Monthly Archives: May 2012

Teaser Tuesday (May 29): The Knife of Never Letting Go

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Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This week, my teaser is from The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness:

 

“I try to think of something, anything to make it all right, but I ain’t got nothing. Just Noise with death and despair all over it.”

– page 105

Top Ten Tuesday (May 29): Recent Books I Hope Are Still Read in 30 Years

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme brought to us by the fine folks over at The Broke and the Bookish, so we can all make bookish lists to our hearts’ content.

The topic for this week is:

Top Ten Books Written In The Past 10 Years That I Hope People Are Still Reading In 30 Years

Ooh, this one is hard. Most of the books on my shelf are either really old or really new. And most of the really new stuff, even books I really enjoyed, I don’t see standing the test of time. Many contemporary titles make a lot of references to the technology and culture of today, and may seem too dated to the teens and adults of 2042. So most of what I’ve come up with either deals with the past or the future, or fantasy worlds. Those seem a lot more likely to age well than books that are firmly grounded in the present.

I’m going to stick to fiction, since that’s what I review on this blog, although of course there have been some wonderful non-fiction titles that have come out in the last 10 years.

Also, I know this may be cheating, but I’m going to include a few series where the first book may have come out more than 10 years ago, but the series continued into the past 10 years. My apologies for playing fast and loose with the rules.

What kills me is I have a few books on my shelf right now that I suspect would make this list if I had read them yet. But alas, I haven’t had time. C’est la vie.

That said, here’s what I’ve come up with.

10. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I hesitated to put this one on the list, because I kind of hope that our obsession with “reality” entertainment will have faded in 30 years, thus making the book less relevant. But it is still a moving look at the effects of war on society, and while I’d like to think that war will also be irrelevant in 30 years, something tells me that’s just a dream.

9. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Such an interesting and unique way to tell a story. And I assume the vintage photography will only be cooler 30 years from now.

8. Ender’s Shadow series by Orson Scott Card. 

This follow-up series to the Ender’s Game series (which has already proven it can withstand the test of time) is exciting and thought-provoking science fiction. The first book was released in 2000, but the series is still continuing, and the most recent book, Shadows in Flight, was just released this year.

7. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. 

A beautiful story set during one of the darkest times in our history. I hope it moves future readers as much as it moved me.

6 The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen.

An enchanting and marvelous medieval tale that will appeal to young readers of all ages. I wouldn’t be surprised if this starts showing up as required reading in schools.

5. The Help by Kathryn Stockett

This book is in turns amusing, heartwarming, disturbing, and inspiring. It’s a simultaneously entertaining and thought-provoking look at racism and discrimination in our not-too-distant past. In 30-years, hopefully readers will be much more removed from racism, but it will be good for them to appreciate where we came from.

 4. The Maze Runner by James Dashner

I’d imagine that even 30 years from now, there will be a market for pulse-pounding, adrenaline-pumping speculative fiction. 

3. The Tawny Man trilogy by Robin Hobb

This one’s a big cheat. I’m assuming that if you’re going to read Tawny Man, you’ve already read the Farseer trilogy (first book published 1996) and the Liveship Traders trilogy (first book published 1999). But even if all anyone in the future read was this series, they’d still be treated to an amazing fantasy adventure.

2. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

The first book in this series, Outlander, came out more than 20 years ago, but this series is actually still going on, so I think it counts. The most recent book, An Echo in the Bone, was released in 2009, and the next in the series, Written in My Own Heart’s Blood, will be released in early 2013. This is a beautiful historical romance with a touch of time travel thrown in. It’s already lasted 20 years – why not 30 more?

1. Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

Again, the first Harry Potter may have been released in 1999, but the series continued through 2009 and introduced so many people — young and old alike — to the wonders of reading through magic and fantasy. I have no doubt that The Boy Who Lived will age well.

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? (May 28)

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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey to help us keep tabs on our reading goals for the week, and to also help us discover new books.

Also, Happy Memorial Day! My heartfelt thanks goes out to all the men and women who have fought or are currently fighting for my family’s freedom and safety. Additional thanks if you have or have had friends or family in the armed services.

So this is week 2 of my Dystopiaganza! I actually mostly finished my books from last week – only exception is I still need to finish The Knife of Never Letting Go (which I’m now thinking is not actually a dystopian…but I started it, and it’s interesting, so now I need to finish it). So that will happen this week.

In addition, this week I’m planning to tackle:

The Selection by Kiera Cass. After finishing The Maze Runner, which was like 400 pages of pure adrenaline, a pretty and romantic dystopian sounds very refreshing.

