Videos for LIS 565 Booktalks

Top video is Fiction, bottom is non-fiction.

This blog is living up to it's name...

So once again I get too busy to type on this thing, except instead of reading for school I'm reading for fun.

I've officially read the entire Harry Potter series now and was surprised that I wasn't enthralled with it.  It was good, but not as good as I thought it would be.

Since finishing HP, I've read the complete Hunger Games series which is absolutely fantastic!  I have to say...I think I'm a little in love with Peeta.  The movie is currently in production and I can see this as being nearly as big as Twilight...only nearly because there are fewer books.

I also just finished the latest in the Parasol Protectorate series, "Heartless." As always Gail Carriger is a master wordsmith in an amazing Steampunk version of Victorian London.  The writing reminds me a great deal of the narrator from "Pushing Daises," which was an amazing show that I miss greatly.

If you are keeping count, this means I've read 17 books since the beginning of June.  I already have the next few lined up and at the end of this month the last in the Georgina Kincaid series from Richelle Mead comes out and I can't wait!  I've have my guesses about how it all ends for the last 2 books and now I'll finally find out how it all ends!  It's so hard for an author to surprise me with plot twists, but I do love to find out if I'm right.

Sum. Bks 5 & 6: Magicians and Revolutionaries

Book 5: The Magicians By Lev Grossman (Adult Fantasy)

When the salesperson at Borders recommended this book to me when it first came out he described it as an adult Harry Potter.  Now that I have read it I would say the first third does indeed have a HP feeling to it...the author even has a reference to the famous series.  But as the story moves past school and into life the feel changes and reminds me of C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia.  As I have just referenced two well known children's series you can tell I think this writer needs some original ideas. Also, even though the author references children's books, this is NOT a story for children to read.  There is adult content throughout the story and it is not meant to be read by anyone with a prudish personality.  Grossman's writing style is fluid, but he creates many characters you get very little screen time, but yet his main characters don't appear completely fleshed out. With all criticism put aside, that's not say it wasn't a fun read and a sequel comes out this August and I might read that when it's available in paperback or from the half-price bookstore.

Book 6: Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly (YA Historical Fiction)

As most people know I usually read Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Paranormal Romances.  This book is not any of those...but the main character does sorta, kinda travel back in time or least think she does.  This isn't my first Historical Fiction.  When I was 10 and 11 years old I would read Holocaust Fiction, but it's been a while.  In Revolution, we follow a high school senior who witnessed the death of her littler brother and then has to live with the grief...which she's not doing a good job at.  At a certain point she is threatened with being kicked out of school if she doesn't complete her senior thesis and her father swoops in and takes her to Paris on a business trip where she spends her winter break working on her thesis and accidentally learning about another girl her age named Alex, who lived during the French Revolution.  In complete honesty I didn't know if I would like the story or not, but it captivated my imagination and was a fun, fast, and intellectually stimulating read.  Here's to books with bibliographies!

NEXT

My next reading quest should cover Summer Reading books 7 - 13.  It's a series of books that I've been putting off reading for over a decade and now that the last movie is coming out I think it's time to read it.  If you haven't guessed it yet then you are not nearly as much as a bibliophile as I am.

Drum roll please........

Harry Potter!  That's right, I'm taking the HP plunge...God help me and my sleeping habits!

Sum. Bk 4: Illusions by April Lynn Pike

On Tuesday night I finished book number 4 for the summer, Illusions by April Lynn Pike.  Illusions is another Young Adult novel and is the third book in its series.  The stories revolves around a teenage girl who learns that she's a faerie and that her position in the human world is important to her race.  And as most Young Adult novel go these days there is a wonderful love triangle between our main character, her human boyfriend, and her faerie sentry.  All three books have a great story line and I can't wait of the currently unnamed fourth installment that will come out next year.

Peek-ahead: My next book is not a YA novel...I guess you could say it's time to grow up a little.

Sum. Bk 3: Everlasting by Alyson Noel and Doctor Who

OK so...book three this summer, Everlasting by Alyson Noel, is the last book in a 6 book Young Adult series that I've been reading for the last two years.  The themes of the story are immortality, youth, and the importance of love and friendship; which are all things that are important to the teen world but the last two are important in all our lives.  The end of the story is fulfilling and doesn't leave me wanting more.  I could say more about this book and the series, but that would take a lot of time and I'm still coming down from the end-of-book high.

