Inheritance: The Last Book from the Inheritance Cycle

I just read a book review right after deciding to write one and just before writing one. I’m afraid it might’ve clouded my thinking and thus producing a review a little less “epic” than what I was gunning for.

Image owned by Amazon.com

 

Okay. So what I wanted to initially say was that I enjoyed the book and it had such an effect on me that one day, I woke up worried/paranoid that someone was attacking my mind and I needed to sleep again to protect myself.

I enjoyed the book. I couldn’t put it (well, my Kindle) down for days. But it did have some flaws. A lot of the mysteries that were uncovered in the first three books remained unsolved and a lot more questions were raised in this book.

You see, I’ve waited for this book as soon as I finished reading Brisingr. Worth the wait? Yes. But it kind of looks like the whole thing was rushed and I am just a smidge disappointed that things ended the way they did. Although, I must admit, that whole fight scene with Galbatorix was satisfying, save for the fact that there was Dauthdaert. I think it should’ve maybe been Zar’roc or Brisingr who killed Shruikan.

Anyway, this book is a must read only if you’ve read the first three. Otherwise, you won’t get most of what’s in it.

Something Borrowed, Something Blue

I spent a few days and a weekend with Emily Griffin’s “Something Borrowed” and “Something Blue”. What made me read these books? I had just finished watching “Something Borrowed”, a movie that came out earlier this year.

As what it usually is, the book is better than the movie. No surprise there. The movie did have some nice quirks to it but not enough to compare it to the book. The book was well-written but had some dragging moments. Despite these dragging moments the book, it was infinitely more entertaining than the movie. I wish the movie was more faithful to the book. Now that I think about it, I hardly recognize the book after seeing the movie. Ethan wasn’t supposed to be that prominent of a figure in the movie. He wasn’t in love with Rachel at all. Claire wasn’t this crazy girl who was in love with Ethan. Somehow, Dex and Marcus wasn’t as annoying in the book. Darcy was likable in the movie but very annoying in the book. The confrontation scene was all wrong too. It might’ve been way better if they stuck with the book version.

The movie version keeps all the significant moments intact but I wish the scriptwriters found the perfect balance between movie writing and the book.

“Something Blue” for me is far more entertaining than Something Borrowed. I actually chuckled at one point. This is the book where Darcy realizes she’s been shallow and where she begins to mature and actually know what love is. Something Borrowed created the perfect back story for Something Blue. It’s definitely a better read. Funnier. More heartwarming. Ingredients to the perfect chick-lit.

My recommendation: Read the book, then watch the film and then read Something Blue.

Here’s the trailer for Something Borrowed, out on DVD since August 16, 2011.

My First Time…

I’ve been wanting to do it for at least a year now. But I held off and tried to distract myself away from the temptation. It was dangerous, possibly addicting and so I tried my best to avoid it until I couldn’t hold off any longer. It was satisfying. Very satisfying.

Two words: online shopping.

Got to experience online shopping with Amazon.com for the first time. And I have to say the experience was a pleasant one.

What made me do it?

Well, remember my post about Sweet Valley Confidential (here and here)? Reading that e-book made me want to revisit the books I missed and loved. So I got me four books:

And since I also wanted to start exercising, I got me these dvds:

 

Regretting that boot camp DVD (the one on top), loving the 5 Day Get Fit Mix (right) and thinking I must have been crazy to buy a Jillian Michaels work out. It will probably be the death of me. Yes, I’ll look great but I’ll be a dead sexy person. LOL.

And so far, these dvds remain untouched and unused. I only watched the work outs but never did them myself.

Had these goodies delivered to a US address and then had Johnny Air Philippines ship them here for me. While I thought the service fee was a little expensive (a $20 consolidation fee was charged because the books came from different vendors on Amazon.com), the service was good and it came earlier than expected. It came four days after I gave my go signal to have it shipped.

Will I use Johnny Air Cargo again? Yes.

Will I be buying stuff from Amazon.com again? I’m trying not to or I’ll risk maxing out my credit card. :)

Sweet Valley Confidential: Like Catching Up With Old Friends

(This post is going to be full of spoilers. So if you don’t want any spoilers, I suggest that you leave this page and then come back AFTER you’ve read the book).

I got my hands on a copy of Sweet Valley Confidential and couldn’t wait to start reading.

I must admit that before starting the novel, I had read spoilers and I wasn’t happy.

In my mind, it should always be Elizabeth Wakefield and Todd Wilkins. Forever. Jessica, Elizabeth’s younger (by four minutes) twin, didn’t fit in with Todd. I was an Elizabeth-Todd fangirl since they started to be an item in Sweet Valley Twins. As I got older, I started reading Sweet Valley High and still rooted for them. I remember feeling heartbroken with Elizabeth as Todd moved away to Vermont. I remember being excited when Todd came back from Vermont. I remember feeling happy when Elizabeth broke up with Jeffrey French to be back with Todd.

And since Todd and Liz also broke up in Sweet Valley University, I didn’t feel like reading more into the series. I think I stopped reading after SS Heartbreak.

Plus, I think the writers destroyed me then. I had always been able to relate more with Elizabeth than Jessica and wanted my own Todd Wilkins, preferably with his SVH description: good looking and in love with Elizabeth.

