Wading Through the Ocean of Life

Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith

Tobe — Fri, 25 May 2012 22:53:52 +0000

Title: Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter

Author: Seth Grahame-Smith

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing 2011

Genre: Paranormal; Alternative history?

Pages: 336

Rating: 5 /5 stars

Reading Challenges:

How I Got It: Vampire; Support Your Library loan; Book2Movie

While Abraham Lincoln is widely lauded for saving a Union and freeing millions of slaves, his valiant fight against the forces of the undead has remained in the shadows for hundreds of years. That is, until Seth Grahame-Smith stumbled upon The Secret Journal of Abraham Lincoln, and became the first living person to lay eyes on it in more than 140 years.

Using the journal as his guide and writing in the grand biographical style of Doris Kearns Goodwin and David McCullough, Seth has reconstructed the true life story of our greatest president for the first time-all while revealing the hidden history behind the Civil War and uncovering the role vampires played in the birth, growth, and near-death of our nation.

I love these mixes of history and fantasy. I think I’ve found my second favorite genre (after zombies, of course). This book reads like a historical biography. Except in this case, Smith added the elements of vampires throughout the history of Lincoln’s life. If I didn’t know any better, I would think this was nonfiction. Every addition feels unnatural. I loved the pacing, breaking his life into “boy, vampire hunter, and president.” Through it we get a sense of Lincoln (even if half of it is make believe). I’ve never been a huge fan of Lincoln’s; I prefer the Roosevelts and Jefferson. But this book made me a fan. I heartedly recommend!

Movie Review: Unfortunately the movie isn’t released until June 22. Be assured that I will be seeing this as soon as it is released. So excited for this one!

Kick-Ass by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.

Tobe — Fri, 25 May 2012 19:19:17 +0000

Title: Kick-Ass

Author: Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.

Publisher: Marvel 2011

Genre: Graphic Novel

Pages: 192

Rating: 5/5 stars Movie: /5

Reading Challenges: Graphic Novel; Support Your Local Library; Books2Movie

How I Got It: Library Loan

Dave Lizewski is just an ordinary American teenager. Then an idea hits him: why not become a real life super hero.

J had me see the movie when it came out, but I had never gotten around to reading the graphic novel. Amazingly, my local library had it just sitting there on the shelf begging for me to take it home. And home it came. I read it in one little sitting last night. It’s über violent. It’s über gorey. But at the heart, it’s a great little story about a nobody that starts a crime fighting revolution and sorta finds his way. Plus, I was excited to actually get the references to other comic book characters and series. I think I’m turning into a comic book reader. Anyway, I really enjoyed Kick-Ass. It’s not light and fluffy. It’s gritty and nasty, but in an awesome comic book way. And I read that Volume 2 is due to be released this June 2012. I must keep that on my radar.

Movie:

I’ll admit that when J proposed watching this, I was hesitant. I bloody, gorey action film about a comic book geek that want’s to be a super hero. I was worried that it was going to be cheesy. But then I found out that Nicholas Cage was in the movie. I’ll see anything he’s in, even the absolutely horrible stuff. He’s my movie kryptonite. So we watched, and I’m glad we did. I love seeing the interplay between Dave’s regular life and his after hours fantasies. It was an interesting take on the genre. And Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Red Mist was perfect casting. Hands down the best performance of the movie was Chloe Grace Moretz. Her Hit Girl had all the vulnerability of a child but the strength of a superhero. I loved seeing the interactions between her and her dad. Best scene of the movie: where Big Daddy shoots Hit Girl to teach her to anticipate it in the future. Disturbing but amazing.

Wonderland by Tommy Kovac and Sonny Liew

Tobe — Thu, 24 May 2012 03:37:06 +0000

Title: Wonderland

Author: Tommy Kovac and Sonny Liew

Publisher: Disney Press 2009

Genre: Graphic Novel

Pages: 160

Rating: 5 /5 stars

Reading Challenges: Graphic Novel; A to Z — K; Support Your Local LIbrary

How I Got It: Library loan

Among the numerous curiosities that have gone unexplained in the classic tale Alice in Wonderland, perhaps the most perplexing might be who, exactly, is the “Maryann” that the White Rabbit mistakes Alice for at the beginning of the story? Lewis Carroll first made us ponder this and, years later, Walt Disney again made viewers wonder who Maryann might be in his classic feature length film based on Carroll’s book.

