Hey everyone! I'd thought that I'd do another one of these footnote thing-ys since I haven't written one in a while. I just haven't had a lot of thoughts lately. Even right now, right at this moment, I really don't know what exactly I'm going to talk about. But whatever. I'll type up whatever comes to mind.
Spring is pretty awesome and is probably my favorite season of all time. It's warm, but cooler than the summer (unless you go up to the mountains or something. Then it's really, really cold and I hate it). And it's a lot prettier than the fall! Fall is kinda like the opposing season to spring. Instead of getting hotter, it gets colder. Instead of flowers blooming and trees become un-naked, the fall makes everything die and all the leaves clog up the sewers. Then you have to pull out your jackets and end up having to do more laundry and use more money to buy soap and things. But spring, on the other hand, is much better. Compared to the cold winter, the weather is considerably hotter (unless its raining or snowing, which is kind of a bummer. Why couldn't the sky finishing raining and snowing in the winter?) which means that you get to wear less clothes (a LOT less, for some people) and save a lot more money!!! But I guess that if you going spring shopping or whatever normal people do, you would actually be doing the exact opposite...but those people don't count. Summers alright except for the heat and the crazy little children that start running around without any clothes on. And in winter everyone smells like a wet dog. Yuck.
Life is alright. I had a friend hang around my house for a while and she kept waking me up WAY too early. But I ended up going to sleep earlier like a normal person (whaaaaaaaa?!) and I feel a lot better about myself now. I'm not as tired, I'm more relaxed. Truthfully, I feel great. Sure, I might not get three hours of work done now, but people can deal with themselves. Sleeping's a lot more fun.
Um, yeah. That's kind of all that I have to say right now. There wasn't anything else that's really on my mind other than sleeping and how hot it was today! That's one downer of spring; it can be really, really cold, wet, and windy one day, but cook-bacon-on-my-head hot the next day. Stupid weather.
Alright. Bye now. I've got twelve hours of work to catch up on.
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Monday, April 1, 2013
Booked Dates: April Fool's Day
I wasn't actually sure which category I should put this post under. When I was forming this post in my mind earlier in the day, I had planned for it to be a Footnote. But then I realized what day it was today; April Fool's Day.
This is what got me; is April Fool's Day considered a holiday? Or is it just a special title given to the first of April for no reason in particular. But then I thought, "Well, that would be stupid if a day in April was pronounced a day for pranks and jokes for no reason at all! Everything has a reason even if it's just a 'Because I felt like it' reason!" So what does this mean? I had to look it up!
I'm pretty sure that April Fool's Day isn't a religious holiday, thank goodness. For a while there, I thought all of the holidays that I celebrated had religious origins (not that there's anything wrong with the origins being from a religion, but variety is the spice of life). It's kinda of funny to me that I'm writing another Booked Date blog so soon, the day after Easter!
But I was going to talk about something else, except I forgot. So, instead, I'm going to post a few pictures I found of April Fool's Day jokes.
This is what got me; is April Fool's Day considered a holiday? Or is it just a special title given to the first of April for no reason in particular. But then I thought, "Well, that would be stupid if a day in April was pronounced a day for pranks and jokes for no reason at all! Everything has a reason even if it's just a 'Because I felt like it' reason!" So what does this mean? I had to look it up!
I'm pretty sure that April Fool's Day isn't a religious holiday, thank goodness. For a while there, I thought all of the holidays that I celebrated had religious origins (not that there's anything wrong with the origins being from a religion, but variety is the spice of life). It's kinda of funny to me that I'm writing another Booked Date blog so soon, the day after Easter!
But I was going to talk about something else, except I forgot. So, instead, I'm going to post a few pictures I found of April Fool's Day jokes.
A fake crash
Pretty self-explanatory
LOL!
Book Blog: Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore
Rating: 4 1/2 Stars
I'm not exactly sure how I want to start this review. Usually, I start with the cover, but I was hoping that I could start with something else, something more interesting. But no ideas come to mind, so I guess I will be starting with my thoughts on the cover, as usual.
At first glance, I didn't notice that there was a girl in the background, so you must imagine how I reacted when I was closely examining the blues and purples of the book to realize that a big, human eye staring straight at me. What's up with Cashore and her eyes? In the Graceling, there was an eye on the sword (but thankful there wasn't one on Fire's cover) and now this!
Second of all, why would the background be blue and purple (other than the fact that there is the word "blue" in Bitterblue's name)? The keys don't really match and, to me at least, make the cover really, really ugly.
