Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy





This is the first time since middle school that I have listened to any type of audio broadcasting. It is certainly a big change from just reading a book. It changes the feel compared to silence. I would rather read this in comic form because it would make it easier for me to read. I tend to get lost quite easily when things don't go at my own pace. I think anyone could agree with that!

Listening to this made me crack up! The sarcastic nature of the narrator constantly made me laugh out loud. I have always liked thick sarcasm and sardonic senses of humor. At other moments I would get kind of lost in the conversation. Like the word "Beetle Juice" was mentioned and I just kept thinking of the movie. The narrator pretty much makes fun of humans and how flawed they actually are. I agree with this because we are flawed and sometimes it just amazes me how stupid people can actually be.

The longer I listened to this audio the more I was confused. The narrator makes the man of the tale seem that he is slightly bonkers. The man is constantly trying to explain his situation to the people around him, and most of them are in denial. I like this audio because it makes me think about how the story is told and the way the people in the story act.

All in all I liked it. I would much rather read it myself because it appeals more to me. I am able to imagine the scenarios the way I want them to be in my head. Thats why I believe that books should not be made into movies. They absolutely butcher the movies and it makes people like me, who actually read the book very angry. Books are made books for a reason! I'm sorry I just think that things should be left how they were initially intended. Sadly this world only cares about money and greed, so they try everything they can to make a buck.

I recommend listening to this if you want to constantly giggle to yourself, or even laugh out loud! It is definitely a different experience.

The Handmaid's Tale




Let me just say this book is wrong on so many levels..

Offred is a Handmaid in what is known as the Republic of Gilead, and it is a totalitarian and theocratic state that has now replaced the United States. Due to extremely low reproduction rates, Handmaids are made to reproduce children for elite couples. They must do this because most of the women of the elite "Commanders" are unable to have children. So they must partake in a wordless intercourse with the commander while his wife copies what might be called sexual intercourse. This place restricts women's freedom, so they are only allowed to leave the house to go shopping, and basically have no privacy at all in their life.

Offred wasn't always a Handmaid though. There was a time that she had a family before all of this hell broke loose. They had planned to escape this type of ruling and try to live a better life. However, they were caught and Offred was separated from her husband and her daughter. She barely recalls the memories of that time due to what the Eyes did to her. The Eyes are the spies of this type of government. Throughout the book the Eyes are secretly keeping an eye on her. It is absolutely horrible!!

 This book actually made me incredibly angry at how these women were treated. They are basically walking sperm banks that are made for old men's convenience. Not only that but the church is a big player in this. They condemn women and men for the slightest crime as they see fit. They display hanging corpses out in the open for everyone to see, which sends all of them a message. Its actually kind of scary because this book was written and published a long time ago. To actually see what was going around in this authors head must have been wild. It makes me think that this could ultimately happen one day. Well I will be damned that I would let this happen to me!

Despite how angry some chapters made me, this was an excellent book! I didn't really like the way that it ended though. It was a definite cliffhanger. When I got to the end I was like, "What! thats it?" I wish that this book would be made into a series!It makes you think that we actually have it pretty good compared to most places. We don't know how cruel our world can be. I hope we never have to experience them either.

Dawn



This book went by amazingly fast! It pulled me in right from the beginning. It is a fast paced novel that will have you guessing at every turn of the page. I enjoy books like this because I am able to quickly read them and enjoy them.

This book is about Lilith Lyapo, who is a human found in the Andes Mountains, and is brought back to life through biochemically induced Hybernation. The ones who brought her back are known as the Oankali, who are extraterrestrials. The Oankali are are who are left after there was a nuclear war on Earth which caused the near-extinction of the human race and also 80% of the population. What the Oankali want is to colonize thw world with hybrids of humans and Oankali.

This part of the book freaked me out because there were three different types of genders, man, woman, and the Ooloi. The Ooloi are able to change the genetic make up of their bodies to fit either sex. They also have powers that seductive neural stimulate and also they can basically read minds. Breeding with the Oankali produces offspring that are genetically altered in numerous ways. This makes me squirm!! It makes me this way because I believe it isn't right to genetically alter children. They should be born in their original states. When everything is chosen for them they no longer posses their own individuality.

