The Writing Room

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  Posted by Jett Fri Feb 20, 2009 2:02pm PST

  I love reading, but lately, since finishing the Twilight Saga, I just haven’t been motivated. I’ve been reading “Dress Your Family in Denim and Corduroy,” by David Sedaris for about three months now. A friend loaned it to me, and I do find it interesting, but it just isn’t that fun, you know? I need something to draw me in again like Twilight did — and Harry Potter did. Any suggestions?

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  Posted by Inspector Fri Feb 20, 2009 2:50pm PST

  I missed the twilight saga and I am not familiar with the other book also. I do know that although that I did not personally see the Harry

  Potter series and books. but they swept the nation. What is was this

  great fascination about Harry Potter???

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  Posted by Inspector Fri Feb 20, 2009 3:04pm PST

  Jett I left you a comment and it did not post. This has been happening

  a few times here lately. I wonder why the Harry Potter series took off

  and swept the nation. I only saw the commercials. I really like the movie "Monk" and there was a series that called "Monk" that came from

  his movie. I do know that Harry Potter really swept in the kids. What

  is your opinion of Harry Potter and what benefits that the children got out of his series?

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  Posted by Ace Fri Feb 20, 2009 7:42pm PST

  Oh man I loved the HP saga :) I would finish those books in no time flat. But you should def try reading Catch-22 or Cats Cradle sometime. those two are some of my all time faves!!

  I usually flip open the book to a random page and read an excerpt to see if I like it. Then in order for it to keep my attention it has to be a fantastic story line, or extremely well written. I'm really picky for some reason. So I guess...my suggestion would be to browse your bookstore and pick up random books that look interesting or have interesting titles :)

  Also! Shannon Drakes series (not the overly romanced one but the vamp one) is FANTASTIC! I have that entire series and I've read them about 5 times over.

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  Posted by Raynie8 Sat Feb 21, 2009 8:13am PST

  Hello, Jett. I've read 3 of the Twilight books. I have had the fourth one sitting here for months and haven't been in the mood to start it. What's your take on the 4th one - yay or nay'?

  If you like vampire books, but with A LOT more adult graphic content, Poppy Z. Brite, starting with "Lost Souls" is one of my favorite books, and i'm actually not a vampire book person. But it's got drugs, death and rock n' roll in it, so if ya like those things, you can't go wrong with this book, and a couple others of hers related to this one. She is not for the weak stomach, though.

  I also recently bought Dean Koontz - The Darkest Evening Of The Year. But haven't started that either.

  Other recent books i've read that I do suggest are James Patterson - "Honeymoon" read it in a few days, and "Sail" was ok - good. I don't care for the "Cross" books of his, though.

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  Posted by Raynie8 Sat Feb 21, 2009 8:15am PST

  Make that, SEX, drugs, death and rock n' roll. - The best kind of books.

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  Posted by Raynie8 Sat Feb 21, 2009 9:19am PST

  Oh, p.s. Jett, can you leave a message at my blog so I can find yours again? I can't subscribe. Just took me 10 minutes to find you again. Thanks, and have a good weekend.

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  Posted by Jett Mon Feb 23, 2009 6:58am PST

  Inspector: Hey, thanks for stopping by! I didn't know there's a movie called Monk, but I have watched the TV show. I used to really like it but haven't been into it much this season.

  Harry Potter is just so great because of the writing. The movies are horrible in comparison to the books, probably mostly because you can't see inside a character's head as well on film as you can in a book, and most of what's funny about HP is what Harry is thinking, or the descriptions that J.K. Rowling gives of characters and situations. Rowling is an amazing writer and completely draws in the reader. The story line of the series covers the basic fight between good and evil, and though I know a lot of Christians (or other religious people) don't like the books because they think the books are promoting witchcraft or whatever, the books actually promote being kind to your neighbor, seeing the good in people, and working with people around the world to fight evil. I think nobody who actually has read the books could possibly think that they promote evil.

  Plus, the characters are just so great and relevant to readers today, and Rowling's sense of humor, I think, is unparalleled. Her attention to detail is amazing; when I reread the books I noticed so many things I missed the first time around. Also, the books draw in people of all ages. The books are considered to be children's books, because the main characters are children, but the subject matter really applies more to adults, I think, especially in the later books. Can you tell I recommend them?

  BTW, I also loved the Narnia series, but on a different level, I guess. I read the Harry Potter books before I read The Chronicles of Narnia, and I noticed a lot of similarities and parallels, so I know Rowling read C.S. Lewis before writing HP.

  Anyway, in comparison, the Twilight Saga can hardly be considered good, but the books were still fun to read, and the storyline was captivating. Still, I think what really makes a series of books exemplary is a great story with equally wonderful writing, which I cannot say for Twilight (there are just too many mistakes and inconsistencies in the series to put it in the same category with Harry Potter.)

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  Posted by Jett Mon Feb 23, 2009 6:59am PST

  Ace: Thanks, I will look for those books you mentioned. I totally agree about books needing to be well-written. That's why I don't really like Nicolas Sparks. I read The Notebook and just really didn't like his writing style, so that turned me off of him all together.

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  Posted by Jett Mon Feb 23, 2009 7:09am PST

  Raynie8: It's not that I'm not into vampire books, necessarily, it's that I'm not really into sci-fi or fantasy — funny coming from someone who loves HP, LOTR, Chronicles of Narnia, and Star Wars, I know, but in general I prefer realistic fiction. I liked Twilight for the storyline. I don't mind fantasy type stories that take place in a real-world format, like HP does. It makes me feel like it could be real. But stories that take place on another planet somewhere or in an alternate universe tend to turn me off — like A Wrinkle in Time. I read that when I was little and didn't like it at all. I also didn't like The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe when I first read it as a child. It wasn't until I was an adult and could appreciate the Chronicles for their format, symbolism, and literary genius that I liked the story.

  Anyway, I thought I might try other vampire books, but I don't know about the ones you mentioned! :) They sound too gruesome for my liking.

  You know, I did like Breaking Dawn. I think it's my favorite in the series, so I'll say Yay. But it is very different from the other three, which is why I can't say I love the series as a whole. Stephanie Meyer isn't very consistent. It's like she just sort of wrote down what she first thought of and then didn't bother editing it. And while I'm on the subject, her editor sucks! If I ever write a book, I'm not using her editor.

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