Bout Of Books Read-A-Thon Goal / Reading Plan 5/14-5/20

Instead of doing my usual Reading Plan, at the last minute (as is usually my style) I've decided to join up for the Bout of Books Read-A-Thon!

I'm sure we're all used to my usual goal by now (Read 3 books a week to total 160 books in 2012), right? I rarely tend to meet it, but since I have a read-a-thon lending me its willpower, maybe I'll get there this week. Maybe.

The goal for the Read-A-Thon is to read at least 5 of the books below.

Potentials:

The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson
The Alloy of Law (Mistborn #4) by Brandon Sanderson
The Woman in Black by Susan Hill
Love and Freindship by Jane Austen
Blood Rites by Jim Butcher

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake
Glory In Death by J.D. Robb
Among Others by Jo Walton
The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan
M Is For Magic by Neil Gaiman

This week might not be my most productive reading-wise, despite my grandiose plans to read-a-thon it up, because work is sure to be crazy. I'm the "Unofficial Official" trainer for my team at work, and we have a new person starting on Monday for the 2nd week in a row, meaning that I'll need to train and keep up with my usual workload. But... that's the way it goes sometimes, and all the more reason to escape into bookworlds when I get home, right?

Right. :D

Anyone else participating in the Bout of Books Read-A-Thon? Let me know! I probably won't have much time to socialize between work and trying to get my goal finished, but if you comment here, I'll reciprocate! :D

Quotes I Love...

The Broke and The Bookish's Top 10 Tuesday theme: Favorite Quotes.

I love quotes, but I don't have the memory for them. I should probably start a notebook, or maybe record them here... but I get lazy. So I just roll around in the meaning or imagery of the words for a while, bask in them for a bit, and move on.

Too many books, too little time. (I think Frank Zappa said that. :P)

Anyway, here are some quotes from some books I love. I can't really say that these are my "favorite" quotes (though these are favorite books), but these are ones that could be, if I could know for certain that I wasn't overlooking others even more awesome. :)

“The most important things are the hardest to say. They are the things you get ashamed of, because words diminish them -- words shrink things that seemed limitless when they were in your head to no more than living size when they're brought out. But it's more than that, isn't it? The most important things lie too close to wherever your secret heart is buried, like landmarks to a treasure your enemies would love to steal away. And you may make revelations that cost you dearly only to have people look at you in a funny way, not understanding what you've said at all, or why you thought it was so important that you almost cried while you were saying it. That's the worst, I think. When the secret stays locked within not for want of a teller but for want of an understanding ear.”

 - Different Seasons by Stephen King
 

“If only she could be so oblivious again, to feel such love without knowing it, mistaking it for laughter. ”

- The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

“I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.”

- To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

“Death and disaster are at our shoulders every second of our lives, trying to get at us. Missing, a lot of the time. A lot of miles on the motorway without a front wheel blow-out. A lot of viruses that slither through our bodies without snagging. A lot of pianos that fall a minute after we've passed. Or a month, it makes no difference. So unless were going to get down on our knees and give thanks every time disaster misses, it makes no sense to moan when it strikes.”

- The Gun Seller by Hugh Laurie

“People believe, thought Shadow. It's what people do. They believe, and then they do not take responsibility for their beliefs; they conjure things, and do not trust the conjuration. People populate the darkness; with ghosts, with gods, with electrons, with tales. People imagine, and people believe; and it is that rock solid belief that makes things happen.”

- American Gods by Neil Gaiman

“I wish, as well as every body else, to be perfectly happy; but like every body else, it must be in my own way.”

- Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

“It bewildered Ig, the idea that a person could not be interested in music. It was like not being interested in happiness.”

- Horns by Joe Hill

“The wide world is all about you: you can fence yourselves in, but you cannot forever fence it out.”

- The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

“He must have known I'd want to leave you."
"No, he must have known you would always want to come back.”

- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

Man... some of these are so representative of everything I love about the book they came from that it gives me goosebumps and makes me ache to read these books again. All of them.  So great. :D

Reading Plan May 7th & New Booksies

Two part post today... Because I'm efficient like that. ;)

Part 1: The Reading Plan - Week of May 7th

Goal: Read 3 books a week to total 160 books in 2012.

