Blog Retiring... again

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!

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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! ^_^

Calamity Jack, by Shannon Hale

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.

Marley and Me, by John Grogan

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

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)

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

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

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...

Reinventing yourself, by Steve Chandler

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

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!

Book news #4

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!

Send, by David Shipley and Will Schwalbe

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.

Book News #3

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! ^_~

Causing a Scene, by Charlie Todd and Alex Scordelis

I got inspired to reserve this book from the library because I'm a big fan ofthe YouTube channel Improv Everywhere. They've got hilarious videos about the different pranks they pull on the general public. I'd seen a particularly awesome clip the other day, and I discovered that Improv Everywhere actually had their own website. In it I found they'd published a book full of a bunch of their escapades, so I figured it would be quite an entertaining read. I was right. ^_^

I loved all the jokes, or "missions", as they are referred to, described in this book. From everybody freezing in place for 5 minutes in Grand Central Station, making the regularly hustle-bustle people stop and think, "What the heck? Did all these people get shot with a freeze ray or something?", to a 5 minute series of events repeated over and over again in a local Starbucks, as if time has gone haywire on the befuddled college kids. From a scene right out of a romantic comedy, to a hypnotist who actually convinces his audience that his powers are real. There's even a prank that involves the pranksters, or "agents", wearing no pants on a train ride, mystifying all the passengers!

These guys are so funny, and their over-all mission, I believe, is quite a noble one. Just try and shake up normal life a little, make people think about things in a whole new way. They don't play any mean-hearted jokes on anyone, and they never ever break character and admit that the whole thing is actually a joke. Improv Everywhere tries to leave their audience with a great story to tell their friends and their grandkids.

All the stories are wonderful, and I think everyone would enjoy reading about them. In some cases, it's almost better than watching the video clips, in my opinion. But anyway, I highly recommend that you read this book, or at the very least, check out the Improv Everywhere website, to see what these guys are all about.

A couple of short non-fiction books.

Taking a tiny break from fiction novels, I picked up a couple of thin non-fiction books that were quite interesting to read. One of these was a book all about the subject of irony, "The Big Book of Irony". (The book all by itself is ironic, because it's not even that big! ^_~) I love irony. I really liked all the ironic quotes and stories mentioned in this book. Just like a sense of humor, I believe a sense of irony is a wonderful thing to have. Of course, a lot of the ironic examples mentioned in the book are pretty morbid, for example: Say a guy is in the mood for a Coke, so he hops on a bike to go to a nearby gas station or something. Suddenly a truck runs over the guy and kills him. What was the truck delivering? Coke! Ooh, the irony. =P A less gruesome example is if a thief with no teeth in his mouth is caught and arrested for stealing toothbrushes. You probably get the idea by now. So basically, this was a good book that explored irony and it's history, definitions and many uses. (Doesn't the irony of the cover just take the cake or what?)

The other book I read that I finished more recently was of a very different tone altogether. It's kind of the memoirs of a prolific author that I've never heard about, but who used to be a teacher and got a lot of his ideas from his experiences and the letters students wrote him when he visited schools. It's called "Invitations to the World". When I randomly picked it out from the library, I thought the subtitle "Teaching and Writing for the Young" meant it would teach me a little about writing. It didn't exactly do that, but it was still a good book anyway. It included excerpts from the guy, Richard Peck's, numerous books, and a couple poems that I believe he wrote. One of these poems in particular stood out for me, the last thing he writes in the book:

---

A story is a doorway that opens on a wider place.

A story is a mirror to reflect the reader's face.

A story is a question you hadn't thought to ponder.

A story is a pathway inviting you to wander.

A story is a window, a story is a key,

a story is a lighthouse, beaming out to sea.

A story's a beginning, a story is an end.

And in the story's middle, you might just make a friend. ^_^

---

I don't know how much I would enjoy Richard Peck's novels, since he doesn't exactly write sci-fi or fantasy fiction, but his name could be something for me to remember.

