What I'm Reading- 6/5/13

~The Pillars of Creation~

by Terry Goodkind

This book is kind of strange...but in a good way, I guess. This series- at least so far- is centered around two characters: Richard and Kahlan. This book, however, doesn't include them at all. It's about two young adults named Jensen and Oba. I know because I skimmed through the whole book, not reading anything, but looking for names to see which characters were talking. As far as I know, they're only mentioned, but they aren't actually in the story. They may actually be in it, but only for small stretches that I just missed. It's kind of throwing me for a loop. It's not like it's bad reading, but it's just weird that the main characters aren't present. It is set in the same world/timeline, so it's indirectly pertinent, but I don't think that this kind of thing is done very often. The book is interesting so far, but I'm just waiting to see the point of telling me all of this information. I may need to wait until the next book (Naked Empire) to see why...hmmmm. I'll let you know how it goes, but I'm only on page 122 of about 725, so it may take a while.

~Treasure Island~

by Robert Louis Stevenson

I recently started reading Treasure Island, and of the few pages I've read, I like it already. I'm really only a couple chapters in, but Stevenson's writing style appeals to me. It's simple, yet fun to read, and the language isn't archaic. This is good, especially because I don't really like reading books with a maritime setting. They're just so boring most of the time. I hated "Moby Dick" and "The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle" (which I had to read in 7th grade). The only books set at sea that I liked are "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" and "The Odyssey" or books that are only partially on the water, like "The Swiss Family Robinson" or "Robinson Crusoe". I have a good feeling that I'll like this book, but we'll see what happens. I'm going to try to block out memories of the many variations of this story in movies that I've seen (Muppet Treasure Island is my favorite) so that I read and understand the "real"/original story. Looking forward to the rest of the book!

My Latest Obsessions- Nov. 2012

Lately I've been trying to write more content for this blog and not just post links or videos of things I think are cool. I hope to be adding more content in the future, and this (hopefully) series is a start. I got the idea for this from Kristina Horner (italktosnakes on YouTube) with her "Things I'm Into" videos that she posts every month. Mine will be set up a lot like hers, but since we're two completely different people (duh!), the content will be quite varied. So, here we go!

Literature *This will include books as well as comics (web-based or otherwise)

~The Sword of Truth series~

As you can probably guess from my "What I'm Reading" posts, I have been reading this series by Terry Goodkind for a while now- and I love it! Yes, the books are ridiculously long, but I think that it's a good thing. Why would you want something that is fun, engaging, and high quality to be really short? The depth that Goodkind goes into is great, and he tackles more complex and sometimes adult issues, and does it in a careful, respectful way. The only complaint I would make about the series is that Goodkind has the annoying habit of reminding the reader of past content... a lot. If I read the previous books, I already know this content you're "reminding" me of, and don't need to hear it again. An occasional reminder is good, especially if you're pretty far in a series and you're referring to an event in a much earlier book. It just seems like it was put there solely for the purpose of growing the word/page count. Honestly, other than that, I really like this series of books, and I would highly recommend them to any avid reader- especially if you love fantasy!

~Questionable Content~

Holy moley, I have spent so much time on this web comic lately, it's not even funny! This comic has been around for a while (they have over 2000 comics- and counting!) and I just found out about it last week. The characters are awesome (Pintsize is my favorite, of course *pictured above*) and the story is engaging. All in all it's a delightful way to use my free time :)

~Dumbing of Age~

This is another recent web comic find from tumblr that I've been getting into as of late. Set on a college campus, and has a wide variety of characters, with an art style that doesn't make me want to gouge my eyes out. By that I mean that I can tell what the heck the author is trying to portray in each frame, it's cleaned up, and the text is large enough and clear enough for me to read. Tackles some intense topics sometimes, and I think that the creator pulls it off- most of the time. Sometimes when religion comes into play it gets taken a bit too far, but it doesn't take away from the comic much- the fact that I still read it proves that. You should at least give it a try! While I don't like this one as much as Questionable Content or the other web comics I read (blog post on those to come), I still really like it.

Games *Video or otherwise

~Dungeons and Dragons~

Back in college, my friends got me into D&D, which I had wanted to play for a while. Now that I've graduated, I haven't really found anyone to play with yet, but that hasn't stopped me from enjoying this awesome hobby! For the past couple months I've been working on creating a campaign that is based in the world of a book I was working on a while back. I wasn't having much success with writing the book, but I loved the world I created (and which I'm still working on), so I decided to make it into a D&D campaign! It's been working out pretty good so far. The main things that I've been focusing on lately have been the plot (main quests as well as side quests) and fleshing out the map. Lots of fun!

~The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim~

If you've read my blog at all- even in the past couple days, you could probably guess how much I freaking love this game. I've been getting back into playing it again after a short hiatus due to mods conflicting with the Hearthfire DLC (which I still have yet to play on my PC copy!). Now that I believe I've fixed the problem and started over with new characters, I think I'll be playing this more often. This will especially be true when the newly announced Dragonborn DLC hits the shelves (I posted the trailer for it on my blog today). I am SUPER excited for this DLC, as it looks to be bigger than Dawnguard was (and I loved Dawnguard!).

