Sunday Post: Animal Arithmetic

I am here, I am around, but I have not been blogging much this week – writing or reading.  A lot has been going on in my mind which has impeded my ability to concentrate on  my writing/reading. What has not been impeded is my ability to listen to music. I made a YouTube playlist, and the following song is on that list.

Animal Arithmetic by Jónsi  is a fun song. It moves quickly which puts me in a great mood; at least for the moment if not longer.  The words are pretty good too.

This morning, the first thing that was in my head when my eyes popped open was Animal Arithmetic. I thought it fitting to post it as my song of the week.  Enjoy!

The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa

The Iron Queen
Iron Fey Series, book three
by Julie Kagawa
copyright: 2011
publisher: Harlequin Teen
format: paperback
pages: 358
source: own

Back Cover: I thought it was over. That my time with the fey, the impossible choices I had to make, the sacrifices of those I loved, was behind me. But a storm is approaching, an army of Iron fey that will drag me back, kicking and screaming. Drag me away from the banished prince who's sworn to stand by my side. Drag me into the core of conflict so powerful, I'm not sure anyone can survive it.

First Sentence:
Eleven  years ago, on my sixth birthday, my father disappeared.

My Thoughts:  Sigh.....  I did not love this book.  Too much in way of strategies, searching, and warring to bring down the false Iron King.  There was little in way of character development, and the believability factor was lost.  While I liked the plot, I really wish the story focused more on the relationships.  I still like Meghan, but she accomplished a bit too much for my liking.  Ash remains an ever constant favorite, but I felt like he faded a bit.  Puck is a fun character who turned into one that I just could not stomach.  I found myself a bit bored and impatient. I wanted to know more of the Summer and Winter fey.  I wanted relationships to deepen and expand.  While there definitely were intense ‘Meghan and Ash’ moments, I felt they were too few and far between. It is not all doom and gloom because the writing still had a way of compelling me to stay with the story to the end. Not only that, it was another quick read that I could not put down.¹

All I can do is let out a sigh of disappointment.  Yet, hope remains in my blood.  I hope that the upcoming book, The Iron Knight, will redeem.  Hope is what I cling to because I sure do love the premise of this series.

Bottom Line: Disappointing, but hope still remains because I still think the fey world rocks!  If you have not started the series then maybe you may want to reconsider. If you already started, well then, of course you must continue forward.  There is hope for The Iron Knight to redeem!²

Book Cover: I do like that all the covers are similar. I think that adds continuity to the series.  I also like the colors of this book cover, but as I have already said, The Iron Daughter is my favorite cover.

Side/Footnotes: 

1.  I could not put the book down because I kept hoping that things would turn out the way I wanted.  I will admit though - during the parts of impatience and boredom– I skimmed a bit.

2. That is now my motto!

~ Besides those two lame footnotes, I really do not have much more to say. Really, this book fell flat for me which left me a bit wordless.  sigh.

~ Very much a side note... I could use an editor, I think. I really dislike when I find all my little mistakes after posting. The scary part, there are probably more mistakes that I am not catching. Do you wish you had an editor at times? (umm..don't really want one but certainly understand their weight in gold for a writer)

My Iron Fey Reviews:
The Iron King
The Iron Daughter

Bring it on! The Way of Kings group read

The Way of Kings is the first book in a promising epic fantasy series written by Brandon Sanderson, and it looks like an amazing read. 

This is what the back cover has to say:
I long for the days before the Last Desolation.
The age before the Heralds abandoned us and the Knights Radiant turned against us. A time when there was still magic in the world and honor in the hearts of men.
The world became ours, and we lost it. Nothing, it appears, is more challenging to the souls of men than victory itself.
Or was that victory an illusion all along? Did our enemies realize that the harder they fought, the stronger we resisted? Perhaps they saw that the heat and the hammer only make for a better grade of sword. But ignore the steel long enough, and it will eventually rust away.
There are four whom we watch. The first is the surgeon, forced to put aside healing to become a soldier in the most brutal war of our time. The second is the assassin, a murderer who weeps as he kills. The third is the liar, a young woman who wears a scholar's mantle over the heart of a thief. The last is the highprince, a warlord whose eyes have opened to the past as his thirst for battle wanes.
The world can change. Surgebinding and Shardwielding can return; the magics of ancient days can become ours again. These four people are key.
One of them may redeem us.
And one of them will destroy us.

