Creative Writing Dissertation Reading

Now that my supervisor replied to my email I should be writing, but I find that I can't stop reading. I'd forgotten how easy and fun it is to read young adult fiction, much better than serious books, or worst Wuthering Heights. 

I bought quite a few books at the beginning of the summer but haven't read most of them yet. I started reading Gone by Michael Grant and became addicted, meaning the other books would have to wait. At first I didn't think it was that great but I really got sucked in. I was drawn in because Grant didn't explain everything or answer any questions, he only made more, so I just had to read on to find out what was going on. I've now read three other books in the series with the fifth one on the way, but am still excited to see how it's going to end. The last book doesn't come out until April and I'm becoming impatient. I haven't had to wait for a book to come out since Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. 

After I read those books I looked into what other teen books were popular and decided to read some Darren Shan. I picked Cirque du Freak as it seemed to be the most popular with the kids, and my friend Lauren highly recommended it. I particularly wanted to read some Shan as he is a great horror writer, and I admit it was pretty scary and plenty gory at some points. Although vampires aren't my favourite supernatural monster, and Twilight has made them so much worse, I wasn't put off and found the way he was turned into a vampire very interesting. I haven't read the rest of the series yet as there are quite a few books, and I can't afford all of them. I might get around to it eventually because my friend Lauren says it has a great ending, and I do love a good ending.

At the moment I am reading the Percy Jackson series, and I just love them! I read them ages ago when they first came out but they are still amazing years later. I suggested that my boyfriend read them and then I decided that really wanted to read them again, too. It just so happened that it is also research for my ECP - genius. I have always liked Greek myths and these books really satisfy my need for gods and goddesses, while having a fascinating and gripping plot. I have seen that Rick Riordan has also written another Greek inspired series, The Heroes of Olympus and The Kane Chronicles, which is based on Egyptian mythology. After I have finished rereading Percy Jackson I may look into these other series.

Today I went shopping and bought some more books, though I realise that I should be reading the books I already have, but I can't help it! I think buying books is better retail therapy than clothes shopping is. So, I bought The Recruit which is the first book in the CHERUB series. From the questionnaires I did I found that this series was quite popular and it is a best seller so I thought I'd give it a read. It's about child agents which reminds me of the Alex Rider series, and I liked that as a teen so I'll probably like this one too.

The other book I bought was a surprise. It's called Uncle Montague's Tales of Terror by Chris Priestley. The reason why it's a surprise is because it seems to be a twist on Edgar Allan Poe's stories. Does that sound familiar to you? Yeah, that's right, that's what my ECP is about, aaah! I am going to read it after Percy Jackson and pray that it isn't too much like my idea, I would be devastated if it was.

Here's the blurb:

'Edgar can't resist the terrifyingly twisted tales his Uncle Montague tells when he visits him at his house beyond the woods.
But what is his Uncle's connection with the dark stories? Prepare to be chilled to the bone as you discover that Uncle Montague is the subject of perhaps the most terrifying tale of all.
This is a seriously scary book...Are you brave enough to read on?'

Frankly, I think my idea sounds better. At least I hope it does!

The best thing about book shopping today was that I got a free book, and not a crap one either. It was actually a book I had been looking at earlier. I first heard about it my Fiction for Children module and thought it sounded interesting, mainly because it was about time travel, and who doesn't love a bit of time travel? It's Time Riders by Alex Scarrow. It was supposed to be free when you pre-ordered the new Artemis Fowl book but the Waterstones lady gave it to me anyway. Score! Waterstones workers are so nice.

As you can see I have a lot of reading to do, not to mention the reading I have to do for my modules, which seem so boring. If you have any other book suggestions for me to read, go ahead a comment below!