tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1315444368778412492024-03-13T16:48:22.103-04:00Reading Is Fun AgainRediscovering the joys of reading after six years of graduate school.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10683814336132017546noreply@blogger.comBlogger515125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-131544436877841249.post-83418700873118256752014-08-15T00:00:00.000-04:002014-08-15T00:00:07.227-04:00Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHGkMp6jGvoWyb9xRI0BaZhpb5fCdQnPHA5-y1dOSPqeK60AZpJQRKYHGhpU5CwJXzpQEB7V2x37U0OZ-e_f5xzgc_DgHmXUFIym_w0Uill9J4l2LIAMHK38YESAWL-U13ZtjJICJXQ84/s1600/gone+with+the+wind.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHGkMp6jGvoWyb9xRI0BaZhpb5fCdQnPHA5-y1dOSPqeK60AZpJQRKYHGhpU5CwJXzpQEB7V2x37U0OZ-e_f5xzgc_DgHmXUFIym_w0Uill9J4l2LIAMHK38YESAWL-U13ZtjJICJXQ84/s1600/gone+with+the+wind.jpg" height="320" title="Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell" width="200" /></a><b>Title</b>: <i>Gone with the Wind</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Author</b>: Margaret Mitchell</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Publisher</b>: Grand Central Publishing</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Publication Date</b>: 1936</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Length</b>: 1037 pages</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Series</b>: Stand Alone</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Audio or Book</b>: Book</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Reason for Discovery</b>: Gift</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;">From <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18405.Gone_with_the_Wind" target="_blank">GoodReads</a>:<i><span id="freeText11513049094957332807"> </span></i></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><i><span id="freeText11513049094957332807">Gone with the Wind is a
novel written by Margaret Mitchell, 1st published in 1936. The story is
set in Clayton County, GA, & Atlanta during the American Civil War
& Reconstruction era. It depicts the experiences of Scarlett O'Hara,
the spoiled daughter of a well-to-do plantation owner, who must use
every means at her disposal to come out of the poverty she finds herself
in after Sherman's March to the Sea. A historical novel, the story is a
Bildungsroman or coming-of-age story, with the title taken from a poem
written by Ernest Dowson. Gone with the Wind was popular with American
readers from the onset & was the top American fiction bestseller in
the year it was published & in 1937. As of 2014, a Harris poll found
it to be the 2nd favorite book by American readers, just behind the
Bible. More than 30 million copies have been printed worldwide.</span></i></span> </span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When I was in high school, my dad was traveling for business and had a layover in Atlanta, Georgia. He bought my brother and me presents from the shops in the airports. He got me a copy of <i>Gone with the Wind</i> and <i>Scarlet</i>. I put the books on a shelf and ignored them for a long time. After several months, I finally sat down and read <i>Gone with the Wind</i>. I am so glad that I read it, because it blew me away (pun intended). I devoured that book and broke the spine to the mass paperback copy. I would read a page and peel it off and throw it in the trash. Although it was sad that the book broke, it did make reading the heavy tome easier.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If you are a fan of the movie, the novel is a close relation, at least some sort of sibling. If you are worried that the love story between Rhett and Scarlett isn't as strong in the novel, don't be. <i>Gone with the Wind</i> is a romance classic for all of the right reasons. I read the book and then saw the movie, and I found myself swooning at the same points in both the book and the movie.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Something that I really enjoyed about the book is that Mitchell spends a lot of time focusing on Scarlett's relationship with her different suitors. In <i>Gone with the Wind</i>, we get to see all of the different sacrifices that Scarlett has to make to survive the Civil War and high society. The movie showcases this a bit, but the book goes into far more detail. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Along these same lines, in the book we get to see Scarlett manage her finances. In the movie this is brushed over in some places and other financial transactions are ignored completely. Whenever someone talked about <i>Gone with the Wind</i>, s/he would just discuss the romance. Scarlett is an amazing business person. I found the scenes and chapters that focused on Scarlett managing her finances to be fascinating. Scarlett is such a strong and unique character for the time. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I must admit that I am not sure how historically accurate the book is, but I will say that the story is compelling and (mostly) believable (fiction is always a bit more dramatic that real life). I was able to imagine myself in Scarlett's shoes and experience all of the stressors that she had. Mitchell did a great job of inserting the reader into her story even with a strong and sometimes unlikeable protagonist as the lead.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Overall, <i>Gone with the Wind</i> is an amazing novel. Scarlett O'Hara deserves her place in the spotlight. Even if you are generally not a historical fiction person, you should give <i>Gone with the Wind</i> a read, especially if you enjoy reading books about powerful women.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I give this book a 4 out of 5.</span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10683814336132017546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-131544436877841249.post-8787071328873599542014-08-14T00:00:00.000-04:002014-08-14T00:00:04.181-04:00Thoughtful Thursday: Favorite Protagonist<div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: left;">It is time for Thoughtful Thursday and the bookish questions that pop up while I am reading. Please share your thoughts on the bookish question of the week. I am curious to hear what you have to say! There are no wrong answers. Questions about Thoughtful Thursday or future Thoughtful Thursday posts? Check out my </span><a href="http://www.readingisfunagain.com/p/blog-page_20.html" style="color: #7d181e; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">Thoughtful Thursday section</a><span style="text-align: left;">. Alright, on to the question!</span></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Who is one of your favorite protagonists of all time?</span></span></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If you have been reading my blog for a while, you know who I am going to say. This is a protagonist who I discovered when I was in elementary or middle school, and she still holds a special place in my heart. One of my favorite protagonists is Princess Cimorene from <i>The Enchanted Forest Chronicles</i> by Patricia C Wrede. Cimorene appeared at the perfect time in my life. I desperately needed to read a book with a strong female protagonist. Cimorene is beautiful, brave, smart (both academically and street smarts), and is quick with the perfect retort. Sure, Cimorene isn't the most well-balanced character. She is a bit impatient and has a short temper, but overall she has very few flaws. If I read the series for the first time right now, I am sure that I would find lots to criticize. However, because I read the series for the first time when I was young, nostalgia wins out. When I reread <i>The Enchanted Forest</i> <i>Chronicles</i>, I don't care that the characters are perfect. The reason is most likely that when I was little, I wanted to be Cimorene and I wanted her friends to be my friends. I didn't want to hang out with flawed, real characters. I wanted to live in a perfect world, Wrede gave me that with her books. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Now it is your turn! Who is one of your favorite protagonists?</b><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10683814336132017546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-131544436877841249.post-70584070815597890002014-08-13T00:00:00.000-04:002014-08-13T00:00:03.022-04:00Stardust by Neil Gaiman: Review
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcKMlcGWPyVwHhVjAE5SZRNN4SXrNTfPvmq-xNrLZn-Jk_L_6oXQlRO5dNdF3U2zt9EzV6zbmTIMesybvSRCkWO5csLV3U-K7lUPd1exSG2yAa0ViaUPj8s9QP4IixqI2RquxCMgDJFIU/s1600/stardust.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Stardust by Neil Gaiman" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcKMlcGWPyVwHhVjAE5SZRNN4SXrNTfPvmq-xNrLZn-Jk_L_6oXQlRO5dNdF3U2zt9EzV6zbmTIMesybvSRCkWO5csLV3U-K7lUPd1exSG2yAa0ViaUPj8s9QP4IixqI2RquxCMgDJFIU/s1600/stardust.jpg" height="320" title="Stardust by Neil Gaiman" width="210" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Title</b>: <i>Stardust</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Author</b>: Neil Gaiman</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Publisher</b>: William Morrow</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Publication Date</b>: October 2009</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Length</b>: 368 pages</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Series</b>: Stand Alone</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Audio or Book</b>: Book</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Reason for Discovery</b>: </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;">From <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5577844-stardust" target="_blank">GoodReads</a>:<span id="freeText12588167016959210925"> </span></span></span></span><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText12588167016959210925">Young Tristran Thorn
will do anything to win the cold heart of beautiful Victoria—even fetch
her the star they watch fall from the night sky. But to do so, he must
enter the unexplored lands on the other side of the ancient wall that
gives their tiny village its name. Beyond that old stone wall, Tristran
learns, lies Faerie—where nothing, not even a fallen star, is what he
imagined.</span><span id="freeText12588167016959210925"></span><span id="freeText12588167016959210925"> </span></span></span></span></i></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText12588167016959210925">Tristran Thorn is in love with a girl named Victoria. Victoria tells him that the only way to her heart is by bringing her a fallen star. Tristran, like so many young people who are madly in love, goes on an adventure to get his love's her heart's desire. On Tristrain's journey, he meets many strange and wondrous folk. The big question is whether Tristrain will want to return to his village and to his lady love after seeing so much of the world?</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText12588167016959210925"><br /></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText12588167016959210925">I saw the movie <i>Stardust</i> before I read the book. I thought the movie was adorable and fun. I enjoyed both the love story and the adventuring. A few years after watching the movie, I decided that I needed to read all of Neil Gaiman's books. <i>Stardust</i> was first on the list. </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText12588167016959210925"><i>Stardust</i>, the book, did not disappoint. Although a few of the adventures play out slightly differently here and there, the story was essentially the same. Unlike other book-movie partners, I did not find the differences to be too jarring. If you haven't seen the movie, the plot is filled with both fairy tale whimsy and sadness. Gaiman does a great job of showcasing that fairy tales are fun and full of wonder but are also spiked with danger and loss. I must admit that I prefer my fairy tales to be a bit more Disney and a little less Grimm most of the time, so I prefer the movie version's portrayal of a plot point or two versus Gaiman's book. At the same time, the book does capture what a fairy tale should be.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<div style="color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText12588167016959210925">I must admit that I didn't love many of the characters in this book. They were well-written characters; they were just irksome for different reasons. Let me explain, Gaiman does a great job of writing flawed characters. Most of his characters aren't perfect. They wear their flaws on their sleeves. Unlike some authors who will write a line or two noting a character's flaw (that really isn't a flaw at all), Gaiman gives his characters real flaws and shows the readers how these flaws manifest on a daily basis. Gaiman has characters that are cranky, irritable, dense, silly, naive, and all other sorts of things that we too do. Many of the characters in <i>Stardust</i> aren't super likeable, but as you can see, they aren't supposed to be super likeable. You are just supposed to enjoy the tale and like many of the characters "well enough."</span><span id="freeText12588167016959210925"></span><span id="freeText12588167016959210925"> </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText12588167016959210925">Overall, this is a lovely fairy tale. It is a story that I know that I will read many times. If you are a fan of fairy tales or Neil Gaiman, you should definitely give this book a read.</span><span id="freeText12588167016959210925"></span><span id="freeText12588167016959210925"> </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText12588167016959210925">I give this book a 4 out of 5.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtvGJRT8RZS86T9-XkDB9cFxt6McgRip0zOLJfjxpLBh8qKxwnylGKsQDtRR9H0ndCBQ8yCXixl4YyIV7SV2oPriMIbkqmvJgafBv7TEQSrZcVTqJLhGYMXJywuV0eG1KDiHNVP1Ukz_c/s1600/4+cats_final.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtvGJRT8RZS86T9-XkDB9cFxt6McgRip0zOLJfjxpLBh8qKxwnylGKsQDtRR9H0ndCBQ8yCXixl4YyIV7SV2oPriMIbkqmvJgafBv7TEQSrZcVTqJLhGYMXJywuV0eG1KDiHNVP1Ukz_c/s1600/4+cats_final.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Very Good</td></tr>
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</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10683814336132017546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-131544436877841249.post-72162413297491023122014-08-12T00:00:00.000-04:002014-08-12T00:00:04.064-04:00TTT: Top Ten Books I'm Not Sure I Want To Read.
