Kami's Library Thoughts

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Top Ten Tuesday: Books and Movies for Halloween

Hosted by The Broke and The Bookish

Top Ten Books/Movies to Read/Watch to Get in the Halloween Spirit

Lets start with books:

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Movies:

Monday, October 27, 2014

Heir of Fire

Goodreads Synopsis: Lost and broken, Celaena Sardothien’s only thought is to avenge the savage death of her dearest friend: as the King of Adarlan’s Assassin, she is bound to serve this tyrant, but he will pay for what he did. Any hope Celaena has of destroying the king lies in answers to be found in Wendlyn. Sacrificing his future, Chaol, the Captain of the King’s Guard, has sent Celaena there to protect her, but her darkest demons lay in that same place. If she can overcome them, she will be Adarlan’s biggest threat – and his own toughest enemy.

While Celaena learns of her true destiny, and the eyes of Erilea are on Wendlyn, a brutal and beastly force is preparing to take to the skies. Will Celaena find the strength not only to win her own battles, but to fight a war that could pit her loyalties to her own people against those she has grown to love?

My Thoughts:

- This series is so epic and amazing! It is one of my new favorite high fantasy series of all time!

- Yes, I snapped at my family when they interrupted my reading time. I kinda feel bad about it now, but I was just so enveloped in the story.

- I love that this book was mostly about the characters finding themselves. Celaena obviously has a lot of baggage she had to deal with and face, and I liked getting to know her better as she faced her inner demons. Chaol was trying to figure out his loyalties, motives, and what he wanted to do with himself. It was nice to see Dorian move one and grow as a character.

- I liked the new characters that were introduced. Sorscha was an interesting character. I didn't know if I should trust her or not. I liked Rowan a lot even though he was a jerk. Celaena and Rowan really needed each other.

- The parts about Manon were intriguing. It was something new thrown into the mix, and I didn't want to feel sympathy or like the even iron ladies, but Manon and Abraxos are intriguing. I'm excited to see what role they will play in the grand scheme of things.

- The ending was OMG!!! I need the next book! It is killing me! Who knows what the king will do next!? What is Celaena going to do next? It is crazy awesomeness!

Previous book in the Throne of Glass series

(covers are linked to my thoughts)

Friday, October 24, 2014

Anime Banzai

Last weekend I went to Anime Banzai with my brother. It was so fun!

There weren't very many panels I wanted to go to this year. It was a little disappointing.

On Friday we went to a panel where three people had made the same sword but with three different methods. That was cool. We also went to a panel that talked about creativity and mental illness. The therapist talked about how to create a character with a mental illness. I really want to cosplay, so we went to the Cosplay on Budget panel. I'm hoping to get a head start for next year's cons. We also went to a Legends of Hyrule panel, and it was a geek fest. A little too much geeking out for me.

For dinner, I ended up at Applebee's with my brother's friends. They were three bronies, and it was weird.

Cosplays I saw on Friday:

Darn sun! This is Lightning from FFXIII. I'm playing this right now. I saw two other Lightnings, but didn't get their picture.

Howl, Sophie, and Turnip Head from Howl's Moving Castle! They were amazing!

Porco Rosso! I think this is the same one as last year.

On Saturday, we got there early enough to get into the Anime Music Video Contest. Some were good, some were bad, and I closed my eyes for a couple.

Cosplays:

Master Roshi!

Totoro!

Raven from Teen Titans!

Mr. Piccolo!

This is the crowd for the Cosplay contests. It was so packed and started LATE!

Here is the children cosplayers. The little girl dressed as Cinderella was hilarious! She sang the ABCs for us.

We went to The Electric Universe panel with Chuck Huber. He was hilarious. Half the stuff he said was cool, and the other half was BS, but he was funny. We also went to What's New in Anime, and I found a bunch of anime I want to watch. I can't remember what other panels we attended. We went to the festival, but I don't remember what else.

I picked up some cool mugs for my family. I should get a picture of that.

Anyhoo! It was a fun weekend.

I think I'm fully recovered from Banzai, but I'm in a Anime/Manga craze right now.

