I finished the third and final book in the Divergent series this past week. I read the first two probably a year ago? They were available on the Kindle through the library which made it super easy to get. The third book is available only hard copy. I tried to wait it out and see if they would get a digital copy, but after at least 6 months, I gave up and put a hold on a hard copy.
I really enjoyed the first two books. I had asked people what they thought of the third book and they didn't have enthusiastic reviews for it, but kind of held back their two cents until I had read it. You have fair warning - SPOILER ALERTS! I was a bit disappointed with the great reveal of what was outside the fence. The story still read fine, but knowing they were in the US and Chicago no less, I was kind of like, really? That's all? I don't know why either. I guess with as different as the city and their functions had been set up I was hoping for something really unique to continue. I also felt like this book shifted to talk about factions as genetically damaged versus the divergent being genetically healed. That needed to be explained and the whole Purity war summarized. I feel like the reader got the cliff notes version of the history that caused all of this including a few passages about the people that live in the Fringe which I don't think adds to the story a whole lot. It provides some context, but those sections felt like that's all they were there for. I was just as bewildered as the characters in discovering all of this information. Maybe that's what you are supposed to feel like? I have no idea. Also, I'll say the love story between Tris and Four went through full teenage angst which I found a bit annoying. Given this is a young adult novel, I would expect something like that, but I can usually overlook it. It was just so painfully obvious. The ultimate ending I was ok with, although surprised they would actually kill off a main character. I almost give it points for doing the unexpected there, but I can't tell if that helped or hindered my view of this book.
Overall, I still like the story line, just not as impressed with the final book. It didn't help that there were a random 5 pages missing from the book. They weren't ripped out, it's possible they fell out due to poor binding. Just another random factor. I don't think those would "make" the book though. :)
Also, I saw the movie version of Divergent not to long ago. I would say, and I should preface this with - I NEVER say this, I liked the movie better than the book. I think this is because they kind of gloss over that internal dialogue from Tris about her and Four. They focus more on the discovery of the Divergent and drive the movie that way. I would say that was a good call from Hollywood's perspective. I don't think this will ever be as popular as the Hunger Games, but it's still an enjoyable story. Definitely better than The Maze Runner and what I had read of the Atlantis Gene trilogies anyway.
Showing posts with label Books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Books. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
Saturday, August 30, 2014
More Book Reviews
I think I might do this on more of a continuous basis now that my summer of Pinterest recreations is over. I have to have something to blog about right? Why not offer my opinion on the books I read? Maybe someone out there can use my two cents on taking a chance on a new book.
Into the Still Blue (Library - hard copy)
As mentioned previously, I had high hopes for this book and it did not disappoint. I was very happy with the ending and thought it rounded out the series very well. I still recommend this and can now confidently say it doesn't have a crappy ending. So hey, that's got to be worth something. :)
Wool (Omnibus Saga 1-5) by Hugh Howley (Amazon Prime - Lending Library)
This was recommended to me by another friend who is a Amazon Prime member and had picked it for her monthly lending. This is another kind of dystopian futuristic kind of book. I guess I am on a kick for those lately. This book is about living life in a silo which is underground by about 134 floors. They talk about taking days to journey from the "down deep" to the "up top" and I thought that was weird. I mean it's only 134 floors, how can it take days? So we did some research on how many floors were in really tall buildings. So the Sears Tower is 104 floors, so that sort of put it into perspective. In any case, it's a completely fascinating story. Who knew how much drama could be in one silo? They talk about being sent to cleaning and the IT department with their severs and the sheriff and mayor. All kinds of good stories. Apparently it was written as mini books (1-5), but later it was put together into an Omnibus series. I would recommend reading them all together under that heading. All together they are about the equivalent of one book. He does have plans to write more Silo books which I will be on the lookout for. :)
Friday, August 15, 2014
Summer Reading
I took advantage of my laid back summer to try out some new books. I consider myself a pretty avid reader. I read every day and enjoy finding new authors. A fairly new development in my love of reading has occurred in where I am starting to not waste time on "junk" books. There are so many good books out there and with all my reading over the years, I guess I have developed a knack for determining when a book isn't going to go anywhere. It's a pretty handy skill to hone when you want to make the most of your time with leisure reading.
I have a Kindle Fire which I was fairly reluctant to use for reading for a while. I have owned it for about a year and a half now and I LOVE it. It's fantastic. I can borrow books from the library with it and as an Amazon Prime member, I get a free book a month from them under Amazon First, and another book a month to "borrow" under the Prime Lending library. The Amazon First books have opened a lot of different authors and styles of writing. Some have been pretty big duds, however there have been a few hits too. Kind of the point if you ask me. The Prime Lending Library also opens up new options for reading, but typically if you find an author you like, you can read all of their stuff. Meaning you can get locked in a comfort zone. I read all of Deborah Geary's books that way. I really enjoyed them and it was completely new to me, but I spent a year (one book a month) reading them and not anything else.
So what have I been reading this summer? A lot of dystopian trilogies apparently. I guess I am just attracted to that genre right now. So here's a shake down of what I have read or attempted to read:
The Maze Runner Series by James Dashner (digital library):
I had heard nothing but good things about this series, so I thought, what the heck, maybe this will be another Hunger Games kind of set of books. For me, this was so wrong. The first book, The Maze Runner, annoyed me. The way it was written it was like you and the main character are not supposed to know anything that's going on despite the apparent need to be clued in. I understand there's usually a reason for writing this way, but this book didn't have it right. You don't really learn much until the end of the book and at that point I was like, well, maybe The Scorch Trials will be more revealing and I was right! That was a really enjoyable book. Then I read the final one thinking, it's got to be as good as the second now that they are rolling. The Death Cure was meh. I didn't like the ending and felt the author had tried to make it go one way and kind of gave up/realized there was no logical way to make it happen to they abandoned ship and kind of abruptly changed course and ended the book. Overall, only the second book I would honestly recommend anyone read, but it's kind of pointless if you don't read the other two kind of crappy books too. Not exactly what I would call worth it.
The Atlantis Series by A. G. Riddle (Prime Lending Library):
The description of this book caught my attention and I thought, hey, why not? This followed the same kind of writing style of The Maze Runner for the first book. However in this book you could tell there was going to be a big story plot working behind this "mysterious" plague that's spreading. I would call this book a bit more sci-fi dystopian because there is talk of spaceships, aliens, and the method by which they administer a "cure" I find kind of ridiculous. I finished reading the first book and there was not a lot of resolution so I did read the second book and like The Scorch Trials, I found a lot more answers in that book, but I found myself speed reading to just get the part that explained anything that was going on. If I am doing that, I really don't care about what's actually happening. I just want to have it wrapped up so I can read something else. I haven't read the third book and I don't plan to.
Moving Day: A Thriller by Jonathan Stone (Amazon First):
I read the first chapter of this book and I stopped. The set up to this is that an elderly couple is moving to their retirement home and taking a life time worth of possessions with them. They are scammed by fake movers that show up a day early and pack their house and take everything. They realize this when the real movers show up the next day. This was clearly described in the synopsis for the book, but the writing style describing these possessions and some desperate longing for all the memories wrapped up in them had me mentally checked out. If it's a thriller as it's so titled, don't waste words on making it more dramatic than is really necessary. I didn't want to waste any more time on it, so I stopped reading after two nights. I own it, but doubt I will go back to it.
