Movies and Things

OK, we know that The Hunger Games movie is coming out soon - March 23rd - to be exact.  Trailer above. I only hope it does not disappoint - you know, "Never judge a book by its movie."

Ranger's Apprentice

If you have a Kindle, you can download John Flanagan's Ranger's Apprentice for free. Here is the link to Scribd.

How great is that?

Gearing up for Summer!

Memorial Day weekend provided a three day weekend which gave me some time to relax, enjoy the family, and read. So I did.

Day One: Marie Lamba's first book What I meant. . . is the story of fifteen year old Sangeet Jumnal. Sangeet is a good daughter, a good student, a good friend, and a good sister. Her aunt (who she refers to as "evil") seems to be causing her parents to think she is bulimic, her school work to suffer, her friend thinks she is annoying, and her sister thinks she is a thief. Life is not going well at all. And, the boy she thinks she loves is a bit aloof. Find out what happens with Sangeet and her trials. It is funny, sad, and heart warming.

Day Two: Another first novel - How Lamar's Bad Prank Won a Bubba-Sized Trophy by Crystal Allen is another novel that is funny, sad, and heart warming. Lamar has asthma and loves to bowl. His nickname for himself is "King of Strikers" because he is really, really good. His older brother, Xavier, is a basketball star; everyone is sure he will be pro when he's finished with high school. Typical older brother, X, as he is referred to, puts down Lamar every opportunity he gets. So there is sibling rivalry, friend/girlfriend issues, peer pressure, and self-respect all tied into this one book.

Day Three: "You are indestructible." Three words, innocently written on a cast. Jacob was whispered those three words by his foster parent right before they hit the tree head on. They should have both been killed, and now Jacob is indestructible. However, when the words allow the person to really be indestructible, what happens? Does the Grim Reaper just say, "Oh, that's OK. Later, dude." Or does the Grim Reaper wait and wreak havoc just a bit later? Good mystery, with decisions of good and evil, and life and death on practically every page of Thirteen Days to Midnight.

Day Four: (I took a personal day.) True (. . . sort of) is Katherine Hannigan's first novel since Ida B. This is a captivating look at the ways friendships and truths are discovered. Delly Pattison has been told she is trouble since she was six and left the chickens out of the cage at the county fair. Delly also makes up words (which surprisingly make a lot of sense) like surpresent -a present that is a surprise. She is sure she is going to receive a surpresent the day the Boyds come to town. And, Ferris Boyd is like no one Delly has ever met. This is is another novel that is funny, sad, and heart warming.

Incarceron Update

The sequel to Incarceron, Sapphique, is now in the library. I finished it last night. It is fast paced, packed with twists and turns in the plot, political intrigue, magic, strange characters - you know, all the characteristics of great fantasy. Finn, Claudia, and Jared are dealing with the dangers in the outside world; Attia and Keiro are dealing with the dangers of Incarceron.

If you love fantasy, read the series. And, if you love this actor - Taylor Lautner - you may be interested to know that he will star in the movie Incarceron. Read the book first - it is always better than the movie.

This and That

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins is the favorite book of teens according to AASL (American Association of School Librarians). This is no surprise to me since we have twelve copies of the book and all of them are checked out AND there is a hold list. As you may or not know, the movie for Hunger Games is in the works. Mr. Warfel was a bit annoyed with me when I told him my choice of actors for Haymitch. He said all he could see in his mind's eye was Jack Nicholson, but I think he is perfect for the role! Who would you choose?

Over the last two weeks, I immersed myself in the Harry Potter videos - one through six. It was so interesting seeing the growth of Harry and pals through each video, as both the fictional characters and real life actors. The first installment of Deathly Hallows is released next month in case you are interested. Mrs. Owens reminded me that a few years ago I said "Eh...Harry Potter" (I was angry with Harry for being so angry. Yes, I get too involved in characters. Forgive me. I am a librarian.) Well, I just reread The Deathly Hallows because I couldn't remember if Snape was a good guy or not. I wasn't disappointed and I take back what I said about Harry Potter.

I will not, however, change my mind about Twilight, the books or the movies.

Another Great Fantasy!

This is fabulous fantasy! Incarceron is a prison. Those imprisoned cannot escape since it has been sealed for centuries. Prisoners do live in cells, in metal forests, decaying cities, and strange wildernesses. Legends say only one has ever escaped this place. Finn is convinced he is from the Outside - that unknown realm that seems to be only a dream.

Claudia is from the Outside; she is the daughter of the Warden of Incarceron. Through a strange series of events, Finn and Claudia communicate through a crystal key. Can she help Finn escape the prison? Is she really Outside? Do they have the strength, courage and conviction to accomplish this feat?


PS The sequel will be released in late December.

Catching Fire Book Trailer

Lions, Cyclops, and Goats..oh my!

After hearing rave reviews of this series - picture Mrs. Owens doing cartwheels - I had to read this one. It has everything a great read needs - a hero, villains (plenty of them in here), adventure, suspense, humor,and action ...oh and throw in a sword fight or two too. I finished this one last weekend and am now half way through the second one.

Don't miss this rollicking modern day mythology laden adventure!

