Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

First Published: 1998 by Villard Books (New York)
Date Started: 24th February 2013
Date Finished: 25th February 2013
Genre: Non-Fiction
Read for: Uni
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Into the Wild tells the story of Chris McCandless, a man from a well-doing background, who when graduating college, gives up everything and decides to to hitchhike to Alaska. McCandless begins a new life out in the wild, but unfortunately, he ends up being found dead four months later by a hunter.

Although I do like reading non-fiction books, especially biographies, I haven't really read anything like this one before. Something that I found interesting about this, was that Jon Krakauer would also talk about other people like McCandless and explain how they were alike in whatever way. I was intrigued by this because at first I thought that maybe he was just trying to make the book thicker and/or he was struggling with what else he could put in. Upon reading though, I realised why Krakauer did this, and I'm kind of glad he did; it made me realise how throughout history, there have been other people who were like McCandless. Thinking about that now, it makes me wonder about why certain people go so far in the ways that they do to 'become one with nature'.
Another thing I was a bit unsure about (and part of me is still a bit unsure now) is that Krakauer talks about his own life, from being raised as a child to where he is now. I can understand why he did it as he can, in certain aspects, relate to McCandless, and as a reader I can see that too. For me though, it made me feel like he was trying to get something for himself out of this, like a little fame almost. I do feel bad writing that, but it is something that's playing on my mind.

Krakauer mentions the people who McCandless meets along the way and how they helped him out, him often returning the favour.I could see just how much these people grew to care about him. His family background is important as well as it helps to establish his relationships with each member and why, in some cases, McCandless made the decisions that he did. I liked that he talked about the family, before and after his death, as it allowed me to see how the relationships had developed over time.

I think I would of enjoyed this book more if I was into exploring nature and activities like climbing, but as I'm not, at times I didn't want to carry on reading as I found it a bit difficult to connect with McCandless and what he was doing. I am glad that I did though because firstly I had to do it for my course, but more importantly, it gained me a new insight into how biographies can be written.                                
However, maybe you don't have to connect with him, you just have to know what he did and why. As I mentioned, I'm not into the things that McCandless was, but if I was, could I have connected with him and therefore enjoy the book more?

The Radleys by Matt Haig

First Published: 2010 by Canongate (Edinburgh)
Date Started: 18th February 2013
Date Finished: 18th February 2013
Genre: Fiction
Read for: Uni
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At first, the Radleys seem like a normal family doing stereo-typically normal things and acting as if their is nothing wrong with them. They appear to be just an average family, or so that's what the kids think. When their teenage daughter, Clara, gets attacked on the way home from a party, life suddenly takes a dramatic turn.  They learn why they have to do certain things like put on Factor 50 before going outside and why they can't get much sleep.
When their uncle Will comes into the picture, everything truly changes and secrets are revealed that the parents tried so desperately to hide. What happens when he arrives gives a whole new meaning to life itself.

I really like what Matt Haig has done with the concept of vampires; he makes them appear more believable in how they behave and how they try to blend in with society, yet he still gives them supernatural traits what vampires were originally known for (so no sparkly vampires in this novel).

There is also the idea of the 'good vampire vs bad vampire' in the book, the good ones being the Radleys who don't attack humans to drink their blood and act like civilized human beings, and the bad ones being Will and a few other small characters mentioned, who do drink blood and also go on exciting adventures, travelling all over the world. This helped me more to connect with the characters and to understand why they do the things that they do.  It certainly made the novel more exciting knowing the actions and characterizations behind each individual character.

 In terms of the style of the chapters, they are split into days, the first being Friday. Within each day are several little chapters which makes the book very easy to come back to. Another good thing about this is that it makes it easier to switch between the characters and their situations.

A little bonus about the book is that it was featured on the TV Book Club 2011 and viewers voted it as their favourite summer read, so you know that it's going to be good.


----> Matt came to my uni as part of my Creative Writing module and talked about his work and what it's like to be a writer, as well as giving us advice and answering any questions we had for him. He came in for my lecture and my seminar which was great fun.

He was happy to give signings at the end of the lecture, and as you can see by the picture. I, of course got mine signed, being the huge book worm that I am.

Thanks Matt!

The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African by Olaudah Equiano

First Published:1794 by T.Wilkins (London)
Date Started-8th February 2013
Date Finished-14th February 2013
Genre: Autobiography
Read for: 1001 Books
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The Interesting Narrative tells the life of Olaudah Equiano of when he was kidnapped and made to be a slave. The story narrates from being a child, to when he is a free man and trying to save other slaves, describing his many adventures and how each one helped to develop him as a person, including being told about the people in his life, those that have treated him well and those who have not.

One of things I loved about this is that it helped me to gain a perspective of what it was like to be a slave in his time. It allowed me as a reader, as well as someone who loves history, to understand what life could be like for them. When reading the book, I went through several emotions ranging from feeling sorry for him to being happy because of something good happening to him.
The way he tells his story helped me to connect with him and allowed me to understand not just a life of a slave, but how the slave trade worked and how people treated them. The book isn't just fact, fact, fact; it is,as the title of the book says, a narrative.

Something I did find a little strange though when reading this was that at the beginning of each chapter, he would give a brief summary as to what will happen in the particular chapter. This is something I had never come across before and so I found rather unusual. A lot of the time, I did find it a bit annoying as it is like a spoiler alert. However, I did sometimes like this as I knew what was going to happen and it made me want to carry on reading and find out more about what happens.

If your someone who loves history, especially eighteenth century, I would recommend this. The knowledge you gain from this is definitely one that will be hard to forget and will help you obtain a new perspective of the slave trade.