The Book Blog

Dune

2010-08-16T21:01:00.003-04:00

I have not read the books in quite some time, but today, I watched 'Children of Dune.' Picked it up immediately because of the title, because I could recall watching a bit of the older movie, 'Dune' and wondered how they had portrayed the other books.

I'm fair sure there was much in it that differed from the book (the twins being older), but it was amazing in its own right--though there were some things I took issue with and fast forwarded, many movies have that nowadays. I recall being fascinated with Alia in Dune, and how intriguing and amazing she was and since I can't recall much of Children of Dune, was very, very saddened to watch what a mess she became. Though the rest of you were probably not as surprised or moved. I tend to get that way when watching movies or reading books. It can become quite the emotional experience ;)
She was one of my favorite characters, as were they all, I suppose. But all empires have their time, and all empires must fall.

Oh, and the sandworms, they were absolutely epic.

The Goose Girl--Spoilers!

2009-11-21T09:16:00.003-05:00

Although I love Shannon Hale's books, I have obviously not been keeping up with what she has been publishing.
I discovered 'The Goose Girl' through a goodreads review and thought it sounded fascinating--a girl who can talk with animals? And control the wind? A dream come true! (I'm a sucker for that kind of stuff, now if only she could fly)

Anyhow, the way Hale writes is beautiful, she has a good sense of 'flow,' (boy I should improve my descriptions). At no point while I was reading did something sound out of place or 'rough' it all just ... flowed. Another reason I love her writing.
The characters were amazing, I love how I got a bit of background for most/all of them and they were not just cardboard side-characters with no personality. They each had their own unique personality and story and place in The Goose Girl. I will only talk about a couple.

Selia--egads, she was scary! I can understand why female villains are so frightening. A guy you expect, but when a woman/girl is the villain, boy can things get nasty. And even though there was foreshadowing, I still did not really expect her to turn into such a vile creature. Even if she thought she had reason. I hope Hale's intention was not to show us both sides of why she did what she did, too, because I sure as heck did not see it. To me, she is bad, through and through, and while I do not like how she died, I cannot say I miss her.

Ani--what a trooper. She was exactly like a 'regular' princess from the fairytales, to me. Except she actually acted like a real person, which impressed me. Usually princesses are a bit flat and it is all 'woe is me' or 'I'm so pretty,' everything is very simple and kind of unrealistic. But with Ani? I got to rooting for her real quick. You got to see her character develop, and I love how her personality or reactions were consistent. As in, even though her personality developed more and she became stronger and everything, when it came to facing Selia and when all seemed lost she was not still "I can do this. I am strong now. Everything will turn out fine." Her reaction was realistic, I would sure as heck be scared. Maybe have a little hope somethin' would happen to change the course of events, but being all strong and self-assured that everything will be fine is not very realistic when you are alone in a room, weaponless, facing people who are most likely going to kill you. You know what I mean? I would not be all "You will pay for this, fools! I may die, but someday, somewhere, somehow, someone will find out your treachery and you will PAY!"
Nah. I do not think so. Still, Geric realizes he was wrong and he still loves her and they get married and live happily ever after. (Or do they?)
Geric? Nothing to say about him.
Falada? That poor horse. I wanted to strangle Selia. Now THAT is a wonderful writer, who writes so well it is like the characters are real and you actually get so involved as to want to strangle the bad guy/girl.
Minus Twilight.
'Cause Twilight is just awful.

The Circle Trilogy by Ted Dekker--spoilers

2009-10-09T13:53:00.005-04:00

I ... this was almost as epic as Lord of the Rings for me. That is really the only way to describe it. I loved it, I love the idea of there being two different realities but they both effect each other (and one is present/past, and the other is the future).

It was also like Narnia for me, the ending was bittersweet. Justin had His Bride again; the remnant, in a way, but it was nothing like it had been in the beginning, the first Gathering Thomas had ever been to and all that. I also love how Dekker describes everything; especially the colored forest/green forest in the beginning and the Great Romance. It was absolutely beautiful. The plot twists were excellent as well.

