Life Imitates Art

Jane Austen Book Club Movie Reaction

I really don't have much of an opinion on this film. It was okay. I cant really pin point any particular strengths and weaknesses to it because I don't know how well they translated the book into the movie to begin with and I thought the movie was fine as far as movies go.I didn't take away anything from the movie either and never saw how it ended so its hard to take away something from a movie I never even finished or really cared much about. I guess I would recommend it to people who like chick flicks, because that's all i got out of it if anything. 

Life imitates art in Animal Farm. Each animal represents a type of person during the time of the USSR and Stalin. The pigs are great propaganda preachers and are power hungry and unjust just like the communist leaders in the USSR. The activities they do represents the goals and actions of the USSR. The pigs become hypocrites, just like the communists did. Basically the pigs imitate the way communists behave in the real world. This book sends out a strong message about how communism doesnt work in an intriguing and attention capturing way that makes everyone understand. This shows us how powerful literature can be when delivering a message to the public which reads it. We read to become more educated and intelligent, to learn.  

Out of Comfort Zone Book

In Cold Blood

For my out of comfort zone book, I read In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. It was out of my comfort zone because it was a documentary of a true crime that happened in Kansas.m I read lots of mystery and murder books, but all of them are fictional. I decided to read the account of a true murder for a change once and see the differences between telling the story of a murder when it is made up and when it is a true occurrence who's story was put together through real research. 

This book was definitely different than a fictional murder story. It felt much more real naturally, and I found myself being more disturbed by a true account of murder than a fictional one made up for entertainment. It was a constant reminder in this book that the people were real, these atrocities and horrors truly happened, and could have happened to anyone. I did think the book was amazingly well written. It felt like I was there, knew the Clutter family. I enjoyed reading it as a result from the emmersive effect it had, but also had a hard time reading it because it disturbed me so much knowing it was a real murder. I would recommend this book to others to read, but with the warning to be prepared for the gruesomeness included in the book. 

Orphan Train

First Reactions

In school we all had to read a novel written by Christina Baker Kline called Orphan Train. The novel was about the forgotten history of America's Orphan Trains and the children who rode them and their experiences. In this book the reader follows a young Irish orphan, Niamh, and her journey as an orphan train rider and how it weaves into the present day and life of a young teen in foster care. 

I thought the book was very interesting. I was skeptical at first because I assumed it would be a boring book and not that interesting as a whole but was pleasantly surprised by how interesting the characters were and how Niamh's life progressed as a result of her becoming an orphan in the late 1920's in America. Before this book I didn't know orphan trains existed and i'm glad I learned about this important and astonishing but forgotten piece of this country's history. I loved the character Niamh and didn't want to put the book down when reading her sections of the book, but the teen Molly from present day I was not a fan of, i thought she was annoying and her story insignificant to the plot of the book. Had she not been part of it at all the book would be just as good if not better. I felt she was insignificant, but do see why the writer used her character to try and create parallels between orphans in the past and present and draw a connection between the two to make Niamh "more identifiable and understanding to teens today". All I would change about this book is Molly's involvement in it and the killing off the character of Dutchy, I felt that was overkill with the tragedy and made the book hard to keep reading because of how sad it got from there. 

Genres

My Favorite Genre

My favorite reading genre would be the psychological thriller genre. I prefer this genre over others because it grabs my attention more than the others and usually when reading these books I find them hard to put down. I rather read a book that makes my hair stand on end and my heart race than one that puts me asleep. I like feeling a strong involvement in what I'm reading like wondering "What's going to happen next?" "Who did this?" and being excited for when I pick up the book again next. My favorite author from this genre would be Gillian Flynn. He just has a great way with plot twists and increasing suspense. Whenever I read her books I end up surprised and blown away by the ending. I enjoy how she isn't afraid to write very dark either, not shying away from making it truly psychologically thrilling. My favorite book so far of this genre that I've read is Dark Places which was by Gillian Flynn. It was an extremely dark book but so well written and stitched together. There wasn't a boring part in the book and i had a hard time putting it down and loved the ending. 

