Focus: Blur

I admit it: I'm a sucker for mysteries and thrillers. While we'd all like to be highbrow and spend our time reading classic literature, when it comes down to it, books that grip and force you to keep reading until you've reached the end are a success. And Steven James' new novel, Blur, is no exception.


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Summary:
Daniel Byers is a high school football star living in a small town in Wisconsin. The novel begins with the tragic death of a high school freshman, Emily Jackson. While at the funeral, Daniel sees what appears to be a ghost of Emily; and is prompted to find out more about her "accidental" death. As Daniel grapples with his sanity, he works to find out what happened to Emily - and if her death was, in fact, not an accident at all, but a murder.

Review:
The book was impossible to put down from start to finish. I was immediately grabbed by the first sentence and my attention was kept through every suspenseful moment. I became invested in the characters very quickly, and I tried to solve the riddle of Emily's death along with Daniel.

Though this is a teen suspense thriller and may be written off because of that, the novel actually explored some interesting concepts of sanity and the barrier between fiction and reality. Daniel believes that he is losing his mind, and throughout the novel he struggles to reconcile what he is seeing (namely, visions of a dead girl) with what is real and happening. Is he really seeing a ghost? Or is it all in his head, a tactic of his subconscious mind to get him to look into Emily's death?

I really enjoyed this book. The mystery was intriguing and the characters were easy to relate to. After reading this, I found another of Steven James' novels and purchased it, and it's turning out to be just as much of a thrilling, suspenseful page-turner as this one. Blur is actually the first novel in a trilogy, and I am very excited to see what happens in the next book when it comes out!

Kindle: Is it Worth it?

Recently I began to take an interest in purchasing a Kindle eReader, specifically the Kindle Paperwhite.


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I ended up receiving the Kindle Paperwhite as an early birthday present, and have been using it for the past week or so. So, is it worth it?

In a word, yes.

Heck yes.

The Kindle Paperwhite has already greatly improved my life. Yes, this sounds like a cheesy commercial, and I'm sorry about that. But seriously, it is an excellent product. It's touchscreen, which makes it very intuitive to use. The e-ink display makes it incredibly easy to read, both inside and out in bright sunlight. I can read it when it's very dark as well, because it has good backlighting. I am also incredibly impressed with the amount of books available for purchasing! I've already bought about 20 books, and every one was under $10. Most were under $5. And these are current-day books that might go for $20 or $30 in hard- or paperback. For example, I purchased the much-talked about Lean In for about $5. It's incredible! And it downloads the books so quickly, I barely have to wait! I also found out that I can sync it up with my library and download books to borrow, and they will automatically be deleted from my device after two weeks if not renewed. No more late fees!

I just have to say, I love books. Physical books. I love holding them, turning the crisp pages, even sniffing the binding (as strange as that sounds). I never thought I'd want to give them up. But being able to carry up to 1000 books in a small, light, 6-inch device (for which I've purchased a cute pink case) was something I simply couldn't pass up. This device is amazing. I recommend it for any book lover - trust me, it may not be a physical book, but it's a darn good way to read.

Focus: No Impact Man

Though it's not a new book, and one that I've already read, I recently chose to revisit Colin Beavan's memoir-esque book No Impact Man. And it really got me thinking.


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Summary:
Colin Beavan is a regular man living in New York City with his wife and 18-month-old daughter. Feeling guilty about the current environmental crisis, he decides to spend a year making no impact on the environment - hence the name - and in the process makes many discoveries about himself and the way we live our lives.

Review:
I had to read this book over the summer before my freshman year of college, and both after that reading and my more recent revisiting, the book had quite a large impact on me (no pun intended). Though there are criticisms of this book, the experiment, and Beavan himself, I think it's actually a worthwhile read.

There is no denying the environmental crisis the world is suffering right now. Global warming is a fact, and the truth is that something must be done. There simply must be drastic changes made to the way we live our lives, otherwise the earth will be forever altered and damaged and our way of life will be destroyed. These are scary things to think about, and as Beavan points out, thinking about these scary things can make us feel helpless. What can we do, after all, to really affect change?

Beavan attempts to find a solution to the environmental crisis by making drastic changes in his own (and his family's) life: he produces no trash, buys nothing new, turns off electricity, buys only locally grown food, reduces water use, limits the amount of chemicals pumped into the water he does use, and volunteers at environmental organizations to "do enough good to outweigh the harm". These changes, obviously, have a profound effect on his life. His entire family dynamic changes and becomes better, because he and wife find more time to be together and to spend with their daughter. They all feel less rushed, less stressed, and both Beavan and his wife actually lose weight without even trying.

