What makes a good book?

November 25, 2009 at 8:41 pm · Filed under Pop Culture

I have been a reader since I was a very young child. Before I learned to read, I would pester my mom endlessly to read to me. As soon as I learned to read, I read everything that my hands possibly found, often not understanding a single word.

I guess during those early days of book exploring, I discovered vampires. It could have been R. L. Stine, it could have been abridged Bram Stoker, it could have been L. J. Smith, it was probably Christopher Pike, but it also could have been Anne Rice.

The world of vampires lured me into the fantasy genre, and I never got out of it. I’ll always find something entertaining in a book about fantastical creatures, even if its one of the most hyped up books in the world.

Currently, I’m reading Twilight, after I sort of enjoyed the movie when I watched it thanks to the hottness of Pattinson on MBC Max. My awesome friend Lina got me her copies (Lina and I are book soulmates), and I started the first one last night (after reading the entire series on Wikipedia) :)

And I gotta say this, loud and clear: THE BOOK IS ACTUALLY GOOD.

Okay, Mormon mom isn’t a quarter as eloquent as Anne Rice, and is no where near the brilliance of J.K.Rowling, and the plot isn’t even slightly as smart as that of His Dark Materials, but it’s good reading.

Recommended for anyone looking for a super quick, and entertaining, read (the 500 pages took me around 3 hours).

Other book reviews on AndFarAway:

The Mists of Avalon 
All My Friends are Superheroes 
The Lord of the Rings
His Dark Materials
Persepolis




  • Gary

    Doesn’t seem your style. Roba. Not enough gravitas.

  • Sara

    love the books, they are very nicely written, much much nicer than the movie i think! my brother and i bought two copies to see who’d finish first! i read it in 2 days. i just couldn’t put it down!
    one of my friend loves the books so much, she read them thrice!
    Enjoy them!

  • Sara H

    WAIT TILL U READ ECLIPSE.. havent read newmoon yet.. thought they werent my style ended up buying the whole thing.. DONT WATCH THE MOVIE.. ITS A DISAPPOINTMENT

  • Chris

    I’m definitely a moth to our beautiful Easton Barnes and Noble flame, but I’m really looking forward to the day when I walk in and not be accosted by multiple Twilight book tables,calendars,magazines,action figures,life-size cardboard cutouts,posters,etc. TWILIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT!!!!, AHHHHHHH!!!!

  • Chris

    Oh, how about this stumper, do you love books more than Homer loves his donuts?

  • Not that you care

    but…
    Grow up!
    I mean Twilight, “the hottness of Pattinson”!
    the only excuse for a married person to watch this is being forced to by his/her kids!

  • http://www.kinziblogs.wordpress.com kinzi

    Knowing you AND Lina read and enjoyed these somehow validates my affection for the series. ;)

    (My daughter is drinking up Little House on the Prairie right now).

  • Bardees

    I’m kinda surprised to know that you AND Lina have read Twilight (hi Kinzi)! I’m more curious now about this series, and I missed the movie , but then again don’t judge a book by its movie. maybe I’ll give it a shot :)

  • Bardees

    and Roba 500 pages in 3 hours!!! ya zalmeh!!

  • khalid jarrar

    actually thats about 22 seconds per page. close to not possible, but its doable.

    can you teach us your fast reading technique?

  • http://andfaraway.net Roba

    Hehe, Chris, I understand your problem, fortunately, they’re not that hyped up here :)
    And as for Homer and his donuts, I think my ultimate addiction is reading, rather than books. Online.. offline.. anything.. just give me something to read man!

    Kinzi, it’s not THAT Lina :) Another Lina friend of mine. And yay, Little House on the Prairie… that reminds me of my childhood :)

    Bardees, not Lina Ejeilat :) Another Lina with taste just as good. Yeah, the movie kinda sucks compared to the book. As fort he speed, it’s not really me that’s readign fast, but the book is sooo simple, font 16, a lot of stuff worth skipping.

    Khalid, I guess I wouldn’t read another book that quickly, bas this one is so easy to read. Font 16, a lot of stuff worth skipping, so it takes a short time.

  • Chris

    I feel ya, life just doesn’t feel quite right without constant reading.

  • http://natural-conspiracy.blogspot.com Cesario

    It’s strange isn’t? a lot of people are reading the twilight series and they can’t really put their finger on why, myself included. I am in the fourth one, the writing style gets really improved from the 2nd one.

    I agree, it’s a super fast read and a sweet distraction from life.

    I also agree on “the hottness of Pattinson”, lol ;)

  • Noor

    i gotta say ever since the twlight frenzy started i decided i don’t want to be part of it, then just last week i read parts of the first book online and saw the movie and the addiction spread!!

    i have been going around every book store in Amman trying to find a copy but NO LUCK, anyone knows where i can get one??…cause i’m ashamed of asking for a book that they display in the “teenager” section when i’m passed in my 20′s anymore…

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