literature
Geek literature from the New York Times or the recesses of online. Our favorite stories showcase geeks.
"The Diamond as Big as the Ritz" by F. Scott Fitzgerald
I first read “The Diamond as Big as the Ritz” by F. Scott Fitzgerald when I was fourteen years’ old. I discovered it whilst searching for short stories about money and wealth in the early American 0th Century and the reason being was I wanted something to counteract my views of how it all worked based on the fact I’d just finished O.Henry’s “Gift of the Magi”. By this point, I had already read “The Great Gatsby” and wasn’t all too impressed. I found Gatsby a bit too short in its explanations and descriptions. I wasn’t all impressed because of the fact that Gatsby was attempting to explain these deep philosophical workings of how wealth can absolutely corrupt even when the intentions are, in the eyes of those carrying out the intentions, particularly good. But I was determined that I wouldn’t give up on Fitzgerald. I hardly ever give the author only one chance and normally read two or three books by them in order to make an informed decision of whether I will continue reading their books. My first reading experience of this particular story though was intensely good. It was amazing. I was completely consumed with all the pomp and decadence of the story and the way it worked so cleverly and so symbolically. There are certain parts of the story that I have simply not been able to forget - including the extremely famous ‘bribing god’ scene. This book completely changed my opinion of Fitzgerald and even though to this day, I’m still not entirely won over by Gatsby, I am however won over by Fitzgerald’s other novels.
By Annie Kapur6 years ago in Geeks
Red Queen Review
SYNOPSIS In a world divided by the blood of silver super human beings, and reds meant to serve them, there lies some red blooded beings, who can control mighty powers. Some more dangerous then those of the silvers. In the midst of this chaos we find a young, daring Mare Burrow. Who moves to the silver society, in a desperate attempt to blend in. Our young heroin in this tale, can control lightning, well, all things electricity actually. Every day she is there, she risks exposure. Should they find out, the silvers would surely rip her apart. Can Mare make it through?
By That Bookish Kat6 years ago in Geeks
Review of ‘The Scapegracers’ (Scapegracers #1)
Synopsis An outcast teenage lesbian witch finds her coven hidden amongst the popular girls in her school, and performs some seriously badass magic in the process. Skulking near the bottom of West High’s social pyramid, Sideways Pike lurks under the bleachers doing magic tricks for Coke bottles. As a witch, lesbian, and lifelong outsider, she’s had a hard time making friends. But when the three most popular girls pay her $40 to cast a spell at their Halloween party, Sideways gets swept into a new clique. The unholy trinity are dangerous angels, sugar-coated rattlesnakes, and now–unbelievably–Sideways’ best friends. Together, the four bond to form a ferocious and powerful coven. They plan parties, cast curses on dudebros, try to find Sideways a girlfriend, and elude the fundamentalist witch hunters hellbent on stealing their magic. But for Sideways, the hardest part is the whole ‘having friends’ thing. Who knew that balancing human interaction with supernatural peril could be so complicated? Rich with the urgency of feral youth, The Scapegracers explores growing up and complex female friendship with all the rage of a teenage girl. It subverts the trope of competitive mean girls and instead portrays a mercilessly supportive clique of diverse and vivid characters. It is an atmospheric, voice-driven novel of the occult, and the first of a three-book series.
By Cyn's Workshop6 years ago in Geeks
"Brideshead Revisited" by Evelyn Waugh
“Brideshead Revisited” by Evelyn Waugh is one of those books you read and you just don’t forget. You don’t just put it away after one read, you don’t just leave it out of your life. After you’ve read it, like a spell it will keep pulling you back into its charm. I read it for the first time when I was fifteen. I remember it very well because it just so happens I wrote that day down in my diary. Apparently, I was in a moving car and it was the bleak midwinter. My mother was driving and kept telling me to put the book down because apparently it would give me a headache (which to this day I do not understand, I have never had a headache from reading in a moving car, train, bus etc.).
