Books

So, as summer draws to a close (I go back to school in less than a week) I have decided to critique my mandatory summer reading: The Hobbit.  Considering my previous list of assigned reading (Dracula, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn) I was rather surprised and not altogether delighted to hear of this turn of events.

To my shock, I enjoyed it.  The Hobbit is a prequel to The Lord of the Rings books, and focuses on Bilbo Baggins, who turns out to be Frodo’s uncle, I think.  I’ve never read any other books by Tolkien, so I was able to enjoy The Hobbit without any taints from the other books or movies.  Frankly, I was always a bit disdainful of The Lord of the Rings, but now I am considering reading them.

Tolkien’s writing style is droll and rather stuffy, like an English professor who thinks himself quite funny, and who sometimes is.  The descriptions of Bilbo are charming; for example, the constant reminder that all Bilbo wants to do is sit by his fire in his cozy armchair and have a glass of tea.

The adventure in the book is not especially exciting, nor are the action sequences breathtaking and exhilarating.  Bilbo prefers to sit out the adventures, so the reader is compelled to sit them out with him.  I really didn’t mind this.  Many of my classmates complain to me about how boring this book is, and one of my friends has remarked that it has a sonorous effect on her.  While it is true that The Hobbit is not an action-packed novel like, for instance, Jurassic Park is, the real compelling part of the book, for me, is in the character descriptions.

Tolkien paints each character with such vivid colors that I could easily imagine any of the characters, from Fili and Kili to Beorn and Gandalf.  The characters easily propel the story along (though propel is not quite the word I want to use…I am imagining a book propped along a zipline that moves rather slowly through thick branches but is still enjoyable because of the funny monkeys that keep throwing mangoes at the zipline rider) through the many adventures of Bilbo and Company.

Of course, all Bilbo really wants is a cup of tea.

You’re back! So am I! What a coincidence!      AND I’ve got a new book to review for you all. Aren’t you just so eager to read about it? If you’re not, get out. (Just kidding!)  

      Book Three: King Dork by Frank Portman.  

      Okay, so if you’re like me (which I have no doubt that some of you are), then you know what it’s like to be a nerd/geek. It’s fun while you’re around your friends, because they’re probably in the same (sinking) boat that you are, but it also entitles you to be picked on by those of a higher status.

      This is the central theme of King Dork. The story is about Tom Henderson, who’s been an outsider for nearly as long as anyone can remember. In seventh grade, he earned the nickname Chi-mo. Chi-mo isn’t a good nickname either.

      Tom has one friend. A guy named Sam Hellerman, who is just as far down on the social food chain as Tom is. Sure they’ve got a band (which never seems to be able to keep its name the same for more than three weeks), but so far it’s done nothing for them.

      Of course, King Dork isn’t all about Tom (a.k.a. Sheepie) and his daily routine. It’s also about a mystery surrounding Tom’s dad’s accident/suicide/murder, The Catcher in the Rye, two semi-hot (the book’s description, not mine!) girls, a school talent show, and a creepy teacher named Mr. Teone. Sounding good yet?

      Sure, this book has the same self-realization that most of these books have towards the end of them, but it’s done differently here. The point comes so subtly that you probably wouldn’t even notice it if Tom didn’t point it out himself. It was almost refreshing to see it placed in there so quietly.

      On the BOOK BLOG scale, this one gets a 7 ½. King Dork is funny and occasionally laugh-out-loud hilarious, but most of the characters in the book (minus Tom and possibly Sam) seemed kind of fake to me. Probably because there wasn’t enough explanation put into who they were and what purpose to the story that they served. Also, I was slightly disappointed with the ending to the mystery. Anti-climactic, I think it would be called in the industry.

      Oh, and then I suppose there’s the whole issue with the language. This book is told from a high schooler’s point of view. There is a fair amount of swearing (including the F-bomb. I think it’s dropped on the first page of the book as well) and then there’s some… other things that one doesn’t normally bring up in polite conversation. Nothing graphic, but you get the general idea of what’s going on. Yeah, I read it, and it’s probably above what I should be reading (note the should), but that doesn’t mean that my parental units knew what I was reading.

      It’s still a good book, though I would say that you should probably be at least in seventh or eighth grade before you read it. And, as I mentioned, there are parts which are incredibly funny, so you might want to think twice before reading it during silent reading or something like that.  

      The time has come again where I must say goodbye. So… goodbye, and until next time.  

      P.S. I would like to sincerely apologize for how far apart this post was from my last one. I hope to be much quicker with my next one.

Welcome all to the BOOK BLOG.

I know. Such a catching way to start off a new blog. *Waits for applause* Okay, okay, never mind. Anyway. Let’s get this started with something on topic.

This blog obviously has a purpose. I plan on updating you each week (or so) on the books that I’ve read. This way, all of you lovely readers out there will know which books to pick up. Now, without further ado, let’s get started.

Book one: Twilight by Stephanie Myers

Though this is a book that needs little explanation, it would feel wrong starting this blog without bringing it up.

Isabella (Bella) Swan is a 17 year old girl who has an issue staying upright. When we’re introduced, she’s in the process of moving from sunny Arizona where she’s lived with her mother and her mother’s boyfriend Phil, to rainy Forks, Washington (A hurrah for the home state!). Even though she made the decision to move herself, she’s not too happy about going.

Once Bella starts school, she’s bombarded by the residents of Forks because she’s the newest thing they’ve seen in a long time. Amidst all the chaos, she meets a beautiful boy. And we’re talking a run-into-walls, drop-dead gorgeous kind of beautiful. His name is Edward Cullen.

Edward, however, hardly ever talks to anyone other than his siblings, for reasons yet unknown to Bella and to us readers. We get the feeling that there’s something strange going on when Edward (who just happens to be Bella’s lab partner in science) won’t talk to Bella and gives her hateful looks throughout the period. Bella, being kind of insecure, takes this to mean that she’s done something wrong. This feeling heightens when we find that Edward has mysteriously left school.

Now, unfortunately, Bella can’t stop thinking about Edward. And when he comes back and starts to speak to her again, she really can’t stop thinking about him. (Crush time!) It gets to the point where she even starts to dream about him. But Bella isn’t the only one who’s infatuated. Edward has taken to her as well, though she can’t quite figure out why.

If you haven’t read this book (though I don’t know what reason you would have for not reading it), you may think that it’s the same old “girl meets boy, boy meets girl, love at first sight, and they ride off into the sunset”. It’s not. Mostly because Edward is not your average kind of boy.

He’s a vampire.

DUN DUN DUN. How’s that for a catchy cliff-hanger? Of course, it’s really easy to figure this out, especially if you’ve ever read the back of Twilight, but that’s okay.

Out of ten, I’d give this book an honest 8 ½. It’s not that the story isn’t amazing, because it is. Twilight goes on my lists of “Favorite books ever” and “Books to reread”. The issue I have with it is that after reading the story five or six times, there’s no reason to pick it up again. And it’s not just because of the drool marks have made it impossible to read, but it just gets old. Sorry for all of you diehard fans out there (I am too, by the way), but it’s kind of true.

But other than that small fact, it’s one of the best books in the world. If you’ve read it already, good for you. Go read it again. If you haven’t, run out (and I do mean run) to your nearest bookstore or library, and pick up a copy. Or if you’re too lazy to do that, I suppose you could just wait until the movie comes out (December 12th, 2008!!), but you know that they’re going to ruin it. I mean, Cedric as Edward!? Please!

Okay, rant over.

That’s all for now people. Peace out.