Shifty, Meaty Madness

So the other day my two friends and I went to a bookstore. We browsed for about 3 hours (yes. stop judging.), and it soon became apparent that despite our differing tastes, we were all looking for the same things in our books. We came up with adjectives to describe this.

Shifty. And Meaty.
A shifty book is the type of book that changes the reader's mind on something, or makes them reflect on an issue that they may have never thought about before. A book may be shifty for some people but not shifty for others. For example, reading Scott Westerfeld's book Extras made me, a compulsive liar, turn into a compulsive truther. His book revolutionized my brain and my communication style. My life changed because of that book. And yet, Elise read Westerfeld's Uglies series and never thought once about the importance of honesty. We both read Full Frontal Feminism by Jessica Valenti, and it summoned a feminist conscience in us. So a shifty book is a thought-provoking, mind-rewiring, possibly life-changing book. But what's a meaty book?

A meaty book is usually, but doesn't have to be, a thick book. It's the type of book that has a story you truly feel a part of. The depth of the author's world burns so deep into you that, in a way, the book is interactive. Harry Potter and Fruits Basket are both popular for their blatant meatiness. A meaty book is a wonderful book. A meaty book is the type of book you stay up until 3 AM reading. A meaty book is the reason why you might spend a Friday night locked up in your bedroom, not bothering to socialize or eat or shower. Yeah. That's a meaty book.


Now, do not misunderstand. A book can certainly be good without being meaty or shifty. Justine Larbalestier and John Green are two of my favorite authors, but their books fall in neither category for me. However, Kristin Cashore's book Graceling is both meaty and shifty to me. I've read it in twice in a single month.

So there you have it. :D If I ever mention 'meaty' or 'shifty' when describing a book, you know what I mean. And assuming anyone will ever actually read this...how would you describe your books? Do you relate to the thought of books being meaty and/or shifty? Until next time,

-Anabelle

So.... Thoughts.

I don't like writing book reviews. First of all, I'm not particularly good at it. And to add to that, there are plenty of book reviewers already blogging and they're much better than me. Secondly, I never intended to write book reviews. I just did that because it felt like the "right" thing to do.

I started this blog just to kind of...rant about books. Or think about them. It began when I reread To Kill a Mockingbird and I couldn't get certain lines out of my head. I kept pondering them, and eventually I had an extremely nerdy discussion about it while at a pizzeria with two friends. That's when I decided that maybe I should blog my thoughts.

Thinking about books is pretty healthy---it expands your mind and, by questioning a character's actions and underlying themes of a story, you sort of get to know yourself as well as the book.

However, blogging my strange thoughts has proven to be difficult. I go to write them down and suddenly draw a blank. That blank turns into a crappy review. :-/ Eventually, though, I do want to blog about books. In some way. I'm just not sure what way that is. I'll figure it out though. :D

Also, I know no one reads this blog (I feel like the words I type are echoing from the loneliness. "Helllloooo! Hellloooo! Anyone out there?"), but I feel the need to explain why I haven't been blogging that much. It's spring break, and I...I dunno. I just haven't been reading too many books. Sorry about that. >.<

So until I get a Big Idea about what I should blog about, I'm out. :-) Hopefully I'll be back blogging in just a few days.

-Anabelle

Fruits Basket vol. 1---Best manga EVER?!

Title: Fruits Basket vol. 1
Author: Natsuki Takaya
Summary (from amazon.com): Tohru Honda was an orphan when one day fate kicked her out of the house and on to land belonging to the mysterious Sohma family. After stumbling upon the teenage squatter, the Sohmas invite Tohru to stay in their house in exchange for cooking and cleaning. Everything goes well until she discovers the Sohma family's secret, when hugged by members of the opposite sex, they turn into their Chinese Zodiac animal!

Just to make this clear, I’ve already read the entire Fruits Basket series. I’ve also watched the anime. However, it’s such a good manga that I’ll be rereading it and writing reviews here. :)

Fruits Basket is one of the best manga series of all time. That may seem like an exaggeration, but I’ve never read a graphic novel that even comes close to having the amount of character depth Fruits Basket has. Natsuki Takaya is a genius.

The first volume is absolutely adorable and very uplifting, but not in the excessive way. The dark Sohma family curse is only hinted at, but the reader still gets the feeling that more serious drama is on it's way. However, Tohru Honda makes for an optimistic protagonist even in the worst of times.

