BSchultz19
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Posts posted by BSchultz19
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I'm reading The Grapes of Wrath now. It has lingered on my bookshelf for about 15 years so it's high time I got around to it!
I really enjoyed it. When I got the book and began reading it I thought it would be a typical classic. Great writing, but a little bit harder to get through than other books. I was happily surprised when I got into the middle of the book and couldn't put it down.
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I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it
. I have most books by Dickens on my shelf (I think?), I've yet to read any as classics intimidate me. I'm hearing good things about Dickens though so when I'm in the mood for it I' might pick up Oliver Twist, because it's not so big and because I know the story of it a bit. You've written a lot of stuff about the book! Did you have to analyse it for themes etc?We didn't analyze for themes because it is a writing class. We had to write about the style of the author and the tools of description that he or she used. Because I chose Dickens, there was a lot to say about his style and description. Lol.
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The Grapes of WrathI enjoyed reading this book and read it a lot quicker than I expected. It is about a family in the 1800s that is run out of their home and off their land. They have been told that California is full of jobs and beautiful land, so the family heads west. They encounter many problems along the way, and when they reach California they discover that it is not what they expected. Because of their high expectations, the Joad family is disappointed and has to learn to live off of very little money. Many different conflicts come up and in the end the conflicts are not resolved cleanly. The reader is left wondering what happens to the Joads. When I read the last paragraph I was left thinking that the family was going to survive and be okay, but others might assume different things.
It was a very good book and is the second or third book of Steinbeck's that I have read. I enjoy his style of writing and the way he tells the story. He is descriptive but uses unconventional ways of writing which I enjoy.
4.8/5
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Happy Birthday! I didn't know yours was on the same day as mine! I hope you had a good day
.Well happy belated birthday to you!
Happy Birthday a little late !
Glad you enjoyed the Dickens . It's hard to go wrong with him . I have yet to find one that I don't like .
Thank you
I agree, there is not one that I haven't liked. There are sometimes I want to scream at him to stop being so wordy about useless things, but overall I love his writing. -
Okay. Well, I think for a start (and I hear many authors say this) that young adult books need some sort of hopeful ending. Not necessarily a happy ending, but one that isn't completely bleak. I'm not sure if that's what you're referring to. If not, I can only assume you're reading the "wrong" stuff- have you tried TFIOS?
Well if authors are saying that, they're wrong. I enjoy a happy or hopeful ending, but I like books that end tragically as well. It makes reading less predictable. I'm only 17 years old, so I'm a "young adult" and I don't need a hopeful ending. And like I said, I don't read a lot of YA, but what I have read has been predictable. I find myself three or four chapters in and already correctly guessing the end of the story.
Hi, BSchultz19. Have you read To Kill a Mockingbird? Not necessarily YA but absolutely terrific. For recent YA without pat endings... How about pretty much anything by Tim Bowler? I love River Boy and Starseeker especially. Those are contemporary with a bit of supernatural flair. Kristen Cashore's Fire is great for fantasy. CJ Daugherty writes contemporary, boarding school adventures but they're by no means 'happily ever after'. Hope it's OK to mention my book, The Bone Dragon, for a contemporary psychological thriller. Berlie Doherty is really interested for complex, nuanced stories of the slower but richer variety: mostly shades of historical fiction (including recent history). Oh, and Tanya Byrne's wonderful Heart-Shaped Bruise is a brilliant contemp. crime novel. In America there's much more of a tendency for upbeat endings but, above all, American publishers rarely publish morally ambiguous endings, which are my favourite type. Things that make you question what you think is right and wrong, rather than telling you. That's where British YA is really coming into its own.
As for my likes and dislikes... No to zombies and vampires, yes to fantasy beasties... No to post-apocalyptic and dystopian stories because basically I'm a happy person and want to believe the future is brighter than the past. Yes to historical fiction, even when it's far from upbeat (it's OK for the past to be depressing if we've moved forward). I like romance and even love triangles - to a point. My big issue with romance in YA is that people are rarely sensible about love. Sometimes romance and clear thinking go together rather well. It's certainly not a good message when most books seem to say that romance is all about being blind and assuming that people are as nice as they look. I like to read about people of all ages who take responsibility for their lives and their choices - whatever those happen to be.
