Whatcha Reading, Li'l Postmodernist Nerds?

Hey hey!! Let’s talk about a book that probably emotionally wrecked you in high school (or at least gave you an identity crisis): The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. It’s one of those books. You know — the kind that’s quiet and weird and honest and makes you rethink every awkward interaction you’ve ever had.

So what’s it about?

Basically, we’re reading letters written by this sweet, sensitive kid named Charlie. He’s starting high school and trying to figure out, well… everything. Friendship, trauma, family, love, mental health, the Rocky Horror Picture Show — it’s all in there. And the twist? We never really know who Charlie is writing to. Just “dear friend.” Which is lowkey poetic and mysterious and very postmodern of him.

But how is this book Postmodern?

Let me break it down, nerds (affectionate):

• The format is funky. The whole novel is a series of letters — no chapters, no traditional plot structure. Just Charlie’s raw, unfiltered thoughts. It’s like a diary, but artsier.

• The identity crisis is the point. Charlie’s not even sure who he is, and neither are we. Postmodern lit looooves a character with a slippery sense of self.

• It references everything. Books, songs, movies — Perks is a mixtape of culture. It doesn’t try to be “original”; it embraces the remix.

• Truth is messy. Trauma, memory, and emotion are all tangled. We’re not told everything. Some parts feel more like vibes than facts — and that’s totally on brand for Postmodernism.

  So yeah. If you ever felt weird, quiet, too observant, or like the “infinite” moment in a tunnel actually made you feel something?? Perks gets it. And that’s why it’s still such a big deal.

So yeah. If you ever felt weird, quiet, too observant, or like the “infinite” moment in a tunnel actually made you feel something?? Perks gets it. And that’s why it’s still such a big deal.

Betty Boop pd.5

SOO, I am a huge book nerd outside of school. I love romance, mystery, fantasy, thriller and even some sci-fi. But if i has to choose a book that has really stuck with me, then it would be this one!!

First is "The Inmate" by Freida McFadden. It is about a girl who is almost murdered with her friends during her senior year of highschool by her boyfriend, except now - years later- she has returned to her home town and is working in the prison that her ex-boyfriend/almost murderer is in and she is starting to doubt whether or not he is actually the one that tried to murder her. This book was so interesting and the plot twists were beyond unexpected.

Other authors that I love are Rebecca Yarros, Lucy Score, Jennifer Lynn Barnes, ALi Hazelwood and Jeneva Rose. Like Freida McFadden, their writing keeps me interested and that is why I continue to read their books!

I was going through my closet and found some old books from previous years so I decided to read them all in one night and they were super good. I read Dead City and Fahrenheit 451. Dead City about a girl who discovers there are monsters all over her city and she must fight them to protect her city and go underground if she has any chance of finding out more about her mom. Dead City by James Ponti incorporates paranoia, fabulation, and magical realism.

The second book that I read was Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury and that was my favorite of the two. Fahrenheit 451 is about a dystopian society that burns books to maintain one mind and prevent unwanted ideas or thoughts. Guy Montag, a fireman, questions the book burning policy and suffers as a result of his protests.

Some postmodernist elements found in the novel include paranoia, fabulation, and hyperreality.

Here’s a quick summary of Fahrenheit 451:

John Smith, 7th:

I don't read much only because I found a different medium of words. I love reading lyrics from songs because it's a form of poetry. My favorite album lyrically is Sevdaliza's Shabrang. It's one of her best works and it includes many postmodern elements through her lyrics. The album is about her identity and her growth through hardships. My favorite song on the album is Human Nature, and No Way. Here's an excerpt from No Way.

"You say, "I can't let you go" God won't interfere You pray on the devil The heart won't let you near

Go, don't let me know The brave will live forever Turn my soul away Say what I can't fucking say

There is no way I can feel There is no way this is real There is no way for your heart To contain mine "

Here's the album cover, it shows Sevdaliza covered in bruises to signify her pain.

Silent Shark 6th

I read this book all the way back in middle school, but it still sticks with me! A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'engle includes elements of hyperreality, technoculture, paranoia, and many more. The novel is about a scientific discovery that manifests to a new reality. This novel is set in modern day, but with a dystopian twist in this new world. The discoveries are not far off, but require a whole new advancement in technology that we have not seen...yet.

