Meg Cabot: The Author Who Started It All

There is so much I can say about Meg Cabot. I friggin' love her! She's the first author I fell in love with. Lemony Snicket, of course, but I was too young to really appreciate him. It's only now I see the value in his books. Hindsight.

Anyway, I can't immortalize all that Meg Cabot has done for me in one blog post, but you know, I'll try.

I first want to thank Meg Cabot for being such a boss ass writer and for coming into my life. I want also want to thank my Mom for buying me Meg Cabot books and Barnes & Noble for selling them.

Where do I begin?!? I guess at the beginning, where it all began..

The first ever Meg Cabot novel I read was Size 14 Is Not Fat Either. It's the sequel to Size 12 Is Not Fat and part of the Heather Wells Mystery series adult book series. I was maybe thirteen reading an "adult" novel by Meg Cabot as my introduction to her style of writing. And what an introduction it was! I was hooked! Now I want to read Size 12 Is Not Fat, Big Boned and Size 12 And Ready To Rock.

From there, I was off! I read every Meg Cabot novel I could get my hands on. I own most of the ones I read too, which is great because I've read two of them twice. And they just keep getting better!

In no particular order, here are all the Meg Cabot novels I've read and my opinions(without giving too much away).:

Pants on Fire: I don't know what made me want to read Pants on Fire besides the fact that Meg Cabot is the author. Maybe it was the title; I thought of liars and what this book could possibly be about. I picked it up from Barnes & Noble maybe the Summer between eighth grade and freshman year of high school. Since then I've read it twice and it has become an instant favorite. I love the style of writing and the protagonist, Katie Ellison. She's sort of an antihero and I love stories like that.

How To Be Popular: I recently saw this again in my local library. The first time I saw it, I checked it out to read. That was years ago; I'm a freshman in college now (almost a sophomore) and I think I read How To Be Popular when I was a freshman in high school. From what I remember I loved the ending and the two (maybe) love interests Steph Landry has in the book. And because of those two factors How To Be Popular is another favorite of mine. I'd have to read it again to decide which I like more between Pants on Fire and How To Be Popular. I also want to buy How To Be Popular; my memory is telling me I really, really liked it so why not own it. I want How To Be Popular to be the story of my life.

Jinx: I might have bought Jinx the same time I bought Pants on Fire. And I might have read it when I was a sophomore in high school. I know that I read it twice and loved it. Jinx was really out of Meg Cabot's element for me. It's about Jean Honeychurch, her bad luck and witchcraft! Out of all the Meg Cabot novels I had read (at that point in my life) this one was way different than the rest. I can't think of any part of Jinx I didn't like. I know there was one part I'd change, but that's just me.

The Airhead novels: This was the second series by Meg Cabot I read. I read two-thirds of them over this past Summer and the first novel Senior year of high school. The series follows Em Watts and goes from Airhead to Being Nikki to finally Runaway. When I say this series got better after each novel, please be aware I am making a COMPLETE understatement; I'm not even beginning to touch upon the magnitude of this series. I have to say this series is my favorite. I've only read (completely) one other series by Meg Cabot, but this trilogy is the best. The last novel, Runaway, didn't end quite how I wanted it to, but damnnit Meg Cabot I can't be mad at you! Runaway was also my favorite novel out of the three book series. I can't say anymore without giving the plot away, but I really liked this series because like Jinx, it's science fiction-esque and none other Meg Cabot novels that I read were like this. I appreciated Meg writing about something so completely different that made me so completely frustrated. I love when books evoke emotions from me; that means I really liked it. If you read any series by Mrs. Cabot, read this one.

