Hello, y’all.
I know it’s been two weeks since I last posted, but I’ve been working, reading, and writing fiction non-stop. It’s been a busy time lately. Since I have been reading quite a bit lately, I wanted to let you all know what I have been reading.
I have read all of John Green’s solo-books. I think I made up that term, kind of like a solo-album since he does have Will Grayson, Will Grayson, which is co-written with David Levithan, which I haven’t had the chance to read yet. His newest, Turtles All the Way Down, is one that I finished reading last week. With all of Green’s books, I fall in love with the characters. His characters are extremely realistic. I think the character of Aza who deals with anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, and I would even say anxieties about her identity is spot-on. The spiral as she calls it in the book explains how one thought can spiral until there is nothing left but that thought is genius and a great way of explaining how types of mental illnesses can feel. I also really enjoyed that this book showed that mental illnesses don’t just go away. They are always going to be there, and it is a part of you, too. In my opinion, it really illustrated the frustration with this, too.
I have also started reading The Maze Runner series by James Dashner. Currently, I am reading The Death Cure. This series was one that isn’t normally something I would read. I have read dystopian novels, but I had never really had the urge to read this series. I can’t really explain why, but I didn’t have any intentions of reading these books. However, I began watching the show Teen Wolf, and Dylan O’Brien, who plays Stiles on Teen Wolf is my favorite character on the show, made me want to watch the movies because O’Brien plays the protagonist Thomas in The Maze Runner movies. Since I knew that the books were out there, I decided to read the first book before watching the first movie. So far, I’m really enjoying the series. Actually, I’m loving it. It’s hard for me to put the books down because I want to know what is going to happen to Thomas and the other Gladers (characters in the maze). I also love that Dashner came up with a language for these characters in the maze. Words like “shuck,” “klunk,” and phrases like “slim it” or “good that” really help set the Gladers apart from other characters.
Something else I really like about the books is that the protagonist, Thomas, doesn’t have his memories. It makes the storyline that much more interesting because I know about as much as Thomas does. As I’m reading, I’m learning as Thomas does, so it’s fun for me to read this type of book even if there are a lot of parts that upset me, but that speaks to the world and story that Dashner has created. I don’t want to give anything away so I can’t say more than that. Overall, I suggest if you haven’t already, pick the series up and give it a read. I was pumped to find out that there is a prequel book. I’m a nerd for backstory, so anytime I can find out things that happened beforehand, I’m a happy camper. So thank you, Dylan O’Brien for being an amazing Stiles and actor because you’re the reason I decided to pick up this series.
So in the last week and a half, I have read three books, and I’m working on number four now. I seriously cannot stop reading The Maze Runner series. Yes, I’m still going on about it. So this has been my summer of reading so far. Though, I have reader other books this summer, these are the ones of late.
Until next time, pick up a book that you normally wouldn’t read. I’ve found out that I usually end up loving the ones I’m unsure about. It’s not a guarantee, but sometimes you need to step out of your reading comfort zone.
-K
The Mad Reader 