On another note...last night's Doctor Who (mid-season finale?) was amazing!  I knew the answer to the big surprise at the end of the show more than a month ago and I couldn't be more happy that I was right!  My parent's had to rewind and play the ending again because I was making so much noise (along the lines of crap, crappity, crap, crap...and several squeals of joy)!  I'm not going to say what I was right about because I know people who haven't seen it yet, but if your intuitive to the world of Doctor Who I'm sure you already know it or can guess it.  On that note, Doctor Who returns to BBC America at the end of the summer...or at least that's what the TV says.

Summer Bk 2: You don't know Jack Schitt!!

Really, you don't...that is unless you've read Jasper Fforde's "The Eyre Affair."  This book was recommended to me by a friend and then by a classmate in a reader's advisory class during winter quarter after both heard I enjoy the original Jane Eyre.  I was not disappointed in this story as the main character, Thursday Next, deals with a mastermind who wants to change beloved books and a father who randomly appears out of thin air.  And yes...one of the characters is named Jack Schitt and several more have equally interesting names.  If you're in the mood for an alternate universe with some very interesting history changes read "The Eyre Affair."  Oh and I (heart) Mr. Rochester!

End of school...beginning of books and movies!

Well...my first year of MLIS grad school is done.  This year has been an adventure in learning that I missed school more than I thought and how to do group assignments when one of your partners is on another continent.  I've felt like crap when I got my first grade and it wasn't perfect...and than was overjoyed when I got the same grade in another course the next quarter because all I cared about was passing.  There were days when I was like "This is easy!" and days when I went "F*** it, I'm going shopping."  Thanks to these shopping trips I have one hell of an outfit, that took three quarters of mid-quarter breakdowns to put together.  And through all this I've made some really good friends in my program...but I also miss people.  This summer I take a vow to see people when I can and to be "there," if I'm invited to be "there."  I'll even try to invite people on occasion.  But enough reflection, lets share what I've being doing the last 48 hours besides working and sleeping.

My first order of business after turning in my last paper was to read a novel.  This summers first book is "Dead Reckoning" by Charlaine Harris, which is the latest book in the Sookie Stackhouse/Southern Vampire series.  As always it revolves around Sookie and her crazy life...and though I won't say what happens there is a character with my name in this one!  There aren't a lot of Miriam's in the world, so it's fun to see it in books on occasion.  I finshied the book this afternoon (Yes, I read it in less then 48 hours), and was not disappointed.  As always Charlaine left lots of room open for the next book.

In addition to reading, I saw X-Men: First Class this evening.  I went to Cinebarre, since on Tuesdays all shows are $5.  The movie was pretty good and it went by without me wondering how far in it is.  There were a few laughs through out the movie, and a couple of cameos from actors in previous X-men films.  The only down side was Beast's make-up towards the end.  Overall, good enough for a matinee, but I wouldn't pay full price.

I officially have moved on to my next book of the summer, "The Eyre Affair" by Jasper Fforde, but currently am unsure of my next movie.  I'm open to suggestions or being invited along.  There a bunch of good movies out this summer so I'm sure I won't be unsure for long.  I think this may be more of a book/movie blog this summer...since I finally do...well sort of...have enough time in the day.

Kitty Sitting...Night 1

Well, tonight is the beginning of my adventure in living alone in the city.  I'm house/kitty sitting for a co-worker until May 5th.  So far it hasn't been too bad.  I haven't figured out the TV yet though...it's an older model and has a lot more wires than I'm used to.  The kitty is friendly, but if you don't give him enough attention he nips.  He also likes to lick my hands, especially while typing.  Upside I'm not that far from the U-Village and friends.  If anyone wants to drop by and hang during the week/weekend just let me know and I'll let you know exactly where I am.  However, this Monday and Tuesday night are taken for Passover seders.

I think my LIS 550 teacher is nuts...

What I was thinking 4/3/11: My teacher for my LIS 550 class gives a ton of reading every week and then expects us to post a response to each one (this week there is 5) on the message board.  This is completely fine except all 40 students are posting to ONE thread.  This is NUTS!!  If you're one of the last people to post you have to read through so much in order to post your opinion.

4/4/11: SO...the teacher has now sent out an e-mail that we only have to post on one thread per week from the readings.  Now the threads won't be nearly as long, but seeing as my classmates and I are all very talkative they may still get long.  The teacher also commented that she's been teaching this class for 7 years and has never seen the threads get so long (about 2-3 pages long).  She'll learn quickly that our cohort always has something to say.

