Buffy Watch Thoughts: Season 2 Ep. 1-8

This week, we started season two of Buffy The Vampire Slayer! Wahoo! We (as in Kelly and I and sometimes Alison) had three different Buffy Watch sessions during the week and managed a total of nine episodes!

Here are my random thought, mostly jotted down while watching and edited and added to a little after the fact.

Sunday Buffy Watch

Ep. 1 When She was Bad

-- Hey look! There's an official love interest for Giles! Yay!
-- Willow and Xander.... cute almost kiss. Was that for real?
-- Ah... something's up with Buffy... she is acting very very strange!
-- Still wimpy vampires... yes, very wimpy.
-- In the end, even after the episode, I'm still not sure what was wrong with Buffy... just slayer angst-y?


Ep.2 Some Assembly Required

--Let Giles keep talking British... please!? No more trying to stop him... hello.
-- A sneaking Angel... sweet. Love how he just pops up here and there.
-- Enjoying more funny Cordelia... she really cracks me up.
-- Zombie talk... gross
--Wow, a Frankenstein sort of thing going on here?
-- In the end, the episode quite creeped me out, and was really quite sad.


Ep. 3 School Hard

-- Wahoo! Spike! Now, we'll finally see what you are all talking about!!
-- Okay, I thought he would be less wimpy, but he still was a bit.
-- Something is up with the principle... yep, I know it.
-- The kid is gone? Just like that? The anointed one... poof?
-- In the end, I truly did enjoy the Spike swagger... very fun.

Ep. 4 Inca Mummy Girl

-- More corpses! Nice!
--Seth Green who? Everyone was excited to see him, I wasn't familiar with him, so looked him up. Now, he does sort of look familiar, but not sure from where. Much of what he's been on, I haven't seen. Anyway, I'm going to like his character, Oz, quite a bit I predict.
--Poor Xander... really. I feel like saying that a lot with him. And by the way, I miss his floppy hair!
-- In the end, I quite enjoyed this episode and feeling for poor Xander... and poor Willow too.

Wednesday Buffy Watch

Ep. 5 Reptile Boy

--Senior in college and a junior in high school... that's just wrong and weird all around.
-- And besides, something is so up with that guy!
-- Fraternity parties... not good
-- Lizard boy looks pretty fake.
-- In the end, eh, okay, whatever.

Ep. 6 Halloween

-- Nice that the vamps just desintigrate after staking! No mess!
--  Angel... the cuddly kind!
-- I was feeling a bit confused at one point, but realized afterwards that it was supposed to be that way. Once I got the way of things, I thought it was quite fun actually.
-- I'm sure Xander's actor dude thought it was a blast to change up his character for this episode. He did a great job. Do you think Buffy had fun acting wimpy too? Maybe.
-- In the end, I thought this one was really fun actually.

Thursday Buffy Watch
(I didn't jot many notes this sessions, many many interruptions!)

Ep. 7: Lie to Me

-- Willow is weird, yes?
--Buffy says she loves Angel, but she can't really love Angel... yet. Sheesh, she hardly knows him... I mean, have they even really TALKED yet?
-- In the end, I can't really remember this one much. Seems like Spike was in it, and we got some back story on Dru and Angel, but already I've forgotten!!


Ep. 8: The Dark Age

--Giles squirming when whats-her-face is around... love it.
--Love the back story on Giles... I can't seem to get enough of him.
-- Still having a hard time not thinking of him as Arthur's dad though, but it's getting there.
-- In the end, I enjoyed this one... felt packed with emotion.

So, there you have it! My Buffy thoughts of the week, for what it's worth!! I do see a difference in the two seasons just because the characters have more emotion and the episodes are just silly stuff. I mean, there's still a lot of silly stuff, but with more depth... or something. I have no idea what I'm talking about!

I think there's more Buffy watches to come this week, but I'm not sure when.

P.S. GAH! Beware when looking up Buffy pictures to post... spoilers anyone??! Sheesh. Teach me to do that again.

Photoaday July!

We now have Photoday July! I think this picture prompt challenge has been very fun, I think I'll keep doing it. Are you good with that? I hope so. You should join in....seriously.

Here's the link for more details from Fat Mum Slim...