And, if I can get them in my possession, I would also like to read:

Starters by Lissa Price. I’ve got to be honest – this cover is not doing a thing for me. But I’ve heard the book is great, in spite of the bad cover.

Partials by Dan Wells. I’ve had this book described to me as Hunger Games meets Battlestar Galactica, and since those are two of my favorite things, I’ve been anxious to read this one for a while.

Only problem is, I don’t actually have either of those last two books in my possession…yet. I am hoping to acquire them both this week, but that is dependent on money and stuff, since my library has pretty much nothing in the New Releases category.

I’ll also be squeezing in:

Suffocate by S.R. Johannes. This is just a novelette, so it should go pretty fast, and it sounds like a really fun little read.

Happy Monday everyone! What are you reading this week?

Feature & Follow #98 – Dream Cast of Under the Never Sky

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Welcome to the Feature & Follow Hop, hosted by Parajunkee’s View and Alison Can Read!

If you’re a new follower, greetings! I hope you enjoy my blog, and I’d love for you to follow me via LinkyFollowers, Networked Blogs, email or RSS. All follow options are in the sidebar. Be sure to let me know how you’re following in the comments so I can return the favor!

This week’s topic is simultaneously fun and super-hard. And here it is:

Activity: Dream cast your current read

Okay. I love playing this game in my head while I’m reading. I love movies, I love film adaptations of books, and I like to play the “what if” game with myself.

But good grief, the books I’m reading now do not make this easy.

First off, the one I’m reading now, I’m just not far enough into it to cast. I’m only about 1/5 of the way through The Knife of Never Letting Go, and I do not know enough about any of the characters to cast them. So I decided to move to the one I just finished, Under the Never Sky. And it is hard.

You’re going to need to forgive me now, because I am just not up on my teen/child actors and actresses. I tried to pick mostly from people I’d seen act in at least something (the glaring exception being Aria), but that means sometimes they’re a bit of a stretch. There’s probably some awesome actors/actresses out there that I’ve never heard of that could do a great job on these roles. And the two child parts – Cinder and Talon – would probably do better with unknown actors. But saying “unknown” is no fun! So here we go.

Aria: Emma Roberts

Photo Credit: http://worldhairstyles.com

Aria is 17, dark-haired, beautiful, and was genetically engineered to be an angelic operatic singer. I haven’t actually seen Emma Roberts in anything, but I’ve heard she’s good, and she looks like I picture Aria. The singing would have to be dubbed though. While Emma Roberts is a passable pop singer, you need to have some serious pipes and be classically trained to pull off Tosca.

Perry: Matt Lauria

Photo Credit: http://www.poptower.com

Perry is 18, blond-haired, muscular, and kind of scary. Let’s just ignore for a minute the fact that Matt’s actually nearly 28 years old. I looked him up thinking he couldn’t possibly be much past his early 20s. So apparently the boy (er, man) ages well. I really enjoyed him on his one season of Friday Night Lights, and while the rugged and savage character of Perry is extremely different from the squeaky-clean Luke Cafferty, I think he could pull it off.

Roar: Zac Efron

Photo Credit: http://www.details.com

PLEASE DON’T HATE ME. No seriously. Roar is described as being dark haired, with movie-star good looks, and is highly charismatic and charming.  So, High School Musical aside, I actually think Zac Efron is a pretty good fit.

Cinder: Joel Courtney

Photo Credit: Rob Sentz photostream at http://www.flickr.com/

Yup, that’s the kid from Super 8. Cinder is supposed to be 12 years old, skeletally thin (so Joel – or any kid cast to play him – would have to lose some weight), and carries around a wariness and sadness with him. I don’t really know of a lot of younger teen actors, but I thought the kids were the best part of Super 8 (the alien sure as heck wasn’t), and I think Joel would make a pretty decent Cinder.

Vale: Hayden Christensen

Photo Credit: http://img.getglue.com

Vale is the leader of the Tides, and Perry’s older brother. I’m pretty sure Hayden Christensen could be made to look related to Matt Lauria. Plus, Star Wars prequel suckage aside, he showed he could play both sympathetic and sinister. We’ll overlook the fact that he overacted a tad (okay, a lot) in Star Wars, because it’s been 7 years since then and I’m assuming he’s matured a bit as an actor.

Rose: Kristin Kreuk

Photo Credit: http://images.starpulse.com

Rose is described as striking, dark and long-limbed, with high cheekbones and almond-shaped eyes. Now, “dark” could also mean African American, but the almond eyes say Asian to me. I’ve always thought Kristin Kreuk is beautiful and exotic, and I think she could do justice to Rose’s small part.