Queen of Babble series: This is the first series I read from the beloved Meg Cabot. I read this series in seventh or eighth grade. Queen of Babble series is an adult novel series. Now if you have read even the first novel of this sereis, try to imagine a naïve thirteen/fourteen year old reading the scene where... Well I'll let you figure that out on your own. Anyway, being that this was the first series I'd ever read by Meg Cabot, I automatically fell in love with it. What also did it for me was that the main character, Lizzie Nichols, was an aspiring Fashion Designer. At the time, when I read this series, so was I. I found it quaint, the parallel between me and the protagonist; which kept me hooked. I didn't feel as drawn to this series as I did the Em Watts series. Maybe because I was so young when I read it, but I was old enough to have an opinion on how the love interest shifts. I didn't like the shift; it changed for both Lizzie and her best friend. I wasn't a fan; I liked the man she was with in the first novel. Regardless of that, I love this series and since I own it, I plan to read it again.

Avalon High series: I've only read one novel from this series, the first novel. For some reason I didn't feel the urge to continue it, but now I'm thinking why didn't I? I found the first novel beyond interesting; I remember finishing it in a couple of days. Once again the first novel, Avalon High, was so innovative. None of the other Cabot novels I'd read had paralleled a story like Avalon High did. It wasn't exactly an allegory because the second story was explicitly shown, but you could say it was an allegory. I just remember connecting with Ellie because both her parents were teachers and both my parents are teachers. Don't you just love when you have something in common with a character in a book? It makes me feel kind of famous. I also remember loving the details and the setting; pure genius. The three other novels in the series are graphic novels I think. There's a preview of the second book in the back of my copy of Avalon High. I just convinced myself, I'm going to read the rest of the novels in this series.

The Princess Diaries series: This is the final series I "read"by Meg Cabot. It was only maybe a year ago that I found out The Princess Diaries (the films by Disney) were based on The Princess Diaries series by Meg Cabot. But I tried to read this series in eighth grade, well after The Princess Diaries and The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement came out. I couldn't get into it this series though and unlike the Gossip Girl series, I didn't give this series a second chance. I like to read books about characters who are my age, close to my age or older than me. It's rare that I read a novel, let alone a whole series, about a character who's younger than me and Mia is three years younger than me; I'm bias like that. I didn't find seeing the film then reading one book in the series irritating. I didn't fall in love with either; I didn't even finish the one novel I tried to read from this series. I didn't like that she had a cat (I hate cats) or a boyfriend when I didn't. I was mostly annoyed by this character and therefore couldn't be bothered. There's a lot of books in this series, thirteen; you'd really have to be into The Princess Diaries to finish this series. There's fourteen novels in the Gossip Girl series, but I was really, heavily into Gossip Girl that's why I read them all. I'm only comparing The Princess Diaries series by Meg Cabot to the Gossip Girl series by Cecily von Ziegesar because I started reading them at the same time, in the same way, but I only continued to read Gossip Girl. Also because Cabot and von Zeigesar are my favorite female authors; they're very comparable to me. But getting back to the point, I didn't like The Princess Diaries series, I don't think I ever will, but that won't take away from the fact that Meg Cabot is an amazeballs writer.

Meg Cabot has TONS of other novels and series that I know about, but haven't read. I'm unsure if I'll ever read all of her novels; they're not all my taste, especially the books for "tweens".

Meg Cabot will forever be the first author I ever fell in love with and she continues to inspire me even after four years of reading her novels. Maybe one day I can turn one of my favorite novels of hers into a multimillion dollar film.

This link is the Pandora's Box of all things Meg Cabot! No, it's not a Wikipedia page, it's way better, it's her ~*Official Website*~! Check it out! Along with all the novels mentioned in this post, you won't be sorry.

And if Meg Cabot ever reads this, I'd die!

Music + Reading

It's no secret that listening to music goes along with reading a good book. It's like Oreo cookies + milk, pancakes + syrup, peas in a pod. At least that's the way it is for me.