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib6Pg4VPeQhUqqSneO3lN9jbNTy398AXX-nhgEZ_pRoH-64dmblTu1z2T_N3wy-wcStYP_GTnyhbjL5mHAnZFsxS9NLtZkoZpz6rQdcQlVeti_gsQqLW8EPvOKMdb2yFw8HgN6QRasZaI/s1600/toptentuesday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Top Ten Tuesday" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib6Pg4VPeQhUqqSneO3lN9jbNTy398AXX-nhgEZ_pRoH-64dmblTu1z2T_N3wy-wcStYP_GTnyhbjL5mHAnZFsxS9NLtZkoZpz6rQdcQlVeti_gsQqLW8EPvOKMdb2yFw8HgN6QRasZaI/s1600/toptentuesday.jpg" title="Top Ten Tuesday" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span><span style="background-color: white;">Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday! </span><span style="background-color: white;">Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by <a href="http://brokeandbookish.blogspot.com/" style="color: #7d181e; text-decoration: none;">The Broke and the Bookish</a>. Each week bloggers post a top ten list related to a specific theme. This week's theme is </span><b>TTT: Top Ten Books I'm Not Sure I Want To Read</b>. All links lead to GoodReads. </span></span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVwAcreQ1f1I6MKpUl8FWZT-rXv1IWxslf54a8_cII95MH4gwJLGu1OFjwZrUtDvtcHwxTkpJfI8dSL8JgHlHuz6w0_w9inAQvLQX62TTIXf-Jk0OJP27iuAmMKuFisOQfc7rIbkS8BI8/s1600/allegiant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVwAcreQ1f1I6MKpUl8FWZT-rXv1IWxslf54a8_cII95MH4gwJLGu1OFjwZrUtDvtcHwxTkpJfI8dSL8JgHlHuz6w0_w9inAQvLQX62TTIXf-Jk0OJP27iuAmMKuFisOQfc7rIbkS8BI8/s1600/allegiant.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span>1. <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18710190-allegiant" target="_blank"><i>Allegiant</i> by Veronica Roth</a></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span>I didn't really enjoy the first two books, but I feel obligated to finish the series.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKuUmQWpfHg7QdLGPgOLdEGCT3kFz2cFloOtxduxi2XOWNlnLKACF3MhDIfVgyfsmmbzfQApIWj70Dll-prTg7dZO3ARrTZOGEgd9F4cTK7qEdyzMY7Vx-Ndn1Iqaiv5nZJj8WRPgh-hA/s1600/city+of+bones.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKuUmQWpfHg7QdLGPgOLdEGCT3kFz2cFloOtxduxi2XOWNlnLKACF3MhDIfVgyfsmmbzfQApIWj70Dll-prTg7dZO3ARrTZOGEgd9F4cTK7qEdyzMY7Vx-Ndn1Iqaiv5nZJj8WRPgh-hA/s1600/city+of+bones.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span>2. <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/256683.City_of_Bones" target="_blank"><i>City of Bones</i> by Cassandra Clare</a></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span>I know everyone loves this series. I am just overwhelmed by the number of books in the series. </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXJIsOlVCLobBMs5DHLIAwsVRRccXMS4e3JEzhQB5t2wAY9rCiwJ-U0H-CCAXs3yfIWknsAuZ1jLDLNeBeKT9UnK06kRxFlaSKDZL8PU7puZR-PVRxI7kYAw-6nLFosgNd_g-glAxyjks/s1600/played+iwth+fire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXJIsOlVCLobBMs5DHLIAwsVRRccXMS4e3JEzhQB5t2wAY9rCiwJ-U0H-CCAXs3yfIWknsAuZ1jLDLNeBeKT9UnK06kRxFlaSKDZL8PU7puZR-PVRxI7kYAw-6nLFosgNd_g-glAxyjks/s1600/played+iwth+fire.jpg" height="320" width="180" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span>3. <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6652906-the-girl-who-played-with-fire" target="_blank"><i>The Girl who Played with Fire</i> by Stieg Larsson</a></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span> This is another series that I started, but I have mixed feelings about completing. I am not a big fan of books with a lot of violence against women.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnjxPnn4csNtpZ4Ix7Dgwo1ckrWu5cjCPZLp5t13Z0PV5sTgM_lT5WEeMpTM44JVnmN9h21C8ef1JB3WtI86ijq2UvtGR5lWO8nLDcjz8b4Wht-vXCY196nrpT8Tv42XYwNmYSMHjWE8k/s1600/madman's+daughter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnjxPnn4csNtpZ4Ix7Dgwo1ckrWu5cjCPZLp5t13Z0PV5sTgM_lT5WEeMpTM44JVnmN9h21C8ef1JB3WtI86ijq2UvtGR5lWO8nLDcjz8b4Wht-vXCY196nrpT8Tv42XYwNmYSMHjWE8k/s1600/madman's+daughter.jpg" height="320" width="211" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span>4. <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12291438-the-madman-s-daughter" target="_blank"><i>The Madman's Daughter</i> by Megan Shepherd</a></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span>I like the premise of this series, but I keep hearing mixed reviews of it, so I don't know if I am going to read it. </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZM92SOdV_AbVaNeH0IdoB1b3N83EvDoaokNIqhjTD6QNMlTxo8uNqUj95_J06yuvUwy1aZHkuZdAsuIIaYu88RRPzZ8GNhquqNEZpTjC89UXasZU3rsP6_ey_K8OIdZLnT9c1VJPSGhQ/s1600/life+after+life.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZM92SOdV_AbVaNeH0IdoB1b3N83EvDoaokNIqhjTD6QNMlTxo8uNqUj95_J06yuvUwy1aZHkuZdAsuIIaYu88RRPzZ8GNhquqNEZpTjC89UXasZU3rsP6_ey_K8OIdZLnT9c1VJPSGhQ/s1600/life+after+life.jpg" height="320" width="206" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span>5. <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15790842-life-after-life" target="_blank"><i>Life after Life</i> by Kate Atkinson</a></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span>I keep hearing great things about this book, but I am just having a hard time jumping on the bandwagon. I think too many people like it. </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgELtuP9z-nxPnWB7tKNtE9-LTFQlX3jn8-NafhwB1Hr-pnL2YeRwmjYm3-keOXIiH_w5o-TQCtO8QTM8ZgceIMZk5g9LrMg1EPGee9gppsAlYxHkHA5NSzCdHgaIAVZtMehFhfJhSFBJM/s1600/nos4a2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgELtuP9z-nxPnWB7tKNtE9-LTFQlX3jn8-NafhwB1Hr-pnL2YeRwmjYm3-keOXIiH_w5o-TQCtO8QTM8ZgceIMZk5g9LrMg1EPGee9gppsAlYxHkHA5NSzCdHgaIAVZtMehFhfJhSFBJM/s1600/nos4a2.jpg" height="320" width="214" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span>6. <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15729539-nos4a2" target="_blank"><i>NOS4A2</i> by Joe Hill</a></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span>I hear good things about this book, but I am not a huge horror fan.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_5PR-WUH_FuM9U_pnvWDupGO5eRnP6CF0JMsNokRXYnRyTwaepiw-o4s7po4uPlKHAupz2QDQhHQ2rIWsv3U8c0h51QxnZQJGaRmk7kiUyQ84rT4cftcc_zwFYp0VHWXOdqSDZHr3AVU/s1600/just+one+day.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_5PR-WUH_FuM9U_pnvWDupGO5eRnP6CF0JMsNokRXYnRyTwaepiw-o4s7po4uPlKHAupz2QDQhHQ2rIWsv3U8c0h51QxnZQJGaRmk7kiUyQ84rT4cftcc_zwFYp0VHWXOdqSDZHr3AVU/s1600/just+one+day.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span>7. <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12842115-just-one-day" target="_blank"><i>Just One Day</i> by Gayle Foreman</a></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span>I want to read this series, but I hear that it isn't as amazing as the <i>If I Stay/Where She Went</i> duology, so I am hesitant to read it.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span>8. <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18081809-landline" target="_blank"><i>Landline</i> by Rainbow Rowell</a></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span>I have read a few mixed reviews of this series, so I am scared to read this book. I love all of her other books so much; I don't want that opinion to be spoiled. </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span>9. <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10644930-11-22-63" target="_blank"><i>11/22/63</i> by Stephen King</a></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span>This story doesn't capture me at all; however, I keep hearing amazing things about this book. </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span>10. <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20869379-the-7-habits-of-highly-effective-people" target="_blank"><i>The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People</i> by Stephen Covey</a></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span>This book sounds like it would be useful to read, but it sounds a bit boring. </span></span></span></span></div>
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</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10683814336132017546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-131544436877841249.post-15596501422798728972014-08-11T00:00:00.000-04:002014-08-11T00:00:00.453-04:00The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie King: Review
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDX4vkxX8kzXGHqo8jaGntzoHvZfka_yxhYPhAzWdotX1TfDwXC_G5RRnm1g-lKfG2hhl3oYk420vZNh4cfdp2y7IHtNeIch4DDvDqKHjIX2uhjmhfiUuy_ggkohJiU_-ApUFZjS_jPvk/s1600/beekeeper+apprentice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie King" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDX4vkxX8kzXGHqo8jaGntzoHvZfka_yxhYPhAzWdotX1TfDwXC_G5RRnm1g-lKfG2hhl3oYk420vZNh4cfdp2y7IHtNeIch4DDvDqKHjIX2uhjmhfiUuy_ggkohJiU_-ApUFZjS_jPvk/s1600/beekeeper+apprentice.jpg" height="320" title="The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie King" width="213" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Title</b>: <i>The Beekeeper's Apprentice</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Author</b>: Laurie King</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Publisher</b>: Bantam</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Publication Date</b>: January 1994</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Length</b>: 384 pages</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Series</b>: <i>Mary Russel & Sherlock Holmes</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Audio or Book</b>: Book</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Reason for Discovery</b>: Friend Recommendation</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1024275.The_Beekeeper_s_Apprentice" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;">From GoodReads:</span></a><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText11422616504238059961"> </span></span></span></span><br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText11422616504238059961">In 1915, Sherlock
Holmes is retired and quietly engaged in the study of honeybees when a
young woman literally stumbles into him on the Sussex Downs. Fifteen
years old, gawky, egotistical, and recently orphaned, the young Mary
Russell displays an intellect to impress even Sherlock Holmes--and match
him wit for wit. Under his reluctant tutelage, this very modern
twentieth-century woman proves a deft protégée and a fitting partner for
the Victorian detective. In their first case together, they must track
down a kidnapped American senator's daughter and confront a truly
cunning adversary--a bomber who has set trip wires for the sleuths and
who will stop at nothing to end their partnership.</span><span id="freeText11422616504238059961"> </span></span></span></span></i></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText11422616504238059961">I think the book blurb did a good job summarizing the story, so let's get down to the review. </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText11422616504238059961">I picked up <i>The Beekeeper's Apprentice</i> after realizing I had not read a book for fun in ages. My friend had read the entire series, and she really enjoyed them. I am a big fan of Sherlock Holmes and a mystery seemed like the perfect fit for getting me back into reading for fun. I am happy to say that the book did hold my attention, but, sadly, the book didn't keep me interested in reading for fun. I didn't get back into reading for fun for at least two more years.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText11422616504238059961"><i>The Beekeeper's Apprentice</i> (and the rest of the series from what I have heard) was a fun mystery novel. Although it was weird that Holmes was hanging out with a teenage girl, I went with it. The kidnapping and mystery was intriguing enough, and there was a bit of action too. The pacing was fairly quick, and I finished the book in just a few days. The book was definitely a page turner. At the same time, however, the story felt a bit flat to me. I did manage to finish the book, but I wasn't able to finish the second book. I remember putting the book down and thinking "I am sure that the characters will figure everything out. I don't need to finish the book; the characters will solve the crime without me." This thought process showcases two things: (1) my reading slump was super bad and (2) the mysteries may be interesting but the reader buy in isn't necessarily there. I needed King to get me a little more invested in the story.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText11422616504238059961">As many of you know, I am not a fan of people capitalizing on other people's characters. I read <i>The Beekeeper's Apprentice</i> before I came to this realization. To be honest, this book was part of the reason that I shy away from books with other author's characters/settings. Laurie King's Holmes was fine; however, her Holmes is not Doyle's Holmes. Holmes in this book never felt exactly right to me. Of course, King was not trying to write a Holmes story in the Doyle style. King was creating her own Holmes, so I can't be upset that this isn't Doyle's Holmes. To be honest, I can't see the original Holmes wanting to hang out with Mary Russell. King's Holmes is a Holmes for a modern day audience. With all of that said, I would have loved to solve crimes with King's Holmes. Even if I am picky about author's using other author's characters, I love fantasizing about going on adventures with Holmes. </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText11422616504238059961">Overall, this book is a great read, if you buy into King's version of Sherlock Holmes. If you have always imagined hanging out with Holmes and solving crimes, you should definitely check out the <i>Mary Russell & Sherlock Holmes</i> series. If you have a hard time watching certain television versions of Sherlock Holmes, because your Holmes is Doyle's Holmes, this is probably not the series for you. </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText11422616504238059961">I give this book a 3 out of 5.</span></span></span></span></div>
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</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10683814336132017546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-131544436877841249.post-75909641388005729772014-08-10T00:00:00.000-04:002014-08-10T00:00:01.812-04:00Sunday Update - 8/10<div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuwubhN2pPUrRdbRnEhYdrfb1w7ysZmxRqc99tZNWkObBsxn-sBPBIBSGepEFwTro7398CuNfEvF0UaQucg4GtIf7rKhKuetmXsZEZpI-4XdZTSc0TwVz_UMGvGAGOEHtx25MV6svqTKc/s1600/SundayUpdate1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Sunday Update" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuwubhN2pPUrRdbRnEhYdrfb1w7ysZmxRqc99tZNWkObBsxn-sBPBIBSGepEFwTro7398CuNfEvF0UaQucg4GtIf7rKhKuetmXsZEZpI-4XdZTSc0TwVz_UMGvGAGOEHtx25MV6svqTKc/s1600/SundayUpdate1.png" title="Sunday Update" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white;">Welcome to my edition of the <a href="http://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/">Caffeinated Book Reviewer's</a> <a href="http://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/the-sunday-post-meme">Sunday Post meme</a> and <a href="http://www.tyngasreviews.com/">Tynga's Reviews'</a> <a href="http://www.tyngasreviews.com/2012/05/staking-shelves-official-launch.html">Stacking the Shelves meme</a>. Check out what I have been doing this week (and will do next week) and my book haul. </span></span> </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"> </span></span> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Another week has come and gone. I am not sure where the time goes. I finally updated my Thoughtful Thursday meme (hooray!). I am hoping to get one blog-related task done per week. This week is getting all of my reviews on GoodReads. I have gotten behind on that, and I do like having all of my reviews there for the sake of record keeping. I should really just post my review on GoodReads when I write my review for my blog. The reason I haven't done that is because I was (keyword being "was") writing my blog posts weeks in advance. Now that I am writing reviews the night before, it wouldn't be such a big deal. Oh well, we will see what this week brings.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I hosted my very first giveaway last week. <a href="http://www.readingisfunagain.com/2014/08/the-magicians-land-by-lev-grossman.html" target="_blank">Please make sure to sign up, if you want to win a copy of <i>The Magician's Land</i> by Lev Grossman.</a> The giveaway ends this week. