February 2018 – Book Reviews for Bookish People

Posted on February 24, 2018 by bookreviews628 · 4 Comments

Thoughts I have had while re-reading Harry Potter

Hi everyone! I am still without a new book to read but I have filled that void with Harry Potter. I’m currently on book five and I’m about midway through. Even though I have read this series countless times, my thoughts have changed as I have gotten older. In this post, I’m just going to give you a list of thoughts I have had while re-reading this series.

Why did they leave baby Harry on a doorstop all night? Why couldn’t they have waited closer to morning before leaving him?
How can these two grown adults be so awful to their own nephew for things he doesn’t know yet?
Hagrid is actually the best character in these books.
Ron’s snarky comments are actually bits of foreshadowing.
Hermione is too nice. If my friends kept asking to copy off my homework, I would have snapped at them by now.
The Weasley twins threw snowballs straight at Voldemort like true legends.
Literally, how can anyone justify Snape’s behavior?
Everyone keeps punishing Harry for things he doesn’t even know about!!!
I’m sad Winky the house elf wasn’t in the movie.
Everyone keeps roasting Hufflepuff and it is hilarious. (No offense to the Hufflepuffs)
I’m convinced that Dumbledore hires the Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers mostly for his own amusement.
Does Draco have nothing better to do than to harass the Gryffindors?
McGonagall is a badass and I will fight whoever says otherwise.
Remember when Dumbledore calmly asked Harry if he put his name in the Goblet of Fire?
“We’ve done everything we can to make the TriWizard Tournament safer for the students!” *puts even more students in danger in the second task*
SIRIUS BLACK DESERVED BETTER!!!
All of this food sounds delicious. I would kill for a pumpkin pasty right now.
Oh shit, it’s Umbridge.
It’s comforting to know that even wizards have to put up with bullshit politics.
DOBBY DESERVED BETTER!!
Harry is an innocent soul who just wants to chat with snakes and play Quidditch.
The sass in these books is giving me life.
Voldemort is so dramatic. He just has to monologue.
I’m still sad Peeves wasn’t in the movies.
How about we give Neville a break?
Honestly, Harry and Ron making up nonsense for their homework is the most realistic part of these books.
Hermione, do not get upset that exams are cancelled! Do you know how many people would kill for that?
They’re just kids, for god’s sake!!
These kids are in danger!! Let’s surround them with soul-sucking monsters!! – stupid adults
Yeah, I still want to go to Hogwarts.

I’ll keep you updated as I finish the series. Let me know what thoughts you have had about Harry Potter or if you agree with me.

Posted on February 21, 2018 by bookreviews628 · 4 Comments

Here is my biggest thanks!

Hi everyone! I don’t mean to brag but I just wanted to thank you all because I have reached 200 followers! I did not start this blog thinking that anyone would be interested but 200 of you proved me otherwise. I am beyond happy at this news and will continue to do my best to give you quality content. I am still working on doing new blog series that will allow me to interact more with you all. Let me know if you have any ideas for me. I am always looking for feedback.

Anyways, I really just wanted to say thanks for following me and I hope you continue to enjoy my content.

Posted on February 16, 2018February 16, 2018 by bookreviews628 · 6 Comments

My (Honest) DNF List

Hi everyone! While I still wait on a new book to magically appear in front of me, I decided I’ll tell you all about the books I DNF’d or Did Not Finished, in case you didn’t know what DNF stood for. Some of you may be shocked while others may not be surprised by this. I will do my best to explain my reasons for not finishing any of these novels and whether or not I will try to finish them.

IT by Stephen King: Everyone knows that Stephen King writes some super long books and It is one of the longer ones. Who knew a novel about a killer clown could be so complex? I did enjoy that complexity, though. I really want to finish It one day but not any time soon.

Origin by Dan Brown: I did a review/rant on this one a little while back. I got pretty far into the novel before I realized that 98% of was going to be build up to something that isn’t even substantial. Literally, the book was building up to a question. In other Dan Brown novels, you get some satisfactory answers or tangible victories before the big reveal, even if it is convoluted. The entire book felt like a mash up of Brown’s other cliches with no interesting history to back it up. Can someone prove religion wrong with one simple question? Well, Dan Brown can’t answer that.

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt: I’m a huge Donna Tartt fan and I did do a review on this novel as well but I didn’t exactly finish it. The style of this novel is “bildungsroman,” which is a novel that follows one character’s most formative years. Essentially, it is a coming-of-age novel. I liked the characters and the overall plot but it was just so damn long. My attention span can only take so much but I may have to try to thoroughly read it. I still recommend Tartt’s novels.

The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman: Pullman’s novels are particularly popular and I tried to read this book once or twice now. The first time I tried to read it I was in grade school and the movie was coming out around that time. I know that the movie isn’t good, by the way. I remember being confused by all of the terms in the novel the first time I read it. I also was a little baffled by the whole “daemon” concept. Now that I’m an adult, I will definitely have to give this another opportunity as I will probably be able to appreciate this more.

