Challenge Day 13, Day 14, and Day 15: Reccs, Deal Breakers, and Mentors

Describe one underappreciated book EVERYONE should read

Joan of Arc by Mark Twain.

Who the heck knew that Mark Twain wrote a book on a saint? This book is awesome. Twain considered it to be his best work. I think one of these days I'm going to write a post on books that authors considered to be their masterpieces but never became as famous as some of their other works.

Tell us your deal breakers

Flat characters. If most of the characters in the book have no interesting facets to them, no curious motivation, no small quirks - I will probably find the book too boring to like, no matter how clever the plot. Actually, a really good plot cannot exist without good Characters to move it forward. I want to tell the author to read some Les Miserables. Hugo is a master at Characters... (see this and this)

An unpunished villain. As C.S. Lewis said: "Let there be wicked kings and beheadings, battles and dungeons, giants and dragons, and let villains be soundly killed at the end of the book." I don't mind a book that has really gruesome, really sad, really twisted things in it (even though I don't really like horror). Just please, please, show me that the good guys win - or at least that the bad guys lose.

No hope. This is sort of a continuation of the last one. I hate book endings that have no spark of hope in them for the characters or the situation. Let me reword what I said in the "villain" paragraph: The good guys don't have to win, and the bad guys don't have to lose, but please, please, let there be a spark of hope that good will triumph. I hate pessimism.

Main characters who are defined by their relationship. I mean a character who is nothing without their significant other. What about before they met the significant other?? Who were they then? Wisps of nothing in the wind? People are more than their relationships, guys. Give'm some depth, please.

Looking back at what I've written, I realize that the two major things that piss me off about a book are lack of character depth and depressing endings. Yep - that's pretty much it. Any other book will get at least a chance at a passing grade.

Oh, I just thought of one more. Bad grammar. And bad writing in general. Bad grammar is inexcusable - though not entirely the fault of the author. Hello, editor? Bad writing, on the other hand, is more subjective. What defines bad writing? Well, one thing we've already touched on is lack of depth. Other things include not enough description, plot loops, dry writing and other areas that a few read-throughs and edits should cover. These blah-spots should be found before you publish - not by the reader in an already published book. It just makes the book more confusing, less likable, and extremely unprofessional. Give the manuscript to a friend for an informal editing session or something.

And the last question...

Who are your book blogging mentors?
Umm.. I don't have any really... (Wow. Ending with a bang.)


So there it is! The challenge is over (and early, too!). In honor of this, I will take a day off for the weekend, and then post a review (finally) on Monday.

After this crazy daily posting, I want to write novels or something, instead of blog posts. I also have my mom after me about studying for SATs and ACTs. So, from now on, I will be posting only once or twice a week.
Quality over quantity is what I'm aiming for.

See you on Monday!

~Sophia

Challenge Day 12: Blogger Fatigue

How do you fight blogger fatigue?

So my blogger fatigue generally results from a lack of ideas. I am terrible at thinking up ideas for posts.

And how do I come up with ideas?

With challenges like this one. Woot!

Otherwise, if I know I haven't posted for a while, and really am putting it off, I stash the note "Think about the next blog post" in my mind under "Things to think about before I go to sleep." I can't help thinking about random things before falling asleep (which usually means I lie in bed for an hour - or more sometimes - before drifting off), and I might as well think about something productive like blogging. I usually come up with a slight spark of an idea, and then sleeping on it helps evolve it.

When I don't post for a while, I am very quick to feel profound guilt and consider myself a terrible blogger if I don't post something in the next day or so. Because this blog is relatively new, I am trying to be on my super best behavior regarding prompt posting. I generally try to post once a week at least.
(Except for this crazy daily challenge thing. This has been weird and intense.)

As for the kind of blogger fatigue where I just don't feel like writing AT ALL, I really don't know how to fight it. Generally, when I don't want to blog, I want to write something else, like a novel, and so I do that until I'm back in blogging mode. Change of pace.

Anyway, that's the little bit I have for you today. See you tomorrow (with a more interesting post)!

~Sophia

Challenge Day 11: My Personal Faves

Show off! 5 of your best blog posts!

Weeelll... As I just started blogging in May, I don't have that many blog posts posted.
So I'm only going to give you three of my best posts.

3. A Funny Little Story This post is, as you may have guessed from the title, a Funny Little Story about an old man I met on Prince Edward Island. You may ask - what does this have to do with books and literature? Nothing really. It's just an interesting story that I posted with the excuse that it's an example of journaling and Rambling With A Purpose, both of which I had written about in a previous post.

2. Holmes vs. Dupin: The Ultimate Detective Face-Off This was one of my first posts, and a warning - it is quite long. But I consider it one of my better posts because it was super fun to write and I actually did a bit of research while I was at it! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

1. Mondegreens! My personal favorite, this post was one of three posts I did on weird literary terms. I had so, so, so much fun writing this post and finding pictures to go with it. And I got to talk about my book nerdy childhood and how it caused embarrassing situations through my lack of knowledge of common pop/rock. Wheee!!

~Sophia

Challenge Day 10: Choosing the Next Book

How do you choose what book to read next?

So how I choose my next book is rather a random process. I don't actually keep a book list - well, I do, but it's all in my head. So it's not like I go down the list checking off books.

The easiest decision is if the book I just finished is part of a series - I just get the next book! However, if the book I finished is not in a series, or the library doesn't have the next book (remember, most of the time I get books from the library instead of buying them), or if the next book hasn't come out yet, the decision is a little harder.

The first book from my mental TBR list that pops to the forefront of my mind is usually the best contender for Next Book. I roll that option around in my head, and if nothing else comes to mind in the next ten minutes, I head to the library. If walking through the shelves doesn't produce any more results, that first book is it and I take it out.

