Okay so I have 6 votes on my poll (I didn't even know 6 people knew my blog existed!) and it's about even. So I want to hear opinions.

Story Shanty?
Squeaky Books?
What the heck?

What do y'all think?

A strange article appears in the paper. “Are you a gifted child?” Well many children think they are, and many parents think they have such a child. But only four children pass the test. And they are sent into the dangerous Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened (or LIVE) to stop the evil Mr. Curtain from brainwashing the world. But you’ve never seen a school like this.

“‘If any others leave the room in panic or dismay,’ she said sternly, ‘Please be sure to close the door behind you. Your sobs may disturb the other test takers.’ “

Ha! Charming. That is the perfect word for this book. Absolutely charming. A new novel, just come out this year, TMBS is quite hilarious and at the same time heartwarming. The touching story of these four poor kids and their struggle to find a place where they belong is just charming.

There were times where I thought the book was a bit too long. I would think “Okay, okay we get it. Move on!” but then I’d hit another good patch and I would fall back in love with the story.

Definitely a book I would recommend. Not particularly difficult to read, just a bit long in some places. But it’s a nice book that leaves you with a happy feeling. At least it did for me.

Would you consider books entertainment? I would. So then an author would be an entertainer? Sure. (Isn't rationalizing fun?) Well I would like to tribute this entry to another entertainer that really deserves mentioning even though I will not be the first to mention her.

Kristin Chenoweth

I, like many, first heard of Ms. Chenoweth in her amazing performance in Wicked the musical (which started off as a script which is like a book ya know (ooh, more rationalizing)) but she's done so much more than that.

One of my favorite things about Ms. Chenoweth is that she's so cute and funny. I thought I'd share some of these really funny videos with you. The first of which my good friend Taiger led me too.

"Taylor The Latte Boy"


You're a Good Man Charlie Brown--"My New Philosophy"


Wicked-- "Popular"

On a recommendation from LittleRed (who had these recommended to her by Shannon Hale) I read the Prydain books by Lloyd Alexander. I had heard of these books before but I had never read them.

Wow. Busy day. My third entry. Well I'm taking a small break from reviewing and doing a meme. It's my first, so bear with me. I got this from Anilee who got it from Sookie.

1. If I were a planet, I would be: Jupiter, it's big and it's gassy. Tee hee. Actually I would still be Jupiter, I've had a strange fascination with this huge planet.

2. If I were a month, I would be: September. It happens to be my birthday and the beginning of school. Two of my favorite things.

3. If I were a day of the week, I would be: Ooh. Toughy. Hm... I think I'd be a Friday. Sometimes I'm a day off work and school, sometimes I'm not.

4. If I were a time of day, I would be: During the summer I would be 7:00am, it's really pretty. But during all other seasons I would be about 4:00pm. A time to come home and relax.

5. If I were a sea animal, I would be: Oh dear. A sea animal? I would have to say Bubbles from Finding Nemo he's a Yellow Tang.

6. If I were a direction, I would be: Hm... this is hard. I'm all for progress so that would be forward. I'm a dreamer so that would be up. I'm a flip-flopper so that would be left and right. And I'm a procrastinator so that would be backwards.

7. If I were a piece of furniture, I would be: Probably a desk with doodles on it. No bad words scratched into my wood mind ya.

8. If I were a sin, I would be: Pride and Prejudice tape 3, where Darcy proposes to Eliza B. for the first time.

...

Oh! You were talking the 7 deadly sins? Well then I would say... Ooh, it's a tie between anger and gluttony. And pride, and jealousy (are those even part of the 7?).

9. If I were a historical figure, I would be: History was always my worst subject. Maybe... Hm. Napoleon Bonaparte? :P

10. If I were a liquid, I would be: Applebeer. Anyone who hasn't had applebeer is really missing out. It's sweet, it's carbonated and it's "The Soft Drink with a Head" alcohol free.

11. If I were a stone, I would be: Granite. It's simple, but in the right light it sparkles.

12. If I were a tree, I would be: October glory. It looks like every other tree until fall.

13. If I were a bird, I would be: Hm... Something small but showy. Something that thinks it's great, but really isn't. What would that be?

