Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Description

A desperate young man plans the perfect crime -- the murder of a despicable pawnbroker, an old women no one loves and no one will mourn. Is it not just, he reasons, for a man of genius to commit such a crime, to transgress moral law -- if it will ultimately benefit humanity? So begins one of the greatest novels ever written: a powerful psychological study, a terrifying murder mystery, a fascinating detective thriller infused with philosophical, religious and social commentary. Raskolnikov, an impoverished student living in a garret in the gloomy slums of St. Petersburg, carries out his grotesque scheme and plunges into a hell of persecution, madness and terror. Crime And Punishment takes the reader on a journey into the darkest recesses of the criminal and depraved mind, and exposes the soul of a man possessed by both good and evil ... a man who cannot escape his own consciense.

Opinion

I have to admit I really liked this book. The names were a little hard to pronounce but after awhile you just kinda gave up and read over the name by saying "that person" in your head. It's increadably unique that a writer can write inside the mind of a crazy person without actually being crazy themselves. Withough having committed a crime they can describe it pretty exactly. Well....anyone up for a conspiricy theory? NO? lol it was a good book though honestly. One of those books that if you have to read a book in English and they give you a list of books to choose from, this is one that I would choose.

Beowulf by Seamus Heaney

Description

The national bestseller and winner of the Whitbread Award. Composed toward the end of the first millennium, Beowulf is the classic Northern epic of a hero’s triumphs as a young warrior and his fated death as a defender of his people. The poem is about encountering the monstrous, defeating it, and then having to live on, physically and psychically exposed in the exhausted aftermath. It is not hard to draw parallels in this story to the historical curve of consciousness in the twentieth century, but the poem also transcends such considerations, telling us psychological and spiritual truths that are permanent and liberating.

Opinion

Ok so would I be lying if I said I didn't want to read this book at first? Yes I would be. Would I be lying if I said I loved this book? Yes actually I would be. I like it, but I wouldn't say that I loved it. Finding symbolism in this book I have to say was a lot easier after the last book I read. It was a fast read. I liked that this book was about war and battle and that it was written in a poem. It adds a little bit of niceness to the book/poem. I liked the storys of Grendel and his mother because I like to read about deamons so that was cool. I liked to read about the dragon because I like fantasy books too. I didn't really care for this book because it didn't hold my attention for that long. I have trouble reading poems. and a poem that's a hundred and somthing pages long is pretty difficult to read in my opinion. It was good don't get me wrong, but would I read it again of my own free will?....No probably not!

How to read literature like a professor by Thomas Foster

Description

What does it mean when a fictional hero takes a journey?. Shares a meal? Gets drenched in a sudden rain shower? Often, there is much more going on in a novel or poem than is readily visible on the surface—a symbol, maybe, that remains elusive, or an unexpected twist on a character—and there's that sneaking suspicion that the deeper meaning of a literary text keeps escaping you.

In this practical and amusing guide to literature, Thomas C. Foster shows how easy and gratifying it is to unlock those hidden truths, and to discover a world where a road leads to a quest; a shared meal may signify a communion; and rain, whether cleansing or destructive, is never just rain. Ranging from major themes to literary models, narrative devices, and form, How to Read Literature Like a Professor is the perfect companion for making your reading experience more enriching, satisfying, and fun.

Opinion

I fully expected to hate this book. I don't like to read books that are all about learning something. This book though, was different. The sarcasm and puns in this book made it easy to read. Plus, I learned how to read things and find symbolism which is something I had trouble with in the last english class I took. Finding symbolism in nothing is difficult except when you find out that everything is symbolism.

Finally

I finally got the books I need to do my homework. Yaaay. Now I don't have to worry about not being able to hand in my first assignment. That's a relief. Talk about a bad first impression.

Rapture by Lauren Kate

Description

RAPTURE, the fourth & final FALLEN novel, is the Lauren Kate book the world has been waiting for.

The sky is dark with wings. . . .
Like sand through an hourglass, time is running out for Luce and Daniel. To stop Lucifer from erasing the past, they must find the place where the angels fell to earth.
Dark forces are after them, and Daniel doesn’t know if he can do this—live only to lose Luce again and again. Yet together they face an epic battle that will end with lifeless bodies . . . and angel dust. Great sacrifices are made. Hearts are destroyed.
And suddenly Luce knows what must happen. For she was meant to be with someone other than Daniel. The curse they’ve borne has always and only been about her—and the love she cast aside. The choice she makes now is the only one that truly matters. In the fight for Luce, who will win?
The astonishing conclusion to the FALLEN series. Heaven can’t wait any longer.

