literature
Geek literature from the New York Times or the recesses of online. Our favorite stories showcase geeks.
Book Review - Stepsister
Hot Key Books are rising stars in the world of YA publishing, releasing numerous fantasy and fairy tale themed books into the market. Last year, they had a major hit with Stepsister, the most recent novel published by the prolific Jennifer Donnelly. Coming to prominence with her 2004 novel A Gath ering Light, Donnelly begun by focusing on historical fiction, but has moved into fantasy over recent years, writing the mermaid-filled Waterfire Saga series and a spin-off novel for Disney’s live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast. Stepsister marks a new direction for her. An unapologetically feminist reinterpretation of the timeless story of Cinderella, it turns the attention to one of the ugly stepsisters. Stepsister has been nominated for literary awards such as the Carnegie Medal, and a film adaptation is in development.
By Fairy Tale Fanboy6 years ago in Geeks
“The House of the Spirits” by Isabel Allende
I first read this book whilst I was in university, I was about 20 years’ old and it was the first semester of the new year. I spent a lot of time reading this book and so, I got it completed in just under two days. The reading experience of it was absolutely brilliant and so very immersive. For the next year and half I could not stop talking about it. I kept recommending it to everyone and everyone I knew who had read it, loved it so very much. I was completely enamoured with the characters, the atmosphere and the whole rich cultural history of the book. I read it more than once obviously because this book changed my perception of the entire aspect of Latin American Fiction altogether. It was one of those books which allowed my scope to expand ten-fold and after that, I proceeded to read everything by Isabel Allende. But nothing was quite as an experience as “The House of the Spirits”.
By Annie Kapur6 years ago in Geeks
"Pensées" by Blaise Pascal
Pensées by Blaise Pascal, also known as “thoughts” in English, is one of the most heavily disputed texts in the history of Catholic Theology. This is mostly because of the order of the text since it was published after the death of its author. Initially, the second and complete edition was first published in 1670 but the more popular translation of the text into English by WF Trotter was published in 1958 and there have been other translations in between, each with their own approach to not only the translations of certain more philosophical French phrases, but they also have differentiating interpretations of the order of the text and the way in which they are organised.
By Annie Kapur6 years ago in Geeks
8 Fiction Books With Black Lead Characters For All Children
I'm going to cut to the chase... Books With Black Lead Characters Are For Everyone! We need to raise children that see colour, appreciate cultural differences, and understand that whilst different people face different types of obstacles, there is greatness in everyone.
By Keysha Jordan6 years ago in Geeks
“The Heart is a Lonely Hunter” by Carson McCullers
I first read this book in my teens after finding it in the local library and I was absolutely enamoured with it. I fell in love with the book almost immediately and there was something incredibly inspiring about it. Carson McCullers is an incredible writer and her style of prose has always been so emotionally driven that she is possibly one of my favourite writers of all time. My first reading experience of this book was sublime. I didn’t need anyone to tell me to read it or recommend it to me, I found it and it was well worth the find. I felt like I’d stumbled across a goldmine. It totally changed my opinion of American Literature, I realised that there was a whole world out there I hadn’t read yet and that Carson McCullers was one of the authors who started the process for me. You would not believe how happy I was.
By Annie Kapur6 years ago in Geeks
"Barkskins" by Annie Proulx
“Barkskins” by Annie Proulx, the writer of “Brokeback Mountain” and “The Shipping News” has often been described as ‘bold and visionary’ or ‘energetic’ with hints of ‘uncompromising splendour’ and ‘extraordinary power’ by various reviews. The reason for these powerful adjectives in use here is primarily because of the way in which nature is depicted throughout the novel. The novel centres around nature as the destruction of the forests seems to be the main point of concern throughout the entire novel for almost every generation of character and yet, the characters cannot seem to stop the violent push-backs that nature is giving them with brute force. Much like the push-back of the natural world in “Frankenstein” when the doctor tries to work nature to his own plans, “Barkskins” demonstrates that humans are a minor part of the natural landscape and however long we are here, the landscape will outlive us, it will be more powerful than we are and ultimately, it will always be above us in ways we could never comprehend. A sublime take on the destruction of the forest, this book seeks out characters who live and die by harvesting wood and ultimately they pay great prices for it. The natural world does not though, just include the forest areas, it also includes the natural landscape, the weather and the way in which night and day are described as being different atmospheres to different characters at different times.
By Annie Kapur6 years ago in Geeks
The Best Works: Cormac McCarthy
Cormac McCarthy was born on the 20th of July, 1933 in Rhode Island in the USA - he was one of six children born to an Irish-Catholic couple called Gladys and Charles. When McCarthy was 4, his family relocated to Knoxville, Tennessee because of his father's job and by 1941, after moving to various places over Knoxville, the family finally settled in the south section of the city.
By Annie Kapur6 years ago in Geeks
“Les Miserables” by Victor Hugo
It’s been a long time since I first read “Les Miserables” by Victor Hugo and I am going to be perfectly honest with you that I was about fourteen when I first tackled it. I kept a notebook with all the characters and how they interacted with each other. I had a flowchart as well and after two weeks or so I had finished the book. Again, I’m not going to pretend that I found it easy - I sat there with a dictionary some of the time and mostly I was kind of scratching my head over some of the concepts. It was definitely a difficult read and when I had finished the book, I felt a sense of massive accomplishment that I hadn’t felt before. I felt like I’d done something a lot of people don’t do at 14, no matter how long it took me. The book actually changed my perception of French History and really got me into studying the revolutions in France. I read a multitude of books on the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars and the June Rebellion after that. The history of the book was absolutely electrifying. It really made you want to get up and seek out a revolution.
By Annie Kapur6 years ago in Geeks
20 Books of 2020 (Pt.38)
I would first like to say how shocked and amazed I am at the response I have gotten for wanting to open up my network and beginning talking to people a lot more. Many, many people have followed me on Instagram since I've gone public and they are all such nice people as well. Everyone seems to be a part of this giant book network in which everyone follows everyone else and they talk about certain books and types of book on a per monthly or, per genre basis. It is really quite something and may be able to help me in my first stages of socialising and improving the social skills I require.
By Annie Kapur6 years ago in Geeks
"Life with a Capital L" by DH Lawrence
I only read this book recently in the past two years or so. I discovered it whilst looking for an essays book to read and initially, I was considering the essays of Saul Bellow - but when DH Lawrence popped up, I knew I couldn’t miss that opportunity. I had already read so much by DH Lawrence and I remember enjoying “Sons and Lovers” in a cafe whilst by myself some years before. Unlike Saul Bellow, every memory I had of DH Lawrence was relatively good. My first experience of reading this book though, was incredible. I would lie on the floor in the summer’s heat and mark my favourite quotations because it was just so satirical. I would then proceed to write small quotations from the book on a piece of card and then, place the pieces of card inside a jar (which I still have) because there were some quotations in that book that you just don’t miss out on for your life. It completely changed my opinion of DH Lawrence just as this slightly humorous provincial writer. He was now a master of humour, darkness and had risen to the status of literary genius in my eyes. I thought this book was fantastic and it has become my favourite DH Lawrence book of all time. Even surpassing “Sons and Lovers”.
By Annie Kapur6 years ago in Geeks