By Annie Kapur6 years ago in Geeks
Review of 'Winterwood'
Synopsis Be careful of the dark, dark wood… Especially the woods surrounding the town of Fir Haven. Some say these woods are magical. Haunted, even. Rumored to be a witch, only Nora Walker knows the truth. She and the Walker women before her have always shared a special connection with the woods. And it’s this special connection that leads Nora to Oliver Huntsman—the same boy who disappeared from the Camp for Wayward Boys weeks ago—and in the middle of the worst snowstorm in years. He should be dead, but here he is alive, and left in the woods with no memory of the time he’d been missing. But Nora can feel an uneasy shift in the woods at Oliver’s presence. And it’s not too long after that Nora realizes she has no choice but to unearth the truth behind how the boy she has come to care so deeply about survived his time in the forest, and what led him there in the first place. What Nora doesn’t know, though, is that Oliver has secrets of his own—secrets he’ll do anything to keep buried, because as it turns out, he wasn’t the only one to have gone missing on that fateful night all those weeks ago. For as long as there have been fairy tales, we have been warned to fear what lies within the dark, dark woods and in Winterwood, New York Times bestselling author Shea Ernshaw, shows us why.
By Cyn's Workshop6 years ago in Geeks
20 Books of 2020 (Pt.27)
Books are a wonderful thing and I've been reading a lot of them of course. One thing I wanted to discuss shortly was the fact that there are lots of good websites on which you can get really good book recommendations apart from just going on GoodReads.
By Annie Kapur6 years ago in Geeks
Review of ‘The Vanished Birds’
Synopsis Nia Imani is a woman out of place and outside of time. Decades of travel through the stars are condensed into mere months for her, though the years continue to march steadily onward for everyone she has ever known. Her friends and lovers have aged past her; all she has left is work. Alone and adrift, she lives only for the next paycheck, until the day she meets a mysterious boy, fallen from the sky. A boy, broken by his past. The scarred child does not speak, his only form of communication the beautiful and haunting music he plays on an old wooden flute. Captured by his songs and their strange, immediate connection, Nia decides to take the boy in. And over years of starlit travel, these two outsiders discover in each other the things they lack. For him, a home, a place of love and safety. For her, an anchor to the world outside of herself. For both of them, a family. But Nia is not the only one who wants the boy. The past hungers for him, and when it catches up, it threatens to tear this makeshift family apart.
By Cyn's Workshop6 years ago in Geeks
Review of ‘Diamond & Dawn’ (Amber & Dusk #2)
Synopsis Lyra Selene returns to the incandescent magic of Amber & Dusk in a second installment about the corrosions of even the most dazzling dreams, and the strength of hope amidst darkness. Mirage, triumphant in her coup of the Amber Empire, returns to the palais prepared to take her place as Empress. With the support of her friends, Luca and Lullaby, and a tentative, blossoming romance with Sunder, Mirage is on the cusp of taking hold of everything she has wanted. However, her place in the sun is not as sure as she expected; nor is it quite as bright as she imagined. When the Empress Severine's body is recovered from the battle, she is not dead after all -- in a coma, she still represents a threat to Mirage's newfound power. Worse, a distant cousin, Gavin d'Ars, Duc de Douane, appears in court to challenge both women with his blood claim, and to propose a series of trials to determine the most deserving heir. In Mirage's fight to defend her vision for the empire, she begins to splinter all of her networks. Will the battle for control leave anyone untainted?
By Cyn's Workshop6 years ago in Geeks
6 Books to Devour During Droughtlander
Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger Time travel? Check. A main female character called Clare? Check. A sweeping romance strong enough to withstand the oddities of a life of time travel? Check. Ok, so Niffenegger's debut novel may be set in modern-day Chicago rather than the romantic landscapes of the Scottish Highlands, but we're this beautiful novel will pull you in from page one.
By Emma Styles6 years ago in Geeks
