I Read: A Beautifully Foolish Endeavour

A Beautifully Foolish Endeavour by Hank Green

(sequel to An Absolutely Remarkable Thing)

What a beautifully foolish way to continue this story. I read the first one late, so I already knew it had a sequel, but this was the perfect completion of the story. I liked the way this was written because it very effectively pointed out how separate the characters became.

Anything else I say would give away parts of the story, and I think it's important in this book that the reader doesn't know what's coming. It just feels important. 

#73-2021

I Read: An Absolutely Remarkable Thing

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green

I didn't know what to expect when I picked up this book. So in fact, I had essentially no expectations at all. But I am truly blown away. 

As noted when I talk about John Green's books, I started following Vlogbrothers and enjoyed the engagement between John and Hank and the community they created through nerdfighteria and DFTBA. They've created and contributed to some pretty awesome stuff, so of course, when Hank wrote a book I was going to read it. 

It's such a great book. The thought and planning that's in here are awesome; getting the reader to think about different perspectives and viewpoints. The story is breathtakingly possible, and at the same time unimaginable. The title really nailed it - it's an absolutely remarkable thing. 

#71-2021

I Read: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

(Prequel to The Hunger Games trilogy)

This is the "long-awaited" follow-up to The Hunger Games trilogy.  I put that in quotes, because I wasn't particularly waiting for it. Sure, I pre-ordered it, but I didn't really feel like I needed it before I knew it existed. There wasn't anything missing in the original story for me. I didn't need any backstory in particular to feel the story was complete. I only needed it in the sense that I'm a completist, so I had to have it to complete the set.

But I understand the concept of following up on that kind of success with something that might bring that back. And Collins is a good writer. It's a well-written book. I enjoyed it. It took me longer than it should to read but that was more a function of what was going on in the world and finding time to read it, than not wanting to read it. 

I Read: Naked in Death

Naked in Death by J.D. Robb
(First in the In Death series)

For some reason, I've never read anything by J.D. Robb, despite reading a lot of Nora Roberts series.  J.D. Robb is a pseudonym of Nora Roberts, in case you weren't aware. So I took the opportunity, during one particular paperback sale at Chapters. Indigo, to purchase the first two books in the series.

I could have just started wherever the series is currently, which I think is somewhere in the 50s, but I felt like I wanted to begin at the beginning.

I read: Chosen Ones

Chosen Ones by Veronica Roth

I'll be totally honest - I pre-ordered this book based solely on the fact that Veronica Roth wrote the Divergent and Carve the Mark series'.  I also fully admit that I was not a fan of her characterization in Divergent. I completely hate the way Tris is written. She's whiny and annoying. But I enjoyed the story, even with holes, and I did get very attached to Four, which from reading about Roth later I realize was actually her issue also.

But I enjoyed Carve the Mark, and I saw a lot of growth in the writing and the story, so I assumed, no matter what I'd get something I liked out of this new novel. I didn't read anything about it beforehand, just based the decision solely on author name and reputation.

I write: Technology in Science Fiction and Fantasy

Writing Assignment – Technology in Science Fiction and Fantasy

Overview:

We’re back to the workshop again this week, this time thinking about the technology that exists in our created world, how it affects that world, and the people in it. But we’ve got to keep the tension up, so at least some of this technology creates an impending disaster.

A technology allowed to be taken to the extreme threatens to destroy our civilization: socially, politically, or physically.

1. What is the technology?
2. What is it that makes it such a threat?
3. What kind of character would be the most interesting to engage with the technology and save the world?

I write: Decisions in a tense world: Political and Social Systems

Writing Assignment – Decisions in a tense world: Political and Social Systems

The Set up - Overview

This week I’d like you to write a scene. It can be a standalone story or part of a larger tale that you haven’t yet written. The goal of the scene is to show a character making a decision with life-changing consequences. This decision should be heavily influenced by, or take place in the context of, your fictional world.

Your fictional world, in this case, should take a fundamental value of our current societies on earth and change them in some way. It can take the form of either a science-fiction or fantasy setting, but it has to be different from today. Is it a world where fertile women are forced into child-bearing servitude? Is it a world where magic exists, but is forbidden? Is it a world of mass oppression and class struggle? Think through how those factors would weigh in your characters decision process.

I write: Science Fiction

The first assignment for my Science Fiction and Fantasy class was to take a normal, everyday thing and make it sound like science fiction. We were given an example of how to do that, which basically gave us the direction to be vague but specific at the same time.

I found this very difficult.  I relied heavily on the Thesaurus app. According to critique, I did very well.

Keep reading to see for yourself:

I read: The Isis Trilogy

The Isis Trilogy by Monica Hughes 

(includes Keeper of the Isis Light, The Guardian of Isis and The
Isis Pedlar)

I read these books when I was in grade 7 or 8.  I recall finding them immensely interesting because I think they were the first things I read that were in the sci-fi genre.  Set in the future, but about humans as if they're now, these are an interesting study of people.

I read: The End and Other Beginnings

The End and Other Beginnings: Stories from the Future by Veronica Roth

This was a lovely collection of short stories or novellas.  The six stories were a collection of different characters, some of whom we'd met before in other of Roth's work and some new. 

I felt comfortable in these stories, not because I recognized some of the characters but because the writing was familiar and easy to follow.

I read: The Offering

The Offering by Kimberly Derting 
(Book 3 in The Pledge trilogy)

I'm glad to be finished this series.  I didn't dislike it, but I'm happy to be done.  Something about this one just didn't let me be drawn into it the way I had been to other series of similar genre. It's well written, and the characters were well done, but there was just something missing.  The individual novels weren't very long which could have limited the depth of the story.  But I do think the conflicts and tension could have been more extensive.  Each conflict seemed to take longer to become something than it took to be resolved.  Maybe that caused me to gloss over them a bit.  It didn't really feel like I had much at stake.

I'm giving it three stars.  It wasn't bad, but not one of my favourites either.

I read: The Essence

The Essence  by Kimberly Derting
(Book 2 in The Pledge trilogy)


I don't dislike this series, but I can't say that I absolutely love it either.  The story is interesting, but it absolutely has to be a series.  Which to me means that it really should just have been one longer book.  In my opinion and experience, if a series is well written, you could read each book on its own, but the writing makes you not want to. So far, each book hasn't really had its own story at all; it's all part of the grander scheme. 

I read: The Pledge

The Pledge by Kimberly Derting  
(Book 1 in The Pledge trilogy)

Another dystopian series, which I would describe loosely as a combination of any other dystopian series with the twist of The Selection added in.   It's an interesting concept, and I was carried easily through the novel - I did read it in one day, so it's either that easy to read, or I was just that motivated to find the ending.