I Want A Rewrite

Nothing makes annoys me more then a book that should have been awesome.  I am talking about those books that have a great premise, and amazing world, or just really good writing but somehow still fall short in the execution phase.  I don't know if it is just that I read so much that I have gotten insanely picky about what I consider a good book (Hubbin calls me a book snob) or that I just have a very specific sense of what I think a book should be...I don't know.  Anyways there are many times (as I am sure going through my ramblings will show you) that I really want to like a book, or that there is an aspect of the book I really enjoyed...but the book still ends up with a 4-6 rating.  These are books that I have decided need a re-write.  What does this mean?  Let me give you an example...I'll use the Twilight Saga series...mostly 'cause most people know at least the basic plot of the book even if they haven't read it themselves.  I have read the four original books in the series for two reasons, a) I can't ramble/rant about books I haven't read and b) I kept wanting these books to get better 'cause the idea was pretty spot on.

I actually very much enjoyed the idea of these books, a vampire family that comes from different times and places living together as a family unit doing it's best to fit in.  The girl who "discovers" them gives the author the chance to show us how they use their immortal time.  Pretty cool.  Unfortunately the ridiculous saccharine girl in distress theme and the over the top immortal/teenage/shaggy dog love triangle make this series almost unreadable.  I desperately want to go back and rewrite this possibly intriguing and complex story to it's full potential.  I feel this way about a lot of books I read.  Some times I find myself rewriting the story in my head long after I have finished the book.  Sometimes I take it in a new direction, sometimes I expound on a particular character or aspect of the world,  sometimes I even combine books in my head to make the perfect Frankenstein monster of a story.  I guess in some ways this is where we get fan fiction, a place where people take what they love about a book or story and turn it into their own perfect version.  I also understand that what I think would make a perfect story is not necessarily what other people would want to read.  Anyways, I guess as long as I am still thinking about at least some aspect of a book the author did their job to some degree.  I will continue looking for those great books and in between I shall be re-writing them in my head and probably slipping some of that into my ramblings.  Let me know what books you think need a re-write.  Happy Reading Everybody!

Reading My Own Blog

Hi All!  I have a confession to make...I love to read my own blog.  I'm sure that makes me all sorts of narcissistic (which is a word I can surprisingly spell on the first try), but there you have it.  I remember when I first started writing this little blog and Hubbin and I went through other blogs trying to decide what I liked and didn't like about each blog and what features I wished each blog had.  After all of that I guess it makes sense that I made my blog into something that I wanted.  I like to read my own blog for various reasons, mostly 'cause it is a sort of ongoing reading journal of my life.  I like seeing my stuttering start and how my blog has evolved and hopefully improved over the years.  I like to see my rambling list grow.  I like to see what I was thinking about at any particular time.  Mostly I like to read my ramblings to catch myself up on various books I have read.  I have

gone back and read most of my ramblings and it always interests me how I decided to try and put into words how I felt about a particular book and weather that is how I still remember it.  I have noticed a couple of things as I have read back through my posts.  I have atrocious spelling, grammar and editing skills...seriously I should probably hire somebody to look at each post before it goes up, it is really bad sometimes.  I can usually tell what mood I am in by reading my posts.  I desperately want to go back and rewrite or delete numerous posts...but I'll leave them 'cause they are still a part of the whole.  I had a friend tell me she reads my blog when she misses me 'cause apparently I write like I talk...which explains a lot.   I realized that when I am in one of my weird moods, when I feel a little lost, I read my blog when I miss myself too.  It's kind of a touch stone when I start to lose myself to bigger things.  Anyways, there you have my self-centered take on my own writing, take from it what you will, but I am kind of proud and glad that I like my own blog and will continue to write it for as long as it brings me happiness.  Happy Reading Everybody!

The Hazards Of A ReRead

Hello All.  So we all know that I reread pretty much all of my books on a regular basis.  I have gone on and on about the various benefits to rereading a book, everything from picking up stuff I didn't before to having the comfort of knowing ahead of time that a book is really really good.  What I haven't talked about is some of the hazards of rereading a beloved book. So here they are.

1. Lack of tension-Books that have a twist ending, or have a lot of tensions do tend to lose something in a reread. I can still get a lot out rereading books like this, nuances and hints that I did not pick up before, but it does lose that page turning, sleepless feel.  Books that fall into this category are The Hunger Games, The Candymakers and most Sherlock Holmes stories
2. Uneven series-This is one of the biggest things when I reread my series, I usually have definite favorites in most series that I read and tend to neglect the books that I don't like as much.  Of course then I have the weird ability to quote books 1, 2 and 5 of a series and then have to rack my brain to even remember the plots of the other books.  Some examples of this are Harry Potter, The Immortals series, Tower and Hive series.
3. Favorite parts-Certain books I just reread certain parts, there are books I just like the beginning or the end or a certain chapter.  Seriously there are several books I own that fall open right to my favorite parts, while the rest of the pages are in pristine condition for lack of reading.  Books with dogeared pages Little Women, Crown Duel , The Mysterious Benedict Society
4. The inability to read a new book in a series without rereading the preceding books- This one pretty much speaks for itself.  I prefer to wait until at least a couple books in a series are out because then I can know them out in a row, but if it takes a while for the next book to come out...I have a tendency to reread the entire series so I remember what the heck is going on.  Series that don't come out fast enough, Septimus Heap , Inheritance Cycle, A Song of Ice and Fire.
5. The sad parts-This is probably the biggest hazard in rereading a book, especially one with beloved characters.  I have avoided whole books because I know whats coming and I just can't handle it.  I get way to attached to these fictional characters and when bad things happen to them it just tears me to pieces...I admit I sometimes cry :-(  Stupid books that may make me cry, Dragonquest, The Last Battle, The Snow Queens Shadow.

Obviously these hazards will never keep me from rereading my precious books, and the pro's far outweigh the cons.  These are just some examples of why reading is such a personal and potentially emotional experience.  It is always interesting to me to see what people choose to reread and why, and the reasons they avoid certain books for a second go around.  I know that once I have read a book, I usually give myself permission to reread it in any way I want, which is why I have books that are thumbed through a thousand times, books that are a mix of pristine and grubby, books that I have had to replace because of too much use.  Despite the hazards I love all my books and cannot wait to reread the next one.
What are some of your rereading hazards?  What books do you avoid rereading?  Am I the only one who puts this much thoughts into his/her rereads?