Planet Simpson, by Chris Turner

Yesterday I finally was able to finish reading this huge book that is all about my newest obsession (for want of a better word), The Simpsons. It's just incredible. This cartoon show has been on T.V. for 21 Seasons (and counting!) and I never knew how good it really was, until quite recently.

I'd never really seen the Simpsons before, so I used to think that this show belonged in the same category as Family Guy, or South Park. Stupid, bad animation, crude humor, rotten characters, and not funny AT ALL! (Incidentally, I've never watched Family Guy. I saw a tiny bit of South Park long ago, and I know I hated that show. Never watched it since then.) Well, let me tell you, after watching the Simpsons as much as I have by now, my opinion for them has done a total 360. ^_^ I should have known there was a reason behind this show being the longest running cartoon ever.

This book explains the universe of the Simpsons incredibly well. There's a whole chapter devoted to each member of the Simpson family (well, except Maggie, I guess), Mr. Burns and all the other important characters. The book also talks a lot about the show's history and it's huge effect on America and the rest of the free world, so it's all really fascinating. I don't think any good Simpsons fan would forgive themselves if they didn't read this book.

I'm really glad that I'm a Simpsons fan now. Through watching the show, I've discovered that their brand of humor is very good natured and satirical, and that Springfield is a smart and accurate reflection of the real world, which is what makes the show so funny. I've also learned that the Simpsons aren't the most rotten, most dysfunctional family ever depicted on T.V. Despite all their differences in personalities and not being able to stand each other in one way or another most of the time, they are a family who loves each other.

The Guinea Pig Diaries, by A. J. Jacobs

Okay, this book was really funny, a great read. I first heard about this book while watching The Colbert Report, where Stephen actually interviewed the author. I've read this guy's other two books in the past (not this year or on this blog, but in the past), so I knew I would enjoy this new book.

Basically, it's a book full of short, but true stories about this guy who likes doing weird experiments with his life. His previous books were about experiments he'd devoted about an entire year to, such as The Know-It-All, where he attempts (and actually succeeds!) to read the entire Encyclopedia Brittanica, from A to Z, and The Year of Living Biblically, in which he spends an entire year doing his best to follow every single rule that is outlined in the bible (Old and New Testament!). Anyway, this book that I've just finished is about much smaller, but equally life-changing experiments that he spends, on average, about a month on.

All of A. J.'s stories are very interesting and, to me, really funny! From being radically honest all the time, to outsourcing his life to India. From trying to be the most rational person ever, to doing every little thing his wife tells him to do. From following George Washington's 110 rules of "Civility and Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation" to the T, to going on a dating service website and pretending to be the opposite sex! There are a couple other experiments he does, but I'll leave you to find out what they are, so you can read this book too.

I thought these stories were quite eye-opening and great fun to read about. The author has a humorous and smart writing style, and it's amazing when you think that these are actually true stories! I mean, this guy actually performed these experiments, and they changed his life, for real! I like those kind of weird but true stories. Especially if they're written particularly well. Pick it up and tell me what you think of it!

I really appreciate any comments you want to post on my reviews. Before my last post, the one about Angels and Demons, I didn't get any comments at all for several posts in a row! I'm really fond of comments, as I'm sure all book bloggers are. So if you feel to, please go back a little, read my other reviews, and if you are so moved, drop me a comment. I'll really appreciate it. ^_^

Books I haven't blogged about

Hi. Sorry I haven't been book blogging an awful lot lately. ~,~ I'm not going to make any excuses here. I haven't read a lot of books lately, and whatever books I do finish, I keep postponing sitting down to write their reviews. It's really a problem. But enough is enough. I've got a lot of books reserved in the library, two of which I've picked up now, so I need to clear my head and get these books out of the way so I can write reviews later. I'll be very brief with each book, promise.

