Power to the Readers

Welcome. Here readers have the power to be knowledgeable about their next read. Reviews for books will be regularly posted, recommendation for reviews are much appreciated, and fun will be had spilling my mind into a post.

[powertothereaders]

Furiously Happy

Title: Furiously Happy

Author: Jenny Lawson

Category: Mr.Lonely

For category reference look here. 

Rating: 3/5

Summary: A memoir by a woman who suffers from depression, anxiety and other illnesses speaks from her perspective of life with these illnesses.

Review: This book drew me in by the racoon on the cover. It was a humorous book and kept me entertained. I do not have depression however reading this book gave me some understanding of how it feels and how it affects people. You hear about symptoms of depression and the effects of it all the time but it’s all very impersonal and you don’t relate. When reading this book I could actually relate even though I don’t have her condition. I could walk in her shoes and I find that to be really important because I have friends who have depression who are also very introverted (as am I). They don’t talk about it much. Reading this gave me an inkling of how they feel which helps me better understand how I can help them.

This book is also inspirational because of her philosophy. She is a happy go lucky person who kicks her depression in the ass lots of times and her way of thinking is applicable to everyone, not just people struggling from mental illnesses (because she has a few conditions other than depression). I have personally begun to implement some of her ideals and they are good. For example she has this thing where you basically be “furiously happy” and live the fuck out of every moment so that later when you’re not feeling so great you can remember that kick ass time and feel not so down. This technique works for me and I really like it because I am an introvert. I don’t like hanging around people for to long, I get shy in front of crowds, I seclude myself in a corner and don’t really “hang” with my friends. Being furiously happy makes me go a little out of my shell so that later when I’m enjoying alone time I can be proud of myself. Anyways, Jenny has a good sense of humor and a good set of ideals that are beneficial to people of the world. She is relatable.

The book is written in a way where the chapters jump around but not to much. You still see the big picture and can follow along even though chapter to chapter her memoir changes. The way it jumps forces you to focus on what she’s saying so that you don’t forget for the next time she mentions it. It’s very interactive which adds to the fun of the book.

TLDR: This is a book with good ideals that can definitely change your view of things. It is inspirational and is fun to read. Tis humorous and should be read. It offers you a look into depression and how having mental illnesses affects someone.

Buy: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/furiously-happy-jenny-lawson/1120919562?ean=9781250077028#/

http://www.booksamillion.com/p/Furiously-Happy/Jenny-Lawson/9781250077028?id=7281203176255

Author Site: http://thebloggess.com/

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[powertothereaders]

Initial Thoughts

Title: Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring

Author: J.R.R. Tolkien

This book is going a lot slower than I thought it would. I saw the movie and thought “the book’s probably better.” It sorta is sorta isn’t. So far (I’m past half way through the book) it’s going very slowly. There’s a lot more stuff but it feels like filler things. It is very descriptive and I like that but I wanted it to be more exciting. It’s a lot of waiting for the action and reading the everyday life during the adventure. It’s taking a lot longer to get the ring to Mordor however the struggle for Frodo to keep the ring off is real. You can tell a lot easier in the book and the story behind Bilbo is a lot more illustrated to. The book has its perks. (and so does the movie.)

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Nerdy has 378 books on Goodreads, and is currently reading The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, and recently added Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut.

This is my Goodreads account so that yall peoples know what I’ve reade, what’s upcoming and just cuz.

[powertothereaders]

To the Teachers out There #2

Title: Frankenstein

Author: Mary Shelley

Category: Mr.Lonely

For category reference look here.

Rating: 3.5/5

Summary: A scientist looking to become the greatest in the world by discovering the way to give life to inanimate objects succeeds and becomes afraid of his creation. He abandons it which sets off a domino effect of events.

Review: Although this novel was written quite some time ago it’s not as hard to understand as you’d think. As a student I thought this book would have some really tough vocabulary and be very vague in it’s writing or tough to understand  much in the way that something like Shakespeare is. To some extent I was right, some of the vocabulary was hard but it wasn’t so extreme that I had to grab for a dictionary every two words. It’s a good way for students to enjoy a story while picking up on essential vocabulary that may pop up in other exams or in other old timey books. It was also easy to understand. You could essentially skip the harder words and work off of context and still understand the story. In terms of content this book was a rich. It was pretty straightforward in its messages which is good for understanding the plot. The themes also span across the entire novel so that’s good to and adds to the meaning behind the themes. The fact that the novel has been made into so many different versions makes you curious as to how the original story goes. This keeps you invested.

