Happy Birthday Betty White!

Tuesday, January 17, 2012 at 5:55 PM

Today is Betty White's 90th birthday!!!!! Happy Birthday Betty! You are an inspiration to us all, not just because you seem to always be happy and in an amazing mood, but because of all you do with the animals too!! I watched your 90th birthday bash on tv and saw your new show that will be coming on in the spring. I loved them both! It was so nice to see you, Ed Asner, Carroll Burnett, and Mary Tyler Moore all in the same room!! Too bad they don't make shows like they used to! (Hot in Cleveland is, of course, the exception!) And I can't wait for more of Off Their Rockers! I laughed through the whole show! I'd love to see it in person, although that is highly unlikely to happen. Ha! Anyway...I could go on and on about you and your career and your personality and your care for animals..........but then you'd just get bored! So once again...Happy 90th Birthday and I can't wait to see how they top that bash with your upcoming 100th!

Oh..and since this is a blog about books...I just finished Thriller. Good book! It had some boring moments, but I got by those pretty quick! The last story in the book was really good! It had me on the edge of my seat. The ITW really knows how to end a novel! I would recommend it!

Photo Credit: NBC / Trae Patton

Has It Really Been That Long?

Thursday, December 29, 2011 at 8:10 PM
Wow, what has happened to the time?! I knew I hadn't put anything on here in a while (sorry about that!), but I didn't know it's been so long! I've read so many books since then, I can't even remember all that I've finished. Hopefully I'll get on this more often, but I'm sure as most of you know, sometimes life happens and time just flys by!

Anyway, I'll tell you the previous book I just finished and the book I'm reading now. I just finished Dashing Through the Snow by Mary Higgins Clark and Carol Higgins Clark. As usual, it was amazing! I do love their Christmas stories! I can't wait to read the ones I haven't bought yet!

The book I'm reading now is Thriller by various authors and edited by James Patterson. It is made up of short stories from many authors who are in the International Thriller Writers, Inc. As their websites states "ITW represents professional thriller authors from around the world [and] ITW membership includes over 1,300 authors in twenty-two countries." To learn more about them visit http://thrillerwriters.org/. It's really a good novel because you get to discover new authors you may have never heard of before. Another reason I like this novel is because even if I'm not to fond of the story or the author's writing style, I know another author with a different story will be appearing soon. I have already bought the sequel Thriller 2 and I can't wait to start it! Another book I can't wait to begin is Inheritance by Christopher Paolini. This novel is 4th and last in the series. What will happen?! I'm so excited! So goodbye till next time and enjoy reading! I know I will!

2010 (and the rest from 2009)!

Thursday, January 14, 2010 at 2:37 PM
Hello again! I'm afraid I haven't had a lot of time here recently to post, however, I have kept on reading. This will be the list of books that I've read since my last post. It's a bit of a list, but nonetheless I shall write it.


First though, I have to say that I went to go see New Moon. I need to see it again to give a proper review, however, from what I remember of it; the movie was really good. I rather enjoyed it. I wasn't sure if I was going to like it when I heard a bit about the film and how Edward was going to be more than just a voice. However, I thought the way they did it was really good. Bella saw him instead of just hearing him, which let us, as the audience, know who and what she was hearing (as if we wouldn't have known anyway).


Dealing with the whole human to wolf transformation - I thought that was done quite well too. I didn't see any cartoon-ish animation in it at all. Very nice. I'd have to say that if you haven't seen the movie, you should. Go even if you don't really know what it's all about. I'll bet that you'll enjoy it.


Now to the books! All 17 of them. These reviews are going to be short and sweet. The books are in order from the oldest one that I've read to the most recent. Now without further ado, here we go!


17. Where Are the Children? , A Stranger is Watching , The Cradle Will Fall by Mary Higgins Clark: This was a combination of three novels into one. All were good books to read. Ms. Clark really knows how to keep you on the edge of your seat. I'll give it a 5/5 stars!


16. The Darkest Evening of the Year by Dean Koontz: I do remember that I liked this book, although now I can't seem to remember much about it. 4/5.


15. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll: I knew of Alice in Wonderland before I even opened this book, so I was pretty sure I knew what to expect. I must say that these novels exceeded my expectations! Very well written and very enjoyable. 5/5


14. Stillwatch by Mary Higgins Clark: Quite a good book! This novel is FULL of mystery. You never know what's around the next corner with MHC. 5/5!


