Category Archives: books

‘Martial Mama’ shares her favorite summer reads

Ahab’s Wife: or, The Star-Gazer by Sena Jeter Naslund

This novel imagines the story of the wife of Captain Ahab (yes, that Captain Ahab). Naslund’s tale weaves literary characters (Ahab and the crew of the Pequod) with actual historical figures (Margaret Fuller and Maria Mitchell, as well as Emerson, Hawthorne, and the Alcotts). The story follows the physical and spiritual journey of Una from her home in backwoods Kentucky to the shores of Nantucket, Massachusetts. Una’s keen mind and reflections on the nature of self, others, the natural world, and beyond make for an inspiring and satisfying read.

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

I love this book so much because a) it is a delightful tale of adventure, b) it shows how even a small and relatively unremarkable hobbit can make a huge difference in the lives of others, c) Middle-earth is a fascinating place, d) Bard and his black arrow are way cool, and e) it brings back fond memories of my aunt reading this to my cousin and me. A fantasy tale with lessons about first impressions, facing one’s fears, loyalty, friendship, tough decisions, and good and bad, The Hobbit is a book that is worth a read and then some.

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

In 1959, Evangelical Baptist preacher Nathan Price embarks on a mission from Georgia to the Congo with his family. The story is told from the perspectives of his wife, Orleanna, and his four daughters, Ruth May, Rachel, Leah, and Adah. Combined, their voices weave a tapestry of experiences, sometimes uplifting and sometimes tragic. Kingsolver deftly explores the topics of culture, religion, individuality, family dynamics, and a search for truth and meaning against the backdrop of political unrest in an unfamiliar land.

All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy

I have my friend and fellow Curiata.com contributor John Butz to thank for introducing me to this book and the works of Cormac McCarthy. In general, I read books fast, eager to see how the story unfolds. This is impossible to do with All the Pretty Horses (and McCarthy’s other books as well). Despite McCarthy’s spare use of punctuation (no quotation marks signifying conversations, for example) and long sentences, his skillful use of language makes you want to slow down and savor every beautiful word. The story follows John Grady Cole, a 16-year-old Texas cowboy with a natural affinity for horses, and the loss of everything dear to him (his grandfather, the family ranch, his parents, his love, his horses, the Age of the Cowboy). While this may sound depressing (and don’t get me wrong, it mostly is depressing), there is room for hope here for “the world to come.” Even though McCarthy’s work would never be considered light reading, gems like this make it well worth the time:

The fire had burned to coals and he lay looking up at the stars in their places and the hot belt of matter that ran the chord of the dark vault overhead and he put his hands on the ground at either side of him and pressed them against the earth and in that coldly burning canopy of black he slowly turned dead center to the world, all of it taut and trembling and moving enormous and alive under his hands.

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

In recommending this book, I really am recommending the entire “Outlander” series of which the eighth book, Written In My Own Heart’s Blood, was just released June 10. Since one generally begins a series at the beginning, though, let’s start there. It is hard to categorize this book; it is at once historical fiction, science fiction, mystery, romance, and adventure. Bear with me, because the premise sounds questionable, but the story really is amazing. Claire, a combat nurse, reunites with her soldier-husband, Frank, in Inverness, Scotland, in 1945. One afternoon, while looking for medicinal herbs, Claire comes upon a group of standing stones. She touches one of the ancient boulders and is unwittingly transported back in time to 1743. What follows is an adventure involving a sadistic British officer, a young Scottish warrior, political intrigue, clan warfare, witchcraft, and a woman forced to declare her own loyalties. If you undertake “Outlander,” do me one favor: please, please, please stay with it for the first few chapters. The beginning seems a bit uneventful, but after page 50, the action never stops.

