Artemis fowl: The arctic incident

Who is Artemis Fowl? A 13 yr old criminal mastermind, following in his Father's footsteps to plot, and follow through plans of highly illegal activities. He is rich, he is intelligent, and he is fearless. When he was 12 he managed to steal a large sum of gold from the fairies that used to inhabit the planet earth, and now live inside it, down in the dark away from the humans who took over millions of years ago and to this day very few even know that the fairies exist. Fairies like Captain Holly Short, the only female member of the LEP. 

Since the whole gold-stealing incident, the fairies are not too fond of Mr. Fowl. In fact, once some mischief happens beneath the earth's crust, mischief involving lots of AA batteries that can only come from one place, that is, above ground, the fairies bring Artemis in for questioning. Once secured in the underground that is the fairies domain, they are a little disconcerted when they realize that Artemis is not the human that they are looking for, and yet with the brains and quick thinking that young Mr. Fowl comes equipped with, they could use his help. They are slightly more than surprised when they discover Artemis needs help as well. He needs to find his Father who was kidnapped two years ago. All Artemis knows is that his Father is being held in Russia, and he will do whatever it takes to save him, even if that means teaming up with an unlikely partner. Holly Short.

This young-adult book is part of a series that is very quick to read and pretty humorous. There is little depth to the plot, yet the story moves fast and keeps the reader entertained. If all the action and fighting does not catch your attention, then the unusual fart jokes probably will.

Eoin Colfer

Eoin Colfer is an Irish author, and although he has written other books, he is most well-known for the Artemis Fowl series. His work has been compared to J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series (as if you didn't already know that) and here is an interesting factoid for you, in September 2008, Colfer was commissioned to write the sixth installment of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series "And another thing....". 

Personally, I would really like to read the rest of the Artemis Fowl series, and the rest of Colfer's books for that matter (The Wish List is a great one as well), however, I have banned myself from buying anymore books until I work through the three milk-crates full of books in my possession.

The brief wondrous life of Oscar Wao

If ever the term 'epic failure' was to be applied to my life, it would be at this moment. I have never felt as much wonder/anger/enjoyment in my life after finishing a book as I have when I closed this book, flipped it over to the cover, traced the lettering of the title, and finally exhaled. What kind of impact will it make on my life? Will/can I apply anything that I learned from this to my life? Will I become a more open-minded person? I don't know. I wish I did. I sometimes believe that the lighter, fluffier literature that I read has more of an impact at times. I know that your favorite book or author cannot cover all genres, and I don't want to be so quick to replace David Sedaris as my literary hero, however....

I am beyond frustrated with myself that I did not read this book before meeting Junot Diaz, then again, what would I say? That I am a product of my environment and have had no exposure to any Dominican culture other than when Carla ripped Turk new one every time he forgot what her nationality was until she finally broke into song during that musical episode of Scrubs, singing her aggravation away to her husband? That I had to keep the internet close-by while reading in order to translate the few phrases that I just did not understand, regardless of the context it was in? That I understood each and every Tolkien, and Star Trek reference that was made and that I would chance learning to play D&D if it meant that I could be Oscar's friend? But then again knowing Oscar's track record with women, would my attempt at friendship conduct more damage than good? I don't know. I don't think I can even manage a decent review of the book, but I will try. Because even though at times I wanted to hurl it across the room, even though at times I had to reach for tissue because the text was so blurred by my hot tears, even though I received many a disproving stares in public for laughing out loud so hard I thought I would piss myself, "The brief wondrous life of Oscar Wao" has become one of my favorite books that I have ever read.

Oscar Wao is a misinterpretation of Oscar Wilde in the book, however, the nickname sticks. "The brief wondrous life of Oscar Wao" is written in a series of pros, where the narrator is anything but unreliable. There is a blatantly honest tone as the reader is directed into the lives of one family, struggling with an ancient curse that tears a destructive path for generations. The reader is learned through layers of stories of struggle and series of facts, blended and mashed together to eventually form Oscar, the ghetto-nerd who would appear to be too innocent if he wasn't coated in the curse. 

