I Must Share This… Check it Out!

Okay, dear readers of my blog, I have to share something with you.
I must.

Graphic Credit: Hyperbole And A Half

Have you ever exploded with such anger that once you were done spewing out the anger lava you thought, "My God, I feel awful about getting that insanely upset about something so minuscule in the grand scheme of life!" "Where the hell did that all come from?"

Come on, fess up, you, at some point (or many points) in your life, have thought that statement/question. Since you have, read this post, Sneaky Hate Spiral over at Hyperbole And A Half. That post has the answer to one insane moment in life! Mostly, it will give you a laugh, it did for me.

By the way, so you know, I think Hyperbole And A Half is one freakin’ great blog! Everyday life nonsense laced with tons of awesome humor that gives me a laugh each time!

Okay, go, and check out Sneaky Hate Spiral.

Graphic Credit: Hyperbole And A Half

A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin

A Storm of Swords:
Book Three of A Song of Ice and Fire
by George R. R. Martin
copyright 2000
Bantam Spectra trade paperback
reissue edition August 2005
Pages: 923
Source: Purchased book

Back Cover:
Of the five contenders for power, one is dead, another in disfavor, and still the wars rage as violently as ever, as alliances are made and broken. Joffrey, of House Lannister, sits on the Iron Throne, the uneasy ruler of the land of the Seven Kingdoms. His most bitter rival, Lord Stannis, stands defeated and disgraced, the victim of the jealous sorceress who holds him in her evil thrall. But young Robb, of House Stark, still rules the North from the fortress of Riverrun. Robb plots against his despised Lannister enemies, even as they hold his sister hostage at King’s Landing, the seat of the Iron Throne. Meanwhile, making her way across a blood-drenched continent is the exiled queen, Daenerys, mistress of the only three dragons still left in the world....
But as opposing forces maneuver for the final titanic showdown, an army of barbaric wildlings arrives from the outermost line of civilization. In their vanguard is a horde of mythical Others--a supernatural army of the living dead whose animated corpses are unstoppable. As the future of the land hangs in the balance, no one will rest until the Seven Kingdoms have exploded in a veritable storm of swords. . .

First Sentence:
The day was grey and bitter cold, and the dogs would not take the scent.

The plot thickens; the treachery, and mayhem continues. The storm of swords can be heard throughout the realm with twists and turns abound. What can I say, but, Wow! A Storm of Swords is amazing, riveting, intriguing, enthralling...it is epic!

This time around, I felt like I was drawn deeper into the lives of the characters; their treachery, battles, courage, fear, mishaps, honor, and triumphant. I am mesmerized.

Still though, this book is not without faults, there are a few sections here and there that I felt dragged down the story. Even so, those faults are not enough to take away from the overall, and overwhelming awesomeness of the continuing saga of A Song of Ice and Fire. The awesomeness, yeah, can you tell I have been sucked in and swallowed up by the massive storytelling power of George R.R. Martin? I have. Again, I am mesmerized.

George R.R. Martin knows how to write a mean story. The man is brilliant, he keeps the story moving (dragged down parts aside), he keeps his characters fresh, he keeps the reader (that's me) engrossed, intrigued, in awe.

A Storm of Swords certainly kept me riveted with its story; I was kept wondering, guessing, thrilled, worried, concerned, and pleased as the players of the Seven Kingdoms tried to jockey themselves into positions, to keep their crowns, to take over the whole realm, to stay out of harms way, to do their duty. However, this book was not my favorite in the series. Even so, I still think it was an amazing read, just not my favorite as compared to the first two books; A Game of Thrones, and A Clash of Kings.

Lest you think otherwise, I must be clear, I was blown away by this book. I am invested in the series, for sure. My heart was racing to know what would come to those I like, have grown to like, as well as to those I do not like. That is the brilliance of GRRM’s writing, his huge cast of characters have depth – they grow, they change, they take turns in their lives that you would not ever imagine, they take hold of the reader.

