Happy Halloween

                  Wishing everyone a safe and Happy Halloween. ^^ 
 

Review" The Lost Hero" by RicK Riordan

Book: The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan
Release Date: October 12, 2010

Excerpt:
Jason has a problem. He doesn’t remember anything before waking up in a bus full of kids on a field trip. Apparently he has a girlfriend named Piper and a best friend named Leo. They're all students at a boarding school for “bad kids.” What did Jason do to end up here? And where is here, exactly? 
Piper has a secret. Her father has been missing for three days, ever since she had that terrifying nightmare. Piper doesn’t understand her dream, or why her boyfriend suddenly doesn't recognize her. When a freak storm hits, unleashing strange creatures and whisking her, Jason, and Leo away to someplace called Camp Half-Blood, she has a feeling she’s going to find out. 
Leo has a way with tools. When he sees his cabin at Camp Half-Blood, filled with power tools and machine parts, he feels right at home. But there’s weird stuff, too—like the curse everyone keeps talking about. Weirdest of all, his bunkmates insist that each of them—including Leo—is related to a god. 
Join new and old friends from Camp Half-Blood in this thrilling first audio book in The Heroes of Olympus series. 

Review: 
So i finally got to read this one! I pre-ordered it, but amazon took a week to ship it. It then took a few more days to get to me. So in the end i was left staring at my sister reading her copy she bought at wallmart wondering why i didn't do the same. 

The wait was well worth it. Not only was the book extraordinarily good, but i do say Riordan seems to be getting better and better each story he puts out. When i heard that Riordan was making a sequel to the Percy Jackson series i was a bit weary. I wasn't sure how well it could be pulled off or how he would do it. It was sheer genius though the way he did. I thought he was going to make the Roman Gods/goddess different entities. Instead he made them the same "being", but with multiple personalities disorders. 

We pick up in the stories a few months/year ( i forget) after "The Last Olympian" takes place. Jason wakes up on a bus not knowing who he is, where he is, or who this girl and boy sitting with him are. Not long he finds himself being attacked by Venti, finding out his couch is a fawn/satyr,he can apparently fly, and he's a demi-god. Jupiter/Zeus's son in fact. Jason gets called on by Hera/Juno to come save her and along with Piper and Leo he's off for the adventure. 

As I said earlier this book was amazing and that Riordan's writing keeps getting better in better. In the Percy Jackson books i couldn't stand Annabeth. Still can't. I was so extremely glad that Piper isn't like her. Piper really reminds me a lot of Sailor Venus (cookies if you know who i'm talking about) minus the occasional ditziness that Minako had. She is strong, smart, and can pull her own weight. And she does so in a way that is not obnoxious like Annabeth. She has her failings, but she pulls through. She makes you really want to root for her. The thing is that i think she is going to become a new "Helen of Troy" because Riordan seems to be hinting at it. I think she would do good with Leo though. There is some subtle hints that them getting together might lead to something bigger. Plus Jason has a possible "Reyna". 

Speaking of Jason; he's no Percy. I'm quite glad for it. I find it amazing how Riordan made him distantly roman compared to Percy's distinct Greekness. I quite liked his character and might even like him more than Percy. I think the best thing about Jason is that he never gets up. He knows something bad is going to happen, but he pulls through as well. Plus i think there is more to him than meets the eye. I'm a thinking that Hera might have given him more than just her sponsorship.

Leo, now this is how you write a third wheel in to the equation. He wasn't the stupid sidekick that Grover was. He was an equal. He had his own powers, abilities, and he was actually funny. Thing with him i think his wanting his mother back might tip him over to Gae's side. He's definitely the character you pay the most attention to his actions. Mainly because he is the one that is most able to be influences. Something I think Piper is going to have a major role in keeping him on the good side. 

Side note..... Thaila is back and looks to become a bigger character! No Nico though. *sad face*. Also with the ending.....WHAT KIND OF ENDING IS THAT!!! I Have to wait a whole freaking year to read what happens! DAME YOU RIC RIORDAN!!! I haven't wanted to read the next book in a series so bad since Harry Potter. *Pouts* The new Kane Chronicles book better come out in the spring....

