Turn the Page Tuesdays

What have I been reading this week? Before I tell, a little story.

I love books written for teenagers, specifically teenaged boys. While there are many books written for teenaged girls, they're a bit of a hit and miss for me. On one hand, you can get excellent literature like The Hunger Games, and on the other, you get something like Twilight. (Sorry Twihards! I tried to like it, but have a very detailed and elaborate argument as to why I don't, but I won't drag it into this, as it's quite a volatile subject on the internet I hear)

I appreciate that currently there is a huge push to have girls continue to read and enjoy reading. As a girl who grew up reading, I totally love that there's currently a huge realm of (usually supernaturally themed) books starring girl characters who may or may not be good role models or interesting character studies.

However, I feel like boys are sort of being left out. Not that there aren't boys who would read books which are geared towards women, there are tonnes! However, for books with interesting male characters written for pre-teen and teenaged boys... I find either they're poorly written, stupid in idea, or sexist. I'm not going to name names. However, there are a few that are not only well written, interesting, and engaging for anyone, there's actually one that came out in October, that is all of those things! I think what makes a book written for boys awesome for me are a few things: 1- good character development. 2- not only a strong central male character, but strong female characters who exist as more than just the romantic or relational foil for the male characters, 3- an interesting story, 4- a smart story that is well written.

The following book, the newest in it's series, is a total win for me since I picked up the first book a few years ago and then just kept reading it. It's smart, funny, a neat idea, has great characters, AND it actually sneaks in lessons about classical mythology, which is always pretty cool in my books.

The Son of Neptune

This is the 2 book of the series "The Heroes of Olympus" which follows a previous series of 5 books, "Percy Jackson and the Olympians." You might recall in the back of your mind a movie that came out a few years ago called "Percy Jackson and the Olympians- The Lightening Thief." Ignore this movie. Go pick up the book of the same name, and read that instead. It's an awesome read. Once you devour that, go pick up the next book, The Sea of Monsters, and keep it rolling, because I tell you, these books are just excellent! (Not just for adults, your kids will love em too! I recommend them for probably 10 and above, 10 if your kid is very mature, above if not!) 

Happy Reading!

New Feature: Turn the Page Tuesdays

I have to work on tuesdays, so I don't have time to do much cooking, and tend to just snack on stuff (For example, today's sustenance snack is peanut butter on rice crackers for the most part!) In addition, Matthew is super sick, so cooking is pretty much off the table for today.

So I've decided to talk briefly on Tuesdays about what I'm reading/have just read, for a little break from veganism.

I read quite a bit, at least an hour every day (usually more) and tend to consume a wide variety of books.

This week I recently Finished:

I love Terry Pratchett books. In fact I own every Terry Pratchett book published, even the ones written for kids! I think what I love most about Pratchett's work, specifically the books written in the alternate universe known as "The Discworld" (which this book is) is that while on the surface they seem to be rather ridiculous fantasy novels written in a humorous style, they're actually commentaries on society as a whole. This one was about racism, and the tendency of the powerful in society to tread on the weak. It was excellent! However, I would not recommend reading this book as the first Discworld novel you'd digest. There are several different storylines that the series can follow (based around characters) and this one is based upon the character of Samuel Vimes, Commander of the City Watch of Ankh-Morpork, the big metropolis of the series. His storylines are my favorite! Thus, if you wanted to dip the toe into his particular storyline, start with the book "Guards! Guards!" It's also excellent, and it has a dragon in it. Always a recipe for a good read in my opinion!