I have to hand it to GRRM, as I was trucking along, reading the story, finding myself become more and more invested in the characters, he hits me with another blow. Yes, I know that I should have been on guard, reader beware, but my God, I did not see it coming. Wow! The fact that GRRM is willing to change up the story, the pace, the lives of the characters is what keeps me on my toes, keeps me reading.

There were times I would say, “okay Deanna, read up to page such and such, then put the book down and do something else.” Almost each and every time I would get to that page, I found that I could not put the book down, I had to keep reading. No, I did not read the book in one sitting. I did need to sleep, and I did have some life responsibilities to tend to, still, the book was put down only to be picked back up again the very next moment I had the chance to read. I did plow through this massive book, and admittedly, I am certain I missed some bits here and there of importance. That is okay, I will pick those up as I continue on, or during a re-read. A re-read? Better believe it, this book is worthy of a re-read, as are the other books in this series, thus far.

A Storm of Swords is a story that continued to draw me further into the land of the Seven Kingdoms, and the lives of the characters. This is an epic story, to say the least.

A Storm of Swords is enthralling.

Side Notes:

This is a massive book, not for the faint at heart. It took me a bit to get my head into the challenge of reading a story of this magnitude – not only in page numbers, but also with the details and depth of the story itself. However, on Sunday (5/16) I did not work, my husband gave me reading time and that is all it took to get myself immersed once again into the story. I read the vast majority of this book in two days of not closing the book for any length of time beyond sleeping.

I once said, mass market size (6x4) books are not my favorite. I prefer the 9x6 paperbacks. I like the font size, and how it feels in my hand. I once was asked about the size of the 9x6 when reading a lengthier book, such as the length of A Storm of Swords. Would it not be cumbersome, heavy, too thick? I did not think so… I figured that was a non-issue for me, I was correct. A Storm of Swords is 923 reading pages, and I appreciated the 9x6 book format even more. The mass market books’ font does not appeal, plus they are too chunky, in my opinion. I also prefer the 9x6 paperback over hardcover; they are simply easier to manage, to hold.
Do you have a book format preference? Favorite? Doesn't matter?

I am sure you already know, but I have become a ASOIAF geek. I am following the re-read posts of A Game of Thrones on Fiefdom, and I have been searching out and reading ASOIAF forums, mostly A Song of Ice and Fire Forum. Anyway, I read a spoiler on that forum and the revelation stunned me. Even so, I was still floored when I read said spoiler in this book. Still, that little forum reading mishap taught me to be far more cautious in the threads I choose to read. Actually, I am not diving into the forum anymore until I am done with book four, A Feast for Crows. I cannot wait until I'm done with that book because I desperately want to read and dig further into this series via the forums and conversations.

I am reading a few other ASOIAF inspired sites; they are interesting.

Westeros
Winter is Coming
Blog of Ice and Fire

Who are my favorite characters? This list may change up with the next read, but so far it has stayed pretty steady. So you know, there are several other characters that I like a whole lot, but these are my favorites.
1. Arya
2. Tyrion
3. Jon

One last thing; Do you like when the title of a book fits the story? I do, and I know my friend, Jody, does as well. It is one of our pet peeves when a title does not fit the story, for her more than me. Anyway, I have noticed that each of the titles of the books in the ASOIAF series are very well suited for the storyline.
I like that, a whole lot.

Okay… I quit! The Seasons of Life.

Noooo…I am not going to quit this blog, BUT I am going to going to fade into the background a bit because many times I do feel like quitting lately. Not because I do not enjoy writing my posts, reading, and sharing moments in my life. I am going to fade into the background a bit because the seasons in my life demands this of me.

Through the years, I have experienced many seasons. The season of childhood. The season of those lovely teenage years. The season of working with horses. The season of military service. The season of being a new mom for the very first time. The season of homeschooling my children. There are several seasons still in progress: being a wife, mom to six children, my job as a nurse, daughter, sister, friend, and not to mention, the season of myself. That sounds weird right? The season to myself. Well, it is just that, I have entered a purposeful time of taking up a long lost hobby in photography and a new interest in cycling…simply, taking care of myself. Both of those activities, photography and cycling, I am finding much joy.

