The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (or is it a trilogy?)

Thanks to Hollywood, almost everyone in this day and age has heard of The Lord of the Rings . But how many of you have actually read the books?

J.R.R Tolkien began writing the Lord of the Ring series with The Hobbit in 1937. The book describes the story of Bilbo Baggins and his finding of the ring of power. The Hobbit barely has anything to do with the Lord of the Ring trilogy. It acts as a Prequel basically, but if you haven't read the series, I recommend you read the Hobbit first.

The Fellowship of The Ring starts the Frodo Baggins era of the series. In this book, Frodo is given the ring, and along with it the terrible task to destroy it. The young boy starts his adventure with his gardener Sam and his two friends Mary and Pippin.

This is how the adventure begins. The next two novels deal with the conclusion of the story of the ring.I have read all four novels, and let me tell you that you haven't read anything until your read these books.

Why do I hate Barnes & Nobles? And more books!

A couple posts ago, I briefly mentioned that I have a wee grudge with B and N. Well I received a few e-mails from fans asking me why, so here you go.


A few months before I began writing this blog, I had made a few purchases online through Barnes & Nobles. I was given a gift card for my birthday and I had decided to use it. Unfortunately, when I typed in the card number, the website didn't register it. After about ten different attempts it finally took my card, but I still owed about seven cents. So, I was forced to pay seven cents on a debit card.

Two weeks later, I was still waiting for my books. Then four weeks later, I was still waiting for my books. And finally after a whole six weeks, my order arrived. To say the least I was irked.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is why I have a beef with Barnes & Nobles. I seriously recommend you go to Borders for your online shopping. You can get a Borders Rewards card for free and get great deals (at Barnes and Nobles you have to pay!).



For those of you who like to follow my blog, you might have noticed the new books I have on my list. Well today I bought A Wrinkle in Time and Expanded Universe from my favorite book store, the Rubaiyat. If you have not yet been down there and live in the local area, you be in your car and on your way now. The address is located on the right hand side of the blog. But before you go, dont forget to follow the blog and leave comments!

Hey Guess What?!! I Went to the Library!!

Thanks to gas prices (nowadays 3.63 is a bargain), the lack of jobs in my local area, and just the little nickles and dimes that are lost while living, my wallet holds little more than dust in it. But by all means that shouldn't affect my reading.


Your local library has many benefits. For one, of course, it's free. Two, well it's free. And three, uhhh it's freaking FREE. Besides those three points, the library also allows you to read through a book before you purchase it. Then if it's worth being in your own collection, you can buy it and feel great about it.


There are of course some downsides to the public library. If you want new books fast, then I wouldn't recommend the library. If you are a slow( and I mean really slow) reader, the library may cause problems( its not always free). And , if you like to read books that are in impeccable condition, don't go to the library.


Today I went to the local library and rented three books. Two Stephen King's ( I won't post about them because they are short stories) and a non-fiction work about one amazing coach ( Vince Lombardi), and one coach who should have picked a better team to coach (Tom Landry). The book is written from the perspective of Pat Summerall who served under them when they were both assistant coaches in New York. This book will be posted after I finish the King I am reading now( Needful Things).

In other news, I have a sweet little button below this post. It's called the comment button. Why don't you leave one? I strongly accept recommendations, criticisms, and just plain old conversations with my viewers. Also on the right had side I have a Poll. The question this week is What is your favorite genre? Also if you aren't already, follow this blog. Thanks for reading:)

Book Updates : Upcoming Releases, New Releases, and the Top 10 on the New York Times Bestseller List.

Today, while I was making my morning preparations, I ran a cross an idea. Why don't I research what books are upcoming and post them on the blog? I'm always waiting for a novel to be released, but I'm never quite aware of it until it is released.

So for my sake and yours, once a month( or thereabouts) I will post what I call a book update. These posts will deal specifically with Upcoming releases (a general list and specific books I feel will interest my readers), New Releases, and the top 10 on at least one of the lists on the New York Times Bestseller List. 

