New book fun. Aaaahhhhh!

Just received this awesomeness in the mail today:

Just started reading Richelle Mead's new Vampire Academy spinoff, Bloodlines. I'm four chapters in and already super excited. More news to come later. Woot!

Musings on the Disneyfication of the World

Well, friends, I'm not dead. And my computer isn't either. But I have had a rather eventful summer, so my reading...well it didn't really happen. I think I might have finished three books this summer. Shameful, really. So I'm trying to get back on the bandwagon. Currently, I am about halfway through three books, so, I should be able to add three more soon. Yeah!
So anyway, in the meantime I thought I might throw out some random musings about various issues. Heck, some of them might even be literary. Woo hoo.
A few months ago, I attended the ACA/PCA conference, and I had a fantastic time. One of the sessions I went to was all about Disney princesses and whether or not they are a "good" thing. I have my own thoughts on that. Indulge me here.
I am not necessarily a fan of the Disneyfication of life. Think about it. Why do we let little girls grow up with a princess mentality? I am the first to admit I am guilty of this as both of my nieces adore Disney princesses and I do nothing to discredit them. But why introduce the idea of happily ever after when sometimes it's only that--an idea. There's a reason why early Disney stories end when the princess meets the prince.  After that, life happens and things can get ugly.
Let's look at a few examples. Take Aurora (you might know her better as Sleeping Beauty). Her prince kisses her and she wakes up. Hoorah! Riiiiight. (See the original story. Not so neat and tidy there.) She marries a guy she's never met because he kissed her? What happens after she gets to know him and he's a jerk who refuses to listen to anything she has to say? Then there's Cinderella. She meets the prince like, what, once? twice? After a little dancing she just knows he's the one? Really? Come on. Snow White-see Sleeping Beauty.
I know this probably makes me seem cynical, but I'm not. I'm just trying to be a realist here rather than an idealist. I do have to give Disney credit for some of the princesses though. You know, the ones who actually spend more than ten minutes with the prince before deciding to marry him. See: Ariel, Jasmine, Pocahontas, Belle, Mulan, Rapunzel, Tiana (I'm sure I'm missing others here, too. Feel free to add to the list). They get better with time, but the mentality of "the princess has to find her prince to be happy" is still there.
The point is, at some time we have to realize life isn't a Disney movie and that's not always easy. All is not flowers and rainbows and stars and ponies. Life is work, and relationships especially so. Disney never shows the after because that's too real. Besides, who wants to see Cinderella and her prince arguing over the castle budget? You know those mice don't work for cheap.

Anyway, just a few thoughts on Disney and life in general. Feel free to chime in with any of your own ideas, friends. And until next time, happy reading!

I AM still alive :)

Hi friends! I know, I know. It's been a short millenium since I last posted, but I am back for the summer. Woot! I plan on getting much reading accomplished in the next few months (since I still haven't read all the books I acquired at NCTE last year). Aaaaaaand, I have already started with the reading. Last week, I received (and read) the newest Sookie Stackhouse book, Dead Reckoning.

To be honest, I wasn't really thrilled with this book. Or the previous one for that matter. In some ways, I feel like maybe Charlaine is trying to connect with the show too much. Or maybe the show is warping my view of the books? I'm not sure. All I know is these two books have felt  more like filler than anything else. These are the lettuce and tomato, now I need some meat. I want a book like book 4 or the book with the hotel explosion. Now those were fabulous, well written works. I am hoping that the next book in the series will fill that book hole I have in this series. If not, I will continue to be dissatisfied (because who are we kidding? I'll still read the books just to see what happens). That being said, did I still fly through the book to see what happened? Yes. Did I still enjoy it? Pretty much. Can I help compare it to previous books in the series I enjoyed more? Negative. Sometimes it feels like she's trying to put in too much at one time to really get a good thing. We'll see what happens with the next one.

I'm also reading through two other books at the moment, Matched and Clash of Kings.I am very intrigued by the base storyline of Matched. In this society, every single thing is set in place for you. I just read one part where the society selected 100 songs/poems/paintings, etc. that they deemed the best and most worthy of study, then tossed out all the rest. Can you say eek! I am definitely interested to see where this book goes.

So what is everyone else reading? Anything I need to look into? Until next time, friends, happy reading!

A day late, but that's ok

Hello again! Man, what's with this consistency lately? I must not be busy enough. :) Yesterday I finished Revelations, so here are my thoughts.

I feel like this book lived up to its title. There were several revelation, most of which had been alluded to previously. I was definitely a little sad by multiple elements, and I am glad that I have the next book so that I wasn't left waiting for the fallout. Here are the main thoughts I was left with:

*I am really curious about Bliss. I liked her character from the beginning, but now I am questioning my stance on her character. I want to like. I feel like she has been written to be a very likeable character. But because of who she is, I feel like maybe I shouldn't like her anymore. I really hope that something happens to make her character not be the bad guy in the end.
*I am frustrated with the whole Jack storyline. What is it about love that can't be that is so enticing? This book is a great study in love that can't happen. We want Jack and Schuyler to be together, but there are so many reasons why they shouldn't. After all, who really wants to break up the angel of death and the angel of destruction? That spells disaster.
*I was really sad about what happened to Jordan, Dylan, and Lawrence. (and the rest of the council) I wish that they were still in the picture. If nothing else, I hope we see Jordan again. She has always given off a creepy children of the damned vibe, which makes sense now. I was pretty bummed about Dylan and Lawrence though.
*What's up with Bliss' family? I really want them to get what's coming to them. Grrrrrr. Can someone please discover what happened?

