BSchultz19

Thanks for adding me everyone that did! And thanks frankie for that helpful hint Hooray for friends

ok here is my profile. Add me!

Recently went to the library and went pretty slow this time, only three books. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (I have the kindle version, but wanted a physical one while reading too) 11/22/63 by Stephen King The Kite Runner by name that is hard to spell and I don't want to look up right now I hope to finish these in the next week or so. Sad to say that one of the libraries I go to has run out of Jodi Picoult books that I haven't read that actually interest me.

Does anyone know: How do I add friends like those that are on this site? I have zero friends right now and would like to have some...

Would you suggest Wordsworth Classics for books traditionally written in English? Cheap classics sound great to me, because although they are free for kindle often a lot of the time I prefer to actually hold the book in my hands and read it.

Sorry you didn't like it. What you said about not enough fantasy might be the reason I actually enjoyed it. I'm not a huge fan of the fantasy genre and this series was the first that I had read in that genre for years. Maybe you have some suggestions that are even better? Also with the coming back to the parts you found interesting I think the problem is that Martin put way to many storylines out in the first book and didn't really finish any of them. He is still coming back to things from the first book in his newest books. Its almost like you have to wait three huge books before you get back to the thing you really wanted to know about. Kind of frustrating, but thats what kept me reading. Maybe for you it has the opposite effect.

The book I just read was a fictional story about rape, so it would be really interesting to read a true account of what happened to someone. It's amazing that she could even write a book about that. How strong.

Any of the three weekends, the one before the originally planned, the originally planned one, or the week after are good for me. So whatever the consensus is, I'll go along with.

Sounds good to me if it is free for kindle!

Hmm. I didn't know that! But then again I don't know much about theater at all That's how I am with a lot of the books I read. They are enjoyable, but don't stick. The ones that do stick are the ones that I know I loved.

It's always interesting to hear opposing points of view. I have personally liked her books but those three mentioned in these two posts weren't my favorite. What I like most about her books is that she isn't afraid to explore uncomfortable topics with a lot of opposing viewpoints. Some of my favorites from her are Picture Perfect, The Tenth Circle, and Handle With Care. As far as shock value goes I think that is part of her stories but in some she gives away a huge spoiler in the first "chapter" and then makes you as the reader get to that point. However after all of this I'm not trying to be argumentative. We all like different styles and authors

Yes the ending was good. It was just so difficult to truly love it. I highly recommend her books. She has become one of my favorite authors Thanks!! Can't wait to hear what you have to say about the ones that you read. Oh please don't be sorry! It was a great book, just not my thing or maybe it was just at the wrong time. I can understand where a love for it would come from, it just wasn't for me. Just curious, which two books did you read?

I would have nightmares even if I read them at 8 AM. My friends have forced me to go see two horror films in theaters and I almost cried both times. Along with nightmares for a week or so and paranoia for a month.

I'm partially wanting to read this since I enjoyed The Giver a lot, but I really liked the characters in that one and its almost a turn off to the rest of the books that they are different characters. I might consider reading all of them if I knew that in the end they converged. Otherwise I would be left frustrated

The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult Summary Fourteen-year-old Trixie Stone is in love for the first time. She's also the light of her father, Daniel's life -- a straight-A student; a pretty, popular freshman in high school; a girl who's always seen her father as a hero. That is, until her world is turned upside down with a single act of violence. Suddenly everything Trixie has believed about her family -- and herself -- seems to be a lie. Could the boyfriend who once made Trixie wild with happiness have been the one to end her childhood forever? She says that he is, and that is all it takes to make Daniel, a seemingly mild-mannered comic book artist with a secret tumultuous past he has hidden even from his family, venture to hell and back to protect his daughter. With The Tenth Circle, Jodi Picoult offers her most powerful chronicle yet as she explores the unbreakable bond between parent and child, and questions whether you can reinvent yourself in the course of a lifetime -- or if your mistakes are carried forever. (from goodreads) Opinions Just when I think that Jodi Picoult can't explore tougher topics, she does. I don't think it is too much of a spoiler to say that this book involves rape, which has become a serious talking point in America right now because of how much of a problem it is among teenagers and on college campuses as well as other places. The way that Picoult portrays the characters in this novel is phenomenal. While reading I kept being reminded of the new campaign or phrase spreading around that rather than "No means no" it should be "yes means yes". Consent isn't just not saying no, but it is saying yes I want this. The book was great and part of it that was new to Picoult's style was that each chapter started with a small comic book strip/graphic novel piece that is supposed to be drawn by one of the main characters. It added some great depth to the story and for me, a superhero fan it was fun to read a comic while reading a novel. Rating

