Rachel
said "maybe" to attending the event: NEW MOON MADNESS!.
date: November 20, 2009 10:15PM
location: Amstar 12 - Lake Mary, 950 Colonial Grand Lane, Lake Mary, FL, The United States
description: Change of venue!
UA Seminole is not showing New Moon--I have no idea why. BUT Lake Mary is! It's a nicer theater with better seats. The late show is at 10:15pm. Above is the link to get online tickets. You can also go on MovieFone and it will take you to movietickets.com to purchase your ticket. I am sooo excited! I also can not wait to see you guys! Please let me or Angie know if you have any questions or help with online ticketing.
Rachel said: I was actually planning to go to Oviedo, with my friend. But might be down for this if enough people were going. ]]>
bookshelves: to-read
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Rachel Eichen
read and liked
Denys L.H.'s
review of New Moon (Twilight, #2):
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Out of curiosity, do we have an actual inperson meetup about this book, or just discuss it here? ]]>
bookshelves: ljtransfer
This is one of the few books you'll find that I'll read after I see the movie. I had never heard of this book before seeing the movie (although the cover did look a bit familiar). I even remember actually enjoying the soundtrack ("I'm supergirl!") and according to Amazon.com, both the movie and book came out in 2001(?). That's odd, because usually there's some sort of downtime between the book year and the movie year.
Since I had already seen the movie (at least twice), I knew what I was getting myself into. Average girl finds out she's a princess.. yippie. The book is written in journal format in very "teenager-like" sentences. At first, the simple writing annoyed me, but eventually I learned to like it. The style of the main character Mia really grew on me, and her random sprouts of neurosis were definitely entertaining.
My friend in my high school year book class first mentioned this book to me, citing that the movie left out a lot of things - and she was right! But unlike most cases, I'm going to have to agree with Disney on what they cut out. They left out her mom's new algebra-teaching boyfriend and the dad and Tina character all together. But all three things, although they helped the story, were very extrenuous. They were all interesting points in her life, but as far as the princess plot went, they barely contributed. In fact, it took a few hundred page (500 total) for Mia to even realize she was supposed to be a princess. I can imagine someone who had never read the book before must be wondering, "when is this princess stuff going to go down?"
Disney took a much smarter route in what they left AND what they added. They left out all the aforementioned characters, because they really didn't help the story. They did, however, add more onto the second-romantic interest of Mia. Although, Michael may be touched on in any of the other 4 books (which I'm sure he is). The Disney movie also had something else the book did not - a conclusion! The movie wrapped up nicely and the book more so just ended. Eventually I'll read the other books, but I'm in no hurry. ]]>
bookshelves: ljtransfer
The Diary of Anne Frank has always been one of those books in my life. I remember studying it in Hebrew school, and making numerous attempts to read it throughout elementary and middle school. I watched the numerous movies pertaining to the subject matter. I even remember writing a passage in one of my many many journals about how it "made me sad". But, I've never actually read the book all the way through. Apparently, it's the best-selling non-fiction book next to the bible. Not bad.
That's why the prospect of the "Definitive" Edition sparked my interest. It's basically the original diary plus the taboo entries the left out the first time around. The result? 30% more material and supposedly a "better insight" into Anne Frank. I've checked this book out before (from the Largo Library), but never got around to it. But after my stay in Israel I was determined to finish this, once and for all. So what's the verdict?
As sad as this may be to say, I found myself bored frequently throughout the book. It's strange, because it's something that's been regarded so highly by so many people. I feel let down, but certainly not alone. For once, after checking the Amazon reviews regarding the book (a common practice of mine), I actually agreed with the majority of the readers. It was boring - plain and simple.
With not liking the book, you're put into such a hard place. It's her diary, unedited and raw. You can't really accuse it of being boring, because it's her life. If my entire journal was published, there are numerous passages I'm sure would bore the audiences too. People are too afraid to criticize Anne Frank because she was a victim of the Holocaust. Even though her diary never talks about her life after the Annex, it's still regarded as holocaust literature. As I wrote in my Amazon review, I doubt this book would have done so well had Anne Frank managed to survive.
I think this book could have stood to use a little editing. There were numerous boring passages throughout the book that could have simply been omitted. The Peter saga was by far the most exciting part in the book, and it should not have come half way through. While the sex stuff (and hatred for other house guests) was enjoyable, I don't know if everything else they left in was really necessary. If Anne Frank was the editor of her own book, would she have wanted every single detail published? I think a lot of the more meaningless details would have better left in the "Critical Edition".