Curiata.com recommends books for summer reading

The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

The Time Traveler’s Wife is the story of librarian Henry DeTamble, who at any moment can disappear into the past or future as a result of some genetic anomaly, and Claire Abshire, an artist whose entire life has been shaped by Henry’s time travel. The novel alternates between Claire’s and Henry’s perspectives as they share the story of their unusual lives. As one might expect in a novel about time travel, the chronology of the book is not always linear, but it doesn’t suffer, for it is beautifully written and completely engrossing. The time travel elements to the story are subtle yet complex, and the book is endearing and tragic at the same time. Niffenegger has managed to weave together an intricate tapestry between the past and present to tell the complete journey of these two characters. Seeing how all the pieces fit together becomes completely absorbing. I read this novel for the first time years ago and have yet to find any book that sticks with me the way this one has. It’s the perfect blend of romance and science fiction.

Storm Front by Jim Butcher

Storm Front is the first of “The Dresden Files” series by Jim Butcher. Harry Dresden is a professional wizard living in Chicago; he can find lost objects and missing persons and occasionally consults with the Chicago Police Department’s Special Investigations unit — the team that handles all the “weird” cases. In this first novel, a serial killer is using black magic to rip out the hearts of his victims, and Dresden is recruited to stop him. I was immediately drawn in by Dresden’s narrative voice and humor, and his endless nerd-culture references never cease to amuse me. The best part about “The Dresden Files” is that they just keep getting better. Butcher recently released book 15 in the series, Skin Game, and it may be the best yet. The way Butcher is able to weave threads through the course of the novels fascinates me; in 15 books, he has yet to write himself into a corner, a great feat for any author of a series this long. If you’re a fan of Harry Potter and would like to find a more adult equivalent, Harry Dresden is your man. I highly recommend giving this series a chance.

In the Woods by Tana French

If you’re a fan of British crime dramas such as Broadchurch or Wallander, you’ll definitely enjoy the novels of Tana French, whose Broken Harbor we reviewed earlier this year. In the Woods is the first of what have become known as the “Dublin Murder Squad” novels. Each book in the series is told from the perspective of one of the characters on the Murder Squad of the police force in Dublin, Ireland; In the Woods is from the point of view of Rob Ryan. When Ryan was a child, his three best friends disappeared and only he was found, covered in blood and terrified. Twenty years later, Ryan investigates the murder of a young child in those same woods. French’s novels are completely gripping and compelling and her writing style is brilliant; these aren’t action-packed adventures but completely character driven, and every detail is important. French is a brilliant writer who takes the reader on a winding path to obscure the ending from view. She creates vibrant characters with many layers to keep uncovering until the final pages. I’m not a big fan of the standard mystery novel, but these books are fantastic and hard to put down.

Bitter is the New Black by Jen Lancaster

Really any book by Jen Lancaster would make great summer reading; I love her wit and sarcasm and her sense of humor. However, Bitter is the New Black is the first of her series of memoirs; while I’ve enjoyed each book since, this one remains my favorite. Bitter is the story of how Jen and her boyfriend Fletcher, both with successful jobs and a seemingly perfect life, suddenly find themselves unemployed and unable to pay their electric bill. Lancaster shares how she and Fletch hit rock bottom, then pulled themselves back up again, with many humorous anecdotes along the way — including the decision to get married just so people would have to buy them gifts or give them money. Lancaster’s bluntness and humor may seem abrasive to some; I see her as the friend who says everything you’re thinking but wouldn’t dare speak out loud. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Lancaster in person and can tell you that “book Jen” is not a persona; she is just as witty and fun as she comes across in her books. If you’ve never read anything by Lancaster I recommend starting with Bitter. Then, the rest of her books can be read in any order you choose.

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

If you’re a fan of young adult fantasy but are tired of sparkly vampires, you might enjoy the “Mortal Instruments” books by Cassandra Clare. City of Bones is the first of this series about a race of nephilim (part-angel warriors) known as Shadowhunters that fight demons, vampires, and other creatures. When I first read this book, I was anticipating your typical fantasy romance; girl meets guy, becomes involved in whatever supernatural world he’s a part of, girl and guy fall in love, girl is placed in mortal danger and must be rescued, both live happily ever after. This was not one of those stories, which is probably why I enjoyed it so much. While some of the twists are easy to figure out before they happen, I still didn’t feel like anything in this book was as predictable as most YA books tend to be. I also believe Clare writes for a more intelligent audience, not simpering teenage girls who are looking for the next Edward Cullen. The final book of this series was released just a few weeks ago, but if you enjoy the world Clare has created, there is also a prequel trilogy to check out, plus she has plans for another series within the world of the Shadowhunters.

