Pinterest Post #2: 5 People to Follow and 5 Bad-Ass Bookish Pins

Pinterest: (noun):  Highly addictive online interactive bulletin board format that allows you to bookmark photos and links that make you a better person, that make you giggle, that inspire you, that forces you to think and consider, that makes you want to eat (let's be real here).

If you have not jumped on the Pinterest bandwagon, you probably have significantly more free time than those of us who have.  One aspect I like about Pinterest is that I find so many useful ideas, from art projects to blogging ideas to books to read to new yummy delicious food to try (did I mention that?).

I was considering how to make Pinterest more interactive with my blog and how to give credit to those pinners and pins that inspire me.   Therefore I am going to give said pinners and pins that do so each week a great big shout out on the blog.  Yep, shit just got real.

5 FAVORITE PINS OF THE WEEK

1.  Love My Books pinned this lovely picture, which I discovered this week via Carol Shepko.

2. The definitive Mad Men reading list - check it out!  via Angel Holmes

3. Thirty Pieces of Wisdom from Stephen King Novels via Sarah Thompson

4. Le sigh....via BEA

5. WANT!!!  via sourcebooks.

5 PINNERS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT

1. WE HEART BOOKS: Pinboards include "Beautiful Books", "Literary Cake", and "Bookie Pretties."

2. STEPHANIE @ READ IN A SINGLE SITTING: Pinboards include "Cupcake Books", "This Belongs in a Book", and "Bookish Accessories."

3. BOOK CHICK CITY: Pinboards include "Books I'm Dying to Read", "Bookends and Bookmarks", and "Book Chick City Reviews."

4. USA TODAY BOOKS: Pinboards include "Dream Reading Spaces", "Bookspiration", and "Fashion for the Inner Book Nerd."

5. AERIN BENDER-STONE: Pinboards include "Platform 9 3/4", "(More Than) Words", and "Fangrrl."

P.S. Follow me on Pinterest!!!

Pinterest Post: 5 People to Follow and Why

Pinterest: (noun):  Highly addictive online interactive bulletin board format that allows you to bookmark photos and links that make you a better person, that make you giggle, that inspire you, that forces you to think and consider, that makes you want to eat (let's be real here).

If you have not jumped on the Pinterest bandwagon, you probably have significantly more free time than those of us who have.  One aspect I like about Pinterest is that I find so many useful ideas, from art projects to blogging ideas to books to read to new yummy delicious food to try (did I mention that?).  

I was considering how to make Pinterest more interactive with my blog and how to give credit to those pinners and pins that inspire me.   Therefore I am going to give said pinners and pins that do so each week a great big shout out on the blog.  Yep, shit just got real.


MY FAVORITE PINS OF THE WEEK

1.Ryan Groff pinned Supernatural star Jensen Ackles reading without a shirt on.  Reading never looked so sexy.

 


2.  I dare you to tell me you don't want to sit in this room and read all day after you spend an hour looking through all the shelves.  via Charmaine Zoe


 



3. 1949 Bookmobile - Awesome!  via Teri S.





4.  I really needed to read this when I found it, so I have to include it.  via Kolene Eisenhauer 





5. A recipe for Parmasan Seasoned Fries?  yes, please.  via Luz Lind







5 PINNERS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT

1. RANDOM HOUSE BOOKS: Pinboards include "Viva Jane Austen", "Literary Tattoos", "Bookish Escapes", and "Inside Random House".




2. KRISTINA PATTON: Pinboards include "Escape to a New World", "Oh Yum", "I Want to Get Organized", and "You Must Think You're Clever".




3. WE BOOK:  Pinboards include "Booky Laughs",  "Bookshelf Fetish", and "911 Writer's Block".





4. BOOK RIOT: Pinboards include "Cover Lovin'", "Literary Love", and "Mmmmmm Books!"





5. RYAN GROFF: Pinterests include "Wordsmiths", "Politics and Causes", and "Books Worth Reading".

Mercury by Hope Larson

Mercury is a graphic novel that tells the story of two generations of Fraser girls - except Josey is in 1859 and Tara is 150 years later in 2009.