The title's creativity annoy's me too. I didn't mention it at all in my Fire review because when I began the book, I was unaware that the main character was named Fire. But this is just getting ridiculous! I can't believe that Cashore couldn't think up a more creative name for her third book other than her protagonist's name. It's very disappointing.
Now onto the content.
When I finished the book, I didn't feel that fan-girl bubbliness that I felt with Graceling and Fire. To be frank, the ending was bland. But I almost fell in love with the story and I'll tell you why. Bitterblue's story has similarities to one of my favorite books; Cinda William Chima's Seven Realms series. Bitterblue sneaks around with a guy that's pretty much opposite to her in status, behavior, etc which is almost EXACTLY like what Raisa was doing! If I didn't love this forbidden love situation so much, I could be ranting on and on about the similarities between the two books. But I'm not going to waste your time with that if it's not exactly bugging me that the stories are so alike.
I don't think I actually like Bitterblue very much as a character. Sure, it's a relief that she's normal; she doesn't have a supernatural power, a grace, or considered a normal. But she's such a baby! She's suppose to be 18 and yet she's constantly crying! I'm glad she's not my Queen!
I think that Cashore should have put more about Fire and her story in the book. But what I'm glad about is that Fire actually got married. THANK GOODNESS!!! While I was reading this book, I couldn't help but think that Cashore had something against men (The bad guys in Graceling were Kasta's uncle and Leck, in Fire it was Leck and Fire's father, and in Bitterblue it was Leck's past advisors and Leck's memory). I'm glad that at least one couple that Cashore created settled down.
What I really wanted to see from Cashore was a book from a male point of view. She wrote all three books from a female point of view, but I think it would have been better if she did at least one (maybe Fire?) with a male protagonist.
The book was alright. If you've read Graceling and Fire, but don't really know if you want to read Bitterblue, then don't. It wasn't that great. Read something else, like The Demon King! If you read that, it's pretty much the same story as Bitterblue except better and stretched out into five books.
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This doesn't have anything to do with the book, but when I was reading several gay/lesbian references, it got me thinking. It's funny how in our world, everyone is considered straight unless their not. ...I mean, it's assumed that you are straight, like everyone else, until you come to the realization that your gay (unless your not, of course). Isn't that peculiar? I'm sure that once the world gets used to people liking the same gender as themselves, it won't be like that. Parents will talk to their children and say that they wonder if he/she will end up liking a female or a male. This whole thought blew my mind, and I thought that I should share it with you all.
At first glance, I didn't notice that there was a girl in the background, so you must imagine how I reacted when I was closely examining the blues and purples of the book to realize that a big, human eye staring straight at me. What's up with Cashore and her eyes? In the Graceling, there was an eye on the sword (but thankful there wasn't one on Fire's cover) and now this!
Second of all, why would the background be blue and purple (other than the fact that there is the word "blue" in Bitterblue's name)? The keys don't really match and, to me at least, make the cover really, really ugly.
The title's creativity annoy's me too. I didn't mention it at all in my Fire review because when I began the book, I was unaware that the main character was named Fire. But this is just getting ridiculous! I can't believe that Cashore couldn't think up a more creative name for her third book other than her protagonist's name. It's very disappointing.
Now onto the content.
When I finished the book, I didn't feel that fan-girl bubbliness that I felt with Graceling and Fire. To be frank, the ending was bland. But I almost fell in love with the story and I'll tell you why. Bitterblue's story has similarities to one of my favorite books; Cinda William Chima's Seven Realms series. Bitterblue sneaks around with a guy that's pretty much opposite to her in status, behavior, etc which is almost EXACTLY like what Raisa was doing! If I didn't love this forbidden love situation so much, I could be ranting on and on about the similarities between the two books. But I'm not going to waste your time with that if it's not exactly bugging me that the stories are so alike.
I don't think I actually like Bitterblue very much as a character. Sure, it's a relief that she's normal; she doesn't have a supernatural power, a grace, or considered a normal. But she's such a baby! She's suppose to be 18 and yet she's constantly crying! I'm glad she's not my Queen!
I think that Cashore should have put more about Fire and her story in the book. But what I'm glad about is that Fire actually got married. THANK GOODNESS!!! While I was reading this book, I couldn't help but think that Cashore had something against men (The bad guys in Graceling were Kasta's uncle and Leck, in Fire it was Leck and Fire's father, and in Bitterblue it was Leck's past advisors and Leck's memory). I'm glad that at least one couple that Cashore created settled down.