So the first book I finished that I didn't post about, but definitely should have (=P), is In Her Shoes, by Jennifer Weiner. Now, this book is kind of outside my genre preference (fantasy, sci-fi fiction is more my read, and this was more of a chick-flick. No magic, just a story based on real, grown-up life that could possibly happen to actual people), but I'll admit that this was a pretty good book. Of course, it did take me a long time to actually finish it. I read some of it back in Boston, but the beginning really didn't interest me a lot. Then we came home to Florida and we saw the movie version of In Her Shoes (starring Cameron Diaz, Toni Collette and Shirley Maclain), and I thought the story after the part I was at got pretty good. So I got back to the book and finished it pretty fast after that.

I'm not sure whether the book was better than the movie, but it did have certain plot elements that didn't make it into the film, so I guess you can say it was better. Okay, brief story synopsis: There are two sisters. One is a stressed out but responsible lawyer, and the other is really attractive but doesn't have a lot of brains. This is Cameron Diaz's character, Maggie, btw. Basically she drinks and has sex and gets into trouble a lot, so her sister has to take her in, and Maggie is a big pain. She steals money and shoes (the sisters share the same size) and doesn't have a job. After Maggie does something totally unforgivable to Rose (her sister), she gets unceremoniously kicked out, and then later moves in with a grandmother neither of them knew about, blah blah blah... so the story jumps between sisters and both of them learn life lessons that make them balance out their personalities and Rose gets married and everyone lives happily ever after. That's all I'll say. If you have any interest in the specifics, read this book yourself.

The next book I finished was a graphic novel I read in a Barnes and Nobles in one sitting, Amulet, Book 2: The Stonekeeper's Curse, by Kazu Kibuishi. That's the guy who drew my favorite comics in the Flight series. A pretty cool story. It seems that it'll become a Bone-like series. I really like Kazu's drawing style! Graphic novels rock. ^_^ If you want to check this series out, you ought to start at the beginning. The first Amulet book is The Stonekeeper. I don't remember when I read that, but it was probably last year, because I would have posted about it if I'd read it this year.

After that I suppose I didn't read much else, but recently I tackled this huge, literally encyclopedic book that I think I read in just a couple days straight. It's called Iconic America, by Tommy Hilfiger. There are hundreds of colorful and really neat pictures of famous American inventions, sport stars, foods and restaurants, works of art, famous songs and musical groups, dates and events people will always remember, celebrities, brand names, movies, and other things that have reached iconic status today. This book is a seriously educational history lesson that was fascinating and fun to read! It sure makes you feel good to be American. ^_^

Okay, last book. I promise. Last night I finished this really cute picture book that was adapted from the spectacular Stephen Sondheim musical, Into the Woods. The story is very accurate and the artwork is wonderful, but I definitely think the play version is a ton better. The book version can't possibly compete with actually hearing the music, or with the characters singing the songs, or with the comic acting abilities of the actors, or even with the laughter of the audience when there's a funny scene. Also in the book, the characters aren't able to give the narrator over to the Giantess, because how can you take away the story-teller in a book? So the musical was definitely funnier and better in every way. Therefore, my advice if you still would like to read this book is to see the play first, and then appreciate the adaptation later.

There! I am done with my task. And now you are done with your task of reading this post! Congratulations. ^_^

9-29-09 ~ Edit: I'm sorry! It seems I've left a book out! Well, actually I suppose it's not really a book anyway, because it's purely virtual, but I still didn't write about it! It's been a while now, but I've finished reading Midnight Sun, by Stephanie Meyer. A wonderful masterpiece that will sadly never be completed or published. As one can see from my reviews of all the books from the Twilight Saga, I was totally in love with the story and its characters, so to further explore that world was just a must for me. I read it quite sporadically, over a wide period of time, but I eventually finished it. I'm sorry to say that I forget exactly when, but I'm sure it was very soon after we came home from Boston! So here's the scoop: Midnight Sun is the story of Twilight as told by Edward Cullen's point of view, instead of Bella's, so while the story is very much the same, there is a whole other incredible dimension to it. Even though it ends very abruptly and I wished dearly I could continue reading the story, I really enjoyed reading Midnight Sun and I think other Twilight fans will too. It's very easy to check the story out if you're interested. Just click the link above, for Midnight Sun, and you'll go straight to a PDF file that has all 12 chapters. Of course, Stephanie Meyer obviously meant this to be slightly a rough draft, so I can spot some errors, but it's Stephanie Meyer, so I forgive her. ^_^ Really, I don't think you'll be sorry. Thank you for indulging me.

