Bettina's Book Club

Bible Book 2: Exodus

2012-01-15T16:10:00.000-08:00

Jan. 9-Jan. 15. Finished reading Exodus in 7 days

Moses and the plagues (aka, the Passover Story)

I know this story pretty much back to front, because we retell it every year during the Passover Seder. But it was still interesting to see the Bible's take, to see what "really" happened. For example, I learned that when Moses tells Pharaoh to "Let my people go", he was 80 years old! Pretty brave of the old guy to go about rescuing the hundreds of thousands of Hebrew slaves under Egypt's mighty rule. Especially when you realize that they had all been slaves for four hundred years!!! O,O Imagine, four hundred years, and the status quo never changed, until Moses came along!

After Moses demonstrates to the Egyptians that God is all powerful (sending them plagues of frogs, hail, darkness, etc. to prove the point), the Jews are free to go and Moses leads the way through the Red Sea (yeah, I have never believed that this could really happen, but I'll go with it) and through the wilderness. Since they rushed out of Egypt so fast, they didn't have time to bake their bread properly, so they carried the dough on their backs and the sun baked it, which is why we eat the traditional Passover food Matzah, (unleavened cracker-like bread) today.

Jews in the desert

God lead the people as a pillar of smoke by day, and a pillar of fire by night, so they knew which way to go. When the matzah ran out, God fed the people by making a doughy substance (which they decided to call manna) fall from the sky every morning, which would last them enough for the day. That was pretty smart and generous of God, I should say.

The 10 commandments and other rules

So about halfway into the book, all the Jews camp near the famous Mount Sinai, where God calls Moses up to meet with him and have a little chat. This is where God talks about the 10 basic commandments that everyone should follow. He doesn't stop there, though. There's an entire list of other ordinances and rules to follow in relation to slaves, animals, wives, thieves, and lots of other things, which goes on for a couple of chapters straight! God is very specific about this stuff, I gotta say. But He's not done with Moses yet. Oh no, there's much more God needs to say...

The tabernacle

For 3 long chapters, God says how He wants everyone to collect gold, silver, precious gems, rich fabric and cloth in many colors, accacia wood, and other stones and materials, and make him this holy structure, this tabernacle. He tells Moses exactly how the thing must be built, how big it must be, how it must be plated with solid pure gold, how there must be two golden cherubim (cupid-like angels) decorating the sides, how there will be curtains all around it that are so long... on and on and on, right down to the last detail! It's an entire verbal blueprint, just... ugh, so much reading! >_<

THEN God describes how all the stuff that goes inside the tabernacle, like the 7-pronged candle stick (aka, a menorah),the table, the bowls and all the other furniture are plated in gold and silver and brass, and it's just amazing how specific God is! Just remember, Moses is still up there on the mountain, and he's listening to God tell him everything. And he's STILL not done yet!

Costume specs

God needs some priests, so Moses' older brother, Aaron (who helped him a lot in Egypt) and his sons will do nicely. God goes on to order Moses precisely what he wants their costumes to look like. There's all these separate pieces, like a breastplate, a robe, a tunic, a girdle, and there's all these carved stones and gems to be set into the clothes, and gold chain to be wrapped around it, etc, etc, etc, you get the idea. This goes on for a whole chapter.

Ceremony specs

Finally, God specifies exactly how Aaron and his sons will perform their holy ceremonies. I never had any idea that God was so darn particular! The way he wants these sheep sacrificed, how there's always these feasts, how the candle stick should always be burning, the ingredients needed to make the holiest oil and incense, and all that! I mean, come on! What do you really need all this stuff for, God?! It's madness! (sigh) But hey, since it's God, I'll just go with it.

Golden calf God

Here's where the story picks up and gets engaging again. The people start getting impatient with Moses, because he's been up on the mountain "talking to God" for days and days and they don't know when he's coming down, or if he ever will. So they fashion a statue of a calf out of their gold earrings and other jewelry, call it the God that rescued them from Egypt, and throw a big party. Okayyyy... pretty dumb move by the people, if you ask me. Did they forget so quickly how they had manna rain down for them every morning? A calf idol can't do that. Oh well.

So God realizes what the people have done, and Moses comes down from the mountain so angry that he breaks the two stone tablets with God's commandments that he'd taken. God considers doing away with all these unfaithful and ungrateful people, but luckily Moses reasons with Him that He may have made all these rules, but the people didn't know about them yet. Can you really blame someone for breaking rules if they didn't know about the rules? Also, God promised Jacob that his generations would be as numerous as the stars, so what good would it be to wipe all the Jews out? So God gives them a second chance.

The people follow God's commands

So the rest of the book is Moses going back up the mountain and carving out God's commandments into stone tablets again, and then coming down and telling everyone what God wants to be done. So they gather up all the materials that were asked for and start following out God's ultra-specific instructions, with the tabernacle, the furniture, the priest costumes, the incense and everything, and I had to read exactly how they followed God's instructions almost entirely all... over... again! Honestly, talk about filler! I flipped through the last chapters of the book pretty quickly, since it was practically the same text, and that's where we end.

Might I add that whereas Genesis was particularly clear about when all the stories took place, Exodus was extremely vague about dates and things. However, with the Jews being slaves for 400 years, and knowing that they followed Moses through the desert for about 40 years, that gave me a good clue that Exodus ends somewhere around 2770 years after Creation. Great.

Exodus was nowhere as entertaining as Genesis was, but at least the first part of it was interesting. The next book in the series, Leviticus, is something I'm interested in reading, because I don't know it as well as the first two. Of course, I hear that it's full of even more rules, so I don't know... Well, at least it has less chapters!

Bible Book 1: Genesis

2012-01-07T09:18:00.000-08:00

Jan. 2-Jan. 7. Finished reading Genesis in 6 days

Creation, Adam and Eve
So God created the entire world and everything in it in 6 days, and rested for the 7th day. Awesome. You guys are probably all familiar with how that goes down, so there's no need to bring it up again. The story of the first man and woman, Adam and Eve (though in the version I'm reading, they're not named until after they leave the Garden of Eden), was also quite interesting, but not really anything new for me.

What really caught my interest (even though at face value it seems kinda boring) is that after the story of Cain and Abel (Adam's first 2 kids), the Bible goes about describing, in VERY great detail, the lineage of Adam's descendants. How old everybody was when they had the son next in line, and how long they lived to be when they finally died. Get this: Adam lived to be 930 years old!!! I'm serious, that's what the Bible says! O_O And nearly all of his family that came after him lived for about that long too, between 800 and 900 years old! I could barely believe this! To think that people used to have this kind of lifespan in biblical times! (Of course then God said, in a nutshell, "I can't have people living practically forever, so I'm going to cut their lifespan to about 120 years. That'll be enough for them.")

Noah and the Ark
With some careful calculation, I discovered that Noah was an 9th generation man, after the very first man, Adam. That was a pretty long time after creation. Also with the huge generation span, hundreds and hundreds of years had passed, so it makes sense that the world was populated with tons of people that God wanted to get rid of by flood. The story itself I know, but the details were quite interesting. God tells Noah exactly how big to build the ark. He tells him to take the animals on two by two (except for the livestock, those he brought on seven by seven. You know, so the lions and wolves and other carniverous animals could have something to eat on the boat? God sure thought of everything). The flood may have lasted for 40 days, but they stayed on the ark for MUCH longer than that, because it still rained a little bit, and the waters took a long time to go down. I think Noah, his family, and all the animals stayed on that boat for a good few months, actually. So yeah, imagine how grateful everyone was to finally get back onto dry land! ^_^

Here's another something I noticed: When God created Adam and was telling him what he was allowed to eat, God said he could only eat fruits from the trees and herbs from the ground and stuff like that. Effectively, God meant for man to be a vegetarian. So then you see that Adam and his generations live for hundreds and hundreds of years thanks to this diet. After the flood however, and Noah gets all the animals off the ark, God tells Noah that the animals are grateful and fearful of him, because he saved them from drowning, so God gave him permission to have them as food if he wanted (only kosher animals, of course). After that, there was quite a noticeable decrease in the age lengths of people. They still lived to impressive ages, but they were much shorter lives... Because people now ate meat! Draw your own conclusions.

Tower of Babel
This story didn't take too long, but I wish it was longer. Two of Noah's sons' generations were part of this story, and in the city of Babel, everyone decides, hey, let's build a tower up to the sky! God notices that and sees that when people put all their heads together, they can accomplish a lot, even build a tower up to heaven. So what does God do? He makes people speak in different tongues from one another, so no one can understand each other and the tower never gets finished.

Abraham and Sarah, birth of Ishmael and Issac
The bible goes on another fast-forwarding through the generations rampage, until it gets to Abraham and his wife, Sarah. (This is about another ten generations after the flood, for those who are curious.) For the longest time, Abraham and Sarah can't have children, so Sarah lets him have her handmaid so Abraham can at least have an heir (because God kept promising Abraham that he'd have an heir to bestow all his riches to and his children and children's children would be as numerous as the stars in the sky). So Abraham and the maid produces Ishmael, and Sarah gets bitter and jealous of the maid, because she can't have children.

Then God comes to Sarah and promises that she will bear a son, and she has the nerve to laugh at God, because she and Abraham are so old, how could one imagine them having children together? But surprise surprise, God was right, and she gives birth to Issac (at about 90 years old!!!). So she kicks the maid and Ishmael out of their house. That was pretty mean of her. 0,o But don't worry. God keeps Ishmael and his mother safe, and I think he actually becomes the forefather of all the Muslims, so he made quite a name for himself.

Issac and Rebekah's romantic meeting
This was one of my favorite stories, because it was one I wasn't very familiar with before starting this project. When Issac gets old enough, Abraham tells one of his servants to go out and look for a bride for Issac. So the servant goes to a village with many camels and things, and parks near this well, where all the women come to draw water. The servant decides that the first woman who offers to give he and the camels a drink will be the woman he brings home to Issac.

The whole story pans out like a fairy tale, almost. It's kind of repetitive, but also quite romantic, especially in the very end, when the servant is taking Rebekah (she was The One, as far as the servant was concerned) back to Issac by camel. Issac was just hanging out in a field, minding his own business, when he sees a beautiful girl coming towards his family's camp by camel. He asks the servant who she is, and is told that she's his future bride. Rebekah then sees Issac and thinks he's a pretty good-looking guy too. So they fall in love and get married. It's the original "and they lived happily ever after." I loved it. ^_^

Esau and Jacob
Issac and Rebekah's twin sons, Esau and Jacob, made for a very interesting pair of characters. For one thing, I learned that Jacob was more clever and mean than I thought. He cheats his older brother out of his birthright in exchange for some soup when Esau is working hard in the fields one day and says he's dying of hunger. Then when their father is old and dying, Rebekah tells Jacob to pretend to be his brother by wearing his clothes and hairy goat skin on his hands (because Esau's a rough and hairy guy), so that he'll receive Issac's blessing. It's just so weird, thinking that all Jews are descended from this scheming twin.

Jacob marrying Leah, Rachel, and their maids, and having 13 kids
Later, when Jacob runs away from home (to get away from his sure to be angry twin brother), he comes across the beautiful Rachel, and he asks her father if he could marry her. He can, but only if Jacob works for him and keeps up the flocks and such for seven years. Jacob puts in all the work, and at the end of his service he finally gets married, but to the wrong daughter (Rachel's older sister, Leah). Jacob says that wasn't fair, but the father says, "Hey, we don't marry our kids out of birth order. Leah's the elder, so you get her. If you still want Rachel, you'll have to work for me seven more years." So since Jacob loved Rachel, that's what he did. Man, that's dedication.

He doesn't only marry Leah and Rachel, btw, but also both their hand maids, so he has 4 wives. If you know your bible, you already know that Jacob has 12 sons. Leah actually gave him over half of those sons (plus a daughter, Dinah, who isn't mentioned too much, but you can find a great fictional story about her in "The Red Tent", by Anitia Diamant. I read it long ago, and thought it was awesome) while the other wives only produced 2 each. Rachel, Jacob's favorite wife, gave birth to Joseph, and died while giving birth to his brother Benjamin.

The long story of Joseph
The last third of the book of Genesis then decides to center on one character, Joseph. It's incredible how many stories this guy has. What a life! At 17, his father gives him a beautiful coat of many colors, and his brothers get jealous of him. One day they trap him and consider actually killing him, because he's such a bother, but then they decide to sell him to the Egyptians as a slave instead. They put goat blood on his pretty coat and bring it back Jacob, who concludes that Joseph must have been torn to shreds by the wolves or something, so he mourns his favorite son for a long time.

Meanwhile, Joseph goes to live with an Egyptian officer, who treats him well enough, and Joseph actually offers to keep his master's house and finances in order, and he does such a good job that he makes the guy wealthy. Then his master's wife tries to get Joseph to sleep with her (because she's a cougar?), but Joseph knows that's wrong, so he runs away from her. The wife gets angry and tells everyone that Joseph tried to sleep with her anyway, so he gets sent to the dungeon.

It turns out that Joseph has a talent for interpreting dreams, though, so when the Pharoh has dreams that no one else can tell him the meaning of, he sends for Joseph, who tells him that there's going to be 7 years of riches and plenty, followed by 7 years of famine. He advises Pharoh to prepare for the famine by saving all the food up in stores, so when the famine comes, the Egyptians will still have with what to eat and live. Joseph turns out to be right, so Pharoh makes him a big advisor and gives him lots of power and riches.

During the famine, Joseph's brothers come to ask him for food for their families. He recognizes them, but keeps his identity a secret from them at first. He asks that they give him their youngest brother, Benjamin, in exchange for enough food to keep them fed over the famine. The brothers go back to Jacob and tell him, but Jacob is reluctant to give Benjamin up, because it was Rachel's only other son, and if he left, Jacob thought he'd surely die of sadness. In the end he does let Benjamin go, and when the brothers next see Joseph, they tell him what their father said, how he didn't want to let Benjamin go because his brother was thought to be dead and he couldn't part with Benjamin.

Joseph realizes that his brothers really care about their father and feel sorry for doing wrong by Joseph. So he reveals himself to them and says, "Hey guys, it's me, Joseph! I didn't die, I made a great life for myself in Egypt. I know you guys hated me long ago, but it's okay, I forgive you now. God meant for all this to happen. How about you bring our father and all your wives and families to come to live with me, in the riches of Egypt? I'm sure Pharoh won't mind." Lucky for him, Pharoh doesn't. So everyone moves in to live with Joseph, and Jacob happily gets to see his son again before he dies. The book of Genesis finally ends when Joseph dies at the ripe old age of 110 (roughly 2300 years after Creation, according to my calculations!)

Now on to the book of Exodus, which will talk about Moses and stuff! I'm excited to read that

Reading the Bible

2012-01-01T08:17:00.000-08:00

As one of my resolutions for 2012, I have decided that, in addition to any books I might read this year, I will dedicate a bit of every day to reading the Bible, and I will finish all 39 books of the Old Testament before the year ends. This decision isn't for any particular reason, spiritual or no. I'm not that religious. Really, I'm just curious about reading the Bible because it's the best selling book in the world, EVER, and I've never actually sat down and read it before. I'm familiar with most of the stories, but I figured there must be something the Bible can teach me.

So yeah, if I have any followers left, I hope you'll join me on my little Bible reading journey here. ^_^ I don't mean any disrespect to the religious people, but I'm going to treat the Bible like it was any other novel series, and just give my honest opinions about the books. I'll see if they hold up by my story-telling standards, whether they are good enough for recommending to people.

Wish me luck, everyone! Tomorrow I'm going to dive into the first book. The one that started it all (and when I say all, I mean everything! Lol), Genesis. I didn't start the Bible today, because I've been partying all day (beginning of 2012, y'all!) and I'm just too tired. But I'll get a fresh start tomorrow.

December Books

2011-12-31T14:41:00.000-08:00

The Rainbow Boys Trilogy (which consists of Rainbow Boys, Rainbow High, and Rainbow Road) was, in my opinion, a totally awesome series to read! It centers around these 3 gay guys who all go to school together. Every alternating chapter is told through one of their points of view. Each of their personalities were really interesting, and it was fun reading about what happened to them.

The Death Cure, the last book in the Maze Runner Trilogy (unless you count the prequel James Dashner is rumored to be working on), made a pretty good ending to the series. I hadn't read the other books, Maze Runner and Scorch Trials, for a long time, but it brought me up to speed quickly, and I cared a lot about what happened to the characters I remembered and loved. It was quite tough, because a couple of my favorite characters (not gonna say who!) died, and Thomas, the main character, gets completely torn up over them. Near the end, it kind of reminded me of how Harry Potter ended, because (spoiler alert!) Thomas is required to give himself up basically to die, and it very nearly looks like he's going to die, and he accepts it. But despite that, the story has a pretty happy ending, and it's open, so the reader is left to decide what happens next.

All in all, I'm glad I read these books, and highly recommend them. Sorry these were rushed reviews. =P But now it's a new year tomorrow! YAY!!! ^_^

Books I've been procrastinating reviewing.

2011-11-30T07:42:00.000-08:00

I'm sorry that I've let it come to this. I have such a bad habit now of forgetting to review the books that I read. I'm not even sure if I have all the books I've read this month listed here. I may have forgotten one or two. I wish I could remember them all...

Well hey, it's not like I'm really writing for anyone besides myself these days. I don't see anyone hanging on my every word, which is a little sad for me... but moving on. This is Bettina's Book Club. Even if Bettina is the only one in this club, I'm still going to post about these books, if only for her sake.

I won't go into too much detail, but will just give you the basic idea and impression I got out of each book.

Bossypants, by Tina Fey ~ I read this so long ago, I hardly have anything to say about it. But I'll say a few things about it anyway. It was random, it was funny, it's a great representation of who Tina Fey is as a personality. It was a great reflection on her, snarky and sarcastic and clever writing. My favorite part, I think, was when she talked about being Sarah Palin for SNL. What an experience that must have been for her. I also liked that when she taked about how, in her teen years and well later on, she was/ s great friends with gays and lesbians. Whoo!

There are quite a few chapters where it's simply Tina writing jokes, making excuses to tell funny stories. Hey, I liked her stuff. She has a great sense of humor. If you like Tina, you should check out her story.

Button on Burton, by Mark Salisbury ~ It took me a while to get through this book. One reason was because my brother Adam was reading it at roughly the same time I was. He's a really huge fan of Tim Burton and his films. Really, though, I was probably just busy with other stuff. But whenever I wanted to relax and decided to pick up this biography, I enjoyed myself a lot and I always learned something great.

This book takes you through all of Burton's movies, from Pee-Wee Herman to Corpse Bride (The book was published in 2005, so yeah, it doesn't have a lot of his latest stuff), and how he felt working on each project. It was a good read, definitely something to pick up if you like Tim Burton.

The Only Ones, by Aaron Starmer ~ One of the only reasons I picked up this book was because right on the top of the cover, there was a blurb from one of my biggest author heroes of all time, James Dashner. He said, "One of the most unique, captivating books I've ever read. I was completely pulled into it's pages and they never let me go!" Hey, if Dashner says a book is that good, I HAVE to see what he's talking about, so of course I checked it out.

I wasn't disappointed either. The premise was fascinating, the characters were unique, funny, believable and relatable, and by the time I was done reading it I was thinking, "Whoa, this is some deep stuff..." I think what made me like it so much was that it felt a little like how James Dashner's Maze Runner books were written. It also reminded me of the book Gone, except the kids don't have superpowers. It's confusing at first how all the grownups disappear, but then the way they come back will really amaze you and throw you for a loop.

Half-brother, by Kenneth Oppel ~ I liked this book a whole lot, probably the best out of this bunch! Everything about it was engaging. The fact that it took place in the 70's, in Canada, and from the point of view of a teenage kid of scientists who wanted to see if they could teach a chimp, Zan, to act like a human and talk. No, not with his voice, but in ASL, American Sign Language. It was a very interesting experiment. I was quite convinced that the animal could talk.

What took precedence for me in reasons I liked it, though, was all the interaction with the kid, Ben, and the other characters. They felt real and organic. The boy's relationship with his dad, his crush on a girl at school, how he feels about having a chimpanzee, for all intents and purposes, as his little brother. By the end, you see just how much Ben loves Zan and how he changed as a character. This is a book I highly recommend.

Not that it really matters, but I also have read a couple of manga volumes from this series called Otomen. Basically it's a guy who everyone thinks is so cool, good-looking and masculine, but secretly he has girly interests, like baking, sewing, and cute things. I don't know how, but this doesn't mean he's gay. He has a crush on a girl, so he works hard to hide his inner-self and be all manly for her, but you know how those things work out in stories. It was an alright story for a while, but I don't think I'll read anymore.

I know I keep threatening to shut down this blog and never come back to it again, but then I know I'll find a great book I want to recommend to the Internet and post about it. So I don't know... Perhaps I won't do full on reviews for single books anymore. I'll probably just keep much better track of the books I read in a notebook or something, and then maybe at the end of the month I'll do a report on my best findings. How does that sound to you?

*crickets chirp*

Awesome! Sounds like a plan to me!

Another Triple Threat book review

2011-10-21T15:10:00.000-07:00

Who knows why I keep posting these book reviews, since it seems hardly anyone reads them now except for me. Because I'm too lazy to write a separate post for each book review, I'm putting them all into one post. I liked reading each of them very much in their own right. Here's what I thought after reading them:

1~ Daniel X: Game Over, by James Patterson
This is book 4 in the Daniel X series. All the way back in April (whoa, does time fly or what?!), I read the first 3 books plus the graphic novel and liked them all well enough (see the review here). Game Over was a pretty good continuation of the series, and does quite well on it's own, I think. I mean, if I had forgotten any of the characters and adventures from the previous books (which I didn't), this does a good job of reminding me and bringing me up to speed.

