Living Mirrors

The Magicians is the greatest book of it's genre. This sounds like a bold claim; It is. But it's also true. That's because The Magicians isn't a Sci-fi or fantasy book. Not primarily. The Magicians is the best fanfiction ever written. If you treat it like a run of the mill fantasy book, then it's not great, but if you treat it like what it is, then it's top of its class.

There are two kinds of fear; horror and terror. "Terror is usually described as the feeling of dread and anticipation that precedes the horrifying experience. By contrast, horror is the feeling of revulsion that usually occurs after something frightening is seen, heard, or otherwise experienced. It is the feeling one gets after coming to an awful realization or experiencing a deeply unpleasant occurrence." Terror is seeing the blood on the wall, horror is seeing the masked man rip someone apart with a machete. Cujo is a prime example of terror. King uses foreshadowing and the supernatural to build up an unsettling feeling of anticipation. The money shots of the book, where Cujo is going to town, aren't the best parts, and aren't that scary. It's the anticipation and the long drawn out conflicts which are the real agents of fear.

King's characters are realistic and well done. You sympathize with many of them, but one of the most brilliant things King did in this book was making us sympathize with the monster. Parts of this book are from Cujo's perspective, and we find out what he's feeling as he goes through this horrifying transformation from loving family dog, to rabid monster. It adds another layer to the horror, since we get inside the mind of someone going mad with rabies.

If you're a fan of horror or want to start reading the genre, then you owe it to yourself to read Cujo. When I read it in 2008, the book affected me so much that I had to sleep with the lights on for a few nights and I became paranoid of bats and stray or wild animals. I can't give Cujo the full 5 out of 5 because the fear is something we do to ourselves. The fear comes from anticipation and by letting our minds run wild with the story. The terror is unsettling and that feeling is what really has the teeth in this book, not the actual horror. Cujo is entertaining, mature, well written, and above all, frightening.

And if you're not into horror, here's pig in a blanket. You're welcome.

During my first semester of college I didn't have a car, so I had to wait around campus for my sister to take me home. For this reason, I spent a lot of time in the library and one of the books that I found was the late Richard Feynman's autobiography. Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman! It was entertaining, an easy read, well written and a very interesting look at a the life of a genius. I was disappointed with how little there was about why he won the nobel prize, but Feynman gives his unique perspective on life in an entertaining way, and I highly recommend the read to anyone who is interested in biographies.

"Sitting down to write a review of this book, I don't quite know where to start. 

I was going to quote a passage that I particularly loved. But no good can come of that. Once I opened that door, where would I stop quoting? 

So let me say this. I genuinely loved this book. I look forward to reading it again. I will buy copies for my family as gifts. I will listen to the audio and lament my own lack of narrative skill. I will gush about it to strangers. 

In short, it is a Neil Gaiman novel. 

There is truth here, and beauty, and joy, and a sad, sweet melancholy that moves through my chest like distant thunder. 

I realize that what I am writing here is not really a review in any conventional sense. It is a paen. A panegyric. It is the textual equivalent of a huge, happy, gormless grin. 

And you know what? I'm fine with that. Let the professionals write their reviews. Let them get all jargony about it. Let them try to pin this book to the page, not realizing that a pinned butterfly holds no delight. A pinned butterfly is nothing like a butterfly at all. 

I make no claims to impartiality in regard to Gaiman's work. Sandman changed how I thought about stories. Neverwhere was a talisman for me. Stardust is a golden bell hung in my heart. And American Gods taught me that there was a *name* for the sort of book I was struggling to write. It was a picaresque. 

So if you're looking for impartiality, this is not the review for you. Look elsewhere. 

Me? I will enjoy The Ocean at the End of the Lane without dissection. It made me happy. It made me feel less alone. It made me love Neil Gaiman a little more than I already did, and that's something I didn't think was possible.

Do I hope to someday write a book like this? No. I never could. He's done something odd and strange and lovely here. I couldn't hope to replicate it. 

Instead, this is what I hope. 

In the future, when Joss Whedon and I are best friends and hanging out together in my tree fort, I hope Neil Gaiman comes over too. Because then the three of us will all play Settlers of Catan together. And I will win, because I'm really great at Settlers of Catan. But I will also be very gracious about it, and apologize for putting the bandit on Gaiman's wheat twice in a row. 

Then we will make smores, and I will toast a marshmallow with such deftness and perfection that they will be amazed and realize I am kinda cool. Then we will talk about Battlestar Galactica, and which Doctor is our favorite, and we will tell ghost stories late into the night. 

God I'm tired. I should really go to sleep. I have no idea what I'm saying anymore. 