Inamorata by Megan Chance (Amazon First):
This book confused me. It's about twins who flee to Venice and a poet that's looking for revenge on someone called Oldie. I have read about 25% of this book and not sure I really care if I finish the rest of it or not. It's not bad, but there's nothing making me want to know what happens. I was confused by the characters for the first 4 chapters at least. This could very well be due to my lack of attention to detail when I read. The chapter titles are the character names, but it took a while for me realize Sophie (one of the twins) and Oldie are two different people. Clearly Oldie has some issues to work through, that much I know. But unless I get really bored, I am probably not going to come back to this book.
Legend by Marie Lu (hard copy library - first in series):
This book was recommended to me by a middle school English teacher friend of mine. I loved this book. I read it in two days which is saying something considering I have an infant and a toddler at home. It's again a kind of dystopian future, but the writing is wonderful. You are submersed in the character's life styles almost immediately. There is a lot of mystery and intrigue, but the book is fast paced enough not to dawdle on mute points. It cuts to the heart of the chase and there are enough revelations to keep you saying, "And then what happens?" I love Day and June and their relationship and the course it takes throughout the book. I am excited to read the rest in the series although I have been warned the other books don't carry the momentum the first does.
Into the Still Blue by Veronica Rossi (hard copy library - third in series):
I was able to read the first two of the series on my Kindle as e-books through the library, but I guess the third is too new to have the e-book available? In any case I was able to reserve it and get a hard copy from the library. It must have been about 6 months since I finished the last book, but there are hints to what happened to help people remember, but not so blatant you are rehashing all the details. It's more like, oh yeah that's right, he can do that. I haven't' finished this yet, but I am really curious what happens and if they make it to their garden of Eden, the "Still Blue". I would recommend this trilogy for anyone interested in the dystopian genre.
Stardust by Neil Gaiman (hard copy - own):
I love this book. In my first ever blog post, I talk about how this book kind of inspired the name of my blog. I try to read this book once a year just because it's hands down my favorite fairy tale. It's fairly quick and whimsical, and well written. I have not and never plan to watch the movie they made based on the book. I have the characters and scenes in my head and I like them just the way they are. So, this one wins just for being my favorite.
That's been most of what I have read over the last two months. I have another Prime Lending Library book in my queue for August called Wool Omnibus (1-5) by Hugh Howey and I have read about 3 chapters into that and I think it's going to be a really good book too. Maybe I'll have to do actual reviews when I finish these for people who may want something new to read. I usually find myself in an author rut where I'll find an author I like and then read their entire collection of whatever they have written and thrive on it until it's done. Then I just feel sad they didn't write more and drag my feet while looking for the next author. I guess I'll just add that to my to-do list. ;)
I have a Kindle Fire which I was fairly reluctant to use for reading for a while. I have owned it for about a year and a half now and I LOVE it. It's fantastic. I can borrow books from the library with it and as an Amazon Prime member, I get a free book a month from them under Amazon First, and another book a month to "borrow" under the Prime Lending library. The Amazon First books have opened a lot of different authors and styles of writing. Some have been pretty big duds, however there have been a few hits too. Kind of the point if you ask me. The Prime Lending Library also opens up new options for reading, but typically if you find an author you like, you can read all of their stuff. Meaning you can get locked in a comfort zone. I read all of Deborah Geary's books that way. I really enjoyed them and it was completely new to me, but I spent a year (one book a month) reading them and not anything else.
So what have I been reading this summer? A lot of dystopian trilogies apparently. I guess I am just attracted to that genre right now. So here's a shake down of what I have read or attempted to read:
The Maze Runner Series by James Dashner (digital library):
I had heard nothing but good things about this series, so I thought, what the heck, maybe this will be another Hunger Games kind of set of books. For me, this was so wrong. The first book, The Maze Runner, annoyed me. The way it was written it was like you and the main character are not supposed to know anything that's going on despite the apparent need to be clued in. I understand there's usually a reason for writing this way, but this book didn't have it right. You don't really learn much until the end of the book and at that point I was like, well, maybe The Scorch Trials will be more revealing and I was right! That was a really enjoyable book. Then I read the final one thinking, it's got to be as good as the second now that they are rolling. The Death Cure was meh. I didn't like the ending and felt the author had tried to make it go one way and kind of gave up/realized there was no logical way to make it happen to they abandoned ship and kind of abruptly changed course and ended the book. Overall, only the second book I would honestly recommend anyone read, but it's kind of pointless if you don't read the other two kind of crappy books too. Not exactly what I would call worth it.
The Atlantis Series by A. G. Riddle (Prime Lending Library):
The description of this book caught my attention and I thought, hey, why not? This followed the same kind of writing style of The Maze Runner for the first book. However in this book you could tell there was going to be a big story plot working behind this "mysterious" plague that's spreading. I would call this book a bit more sci-fi dystopian because there is talk of spaceships, aliens, and the method by which they administer a "cure" I find kind of ridiculous. I finished reading the first book and there was not a lot of resolution so I did read the second book and like The Scorch Trials, I found a lot more answers in that book, but I found myself speed reading to just get the part that explained anything that was going on. If I am doing that, I really don't care about what's actually happening. I just want to have it wrapped up so I can read something else. I haven't read the third book and I don't plan to.
Moving Day: A Thriller by Jonathan Stone (Amazon First):
I read the first chapter of this book and I stopped. The set up to this is that an elderly couple is moving to their retirement home and taking a life time worth of possessions with them. They are scammed by fake movers that show up a day early and pack their house and take everything. They realize this when the real movers show up the next day. This was clearly described in the synopsis for the book, but the writing style describing these possessions and some desperate longing for all the memories wrapped up in them had me mentally checked out. If it's a thriller as it's so titled, don't waste words on making it more dramatic than is really necessary. I didn't want to waste any more time on it, so I stopped reading after two nights. I own it, but doubt I will go back to it.
Inamorata by Megan Chance (Amazon First):
This book confused me. It's about twins who flee to Venice and a poet that's looking for revenge on someone called Oldie. I have read about 25% of this book and not sure I really care if I finish the rest of it or not. It's not bad, but there's nothing making me want to know what happens. I was confused by the characters for the first 4 chapters at least. This could very well be due to my lack of attention to detail when I read. The chapter titles are the character names, but it took a while for me realize Sophie (one of the twins) and Oldie are two different people. Clearly Oldie has some issues to work through, that much I know. But unless I get really bored, I am probably not going to come back to this book.
Legend by Marie Lu (hard copy library - first in series):
This book was recommended to me by a middle school English teacher friend of mine. I loved this book. I read it in two days which is saying something considering I have an infant and a toddler at home. It's again a kind of dystopian future, but the writing is wonderful. You are submersed in the character's life styles almost immediately. There is a lot of mystery and intrigue, but the book is fast paced enough not to dawdle on mute points. It cuts to the heart of the chase and there are enough revelations to keep you saying, "And then what happens?" I love Day and June and their relationship and the course it takes throughout the book. I am excited to read the rest in the series although I have been warned the other books don't carry the momentum the first does.
