Weekly English Post #6 - My Worst Post To Date

It's going to come as a shock but I have nothing to write about this week at all. I have funny stories to tell about the following week, but about books or English in general I have nothing. This may be due to the fact that I have finished all three books in record time and now must finish the last two projects. I will start this weeks blog off with the good weekend stories. Krock Radio called me on Friday to tell me I had won tickets to see the Pink Floyd Laser Spectacular at Nokia Theater at Times Square. The show started at 12 at night and lasted till 2:45 am. It was well worth the trip and the time. It was a visual experience not to be missed, including lasers, 3D glasses, and strange visuals galore. Add in the fact they played both Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall in its entirety and you have yourself a hippies dream. I cannot say I've really ever listened to Pink Floyd, but I know have a new found appreciation for them. They were able to compose some of the strangest yet compelling songs I've ever heard. Next week I make the trek back to Nokia Theater to see indie rock tour of the year, Say Anything, Manchester Orchestra, and Biffy Clyro. My last music point of this post will be that I will soon be updating my favorite albums ever! Don't worry, I've just been busy.

So I've read the three books needed to do four projects, to recap if you haven't been reading my blog I've read The Sunflower by Simon Wiesenthal, The Bluest Eyes by Toni Morrison, and Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. All the books were easy reads and they all had interesting individual components which were described in depth in each post. Overall the three books lacked the elements to make them a good book in my mind. I usually do not like the books school chooses for us to read (senior year books were good minus these three and Hamlet). So since I have nothing interesting to speak about
I'd like to describe my criteria for a good novel with a little help from some friends.

1) Characters are Believable and Realistic (in comparison to setting).
I compare reading a novel to watching a movie. If I'm watching a movie and the characters are being stalked by a killer and decide to split up I automatically go, "Wow what a terrible movie." If the characters in a novel do things like that, are obnoxious and annoying, or speak unrealistic dialogue then the novel is considered bad.

2) Villian is not Dumb
If the villian has captured the hero and heroine and decides to spend time and tell his diabolical plan instead of just killing the hero right away, the book is bad. If the villian is smart though and in the end just gets outsmarted then the book has hope.

3) Climax is Satisfying
If I'm reading and the bombshell comes and I'm blown away, thumbs up for the book.

4) Loose Ends are Tied
If the novel ends and I don't sit there scratching my head then its worthy of being considered good. On the other hand if the novel ends and I feel used I'll rip the book up. NOVELS SHOULD NEVER HAVE SEQUELS!

5) Originality
Having the brilliant creative mind I have its not often that I've read story that I myself have not previous thought of. So kudos to the authors that shock me with newness.

6) I Can't Put it Down
Obviously the most important and basically a culmination of all the above categories, if the story can be read in a matter of days or hours then its considered a good book. I have a short attention span so while reading if my mind is not jumping and I can focus solely on the story BAM! Recipe for success.