The Secret History by Donna Tartt (so far)

This book is utterly amazing so far, in that I have to literally force myself to quit reading it each time. It is extremely long and I am around page 400 of 570. It is split into two halves (book 1 and book 2). The first half was very interesting and contained a lot of literary reference which, as an English major, I enjoy immensely! The second half is getting very interesting and the characters are traveling more quickly towards evil. The book is essentially Dionysian and there is much emphasis on the unbalance of the morality and true consciousness. I cannot give away too much, in case one decides to read this book, but there have been two murders thus far, and I predict more to come......

Nora Roberts...bleh

So, Nora Roberts is one of those authors that I only read because my mom or grandma bought a book and lent it to me. She is an okay author, but some of her books are rather mind-numbing. The one I recently finished, Savor the Moment, is a romance about a cake decorator. It is interesting and a cute book, but so far from reality that it is entertaining. Anyhow, she meets a guy, but of course he is rich and she is from a poor family and has built up her business herself. SO obviously, she takes offense when he offers her money to buy groceries and she gets in a big argument that ends up with him proposing to her on the beach. it is one of the endings that make you go, Sweet but too idealistc!
Anyhow, I am now reading on The Secret History by Donna Tartt and it is basically AWESOME. It is about English majors in a private college, how fantastic~

So Many Books, So Little Time

So, right now I am currently reading three books. I hate when you start reading a book that is not THAT great and then you read another one because you can't find the one you started, and then someone gives you a really really really good book, so of course you have to start that one! LOL.
I started with Nora Robert's Savor the Moment, which is not the most intriguing but I am almost finished so I have to finish it now. The next one I started is called The Secret History by Donna Tartt. I started reading this one for a book club for the English majors, and it is super good. I am also rereading A day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Peck, for my senior project. Lots of good books. I will post again when I finish one!

Paper Towns by John Green

What an awesome author for young adults!! I was recommended this book by a teacher I am observing in ACHS, who teaches seniors. It is a young adult novel, but I would not give it to anyone below a junior, because of sexual content and discussion of suicide. However, if the student were mature enough to handle it, I think they would really get a lot out of the book. I have been running out of time to read lately, so I am only a hundred or so pages into it, but it is hard to put down. I keep it by my bed so I can work on it each night and each time I read a good 15 minutes past the time I want to go to sleep.
So far, this boy, Quentin has live beside this girl, Margo, his entire life. When they were really young the found a guy who had been shot while they were riding their bikes. It flashes forward to senior year of high school and they are no longer best friends. But one night, Margo comes to his window and takes him on an adventure all over town. The next day at school she is missing, She has left clues for Q to find her, but they are very difficult. So far, everyone either thinks she committed suicide or will be back soo. Q thinks it is suicide.
I cannot wait to read more, as I am very interested into what has happened to her!

Various Magazine Articles

So, I have been on a kick of reading magazines a lot. There seems to be a lot going on in the world that is extremely confusing, so I have been trying to keep up on my current events. I get Time magazine and even though there is usually only one good article per issue, the magazine was cheap to buy, so I got it. I read a recent article about how important bullying prevention is and how bullying is different today, than it was for previous generations. The article talked about how bullying before technology was different, because you had to catch your victim in order to torment them. Today, you simply just have to send a nasty facebook message, Tweet, or youtube video. The article was extremely prevalent due to the recent teen suicides, this past month. Another Time article I read was about the Baptist minister Phelps and whether his protests are supported by the first amendment. Personally, I believe he is allowed free speech, but at the same time is assaulting verbally the mourners at various funerals. His protests are very slanderous also, and he should be held accounatble for them. I am also reading on a book called Wanted, which is fairly mindless, but easy to read. It is a story about an Amish girl, who was wild during her rumspringa, and is now worried that her past will catch up with her. I am only on page 80 in that book so far. I would guess that I have read an hour and a half to two hours, between the articles and the book.

Hearts Afire/Restless Hearts by Marta Perry

Ok, so I know this sounds like a really corny romance book, but it is not all that bad. I aometimes like to read books that I can let my mind wander when I read. It is based in Dutch Pennsylvania and introduces the life of the Amish. Anyhow, it is two stories within one book and, yes, they are both love stories, but they are not too sappy. Overall, a good book, even if lacking a few elements of suspense and mystery. :) The two books combine were 430 pages. It probably took me around 5 hours total to read the two. I would write more but I am off to work and wanted to make sure to have this on here before you check tonight. I can add more later tonight when I get off work.

Bloodroot by Amy Greene

This is a really neat book. It is set in the Appalachian Mountains. The book starts off with two people telling the story in th 1970's, then the next part of the book is two people in 1990 telling the story. So far I am only on the second part of the book. It is mostly about a couple of families who lived in the mountains and how they grew up. The central character of the book is a lady named Myra. Some parts of the book could be difficult to understand for someone who is not strong in reading, because it is written in the dialect of the mountains. I am on page 130 and have read an hour and 45 minutes.