I Got 99 Problems, But Reading Ain't One!

John- As the holidays approach, we have been dealing with papers, tests and stress, but it's nice to wind down with a good book. Sav?

Sav- Agreed, John! My book is I'd Know You Anywhere by Laura Lippman. It is about a fifteen year old girl, who was kidnapped and released, but then years later in her adult life, the kidnapper reaches out to her from death row. He was caught because he killed another girl he kidnapped, and the police found out. She wants to know why she was the special one? Why was she the one person who wasn't killed, out of all the girls he kidnapped.

John- Wow. My book is completely different than that! I read Decoded by Jay-Z (Shawn Carter). He decodes his songs and writes essays about sections of his life.

Sav- Pretty different scenarios, huh?!

John- Yeah, you could say that!

Sav- What are your favorite parts of the book?

John- Well, I am one of the biggest Jay-Z fans, and I actually went to his "Watch the Throne" concert on November 5th. I watch his interviews and listen to his songs almost everyday after school. My favorite parts of the book are when he decodes the lyrics in each of his songs. Lyrics at face value only offer so much, so to hear what Jay was trying to say, made me truly appreciate his songs even more.

Sav- Awesome. Does he talk about Beyonce in it? I know that they are married but I don't hear about their relationship much.

John- That's a great part of the book, because Jay-Z seems like a real person, instead of just some rap god. He keeps his relationship and personal life kept secret from the paparazzi and interviews, and just talks about it through his songs. It's crazy how much of a writer he truly is.

Sav- Yeah just from hearing about that, I already am more interested. My book was also interesting because it was a physiological mystery.

John- Yeah it sounds really interesting.

Sav- A big difference between our books is the fact that we have different opinions on the characters. You love Jay-Z, so you can feel a strong connection to the book. But I have never been in a position of being kidnapped or having contact with someone on death row. So it's basically like you're getting an inside view, and i'm getting an aerial view of my story.

John- Yeah you're totally right. Jay-Z is talking directly to his audience and letting the audience connect to his life, lyrics and music. But in you're story, you just watch the story unfold, without feeling greatly connected.

Sav- Yeah, i agree. I think the major similarity between our reading is that we are both so interested in our books and that we both are offered a chance to be involved with our characters psyche. Even though I don't have a connection with my character as you do, we both are still in our character's minds as we continue to read.