Basically, the new mission of our titular hero, Daniel, is to take down these 2 aliens who are trying to destroy Earth by brainwashing our video game addicted youth into becoming violent and wiping out the human species. The story takes place in Japan, which in itself is quite awesome, and the evil duo disguise themselves as Japanese video game tycoons. Things are kept interesting when Daniel makes friends with the aliens' son, who doesn't seem to have inherited his parents' vicious ways.

A fast and satisfying read. What do you expect? It's James Patterson. ^_^

2~ Anatomy of a Boyfriend, by Daria Snadowski
Now this was an amazing romance novel, a refreshingly simple girl meets boy story that felt... real. Think Twilght, only there are no vampires and werewolves, and the heroine is a more likable, relatable and strong character. Yes, she has her faults, but she doesn't act stupid. The guy is really sweet, too. When you get to the bottom of it, it's a pure example of first love and how it (unfortunately) crumbles.

Really, in a nutshell, the story goes like this (sorry for the spoilers!):

Girl embarrasses herself in front of Boy

Girl and Boy hang out at a couple of parties

Girl finds herself thinking about Boy all the time

Girl and Boy kiss

Girl and Boy officially become a couple (dating and making out)

Girl goes to separate college than Boy and tries to keep a long distance relationship

Boy breaks up with Girl, because it's not working, and Girl takes it badly (VERY badly. It was actually kind of scary how she lost her temper like she did)

Girl moves on

For those hopeless romantics, like myself, this is a great read that I highly recommend.

3~ Boyfriends with Girlfriends, by Alex Sanchez
This book was extremely interesting to get into. I was browsing the shelves in my library and happened to come across this author, Alex Sanchez, who seems to have written a lot of stories about gay teenagers and their own romances. After reading this book, I have a feeling I'm going to enjoy the rest of Sanchez's works. This has a much more complicated story than Anatomy of a Boyfriend, which made for a half slighlty confusing, half incredibly intriguing read.

See, there are two pairs of friends, and all four of them gets a little of the story told from their point of view. There's the gay guy and his friend the straight girl, and then there's the bi-sexual guy and his friend the lesbian girl. Gay and Bi try to become a couple, though Gay finds it hard to accept that Bi really is bi, since he can't relate. Bi only recently broke up with his girlfriend, and he hasn't tried having a real relationship with a guy yet. Meanwhile, Straight girl and Lesbian become really good friends. Lesbian develops a crush on Straight girl, but she already has a boyfriend, so she's off-limits. However, Straight girl is questioning her relationship with her boyfriend and keeps thinking about Lesbian. She even dreams about kissing her! So maybe she's bi too?

I loved reading this book, because I got to read about interesting bisexual characters, in addition to gay and lesbian. I don't believe I've encountered a lot of bi characters in books or movies, so it was really educational for me. In the end, you really don't care what sexual orientation the characters are, because they are truly all unique personalities and have their own hopes and dreams besides who they are attracted to. (btw, I'm hoping that my referring to the characters just by their preference and not their names doesn't offend anyone. Their names were that forgettable. It's like my referring to Girl and Boy in Anatomy of a Boyfriend. It's just an easier way to identify the characters.)

I am definitely going to try and read more books like these.

Room, by Emma Donoghue

2011-10-09T06:41:00.001-07:00

It sure looks as though I haven't been reading many books these days. Well, I did finish reading the old classic "Wuthering Heights", which took me weeks to read. But now I've finally got a fantastic book that is worth posting about. My favorite aunt, Lisa, recommended it to me. As soon as she told me about it, I looked it up on the iPad and downloaded a sample from the iBooks app. (I have discovered that reading samples is even better than borrowing from the library, because this lets me know whether a book is really worth reading or not! For example, I got to read a sample of "The Death Cure", by James Dashner, and it's not even out yet! It was just a few chapters, but it is awesome! I can't wait to read it for real!) After getting my first taste of "Room", I knew it was gold, so I reserved it from the library, and it came in surprisingly quick. Now I'm done with it.

What a great story! Told from the point of view of five-year-old Jack, it's the tale of a boy and his mother who have lived in the same small room all of his life. It's where he was born, and he has never been Outside, so all he knows are the things in Room. He addresses all the objects in the room as if they are his friends, like Bed, Wardrobe, Rocker, and TV. When he watches TV and sees all the wonderful shows, he believes that none of it is real, and everything outside of Room is Outer Space. The only real people in the entire world are him and his Ma. Except, perhaps, the mysterious and scary Old Nick, who brings them food and other important things and comes in at night sometimes...

It wasn't always like that. When Ma was nineteen, she got kidnapped by Old Nick and became trapped in Room. Seven years later, she is still in that room, and Jack has gotten so big that it is even more important that they find some way to escape. When she tells her son the entire truth, that there is a world out there, that all things from TV are actually real (except for Dora and Spongebob, of course), it is almost too much for young Jack to comprehend. Even scarier is when she proposes their escape plan, where he has to pretend that he's sick, so that Old Nick will take him Outside and Jack can run to a police and rescue Ma. It is the biggest thing Jack has ever had to do in his young life, but he does it, and the pages turn themselves as you race to find out what happens next.

I loved reading this, because it was so wildly original. The childish narration is incredibly charming with it's many grammatical errors, but you totally accept it, because after all, this is a kid telling the story. Also, this book started out with such a unique idea that really makes the reader stop and think, and look at the world a little differently. You don't come across books like that all the time. I say get your hands on this book right away and get ready to sink your teeth into an awesome story.

Chobits, plus the rest of Absolute Boyfriend

2011-09-15T13:49:00.000-07:00

I finished the manga series of Absolute Boyfriend online quite some time ago, and I've been wanting to do this review for a while. It's okay though, because I recently finished another series very much like it, so I'll just talk about both of them.

Absolute Boyfriend, as I explained in my most recent post, is about a girl who buys a hot robot who is designed and programmed to be her ideal boyfriend. She has to keep his true identity a secret from everyone while sorting through her feelings for this robot and her old childhood guy-friend who has a crush on her, but is afraid to admit it. Hilarity ensues. I loved reading this 6-book series immensely, due to the colorful characters and great premise.

In the last few volumes, however, some of the scenarios got a little crazy, things started happening without much explanation or reason, and the characters made decisions that didn't make sense for me. The ending is sort of predictable, but in a way, I guess it was satisfying... In any case, it was a cheerful, light-hearted romp that I, personally, liked a lot.

I'm still watching the Japanese tv show, or the dorama, based on the series, and enjoying that a lot. Currently I'm on episode 7 now. It keeps some elements from the manga intact, but the characters are largely different from their counterparts, and for some reason there's an emphasis on the characters trying to make the perfect desert? I guess because the setting is a company that produces fancy pastries.... Anyway, it's an entirely unique experience, one that I'm very much enjoying.

Now for the other series, Chobits. This was something my sister Annette came across when we were looking for other manga to get into. This is a very quick series to get through, at 8 volumes long, and carries the same themes of people falling in love with human-shaped robots. There are a few key differences, though. For one thing, it takes place in the future, and humans and their robots, or persecoms, live side by side. So the main character doesn't really have to keep it secret that he has a robot. Oh, and the story is told from a guy's point of view, not a girl's. The hero, Hideki, who is young and broke, finds a cute, long-haired, child-like female persecom lying around in the trash. Since they're so advanced, persecoms are very expensive. Excited at his good fortune, he takes her home and "turns her on". (Warning, younger readers: this carries a very innuendous double meaning. =P)

At first, the persecom seems broken, and the only thing she can say is "Chi", so that's what he names her. She has no memory, no data at all, but it soon becomes apparent that she's an incredibly powerful machine with unknown function. She has learning capabilities, though, so Hideki goes around teaching Chi everything, all while juggling cram school and his job. Even though everyone says it's impossible, that persecoms don't have emotions and only do as they're programed to, Chi slowly becomes aware that she is in love with Hideki. And even though he knows full well that she is a machine, Hideki can't help but fall in love with his persecom as well, as many have before him.

I think this series goes a lot deeper into this moral dilemma than Absolute Boyfriend did. Perhaps because, in this world, robots are more common-place. But why do people dream of making and using machines that are shaped like us, only smarter and more perfect in appearance? What happens when you develop feelings for those robots? Can you call it love, or are you just deluding yourself? How about the robot? Is it doing everything you ask, trying to please you, because it was programed that way, or because it actually wants you to be happy?

One thing this also gets deeper into is mature content, especially the anime. I don't want to point any fingers, but perhaps it's because it's largely taken from the male mentality? I don't know, Hideki sure notices how attractive his landlady, teacher and coworker are, and thinks a lot to himself how cute Chi is, but how he shouldn't be thinking of her that way, since she's a machine.

This manga was also turned into a tv show, only an animated one, much to my pleasure. The anime is hilarious, colorful, great quality, and very true to the story and characters with only minor changes. I've seen 3 episodes out of 26, and it is fantastic. I highly recommend both the manga and the anime. I can't find a good preview for the Chobits anime, but here's a collection of some of the show's funniest moments, to pique your interest. I'm sure you'll get quite a kick out of it.

Absolute Boyfriend

2011-09-06T05:35:00.001-07:00

One of the most fabulous manga series I've had the pleasure of reading yet! I first learned about it when I saw the recommendations list in the back of the Sand Chronicles books.

Our heroine, a high-school girl named Riiko, is unlucky in love and doesn't have a boyfriend. She meets a strange business man who directs her to a website where she can customize her "ideal boyfriend". Thinking it's a game or something, she actually ends up ordering such a "figure" from this website, and the very next day she gets a special delivery at her door... a totally hot and naked guy! O_O She finds out that he is actually the robot she ordered, and when she "activates" him (gives him a kiss) and he comes to life, he brightly claims that he is now her boyfriend!

In my personal opinion, the robot boyfriend, whom Riiko names Night, is just a fabulous character!!! For one thing, he's absolutely cute (just take a look at him! ^_^). He reminds me of what a certain friend of mine looks like in manga form. To me, Night really is the perfect guy. He's sweet, caring, totally romantic, protective, really smart, has super-hero strength and agility, and all he thinks about is making his girl, Riiko, happy. He's always got this playful, innocent attitude and the most adorable smile on his face! You almost forget that he's not really human, but a robot specifically designed to be the perfect boyfriend.

Of course, there's also Riiko's childhood friend and school-mate, Soushi, for Night to contend with. I like Soushi well enough. He's like the underdog, a total contrast to Night. He's the strong, silent, studious type. He's a good friend to Riiko, and gets jealous when he finds she has a new boyfriend. It's a great love-triangle!

I read the first volume for real, but then I found a website where I could read the rest of the manga online, and so far I've read the 2nd and 3rd volumes, which are equally awesome! I believe there's 6 volumes in all, so I'll probably finish this very quickly.

Just warning you: as you can probably see from the cover of the first book... Night likes to get naked. O_o He's always asking Riiko when they can, uh, do it. So this series may not be for young readers who haven't gotten the talk about the birds and the bees. =P But for the rest of us, it's totally awesome. ^_^

Something else I was happy to discover is that Absolute Boyfriend was developed into a Japanese drama series, called "Zettai Kereshi". I've seen 2 episodes of it so far, and it is amazing! Just warning you though, the drama differs wildly from the manga, like a ton! For example, the characters aren't in high-school; they're young adults in a business setting. For another, Night is much more of a robot, and more easily damaged. He's not as hot as he seems in the manga, but he's cute enough. The character of Soushi is completely unrecognizable. He's not Riiko's childhood friend, but her lazy boss who just starts developing feelings for her.

But really, I'm watching this drama for the main actress who plays Riiko. She is just adorable! Also for the novelty of the thing. I love seeing a foreign TV show, listening to the characters speak Japanese (I read the English subtitles), and getting a little taste of their amazing culture! Anyway, it's an interesting story. What if you had a robot boyfriend?

Take a look at the trailer for the series, and see if it doesn't hook you into it.

Graphic novels I read in Boston

2011-09-06T04:20:00.000-07:00

I spent a lot of time at the library when I was up in Boston for a week, particularly in the teen section, where I got to read graphic novels to my heart's content. ^_^ I read 3 more volumes in the Sand Chronicles manga series, and a standalone book called "Hereville".

Unfortunately, there's not much for me to say in this review without spoiling all the books. It gets a lot more complex as the story advances and the characters get older. The love situation gets very confusing, because Ann and Daigo break up (nooo!) and get a new boyfriend and girlfriend, but it's complicated, because they both still love each other. It's a whole triangle, or love square, or whatever shape you want to call it... it's a messy love web. But it's still a great story.

I also read this fascinating book, "Hereville". It's about this Jewish girl with a big imagination who dreams of slaying dragons and being some sort of hero. She meets a witch and a talking pig and gets in crazy messes. I'm not sure how else to describe it to you, but it was particularly interesting to me, because I'm Jewish myself. There's a little bit of Yiddish spoken in the book and interesting Jewish traditions I didn't know about, and I liked that there were little footnotes that explained what these things meant. It was a quirky story that I enjoyed a lot and would probably recommend.

Remember Me?

2011-09-05T07:05:00.000-07:00

This is an appropriate title for my blog post, since it's been a while since I did any reviewing. =P But guess what? That's actually the title of one of the books I read this last week.

Sophie Kinsella's "Remember Me" was a book Annette and I found when we went to Boston and stayed in our apartment there. It was one of the books a past tenant just happened to leave behind, and the premise on the back seemed very interesting, so we thought we'd check it out.

Well, I loved it! Great characters, great humor, great romance, and a very cool story idea. Imagine this: You get in a car crash and knock your head a bit. Next thing you know, you're in the hospital and you're told that you have amnesia. But a very specific type of amnesia. You remember who you are and have memories of your life, luckily, but you forget the last 3 years of your life. Think about it. So much can happen in 3 years!

That's what happens to the main character, Lexi, a twenty-five-year-old woman from 2004, who suddenly finds herself in the year 2007, and nearly everything about her life has changed. She used to be a low-level office worker, but now she's a driven and ambitious head honcho at her company. She's filthy rich partly because of this, but also because she married a hot multi-millionaire. She didn't have a steady boyfriend before, so suddenly having a husband... let alone a dream husband... is the shock of her life. She lives in a very swanky mansion, owns tons of fancy clothes, and even changed her appearance a little. In a word, everything changes for Lexi.

It was very cool to read about how this character handled her bizarre situation, and came to terms with her new life, because she gets lots of surprises. One of the more interesting ones is that she has a secret affair behind her hot husband's back. At first she thinks, "Why on earth would I want to leave my husband? I'm not the unfaithful type. Yes, I don't know him, but apparently we love each other..." But eventually she realizes that the guy she married isn't as perfect as she thought. I won't spoil anything, but it's a really great story. Maybe the ending is slightly anti-climactic, but the rest of the story was good enough that I wasn't disappointed.

This book really made me think... a lot can happen in 3 years! I mean, imagine what would happen if I got this selective amnesia and forgot the last 3 years of my life! I was such a different person at 17 years old. For example, I didn't blog 3 years ago! That has absolutely changed my life. I can't imagine forgetting all the books I've read, and all the fantastic friends I've made... I wouldn't have known how to drive as well as I do now! So yeah, I'm very grateful that I have all my memories and I'm living the life I have now, and this book absolutely gets a thumbs up for me.

1 James Patterson, 2 Jeffrey Browns, and 3 Hinako Ashiharas

2011-08-24T15:42:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been over a month since my last book review post. I'm not sure I'll do a great job reviewing here, but I just wanted to keep a record that these are some books I've read recently, that are really good. You might want to look into them.

For example, I read the 7th book in the Maximum Ride series, "Angel", a few weeks ago. I wanted to review it much earlier, honest I did! I just kept forgetting to get to it. Sorry. =( But it was definitely an awesome book, just like the rest before it. I thought it was weird that it was called "Angel", though, because the character Angel didn't seem to be that important in the story, in my opinion. It's still mostly Max's story. Anyway, there was great love-triangle romance going on, some awesome action scenes, and it ends on a cliffhanger, so I'm going to look forward to the next book in the series, which I hear is called "Nevermore". I wonder if it'll be the last adventure...

I believe I read these over a week ago. Pretty recent. This author, Jeffrey Brown, has a very fascinating art style in his graphic novels. Extremely sketchy and cartoony, but the characters still seem like real people. Both books are based on true stories from Jeffrey's life, about his relationships with old girlfriends. "Clumsy", his first book, is very non-linear and all over the place. Really random. But I still enjoyed it. I appreciated, though, that "Unlikely", the prequel about his first girlfriend, had more of a definite time-line that I could follow. I didn't like her as much as the girlfriend in "Clumsy", but it was a good book.

Warning: both books contain very mature material. Not for young readers' eyes at all, if you know what I mean.

Finally, the last time I was at the library, I was scanning the shelves for a good manga I could get into, and came upon this charming series: Sand Chronicles. I read the first volume in one sitting at the library, and liked the story so much that just before we left, I grabbed the 2nd and 3rd volumes and checked them out. I'm quite happy I did. ^_^

Basically, it's a coming-of-age series that follows a young Japanese girl, Ann, on her trials, tribulations, and budding romance. It starts off when she's 12, when she and her mother move from Tokyo to a small village. Ann's mom dies suddenly, so her grandparents take care of her, and the friends she makes in that village help her cope. There's the hot-headed boy, Daigo, who Ann kind of has feelings for, and a brother and sister, Fuji and Shiika, who come from a wealthy family.

After that, there are lots of stories, such as Ann and friends going to a summer camp together, her moving back with her father to Tokyo for high-school, and her romantic long-distance relationship with Daigo. Fuji, who is more the quiet, strong-silent type, seems to have a crush on Ann, and near the end of Book 3, it seems Shiika has a thing for Daigo. Needless to say, this Shojo manga is heavy on the romance. Personally, as I grow older and more mature, I really like that in a series. ^,^ There is also a lot of neat Japanese culture throughout the books, which is one of things I love most about reading manga, or watching anime.

I think there are 10 books in the Sand Chronicles. I'm sure I'll glide through all of them in a heart-beat, when I get my hands on them. Lol.

Dramacon 1 & 2, by Svetlana Chmakova

2011-07-09T20:03:00.000-07:00

I started reading Book #1 of Dramacon in my library, just to pass the time. A few pages in, however, the artwork and story and characters drew me in so much that when we had to leave and I hadn't finished reading the manga yet, I was sad. (As a rule, I don't check out graphic novels, since I usually read them so fast that there's little to no point in taking them home with me.)

Lucky for me, I was able to find a website where I could the rest of the manga online, so I was able to finish it at home! ^_^ Of course, it was kind of annoying how slowly every freakin' page had to load. I read the sequel as well, and thankfully I was able to read 2 pages with every load. I would have read the next one, but it doesn't look as if it's available online right now. No matter. I'll just review these two books here.

What a funny story! It's about a shy teenage girl named Christie who goes to her first anime convention with her friends, who are con-veterans. (I've never been to an Anime Con myself, so I could totally relate with her.) She has a boyfriend, Derek, but he doesn't pay much attention to her. He'd rather make goo-goo eyes at the hot costumed chicks. During the convention, Christie keeps bumping into this handsome and friendly (but mysterious) guy who wears shades all the time, named Matt, and she develops a crush on him.

She also meets a Manga author/artist who is a huge hero of hers, which I loved, because it makes me think of when I'll someday meet some of my own heroes. I hope I can be half as lucky as Christie in my encounters. There's a lot I'm not mentioning here, like the other friends Christie makes and all the drama that unfolds between her and Matt, but I'll leave that for you to find out.

Dramacon #2 was also very nice to read. Christie comes back to the same Anime Con a year later, graduated from high school, with a new haircut, and brings a new friend, Beth, who is the noob this time instead of her. (I love it when stories come full circle. ^,^) Together they make some new friends, but Christie also runs into Matt again, who she hasn't talked to since they said goodbye... and he has a girlfriend! O,o

I liked this book okay, but was sad that the story didn't focus so much on the romance between Christie and Matt than it did on Beth and her dreams to be an artist. See, she and Christie make a comic together, and they try to sell it at the Con. Christie writes it, and Beth does the artwork. Beth gets offered for a job at a manga publishing company, but she's hesitant to take the job. Something about her mother not wanting her to be a starving artist... I don't know, I wish there was more Christie and Matt! Because I loved the romance between them in Book 1. ^,^ Oh well. It was still a good read.

I've heard that the 3rd book is a little bit better, so I'll keep my eye out for it. I definitely liked this manga series a lot, and highly recommend it. It was funny, had a romance I could root for, and had very entertaining drama.

I'm back... again. =P

2011-07-07T10:37:00.000-07:00

Hey guys... whoever is left reading this now...

It's been a month, but I decided to come back and post here after all, for a couple of reasons.

One: I got a blog award! It's so pretty, isn't it? ^_^ I put it on the very top of my sidebar. I don't think I've ever gotten an award like this! I've been kindly mentioned on a couple other sites in the past (which you can see very close to the bottom of the sidebar), but haven't gotten an honor like this before.

I got my "Creative Blog Award" from someone who commented on my last post (you know, when I said I was completely done with book reviewing? =P). Her name is Dierdra Eden-Coppel, and she's a proffesional author/illustrator. Here's a link to her blog.

