Book Review: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Let me start by saying that this novel is not what you're expecting. Yes, there's the experiment gone wrong and the multiple personalities of Jekyll and Hyde, but that just sets the stage for Robert Louis Stevenson (the author) to explore some very deep and dark parts of humanity.

Structurally, I didn't enjoy the very long paragraphs in the novel, but something about the novel kept me interested. I didn't notice anything special that Stevenson did, but Stevenson kept it interesting. It's very hard to pinpoint my point of interest though. However, the final paragraph is absolutely golden!

For his time, Stevenson was a bit of a genius. I really enjoyed his exploration of the darkness inside the human heart. Jekyll is a well kept and intelligent man, but Hyde is the beast inside of him. Hyde wants to have fun and do whatever he wants. Hyde is the physical manifestation of Jekyll's anger and twisted thoughts.

The novel left me with a haunting chill. I wanted more Jekyll and Hyde, more of their story. It really got me thinking about the 'Hyde' in all of us.

(Original Post on January 12, 2012 at: http://dft.ba/-BSMeyers107 )

The Problem with Getting New Books...

So, with Christmas past us and a new year coming, I have a slight problem. I got three new books for Christmas* and I'm trying to fit them on my bookshelf.

The problem is that all of my books are different heights and different lengths so it looks like short book, tall book, short book, tall book and there are books that stick out and books that I can hardly see. (You could just picture the buildings in a city if you like.)

I think books should have a standard height and a standard length so they all look nice and neat on my bookshelf. But this could just be my OCD typing right now... What do you think?

Standard book sizes would also make it much easier to build bookcases, and presses (or whatever machinery they use to make books... hmm, how do they make books? To Google!)

Anyways, my rant is over. My OCD wants standard book sizes.

*The Radioactive Boy Scout by Ken Silverstein, Still Me by Christopher Reeve, and My Inventions by Nikola Tesla

(Original Post on December 30, 2011 at http://dft.ba/-BSMeyers106 )

Book Review: The Scarlet Letter

Alright, I'll admit that when I began The Scarlet Letter, I hated it. The language is a bit old and it's a lot to take in at once. It is a hard book to read, especially since Hawthorne thought it was perfectly acceptable to have paragraphs that were over 2 pages long (because it is very, very far from acceptable!).

On the surface, the novel explores the concept of sin in Puritan society, but it does so much more than that. Hawthorne wrote the novel to explore the concepts of love, hate, sin, pain, regret, redemption and revenge (to name a few) and he does it very well. Don't get me wrong, Hawthorne was a psychiatric genius, but the psychiatry in the novel feels extremely overdone, which takes away from the (very little*) plot that does take place.

However, Hawthorne does redeem himself in the final chapter when it is revealed what his biggest purpose for writing The Scarlet Letter was. [Read the spoiler at the bottom of the page if you wish.] All in all, the novel wasn't really something I enjoyed as a story, but I did somewhat enjoy the points Hawthorne was trying to examine and how he did so.

*I say very little because, to me, it felt like most of the novel was repeated descriptions.

 <Begin Spoiler>Hawthorne's real purpose was to examine the concept that love and hate are in essence the same. Both require another person, either the object of love or the object of hate, and when that person dies there is no longer a reason for love or hate.</End Spoiler>

(Original Post on December 30, 2011 at http://dft.ba/-BSMeyers105 )

The Power of Simplicity

Writers use a lot of big things to get points across. They use imagery, personification, metaphors, symbolism, etc, but what about the tiny little things that you may or may not look right past. They lurk, hidden in plain sight on the page of a book.

No

Many writers and poets vary sentence length in order to affect our emotions, but what if you don't even need a sentence to destroy someone? What if you only needed a single word? There is one word that has the ability to crush all of your hopes and dreams in the blink of an eye.

Hypothetical Situation #1: You have been dating a girl for a few years and you're ready to take the next step. You take her out to a nice dinner at a fancy restaurant. You walk her to the car and stop in the middle of the sidewalk to 'tie your shoe'. You pull out a ring and say, "Will you marry me?".