Ok, enough ranting. Overall, really enjoyable, fast paced book. A lot of questions are answered, but a whole new batch is opened up. What will happen to the conclave now? Will Forsyth be found out? (I bet BobbiAnn's to blame.) I am now moving on to The Van Alen Legacy, so we'll see what happens there!

Happy reading!

Vampire bite

Hello again, friends. No, I haven't finished another book...yet. I'm about halfway through Revelations, so you can expect an update at some point. However, I don't know how much time I'll have to read in the next week or so, so I'm not sure when I'll have an update for you. Today's post is actually about another of my crafty projects.

Not too long ago, I saw a cool vampire bite necklace on etsy. I thought it was a neat idea, and at the time my thought was "I can make that." True to form, I did indeed finally make the necklace. Here are a few photos for your viewing pleasure:

It's super lightweight, so I can't really even tell that I have a necklace on. Plus, it's super cute. So here is my homage to my long-time love of all things vampire (including the True Blood series, of which I am anxiously awaiting the next installments in both book and show form, Vampire Academy, and the Blue Bloods books, among others).

Cheers!

Paper Faces on Parade *spoilers*

Hello again out there in the blogosphere. Well, it's been a week, so you know what that means...time for another book review! Today's book is....Masquerade, the second Blue Bloods novel by Melissa de la Cruz.



I was not disappointed in this novel. I feel like it does a nice job of picking up where the first book left off, and we are left with several unanswered questions. I like that de la Cruz always ends a book leaving the reader wanting more. I feel like that is the case even more so with this book than with the previous book.

I still love Jack, and I still want Schuyler to be with Jack. Could the salvation of the blue bloods come from that relationship? Somehow I feel like that could be the case, but maybe that's too easy. Maybe it's Schuyler's sister instead (and btw, who else predicted who her sister was? I love the choice, and it makes sense), which is why she is plagued. Or perhaps it will be some combination of the two? I am curious to see where this will lead.

Also, the whole thing with Oliver? Bad idea. Saw that one coming, too, and I can only imagine where that will lead. It will be interesting to say the least. :) Also, anyone else hoping that Allegra will just snap out of it? I mean, come on. Snap out of it or leave the cycle. She's kind of on my nerves...

Anyway, the completion of this book leads me right into the next one, so I will picking up Revelations when I have time to read. What are you all reading?

Until next time, happy reading!

Blue Bloods Review *Spoilers Ahead*

So, I finally got around to reading Blue Bloods (by Melissa de la Cruz) this week. This is a book I have heard lots of great things about, and I am stoked to finally begin the series. As with my usual habit, the plan now is to read the next few books in the series, which is good because the newest book was just released. Woot!

If you're interested in vampire books at all, I would definitely recommend this one.The take on vampirism is quite fresh and unlike anything I have read in the past. I have read a few other vampire series, and I love how all of the writers approach the subject with a fresh perspective. If you are looking for a fast-paced novel that blends past, present and future, look no further. I love the way things from the beginning of time are tied together with the colonists which are all tied to the present. There are a lot of subtle hints throughout the novel that become noticeable the closer you get to the end, too. Definitely an intriguing read (I finished the book in about a day and a half of intermittent reading), and I will be picking up with Masquerade tomorrow for sure.

If you haven't read the book and you don't want it ruined, you should probably stop reading now. For those of you who have (or who don't mind having things spoiled), read on.

I really, really, really like the premise of this book. The idea of vampirism that is present here is so different from what everyone else does with it. I like the spin on how vampires live forever. They don't literally live forever, they live in a cycle of regeneration. And the whole fallen angel idea? Brilliant. I personally don't have the creativity to draw such connections, so I can only applaud those who do. Another aspect of this book that I really enjoyed was the connection to the early settlers of the US. I mean, where does that kind of inspiration come from? I love the idea of connecting what happened at Roanoke (which has never really been explained) to the idea of vampirism, too. So neat!

As for the characters, I like that we learn a little about each of them as we go. The slow revelation of connections helps lead the reader into surprises at each chapter. I feel like a lot of teenagers can identify with Schuyler especially. I mean, who hasn't lived on the fringes of school society at some point? I think there are many people who can relate to where she's coming from and who would respond to many situations as she does. The age old love triangle works well here with Jack and Oliver, too.

I was fortunate enough to meet Melissa de la Cruz a few months and she asked me if I was team Jack or team Oliver. At the time, I hadn't had a chance to read any of the books, so I didn't have a clear answer. At the end of book one, I would have to say that I am actually leaning more toward Jack than Oliver. The idea of breaking up the dynamic duo of Jack and Mimi is appealing. I always want to see the underdog get the guy, so I would like to see Jack and Schuyler together. However, I don't want Oliver to be left out, so I hope he finds someone fabulous, too! I am interested to see where the characters go from here!

So next time you hear from me, you'll probably be hearing my thoughts on Masquerade. Until then, happy reading!