Now, the amazingly talented folks at SLG Publishing, through a licensing deal with Disney, have finally answered this age-old question. In their beautifully executed comic book series, WONDERLAND, readers experience Alice’s fantastic world as they’ve never seen it before. Writer Tommy Kovac’s Wonderland is missing Alice herself, but it’s still populated by the other characters that make the world such a curiously exciting place. The Queen of Hearts is present, barking orders to lop off people’s heads, as is the Cheshire Cat, the White Rabbit, the Mad Hatter and the rest of Wonderland’s beloved cast. And there are some new faces, too, including the book’s main protagonist, the mysterious Maryann herself. All are beautifully illustrated by Wonderland’s artist, Sonny Liew.

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is one of my favorite books. I love the fantasy element, the absurdity. I was very excited to learn who Maryann is after all that talk from the White Rabbit. All the characters from the original make appearances. My favorite is still the Cheshire Cat. Although in this volume, he’s a lot more funny than creepy. And we get some newish characters in the Queen and King of Spades found at the bottom of a treacle well. We even get an appearance by the Jabberwocky. A definite must for fans of the original Lewis Carroll story.

Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin

Tobe — Wed, 23 May 2012 17:30:16 +0000

Title: Something Borrowed (Darcy #1)

Author: Emily Giffin

Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin 2005

Genre: Romance

Pages: 322

Rating: 2 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Semi-Charmed Challenge — Bad Review; Mixing It Up — Modern Fiction; Mount TBR; Book2Movie

How I Got It: I own it!

Rachel White is the consummate good girl. A hard-working attorney at a large Manhattan law firm and a diligent maid of honor to her charmed best friend Darcy, Rachel has always played by all the rules. Since grade school, she has watched Darcy shine, quietly accepting the sidekick role in their lopsided friendship.But that suddenly changes the night of her thirtieth birthday when Rachel finally confesses her feelings to Darcy’s fiance, and is both horrified and thrilled to discover that he feels the same way. As the wedding date draws near, events spiral out of control, and Rachel knows she must make a choice between her heart and conscience. In so doing, she discovers that the lines between right and wrong can be blurry, endings aren’t always neat, and sometimes you have to risk everything to be true to yourself.

I picked this book up for $1. It had been on my list for a while, but I had read a few bad reviews for it… So I was unsure of whether or not read it. Then some friends and I saw the movie version. Now I had to read the book. The reviews were right. The entire time reading this book, I couldn’t decided if I liked any of the main characters. At the end I came away with the idea that cheating is okay if you do it with your “soulmate” or if the other woman is a narcissist. I just didn’t see it as an truthful exploration of relationships. To me, it was a gimmick. Plus, I didn’t find Dex attractive at all. He’s just the lying, toying scumbag. I thought every relationship in the book was unhealthy. In the end, I read this as a cautionary tale. Don’t be friends with people like Darcy, Rachel, or Dex.

Movie: Hmmmm…. This wasn’t horrible, but it wasn’t good either. The addition of John Krasinski’s Ethan was an improvement. But adding in the love quadrangle didn’t work at all. I’ve decided that I don’t like Kate Hudson in anything except for Almost Famous. Overall I came out of it feeling very blah and wanting some action or zombie fun to cleanse my palate. Definitely not a movie that I need to see again.

Quote Wednesday — Freud

Tobe — Wed, 23 May 2012 13:34:54 +0000

“Being entirely honest with oneself is a good exercise.” — Sigmund Freud

While I’m not a huge fan of Freud, this just rings true. How often do we lie to ourselves about the hard things in life? How can we be honest with others if we aren’t honest with ourself first? I challenge you to ask yourself a hard question and write the truth down. Hard, but such a great challenge on the road to being a better person.

Top Ten Tuesday – Non Book Blogs

Tobe — Tue, 22 May 2012 14:13:15 +0000

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created here at The Broke and the Bookish. This meme was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We’d love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list complete with one of our bloggers’ answers. Everyone is welcome to join. If you can’t come up with ten, don’t worry about it—post as many as you can!

