Bookish Discussions: YA Protagonists and the Eternal Pool of Brave (and 3 Reasons Why I Will Not Be a YA Protagonist)

I recently read and reviewed the book The Awakening by D.J. Torres.  If you haven't read my review and you'd like to, you can find it HERE.  I realized something about YA protagonists that I hadn't before while reading that book.  They all seem to have access to an eternal pool of brave that the rest of the world is seemingly barred from using.

Bookish Discussions: Am I Becoming An Endings Pessimist?

It's been so long since I've done a discussion post and this topic has been rolling around in my head for a while and I'm actually becoming a little concerned for myself.  So I'd like to talk it all out with ya'll if you don't mind!  Let's get into it, shall we?

When I first say 'endings pessimist' I assume most people will think I'm saying that I believe that all stories will end terribly with people dying or the plot not being resolved or something along those lines.  That's not actually what I'm talking about.

Bookish Discussions: Banned Books

I think it's time for another bookish discussion!  If you haven't heard, the bookish community has been celebrating Banned Books Week which, this year, runs from September 25th to October 1st.

Now, what is banned books week, you ask?  Well, it's a week spent celebrating those books that are restricted for whatever reasons in schools, etc.  It could be for unapproved sexual content, differing political ideas, or topics that are deemed 'inappropriate' for societal consumption.  In the interest of free speech, we celebrate banned books week to recognize the existence of these topics and to find other books with different opinions than our own to read and expand our horizons.

I did a little research and there are so many books that have been challenged that I wasn't aware of and was a little confused by.  For example, Paper Towns by John Green was on the ALA's (American Library Association) list of Challenged YA Books.

Paper Towns - John Green

Now, this made no sense to me.  Paper Towns doesn't have drugs or alcohol or anything of the sort in it.  It's about a kid who goes to find his love interest after she disappears and 'runs away' from her family.  Perhaps that's why it's been challenged in schools: for showcasing a child running away and being totally nonchalant about 'abandoning' her family.  To have a book be banned from a school because of that, however, seems ridiculous.  Others, I could understand.  Like 1984 by George Orwell.

1984 - George Orwell

This book contains content that questions the validity of the government, sexual topics that may not be accepted everywhere, and ideas about mind control.  While I don't approve of it being banned, I can understand it.

I went through the list on the ALA's website for Challenged YA Books and I found that I had read 22 out of their well over 100 listed titles.  I definitely have some reading to do!  These are the books I've read so far from that list:

The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood

Forever in Blue: The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood - Ann Brashares

Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card

The Perks of Being a Wallflower - Stephen Chbosky

The Hunger Games trilogy - Suzanne Collins

The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald

Lord of the Flies - William Golding

The Fault in Our Stars - John Green

Looking for Alaska - John Green

Paper Towns - John Green

Brave New World - Aldous Huxley

Flowers for Algernon - Daniel Keyes

Carrie - Stephen King

To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

Vampire Academy series - Richelle Mead

Twilight series - Stephanie Meyer

1984 - George Orwell

Eleanor & Park - Rainbow Rowell

Unwind - Neal Shusterman

Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck

The Color Purple - Alice Walker

So Far From the Bamboo Grove - Yoko Watkins

If you'd like to see the whole list, click HERE.

The next question is, why would you go out of your way to read banned books?  My answer?  They've obviously been banned for a reason, right?  So what don't certain people who banned them want you to know?  Diversifying your experiences is always good and helps you build a more complex and realistic view of the world and of the minds of humanity in general.  Someone in the world wrote that book so they must have imagined it happening (or it did happen) somehow which makes it something you should be aware of as a member of the human race and a resident of planet Earth.

Have you been reading any books for banned books week?  Have you read many banned books?

Bookish Discussions: Do books have a purpose?

I know, I know, I'm finally doing another discussion post!  I recently published my review of Me and Earl and the Dying Girl and it made me think a topic that I wanted to write about and discussion with all of you!  Today's topic is the purpose of books.

If you haven't read my review of Me and Earl and the Dying Girl and you'd like to, I'll put the link HERE.  In the book, the author frequently tells the reader that they shouldn't be reading the book because there really isn't any purpose behind it and it's just a story.  When I was thinking about it, I first thought that the author was trying to say that we put way too much meaning to everything now and some things just come at face value.  Is that really true though?

The author also told the reader that they really shouldn't be reading the book because it's terrible and that they should really just stop reading now while they're ahead.  What purpose does that serve?  Honestly, I read books because I want to read them for some reason.

So the real question is, why do people read books?  Why do people spend hours a day sitting in one place turning page after page?  Do you gain anything from it?

Some people's first instinct is to say, 'of course not!  You're just wasting time!'.  But then I'm reminded of a quote from Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas:

“Libraries were full of ideas–perhaps the most dangerous and powerful of all weapons.”

Because isn't that the purpose of books?  To provide inspiration and spread knowledge and allow people to enter different situations to learn something about themselves?  No story is simply a story.  Even the tales back in ye olden days always had a point.

So what do you guys think?  Should we really not be injecting meaning into writing/stories or is there already inherently meaning in all books and literature?

