Jane Austen Book Club movie

I was unfortunately not here to see the The Jane Austen Book Club movie completely, since I was sick. But, from the parts that I did see I can say I enjoyed the movie. I like how they had all different characters with different personalities. I also think that it is cool that each character in the movie reflects a Jane Austen book character. To be honest, I'm still interested in finishing the movie and might possibly finish it over the summer. I could not find a weakness in the parts that I saw, which is  a bonus and makes me more excited to finish.

An imitation of art in the real world today is the 1999 movie 10 Things I Hate About You. This movie is a modern version of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. This movie is about a female lead writing a poem and story about her bittersweet romance with the bad boy protagonist. This models art because Shakespeare's influence of wiring is clear in the writing of the main characters. This movie is able to explain the plot of The Taming of the Shrew to an audience that might not particular understand Shakespeare (like myself), which is also the case with a lot of the other examples of life imitating art. It offers the experience to a  broader audience and makes it easier to understand for others
 

I have seen 10 Things I Hate About You and have enjoyed it. Usually, I am not a fan of Shakespeare's writing, but this modern version was interesting and easier to follow. It does have a love story, so I would most likely recommended this movie to girls, but I'm sure anyone would enjoy watching and could possible benefit from it.

Out Of Comfort Zone

Neil Gaiman's style of writing consists of short fiction novels, comic novels, and graphic novels. His novel, The Graveyard Book won both the Newbery and Carnegie award. I decided to read The Graveyard Book mostly because I have heard of it before. It seemed like an easier out of comfort zone book than other books in the genre. This novel has components of supernatural, sci-fi, and history all in one. Usually, I hate anything supernatural and creepy, so from the start I was not too excited to read.  Reading this book was a negative experience for me, I didn't benefit from it and I hated every chapter. Even though I ended up disliking the book, being able to get out of my comfort zone and read something that I wouldn't normally read was a huge step. I usually am scared to travel outside of the norm and stick to reading what I am comfortable with. If I had the option of reading this book again, I would probably turn it down, I'm sure someone out there would enjoy this book and benefit from it better 100% more than I would.

The Graveyard Book is about Nobody Owens. As a newborn, Bod's family is murdered by Jack Frost. Somehow, Nobody is able to escape out of his crib, climb down the stairs, and leave his home without being caught by the killer (which to me, seemed totally unrealistic). The young boy manages to crawl his way into a graveyard, where he is adopted by the Owens, a dead couple who lived many years prior (once again, unrealistic). Bod is given the power of the graveyard, so he is able to see and hear the ghosts around him when nobody else can; the one negative is Bod cannot leave the graveyard until he is completely grown. The killer who killed Bod's family is still on the look for him, and Bod is only safe in the graveyard.

The plot of this novel alone is creepy and unrealistic. I would most likely never read this book again, but I would recommend it to someone who is in to ghosts and supernatural, unrealistic stories. Another Neil Gaiman book is 100% NOT on my must read book list for the future.

Oprhan Train

Orphan Train: Author Visit 

 

 

 

Before I write about the author, I just want to say I personally, I really enjoyed this novel. While reading, I was able to read more pages than I was assigned to each night, so I ended up being ahead of the class. Something about the two story plot and the historical aspects made me hooked. I liked Vivian's chapters more than Molly's. Having the author come in and talk to us was a special bonus to a book I already enjoyed from the start. Her presentation surprised me, though, it surprised me and it ended up not being what I expected. I'll be honest, I actually didn't know what to expect of the visit. A part of me thought she would just talk about the book and the concept of the book, not her personal connection and influence for the book. Baker Kline started off talking about her three sons and how they are all red heads, which confused me. I didn't understand why she was talking about her family and not her best selling novel. The more she discussed her work and powerpoint, the more it made sense to me. I was now able to see how everything connected together and helped her process of writing.

 

 

As a reader, having an author come in helps you feel more connected. For me, at least, I now feel like I have a behind the scenes advantage that not all readers have. You are able to learn about the author's inspiration for the book and you hear the author's personal opinions and thoughts about the book. Christina Baker Kline was able to explain parts of her novel and make some parts more clear.

