Branching Out Book #1

The first book I will read: The Golden Compass



Not that Lyra spends much time worrying about it; what she likes best is "clambering over the College roofs with Roger the kitchen boy who was her particular friend, to spit plum stones on the heads of passing Scholars or to hoot like owls outside a window where a tutorial was going on, or racing through the narrow streets, or stealing apples from the market, or waging war." But Lyra's carefree existence changes forever when she and her daemon, Pantalaimon, first prevent an assassination attempt against her uncle, the powerful Lord Asriel, and then overhear a secret discussion about a mysterious entity known as Dust. Soon she and Pan are swept up in a dangerous game involving disappearing children, a beautiful woman with a golden monkey daemon, a trip to the far north, and a set of allies ranging from "gyptians" to witches to an armor-clad polar bear.
-from Amazon.com

Keep Track

Hey guys here's just a little website that I use: Library Thing
It is amazing. You can keep track of the books you've read and you can write reviews on them if you'd like. And the best part is, after you put around 25 books on, a recommendations list is generated. This was just a little quickie to inform you guys!!

Found and Finished

Thank god I found the book, or I probably would have gone crazy! When reading a book it is always a good idea to FINISH the book. Sound like an obvious advice? Well, reading Something Blue by Emily Giffin, I was completely unimpressed with the first 100-150 pages. More than unimpressed, I was disapproving of the main character, and reading a book with a bad protagonist is not very fun. A self-center pretty girl only interested in her looks finds herself in financial trouble after she cheats on her fiance and gets pregnant with his best friend who later only breaks up with him. During the whole beginning, every character was a grouch and after a while Darcy had thrown away her pride and was begging everyone back into her life. Single and pregnant at age thirty she decides to move in with old friend Ethan who lives in London. She begins her new life in London and begins to change from an irresponsible woman to a sophisticated and rational mother with Ethan by her side. Although, the first few 100 pages were not all that good, at all. With determination, I continued to read and I completely fell in love with the new and improved Darcy and her independency to risk a new life in new country.

Don't You Hate It When...

Yesterday after such a nice dinner, I brushed my teeth, washed my face and got in bed. This is my favorite part of the night. And I only had one mission, and there was my prize sitting on my bedside table. Something Blue by Emily Giffin, I had only previously read a few chapters. I'm sure this goes through every readers mind at ten o'clock at night, "Okay, one more chapter. " 11, 12, 13, 14...untill finally your knocked out on your bed with the pages opened onto your face. Very late at night, I had read half of the book and couldn't wait to finish the next day. The next day, sadly, my book disappeared along with my bag. I could have cared less for that bag, but I needed it immediately because I was in the middle of a book!! That is the complete nightmare for me, losing a book when I am fully engrossed. Its a black druid hills bag so if anyone finds it, that would definitely make my day. But, Anyway don you guys hate it when you lose the book you are currently reading. It completely sucks, and it really hard to decide wether to start another book or not...

Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin

Going back to The Host, I will borrow a quote from that book: "We're humans, and we are selfish." Currently I am reading the book Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin and I've noticed that the aforementioned quote is very accurate .
Unfortunately it does not follow my goal to read more of a variety of genres. hopefully I will finish by the end of the week to begin my goal. In this book, I am only several chapters in, and I am immediately drawn. The main character, Darcy, embraces a trait that, i think, everyone shares. In the few scenes that I have read, Darcy and her fiance Dex have called off the wedding in agreement. And each agree for different, yet very similar reasons. Only a few months into they are officially engaged, Darcy meets a friend of her fiance's. A friend that is also dating Darcy's best friend Rachel. Darcy then committed a horrible deed when she slept with her fiance's friend who also happened to be dating her best friend. I would call that a very sticky situation. But there's more... Just a week before the wedding Dex decided to confront Darcy to end the wedding and of course she could deny this. And she only agreed because of her own doings. Turns out though, this was a two way street. Dex had apparently been sleeping with Rachel, Darcy's best friend.

Darcy's reaction was a very surprising element for me. In hearing the her best friend had an affair with her fiance she was completely and utterly outraged. And yet, this was the identical thing that she had done to the both of them. here's where the human selfish instincts come in. After a tragic crisis nobody wants fingers pointed at them. Everyone wants everyone else on their side. In my opinion, you can never tell a story the exact same way every time, and in my experience details very according to your audience. Darcy, knowing full well she had done the same thing, didn't not want to except blame. Her mind was actually far from it: She wanted revenge. Some thoughts that crossed her mind were, murder and suicide. Eventually she came to the conclusion that a distressed ex fiance and ex best friend could be cured with some therapy if she were to commit suicide. Her best conclusion only came later on: Happiness. If she lived on happy, she would most likely mess with the emotion of both Dex and Rachel. Oh, and did I mention that Darcy got pregnant with Dex's friend, Marcus? Well, as Greg always says, "you need to have a conflict right at the beginning to interest the reader." And i completely agree that i definitely want to find out how Darcy and Marcus will continue on as characters.