The way that there is so much meaning and connection to society even now makes it a satisfying read because you can look around you and connect current social justice issues to the themes in here. For example the current situation with racism can be compared to the monster’s mistreatment and also connected to the doctor’s work since racism is something of our own creation that we want to now abandon and ignore, acting like it’s not something that we as a people created. There are many aspects of the story that are like this which can be analyzed in present day. (reading this also makes you feel damn cultured).

Additionally it tells a good narrative of both sides. Favor is not given to either side and you as the reader are left to determine who is more right in their actions. This leads to interactive reading which provides much more meaning since you’re constantly trying to find out more about the characters and the situation and the history of the characters so that you can make a good judgment. You fully need to understand what is happening in order to choose which character you want to sympathize with. The element of human nature where both sides of the argument have flaws also make the characters more relatable because no one is truly 100% right 100% of the time.

TLDR: This was a good novel that has lasted through the years for a reason. It has a depth in its concepts and is a good read for students to learn new vocabulary while enjoying the plot. Is worth the time.

Buy: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/frankenstein-mary-shelley/1116608310?ean=9781593081157#/

http://www.booksamillion.com/p/Frankenstein/Mary-Shelley/9780486282114?id=7264286174576

[powertothereaders]

To the Teachers out There #1

Title: The Bell Jar

Author: Sylvia Plath

Category: Mr.Lonely; To the Teachers out There

For category reference look here.

Rating: 3/5

Summary: Esther Greenwood slowly descends into depression and anxiety after years of pent up frustrations and a trip to New York.

Review: This is a very slow read that takes its time to engage you. You have to pay attention to detail to fully understand the meaning behind the actions and situations. (SPOILER ALERT from here on out) For example, when Esther first leaves Doreen outside of her hotel room door she is showing disinterest in a person whom she previously liked, this is a sign of her oncoming depression and foreshadows her dislike for others in her life. If you didn’t know the symptoms of depression or any of the pretext of the book you would not know this and miss this hint. In general this book is meant to be read with some prior knowledge of what is to come because otherwise you miss out on symptoms since you simply don’t know you’re looking at a symptom.

The overall meaning of the Bell Jar is also slightly hard to determine if close attention is not payed. This should really be read with a lens where you know that she will develop depression and what a bell jar is because if not you miss out on one of the biggest themes in the novel. Society's distorted view of mental illness and how mental illness distorts reality. There are many other themes however these are the main ones that span throughout the novel. While these themes can still be spotted it loses a lot of depth without knowledge some kind.

This would be a good read for people interested in psychology who want to read into depression because it allows you to pinpoint the symptoms yourself and learn how to spot a mental illness. It’s also a shock to the system because you see some of the history of how mental illness was treated in the past and can compare those practices to right now. For instance, Esther is given shock therapy to help her with her depression and it is administered twice in very different ways. This treatment is something not very many people think about or even know about. This along with the medication she was given can be compared to present times and you can visualize the progression in treatment over time.

As a student this novel was easy to read since it had easy vocabulary. The main thing I had to keep in mind is that this was a different time so society was different and technology was not at the point it is now. Understanding was ok however as I mentioned before it is important to have prior knowledge that she will fall into depression as well as what a bell jar is because without this I would not have seen any value in the novel. I would have seen a dull story of a woman who tries to kill herself for seemingly no reason at all. When this is being taught it’s also important to keep students engaged because it can get dull very quickly. Reading it at home is not a fun task when there’s a more exciting read or an enticing tv show. The novel should be discussed and students should be encouraged to find the instances of a distorted view along with the symptoms of her illnesses. By discussing it and having students find meanings and notice differences we are forced to remember some aspects of the story and learn more about analysing a text.

TLDR: All things considered it is a good story that describes depression for people who don’t have it. While it is slow it has its share of meaning and can be beneficial towards understanding an illness that is heard about quite a lot deez days. Prior knowledge of the symptoms of depression the time period of the story and what a bell jar is, is highly recommended.

Buy: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/bell-jar-sylvia-plath/1100550703?ean=9780060837020#/

http://www.booksamillion.com/p/Bell-Jar/Sylvia-Plath/9780060837020?id=7264286174576

[powertothereaders]

How this gouwn run

SO. Because I will be reviewing many different books there will need to be system of organization. I don’t know how to split tumblr into sections (or if that’s even possible) so I will go based on tags and titles.(hoorah).

Alright. So, tags go like this:

Mr.Lonely = stand alone novels

Genesis = first in a series or group of books

Another One = sequel in a series or duology or group of books

Ten Years Later = The next book sin a series or trilogy or group of more than 2 books.

All in the Family = a series review

Only one title will be recurring. To the Teachers out There. This title will be a running theme and will be like “To the Teachers out There #7” or something to that extent. These will then have tags like the ones above to further categorize it.

