About Books Blog 56 - Complete Alice in Wonderland

Author: Lewis Carroll 

Adapted by: John Reppion and Leah Moore 

Genre: Graphic Novel, Fantasy, Classic 

Favorite Line 

“I wonder if I've been changed in the night? Let me think. Was I the same when I got up this morning? I almost think I can remember feeling a little different. But if I'm not the same, the next question is 'Who in the world am I?' Ah, that's the great puzzle!” 

 Summary (from Barnes and Nobel)

Take one stubborn and opinionated young girl. Add an overactive imagination. Shake in a heavy mix of puzzling and bizarre guides. Reduce all morals and lessons to the nonsensical degree and send it all on a journey to nowhere... These are the ingredients that Lewis Carroll combined to create a fairy tale unlike any other.

Dynamite Entertainment is proud to present for all ages The Complete Alice in Wonderland, the most vivid adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s genre bursting tales of young Alice and her Adventures in Wonderland.

My Thoughts

I want to like Alice in Wonderland. I really do. The fact is that it bothers me. It wasn’t always that way. As a child I thought it was quite a lovely tale. Then I re-read it sometime in my late teens and I suddenly found it unsettling.

I started to notice that the story made zero sense. All the characters are mean beyond measure. Except for Alice of course, she’s quite nice. A little eccentric...but she’s still pleasant. I don’t know why all the other characters have to yell at her so much. I do like the bit of the story with the mad tea party. On the other hand, I find the part where the Duchess sings about beating her baby when he sneezes decidedly disturbing. I unexplainable issues with the mock turtle section as well. I like Through The Looking Glass better. Living chess pieces are awesome. Sometimes all the poetry gets on my second nerve. Though there are one or two poems I do enjoy. It’s safe to say that I have mixed feelings when it comes to Alice’s adventures. The nonsense of it all makes my head spin.

 Despite my qualms I decided I wanted to give it another try. Like I said, I really do want to like it. I found this graphic novel version of Alice in Wonderland and thought this was the perfect way to give it a chance. After all I haven’t met a graphic novel adaptation that I didn’t like. Not yet anyway. The complete Alice in Wonderland is a collection of four comic issues telling the whole tale from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through The Looking Glass. It even includes the lost chapter from the second book “A Wasp In A Wig.” Obviously not everything from the novels ended up the comic. Still so much of it remain true to the original material. I thought the authors did an excellent job at converting it graphic novel form. The artwork is so beautiful that I bought it for that factor alone.

I did like the story a better in this format. However, I couldn’t shake the fact that Lewis Carroll’s original tale disturbs and annoys me just the slightest bit. I did get some insight while doing research for this review. Alice in Wonderland is classified under the genre nonsensical literature. A writing form, which focuses on wordplay and the well...general lack of logical reasoning. So the author wasn’t insane. Alice in Wonderland is actually supposed to make no sense. Somehow understanding the concept of the story has helped me realize that maybe I’ve been taking it too seriously all along. Alice in Wonderland might not be exactly my cup of tea but this graphic novel was certainly worth buying and keeping in my library for re-reading.

Interesting Facts

Lewis Carroll was Charles Dodgeson’s writing pseudonym. Not only was he a writer but he was also a mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon, and a photographer.

The original manuscript of the book was entitled Alice’s Adventures Underground.

The character Alice is said to take her name from the real life figure Alice Liddell. The poem in Though The Looking Glass “A Boat Beneath A Sunny Sky” is an acrostic poem that spells her name.

There is said to be a hidden code in the chess theme of Through the Looking Glass. It has something to do with Alice Liddell and references to Dodgeson's favorite number 42. It's a very LOST like theory isn't it? Ha ha!

One of the authors of this graphic novel adaptation, Leah Moore, is the the daughter of renowned comic creator Alan Moore, who wrote such works as Watchmen. She and her husband, John Reppion, also collaborated on a story for the graphic novel Comic Book Tattoo. Ironically I have reviewed both Watchmen and Comic Book Tattoo.

 Movies and TV

 There are quite a few movies and television depictions of this novel considering it has been adapted again and again since 1903. This is a quick overview of the ones I’ve seen. Forgive me if some of my recollections are a little foggy. I haven’t watched some of these since I was a child.

 The 1951 Disney animated film of Alice in Wonderland was of course my first experience with the tale. The movie combines elements from both the first and second book which was a lovely choice. The songs are full of wit. I love “The Unbirthday Song.”

When I was young they used to play and old version of Alice and Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass on TV all the time. I remember really loving both films but I can’t figure out what year they were made. I don’t think it is 1966 version. Hmm...Maybe it was the 1972 version. I also use to watch a re-watch a version of Alice in Wonderland that I had on tape. This one depicted Alice as a teen and had so stop motion elements I believe. Gosh, I don’t know when that was made either. Curiouser and curiouser. Warned you that I was fuzzy on some the details.

I do remember enjoying the Disney TV series Adventures in Wonderland in the 90’s. I thought it was darn cute. I was nice that Alice could step through the looking glass and have her unusual friends help her solve her problems. I haven’t seen it since then. I kind of miss it.

