On My Mind: Books with Powerful Messages

Hello, Good People!

Before we start, this post is about books with powerful messages, as I'm sure you guessed from the title. :) If you do not like reading summaries of book messages, just go read the books. Skip this post. You'll see what I mean once you're done reading them.

As you know, I love books. I love many books. I love a variety of books. We all do. But today, I want to talk about books with powerful messages. What does that mean?

"Powerful" means compelling, soul-wrenching, making you think, life-changing.

"Messages" are themes, morals, ideas, the author is trying to convey (intentionally or unintentionally.)

Many books have messages of some sort, and most authors are trying to say something through their work, but some books have particularly strong messages. These books stay with us forever, and change us. These books (and movies) help heal us, show us truth, help us believe again. Here are some:

A Tale Dark and Grimm (Also, I reviewed this series here.)
A Tale Dark and Grimm, and the rest of the series, helps heal. There are very few people in the world who actually believe in the power of children, and Adam Gidwitz is one of them. Not many people are willing to believe children and trust that children are often wiser than adults, and not look down on children. Even I struggle to do this. Adam Gidwitz trusts children, believes in them, and listens to them. It's hard to explain.

Also, the way Adam Gidwitz writes makes you gasp with wonder. I can read the A Tale Dark and Grimm series more than once, and find beautiful things. I'm not going to ruin it for you, but read this series more than once, and pay attention. Adam Gidwitz is beautifully gifted, and captures the hurt so well. If you want to know more about this (sorry, I am being rather cryptic :) ) this article and this article are great.

Uprooted (For a full review, click here and here.)
Uprooted is a fairy tale-esque story. The messages in this book are so strong and so powerful, but not overshadowing. I really can't say much without spoiling everything. Just go read it. :) It's about love, though. Not romantic love, which is generally the first thing we think of, but loving others. It's about how sickness in our minds (don't worry--it's not psychological, it's very much fairy tale) makes us and others act differently, out of character. It's about how we are not seeing the person, we are seeing the manifestation of the sickness. Maybe that person chooses to try to get better. Maybe they don't. That is definitely their decision, and they are harming themselves and others if they choose not to get help, but it doesn't mean they aren't suffering, too. They are still sick.

Uprooted teaches you to look past the sickness, to ask: What would this person without this sickness look like? And suddenly you can see them truly, how they were meant to be.

Go read beautiful books, beautiful people.

What books have you read that have strong messages?

Spruce Nogard

Attributions: https://www.amazon.com/Uprooted-Naomi-Novik-ebook/dp/B00KUQIU7O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1529601259&sr=8-1&keywords=uprooted+naomi+novik

https://www.amazon.com/Tale-Dark-Grimm-Gidwitz-2014-03-06/dp/B01K9290RC/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1529601420&sr=1-4&keywords=a+tale+dark+and+grimm

Extra Week: Guest Post: (Not Really): Adam Gidwitz*

Hello, everyone!

So, as we know, for extra week posts I can write whatever I want. Today, I want you to read these two amazing articles by Adam Gidwitz. I put links to them, so it's not really a guest post, even though you're reading someone else's articles.

http://www.adamgidwitz.com/why-do-i-write-fairy-tales-if-theyre-so-bloody/

http://www.adamgidwitz.com/tears-into-blood/

I hope you enjoy these deeply thought-provoking, amazing, articles.

Spruce Nogard

Attributions: https://www.amazon.com/Tale-Dark-Grimm-Gidwitz-Paperback/dp/B01071EW46/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1504653856&sr=8-9&keywords=a+tale+dark+and+grimm

*Post actually written on September 5th. See here for details. 

On My Mind: (Extra Week Post): Bring Your Own Book Game

Hello, Friends!

First of all, this is a weird week. For more information, see this post.

As you are getting done with Christmas break, you might still have a little time to relax. Even if you don't, you might still find this a fun game for the weekend.

This game is called "Bring Your Own Book." It's like Apples to Apples, but with books. First, everyone picks a book. A deck of prompt cards goes in the middle. Each card has two prompts on it, with one easier one and one harder. The "picker," or judge, picks a card, then picks a prompt. Everyone else has to search their book for a word, phrase, or few sentences that match the prompt. Once one person finds it, they say "Got it," and flip the timer. Everyone else has 60 seconds to find something that would match the prompt. Next, the judge picks the one they like best. That person gets the card. The first person to get four cards wins.

Also, every time someone gets two cards, you pass your book to the left.

This is a very fun game to play, because it's a book game!

Also, it's fun when you take things out of context. For example, when we were playing, the prompt was: Something overheard at a government meeting. I put in: ". . . not quite as unpleasant, I would imagine, as getting back out again" (Gidwitz 208). This makes perfect sense, but it was amusing given the whole quote:

"As the ravens have already implied, there are some things that they do and some things they do not do. Dying is of the latter group.

Of course, getting trapped in the stomach of a dragon is, even for a creature that cannot die, an indescribably unpleasant experience.

Though not quite as unpleasant, I would imagine, as getting back out again." (208)

See what I mean?

Do you have this game? What hilarious phrases have been played?

Spruce Nogard

Sources: A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz

https://www.amazon.com/Bring-Your-Own-Book-Game/dp/B01DPJHBJU

Attributions: https://pixabay.com/en/books-book-read-literature-stacked-1474381/

https://www.amazon.com/Tale-Grimm-Gidwitz-Author-Paperback/dp/B00I4KWP6K/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1482859239&sr=1-4&keywords=a+tale+dark+and+grimm 

Writing: Mental Library: Postmodernism Part 1: Narrators

Hello, Post-Modern Lovers!

New series today: Postmodernism!

What is postmodernism?

Very basically, postmodernism is the main literary movement we are in right now. Literary movements are kind of like genres, but much, much, broader.

Anyways, the first characteristic of postmodernism we will be looking at is narrators, or, Participation.

In postmodernism, authors sometimes talk directly to the reader. There are two types of this:

1) I don't know the actual term for this, so we are going to call it Storytelling/Storyteller.

If you are reading a book in which the author talks to you, and includes you (making you do things, etc.), s/he is a Storyteller narrator. Adam Gidwitz is a Storyteller in his A Tale Dark and Grimm series. Sometimes, he jumps in to wonder why a certain character said something that didn't make sense, or assuring you that the story will turn out all right in the end, or just messing with you.
 SPOILER ALERT

(A Tale Dark and Grimm: "'Do I smell human flesh?' he asked.
Hansel caught his breath.
'Of course, silly,' his grandmother said. 'There's a little boy named Hansel, waiting for you in the closet in the living room.'

No, she didn't say that. I was just teasing you" (Gidwitz 139-140).)
SPOILER ENDED.

2) I also don't know the term for this, so I'm calling it Unconscious Thinker.

This type of narrator tends to go into stream of consciousness. As defined by Google, it is: a person's thoughts and conscious reactions to events, perceived as a continuous flow.

Pseudonymous Bosch is an Unconscious Thinker in his Secret Series. At one point in the series, the Pseudonymous Bosch is having a dilemma about whether he should finish his chocolate now, even though he meant to be disciplined and save it for a treat later, or save it. This is more the Unconscious Thinker because his thoughts do not pertain to the actual story.

Have you read any books with these types of narrators? Have you heard about postmodernism? Post in the comments!

Spruce Nogard

Attributions: 

https://www.amazon.com/Name-this-Book-Secret/dp/0316113697 

https://www.amazon.com/Tale-Dark-Grimm-Adam-Gidwitz/dp/0142419672/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1472329625&sr=1-1&keywords=a+tale+dark+and+grimm