Restricted Section: Term XXVI - Read, Reading, To Read

[sanalith.livejournal.com]

Activity: Read, Reading, To Read
Points: 10 points for your initial comment, 2 points for every substantial response, max 30 points
Deadline: August 30 @ 11:59PM UTC (Timezone Converter)

Details: Since this will be my only activity of Term XXVI, I wanted to both do something relatively simple AND take the opportunity to get to know you guy, so we're going to have a discussion post about our recent reading habits. For your initial comment, write at least 150 words talking about books you've recently read, are currently reading, and/or what you plan to read next. You can talk about any aspect of the books you wish, but some ideas would be why you selected the books, what you liked/didn't like about them, whether you'd recommend them to others, etc. For your responses, you'll need to write at least 50 words. Make sure you're saying something more than, "I read that book and liked/hated it!" Try to open a dialogue about what was good or bad, or even why you chose NOT to read it. Anything goes, as long as there's substance to it.

If you have any questions, direct them to the appropriate thread. As always, don't forget to sign each comment with your name/house or a sigtag.

Also, do remember that I wiped the roster clean, so if you have bonus items, make sure you register them HERE as soon as possible to earn your extra points. I won't be giving grace periods, so please double-check that you're good to go!

Comments

[sanalith.livejournal.com]

I've actually had a rather unusual craving for dystopians lately, so I've been reading a lot of them. I tend to like dystopias in general, but I have to be in a very certain frame of mind to want to read them, since they do obviously tend to be depressing, and I mainly prefer my books on the Happily Ever After side of the scale. But the mood struck me, so I began with Matched (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7735333-matched) by Ally Condie, where a Society controls everything about people, including who they'll marry. While the writing wasn't always strong in some places, I really enjoyed the world-building. I liked, for example, that people didn't HAVE to be Matched. They could choose to be Single and were still seen as equal members of Society. And while there definitely is a sort of love triangle, it's not *completely* front and center, and I felt like the main character stood well on her own outside of the two boys. I'm a little wary of continuing on in the series, as the reviews I've read tend to indicate it goes downhill with each book, but my plan is to at least try.

Next I read The Selection (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10507293-the-selection) by Kiera Cass, which was advertised as a crossover between The Hunger Games and The Bachelor, but I can't help but feel that's a bit misleading. In this world, everyone is divided into castes, with Ones being the royal family and Eights being homeless Untouchables, basically. The main character is a Five, and she is deeply in love with a Six. However, the Prince recently came of age and is looking for a bride, so one girl from each province is chosen to compete for his affections. This selection is not based on caste, and is supposed to instill morale in the people to show that anyone can be raised to a One. I didn't feel this was as strong as Matched, mainly because the world building is practically non-existent, and what little is there doesn't make much sense. The love triangle is also a lot more prominent, and I'm not completely sure how I feel about that. Again, the reviews for the second book seem much lower than the first, but I'm still going to give it a shot,

Finally, I had the opportunity to read a book for the museum where I work: Power-Up: How Japanese Video Games Gave the World an Extra Life (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1148240.Power_Up) by Chris Kohler of Wired Magazine. Chris came to visit us to write about our International Center for the History of Electronic Games, so myself and two of my co-workers read the book to familiarize ourselves with questions he might ask. It wasn't the most riveting piece of literature I'd ever read, but I'm very interested in Japanese culture in general, and it's always fun to be "forced" to read things like that for work.

Next up on my plate, I think, will be Veronica Roth's Divergent (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13335037-divergent), to continue with my dystopias while I'm still in the mood. I'm hopeful it will be as good as everyone makes it out to be!

Shannon//Ravenclaw//559 words

[sanalith.livejournal.com]

I'm definitely hoping that the second book in the Selection series is more like the ending of the first book. The plot definitely picked up toward the end, and if the author keeps up with that, I think I'll be satisfied. I really do like the characters, and I feel like I'm invested enough in them that I want to know what happens, so I'd be really disappointed if I ended up having to stop just because the plot gets too sappy XD

And it's good to know you liked Divergent so much! Most of my friends who've read it share your opinion, so I have high hopes!

Shannon//Ravenclaw

[passerine.livejournal.com]

Everyone keeps talking about Divergent, so I'm finally going to read that one, too. I got an email yesterday from Chapters giving me a promo code for it, so the timing was really perfect. I think what really won me over is the really enthusiastic way that people here, on twitter, and at school have talked about the series so I'm really interested in it.

