Blogging Tips Meme
What fun!! (And since I'm feeling rather blah today, and don't have anything else to post, thought I would join along!)
Angela from SciFi Chick has tagged me with the Blogging Tips Meme. And as they say, this isn’t your usual meme. But here are some helpful blogging tips that fellow taggers can add to…
-Start Copy-
It’s very simple. When this is passed on to you, copy the whole thing, skim the list and put a * star beside those that you like. (Check out especially the * starred ones.)
Add the next number (1. 2. 3. 4. 5., etc.) and write your own blogging tip for other bloggers. Try to make your tip general.
After that, tag 10 other people. Link love some friends!
Just think- if 10 people start this, the 10 people pass it onto another 10 people, you have 100 links already!
1. Look, read, and learn. **-http://www.neonscent.com/
2. Be, EXCELLENT to each other. **-http://www.bushmackel.com/
3. Don’t let money change ya! *-http://www.therandomforest.info/
4. Always reply to your comments. ****-http://chattiekat.com/
5. Link liberally — it keeps you and your friends afloat in the Sea of Technorati. *-http://chipsquips.com/
6. Don’t give up - persistence is fertile. *-http://www.velcro-city.co.uk/
7. Give link credit where credit is due. ***-http://www.sfsignal.com/
8. Pictures say a thousand words and can usually add to any post.*-http://scifichick.com/
9. Visit all the bloggers that leave comments for you - it's nice to know who is reading! -http://stephaniesbooks.blogspot.com/
-End Copy-
Don't you just love fun things? And this one is rather helpful too!! So...in the spirit of things, here are my 10 links!!
and a bonus blogger, Kookiejar at A Fraternity of Dreamers (Since she is just so damned fun!)
Later!
Truthfully, all the blogs I read on a daily basis are Rockin'!!
Sheesh! I don't know what's wrong with me right now!! I think I'm kind of in a reading slump, or something. I just can't seem to get into anything right now! The books I'm reading are really good. I just can't seem to stick with them!! I am almost finished with Vivaldi's Virgins, by Barbara Quick. I will be posting a review for it soon over at Historical Tapestry.
I DID receive my book yesterday, from Graeme's Fantasty Book Review. You know...that book I WON! And guess what?? It was SIGNED! How cool is that?? I was pretty pleased. Maybe that will help me get out of this slump.
I also got a call from the library yesterday. Some of the books I had requested came in. So I tripped on over there to pick them up...and nabbed a few others before I got out of the door. Maybe THAT will help!! I got some good ones too!!
Now if those books don't bring me out of this slump, I may just have to resort to Vampires and Zombies!! May be the only way. What do you do if you find yourself in a reading slump? Do you ever find this a problem? Help!!
Yes, I admit it! I'm a geek when it comes to Harry Potter! I have seen all the movies. I have all the books. And yes, I will be at the Midnight Release of Book Seven: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
I did make it to the opening day showing of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. It was a great movie. I really don't know what can be said about it that hasn't already been said. I'm not a movie reviewer, but here's a quick snippet for those of you that don't know:
Our story opens as Harry and his cousin, Dudley, are attacked by Demonators. He has to use a Patronus spell, which is illegal to use A. in front of Muggles and B. outside Hogwarts. Harry is notified that he will be expelled from Hogwarts and must appear before the Ministry of Magic for a hearing. Order of the Phoenix members pick up Harry at home and take him to their HQ. The Order of the Phoenix was founded by Dumbledore to take on "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named", Lord Voldemort. Harry's godfather, Sirius Black (played by the FANTASTIC Gary Oldman) is one of the members.
This movie is just loaded with amazing performances!! Daniel Radcliffe has grown so much since he was first introduced in The Sorcerer's Stone, and his acting is so much more convincing. He is an amazing Harry. Maggie Smith, as Professor McGonagall, is always wonderful. Alan Rickman, as Professor Severus Snape (another genius casting move) is once again creepy and dark. But this time we get to see a glimpse into his past and maybe a couple of the reasons he is the way he is. Helena Bonham-Carter, is only in the movie a short time, but her portrayal as Bellatrix Lestrange is indeed memorable. I honestly think she really is a little unbalanced!! She just plays it too well. And newcomer, Evanna Lynch, as Luna Lovegood, is exactly how I pictured her to be!!
