Shield, Sword and Crown

My science fiction streak wasn't as long as I planned on it being, as I am already back into fantasy books. The books that I read Saturday and Sunday were (as the title of this post would suggest) the Shield, Sword and Crown trilogy, written by Hilari Bell. She also wrote another saga which I enjoy, but that will be another post for another time.

The first book, Shield of Stars, starts the story with the introduction of the three main characters. First we meet Weasel, an ex-pickpocket currently working for a man plotting an overthrow of the corrupt government. As the man is arrested by followers of the evil Regent, Weasel escapes and decides to ask the Prince, too young to rule and so therefore without much power, to pardon the man, who is a prominent member of society and well known to the Prince. When this plan inevitably fails, Weasel is locked up with a girl named Arisa in an old storeroom. They escape and leave to find a group of Bandits who Weasel hopes can help free the Regent's prisoners.

The second book, Sword of Waters, tells of Weasel, Arisa, and the prince's efforts to locate the fabled sword of waters, an artifact that was the symbol of the king's power before being lost generations ago. Without it, the Prince would be unable to ascend the throne through the chaos of conflicting powers fighting over it.

The third book, Crown of Earth, concludes the story (in a very hard to explain without spoilers sort of way). Overall the series was a great read, but it was definitely pointed towards a teen audience, with quick action and convenient Deus Ex Machina style devices. Even with that, it didn't seem childish and flowed quite well. Definitely worth the time (especially since the books are relatively short) and a great intro to the rest of Bell's amazing works.

I'm Baaaaaack...

This post was going to be titled "It's been a long time" but I realized that I had already used that before. Is that a bad sign? Anyway, I suppose I could justify my absence by saying I had other stuff to do, which would be true, but in order to do so I would have to admit that I haven't been reading the whole time. Isn't that awful? All this time since my last post I have not read a single book that wasn't required for school (and the only one for school being Huck Finn, which doesn't count at all). After I noticed this, I decided to remedy the situation immediately, starting with a trip to the trusty book store followed by a stop at the local library. From the book store I picked up a collection of stories by H.P. Lovecraft, but I haven't yet started them so I really couldn't judge them at this time. From the library I picked up a series I have read at least thrice before, but decided to read again anyway. Those books will be the topic of my next post, so here we go!

It's been a long time...

But rest assured I am still alive. Really. I'm still working on my popup book and I'm still reading. I'll get some real content, eventually...

How To: Make a Pop-up Book

I finished the witten portion of my how-to, I'll be uploading pictures in a few days when I finish my pop-up myself. For now, it can be found on the sidebar!

*Spoiler Alert*

I just finished Huck Finn last night, and my favorite part was▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓!
I couldn't believe ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ did ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓! And when ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ went and ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓, it was amazing!

Anyway, since I finished the book, that means I can start with my pop-up book now. Yay!

To Read, or Not to Read...

...That is the question.
Whether 'tis nobler for me to wait
and continue my project,
or to start now and read
and by starting jump ahead?


I'm done with this poetry stuff. It's awful.


Anyway, my conundrum in this bright shiny new year is what to do for a project? I planned on continuing the blog, if simply to stay isolated from the rambunctious ramblings of the others I would share the original blog with. Bwahaha. In addition to that though, I thought that I would add other projects, supplements if you will, to help fill out my 20% time. What I was going to do was create another pop-up book based on the next book we will be reading in class-- Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. This would require reading it first, however, and in order to make a book I must finish it. I have already read the book in the past, which lessens my guilt, but the thought of reading ahead so far fills me with chagrin.

Of course, I didn't feel that way with The Lord of the Flies, or Of Mice and Men, or To Kill a Mockingbird, or The Crucible... I guess I'll be fine.

Expect pictures (ooh! maybe even a step-by-step!) in the future, since I will probably start the pop-up right after finishing the book (sometime tomorrow, since I have stuff to do tonight)