What the Moon Brings- The New Weird

For this week I read “What the Moon Brings” and I honestly had to re-read this a few times. It was somewhat difficult for me to pin-point a perspective. I felt this was more poetic than anything. But I thought of this all as if it was just a person standing still and watching what was happening.The atmosphere seemed very pretty at first but it quickly started to turn into a wonderland of death and even despair as far as detailing goes. This short story was very interesting and it kept me entertained with how quickly something sounding so calming and beautiful could turn into the opposite and I felt the change in scenery even. 

I do feel a bit neglected as a reader though, as I wished to know why everything was happening. I understood that this is a very short story and it stands from a more poetic spot in perspective. I wanted to know what this person was doing under the moons gaze and why the chosen scenery. The perspective that we view this from seems nothing more than an innocent exploration which I did find nostalgic in a sense; especially with how they found something that maybe shouldn't have been found. It was an enjoyable read for me, the drastic change in detail is something that I don’t see often and it did put a spark in me to continue reading on.

Harry Potter and the "Philosophers" Stone

For this week I read “Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone”. I grew up on Harry Potter in the sense that I saw the movies before I read any of the books. I’ve never read the very first one before this but I do have a very firm grasp on the film. It helps to make the comparison between the two to see what did or didn’t make the cut in the movie version when it was present in the book. 

To start off I was pretty startled to read the personalities of the characters. Without seeing the faces of the actors I had a different take on how the characters would be acting. I saw Harry and Hermione as having a lot more sassiness in the book and Ron didn’t seem as funny to me. He was still a very fun character to follow along with but instead of how they portrayed him in the movie as the pure comic relief at either the best or worst time I felt his presence was a bit more serious than how he is portrayed in the film. 

Something else that I was sad to learn didn’t make it into the film was close to the end when Hermione is suppose to do a potion trial to help Harry progress to see Voldemort. They focus on Ron taking charge during the chess match and Harry using his talent from quidditch to solve the trials while Hermione just mildly helps beside the two to finish these two trials. When this came to my attention it made me a bit upset that it didn’t make it into the film version. And upon learning in future books that she does more to fulfill a strong role like Ron and Harry. She does quite a bit to begin with but learning of what she could’ve been doing is a slight disappointment. But I was thrilled to learn of this and imagine what could’ve been. 

Week of the Witch

For this week I read “The Witch’s Daughter” written by Paula Brackston. I was thoroughly interested from the start of the book as I thought the author had done a fabulous job of setting up this world. It starts off with a normal girl named Elizabeth who loses her family to a terrible disease. She soon learns that her mother has been performing witchcraft and tries to learn the ways of craft from a warlock named Gideon after her mother dies. Learning of Gideons true desires, Elizabeth runs away from him and manages time travel for centuries trying to be free of Gideon’s debt. Elizabeth meets a young girl named Tegan and become quite fond of her, she begins to teach Tegan all she knows and soon has to make a choice when it comes to protecting Tegan from Gideons grasp.

The way the author details the environment was very enjoyable for me as it made things more believable in my mind. Elizabeth’s surroundings change constantly whenever she tries to make a new name and life for herself. So I felt that the constant change of scenery was very fascinating to read about especially with the extensive scene creation from the author. As well as the character development. There are a few side characters that only are used to move the main characters along, but they are developed pretty well alongside the protagonist. I had never read a witch themed book that involved travel before this and It was a nice combination of themes and to see how well these themes intertwine and what it turns the story into. Another thing to note about the book is the passing of knowledge in a sense. Elizabeth does a parallel to her mother, even though it takes her a few centuries. But once she finds Tegan she treats her like the daughter she never had and she begins to teach her the ways of craft just like her own mother started to do. Overall it was fun read into the world of witches but with a twist to the typical witch story.