What I really wanted to see from Cashore was a book from a male point of view. She wrote all three books from a female point of view, but I think it would have been better if she did at least one (maybe Fire?) with a male protagonist.
The book was alright. If you've read Graceling and Fire, but don't really know if you want to read Bitterblue, then don't. It wasn't that great. Read something else, like The Demon King! If you read that, it's pretty much the same story as Bitterblue except better and stretched out into five books.
---
This doesn't have anything to do with the book, but when I was reading several gay/lesbian references, it got me thinking. It's funny how in our world, everyone is considered straight unless their not. ...I mean, it's assumed that you are straight, like everyone else, until you come to the realization that your gay (unless your not, of course). Isn't that peculiar? I'm sure that once the world gets used to people liking the same gender as themselves, it won't be like that. Parents will talk to their children and say that they wonder if he/she will end up liking a female or a male. This whole thought blew my mind, and I thought that I should share it with you all.
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Booked Dates: Easter Sunday!
Happy Easter!!!
Any, once again, Happy Easter! Easter is, like St. Patrick's Day, a religious holiday. It's funny because more people know that Easter is a religious holiday, but very few people know the same about our favorite Irish holiday.
Easter to me seems very similar to Halloween. You get a whole bunch of candy and stuff for both holidays and you use baskets to hold it all. But, then again, there are a lot of did fences between the two. During Halloween, everyone dresses up and wanders around at night to get candy from strangers while during Easter, you (usually) hunt around the yard/park/house for eggs during the day without knowing if your actually going to get candy or not (unless your hunting with REAL eggs).
When I was a kid, we would always hide plastic eggs around the house (hey, it's a lot cleaner than crawling through the mud!) and fill them with candy. I really never saw the point in looking for real eggs; I don't even LIKE the taste of eggs. See, with plastic ones, I always get something that I like; gummy worms, chocolate, nothing...(when we ran out of stuff to put in the eggs because I ate too much of it XD)
Painting eggs is a paint too. I would always stain my shirt :( Not fun.
Easter, I think, is turning into a commercial holiday. But, hey, if I get a day off for it, I'm not complaining!
Next Book Blog: Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Book Blog: Eon
Rating:4 Stars
I decided to try writing this review in portions again (but published all at once). So I'm sorry if it gets a little confusing; it's the only thing I can think of doing to get all of my thoughts about this book in one review.
3/25/13
The cover is probably one of the more interesting covers I have seen. The Chinese(?) characters, the talons, it's all pretty cool. But the eye in the "O" is kinda creepy. I'm not exactly sue of what to make of it. Like, I don't really know what it's showing.
Pages 1-60
I'm a little confused about the whole Dragoneye thing, but I hope I will understand as I read on. The large amount of content that needs to be explained is a little concerning; I'm not sure if the author is going to be able to get to it all. But I'll just have to wait and see.
Pages 61-130
Okay, we get it. Eon (I'm just going to refer to Eon/a as Eon, since switching in between names is confusing) is just a candidate. No need to tell me twice. This has been the first thing in this book that has bugged me. You'd think that the author, the editor, SOMEONE, would have caught that!
3/26/13
Pages 131-200
I don't know why, but Eon's conversation with Lady Jila about friendship made me really annoyed. I think it's because, in a way, she used Lady Jila to compliment her own character.
Pages 200-300
Why is it that Eon starts crying when he can't read the book? It's almost like accepting defeat when there is still (OBVIOUSLY) hope. He gives up too easily.
How many times am I going to have to say this? DO NOT DRINK THE MYSTERIOUS LIQUID!!! You'd think that with so many enemies, Eon and Brannon would be more on guard about what they eat and drink. Especially since they are getting it from a servant. It doesn't matter if they say it comes from a friend, if you have determined enemies they will find a way to get to that drink and to you.
3/27/13
Pages 301-End
Now with the book finished, I have mixed feelings. I found that the journey from the Rat Dragon Hall back to the castle was very confusing. Half of the time, there was so much fighting (or whatever was going on), I couldn't understand what they were doing, where they were doing it, and why. But after all of that confusion, the events that unfolded were mind-blowing. And to find out that the Mirror Dragon was a female! But the very end was a little disappointing. The cliffhanger fell a little flat for me. I think it could have been executed better. It didn't leave me screaming "I MUST KNOW WHAT HAPPENS OR ELSe!!!!" But, oh well.