14. If I were a tool, I would be: I have some experience with hammers. But I think I'd be a screwdriver. I can put stuff together, but if you twist too far I just end up crackin' it.

15. If I were a flower/plant, I would be: A pansy. No doubt.

16. If I were a kind of weather, I would be: A rainy day. One of those warm rainy days where all ya want to do is curl up with a good book.

18. If I were an animal, I would be: A dog. Check out "About me" to your right.

19. If I were a color or shade, I would be: Green. All kinds of green. Bright sassy green, deep thoughtful green. All kinds of green.

20. If I were an emotion, I would be: Impatience

21. If I were a vegetable, I would be: Tomato. Is she a fruit? Or a vegetable? No one really knows.

22. If I were a sound, I would be: Laughter. Both hysterical and joyful.

23. If I were an element, I would be: Fire. Then Air.

24. If I were a vehicle, I would be: Oh. I'd have to say a 1993 black Honda civic (guess which car I own?)

25. If I were a song, I would be: "Dragostea Din Tei" by O-zone otherwise known as the Numa Numa song. It's funny. But can be annoying.

26. If I were a movie, I would be directed by: Uh... The latest direct I've heard of is Mr. Brad Bird. So sure, I pick him.

27. If I were a book, I would be written by: I would want to be written by Shannon Hale, no doubt. But I would probably be better of with saying that I too would be written by myself.

28. If I were a food, I would be: Parfait. "Everyone loves a good parfait" ;0)

29. If I were a place, I would be: A library. Possibly bookstore.

30. If I were a material, I would be: Flannel.

31. If I were a taste, I would be: Dark chocolate. I want/try to be sweet, but sometimes I'm just bitter.

32. If I were a scent, I would be: Sweat pea. I really want to be sweat pea. Though my mom says my room smells like a fart.

33. If I were a word, I would be: Obsessed, or obsessive.

34. If I were a body part, I would be: A brain or a hand. Preferably a left hand.

35. If I were a facial expression, I would be: A goofy grin.

36. If I were a subject in school, I would be: Drama!

37. If I were a cartoon character, I would be: Hm... Pluto is my favorite cartoon character. But I would probably be... Sailor Jupiter. Yeah. Gotta love the old sailor moon cartoons.

38. If I were a shape, I would be: An octahedron. Just because it's the most random shape I could think of.

I'm not much a reader of non-fiction, historical or otherwise, but I found this book fascinating. Doulgass is an amazing writer. His words weren't just facts, they were passionate on his standpoint. I have never had much interest in the slave trade. It never seemed to concern me. But this book made me realize what a horrible thing it was.

As I was reading this book however I found that the author jumped around a lot. He knew his story so his brain probably filled the holes but I don't know his story so mine didn't. Often he would say something like "I stayed with that family until I was twelve" and then the next thing I knew he was between the ages of ten and eleven. And he talks about people like he's mentioned them before, but I found no trace of them in the previous text. I got lost often.

A very quick read. I started this morning and I finished this afternoon. Nonetheless this was a wonderful book. I recommend it.


~Enna Isilee

I too read the Twilight series, and I recently finished Eclipse the third and NOT final volume in the series.

I did not like Twilight, or I guess I didn't find anything special about it. I found that Bella and Edward's romance was over-the-top and cheesy. Needless to say many people disagreed with me.

New Moon was better in some ways worse in others. I did not like Bella in New Moon not at all. And the character Jacob just left me confused. But the plot was fantastic and had me on edge.

Eclipse was amazing. One of the best books I have ever read. There was less kissing more action. I thought that Edward became a bit more realistic (yes I am aware that he's a vampire) and what we learned about Jasper and Rosalie was so entertaining. However, Stephenie Meyer is an LDS author I am also LDS; I have always looked past the minor swearing in her books. I understand that occasionally you just gotta put a swear word in. But there are parts in Eclipse that made me feel very uncomfortable. Namely what Bella wants before she's turned into a vampire. It made me feel awkward. Above this it was a fantastic book. If you haven't read the Twilight series I recommend you start now. Should only take you about a week to finish all three books. You can't put them down.

~Enna Isilee