'Cause it doesn't count unless it is about a dead guy...

I hit an interesting conundrum the other day...
I was sitting there, minding my own business with a book in my hand, when the unthinkable happened.

It ended.

While this would come as a relief to many that I know, for me it posed an awful question. "What do I do?" I shouted imploringly to myself in a manner that would have drawn attention had I actually been around others, "I was reading this for English, but I have two weeks and six days until I blog about it!" Would I not blog and start another book, letting all my ideas and commentaries fade away? Would I do the unthinkable and not read until the next cycle? NO!
Thus my idea was hatched. I would make my own blog! This would be no stifling 'once every three weeks' blog, but a creative and free and 'read AS MANY books as you want to!' blog. Now books of all sorts could frolic and play, finally unleashed from the confines of the library or the bored student's locker, unrestrained by cruel time limits.

All that I must do is type what I think about the books instead of just thinking it. Difficult, I know, but With perseverance all things are possible! *gets down from soap box*

So now, without further ado, *clears throat*

Let the books begin!

BLOGGING!

So... for my presentation on Monday (I think) I plan on doing something completely unrelated to my 20% Time projects. This is because there is no way to present a blog and I never got around to the pop up book, plus I really don't want to do any other things before Monday to have something to present about. My plan is to do an impromptu presentation of a fairy tale, to be determined by the class. This relates to English, right? It's a play, it involves creative thinking, and it is visual. If it were planned out I could even do costumes and stuff, but I think it would be more fun to do it off the top of my head. I can even use people for props. Excellent. Now I just have to hope that the people in the class pick a fairy tale I am familiar with.

This looks to be the last of my blog posts, I guess.

So Long and Thanks For All the Fish,
        -Megan

It's... ALIVE!

20% Time is Back! Not only that, but I have enough time to start reading in bulk again! We need to do a final project though, and the best option sounds like my Huck Finn popup book. Besides requiring more time than we have in school, semester tests are coming up, which kills my 'work on project' and replaces it with 'study study study STUDY' time. I may start doing research for my Senior Project, even possibly making a new blog for it. I could use this one, but then formatting and naming gets all screwed up. I'll let you know how it goes.

Um...

Did I read this week? Of course I did, but what?

Oh yeah! I got Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter, and it was AMAZING!

I don't think I have ever read a book in that 'style' that I have enjoyed more, which really says something. The story follows young Lincoln, who becomes a vampire hunter after almost his whole family dies. The story is supplemented with pieces from his journals and actual speeches and letters from history. The movie (or at least the previews) that is coming out soon doesn't even hold a candle to the book. I definitely recommend. excellent book. (short, too!)

Quintilogy?

Still haven't gotten Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, but I got and read the five Fablehaven books, so I'll do a review on all of those.

Really low quality picture, but it's faster then finding them individually and trying to get Blogger to line them up properly.

The series follows the story of Seth and Kendra Sorrenson, two siblings (around middle/high school) who go to visit their grandparents whom they have rarely seen. Kendra, while her brother is swimming in the pond outside, uncovers a series of clues hidden in the attic playroom they use as a bedroom, eventually uncovering a locked journal. Inside, at the very end of the otherwise blank book, she finds written drink the milk, which confuses her immensely. She goes outside, where she sees the hired man carrying a pan of milk over by the gardens. She runs over and asks what it is for, to which he replies that it makes the many butterflies on the estate stay in the yard. Kendra is suspicious, so after the hired man leaves she calls over Seth and tells him to drink some of the milk. He immediately starts looking wildly around, saying stuff about all the fairies in the yard. Kendra thinks this is a trick, but Seth insists so Kendra tries some of the milk too. They are immediately confronted by their grandfather, who had been watching the whole time. He explains that the entire estate is a sanctuary for magical creatures, and by drinking the milk the children could see the creature's "true forms"-- the butterflies were actually fairies, but couldn't be seen by people who hadn't drank the special milk.

Fairies weren't the only creatures on the sanctuary, the two soon find out, as Seth is tricked into letting goblins and other dark creatures into the house, and eventually accidentally frees a demon imprisoned on the grounds. After this point the book becomes spoiler country, so I'll have to leave it off there.