This book is proof of the positive effects of trying to live a lower-impact life. There is an increase in happiness in the Beavan family. And what I find most compelling about this book is Beavan's conscious effort to not sound preachy or high and mighty. You can tell while reading it that he is not trying to dictate how we should all live our lives. He simply reports on the changes he made, the changes that then came about, and states his opinion on what it all means. He states multiple times that he simply wants people to be happy, and if destroying the planet brings people true happiness then he poses no objection. Yet he believes, and in fact provides evidence to back up his belief, that our current way of life is not making us happy. Beavan says that people in first-world countries such as America are living a hamster-wheel type of existence, one in which we work and work to pay for things that make us briefly happy but then after losing that quick rush of joy we work harder to buy more things for that brief rush of joy.... Beavan advocates that we stop, just for a moment, and look at our lives and try to reconsider whether or not the way we are currently living, which is infecting our planet with a sickness from which it will eventually not be able to recover, is truly making us happy.

This book makes me think. A lot. It made me start recycling, as well. But most importantly it made me more conscious of the state the world is in, and how much trash I produce, and whether or not there isn't some better way of living that would make us happier without harming the planet. There must be, right?

Any book that forces the reader to confront these difficult yet important questions deserves praise. Yes, there are valid criticisms out there. Yes, there are counter-arguments to Beavan's theories. Yet this book is still an important one. It shouldn't be ignored; the information and ideas it contains are too important to be ignored. We must, as a people, as a world, do something to help the planet. And this book is a great kick-starter to that movement. For that, I make it required reading; for everyone.

Focus: Size 12 is Not Fat

It's rare that a person finds a book that is so easy to relate to that it's as if the novel were, in fact, about the reader him- or herself. It's even rarer to find a book like this that is part of a series. However, I have been lucky enough to find my soulmate, in book form: Meg Cabot's Size 12 is Not Fat. It's the first in a series, too! I actually love this book so much, I already reviewed it after the first time I read it in my blog "Flo's Focus"; see the post here.


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Summary:
Heather Wells, the novel's protagonist, is an ex-pop star who now works at a residence hall at the (fictional) New York College. She lives with the older brother of her ex-boyfriend, and attempts desperately (and not always so successfully) to conceal her deep crush on him. As the title suggests, Heather has put on a few pounds after leaving the music industry, and there are many references throughout the novel to her new eating habits (most of which sound absolutely delicious to me!). Heather seems to be settling into her new life fine until there is a student death in her residence hall. At first, Heather is alone in believing that the victim was murdered, and therefore must embark on her own journey of sleuthing to discover the culprit.

Review:
I immediately connected to this book the second I read the title. Being a proud size 12 myself, I related instantly with the sentiment that there is nothing wrong with being what is, in America at least, a completely average size. We women are told constantly that skinny is better, and are bombarded with images of women who wear a size two or smaller, and are told that to wear anything larger is a disgrace. This blunt acceptance of a healthy body type was refreshing and, for me, instantly relatable.

The book only gets better as you move past the front cover. Heather Wells is a compelling protagonist, both funny and down-to-earth, and comes across as someone I would love to hang out with. As evidenced by The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot is no stranger to creating characters that every reader aches to meet; Heather is just another example. She's smart, brave, loves to eat, and openly (at least to us readers!) in love with her ex-boyfriend's older brother, which adds spice to the plot.

Then there's the fact that these books are murder mysteries! I know that I will sound like a bit of a geek for saying this, but I LOVE murder mysteries! To take this character that we all already want to know and make her a sleuthing hero is just so wonderful. The setting of a college dorm works perfectly with the premise of the novel, because there are few characters and it is possible to read and try to guess which one committed the crime, Agatha Christie-style. Add all this to the fact that Cabot writes extremely well, and you have the perfect book: great main character(s), interesting setting, compelling murder-mystery plot, a dash of romance, and excellent writing. Perfection!

The only thing that could possibly make this any better would be if there was more than one of these books...and guess what? There are! Size 12 is Not Fat is only the first in a series of Heather Wells mysteries, the second being named Size 14 is Not Fat Either. I will most definitely be reading the rest, and posting about them here. This series is not to be missed by any lovers of mystery, romance, and/or hilarity!