 

The author's visit was not what I expected it to be, which surprised me. But, I am glad we had the oppurtunity to hear her talk. It is a special advantage that not all schools that read this novel are given.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Orphan Train First Reaction

 

 

The minute that I started reading Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline I was hooked. I managed to read ahead the first night and ended up being ahead of my classmates. The two part plots, one current one in the past, helped keep me interested in reading because it was something new and it wasn't one long, continuous plot. I personally enjoyed Vivian's chapters more than Molly's. Vivian's took part in the past and were in a different time period, which I enjoyed because I like reading about history. The chapters that were about Molly I found to be a little boring and a little too dull and whiny.

The history and story line in this novel was a little crazy to read about. I never knew that orphans were put onto a train and transported to new homes (which for many meant work). I enjoyed learning about this part of history and I now know something I probably never would have if I didn't read.

The strengths of this book are the two character plot. It's like reading two separate stories at once and both characters had different personanlities so each chapter was something new. I enjoyed that Baker Kline was able to have the chapters change from character to character so you weren't reading about the same person for too long. This was able to keep me from getting bored quickly because something new was always happening.

I honestly cannot think of a weakness for this novel. It was a little long, but every detail that was written about was important and tied into the story somehow. I enjoyed reading this book and would reccomend it to anyone.

Crime Fiction

For my entire life, I have had a love for crime fiction/mystery type books (growing up, the Nancy Drew series was my favoirte and I still to this day collect the books). Crime fiction novels can be considered one of my favorite genre because I like not knowing what might happen and having a plot twist occur. The component of mystery is the main reason I enjoy crime fiction novels. I love being stumped and trying to decifer clues.The main definition of crime fiction is "the literary genre that fictionalises crimes, their detection, criminals, and their motives. It is usually distinguished from mainstream fiction and other genres such as science fiction or historical fiction, but boundaries can be, and indeed are, blurred".  

The genre that I read with my small group was crime fiction. We read Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay. I personally was very excited to actually read this novel; I have many friends who watch the Dexter series on television and I heard many great reviews. I honestly believed that I was going to love this novel and might even be conviced to watch the sereis. But, my overall opinion of the novel changed after reading one single page. I hated the book, and I had a struggle reading it all the way through. I usually love crime fiction novels, the suspense and the mystery of books keep me going and make me want to contiune reading. Reading this book for me was almost like a burden, I didn't look forward to reading every day. By the time we finished the novel, I was so excited to return it to the library and not have to deal with it every again (sorry Dexter fans).

Another crime fiction novel is The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. I have never read this book, but I have thought about it after seeing movie trailers. This novel has components of mystery and crime, which sounds perfect for me. This novel is part of a series, as well is a popular movie. I personally tend to like books that are turned into a movie because I like to compare the two together. Many novels that were turned into movies I like better than the films, I'm excited to find out how I feel about The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and hopefully I enjoy it.

Independent Reading Book: Leaving Time

For my independent reading book, I read Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult. This novel was recommend to me by my mother. During our family vacation for February break, my mother read this book and loved it. She thought that I would love it as well since elephants are my favorite animal and are also a key plot in the novel (this was before I knew it was also a mystery book). I agreed to read this book because I trust my mom's opinions since we have similar interests in reading.
Overall, I was pleased with this novel. It turned out to not be what I expected, which made it more interesting. Picoult was able to write this novel from the POV of a teenager and still have it make sense, which is definitely a strength. I would rate this novel a 8 out of 10 only because certain chapters throughout the novel were confusing and harder to read than others.
I would recommend this book to anyone who has any interest in mystery. I personally have always loved mystery which is why I enjoyed this novel so much.

Family Life by Akhi Sharma

Did I Like It? 

I'll be honest and say that I did not like this book. Not at all. When it comes to me and reading, if I like a book then I can read it in a few days without any problems. But, if I don't like a book, then it may take me a long time to finish it. Family Life for me was one of those books. From the start I knew that I wasn't going to enjoy it. It isn't my usual style of reading and I could not get into it. For a short novel, the chapters would drag on and the pages got longer and longer. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure some people loved this novel; Sharma worked very hard on it and I'm not calling him a bad author. It just isn't what I usually read and it was out of my normal comfort zone.