If you read the nice comment she left me, you'll see that in addition to giving me this award, she offered to interview me as an avid reader. Can you believe it? I couldn't when I first read it. ^,^

So yeah, I agreed to the interview and have, since then, submitted my answers to her questions. Dierdra told me that she'll post my interview on her blog on July 21st. I unfortunately won't be around at that date, so you'll have to keep your eyes peeled for it yourself.

Who knows? Perhaps as I result of my interview, I'll get a few more readers on my blog.

Two: I've read a few books that I actually really want to review! I decided I didn't want to let down any potential new followers, so I'm going to try making a come-back in reviewing. Lucky for you guys, I've had my hands on some pretty good reads. ^_~ You're welcome.

Books 3 through 6 of the Maximum Ride series = total awesomeness! This James Patterson series is truly fantastic! I couldn't rave enough about his writing. I finished reading "Fang" just today, which is why I thought it was high time I get back to book blogging ASAP, before I forgot how I felt about this series.

I am so in love with the characters! Max, Fang, Nudge, Iggy, Gazzy, and Angel are all incredible kids with full-fledged personalities that shine through-out the pages of the books. Max, the titular character, in particular, is one of my favorite bird-kids. She masterfully led me through the story, narrating most of the Flock's adventures (sometimes Patterson goes out of her head and writes in 3rd POV for the plot's benefit), and I hung onto her every word.

There's a little bit of everything in these books. Action, suspense, mystery, drama, humor, even a bit of romance. You've got kick-butt fight scenes, a love triangle (well, that was only introduced in the last book, but still), unexpected revelations, a good message about global warming, and a constant driving desire to just keep turning pages!

I wasn't able to before, but just now I reserved the next book, "Angel", from my library. Hopefully it will get here quickly! I hear it's the second to last novel in the series, followed by "Nevermore", which is slated for February of next year.

I said in my last post that I'd wanted to read a couple of Dan Savage's other books, and I did. They were just as great as "Skipping Towards Gomorrah" had been. First I read "The Kid", which chronicled how Dan and his boyfriend Terry adopted their son. It was another fascinating look into the life of a gay person, as well as a peek into the world of adoptive parents-to-be. A wonderful true story that I sincerely recommend.

Next, I read "It Gets Better." I absolutely loved it. Dozens and dozens of touching short stories, essays, and interviews by the LGBT community (as well as a couple celebrities and politicians), assuring the reader that life isn't as hopeless as it might seem to some. True, the aimed audience is for gay teens, but I think this should be required reading everywhere, for every age. It's a truly inspiring message that I've stood wholeheartedly behind since the day I first learned about it. It's a message that I hope never, ever dies. It does get better. By the time you finish this book, I'm sure you'll believe it, too.

So there you go. Bettina's Book Club is back in business. ^_^

Happy reading!

Blog Retiring... again

2011-06-07T07:10:00.001-07:00

I'm sorry guys. I don't think I'll be able to do the book reviewing thing anymore. And I mean it this time. I still love reading, more than anything else, but when it comes to reviewing them... if I get lazy just once, I start getting backed up on a whole line of books! I just want to keep gobbling books! I can't keep going back into the one I just read. I'm hungry for more!

So yeah, this is pretty much what I've been reading since my last review. All really good books in their own right. ^_^

Born Digital ~ Very educational, bringing up all the issues and boons of today's wired generation
Maximum Ride, Books 1 & 2 ~ I am so psyched about this series! Patiently awaiting #3 from the library. I will chase down Max and the flock's adventures right to the very end, I'm sure. ^_^
I am the Messenger ~ This was by the guy who wrote The Book Thief (see my review here). I really enjoyed it!
Skipping Towards Gomorrah ~ ...

Okay, if I'm going to be doing a proper review on any of the books I read, I might as well do this one.

I was very surprised when I found this book on our living-room shelf! I mean, a book by Dan Savage! The guy who started the It Gets Better project! He is one of my heroes now, and my parents just happened to have a book written by him, long before he got to be famous (well, in my eyes, anyway)! ^_^ I took this to the beach and had a blast reading it.

Warning though: this book is for really mature readers. Dan Savage is very frank in his language, and he's not at all afraid to talk about things like sex-related stuff, drugs, etc. It was kinda weird for me, reading all that, (blush *,*) but it was really refreshing to get such an open and honest take on the 7 deadly sins.

I learned a lot, was taken outside my comfort zone, and enjoyed reading about Dan's many sinful adventures. I reserved a couple of his other books, because I enjoy his writing style a lot!

There. I think that will be the last book I review here now. I'm serious this time. If I'm going to mention that I read a great book, I'll say it in passing on my home blog. I'm sure you can find yourself there without my linking to it.

Happy reading, all! ^_^

And Another Thing... by Eoin Colfer

2011-04-26T05:25:00.002-07:00

It seems pretty appropriate that the title of the post is "And Another Thing..." This feels a lot like an after-thought, seeing as I started posting book reviews here again with the great promise of regular updates, but then I fell back on the wayside. ~,~ Oh well. I guess I can't really promise you guys anything.

But anyway, here's a really great book that I read recently!

I bought "And Another Thing..." on one of the last days our Borders store was still open (R.I.P. Borders !,!). I've read and thoroughly enjoyed the other Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (or H2G2) books by Douglas Adams in the past. This series has a few zany characters, wacky story elements, and very witty ideas. This 6th book in a trilogy is no different. (*Double-take* O,o Yes, that's what it's referred to as, the 6th book in a trilogy. LOL)

I don't know how Eoin Colfer, author of the Artemis Fowl series (I like those books okay), got the opportunity to write this sequel, but I figured since it was an author I knew, it wouldn't be that bad a read.

Turns out he was pretty faithful to the H2G2 series while putting his own hilarious spin on it. ^_^ A lot of the old characters come back, like Arthur Dent, Trillian, Zaphod Beeblebrox, Ford Prefect, and the Vogons, and there are lots of funny new characters too. (I was kind of sad though that the main character, Arthur Dent, didn't seem to have a lot to do in the story. He didn't have any major character development or anything. He was just... there. He was simply along from the ride, while all the other characters got to have their extremely interesting and unusual adventures.)

Some of the jokes in this book are really funny. You get put in a very silly state of mind when you read something like this, with every turn of the page leaving you thinking, "huh? oh, lol!" There's a lot of convenient and humorous world-building, and the whole story is actually pretty well-written. It felt like an H2G2 book, so I was happy. It wasn't the best, but it was decent.

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Oh, and another thing... lol. I've wanted to post this combo review for a long time now, but just couldn't get around to it. So here you go.

The Daniel X series, by one of my new favorite authors, the awesome James Patterson. ^,^ Now having said that, I wasn't absolutely crazy about this series... but I've got to hand it to JP. He sure knows how to keep you turning those pages. (It must be those dang short chapters and cliff-hangers. =P)

Anyway, the story follows a teenage boy named Daniel (who is secretly an alien) whose destiny is to be an Alien Hunter and protect Earth from bad guys. It kind of reminded me of Men in Black in that respect.

So how does Daniel fight off the alien villains? Well, this kid has one of the coolest and actually most imaginative super-powers I've ever read about: He can create. He can make just about anything he can imagine. From thin air. Just with the power of his mind. He can even make whole people, with full personalities! Oh yeah, and he has other super-powers too, like shape-shifting ability, genius intellect and mind-reading.

While the story and the story-world was pretty interesting, the thing that put me off most about the books is what an overly perfect character Daniel is. I mean, since he can create anything, things come really easy for him. It's almost impossible for bad guys to trick him. Yeah, he does have a couple weaknesses, like getting distracted by girls (hey, he's a teenager. What're you gonna do?) and being a bit cocky. But for the most part, he's a pretty flawless protagonist. I don't know about you, but personally, I prefer my protagonist with a couple flaws in him/her. Also, the books seem to have a couple of preachy messages, like "don't litter", and "read a book, it's better than TV". I don't know. Kinda weird.

Reading the graphic novel of the first book was pretty cool though. It was quite accurate and true to the story. I actually think I liked it a lot better than the book, because I could see what the characters were doing, and what the aliens looked like. Also, I love reading graphic novels because they are such a breeze. ^_^

If you're interested, the 4th book in this series, "Game Over", will be coming out this September. I think I'll give it a try, when I can get my hands on it.

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Oh, and ANOTHER thing! (I promise, this is the last other thing I'll mention. Then you'll finish this review. ^,~) I've also recently read the first 3 Maximum Ride graphic novels, based on the series also by James Patterson, and I gotta say, they are pretty awesome! ^_^

Having read "When the Wind Blows" and "The Lake House", I was kind of familiar with the flying children characters. In this series however, most of them were given different names. Except for the main character, Max, naturally. Also, unlike WtWB and TLH, these kids with wings are completely the main focus, instead of partially.

I'm still waiting for the actual first Maximum Ride book, "The Angel Experiment", to come in for me from the library. I bet it'll be worth the wait though. ^,~

Also, did you know that the 4th graphic novel was released just today? What a coincidence, huh?

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And another thing... no, I'm just kidding. I had you going for a second, though, didn't I? lol. ^_~

Triple Threat Book Review

2011-03-24T06:42:00.000-07:00

My first review is about "Matched", by Ally Condie.

What an amazing, thought-provoking story. It reminded me of The Giver, or Shades of Grey, in that it takes place in a distant future where everybody's lives are run by very strict rules, and forget how things used to be. The society seems clean, safe, a perfect paradise, until someone discovers that secrets are being kept, and not everything is as it seems.

In the case of Matched, the main character, Cassia, learns that her Society may not be as perfect as she first thought when she sees two pictures, not one, of boys that she's supposed to be "matched up" with. (That's right. Arranged marriage.) One is a good friend from childhood, and at first it seems plain to see they're meant to be together. The other is someone she knows, but not that well. Still, the more she spends time with this guy (in secret, of course), the more she discovers what true love really is.

The writing style is really something. Not to mention the amazing world that the author built up in my head, and some of the characters that inhabited it. The budding romance between Cassia and her secret love, Ky, was a beautiful thing. The only problem I'd have with it is that her first Matchee, (oh, I've forgotten his name already. O,o) never really had a chance with her in my mind. Yeah, he was a nice guy, but he couldn't compete for her love. So the love-triangle didn't stand very well.

Also, as much as I enjoyed flying through the pages, I have to admit that the ending was a pretty big letdown. Very anti-climactic. Lots of loose ends. By the last couple chapters, I stopped caring about Cassia and knew that, if there was a sequel to this, I wouldn't bother reading it.

But still, despite all that... I'd say Matched was a good book. I'm glad I read it. ^_^

Now... You all remember my last review of a James Patterson book, right? Well, it's time for a double-dose of Patterson reviews!

I think I can definitely say that I'm a fan of James Patterson now. ^__^ I simply love the style he has, of making all his chapter 2, 3, or at most 4 pages long, and leaving a cliff-hanger at every last paragraph. This guy knows how to string the reader along, hanging on to his every word, to find out what becomes of his characters... just likeanother certain James I know. ^_~

First I read "Toys", which happens to be Patterson's latest release. Fantastic! It also takes place in the future, only it's not one of those "perfect" societies. More one of those dystopian futures, where attractive, powerful, super-smart superhuman cyborg people, called Elites, control the world, and ordinary humans are considered lower-life forms. You should hear them at their fancy parties. They tell human jokes like they were blonde jokes. O_o The story takes off when the main character, Hays, discovers that he's not an Elite like he thought he was, but human. And it's up to him to save mankind before the Elites destroy them.

The other book, "When the Wind Blows", was the best Patterson novel I've read yet! One thing that really impressed me is that I saw how it was possible to tell a story from many different sides, including a first person narration. Each point of view had a very distinct voice to it. I loved all the characters, most especially Max, the girl with silver angel wings. The romance between Frannie and Kit was quite well done (if there's anything I've learned from James Patterson, it's that he always includes a couple love-making scenes in his books. And he's not half-bad at writing them! O_o), but Max and the other "bird children" were the characters I wanted to keep reading about. It's a good thing there's a sequel, "The Lake House", because I'm going to read it right away. In fact, I've already started! ^_^

I know that there's a whole separate series for Max and her friends, the Maximum Ride series. I remember glancing through a graphic novel of that, but it didn't hold my interest very well. But since learning what a phenomenal writer James Patterson is, and since I've heard good things about it from my friends, I fully intend to give this series a chance in the very near future. ^_~

Sunday at Tiffany's

2011-03-18T06:40:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not, before this book, I had never read James Patterson before. Sunday at Tiffany's was the perfect novel to break the ice. What a first impression!

Basically, a woman runs into her old imaginary friend, who had to leave her when she was 9 years old, and they both fall in love. Hmm... that actually sounds a little weird, falling in love with your imaginary friend. O,o But trust me, it's a really beautiful romance. The characters were awesome, and the chapters were really short, like 2 or 3 pages per, so it makes for much, much page-turning action. It was nearly impossible to put down.

I think I have a new favorite author. ^_^

Across the Universe

2011-02-20T06:38:00.000-08:00

This is one of those rare books that I'd probably classify as one of the top ten best books I've read this year. That's right. I think I'd definitely put it up there with the likes of "The Book Thief" and "Shiver".

I first learned about this book in a review by old friends of mine, the Lateiner Gang.You can see their review here. They pretty much tell you the whole story without spoiling too much.

When I heard about it, the story kind of reminded me of "Wall*E", only without the robots. Basically, it's a sci-fi story that takes place in the future, with people taking off in a big spaceship to colonize a new planet, which is 300 years away from Earth. Certain people, like scientists, military leaders, important people, get cryogenically frozen. Then you have a couple thousand other people to run the ship and help it reach it's destination. Fast-forward a few centuries, and you have a mystery-murderer unplugging certain frozens, one of them a teenage girl. Why?

The love story is okay. It's the sci-fi stuff that was really amazing. All the people who live on the spaceship, centuries after it launches, evolve into a kind of "mono-ethnic" race. Everyone has roughly the same features and traits, so no one is different. Each person has a mini-communicator embedded inside their ear, so you can talk to anyone you want on the ship with a simple vocal command. (I know someone who'd probably think this was ultra-cool. ^_~)

Amazing story. Really compelling. Will definitely leave you thinking after you've closed the book.

Shiver

2011-02-04T06:36:00.000-08:00

This book was heavily recommended to me by my friend Amy, aka the Simple Little Bookworm (see her review of it here). Since I had read and intensely enjoyed The Book Thief, another novel Amy said I would like, I decided to give "Shiver" a try.

Getting into it, I knew right off the bat that it would remind me a lot of the Twilight Saga, because they were both paranormal teen romance novels. I only hoped that thisstory would be a better one. Trust me. It was. ^_^

Here are the few key differences that makes Shiver the better read:

~There are only werewolves. No vampires whatsoever! This was a very good thing, in my case. (I've been on Team Jacob from the start. ^_~)

~The book is written so that almost every other chapter is narrated either by the human girl, Grace, and the werewolf boy, Sam. Well,most of it is from Grace's view, but at least not all of it, as was Bella's case.

~There aren't any love triangles. So the story is ultra-simple. Grace loves Sam. Sam loves Grace. That's it. It's like what might have happened if Bella had never fallen in love with Edward, only Jacob.

Besides these things, the similarities to Twilight were pretty strong, but this book somehow seemed a lot better written. The characters seemed more like real, multi-dimensional, good-hearted people. The rules of this fictional world (some people can turn into werewolves, but only when the temperature gets cold) were acceptable, with some suspension-of-belief.

Most of all, the 2 lead characters, Grace and Sam, were characters that I truly wanted to see get together. They treated each other like equals, even though one of them obviously had super-natural powers that the other didn't. (This is unlike the relationship inTwilight, where Bella basically treats Edward like a god, and she doesn't understand why he's in love with her, because she has low self-esteem.)

I'm not sure what else I can say without giving away the story, but suffice it to say that I really liked it. I hear that this is only the first book in the Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy, though I believe Shiverdoes quite well, even on it's own. (Except the ending felt strangely anti-climactic. O,o) Well, perhaps I'll read the other two in the series,Linger and Forever, when the latter comes out this July.

Thanks, Amy. 2 for 2, you have steered me in the right direction of a good read. What do you have for me next? ^_~

The Book Thief

2011-01-10T06:29:00.000-08:00

Gosh, what a reading experience... I don't think I will easily forget it. The story, the characters, the setting... it all felt so real. (Well, I expect that's because it takes place in Germany in the 1940's. Perhaps the characters are fictional, but the events that were written about, I could easily believe actually happened.)

So here's the scoop on this book: It's narrated by Death (yeah, really. And he is quite the story-teller, I can assure you). It takes place in Nazi Germany, when Hitler is gaining power and support, and Jews were hunted. (Gulp. Personal subject, since I'm a Jew myself. I remember going to Israel last summer on my Taglit trip, and going to the Holocaust memorial. Just breaks my heart... !,!)

A 10-year old girl, Liesel, is sent away to live with a foster family, because her poor mother can't take care of her anymore. It takes getting used to, but eventually she adapts to life with her new family. Her foster dad is a wonderful character; you like him right from the start. Her new mom is a more complex kind of person. She acts pretty mean, but as the story goes on, you see that she's really got a big heart. I also love the character of her best friend, Rudy Steiner, the boy next door. During the course of the book, Liesel learns to read, she begins stealing books from the mayor's library, and her family takes in an escaped Jew named Max (for complicated reasons).

It is a wonderful coming of age story. It will no doubt make my list of "Ten Best Books of 2011" at the end of the year. One of the best things about this book is that it teaches you a few interesting words in German, so it's slightly educational. Another special thing I discovered, when I was more than halfway into the book, is that... I am a fictional character! The boy Rudy has a 5-year-old sister named BETTINA! She is mentioned a few times as a very minor, throw-away character... But still!!!

So yes, I'm in a famous book!!! Only my last name is Steiner... ^_^

My 2010 Books

2010-12-31T07:01:00.000-08:00

Sorry that I pretty much stopped posting book reviews since October this year. ~,~ This will probably be the last post you hear from Bettina's Book Club. It had a good, long, 2 year run.

