I’ve now read three of the popular author’s books. I’ve noticed a pattern with the stories and characters I can’t ignore. John Green is an immensely popular author, but are his characters and stories actually any good? My thoughts:
Have you read any of his books? Did you notice anything similar about them?
February has come and gone, which means even MORE books! But I’ll be honest. I actually got these in January at the same time as my previous book haul. I even recorded it at the same time because I didn’t want to have a million books in one video.
So let’s just not get all technical with it. We’ll pretend that I didn’t tell you all of that and that these books were actually bought in February. How’s that? Now watch, watch, watch! And tell me which books you brought home this month.
I know I’m not exactly leading the pack when it comes to my 2016 Reading Challenge, BUT at least I am reading something, right? Right.
This time around I decided to read John Green’s Paper Towns to mark off the young adult book from my challenge. In the video I didn’t get into the plot too much because I know people don’t like spoilers, but after editing and watching it back again I’ve decided that I’m going to be more in-depth in future videos because it just comes across as awkward when I’m referencing parts of the story but haven’t really spoken about them. So that’s just for future reference.
Also, I know yesterday was Super Bowl Sunday but I released a really important video. I laid out what my future plans are for my Johnny Reads YouTube channel. It’s two minutes in length, so I’ll leave it here for you just in case you didn’t catch it.
And here’s my video on Paper Towns. Now watch and tell me if you’ve read it and what you thought of it!
PS: I haven’t seen the movie just yet.
First off, sorry for the late post. I’d had every intention to have it publish at my usual time, but today I’ve been a bit distracted by something unexpected. And I decided that my attention was needed elsewhere. But now I’m here with you, as always, just a little late today.
Recently Quartz was given data from some of the top public libraries around the country regarding their most popular books. The data isn’t all from the same time period, but we’re only talking a difference of about a month at the most, so it’s pretty accurate. If I had to guess with no information about any of the libraries, I’d of course think that Go Set a Watchman would likely be at or near the top of some of the lists. I’d also think of To Kill a Mockingbird. Besides those two I’m not sure I’d have any other books come to mind. Here’s the list in no particular order.
Seattle – Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee.
San Francisco – Fairyland by Alysia Abbott.
Los Angeles – The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.
San Jose – The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins.
San Diego – The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins.
Denver – Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf.
Phoenix – Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee.
Dallas – The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins.
Houston – Truth or Die by James Patterson.
Memphis – To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.
Jacksonville – The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins.
Washington D.C. – The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins.
Baltimore – Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee.
New York – The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins.
Indianapolis – Wicked Charms by Janet Evanovich.
I really can’t say I’m surprised by any of these, though I will admit that I’ve never heard of the titles from Denver and San Francisco. The others seem pretty understandable. They’re pretty much mega bestsellers that people are reading all over the country. Maybe just a little surprised that Paper Towns didn’t make it to the top of at least one list. Even though I know the movie isn’t nearly as popular as the first of the John Green adaptations, the book was popular enough to nab a movie deal.
Are you surprised by any of the titles that are the most popular books at some of the public libraries in the US? Maybe you think some titles should be right near the top that aren’t listed?
Why do I love reading YA books? This is actually a question I get frequently because nearly 95 percent of the books I read are Young Adult books. The other 5 percent are a mixture of Middle Grade and New Adult books, with a dash of whatever my future Mother-in-Law throws my way. I’ve read a variety of other genres but nothing ever felt quite right, like they were lacking something. It’s almost like the tale of Goldilocks and the Three Bears.
My Start
When I was a freshman in high school I was pretty terrified due to the fact that I had been home schooled all of grade and middle school. When it came to my first week of freshman English we went to the library to pick out our own book to read for the month. I was familiar with my public library a few streets down from my house, but I never really enjoyed what I read. The class period was almost over and I still couldn’t find anything and all the other students had already found their books. My teacher pulled me aside and handed me Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. She pulled me into the small YA section of the library and simply said “I think you’ll like these books…” and gave me a warm smile. I took the book home that night and by the time I was in English the next day I had finished it. I begged my mom to take me to Borders that night and buy the second book in the series, Pretties. They’re still my favorite books to this day!
YA’s Unwarranted Criticism
People bash YA books quite a bit. It’s sad. I think regardless of the quality or genre of book a person is reading, at least they’re reading! Every genre has poorly written books. But there are some amazingly talented authors who write YA that can rival some of the most legendary authors out there. Libba Bray, Scott Westerfeld, Leigh Bardugo, Veronica Roth, Sarah J. Maas, Alexandra Bracken and the list goes on and on. Many of the books that are being adapted into movies are mostly YA! Divergent is phenomenal and The Hunger Games is spectacular. Then there’s John Green. The Fault in Our Stars. Looking For Alaska. Two adaptations in two years! Panic by Lauren Oliver was optioned for film and she’s writing the screenplay! Whether you’re a young adult yourself or you’re in your 40s, these books offer something for everyone. YA should not be viewed as a “lesser” genre than any other, because that’s just ridiculous.
