Ever heard of this author?

     If you haven't read any books by Ray Bradbury, then your missing out on some fantastic writing by this American Author.

Here are some of my favorite stories of his:

     One of Bradbury's most well known and masterpiece is the book Fahrenheit 451. The title refers to the temperature when paper starts to burn.This book is about a future society where books are not allowed. The firemen in this society burn books instead of putting out fires. Guy Montag, never questioned the burning of books, until he met the strange girl called Clarrise. Montag then decides to steal books and read them, changing his perspective and causing the consequences of doing so. I really enjoyed this book because of its interesting plot and great description. It's just a great story overall and I think anyone who reads this will enjoy it.

     Another book I thoroughly enjoyed is called Something Wicked This Way Comes. The two 14 year old characters, Jim Nightshade and William Halloway, see a carnival train roll into town. But this is not an ordinary carnival. Leading the haunted carnival is a man called, Mr. Dark. The "Illustrated Man" lures people by giving their desire, their wish, but those who get what they want from Mr. Dark are bound to the carnival forever. When the carnival stops in their town, Jim and Will's nightmare truly begins. I enjoyed this book because of the thrills and chills you get when reading this book. The suspense and the plot is great.

     Other books by Ray Bradbury include: Dandelion Wine, Martian Cronicles, Farewell Summer, many poems, and other short stories. 

  

Find Ray Bradbury books on Amazon today!

Book Thief ~ Update

     Before I really start this post, I just have to say that Allegiant by Veronica Roth is finally out!! I can't wait to read the last and final book of the Divergent trilogy. I'm so excited!

     I've been getting farther into The Book Thief by Markus Zusak but I have to say, the book isn't as exciting as I thought it would be. I'm now past the first 100 pages and still nothing exciting has happened. It has just been Liesel's ordinary life where she is learning how to read. I am still grateful for the fact that it's still interesting, but not like it's so amazing I want to keep reading it. This has been preventing me from reading more of the book. I do plan on finishing the book because I heard that the climax was pretty exciting and interesting compared to the beginning of the story.

"The strange thing was that she was vaguely comforted by that thought, rather than distressed by it.
The dark, the light.
What was the difference?"
 Page 100

     In this quote, Liesel just found out that her mother would never answer the letters she wrote and sent for her. From the previous information, you can predict that Liesel's mother was prosecuted by the Nazi. At the beginning of the book, Death told us that Lisesel had brown eyes. Now put all the information you have together and you can come up with this: Liesel's mom knew that her children and herself would be killed by the Nazis because they had brown eyes. So, in order to save her children, she planned to give them to a family who would adopt them and who were for the Nazis. This is why Liesel's mother abandoned her with the Hubermann's, the adopting family.

     Predictions: Liesel and her friend Rudy will steal a book together. The both of them will become very close and fall in love. (Currently in the novel, Rudy likes Liesel already.)
     Liesel will run away with her adopted Papa, Hans Hubbermann, since her Papa doesn't agree with the persecution of the Jews by the Nazis.
     Many people will die at the end, but Liesel will not (she's the main character).

     The Book Thief movie comes out November 8th, 2013. Watch the trailer!

Want to Read Books~ Halloween Edition!

     Halloween is almost here! That means time to bring out the scary books and the sci-fi books I want to read! By each book that I want to read, you'll see the rating of the book from Goodreads, the summary of the book, and why I want to read it. 

1.) The Host by Stephenie Meyer- 3.86, The earth has been invaded by a species that takes over the human brain while leaving the body intact. Melanie Stryder's mind has been invaded by one of the members of the species, called the Wanderer. Although Melanie fills the Wanderer with thoughts of Jared, a human who lives in hiding from the invading species, the Wanderer desires another man Melanie doesn't know. As reluctant allies, the two of them go on a search to find the man they both love. I want to read this book because of the interesting love triangle that happens in the story. How will one body with 2 minds, love 2 different people? The interesting and unexpected synopsis of the story spurs many unanswered questions unless I read the book. 

