I've been lazy. Well not really. I've actually read likes 7 books in the past week. Of those 7 books, I've reviewed 1 of them. Whoops.
To my defense however, 5 of those books comprise the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, which I wanted to completely finish before I did a review of them. I think for those I'll just do a general overview of the entire series and tell you whether or not I would recommend them. I also read Dear John, by Nicholas Sparks, so watch out for that review soon as well. If I don't do them this week, I'll definitely do both next week during vacation.
In other news, I saw the Harry Potter exhibit at the Boston Science Museum this past Friday and it was sooooooo awesome. I even got chosen to be one of the people who was "sorted" into a house. Basically you were put into whichever house you said was your favorite. The guy asked me mine and I didn't really know so I was like "uhhh Ravenclaw?" and he was like "Are you sure not Slytherin?" And I shrugged and said I didn't know. So the sorting hat put me in Slytherin. Which I was okay with because Slytherin is for the wise and cunning and whatnot and I can totally be those things...sometimes. haha. But the exhibit was definitely really cool. There were the costumes from the Triwizard dance, and the Triwizard cup, and Death Eater outfits, and centaurs, and Dobby and Kreacher, and you could even throw Quaffles into hoops... and there was a ton more stuff. So if you haven't seen it yet, I definitely suggest going before it leaves Boston in a few weeks.
Anyways, I'll write later this week or next week with my book reviews. So definitely look out for those!
Monday, February 8, 2010
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Emma
Ok, so it's been over a month. What can I say? I'm lazy and I tend to procrastinate everything. Just ask anyone who has talked to me the night before an AP outline is due.
So last week my family switched from Direct TV to Comcast. BEST DECISION EVER. Except for one minor detail, which actually turned out to be better than I thought. Our internet routers took like a week to come in, which meant that I didn't get any internet in my bedroom. I had to go into my mom's room and plug in my computer to the box thingy to get internet. Inconvenient, especially when I am so used to sitting on my bed as I am doing now and going online. It did however give me the opportunity to read, something I haven't been doing very recently. I know I said I'd do a book review for every book I read, and so far I've kept that promise. The last book review I posted was honestly the last book I'd read- until this week. So far I've read three and am almost done my fourth. Unfortunately, none of those books has been Boneshaker, the steampunk book I was really excited to read. I'm about halfway done that one and so far it hasn't been as exciting as I had hoped, which is why I've taken a temporary hiatus from that one.
I think I'm going to do a separate post for each book I review. I may or may not do multiple ones today since I'm 3 book reviews behind. The first book I'm going to review was the first one I read this new year- Emma by Jane Austen. Before Emma the only Jane Austen book I had read was Pride and Prejudice, but honestly I fell in love with it. Jane Austen may be one of the best writers that ever lived, which is why its a shame she had such a short writing career before she died. I had heard that Emma, the Masterpiece Classics mini-series was going to be coming on over a period of three weeks (the past 2 weeks and then this week) and so I started watching it. I watched the first two hours and had to know what happened next, so obviously I needed to actually read the book, which I'm now going to review for you all. (And by you all, I mean the approximately 2 people who may read this. Regardless, I'm going to review this at least for my own records).
Emma, like Jane Austen's other books, is a romance, although really it is so much more than that. The thing about Austen's writing, regardless of the book, is that she just writes so well. Perhaps it is a product of having been born in the 1700s that leaves her with a much richer vocabulary than most people I've come across today, but Austen just seems to have a way with words. And characters.
Before I go any further, I will quickly summarize the general plot of Emma.
Emma is a rich, educated girl who lives alone with her father since her mother died when she was young and both her older sister and her governess got married. Emma believes herself to be a matchmaker of sorts, claiming to have set up her sister and governess with their current husbands.
During the story, Emma vows not to fall in love whilst also attempting to set up her friend Harriet with Mr. Elton. That plan however doesn't always work as planned as Mr. Churchill and Mr. Knightly complicate things. There is also the story of another girl, Jane, and her mysterious suitor.