This doesn't mean I'm going to stop reading, or be any less of a bibliophile than I am now. No sirree bob! All you have to do to keep up with my reading habits (and much more!) is to go to The Majik of Magenta, my home blog. Follow me, please. Cya there. And Happy New Year. ^_~

~~~~~~~~

74 In all for 2010! WOW!

January books ~ 11

February books ~ 6

March books ~ 7

April books ~ 12

May books ~ 3

June books ~ 3

July books ~ 10

August books ~ 9

September books ~ 9

October books ~ 4

Ender's Game

2010-12-21T06:26:00.000-08:00

This book is freaking awesome!!! The world in this story is amazing, and soooo futuristic! The characters are endlessly fascinating. The premise? In the future, kids who are deemed the best of the best are taken from their families at 6 years old and sent to this Battle School in outer space, where they train to become soldiers so they can fight in the war against the alien Buggers.

I can tell that this is one of the best books I've read in this whole year, if not in my entire life! ^_^

Skinny *Witch

2010-11-15T06:16:00.000-08:00

*Since I have an image of the cover right here [>>>] it is pretty obvious that I wrote the title wrong. This is because I, personally, am uncomfortable with cursing, even when I'm writing. So this is my way of working around that. Hey, it's only one letter off. Trust me; despite this book's actual title, it is fantastic, and you will want to keep reading this review. ^_~

As the subtitle says, this book is meant to be "A no-nonsense, tough-love guide for savvy girls who want to stop eating *klunk and start looking fabulous!" This book is all that it promises and more.

*Once again, I changed this word because I don't like using curse-words. =P The word I'm using instead is a reference to a term used in James Dashner's "Maze Runner" books. lol. ^_~

I started reading this non-fiction book on the high recommendation of my mom and twin sister. It is a very quick read, written with clever and sharp humor, but with a very serious and important message that I knew backwards and forwards already. That message is this: BE A VEGETARIAN!!! It is way healthier for you, you will stop being sick and fat, and you'll be saving the lives of countless animals in addition to making a greener environment.

There are quite a few curse words sprinkled in this book, but this is only so it can drive the point home for the reader. You have to use your head when it comes to your eating habits. Every day of your life, YOU control what goes into your body. You can choose to eat junk, or you can choose to eat the right stuff. You must look at the ingredients on the package and make educated decisions for your health. This book is a kick-in-the-pants for people who need to be told this.

These authors are not ordering you to go on a diet and give up the things you love to eat. They just simply giving it to you straight. Certain foods will slowly poison you, and other foods will vitalize you and give you the nutrition you need. After that, it is your own decision to make. Your life, your body.

Seriously though, though I am a very happy vegetarian and know most of this stuff already, I still learned a great deal from this book. There are separate chapters for the "evils" of junk food, sugar, dairy products, and meat. I'm not kidding here, I was freaked out by some of the facts I learned. Especially in the chapter called "You are what you eat"...

If you don't read anything else from this book, you HAVE to read that chapter. It has true horror stories of what goes on in the factories that slaughter the animals that become our meat. Actual people who work/used to work in these places talk about what their job entails them to do: murder hundreds upon hundreds of innocent creatures every single day! !,! Honestly, you will be shocked! You will also be horribly grossed out when you find out what really goes into your meat, milk, cheese, eggs and other such items.

You will not be sorry that you read this book (so long as you don't mind some of the language, that is ^,~). Of course, by the title, it is clear that the intended audience for this book is female. But all this valuable advice goes for both genders, without even saying. Still, I found out that a couple years after publishing "Skinny *Witch" and having it become a best-seller, these authors came out with a companion book for men. You can see the title right here anyway, so I don't even need to say it. ^_~ Enjoy!

I'm back again.

2010-10-01T12:41:00.000-07:00

Sorry for skipping out for about 2 weeks. I feel a little guilty about shirking my reviewing responsibilities. Not because I think I'm disappointing any readers, mind you (I stopped worrying about that a long time ago.) I just care because if I'm not constantly vigilant, I won't remember all the books I read this year.

So here are the 3 brand new posts I put up today. Graphic Novels, Short Stories, and Nightlight. Please enjoy them!

Nightlight, by The Harvard Lampoon

2010-10-01T11:40:00.000-07:00

This book is freakin' hilarious! A complete parody of the Twilight Saga, this thin parody will give you a barrel of laughs with every page turn. Seriously, I dare you to try reading it aloud and NOT feel the urge to giggle. XD

The characters are Belle Goose and Edwart Mullen. (Clever names, are they not?) Belle is waaaay crazy and self-absorbed. She doesn't make any sense with her ramblings and thought-processes, but that doesn't stop her from being funny. When she catches sight of pale, handsome, but terribly geeky Edwart, she is positive that he is a vampire. (Is he? You are certainly left guessing until the very end.)

Since this book was little over a hundred pages, I finished it really quickly. Sometimes I read a few choice passages aloud to my brother and sister, and it never failed to make us l.o.l., or laugh out loud, if you prefer.

Yeah, so definitely check this out. It is as good as (if not better than) any of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight books. Trust me. You won't be sorry reading this book. (Unless you die of laughter.)

Short Stories

2010-10-01T10:51:00.000-07:00

I am still very much enthralled with short stories. Here are 3 collections that that I've read during my 2 week absence.

"Oddest of All" I read first. Bruce Coville is quite a gifted short story author, I think. I love his characters and his worlds.

"Button Button, Uncanny Stories", by Richard Matheson, was quite interesting. I read this because the story "Button Button" was turned into the movie "The Box", with Cameron Diaz, which was an amazing story! All the other stories were equally interesting. Maybe a little bit disturbing, in a couple of cases...

I actually haven't finished reading "Xanadu" yet, but it is a good book so far. Jane Yolen, someone Bruce Coville has mentioned a few times in his author notes, edits this collection of short stories and poems written by a whole slew of authors I've never heard of. Basically anything goes in these stories. It can be fantasy or Sci-fi or anything. I'm enjoying it so far. I also have Xanadu 2 and Xanadu 3. When I'm done with all 3 of them, I'll let you know.

Now for my review of "Nightlight". (You'll love this. ^_^)

Graphic Novels

2010-10-01T10:41:00.003-07:00

Here's a whole bunch of graphic novels that I've read in the last couple weeks. From right to left, these books are in order from least liked to most loved!

"That Salty Air" was just okay. It was a mildly interesting short story about a fisherman and his wife. The art and story of "Luuna" reminded me slightly (only slightly) of the Bone graphic novels. There were 3 small and round cartoony characters you're supposed to laugh at and a young attractive native girl. I wasn't a fan of the rest of the story, though. I read these 2 books while browsing in the library.

I finished the most recently published Cirque Du Freak graphic novel, "The Vampire Prince," as well. Ha, looks like I forgot to mention when I read #5. Well, suffice it to say I did, and that this series is still pretty good so far. But this book sure has a lot of fighting in it. 0,o

On Graham "Chop" Bradley's recommendation, I read "Sons of Liberty", by the Lagos brothers. Definitely a good read. Thanks, Graham. I'll keep my eyes peeled for the next installment. ^_~

My twin sister, Annette, actually turned me on to the next graphic novel, "Japan Ai." This is the manga journal of a real-life woman who goes sight-seeing in Japan with a couple of friends. Her stories are really funny, not to mention that the artwork portraying her antics are adorable and hilarious! Her description of Japanese culture was extremely thorough and complete, so it was as if I myself had traveled to Japan with her. It sounds like SUCH a different place than America, but it also sounds wonderful!

The best graphic novel I've read in these 2 weeks, however, has to be "Phoenix: A Tale of the Future", by Osamu Tezuka (creator of Astro Boy). What an amazing, mind-bending story that was. It takes place waaaay in the future, a few centuries or so from now, and... really, the story is too complicated to relate here, but it's amazing! You must read it!

Alright. I'm done. Now onto the short-stories.

Book of a Thousand Days, by Shannon Hale

2010-09-16T08:07:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time since I've reviewed a book that I could honestly say I enjoyed. Finally, here is a book that I think is simply amazing. Two thumbs up. Written by the brilliant and poetic Shannon Hale, I dove into this story and hardly wanted to leave it. Wonderful and solid world-building, characters you could relate to and knew were growing as the story progressed, and a happy ending that I could be well satisfied with. ^_^

Basically, it's a book written in a diary format about a girl named Dashti, who is the poor, humble maid of a sort of princess, Lady Saren, who was sentenced by her father to 7 years in a tower, because she refused to marry the man her father told her to. So the lady and her maid are imprisoned together. Luckily there's plenty of food in the tower, so at least they won't starve for 7 years (although they do have rats) and Dashti knows how to write, so she keeps a record of their time in that prison.

About a month of being locked in the tower, Saren's real love, Tegus, visits them, but Saren doesn't want to talk to him because she's scared, so she orders Dashti to pretend she's her. Dashti is quite reluctant to do that, but she does as she's told, and soon she and Tegus become really good friends, him thinking that she's Lady Saren. After a few visits in a row, though, he leaves and doesn't return for the longest time.

With many days, weeks and months skipped, eventually Dashti and Saren manage to escape the tower after nearly 3 years of imprisonment (I won't tell you how they escaped. ^_~). But the world around them has changed a lot. What used to be Saren's home is burned to the ground, so they have to go somewhere else. Dashti decides to take them to Tegus's realm, because she knows they'll be safe there. They get there, but Saren is a bit crazy from years in the tower, and she doesn't want to tell anyone that she's really a Lady, so she works with Dashti in the kitchen scrubbing pots all day.

I won't tell you how, but soon Dashti meets Tegus himself, and they become friends again, him never knowing that she was the one he'd spoken to in the tower. This is when Dashti realizes that she's in love with Tegus, not Saren. He never even met the real Saren, so that means he loves her.

As you can see, it was a really romantic story, and I loved it a lot. ^_^ I don't know why I haven't picked it up before now, but I'm glad I did. I highly recommend it.

Girl Parts, by John M. Cusick

2010-09-10T07:23:00.000-07:00

I saw this book in a bookstore in Boston, and I was fascinated by the synopsis on the inside flap. As soon as we got home to Florida, I reserved it from my library and in a few short days I had it in my hands. I pretty much gobbled the whole thing in one day. Here's the story:

This robot girl, a Companion named Rose, is programmed to help "disassociated" David Sun make real, emotional connections with an "actual" person. An interesting proposal, since with all the internet stuff and texting and things of that nature, it would be easy for teens to get lost and forget what making friends and having boundaries really means. She has this thing called an Intimacy Clock inside her, which tells her when it's okay to touch her at certain points of the relationship. If you touch her inappropriately, she gives you an electric shock. Reward and punishment system.

However, it's easy to forget that Rose is really a machine, not a person. She may look like a girl, but she doesn't have everything that a girl has. *hint hint* When David discovers this, he pretty much dumps her, and she's left heartbroken. Well, the nearest thing a robot could call heartbroken, anyway. Luckily, Rose makes friends with a boy named Charlie, who is a sweet, real guy who doesn't share David's disassociative problem, though he is a little shy and a loner. But he really does care for her, even if she is a machine. In the end, Charlie helps Rose learn to move on and become her own person.

This story was interesting, but I do have a few gripes with it:

1: There's a lot of bad-boy stuff in here. Cursing, drinking, drugs, and all David thinks about is going around the bases with Rose. I mean, it's horrible how much he and his stupid friends treat girls like objects (although in Rose's case, she actually is an object, but still). Personally, I don't go for books like that. It doesn't set a very good example for real teenagers.

2: I wasn't totally convinced that Rose was, in fact, a robot. I don't know, perhaps if you're able to suspend your belief and imagine that there's a company in Japan (Sakora) that makes absolutely perfect androids that think and seem to act human, you can enjoy the story. But she acts and moves too much like a human. She was just too perfect, if you know what I mean. Her thought process had a bit of a technical side to it, but she still seemed to think like a real girl.

3: The ending really seemed to fall flat. Sorry to spoil it for you, but in the end, Rose simply disappears. I have no idea what happened to her. Maybe she was taken away by the Sakora people and decommissioned. Maybe she ran away and started a new life for herself, one without David or Charlie. (I don't see why she couldn't have stuck with Charlie, but then again, she is a robot.) So with Rose gone, both boys get new girlfriends that they're happy with and everyone lives happily ever after. Really John? Really?

In conclusion, I'd say this book may look appealing by the attractive cover, but don't be fooled by it. Your time will probably be better spent with another book entirely.

Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins

2010-09-04T08:05:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure how I feel about doing a full review for this book. Don't get me wrong, I love the Hunger Games series! You can see how positive my response to the books were by reading my reviews for The Hunger Games and Catching Fire. I thought those 2 books were totally awesome, and I was sure that the final book promised to be epic and a satisfying end to the trilogy.

Sadly, my feelings pretty much match those of my friend Graham, whose review can be seen here. I think he says it better than I could. Well, he's already said it, anyway.

I didn't hate this book, but I didn't really love it either. I was sad that the main character, Katniss, had to endure so much physical pain, get addicted to the drug morphling, have her boyfriend Peeta go insane and brainwashed to kill her, and see all her friends die around her (even a member of her family!). I don't blame her for being so suicidal near the end.

Because of all this sadness, I was pretty confused how in the epilogue, Suzanne Collins managed to create a semi-happy ending, where the Districts don't do Hunger Games anymore but just try to rebuild their lives, and Katniss and Peeta get married and have 2 kids. It was just really weird, you know? It's obviously meant to be a bitter-sweet ending, but I don't know why after all the awful stuff, she even attempted to make it happy.

But like I said, the book isn't all that bad. I liked some aspects of it. The writing was really good, and I liked how Suzanne built the world of District 13. Interesting how that's like a big melting pot for all the rebels of the districts, and even some people from the Capitol are there. The character of President Coin, leader of District 13, is quite a piece of work. Like Katniss, I was really suspicious of her (you should be too).

And besides, this book has some cool memories attached to it. I actually bought this novel from the bookstore (a rarity for me, since I'm more of a library girl) so that I could get to meet Suzanne Collins herself! She couldn't really sign her books, because she had some condition with her hand, but she stamped this special Mockingjay mark in the front of each person's copy.

I was the 71st person in line to meet her. I know, because they handed out these tickets to people in the order that they arrived. There must've been over a hundred and fifty people in the room by the time Suzanne arrived, so I guess I was lucky. See how happy I am, holding up her book? My brother Adam is the one who took the picture. For some reason, only he and I were able to make it to this special event. My parents and sister were working at our apartment in Boston. It was our last day there, so I guess it was pretty hectic. O,o

In the fliers for the event, it said the author couldn't exactly pose with every single fan, but pictures seemed to be allowed. So my brother snuck this one in. Sorry for the blurriness. Anyway, it's proof that I got to meet Suzanne Collins. ^_^

She seems like such a sweet person. You almost wouldn't think that she is the individual responsible for creating such a dystopian universe for her characters to live in, not to mention making most of said characters suffer so horribly. I mean, she writes so well that she makes me believe that these are actual people, and then she just kills them off one by one (since there's no way around it in the Hunger Games). It's as if she's a murderer, although I'm pretty sure that she's not in real life. It's just... weird. O,o I guess that's how it goes for all authors who kill their characters at one point or another. How do they sleep it night, I wonder?

Oh by the way, at the event they had this table that suggested what other books readers might enjoy if they like the Hunger Games trilogy, so I took a panorama picture in order to get the entire table. Do you see that green book in the very middle? ^_^ Yes, it's the Maze Runner! I thought it was so nice of Suzanne Collins to help promote James Dashner's book like that. I'm very excited for the next book in that series, the Scorch Trials, to come out in October.

So yeah, it seems like I was able to give a pretty full review here after all. Didn't know I had it in me. ^_^ Until next time. *Bettina out.*

How They Met and other stories, by David Levithan

2010-08-29T07:12:00.000-07:00

After I returned those Odd short story books to the library, I was scanning the shelves for another anthology that I could glean inspiration and learn from. (I want to write my own collection of short stories now. ^_^) So I found this. Now by the cover, it looked like this would certainly be my kind of book. I've tackled short stories about magic and odd things, and now I was ready to read short stories about love. Awesome!

What I didn't know, and what the inside cover didn't bother to tell me, was that about a third of the stories were about gay couples. O,o

Now I certainly don't have anything against gay people (one of my best friends is gay ^_~). It's just that I'm not used to reading from the perspective of a gay person. It was just... different for me. Hey, I wouldn't have minded if one or two stories were about gay couples, but we're talking about 7 out of 18 stories here. The very first three stories, in fact, were gay. So yeah, this kind of affected my opinion of the book as a whole in general.

To be fair though, the stories that were about straight couples were quite good. The author certainly kept me guessing. O,o He usually wrote in the first person, so it was a little hard to figure out sometimes whether it would turn out to be a gay story or a straight story. But I liked the guy's writing style. The fact that I bothered to finish this book shows that it wasn't all that bad of a reading experience.

Maybe this book was false advertising for me, personally, but don't let that stop you from picking this book up yourself. Who knows? Maybe you'll like it.

Short Stories

2010-08-25T05:44:00.000-07:00

It appears that what I think are my favorite types of books in the world seems to come in phases to me. In 2007, my Harry Potter phase pretty much ended (because all the books were written), along with my ASOUE (A Series Of Unfortunate Events) phase around that same time. Then in 2008 I started my Pendragon phase, which sadly ended last year ~,~ (but it was an awesome ride all the same! ^_^). By the end of that year, I began blogging and a new collective phase opened up: James Dashner books, the Twilight saga, and popular books recommended on other book blogs in general. Also really big books. I loved big tomes that I could spend more than one day on.

For much of 2009 and 2010, it was clear that I was in my graphic novel phase. Maybe my readers have noticed this? First there was Bone and Flight, and then Cirque Du Freak and Runaways, plus lots of others. I only post about the good ones though. I've probably read many more graphic novels than I've bothered to mention, because I always read them very quickly. So I can be in a bookstore or the library, and if I see a catching graphic novel, I'll read it in one sitting. And then I'll gobble up another, and another if I'm lucky. Yes, graphic novels are truly awesome. I love their quickness. ^_^

And now folks, you will be witness to the birth of another book-loving phase. Now I am in love with *drumroll, please*: The Short Story. Or to be more specific, the Short Story Collection. Here's what happened.

First, I came upon this book in the library. The curious cover caught my eye, and when I saw Diana Wynne Jones on the cover I got even more interested (name recognition). So I took it out. I'm quite glad I did. There's a lot of funny stuff in those 15 short stories + 1 novella. Characters, worlds, styles, situations, mostly different, but all thoroughly entertaining. ^_^ Just like a graphic novel, I read through them all pretty quickly, but I also took my time a little, taking breaks between stories.

The theme for each story was pretty much what the title says: Unexpected Magic. Which meant that in each story, the characters either try to use magic but it doesn't turn out the way they thought it would, or they're normal people who fall victim to strange occurrences. I believe my favorite stories were the couple that were told from a cat's point of view. I loved the way the cats thought and reacted to situations.

The next time I went to the library, I found 2 books entirely by chance. I don't really remember why I took them down from the shelf in the first place. I'd certainly never heard of a guy named Bruce Coville before. But they looked like thin quick reads, and the titles kind of caught my eye. Oddly Enough, and Odder Than Ever. Obviously, these books were part of a series. Then I saw that they were both short story books, just like the one Diana Wynne Jones wrote! Once I looked at the inside flaps of both books, I was sold.

As with Unexpected Magic, the title said it all. These stories, in one way or another, were odd. The characters were odd, or the whole situation was odd. The hero either meets, or becomes, something entirely strange. Mythical creatures like ghosts, vampires, werewolves, monsters, brownies, elves, and angels are covered in this book.

When the stories were supposed funny, I really enjoyed their humor. And when the stories were told in all seriousness, I appreciated the worlds and ideas that Bruce had come up with. Definitely a wonderful book to read. Which is why I was very happy that I had the foresight to take out the next book.

This was kind of more of the same, but the stories were all totally different. I loved them all a lot. ^_^ There's nothing more for me to say.

I didn't see this in the library, but I heard that it was another book in the Odd Story Collection series. I am definitely going to look for it next time I'm there, just because I loved the first 2 books, and because I am now crazy about short stories. ^_^

Really, you've got to read these books. They are all utterly amazing. Those short stories I read gave me lots of ideas, perhaps even inspired me, as a writer. They made me think about how you don't have to tell a story that spans 200 or 300 pages long. The story can be simple and to the point, and it can affect the reader just as much, in a fraction of the reading time.

Demon Spawn, by . **

2010-08-20T09:28:00.000-07:00

I don't exactly know if I'm at liberty to discuss this, but if I get any complaints about it, ANY at all, I promise that I will take this post down in a heartbeat. I won't mention any names, except for the title of this fantastic book-to-be. I've just been bursting to share the news (if I may) that I recently finished my role as beta-reader to a novel called Demon Spawn. It was an amazing experience in every way. ^_^

I have served as a beta-reader for my friends more than once before, but this time I had the privilege to read and give my honest opinion on an established, quite popular author's manuscript! I received the book in installments of several chapters each, and he sent me the last couple chapters just before sending it out for his publisher to read. How did I get such an honor? I got connected through a very close blog friend who was thoughtful enough to recommend me highly to the author, because he was specifically looking for a "female teen reader" to give her take on the story.

I've been on this wild ride since early May, and now finally, after about 3 whole months, the author finished his writing and I finished reading. It was amazing! Now from the very beginning I promised him that I wouldn't share the story with anyone, so I can't say anything or give this book a proper review. But I will say this: Remember the name DEMON SPAWN. It is an incredibly awesome read you will NOT want to miss when it goes public. That is all.

Boston Books

2010-08-17T13:24:00.001-07:00

It seems that since coming to Boston I've been a little behind on book reviews, so here I go.

The first awesome book I read was finished in one sitting at the Newbury Comics store in Faneuil Hall. Flight Volume 7. I love the Flight series. Every time I read a new volume, I think it's the best collection of short story strips ever. This time is no different. There are some very talented artists and story-tellers that contributed to this book. If you haven't picked a Flight book before, I sorely suggest you do. It's a fantastic reading experience. I'm not sure how many Flight books there will end up being, but I hope Kazu Kibuishi keeps printing more!

I finished this book next. Another collection of Calvin and Hobbes. We got it from the library. So adorable. ^_^ What a hilarious dynamic duo those two are.