When I'm in the mood the right music helps me read faster than I can imagine. And sometimes I even try to multitask by reading, listening to music and singing along. I either mess up the lyrics, stop singing halfway through or totally ace the multitasking and even impress myself. *RARE*

I usually just put my iTunes on shuffle and let it rock. But if it's late at night and I don't want to disturb anyone in my house or I just want a little ambient noise, I listen to acoustic versions of favorite songs with the volume at 'barely audible'. Then when it's 3AM and I'm a page or two away from finishing, I turn off the music all together.

I don't have a specific playlist entitled 'Reading Music' and I don't plan on making one. The acoustic thing  and random shuffle thing is working for me. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Sometimes I head to YouTube or Pandora and listen music on there that I don't have in my iTunes Library.

It's pretty even, 50/50, to the times where I do listen to music while reading and the times when I don't. Guaranteed if I'm on the train, I definitely have my iPod on while I'm reading.

If a song is mentioned in the book I'm reading, then I'll listen to it too. I'll pause whatever music I have on and play it. The one time I remember doing this was when I was reading The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. Asleep by The Smiths was mentioned so I listened to it while I read. I recommend that book, by the way.

There's not much else really to say about music and reading. Basically, I listen to whatever. No specific music goes with a specific book.

Do you listen to music while you read?  What kind of music do you listen to? Or do you need complete silence?

I HAVE to read this vs. I WANT to read this

Reading for class vs. Reading for leisure; two polar opposites of the reading sphere.

My stance on the whole this is: Reading for leisure > Reading for class

Personally, I hate being told what to do. Whether it's something big or something as petty as being told what book to read, I'm not one to follow the rules without a little defiance. I'm a stubborn person so that's exactly why.

My thought process when I get handed a book list for school is: Why are you telling me to read a book? You are forcing someone who likes to read, to read something she doesn't want to read. How do think this is going to turn out? Not to mention all the kids who hate to read; how do you think that's going to turn out?

In my whole career as a student, (I'm only a college Freshman at the time of this post) there has been ONE book I actually enjoyed reading and had no qualms with. That book was Diary by Chuck Palahniuk (my favorite Palahniuk novel so far). And I'm counting middle school in here too, people. I was forced to read books then too. The only book I remember reading during middle school (seventh grade, for class) was The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Everyone knows this book; everyone loves this book. I hated it in seventh grade. Partially because I didn't like my teacher, partially because I had to read it for class (which I didn't) and partially because I just didn't find it interesting, at all. I read it again junior year of high school; I don't think I had much of an opinion. I hated less because my teacher was much better and because I already knew what it was about and I'd already had it explained to me; I didn't have to do as much work as the other students.

And don't even get me started on Summer reading. Summer reading was the WORST. The Summer before sixth grade I was given a list of books to read before school started because I was going to get tested on them (which never happened). I ended up not finishing either of them. One of them was called The Giver by Lois Lowry and the other one was about some dolphin. I didn't like either of them surprise, surprise. The font in The Giver was smaller than I was used to and the book was a bit too thick my young brain. At that point in my life, I wasn't reading as much as I am now so I couldn't read as fast. Then, in the Summer before seventh grade I had to read four books and I think I wrote about one of them. And the only book I remember reading that year was The Pigman by Paul Zindel. I only remember it because of the way it was written. Also, I don't think I finished any of those books either.

My freshman year of college is coming to a close and I've read about only a handful of books during the school year. As opposed to the numerous books I would usually read during the school year. No doubt it's because college is demanding, coupled with going to art school, it's even more demanding. The main reason I haven't read as much books as I would have liked is because of the reading I get for the three humanities classes I'm taking. I only have them once a week so the teachers assign whole books to read by the next meeting. I'm not used to reading a whole book in a week, a whole boring, uninteresting book in a week. Sure, I've read books in a week, but those were books I actually wanted to read, duh. Not reading the whole book, bullshitting any responses I have to make and getting above a B for my work is how I fight the system. The other reason why I haven't read as much is because I want to be able to devote all my attention to the book I'm reading for fun. There's nothing worse than reading two books at the same time, where one is a book you don't want to read and the other is a book you want to read.