I thought the movie was fantastic! With every movie, as with every book, things just get better and more powerful. The most memorable scenes of the movie come when Harry is training some of the other students in the Dark Arts to help combat Voldemort. Even if you don't read the books, you will get alot of excitement from the movie!
If you'd like to read a great editorial by Uncle Stephen King about the release (and the end) of Harry potter, go to this EW article. It's good to know that other adults out there will be as heartbroken as I will be when it all finally ends!
Later!
And I thought it was hard coming up for 5 books that says Something About Me? That was nothing compared to coming up with a reading list for this challenge!! There are SO many books out there that look good! What's a girl to do?? Well...I narrowed it down to what I THINK is going to be my reading list. But as a woman, I reserve the right to change my mind at any time!
Pretty sure I won't get to all of them...but it will be fun trying!
Find out your Harry Potter personality at LiquidGeneration!
Since we went to see the movie yesterday, I thought this was appropriate!! Thanks Dark Orpheus! I'm stealing from you!
Movie was out of this world, by the way! 
be sorted @ nimbo.net
Booking Through Thursday:
1. In your opinion, what is the best translation of a book to a movie?
2. The worst?
3. Had you read the book before seeing the movie, and did that make a difference? (Personally, all other things being equal, I usually prefer whichever I was introduced to first.)
And, by all means, expand this to as long a list as you like. I’m notoriously awful myself at narrowing down to one favorite ANYTHING. So, feel free to list as many “good” or “bad” movie-from-books as you like. (Heaven knows that’s what I’ll be doing….)
1. Well....this is a really hard question. Without a doubt, I almost always prefer the written word to the movie version. That being said, there are some AMAZING adaptations out there. Let's just go down the list of some of my favorite books/stories:
First, I will have to say To Kill a Mockingbird. Not only is it one of my favorite books, but it's one of my favorite movies as well. Gregory Peck made Atticus Finch come to life. He was fantastic!
Gone With the Wind was an amazing book. The movie is a Classic!! Clark Gable and Vivian Leigh were born to play Rhett and Scarlett. (Although, in the book, Scarlett wasn't nearly as sympathetic as Leigh made her out to be in the book. She was a Royal Bitch!)
The Stand is my all-time Favorite Stephen King book. I thought the mini-series (and let's face -- mini-series is the ONLY way this would have worked on film) was exceptionally well done. The casting alone was phenomenal!! (except for maybe the addition of Mollly Ringwald as Frannie!) Gary Sinese, Rob Lowe, Ossie Davis, Rudy Dee, Matt Frewer, Ray Walston. Suburb!! And casting Bill Fagerbakke as Tom Cullen was a stroke of Genius!!
I am rather hit or miss with Stephen King adaptations. I do so love his books. But sometimes they just don't translate all that well. Stand By Me, The Shawshank Redemption, Misery, The Shining (although Kubrick took a lot of liberties with this one) and The Green Mile were all amazing.
2. I guess we should just start with some of Stephen's worse adaptions. Umm....can we ever forget Maximum Overdrive or Children of the Corn? True, they were only short stories, but the movies were complete garbage.
There aren't a lot of movies from books I've read that I really disliked, to be honest. The latest version of The Count of Monte Cristo wasn't too bad. Exciting, and all. But it pales in comparison to the book.
3. I very rarely go see a movie without reading the book first. But that's just me. I can honestly say, though, I read the book The Devil Wore Prada and absolutely HATED it!! But the movie surprised me. The characters were so whiny in the book, I hated all of them. But Meryl Streep was amazing in the movie. She gave the "Devil" a little bit of a soul....not much, but more so than the book!!
I could probably go on all day about this one!! Any of you have any other ideas???
Yes, it must be my lucky week. Not only did I win a new Sci-Fi book, but the lovely Tanabata from In Spring it is The Dawn was giving away a copy of Anthony Doerr's About Grace for Buy a Friend a Book Week. And guess what? She drew my name too!! Yeah!! Thank you so much Tanabata!! I'm really excited. This looks like a great book too!!
