My Depressing Taste in Reading

I think I mentioned this before, but I am really bad about blogging on more than one site at a time. This one has been the one that has (unfortunately) been neglected. And most of the things I've been posting belong here more than anywhere else, so I'll be adding them all here in the next few days.



My top 3 favorite books (one for each level of reading):
Adult: The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald
YA: Looking for Alaska by John Green
Children: The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron
(spoilers for Alaska & Gatsby will follow)

+ Gatsby: Main character dies
+ Alaska: A main character dies
+ Lucky: How to get on after a loved one dies

In one chapter of my book CT, Ciera requests Erin to bring her a few books. They include: The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares, Charlotte's Web by EB White, & Feed by MT Anderson. (short list, she may request more, idk) Why? Because she wants to read books that deal with death, because she herself has to deal with it.

Let's look at my own writings, shall we?
CT: About death & how we deal with loved ones dying
The Conqueror: a civil war/power struggle; Many loved ones died in "The Overthrow"; death & how to move on afterwards (Basically it's the story of the people caught in the crossfire)
You Always Knew*: Just go read this one, okay? It's short (and leave comments here if you have any, that journal is no longer used)
The Elementist: Not a major theme or anything, but Tara has to deal with her mom remarrying a few years after her dad's death. (Note: This is the comedy of the group; totally satirical & funny, not depressing)

And then we have Marhsall Manor where OMG NO ONE DIES. But it's still about a kind of loss, but regaining it. Basically that old theme of Love Always Wins in the End. It's HAPPY.

*My only published piece. In a high school literary magazine. Made it past query & full request, but was ultimately turned down for a proper publication.

So, we can all agree now that I am completely morbid and move on. That is all. :)

Oh! And if you could recommend any books like those listed above, that would be great.

More Top List Stuff, of My Own This Time

Today is apparently a very good day to blog, because when I got on this morning (admittedly not until about noon) my LJ flist of friends & feeds was pretty full of people doing their bloggy thing. I love days like this.

This is also the day where I go back & talk about the books I read this year. In the past years I have put up monthly lists of what books I have read, when I read them, etc, but this year you may have noticed that I haven't done that here. Instead I favored for the master list of books I've read and movies I've watched in 2008. It was an idea that started out small (a meme I was tagged in by harvardbarbie that I kept up with. It doesn't have all the details of the original, but I was more likely to update it. I did leave out quite a few comic issues though, considering I read tonnes this year (what with getting a job at a comic shop & all).

Anyway, here's what I have to say about that list:
I have listed 198 books that I read this year, though I read more than that & forgot to write them down....

Children's Books
Best Children's Book I Read This Year: The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron (this would also go under Most Controversial, which I don't agree with)
Best Sequel: Small Steps by Louis Sachar, Sequel to Holes
Book I Most Often Recommend to Children/Parents: The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
Best Picture Book: Flotsam by David Weisner
Funniest: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules! by Jeff Kinney (not as good as the first, but still hilarious)
My Favorite Children's Book I Read in 2008: The Witches by Roald Dahl. (though Lucky was a very close second)

Young Adult & Adult Books
Best Book of the Year (Published in 08): Paper Towns by John Green
Book I Believe Every Teen Should Read: Looking for Alaska by John Green (I read it twice this year)
Most Overhyped Book: Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
Best Teen Series: The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares (I'm excited for her new series in 09!!)
Best Sequel: Castle in the Air by Diana Wynne Jones (Sequel to Howl's Moving Castle)
Book That Was Far Better Than the Movie: Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
Most Controversial: Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult (because of this, I believe it was a great pick for the high school's book club)
Biggest Cliff Hanger: Superior Saturday by Garth Nix (do not read this until Lord Sunday comes out)
Best Collaborative Effort: Let it Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson, & Lauren Myracle
Best Sci-Fi Book: Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
Best Superhero Story: Hero by Perry Moore


What about you folk? What were your favorite books that you read in 2008? Do you have any special categories? What book do you most recommend for me to read?

