Absolute Insanity

( Ch. 102 spoilers, obviously )

Up In the Air
Walter Kirn

Backflap:
Ryan Bingham's job as a Career Transition Counselor - he fires people - has kept him airborne for years. Although he despises his line of work, he has come to love the culture of what he calls "Airworld," finding contentment within pressurized cabins and anonymous hotel rooms. With a letter of resignation sitting on his boss's desk, and the hope of a job with a mysterious firm, Bingham is agonizingly close to his ultimate goal, his Holy Grail: ONE MILLION FREQUENT FLYER MILES.

Review:
Up in the Air isn't the gem that I was hoping it would be, but that being said it was still a quick, enjoyable read. Ryan is a fairly average character that even a light reader would recognize. He doesn't form lasting attachments, reminisces about his childhood and has odd qualities that makes the reader relate to him and think he is a bit odd all at once. The real momentum behind Up in the Air is the Airworld Ryan lives in. It is vibrant and something that I have rarely seen explored in fiction. Even Ryan's job is interesting, and watching him read people is fun and engrossing. However, about 3/4 of the way through the book everything slows to a glacially pace and the ending leaves a lot to be desired but overall a decent read. Looking forward to seeing the film.

as always the rest of my reviews can be found at http://lovebooks-letter4no1.blogspot.com/ or at my lj.

Story:
**1/2
Stucture:
***1/2

I just bought this Butterick costume pattern because I was so intrigued by it. But frankly, I can't really place it. Does it resemble anything in particular to you?




I like it, particularly the sleeves, and want to know more about it... if you have an idea, please comment. thanks!

So it's the Greatest Science Fiction Novel of all time, according to the praise. A classic at the least. I was super excited to finally get to read it, as I have recently gotten into science fiction and wanted to start off my education with some of the big names.

After this, I think I'm going to be skipping Robert Heinlein.

( At what point do we stop saying 'it was the time period' and start saying, 'yeah, it's bigotted?' )

Hi everybody!

Every year I try to make (or acquire) the same costume for the Spring/Summer Anime/Comic conventions. I have been dying to cosplay Felicia from the game Darkstalkers for some time now. I have the main costume pieces, but the paws and feet are the hardest part(s) or me. I'm looking to either commission someone or for some tips. Here's a reference picture. Thank you so much!

Also posted to the FMA com.

( Click for spoilers and medical stuff and my embarrassment... )

# 88: American Scream: The Bill Hicks Story by Cynthia True:

Throughout junior high, Commando Tag was Bill's favorite game after baseball. Most evenings after supper a gang of neighborhood boys met at Nottingham Elementary, which provided any number of excellent places to hide amid the low classroom buildings and playground equipment. Once everyone had hidden, two It commandos roamed around trying to hunt the others. Once you tagged a guy, he too became a commando. Bill loved being outdoors at dusk, with the fireflies flashing and the cicadas screeching. The game got really interesting when the sun went down just after nine o'clock and huge packs of boys roamed around in the dark trying to trap each other.

( Ceci n'est pas un snarkout. )

Title: Airman
Author: Eoin Colfer
First line: Conor Broekhart was born to fly, or more accurately, he was born flying.

Conor Broekhart was born in a hot air balloon. He loves to fly. Living with his mother, father, king nick and princess Isabella, he is happy on an island paradise. But when he is horribly betrayed and his life ripped apart; he must build a flying machine and regain his old life.

I loved this book. I have read several Artemis Fowl books before and loved them too; and this comes in as a tie with the first Artemis fowl as my favourite. I liked the first part better than the second; but I did love all of it.