The library that we go to in Boston is awesome! It has a big teen section with LOTS of graphic novels, and comfortable chairs to read them in. I've probably whiled away hours reading GNs, but this book, Earthboy Jacobus, is one I remember the most and I think most deserves mention and review. I once read another book by the same author called Tommysaurus Rex, but that was before I wrote a book blog. I liked the familiar art style, and the story was intriguing. It was about a boy from some kind of alien parallel universe who somehow ends up on Earth, and an ex-army guy adopts him and raises him like his own son. The boy, Jacobus, has a weird black mark on his hand. There is some coming of age and a big alien battle near the end. For me, it was a good story, and I liked it.

This is a book I checked out from the library. It's a collection of 15 short stories from the author of Howl's Moving Castle and House of Many Ways. I haven't finished it yet, though I only have a few more stories to go until I'm done and can give it a proper review. But for now I really must say that Diana Wynne Jones is quite the creative writer. I love reading short story collections like this. They give me so many ideas, and lots of inspiration. They make me want to do better than just writing poems. I can probably write a decent short story, if I only set my mind to it. Anyway, I highly recommend this book. It gives you such an inspiration boost. Look for a review of this very soon.

Oh! Wait, wait! I almost forgot to mention something important! In less than 2 weeks, on August 31st, I'm going to be meeting another famous author! The amazing Suzanne Collins, the genius behind the Hunger Games trilogy, is coming to our library to promote Mockngjay, which is coming out in stores very, very soon, I believe. I am very excited for this event. How incredibly fortunate that I'll still be in Boston at that time. ^_^

The only thing is that it was mentioned that Suzanne won't exactly be signing books, per se, because something's wrong with her wrist, I think. But she'll be stamping each book, and I believe she'll allow pictures to be taken, so that's great. I can still prove I met her. ^_^ The event will be "First come, first serve" though, so I don't know how early I'll have to go to insure that I get to meet her. I hope I can talk to her and ask her questions. Shaking her hand will be awesome, at the very least.

That's it, I guess! Until next time, my fellow book lovers. ^_~

Calamity Jack, by Shannon Hale

2010-08-06T13:19:00.000-07:00

What a nice follow-up to Rapunzels Revenge this book was. I read it all in one fell swoop, and it was fantastic. As I predicted, Jack was more the focus of this story. New characters were introduced, hilarity ensues and it seems that everyone lives happily ever after. (Although the last frame is highly suspect. Is it a cliffhanger? Does it indicate a future sequel? I have no idea.)

I liked the prologue, Jack's back-story. Very informative. It flowed right into the present time pretty smoothly. It's funny that Rapunzel still kept her long braid lassos even after she'd had her hair cut off in the last book. I liked the villain, that mean old giant. He was just as horrible as Rapunzel's witch mother, and I liked seeing him go down in the end. I definitely recommend reading this graphic novel, as well as the one that precedes it and any that will succeed it.

I didn't get to finish this book (we had to return it to the library), but I though I might as well mention it. It's quite a well written self-help book that was originally written by Dr. Phil, and this book was adapted by his own son. Pretty darn cool. Very good life strategies indeed are included in this volume. All you really need to know are the 10 principles that are covered in it:

1 ~ You either get it, or you don't

2 ~ You create your own experience

3 ~ People do what works

4 ~ You can't change what you don't acknowledge

5 ~ Life rewards action

6 ~ There is no reality, only perception

7 ~ Life is managed, not cured

8 ~ We teach people how to treat us

9 ~ There's power in forgiveness

10 ~ You have to name it before you can claim it

If you'd like to learn about and understand these principles in better detail, then read this book.

Jim Henson's The Storyteller, by Anthony Minghella

2010-07-31T12:39:00.000-07:00

You can compare this book to J. K. Rowling's fantastic Tales of Beedle the Bard, the small but exciting collection of Wizard fairy tales. The difference is that Rowling's stories were brief, to the point, and completely original. The tales found in Jim Henson's The Storyteller, on the other hand, take quite a few pages to read (maybe half an hour when you're reading out loud), have long and winding (but still exciting and suspenseful!) plot-lines, and were apparently old European folk tales handed down from generations.

I promise you, these stories are absolutely fantastic! Each one is like a mixture of the fairy tales I'm familiar with, like Beauty and the Beast, Hansel and Gretel, Rumpelstiltskin, etc. There's magic, clever characters, evil witches and giants, and good triumphing over evil, but hearing them told, they feel somewhat different from the ordinary tales I know. The characters are always portrayed as strong-willed, masters of their own destinies. They aren't stupid like Jack, who climbed the Beanstalk, or helpless damsels in distress like Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty. Interestingly enough though, the expression "3rd time's the charm" seems to apply very heavily in each story.

I loved reading these stories. The writing style is extremely entertaining. What alliteration! The book is written just as if you were hearing someone tell the tales to you, in the oral tradition. Each story is simply amazing. The best part about it is that you can truly see these tales come to life, by viewing them on YouTube! Jim Henson transformed these amazing tales into mini-movies for television, making fantastic creatures come alive by way of the skilled puppetry (or "muppetry") he was famous for. I can't possibly pick a favorite. Perhaps you'll have better luck? I'll attach a link to each story's respective YouTube video clips, so you can see them for yourself. (Well, it at least shows the first part of them. Seeing the rest is up to you.)

The Three Ravens

Hans My Hedgehog

The Soldier and Death

Unfortunately, I can't find the YouTube link to the tale "A Story Short", which is quite a shame, because that's a story that actually has the storyteller himself in it. Oh well. Enjoy the stories anyway. And please, check out the book too. It's so much fun to read these stories aloud! ^_^

Rapunzel's Revenge, by Shannon Hale

2010-07-29T07:21:00.000-07:00

I seem to be reading a lot of graphic novels lately. I don't know what it is about 2010 that is making me read so many G.N.s, but I'm glad I'm reading some good stuff here. When the story is good and the art style is appealing, they are quick and easy reading. I think that's what I love about them. I can go to a book store or a library and leave having enjoyed another wild adventure.

Anyway, after just a couple visits to the library (once a few days ago and once yesterday), I finished my first book by Shannon Hale. How cool that it was a graphic novel. I've heard that my friend Q is quite the fan of Shannon Hale. Well, she has pretty good taste. Rapunzel's Revenge was a wonderful take on an old fairy tale, with a few certain changes. For example, Rapunzel escapes from her own tower (a taaaall tree hollowed out at the top) with her extremely long hair, which she braids and uses as a couple of lassos. (Go girl power!) Then she befriends a guy named Jack (who seems to be Jack from the Beanstalk story) and together they journey across the land so Rapunzel can settle the score with her "mother", the witch.

Quite action packed and well worth looking into. In fact, I've learned that this book actually has a sequel that was published at the beginning of the year. It's called Calamity Jack. I suppose it focuses more on Jack this time, but Rapunzel still follows him. From the cover alone, it looks great. Since I liked the first book so much, I've already reserved it from the library. I hope it comes in soon.

While at the library, I also had time to finish another graphic novel, though this one was really short. Wallace and Gromit are such a funny claymation duo. It's a very quick mystery about dogs going missing and since Wallace and Gromit are amateur sleuths, they get to solve it. Well, Gromit the dog does, anyway. Wallace just runs into dead ends, but ends up taking the credit anyway. Very sweet, anyway.

Jim Henson: The Works, by Christopher Finch

2010-07-25T09:13:00.000-07:00

I remember taking this book out in the past, but not being really into it. Perhaps I just looked at the many pictures in it. (This book certainly has a LOT of pictures!) But this time around, I took a closer look. I read the entire thing cover to cover, even the little captions that go under the photos, and the profiles of the different Muppet characters, and bios on Jim Henson's colleagues and friends.

After reading this book, Jim Henson has definitely become one of my top 10 heroes. He did such amazing things in his lifetime, and ultimately changed the world! Besides being partly responsible for the success of Sesame Street and the Muppet show, and making incredible Muppet films, he did a lot of stuff that I was unaware of.

For example, in his college days, when he was just starting out, Jim and his future wife, Jane, did this TV show with puppets called "Sam and Friends". Kermit was one of the characters, only he wasn't actually a frog at that point. More of a lizard-like abstract character. Oh, and they did absolutely hilarious commercials with puppets! (Click this link for a collection of Wilkins Coffee spots. Wilkins and Wontkins are so funny!)

Jim Henson also made these incredible films that had nothing to do with any of his Muppet characters, but made great use of skilled puppetry and animatronics. I've seen 2 such movies, "The Dark Crystal" and "The Labyrinth", with my twin sister, and I thought they absolutely rocked! They are such great stories, and all the puppet characters seem so real and alive! Jim Henson was an absolute genius, just for helping to create these films alone.

The last thing I didn't know was the exact day Jim Henson that died. May 16, 1990. ~,~ It's sad that such a great guy like Jim had to die. But he left quite a legacy behind him, that's for sure. I highly recommend reading this book. Don't worry if the size of it appears daunting. Even looking at the pictures makes it all worth it. ^_^

Standard Hero Behavior, by John David Anderson

2010-07-22T16:20:00.000-07:00

I randomly picked this book up in the library and read a chapter before we had to go home. Just from that chapter alone, I knew it was a good story. It's a medieval tale about a teenager named Mason who is the bard (story-teller/ poet/song writer) of Darlington, a town that used to have lots of brave heroes, but now only has one, Duke Darlinger, who always returns from his adventures suspiciously unscathed and puts heavy "protection taxes" on the people.

Eventually, when a couple of Orcs come to town, Mason discovers that the Duke is actually a big wimp and not the hero that everybody thinks he is. So Mason and his best friend Cowel set off in search of heroes who will help fend of the evil army of orcs and goblins about to overrun their town in just a few days. Along the way, they make interesting friends, have very close shaves, learn about what really happened to Mason's father, and discover what being a hero really entails.

I liked the humor in this story, as well as the world-building and what I thought were quite fully rounded characters. The ending was somewhat anti-climactic, because it skipped the big battle scene altogether (Mason and Cowel weren't around for it, after all), but it ended pretty nicely. Wrapped everything up very neatly. I don't see any sequels coming out of this any time soon, which is fine and dandy with me.

There are a few places where the characters curse mildly, which was pretty funny. However, I think it would have been more entertaining if the author had been more creative with his profanity instead of simply letting the characters say cr** and sh** to express their anger/annoyance. But besides that, it was all in all an enjoyable reading experience for me. Pick it up and see what you think.

Recent books

2010-07-22T13:34:00.000-07:00

I'll probably be ready to post a couple new reviews very soon, but I thought I'd let you know what I've been reading these days.

On July 11th, the day I met Julie Andrews in person (see full story here ^_~), I read and finished a couple books while waiting in the bookstore. One was the children's book that Julie had written with her daughter Emma, The Very Fairy Princess. (We actually have Julie Andrew's autograph on the front page!) Of course, being a children's book it was very easy to read in one sitting. The pictures were pretty cute, and it's definitely a nice book to read to one's own little princess. Who knows? Might become one of those classics or something...

The other one I read was another Runaways novel, though this one was much, much thinner. Apparently the huge one was a compilation of 3 volumes, and I think this one was Volume 4, True Believers. The story that continues was as good as before, with some new friends and new villains to fight. The ending was, once again, very cliffhanger-ly and totally unexpected. It's really cool, having a book series that can surprise you like that.

The next time I went to Borders, I read Runaways Volume 5, Escape to New York, only I wasn't quite able to finish that one. I wanted to, but there was just no time. I think I got a third of the way in, perhaps half. For some reason, the art style had noticeably changed, but I don't think it made the story any less enjoyable. Some really strange twists in it, though, especially concerning Karolina, the girl from another planet. 0,o

A book my sister took out from the library recently that I've tried to finish, but I guess I've lost interest in it, is called The Back of the Napkin. It's a very informational book about solving problems easier by putting them into simple picture form. Basically there are 4 simple principles to follow: Look, See, Imagine, and Show. In drawing your pictures, you ask yourself 6 questions: Who/what, How many/ much, Where, When, How, and Why. Very easy stuff to understand. I just got half-way through and didn't bother with finishing the rest.

Currently, I'm juggling 2 books at a time that are holding my interest very well, a novel and a biography. I started reading Standard Hero Behavior I believe weeks ago in a different, less familiar library branch. It's a very charming, funny, kind of medieval story, along the lines of Once/ Twice Upon a Marigold, or How to Train your Dragon. I only finished the first chapter before we had to leave that time, but now I've taken it out from our regular library and am currently enjoying it.

As recent as a couple days ago, Annette and I were on YouTube and we watched a Muppet tribute to Jim Henson's death. It was very sweet, and I even cried. I had no idea that he had died in 1990. Reminiscing about my favorite Muppet films, I've begun to realize exactly how much HARD work must have been put into making these fantastic creatures come to life. I reserved 3 or 4 books about Jim Henson from the library, but my sister happened to find this book on the shelf. It's very big, but there's lots of pictures, and a lot of info about his accomplishments and his friends and his life that I never knew about before.

Look forward to reviews for these two fantastic books. Believe it or not, I'm a couple of chapters away from finishing the both of them. ^_^

A couple graphic novels

2010-07-09T16:26:00.000-07:00

Finally, my first book review in ages! This review is actually for two books, two graphic novels. One I liked very much (^_^), and the other one... not so much (0,o).

The one I read first was recommended to me by a new random blog friend. On first sight, I thought "Nuh-uh, I don't think it's for me." I don't know, something about the art-style, and the kind of genre... But I judge books by their covers way too often, so finally I read through it and gave it a try.

Harry Dresden, the wizard/detective and hero of this story, slightly reminded me of an Indiana Jones type, but with less of a sense of humor, in my opinion. I wasn't exactly thrilled with the story itself, but since it was a graphic novel I flew through the pages easily enough. I can kind of see why other people would like it, such as my friend, but sorry. Not my particular style.

Now this was a random graphic novel that I started paging through in the library. It's a superhero series about 6 kids who discover that their parents are actually super-villains. The teens band together, run away from home, discover powers of their own, and try to figure out a way to stop their evil parents from destroying the world. The story and the art-style seemed to come from the same Marvel universe of super-heroes such as Captain America or Spiderman, which was really neat.

I tell you, this book was HUGE! I later found out that it's because it was a collection of 18 of these Runaways comic magazines wrapped in one book. Because of it's size (and weight! *,*) I debated whether or not I should borrow it. The story seemed worth it though, and I didn't want to wait until our next library visit, so I took it out. I'm definitely glad I did. It was awesome! ^_^

My favorite thing about it, I believe, was the character development. I really think that by the end, all the characters had become slightly different people, in a good way. Oh, and what a surprising ending... I didn't see it coming at all! I thought I knew who would be the traitor, but I was dead wrong! It was the very person I never even suspected!!!

My final word: Definitely check out Runaways. And if it so happens to be your style, maybe try out the Dresden Files. I wouldn't, but no one's stopping you, right?

Morpheus Road: The Light, by D. J. MacHale

2010-06-14T19:51:00.000-07:00

Reading this kind of book really just makes me go... "WHOA!"

I love D. J. MacHale's writing style. I have compared his best-selling book series of 10, Pendragon, to the Harry Potter series a few times before, I believe. But after reading this new book, published just this year, I'm telling you this dude, without a single doubt, is in the stratosphere! He's in the leagues of J. K. Rowling and James Dashner here. I'm now certain that no matter what he writes, even if it's the farthest thing from Pendragon, (to tell the truth, this isn't that far from it 0,o) I will absolutely enjoy it.

I'm kicking myself for ever judging this book by it's cover. When I heard that MacHale would write a new horror series, I already thought "Oh, that's not for me," because as a rule, I don't pick up horror novels. I mean, maybe the books I read have some sort of horrors in them, but I never consciously think "I'm reading horror." Then when I started seeing this book in the store... well, look at it! Looked like a total creep fest to me. No way would I read this.

There where 2 things that gave me the confidence and curiosity to give this book a try. The first thing was Graham's review. He hasn't read as much Pendragon as I have (only the 1st book, in fact 0,o), but he liked MacHale's style as much as I did and he tested the waters for me. He gave it really positive marks and gave me the impression that I'd actually enjoy it. The second thing was the last time I was in the bookstore (this was after I read Graham's review). I saw the book on a shelf and I decided to take a small peek in it, see if I liked the beginning. I read the foreword by D. J. MacHale, which was as great as his Pendragon forewords. ^_^ Then I got to the prologue...

Which really hooked me in! You know why? Because this story actually seems to takes place in the same universe of Pendragon! The main character lives in Stony Brook! He eats fast food at the Garden Poultry! There's even a mention of Mark Dimond! Familiar territory, baby! ^_^ Now I've gotta read this thing. When I got home I reserved the book online, and the next time we go to the library, it's in my hands. Now I'm done with it. (Obviously, otherwise I wouldn't be writing a review for it.)

Where to begin? Well, there's these 2 guys, Marshal and Cooper, who share a similar relationship to Mark and Bobby. One is shy, responsible and likes graphic novels, the other is more popular and outgoing and doesn't care what others think of him. Without giving too much away (you can see more details from Graham's review), Cooper (the wild one) gets in trouble and goes missing, and Marshal (the quiet one) has to save him, with the help of Coop's older sister, Sydney. What's the catch? Well, like I said, it's a total creep fest... but I actually liked that. ^_^

Marsh is an artist and drew this character he calls the Gravedigger (the psycho on the cover). One night, the Gravedigger comes to life and starts haunting Marsh, giving him the creepiest supernatural visions. Scared out of his life, he gets Sydney (who at first is pretty mean to him) to take him up to the lake where Coop is spending the summer. But that's just the beginning. What follows is a chilling, suspenseful mystery and crazy paranormal events that would drive lesser folks over the deep end. But not our heroes, Marsh and Sydney. They may be scared, but they're on a mission: save Cooper.

The whole thing was written like an awesome movie! I could honestly see the action unfolding in my mind, as if a camera was showing everything. I guess it's no surprise, since MacHale also writes for TV. My favorite scenes are when Marsh is being haunted for the first time, in his house, at night, all by himself (Dad is conveniently out of the picture on a business trip) and this bloody wave scene right out of the movie The Shining. Anyone know about that scene? Totally creepy, but a priceless scene nonetheless. A few chapters before it finishes, the mystery is solved and it seems like it's going to be a sad and bittersweet ending (there's a very touching funeral), but then the action comes back full-force. There is plainly a reason why this is going to be a trilogy.

If, like me, you fell in love with Pendragon, I see no reason why you shouldn't feel comfortable curling up with this book. It's just the kind of story that sucks you in on a wild ride you'll never forget!

The Blade of Shattered Hope, by James Dashner

2010-06-12T09:00:00.000-07:00

I was really excited to pick up the Blade of Shattered Hope from the bookstore about a week ago. This is the 3rd book in Dashner's 5-part series, The 13th Reality. Here are my reviews for Books 1 and 2 of this series. They are awesome. Having said that, I believe that I liked the first and second books much better than the third. Without giving away too many spoilers (I hope), here are a few reasons why I had a less than stellar reading experience:

It was pretty dark compared to the others.

Granted, I understand why it's a lot darker: Mistress Jane is upping her game, Tick's trying to control his newfound power, and in the meantime, his own family is being attacked and mixed up in this whole Reality mess. But James, if I were humbly able to suggest anything to you, since it's the 3rd in a 5 part series, maybe you could have saved the darkness for the last 2 books? Then again, from the ending, I have no idea where you plan to go with this series, so I'll just leave the writing to you.

Very few entertaining riddles for Tick to solve, which I really loved in Book 1, the Journal of Curious Letters.

In fact, there was only one riddle, near the end, which wasn't that hard. Maybe that was because I decided to flip through the book to see the pictures ahead (correct me if I'm wrong, but there seem to be fewer illustrations in this volume than the others), and I accidentally saw the solution before I got to that part. So I ruined that for myself. ~,~

Tick has so much mood switches about his feelings about Mistress Jane, which had me utterly confused.

Jane is evil and twisted, yes, everyone knows that. But first he feels pity for her and what he's accidentally done to her (See The Hunt for Dark Infinity), then he hates her guts for doing stuff to his family and friends. Then he feels there might be a glimmer of hope for her yet, and then he goes insane and tries to kill her with his wild Chi-karda powers, without thinking about any consequences. Yeah. For some reason, I don't feel like I recognize Tick anymore. He used to use his head, but now he just goes with his gut.

Besides pointing these things out, I do have some good things to say about Shattered Hope. I learned more stuff about the supporting characters, like Tick's mom and his sister Lisa, both of whom haven't gotten a lot of coverage until now (Dad and Kayla had great roles in Book 1, I thought. I wish there was more of them here, though). Also Sofia gets more backstory, and Sato becomes a very key player in this adventure. I think I'm warming up to Sato now. He was a real jerk in Curious Letters, but now I see that he's quite loyal and brave and has lots of other good qualities. He makes a great leader, I'll tell you that.

This book isn't my favorite in the series thus far, but the ending will really surprise you. Trust me. I'm not that sure exactly how it happened, even though I read it, but it's still a great cliff-hanger and makes me curious about what happens next.

As a side note, and another suggestion to James Dashner, I read the index of important people and terms at the end of the book. My suggestion is that maybe you should have all the terms we've just learned from this book separate, from all the other terms that we learned in past books, because it makes it confusing when they're all bunched up together. I was reminded of Billy "the Goat" Cooper and the Barf Scarf and the Tingle Wraith and all these things that weren't important to Shattered Hope. To tell the truth, looking back on those story elements made me wonder... why are those things so important to the story? Why should they all be in an index? And I still don't know what the ugly birthmark on Tick's neck looks like! ~,~

Here's a link to my friend Graham's opinions of this same book. I think he shares my sentiments almost exactly.

Gotcha, sucker!

2010-06-11T10:39:00.001-07:00

Fellow book-bloggers, (in fact, all bloggers in general)

Have you been getting comments from strange users who post strange links? The comments I get never have anything to do with me or the book reviews that I post, and it really creeps me out. Why would anyone do something like this???

The interesting thing is that this happens more often to my Book Club than to my journal blog, which leads me to conclude that this user (or users, maybe they work in a pack 0,o) is only interested in blogs that post book reviews.

As a solution, I am now moderating comments for Bettina's Book Club. Thanks, Graham, for suggesting this to me. ^_^

Thanks, and happy reading!

(BTW, how do you guys like the new and improved Book Club? I revamped the design just today, with the help of the new Blogger Template Designer. I think it's awesome!!! ^__^)

Marley and Me, by John Grogan

2010-06-03T13:54:00.001-07:00

Before I read this book, I saw the movie that was based on it, which starred Owen Wilson and Jennifer Anniston. What a heart-warming movie Marley and Me was. It seems that they were really true to the story. ^_^