I can't wait for the Summer when I'll have copious amounts of time to read and I can spend the whole day reading a book. I imagine myself lying on the floor with stacks of books surrounding me and nothing to stop me from reading them all.

What's your opinion on Reading for class vs. Reading for leisure?

Gossip Girl

If you've been bold enough to come out from underneath that comfortable rock you've been living under in the past five years, then you know all about Gossip Girl, the TV series, currently airing on The CW (TV To Talk About).  But being as this is a book blog and not a TV blog, I'm going to talk about the book series written by Cecily von Ziegesar.

I think she's a great author. Her style of writing is borderline Bret Easton Ellis, but her books are targeted towards teens so she tones it down. As with all writing, authors use their life experience to inspire their writings.  I read in the back of one of the novels from the series that Cecily did that too. Which I think is amazing that she was exposed to that kind of world as a teenager. I never got the chance and I know Gossip Girl is an exaggeration, I still feel like I got to take a glimpse in the fabulous lives of Manhattan's elite.

I'm not going to lie and tell you that automatically I loved the Gossip Girl series because I didn't. I started reading it in eighth grade and I didn't even finish the one book I took out. I thought it was really weird and I didn't give it a chance; I couldn't get into it at that immature time in my life. But something happend between eighth grade and junior year in high school. That thing was I wanted to know spoilers for the next season of Gossip Girl! Yes, I watched the show before I read all the books. I did the same thing with Harry Potter and I still haven't read all the books.

Anyway, it was the Season 3 finale where Chuck gets shot, I desperately wanted to know what was going to happen to him so I Googled the shit out of Gossip Girl Season 4 spoilers (to no avail). I decided the next best thing was to read the books that started it all. Little did I know the show was the next best thing and the books were the best thing. It's kind of fuzzy if I read all the books over the summer or if I started to read them during junior year, but nonetheless I began the journey. I'm pretty sure I started with the first Gossip Girl novel and then from there, I read them out of order. But I know I read the last novel, the prequel and the final novel over the summer between junior and senior year. Those were my favorite out of all fourteen novels.

Now when I say the characters in the books are completely different from their portrayal in the series, I ain't lying. Although I think the casting directors who work on Gossip Girl got it right, the book was more realistic in terms of descriptions. If you've read the novels you know what I'm talking about. For example, in the books, Serena is way skinnier than on the show, Vanessa has no hair, Dan in a dirty writer who smokes and doesn't eat and his little sister Jenny has huge boobs and curly brown hair. But you know what, you can't expect them to get everything perfect. I think they did a stellar job casting the characters. I sometimes like to see a difference between books and the TV/Film interpretation. This is one of those times.

As I read more and more Gossip Girl novels, I found myself connecting to Blair Waldorf. We have some of the same tendencies. Like we both have to get our way, we have major freakouts when things don't go our way and we compare ourselves to people around us. And that's why I feel this current season of Gossip Girl (Season 5) is my favorite. I think this season is all about Blair and everyone else is her ensemble. She's the star!

This past year (2011), I read the new Gossip Girl novel entitled Psycho Killer and I did not like it at all. I expected it to tie into the series, but it was basically a carbon copy of the first novel with a few things changed to make it seem more psycho killer-y. I feel she could've done something different, but I'm not the one who's sold millions of copies of books much less even been published. Cecily von Ziegeasar can do as she pleases. She doesn't have to cater to me. But you know that one book could not compare to monumental aspect of the other thirteen. So I ain't even mad though.

I'm really sad that the (book) series is over and I look forward to Cecily writing new ones about my beloved characters whether I'll like them or not. Now I know she has a new series about the Carlyles, but I don't really care to get introduced to a new generation. I love Blair and Serena and Nate and Chuck and Jenny and Dan.

Like I said before, the TV series is way different from the book series; the book series is a lot more daring. Not to mention most of the episodes in the TV series have deferred from the plots of the book series. Which is great; I love seeing a different take on a series. I wonder how Cecily feels about it. I bet she finds it interesting too.