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><b>Last Week on the Blog</b></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sunday: <a href="http://www.readingisfunagain.com/2014/08/sunday-update-83.html" target="_blank">Sunday Update - 8/3</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Monday: <a href="http://www.readingisfunagain.com/2014/08/the-princess-bride-by-william-goldman.html" target="_blank"><i>T</i><i>he Princess Bride</i> by William Goldman</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Tuesday: <a href="http://www.readingisfunagain.com/2014/08/ttt-top-ten-books-id-give-to-readers.html" target="_blank">TTT: Top Ten Books I'd Give To Readers Who Have Never Read Graphic Novels</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Wednesday: <a href="http://www.readingisfunagain.com/2014/08/the-magicians-land-by-lev-grossman.html" target="_blank"><i>The Magician's Land</i> by Lev Grossman: Review & Giveaway</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thursday: <a href="http://www.readingisfunagain.com/2014/08/thoughtful-thursday-reading-slumps.html" target="_blank">Thoughtful Thursday: Reading Slumps</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Friday: <a href="http://www.readingisfunagain.com/2014/08/mr-mercedes-by-stephen-king-audio-book.html" target="_blank"><i>Mr. Mercedes</i> by Stephen King: Audio Book Review</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><b>This Week on the Blog</b></span> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sunday: Sunday Update - 8/10</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Monday: <i>The Beekeeper's Apprentice</i> Laurie King: Review</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Tuesday: TTT: Top Ten Books I'm Not Sure I Want To Read</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Wednesday: <i>Star Dust</i> by Neil Gaiman: Review</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thursday: Thoughtful Thursday: Favorite Protagonist</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Friday: <i>Gone with the Wind</i> by Margaret Mitchell: Review</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"></span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><b> </b></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><b>Book Haul</b> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><i> </i></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><i><br /></i></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><i>Bought</i></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvJDW2_KFPE74sXN7SUkh0XhFs0yL4Ocmp8zdJOjCXoQOUufpL0-E-2-zLsmPPJcyNRYlaXNfoI33JktftuYlbsOXJiGeP6STlieXsW79_vYNmQNnRMPD2CrwV5zjETAJg1s_034oUTbg/s1600/lazarus+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Lazarus vol. 2 by Greg Rucka" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvJDW2_KFPE74sXN7SUkh0XhFs0yL4Ocmp8zdJOjCXoQOUufpL0-E-2-zLsmPPJcyNRYlaXNfoI33JktftuYlbsOXJiGeP6STlieXsW79_vYNmQNnRMPD2CrwV5zjETAJg1s_034oUTbg/s1600/lazarus+2.jpg" height="320" title="Lazarus vol. 2 by Greg Rucka" width="205" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">I bought <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20299674-lazarus-vol-2?ac=1"><i>Lazarus</i> vol. 2 by Greg Rucka and others</a> this week.</span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><b>Currently Reading</b> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"> </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">I am in the middle of figuring out what I am going to read next. <b> </b></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><b> </b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><b>Read This Week</b></span><i> </i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>The Magician's Land</i> by Lev Grossman</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Mr. Mercedes</i> by Stephen King</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Sailor Moon</i> vol. 4-6 by Naoko Takeuchi</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Y: The Last Man</i> vol. 3-4 by Brian Vaughan & Others</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>The Walking Dead</i> vol. 7-8 by Robert Kirkman</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Batgirl</i> vol. 3 by Gail Simone & Others<br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"></span><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"></span></span></span></span></div>
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</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10683814336132017546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-131544436877841249.post-8291029886258360802014-08-08T00:00:00.000-04:002014-08-08T00:00:02.918-04:00Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King: Audio Book Review
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiksRATaMjLcHG_EwX24IlCnAA8_RoYz6jKxaZo8kOtX9meGZ4IvdZLrlcK-k4kacnehOg4XCR4DBCNreojlJAIqkxHF1xVt0Wz0YyPUI-O6VcUIO4RIBssYo-7TignrOP4KzN5wNcNH0k/s1600/mr.+mercedes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiksRATaMjLcHG_EwX24IlCnAA8_RoYz6jKxaZo8kOtX9meGZ4IvdZLrlcK-k4kacnehOg4XCR4DBCNreojlJAIqkxHF1xVt0Wz0YyPUI-O6VcUIO4RIBssYo-7TignrOP4KzN5wNcNH0k/s1600/mr.+mercedes.jpg" height="320" title="Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King" width="210" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Title</b>: <i>Mr. Mercedes</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Author</b>: Stephen King (Reader: Will Patton)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Publisher</b>: <span class="adbl-publisher" itemprop="brand">Simon & Schuster Audio</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Publication Date</b>: June 2014</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Length</b>: 14 hr 22 min (436 pages)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Series</b>: Stand Alone</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Audio or Book</b>: Audio</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Reason for Discovery</b>: Review Copy</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;">I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;">From <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18775152-mr-mercedes?ac=1">GoodReads</a>:<span id="freeText17648570808469955807"> </span></span></span></span><br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText17648570808469955807">In the gloomy pre-dawn
hours of a distressed Midwestern city, hundreds of unemployed hopefuls
are lined up for a job fair. Without warning, a merciless driver plows
through the crowd in a roaring Mercedes. Eight people are killed; 15 are
wounded. The killer escapes into the early-spring fog never to be seen
from again. Until now...<br /><br />Detective Bill Hodges is a
battle-hardened and streetwise crime fighter originally assigned to the
Mercedes killings. Now retired, Hodges has lost his way in boredom and
depression craving the thrills of taking down the region’s most
notorious criminals. When a disturbing letter from the Mercedes Killer
arrives at his door, Hodges soon finds himself uncontrollably drawn into
a cat-and-mouse pursuit with stakes beyond comprehension.</span></span></span></span></i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText17648570808469955807"> </span></span></span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText17648570808469955807">Yea for a well-written blurb! On to the review</span><span id="freeText17648570808469955807"></span><span id="freeText17648570808469955807">! </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText17648570808469955807">Before I get to my review, I feel like I need to get real with all of you folks. I didn't read the book blurb very closely, and I was expecting this book to have some SF&F elements to it. I was a bit surprised when I discovered that the story was a crime thriller. I knew that King has written some crime thrillers in the past, so the fact that there were no supernatural elements to <i>Mr. Mercedes</i> didn't seem too crazy. I quickly reset my expectations and moved on. If you are expecting a book similar to <i>Carrie</i> or <i>Christine</i>, you will be disappointed.</span><span id="freeText17648570808469955807"></span><span id="freeText17648570808469955807"> </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText17648570808469955807">Although <i>Mr. Mercedes</i> was a mixed bag for me, there were several things that I enjoyed. First, the characters were not perfect. Both Detective Hodges and the killer made several mistakes during the book. The majority of the mistakes seemed like perfectly reasonably things for people to do (e.g., ignore clues that we as readers know are vital). There were a few mistakes that the characters did that made me want to yell at them; however, even these mistakes felt reasonable for someone to do (when you are a reader, you always expect <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chekhov%27s_gun">Chekhov's gun</a>). The second thing that I really enjoyed about this book was all of the technobabble. I must admit that I don't know if King invented a lot of the techno stuff, but it sounded believable. I liked having a crime that involved the Internet and communicating with people anonymously online. The story just felt very relevant to how the world works today. On the flip side, I guess a story like this will probably get dated very quickly.</span><span id="freeText17648570808469955807"></span><span id="freeText17648570808469955807"> </span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText17648570808469955807">Although there were many things that I enjoyed about this book, there were several elements that I found troubling. The main issue I had with the book was the killer. The killer just didn't feel consistent. On one hand, he was not mentally stable, but on the other hand, he was able to complete very complex crimes and get away with them. I had a hard time believing that this character could do all of the things he did and still remain hidden from the police. I was also not a fan of the weird sexual abuse he had suffered. Yes, his background is true to life for many people, but it still felt a bit stereotypical and unoriginal. The stereotypical feel was not just a problem for the killer. The majority of the characters felt a bit flat to me. This issue could be just a trope of the genre though. I do not read a lot of crime thrillers, so my expectations are probably a bit skewed.</span><span id="freeText17648570808469955807"></span><span id="freeText17648570808469955807"> </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText17648570808469955807">I wish I could say that I couldn't stop listening to this book, but I have to be honest and I found it a bit boring. I am not sure if that is the fault of the reader or the book itself. I found myself making excuses as to why I could listen to music instead of <i>Mr. Mercedes</i>. This rarely happens for me.</span><span id="freeText17648570808469955807"></span><span id="freeText17648570808469955807"><b> </b></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText17648570808469955807"><b>Audio:</b> Will Patton did a great job with tone, inflection, and the voices. I have listened to a few books recently in which the reader didn't seem to know that a sentence was going to end with a question (or a command). Patton appeared to be very comfortable with the text and knew where all the dialogue was going. My only complaint was that the book felt a bit slow, and I am not sure if this is because Patton's pacing was a bit slow. I will have to listen to more books read by him to see if this was a book dictated choice or if he is just a slow reader. In any event, I see myself listening to more books by him in the future.</span><span id="freeText17648570808469955807"></span><span id="freeText17648570808469955807"> </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText17648570808469955807">Overall, I enjoyed this book enough that I finished it. <i>Mr. Mercedes</i> did not blow me away; however, I am not a big crime thriller reader. I think if I enjoyed this genre more, I would have really enjoyed <i>Mr. Mercedes</i>.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText17648570808469955807">I give this book a 3 out of 5. </span></span></span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10683814336132017546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-131544436877841249.post-68804665635969252902014-08-07T00:00:00.000-04:002014-08-07T00:00:00.692-04:00Thoughtful Thursday: Reading Slumps<div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: left;">It is time for Thoughtful Thursday and the bookish questions that pop up while I am reading. Please share your thoughts on the bookish question of the week. I am curious to hear what you have to say! There are no wrong answers. Questions about Thoughtful Thursday or future Thoughtful Thursday posts? Check out my </span><a href="http://www.readingisfunagain.com/p/blog-page_20.html" style="color: #7d181e; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">Thoughtful Thursday section</a><span style="text-align: left;">. Alright, on to the question!</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>How do you manage reading slumps?</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">*Sigh.* Reading slumps. We all get them. I get reading slumps for all sorts of reasons. Sometimes I keep reading such boring books that books stop holding any appeal for me. Sometimes I keep wanting to read a particular genre but I am also super tired of that genre, so I don't want to read anything. There are even other times that nothing sounds interesting no matter what. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Over the last few years, I have developed a few different strategies to manage reading slumps. If I don't want to read anything (i.e., nothing looks interesting to me and the idea of reading makes me tired), I listen to an audio book. Because I can listen to an audio book and clean/drive/knit, I can force myself to read while doing non-reading activities. Many times focusing on audio books allows me to feel like I am taking a break from reading without taking a reading break. The other way I deal with reading slumps is reading short books, especially books that I have read before (e.g., <i>The Enchanted Forest Chronicles</i> by Patricia C Wrede). The final way I manage reading slumps is picking books that are the complete opposite of what I have been reading lately. Many times the switch in genre helps me get motivated to read again.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Now it is your turn! How do you manage reading slumps?</b><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10683814336132017546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-131544436877841249.post-32580575080660543532014-08-06T00:00:00.000-04:002014-08-06T00:00:02.778-04:00The Magician's Land by Lev Grossman: Review & Giveaway<div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg69KPiHv-TO75qogMgxjkzNo2kCiDF37Yj7MUi26Woq3j9InSkHdG-KOyX59e_MCmJ-KRAJBxdlly-Gn6kEb4Xf_i_IlAKN_wWYGJqnvCHCJu4lWnpEVX5TZaDpspx6p8LtntxbjVM_GI/s1600/the+magician%27s+land.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The Magician's Land by Lev Grossman" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg69KPiHv-TO75qogMgxjkzNo2kCiDF37Yj7MUi26Woq3j9InSkHdG-KOyX59e_MCmJ-KRAJBxdlly-Gn6kEb4Xf_i_IlAKN_wWYGJqnvCHCJu4lWnpEVX5TZaDpspx6p8LtntxbjVM_GI/s1600/the+magician's+land.jpg" height="320" title="The Magician's Land by Lev Grossman" width="210" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Title</b>: <i>The Magician's Land</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Author</b>: Lev Grossman</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Publisher</b>: Viking Adult</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Publication Date</b>: July 2014</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Length</b>: 416 pages</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Series</b>: <i>The Magicians</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Audio or Book</b>: Book</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Reason for Discovery</b>: Review Copy</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;">I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><b>Please note that there will be some spoilers for the first two books in the trilogy.</b><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;">From <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19103097-the-magician-s-land?ac=1">GoodReads</a>:</span></span></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText898629813152069614">Quentin Coldwater has been cast out of Fillory, the secret magical land of his childhood dreams. With nothing left to lose he returns to where his story began, the Brakebills Preparatory College of Magic. But he can’t hide from his past, and it’s not long before it comes looking for him.<br />