This story of magical realism and history takes place in Nova Scotia, where Josey is falling in love with a mysterious young man named Asa Curry who has just come wandering onto her father's farm looking for gold.  Tara, in contrast, is dealing with going back to school after her house burns down and being homeschooled.  However, as Josey's tale takes a turn for sadness, Tara's takes on hope.

I wanted to like this story, especially since it came so highly recommended, but I found it kind of fell flat to me. I liked the magical realism, I liked the intertwining stories of the same blood line, and I liked that one started happy and ended with tragedy, while the other one began with tragedy and ended happily, and I enjoyed the artwork.

However, I wanted much more from the ending.  I felt a flat ending coming on about 30 pages beforehand.  I knew unless there was an unexpected ending that not much was going to happen.  In my opinion, it is because right in the cover flap it tells the reader how both stories end - one in hope and one in tragedy.  So there was nothing much to look forward to in the story.

A lot of people really liked this one, but I am going to have to only give it 2.5 stars, as it almost seems like it was a waste of time.

Have you read Mercury?  What did you think?   And does anyone know why it is called Mercury?  I know another name for the element mercury is quicksilver, but what does that have to do with gold?  What am I missing here lol?

My List: 5 Best Literary Characters of the Past 20 Years

The Book Riot's literary take on Entertainment Weekly's 100 Greatest Characters of the Last Decade was fabulous because A) EW's list had far too few literary characters, B) I love a good bookish list, and C) I learned about some characters I have not had the pleasure of reading thus far.

But that is when it hit me.  This is a great list of literary characters since 1992, but I have not read a lot of these books these characters came from.  Not to mention the first great literary characters that pop into my head (Elizabeth Bennett, Huck Finn, Gatsby, Celie) are from more than twenty years ago.  So who would my own personal list include?


1. Lisbeth Salander  The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2006) by Stieg Larsson
The one book I have read on Book Riot's list is one of my favorites and I cannot argue that Lisbeth most definitely deserves a place on my list as well (and EW, she should be WAY above the #98 slot, I might add.)  She is a computer-hacking. punk-style-wearing, photographic-memory-having, troubled-childhood-overcoming, take-no-prisoners, kick-ass chick.  Did I miss anything?


2. Katniss Everdeen The Hunger Games (2008) by Suzanne Collins
Katniss is on here because she is a teenage heroine who doesn't melt every time a cute boy looks at her and has built herself a life of living on the edge.  She is someone young females can read about that is actually someone to look up to, not just some girl who has no head on her shoulders and is waiting for prince charming to come rescue her.  Katniss rescues herself.  She is in charge of her own destiny and she doesn't let anybody tell her what to do unless it agrees with her own convictions or she sees through reasoning or hard work that maybe that path is correct.  She has her flaws and she doesn't try to pretend she is perfect and that makes her a little, well, perfect.

3. Alex Cross Along Came a Spider (1992) by James Patterson
Just making the cut of the past 20 years is Patterson's famous detective, Alex Cross.  I like Alex Cross because he is multi-dimensional.  He not only is one of the best homicide detectives in D.C., but he actually cares a lot about the victims and their families.  He is not out for fame and glory, he just wants the bastards who did it caught.  Not only this but he is a family man with children and a grandmother to look after and protect.  He has a degree in psychology.  He plays the piano on the back porch.  He volunteers at a soup kitchen where he is known as the "Peanut Butter Man".  He has a good run of bad luck with women.  He is a good friend and partner.  I can't wait to find out more about Alex Cross as I am not done with the series just yet.