And here's the list of July prompts:

2012 Beehive Award Nominees

Every summer the teen summer reading program at our library kicks off the summer by promoting the books that are nominated for the Beehive Award, an award sponsored by the Children's Literature Association of Utah. The library encourages the kids to read these books and then vote (on a ballet they provide and can turn in when they return the book) on whether or not they liked the book. 


The list always has some really awesome books on it. Check out this year's nominees:

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys: WWII and Holocaust
Blood Red Road by Moira Young: Hunger Game-like dystopian
Death Cloud by Andy Lane: a young Sherlock Holmes
The Last Thing I Remember by Andrew Klavan: suspense
Okay for Now by Gary Schmidt: historical fiction
The False Princess by Eilis O'Neal: fairy tale
The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen: for sports and non sports fans alike
Sean Griswold's Head by Lindsey Leavitt: romantic comedy
Ten Miles Past Normal by Frances O'Roark Dowell: a band geek book
Texas Gothic by Rosemary Clement-Moore: historical fiction/ghost tory
Variant by Robison Wells: a bit of a science fiction dystopian sort of book
Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier: time travel


I've only read two of these! I have two more on my shelves waiting, and I have added at least two or three more to my mental list.


Which ones would you suggest to read first?

Character Connection: Cricket from Lola and the Boy Next Door

I really wanted to do a Character Connection (brought to you by The Introverted Reader)  today and the only one coming to mind is Cricket! As in Cricket Bell from Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins. 

It seems that in all the books I've recently read, the characters have not really stood out to me. How sad is that.

But Cricket, from a book I read months ago, still stands out.

So here's the problem, I read it long enough ago (I know months doesn't really seem that long, but it's long enough , believe me!) that I can't remember all the Cricket details.

I think he had dark hair that stood up everywhere.

I DO remember that he is tall and lanky. In fact, he made me think of lanky in a whole new way.

I don't remember the color of his eyes.

But I do remember that he was nice and sweet and charming and clever and smart and patient and present and perfectly imperfect.

And of course I remember the rubber bands on the wrist. :)

Mostly I remember that he just seemed to truly fit the "boy next door" characterization, and I liked that. I liked that a lot!

As you know, I usually like to find a picture of a celebrity that I think would fit the character for the subject of my post. I found it funny that Nicholas Hoult (whose picture I posted just the other day) was suggested in a few blog posts... but the one I liked much better is found in this post. She suggests this guy:

Matthew Atkinson as
Cricket Bell

What do you think? Yes or no?


What character is on your mind this week and/or month?

Photoaday June: Day 24, 25, 26, 27

Day 24: On My Mind

Day 25: Cute

Day 26: Where I Shop

Day 27: Bathroom

 (PhotoadayJune brought to you by Fat Mum Slim.) 

Book Review: Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne

Book: Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne
Genre: YA... sort of a dystopian feeling, but not a real dystopian
Rating:★★★★☆  
For: Fun
From: Bought at the Fierce Reads Tour event

It's hard to plug this book into a particular genre... I guess maybe apocalyptic would be a better term than dystopian. It's set in the very near future and life is pretty much simlar to what we have today (Ipads have taken over the world!) but one day, the kids are going to school when a massive destructive hailstorm occurs. It causes their bus to get in an accident and the other bus following close behind them, drives right into the Greenway (think Walmart) to get out of the storm.

So before they know it, a bunch of kids, without any adult supervision (what happened to the bus drivers you may wonder? Well, stuff happens!) end up hiding out in the store. They find out that not only was there the hailstorm, but all sorts of other disasters that mess with the climate and world... and which in addition, cause a terrible chemical accident.

So the book is about how these kids deal with it all.... sometimes it's very impressive and sometimes not so much.

The book feels like a mash up of several other books. The Mist by Stephen King (where a bunch of people are trapped in the store from the scary monsters in the mist) and Lord of the Flies by William Golding (where a bunch of kids are trapped on an island and have to determine how to survive) and Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts (where a homeless girl lives in the Walmart) and Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer (where an event causes havoc and people are suddenly without everything they used to know)

I did really enjoy it .... it was extremely page turning and fun to read. Be warned, however, that the ending is not an ending, but basically a "to be continued". Argh, painful!

Bottom line: I really liked it!