So to read Sweet Valley Confidential and find out that they’re not together anymore didn’t make any sense. At first.

But as the story progressed, it dawned on me that giving Elizabeth and Todd a happy ending would’ve been boring and expected. Whereas surprising readers with a Jessica-Todd pairing will probably be more exciting to write and intriguing to read.

Elizabeth said it perfectly. If she and Todd had gotten married, it would’ve taken a great tragedy to break them up. And if that tragedy didn’t happen, their love would have faded away, slowly and eventually.

Yes, Steven is gay, though I honestly would’ve preferred him not to be written that way. I have nothing against gays but Steven is Steven and I just think the writers could’ve done more with him than just have him being gay.

I don’t remember Aaron Dallas being described before as having heterochromia.

Who the hell is Richard Fowler??? Lila’s dad is GEORGE Fowler. And how come Lila seemed to be not-so-fashionable anymore?

Why does Jessica have an annoying voice in this book? She’s overused “so” many times. It’s like the part was written by a teenager! Women who are supposed to be twenty-seven don’t talk that way. Elizabeth doesn’t. So shouldn’t Jessica.

Too bad Winston Egbert died.

Elizabeth and Bruce being together at the end of the book reminded me of the story of Alice Robertson (the twins’ mom) and Henry Patman in “The Wakefield Legacy”.

The book ends with a round up of other characters present in the Sweet Valley High series like Cara Walker, Dee Dee Gordon, Robin Wilson, Bill Chase, Jeffrey French among others. You somehow get a feeling of closure but still end up wanting more only to see if the nth marriage (how many times did she really get married before marrying Todd?) of Jessica to Todd goes well or will he end up pining for Elizabeth in the future? How will the relationship of Elizabeth and Bruce play out?

Reading the book makes me want reread “The Wakefields of Sweet Valley” and “The Wakefield Legacy”. There’s something in those two books that made Francine Pascal and her team decide that it should be Jess and Todd in the end.

Knowing myself, I’ll probably end up reading more and getting the books I missed in the series. I just hope the books are readily available in the bookstores.

Pacific Rims: Book Promo in Tagalog

Found another American who can speak Tagalog. Is this becoming a trend or what?

Rafe is an American sports writer promoting his new book, Pacific Rims, in Tagalog. He’s touring US now, I think. Check out his blog here, his Twitter here and his Facebook here.

I hope the book is available here in the Philippines. I would love to check it out.

BOOK and MOVIE REVIEW: Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief

WARNING: The following may contain spoilers for both the book and the movie of the same title: The Lightning Thief (Movie Tie-in Edition) (Percy Jackson and the Olympians)

I decided to do this review as my very first review online only because a) I liked the movie version even before I read the book and b) I liked the book even after I’ve seen the movie.

Wouldn’t you agree that sometimes movies turn out to be better than their book counterparts or vice versa? Like for example, the Twilight series. I’ve read the whole series but the Twilight movies (Twilight and New Moon) didn’t impress me much.

Anyway, let’s get back to business.

Oh, and by the way, I don’t plan on summarizing the book and then analyzing it. I’m just going to give my opinion straight out but the review may contain bits and pieces of the book.

So here goes…

I thought it was a good idea to have seen the movie version first before reading the book. I’d been eying the book for several weeks but was holding off until after I saw the movie. That did not disappoint.

Percy (short for Perseus) Jackson is the main protagonist, apparently with problems with authority except for his mom and Mr. Brunner. I must say that they did a LOT of revisions and were VERY, VERY liberal with the book. For example:

• BOOK VERSION: Percy Jackson is 12 years old
• MOVIE VERSION: Percy Jackson maybe around 15-17 years old as portrayed by actor Logan Lerman.
• BOOK VERSION: Nancy Bobofit as the school bully
• MOVIE VERSION: No school bully
• BOOK VERSION: No funny “this is a pen” dialogue
• MOVIE VERSION: The unforgettable “this is a pen” dialogue.
• BOOK VERSION: Annabeth Chase nurses Percy back to health after the fight with the Minotaur. She also is teammates with Percy during the Capture the Flag game.
• MOVIE VERSION: Annabeth isn’t friendly at all towards Perseus and has a swordfight with him during the Capture the Flag game.
• BOOK VERSION: No Persephone
• MOVIE VERSION: Persephone plays a big part on Percy’s success.

And there are TONS more differences.

I liked both versions. Both versions were funny and action-packed and did not disappoint me. One could exist without the other, unlike, say the Twilight Series. You would be missing out on a lot if you’ve just seen the movie and did not read the books. Or maybe the Harry Potter series, both books and movies, would probably be a better illustration.

But maybe if they’d stuck with the book, it might’ve been a totally different movie. But I’m still really happy with both versions.

On the actors: Logan looks really cute and wasn’t bad at all. Alexandra Daddario who plays Annabeth Chase is gorgeous and is convincing as Athena’s daughter. I wasn’t surprised that Sean Bean is Zeus and Brandon Jackson who plays Grover isn’t as annoying as the one in the book.

So, get it if you will.

And this is my noise on my choice.