Book Blog #11, Hamlet, week 1

Hamlet, week 1                                           by William Shakespeare
Hamlet's father tragically died, and the throne was then ruled by King Cornelius, Hamlet's uncle. King Cornelius had married Queen Gertrude, who less than a month previously had been married to the late king. The Ghost of Hamlet's father shows up in the dead of night, and leaves at the cock's crow. Hamlet talks to the ghost, and learns that the ghost craves revenge for his death. An epic tragedy has been woven by the end. Murder, deceit, and death can be found anywhere, but are especially common on the throne.
Overall, this book has been good and I have liked it. It has been challenging to decipher the old English used fluently throughout. It is a gripping storyline, but it is long and the monologues drag on quite often. I would recommend this book if you enjoy more serious books that will provide quite a literary challenge. I would recommend getting an addition that has translations for some of the words and phrases, as it I easier to understand if you don't have to guess what things mean.
There is minor profanity so far, although you should be prepared for the Shakespearean language. There is also gore when describing death and the violence in the book.


I enjoy most genres of books, but lately I have enjoyed fiction books that are mostly serious, but are still fun to read or have some magic in them. Several examples are The Night Circus, Fire and Flood, and Splintered. I have also started enjoying more far fetched realistic fiction like The Martian, 1984, Thirteen Reasons Why, and Flowers for Algernon.


TBR List
Speak
The Host
The Future of us
The Archaeology of Weapons
Son, and the rest of the Giver Quartet
Love Letters to the Dead
The House of Ivy and Sorrow

Book Blog #10, The Night Circus

The Night Circus                                                                                                      by Erin Morgenstern

It arrives without warning. No one can track it, and no one can expect it. On the inside of the black and white striped tents, there is a unique and sensational experience that puts most bystanders in awe. It has the most exquisite acrobats and performers like none you will ever see anywhere else. Every aspect of the performance has been perfected, from the central clock to the lace on the costumes. It is called Le Cirque des Reves, and it is open only at night.
Celia and Marco have been trained since childhood by the best magicians in the world in preparation for the in-avoidable duel. The two fall in love. The epic romance of two loving magicians and an astounding circus combine, to create a gripping story with many twists and turns.
This book was amazing! I really enjoyed it because there were surprises around every turn, and the writing style makes you not want to stop reading. The storyline of the book was also interesting and unique compared to books I have read previously. The characters were very well developed along with the descriptions of most of the settings. At most points of the book, you could actually envision yourself in the circus watching the performances.
There is quite a bit of romance in this book, although it does not take away from the book as a whole. There is also minor language, but yet again it did not make you loose interest or want to stop reading.


TBR List (full quarterly list)
Water for Elephants                                                                                                           The Doldrums
Chains                                                                    The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time
Fahrenheit 451                                                                                                      Endgame: The Calling
Love Letters to the Dead                                                                The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
The 5th Wave                                                                                                                Leviathan Wakes
This one Summer                                                                                                         Slaughter House 5
The House of Ivy and Sorrow                                                                                                       Legend
Outliers                                                                                                                                    Eight Keys
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon                                                                                          Wonder
Road Rash                                                                                                                                           Salt

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Book Blog #9, Paper Things

Paper Things                                                                                              by Jennifer Richard Jacobson
Ari Hazzard left her adopted home with her brother, and has been dealing with poverty ever since. Gage, her brother, has taken care of her cares for her quite a lot, but he cannot provide a stable home. She jumps from shelter to shelter, always trying to stay on top of school, while having to deal with rough friendships. Her paper things are the only things that give her comfort as she is dealing with all of her emotions. She struggles with making friends and how she will tell them about her homelessness.

I would recommend this book to Maia, because even though it is not fantasy, there is still a lot of meaning behind it, and there are a lot of emotions in the book. I think she would enjoy thinking about the decisions in the book that Ari makes. Other than that, I think that most of the people in our class would enjoy this if they want a fast and easy read that will make them think. I would also recommend this to anyone who wants to think about homelessness in a different way.