Other Reviews:

Miss Remmers' Reviews
Small Reviews
Annette's Book Spot
Melissa's Eclectic Bookshelf

Book Club Report: About a Boy

This month for  book club we read and discussed About a Boy by Nick Hornby. You can find my review here. The book club pretty much felt the same way about the book as I did. Here are a few random thoughts:

• Did Will redeem himself in the end or not? We were mixed on this. 
• Speaking of endings, which did you like better the book or the movie? Everyone seemed torn on this and liked them both. But the movie ending is especially sweet.
• Most of us really liked Will despite his obnoxious ways, mostly because we couldn't get Hugh Grant out of our heads, and how can you not like him? We did have one person say she did NOT like him and felt he was just as bad as any bad villain.
• Some of us actually felt sorry for Will though. 
• We loved the idea that Marcus has that everyone needs backup people in their lives. In fact, I think we all felt this was main theme and idea of the book, that we need to surround ourselves with people. This, we all thought, is an awesome thing to take home after reading the book and we really enjoyed it for that reason.
• We discussed a lot more, but I must have been quite into it because I didn't take many notes to remind myself what everyone said!

Other random books we discussed at book club:

Sam and Tessa both read and enjoyed Precious Bane from our last meeting. Sam is also reading The Miserables (total American pronunciation of course!).... as he called it.... non-abridged.. with his daughter. Liking it so far! Tessa is reading Beyond Consequences, Logic and Control, a pretty fascinating parenting book.

Jenny read a lot this past month, but only three she felt were worth mentioning: Stolen, Bad Kitty and The Color of Evil.

Jessica A got a jump on book club and read Ender's Game. It was for her other book club. This one will be reading it in August. She also listened to The Book Thief on audio and said, and I quote, "it was freaking delightful!" And... AND... she decided to fess up and admitted to reading  Fifty Shades of Grey! Whoa... we wanted to know ALL about it! :)

Julie read The Night Circus and agreed, it was good and beautiful and hard to describe. Having said that, she  wouldn't go so far as to say it was on the the best books she's ever read.

Jessica N read..... wait for it... About a Boy! We cheered because she hasn't been feeling well and to get the book club book read was awesome!

Suey read Ready Player One, which launched us into a spirited 80s discussion wherein we all learned... again... just how old Suey really is! 

Up next: A sort of informal Jane Austen month where we all hope to read something of hers we haven't read before... or... simply... read something of hers. :) Then in August, when we officially meet again, we'll also be discussing Ender's Game. 

P.S. I just thought you might be interested... the kid that plays Marcus in the movie? Here's what he looks like now:

Book Review: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Book: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Genre: Science Fiction
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ 
For: Fun
From: first the library, then we bought it at B and N

The premise of this book sounded so intriguing! And one that I figured I'd probably love, so I managed to get it from the library, despite its popularity. However, since I didn't finish it in time, we ended up buying it because it came out in paperback AND because I hoped my son would end up reading it. More on that later.

So, the story is about this kid who is playing a video game. In fact, his life is basically a video game. It's set in the not so distant future where some genius reclusive video gamer has created a sort of internet that is much much more "real" than what we know today. The world of this time is falling apart and is a really really bad place, so most people log into this connection (called The Oasis) and live most of their lives there.

One day, the guy dies, and has no one to leave all his fortune to, so he has hidden an Easter Egg for the world to find, and everyone jumps into the game with a frenzy. Our hero, Wade, is no exception and because of his cleverness, he manages to do quite well!

In fact, the whole book is his adventure with this Easter egg hunt and all the perils and trauma that goes with it.

The fun thing about this book is the sort of computer and pop culture history that is mixed up in it. The creator of the game (and also the author of the book I'm sure) is fascinated with the 80's time period. So there's much talk about movies, books, music, computers and video games from those years. Of course, being an 80s child myself, this was pretty cool.... if a bit over the top.

However, that being said, I did find some of the detailed gaming descriptions to be a bit over my head. This book is definitely written for an audience that is very much into video games, something I've not bothered with much. So that stuff was a little bit yawn worthy.

Also, I think there's quite an agenda being pushed throughout, but in my anxiousness to just get to the story, I was able to skim over and dismiss most of all that stuff. The writing wasn't the best either, sorry to say.

In the end, I gave it four stars because it was fun and unique, but I was wishing for a 3 1/2 star choice because I sometimes just liked it and sometimes really liked it.