It was simply epic. I cannot describe it any other way. Well, perhaps I can, but it seems nothing I type really conveys how I feel about any of the books I read. To be honest, I did not expect this book to be very good. I first read it on the way back from New York city, and I ended up having a love-hate feeling of it, as I do with Lord of the Rings. It is absolutely brilliant, well thought out, and I could picture everything that happened in my mind as if it were a movie. But, I also hated it because parts of it were so very dark and of course I hated the bittersweet ending, when Thomas died.

Indian in the Cupboard and other shtuff

2009-10-06T13:55:00.006-04:00

Yes, I know. I have not posted anything new in a while. Because I have not read anything new in a while. So, I shall talk about a book I read a long, long time ago (hooray!?)

That Book. And I guess the movie as well--that wonderful movie which my brothers never cease to make fun of.
It is almost Narnia-like in that when I read it, it brings back all that imagination I thought I lost, and it is so easy to picture everything in my mind. It brings back memories of my childhood when everything was amazing and new and there was an adventure around every corner, no matter how-to my now young adult mind-small.
I mean, honestly, I do not know that many adults who would look at a book or movie like that and go-"oh, that's so adventurous and fascinating, his toys come alive!" (more like 'awww, how quaint! ... my five year old kid'll love this'). It reminds me how bogged up we get in this world of ours, reminds me exactly why we need an escape. Everything is job related, money related, and we just cannot get a break and why on earth would someone read a book about a kid who has a magic cupboard and makes toys come alive? Why does anyone need imagination (at least, this is my experience anyhow. May not be the same for you)

...

Why not? ;)

I also love it because yes, when I was younger, I always thought it would be cool if my toys could come to life. I would have never lacked a friend. The whole idea was amazing, and I remember when I first read it I thought how cool it would have been to meet Little Bear and somehow go back with him to his time and meet the rest of his people.

I suppose I enjoy fantasy and science fiction so much because it is absolutely fascinating to see what we come up with and I love it. Same reason I love playing video games and looking at screenshots and everything. The worlds we create, the words, the people. Inconceivable! :)

Slightly-or totally-off topic, I am still young (ha) and still so ... awed ... at how on earth a tiny, flat little square (DS Lite) can hold so much information? I mean honestly, if we had time machines and went back in time people would be awed--you can read books by staring at this flat 'screen'? What? You can 'play' a game using a strange device and yet you are not moving at all? Why would you do that?
No, seriously. I cannot even describe how insane it is that we can actually PLAY something for hours that is really just this little plastic square inserted into another plastic rectangle with two screens that somehow 'show' what is inside the little plastic square. It is insane. And do not get me started on the whole touch screen deal.

Secret Speakers! WOOT

2009-09-09T22:49:00.006-04:00

After a long, long time, Karey has finally done it. ^_^
Secret Speakers and the Search for Selador's Gate is finally available to order online through amazon.com.

Yes. I am advertising. Because I got to know this author personally and was able to read her book via pdf I think it was, and many of us read it early, pitching in to tell her things which needed editing and everything. She is absolutely amazing and considering how much she has gone through, the fact she has done all of this pretty much on her own is astounding! I for one doubt I would have her strength and determination.

Quick blurb about the book/back of the book:
"

Fair O’Nelli knows three things for sure.

1) She has spent the last nine years of her life living in a cellar with her loyal dog, Sauveren.

2) Her father and brother are missing . . . or dead.

3) She is about to be freed.

Little does she know that she’s about to discover a deep, dark secret the hoomin of Cloven Grave know nothing about. Secret Speakers and the Search for Selador’s Gate is an astounding tale of triumph that pulls you around dark corners, drags you down to the depths of the earth and lifts you up to the soaring realms of Rall Kindaria, leaving your spirit breathless with the possibility that you are never, ever alone. Ever.

http://ksrkingworth.com

http://secretspeakers.com

20,000 Books to 18 Kindles

2009-09-04T17:54:00.008-04:00

A comment on an article about a college getting rid of all their books and replacing them with 18 Kindles:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/09/04/a_library_without_the_books/?s_campaign=yahoo

"There is another major difference between books and digital books that the article fails to mention. When a library buys a book or newspaper or magazine, they own the item with a one time payment and keep the item for people to read and use as long as it exists. But digital media only gives you the right to access the book or newspaper or magazine as long as you pay the vendor. You are buying access only and you need to keep paying forever to keep it. So you can pay for Time on line for 10 years, and the day you cannot pay for it, you lose all access to Time. With a hard copy, you would still have the 10 years worth of magazines. Not so with digital media-- and it is very expensive. This school is very shortsighted."

