The Circus

A couple of days ago I finished reading Water For Elephants.  I must say that I quite enjoyed it.  It gives the reader and inside view of what a circus was really like in the 1930s.  The story was kind of told in an almost fairytale-like way.  It switches back and forth between the 90 (or 93) and 23 year old versions of the main character and you get his days when he hopped aboard the circus train contrasting with the circus coming to town while he sits in a nearby nursing home.
While I liked this book there were a few things that I didn't like so well.  First, as Natalie mentioned, there were several sexual references or scenes that I wish weren't there.  Second, in the main character's older years when he's 90 (or 93) he looks back on the circus with such fondness and he can't wait to see this circus that's come to town, but his days in the circus were not happy.  I didn't understand why he would want to go back so badly.  He obviously grew more fond of it later, but that's not the happy part that this book is about.
I will say that I liked this book well enough that I'm excited for the movie to come out.  I would recommend it, but with a work of caution because of a few scenes of "adult content."

Great Book!

I've only just started reading Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, but so far it is excellent!  The writing is so fantastic and I can't wait to read more.  There will, of course, be more about this book later.  :)

Meh... Could've Been Better

I finally finished Charlie St. Cloud.  In all honesty it started slow and I had trouble diving into it at first.  While I was really searching for some easy brain candy to dive into for this Christmas break I think I was really looking for something that took me out of life for a while and a book that was impossible to put down.  That's not quite what I got out of this book... at first.  Yesterday, at work, I took the book with me and if I had time, I was going to read it.  Turns out I had a lot of time and it got to the point where I didn't want to put the book down.  I had to find out what was going to happen.  So, I must say the book was quite enjoyable and a good love story.  It was unique and original.  I don't think I've read anything else like it.
The biggest reason I had trouble getting into this book was because the author simply told the story he didn't show it.  I kept waiting to experience what the character was and it never really got there.  I liked the characters and the story, the writing just seemed to lack.  It started out great and interesting and then sort of died off.  During the climax the tension increased and I think that's really the reason the book was enjoyable to read.  If you are looking for a unique love story that you are able to walk away from on occasion, this is good brain candy for you.
Now, I think I need to go watch the movie!

I always knew dystopia was scary but...

This book was crazy!  I really don't know how Margaret Atwood imagined this one up, but it's certainly original.  Even though it was written about 20 years ago it still makes perfect sense today and actually still felt very modern.  The Handmaid's Tale is the story of a woman living in a world where everything has been changed.  She's one of the first generation in this society and therefore still knows how to read and write even though these things are forbidden for women.  In this world women are used specifically to replenish the earth.  Men are either in charge of a household of women dedicated to giving he and his wife a child or they are sent to the armed forces never to love a woman.  It's a society of duty.  Pleasure is essentially forbidden, but what happens when the people are smarter than government gives them credit for?

The story was not only original, but the writing was spectacular.  If the story doesn't draw you in the writing will.  Atwood writes the way the main character is really thinking and you, as the reader, can't help but picture everything she sees with brilliant clarity.  Disclaimer: Because this story is largely based on the fact that the main character is used only for her fertile organs, there are scenes that can be potentially disturbing to some readers.  They are not long, it's the exactness of the language that may be disturbing.

My advisor had a list of books to read for my writer's workshop class.  I had to choose one that was most like the style I read and write.  Because I work a lot with dystopia (the opposite of utopia, for those of you who don't know) this book was the one I wanted to read.  It really made me think a lot about the factors in an unstable society and it really made me think about my own writing.  I've found another author whose writing I can aspire to.