That's my usual routine, barring three exceptions:
~I am tired of a particular genre/style/author. If so, and the book that comes to mind first is of the same genre/style/author, I have to do a deep search into my mental TBR list for something drastically different. For example, after reading the first four books of Harry Potter in less than a week (and yes, Harry Potter is great, but there are limits), I had to take a break. So I read five Jane Austen books the next week (which was also great, but then I promptly returned to Harry Potter).
Generally, this exhaustion of a genre/style/author happens when I speed through books, as in the aforementioned example. This usually happens in the summer, when I'm not just reading a few chapters in between homework assignments. I probably get through twice as many books in the summer as I do in the rest of the year.
This exception may also happen after I have read a very long book - Les Miserables, for example (and yes, Les Miserables is also an awesome book, but again, Very Long). After reading this, I had to go for something light - I ended up with Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next books.

~One of my friends recommended something and is bugging me to read it, which usually means that title is in the forefront of my mind anyway. One example is from back when I was eleven or twelve and my friend kept telling me how wonderful Gone With the Wind was. I told her I would read it next - and I did, except the book I was reading at that point was The Count of Monte Cristo, so it was quite a while before I got to it. (That reminds me - it's been a while since I read Gone With the Wind.)

~I need to read something for a class. This is similar to the second exception. If my English class requires me to read, say, The Great Gatsby (for the fourth time), that's my next book.

There's my book-choosing process!
Do you have one that's different? Or are you as random as I am?

~Sophia

Challenge Day 9: Why Blog?

Why do you blog about books?

I blog about books for two reasons: I love to read and I love to write. What better combination than a book blog?
Books are my life. I have been reading books since I was three. All my friends know me as a bibliophile - that word is even in my email address! I have been called a Book. I have a dream library in my dream house. I give my parents crazy analysis speeches on various classics and they (kindly) smile and nod through the entire thing.
Actually, this blog is the result of those crazy analysis dissertations. You get to read them now, so my parents don't have to hear them (as often. My mom reads this blog).
We have come to the root of the matter - my rambling literary dissertations. A blog is practically an expression of your ideas. I express my ideas on books all the time. I love discussing books. And a book blog is the best place to do it.

When I am reading a book - any book with a plot to it - I am fully happy. Completely at peace. I forget any pressing homework assignments, chores, errands, and just live in the book and the book in me.

It's all very zen.

(And not very useful for getting things done.)

I want to spread my love - no, my crazy, intense infatuation - of books with the world. I want everyone to experience the zen-ness and peace that I have felt.

Maybe if more people read books at an early age, there would be more peace on earth, because there would be more overall happiness.

Peace Through Books!

Ok. Enough of that. You realize how important books are in my life, and why I want to share my love with others. Love is a generous thing - you need to share it.
And this blog is me sharing my love with you.

_________________________________________________________________

I'm going to make two confessions about this blog:
1. It is a lot more work than I thought it would be. It was fine in the beginning when I had what I thought was a long list of post ideas. But then they ran out. This blogging thing is HARD.
2. I'm super nervous about this blog. I know that's common for a starting blogger, but I have all these doubts and questions running through my head. I know it's only been a few months, so I'm gonna stay optimistic and push on!

See you soon! (I'll have a review coming up in a couple days. Why haven't I posted one sooner? One word: School.)

~Sophia

Challenge Day 7 and Day 8: Quirks and Bullets

Today's Day 8, so now I'm all caught up. Woot!

Talk about your blogging quirks

Aha... my blogging quirks...
Well, don't think I've been a blogger for long enough to develop serious quirks.
So I'm going to hand it to you, my dear readers!
What are my blogging quirks? Don't be afraid to be honest. Seriously.

Quick! Write 15 bullet points of things that appeal to you on blogs!

• Not too much sarcasm and snarkiness.
• Lots of pictures.
• Organization - a good archive - neat sidebars with organized buttons. - easy to find things - search bar - clean layout.
• A readable font for posts. No crazy cursive stuff! No weird colors that inhibit readability!
• Please, please, please spellcheck! And check your grammar, too! Improper English turns me off from a blog like nothing else.
• A few personal stories outside of whatever topic they're blogging about. 
• Friendly - sincerely tries to get to know their readers.
• Posts at least once a week.
• Doesn't take themselves or their writing too seriously.
• Joyful, or at least optimistic. 
• Posts a few paragraphs long or less, if there is a lack of pictures. 
• No songs or music - or any sort of noise for that matter.
• Lots of comments - an active discussion.
• When they blog about something I like and have similar opinions to mine.
• An "About me" page. I love finding out more about the blogger, and seeing if they're "my kind of person."

Ok, that was harder than I thought. :-)

Give it a try!

~Sophia

Challenge Day 5 and Day 6: Tear Jerkers and How I Shop

Ok, sorry, this one's a bit late - it's actually Day 7 today! Whoops... I'll catch up eventually...

Recommend a tear jerker

A tear jerker....
Hmmm....

Well, Les Miserables made me cry. So there's one.
Also - Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom made me tear up a bit.
I'm sure there are more, but I just forgot them. I generally don't physically react to books - laughing out loud, crying, etc. I'm the kind of person who can hide their emotions relatively easily.
But my hidden emotions are super strong.

Describe how you shop for books

So... if you look at Day 1, Confession #6, you will see that I rarely spend money on books, because there is a library five minutes away from my house.
So I don't really shop for books.
However, when looking for a book to read at the library, I am very suspicious of all the new arrivals. I don't want to waste my time on a bad book.
(Which is why I read a lot of classics.)
So when I go to the library, I generally have a book in mind - one that a friend has recommended, or one that has been on my booklist for a while. I am very hesitant about trying out a random book from the shelf.
So that's how I "shop" for books.

~Sophia