My gosh, doesn’t this back cover scream out...You Must Read This Book!  It does to me. It sounds fantastically exciting. It sounds like we will be in for a ride of thrills, adventure, action, and awesome characters.  It sounds epic and one that I do not want to miss reading.  However, I keep putting it off, and I do not know why.

While tweeting several weeks back; a few book bloggers and I decided that we should do a group read of this tome to help motivate each of us to finally open the cover and start reading.   I am very psyched about this group read because like I said, I  WANT to read this book in a desperate way but keep putting it off. Secondly, these book bloggers – Carl @ Stainless Steel Droppings,  Memory @ Stella Matutina,  Kailana @ The Written World, are fantastic and I think it will be incredibly interesting to get their take on the story as we read. Not only do I want their take on this story, I want YOURS too.   Won’t you join us?

THE DETAILS:

Start Date:  August 1, 2011
End Date:  September 12, 2011
Wrap-up post: September 12, 2011

Each week; Carl, Kailana, Memory and I will take turns leading the week’s reading with questions/discussion.  The purpose of the questions is to help facilitate our discussion, but if you feel lead to discuss something beyond the questions then please do so. Answering the questions is not a requirement just a starting point.  We will send off our questions for that week’s reading via email to all those who would like to participate.  These questions will be sent of no later than Friday of the specified reading week.  Then Monday will be the day to post on your blog your thoughts and/or answers to the questions.  Then, please link up your post to the leader’s blog.  Our hopes is to have discussion on the leader’s blog as well as on all the participants’ blogs.

~ We need one more person to help lead the weekly discussion. Would you like to be that person? If so, fantastic!  Please let me know by either commenting here on this post, or emailing me at ibeeeg (at) gmail (dot) com

THE SCHEDULE: Broken down in parts vs page numbers to accommodate the hard cover and paperback readers.  The average pages read per week is about 270 (give or take).

WEEK ONE
August 1 - 7:  Start at the beginning and stop once you reach Part Two.
August 5 - questions will be sent out for that week’s reading
August 8 - post about Week One reading hosted by Deanna (me)

WEEK TWO
August 8 - 14:  read Part Two and Interludes then stop when you reach Part Three
August 12 - questions will be sent out for that week’s reading
August 15 - post about Week Two reading hosted by Carl

WEEK THREE
August 15 - 21:  read Part Three and  Interludes then stop when you reach Part Four
August 19 - questions will be sent out for that week’s reading
August 22 - post about Week Three reading hosted by Memory

WEEK FOUR
August 22-28: read Part Four then stop when you reach Part Five
August 26 - questions will be sent out for that week’s reading
August 29 - post about Week Four reading hosted by Kailana

WEEK FIVE
August 29 – Sept. 4 - September 4: read Part Five through the End
September 2 - questions will be sent out for that week’s reading
September 5 - post about Week Five reading hosted by (Would you like to host this week?)

WEEK SIX
September 5 - 11: If you have fallen behind; catch up with your reading
September 12 - Wrap Up post  hosted by Deanna (me)

Would You Like To Join Us?  Yes, fantastic!  Please leave a comment with your email address (so we can send you the questions every week).

 

Song of the Week: Yes

I have been spending a lot of time with Coldplay lately; many miles - 42+.  These miles were accumulated while bike riding, and listening to my “cycling playlist”.  This playlist consists of Coldplay, and only Coldplay.  Their music works for me, keeps me moving, and at times allows for my mind to escape the exercise by drifting into thought.

Yes is the one of the many songs on my cycling playlist. I love the song, have since I first started listening to the Viva La Vida album several years back.  What I have noticed during my last couple of rides is that Yes tends to actually give me an extra push to keep my cadence where it ought to be.  The beginning part of the song motivates me and then when the vocals start…well…love Chris Martin’s voice, and besides, the lyrics are fantastic. I Love this song no matter  when I listen to it.

I love Coldplay; they rank in my top 5 favorites.

My Cycling Playlist; for those who are curious….

A Message - album X&Y
Clock – album A Rush of Blood to the Head
Fix You - album X&Y
Glass of Water – album Viva La Vida: Prospekt’s March Edition
Life in Technicolor, part 2 - album Viva La Vida: Prospekt’s March Edition
Lost! - album Viva La Vida
Shiver - album Parachutes
Swallowed in the Sea  - album X&Y
Yellow – album Parachutes
Yes  - album Viva La Vida
X&Y  - album X&Y
What If  -  album X&Y
Til Kingdom Come - album X&Y
The Hardest Part - album X&Y

How about you; do you have a specific playlist for exercise?
What song, this week,  keeps calling to you for you to listen to over and over again?