That's only the first book-- the last four being as interesting as the first! I have read the whole series twice now, so I feel that I can say this is one of my favorite fantasy books in the teen bracket. The books themselves are pretty thick, but the way the stories flow means they hardly take any time at all to read. They are engaging and very exciting, and I wholly encourage them to anybody interested. Beware, however, the author paints a very convincing middle schooler in the character Seth-- it becomes very easy to become exasperated with his antics. :D

Curiosity Killed the Cat...

But Anticipation is about to kill the Megan.

There are a few series that I am waiting impatiently for the next book to come out in, but it looks like I will have to wait at least a year for each. Once I found this out, I wracked my brain for other books to (re)read so that I could have something to post on and just more books to read. Little did I realize that waiting for books to be in at the library is even worse than just waiting for books to be written, since you can keep checking and checking for them to come in. Once they do, however, They will be excellent material for a blog post. Firstly there is the Fablehaven series, which I have read before and enjoyed immensely. Secondly (and the important part of this post) is a book that I just learned about a few days ago but found so mindshatteringly awesome that I ordered it right away. It is called Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Slayer. We'll see how it goes.

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)

The Sorrows of the Speedreader

Oh, Woe is Me! *Dramatic Faint*

I finished the second book in the Golden Age series last night, which means I either write about that one right after the first or don't write about it at all. My biggest question is what to read after this series? I want to stay on the Science Fiction train for a little longer (we just left the station, after all) but I have read all of my science fiction books recently and so don't want to read them for awhile. Do I do the unthinkable and read another new book?

NO!

I will delve deeper into the collection that is my father's library and pull forth a really old book!

A REEALY old book.

Yeah, I've got nothing-- Maybe I'll start a new one after all.

*sigh*

The Reign of Science Fiction Has Begun

(If you haven't read the preamble to this post [which was too long {oh look! brackets} to go on this post] you can scroll down [or not, it wouldn't hurt my feelings {ok maybe a little}] and read it. Just a little background to the review.)

The latest book I read was The Golden Age, by John C. Wright. The story takes place ten thousand years in the future, in a utopian society where everyone can effectively live forever through the use of computers and recorded personalities. The protagonist, called Phaethon, (his real name being much longer, composing of his family, 'clan', school of thought, etc.) is suddenly approached by an old man who claims that Phaethon's memories were removed and that he is essentially an imposter. Phaethon goes on a 'quest' of sorts to discover why he would remove his own memories in a society where everything is perfect, eventually discovering that something he knew was a threat to the whole of the world's lifestyle. In a complex and confusing journey he uncovers truths behind who he really was, as well as attracting the attention of both the people who hid his memories and their hidden enemies. (If this sounds confusing, just go here to read the Wiki plot summary. That invents the word confusing.)

I liked the book, but since this was the first time I read it I probably missed a good portion of the details. I cautiously reccomend the book, since it has a great story, but because it is science fiction some may have trouble understanding it or truly enjoying it.

A Change in... Pace? Style? Whatever. A Change.

I'll have to admit that my posts thus far have been a little biased, for actually quite a few reasons. First is that all the books I have blogged on I have already read and enjoyed, then re-red for 20% time. Second, I really don't read books that I don't like, for I am set in my ways and judge a book before even opening it. Therefore any book that I pick up, I will usually immediately like. Not productive to good criticism at all. Meh.

Therefore, My next book was suggested to me. I must say that I would have never red the book had I just seen it lying about somewhere, but the fact that it was in my dad's collection (more like a library) meant that it was at least acceptable and that I should try. It is actually the first of three, so time will tell if I decide to just write about the first or report on the whole Trilogy.

I was going to write the review after a short preamble, but the short preamble became a long preamble and so I will write the review on a different post. I suppose that is better in the end, gives me more of a buffer. Too bad the order will be whacky. I'll have to put a note in the other post.

Well, This is Awkward...

I was going to go post my latest book I read, but then I realized that I hadn't posted the book before it. Oops.