Allegiant by Veronica Roth: I shouldn’t need to explain again why I hate this book but I do. The final novel in the Divergent series still makes my blood boil. I skipped to the stupid ending just so I could be pissed at the stupidity of it all. If you’ve read the novel, then you know what I mean.

Crossed by Ally Condie: This one was the second book in the Matched trilogy. I really enjoyed Matched when I first read it because I enjoyed the world and the characters. The problem with the second novel was that it was completely removed from the world that we had come know. It was mostly just the two main characters wandering through a desert. My mom and I actually both ended up not finishing this book. It also had two unnecessary POVs happening, much like Allegiant.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larson: This is another really popular book series that I was just unable to get into. I thought that this one would be right up my alley with it being a mystery/thriller/suspense novel. I barely got to chapter five before I got very bored. Not only do I not know Swedish or really anything about Sweden, but the build up was just so boring. I wanted to know more about Lisabeth Salander but I felt like I wasn’t going to get to know her.

Requiem by Lauren Oliver: Lauren Oliver has written some of my favorite novels, including Rooms. Requiem is the third book in the Delirium trilogy and I really enjoyed the first novel. I did like the second book as well but not as much. Unfortunately, I simply wasn’t able to finish the third novel but I would like to re-read the entire series. The world of the novel was incredibly interesting and I liked the two main characters. I also felt it was a great twist on forbidden romance. I recommend this if you like YA dystopian novels.

These are at least some of the books I have DNF’d. Let me know if any of these are worth finishing or if I should just give up. Also, let me know what books you gave up on.

Posted on February 9, 2018 by bookreviews628 · 3 Comments

I have crappy writing habits – and I’m okay with that

Hello everyone! As of this moment, I don’t have anything new to read and, unfortunately, I’m a cheapskate who doesn’t want to buy any books right now. I can hear the e-readers saying “But just get an e-book! They are so much cheaper!” Well, I’m old-fashioned and I can’t bring myself to invest in any electronic versions of books. Back to the subject, I want to talk about my personal writing habits that may make my fellow writers cringe to death or you might say “yeah same.” I’m also going to talk about the bad habits I’ve embraced and the ones I want to change.

My first crappy writing habit is that I don’t plan any of my stories ahead of actually writing them. I’ve seen all these “worksheet” type things on Pinterest that are meant to help you really get the details of your story straight and flesh out your characters. I’ve known people who have created entire maps for their fictional worlds. I am proud to say that I don’t do any of that. Sometimes, I can’t even pick my character’s name right away. I’ve changed pronouns midway through a story because I couldn’t decide on the character’s gender. Settings and time periods mean nothing to me until I feel like its important (which might not be until after the first chapter). Every time I tried to map out a story ahead of time, I ended up feeling discouraged because then I feel as though I’ve put too much work into something I don’t even like anymore. Feel free to call me lazy but I am proud of my spontaneous planning.

My second crappy writing habit is I can have a difficult time committing to my stories. I don’t even like some of the stuff I write. One of the most common piece of advice for writers is “The only obligation you have is to love your story.” Guess what? I don’t always like what I’ve written. I’ve thrown away entire stories just because I got fed up or even bored. On one hand, it is very liberating because I don’t have to commit to something I don’t have confidence in. On the other hand, it makes me feel bad because maybe I could have fixed it but I didn’t even want to look at it again. I’ve been doing my best to try to work on my stories, rather than just throw them away when I feel like it. I’ve been pretty good at it too. Some of my ideas just need a little more tweaking.

This next writing habit I’m going to talk about is probably the one I want to change the most. My third crappy writing habit is that I hate sharing my stories. I am horribly self-conscious about what I write and I panic at the thought of having to share my ideas. They sound great in my head but I find myself having a cringe attack when other people read them. As you can imagine, my Fiction Writing I class was absolute hell. But, that class kind of sucked regardless. Anyways, I am trying my best to become more confident about my writing. I am perfectly capable of handling critiques when it comes to my technical writing (i.e. essays) but when it comes to prose I can’t stand it. This one will take a while to break but I am determined to be confident.

What I’m trying to get at here is that there is no way to be a good writer. Every writer has their own style and process that they have honed over the years. You know what they say: it isn’t stupid if it works. You are a writer regardless of what you write, when you write, and how you write. Don’t be afraid to change, either. Keep going and I guarantee that you will find that one story that you fall in love with.

PS: I’ve found a really good writing app called Werdsmith. It’s free and it has been a really good writing tool for me. Check it out if you want.

