A Chance Encounter

The Guild

2011-08-02T17:11:00.003-04:00

A few weeks ago, I quickly became addicted to a little show called The Guild. It is an online web series show with each episode lasting about 5 minutes. This means you can take in an entire season in one enormous binge. Which I did. For 4 seasons. The fifth has just premiered, though I think I'll wait until it's all out. I am not a good waiter.

The Guild is about a group of online gamers (a guild) and how they interact IRL. The main character, Codex (played by Felicia Day), is an unassertive young woman who is often overwhelmed by the hijinks of her fellow gamers. The show is hilarious and usually after my binges I start to sour on my former addiction. Not so with this one. I eagerly await the next installment. Watch the rest either on the show's homepage or on hulu.

Special Delivery!

2011-06-14T16:24:00.003-04:00

Just dropped off 10 bags of cat and dog food at the local Humane Society pet food bank. Somehow, I managed to leave without company. Was going to take a picture but forgot the camera, so trust me that it was a beautiful pile in the trunk of my car.

And Done!

2011-06-05T07:25:00.003-04:00

The Last books with my final counts at the bottom. Next up: Bed. Sweet, wonderful and beautiful bed. Though I do still have so many books that I did not get to this weekend.

In Too Deep by Jayne Ann Krentz. A solid addition to Krentz's Arcane Society Books

Hitalia: Axis Powers Volume One by Hidekaz Himaruya. A strange graphic novel that personifies each country in the world during World War II as young men. Hilarious.

Land of the Blindfolded Volumes 1-2 by Tsukuba Sakura. The first two graphic novels in a series about a girl who can see the future of whatever she touches and a boy who can see the past. Cute, but a pretty typical shoujo manga.

Hot Gimmick Volumes 3-4 by Miki Aihara. Another shoujo manga about a girl who has attracted the interest of her father's boss's son. The artwork is attractive and the relationships between characters would do an American soap proud (all but a case of amnesia, I'd say).

Time spent reading: 46 hours, 9 minutes
Blogging: 1 hour, 21 minutes
Grand total time: 47 hours, 30 minutes
Total books read: 11.5
Pages read: 2901
Donations: $145 + 5 bags of Dog/cat food

Many thanks go out to friend/co-worker Kristin for the chocolate chip cookie bars (still need that recipe) and introducing me to this wild and crazy weekend thing. As well as my boss who provided delicious (and much needed) coffee and English muffins. And my fellow readers for their support (any comments to this post will continue to contribute to my donations until the 48HBC is over). And of course, to Mother Reader.

Hour 34ish

2011-06-04T17:49:00.002-04:00

I think I have more coffee running through me than blood right now. Anyways, on to the books!

1. Finished Resenting the Hero by Moira J. Moore. This was one of those sneaky looks like a fantasy novel but is actually more science fiction once you know the world's back story (ala Anne McCaffery's Dragons of Pern Series), which did disappoint me a little. I prefer magic to science as an explanation in my fiction. Resenting takes place in a world beset by countless daily natural disasters that can only be turned back by teams of pairs called Sources and Shields. Sources and Shields form a life long bond as they protect the people on their planet. Dunleavy Mallorough, a newly minted Shield, is about to be Chosen by her Source. To her dismay, she is bonded to Lord Shintaro Karish, the most legendary Source of their generation. All in all, a fun bit of fluff and I intend to read more into the series (this was the first). The characters were fun and the world had much to explore. The only weakness I found was that Dunleavy's issues with Taro were not exactly fair. He was a playboy, yes, but he never exhibited the qualities that she disliked him for.

2. In the end, I only finished The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter so that I could stretch it upon the rack and flay it with my criticisms. But I will be kind and limit my extreme dislike of the book to two points. A: I did not care for the story. and B: The heroine fell under the category of too stupid to live. Really, if someone was trying to kill you and had killed others, would you open a strange, unmarked Christmas present while mocking those who warned against it? Which actually brings me to a third issue I had with the book: Greek gods + Christian themes should NOT mix IMO. After reading Abandon by Meg Cabot, I have to say I truly dislike Persephone/Hades retellings. Dude was a grizzly old man only after a pretty young thing in the myths. I guess Hades is now the new sparkly "Princes of the Night" style vampire (which I also detest). Wow this review was cathartic!

3. I am 93 pages into Love and Rockets edited by Martin H. Greenberg. It is an anthology of Science Fiction Romance short stories that is unfortunately more in the Science Fiction camp than the Romance. It is a nice break, however for other books.

Up next: ehhh... I'll surprise you.

Hour 24 (!)

2011-06-04T07:25:00.002-04:00

I have a small confession to make. I took a walk with my audiobook (Lucky Streak by Carly Phillips) and spotted a cat from a Missing Pets poster. I had been going for the full 48 hours, but how could I not take the time to call Matilda's family and make sure she had been found? Luckily she had so it was a wonderfully happy ending (:-)) And I do intend to keep trucking along.

I have a delicious cup of coffee in hand now and am ready for the next 24 hours.

That said: So far, I have finished American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang, a critically acclaimed graphic novel. The artwork was bright and colorful and I enjoyed the way the separate storylines came together at the end. It was a great story about a Chinese boy's experiences in public school and being torn between his Chinese and American heritage.