Focus: The Secret History

Ever since I read an excerpt as part of preparation for my AP English Literature test, I wanted to read The Secret History by Donna Tartt. This summer, I finally accomplished my long-awaited goal and read the novel.


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Summary:
The book tells the tale of Richard Papen's first year at the exclusive Hampden College in Vermont. Richard meets and becomes part of an exclusive group of classics students. The novel is often described as an "inverted detective story", because it begins with the description of five of the students murdering their friend Bunny. The rest of the novel then explains the events leading up to and following Bunny's murder and why it occurred.

Review:
After waiting so long to read this book, I must say that it was definitely a worthwhile read. The characters were compelling, the plot rich with suspense, and the writing style both clever and original. It was interesting to read a book from the perspective of a character that willingly took part in a murder, because the reader is led to actually sympathize with Richard and his situation.

Bunny, the victim, is portrayed as obnoxious and extremely difficult to get along with. Since Bunny knew about the murder that occurred at the Bacchanal, he also poses a threat to the rest of the group. What is interesting is that even though Richard wasn't included in the Bacchanal, and therefore has no reason to fear Bunny, he is drawn easily into the murder of Bunny by Henry.

Henry has a lot of power in the group of friends, a fact of which Richard becomes aware towards the end of the novel. Henry made Richard feel included in the group, and even, in a way, included in the (possibly - it is never made clear in the novel) accidental murder of the man during the Bacchanal. It is quite easy to make Richard believe this because he desperately wants to be a part of this exclusive group of friends, who seem to him to be of another world after his sad and dull Californian childhood.

As evidenced by my musings above, the characters and plot alone are compelling enough to write a whole other book about; but what really places this book so high in my recommendation is the strong writing style. Tartt is able to convey these plot points and create these characters in a way that imitates the great writers of the past, such as Jane Austen or J.D. Salinger. Though the novel was published in 1992, it feels like a novel from a past time. Yet it is also incredibly readable.

In conclusion, The Secret History is a novel unlike any other. Well-written, with fascinating characters and a page-turning plot, I would recommend this read to anyone who is interested in interesting stories about good people who do bad things.

Focus: "Escape from Egypt"

I decided to begin my summer reading adventures with a trip to the scalding hot land of Egypt, by reading Sonia Levitin's book, Escape from Egypt.


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Summary:
The book chronicles the Jews' escape from captivity and slavery in Egypt up through their journey through the wilderness to the promised land. The book features Jesse, a Jewish former slave, and Jennat, a half-Syrian, half-Egyptian girl, who fall in and out and in again of love with one another throughout the journey.

Review:
This book was one that I picked up secondhand at a library book sale for only 50 cents because I thought it sounded interesting. I'd had it sitting on my shelf for about a year when I finally decided to read it; and now that I've finished it, I have to say that I am glad I read it.

The book was simple and easy to read and moved at a reasonable pace. I never felt like the book was going too fast for me to keep up, nor was I ever bored as the book slowly dragged along. I was held captivated by the plot, and was always wondering what was going to happen next. Though the main plot points will be known to most readers, as they are taken from the Bible, there is enough added character development to create surprises and unforeseen tension.

The main part of the book that I enjoyed was the romance between Jesse and Jennat. I'm a sucker for love stories, and this one didn't disappoint. There was push and pull in their relationship, and for most of the novel it wasn't clear whether the two of them would end up together. Though it could be argued that this is an over-used plot trope, I thought that it was well-executed in this book.

This book gave an interesting and new perspective on the familiar Exodus story, and for that I would recommend it. Will it be remembered a hundred years from now as a classic work of literature? Most likely not, but it is however an enjoyable read.

Welcome to Flo's Literary Focus!

Hello all fellow book-lovers! Welcome to Flo's Literary Focus, my personal outlet for all things literary-related. Here's where I'll post reviews, thoughts, questions, and comments on everything and anything that I'm reading. Though the majority of posts will be about books, I'll also post about my favorite magazines, newspaper articles, and things I read online. There's no need to confine this blog to be about printed books alone!

I hope you enjoy my opinions and reviews, and please feel free to comment on any of my posts. One of the best things about reading is discussing that which you've read with others who may have similar or contrasting opinions. Have fun and happy reading!

- Flo <3