The artwork is drawn in typical manga style: the characters have inhumanly large eyes, sometimes chibi caricatures replace the usual drawings, etc. It's certainly not bad, but it's not mind-blowing. But the plot and characters make up for that!

It's recommended, 100%. Check it out. Seriously. :D

YA Giveaway

A YA book giveaway from Juiciliciousss Reviews! Includes White Cat by Holly Black, which I'm really looking forward to reading. :)

Go to giveaway: Here

Book giveaway! ^-^

The deadline is April 25th.

YA book giveaway: is here

Twilight: The Graphic Novel

Title: Twilight (graphic novel)
Author and artist: Stephenie Meyer and Young Kim

Summary (provided by amazon.com): When Isabella Swan moves to the gloomy town of Forks and meets the mysterious, alluring Edward Cullen, her life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn. With his porcelain skin, golden eyes, mesmerizing voice, and supernatural gifts, Edward is both irresistible and impenetrable. Up until now, he has managed to keep his true identity hidden, but Bella is determined to uncover his dark secret… Beautifully rendered, this first installment of Twilight: The Graphic Novel is a must-have for any collector’s library.

So first let me make something clear: I hate Twilight. I don’t like the general fandom, the books, the movies, the characters, or anything else. I do not like 100 year-old ex-murderers who watch teenage girls sleep. I do not like shirtless boys who force-kiss their “loves” using wolfish brute strength. I do not like Twilight.

And yet, somehow, I adored the graphic novel. Adored. It.

The art is phenomenal. It’s unfortunate to me that such a great artist had to be hired to work with such a crappy plot, but there’s no denying the spellbinding touches she put into the story. Bella is a bit too pretty for my liking-she fits right in with the Cullen’s-but every other character seemed spot on. Even the minor ones, such as Jessica and Mike.

The artwork definitely deserves the most attention. While the graphic novel is more fast-paced than the original 500-page book, the important or pinnacle scenes are emphasized with dramatic colors and shading.

The plot was still ‘eh.’ Yet somehow, the pictures alone were enough to tempt me to reread Twilight. I might just have to try.

Altogether, if you’re a fan of Twilight…check it out! It’s a winner, for sure.

Wild Ones vol. 1 and vol. 2 (manga)

Title: Wild Ones

Author: Kiyo Fujiwara

Summary (from back of the book): Sachie Wakamura just lost her mother, and her estranged grandfather has shown up to take care of her. The only problem is that Grandpa is the head of a yakuza gang! Sachie tries to continue living her normal life, but she can’t run far since Rakuto, one of the most popular guys in school, is part of her grandfather’s gang and her new protector.

Caution: Will contain spoilers

I just finished volume 2, but I’ll review volume 1 briefly as well for anyone not familiar with the series.

The manga is the summary. Like, that’s exactly what it is. There aren’t any subplots and there’s very little character development in the first volume. The plot is namely cliché after cliché: The lonely girl meets handsome boy, handsome boy saves her from creepy guy on street, handsome boy is elusive and dogmatic in (what seems to be) the typical Japanese fashion, etc. And that’s really all there is.
 
Volume 2 was even more of a disappointment. This one dragged more than the last, and I felt like Rakuto’s character changed a lot. And not in a good way. More like in the bossy, stalker-ish Edward Cullen way (I apologize to any Twilight fans out there!).

Example: Sachie and Rakuto are at the beach together, and during her time there Sachie does something sort of bold (Oh no! How dare a woman act bold!). In response to this, Rakuto puts her in timeout. Like, uh…ew.

Soon after that Sachie finds Rakuto sleeping peacefully (sexily?) near a window. She thinks to herself, “He seems to sparkle in the sunlight.” That just chilled me. Obviously it was an ominous warning: His Edward Cullen-ness was just starting.

Basically, Wild Ones is about a dull girl being bossed around by a sexist pig the entire manga. But we’re supposed to adore this “hero,” you see. (There’s another boy too, who seems quite a bit nicer but equally possessive of Sachie. Don’t let me even start on him, although he is a great deal better then Rakuto.)

Perhaps in Japanese society it’s acceptable to glamorize possessiveness and excessive domination, but I didn’t find the “romance” in this manga very romantic at all.