I don't want to spoil anything for anyone (if you haven't read the series) so I don't want to say much more about it. But if you have any questions, feel free to email me!

To sum it up, Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar > Gossip Girl by Josh Schwartz & Stephanie Savage.

And now since the book series is over, I look forward to Mondays nights to see Gossip Girl come to life. I've loved it since 2007 and I'll probably cry when it ends. Hopefully not anytime soon.

The Complete List of Gossip Girl novels by Cecily von Ziegesar (in order of publishing):

1. Gossip Girl
2. You Know You Love Me
3. All I Want Is Everything
4. Because I'm Worth It
5. I Like It Like That
6. You're The One That I Want 
7. Nobody Does It Better
8. Nothing Can Keep Us Together
9. Only In Your Dreams
10. Would I Lie To You
11. Don't Forget About Me
12. It Had To Be You (Prequel)
13. I Will Always Love You
14. Psycho Killer

I would recommend (if you can) get the original novels not the novels with the actors faces on them. It's better when you can think of your own visuals for the characters than seeing someone else's. I know even though I started reading the series after watching the show I was still able to visualize the characters completely different than what I saw on TV.

Did You Know that Gossip Girl was originally going to be a film staring Lindsay Lohan as Blair Waldorf?


Xoxo
Gossip Girl

Turn the Page at What's to Come..

Here's a look at some future posts*:

• My favorite novel of all time
• A Series of Unfortunate Events master post
• The Harry Potter series
• Charlaine Harris Sookie Stackhouse vampire books
• Meg Cabot 
• Two of the most disenchanting books I've read so far
• My thoughts on being told what to read vs. reading for myself (school reading vs. reading for pleasure)
• The Gossip Girl series
• Comparing books and their film equivalents
• Music I like to listen to while reading 

These are all the ones I can think of at the moment. No doubt there's going to be more (as long as I continue this blog). Hopefully some appeal to your taste and prompt you to look into the books mentioned.

*These posts are subject to change and will not appear in this order.

Chuck Palahniuk

Who doesn't love a Chuck Palahniuk novel? His epic plot twists have M. Night Shyamalan in a tizzy! I'm no exception to the rule either; my jaw drops as my mind is blown after finishing one of Palahniuk's novels.

The first Palahniuk novel I read, and as of now the best, was Diary. I'm still wondering how it really ends. Next, I read Fight Club. All I have to say about Fight Club is TYLER DURDEN LIVES! The film adaptation of was just as good; they stuck to the novel really well. Do yourself a favor and read Fight Club, the novel, even if you've already seen the film.

Also, I call dibs on developing Diary into a screenplay.

Now, since I've read all the novels written by my favorite author, Bret Easton Ellis, I thought it'd be a good idea to start reading Chuck Palahniuk novels. I love his style of writing and like I said before, I'm always amazed by his books. He never ceases to disappoint.

Here's the complete list of Chuck Palahniuck novels (in no particular order):

• Diary
• Fight Club
• Choke
• Damned
• Haunted
• Invisible Monsters
• Lullaby
• Pygmy
• Rant
• Snuff
• Survivor
• Invisible Monsters Remix
• Tell-All

I can't wait to start reading! But unfortunately, I have to; I want to get all my readings for my classes done before I get to do some reading for myself. There's nothing worse than not being able to read for pleasure when you have to read for school.

Bret Easton Ellis

As I have finished all of Bret Easton Ellis's novels in 2011 (a rather distinguished goal for me), I thought I'd put my brief thoughts about each into a post. Maybe the short description will pique your curiosity.

American Psycho was much better than the film, but the film was still excellent. When I finished I couldn't fathom how anyone could write something like American Psycho.

The Rules of Attraction was my favorite. I liked the fast pace and how it was written in the different perspectives of each character. 

