Series' in general

I think as of now, most of my fans either read regularly or at least enjoy reading a good book every once and awhile. A lot of people love to read books, but how many like to read Series?

As a rule, I tend to avoid series. For me, they ruin the freedom of reading. You get attached to a character in a series of books and you don't read anything else until you have caught up with the author, and when a new book arives in the series, you feel obligated not only to read it but refresh your memory by reading the beginning books over again.

But there is some joy in reading a series. When you open the new book, you get a sense of feeling at home. Your with a character that you are familiar with, you don't have to waist time picturing the setting, or the protagonist. It's already there in your head, waiting for you.

Currently I have four or five series I am reading.
One of them, The Dark Tower series by Stephen King, although it is finished by the author, I have not yet finished. I am at the fifth book.

Another one, which hasn't had a new book in I don't know how long, is the once popular Eragon series. I have caught up with the author and am waiting for the fourth novel to be released, if it ever is.

The John Corey series is yet another one I read continually. Also with this one, I have caught up with the author and am waiting for the sixth novel to be released.

My point here is to prove how clinging a series can be. But that doesn't necessarily mean they are bad.... Well I can't decide for you whether or not they are bad, so leave a comment and tell me what you think of series. Then you can follow my blog by clicking the Follow button right below the TMZ add.

In other news, the result of the poll for who will win the presidential election in 2012, Another Old Guy beats the competition in a landslide. The new poll is Do You miss football? Feel free to vote, you dont have to be a follower to vote. SO VOTE!!!!! And leave comments. And follow.!

Ender's Game

Lately I have been hearing more and more about titles written by Orson Scott Card. In particular Ender's Game.

Apparently as a freshman I was supposed to read this novel, but for some reason my class didn't get to it. So I decided to read it independently.

Even though it was Sci- Fi , I really enjoyed the book.

The book takes place in the distant future, and all of humanity is living in fear of the "buggers", an alien species that almost wiped out all of Earth.

The protagonist of the story is Ender Wiggins( I believe his first name was Andrew) and he is a Third, meaning the third child in a family which in this day and age is frowned upon.

But soon the military of the Earth notices Ender's genius mind, and begins his long and painful journey to become THE commander to save the world and end the war with the buggers.

His training begins at Battle School where the student body is divided into armies, and they preform mock wars against each other. But it is not only a game. Every student takes it seriously and the game prepares you for the real deal.

Unfortunately if you wish to know more, you must read the book. I have a strict policy here to not spoil books for the Constant Reader, but encourage him/her to read.

Orson Scott Card's book was-and excuse me for my lack of words- amazing. I have been searching the valley for a copy of this book and my search is futile, but I'm going to keep trying. I recommend this book to anyone with eyeballs. I give Ender's Game a 5 out of 5 ranking.

Thanks for reading, feel free to leave comments, suggestions, whatever..... I appreciate feedback.

The Appeal

Every time I ask someone about their favorite authors, three names automatically pop up
1. Stephanie Meyer
2. J.K Rowling
3. John Grisham


Last week I finally decided to tackle a John Grisham. I have always been a little skeptical about Grisham because I always hear varying comments about him. Some people say he is fantastic, some say he is boring, some go as far as saying he is the best author in a thousand years.

I'm not going to go as far as the best author in a thousand years, but the book definitely wasn't bad.

The story began in court. Krane Chemical is being sued by a woman who lost her family to cancer claiming that the company polluted the drinking water of the whole town. The average cancer rate for the town is 17% higher than the national average.

In a surprising verdict by the jury, the woman is awarded 41 million dollars. And the company is required to clean the water.

Meanwhile, the CEO of the plant is losing a billion dollars in only a few hours due to the verdict. The company stock is dropping, lawyers fresh out of law school are running to the town to see how many more people want to sue the company, and everything seems to be plummeting  for Krane.

But their is a small hope. The lawyers for Krane are appealing to the State Supreme Court, and they might even be able to influence the judges by eliminating one, and getting another elected before the trial that would favor the Chemical plant.

The book I found to be entertaining, but not suspenseful in any way. Boring would be the correct word.

But it does show the reader how politics can go deeper and more corrupt than any person can imagine. If your into the lawyer business, this book is for you. Otherwise, you might want to go somewhere else for your reading.

The book I am reading now however, is definetly something. It's called Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card.
In a few days, I should have it finished and I will post as soon as possible. But until then, read on, tell your friends about me, leave comments, and vote on the poll on the upper right side of my blog.