Now, there are many possible answers to this question. She could say, "Yes!" and jump up and down screaming, but that's the response everyone wants. There are many more negative responses, however. She could say, "I need to think about it." which is a pretty good sign that she isn't ready for commitment. She could say, "I don't love you." which is extremely heart-breaking and enough to drive anyone insane. But the most terrifying and horrific response to that question would be a very simple "No."

That "No." launches a rock down your throat. It starts your stomach churning and it makes your head ache. When you walk away from her you're left with a thousand questions: Why did she say no?; Did she ever love me?; Will I ever find love? That simple "No." will drive you mad and leave you in a heightened state of anxiety and depression.

Hypothetical Situation #2: You just so happen to be named 'Clark Kent' and you're on your knees with your cape and suit shredded watching Darkseid holding an innocent bystander by the shirt collar. You stare into the innocent person's eyes and see the fear and pain. You stare into the empty eyes of Darkseid and feel lost. You attempt one last act of heroism and say, "Kill me instead."

Now, obviously you're hoping that Darkseid says, "Of course.", gives a maniacal smile and rips your head off before you squeeze out another thought, but that's a pretty uneffective way to captivate an audience. From a writing standpoint, it's much more effective to have Darkseid squeeze out a simple, "No."

That "No." puts your heart in your throat and rips your eyes out of your head.

The Ultimate End.

This leads to another aspect of writing that can crush hopes and dreams. I call it 'the ultimate end', but you probably call it a period. Using a question mark to end a sentence shows uncertainty. Using an exclamation point shows emotion. But using a period can do so much more. If done right, a simple period can show certainty and emotion. It can highlight the darkest of thoughts or the brightest of images. It can scratch a sentence onto the back of your eyelids and stay with you months after you've finished the book.

Lets use some of my writing as an example.

Example #1: "In a hesitant manner, you raise your flashlight to peer above you. You see a silhouette, soon realizing that it is your friend, impaled on a tree branch, ten feet up. Behind you, you hear the shriek!"

The orange exclamation point leaves a shrieking sound throughout your mind and it sticks with you. Changing it to a period would give you an overwhelming sense of hopelessness. Both are very effective ways to get the point across. This just goes to show you how punctuation can change the meaning of a sentence.

Example #2: "In what seemed like hours but was merely a few seconds, you quickly turn around and see two round objects. They are black with a silver glow. In one instant they are there, and then they disappear and return. Eyes!"

That orange exclamation point sparks fear and wonder in your heart. It sends adrenaline through your body. However, changing that exclamation point to a period would do far more to your emotions. It would make you wonder, but it wouldn't be a fearful wonder, it would be an anxious wonder. Anxiety, I believe, is far more powerful than fear. The period also creates that sense of hopelessness. You feel doomed and anxious and you're just about ready to give up all hope.

.

So next time you've written the perfect paragraph and you're practically manipulated your own emotions, but don't know what to say next, say as little as possible. The little, simple things often have the most impact.

(Original Post on December 27, 2011 at: http://dft.ba/-BSMeyers104 )

The Unreviewable Book: Looking For Alaska

I finished Looking for Alaska by John Green. I've been sitting here for half an hour trying to figure out where to start my book review. My conclusion... it's impossible to review this book. You just have to take my word for it, this book is absolutely amazing and you have to read it.

No book (movie or tv show) has ever pulled out my emotions and made me so vulnerable as Looking For Alaska did. It's amazing!

Go here and buy it: http://www.amazon.com/Looking-Alaska-John-Green/dp/0142402516/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1322437199&sr=1-1


Or go support your local library and check out a copy!

(Original Post on November 27, 2011 at: http://dft.ba/-BSMeyers103 )

The Great Gatsby (A True Classic)

Finally I've been given a so-called 'classic' novel that I truly enjoyed. Up until now I've believed that classics were only classics because they were great for the audience and time period they were written in, but The Great Gatsby has shown me something more.


Synopsis:

The novel is told from the point of view of Nick Carraway, a simplistic and seemingly unimportant character, and it follows the lives of seven adults: Nick, Daisy, Gatsby, Tom, Myrtle, George and Jordan. The main plot to the novel is the love story between Gatsby and Daisy. Gatsby went off to war and Daisy eventually married Tom instead of him. In an effort to win Daisy's love, Gatsby invents himself around the persona of a rich and well-liked man. Gatsby moved into a giant house across the bay from Daisy's house and waited for her for 5 years. Finally, when Nick, Daisy's cousin, moved in next door to Gatsby, Gatsby had a chance to finally reunite with Daisy. When Nick invites Daisy over for Tea and Gatsby shows up the novel explodes with drama and emotion.

