Robert's Summer Reads

So, I just wanted to share with some of you a few of the books that I have been reading this summer. I have a mixture of adult and children's books to share with you.

Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs

   So, I saw the John Carter movie when it came out a few months ago. I absolutely loved it, even though it is now Disney's biggest bomb at the theater. I thought it was a lovely story. The movie pretty much followed the book. Although, there were some minor changes to the story. The story is about a man named John Carter, a nineteenth century Virginina, who is mysteriously transported to Mars. Once there he becomes involved in a war between two Martian cities. I decided to read the book and I enjoyed it as well. Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote this book series before he started on the Tarzan books. If you are a fan of adventure or science fiction stories, you should check out Princess of Mars.


Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick


    I decided to check this book out because it was written by the same author who wrote The Invention of Hugo Cabret. The amazing thing about that book is that the story was told in both pictures and words. I am not talking about a picture book. It had over five hundred pages. Three hundred of those pages were beautiful, hand drawn, black/white illustrations. This book was done in a similar format. However, the difference is that one story was told in pictures and another story was told in words. At the end of the book the two stories come together in an interesting way. Each story focuses on a character who is deaf.  Basically it shows how the hearing impaired deal with the world around them and the prejudices they endure. I would definitely recommend this book.

The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice

   Last summer I read Interview with a Vampire. Click Here for My Review.  
Since I enjoyed it so much, I decided to read the sequel The Vampire Lestat. In this book, Lestat gives an account of his life. In this book you see a Lestat that is much more caring then the sociopath that was portrayed in the first book. This one was not quite as action driven as the first one. Lestat is on a mission in this book to discover the origins of vampires and try to find some sort of reason for his existence. I think Anne Rice is very descriptive and writes in a beautiful language.If you enjoyed the first book in the series, you definitely need to give this book a read.



Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

     Last year I read Cornelia Funke's Dragon Rider. I thought that it was a beautiful story, so I decided to pick up the first book in her Inkheart series. It is about a young girl, named Maggie, who discovers that her father has the ability to read characters out of books. Unfortunately, the last characters he read out were villains and tricksters. Maggie and her father are forced to come into contact with these characters and try to send them back into their own world. I thought that this was a wonderful children's book. I definitely want to read the rest of the series. If you like fantasy, then you should read this book.

Don't Mess with Libraries

    So, a few weeks ago an incredibly awesome article was published. Apparently, a New Mexican woman was in jail one day for not returning a few Twilight books and DVDs. The woman had the items checked out for two years. Click here for article. Although some of the people who commented on the article seem to think that the local government over reacted. I think otherwise. Those books and DVDs belonged to the library, and by extension belonged to the city. This woman had ample time  to return the library materials. Library materials are frequently stolen or patrons never return them. DON'T MESS WITH LIBRARIES!!!! If libraries are willing to put someone in jail over Twilight, imagine what they are willing to do to people who try to take a highly circulated romance novel or a Harry Potter audiobook. TURN IN YOUR BOOKS OR LIBRARIANS WILL GET YOU!
   
     Also, I wanted to share that a few weeks I had a dream that I was in a library (happens more often then I would like to admit). A dark evil force had entered the library. This dark force started eating up the books and the librarians. I had only one thing that I could do. I took out my most lethal weapon. I took out my library card. And with my trusty card I banished the dark force forever from our world. DON'T MESS WITH LIBRARIES!

Dystopia/Utopia Novels

Alright, so I meant to write this post a while ago. But things have been busy with me packing up for Kansas City. If you regularly read my blog then you know that I am fan of The Hunger Games (cue Robert thinking about Jennifer Lawrence [No Robert, concentrate!!!!!]. Recently, I have read other dystopian teen novels that are similar to  The Hunger Games.

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

In my opinion The Maze Runner is a combination of The Hunger Games and Ender's Game. This story takes place in a place called the Glade. Every thirty days, a boy is transported to the Glade with no memory of who they are or where they came from. The story focuses on Thomas. His arrival causes many other of the Glade's inhabitants feel uneasy because strange things start to happen such as the arrival of the first girl and a message from the designers indicating that there will be no future citizens or supplies. Thomas and the others have to figure out how to get past the Maze which surrounds their home in order to survive. This is the first book in a trilogy. I hope to finish it up this year.


Uglies by Scott Westerfield

This is the first of four books in The Uglies series. Tally Youngblood lives in a world without war, disease, or hunger. She is about to turn sixteen, which is when all people in her community undergo surgery to make them "pretty". Tally has looked forward to this day for her entire life. This all changes when her friend Shay begins to have reservations about the surgery.  Shay frequently speaks of a society that leaves beyond the "pretties", where everyone is natural. Suddenly, Shay disappears one day.  Before Tally has her surgery, the authorities tell her that she must find locate where Shay escaped to. If she does not then she will have to remain "ugly" forever. As the story progresses, Tally learns a dark secret about her society that will make her question about what it means to be "pretty".  This book  addresses many issues that many teens (especially girls) will find relevant such as what and who defines beauty.  Some might define this as a dystopia. I am more inclined to say that this is utopia, but you are welcome to argue with me on this.Overall, this was a very enjoyable read. I hope to finish the series soon.



Wither and Fever (The Chemical Garden Trilogy) by Lauren DeStafano
This year I read Wither and Fever. They are the first two books of The Chemical Garden Trilogy. The final book is due to be published next year. This is about a futuristic society in which genetic engineering has gone wrong. Although the first generation of genetically modified humans were impervious to disease, their children would experience massive side effects. All men die at the age of twenty five and women die at the age of twenty. Many women are captured off the street and forced into polygamist marriages in a rash attempt to save humankind from extinction. The story focuses on Rhine, who is one of these captured women who is forced into a marriage against her will. This would be a good book to read if you want to analyze gender roles and power structures. This series gives a very depressing outlook on what a society will do in order to save itself. I found that the language that DeStefano uses in these books to be very beautiful. I would like to issue a content warning. This series does contain polygamy and sex is implied. Also, the women in this book endure harsh treatment under their father-in-law. So, if that bothers you then you may not want to read this. Overall, I enjoyed these books. I am eager to read the conclusion of the trilogy.