Another reason why I'm creeped out is because this book makes me think of Splice, a scary movie. In the movie these two scientists genetically engineer this life form from the genetic materials of different species. The product of their experimentation is a creature that rapidly develops physically as well as mentally. It eventually becomes slightly human, but much more dangerous. It is able to change its gender because of it inner molecular structure. Long story short this movie scares the hell out of me! It strengthens my reasoning behind genetic altering because something can always go wrong. There are certain boundaries in this world that are not meant to be crossed. However, people today are certainly pushing them to the breaking point.

This book was really good and I plan to read the other books that come after this first novel. I believe there are two more!

Space Opera

Shards of Honor

This book was also one of the genres that I usually do not pick for my preferences. It was slow to me at first, but then it gradually started to pick up. I typically don't read this type of genre, but I gave it a shot. It wasn't that bad actually. It just took me some time to get into it.

The story kicks off instantly. Usually when reading books they don't always start off with a drastic event, however this one did. Our main character, Cordelia and her crew are exploring a new world, and then her camp is attacked. She is shocked to see a solider that she has never seen before, and ends up hitting her head on a rock and rendering her unconscious. When she eventually comes to, she discovers that most of her crew has escaped, but now she is stranded with two men. One of the men is an injured crewman of her ship and the other is Captain Lord Aral and is is known as the "Butcher of Komarr", but he is there because he was seen as a traitor where he was from.

They all end up working together to hike to a secret Barrayaran base to seek help. Along the way Cordelia slowly starts to change her opinion of Aral as she starts to see his true character. She soon realizes that her is nothing like the stories say, and that he is not cruel an ruthless. She soon finds herself having feelings for him, and he also has mutual feelings toward her. What eventually happens is that he asks her to marry him and she says yes. Things aren't as easy as they seem because Cordelia must try to get her crew and the people to understand that Aral is not dangerous. She wants to marry him without having problems with the others.

To me the romance was a little bit too sudden. It reminded me of the classic good girl likes bad boy scenario. All in all it was a pretty good book and an easy read. I just wish that the romance could have developed in a deeper way. I like when things get a little crazy. It helps develop an attachment to the characters and makes you become even more immersed in the book.

Snow Crash



This is the first book that I have ever read from Neal Stephenson, and it was quite interesting. When I first started to read it, it seemed to move at a slow pace. However, it started to pick up quite nicely and it eventually became a pretty fast read!

From the beginning of the book I would get confused by the main characters name, Hiro Protagonist. I didn't really understand why the author would choose this name, but I have seen my fair share of odd names in literature. I liked how this book delved into the nightclub scenes and everything that goes on. This is the perfect setting for the book and it unfold beautifully! Honestly I prefer settings like this one because I am able to get a feeling of mystery and anxiousness. These feelings help build my interest for what is going to happen next. I also enjoy this type of setting because I am able to relate to the scenery, and how it happens in real life. I usually don't like when a place or setting is too far from reality because I become disconnected from the book.

The story itself was very good and I am tempted to read it again. I say this because I believe that there are certain parts of the book that I became a little foggy on. It didn't keep me from finishing it though. Throughout the book I kept remembering two other books that I have read a couple of years back that relate to this book. The books are called Unwind, and Little Brother. They both involve a world that is thrown into hectic chaos, due to crazy genetic altering as well as major hacking. Both of these books are great reads and I highly suggest them!

This book and it's characters kept throwing me in circles because it was hard to distinguish some of the interrelationships that they had. The world that they live in is also very different from what I would usually read about. Hiro has a business card that states he is last of the worlds "freelance" hackers and Greatest sword fighter in the world. This kid was delivering pizza for the Mafia!! when has that actually become a thing?! There is also a virus for electronics that is also a drug for human consumption, how does that even work?! Regardless, this book had twist and turns that had me hanging on the edge. All the terms that I find normal in reality are completely skewed in this book. It has me asking myself if it is actually like what the book says, or is what I think actually a lie?

Babel 17



Let me start by saying I have never read anything in this genre before. It isn't something that I would typically choose to read for my personal enjoyment. However, I read this book and actually liked it. I also admit I have never watched any of the Star Wars movies. I think that I might have missed out by not watching them because I think that if I read them I might have a way better understanding of this type of unfamiliar genre.

