All The World's A Stage, I'm An Open Book.

Jeez, it seems like all my posts lately have to do with having children but I'm not even close to doing that yet! Guess when something's on my mind, it shows. Here's something completely non-kid related.

Have you read or heard about the Wings series by Aprilynne Pike? They're lovely, original fantasy books with all the things we can't resist: a love triangle, abnormally abstinent teenagers, and lots of faeries fighting ugly trolls. The third book in the series, Illusions, came out last week and I found out Aprilynne Pike was going to do a book signing in Pasadena, so I thought I'd go and check it out. I'd never been to one before, and thankfully Liv the book-signing queen gave me some pointers, and it was a success! There were maybe thirty people there and I had fun listening to her talk about her experience writing a best-selling book. I'd totally recommend going to one of her book signings.

It also worked out that my cousin Ed and his wife Rachel were in town by Redlands, so we met up after the signing and ate some yummy nummy Peruvian food. I'll post pics of that laters. It was a full but great night!

Harry Potter 7

November 19th finally came and went! We finally got to see the first installment of the long-awaited for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I kept my tradition and saw it opening night with Franco, Kelsey, Brian, Iris, and Randy. Got there an hour early and saved perfect seats for us and our friends. I even wore my homemade/homedesigned tshirt, pictured below {I'm slightly looking off to the side because I was preparing for the incredibly bright flash, which was inches away from my face, to go off. Stinky flashes}.

Deathly Hallows was very well done. It was fun, scary, sad, and exciting. Franco expected more action. Uh, have you not read the book? A good third of it is camping, hiding, and then camping again. That's why they made two movies. And I thought it had a lot of action scenes that made sense, and weren't drawn out for the sake of being action-packed. The only thing is: this is not a kid's movie. There were a lot of kids in the movie theater and some had to leave the theater multiple times because it was "too scary." There was one particular part that definitely tested my vocal chords. And, of course, the digitized sensual, semi-nudity of Harry & Hermione was not for audiences under 20, in my opinion. It was too drawn out, but it did make a point. Other than that, I loved it! Wouldn't see it again for full-price, but definitely $3-theater-worth-it in a couple months.

I'm now reading the book right where the movie left off. See? I don't need to gripe about how we have to wait another 8 months until the second part comes out. I can see the movie in my head as I read the book. And it looks exactly how I want it to look.

*Potter 6 review here.

Classic Book Sets

Chances are you've heard of and swooned over {I know I have} the gorgeous Penguin Classics book set, originally from England. Chances are you slept, ate, and dreamt about all the ways you could use these colorful hardbacks...{because of course your first thought was "How pretty these would look on my shelf!" and not "Ooh, I want to buy these so I can read each and every one!"} I know I did.

But, you bookmarked the page and after a while you "forgot" about them as I did.

Last week I came across this book set from Deseret book and was once again reminded of the beloved + popular Penguin Classics. But now the Deseret Classic set is looking a little more alluring pricewise~ over $150 for 10 books verses $80 for 8. {Okay, the covers do say "Classics for LDS homes..." but still...}
Tempting...but I will always have a soft spot for the penguin's...

What do you think? Which set do you like better?

{a.k.a. which would look better on your shelf?}

The Short Second Life Of Bree Tanner By Stephenie Meyer

Can't get enough of Stephenie's Twilight series?
Or maybe you have had enough and don't ever want to hear anything about BellaWard EVER again
...but you still love vampires?

Coming June 5, Stephenie's publishing the story of Bree Tanner, the newborn vampire we meet for the first time in Eclipse. And here's the best part: it's free. Online, of course.
But if you buy the over 200-page novella, as Stephenie's calling it, a dollar per book will go to charity.
Now that's capitalizing your famous-ity! She definitely knows how to capture her fan's attention.
Right on, Steph. I'm proud of you.

Read The Short Second Life Of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer
at http://www.breetanner.com/ on June 5th.

p.s. beautifully morbid cover, don't you think? I love it.

