The Catcher in the Rye and my favorite used book store

Since I was unable to take AP English this year, I decided to read every book they read and see how I like it. The Catcher in the Rye was one of them.



I received a lot of different opinions about this book. Some say it was great, others hated it, and a few weren't partial to it, but didn't hate it either.


I have to say that I hated this book.

The beginning of the book is full of humor and wit, which deceives you and makes you want to read more. But once you get past the 100 page mark, it starts to be really boring.

The main character, a young boy who is a juvenile delinquent, is kicked out of the school he is attending to and has to go face his parents.

But instead of going straight home, he decides to run around alone in New York.

That is basically the story. All the main character does is complain about everything that is wrong with the world. Everything about this book(except the beginning) makes me nuts.

I do not recommend this book at all. I gave it 2 stars out of 5 only because of the beginning.



In other news, I need to give thanks to a new bookstore I have been spending all my money on. Even though the owner claims I am hard to assign reading to (yes assign), she was able to pick out six books that seem great and I got a good price for them. It is called the Rubaiyat and it is on 7th street by TVCC. If you get a chance, I seriously recommend going. It is a great store.

Fahrenheit 451

Today I am sitting here, watching two people argue over how many pockets they have and where a pen is located.

While they do that, I reminisce about the book i recently read.

Fahrenheit 451 was to say the least amazing.

The protagonist in the story, Guy, is a happy fireman who loves his job, which is to burn books.
But when he meets his neighbor, a young woman who asks questions about life, he starts asking his own questions. Why do we burn books? Whats in them that makes them so bad? Why don't I just steal a book?

So that is what he does. He asks his fire chief about the history of books and on burn sites, he starts taking a couple with him. His little pick- pocketing however, endangers his novel collection, his house, and his life.

This book is in almost the exact same league as 1984. I can't say it's as good, but it definitely deserves 5 stars.

If you want a good book, this is what you need to check out. In fact, you do not get a choice. Go check this book out now.

Ethan Frome

One of the owner's at the little used book store I often shop at made me read this book. And at first, I really did not want to. The book was a romance and it was written for an audience before my time. But i grudged through it and I have to say, the ending was worth it.

For the first hundred pages or so, the book is completely boring. Not much happens and really it is hard to get through. 

The last eighty pages however make up for it.

The story begins with a young man visiting a New England Town for the winter. Ethan Frome, an old man who has a disability in his right side chauffeurs him around to do various jobs. When the weather denies them access to the main part of town, Frome invites the man in and his story of how he got to be disabled is told throughout the rest of the novel.

If you wish to discover how, or if this book seems to be something you might be interested in, go for it. But if not, I wouldn't go out of your way. 

I give the story 2.5 stars out of 5. The plot is too flat up until the end, and the setting is before my time. 

1984 by George Orwell, Rating and Review

• "Until they become conscious they will never rebel, and until after they they have rebelled they cannot become conscious."

 When I was first told about this book, I was a little skeptical about it.
It seemed like one of those novels that were popular in my parents time, but wouldn't interest me now.

Reluctantly, I took the book off of the shelf at my school library, and I gave it a go. Thank God I did.

This book is freaking genius to say the least. From page one, the story captured me and would not let me go until I had finished the book. If you have not read this book, you are missing out.

Winston, a citizen of Oceania, is beginning to question his govermnment known as "Big Brother"

The stories he has been told don't match up anymore, and he knows this because he changes the past.

The Rebellion that gave Big Brother power is changing the past to seem more.. well more awsome. They claim that Big Brother created the helicopter, then they move on to say they made the airplane.

After meeting the love of Winston's life Julie, they decide to join a secret group called the Brotherhood. Both of them are sick of the society they live in and wish to change it.

1984 is an amazing work of art. I read Animal Farm and it was pretty good, but seriously it doesn't stand up to 1984.


The only thing I can say is read this book, if you don't want to, I don't care. Read this book.

I give 1984 5 stars out of 5. There is no such thing as a perfect novel, but 1984 is pretty freaking close. This book easily is in my top 5.


Anyways, you may have noticed the changes I have made to my blog, but just in case let me give you the tour.

The top right hand margin next to the latest blog is my profile. Please feel free to read it. Immediately below is a list of books I am reading currently. Below that is a list of my favorite things ( and 1984 will be added)

A wonderful list of my followers is directly below that, you can click on the button to follow my blog( click it)

And below that is the Poll. I ask questions every once and awhile and you vote on them. Vote!!!

And below that is the other crap.

Below every blog is a comment button, click that and leave a comment.