My Top 5 Books of All Time

This changes from time to time if I discover a truly remarkable book, but as of right now, these are my top 5 books.

I pick these books based on a 4-point criteria. The principles I consider are plot; characters; style; relatibility/what they mean to me & what I take away from them at the end.

Unfortunately, I have a very hard time ranking these from 1-5, so I'm not going to. Just know these are the top 5, in alphabetical order.

American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Plot - This story is amazing & even the smallest things end up being important. The story also doesn't drag along.
Characters - The characters in this book are very original, yet the main character Shadow is still easy to relate to. All the characters are very developed, no matter how small a part they play.
Style - I don't even know how to describe Gaiman's style, just that it would include every synonym for "amazing" I know. I would even look some new ones up. I think people would just have to read it to understand.
What it means to me & What I took away - I liked the way this book approached faith, without encroaching on any one person's beliefs. So I was still able to keep my devout belief in God, and in a strange way, actually made it stronger. Also, his style helped me with my own writing. Secondly, I think I gained a much broader idea of faith.

Devilish by Maureen Johnson
Plot - This story is great & moves along quickly. A modern "selling your soul" story, which tackles how to beat the deal someone you know enters into with a devil.
Characters - Johnson writes the best characters in my opinion, always unique but so real you probably know someone just like them. And the depth of the characters is amazing, makes them whole.
Style - Maureen Johnson is my favorite writer, so I had to include her in my top 5. Her style is witty, funny, and thought-provoking. I like to look at her style, in this book especially, as an example of amazing writing.
What it means to me & what I got from it - I think this is a great coming of age book, that shows the strength that friendship can reach. This is another book that helped with my own writing, as I said.

The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald
Plot - This is a story that never gets old, and is played out time and time again in real life. A person doing all he can to win back his true love that he lost to someone else? No one can say that hasn't happened to them or someone they know. But despite how often this story is played out, Fitzgerald manages to have something original and in my opinion, he's perfected that story.
Characters - These characters are real, original, and deep. And honestly, I fell in love with Gatsby. The rest were just like people I actually know.
Style - This book is a masterpiece. Fitzgerald has a style all his own that is on a whole other level above any other author I've ever read. And the objective stance of the narrator is fabulous, considering how involved he gets.
What it means/What I got - This book truly touched me deep down in a soul-wretching way. The ending really hurt me in a way no other book has been able to. That alone is enough to get this book into my top 5, everything else is what makes it my #1. The icing on the cake is that this book has readability. I feel like each time I unconver this book I find a new layer of meaning in it, and that I will never be able to get to the center of it.

Stravaganza: City of Masks by Mary Hoffman
Plot - I have always loved this books, it's one of the first books I ever fell in love with, and the plot is one of the reasons for it. I really like the idea of being transported to another world, but in a different way than most books have done it. And giving a cancer patient the chance to live a full life free of his pain is really touching.
Characters - The main character, Lucien/Luciano is the first character I ever fell in love with. I love his depth & sincerity. And Arianna is fantastic & relatible, as are all the rest.
Style - This was the first book I read from different view points. I think this is such a cool idea that really helps move the story along and give it new sides.
What it means/what I got - This book was the first book, and one of the very very few books to ever make me cry. It was able to reach into me and touch my heart. In fact, though I don't cry anymore, I still come very close everytime I read the end of this book. Also, I took that fabulous idea of different view points and applied it to my own writing, and I honestly believe that it has made a world of difference in my books.

Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll
Plot - What a cute imaginative story! This is a great story to share with anyone, especially children.
Characters - These are the most unique characters of any book I've ever read. Alice is very innocent, and the Red Queen overbearing, and the White Knight is helpful and imaginative. This book has a wide cast where every character is very different from any other.
Style - I think the most notable thing about the writing style in this book is the crossing of rivers. Every time Alice crossed a river to bring her into a new square Lewis put in a zigzag of astricks. It was the simplest way to show a change, and also looked like a river, in a way that the reader also jumps over the river.
What it meant/what I got - I had to include this book in my top 5 because it's the book that made me fall in love with reading. I re-read this book at least once a year and it never gets old. This book will always hold a special place in my heart. In fact, I was reading from my great-grandmother's leather-bound pocket edition, which was mint condition when I got it...and I read it so many times when I was younger that the cover fell off and the pages began to yellow and come out. I have a new copy now, but I refuse to get rid of my original.

My Top Books of 2007

Alright, I've read 105 books, comics, & manga this year and I've gone through them again to try and decide what my top books are. This is really hard because I read so many great books this year. I don't think there were any I didn't like.

In order of when I read them, because I doubt I could rank these. I'm including first reads only.

Children's

Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney -- My little brother was reading this and forgot it at home one day, and I picked it up. I couldn't put it down until I finished it. This book was hilarious! And the way Kinney wrote it, half journal-half comic, was inspiring and made the story move along easier. I highly recommend this book to people of all ages.

Young Adult

Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix by JK Rowling -- This is my favorite book of the entire Harry Potter series, which I read at the very beginning of the year. The plot of this book is fabulous and the entire scene in the Department of Mysteries was amazing. Do not judge this book by its movie because the movie doesn't even begin to compare in my opinion.

Magic or Madness by Justine Larbalestier -- The fabulous first book in the Magic or Madness series which poses an interesting choice: use your magic and die young, or ignore your power and go insane. It's really cool to see the story told by three different and unique characters from two different continents.

Twilight, New Moon, & Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer -- I usually don't go for the "vampire in love with a mortal" books, but my friends finally got me to read this series & I really like it. I'm not really a fan of the main character, but its the action & vampires & werewolves that keep me going. New Moon is definately my favorite, and shows Meyer's unique style the best of the three.

Magic's Child by Justine Larbalestier -- the amazing last book in the Magic or Madness trilogy. I loved the ending of this series, very interesting! But I won't spoil anything, you'll have to read it for yourself.

13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson -- I love Maureen's books first off, and this is one of my favorites. I love the odd coming-of-age adventure, it keeps you interested the whole way through. The ending was unexpected, and splendidly done. And Maureen's characters are always the best part of her books.

Devilish by Maureen Johnson -- My favorite of Maureen's books. This book is very adventurous & interesting. Johnson's style of writing in this book amazes me. I wrote down one of the scenes in my notebook to look back on it every now and again as an example of great writing.

Feed by MT Anderson -- I love this book. These characters seem real, because they talk like teens, even if it would be offensive to some readers. The story is fantastic and I love Anderson's style. Absolutely love it.

Extras by Scott Westerfeld -- The sequel to Westerfeld's Uglies series. This one happens after the events in Specials, in a new area, with a new character. Honestly this is my favorite in the entire series. I think it was the change of main character, because I never really liked Tally, whereas I really like Aya. And this book gets extra points from me because the whole face-rank system is interesting & satorical.

Adult

The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare -- A classic play that I ended up falling in love with, despite my preconceptions of it. It was hilarious and amusing with its odd take on a love story. Seeing this play performed shortly after I read it was great too.

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger -- This book blew me away, seriously. I'm glad to finally find a book that represents time travel as non-changing, because I'm tired of "let's go back in time & change it" stories. The disjointed way of telling this story works so well for this book & the characters are fabulous.

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison -- This book is so different from anything else I usually read. Honestly, it disturbed me most of the time, but the funny thing is, that's why I liked it. It was real, unlike most books out these days--even the nonfiction stories. Morrison doesn't worry about what's acceptable or not, she just writes what's real and holds nothing back.

American Gods by Neil Gaiman -- I love this book. So much. I took a chance on this book, taking advice from one of the leaders of a local book club. Another book that doesn't hold back. The story stayed interesting every bit of the way, and nothing written wasn't important, no matter how small it seemed at first. And Gaiman's style and characters are astounding.