Love Story

It's been snowing like crazy today. I'll try and get some pictures if I can.

Meanwhile, this is one of my favorite songs: Love Story by Taylor Swift

Old Snow Pictures

I was looking through some old pictures, and I found some pretty snow ones:

The Lump of Coal

by Lemony Snicket

Another picture book!!!

This one was super cute. The Lump of Coal features the main character as (duh) a lump of coal who secretly has a burning desire to be an artist. He longs to draw rough, dark strokes on paper. And if he can't get a position as an artist, he hopes to at least be of some use to someone. He visits art galleries and Korean barbecue restaurants in hopes of fulfilling his dreams, but he is turned down at each place. Finally, he meets someone who sends him off to the most unexpected place, where "miracles" happen.

This book was one of Lemony Snicket's more happier books- in fact, it was positively gleeful compared to some of his other works. For those who have read The Series of Unfortunate Events, the writing style and the illustrations are familiar, adorable, and just plain fantastic.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard

The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling was an amazing book, in my opinion. Comprising of five wizarding fairytales, the book features stories about love, morality, human limits, kindness, and more. Professor Dumbledore's insightful commentary at the end of each story really added to the fairytale as a whole, and his writings often included a sprinkling of humor in it. There are several references to characters and events in the Harry Potter series, as well as references to his genius mind and his goat-obsessed brother. Although the book didn't have the same feel as a Harry Potter book always had for me, it still was a fabulous, quick read.

Snow Update

It's been melting. It started melting during the night, which I think is completely crazy since temperatures are supposed to drop during the night, not rise. There still is a bit of snow- maybe one inch. The lawn and bushes are dotted with snow, and most of the roofs have some snow still left.

On another topic, my sister Maya is publishing a poetry book! It will be coming out in early spring. Here's the newly finished cover:

snow!

And it's sticking! There's only a little now, but the snow is still falling hard. I'll keep posting, and maybe I'll add a few pictures. Keeping my fingers crossed for no school on Monday!

Update on Warriors 4th Series

Guess what??? The Warriors fourth series name has been changed from The Fourth Apprentice to Omen of the Stars! Shocking...I'm not really sure if I like the change or not. The first book in the series is now called The Fourth Apprentice instead of Ambush, its original name. You can find more information (as well as Victoria Holmes' wedding details!) here.

The Somebodies

by N.E. BodeYucky cover, but nice story on the inside.

This book features Fern and Howard as they once again embark on their third adventure in the Anybody world. This time, they travel to fluctuating "the city beneath the city," or the Anybody capital. They meet mysterious people and objects as they try to battle the evil Blue Queen, whose dream is to conquer everyone's souls. A suspenseful, adventurous must-read for all ages!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Have a wonderful and happy Thanksgiving!

(Cool Google, eh?)

Typealyzer

I found this at allegro. It's called Typealyzer, and it basically determines the personality of your blog. This is what I got:

ESFP - The Performers

The entertaining and friendly type. They are especially attuned to pleasure and beauty and like to fill their surroundings with soft fabrics, bright colors and sweet smells. They live in the present moment and don´t like to plan ahead - they are always in risk of exhausting themselves. The enjoy work that makes them able to help other people in a concrete and visible way. They tend to avoid conflicts and rarely initiate confrontation - qualities that can make it hard for them in management positions.

Long Shadows

Wow.

Seeing that I had waited almost three months for this book, I was expecting something wonderful. Dramatic. Shocking. And I got what I wanted.

316 pages, Long Shadows is chock-full of mystery, lies, drama, adventure, and more secrets than you could have ever forseen. I was shaking as I read it- which just goes to show how exciting it was.

The only two things that I didn't like were:

1) Erin Hunter tried to squish too many events into 316 pages. Some events seemed unreal because they flew by so quickly.

2) The middle of the book was filled with Warrior/Tribe history and ancient clan/tribe lore. Necessary for the story, I suppose, but boring all the same.

Now that I have given my review, I feel compelled to spill out all the spoilers. So here goes.

MAJOR SPOILER WARNING (spoilers in no particular order)

• Lionblaze, Hollyleaf, and Jayfeather (he got his medicine cat name!) are not Squirrelflight's kits. But we still don't know the mother. Leafpool. most probably. (I think the parentage is going to be revealed in Sunrise, but still, we have to wait for another half-year!)
• Ashfur was the traitor who tried to kill Firestar. And he hates Squirrelflight. He knows about the kits-not-being-Squirrelflight's-thing.
• Squirrelflight murdered Ashfur.
• Millie almost dies, but she becomes healthy in the end. (Noooooo, Millie, why couldn't you have died???)
• Practically the whole of ThunderClan was infected with greencough (Firestar too!)
• To avoid everyone getting sick, Firestar (in his sickly condition) takes all the sick cats to the abandoned Twoleg nest to recuperate and stay away from the healthy cats.
• Firestar's AWESOME! (sorry, just my personal opinion)
• Firestar loses a life.
• Ah yes. Whitewing is going to have kits, and the lucky father is....Birchfall!!! (Who's about a million years younger than Whitewing *roll eyes*)
• Possible LeafpoolxAshfur shipping...or it could just be Jayfeather's unknowingness. (I keep thinking Jaypaw!)
• Since Sol took over ShadowClan, Blackstar wanted to be called Blackfoot. Tawnypelt and her three kits came to ThunderClan. However, the all-powerful Three went to ShadowClan, and with the help of two StarClan warriors, they got rid of Sol and ShadowClan went back to normal.
• Three new StarClan cats! Brightspirit, Braveheart, and Shiningheart. These cats appeared in honor of Jimmy, Dana, and Emmy Cherry, who all died in a tornado in Arkansas. The three StarClan cats help Jaypaw save his Clan from greencough.
• Heatherpaw becomes Heathertail. She HATES Lionblaze.

