I do not recommend this book. I’m tempted to say that I would slap this book out of your hand before you can read it, but I’m sure you’ll be so bored by the end of part one that I won’t need to. … More Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire (1995)
While at my parents’ place, I happened to glance over at what remains of our old VHS collection, and saw the 1973 Hannah-Barbara adaptation of Charlotte’s Web. I realized that I’d never read the book, and hadn’t seen the movie in what must be over ten years.
So here we are.
I read the book and watched ALL of the film adaptations of the book. How do they compare? … More Charlotte’s Web (1952 , 1973 , 2003, and 2006)
For the past few weeks, I’ve been reading “The Best American Short Stories.” As you may have guessed, it’s an anthology of the best American short stories. I’m not sure who made the collection, but I do know that it was published in 2014. The stories are a bit too short for me to go … More The Best American Short Stories (2014)
I hate anyone who tries to tell other writers how to write, who pretends to know the exact elements that a story “must” have. Anyone who thinks that there is a clear formula or clear method of creating a story is diluted.
Creativity Inc. was recommended to me by a good friend years ago, but I only got around to reading it this holiday season because of my New Year’s resolution to read and watch things that people recommended to me (as opposed to putting it off for weeks, months, or years). And hey, the title was about unleashing creativity, not work-shopping a story. How bad could it be?
It was phenomenal. … More Creativity Inc. by Amy Wallace with Ed Catmull (2014)
What I find interesting about my history with Harry Potter is that every time I read the series, it seemed to change. I had different opinions, enjoyed different parts, and noticed different things about it. Perhaps that will always happen with every book I reread, perhaps it will stop happening when I stop growing, or perhaps it’s a quirk of the series itself.
But what did I think of it this time, reading it just before my junior year of college? … More The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling (1997)
Originally published 2/27/2016. Lead image via Wikipedia. 5 STARS You may have heard the phrase “Brave New World” before. It’s from Shakespeare. And a character in Brave New World doesn’t just happen to say it; he actually quotes Shakespeare all the time. This was, once again, a book I was required to read in English class (though … More Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (1932)
Casually combining chocolate and dragons, as children’s books should.
The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart follows the story of a young dragon named Aventurine who is turned into a human by a “food mage” who tricks her into drinking cursed hot chocolate. Once a human, her dragon family no longer recognizes her so she has to join human society and get an apprenticeship, which she chooses to do at a “chocolate house.”
Overall, I’d definitely recommend this book to kids and even teens, but I’m not too certain if it holds up for adults. … More The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart by Stephanie Burgis (2017)
I’m not sure whether to call this “Girl Power: the Novel” or “PTSD: the Novel.”
The Alice Network is a historical fiction novel telling the combined stories of Charlie Sinclair and Evelyn Gardener, who both lost a close, spirited friend to the cruelties of the two world wars. They team up in search of Charlie’s missing cousin, Rose, and in the end discover that their experiences were quite similar, embrace independence, and finally hunt down the person who wronged them both.
Now, I don’t think you should read this book. … More The Alice Network by Kate Quinn (2017)
Originally posted 1/3/2016. Lead images from Amazon. 5 STARS and 3 STARS (respectively) So the full titles of the books are: Epigenetics: How the Environment Shapes Our Genes by a professor named Richard Francis and Rock, Paper, Scissors: Game Theory in Everyday Life by Len Fisher. These are both non-fiction books, so I won’t exactly be focusing … More Epigenetics (2012) and Game Theory (2008)
Lead Image Credit: Pixabay via Pexels You may have noticed that I am now using a different rating system when reviewing books and movies. Just as a reference, this is a quick guide to what the rankings mean. Entertainment and Intellect These are the two things that I appreciate the most in a story. Entertainment … More My Book/Movie Ranking System