{Read about it through a link my b-i-l Randy sent me last night. He knows me too well.}

The Book Is Better Than The Cover

Previously published in the 80s and 90s, these novels by Eva Ibbotson have been reprinted on paperback with pretty covers, though the story remains the same, which is the most important part.

What caught my attention about these books was Ibbotson's style of writing. It's very sophisticated, and sometimes I forget I'm reading a young adult book. What I love most is the places these books are set. Austria, Russia, South America~ it's a whole new world. I pictured the covers in the order that I liked the books, with my favorite being A Countess Below Stairs. I'm reading The Reluctant Heiress currently and it's moving up the line, so we'll see. Pick one up and let me know what you think.

Book Reviews: Uglies, Pretties, Specials, Extras

What do all of these words have in common? They're titles of Scott Westerfeld's brillian saga, Uglies.
Yes, they've been around a while, so forgive me if this is old news. When I first heard of them a couple of years ago, I brushed them off because, well, truthfully, I was too stuck in this one other addicting *cough* vampire...saga for so long. I wasn't interested in reading about futuristic "ugly" people who turn into barbies when they're 16.

However, when I finally picked up the first book a couple weeks ago, I couldn't put it down. I read the second in a couple days, and I'm now starting to read the third book in the series, Specials. They're so good! Not only is the writing exceptional, but the characters are well-rounded, believable, always getting in and out of trouble.

They're not my favorite books or anything, I'm just happy to find a string of good reads in which I don't have to worry about bad language {because there is none, and I mean none} or immoral scenes. If you've read any of them, what did you think? Sometimes Tally's feministic attitude and aversion to the "Rusties" aka us is annoying, but the author did a good job in mixing them in with normal ugly feelings...and I've caught myself using words like "bogus" and "bubbly" which means I may be going totally brain-missing...=}

Online Reading: Wings By Aprilynne Pike

Mormon authors are taking the writing world by storm.

First Stepenie Meyer and now Aprilynne Pike, the author of Wings, a book about a teenage faerie.

I joined goodreads.com a week ago, and found Wings on a YA book list.

I immediately checked if it was available as a pdf on 4shared.com,

ecstatic when it was, and read it in 2 days.

Go ahead, call me a lover of young adult fantasy.

I don't think I'll ever get over it, so I've accepted the fact that I am just that.

If you are one, too, or even if you're just looking for a quick, clean read, I recommend: Wings.

{Read it here on your computer as a pdf.}

Not A Box By Antoinette Portis

I read this book a long time ago at the CSUCI library...and just now remembered it.

I am definitely adding this to my future child's library.

Morsel Of Kitchen Wisdom #2: Freezing Extra Vegetables

Food storage & food rescue all in one.

{image from here}

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the vegetables and boil for 30 to 45 seconds. Strain the blanched vegetables and immediately schock in ice water to stop the cooking and preserve their color. Drain and pat day. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze. Once frozen, store in resealable plastic storage bags.

Opening Credits Of: A Great And Terrible Beauty

If you've read the book A Great And Terrible Beauty,

watch this video and let me know what you think.

I filmed & edited this video for a school project a couple years ago.

Guess who my red-headed model was?

Tee hee.

57 Morsels of Kitchen Wisdom

While reading this book, I read a section titled "57 Morsels of Kitchen Wisdom."

Since it was a library book, I couldn't keep it,

so I photocopied {gasp!} the few pages to keep by my cookbooks.

Some of the 57 suggestions have come in really handy for me,

so I thought I'd share them as I use them.

All credit goes to Denise Vivaldo, author of Do It For Less: Parties.

Morsel of Kitchen Wisdom # 3: Bread Crumbs Forever.

Slice fresh or day-old bread or tear into chunks and let sit out overnight. Place in a food processor fitted with a metal blade or a blender with salt, pepper, and dried herbs, if desired, and process until the desired texture is reached. Spread the bread crumbs out on a baking sheet. Bake in a 300-degree over for 10 to 15 minutes to toast. Let cool completely before storing in an airtight container. The breadcrumbs will keep for up to four days at room temperature, one month in the refrigerator, or six months in the freezer.

