Books I am reading or want to read:

1. Magic Kingdom for Sale. Sold!
One of my co-workers recommended this book to me.  Since we have similar tastes in most things I thought I would give it a try.  It’s more fantasy style than I normally read, but so far so good.

2. MockingJay
My awesome friend Chris got me the Hunger Game series for my birthday this past week.  I read Hunger Games and Catching Fire earlier this year (but will be reading again) and I since I finished I have been looking forward to this book.  I may start with this one when I begin again.

3. One for the Money
I’ve been hearing about the Stephanie Plum series all year and it sounded interesting.  I finally bought it for my Kindle and am about 6 chapters in. I really like it!

4. Living Dead in Dallas
I really want to read the all of the Sookie Stackhouse books, but I’m having trouble getting into this one… and it’s only the second book.  I think I trouble stems from  True Blood.  When a book is transformed into a movie or tv show I like to read the book first.  I know the novels are different from the show and as I read this book I keep comparing it to the show and trying to remember what happened into compared to the book.

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Jones Soda Buffy edition

Wouldn’t they look so nice next to my Buffy boxed set?  (And they are limited edition!) You can order them at the Jones Soda website.  Feel free to gift me a set.

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I don’t know if this book can really be reviewed quickly, but here I go…

Even though this wasn’t my typical type of novel I enjoyed it.  To be honest it took me awhile to get into it.  The first few chapters seem so scattered and individual… it wasn’t too interesting.  I told myself it was all for character development, since it’s a trilogy, and I believe I was right.  Once the story really gets started it takes off.  The story telling is done in such a graphic way at some points that leads me to give you this advice: when you get near the middle don’t eat dinner and read like I did. :p  Here is a brief synopsis from the author’s website:

Disgraced journalist Mikael Blomqvist is hired by Henrik Vanger to investigate the disappearance of Vanger’s great-niece Harriet. Henrik suspects that someone in his family, the powerful Vanger clan, murdered Harriet over forty years ago.
Starting his investigation, Mikael realizes that Harriet’s disappearance is not a single event, but rather linked to series of gruesome murders in the past. He now crosses paths with Lisbeth Salander, a young computer hacker, an asocial punk and most importantly, a young woman driven by her vindictiveness.
Together they form an unlikely couple as they dive deeper into the violent past of the secretive Vanger family.

One thing that I don’t think helped was reading the book via my Kindle.  The Vanger family is quite large and there is a family tree in the beginning of the book that I couldn’t skip to easily (though right now I realized that maybe I could have set a bookmark for future reference).  My small brain had trouble remembering who was who, but it didn’t seeem to really matter.   The story is not only about the Harriet Vanger mystery, but also goes into a scandal that Mikael is involved in.  To me, it was like two different stories… though the scandal is what allows Mikael to become part of the Vanger family mystery.  I don’t want to give anything away, but once you get into it the story is compelling and difficult to put down (even though I read it over a three weeks).  I’m really looking forward reading the second book.

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Transcripts and videos of the panel are all over the net (and since I have a bad memory) I’ll let you find those.  The video and panel lasted so long that there wasn’t time for Q&A.  Zach Levi thanked the fans for their support before the cast left.

Some pics from the panel:

**CASTING SPOILER BELOW!**

We learned that Chuck’s mom will be played by Linda Hamilton.

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The Secret Lives of Husbands and Wives by Josie Brown follows the life of Lyssa Harper and her fellow residents of the exclusive and privileged Paradise Heights community.   Here is a synopsis from the publisher’s website:

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The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson is the story of  Lennie, a seventeen year old girl, who is coming to terms with the loss of her older sister and moving on with her life while falling in love for the first time.  Here is the synopsis from the the author’s website:

Seventeen-year-old Lennie Walker, bookworm and band geek, plays second clarinet and spends her time tucked safely and happily in the shadow of her fiery sister Bailey.  But when Bailey dies suddenly, Lennie is catapulted to center stage of her own life—and, despite her nonexistent history with boys, finds herself struggling to balance two.  Toby was Bailey’s boyfriend; his grief mirrors Lennie’s own.  Joe is the new boy in town, a transplant from Paris whose nearly magical grin is matched only by his musical talent.  For Lennie, they’re the sun and the moon; one boy takes her out of her sorrow, the other comforts her in it.  But just like their celestial counterparts, they can’t collide without the whole wide world exploding.