National Library Week

Today marks the last day of National Library Week 2011, and since I did not know this contribution existed until a few days ago, I feel I should spread the good word.

Everyone has probably entered a public or private library for some reason, whether it be to check out books, movies, or maybe even video games.

So why don't we show them appreciation? Seriously, how many of you guys have heard of National Library Week?

To celebrate this week, go down to your local library and thank him or her for the contribution. They deserve it.

And also you need to follow my blog. Feel free to leave comments and vote in my Poll (its in  the right hand margin).

Brave new world. Rating and Review.

"The operation undergone voluntarily for the good of Society, not to mention the fact that it carries a bonus amounting to six months' salary."     - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World, Ch. 1

Lately I have been very intrigued by books that have previously or are now banned. Brave New World came highly recommended to me by a friend and I decided it was worth a shot.

The book started out okay, but as I got deeper into the story, I began to loose interest.

Brave New World takes place sometime in the future, where democracy, family, and religion are not only not practiced, but thought immoral and completely useless. In place, communism, open sex with anyone and everyone, and above all, a complete connection with the whole world.

Although the futuristic feel and the completely different style of ethics interested me at the start, the actual plot was a little choppy and not my style. The writing by Aldous Huxley wasn't the problem, it was just the storyline. I wouldn't personally recommend this book unless you enjoy this type of books, but I am sure that if I read another Huxley book, I would enjoy it.

I give this book Two Stars. I'm sure many of you disagree with me and I am okay with that. I don't necessarily hate this book, and who knows, maybe in a few years the book will be more appealing to me.

If you need some book suggestions, please feel free to contact me via e-mail. If you wish to leave a comment, do so. Another great way to find new books, is by looking at the New York Times Bestseller List. Here is a link.

http://www.nytimes.com/best-sellers-books/overview.html

You can scroll down to whichever list you prefer and find the top new books.

The next book on my list is 1984 by George Orwell. 

Should we rate books?

Movies are rated to inform parents about the material in the film and video games have a similar system to warn parents, so why don't books?

Logically parents should be monitoring what their children read in some way. But seriously, how can a parent know exactly what is in their childs book without reading it personally? If any of you read at the rate I do, you can see that your parents cannot keep up. And I really would prefer that my parents don't make me wait for them to read a book first before I can begin.

So a rating system does seem to make sense.

But doesn't a rating system ban books in a way? If a 14 year old kid is denied the right to read a book by an organization that thought it was a little too gruesome, isn't that destroying his rights as an American? What about me? Can I not read a Stephen King because he is a little scary? Frankly, that would piss me off. And think about this. Everyone eventually learns the harsh, cruel, scary facts of the world at some point in their life, who are we to deny the process? Everyone should be able to get scared.

So what do you think? Yay or nay?

Leave a comment on my blog, there is a button below this blog just for that. Also at the top right corner of my blog is a Poll. Feel free to vote there, and a little bit below the Poll is a Follow button. Click it. Click the living crap out of that button. Follow my blog.


I think here in a little bit, a blog will be released about the classic Frankenstien. You might enjoy it.

Series' in general

I think as of now, most of my fans either read regularly or at least enjoy reading a good book every once and awhile. A lot of people love to read books, but how many like to read Series?

As a rule, I tend to avoid series. For me, they ruin the freedom of reading. You get attached to a character in a series of books and you don't read anything else until you have caught up with the author, and when a new book arives in the series, you feel obligated not only to read it but refresh your memory by reading the beginning books over again.

But there is some joy in reading a series. When you open the new book, you get a sense of feeling at home. Your with a character that you are familiar with, you don't have to waist time picturing the setting, or the protagonist. It's already there in your head, waiting for you.

Currently I have four or five series I am reading.
One of them, The Dark Tower series by Stephen King, although it is finished by the author, I have not yet finished. I am at the fifth book.

Another one, which hasn't had a new book in I don't know how long, is the once popular Eragon series. I have caught up with the author and am waiting for the fourth novel to be released, if it ever is.

The John Corey series is yet another one I read continually. Also with this one, I have caught up with the author and am waiting for the sixth novel to be released.

My point here is to prove how clinging a series can be. But that doesn't necessarily mean they are bad.... Well I can't decide for you whether or not they are bad, so leave a comment and tell me what you think of series. Then you can follow my blog by clicking the Follow button right below the TMZ add.

In other news, the result of the poll for who will win the presidential election in 2012, Another Old Guy beats the competition in a landslide. The new poll is Do You miss football? Feel free to vote, you dont have to be a follower to vote. SO VOTE!!!!! And leave comments. And follow.!