I will admit, there were times when I sympathized with Anne Frank, especially about being "surrounded by people but feeling so alone". Not to mention being a teenager and just feeling this change inside of you. The parts of the book were really fascinating, and probably helped to make it the timeless peace of literature that it is.
At the very least, it was about time that I read this. It's one of those books you hear so much about in your life, you have to read them simply to say that you have. I plan to read other holocaust books (both fiction and non-fiction) afterward. This was a good introduction, but is certainly not the definitive book. I will definitely check out the "Critical Edition" after this, though, because Anne Frank will always be one of those lives that fascinates me.
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bookshelves: ljtransfer
While perusing one of the book communities I was apart of, I came across this book. The promise of intensive sex scenes certainly sparked my interest, but the initial premise of the characters also caught my eye. This book focuses on an age-gap relationship, and coming from such a thing, I was inspired to take on literature regarding this subject matter.
The plot is simple: A 16-year old girl falls for her 34-year old teacher, a la Lolita. But the complexities within the story really help to shape it. Once the book gets into their relationship, it starts to taper off into less fathomable circumstances. But, isn't fiction supposed to be slightly unrealistic?
Coote was only 19 when she wrote this book, but her use of the metaphorical language is amazing. What really grabbed me about this book was how easily it was to identify with the nameless narrator. Not just because she was dating an older man (much like I had), but the way she spoke of her relationship as more a game than an actual event struck an all-too-familiar chord. The book plays out as a confessional letter to her ex-lover, explaining bit by bit the details of their relationship. It reminds me of an unsent letter I wrote to an old flame years ago, chronicling our relationship and the unspoken words surrounding it.
On Amazon (since it's my prime source for any book review), this book received mixed reviews. It was criticized, though, for the sexual scenes being too "graphic" and "obscene". They were detailed, but I didn't think they were horrific. It's certainly no Harlequin Romance cheese, but it doesn't use unfruitful language like some four-letter c words I know every five seconds, either. Or maybe my generation is just numb to those sorts of perverse things. I think the sex scenes really make the meat of the book, since the most character development happens within them.
This book was an enjoyable read mainly because it encouraged me to write a letter of my own. As I began writing the letter, I noticed my style mimicked hers: my paragraphs were short and splotchy, the original topic was dodged with a few irrelevant ones, and my writing took on a second-person narrative. I've always believed the best books are those that inspire you.
I also must commend this book for actually having an ending. Far too often I read books that merely end without much of a conclusion. This story is not for everyone, and I believe many people will have difficulty identifying with the characters, given their eccentricities. I enjoyed it immensely though, and could easily read it again. ]]>
bookshelves: ljtransfer
I've always been fascinated with video gaming history. Although I was born in the mid 80's, consoles such as the Atari 2600 have always captured my interest even though they were "outdated" by the time I got into video games. The neat thing about gaming history is that you can tell the story from so many different angles - different companies, different time periods, etc. Although I've read many books (and articles) on video games prior to this one, there is still plenty to learn - and there was certainly information in here new to me.
There were many things to enjoy in this book, but there were a few shortcomings. I loved how the book went in-depth on the history of the classic gaming era, but it seemed to go a bit soft when it came to the 8-bit and 16-bit systems. Arcade games are discussed thoroughly in the beginning of the book, but are ignored near the end. Nintendo and Atari have chapters upon chapters of history, but lesser selling systems (such as the Neo*Geo) are restricted to the footnotes. The book also tended to waste too much time discussing court cases. Now, although many of those cases were turning-points for the gaming industry, a few seemed irrelevant (e.g., Donkey Kong vs. King Kong) and were confusing and hard to follow for someone like me without a background in law.
Make no mistake, the first half of this book is excellent. And in the closing paragraph the author says he intended to publish this book in 1995 or 1996. I think, given the little coverage he makes of anything past the mid-90's, his book would have fared better if released earlier. A few chapters (mainly the ones concerning the legal disputes) I could do without. The book also had a bad habit of jumping around in time. It documents the rise and fall of Atari's coin-op division, but then starts over to talk about the rise and fall of the Atari VCS.
Bottom Line: If classic gaming history is your thing, there are better books to be read than this one. But if you want a broader look on video games that encompasses all generations - you may just enjoy this! ]]>
I have shelves X, Y, and Z with books on each. I'd like to be able to easily view what books are on shelves X & Y, but not on Z. Are there any robust search options to make this happen? If not, there should be. ]]>