Oscar is the polar opposite of the females in his family, he is weak, he is unattractive, he has a great love for the sci-fi fantasy world and for food, and most importantly,  even though he fails miserably each and every opportunity, women. Oscar fails in almost every way at being a true Dominican. There is a great fear in him that he might die a virgin, blasphemy to Dominican males everywhere. Readers follow his life, set in what we assume is sometime in the 1990's, as well as taking trips to the past through the narrator, who's calm anxiety to get the story to us readers is apparent through each and every f-bomb peppering the pages, but is to be expected when our narrator has to educate the readers on the nature and rein of Trujillo, who is an enormous factor in the story.

Junot Diaz

When reading about all the pain and destruction the family has gone through, the reader might wonder why in the hell they all have to be so damn strong-willed and stubborn. Whether they believe in the curse or not, it all comes full-circle. Each and every time. When Oscar finally accepts the curse, his battle is both the same, and yet very different from his predecessors. In the end, our narrator is left with a bigger job then what he set out for, and even though many questions for us readers have been answered, the story is left with an unpredictable ending: Hope. 

 This completes my first book for 2011. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested, but it just might not be for the faint of heart.

Ransom my heart

I love fall. Or Autumn, whatever you want to call it. I love flannel, and boots and layers and tights. I love the smell of the leaves, all the colors littering the ground, the pine cones as well. I love buying my books for class, and cramming my backpack full of supplies. Even though it is July, I am excited about Autumn. I always get myself some back-to-school items every year, usually I replace a few of my fave items that I wore out, or a few new items. This year I am having a shoe craze. I keep thinking of all the shoes that I want to buy, and how much I think they can spice up my wardrobe. Here are my picks so far:

Doc Martins. As much as I love all the colorful ones, I really want a pair of these black ones. I would actually settle for some knock-offs, I think Alloy had some cute boots in their fall catalog this year.

Toms. I think I would go for these navy ones because they would go with anything. I think they would be great to slip on right before I walk Louie or go on a bike ride, what do you think?

These i spotted when I was at Incognito buying my mocs and I thought they were awesome. I would love to wear these out with my friends instead of heels all the time.

Rain boots. For Spring, Summer and Fall. Maybe even a few winter days. I think I would love either a bright bold color like the ones above or some crazy patterned ones. Like the ones below.

Enough about shoes. I have just finished another book (hooray for Summer reading!) It was "Ransom my heart" by Mia, Princess of Genovia, with help from Meg Cabot. I adore Meg Cabot, her humor is very much like my own and although her books are a little predictable at times, they are very much enjoyable.  I have to say that "Ransom" was amazingly girly. What I loved the most was the fact that Meg Cabot "helped" Mia (her awesome character from her hit series "The Princess Diaries") write the book, and so all of the proceeds went to Greenpeace, Mia's favorite organization. 

The book was great, like I mentioned, pretty girly. To sum it up without giving away too much of the plot (in case someone else wants to read, and I always give away too much) it is a sort-of female version of Robin Hood, with a whole lot of romance added to it. The characters in this novel mirror characters in the Princess Diaries, so if you are already a fan, I would check this out. My next book of choice is "Me talk pretty one day" by David Sedaris. I am working my way through a a three milk-crate stack of books, before I am allowed to purchase another book. Unless it is part of a series, I am sticking to the ones I have. I had a different book that I was supposed to read, but the cover fell off, and since my books tend to hangout in my purses a lot, I did not want to damage it. Any ideas on how to repair it? It is a paperback, I am thinking of just taking a hot-glue gun to it.

So lovelies, anything on your shopping list for fall or on your reading list for Summer?

Protector of the Small

There is a slight chance that Kyle went a little camera happy last night. I really like taking pics at sundown, it is just getting through the day without making a giant mess that is hard.

It has been pretty hot here, 85! It was 40 something last week, crazy mitten state. Either way, I have been so productive this week! (Never mind it has only been one day) but I did my workout DVD in the morning, cleaned the apartment, got a good chunk of work done at work, made dinner, walked Louie and I even finished a book last night. I am reading a young adult series called "Protector of the small" by Tamora Pierce. I have read most of her other books, and I have always liked them. When I saw this series at the book sale at the Detroit public library, I had to get them. I figure I will just do a review of the series when I am done. I am on the third book right now, and it's pretty good :) Are any of you guys doing any summer reading?

