Book Bloggers in the Chat

       Despite his frequent rants against the phoniness of everyone else Holden is at times a bit of a phony himself. While he is constantly telling the reader all of his thoughts and how he's upset that more people don't speak their minds, there are a few circumstances where he hides his true thoughts.  One of the times when Holden is the most phony is when he is talking to Ernest Morrow's mother on the train to New York from Pencey. Holden harbors very negative feelings for Ernest and calls him " doubtless the biggest bastard that ever went to Pencey, in the whole crumby history of the school" but despite holding such disdain for Ernest he still cannot bring himself to talk bad about a child directly to his mother. In fact Holden goes further than just not talking bad about Ernest but actually reassuring Mrs. Morrow that her child was a great guy who everyone wanted to be class president. You could argue that Holden is playing the long con just to me...

Recently, I read Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler. Judging by the name, I thought it would be an old timey book similar to classical literature but it’s actually set in the dystopian future. Not too far away either, the events occur over a couple of years but it starts in 2024. The book is actually a journal written by the main character, Lauren, who tells us all the events in the story. Each chapter is also prefaced by a short poem or verse, describing God as change.  The story starts out as Lauren, her family, and her neighbors in a gated community with a wall trying to get by. Water is expensive, it’s difficult to get food, and it’s violent. All the good dystopian stuff. The format the book is written in makes the reader feel like they're getting flashes of that life. One day things are normal and the next, someone’s dead. It’s very glaring and you don’t get details of events happening in the moment, just recounts given by Lauren. Through the book, you can see Laurens t...

 The frontier is a rather frequent location in quite a few sci-fi, fantasy, and historical fiction stories. When talking about a frontier I do not necessarily mean the wild west, just the far edge of any civilization, be it magical kingdom, galactic empire, or a boomtown in the Yukon. These settings are generally characterized by scarcities of food or water, problematic weather (magic poison fog, deserts, extreme cold), rampant crime, a mean populace, and limited public services (with the general exception of the mail).        Using the frontier as a setting for a story allows the author lots of latitude in what the characters can legally get away with without requiring a massive suspension of disbelief. The lack of law enforcement makes the frontier an ideal setting for stories that involve conflict between different criminal elements without having to expect the interference of the law.     In addition to the criminal element that a frontie...

By: Grace I started reading this book without knowing what it was about; the book cover was really cool, with flowers and vines and a nice orange glow to the title. I assumed it was going to be another cool fantasy novel. However, I was very very wrong. As a warning, the book includes / mentions sexually explicit scenes, rape, self-harm, mental and physical abuse, suicide, and animal harm. Despite the triggers, I think the book was really captivating and well written, and sends a clear point throughout the book.  The novel starts out in Prince Emory's point of view, where he is going to rescue the "damsel" in order to wed her and become the king. The rest of the novel is in Ama, the damsel's, point of view, who wakes up and doesn't remember anything about herself. She knows nothing except for the things Emory tells her; he gives her a name and tells her she will be his future bride. As the novel progresses, Emory, who seems to be represented as the hero who saved ...

Empire of Dust is the second book in the Blood of Gods and Royals series. The series continues the story of Alexander and his journey in becoming the new ruler for the kingdom as he starts to make bigger decisions. Hephaestion is rejected by Alex because he kills the wrong person, a vital part of his original plan. He then finds a secret prophecy that he must conceal from Katerina as they are sent on a dangerous mission. Jacob, Kat's ex-lover, tries to discard his emotions and rid of the blood magics. Lastly, Princess Zofia tries to find the Spirit Eaters in order to change her fate so that she can be with the one she loves.  I reviewed the first book, and although I didn't like it that much, the world intrigued me and I decided to try and read the second book. In my opinion, I thought that this book was much worse because it made me really frustrated as I read it.  The perspective changes between the seven characters were more annoying than in the first book. It was hard for...

    History books are some of the most popular nonfiction books, and they are my favorite type of nonfiction books. The scope of these books can vary wildly, and they can focus on the most minute details of a historical event or they can give the entire story of a region, country, or period. The wide variety of topics covered in different history books means that there is a wide variety of writing styles, but I have separated these styles into two broad categories: Novels and Textbooks.     History books that I would call a novel are called that because of how the book is written as a story. Writing a historical book as a story mainly means that like a novel there is a setting, plot, and many times a few central people who are essential to the story and quoted frequently. These types of books are usually about a specific project or group of people, and are about more recent events (~1900-present) because the record keeping is better and more quotes are avai...