4. Melinda Sordino Speak (1999) by Laurie Halse Anderson
I have several reasons for liking Melinda, some based on literary merit and some personal.  However, I think that Melinda is an important character in that there are not many like her, if there are any at all.  Young women who have gone through the same ordeal as her can read how they are not the only ones.  Those who have not discover a likeable character that, while perhaps not relatable, is certainly easy to sympathize with.

5. Bruno The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2006) by John Boyne
Bruno is the 9-year-old son of a Nazi commander who is living the good life of wealth and innocence until one day he discovers where his father works, not far from his home - a concentration camp.  He forges an unlikely friendship with a small boy in striped pajamas, Shmuel, who lives in the camp.  Bruno does not care that the little boy is Jewish, he only cares that he is his friend and he wishes his friend could come play with him.  He brings him food to eat and he learns about Shmuel's life on the other side of the fence.  Bruno shows us that hatred is taught, not an innate behavior.

Movies Made of Books - Coming Soon!

"The Raven"
Release Date: April 27
Starring: John Cusack, Alice Eve, and Luke Evans
Synopsis: When a madman begins committing horrific murders inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's works, a young Baltimore detective joins forces with Poe to stop the man from making the stories a reality.
Watch the Trailer






"Snow White and the Huntsman"
Release Date: June 1
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth, and Charlize Theron
Synopsis: (As if you did not already know) In a twist to the fairy tale, the Huntsman ordered to take Snow White into the woods to be killed winds up becoming her protector and mentor in a quest to vanquish the Evil Queen.
Watch the Trailer






"Bel Ami"
Release Date: June 8
Starring: Robert Pattinson, Uma Thurman, Christina Ricci, and Kristin Scott Thomas
Synopsis: A chronicle of a young man's rise to power in Paris via his manipulation of the city's most influential and wealthy women.
Watch the Trailer





"Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter"
Release Date: June 22
Starring: Benjamin Walker, Rufus Sewell, and Dominic Cooper
Synopsis: Explores the secret life of America's greatest President, Abraham Lincoln, and the untold story that shaped their nation.  The president discovers blood-thirsty vampires are planning to take over the United States.  Lincoln makes it his mission to eliminate them, becoming history's greatest hunter of the undead.
Watch the Trailer

BATTER UP!!!

Baseball season is upon us now and while a lot of us wait for the World Series to pick a team or to actually watch a game, I still root for the Atlanta Braves as they were my Grandpa's team and he taught me to love baseball and inspired me to play softball in high school.  I will also root for any team playing the Yankees. =D

So to get into the mood for baseball season I was thinking about what would be some good reads, both fiction and nonfiction, about the sport of baseball.  And while we are at it, what are some good baseball movies?  Here is a list of some to try out or to read again and get in the baseball spirit!  (This is not a list for die-hard fans, by any means, and should give anyone at least one pick that is suitable for them.)

What are your favorite books/movies about baseball?  Who will you be cheering on to the World Series?  Leave a comment!

BASEBALL IN BOOKS

1. MONEYBALL by Michael Lewis ~ Billy Beane, the Oakland A’s general manager, is leading a revolution. Reinventing his team on a budget, he needs to outsmart the richer teams. He signs undervalued players whom the scouts consider flawed but who have a knack for getting on base, scoring runs, and winning games. Moneyballis a quest for the secret of success in baseball and a tale of the search for new baseball knowledge—insights that will give the little guy who is willing to discard old wisdom the edge over big money.  

2. WATCHING BASEBALL SMARTER: A PROFESSIONAL FAN'S GUIDE FOR BEGINNERS, SEMI-EXPERTS, AND DEEPLY SERIOUS GEEKS by Zack Hample ~ 
Whether you’re a major league couch potato, life-long season ticket-holder, or teaching game to a beginner, Watching Baseball Smarter leaves no territory uncovered. In this smart and funny fan’s guide Hample explains the ins and outs of pitching, hitting, running, and fielding, while offering insider trivia and anecdotes that will surprise even the most informed viewers of our national pastime.  What is the difference between a slider and a curveball?  At which stadium did “The Wave” first make an appearance?   How do some hitters use iPods to improve their skills?  Which positions are never played by lefties?  Why do some players urinate on their hands?