Into the Still Blue by Veronica Rossi (hard copy library - third in series):
I was able to read the first two of the series on my Kindle as e-books through the library, but I guess the third is too new to have the e-book available? In any case I was able to reserve it and get a hard copy from the library. It must have been about 6 months since I finished the last book, but there are hints to what happened to help people remember, but not so blatant you are rehashing all the details. It's more like, oh yeah that's right, he can do that. I haven't' finished this yet, but I am really curious what happens and if they make it to their garden of Eden, the "Still Blue". I would recommend this trilogy for anyone interested in the dystopian genre.
Stardust by Neil Gaiman (hard copy - own):
I love this book. In my first ever blog post, I talk about how this book kind of inspired the name of my blog. I try to read this book once a year just because it's hands down my favorite fairy tale. It's fairly quick and whimsical, and well written. I have not and never plan to watch the movie they made based on the book. I have the characters and scenes in my head and I like them just the way they are. So, this one wins just for being my favorite.
That's been most of what I have read over the last two months. I have another Prime Lending Library book in my queue for August called Wool Omnibus (1-5) by Hugh Howey and I have read about 3 chapters into that and I think it's going to be a really good book too. Maybe I'll have to do actual reviews when I finish these for people who may want something new to read. I usually find myself in an author rut where I'll find an author I like and then read their entire collection of whatever they have written and thrive on it until it's done. Then I just feel sad they didn't write more and drag my feet while looking for the next author. I guess I'll just add that to my to-do list. ;)
Sunday, January 27, 2013
And the Nominees Are....
So, my friend Holly has nominated me for a Liebster Award! I had no idea what it was and truth be told I was skeptical that her account may have been hacked. How sad is that? But I did a little research and discovered it to be a for real thing, so Awesome! For those who are like me and wondering what in the world this is all about here's the skinny:
What is a Liebster Award? A Liebster award is given
to blogs with less than 300 followers as a way of making them more
well-known. The rules for the acceptance are:
1) Visit and thank the blogger who nominated you
2) Acknowledge that blogger on your blog and link back
3) Answer the 10 questions posed by the blogger who nominated you
4) Select 3 – 5 bloggers for the award
5) Pose 10 new questions to the new nominees
6) Post the award on your blog
So here are my questions from Holly:
1. How long have you been blogging? According to my archives, they tell me about 2007. I hit my stride in 2008 when I think I had WAAAY too much free time on my hands. Then I decided to move twice (GA-NY and NY-VA), get married, and have a baby (wow a lot has happened in 4 short years!), so free time is something of an endangered species. I blog to share cool things I find, annoyances of the world, delicious recipes, nifty crafts, and and also to just have a place to practice writing.
2. Morning person or night person? Before my son was born, I would say hands down night person. Anywho who knows me knows I do not operate without a cup of coffee and/or being awake for roughly 3-5 hours before being 'cheerful' enough to talk to. In fact, at one workplace, I had been known to grunt at people until I had been there 30 minutes or so, made and ate oatmeal and had a chance to process what it would take to be productive for the day. Since having him, mornings haven't been the dreadful thing they once were. When there is someone who greets me which such joy, I can't help but be happy and kind of get over my own lack of sleep just to partake in the happiness in front of me.
3. Favorite book? I do love so many books, but the one I love to read over and over (at least once annually) is Stardust by Neil Gaiman. It is part of the inspiration for this blog name. I just love the tale and the world he creates in the land beyond the village of Wall. I have not and will not ever see the movie. My imagination has it just right in my head and I don't need Hollywood screwing it up.
4. Summer sun or winter wonderland? Summer sun. The days are longer, people are happier, there are more picnics and sunshine. The Summer also compliments my love of the beach. It's a lot more fun to be there in the warmer weather than in the cooler weather (I have done both). There's something about putting your feet in warm sand and feeling a warm breeze on your face that just makes a person happy. Also in the summer, there is far less hassle with the weather. It's either sunny, breezy, or rainy so pick the appropriate jacket. In the winter you have cold, ice, snow, and windy. All of which need too many layers to enjoy unless you are under the age of 12.
5. What do you do in your free time? Free time? Ha. My free time has been extremely reduced, but I am the queen of multi-tasking. I also find it impossible to sit still, so I do make the most of what little time I have. When I am watching TV I tend to use my laptop to surf the web for any number of things. Facebook and Pinterest are frequent stops as well as any other "research" I am currently interested in. Right now I have a "Couch to 5K:" and Online Fabric shopping tabs open. I also enjoy working on my projects (which are piled high and deep right now, let me tell you!). I sew a lot, mainly quilts right now. I take a lot of pictures, mostly of my son, but the cats get in on the action too, which means I also spend a lot of time uploading and purchasing photo stuff (books, cards, etc). I love to work on the house (which has gotten surprisingly more difficult with a baby) and my next two projects are repainting hideous brass lamps and reupholstering two obnoxious pink wing back chairs, FINALLY. I also try to read a little each day and because of my health plan at work, I am trying to get at least 7,000 steps a day on my pedometer. Sometimes this means walking around the house in circles after Colin has gone to bed. Thankfully I recently acquired a Kindle so I can watch older TV shows while moving around the house. It has worked out well.
6. Do you make New Year’s resolutions? Yes. I think they are a great way to think about doing something new and different. They don't always have to be tied to a "don't" which I think is where people get stuck sometimes. Make them small and manageable and write them down and put there where you see them everyday. I try to use my resolution as a way to be a better person. This year mine could have been trying not to swear like a sailor while driving in DC, but I opted for something that would help others. I am buying and donating food monthly to a local food shelter in our area. Before the holidays had come, I heard a news story on the radio about how much the need for food has gone up and it made me sad. People only ever think to donate to the food pantry around Thanksgiving and Christmas. And that's not to say it's not a good thing, but those people don't miraculously get food the other 10 months out of the year. So I have decided to make a donation drop off once a month. My preferred way of giving is 100% anonymous so it works out well. I don't need a thank you, just appreciate what was given to you and that's enough for me.
7. Family’s favorite meal? (Share the recipe) We have many, but here's one of our go-to favorites.
Angel Hair Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Goat Cheese
(makes 4-6 servings)
1, 10 oz. jar sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, chopped (oil reserved)
1 small onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 cup dry white wine
1 lb. angel hair pasta
3 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley (flat leaf italian parsley)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper (freshly ground)
3-4 oz. soft fresh goat cheese, coarsely crumbled
Heat 3 tbsp. of reserved oil from sun-dried tomatoes in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and saute until tender, about 3 minutes. Stir in garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add wine and chopped sun-dried tomatoes and simmer until liquid reduces by half, about 2 minutes.
Cook pasta according to package directions, but when you drain it, reserve 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Add cooked pasta and parsley to the tomato mixture and toss to coat, adding some reserved pasta water to moisten. Season pasta with salt and pepper. Place into a serving bowl and mix with crumbled goat cheese.