Chinese Ghost Stories

I read Chinese Ghost stories for this week. I had high hopes going into this as I am a fan of ghost stories. Yet I was unaware of how Chinese ghost stories would differ from the ghost stories Im used to hearing about. I read over The Soul of the Great Bell. While it was short it seemed almost poetic and metaphorical; on purpose Im sure. I was very thrilled with the more that I kept reading. The ending was ever so bitter sweet and while I was satisfied with the idea of the daughter being the haunting force behind this bell it was incredibly sad to read of what she is eternally looking for which is her lost shoe. 

My knowledge of Chinese ghost stories is very limited but it seemed to carry some themes from some Japanese ghost stories that I’ve read about. If a female dies and becomes the ghost in the stories I’ve read its described as being sacrificial purely for the sake of saving lives of others or appeasing gods etc. While in this story you have the girls father who is attempting to create this bell and he’s failed to make it correctly on previous attempts, nothing he’s done has worked so far. The way his daughter died seemed to mimic how the female would be sacrificed in Japanese ghost stories; where she dies for a good cause and yet she is the ultimate one to pay the price as she is eternally haunting her place of death. 

I really enjoy ghost stories in general, but it is even more exciting to read about how ghost stories are perceived in other cultures. They seem to hold very similar themes because of the subject material but some are more poetic than others. Some even hold lessons for life.  

Vampires Everywhere

For this week I read the first book of “Twilight”. I’ve seen the Twilight films as well as read “Interview with a Vampire” previously and coming into the first book of “Twilight” wasn’t as bad as I thought it’d be. I wasn’t expecting the intense environment set up like from “Interview with a Vampire”. But it does it’s job in a teen romance novel. Just enough to keep you satisfied with what is going on. The story in itself felt more genuine in the book than in the film. The characters felt more developed and their situation seemed a bit more intense. 

I felt that the author did a pretty good job of making the myth of this relationship sound a bit more sincere than they made it seem in the film. While the characters have a lot at stake to handle and accomplish in both; in the book it was drawn out more and given slightly more detail as to why this may be a problem for both characters. The film made it seem slightly superficial and not as intensive in my opinion. The villains had more character in the book as well as secondary characters. And I rather enjoyed reading how different the author made the characters in tone. I felt as if I could distinctly tell who was talking and what there personality was. Where as in the film they made all of the characters revolve around Bella a bit too much as they formed personalities based on her actions. Bella's character especially, she had a lot more personality and even sass in the book. I even related to her a bit when she I realized she was capable of showing emotion and a mind of her own for moments when Edward wasn't in the picture. Even with Edwards character I felt that he had a lot more development to become attached to and in some ways fawn over if you were a young teenager of course. 

Overall I enjoyed this a bit more than I thought I would and I would go back and read it again before I watch the movie. 

Frankenstein

When I read Frankenstein for the first time I was rather fascinated by Frankenstein and his monster. It was easy to me to see the comparisons of the two as well as the similarities. Both of these characters could be misunderstood in a sense that for what they do it does or did have ulterior motives that were perceived as “good” to their respective owners. 

With Victor Frankenstein; he finds the secret to the creation of life and designs his monster to be brought to the world of the living. Perhaps in his head he has nothing but good intentions for his creation. But whens he’s faced with the truth of what he’s created he rejects it. Leaving his creation defenseless in a new world, but strangely in the same position as his creator. Starting off with nothing but good intentions the things that should innately be his are either taken or destroyed. Since he is feeling neglected and alone by everyone he takes from the only person he see’s holding the sole responsibility. Starting off with nothing but good intentions the things that should innately be his are either taken or destroyed. 

I really enjoyed this main similarity between these two characters. Yet there was something else that I felt about this situation. It could be just my opinion but I believe the author made this as a metaphor for life. Something along the lines of life being an unattainable resource. I see Frankensteins monster as Victors eternal punishment for trying to mimic the creation of life. From the moment Victor grasps his “achievement” he rejects it. Leading to the life he had created to destroy his own. You cannot create a life from nothing so the resource has to come from somewhere.