The Appeal of YA
YA appeals to me for so many reasons. For one, a lot of the explicit language and material is cut out. It’s not necessary and the author just adds more adventure to the story. During this period the characters’ emotions are heightened. Everything is felt so intensely. This is a time in your life when you’re experiencing a lot of firsts. I think how these authors capture all of this, then throw in some crazy plot of the world being separated into factions and fighting each other to the death, is pretty amazing. When I first started reading YA a lot of the stories dealt with issues I was also dealing with, and they became a coping mechanism.
Now I’m a twenty-something, engaged, college student and daycare teacher. I read to escape from the stresses of daily life, and YA is my primary escape. The books are fast paced and unlike a lot of people (I guess), I don’t want to read five pages about the description of a forest. I read because I enjoy reading, not because I want to give myself a headache. I read YA because I like it. Simple as that. Just like John enjoys reading crime novels. That’s what interests him. YA is what interests me!
Happy Reading!
Aly
Is it me or did that title rhyme a bit? Hm.
Anyway, 2015 is another year full of books being adapted into movies. I wrote a million years ago about Hollywood’s fascination with turning toward the literary world for movie ideas. We all hear about the movie deals for this title and for that one just about every week. A movie is a hit, another book by the same author is adapted. Two prime examples of this just from 2014 are Gillian Flynn and John Green. And let’s not forget that the top grossing movie at the domestic box office has been adapted from a book in three of the last four calendar years. 2011 – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. 2013 – The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. 2014 – The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1. Technically Guardians of the Galaxy still shows as the top grossing movie of last year, but I’m happy to say that Mockingjay is just a short time from claiming the top spot.
So when you take those little tidbits into consideration, it’s easy to see why Hollywood is always searching for that next big hit by way of the publishing industry. American Sniper just expanded its release and what happens? With Bradley Cooper as the lead and awards buzz from every which way, it’s going to shatter the January opening record at the box office. Another movie adapted from a book.
I’m sure you know exactly when your favorite adaptation will be released this year, but here are 20 notable releases. And no, I didn’t come up with the list myself. And no, I don’t have release dates because I’m too lazy to find them on Box Office Mojo. Here’s the list:
Silence
The Revenant
The Light Between Oceans
Paper Towns
In the Heart of the Sea
The Martian
The Zookeeper’s Wife
The Secret Scripture
Into the Forest
A Book of Common Prayer
Walk in the Woods
Lion
Dark Places
Child 44
Carol (The Price of Salt)
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
The Jungle Book
Macbeth
The Duff
Far from the Madding Crowd
And that’s it. Of course, none of these matter. It’s all about how soon November can get here so we can see Katniss again. Sorry for the lack of actual information about each movie, but I stole the list from here and they tell you a little about the story and the actors involved with most of the adaptations.
Are you looking forward to ANY of these? I’m not. But eh.
PS: You should know by now that the Fifty Shades of Grey movie is just weeks away from its release date. Well I read from a very good box office guy that it might open to more than $75 million domestically. A little perspective, Twilight opened to $69 million and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone opened to $90 million.
No.
That was my response yesterday when Jess asked me this question. My reasoning for it is simple. There are great books released in every genre every year. Which means there are always good books out there to be read, no matter the genre. I’ve stated so many times in the past on this blog that I mostly read crime fiction. I don’t think it’s better than any other genre. I don’t think the authors are inherently more talented. I simply enjoy good detective stories.
This is why I want to write crime fiction. Because of what I’ve read. Because of the authors I’ve come to read so many times. For instance, James Patterson is one of my favorite authors. I know he’s always getting criticized for how his books are written and released, but I’ve never not been entertained by one of his Alex Cross novels and I think I’m ten books in. Robert B. Parker has probably influenced every crime writer out there today, and you can definitely see his influence in their work.
See, I don’t have an issue with someone who reads five different genres or dozens of authors all the time. But I think I do have an issue with someone asking this particular question in a manner that suggests one genre isn’t worthy of being read all the time. Because that’s absurd. No one says anything to those readers who only read classics. Or to all those readers who have a never ending YA TBR list. So don’t sit there and ask me how come I only read mysteries. The funny thing is that I’ve read a few different genres and authors in the last two years. JK Rowling. John Green. Anne Frank. Michael Lewis. So even though I might say I mostly read mysteries, I also dabble in other genres along the way.
So tell me, do you ever get tired of reading books within the same genre all the time? You know my answer.
Honestly, if someone gave me all of three guesses I bet I could name three books out of the top ten best selling books of 2014. And I bet most of you could easily get at least one. Why? Because the YA trend is only continuing. Sure there was that ridiculous Slate article (that I won’t link to) that said YA shouldn’t be read by adults. Or something like that, I never got around to reading the whole thing. YA sells. And maybe it doesn’t make up as much of the total number of books as some might think, but when you’re talking mega bestsellers we all know they’re going to easily make those lists.
Now time for the guessing game. Which books do you think were amongst the ten best selling of the year? Come on. I’ll give you a minute to think it over.
LA LA LA
Me singing.
