Margin Scribble: This post is about Tornado Season.

February is the official start of Tornado Season. I live in the eastern part of the US, in what I call "Offcenter US". there's not really a name for us.. Mideast? That sounds wrong. We are in the easternmost part of Tornado alley. For the past two weekends we have had huge storms roll through, and last night was terrible. I can handle rain. I can handle lightning.

What I can't handle is it being muggy and humid enough to have to open the window, and then be woken up at 4am with the tornado sirens going off and thunder booming scaring the crap out of me. I was up from 4-5 just looking out the front door, watching the storm roll in. I saw flashes of green lightning (from the 4am phone call from Zack's parents that means it's really bad) and lots of clouds that looked like funnel clouds.

I panic. I go straight into panic mode when thunder is loud enough to scare me. This is why for the second day in a row, I am at home, this time because of lack of sleep. Here's to a great start of the season.

 

bbl, naptime.

Chapter 5: Kobo eReader

Forgive me for quality today, I'm home sick and I have a cat in heat laying on my chest annoying the shit out of me.

I am an impulse buyer. I claim it. That's me. I usually will walk into the bookstore anytime I am in the mall, and even on a small amount of money I will usually buy a book. When I said I had decided to buy my own eReader, that was a product of 2 hours of internet searching, and not being able to find the Sony (it was on a shelf in the bedroom). At 7pm, Zack----

I have to stop here, my cat just started licking herself "down there". Get off, Slinky.

Anyway. Zack and I went to the mall at 7pm, with no idea of what I was going to find and buy. We hit up Books-A-Million first, took a look at the Nook (I revel in that sentence) and Zack tried to talk me into one of those. I just kept seeing all the buttons and knowing it had wifi and I just thought I would never be able to get through a book when my ADD kicked in. It was also over 200 bucks. Off to Waldenbooks we went.

Waldenbooks is of course my favorite store, they've been there for me since I was little, and even that one birthday party we dressed as pirates and walked around the mall. Lo and behold, I walk in and there's an eReader sale. The had 2 versions of the Kobo, a wireless and a non wireless, both with Bluetooth connections.

The Kobo is a total budget eReader. There is no keyboard, no touchscreen, really no extra buttons to push. It has the same type of eInk screen as the Kindle, so even in bright light it is very see-able. For books you buy from the store it is very fast, and it does have the capability to add your own .epub and .pdf files. I added "An Echo in the Bone" (over a 1000 pages) in .epub form that I downloaded. The Kobo can handle it, but it does take a very long time for it to load the book and turn pages. I tried other books and I believe it's just the length of my file and the fact that I downloaded and added. Otherwise I like the quality of the system it uses, the buttons aren't too sensitive, and I feel like it could take a couple hits and not be broken. The case is also pretty neat, nice white plastic on the front, and a patten on the back i like to run my fingers over when I'm reading.

I feel like getting this guy for 79.99 was a good deal, and with the ease of use and no so many buttons, it is able to keep my attention. Even with it being slow on my added book, it still is able to handle a lot, and I think I'll keep it around.

Margin Scribble: Disney needs to get on this.

This is an Animation by Heidi Jo Gilbert, she worked at Disney for a time and really wants to make a Wicked animated movie. NBC removed her real video but I was able to find it elsewhere. Enjoy.

Chapter 4: "Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West" Gregory Maguire

I debated on which cover to use, but I believe I like this 

the best.

Well, Wicked was more of a lifestyle for me then a book. Does that sounds bad? I have read through the book countless times, seen a bootlegged copy of the musical, seen the actual musical when it came to my town; I have t-shirts, cds, memorabilia.... and this all started in high school when my friend Gina lent me the book.

With the first read-through at 17, I missed most of the political implications of the book. I blame this on not enough sleep and my Chemistry class. I remember the book being good, but almost too wordy for my taste. The next read-through maybe 2 years later was more of a success. The depth of the world Mr. Maguire creates is amazing, with animals, Animals, all the races of Oz and the variety of places; I have a pretty good imagination but I don't think I really had to try with this book. Now I realize L. Frank Baum had a huge hand in this, along with The Wizard of Oz for visuals, but I see a completely different place for this Oz.

Elphaba's background just makes sense to me, too. A growing insanity explaining the Witch's hysteria over Dorothy and Nessa's shoes. It's so storybook and so real at the same time. And Glinda. How I love this version of her then the pink princess from the movies...