This is just very, very sad to me. Yes, times change and all, but why? Why on earth would you want to replace all that with digital stuff? As someone else mentioned in a comment, why not then replace all the art in art galleries with digital pictures on iPhones/computers etc., since they take up so much space? It is not the same as holding a book and smelling the pages, or standing before a brilliant work of art (classic example: Mona Lisa), if you are just staring at a screen. I am not very good at explaining this, but I just cannot stress how sad it is to me.

Books have lasted thousands of years, no matter in what form. This laptop? On its last leg(s). 8 years old, perhaps 9.
It would be nice if books would be around a few thousand years more. Just because something is 'modern' does not mean it is better, call me old-fashioned if you want. Yeah, computers and laptops are a great invention. But reading stories on here cannot ever replace books (to me). They are just stories. Not books. You cannot have a book, without a book.

*sigh*

Not that I have anything against Kindles. I just hate that it's starting: "new technology! So let's throw out books!"
No, just no. You get the Kindles. Maybe trim your collection of books a bit. But you keep the books. I sure as heck hope they do not still call the library a library. It is no library without books.

Graceling--Spoilers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-05-21T19:06:00.005-04:00

Graceling was such an interesting book.
I bought it at a Barnes & Noble and finished it in about two hours (or less, likely). It was fascinating, especially the idea of a people Graced with some type of extraordinary ability or 'normal' ability but enhanced. I should like to be Graced with an extraordinary singing voice, and now I wonder what colors my eyes would be--blue and turquoise?

The story/language really drew me in, I was able to empathize with Katsa, and I feel like she was a very well-rounded/well developed character. It is not often that I read a book with a great heroine. She does not necessarily start out as such, but it develops well.
Po--what an amazing guy. I really enjoyed reading and picturing in my mind the tattoos and everything.
And the plot twists and the ending--I do not know if this makes me dense or oblivious to the obvious (though I am certainly so) but I did not get any foreshadowing the first time around of Leck being the bad guy. But when I got to that part where they found out, and when I read it again, the foreshadowing was obvious, and his Grace was very fascinating, the description of why he did what he did was excellent and true as well. Some are cruel 'just because.' And Cashore was very good at creeping me out without giving excessive details, if you know what I mean.

Anyhow, the ending was not at all what I expected, with Po losing his sight and he and Katsa not getting married. Even though his Grace enabled him to 'see' far better than regular sight would, I definitely would choose sight. As for the not getting married, well, a lot of books end like that; I suppose it was just quite different for me, because I am waiting until I am married and to read about them making love and then they do not get married was ... well, it just felt awkward to me. Though I could understand Katsa's wanting to be independent. I do not want so much as she, but I can say I do not plan on having kids.

Anyhow, overall, a great book. Great description, characterization, character development, foreshadowing, etc. I would LOVE it if there was a second book. If you know before I do, let me know! ;)

Skellig

2009-04-29T12:33:00.004-04:00

I read this book quite some time ago, I must admit the cover was not very appealing. I could not remember much and then I found the show online, and "is this what I think it is?"

It was. ^_^

By most people's standards it was not a very exciting movie (it was not supposed to be, the book was not) and it was rather slow-paced, but I loved it--absolutely loved it. Whomever acted as 'Skellig' did an excellent job. I also enjoyed how there was 'the real world' and then, there was Skellig. Not this huge 'otherworld' and then 'the real world,' they were not completely separate at all, yet separate and I think it worked seamlessly.

It was the same when I read the book--I did not think, at first, it was any good at all and could not understand what the point was or who the man was and then, of course, I finally understood. And still even after discovering what he was/what he was like, there was an element of mystery to it because although you found out part of who he was, nobody actually knew 'the rest of it.'
I wonder if there is/will ever be a sequel to that book? I should like to find out what happened to him.