TBR list
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
The Doldrums by Nichlolas Gannon
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson

Book Blog #8, The Martian

The Martian                                                               by Andy Weir

Mark Watney's crew abandoned him on mars, after they thought he was dead. He starts to figure out solutions for food, and rescue. Every time that something could go wrong, it does. The tides are turned against Mark, but he wont give up. He starts to figure out how to live, and get things done. Against all odds, will he be able to survive until rescue?


In this book, there is some symbolism even though it is not super obvious. I think one of the first symbolistic parts is when the China National Space Administration give up the Taiyang Shen just to help mark. It is symbolistic because it shows the good side of people, the side that helps others. I think that there are a lot of parts in the book that have a similar meaning, because there are always people on earth that are trying to help him. For instance, the media is rallying for him and his cause, and most of the people in the world care about him.

There is quite a bit of profanity used in this book, but I liked it nonetheless.
TBR list

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

The Doldrums by Nicholas Gannon

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Book Blog #7, Flowers for Algernon, week 2

Flowers for Algernon                                                                                                     by Daniel Keyes
Charlie Gordon has always had a low I.Q. He has always wanted to just be normal. When he gets offered the chance to go through an experiment that could possibly raise his I.Q., he is eager to partake. His intelligence skyrockets, and he finds out that social life just gets more complicated. He has to deal with difficult friendships, and even harder realizations about life.

I would recommend this book for another book group, mainly because it makes you think about topics like how you judge people, and what the world would be like if everyone became super smart. For me, it made me think about how I treat others, and the social repercussions of your actions to others. I also think that this is a good book group book because there are a lot of sections where it is open for interpretation, and it is interesting to hear other peoples opinions. This book would also be good for individual reading because it will still make you think about most of the same things.

There is a fair amount of romance, and minor language.
TBR list
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time   by Mark Haddon
Water for Elephants   by Sara Gruen
The Night Circus   by Erin Morgenstern
Endgame: The Calling   by James Frey and Nils Johnson-Shelton
Fahrenheit 451   by Ray Bradbury

Book Blog #6, Flowers For Algernon, week 1

Flowers for Algernon                                                                                                     by Daniel Keyes
Charlie Gordon has always has had an unnaturally low I.Q. He has just learned to live with his life and his friends. When he gets offered an opportunity to under-go an operation that has the potential to make him into a genius, and more than double his I.Q., he is eager to accept. A mouse named Algernon has the same surgery, and they start to guess what is going to happen to Charlie, based off of Algernon's results. Charlie slowly starts to become smarter, and starts maturing both emotionally and academically. He starts having emotional relationships and has to figure them out. Follow him as he winds his way around the corners of the maze that is life.
For me, this is a great book. It has a really interesting storyline that has a realistic feeling to it, which makes the book more enjoyable. You also get pulled into Charlie's emotional life, and how he is growing emotionally. I found how his relationships with people change to be one of the most interesting parts because it makes you think about real relationships and how they would change, if someone suddenly became drastically smarter.

There is some romance, and minor language. Overall, it isn't bad.
TBR list
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
The Martian by Andy Weir
Endgame: The Calling by James Frey and Nils Johnson-Shelton
Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira

Book Blog #5, Salt and Stone

Salt and Stone                                                                                                                By Victoria Scott


Tella has already endured the first two sections of the brimstone bleed. She has only come this far to save her brother, and she hopes that he will stay motivation enough for her too complete the final challenges. She can't tell if she and her companions are growing closer together, or farther apart. She is slowly running out of time and strength. Can she make it to the finish line?

For me, this was only a okay book, but close to a great book, because there were some really interesting details in it, but then it would start to get slower, which released some of the tension that was building. Although I did enjoy the book, and it kept me interested. The ending was okay, but it seemed like the author was running out of ideas on good endings. I enjoyed the first book, Fire and Flood, more than I did this one, but it was still good.

There is quite a bit of romance, but nothing else.


TBR
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
Endgame: The Calling by James Frey and Nils Johnson-Shelton
The Martian by Andy Weir
Paper Things by Jennifer Jacobson