I saw this on John Green's blog. There's nothing too striking about this video but I thought I'd post it here because I felt something weird come up inside of me as the video ended. It's almost as though I was back to my sixth grade self, sitting on my parents' bed and reading Looking For Alaska. I sort of felt like crying all over again. This was the first book that got me into whatever it is that I want now and in terms of significance, I think this is the first on my list.
Oh God, it's growing. Seriously, the more I think about it, the larger it gets. This may be weird for people who don't think like I do (i.e. probably the entirety of the human population... with the exception of a few odd kids), but I could live like this. I could live feeling this ineffably awesome thing, the type of feeling you get after reading what may be the most awesome book ever (or, in my case, the memory of reading what may be the most awesome book ever).
I probably just got carried away. Looking For Alaska's not really my favorite book. I don't know what my favorite book is anymore. I thought it was Paper Towns, because Margo's character and her philosophy equate to something big, and Q is just awesome. I thought it was The Catcher in the Rye because the narration of everything was just so nonconformist and real. I even thought it could be The Perks of Being a Wallflower, because Charlie's the best male fiction character I've read about.
There's also Georgia Nicholson and Jessica Darling, Nick & Norah and Kavalier & Clay. I might abhor Chris Crutcher and Christopher Paolini but I couldn't deny owning the stuff they make for money. Wendelin Van Draanen, Cecily von Ziegesar, Jen Calonita, E. Lockhart, Sarah Dessen, Lisi Harrison, Carolyn Mackler, Melissa De la Cruz, etc... I generally hate female authors, with the exemption of Megan McCafferty. Have I ever mentioned that?
I probably haven't, but at least now you know. Female authors could be downright predictable with their protagonists and the plots. I haven't read a book written in first-person with a male protagonist by a female author. Harry Potter was written in third-person.
Laurie Halse-Anderson is of a different category. In the same way, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian and King Dork are in a different category. Hey, and all the Dan Brown and Nicholas Sparks novels... I think it'll take too much time to cover them all.
I should make a tribute to all the books I've read one of these days. That's all I could think of myself. That's just what sets me apart from the others. And if I had none of these, I wouldn't be sitting in front of a monitor typing. I wouldn't blog and I wouldn't write my own fiction. I probably haven't read as much as other people have read, but that's beside the point. All I'm saying is that these books constructed whoever I am right now, whoever AM the [Insert Underused Noun Here]. I'm not kidding. If it weren't for these books, I'd be like them.
I strayed too much. I was only supposed to write about Looking For Alaska but I barely did. Stressing on these things only make me want to go to a bookstore. I haven't been in those places in a long while. Shakespeare's got me grounded and I hate Romeo & Juliet. For what reasons? I might need to start another post for that.
Again, good night.
I probably just got carried away. Looking For Alaska's not really my favorite book. I don't know what my favorite book is anymore. I thought it was Paper Towns, because Margo's character and her philosophy equate to something big, and Q is just awesome. I thought it was The Catcher in the Rye because the narration of everything was just so nonconformist and real. I even thought it could be The Perks of Being a Wallflower, because Charlie's the best male fiction character I've read about.
There's also Georgia Nicholson and Jessica Darling, Nick & Norah and Kavalier & Clay. I might abhor Chris Crutcher and Christopher Paolini but I couldn't deny owning the stuff they make for money. Wendelin Van Draanen, Cecily von Ziegesar, Jen Calonita, E. Lockhart, Sarah Dessen, Lisi Harrison, Carolyn Mackler, Melissa De la Cruz, etc... I generally hate female authors, with the exemption of Megan McCafferty. Have I ever mentioned that?
I probably haven't, but at least now you know. Female authors could be downright predictable with their protagonists and the plots. I haven't read a book written in first-person with a male protagonist by a female author. Harry Potter was written in third-person.
Laurie Halse-Anderson is of a different category. In the same way, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian and King Dork are in a different category. Hey, and all the Dan Brown and Nicholas Sparks novels... I think it'll take too much time to cover them all.
I should make a tribute to all the books I've read one of these days. That's all I could think of myself. That's just what sets me apart from the others. And if I had none of these, I wouldn't be sitting in front of a monitor typing. I wouldn't blog and I wouldn't write my own fiction. I probably haven't read as much as other people have read, but that's beside the point. All I'm saying is that these books constructed whoever I am right now, whoever AM the [Insert Underused Noun Here]. I'm not kidding. If it weren't for these books, I'd be like them.
I strayed too much. I was only supposed to write about Looking For Alaska but I barely did. Stressing on these things only make me want to go to a bookstore. I haven't been in those places in a long while. Shakespeare's got me grounded and I hate Romeo & Juliet. For what reasons? I might need to start another post for that.
Again, good night.