3. THE NATURAL by Bernard Malamud ~ The Natural, Bernard Malamud’s first novel, published in 1952, is also the first—and some would say still the best—novel ever written about baseball. In it Malamud, usually appreciated for his unerring portrayals of postwar Jewish life, took on very different material—the story of a superbly gifted “natural” at play in the fields of the old daylight baseball era—and invested it with the hardscrabble poetry, at once grand and altogether believable, that runs through all his best work. Four decades later, Alfred Kazin’s comment still holds true: “Malamud has done something which—now that he has done it!—looks as if we have been waiting for it all our lives. He has really raised the whole passion and craziness and fanaticism of baseball as a popular spectacle to its ordained place in mythology.”

4. BASEBALL BETWEEN THE NUMBERS: WHY EVERYTHING YOU KNOW ABOUT THE GAME IS WRONG by The Baseball Prospectus Team of Experts and Jonah Keri  ~ This is the ultimate guide to the new statistical thinking that's revolutionizing the game of baseball. In the numbers-obsessed sport of baseball, statistics don't merely record what players, managers and owners have done. Properly understood, they can tell us how the teams could employ better strategies, put more effective players on the field, and win more games. The 1970s saw a revolution in baseball statistics, and it's a controversial subject that professionals and fans alike argue over without end. Despite this fundamental change in the way the sport is watched and understood, no-one has ever written the book that reveals, across every area of strategy and management, how the best practitioners of statistical analysis in baseball think about the game. "Baseball Between the Numbers" is that book. In separate chapters covering every aspect of the game - such as hitting, pitching and fielding - the experts at Baseball Prospectus examine the subtle, hidden aspects of the game, bring them out into the open, and show us how various teams could win more games.   (There is a second book in this series, too.)

5. THE BIG BAM: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF BABE RUTH by Leigh Montville ~ In this day of overamped salaries, statistics, and physiques, it's useful to be reminded of the singular talent and impact Babe Ruth brought to baseball during his career (1914-35).

6. I NEVER HAD IT MADE: AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF JACKIE ROBINSON by Jackie Robinson and Alfred Duckett ~ Before Barry Bonds, before Reggie Jackson, before Hank Aaron, baseball's stars had one undeniable trait in common: they were all white. In 1947, Jackie Robinson broke that barrier, striking a crucial blow for racial equality and changing the world of sports forever. I Never Had It Made is Robinson's own candid, hard-hitting account of what it took to become the first black man in history to play in the major leagues.  I Never Had It Made recalls Robinson's early years and influences: his time at UCLA, where he became the school's first four-letter athlete; his army stint during World War II, when he challenged Jim Crow laws and narrowly escaped court martial; his years of frustration, on and off the field, with the Negro Leagues; and finally that fateful day when Branch Rickey of the Brooklyn Dodgers proposed what became known as the "Noble Experiment" -- Robinson would step up to bat to integrate and revolutionize baseball.   More than a baseball story, I Never Had It Made also reveals the highs and lows of Robinson's life after baseball. He recounts his political aspirations and civil rights activism; his friendships with Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, William Buckley, Jr., and Nelson Rockefeller; and his troubled relationship with his son, Jackie, Jr.

7. THE SOUTHPAW by Mark Harris ~ The Southpaw is a story about coming of age in America by way of the baseball diamond. Lefthander Henry Wiggen, six feet three, a hundred ninety-five pounds, and the greatest pitcher going, grows to manhood in a right-handed world. From his small-town beginnings to the top of the game, Henry finds out how hard it is to please his coach, his girl, and the sports page—and himself, too—all at once. Written in Henry’s own words, this exuberant, funny novel follows his eccentric course from bush league to the World Series. 