I really enjoyed this book.  It is a sweet story with characters, though quirky and at times a little over the top, you could see in your own life.  I like the additional use of storytelling through Lennie’s notes/poems throughout the book.  The notes were additional insight to her mind and where she was at in the grieving process.  Most of the love stories in YA novels annoy me due to the quick and unnatural pace of the relationship, but in this novel you can see the progression and understand why the young love birds become connected to each other.  If you are in the mood for a story that tackles some real life issues without being overly serious you’ll enjoy this story.

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Today’s Google banner not only looks awesome, but you can play it!  Happy 30th birthday Pac-Man! 

Playable Google Pac-Man banner

 Notice the “I feel lucky” button was changed to “Insert Coin”

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Catching Fire – intellectually deep thoughts by Jen & Chris

Chris: Let’s do our checklist for YA novels!

Checklist:

Is the main character any of the following: shy, mousy, and practically friendless?

Jen: She starts out kind of friendless in Hunger Games. She just has Gale. I guess by Catching Fire she has more of a group of friends.

Chris: Not shy, not mousy, and sort of friendless. But that’s not really her fault. The district is pretty sparse with ‘children’ who can play.

Is the main character an only child?

Chris: No. Kat has a sister, Prim.

Is the main character’s best friend a total idiot?

Jen: Nope, Gale has a good head on his shoulders.

Chris: He’s not an idiot.

Does the best friend meet a bad ending?

Jen: I’m hoping he makes it out of Mocking Jay alive!

Chris: Well he’s still alive in the 2nd book. Hurrah for that!

Does the main character confide in his/her best friend?

Chris: Yes, Katniss does.

Jen: Yep.

Is the love interest a very old man disguised as a supernatural being? <snark>

Chris: Not in this universe! See, here, Edward Cullen, there are people who fall in love with a person as old as they are.

Jen: It’s refreshing to have the love interests be of the same age and same species.

Does the love interest stalk the main character?

Jen: Not in the creepy “I’ll hang out in your room at night while you sleep” kind of way.

Chris: ROFL!! Peeta also doesn’t turn into a dog or werewolf or fairy and hangs out in the dark corner of your bedroom. Cheers to decency.

Jen: Cheers!

Do the two main characters fall in love immediately, with zero provocation?

Chris: No.

Jen: They actually know each other and have reasons to fall for each other… SHOCKER!!!!!

Does the story occur in a small podunk town in a state I wouldn’t want to live in?

Chris: Yes. From what I’ve gathered, she’s in Virginia. And Districts 1 and 2 might be NYC and LA – because we’re so shallow.

Jen: but rich!

Chris: Well duh! California Cows are happy and we have oranges! NYC has delicious hot dogs!

Is there any parental involvement in the lives of the main characters?

Chris: Not really. The mother is pretty useless in the first book (well it’s not about her in the first book), but in Catching Fire, Mom is useful as a herbalist/nurse.

Jen: We learn more about her in Catching Fire and her behavior in Hunger Games makes a bit more sense… kind of.

Jen: Now that we’ve covered the checklist we’ll get into the questions.

What were your first impressions of the two books?

Chris: I enjoyed the first book, The Hunger Games, but it reminded me of a very simple Battle Royale. I felt it was written very simply, even for a YA novel.

In the second book, Catching Fire, I went through more emotions because I was now attached to the characters. Spoiler: When she’s called back the Games, I practically had a heart attack. I thought, Man, I can’t take another round of Katniss going into a stressful, violent situation. It was like deja vu. CF definitely punched up the levels of excitement and stress for me. Well done.

Jen: I agree completely. The Hunger Games was good, but Catching Fire didn’t lose my interest at all. SPOILER: I felt physically ill when Katniss was called back to the games. I couldn’t figure out exactly how the story was going to go, but I never expected that. I remember, Chris, when you got ahead of me in the reading you tweeted about something that made you really mad… as soon as I heard the rules for the Quell I knew that’s what you were referring to.

What did you think of this love triangle between Katniss, Peeta, and Gale?

Chris: Yet another stress-inducing situation for Katniss to be in. I’m very interested in how the author is going to play this out. Is Peeta going to die for Katniss so Katniss is going to stick with Gale? Is Gale going to meet a crap end, and will Katniss realize Peeta’s a good guy?