2.) The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold - 3.69, Susie Salmon is just a regular 14 year old girl. Still growing up, looking toward high school, and just received her first kiss. On the way home from school, Susie was stopped by one of her neighbors, George Harvey. George changes Susie's life forever, Susie was murdered. In this story, Susie narrates her observations from heaven. She watches her family from above: her father determined to solve the mystery, her mother who runs away from her feelings, her sister who grows up right before her eyes. She also watches her killer and her devastated friends. Susie wants to help with the case of her own murder, but can only wait and hope that the killer will be punished. To me, this book sounds like a great novel. Not only is it narrated from an interesting perspective (Susie in heaven) but the story sounds like a gripping thriller/mystery. This book was made into a movie I was scared to watch, so instead, I plan on reading the novel. 

3.) Coraline by Neil Gaiman- 3.96, Coraline finds a mysterious locked door in her new home. When she finally opens it, there's nothing but a brick wall, when she opens it again later, a passageway strangely appears. Through the door, she finds a more interesting, alternate world. There's her house that exactly looks the same, and her "other" parents that have creepy black button eyes. When the "other" parents want Coraline to stay in their world forever, the terrifying game begins. With a talking cat and a nifty stone with a hole, she must rescue her real parents and 3 children who have been taken by the "other" mom. Coraline's nightmare may just come true. Since this book has been created into a movie that I have already seen, I feel like I need to read the book. This creepy tale has a summary that definitely captures your attention and has a very interesting plot. 

Romeo & Juliet

     Currently in class, we are reading Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. I would like to discuss how Romeo and Juliet are not truly in love.
     First off, Romeo was in love with Rosaline before he met Juliet. When Romeo snuck into the Capulet party to woo Rosaline, he saw Juliet for the first time. He then believed that he is in love with her because she was so beautiful. The problem here is that Romeo changed his mind so quickly on who he loved. He said he was in love with Rosaline but changed his mind, so he could have done the same thing to Juliet: change his mind in a snap his feelings for her.
     Second, Romeo and Juliet just met and it seems like he wanted lust over love. He just saw her and then kissed her a couple of times, how can you be truly in love if you only met a person? It might just be those teenage hormones (since Romeo is 17 and Juliet is about 14).
     Third and lastly, Romeo is a Montague and Juliet is a Capulet. At the end of Scene I, Act V, you can see that both of them are shocked and disappointed because they come from the two different and rival households. This most likely swayed their mind just a little about their love for each other. At that moment, you could tell that they knew they couldn't be together. (But obviously they made it so that they would be together despite the feud between the two households they were each in.)
     In conclusion, Romeo and Juliet are not truly in love. Let's just say that they were star crossed "lovers".

The Book Thief ~ First Impressions

     What did I notice first? The narrator. The narrator is Death. I have never heard of a book with Death being the narrator, maybe that's what makes this book so popular and great.

"Their mother was asleep.

I entered the train.

My feet stepped through the cluttered aisle and my palm was over his mouth in an instant.

No one noticed.

The train galloped on.

Except the girl." 

page 20

     This excerpt from the story was when Liesel's (the main character) brother died. Note: This book takes place during Nazi Germany. Liesel's brother died on the train toward Munich. They were on the way of getting foster parents. In the passage above, you can see death coming into the train and taking the life out of Liesel's brother, Werner. Werner was coughing violently, (for what reason, we don't know) and suddenly died. No one saw, as Death noticed, except Werner's sister who "saw" Death. What Liesel "saw" was Death taking Werner's soul...

"It was exactly when I knelt down and extracted his soul, holding it limply in my swollen arms. He warmed up soon after, but when I picked him up originally, the boy's spirit was soft and cold, like ice cream."

 page 21

   Something else I noticed? The style of writing. Professional would be one word to describe it. Creative can be another. The way this book is written isn't like any other book I've read before. Maybe it's because Death is speaking, Death isn't human...?

"First the colors.

Then the humans.

That's usually how I see things.

Or at least, how I try."

page 3

New Book ~ The Book Thief

    I'm finally done with my previous book, I'm excited to read The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. You might be wondering, what attracted you to this book? Well let's start off with the cover. As the saying goes, "don't judge a book by its cover" isn't always true for me. The book cover is the first impression of the book, it can either attract you or dissuade you from picking up the book. Take a look at the cover below. ~

     Doesn't the cover make you ask yourself, Why are there dominos? How does that relate to a book thief? What is the book thief? Also, the cover is purposely made to be old looking; that brings up more questions about what's going to happen in the book.
     The second thing that made me pick up this book was the talk. People here and there tell me about how good the book is and that I should read it sometime. According to Amazon, this book has been named #1 New York Times best seller, which got me to consider reading it. 

