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Starting 2019, my first book is the Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls. I was recommended this book by a friend, and even though i'm only an hour into it, it's quite the journey. This book defies my previous judgements a lot. I'm not a fan of memoirs like at all but man this book actually kinda flips what i previously thought. This memoir isn't your classic "woe is me pity story" but rather takes you on an adventure. I feel the reason I felt this way about memoirs before this book was the fact that our lives aren't all THAT interesting. Also, Walls is a genuine great storyteller, and has me hooked like any good story should. The characters are crafted with such a panache you can't help but want to meet them. The dad with his wild dreams, is especially my favorite. He really brings this story together with his childlike wonder and imagination. The book earned its title from the dad planning to build a castle in the middle of a desert for his family. Overall, Walls crafts this book with interesting thoughts, funny characters, personal growth, and transparent traits and it all works together, surprisingly. This already is going to be my favorite book of the school year.

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Starting Ready Player One, the book immediately starts with a hook. I think one of the most interesting parts about this world, portrayed by main character Wade Watts, is that the characters are living in a setting that could be our world. The author is basically saying that if we don't make an effort to prioritize the environment, we could end up living in scrapyards and sleeping in trailers. Another thing I like about the book is the striking resemblance of the Oasis to modern day Virtual Reality. The author does an amazing job of describing the inners of the Oasis, it excites the reader to the point where you don't even care how bad Wade's life is, you want to be him. The interesting thing is, even though every thing about our world and Wade's world is completely flipped, there is a surprising amount of relatability. I completely understand Wade's sense of social anxiety, and how sometimes you wanna shut your self out. As well as this, I like the author's description of the Oasis creator: James Halliday. Just goes to show how your big business creators aren't always Jobs esque; the book shows just how much of a nerd this guy is. All in all, this book so far is a win in my book, and I'll definitely stick this one until the end.

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Continuing on The Shining, King masterfully embellishes on every concept inside this fictional universe. Take note of this, by far the best thing about this book is how you understand the people event though they aren't the ones narrating. For example, you understand that Danny has limited real world perception would Danny narrating and saying "i didn't get this." I get Danny's actions and his thought process without him saying it. That's something books now can't do. But this book is great with that. Also, going off of last week saying that Jack is true villain, this book just is unique. Never have I once seen the main character of anything and just hate them for their actions. Harvey Dent says in The Dark Knight
"You Either Die A Hero, Or You Live Long Enough To See Yourself Become The Villain". This quote is perfect for Jack, it describes how the longer he stays in the Overlook, the more villainous he becomes. It's incredible how he progresses Jack villain-esque activity and flips the "learned morals through the journey" clique story on its head.

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Nearing the end of The Shining, the book leaves you in a weird mood. Strangely this book leaves me wanting so much more than any other book i've ever read. I don't even like scary movies, like I still won't see this movie after I read the book even though I love this book so much because my extreme fear of scary movies. This book, even though it scares me so much, is super captivating. As I stated last blog post, I feel like I'm in the Overlook Hotel; the imagery in this book is unparalleled. As well as that, there isn't this myriad of complex figurative language uses per page like a ton of books i've read. It makes the book more real, no one really uses metaphors, for example, in a sentence. Honestly, I feel like books with an excess of figurative language make books so much more dull. It almost makes reading a chore, and allows you to experience the actual situation in the book rather than fluffing it up. Sure there are uses for it, and the Shining uses it well, but doesn't overdo it, like most books. I think my favorite part about this book is the fact that the villain in the story is the main character. This is such a nice change of pace from the horror movies/books out there because all they are fighting an evil doll, a ghost whatever thing you can think of. What Shining does differently is gives you the main character, a crazed dad who eventually goes insane. You actually get backstory and a point of view from the other side. It's unexpected, but really great. Looking forward to next week's reading.