8. Preferred way to communicate? Email/text/call/facebook/etc It depends. If you are a close relative, I prefer a phone call or email. If you are a close friend, phone call, text, or email. If we are just friends, email or Facebook. Right now I will lean towards more written forms of communication because it allows me to write them whenever I can (in the likely event I am interrupted) and give some thought to what I am telling you. With a baby, sometimes that routine phone call just doesn't fit in. And besides, if I write an email, I can send pictures too. :) Facebook is fantastic for staying in touch with people in general though. I have a manageable number of friends, and I am interested in what they are up to. Some share more than others, but I enjoy catching up with everyone's lives when I can sit and process through my stream.
9. How many people/animals live in your house? We have three people (me, my husband, and our son) and two fat cats. In my opinion, it's a good human/animal ratio.
10. Favorite snack food? I am a sucker for chocolate covered pretzels. I will eat an entire bag if I am not careful. That whole salty/sweet combo is to die for.
So my nominees are....
1. LaTisha over at Blushing Black keeping it real for all things fashion and beauty. She's got an eye for style; sophisticated and fun. We used to work together and then she got smart and is doing something way more fun, but we still keep in touch thanks to the internets. :)
2. Ryan and his crazy adventures in fatherhood, cooking, and funny stuff at Grillside Stories. He is a co-worker and truly has a knack for seeing the bright side of life.
3. My third would have been Holly, but as she's nominated me it'd be a never ending loop. She is so much better at keeping her blog updated and it's always interesting bits of her and her family's life that make me smile.
So here are my questions for you:
1. Why do you blog?
2. If you could get on a plane and go anywhere in the world, where would you go?
3. What is your favorite holiday?
4. What is your favorite vacation spot or what was your favorite vacation?
5. What do you do in your free time?
6. If you could have a super power, what would it be and why?
7. What is your favorite game (board, video, card, school yard)?
8. Cat or Dog Person?
9. What is your idea of a perfect weekend?
10. What is your all-time favorite blog entry you have written?
Many thanks again to Holly for nominating me and giving me a reason to answer fun questions and pass it onward to others. As a result of this exercise, I realized I need to update my links of people I follow on my side bar. I think many people have dropped the blogging routine, which is to be expected, but I just need keep it updated. :)
1) Visit and thank the blogger who nominated you
2) Acknowledge that blogger on your blog and link back
3) Answer the 10 questions posed by the blogger who nominated you
4) Select 3 – 5 bloggers for the award
5) Pose 10 new questions to the new nominees
6) Post the award on your blog
So here are my questions from Holly:
1. How long have you been blogging? According to my archives, they tell me about 2007. I hit my stride in 2008 when I think I had WAAAY too much free time on my hands. Then I decided to move twice (GA-NY and NY-VA), get married, and have a baby (wow a lot has happened in 4 short years!), so free time is something of an endangered species. I blog to share cool things I find, annoyances of the world, delicious recipes, nifty crafts, and and also to just have a place to practice writing.
2. Morning person or night person? Before my son was born, I would say hands down night person. Anywho who knows me knows I do not operate without a cup of coffee and/or being awake for roughly 3-5 hours before being 'cheerful' enough to talk to. In fact, at one workplace, I had been known to grunt at people until I had been there 30 minutes or so, made and ate oatmeal and had a chance to process what it would take to be productive for the day. Since having him, mornings haven't been the dreadful thing they once were. When there is someone who greets me which such joy, I can't help but be happy and kind of get over my own lack of sleep just to partake in the happiness in front of me.
3. Favorite book? I do love so many books, but the one I love to read over and over (at least once annually) is Stardust by Neil Gaiman. It is part of the inspiration for this blog name. I just love the tale and the world he creates in the land beyond the village of Wall. I have not and will not ever see the movie. My imagination has it just right in my head and I don't need Hollywood screwing it up.
4. Summer sun or winter wonderland? Summer sun. The days are longer, people are happier, there are more picnics and sunshine. The Summer also compliments my love of the beach. It's a lot more fun to be there in the warmer weather than in the cooler weather (I have done both). There's something about putting your feet in warm sand and feeling a warm breeze on your face that just makes a person happy. Also in the summer, there is far less hassle with the weather. It's either sunny, breezy, or rainy so pick the appropriate jacket. In the winter you have cold, ice, snow, and windy. All of which need too many layers to enjoy unless you are under the age of 12.
5. What do you do in your free time? Free time? Ha. My free time has been extremely reduced, but I am the queen of multi-tasking. I also find it impossible to sit still, so I do make the most of what little time I have. When I am watching TV I tend to use my laptop to surf the web for any number of things. Facebook and Pinterest are frequent stops as well as any other "research" I am currently interested in. Right now I have a "Couch to 5K:" and Online Fabric shopping tabs open. I also enjoy working on my projects (which are piled high and deep right now, let me tell you!). I sew a lot, mainly quilts right now. I take a lot of pictures, mostly of my son, but the cats get in on the action too, which means I also spend a lot of time uploading and purchasing photo stuff (books, cards, etc). I love to work on the house (which has gotten surprisingly more difficult with a baby) and my next two projects are repainting hideous brass lamps and reupholstering two obnoxious pink wing back chairs, FINALLY. I also try to read a little each day and because of my health plan at work, I am trying to get at least 7,000 steps a day on my pedometer. Sometimes this means walking around the house in circles after Colin has gone to bed. Thankfully I recently acquired a Kindle so I can watch older TV shows while moving around the house. It has worked out well.
6. Do you make New Year’s resolutions? Yes. I think they are a great way to think about doing something new and different. They don't always have to be tied to a "don't" which I think is where people get stuck sometimes. Make them small and manageable and write them down and put there where you see them everyday. I try to use my resolution as a way to be a better person. This year mine could have been trying not to swear like a sailor while driving in DC, but I opted for something that would help others. I am buying and donating food monthly to a local food shelter in our area. Before the holidays had come, I heard a news story on the radio about how much the need for food has gone up and it made me sad. People only ever think to donate to the food pantry around Thanksgiving and Christmas. And that's not to say it's not a good thing, but those people don't miraculously get food the other 10 months out of the year. So I have decided to make a donation drop off once a month. My preferred way of giving is 100% anonymous so it works out well. I don't need a thank you, just appreciate what was given to you and that's enough for me.
7. Family’s favorite meal? (Share the recipe) We have many, but here's one of our go-to favorites.
Angel Hair Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Goat Cheese
(makes 4-6 servings)
1, 10 oz. jar sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, chopped (oil reserved)
1 small onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 cup dry white wine
1 lb. angel hair pasta
3 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley (flat leaf italian parsley)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper (freshly ground)
3-4 oz. soft fresh goat cheese, coarsely crumbled
Heat 3 tbsp. of reserved oil from sun-dried tomatoes in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and saute until tender, about 3 minutes. Stir in garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add wine and chopped sun-dried tomatoes and simmer until liquid reduces by half, about 2 minutes.
Cook pasta according to package directions, but when you drain it, reserve 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Add cooked pasta and parsley to the tomato mixture and toss to coat, adding some reserved pasta water to moisten. Season pasta with salt and pepper. Place into a serving bowl and mix with crumbled goat cheese.