Why is it a True Classic?

I'm going to call The Great Gatsby a 'true classic'. Why is that, you might ask? The novel sets itself apart from all of the other 'classics' I've read for many reasons.

All throughout the novel are themes of love, materialism and greed. Fitzgerald (the author) did an excellent job capturing the image of society during the 1920s. Each character represents the different types of people found in the era: Myrtle, Tom, Daisy and Jordan represent the many personalities of rich people during the era, while Nick represents a sort of middle-class and George represents the poor. Above all, Gatsby represents a group of people who believed that nothing mattered after the war, a 'lost generation'.

Gatsby spent 5 years holding onto Daisy only to lose her, and himself. George lost his wife, Myrtle, and killed himself. Nick lost Jordan. Conversely, Tom ran away with Daisy.

The novel ends with Nick alone in the world, no family, no friends. Nick, who seemed unimportant throughout the novel, end sup being the most important character. Nick represents the true 'lost generation' of the 1920s.

Symbolism:

To further explore the concept of the 'lost generation', Fitzgerald continually refers to the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleberg, which are on a billboard. The eyes are described as old a fading. The rest of Eckleberg's face is gone and the eyes are slowly fading with it. The billboard stands tall over the road and stares at you as you drive by. The eyes represent God. The fact that they have faded away represents the lack of faith and loss of hope in the 'lost generation'.

(Original Post on November 13, 2011 at: http://dft.ba/-BSMeyers102 )

Dreams in Literature

Dreams are used throughout literature in many different genres, but why use dreams? What purpose do they serve? How do they enhance a novel? In my opinion there are two types of dreams: realistic dreams and nonsense dreams.

Realistic Dreams:

Sometimes you can't even tell the character is dreaming until they wake up. Perhaps a new chapter started right off with a dream. To pull off a realistic dream, the dream needs to consist of events that fit into the novel. You can't have the protagonist slaying a dragon if they work at a coffee shop (although, that could make a good story). You also have to ensure that any characters in the dream are acting as they normally would. You can't have a business man start talking in slang.

Nonsense Dreams:

A nonsense dream is just what you think it is. Nonsense dreams are quite clearly dreams and make no sense at all.

Now we know the two types of dreams, but why do we use them?

Foreshadowing:

The most common use of a dream in literature is to foreshadow future events. You do need to be careful though. If your character straight out saves the world in their dream and then saves the world at the end of the novel, your reader isn't going to be very happy. I personally use dreams to foreshadow events, but I disguise my foreshadowing with riddles, usually in a nightmare. I use a series of random events and symbolism in nightmares to disguise what is going to happen later on. This leaves the reader wondering and then shocks them once they finish the novel. If you write a series, you can foreshadow the next book in your current book, but that's a bit risky because it leaves part of the novel open ended.

Wishes:

Dreams can also be used to show what a character wants. Maybe they dream about a job promotion or about a family member that passed away. Sometimes these dreams can also be used as foreshadowing.

Flashbacks:

Dreams are a very good way to reveal back story in a novel. Rather than beginning a novel with a back story that might not draw in the reader, you can begin the novel with something exciting and reveal the back story in a dream later on.

Emotions:

Lastly, a dream can be used to express strong emotions. This can be a very affective strategy if your protagonist likes to hold their emotions in. You can show the reader what they are feeling without messing with the protagonist's character.

No matter how you use your dreams, or what type you use, make sure it fits with the novel. You might not want to put a nonsense dream in a very serious novel, or you might not want to put a realistic dream in a very light-hearted novel. But, then again, you may want to do the opposite of that. Perhaps a nonsense dream works perfectly in your serious novel. Above all, make sure your dreams don't pull away from the actually purpose of the novel.

(Original Post on November 6, 2011 at: http://dft.ba/-BSMeyers101 )

Shooting Stars

I wish upon the shooting stars
to swoop down and tame your
nightmares, make them mine, not ours.