Babel 17 was a very quick read. You become immersed in the characters world right away and are able to see the relationships between each of the characters. This book was quite different from the books I have read involving outside influences on the main character. Usually the influences are good or bad, and in this case it is both. Usually when a character faces a dilemma or dangerous decision you see the inner struggle of the choices of good and evil. In this book our lead character is actually affected by the influence of her crew that alerts her to the unknown danger she is getting into.

I really like this twist because I don't really see it n many of the books that I read. I like it because it adds more depths to the crew around Cordelia and their relationship. I think its also cool to read about the types of cool "body mods" or body modifications. One of the crew members even has a tail!

What is also quite different about this book is that it is about language. It is a type of language that is extremely dangerous to even speak of. Cordelia specializes in different types of languages and just so happens to discover it. I have never read a book that was based on a language that jeopardizes the world. It is something that is probably not seen in many other literature works beside this.

Due to this factor I slowly lost interest in it. It isn't due to the author's style or the plot of the book, it is just not my cup of tea if you know what I mean. It is kind of difficult to read something that is completely out of your general genre zone. However, by reading this book I was able to enjoy some of the highlights of this genre. I enjoyed the fact that it was on a planet that was unknown to me. I like when a book tells of a place that doesn't truly exist because then I am able to imagine and envision the space to what I think it might look like. Someone else could see it completely different, and that's what makes it so great!! It offers the reader another dimension while going through the story with the characters.

Night Circus



This was actually a pretty fast read for me. Right from the start is pulls you in with all of these intricate details. Then it trows you for a loop when the characters actually have crazy powers that they harness with their minds. I really enjoyed the details that the author gave throughout the book. I have always enjoyed major details as well as small ones. I have always had a knack for remembering those minute details that usually get quickly overlooked. And what makes it better is that those details usually end up becoming a major key in the book. Also with details that are so small I have a knack for remembering them perfectly. I think books that lack detail are less appealing to me as a reader and I slowly start to lose interest. When it seems to drag on and not really set a mood for the setting or the characters, I tend to stop reading it.

I also enjoyed the story line! I always love books that involve a fight to survive. In this case it would be a duel between two very powerful teenagers. Sadly they are just pawns in this cruel world they have grown up in. They have been trained over the years to hone their skills in the hope of their teachers to win this duel. However, these two end up getting together despite their teacher's knowledge.

This book kind of reminds me of Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I say this because in both books the characters are faced with life risking challenges for the sake of other peoples enjoyment. They are faced to fight to the death against each other. They also end up unwittingly falling in love with the ones that could be a dangerous threat. While facing such dangerous obstacles the characters are drawn or forced to help each other with the hope of survival. I recommend both books for anyone who enjoys awesome fight scenes and unexpected romance!

Knowing this, I really enjoyed this book and what unfolds within it. I think for some the beginning might seem to drag on with all these crazy details, but it really adds to the feeling of the book and the spaces around the characters. I also think it was really great to start with the father's past and introducing his daughter, which was an unknown element to him at the time. He learns quickly that she possesses the same powers as him, if not stronger. This is when the unyielding training unfolds on his daughter, our main character. She plays as his pawn from the very beginning.

All in all I truly enjoyed this book, it was quite refreshing!

The Ocean at the End of the Lane







This was my first time reading a Neil Gaiman book. I think I'm missing out on something important!!
I really enjoyed this book and the way it was written. It catches your interest right from the beginning and continues to drag you in further and further. This is why I love to read books. I love when a book is so good that you have to finish it right away. I have a really bad habit of doing this, and it ends up with me spending fifteen dollars on a three-hundred page book that I finish that same day!

The book starts out with a Man who has remembered his past while attending a funeral of one of his loved ones. He leaves abruptly in a daze while thinking of his past and the things that occurred to him as a kid. Soon he ends up arriving at the place where he grew up when he was younger. He ends up walking to the end of the lane, which is where he was told there was an ocean.

The area where the whole story unfolds is completely different from many magic realism and contemporary fantasy books of the ones today. I say this because in Gaiman's story, the setting is somewhere rural and away from civilization. In most of the recent books in this genre the settings take place within the cities. I like this change because it makes you wonder why the author chose such a setting. Sometimes the setting is the key to how the entire book will turn out. I like this approach when story telling!