Opinion

I LOVED THIS BOOK!!!!! Up until the very last word I was awed by how this book was writen. Throughout the whole series you're wondering what the heck was bad enough to make Daniel and Luce cursed and you expect the answer to be simple and not interesting enough because of what is going on around them, but when you DO find out.......omg it's good. there was a lot of planning put into this story, I mean A LOT!!!! You know those books that by the time you get to the end the story isn't interesting, like the authors gave up? This book is deffinetly not one of those books. It's interesting to the very last word...believe me. This is coming from an atheist about a book about angles, god, and Lucifer.....that's how good this book is.

Passion by Lauren Kate

Description

Luce would die for Daniel.

And she has. Over and over again. Throughout time, Luce and Daniel have found each other, only to be painfully torn apart: Luce dead, Daniel left broken and alone. But perhaps it doesn’t need to be that way. . . .

Luce is certain that something—or someone—in a past life can help her in her present one. So she begins the most important journey of this lifetime . . . going back eternities to witness firsthand her romances with Daniel . . . and finally unlock the key to making their love last.

Cam and the legions of angels and Outcasts are desperate to catch Luce, but none are as frantic as Daniel. He chases Luce through their shared pasts, terrified of what might happen if she rewrites history.

Because their romance for the ages could go up in flames . . . forever.

Sweeping across centuries, Passion is the third novel in the unforgettably epic Fallen series.

Opinion

I like this book not only because it has a great story line but also because it brings history into the story. Luce travels in her past selves from Paris, Varsailless, Mesoamerica (before the earth split), Egypt, London, and so many more places with Daniel right on her tail. Well... not literally cause she doesn't have a tail but you know what I mean. The guide she's been listening to turns out to be the altamite evil who just tried to kill her. She goes to all of these places to figure out why she keeps dying in her past lives and finds not what she was looking for...in a much more complicated scene. Cant wait for the next book though. She just has to stop Satan from erasing history.....literally!!!! They only have nine days but no preshure though!

Torment by Lauren Kate

Description

Hell on earth.

That's what it's like for Luce to be apart from her fallen angel boyfriend, Daniel.

It took them an eternity to find one another, but now he has told her he must go away. Just long enough to hunt down the Outcasts - immortals who want to kill Luce. Daniel hides Luce at Shoreline, a school on the rocky California coast with unusually gifted students: Nephilim, the offspring of fallen angels and humans.

At Shoreline, Luce learns what the Shadows are, and how she can use them as windows to her previous lives. Yet the more Luce learns, the more she suspects that Daniel hasn't told her everything. He's hiding something - something dangerous.

What if Daniel's version of the past isn't actually true? What if Luce is really meant to be with someone else?

The second novel in the addictive FALLEN series...where love never dies.

Opinion

The whole angel thing works for Daniel, but non-the-less Luce and Daniel's relationship is really tested in this book. You cant help feel like a rope in a tug of war game because you understand Luce's side to it but you also feel really bad for Daniel. And then, in the middle of it all, they bring in Miles. So much for Luce to put up with. Her feelings for Daniel are already being tried with without adding in another guy trying to win her over. You can totally tell, even if Luce cant, that Mile's is playing for her heart from the beggining. Then (SPOILER ALERT) Daniel sees Mile KISSING HER!!!! The way Lauren Kate describes Daniels face makes ME want to beg him for forgiveness!!! It's so heartbreaking. Yet I still cant wait for the next one to read about her adventure through the Announcers and, coincidentally, through her past lives.

Fallen by Lauren Kate

Description

Mysterious and aloof, he captures Luce Price’s attention from the moment she sees him on her first day at the Sword & Cross boarding school in sultry Savannah. He’s the one bright spot in a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are all screw-ups, and security cameras watch every move.

Even Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce – he goes out of his way to make that very clear. But she can’t let it go. Drawn to him like a moth to a flame, Luce has to find out what Daniel is so desperate to keep secret...even if it kills her.

Dangerously exciting and darkly romantic, FALLEN is a page-turning thriller and the ultimate love story.