I loved the movie a lot, but nothing can compare to the book. There are so many more funny stories to tell about this wacky dog, and the book just leaves it up to your imagination how Marley gets into all his funny antics. It focuses less on the owners, John and Jenny Grogan's lives, and more on stories of their wild pet.

Even though Marley may seem like a dumb goofball of a dog - he eats anything and everything, he won't listen to simple commands like sit and come, thunderstorms freak him out, he's full of ecstatic energy no matter what the situation - there are times where he seems to know exactly what is happening and what is needed from him at the moment. Like when the Grogans bring home their first baby, Marley knows that he has to be gentle around him.

I got sad when Marley started to show his age. A dog who had acted like an overgrown puppy all his life, and he gets weak hips and a twisted stomach. ~,~ Even though I expected it all along, it was still quite sad.

John Grogan is a really good writer. Of course, he works as a columnist, so that must help a lot, but still. Telling all the funny Marley stories in such detail, he made me believe that they were all true (which they were.) I guess watching the movie, I'd be more liable to think that it was just another made-up plot, even though it says "based on a true story." Anyway, top marks. I highly recommend this book and it's movie to animal lovers everywhere. Here's a trailer for it.

The Tao of Pooh, by Benjamin Hoff

2010-05-31T15:21:00.000-07:00

I love Winnie the Pooh. I never read the classic children's books, but I saw the Disney's "Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh" when I was little. What a special character. Though he's a bear of very little brain, he is the most lovable creature in the Hundred Acre Wood. Plus, as revealed in this book, he displays characteristics and practices many of the principles of a Taoist (pronounced DOW-ist).

The Tao of Pooh compares the different characters in Pooh's world - Rabbit, Owl, Tigger, Eeyore, Piglet, you remember them, Don't you? - to the simple, peaceful wiseness of Pooh's personality. While Rabbit is clever, Owl pompous, Tigger impatient, Eeyore depressed and Piglet hesitant, Winnie the Pooh simply... is. He's always in the Now, enjoying a beautiful day with a jar of honey and Christopher Robin by his side.

What I loved about this book is that it included several passages from the classic stories. What a brilliant children's author A. A. Milne was. ^_^ It makes me want to actually read the Pooh books. Maybe I'll find them online somewhere. But even if you're not familiar with the characters of the Hundred Acre Wood, I think just about anyone will like this book.

Chuck Berry: the Autobiography, by Chuck Berry (plus more)

2010-05-10T07:22:00.000-07:00

The main read that I wanted to talk about today is one that I finished just yesterday. It's another autobiography about a famous musician I am a fan of, and this guy definitely made history. Chuck Berry (who is still alive and kicking at age 83, by the way! 0,o) is legendary for a dance move called the "duck walk" and for writing songs such as "Maybellene," "Roll Over, Beethoven," "Johnny B. Goode," "Monkey Business," "My Ding-A-Ling" and many many others.

Before reading this, I didn't know a lot about Chuck. All I knew were his great songs. But I learned a lot from this book that he wrote himself in the 80's. For example, not only is he a great song-writer, he's an awesome writer period. He's very poetic, making extremely good use of metaphors and rhyme. I also learned that Mr. Berry has gone to jail a few times. But he's not a bad guy at all, and his description of his experiences in jail weren't all that horrible. He is also very attracted to women, but he's only been married once in his life.

This was a very fascinating book. I highly recommend it to you die-hard fans of the old rock-and-roll heroes.

By the way, sorry that it has once again been so long since my last book review. I've read a lot of books since the last one, though most of them have been graphic novels that I read in one sitting in the library or bookstore: Cirque Du Freak volume 4 and Children of the Sea volumes 1 and 2. I also read a book called Here comes Everybody, a non-fiction book about how people are able connect much easier with todays technology. They can get organized and make friends without physically going anywhere. Anyway, it was a pretty good read, but I just kept putting off reviewing it.

I also finished reading an excellent writing book quite recently, called Spilling Ink, by Anne Mazer and Ellen Potter. It was published just this year and was extremely helpful (unlike a most writing books I've read before). It got the writing wheels in my head turning again, at least. In my opinion, this is definitely something I would read over and over again, because it has great advice, and anyway, the writing is really awesome.

Unmasked: The Final Years of Michael Jackson, by Ian Halperin

2010-04-20T13:48:00.000-07:00

I've put off writing this for as long as I could. But on this blog, I normally pride myself on posting about ALL the books I read, whether I thought they were good or not. Honestly though, I wish that I could have un-read this particular book...

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm pretty obsessed with the late Michael Jackson, which is why I try to reserve all the books about him I can from our library. His music is great, but what I really love is the person behind the music. He's my all time favorite hero. Or was. I'm not so sure anymore... this book has introduced some new thoughts and ideas into my head, thoughts I would gladly have gone without my entire life.

Before reading Unmasked, I'd had a vague knowledge that Michael had gotten into some court trouble, about molesting young boys or something, but I never believed that for a second. After his death I had seen so many of his music videos, interviews, and other footage of him on YouTube, so I thought I knew the real him. It just couldn't be in his nature to do something as wrong and disturbing as... doing that to kids. But this book gave me a big wake-up call, bringing to my attention all the details of these (to me) strange and mysterious stories.

I read about the 1993 scandal with Jordan Chandler (I absolutely hated his dad, the fake dentist. That guy was so evil and greedy!) and the 2003 one with Gavin Arvizo. It's simply unbelievable. Throughout learning about all the facts, I kept the idea that MJ was innocent, but if that's the case, then it's terrible how many people went to the tabloids and sold their lies for ginormous amounts of money. Even people who worked for Michael! And children! Michael always believed that children always told the truth, but these guys must have been forced by their parents to tell outrageous lies about their idol, just so they could be richer. It's almost enough to make you lose faith in humanity in general. ~,~ What was disgusting to me, especially, were the lies that were told using sodium amytal, a drug that is supposed to be a truth serum, but is actually proven to plant false memories that make people think they were abused by people.

I felt so sorry for Michael. But even if he was innocent on the sexual allegation counts, it was plain to see that he wasn't so innocent on other counts, such as getting addicted to drugs, and running into debt. It's just so sad, how he started to lose his touch, especially in the months leading up to This Is It. He got so sick, I don't know why he went ahead with it. Near the end, it actually seemed like he was suicidal, which is just so sad. He couldn't have possibly done 50 concerts, so he would rather have died than disappoint his fans.

In the beginning, the author, Ian Halperin, had been under the impression that Michael was guilty of the molesting charges, but by the end, with all the information he'd picked up, at least he saw that it wasn't all black and white. I've learned kind of the same thing. I will never believe that my hero, Michael Jackson, would do anything to hurt the children he loved, but he's not perfect. He made mistakes in his life too, being human, just like the rest of us. When I closed this book, I remember feeling a little... out of it. I thought I would never like Michael Jackson again! So much information in my head, I wish I had never learned any of it. Like they say, ignorance is bliss. I wish I was able to go back in time, to when my picture of Michael Jackson was untainted. But this cannot be so.

Happily, in the end, I am still one of Michael's biggest fans. His music is amazing; of that, there is plainly no doubt. And the inspiring values that he tried to instill in humanity... making peace in the world, working for a healthier planet, giving all that you've got, being more like a child, having real love... will never lose their strength or importance.

I hope those who read this will be able to give their thoughts on my latest read.

Recent books I've finished

2010-04-07T09:37:00.000-07:00

I've been reading a lot of books in the last few days and I don't want to go through the trouble of giving each their own separate review, so here's all of them in one go.

Home, by Julie Andrews ~ I find it pretty interesting how I'm starting to get as attracted to reading biographies as I am to fiction. It's extremely educational, because you get to find out who the person behind all the fame is, what their family life was like and their whole outlook on life. Although this book doesn't cover her entire life, just from when she was born to when Walt Disney asked her to play Mary Poppins, it was written very well (apparently her daughter helped her write it ^_^) and I liked it very much.

The Calvin and Hobbes Lazy Sunday Book, by Bill Watterson ~ An adorable collection of Calvin and Hobbes comic strips. I've seen these characters in the funny pages from time to time, but reading a whole book of them, I've got a much better idea of them. It's about a 6-year-old boy with the craziest imagination (Calvin), whose beloved stuffed tiger (Hobbes) is his imaginary best friend, like a big brother to him. They tease each other, cheat in their little games, and Hobbes likes to pounce on Calvin when he comes home from school, but it's plain to see that they are the best of friends. I like the strips when Calvin is the central character, though. The line drawn between his imagination and reality is very thin indeed. He can be the heroic Spaceman Spiff, and he sees his parents, teachers and his neighbor Susie (a girl across the street who probably likes him) as terrifying aliens holding him captive that he must escape from. What a world this kid lives in.

Your Erroneous Zones, by Wayne Dyer ~ I recently finished reading this with my sister, Annette. It took us a long time to read, since we read a chapter out loud to each other a day, and we didn't exactly read it every day. But I'm proud to have finished it, so I'm listing it here. While this is a very educational book, I wouldn't recommend it for light reading. It talks about identifying the negative behaviors you may have put on yourself over the course of your life and getting rid of them.

I also wanted to say that I'm close to finishing these 2 books: Here Comes Everybody, a book about how the World Wide Web and its myriad tools have changed the way people interact with each other, and the Visual Quickstart Guide Annette and I are studying to learn about Illustrator CS4. The latter book has been extremely helpful to my sister and I.

I have no idea what books I'm going to follow up with after these. I wonder if anyone actually reads these reviews. It appears that for the entire year of 2010 I've only gotten 1 comment a month. Am I just crying out to an empty area of cyberspace? Hmm, maybe what I've been reading lately isn't that interesting to other people... Well, this blog is meant for me to keep track of the books I read over the years, so I don't care whether I get commented on or not. It may give my ego a little boost if someone decides to let me know that I pointed out a good read to them, but I don't need it.

I never thought I'd say this, but perhaps there's more to life than just reading book after book...

Cirque Du Freak #2 & #3, by Takahiro Arai

2010-04-02T15:47:00.001-07:00

When I visited Borders today, I remembered how much I'd enjoyed reading the first Cirque Du Freak manga novel (see link here), so I looked for the next in the series, found it, and settled myself down against the book shelf for another wild adventure with Darren Shan, half-vampire.

No sooner was I done reading book #2 when I got up, found #3 and sat down again, plunging right through the next story and finished that in a wink as well. If my speed in reading these books is any indication of how much I liked them, then I loved them! And I really do. ^_^

By now I believe I've gotten used to the way manga books read from right to left. No matter which direction the reading goes, the stories are super-awesome! After Darren becomes a vampire, he joins the Cirque Du Freak and makes a couple loyal and true friends, like Evra the snake boy, and Sam, a young out-spoken boy who reminds me somewhat of the character Chuck from James Dashner's Maze Runner. Unfortunately, just like Chuck, Sam dies a very noble and sad death. ~,~ (Sorry for that spoiler!)

In the third book, a year passes by before Darren and Evra have their next adventure. The reader learns the difference between vampires and vampaneeze and Darren gets his first romantic interest. A little interesting how that springs about, actually. I don't know how much I liked his girlfriend. But anyway, the book ends very well, and I liked it.

I got to read just a little bit of book #4, like 30 pages, before it was time to leave the book store. From what I read so far, this looks like a great adventure as well. 6 years pass between novels this time (half-vampires age 5 times slower than humans, so he still looks like a teen. Convenient, huh?). For some reason he has to go to this vampire meeting, and I left off of the part where he and his mentor, Crepsley, are up in the mountains and meet up with a vampire General, Gavner Purl. He seems like a good character. He's a friend of Crepsley, anyway.

I can't wait to get back to Borders and read the rest! The sad thing is that I think either this book or the 5th one is the last in the manga series, and in the actual series there's, like, a dozen books. I wonder if, when I finish the manga series, it'll be easy to pick up with the regular books. Well, in any case, I recommend this graphic novel series a lot!

Moonwalk, by Michael Jackson

2010-04-01T15:26:00.000-07:00

Do I really have to say anything about this book? It was written by Michael Jackson. I loved it. 'Nuff said. But this blog isn't just a record for me of what books I've read. When I write reviews, I want to think that I'm convincing someone who has similar reading tastes as mine that they should read the books that I have. So...

Trust me, even if you have only the faintest inkling of who Michael Jackson is, you should read this book. You don't have to like him or his music to enjoy his writing style (though I'm positive it will help a lot if you're a fan ^_^). He covers almost everything. All stages of his life, chronological stories leading right up to when he was almost 30 years old. Hey, it was published in 1988.

The stories, the memories that this superstar has of when he was younger are just so cool. It reminds me that even though he had a lot of talent, he was still only a kid, and nothing he did was ever easy. He had to work very hard with his brothers and family to get so famous. I'm so glad he used lots of details to describe his life. It's just what I was looking forward to when I reserved Michael Jackson's own biography. I gobbled the whole thing up in just a couple days, even though I tried my best to savor his every word.

It's probably plain to see that, personally, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, so I won't say any more. But please, if my review has managed to spark your interest in this awesome star's life story, write me a comment and let me know.

Twilight: The Graphic Novel, by Young Kim

2010-03-30T17:16:00.000-07:00

I went to the library today and I happened to find this in the graphic novel section. How can one possibly resist? ^_^ I read the entire thing in one sitting. In one word, it's... incredible. I know the story pretty much inside and out, having read the book and seen the movie a couple times, but reading the graphic novel seemed to give me a whole different experience. I liked it. I really, really liked it.

The artwork is fantastic. The characters are drawn very well, a mix between what they look like in the movie and how I imagine them when I read about them, and the background was very realistic, almost like a photograph sometimes. The style just really appealed to me, and that's good, because when I pick up a graphic novel, if I don't like the way the art looks and the story doesn't hold my interest, I won't read it. But this was amazing.

Really, this book almost made me feel the same things as I did when I read Twilight itself. I was pretty disappointed when I found out it ended smack in the middle. I hope the next volume comes out soon...

Also while I was at the library, I picked up a very special book that I'd reserved not too long ago. Moonwalk, by Michael Jackson himself! I can't wait to read this and share my thoughts about it with everyone! ^_^ This will undoubtedly be a review you won't want to miss.

This is the super-awesome drawing that Michael actually drew at the front of his book. His self-portrait. ^_^ What an artist!

Pages!

2010-03-28T20:21:00.000-07:00

I've recently discovered a new function in Blogger! Pages that are separate from the blog! This is really a space-saver, and really neat. I have all the link stuff and a whole wall of the books I read in 2009, plus I'm building a wall for books I've read so far in 2010 that I will keep adding to. You have to check them out! And try to use them in your own blog, because this is a handy feature. You can find the button for creating pages when you're editing your posts. ^_~

A couple books

2010-03-28T07:55:00.000-07:00

Okay, I need to be a LOT better at posting book reviews after I finish them. It would take way too long to write proper reviews for each of these books, so I'm going to do it in one whole shebang. One thing all these books have in common? They receive a hearty thumbs up from me, but for different reasons.
I finished the Michael Jackson biography first, and, since I'm such a huge fan of him, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. ^_^ Funny enough, I got to reading it while I was researching for my Michael Jackson Tribute speech for Toastmasters (see this link). This book had so much! There were chapters about his 2 marriages, a chapter with a list of most of the notable awards he won over the years, even a few chapters that were transcripts of interviews he did, like the one he did in 1993 with Oprah Winfrey. I liked those chapters best. ^_^ I like what people say about him well enough, but anything Michael says just makes me admire him even more. I highly recommend this to MJ fans.

Num8ers was quite a fascinating read too. I found out about it because of a review from the Latiener Gang. They certainly picked a winner, in my opinion. It's about a girl who knows when people are going to die by seeing the numbers of their date when she looks in their eyes. It's a pretty great love story, but (and I'm sorry to spoil it for you) it ends sadly. Like the Latieners say, the ending will really surprise you. I'll warn you though, this book's kind of for mature readers, if you catch my meaning.

Lastly, there's the Elmo book. Now, I'm not a really big fan of Sesame Street, let alone Elmo, but this book was very informative, because it was written by a guy who was right behind the scenes of things. It's mostly a biography of the life of Kevin Clash, the voice and puppeteer of Elmo. His story is pretty sweet, and it made me think about how many people are actually affected by the famous little red muppet monster.

There's actually one more book I wanted to mention. I read it in Borders very quickly the other day. It's a manga graphic novel for Cirque Du Freak. I know a movie of this came out just last year, and I've been slightly curious about the story for a while. I'm not really used to manga, since you have to read from the right end of the book to the left end, but as graphic novels go, I liked it. ^_^ It comes in a whole series, and I look forward to going through all the rest.

And I promise, the next book I finish will get an immediate review. Peace out!

Serafina67 urgently requires life, by Susie Day

2010-03-10T07:23:00.000-08:00

OMG, this book was really cute and funny. I found it in the library on the Treasure Trove shelf (where else?) and started looking through it. Basically, it read like the blog of a 15-year-old girl who lives in England and has a lot to talk about. There were much misspellings and internet shorthand, or "IM-speak", but for a person who has been blogging for well over a year, it was easy for me to read.

I actually took quite a long time to read this, because I wasn't sure if I really wanted to check it out, with all the typical teenager drama there might be in it, so I only read it in installments whenever we came to the library. Eventually though, I felt it was okay for me to take it back home and finish it up (it only took one sitting 0,o).

So here's the story. Serafina67, a newbie blogger on ULife, decides she wants to have a few resolutions for the new year: Be completely honest and post almost every day, become skinnier (she has a slight weight problem), make her parents happier (they're divorced and Dad has a new girlfriend who he'll marry soon), make blog friends, and get a boyfriend. All these things she must accomplish before April 22nd, her magic Happiness Deadline date. It's not her birthday, but it's special to Serafina for another reason.

It's a little episodic, but only in the way that an actual blog in real life is episodic, so it was fine with me. The posts were even followed by comments, when there were any, so it felt like I was actually keeping up with an actual person. I loved that! The blog author herself, Serafina, is funny and intellectual, a little wild and self-deprecating at times, but really a character you could pretty much relate to. I enjoyed the fact that she wanted to write stories, or VTNs (Very Thrilling Novels). I don't know if she wanted to really go anywhere with them, because she kept dropping her stories, but still.

In addition to Serafina, there is a great cast of other funny voices in her blog: her faithful commenters. There's Patchworkboy (who actually ends up being her boyfriend! ^_^) and Daisy13 and Frantastica and a whole range of others. It makes the blog-format of the story so much more complete and real with comments. It's a wild ride with many twists and surprises (but of course, what is life but a wild and unpredictable ride?), and at the end there's an especially shocking revelation that you would never have guessed at if you were following the story. The end is definitely my favorite part.

If you like reading blogs, then I do believe you will enjoy reading this thoroughly entertaining blog in physical book form. (It makes me wish that I could turn my own blog into an actual book. If anyone comments, would you know if this is possible?)

Reinventing yourself, by Steve Chandler

2010-03-08T17:36:00.001-08:00

This was a very inspirational book. Usually I'm a bit skeptical about these kind of books, but I really liked the writing style of this one. It made a lot of neat references to famous people that I recognize, like Elvis, the Beatles, Michael Jordan and others, and the chapters were very short and easy, so it made for an extremely fast read.

The main point of the book is to make a distinction between people who are victims and people who are owners. Victims are people who feel sorry for themselves, complain and blame other people/ external circumstances for the way their state of affairs is. Owners are people who believe in themselves, take responsibility for their attitude, get out of their comfort zone, and can easily make changes in their lives.

I loved the anecdotes that were in this book. Some of them came from the author's own experience. A story in the first chapter (if not one of the first chapters, I forget now) about his daughters being nervous about singing almost made me cry. Since reading this book, I've also listened to an audio disc about sales with the author, Steve Chandler, narrating, and I really liked his voice. He sounds like a great and funny guy.

The Wikipedia Revolution, by Andrew Lih

2010-02-23T06:32:00.000-08:00

Wow, what an eye-opener. I rarely can say this about a non-fiction book, because fiction is more my speed, but this most definitely an awesome book that I highly recommend. Why? Because of the enormous subject it covers: Wikipedia. ^_^

I use this site on a regular basis, and I'm sure many of you have used it for one purpose or another. But until I read this book, I pretty much took it for granted. Not anymore. I learned many facts and have gained a new respect and appreciation for the people behind this fabulous site, including the people who invented it, developed the software for it, and add to it every minute of every day!!!

Did you know that Wikipedia was first put up in 2001? How about that today, over 14 million articles exist on the site in hundreds of language, about a 5th of which is written in English (3.2 million). Do the names Jimmy Wales or Larry Sanger strike any awe in you? They will when you read this book. The first couple chapters were a little hard to get through, because it talked about the history of the regular encyclopedia and some brief history on the people behind Wikipedia, but trust me, when you get to the middle part, where it starts detailing Wikipedia's fascinating evolution, watch out! It will blow your mind!

I kind of wish I could have been involved with the early Wikipedia, as it was still growing and all. It must have been so exciting to be part of such a community, when the number of articles was more than doubling every year. Nowadays, I can imagine how tough it is to upkeep all the articles out there, to keep everything up to date so that Wikipedia keeps it's reputation as an accurate and current online encyclopedia. It must be hard to create a new article, since probably almost every subject has been covered. You type anything in the search box, and chances are good that it's there.

Bottom line is, no matter how often you use Wikipedia, whether for looking up a celebrity's birthday or learning about what E=MC2 means, or even the many uses for the number 11 (I came upon this the other day by clicking the recent changes link. Funny stuff, actually ^_^), I think this is a highly educational book for everyone to pick up. It's a must-read. It's part of our very history! Learn about the greatest encyclopedia in the world!

The Bar Code Rebellion, by Suzanne Weyn

2010-02-20T13:41:00.000-08:00

Well, it looks like I had more of an opportunity for reading fiction on the side than I thought I would have. ^_^ Yay! And this was a good book. I mentioned it in my latest review. It's the sequel to Suzanne Weyn's The Bar Code Tattoo and I think it gave a pretty nice conclusion to the story.