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Along with Plum, a brilliant young undergraduate with a dark secret of her own, Quentin sets out on a crooked path through a magical demimonde of gray magic and desperate characters. But all roads lead back to Fillory, and his new life takes him to old haunts, like Antarctica, and to buried secrets and old friends he thought were lost forever. He uncovers the key to a sorcery masterwork, a spell that could create magical utopia, a new Fillory—but casting it will set in motion a chain of events that will bring Earth and Fillory crashing together. To save them he will have to risk sacrificing everything.</span></span></span></span></i></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText898629813152069614"><i>The Magician's Land</i> begins with Quentin dealing with the aftermath of <i>The Magician King</i> and being exiled from Fillory. Unlike the Quentin we first met in <i>The Magicians</i>, Quentin is a more mature young man of almost 30. Quentin doesn't want to be all-powerful and live in Fillory anymore. Meanwhile, Poppy, Elliot, and Jane are trying to manage ruling Fillory without Quentin. Life is good in Fillory until suddenly things aren't going well anymore (as it goes in magical kingdoms). Even though Quentin doesn't need Fillory anymore, Fillory might need Quentin.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText898629813152069614">About three years ago, I was procrastinating by surfing the Internet and I discovered the <a href="http://swordandlaser.com/">Sword & Laser book club</a> on YouTube. At that point in my life, I was barely reading a book a year that was not related to my graduate studies. In all honesty, my attention span had been destroyed due to reading tons of journal articles. Veronica and Tom from Sword & Laser got me interested in reading science fiction and fantasy books again. The first book they read for <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syoiGCYwTNc">their YouTube show was <i>The Magicians</i> by Lev Grossman</a>. I decided to give the book a read. To my pleasant surprise, the book kept my attention. I have been reading books regularly ever since watching that YouTube video and picking up <i>The Magicians</i>.</span><span id="freeText898629813152069614"> </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText898629813152069614">When you hear about the world of <i>The Magicians</i> series, you usually hear people describe it as Harry Potter goes to college. I would beg to differ. Sure, Quentin Coldwater was a guy who didn't know magic existed until he was invited to attend a very exclusive magical college; however, Quentin isn't Harry Potter and Brakebills (and the magical world) wasn't Hogwarts. Grossman's world is filled with the type of people that you know personally, people with flaws. Quentin is nowhere near perfect or as altruistic as Harry Potter is. In fact, Quentin makes quite a few bad decisions across the trilogy. At the same time, Quentin makes bad decisions that are very true to his character. Quentin's college and classes aren't perfect or perfectly wondrous either. Quentin doesn't learn to be a powerful magician via some cute wand swishing montages and copying notes off of a classmate; Quentin has to work very hard to learn magic. If there is one thing that I learned through these books is that magic does not come easy to people even if they have the aptitude for it. If you have been looking for an adult series that showcases magic is a more challenging way than the Harry Potter series and plays homage to beloved SF&F related materials, Grossman's <i>The Magicians'</i> trilogy might be perfect for you.</span><span id="freeText898629813152069614"> </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText898629813152069614">Alright, enough gushing about the series, let's discuss <i>The Magician's Land</i>. The final book in the trilogy reminded me a lot of <i>The Magicians</i>. In both books, the books are fun and interesting but some of the events feel a bit random and disconnected until the last 100 pages or so of the book. For example, there were a few events early in this book that felt a bit out of place; however, by the time I reached the final page of the book, I discovered that there was a reason for each event. The book felt tighter than what I initially thought. I have to give praise for Grossman for planning out events and sprinkling clues for careful readers. I was always pleasantly surprised that he picked up details that felt insignificant at the time and weave them nicely back into the story. I should note that although I love how well Grossman uses this technique, the story may feel a bit slow or meandering for the first half of the book. </span><span id="freeText898629813152069614"> </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText898629813152069614">One of my favorite aspects of this book was seeing how Quentin has matured. Quentin is annoying college kid in <i>The Magicians</i>. In <i>The Magician's Land</i>, Quentin has become more careful and demonstrates empathy. In a different series, a transformation like this across several books could feel gimmicky; however, Grossman does a great job with Quentin. Quentin worked hard for his maturity, and we the readers get to celebrate this new found maturity with Quentin in <i>The Magician's Land</i>. Grossman has noted that he really wanted to write a book that shows what the magical hero kid's life is like when he is older (aka Harry Potter in his 30s), and I think Grossman executed this brilliantly. I love reading the Harry Potter books, but I agree with Grossman that we miss out by not getting books about how Potter is managing life in his 30s and 40s. I really enjoyed seeing how Quentin is living is life <i>after</i> he had his "happily ever after" and got several adventures in the magical land of Fillory.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText898629813152069614">The big question I am sure many of you wondering is whether <i>The Magician's Land</i> is a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy. If you enjoyed the first two books, I would definitely encourage you to read the final book. Although the story was a bit quiet at first and took a while to wind up and have a few big climatic scenes, I found the book quite satisfying. I feel that I got to see enough of all the characters that I grew to love over the course of the trilogy that I can imagine appropriate endings for them past the events of <i>The Magician's Land</i>. I feel that I can give <i>The Magician's Land</i> my biggest bit of praise for a final book in a series: I want to start the series again.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText898629813152069614">Overall, I really enjoyed <i>The Magician's Land</i>, and I felt it was a good ending to the trilogy. I look forward to rereading the trilogy again in the near future.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText898629813152069614">I give this book a 4 out of 5.</span></span></span></span></div>
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Viking was very kind and provided a copy of <i>The Magician's Land</i> for a giveaway! The giveaway will last for one week and is only for people in the US.<br /><div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <a class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/5e55a2d51/" id="rc-5e55a2d51" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a><br />
<script src="//widget.rafflecopter.com/load.js"></script> </span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10683814336132017546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-131544436877841249.post-17320731122068874532014-08-05T00:00:00.000-04:002014-08-05T21:01:17.148-04:00TTT: Top Ten Books I'd Give To Readers Who Have Never Read Graphic Novels<div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX1iWoSHmTj17O3IKg7hfO8ZB0SJ0kE38Go5clpeItXWbi5KdLedHtxk5vysnn-BENleYA0JkDsXl-QeqNZSnEzI_ZxmCA_XgMMizoWBjPWV5Qqu8UAlfSLKYwwXcJWhoM2SNbLkokgTU/s1600/toptentuesday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX1iWoSHmTj17O3IKg7hfO8ZB0SJ0kE38Go5clpeItXWbi5KdLedHtxk5vysnn-BENleYA0JkDsXl-QeqNZSnEzI_ZxmCA_XgMMizoWBjPWV5Qqu8UAlfSLKYwwXcJWhoM2SNbLkokgTU/s1600/toptentuesday.jpg" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;">Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday! </span><span style="background-color: white;">Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by <a href="http://brokeandbookish.blogspot.com/" style="color: #7d181e; text-decoration: none;">The Broke and the Bookish</a>. Each week bloggers post a top ten list related to a specific theme. This week's theme is </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><b>Top Ten Books I'd Give To Readers Who Have Never Read Graphic Novels</b>. All links lead to GoodReads. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">1. <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15704307-saga-volume-1"><i>Saga</i> by Brian Vaughan & Fiona Staples</a></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">This is a fantastic family saga set in a SF world. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHHfG4n6GUlEi93l1-mx9JmRuUjpoTTvWDLf6wQEv9nqmYb5M7N8KxF1dvqlTunY-inwIucvw7A1DDj2b45EcbAkwz9vyVGTk2qUvT4b-vK37VPuUzIXVMeBLzbqwgKjogfwi2OrSd8f0/s1600/archie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHHfG4n6GUlEi93l1-mx9JmRuUjpoTTvWDLf6wQEv9nqmYb5M7N8KxF1dvqlTunY-inwIucvw7A1DDj2b45EcbAkwz9vyVGTk2qUvT4b-vK37VPuUzIXVMeBLzbqwgKjogfwi2OrSd8f0/s1600/archie.jpg" height="320" width="207" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">2. <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22454587-afterlife-with-archie"><i>Afterlife with Archie</i> by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa & Francesco Francavilla</a></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">If you like zombie stories and grew up with <i>Archie</i>, you need to read this comic. It is amazing. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv8EZrbVx4s5SO9kPN3bzabQi5Klz7_DAI2Vjfear0_EuhHhjtxh2Lr1AIo-mEPFjk4fKDMA6sLNMY8513Ka1helSPOk3DAWs1v3peQyRS473qP0fXgua0NQDF62MmasrPerjr4Qry-WI/s1600/fables.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv8EZrbVx4s5SO9kPN3bzabQi5Klz7_DAI2Vjfear0_EuhHhjtxh2Lr1AIo-mEPFjk4fKDMA6sLNMY8513Ka1helSPOk3DAWs1v3peQyRS473qP0fXgua0NQDF62MmasrPerjr4Qry-WI/s1600/fables.jpg" height="320" width="207" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">3. <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21326.Fables_Vol_1"><i>Fables</i> by Bill Willingham & Others</a></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">Do you like fairy tale retellings? You need to read <i>Fables</i>. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizgBHel7jKh3SYMPK0CKat2GNrYD_HMBeOKih1joeh_2RdInfYNP_3mYBUMUNBFirY7leIeRlzx77czXYKDD23JGONzuGoLE8uVsDYSsbIYEKgpwqe3MYTQFf9gH-2rZxZbIHzrkRnRXc/s1600/the+last+man.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizgBHel7jKh3SYMPK0CKat2GNrYD_HMBeOKih1joeh_2RdInfYNP_3mYBUMUNBFirY7leIeRlzx77czXYKDD23JGONzuGoLE8uVsDYSsbIYEKgpwqe3MYTQFf9gH-2rZxZbIHzrkRnRXc/s1600/the+last+man.jpg" height="320" width="194" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">4. <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/156534.Y"><i>Y: The Last Man</i> by Brian Vaughan, Pia Guerra, & Jose Marzan Jr.</a></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">I haven't finished <i>Y</i> yet, but I am definitely enjoying the series so far. If you are looking for a comic with lots of different and interesting women, <i>Y</i> is your book. In this universe, all men drop dead except for one guy and is pet monkey. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYUOBaMX31A3E2K89loMQvaAYHHlNUPSnqk8eriKEvw8TlixCnvSDv-4hjrGFCRdfSNn7X8g3W41tKiwMeDXUPEn5t8bqD4BN0dNy2S2-umoXgwvcq2cbWPJC4K4yV7ViTtLa76trUfX4/s1600/rat+queens.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYUOBaMX31A3E2K89loMQvaAYHHlNUPSnqk8eriKEvw8TlixCnvSDv-4hjrGFCRdfSNn7X8g3W41tKiwMeDXUPEn5t8bqD4BN0dNy2S2-umoXgwvcq2cbWPJC4K4yV7ViTtLa76trUfX4/s1600/rat+queens.jpg" height="320" width="210" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">5. <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20299683-rat-queens-vol-1?from_search=true"><i>Rat Queens</i> by Curtis J Wiebe & Roc Upchurch</a></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">Do you play RPG games? <i>Rat Queens</i> is your book.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWoi4u3zSTmdCiwnPAY7To-nkT4LF21k35B0Plu-jkgUXjotgSlrtK8qSc2LhMeL62uKPaYN7jRkxLRBCehMf-nE4r7N8B3grVPZY3uj7kL_G7AqjBF5CHeWAsFZyVlwTVdW7Bk2mjsog/s1600/chew.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWoi4u3zSTmdCiwnPAY7To-nkT4LF21k35B0Plu-jkgUXjotgSlrtK8qSc2LhMeL62uKPaYN7jRkxLRBCehMf-nE4r7N8B3grVPZY3uj7kL_G7AqjBF5CHeWAsFZyVlwTVdW7Bk2mjsog/s1600/chew.jpg" height="320" width="200" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">6. <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6839093-chew-vol-1"><i>Chew</i> by John Layman</a></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">This is a crazy, quirky tale about people with supernatural food talents. It is totally wacky.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjS5lESsA9iyKKGJeLZGJoTYyCqbyq98KA-D4WRmw1eUCVTtyu-FYH1IUbgE9zEsc4kRpqINJU2owWCjvw8LoW2-T_yfHCC1VVdxy85hx6s-Nk8JzBq3DqCfVYvVHdXx7DhG_mVygqs6Q/s1600/walking+dead.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjS5lESsA9iyKKGJeLZGJoTYyCqbyq98KA-D4WRmw1eUCVTtyu-FYH1IUbgE9zEsc4kRpqINJU2owWCjvw8LoW2-T_yfHCC1VVdxy85hx6s-Nk8JzBq3DqCfVYvVHdXx7DhG_mVygqs6Q/s1600/walking+dead.jpg" height="320" width="208" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizgBHel7jKh3SYMPK0CKat2GNrYD_HMBeOKih1joeh_2RdInfYNP_3mYBUMUNBFirY7leIeRlzx77czXYKDD23JGONzuGoLE8uVsDYSsbIYEKgpwqe3MYTQFf9gH-2rZxZbIHzrkRnRXc/s1600/the+last+man.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">7. <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/138398.The_Walking_Dead_Vol_01"><i>The Walking Dead</i> by Robert Kirkland & Tony Moore</a></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">Do you like depressing zombie tales? <i>The Walking Dead</i> is perfect you. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqqvdE79on6zuq78o4Cb3FJoS1mgvfZozBcRkjXUUIlnFo797DQQ0xSiggCDo1dF1eJWiCxHMl_ungtQBtwjxeVtVEmhVAq5H2DSxSvgrr_g5TwXdYPtfeIgOH9S3Is-RBn8-DiHWwTqw/s1600/persepolis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqqvdE79on6zuq78o4Cb3FJoS1mgvfZozBcRkjXUUIlnFo797DQQ0xSiggCDo1dF1eJWiCxHMl_ungtQBtwjxeVtVEmhVAq5H2DSxSvgrr_g5TwXdYPtfeIgOH9S3Is-RBn8-DiHWwTqw/s1600/persepolis.jpg" height="320" width="216" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">8. <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9516.Persepolis"><i>Persepolis</i> by Marjane Satrapi</a></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">Do you like slice of life books that are about different cultures? <i>Persepolis</i> is for you.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtbqpw8_ljT6qCnuciy7mlQxBLKMPBzUDHuB7TYQAokkvmJ3XSQQRATjJiKDYtyK89AQsBovpKBHyk5Exs1y26snr1N84yIBo3ap6wm_oqIjgYLv1cr65TQ-lTcuM5gs_pRq1pVZhvGiM/s1600/hawkeye.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtbqpw8_ljT6qCnuciy7mlQxBLKMPBzUDHuB7TYQAokkvmJ3XSQQRATjJiKDYtyK89AQsBovpKBHyk5Exs1y26snr1N84yIBo3ap6wm_oqIjgYLv1cr65TQ-lTcuM5gs_pRq1pVZhvGiM/s1600/hawkeye.jpg" height="320" width="206" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">9. <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16002136-hawkeye-vol-1"><i>Hawkeye</i> by Matt Fraction, David Aja, & Others</a> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">Do you want to know what superheroes do on their days off? <i>Hawkeye</i> is your book.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">10. <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/500503.Sailor_Moon_Vol_01"><i>Sailor Moon</i> by Naoko Takeuchi</a></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">Did you grow up with <i>Sailor Moon</i>? You should totally read the manga. It is only 12 tiny volumes (manga volumes are small).</span></span></span></div>
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</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10683814336132017546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-131544436877841249.post-71342019596345887242014-08-04T00:00:00.000-04:002014-08-04T00:00:03.257-04:00The Princess Bride by William Goldman: Book Review
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikDTRwjaC79TEfZJeHVNUJI0Tvz7I0gb1pS0oXmmIgvPy23OxXy767gMyWl1M1wvDMFUUY0YsgHY1Ny9tL0S-1a8B_aFcSANQqgItGJJ5TldLedyGVeJE8i1ZjuzDLn2NxhEyzgGgRdxc/s1600/the+princess+bride.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The Princess Bride by William Goldman" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikDTRwjaC79TEfZJeHVNUJI0Tvz7I0gb1pS0oXmmIgvPy23OxXy767gMyWl1M1wvDMFUUY0YsgHY1Ny9tL0S-1a8B_aFcSANQqgItGJJ5TldLedyGVeJE8i1ZjuzDLn2NxhEyzgGgRdxc/s1600/the+princess+bride.jpg" height="320" title="The Princess Bride by William Goldman" width="212" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Title</b>: <i>The Princess Bride</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Author</b>: William Goldman</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Publisher</b>: Ballantine Books</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Publication Date</b>: July 2003</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Length</b>: 398 pages</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Series</b>: Stand Alone</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Audio or Book</b>: Book</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Reason for Discovery</b>: I loved the movie.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;">From <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21787.The_Princess_Bride?ac=1">GoodReads</a>:<span id="freeText12599395985856402915"> </span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText12599395985856402915">What happens when the
most beautiful girl in the world marries the handsomest prince of all
time and he turns out to be...well...a lot less than the man of her
dreams? As a boy, William Goldman claims, he loved to hear his
father read the S. Morgenstern classic, The Princess Bride. But as a
grown-up he discovered that the boring parts were left out of good old
Dad's recitation, and only the "good parts" reached his ears. Now
Goldman does Dad one better. He's reconstructed the "Good Parts
Version" to delight wise kids and wide-eyed grownups everywhere. What's
it about? Fencing. Fighting. True Love. Strong Hate. Harsh Revenge. A
Few Giants. Lots of Bad Men. Lots of Good Men. Five or Six Beautiful
Women. Beasties Monstrous and Gentle. Some Swell Escapes and Captures.
