The Girl Who Played With Fire (Stieg Larsson)

This post won't be a long one because I cannot wait to start the next (and final) book in the Millenium trilogy. 

The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson definitely met my reading needs this month!  While the book is a giant one, with 724 pages, it was so worth it.  Lisbeth Salander, who is the girl with the dragon tattoo, is wanted by the police for the murder of three people.  Her fingerprints were found on the murder weapon.  These three murder victims are all linked together by a book and article that were to be written about sex trafficking.  Mikael Blomkvist, who is the other big star in "The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo" books, knows Salander and doesn't believe that she's guilty of these crimes.  He uses the resources and staff available to him to help out Salander, even though she can't be found.  Anywhere. 

I remember when I was a couple hundred pages into the book, saying, "I don't understand why there are so many little stories here.  There is so much going on and I just don't get how it's all linked together.  I feel like they've talked about so much but that it doesn't really mean anything."  I was reassured that it would all come together soon and that the excitement would start.  And did it ever.  (I will admit that at times, I felt that the book was a bit wordy, but I think it just gives you a good description of everything that is going on.)

All of these little stories from journalists, police officers, Salander and Blomkvist come together wonderfully and you just keep saying, "Oh my goodness..." as you start to realize how things are playing out and how different parts of the story are fitting together. 

The ending of the book leaves you wanting more.  Hence the need to start the third book.  Tonight. 

You definitely need to have read the first book, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, in order to fully understand this book.  The relationships built between characters in the first book are really important to some of the events that occur in this one. 

On to book number three!

Page Corner Bookmarks - Too Cool Not To Share...

Another cool find!

This time, using StumbleUpon, I found these cool page corner bookmarks! 

Using the corner of an envelope (or the template shown with some cardstock paper), you can create these cute little monster bookmarks. 

This image is from the Oh! Crafts website.

For complete instructions, see http://tallystreasury.com/2011/02/corner-page-bookmarks-3/.

Personally, I am a huge fan of magnetic bookmarks.  I use magnetic bookmarks to ensure I never lose my page (because how annoying is it to try to locate your page once your "normal" bookmark falls out?!).  I think this "page corner bookmark" craft is super neat and creative (and you can personalize it!).  In addition to making the cute bookmark, I would probably add some magnets to the inside! 

The Book of Awesome (Neil Pasricha)

Let's start this post with something that is NOT SO AWESOME: Being sick.  Which is exactly what I am today.  I decided to brighten up my day today by finishing off "The Book of AWESOME." 
"The Book of AWESOME" by Neil Pasricha has been my bathroom book for the past month or so.  (Embarrassing, right?  The reality of my life with Crohn's, since I do spend a little more time than the average person in the washroom!)  This book has been perfect because what better way is there to start a day than reading about things that are AWESOME.  (The answer is: There is no better way to start the day.)

Seriously, it was in the bathroom!

Reading through  "The Book of AWESOME," I was reminded of so many things that are AWESOME, like nailing a parallel parking attempt on the first try, getting gas just before the price goes up, finding your keys after looking forever, and returning to your warm and comfy bed after getting up to pee in the middle of the night.  (They're all from the book, FYI.)  

At one point, I felt like I should document all of these AWESOME things in a scrapbook since they honestly are all AWESOME and I've personally experienced most of them.  We just forget to think about them.  A few weeks ago I was sending an email to a few friends I went to university with.  I had had a pretty quiet week, so I thought instead that I would tell them another piece of information: the fact that I was able to successfully peel an orange in one piece.   It made all of them smile.  (AWESOME, right?  A couple days before, I had read this one in The Book of AWESOME.)

There's just something about flipping through a book like this one that makes your day seem a little bit better.
A month ago I was in the hospital waiting room, waiting to go for yet another colonoscopy for my Crohn's Disease and I decided that I would bring "The Book of AWESOME" with me.  At a time when I was not in the happiest of moods, it was great to be reminded that my colon is actually pretty AWESOME, despite what I was going through at the time!

So, while I haven't spent an hour of my "sick day" today watching The Price is Right (it's in the book), I have spent it finishing this book and thinking about things that have made my day a little bit more
AWESOME.
 
Thank you, Neil Pasricha, for reminding me of the simple things in life and making me smile.  
Your book is AWESOME.

Check out the video of Neil Pasricha at TEDxToronto.

The Scorch Trials (James Dashner)

I have had a great week supply teaching and some of my days even included a bit of prep time (or at least a quiet lunch break) that were ideal reading times.  I also think it's important to add in this post that in the elementary classes I was in this week, I saw "The Maze Runner" (the first book of this series) in the hands of at least three students.

I discovered this series of books by James Dashner after reading The Hunger Games.  I enjoyed The Hunger Games so much that I wanted to find another series that was similar. The first book in this series was The Maze Runner, which I had said I enjoyed, just not as much as The Hunger Games!  (I think the key here is to not compare it to The Hunger Games, since they are about entirely different things.)  I started The Scorch Trials, not entirely sure what to expect out of it after the ending of book one, but I really enjoyed it.  

Thomas and the rest of the 'shanks' who survived from his life in the Maze (see description of The Maze Runner!) are in a new facility.  While they think that they are finally free of this life of chaos, they are forced again to take part in a trial for WICKED (the World in Catastrophe: Killzone Experiment Department).  In this book, the boys have a new member thrown on them (Aris) and in two weeks, they must make it 100 miles north through this desert.  Along the way, they meet (and must fight) Cranks, people who have the "Flare" and are basically crazy in the head, as well as a second group of girls who have been going through similar experiments and trials.  There are a variety of "variables" in this trial, so different individuals have different motives throughout the journey.