June and July books

Sorry that I missed my chance to write about my June books, but I seem to have read so little this month that I figured I should put them together. Even so, it doesn't seem to add up to much. So much for summer reading. :P

Okay, here's where I say something about what I remember from each book I read, the impression it still leaves on me weeks after I read them. The titles are also linked to their respective reviews, so you can check them out at your leisure.

Persepolis 2... an okay read. It's a graphic novel with interesting subject matter. Wouldn't really recommend it to everyone, but it's good. I have the same opinion for Sloth. Cool graphic novel, but not necessarily recommended for my friends. I've read Holes before, but it was great rereading it just the same. I think the movie was just slightly better than the book. I remember that Jonathan's Journey to Mount Miapu was a little difficult for me to get into, because it's supposed to be a kind of fantasy/ spiritual "adventure" for young kids, like 10 years old or something. (The titular character is 10 years old.) Still I liked it pretty much. When I was finished I was surprised to find that the author comes from Florida. Flight #5 and Flight #6 were both really awesome. Well, what else can one expect from this cool comic collection? Somehow I think this is the end of the series, because in #6 the "Saga of Rex", that story with no words about the fox on an alien planet that kept saying "to be continued..." finally ended. Oh well. Wings was a really cool story. I mean, really cool. Almost Twilight cool. Honestly. Speaking of which, The Twilight Companion was a really good handbook for lovers of the Saga. Lot of info on vampires and werewolves in other books and films too. And finally, Thin Threads was also a really fun read. It kept me good and occupied in the beginning of my twin's and my trip to Boston. It's a collection of really good inspirational stories.

Sorry. I didn't actually post reviews for these books, but I felt like I should say something about them. Rich Dad, Poor Dad: For Teens, by Robert Kiyosaki, was a non-fiction book about financial stuff. I meant to write a review for it, but I forgot to. I've read it before, so I wasn't learning much new stuff, but this book was very special in it's own little way. This was the book I wrote about when I commented in James Dashner's blog to enter his little contest to win a Maze Runner ARC. (Scroll down a little to see my entry.) I don't know if I won because of this book, but Kiyosaki's book still made history for me! I'm just glad I didn't enter with the book I read afterwards, Friendship According to Humphrey. This was a book my brother was reading. Hey, I was bored!

These books I've read in passing while visiting at a bookstore. The last time I visited Barnes and Noble (last Wednesday to be exact), I was 12 chapters away from finishing The Hunt for Dark Infinity. I wish I could have finished it right there, but we had to leave. Don't worry, I'll give a proper review for it once I'm officially done with it. When I couldn't find any good books when searching in Borders, I'd pick up Fabelhaven #2 to pass the time. I forget which chapter I got to... 5 or something like that. It's an okay series, but it's not really high priority for me. Like, the books aren't something I want to read ASAP.

Of course, in this next month I'm going to be in for an ultra-awesome treat... MAZE RUNNER!!! I cannot wait to get my ARC in the mail! It should arrive any day now! *squeal!* I'll be sure to post here the very moment it does.

Alright, as a last order of business, I'd like to give props to Dave, another book-blogger that is trying to get some more followers, particularly Dashner fans. Here's his site. He most recently wrote about how much he liked Maze Runner (which makes me even more excited for my Advanced Reader's Copy to come in. ^,^). He promised to post about more books tomorrow, so I recommend you swing by the site when you have the time. There might be contests sometime soon!