In the series:

• The Lightning Thief
• The Sea of Monsters
• The Titan's Curse
• The Battle of the Labyrinth
• The Last Olympian

Update: I have finished The Sea of Monsters - another exciting fantastic adventure filled with Mythology references. Now, on to the next one!
Update #2: Finished The Titan's Curse but I can't proceed because I only brought two home...sigh
Update #3: I have finished the series. It is quite good, a bit repetitive with the series recap information in each book. You know why authors do this - someone hasn't read the series inorder, they need to recap and fill in all the blanks - just skip over that since you really don't have to retain any of this. BUT, if you like this, try more detailed stories, like Edith Hamilton, Olivia Coolidge, or even Homer's writings.

If you liked Harry Potter, try this series. They are similar, but this series has more humor.

Another Spirited Adventure

I've looked at this title for at least a year and never took the time to read it. Then, last month the third title in the series arrived - Starclimber - and it looked so intriguing, I just had to read it. Well, you know how that goes. You just cannot possibly read the last book in the series first. How would you do that? Read them backwards to get to the first one last? That didn't work in the logical area of my brain. So, I began at the beginning.

Matt is a cabin boy aboard the airship Aurora, which sails passengers across the seas. He loves being in the air, feeling much more at home than on the ground. His captain is an honorable man, his crew mates are supportive and helpful, and he has a good friend in Baz. The adventure begins when Matt notices a seemingly unmanned balloon headed toward the airship. When the Aurora hooks up with the balloon, the pilot is unconcious, near death, but shares with Matt that he has seen beautiful, winged creatures flying. However, the old man dies before Matt has a chance to discover exactly what creatures he was referring to. It is now a year later, and the rest of the story starts. Matt has never forgotten the balloonist's words of the beautiful creatures, and only when he meets the balloonist's granddaughter, does he begin to believe the creatures could be real.

This book is filled with interesting characters, dangerous situations, and swashbuckling adventures in the skies. Now, on to the sequels...

Sequels: Skybreaker (2) and Starclimber (3)

UPDATE: I finished the sequels mentioned above and they are great reads too. It seems that fantasies are becoming my favorites...never thought I'd write that.

Kenneth Oppel has also written the Silverwing Trilogy.

Off the Hook - Twilight Update

Well, I finished the series...on Friday the 13th, no less. Ironic, maybe? As I said before, the story was good, and I guess I am not sorry that I spent the time reading the books. But NO one should have to read that many sentences about him tracing her jawline with his finger and blowing his cool breath in her hair. (I am rolling my eyes here.)

If you want to continue reading about an annoying heroine and a romantic hero- read Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind. It is not quite as many pages as the whole Twilight series. And you might learn some Civil War history in the process.

OK - I am Hooked

I avoided reading the Twilight series for...ever. Honestly, most romances are not my thing. Then, throw in a love story with a vampire and, well that to me is just too much. However, since we cannot keep the books on the shelves, there must be something to it. So, I caved.

I finished Twilight, New Moon and am ready to start Eclipse. The story is good, unbelievable, but good. The ending of New Moon made me laugh out loud. Really. Bella is with Edward (a vampire) talking to Jacob (a werewolf), Victoria (a bad vampire) is still loose, she was in Italy with a coven of the creepiest vampires on the planet - and yet, she is afraid to face her dad's wrath about having a motorcycle. Wow, the power of parents!

Girls - PLEASE know that 99.9% of guys are NOT like Edward. He is fiction. He is 108 years old. He should have it right.

Interesting Reads

Check out the NEW books on the library tables, both fiction and non-fiction. Here are three for you to consider:

• The Seance by Iain Lawrence (author of The Convicts, Cannibals, and Castaways, among others) This novel takes place in the Roaring Twenties, an interesting era. Scooter King’s mother conducts seances and he is her trusted assistant working behind the scenes to ensure that his mother’s contact with the spirit world is successful. Considering all of the fraud behind those that conduct seances, Harry Houdini is in town to expose the phonies. Harry Houdini will also be performing his magical act of escaping the Burmese Torture Tank. However, before Scooter even has the opportunity to see the act, he discovers a dead body in the water tank. No one is persumed innocent, no one is entirely honest, and Scooter needs to act quickly or he may be the next dead body.
• The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (author of Coraline) - OK, this one is strange, but oh so good. The story starts with the murder of a family - mother, father, daughter. The murderer is looking for the toddler son, except the son has wandered off to the graveyard. The spirits in the graveyard agree to take care of the boy and name him “Nobody”, with ghostly parents, Mr. and Mrs. Owens, and a guardian who belongs to neither the living or spirit world. This book is filled with exciting adventure, dangerous situations, and even fantastically humorous moments.

NEWS! The Graveyard Book has been awarded the Newbery Medal.

• Here Lies Arthur by Philip Reeve - This is the story of Camelot told by Gwyna, who is rescued by Myrddin (usually known as Merlin the Magician). Myrddin uses Gwyna’s excellent swimming skills to have her present to Arthur the sword from the Lady in the Lake. Myrddin then spins his tales about Arthur’s greatness to all. Gwyna is transformed into a boy warrior, Myrddin’s servant, and she is present as she witnesses what really occured in the time of Arthur. Intrigue. Murder. Deceit.