Legolas 3rd

As you can see in the name, one of the books l‘m reading is part of Tolkien‘s Lord of the Rings trilogy. (As a side note my brother randomly calls me Legolas sometimes so that’s why I chose the name. I don’t think I‘m quite tall enough to fit the genetics of an elf though :/ ?). I‘m currently on the Return of the King which is the third book of the series.

There are so many characters in the books that it can get quite overwhelming at times. It gets more and more difficult as you progress through the books though. In the Fellowship of the Ring you follow Frodo Baggins who has to carry the One Ring in order to destroy it in Mordor, the land of the Dark Lord. (There are more rings than just one. Frodo only just has to carry the “One Ring to rule them All,” the most powerful of the rings and the ring the Dark Lord Sauron is looking for and uses all of his power to find and reclaim.) I find that these books are like reading history textbooks; you start reading the journeying and the very detailed descriptions of the trees and grass and forests and trail they‘re on until you finally get to a battle or pub or other location. (Now that I think of it, I do one-up the little Hobbit people in height. They they don’t have to wear shoes due to their hairy feet.)

I need to get back on track. Book two, The Two Towers get a little bit more confusing. There are basically two stories going on since the fellowship of the ring was broken up by wandering orcs. There is also the Battle of Helm’s Deep and talking trees called Ents.

Finally, book three continues this split narrative with the siege of Gondor, and a crazy king and another heroic king and his stoic daughter.

I think the best part of these books is when you get a character who just says the wisest thing in that very moment. It total makes up for those other characters whose attitude causes you to think whether they are sane or not. Finally, not to mention Gandalf.

As a final note, this quote is in reference to Strider, and life in general:

Overview: 2nd Thing, 5th period, Heartstopper (Volume 1 & 2), Temporal Distortion and Paranoia.

I've been reading the entire Heartstopper series by Alice Oseman and I'm now working my way through volume 2.

Paranoia

My absolute favorite aspect of Oseman's writing is the perfect representation of the paranoia (postmodernist alert) of being closeted. The constant fear of someone finding out more about you while you're not even sure how you are yet might be the most relatable thing I've ever read

Temporal Distortion

The novel appears to be cute and lighthearted, but the series tackles heavy topics such as eating disorders, sexual assault, and bullying. Oseman tackles these topics by utilizing temporal distortion throughout the series that serves as a way of leaving bread-crumbs leading up to where the character is now, until finally you're able to connect all the puzzle pieces.

The representation in the book is absolutely phenomenal. I read the book before the Netflix series came out, and both times knocked it out of the park. It's relatable, funny, cute, aggravating, and pretty gay and those are my favorite things in a book.

King Midas 3rd

I recently read the book "The hate you give"; as Starr strives to negotiate the largely black world of Garden Heights and the primarily white world of Williamson Prep, The Hate U Give explores the relationship between race and identity. Starr is torn between her Garden Heights and Williamson Prep selves, and she adapts her speech, mannerisms, and behaviors to fit the situation. Starr is hesitant to speak about Khalil's death after the shooting for fear that her friends Hailey and Maya, as well as her boyfriend Chris, will not grasp what is going on in her Garden Heights environment. Starr feels "too black" at school to discuss Khalil's life and death with her classmates, yet "too white" at home to defend Khalil, especially after Kenya accuses her of acting like a white person who thinks she is better than her neighbors.

D.J. Libre 4th Period

I really need to finish reading all the books in this series, but I used to be crazy about the Percy Jackson series, written by Rick Riordan. However, that's not what I'm using for this. Where I recall finding postmodern elements was in the Heroes of Olympus Series, which is a continuation of Percy Jackson. This pentalogy fragments its story by juggling the perspectives of its seven protagonists: Percy, Annabeth, Frank, Hazel, Jason, Piper, and Leo.