Death, Lies, Truth, Miracles, and a Little Sex. </span></span></span></span></i></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText12599395985856402915"><i>The Princess Bride</i> is a tricky book to summarize. At its core, <i>The Princess Bride</i> is a fairy tale involving princes, princesses, fencing, true love, giants, and adventure. <i>The Princess Bride</i> is also a book about a guy who is abridging <i>The Princess Bride</i>.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText12599395985856402915">I discovered the movie version of <i>The Princess Bride</i> in college. My friends who could all recite the dialogue from memory were horrified by my lack of movie education. I quickly grew to love the movie, and now I can quote chunks of it from memory. After I graduate college, I was browsing a bookstore, when I discovered <i>The Princess Bride</i> in book form. I did not know the movie was based on a book. I immediately went home and devoured it.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText12599395985856402915">The fairy tale that I loved was nearly identical in book form. In fact, large chunks of the dialogue were kept word for word. Some of the characters were a bit more extreme in the book, but none of the characters felt too out of line. Unlike in the movie, there was no frame story about a sick boy and grandfather reading him a beloved tale. There was something much, much better.</span><span id="freeText12599395985856402915"></span><span id="freeText12599395985856402915"> </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText12599395985856402915">In the Introduction to <i>The Princess Bride</i>, William Goldman explains that he grew up listening to his dad read <i>The Princess Bride</i>. One day, when Goldman was an adult, he sat down and read <i>The Princess Bride</i> himself. He discovered that his father had cut out all of the boring parts of the book. Goldman explains that the tale in his book is an abridged version of <i>The Princess Bride</i>. Throughout the fairy tale, Goldman has notes where he cut out boring sections and explaining why he cut them out. In the version of <i>The Princess Bride</i> that I read, there was also an author's note at the end talking about how Stephen King had wanted to do the abridged version of <i>The Princess Bride</i> and that King did not like how Goldman abridged the book. All of this is fiction.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText12599395985856402915"><br /></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText12599395985856402915">I have to be honest with you. When I read <i>The Princess Bride</i>, I believed every line that Goldman threw my way. It all made sense to me at the time, but I can be pretty naive. I lent the book to my roommate after I read it, because she was a big <i>The Princess Bride</i> fan too. She did a bit of research and discovered that this frame story about abridging the book was false. Goldman had written the fairy tale and the frame story. I thought that the frame story was fascinating when I thought it was true. Once I discovered that it was a piece of fiction; I loved the frame story even more. Honestly, I found that the frame story just added something extra to the fairy tale. Maybe it is because I read a ton of author's notes and introductions in college, but I thought Goldman's frame story was just a bit of clever writing. </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText12599395985856402915"><br /></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText12599395985856402915">As you can probably tell, I love <i>The Princess Bride</i>. I don't mind that the author tricked me. I am also a fan of book introductions and annotated books, so I loved all of the non-fairy tale elements in <i>The Princess Bride</i>. As Amazon or GoodReads can tell you, however, the novel version of <i>The Princess Bride</i> is not everyone's cup of tea. People either love or hate this book. I have noticed that the people who appear to love the movie the most are the ones who tend to hate the book the most. Reading <i>The Princess Bride</i> will not add anything to your love of the movie. Like I said earlier, the dialogue is word-for-word many times. If you want a book that plays with the idea of books being strictly fiction and nonfiction, <i>The Princess Bride</i> is for you.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText12599395985856402915">I give this book a 5 out of 5.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Excellent</td></tr>
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</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10683814336132017546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-131544436877841249.post-4300853407075219072014-08-03T00:00:00.000-04:002014-08-03T00:00:00.961-04:00Sunday Update - 8/3<div style="color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjZzxYbMB0p_PQQ0L-qorV6OkBqEEx7PRUzY0ANV1owhIPdRBA0r80gpni559QPRRhSlvgdkXoKWXKZmjNXm1OIscE9NhHbbjatQVPPV81a6AoVz-PSwyGQoX1nxzYAX7ASLgTSHdgzh4/s1600/SundayUpdate1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjZzxYbMB0p_PQQ0L-qorV6OkBqEEx7PRUzY0ANV1owhIPdRBA0r80gpni559QPRRhSlvgdkXoKWXKZmjNXm1OIscE9NhHbbjatQVPPV81a6AoVz-PSwyGQoX1nxzYAX7ASLgTSHdgzh4/s1600/SundayUpdate1.png" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white;">Welcome to my edition of the <a href="http://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/">Caffeinated Book Reviewer's</a> <a href="http://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/the-sunday-post-meme">Sunday Post meme</a>. Check out what I have been doing this week (and will do next week). </span></span> </span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Gosh. Last week was so such a fail week in terms of the blog. I was supposed to update my <i>Thoughtful Thursday</i> meme and do a post Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. You may have noticed that I only ended up doing posts on Wednesday and Thursday. Last weekend, I had a training for one of my part-time jobs, and it just wore me out. This past week, I spent every moment working or napping. The idea of blogging just seemed exhausting. Most days I just wanted to give up on the blog, but I knew that was the sleepiness talking. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Now that I have caught up on sleep, and I am not spending every minute working or sleeping, everything seems a bit more manageable. This week, I need to work on a blogging schedule that fits the life I am living now (once that involves me working full-time-ish). I also need to work on a blogging schedule that fits in time for commenting on blogs, because I really miss that aspect to the book blogging community. I feel like I am just treading water with blogging and not exploring the waters or at least doing laps in a pool. It is about a year, since I started blogging. I guess I am ripe for changing up my blogging technique.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><b>This Week on the Blog</b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sunday: Sunday Update - 8/3</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Monday: <i>T</i><span><i>he Princess Bride</i> by William Goldman</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Tuesday: TTT: Top Ten Books I'd Give To Readers Who Have Never Read Graphic Novels</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Wednesday: <i>The Magician's Land</i> by Lev Grossman: Review & Giveaway</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thursday: Thoughtful Thursday: Reading Slumps</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Friday: <i>Mr. Mercedes</i> by Stephen King: Audio Book Review</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"></span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span><b> </b></span></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span><b>Book Haul</b> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span><i> </i></span></span><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><i><br /></i></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">No new books this week. :(</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span><b>Currently Reading</b></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/516786.Sailor_Moon_Vol_04?from_search=true"><i>Sailor Moon</i> vol 4 by Naoko Takeuchi</a>: My library has the first six volumes of this series (there are 12 books in the series plus two volumes of short stories and two volumes devoted to Sailor V), and I think I am going to have to beg the library to get the rest of the series. The new series has inspired me to try the manga, and I am loving it. I wish I had more income, just so I could pick up this entire series!</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18775152-mr-mercedes"><i>Mr. Mercedes</i> by Stephen King</a>: I was supposed to finish this series this past week, but I haven't had time to listen to it. I have less than three hours left, so I am planning on finishing it soon. </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17448129-the-magician-s-land"><i>The Magician's Land</i> by Lev Grossman</a>: I started this book on Friday, and I am loving it. There is going to be a heist! Also, I am loving getting back into this world. It is a clever combination of <i>Harry Potter</i>, <i>Narnia</i>, and something new and unique.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span><b> </b></span></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span><b>Read This Week</b><br /></span></span><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/500503.Sailor_Moon_Vol_01?from_search=true"><i>Sailor Moon</i> vol 1-3 by Naoko Takeuchi</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13228436-batgirl-vol-1?ac=1"><i>Batgirl</i> vol 1 by Gail Simone & others</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17671927-fairest-in-all-the-land?from_search=true"><i>Fairest in All the Land</i> by Bill Willingham & others</a><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span><br /></span></span><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"></span></span></span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10683814336132017546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-131544436877841249.post-69778529716411445012014-07-31T00:00:00.000-04:002014-07-31T00:00:03.791-04:00Thoughtful Thursday: Final Book<div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: left;">It is time for Thoughtful Thursday and the bookish questions that pop up while I am reading. Please share your thoughts on the bookish question of the week. I am curious to hear what you have to say! There are no wrong answers. Questions about Thoughtful Thursday or future Thoughtful Thursday posts? Check out my </span><a href="http://www.readingisfunagain.com/p/blog-page_20.html" style="color: #7d181e; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">Thoughtful Thursday section</a><span style="text-align: left;">. Alright, on to the question!</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Have you avoided reading a final book in a series or chapter or "forgot" what happened in a final book or chapter, because the ending displeased you?</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">There are several movie series that I cannot watch anymore, because I hated the final movie so much. I have a hard time watching <i>X-Men</i> and <i>X-Men 2</i>, because I disliked <i>X-Men 3</i> so much. I have this same issue with television series, but the feeling isn't as strong. I can usually still watch the seasons that I liked and just pretend the seasons that I didn't like never happened. Usually a season will wrap up just nice enough that I can imagine it is the series finale instead of just a little, old season finale. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Interestingly, I have never hated a final book or chapter so much that I despised the book series like I do television shows and movies. Don't get me wrong, there are definitely final books and chapters that were disappointing to me; however, I never felt as passionate about them as I do movies and televisions shows. I think the reason that I typically don't despise final books and final chapters is that if I made it through an entire book or series without DNFing, then I have emotionally connected enough with the book and author, that I am willing to give the author the benefit of the doubt about where the story is going. In other words, by the time that I get to the final book/chapter, I am willing to go where the author leads me. When it comes to movies and television shows, the writers just haven't completely sold me just yet. :) </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Now it is your turn! Have you ever avoided reading a final book or chapter?</b><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10683814336132017546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-131544436877841249.post-489757699112779142014-07-30T00:00:00.000-04:002014-07-30T00:00:06.856-04:00Emma by Jane Austen: Links & Reminders<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_z4970dMOJRmONUjh7d1xcrC6DCGC7PPWlWTdsjUNZgp-5CTIUl1tsOB-kLtscdyhPaz-HWMQMp7xs6emHD_RYVvI07YKwMlG9Aue9TBjNdTr85mOOIq9oLa2qmFXrbUoDV0nURByOyg/s1600/janeausten.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="2014 Jane Austen Challenge" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_z4970dMOJRmONUjh7d1xcrC6DCGC7PPWlWTdsjUNZgp-5CTIUl1tsOB-kLtscdyhPaz-HWMQMp7xs6emHD_RYVvI07YKwMlG9Aue9TBjNdTr85mOOIq9oLa2qmFXrbUoDV0nURByOyg/s1600/janeausten.jpg" title="2014 Jane Austen Challenge" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In one month, it will be time for everyone to post their comments and reviews of <i>Emma</i> for the <a href="http://www.readingisfunagain.com/2014/01/2014-jane-austen-challenge.html" target="_blank">2014 Jane Austen Challenge</a>! I will post my review of <i>Emma</i> on August 29th, and there will be a linky for your posts. </span></span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I am so excited to reread <i>Emma</i>. I enjoyed the book when I read it in high school, and I love all of the remakes including <i>Emma Approved</i> and <i>Clueless</i>. I am curious to see if my love of the novel will change now that I am in a different place in my life.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Enjoy the links and then get reading! :)<b> </b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Need to Read <i>Emma?</i></b></span></span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/158" target="_blank">Free e-book copy of <i>Emma</i></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://librivox.org/search?title=emma&author=jane+austen&reader=&keywords=&genre_id=0&status=all&project_type=either&recorded_language=&sort_order=alpha&search_page=1&search_form=advanced" target="_blank">Free audio book of <i>Emma</i></a><i> </i> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">You
can also get copies of the book or audiobook at your local library
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<b>Need an adaptation or more stories in the world of <i>Emma</i>?</b> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_%28novel%29#Adaptations" target="_blank">Movie and television adaptations of <i>Emma</i></a><i> </i><i> </i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.emmaapproved.com/"><i>Emma Approved</i> (YouTube)</a><i> </i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.fanfiction.net/book/Emma/" target="_blank"><i>Emma</i> fanfiction</a><i> </i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Need more information about <i>Emma</i>?</b></span></span><br />
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</i><a href="http://www.jasna.org/info/images/map-emma-1200.jpg" target="_blank">Map of all of the places in <i>Emma</i></a><i> </i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_%28novel%29" target="_blank">Wikipedia <i>Emma</i> page</a></span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10683814336132017546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-131544436877841249.post-41067771450749820162014-07-27T00:00:00.000-04:002014-07-27T00:00:01.979-04:00Sunday Update - 7/27
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white;">Welcome to my edition of the <a href="http://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/">Caffeinated Book Reviewer's</a> <a href="http://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/the-sunday-post-meme">Sunday Post meme</a> and <a href="http://www.tyngasreviews.com/">Tynga's Reviews'</a> <a href="http://www.tyngasreviews.com/2012/05/staking-shelves-official-launch.html">Stacking the Shelves meme</a>. Check out what I have been doing this week (and will do next week) and my book haul. </span></span> </span></span></span> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ugh. This has been a week. I have had a ton of things to do at work and at home, and I feel like I haven't been able to get anything done well. It has just been one of those weeks that I just want to get back in bed, pull the covers over my head, and read a book by the light of a flashlight. When did that stop being a viable option? ::sigh:: I know that this too will pass, but I am not looking forward to getting over the hump. I think the second half of the year always feels a bit more intense. Everything seems to be due, and there just doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day to do everything. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I am hoping to play catch up this week, and get everything back under control. Gosh, isn't this a depressing post? Okay, we need to have some happy stuff here! I am really enjoying reading all of the San Diego Comic Con posts that I am seeing on the Internet. I want to go to SDCC, but I don't want to deal with the crazy crowds, so I enjoy the convention via blog posts and pictures. Maybe I will go one day, but until then, I will live vicariously through others.<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><b> </b></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><b>Last Week on the Blog</b></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>Sunday: <a href="http://www.readingisfunagain.com/2014/07/sunday-update-720.html" target="_blank">Sunday Update - 7/20</a></span></span></span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>Monday: <a href="http://www.readingisfunagain.com/2014/07/midnight-blue-light-special-by-seanan.html" target="_blank"><i>Midnight Blue-Light Special</i> by Seanan McGuire: Audio Book Review</a></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>Tuesday: <a href="http://www.readingisfunagain.com/2014/07/ttt-top-ten-characters-i-would-want.html" target="_blank">TTT: Top Ten Characters I Would Want With Me On A Deserted Island</a></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>Wednesday: <a href="http://www.readingisfunagain.com/2014/07/world-war-z-by-max-brooks-review.html" target="_blank"><i>World War Z</i> by Max Brooks</a></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>Thursday: <a href="http://www.readingisfunagain.com/2014/07/thoughtful-thursday-descriptive-scenes.html" target="_blank">Thoughtful Thursday: Descriptive Scenes</a></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>Friday: <a href="http://www.readingisfunagain.com/2014/07/buffy-vampire-slayer-angel-faith-spike.html" target="_blank"><i>Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, Angel & Faith, & Spike: Season Nine</i> by Joss Whedon: Graphic Novel Review</a></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><b>This Week on the Blog</b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sunday: Sunday Update - 7/27</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Monday: <i>The Princess Bride</i> by William Goldman</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Tuesday: TTT: Ten Authors I Own The Most Books From</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Wednesday:<i> </i>Info & Reminder for <i>Emma</i> by Jane Austen</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thursday: Thoughtful Thursday: Series Enders</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Friday: July Update</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">No books this week! I am so sad!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span><b>Currently Reading</b> </span></span><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span> </span></span></i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18775152-mr-mercedes" target="_blank"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span>Mr. Mercedes</span></span></i></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18775152-mr-mercedes" target="_blank"> by Stephen King</a>: I am still plugging away on this book. I am hoping to have it done this week.</span></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span></span></span><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"></span></span></span></span></div>
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</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10683814336132017546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-131544436877841249.post-78681424608918462302014-07-25T00:00:00.000-04:002014-07-25T00:00:04.810-04:00Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, Angel & Faith, & Spike: Season Nine by Joss Whedon: Graphic Novel Review<div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZh1LjR4IzkA6cWXI9qqQ_fPJ-Kgi8a97vpRITpeywZPg7klT5IBv5dqpEm9u9uA5HY6pO90xduxCuoTuc3FIlngNauWZM48N6BrvIJccyqr3Hiepp5RUTbJlpE9tAnjG4WshkgiVvvok/s1600/buffy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZh1LjR4IzkA6cWXI9qqQ_fPJ-Kgi8a97vpRITpeywZPg7klT5IBv5dqpEm9u9uA5HY6pO90xduxCuoTuc3FIlngNauWZM48N6BrvIJccyqr3Hiepp5RUTbJlpE9tAnjG4WshkgiVvvok/s1600/buffy.jpg" height="320" width="206" /></a><b>Title</b>: <span><i>Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, Angel & Faith, & Spike: Season Nine</i> </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Creator</b>: Joss Whedon</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Publisher</b>: Dark Horse Comics</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Audio or Book</b>: Book</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Reason for Discovery</b>: <i>Buffy: The Vampire Slayer</i> television show</span></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">NOTE: There are spoilers for <i>Season Eight</i> in the blurb. There are no spoilers in the review.</span></span></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;">From <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13576260-buffy-the-vampire-slayer" target="_blank">GoodReads</a>:</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><i><span id="freeText14255175586278592098">Season 8 ended with a
bang that cut the world off from magic—culminating in another set of
world-ending problems. Buffy has left her best friend, Willow,
powerless, and brought an end to a millennia-long tradition of
superpowered girls. By day, Buffy is a twenty-something waitress with no
real direction, and even though magic is gone, she’s still a vampire
Slayer by night. Bigger problem? Vampires are becoming an epidemic . . .