Torment

I finally got the chance to read Torment by Lauren Kate.  (it seems like I'm saying "finally got to read" a lot lately.)  It was pretty good and I'd say it was a worthy sequel of Fallen.  I dove right in and just read and read and enjoyed it the whole way through.  One thing that has always bothered me in books like these is the fact that the simple actions of honesty and forgiveness are sometimes the best way to solve a problem with someone you love.  That was really the only problem I had with this book is that the main character, Luce, is tormented by the fact that she doesn't know all the answers because the love of her life can't tell her.  She, like many other women and girls I know, has a tendency to blame everything on the man she loves instead of just trusting him and what he's doing.  However, that's the torment she feels and I can't blame her for how she feels.  She just does things different than I would... or hope that I would.  That aside, I still liked this book and if you are in the mood for an entertaining love story I recommend this series.  There were some very unique and original ideas that I thoroughly enjoyed in this book as well, but you're gonna have to read it to know what they are.

I Actually Finished It!

I've never been able to finish a Nicholas Sparks book before now.  They all are great stories but I feel that they've been translated better into film and therefore can't get myself to finish one of his books.  I got about halfway through the Notebook and a couple of chapters into Dear John.  Needless to say I was giving up on the ever sad tales of Nicholas Sparks.  Now I'm in a book club with some ladies in my neighborhood and guess what book was chosen as our second?  You guessed it (probably because of the picture) Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks.  I fully expected it to be difficult to finish like the others but I was trying to think of it as a great love story and find things useful to talk about at our next book club meeting.  Not only did I finish this one, but I didn't want to put it down!  It was so exciting!  While certain situations are not ones that I would ever wish upon anyone for any reason, it was told so well.  I don't always love the way he writes but this story is done very well and the characters seemed quite real to me, especially Katie.  This book was good and if you are looking for a love story with action that will get your heart racing, check this one out!

So Good

If you've looked at my blog at all you know that I thoroughly enjoy the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare.  When I found out that she was writing a prequel series (Infernal Devices) I was so excited.  The first book came out a couple of weeks ago and I have finally had the chance to read it!  It was every bit as good as the other series with some new twists and turns.  Not to mention some familiar characters.  This one, I believe, is still considered Urban Fantasy (don't ask me what the genre really entails because I couldn't tell you), but this one takes place in Victorian London.  This one also has just a teeny bit of Steampunk in it as well, but not too much.  I know many people may be put off by the words Fantasy and Steampunk, but really, these are good!  Now, I'm terribly excited for book two in this new prequel series.

Short Story

Here's little something I wrote last night for a writing exercise.

The Necklace

The necklace wasn’t expensive, but it was beautiful.  Sapphires ran the length of the necklace with the biggest being in the center.  Diamonds wrapped around each of the sapphires with rare delicacy.  How did I know it wasn’t expensive?  A trained eye could see that the stones were manufactured.  Still, anything was more than I could afford.  Because it belonged to her I knew that it was okay to borrow.  Right now she just didn’t know that I didn’t plan on returning it.

I heard something to my right and flipped around to see who it was.  I ducked a little just in case it was her.  Someone was definitely in the dark room with me.  Slinking around the dresser I tried to see who it was.  I tried to slow my breath and make it inaudible.  The moonlight cast a small white light across the wood floor and a large boot stepped into it.

“Clara?” A voice whispered through the silence.  I exhaled finally.   It was only Brian.

“Could you consider being a little more quiet?” I whispered back as I came out of my hiding spot.

“Sorry, it’s really dark in here.”  I could see the silhouette of his shrug and rolled my eyes.

Instead of arguing with him I crept back to the jewelry case and lifted the necklace.  I stared at it for a second watching it as it caught the moonlight.  It was cold as I slid it down the front of my shirt.  I could feel Brian looking around nervously.  Why couldn’t he just calm down.  Nerves don’t help in situations like these.  Emotion only leaves room for error.

“Alright, let’s get out of here,” I whispered as I turned and focused my gaze directly at the window.  I looked out and saw the road below was clear.  The window flew open without a sound.  Sitting on the sill I laced the claw around the lip, held the rope and jumped.  When I reached the bottom I stayed in my crouch and saw that no one was there to see.  I unlatched the claw and motioned for Brian to come down.