I wish upon the shooting stars
to bring the snow so we
can share the moment for hours.

I wish upon the shooting stars
bring our neighbor home from
space, so I can give you Mars.

I wish upon the shooting stars
to make this go on forever
so we can keep chasing cars.

I wish upon the shooting stars
to bring your heart home so
your smile can intoxicate for hours.

I wish upon the shooting stars
that we may make snow angels
in the bed that is ours.
------------------------------------------
Written on November 2, 2011 by B.S. Meyers

(Original Post on November 2, 2011 at: http://dft.ba/-BSMeyers100 )

Snow Flowers

On that day when Hope, Faith and Sanity died,
the world iced over, bitter and cold, and last
snow fell upon Earth's fire, warm and steaming, taken
away was Mother Nature's bliss and gone so fast.

On that day when Hope, Faith and Sanity died,
two hearts mourned for a time unknown, and all
snow left ash behind, waiting for fires to awaken.
Hearts waited for Nature's move, the end of Fall.

On that day when Hope, Faith and Sanity died,
Love left the heart and became a name, those
snow flowers sprouted in heart and home, and shaken
by fictitious loss, Hope became new life; a Rose.
------------------------------------------
Written on October 30, 2011 by B.S. Meyers

(Original Post on October 30, 2011 at: http://dft.ba/-BSMeyers99 )

If Love Had a Name...

Sometimes I wonder what would happen if everything died.
If it was all black clouds and no silver linings.
If family and friends were a joke and faith had lied.
Today I wonder no more and these are my findings.

Sometimes I wonder what would happen if everything died.
If the sun stopped shining and the world cracked open.
If sanity went crazy and everyones demons cried.
Today Hope went home because it couldn't keep on hopin'.

Sometimes I wonder what would happen if everything died.
If Earth started bleeding, when it rains it pours.
If Humanity turned to dust and words were personified.
Today, and all days, if love had a name it would be Yours.
---------------------------------------------
Written on October 22, 2011 by B.S. Meyers

(Original Post on October 22, 2011 at: http://dft.ba/-BSMeyers98 )

Book Review: Huckleberry Finn

Huck Finn is a story of friendship, of overcoming adversity and of doing what your heart tells you, rather than what society says is the right thing to do. Huck and Jim are faced with many obstacles that they need to overcome, but some of those obstacles feel unrelated to the novel.

The entire situation with the con artists that call themselves The King and The Duke is a giant symbol of the darker parts of human nature: greed, deceit, etc. At the end of the part of the novel dealing with them, the situation does tie into the rest of the plot, but up until that point you don't quite understand why things are happening. After that point you just feel like the whole thing was a waste of time.

If diction was a genre, Mark Twain would be the father of that genre. Twain writes dialogue in so many different accents that I can't help but commend his talent. However, I believe that, while those accents are great for characterization, they take away from what the novel could be.

I believe the plot could have had much more potential if Twain spent more time with it than he did on diction. The characters are extremely believable, but some of the plot feels like rubbish. For a novel to be good it has to have both a solid plot and believable characters. I think Twain needed to find a bit of a middle-ground.

That being said, Huck Finn is one of the better classic novels that I have read.

(I'll spare you my rant about censoring literature, but if you'd like to read it go here: http://dft.ba/-BSMeyers96 )

(Original Post on October 11, 2011 at: http://dft.ba/-BSMeyers97 )

Censoring Literature

This seems to be a big topic currently. The question is whether or not books should be censored because of the language the author chose to use. Let's take a closer look:

I have been reading the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain for a few weeks now and my teacher brought up the fact that it does incorporate certain words that many people find offensive. Does this mean we shouldn't be reading it? The "N-word" is a very racial term in our modern society, but in the time period that Twain wrote the novel, it was used in every day life.

It has been proposed that the word be replaced with "slave" and that the novel be reprinted with the replacement. Now, I'm sure if Twain was alive today, he would argue that this goes against his freedom of speech, but does it make the novel less than what it was meant to be if it is censored?

I believe it does. I'm not an advocate of the word and I am in no way a racist, but I firmly believe in a writer's freedom of speech. I also think the word is very important in the context of the novel. It reflects the time period of the story, as well as the society that Twain was writing about. If we censor the "N-word" and replace it with "slave", what's to stop us from censoring the word "ass" and replacing it with "donkey"? Not only does that go against a writer's freedom of speech, it also doesn't have the same meaning as the original word. "Slave" does not translate to the "N-word".