13. Nighttime is My Time by Mary Higgins Clark: I totally remember everything about this book. I could not put it down. The ending is shocking and makes you rethink everything about what you've learned about the people of this class reunion. Go out and buy it..TODAY! 5+/5


12. Next by Michael Crichton: Very, very interesting. This book will make you think of what's really going on in this world. 4/5.


11. The Second Time Around by Mary Higgins Clark: I think I'm keeping Ms. Clark in business. This is yet another masterpiece of MHC. 5/5!


10. The Dead Zone by Stephen King: Some of you may remember the television show that lasted a handful of seasons based on this book. If you do remember the show, don't let that decide if you read this book or not. The book is really good and totally different from the show. Check this book out at your local library on you next visit. You will not be disappointed. 5/5!


9. Strange Highways by Dean Koontz: This is a collection of short stories by Koontz. I did like this book, however sometimes didn't like how the stories ended. If you could even say that they ended at all. Some of them seemed to just end during the middle of the story. Don't let this however, deter you from reading this book. I'm sure I'll be reading it again. 4/5.


8. Casino Royale by Ian Fleming: I had never read a James Bond book before this one and I have to say I'll probably be reading some more. I quite enjoyed this. There wasn't a slow part in it anywhere. Every page had something interesting. 4/5.


7. Candide by Voltaire: I had never heard of this book until I picked it up to see what it was about. I wasn't sure if I was going to like this or not, but I bought it anyway. And am I glad I did. This book really makes you think. I don't even know how to explain it, other than to say that you should read it. 4/5.


6. The Murder of King Tut by James Patterson (& Martin Dugard): I really, really enjoy JP's work and this was no exception. It is a really good read and worth looking at if you haven't already. This is about King Tut (as you could probably tell), his life, and his death. I highly recommend it. 5/5!


5. Hideaway by Dean Koontz: I came upon Koontz last year (2009) and have found that I really enjoy his work. This was very interesting and very original. This is pretty much a book about good verses evil, however this is not your average story. Very good storyline and fast paced writing makes you not want to stop reading. 5+/5!


4. Remember Me by Mary Higgins Clark: Very good story about a couple who moved out to Cape Cod. I didn't see the ending to this book coming, which is just one more reason why I enjoyed this book. If you have never read a MHC novel, you should start with this one. 5/5!


3. Silent Night by Mary Higgins Clark: Yet another Clark novel. This is one of her Christmas time stories. I always enjoy her stories with this background. It makes the scenes all the more interesting. You never know what kind of trouble children can accidentally get themselves into and this novel shows us just that, but I'm afraid the child's future does not look too bright. 5/5!


2. Let Me Whisper In Your Ear by Mary Jane Clark. You might be thinking that I bought this book my accident thinking that it was MHC, however that is not the case. You never see the ending of this book coming! I certainly didn't. This book is part of the "Key News Series." Laura Walsh doesn't know that her research into a mysterious death just may get her killed. You need to know about Mary Jane Clark. Great book! 5+/5!


1. Ricochet by Sandra Brown: This is yet another author that I had never read. Very good storyline. Detective Sergeant Duncan Hatcher doesn't know who to believe: the Judge or the judge's wife. Who he believes may save his life, or kill him. I give this a 4/5.


Harry Potter 6 - The Movie

Friday, August 28, 2009 at 5:33 PM
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was really good. Although I must say that I, once again, thought that too much got cut out. The book is, of course, better and is filled with a lot more information than the movie. I know that the movie people are separating the 7th movie into two parts. They probably could've done it with this book too.

To me, this movie moved at a slower pace than the others that have came before it. The book most certainly was not that slow. It had more action and interesting things than they put in the movie. I know that they don't want movies that are extremely long, but I still believe that they left too much out.

I have been back and re-read the entire series and it was crazy how much the movie didn't have in it. I almost couldn't tell that they were the same. I am so excited for the 7 and 8th movie! It will be sad to see them go after the series has finished...but will they really have gone? No! Well, the people will be done, but the locations won't.

If you don't know, in Orlando, Florida, Universal Studios is making a new park. It is called The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. They will be re-creating Hogswarts, Hogsmeade, and I don't know what else. It sounds awesome! I would love to be there on opening day!