A great topic for this week! While having tons of book blogs, my GoogleReader does have some choice nonbook blogs buried in there. Check them out…

1. The Mary Sue:A Guide to Girl Geek Culture – must have for those geeky women out there

2. WWdN: In Exile — Wil Wheaton’s uber geeky life blog. I am so in love with this man! (Don’t worry J, he’s married)

3. GeekMom — Something for every geeky mom out there.

4. Failbook — Must read for a chuckle and sometimes a gasp and even a facepalm.

5. Cake Wrecks — The Ultimate in Decoration Disasters. My favorites are still the carrot jockey cakes.

6. xkcd — Sometimes uber geeky, always hilarious.

7. Savage Chickens — Cartoons on post it notes. Zombie chickens…

8. Loop Looks — Style blog from regular girl from Chicago. I love that she shops at many of the stores that I do. Practical style advice.

9. A Cup of Jo — Blogger, mother, and wife living in Manhattan. She always finds the coolest products.

10. A Turtle’s Life for Me — Definitely got some future craft project ideas from here.

Honorable Mention

… This Week for Dinner — Great easy recipes and meal plan ideas.

… Neatorama — Round up of cool things, pictures, geeky news.

Bout of Books Readathon 4.0 Day #7 and Finish Line

Tobe — Mon, 21 May 2012 17:26:35 +0000

Today’s Progress:

Books Read: 0.1
Total Books Read: 5.1
Pages Read: 40
Total Pages Read: 1405
Time Read: 30 minutes
Total Time Read: 12 hour 38 minutes
#todayinsixwordds: Epic fail for the last day!

Another readathon completed. I was hoping to read more than I did, but 5 books is respectable. House chores seemed to get in the way. And the weekend just went downhill from there. At this point, I think I need to carve out some time every day to read. As it stands, I keep getting distracted…

My Goals

Read at least 5 books √
Read my required reading for the month (Shakespeare and Harry Potter) — Epic fail of the week
Review all books read √
Participate in at least 2 mini challenges — I only did one… tried to focus on the reading.
Read an average of 2 hours a day — Close but nope

Books To Read

Anthony and Cleopatra by Shakespeare
Much Ado About Nothing by Shakespeare
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein
~~Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie~~
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
~~The Frog Prince by Stephen Mitchell~~
~~A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray~~
~~Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters~~
~~Paris in Love by Eloisa James~~
The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin — Started

Music Monday — 2001

Tobe — Mon, 21 May 2012 13:42:30 +0000

As part of my ongoing celebration for my 30th birthday, I am highlighting some popular songs from throughout my years. Songs were picked based off of a list of Grammy award winners and Billboard Top 100. Then, I chose my favorites to highlight.

Year: 2001

Book: Unknown

Music Selections:

“Lady Marmalade”
Alicia Keys “Fallin’”
Poe “Hey Pretty”
Dave Matthews Band “The Space Between”
Linkin Park “Crawling” — One of my all time favorites!
“I am a Man of Constant Sorrow”

Day Zero Project Update: Week 32-35

Tobe — Sun, 20 May 2012 23:39:51 +0000

Instead of daily posts, I thought it would be a lot easier for me and you if I did weekly update posts. These will track my progress each week. I will highlight what I’ve done, what I want to do, and any interesting tidbits. Sometimes I’ll add pictures and/or links. Hopefully these posts will keep me accountable to me list…

What I Did

3. Listen to 26 new bands (one for each letter of the alphabet) (14/26)

Zulu Winter “We Should Be Swimming”
St. Vincent “Cheerleader”
Walk the Moon “Anna Sun”
GROUPLOVE “Tongue Tied”
Imagine Dragons “It’s Time”
Punch Brothers “Dark Days”

5. Make a playlist of my favorite 101 songs — I started sifting through my 9400 songs on iTunes. I’m only in the Ds, so this will take a while.