Opinion

I really like this series. That's why I keep buying the books, and it's not becuase I fantasize about being Daniel's girlfriend that he loves more than god himself.....ok so maybe I cant say that completely convinsingly. I Like how Luce primarily dumps Cam because he keeps getting in fights. Bad boys....ok girls can deal with that, but bad boys that get in fights? Sorry but that's a little.....not ok. Or at least that's my opinion. Maybe you guys can help me with something also. It's a little off topic though. Do you think her name sounds like "Loose" or "Loose-e"? because I can understand if it's "loose" considering her full name is Lucinda which sounds like "loose-in-da" so if it's a short for that I can understand, but I can also understand if it's "loose-e" because that's a more common pronunciation. lol the things I debate about.

Ok Maybe Not

So, I found out that I don't have enough money to buy my homework yet. In fact my parents don't have enough money to give me a real birthday present this year.....again. It's for the same reason though, too. We have to save money to go to see Dusty. (Why, so we can spend 600 to see him for 5 min.? cause that's what happened last time). Whatever I don't care. All I care about is that we go to Danielle and Dusty's Pizza (there's a pizza place up in sparta that's named that. My brother and I thought we should get a discount when going there lol).
So like I was saying I'm not getting my books until next week and....to be honest...I am not gonna go another week without reading something. So the next book you should see come up is Fallen by Lauren Kate. I'm reading that book because I have the newest one in the series and it's a small series. Only four books. I should be able to finnish it in a couple days. :)

Homework

The next books I'll be reading will be homework. I am taking an AP English class this year and they gave me homework for summer. The only problem I'm having right now is that I need to GET those books first. They'll probably have them at half price books but I need to get up there first so..It might be a little while. I don't suspect it will be that long because I really need to finnish my homework so just hang in tight and I'll start those books. Just remember it'll be just as painful, maybe more, to wait to read those books. You see....this means I don't have a book to read in the mean time and this is me! The reading addict! Litteraly, addicted to reading. The first day I dont have a book The house gets clean....spotless clean. (Already done) The second day I'm on the computer for hours (that's tomarrow). The third day I'm playing video games (if you know me then you know I hate video games). The fourth day I'm watching movies (probably the harry potter series and I just got done watching all of them). Then I go really crazy actually going through the whole list of things I just mentioned all in one day, even touching up the whole house again. Then....I start....Zumba dancing......Ugh I'm so sorry I know it's scary for me, too. (I cant dance...well anyways). And then.....this is the worst part ever.....I start.....doing......MATH PROBLEMS!!!! I know scary right. I haven't gotten farther than that but I really don't want to find out. So while you sit there reading my blog post I'll probably be doing one of these things. Lets just hope I don't get to the math stage. I'm not too good at math...fairly decent, but not that great. Lets just say it would not be pretty.....yeah. Anyways just wait for hopefully a short time and there should be a post about "How to read literature like a proffesor" because you all want to know how to do that, right? lol

The Immortal Rule: Blood of Eden by Julie Kagawa

Description

In a future world, vampires reign. Humans are blood cattle. And one girl will search for the key to save humanity.
Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten.

Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of them. The vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself is attacked—and given the ultimate choice. Die…or become one of the monsters.

Faced with her own mortality, Allie becomes what she despises most. To survive, she must learn the rules of being immortal, including the most important: go long enough without human blood, and you will go mad.

Then Allie is forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls. There she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend—a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike.

But it isn't easy to pass for human. Especially not around Zeke, who might see past the monster inside her. And Allie soon must decide what—and who—is worth dying for.

Opinion

I LOVED this book. It was very different from what I'm used to, though. Nowadays I'm used to reading about good vamps that have souls and arn't deamons but this book totally isn't about good vamps. This book to me seemed like a cross between the movie Priest (with a reversed plot) and The Hunger Games. I love the charectors. My favorite charector, I have to say, is Kanin. The vampire who turns Allie. He's very smart but he's very brooding, too. I love how in the beggining of the book you keep thinking about the vampires as monsters and then they switch it around to the point of view of the monsters and you just get confused. You start to feel bad for the monsters. Or maybe that's just me. I'm always routing for the monsters. Like in Godzilla. They shouldn't have killed him, he just wanted to protect his babies.
Anyways, it is easy to see there is going to be another one. Hopefully soon, too. I think the next one is going to consist of Allie killing her vampire brother, rescuing Kanin from torture, and leading Stick to Eden to be with Zeke. I don't think much of Stick after he rated out Allie to the pets but I don't know if I can really blame him. And if you have no idea what I'm talking about then read the book because it's awesome.

