Secret Santa + Upcoming Reviews

*above is the after-shot / after the onslaught* LOL c :

< - - ( before shot )

Alright, so first off I'll start with Secret Santa.

I participated in the Holiday book exchange at Kate's blog 'The Neverending Shelf"

I kept checking to see who had updated the blog roll with their own goodies & now I'm happy to say that I can add my own blog to the list. I'd been telling myself - when you get your present you can't open it until Christmas. That's what I told myself but of course when I saw the package stuffed into my mailbox I forgot the other mail & came running back into my house & pulled out the scissors.

I took great care not to damage the shipping label - which turned out to be for not seeing as when I was pulling it back all I got was that my secret santa was from a town which shares the name of an Italian city that I visited last year for my senior trip.

Anyways I took a before shot. * see above *

& an after shot. *see above*

& I would just like to take the time to say that my santa has impeccable timing. I have my last final tonight from 6:30 to 8:30 & seeing as I'm an early bird & I like to get places early - I'll be sitting in the hall reading 'Ash' while I wait to take the test & then I'll probably rush home to finish it. Oh & all the candy was great too - it balanced well with the egg noddles I was eating while studying for the final *lies - I was watching Glee ... yet again* & the pretty glittery snowflake is now adorning the door to my library & when the holidays are over - I'll still be sure to keep it plastered to the wall somewhere as a reminder of your great gifts.

I guess I'm gushing so I'll just end by saying - thank you again. & that It would be nice if you revealed yourself so that I could give you an e-hug/glomp. c : <33

Now onto other business.

I know my my last review was in November but now that I'm just nearly on Winter break I should have tons more time for more reviews. Just know that most of the reviews over break will be for manga / manwha though because I can read them faster.

So I guess I'll go ahead & say that I'll be reviewing 'Let Dai' which is an older manwha of homosexual sorts & here I go back to my Secret Santa again - but I'm just glad that I'll have plenty of GLBT to read over the holidays - it's really the only time I can read them without getting the questions of what they are & the usual proceedings of 'eww' which let me tell you - gets old - fast.

But yeah - I'm done blabbering thanks to my Secret Santa & look for the reviews of volumes 1 -3 of Let Dai on Friday.

Oh but before I go here are closeups of the books I got cause they're so gosh darn purdy ( < -- South talk for pretty/gorgeous ). Now I'm off to pop the packaging bubbles & then devour 'Ash' *even though I should study*

1) http://i50.tinypic.com/xc0r2c.jpg

2 ) http://i49.tinypic.com/aoq9hy.jpg

YA Review : Wondrous Strange

Length: 336 pgs.

Book 1 of ?

Genre: Faerie-Fantasy / Time-Travel

Sequel? Yes - ( Darklight due out 12/22/09 )

Age: Best for those over age 11.

Wondrous Strange is Lesley Livingston's debut novel. It's set in New York City, more specifically a great deal of the book is set around Central Park. The book starts out rather quickly, however as far as a conflict goes, that doesn't appear until the last fifty or so pages. As such, pacing in this book is a little lagged and you might find yourself wanting to skip ahead a few pages. After reading the book I'd say if you should come to a lagging bit, it wouldn't hurt you to skip ahead some.

Other aspects of the book are handled with more care than others and this is obvious. The acting parts are done splendidly and they should be quite good considering the authors background in theater. Fights and emotional scenes; though these seem to be lacking in my opinion, are also treats.

Pros; Short read time, you can read it in one sitting should you decide.

Cons; A lack of side-character development or very little development at all for those who do get screen time.

Over all - it would seem that there are only four main characters in this story despite there being a vast many more. I would have liked to see more of Kelley's aunt Em or any sort of appearance by the other Janus guards. I feel the entire Janus guard was neglected, most of all Maddox. I liked him as a character & I would like to see him get more air-time in the sequel.

In the end though, it was an enjoyable read & I would recommend it to anyone else who loves supernatural fiction or faeries in general.

I award this book 3.5 stars out of 5.

Total Overhaul

So - in lieu of neglecting to get this started for awhile.

I'm starting fresh.

Instead - I bring you a review of " The Girl Who Leapt Through Time " ( the English dub ) .

Before we get started, please take a moment ( or 2:25 minutes ) to view the English dub trailer which can be found on youtube.

Our story focuses on 17 year old Makoto Konno, a seemingly normal girl who professes she's not dumb "by most standards". She goes to school, plays baseball with her best-friends, has a tendency for sleeping in, & oh yeah - she knows how to time-leap. Yes, that's correct. She's very much a normal teenager, that is until she unwittingly & unknowingly leaps through time for the first time in her school's science lab.