Upcoming Releases: 

• Smokin' Seventeen a Stephanie Plum novel by Janet Evanovich. Available June 21, 2011.

• Hell's Corner by David Baldacci. Available June 28, 2011.

• The Rebel by J.R Ward. Available June 28,2011.

• Retribution by Sherrilyn Kenyon. Available August 2, 2011.

• Portrait of a Spy by Daniel Silva. Available July 19, 2011.

If you want to learn more information about these titles I mentioned and others that I don't have enough room to type, this link will take you to the Borders website (me and Barnes and Nobles do not get along, so I refuse to advertise for them). http://www.borders.com/online/store/Landing?view=2&type=1&kids=false&nav=5185+5216&simple=false

New Releases: 

• Through My Eyes by Tim Tebow.

• The Reluctant Vampire by Lynsay Sands. 

• The Kingdom by Clive Cussler.

• One Day by David Nicholls.

Once again if you need to do more research you can click on the above link, go to the book section and look up new releases (don't go to Barnes and Nobles) 

New York Times Bestseller List: Hardcover Fiction 

1. Dreams of Joy by Lisa See
2. Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris
3. 10th Anniversary by James Patterson 
4. Buried Prey by John Sandford
5. The Jefferson Key by Steve Berry
6. The Sixth Man by David Baldacci 
7. The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest (third volume of Millennium trilogy) by Stieg Larsson 
8. The Land of Painted Caves by Jean M. Auel
9. Kiss of Snow by Nalini Singh
10. Trader of Secrets by Steve Martini 

For the detailed information and more books and list's head on over to the New York Times website. I personally love it. Here is the link http://www.nytimes.com/best-sellers-books/ 

If you wish for me to discuss an upcoming book release or a new release on the blog, please leave a comment. If you wish for me to look up new or upcoming releases from a specific author, comment me and I will probably post on it. Comments can be posted anonymously if you prefer to keep a low profile. I have a new poll posted on the right side of the blog, and I hope you all can take two seconds to vote. Thanks so much for reading!

Desperation by Stephen King, and The Regulators by Richard Bachman

Have you ever wondered if any of the old sci-fi time warp novels actually have some truth to them? Is it possible for another parallel universe to exist with all of us in it, but playing different roles? Stephen King along with Richard Bachman have written two stories with this idea in mind.

 I would like to stress that these books aren't part of a series, they are two seperate novels that are able to stand completely on their own without the other. It doesn't matter which you read first (I read The Regulators first only because I found it in the library thinking it looked cool), and you don't have to read both, but i suggest you do if you are a King fan.


Richard Bachman's The Regulators 


A few months ago, I was glancing through the Caldwell Library's King collection (not half as good as mine I would like to mention) and I discovered this novel. It was first of all mis-shelved ( I assumed a King fan recognized the pen name and then accidentally placed it back in the King section) and my intention was to place it back where it properly belonged, in the B- section.  But a quick glance at the cover made me take a peek at the first few pages. A few chapters later, I decided to bring it home.

The book takes place in Ohio, on a nice street called Poplar. The whole community is having a happy go- lucky day. The birds are chirping, the sun is shinning, and the nice little paper boy is making his rounds. Well the paper boy was making his rounds until an idiling van decides to shoot the kid into next week. But that's just the beginning of problems on happy go- lucky Poplar street.


Stephen King's Desperation 


When you drive through Nevada, you might remember everyone calling Highway 50 the loneliest highway in America. But for seven individuals( who all happen to drive across the highway at some point in time)their stay in Nevada will be a memorable one. Of course you might remember it too if a serial killing, six-seven foot and three hundred pound cop was chasing you.


Both of these books to me are really cool. I thought it was genius to make two different stories and different scenarios for the same characters. I really can't give away a whole lot, but the "bad guy" is the same in both books. The other characters vary in the books, but if you want to understand more then you got to read them.