What I really felt was missing from this book was background development. I don't know if it's because I was lazy reading, but Eon's past is still confusing. And there are similarities with Mulan! The Chinese basis in both, the "boy is actually a girl" situation, it all shows similarities to Disney's Mulan. I know that it's hard to be original these days, but I fel the urge to point it out since it was so obvious. I defiantly think that this book was interesting enough, holding my attention. I recommend it!
3/25/13
The cover is probably one of the more interesting covers I have seen. The Chinese(?) characters, the talons, it's all pretty cool. But the eye in the "O" is kinda creepy. I'm not exactly sue of what to make of it. Like, I don't really know what it's showing.Pages 1-60
I'm a little confused about the whole Dragoneye thing, but I hope I will understand as I read on. The large amount of content that needs to be explained is a little concerning; I'm not sure if the author is going to be able to get to it all. But I'll just have to wait and see.
Pages 61-130
"'Mirror Dragoneye?' I repeated? 'But I'm just a candidate.' 'Yes, there was some resistance in the Dragoneye Council due to your youth and inexperience, but after much debate they have recognized your position.' She paused, her wide mouth quirking up for a second. 'You are now Coascendant Dragoneye with Lord Ido.' I stared at her. 'Coascendant Dragoneye? But I'm just a candidate...'
Okay, we get it. Eon (I'm just going to refer to Eon/a as Eon, since switching in between names is confusing) is just a candidate. No need to tell me twice. This has been the first thing in this book that has bugged me. You'd think that the author, the editor, SOMEONE, would have caught that!
3/26/13
Pages 131-200
I don't know why, but Eon's conversation with Lady Jila about friendship made me really annoyed. I think it's because, in a way, she used Lady Jila to compliment her own character.
Pages 200-300
Why is it that Eon starts crying when he can't read the book? It's almost like accepting defeat when there is still (OBVIOUSLY) hope. He gives up too easily.
How many times am I going to have to say this? DO NOT DRINK THE MYSTERIOUS LIQUID!!! You'd think that with so many enemies, Eon and Brannon would be more on guard about what they eat and drink. Especially since they are getting it from a servant. It doesn't matter if they say it comes from a friend, if you have determined enemies they will find a way to get to that drink and to you.
3/27/13
Pages 301-End
Now with the book finished, I have mixed feelings. I found that the journey from the Rat Dragon Hall back to the castle was very confusing. Half of the time, there was so much fighting (or whatever was going on), I couldn't understand what they were doing, where they were doing it, and why. But after all of that confusion, the events that unfolded were mind-blowing. And to find out that the Mirror Dragon was a female! But the very end was a little disappointing. The cliffhanger fell a little flat for me. I think it could have been executed better. It didn't leave me screaming "I MUST KNOW WHAT HAPPENS OR ELSe!!!!" But, oh well.
What I really felt was missing from this book was background development. I don't know if it's because I was lazy reading, but Eon's past is still confusing. And there are similarities with Mulan! The Chinese basis in both, the "boy is actually a girl" situation, it all shows similarities to Disney's Mulan. I know that it's hard to be original these days, but I fel the urge to point it out since it was so obvious. I defiantly think that this book was interesting enough, holding my attention. I recommend it!
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Book Blog: Starters
Rating:2 Stars
Like usual, I'd like to talk about the cover. It has to be one of the creepiest beautiful cover I've ever seen. Her eyes look like they're staring into my soul, especially with that one blue eye.
At first, it really bugged me that her eyes were two different colors. But now I know it was suppose to be like the drawing Michael made of her. What I don't understand is why. Why did Michael draw her like that? What compelled him to make her eyes two different colors, other than for the artistic factor? There had to be something that made him do that, but it wasn't explained in the book.
And then there's that quote, made by the coauthor of Beautiful Creatures. Whenever Hunger Games is mentioned, I get suspicious. Why would fans of Hunger Games like this book? Is it because....THE AUTHOR'S A COPYCAT?!
Let's get to the story, shall we?
The Spore Wars
In the beginning, Callie makes this big deal about the spores and how they killed her parents, yada yada , yada. And I guess there was this war where people released these spores on their enemy. But, besides the few times it was mentioned, I didn't hear anything about it at all. Our protagonist makes this big deal about it all, but nothing comes out of it. Why did the author create this war and the spores if they're not even that important? I feel like that should have been.