8. Preferred way to communicate? Email/text/call/facebook/etc It depends. If you are a close relative, I prefer a phone call or email. If you are a close friend, phone call, text, or email. If we are just friends, email or Facebook. Right now I will lean towards more written forms of communication because it allows me to write them whenever I can (in the likely event I am interrupted) and give some thought to what I am telling you. With a baby, sometimes that routine phone call just doesn't fit in. And besides, if I write an email, I can send pictures too. :) Facebook is fantastic for staying in touch with people in general though. I have a manageable number of friends, and I am interested in what they are up to. Some share more than others, but I enjoy catching up with everyone's lives when I can sit and process through my stream.
9. How many people/animals live in your house? We have three people (me, my husband, and our son) and two fat cats. In my opinion, it's a good human/animal ratio.
10. Favorite snack food? I am a sucker for chocolate covered pretzels. I will eat an entire bag if I am not careful. That whole salty/sweet combo is to die for.
So my nominees are....
1. LaTisha over at Blushing Black keeping it real for all things fashion and beauty. She's got an eye for style; sophisticated and fun. We used to work together and then she got smart and is doing something way more fun, but we still keep in touch thanks to the internets. :)
2. Ryan and his crazy adventures in fatherhood, cooking, and funny stuff at Grillside Stories. He is a co-worker and truly has a knack for seeing the bright side of life.
3. My third would have been Holly, but as she's nominated me it'd be a never ending loop. She is so much better at keeping her blog updated and it's always interesting bits of her and her family's life that make me smile.
So here are my questions for you:
1. Why do you blog?
2. If you could get on a plane and go anywhere in the world, where would you go?
3. What is your favorite holiday?
4. What is your favorite vacation spot or what was your favorite vacation?
5. What do you do in your free time?
6. If you could have a super power, what would it be and why?
7. What is your favorite game (board, video, card, school yard)?
8. Cat or Dog Person?
9. What is your idea of a perfect weekend?
10. What is your all-time favorite blog entry you have written?
Many thanks again to Holly for nominating me and giving me a reason to answer fun questions and pass it onward to others. As a result of this exercise, I realized I need to update my links of people I follow on my side bar. I think many people have dropped the blogging routine, which is to be expected, but I just need keep it updated. :)
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Harry Potter
I went to see the final Harry Potter film this past weekend along with millions of other viewers. I hate that I couldn't go opening day (the forces of exhaustion were against us), but at least I made it for opening weekend. There have been many many reviews and raves about this movie and I am with them, mostly.
This is probably the only book (series) I truly really loved that I would see on the big screen. For one, it's kind of hard to ignore all these movies and commercialization of the franchise. But more than that, they were really working with the author for how how the movies should take shape. This is not to say I haven't been disappointed in the choices they have made along the way, but I respect that the author at least approves of the substitutes and the vision of her story.
I can remember the very first movie when it came out. I went to see it with Andrea and Tyler in between the finals at RIT. It was November 2001, almost 10 years ago. We were there for the 11am showing (the first one of the day, no midnight showings for the first one in our area). We were there with bus loads of kids from the area schools, but it was magic on the screen. I remember just being entranced by the movie and hoping there would be many more to follow. My wishes were granted.
My love of Harry Potter started the year before at Christmas when I participated in a White Elephant exchange where someone brought the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone for the exchange. It went around like hot cakes and everyone was fighting over it. I didn't end up with it, but I said, I need to get a copy. That year, I took my bookstore gift card from my grandfather and went and picked up a copy. I ate it up and wanted more. I read all the way through the fourth book and was really disappointed when the fifth book was going to be a two year wait (from when I started reading)! But that's ok, the movie would fill the void.
That summer, 2001, was when I think Harry Potter went big time. The fourth book had gained quite a lot of momentum on it's own with the message from JK Rowling that one of the characters died, but then they were making a movie to be released in the fall about the first book. Everyone wanted to know, well if this is a 7 book series, will they have a movie for them all?! And the answer now is obviously yes. As the books came out and they got longer, it was harder to condense it to the normal 2ish hour movie, but they did well. The fourth book (first in the larger book sizes) was the first where I noticed the cuts they made. Sure they can't really take up screen time to show how Hermonie made scarves to free the elves, but it would have been "nice".
Well here we are at the final Harry Potter film. As I watched the story unfold in front of me on the big screen I couldn't help but feel a little sad. I mean, after all, this had captured my attention for 10 years. I have re-read the series more times than I care to admit (all books have been read at least 4 times, some more) and I have started the holiday tradition of watching the movies while I decorate for the holidays (as the first movies came out in the fall). There were a lot of emotional parts to the movie and I will admit, I cried my eyes out when he went into the Dark Forest. It really captured the emotions that I had when I read the book, but they didn't follow the story as well as they had in other movies.
I will tell you that I did re-read the last Harry Potter Book before going to see this movie. This may have been a mistake, however, even if I had not done so, there are things I would have noticed anyway. I understand most of the reasoning from a cinematic perspective, but that doesn't mean I agree with it. I wish they had shown the events from when the enter the Room of Requirement until the end more true to the story as it was written. There were a lot of "shortcuts" taken, which again I understand, but did not care for. The way they get to the Gray Lady, how they handle the students in the castle, where Snape dies, the Kings Crossing scene (they leave a LOT of back story out, but they never explained it before either, so it made no sense to add it in now), the duel between Molly and Bellatrix, and the final scene with Harry and Voldermort. I will always like the books better (as in any series), but I am still pleased with the movie representation of the book.
And so the ending is bittersweet, but the characters will continue to live in the books and in the movies. I only hope that someday when I have kids, they will still enjoy the stories just as much as I continue to do.
This is probably the only book (series) I truly really loved that I would see on the big screen. For one, it's kind of hard to ignore all these movies and commercialization of the franchise. But more than that, they were really working with the author for how how the movies should take shape. This is not to say I haven't been disappointed in the choices they have made along the way, but I respect that the author at least approves of the substitutes and the vision of her story.
I can remember the very first movie when it came out. I went to see it with Andrea and Tyler in between the finals at RIT. It was November 2001, almost 10 years ago. We were there for the 11am showing (the first one of the day, no midnight showings for the first one in our area). We were there with bus loads of kids from the area schools, but it was magic on the screen. I remember just being entranced by the movie and hoping there would be many more to follow. My wishes were granted.
My love of Harry Potter started the year before at Christmas when I participated in a White Elephant exchange where someone brought the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone for the exchange. It went around like hot cakes and everyone was fighting over it. I didn't end up with it, but I said, I need to get a copy. That year, I took my bookstore gift card from my grandfather and went and picked up a copy. I ate it up and wanted more. I read all the way through the fourth book and was really disappointed when the fifth book was going to be a two year wait (from when I started reading)! But that's ok, the movie would fill the void.
That summer, 2001, was when I think Harry Potter went big time. The fourth book had gained quite a lot of momentum on it's own with the message from JK Rowling that one of the characters died, but then they were making a movie to be released in the fall about the first book. Everyone wanted to know, well if this is a 7 book series, will they have a movie for them all?! And the answer now is obviously yes. As the books came out and they got longer, it was harder to condense it to the normal 2ish hour movie, but they did well. The fourth book (first in the larger book sizes) was the first where I noticed the cuts they made. Sure they can't really take up screen time to show how Hermonie made scarves to free the elves, but it would have been "nice".