Gillian Flynn+ Dark Places

The genre I had to present in class was the crime genre which happens to be a sub genre of the psychological thriller genre. Instead what sets it apart in its own category is that it always involves a crime mystery, but is still suspenseful and usually dark and thrilling to the reader. The more modern true crime genre started out with Edgar Allen Poe's short stories and evolved since then into the crime genre we know today with a large following of people due to its ability to scare, captivate, and of course thrill the reader.

The Girl On The Train

Independent Choice Reflection

The Girl On The Train

My most recent independent choice was Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins. This book was recommended to me by Amazon after I had finished Dark Places because it is also a thriller/mystery and is written in a similar fashion. I accepted the recommendation because I had great ratings and it's my favorite genre.  

I thought this book was really well done. The emotion in it is very powerful and raw, making it easy to connect with the characters and feel their pain, The book was intriguing from the start which I love because I hate a dull start to a book. It was very suspenseful and mysterious. I liked that Rachel couldn't remember what she had seen because she was intoxicated but knew she saw something crucial, it drove me just as crazy as it drove her that the answer was so close but seemingly unobtainable. I love the writing style of narrating it from several different character's view points, it adds great layering and insight and makes the characters feel more real and intertwined into the story. Hawkins made the characters very relateable and realistic which made the book all the more interesting and intriguing.

As for my reaction to the book, I really loved it. The ending was so well done and surprising, I loved the plot twist Hawkins made. I identified with the characters, felt like I was walking in their shoes, especially Rachel. It was everything I like best in a book, suspense, mystery, strong emotion, descriptive, and a true page turner. I loved the way everything fell into place and connected in this book and I read the whole thing in one afternoon. 

I would definitely recommend this book to someone who loves a good mystery and suspense. The book is very sad however, so if you're not one who enjoys a depressing tone in a book, this might not be for you. If you love a crazy plot twist, this book definitely has it. The book is definitely worth the read and I don't think it would disappoint, so if you're looking for a good read or a well written suspenseful mystery, this book is the right one for you. 

Butter

Butter Reaction

For our class read, our class voted for Butter by Erin Lange. I wasn't sure if I would appreciate Butter, the plot seemed somewhat outrageous and dramatic. I didn't think I would enjoy a book about an obese kid who wants to eat himself to death on live internet broadcast all because he was sick of being fat. Surprisingly, I did enjoy this book. Although it was a bit of a stretch, I can understand why Marshall (Butter) felt the way he did. I like that Erin Lange made the main character someone society tends to ignore and avoid, an obese and depressed binge eating teenager. Before this book I never really thought about what it must be like to be an obese teenager, I didn't know how hard it could be in a setting like high school. Erin Lange makes you feel Marshall's humiliation and frustration. There were times in the book where I got frustrated with Marshall's attitude, but I liked the ending. Overall I think the book was well written and fairly eye opening. 

The Books of My Life/ My Life in Books

Favorite Childhood Book:
My favorite childhood book was "Goodnight Moon." Every night my mother would read "Goodnight Moon" to me before bed. I always loved the little cozy room the book took place in. The bunny in the dress in the rocking chair always reminded me of my mom since she watched carefully over the little bunny in the little bed, my mom used to sit in the rocking chair in my room and read the book to me as I laid in bed. I always loved the moon as a little kid, it was my first word, "moon." so I loved saying goodnight to my favorite thing every night before peacefully dozing off looking at the colorful pictures. It made me feel like the day was complete and I could happily sleep. 



A Book That Made Me Cry...
Quite a few books have made me cry at the end, but I think the book that made me cry the most and made me really feel something so strong for the first real time was when I was 13 and read Lost by Jacqueline Davies. It was a book about a young girl about 15 years old in denial over her little sister's tragic death, and when she finally broke through that barrier and realized she had died, her emotion was so strong and the book was so well written I started to sob. I think it was the first book where I could feel the characters agony and I felt so much despair over the whole thing that I'll always remember that as one of the most powerful books and one of the first which truly made me cry.