Following the events of the Percy Jackson series, a new prophecy arises, foretelling the ancient goddess Gaia resurrecting and threatening to destroy the world. The series also introduces Roman mythology and demigods to rival the Greek demigods from the previous series. I can't say much about the two groups' complicated relationship without spoiling The Son Of Neptune, but I will say that this series is amazing at keeping the reader in suspense. The prophecy in question contains minor details pertaining to each of the seven aforementioned protagonists that hint at their roles in the war against Gaia that leave both the characters and the reader questioning how the war will play out. With that said, I still need to read The Lost Hero and The House of Hades, so I dunno when I'll be back.

Hansel pd. 3

In middle school, I read a book called "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls, which was one of the saddest and beautiful books I have ever read. It is a memoire of Jeannette's life packed with maximalist descriptions of each home her family stays in and temporal distortion as time passes in a blur during some ages and drags on for chapters during others. It also shows the gritty lifestyles of the poor, and how her father promised to build her a glass castle to spend the rest of their lives in never came true before he died. While the book is not fiction, the story is so magical and the events so unbelievable it sometimes feels that way. I highly recommend reading this if you have not already, I already got my little sister to read it and she cried at the ending as well.

Cash23!! 6th

A book I'm currently reading is "The House in the Cerulean Sea" by TJ Klune. I started reading this book when I finished taking the U.S. History STAAR test. This book starts off with temporal distortion, the book starts in a orphanage he visits because he works for what we call CPS, except he monitors magical children and orphanages. But then once he leaves the house, it goes back to the beginning of how his journey started. In addition to that, the narrator directly deals with magical children in this dystopian novel. This is magical realism because he investigates a magical island with children that have powers, kind of like super powers. I still have a good ways to go in this book and I expect twists and turns and cliffhangers.

LotteryWinner04 -6th pd

A current book I’m reading is called “They Never Learn” by Layne Fargo, it’s a feminist thriller. It consists of two characters' lives, and, spoilers: they both are killers. This book contains Poioumena, temporal distortion, and fragmentation. We follow along the lives of the college student and a professor and the occurrences in their life that ultimately lead them to murder (to be fair, the guys they kill deserve it). I really think is a great book demonstrating feminist correcting mistakes cruel men make (if you’re into that kind of stuff).

Superpurplepoo 5th Period

I have been recently reading the second book to a series that I started last summer. The book is called House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas. I love this author so much. She is one of the best YA/fantasy authors that I have read. Her writing is very detailed and refined in such a way that makes it seem as if she is writing for adults rather than young people. This book however is filled with endless amounts of postmodern elements. I see a lot of fragmentation in the storyline in which the author will stop a storyline and switch to another storyline. I usually do not like when writers do this as it can make the story seem jumpy, however, her use of transitions and interesting plots make them seem necessary. The magical realism that takes place in this book is out of this world. I mean come on how are you not gonna appreciate the power that a human has to cause the world to crumble and fall or prosper just as the hands of the main character.

The amount of satisfaction I get from reading this book is insane. The main character's universally chaotic world is often subdued by her inner emotions and friends. Seeing her deal with many problems I see today in society (i.e. drugs, anxiety, isolation, etc.) is a hard topic to touch on but Maas does it without crossing boundaries. These types of books are the ones that will stay in my mind for a long time.

This is the book. I highly highly highly recommend. The first book is also really good.

Sunny Days 5th

"Throne of Glass" - Sarah J. Maas

The series that I have been reading for quite a while is the "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas. The series is about an eighteen year old girl who was once held captive, fighting to save the country that she lost as a little girl. Though the series has multiple elements, the most prevalent is magical realism. For example, the main character has the ability to control fire and those surrounding her also were gifted with some sort of power. Another example is the antagonist breaking the barrier between worlds only to try and take over the one that the story takes place in.

Would 10/10 recommend this series if you love fantasy, wars, love and being able to get lost in a good book😆

Glitterunicornkitty-p.5

A book i have recently read is " It ends with us" by Coleen Hoover. By just reading this book i was motivated to go purchase 5 more Coleen Hoover books. The story follows the story of Lily who meets a man names Ryle who seems all the perfect.While following her love story we are also shown letters Lily wrote to Ellen( yes the ellen show) about her past younger relationship with a boy names Atlas.Thus brining in the postmodernist element of temporal distortion and fragmentation due to the the flipping back and forth between different times in Lilys life. I greatly recommend this book if you are looking for a whirlwind of a love story.