Final Rating: 5 Bunnies plus gold glitter, band stand, and fireworks. I loved everything. ^^

The Intrigue at Highbury (Mr. and Mrs. Darcy Mysteries #5) by Carrie Bebris

Book: The Intrigue at Highbury (Mr. and Mrs. Darcy Mysteries #5) by Carrie Bebris
Release Date: Feb 27,2010

Excerpt:
  Mr. and Mrs. Darcy are looking forward to a relaxing stay with dear friends when their carriage is hailed by a damsel-in-distress outside of the village of Highbury. Little do the Darcy's realize that gypsies roam these woods, or that both their possessions and the woman are about to vanish into the night. 

The Darcy's seek out the parish magistrate, who is having a difficult evening of his own. Mr. Knightley and his new wife, the former Miss Emma Woodhouse (the heroine of Jane Austen's Emma are hosting a party to celebrate the marriage of their friends, Mr. Frank Churchill and Miss Jane Fairfax. During dinner, Mr. Edgar Churchill, uncle and adoptive father of the groom, falls suddenly ill and dies. The cause of death: poison. 

When the  Darcy's and the Knightley's join forces to investigate the crimes, they discover that the robbery and Edgar Churchill's death may be connected. Together they must work to quickly locate the source of the poison and the murderer's motive--before the killer can strike again.



Review: 
This book surprised me. I was expecting this to be a good read, but i didn't expect an excellent read. The author, Carrie Berbris, explains on the cover that her premisis for the Mr & Mrs. Darcy mysteries is the "Thin Man" movies. I had to tell her, but Lizzie and Darcy are no Nick and Nora. Despite that Ms. Berbris seems to capture the Austen characters in a way i haven't read in awhile. 

In this particular mystery we see Mr and Mrs. Darcy in Highbury after getting robbed on the road. There they find themselves entangled in a possible murder mystery. They of course they meet Emma and Mr. Knightly. I was quite surprised at how well the author managed to keep the "Emma" characters true to form. None of them acted out of character. Even Mr. Woodhouse, Miss. Bates, and the Eltons were in character. Something i highly applaud the author and made the story highly enjoyable. 

The mystery of the story was quite well done. You knew at once "Miss. Jones" was involved in the robbing somehow, but it was quite a surprise she was involved in the murder as well. Add along some new characters and you have a really good book. I applaud the author as well for taking a side storyline that could have been soap operaish and turning it into a nice add one. I'm not going to spoil it, but it involves a "long lost family member". Whom that person is i shall leave a secret. 
Final rating: 5 Bunnies. Great story, staying true to most of the original Jane Austen characters, and for adding in some truly humorous parts. A "must buy" as well. 

 

Website Spotlight: Reasoning with Vampires

                     WEBSITE SPOTLIGHT
                   "Reasoning with Vampires"

I came across this website from a post from live journal. Basically the premise of the site is to correct Stephine Meyer's work. Going through the site i was struck at how in the world did Meyer ever get published with so many grammar mistakes. What self respecting editor would let it through. The author apparently thought the same thing. In her explanation of his/her site he/she states:

Though I would not typically describe myself as a nihilist, I have given up all hope that any rule of writing has emerged unscathed from the clumsy hands of Meyer. It is unseemly how some run-on sentences are brimming with words, yet so many sentence fragments starve for a complete idea. She abuses and misuses punctuation. Simple thoughts are interrupted with peripheral observations. Meyer’s novels are engorged with maudlin adjective after maudlin adjective. Her vocabulary is both pompous and unwieldy as she has little grasp how to use words with the appropriate tone/connotation for the idea she’s thrashing on the page.   

The Twilight Saga wasn’t enriched by sentences that make seventh grade English teachers cry. When Stephenie Meyer uses the wrong word, it’s not innovative like Picasso painting an eye where a mouth should be. It’s wrong. It’s a sloppy mess.

Some passages are faint embers of “I wrote it this way because that’s how I talk/or how a teenager thinks” but those burn out before I can feel any warmth towards the story. I don’t care if that’s representative of Bella’s stream of conscious or Meyer’s thought process. The written word has the advantage of thoughtful communication. We are limited by the tips of our tongues when we speak. Our minds get clouded by anger and love, too much to drink, not enough sleep, and feeling every feeling all at once. 

