http://www.rachelsbookreviews.com/current-day-fiction#!__current-day-fiction/believing-in-horses
Comment Here!
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Questions from The Teen Librarian Toolbox
1. What book do you think just never got the book love it deserved?
....That's a hard question, I've read a lot of books that didn't get what they deserved. I'll name the primary two that are in my mind,
The Door Within series by Wayne Thomas Batson and
Legon series by Nicholas Taylor
I urge you to check out both of them, they are amazing books. Both series are complete too! No anxious waiting for the next installment!
2. What 1 genre do you just really have a hard time getting into?
I really don't read a lot outside of YA, so I'll just focus on sub-categories. I have an atrocious time getting into contemporary fiction, I don't relate to the characters at all.
3. Who is your book boyfriend/girlfriend? (You know you have one!)
AHHH..WHY?! Why do you have to ask that?! haha um.....wow, what a hard question... Jason Masters from Starlighter by Bryan Davis. Hard to answer but if I had to pick one, Jason would be it.
4. Has a book ever given you nightmares? Which one?
Brain Jack by Brian Falkner about 1/3 of the way in there is an amazing scene where they are locked in a building and a plane starts to fly towards the building. I stopped reading after that scene and never went back. had nightmares about 9/11 for a couple nights. I was only six when 9/11 happened but I remember watching every minute. Anything with planes and plane crashes bother me. I just can't stand to read it.
5. What book left you crying the most tears?
It's a tie between Way of the Dragon by Chris Bradford and The Fire by James Patterson
6. What book ending just left you angry because you wanted it to end differently or because you wanted something different for a character in the book?
I was a little disappointed by Mockingjay the final installation in the Hunger Games trilogy. I was saddened by Finnick's death (he was my favorite character! I mean, come on! He'd just had a son!) and I just felt that it was a little empty.
7. What 1 book do you wish you had written and why?
um...I don't think I wish to write any known series... I want to write my own but I don't think I could do a series any more justice than its already been given!
8. What childhood favorite (not teen) do you still like to revisit and read again?
Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, (technically) Harry Potter..and of course, I've always wanted to revisit the book that started my love of writing! That book isn't Harry Potter (like a lot of people guess!) but is The Shadowed Unicorn by Sheila Kelly Welch.
9. I like this one so I'm going to steal it: What is your favorite book quote?
Oh...so many..but I'd have to say this one:
"We've all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That's who we really are." Sirius Black in Order of the Phoenix.
10. What book made you sad that it ended because you just weren't ready to leave that world yet?
um....Bandits by L.M. Preston and Unwind by Neal Shusterman
Although, that's kind of a lie. Both series have planned sequels...
11. Which book character do you wish you were like and why?
The only character I can recall relating to at least a little bit, was Kelsey from Tiger's Curse. So, I guess if I could be her for a little while I wouldn't put up a fuss. ;D
Hope you enjoyed this questionnaire from The Teen Librarian Toolbox
....That's a hard question, I've read a lot of books that didn't get what they deserved. I'll name the primary two that are in my mind,
The Door Within series by Wayne Thomas Batson and
Legon series by Nicholas Taylor
I urge you to check out both of them, they are amazing books. Both series are complete too! No anxious waiting for the next installment!
2. What 1 genre do you just really have a hard time getting into?
I really don't read a lot outside of YA, so I'll just focus on sub-categories. I have an atrocious time getting into contemporary fiction, I don't relate to the characters at all.
3. Who is your book boyfriend/girlfriend? (You know you have one!)
AHHH..WHY?! Why do you have to ask that?! haha um.....wow, what a hard question... Jason Masters from Starlighter by Bryan Davis. Hard to answer but if I had to pick one, Jason would be it.
4. Has a book ever given you nightmares? Which one?
Brain Jack by Brian Falkner about 1/3 of the way in there is an amazing scene where they are locked in a building and a plane starts to fly towards the building. I stopped reading after that scene and never went back. had nightmares about 9/11 for a couple nights. I was only six when 9/11 happened but I remember watching every minute. Anything with planes and plane crashes bother me. I just can't stand to read it.
5. What book left you crying the most tears?
It's a tie between Way of the Dragon by Chris Bradford and The Fire by James Patterson
6. What book ending just left you angry because you wanted it to end differently or because you wanted something different for a character in the book?
I was a little disappointed by Mockingjay the final installation in the Hunger Games trilogy. I was saddened by Finnick's death (he was my favorite character! I mean, come on! He'd just had a son!) and I just felt that it was a little empty.
