I will leave you to browse these awesome Harry Potter themed pumpkins via BuzzFeed
This one is my favorite…
I will leave you to browse these awesome Harry Potter themed pumpkins via BuzzFeed
This one is my favorite…
The 19 Funniest Neil Gaiman Tweets Of All Time via BuzzFeed
If you aren’t following @neilhimself on Twitter, you are missing out.
My first thought upon starting this book was “What the heck is a phenomenology?” So I looked it up. Phenomenology (noun): 1. the science of phenomena as distinct from that of the nature of being, 2. an approach that concentrates on the study of consciousness and the objects of direct experience. Armed with the definition, I delved into what I discovered to be an utterly unique and thought-provoking reading enterprise. The book is filled with stark, black-and-white illustrations which provide an extra layer to Mr. Mendelsund’s thesis that, although we feel that we know literary characters or places intimately, we are actually grafting our own experiences and images onto those few details that authors provide. Mr. Mendelsund argues that this visual process is specific to the act of reading and says, “Good books incite us to imagine–to fill in an author’s suggestion.” He claims that without this “co-creative” act, readers are robbed of the freedom to participate in the narrative the way we choose. I highly recommend “What We See When We Read” as a provocative exploration of what we may think of as the simple act of reading.
And now it’s time for another story from days gone by, my occasional series reviewing books from childhood.
This entry is a little bit different because I read the graphic novel version of “A Wrinkle in Time,” rather than the original version but since the story is the same and I have been meaning to read this book, I figured why not?
Review: Wow! I’d forgotten a lot about this book especially the fact that it is pretty trippy. All the weirdness was compounded by being able to visualize the different worlds and Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, Mrs. Which and Aunt Beast. The art was pretty good. I would have liked to have seen more color instead of just black, white and ice blue, but I understand that it was an artistic decision. In my opinion, I would say that although still a good story, “A Wrinkle in Time” doesn’t hold up to time as well as some of the other stories I’ve re-read.
Ranking Books by Their Total Number of Amazon Stars via Book Riot
This is a pretty cool article about how the five star system that Amazon uses has become out of control so much paid reviews have become commonplace. Well, Johann Thorsson over at Book Riot has a better way to see which book is the best. Read it to see what he found.
To honor the Queen of Crime herself, Dame Agatha Christie, September is going to be Murder Mystery Month!
I will be reading and reviewing four crime novels and hopefully posting some mystery related fun. Hope you enjoy the intrigue! The game is afoot…
Review: Again, Professor Foster provides a witty and entertaining delve into the world of literature. This time, he takes readers into the wonderful world of novels. Professor Foster’s main point is that although novels are fiction and therefore entirely made up (no matter how close to real life they may seem), they still matter. I also appreciated his point about how authors may write a novel and intend one thing but books are nothing without readers and a reader may choose whichever interpretation speaks to him or her. I have to say that I really enjoy Professor Foster’s style of teaching. His books are funny, interesting and knowledgeable without being condescending. I highly recommend both this book and his previous text, “How to Read Literature Like a Professor.”
Total Reading Time: 3.25 hours
Review: From the authors of “Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist” comes another erudite and fun teen “meet cute” story. At one point early in the novel, Dash describes himself as “horribly bookish” which made me smile. Also, the other main character, Lily, describes herself as “the weird girl.” So of course I was going to relate to them and like this one!