An Excerpt of A Book I am Writing

2009-04-15T12:59:00.003-04:00

Well, I was reading some comments on superheronation.com, and (perhaps mistakenly) thinking that my action scenes are pretty decent. With that came another thought--what if I pace scenes too quickly? I think, perhaps, that I tend to do that, hurry through everything and that is why my books end up being 'novellas'. It takes so long to finish them, and then I realize they are only 45-70 pages long (sometimes typed, sometimes not).

Here's an excerpt from one of the books/stories I am working on (and right now, I am writing on lined paper so grammar and etc. if there are any mistakes, are not corrected):

""Luka's entire body began to shake and she bit her lip hard, trying to keep herself under control--but she slipped. "I have issues?" She spat. "I didn't stab a helpless boy in the brain, I'm not the leader of a billion people whose soul purpose is to roam the galaxies attacking planets and killing off their entire population, and then taking their resources."
The empress gazed at her with sorrow filled eyes. "You joined us willingly, Luka, and you have killed helpless, innocent children. You cannot excuse yourself--you say that I am horrible, but you, my dear, are as horrible as I."
The words stung, and Luka blanched as the empress rose from her seat. "I believe that all of this has been too much for you to bear, and I am exiling you to Maena."
"What?" The empress was getting rid of her? "Why? Why not just kill me, then?"
"Because we do not kill fellow Raelek," the empress smoothly replied. "I would rather you go without problems, a few of my guards will fly you to the planet. They will drop you off by the caves."
Luka could only stare at her empress in disbelief. Where was the caring, albeit aloof empress she had come to know?"

Do you feel that this scene was paced too quickly/feels too 'rushed'? There is more dialogue before this, but do you think that the empress' announcement was too sudden or should there have been some warning of her decision? Would you, as the reader, rather this come as a surprise or there be more foreshadowing, or do you feel this is not a great enough turn that there be foreshadowing needed?

About 'spoilers'

2009-03-31T22:50:00.003-04:00

I just figured it would be better to have 'possible spoilers' in the title of whatever book or movie I am talking about, just in case. Better safe than sorry--so, anyway, that is why even if a post does not have spoilers, the spoiler warning is there.

Bruchko, with possible spoilers

2009-03-31T20:23:00.004-04:00

It is likely that most of you have never heard of this book, the true story of a 19 year old's efforts to bring the Gospel to the Motilones, a (at that time) little known and very much feared tribe of South American Indians/Natives.

This is one of the few autobiographical books that I actually enjoy--not only because it is 'exciting' in some instances, but because it shows what God can do and how He can use us to reach across cultural barriers to bring His Truth to others.

A few people, in posts on other websites, have made mention their discomfort of how Bruce Olson (Bruchko) told the Motilones of the Gospel, and how he made it relevant to their culture. That is the whole point, though. We cannot go to other countries and force upon them (if they accept Jesus into their lives) our Westernized standard of worship and building churches. They need to feel like they ARE the Church, instead of just being yet another group of converts. They should be able to worship God with their own style of music, bringing glory to Him. We will stand before God in the end when all nations are represented, AS different nations--not one Westernized world. All nations, with all of our cultural differences. We should not go to another country and expect those we lead to the Lord to sing worship songs from Hillsong and have standard sound equipment and wear western clothes and carry out their service in the manner that most Western churches do.

*end of random tangent*

Anyhow, Bruchko is an amazing book and you should check it out. Perhaps I will expand upon this later, seeing as I ended up on a tangent instead of actually describing what I liked about the book. :)

My View on the Twilight Books--With Spoilers

2009-03-26T12:33:00.005-04:00

I have read all but Breaking Dawn-which has been spoiled so many times over for me I might as well have read it-and some of Midnight Sun.

