Title: Peeps
Author: Scott Westerfeld
Publisher: Penguin
Source: Library
Goodreads Summary:
Last year as college
freshman, narrator Cal was infected by exotic goth Morgan with a
parasite that caused following girlfriends to become vampire-like ghouls
he calls parasite-positives "Peeps". A carrier without symptoms, he
hunts his progeny for the centuries old bureaucratic Night Watch. But
victims are showing more sanity, pretty human Lacey is pushing his
buttons, and her apartment building basement houses fierce hordes of
ravening rats, red-eyed cats, and monstrous worms that threaten all.
Morgan has the secret to a centuries-old conspiracy and upcoming battle
to save the human race.
Thoughts:
I have loved everything I have read by Scott Westerfeld and this is no exception. I am usually so sick of the vampire/werewolf/zombie genre that if I had known that that's what this book is about, I'm not sure I would have picked it up, but I'm glad I did. It is such a refreshing twist on the vampire idea that I loved it.
I really enjoyed the science facts about parasites spread out through the book and how these were used to explain the disease. A bit of science always makes fantasy more interesting in my opinion and there were a lot of interesting facts in the books as well as a great story.
It was a quick read as I didn't want to put it down after I picked it up and I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a good twist on the young-adult vampire tale.
Rating: 4.5/5
Friday, July 25, 2014
Book Beginnings and 56: Crank
Hosted by Rose City Reader
"Life was good
before I
met
the monster.
After,
life
was great.
At
least
for a little while."
Hosted by Freda's Voice
And it occurred to me for one uneasy moment
that every move I had made lately might have
started a landslide.
What if I couldn't go back? What if I died in the crash?
Almost immediately, the monster soothed
me, confused me with a deeper question.
What if the ride was worth it?
I mean, who wants to trudge through life, doing
everything just right? Taking no chances means
wasting your dreams.
How can I explain the pure chilling rush of
waiting to do something so basically not right?
No fear. No guilt.
How can I explain purposely setting foot on
a path so blatantly treacherous? Was the
fun in the fall?"
(56% or page 300-301 of Crank. I tried to make the editing look the same, I'm sorry if its not perfect.)
Thursday, July 24, 2014
Chasing Shackleton (Movie Review)
Studio: PBS
Source: Library
Book Review: Here
PBS Summary:
The series follows a crew of five intrepid explorers led by renowned adventurer, scientist and author Tim Jarvis as they re-create Shackleton’s epic sea-and-land voyage in a replica of the original explorers’ boat, using only the tools and supplies his team used.
Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Trans-Antarctic Expedition, which launched in 1914, met with disaster when his ship The Endurance was crushed by arctic ice and sank. His heroic leadership in the face of almost certain death saved the lives of 27 men stranded in the Antarctic for more than 500 days, and has inspired explorers and leaders across every continent over many generations.
Jarvis’ team’s recreation included crossing the treacherous Southern Ocean from Elephant Island to South Georgia (800 nautical miles) in a small wooden boat while battling gales, rough seas and stomach-churning swells. Once on land, the crew faced weather conditions they described as “Scotland on steroids” — simultaneous high winds, torrential rain, snow, hail and ice. When the weather eased, Jarvis and two teammates (Barry Gray and Paul Larsen) trekked inland to reach an old whaling station at Stromness on South Georgia, traversing an icy, crevasse-riddled mountain range in unmapped territory, the route Shackleton and his men took as their only hope for rescue almost a century ago.
The expedition, which occurred over three weeks in early 2013, had been in development since 2008 when Shackleton’s granddaughter Alexandra approached Jarvis with the idea to honor her grandfather and his heroic achievements. After agreeing to the challenge, Jarvis selected a team of British and Australian adventurers based on their determination, passion for adventure and their sailing and climbing skills.
Jarvis’s vessel, named Alexandra Shackleton, was an exact replica of the James Caird, from its hand-stitched sails made from 1914 sailcloth down to the brass screws that held its wooden planks together. To complete the authentic experience the team used 100-year-old equipment, navigational tools and period clothing that, perhaps, helped them unlock Shackleton’s survival secrets, and gain insight into the original crew’s courage. State-of-the-art cameras were built into the boat and expedition cameraman and director Ed Wardle joined the crew to capture the action as it happened.
Thoughts:
I'm not going to lie, I fell asleep about half way through watching this so take this review with a grain of salt. It was a good documentary and explained the history and the trials that Shackleton had gone through very well. It explained the current expedition well too.
My favorite part, though, was seeing Sir Ranulph Fiennes, as he is my favorite Antarctic explorer (and if you're looking for a good read about Antarctic adventure, I would highly recommend his book Mad, Bad & Dangerous to Know: The Autobiography). This documentary just lacked adventure and character for me, which is unfortunate because it is obvious that the expedition did not.
There is nothing really wrong with this documentary, but it should say a lot that I fell asleep during a show on one of my favorite topics and didn't think twice about returning it without rewatching the second half.
Rating: 2.5/5
Harry Potter Moment of the Week: Ron Weasley
Hosted by Uncorked Thoughts
Best 'Ron' Moment
Harry kicked out wildly, trying to push himself back to the surface, but merely propelled himself into the rocky side of the pool. Thrashing, suffocating, he scrabbled at the strangling chain, his frozen fingers unable to loosen it, and now little lights were popping inside his head, and he was going to drown, there was nothing left, nothing he could do, and the arms that closed around his chest were surely Death’s…
Chocking and retching, soaking and colder than he had ever been in his life, he came to facedown in the snow. Somewhere, close by, another person was panting and coughing and staggering around. Hermione had come again, as she had come when the snake attacked…Yet it did not sound like her, not with those deep coughs, nor judging by the weight of the footsteps…
Harry had no strength to lift his head and see his savior’s identity. All he could do was raise a shaking hand to his throat and feel the place where the locket had cut tightly into his flesh. It was gone. Someone had cut him free. Then a panting voice spoke from over his head.
