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Summer Reading: What Books Are Best For The Summer Months
If you Google “Summer Reading” you’re getting pages of articles, lists, school requirements, and blog posts about the best books to read on the beach, during your summer vacation, or just during these sweltering months were few sane people will be outside for long. So, the question of what to read for the summer is subjective and varied, but for your summer, I would suggest you make a challenge for yourself. Obviously, your reading speed is going to dictate your reading list (and my suggestions) but as someone who has done a few challenges over the years, it’s important to pick a challenge you’re going to enjoy. Don’t make reading…
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Banned Books: Challenge to “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time”
It was recently reported that the Westmont Hilltop School District in Pennsylvania faced a challenge to The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. The report came from a variety of sources but the Tribune-Democrat reported, “… the president of the school board, said that each of the many complaints he’s received about the book fell into one or more of three categories – complaints about the foul language it contains, complaints that its profane use of God’s name offends Christian sensibilities and complaints that it includes a negative portrayal of a character with autism or a similar disorder.” Now, in the past we’ve seen that…
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They Filmed The Book: It by Stephen King
With the second part of It coming out this year I thought I’d look at this book-to-film adaptation. To begin with, the book is one of King’s classics and it’s one of his heftier works that jumps between the lives of a group of kids/adults at they span three decades of fighting a horror in their hometown. The book is a descriptive, long story that really takes us into the world of the Losers’ Club and the terrors, both supernatural, personal, and human, they face throughout their lives. It also goes well into the trauma they face after fighting a monstrous being that’s had decades of killing under its belt.…
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Nonfiction of Note: The Writing Life by Annie Dillard
I really enjoy books about writing but not “How To” books on writing. Rather, I really enjoy books about how actual writers write. The practices, the techniques, the habits, and all that are fascinating to me and can be inspiring for those who have trouble sitting down at the keyboard or finding time to put their story onto paper. However, there are a lot of variations of this type of book and some are much better than others. There are letters from writers to others that talk about the craft, there are memoirs that tell a great deal about authors and writing, and there are some books that, sadly, border…
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The Craft of Writing Fiction: How To Tell A Story (Part 1)
Telling a story involves a lot of what we’ve covered in past articles, like setting, characters, and plot. However, crafting a story is something that many are unable to do well and there are many ways this could be helped. There are some cases, though, when being unable to craft a story is something that can’t be corrected. Yet, aspiring writers have to know the art of a story or else there will be nothing put on paper and their work could be full of inconsistencies or plot holes or unreadable. Now, we’ve mentioned this before, but there are different types of fiction. There are literary works and genre…
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Buncombe Brief Book Review: Turtles All the Way Down by John Green
I enjoy John Green’s books, but this one was a far cry from his previous works. I really enjoyed The Fault in Our Stars and Looking for Alaska, and I even enjoyed the novel, Paper Towns, despite the story being a little far-fetched. However, Turtles All the Way Down was a miss for me. I know there are a lot of people who enjoyed the book and it was an okay read, but this story wasn’t for me. I do think Green understood his characters well but the story was just not for me. I feel like the pacing was a bit off. The main character Aza seems to jump…
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Libraries: Going Beyond Just Borrowing Books
A recent article from The Guardian did a fantastic job of reiterating some of the benefits of a local library that go beyond just borrowing books. While it’s commonly known amongst frequent library patrons that borrowing books is just one part of the services that a library offers, there are a lot of people who may still miss out on the resources that come from the local library. The article says that the library is a place of equality and that’s true in a lot of ways. No matter your status, be it economic, educational, or your personal situation, the library is there to serve without discrimination. I love the…
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Is Internet Access Lacking In Rural NC Counties?
I’ve argued before that having internet, high-speed internet to be specific, is becoming a staple in our world but so many rural towns in North Carolina are lacking, especially here in the western part of the state. In some counties, a handful of providers, if not only one or two, are all that’s available and for some homeowners there is simply “nothing to be done”, according to these providers, because of their location. Yet, more of the world is moving to requiring internet access, for nothing else than because it makes life easier in a lot of ways. There are those who need internet access to apply for jobs but…
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Are The Books Always Better? Judging A Book By Its Film
The old and common phrase of many readers coming out of a theatre can be heard when the film was based off a novel. “The book was better” is something that has been touted since Hollywood realized they could capture ready-made stories from books and, potentially, bring in ready-made fans of the book. Also, for some non-readers, it’s a chance to experience a story that has captured many people without having to read a single page. Yet, the question of whether to read a book first, or just forego a movie altogether, has often cropped up but is there a correct answer? Mind you, a movie and book both have…
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Buncombe Reads Philosophy/Religion-The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller
This book by Timothy Keller is one of my favorites on the subject of Christianity because it looks at the gospel through the story of the Prodigal Son. This is a great comparison as the parable is rich with examples of Christian doctrine, our human condition, and ways in which we can stray from the path as Christians. Also, this book looks at both brothers and challenges Christians to look at themselves. The book shows that the father in the story is a forgiving man that has been offended but shows an abundance of joy; the son is, obviously, wasteful and ungrateful but turns and repents of his ways…