These Books Among Us

Hey guys! Two posts in one week? Who is this strange new Dana? (It's low key because I felt bad that I didn't post last week, so surprise!) Okay, hear me out on this post. I know a lot of you reading this do not necessarily disagree with me. We all love our favorite prime time shows and blockbuster movies. But for some reason, when a person loves their favorite best selling book (and tries to get others to read it and love it as much as they do) there is a more negative reaction from the book community. I am in no way saying that people are not entitled to their own opinions. I respect that fact and want others to feel comfortable enough to share those opinions whenever they choose. But once an opinion turns into trying to control what their peers enjoy, that's when it becomes a problem. I am sure you have gone through this yourself once or twice in your lifetime. You'll be so excited to share this cool new thing you've found out about and then be shunned by y...

I have talked a lot on this blog about the connections between society and the fictitious narratives we as humans create out of our circumstances. Most people think of the historical moments going into their television shows. Say during President Obama's presidency, many people saw African American presidents portrayed in their favorite television shows and movies. This is just one way the present can alter our fictions. But some are more frightening than that. I am talking about the Rise of the Dystopian novel. The first dystopian novel written was The Time Machine by HG Wells and it was ahead of its time. Where many of the more popular dystopian novels are about the fears of society, the Time Machine is the fear of the other and of technology. When you read The Time Machine, you will see people who are not the stereotypical 1895 England person. They are "savage" but they are also the future. Is this a fear of technology taking the world back to it's primitive na...

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...

  We have all been there. One second, you’re reading a series and loving it. The next, for some reason, you hate it. But why does this happen? What should you do when you run into this problem? Is there an appropriate amount of time you should give the books after you make this discovery? Can anyone help you make your decision? Let’s find out! Okay, so we must start at the beginning with this one. Let’s say it’s a long book series and the first two (out of six) were so good, you finished them both in the span of a single day. You were even given all six (the entirety of the series) as a Christmas present. You were loving them. But then you get to the third one and you have been stuck on it for six years only being half way, but you don’t know if you should continue. This is completely hypothetical, no personal experience at all… Ahem. So what do you do? Obviously in this situation, you have not continued the series, but you have hope you may. So you keep the books...