Well here we are at the final Harry Potter film. As I watched the story unfold in front of me on the big screen I couldn't help but feel a little sad. I mean, after all, this had captured my attention for 10 years. I have re-read the series more times than I care to admit (all books have been read at least 4 times, some more) and I have started the holiday tradition of watching the movies while I decorate for the holidays (as the first movies came out in the fall). There were a lot of emotional parts to the movie and I will admit, I cried my eyes out when he went into the Dark Forest. It really captured the emotions that I had when I read the book, but they didn't follow the story as well as they had in other movies.
I will tell you that I did re-read the last Harry Potter Book before going to see this movie. This may have been a mistake, however, even if I had not done so, there are things I would have noticed anyway. I understand most of the reasoning from a cinematic perspective, but that doesn't mean I agree with it. I wish they had shown the events from when the enter the Room of Requirement until the end more true to the story as it was written. There were a lot of "shortcuts" taken, which again I understand, but did not care for. The way they get to the Gray Lady, how they handle the students in the castle, where Snape dies, the Kings Crossing scene (they leave a LOT of back story out, but they never explained it before either, so it made no sense to add it in now), the duel between Molly and Bellatrix, and the final scene with Harry and Voldermort. I will always like the books better (as in any series), but I am still pleased with the movie representation of the book.
And so the ending is bittersweet, but the characters will continue to live in the books and in the movies. I only hope that someday when I have kids, they will still enjoy the stories just as much as I continue to do.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Busy Sunday
I have been awake now for 12 hours today and I feel like it's been a very busy 12 hours. Maybe productive is a better word here, I am not sure.
I woke up to rain and hopped out of bed. It's possible that "hopped" is an exaggeration, but I did get up and moving in a relatively non-slow motion. I came downstairs and enjoyed a fresh donut and cup of coffee that Rob had gotten for me.
I got to the shower to find that I had hit the jackpot on having hot water. Some back story needed here: Apparently one of the two hot water boilers for the building is broken, aka, not making hot water. So for the past week and then some, it's been a crap shoot as to whether we have hot water or not. During the week I imagine I am the first one in our building up so I never worry about it then, but the weekends is another story. Yesterday I was not so lucky. I hope they fix that crap soon.
I hopped online and found that my team had made some sort of progress with our project for school and I went about doing other things. After spending the full day yesterday working on a section I wasn't assigned, I wasn't really in the mood to do more.
It started snowing down here just like it would have at home. That was pretty amazing. My cats were highly entertaining with their inability to catch snowflakes from the wrong side of the door. We may have had an inch or so stick, but it quickly melted. It's supposed to be really cold and wet tomorrow morning. I am glad I drive in when very few other people are out.
I finally managed to get all of my cookbooks into the binders I cleaned out last weekend. I went through old recipes and chucked out a lot of stuff. Some of it was duplication of things I already had written down twice or typed up and never got rid of the originals. I am just trying to get organized.
I went through my book collection to find books I was willing to part with. Surprisingly, there were a lot. I really don't want to ever re-read "The Devil Wears Prada" or "Goodnight Nobody" again, nor do I find the book "10,000 Dreams Interpureted" very useful. With my cleared out bookshelf space I was finally able to put these magazine holders I have had for over a year in a proper place.
I grabbed and enormous pile of magazines that have been collecting dust (literally) for over a year and started to go through those as I watched Beauty Shop. It was an ok movie, but I felt like I was multi-tasking so kudos for me. I got about half way through the stack. I also did the laundry and other household chores that I feel the need to do on Sunday to put the house right for the week.
At 5pm I went back to check on group work and found they were stuck again and sat down for an hour to plow through some stuff. This is frustrating to me because I had spelled out where to get all this information and how to do it. I feel like they aren't even trying.
I made dinner, well, technically, Rob made half the dinner. We needed sauce to go with raviolis. Delicious! I called my parents, made my coffee for tomorrow and now I am going to read my book and head to bed. It really has been a full day.
I woke up to rain and hopped out of bed. It's possible that "hopped" is an exaggeration, but I did get up and moving in a relatively non-slow motion. I came downstairs and enjoyed a fresh donut and cup of coffee that Rob had gotten for me.
I got to the shower to find that I had hit the jackpot on having hot water. Some back story needed here: Apparently one of the two hot water boilers for the building is broken, aka, not making hot water. So for the past week and then some, it's been a crap shoot as to whether we have hot water or not. During the week I imagine I am the first one in our building up so I never worry about it then, but the weekends is another story. Yesterday I was not so lucky. I hope they fix that crap soon.
I hopped online and found that my team had made some sort of progress with our project for school and I went about doing other things. After spending the full day yesterday working on a section I wasn't assigned, I wasn't really in the mood to do more.
It started snowing down here just like it would have at home. That was pretty amazing. My cats were highly entertaining with their inability to catch snowflakes from the wrong side of the door. We may have had an inch or so stick, but it quickly melted. It's supposed to be really cold and wet tomorrow morning. I am glad I drive in when very few other people are out.
I finally managed to get all of my cookbooks into the binders I cleaned out last weekend. I went through old recipes and chucked out a lot of stuff. Some of it was duplication of things I already had written down twice or typed up and never got rid of the originals. I am just trying to get organized.
I went through my book collection to find books I was willing to part with. Surprisingly, there were a lot. I really don't want to ever re-read "The Devil Wears Prada" or "Goodnight Nobody" again, nor do I find the book "10,000 Dreams Interpureted" very useful. With my cleared out bookshelf space I was finally able to put these magazine holders I have had for over a year in a proper place.
I grabbed and enormous pile of magazines that have been collecting dust (literally) for over a year and started to go through those as I watched Beauty Shop. It was an ok movie, but I felt like I was multi-tasking so kudos for me. I got about half way through the stack. I also did the laundry and other household chores that I feel the need to do on Sunday to put the house right for the week.
At 5pm I went back to check on group work and found they were stuck again and sat down for an hour to plow through some stuff. This is frustrating to me because I had spelled out where to get all this information and how to do it. I feel like they aren't even trying.
I made dinner, well, technically, Rob made half the dinner. We needed sauce to go with raviolis. Delicious! I called my parents, made my coffee for tomorrow and now I am going to read my book and head to bed. It really has been a full day.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
My Birthday and ME!
Some may know, I had a birthday recently. It's finally pushing me into the late twenties, but I am protesting that it's mid twenties until March. Mostly I don't care about that. Although I do know that youth is something to treasure and am trying to enjoy it.
Last year I mentioned the birthday week and this year I am happy to say, I executed it quite well. Andrea and Tyler's visit kicked it off and had a blast with them. Having only a 3 day work week was pretty fabulous. Wednesday I went out after work with some co-workers to help celebrate with a happy hour (or four). Thursday by default was a celebration day because it was my sister's birthday.
My actually birthday fell on an off Friday which was a pretty spectacular bonus. I slept til I felt like getting up, then watched TV for an hour or so and ate breakfast. I took my time getting ready and headed out for my spa appointment. I stopped over to Borders first to use my gift certificate I received. I got the next Jasper Fforde book and one I mentioned before, I Was Told There'd Be Cake.
The spa was lovely although sadly, it was not the best massage I have ever gotten, however it was still relaxing. I also spent an additional hour in their locker area in the steam room, then shower, and getting ready. If I am going to spend that kind of money, I plan to use their facility to my advantage and pamper myself.