Austen goes digital: Two Web series worth watching

When YouTube first launched in 2005, it was a place for people to upload videos of their cats and other incidents you would typically find on America’s Funniest Home Videos. It quickly evolved into an outlet where fangirls could splice together heartbreaking clips of Sam and Dean from Supernatural set to Rascal Flatts‘ “What Hurts the Most.”

Most recently, YouTube has become an outlet for creative and original content, and much of it is quite good. Through YouTube, I was introduced to media and talent I otherwise never would have experienced. For example, a group of friends from the University of Michigan founded their own theatre troupe known as Starkid. The group is known for its musical parodies, most famously A Very Potter Musical, a Harry Potter parody. Glee‘s Darren Criss was one of the founding members of the group. (If you like musicals, comedy, and superheroes then you really need to check out Holy Musical B@Man!)

However, two of my favorite Web series are based on works by one of my favorite authors, Jane Austen. In April 2012, the world was introduced to The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, a Web series that modernized Pride and Prejudice for a new generation of fans. In the Web series Lizzie Bennet — played brilliantly by Ashley Clements — is a grad student who starts a video blog about her life. The format for The Lizzie Bennet Diaries is simple: Lizzie sits in front of the camera on her computer, telling stories about her life to the viewing audience. She is occasionally interrupted by other characters who share in moving the story forward.

An interesting aspect of this format is the use of “costume theater.” Instead of introducing a large cast of characters all at once, Lizzie frequently reenacts certain events, such as her first meeting with Darcy, for the viewers. Within the world of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, Lizzie’s vlogs are posted in real time — according to the storyline, they are filmed the day before Lizzie uploads them to her YouTube channel. This also allows Lizzie to “interact” with her viewers by answering questions in special Q&A videos.

The Lizzie Bennet Diaries wrapped up its run a year ago, and the production company, named Pemberley Digital for Darcy’s home in Pride and Prejudice, announced a new series based on another Austen novel, Emma. In Emma Approved, Emma Woodhouse is a professional lifestyle consultant and matchmaker. Mr. Knightley is her business partner, handling the finances, and Harriet Smith is her assistant.

Emma Approved is formatted slightly differently from its predecessor. Instead of taking place in real time, the premise of Emma Approved is that the footage is being filmed to be included in a future documentary. Also unlike The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, where the audience could feel like they were participating in the action as it was happening and the characters inside the world were also able to view the videos, the Emma Approved videos are completely outside the world in which the series takes place.

Emma Approved is currently on episode 48 and nearing the end of a month-long hiatus — a hiatus which was also written in as part of the storyline, with the explanation that Emma’s company was undergoing a restructuring of goals and focus. The series will return with new episodes next week. If you haven’t started already, it’s not hard to catch up. Each episode averages only about four to six minutes, and the show becomes rather addicting. The cast is charming and clever, bringing Emma to life in a new and colorful way.

Each of these series does a great job of adapting and modernizing the beloved classic novels. The writing is smart and witty; they stay true to the spirit of the original work while adding their own touch and updating the characters to appeal to a broader modern audience. However, one of the greatest aspects of these series is how fans are able to participate. The Lizzie Bennet Diaries and Emma Approved aren’t just shows you watch, they are experiences.

Each character from these series has a Twitter account that complements the events of the series and interacts with other characters and fans online. There are also accompanying Tumblr pages, blogs, and various other forms of social media to help flesh out the world in which the series take place. When events occur off-screen or between video postings, these social media accounts post pictures of the events to further the storyline even outside what you see in the videos.

The Lizzie Bennet Diaries also had several shorter, accompanying video blogs built around the characters of Lydia Bennet and Georgiana (GiGi) Darcy, plus Ricky Collins still has videos posted occasionally. Last week, LBD fans were also surprised with the first of several “bonus” episodes.