7. What 1 book do you wish you had written and why?
um...I don't think I wish to write any known series... I want to write my own but I don't think I could do a series any more justice than its already been given!
8. What childhood favorite (not teen) do you still like to revisit and read again?
Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, (technically) Harry Potter..and of course, I've always wanted to revisit the book that started my love of writing! That book isn't Harry Potter (like a lot of people guess!) but is The Shadowed Unicorn by Sheila Kelly Welch.
9. I like this one so I'm going to steal it: What is your favorite book quote?
Oh...so many..but I'd have to say this one:
"We've all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That's who we really are." Sirius Black in Order of the Phoenix.
10. What book made you sad that it ended because you just weren't ready to leave that world yet?
um....Bandits by L.M. Preston and Unwind by Neal Shusterman
Although, that's kind of a lie. Both series have planned sequels...
11. Which book character do you wish you were like and why?
The only character I can recall relating to at least a little bit, was Kelsey from Tiger's Curse. So, I guess if I could be her for a little while I wouldn't put up a fuss. ;D
Hope you enjoyed this questionnaire from The Teen Librarian Toolbox
Friday, March 16, 2012
Bree Despain Interview
http://www.rachelsbookreviews.com/#!__interview/bree-despain
What do you think about the interview and the series?
What do you think about the interview and the series?
Monday, February 27, 2012
Luminosity Cover Reveal
Hey guys!
I was asked to participate in a cover reveal and said yes. Here it is!
LUMINOSITY (Luminosity, #1) by Stephanie Thomas (September 11, 2012)
Blurb:
"My name is Beatrice. When I was born, I was blessed with the Sight. I was
immediately removed from my parents and enrolled in the Institution. At
the age of twelve, I had my first true vision, earning my raven’s wings.
And when I turned seventeen, one of my visions came true. Things haven’t
been the same since.
The Institution depends on me to keep the City safe from our enemy, the
Dreamcatchers, but I’m finding it harder to do while keeping a secret from
everyone, including my best friend Gabe. It is a secret that could put us
all in danger. A secret that could kill me and everyone close to me.
But the enemy has been coming to me in my dreams, and I think I’m falling
in love with him. He says they’re coming. He says they’re angry. And I
think I’ve already helped them win."
Paperback Available for Pre-Order from Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Luminosity-Stephanie-Thomas/dp/1620611279/ref=lh_ni_t
Add to your Goodreads TBR:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13425149-luminosity
So, what do you think?
I was asked to participate in a cover reveal and said yes. Here it is!
LUMINOSITY (Luminosity, #1) by Stephanie Thomas (September 11, 2012)
Blurb:
"My name is Beatrice. When I was born, I was blessed with the Sight. I was
immediately removed from my parents and enrolled in the Institution. At
the age of twelve, I had my first true vision, earning my raven’s wings.
And when I turned seventeen, one of my visions came true. Things haven’t
been the same since.
The Institution depends on me to keep the City safe from our enemy, the
Dreamcatchers, but I’m finding it harder to do while keeping a secret from
everyone, including my best friend Gabe. It is a secret that could put us
all in danger. A secret that could kill me and everyone close to me.
But the enemy has been coming to me in my dreams, and I think I’m falling
in love with him. He says they’re coming. He says they’re angry. And I
think I’ve already helped them win."
Paperback Available for Pre-Order from Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Luminosity-Stephanie-Thomas/dp/1620611279/ref=lh_ni_t
Add to your Goodreads TBR:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13425149-luminosity
So, what do you think?
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Outrage and The Era of Mark Twain
Briefly this morning I tweeted about a certain Alan Gribben.
Alan Gribben is a Mark Twain scholar. He is determined to change Mark Twain's most famous works "the Adventures of Tom Sawyer" and "the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" to what he believes is correct for today's society. He will erase all racial slurs from both of those classics. He will replace all debatable words with "slave" I see a problem with that.
Not because I approve of said slurs. Quite the opposite. But what Mr. Gribben is doing, is rewriting history. Let me show you an example of what I mean:
A man buys a lot of property in- let's say Sacramento. On a piece of his property he has a mineshaft hole that drops straight down. It's quite an ugly looking feature to the otherwise beautiful property. He looks at the cost of filling it in and agrees that it would be easier to cover it with a tarp. So he buys the tarp, puts it over the mineshaft and covers the bright blue tarp with the leaves and dirt so it blends in with the scenery. But one day someone approaches the mineshaft without knowing it's there. He walks to it and falls to his gruesom death. The property owner is heavily fined and imprisoned for human endangerment and involuntary manslaughter.