Sunday Post: Bookish Delights, etc.

One of the things I love…. early morning, sitting outside with a warm breeze, birds chirping, Bible read, book in hand, drinking coffee.  Peace.

Polygamous reader… I was pondering about my reading habits, and realized something when I was reading a post from Unputdownables - Book Polygamy :: Why & How to do It  and another post from An Unfinished Person – Dipping my toes into the polygamous pool. I am not a happy polygamous reader; not my natural bent. I much prefer a monogamous relationship with my books.  Yet, I keep finding myself committing polygamy.  Strangely enough, these book relationships that I have going on right now are working.  I think they are working because my attention span is short these days. Must be way I am loving anime (20-30 minute episodes), and I have no desire to watch movies. My mind is easily bored, and is tending to jump from one thing to the next.  This week, it seems that reading sections from 2-3 different books is working fantastically. I read a section from one book and before I start getting antsy, I switch to a different book, etc.  What is even more strange about this current reading set-up,  I am liking each book extremely well; not bored, very much intrigued.  How about you?  Can you read several books at one time, or are you a one book person?
By the way…the photo above is of the books I am currently reading.

For my spiritual needs…. I am reading my Bible; 10 chapters/day.  By mid-July I should be caught up to my daughter, and then will settle back into no more than 4 chapters/day.  This week’s reading impressed upon me;   There are six things the LORD hates,  seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community. Proverbs 6:16-19 
A Gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.  Proverbs 9:10
What do you think of the following links; vows made to God?  Are vows good? Important? Should we take them? 
My dad’s five vows 
Five Vows for Spiritual Power

Books I look forward to…. new releases are creating excitement in the air, for me. It has been awhile since I have been truly, truly, truly excited about a new release.

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
20th anniversary edition
release date: July 5th

Yes, I own Outlander. Yes, I have gifted Outlander several times. Yes, I have read Outlander three times. Yes, I NEED this 20th anniversary edition. First, I love the cover; the color.  Secondly, I am a sucker for additional stuff like a new essay, a new map, etc. Enough said. 

A Dance With Dragons by George R.R. Martin 
release date: July 12th

A highly anticipated book in the epic fantasy community, and amongst those fans who cannot wait for this release.  I have a secret though, I will buy this book on its release date, but shh…I am not going to read it straight away. I know, crazy, I am.

American Gods by Neil Gaiman
10th anniversary edition
release date:  June 21st

Yes, this was released a few weeks ago. Why do I not have it?  Well, because it is third on my list of books that I want to buy in these next several weeks.  Even so, I am wanting this book greatly. Truth is, I only gained a huge want for this book just a few short weeks ago.  I am biting the whole “Newly updated and expanded with the author’s preferred text” bit.  I am intrigued.

Books added to my to-read list…..

~~ Daughter of Xanadu by Dori Jones Yang, reviewed by Sherry at Semicolon

~~ The Theodosia Throckmorton series by R. L. LaFevers, reviewed by L @ Omphaloskepsis

~~ Fly By Night by Frances Hardinge, reviewed by L @ Omphaloskepsis (actually, L reviewed the sequel – Fly Trap – which led me to adding Fly By Night)

~~ The Map of Time by Félix J. Palma, reviewed by Fyrefly's Book Blog AND  CarrieK. @ Books and Movies

Blogs/posts to visit….

Family Reading Challenge: Tips for a Summer filled with Reading – a fantastic post written by Vasilly of 1330v

Book Polygamy :: Why & How to do It – good tips by Wallce at Unputdownables on how to read more than one book at the same time.  ( added it again, in case you did not click over yet)

Dipping my toes into the polygamous pool by  Unfinished Person ( added it again, in case you did not click over yet)

Song of the Week: Soundtrack Fest, part one

These past several weeks, I have wanted to listen to one particular artist over much and found that listening to soundtracks helped to change my playlist up a bit.  I do not over listen to soundtracks, but every now and then, the mood screams out for a change, and when the change cannot be pegged down, soundtracks come to the rescue. Not only that, it was quite refreshing to hear random songs from artists that I would not normally listen to beyond one song or two.