In the months between the end of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries and the start of Emma Approved, Pemberley Digital produced 27 episodes of Welcome to Sanditon, a series based on Austen’s unfinished final novel. The series focused on GiGi Darcy from The Lizzie Bennet Diaries running a beta test of a communications programs in the small town of Sanditon. This series relied more heavily on fan interplay, as fans were invited to create their own characters within the series and participate in the story by interacting with each other and cast members online as well as uploading videos of themselves speaking in character. Some of these videos were then incorporated into actual episodes of the series. The concept was interesting and the cast was fun, but I had trouble getting into this series as much as the other two.

If you’re an Austen fan but haven’t had the opportunity to view these series, I highly recommend taking the time to watch. Obviously, they update the stories and don’t strictly follow the original books. (For example, Kitty Bennet is a cat, and Mary is a cousin instead of another sister.) But I think they stay faithful to the spirit and heart of Austen’s writing. Plus, the cast is wonderful and does a great job of bringing these characters to life in a modern setting.

And if you’re a fan of these works, keep an eye out for Pemberley Digital’s next project, Frankenstein, M.D. — an adaptation of Frankenstein featuring a female Dr. Frankenstein.

Worst. Person. Ever. makes good on promise

Close your eyes and think of the worst person you know. I’m not talking serial-killer-sociopathic bad, just someone you actually know and would consider the worst person ever. I’m sure everyone has at least one person. Can you picture them? Whomever you thought of just now probably doesn’t even begin to come close to Raymond Gunt, the lead character of Douglas Coupland‘s latest novel, aptly titled Worst. Person. Ever.

Gunt is a cameraman hired by his ex-wife to work on a Survivor-like television show being filmed on the small island nation of Kiribati. Thus begins his odyssey from London to Kiribati, with many obstacles along the way, including layovers in the United States and a detour to nuke the Pacific Trash Vortex. Gunt’s traveling companion, Neal, is a homeless man he hired to be his personal assistant, or “slave,” while he is on the island.

Gunt is exactly as the title suggests and has absolutely no redeeming qualities. He’s selfish, rude, racist, sexist, jokes about bestiality and atrocity, and swears more than the characters in a Martin Scorcese film. He has little to no conscience and, despite living in a small, cramped apartment and working as a low-level cameraman, acts like he’s a gift to the universe. Even more, he has no idea how bad he really is — everybody else is the problem.

With Gunt narrating the book, the reader is given a first-hand account of his actions and his motivations, which just serves to make him appear even worse. But Gunt isn’t the only problem. Every character in this novel is rather despicable in their own way. Of course, this is assuming Gunt is a reliable narrator. Of the main characters in the novel, Neal is probably the only one who is remotely likable; his laid-back, hippie-esque attitude also creates the most amusement throughout their adventures.

Coupland’s novels are frequently innovative in style and visual presentation. In Worst. Person. Ever., Coupland uses informational boxes at the end of each chapter, and they degenerate from factual in the early chapters to subjective opinions near the end. These sidebars do contain interesting facts; I admit I did not know about the Pacific Trash Vortex until reading this novel, and even after seeing the sidebar, I had to research the topic on my own before I believed it.

It’s difficult to say what Coupland’s goal is in writing this novel. It appears to be a commentary on the excess of human consumption, with possible criticism of Americans thrown in. Coupland himself is Canadian, and the satire is so heavy at times that the reader is left to question whether it crosses the line into actual bad feelings.

Is this truly social commentary, or is it just a novel about a truly terrible person? Given Coupland’s previous works, it’s hard to say, but I lean toward this being an extremely biting commentary, the actual intent of which may be completely lost in the absurdity of the plot and the lack of any redeeming characters to root for.

Coupland has written some great novels, but with Worst. Person. Ever., I feel he misses the mark. It’s hard to look past the harshness and obscenity of his narrator. There were some amusing moments — and I may have even laughed out loud more than once — but I’m not sure the humor made up for the vileness of the characters. The book is a quick read, so even if by the end you haven’t enjoyed it, you haven’t wasted too much time of your time.