I actually did this today with a couple of stale slices of bread

and it felt so good to use something that

I was just going to wastefully throw away.

Now I can use it to bread fish and chicken, or as a salad topper.

Score!

New Moon: Not So New To Me.

I realize it's been a while since I've posted anything about the Twilight series. This is not because my obsession has diminished in any way; it has, in fact, heightened in recent weeks, but I know that it's everywhere and I just wanted to give everyone a break. Until now.

Just a little background on how I came across the books {before anyone else had even heard of it; I'm so proud of this little fact--can you tell?}.

In August 2006, I was working at CSUCI's library during the summer. I had read all the other books on the Young Adult shelf and always passed over this one book titled Twilight. I was in no mood to read about vampires. Ech. Blood, bites, death. So I read everything else but that. Around the middle of the summer, though, I realized I didn't have any other books I wanted to read. So I reluctantly took Twilight off the shelf and decided to read it, just to give it a try. {Is it getting suspenseful now?} It took me a few weeks to get past the first few chapters...it wasn't until the fourth or fifth chapter that I realized, Wait, this is SO not what I was expecting. I then proceeded to polish off the rest of the book.

Life-changing. I could never go back now.

Franco will attest to this--I loved it. By September I had talked about it to everyone {My friend Sherry Hales: "Twilight? Vampires? No, I've never heard of it."} and looked up the author {hello--she's mormon!} and found out there was a sequel. New Moon had just come out but of course the libraries had no copies of it yet. I went to the closest bookstore to me, Bookworm, and asked the owner about this new book, New Moon. She had never heard of it. Surprised? She looked it up on the computer and said, quote, "Ooh, that's a pretty cover. I've never seen this before." She said she could order it for me but I couldn't wait that long. I went to Barnes & Noble; they didn't have it either. Boo. I had to order it off Amazon.

This was October already. New Moon arrived--I read it, loved it, wanted more. Eclipse? Had to wait until next summer. The rest is history.

Sorry if this was too much. I wanted to document it so that my future kids will know just what a crazed mother they have. And to show how incredibly excited I am for New Moon! So much in fact that I'm really considering having an "Intro to New Moon" birthday party {bday is Nov. 24} where we can watch Twilight on a projector and head out to watch New Moon right after. Still thinking...

Meanwhile, check out the New Moon Movie website. Pretty pics of pretty boys~ and girls. But mostly boys.

Got 'im Hooked!

I got husband hooked on something other than me...

I think he's on page 446...good job, love.

Summer Reading: Parte Dos

After the disaster of a book, Graceling, I wanted to read something I knew wouldn't compromise my happy thoughts. So I took Mr. Darcy's Daughters from my bookshelf and started re-reading it. It's pretty good. I read it once like 4 years ago so it's not that fresh in my memory. It's not 100% Austen-worthy but who am I to judge? I could never write something like that. So, I'm reading that now and am thoroughly enjoying it. Capital, capital.

Update, on having finished the novel: Okay, though it was entertaining, I don't know if I'll go reccommending Mr. Darcy's Daughters to anyone. I like Camilla well enough, {who might as well be Elizabeth Bennett's twin} & her "Mr. Darcy," an Alexander Wytton, becomes very likable near the end, but I can't say I cared about her other four sisters and their behavior. Too modern for 1820 and definitely too close to the real Pride & Prejudice plot with the five Bennett sisters, though the similarites end there. Too scandalous.

Grade: B-

Summer Reading

I picked up this book from the library a few weeks ago for some light reading. It's a fantasy book with a heroine "graced" with the skill of killing. What? What are you reading? You may ask. Well, here's what I think about what I read.