That was just a quick summary that does not at all do the story justice. The thing I love about this book, and Jane Austen's other books is that her books focus on the lives of characters. All of her characters have their own personalities and quirks, and her heroines aren't damsels in distress, but rather, smart, educated girls who have their own views and generally aren't afraid to show them. Emma is one such character- quick, witty, educated and perhaps overconfident in her own abilities to a fault. It is for that reason that Mr. Knightley, her close friend since her childhood, is able to provide a more rational, collected approach to life.
The only thing I could wish to ever change about Jane Austen's novels, is that I want a little more of the main romance and a bit less of the side romances and goings-on. But I guess that's just what makes her books so great is that they focus on many characters and make the story come to life. Either way, I can't wait to read the rest of Austen's works.
Rating: 8.75/10
So last week my family switched from Direct TV to Comcast. BEST DECISION EVER. Except for one minor detail, which actually turned out to be better than I thought. Our internet routers took like a week to come in, which meant that I didn't get any internet in my bedroom. I had to go into my mom's room and plug in my computer to the box thingy to get internet. Inconvenient, especially when I am so used to sitting on my bed as I am doing now and going online. It did however give me the opportunity to read, something I haven't been doing very recently. I know I said I'd do a book review for every book I read, and so far I've kept that promise. The last book review I posted was honestly the last book I'd read- until this week. So far I've read three and am almost done my fourth. Unfortunately, none of those books has been Boneshaker, the steampunk book I was really excited to read. I'm about halfway done that one and so far it hasn't been as exciting as I had hoped, which is why I've taken a temporary hiatus from that one.
I think I'm going to do a separate post for each book I review. I may or may not do multiple ones today since I'm 3 book reviews behind. The first book I'm going to review was the first one I read this new year- Emma by Jane Austen. Before Emma the only Jane Austen book I had read was Pride and Prejudice, but honestly I fell in love with it. Jane Austen may be one of the best writers that ever lived, which is why its a shame she had such a short writing career before she died. I had heard that Emma, the Masterpiece Classics mini-series was going to be coming on over a period of three weeks (the past 2 weeks and then this week) and so I started watching it. I watched the first two hours and had to know what happened next, so obviously I needed to actually read the book, which I'm now going to review for you all. (And by you all, I mean the approximately 2 people who may read this. Regardless, I'm going to review this at least for my own records).
Emma, like Jane Austen's other books, is a romance, although really it is so much more than that. The thing about Austen's writing, regardless of the book, is that she just writes so well. Perhaps it is a product of having been born in the 1700s that leaves her with a much richer vocabulary than most people I've come across today, but Austen just seems to have a way with words. And characters.
Before I go any further, I will quickly summarize the general plot of Emma.
Emma is a rich, educated girl who lives alone with her father since her mother died when she was young and both her older sister and her governess got married. Emma believes herself to be a matchmaker of sorts, claiming to have set up her sister and governess with their current husbands.
During the story, Emma vows not to fall in love whilst also attempting to set up her friend Harriet with Mr. Elton. That plan however doesn't always work as planned as Mr. Churchill and Mr. Knightly complicate things. There is also the story of another girl, Jane, and her mysterious suitor.
That was just a quick summary that does not at all do the story justice. The thing I love about this book, and Jane Austen's other books is that her books focus on the lives of characters. All of her characters have their own personalities and quirks, and her heroines aren't damsels in distress, but rather, smart, educated girls who have their own views and generally aren't afraid to show them. Emma is one such character- quick, witty, educated and perhaps overconfident in her own abilities to a fault. It is for that reason that Mr. Knightley, her close friend since her childhood, is able to provide a more rational, collected approach to life.
The only thing I could wish to ever change about Jane Austen's novels, is that I want a little more of the main romance and a bit less of the side romances and goings-on. But I guess that's just what makes her books so great is that they focus on many characters and make the story come to life. Either way, I can't wait to read the rest of Austen's works.
Rating: 8.75/10
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