Bookish Discussions: Scheduling Posts Ahead Of Time

Today's Topic is............ Scheduling Posts Ahead Of Time!  I know this is a more bloggery post instead of just reading in general but I thought it would be an appropriate discussion to have and I can fit in my apology to you guys for having such sporadic posting that sometimes happens in the future...  So here we go!

Bookish Discussions: Music or Silence While Reading

Today's Topic is what you like to listen to while reading!  I've talked to a lot of people about this and it seems like everyone prefers something different.  Music, silence, talking, white noise, the list goes on and on!  Let's explore some of that!

Bookish Discussions: The Dreaded DNF Marking

Today's Topic is DNF's aka Did Not Finish books!  We all have those books.  You mean well.  You pick it up and are either so excited to find out what happens or are a bit skeptical.  Then you get 5, 10, 15, 20 pages in and you're cringing every other page.  Soon, you get to page 50 and can't take it anymore.  However there are some people who refuse to mark books as DNF's.  Let's get to the bottom of it!

Bookish Discussions: Beautiful Covers

Today's topic is Beautiful Covers!  I saw this topic over at Saloni's blog My Fantabulous Bookshelf and at Diaries of a Book Lover!  It sounded like such a cool topic so here we are!  We all have different definitions of what makes a beautiful cover and which covers catch our eye.  Let's explore some of those shall we?

Bookish Discussions: Why Write Reviews?

Today's topic is Why Write Reviews?  I saw this topic over at Cristina's blog Girl In The Pages and thought it was the perfect topic for this week when I'm kind of falling behind on reviews!  So let's get into it shall we?

Bookish Discussions: Reading Outside

It's Spring!!  Well, at least where I live.  And with Spring comes reading outside and all the pleasures and annoyances that go along with it!

Bookish Discussions: Fan (or author) Art and Character Inspirations

Today's Topic is Fan (or author) Art and Character Inspirations.  I'm talking about how the casting directors find their perfect actor for the part.  There's so much fan art out there depicting characters how we interpret them from the page and they can be as different as night and day.  Authors also may release drawings of how they see their characters or release a cast of dream actors for the book made movie.

Bookish Discussions: Reading Challenges

This week's topic is reading challenges.  I don't mean the kind of challenges that you face when you are an avid reader but rather those things that challenge you to read as much of a certain book as possible (or more general challenges).  I'm sure these types of challenges benefit and motivate so many readers but I just can't seem to get onto the wagon.

Bookish Discussions: Reading at Night

Today's topic is reading at night!  I'm sure many of us are in the habit of reading at night after work or school or whatever you had to do that day to relax before bed.  I'm also sure a lot of us have stayed up into the wee hours of the morning trying to finish a particularly intense and mysterious book!  Since I just did the Bedtime Book Tag on Tuesday, I'm continuing with the whole nighttime theme :D

Bookish Discussions: Books and Their TV Show/Movie Counterparts

Today's topic is books and their TV show/ movie counterparts.  Sometimes, the movie is better than the book but sometimes, it's the book that's better than the movie.  Let's expand on this shall we?

Bookish Discussions: The Mary Sue's

Today, the topic is Mary Sue's.  You know, that typical YA (or really any genre) character that has these certain qualities and is beautiful and blah blah blah blah blah?  Today we're going to talk about how Mary Sue's even come into existence and what is annoying about them.  Sound like fun?  Let get to it!

Bookish Discussions: The Beauty of Bookstores

Today's topic iiiiiiiiis... Drum roll please.... The Beauty of Bookstores!

Because of the rise of ebooks, bookstores everywhere are slowly closing!  Especially independent book shops where they have those old comfy chairs and you can sit and read all day and smell that awesome smell of old paper... Mmmmm :D

Bookish Discussions: Writing in Books

This weeks topic is: writing in books!  When I see pictures of writing in books, I always want to do it too!  Tell me that doesn't look cool and sophisticated and shows that 'worn' look of a book!

Bookish Discussions: Author Loyalty

This week's topic is Author Loyalty!  If I read a great book from an author, I'll most likely research the rest of that author's books and read them.  But have you ever decided that enough is enough?  If an author writes so many books and you just happen to read 'the best one' (all a matter of opinion of course) and the rest you think are terrible do you keep reading their books in the hope you'll like another?

Bookish Discussions: Library or Buying Addictions

Today's topic is Library or Buying Addictions!  You know you have those days when you walk into the library and sudddenly, you can't stop yourself from checking out book after book that is on your TBR?  Or that has a pretty cover?  Or just because it looks awesome?  Yeah.  I had one of those days a couple weeks ago and I ended up having to use two grocery bags to bring all my books in the house.

Bookish Discussions: Eating While Reading

I'M MAKING GRAPHICS GUYS!  I feel like such a computer whiz now ;)

So, eating while reading.  Or drinking while reading.  I've met tons of people who have a favorite beverage or snack while they're reading.  But I have a questions for all y'all.  If you're reading a physical books, what if you spill your drink on it?  Or get crumbs in the spine??  The HORROR!  See, I'm a person that simply has to keep my books nice and new and never spill anything on them.