Lady Katsa, 18 and able to kill a person with her pinky nail, is under her jerk-of-an-uncle's control. As king, he uses her to punish people who he thinks have wronged him in some manner. She just goes along with it, maiming people here and there but never killing, because otherwise she'll be locked away. To "redeem" her acts and defy her uncle, she and a few friends secretly perform heroic rescues and such. Enter her romantic subject. She meets Po, a prince also "graced" but with a skill of reading minds, on one of her rescues. Long review short, she and Po go off on an adventure, fall in love, and save a whole kingdom from a wicked king who was misusing his "grace."

Here are my brief thoughts:
I wanted a fantastical adventure: I got it.
I wanted well-developed characters & witty, funny dialogues: I mostly got it.
I wanted a satisfying ending and a moral to the story: eh, it was okay.
{I do have to mention, though, I was pleasantly surprised at a twist at the end.}
But what I was mostly expecting was a clean, easy-to-read, young adult fantasy book.
Yeah. Didn't get it here.
Um, since when do books written for 14-year-olds & up include a sex scene & a heroine who decides that having a "lover" is a better alternative than ever getting married? Maybe I'm just living under a rock. I can't believe it.

Totally ruined it for me. I wish I could do something about it, but I don't think the library would be very happy if I ripped a few pages out of the book. Stinks, because it really would have been an entertaining story.

Grade: D. Sorry, Kristin Cashore.

Umpteenth

I'm watching Twilight for the 11th time, just waiting for Franco to finish his third test of the day, and perusing do it for less! parties that I got from the library today. It's got some good suggestions in there...which I appreciate because it looks like Erin's bridal shower is going to be very well-attended. Anyone want to help me cook for like 50 people?

In 7th grade, Krystal Downs recommended Stardust to me. I read it and loved it. Ten years later, they made the book into a movie. I loved it, too! Watched it again last night while cooking & eating dinner. Romantic, exciting, funny, & really unexpected in some parts. I now recommend it to you.

Faith, Hope, & Charity

I finished reading the Fitzwilliam Darcy trilogy sometime in January and just remembered to pass along my impressions of these books by Pamela Aidan. The author worked for seven years or more on these three novels~ expertly weaving in Jane Austen's characters with new characters of her own making. The first book, An Assembly Such As This, was a detailed introduction to Darcy and his feelings as he meets & resists Elizabeth Bennett. Reading it from Darcy's perspective made it even funnier because he is just so pompous! He really was just as bad as Elizabeth described him. The second book in the trilogy, Duty and Desire took me a long time to get through. It seemed as if it deviated too much from Austen's world as it incorporated fantastical possibilities of how Darcy spent his time away from Netherfield. He meets and convives with very sketchy characters who end up trying to screw him over. Without giving anything away, it provides a plausible possibility of his whereabouts but it was not my favorite. The last book, however, I could not stop reading. Darcy goes through a compelete turnaround after Elizabeth rejects him & terribly wounds his pride. Rather than forgetting about it & showing no remorse, he goes into a kind of pensitive depression and comes out of it revived, resolving to change and become the man he ought to be: a man worthy of Elizabeth Benett. Bottom line: Read these books! Let me know what you think!

A Great And Terrible Beauty

A couple of years ago I made this inspiration board of images I found based on the book by Libba Bray called A Great And Terrible Beauty. I worked at the CSUCI library at the time, and was always intrigued by the cover. {Yes, a redhead in a corset is very intriguing to me, lol.} Though a very young adult read, it did have the satisfactory fantastic twist that made me want to read the other two books in the trilogy. I just love the look & feel of the images. Very Victorian.

On My Bookshelf

Or actually, in my purse. I'm reading An Assembly Such As This: A Novel of Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman by Pamela Aidan. It's wonderful! Perfect for all you Pride & Prejudice/Jane Austen lovers and everyone else for that matter. It's Pride & Prejudice in Darcy's point of view. I can't put it down (really cuts into my work time, let me tell you) and I've caught myself laughing out loud a few times...or more than a few times. It's really witty & you actually understand Darcy~ not so mysterious now, huh?! So pick it up at your local library, or if it's checked out, buy it on Amazon. Oh, and it's a 3-volume novel, so I made sure that the library held the other two books for me. It's a good read, something other than the Twilight series...