Reading Wishlist

Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk// The Shining by Stephen King// Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher// Cockroaches by Jo Nesbo// Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs// Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh// Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin.

Book Talk Prezi

Book 3 Review

At thirteen she was diagnosed with lung cancer, ever since young Hazel was not able to take a breath without being hooked up to a machine or carrying her oxygen tank around. Meeting mysterious Augustus Waters in the support group defiantly made her life brighter and exhilarating. Both of them have truly tasted what life is really about, survival. Hazel accepted that she is a “grenade” that can explode any minute, but that does not stop her from living each day to the fullest. Hazel’s and Gus’s trip to Amsterdam proves it. Their mutual knowledge of true pain is what makes their relationship so powerful.

Loss and survival as the main theme, makes the reader appreciate what they have. John Green did a fantastic job at making readers emotional throughout the book. An abundant amount of people can relate to the struggles of having cancer, but reading this book certainly makes you experience every second of it. The Fault in Our Stars contains many examples of the suffering cancer brings. However one might feel uncomfortable with the jokes about sickness throughout the book that portrays those cases. For example when Gus’s friend Isaac had his eye surgery, he became blind. This quote demonstrates one of the troubled remarks: “You can’t just not contact your former boyfriend after his eyes get cut out of his freaking head.” Pg. 226. Numerous jokes were made by Hazel and Gus towards his disability. Even though they didn’t mean it in a hurtful or mocking way, some more sensitive readers might not appreciate those jests.

The attachment to characters is what makes the book so moving. Hazel appeals to many because of her open mind and progressiveness. She doesn’t let society standards get to her; Hazel always stays herself and does not pretend to be anyone else. For example, when Gus and Hazel were driving in the car, she wanted to appear as if she is not a “walking corpse”, she was pulled out of school for three years at the time. This depicts that even though there is an urge to mask out the truth Hazel still chooses to be her genuine self “I considered lying. No one likes a corpse, after all. But in the end I told the truth.” Pg. 24. Small talks bore her and profoundness thrills Hazel. Augustus and Hazel shared spiritual connection because of their outlook of the world. Bound by misfortunes of their physical state, they perceive what true pain is, and don't take anything for granted. Complete understanding that neither of them might live for long, makes both of these characters strong and unique. An example confirming their neutrality towards death “He was looking for the most hurtful way to tell the truth, but of course I already knew the truth." Pg. 193 In this scene Peter Van Houten confronts Hazel's sickness as a side effect of dying and how she is fated to live out the days as the child she was when diagnosed. Reacting passively, Hazel just brushed it off. Not many would accept that they might not live till the next day; most people get startled by the fact and therefore seeking for the miracle and hoping for the best to come.

The Fault in Our Stars merits four and half stars for its complexity and heavy topic that fills with different sentiments from beginning to an end.    

If you want to get a glimpse of what the book is like , watch this trailer:

 

 

Post 9

"Whats your name?" "Hazel" " I mean your full name." "Hazel Grace Lancaster." This right here is said with a smile and it immediately sends the reader on a journey with Hazel and Gus. The reader almost suddenly develops sympathy,empathy, and compassion towards Hazel.What we see with Hazel is not much more than what she tells us, but there is so much more to her than what she says. For the reader to truly become Hazel's friend, they have to be able to read between the lines. Being diagnosed with cancer at the age of thirteen is not something a lot of people can relate to, but through this book you definitely experience every second of it. Hazel takes you on an adventure within a limited number of days, Hazel takes you on her infinity. You can tell she knows her life won't last forever but the fact that she doesn't take anything anything for granted only enhances the readers love for her. Inhaling and exhaling we take for granted, because it’s a natural thing, but Hazel appreciates every breath. While the less fortunate, don’t even remember what It felt like to have good lungs or take a breath on their own without the help of any machines. What makes Hazel more unique is her perception of life. There is more to her than meets the eye, which is why Hazel doesn't remotely suit her, but Hazel Grace, as Gus says, indeed does.

Post 8

Non-fiction, Fiction, Memoirs, all “labels”. Books have labels on them because they aren’t all the same, There’s something about each one that makes it unique. We all take something from a book, we don’t memorize all of it, we take the most important parts, the parts that stick with us. Some of the most special parts in a book to us may be fact or fiction but who ever said that it was bad to hold onto something that’s not true, it just makes everything intertwine together. Fact and fiction come together ; there isn’t one without the other. Nonfiction… how true, 80/20, if the author adds half-truths it enhances the book. As long as there isn’t a specified identifiable personal opinion within it, one really just need to “go with it” because if a nonfiction book didn’t have half-truths it would be pretty boring to read. Reading between the lines and bending the truth makes a memoir that much more relatable. Memoirs are supposed to be relatable to the readers, at least they should be. One of the most interesting autobiography memoirs I’ve read is titled A Dog’s Life. What I find so fascinating about this book is that it’s written from a dog’s point of view, in her perspective, a stray dog, telling us about her experience and the most breathtaking thing about it is that the reader can feel what she’s talking about even though it’s a dog. Obviously a dog didn’t write the story, but it is a memoir in the perspective of a dog.  If we don’t have fact and fiction together what do we have? Bend the truth… bring out something creative but keep the facts and just bring them together, it’s not a crime, it’s a blessing to the book.

Post #7

  

Post #6 Readicide

By forcing students to read literature that the majority of them don't enjoy, reading becomes an unpleasant experience. For example,Their Eyes were watching God, was a text i didn't enjoy reading because the dialect was tough to read. Although the book had merit, the dialect was difficult and caused me to not appreciate the book as much as i could have. Reading the same genre over and over can also cause books to become less enjoyable. Mixing up genres would be a good solution. For example: after reading a classic book or play, students should be offered three or more of the current popular books to choose from like The Hunger Games, anything by John Green, and Divergent. So you always have a something to look forward to, after a tough read. Literary fiction is essential because it expands our knowledge of past cultures, their perception of the world, and their struggles. One can learn a lot from the experiences and deduct important details that are integral to them. Although fiction can be tough to read and repetitive, I think it’s important to keep literary fiction. It enlightens your perception of a world. Novels such as, The Glass Castle, The Great Gatsby, and Catcher in the Rye were great but they lack variety of genre.