How To Deal With No Internet

Enjoy time away from the internet

I know it sucks not being connected to the internet. It has become such a part of our lives, but having no internet is going to happen sometimes.

While your first instinct is to scream at the person who answers the phone at your ISP (which may be me), think about all the things you can do while you are forced to be unplugged.

You can read a book, or work on a project around your house. If you have cable or Dish, you can watch tv. You could go to the park, go to the movies, spend time with  your family.

And if you really, really need to get online, take your laptop someplace where there is free wifi or visit a friend's house. If you don't have any friends, it might be a good time to make one.

No internet is not the end of the world, and this is coming from someone who uses the internet to make a living.

Just something to think about over this long holiday weekend - if your internet goes out, it might be a while before someone can fix it. So please refrain from yelling at your ISP and consider it a nice break from the internet

Cyrus Darian and the Technomicron – A Steampunk Novel

Image: Goodreads.com

Steampunk has become a very popular genre as of late so it isn’t a surprise that there have been a lot of steampunk books coming out. I like steampunk, but I haven’t had a chance to read many of the books. Because of this, I jumped at the chance to review Cyrus Darian and the Technomicron by Raven Dane.

Cyrus Darian and the Technomicron tells the story of Cyrus Darian, who is alchemist and necromancer among other things. He finds himself on quest to find the Technomicron, a book that is shrouded in mystery and magic. There is an interesting set of secondary characters who help and hinder Darian on his quest.

This book is set in late 1800s London and it is very steampunk. I liked that there were consequences to the steam power as it was often pointed out that London was under a thick cloud of smoke at all times. The descriptions of the world were very detailed which was good and bad. It took me a little while to get into this book because of all the details kind of bogged down the beginning.

I was glad that I stuck with it because Cyrus Darian and the Technomicron was very interesting. I did find that I liked several of the secondary characters, such as the Demon Prince, Beliel, better than the main character. The character of Cyrus Darian had many layers but most of those weren’t extremely likeable.

But it ended up being a very good book in the steampunk genre. I would recommend Cyrus Darian and the Technomicron to anyone who likes reading steampunk historical fantasy.

Note: I received a copy of this book for review purposes.

War of the Seasons Book 2: The Half-Blood – A Fantasy Novel

Image: http://www.ailionora.com

In the second book of the War of the Seasons trilogy, readers are taken back to the magical world of Ailionora.

The Half-Blood takes place a few months after the events in The Human. Story has stayed in Ailionora to be with the love of her life, the elf, Eirnin. But things are tense as the elves prepare for war with the fae. Things get even worse when Eirnin is poisoned which propels Story on a quest to save him.

The Half-Blood is a great sequel that I enjoyed even a little more than the first book, The Human. Story grows as a character as she finds herself between a rock and a hard place as she tries to get an antidote for Eirnin. She even enlists the aid of the Spring Prince, Morrigann. He is, in my opinion, the most interesting character in this book as some of his past comes to light in the story.

I would recommend The Half-Blood to anyone, but especially for people who enjoy fantasy. War of the Seasons Book 2: The Half-Blood is available in paperback, Kindle and Nook formats.

Note: I received a copy of this book for review purposes.

War of the Seasons Book 1: The Human – A Fantasy Novel

Image - www.ailionora.com

The Human is the first book of the War of the Seasons series byJanine K. Spendlove. This book is an engaging fantasy novel that follows a young girl named Story as she journeys to a strange new world and the quest she embarks on to save it.

I love fantasy books, and the ones that involve someone from our world going to a fantasy world are some of my favorites. I think this may have something to do with the fact that I would love to find myself magically transported to a magical world.

The Human is this type of book as it follows 17 year old Story as she finds herself in the world, Ailionora, after falling in a cave while spelunking. She gets drawn into this strange, new world finding that she is in the middle of an ancient feud that exists between the elves and faeries of Ailionora.

Story is quickly joined by an elf named Eirnin. This book, in part, revolves around the relationship between these two characters as Eirnin helps Story along her way, teaching her about Ailionora as they go.

This is a tale that has many levels. On the onset, it seems like most fantasy novels, but it does have a deeper layer as Story tries to discover who she is, what her strengths are and how to deal with extreme loss. I enjoyed this book immensely.

Note: I received a copy of this book for review purposes.

Catching Fire Review

Last night, I went to my local theater to see the Hunger Games double feature. The Hunger Games was one of my favorite movies of last year and I love the books. The double feature was fun – it was great to see The Hunger Games on the big screen again. Plus I got to see the new Hobbit trailer twice. After the first movie, some of the theater staff came in and gave us all lanyards which was cool too.

