Kindling

Yesterday as I sat on the couch reading, I found myself trying to remember where my love of books began. What was it that kindled my fire?

Like most kids, I have a lot of memories from my childhood of being outside in the summertime climbing trees or riding my bike. I don't remember reading much until my teenage years. I've always liked to read, I just don't remember always being in love with it. Most of the memories that stick out to me involve being outside, without a book in my hand.

After a few minutes of digging through the filing cabinet of memories in my brain, it hit me. I was 13 years old.

For the first time in my life I was boarding an airplane, and I was terrified. I couldn't fight the tears from falling on my cheeks and I was squeezing my mom's hand so hard that to this day I am surprised it didn't break. We found our seats and my mom continued trying to sooth my fears to no avail. She tried distracting me by telling me all of the amazing things that were going to unfold after we landed, because we were going to be in the happiest place on earth.  I could not focus on all of the happy things that she was telling me, because I was convinced that we were on our way into the air only to plummet to our deaths. Why get excited about Disneyland if I was never even going to make it there?

After a few minutes, the woman sitting behind me tapped me on the shoulder. When I turned around I could see that in her outstretched hand, she was holding a book.

"Reading always helps me when I'm upset."

"Thanks."

I took the book that she had given me and started to read it, then the next thing I knew we were in the air and my nerves were completely calm. She was right, it did help.

After our flight had landed I tried to give the book back to the woman, but she wouldn't let me. She told me to hang onto it and finish the story.

I'm really glad that I did, because it sparked something in me that changed me forever.

The Art of Compromise

After I decided that I wasn't willing to shell out all of the money that it would take to make my Guinea pig dreams come true, Brett and I decided on a compromise.

It wasn't a hard thing to sell him on at all, since it is a lot less alive than a Guinea pig and would not bother him with any noises or smells.  As soon as I suggested my alternative idea he agreed immediately.

We picked it up on Friday, and I am smitten. 

A Great Escape

I just recently finished reading this series.

I must say, it was fantastic!  If you are a lover of books, or just someone who enjoys a little break and a great story every once in a while, this series is for you.  I was sucked in from the first word.

Almost everyone that I work with had read it and they were all talking about how amazing it was. I have to admit, everything that I heard about it from the first time a co worker uttered it's name to me seemed a little out there and I wasn't sure if I would like it or not.  It's set in the future, and the main idea behind the series is that each year a boy and girl from each district are thrown into an arena to fight to the death.

After I finished the first book I had the second and third done in a matter of days.  The story is so original, which it seems the world is lacking lately.  I would definately recommend that you go pick them up!

Bookshelf envy

I love bookshelves! Someday I will have a house full of them, I want one in every room. I love the unique styles that people come up with to make them more interesting. It has always been my dream to have a library full of books in my home, but for now I am thinking that two or three of these would look great at the end of our hall:

Aren't they cool?

Viva!

I love Las Vegas! This was such an amazing trip. We stayed at the Las Vegas Hilton, and really didn't leave much because everything we needed was right there in the hotel. I have to tell you, we ate the most amazing meal of our lives while we were there! It is a restaurant in the hotel called TJ's Steakhouse, and it was to die for. I have never eaten anything that tasted so good. Not only was the meal amazing, but I found my new favorite wine! I really hope they sell it at the liquor stores in Utah. If not, my heart may be broken.

The convention went really well, and it was a great experience. There was so much to see, and a lot of great SWAG was being handed out. The only let down was the booth with the baby Liger. You could get your picture taken with it for a donation, and the first two days we didn't have any cash on us, so we just planned on going back the third day, and I was so looking forward to it. But when we got to their booth that morning it was gone. Bummer.

We did make it over to the Bellagio so that I could see the fountain show, which was awesome! Then we went over to the Stratosphere to ride the Big Shot. It was scary, and fun all at the same time. I would definitely recommend it. Brett wanted to do the other two rides that hung you off of the side of the tower, but I was a chicken.

We had a ton of fun, and I can't wait to go back!

Oh, I almost forgot. The book that we listened to on the way down was hysterical. Anyone who is a fan of Chelsea Handler should go pick it up!