Anyway, the seasons in progress have changed up a bit in the last few months, and will continue to change up even more come this summer. I have realized, the season of being a mom of a special needs child is intensifying, just a bit, and I must find a balance between IJ and his siblings. Currently, I am failing a bit…just a bit. I need to fade into the background with my blogging so that I can situate myself, once again, with motherhood while maintaining all my other seasons. I am going to quit all the challenges that I signed up for, and my not finish a couple of the read-alongs. I am going to still post, just fewer posts during the months. I am going to still read blogs, just a bit infrequent with a bit less commenting. I am going to still post on my photo blog, ME, because I need to do that…it is a huge outlet for me, at the moment. It has become a bit of a life journal for me.

So, for the most part, this boring post was just a heads up to those of you who do read my blog. I wanted you to know that you will not see many posts come this way, for a bit of time. To be clear, I do not see myself fading into the background permanently.

Thanks for reading my blog as well as your comments.
I do enjoy this blogging stuff.

-Deanna-

P.S. Just to keep you on your toes, I am going to have a few giveaways here and there. Basically, since I am going to be fading into the background, these giveaways are going to be low-keyed. Some will be announced, and some will be on the sly. ;)
On the sly? What do I mean? Well, there will be a book here and there that I want to get rid of, and not because I did not like the read but because I need the space. Anyway, the book will be given to someone who commented on the post expressing some sort of interest in reading said book. That is what I mean by on the sly. :D
Have fun! Take Care!

I Heart You, You Haunt Me by Lisa Schroeder

I Heart You, You Haunt Me
by Lisa Schroeder
copyright 2008
Pages 226
Source: Library Copy

Back Cover:
Girl meets boy.

Girl loses boy.

Girl gets boy back...

...sort of.

Ava can't see him or touch him, unless she's dreaming. She can't hear his voice, except for the faint whispers in her mind. Most would think she's crazy, but she knows he's here.
Jackson. The boy Ava thought she'd spend the rest of her life with. He's back from the dead, as proof that love truly knows no bounds.

First Sentence:
I’ve never been
to a funeral
until today.

I Heart You, You Haunt Me is a very touching, sweet, simplistic love story. Well, there is nothing simplistic about grief, and Ava was swallowed up with grief, with her loss, the story was simplistic as it was straight-forth. Even so, the story was not entirely predictable, there were questions, and ponderings which were answered by the end of the book. I appreciated, and was glad for the story’s closure.

I have never before read a story in verse. I am glad I did so with I Heart You, You Haunt Me. While the style of writing in verse seems simplistic and easy, I bet it is not. I am certain that writing in verse is a craft of its own. To convey a story with emotion and depth in such a concise manner is a craft, a talent. Lisa Schroeder has talent, her story conveyed emotion and depth. She managed to bring an emotional love story that was engulfed with grief and give it hope and healing.

I Heart You, You Haunt Me was indeed a very touching, and moving story. I most definitely will read another story by Lisa Schroeder.

Side Note: I like reading stories where music is infused into the storyline. I get a kick out of it. Sometimes I know the songs, love that. Other times, the music is unfamiliar to me, very cool because now I can take a listen to something I am not familiar with.
Lisa Schroeder infused music within the story, I loved it. I do not like all the songs mentioned, but I enjoyed taking a listen to them because yeah, I’m a tad geekish with a few things; I noted the songs. Fun stuff!

She Blows Me Away! Author event and other book tid-bits with EJ…

My 10-year old daughter is blowing me away! She is leaving me in the dust! I am not exaggerating. The girl has read 3 books in the past week, and these books are good ones: Goose Girl, Savvy, and When You Reach Me. In the last couple of weeks she has also read: Greener Grass, and The Journey. So, in a little over two weeks, EJ has read 5 books! It would have taken me several weeks to read those books at my current reading speed. Lest you think she is plowing her way through these books without comprehension, let me set you straight. For most of these books she has taken an accelerated reader test at school and scores 90-100%. EJ is a thoughtful reader, she likes to talk to me about the story, what caught her attention, and what she did not care for.