Last I have heard, they will be opening the park in September of 2010. If you would like to know more about this and even possibly sign up for their newsletter, you can go to the website at http://www.universalorlando.com/harrypotter/. I'm just incredibly excited, you just don't even know!

From what I've read, you will be able to walk around Hogsmeade and visit some of the shops like Zonko's Joke Shop, Dervish and Banges, and The Three Broomsticks. You will also be able to walk in and about Hogwarts itself! How fun will that be?! I can't wait till next year!

Twilight - the Movie

Monday, July 13, 2009 at 5:10 PM
I have finally seen this movie! My verdict is.....eh. It was..okay. They left out a lot of material that I found important. Take for example Carlisle's background. Um, hello?! That is important further on into the series. I do see why they took it out, but I just don't know. Next is Alice's background as told by James. Now, I do agree that it really wasn't too relevant to the plot of the movie, but I still found it important because that is one of the reasons why Alice wants everything to be perfect for Bella. If Alice remembered her human life, she may not be how she is now. Another thing I noticed is that they didn't show the cross in the Cullen's house. I believe that is important because of Edward's view of his soul. As you know (if you've read the series) Edward's and Bella's view on a vampire's soul are completely different. I find that if the cross is in the Cullen house, that means that all the Cullens apparently don't agree with Edward's view.

Something that really bothered me about the movie is the make-up on the Cullens. I know they are vampires, but seriously! They couldn't have made them any more white. It was just too much. And what's up with Bella? She isn't a vampire in this movie. Can't they give her some color? Seriously! You really couldn't tell who was a vampire and who wasn't.

I've read and heard a lot of people talk about the acting and how much they disliked it. What was wrong with the acting? I liked all the actors and actresses. A lot of people came down hard on Robert Pattinson. I don't see why. I mean, think about it. He's playing a vampire who has to act human. That's probably not the easiest part to play. So in my own view, Robert as well as all the others did a perfectly good job.

I'd have to watch the movie again to find out what else they missed that I thought needed to be there. It's been probably over a month since I've seen this and can't remember all that was missing. I do know that I talked for quite some time about everything that should have been done but wasn't. So, if I get to watch this again soon, I will put a continuation post.

I do have to say though that if you have not read the book / series, then the movie was pretty good. I am now looking forward (somewhat) to the movie version of New Moon. We'll have to wait and see if the movie goes as slow as the book. The next movie I'll be reviewing will be the new Harry Potter. I can't wait for that!

Eclipse & Breaking Dawn

at 4:43 PM
I am incredibly behind on updating this so I am going to be condensing these posts and combining more than one book for each post. So without further ado, let's review some books!

Eclipse and Breaking Dawn are the last two novels of the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. I must say that these are much better than New Moon. However, with that said, New Moon was necessary for the series to continue. You find that out within Eclipse. I think that it's no big surprise to find out that Edward, Bella, and Jacob would have to work together for the greater good. That much was predictable. What wasn't predictable was how they all ended up in Breaking Dawn. There was one minor thing I wasn't sure about and that is the major scene in Breaking Dawn. I was looking forward to the fight because through the novel the feeling of the incoming doom was very tense and it only got worse as the book progressed. I, personally, liked that part because I became excited to see what would happen. If you have read the book (because the movie isn't out, yet), you know what happened. That was such a disappoint to me. I was waiting and waiting and waiting and then...........nothing. It was like I climbed up a high peak just to find out that there was only desolation waiting for me at the top. I have read worse endings before so I'm not going to complain that much. I sort of liked the ending because Bella found out her potential and everyone lived, or un-lived (well, most did). I knew Alice had her own plan and that see foresaw something that she wasn't telling anyone. If she had never returned, I don't think I would have liked the series as much as I do because I really enjoy Alice.
So, overall I quite enjoyed this series and will probably read it again in the future. But for now, onto more reviews!
Photo credit: Both - http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/

Photos

at 4:38 PM
This incredibly short post tells where the photos that I've used below have came from. Since I forgot to credit them in their original posts, I'll say them here. The Maximum Ride photo comes from http://www.max-dan-wiz.com/. All Twilight images come from Stephenie Meyer's website, http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/.

Lee's Library | Powered by Blogger | Entries (RSS) | Comments (RSS) | Designed by MB Web Design | XML Coded By Cahayabiru.com