Book 4: The Virgin Suicides

***DISCLAIMER*** Yes, I realize, this is the second suicide book I've read in a row. Think nothing of it. That just happened to be the order they came up in when I pressed the "shuffle list" button.




ok. so basically, this book was alot different than I expected. I mean, obviously, I expected it to be about Suicide, but it was really interesting seeing the progression from a semi-normal-ok-maybe-a-bit-odd-suburbia family into a completely disfunctional family, complete with the suicide of their five teenage daughters.

Although this book was quite sad, and very odd, it was written very well. The characters were all kept very mysterious through the entire book, which I actually really liked. It kept a certain level of intrigue (is that the right word?) through the whole book. Although it was very hard to decide how many boys there were exactly in the group of friends the book is based around.

I wouldn't exactly recommend this book to anyone, because its questionable (with its being about suicide and all) but it was good.


*** EXTRA!***
If you do decide to read this book, (which again, depends on your personality and level of tolerance) I would definitely recommend listening to the movies soundtrack by Air while reading it. The soundtrack is so eerie, as is the whole book, and I felt that it really completed the experience. But it may be a little intense for some. ha ha.

Book # 3: Impulse

Apparently I got the year off to a bad start with books, so I had hoped this one would change that. I started it last summer, and then never had a chance to finish it, so this week I picked it up again....

It was completely worthless. the majority of the book, although it was about teen suicide, was great. its about 3 teens in a suicide recovery center, and how they connect to each other, and their journey to find a meaning for life. Up until the last ten pages, it was very uplifting, and beautifully written in free form poetry, alternating characters.

Then you get to the last ten pages, and it completely ruins the entire book. I honestly just sat there for fifteen minutes thinking "i wasted 666 pages for THAT?!?!" (I guess the page number should have been a hint to me. i wonder if that was planned?)

yeah. basically, it was completely worthless crap, and I am almost ashamed to count it in my 50 book journey. :(

and it claims to be a New York Times best seller, and as I began to look at many of the books I have and will read, I realized, What book ISN'T a New York Times best seller? How does New York Times make that list? Because it seems everything is on it! Anyone know?

book #2- Interworld

Interworld, by Neil Gaiman and Michael Reeves, was another book I was forced to read for my Science Fiction Literature class. The book was originally written as a screenplay, but it didn't fly. So it was revised and published as a book.
I was really excited to read this book, and had very high hopes. Neil Gaiman is also the author of Stardust, (yes, the one they based the movie on) and I absolutely LOVED that book. Would read it a million times if there weren't so many other fabulous books out there needing to be read!
Moving on. So, I was excited for this book. And it let me down.
15 year old Joey Harker is an average high school student living in Greenville who has trouble finding his way around his own house, let alone the town. On a field trip set by his teacher Mr. Dimas, Joey finds himself lost in the city. He later finds out that he walked right out of his own universe, and into another. He later joins "InterWorld" a military-like group consisting of all the joey harkers of all the universes, who have special abilities to jump, or walk, from universe to universe. Their job is to save "walkers" or people with the previously mentioned talent, from 2 evil groups, who kidnap them and boil them down to their "essences" aka souls, to power their space ships.
sounds like a fun and exciting story, no?
Once again, the storyline was slow moving, the characters VERY poorly written, some with little to no personality, and many of the concepts weren't explained well enough to be understood.

Sorry, Mr. Gaiman, I'll stick with Stardust. whats your deal with walking from universe to universe, anyways? ;) first the gap in the wall in stardust, now this?

Book #1: The Andromeda Strain

Written by Michael Crichton about an alien virus that infects the town of piedmont, arizona, population 48, instantly killing all but two, and the military organization, project wildfire, that investigates, and eventually stops it.

I had to read this for my Science-Fiction Literature class. I usually quite enjoy Science Fiction books. My class also read Enders Game and a few other books that I really enjoyed. This book, on the other hand, I didn't enjoy...
The plot was extremely slow developing, and the characters dry and dull. The ending was abrupt and extremely anti-climactic. I really felt like the only point of the book was for Mr. Crichton to show off his Harvard Education. Sorry, Mr. Crichton, but I'm not impressed.

The Beginning of an Immigration

Reading makes immigrants of us all.
It takes us away from home, but more important,
it finds homes for us everywhere.
-Hazel Rochman

Hello There! I'm The Book Immigrant, aka Shanda. My new years resolution was to read 50 books this year. This is going to be my book blog...
The Journal of my Journey Through books.
Join my as I find my own vacation homes all over the world (and sometimes, out of this world!)