About the time I got my hands on this book, we learned the author decided to have a real life contest simiilar to the one in the book, with the prize being a Delorian car. My son (age 17) jumped on this band wagon and figured out how to clear the first gate without any problem! The next gate opens on July 1 and then the third on August 1. I think he will be right there trying his hand at it! BUT... I still hope he reads this book, it being right up his alley. So far, he's only about 1/4 of the way in. I'm thinking that he might just have to read it  in order to "know" things for the contest! We'll see I guess how that goes.

Bottom line: I liked it... sometimes even a lot! :)

Other Reviews:

Alison's Book Marks
Devourer of Books
Leeswamme's Blog
Love, Laughter and a Touch of Insanity
The Written World

P.S. Everyone is raving about the audio book, I think mostly because Wil Wheaton narrates!

Interview with the author... pretty interesting:

Random Sunday Thoughts

I haven't randomized for a while and since I'm SO not in the mood for the journal-y post I normally do on Sundays, I've decided to ramble. Are you ready?

** I'm loving doing Photoaday... wonder if there will be more prompts for July.. .and should I do it? Even though my July will be pretty much... ummm.... camping?

** Book club was outside this week! (As in...sitting in my back yard.) Good thing it wasn't just one day later because there was this huge fire, and it was terrible smoky outside. We would have had issues breathing!

** I finished fixing up my bedroom corner. See...

BEFORE

AFTER

** Now I want to keep going... and fix up the other parts of the bedroom. I mentioned new carpet today and maybe, just maybe, it will happen even! The thought of being able to show you before and after pictures motivates me. Weird? But true. So here's hoping you'll all give me, like, massive positive feedback here!!! :)

** I've decided to go see Batman (The Dark Knight Rises) as soon as all the camping is over in July.. at the IMAX.... in 3D. It will give me something to look forward to! Will Spiderman be released by then too? Maybe I'll see it the same day....

** So, I finished season four of Merlin.... LOVED it. Cried. Tristan and Isolde made their way into those last episodes... very interesting interpretations... but I cried. I also finished season one of Buffy. I didn't cry, but I felt the emotion, finally! Looking forward to starting season two today!

Tristan and Isolde on the BBC's Merlin

** I read all afternoon Friday and started and finished Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne. Quite the crazy story... reminds me of several other books though... a bit Life as We Knew It, a bit Lord of the Flies, a bit Where the Heart Leads (that's the one where the girl lives in Walmart, right?) and even a bit The Mist by Stephen King! Whew. Good one though, I liked it.

** My sister says she will start blogging again, but I've yet to see a post....

** Remember that time I drove across the country? Last year? Yeah, it was a year ago exactly and I wish I was doing it again, only this time I'd send you all postcards.

** Tainted Love is playing on my 80s Pandora station right now... ah the memories! We had quite the 80s discussion at book club the other day. I had no idea some people don't like the 80s! What's UP with that? They were wonderful times!



** My garden looks sickly, just in case you wondered...

** Do you realize we haven't had rain here for weeks and weeks? I'm starting to crave some rain. Usually in the summer we get those cool afternoon thunder deals going on... and so far this year... NOT A ONE!

** I can't seem to figure out how to fit exercising back into my life. I was faithful for years, and now... nothing. This is bad.

** I'm thinking that that's all I'm thinking... mostly.

Have a lovely Sunday!

Photoaday June: Day 21, 22, 23

Day 21: Where I Slept

Day 22: From a High Angle
(the view from my desk at the library!)

Day 23: Movement

(PhotoadayJune brought to you by Fat Mum Slim.) 

Buffy Watch Thoughts... Season One Done!

This past week (was it way back on Monday? ) we finished season 1 of Buffy! Wahoo!

I jotted notes as I watched and here's what I thought:

Ep. 9: The Puppet Show

- Wouldn't you want to move by now? Because... sheesh, tragedy at every turn at that high school!
-- Another genuinely creepy one!
-- What's up with the principal? I swear he's a bad guy. (Later we realized he is Quark from Star Trek!)
-- Confusing!
-- Funny ending. That was great!

Ep. 10: Nightmares

-- Spiders, yucky!
-- Boy from the other episode? We thought so at first, but no, it's a different kid.
-- What would be your worse nightmare?
-- I did kinda like this one just for that above question. What would it be, really?