Finally it was time for Catching Fire. The movie was great and I really enjoyed it. But I have some comments that are spoilers – for both the book and the movie. So if you want to read the spoilers scroll down past the movie poster.

Image: http://catchingfiremovie.org

The casting for this movie was really brilliant. I especially thought that Johanna Mason and Finnick were spot on. I wasn’t very happy that Mags was silent. It’s been a while since I read the book but I could have sworn that Mags did talk. It was just really distracting that she was mute.

The only other thing that didn’t seem to make sense to me was the spinning cornucopia. The spinning was fine but the comment that Plutarch Heavensbee makes about the tributes not being able to tell time now didn’t make any sense. The tributes didn’t seem to have any issues telling the time in the arena because the lightening tree didn’t move. It just felt off to me.

Otherwise, it was great, and very true to the books. I’m still curious on how the 3^rd film will be because Katniss spends most of that book in the throes of PTSD. I’m sure they will focus a lot on the action stuff that happens later in the book.

All in all, Catching Fire was a great movie. I think I liked The Hunger Games a little better, but that’s probably because I liked the first book better than the 2^nd too.

All About Grandmas – A Children’s Book

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My daughter is five years old and like many kids, she has two grandmas. Both of her grandmas are very different, but they are both the same in the fact that love their grandchildren. In the new children’s book,All About Grandmas by Roni Schotter, all kinds of grandmas are shown doing all kinds of different things.

As a parent, I really liked this book because it not only showed that a grandma can have different jobs and different hobbies, but that grandmas aren’t perfect either. It’s written in a way, with great illustrations by Janice Nadeau, that small children can get the message. It’s great to see see a book that shows more than the stereotypical grandma that is shown in popular culture.

All About Grandmas is recommended for ages three to five. I would recommend this book for any kid who has a grandma, especially if their grandma doesn’t fit in the stereotypical grandma mold.

Note: I received a copy of this book for review purposes.

Personalized Children’s Books

Image: http://www.chroniclebooks.com

When I was a kid, one of my favorite books was a personalized book. I don’t remember a lot of details about the story but I loved that it was a book about me. I do remember that the name of the dog in the book was Snoopy because we didn’t have any pets at the time and that was the name of my dad’s favorite fictional dog. I wish I still had the book because it was just so cool.

So I jumped at the chance to be able to do the same for my daughter. There are a couple of types of personalized books that My Chronicle books offers. One tells the story of a day in a life of a race car driver and another is the day in the life of a princess. There are other options as well like a fairy book and a pirate book. My daughter is very into princesses now, so I picked the princess book for her.

My daughter enjoyed the book a lot because it was about her. Because she is only five she didn’t pick up on some of the details in the story like how the book mentioned that her birthstone is the opal or how the name of her kingdom is the town that we live in. She did like that the princess was named after her and had purple hair, which is her favorite color. I think she’ll appreciate her story more when she is a little older and can read it herself.

You can learn more about these wonderful personalized books at My Chronicle Books’ website.

Note: I received a copy of this book  for review purposes.

Being Different Is A Good Thing – A Children’s Book

Image: http://furry-feline.com/

As a geek, I have always known that I’m a little different from many folks out there. My daughter, who is five, has already expressed interest in geeky things at a young age. So the children’s book, Being Different Is A Good Thing, which features Furry Feline characters, has been great in helping her know there is nothing wrong with being different.

The Furry Feline characters are a line of plush animals, but this new children’s book brings these characters to life. Being Different Is A Good Thing tells the story of Chef Tako, who is an octopus. He becomes concerned because all of his friends have tails and he doesn’t. He does finally realize that being different is a good thing, by embracing the things that are good about him and not worrying that he doesn’t have a tail.

This was a really sweet story with cute characters. My daughter really enjoyed it. I’d recommend Being Different Is A Good Thing to any parent of young kids to help bring the point across that being different is just fine.

Note: I received a copy of this book for review purposes.

Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage – A Preteen Murder Mystery

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You may think that a murder mystery might not be the ideal subject matter for a novel geared towards kids 10 and older. But Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage is a great introduction to this genre for preteens.

Three Times Lucky tells the story of sixth grader Mo LoBeau. Mo is an orphan who washed ashore after a hurricane as a newborn. She lives with her guardians, Miss Lana and the Colonel. Her family is about the most unusual thing in the small North Carolina town that they live in, until a policeman comes to town, looking for clues for about a murder. The Colonel, who found Mo as a baby and has no memory before that time, comes under scrutiny from the lawman. Because of this, Mo and her friend Dale start investigating as well and find themselves swept into the mystery.

This book is a great introduction to the murder mystery genre. All the parts, such as the murders, that could be gory are done “off camera” and none of the kids in the book are exposed to it. Even as an adult, I enjoyed Three Times Lucky a great deal, in part because it is set in my home state of North Carolina.