“Are – you – mental?”
Nothing but the shock of hearing that voice could have given Harry the strength to get up. Shivering violently, he staggered to his feet. There before him stood Ron, fully dressed but drenched to the skin, his hair plastered to his face, the sword of Gryffindor in one hand and the Horcrux dangling from its broken chain in the other.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Chocking and retching, soaking and colder than he had ever been in his life, he came to facedown in the snow. Somewhere, close by, another person was panting and coughing and staggering around. Hermione had come again, as she had come when the snake attacked…Yet it did not sound like her, not with those deep coughs, nor judging by the weight of the footsteps…
Harry had no strength to lift his head and see his savior’s identity. All he could do was raise a shaking hand to his throat and feel the place where the locket had cut tightly into his flesh. It was gone. Someone had cut him free. Then a panting voice spoke from over his head.
“Are – you – mental?”
Nothing but the shock of hearing that voice could have given Harry the strength to get up. Shivering violently, he staggered to his feet. There before him stood Ron, fully dressed but drenched to the skin, his hair plastered to his face, the sword of Gryffindor in one hand and the Horcrux dangling from its broken chain in the other.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Chasing Shackleton (Book Review)
Title: Chasing Shackleton: Re-creating the World's Greatest Journey of Survival
Author: Tim Jarvis
Publisher: William Morrow
Source: Library
Goodreads Summary:
In this extraordinary adventure memoir and tie-in to the PBS documentary, Tim Jarvis, one of the world's leading explorers, describes his modern-day journey to retrace, for the first time ever—and in period clothing and gear—the legendary 1914 expedition of Sir Ernest Shackleton.
I hadn't heard a thing about this book when I picked it up. The title and cover drew me in because I love Antarctica ever since my study abroad there in 2008. I used to know quite a lot about Shackleton although I had forgotten most of it, fortunately this book does a great job of telling his adventure story as well so I wasn't behind.
Actually I found that the parts about Shackleton and the quotes by him and his crew to be the most interesting part of the book, making me think that I would have actually enjoyed a biography of Shackleton more. This book has beautiful pictures and a great story of adventure although I get the feeling that the documentary would be a lot better than the book as it is lacking a little in the writing department.
Would I recommend this book? Yes, but only if you are into this sort of thing. If you are new to the subject of Antarctic adventure, I have certainly read better and would start with something else.
Rating: 3/5
Author: Tim Jarvis
Publisher: William Morrow
Source: Library
Goodreads Summary:
In this extraordinary adventure memoir and tie-in to the PBS documentary, Tim Jarvis, one of the world's leading explorers, describes his modern-day journey to retrace, for the first time ever—and in period clothing and gear—the legendary 1914 expedition of Sir Ernest Shackleton.
In early 1914, British explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton and his team sailed for Antarctica, attempting to be the first to reach the South Pole. Instead of glory, Shackleton and his crew found themselves in an epic struggle for survival: a three-year odyssey on the ice and oceans of the Antarctic that endures as one of the world’s most famous tales of adventure, endurance, and leadership ever recorded.
In the winter of 2013, celebrated explorer Tim Jarvis, a veteran of multiple polar expeditions, set out to recreate Sir Ernest Shackleton’s treacherous voyage over sea and mountain, outfitted solely with authentic equipment—clothing, boots, food, and tools—from Shackleton’s time, a feat that has never been successfully accomplished.
Shackleton's Epic is the remarkable record of Jarvis and his team’s epic journey. Beautifully designed and illustrated with dozens of photographs from the original voyage and its modern reenactment, it is a visual feast for readers and historians alike, and an essential new chapter in the story that has inspired adventurers across every continent for a century.
Thoughts:I hadn't heard a thing about this book when I picked it up. The title and cover drew me in because I love Antarctica ever since my study abroad there in 2008. I used to know quite a lot about Shackleton although I had forgotten most of it, fortunately this book does a great job of telling his adventure story as well so I wasn't behind.
Actually I found that the parts about Shackleton and the quotes by him and his crew to be the most interesting part of the book, making me think that I would have actually enjoyed a biography of Shackleton more. This book has beautiful pictures and a great story of adventure although I get the feeling that the documentary would be a lot better than the book as it is lacking a little in the writing department.
Would I recommend this book? Yes, but only if you are into this sort of thing. If you are new to the subject of Antarctic adventure, I have certainly read better and would start with something else.
Rating: 3/5
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Top Ten Characters I Would Want with Me on a Deserted Island
Hosted by The Broke and The Bookish
- Hermione Granger from Harry Potter
- Roland from The Dark Tower
- Jon Snow from A Game of Thrones
- Tris Prior from Divergent
- Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games
- Samwise Gamgee from The Lord of the Rings
- Jessica Day from The Midnighters
- Daenerys Targaryen from A Game of Thrones
- Tally Youngblood from Uglies
- Peeta Mellark from The Hunger Games
Monday, July 21, 2014
What Are You Reading? (July 21)
Hosted by Book Journey
Currently Reading:
Finished This Week:
(3 Stars - Review Coming Soon)
Posts This Week:
Top Ten TV ShowsA Thousand Splendid Suns (Book Review)
Life of a Blogger: Tattoos
Book Beginnings and 56: Chasing Shackleton
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