Language!! What's the point?

SO this isn't a book review but it has to do with some books I recently read or started reading. I find bad language in a book almost completely unnecessary, it bothers me when bad language is published and it frustrates me when it is excessive. One of the biggest arguments for trashy language is that it helps the reader to understand the character or the mood better, but I believe that a good writer will be able to describe the characters feelings through imagery allowing the author to avoid the obstacle of curses. I'm not saying that dialogue isn't needed or trying to minimize its importance, I'm just trying to point out that bad language can be avoided if the writer had the will to do so.

The F-word gets its own little lecture. Everything I spoke about above applies to it ten fold and more. When I read a book and the author finds it necessary to enter the F-word into the text I'm done, I put down the book and wont pick it up again. It reflects bad judgement on the part of the author that they would think that I as a reader would enjoy reading anything containing such foul language. Personally I can never understand why anyone would use it. Throughout my life I have heard that word so many times that I find the use of it a joke, it has become a word used by people that often times have less intelligence, and act without maturity. So when an author uses the F-word it makes there character look stupid which in turn reflects on them, and all respect I had for them as an author is lost.

I Love Free Stuff

A writing friend of my sister is doing a freebie so I thought I'd enter to win, I posted this on my blog because it not only increases my chances of winning but also I'm a fan of free stuff and I think everybody should have the opportunity to enter (but mostly to increase my chances). Good Luck and may my awesome blogging skills win. Wow I almost forgot to leave a link to the original site http://mormonmommywriters.blogspot.com/ I think my blogging skills just dropped a point.

Katherine has generously given us a signed copy of her book, Darkness Comprehended!To qualify for this Author Signed Book FREEBIE you must visit the author’s site, and leave a comment about your favorite part of her site, with your email here (or I can't get a hold of you if you win). To increase your chances at winning the FREEBIE, mention this FREEBIE with a link to this site on your blog (leave me your blog link in the comment section), and/or become a follower of this blog, and/or post this link on your Facebook home page and/or send a friend request to Mary Olsen. The FREEBIE will end Sunday evening and will be announced next Monday. I will send out an email to the winner.
***The winner must respond to the email within 1 weeks time or the FREEBIE will be re-drawn and given to a new winner.***
Enjoy and I hope you win!!!

Ender in Exile

Recently I was looking over a few blogs when I came across one that mentioned the Whitney Awards. I had personally never heard of them before and decided to discover which LDS authors had bean chosen as finalists. As I was scrolling through the books (many of which I didn't recognize the title, cover, or author) I found Ender in Exile. Now if you haven't read Ender's Game you should, it's amazing. Those of you who have read Ender's Game know how amazing it is, personally I have read the entire shadow series but never completed the Ender story (it's really confusing when you're in junior high). Naturally when I realized that this book had bean published without my knowledge I knew I had to have it, and proceeded to acquire a copy the very next day.

I recommend that before you read this book you read the shadow series, considering you acquire a knowledge of what happens to Bean as the story progresses.

Ender in Exile consists of the time that passes directly after the Bugger wars end. It tells the story of a young boy that tries to assimilate back into life being raised for the specific purpose of winning a war. I describes the weight he bears after destroying an entire civilization and how he tries to figure out why it was allowed. Orson Scott Card is a very experienced writer and is excellent at portraying the feelings of the character in a way that we connect on a personal level, so that when Ender feels the weight of the world we share that weight with him. I would suggest that you read Ender in Exile and see a world through Ender's eyes.

P.S.
Sorry I've taken so long in getting this post done I started it over a month ago and it's sat with my drafts since. I've bean slightly busy.

Fablehaven 4 (my awakening to critiquing)

Couldn't someone have warned me about the dangers of becoming an English critic, I called you my friends and you let me down, I'm ashamed to know you. Because of you I'll never stray to far from the side walk... wow don't know were that came from, what I meant to say was I'll never be able to enjoy any book as much as I did or be able to finish a book without saying "where was their editor!" I've been down roads similar to this and there is no turning back, but YOU could have stopped me from starting!

My realization of this burden came as I was reading FableHaven Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary. I loved Fablehaven and still do just slightly less. As I was happily starting my book small pests became aparent to me within the text (without my consent) and would not go away. That's when I realized that the on and off switch to my writers critic self had broken in the on position... and now I'm confused. I'm glad that I notice small mistakes, but sometimes I just want to enjoy a fun book without distractions. Does anyone feel my pain?

