Superman on the Couch

Hey everyone!

So this book, Superman on the Couch: What Superheroes Really Tell Us About Ourselves and Our Societies by Danny Fingeroth, was a request.

Why are so many of the superhero myths tied up with loss, often violent, of parents or parental figures? What is the significance of the dual identity? What makes some superhuman figures "good" and others "evil"? Why are so many of the prime superheroes white and male? How has the superhero evolved over the course of the 20th and early 21st centuries? And how might the myths be changing? Why is it that the key superhero archetypes - Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Spider-Man, the X-Men - touch primal needs and experiences in everyone? Why has the superhero moved beyond the pages of comics into other media? All these topics, and more, are covered in this lively and original exploration of the reasons why the superhero - in comic books, films, and TV - is such a potent myth for our times and culture.

Angels and Demons

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Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

Doctor Sleep

I Am Legend

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Once Upon a Prince

Superman on the Couch

This book was very interesting. I'm a big superhero fan and so it was interesting to see what this book told me about myself. There was a lot of information in this book and it was all very interesting. The book was organized very nicely and it covered most of the superheroes....HOWEVER they did not talk about Thor (who is my absolute favorite) they only mentioned him. The reason being that he was not created by a comic book person but an already existing Norse mythological God. There isn't much to say about this book, other than I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in superheroes. It is a non-fiction. I gave it a 4 out of 5 stars.

Keep reading!

Mackenzie

Gone Girl

Hello, hello, hello!

My next book was Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.

On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne's fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick's clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn't doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife's head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media--as well as Amy's fiercely doting parents--the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he's definitely bitter--but is he really a killer?  As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. With his twin sister, Margo, at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn't do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet

Gone Girl

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Inhale

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Along for the Ride

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This wasn't as great as everyone made it out to be. It started out a little bit slow. I hated the characters. There were no character that I was drawn to in the slightest and I think that was why it was so hard to read. The characters were all very blunt. Flynn described the characters in an unflattering light, which I liked because most main characters are made out to be beautiful and flawless in appearance. This book took me longer than it should have to read even though each chapter ended with the correct cliffhangers that makes a reader want to continue...but I didn't. The book was very, very twisted and the main characters were very thorough. The change of the characters of opinion didn't seem realistic, although desperate times called for desperate measures, as the saying goes. And the end just made me mad. I gave it a 3 out of 5 stars. 

Keep reading!

Mackenzie

Fahrenheit 451

Greetings!

My next book on review is Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. This book does not fit into my challenge but it was a recommendation for me to read.

Guy Montag is a fireman. In his world, where television rules and literature is on the brink of extinction, firemen start fires rather than put them out. His job is to destroy the most illegal of commodities, the printed book, along with the houses in which they are hidden. Montag never questions the destruction and ruin his actions produce, returning each day to his bland life and wife, Mildred, who spends all day with her television "family." But then he meets an eccentric young neighbor, Clarisse, who introduces him to a past where people didn’t live in fear, and to a present where one sees the world through the ideas in books instead of the mindless chatter of television. When Mildred attempts suicide, and Clarisse suddenly disappears, Montag begins to question everything he has ever known. He starts hiding books in his home, and when his pilfering is discovered, the fireman has to run for his life.

Right into the review. This was closest to 1984 by George Orwell. Another dystopian society where books aren't allowed (how awful!). It was also very similar to Wall-E because of the amount people rely on technology and I feel like this parallels our world (similarly to all dystopian books). The title in itself is so clever. Fahrenheit 451- the temperature at which paper burns. Also, Bradbury uses literary devices extremely well. This book is so simple it's good, no real twist or anything drastic in the book but it's good. There were a few parts were I was confused. Some things just weren't explained enough. There was also a lot of disconnect between the characters and there was a lot of babbling and repetition. This was overall a really good book and it's a classic. It was also quick and easy to read. I gave it a 4 out of 5 stars.

Happy reading!
Mackenzie

Under the Dome

What a birthday present, I finished this monster of a book and boy do I have a lot to say about it. But first,

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Under the Dome

Confessions of a Mask

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Okay, where to start, where to start with Under the Dome by Stephen King. This book is full of twists and turns.It was nice that in the beginning of the book it had a map and list of characters and relationships, it was a nice touch. I love Stephen King's writing style and this concept was so fully developed and creative. I like how he puts a lot of references from his other books in this book and also a lot of real world references, it really ties the book to our world and makes it seem like there is a possibility of this happening. My only problem is with Stephen King's endings, I'm not always left satisfied and if you read this book you'll know what I mean. I just wish there was more justice. There were a lot of characters I forgot I didn't like at the beginning and then liked at the end and vice versa. There were a lot of times I got so mad at this book that I couldn't read it for hours, but it was a good frustration, and that feeling always happens in good books.This was an awesome book, that tied all loose ends by the book, I highly, highly, highly recommend it. It also made me appreciate the air I breathe more.

I plan on continuing with Xenocide, sorry for the delay.

Keep reading!

Mackenzie

My First Assignment!

I have received my first assignment, so I'm putting Xenocide aside for the time being because this assignment has a time limit. A friend of mine asked me to read Under the Dome before the TV series starts at the end of June. So I started that last night and I'm not a fast reader but if I read 30 pages a day I'll finish in time. I'm determined to finish it in time for my friend. If you have any suggestions of what I should read, let me know!

Also, I have reached 500 page views! Yay!

Happy reading!
Mackenzie