but I feel like I must (mostly because I am pretty sure I am the only one reading these posts anyway), I do believe the only reason I bothered to get on right now is for the simple fact that I could not play The Sims like I had originally planned. Anyway, long story short. I jumped on decided that I had read about 5 or 6 novels since the last time I posted and why not go ahead and post one now. This whole "Read of the Week" thing should definitely be changed to "Read of the Year" though. Anyway, I want to talk about Jules Verne's torturous novel.

Now, don't start off thinking that I only didn't like the book because I am not an avid classic book reader. Anyone (mostly me) that reads this blog understands that I do typically read books written by dead people (well, they are dead now. Obviously they couldn't have been dead when the book was first published.) So point is, that's not my reason for downplaying the novel. In fact, Verne is a pretty fantastic writer. He is very eloquent with his words and his descriptions are just long enough that you get a real sense of what is going on in the novel. However, his descriptions happen to center on rocks. Yep. Rocks. All 246 pages (in my version.)

Now, if I was a geologist (like the characters in this novel) then this book might hold some monetary value to me (besides the $3 I did waste on this novel.) Actually, it wasn't a complete and total waste. Like I mentioned earlier, Verne is great at writing and the characters were very diverse and different which might not be surprising to everyone, but it was sort of surprising to me. After all, I opened up this book with the complete and total expectation that I would hate it. And I did. Probably my fault a little bit actually. Also, it did end up taking me a month to read it, but I had a very busy winter break so I did quite often sit down and read this book for at least an hour when I had the time. So to end my discussion:

Did I like the book?        That's a very hard question. Yes and no.
Would I read it again?     Oh no, no, no. No, no, no.
Do I recommend it?        Only if you have a fascination with rocks and long detailed descriptions of said rocks.

A Tale of Two Cities

It took me nearly all summer to read this book and I know it's kind of depressing because I planned to read a lot more books this summer, but since Dickens is such a complex and eloquent writer, it takes a lot of brain power to focus on what is going on in the novel. In other words, this book isn't something that you just pick up and expect to read in a day. I had to look up words and even sometimes, I looked up dates and tried to figure out just what exactly was going on during the French revolution.

Like most other Dickens novels, this book is pretty long which kind of caught me off guard from the very beginning because I expected the book to be short, but at nearly 400 pages, it is still probably one of the shortest Dickens novels I've come across. I think Dickens is an acquired taste. Yes, he's great with words and explanations, but he's also repetitive and sometimes you'll be forced to read the same description four or five times which is fine the first time, but then you start wondering when his egotism will end and you can just move on with the book. Also, if a character explains something that happened to him/her then that character is most likely going to tell someone else what happened and the story will be explained all over again almost verbatim what you read the first time. It can get very frustrating. It's also kind of frustrating that the characters don't seem to be developed that well. The Defarges are given a pretty good background, although, we do not really understand Madame Defarge until the end (just another one of those amazing plot twists), but I feel like Lucie isn't explained that well nor do I fully understand Darnay's situation prior to coming to England.

That all being said, the book is amazing; however, you should probably not watch the movie then try to read the book like I did. It ruins everything and it makes reading the book go that much slower. Sydney Carton is of course a wonderful character. Part of me kind of wants a book written just about him, but I think it would ruin his selflessness and basically ruin the whole ending of the novel. Which I will not give away.

Did I like the book?     Yes, I loved it!
Would I read it again?    No, probably not, but if I did, it would be the first and last chapter only. Beautiful language in those chapters.
Do I recommend it?       Yes! Yes!

The Fault In Our Stars

So it's been a little over half a year since I've posted anything to this blog. Wow. Ironically enough, I have been reading very rapidly and even if I have a lot of time to dedicate to reading, I just do not seem to have enough time to sit down and post anything to my blog. For instance, I read The Fault in Our Stars in the short span of two days. I devoured this book because it is truly wonderful. And I hate modern books so this book has to be spectacular for me to give it the thumbs up.

*Warning: There is the slight possibility of spoilers*

 

This book is, as previously stated, absolutely wonderful. It's everything you would expect of a book about cancer, except not really. The characters have a little more bite to them than your typical cancer characters. They're so hopelessly certain of their death that it makes them try all the more to enjoy life while they can instead of sitting around waiting for the sun to swallow them up.

 

Yes, it's a romance. What more do you want from cancer kids than to see them fall in love in their sweet little teenage-angst way? Seriously though, this book epitomizes young love and the definition of understanding what cancer is for those who are suffering because of it. The ending is a little bit different than you would expect, but that is all I'm going to say about that. If you want more detail, you'll just have to read the book.

 

 

I have a love/hate relationship with the author of this book, John Green. I like the simplicity of his writing style and the fact that he is really great with character differentiation/development. However, I think he simply makes all of his characters complete and total geniuses. In real society, this is simply not the case. Not everyone is going to be able to make Star Wars jokes and extensively quote T.S. Eliot. Although, I admit how great of a world would it be if we could? I did like the bit of humor in this book though. I liked the nerdy aspects and the references to literature that just abounded in this book, but my problem is that it was John Green's voice coming through instead of Hazel's actual character shining through. 