We reached the restaurant in good time.   The hostess eyed us suspiciously in our black attire.  “Grayson?” she asked.

I eyed her coldly before she decided to lead us up the stairs.  The room was dim and the walls were covered in expensive rugs.  The air was thick with smoke.  I cut into it after the hostess motioned to the man in the tailored gray suit.  Without fear of this powerful man before me, I sat down and crossed my legs slinging my arm over the back of the chair.

“This is a new look for you,” he said in his raspy baritone.  He motioned to my ensemble with his cigar.

“Hi, Daddy.”  I said it with a smirk.

“What’s he doing here?”  He waved his cigar and frowned at Brian who was now sitting in a chair behind me trying to avoid the conversation.

“I thought I might need some help,” I said looking down at my fingers tapping the table.

Daddy laughed before his stare fixed back on me.  “Did you get it?”

A confident smile crept across my face.  I pulled it out of my shirt and placed it on the table to display it for him.  He stared at it before reaching out to touch it.  I turned back to Brian when Daddy’s approval didn’t come right away.  Brian sat there, arms folded, slouching and gaze fixed on one of the rugs.

With his eyes still focused on the necklace he said, “Does your mother know?”  His cold gray eyes were all that moved when he looked at me.  I had the feeling his question meant more than I wanted it to.

I stared back for a second before answering.  “N --,”

“Yes.”  Brian cut me off.

My body went rigid.

“Mom found out yesterday and planted a fake, but Clara can tell you all about that.  Can’t you Sis?”  Brian was standing next to me now with the same cold gaze as my father.

“Clara,” Daddy’s said calmly, “you knowingly brought me a fake?”

There was nothing I could say that would fix this so I sat there, rigid and silent.

My father sat back in his chair and tapped his cigar letting the ash fall on the floor.  “Miranda, baby, can you come out here?” 

“No!”  I flew up out of my chair.  Just as quickly Brian seized my arms and pulled them behind my back.  I struggled but knew it was pointless.

Mama was shoved from behind a curtain on the opposite side of the room wearing the real necklace.  A metallic sound scraped across the table.  I didn’t have to look to know that it was a gun.  Brian let go of my arms.  I couldn’t move anyway.

Daddy blew out a puff of gray smoke.  “Get the necklace Sweetheart.”

A Novel of Letters

Today I finished The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.  It took me a while to finish it because for some reason I wanted to move on to other things rather than keep reading.  This thinking doesn't really make sense to me because it was a rather enjoyable book.  It takes place just after WWII and the entire story is told through letters.  Now, I know what some of you may be thinking.  Oh great, a book written through letters.  Why do I want to read this?  Well, I guess you would want to read it because it surprisingly reads very much like a regular novel.  This is one that was quite enjoyable and I found myself grinning when it was finished.

Sadness

Since school started I haven't written anything.  It's not like I don't have any time to write it's just that I don't!  I really don't understand this.  I have the ideas for my novel and they keep germinating in my head but they just aren't coming out on paper.  Yesterday I couldn't resist the urge to write.  I was so in the mood to get this next scene down, confident in the new direction that I was taking.  Know what happened?  I only wrote a measly two paragraphs.  Just now I tried picking it up again and guess what.  One sentence.  I'm very confident in what's going to happen in this next scene and many of the scenes to follow and they just aren't coming out.  Right now my head is foggy, I have a dry cough and I want nothing more than a nap.  Maybe this is my problem.  I feel like crap so I write crap.  Who knows?  So, in hopes that more writing is soon to follow, I am posting a tiny little piece of my novel.  Un-edited, un-cut.

Everyone came rushing down the stairs, clearly hungry and more than ready to eat.  There were only six of us now.  There used to be more, but they’ve all graduated and been placed in their careers.  No more had come in for about three years.  Rylan and I were lucky to be placed in the same orphanage together.