I am also about halfway through Resenting the Hero by Moira J. Moore, so that should be done on my next post. After that... we'll see what I grab.

Still Slogging Along...

2011-06-04T00:56:00.003-04:00

Just finished Chime by Franny Billingsley. Set in a boggy area of England during the reign of Queen Anne, Chime is about Briony, a girl with a terrible secret. In a world caught between technology and tradition, she is a witch. She has done terrible, awful things. But then Eldric arrives. Handsome and kind Eldric (a Peeta of the past if you will). Then everything changes.

Loved the story. Loved the author's use of words, some of which are Billingsley's own creation (reminding me of The Jabberwocky), with a sense of humor reminiscent of Oscar Wilde. High Praise indeed, eh? Definitely recommend this one.

Up Next: American Born Chinese

Hour Eleven

2011-06-03T18:43:00.001-04:00

Wow, this is the longest I've just sat down and read in years. Still going strong though! Luckily I can read and stroke needy kittens at the same time.

I finished Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield. Wow. That is the first word to come to mind. This book has been recommended to me for years by many friends so I finally decided to give it a try. It is about the Battle of Thermopylae (Think the movie, 300) as told through the eyes of a helot (which I think is some sort of slave, though I have to look it up once this weekend is over) who served as a squire to one of the 300 Spartans who died during the battle. My favorite thing about the book was how Pressfield makes these Spartans, who have been trained from birth as hardened warriors, utterly sympathetic (though not always likable) characters. They are elite in battle, yet they still experience numbing shock in the aftermath. The only thing I can really say that I did not like was the pacing. The novel jumps through time, forwards and back, at will and that was a little jarring at times.

After Gates of Fire, I picked up Dead Until Dark, the first Sookie Stackhouse book by Charlaine Harris. I liked the plot and the characters, though her writing style left a bit to be desired. It does make me want to watch True Blood though!

And Finally: I started one of Carly Phillips' books from the Lucky series. I cannot remember the title and don't feel like turning my zune back on. Very helpful in feeding the cats and myself, washing dishes and doing a little stretches.

Up next, I have Chime by Fanny Billingsley.

And we're off!

2011-06-03T07:19:00.001-04:00

Starting Mother Reader's 48 Hour Book Challenge now with the last few pages of Gates of Fire. These past few minutes have been like trying to get a child to go to sleep. But I am now fed and have had a drink of water and all the tools I think I might need near to hand.

Charity: Chosen

2011-05-24T20:18:00.000-04:00

About a week and a half to go. My kitchen table is piled high with books and there are more on the way. Graphic novels, trashy romances, fierce YAs and other random goodness. I do have a small criteria so that I can also expand my horizons. I have one amish romance, a multi-cultural book, a biography and hope to read about at least one secret baby. Maybe. We'll see what I actually reach for when hour n rolls around.

AAANNNDD! I have chosen which charity I will feature in my massive read-a-thon. For my 48 Hour Book Challenge, I will donate a nickel a page and a quarter a comment (or 3 comments for a bag of cat/dog food to the Humane society's food bank, haven't decided yet) to the Animal Resource Foundation. ARF is a local animal rescue group that does amazing work for animals in need. Gah! I am even more excited about this after typing this entry! Just a little more planning and I am all set!

Signed in Blood?

2011-05-08T20:59:00.000-04:00

It's official! I am now signed up for Mother Reader's 48 Hour Book Challenge!

PS: This is also the first time that I've posted a picture here. Much easier than I thought it would be.

Practice Weekend

2011-04-28T20:23:00.001-04:00

I think I was a little overeager for the 48 HBC and started putting books on hold way too early. So, I have a glut of books and tons of time before they would have been read. Instead, I will take advantage of this and the expected beautiful weather and have a practice weekend. Damn it! Why are there more good books than usable hours?

The Walking Dead

2011-04-25T21:56:00.001-04:00

I've just finished watching the first season of The Walking Dead. I think I had avoided watching it while it was airing because I had been burned out on post-apocalyptic settings. They've been everywhere lately. At six episodes, however, The Walking Dead's greatest weakness, in my opinion, is it's brevity. Still, I enjoyed the blood and guts and now realize the necessity of having one character that is utterly distasteful and keeping them around as much as possible. It creates some lovely situations.

It's on!

2011-04-22T10:18:00.000-04:00

The 48 Hour Book Challenge has officially been announced this year for the first weekend in June. I am already feeling sorry for the ILL department. That said, I am also too excited!

Gee, Thanks China

2011-04-16T16:22:00.000-04:00

China has just announced that it will be banning certain television shows, movies and other media. Their State Administration of Radio Film and Television feel that such programming is disrespectful to history and immoral. Of course, these American articles seem to think it is all about US programming and not the popularity of China's own dramas. One of them: Gong (or Jade Palace Lock Heart), is one of my current favorites. Do I take the show's accuracy seriously? Of course not. But I had been looking forward to seeing others that are similar. So, thanks China. Nothing like some good ole censorship to make yourself look good.

Hello World!

2011-04-14T19:36:00.000-04:00

This June, I intend to take part in the 48 Hour Reading Challenge. In order to do so, I need a blog, so I have awakened this one. Previously used during my library school days, we'll see if it survives beyond its new purpose.