of zompires! </span></i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;">Last year, I read the craziness that was <i>Buffy: The Vampire Slayer Season Eight</i>. The story got a wee bit out of control and got a bit too epic. The story also suffered from wanting to follow about fifteen characters. Luckily, Joss Whedon learned from his mistakes.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;">My favorite change to <i>Season Nine</i> was that several characters received their own books. Buffy had five books, Angel and Faith had five books, and Spike and Willow each had one book too. Breaking up the Buffy-verse make each book tighter and more focused. <i>Season Eight</i> felt a bit scattered with random standalone stories that came out of nowhere. With different characters having their own books, I felt more guaranteed that my <i>Buffy</i> comic was going to have Buffy in it.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;">In addition to appreciating breaking up the characters, I loved that <i>Buffy: The Vampire Slayer</i> <i>Season Nine </i>(and the other series) returned to basics. The story focused on how the aftermath of the showdown in the final arc of <i>Season Nine </i>affected Buffy and her Scoobies. <i>Season Nine </i>didn't take us around the world or into different dimensions but that was okay, because the Scooby gang was doing what it does best: fighting vampires and dealing with age-relevant crises. Unlike in <i>Season Eight</i> in which I felt like I was missing important details, because I had forgotten plot lines from the <i>Buffy</i> television show and never finished watching <i>Angel</i>, <i>Season Nine</i> felt more manageable. In <i>Season Nine</i>, I recognized all of the characters immediately, and I understood why events were happening (for the most part). Also, I found these plots to be more relate-able. Buffy and the gang were not only dealing with vampires but also being adults and managing grown-up life stressors. I will admit that I was a bit disappointed that the creative team wimped out on a particular storyline that could have been really fascinating. Besides this one issue though, I did enjoy all of the stories. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;">I know I keep focusing on the <i>Buffy</i> comic; however, my praise goes out to all of the <i>Season Nine </i>books. I am much more of a Buffy fan than an Angel fan, so I did enjoy <i>Buffy</i> more than <i>Angel & Faith</i>. <i>Spike</i> was good as well; however, his tale was only a standalone book. I didn't feel like I got too much out of it besides a fun ride.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;">Overall, I enjoyed <i>Season Nine</i> much more than <i>Season Eight</i>. The writing was tighter and stronger. The characters returned to their inner-Scoobies. I liked seeing my beloved characters stretched and pulled in new ways and meeting new and fun characters (like a new slayer!). </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;">I give this series a 4 out of 5.</span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Very Good</td></tr>
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</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10683814336132017546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-131544436877841249.post-9642080506194119082014-07-24T00:00:00.000-04:002014-07-24T00:00:05.472-04:00Thoughtful Thursday: Descriptive Scenes<div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: left;">It is time for Thoughtful Thursday and the bookish questions that pop up while I am reading. Please share your thoughts on the bookish question of the week. I am curious to hear what you have to say! There are no wrong answers. Questions about Thoughtful Thursday or future Thoughtful Thursday posts? Check out my </span><a href="http://www.readingisfunagain.com/p/blog-page_20.html" style="color: #7d181e; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">Thoughtful Thursday section</a><span style="text-align: left;">. Alright, on to the question!</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: left;">Note: I am sorry that I haven't gotten next month's Thoughtful Thursday posts up. They will be up soon!</span></span></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">How descriptive action sequences and/or romantic situations are usually depends on the author. Some authors spend several pages describing an action or romantic scene while others describe this situations in a few paragraphs or less. What is your preference?</span></span></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This question occurred to me after reading a book in which the action sequences were super short. I wish I could remember the book, but I can't anymore. Anyway, the book was billed as an action/thriller/adventure novel; however, all of the action sequences took less than one page to complete. I remember thinking to myself, "seriously?" What is particularly interesting about the fact that I reacted this way to this book is that normally I glaze over action sequences. You would think that I would be super happy about a short action sequence, but in fact I was annoyed by this.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">After thinking about this for a little bit, I think that I want the action sequence to be at least a few pages (if it is supposed to be a lengthy event) even if I don't read every line, because I want that passage of time to occur as I (at the very least) glaze over the text. That probably doesn't make any sense, huh? What I am trying to say is that a four-sentence paragraph takes no time to read. If the action sequence is four sentences long, it will feel like the fight lasted two seconds and the action/event feels unsatisfying. If the action sequence is 30 sentences, that sequence is going to take a bit longer to read, even if I don't read every word. The even is going to feel longer. I usually feel satisfied that the action "took the right amount of time." In the end, I want that big, final fight scene with the protagonist and the villain to take the perfect amount of time and feel appropriate. I don't want the scene to drag on, but I also don't want the scene to be done before I blink.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">While I prefer slightly shorter action sequences, I definitely prefer longer romantic scenes <i>in romance novels</i>. In non-romance books (e.g., noir mysteries), I prefer my romance scenes to be sweet and short. This is because I tend not to like romantic scenes written from the male POV; this is an entirely different can of worms from today's question though. Anyway, when I sit down to read a romance novel, I want to read romantic scenes. It is the reason that I picked up the book in the first place. The longer the scene, the better. I should note though that more than the length of the scene, I <i>need</i> my romance scenes to make sense. Sometimes I read romance novels and the intimate scenes seem to be occurring between two aliens who appear human, because the two individuals got themselves into positions that don't seem anatomically possible. Nothing pulls me out of a romantic scene more than thinking, "how was he able to get his hand there in that position?"</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Now it is your turn! How do you feel about descriptive scenes?</b><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10683814336132017546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-131544436877841249.post-58172196901273859982014-07-23T00:00:00.000-04:002014-07-23T00:00:01.244-04:00World War Z by Max Brooks: Review<div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMY4_kxyhrd7citTcKCEAP3XcWYtp_RJkRIByjhCmPCZ4O6GohRjNQ5mzHMATAVfrNB1TFrkbk_7uAAPPCe825vHisPOoKa8i2hw2zglRuS2ghFjqfWsD8B_cOvu-HBKHPSymQYBSFRmU/s1600/world+war+z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="World War Z by Max Brooks" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMY4_kxyhrd7citTcKCEAP3XcWYtp_RJkRIByjhCmPCZ4O6GohRjNQ5mzHMATAVfrNB1TFrkbk_7uAAPPCe825vHisPOoKa8i2hw2zglRuS2ghFjqfWsD8B_cOvu-HBKHPSymQYBSFRmU/s1600/world+war+z.jpg" height="320" title="World War Z by Max Brooks" width="210" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Title</b>: <i>World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Author</b>: Max Brooks</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Publisher</b>: Crown</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Publication Date</b>: September 2006</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Length</b>: 342 pages </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Series</b>: Stand Alone</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Audio or Book</b>: Book</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Reason for Discovery</b>: <a href="http://swordandlaser.com/" target="_blank">Sword & Laser Book Club</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;">From <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8908.World_War_Z?ac=1" target="_blank">GoodReads</a>: </span></span></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText14847248354321620707">The Zombie War came unthinkably close to eradicating humanity. Max Brooks, driven by the urgency of preserving the acid-etched first-hand experiences of the survivors from those apocalyptic years, traveled across the United States of America and throughout the world, from decimated cities that once teemed with upwards of thirty million souls to the most remote and inhospitable areas of the planet. He recorded the testimony of men, women, and sometimes children who came face-to-face with the living, or at least the undead, hell of that dreadful time. "World War Z" is the result. Never before have we had access to a document that so powerfully conveys the depth of fear and horror, and also the ineradicable spirit of resistance, that gripped human society through the plague years. <br />
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Ranging from the now infamous village of New Dachang in the United Federation of China, where the epidemiological trail began with the twelve-year-old Patient Zero, to the unnamed northern forests where untold numbers sought a terrible and temporary refuge in the cold, to the United States of Southern Africa, where the Redeker Plan provided hope for humanity at an unspeakable price, to the west-of-the-Rockies redoubt where the North American tide finally started to turn, this invaluable chronicle reflects the full scope and duration of the Zombie War. <br />
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Most of all, the book captures with haunting immediacy the human dimension of this epochal event. Facing the often raw and vivid nature of these personal accounts requires a degree of courage on the part of the reader, but the effort is invaluable because, as Mr. Brooks says in his introduction, "By excluding the human factor, aren't we risking the kind of personal detachment from history that may, heaven forbid, lead us one day to repeat it? And in the end, isn't the human factor the only true difference between us and the enemy we now refer to as 'the living dead'?"</span></span></span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText14847248354321620707">I can't remember if I have mentioned my fear of zombies, but I think it bears repeating in this review. I am honestly scared of zombies. I figure if the world is going to end, zombies are going to be the reason. There is going to be some technological advancement that is going to turn out to be the zombie virus. I think this is why I especially love all of Mira Grant's books. Her conspiracy theories ring true for me. I should state for the record that I don't avoid any medical advancements. I get my annual flu shot, and I do whatever my doctor tells me to do. I am just very concerned about zombies.</span><span id="freeText14847248354321620707"> </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText14847248354321620707">When I heard about <i>World War Z</i>, I got quite excited. This book combined my fear of zombies with my love of documentaries. If you are not familiar with the book (the movie is <i>very</i> different), <i>World War Z</i> is a collection of interviews from people who experienced the Zombie war. The different interviews give you the opportunity to see what life would have been like for the military, politicians, medical personnel, "regular people," and others. There are interviews discussing the possible cause of the outbreak, how people managed the outbreak, and the horrible consequences of the Zombie War.</span><span id="freeText14847248354321620707"><i> </i></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText14847248354321620707"><i>World War Z</i> definitely captured my heart and mind. It was like reading a Ken Burns documentary. In fact, there is a great video of <i>World War Z</i> turned into a Ken Burns documentary. I really wish that Burns could do this movie. I would watch the heck out of that movie. Check out the video!</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText14847248354321620707">Brooks did a great job of making sure that there were a variety of characters in <i>World War Z</i>. There was just enough of each interview that I felt like these folks were real people and truly experienced these events. Brooks kept my attention by giving out just enough clues throughout the book of how the humans managed the zombies that were invading their lands. I read <i>World War Z</i> a long time ago now; however, many of the stories have stayed with me.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText14847248354321620707">My only complaint regarding this book was that at times some of the characters seemed to have the same "voice." Writing so many different and unique characters is very hard, and I am not sure if Brooks had the writing expertise to pull it off. At the same time, I kept reading the book, because it maintained my interest.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText14847248354321620707">If you are an audio book fan, I have heard amazing things about the audio version of <i>World War Z</i>. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText14847248354321620707"><span class="adbl-prod-author">
<span>Max Brooks</span>,
<span>Alan Alda</span>,
<span>John Turturro</span>,
<span>Rob Reiner</span>,
<span>Mark Hamill</span>,
<span>Alfred Molina</span>,
<span>Simon Pegg</span>,
<span>Henry Rollins</span>,
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<span>Martin Scorsese</span> all narrate the book. It is really wonderful that the publisher got such a diverse cast to narrate the book. It should be noted, however, that t</span>he original audio book was abridged. When the movie came out, a longer audio book was made; however, it is still abridged. </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText14847248354321620707">Overall, I really enjoyed <i>World War Z</i>. It is a captivating zombie book that uses a very unique narration style to tell its story. I can see this book holding up to the test of time.</span></span></span></span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10683814336132017546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-131544436877841249.post-36345066460956268482014-07-22T00:00:00.000-04:002014-07-22T00:00:05.708-04:00TTT: Top Ten Characters I Would Want With Me On A Deserted Island<div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRkS-s0a9cqkTarUPPx5QUZHsGFBzEW_4EIdXJa5SnX5Qpao_haq0d30mrzdXp0b3ynf8P3yvK7aFoJmuXZJkuGrGkKeYaKmcqgnl0omBWjdg6h_3ncLGQmuxpILdOZf3-nOH20Mfjzc4/s1600/toptentuesday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Top Ten Tuesday" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRkS-s0a9cqkTarUPPx5QUZHsGFBzEW_4EIdXJa5SnX5Qpao_haq0d30mrzdXp0b3ynf8P3yvK7aFoJmuXZJkuGrGkKeYaKmcqgnl0omBWjdg6h_3ncLGQmuxpILdOZf3-nOH20Mfjzc4/s1600/toptentuesday.jpg" title="Top Ten Tuesday" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;">Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday! </span><span style="background-color: white;">Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by <a href="http://brokeandbookish.blogspot.com/" style="color: #7d181e; text-decoration: none;">The Broke and the Bookish</a>. Each week bloggers post a top ten list related to a specific theme. This week's theme is </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><b>Top Ten Characters I Would Want With Me On A Deserted Island</b>. </span></span></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">1. & 2. Katniss and Peeta (<i>The Hunger Games</i> series)</span></span></span></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">Katniss and Peeta know all sorts of mad wilderness skills, so I know that they could hold their own. I would prefer to get Katniss and Peeta from <i>The Hunger Games</i>, not <i>Mockingjay</i>, because they were a bit more well-adjusted in the first book.</span></span></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">3. & 4. Hermione Granger (<i>Harry Potter</i> series) and Princess/Queen Cimorene (<i>The Enchanted Forest Chronicles</i>)</span></span></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I want Hermione and Cimorene on the island with me, because they both know magic and magic is always helpful.</span></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">5. The Cast from <i>Galapagos</i></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I must admit that I don't remember too much about <i>Galapagos</i>; however, the characters survived some crazy event and then evolved into seal-like people (or something). This evolution thing seems useful. Okay, I could look up the plot on Wikipedia, but I am going to go with my poor recollection of this book.</span></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">6. Sherlock Holmes (<i>Sherlock Holmes</i>)</span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sherlock Holmes knows all sorts of stuff. He could come up with a way to make a hut out of palm fronds and saliva. </span></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">7. Karana (<i>Island of the Blue Dolphins</i>)</span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Karana lives on an island for years all by herself after her tribe moves away and she gets left behind. Karana will have all sorts of good island-living knowledge. </span></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">8. Edward Cullen (<i>Twilight</i>)</span></span></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A vampire isn't the best person to have on a small island; however, a vampire is super strong. A super strong person is pretty handy on a deserted island. I figure that Edward would find something non-human to feed on. </span></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">9. & 10. Captain Will Laurence & Temeraire (<i>Temeraire</i> series)</span></span></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So if the island isn't super fun and cozy, Laurence and Temeraire will be extremely helpful for getting off the island. Temeraire, if you didn't know, is a dragon and he can fly long distances with lots of people on his back. </span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10683814336132017546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-131544436877841249.post-78942853100519518282014-07-21T00:00:00.000-04:002014-07-21T00:00:02.924-04:00Midnight Blue-Light Special by Seanan McGuire: Audio Book Review<div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrOiHaJLSikMB6fLIc3MeADNN4qHLCFSLaRJMvIJ5qoevqiiwgEYnLxwsTyjn2FdScTviZeqreQCL8pvfRhl6CSXfrj8JtaYHisXi9b6WuvkXuJA5yM6azZ35enqFqPylFI7cv2O7kgn0/s1600/midnight+specia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Midnight Blue-Light Special by Seanan McGuire" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrOiHaJLSikMB6fLIc3MeADNN4qHLCFSLaRJMvIJ5qoevqiiwgEYnLxwsTyjn2FdScTviZeqreQCL8pvfRhl6CSXfrj8JtaYHisXi9b6WuvkXuJA5yM6azZ35enqFqPylFI7cv2O7kgn0/s1600/midnight+specia.jpg" height="320" title="Midnight Blue-Light Special by Seanan McGuire" width="198" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Title</b>: <i>Midnight Blue-Light Special</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Author</b>: Seanan McGuire (Reader: Emily Bauer)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Publisher</b>: Audible Studios</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Publication Date</b>: March 2013</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Length</b>: 10 hr 59 min (338 pages)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Series</b>: <i>InCryptid</i> (#2)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Audio or Book</b>: Audio</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Reason for Discovery</b>: I love Mira Grant</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><a href="http://www.readingisfunagain.com/2014/06/discount-armageddon-by-seanan-mcguire.html" target="_blank">Check out my review for the first book in the series <i>Discount Armageddon</i>.</a></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;">From <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13501633-midnight-blue-light-special?ac=1" target="_blank">GoodReads</a>:</span></span></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText16013646279197836344">The Price family has
spent generations studying the monsters of the world, working to protect
them from humanity--and humanity from them. Enter Verity Price. Despite
being trained from birth as a cryptozoologist, she'd rather dance a
tango than tangle with a demon, and when her work with the cryptid
community took her to Manhattan, she thought she would finally be free
to pursue competition-level dance in earnest. It didn't quite work out
that way...<br /><br />But now, with the snake cult that was killing virgins
all over Manhattan finally taken care of, Verity is ready to settle
down for some serious ballroom dancing—until her on-again, off-again,
semi-boyfriend Dominic De Luca, a member of the monster-hunting Covenant
of St. George, informs her that the Covenant is on their way to assess
the city's readiness for a cryptid purge. With everything and everyone
she loves on the line, there's no way Verity can take that lying down.<br /><br />Alliances
will be tested, allies will be questioned, lives will be lost, and the
talking mice in Verity's apartment will immortalize everything as holy
writ--assuming there's anyone left standing when all is said and done.