It's only my personal opinion, but if we censor literature, not only are we defying our natural human rights, we're messing with the true meanings of the novels. What are your thoughts?

(Original Post on September 29, 2011 at: http://dft.ba/-BSMeyers96 )

9-11-2001

We Will Always Remember.

Book Review: Last Night

Richard Allen is another of my favorite tweeters and I've just read his short story "Last Night". Here's what I thought of it.

The story begins with an unnamed narrator, a writer, working in his uncle's restaurant. Working along side him is Roger. Roger is an unlikely football jock who has always been nice to the narrator for whatever reason. The narrator tells us about Roger's tragic story of getting injured and being unable to play football again.

The story continues with a conversation between the two about what you would do if you couldn't do what you love anymore and it ends with chills running down your spine!

Richard's writing style is very appealing to me. It's very detailed, yet simple, and has little focus on dialogue in the beginning, which usually turns me off, but the dialogue in the end and the narrator's thoughts make up for that. The story is so realistic that you almost wonder if it's a part a Richard's life.

I recommend that you all go pick up a FREE copy of "Last Night" on Smashwords! (Yes, it's free!) After that you can check out Richard Allen's Blog, his Facebook Fan Page and his Twitter!

(Original Post on September 10, 2011 at: http://dft.ba/-BSMeyers93 )

Book Review: Red Rain

Aubrey Hansen is one of my favorite tweeters and she's just released her first novella! I had the honor of reading a pre-release copy and here's what I've got to say about it:

The short response: I love it!

The long response: From the very first line I was hooked. The story takes place in a futuristic dystopian society on Earth where Christians are looked down upon and kept in disturbing Christian-Camps. The father of our protagonist, Philadelphia, is summoned to Mars to work on a scientific project, but Philadelphia had no idea she was going with him. After hunting for her dead brother's possessions she stumbles into a hallway that doesn't exist and learns of a secret operation that leads to her ultimate decision: return to Earth or destroy it.


Throughout the story there is a "Big-Brother" feeling lurking, much like George Orwell's 1984 and that definitely plants some anxiety in your brain. There are many memorable lines a descriptions, but I'll let you read them for yourself. Aubrey's writing style is very good at pulling you in and keeping you hooked, and it is never lacking emotion. Aubrey has built a wonderful futuristic society and an even better story to go with it. Philadelphia is faced with discrimination because of her faith and I believe anyone can feel sympathy for her plight, even if you, yourself are not a Christian. I would recommend this novella to anyone looking for a good read!

Please visit the book page for Red Rain here: Book Page where you can watch a trailer for the novella, download illustrated bookmarks and order your own copy! Don't forget to check out Aubrey Hansen's blog while you're there. She's also got a Facebook Fan Page and she's on Twitter!

(Original Post on September 8, 2011 at: http://dft.ba/-BSMeyers94 )

Female Heroes

After reading an article speculating how Star Wars would have panned out with Luke and Leia switching positions (Here) and conversing with author SM Reine about it, we came to the conclusion that there really aren't that many females in literature or movies that follow the cycle of a hero.

You've got Harry Potter, Frodo and Luke Skywalker saving the world/galaxy and all, but then you've got Hermione, Arwen and Leia in the background. They're helping out, but they aren't single handedly saving everything.

Think of all the movies you've seen come out this year...Did any of them have female leads that were women? Green Lantern...Transformers...Captain America... Granted, those are all based on comic books, but where is Wonder Woman's movie? What about Ms. Marvel? The only movies I can think of (from any year) with female leads are Tomb Raider and Resident Evil, but those aren't legendary like the big three up there.

What are your thoughts?

(Original Post on September 1, 2011 at: http://dft.ba/-BSMeyers92 )

Book Review: Seabiscuit, An American Legend

I'm going to go ahead and assume that most of you aren't fans of horse-racing, so trust me, I was skeptical too. When I opened up to the first page of the novel I was ready for a ton of description and waiting for the dialogue. I turned the page. The closest thing to dialogue in the whole novel was two lines long, but they both had the same speaker. I didn't like that, but then again, the novel is non-fiction.