Okay. For the purposes of this list Nielsen only included print editions of books, and hardcovers and paperbacks count as distinct titles. Which is why the same title can appear multiple times within the top ten. Now I’m just going to show you the list.
1. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (paperback)
2. Divergent by Veronica Roth (paperback)
3. Insurgent by Veronica Roth (paperback)
4. Allegiant by Veronica Roth (paperback)
5. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul by Jeff Kinney (hardcover)
6. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (movie tie in, paperback)
7. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (paperback)
8. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (hardcover)
9. Killing Patton: The Strange Death of World War II’s Most Audacious General by Bill O’Reilly (hardcover)
10. Looking for Alaska by John Green (paperback)
When I look at the list I see the same thing I saw on the Twitter list of the year’s most mentioned books. I see John Green on top of the literary world at the moment. And I see Veronica Roth trying to take his title. Want to know what I don’t see? I don’t see any surprises. No random self published book. No unknown author miraculously making the list. It was a good year for book sales, and it was a good year for YA mega bestsellers.
What do you think of the best selling books of 2014? Surprised by any of these?
AKA the books I read this year.
Honestly, I’m not sure that “reading biography” is a thing that people say, but I saw it on another post and I’m stealing it. How about we make it catch on and then eventually everyone who reads this blog will be able to say they had a hand in a new tag/meme on WordPress. I can see it now.
“Hey guys, this is my reading biography. As started over at Write me a Book, John!”
Maybe? Anyway, this is going to be a much shorter post than I’d have hoped at the start of the year. I’m pretty sure you know by now that my goal each year is to read 50 books. I think it’s a nice round number that’s definitely attainable, considering I read 44 a couple years ago in just seven months. Guess how close I got? Just guess. I’ll wait.
Hurry up.
Okay. Time’s up. I read…seven books! SO close to my goal! Not. It was a terrible reading year. I mean, how can I even say I’m a reader with that kind of number? It’s really disappointing and there’s no explanation. I’m just a loser. Here’s the mediocre list anyway. And I’m even going to post the date I finished each one so you really get an idea how bad it really was.
1. Valediction (Spenser #11) – Robert B. Parker – January 1
2. The Diary of a Young Girl – Anne Frank – March 7
3. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Harry Potter #1) – JK Rowling – March 13
4. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Roald Dahl – March 26
5. London Bridges (Alex Cross #10) – James Patterson – April 12
6. The Fault in our Stars – John Green – June 12
7. The Drop (Harry Bosch #15) – Michael Connelly – June 21
Pages Read: 2193
Reading Time: 36:07
Series Books: 4
Authors: 7
Amazon 100 Books: 4
That’s it. That’s all there is to know from what I read in 2014. This means I’ve read a whopping 22 books since January 1, 2013! What am I doing!? No. 2015 will be better. I know it.
How was your 2014 reading year? It couldn’t have been any worse than mine.
BookVibe has compiled a list of books most mentioned on Twitter in 2014. Might as well just get into the list because I’m sure you’re more interested in the ten books than any preceding comments I have.
10. Catcher in the Rye – JD Salinger
I suppose it would be unwise to think that a list like this wouldn’t include some classics, right? I mean, don’t high school kids have to read this? Maybe?
9. 1984 – George Orwell
I don’t know if high schoolers are reading this, but I’m not particularly surprised by it.
8. Jurassic Park – Michael Crichton
Hey. This is a definite surprise to me. It’s obvious that this made the list because of the new movie coming out next summer, but it is still nice to see people talking about it (even though we’re coming up on movie four and there are only two books.) But I read this in high school and then read the second one. Enjoyed both.
7. Eleanor and Park – Rainbow Rowell
Haven’t read this one, but I know it’s popular. My only question is if her real name is really Rainbow. And I actually know the titles of all of her books even though I haven’t read any of them. That’s cool.
6. Gone Girl – Gillian Flynn
When a book is adapted into a major movie that immediately gets some awards buzz going, well it’s hard to imagine a world in which Twitter isn’t right on board with that. Still haven’t read this, though I’m about 90 percent sure I know what happens. Eh.
5. Hannibal – Thomans Harris
Okay.
4. To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
Obviously an American classic, but wasn’t this book just released as an e-book for the first time this year? Maybe that helped?
3. Looking for Alaska – John Green
I would have to go back and take a look at my banned books post, but I think this made the list. Cause I know it was published a few years ago and I figured that two of his other books would make this list over this one. Hm. What do I know?
2. A Game of Thrones – George R. R. Martin
There is absolutely nothing for me to say about this. Who wouldn’t expect this?
1. The Fault in Our Stars – John Green
Well it sure looks like John Green is right at the top of the literary world at the moment. Heck, this is the only book on the list I read in 2014. And he has another movie coming out next June. And is there anyone out there who doesn’t think his other works will be adapted at some point? Doubt it. I still would just like to mention that I have the same initials as John Green. Cause that somehow matters. This book actually had more than double the mentions on Twitter as the second book on the list. Sheesh.
So that’s it! The top ten books of 2014 on Twitter. Any surprises?
Johnny Reads 