John, at The Book Mine Set, is doing his Weekly Compare again this week. Last week's winner, Jane Austen, is squaring off this week against Kurt Vonnegut. Well....no contest for me. I'm a HUGE Vonnegut fan. 
Speaking of Jane, they are releasing a movie about her life starring Anne Hathaway. It is called Becoming Jane. I saw the previews for it a few weeks ago, and it looks really good. Except, Anne Hathaway is WAY too pretty to play Jane Austen. I don't know much about this movie, or how factually it is supposed to be, but I still think I would like to see it. 
Finally, I found something new. It is called the "Pay-It-Forward" Book Exchange and it is hosted by Overwhelmed With Joy! Click on the pretty picture for more details or to join up. It looks like the first book to be exchanged is Lucky by Alice Sebold. Looks Like fun!!
Later!!
For those of you that like Historical Fiction, I have the site for you!! I have been fortunate enough to be invited to join a group blog that is dedicated to Historical fiction in all forms: historical mystery, historical fantasy, general fiction, etc. There are five participating members:
Ana from Aneca's World
Kailana from Kailana's Written World
Marg from Reading Adventures
and Louise, who at the present time, does not have a blog of her own.
We are an eclectic group from the US, Australia, Canada and Portugal. Hopefully we will have something that will interest you!
The plan is that Historical Tapestry is going to focus specifically on Historical Fiction of all eras, including Historical Fantasy. Hopefully with a good group of people we will get an interesting mix of different eras and subject matter including our different countries. We are also hoping to have a mix of Author Spotlights, book reviews and general info on the Historical Fiction that we like to read.
Hopefully you will stop by and see us at:
Last week, Carl posted about book giveaways at his blog, Stainless Steel Droppings. He listed a bunch of giveaways that were going on right now, most in the fantasy/sci-fi genre. Of course, I have no problem with freebies!! I'm easy, what can I say?
So....I was logging on this morning and I got an email. I won a copy of Saturns Returns by Sean Williams from Graeme's Fantasy Book Review! He has a great site. If you like fantasy and sci-fi, you should really check it out!! Thanks Graeme!
Later!
That should take me around the world to places I may never see in person!
Later!
As the book opens, we meet Brent Johnson. He seems like an average college student, except he is on his way to the Ukraine for 10 days. And he is fluent in Russian. He is searching for the infamous Dr. Rostov, a mysterious man with known Russian mafia connections and for his involvement with something known as the "Black Tea Experiments". Although everyone in the city of Sevastopal KNOWS of Dr. Rostov, no one can tell Brent where he is. The trail is cold and he has to go back to the US without any answers.
Logan Bauer is also a college student at the University of Central Illinois. Logan is on scholarship to the university, having won a science fair when he was in high school. With a little hard work and an incredibly brilliant scientific mind, Logan designed and created a digital imagining telescope that uses a new technology that he calls binary refraction. It is such an impressive feat, that scientists from NASA have traveled to Iowa just to see it. And it was Logan's ticket to college. He now has it mounted on a building near his dorm so he can scan the heavens for new images.
But one day, he goes to retrieve the images and notices the telescope had slipped out of position and was pointing at the street. A waste of imaging, he's afraid, until he hears the news. The body of college student Brent Johnson has been found along the same street his telescope was recording images. Brent was shot twice in the head and his kidney was removed. What if Logan has recorded the murder on his telescope??
Let me just begin by saying I don't generally like short stories or "Novellas". I prefer novels because it seems like the character development is much better, as is the plot. And I have to admit, I would have liked "more" with this book. The plot was fantastic, and the idea of "The Black Tea Experiments" is a really interesting one. I was fascinated by the concept. Although Atkinson did a good job with a complete story, I still would have liked more. It was sparsely written, but not in a bad way. Atkinson knew what he wanted to get across to the readers. And he did that. He created a nifty little thriller in a very small package. If you like shorter tales, this one is definitely for you. Personally, I would have liked to see more, but that's just my opinion. 3.75/5
On top of those, I have some books I have promised to review for authors and Spotlight Publicity.
Finally, I signed up to review for CurledUp.com. Great!! Except they sent me some books and I need to get on it!!
Later!! I've got to get some reviews done!!
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