Greener Grass
by Caroline Pignat
copyright 2008

Back Cover:
Kit Byrne’s family struggles as the Great Famine enters its second year. Landlords raise rents and tumble cottages leaving thousands homeless and overcome with hunger and disease. When her family is slated for eviction, fourteen-year-old Kit will do anything she can to help her family. But will is cost Kit her soul?

EJ’s Thoughts (age 10):
Greener Grass was a great read! It was also a fast book to read.
So the book takes place during the Potato Blight, in Ireland of course. I guarantee that if you read this book, you will love it.
It is super great!

My Thoughts:
I really liked this book a whole lot. I am glad that EJ read this one, and I am glad that she really wants to read the sequel, Wild Geese. I now look forward to that book’s release even more.
You can read my review here.

The Goose Girl
by Shannon Hale
copyright 2003

Book description from Wikipedia
The Goose Girls is a German Fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm. Since the second edition published in 1819, The Goose Girl has been recorded as Tale no. 89. The story uses the false bride plot with a good-hearted princess being seized by her maid and turned into a common goose girl.

EJ’s Thoughts (age 10):
I would first like to say that when I read this book it seemed for me that I was reading super slow. But I did not care! Goose Girl was one of my favorite reads this year so far. My mom has been wanting me to read it, but I did not want to! It kind of looked boring to me... but then I read it and thought, 'Wow! This book is so good!' The only problem I had was when I was reading about events on one page and then four pages later the story jumped two weeks ahead of the event.

My Thoughts:
Finally! Finally, one of my girls decided to read this fantastic book! I truly loved this story. You can read my review here.
Be warned, this is an old review, my style has changed a bit. :)

EJ’s reviews of Savvy and When You Reach Me will be posted within my review posts of those books.
Thanks EJ for willingly writing your reviews for my blog! :D

Author Event – Ingrid Law
Date: April 27, 2010
Location: The Book Stall in Winnetka, Illinois

Ingrid Law is an Newbery Honor winner from 2009 for the book, Savvy. My friend, Jody, is big time into the Newbery Medal books. She is reading her way through the winning list, so naturally, she is also interested in those authors who won the Honor title. When we learned that Ingrid Law would be speaking at The Book Stall, we knew that we wanted to go. Jody, for the reasons I just stated. Me, because I knew that Jody would want to go, plus, I thought it would be a good event for EJ to attend, and mostly because I have become a bit of an author event geek. Since EJ loves to read (my most avid reader in the house), write and draw, I like to make a point of taking her to author events, when possible.

Ingrid Law was engaging as she spoke of her writing process and she came about the story for Savvy. Ms. Law gave insights to her stories (Savvy and Scumble) without giving away spoilers, I thought that was cool. Another very cool thing, she answered several questions from the children present without giving away any spoilers. She did a great job.

Oh yeah, my highlight of the night was winning the ARC for Scumble! Yay! EJ has already read Savvy, she really liked the book.
I plan on reading, and posting reviews for both Savvy and Scumble before Scumble’s release date, August 17th.

Soulless by Gail Carriger

Soulless
by Gail Carriger
copyright 2009
Pages: 384
Source: Purchased book
Read for Fantasy Reading Challenge 2010

Back Cover:
Alexia Tarabotti is laboring under a great many social tribulations. First, she has no soul. Second, she's a spinster whose father is both Italian and dead. Third, she was rudely attacked by a vampire, breaking all standards of social etiquette.
Where to go from there? From bad to worse apparently, for Alexia accidentally kills the vampire -- and then the appalling Lord Maccon (loud, messy, gorgeous, and werewolf) is sent by Queen Victoria to investigate.
With unexpected vampires appearing and expected vampires disappearing, everyone seems to believe Alexia responsible. Can she figure out what is actually happening to London's high society? Will her soulless ability to negate supernatural powers prove useful or just plain embarrassing? Finally, who is the real enemy, and do they have treacle tart?

First Sentence:
Miss Alexia Tarabotti was not enjoying her evening.

I loved, loved this book. It had a great feel; blending in some fabulous, and different paranormal elements along with romance and mystery while set in London during the time-period of the Victorian era.