Taking a break!

So I am reading a giant series right now with not very many pages in them individually. There are about 15 books in this series with about 200 pages in them all. That is so not easy to keep track of every single one of them considering I finnish about two of them a day on a lazy day. So I hope you forgive me but I'm taking a break with this one. The next time you hear from me on this particular blog will be in a week or so at the most. Not that long but still thought you should know why I havn't been posting. The next book I'm reading is called; The immortal rules (book of eden)so that's what you should be looking for to show up next.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

Description

Ten years after Potter-mania first swept the globe, the epic series draws to a close with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the greatly anticipated seventh and final book of the internationally revered Harry Potter series. Prophecies will be fulfilled. Beloved characters will die. Questions will be answered. (Is Dumbledore really gone forever? Who is R.A.B.? Is Severus Snape truly a villain?) In this final volume, Harry's seemingly impossible quest is to discover the locations of the remaining horcruxes--items sacred to Lord Voldemort containing shreds of his soul, making him immortal--and destroy them, saving the world from becoming a Death Eaters' paradise where Muggles are prey and purebloods rule. Accompanied by Ron and Hermione, Harry embarks on a dangerous, confusing, and often frustrating journey to discover the horcruxes. The trio is repeatedly in dire straits, making their mission seem, at times, doomed.


Throughout the series, author J. K. Rowling has been steadily escalating events towards the climatic battle between Harry and the Dark Lord, and numerous seemingly trivial details from the previous novels play important roles--proof of Rowling's masterly control of the sprawling and multi-layered "wizarding world" she has invented. By far the darkest of the novels, this impressive finale shows Harry bereft of his godfather Sirius Black, the wise and secretive Dumbledore, and even his friends, forced to truly grow up and face a fight where he is the sole lynchpin in the battle between righteousness and a nearly omnipotent evil. With modern problems re-imagined in a magical setting, echoes of Christianity, and an unwavering faith in goodness, Rowling's epic saga will remain a children's classic for generations to come.

Opinion

Oh....My....GOD!!! That was one of the most epic books I've ever read...and that's saying something. I've read a lot of books! It's kind of refreshing, too. There have been many times where I've read a book that was the last of the sereis and be disapointed because some authors just don't know how to end a book. Rowling deffinetly knows how to end a book. Like I said....THAT WAS AWESOME!!! If you have any reason to believe that the books arn't good just shut up. 'Cause they're awesome!!!

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling

Description

In the fifth and most recent book, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the last chapter, titled "The Second War Begins," started:

'In a brief statement Friday night, Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge confirmed that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has returned to this country and is active once more. "It is with great regret that I must confirm that the wizard styling himself Lord -- well, you know who I mean -- is alive among us again," said Fudge.'

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince takes up the story of Harry Potter's sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry at this point in the midst of the storm of this battle of good and evil.

The author has already said that the Half-Blood Prince is neither Harry nor Voldemort. And most importantly, the opening chapter of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has been brewing in J. K. Rowling's mind for 13 years.

Opinion

One think I like about this book in particular is the connection between Harry and Dombledore. Their bond really came out in this book. Even though, to those of you that have seen the movies, Dombledore dies at the end of this book.
I just wish Harry, because he would rather break up with someone (cough cough Ginny cough cough) than have Voldemort use that person against him. That's really sweet.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling

Description

There is a door at the end of a silent corridor. And it's haunting Harry Potter's dreams. Why else would he be waking in the middle of the night, screaming in terror?

Here are just a few things on Harry's mind:

• A Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher with a personality like poisoned honey.
• A venomous, disgruntled house-elf
• Ron as keeper of the Gryffindor Quidditch team
• The looming terror of the end-of-term Ordinary Wizarding Level exams

. . . and of course, the growing threat of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. In the richest installment yet of J. K. Rowling's seven-part story, Harry Potter is faced with the unreliability of the very government of the magical world and the impotence of the authorities at Hogwarts.

Despite this (or perhaps because of it), he finds depth and strength in his friends, beyond what even he knew, boundless loyalty; and unbearable sacrifice.