Similarities to The Hunger Games Trilogy and Uglies
Turns out there are similarities to other books! Let's compare.
Like usual, I'd like to talk about the cover. It has to be one of the creepiest beautiful cover I've ever seen. Her eyes look like they're staring into my soul, especially with that one blue eye.At first, it really bugged me that her eyes were two different colors. But now I know it was suppose to be like the drawing Michael made of her. What I don't understand is why. Why did Michael draw her like that? What compelled him to make her eyes two different colors, other than for the artistic factor? There had to be something that made him do that, but it wasn't explained in the book.
And then there's that quote, made by the coauthor of Beautiful Creatures. Whenever Hunger Games is mentioned, I get suspicious. Why would fans of Hunger Games like this book? Is it because....THE AUTHOR'S A COPYCAT?!
Let's get to the story, shall we?
In the beginning, Callie makes this big deal about the spores and how they killed her parents, yada yada , yada. And I guess there was this war where people released these spores on their enemy. But, besides the few times it was mentioned, I didn't hear anything about it at all. Our protagonist makes this big deal about it all, but nothing comes out of it. Why did the author create this war and the spores if they're not even that important? I feel like that should have been.
Similarities to The Hunger Games Trilogy and Uglies
Turns out there are similarities to other books! Let's compare.
Hunger Games/Starters
The main character is a poor female/the main character is a poor female
Prim is the younger, weaker sibling/Tyler is the younger, weaker sibling
Katniss makes a sacrifice for Prim/Callie makes a sacrifice for Tyler
Katniss helps Peeta regain his memories/Callie helps Blake regain his memories
I'm not saying that Hunger Games is 100% original because it's not. But it's a comparison that people can relate to.
The author's ripped off Uglies too. You know the band-bounce thing? To me, it seemed strangely similar to bungee jackets, don't you think?
Lack of detail
The style of writing reminded me a lot of Ally Condie. There's was barely any detail of the character's emotion, facial expression, or how the characters do anything. For example, when someone (I forgot the person's name, that's how bad the book is. It's forgettable) told the guard to grab Callie. He grabbed her of course, by her arms, but there wasn't a description of what Callie did. Did she just stand there and allow herself to be taken, or did she put up a struggle? I guess I'll never know BECAUSE THE BOOK DIDN'T TELL ME!!!
***
I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS BOOK!
Friday, March 22, 2013
Book Blog: The Graceling
Rating:5 Stars
So, you guys might have already seen my post on Fire, but not on the first book, The Graceling! I realized that I only posted the review for it on Goodreads, so I thought it'd only be fair if I posted it here too.
---
So, you guys might have already seen my post on Fire, but not on the first book, The Graceling! I realized that I only posted the review for it on Goodreads, so I thought it'd only be fair if I posted it here too.
---
| Wow. Wow. Wow. That was so amazingly better than I expected it to be. Lately, I've been reading a bunch of books that I thought were pretty good, but, after reading this book, it would be like comparing a rock to a diamond. The diamond, of course, would be this book. Evertime I picked up this book, I found myself gasping in surprise because the author would throw in something that I was absolutely not expecting. And, besides the fact that the book is obviously fiction, the book's characters and their relationship with each other seemed VERY realistic. One of my favorite....things about this book is that Katsa didn't end up marrying Prince Po in the end. Now, I'm sure that some of you are going to find this odd. I confess that I was practically screaming at this book (in my head, I don't want people to know that I'm crazy) because I really, really, really wanted them to get married. But they didn't. And, shortly after finishing the book, I realized that it was better that way. I felt that its not in Katsa's nature to marry someone; she said herself that she would not plan on it. And the fact that Cashore made her character stick to that is very admirable. Whenever I write reviews, I always try my best to make it as negative as possible. Because, lets face it, it's easier to love something (in most cases) than to hate something. There are plenty of people who would be willing to give only praise to the book. And that's not going to help the author. But Cashire made it very hard for me to find something bad to say about the book. The one little complaint that I can think of off the top of my head is Prince Po's name. I know that Prince Po is named after some tree that turns silver and gold blah blah blah. But I hear Po and I think that he's some soft gentle guy. Or that he looks like a panda (I went to a zoo and there was a panda named Po). Po just doesn't seem manly enough though! For anyone of you people who have not picked up this book and at least attempted to read it, DO IT NOW! Or I will personally come to your house and force you to read it (don't ask me how, I have my ways. [insert evil laugh])! |
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