my opinion on this article

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationopinion/10035473/The-importance-of-instilling-a-need-to-read.html
I disagree with the article for many reasons. I think that reading for pleasure should not be force upon. Reading for pleasure should be found by the child/teen/reader. Reading, like many hobbies in my opinion should be consensual and enjoyed because they like it. Forced activities instantly make that activity repulsive. I also disagree that girls read more than boys. Gender is not factor.

The Shining

The book I last read was The Shining by the famous horror novelist Stephen King. The book enticed me, it was a film/book I had heard of for many years. It is safe to say it is famous. The famous line 'Here's Johnny' is known worldwide, even though its origin was from an American game show, it is primarily known from this franchise. So what is my opinion of this book? Do I recommend it and should a reader who doesn’t like horror read it? 

Plot:

A writer, Jack Torrance, takes a job as an off-season caretaker at an isolated hotel. His young son possesses psychic abilities and is able to see things from the past and future, such as the ghosts who inhabit the hotel. Soon after settling in, the family is trapped in the hotel by a snowstorm, and Jack gradually becomes influenced by a supernatural presence; he descends into madness and attempts to murder his wife and son.

Film or book:

Book, hands down. Next question

Why you should read this book:

This book is well known because it did something that had never before its time. Stephen King ones one of very little horror writers and a lot of themes had remained unexplored. King delves deep into the theme of supernatural pros (very rare) and cons (very common). Kings also manages to do a lot with little characters. Most of the book features only the family, Jack, his wife Wendy and their son Danny. King writes each character cleverly. Wendy plays the part of the neutral and as the most relatable character. She is a hard working mother who tries to keep everyone happy. Jack plays the part of the villain. He is broken man, with broken memories, violent and ex-alcoholic and is unfixable. Wendy tries to fix Jack, and along with the isolation this makes Jack snap. Danny plays the part of a helpless hero who tries his best to stay away from trouble (which finds him).

The book is written well, really well each Chapter reveals small details of each character. For instance Jack is still guilt driven by the fact he could have drove over a child whilst driving under the influence of alcohol. The no chronological style changes opinion of characters quick. You can go from feeling sorry for a character to hating them. And by the end the only character I liked was the chef and he was killed by that prick Jack! (sorry). Read this book for the characters but…

Does the book do what is should do.

No. This book is not scary. Uncomfortable? Maybe at times but it is not scary. At is time/peak was it scary, yes. But no more. The book/film has had many clones of its style, characters and themes in all forms of entertainment have been way more controversial (looking at you human centipede) that makes this look like a walk in a park. This book delves into characters perfectly. But the genre has gone to further levels leaving this book behind.

Rating

**** - Great, enjoyable, left behind in its prime.

Task two: Write a paragraph on books

1. Favorite book as a kid
Roald Dahl was my favorite author as child, what went on is his head baffled me and my favorite book by him was full of imagination and had sharp characterization. The Twits may not be the most famous of his books, or the longest or the most memorable (against classics like Charlie and the chocolate factory and the witches), but to me it stuck out. My favorite part of the book was the introduction where the Twits were gruesomely described and the narrator has to apologies for using most of the book space on the Twits pranks. The Twits were a funny, fresh and took me by surprise and quickly became one of my favorites.

2. What type of books do you enjoy reading
At the moment the genre Horror has taken me buy surprise. When people talk about horror they think of films with unnecessary amount of blood  and deaths so ridiculous it turns the film into a joke. Now I don't read a lot of books except for one recently (I'll get to that) but I do spend a lot of time on the internet (suprise). I have spent ours reading numerous short stories and many horror based stories left me intrigued and sleepless. Horror is the only genre in my opinion, to be able to feel after reading (well in this case fear).

3. What makes a book engaging
The characters. If you find yourself reading a book about a character you don't care about, you do not care what he/she says or dos,  you will not care about the book. the characters have to be able to be relatable, realistic (when comes to reactions) and the reader has to have an opinion on them (good or bad). A book can be set anywhere and anything can happen within but there will able characters.

Task 1: Make a blog

Done!