When I first started writing this blog, Hillary Wolfe mentioned she had started writing a book and when I asked what it was about she kindly sent me what she has. I've been trying to find the time to read this, I want to commit to it fully as I do.
I'll write about the first 2 chapters, as this is really all I've had the time to enjoy. I must say - INTRIGUING! I'm not very far into it, but as this is the only thing I'm reading right now (besides textbooks, of course) I wanted to start off my blogging about this book.
When I opened this document, I was confronted with something I wasn't at all used to - a design on the pages. I'll be honest, at first I didn't see how I was going to be able to focus on the content of the book with this distracting me. However, I was pleasantly surprised when it kept pulling me farther through the first couple chapters. While it is difficult to read some words, the design adds more than it takes away.
One thing I really like thus far are the unusual names. It's nice not having the norm for names and it makes you stop and think how those names came to be. I tend to remember books with odd names so I think this is definitely a plus.
Another thing I really like is how Ms. Wolfe sets up each scene. She does not leave any aspect out and you can clearly picture what's happening as you're reading. Some writers tend to leave this crucial aspect out and it leaves you wondering where the scene is taking place. This is not the case with Vamp.
The writing is easy to read and is clearly written, allowing you to flow easily from paragraph to paragraph. I can honestly say, this week on Spring Break, I will be breaking more into this book. Consider me hooked - I have to know what happens!
I realize I did not mention anything about the content of this book, however, as I'm not anywhere near close to finishing, I didn't want to guess what happens instead of knowing what happens. Hopefully, the next blog will be about the content instead of the mechanical aspect of this book.
We've definitely got a writer in this class!
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Monday, February 18, 2013
Shutter Island
This book is different from my normal posts. It's a sort of mystery - what's really happening on Shutter Island?
Teddy Daniels is a Federal Marshal, who's venturing to Shutter Island to investigate the disappearance of one of the patients. He's interested in looking at some of the records, however, the hospital won't let him view those records. In fact, they won't let him do much of anything.
He keeps seeing these people who are telling him some secrets about Shutter Island. Secrets that he doesn't really believe at first. After the refusal of records, though, he begins to see some of the truth behind these accusations.
He begins to investigate something other than the disappearance when the patient suddenly returns. A storm is keeping them from leaving the island, so he searches for answers to his next question: what are they doing in the lighthouse? And why are all of these patients so afraid of it?
Shutter Island is a great book, and movie for that matter. A word of caution to those who want to attempt this one: Pay attention! If you don't pay close attention, you will be lost and will not understand a bit of it.
Give it a try though, I highly recommend this one.
*I don't want to give too much away on this one because once you find out what the secrets are, there's really not much point to read it and it's harder to get into.
Teddy Daniels is a Federal Marshal, who's venturing to Shutter Island to investigate the disappearance of one of the patients. He's interested in looking at some of the records, however, the hospital won't let him view those records. In fact, they won't let him do much of anything.
He keeps seeing these people who are telling him some secrets about Shutter Island. Secrets that he doesn't really believe at first. After the refusal of records, though, he begins to see some of the truth behind these accusations.
He begins to investigate something other than the disappearance when the patient suddenly returns. A storm is keeping them from leaving the island, so he searches for answers to his next question: what are they doing in the lighthouse? And why are all of these patients so afraid of it?
Shutter Island is a great book, and movie for that matter. A word of caution to those who want to attempt this one: Pay attention! If you don't pay close attention, you will be lost and will not understand a bit of it.
Give it a try though, I highly recommend this one.
*I don't want to give too much away on this one because once you find out what the secrets are, there's really not much point to read it and it's harder to get into.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Kindle Vs. Paper Books
I've had my kindle for about a year now. While it comes in handy for reading long books, I definitely prefer a book I'm holding to my kindle. A book is more than just the words on a page; it's all of the elements of the book with the added bonus of a wonderful story.
Firstly, hard-cover books are my favorite. This is because they have that outer shell that has the illustrations and you can take it off so while you're reading, you don't damage it. I love that part. You can also save your page easily by slipping that fold on the cover into your page. Paper-back books are also good, but I find they damage easier than the hard-cover books.
Secondly, if you've ever smelled those freshly printed pages you'll never want a kindle. The smell of the paper and ink is a great aspect to the whole book itself. It provides a sort of essence of your book. I really love the smell of a new book. As it sits on your shelf, it loses a bit of that new-book smell. However, when you go to read it again, even if that smell isn't so prominent, you'll remember it.
Now, those are the things that I really love about paper books. Here are some things I love about my kindle.
First, your books never get damaged. They never get lost. And they're always right there when you want them. I don't know how many times I've gone to read a book and have found I've misplaced it, or it wasn't where I swore I put it last. This is so frustrating and you don't have this problem with your kindle.
Second, you don't have the heavy weight of a large book. With the bigger books, I find it's hard to read them at the very beginning and at the end. They're awkward to hold, and with a kindle it's the same size and ease of reading the whole way through. I can also lay in bed and read the larger books because it's very lightweight on my kindle.
Third, you can have any book that amazon offers at the touch of your fingers. You never have to wait, you can download these books any time you want. And at great prices! It costs, I think, on average 60% less the purchase some of these e-books than to buy them in print. This is a great alternative if you're unsure if you'll like a certain book.