BASEBALL IN FILM

1. FIELD OF DREAMS ~ Iowa farmer Ray Kinsella hears a voice in his corn field tell him, "If you build it, he will come." He interprets this message as an instruction to build a baseball field on his farm, upon which appear the ghosts of Shoeless Joe Jackson and the other seven Chicago Black Sox players banned from the game for throwing the 1919 World Series. When the voices continue, Ray seeks out a reclusive author to help him understand the meaning of the messages and the purpose for his field.

2. MONEYBALL ~ Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) challenges the system and defies conventional wisdom when his is forced to rebuild his small-market team on a limited budget. Despite opposition from the old guard, the media, fans and their own field manager (Philip Seymour Hoffman), Beane - with the help of a young, number-crunching, Yale-educated economist (Jonah Hill) - develops a roster of misfits…and along the way, forever changes the way the game is played.

3. EIGHT MEN OUT ~ A dramatization of the Black Sox scandal when the underpaid Chicago White Sox accepted bribes to deliberately lose the 1919 World Series.  

4. A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN ~ Jimmy Dugan (Tom Hanks)  has been hired to coach in the All-American Girls Baseball League of 1943 while the male pros are at war. Dugan, now a drunk has-been, unexpectedly discovers these girls can play ball! Now Dugans must manage the Rockford Peaches as they try to swing their way to a World Series title. This film is based on a true story.

5. MAJOR LEAGUE ~ An exotic dancer marries the owner of a baseball club. He does not survive the honeymoon and she is in control of his ball club. she wants to move to warmer climes where some new stadiums have been built, but her lease has only one escape clause, poor attendance. She fields the worst team she can find. The attitude of the owner gives the misfits and losers something to rally around and they fight back.

6. THE ROOKIE ~ Jim Morris once dreamed of becoming a big leaguer. But an injury to his pitching arm while playing in the minors forced Morris out of the game. Twelve years have passed and Morris, now coaching a last place high school baseball team. Seeing that Morris still has some juice left in his arm, his team makes a deal that forces Morris to try out for a Major League team. After throwing a 98mph fastball, the aging Morris is signed to a minor league contract with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays giving him a second shot at "the Show".

7. THE SANDLOT ~ Scotty Smalls moves to a new neighborhood with his mom and stepdad, and wants to learn to play baseball. The neighborhood baseball guru Rodriquez takes Smalls under his wing, and soon he's part of the local baseball buddies. They fall into adventures involving baseball, tree house sleep-ins, the desirous lifeguard at the local pool, the snooty rival ball team, and the travelling fair. Beyond the fence at the back of the sandlot menaces a legendary ball-eating dog called The Beast, and the kids inevitably must deal with him.

Need Technical Help! Please?

Okay all bloggers I need some tech help....I am having issues adding pictures into my blog posts. Chrome won't let me put them where I need them and Firefox is not letting me even click on the Add Photos tab at all since the changes to Blogger. Anyone else having these issues? Any fixes?

Library Loot 04-15-12

Today's library visit lent me two unexpected reads.  I went in for Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson for my new book club, but it was checked out and I ended up coming home with two Austen graphic novels instead!

Pride and Prejudice

and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies!

I have read Pride & Prejudice and it is one of my favorite books, and is my favorite Austen book.  I have not read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies so this will be a new story for me, not just a new format like the latter.  What finds!   I didn't even know the graphic versions of these novels existed.   I am excited to read these.  In fact, I think I will start right now...

Hunger Games Trilogy/Movie: Not Your Typical Review

If you haven't seen about 5 dozen reviews of this trilogy then you have been spending less time keeping up with your Reader than I have. :)  So, I am not going to give you another review, but I will show you some of the reasons I recommend them and why I am a fan, not a hater.  (SPOILER ALERTS)

KATNISS EVERDEEN IS A DIFFERENT KIND OF PROTAGONIST:
Unlike some YA characters (Belle from Twilight springs to mind) Katniss is self-sufficient, strong, and intelligent.  She does not rely on a guy to make her world; she considers whether any particular guy would fit into her own world.  She shows young women that you do not have to be perfect to make a difference in the world, but that not creating a better world is not even an option.