P.S.
I should probably include that Fablehaven was enjoyable and the twists at the end are great.

P.S.S.
Oh and I have to put in that I love you Tyler for your willingness to go to Brandon Mull's book signing and get a signed copy for me. Thank you soooooooo much :)

My Mosaic

Well I figured since this is my blog I would let people get to know me a little better while I had a little fun. I picked this up from my sister Jenny.

It was a lot of fun. if you want to do one yourself here is how:

step 1: go to flickr.com

setp 2: in another window open http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/mosaic.php

step 3: choose 4 columns, 3 rows

step 4: answer the following questions in the search bar of flicker. pick your favorite one on the first page and paste it into your mosaic

1. What is your first name?

2. What is your favorite food?

3. What school did you go to?

4. What is your favorite color?

5. Who is your celebrity crush?

6. Favorite drink?

7. Dream vacation?

8. Favorite dessert?

9. What you want to be when you grow up?

10. What do you love most in life?

11. One word to describe you.

12. Your nickname.

Aldous Huxley's Brave New World

Um... well, were to start. Surprisingly I'd have to agree with the critics when they say that Huxley was ahead of his time, in that he would appeal more to this period in time with his twisted, sexual, and futuristic plot. If you can't tell, I did not like this book. Actually I'm puzzled why this would be on any high school suggested reading list? Like many of his time he focused on the worst in society and government and took it to the extreme creating a society that the government controls through sex and drugs... and this makes him special how?

What is his purpose for writing it? To warn people of what is going to happen. If he wanted to do that he should have written an essay or had another author help him, because his writing stinks, period. First major problem, the doom and gloom ending, one of my writing rule of thumbs is that even if you want to make a point nobody is going to want to read your book or recommend it if it doesn't have even a little hope at the end like The Giver. Problem two, a main character fake out. Never focus on one character till the middle of the book and then do a switch-a-roo to the real MC it makes the first half seem like a waist of time, I'm guessing that his reason for that was to introduce the reader to this "brave new world" but he could easily have done that through the MC's point of view ( what I'm trying to get at is that he has no valid reason for his poor writing except that he is a poor author).

This book has only done one thing for me and that is to confuse me. I can't figure out how this book is considered literarily meritorious and even sometimes a classic? Can you say lame.

Brandon Mull's Fablehaven

Another youth section fun read, Fablehaven captures the imagination as our eyes are opened to a mystical world that could be staring us in the face, literally. As I put in the comments on The Secret Garden, this book has the three essentials of a children's fantasy; magic, a secret, and adventure.

I enjoy the equilibrium that is applied in this book, the discovery made by the children bring to light creatures one hundred times more beautiful than any in this world but they soon come to find out that there are also beings one hundred times uglier, they find that there is great evil but that there is even greater good, that contracts are literally binding or unbinding, and that small actions have great consequences for better and worse.

I believe it says a lot for this author that although the first book has an ending in and of itself with no lead into the second book you still want to read the second book. What I'm trying to point out is that you read the second book because you enjoy the story not because you want to finish the story you started.

The Rangers Apprentice 1-5

I was asked by Mrs. Anonymous Kennington to do some reviews of more recent youth books that I have recently read, so here it goes :)

I'll start off by saying that i classify this as a "fun read", that is to say it is easy to understand, short (the first book is only 242 pg.), and well written. John Flanagan does a good job of introducing the reader into the story by giving them just enough information to give them an understanding of the new world,without boring them to the point they put the book down. His unique story of the life of the solitary rangers and a boy's introduction into this select group peaks the readers interest so that they can't put the book down, and it is written well enough that the reader doesn't wish they could(I have read plenty of books that had to be finish because the story was original but wished that i could put it down because the writing was terrible).

Now on to why youth especially boys want to like this book. It's about a young man that's smaller than average who does extraordinary things, they like to imagine themselves being that hero and having those adventures. The book wouldn't be nearly as exciting if it was about a wealthy kid who is the perfect child who does everything just right and defeats the enemy.

The last comment I have is concerning how he ends a book within a series. Once again he finds a the balance point where you feel completion yet you want to know what comes next. I wont say i enjoyed one of the books endings more than the others but i am going to say that i enjoyed book five's ending the least ( that may be because it's the last book written and i can't finish the story till the next book comes out).