Coming of Age Story:
One of my favorite books of all time that happens to be a coming of age story is A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. This book was given to me as a gift from a cousin of mine who knows of my love for books. The story follows a young girl growing up in Brooklyn in the 1920s in a poor, struggling, but loving family. Francie, the book loving, down to earth, smart main character, loses her father to illness at a young age and it shows how his death affects her growing up and the family life in general as they struggle to survive. It's a great down to earth book full of feeling that anyone with growing pains can relate to. I loved this book and it'll always be a classic to me. 

Character I Identify With...
I just read Dark Places by Gillian Flynn and the main character, Libby Day is a character I could relate to really well. Libby is a sarcastic, pessimistic, angry 31 year old woman. She views herself rather negatively, but still has that biting sarcastic sense of humor. I love Libby Day's character and can relate to her because I know what it's like to be angry at the world, defensive, and look at things from a pessimistic stance. Her humor throughout the novel was just my kind of humor and I feel like if I met Libby Day in real life we'd share a little understanding or bond. (this is one of the best books I have ever read by the way, it certainly is dark but so worth the read.)


Memoir I Admire
Glass Castles. What an amazing memoir. Devastatingly true and hard to put down, Jeanette Walls takes us through her life growing up with irresponsible and incompetent parents that move their family all over the country from street to house to shack to wherever they can survive for a while. I admire the bravery of Jeanette Walls and her strength to beat the cycle and make herself the life her parents always promised but never gave. I will always remember this book and I will always admire Jeanette Walls strength and power to over come all the odds and still forgive.


Favorite Book I Read for School:
I think the best book that I read for school was Angela's Ashes, a book about an Irish family in the 20th century trying to survive poverty and terrible conditions in Ireland with a drunk father and too many children to feed. It was a true story told by Frank McCourt of his child hood, growing up in New York city and then moving to Ireland with his Irish parents when money got tight only to realize Ireland was much worse than America. With his father always drinking and spending all the money at the bars with more brothers and sisters they could ever afford to feed, Frank McCourt narrates the hardships he witnessed and experienced with disease, death of many infant siblings, and his father eventually disappearing all together and somehow making it out in the end. I think this is one of the most interesting books i ever had to read for school and one of the most meaningful.


So there it is. The books that have left impacts on my life and books I will never forget and always cherish. Each one of these books is amazing and worth the read, I highly recommend reading all of them. They taught me about survival, strength, and how to be grateful for what I have and so much more.

Me As A Reader

About Me and Books

My name is Sydney, I live in Northern New Jersey and go to an average, dumpy, little school in a small town where they offered me a decent class to take my senior year, Reader's Choice. In this class I have at last been given the freedom to chose my own books to read and do assignments on (because everyone knows that the board of ed always chooses the worst possible books to force you to read). This class required me to make a blog in which I will make posts about the books I am reading/ have read. So hey. Here I am. 

I am and always have been, since as far as I remember, a book lover. My mother diligently read to me since I was in the womb every night up until I was about 3 and had been taught by her how to read myself.I know a lot of people don't like reading, and I blame that on the education system for shoving poor and badly written books down our throats and not letting anyone savor the book and interpret it how they want to or read it at our own speeds. It ruins the whole greatness of reading. Reading should take you to another world. You should be so absorbed and into that world that while you're reading your house could burn down and you wouldn't notice until the firemen show up and you hear the sirens (ha ha). You should be able to read at your own pace without judging eyes saying you aren't reading right because there is no way to "read right". Books should be for enjoyment, not stress and deadlines, because then reading becomes a burden. I think it's a true tragedy. 

I'm not much of a blog person, but I don't mind writing a blog that no one will ever read about really awesome books because even though no one will ever read my blog, maybe someone will come across it by accident when they end up on the wrong side of the internet and will be inspired to read.