It's a midnight blue-light special, and the sale of the day is on
betrayal, deceit...and carnage.</span></span></span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText16013646279197836344">Yea for a blurb that actually gives you a decent summary! On to the review!</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText16013646279197836344"><i>InCryptid</i> continues to be such a fun series. If you are looking for a fun, light-hearted, but still thrilling urban fantasy series, <i>InCryptid</i> is totally for you. I must admit that there were a few things that bothered me in the first book; however, these issues proved to be "first book syndrome." In particular, I felt that it took a really long time for the story to start moving in <i>Discount Armageddon</i>, this was not the case in <i>Midnight Blue-Light Special</i>. Within the first hour or so of the book, the central crisis was announced: the Covenant of St. George was on its way to New York City to kill all of Verity's beloved cryptids. I felt hooked from the word go. I was so happy that McGuire just did a few brief summaries to get her readers up-to-date and quickly moved on to more important things, like dealing with the Covenant. </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText16013646279197836344">As you can probably tell, I found that the plot was a nice balance of thrilling and dangerous, with just a touch of fun thrown in there, so I didn't feel too depressed while listening to the story on my daily commute. I was always worried for Verity when she got into jams; however, similar to the <i>Sookie Stackhouse</i> series, I knew that I didn't have to worry to much. The <i>InCryptid</i> series is a thrilling urban fantasy series, but I would argue that it is a bit less stressful than the <i>Dresden Files</i> series. Although the series is light and fun, the Covenant is a very serious organization and more than once, I was worried about my dear Verity and her friends. I found myself making excuses as to why I needed to stay in the car a few minutes longer just so I could keep listening to the book and make sure that everyone was okay.</span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText16013646279197836344">Like in <i>Discount Armageddon</i>, there are so many charming characters in <i>Midnight Blue-Light Special</i>. I loved some of the characters, and I despised others; however, I still found all of the characters charming and interesting. McGuire knows how to write unique characters with whom I want to be friends (or enemies, in the case of the Covenant). Besides Verity, I have really grown to love Dominic. In this book, I feel that I got to know Verity's on-again-off-again boyfriend and get a better understanding of his motivations. I feel that McGuire did a good job of balancing Dominic's love of Verity with his love of the Covenant. </span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText16013646279197836344">When I wrote my review of <i>Discount Armageddon</i>, I stated that the book was more urban fantasy than romance. <i>Midnight Blue-Light Special</i> is another great urban fantasy book; however, there is definitely more romance in it. I wouldn't say that <i>Midnight Blue-Light Special</i> is veering into the romance section of the bookstore (it is firmly in the SF&F section); however, if you don't want romance, this is not the book for you. Honestly, I found that the romance added to the book without taking away anything from the urban fantasy-ness of the story. </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText16013646279197836344"><b>Audio:</b> Bauer continues to do a great job with tone, inflection, and pacing. Although I still feel that she sounds a tad bit too young, Bauer is now my voice for Verity. I don't think I can read the print books for this series now. Bauer and I are now attached at the hip.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText16013646279197836344">Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I have mixed feelings of reading the next book, because we are shifting the POV; however, I love the Price family and need to know what happens next. </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span id="freeText16013646279197836344">I give this book a 4 out of 5.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Very Good</td></tr>
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</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10683814336132017546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-131544436877841249.post-77932295112954102432014-07-20T00:00:00.000-04:002014-07-20T00:00:04.519-04:00Sunday Update - 7/20
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzdia4GcwoSZf7Xn0RhWfYRh8YEDIENbgA6rk_KyBI5L166bS0Lh8JIAvl0GkIE6Aimbdqr3rSiIP0KvdUOyyNJCtHr8cRurOZnh9f6_LdZ-c3n88siLCOmZtCMJvx6jE4xt5S1ax19rg/s1600/SundayUpdate1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Sunday Update" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzdia4GcwoSZf7Xn0RhWfYRh8YEDIENbgA6rk_KyBI5L166bS0Lh8JIAvl0GkIE6Aimbdqr3rSiIP0KvdUOyyNJCtHr8cRurOZnh9f6_LdZ-c3n88siLCOmZtCMJvx6jE4xt5S1ax19rg/s1600/SundayUpdate1.png" title="Sunday Update" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white;">Welcome to my edition of the <a href="http://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/">Caffeinated Book Reviewer's</a> <a href="http://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/the-sunday-post-meme">Sunday Post meme</a> and <a href="http://www.tyngasreviews.com/">Tynga's Reviews'</a> <a href="http://www.tyngasreviews.com/2012/05/staking-shelves-official-launch.html">Stacking the Shelves meme</a>. Check out what I have been doing this week (and will do next week) and my book haul. </span></span> </span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I have been getting so behind on all of my book chores. I haven't been keeping good records of the books that I have been reading recently. I also have gotten back into the bad habit of writing my blog posts the day before they need to be posted. This week I need to get back on the straight and narrow. I feel like I am always writing blog posts. It is a little past the middle of the year, so it makes sense that a lot of my 2014 resolutions are slipping from my grasp. I am going to have to review them this week. As an aside, I will be posting new Thoughtful Thursday posts later today.<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"> </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">By the way, I have started using the most fantastic to do app. It is called <a href="http://todoist.com/" target="_blank">ToDoist.com</a>. There are a ton of great list apps out there. The reason that I love this one is that the recurring options are better than any other one that I have seen. I am using the free version. The paid version has tools that some of the other free to do apps have; however, I don't need a super fancy app, I just need one with fantastic recurring options. For example, I can set up items to recur on the 1st of every month, every 3 months starting on the 15th, every 3 months starting after I complete the task for the first time, etc. You can also share to do lists for free. I have it on my android phone and on chrome. <b> </b></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><b>Last Week on the Blog</b></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>Sunday: <a href="http://www.readingisfunagain.com/2014/07/sunday-update-713.html" target="_blank">Sunday Update - 7/13</a></span></span></span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>Monday: <a href="http://www.readingisfunagain.com/2014/07/the-amazing-thing-about-way-it-goes-by.html" target="_blank"><i>The Amazing Thing about the Way Things Are</i> by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee: Review</a></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>Tuesday: <a href="http://www.readingisfunagain.com/2014/07/ttt-top-ten-favorite-movies-or-tv-shows.html" target="_blank">TTT: Top Ten Favorite Movies/TV Shows</a></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>Wednesday: <a href="http://www.readingisfunagain.com/2014/07/sf-thought-experiments-down-out-in.html" target="_blank">SF Thought Experiments: <i>Down & Out in the Magic Kingdom</i> by Cory Doctorow & <i>How to Live Safely in a SF Universe</i> by Charles Yu: Review</a></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>Thursday: <a href="http://www.readingisfunagain.com/2014/07/thoughtful-thursday-number-of-characters.html" target="_blank">Thoughtful Thursday: Number of Characters</a></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>Friday: <a href="http://www.readingisfunagain.com/2014/07/scott-pilgrim-by-bryan-lee-omalley.html" target="_blank"><i>Scott Pilgrim</i> by Bryan Lee O'Malley: Graphic Novel Review</a></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><b>This Week on the Blog</b></span> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sunday: Sunday Update - 7/20</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Monday: <i>Midnight Blue-Light Special</i> by Seanan McGuire: Audio Book Review</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Tuesday: TTT: Top Ten Characters I Would Want With Me On A Deserted Island</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Wednesday: <i>World War Z</i> by Max Brooks</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thursday: Thoughtful Thursday: Descriptive Scenes</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Friday: <i>Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, Angel & Faith, & Spike: Season Nine</i> by Joss Whedon: Graphic Novel Review</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"></span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span><b> </b></span></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span><b>Book Haul</b> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span><i> </i></span></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><i><br /></i></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><i>Review Copies</i></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijByz0YMDQ0aixnt0IjALljRGUQWCr0wsqizqfQCTDnZh_HZMG0nwfKOkzHNYKddsGBXAPDkuaG-PAvUjGCR6aLQ1JiFneYq8C4qG2zwKNKatJrwj5AdL3Vgt_dTsA3QcMkSu5Npl0y_g/s1600/the+magician%27s+land.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The Magician's Land by Lev Grossman" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijByz0YMDQ0aixnt0IjALljRGUQWCr0wsqizqfQCTDnZh_HZMG0nwfKOkzHNYKddsGBXAPDkuaG-PAvUjGCR6aLQ1JiFneYq8C4qG2zwKNKatJrwj5AdL3Vgt_dTsA3QcMkSu5Npl0y_g/s1600/the+magician's+land.jpg" height="320" title="The Magician's Land by Lev Grossman" width="210" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><i><br /></i></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Viking was very kind and sent me a copy of <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17448129-the-magician-s-land?ac=1" target="_blank"><i>The Magician's Land</i> by Lev Grossman</a>. I have been looking forward to reading it for forever. I will have a review out on August 5th (publication day). There will also be a giveaway for your very own copy.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span><i><br /></i></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span><b>Currently Reading</b> </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18775152-mr-mercedes?ac=1" target="_blank"><i>Mr. Mercedes</i> by Stephen King</a>: I have been listening to this book during my commute. It is interesting so far. It is more of a crime thriller than what I was expecting.<br /><b> </b></span></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span><b>Read This Week</b></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span><br /></span></span>I am failing at keeping a good list of books that I read for the week. I blame it on the fact that I have been reading graphic novels and that I can read a stack in a day. Suffice it to say, I have been reading lots of <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21326.Fables_Vol_1?from_search=true" target="_blank"><i>Fables</i> by Bill Willingham</a>.<br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span></span></span><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"></span></span></span></span></div>
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</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10683814336132017546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-131544436877841249.post-89213699994394954092014-07-18T00:00:00.000-04:002014-07-18T00:00:08.083-04:00Scott Pilgrim by Bryan Lee O'Malley
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPGTIq0JfXbQ1ofJ2fSY9XGO9IyLsqvcMbSq2KqgD7T0WVpUcdhE8ZEX_3A0VekRLrltl1f9joDOL0gG-OvYad_nJCQjrID-2wVgNXVo0hiVrpWf4OT55afM8Kvv8kP2iPEo50d87tPjY/s1600/scott+pilgrim.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Scott Pilgrim by Bryan Lee O'Malley" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPGTIq0JfXbQ1ofJ2fSY9XGO9IyLsqvcMbSq2KqgD7T0WVpUcdhE8ZEX_3A0VekRLrltl1f9joDOL0gG-OvYad_nJCQjrID-2wVgNXVo0hiVrpWf4OT55afM8Kvv8kP2iPEo50d87tPjY/s1600/scott+pilgrim.jpg" height="320" title="Scott Pilgrim by Bryan Lee O'Malley" width="213" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Title</b>: <i>Scott Pilgrim</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Author</b>: Bryan Lee O'Malley</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Publisher</b>: Oni Press</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Length</b>: ~170 pages each</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Series</b>: 6 Volumes</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Audio or Book</b>: Book</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Reason for Discovery</b>: <i>Scott Pilgrim Versus the World</i> movie</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;">From <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29800.Scott_Pilgrim_s_Precious_Little_Life" target="_blank">GoodReads</a>:</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><i><span id="freeText4940440327587519195">Scott Pilgrim's life is
totally sweet. He's 23 years old, he's in a rockband, he's ""between
jobs,"" and he's dating a cute high school girl. Nothing could possibly
go wrong, unless a seriously mind-blowing, dangerously fashionable,
rollerblading delivery girl named Ramona Flowers starts cruising through
his dreams and sailing by him at parties. Will Scott's awesome life
getturned upside-down? Will he have to face Ramona's seven evil
ex-boyfriends inbattle? The short answer is yes. The long answer is
Scott Pilgrim, Volume 1: Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life.</span></i> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;">I had heard about the <i>Scott Pilgrim</i> series in the past; however, the series really caught my eye when the movie came out a few years ago. I remember thinking it was pretty cute. It is a movie that I can re-watch over and over again when it is on television, because it has lots of little jokes hidden throughout the movie. When I got into my crazy-intense graphic novel reading binge, I knew I had to read the <i>Scott Pilgrim</i> series.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;">As you may know, <i>Scott Pilgrim</i> is a series about a slacker named Scott Pilgrim, the mysterious Ramona, and some of Scott's friends. The characters are in their 20s, and are dealing with typical 20-something issues: love, jobs, and friendships. At first, Scott's world seems very similar to our own world; however, after a few pages, you discover that is not exactly the case. Ramona travels through subspace to make her Amazon.com deliveries. Also, Scott Pilgrim quickly becomes tasked with fighting Ramona's evil ex-lovers. Unlike in our world, when Scott defeats an evil ex, the ex disappears and turns into coins, just like in a video game.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;">I had heard that there were a lot of changes when the graphic novel series was made into a movie. Although I definitely see the changes, the changes don't seem too way off base. At the same time, I'm glad that I saw the movie first. I probably would have been frustrated, if I had read the novels first.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;">There was a lot that I liked about this series. First, I loved, loved, loved all of the nerdy and geeky references scattered throughout the series. The <i>Scott Pilgrim</i> series is what life would look like, if life really was an RPG video game. There were all of these little jokes scattered throughout the series like Scott getting +2 to heart or wanting an extra life. Many of these jokes are not necessary for understanding the plot; they just add to the atmosphere of the series and the universe. Second, although I couldn't connect with the characters (more on that later), I thought that O'Malley did a great job of creating interesting characters that felt three-dimensional even though the video game universe aesthetic would suggest that these characters would be a bit flat. Third, I love that this series was nice and compact. I was in and out in six volumes. The series had great pacing. I have been reading a ton of long graphic novels series (<i>Fables</i> will have 21 volumes when it is completed), and I am loving the "shorter" graphic novels.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;">There was very little that I did not enjoy in this series. The only major gripe I have about the series is something that isn't the series' fault. I had a hard time appreciating the characters. In fact, there were several characters whom I did not like, including Scott Pilgrim. Although I definitely as someone who lives in the geek culture, I would never classify a period of time in my life during which I was a "slacker." Scott's lack of interest in getting a job and feeling comfortable mooching off his friends is fairly foreign to me. Granted, the reader is probably supposed to think that Scott is a bit of a jerk. At the same time though, I had a hard time appreciating why Scott (and sometimes his friends) was doing what he was doing. I spent most of my 20s in school (either college or graduate school), I think if I had spent more time in my 20s working (and finding jobs, etc), I think I would have liked this series more.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;">Overall, I did enjoy this series. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy it as much as I hoped that I would. I give this series a 3 out of 5. </span></span></span></div>