K. Now you know.

[powertothereaders]

Books cost Shmoney

While books are one of the more affordable hobbies to maintain, when you buy books frequently or in bulk you tend to easily spend into the hundreds. $18 a book for 5 books doesn’t end up being quite so affordable. The world is awesome though and the internet is great so there are ways of buying books truly cheap or simply reading and enjoying them. Here are some of my favorites.

Thrift books/Second hand books

Buying thrift books is heavenly bro. They are (usually) in good condition, and wonderfully cheap. They really are rutabagas. My favorite second hand store is Book-Off. They provide a wide variety of things second hand and have a nicely stocked dedicated section of books. Of course it is a second hand store. They can only sell what people bring to them so you may not find an entire series or the exact book you’re looking for. You will find lots of good stuff though for some wallet friendly prices.

Another thrift bookstore is Strand. Strand is a thrift store dedicated to books so they have a much wider selection to choose from. Strand however does not only sell second hand books they also sell new books so you could essentially find everything there. I don’t have much experience with Strand but many people that I know have and they have spoken very highly of it.

Strand: https://www.strandbooks.com/

Book-Off: http://www.bookoffusa.com/

Buying books online

Not ebooks, buying book books online. For example on Barnes and Noble’s website, hardcover books run around $11-$15 (of course depending on the publisher) instead of the in store price of $18-$20. This is more expensive than the thrift books but it ensures you get brand new books, that you can pre-order any upcoming books, and that you can find whatever books you are looking for, for a reasonable price. You can also return any damaged books.

Ebooks are extremely cheap online. They run around the $2-$5 range. The prices could spike for certain publishers but overall ebooks are hella cheap and the best option to save money if you don’t mind reading on a digital device.

Read the books online

This is not the most desired option for those (like me) who like to feel a book in your hands and have it looking regal on your shelf however it gives you the chance to read books before you buy them. This lets you make a smarter, personalized choice before spending your money. If you prefer reading books electronically then this is perfect for you because guess what: it’s all free(ish). You can keep each book because you’re downloading them dude. (trust me it’s great).

The freeness of the books depends on the method you use. You can either buy them extremely cheap online on your appstore or amazon kindle, or find them at a variety of websites and download them entirely free to then read them on a epub/mobi/pdf compatible software (amazon kindle, google play books, AlReader, etc.). The app AlReader in my experience is best for reading mobi files while Google Play Books is better for building an online library that you can move from device to device. It also allows you to keep books in the web database so that you don’t need to keep every book downloaded to your device in order to read them. You only need to go to your library and download the book you want to read at the time. (I’ve only ever used both of these apps on android devices). Kobo has free ebooks but also sells ebooks.

AlReader: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.neverland.alreader&hl=en_US

Also, google is your friend. If you google “read xxx online free” you will 9 times out of 10 find that book online and also a pdf of it. If you search “xxx epub” or “xxx free epub” or “download xxx free” you will 9 times out of 10 find a valid download link for the book. Some sites are fishy, so don’t use them. Most are perfectly fine. New books will be harder to find but if you wait a few weeks (maybe a month depending on the publisher) you will find it.

***Although I do recommend reading books online before buying I want to emphasize the buying part. It is very important to actually buy a book once you’ve read it and enjoyed it because that is how you support an author. Authors need to know you love them, not just through fandoms but also through the money they receive from book sales. Don’t forget this is their day job. It’s much more than their 9 to 5 it’s their 24/7. This is how they put food on the table and how they are able to write more books for you to enjoy. I can’t stress this enough, please please PLEASE for the love of all that’s good buy the books (you like) after you read them. Sure, you wouldn’t want to buy something you hated to read but definitely buy that book that you ended up liking more than you thought you would. Worst case scenario you can donate the book to a library, give it to someone else, sell it to someone else, or sell it to a thrift store. It is important to support the author!!!

Sites:  https://www.readanybook.com/

            http://1novels.com/

            https://www.kobo.com/us/en/p/free-ebooks

            http://www.novel2018.com/

The Library

I live in New York City. Over here there exists a place called the New York Public Library. This place is a wonderful place. If you can’t find a book in one branch you can find it in another. You get to borrow the books as many times as you want, it’s free as long as you bring it back on time and you can extend how much time you have until you need to bring it back as well. It’s greeeat man. If you truly can’t afford a book the library, any library, is the way to go. Libraries were made to be there for people who want to stimulate their mind through little symbols strung together on paper. This is their purpose. Give them life. Borrow a book.

Remember to try and donate to your local library as well. This allows them to stockpile even more books and provide services to the community which help people enjoy the pleasures of reading when they otherwise wouldn’t have been able to. Libraries do so so much good that they truly need a whole nother post to talk about it all.

Now go spend (or save) that hard earned dolla.

[powertothereaders]

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