Thank you! I will definitely consider some of those books if I get a chance.
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I buy books from all over the place. There is a really cute secondhand bookstore near my house, but I only spend three months of the year there. I have bought quite a few books from Barnes and Noble both online and in the store. I've also gotten a few from Amazon because there are usually some good used books.
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Quite a few of my "book reading" friends have been telling me to read this for a long time. I haven't quite gotten around to it, but I am really excited to read it.
I hear it is somewhat like the hunger games, but without a love triangle and all that sappy stuff.
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I'm planning on finishing The Grapes of Wrath if I'm not done by then and reading a collection of Sherlock Holmes short stories. Might get started on reading The Catcher in the Rye
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...I don't know what YA you're reading but the YA I read is pretty tough sometimes...
Maybe I'm not reading the right stuff, but what I read has a conflict, but it is always resolved and everyone lives happily ever after. Of course there is going to be a conflict and problems, it is a book, but I don't like happy endings all the time. All I've read is happy endings.
If you could direct me towards books that are not like that I would appreciate it. Also I admit that although I am a young adult, I have not very much YA genre books in awhile. So maybe my opinion is based purely on the few that I have read.
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Thank you!
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I don't use a notebook-notebook, but I do write my ideas down in files on my computer. I actually love the idea of carrying a paper notebook around and jotting down ideas as I have them, but I never actually do it, lol! But I do like having a place to jot down my story ideas even if it's just on the computer. Sometimes when I'm feeling blocked, I'll even go look at those ideas and want to start working on one of them!
Generally, I try to write everyday, but I also work on multiple projects at once. So while I might be drafting one novel, I'll be brainstorming another. I think when you're first starting out there's absolutely nothing wrong with brainstorming before you start writing! Even something like going for walk or daydreaming can be considered a sort of "prewriting," I think, just as long as that's not all you do. Eventually, you will have to sit down and start writing, but a lot of people like having a general idea of where they're going before they start.
I don't tend to base my characters on people that I know. If I do, it's only a small part of their personality. It can be awkward when you DO base a character on someone you know and they recognize themselves... that happened to me once, and I think that's why I'm wary of doing it now.
I think if you're interesting in becoming an author the best thing to do is write something! Nanowrimo is next month and it's always a wonderful way to try and write a novel for the first time, even though I realize that November isn't the best month for students. The most important thing to remember when you're starting out is to just have fun!
Thank you!
I think I have a problem with brainstorming and writing every day different things because I love to go in order. It just isn't natural for me to write down what I'm thinking. That can be a block sometimes.
I would love to try writing a novel, but November is busy and even in a month with nothing happening (does that exist?) I don't think I could write a novel. Maybe I'll just start one in November...
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I think more realistic stories. YA often makes it seem like being a young adult is perfect and beautiful. In reality, people in that age group get their heart broken, have the pressure of drinking and drugs, and the ending isn't always happy.
The art of a good tragedy needs to return. Everything is always "happily ever after" these days. I appreciate a good tragedy every once and awhile.
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I have recently started to read more classics although I have read many in the past. I really enjoy them, but they are so time consuming compared to other books. My favorite feeling when reading a classic book is connecting with other generations. You can feel why a book is a classic when you read it. At the same time, there are classics that I read that I never get that feeling for.
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Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens
I read this book for class, but it was a choice which book we wanted to read. To keep with my Dickens theme of my TBR, I chose Nicholas Nickleby. This review isn't going to be very long because I had to write four annotated bibliographies on the book and I'm a little tired of writing and rewriting summaries of the plot. I enjoyed reading it a lot, but it was a ton of reading to cram into four short weeks. I'd definitely recommend it because the plot is great. Of course, the descriptions are amazing because it is Dickens.