Ep. 11: Out of Mind, Out of Sight

--Sad... and true sort of feeling.
--Cordelia had profound things to say... "sounded by people, but totally alone" (reminds me of the sad JG video of awhile back.)
--Weird guys... strange guys
--Weird strange ending (lol... now... nearly a week later... I can't even remember what the ending was!!!)

Ep. 12: Prophecy Girl

--I can already tell this one is more about the characters
--Much more emotion in this episode... now that's more like it!!
-- I still got a kick out of the fact that she fell/was pushed/died in the muck pond but her white dress was still quite perfect afterwards.
-- Quite the "you go girl!" ending!

Bring on season 2! Let's see if all you crazy Buffy fans are right or not... is it REALLY better? I guess we'll see! I think we plan to watch tomorrow afternoon. We'll be Twittering the time so keep your eye on that if you want to join us!

Review: Cayman Summer by Angela Morrison

Book: Cayman Summer by Angela Morrison
Genre: YA Romance
Rating:★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
For: Fun
From: ebook bought from Amazon

The second book I've read on the Kindle! :) I was excited to see this available so I could wrap up this series which began with Taken by Storm, a book I totally loved. This book concludes the story of Michael and Leesie who have had a crazy tumultuous relationship!

In this book Leesie is recovering from injuries sustained in a pretty bad car accident that happened at the end of the second book (Unbroken Connection.) She feels worthless and hopeless now and has asked Michael to take her away, which he does and so she basically runs away from all she has known, including her family. They end up on Grand Cayman, Michael's favorite place in the world,  where she proceeds to heal both physically and emotionally.

In the process, Michael discovers some things too and makes a few drastic changes of his own.

All in all, I like how the story ended, nice and sweet and happy. The first book, when the relationship of these two is in its beginning, is still my favorite. This book continues the pattern of the first two books, told in both character points of view.... Michael's dive log journal and Leesie's private poetry book.... with a few email conversations from them both scattered in between. I really enjoyed this unique narrative approach throughout the whole series. What a way to get into the heads of them both!

Bottom line: I enjoyed it!

Other Reviews:

For the Love of Books, Music and Movies
Rachelle's Writing Spot
Once Upon a Bookcase

Photaday June: Day 16, 17, 18, 19, 20

Wait... I got SO behind posting photaday pictures! I'm sure you're devastated! Here's to catching up!

Day 16: Out and About

Day 17: In Your Bag

Day 18: Something You May Not Know About Me!
(I collect salt and pepper shakers!)

Day 19: Imperfect

Day 20: Favorite Picture I've Ever Taken
(The kids... back in 1999!)

(PhotoadayJune brought to you by Fat Mum Slim.) 

Review: About a Boy by Nick Hornby

Book: About a Boy by Nick Hornby
Genre: Fiction
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ 
For: Book Club
From: the library

What a fun, easy, enjoyable book! I loved the movie way back when and wondered if the book would be similar, and yep, it was. Very very similar, so of course I pictured Hugh Grant in my head the whole time, which was very nice indeed!

This book is.. about a boy... actually.. .about two boys. One big, one little. The big one, Will,  has been gliding through life, not really making any connections, not really doing anything with himself at all, not really engaging in anything at all. And he likes it this way. He wants things to be easy, he's good with it and has no plans to change.

Then there's the little boy, Marcus, who has things like a depressed mum to deal with. And moving to a new city and school, and a dad who lives in a different city with a different family to occupy his time. Oh, and the fact that he, himself, is just plain weird and gets picked on by everyone at school.

When these two meet, they both have things to learn from each other. Marcus learns from Will how to be more "normal" and Will learns from Marcus that life can have meaning, and that it's not that painful after all.

I love the lessons learned from this book. It's really quite lighthearted, even with the serious subject matter, all wrapped up with the sweet and powerful message. Do be warned that there is quite a bit of language if that bothers you.

Bottom line: I really really liked it! And now I'm anxious to re-watch the movie! Maybe even today.

Other Reviews:

Alternate Readality
Things Mean A Lot
Sue's Book Reviews

Top Ten Tuesday: Summer TBR Books

This list prompt from The Broke and the Bookish kinda cracks me up this time because pretty much every book here on my shelves is on my summer TBR list...wouldn't it be nice to take the whole summer and just read them all? Yes. But no, it can't happen. So, here are the ten that seem to have floated their way to the top of the pile, and the ones I especially hope to get to sometime this summer.