I loved the strength of Isabella as a queen, and the genuine friendship between Conor and Victor. SPOILERS -- 

 

here's my full review if you're interested and/or have read it. 

http://marcell-maybe.livejournal.com/ 

 

Betrayed
P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast
YA fiction; fantasy
310 pages

Betrayed, the second installment in the bestselling House of Night series, is dark and sexy, and as thrilling as it is utterly shocking.
Fledgling vampyre Zoey Redbird has managed to settle in at the House of Night. She’s come to terms with the vast powers the vampyre goddess, Nyx, has given her, and is getting a handle on being the new Leader of the Dark Daughters, the school’s most elite group. Best of all, Zoey’s made some new friends and she finally feels like she belongs--like she really fits in. She actually has a boyfriend…or two. And despite the best efforts of her mother and step-loser John to humiliate her publically during parent visitation, she’s earned the respect of her professors and High Priestess, Neferet.
Then the unthinkable happens: human teenagers are being killed, and all the evidence points to the House of Night, straining human-vamp tensions in Tulsa to a breaking point. While danger stalks the humans from Zoey’s old life, she finds herself drawn into an intoxicating forbidden flirtation that threatens to distract her from the growing crisis. Then, when she needs her new friends the most, death strikes the House of Night. Too late, Zoey begins to realize that the very powers that make her so unique might also threaten those she loves, and she must find the courage to face a betrayal that could break her heart, her soul, and jeopardize the very fabric of her world.

I am officially addicted to this series! It is a different take on vampires and I really am enjoying it! I actually love that it takes place in a school setting and the twist at the end of the book makes me excited to read the rest of the books in this series! I can't wait to see what others think of this series so far.

Books read this year: 48/50.

What is a good H.P. Lovecraft book? I like them all, but I want one that has the select jewels.

Oryx and Crake (2003)
Written by: Margaret Atwood
Genre: Fiction/Literary SF
Pages: 376 (Trade Paperback)

The premise: from Amazon.com: In Oryx and Crake, a science fiction novel that is more Swift than Heinlein, more cautionary tale than "fictional science" (no flying cars here), Margaret Atwood depicts a near-future world that turns from the merely horrible to the horrific, from a fool's paradise to a bio-wasteland. Snowman (a man once known as Jimmy) sleeps in a tree and just might be the only human left on our devastated planet. He is not entirely alone, however, as he considers himself the shepherd of a group of experimental, human-like creatures called the Children of Crake. As he scavenges and tends to his insect bites, Snowman recalls in flashbacks how the world fell apart.

My Rating

Give It Away: this is an odd rating, because in LibraryThing, I gave it four stars. I'm glad I've read the book, and I'll likely pick up the companion/sequel The Year of the Flood, but I'm so ambivalent about Oryx and Crake that I don't see myself picking it up again. In fact, it's the kind of book I'll probably forget I've read, because it never impacted me the way it probably would a reader who isn't as familiar with science fiction. I think fans of Atwood will enjoy this, and readers who aren't SF-literate in terms of tropes and conventions may find this book to be a diamond in the rough. Certainly, Atwood has a different take on the apocalypse than Cormac McCarthy's The Road, and it's interesting, though it lacks the direction and resolution that McCarthy's novel had. But hey, I'm glad I read it. I just wish I'd read it sooner than I did, before I was as familiar with SF tropes as I am now. If you're an SF fan, I'd only recommend this book to you if you don't mind reading the lit-fic takes on the genre, if you don't mind the fact you're not going to find something wholly original. I read this because I'm a sucker for lit-fic SF, and after The Handmaid's Tale, I wanted to see what else Atwood would do with the genre. The Handmaid's Tale is a much stronger book, but this one was interesting at least, even though it was a little unsatisfying.

Review style: spoilers ahead. Considering the pace and style of the book, the spoilers aren't exactly Earth-shattering, but here's the warning anyway. SPOILERS. :) If such things bother you, there's no need to click the link below, which takes you to my LJ. However, if you're interested, the more discussion the merrier! As always, comments and discussion are most welcome. :)

REVIEW: Margaret Atwood's ORYX AND CRAKE

Happy Reading!

Book club selections @ calico_reaction. Hop on over! We'd love to have you!

December: The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
January: The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson
February: Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

"The mansion on top of Benson Hill has been empty and boarded up for years. But a new family has moved in. A family that never ventures out during the day. Who are these creepy people; especially the handsome, dark, and elusive Alexander Sterling? Or rather, what are they? Could the town gossip actually be true? Are they vampires? Raven, who secretly covets a vampire kiss, both at the risk of her own mortality and Alexander's loving trust, is dying to uncover the truth." (from goodreads desc.)