Jen: I think at this point Katniss already realizes Peeta’s a good guy and she could be happy with him. I don’t know if she is in love with him, but I think she thinks she could be happy with him (if that’s the way it has to be). I’m just hoping that both Peeta and Gale make it to the end of Mocking Jay (the last book in the series). I don’t want Katniss’ choice of guy to be the one who happens to be alive at the end of the series.

Chris: Oh good point! She doesn’t have to choose either if she doesn’t want to.

Chris: I had an extreme allergic reaction to the twist in CF (ie. spoiler: when Katniss has to go back into the ring and compete again). How did you feel?

Chris: Ok we’re going to assume that the 5 people who are reading our blogs: 1. have already read the books or 2. don’t mind the spoilers. Even so, we’ll try to color the text in grey if there is a major spoiler. Like this one. I had a very very very tough time with this twist. I so wanted to call you, Jen, and tell you what happens because I didn’t want you to get ambushed like I did!! I was reading the book in bed before I turned out the lights. The moment we all find out she goes back… it was like a punch in the gut.

Jen: Like I said before, as soon as I read that I knew that’s what you were shocked about. I was flabbergasted by that twist. I NEVER saw it coming. I had a hard enough time with the games in The Hunger Games. It made me furious that kids would have to go through that. It was interesting to see how Katniss approached the situation the second time around. In HG she was so focused on herself. I thought it showed how much she changed since she was so focused on Peeta making it through the games in CF.

Sidenote: I think there will be 3 people who read this since we are 2 of the 5 who read our blogs. Ha!

Chris:  *high five*

We have to remember that the characters, while “the breadwinners of their respective families,” are essentially teenagers. What did you think about the fact that The Hunger Games require the children of the country’s citizens to compete to the death?

Chris: It’s the world that Suzanne Collins created. We just “live in it” through her characters. It’s very smart for the Capitol to take a few children per year from each district to remind everyone what they can do to anyone at anytime. It’s a perfect way to keep people in fear. I found Districts 1 and 2’s enthusiasm to shove 4 kids into the fighting ring to be strange. On the other hand, I guess that’s what happens when you buy into the glory and fame of killing your fellow citizens. It’s a little Stokholm Syndrome-y, no?

Jen: I guess it’s kind of Stockholm Syndrome-y. It’s the world they have always know and so far no one has questioned it. Well I guess those who have questioned it were “taken care of”, but at any rate they are no longer there.

I found the whole idea of the games sickening and grotesque. I did find it interesting how the “higher class districts” trained their kids for the games. I don’t understand how they could accept the games as a way of life and basically sacrifice thier kids in the interest of having a winner. I would hope that in that situation I would have the same mindset as Katniss. I couldn’t imagine watching my child compete in the games.

Chris: At the same time, perhaps they have been numbed by the violence and cruelty of sending “their” children to battle. One one hand, you don’t want to watch it because it means you’re condoning this. On the other hand, you’re watching because you’re rooting for your kid(s) to make it home alive.

Who would you want to play Katniss, Gale, and Peeta? (Hollywood is all about copying and translating novels into movies. Lazy bastards. I’m surprised we haven’t heard about a studio optioning these novels.)

Chris: I don’t know. I can’t see any Hollywood starlet want to be all blistery and bloody for a role like this. Here are some possibilities:

Katniss: If they were younger, I would have liked to see Emily Blunt, Michelle Krusiec, Katee Sackhoff, or Sarah Michele Gellar.

Peeta and Gale: Er, who do you think, Jen? Gale’s got to be scruffy and Peeta should look sort of clean. Both should be somewhat built. Ryan Reynolds would have been a great Peeta but I can’t see him as a baker’s son. Zachary Levi? I can see Chuck in Peeta.

It doesn’t matter what I think. Hollywood casting directors will just pick a Bieber-esque wussy for each guy anyway.

Jen: Well obviously I think Kristen Stewart should be cast as Katniss. JUST KIDDING!

I read on the interwebs that Lionsgate did option it… so maybe the studios will ruin the series for us. I have trouble with casting because I can’t think of actors who are the right age range or aren’t Miley Cyrus. The only younger girl I would think of was Abigal Breslin. I really like her, but I don’t know if she is right as Katniss. Chris, I agree with you about SMG or Katee Sackhoff if they were younger. I think someone like a Zachary Levi would be a good Peeta. I don’t know about Ryan Reynolds. I would see him more of a Gale than a Peeta, but really neither.

