Post 4: Book 1 Project: Fan Experience

 My idea to help fan’s interact with the book The Fault in Our Stars by John Green would be to actually create the book that is talked about inside the story line. Throughout the book Hazel talks about her favorite book, An Imperial Affliction, and how it connects to her life. Given that John Green made up a book inside a book I think a lot of fans would like to actually see him write An Imperial Affliction.
Before Hazel tells Gus about An Imperial Affliction she is reluctant to share, “And then there’s books like An Imperial Affliction, which you can’t tell people about, books so special and rare and yours that advertising your affection feels like a betrayal.”  She doesn’t want anyone else to know about the book, but she does end up tell him what it is. I think that her sharing the book with him showed how strong, right off the bat, her connection with Augustus was. As their friendship blossoms into a budding romance they spend time talking about the book and the uncertainty of the ending. This feeling of uncertainty leads them on a trip to Amsterdam to meet the author, Peter van Houten, and get their unanswered questions answered by the man himself. “’So I talked to the genies, and they are in total agreement. They said Amsterdam is lovely in the beginning of May. They proposed leaving May third and returning May seventh.’” Augustus is referring to The Wish Foundation, which grants kids dying of cancer one wish, Hazel used her wish on a trip to Disney World when she was young so Augustus has offered to use his wish on the both of them to travel to Amsterdam. While Peter van Houten turns out to be an utter disappointment to both Hazel and Gus, it’s in Amsterdam where they share their first kiss, and their romance really takes off.  In the end, a dying Augustus Waters, sends Peter van Houten a letter, telling him all will be forgiven if he promises to tell Hazel how An Imperial Affliction really ends. Peter van Houten says to Hazel, “’But at any rate he was quite insistent that I’d be absolved for my misbehavior if I attended his funeral and told you what became of Anna’s mother’”  Hazel yells at Peter and decides that she doesn’t want to know how the book really would end. So this book, a made up book inside of a book, is what really brought Hazel and Augustus together and getting Hazel the ending to that book was his last request. It brought them across the world and back, all while falling in love, and I know I for one would really enjoy reading the book credited to their heartbreaking romance, even if it all was just fiction.

That’s why I believe this book would work, curious fans wanting to know more about Hazel and Augustus’ story. Fans that want to know what drove these two across the world in search of answers.  Fans who want to further understand the fictional love they read in The Fault in Our Stars. This book being written would keep fans connected to the author, because they would be reading another book written by him. This would also keep them connected to Hazel and Augustus because they will probably be imagining Hazel flipping through the book for her hundredth time, yet still being intrigued by each word. Or they may picture Augustus placing a bookmark on his page and calling Hazel to discuss what he just read. If John Green wrote the book An Imperial Affliction he could also pull in a new audience, because some people may read it and want to then read The Fault in Our Stars. Even though Hazel and Gus would not be mentioned in An Imperial Affliction, John Green could incorporate them into the beginning of the book to explain why he was writing the book in the first place.

 

 

Post 3: Book 1

The book I read was, The Fault in Our Stars, and I finished it very quickly because it was the kind of book that you wanted to keep reading. It was a sad book and when I finished reading it I still wasn't very happy, but I think that’s what made it so good, it ended so tragically. Although it ended with death, it ended in such a way that the main characters both got closure, which I feel like is hard to obtain when someone dies.  It's pretty obvious that a book about two teenagers with cancer falling in love isn’t going to have a perfect ending, so I expected to feel sad while reading. What I didn’t expect was to feel so awful over fictional characters that only existed within the pages of a book. I have heard from many people that this was a really good book, and it met the expectations set for it, while reading I went through all the emotions that Hazel and Gus went through and that's part of the reason I liked this book so much.

Post 2: What is a book?

A book is an adventure. It doesn’t matter whether you are reading it on your iPhone, iPad, Kindle, or an actual book, the words are the same. Funny books will still make you laugh, sad books will still make you cry, and action books will still make you wish your life was more interesting. Whether you are reading from the tiny print of a large book or the tiny print on your IPhone, the words that you are reading will have the same effect on you. When your favorite character dies, leaving their best friend alone in the world, you cry, because the words the author uses make you cry not because you are reading the words off of paper.  When that same person finally musters up the courage to open themselves back up to people and falls in love, you feel the same happiness reading their love story on your Kindle as you do reading it in a paperback book. No matter what the words are written on the message is still the same.

Some people may prefer having an actual book, because they claim they want to take notes in the margin, but with all the technology today you can highlight important lines on an eBook and I’m sure there is a way to add notes to that too.  Actually if you think about it, it may be easier to find your favorite part in an eBook than in an actual book because you can just click the search bar, type in a couple key words, and your device will pull up all the places these words are placed side by side in the book.

So I believe instead of complaining about how eBooks are ruining the idea of books, embrace the change. Embrace the fact that the book industry is changing. Maybe even accept that this change is advantageous because you will never forget your book at home. Don't let the idea that a book should be printed on paper stop you from downloading a book onto your phone and reading it, because a book is a book, whatever way you read it.

Post #1: Why I Read

I read when a book interests me or when it is required for school. When I read a good book I like how I feel connected to the characters. I like to read the books that make it hard to put them down. I like books that have happy endings. I read on long car trips because it helps to make the time pass quicker. I read on the beach because I think the sound of the waves mixed with reading is relaxing. I read because it helps me fall asleep. I like to read books that are also movies/TV shows or ones that are going to be turned into a movie/TV show. I read those because I like to compare them and see if I like the movie or the book more. I read because sometimes people in books are more interesting than the people in my life. I also read because English class requires me too. Although I don’t really like any of the books the school makes me read. I think most of them are boring. I like to read books that I pick out because I think they are more interesting than the books we read in English class.