Ender's Game

Lately I have been hearing more and more about titles written by Orson Scott Card. In particular Ender's Game.

Apparently as a freshman I was supposed to read this novel, but for some reason my class didn't get to it. So I decided to read it independently.

Even though it was Sci- Fi , I really enjoyed the book.

The book takes place in the distant future, and all of humanity is living in fear of the "buggers", an alien species that almost wiped out all of Earth.

The protagonist of the story is Ender Wiggins( I believe his first name was Andrew) and he is a Third, meaning the third child in a family which in this day and age is frowned upon.

But soon the military of the Earth notices Ender's genius mind, and begins his long and painful journey to become THE commander to save the world and end the war with the buggers.

His training begins at Battle School where the student body is divided into armies, and they preform mock wars against each other. But it is not only a game. Every student takes it seriously and the game prepares you for the real deal.

Unfortunately if you wish to know more, you must read the book. I have a strict policy here to not spoil books for the Constant Reader, but encourage him/her to read.

Orson Scott Card's book was-and excuse me for my lack of words- amazing. I have been searching the valley for a copy of this book and my search is futile, but I'm going to keep trying. I recommend this book to anyone with eyeballs. I give Ender's Game a 5 out of 5 ranking.

Thanks for reading, feel free to leave comments, suggestions, whatever..... I appreciate feedback.

The Appeal

Every time I ask someone about their favorite authors, three names automatically pop up
1. Stephanie Meyer
2. J.K Rowling
3. John Grisham


Last week I finally decided to tackle a John Grisham. I have always been a little skeptical about Grisham because I always hear varying comments about him. Some people say he is fantastic, some say he is boring, some go as far as saying he is the best author in a thousand years.

I'm not going to go as far as the best author in a thousand years, but the book definitely wasn't bad.

The story began in court. Krane Chemical is being sued by a woman who lost her family to cancer claiming that the company polluted the drinking water of the whole town. The average cancer rate for the town is 17% higher than the national average.

In a surprising verdict by the jury, the woman is awarded 41 million dollars. And the company is required to clean the water.

Meanwhile, the CEO of the plant is losing a billion dollars in only a few hours due to the verdict. The company stock is dropping, lawyers fresh out of law school are running to the town to see how many more people want to sue the company, and everything seems to be plummeting  for Krane.

But their is a small hope. The lawyers for Krane are appealing to the State Supreme Court, and they might even be able to influence the judges by eliminating one, and getting another elected before the trial that would favor the Chemical plant.

The book I found to be entertaining, but not suspenseful in any way. Boring would be the correct word.

But it does show the reader how politics can go deeper and more corrupt than any person can imagine. If your into the lawyer business, this book is for you. Otherwise, you might want to go somewhere else for your reading.

The book I am reading now however, is definetly something. It's called Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card.
In a few days, I should have it finished and I will post as soon as possible. But until then, read on, tell your friends about me, leave comments, and vote on the poll on the upper right side of my blog.

Libraries

Most of us readers have a small collection of books we enjoy reading. Some collections maybe small ( maybe 10 or so) some are huge ( my librarian declares his runs around the 5 to 6 THOUSAND mark) but all of them are special in their own way.

My collection is just a little over 100. Thirty of them are Stephen King's, the rest are various authors consisting of  J.R.R Tolkien's Lord of the Ring Series to an original  copy of Harry Potter: The Chamber of Secrets that was published in England to my only signed book The Secret of Castle Cant.


Here are some pictures of my little shelfs

So this is my collection. Now I want to see yours. Please feel free to send my pictures of YOUR collection. Whether it be 1 or 1000. You can leave a comment showing your pictures and while you are at it, feel free to follow my blog and vote in the poll on the upper right side of my blog. 

Hopefully by the end of the week, I can finish another novel and post about it. I am currently reading The Appeal by John Grisham and I think it has potential. But we will see.

Pride and Prejudice

Normally I am willing to give any book ONE chance. Well everyone has been talking about Pride and Prejudice so I decided it was worth a try. Big mistake


Not to bash on Jane Austen ( may she rest in peace) but this book was terrible. I stopped after thirty pages and immediately moved on to another novel.

The book is written well ( it has an old english type of feel to it) but the plot is non existent and to consider it a classic is a reward this book is not worthy of.

But if you like romance and books written in the early 1800s, feel free to go for it. But don't tell me I didn't warn you.

And as a P.S. Leave comments! It's not hard. Also feel free to vote in my poll, it's for everyone. And if you like books, then follow my blog.