I googled Disney channel actors and searched IMDb to get an idea of people so this is random, but maybe a girl like Danielle Panabaker for Katniss. I liked her in Sky High (though that doesn’t tell me she can do Hunger Games type of acting). How about Sean Faris for Gale? Or bringing in some Veronica Mars peeps, (as you know I like to ) Kyle Gallner?

Chris: I don’t like Kyle Gallner, even if he is cast in a bunch of movies as of late. I’ve never heard of Sean Faris; I think Danielle Panabaker looks too weak to be Katniss (though I liked her in Sky High). Alas I have no other suggestions, so I don’t mean to crap on yours.

Jen: My suggestions were crap… so crap away. Maybe our “readers” will have suggestions.

What do you think will happen in the third novel?

Chris: I hope all out civil war breaks out. I hope Katniss gets it through her thick skull that Peeta truly loves her. I think Gale is going to die. Either way, if either boy dies, it’ll be a shame but “no good deed goes unpunished,” right? So someone’s gotta die. I bet District 13 comes out with a giant robot named Optimus Prime, no wait. Wrong movie. I think D13 is going to bring some heavy artillery into the war on the Capitol, including scientists and military people who were originally thought to be dead.

Jen: Hahah, Optimus Prime! I think you’re right about Gale and that doesn’t make me happy. I agree about D13. They’ve had time to get organized and ready for the impending war that has to happen. Should we try to predict all of the deaths we think will happen in Mocking Jay? I think we will lose more than just Gale.

Chris: We talked a little bit about this last night (David Sedaris!), and it would be pretty dramatic if we lost Prim. I suspect Haymitch is going to eat it too. Spoiler: I was sad that the fashion designer Cinna took one for the team. Now that is putting your life on the line, to design something that would enrage a government. Cinna has balls. Unlike designers in real life.

Jen: I was going to add Haymitch to my above list of potential goners.

Side note referencing the spoiler above: Wouldn’t Cinna have been a great designer on Project Runway?

Chris: LOL!! Yes!

Do you like reading about dystopian worlds?

Chris: One of the reasons why I enjoy reading fiction, dystopic or not, is that the authors create their own world and rules within said society. It takes me to another place, even if it’s similar to the real world we live in. They build it and I wrap myself in the walls of their words, describing either a society I’d like to live in or a society I’m glad I’m not a part of IRL. I absolutely loved Katniss’s strong character. She’s got faults, but in the end, you want to stand by her and root for her. By rooting for her, you root for wrong thing being made right again. She encompasses the struggles of the “lesser” Districts.

I like dystopan fiction. Some of the first YA novels I read were the Uglies trilogy by Scott Westerfeld. I LOVED how Westerfeld created this world where children are forced to get plastic surgery to be made pretty at age 16. Maybe it’s because authors are really injecting their social commentary into the stories, and I pretty much feel the same way.

Jen: I totally agree (and I’m not just kissing butt here). I love that the authors create their own rules. The world Suzanne Collins has created stretched me out of my comfort zone from the moment I knew about the games. I think that discomfort made me root for Katniss and Peeta even more. It’s also really great to see strong young women who challenge the system and government in their world.

Chris: I’ve recommended these books and a few others to my younger cousins, and they have loved reading them. I think these sorts of books offer a different take on how “boys and girls” should behave, ie. not to conform to present-day society’s rules and norms. I’m hoping that my cousins feel more empowered to stay themselves. Of course, I’m also glad they enjoyed them just as books, too.

What’s currently on your reading list? What’s next on our list?

Chris: Next up in YA Novel-town: I’m waiting for the sequel to this – Mocking Jay. I’m also waiting for Eoin Cowlfer’s next Artemis Fowl book. And I’m waiting for read Maggie Steifvater’s sequel to Shiver – Linger.

Currently on my reading list: Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang by Chelsea Handler; Happy Birthday or Whatever by Annie Choi; and The Good Fairies of New York by Martin Millar. Millar’s book has been a thorn on my side for about 4 weeks now… I’ve had a tough time getting into it and I’m already halfway through.

Jen: I’m currently reading a Get Lucky by Katherine Center. After the emotional struggle of Catching Fire I needed some Chicklit. I think after that I’ll be on the second book in the Percy Jackson series, Sea of Monsters. I’m really looking forward to Mocking Jay, which comes out on my birthday!

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I love ya, Mom! Happy Mother’s Day!

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Image from nbc.com

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