Tuesday, November 27, 2007

White Night: Reading Section 3

Post A
(116-173)

Subtle (131)- elusive, hard to find/discover
Pantomimed (144)- gestures without speaking, using facial expressions.

An emerging theme that came out in this section was Guilt. Examples would be with Harry and his brother, the suspected murderer, and their conflict with the investigations.

Post B

Well as I said last section I would be giving you a little bit of information on the author of this book, Jim Butcher. A skilled martial artist for 15 years, that writes books and his most famous series is the Dresden Files. (I’m currently reading the ninth book of this series) Also he is a skilled horseback rider and lives in Missouri today. He loves writing about science fiction and fantasy ideas. Well last post I said I wasn’t trying to be a critique but now I’m beginning to like this book. Maybe it was the fact that I didn’t read enough to judge this book correctly, but anyways the book is getting interesting. It went from just a little action to a lot in just a few chapters, the storyline is strong and the plot is very unique. As Entertainment Weekly says “Think Buffy the Vampire Slayer starring Philip Marlowe.” All I can say is that this is a perfect description of the book as he is fighting mystical creatures such as vampires on his way to solving cases. Also the bibliography’s I read helped me understand his writing style. I learned his background and his style with jokes and science fiction intertwined in his book. Anyways if your expecting more critical and negative reviews by me on the book I doubt that will happen. It’s a good book and this section really changed my mind.

Friday, November 23, 2007

White Night: Reading Section 2

Post A
(59-116)

Translucent (87)- allowing light to pass through an object making things not clearly visible on the other side.

Confluence (111)-
a joining of people or ideas.

"I rose, acutely conscious of the fact that my power was still interdicted by the apartment's threshold, and that I didn't have enough magic to spell my way out of a paper bag." (95)
I think this quote has significance because it is leading to one of the main events of this chapter in which Harry and Elaine almost get caught in a fire during their investigation.

Post B

So far the book is a little slow. The action is just beginning to rise but the last 2 readings mostly background information was written. I like the idea of how he’s fighting vampires in a unique style. It brings a more modern version of all the other books about vampires. The detective’s unending hardships are shown so far. I’m waiting to read the action and climax yet it seems as though I might be disappointed and what I’ll end up reading. I should have probably read the other books in this series. If I had maybe I’d understand the book more. It could enlighten me and catch me up with what I’m reading. Although from many reviews I’ve read I’d so say far this book isn’t hyped up to all of its reviews. I know I’m repeating myself as in last section. But this clearly isn’t a book I would have picked up and read for the fun of it. I need more action, more horror, more drama; I don’t need all of this background information. It’s killing me to see an acclaimed writer is doing such a poor job to keep a reader like me attentive. Next post I won’t be doing a critique, I’ll try to find out a little bit of information to share with you guys about Jim Butcher. Who knows, maybe it will help me like this book.

Sunday, November 18, 2007

White Night: Reading Section 1

Post A
(1-58)

Conflagration (page 17)- A big, burst of flames, uncontrolled fire.
Nascent (page 43)- Emergence, coming into existence.

A theme I believe that is emerging from the book is the ability to trust people. A small example came up when Harry's apprentice comes in a crime scene unexpectedly and ruins some of the evidence. This is clearly something that will be seen later in the book.

Post B

So far the book is not what I expected. I was expecting more action and less talking. They've been on this case and it seems like the whole story is on the case and there will be little to none action. From all the reviews I've read it seems like it should be a good book but so far I'm not seeing that. Anyways I do like this writer's style. Jim Butcher likes to keep things modern and I like it. Maybe the reason I don't like this book so far is because I haven't read the other eight books in this series yet. That'll probably give me an understanding of his background and the reason there is no action. I don’t want to sound like a critic, but there is so much I’d like to see improvements on. Fantasy books are usually not my thing but I wanted to try and mix things up this quarter for our outside reading project. Books like this are the kinds that remind me of why I don’t read fantasy books anymore. Even though I’m being negative about this book I don’t doubt Jim Butcher’s writing skills, I just prefer reading a different genre. Well I’m stuck with this book for this quarter, hopefully it’ll get better and I can actually enjoy the climax when it gets there. I’m probably just being a little negative with this book and it’ll probably be a good book to read in the end.


Friday, November 16, 2007

White Night by Jim Butcher

White Night by Jim Butcher
Published 2007
Fiction
416 Pages
The length of the book and it is in the adult reading section of the library.
I chose the book because I like fictional books that have a lot of action in it. When i was looking for a book this one really looked interesting.