Top Ten Summer TBR Books

1.Palace of Stone by Shannon Hale.. my first egalley book and I can't wait to read and review it for Utah Book Month in August!
2. Witch Song by Amber Argyle.. another Utah author whose book I hope to read for August
3. Lady Susan by Jane Austen... I think there are plans afoot to have a sort of Jane Austen month in July for book club to catch up on any non-read Jane Austen books... I'm going to do this more obscure one.
4. Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare... this is the first book of the other Cassandra Clare series, right? I've heard about some dude named Will and I'm curious to meet him.
5. Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne... my newly acquired book that everyone seems to be raving about so let's read it!
6. Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens... I was pondering a read along for this book that I've been wanting to re-read forever... anyone interested?
7. Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor... I hear this one's good! :) So, what am I waiting for, right?
8. Still hoping to fit in that next Odd Thomas book by Dean Koontz... Forever Odd perhaps it is?
9.Also in August, I plan to re-read Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, with the book club. It will be my at least third time, maybe more, through that book.
10.The Exiled Queen by Cinda Williams Chima... I just feel the need to add this one to the list. We'll see... we'll see.

How about you? What's on your list? Is there anything on my list you think I should go for first, without any further delay?

Review: Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

Book: Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake
Genre: YA Fantasy/Horror
Rating:★ ★ ★ ☆☆ 
For: Fun
From: Amazon for Kindle

This book will go down as the very first book I ever read on a Kindle/e-reader! What an honor, yes? I think so!

This is the story about a kid (already I forgot his name! But it's kind of a strange one.) that hunts ghosts. If there's a ghost around that is causing havoc... or especially killing people, he's the guy to come to the rescue. This is what brings him to Canada to find this ghost named Anna who has been really ruthless.

When he gets there a few different things happen. First, he makes connections with non-ghost people unlike he's ever done before in all his comings and goings. This is strange to him and makes him think differently about his work and his life. Second, he makes a connection with the ghost herself, Anna. She has two sides. The ruthless scary killer, and the sweet simple girl she was before she died. He loves the girl she used to be.

He knows she has some sort of unusual power that makes her so strong and he is determined to figure out what that is and take care of that to solve the issue instead of his normal ghost hunting/killing routine. It's then that we find out Anna's sad background and all the crazy stuff that went on!

This book reminded me a lot of certain scenes from The Vampire Diaries.... namely Bonnie's witch scenes with all the spell casting going on. There was lots of that. It also reminded me of Buffy, since that's particularly recent in my head, with older mentor guy helping them figure out how to best deal with the situation, and with a particular kid who has special unworldly powers to deal with unworldly things. Yes, very Buffy-ish.

It was a fun quick book. Not something I'd recommend  to everyone because of the violent bloody scenes and the witchcraft and the language scattered about, however. But a nice ghost story if that's your thing!

Other Reviews:

The Book Bind
Kay's Book Shelf
Books With Bite
Jenni Elyse

The Sunday Salon: Short and Sweet

Outside my window: It's late, very very late, on Saturday night... in fact, it's actually very very early on Sunday morning. But hey, what else is new. The late nights around here... all in the norm. Though not my most favorite thing. But where were we? Oh, outside the window! DARK, and breezy and perfect.

I am listening to: yeah nothing at the moment. People quietly going to bed.. at least some of them. Others are still not home. Which means I won't be sleeping anytime soon myself. (Update: They came home! Like early-ish! SLEEP!!!)

Song of the week: I already posted songs this week, do you want more? You love hearing my songs, right? Yeah, I know....ummm.... but....sorry... I can't think of one to post right now.... you'll just have to click on that link above and go listen to Gotye again....

TV Talk: I just watched some Buffy episodes this week (my thoughts here) and that's it. And I'm so very sad not to be around tomorrow night (Sunday) to watch the new season start for Falling Skies. It better be on On Demand so I can catch it later.

READING REPORT: 
Books Finished: About a Boy by Nick Hornby
Books Started: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (half way done) and Cayman Summer by Angela Morrison (almost done)
Books Up Next: You know, I'm not really sure! I am SO winging it! :) Maybe I should do one of those "tell me what to read next" posts, know what I mean?