Libraries

Most of us readers have a small collection of books we enjoy reading. Some collections maybe small ( maybe 10 or so) some are huge ( my librarian declares his runs around the 5 to 6 THOUSAND mark) but all of them are special in their own way.

My collection is just a little over 100. Thirty of them are Stephen King's, the rest are various authors consisting of  J.R.R Tolkien's Lord of the Ring Series to an original  copy of Harry Potter: The Chamber of Secrets that was published in England to my only signed book The Secret of Castle Cant.


Here are some pictures of my little shelfs

So this is my collection. Now I want to see yours. Please feel free to send my pictures of YOUR collection. Whether it be 1 or 1000. You can leave a comment showing your pictures and while you are at it, feel free to follow my blog and vote in the poll on the upper right side of my blog. 

Hopefully by the end of the week, I can finish another novel and post about it. I am currently reading The Appeal by John Grisham and I think it has potential. But we will see.

Pride and Prejudice

Normally I am willing to give any book ONE chance. Well everyone has been talking about Pride and Prejudice so I decided it was worth a try. Big mistake


Not to bash on Jane Austen ( may she rest in peace) but this book was terrible. I stopped after thirty pages and immediately moved on to another novel.

The book is written well ( it has an old english type of feel to it) but the plot is non existent and to consider it a classic is a reward this book is not worthy of.

But if you like romance and books written in the early 1800s, feel free to go for it. But don't tell me I didn't warn you.

And as a P.S. Leave comments! It's not hard. Also feel free to vote in my poll, it's for everyone. And if you like books, then follow my blog.

The next blog I think will be about libraries. Hopefully if I do not have mounds of homework, I can get it in tomorrow.

Salems Lot

This year for Lent, I made a pact with a few friends. I gave up caffeine, another friend gave up reading books for fun, and yet another gave up insults. Well I failed after three days, and my friend couldn't make it without reading ( I don't blame her). So in honor of our breaking Lent, we decided to go to the library and check out as many books as possible.

One of the books I checked out was Pride and Prejudice, written by Jane Austen.

Since I have not read it yet, I cannot give a summary of it but it is coming soon.

Now, I wish to talk about a Stephen King.

Salem's Lot , one of Kings first books, begins with a writer traveling toward a town he grew up in Jerusalem Lot.
After staying a few days he meets a young chicka who has the hots for him. They quickly fall in love and everything seems happy. But in the depths of night, a dark evil older than the stones we walk on lurks through the town. Yes it is a vampire, and no it is not Dracula.

Unfortunately  if I tell you any more, I will give away the book, which i do not like to do.

But I can honestly say that reading this book after dark is a challenge. And for a vampire book, it lacks the cheesy-ness that usually comes with *cough Stephanie Meyer cough*. So if your aren't afraid of the things that go bump in the night, this is the book for you.


Now for those of you who live in Caldwell ID (probably all of you), I have recently discovered a new used book store down town.

The address is 117 S. 7th Avenue. They are closed on Sundays and Mondays, but i seriously recommend coming to this store. It will be worth your while.


Okay so that is it for today. Feel free to follow me on my blog, and if you get a chance vote on the poll. And leave COMMENTS!!!!!! I need some feedback people ( but make it appropriate).

The Ruins

In the month since my last blog, unfortunately I have not been able to read. Between school and my extra curricular activities, I just run out of time.


But a few books in particular did come across my way.

The first is called The Ruins, written by Scott Smith.
The book begins with two couples summer breaking in Mexico. They are enjoying life and getting wasted probably helped a little. But after they meet a German fellow who is distressed over his missing brother, everything turns wrong.

The four friends decide to help the German who's brother ran away with a woman to some distant part of Mexico where an archaeological dig is taking place. The only way to find the brother is a poorly drawn map below the farewell note.

A few hours later, the group is marching through the jungle trying to find the trail leading to the dig. But the local Mayan tribe is causing problems. First they hide the path by discreetly placing leaves over the path. Then once the team reaches the top of the hill the Mayans try to convince them to leave. And they do it in good taste.

The whole hill that supposedly held the archaeological dig is completely covered in vines. Nothing else seems to be growing on the hill. The Mayans try to force the group down the hill, but an adventurous photographer backs up a little too far towards the vines and the Mayans change their mind. The group is herded toward the hill and forced to stay by the whole village. But it is not the Mayans they need to worry about, it's the vine.


Scott Smith did an excellent job on this book. If you decide to read it (which i HIGHLY recommend) be sure to not plan anything for about 8 hours. You can't just read this book for 15 minutes. The book gets four stars out of five.