Julia // Slytherin

[wasureneba.livejournal.com]

I'm kind of thinking the same -- a lot of people really seem to be in love with it, and in a good way (and I've not yet heard about anything squicky about it, unlike some other popular series out there).

Anieclaw

[caitieness.livejournal.com]

I feel like I'm in the super minority in that I didn't love Divergent. I thought it was fine & I was super interested in the factions and how that worked but I found the characters kind of boring and stupid :( I think I would have liked it better if it wasn't from a teenager girl's POV because she seriously has bigger things to worry about than a boy she likes but instead that's what we hear about.

caitie / puff

[rabidmunkee.livejournal.com]

I kind of agree with you. Then in the second book in the Divergent series she seemed to become like Katniss from the Hunger Games, who I adore. But it didn't seem to fit with the setting of the first book. If you haven't read Insurgent Caitie I suggest you do. It gives a good plot twist at the end, and I think you may enjoy it more.


Shawn//Hufflepuff

[caitieness.livejournal.com]

I did read Insurgent and I did like it better, especially the turn at the end. I still don't really like either Tris or Four so I think that is my biggest problem with it. I'm sure I'll read Allegiant, though probably not right away. But I can never leave a series unfinished

caitie. puff

[rabidmunkee.livejournal.com]

This is going to sound weird, but to me Four is reminding me of Edward Cullen. The whole "I don't want Tris to be in danger" thing. I mean she's in Dauntless for pity's sake. She's supposed to want to be in danger and do daring things. But Four just doesn't want to let her do anything that could be potentially harmful. Are they Dauntless or aren't they? Sheesh.

Shawn//Hufflepuff

[bowl-of-glow.livejournal.com]

Did you read the Hunger Games? One of my best friend read the series and he made me watch the movie, which I unexpectedly liked (I admit I was a bit skeptic at first, but it turned out to be quite an interesting dystopian world and fascinating premise). I thought I might give the books a try but I'm not really sure I would like them.
I glanced at the first pages of the second novel in a bookstore and I saw PRESENT TENSE. Which might work perfectly well in English but actually sounds pretty awful in Italian, so no thanks. (No seriously, it sounds stupid and it's distracting, I just can't).

Giulia | Ravenclaw | #05

[sanalith.livejournal.com]

I actually haven't read the hunger game yet. I have the first book in one of my to be read piles, but I keep getting distracted by other shinies XD Plus, I've basically already been spoiled for the entire plot, and while that won't necessarily stop me from reading it, it does make it less likely, when I have so many other things to read. And yes, the present tense *definitely* throws me off without even reading it. I can't even read fanfics in present tense, so I'm not sure I'd be able to get through an entire series!

Shannon//Ravenclaw

[wasureneba.livejournal.com]

Giulia, I don't think that present tense works very well for most novel-length texts in English, either. Vignettes and short stories, fine, but once you get past 5-10k it starts to sound really stilted to me. (And I'm sure there's some exceptions out there, but for the most part, meh on present tense in long texts.)

Anieclaw

[queer-theory.livejournal.com]

I think I'm always in the mood for dystopian fiction. It has been my favorite kind of fiction for as long as I can remember, and I haven't read the ones you mention here, so I'm totally taking them as recommendations. :D

Heather/Hufflepuff/1

[erzsebet.livejournal.com]

I read Matched but I don't remember much of it. I remember the writing being a bit weak, so I agree with you on that! I don't remember the second book in the series either, but apparently I read that one too! Lol, probably not the best sign for a book when you can't remember it, huh?

I loved Divergent, though! The sequel isn't as strong (according to some people, I found it ok - it added more to the world-building which I loved) but still worth the read, I think.

If you find yourself still in the mood for dystopian after that, World of Shell and Bone by Adriana Ryan is also fairly good.

Liz | Gryffindor

[evening12]

I don't really pay attention to the strength of the writing so I can't comment of that but I have read the sequel to Matched. And I rather enjoyed it. I love how they kept on with the world-building. We get to learn why only a certain number of songs, movies, etc have been preserved and way more about how the world ended up being the way it is. Plus, Cassia (main character) definitely has more moments when she stood on her own and without thinking/worrying about the two boys.

Martine//Ravenclaw

[evening12]

I read Divergent because I knew there was going to be a movie so I figured I might as well read the book before (I did the same with The Hunger Games). I read the first half of the book in one sitting of about 2 and a half hours. I was at a friend's house and they were still asleep so I started reading their book. lol I just devoured it and needed to find a copy to read the 2nd half of it. The concept behind the world is pretty interesting if you like dystopian worlds.

Martine//claw