I hope I don't regret this in the morning."~Patrick Rothfuss

Quite a lot of them, so let's start!

Carrie

Author: Stephen King

Release Date: October 18th, 2013

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Horns

Author: Joe Hill

Release Date: October 11th, 2013

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The Hundred

Author: Kass Morgan

Release Date: Fall of 2013

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Under the Dome

Author: Stephen King

Release Date: Now 

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Ender's Game

Author: Orson Scott Card

Release Date: November 1st, 2013

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Divergent

Author: Veronica Roth

Release Date: March 21st, 2014

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The Futurological Congress/The Congress

Author: Stanislaw Lem

Release Date: It premiered at Cannes, but doesn't have an official release date yet

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The Maze Runner

Author: James Dashner

Release Date: February 14th, 2014

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If I Stay

Author: Gayle Forman

Release Date: No date yet

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The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Author: Suzanne Collins

Release Date: November 22nd, 2013

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The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones

Author: Cassandra Clare

Release Date: August 21st, 2013

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Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters

Author: Rick Riordan

Release Date: August 7th, 2013

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Winter's Tale

Author: Mark Helprin

Release Date: No date yet

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The Last Apprentice/ Seventh Son

Author: Joseph Delaney

Release Date: January 17th, 2014

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The Ocean at the end of the Lane

Author: The Neil Gaiman

Release Date: No date yet

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The Leftovers

Author: Tom Perrotta

Release Date: No date yet

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Outlander

Author: Diana Gabaldon

Release Date: No date yet

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Vampire Academy

Author: Richelle Mead

Release Date: February 14th, 2014

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Terror

Author: Dan Simmons

Release Date: No date yet

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

Author: Susanna Clarke

Release Date: Possibly in 2013

More information can be found  here: http://io9.com/all-the-books-getting-turned-into-movies-tv-shows-ove-671133694

Disclosure: All screens and data come from http://io9.com/all-the-books-getting-turned-into-movies-tv-shows-ove-671133694

Young adult books are not only for young adults. Have a look at 15 YA books every grownup should read according to Mashable.

And some quotes from these books picked by me :-)

“I thought about mistakes I had made in the past. I thought about when things went wrong. And I realized it was never an issue of intent, but of intensity. I was a good guy, recall.” - Inexcusable - Chris Lynch 

"I picked up one of the books and flipped through it. Don't get me wrong, I like reading. But some books should come with warning labels: Caution: contains characters and plots guaranteed to induce sleepiness. Do not attempt to operate heavy machinery after ingesting more than one chapter. Has been known to cause blindness, seizures and a terminal loathing of literature. Should only be taken under the supervision of a highly trained English teacher. Preferably one who grades on the curve." - Twisted - Laurie Halse Anderson 

"Books are the ultimate Dumpees: put them down and they’ll wait for you forever; pay attention to them and they always love you back." 

"You can love someone so much. But you can never love people as much as you can miss them." - An Abundance of Katherines - John Green 

"We went to the moon to have fun, but the moon turned out to completely suck."  

"I am messaging you to say that I love you, and that you're completely wrong about me thinking you're stupid. I always thought you could teach me things. I was always waiting. You're not like the others. You say things that no one expects you to. You think you're stupid. You want to be stupid. But you're someone people could learn from" - Feed - M.T. Anderson 

"These are hard times. The world hurts. We live in fear and forget to walk with hope. But hope has not forgotten you. So ask it to dinner. It's probably hungry and would appreciate the invitation."  

"In a world like this one, only the random makes sense." - Going Bovine - Libba Bray

 "Sometimes I feel like I have walked into the middle of a movie. Maybe I can make my own movie. The film will be the story of my life. No, not my life, but of this experience. I'll call it what the lady who is the prosecutor called me. MONSTER." Monster - Walter Dean Myers

 "Sometimes people are beautiful.

Not in looks.
Not in what they say.
Just in what they are."

"I have hated words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right.” - The Book Thief - Markus Zusak 

"Me? I had no dreams. No longings. Dreams only set you up for disappointment. Plus, you had to have a life to have dreams of a better life." 

"Out of sight, out of mind. My philosophy of life in a test tube." - Luna - Julie Anne Peters 

"You don't have to know everything in the world. We aren't supposed to. It makes you boring in mixed company if you can't be interested and ask questions of other people." 

"All I can think is that I want her more than anything. I want her more than I've ever wanted anything, ever." - The First Part Last - Angela Johnson

"You are in my blood. I cant help it. We can't be anywhere except together."

"What sexual preference do you hope she has?” “Happiness.” Isn't that cool?"