I headed over to Vinings for some ice cream from Cold Stone for lunch and shopping. I was quite successful on both counts. I even landed on a surprise bonus round at Ann Taylor Loft. Every now and then they have sales for about a month where if you buy $50 worth of stuff you get a $25 off coupon in the next month when you spend $50. They were double the coupons so when you spent $50, you got 2 $25 coupons. My kind of deal.
Rob and I went to dinner out to the Thai Dinner. I didn't really have any particular place in mind, but I had been craving Thai food. Not to mention, they wait on you hand and foot and there's never a long wait for your food.
All in all, it was a fantastic day. I only hope next year is just as nice. :)
Last year I mentioned the birthday week and this year I am happy to say, I executed it quite well. Andrea and Tyler's visit kicked it off and had a blast with them. Having only a 3 day work week was pretty fabulous. Wednesday I went out after work with some co-workers to help celebrate with a happy hour (or four). Thursday by default was a celebration day because it was my sister's birthday.
My actually birthday fell on an off Friday which was a pretty spectacular bonus. I slept til I felt like getting up, then watched TV for an hour or so and ate breakfast. I took my time getting ready and headed out for my spa appointment. I stopped over to Borders first to use my gift certificate I received. I got the next Jasper Fforde book and one I mentioned before, I Was Told There'd Be Cake.
The spa was lovely although sadly, it was not the best massage I have ever gotten, however it was still relaxing. I also spent an additional hour in their locker area in the steam room, then shower, and getting ready. If I am going to spend that kind of money, I plan to use their facility to my advantage and pamper myself.
I headed over to Vinings for some ice cream from Cold Stone for lunch and shopping. I was quite successful on both counts. I even landed on a surprise bonus round at Ann Taylor Loft. Every now and then they have sales for about a month where if you buy $50 worth of stuff you get a $25 off coupon in the next month when you spend $50. They were double the coupons so when you spent $50, you got 2 $25 coupons. My kind of deal.
Rob and I went to dinner out to the Thai Dinner. I didn't really have any particular place in mind, but I had been craving Thai food. Not to mention, they wait on you hand and foot and there's never a long wait for your food.
All in all, it was a fantastic day. I only hope next year is just as nice. :)
Sunday, August 17, 2008
My Summer Reading
Over the summer, I was not exactly diligent about updating my reading list on the side bar. I did pretty well, then faltered a bit. I thought I would fill you in though on my recent reads. You can pretend to care. :)The last one that was accurately recorded in the side bar was Men in Arms by Terry Pratchett. That was better than Guards! Guards! which came before it. So that was pleasant. It was like murder mystery meets bizzaro Disc World. I appreciated the odd twist in the book series.
The book that followed next is an annual read, but still my favorite and inspired my blog name, Stardust by Neil Gaiman. Every time I read it I just fall in love with it all over again.
Then I decided to get back to the next book in The Cat Who series, The Cat Who Played the Brahms. It was a refreshing book because the setting of it was not in the main characters normal town so the books mood was changed. These books are quick enough that I can read them within a week usually, but good entertainment value. :)
Then I decided to go a different route and try an author I had never heard of. Hooray libraries! This book is by Joanne Fluke and it's called Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder. I really enjoyed it. It was one of those books I kept wanting to pick up and read more of and even when I am too tired to read, don't have the sense to stop. :) There are quite a few cookie recipes included in his book too. She has written a series of dessert named novels too. I am hoping I can find the next one at the library.
And I have been reading bits and parts of the two wedding book resources I have managed to accumulate from a purchase and a friend. Here's hoping I will have learned valuable information when I am done. :P
Ok, now onto some future ones! We stopped in Borders in Rochester quickly before heading to the airport to see if there was anything worth picking up for the couple of hours we had to entertain ourselves. There was a book that drew my attention, I Was Told There'd be Cake by Sloane Crosley. It's a collection of essays, but the cover seemed to promise wit and humor among them. I am hoping to find it at the library as well. I am starting to shift from "why not buy it" to "see if it's at the library first" mode. Saving me some serious $$, which is good because I have a better place to put it now. :)
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
The Cat Who Could....
I just finished reading The Cat Who Could Read Backwards by Lilian Jackson Braun. This was part of my, "let's pull a random book from the library that sounds interesting to read" phase. I have seen the The Cat Who Could... books before and always thought, that may be neat to read, but never picked it up. Part of the reason I love libraries. Totally risk free. You hate it, bring it back and get something else. All it cost was a trip there.
This particular book is the first one in the series. I always try to read the first in a series if I can. In some series, it doesn't matter what order you read them in, but I figure the first sets up general character traits and prior books are always being referenced back to even in subtle ways. I get annoyed when I miss inside jokes.
If you like murder mysteries I would say give it a shot. It's a little odd, but maybe that's why I liked it so much. At least I got out of my comfort zone with books and read something off the beaten path. :)
This particular book is the first one in the series. I always try to read the first in a series if I can. In some series, it doesn't matter what order you read them in, but I figure the first sets up general character traits and prior books are always being referenced back to even in subtle ways. I get annoyed when I miss inside jokes.
If you like murder mysteries I would say give it a shot. It's a little odd, but maybe that's why I liked it so much. At least I got out of my comfort zone with books and read something off the beaten path. :)
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
The Boxcar Children
For some reason over the past month this book has come up a few times. Just random conversations about books you read when you were younger. This was always a favorite of mine and it's probably because the book read like they were playing "fort" or "house" all day in an old boxcar. To a nine year old, that's awesome.
On a recent visit to the library to help find some books for Rob's mother while she's in town, I stumbled across it. Rob checked it out for me. :) It was like a little kid getting candy in a store. So exciting! I am hoping that once I finish reading it, I will get that same happiness like I did when I read it when I was younger.
Here's hoping no bubbles will burst. :)
*UPDATE* - It was just the same book I had remembered. Hooray! Now onward to The Fourth Bear!
On a recent visit to the library to help find some books for Rob's mother while she's in town, I stumbled across it. Rob checked it out for me. :) It was like a little kid getting candy in a store. So exciting! I am hoping that once I finish reading it, I will get that same happiness like I did when I read it when I was younger.
Here's hoping no bubbles will burst. :)
*UPDATE* - It was just the same book I had remembered. Hooray! Now onward to The Fourth Bear!
Sunday, December 16, 2007
A Year in Review for Books
One of the first blogs entries I made was about my book reading list I wanted to keep. To my surprise, I actually kept it up! It's kind of neat now to look back over it. I separated them out by month and if I had already read it once. I have read a solid 26 books this year and have a good feeling about completing at least two more before the year is over. That's an average of a book every two weeks. Not too shabby. Now because I am a real dork, here are some stats.
I have re-read 8 of those books. Six of them were the Harry Potter Series that I was trying to re-read before the last book came out. And four of those were read in July along with the final book making July the month I read the most in.
The book that took the longest to get through was Jane Eyre, but it was worth the read to get into Jasper Fforde's works. One of the books that I liked best was Love, Rosie by Cecelia Ahern. The same author wrote another book that is a new favorite called, PS, I love you, which is now about to be butchered by Hollywood. That's two of my favorite books this year (Stardust was the other) that Hollywood has made into a movie. Writers strike my foot, they are out of ideas and are now pillaging books.