I haven’t read Coupland’s more famous Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture, but I found The Gum Thief: A Novel much more enjoyable. If you’re a fan of Coupland and other writers of darker literature, such as Chuck Palahniuk and Bret Easton Ellis, you may enjoy this novel, especially if you don’t mind the lack of any likable characters. However, if you’ve never read Coupland or those of his ilk, I wouldn’t recommend starting with this novel.

Worst. Person. Ever. isn’t the worst book I’ve read, but it’s far from the best.

Avoid pitfalls of judging movies by their covers

This week, “Fanning Out” examines the challenges of book adaptations. This is the second entry in an on-going discussion of this topic. When you’ve finished reading this column, check out Kevin Hillman’s analysis, “Catching Fire exemplifies faithful adaptation.” Share your own thoughts in the comments or on our Facebook page.

I’m a book nerd. Ask anyone who knows me and they’ll confirm this fact. I typically read at least 50 books a year. As an English major, I can sometimes be a little snobbish when it comes to books. (I’m sorry, but I refuse to read anything with James Patterson’s name on the cover.) I’m also a big fan of movies and, quite often, those two interests overlap.

Film adaptations are the bane of many book lovers’ existences. There’s always something about the adaptation that hits a nerve: leaving out key scenes, adding in made-up material, changing important elements of the story — die-hard fans of a book can always find something to complain about when it’s made into a film.

One of the movies I’ve heard the most complaints about recently is the latest Hobbit film, The Desolation of Smaug. While the basic framework of the film is taken from the book, the vast majority of the film was written by Peter Jackson. Really hardcore J.R.R. Tolkien fans are extremely offended by the liberties Jackson took with the text. I’m a little more forgiving, mostly because, source material aside, it was a fun movie. It helps that I knew going in that most of the film wasn’t in the book, so I didn’t try to compare the two. Also, a lot of what Jackson added was based on information from the appendices in The Lord of the Rings, and I thought he at least remained true to the spirit of Middle Earth.

Sometimes, I’m more inclined to agree with a films’ critics. I was pretty forgiving through most of the Harry Potter films, but The Goblet of Fire stretched me to my limit. Was it really necessary to add in several minutes of a dragon fight that didn’t take place in the books but cut nearly everything that showed the bond forming between Harry and Sirius? It’s been years, but I’m still having trouble letting that one go.

Hobbits and dragon chases aside, I’ve come to the conclusion that the only possible way to enjoy a book-to-film adaptation is just to accept it will not be an exact duplicate of the book — nor should it be.

The truth of the matter is: some things that work excellently on the page just do not translate well on film. The entirety of Blindness by José Saramago comes to mind. The book was riveting and brilliant, the 2008 film, which was a fairly faithful adaptation, was too slow, and I actually got bored while watching.

I’m the kind of person who, if I hear a movie I want to see is based on a book, I want to read the book first. But I’ve reached the point where I try as much as possible to separate the book and the film in my mind and not sit there comparing them the entire time. The trick is: don’t read the book immediately before seeing the movie. Read the book early — preferably several months before the movie comes out, if possible. That way, you won’t have every little detail fresh in your mind, so you might not be as critical when something has changed.

The same goes for re-reading the book. I used to re-read each Harry Potter book before its respective movie came out. After the fifth book, I realized this was actually hindering my enjoyment of the films, not helping. Thereafter, I stopped re-reading the books right before seeing the movies, and I found I was able to enjoy them much more.

Another thing I’ve learned is that if the movie is based on a book you really love, don’t make up your mind about the movie version after a single viewing. I’ve found that I have a tendency to compare the film to the book on the first viewing, then on a second viewing, I’m more relaxed and able to just watch the film and not think about the book as much. I enjoyed The Hunger Games much more the second time around than I did the first time (though I’m still not a fan of all the shaky cam used in the first movie).

