Booking Through Thursday – Illustrious

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Booking Through Thursday asks: How do you feel about illustrations in your books? Graphs? Photos? Sketches?

It depends on the book. I think non-fiction lends itself better to illustrations and pictures than most fiction. For example, I love photos and illustrations in cookbooks so I can see what the end result should look like or an illustration of a technique. In biographies, I like to see photos of places, people, etc. to put names with faces since the people are real. I have this book called A Fish Caught In Time: The Search for the Coelacanth by Samantha Weinberg. It contains photos of the fish underwater and specimens caught by fisherman. It benefits greatly from the photos. How else could you picture the fish in such detail otherwise.

In fiction, I don’t mind illustrations but I prefer to picture the characters and places for myself. I think it’s part of the experience of reading for me. Recently I read Isis: A Tale of the Supernatural by Douglas Clegg and it did contain black and white sketches throughout the book that I found to be a nice touch. They didn’t give too much away and provided just enough drama in certain places to move the story forward. In fantasy, I think a map is useful but I tend only to glance at it to get my bearings and then move on.

Any thoughts on illustrations that you’d like to share?

Catching Fire

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Catching Fire

Catching Fire

By Suzanne Collins

Scholastic Press

ISBN: 978-0-439-02349-8

4.25 stars

Catching Fire is the second book in The Hunger Games trilogy. My review of The Hunger Games is here. I’ve tried to avoid spoilers but if you really don’t want to know anything, you may want to stop reading now.

Katniss and Peeta are back home after winning the Hunger Games attempting to live normal lives. Instead, they spend their days and nights coping with the aftermath of the Games and the affect their actions, in and out of the arena, have on their loved ones. Katniss and Peeta are supposed to be in love and they do their best to pretend in public but her feelings are a jumbled mess and she’s not sure what she feels for Peeta. Her friend Gale is back in the picture and she doesn’t know what to do with him or her feelings for him either.

Talk of rebellion is all around and Katniss constantly wonders if her actions in the arena were the cause. When she and Peeta embark on their Victory Tour of the districts, they end up causing more trouble, some unknowingly and some intentionally. Now Katniss needs to prove to the Capitol that her actions mean nothing before everything comes back to haunt her.

I preferred death match in the area to inciting rebellion. I’m not sure what they says about me but even though I liked The Hunger Games better, I found Catching Fire just as addicting. Some parts of Catching Fire felt like a re-hash of The Hunger Games to some degree since certain events take place all over again. Katniss is still trying to decide between Peeta and Gale. Frankly, I’m almost as frustrated as she is with the choice. She is still sullen, self-centered, and annoying as ever (I must point out though that it works for her and is not the turnoff you think it will be.) and you have to wonder why anyone would love her. Yet, they do.

Catching Fire is a really fast read and really entertaining. It’s brain candy at it’s ultimate with all the addicting qualities you want out of it. It’s just as violent as the first and ends in the same appallingly annoying way: end of book two. Now I have to wait until August to find out what happens next.

Teaser Tuesdays

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Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. The idea is to give everyone a look inside the book you’re reading.

1.) Grab your current read

2.) Open to a random page

3.) Share two teaser sentences from that page

4.) Share the title and author so that other participants know what you’re reading.

Be careful not to include spoilers. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!

My teaser this fine Tuesday is the first few lines of the chapter I’ll be starting today.

“Morgause was leaving. She had informed Cunnedda curtly last evening of her intentions, demanding suitable escort and horses. He had not attempted to dissuade her.”

The Kingmaking by Helen Hollick, page 97.

The Kingmaking

Any teasers to share today?

The Hunger Games

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The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games

By Suzanne Collins

Scholastic Press

ISBN: 978-0-439-02348-1

4.5 stars

In Panem, a dystopian North America racked by years of war, the Capitol is once again choosing tributes, a boy and a girl between the ages of 12 and 18, to compete in the Hunger Games. The Games are a way for the Capitol to keep the 12 surrounding districts in line and remind the residents of the Capitol’s power over them. Katniss Everdeen and her younger sister Prim are both eligible to become tributes. When Prim’s name is chosen, Katniss steps forward and volunteers to take her place. Katniss and the other tribute, Peeta, are then sent off to the Capitol to prepare for the competition.

