Entertainment Weekly has released an interview with Veronica Roth, New York Times-bestselling author of Divergent and the upcoming Insurgent, the sequel to the former of those two and the second in a planned trilogy.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
'Pottermore' Spoiler Free Review
As I know many of you did not participate in the Magical Quill challenge and thus have not gained entrance to Pottermore, J.K. Rowling's new Potter website. I did, however, explore the website and would like to share my quick thoughts. This is spoiler-free, and the new content from Jo will be discussed on future episodes of the podcast.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Remembering 9.11
My uncle John lives in New York City and I only learned today that my mother could not get ahold of him the Tuesday morning of September 11th, 2011. There was always that emotional link that I had to the town and its welfare, mostly because of the fact that my uncle had practically just moved there when 9.11 occurred. I was nearly five years old, though, when the planes crashed into this country. It's very different experiencing my emotions as the years progress; I remember in fifth grade there was a video commemorating the event and three girls were crying. Back then, I didn't really share the tears with the girls but this Friday my school's news broadcast aired a tribute to 9.11 and displayed news videos from when the planes were hitting the Twin Towers. Listening to the changes of emotion in the news anchors' faces and voices just hit home to me, and I pictured my uncle running through the town, something that struck a match deep inside of me. My uncle is only one citizen out of millions in New York City, and thousands upon thousands of those people were physically affected by the fires and explosions. Melissa Anelli, the webmistress of the Leaky Cauldron and Creative Consultant on Pottermore, wrote a very emotional piece about the event in her novel Harry, A History and another emotional post on her blog, Penbitten, which you can check out here. I just wanna wish the best of luck to those who lost family and friends to that horrible event. There is always a spot in our hearts for you all, and I would say that I understand your grief, but I really don't. Once again, best wishes to you all.
Riley
Riley
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Pottermore to Send Welcome E-mails Daily
The biggest news from the Potter world today will excited around 750k people; Pottermore has decided to send out welcome e-mails daily!
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Book Review | 'This Dark Endeavor'
This Dark Endeavor
Kenneth Oppel
Simon and Schuster
304 pgs., U.S. Hardcover
4/5 Stars
This book is a prequel of sorts to Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Perhaps I need to have read Frankenstein before This Dark Endeavor for I didn't see any correlation really, besides perhaps the main character's interest in life and trying to heal his brother. *Correction - from just now doing my research, I have found that Victor "is obsessed with studying outdated theories of science that focus on achieving natural wonders, to his father's disdain", which you can refer to Agrippa and the Elixir of Life seen in this book. Elizabeth was also a character in this book, one who we see in the original Shelley novel as well.
The language in this novel was very close to the language used in its time, and I was very pleased. The characterization was also very pleasing.
One thing I did not like was the development of the plot; it was not that engaging to me. While I did finish the novel rather quickly, I found some parts hard to keep up with.
Kenneth Oppel
Simon and Schuster
304 pgs., U.S. Hardcover
4/5 Stars
This book is a prequel of sorts to Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Perhaps I need to have read Frankenstein before This Dark Endeavor for I didn't see any correlation really, besides perhaps the main character's interest in life and trying to heal his brother. *Correction - from just now doing my research, I have found that Victor "is obsessed with studying outdated theories of science that focus on achieving natural wonders, to his father's disdain", which you can refer to Agrippa and the Elixir of Life seen in this book. Elizabeth was also a character in this book, one who we see in the original Shelley novel as well.
The language in this novel was very close to the language used in its time, and I was very pleased. The characterization was also very pleasing.
One thing I did not like was the development of the plot; it was not that engaging to me. While I did finish the novel rather quickly, I found some parts hard to keep up with.
Book Review | 'The Power of Six'
The Power of Six
Pittacus Lore
400 pg., U.S. Hardcover
Harper
5/5 Stars
Summary:
NON-SPOILER
This book was one that I've been waiting for for a very long time. The book itself is very hooking, just like its predecessor, and it very much makes you want to keep flipping the pages. The perspective switches off between Number Four, John, and Number Seven, Marina. I very much enjoyed the new characters, like Marina, and look forward to seeing them in future novels.
Whilst there were great aspects to the book, there were also some negative ones as well. For instance, there was an unnecessary romance building--I won't tell you with you in this section--but I didn't think the story needed it. Also, there was a bit of annoying dialogue but I did get past it.
SPOILER
I'll give you a minute to click away...