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</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10683814336132017546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-131544436877841249.post-65150706986892332692014-07-17T00:00:00.000-04:002014-07-17T00:00:04.182-04:00Thoughtful Thursday: Number of Characters<div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: left;">It is time for Thoughtful Thursday and the bookish questions that pop up while I am reading. Please share your thoughts on the bookish question of the week. I am curious to hear what you have to say! There are no wrong answers. Questions about Thoughtful Thursday or future Thoughtful Thursday posts? Check out my </span><a href="http://www.readingisfunagain.com/p/blog-page_20.html" style="color: #7d181e; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">Thoughtful Thursday section</a><span style="text-align: left;">. Alright, on to the question!</span></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">How many characters do you like to meet and get to know in a book? Do you prefer a book with just a protagonist and a handful of central characters or do you like to meet lots of characters?</span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I've read several books and graphic novels recently that had a ton of characters, and these books got me thinking about the perfect number of characters. I have to admit that I don't like a ton of characters in a book. Once I need to know more than ten or so characters are a fairly intimate basis, I start to forget who is who. I am embarrassed to say that this even happens in graphic novels even though the graphic novels have pictures of the people! If I am slowly introduced to characters over the course of a series, I do okay. I definitely retained a good amount of information on more than ten characters in the <i>Harry Potter</i> series. At the same time, I have reread the <i>Harry Potter</i> books a fair amount of times, and these re-readings have helped my memory. I read <i>A Feast for Crows</i> a few months (an entire year ago maybe?) and there were tons of characters that I could not keep straight. I had to read plot summaries online for all of the Greyjoy chapters, because my brain could just not create any more character files for that series. Seriously, I don't know how Martin keeps all those people straight in his head. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Although I don't like to memorize a ton of character names and traits, I have to admit that I love sprawling fantasy epics. I swear it is a disease, because I am so confused and frustrated while reading the book, but at the end I am so happy that I read it. I wonder, if I can get a sprawling epic with no more than ten characters in it? Hmmm...<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Now it is your turn! How many characters do you like to have in a book?</b><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10683814336132017546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-131544436877841249.post-86108287229782714862014-07-16T00:00:00.000-04:002014-07-16T00:00:06.100-04:00SF Thought Experiments: Down & Out in the Magic Kingdom by Cory Doctorow & How to Live Safely in a SF Universe by Charles Yu: Review
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGCnkg3ulBcRkg0gXbQ9I0G0Y1RqpM62M06V789Xp1kM_WxnGWcfmcokIOvrfiuiNTEb2KBTDxJB9QbfDO7PoYUZhw4Bi9EKk3glT5FBF7X6SvrdLyfAtmKLdAXNzESgpAXwmMmaM1esM/s1600/down+and+out+in+the+magic+kingdom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Down & Out in the Magic Kingdom by Cory Doctorow" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGCnkg3ulBcRkg0gXbQ9I0G0Y1RqpM62M06V789Xp1kM_WxnGWcfmcokIOvrfiuiNTEb2KBTDxJB9QbfDO7PoYUZhw4Bi9EKk3glT5FBF7X6SvrdLyfAtmKLdAXNzESgpAXwmMmaM1esM/s1600/down+and+out+in+the+magic+kingdom.jpg" height="320" title="Down & Out in the Magic Kingdom by Cory Doctorow" width="220" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Title</b>: <i>Down & Out in the Magic Kingdom</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Author</b>: Cory Doctorow</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Publisher</b>: Tor Books</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Publication Date</b>: December 2003</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Length</b>: 208 pages</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Series</b>: Stand Alone</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Audio or Book</b>: Book</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Reason for Discovery</b>: <a href="http://swordandlaser.com/" target="_blank">Sword & Laser Book Club</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;">From <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29587.Down_and_Out_in_the_Magic_Kingdom?ac=1" target="_blank">GoodReads</a>:</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><i><span id="freeText9683850825616580259">Jules is a young man
barely a century old. He's lived long enough to see the cure for death
and the end of scarcity, to learn ten languages and compose three
symphonies...and to realize his boyhood dream of taking up residence in
Disney World. Disney World! The greatest artistic achievement of
the long-ago twentieth century. Now in the keeping of a network of
"ad-hocs" who keep the classic attractions running as they always have,
enhanced with only the smallest high-tech touches. Now, though,
the "ad hocs" are under attack. A new group has taken over the Hall of
the Presidents, and is replacing its venerable audioanimatronics with
new, immersive direct-to-brain interfaces that give guests the illusion
of being Washington, Lincoln, and all the others. For Jules, this is an
attack on the artistic purity of Disney World itself. Worse: it
appears this new group has had Jules killed. This upsets him. (It's only
his fourth death and revival, after all.) Now it's war....</span></i> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1WoKswy3CPeWEWuIrNDpAi1nGjj5DBP1b1yiWoZKaLTS0XTqhtkX5QBLhPc2881m8jcLRMHiMDC4MIxQloQNZtynLfWeXVtTs4ivc_qSYbRQfcWoajVgLAAGpu_Hz1sAri3OgAd9Av9c/s1600/how+to+live+safely.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1WoKswy3CPeWEWuIrNDpAi1nGjj5DBP1b1yiWoZKaLTS0XTqhtkX5QBLhPc2881m8jcLRMHiMDC4MIxQloQNZtynLfWeXVtTs4ivc_qSYbRQfcWoajVgLAAGpu_Hz1sAri3OgAd9Av9c/s1600/how+to+live+safely.jpg" height="320" title="How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu" width="216" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Title</b>: <i>How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Author</b>: Charles Yu</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Publisher</b>: Pantheon</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Publication Date</b>: September 2010</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Length</b>: 233 pages</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Series</b>: Stand Alone</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Audio or Book</b>: Book</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Reason for Discovery</b>: <a href="http://swordandlaser.com/" target="_blank">Sword & Laser Book Club</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;">From <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7726420-how-to-live-safely-in-a-science-fictional-universe?ac=1" target="_blank">GoodReads</a>:</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><i><span id="freeText9346165413450937903">Minor Universe 31 is a
vast story-space on the outskirts of fiction, where paradox fluctuates
like the stock market, lonely sexbots beckon failed protagonists, and
time travel is serious business. Every day, people get into time
machines and try to do the one thing they should never do: change the
past. That’s where Charles Yu, time travel technician—part counselor,
part gadget repair man—steps in. He helps save people from themselves.
Literally. When he’s not taking client calls or consoling his boss,
Phil, who could really use an upgrade, Yu visits his mother (stuck in a
one-hour cycle of time, she makes dinner over and over and over) and
searches for his father, who invented time travel and then vanished.
Accompanied by TAMMY, an operating system with low self-esteem, and Ed, a
nonexistent but ontologically valid dog, Yu sets out, and back, and
beyond, in order to find the one day where he and his father can meet in
memory. He learns that the key may be found in a book he got from his
future self. It’s called <em>How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe,</em> and he’s the author. And somewhere inside it is the information that could help him—in fact it may even save his life. </span></i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;">I decided to combine my reviews for these two books, because they are both super short and both feel like SF thought experiments more than anything else. They both have plots and action; however, I was left thinking more about the issues these two books raised than the events themselves.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;">Let's talk about <i>Down & Out</i> first. Before I get into the SF aspects of this book, we need to address the Disney World component. I really enjoy going to Walt Disney World, and I had an annual pass for years. Doctorow is a big Disney fan (his Twitter feed is filled with posts about DRM and Disney), and it shows in this book. When I read Doctorow's book, I knew the exact locations that he was describing. His descriptions were spot on. I really felt like I was <i>in</i> the book, because I was so familiar with the landmarks that he was describing. If you love going to Walt Disney World, you want to give this book a read just for the descriptions. My husband read this book too, and his first comment was about how he could see all of the places Doctorow was describing in his mind.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><i>Down & Out</i> tells the story of Jules who is working for a group at Walt Disney World that focuses on maintaining The Haunted Mansion. In the future, specialized groups of people who love Walt Disney World take care of particular rides (the book goes into more detail, I just wanted to give a brief description). Anyway, Jules and his group want The Haunted Mansion to remain the same as it is now in our 2014 present. There is another group that wants to change The Haunted Mansion and update it with all this cool, new technology. The idea of nostalgia versus new technology is not an old one, but I thought using the Magic Kingdom for the discussion was rather clever, because it is a place where nostalgia and new technology butt heads all of the time.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;">Alright, let's move on to <i>How to Live Safely</i>. <i>How to Live Safely</i> is about a guy who repairs time machines. People keep trying to use time machines to change the past instead of to view the past. When people try to change the past, their time machines malfunction and Charles has to help them. As you can probably guess, <i>How to Live Safely</i> is all about how to live in the present when you can visit different time periods. How do you live your life in the present when you really do have "all the time in the world"?</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;">Unlike <i>Down & Out</i>, which follows a more traditional storytelling path, <i>How to Live Safely</i> experiments with the storytelling narrative. The protagonist's name is the author's name (Charles Yu), and at the end of the book chapters, there are excerpts from the time travel manual. These little quirks make the book feel unique and unsettling at times. I have to admit that I have trouble reading more "experimental-type" books. I am old and settled in my ways, I guess. Anyway, <i>How to Live Safely</i> does ask some interesting questions about living life. I just wish that the book felt a bit more lively. I don't need a ton of action in my books, but Charles spend most of his time sitting in his tiny time machine. The book felt a bit boring at times, despite the interesting thought puzzles.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;">Overall, I enjoyed both of these books alright. I doubt that I will ever re-read them, but they posed certain questions that I find myself still contemplating at times.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></span></span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;">I give these two books a 3 out of 5.</span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1HWWfi-_Dgb4FbmJaZxvaOrqipCmWJPHmYB9sCNmxkguspIb5bcqn3g5QdFCVJuSVc0r8D9ZFUnKAB14atHucasMFw1JqlTJB5Ywp5QDh6_E8WaIX0AvyPZ9yQpUkrqOFyEyU_PaeYZU/s1600/3+cats_final.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1HWWfi-_Dgb4FbmJaZxvaOrqipCmWJPHmYB9sCNmxkguspIb5bcqn3g5QdFCVJuSVc0r8D9ZFUnKAB14atHucasMFw1JqlTJB5Ywp5QDh6_E8WaIX0AvyPZ9yQpUkrqOFyEyU_PaeYZU/s1600/3+cats_final.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Good</td></tr>
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</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10683814336132017546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-131544436877841249.post-36736979485453571012014-07-15T00:00:00.000-04:002014-07-15T00:00:04.091-04:00TTT: Top Ten Favorite Movies or TV Shows
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXRWYF39IZUBPXUUYaK_fP8zmXw0iV1RlZeqL8cfMLMHDQMh17Kj933cSrY-SS4SetHBGwZ0wJy8_QKl0Fq21iEZPNHJfz-SFlcskM9R2C5ABPDaTLY13eBpb-efMtAXWWPdybPNUoBOs/s1600/toptentuesday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXRWYF39IZUBPXUUYaK_fP8zmXw0iV1RlZeqL8cfMLMHDQMh17Kj933cSrY-SS4SetHBGwZ0wJy8_QKl0Fq21iEZPNHJfz-SFlcskM9R2C5ABPDaTLY13eBpb-efMtAXWWPdybPNUoBOs/s1600/toptentuesday.jpg" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span><span style="background-color: white;">Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday! </span><span style="background-color: white;">Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by <a href="http://brokeandbookish.blogspot.com/" style="color: #7d181e; text-decoration: none;">The Broke and the Bookish</a>. Each week bloggers post a top ten list related to a specific theme. This week's theme is </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span><b>Top Ten Favorite Movies or TV Shows</b>. </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span>1. <i>Buffy: The Vampire Slayer</i></span></span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span>I discovered <i>Buffy</i> via reruns. I am kind of glad that I didn't watch it when it was on, because I don't think I would have been able to wait an entire week for a new episode. There are a few rough patches, but overall, this is such a fun and wonderful show.<i> </i></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span><i> </i></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span>2. <i>The X-Files</i></span></span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span>I discovered this show in its fourth or fifth season. I caught up via reruns. I was so obsessed with figuring out the alien conspiracies. Unfortunately, the show took a turn for the worse in the later seasons. However, I still enjoy binge watching this show.<i> </i></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span><i> </i></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span>3. <i>Sailor Moon</i></span></span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span>I am re-watching the series via <a href="http://www.hulu.com/sailor-moon" target="_blank">Hulu</a> right now. I loved this show when I was a teenager. I even wrote some pretty awful fanfiction related to it. I am quite excited about the new <a href="http://www.hulu.com/sailor-moon-crystal" target="_blank"><i>Sailor Moon Crystal</i></a> show, and I am happy that I can watch it on Hulu as well.<i> </i></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span><i> </i></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span>4. <i>The Closer/Major Crimes</i></span></span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span>I am a sucker for a good crime drama. <i>The Closer</i> and its spinoff<i> Major Crimes</i> are two of my favorite crime shows, because the characters are just as interesting as the crime-of-the-week. I have become emotionally attached to the cast, and I need to know how they are doing just as much as I want the criminal to get arrested.<i> </i></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span><i> </i></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span>5. <i>Colombo</i></span></span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span>I love <i>Colombo</i>. I am surprised that I don't own this series on DVD. I can re-watch episodes over and over again. <i>Colombo</i> is Sherlock Holmes, if Sherlock Holmes could act like he was humble and a bit ditzy at times. Colombo convinces everyone he is just a simple detective and then he traps the criminal every time.<i> </i></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span><i> </i></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span>6. <i>Law & Order</i></span></span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span>If you are a fan of crime shows, you can't have a top ten list and ignore <i>Law & Order</i>. This is another show that I can marathon and re-watch episodes over and over again without getting bored. <i>Law & Order</i> is comfort television at its best. I also want to give a shout out to <i>Law & Order: Criminal Intent</i>.<i> </i></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span><i> </i></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span>7. <i>Doctor Who</i></span></span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span>I discovered <i>Doctor Who</i> a few years ago. I caught a few episodes on PBS, and I was hooked. I immediately marathon-ed the first four seasons of the new <i>Who</i>. I was at a party a few weeks after discovering <i>Doctor Who</i>, and I met a guy who had seen a few episodes (I knew no one at that point who watched <i>Doctor Who</i>). We talked <i>Who</i>, and I insisted that he needed to watch <i>Who</i> with me, because he needed to see all of the new <i>Who</i>. As you can probably guessed, I ended up marrying that guy. :)<i> </i></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span><i> </i> </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span>8. <i>Tangled</i></span></span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span>I loved <i>Tangled</i> so much. It is my favorite Disney movie. The music is so lovely, and the story is great. It also doesn't hurt that Rapunzel ends up a brunette with short hair like me at the end of the movie.<i> </i></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span><i> </i></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span>9. <i>Brave</i></span></span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span>Okay, I love <i>Tangled</i>, but I also really love <i>Brave</i>. I tear up every time I watch this movie. I also love that this movie focuses on the mother-daughter relationship. The trope for female protagonists is that their mother is dead. <i>Brave</i> bucks the system, and we get to see a new type of female protagonist.<i> </i></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span><i> </i></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span>10. <i>Secretary</i></span></span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span>All of the movies and television shows on this list are fairly tame. <i>Secretary</i> is most definitely a grown-up movie. It is about a sadist and masochist who fall in love. The movie is rated R, so it isn't too sexy, but it isn't your standard romance movie. It is really great (and the soundtrack is fantastic); however, it is not for everyone. It stars James Spader and Maggie Gyllenhall. </span></span></span></span></div>
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</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10683814336132017546noreply@blogger.com0