The page is still. The page waits for you to calm down. The page holds that blurry thought while you squint at the edges, holds it until you know just how to laminate that event/emotion/entity with words and punctuation. The page can wait for hundreds of years to be read, so it’s not too much to ask that an author takes the time to write it right, instead of just right now.

Stephenie Meyer has written big, unintentionally-destructive, curiously-strong, retarded apes of books. 

 Some examples of the site owners lovely work.  

Finishable and unfinishable books: A debate

Books we are unable to finish. We all have them. But what makes a book unfinished compared to the ones that are. Is it a reflection upon the author or the reader? I think it can be a bit of both.

An unfinished book to me is one that is horrible bad and boring, horrible boring in itself, or just plain bad. Most of the time a book becomes unfinished because i lost interest or because i don't like a theme an author used.  After going through years of college reading books i hate i feel the right to not finish a book. Why should I be bored out of my mind to merely finish... Another thing is that i have certain taboos. I don't tolerate rape, pedophilia, incest, or relationship abusive behavior in a book. If a book contains those things then i won't read them.

Those who know me might say how did you get through the Twilight series. It's well known that i loath that series with a passion and think it's destroying the minds and values of the young. The series really contains every one of my taboos (except rape, but if you really want to go there...) and try to disguise it as "love".  The thing is that though the series was so utterly horrible and poorly written i knew i needed to finish it in order to have a clear right to express my opinion. Sometimes the need to be-able to articulate and say why you didn't like something can be the push to finish a book. Plus then the crazies can't say " How can you say that? Have you never read the books?" I can now say i have and i want those hours of my life back.

Another thing that can drive a badly or horribly written book to be finished is that it's so bad you can't put it down. You just have to keep on watching the train wreak. That train wreak sometimes because so bad that it's fun to make fun of. I believe everyone has read those books where you can't help but laugh at how bad they are. I know i can name a few off the top of my head where i've crack up about them afterwards.

So what makes a book finish-able. The most common answer for me is that it keeps my interest or leaves me wanting more. There has only been a few books i can successfully say i "couldn't put it down".  The Harry potter, Percy Jackson, and a few other choice books can be name off the top of my head. Funnily the first book i read round the clock wasn't a Harry Potter book. I've finished those in a day or two, but never read them over night. I wanted to read what happened next, but i also wanted to savor the books longer. No it was the first Percy Jackson book that i read from 4pm straight on to 2.20am. The series was a breath of fresh air after not having any series keep my interest after HP finish.

Yet not every book can be one of the "specials". Most are just normal books. These books usually contain a mixture of elements that make them finish-able and unfinished. I know most authors want to be one of the "Golden"; and though Stephine Meyer proved that even a brainless rock can get published,  most authors create books that leave it to the reader whether to finish or not. It's up to them to create elements in a book that makes the reader want to turn the page. Some of these elements may be genre related, character driven, twist of a plot, or just an new or genius idea. Give me a tortured hero and you guarantee that i will keep reading the pages till the last. Obi-Wan Kenobi is in the book i'm there till i drop. A Bunny is main character or a new and interesting plot; are you writing a sequel? Each reader has their own "things" that makes them want to turn the pages. It's these things that can make a book finish-able or one to be quickly put down as it was put up.

Gryffindor Tie and Scarf from Tragic Mountain

I'm planning on going as a gryffindor student to the Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows part 1 and i'm in the middle of getting my outfit together.

I got a great deal from Tragic Mountain  on a Gryffindor Tie and scarf combo.The two were just $27.99 together. The tie is made of silk and fits all adults. And even those of us who are vertically challenged. It was brand new and still in the original HP merchandise packaging.  The scarf is wool and is about the size of a regular scarf. I've worn it around some and it's nice and warm. My only concern is that the Gryffindor patch doesn't seem to be all that secured on it.

Product Rating:

* Ignore the jacket. I've had that for awhile.

Teaser Tuesday #2

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of
Should Be Reading

. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:


Grab your current read


1) Open to a random page

2)Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

3) Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! 


My current book:

Teaser:


" Who cares?" He strode quickly past her. "It probably sensed the Key" Pg 222 of " Incareron".