 

Despite the fact that you're crying after you finish this book, it's a good thing. Crying can sometimes be a good thing after all. It's an easy read so if you have a day filled with watching TV and counting the stars, then you should pick up this book and give it a shot. It has got to be more entertaining than counting all those stars.  

 





Emma

Wow! It really has been a long time since I posted something. Even though I know no one is reading this, it still kind of breaks my heart to feel like I'm neglecting this blog. For some strange reason I feel like it is my duty. Maybe because with all the pressure of school, work, and social club stuff, it is nice to just be able to sit down and write about everything.

Anyways, I have actually been reading a lot still, but I'm behind on posting because lately I've been on a Jane Austen binge and I have to say the last few books I've read have been uninteresting. Not that I do not love Jane Austen because I do love her, but her longer books particularly run out their flame before I manage to get through them. One in particular is Emma.

The concept of the book was wonderful and I have to say Knightley is definitely ranked on top of some of my favorite men in literature, but the book dragged on and on in some places particularly with the rambling aunt. (You will understand when/if you read it). There was a lot of dialogue that was definitely not necessary and it is honestly the first time I think I have ever been so upset with a Jane Austen character. Now, let's be honest here. I am always upset with Jane Austen's characters. That is the beautiful thing about her writing is that she does almost never gives you a character that you can fall in love with.

Okay, now, despite all my ranting. The book is still worth reading at least once. I did enjoy the beginning of the novel and the ending and it is one of her popular books. So if you have a true taste for Jane Austen and Victorian style writing then you should definitely read this book.

The Phantom of the Opera

Okay, so I know I said I was going to get around to blogging more since I was out of school for the summer, but my problem is that I don't seem to have any free time and when I do I can't make myself read a book. All I want to do is turn on the TV for 30 minutes before passing out at 8 o'clock. Even when I seem to have an entire day to myself, I can only focus on a book for so long no matter how good it is then I go do something else for the rest of the day then realize I've wasted my entire day. Well, enough complaining. Even through this hectic summer vacation, I've managed to steal a book from my brother's room and read it. The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux is the book I will be discussing.

Now, I know what you're thinking, everyone's seen Andrew Lloyd Webber's brilliant masterpiece, but I hate to inform you of this people, it's nothing like the book! I guess the general story line is, but even some of the story line is jacked up. Not to mention, there's some characters in the book who play very important roles that aren't even mentioned in the book! Plus, everyone should know by now, the book is always better. I can't name a single movie that is better than any book. This book is fantastic. Leroux's style of writing is easy to read and he doesn't waste his time focusing on every single little detail so I could actually sit down for 2 whole hours and just read. Needless, to say the book is very short and I finished it in like 4 consistent days.

I'm not going to waste my time going over what the book is about because I know that would be a waste of my breath errrr a waste of my poor little typing fingers so the only description I will give is that the ending of this book is completely different from the movie. Completely!

Atonement

Yet, another uber busy month. Finals are coming up again and I'm so ready for summer to get here. I'll actually have time to sit down and read a book because I've officially decided not to take any classes this summer. That's right, no classes for Jessi. (I can refer to myself in third person if I please). Yes, but Jessi gets to work and focus on transfering so that won't be fun.

Anyway, I did manage to read a book outside of all my lame school books. I borrowed the book, Atonement, from a friend shortly after watching the movie. The only reason I watched the movie was because she told me it was good. Oh, and James McAvoy (who I absolutely love and want to be the father of my children) played as the oh-so-masculine Robbie Turner. The book is great, but in all honesty, you could get the same effect from watching the movie. It took me a while to finish it because I already knew what was going to happen so it lacked any suspense for me. In fact, even though, I love James McAvoy, I do not love Robbie Turner or Cecilia Tallis. The book itself is good though and if you haven't watched the movie then I would suggest reading the book first because at least then you can get a better understanding of the main characters.

Wow, all of this rambling and I still haven't told you what the book is about. Well, the book is obviously a love story that turns horribly wrong when the hero of our book is accused of rape and foced to either join the army or rot in jail during World War II. The entire book focuses on Robbie and Cecilia trying to find a way to end up together when the war is all said and done and fix all the lies that had happened so long ago. I like cried for hours after I made it to the end.

Sense and Sensibility

I haven't gotten around to updating lately because of school and my super nerdy conventions and competitions. I just joined my college's Scholar's Bowl team which leaves me with even less time to read. Since I have this week officially off from all Scholar's Bowl related activities I might actually have time to finish a book.

Currently, I am reading Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen. Now, I know it's a classic and you would assume that everyone has already read practically every Jane Austen book on the face of the Earth, but I've just started reading her books.

Sense and Sensibility is a lot like all of her other books that I've read (which by the way is only Pride and Prejudice) in a way because it deals with love and misery then love again. This one deals with the scandalous Willoughby and the not so attractive, but still quite charming Colonel Brandon and lastly, the shy and senseless Edward Ferrars.

Now, I haven't finished reading this book; therefore, I don't have much to tell about the book or how it ends. I still have 100 pages left to go. Unfortunately, even now, nothing, but misery has plagued the girls and I am starting to wonder if they will ever find true love.