Spring Break so far...

As many of you know it's spring break for me and I've been saving my spending money so that I could enjoy it a bit.  Now there is no crazy trips or excessive drinking involved for me but it does mean I get to read novels and see movies.  In the last week I've read 1.5 books and seen 3 movies  I have seen Beastly which was the topic of my first blog post.  Last night, on the fullest moon we'll see for the next 20 or so years, I saw Red Riding Hood which was a good movie but obviously done by the same director as the first Twilight film (Catherine Hardwicke).  Tonight, I saw Jane Eyre.

Jane Eyre is one of my all time favorite stories.  In the book Charlotte Bronte describes the experiences and life of Jane Eyre exquisitely and so it is very hard to get all of that into a 2 hour movie.  There are several scenes from the book that I wish had been in the movie.  For example, showing Mr. Rochester and his first wife on the roof will Thornfield  is on fire.  That is such a dramatic scene in the book and would be wonderful to see; however, it is often shown in other movie versions of the book.  I also missed the prolonged "courtship" between Jane and Mr. Rochester.  In the book, Bronte describes several periods when the two are observing each other from across a room or the dinner table but never speak to each other.  The screenwriter however did remember to include lots of witty dialogue for the characters which stays true to the book.  Jane and Mr. Rochester are equals of the mind and the tongue and it is not lost in this version of the film. I would rate this film a 3 out of 4 stars for the fact that several scenes that I would have liked in the film were not.  Jane Eyre is currently only showing at two theaters in the Seattle area: the Neptune in Seattle and Lincoln Square Cinemas in Bellevue Square.  My showing was nearly sold out and when it got out a line was already forming for the next show that started in 45 minutes.  I'm not sure when it goes in wide release.

As a tangent...I always thought that if you were to combine Mr. Darcy (if you don't know who he is you live under an rock) and Mr. Rochester you would have the perfect man.

I'm not sure what my next movie will be.  It could be The Adjustment Bureau or I just might go see Sucker Punch when it comes out next weekend.  I love going to the movies and if any body wants to join me just let me know and we can make it happen.  And if there are movies you think I should see post them below.  I always enjoy a good recommendation.

Don't judge a book by its cover...

I'm sure everyone who knows me understands the title of this blog...because there is never enough time in the day to do everything you want, sometimes I can't even do everything I need to do.  I spend my time working, doing school work, sleeping, eating, trying to be social.  I can't wait for breaks between quarters because that is when I get to do my favorite things like read and going to the movies.  I just finished my first book(River Marked by Patricia Briggs) for this break and it only took me two days after finishing my last assignment for winter quarter. 

Tonight I also went to the movies and I saw Beastly.  Now, I know it's probably not the best film in the world but most of my close friends know that my favorite Disney film is Beauty and the Beast (and no it's not all about the books, but it's helpful) so it's not that surprising that I went and saw this movie.  I always love the message that these stories tell the viewer and as an adult sometimes we forget those childhood lessons.  My reminder tonight was not to judge a book by its cover.  Now, as a library student I use that line when actually talking about books all the time and as far as I know I try not to judge people by how they look on the outside.  However, this made be think of all the covers, or masks, we don't see.  People wear masks most of the time and I probably own half a dozen of them myself.  I hide behind my "daughter" mask...my "co-worker" mask...my "teacher" mask….and I think my mask that is closest to the real me is my "student" mask and that's probably because when I'm typing, a lot of what I hide disappears.  I think the best and most true version of myself is what comes out online.  That is when my mask is tissue paper thin and the real me can be seen.  But then the question is...where do these masks come from?  How do we build them and why?  I think they come from somewhere deep inside where we're hurting or confused and we don't want anyone to see.  We don't want others to see our tears or confusion.   I think my worst mask is the one I wear when I'm around a certain person I like.  Every time I'm around him I feel insecure.  I know I'm just barely average in looks and intelligence...but when I'm around him I try to act confident and strong but in retrospect I come off as pushy, bossy, and any other synonym for those words.  But yet I'm really not like that on a day to day basis, but only when I'm around him.  I make up stupid reasons to be near him too...but then I think every guy or girl does that.

So in conclusion, remember that everyone wears a mask and to not judge a book my it's cover.  You might be missing something really good on the inside.

My next Spring Break read: Iron Crowned by Richelle Mead