So I angrily quit reading Ghost Story. It had taken me almost an entire month to read less than 300 pages (which was about half the book). It makes me mad when books are boring! >:(
I am still struggling to get my 3 books in per week, and I'm starting to fall behind on my goal. I really just need to read more and fiddle around on the internet less. LOL

Here's what I read since the last post:

• Ghost Story (Did Not Finish)
• Summer Knight

I'm currently working on:

• Roadwork (Audio - and I'm not really feeling the reader, so this is also taking FOREVER)
• Kitty and the Midnight Hour

Coming up:

The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson
The Alloy of Law (Mistborn #4) by Brandon Sanderson
Kitty and the Midnight Hour by Carrie Vaughn
The Rook by Daniel O'Malley
Death Masks by Jim Butcher

What is on the agenda for your reading list this week?

Part 2: New Book Acquisitions

Two books purchased...

The Gathering by Anne Enright
Blinded by Stephen White

...And two books received from friends. I'm a lucky girl! :)

He Is Legend: Anthology Celebrating Richard Matheson
(Gifted to me by Chris.)

People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
(Gifted to me by Ala)

New Toy! Nook with Glowlight

Remember last month when I tried out the Kindle Touch? I'm glad that I didn't keep it, because B&N has one-upped them again.They recently put out the long-windedly named "Nook Simple Touch with Glowlight", and of course... I had to have one. Everything that I already love about my Nook Touch, now with a backlit screen?? Count me in!
I got it on Wednesday, and I love it. My new Nook is wearing custom Dark Tower Gelaskin, which is awesome! Easy to customize & order, they shipped quickly, are easy to apply, and they feel great on the device. Not to mention that it looks great all dressed up. :D

The NLT (Nook Lighted Touch - which is what I've been calling mine) is selling for $139 and I think it's well worth the $40 increase over the Nook Touch. Not only for the light, but this one also comes pre-installed with a screen protector with a matte finish, which is usually $19.99 on its own.

I'll admit that the screen has taken a little bit of getting used to for two reasons.
1) The texture. The matte finish makes the touchscreen on the NLT feel quite different from the Nook Touch. It's not as smooth, and initially feels a bit dusty and grainy -- DID NOT LIKE. When I felt the screen for the first time, I immediately drove to B&N to get a screen protector to put on it, and was dismayed to find a big red warning on the package saying NOT to use it on the NLT, that it would damage it. I almost considered returning it because I didn't like the feel that much. But I wiped it down with a soft cloth and I admit that after using it for the last couple days the grainy feel has improved quite a bit, and no longer bothers me nearly as much. And I think I'm pretty picky.

2) The font appears slightly lighter. It's just as crisp and clear, but it's lighter on the grey-scale than the font on the Nook Touch. I believe that this is also due to the matte finish. Here's a picture to compare.

I apologize for the blurriness... I really need a better camera!
But, you can see how the font on the Nook on the right is just slightly lighter than the one on left.

I really don't notice a difference while reading. It's only when looking at them side by side like this that I can even tell. Here's another example, that's maybe better (my camera really doesn't like focusing on words!).

The black in the image on the left is more of a dark grey on the right.
(Flash was on in this pic)

OK, so about the backlight. This is the whole point, right? Yeah. I really like it. It's not 100% uniformly even across the whole screen, but I'd say it's like 95%, which is much better than any separate reading light can do. There's 8 LED lights across the top, and directly underneath them is a strip of bright light, and then right under that it dims a bit, and then evens out:

This is about 25% brightness in a completely dark room.

Again, I honestly stop noticing this while reading - it's only slightly dimmer, and perfectly readable. The light is adjustable, and at some brightnesses the unevenness is more noticeable than others. I've tried it with a variety of settings, and I think I like it best at around 25% brightness. Even that is plenty bright enough to read by in pretty much all settings. In bright background light, it just lightens up the background display for a little contrast, but in dark settings it's quite bright. 100% brightness is VERY bright. It's almost bright enough to use as a reading light for another reader!

Wasn't kidding. O_o

Anyway - I love it. If you're in the market for an e-reader, I would absolutely recommend this one. Little clip on lights can't hold a candle to the backlit e-ink display. No glare, no unreadable dim spots and adjustable.

Good job B&N! :D

For those of you curious - here are front and back images of the Gelaskin:

Oh Hollywood, Where Art Thou?

This week on The Broke and the Bookish... (Heh.. that sounds like a TV show intro. Kinda appropriate.) Anyway, this week on The Broke and the Bookish, the Top Ten Tuesday theme is "Books you'd like to see adapted into movies".

Awesome. I could rattle off 10 of those bad boys in no time... but instead, I'm going to do 5 stories that I think should be made into movies... and 5 that have been made into movies that should be re-made into better movies.

(PS. I apologize in advance for the length of this post.)

Make Me A Movie Of This!

