5 Students, 1 Quest: Entertainment Journalism Through Blogging

Last week I talked about an author that I feel everyone should be reading this summer, so I thought it only fitting that this week I talk about the books that would be better left for another season. Summer is supposed to be a happy time where reading is done for fun and pleasure. These books could potentially put a damper on those amazing summer plans.

As I Lay Dying
William Faulkner

As I Lay Dying is a book about Addie Bundren. It tells the story of her death through the eyes of many different characters. Cash, Addie’s eldest son is making her coffin for her as she is watching outside her bedroom window. Her two other sons leave for a long trip to see a friend whose daughters have been helping Addie as she has been ill. Her youngest son, Vardaman has had the hardest time with his mother’s death and associates it with the fish that he caught and killed earlier that day. Addie had requested to be buried in the nearby town of Jefferson, so the Bundren family heads out on their journey. They come across many obstacles but eventually make it to Jefferson and bury Addie. However, all of their lives change once they get to Jefferson and bury their dead mother.

This book has 15 different narrators to the story, which means that there are 15 different stories being told. Though they may be relatively close to the same basic idea, they still are being told in different perspectives which can make it rather difficult for the reader to follow. On top of that, the story lacks a certain amount of thrill or excitement. All those English majors and minors at Buena Vista University can either agree or disagree on whether this is a good summer read because this is a required text for the American Literature classes.

Beowulf

Beowulf can be dated back to the 8^th to 11^th century. Beowulf, the hero of Geats, battles three of the stories antagonists: Grendel, Grendel’s mother and a dragon. Grendel is attacking the Danish, and the king of the Danes, Hrothgar has said that anyone who can beat Grendel will get a reward. Beowulf feels as though he is up to the challenge. In the final battle with the dragon, Beowulf becomes fatally wounded and died.

This story was written in ancient Britain by an unknown author. Although it is considered to be one of the classics, the plot and story line are very difficult to follow. This is part of the required reading for British Literature I. If being confused is what you look for in a book, Beowulf would be a good choice!

Heart of Darkness
Joseph Conrad

This story is a story of Marlow’s time with the Belgian trading company who is out to get all of the ivory that they can from the jungles of Africa. He is able to get the job through a contact that his aunt had within the company. She is very excited for him to have this sort of opportunity, though he seems to be rather numb to it. This company hires native laborers and then employs European men as the “bosses” of these laborers. The laborers are treated very poorly, much like they are in the diamond mines today. Marlow and his crew get a ship and sail down the river to Kurtz’s camp in order to get some of the ivory that he has and bring it back to the company. There are many different hurdles that Marlow and his crew need to overcome, including the death of Kurtz and a laborer aboard his boat. Overall, this is a story of how Marlow comes to be a part of this company, his time in the company and ultimately how he is affected by the experiences in the “Heart of Darkness.”

This book is one that is read in the British Literature II class. The story is interesting, but the language of the story is not entertaining and the story flows at a rather slow pace. If you are interested in the story line, check out the movie that was made called Apocolypse Now.

Iliad
Homer

The Iliad is the story of the fall of Troy. Hektor and his younger brother Paris are in Greece celebrating the new-found peace between Troy and Greece. While there, Paris falls in love with Helen and takes her away to Troy. Menelaus, Helen’s husband, is very distraught that she has left Greece with another man. He calls his brother Agamemnon to his aid, and Agamemnon decides to attack Troy. He calls in Achilles who is the best warrior in all of Greece. After all the battles, many lives are lost on both sides, and the story continues into Homer’s sequel: The Odyssey.

Though this book has some thrill and interest, it is very hard to follow being written in the form of a poem. Back in the days before people wrote things down, they sang them, so this poem was written in such a way that it would be easier to remember the poem. This book is read in the Introduction to Early Literature course that is offered on campus.

Wuthering Heights
Emily Brontë

Wuthering Heights is a story about the love between Catherine and Heathcliff and Catherine and Edgar Linton. Catherine and Heathcliff were friends for years and they fell in love. However, Catherine needed to think about her future and chose to marry Edgar instead. Heathcliff is heartbroken and leaves right away. Years pass, and he comes back. Once Heathcliff comes back, numerous events happen; Catherine has a child and dies. The rest of the book is spent explaining how her daughter’s (Catherine) life is spent, and how she corrects the mistakes that her mother had made in her life.

This book is required reading for the British Literature II class and has a very slow story line. It is a rather boring book that really does not capture the attention of the reader in a timely fashion. There are moments that are intriguing but the language that is used and the fact that the story proceeds so slowly entirely takes away from the overall outcome of the story.

These books have made my list of the top five books to avoid reading during the summer because of the storylines, the way they are written and because if you have to take any English courses on the Buena Vista University campus, you will undoubtedly read one, if not all of these books. As an English minor, I am required to read all of them in any of these three 200 level course: British Literature I, British Literature II and American Literature. They are all classics, however they are not the most enjoyable to read if you are more interested in contemporary literature. BVU would do well to add a contemporary literature course to their course listings. Then students could read books that may actually interest them.