**Ps-Whoever left the comment with all the tips on house-buying, thanks :)

Details

Scarf-Dollar general

Denim dress-Salvation army

Top-Salvation army

Socks-Target

Boots-Sears

A kiss from a fist is better than none.

Last night Kyle finished his last ever final exam at OCC!! :) I am sooooo proud of him!! It is really hard going to school while working full-time, and he did it :D We are going to celebrate soon, either go out or have a big family dinner or something. Whatever Kyle wants, and hopefully this fall he will be attending either Wayne State or Oakland. I think he might be leaning toward Oakland because I am going there, it would be cool to have Kyle in class with me again :) After Kyle got out of his exam, we took Louie for a walk and Kyle took my outfit pics by the railroad tracks in Royal Oak. Do you notice anything odd about this outfit?

 Hrmm....how do you think this happened?

He is just too cute for me to stay mad at. Sigh. I really don't know what I would do without him...probably attack my kitties more. Last week I managed to finish "Death of a salesman".  I think this was the first play that I have ever read that was not required reading from school, but it was a nice change. I am not really following any system with the books I chose. I have acquired sooooo many of them over the past few years that there is a huge variety, and I want to read them all! So I basically started at the top of the pile, and I am working my way down.

Details:

Top-ae

Necklace & belt-F21

Shorts-thrifted 

Tights-CVS

Shoes-alloy

Hoodie-Victoria's secret

Song "Kiss from a fist" by Florence and the machine

Dress your family in corduroy and denim

Sorry for the squinty-face but Kyle still has school for another week or so and he took these for me really quick before jumping in his car to go. I actually got these shorts over a month ago and I have worn them at least once but I never got a picture. I love them because they are shorts I can wear to work, so that gives me room to switch it up from dresses and skirts. I felt like I was about to go golfing in this outfit, but I loved it because I was comfy. The sweater was given to me by my bestie Jamie :)

I just finished a book that I started at the begining of the semester. "dress your family in corduroy and denim" by David Sedaris. He is awesome and funny and it really is a quick read (even if it took me a semster to get to it). He tells stories from his life through each chapter and they jump around in times of his life, he gives a lot of truthful, personal views in these stories and also creates a way of wording everything hilariously. I have a few more of his books that I cannot wait to get through to now. :)

Details:
Sweater-Gift
T-Shirt-Boys 6pack from Kmart
Shorts & belt-F21
Tights-CVS
Shoes-Payless

tuesday's gone

I have realized that as it has been getting warmer, most of my outfits have been taking on a more autumn look (the leaves don't help). It is hands-down, my favorite season of course, but I think with the weather being so nice I really need to incorporate more of my spring wardrobe. This is another tunic that I bought, and then never really wore because they make me look pregnant, but then after buying a few high-wasted bottoms, I have more use for them. 

This week I am going to feature another book, but this time it is a non-fiction one. I just finished reading SLUT! by Laura Tenenbaum for my women and gender studies course at Oakland. It actually is a well-written book about females that have fell victim to "slut bashing" and how it affected their lives. There are several real stories told by women in this book that are horrible to read because you feel so bad. It also is about how women bash each other constantly, most of the women in the book who tell their "slut" stories, say that the girls were the worse. I really don't want to give too much away, but I highly recommend this book. 

**It's She&Him Day!! :D

Details:

Tunic & Skirt-F21

Tights-CVS

Shoes-Second skins etsy

To-do list:

Clean apartment

Finish Homework 

Buy Food

Start WGS Paper 

Presentation

In the winter it's a marshmallow world

This picture cracks me up! I think this has to be the most awkward one that I have taken yet! As Kyle was taking it, Louie was charging me from the other end of the driveway.  But it's great because this outfit was REALLY cozy. This was another cheap one too :)

But more importantly, look at all the snow!!! There was almost no snow left in the last outdoor picture I posted, which was from Saturday, this is Monday after I got home from work. It looks so pretty out, the trees in the park are all hunched over because of the snow, and they look like caves. Louie had a blast in the snow and I will be posting his pictures tomorrow, they are funny.