I read Twilight-before all the hype-because I had read everything in the school library that was remotely interesting and that my parents would consider acceptable. Then I moved on to vampire books, which were fascinating. Twilight was fascinating at the time because I was lonely, feeling misunderstood, and at that time in my life where I had to read other books to get inspiration for my own. The other books came out, and I read those too. I liked them, because of the language and how I was drawn into the books.
I cannot recall when I first started disliking the books, it may have been the over-the-top fan stories I began to hear, or the fact that the 'opposing side' had good points. I read the books again, thought about it more, and realized--I disliked them. I have always been a sucker for misunderstood people or 'the little guy,' and I ended up siding with those who dislike the books.

Now, I know we all read books for enjoyment--I understand that perfectly. Everyone is allowed to like and dislike books as they please. The problem I began to notice, however, was how the over-the-top fangirls did not stop at simply liking the books, they had to want to date Edward Cullen, become a vampire, leave their windows open for him, attack those who dislike/hated the books, and view the Twilight books as Bible and Meyer as a god. That, my friends, is not good. That is unhealthy. We all have the right to like what we like and nobody should say we cannot, but when our right interferes with theirs or theirs with ours, that is where the problem lies, and so Antis were 'born.'

I personally am an anti, because while I agree that we should not tell others they cannot read something, there comes a point when it is over the top. I became an anti when:

-I realized how ridiculous it is that vampires sparkle and drink animal blood. Yes, imagination and all that is absolutely wonderful as well as a new take on things, but really if they sparkle and only drink animal blood, what else are they but glorified pixies? You cannot reduce a vampire to that--otherwise it is not a vampire. The whole idea is that vampires are very, very frightening half-dead 'people' who want to drink your blood, immortal, extremely strong, fast, and usually cannot come out in daytime otherwise they'll be nothing but a pile of ashes. A person who is strong, fast, sparkles, lives forever, only drinks animal blood? Not a vampire. This is just a pet peeve and yes a huge issue but not so much the reason why I think young teens and preteens should not read the saga/series/whatever you want to call it.

-Yes, Edward Cullen is a stalker. I am sorry that many fans cannot see this, and this is where it gets problematic. Yes, I have only met them online, but I have 'met' girls who do literally wish that Edward would stalk them and creep into their rooms at night, among other less-appropriate things. Just because a guy is hot does not mean that it is okay he is stalking you. Really, it is very disturbing. Very, very disturbing.

-He is creepy and has no personality. Yeah, he is 'hot,' but he is creepy. He only likes Bella for her smell and how pretty she is. How much more shallow can it get? And the majority of girls who read these books actually think that it's true love. So many have said that real guys could take pointers from Edward. I highly doubt it. Guys--please, I beg you, do NOT take pointers from Edward. Not only is he fictional, but he stalks, he will not let his 'love' hang out with her friends ... and so many other things.

-Bella. Oh, my. I read one comment online that had me almost crying. Bella was called a hero. No, she is not a hero. She does, basically, nothing whatsoever. Everyone does everything for her and practically bows at her feet, and we are not really told why. She considers herself to be rather plain, and yet all the guys at the school are enamored with her the moment they see her and ask her out on dates and everything besides. She always has to be saved, as well. Not to mention there really isn't any plot, so how on earth could she be a hero if there is no plot?

This post is already too long so I'll just stop here but those are some of the issues I have with the books. It just disturbs me so much that girls would be so obsessed with Edward, the fictional sparkly immortal guy (he is NOT a vampire) that they would wish he were real, think he is better than real guys, want him to come into their rooms, want him to be their boyfriend, think stalking is all right as long as the guy is hot, believe that Edward and Bella's 'relationship' is the standard for true love and a good relationship, never allow any criticism of Meyer or her books, and attack those who do not like the books. That is what crossin' the line is.

If you are a sane fan who just loves the books, kudos to you and I am glad you like them, just please do not become insane and start babbling on about how hot Edward is and how you wish he was your boyfriend and how you will kill anyone who does not like the books.

New Blog!

2009-03-26T09:08:00.002-04:00

For quite some time, I have considered starting a blog dedicated to books, anything about books. So, here it is. My hope is that I will post here much more often than I post in my other blog, and that it shall be much more interesting.

My second post shall be about Twilight. Though not purposely to generate conflict. Simply because I would like to make my thoughts known--that is, after all, what blogs are for.