Friday, December 31, 2010

Final Books Bought in 2010

Here are the last books I bought in 2010:



It's Time for 2011

It's time to say goodbye to the year 2010 and warmly (or not so warmly) welcome the year 2011. The year 2011 holds a lot for from the get go! On January 4th I will be boarding a plane and flying off to the mythology filled world of Greece - I'm very excited, but also extremley nervous about this and not just because of what I hear about what's going on there now. This will be the first time I have traveled without a family member and it's not like my destination is a hop, skip, and jump away from home! I'm hoping I can overcome my 'slight' (cough, cough) paranoia and have some fun.

About four days after I get back school starts again, hooray! I'm actually looking forward to some of the classes I am going to be taking and I already know that I like two of the professors (one of which I will have twice). Of course, with the new semester also comes the start of the 'Animation and Arts' club (aka - anime club) which I am the current president of.

In March I will be packing my bags again for a small (in days only) family vacation. I'm sure the flight will be...interesting, for lack of a better word, with four kids under the age of four. I've actually never been on an overnight trip with the family like this in awhile, so it will be like going back to visit my own childhood a bit. To be honest I think I might be more hyped about this trip than the one to Greece, but I've always been very family based and I really do want to see my nephew's first time in Disney and his reaction to all the people and characters walking around.

Of course, at the end of April I also have Anime Boston to go to. I have been going to this convention for a few years now and I have no plans to stop. Speaking of anime there are a good number of series I'm looking for this coming year! One of them being Beezlebub, which has to be the most hilarious manga I have ever read, so I have really high hopes for the animation.

I played some of the best video games I have in a while this past year such as 'Persona 3: Portable' and 'Eternal Sonata' (which wasn't released in 2010, but it's when I finally played the game). It also had some great television shows such as the new BBC series 'Sherlock' that I have become obsessed with - I can hardly wait for season two! This year was a good movie year for me as well with 'How to Train Your Dragon', 'Despicable Me', 'Tangled', 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part One' and Tim Burton's 'Alice in Wonderland'.

As far as my personal goals for 2011 the number one would have to be READ MORE! I've bought tons of great books looking books recently and not to mention the ones sitting patiently in my TBR pile. I also want to try and get my writing published somewhere within the coming year whether it be one of my poems or short stories. Keeping up with this blog is also a goal of mine and hopefully I will write many more poems and stories. At the stroke of midnight tonight I plan to start the year of with some reading, I haven't decided what I want to read yet though.

I'm off to do my luck dance for a, hopefully, awesome year!

Monday, December 27, 2010

Nook Cover (Alice in Wonderland Version)


Product: Cover for the Nook (the Barnes and Noble e-reader)

This is a very durable and neat looking cover. The inside feels nice and has a pocket on the left to hold notes and other such things. The nook fits into it well and it makes it more like you are reading a real book rather than a book in digital format (though nothing really compares to the real thing). The only real compliant, which is more of a personal preference, is that the page they used out of 'Alice in Wonderland' does not end on a complete sentence.

Final Grade: 9 0ut of 10

(I had originally posted this review on the Barnes and Noble website. I have now had this cover for about a year and it's still looking new.)

Monday, December 20, 2010


Title: The Stuff of Legend (Book One): The Dark
Author: Brian Smith & Mike Raichet
Illustrator: Charles Paul Wilson III

When we were children our toys our are most loyal of friends. This comic shows how far one boy's toys are willing to go to save him from the dark when he is kidnapped by the Boogeyman. The toys entire the Realm of the Dark, where the Boogeyman is, but once the get there the toys are made life like (the piggy-bank changes into a pig, the teddy bear into a real bear, and so on). The toys bravery, loyalty, and willpower are put to the test in this unfamiliar world on their rescue mission and you can't help but feel slight contempt for one of the boy's toys for something that they do (or lack of actually doing anything) towards the very beginning.

The Stuff of Legend: The Dark is actually one of the first comics I have bought and read that wasn't Japanese and I have to wonder now why I don't branch out more often. It was a quick and fast-paced read that had me craving more. If the plot makes you think 'Toy Story' and you go into thinking it's a happy and light read than you will be surprised! The Stuff of Legend is actually a rather dreary and somber read. I think the color tone and character design help in setting this atmosphere.

Final Grade: 8 out of 10

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Sherlock (Season One)


Title: Sherlock
Genre: Crime/Drama
Number of Episodes: 3 (Each 90 Minutes long)

I just finished 'Sherlock' the other night and my heart is still pounding! I can't seem to shake the last episode (or the first two for that matter) out of my head. It's definitely a show worth watching if you like action and mystery even with the short length of the first season. The ending left me with the need to pace up and down my dorm hall and muttering to myself on how awesome it was and how it was cruel of them not to have season two out the minute I had finished season one.

'Sherlock' is a modern day take on Sir Arthur Conan Doyles 'Sherlock Holmes' which I am sure most people are familiar with. The original books take place in an older England from what I understand being new to the Sherlock Holmes fever and all. The use of modern technology is brilliantly done and the script itself is oozing with humor and wit. If you are a mystery fan I would give this show a shot.


Sherlock Trailer

Final Grade: 10 out of 10

Monday, December 13, 2010

The Outsiders


Title: The Outsiders
Author: S.E. Hinton

This is the book I owe the world to! It's the book that really got me into reading and opened many doors for me and the one book I would recommend to parents with kids who aren't really into the book scene. I first read this book in the sixth grade as a in class reading assignment and the very first day I went home and rummaged through our, at the time meager, bookshelf for my sister's copy. I read it at home and then read it again at school - I couldn't get enough of it and I still can't! S.E. Hinton has not only introduced me to a wonderful and memorable cast of characters, but also to a world I'd never that I'd see - the world of books.

The story is about the tension between two groups (the rich kids known as the Socs and the poor kids known as Greasers). One day things are taken a bit to far which leads to a few problems for the Greasers - Ponyboy is in for a rough time. This is a book about friendship, family, and the struggles that sometimes need to be faced in order to make it in the world.

Final Grade: 10 0ut 0f 10