Having spent most of her life close to death, Katniss knows how to survive but it will take every last bit of courage she can dredge up to make it out of the competition alive. Having to make choices she never thought she would have to about survival, love, and humanity in the process.

This book is like crack. Stick with me here people, I mean this in a good way. This book is so incredibly addicting that you don’t want to put it down and when you finally do, you realize that you’ve actually finished the book and there are no words left and that was the reason why you stopped reading. The final words in this book are: end of book one. What?! I wasn’t ready for it to end and I wanted more. But, no, I was left hanging.

I heard so much about this book and it’s been on my radar but I never got around to picking it up. As soon as I finished The Hunger Games, I quickly put Catching Fire, the second book in the series, on hold at the library. By quickly, I mean as soon as I finished reading I sat down at the computer and logged into the library to add it to my que. It’s been a long time since I’ve been left wondering this much about what would happen to two characters. Katniss and Peeta become so fascinating and you need to know everything, and of course, does she or doesn’t she love him is the big question. And, no, I won’t tell you. I don’t know either.

Yes, this is a violent book but knowing the book is about war and the absolute zero value the Capitol places on the residents of the districts and, especially children, you come to an understanding at the beginning of this story. It’s a hard story about survival and what people will do in those last few moments and I liked the dark edge. It gave you a reason to cheer Katniss and Peeta on. It’s exciting and hooks you right at the start. I’m sorry I waited so long to read this series. Thankfully book 3 will be out in August. Hey Lady! Whatca Readin’? posted the name and cover of the next book recently, Mockingjay. If you want to read her post, click here.  It will be released on August 24, 2010.

The Sunday Salon

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The week’s round up. I read:

The Far Traveler: Voyages of a Viking Woman by Nancy Marie Brown

Isis: A Tale of the Supernatural by Douglas Clegg

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

I also started The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien for the Lord of the Rings Read-Along. I pulled The Kingmaking by Helen Hollick off my shelf this morning. I’ve been wanting to read this book for months and I’ve decided that this is the week.

I got hit by some strange flu-like bug on Friday and spent a good part of the afternoon asleep and spent most of Saturday on the couch flipping stations on the TV and reading Catching Fire. I had a review due for another website that I write for and it took a lot of strength to get myself up and moving. I’m happy to report that everything somehow managed to wrap itself up even though I’m not sure how it all happened.

Last week I took a long look at my TBR list and realized that I’m about to break the 100 book mark on the list and this year is only a scant three months old which made me wonder when I was going to find the time to read everything. On average I read about two to three books a week, and yes, if you do the math, (52 x 2 = 104) I can easily finish off the list with a few extras. But the problem is that the list won’t remain in it’s current state. I only expect it to get larger as the year goes on. One comes off, two, sometimes three go on… So, I started to weed. Yep, I took books off my list. Some I don’t remember adding and some, after looking them up, found I don’t have any interest in reading. I took out my red pen and knocked a few books off the list. Who knows, maybe someday those deleted tomes will find their way back on the list, but for now, it’s somewhat more manageable.

Do you have a list? What do you do when it gets out of hand? I had thoughts of ignoring it, but I’m a list maker and I hate when a list gets out of hand especially since the silly list was supposed to be making my life easier! 🙂

Since I’m feeling much better, I’m off to enjoy the lovely weather we’re having today. Happy Sunday!

Booking Through Thursday – Grammar

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Booking Through Thursday asks: In honor of National Grammar Day … it IS “March Fourth” after all … do you have any grammar books? Punctuation? Writing guidelines? Style books? More importantly, have you read them? How do you feel about grammar in general? Important? Vital? Unnecessary? Fussy?

I have a copy of The Elements of Style and I do use it. I can’t say that I’ve read the book cover to cover but I do flip through it a lot.

I think grammar is important but I don’t profess to be an expert. I have vague memories of high school English classes where grammar was a topic but that’s it. Sometimes I do think it can be fussy but it does help ensure we all understand each other in the end.

Any thoughts about grammar you’d like to share?