Garrett being the loudest out of all of us bragged about how well he did on his exam today.  “So, guess who was the fastest one today.”  He said it with a smirk and looked around at all of us.  When his eyes reached Melissa, sitting next to me he pointed and said, “Melissa didn’t even know what hit her.”  She lifted her eyes just enough to glare at him.

They were in a class together.  “What exam did you guys have today?” I asked.  Every class had different exams on different days.

“Swimming,” he said leaning forward to taunt Melissa a little more.  She just continued to glare at him.  “Yeah, you were alright in the pool, but you didn’t stand a chance when it came to the lake.  Water to cold for ya Missy?”

Melissa just rolled her eyes and went back to nibbling on her roll.  She was a pretty good swimmer and I’d seen her beat Garret several times before. 

“Guess so,” he said smugly and leaned back on his chair chewing on a piece of chicken.

“Shut up, Garrett.”  Melissa had enough.  “You weren’t looking this confident when I found you sinking in the marsh.”

“Oh!”  Rylan finally chimed in.

Melissa now had a sneer on her face and taunted Garrett with it.  His smile was fading.  “I didn’t know you were such a cry-baby.”

The whole table erupted with laughter.  “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”  His face was starting to turn red.

Rylan was still laughing, “Did you have to pull him out?”

“Yep,” she said, “but only because I couldn’t concentrate to swim with him begging me like that to pull him out.”
            “I never begged you!”  His face was even redder now.

“Missy, Missy help me!  I can’t get out.  My legs are sinking.  Ah!  Missy hurry, I think there’s a snake trying to swim up my shorts,” she mocked and began to mimic his sobs.  “Missy!  Please!  Please get me out of here, this snake looks poisonous and hungry.”  She finally broke her mocking character and let out a simple little laugh before glaring at him again.

“That’s not what happened,” Garrett spit at her.

“Yes it is, why don’t you tell everyone how you got stuck in the marsh?”  She spit the words back at him.  “Or are you just going to let the results describe how you cheated?”

“I didn’t cheat!”

Another One Over

This weekend was dedicated to my reading of Mockingjay.  It really was fantastic and a great end to a great series.  I'm still a little (nay, quite) sad about a couple of characters.  I would love, love, love to talk about specifics, but I know there are those of you out there who wouldn't care to read any spoilers about it. So, I will talk about my love for  the series in general.  I don't know what else I can say other than, holy crap I LOVE the Hunger Games series!  Truly a very unique idea and one that has stuck with me over the course of two years.  I read the first book a few months after it came out two years ago.  Suzanne is a master of cliffhangers and I simply couldn't get enough.  My love for dystopian novels grew even more after reading this series.  I highly recommend it and hope that you enjoy it as much as I did.  Now I have to go read something else to get over my slump after finishing something that has been a part of my life for so long.  If any of you have the urge to discuss this series I would be more than happy to chat!  Happy reading!

Number 4

I couldn't put this book down.  I first heard about this book through Barnes & Noble (one of my dearest friends) while I was searching through the "coming soon" section.  The synopsis sounded like a book that I just absolutely had to have.  However, I still waited because cash flow is a bit on the low side and hardbacks are expensive.  Well, at least over time.  I kept thinking about this book and how much I though I would like to read it, and then I looked at the author.  As many of you probably know, I have a tendency to research every book I buy.  I don't want to invest in my own copy if it's not something I'll enjoy.  I found it very unfortunate that the author's parents would name him Pittacus Lore.  The more I thought about it, the more I realized it must be a pseudonym.  And what did I find out?  It is!  Not only is it a false name but the author is the person who wrote my books on how to write books.  That was the breaking point.  The next day I caved and bought the book.  From the very first page there was no disappointment to be had.  It kept me reading and it was seldom seen out of my hand (unless I was watching LOST).  If you are looking for an exciting young adult novel that has a new twist on superheroes pick this one up.