While it seems there are more positives with a kindle than with a paper book, it all depends on what you're looking for. If you want the experience, then I suggest the paper book. If you just want the story, purchase it on your kindle because it's much cheaper. I personally like the experience of the physical book the best and so most of my purchases are for paper books. However, I do purchase books I'm not sure I'll like on my kindle. It's nice to have the option of both and I enjoy both in their separate ways.
Firstly, hard-cover books are my favorite. This is because they have that outer shell that has the illustrations and you can take it off so while you're reading, you don't damage it. I love that part. You can also save your page easily by slipping that fold on the cover into your page. Paper-back books are also good, but I find they damage easier than the hard-cover books.
Secondly, if you've ever smelled those freshly printed pages you'll never want a kindle. The smell of the paper and ink is a great aspect to the whole book itself. It provides a sort of essence of your book. I really love the smell of a new book. As it sits on your shelf, it loses a bit of that new-book smell. However, when you go to read it again, even if that smell isn't so prominent, you'll remember it.
Now, those are the things that I really love about paper books. Here are some things I love about my kindle.
First, your books never get damaged. They never get lost. And they're always right there when you want them. I don't know how many times I've gone to read a book and have found I've misplaced it, or it wasn't where I swore I put it last. This is so frustrating and you don't have this problem with your kindle.
Second, you don't have the heavy weight of a large book. With the bigger books, I find it's hard to read them at the very beginning and at the end. They're awkward to hold, and with a kindle it's the same size and ease of reading the whole way through. I can also lay in bed and read the larger books because it's very lightweight on my kindle.
Third, you can have any book that amazon offers at the touch of your fingers. You never have to wait, you can download these books any time you want. And at great prices! It costs, I think, on average 60% less the purchase some of these e-books than to buy them in print. This is a great alternative if you're unsure if you'll like a certain book.
While it seems there are more positives with a kindle than with a paper book, it all depends on what you're looking for. If you want the experience, then I suggest the paper book. If you just want the story, purchase it on your kindle because it's much cheaper. I personally like the experience of the physical book the best and so most of my purchases are for paper books. However, I do purchase books I'm not sure I'll like on my kindle. It's nice to have the option of both and I enjoy both in their separate ways.
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Twilight Saga
I was reluctant to begin reading this series. I don't usually go for gory/action-packed books and I felt like this is what Twilight was about (Not sure why). A lot of guys are always saying how Twilight "sucks" and how the books are so badly written - I found this to be opposite of the truth. While the movies aren't the best - I'll give them that - the books are very interesting and I think they are written very well. The story is easy to follow and after the first book, you have to choose a side. Whether you like Jacob better or Edward, it's easy to fall in love with these books. Maybe the people who bash these books are the people who don't read the story before watching the movie. Maybe they've never even read the books! From what I've read, there's no reason to hate on the Twilight Sage for the books. The movies are bad. They don't have very good acting and while I did enjoy watching them it was only because I got to see the characters I knew in the books come alive. I didn't enjoy watching some of the scenes where the character Bella was just awkward when she spoke. So, I caution you all: Don't see the movies before reading the books. And if you've already watched them - Give the books a chance. I promise they won't let you down.
For this post, I'll talk about the book Twilight. If you've not read it, and don't want anything given away I suggest you stop reading.
Twilight begins with a girl named Bella who moves to Washington to stay with her father. While attending school her first day, she sees this boy named Edward. Her new friends caution her by saying that he doesn't go for the girls here. But she's drawn to him. There's something about his eyes.
Edward tries his hardest not to become friends or anything at all with Bella. He's so drawn to her - her scent.
Bella starts to notice something isn't quite right about Edward and begins to ask him countless questions. Why are his eyes changing colors? Why is he always gone from school? Why is he somehow is exactly the right place at the right time?
After much prodding from Bella, Edward reveals he is in fact a vampire. But he's "vegetarian". He doesn't drink human blood but the blood from animals. However, there is a twist here. For each vampire there is this one human who's blood is irresistible. This only happens maybe two or three times in a vampires existence. And guess who's blood is irresistible to Edward. Yes, Bella's.
The real question in this first story is whether or not Edward can overcome this desire and try to maybe have some kind of relationship with Bella. Bella wants nothing more than to be with Edward - even if that means changing her into a vampire as well.
I'll leave you guys hanging in hopes you'll be interested enough to open this book. Give it a shot - what can it hurt?
For this post, I'll talk about the book Twilight. If you've not read it, and don't want anything given away I suggest you stop reading.
Twilight begins with a girl named Bella who moves to Washington to stay with her father. While attending school her first day, she sees this boy named Edward. Her new friends caution her by saying that he doesn't go for the girls here. But she's drawn to him. There's something about his eyes.
Edward tries his hardest not to become friends or anything at all with Bella. He's so drawn to her - her scent.
Bella starts to notice something isn't quite right about Edward and begins to ask him countless questions. Why are his eyes changing colors? Why is he always gone from school? Why is he somehow is exactly the right place at the right time?
After much prodding from Bella, Edward reveals he is in fact a vampire. But he's "vegetarian". He doesn't drink human blood but the blood from animals. However, there is a twist here. For each vampire there is this one human who's blood is irresistible. This only happens maybe two or three times in a vampires existence. And guess who's blood is irresistible to Edward. Yes, Bella's.
The real question in this first story is whether or not Edward can overcome this desire and try to maybe have some kind of relationship with Bella. Bella wants nothing more than to be with Edward - even if that means changing her into a vampire as well.
I'll leave you guys hanging in hopes you'll be interested enough to open this book. Give it a shot - what can it hurt?
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