Books: Blog Post #2

     I was never much of a reader growing up. I read what was assigned and the bare minimum for reading logs or pizza parties. As I grew up, my views of reading never changed. My sister has always been a big reader, but I fell more into the realm of sports, music, and video games. I think I would get bored as a kid, compared to something fast-paced like a video game, and eventually become disinterested in reading. However, I understand the positive benefits of reading. It helps with creativity and helps with memory and concentration. I think since my major has a lot of reading for each class, I still feel neutral about reading. I can see myself getting into reading after college as I will have more time for hobbies. I think reading is important to detach from the outside world and also social media.

Reading books for enjoyment is something that I have not done in a long time. The last book I read for pure enjoyment was Outlier by Malcolm Gladwell. This is a self-help book that focuses on the myth of the self-made man and explains how people were successful in different ways besides nepotism. My older brother read it and recommended I read it in high school, so I tried it out over the summer and loved it. It was really insightful and gave me reassurance that everyone can be successful through other experiences or external factors. 

The last book I was required to read, which was not necessarily educational, was Mindhunter by John Douglas. This book was required for PSYC 350: Forensic Psychology, here at CNU. I was not very excited about reading a book while reading additional information about the class, but I was surprised by how much I loved the book. Mindhunter tells the story of Holden Ford and how he became an FBI profiler. There is also a Netflix original series based on this book titled the same as book, which is definitely on my list of shows that I need to watch. The book is based on the true story of John Douglas, the author of the book, and his journey through the FBI system. Autobiographies can be very hit or miss in my opinion, but this one was definitely a hit. He spoke about his come-up through the federal system, while also sprinkling real cases he dealt with. As someone who loves true crime and binge-watched Criminal Minds during COVID, I loved this concept. It was a refreshing and exciting read the whole time.     I always get scared that I will get bored in the middle of books and move on, but I was glued to each page until the end. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in true crime and who enjoys autobiographies as well. 

I have a couple of books that I really love. Many of them are genres that are all over the place. Dystopian, fiction, and fantasy adventure are to name a few of my favorite genres. My favorite book that I have read so far is The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan. This series was spin-off series of the original book series, Percy Jackson. The Lost Hero is the first book of the series, called Heroes of Olympus. This takes place after the events of the original series of novels. It focused on the new generation of demigods at Camp Half-Blood. It is a fantasy adventure book, which is probably my favorite genre. The premise starts with a demi-god, Jason, who has no memory of who he is. With the help of his friends Piper and Leo, everyone has to go on a quest to save Hera, the queen of Gods. 

    The best book-to-film adaptation is The Hunger Games series. I only read the first two books, but I absolutely loved the movies. They came out when I was in middle school, which was the audience the books were for. I remember everyone reading them and constantly talking about the characters and if you were team Peeta or team Gale. The movies were a huge success when I was younger, and I remember seeing every single movie in theaters, even if I did not read the last book in the series. The impact Katniss had on young girls was incredible. She showed that she could fend for herself and protect those whom she loves, something that was not in a lot of media when I was younger. Asking any girl around my age about Hunger Games, they’ll understand how much that franchise changed the game.