The Bar Code Rebellion continues the tale of Kayla, the girl who refused to get a bar code tattooed to her wrist. There seems to be a lot more people who sympathize with her here, and think that the bar code is bad news. It makes most of the general publics' lives more miserable and even drives most to attempt suicide. Is there more to the tattoo than appearances? Kayla and her friends go on a quest to find out more, which is a bit of an improvement from the previous book, in which Kayla's goal was basically to escape and avoid detection from the system.

In addition, Kayla learns a lot of strangeness about her past. For example, how many people there are out there who are almost exactly like her. Literally. If you don't have any idea what I'm talking about, you haven't read the book, in which case I highly recommend that you do. ^_^

The Bar Code Tattoo, by Suzanne Weyn

2010-02-14T03:49:00.000-08:00

I chose to take this book off the library shelf pretty much for 3 reasons:

It was written by Suzanne Weyn, and I absolutely loved Reincarnation, so why should this be any different?
I'd had my eye on it even before Reincarnation, since the cover and synopsis were both highly fascinating.
It came from the Treasure Trove.

So obviously, what was not to like? ^_^

Wow, what a story. It takes place about 15 years in the future, and not too much seems different. Oh, except for the fact that people are being required to wear a bar code tattoo in order to be a part of society. Hey, it makes life easier, doesn't it? You don't have to carry a driver's license or a credit card that you can lose. All your information is right there on your wrist to be scanned.

But is it really so wise to wear your identity PERMANENTLY on your skin?

Mostly the story follows Kayla (another teenage heroine whose name starts with a K. Isn't it interesting how many of those there are in fiction these days?), a 17 year old who, despite all the pressure from her peers and general society, is rebelling against the bar code tattoo. She has some help from her friends, as well as from helpful strangers who also know that the code is no good. She has a little romantic interest, she adapts to the wilderness, and somehow she develops psychic-like powers. (What? How on earth does Kayla do that? Bettina's not telling us enough! Well yeah, that's the point. I'm keeping stuff from you in order to get you guys to read it. ^_^)

The ending is very open, ready to be most likely concluded by the sequel, The Bar Code Rebellion. Eventually I will pick this book from the library, but for now, like I said in a couple posts previously, if I succeed in staying away from fiction, this will be my last post for perhaps a few days. Happy reading!

The Small Business Millionaire, by Steve Chandler and Sam Beckford

2010-02-14T03:48:00.000-08:00

Since this book was such a short one, I'll keep my review of it short. I thought the story was pretty good, but the way it was written left something to be desired. It's about a man and his grown-up daughter who run a restaurant together, but the restaurant doesn't bring many customers in, even though the man's food is top notch. They spend lots of money on advertising (and go into deep debt this way), but nothing seems to work until a successful young man decides to help them. He seems to know everything about how one should handle a small business, and gives both the owner and the daughter huge life lessons. By the book's end, (need I say more?) the restaurant is hugely successful and everyone lives happily ever after.

I don't think it had enough action in it for me, or enough mystery. Yeah, it's supposed to teach readers what attitudes they should have towards business, but it was told in a fictional manner so I thought it might be a bit more riveting. I didn't like the dialogue very much at times. Mostly, I think if you asked me my end reaction towards this book, it would be, "Meh."

Book news #4

2010-02-11T06:18:00.001-08:00

Alright, this time I'm going to be quite serious about laying off the fiction for a while. I've got a bunch of books that are important for me to read, most of which I am studying with my sister. Oh yeah, and I'm going to try reading them all AT THE SAME TIME! Maybe I've tried to juggle a couple fiction books at once, but that's different. Anyway, I look forward to all the learning I'm going to be doing. I'm going to read these books very carefully and slowly, so that I get the most out of them, so I think it'll be a while before I blog here again.

The only post that I might put up soon is for Suzanne Weyn's Bar Code Tattoo, which I'm reading by myself (I don't know if Annette would go for this). I absolutely loved Reincarnation, and I'm liking this book so far. The only thing is that with all the other books I have to read, I only have time to read this at night, when I'm winding down and getting ready for bed. Luckily I'm okay with that. I get to take it very slowly this way. But it's really awesome so far. It takes place in the future. ^_^

I'm not really sure whether this counts as fiction, but it's very thin book about a man and his daughter who own a small restaurant that is going out of business, and a successful millionaire who is a regular customer takes pity on them and teaches them the principles that made him wealthy. It's pretty good so far. My mom read it in just one sitting. I'd read it quickly too, but I have so much else on my plate.

Okay, this one is pretty awesome so far. I'm studying it very carefully with Annette, because this book teaches you all about the Adobe program Illustrator CS4 and how to use it. Annette and I are really great at learning computer programs through reading. We became experts on Flash and Photoshop and lots of other programs this way. My favorite chapter was about drawing shapes, because through experimentation we had so much fun creating awesome graphics! ^_^

This book is a nice read. My sister and I are taking it one chapter a day though. Since it has 14 chapters, we'll most likely finish it in a fortnight. If we don't skip a day, that is. It's pretty interesting, because it addresses why some people may not be getting the best out of life because of self-deprecating behaviors and thoughts, uncontrollable emotions (that one actually can control), procrastination and lots of other stuff.

We're also taking this book very seriously. Tom Hopkins is one of the most successful salesmen around, so he shares what a salesperson is supposed to do and how to be the best you could possibly be. We haven't gotten very far, so I can't say I've learned anything yet. But I'm sure I will eventually.

I actually sort of had to give up reading this book, with all the other stuff, but maybe when I'm done with the couple books at the top I'll have time to keep at it. I absolutely love Wikipedia. I like that site almost better than Google sometimes. From what I read, it was very fascinating to learn about the history of Wikipedia, and it makes me appreciate it even more.

That's it. Yes, I am trying to read all of these books at the same time. Hey, with non-fiction books it's pretty easy, I think. Some of the books are like taking college classes or something, so that's cool. I don't know how long it will be before I post again on here again, but hopefully it will be sooner rather than later. Stay tuned!

Dull Boy, by Sarah Cross

2010-02-07T07:13:00.000-08:00

Originally I'd intended for this book to be a very light read, but I went ahead and sped through it just like I'm usually prone to do. Once again, I dug up another little treasure. ^_^ Mostly the book reminded me of the movie Sky High, because it's about kids with super-powers and the main guy has super-strength and flight. But there are a lot of things that makes this book stand out in my mind as unique, and I really enjoyed myself. The characters "performed" quite well and the humor was pretty clever. A bit of bad language pops up occasionally, but I didn't mind it.

So the first thing that separates Dull Boy from Sky High is that there's no high school busting with super-kids. It's about a few rare teens who discover they have powers (who knows how or where they got them. It's not genetic) and strive to keep them a secret from their parents and society in general, while also trying to figure out how to use their powers for good. The boy, Avery, knows that he has to be very careful with how he uses his power. While strength is great for rescuing a kid from under a heavy car, it's not so cool to break your wrestling opponent's arm. Besides, you can only pass these incidents off as extreme adrenaline for so long. He also has to hide from his parents the fact that most every night he goes out and flies on patrol, on the lookout for crime, or some way he can do good and make himself useful, just like he imagines a real super-hero would. I mean, why would he have those powers if he wasn't meant to use them in some way?

This is where the story really picks up. He discovers that there are others just like him. There's Catherine, a moody cafe waitress with incredibly sharp nails, perfect balance and an affinity with cats, Darla, the proud genius who is the brains behind a modest club of super-friends, Sophie, who can will her body to stick to any flat service (yeah, a little weird, but useful) and Nicholas, whose power seems to be a bit more on the dark side, though he desperately wants to control his power and be good and not just cause destruction. Then there's this icy woman named Cherchette (saying it reminds me of Georgette) who offers to take Avery somewhere where he doesn't have to hide what he is. Better keep your eye on her. Also look out for Jacque, Cherchette's somewhat equally cold son, who seems to infiltrate Darla's super-group by being Sophie's boyfriend. Who knows what he's all about...

And that's pretty much all you need to know. Oh, except for the fact that as Dull Boy draws to a close, it suddenly turns out that the ending is very open-ended, so it very much appears that there will be a sequel. Awesome. Well, it'll probably take a while for the next book to come out, since this one came out just last year, but if I'm looking for another quick entertaining read sometime in the future, and the sequel is available, I'll have my eye on it. In the meantime, enjoy Dull Boy.

Send, by David Shipley and Will Schwalbe

2010-02-03T08:10:00.000-08:00

While I wouldn't exactly rave about this book, it was pretty educational. Since it was all about emails, I wish I could have used this when I was giving my second ever Toastmaster speech, which was about how people communicate with each other through letters, phones and email. Oh well, I still learned a lot from this book.

I love using email. It's about the most convenient way that I can connect with people I've never even met but know that I like. But like anything, emailing has it's upsides and it's downsides. This book answers questions like, when is it appropriate to email and when is it be more appropriate to use other modes of communication? What should you include in an email and what should you not include? Do you understand your relationship with the person you're sending an email to or do you not? Is it possible that instead of replying, silence would be a better response?

Email has been with us for around a dozen years, yet there are still many things that one can learn about it. In any case, I think this book will make you think twice about hitting Send.

Reincarnation, by Suzanne Weyn

2010-01-31T11:34:00.001-08:00

Well, it seems that I caved and read this whole book quickly, even though I promised myself I'd take it slower than I usually take books like this. But it was incredible, I tell you. What else would I expect from the "Treasure Trove?" ^_^ Suzanne Weyn... what a story-teller she is! Besides the awesome story and characters, I was astonished by the way she came up with all the words to describe everything, because you just want to keep the pages turning. The worlds that she created seemed so real, and I liked how the chapters were all organized.

It's kind of more like a collection of stories, because all the characters and settings are completely different, but there is something that connects everything and keeps one central plot. To get the book, you have to believe that reincarnation is real, i.e., when people die they are born again and live new lives, but an unconscious part of them has some memories of past lives that plays a part in their present life. That is what happens here, to all the characters. From the days of cavemen, or prehistory, to ancient Egypt and Greece in years ending in BC, to Massachusetts witch trials and Civil War battlefields, all the way to the present day. It's just the same characters playing over and over again, but in a slightly new way every time.

Every story has a few things in common. There's of course the romantic interest, a boy and girl who share true love and are destined for each other. Then there's the guy who wants to marry the girl, but he can never have her because he's a big jerk. Also there's a scheming girl who loves Jerk guy and doesn't see why Lover girl doesn't like him. Schemer girl could settle with Lover boy, and she tries that, but it never works out. Emeralds play a big part in each reincarnation, since in the very beginning Lover girl and Lover boy fought over a big green rock and wanted it for themselves. You know, because early humans loved shiny things.

With each new story, it was fascinating for me to spot each reference to a past life that the characters carried on in their next life, like an innate skill or a weird handicap, and somehow each character's situation in life seemed the same. It's pretty mind-blowing, because no matter who they are, the two lovers keep meeting up with each other and they have no idea why they feel so comfortable with each other, but pictures keep coming into their mind about how they loved each other in past lives, and they just... recognize each other. Crazy, I know. Circumstances keep forcing them apart, but in the very end they get together and are finally assured that nothing can separate them.

Sorry if this review was all vague and confusing, but I don't know how else to share it. Names aren't important, and there's really no point in going over every single story in each time. There are so many connections and coincidences that it's all one big sticky web. But just trust me on this one. Reincarnation is awesome! I have no doubt that Suzanne Weyn's other books are just as good as this, and I can't wait to read them. I probably need to take a little break after this healthy dose of fiction, though. I want to be as good an author as Weyn is, so I need to get to work.

Dean and Me, by Jerry Lewis

2010-01-29T06:44:00.001-08:00

Well, this was definitely an awesome read. I learned so much from it, so I'm glad I listened to Annette when she recommended it to me. It's not what I usually read, but the story was amazing. These two guys, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, are one of my favorite comedy teams of old, and now that I've read the story behind their beginnings and successes, I respect them all the more. I think everyone should read their story.

Okay, who am I talking about here? Who are these guys, Jerry and Dean? Well, Jerry Lewis is pretty much the king of comedy. He's been in scores of funny movies that he also usually directs and writes, including "Rock-a-Bye Baby," "The Nutty Professor," and "The Disorderly Orderly," and so many more. Those are just some of my favorites. Jerry is one of the comedians my younger brother, Adam, idolizes. His face is made of rubber, he talks like a little kid, and nearly everything he does makes you want to laugh. Dean Martin is also a really funny guy. He was in many movies himself, though I haven't seen many of those. He's more famous for starring in "The Dean Martin Variety Show," which was full of hilarious skits and guest stars, and for being a prominent member of the Rat Pack, a group of handsome crooners that also included Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr, among others.

Jerry wrote this book (Dean was dead by then), so it was all from his point of view. It tells of how he and Dean became such close partners in comedy. They made the perfect team. Dean Martin was the handsome crooner, the straight man, but he still had a very sharp sense of humor. Jerry Lewis was the crazy guy, the monkey, the one who made funny faces and pratfalls. He was like a little kid, and Dean was the older brother he never had. And boy, when these two got together, they caused pandemonium. Everyone loved them! What seemed to separate this comedy team from all the others is that these guys were so spontaneous, they were ready for anything. No matter what the other one did, none of them ever missed a beat. And they loved what they did, which was go on a stage and make people laugh.

I learned so many things about Martin and Lewis in this book. For example, when the two of them met for the first time in 1945, Dean was about 28 and Jerry was only 19. 19 years old! I couldn't believe it... plus Jerry was already married and had a kid on the way! Such a young guy. Anyway, these guys became really close friends and they did shows, movies and all kinds of events together. Man, Jerry told such awesome stories about Dean and his speedy rise to fame.

Unfortunately, their partnership couldn't last forever. When they got reviewed in the newspapers, most of what was written was about how funny Jerry was, with Dean rarely getting any credit. In later years there was a lot of tension between them. They broke up after 10 years in 1956 and never really saw each other after that. They lived their own lives and became super famous in their own right, as I mentioned near the beginning. It's really a touching collection of stories and memories that is in this book. Everyone should know this team's tale, even if they've never hear of Martin or Lewis before. You'll laugh and think about life in showbiz several decades ago, and then when you get curious enough to find out who these guys really are, they have a ton of movies (17 of them!) and collections of their TV shows, plus there's any number of clips you can see of them on YouTube.

Here is a clip I found that demonstrates Dean and Jerry's partnership perfectly. You'll love these guys. ^_^

Book News #3

2010-01-27T07:13:00.000-08:00

Since I went to the library yesterday, I thought it would be a good time to post some more book news. We checked out a ton of DVDs, but also plenty of books. Before I get into that, I want to say that since The Compound, I've kind of decided to give reading fiction a bit of a break, and I'll be reviewing more non-fiction type books.

Currently I'm reading Dean and Me, which is a biography that Jerry Lewis, one of my favorite comedians, wrote about his years working with his straight man partner, Dean Martin, before they broke up. I'm pretty much halfway through, and it's really great so far. My sister and dad said I just had to read this as soon as I was done with all my fantasy reads, so I did. You won't have to wait too long for a review of this. ^_^

Once again in a library visit, I tackled a graphic novel in one sitting. It was the second Alex Rider book, and I think it's amazing that I was able to find it so soon after the first one! I wonder if I'll be so lucky to find the third graphic novel... I kind of doubt it. But anyway, this book was just as exciting as the one before it. It was very fun to pass my time in the library reading through Alex's adventure. It was interesting to me when he got his hair cut for the mission. He looked so different! But cool. The villain was really creepy, you just hate him. So weird how he cloned himself... the ending is quite a twist too.

Okay, now I'll get to the books we checked out that I'm very likely going to read in the near future. After the Martin & Lewis book, I'm not sure what I'll read. Annette has other non-fiction books recommended for me that I want to get to, but she decided to check this book out for herself. Since she and I have developed semi-different reading tastes, I don't know how she picks books. Random, I guess. =P Well, it's called Send, and it seems to be all about the subject of emailing, which I think is very interesting. Who knows? Maybe I'll get to it next.

Okay, now this book was NOT checked out for a bit of light reading. In fact, it's quite serious. It's a how-to book on how to use the computer program Macromedia Dreamweaver 8. All part of Annette and my digital education. We've gone through these type of books before, for learning Flash or Photoshop or how to write PHP code. We think of it like a 90-day college course. I'm not sure when this class will start for us, but if I happen to pick up some really cool tips from it, I'll try to share them with you. Or I'll just give a status update of how far we are into it.

This last book I checked out for myself. I've had my eye on it for a while on what I call the "Treasure Trove shelf". I probably won't get to it for a long time, but it makes me feel good just to have this kind of book nearby. I'll try to make this one last. Reincarnation, by Suzanne Weyn. I've never heard of her, but she seems to have written a couple interesting books. This opinion is purely based on the synopses on the inside covers, you understand. From what I gather, this one seems to be about a boy and a girl who keep running into each other through reincarnation. They never recognize each other in their different lives, but they feel the same strange attraction. I don't know anything beyond that, but I have a strong feeling that this one will be a keeper. ^_^

Before I wrap this book news post up, I'd like to add that I am also currently reading a manuscript that my awesome friend Graham Bradley is letting me read and critique, Ghost Machines. I've read a couple other of his books, which were simply awesome, and I do believe he has a non-fiction book that is in the process of being published. ^_^ So lucky of him! Anyway, I haven't gotten that far, just 3 or so chapters, but I still think it's quite good. I only read it in my spare time though, so I don't know how quickly I'll finish it. I'll definitely be sure to let Graham know as soon as I do! ^_~

The Compound, by S. A. Bodeen

2010-01-23T06:34:00.001-08:00

Wow. Okay, this was one eye-opener of a book. Recommended to me by Dave and the Lateiner Gang (here's their review of it), I read through it very quickly, just in a matter of 2 days, and I loved every page of it. The story was so intense! It was one of those novels that absolutely sucked you in and wouldn't let you go until you were done, even when you took a break from reading it. All I wanted to do was find out what happened next!

Basically it's about a rich family who goes underground as soon as a nuclear bomb apparently strikes, and they hide in a luxurious Compound that the billionaire father designed. The only problem is that the Grandma and the main character's twin brother, Eddy, weren't able to get through in time, so the rest of the family is devastated. ~,~

The Compound is set not to open for 15 years, so Dad, Mom, Lexie, Terese and our main character Eli all have to make the best of their living conditions. There are many rooms, and enough supplies to last them the whole time. But after 6 long years of routine and simply surviving, 15 year old Eli does something that breaks his routine. He looks into the room intended for his perished twin, and finds a laptop computer that has an icon for the internet. He tries to keep it a secret, but later he discovers that when he goes near his dad's office, an internet signal picks up, and he has an IM conversation with someone who is logged in with Eddy's old username. Dad takes the laptop away after this, but Eli's mind is still blown. What other secrets could his father be keeping from him and his family?

This is pretty much the plot of the story. I don't think I should reveal any more, because the rest of it is too good. For example, as Dave pointed out, there is a mysterious "yellow room" in which the purpose is at first completely morbid and revolting to Eli. At first, I was shocked at the thought as well. It really turns ethics on it's head. But once inside, he discovers that the room's inhabitants are wonderful and worth protecting, deserving of as much love as his family. He knows that he absolutely must get everyone out of the Compound and learn the truth, before it's too late. I hope this brief synopsis has aroused your curiosity, because this is one book that deserves a read.

Shades of Grey, by Jasper Fforde

2010-01-22T07:29:00.000-08:00

I've got to say, even though I haven't read a Jasper Fforde book in at least 2 years, I was able to pick up on his style once again, and I very well believe that this was the best novel I've read this month! Most of it is really world-building, but it was really incredible. Amazing how this all came from one person's imagination.

The story takes place in a post-apocalyptic world of some sort, probably over 500 years ahead of today, or Something That Happened. In this world, all the people have, for some reason, evolved so that they're mostly colorblind except for one color. So whatever a person could see reflected their social rank. It's all a rather complicated government with rules for everything, and all centered around color. What job you can do, who you can marry, acceptable behavior. Everything runs on merits and feedback. If you get too many demerits and negative feedback, it means you're up for Reboot, which will set you apparently right. At twenty years of age, a citizen takes a test to see what color he can see, and his life is mapped out after that. Besides the people who can see color, there are a lot of people who don't, so they're referred to as Greys, who are lowest in the social hierarchy.

It's really hard to explain what happens in the story, but there were lots of things I liked about it. An entertaining aspect of this world is that everyone has a color for a last name, representing what color they can see, like our hero Eddie Russet. He's the son of a Swatchman, who is like a doctor in that world, only instead of giving people medicine, he shows them a certain shade of color and they get better. The places are also named after colors, it seems, such as East Carmine, Vermillion, and High Saffron. Another important thing is that night is a total mystery to people. Since everyone can see very little color, at night no one can see anything. Also, certain trees evolved so that they've become carnivorous. 0,o

By making the acquaintance of a feisty Grey named Jane, Eddie starts to question the ways of his world and wonder what exactly happened that led to the Something That happened. He does his best to solve the uncountable mysteries that start to pile up on him, but being curious makes one stand out, so he needs to be really careful about the sort of questions he asks people. Like I said, most of the book is dedicated to building up this world, but somewhere in the second half the story picked up, and then I couldn't turn the pages fast enough! Trust me, the ending is completely explosive, blows your mind. ^_^

The great thing is that at the end of the book it promises that a sequel and a sequel after that will be written very soon, so that means Jasper Fforde means this to be a trilogy. I absolutely can't wait until the next book comes out.