I read books by 10 new to me authors. Some I liked some I didn't. But I enjoyed it all the same. I can also tell by my sheet what months I was super busy with other thing (Halloween costume) and didn't have as much time to devote to reading. Apparently I had some time on my hands in July and August.
I also wanted to share with you my personal library which is stored online. You can see what books I own and if I have rated them or not. If anyone would like to borrow one of them, I would encourage you to tell me and I can ship it to you or bring it with me the next time we meet. Happy Readings to you!
I have re-read 8 of those books. Six of them were the Harry Potter Series that I was trying to re-read before the last book came out. And four of those were read in July along with the final book making July the month I read the most in.
The book that took the longest to get through was Jane Eyre, but it was worth the read to get into Jasper Fforde's works. One of the books that I liked best was Love, Rosie by Cecelia Ahern. The same author wrote another book that is a new favorite called, PS, I love you, which is now about to be butchered by Hollywood. That's two of my favorite books this year (Stardust was the other) that Hollywood has made into a movie. Writers strike my foot, they are out of ideas and are now pillaging books.
I read books by 10 new to me authors. Some I liked some I didn't. But I enjoyed it all the same. I can also tell by my sheet what months I was super busy with other thing (Halloween costume) and didn't have as much time to devote to reading. Apparently I had some time on my hands in July and August.
I also wanted to share with you my personal library which is stored online. You can see what books I own and if I have rated them or not. If anyone would like to borrow one of them, I would encourage you to tell me and I can ship it to you or bring it with me the next time we meet. Happy Readings to you!
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Harry Potter
The Harry Potter craze is back! This month is probably going to be the highest grossing month for J.K. Rowling yet. What's another billion or so to the richest woman in England? The fifth movie, Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix, is currently in theaters. Also in one weeks time, the most prized final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows, is released for public reading. I am a huge Harry Potter fan. I believe this to be a glorious month as well. Of course in preparation for this month, I have been doing an obscene amount of reading.
I have chosen to re-read the entire Harry Potter series. So far I am about 3/4 of the way through the fifth book. Even though I have not finished the book, this did not prevent me from watching the movie, however it would have been nice to have finished it. If I could only skip out of work for a few days. Hmmm.... :P I did manage to see the latest movie on opening day. Rob picked up tickets on his way home from work for the 9pm showing. I told him we better get there an hour early as I have previously gone to see other Harry Potter movies on opening day and you are better off getting there early. At 8pm we pulled into the theater and promptly got in line taking spots 5&6 in the line. About 10 minutes later the line erupted behind us and then proceeded to get so long is started to snake around the lobby. Experience has paid off! We got decent seats and I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. I won't put spoilers in here because that's not my style, but it was really well done. A little cheesy in a few parts, but on a whole, it was fabulous. I want to see it again.
I have also been spending some time trying to fill a co-worker in on the details of the Harry Potter series. He is a movie watcher only which I feel is quite sad because these books are so easy to read. I have lent him my fourth book and picked out the last few pages for him to read so he understands what is going on and the why it's happening. I am sure Monday I will be asked for more back story which I am happy to provide. I think the people in my office think I am nuts. I am ok with that.
Now I have 7 days to read the remaining series before the 7th book hits my hands. I probably won't do a whole lot next weekend except read. I can't wait to find out what happens. I have been told I must really be motivated to be reading all of these books again. I say it's a fine line between being motivated and being slightly retarded. :P It will pay off in the end.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Digital Fortress
I just finished reading Dan Brown's Digital Fortress less than 12 hours ago. I have read Angels and Demons, Da Vinci Code, and Deception Point by him as well. I enjoyed those books and that is why I plucked Digital Fortress from the used book store as another read.
I did not enjoy this book nearly as much as I enjoyed the others by him. I don't know if this was because the book was legitimately cheesy or if my book reading has matured and I need something with more substance. I believe it may have been a combo of the two.
Basically the book is about cryptography and what would happen if the NSA got a code it was unable to break. The topic sounded interesting enough, but in actual execution it lacked the thrill of what it promised. Since not everyone just knows about cryptography, it had to be explained. I don't believe this was done all that well. Then he made the elaborate scheme of who is the bad guy and after reading three of his books already, I knew who it was going to be. That took some fun out of it. Also, he tried to have a romantic undertone in the book which didn't really fit. The guy of the relationship was being chased in the book for about 10 chapters. That sucked because it just kept going. The real kicker though was how it ended. They had gotten one last clue to figure out in order to "save the world" and I got to the end before they did which is particularly annoying. I know some authors do it on purpose, but he doesn't strike me as the type. I may be wrong.
So overall, it was just ok. I wish I had just stuck with reading Harry Potter to gear up for the 7th book, but it was a nice break I guess. Oh well. :) It will at least be added to the list of books I have read this year, good, bad, or indifferent.
Saturday, March 24, 2007
The Eyre Affair
I usually try to give my two cents on any book I finish within a short time of finishing it, but sometimes it waits. I had just finished The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde not too long ago but then got carried away with other stuff so here you go! This was the book I read Jane Eyre for and quiet honestly it was nice to know what was going on for once. So even though Jane Eyre was a little bit on harder side of reading, it was worth it. The Eyre Affair is about the future where they have dodo's as pets and people can jump into books and join their favorite characters in their stories. Not likely to be in our particular future any time soon, but it was fun to read about. The tie to Jane Eyre is when a criminal decides to hide in the book and the detective goes after him. It's interesting to see how she manages to hide out of the main story but right along side of it. If anyone has read Jane Eyre and not read The Eyre Affair, I would recommend it. It was a fun book and a quick read. I blame that for my lack of sleep a few weeks ago. I was just trying to finish the book but I traded in a good nights sleep to do so. The sacrifices we all make.
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Book Review
One of my New Year's resolutions was to keep a reading list of everything I have read this year. Mostly because I look back on last year and think, I wonder how many books I read? Why not keep a list? Brilliant!
I just finished Life A La Mode by Linda Lenhoff. This one I borrowed from the library and was a fairly quick read. It's classified as an adult fiction and is mostly about a woman who has a sister who has been engaged 7 times, divorced parents dating respective other people, and a somewhat lame love life. The book wasn't bad, but it just seemed like the main character didn't really do much. There didn't seem to be a time line associated with the book's pace at all and I was always confused at how much time had passed. It's a good book for little thinking and has an entertainment value because there are funny moments and like I said it's not horrible. I would mark it as a beach week read. If you got distracted with the hot tub, you aren't missing much.
I just finished Life A La Mode by Linda Lenhoff. This one I borrowed from the library and was a fairly quick read. It's classified as an adult fiction and is mostly about a woman who has a sister who has been engaged 7 times, divorced parents dating respective other people, and a somewhat lame love life. The book wasn't bad, but it just seemed like the main character didn't really do much. There didn't seem to be a time line associated with the book's pace at all and I was always confused at how much time had passed. It's a good book for little thinking and has an entertainment value because there are funny moments and like I said it's not horrible. I would mark it as a beach week read. If you got distracted with the hot tub, you aren't missing much.
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