The Serpent Tide

Rating: 3 Stars

The one word I would use to sum up this book: Entertaining

This book was a gift from Chaz and Shay for my birthday last year, and I just recently got around to reading it. {sorry guys!} All in all this was a really good book! It is written by a woman named K.L. Fogg who is from Utah. I would tell you my version, but I would hate to spoil it, so here is a brief overview from the website:

Wesley Vandergrift wonders why he isn't like the other boys in his coastal South Carolina town. It's not easy being the son of an eccentric billionaire mother. His life consists of big secrets in a big mansion and only one friend. Overprotected and insulated from the rest of the world, Wesley yearns for the kind of exciting outdoor adventures he sees on "The Snake Stalker"-his favorite TV program, starring the charming Jack Mackey. Now through a twist of fate, Wesley meets someone who knows his hero Jack Mackey-a real-live relative. And soon Wesley finds himself in more of an adventure than he bargained for. Dare to take the plunge with Wesley on an exciting journey of shipwrecks, venomous snakes, and kidnappers. The legendary curse of the Serpent Tide will forever change Wesley's life-and, perhaps, yours.

It was definitely a good book. I liked the action, and it kept me interested the whole time. Thanks Chaz and Shay!!

There are two more books to the series that I plan to read. The second is titled Widow's Revenge, and the third is titled Diamondback Cave.

Have you read The Serpent Tide? What did you think?

The Color Purple

Title: The Color Purple

Directed by: Steven Spielberg

The Color Purple is a film adaptation of Alice Walker's novel of the same name. I read the book about six years ago, and loved it! So naturally I was up for the challenge when Psonya presented me with the idea to watch and review this movie, {it's her favorite!} in exchange for her to do the same with my favorite movie.

To be completely honest with you, I have to say that I was not that impressed with the film version of the story. I think that the book was wonderful, and I was pretty disappointed after I watched the movie. Part of the problem when making a book into a movie is always the fact that you can't cram all of the story into two hours. So naturally there were pieces missing. The cast for the film had a LOT of big named actors/actresses: Oprah, Danny Glover, Whoopi Goldberg, and Laurence Fishburne are just a few. I think that with the cast in mind I expected the movie to be much better than it turned out to be. I do however, think that Oprah gave an amazing performance. Most of the time I forgot that it was even her that I was watching. She really did a great job of playing Sophie. With that said, I really don't think that any of the other actors/actresses gave it their all. It could've been done much better, in my opinion.

I also think that one of the things that made it hard to watch was the pace. It was so slow. I think that the story works well for a book because it is something that you read a few chapters here and there, then put it down for a while, which helps to break it up a little. But watching the whole movie at once I found myself bored.

I am really bummed that I didn't like the movie. I was really hoping that it would be as good as the book. I do find that most times the movie is never as good as the book to me though, so maybe I am just a sucker for turning pages. I also have to say that I usually tend to like movies that are a little more fast paced, and not so sad. This is truly a depressing story, and maybe that's why I think it is better for me to read it. Then I can put it down and give my brain a rest from all of the sadness.

The movie that I picked for Psonya is very different. Who knows, maybe she won't like it and it will all come down to the fact that we just have different taste in movies. We'll see! She's posting her review today, too. So CLICK HERE to see what she thinks of Green Street Hooligan's.

Sorry Psonya!!

Have you seen The Color Purple? What did you think?

Requesting Recommendations

I am really close to finishing the book that I am currently reading, and cannot decide which one I want to pull off my shelf next. So I wanted to ask you:

What is your favorite book?

Why?

Gathering Blue

Rating: Two Stars

The one word I would use to sum up this book: Disappointing

This book is the sequel to The Giver, which I absolutely loved, but this one let me down. I was really expecting the second book to be a continuation of the first book, or at least tie into it somehow. They had absolutely nothing to do with each other. I have been told that the third book in the series, Messenger, ties both of these stories together. I really hope so!

Have you read it? What did you think?

The Giver

Rating: Four Stars
The one word I would use to sum up this book: Brilliant

I read this book when I was in junior high school, and I had forgotten a lot of the details, so yesterday I decided I was going to read it again (it was the first time I had ever read a whole book in one day!), and I am so glad I did! This is such a great story, and really the only complaint that I can say I have about it is the fact that it's not long enough. I think that the author could have added so much more to the story and it would have been even greater! It is about a boy named Jonas and his family. They live in a society of "sameness" where there is no pain, no suffering, and no color. It follows him through his 12th year of life, and the struggles with getting his 'assignment' and beginning his training for adulthood.

