Divergent

Time for a book talk.
I'll stick with the last decent book I read and skip the one I feel guilty about finishing and the other that I put down before I finished. That's fair, right?

So here it is

In a futuristic, dystopian Chicago, Beatrice turns 16- the age when you decide how you are going to live for the rest of your life. See, this society is split into 5 factions, each of which value a different set of values (honesty, selflessness, bravery, peace, and intelligence). On the fateful day, Beatrice does a rare thing and chooses to leave the faction where she grew up to join the Dauntless (who value bravery). During the brutal initiation Beatrice must learn to live without her family, overcome fear, and decide who to trust... all while keeping a secret that would mean death if anyone found out.

Things I liked: 

In my head, it all looked like the Dr. Dre/2Pac video "California Love."

There's really not a lot of rational for this, dystopian stories just do that to me... which also has me singing the song all day. Ahhh, 90's hip hop. Anyway.

I could definitely imagine what was happening throughout the book. Yeah, any good book should, but sometimes that's lacking in young adult books.

I liked the ties it had to current society, without being all preachy. I had to remember where the Sears Tower was just to figure out it was Chicago. It also interestingly ties with the past. I found the book title on a reading list for the Holocaust. As the story gets going, I could definitely see the parallels.

I pretended I was just as tough as Beatrice. Since it wasn't her point of view, you heard her doubt and worries, but you know everyone else thought she was insanely awesome.

Imagine what it would be like to grow up not knowing about romances... Beatrice doesn't even recognize a crush on a boy. Wow. Could I have survived? (I've always been a bit boy crazy.)

It's a quick read. I like young adult books for that reason. I'm a cheater.

Divergent was repeatedly recommended to me by people who like The Hunger Games and Gone, both end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it kind of books. Apparently if you like one you like them all? ( I liked The Hunger Games. I read 2 of the 3 books. But I wasn't all "Ohmygod its the best story EVER!" I've heard Gone was interesting but slow so I haven't gone there yet.) On http://whatshouldireadnext.com/, someone even recommended I am Number Four. Interesting connection. I liked both of them so I guess I agree.

I'm pretty curious where the obvious sequel for Divergent goes, too. Oh! And it just came out!

Happy reading, friends.

I Never Finished Harry Potter

So I decided to make a blog. Upon making this momentous decision, I asked myself “How the heck do you introduce yourself on your first blog?”

Well, self, you decide on a big statement. Here it is.

I NEVER FINISHED THE HARRY POTTER SERIES.

Whew! It feels good to get that off my chest.

What’s so huge about this statement? Nothing really, except I just thought of it. But it does tell a few things about me.

1. I LOVE to read.

2. I’m a bit of a nerd.

3. I get sidetracked now and then. Sidetracked? From Harry Potter? How does this happen?
I was going along in my happy little world, reading Harry Potter, watching the movies, when suddenly there was an interruption. What was it, you ask? Hmmm… well I wish I could tell you exactly, but that’s just not going to happen. The copyright date is 2007 so probably something like buying a house, starting a new teaching job, and having kids. You know, that old chestnut.
Either that or it was that time when aliens invaded the city and I had to use my super powers to fight them off and save the world! (It could happen. The job is in a junior high so you know I got some crazy skills.)

4. I’m stubborn. You want me to explain again? Fine, I guess.
I’ve picked up the last book several times. I really enjoyed the others. I cried when Dumbledore died. I think Harry is very likeable. I love the idea of a whole magic world, even if that means I’m nothing more than a muggle. But I’ve gone back to this book after a lapse and its soooo dark. (Here is where I remind myself of my mother, who seemed to only watch happy-go-lucky romantic comedies and still thrives on Disney channel programming.) Anyway, its like page two and there’s someone is dangling upside down over a table? What???

5. I’m very curious.
Someday this is going to win out over the stubbornness and the desire for everything to be chipper. Seriously, what is the deal with Snape and how the heck does Harry win the whole thing? (Yeah, I peeked enough to see that he won.) This is how it goes with me, though. I will get sidetracked and/or stubborn but I’m usually curious enough that I will go back to it.

6. I have to have things ranked, if only for myself.
I easily get sucked into series of books. Since I teach at a junior high, all the girls were reading Twilight and were like “OMG, you have to read this it is so great.” And then, just so I couldn't pretend to put it on my list and ignore it forever, one of them lent the whole series to me. So now I have read the whole Twilight series and not the whole Harry Potter series. I disappoint myself. Harry is so much cooler than Edward!

See the useful personality assessment in that simple statement that started us off? And now you learned that I like geeky things, I like books, crafting (OK that one wasn‘t in there, but now you know), have kids, work at a junior high, own a home, and go on rants about things like not reading Harry Potter. You didn’t think you were going to get anything useful from it, did you?