Life As We Knew It

Last night I finished Life As We Knew It.  And I must say it was pretty good.  The entire book is written through journal entries of the main character.  It think that's what made the book feel so real at times.  It almost felt like the story was happening to me instead of being fiction.  That could just be because in my sci-fi mind I'm always thinking of disasters in which I will have to live in a situation just like this one.  (Hopefully not as long.)  I would recommend picking this one up for a bit of entertaining reading.  While I'm not sure the actual catastrophe would actually ever happen, the stories about the people were excellent.

Resistance is Futile

I came out with this one too

This is the one I went in for

The other day I went into Barnes and Noble to pick up a book that I've been dying to read since I first heard about it through their website.  I walked through the door, gift card in my pocket and ready to make my purchase.  Of course I knew it wasn't going to be a quick trip like it should've been because my card only had $15 on it.  Enough to purchase one book.  But of course while I'm there I have to check out the other books for future purchase!  It's only logical that I scan all the books.  Well, as I walk through the door I notice that there is an older man sitting at a table with stacks of a book.  An author!  This doesn't happen very often.  What do I do?  I conveniently walk the other way.  For some reason I'm always hesitant to walk up to someone and discuss something that they've created.  My inferiority complex has always, always stopped me from getting to know people.  This man is a published author!  Of course I had a complex.  So I scanned the books on the other side of the store, found the book I came for, tried to catch the eye of a really cute guy scanning the books in the same section (yes, I said tried) and then moved on to the rest of the store.  All the while I'm sure I looked like an idiot because whenever I got close I was trying to see what the book was on the author's table to see if I knew him without him seeing me.  On top of it all I had this feeling that I should go talk to him and find out about his book.  If I were an author I would love it if someone came up to me and asked me about my book!  Even if they didn't buy it.  I walked up to the register and purchased the book I came for at 20% off!  I asked the girl at the register about the author at the table.  She said, "I think it's a biography or something like it.  He's really nice, you should go talk to him."  I knew that I should, but I was chicken.  In order to get out of the store I had to walk in front of his table.  He was handing out bookmarks that talked about his book.  He waved one at me and that's when I went over and talked to him.  I asked him to tell me about his book and he was, of course, more than happy to tell me about it.  He told me that he had the same dream three times where everyone asked him, "Have you finished it yet?"  "Finished what?" he asked.  It was a book that he was supposed to finish, and there it was sitting on his table.  He told me that he never planned to write a book, but he followed the inspiration of his dream and wrote the book.  How could I not support someone who followed a prompting?  So, $20 later I walked out of the store with an autographed copy of the book.  It's impossible to resist a creation after someone has told me about it.  As I was walking out, I noticed a woman setting up a table on the other side of the store.  A table of books.  I took one look at the cover, noticed it was something that I would probably like to read, and ran out of the store.  I couldn't afford to talk to another author!

Thank You Shannon!

Okay, so if any of you out there are writers I'm sure you have found yourself frustrated with those you love when you ask them to read your writing.  I know they mean well when they give criticism, but why is it that I find myself hurt when they do?  I mean, I asked for it!  Let me ask this, don't you find it just as hurtful and unhelpful when someone you love hands back your story and says, "yeah, it was good," and then they just continue on with life like your story meant nothing to them?  Well, it has the tendency to annoy me!  I want to know what they liked about it!  And if there was nothing good don't stand there and tell me that it was a piece of crap and then expect me to handle it well!  (not that anyone's ever said it quite that bluntly... well except for a journalism professor I had a couple of years ago, but that's another story.)  I stumbled on a blog post of one of my favorites today, Shannon Hale, and she had the perfect way of telling the loved one of a writer what to do and what not to do when asked to read a story.  I will be sharing it with my family because it explains a writer's need so well.  (Now I can only hope that they will read it and take it seriously.)  I hope you check it out!  You can click her name above for the link or you can click here.  Happy reading, writing and whatever else you do!