This book reminds me of a book that I have read in the past. The book was called The City of Bones, by Cassandra Clare. It reminds me of this book because it is almost the complete opposite of Gaiman's. It is a similar genre, but the settings, characters, and story line kind of shadow that of The Ocean at the End of the Lane. The city of bones tells about a girl from New York, who is suddenly thrown into a world of demons and "The Fallen". The fallen are known as the Shadow Hunters. They are the ones who destroy the demons throughout the world. However, not everyone can see them. Those who share the blood of shadow hunters are the only ones who can see and be seen by them. I really enjoy books that make me second guess myself throughout the story. There have been many times that I would start reading a book and then easily guess the ending and be correct. In Gaiman's I had to start second guessing from the very beginning! When this happens I start to get deeply interested in the plot and what would come next. I believe this book hit many points that I look for when reading. I couldn't stop reading it.

Harry Potter!







This week I read Harry Potter. I have seen all of the Harry potter movies that have been shown in theaters. I liked the movies, but usually I read a book and never watch the movies because it usually ends up bad. I don't like when they try to make these movies,but leave out important elements. When they do this I think that they are ruining the book for those who had already read it. It just isn't the same. Anyway back to the book!

I read the very first book of the Harry Potter series. This book was really good with details and secret meanings. The story tells of a boy who was taken in by his aunt and uncle, due to his parents being deceased. Harry is not a normal child, he is actually a wizard! This is where the story begins.

Along the way Harry makes those special friends, Ron and Hermine, that last a lifetime and experiences that will always be with him. He and his friends go to this school that is meant for witches and wizards. Through this school they are able to excel in their craft and face certain tests to challenge them. While Harry is here he meets Dumbledore, the head master, and Hagrid, a giant man who pretty much fills the role of Harry's father. These people make Harry question what happened to his parents and why.

Harry's curiosity gets the better of him as well as his friends. They start looking for answers based on certain objects that could help them. Something that comes up is the Sorcerers Stone. This stone is said to have had an awesome power that can grant any witch or wizard its power. Harry and his friends try to find this stone and try to discover answers about it and its whereabouts. Soon they face many dangerous obstacles trying to get closer to the stones location. They believe that they are being secretive in what they are doing, but there are always eyes watching them from the shadows. Some of these eyes are closer than Harry could have ever imagined.

The Hobbit!!









I have never seen the Lord of The Rings movies or read The Hobbit. I must say that I really enjoyed reading this book! The story tells of a hobbit, which are small people who love food, boos and good cheer. His name is Bilbo Baggins, and he is tricked into an epic adventure! He is not young, but middle aged and this surprised me because most of the main characters are quite young. However this hobbit doesn't want to have an adventure, he wants to keep to himself. Too bad for Bilbo, since a wizard has other plans for him. These plans will soon forever change Bilbo's life.

As I continue reading this book I really start to enjoy the change in Bilbo's character. At the beginning of the book Bilbo doesn't want to partake in any adventure, but is soon tricked into a quest with a band guys to find treasure. It sounds fun, but there is a dangerous hazard that stands in their way in form of a malicious dragon. This dragon is protecting a great treasure that has been left inside a mountain for years. Thorin, who is the leader of the group that Bilbo is traveling with, wants to claim this treasure because it belonged to his past elders. However, there are certain obstacles that they soon face.

Throughout the book Bilbo evolves drastically as a character. He is at first timid and afraid of change and danger. As the story goes on he becomes more confident, brave and willing to complete his adventure. He also becomes very cunning when faced with dangerous tasks. What helps him develop as a character is an object that he finds in a cave. This ring is special because it can make the wearer invisible. However, this ring is actually extremely dangerous. Bilbo has this ring in his possession and due to this he is able to save his comrades from certain death.

All in all, I loved reading this book. It was different from what I would have usually read. The way that he set up the characters and settings was amazing. Now I really want to watch the movies and see just how much changes with Bilbo and his ring.

Aunt Maria









I read Aunt Maria by Diana Wynne Jones. It was an ok book it just had a slow start. As I continued to read it got better and towards the end it was interesting. Throughout the book Mig's mom was a constant pain to me. She fit every bad archetype that a woman could have. There are any, such as being in complete denial. When Mig was trying to explain an urgent situation to her, she would just completely deny or would except anything Mig had to say. She was completely oblivious to pretty much every situation. This woman made me so irritated and eventually I thought that if every woman was like her then there would be no hope for the human race. I can say this because I'm a woman and the fact that this character aggravated me so is a sign that there are such archetypes.