In the meantime, I'd like to add that I've started reading one of Fforde's other books, The Big Over Easy, to my brother Adam. So far he really likes it, which is quite awesome because the first time I tried reading it to him, he thought it was boring. But now that he's older, he can appreciate the humor and style of it. It's quite fun to read aloud. It'll probably take a long time, but I'll let you know if/when we finish this book.

Some Graphic Novels I've read

2010-01-20T18:37:00.000-08:00

I love graphic novels, but usually I read them so fast and in one sitting, in the library or in the bookstore, that I doubt whether or not they should count in my book count or not. Well, last night I read a really cool graphic novel, so I decided that now would be as good a time as any to bring up some of the books I've read this year that I neglected to review.

First, there is Zot. I read this in my Borders, on the first Friday of the year, I believe. Well, it was a Friday. Anyway, I was attracted to the book right away, because of it's author, Scott McCloud. This guy has written a bunch of other books: Understanding Comics, Reinventing Comics, and Making Comics. And guess what? All those books are written in a comic format! It's really cool to be learning about comics as you're reading them. So I read all of these a couple years ago, and when I saw this book, I quickly picked it up and read as much as I could before we had to leave. I couldn't finish it, unfortunately (I'll have to wait until we go back to Borders again), but here's what I picked up.

Zot is about 2 worlds. There's our Earth, where teenage girl Jenny (I think that's her name) lives, and then there's an alternate Earth, where there are flying cars and robots and world peace, where the boy nicknamed Zot lives. Even if he lives in an idyllic reality though, Zot's world has supervillains, and he's the hero who saves the day with his rocket boots and gadgets and boundless optimism. He never loses on his world. At the beginning of the book, I immediately think I'm missing something, because it's from Jenny's point of view, and it seemed as if they were already tentative boyfriend girlfriend, and she knew about his world, but she was missing him because he hadn't shown up for a while. But I kind of got up to speed, and there's cool saving the world fights, and Zot kind of realizes that on our Earth, he doesn't always win and stop the bad guy. Like I said, I'd have to read more to find out what happens, but I'm definitely going to pick this book up next chance I get.

It was probably sometime last week when I read this book, Dead High Yearbook. It was at the library, and I read it all in one shot. This graphic novel was... okay. Not something I'd rave about or recommend to everybody, but the stories were kind of good, and I really liked the artwork. See, I wouldn't be reading any graphic novel if I didn't like the look of it's artwork. This actually seemed to be a bunch of different styles, because it was by different artists. It was a collection of stories about the supernatural deaths of some high school students. It reminded me a little of the Twilight Zone or something. I wonder if there will be any other books like this in the future. I think it hinted at the end that there were more, but maybe those stories won't be told. I don't know. I don't need to get my hopes up.

Finally, the last book I want to talk about. I read this, too, at the library, in just one sitting. The art attracted me immediately, plus I remembered that a friend had once recommended the series to me. (Thanks Rainy! ^_~) It was a graphic novel adaptation of Alex Rider, Stormbreaker. Really a cool story. It takes place in England, and it's about this teen boy named Alex Rider, whose uncle is a secret agent, but Alex doesn't know it. One day the uncle is killed, and Alex finds out that all his life he's been trained to one day take his uncle's place. It's funny, because the first thing he says when he discovers the spy headquarters is, "Is this Hogwarts?" He gets all these gadgets and, predictably, uses them all in the course of the story to defeat the villain and his evil plot to take over the world.

In graphic novel form, I thought the story was really entertaining and funny. It was like when I read the graphic novel to the first Pendragon book, and found that I loved the series! Later I discovered that there are a couple graphic novels that come after this one, so I might find these and go through the first 3 books in the series that way. I don't know if I want to read the actual books. I might, but I won't count on it. There is also a movie of Stormbreaker, which I've posted a trailer to, but I'm really hesitant to watch it. Since it was a graphic novel, it was fun to notice all the scenes I'd read about when I saw them in the preview, but I've heard that the film actually isn't that good. It's a little too cartoony, and the believability of it flies out the window. It's an awesome story in book form, though not in a live action movie.

I'll try to be a lot better at reviewing the graphic novels I read in the future! I promise.

Coming up next, very soon: Shades of Grey, by Jasper Fforde.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, by Seth Graham-Smith

2010-01-17T11:50:00.000-08:00

Man, what a book. I haven't read too many classics in my life, though I have seen movie adaptations of the classics. I've seen David Copperfield, Sense and Sensibilities, and Pride and Prejudice, all very good stories (with more than a few stars in each to tempt us). Pride and Prejudice I saw quite recently, and I thought reading the book would be pretty cool, since I read Jane Eyre last year and hadn't fallen asleep in the middle of it. Then I remembered a book I'd seen on a shelf at Borders once or twice. Yes, the thought was creepy, but I reserved it from the library anyway, willing to give it a go.

Well, here's my verdict: I loved it. ^_^ It's really just the original text of Jane Austen's book with zombies and zombie warriors mixed into the plot. The main character, Elizabeth Bennet, and all her sisters were trained by their father in the ways of fighting and killing so they could battle the unusual plague that has been around for more than 55 years already. That zombies are dealt with so calmly and matter of factly is strange, as if it's a fact of life. Like, say you're at a nice ball and suddenly zombies break through the window and decide to attack. Well, the 5 Bennet sisters will simply jump and kill them all off, and the evening will continue as normal. Weird. Same thing if you're traveling by coach or something. Zombies can pop up from anywhere. It just makes the story more exciting and entertaining.

Anyway, the central plot is much the same, for anyone who knows the story. The characters have the same personalities as I observed in the movie, only some of them are zombie warriors, either trained by the Chinese or Japanese masters. It's a whole complicated love story, but like Jane Eyre, Elizabeth is a confident, strong-willed female who I can totally relate to. And the fact that she can also take down a horde of zombies is a plus. From the look of things, if you come from the point of view of the author, it seems as if this story was begging to have zombies thrown into it. Boy, I never thought I'd write a post that had the word "zombie" splattered all over it. =P To make a long story short, if you want to read a classic but are reluctant to pick it up, check this book out. It's got the language of an old book, but is as entertaining as anything written in this century.

Meeting Jasper Fforde

2010-01-17T11:47:00.001-08:00

Well, a couple days later than I said I would post it, here is my story about me meeting one of my big heroes, Jasper Fforde. (There he is, right there! ^_^)

I'll start at the beginning. At first I counted on just Annette and me going alone to this event, since we'd both read all his books and were probably the only ones who cared about this guy. About a week before it came, my mom Shira showed some interest in it, but she was torn between coming with us and going to her women's circle with her friends. The night before though, I believe the leader of the group got sick, so Shira didn't have to go there after all, and she could come chaperon us. That was cool.

By the time the day arrived, the 14th, the Fforde book I'd ordered on Amazon had not come in yet (The Big Over-Easy for just 80 cents instead of buyingShades of Grey at the store for over $25). (The funny thing is that it didcome in today!) So I didn't have a book for Jasper to sign his autograph for me with. But I figured if I just brought my small notebook with me, he'd understand and sign for me anyway. I just hoped the people at the bookstore wouldn't stop me. It's kind of been my experience, when I've gone to Borders events in the past, that youmust buy the book that's being promoted or other books by the author, though I've easily gotten away with not doing that. I still wanted to do the right thing this time around though, but I didn't know what to expect, because it was a bookstore I've never been to before.

So we get there pretty easy a little after 7:00, and we find the event, only it wasn't what we expected at all. There were 3 authors sitting at a table and talking to people, and I didn't recognize any of them. An old guy said some pretty good stuff, but since he wasn't Jasper Fforde I didn't pay much attention. Later I discovered that this "old guy" was Richard Peck, and that name seemed to ring a bell for some reason. Today I found out that I'd actually read one of his books without knowing it. Invitations to the World. Well, it was a non-fiction book, so how was I supposed to know him? =P Anyway, they signed books too, but we didn't get their autographs. We asked the front desk if this was the place where Jasper Fforde would come. They said he was, but that event started at 8:00, not 7:00! I'd checked the wrong time. 0,o Oh well, at least we were extremely early. I was even able to get a front row seat. ^__^

So finally Jasper Fforde arrived, and he was just as I'd pictured him. ^_^ He seemed a little nervous at the podium (since I'm in Toastmasters, this was very obvious to me, but I secretly commended him for being up there at all), but he still made fabulous jokes and talked about his book and made everyone genuinely like him. What a sense of humor. He's a British author making a special tour through America for this book, and he claimed that he hadn't been to Miami since he was 4, so it was amazing to just be there with him. My mom took the Flip camera and actually took an almost 15 minute long movie of him talking. (What would we have done without her? ^_^) Then Annette took short movies of me asking Fforde a couple questions, followed by his answers. I was soooo proud of myself. At first I was nervous to ask him anything, but he was such a cool guy and took my questions seriously.

Finally he sat down to do the signing. I got a great spot in line, about 5th or 7th. The closest I've ever gotten to being first in line for something, I believe. Again I was nervous, wondering what would happen now. But my turn came and I briefly explained how I'd ordered his book but it hadn't arrived, so could he do me the honor of signing a paper out of my small notebook? Of course, he did it, and he also even signed a postcard that he'd been giving everybody as bookmarks, so I actually have two autographs of Jasper Fforde. Yay!

Looking back at this evening, I kind of remember that Mr. Fforde had a face and voice that reminded me strongly of Hugh Grant, but he had the charm and personality that I imagine James Dashner to have. I can't wait to meet him, but as of now I think this was the best and most memorable author meeting I've ever had.

(One funny thing more I'd like to add is that I still like this guy, even though I haven't read his books in at least 1 or 2 years! =P I forget most of the plots and particulars of each, but I remembered really liking them. And now I've started to read Shades of Grey, I'm a few chapters in, and I think it's his best book yet so far!)

(I've also written this post on my regular blog)

Book news #2

2010-01-14T10:16:00.001-08:00

I figure it's about time for another Book News post.

The book I'm currently reading is Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, which is quite the fascinating read so far! What a spin on an old classic! ^_^ I'll give a much fuller review when I'm through with it.

I decided that I wouldn't read Leviathan in the end, so I returned it to the library. The first couple chapters just didn't hold enough interest me. I guess I'm not the "steampunk" type.

The books I now have waiting to be read on my shelf are Compound and Shades of Grey, which I actually picked up from the library yesterday! I can hardly believe that this is circulating in the library just weeks after it got published, and I can read it without buying a copy at the signing event tonight! Speaking of which...

You don't know how excited I am to meet this guy! He'll be the first British author I've ever met, the third famous author I've been in the same room with, and hopefully the fifth author to give me his autograph. ^_^ I'm a little worried about the last part, though. Instead of buying his brand-new book to get his signature (I try to avoid buying books as much as possible, and plus I already have a copy to read), I ordered his first Nursery Crime book, The Big Over-Easy, on Amazon for only 80 cents (plus shipping and handling) for him to write in. It hasn't arrived yet, so I won't be able to use it.

What can I do?! In my experience, people who run this type event say you must have a book ready for him to sign, preferably a book you bought in the store. How typical. It's like theaters telling you not to bring any munchies from the outside, but offer you butter-drenched popcorn and candy at the concession stand. We work our way around that one, though, so maybe I'll be able to get away with Mr. Fforde signing a scrap of paper for me. That's all I really want, anyway. I collect the autographs. Of course, I'll bring some money just in case I'm forced to buy a book.

See you later either tonight or tomorrow for more updates!

House of Many Ways, by Dianna Wynne Jones

2010-01-09T08:39:00.000-08:00

This book I took out because it was a sequel to Howl's Moving Castle. (Well, actually there's a sequel that came before this one, but it didn't have much to do with the original characters. This one did.) Even though I hadn't thoroughly enjoyed the original (see my review here), I decided I'd give this one a try anyway. I have to admit that this book was a tremendous improvement to it's predecessor. ^_^

The story is about a girl named Charmain who's only pleasure is reading, and somehow she's forced to housesit for a sick Great-Uncle, who is actually a wizard. His house is quite unusual. At first glance it would seem like the house only had a kitchen and a living room, but if you go through a door and immediately turn left, it takes you to the bathroom and bedrooms. There's also a sweet little white dog that the Uncle left behind, called Waif, who likes to eat a lot. Eventually Charmain is joined by a boy named Peter, who was supposed to be her uncle's apprentice before he got sick. So they're stuck together and take care of the house. Peter is a big help, since Charmain knows next to nothing about doing dishes and laundry and other boring chores. Still, for some reason she finds him annoying.

In the middle of taking care of her Uncle's magic house, Charmain becomes assistant librarian to the King, so she plays a part in solving a mystery that Sophie (remember her from the first book?) is trying to solve, along with her friend Calcifer the fire demon, her husband Howl, although he's disguised himself as an adorable young boy with a horrible lisp named Twinkle (no idea why 0,o) and their 2 year old son Morgan, who I think is something of a brat. I'd rather not reveal what that mystery is, since it would take too long to tell.

If this book was made into a movie, I wouldn't mind at all. The characters are lively with full personalities, and the adventures that Charmain had quite held my interest. I liked how Charmain could sort of do magic, like Sophie found she could in the first book. And the ending panned out a TON better than Howl's Moving Castle. Sure, it was just as much a happily-ever-after as before, but at least everything made sense and all the ends were neatly tied up. If you could get any enjoyment out of this series, I'd say watch the Hayao Miyazaki film of "Howl's Moving Castle," and then read this book.

Teen Inc, by Stefan Petrucha

2010-01-03T22:09:00.000-08:00

I may have said in my book news post that I would read the Howl's Moving Castle sequel, but I decided that I would actually give that series a break and read this book, since I figured it would be a much quicker read. And it was! I read it in just one day!

I reserved this book from the library solely because I liked the last book I read by the author, The Rule of Won, which I reviewed last month. My instinct turned out to be right. ^_^ Really a funny and smart book, the kind I can appreciate. There aren't any fantasy elements in it, so this world is similar to our own. Therefore the characters are easy to relate to.

The thing that gets you to pick up the book in the first place is that it's a story about the first kid ever to be raised by a corporation. Yep. Weird, huh? The kid, Jaiden's, parents worked for the corporation, NECorp, but they died in some sort of accident, so NECorp decided to adopt Jaiden. I know about the expression "it takes a village to raise a child" (which I've never understood in any case) but it's pretty funny to exchange village for corporation.

Anyway, even with more than 2 parents raising him, Jaiden turns out to be a well-grounded kind of guy. I'm not sure if everybody in the company loves him like a parent should, but they take care of him at least, and near the end you can pretty much pick out the characters who really act like parents should. So the main plot is that Jaiden keeps it a secret of how he was raised, and he tries to win the girl of his dreams, even when his romantic interest tells him NECorp is poisoning the waters with mercury somehow (really bad). He tries finding out whether this is the truth and, I guess for the first time ever, rebels against his "parents". The villain in this story was pretty good here, and there's an unpredictable twist that reveals his identity. Well, I didn't see it coming.

Even though the part near the end kind of worked like a movie (in fact, Jaiden and his friends are actually aware that it's like they're in a movie, only it's real life. Ha, yeah right), I think the book wrapped up really nicely. Stefan Petrucha's books are alright. ^_^ I seriously recommend taking his books out. Either the ones I read, or any more you can find, because he's good.

Howl's Moving Castle, by Diana Wynne Jones

2010-01-03T13:11:00.000-08:00

I actually finished reading this late last night. Naturally, I was too tired to write a review, but from now on I'm going to do my best to, once I turn the last page of a given book, write a review immediately. I have to do what I can to fight my procrastinative nature (not sure that's a word, but whatever).

My reason for picking this book up is that I absolutely loved the animated film version, directed by Hayao Miyazaki. (I embedded a trailer at the bottom. Although the book wasn't bad, I think I would have been better off if I hadn't seen the movie beforehand, because I kept thinking of how awesome that story was, and the book just couldn't live up to it. ~,~

The book and the movie couldn't have been more different. Well, at least the beginning answered a lot of back-story questions I had while watching the movie. But everything that follows Sophie (the girl cursed with old age) entering and becoming a part of Howl's castle was absolutely nothing like I expected would happen. There are a couple added characters and scenes in the plot, and nearer the end I believe it became almost episodic. Like the Time Quake, the conclusion only came in the last chapter, and it was much too quick and happy to be entirely satisfying.

So my advice is to not necessarily read the book at all and just check out the movie, because that is truly awesome, engaging and rewarding story. However, if you're honestly curious and want to give the book a try (it isn't all that bad, after all), I suggest reading the story before you view it, because then you can appreciate how much better the movie is. This is rather than experiencing it the way I did, having the movie in my mind and getting let down by the book.

Posting this review has made me realize that I've forgotten to embed trailers of movies based on books I've read in a few reviews. I'm going to fix that now...

Book news #1

2010-01-02T06:55:00.000-08:00

Okay, this isn't a book review, but since it's around the beginning of the month I thought I'd share about certain book news. I don't know if anyone will be interested in it, but this is really more for me than for other people.

Right now I'm reading Howl's Moving Castle. I'm almost finished with it, so you'll get a review of it probably in the next day or 2. Anyone more familiar with the Hayao Miyazaki film adaptation of Howl's Moving Castle? So far I'm liking the movie slightly better, but the book is quite good too. You'll hear more of my opinion when I actually finish it.

Down below are the library books I currently have on my shelf that will eventually be read and reviewed, most probably in right-to-left order. I hope I like them.

House of Many Ways is a sequel to Howl's Moving Castle that was published very recently (mid-2008), so I want to read that first. Teen, Inc. is another book by Stefan Petrucha, who wrote Rule of Won, which I read last month (see review). I'll follow with that, since it has the least pages. I've heard a lot of things about Leviathan. I'm going to read this next, but kind of because Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is due later. Ha ha. That should be an interesting read. I've seen a movie adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, one that had Kiera Knightley as the main character. I wonder what that story will be like with zombies thrown into the mix...

I see that on the website for my library, I have a new book ready for me to pick up, Compound, by S. A. Bodeen . It was recommended to me by the Lateiner Gang (see their review). From what Dave and family say about it, I can't wait to check that one out. ^_~

Oh, now here's something that's really awesome. You'll love this. The other day, when my mom took me to Borders to hang out, I noticed this book. Not only did it catch my eye with the wild cover art. The first thing I saw was the author's name, Jasper Fforde. I really like this guy's works. He's written some pretty great book series, like Thursday Next and Nursery Crimes. This book, Shades of Grey, seems to be a standalone novel though, and it literally just came out! Amazon says it was published December 29th of 2009, the year that we said goodbye to not so long ago. Haha. ^_^

But that's not the good part yet. I decided to research this book a little, and I found that the book already has it's own website. See? On it, I discovered that the author, Mr. Fforde, is going to be on tour in the USA, so I took a look at the schedule to see if Florida was anywhere on it. Well... IT IS!!! He's coming on January 14th to a bookstore down in Coral Gables, which is 40 minutes from my house, for a Reading/Q & A/Signing. ^__^ I'm not sure whether my parents will let me go, but the event is two weeks away, so I'll probably be able to convince them by then. *cross fingers*

Jasper Fforde is also going to be touring New York, Missouri, Illinois, Washington, California, New Mexico, Georgia and DC. If any of my readers live in these states and you've raised an eyebrow in interest of this event, you should click this link for details.

Some changes around here...

2009-12-31T19:45:00.000-08:00

Ha. What do you think of this flashy background? I absolutely love it! ^_^

But that's not the only thing that's going to change for this blog. I've read over 100 books this year. I'm not sure whether I'll read quite as much in 2010, but I'll still post a lot. I'm thinking in addition to writing reviews, I'll write about any kind of book news I please. Whenever I go to the library or book store, I'll remember what books catch my eye. When I see a book get recommended, whether by blog or in the real world, I'll let you know about it.

It seems I have 11 followers after a whole year of work. Hopefully I'll be able to get some more in the following months. Thank you to those who read and regularly comment on my reviews. I hope you consider all my posts rewarding to read and that they have somewhat influenced your decision on what books you'd enjoy picking up.

Bettina's Book Club

Bible Book 2: Exodus

Bible Book 1: Genesis

Reading the Bible

December Books

Books I've been procrastinating reviewing.

Another Triple Threat book review

Room, by Emma Donoghue

Chobits, plus the rest of Absolute Boyfriend

Absolute Boyfriend

Graphic novels I read in Boston

Remember Me?

1 James Patterson, 2 Jeffrey Browns, and 3 Hinako Ashiharas

Dramacon 1 & 2, by Svetlana Chmakova

I'm back... again. =P

Blog Retiring... again

And Another Thing... by Eoin Colfer

Triple Threat Book Review

Sunday at Tiffany's

Across the Universe

Shiver

The Book Thief

My 2010 Books

Ender's Game

Skinny *Witch

I'm back again.

Nightlight, by The Harvard Lampoon

Short Stories

Graphic Novels

Book of a Thousand Days, by Shannon Hale

Girl Parts, by John M. Cusick

Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins

How They Met and other stories, by David Levithan

Short Stories

Demon Spawn, by *. ***** ******

Boston Books

Calamity Jack, by Shannon Hale

Jim Henson's The Storyteller, by Anthony Minghella

Rapunzel's Revenge, by Shannon Hale

Jim Henson: The Works, by Christopher Finch

Standard Hero Behavior, by John David Anderson

Recent books

A couple graphic novels

Morpheus Road: The Light, by D. J. MacHale

The Blade of Shattered Hope, by James Dashner

Gotcha, sucker!

Marley and Me, by John Grogan

The Tao of Pooh, by Benjamin Hoff

Chuck Berry: the Autobiography, by Chuck Berry (plus more)

Unmasked: The Final Years of Michael Jackson, by Ian Halperin

Recent books I've finished

Cirque Du Freak #2 & #3, by Takahiro Arai

Moonwalk, by Michael Jackson

Twilight: The Graphic Novel, by Young Kim

Pages!

A couple books

Serafina67 *urgently requires life*, by Susie Day

Reinventing yourself, by Steve Chandler

The Wikipedia Revolution, by Andrew Lih

The Bar Code Rebellion, by Suzanne Weyn

The Bar Code Tattoo, by Suzanne Weyn

The Small Business Millionaire, by Steve Chandler and Sam Beckford

Book news #4

Dull Boy, by Sarah Cross

Send, by David Shipley and Will Schwalbe

Reincarnation, by Suzanne Weyn

Dean and Me, by Jerry Lewis

Book News #3

The Compound, by S. A. Bodeen

Shades of Grey, by Jasper Fforde

Some Graphic Novels I've read

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, by Seth Graham-Smith

Meeting Jasper Fforde

Book news #2

House of Many Ways, by Dianna Wynne Jones

Teen Inc, by Stefan Petrucha

Howl's Moving Castle, by Diana Wynne Jones

Book news #1

Some changes around here...

Demon Spawn, by . **

Serafina67 urgently requires life, by Susie Day