The rest of the movie centers on her various leaps through time and what she uses them for. It can be something as trivial as going back to eat that pudding she was looking forward to, sleeping in those extra few precious moments or in the rare instance, she will use it for someone else's greater good. For those of you considering watching this movie, I suggest you have a tissue ready. While it may be lighthearted and funny in the first half of the movie, the film does a subtle turn into more complex and emotional territories in the later half of the movie.

Also, please don't be put off by Makoto's sometimes whiny, sometimes petty character portrayal. I think it's safe to say that any other seventeen year old would act much as she would given the circumstances. However, Makoto isn't the only character that drives this movie. It's fair to say that Makoto's two best friends; Chiaki & Kousuke contribute tons of depth, it's a bit of give and take with these three. What one is lacking the other will make up for, be it maturity or emotional maturity and the willingness to sacrifice. Another key character is Makoto's 'Auntie Witch'; whose name is never given. Should you watch this movie, pay explicit attention to this character because what she says will later play a role in this movie.

Now let's address the musical score. Of course, a good majority of the music is composed by Kiyoshi Yoshida, also known for his work on an anime known as " Martian Successor Nadesico ". The majority of the music instills the subtle use of drums, with more note worthy piano & violins layered over them. The opening theme is an airy, almost nonchalant piece called ' Natsuzora ' which easily eases you into the film. This same piece is also used in closing the film with a little more embellishment of more violins to add to the tone that the movie left you with. Both are very fitting pieces. The official ending theme known as 'Garnet' is sung by Hanako Oku.

Overall, I'd say that this movie deserves all the praise I've given it. But if that's still not enough to convince you, consider that the year this film was released it received the grand prize for 'Animation of the Year'. Which means that this film is being rated on the same scale as the previous winners such as - Mononoke Hime ( Princess Mononoke ) , Spirited Away, & just this year Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea ( all by Studio Ghibli ) .

Having said all this, I leave you with this quote via Twitter from thebookpixie " OMG I'm starting to cry. no joke," which further proves that as I have stated, this film is just as likely to make you cry as Forest Gump or those last few moments that Sam & Frodo spoke on Mount Doom ( in the Lord of the Rings ) would have made you cry.

Disclaimer : ( All the thoughts in this review are mine & mine alone. Also - the refrences to other films or this film do not mean that I endorse or represent any of the companies who produced these mentioned films. Thank you. )

Precocious Procrastination or . . .

Having meant to do this a long time ago thereby meaning - My first post.

I've been meaning to create and maintain a book blog of sorts for some time now.

More recently I've subscribed to certain blogs that have helped me expand my literary knowledge, as well as having helped me branched outside my normal reading zone.

I guess I'm going to do this in a sort of overview format but please forgive me if I stray from my original format because I am very much the type who strays away from their original intent not soon after starting things.

So I'll start with a little tidbit of personal information.

I'm a twenty year old college sophomore who still has an undecided major.

Though over my college career I've flourished in the arts and sciences. So, it stands to reason that by next semester I'll probably have confirmed my thoughts & gone ahead with a teaching degree plan or some sort of literary-aimed profession to work towards. Also, like many other people in the world I'm an aspiring writer, so from time to time you might see some of my own writings on the blogs, ranging from poetry, to song lyrics to what ever tends to strike my fancy that day.

On to the intent of the blog.

The service I hope to offer you is one of an unbiased reviewer.

I want to review a hodgepodge of literary works, I also want suggestions on what you might like me to read so I might review it.

What to expect.

You can expect a review from the range of week to week or month to month.

Perhaps day to day during the longer school holidays.

Those things being said.

I'll have it noted that the reviews I choose of my own accord will range from literary classics such as Henry David Thoreau's 'Walden', to an anthology of Edgar Allen Poe works, or something more contemporary like 'The Lovely Bones' by Alice Sebold.

Also - let it be duly noted that I will review manga, manwha, & American comics on this site - as they are a guilty pleasure of mine.

I think I've covered all I set forth to do, if not - I'm sure I'll have a brain spark moment later.

Having said that - you can look to my first book review this coming Monday.

It will encompass the following book & manwha/manga titles.

- Wicked Lovely

- Let Dai { volumes 1 - 3 } *manwha* - - parental advisory !! ( 15+ )

- Same Cell Organism { yaoi anthology } *manga* - - parental advisory !! ( 16+ )

Also Upcoming Reviews include

For the week of 10/26

- Kiss & Hell { Dakota Cassidy }

- Faeries Gone Wild { writers anthology }

- Shadowfae { Erica Hayes }

- Soul Eater vol. 1 { Atsushi Ohkubo } *manga*

- Black Bird vol. 1 { Kanoko Sakurakoji } *manga*

& Cantarella vol. 1 - 3 { You Higuri } *manga*