Three Times Lucky is currently available in hardcover, for the Kindle and for the Nook.

Everything I Need To Know I Learned From Dungeons & Dragons by Shelly Mazzanoble

Image: shellymazzanoble.com

Everything I Need To Know I Learned From Dungeons & Dragons by Shelly Nobleman is a wonderful take on a how to book on life that centers around Dungeons & Dragons.

The book showcases life lessons that playing Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) can help you with, such as religion, moving in with a significant other, dealing with your parents, changing up your routine and more through Shelly’s life as she lives in Seattle and works for Wizards of the Coast. 

This book was really easy for me to read. If I hadn't had things like work and a preschooler to care for, I would have probably read it in one sitting. I enjoyed reading about Shelly’s adventures, both in real life and as a D&D character. It also made me really miss playing D&D quite a bit, and role playing in general. I’d love to get out my dice and roll up a character to help work out some of my issues.

Everything I Need To Know I Learned From Dungeons & Dragons is currently available in traditional paperback, Kindle and Nook versions. I highly recommend this book to anyone, but especially folks who love gaming, D&D in particular.

Note: I received a copy of this book for review purposes.

Tokyo Heist – A YA Mystery

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Tokyo Heist by Diana Renn is a young adult novel that follows sixteen-year-old Violet, who finds herself in the middle of an art heist. Violet is swept to Japan and attempts to unravel the mystery of a missing and previously unknown Van Gogh painting. In the meantime, she must evade the Japanese mafia and her artist father out of danger.

Anime and manga are a big part of the story, as Violet is a big fan of  both. A budding artist, she writes and draws her own manga, Kimono Girl, throughout the book. When I was younger, I was a huge fan of anime which I think helped me enjoy this book even more.  While Tokyo Heist is mainly a mystery, it does highlight the strained relationship Violet has with her father.

The relationship grows and changes as the book goes on, which adds another level of complexity to this highly engaging novel.

Tokyo Heist is recommended for ages twelve and up. As an adult, I did enjoy watching the mystery unfold. I would recommend this book to any reader who loves mysteries, art, anime or manga. Tokyo Heist is available in hardcover, Kindle and Nook versions.

Note: I received a copy of this book for review purposes.

Squid and Octopus: Friends for Always – A Children’s Book

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Squid and Octopus: Friends for Always is a new children’s book by award-winning author and illustrator Tao Nyeu. This book is comprised of four short stories revolving around the ups and downs of friendship of two underwater creatures, Squid and Octopus.

Friendship is a complex subject and it can be one that is hard to grasp for very small children. As kids get a little older and form their own friendships, Squid and Octopus: Friends for Always can help mirror some situations kids will get into as they make friends. The stories cover subjects such as how to deal with disagreements, being there when your friend is upset, and what to do if you are a little different.

Emily has had several best friends in her short life, and she is able to relate her friendships with the one that Squid and Octopus have. Tao Nyeu‘s illustrations are very cute and really helps to bring the message of friendship in the stories across.

I would highly recommend Squid and Octopus: Friends for Always, especially for preschool and kindergarten ages.

Note: I received a copy of this book for review purposes.

Wicked as They Come – A Steampunk, Vampire Novel

Image: Simon and Schuster

Steampunk and vampires may not seem like things that would go together well. But in Wicked as They Come by Delilah S. Dawson, these two things are mixed with wonderful results.

When I first heard about Wicked as They Come, I was interested in reading it. But when I found out that it was also a “person from our world goes to a strange, new world” story, I knew I was going to love it. I love those kinds of stories and Wicked as They Come was no exception.

The story follows Tish Everett, a nurse and recent divorcee, as she finds herself in the world of Sang, which is a steampunk version of Victorian England. She meets Criminy Stain, who is a Bludman, which is like a vampire but with some differences. He tells Tish says that he called her to his world because she is his true love. Tish is propelled on a journey to heal from her former abusive relationship, find herself and to discover who is killing the Bludmen and women of Sang.

The world is very interesting and well explained. Bludmen aren’t the only vampiric creatures that lurk around. Just about any animal you can think of had a blud equivalent. The one that freaked me out and interested me the most was the bludbunnies, because they are cute, fluffy and want to suck your blood.

This book was a lot of fun to read with the interesting setting of Sang as well as the well-rounded characters. Even though the story focuses on Tish and Criminy, we do get to meet many of the inhabitants of Sang which includes Criminy’s carnival full of strange folks. I’d recommend Wicked as They Come by Delilah S. Dawson to anyone who enjoys steampunk, vampire as well as a little paranormal romance.

Wicked as They Come is available in paperback as well as for Kindle and Nook.

Note: I received a copy of this book for review purposes.