Maia's Blog: LMST345

 Interview with a Vampire- 6 points A Wild Sheep Chase- 6 points Annihilation- 6 points Aunt Maria- 5 points The Hobbit- 6 points The Night Circus- 6 points Attended zoom classes- 6/7 (I switched into the class late so I missed the first zoom meeting, other than that I attended all of them) Total: 41 points I definitely feel that I was struggling a little bit at the beginning to keep up with the readings and my school schedule, but I feel like I can read even more these next weeks! I think I can really help bring up my points and hopefully earn a fair grade for this semester. I have also attended all of the zoom classes I was able to, excluding the first one because I wasn't in the class yet! I have enjoyed the books that I read so far.

 This book was actually a very interesting read. I found it more interesting because I have watched and read a lot about vampires in other pieces of fiction. I liked how the novel was set up as an actual interview and how it felt like you were sitting with the boy and listening to this vampire's life and the struggles that he went through during his transition. I enjoyed that they would bounce back and forth about vampire "rumors" and talk about the stereotypical things that people think vampires are or are afraid of. For example, in a lot of books/movies the vampires can't stand light or die from a stake to the heart, but this vampire says otherwise about his life. When I was a kid, I read all of the Twilight books and I am currently watching the show "The Vampire Diaries". It's super interesting to look at all of the differences and similarities about vampires throughout time.  In Twilight, they sparkle in the sun, while in TVD, they burn unless wearin...

 I really enjoyed this story. I really love stories that have a magical and beautiful atmosphere and I really think that the author did an incredible job of painting that imagery in the reader's head. What was the most special about this book was how well done the characters were and how well they were developed. One of my favorite things with anything in books, movies, etc. is the characters. I felt from the very beginning that I could understand and feel what the characters were feeling.  The story itself is interesting because the it bounces back and forth between the two main characters. You feel bad for them because they are pretty much being used for their magical abilities, like they are just pawns in this game that they didn't ask to be apart of. I liked how you got to see both of the character's lives and perspectives of the situation. They are each other's competition, yet they end up having a close connection and bond, falling in love with each other. At the ...

I actually enjoyed The Hobbit more than I thought I would. Every person I have ever spoken to about the book claimed that it was a difficult read and pretty boring. I was interested in reading this one because I had seen The Lord of The Rings movies and definitely found the entire world to be pretty interesting. The author has to be one of the most creative minded people.  Although the book was a bit slower and more of a challenge to read, I still enjoyed the story itself. Knowing what I know from the Lord of the Rings movies definitely helped my interest, but I really enjoy fantasy worlds with different creatures and people. I think the characters were very fun. It definitely makes me want to watch the movies but based on the length of this book, I do not see how there could be three movies. The adventure itself is pretty straight forward.  I really liked the character progression of Bilbo. He came from a quiet and comfortable life and was thrown into a crazy adventure tha...

 Aunt Maria was a very interesting and entertaining novel. I really enjoyed the story all the way through. It started off very normal and I found myself wondering how this story was going to relate to witches at the beginning. I could tell that there was a bit of mystery with the way that the kids' father died and how their Aunt was acting, but it did not start to get strange until the ghost became involved. That really began to peak my interest and I wondered why it was interested in Chris. As the story went on and there was talk of the clone children and the strange people in town...that's also when I started to try to piece some things together. Clearly there was something wrong and maybe their father's death was not how they thought it was. The two kids were trying to work together to figure out what was going on. I noticed a lot of situations that were about gender in this novel. The women in town all got together for tea and food, and they had many expectations of how...

 This book was not at all what I expected it to be. When I first began reading, I thought it was going to be about the death of the main character's ex girlfriend. I expected it to be about a haunting with her past. It felt that way at first, until it was something entirely different. The main character is actually nameless and is a little bit depressing. He is getting a divorce from his wife and has a pretty "bland" life. I didn't feel any emotional attachment to the main character, which is usually my favorite part about stories. I think that is why the character remains nameless, so the reader does not have that connection to them. It definitely made reading this story a bit harder for me. What is interesting about that is when I read Annihilation it was a similar situation with a nameless main character, but I still somehow felt more connected to that one. As the story went on I still felt very confused. I was waiting for what made this book considered a "hor...

 This week for the topic of "The New Weird" I read Annihilation. When I first started the book, I was honestly a bit confused. I felt myself trying to understand the characters and who they were, because I am so use to doing so when I read a book. I didn't understand why they were not telling me their names or their backstories. I was lost at first and it made me feel a bit uninterested. I'm a sucker for characters and I wanted to like  the characters, but there was that disconnect there that made me feel a bit unsure. As I continued to read though, I became more intrigued. I think what make this story so unique and interesting is because there is that disconnect and the fact that you don't know what's going on. There is so much "unknown" to this world they are searching. That is honestly what makes the novel scary. It is scary to not have any information and wander into a dark abyss full of endless possibilities. They do not know what truly lies in ...