Introduction

Hey everyone,
So...this is my first blog post as well as my first blog. I guess to begin I need to establish why, after the craze and pandemonium of the Internet and the "blogging revolution," I've decided to start now. I suppose that will establish itself as I continue to write, although initially I started writing because I've read a lot of books and feel that I can speak confidently about my perception and interpretation of them. As an aspiring writer myself, and as a teacher, this is really something I do everyday. As the writer, I attempt to write and interpret what I see, hear, and all the five other senses. As the teacher, I attempt to convey the importance of what has been written to my students and help them build their own interpretations. What I ultimately hope to do with this blog is convey my views on a book while still allowing for others to communicate their interpretations as well. I do not want to write reviews that simply outline my opinion, but instead write reviews that do this in addition to putting the novel in the larger context of literature and my experiences with it.

However, I do not want to say that this blog will only review books that I feel qualify as "literature" in the elitist sense. I will read just about anything put in front of me, and I do enjoy reading a variety of books. But, I will have to own to up to some pretentiousness on my part. While I can certainly appreciate the appeal of some books, I do wholeheartedly believe that some books are better than others in terms of writing, character development, narrative, etc. I will not list any specific books here, but this viewpoint will probably appear at times. Oh well. Tell me what an arrogant elitist I am. I'm fine with that. And in all honesty, if you asked to me define this modernist view of literature and the characteristics that comprise it, I would be hard pressed to do so. I guess I can't define it without using cliche, so I will therefore avoid such an attempt. I know that everybody has their own perceptions and viewpoints that translate into their personal interpretation of what they read. I understand this, and I will admit that many of my personal interpretations are largely based on what others have deemed qualifies as "literature." Perhaps I should reconsider my stance. For the time being, though, don't be too surprised when you see it pop up every once in a while.

Just know that I won't bash a book simply because I found "the narrative development of the story to lack consistency and direction." If I enjoyed the book, I will let you know that. I might point out some of the flaws I found, but that would just be the English major in me.
I will be honest about what I think of the books I read. And, because this is my blog, I'm not beholden to reviewing new books. In fact, most of the books I review will probably not be new. Again, my blog, my rules.

I'd also like to answer this question before I close: "What gives you the right to criticize the work of others? What books have you written?" Well, I haven't written any books (yet). And, what right do I have? Well, isn't that why everyone loves the internet? I believe Jay and Silent Bob have all the right things to say on this subject, so listen to them. Still, I'll try and keep my criticism respectful and on topic. I hope you enjoy reading!