I absolutely loved it, and I am reading the sequel next!! :)

Have you read it? What did you think?

Book Reviews by Kaylyn

I think it's about time for me to start doing book reviews. Don't you? I read so many books, and so many of them are books that I think you should read too. So now I will have a way of enticing you to read what I read, then we can talk about it. Sound good? I will kick things off with the book that I finished yesterday:

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time

by Mark Haddon

Rating: Two Stars
The one word I would use to sum up this book: Odd

Don't get me wrong, it was definitely interesting. I always appreciate it when an author comes up with a creative narrator for a book (that's why The Book Thief is my favorite!) and this one was definitely interesting. It is about a 15 year old autistic boy named Christopher, and it is written from his perspective. He discovers late one night that his neighbors dog has been killed, and he makes it his mission to solve the murder. The book has it's funny moments, and it's sad moments, with a lot of WTF? moments thrown in as well. It jumps around a lot. Overall it was an interesting read. It's only about 200 pages, so it's a quick read. I won't be reading it again, but I can't say I regret reading it once. I will give any book a chance. So if you just need to kill time, pick it up, or you can borrow mine. But if you are looking for a structured story that you will just love....this is not the book for you.

Have you read it? What did you think??

Something Great

This is my second favorite series of books (Harry Potter still holds the top spot) It is such a great story! If you haven't read them yet, I highly recommend it! The whole series is great, and Stephenie Meyer has such a creative imagination! I'm not normally too into reading the sci-fi genre, but she does a great job of making you forget that you are even reading about Vampires. No fangs or sleeping in coffins in these books. So if that's why you haven't picked them up yet, you are really missing out on something great!! I promise you will be impressed! (unless you are my sister Kristi or my co-worker Keri, then I think you are crazy!!)

I just finished reading the fourth book last night, and it was fabulous! By far the best one in the series. I am not going to say anything about it, I would hate to spoil it for those of you who are still reading it, but when you get done reading I'd love to hear what you thought about it.





Now that I've read the whole series, I am anxiously awaiting the release of this on December 12, 2008:





Doesn't it look awesome?? I can't wait to see it! Who's coming with me? Brett has had his fair share of Stephenie Meyer event torture for one lifetime, so unless he wants to come, I wouldn't put him through that! =)

Whose Idea Was This?

I know that they haven't even released Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince yet, and maybe I'm a little bit ahead of myself here, but I'm really annoyed right now! So just let me vent, okay?

I have always hated the fact that that there is a year between the release of the new Harry Potter films, but lets face it, it's understandable for so many reasons:

1. They obviously use it as a huge marketing scheme to get people more hyped up about it since they have to wait so long for the new movie to come out.
2. I get that it takes a long time to film a movie.
3. The actors probably need a break in between filming to spend time with their families and their Friends.
4. They have to brainstorm new and exciting ways to draw in the crowd with fabulous special effects.
5. They have to take time, and make sure all of the important plot points are included.
6. etc., etc., etc.

so for these reason it makes sense to me that we really do have a reason for waiting in agony for the next films release, but let me share something with you that I just discovered today....

When they release Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in November of 2010, it's only going to be part 1.....no you didn't read it wrong, I said part 1. Then we have to wait until May of 2011 to see the 2nd half! Yeah, this is why I'm so mad right now! After the sixth movie, we wait one full year to see just HALF of the seventh movie, then we have to wait six more months to see the rest.

Am I the only one who thinks that this is the most terrible idea ever?

Whose idea was this anyway? Because if it was J.K. Rowling, and this is all just a ploy to make more money, then I would like to remind her that she is a BILLIONAIRE!! This is unnecessary.

I would much rather sit through five hours of wondrous Harry Potter all at one time than see two and a half hours of it now, then see the other two and a half hours six months later......maybe I should start a petition to Warner Brothers, would you sign it?

10 books to read before you die

I saw a link on AOL the other day that said '10 books to read before you die'. This intrigued me! I have such a strong opinion for the books I like or don't like, that I decided it would be fun to compare my list to theirs.