The next blog I think will be about libraries. Hopefully if I do not have mounds of homework, I can get it in tomorrow.

Salems Lot

This year for Lent, I made a pact with a few friends. I gave up caffeine, another friend gave up reading books for fun, and yet another gave up insults. Well I failed after three days, and my friend couldn't make it without reading ( I don't blame her). So in honor of our breaking Lent, we decided to go to the library and check out as many books as possible.

One of the books I checked out was Pride and Prejudice, written by Jane Austen.

Since I have not read it yet, I cannot give a summary of it but it is coming soon.

Now, I wish to talk about a Stephen King.

Salem's Lot , one of Kings first books, begins with a writer traveling toward a town he grew up in Jerusalem Lot.
After staying a few days he meets a young chicka who has the hots for him. They quickly fall in love and everything seems happy. But in the depths of night, a dark evil older than the stones we walk on lurks through the town. Yes it is a vampire, and no it is not Dracula.

Unfortunately  if I tell you any more, I will give away the book, which i do not like to do.

But I can honestly say that reading this book after dark is a challenge. And for a vampire book, it lacks the cheesy-ness that usually comes with *cough Stephanie Meyer cough*. So if your aren't afraid of the things that go bump in the night, this is the book for you.


Now for those of you who live in Caldwell ID (probably all of you), I have recently discovered a new used book store down town.

The address is 117 S. 7th Avenue. They are closed on Sundays and Mondays, but i seriously recommend coming to this store. It will be worth your while.


Okay so that is it for today. Feel free to follow me on my blog, and if you get a chance vote on the poll. And leave COMMENTS!!!!!! I need some feedback people ( but make it appropriate).

The Ruins

In the month since my last blog, unfortunately I have not been able to read. Between school and my extra curricular activities, I just run out of time.


But a few books in particular did come across my way.

The first is called The Ruins, written by Scott Smith.
The book begins with two couples summer breaking in Mexico. They are enjoying life and getting wasted probably helped a little. But after they meet a German fellow who is distressed over his missing brother, everything turns wrong.

The four friends decide to help the German who's brother ran away with a woman to some distant part of Mexico where an archaeological dig is taking place. The only way to find the brother is a poorly drawn map below the farewell note.

A few hours later, the group is marching through the jungle trying to find the trail leading to the dig. But the local Mayan tribe is causing problems. First they hide the path by discreetly placing leaves over the path. Then once the team reaches the top of the hill the Mayans try to convince them to leave. And they do it in good taste.

The whole hill that supposedly held the archaeological dig is completely covered in vines. Nothing else seems to be growing on the hill. The Mayans try to force the group down the hill, but an adventurous photographer backs up a little too far towards the vines and the Mayans change their mind. The group is herded toward the hill and forced to stay by the whole village. But it is not the Mayans they need to worry about, it's the vine.


Scott Smith did an excellent job on this book. If you decide to read it (which i HIGHLY recommend) be sure to not plan anything for about 8 hours. You can't just read this book for 15 minutes. The book gets four stars out of five.

Silence of the Lambs

Hannibal Lecter from Silence of the Lambs ( the movie) is probably one of my favorite movie characters. He is witty, cool, and a cannibal. I enjoyed the movie so much, I decided that the book was worth a try.

I was suprised at how long it took me to obtain the book from the library, it was currently checked out when i looked for it and it had 3 holds before me.

But when I finally was able to get a grasp on it, I understood why.

The book is about an FBI trainee Clarice Starling, who is given a job to study a pure psychopath to receive some insight on a murderer who collects segments of skins from his victims. Of course the psychopath is Hannibal Lecter, once a world renowned Psychologist who killed most of his clients and ate them. Hannibal is a very hard man to work with, but he seems to enjoy Miss Starling.

Eventually in the book, Lecter agrees to help the FBI with the "Buffalo Billy" case. Meanwhile, Jame Gumb, the murderer known to everyone else as Buffalo Billy picks up his next victim, Catherine Martin the daughter of a Tennessee Senator. Hannibal is supposed to help the FBI capture Buffalo Billy before he kills Catherine.

The above bio is just a brief description of the book. I cannot write the true magic of the book  without giving away the book.  Thomas Harris does an amazing job of creating the characters and developing the scene in your head. I give the book an 8 and a half out of 10. I recommend reading the movie before watching the book though. The book is better than the movie, but for my case whenever I read the book first, the movie that might be a great movie is ruined because it doesn't appear to be the picture you imagined.