6. Watch all the James Bond movies (20/22)

The World is Not Enough
Die Another Day

9. See 101 new movies (28/101)

The Avengers

17. Reread all of the Harry Potter books (4/7) — Finished Goblet of Fire, heading to Order of the Phoenix

24. Keep a journal for this project

26. Keep a “Six Words to Describe the Day” journal for 6 months — Ongoing

28. Blog 1001 times — 45 posts this period (367/1001)

30. Finish 100 creative writing prompts (1/100) — I started a new notebook to collect all of my writing exercises.

33. Read my height in books — 4 inches this period (50/68in.)

37. Pass 250,000 pages read for my 1,000,000 pages challenge (74,946/250,000)

54. Throw away all my underwear and start again

60. Try 30 new recipes (23/30)

Pumpkin dessert
Buttermilk chicken
Orange teriyaki chicken
Farmer’s casserole
Sloppy joes
Clam chowder
Lemony flank steak

What I Plan to Do Next Week

12. See all of IMDB’s Top 250 movie s (10/250) — I really need to get moving on this.

16. Spend an afternoon in the park reading — There are some great parks around here. I need to start scouting. And with a bike, it will be much easier.

32. Finish 30 reading challenges (7/30) — Hope to knock out a few this next session.

35. Join or create a book club — I found a couple on Meetup for the area. I sent a join up email and am waiting to heart back. I hope one of them is a perfect match for me.

72. Complete “50 Questions that Free Your Mind” (20/50)

Monthly Goal

My day in 6 words. Ongoing for the next four months.

Overall Progress

12/101

The Sunday Salon #11

Tobe — Sun, 20 May 2012 20:32:37 +0000

Listening To: Continuing with my iTunes collection. I’m up to the Ds now.

Book finished: The Frog Prince; Paris in Love; A Great and Terrible Beauty; Murder on the Orient Express; Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters

Reading: Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin

Making Lists: Projects for the house. The spice racks are up, but there’s really nothing else on the walls. And we need to finish putting away the all the knick knacks, books, etc.

Around the house: Waiting for my desk to arrive to finish putting together the office. Supposedly it will arrive Tuesday, but we’ll see.

From the kitchen: Last Monday, I made a huge number of freezer meals to last us for the next month or so. I spent all day created at least 12 main dish servings, 10 dessert servings, and a complete farmer’s casserole. We are set. And it is looking good. I’ve already eaten one serving of the salsa shredded beef over the course of two days. Delicious!

On the Web: Blog surfing. I had a backlog of blogs to check out that’s been sitting in my notebook for at least a few months. I finally started getting to them,

Crafting: Nothing until my desk arrives and is put together. I did join a few crafting Meetup groups. Looking forward to some new ideas and encouragement.

Watching: The theater is up and running, so we’ve been catching up on a ton of shows. Psych, New Girl, 30 Rock, Community, How I Met Your Mother, Once Upon a Time, and Eureka. I also started to finish Chuck (I’m in season 4 of 5). I finished the Pierce Bronson James Bond movies so now we only have the two Craig ones. And J started me on a fairly recent show Fairly Legal. I love it! We’re almost to the end of season one which will catch me up with J.

Wondering: Why the DMV is like what i imagine Purgatory to be? I had to go get my California driver’s license. After waiting almost 30 minutes I finally got my question answered. What documents do I need? Only be told a birth certificate or passport. Unfortunately I do not have a county approved bc, but a decorative one. I had to call my mom, ask if she had it, wait, and finally my dad went to get a copy. It should have been sent yesterday. I should be able to get my license next week. Yippy! More purgatory fun!

From Nature: It’s been a bit chilly (for here) in the 60s, but sunny every day. Just gorgeous.

Shopping Scores: I found a crazy dragon skull box for the boys’ room for only $8. It is going to look so great in their room. I also ended up buying Ticket to Ride after watching the TtR episode of TableTop with Wil Wheaton. Check it out on Geek and Sundry on YouTube.com. And finally I got a bike. It’s a beauty and will be great to cruise around the neighborhood. Very excited to break it in this coming week.

Project: Getting ready for the boys. Plane tickets have been bought. I’m making a list of camps to sign up for. I’ve looked into taking them to Great America; it’s only 10 minutes away. And planning out a few San Francisco/beach days.

Farmer’s Market Finds: J joined me this weekend at the farmer’s market and I’m pretty sure he enjoyed it. We picked up some lettuce, broccoli, sour baguette, white bread, duck sausage with figs (J’s pick), fruit tart, and chocolate cake. We ended up grabbing lunch while there. I had The Trinity (sausage, sauerkraut, onions, and mustard) and J had the Seoul Sausage (sausage, kimchi, and wasabi). Yum yum!

Picture: Look at that Freezer! Stocked and ready to go. Plus it’s much bigger than our last one.