Aunt Maria on the other hand is very manipulative and evil. She feigns as being an old woman who cant help herself, but she is actually a very cruel witch with secrets. In my opinion she fits the typical stereotype for a witch. She is older, mean, doesn't like people unless they can be useful to her, and she lived alone until Mig's family showed up.

After being with their Aunt for a while they started to notice strange things about her. Kids will be kids and they eventually figure out that their aunt isn't just a mean old hag. She's a mean old witch and tends to turn any threat into an animal. Including Mig's brother Cris, who was turned into a wolf after confronting Aunt Maria for being a witch. No need to worry he turns back to his original form eventually.

I believe that the witch is slowly making a comeback on the horror scene. They are starting to just exhaust zombies, vampires and werewolves. By doing this the genre is slowly starting to die in my opinion. There is only so much you can do to the point ridiculous failure. Take Sharknado for example. That is one of the most stupid horror films I have ever seen. It is literally as the title states, a "Shark Tornado". They just need to delve back into the old horror and get some new inspiration. This is where I think that Witches have a chance to dominate the genre. I haven't seen a witch movie in Hollywood in  that was actually worth the eleven dollars to watch in a very long time. A movie that I have just recently seen that has any kind of witch in it was Hansel and Gretel, Witch Hunters. It had some pretty cool witches, and I would like to see even more. Hopefully they reintroduce them back into the horror scene. I want to see some epic battles of magic and nightmares.

The "New Weird."





I read Monster Island, and I really enjoyed it. It tells about a man named Dekalb, who has to go on a suicide mission in order to be reunited with his daughter. He is assigned to a group of soldiers, which are girls who range in ages eighteen to thirteen. However, they are not normal soldiers because they are trained in the art of killing the Undead. Yep, Zombies.

The setting takes place in a world that is ravaged by a horrible epidemic that brings the dead back to life. When they reanimate themselves they are not what you would call friendly. They come back with a hunger that cannot be sated by what we call food. The undead crave the life force that is found in human flesh. They will do whatever they can to try and quench their bloodlust.

Dekalb and the girls are assigned a mission to find Antiretrovirals(Drugs to help fight HIV), to try and save a woman known as Mama Halima. She is a Warlord who is in charge of keeping Somalia free of the epidemic. In exchange for the drugs, Dekalb's daughter will receive education,  food, shelter, and safety from the dying world. This is why Dekalb is so desperate and willing to do this mission. He just wants to get back to his daughter.

This is where Gary comes in. He is Undead, but he is not like the others. He wasn't bitten or infected by the epidemic. He made himself into one of the undead by using his knowledge as a premed student. Dekalb and the girls come across Gary and decide to take him with them. This might be the key to their survival.

The "New Weird" is something that isn't quite common. Gary is the new weird in this book. Never before in any of the zombie books that I have read was there a talking and smart zombie. Gary is considered the "Smartest dead man in the world." This is why it is so different from the usual zombie books. Gary is able to think for himself and try to ignore his hunger and control the living dead!?...

The idea of "New Weird" is to combine something irrational with rational. It is to in my opinion try to lead you astray from your usual thoughts about certain things. In this book I constantly went back and forth with trying to define Horror from the Supernatural.

All in all I like the aspect of second guessing how the book plays out in the end. The New Weird definitely piques my interest and I think this will steadily start to change the Horror genre.

The Kwaidan



While reading all of these stories my perceptions and expectations of horror were thrown off. As I was reading all of these I noticed that it was very different from the western cultures' view on horror. In western horror, the horror genre typically has a fight between good and evil. An example would be in Werewolf horror books or movies. The story centers around a person who either has a strange or dangerous meeting with an animal(wolf or rabid canine), and then starts to lose themselves to a horrid animalistic change. This results in the person having to gain control of their usual self(good) and the beastly urges(evil).

However, I noticed that in the stories there seems to be no battle between good and evil. Instead it is the influence of otherworldly beings, spirits. These spirits appear to be frightening, but by the end of the story it leaves you in a kind of "cliff hanger", which is left for us to contemplate and decide. This is a completely different approach from western horror and I find it more appealing to read. The sense of not knowing what will happen next makes me more interested.

