New Book again

I know last week I posted about reading a book on Ebay, and I still am reading it, but I decided to blog about a different book, as the book on eBay would not have provided great blogging material. The new book I started this week was called Quarantine by James Phelan. Basically, this book is a post apocalyptic novel, and is about a 16 year old boy named Jesse who is attempting to survive by himself while being hunted by "Chasers", which are basically infected zombies. I don't know much about the book yet, but I do know that the apocalypse was caused by some kind of biologial missile attack that spread a deadly virus throughout the world.

The primary reason why I chose this book was because of its genre. I really like Post Apocalyptic novels, and when I found this book in the library, I immediately checked it out. The back enticed me even further, and the idea of a horror/action fiction book seemed extremely appealing because I have only been reading non-fiction for the past couple of weeks. I wanted to take a break from non-fiction, and this book seemed to be a great release. I've been reading a lot of How to books ands more informational books, and I really want to do something different. I decided to choose a horror book because I want to read a book that is heart pounding and thrilliing. I looked at the picture, which is of a "Chaser" attacking a man, and this really brought to life the action aspect of this book, and made me want to read even more. I really hope that this book will be enjoyable, and I will be able to read it to the end.

Why I chose the book

Once again, I have decided to read yet another book. This time, I chose not to read a fictional story. I felt that I needed to gain some kind of knowledge from reading. But as you know, non-fiction can be pretty boring if the topic does  not interest you. I took a step back and thought, "What do I want to learn?". The answer was simple. I wanted to learn how to make money. Now, I'm only 14, but I wanted to find a way to earn a little spending money for myself. That's how I came upon "The New Ebay".

Although it might seem a little weird to be reading a book about Ebay, I decided to give it a shot. I have a lot of junk lying around my house, and maybe I might be able to earn a little bit of money doing so. The book is basically a how to guide to getting started on ebay, and details several tips for selling success. I haven't started reading the book yet, but I'm hoping that it will help me on my venture. I have A LOT of old toys, video games, and stuff that I don't even use anymore, and I really want to get a little bit of spending money.

This is the first time, in a long time, that I've read something other than fiction. I'm kind of apprehensive about the experience, but I feel that it will be beneficial in the long run.

                       

New book, again

After I finished my most recent novel, I decided that I wanted to shake things up a little bit. I wanted to read something new, something fresh. Instead of going to the library, I decided to read something that I already had. I looked at my bookshelf, and found an interesting book. "The Iceberg Hermit", by Arthur Roth. It seems to be an older book, and I don't typically read these types of books. But I decided to take a shot.

To tell you the truth, I don't exactly know why I chose to read this book. The cover picture isn't that great, and the title isn't that exciting. I read the back, and it states that the book is about a man named Allan, whose whaling ship crashes, and is forced to survive on an iceberg. This seems interesting enough, but when I learned that the events supposedly took place in the 1800's, I became a bit skeptical. I was pretty hesitant about whether or not reading this book would be a good idea. I read the first few pages, and it started out immediately with the life of Allan on the ship itself. I researched a bit about the author, Arthur Roth, and discovered that he passed away in 1999. The book itself was published in 1975, so it isn't exactly new. However, I've decided to take the plunge. In the past, I've read some pieces of classic literature, and found that I actually enjoy them. So right now, I'm hoping that I'm not wasting my time, and that I'll actually enjoy the book.

I finished my book

Surprisingly, over the course of one week, I finished the book that I was currently reading. I found myself becoming so totally engrossed in the book that I lost track of time, and read for hours. But putting that all aside, I feel it's necessary to give a book review, as well as explain the theme of the book that I just read.

Before I say anything else, I would just like to say that "Never Give Up", is one of the most haunting, inspiring, and uplifting stories that I have probably ever read. The book, as I said before, is about a young boy who finds himself in the midst of the Cambodian Revolution. The Cambodian army is deposed, and the country is in a state of martial law. Young Arn, is sent to a hard labor/ work camp, and is forced to act as a slave to the Khmer Rouge, who are the revolutionaries. Arn sees his friends dying every day from abuse, malnutrition, and hard labor, and is fighting to stay alive. He spends many years in the Camp, before he is liberated and sent to America. Some of the stories within the book are downright chilling. It tells of dead bodies being carelessly cast aside, and small children being killed. Although some of the details are a bit hard to stomach, they are all factual. I looked it up, and it turns out that every single event that happened in the book, actually happened in real life. It's kind of shocking and horrifying to witness the horrors that went on. What really impressed me though, was the authors ability to channel the emotions of a small child as he went through this ordeal. This book is an emotional roller coaster, and I could imagine myself in Arn's shoes every step of the way. The authors use of metaphors, and imagery is absolutely stunning. The syntax, diction, and word choice all perfectly complemented each other.