The book I just read (before the book I just read) Was The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold. This is a fantasy (last one, I promise) book that follows the quest of Lupe dy Cazaril, the main character, as he attempts to destroy a curse (see the resemblance to the title?) that has been passed down through the bloodline of the royal family of Chalion. The curse can only be lifted by a man that has died three times for the royal house, which perplexes everybody and sends Cazaril looking for this person before the last of the house dies of the curse.

This book is a standalone, but the author has many other books that are equally well written. As usual, I recommend this book for its ability to have an easy to follow plot, yet still be able to have a surprising conclusion.

Teh Alphabet is 4 Loserz!1!

I don't like alphabetizing.

I decided that since I had already read a book and hadn't wrote about it, and didn't want to write at the moment during class, I would do something else to pass the time. I had the great idea to alphabetize the bookshelves sitting next to me, 1. to deal with my OCD and 2. for a chance of scenery. Let me reiterate my previous statement. I don't like alphabetizing.

It's one thing to put all the 'A's together and all the 'B's together and be happy about it. It's another (not really that bad) thing to do it by the whole author's last name. It's a third thing to do this, get everything all nice and straight and perfect on a shelf, then realize there is another book with that letter. Therefore, alphabetizing books is not only putting the 'F's before the 'L's and after the 'C's, but also moving every book that doesn't fit down to another shelf, only to move it down again when you run out of room, then moving it back up again when you realize that you actually do have room!!! <-- three exclamation points= very passionate about subject.

Anyway, I realized that I don't ever want to work in a library (or at least one where the books are always messed up) because I would go absolutely crazy. They would find me hiding in a corner saying the alphabet backwards over and over and over again.

Thinking back, I realize I never said why the previous (or soon to be second to previous... we'll just call it the one that is always on top of the page) is called 'It doesn't count unless it is about a dead guy'. I was talking about the title of the Blog. Important to know, I guess.

That's about it for my rant, now I can actually go do what this blog is for!

Eventually. :)

Inheritence

Since my project would involve a lot more work to use for the analytical part of 20% Time than I want it to, I decided I would also do a book review so as to have something easier to write about. Since it had just come out and I read it recently, My first book was Inheritance, by Christopher Paolini.This is the fourth and final book in a series that was originally meant to only have three books, And in my opinion, it shows. There are some parts that seem to just be filler, sections that add length and nothing else. Other than that the book was well worth the wait and an enjoyable read.The story starts with the protagonist, Eragon, in a fight to capture one of the many cities unter the control of King Galbatorix. During the struggle he and Saphira find a Dauthdaert, a magical artifact that has the ability to bypass a dragon's magic, killing it. Their chances of killing Galbatorix improve greatly, but are by no means certain. Eragon's brother Roran becomes a war hero after capturing two more cities for the Varden, the force opposing the king.Much of the story after this vague point cannot be done justice without including spoilers, which isn't acceptable at all, but it includes Eragon's work to discover the secrets of the Vault of Souls and the struggles to avoid Galbatorix's forces as the Varden gets closer to the capital city.
Overall I enjoyed the entire series, so I'd reccomend the books to everybody who doesn't mind a 400 page count

The Redemption of Althalus

The last book I read was The Redemption of Althalus, by one of my many favorite authors, David Eddings. This book, along with many of his other works, centers around the basic idea of good versus evil. In this book, the main character, Althalus, is approached by a man who offers him countless treasures in exchange for one thing: a book. Thinking it but a simple task, Althalus travels to the house at the end of the world to retrieve it, only to discover that the 'simple book' was actually one of the two books of the gods. Dweia, the keeper of the book, informs Althalus that he is actually the 'chosen one' who will use the book to defeat the evil controller of the opposite book's power, essentially saving the world from disaster. Unfortunately for Althalus, the book is not an easy tool to use. In order to comprehend what he needs to simply to use its power, Althalus spends more than two thousand years in the house at the end of the world, unaging thanks to Dweia's influence. Thus Althalus must save a world that he is two milleniums removed from, facing an evil that has had two thousand years to prepare.
I love this book and (again) reccomend it most highly to those who aren't daunted by page count.
Genre: Fantasy