Tremble For My Beloved by Collective Soul from Twilight Soundtrack
I love this song, have since I first heard it, and still do.  I like the music, the lyrics…the whole sound.
I actually like Collective Soul beyond this song so I really do not know why I don’t own any of their stuff. Hmmm…

Friends by Band of Skulls from New Moon Soundtrack
What can I say? I really do love this song. Why? I love the beat; bass, percussion.  I also really like the lyrics a whole bunch.  This is a catchy song that is much fun.

 Monsters by Hurricane Bells from New Moon Soundtrack
I like the voice, and beat of this song. Another song that I find catchy and fits the bill for something fun while driving.

Bach/Break - Steve Erdody; Jonathan Rhys Meyers
from August Rush Soundtrack
Choosing a song from this soundtrack was difficult because I like them all, but Bach/Break fully reminds me of the movie and the opening scenes.

This Time sung by Jonathan Rhys Meyers
from August Rush Soundtrack

What do you think?  Do you like soundtracks? If so, what are your favorites?

Side Notes:

Twilight Saga – Twilight, and New Moon; I did not see the movies nor do I have plans to do so. I loved the books, but the movies have NOT ONCE intrigued me, and actually repulse.  Still, the soundtracks are full of great music, and great music I can appreciate regardless of its connections.   The songs that I highlighted from these two albums are ones that I gravitate towards more than the others. Still, there are several other songs that I listen to frequently and a few that I skip over.  I should mention though, there really is one band that shines above the others, BUT, I love that band, AND have already mentioned numerous times here on this blog. Also, I know that other songs of theirs will be featured again, several times. Do you know which band I speak? 

August Rush; First off, be very clear, I LOVED THIS MOVIE.  I think I watched it a half a dozen times before shelving it.  I rushed out to purchase this cd, and have not once regretted that impulsive need. I love the relationship story within August Rush, but truth be told, the music is what stole the show. 

Random Acts of Kindness: June Recap and Time To Sign Up for July

For June,  Book ♥ Soulmates had a fantastic turn out  for Random Acts of Kindness, and it was great fun for me to choose two people that I randomly gifted books. The lists are fun to read, and it was a blast for me to decide which books to send. I hope the recipients enjoy the books gifted; CHIME by Franny Billingsley, and BLOOD RED ROAD by Moira Young.  The latter book appealed to me greatly so I went ahead and purchased a copy for us (me and my daughters)  to read.

While I did not receive any books  officially this month from RAK, I did receive 3 books as random acts of kindness in the last 1+ months.  I think one maybe is a RAK book, but not certain; Adam, what do you say?

THE MAP OF TIME  ARC by Felix J. Palma is being sent to me from CarrieK of Books and Movies.  Very kind of Carrie, and am very thrilled. You put a smile on my face Carrie – thank you!

THE LOST GATE by Orson Scott Card was sent to me from Adam of Roof Beam Reader. Thanks a bunch Adam for asking if I would like your extra copy of this book. I was thrilled to receive it, and look forward to reading it.  You too put a smile on my face – thanks!

JUST DO SOMETHING by Kevin DeYoung was sent to me from Logan of Rememorandom. Logan offered to send a copy of this book to anyone who was interested. Very kind indeed. What was even better, he personalized the book; meaningful and a smile claimed my mood when I received the book.  Thanks a ton Logan.

The idea is to show a random act of kindness in the form of giving a book to another person.
Book ♥ Soulmates. states; “ There's nothing like the feeling you get when doing something thoughtful for another person without expecting something in return. You brighten their day and let them know 'hey, you were thought of today' without the expectation of receiving something in return”.
So very true! I think I may be having more fun sending off books then receiving….maybe. 

Rules:

• Sign up each month you'd like to participate in.

• Show off your participation! Grab one of the buttons available :)

• Create a wish list and post it in the Google Doc located in each R.A.K post for the month. {Post on your blog, Amazon, where ever as long as there's a link to it.}
• If you choose to do a R.A.K for someone, check out their wish list and contact that blogger for their address.

This Is Open To Everyone!

Pretty cool idea, and super easy to sign up. It is also super easy to send off the books, and a fun way to meet other bloggers too.

Have some fun showing kindness via gifting a book or two;  sign up now for July!

My own wish lists can be found at:
Amazon (for print books)
Barnes&Noble (for my NOOK)

Happy Reading in July!