But the real question is: does the movie really have to be an exact adaptation of the book? Is it fair for fans to judge so harshly? Isn’t it better for a film to remain true to the spirit and characters of a book than follow it to the letter, possibly to the detriment of the story and characters? Books and film are two completely different mediums, and they work two very different ways.

Books have the ability to be much more detailed than movies and they can take place over an extended period of time. For the sake of the viewer, screenwriters have to condense events and change timelines in order to keep a coherent story line. There’s no way to avoid that.

Character development is also subject to inevitable reworking. While reading, it’s much easier to keep track of multiple characters, and if you get confused, you can always flip back to refresh your memory. Film doesn’t have that luxury. This leads to cutting some story arcs entirely, or combining characters in a movie. I recently watched Divergent, and while I enjoyed the movie, I really felt like there was a lot missing in the arcs of the secondary characters, primarily Tris‘ friends in the Dauntless faction. I know this was necessary for time, but I love character-driven stories, so that omission was a little disappointing.

However, while Divergent had to cut out some of the secondary arcs with minor characters, I felt it streamlined and focused the story as compared to the novel and did a great job of remaining true to the plot and characters of the book. It’s definitely one of the better young adult adaptations I’ve seen, along with The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.

I’m not saying all book-to-film adaptations are good; some are so terrible even I can’t excuse the decisions they’ve made. However, television shows like The Walking Dead, True Blood, and, to a lesser extent, Game of Thrones have shown us they can exist independently from their source material. (Game of Thrones remains truer to the novels than the other shows, but it’s still made some changes.) The Walking Dead is one of the most popular shows on network television, and I hear very few complaints about how far it’s strayed from the graphic novels. If we can accept these deviations on television, then surely we can cut the movies — which have even less time to tell the story — some slack.

After repeatedly being disappointed by the movie versions of books I’ve loved, I’ve finally decided it’s much better to go into the theater and completely forget everything I already know about the story and just enjoy the film. I’d much rather watch a film that’s well-made, even if it deviates from the book, than never be happy with any movie made from a book. Keep an open-mind, and maybe you’ll learn there’s room in your heart to love the book and the movie.

Catching Fire exemplifies faithful adaptation

Looking for Alaska, finding ourselves

I like to think I’m pretty cool. I like to think that, despite the Green Power Ranger keychain on my belt loop and the Pokémon poster on my apartment wall. However, there was a substantial portion of my life when I bore no such delusions. Reading John Green’s novels reminds me of a time when looking in the mirror only brought disgust and anger.

Between about third and eighth grades, I would constantly end up on the wrong side of jokes and putdowns. Unfortunately for my middle-school self, I was already a high school junior when Green’s Looking for Alaska was released. The novel tells a story both familiar and unique, reminding me of that time when I felt alone and of the journey that drove me to accept myself.

Looking for Alaska, Green’s first published novel, follows Miles Halter, a young man with quantifiable proof that he has no friends, as he enrolls at a boarding school to begin a new life. Halter, quickly dubbed “Pudge” by his roommate, tries to make new friends in a new school and searches for what he calls a “Great Perhaps.” Pudge’s friends are primarily his belligerent roommate, who is nicknamed “the Colonel,” and a seemingly free-spirited girl, who is actually named Alaska. Alaska, of course, quickly becomes the center of attention for Pudge as he tries to figure out this cute, mysterious girl.

Many readers will, like me, relate to Pudge. During those difficult tween years, jocks would call me chunky and laugh as I was one of the last to finish any run in phys ed. When my test would come back with an “A” marked on it, someone would inevitably call me a loser for having half a working brain in my head.

The people I considered my friends weren’t much better. Before the end of every school day, one of my best friends would steal books from my locker and toss them down three flights of stairs. Even my teachers were pretty disparaging. If I made a mistake, they would never give me the benefit of the doubt because they “expected better from me.” Perhaps something can be said for lower expectations.

Unfortunately, too many coming-of-age stories only offer struggling young readers unrealistic optimism. We expect Pudge will fall in love with the quirky Alaska. Of course she’s going to like him, too, despite that never being the way it happens in reality. Surprise, surprise. However, Green is not so predictable.