Gone With the Wind - Margaret Mitchell*
Lord of the Rings (1-3) - J.R.R. Tolkien*
Harry Potter (1-7) - J.K. Rowling
The Stand - Stephen King*
The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
To Kill A Mockingbird - Harper Lee*
Angels & Demons - Dan Brown*
Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand*
The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger*
The Holy Bible**

Here is my list. It is definitely different, but some are the same:



The Book Thief - Markus Zusak
Harry Potter (1-7) - J.K. Rowling
The Giver - Lois Lowry
Twilight (1-3) - Stephenie Meyer
The Lottery Rose - Irene Hunt
Pictures of Hollis Woods - Patricia Reilly Giff
The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho
The Color Purple - Alice Walker
The Memory Keeper's Daughter - Kim Edwards

I think everyone should read these books! I won't go into detail about why I love them, but if you are curious, feel free to ask. Leave a comment to tell me what your top 10 list is, or even just your favorite book. I would love to know what books are good so that I can read them if I haven't already. =)
*I have not read these books yet, but I want to!
**I might not ever get around to this one......we'll see.

When I Grow Up.....

When I grow up I want to be an author! I have been writing poetry since I was really young, and after I started reading the Harry Potter series J.K. Rowling became my hero. She is so brilliant, and I hope some day my stories are as good as hers. But another reason that I want to be just like her when I grow up, is because she lives here:


I've always admired castles, and in fact I've always been convinced (just ask Brett, it probably drives him crazy!) that someday we will live in a castle. I think I like old castles like this one the best. They just seem to have more character to them. Preferably somewhere in Ireland or Scotland! If you're gonna dream, you better dream big, right?
I'll keep you posted on how that goes, I'm working on it, I promise!

Stephenie Meyer!!

As soon as I heard that Stephenie Meyer would be here doing a book signing, I just knew that I had to go. I am such a big fan of the Twilight series, and I couldn't resist the opportunity to have her sign a copy of my book. There was only one small problem...tickets were limited. They were only selling around 250 tickets, and the night before they went on sale people had already started lining up in front of Border's when I was on my way home from work.

Our initial plan had been to get there at about 4:00 am, which would be four hours before they opened the doors. As soon as I heard that people were already starting to accumulate outside of the store, I knew that I had to change my plan or there was no way that I would end up at the book signing. I got home and told Brett that people were already at the bookstore waiting, and that I wanted to head over right away.

This is where he looked at me like I had lost my damn mind.

Maybe that was true, but I wasn't going to give up. It didn't take much begging, and the promise that I would mix up some beer margarita's to take with us, before he finally agreed. The new plan was that we were going to have dinner, gather some things to keep us entertained, and then we would be there at midnight.

We actually did have a pretty good time, and even Brett found himself laughing about the situation, playing games on the sidewalk with total strangers and making the best of the situation.


Tonight was the night that we actually went to the book signing. Since Brett had already had his fair share of Twilight fans, I took my sister-in-law Laura with me. The book signing was scheduled to promote the release of her newest book, The Host. We got to listen to her read a few exerpts from the book and then there was a discussion and Q&A segment about the book. I haven't read it yet, but after what I heard during the discussions I am definitely looking forward to seeing what this story is all about.

After the Q&A was over, we got to meet her and have our books signed. They allowed everyone who came to bring two books from the Twilight series and as many copies of The Host as you wanted. It was so exciting, and we had a ton of fun! There were a lot of CRAZY fans there, but it made things interesting! Here are some pictures from the event:

Me, at the podium



Laura, at the podium



Stephenie Meyer during the discussion




Stephenie Meyer during the signing



My personalized copy of The Host! I also had her sign Twilight and Eclipse

 Our seats actually ended up being really good. I guess that's why being in line three hours prior to the event pays off. I knew that since the seats were just on a general admission basis, we would have to be there early. Laura was planning on coming down to wait it out with me, but got stuck in traffic on the way and only made about 5 minutes before they opened the doors.


It really was a great experience, and if you ever get the chance to meet her at a signing, I highly recommend it. She's so awesome! If not for the autograph, at least for the entertainment. You wouldn't believe how obsessive some of her fans are, it definitely makes you appreciate your own grip on reality.