These Books Among Us

Hey guys! I know I was supposed to read this last week, but, I'm posting it now and that's all that matters. So, onto the post! Okay, so we went over vampires a little bit two weeks ago, right? Let's elaborate on my thoughts from them. Yes, vampires are often seen as a fear of sexualization and mortality in the eyes of scholars throughout academia. Yes, these are main points that I myself make. But there is more to it. A lot of the time in vampire novels, the vampires themselves are no fun. They are so broody and overly romantic and morose that nobody around them wants to have any fun. Is it really a shocker that the Cullen's didn't actually have any friends other than themselves? Not really. With Lord Brood over there, nobody could have a proper conversation to become their friends. This also happens in the Anne Rice novels. They are NO fun. They want to drink alcohol, drink blood, have sex, and repeat. Well, Louis also broods on top of it, but you get my...

As many people have undoubtedly pointed out, human-kind has created monsters as a way to deal with our social issues without confronting them head on. Today, I am going to explore some of those monsters and show what they could possibly be standing in for. They help us acknowledge our fears without looking too directly at those fears. Zombies are monsters I can go on about forever. More often than not, zombies are allegories for the growing fears of consumerism and the mindlessness that goes along with it. People, much like zombies, have a drive to consume to no end, though instead of on human bodies, it is on goods like the newest gadgets. There is a conformist nature to these creatures as well. There is no need to stand out in the crowd because the crowd is a great place to be. You do not have to strive for higher or walk over competition because in the zombie state, there is no competition, just consumption! I think our fascination with zombies stems slightly from our desire ...

Everyone knows we are supposed to hate the villains in the story. They are the bad guys, the ones who are throwing a wrench into the safety the hero so desperately wants to hold onto. But for some reason, the villain is often times the audience’s favorite character, even more so than the hero. I want to try to take a peek into why that is in this post today. First off, lets define a villain. Dictionary.com says: a cruelly malicious person who is involved in or devoted to wickedness or crime; scoundrel. And: a character in a play, novel, or the like, who constitutes an important evil agency in the plot. They are criminals, lawbreakers, offenders, felons, convicts, malefactors, and wrongdoers. Villains are not anti-heroes. That is a fully different category and I would just like to make that distinction. Okay then, let’s start off with some examples, now, shall we? First off is going to be a lot of people’s favorite villain: Loki from the Thor and Avengers films. L...

If you are a big reader, or a book nerd, or just enjoy reading in general, there is a chance you have a really long TBR list. If you are new to the game, TBR means to be read. I mean, honestly. It’s hard to not have such a long list because so many good books that all come out at the same time. You can’t help but keep a list of what you want to read! I know for a fact that I have this problem, so let’s see how we should deal with this. One way, especially if you tend to buy books in large quantities as I do, is to try to not buy as many at once. I know, I know, easier said than done. But at least give it a shot. I am talking to myself here too, so we will have to try this together. Set yourself on buying bans. Or making limits on how many you can get a month. I have been putting myself on bans off and on for the past four years, but I still end up buying more often than I had if I didn’t put on that ban. There’s something about not being able to do something th...