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Magic Under Glass

From Goodreads: Nimira is a foreign music-hall girl forced to dance for mere pennies. When wealthy sorcerer Hollin Parry hires her to sing with a piano-playing automaton, Nimira believes it is the start of a new and better life. In Parry's world, however, buried secrets are beginning to stir. Unsettling below-stairs rumors swirl about ghosts, a madwoman roaming the halls, and Parry's involvement with a league of sorcerers who torture fairies for sport. Then Nimira discovers the spirit of a fairy gentleman named Erris is trapped inside the clockwork automaton, waiting for someone to break his curse. The two fall into a love that seems hopeless, and breaking the curse becomes a race against time, as not just their love, but the fate of the entire magical world may be in peril.

My Thoughts:

- I knew near to nothing about this book when I started it, and I was pleasantly surprised.

- The story was very compelling and had me hooked from the beginning. The protagonist was so intriguing.

- I loved how complex a lot of the characters were, especially Hollin. Everyone had different motives and plans.

- The politics were complicated, but I think I understood everything alright.

- Linza only shows up a few times, but she is awesome! I love sub-characters like her.

- I'm excited to read the next book. I hope we get to learn more about Nimira's past and country.

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Top Ten Tuesday: New Series I Want to Start

Hosted by The Broke and The Bookish

Top New Series I Want to Start

New as in the last year or two. There are so many!
I picked books that came out in 2013 or 2014.

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Monday, October 20, 2014

Anne of the Island

Goodreads Says: New adventures lie ahead as Anne Shirley packs her bags, waves good-bye to childhood, and heads for Redmond College. With old friend Prissy Grant waiting in the bustling city of Kingsport and frivolous new pal Philippa Gordon at her side, Anne tucks her memories of rural Avonlea away and discovers life on her own terms, filled with surprises...including a marriage proposal from the worst fellow imaginable, the sale of her very first story, and a tragedy that teaches her a painful lesson. But tears turn to laughter when Anne and her friends move into an old cottage and an ornery black cat steals her heart. Little does Anne know that handsome Gilbert Blythe wants to win her heart, too. Suddenly Anne must decide if she's ready for love...

My Thoughts:

- The story picks up right after Anne of Avonlea ends. Anne is off to college!

- I liked how real Anne's emotions were. I could relate to her. As her friends go off in different directions and get married, Anne longs for the joys of her childhood. She was uncertain of college and leaving home. She was home sick a lot. Anne is so real to me.

- I love how Anne found a house to rent with her friends. That would have been a lot of fun in college.

- Phil was a fickle and silly character. I'm glad Anne found new friends, but this one was a bit annoying.

- Davy cracks me up!

- It drove me crazy that Anne wanted to keep Gilbert at arms length! What is wrong with her!? It takes her forever to realize that she loves Gilbert! Thank Goodness she finally does!

- We need more books set in college!

Previous Anne of Green Gables Book

(Click on the cover to see my thoughts)

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Launch Party for RC Lewis

Last night I had the pleasure of attending the launch party for R. C. Lewis. I'm really excited to read her book! She was accompanied by 7 other authors.

Here is me and Jenni waiting for the event to start. I don't know why I'm making a weird face. The picture that Jenni took is way more awesome than mine.

Instead of waiting in a side room before the event, the authors just mingled right there in the ballroom. It was different.

The pow wow with Courtney.

Here are all the authors! From left to right we have R.C. Lewis, Mindy McGinnis, Elana Johnson, Ann Redisch Stampler, Peggy Eddleman, Lissa Price, Dimitria Lunetta, and Kate Karyus Quinn. Two of the these ladies are Utah authors!

Since it was Rachel's event, she was able to take a few minutes to speak before they got to questions.

Some of the questions were:

What makes a YA novel YA?

What do you hope your book will add to the YA genre?

Why do you Write YA?

Did you query your first book?

Some of the answers included:

YA is the age of discoveries and firsts.

YA doesn't carry all the baggage that adult books do.

A couple authors work with Teens.

A few of these authors wanted more strong female characters out in the world.

Teens have a sense of adventure that adults don't.

I'm going off of memory here, so I hope I got a lot of those right.

I completely forgot to get my usual picture of the author signing my book!!! GRRR!! I bought Stitching Snow and got it signed. I'm kicking myself for not getting a picture!