The theme of the book, is kind of ironically, to never give up. I found it kind of strange how the author actually chose to put the theme of the book as the title, but upon finishing the book, I found it a masterful choice. Overall, I really liked this book, and would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone.

Surprise! Surprise! Why I chose the book

Yet again, I'm starting a new book. I've been really disappointed about my last book and how I quit, so this time, I tried to really put some thought into what to read. I thought carefully about all the candidates, and read the first few pages of each book. Hopefully, this new book that I've chosen will live up to my expectations. The book I chose, is "Never Give Up", by Patricia Mccormick.

As always, the reason why I first pulled the book off of the shelf was because of the name. When I initially saw the title, I didn't think that I would read the book, as it seemed like it was just another generic cheesy story of someone who keeps going after facing setbacks and achieves their goals. I couldn't have been further from the truth. This book is based off of the true story of Arn ChornPond, who is a Cambodian minor who finds himself in a work camp during the revolution. The story takes place during the Cambodian Revolution, and shows in the eyes of a child, the horrors that took place. For once, I paid no attention at all to the cover picture. I went straight to the back, and immersed myself into the story of young Arn.

I thought that I had found a wonderful book for me to read, but as I always do, I looked up the author before I started reading the book. Turns out that Mccormick is an award winning author, with numerous other works.

I read the first few pages, and I'm firmly convinced that I won't be quitting this book anytime soon. The story is written in short, broken english, and you can actually hear the voice of Arn. Let me show you an example. "No warning, the soldier, he hit the kid in the head with rifle. And the kid, he sag to the ground, like his leg go dead, and then fall in curb. I run away very scared, very fast". You can't get more realistic than that.

All in all, I think that I found a good book. It's realistic, emotional, and nerve wracking. I'll be sure to keep you guys posted as I read on.

I quit

I'm really disappointed to tell you this, but I quit my book. Perhaps I set my expectations too high, or maybe the book just doesn't cater to my tastes, but I hated this book. I know, I know, just last week I was gushing over how awesome this book was, and how I thought I'd found a crown jewel. Well, I guess if it seems too good to be true, then it probably is. Let me tell you why I hated it.

First, I thought the plot was absolutely ridiculous and stupid. The story is about a a girl named Tory Brennan who is the niece of world-famous forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan. After her mothers death, she moves to South Carolina to live with her Marine Biologist dad whom she's never met. The island next door, named Loggerhead Island, houses a top secret research institute, and her dad works there. She becomes suspicious and breaks in, and finds herself horrified to find a puppy being abused for the purpose of research. She rescues the puppy, contracts a virus that the puppy had, and obtains superhuman powers that gives her canine abilities. That is the most outrageous plot that I have ever heard. For me, I prefer plots that may seem remotely real, not plots that seem totally imaginary. Just my taste.

Second, I hated the authors style of writing. Her characterization of the characters seemed really artificial and forced. I was unable to immerse myself in the story, as the writing seemed really superficial. For example, I'll give you a quote,"Anger exploded through my veins like the Incredible Hulk"(91). I found this simile extremely childish, and unsophisticated. The author failed to develop the characters in any way, as instead of focusing on the characters rage, as the author wanted me to do, I ended up focusing on the silly simile.

All in all, this book for me was a failure. To be honest, I am a bit disappointed as I had pretty high expectations for the book.

Reading a New Book!

Today, I decided to read a new book. The title of the book is Virals and is written by Kathy Reich . I chose to read this book because of a variety of reasons. First of all, like before, and like always, the tile immediately enticed me.  I mean think of it! Virals. Reminds you of a chilling, action packed thriller. As soon as I laid eyes on the front cover, the words, "#1 New York Times Best Selling Author" jumped out at me. I realized that this might actually be a quality book with a well developed plot, and detailed characters. After the pulling the book out of the shelf, I did what I do whenever I pick out a new book, and read the back. The words "Forensic", "Sci-Phile", and "Canine quick reflexes" caught my eye. How enticing! I turned to the inside cover, and actually found out that the television series, "Bones", was based off of this novel. I'm assuming that if a director was impressed enough by the book to actually devote a T.V series, the book must be of pretty good quality.

After reading the back, I realized that my heart was pounding. It seemed that this book would have no boring parts whatsoever. I let my impatience take hold, and I sat right there, in middle of shelves, and read the first few pages.The action started from the beginning, as seen with the quote "We sat, tensed, waiting" (Reichs 3). I was only on the third page and already my nerves were on edge. What was going to happen, who is going to get caught? Those questions raced through my mind as I read the book. My high expectations for this book haven't been disappointed yet. And believe me, I have really high expectations for this book. After reading the back, researching a bit on the author, and reading the first couple of pages, I think that I have actually found a hidden jewel. I mean, what more can you want? An action packed novel written by a New York Times Bestseller? I think yes! I am really looking forward to reading what seems to be an amazing book.