No, I don't have my nose in a book, I have my mind in a book.

I started reading at a very young age, and I haven’t stopped since. Books are my passion. Often I read two or three at a time, and I read everything. I mean EVERYTHING. Any book that piques my interest gets read, and even if I don’t particularly like it (which is very rare) I have to finish it. I’m horrible at saying bad things about books, because I think that even the worst book is a masterpiece, a work of art that came out of someone’s mind.

I just finished reading a book called The Girls of Atomic City: TheUntold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II by Denise Kiernan. It’s non-fiction, and it’s historical. However, my favorite thing about the author’s style is that the parts that don’t deal with the mechanics of making an atom bomb are written like a story – she is telling the story of these women who helped build the bomb unknowingly, and writes it as such. The technical side of it is a bit confusing if you don’t have some interest in or knowledge of atomic bombs, but I have a curiosity about how they work, and this book gave me (vague) information about the process of getting and enriching “tubealloy,” which is what the scientists call the element that they are making the bomb out of: uranium. It was a fantastically written book, and if you like history or just atomic bombs, I highly recommend it.

Another book that I just read is called UnEnchanted by Chanda Hahn. It is on the opposite end of the spectrum, and is fiction, almost science fiction. The main character,Mina, is a descendant of the Grimm brothers, and has to live through all of their fairy tales to break the curse that plagues all of their descendants: living through the fairy tales. I finished that book a little while ago, but I want to read the next one. I just haven’t gotten around to it yet, because I have stacks of books just waiting to be read. Of course, this one definitely isn't for everyone; it deals with a teenage girl and she has boy troubles and social life issues. A total chick flick, if you ask me. Yes, I read chick flicks and I'm proud of it.

Gillian Flynn is a New York Times bestselling author right now due to her new book Gone Girl. I got into Flynn’s books with Dark Places, which is beautifully written and tells the story of a now 32-year-old woman who heard her family murdered when she was 7 by her older brother, and is looking for the truth as to what really happened that night. I’d say again that I recommend this book, but I’m sure that by now that you realize that I would pretty much recommend every single book I've ever read. I've just started reading Gone Girl, but it’s already wonderful, and I had a hard time putting it down just to write this little snippet about it. The basis of the book is a husband and wife who move to Missouri, and on their fifth wedding anniversary, the wife goes missing. That’s pretty much all I know about it, considering I’m only on page 52 right now. The best part about having a boyfriend that works at Barnes and Nobles is all the new books I get to read at a discount, or books that are his, like these books! (I can't wait to read Sharp Objects, which is another of Flynn's books.)

One of the hardest things to do for me is to recommend books to other people without an idea as to what they like in a book. For my friends, it’s easy, because I know them very well and I know what they like, or what I think they would like. But for other people, it’s a bit harder. Every book is so different, and I pick books up on a whim. It’s usually the title that grabs me, or even just the font of the title. I’ll pick a book up from any section, and when buying books, I look for a bargain as well as a good summary. I own a Nook, and free books are big part of my virtual library. The more books I can buy, the better, so freebies are a must for me. Anything can draw me in, and those things that draw me in are never the reason that I decide I love the book; thus the confusion over choosing books for other people. Usually I revert to the old standby of picking one of my all-time favorite books for my recommendations.

Speaking of all-time favorites, I have a few suggestions for those of you looking for a new book to read, besides the books mentioned above, which are all fantastic!

I love big books, and Tom Clancy nails that on the head with his huge novels. If you like historical fiction, his books are definitely for you. My only qualm with them is that they are heavy (very powerful) reads, and make me think a lot, so I only read them during the summer, when they won’t stress me out.

I don’t even know what to classify John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars as, but it is a tear-jerker and a heart breaker. I read it in one day, and I don’t care who you are, young or old, male or female, if you haven’t read this book, read it. It has a powerful message (which you have to read the book to find out!), and I thought it was astoundingly beautiful. The message coupled with the writing prowess of John Green makes for an amazing book, so GO READ IT. Also, the book is apparently being made into a movie. I can't tell you how excited I am to see it. Okay. Okay. (If you've read it, you should understand that. Go read it.)