On the Edge: The Host

In all, I have read four books that have exceeded the boundaries of my genre. These four include The Host by Stephenie Meyer, The Hunger Games and Catching Fire by Suzane Collin, and Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card. My usual genre lies in realistic fiction, boy meets girl. The first one the threw me over the edge of realistic fiction was The Host by Stephenie Meyer. Why did I decide to try something new? I'm sure anyone could guess. Stephenie Meyer is the famous writer of the twilight series. I was a huge fan from the very beginning. I was among those who had to impatiently wait for the second book came out. Although the books weren't completely obsessed over by a majority of the world until the third one was published. And then everyone waited for the release of the fourth book: Breaking Dawn. When at the store to buy The Host, I ignored the very obvious and very large eye that covered the whole front cover. Instead the only thing that jumped at me was the very large print of my favorite author at that time: Stephenie Meyer. If it had been written by anyone else, I would not have had the nerve to pick up a book of science fiction. At that time, I only wanted to read a book where the main female character would pursue a guy and it would have the reader wanting him also. These were the books I read. Luckily, this new book by Meyer also included some romance but it included much science fiction that I had never been experienced to. A Sci-Fi reader might not even categorize this book as an obvious science fiction, but, for me, it was a great book that included some of both romance and sci-fi. Thus, it was a great piece of writing that pushed me a little out of my genre.

Lit Classes and The Love of Reading

I consider myself a most definite passionate reader. A book can give you imagination and freedom. If it were possible to compare the minds of two individuals reading the same book, it is likely that ever single detail drawn in the brains were different. This is unless of course there had not been a movie made yet. I feel proud and powerful when I go to see a movie because of the book. Its exhilarating. I can judge this movie and critique it almost as if that was the only I would come to watch. i dislike those who go to see a movie and completely shut down the book because of what they'd seen. A book and movie are completely different. A book gives you the freedom to make up each detail. A character might be described vaguely as a thin and pale brunette, but other than those small details we're free to imagine the way the eyebrow might raise in shock or how the body might jump in excitement. When going to see a movie you may only watch the imagination of the director.
Freedom. This is also my problem against lit classes. Of course I am not vouching for their abolishment . That is exactly not the case. When reading a book, I like to take my time and enjoy every little detail. When a due date is stamped on, I'm suddenly reading because I am told to do so. My eyes are only following from line to line because I have to reach a certain stopping point. Is there some sort of compromise that can allow a class to both freely enjoy the book and also soak in the symbols and hidden story plots that are discovered along the ride?

Escaping Through Words

In fourth grade, I began to discover my genre. Fourth grade was when the drama began. I remember being out sick for two days that year. These were two days that have stuck with me. I went through my elementary years scared of cooties and glued to only two other girls. Every day one of us were out, the other two felt trapped in a world of strangers. Those two days, I had been out with a fever. Upon my return to school, my two best friends ran to embrace me; apparently, the life of fourth graders at Fernbank Elementary school had changed. Suddenly, groups were forming among the kids of our grade. The "cool" kids were the boys that ran around chasing girls and the "cool" girls were the ones that feared one touch of a boy. This was how our fourth grade was silently categorized with me and my two friends as girls who were acquainted with the "cool" but didn't find outrunning young boys amusing. To add to the hype of my dramatic fourth grade year, I was undoubtedly in love with the COOL guy of the fourth grade. It was totally out of a fiction story: the invisible girl who sincerely falls for the school hot shot. Could I have been the only one out there in such a tragic position? Of course, not. no I didn't know anyone who was stuck in my situation, but I was sure going to find someone. Avalon High by Meg Cabot. Of course this had some super natural theories, but it was about an ordinary girl who falls for the hottie of the school and the best part was she got him! This only got me started in this teenage love genre. As I got older, so did the books I read. It went from books including petty high school relationships to a book about unconditional love that keeps a couple together in time in The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. For four years, I've been reading nonstop romantic novels. My favorite author, so far, has been Sarah Dessen. Back then, i'd use books as an escape. I'd find it as a world wear happy ending actually existed. Since then, though, I have found much more pleasure in reading for pleasure. It's still an escape, but now Im more interested in not if two characters will make it to prom but more interested in whether or not one charachter can save the world. I want to read about a world I can never visit. This summer, I will focus to widen my reading horizon so when Im asked about the books I read, they don't all have the same outcome: Boy gets girl.