****
OKAY. SO. The romance I was talking about above was between John and Six, whose human name is Maren, and it was so dumb and unneeded that it made me get annoyed with Six, and I love her! Another thing that made me mad was the fact that Ella, a girl the reader would assume to be a friend to Marina, turned out to be the tenth member of the Garde?! And there was basically NO reaction from Six or Marina. It was just like "Oh we came on a second spaceship". There may have been a reaction from Marina, but I can't recall it. I also didn't like how Adelina, Marina's Cepan, died; it was basically an echo of Henri's death in book one.
Although it made me mad, I do sort of like the fact that Sarah turned John, Six, and Sam in. It made me mad at her, but I thought it was a cool plot point to bring to the forefront. I also like Number Nine, the witty member of the Garde. I also love all of the new characters, really, and was interested to see Marina's life in Spain and to here Six's backstory.
I don't know what the third book is, but it could possibly be released sometime around Summer/Autumn of next year!
Pittacus Lore
400 pg., U.S. Hardcover
Harper
5/5 Stars
Summary:
I've seen him on the news. Followed the stories about what happened in Ohio. John Smith, out there, on the run. To the world, he's a mystery. But to me . . . he's one of us.*THIS REVIEW IS SPLIT INTO NON-SPOILER AND SPOILER*
Nine of us came here, but sometimes I wonder if time has changed us—if we all still believe in our mission. How can I know? There are six of us left. We're hiding, blending in, avoiding contact with one another . . . but our Legacies are developing, and soon we'll be equipped to fight. Is John Number Four, and is his appearance the sign I've been waiting for? And what about Number Five and Six? Could one of them be the raven-haired girl with the stormy eyes from my dreams? The girl with powers that are beyond anything I could ever imagine? The girl who may be strong enough to bring the six of us together?
They caught Number One in Malaysia.
Number Two in England.
And Number Three in Kenya.
They tried to catch Number Four in Ohio—and failed.
I am Number Seven. One of six still alive.
And I'm ready to fight.
NON-SPOILER
This book was one that I've been waiting for for a very long time. The book itself is very hooking, just like its predecessor, and it very much makes you want to keep flipping the pages. The perspective switches off between Number Four, John, and Number Seven, Marina. I very much enjoyed the new characters, like Marina, and look forward to seeing them in future novels.
Whilst there were great aspects to the book, there were also some negative ones as well. For instance, there was an unnecessary romance building--I won't tell you with you in this section--but I didn't think the story needed it. Also, there was a bit of annoying dialogue but I did get past it.
SPOILER
I'll give you a minute to click away...
****
OKAY. SO. The romance I was talking about above was between John and Six, whose human name is Maren, and it was so dumb and unneeded that it made me get annoyed with Six, and I love her! Another thing that made me mad was the fact that Ella, a girl the reader would assume to be a friend to Marina, turned out to be the tenth member of the Garde?! And there was basically NO reaction from Six or Marina. It was just like "Oh we came on a second spaceship". There may have been a reaction from Marina, but I can't recall it. I also didn't like how Adelina, Marina's Cepan, died; it was basically an echo of Henri's death in book one.
Although it made me mad, I do sort of like the fact that Sarah turned John, Six, and Sam in. It made me mad at her, but I thought it was a cool plot point to bring to the forefront. I also like Number Nine, the witty member of the Garde. I also love all of the new characters, really, and was interested to see Marina's life in Spain and to here Six's backstory.
I don't know what the third book is, but it could possibly be released sometime around Summer/Autumn of next year!
Official 'Deathly Hallows: Part II' Deleted Scenes
According to the British Board of Film Classification, the deleted scenes from the eighth and final film are:
-"Shell Cottage (Deleted Scene)"
-"Harry and Luna at Dobby's Grave on the Beach"
-"Hog's Head"
-"Marble Staircase - Harry and Ginny"
-"Wooden Bridge"
-"Hogwarts Battlements"
-"Slytherin Dungeons"
-"Marble Staircase - Ron and Hermione"
What do you guys think? I'm excited for Harry and Luna at Dobby's grave and for the Slytherins in the dungeons. I was hoping for the "Because I have something worth living for!" bit, but I guess they left that on the cutting room floor for good.
-"Shell Cottage (Deleted Scene)"
-"Harry and Luna at Dobby's Grave on the Beach"
-"Hog's Head"
-"Marble Staircase - Harry and Ginny"
-"Wooden Bridge"
-"Hogwarts Battlements"
-"Slytherin Dungeons"
-"Marble Staircase - Ron and Hermione"
What do you guys think? I'm excited for Harry and Luna at Dobby's grave and for the Slytherins in the dungeons. I was hoping for the "Because I have something worth living for!" bit, but I guess they left that on the cutting room floor for good.
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