Literature Extravaganza

Elevation  by Steven King is a realistic fiction novel about a man named Scott who lives in a small town called Castle Rock. He leads a fairly normal life, as a web engineer, and he was recently divorced. But all of a sudden, his life doesn't become so normal. He starts losing weight at a constant rate, despite his body not getting any skinnier. But what's even weirder is the fact that if he holds or puts on things that weigh some amount, the weight doesn't change. He is the same weight with only a t-shirt and shorts as wearing a 30lbs coat. This is evidently a problem, but he feels better and happier than ever before. He realizes that this will probably lead to his death, but decides to not seek medical help as there probably won't be any treatment and live his best life. Along with this conflict, Scott has fairly new neighbors, a married lesbian couple. One is a very shy, nice, and well-mannered woman, and the other is cold and rude. They are trying to run a rest...

Of Mice and Men is a moving tale about two migrant workers, George and Lennie. The two characters are vastly different, with George small and smart, while Lennie is big, strong, and very unintelligent. The two ran away from Weed, where they had been working on a ranch before Lennie got in trouble after being accused of raping a girl, though he had only wanted to feel the fabric of her dress. They then start working on a new ranch in California and hope to save up enough money to realize their dream-- to buy a farm of their own. However, they encounter a few problems during their time on the ranch that ultimately shatter their vision. I found George and Lennie to be very interesting characters. George is constantly exasperated at Lennie’s stupidity and forgetfulness, yet cares about him a lot. Lennie admires and mimics George’s actions, even though George often yells at him and tells him how much better his life could be without him. “If I was alone, I could live so easy....

            I recently finished reading Paper Towns , a realistic fiction book by John Green. Paper Towns takes place in modern day Florida, where the main character Quentin and his neighbor Margo go out on a school night to pull pranks on their enemies. When Quentin goes to school the next day, nobody knows where Margo went. Throughout the rest of the book Quentin tries to find Margo by following clues she left behind.              One aspect of Paper Towns that I think makes the book special is the way Green expresses the characters. They all have specific traits and personalities that make them unique. For example when Margo says, “The rules of capitalization are so unfair to words in the middle of a sentence.” I think that simple quotes like this can give the reader an idea of Margo's personality.  Paper Towns always shows how the characters react to things and after a while you get ...

Recently I began reading Liquid Rules: The Delightful and Dangerous Substances That Flow Through Our Lives by Mark Miodownik, a material scientist, and so far I am liking it. This book is non-fiction that discusses liquid substances. Throughout the book, the author dives deeper into the liquids he comes in contact with on a London to San Francisco airplane flight. He explains how liquids work and talks about interesting natural occurrences. I have always found non-fictional books less appealing as there are often no characters to get attached to, no captivating story lines. I find them harder to get into. However, I find Liquid Rules to be very interesting and I have gotten hooked. One thing that I like about this book is the style in which it is written. Miodownik has an amazing voice and gives excellent examples. Even as someone who knows very little about material sciences, I was able to understand what was being said and find it interesting. One passage th...

I recently read the book "The Messenger" by Lois Lowry. This book is the third installment in the  "The Giver" series. The book is about an adolescent boy named Matty, who lives in a dystopian future society called "Village". In this village people are always kind and friendly to one another, and they don't hold back any secrets; almost the perfect ideal society. They let in refugees from other places where violence,theft , and lies are all part of the life there. However, things are starting to change. People start trading away parts of themselves in order to gain something they desire to the Trademaster. Because of this, people are becoming mean and greedy. They want to close off the always-open borders of Village, and not let anyone else in. Matty and his mentor, Seer, seek to find out how to stop this and get rid of this plague of unkindness spreading through the city. Personally, I found this book really exciting, unique, and fun, and I th...

            Near the end of this summer I finished Looking for Alaska by John Green. Looking for Alaska is a fictional book written in the view of Miles “Pudge” Halter who is a rising junior at Culver Creek Boarding School. It takes place in modern day Alabama where Miles spends his first year after moving from Florida. Initially Pudge is not enthusiastic about going but he finds himself enjoying it more than expected. At his new school he finds new friends and goes on many trips with them. Although he has fun with his friends, near the end, one of Pudge’s closest friends Alaska, dies in a car accident.             Pudge’s two closest friends are Alaska and “The Colonel.” To me they both have unique characteristics, but I think Alaska has more depth in her emotions overall. The trait that struck me the most about Alaska was her unique behavior. She always either had strong emotions or said somethin...

I have never enjoyed reading nonfiction much until I came across a couple of books that really interested me. Out of those books, What the Dog Saw and Other Adventures, really stood out to me. I had picked it off the shelf thinking it was a book about dogs, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. It is instead a collection of stories written by Malcolm Gladwell for The New Yorker that show readers the world through new lenses.  The stories in this book are about seemingly dull topics, such as hairspray, plagiarism, and kitchen gadgets. However, upon closer inspection, readers realize the anecdotes are actually about the power of a good slogan, how copyright tramples creativity, and the strategies of a good advertiser. They are ones that make you think, that cause you see something in a completely new light.  What the Dog Saw is split into three sections. The first part, “Obsessives, Pioneers, and Other Varieties of Minor Genius,” describes people who are very good at ...