Posted on February 4, 2018 by bookreviews628 · 4 Comments

Current Favorites: Movie Edition

Hi everyone! I currently don’t have any new books to read and a sprained ankle. But you know what I do have? I have passion for movies. I’m actually currently taking a class called Hollywood Heroines: Women in Film for my senior seminar. This got me thinking and I wanted to share with you some of my favorite mainstream and/or indie films. While I do have a ton of movies I love, I’m just going to talk about five more recent films I’ve seen that struck me in a particular manner. I hope you enjoy this list. Let me know if you have seen any of these and what you thought about them.

The Shape of Water – (Directed by Guillermo Del Toro, 2017)

A good majority of you readers have probably heard of this movie as it has been picking up plenty of award show buzz. If you haven’t, then I will give you a quick synopsis.

A young mute woman named Elisa works as a cleaning lady at a secret government lab. When she encounters a mysterious humanoid fish creature who is being studied, she and the creature form an intimate bond. Elisa decides she must save him from the sinister government agency who have bigger plans.

Now I am a huge fan of Guillermo Del Toro’s work. I was certainly interested by the bizarre and intriguing premise. Also, I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I had read a lot about the sex scenes in this movie. Regardless, it is still a fairy tale-like and romantic movie with plenty of beautiful visuals. With a balance between the otherworldly and the realistic, The Shape of Water is certainly an experience that the viewer can lose themselves in with its romance and fantasy.

Colossal – Directed by Nacho Vigalondo, 2016

I stumbled across this movie after reading a review in Entertainment Weekly. It sounded interesting but I didn’t think I would get around to watching it. I ended up getting a hold of it and decided to watch it on a whim. I certainly didn’t regret it.

Gloria, an unemployed party girl, is kicked out her apartment by her exhausted boyfriend and decides to return to her hometown. Once she returns home, a monster appears in Seoul, South Korea. Gloria begins to realize that she is more connected to this phenomenon than she thought.

I know that a lot of people are not fans of Anne Hathaway but I have a feeling you might change your mind. She portrays probably the most messy and realistic character I’ve seen. The movie does an excellent job reworking the classic monster movie. It’s a nice balance of dark comedy, drama, and sci-fi. Give this one a try if you get a chance.

Arrival – Directed by Dennis Villenueve, 2016

This one is pretty well-known for being snubbed severely during the 2016 movie awards seasons. At first, I didn’t think much of it until I was given the opportunity to watch this movie. Afterwards, I also became angry that this movie got snubbed. I also don’t really remember what the movie was up against. Regardless, here’s the premise:

Twelve stranger spacecrafts land on Earth and no one can figure out why they are here. Linguistics professor Louise Brooks is recruited to figure out a way to communicate with the inhabitants of the space crafts. Soon, she discovers a message that no one was expecting.

This one isn’t your typical alien invasion movie. There isn’t any horror to be found, nor is it overly preachy about the self-destructive nature of humanity or something like that. Instead, this movie focuses on creating an understanding between humans and aliens. What if the aliens have something important to say? Why is language so important? Arrival explores these various themes with its excellent story telling. (There is also a really good plot twist at the end that I won’t spoil.)

The Accountant – Directed by Gavin O’Connor, 2016

I’m a fan of action movies but they tend to get repetitive over the years. When I find one that stands out, I get excited. I do realize that Ben Affleck has been rather controversial recently so I don’t mean to promote him too much but, just hear me out about this movie.

Math savant Christian Wolff has made a career on cooking the books for crime families, mobs, and terrorists organizations. When the US Treasury closes in on him, he must undo the damage he’s done and save a new friend.

I have to give this movie props for having a unique main character. Christian has high-functioning autism and I felt that Affleck portrayed it in a realistic manner. It does somewhat perpetuate the myth that people with autism tend to be savants but it is not unrealistic by any means. It’s refreshing to see a protagonist who breaks the classic “Macho Man” role. If you are a fan of John Wick, then you will definitely like this movie. It is clever, action packed, and stands out in the action genre. I recommend you give this one a chance.

Logan – Directed by James Mangold, 2017

I would be lying to you if I said I wasn’t a huge superhero fan. I love MCU and all of the DC tv shows. The DC movies have yet to completely win me over but Wonder Woman was fantastic. Anyways, I was definitely sad to see Hugh Jackman retire Wolverine but I was at least glad that they gave him and Sir Patrick Stewart such an amazing exit. This movie is currently getting some much deserved Oscar buzz.

In the near future, an aging and reluctant Wolverine is charged with taking care of Professor X, who is going senile. Their quite lives are quickly upended when a young mutant arrives with dark forces following close behind.

The first thing I love about this movie was that they made it R-rated which was perfect for the character of Wolverine. This movie has some great Easter eggs for X-Men fans and give the perfect finale for such iconic characters. It’s touching, violent, and profound. Logan is an experience for any comic book fan as it takes the genre in a different direction that doesn’t rely on heavy special effects or anything too convoluted. (Not that I have a problem with that.)