The first three chapters or so were horrendous. Okay, you own cars and make more money than me... alright, you train horses... cool. Those were my thoughts. Hillenbrand first grabbed my attention by explaining all of the crazy things Jockeys did to stay in shape. Then my interest kind of went downhill. The story itself, in my opinion, was quite dull. However, Hillenbrand's writing made it worth while. Her ability to paint images in your head and force emotions upon you is quite amazing.

I couldn't care less about horse-racing, but Hillenbrand made Seabiscuit feel like a human being. After up and down and up and down in Seabiscuit's career I found myself wanting Seabiscuit to be cut a break. I'll let you find out what happens though :)

I believe the shining moment in Hillenbrand's writing was this paragraph: “The bell rang in Pollard's ears, and he felt Seabiscuit drop and push beneath him, hammering the track and powering forward. There was the rushing sound of seventy-five thousand voices and the tumbling motion of horses and the flight of wind and dirt and the airy unreal feeling of mass and gravity slipping away.” The emotions are rushing and you can feel yourself on the back of the horse. I loved it.

Though a skeptic at first, I now realize that Seabiscuit is more than a tale about a race-horse, it's a legendary tale about hope and perseverance. I'm glad I read it, but I will never read it again. If you don't like horse-racing you should still read it, but hang tight because the beginning of the story is going to be rough for you.

(Originally Written on August 31, 2011 at: http://dft.ba/-BSMeyers91 )

Nature's Lament

With the water's edge, mother nature is receding.
The world, once covered in life, struck by man.
Spiraling in to darkness, the trees are bleeding,
and mourning their brothers, who couldn't have ran.

Trees fall in the forest, leaving no sound,
with no one to hear them, almost like they're dreaming.
Their roots whither and the fires burn all around.
They have no voices, but they will continue screaming!

And at the end of all the world's time,
the eldest tree will stand tall and gaze upon
the barren land, leaves falling, blending with nature's rhyme.
The eldest tree will plant a seed, and the world will go on.

-----------------------------------------
Written on August 22, 2011 by B.S. Meyers

(Original Post on August 22, 2011 at: http://dft.ba/-BSMeyers90 )

Continuum

I've learned a lot about myself over the past two and a half years of writing. I've learned that my writing reminds people of Douglas Adams and of J.R.R. Tolkien. I've learned that I know how to write. Most importantly, I've learned that I can write a book!

After much thought and discussion, I've determined that my first novel, The Greatest Story Never Told, wasn't accomplishing my goals the way I wanted to accomplish them. That being said I've decided that my new course of action is to write (what was planned to be) my second series. Fortunately, it will be very easy to salvage some concepts, plot ideas and characters from my first novel and incorporate them into my new series.

Many writers would be disappointed and possibly discouraged after spending two and a half years writing a novel, only to discover that it wasn't working, but I look at it this way: I spent two and a half years developing characters, plots and a Universe. More importantly, I spent two and a half years developing my writing skills and my writing style. I'm ready to take on this new project and I'm extremely excited to write it.

Although this decision sets me back quite a bit it will be better for me in the long run. My journey will continue and I hope that you will continue to follow me on that journey. I'd like to thank my family, my friends, Melissa Foster, Aubrey Hansen, Richard Allen, Ms. Jennifer Case and each and every one of my twitter followers for their support. Without people like you there would be no need for writers.

(Original Post on August 14, 2011 at: http://dft.ba/-BSMeyers88 )

Overplanning and Setting Projects Aside

Currently I find myself in a tight spot with my writing. Often times I've been known to be obsessive compulsive and I rarely under-do things. Because of this, I have rough plot lines and character ideas for over 20 novels planned out.

I have three series that I hope to eventually write. I'm writing the second book of the first series, but I'm a bit stuck there. For that reason I decided to write the first chapter of my third series (just for fun and to keep writing) on Wednesday. Yesterday I decided to write the first chapter of my second series.

My problem is that I feel like the second and third series' will work a lot better for me. What do you think I should do? Is it a bad idea to set my first series aside and pursue writing my second or third series first?

(Original Post on August 12, 2011 at: http://dft.ba/-BSMeyers87 )