blog #10 - book review

This month, I read The Shining by Stephen King. To be honest, this book was okay. It was a little weird for me. There was many parts of the book where it would end mid sentence and like show the thoughts of the main character then continue the sentence. It was hard to understand at times because he would have a lot of thoughts then I would forget what I was reading. Another thing I didn't like about the book was the over usage of the F word. It was sprinkled in a lot of unnecessary places but it did definitely show his anger throughout the novel. 

One thing I did like about the book was the amount of detail. Before I even read the book, one of my teachers told me that the book has WAY more detail than the movie and she was define lay right. Stephen King is a great writer, and I really could picture what was going on in the book, better than the movie. I do think the movie was scarier than the book, mostly because of the very creepy music added. 

I think I will read more horror books in the future. I think I need a break for awhile and read some happy things, but eventually I may read some more Stephen King. Horror books can sometimes seem the same, but The Shining is definitely something that I've never read anything like it before. 

blog # 9 - top five

(These books are not in order of which I like them because that would not be fair.)

Book #1 - The Help

This book is great. It follows different plot lines of different black housemaids during the time of slavery. All of the maids are friends, as are their "masters" so to speak. A lot of drama happens in the book, though it is mostly literature. I like this book because it moves very fast. The writing style made me zoom through the book. I read this 500 page book in three days. I would recommend this book to really anyone who is looking for a good read, but they would have to like history because this book is historical fiction. 

Book # 2 - Eleanor and Park

This book is a lot like most young adult books, but that doesn't mean that it's not good. This is about a teenage girl (Eleanor) facing the hardships of life in her family, friends, and romantic ssides. I liked this book because it feels so real. The author didn't sugar coat anything. I would recommend this book to any teenage girl. I say this because there is a heavy romantic factor in the book. 

Book #3 - Safe Haven

This book is a Nicholas Sparks romance, but it is definitely a good one. It's an action packed romance. It's about a wife in an abusive relationship who escapes it by fleeing to a small town. I like this book because of the action in the book, and because Sparks is a good writer. I think that anyone who likes romance novels would enjoy this book.

Book #4 - Fangirl

This is another Rainbow Rowell book. Rainbow Rowell is one of my favorite authors so I read all her books. This book is about a college girl named Cath, trying to find new friends and get used to college life.. all while writing fan fiction for her favorite book series from when she was 12. I think anyone who enjoys contemporary's would like this book.

Book #5 - We Were Liars

I loved this book. The ending caught me completely off guard. It is about a girl who gets in a bad accident, and she forgets how it happens. Throughout the book she tries to figure it out. When the reader finally figures out what happens, they would never see it coming. Anyone who likes suspenseful thriller books would enjoy We Were Liars.

blog #8 - opinions and thoughts about the articles

Jonathan Franzen on YA, Genere, Women Writers

To start things off, I do not like Johnathan Franzen. He is a very sassy guy and he thinks he is very important. I do not like authors like that. This picture I found on Google makes him look like thins rich guys in NYC who stays in his apartment and writes for like 20 hours a day and runs on coffee. I just googled where he lives, and I was correct. He lives in the Upper East Side. Anyways, it is very clear that he hates Jennifer Weiner in this interview, he doesn't hide it. He says "she's an unfortunate person to have as a spokesperson." Well Johnathan, that's not cool. The things he is saying about her makes me want to lock them in a room together until they make up and be friends. It worked in Parks and Recreation so it should be able to work in real life. 

Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Weiner Speak Out On Franzen Feud

   

I think these two women authors are awesome. They're just speaking out (well. mostly Weiner is speaking) about the difficulties of being a female author. They are totally right. If a girl writes a book about feelings than it's "chick lit." If a male author does this than its "amazing insightful literature." How is that fair? 

Against YA: Read what you want. But you should feel embarrassed when you're reading was written for children.

Okay first, what a sucky title. It's contradicting. They start off with "read what you want" THEN say you should be embarrassed if you're reading books meant for younger audiences. That doesn't make much sense to me. Second, I firmly believe that you should read whatever you want. If you're 50 and you want to read middle grade, do it. If you're in the age group of 30-44 and you want to read YA, do it. I personally love YA. Even though most of them have the same plot, they are mostly happy endings which is why they're great.

blog #7 - typical horror novels

Most horror novels go a lot like this:

# 1 - Person sees thing that nobody else can see. Person is afraid of the Thing. Person has bad dreams. The dreams turn out to be real. In the end, the person turns out crazy. In the very end, someone is drugging the person.

#2 - Person is insane. They kill a lot of people.

#3 - There are zombies.



#4 - Something bad happened to person as a child. They are crazy now.

#5 - Torture. Lots of torture.

Those sum up probably 75% of the entire genre. But it's okay. Some authors can write those stories better than anyone ever could. Critics judge authors because of their "stereotypical" plot lines, but they don't read the book themselves. Some horror novels with these plots are extremely well written, and they deserve more credit for that.

Top Horror Novels
I googled "top horror novels" and the number one book is The Shining by Stephen King (which happens to be the book I am reading). I did not know that I was reading the best horror novel of all time. Sweet. Anyways, other books included in this list are: Dracula, Frankenstein, House of Leaves, Carrie (another Stephen King book), and Silence of the Lambs. These are considered to be classic horror novels. I am not surprised because I have defiantly heard of all these books a lot.

Top Authors
Stephen King. Stephen King pops out book every single year. That man can write. Many people don;t like Stephen King because they think he writes for the money, but he has made it clear in one of his speeches that he does not.



The second most popular horror writer is a man named Blake Crouch. I have never heard of this author but he must be pretty good if he is #2.

Honorable Mention: http://www.plot-generator.org.uk/create.php?type=14

I found this horror story plot generator and I have been messing with it for over an hour.

Articles Used
The Horror Genre
Horror: Classic Structure
5 Elements of a Good Horror Story