Grape-Vine 4th

One of my favorites is "The Chronicles of Narnia Series" by C.S. Lewis. They are books filled with magical realism, temporal distortion, fragmentation, historiographic metafiction, and black humor. These stories have been read in my family for many years and I have a sentimental connection with each one. Narnia is another world, where the struggles of World War II are but a distant memory and times moves at a different pace. The central protagonists are Edmund, Lucy, Peter, and Susan. They discovered Narnia through a game of hide and seek, when Lucy hid in a strange coat closet portal.

There are two different sources of power in Narnia: Aslan and The White Witch. Both of these individuals are genius allusions to Jesus Christ and Satan in the Bible. Overall Narnia has a sense of nostalgia for me, and I recommend everyone read it at least once in a lifetime.

I am currently reading "tender is the flesh" by Agustina Bzterrica it's about a flesh-eating disease that kills and contaminates livestock, so they have to kill all of their food sources in order to not contract the disease. however, the government has convinced the citizens that they need to consume a source for protein, so they begin to breed and slaughter humans also known as special meat. throughout the book the narrative follows the life of a man that works in the slaughterhouses. he's faced with many different challenges including the death of his newborn son, his wife leaving him, the death of his father, and accidentally impregnating a human that's used as livestock.

Maximalism

within the book there are elements of maximalism through the way the narrator thinks that society will react when they find out he's having a child with a FGP (first generator pure). he continues to hind jasmine (the FGP that he impregnated) The societal norms have made him shameful about the events taking place within his life

Fragmentation

throughout "tender is the flesh" there is a zoo that been raided and ransacked after many years it's fallen into ruin, but the narrator returns to the abandoned zoo every so often because as a child he and his dad would go before the disease forced all the animals to be euthanized. the relationship that the narrator established with the zoo is connected throughout the story and constantly return, especially after his dad had died.

Reaction

I absolutely love this book! if you like gore, futuristic, and sci-fi then you'll love this book!! it's a great and interesting novel that keeps your attention throughout the book! I would recommend it to everyone!

Bandit the pug 4th

BEST BOOK EVER!! The book “Perks of Being A Wallflower” is about a boy named Charlie who writes to a friend, but that friend never writes back because they don't exist. Charlie is the eponymous “wallflower.” He is quiet and withdrawn, but he is also extremely observant and thoughtful, always paying close attention to everything going on around him, even if he is only a silent witness. It has the postmodernist elements of temporal distortion and fabulism. He imagines that he is talking to a friend and being emotionally dependent on them, in reality, that friend is a cover for his depression. The loss of the only person who understood him, his aunt, caused him to spiral down into a depressive state. Throughout the whole book, you can see that Charlie is crying out for help, but no one can hear him. He wanted to be loved by someone, but he couldn't love himself first.

Bartholomew Javontavious Dingle III 5th

No Longer Human - Osamu Dazai

Personally, I recently finished No Longer Human, by Osamu Dazai. Dazai is a famous Japanese author who creates fictional autobiographies of sorts. This book is a Postmodernist explosion of self awareness and paranoia. This piece creates fear, anxiety, compassion, and hatred in the most natural way possible and does a great job questioning what it means to truly live.

Gretel pd. 3

I really enjoy the stories of the Greek gods and goddesses, do I decided to read Circe by Madeline Miller. This book describes the life and exile of Greek goddess and witch Circe. Historiographic metafiction is a huge element in this book because the stories are not all true, and the author creates a character‘s life story based on historical mythology. This book was so amazing and I got to learn some interesting mythology while also reading a fictional story. I highly recommend this book.