     Lastly, when I read the synopsis, it got me interested. For those who don't know, it's about a girl named Liesel who discovers books. She isn't allowed to keep them because it is during the time of Nazi Germany, the Nazi book-burning, but she keeps stealing and hiding them anyways. I bellieve that this book will be informational but at the same time interesting. Who doesn't like a book that includes danger and risks? 

     I'll be sure to keep updating my progress once I start reading the book so you can decide for yourself whether this is a book worth reading, or not. 

Theme and Summary: Water for Elephants

     I believe that the theme of Water for Elephants is "the benefits of love come from the sacrifices you have to make". This theme first emerges when Jacob Jankowski jumps onto the train after dropping out of college and meets Marlena for the first time. Also at the beginning of the novel, when one of Marlena's performing horses named Silver Star is foundering (AKA laminitis), Jacob then helps Marlena through this situation and comforts her because they both know that Silver Star will not make it. This event brings the both of them closer together.

     “I don’t understand how this could happen so fast.’ Her voice is tiny and hollow, and it occurs to me that she’s probably going to cry. I crouch beside her. ‘Sometimes it just does. It’s not because of anything you did, though.” Page 87

    Another event that helps Marlena and Jacob bond is when the Circus gains a new elephant. Because the new elephant, Rosie, does not understand English commands (as they find out later), August the animal trainer is very brutal with to Rosie. In this situation Jacob is able to be close to Marlena but they have to watch Rosie suffer. 

     "Rosie whimpers and this time doesn't move an inch. Even from this distance, we can see that she's trembling. Marlena chokes back a sob. On impulse I reach for her hand. When I find it, she clutches my fingers so tightly they hurt." page 141

     Finally, when August saw the connection between Marlena and Jacob, he physically hurts both of them which causes Marlena to leave August. Marlena no longer wants to live in August's cart so she moves to a hotel temporarily. Jacob visits her once in a while and on one of the visits, they both confess their love for each other. Marlena and Jacob are physically hurt but are able to love each other without hiding their feelings.

     "'I love you, Marlena. I love you with my heart and soul, and I want to be with you.' ... She lifts her head. There are tears in her eyes. 'I love you, too,' she whispers. 'I think I've loved you from the moment I laid eyes on you. But don't you see? I'm married to August.'" page 274

Objective summary: page 308 to 310 ~ SPOILER ALERT
     The animals are let loose creating a disaster stampede. This puts everyone in danger who is watching or in the show. But what Jacob is most concerned about is Marlena. It's a crazy scene of people and animals mixed together; the animals escaping and the people trying to escape and get out the way. While Jacob is trying to get to Marlena, he sees August hitting Rosie with the bull whip and Marlena sitting on Rosie. Before Jacob is able to reach them, Rosie pulls a stake out the ground and hits August on the head. August is knocked out and then trampled by the animal, killing him. Marlena is devastated, but also relieved. Jacob and Marlena can now live their life together.

Ever heard of this book?

     You may be that person who always and only reads the popular and best sellers books, but have you ever heard of this book? ~ Raven Quest by Sharon Stewart

MY OPINION:

     Though this book is not a well known book, I can definitely say that it is well written. Raven Quest isn't a hard book to read, it's meant for ages 10 and up according to Amazon, but in  my opinion, this book will satisfy any reader of any age. A fiction book, 320 pages long of action and adventure makes this one of my favorite books.

SYNOPSIS:

     Tok was the "no-name" Raven in the Raven Mountains country. But Tok has to face a bigger problem, he was falsely accused of murder and banned from the country. In order to redeem himself, Tok has to go on a dangerous journey to find the Grey Lords. The Grey Lords and Ravens once worked together long ago,but the Grey Lords are long gone because all were killed by the Two-Legs (humans). Or so all the Ravens think. No one has ever seen the Grey Lords but Tok is determined to find them. A treacherous and long journey can reveal the truth, or kill him along the way.