"Love is a dangerous angel." - Weetzie Bat - Francesca Lia Block 

"One's my favorite number. The word won being the past tense of win, and we can all say at the end of the day that we won once again, can't we? Some days making it to the end of the day is quite a victory."

"Just like there's always time for pain, there's always time for healing." - Hate List - Jennifer Brown 

"Thinking something does not make it true. Wanting something does not make it real."

"If I were to live a thousand years, I would belong to you for all of them. If we were to live a thousand lives, I would want to make you mine in each one." - The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer - Michelle Hodkin 

"In my mind I am eloquent; I can climb intricate scaffolds of words to reach the highest cathedral ceilings and paint my thoughts. But when I open my mouth, everything collapses."

"You should always be taking pictures, if not with a camera then with your mind. Memories you capture on purpose are always more vivid than the ones you pick up by accident." - Warm Bodies - Isaac Marion 

" 'I like books. I thought you liked books.' 'Let's be honest, Rudy, books are pornography for brains. All that subtext and bullshit and hidden imagery.' "

"If this were a fairy tale, this would be the part where the fishboy appears and Diana shoots him through the heart. Because he is a tragic hero, he's our fucking Gatsby, and he lived for his fish and he has to die for his fish." - Teeth - Hannah Moskowitz 

YA Books Rock!

This book is for fans of fantasy. I won't make any suggestions to the contrary. If you're the kind of person who's read all of the Harry Potter, The Chronicles of Narnia, and you liked this book's predecessor, The Magicians, then you'll like this book. Compared to The Magicians, The Magician King is less whiney, more original, less predictable, and the ending has a kind of impact that the last one was missing. Grossman's growth as an author is palpable and I look forward to whatever he does in the future. This book is a full star better than the last one and receives a solid 4/5.

The Magicians by Lev Grossman

The magicians by Lev Grossman.

One part Harry Potter, one part Chronicles of Narnia, one part Catcher in the Rye, and one part something new, The Magicians by Lev Grossman is a fast, fun, fantasy fiction for adults. The book had really good pacing and never dragged, but it feels like Grossman sacrificed depth in the name of pace. There isn't as much world building escapism as in books like Harry Potter and there are a lot of really cool ideas in this book, which doesn't get explored much. It has good, realistic characters (except Alice. Alice was perfect and cripplingly shy, but that just makes you want her more), and really good pacing, but it was a tad predictable. 3/5. 

The story is good, especially for being written by a teenager, but it's quality should be no surprise since at its basest elements, it's Star Wars set in a fantasy realm. If it obvious to you with Eragon then it would have become if you read the other novels in the series. I originally read the book when I was in middle school and absolutely loved it, however, I've reread it since then and it just fell flat. I don't know if it's because I'm older, or if the book doesn't hold up to being re-read, but I could barely get through it this time. I still give the book a 5/5, but only because it was really influential when I was younger and now that I'm more mature, I'm not exactly the intended audience. Also, stay away from the movie at all costs.

Get High Now* is an interesting book, but it's hard to recommend to everyone. At it's most basic level, this book is a How To guide on altering mental perception. Generally, the book has two kinds of Highs in it. Boring ways that you should actually try, like breathing exercises and meditation, and interesting ways that you should never try because it's extremely dangerous like taking nutmeg (never consume large quantities of nutmeg. It will mess you up.) If you are interested in trying new things, I can strongly recommend this book. If you are interested in the crazy things people are willing to do to get high, this book is for you. Finally, if you want a book to put on your coffee table that makes you look like an interesting character and impress your guests, then by all means, get this book. If you aren't any of those things, I'd recommend that you stay away, because this book isn't for you. It's one of those books that you get out of it what you put in. Get High Now!(Without Drugs) has very simple premise and is competently written, but it's a topic better suited for a blog series rather than a book. The book is okay, entertaining at time and  at others, but it's novelty wears out somewhere in the middle.

If you're on the fence about the book, check out their website first. It has audio highs that are talked about in the book along with visual highs such as the one above. They even have an app!

A critical review should accomplish two things. It should tell the reader whether or not his time will be well spent consuming this product and it should heighten the reader's appreciation of the product. As far as the first part goes, yes. This series is fantastic and is absolutely worth your time. As far as the second part is concerned, there are two things you need to know. Firstly, Rothfuss is an amazing world builder. In Kvothe's travels he meets a huge amount of different peoples, and the world he inhabits feels deep and lived in. Secondly, there are certain guidelines that most fantasy writers, or writers in general, use. Rothfuss effectively ignores a lot of these. Despite this the book is still really well done. This isn't your average faery tale, but it is a fantastic read.

A modern classic that everyone should read.