Gray Puzzle 5th

A postmodern book i am currently reading (I have not finished yet so don't spoil) is Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. I found it by looking at Bill Gates must read list. It is divided into parts, all of which are in different time periods. What i really enjoy is there are parts from the other parts in each part. For example, a book written in the first part shows up on a bookshelf many years later in a different part of the book. So, all the parts are linked but you have to find it. It messes with my mind. This temporal distortion and fragmentation of traveling through space and time makes this the perfect postmodern book

Insertfunnyname pd.2

A book I have somewhat recently read, that I really enjoyed, was The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls.

The Glass Castle is based off a true story, where the writer is writing about her own upbringing in a dysfunctional family. Temporal distortion and intertextuality is used throughout the book as the witter tells stories of her childhood, especially about her father. She explains that when he was sober he taught her how to embrace life fearlessly. She explains how her parents had a belief of "hands-off" parenting styles which they thought would help their kids be more successful in the world, building character and resilience to danger and hardship. I highly recommend for anyone to read this book, as it gives you a view into other lifestyles that families hold, that may be different from yours!

Petunia 2nd

I've been reading a lot recently but the most recent series I've read is "The Selection" by Kiera Cass. The series has a strong female character, America, who defies all of the traditional roles of women and it takes place in the future. It's kind of ironic since it talks about how there was WWIII which was when the US couldn't pay back it's debt to China so they invaded yet it is believed in our real world that WWIII will start with Russia invading Ukraine. The story contains the postmodernist elements of fabulation, poioumena, hyperreality, and paranoia.

Rowdythecat. P.5

Whatcha Readin Comment

A book series I have read recently is by Sarah J. Maas “A Court of Thorns and Roses” series. This series is based in a magical world that has many elements of postmodernism. There are the elements of magical realism, maximalism, and world building. It is a typical fantasy love story that takes place in a magical realm where there is the human realm and the magic realm. These magical elements are built into a descriptive world where the typical conflicts occur of human comes into magical world and meets her soulmate and they save each other. Sigh. It might be a little basic, but I highly recommend this book due to Maas’s style of writing.

Noah Lott 2nd Period

"The Song of Achilles" by Madeline Miller absolutely destroyed me. The story is packed with magical realism, fabulation, and irony, playfulness, and black humor. It explores the love story between Patroclus and Achilles, and includes fighting between mythical beings, mythical parents, and everything in between. When Patroclus sacrifices himself for Achilles and Achilles can no longer go on, we see the heartbreaking and horrifying reality of grief. "I could recognize him by touch alone, by smell; I would know him blind, by the way his breaths came and his feet struck the earth. I would know him in death, at the end of the world."

I recently finished Khaled Hosseini's "The Kite Runner", and it was riveting. I kid you not when I say that I could NOT put it down and I ended up finishing it in less than a day! Fragmentation is a huge part of this narrative, as the main character himself is broken and torn in many ways, and the chapters skip back and forth throughout time, which adds to the sense of panic that Amir, the main character is feeling, especially at the book's climax! For me, this book opened my eyes to a whole new part of the world that I previously had been very disinterested in, and I am now actively looking to read more things similar to it!

One Postmodernist book series I enjoyed was the "Arc of a Scythe" series, by Neal Shusterman. It shows fragmentation as it is told from different perspectives of the characters throughout. In the series, humanitty has conquered death, but has licensed killers to keep the population numbers down in order to maintain resources and order on Earth. The series tells the story as this seemingly perfect and flawless system slowly falls apart, to comment on mortality and morality.

I just finished reading Stephen King's "The Shining", a fantastic horror novel made into a Stanley Kubrick movie of the same name. "The Shining" is about a winter caretaker staying at the Overlook hotel with his wife and son and their “adventures” throughout that winter.

All three characters experience a different type of postmodernist paranoia, and the kid Danny, is even able to have physic powers and see the future, a form of magical realism that comes in handy. (Unfortunately the twins are not in the book)

I will say I don't read a lot because I love all nerdy things that are involved with math😁...BUTTTT I just recently picked up this book and OMG ITS REALLY GOOD! If you haven't read the book, "Everything Everything" or if you haven't heard of the movie you need to run, NOT walk, RUNNN to your nearest book store and grab "Everything Everything".