Glamorama was definitely the most unsettling Ellis novel. The ending left me feeling sorry for Victor.

Less Than Zero was short and simple. Clay's distantness attracted me.

 Imperial Bedrooms wasn't my favorite. Clay was less distant therefore less attractive. 

 The Informers was confusing and funny.

Lunar Park had me in tears. I'd never read a book so hauntingly beautiful. 

Thank you, Bret Easton Ellis for making 2011 the best year in reading for me. You are a genius.  

The Hipster Handbook by Robert Lanham

I first heard of The Hipster Handbook while I was reading Be More Chill by Ned Vizzini. On the back of Be More Chill were reviews of the book by other authors including Robert Lanham. When I saw the title: The Hipster Handbook, I didn't think it was real. So of course I had to check it out! I read the back cover and I was instantly hooked! So when I finally started it, I couldn't stop reading!

I did NOT expect The Hipster Handbook to be so funny! As I started to read it, I couldn't possibly imagine Robert Lanham sitting down to write this book and taking himself seriously. I know if I was writing The Hipster Handbook, I'd be buckled over laughing at the nonsense I was spewing. But that didn't make The Hipster Handbook bad;  that made it even better! I couldn't tell if Robert was being silly during some sections or serious during others. Supposedly he asked real 'Hipsters' about their lives and those interviews influenced the book. If that's true I'd loved to meet these people because right now they're like unicorns to me. I think the Glossary is my favorite part of the whole book. The words and definitions are hilarious and I plan to incorporate them into my everyday language. Some of my favorite words from The Hipster Handbook Glossary were liquid, gluten, piece, nancy, semi and chowder.

Towards the end I found myself  not taking any of it seriously, but I did take some of the lists seriously. I found myself discovering new music I need to check out, agreeing with the list of celebrities Hipster find attractive and adding several films to my ever-expanding 'To Watch List'.

At the end of The Hipster Handbook there is a "Are You a Hipster? Quiz" that I took. I scored a seven which means I'm a milquetoast. A milquetoast is a timid, meek unassertive person. I'm insulted, but I have to say that's accurate.

Overall, The Hipster Handbook is a funny book and a good read written ironically. Everyone (you) should check it out. It's definitely one of the book I'm going to have on my bookshelf.

Disclaimer: In no way should you take The Hipster Handbook as an instruction manuel. Don't try to force yourself into one of the many categories of Hipster and if you take the quiz don't take it personally. Answer as honestly as you can, your result will be more accurate that way. (This is of course my humble opinion.)

Humor, written in quotation marks on the upper left hand corner of the back of this book, is also another indication to not take The Hipster Handbook too seriously and that it's purely ironic. 

Check out more about The Hipster Handbook here.

Welcome to Lectionem Monstrum!

Greetings book worms and book connoisseurs alike! 

If you have a passion for reading and books like I do, this blog is for you! If you find yourself taking out a stack of books from the public library at a time or if you frequent Barnes and Noble or Strand this blog is for you! Did you mourn the loss of Borders? Do you prefer a physical copy of a novel to an eBook? Then welcome brethren! You are home.  

I've been watching beauty and fashion videos on Youtube for about three years (and counting) now and I've dabbled in making my own videos. But my real hobby and passion lies in writing and I get inspiration from reading. So I thought if everyone else can have beauty blogs and fashion channels on YouTube why can't I have a book blog? 

I don't know who exactly would be into a blog about books and reading, but I'm always looking for new books to read. Maybe some else is too. 

Lectionem Monstrum aka The Reading Monster is all about the reading monster; me! Each time I pick up a new book, you'll get a post and review of the book and hopefully you'll check out whatever book I just finished. I'm not going to say I have the ultimate best taste in books. I pretty much read anything and I'm open to everything. My ultimate goal as a Little Reading Monster is to have a bookshelf full of books I fell in love with    

Email me books to read and books you want reviewed at lectionemmonstrum@gmail.com!