Lord of the Rings Read-Along: The Fellowship of the Ring & The Two Towers – A Final Look Back & A Look Forward

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I’m going to combine two Lord of the Rings Read-Along posts this week otherwise that’s all you’d be reading about here. Wait, all Tolkien all the time…how can that be bad! 🙂 I do have a few other things I’d like to post this week so here we go with a look back and a look forward.

First, thanks to Clare at The Literary Omnivore for hosting The Fellowship of the Rings discussion in February and to Teresa at Shelf Love for hosting The Two Towers this month.

The Fellowship of the Ring – A Final Look Back

1.Since we’re dealing with a third of a novel, instead of the first novel in a series, do you find anything different? In a way, I have always thought of these books as one big book broken up into sections so I guess I don’t really think about it as the next book so much as the next chapter. Besides, I love big chunky books so I’m happy thinking of it as one ginormous book in the end.

2.Do Books One and Two have significant differences to you? I think of book one as more of a build up and book two as the action. In book one, I feel like I’m waiting for something to happen. Frodo and the others are running from something but in many ways they don’t quite know what that is yet or how evil it is. In book two, they know and that makes everything that much more urgent.

3.Who’s your favorite character so far into the novel? I have two major favorites and a few minor favorites. Major favorites — Sam and Aragorn. Sam because he is so loyal and practical. Rope anyone? He’s also the one to give little pep talks to Frodo which at least lifts some of the depression from him. I know Frodo is supposed to be scared and weighed down by the ring but sometimes he depresses me. At least Sam lifts that dreariness a bit. And Aragorn, well, how can you not like him! He’s handsome — in my head he is Viggo Mortensen which doesn’t hurt the image — and strong and fearless and, OK I have a slight crush and I won’t say anymore but I think you all get the point. I also love Merry and Pippen as the comic relief. As a minor character, I really like Galadriel. She just so lovely and exactly how I would envision an elf queen.

4.What surprised you the most? I hate to admit this but I remembered a few scenes better from the movie than the book.

5.What was your favorite scene? It’s more a favorite chapter. I love all the descriptions and the role Galadriel plays in The Mirror of Galadriel. When I finished, all I could think was, “Yes, that’s how it’s supposed to be.”

The Two Towers – A Look Forward

1.Where are you in the trilogy right now? What do you think of the books so far? I haven’t started yet but I have taken it down off the shelf so that’s a start!

2.What’s your past experience with The Two Towers? If you’re rereading, how does it stack up against the other two books? I’m light on the details for The Two Towers so I’m looking forward to getting started. The last time I re-read these books, I read them all in a row with no breaks and everything sort of mushed together. My guess is that I will remember more as I get going.

3.If you’re a first-time reader, what big questions do you have at this point? What are you hoping to see Tolkien deal with in The Two Towers? If you’re a re-reader, what are you most looking forward to? I can’t wait to meet Treebeard again. The Ents are some of the most wonderful characters ever imagined.

4.What about the movie? If you’ve seen it, what did you think of it, and how much do you think it will color your experience with the book? I’ve seen all the movies and liked them but I’m also one of those odd people that disconnects movies and books, although I always like to read the book first if there is one! I enjoy them for the separate mediums they are and don’t mind that certain aspects and events of the books have been changed to work in the movie better. I know for a fact though that I like the books better than the movies. 🙂

I plan to read The Two Towers at lunch and maybe a few chapters on the odd night. I’m going to make an effort to make this a month long reading event.

Have any thoughts about the Lord of the Rings?

Teaser Tuesdays

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Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. The idea is to give everyone a look inside the book you’re reading.

1.) Grab your current read

2.) Open to a random page

3.) Share two teaser sentences from that page

4.) Share the title and author so that other participants know what you’re reading.

Be careful not to include spoilers. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!

I’m currently reading a non-fiction book so the teaser today is from a book I plan to pick up later this week.  This is the opening paragraph.

“Beware a field hedged with stones,” our gardener, Old Marsh, told me in his smoky voice with its Cornish inflections, as he pointed to the land near the cliff. “See there? The hedge holds in. Will not let out. Things lurk about places like that. Unseen things.”

Isis: A Tale of the Supernatural by Douglas Clegg, page 3.

Isis: A Tale of the Supernatural