This book has a lot of postmodernist elements like Irony, Metafiction, Fabulation, Magical Realism, Temporal Distortion, and Hyperreality/Paranoia. "Everything Everything" follows the life of a sick girl that is allergic to the world and she pretty much lives in a bubble(in her house). She is never allowed outside and she's not even allowed to make contact with other humans. Until, she finds out she has new neighbors and she ends up falling in love with the boy next door! This book will definitely take you on a rollercoaster of emotions and the best part of this book is that we get to live through this girls hyperreality and we get to constantly live through her perspective of life!🌸

A book I read a while back that had me hooked was "Inkheart" which was given to by my 6th grade social studies teacher. I never got around to reading that book until a few summers ago. Inkheart is a fantasy novel that follows Meggie, a 12ish year old girl, who finds her father, 'Mo' or Mortimer, is a bookbinder who has a special gift: he can bring fictional characters to life in their world. The problem occurs when Meggie's father reads aloud from the book and the evil Capricorn pops out into their living room. Inkheart is one of my favorite books that lets my imaginary run wild and lets me place myself in the book.

I have recently finished reading the mystery, fictional novel Where the Crawdads Sing, written by Delia Owens. This novel is about a poor girl who after years of being on her own as to defend herself in court against the charges of killing a man with a charming reputation. The novel is based on the paranoia of the surrounding characters who are on edge about who killed such a beloved man. The story sends the reader to many misdirection's and ultimately ends in a surprise, but the novel is extraordinary for its use of postmodernist elements and the suspense that they create throughout the story.

The newest books I have read that contain postmodernist elements is the Cotton Malone series by Steve Berry. I have so far only read the first two books, "The Templar Legacy" and "The Alexandria Link." These books follow the perspective of Cotton Malone, a retired American agent, and use historiographic metafiction heavily in the books. These books use real events in history, and change it slightly in a believable way to. For example, the first book, "The Templar Legacy," is about if the Templars were still around today, as a secret society, and following clues to find them. Berry uses real historical events and figures that make the book feel plausible. The second book, "The Alexandria Link," is about trying to find a hidden library of Alexandria. The books are very interesting to read about, and I can't wait to read more from the series.

manta5th- One of the best book series I have ever read was a series called the Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer. This book series was introduced to me by my mom. If you enjoy reading stories that involve mystery and romance, I would highly recommend this novel series. With the twists and turns there are so many interesting sides to the story. The characters are deep and interesting and the novel over all draws you in and makes you want to keep reading.

The best part is, each book in the series is from a different character's point of view, allowing the reader to get different angles and views on the events happening in the story. The story has postmodernism qualities of magical realism, paranoia, as well as pieces on hyperreality and techno culture.

Image of the books!

“Matched” by Ally Condie is my all time favorite book. I love dystopian fiction books, so when I read this I immediately fell in love. It’s about this girl in a dystopian society where the government picks who you marry. The main character in the book fell in love with someone else who she isn’t matched with. Now she is faced with a choice: she can either choose to go against society or continue with the path that was chosen for her. My summary doesn’t give the book justice, so you must check it out. This book clearly presents magical realism because it is a society that doesn’t exist. Through the use of magical realism, I think Condie is trying to warn the readers that the government could potentially overrun the citizens and become powerful. There’s more books in this sequel, so I would definitely recommend reading this series.

Here is a better summary of the book:

https://www.shmoop.com/study-guides/literature/matched/summary

This isn't really a book but mainly a graphic novel, well a manga really. It's called Jujutsu Kaisen and it is about the battle between sorcerers and curses and it uses both black humor and fragmentation, even hinting at modernist elements. To give some context, yes curses are like actual curses and vengeful spirits, but a curse is also the physical manifestation of human emotions/fears. The sorcerers are humans and the main things they do is exorcise curses and stop them from harming humanity. The series begins off with a lighthearted tone, but then transitions into something even more sinister. Sure anime and manga may not be your cup of tea but how the story writes off good and bad; how it exposes the dark truth and questions the goodness of humanity. Heck I even questioned myself while reading this. The author doesn't tell it in a pessimistic way but more in a realistic way; say like if a dark romantic and a modernist had a baby, this would be it. The series is not yet completed but I do at least recommend checking it out.