True to life, the story takes a series of wild turns, leading the reader to believe that a happy ending is on its way, only to stop us cold. Pudge and his friends have to face love, anger, and death, learn the difficulty of real relationships, and deal with the consequences of their decisions. It is a novel that reminds us that we don’t all face a single moment of clarity so much as several harsh moments that make us stronger.

Green’s novels are devoid of the melodrama so common at Degrassi High or on Dawson’s Creek (for you older folks). Instead, when a character trips into one of the genre’s inevitable pitfalls, someone always puts a firm stop to it. Oftentimes, these discussions about what is worth our tears and what is not are the best parts of the book, as we remember how we dealt with the difficult times we’ve faced in our own lives.

While it is certainly not an all around sad story, Looking for Alaska does make us consider a lot of things about what makes life as a teenager so difficult. All of the teen angst television shows and hopeless romance movies have stripped away any sense of reality when discussing teenage life. Green looks to portray those problems in a real and sympathetic way.

There is a certain tragedy and nihilism to a lot of Green’s work, and Looking for Alaska fits the category. Green does not move mountains to give a story a happy ending, nor does he take the independent cinema route of moving mountains to avoid a happy ending. Instead, Green lets his characters simply continue on with their lives, having been changed by the experience in a consequential way.

As Looking for Alaska draws to a close, the profound sense of sorrow in Pudge’s soul comes through the pages, but the reader will also feel that Pudge has become better for the journey. Pudge starts the book off looking to start anew in search of a “Great Perhaps.” Whether or not Pudge has truly found it, Miles Halter has undoubtedly learned that life is for living and enjoying, but that he also should be proud of who he is. Perhaps that is the most difficult thing for any of us to learn.

Looking for Alaska is the first of Green’s four solo novels. Before getting a copy of Alaska, I had read Green’s Paper Towns, which won the 2009 Edgar Award for best Young Adult novel, and The Fault in Our Stars. Both books were tremendous reads and hooked me on Green’s writing.

Sometimes it is easy to forget the difficult times I have had to struggle through and show no sympathy to those who are suffering through their own journeys. “Who cares if no one likes you? You just have to like yourself,” I’ll argue. Green’s novels are an antidote to that cynicism and exemplify the value of Young Adult fiction even to those outside their target demographic.

I hated going to school every single day until ninth grade. When I began high school, my life was changed considerably. New friends found me and old friends became tremendous people. I realized I didn’t need to be who the school bullies wanted me to be. I didn’t need to be who even my friends wanted me to be.

We all need to be ourselves and know that there are people out there who will like each of us for our quirks, whether they be that we like to speak in riddles or memorize the last words of historical figures. Looking for Alaska reminds us that we all need to love ourselves and let everyone important to us know we love them too.

Broken Harbor pulls reader into murder case

Broken Harbor by Tana French is the fourth book in the Dublin Murder Squad series. With this work, French once again displays she is a master of police procedurals. She has created another tale of complex characters that draws the reader into the compelling plot.

French established herself at the outset as a great writer of crime fiction. The first book in the series, In the Woods, won several awards, including the 2008 Edgar Award for Best First Novel by an American Author. French, who now resides in Ireland and has also lived in Italy and Malawi, excels at writing about the “broken hero.” Her books feature an imperfect protagonist: a homicide detective with a checkered past — thought to be safely buried away, but brought to the surface by the case at hand.

In Broken Harbor, French has improved her game by introducing us to Mick “Scorcher” Kennedy, a murder detective who always gets his man. Kennedy, along with his rookie partner, are assigned a high-profile triple murder that takes Kennedy to the estate of Briantstown, formerly known as “Broken Harbor.” The place holds powerful memories for Kennedy — memories that are disturbing enough on their own, let alone in light of the recent murder of Patrick Spain and his two children, and the attempted murder of Spain’s wife, Jenny.

The appeal of Broken Harbor, as with French’s other books, is the expert way in which she manages to weave the detective’s tortured past into the present horror he or she is facing. French not only takes the reader through the process of solving the murder, but also exposes how this particular case will tear the protagonist apart from the inside out. Kennedy’s search for the truth will force him to come to terms with both his past and his present, while also making him question his future.

