Hurricanes and Books

So, by now I'm pretty sure you've heard about Hurricane Irene. It's in North Carolina/Virginia, so it'll hit where I live pretty soon. It's raining and the wind's blowing outside right now, so this post is gonna be pretty short. Even though we have a generator, I'd still rather be off the computer. XD

So, went to the library several days ago and got a few books. Oh, I LOVE libraries. They're like treasure chests, with unknown jewels on every shelf. *contented sigh* I got Poison and Mirrorscape, epic fantasy, the pictures of which are off to the side under my reading and up next list. I've also got "Bloody Jack", which is a pirate story.

The sound of the rain keeps rising and falling. I can hear outside- what I really hope is that the trees in our backyard don't fall down on us. It didn't happen during Hurricane Isabel 8 years ago (I was like, in second or third grade, so I don't remember too much, but since the trees are still there, I can only assume).

I am listening to Group 1 Crew, "Live It Up". It's the only song I know from them, but it's good, very smile. :) I'm gonna end this post now, before the storm really picks up, so a completely irrelevant quote:
"Books are like flypaper- memories cling to the printed page better than anything else." -Cornelia Funke

39 Clues: The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordin

Okay, so I haven't posted in a long while because my computer got a virus. >.< Not happy, and now working off of a computer in my parents' room. So, a book review. I've read this book several times, actaully, but I haven't gotten farther than the 6th book.

Brother and sister Amy and Dan Cahill are given a choice at their grandmother's funeral: take a million dollars, or take the first of 39 clues that will take you on a race to find the greatest treasure in the world. So, of course, they take the first clue, which takes them to the catacombs below Paris in a heart stopping adventure. 

Characters: Awesome. I relate best with shy Amy, although Dan is a fun character, and some of their evil relatives chasing them are cool. I feel like I know them personally. :D 

Plot: also really good. Filled with action, and not really any romance. The Cahill family being seperated into four distinct groups is a cool idea- each trying to find this treasure, and will do anything to avoid the other branches of the family getting to it.

Likes: Well, pretty much all of it. 

Dislikes: Personally, I don't really have a problem with it. Yea, I'm fifteen and this is found in the children's section, but I still love it. ^.^

Overall, I give it an "Awesome♥" and will stick it under the 'reading' tab whenever my dad gets around to fixing my computer. So, quote:

"Some books should be tasted, some devoured, but only a few should be chewed and digested thoroughly." -Cornelia Funke 

Let's Talk About Cats.

So. Cats. Intelligent, beautiful creatures, with sharp teeth and claws. They have better night vision, better sense of smell and hearing, AND no one can resist the cuteness of a little kitten.

This is my cat, Angel. Well, technically my sister's cat. She has this really strange voice, like a hoarse whisper. She's Siamese, so she talks a lot and my sister keeps getting mad at us for teasing her cat about it. Isn't Angel adorable?

So, I feel like posting actually funny icanhascheezburger pictures on here. At least, I think they're funny. If you don't understand my sense of humor, then you probably just wasted your time looking at cat pictures. So... yea. ;D

Haha xD

Oh yea. So true. ^.^

If you don't get this one because you're terrible at science, the atomic symbol for silicon is Si. Haha xD
















And, that's all the pictures I have. So, cue ending quote:
"For every minute you are angry, you lose sixty seconds of happiness." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Songs for the Heart, anyone?

New month, new songs. And a picture just because.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2-AkmNxNVk

Carrie Underwood's "The More Boys I Meet. Pretty upbeat. I can definitely call this one smile. "The more boys I meet, the more I love my dog." :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRQekKsxTPU

All Time Low- "Painting Flowers". This is from the soundtrack of Tim Burton's version of "Alice in Wonderland". Sad, but I still love it. If a guy played this for me, I actually might go back to him. And coming from me, that's saying something.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFcDhj-E3po

All American Rejects- "It Ends Tonight". Kinda heavy, I suppose? It has a... quiet certainty to it. A finality. It's a good song, about a breakup but being okay about it.

 I hope you listen to these songs, but I'm not going to reach through the computer and force you to click on those links. If you don't like them, then okay. Glad you gave them a try. If you love them, then awesome. I love 'em too. ♥ I don't really have anything else to say, except, of course, the ending quote for today:
"A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song." -Maya Angelou

 

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

So! It's July 31st, this is my last post of the month. I've decided it's high time for a book review.

Megan is a normal girl, soon to turn 16 years old. Then she finds out her best friend is the faery from A Midsummer Night's Dream, Puck, her little brother has been snatched and replaced with a changeling, and that her father is King Oberon, the king of faeries. In order to rescue her little brother, she must go to the faery world and save him, along the way meeting friends and enemies alike. Being half fey, she has to also learn to control her new found powers, and her crush against Puck's enemy, Prince Ash. She finds out the fey who stole her brother is one Iron King, who isn't even supposed to exist.







Characters: I liked the characters. I wouldn't have reacted the same way about the existence of faeries that Megan did, but that's pretty irrelevant. The enmity between Puck and Prince Ash was both amusing and annoying, as they make it perfectly clear, several times. Megan did seem kind of whiny, fussing about choosing between Puck and Ash and being too scared and weirded out to accept her fey side.

Plot: I also didn't mind the plot. I picked this book up in Wal-mart only because it was one of the only ones NOT about vampires. Romance isn't my kinda thing, but again, whatever. The whole Seelie court and Unseelie court monarchy was interesting. Also, the idea of Iron fey wasn't too boring.

Likes: So, I like faeries. I like the monarchy, and the writing itself was pretty good. There was one character who really stood out to me as evil, I can't remember her name but she was seriously one bad, butt kicking character. There's also a mysterious cat in it, which of course I liked.

Dislikes: Megan. She was whiny. She was protective of her little brother, but she was resisting her powers for most of the book, when I would've been like, "Oh yea!!! Super cool faery powers!!!" I also didn't like the romance of it, I thought it focused a little too much on it.

Overall, I'd give it an "Okay..."

Current Progress: Chapter 2

My book, I have decided to call 'Shades of Green' for now. I have gotten up to the beginning of chapter 2, which I am absolutely excited about. ;D I have never made it that far- I usually end up editing the first chapter to death, before deciding to start all over.

Do you want to see a cover for it? Well, I don't have one. Yet. I have a temporary one up on inkpop, not permanent.

http://www.inkpop.com/fiction/fantasy-books/shades-green

^ The unedited first chapter. It needs major work, but I'll do that later, after the second chapter at least.I'm going to focus on getting it down. Must. Resist. Urge. To. Edit. =]

Ending quote....
"No intelligent idea can gain general acceptance unless some stupidity is mixed in with it." -Fernando Pessoa

Interesting Facts

Some interesting things that research for my book has turned up:

1. Belladonna, or deadly nightshade, is one of the most toxic plants found in the Western hemisphere. It poses the greatest risk to children because the berries are attractive and taste sweet.

2. Tortuga in Haiti and Port Royal in Jamaica were REAL pirate havens. They provided a place without any police or law enforcement,  where pirates could get supplies or have a drink.

3. People in medieval times didn't always have a lot of clothes. I mean, nobles and kings did, but most workers would only have a couple sets of clothes. <-- This one seems pretty obvious, but it never occurred to me.

4. Chinese water torture is where you drip water onto a person's forehead in a sort of rhythm for a long time. Then you slowly increase the time between each drip. Nothing physical and not exactly spectacular, but it drives you literally insane.

5. Hitting a person on the head to knock them unconscious is likely to cause brain damage if they're out for more than a few seconds.

Quote for today:
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe." -Albert Einstein