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Oh boy, I had high expectations for the second half of this book, and the Shining definitely lives up to that. King really pays attention to detail in this story, but doesn't make it Harry Potter type unnecessary length (sorry if you like Harry Potter, that's just my opinion). King will describe everything around him, while simultaneously making it interesting. King wrote a whole chapter on Danny getting wasp stings yet made it the most interesting chapter so far. This book feels like that scene in Ready Player One, where the characters jump into the world of the Shining. I feel like these characters. Every sentence makes me feel like I'm in the Overlook, watching Jack go inside while his clueless son doesn't realize it, and his wife Wendy copes with her depression of her own. All that and King isn't one of those authors that over saturates their work with metaphors and personification, rather he uses descriptive language, which to me, is SO much better. It sounds weird, but I like King's descriptions of Jack and Winnifreds relationship. I like the fact that it's not one of those perfect sitcom relationships where the relationship goes perfectly and the relationship always stands fine. Instead Jack is a short-tempered dad who sometimes can't control himself. King gives Jack holes. Although probably no one in Clear Brook is an alcoholic father, giving him these personality flaws makes him more human instead of the strange "book humans" where people out of nowhere learn ethics and decide to be a good person or whatnot. Looking forward to next weeks blog so I can read more of this book.

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This is my third Shining entry, and there will be much more, because this book is so good. (and because it's pretty long). This book is scary. Not gonna lie. The magic of this book is how scary it is without you seeing it. Movies can easily scare you with numerous things such as the score, costumes, actors, make up jobs, etc. This book has no production studio maximizing the scariness of this book, it's just that descriptive & well written. One of the scariest scenes is the two twins with Danny and their synchronized speech. Typing this now seems merely a little "boo" but believe me, in the book, it's nerve wracking. King could make a puppy seem like the scariest thing on earth (which he did in Pet Sematary, but that's beside the point). Also, there is a scene where straight blood comes out of the elevator, like gallons of straight blood. I don't hate blood, in fact I think it's pretty cool, but King took it to the next level. I was so grossed out, but strangely hooked. Maybe this is just the horror genre is general, but I love this book & Stephen King's writings. Although I'm taking this book slowly, this book has me captivated & I'll probably read another one of King's books later in the year. I somehow knew that this book would scare me, but I doubted literature. This book is truly amazing & I hope the writing style stays the same and the story progresses well. I know the book is better than the movie, but I really am curious to see if the later scenes in the book are as scary as the movie.

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Continuing with The Shining, since it is a 600 page book, the vivid descriptive language never ceases in this book for a second. My only complaint is that the book takes a long time to set up; the backstories get long at times. However, I can't put this book down, it is truly amazing. I like how unfiltered the book is, like nothing holds back. Stephen King flat out will curse three times in a sentence, which takes gusto. It sounds a bit vulgar, but I appreciate his usage of cursing. There are books that just force cursing down your throat, simply out out pure spite, like Paper Towns by John Green. It sounds strange, but I love the descriptions of Jack's mental problems. It creates foreshadowing and understandability. It's interesting to know that there are background forces in Jack's gradual insanity besides the Overlook doing it himself. I would have a problem with that if he just went insane through the hotel itself, but you get a different perspective with him and his schizophrenic son. You get insight on everything. Another point of interest to me is the narration. Jack and his family don't narrate the story, but in a sense they do because it tells you their thoughts, and crucial details in the characters without being third person. For instance, a common thing with Danny, Jack's son, is his picking up of certain words, and looping them over and over in his head. You can sense his fear without Danny directly telling the reader "I was scared"

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For my first blog post, I have chosen to read The Shining by Stephen King. I chose this book mainly because that I'm too chicken to actually watch the movie, so I figured I'd read the book instead. As well as that, I also started reading it once I read the blurb. Stephen King really has a way to his writing style that doesn't hold back. He also doesn't fluff up his stories with insane amounts of figurative language, but rather gets to telling the story. This is the first horror story I've read, so it's much different than what I've ever read. I've never really experience fear from a book before this.
This book really has a captivating way about it though, even before Jack even enters the hotel. The way King sets up his story is truly a work of art. Instead of the clique books how we see a moody teen embark on an adventure, changing their attitude we get actual reality in terms of emotions. King rather shows us what other authors won't, giving us Jack, a depressed businessman who has had some background hurting others (his child and his last job). I think my favorite thing about this book so far is that it is unlike the books I've read before, creating imagery in your heads unlike the never ending metaphors in other books. We get inside the characters heads as they turn insane, as their minds fry due to the inevitable doom ahead. All I've really read before are simple fantasy books, where we find the sole hero in an unlikely place, hero defeats his foe, gets his prize, happy ending, over. I've never read a book that's deals with internal conflict like this, and I'm glad that it is The Shining that I start that with.