I've been researching and researching for this new project I just stepped into for class. I finally decided to do it on John Lennon's death vs. The Catcher in the Rye. It's actually really interesting and a little eerie. I definitely recommend the book Let Me Take You Down if you are interested in reading about insane murder stories. Mark David Chapman is quite a character and it's a hard book to put down. There is just something about reading non-fiction that gets my brain all worked up. I guess in my head I just keep thinking, "this is real, this is real stuff." It's hard to believe sometimes. There are real recorded interviews all throughout it, which makes for an even more interesting read.

I am half way through reading Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. This is another one of those books that has just blown me away with how talented of a writer Jonathan Safran Foer is. I can't believe how good some people are. I wanted to share a few lines with you guys, in case you haven't read it and if you have, I'm sure you know exactly what I'm talking about.

"Being with him made my brain quiet, I didn't need to invent a thing."

"...sometimes I can hear my bones straining under the weight of all the lives I'm not living."

"...I couldn't explain my need to myself, and that's why it was such a beautiful need, there's not hing wrong with not understanding yourself."

"I hated myself for going, why couldn't I be the kind of person who stays?"

Also, the fact that the main character does things to make his "boots lighter" or the fact that some things make his "boots heavier" is definitely relatable. I think that is one thing that makes a good writer a good writer. How he/she says exactly how other people feel. It's like they have tapped into our minds and just understand. I feel this way about all of JD Salinger's work. I'm going to be studying F. Scott Fitzgerald soon, after I finish reading this. I'll keep you guys updated on how I'm feeling about him.

“Maybe there’s something you’re afraid to say, or someone you’re afraid to love, or somewhere you’re afraid to go. It’s gonna hurt. It’s gonna hurt, because it matters.”
-John Green


If there is one thing I have noticed about reading books, it's that even when you're not reading a very "good author," there is always (usually) a beautifully written line. I'm not saying John Green isn't a good writer, because I think that he is. It's just something that I have noticed.

“It’s everybody, I mean. Everything everybody does is so—I don’t know—not wrong, or even mean, or even stupid neccessarily. But just so tiny and meaningless—and sad making. And the worst part is, if you go bohemian or something like that, you’re conforming just as much as everyone else, only in a different way.”

This was taken from Franny and Zooey by JD Salinger. All of his work is so down to earth and real. I feel like he is a person who really gets how human minds work and he is extremely talented in the way he writes it out. Every time I re-read one of his books, I am still in awe; like it was the first time I had ever read it.