RUE:  'Nuff said.

FINNICK AND JOANNE: A twist I did not see coming.  And his love for his fiancee was the stuff of fairy tales.

PRESIDENT SNOW'S OUTCOME: I thought it was weakly executed.  It was highly anti-climatic.  Let-down city.

PRIM: I was very upset but it almost did not seem real to me.  I am not sure why.

THE BOY WITH THE BREAD: This was soooo not executed well in the movie.  It was not clear that she was starving.  It just looked like she was there so he gave her some bread.

WOODY HARRLESON AS HAYMITCH: When I saw this casting I loved it instantly.  I think if there had been more time to portray Haymitch on screen he would have done an even better job.  Also, there was not enough Haymitch in Mockingjay to suit me.

PEETA LOSING HIS MIND: I really did not know for a while if he was going to come out of it but the way it was written seemed a little too plot convenient.

GALE: I like that Gale has a sense of humor, a sense of loyalty, and is brave.  I really liked him as a choice for Katniss even though I knew it would always be Peeta.

THE GAMES: I have read reviews online that say the movie was too violent for PG-13.  Um, they toned it WAAAAAAAAAAAY down from the amount in the book.  Plus.. HELLO!  It was a book about kids killing each other.  Why would there be no violence?  I swear I think the public loses IQ points by the minute.

HUNGER GAMES:  5 STARS
CATCHING FIRE: 5 STARS
MOCKINGJAY: 3 STARS   (Much like I hear J.K. Rowling's later HP books were, Mockingjay was hastily written, poorly edited, and lacked depth.  Plus, after all that ass-kicking female reading the trilogy ends with a sappy story.  I call cop out, Suzanne Collins.)

THE HUNGER GAMES MOVIE: 4 STARS (I had some issues with it, such as they should've mentioned District 13, since it is a crucial plot point in Mockingjay, and they should have made it more clear what the prize was for winning the games, but overall I think they did a pretty decent job condensing that much information into 2 hours.)

Literary Links Fit to Share

Friday the 13th: 13 Unlucky Characters in Literature ~ Huffington Post

10.5 ways local bookstores beat Amazon ~ The Boston Globe

J.K. Rowling unveils new book: The Casual Vacancy ~ Galley Cat  (It's already available for pre-order!)

Worries about a monopoly by Amazon ~ Publishers Weekly

For the true Hunger Games fan: District 12 is on the market for a cool $1.4 million ~ Word & Film

Give Me Suggestions!

Okay, I am off to the used bookstore tomorrow to do some trades. If there is one book I should pick up there, what do you suggest?

I am mostly interested in historical fiction, YA fantasy, and mysteries/crime thrillers.

Review: FANG by James Patterson

This is the sixth book in the Maximum Ride series by James Patterson. The series, if you don't know, follows a group of hybrid "bird kids" ~ kids conceived in a test tube and injected with 2% avian DNA, grown in a lab in dog crates, and now on the run from scientists trying their best to bring them back to either continue experiments on them or to simply kill them.

To prevent spoilers to those who haven't read the previous books I will not say what the personal drama is about, but there is a scientist named Dr. Hans who is trying to convince Max and the others to use them as evolutionary templates for the impending apocalypse. He even introduces his first experiment ~ a new bird kid named Dylan who the Voice tells Max was made just for her to start a new flock with.

The book is another fast-paced, twisty adventure like the first 5 in the series. There is hardly a pause to catch your breath before something else is happening. I look forward to reading the seventh book, ANGEL, next.


* * * * *

Other Maximum Ride reviews:
The Angel Experiment
School's Out--Forever
Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports
The Final Warning
MAX

CHALLENGES: YA READING CHALLENGE