As Kennedy and his partner work the case, they encounter more questions than answers. French’s stories sometimes have a touch of the supernatural to them, lending them a sense that things aren’t always what they appear to be. In Broken Harbor, the unreliability of the narrator draws the reader into the search for that missing piece of the case.

The stories French creates make her books difficult to put down. As the detectives dive into the lives of the victims in order to solve the case, it is easy to forget they are dead. French’s characterizations and plot construction propel the reader on a nonstop whirlwind to the last page of the book. Don’t expect that conclusion to be a happy one, where everything is wrapped up with a neat little bow as our hero rides off into the sunset, however. Much like real life, French’s books don’t end that way.

If you are looking for a crime novel that has amazing character development, will pull you in, make you question the protagonist’s point of view, and make you think about the ending long after you put it down, then Broken Harbor is the book for you.

Knitting Yarns, knitting roots

The book Knitting Yarns: Writers on Knitting by Ann Hood was added to my wishlist as soon as it popped up on one of my Amazon searches. Thankfully, my Godmother checks my wishlist every year before Christmas and this little gem found it’s way into my home.

Knitting Yarns has about 25 short stories that detail the author’s memories or connections with knitting. As with most short story formats, the book is extremely digestible. Most of the writers focused on how or why they learned to knit, or a time when knitting helped them through a personal crisis. I finished the book in about three days of leisurely reading and I would highly recommend this book for anyone who enjoys knitting and reading.

Knitting Yarns also had me thinking back on the very first time I learned to knit. I remember it quite vividly. I was in college, sitting on the floor of my dorm room with the yarn in my lap and the printout “Learn to Knit 101” instructions on the ground in front of me. I sat cross-legged, bent over my needles, and squinted to decipher the drawings representing how a knit stitch should be properly executed. My hands were starting to sweat, not out of nerves or frustration, but rather the fact that my university kept the dorm room at a temperature mirroring the weather of the Hawaiian tropics instead of the northern Pennsylvania climate where we were located.

About 30 minutes in, my roommate had given up and moved to her desk to do homework or peruse Facebook. I still remained on the hard, concrete floor, determined to make progress on my first row. I gave it another 20 minutes, and I was suddenly overcome with an extreme amount of rage and I hurled my purple aluminum knitting needles across the room. What happened next is proof enough for me that the universe certainly does have a sense of humor.

A male friend of mine, Carl, was walking by my dorm room when I broke into my fit of rage. Since the door was hanging open, he stopped to ask me if everything was all right and if there was anything he could do to help. I explained that I was trying to learn how to knit, but after 50 minutes of determination, I had gotten very skilled at casting on, but I couldn’t seem to make the jump to knitting. Carl smiled and said, “Oh. Didn’t anyone ever tell you that the first row is always the hardest?” He picked up my needles and handed them to me and said, “Cast on however many stitches you want, and I’ll do your first row. You can watch me.”

I took the needles out of his hand and cast on 20 stitches of red and black yarn. I then watched Carl knit my first row with extreme ease and grace. He handed the needles to me and said, “Here you go. It’s your turn.” I took the needles from him and clumsily knit the next row. Despite my fumbling, awkward handiwork, I was enchanted and encouraged by my skill. After I completed the second row by myself, Carl headed out to go to a party. The training wheels were off and I was on my own. Over the course of the next week, I knit every chance I got. I added stitches, I decreased stitches, I dropped stitches, but I kept going. After one week, I had my very first scarf which I proceeded to wear everywhere I went.

I just found my first scarf the other week when I was cleaning out my knitting stash. I pulled it out and looked at the wonky size and the holes that the dropped stitches created. Then I looked down at the handmade sweater I was wearing. It was remarkable how far I had come in 8 years. I refolded the scarf and tucked it into a basket. Now, when I’m working on a project that is complicated and I’m ready to throw my needles across the room, I will pull out that first scarf and remember the improvement I know I am capable of.

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