Opinion

These books get darker and darker. The sense of excitement that was portrayed through the first books have turned into a sense of fear.
Also, if I was pissed off at Fudge in the last book it doesn't compare to how pissed off at him I was in this book. He had no right to interfere with Hogwarts. Dombledore sure showed him though.
I feel bad for Harry, of course. If you've seen the movies you understand why. I mean Harry lost the only person that was like a parent to him. So many people afound him are dying...that sucks.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling

Description

Fourteen-year-old Harry Potter joins the Weasleys at the Quidditch World Cup, then enters his fourth year at Hogwarts Academy where he is mysteriously entered in an unusual contest that challenges his wizarding skills, friendships and character, amid signs that an old enemy is growing stronger.

Opinion

I loved this book. Again I hated how they left so much out of the movie. For one, I had no clue that Rita Skeeter was an Animagus. She can turn into a beetle? EESH! Plus why is the Ministry missing so many people who are turning into Animagus..es (lol). Fundge really pisses me off at the end of the book (the minister of magic). He refuses to believe that the Dark Lord is back. Not only that but he killed off the only evidence Donbledore had. How are they supposed to prove themselves now?

Harry Potter and the Prizoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling

Description

Harry Potter, along with his best friends, Ron and Hermione, is about to start his third year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harary can't wait to get back to school after the summer holidays. (Who wouldn't if they lived with the horrible Dursleys?) But when Harry gets to Hogwarts, the atmosphere is tense. There's an escaped mass murderer on the loose, and the sinister prison guards of Azkaban have been called in to guard the school.

Opinion

I really like this book mainly because it's really starting to get into the story. I'M really starting to get into the story. I really understand Hogwarts while reading the book more than I ever did with watching the movie. Still, while reading, they leave a lot out of the movie, they change a lot of things around. I don't like that they do that. I understand that movie producers have to change it up to make it their own but if you think about it...it shouldn't be made their own! Let them think up their alternative universe and make a movie about it, then they can change things up but until then write a script that really goes with the book. Well, there's my little movie ramble. Now read the book.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

Description

In one of the most hotly anticipated sequel in memory, J.K. Rowling takes up where she left off with Harry's second year at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Old friends and new torments abound, including a spirit named Moaning Myrtle who haunts the girls' bathroom, an outrageously conceited professor, Gilderoy Lockheart, and a mysterious force that turns Hogwarts students to stone.

Opinion

I am amazed at how much the movie leaves out from the book. There are so many situations where I'm reading that I start thinking, "If this was put in the movie it would have been less confusing". You don't realize it until you read the books how much the movies confuse you. The movie doesn't tell the whole stories. My family is the family that watches the whole series every year, but it wasn't until I read the books that I even remember the names of all of Ron's brothers and sister. That's pretty sad. I also like how the book really just puts you into the story. When watching a movie you sit there thinking "wow I wish this were real" but when you're reading it you're thinking like you ARE harry potter. I don't know, that's just how I experience books. I also like that Rowling puts more of the Ginny/Harry romance things in more, real life scenarios where Ginny's brothers tease her, and the feeling of a little boy who isn't quit sure how to feel about a girl yet. It's a really good story.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

Description

Believe it or not this book is so popular and widely known that no one has a description of it online.....isn't that weird?

Opinion

Ok, so, this may be surprising but it's my first time actually reading these books. I was always inspired by the story of J.K. Rowling story though. Someone that poor becoming that rich because she inspired so many people with the written word? That's just....yeah, that's awesome. To be honest though, at the begging of this book I found it difficult to get into it. Not because it was a bad book, but because I just can't picture Daniel Radcliffe as the person she writes Harry to be. I mean... Daniel Radcliffe is so old now...well not OLD old but too old to picture as ten years old. As the book went on I got past picturing Daniel and just stuck with a goofy kid with glasses.

City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare

Description

The New York Times bestselling Mortal Instruments continues—and so do the thrills and danger for Jace, Clary, and Simon. Can the lost be reclaimed? What price is too high to pay for love? Who can be trusted when sin and salvation collide?

Love. Blood. Betrayal. Revenge.

Darkness threatens to claim the Shadowhunters in the harrowing fifth book of the Mortal Instruments series.

Opinion

More problems for Jace and Clary....as always. Those two must truly love each other, because if they didn't there's no way they'd put up with all the crap they have to put up with. I like how you got to see the other relationships flourish, and end, in this book. I like Simon as a character. He's the type of nice always-liked-by-everyone kind of guy. I also like the tough girl type that Isabell is. She reminds me of the kind of girl I try to be because we both fail at it. I don't like, however, that this book ends with more problems for Jace and Clary. I mean....Jeesh! Give them a break Clare!!!!!