I love Wicked. Read it. The end.

Margin Scribble: The first rule of Fight Club is one NEVER mentions Fight Club.

Something I thought everyone should see.

Chapter 3: Sony eReader

I have the red one. Sexy.

This is not a book. I figured it would be a useful review though... My mom got a Sony eReader for Christmas last year, and the minute I saw it, I was intensely jealous. It was a book... but it was also a gadget that had shiny buttons. I wanted one!

Cut to 3 months later when my mom finally hands the thing over, with only 1 book bought and read through. It was the beginning of a beautiful relationship.

I have the touch version of the eReader, including a little stylus with which to poke and draw notes. For a fidget-er like me it's pretty much heaven. The screen is not as reactive when i am trying to use a gesture to make a page turn, but when I accidentally swipe a finger across, I lose my page. It's a little irksome after a while. The buttons are a little small and feel a bit like if I push them enough I may weaken and possibly lose them. Barring this, it's a very handy item. I have dropped it a couple times, to no damage to the screen, and although it's metal surface shows a little scratching and wear, it's still in fairly good shape.

Although fond of the little bugger, it is still my mom's property, and I feel like if I break it, I buy it. Hence why last week I bought my own gadget, and soon there will be a blog post for it!

Time to pass the thing onto my sister...

Chapter 2: "Jane Slayre" Charlotte Bronte and Sherri Browning Erwin

I said I liked classics. Well, sort of. I've read Jane Eyre. I love the romance, the intrigue, the crazy lady. I also like the supernatural (excluding sparkling vampires.) Jane Slayre is in the same vein of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, of which ripoffs have been coming out like clockwork. I like to think Jane Slayre is of it's own league; it has enough of the main story to very recognizable and and the same time the language is updated to be a little more understandable for reader who aren't up on their Victorian English. The vampires, zombies, and werewolves thrown in just makes it more fun.  Mrs Erwin keeps her extra plots pieces fairly believable (as much as possible) and is able to pull together her plot pieces to make a believable Jane, albeit a little more feisty, and a little less cold. Mr. Rochester still comes off and brooding and dark, but eerily attractive, and in my imagination Thornfield is the perfect place for the supernatural plot to unfold. I read through this once and liked it enough to read again. As an update on an already amazing book, I'd recommend Jane Slayre as a new twist that sticks to the story and adds to the fun.

Chapter 1: "Outlander" Diana Gabaldon

Outlander. What can I say about this and it's series of sequels that can encompass the sheer size and history and romance that make up these books? Wow?

What I feel about Claire Beauchamp and Jamie Fraser can only be rivaled by my 11 year old self's love of Harry Potter. It's that sort of series. Claire Beauchamp Randall, an army nurse in WWII, is finally able to spend time with her husband in the country they were married in, Scotland. What starts there is a whirlwind of time-traveling, marriage, Scottish Highlanders, and lush history that takes you away. Outlander (Cross Stitch in the UK) was published in 1991, but since I was 2 years old at that time, I never had the time to catch it. I was recently given the series by my desk mate, who swears it's the greatest thing she's read (twice). I flew through it in a week, which is no easy feat, considering it's about 900 pages. Don't get me wrong, I'm a very quick reader, but there's so many details and historical information, I had to force myself to slow down. Toss in the amazing romance (and naughty scenes that made me blush and watch over my shoulder for coworkers) and I was hooked. So far there are seven books in the series, 1 graphic novel adaptation of the first 1/3rd of Outlander, several offshoot books centered around the character of Lord John, a companion book, and now there is an eighth (and final, I believe) sequel in the works. I've just recently started the seventh book, and I must say, Mrs. Gabaldon does not let me down.

If you're looking for something to fill a void (be it romantic, time, or a Harry Potter-shaped hole in your heart) this is a good choice. Also the artistic rendering of Jamie is hot. And so is this.

Oh My God.

Once Upon a Time

How to start a blog? I have no idea, although it seems I have. I read constantly (when I'm not taking a phone call) and I love telling people how much I enjoyed a book. Since most people I know get tired of me talking after 10 seconds of bouncing around, why not move to the internet? Beware, I'm a little ADHD and a little... how do I put it... Weird? We'll see how this goes.

And without further ado;


The blog.