1) Stephen King's Dark Tower series.
I would lovelovelove to see this on the big screen... BUT only if it was done right. Don't Harry Potter this up, Hollywood! (Yeah, I said it. What? See below.)
Anyway, this story is so epic, and has such amazing, realistic and fantastic characters that if they were to make it a movie, it would be AMAZING.

Casting suggestion: Hugh Laurie as Roland. Just think about it... Let it sink in a bit. You'll see I'm right.

2) Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn Trilogy.

Because Oh My Lord Ruler it is awesome. Seriously, if this is not yet in the works, it needs to be. It's a storyline that Hollywood could get behind, with amazing characters, and an interesting plot, and kick-ass magic. And I'm telling you, people would line up around the block to see it. Heck, if it's done right, I'd probably single-handedly help it top the box office lists.

Casting suggestion: Kate Beckinsale as Vin. Seriously, throw a mistcloak on her, and she's ready to go!

3) The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch.
OK... So, this is technically first in a series, but it works as a standalone too. And we all know that Hollywood loves a heist movie. And this would be a GOOD one.
If Ocean's Eleven's Badassery-Meter went to 11, it would be The Lies of Locke Lamora. Just sayin'.

Casting suggestion: Johnny Depp as Locke. Come on... the guy's a chameleon. He barely even has to try. 

4) American Gods by Neil Gaiman.
Why, why, why this this not a movie yet??! It is incredible. Shadow is amazing, and come on, this is a story begging to be brought to the film medium. Just ask the new gods. They'll tell you.
I would love to see how this would translate to the big screen... I think it would be amazing. It's such a FULL story, but worth the time and effort to adapt if done well.

Casting suggestion: Dustin Clare as Shadow.

5) The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.
This is a brilliant book with a unique voice and a beautiful, touching story. It would make an amazing movie.  I absolutely adored this book, and would absolutely love to see it in movie form. 

Casting suggestion: Chloe Moretz as Liesel Meminger
Bonus: Tim Curry as the voice of Death.
(Doesn't the very thought make you feel all shivery inside? No? Just me?)

I Call Do-Over!

Some movies HAVE been done before, but don't really live up to my expectations. Here's that list.

1) The Harry Potter Movies.
Yup. I think the casting is phenomenal, and really, I couldn't ask for better there. (Except Imposter Dumbledore. I don't like him AT ALL. Richard Harris RIP.) But, I think the movies failed in 3 major ways: 1. Adding unnecessary things (Waitress at the beginning of Half-Blood Prince, anyone?); 2. Re-ordering other things in convenient (for the moviemakers) but very wrong ways (Barty Jr in Little Hangleton? Lily's BROWN eyes in Deathly Hallows Pt. 2?? Come on!); and 3. Cutting out parts I loved (Winky!). I want movies that are truer to the books... So there!

2) The Tommyknockers by Stephen King.
This wasn't BAD... but they changed a lot of the storyline, and the end was just... What? Plus the special effects were... cheesetastic. The book isn't especially scary, at least I don't think so, but the movie was downright boring. They can do better. Come on... movies should not make me feel like I just had a frontal lobotomy.
Maybe that would have actually make it better. Hmmm...

3) The Princess Bride... JUST KIDDING! I was just trying to make sure you were still paying attention. ;)
Number 3 is really Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.
The original adaptation of this one isn't bad... but I think it could be a lot better. The effects, or lack thereof in the original really don't do Bradbury's vision of the future justice. We can make it better. We have the technology. Just imagine what the advertising freeways, or the interactive TVs or, well, everything would look like with 2012 technology... Neato... :D

4) I Am Legend by Richard Matheson.
There have been 3 different movie versions of this book, and none of them have really done the book justice.
The Last Man on Earth starred Vincent Price (awesome) but there were a lot of details changed and it was pretty lame - not scary at all.
The Omega Man starred Charlton Heston, and it was... closer, but the story took a bizarre turn and was just... weird.
I Am Legend starred Will Smith, and I liked it a lot, but still think it could have been better, and closer to the book. The ending, especially.


5) Dune by Frank Herbert
This is a fantastic book - very smart, very large, and very intricate... but the movie... Wow. That was a hot, hot, stinky, congealed mess. I couldn't even make it all the way through it. I just... I just couldn't. I was afraid that it would ruin the book for me... and I read the book first.
There was so much bad that it was hard for me to choose an appropriate image... I didn't want to gross anyone out by posting Baron Harkonnen (don't google after eating), so I chose this one instead. This is a Guild Navigator... it enables long distance space travel using lightning spit out of its... "mouth"?
Yeah. Remake please!