Today's post is not a writing one but a literature one; I had to post about the most hilarious book that I have seen in a very long time. It is called "FU Penguin!" By Matthew Gasteier. The intro is so awesome, he gives you some background on why he wrote the book, and it is an intro not to be skipped. He basically shows an image of a cute, adorable animal and then charges a full-on rant on how much the cute animal is an abomination to society. I borrowed the book from my friend Mariah, she had to buy it because my brother was in the store cracking up so bad that another customer said "I guess I have to read that book.". Mariah purchased it from Urban Outfitters, but I am sure you can find it at any bookstore or online.

Details:

Dress & belt-Thrifted via Regeneration

Sweater-Thrifted via Salvation Army

Tights & Boots-Payless

To-Do list:

Finish Homework
Disney Paper for WGS
Finish Reading SLUT!
Read "Can't buy my love"
Edit poems
Buy stamps
clean the apartment (started)
buy Camera!!!!!

:P

His Monkey Wife

 

 

Details
Hat-Meijer

Cardigan-Thrifted via Salvation Army

Dress-Thrifted via Salvation Army

Tights-CVS

Boots-Payless

The solution to bad hair? An old hat. Okay, it's not THAT old but I think I got this right after high-school. I am actually bummed that the pic is so blurry, I really liked this outfit. And behold! A Kyle appearance! 

Today's random post celebrates the completion of a recent read novel; "His Monkey Wife" by John Collier. Which is a hilarious novel about a chimpanzee named "Emily" and her adventurous attempts at figuring out her love for a human male, Mr. Fatigay while living in England, as a servant to his 1920's 'modern' fiance Amy. Emily is completely literate, literary and civilized and does everything she can to save her beloved Mr.Fatigay from the cold Amy. I highly recommend this book, I enjoyed every single part of it :) 

 

*photo from amazon.com 

**I also would like to mention that I changed the link to my facebook page from my personal one to a fan page. Mostly because the personal one is just for family at this point (KIT) and the fan one just has outfit pictures and poems for now. (I still have to add to them) I feel a little coincided creating a fan page but some people could not figure out how to get back to my blog *cough*mom* cough*, so to make it easier I left everything in one place. Also, (not that any of you lovelies are creepy) I am tired of people I have met once (or only online) friend requesting me, then friend requesting random members of my family. It's one thing if you know them, but I have little cousins on there, and grandparents and they get wigged out by strangers, (As they should be). So anyways, that's the word, bird.

To-do list:

Clean the apartment
Laundry
Write Jessica
Read SLUT!
Start paper
Memorize poem
Finish Homework
Balance checkbook

=]

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.

Inspired by my friend Dan's latest blog, and also, my ethnic lit class; I decided to do a book review on a great book that I just recently read (in one sitting) for class. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie.

 

First of all I would like to mention that Sherman Alexie is an amazing author. He has won many awards for his work, and also an independent film "Smoke Signals", 1998, was made (screenplay written by Alexie) based of his book "The Lone Ranger and Tonto fist-fight in Heaven" (which I also highly recommend seeing). He is also a well-acclaimed comedian. I have watched a few of his interviews, including one with Steven Colbert, and I am looking forward to reading more of his work. "The Absolutely True Diary" is based off of Sherman Alexie's own childhood, and it is written for young adults. Although I think anyone who has read this can agree that adults will appreciate this novel.

So onto "The Absolutely True Diary", It is a first-person narrative channeling Junior, a Spokane Indian, in his first year of high school on his reservation in Wellpoint WA. Junior is a very smart 14 yr old who is actually excited about school, however, after discovering his mothers name in his text-book; he realizes that he wants to get a better education than the one available to him on the rez. He decides to transfer to a school outside of the reservation, Reardon, where he is the only Indian in the school other than the mascot. Junior is also an aspiring artist, and his diary is filled with cartoons and drawings for when he cannot find words to describe how he is feeling.

Over the course of the school year, the reader follows Juniors adventures with his family and friends on the reservations reactions to him transferring to a "white" school 22 miles away, his first intimate contact with white people, his emotional and physical reactions to what is happening on the reservation, his home, and what he learns about people as he grows.

While reading this book, I was at a constant loss of whether to laugh, or cry or both. I read it in one afternoon, it is an easy-read, but one that makes the reader sit back with a big sigh after. I know that this book will definitely be one that I will not sell back to the school at the end of the semester. So to anyone who takes me up on my recommendation, enjoy!