Blog Post # 3: Book Review

My first book for this class was In the Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware. Here is the summary: What should be a cozy and fun-filled weekend deep in the English countryside takes a sinister turn in Ruth Ware’s suspenseful, compulsive, and darkly twisted psychological thriller. Sometimes the only thing to fear…is yourself. When reclusive writer Leonora is invited to the English countryside for a weekend away, she reluctantly agrees to make the trip. But as the first night falls, revelations unfold among friends old and new, an unnerving memory shatters Leonora’s reserve, and a haunting realization creeps in: the party is not alone in the woods.

         It was an interesting book. The majority of the book is just about how the characters get together for the trip. Then towards the last 10 ish chapters things unravel and it gets intense. It's interesting to see the story from the past as the present and the present as the future. 
         Through flashbacks, Ware slowly unspools the mystery, setting a truly spooky scene as six relative strangers gather at the isolated Glass House, celebrating the upcoming marriage of Nora’s former friend Clare Cavendish, with whom she had lost touch 10 years before. In classic Agatha Christie fashion, the first half of the novel is masterful in the slow build of suspense. Clearly, something is very wrong, but it’s unclear whether it’s Nora, Clare, Flo, or some outside intruder who is responsible for the chills and the deepening unease. However, the success of the first half of the novel does speak to Ware’s ability to spin a good yarn. Recalling such classics as And Then There Were None, she creates a unique setting for the psychological scares, and her characters, while somewhat stock, have enough depth to fool even savvy mystery fans for a while. Like the Glass House itself, this novel is “a tiger’s enclosure, with nowhere to hide” and with a constant undercurrent of danger. Read it on a dark and stormy night—with all the lights on.

Overall I thought it was a good book that deserved its New York Times Best Sellars award. The author did a great job, keeping the readers engaged and wanting to read more. I stayed up one night and powered through, kept telling myself that this would be the last chapter for the night, but that eventually ended up me finishing the book. 

Author's Bio

Looking up my author I realized that the name the book was published under is not the name of that author. It's a pseudonym for an existing author. A well known, well established author. Robert Galbraith is what the author wants us to see as we read the book but under that name is J.K Rowling. Yes, J.K Rowling. The author of the entire Harry Potter Series. When writing the Harry Potter series she kept her name as J.K Rowling because her publishers were unsure of how her books would sell as she is a women writing with a male main character. For a long time people thought Rowling was a man but to people’s surprise, it was a women. J.K stands for Joanne Kathleen- her’s and her mother’s name.

J.K Rowling first conceived the Harry Potter story while she was traveling in a train. The idea hit her and on a napkin she drafted the entire first chapter of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Rowling received a net worth of $15 billion from the entire 7 book series. She became the top author. Each Harry Potter book selling about 50 billion to 65 billion copies worldwide.

J.K. Rowling writes under the name of Robert Galbraith to maintain the distinction from her other writings.

J.K Rowling chose Robert because it is one of her favourite men’s names, because Robert F Kennedy is her hero and because, mercifully, she hadn’t used it for any of the characters in the Potter series or The Casual Vacancy. Galbraith came about for a slightly odd reason. When she was a child, Rowling really wanted to be called ‘Ella Galbraith’. She didn’t even know how she knew that the surname existed, because she couldn’t remember ever meeting anyone with it. Be that as it may, the name had a fascination for Rowling. She considered calling herself L A Galbraith for the Strike series, but for fairly obvious reasons decided that initials were a bad idea. Odder still, there was a well-known economist called J K Galbraith, something she only remembered by the time it was far too late. Rowling was completely paranoid that people might take this as a clue and land at her real identity, but thankfully nobody was looking that deeply at the author’s name.

Blog #1: Reader Bio

        As a child, I loved going to the library with my mom and we'd just sit there during story time and listen to the stories every week. I remember always carrying home a stack almost as big as me of small short children books to read. Since then, I had always read whenever I possibly could. Reading became a part of me. There were times where I had to read for a few hours before I went to bed or I couldn't go to bed at all.
        As I got older, I never stopped reading. I was always that kid that carried a stack of books. Wherever I went, I always carried a book with me. Even to the movies or to a concert or out to dinner. I always had a book. I mean, I still do. And I mean a print, hard copy of the book not a kindle or E-book.
        Horror, Thriller, Fantasy, Mystery, Sci-fi are my favorite types of books. I always like to read books that keep me engaged and are suspenseful. Those make me read even more and not want to put the book down. When I read, I feel like I'm watching or playing the story in my head. Sometimes when I take a break I think "Was I reading that or watching a movie?" What I love about reading is you read something new every time. It's not always the same story even in the same genre.
         As a wonderful author, C.S. Lewis once said, "We read to know we are not alone." And I agree. When I read I feel like the characters are right there with me, telling me the story as if any of my real life friends would.
         Somethings you'll never see me read are non fiction and Twilight. Sorry all you Stephanie Myer fans, I will not read them again ever. Harry Potter all the way. Speaking of, I remember, living on the UC campus before they kicked us out, my mom and her friends would take us, kids, to the theater on campus and go see movies. Majority of the time it was the Harry Potter movies. Growing up watching and reading them, I grew a liking to that type of genre. Harry Potter became my entire world and my first official fandom.
        J.K. Rowling created this adventure from her brain while riding in a train and writing the first chapter just on a napkin. I own all the books and have been re-reading them over the years several times. Not just Rowling, but many other authors have given us the opportunity to read very good books. We'd be here all day if I were to list them all.
       Can I marry fictional characters? Can I be a fictional character?

       
<---- James Dashner author of The Maze Runner trilogy has this quote in the movie. And I think it means a lot to readers because, books are never going to stay the same. There are always going to be new authors emerging and those new authors are going to need a chance from readers to accept their work.
        So, yes there is a change, and no you can't do anything about it so you can't deny the fact there will always be a new book lurking in the shadows for one to read and maybe, just maybe one picks up a book and loves it which makes them continue reading, adding one more person into the readers world!

            So to those new people, welcome!