This book is awful. This book predates the whole vampire phenomenon by several years, but it doesn't make it any fresher.
( Read more... )

I've been lurking since I saw this community in the spotlight, and I figured that I might as well contribute, given that this book was... well, let's just say I wasn't a fan. I posted this review of it in my LJ over the summer, complete with quotes. It's lengthy, because of the quotes and because I probably talk more than I really need to.



( Ambiguous Resolution? Maybe as ambiguous as a 2x4 to the head... SPOILERS and a long review under the cut. )

tl:dr: I dislike Atwood's characterizations, approaches to being a feminist, and the fact that she couldn't be more obvious if she tried.

I forgot to announce the winner of Week 2 of Winter Holiday Book Giveaway Spectacular! How embarassing. yurusamaji wins the hard-back copy of the third Artemis Fowl book, "The Arctic Incident". Congratulations!

There will be one more giveaway, folks! Stand by for more information. */:-)

A couple of things before I say what I think of this book. I used a gift card to get this for a friend who was pregnant at the time and said she was having issues about sex (how much she wanted) versus what she was receiving (which was just about zero). I figured what the heck I’ll read it before I see my friend.

What the book does, in a very light breezy style is try to get people to loosen regarding their attitudes about having sex while one partner is pregnant. I say one partner because the authors address same sex couple pregnancy also. A health factors are not dismissed, nor is the matter that the mother’s self image is something that should be addressed both before, during and after pregnancy.

If you have a pregnant friend they might enjoy this book.

*Edit* Sorry this is early, I really needed to rant on this.

Dear every author ever,

I beg of you, please, pick up a baby name book or something, please! Do you have a set list of appropriate names for certain types of character that you pass around on the author playground at lunch time? I love you guys, really, and some of you are really impressive authors, but this name stereotyping needs to stop.

Examples I've noticed in the past 4 days:
From the "Vampire" list, Eric and Vlad are the worst offenders at two each. From the "Real Jerks" list, the worst offender is Gabriel (Why, I don't know. You'd think you guys could be more creative.) with a total of at least five obnoxious Jerks sharing that name. Supernatural creatures tend to get V or E names, see the "Vampire" list above. And on another note, please stop trying to hide "Buzz Words" in names. An example of this being Sinclair, While, yes, it is a name, does it have to be the last name of someone "sinful"? Or worse, not even hiding them and just naming your characters words.

This isn't the only time I've noticed this, and I'm only pointing out the worst offenders. If you've never done this, then congrats, you're doing great. Just keep it in mind, okay?

Sincerely, Me

Puh-leeze do not mistake this for one of those scientifically produced, computer algorithm-culled, 'Best Of 2009' lists that you see in comics curious magazines like Newsweek and Wizard. This is purely the product of one seriously scatterbrained blogger who has been obsessing over funnybooks for far too long, yet still feels woefully behind in his reading. (Hell, truth be told, most of these books came out pre-2009!) The only criteria for inclusion in this list was this: Out of every comic I curled up with, huddled over, and ate my favorite meals with in the past twelve months, which ones do I still think of most?( Read more... )

I'm working on making my first costume. I already have all the fabric for it but I'm having a hard time finding a pattern I can use to make the top.

http://h.imagehost.org/0384/boa-hancock_1.jpg

This is the picture of the costume I'm making. I'm not even sure what kind of top it is is called. Does anyone have any input or suggestions??

Thank you!
Jackie

Hey, people! ♥

I'm leaving for La Serena on Saturday so I have like a ton of stuff to do before that and won't be much online until Sunday-Monday (which sucks, because I just noticed I'm gonna miss the party post at ontd_startrek D:)

Sorry if I won't be replying to your journals in the meanwhile, bbs! Take care!

---------------------------------

Gente!!

Me voy a La Serena finalmente el sábado, así que no voy a andar mucho por estos lados yo creo hasta el domingo-lunes (tengo mil cosas que hacer todavía antes de irme). Si me necesitan, las de acá al menos es más fácil que me pillen por el cel que por inter.

Cuidense!! ♥