I am thinking: that suddenly, I'm tired. But hey, it's only 1:00 a.m.!! Things are just getting going!

I'm grateful for: the gift card I was able to use tonight at Olive Garden. Man, that place as gotten expensive!

Around the house: The bedroom corner project is coming along! I may even show pictures next week at this time! I'm sure you are thrilled!

Pinterest of the Week: Guys... I haven't touched Pinterest for two weeks! What's up with that? I mean, not even opened up the program!

Favorite things of the week: a nice and lovely author day

Utah Book Bloggers: I will be emailing blogger interview assignments to those that signed up to participate in this little aspect of our celebration, which will begin in August... which will be here soon!

Family Matters: Lots of late nights and movie watching and not eating very good and sleeping in and job hunting (a little) and working for some and basically, normal summer.

The coming week: Book Club! This is new thing for us.. having book club in the summer. I guess we'll see how it goes, eh? Other than that, I'm not sure what the week has in store! This past week was crazy.. this next week? Not so much I hope.


Oh, and P.S. Happy Father's Day!

Photaday June: Day 13, 14, 15

Here's three more Photaday June pictures. The past few have thrown me for a loop and I can't seem to come up with anything very creative! But anyway, here you go:

Day 13: Art

Day 14: Time

Day 15: Yellow

(PhotoadayJune brought to you by Fat Mum Slim.) 

Buffy Watch Thoughts: Season 1 Episodes 6-8

Thursday evening I watched three more Buffy episodes... with Kelly again, and this time we also had Allison from Well-Read Reviews join us half way in! So fun when this happens! :)

Here are my random thoughts from this viewing session:

Episode 6: The Pack

--Weird... but cool drums!
--Another non-vampire episode? Makes me think this is like Supernatural or something we we are just dealing with strange creatures every episode, but not necessarily vampires. Which is fine, except the title of the show is misleading then I think!
-- I was quite distracted during this one because I had like three different phone calls I had to deal with and I couldn't keep pausing because... well... we were all watching together!! Pausing doesn't work!
-- But, I do remember the drums. I guess I like me some good African drums!

Episode 7: Angel

-- Okay, so THIS is the sort of episode I've been expecting all along!
-- I thought that Angel was a vampire all along, but this episode confused me and well, those questions were quickly answered. Buffy didn't know!!!
--What's with the boy? The one with the master? I still don't get what that was all about.


Episode 8: I Robot, You Jane

--Interesting talk about internet fears, from back in the beginning of internet fears.
-- We loved it when Willow chatted online but spoke her chat out loud!
-- This one was genuinely creepy to me... not just corny creepy. I guess that's a step in the right direction!

It appears three episodes is my limit for a one sitting viewing! I get so tired by the end of three of them! But I am warming up to the characters. Giles makes me smile and Willow is so witty.

We plan to watch more on Monday I think it is... about 5:00 p.m. Eastern time. Want to come join us?

Recent Media Consumption: Mini Reviews

It's summer. Somehow that means lots and lots of watching stuff. I thought maybe I'd report on it now and then and perhaps you have comments to add and we can talk?

MOVIES WATCHED:

The Vow: Did you know this movie about a couple that get in a car accident and the wife loses her memory is based on a true story? Yep, it said so right there on the movie! I thought the movie was... okay.... it wasn't as tear jerky as I thought it would be, and I didn't seem to have as much anxiety over the situation as I thought I would. Weird... maybe just not in the mood? I don't know. But it was good and makes you really appreciate how important our memories are.

Tower Heist: Well, there were some pretty funny parts of this caper movie. I loved all the big names... especially Alan Alda.... what a dude. But there was a lot of body part jokes, which I just don't get. Is it supposed to be funny? So yeah... it was another just okay movie.

WarGames: We needed to make the kids watch this one because we are currently reading Ready Player One together.. some of us... and it's important to know about WarGames for further understanding of the book. So wow, how fun to go back in time to this movie! What a stinkin' cutie Matthew Broderick is in this movie!!! Such a great movie... still. I loved re-visiting it.

Sadly, I haven't watched, like, a REAL movie in the theater for quite some time... since The Avengers almost two months ago now. Wow. Seriously looking forward to the new Batman though.

