What could possibly be said about JK Rowling that hasn't already been said a million and five times over? All I can say about her is "WOW"! She is probably the most amazingly talented author I have read in my life. The world of Harry Potter and Hogwarts that she created are mind boggling. I can only think of one other author, Tolkein, whom I feel has as good of an imagination as JK. There is not one minute aspect of Harry's world that she didn't think about or have tons of background on if she ever needed to use it.
I started reading the Harry Potter books shortly after book 4, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, was released in paperback. It was after the first movie was released and I loved it so much I thought, I've got to read these books and see if they are as good. What I discovered of course, like the millions of other fans out there, is that the books were a thousand times BETTER than the movies, and that was saying a lot as those were all pretty amazing too.
I could hardly wait for each new book to come out, and I remember my brother and sister-in-law buying two hardbound copies of Book 6 because neither one of them wanted to wait until the other had finished to read it themselves. LOL
My favorite Harry Potter book is still book 3, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, although book 6, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is a very close runner up. I feel that in Prisoner there is a huge change in the flow of the series. It is here where Harry learns so much about his parents, their friendships and enemies, and meets his godfather. The novels from this point forward are decidedly darker and much more sinister. While I feel every book was amazing in it's own way, books 3, 6, and of course 7 are certainly pivotal turning points in the overall story.
I've been wondering ever since the last Harry Potter book was first released - what will JK do next? Will she start another children's series, write a stand alone children's novel, or possibly write an adult novel? Well, it looks like the latter was the correct answer. Her first non-Harry Potter novel will be an adult fiction piece entitled The Casual Vacancy, and is scheduled for release at the end of September. It will be interesting to see if she can do something else. I was kind of hoping she'd start another children's series with a completely different theme, but perhaps she wants to make a complete departure for a while from the children's series genre.
I have already pre-ordered my copy of the new book, and with great expectations, I await.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Favorite Books - Stephen King
For each of my favorite authors listed in the previous post, I will talk about my favorite books, and any recommendations.
Stephen King has been a favorite author of mine since I was a teenager and my brother first introduced me to his work. I think my first Stephen King novel was Carrie. I loved this book, even as a teenager, and was eager to read another one. Over the years, I have read many of his books. My absolute favorites are his older stuff like IT, Pet Semetary, The Shining, The Dead Zone, Eyes of the Dragon, Christine, and Needful Things. I still think that Pet Semetary has one of the two best endings I've ever read in a book (my other fav will be discussed later when I talk about John Saul).
After he was seriously injured in an accident (hit by a car) in 1999, I think his writing style changed, and not for the better. Several books he wrote soon after that were terrible in my opinion. The worst by far being Lisey's Story. I couldn't even finish that one. There were a few others, After the Sunset and Cell that I also didn't care for. So, much as I hated to do this, I stopped reading his stuff until just a couple of months ago when I tried one last time with Under the Dome. I had read some online reviews of the book where people had said it was like the "old" Stephen King was back, and that the book was great. Of course this made me really happy as I had missed reading his stuff greatly.
I have to agree with most of the reviewers, Under the Dome was a great book. I loved every minute of the book with the exception of the last few chapters. The way the book wrapped up with the revealing of what was truly causing the Dome over the town of Chester's Mill was a bit disappointing. So, I couldn't give the book a 5 out of 5 star rating due to that, but overall the book was great, and I felt a glimmer of hope that "my" Stephen King was back.
Immediately after finishing the 1,072-page behemoth that is Under the Dome, I started reading 11/22/63, and as of right now I am a little more than halfway through. I have to say it's definitely the BEST book he's written since his golden days of IT, The Dead Zone, etc. I haven't finished it yet so I'm hoping he doesn't do to me what he did with Dome, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hoping for the best.
I also found out he's getting ready to publish a sequel to The Shining soon. Not sure how I feel about that one, but of course I will check it out. If his previous two novels are a true representation of his being back to his old self then it truly will be worth the wait.
Stephen King has been a favorite author of mine since I was a teenager and my brother first introduced me to his work. I think my first Stephen King novel was Carrie. I loved this book, even as a teenager, and was eager to read another one. Over the years, I have read many of his books. My absolute favorites are his older stuff like IT, Pet Semetary, The Shining, The Dead Zone, Eyes of the Dragon, Christine, and Needful Things. I still think that Pet Semetary has one of the two best endings I've ever read in a book (my other fav will be discussed later when I talk about John Saul).
After he was seriously injured in an accident (hit by a car) in 1999, I think his writing style changed, and not for the better. Several books he wrote soon after that were terrible in my opinion. The worst by far being Lisey's Story. I couldn't even finish that one. There were a few others, After the Sunset and Cell that I also didn't care for. So, much as I hated to do this, I stopped reading his stuff until just a couple of months ago when I tried one last time with Under the Dome. I had read some online reviews of the book where people had said it was like the "old" Stephen King was back, and that the book was great. Of course this made me really happy as I had missed reading his stuff greatly.
I have to agree with most of the reviewers, Under the Dome was a great book. I loved every minute of the book with the exception of the last few chapters. The way the book wrapped up with the revealing of what was truly causing the Dome over the town of Chester's Mill was a bit disappointing. So, I couldn't give the book a 5 out of 5 star rating due to that, but overall the book was great, and I felt a glimmer of hope that "my" Stephen King was back.
Immediately after finishing the 1,072-page behemoth that is Under the Dome, I started reading 11/22/63, and as of right now I am a little more than halfway through. I have to say it's definitely the BEST book he's written since his golden days of IT, The Dead Zone, etc. I haven't finished it yet so I'm hoping he doesn't do to me what he did with Dome, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hoping for the best.
I also found out he's getting ready to publish a sequel to The Shining soon. Not sure how I feel about that one, but of course I will check it out. If his previous two novels are a true representation of his being back to his old self then it truly will be worth the wait.
Monday, July 16, 2012
Favorite Authors
Here's a list of some of my favorite authors. No particular order - just how they pop into my head.
1. Stephen King
2. JK Rowling
3. John Saul
4. Harlan Coben
5. Stephenie Meyer
6. Sophie Kinsella
7. Jackie Collins
8. Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
9. John Grisham
10. Danielle Steele
11. Mary Higgins Clark
12. Dean Koontz
13. Tess Gerritsen
14. Jeffrey Deaver
15. James Patterson
16. Jody Picoult
17. Nicholas Sparks
What are some of your favorites?
1. Stephen King
2. JK Rowling
3. John Saul
4. Harlan Coben
5. Stephenie Meyer
6. Sophie Kinsella
7. Jackie Collins
8. Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
9. John Grisham
10. Danielle Steele
11. Mary Higgins Clark
12. Dean Koontz
13. Tess Gerritsen
14. Jeffrey Deaver
15. James Patterson
16. Jody Picoult
17. Nicholas Sparks
What are some of your favorites?
It's All About Books
I've been having so much fun with my jigsaw puzzle blog http://pennysjigsawblog.blogspot.com/ and meeting fellow puzzle enthusiasts that I thought I would try doing a blog about my other big passion - reading! My goal with this blog is to share with friends, family, and strangers (if they should happen by) my love of reading, my gift for babbling, and whatever else comes to mind. So let's have some fun with this.
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