I also thought it was genius for the publishers of each book ( Dutton for Bachman's and Viking for King's) to match the covers together. The picture above is the cover for both books (first editions) and when placed side by side, they create one picture. Also the back of each book has a window to see the front cover of the other.

For The Regulators, I give it 4 stars out of 5.

For Desperation, I also give it a 4 out of 5. Both books are great, and both authors deserve kudos for their work.

NOTE* Both books have explicit content in them. Explicit language is used, and there are quite a few scenes where gore and sexual references are mentioned. In Desperation, there are a few scenes dealing with religion.

The Silent Land by Graham Joyce

For most skiers and snowboarders, avalanches are elemental factors that have to be dealt with. But what do you do when you get caught in one?

Jake and Zoe Bennet are enjoying a nice ski trip on the slopes when, all of a sudden, their world comes crashing down above them. An avalanche. But this is the least of their concerns. After they struggle themselves free, they head back to the hotel to find it completely deserted of life. In fact, the whole village is empty.

Another bone chilling fact. Food doesn't spoil, fire doesn't burn, and flesh doesn't bleed. What kind of weird world did these two love birds get into? Well you got to read to find out.


I really wish I could write more about this book. From page one it had me captured and I couldn't put it down. But as I got closer and closer to the ending, I lost interest in the novel. So I didn't finish it.

I will give Graham Joyce credit for the beginning of the book. It was written well and it was full of suspense. But his writing style irks me in some ways. First of all, he cusses when it's unnecessary. It seemed to me like he put in those words just to have them there. And Mr. Joyce also writes.... well he simply just bores you sometimes. The action in the book is great, but in between it's extremely hard to read through.

I give the book a 2 star rating out of 5. I don't think this book is really worth anyone's time.

Non-Fiction genre

As far as I am concerned, fiction is the powerhouse of the novel industry. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't give Non-Fiction some credit.

Right now, I am reading a book revolving around football. It explains the science of the game and the various positions and techniques.

I'm also glancing at a novel about book collecting. The book discusses several aspects of collecting.

Non-Fiction books can extremely usefull. Instead of reading a whole article online, you can purchase the book if it interests you and read it all the way through or you can take a peek whenever you feel necessary.

I wrote this post specifically to remind everyone out there that books have an upside.


Please feel free to leave comments! Everyone can do it, and they really help out. There is a poll in the right hand column and I hope you all can answer it. If you wish to follow the blog, just click the follow button.

Jamie and the Magic Digger by Merri Halma

When people grow older, they lose bits and pieces of their imagination. Instead of screaming at things that go bump in the night and claiming immediately that it's a monster, we shrug it off and assume something practical.
And today most of us ( including me) laugh at the idea of talking, walking griffins and magic diggers. However, the book I just completed reunited myself with the imagination I have lost over the years.

Jamie Marshall is just a regular happy, go-lucky thirteen year old with a Magic Digger. He can change its shape by inserting the right key and can clean it in literally a blink.  But one day, when Jamie discovers a griffin statue, his life changes.

The griffin statue is actually a punished soul sent down to earth to help a certain child. As it turns out, the griffin is going to help Jamie not only with bullies, but also with the journey of a life time.


This book has an interesting quality in it. Merri Halma clearly has a very imaginative head on her shoulders, and I am glad she was able to place the story on paper. I do need to warn everyone that the book is very spiritual and I suggest parents to read it before passing on to their children. I gave the book 3 stars out of 5.

If this book seems worth your while, then please don't hesitate to purchase it on Amazon, or if you live near Caldwell, then you can buy them at the Rubaiyat. The address is located on the side of my blog. Also over there is a new poll for everyone to answer. The question is how many books have you read in your lifetime?
Comments are seriously welcome. If you have a book recommendation, please tell me so I can read it. And as always you can follow my blog by clicking the follow button on the right hand side. Thanks for reading!