Marron: Paul Giamatti

Photo Credit: www1.hollywoodreporter.com

Marron is described as round-faced, blond-haired blue-eyed, short, and portly but graceful. Obviously I took some liberties with that, since I couldn’t for the life of me think of anyone who matched that description. Marron struck me as kind and gentle, but also quick-witted and intelligent. Paul Giamatti is an excellent actor, and I’m pretty sure he could handle everything the role requires.

Talon: Jared Gilmore

Photo Credit: http://www.aceshowbiz.com

Okay, I know, he’s 12 and not 7. But he’s small and has dark hair, like Talon. And honestly, I don’t know many (or any) 7-year-old child actors. I actually think he’s mostly not-annoying on Once Upon a Time, and I’m going to assume that a 7-year-old living in a tribe under the Aether would look older than most 7-year-olds in your average 2012 second grade classroom. So I think it works.

Lumina: Julia Roberts

Photo Credit: http://cdn.blogs.sheknows.com

She’s Emma Roberts’ aunt! And they look so much alike! I think that would be a fun cameo.

Consul Hess: Clancy Brown

Photo Credit: http://images.wikia.com/

He’s supposed to be centuries old, but the only place you can tell is his eyes…which means the makeup department would have their work cut out for them. But what you can’t accomplish with makeup is the sinister darkness that needs to be part of the villain of the story. And Clancy Brown can do sinister darkness.

Phew. So those are all the major roles in Under the Never Sky. And that was ridiculously hard. I’m glad I’m not a casting director.

Throwback Thursday (May 24) – Assassin’s Apprentice, by Robin Hobb

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Welcome to Throwback Thursday, a weekly meme hosted by The Housework Can Wait and Never Too Fond of Books!

It’s the nature of book blogging to focus mainly on new releases, but there are thousands of great books out there that haven’t seen the “New Releases” shelf in years. We hope to be able to bring attention to some older titles that may not be at the top of the current bestseller list, but still deserve a spot in your To-Be-Read pile.

You don’t have to be a book blogger to participate! You can put up a Throwback Thursday post on your non-bookish blog; or if you don’t have a blog at all, just use the comments to tell us about a book you remember fondly.

Here’s how it works:
1. Pick any book released more than 5 years ago. Adult, YA, Children’s; doesn’t matter. Any great book will do.
2. Write up a short summary of the book (include the title, author, and cover art) and an explanation of why you love it. Make sure to link back to The Housework Can Wait and Never Too Fond of Books in your post.
3. Link up your post at The Housework Can Wait or Never Too Fond of Books.
4. Visit as many blogs as you can, reminisce about books you loved, and discover some “new” books for your TBR list!

My throwback for this week is….

Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb. Last week, I talked about the book that introduced me to Science Fiction, so I thought it appropriate that this week, I should discuss the book that opened my eyes to the wonders of Fantasy. (And don’t worry, fantasy lovers. Assassin’s Apprentice will get the all-out detailed review treatment at some point in the future).

A good friend loaned me a well-worn paperback copy of Assassin’s Apprentice when I was complaining that I didn’t have anything good to read (a problem I don’t really have anymore…yay book blogging!) And I admit, the first time I attempted it, I wasn’t into it. I got a few chapters in, then put it down for a couple months. I figured it probably just wasn’t my thing.

But then, for some reason I don’t really recall, I decided to give it another shot. And the second time, I found this book completely riveting from the first chapter. I honestly don’t know what my problem was the first time.

Assassin’s Apprentice is the story of FitzChivalry, the illegitimate son of the King-in-Waiting. His father, unable to recognize him as a legitimate heir, turns him over to the stablekeeper to raise. But no sooner has young Fitz adjusted to a simple life in the stables, than he finds himself taken into the court of his grandfather, King Shrewd, and secretly apprenticed to the mysterious court assassin. And as Fitz hones his deadly skills for the good of the kingdom, he also struggles to control two powerful forms of magic battling inside him.

Assassin’s Apprentice kicks off Hobb’s Farseer trilogy, which is followed by the Liveship Traders trilogy and the Tawny Man trilogy (and there’s another series after that…the Rain Wild Chronicles…but it’s not nearly as good as the others, so I pretend it doesn’t exist). All of them take place in the same world and have some overlapping characters. Which is good, because these books contain some of the best characters I have ever read. Plus the world is vivid and tangible, the magic is believable, the stakes are incredibly high, and the twists and turns are captivating, riveting, and heartbreaking.

If you’re looking for a fabulous fantasy series, or you’ve never tried fantasy and would like to take it for a spin, this is the book for you.

This is a Blog Hop! Link up your own Throwback Thursday post below!