Quote comes from:
Properly, we should read for power. Man reading should be man intensely alive. The book should be a ball of light in one's hand.
-Ezra Pound
US poet (1885 - 1972) found at: http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/1911.html
Today on the blog
Austenprose I read about a new book called
Sass and Serendipity by Jennifer Ziegler and while I hope my story that I am writing is kind of like Sense and Sensibility what struck me most about the Austen prose article was that Jennifer Ziegler called Jane Austen a Young Adult author and I was a little surprised by this but I must say she makes perfect sense. Ziegler says...
" I think, in some ways, Jane Austen wrote YA. Before anyone tosses tomatoes at me, please allow me to explain… Austen’s books centered around young women on the verge of adulthood. They are nearly ready to leave the nest and take their spot in the world – and in the Regency era, the best landing of all would be that of a happy marriage to a good and prosperous man. Standing on this threshold of life is the emotional setting for all young adult novels. Teens are caught between the insular world of the childhood home and that of society at large. Even if they don’t strike out on their own at the end, they have surely become more “adult” by the final page. Austen never makes the search for a proper husband the point of her stories. In every case the main character needs to go through some significant growth first. Whether it’s Elinor learning to trust her feelings as much as her intellect, Marianne coming out of her fantasies and into her senses, Elizabeth learning not to judge too prematurely, Emma learning not to meddle in other people’s lives, and so on, Austen makes sure her heroines recognize and overcome character flaws in order to earn their happy-ever-afters. Such maturation is central to young adult literature, as it is with all good character-based fiction. However, in YA, the age of the protagonists is key. Teens and early twenties don’t know as much about the world or themselves quite yet. Because of this, the problems they face are brand new, but also – and this is critical – their emotions are brand new. This is first love, first heartbreak, first crushing disillusionment. "
For full article click hereI guess when I started reading Jane Austen I thought them as so high class literature that in a very geeky way I thought I was cool that I loved Jane Austen and I could appreciate her. But in high school I couldn't share my love to people other than my mom because all my friends were reading Harry Potter or other books that I had no interest in. So I kind of kept my love a secret, it wasn't until I college I met other lovers of Jane Austen and it is like this instant bond. One of my best friends and I started talking only because we both loved Jane Austen and since a beautiful friendship has grown. But I still until reading this article would have consider Jane Austen Young Adult only because sadly sometimes, young adult literature is looked down upon from a scholarly point of view.
I am here to say that I like Young Adult novels (other than ones about Vampires or Werewolves but if that is your thing be proud of it) and I like reading stories about first loves, first heartbreaks, over coming maybe childish things, and experiencing the world for the first time. I am not ashamed to say it. Whatever you read is good just read!
So I wanted to give a shout out to two Young Adult novels that have really shaped me...
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
this book I read in the 6
th grade so might be a little to young for Young Adult but I owe this book a lot of credit in my life. I read this book in the 6
th grade and since then I have not stopped reading. Now I know Anne Hathaway (who I usually love) made a movie of this book but don't waste your time watching the movie read the book it is so worth it. It is kind of Cinderella story as Ella has the curse of obedience with over her and she has two mean step-sisters that she knows might threaten her life if they find out about her curse.
A good book review
click hereAnd one day I hope to give it to my niece and let her experience this book I first loved... of course that won't happen for a few more years she is only 18months old now.
A Northern Light by Jennifer
Donnelly is another book that I like to give a shout out to. I read this book my freshman year of college and I re-read it the summer before my senior year. Though this book and I have had an interesting history. While I was re-reading it my purse including this book was stolen. While the purse and a few items were returned to me this book was not. That made me sad because it was so good but I hope that this book didn't end up in a dumpster but some one picked it up and was able to read it. I then checked it out from the library to finish re-reading it. And until recently I didn't own it I just knew I read it. In a moment of retail therapy I bought another copy for myself so now I own and have read everything that Jennifer
Donnelly has published and when The Wild Rose comes out I will own that too (can't wait).
The reason the story impacted me was that as a wanna be author I like how
Donnelly blended kind of two stories in one (a thing I have always wanted to do). But as a person I love how the main character Mattie is under hardship being the oldest girl of a farm family but she still has goals to go to college and write. I won't ruin it for you but it is a good read. For a good review
click hereI will also be sharing this one with my niece when she is older.
Probably the best known Young Adult book (and if its not it should be)
Speak by Laurie
Halse Anderson show a darker side of High School but maybe me laugh when she wrote about the "Lies they tell you" for example the teachers are always there for you.
I won't go too much into this but its a good read rather you are in high school or not.
For more
click here
Oh yeah for my readers who want to know more about
my story (as the last few blog postings have been about my life) I am working on it... grad school is taking up a lot of time but I am still writing.