-Katie

With summer just around the corner, trying to figure out how I want to spend my time this summer has certainly been one thing on my mind. Of course I plan on getting a job, if not two, plus I’ll be taking a summer Shakespeare course, as well as trying to find time for myself and my friends. I also have another thing that is on my mind—which books am I going to read this summer? I usually go through eight to ten books by the end of the summer. One author that should definitely be on everyone’s summer reading list is Christopher Moore.

Moore has been writing since he was 16-years-old and published his first book in 1990. Throughout his entire life, Moore has been surrounded by books and has enjoyed most of the stories that he has read.

“My father, who was a big reader, was a cop, but somehow he managed to read a book a day when I was little,” Moore said. “When I was older and he was a commanding officer, that dropped to a book every two or three days. I guess reading was just a big thing in our house and I liked stories.”

Moore has published ten novels to date, with another one on the way in February 2009. His days are spent writing, goofing off and then writing some more. Moore is definitely a unique author and describes his books as “funny novels with an element of the supernatural.” He finds that the writing process goes much better when he is learning, so he chooses topics that he does not know a lot about in order to keep the writing process going.

“You can’t keep the moment of inspiration for the whole year it takes to write a book, so inspiration comes when you’re researching, often, before you’ve even begun writing, when you’re still learning. That’s one of the reasons I like to pick subjects I don’t know a lot about to write books on. By the time I finish the book, I know a hell of a lot about the subject, and that learning kicks off ideas that make the story,” Moore said.

When researching for Island of the Sequined Love Nun (1997), Moore took a few lessons in how to fly a helicopter, as well as live on an island in Micronesia. And in order to write Lamb (2002), Moore read all of the Gospels and became well versed in the different theologies that he used within that book.

Moore certainly has a different way of storytelling. His ideas are very abstract and out there; take for instance The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove (1999). The story is based around a sea beast named Steve that comes to Pine Cove, California after the entire town has been taken off their anti-depressants. No one could say that that is a plot line that you would typically see in a book.

“I usually just put two things together that haven’t been put together before. Like Lamb, a humorous retelling of the life of Christ.”

Lamb is a fictional retelling of a “forgotten” gospel—the Gospel of Biff, Christ’s best friend. This book is telling the story of those years that are unknown about Christ’s life. You meet Christ and Biff as they are children. As the story progresses you are taken through the process of Christ becoming the messiah, which includes going on a journey for the three wise men that were present at Christ’s birth.

“I had just seen a special on PBS called From Jesus to Christ, where some theologist said, ‘there are thirty years of Christ’s life that aren’t covered in the Gospels.’ I thought, ‘someone should write those years, and since I know nothing about theology or history, I should be that someone,’” Moore said.

One aspect of Moore’s writing that engages readers are the characters that he creates. The characters have so many different levels to which they are that the reader cannot help but be enthralled with who they are. Sometimes the characters are even based on real people.

The storyline, and therefore characters, for The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove were loosely based on Moore’s friends who were on anti-depressants and trying to get off of them. After talking to a psychiatrist, Moore thought this would be a great basis for a story.

“People tend to get very anxious, very depressed, and very horny. I thought, ‘wow, I wish all my friends would just go off their meds at once, so I could take a couple of weeks just to put out emotional fires.’ But then I realized, ‘Oh my God, then they’d all be horny, too. It would be a nightmare.’ So I wondered what would happen if a whole village went off their meds at once. Oh, and their anxiety attracted an ancient predator from the bottom of the sea who came to shore and started eating them.”

Some of the characters that Moore creates for certain stories, also appear in other novels. The Emperor appears in all of the San Francisco novels, Mavis appears in all of the Pine Cove novels, and Catch from Practical Demonkeeping (1992) also makes in appearance in Lamb.

“I bring them back mainly because people, my readers, ask me to. And I think it’s cool when I’m reading [someone else’s] book and that happens,” Moore said. “It’s like running into an old friend. It sort of makes you feel special, like you’re on the inside of the story. I’m all about making people have fun while reading my books.”

Moore is unlike any other author I have ever experienced, both in the way he writes as well as how he treats those who appreciate his writing. He is known for talking time out of his day to answer his own fan mail; he is especially nice while touring and will actually sit there and have a conversation with a fan.

“I am pretty busy, and there are times now that I can’t keep up with my e-mail, but I also think that writing, at its heart, is communication,” Moore said. “And communication is a two-way thing. I don’t want to just sit in a palace and send my hallowed thoughts out to the world. Besides, people have been nice enough to pay money to read something I thought up, the least I can do is help out with a paper now and again.”

If humor is what you look for in a good book, Christopher Moore will surely be an author to check out. His off-the-wall humor may be a little twisted at times, but if you are in need of a good laugh, he will surely be able to help. His books are available at almost anywhere books are sold as well as at Amazon.com.

-Katie