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As far as time it takes to read or finish a book , I think it depends a lot on the book, for one. Some books are easy to read, take very little concentration ,so you can get through them quickly . Others, like some of the Classics, for example, I intentionally slow down because of the difference in writing style, speech, and words used.
My Paperwhite has a feature that times me while I'm reading . It kinda bothers me, so I usually click it to turn that part off . If I'm reading and there's a note at the bottom of the page telling me how much longer til the end of the chapter . I feel like I'm back in school taking a timed test .
For me to enjoy reading, it has to be at my own pace . Otherwise, it'd feel too much like a chore .
I really hate that feature on kindle! But at the same time I find myself clicking it because I can't help but be curious.
With some books, I read extremely fast but others I feel like I'm moving at a snail's pace. Whatever it takes to comprehend what the author is trying to say.
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A little bit off topic, but in my writing class we just read a part of a book about writing tools and tips. The author says that sometimes he will write the end of the novel or story first, then write until he gets to that ending. That is how J.K. Rowling wrote the Harry Potter series. I think that for the next thing I write, I'm going to use that strategy.
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It's a good list Schultz! A constant diet of classics can get heavy though. When I am on a project like that I like to break it up it with something totally trashy but readable and quick like the Stephanie Plum series http://www.evanovich.com/novels/plum-series/
Thank you! I've been looking for some in between books for in between classics. I love reading classics but if I read too many in a row it makes me not want to read because it becomes like a task.
I think having an easy read in between helps keep the reading mojo going. Thank you for the recommendation I will definitely check that series out. Right now my in betweeners have been Nicholas Sparks books, but I have pretty much read them all and the more I read the more I realize they are all pretty darn similar.
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I've watched the entire Aztecs story of classic Doctor Who and a couple episodes of the new one but didn't really get into it. Maybe if I watched a few more I'd understand, but it's just not my thing.
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Thank you for a great answer. That was extremely helpful.
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I am a really big One Tree Hill fan and in the show one of the main characters, Lucas, writes a book mainly about being in high school and what happened to him and his friends and family. I'd really like to do that with my own life. Kind of like an autobiography, but not really. Maybe use the main events from my life with different characters or as a base for a novel.
The other thing I'd like to write isn't really what I would write about but I want to write something that has deep meaning. I want the reader to need to read the novel two or three times to fully understand it. Every time the book is read I want it to make more and more sense. Lots of symbols and such...books that make you go WHOOAAA mind blown when you read them the second time.
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I would recommend Paper Towns by John Green and also Harlan Coben has written two YA titles following on the back of his Myron Bolitar series. Very good.
Maybe have a look at the Abhorsen Chronicles (Sabriel, Lirael and Abhorsen) by Garth Nix (although they may be a bit too young), or perhaps the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare (starting with City of Bones, which has recently been released as a film).
Also, I believe James Dashner's Maze Runner series is a bit like Hunger Games, though I haven't read it myself.
I've heard a lot about this book and that series and am really interested in reading them. Thank you for the suggestions.
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I'm extremely curious about being an author and becoming published. I'm currently only in high school, but I'd like to start writing stories and maybe even novels.
My question is, is there some type of writers notebook that you use for ideas? Are there days where no writing happens, but only brainstorming? Do some characters, all characters, or no characters come from personal experience?
How many projects are typically worked on at once?
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I've been spending the past four weeks reading Nicholas Nickleby for my composition class and I am almost done. It has pretty much soaked up all my reading time. Hopefully I can start making a dent on my TBR once I finish the book this weekend.
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I'm really excited for the November read-a-thon because it will be the first weekend in a long time that I'm not busy. Good timing!
Read-a-thon - (2013-2015)
in Group Reads
Posted
I initially thought I would have a lot of time to read this weekend, but it turns out that I work all night tonight, have a competition tomorrow, and work the rest of saturday and sunday.
Wish I could have participated. I have just started reading Paper Towns by John Green.