~Minecraft/Tekkit~

I think I will always play this game- it only gets boring if your imagination runs out of ideas! Plus, the Technic Pack mod collection adds a TON of new content and possibilities of play. While my ideas aren't the greatest (and certainly aren't very original), it is still very fun to build things and beat up creepers and endermen.

Music

~Lake Street Dive~

I recently heard about this group from a friend of Facebook who had posted a video of one of their performances. I liked it so much that I bought both of their albums and one of their EPs. The lead singer's voice is freaking gorgeous, and the musicianship is top notch. I absolutely LOVE their cover of "Rich Girl" by Hall and Oates! Go listen to their cover of I Want You Back by The Jackson 5 and you'll fall in love with them like I did!

~John Williams~

John Williams is one of the biggest, if not THE biggest name in film composing these days, and there's a reason why he's at the top. I've known about his music for a long time, but I just recently got back into listening to his soundtracks on my iPod. His ability to create wonderful and memorable melody lines is uncanny. I had the opportunity my freshman year of college to see him conduct the San Diego Symphony live. It was so awesome- one of my favorite concert experiences of all time! It would be hard for me to pick a favorite of his, but I guess if I had to, his Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Amistad, and Harry Potter soundtracks would be my top 5 picks. Also, John Williams Is The Man!

What I'm Reading- 9/16/12

Wow, it has been a long time! Even though it has not been as often as I would have liked, I have been reading since my last update in January. My last semester of college and the current job search have made that more difficult, but I'm managing. Here's what I've been getting myself into as of late:

Soul of the Fire- Terry Goodkind

Yes, I'm still reading this book... a bit shameful, yes, but it's a long book! My last semester was VERY busy (...and I admit, I read The Hunger Games trilogy instead of this for a while...). I did get a chance to read quite a bit this week while my girlfriend was visiting. She just got around to reading The Hunger Games, and I worked on finishing this one. While I'm not done yet, I am 617 pages in on a 788 page book. So that makes me 78.3% through the book with  only 171 pages left. I can do this! It is an enjoyable read, and I am looking  forward to how it ends, as well as the next book of this series (Faith of the Fallen) when I finish Soul of the Fire.

Call of the Wild and White Fang- Jack London

I decided a while back that I wanted to expand out of my reading rut. While I love reading fantasy novels, it's pretty much all I read. I wanted to read more of the classics. This is fortunate because I have a shelf full of them, and I haven't read most of them! I resolved to read one fantasy novel and one classic at a time, and started out by reading The Jungle Books by Rudyard Kipling (which was during my 9 month long-time-no-post period), which I liked for the most part. I have read some of the classics (or at least books I consider classics), like The Iliad, The Swiss Family Robinson, Animal Farm, To Kill a Mockingbird, etc., so it's not like I'm some uncultured ingrate or anything... I just really enjoy fantasy. I haven't gotten very far with Call of the Wild, since I just started reading it, and I have been trying to finish Soul of the Fire. The reason this book piqued my interest is because I watched the 1991 Disney version of White Fang (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103247/) when I was little and really enjoyed it. It will be interesting to see the similarities and differences in both mediums.

The Crystal Shard- R.A. Salvatore

Yeeeeeep, still "reading" this one. Definitely putting this one on the back burner for a while. Not that it's a bad novel, it's just that there are other books I'd rather be reading right now. I'll get around to finishing it one of these days- I promise :)

What I'm Reading- 1/23/12

Man, I haven't done one of these in a long time! Well, here you go!

Soul of the Fire- Terry Goodkind

Continuing on with The Sword of Truth series, and as in past novels, Goodkind takes his sweet time setting the main plot of the book. As much as I love these books, it's like walking through molasses on a cold day trying to get to the "good" parts (which sometimes is a long time/many pages). I really don't know why I'm complaining though, I know I'll love the rest of it, and whatever Goodkind writes in the last half will make up for the first half being a bit boring.

The Crystal Shard- R.A. Salvatore

This one's been on the back-burner for a while. Wanted to read Inheritance and finish Temple of the Winds over Christmas break. It will continue to be on the back-burner because of this next book!

Death of Kings- Bernard Cornwell

I have been waiting for this book for a while, and I'm super excited about it. I love this author, and he is my favorite historical fiction writer (so far). Ordered it on Barnes and Noble at the end of last week and will start reading it as soon as possible!

Temple of the Winds Review

GO READ THIS BOOK SERIES!!

This is not really a review, but I wanted to tell you guys about this book/series, but I don't want to spoil anything for anyone. Just as a note- this book series should be read my adults only (as in 18 and up) as it deals with some pretty mature issues at times.

I've said this before, but Terry Goodkind is an amazing author. He is very adept at getting you emotionally involved into the characters and the story, and then toying with you the majority of the novel. He builds up the tension and the sense of urgency the whole book, then takes away all hope, and somehow resolves it in the end, making everything better. So amazing! He is one of my favorite authors of all time; right up there with Tolkien, Cornwell, and Crichton! It's a crying shame that Goodind isn't all that popular.

I rate this book 5 stars out of 5.