This book really did have a different feel to it from the other paranormal books I have read in the past. Frankly, it was a breath of fresh air. The characters of Alexia and Lord Maccon were fabulous!

Alexia is very interesting with her non-traditional (for the times) way of thinking. She has the paranormal quality of the preternatural. Yep, the preternatural...this element is a first for me, and I found that I liked it a whole bunch. You must read the story to understand what her capabilities are. Besides, the preternatural aspect, Alexia is straight forth and intriguing; a person to reckon with. She is a fabulous character. Lord Maccon met his match when he met Alexia. The pair are perfectly suited for one another; they argue, and compromise. They sure do make a great couple with some steamy scenes that were tastefully written while still conveying tremendous amount of connection, and spark.
They have fantastic chemistry.

Yes indeed, Soulless was a fun, fun read, It had some great twists and turns that proved to be far different than the average paranormal read. A great blend of romance, mystery and intrigue that was cleverly centered around paranormal elements that felt very right. The story was smartly written.

A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin

A Clash of Kings:
Book Two of A Song of Ice and Fire
by George R. R. Martin
copyright 1999
Bantam Spectra trade paperback
reissue edition August 2005
Pages: 761
Source: Purchased book

Back cover:
(I have decided to not completely write what is written on the back cover. There is a plot spoiler for book one)
Six factions struggle for control of a divided land and the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms, preparing to stake their claims through tempest, turmoil, and war. It is a tale in which brother plots against brother and the dead rise to walk in the night…. Against a backdrop of incest and fratricide, alchemy and murder, victory may go to the men and women possessed of the coldest steel…and the coldest hearts. For when kings clash, the whole land trembles.

First Sentence:
The comet’s tail spread across the dawn, a red slash that bled above the crags of Dragonstone like a wound in the pink and purple sky.

Did you read my review of A Game of Thrones? If you did, do you remember me saying, that once I was done with the read, one of the first thoughts that ran through my head was, “Oh my freakin God, I have just finished reading one of the best books that I have ever read.” Well, that statement still holds true!

This book, A Clash of Kings, was fantastic! It has maintained the feeling, and expectations that A Game of Thrones set into place. While I did not love this book on the same level as A Game Of Thrones, I most definitely thought it an awesome read. A Clash of Kings certainly had a lot of clashing going on, there was much chaos as the characters found themselves more entwined in the realm’s upheaval, with the fight for the throne.

I devoured this book as I wanted to know what was going to happen in the realm,and with my favorite characters. At the end of A Game of Thrones, I was shaken by a twist in the plot, a twist that left me wondering, “Why? Why?”. I could not help but be a bit haunted by that shaken feeling during this read, the loss is felt. Yet, even though this twist occurred, it did not leave holes in the story, rather, I think it added some qualities to a character that desperately needed some shaking up. A Clash of Kings had its own twists and turns as the deception, brutality, action, treachery, danger, loyalty, honor, love, sex, sadness, courage, and intrigue continued.

The writing, ahhh…the writing. What can I say? GRRM has a gift. The man can write about a world unknown in such a way that I feel the world. His characters continue to grow as more layers are added. He does this amazing job of writing while keeping me completely riveted.

By the end of A Clash of Kings, I found that I was even more invested in the characters, in the story. I was left with wanting more; I was left with questions. It is definitely a page turner; an absorbing read.

Side Notes: I think I may be starting to become a bit of a geek with the A Song of Ice and Fire series. That is right. I like reading stuff about this series, and am starting to dive into a few ASOIF sites. Also, I have become incredibly intrigued with the upcoming HBO series, Game of Thrones. I do not have HBO, I think I may have to tack that channel on to my already long list of useless TV stations. I have been reading about the casting, and whatnot; I’ve become psyched!

If you have read the books then you know there are several made up languages. I came across an interesting post by GRRM, Klaatu Barada Nicto… I thoroughly enjoyed reading about his made up languages, the extent he went to or not. What was most interesting was the part about how the languages came to life for the HBO series.