Another thing I noticed that was different from western horror is that the influence of nature and folklore. Within each of the stories, nature was tied to each of the otherworldly phenomena. It was connected by local legends that were relevant to their own culture. I thought this was very engaging and also told you how influential and connected it is to Chinese/Japanese culture. I had previous knowledge of some of the customs of the Chinese and Japanese culture. One of them was the belief that peoples' souls could be reborn in nature or in another time. So when someone had died, it was believed that they would be reincarnated as a plant, animal, or human being.

All in all the stories were great reads. They made me think about how much different they are compared to western horror. It makes you think about how much that ones culture and beliefs play an important role. It kind of makes you as, "does the battle of good and evil really matter?."

The Relationships Within Twilight





The relationship between Bella and Edward is very odd to me. Edward is a vampire who appears as a teenage boy, even though he has been alive for many, many years. Bella is just an average teenage girl who happens to randomly meet Edward in awkward situations. This in turn starts a relationship between the two of them.

This is when I thought that the book was odd. Typically people would want to stay away from vampires, but Bella is driven towards Edward in an almost excessive manner. That reason being, she wants to become like him. Edward didn't ask to be a vampire in the first place. He had to go through much pain and suffering to be where he is today. That's why he is angry with Bella for even thinking of wanting to be like him. She couldn't possibly understand the traumatic pain and suffering. Edward is still attracted to her despite her crazy way of thinking. Edward knows how it feels to live forever in a body that is cold and dead. He understands how he must kill to sustain his bloodlust and hunger. Bella however, believes that everything will work out as long as she has Edward always by her side.

I think that her drive to become like him is so strong and unnerving that it actually makes you want to see if it will actually work out. This is where I believe Edward can be used to outline the rest of the book. When they are both together they usually have to face some sort of conflict that in the end, reveals more of their true nature as human or vampire. By viewing their relationship further in the book they don't really have much in common. They don't have many things that they both find interesting. The only thing that they do have in common is their interest in each other. Edward is interested that Bella is willing to stay near him when she is a human. Bella is interested in Edward because he is so unlike any person she has met. Her curiosity and eagerness to be like him helps push the story, but it kind of creeps me out.

By Edward trying to keep Bella human, it shows how much of his human like aspects and morals he still has. Seeing that Edward thinks this way makes me believe that he accepts what he is, but he has major inner term oil. The term oil would be trying to keep Bella a human as long as possible. This becomes harder later on due to certain circumstances that ultimately test Edward.

Gothic as perceived in Contemporary Culture

 "Gothic" can be perceived as over exaggerated in contemporary culture in many ways, such as in fashion and appearance. My perception of the Gothic culture is based mostly on appearance and life style. I believe that many people see how a life style, or an amount of dark clothing can "label" a person as being "Goth." 

Appearances is one main factor. I'm not saying that any person that fits this description is Goth, I'm just saying this through observation. Most of the people that I could consider as Gothic would be those who have dark hair, wear dark make up around eyes or mouth, have a fair complexion, and quite a few tattoos or piercings. Another factor involves their style of clothing. Typically Gothic clothing is constantly wearing black clothing with rips, holes, pins, spikes, chains, dark band names, ect.

These two factors are so over exaggerated because it seems that in order to fit this description people have to either force it, or embody it. If a person must force this image to portray a Gothic culture, then they are in my opinion, not Goth. Those people who have been living and embodying this type of culture for a long time appear to resemble what the term "Gothic" means. 

In today's culture "Gothic" is usually used to describe something dark. This is different for those who think of Gothic Architecture and see it as beautiful, not dark. That's how I realized that peoples' perceptions over time can be changed just by the word and how it is used to describe things. Personally if someone were to walk up to me and say that the object they were holding was Gothic, I would think to myself "Is it dark and evil looking?" It's just out of habit that I think this because I have subconsciously trained my brain into thinking that's what it means. 

This is why I believe that in today's culture Gothic can be perceived as over exaggerated based on fashion as well as appearance. There are also many other things that show how Gothic can be perceived as over exaggerated in contemporary culture today such as images, books, and even T.V.