CDs BOUGHT:

Gotye: Making Mirrors: Finally! I've been threatening this one for awhile! Yay! Cool stuff.. espeically the songs toward the end of the CD.... here's one of my soon to be favorites:




I'm still really wanting the first CD this dude made, but can't find it yet. It has this song on it:




Sigur Ros: Valtari : A very different sound... and one that I quite like for calming purposes! They all sound the same to me though. But cool though, very cool. And calming!

James Durbin: Memories of a Beautiful Disaster: I've wanted this one for awhile too... very rock and roll-ish. Some I like better than others. But I'm still a fan of his mellow stuff. More mellow please! But the song Stand Up is one of my favorites on this album.

Silversun Pickups: Neck of the Woods: Still getting familiar with this album, but I mostly like the very first track called Skin Graphs.

And did you hear that Muse has a new album coming out in September? Here's the cool trailer:



Ah... pretty excited guys.

PLAYS:

The Million Dollar Quartet: Awesome show about an event that happened in December of 1956 when four famous musicians all sort of accidentally ended up in the recording studio together and decided to jam for awhile. The boss decided to flip the switch and record them of course... so this show recreates the whole thing. The four guys: Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins. Awesome show! The guys were so spot on, and all played their instruments for real.

The Wizard of Oz: Really cute show that our local outdoor theater is currently showing. Very cute! They did a great job, but they needed to sing louder!

So...seen or heard any of this stuff? What do you think? What things HAVE you seen or heard lately that you think I need to know about? 

Seven Authors... One Day!

On Tuesday I had an author overload day! But it was a good thing! It's been awhile since the last author event I attended, so I was ready for more.

The first one was at my library (Orem of those interested) I saw Dan and Rob Wells, brothers, who kicked off the summer teen reading program. They were fabulous as always, so funny and so fun to listen to. Hey did you know they have a podcast? And now we can listen to them banter on all the time!

Robison Wells on the left, Dan Wells on the right.

So, they talked a little about what got them interested in reading and books. Rob, who is younger by one year, said he didn't want to follow in Dan's shadow, and since Dan was a good student, Rob choose not to be.. or something like that. And he mentioned that his teacher when he was in 5th grade made them read Tuck Everlasting, The Bridge to Terabithia, and a couple others, and he hated them so bad, he never read another book all through school and just fudged his way through it all. 

That is until Huckleberry Finn, when he decided to read it while at the hospital waiting room... and loved it. So he went back and figured out all the books he missed out on and is trying to catch up and read them now. 

Dan enjoyed reading, and got hooked when he fell in love with the Christopher Robin poems as a kid. Which we all thought was pretty funny (you'll get that if you've read his horror books!)

Then they talked about heroes and villains, and what makes good ones and how they choose their heroes and villains in their own books. Very fun stuff!

Later on Twitter they mentioned that they changed up their original plans for the presentation and they would be doing that on their podcast instead. So click here and you can hear that! (I think they decided the audience ended up being younger than expected and wouldn't get what they'd planned to talk about it. Maybe?)

Anyway, I think these guys are great and I can't wait to tell you about Dan's latest book, The Hollow City, and I can't wait to get my hands on Rob's next book, Feedback. 

Later that night I went to the other library (Provo for those interested) to the Fierce Reads Tour, which included five debut YA authors. There was a little meet and greet for bloggers beforehand where I just sat back and enjoyed, since I didn't really know these authors or their books (except for one.... Cinder by Marissa Meyer.)

Then we went into the main presentation where they all got to show their book trailers, and tell us about how their book came to be, and then answer a few questions in a panel situation. The sun was right in our eyeballs the whole time! But all I could see was Jenni Elyse's hair right in front of me!!

PURPLE HAIR!!

Then we were able to buy books, and get them signed.. here's the quick picture I took of that. Lovely shot, yes? Not.

Anna Banks, Leigh Bardugo, Jennifer Bosworth, Emmy Laybourne and Marissa Meyer

I ended up with only one book.... Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne. I bought another book for Jenny for her birthday... and then Jenny bought two books, so she ended up with Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo, Of Poseidon by Anna Banks and Struck by Jennifer Bosworth. We plan to lend and borrow and get them all read eventually. They all sounded pretty cool and unique and fun, so hopefully our plan works.

So... there's my fun author day! SEVEN in one day! Very fun stuff. So... when's the next one? :)