And Now, My Favorite Quotes (you knew this was coming!):

"'Did you see Firestar die?' Berrynose meowed, his eyes wide. 'What was it like?' Lionblaze glared at him, and didn't bother to answer. As he padded away, he heard Brambleclaw's voice raised scathingly. 'I might expect a question like that from a kit, Berrynose, but nor from a warrior, especially one that I mentored.'" (p.243)

"'Upset?' Ashfur echoed. 'I'm not upset. You have no idea how much pain I'm in. It's like being cut open every day, bleeding onto the stones. I can't understand how any of you failed to see the blood....'" (p.273)

"'Stay there!' Turning to face Squirreflight but keeping one paw on the branch, he hissed, 'I can't believe you didn't know how much you hurt me. You are the blind one, not Jayfeather. Who do you think sent Firestar the message to go down to the lake, where the fox trap was? I wanted him to die, to take your father away, so yo'd know the real meaning of pain.'" (p.274, said by Ashfur)

"Squirrelflight raised her head, her gaze locked on Ashfur's crazed eyes. 'Kill them, then,' she meowed. 'You won't hurt me that way.'" (p.275, referring to the Three)

"'If you really want to hurt me, you'll have to find a better way than that,' Squirrelflight snarled. 'They are not my kits.'" (p. 276)

"Wedged behind a rock just below her paws, the lifeless body of a cat floated in the swollen water, his fur dark and sodden. His tail streamed out into the current, waving as if he were still alive. Dustpelt was the first to speak. 'It's Ashfur.'" (p.305)

"Jayfeather knew they were all thinking of the scene on top of the cliff, when Squirrelflight's terrible secret had been shared in storm and fire. That, and that alone, had to be the reason for Ashfur's murder. Now, for their own sakes and the sake of their Clan, they must all conspire to keep the truth hidden forever." (p.316)

Mwa ha ha! Long Shadows was awesome!

Long Shadows Book Release Eve!!!

Long Shadows is coming out!!! I can't wait! It's going to have tons of drama and murders and secrets revealed. When I finish reading, I'll post about it.

Favorite Quotes from Eclipse:

"'I was just...' Jaypaw searched for the right words. How could he explain his need for the stick?...'I have to have that stick!'...'It matters very much...to me.'" p. 124

"Firestar leaped down from Highledge, landing lightly, and padded toward Onestar. The Clans drew back to let him pass. He stopped, unblinking, a whisker away from the WindClan leader. 'If you want a battle,' he growled, 'then you have one.'" p. 177

Go Jaypaw/the stick and Firestar!!!

The Tales of Beedle the Bard

Clearly Harry's story isn't over yet. Bestselling author J.K. Rowling has a little more to say. Tales of Beedle the Bard, a book that appears in Harry Potter 7, will be released on December 4. Beedle contains an intro, drawings, and notes from Rowling herself and commentary from Dumbledore. A must-read for all Harry Potter fans!

For more details, click here.

Madam President

by Lane Smith

When I first got this book from the library, I didn't know it was a picture book. I thought that I wouldn't like it, but I couldn't resist, and I quickly read the book in a couple of minutes.

Although it was only a children's book, it was one of the most entertaining and adorable picture books I've ever read. The story is about a young girl who imagines herself as the President of the United States of America during school. The sentences delegate the tasks that a President has to do everyday, while the pictures add an entertaining look into how the main character acted out her "duties."

This book was absolutely hilarious...with vetoing the school lunches, attending "important" funerals (of frogs, in this case), Madam President sheds a new light on the life of a President. I would thoroughly recommend reading this book (even if you have to hide it under your jacket in order to not be embarrassed).

Spoilers

I hate book spoilers- although I do give out a lot of those quite often. One thing that annoys me with spoilers is when the book is viewable before it comes out! ARRGH! What's the point of getting the book then?

That's why I try and avoid those as much as possible. I cover my ears and close my eyes when my sister tries to tell me spoilers, and I have officially made myself the rule that I shall not go onto any chat forums, websites, etc. that may contain spoilers. Really, it's quite irritating when you have to ask your sister if a website is safe to read or not before going there. It would help if those publishers didn't publish the book early, but...

still, there's that wonderfully innocent but horribly tempting and tantalizing "Browse Inside" button that my fingers are just itching to click on...