It sounds weird, but it was really exciting.  The descriptions are wonderful and you can picture everything that is happening along the journey.  Along with 'seeing' the landscapes and the people, Dashner does a great job of making you really feel the emotions that Thomas is feeling throughout the book. 

This is the second book in a series that currently has 4 books, one of which is to be released this summer.  I've been trying to decide if this book could be a standalone book, or if it should be read after the first book.  I think this book is better read in the order it was intended.  While there are some reminders in this book of things that occurred in The Maze Runner, I think a lot of the terminology and experiences that happened in the first book would make you enjoy The Scorch Trials that much more.  

Similar to the last book, it leaves you satisfied at the end, but more so this time, I just want to pick up the third book, The Death Cure, and start it right away.  I would recommend this book, especially for the Young Adult and teen audience.  (And I'll add that after talking to a student at one school this week, the teens are enjoying this series as well!)

"What Should I Read Next?" - Too Cool Not to Share

This post is not a book review, but I promise it will be worth it.

I have recently become hooked on Pinterest... And even though sometimes I feel like it takes up way too much of my time, I agree with the quote, "You're not wasting time if you're enjoying it."  And I enjoy it.  (For those of you who don't already know, Pinterest is basically an online bulletin board... You can "pin" ideas you find on the internet onto various boards and you can browse things that other people have found.  It's really neat.)

What I love about Pinterest is that if you don't have time to go on and browse on any given day, it's ok.  It's not like twitter, which I feel I need to check at least once a day in order to keep up with everything.  There is no way you will ever see everything that is pinned on Pinterest - which is kind of the point in my mind.  You should be pinning things that interest you. That being said, it's a lot of fun to spend some time browsing the overwhelming amount of cool stuff that other people have pinned.

Today, on Pinterest, I found this awesome website called "What Should I Read Next?"  This being a blog about books, I just had to share!  All you do is type in the name of a book that you really enjoyed and it will provide you with a list of books and authors that may be right up your alley.  Kind of cool, eh?  Give it a try!

This image is from the "What Should I Read Next?" website. 

The Lucky One (Nicholas Sparks)

I loved this book.  I know some people are not into Nicholas Sparks and his style of writing, but I couldn't put this book down. 

"The Lucky One" is basically the love story between Logan and Beth.  Logan was a marine and while he was in Kuwait, he found a picture of this beautiful girl, which from that point on, his friend Victor claims is his "good luck charm."  Logan survives many dangerous moments, which they both believe is because of the photo.  In an attempt to "balance" everything, Logan goes in search of this beautiful woman when he is back home in the United States.  He finds Beth and starts working for her family.  He decides it's better to not tell Beth about the photo he finds.  As he becomes closer to the family (and to Beth), both of their pasts start to come forward.  Add to this the fact that Beth's ex-husband, Keith, is a police officer in the town (and kind of a bully) and it makes a really interesting story!

Each chapter focuses on the thoughts of a different character.  It was nice to see what was going on in everyone's heads and I found that it all fit together really nicely.  Nicholas Sparks does a great job developing the characters and reveals specific pieces of information at really good times throughout the book. 

Like I said, I couldn't put the book down once I started it.  It was an easy read and it really kept me interested throughout.  (I came home after the 9:15 p.m. Hunger Games movie and read this book until the wee hours of the morning!)  There was just something about the relationships between Logan and Beth, and Logan and Ben, and Keith and Beth, that kept me intrigued.

My book had the steamy picture of Zac Efron and Taylor Schilling, who are the stars of the upcoming movie.  (I love Zac Efron from way back in his "High School Musical" days... Don't judge!)  After watching the preview again, I notice that there already seem to be a few things that are different from the book.  (But I'm sure it will still be good!)

The Lucky One hits the big screen on April 20th.  I hope I enjoy the movie as much as I enjoyed the book!

The Hunger Games - The Movie

Because of how much I hate being in crowded places, I had intended to go to see "The Hunger Games" movie in a few weeks, once the crazy lineups had died down.  However, stuff happens and I decided to brave it out last night.  We showed up at 8:00 p.m. for a 9:15 p.m. movie and, after waiting in line for almost an hour, we got prime seats!  (Go us!  We were teasing that we should have dressed up and brought my copies of the book, but we're not that hardcore.)

I thought the movie was amazing and that it stayed true to the book.  There were some parts that I think would be a bit easier to understand after having read the book (like, for example, how they determine how many times your name gets put into the draw), but all in all, it was a good movie and I found they did a good job with the characters and the story.  Obviously, being the Hollywood film that it is, you don't need to have read the book first.  Personally, I think it helped.  

It was exciting, it had my shoulders tensed up part way through (even though I knew what was going to happen), the music really helped to make you feel various emotions, the costumes were great, and I thought the acting was good.

My mom told me of one bad review that's still sitting right front and center in my mind, where the guy said that he thought they were playing it "safe" in the movie.  I found that they had just enough "gore" and that how they showed the "excitement" (if you want to call it that) in The Hunger Games was tastefully done.  It could have made people feel uncomfortable if there was more to see visually, and, like I heard a young fan on Canada AM say one morning this past week, "It was done in a way that you knew what was happening."  You know someone is dying.  You didn't have to see it all, but you could feel it and it still hit home. 

I'm excited for Catching Fire now.  And I kind of want to re-read the books.