I know other people who haven't liked this series, but I love the Inheritance Cycle. It was originally intended to be a trilogy by its then-fifteen-year-old author Christopher Paolini, but turned into a four book cycle when he couldn't fit everything he wanted to into the third book. It also inspired me to start my own writing because he was so young and became so successful. But aside from that, I loved these books, and I've read them so many times that my paper back copy of Eragon is falling apart. This is another book I would recommend that everyone read, even though not all of you will like it (probably). Don't you dare watch the movie though, at least until after you have read the book. Honestly, the movie really stinks, and hardly follows the book at all. It skips so many important events and gets everything wrong. So just don't even bother watching it. It made me angry.

Tamora Pierce is my favorite author. She writes beautifully and her books all have meaning. Plus, most of them have female heroines, and they are written for young adult audiences, so they serve as inspiration for young girls that they can be the one to save the day too. They’re fantasy, set in imagined worlds and involving magic, which has always been one of my favorite things to read, because of the imagination that it takes to create such a book. Pierce’s series are not for everyone, as they are written towards a young audience, but I remember reading them when I was younger, and I loved them so much that I still read them all today over and over.

Go read. Read books. Read news articles. Read the little ticker at the bottom of your favorite news channel. Read something. But go read, because books can change your life. They've certainly changed mine in ways I never imagined.

If you want a recommendation, or just want to talk about your experiences with books or your favorite books, send me an email!

In the Defense of Literature

In our contemporary society, using technology as a means of entertainment has become the socially accepted standard. We criticize our parents and other elders who need to “get with the times” as it is said. Writing letters? Who does that anymore?  I mean, that is so last century! And books?

         

Now, I may be mislabled as a nerd (according to http://www.dictionary.com/), but I strongly believe that books are not mere objects to be pulled up on a screen. Books are our companions and friends. They cheer you up when you’re sad by sucking you into a magical world where we relate to well-developed characters and enjoy the savory sensation of a happy ending. We can curl up with one and escape the world, if only for a little while. And how do we repay our story-telling friends? By sticking them on the Internet available for a $2.99 download.

           

ebook image

We’re meant to hear the rustle of turning pages and see the flickering letters dance across the pages. Instead, we perfer to bind them to the cold restrictions of the online phenomena. We’re meant to take them off the shelf and lovingly stroke their spines. Instead, we slide a finger across a screen.  How impersonal does it get?

Ebooks are easier to carry, people say. They are more portable. While this is true—come on, try and prevent fifty someodd books from rolling around in the trunk—I believe that it hardly excuses the betrayal of one of our best friends. Would you stick your dog or cat on the Internet and maybe lead it around with a finger? Books may not be alive, but both pets and books comfort you, never question you, and cheer you up. ebooks can do none of these, bound as they are behind a multi-character password and a sliding touch screen.

box of books image

Technology is ever-growing in today’s society. Facebook, Twitter, cell phones competing to see who can be the smallest—I’d be hypocritical if I said that all technology should be banned. After all, I do have a Facebook which I use quite frequently! And where would I be on all those school essays if it wasn’t for Wiki—I mean, Google? Seriously, though, technology really is a marvelous thing. I just do not believe that books should be vacuumed up into its consuming mouth. Books have been around for centuries. They have served as a source of entertainment, information, and even inspiration for countless masses! They do not deserve to end at a fad that robs them of their significance and makes a circus exhibit out of them. The ebook bonanza may seem harmless enough now, but it really is only a small step from ebooks to simply downloading the stories into our brains. What would this result in? The end of books!

The End of Books (1984 reference)

 

Think about that the next time you pass a library or a bookstore. Who knows? By the twenty-second century, they might say “Apple” or the name of some other big ebook company. So buy the book, not the ebook!
Email me if you fancy