The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck Summary This tells the poignant tale of a Chinese farmer and his family in old agrarian China. The humble Wang Lung glories in the soil he works, nurturing the land as it nurtures him and his family. Nearby, the nobles of the House of Hwang consider themselves above the land and its workers; but they will soon meet their own downfall. Hard times come upon Wang Lung and his family when flood and drought force them to seek work in the city. The working people riot, breaking into the homes of the rich and forcing them to flee. When Wang Lung shows mercy to one noble and is rewarded, he begins to rise in the world, even as the House of Hwang falls. Opinions I really liked this book even though it took me awhile to actually get through. I guess that the style of writing was so different from what I had been reading lately that it didn't pull me in. I had heard great reviews heading into reading the book, so maybe my expectations were too high, but I just couldn't fully LOVE this book. It was weird for me to feel this way because as I read it I recognized that the plot was great and the characters were incredibly developed and the whole book painted a great picture of what China was like during that time period, but I just could not get into the book. I can see why it won a Pulitzer, because of the way it completely summed up a culture but I did not particularly thing it was above and beyond amazing. All of this said, it was a good read. I enjoyed it and it was a great literary work. Just not my favorite. Rating

It comes from a Gertrude Stein quote about Hemingway and others who served in the war. They were a lost generation because all they did was drink and party and write. Later Hemingway uses it in the Sun Also Rises It is really fun. I wish it was more advanced, but I'm pretty happy with it. I really like Hemingway recently and I think I'm gonna read more of him soon!!

I think that not being American already takes some of the deep meaning away from the book. For me reading it I felt shame a lot of the time because of the country's history and also I'm not sure if I would've done any better if I were in that situation.

Update from my American Literature class We are currently getting into the lost generation, reading Hemingway and Fitzgerald right now. We have watched biographies on both of them the past few days and their lives are incredibly interesting. Most of the class has not had much experience with these author's, but I have, so it is interesting for me to see how their lives is portrayed into their writing. Hemingway is known for doing this most, but Fitzgerald also puts some of the main themes from his life into his works. I am really enjoying this class because I can tell that I'm already becoming a more critical reader and I hope to take more similar classes in college if I am able.

I'm the same way. A lot of my reading gets done before bed because it is the only time I have and thrillers or horror would definitely not help me sleep. I've gotten anxious and scared reading a Nicholas Sparks book. I don't think I could handle horror

I don't mind that he takes his time in making his books error-free and solid writing, but with the number of intricate details and connected storylines in his books it is hard to remember EVERYTHING when there are large gaps between each new book.

That falls during my spring break! I will definitely get a lot of reading done that weekend. Hooray! And although I forgot, I managed to read for around 4 maybe 5 hours on Sunday and read the final 200+ of Uncle Tom's Cabin

Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe Summary The narrative drive of Stowe's classic novel is often overlooked in the heat of the controversies surrounding its anti-slavery sentiments. In fact, it is a compelling adventure story with richly drawn characters and has earned a place in both literary and American history. Stowe's puritanical religious beliefs show up in the novel's final, overarching theme—the exploration of the nature of Christianity and how Christian theology is fundamentally incompatible with slavery. (from goodreads) Opinions I found it interesting that one of the most noted things in this edition (an edition dedicated to the classic nature of the book and such) pointed out that many people have a negative view on the literary integrity of the book and the characters themselves. It was shocking to me because I thoroughly enjoyed the book and was always taught in American History that it was one of the most influential works of Literature in American history. One of the things in particular that I liked about the book was the author personally addressing the reader. This often seems awkward to me as a reader, but I think in this case, a political commentary, it flowed into the ideas that the author intended to express. The book told a story, but more importantly it expressed many points about slavery, the owners of slaves, the slaves, and even the negativity of abolitionists in the north. While reading this book I attempted to put myself into the shoes of those who would have read the book at the time it was published. Who would I have been? A southern slave owner's wife? An abolitionist that although fighting for the freedom of blacks was afraid to go near them? A true compassionate person towards slaves? It definitely made me look inward and realize that had I been put in the same situation as the people of the time, I might not have made the most moral decisions. But in the end the book shows that good prevails, even if the hero dies they die doing good and living a good life. I was so impressed, as a Christian myself, with the extreme faith that the character Tom showed. Through trials and persecution, he refused to deny God and always did the right thing in any situation. When terrible turns of events went against him he never faltered and remained constantly in God's word. Faith like that is extremely powerful to read about. Overall, I would say that I liked this book a lot. It was controversial at the time it was published and even is now for its literary integrity and some of the ways characters are portrayed. The book made me think a lot and sparked a lot of opinions in me. I would recommend that anyone would read it, but especially Americans. It is important to understand history on a deep level in order to prevent its repeating itself. Rating

I completely forgot that this weekend was a read-a-thon. Doh! I guess I will have to wait until next month

Yeah that makes sense why I didn't like it. Agree about Paper Towns. Not liking it would be outrageous! The Good Earth hasn't been a drag along, but I just haven't been in the mood to read a kindle book and I don't have it in a real book form. I'm not really sure why I didn't like TFiOS. I just remember that I liked the other three John Green books a whole lot better. Maybe it was too mainstream and talked about, but I just didn't find the characters as interesting. It could also be that I related better to the characters in the other books whereas I don't exactly relate to a teenager with terminal cancer.