Wouldn't it have been easier for the man to put a fence around it? That way, people would know it's there and be forewarned that where there are mines there is danger.
In a way Mr. Gribben is covering his mineshaft with the tarp. He aims to cover the eyesore, look out into the horizon and forget it was ever there. He could easily just set up a warning fence.
To pretend the words were never there would be wrong. Mark Twain did not intend for his works to be played with like a toy. He intended for his works to stand as an example of the era in which he grew up.
Now, there is another problem with replacing every racial term with slave. There were 'free men of color' in Mississippi before Mississippi was even a state. Their slave masters could free them or they could buy their freedom. It would be awful to know that your great-something-or-other grandfather was free but addressed as 'slave.' Not only is Mr. Gribben replacing words, he is changing context. Not every black person was a slave. Why is he trying to make it that way?
Did you know? That one year after its publication, in the year 1876, society wanted it banned because it was too racially tolerant? It was not banned. So why should we be banned now for being too racially discriminative? Society changes daily, it is carried by the wind and sometimes by the most superficial people. What is acceptable today would not have been accepted in the 1800s. And what was acceptable in the 1800s is not acceptable today. How would you feel if in the year 2200 people never said 9/11 happened? Today we tell ourselves there is no way that could happen, it was such a big event and it affected too many lives. We say that there is no way they could cover up something that big, but guess what? There wasn't a person alive then that was unaffected by the black people of the 1800s. Look what society is trying to do: cover it up. Is it an attempt to make more sales? Is it an attempt to paint a picture of a perfect society? Why do that when nothing is perfect?
What's next mr. Gribben? Are you going to make Edgar Allen Poe's poetry positive?
Alan Gribben is a Mark Twain scholar. He is determined to change Mark Twain's most famous works "the Adventures of Tom Sawyer" and "the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" to what he believes is correct for today's society. He will erase all racial slurs from both of those classics. He will replace all debatable words with "slave" I see a problem with that.
Not because I approve of said slurs. Quite the opposite. But what Mr. Gribben is doing, is rewriting history. Let me show you an example of what I mean:
A man buys a lot of property in- let's say Sacramento. On a piece of his property he has a mineshaft hole that drops straight down. It's quite an ugly looking feature to the otherwise beautiful property. He looks at the cost of filling it in and agrees that it would be easier to cover it with a tarp. So he buys the tarp, puts it over the mineshaft and covers the bright blue tarp with the leaves and dirt so it blends in with the scenery. But one day someone approaches the mineshaft without knowing it's there. He walks to it and falls to his gruesom death. The property owner is heavily fined and imprisoned for human endangerment and involuntary manslaughter.
Wouldn't it have been easier for the man to put a fence around it? That way, people would know it's there and be forewarned that where there are mines there is danger.
In a way Mr. Gribben is covering his mineshaft with the tarp. He aims to cover the eyesore, look out into the horizon and forget it was ever there. He could easily just set up a warning fence.
To pretend the words were never there would be wrong. Mark Twain did not intend for his works to be played with like a toy. He intended for his works to stand as an example of the era in which he grew up.
Now, there is another problem with replacing every racial term with slave. There were 'free men of color' in Mississippi before Mississippi was even a state. Their slave masters could free them or they could buy their freedom. It would be awful to know that your great-something-or-other grandfather was free but addressed as 'slave.' Not only is Mr. Gribben replacing words, he is changing context. Not every black person was a slave. Why is he trying to make it that way?
Did you know? That one year after its publication, in the year 1876, society wanted it banned because it was too racially tolerant? It was not banned. So why should we be banned now for being too racially discriminative? Society changes daily, it is carried by the wind and sometimes by the most superficial people. What is acceptable today would not have been accepted in the 1800s. And what was acceptable in the 1800s is not acceptable today. How would you feel if in the year 2200 people never said 9/11 happened? Today we tell ourselves there is no way that could happen, it was such a big event and it affected too many lives. We say that there is no way they could cover up something that big, but guess what? There wasn't a person alive then that was unaffected by the black people of the 1800s. Look what society is trying to do: cover it up. Is it an attempt to make more sales? Is it an attempt to paint a picture of a perfect society? Why do that when nothing is perfect?
What's next mr. Gribben? Are you going to make Edgar Allen Poe's poetry positive?
ReviewerRachel OUT.
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