In 2009 the Syfy channel came out with a science fiction re-imagining of the story in their two part mini-series Alice. If you’re wanting something true to the book this movie isn’t it. It’s one of those things where you have to play find the relationship to the original material game. If you want some creative steampunk with some entertaining acting performances, Alice is a nice choice. The first part of the series was a little slow, but the second part was pretty fast paced. It’s one of the the better Syfy original movies. 

There is of course Tim Burton’s 2010 adaptation of Alice in Wonderland. I wouldn’t say it was my favorite Tim Burton film. The only reason I didn’t completely love it is because it gave me that feel you get when reading the second book in a series without reading the first. Does that make any since? I couldn’t really get into the way the screenplay was written. Even so it has really cool imagery, and awesome actors doing awesomely. I would watch it again. However, never again in 3D. I had a headache for two hours after seeing in 3D in the theater. Perhaps the imagery was just too over powering in three dimensions. 

Lastly if you are looking for something not Wonderland exactly, but related to it you can take a look at the film Dreamchild. The movie centers around fictionalized flashbacks of an elderly Alice Liddell, primarily focusing on her childhood around the time the book was written. I watched this several years ago. I vaguely remember it was pretty good. The only thing I strongly remember about it was this creepy flashback/dream about the “mad tea party.” That part totally freaked me out. I haven’t watched it since, but maybe I should try it again. 

 Music To Read By 

I didn’t listen to any music. I just enjoyed reading though the television commercials this time around. I was going to make a playlist containing all the songs written that are based on the book . Then I found a web page that listed 20 songs inspired by Alice in Wonderland. I thought why not just link you to that page. It even includes songs with music videos based on Alice in Wonderland. That is way more awesome than the playlist I had planed. 

That is all my darlings. This was a long one and a link extravaganza. Now you see why it took me so long to post it. Sorry for the wait. Happy reading and keep it shiny!

About Books Blog 32: Calling for Angels

Author: Alex Smith

Genre: Young Adult, Urban Fantasy, Romance, Adventure

Favorite Line

“Funny eh? Even when you’re dead your heart can still break.”

Summary (from Red Telephone Books)

Em - shy, sensitive, with her head in the clouds - and Caitlyn - gorgeous, popular and talented - have been best friends forever, in a sleepy, nondescript town called Philiton.

But when new boy Zak moves into town, Philiton suddenly becomes a much more interesting place. With his meltingly hot looks, sense of humour and a smile that has even the hardest-hearted girls falling at his feet, Zak has the female population of Philiton Comprehensive School convinced he's an angel.

Caitlyn usually has the boys worshipping at her feet, so it’s a shock when Zak seems to be more interested in Em. Cracks appear, tensions arise, but surely Em and Caitlyn’s lifelong friendship can survive?

Em feels beset by demons. At home, she’s looking after her grandmother, who is slowly deteriorating, whilst despairing at her normally sensible brother, who is going off the rails just to fit in with the ‘right crowd’. Even Zak’s unexpected attention causes jealous girls to shower Em with spite – not least Caitlyn. If only she had a guardian angel…

Then a second boy steps into Em’s life. Dark and brooding, a captive to the secrets of a past he’d rather forget, Kai, who has appeared as if from nowhere and fallen head over heels in love with Em, is the exact opposite of Zak.

And although he may not seem like it, Kai is the real thing. He really is an angel.

What I Thought Of This Book

Two words...Absolutely lovely. Calling for Angels is such an emotional tale that one can not help but find a connection with it in some way. I think every emotion that you can have was reflected in the story, love, loss, humor, you name it and it was in there. I personally found it very endearing.

I felt that it was very well thought out both in terms of the plot and the supernatural elements. I was fascinated by how much consideration was put into inter-workings of angels and demons, or what spiritual warfare might be like from perspective of beings on of the unseen world. One thing I really appreciated was that the romance side of the story wasn’t silly, tragic, or overly obsessive.

As for the characters I positively adored their sense of humor. It created some delightful dialogue. I loved that Em wasn’t your average teenage heroine. She was quirky and fairly comfortable with it. Although I must say my favorite character had to be Kai. I think this was because I enjoyed his emotional journey the most. I liked watching him grow as a character.

I was basically smitten with Calling for Angels. I think I might have read it in less than a week. Thus, proving how much fun I had reading. I think it is a wonderful read for all ages. Many thanks to Red Telephone Books for giving me this wonderful book to review.

Facts I Found Interesting

Author Alex Smith is only seventeen years old. She began writing Calling for Angels at age fourteen. Good grief! If she writes this good now can you imagine how she’ll write later?

The Movie

There’s obviously no film yet, but I think it would make a darn cute movie though.

Music to Read By

I read this very quickly so there were not very many albums in the mix. Mostly I just listened to random playlists I had already. The only full albums I listened to were Speak Now by Taylor Swift and Tiger Suit by KT Tunstall. I thought both of these albums fit the mood of the story at times. Though I think I loved Tiger Suit the best. I’m pretty sure I listened to one more album but I can’t remember what it was now. Oh...That is just going to get on my nerves. I'm drawing a blank. Gosh, I don’t know what it was.

While reading this I got the feeling that Alex Smith and I were musical kindred spirits. There were references to two bands I love Red Hot Chili Peppers and Led Zeppelin. In addition the character Em has Florence and the Machine’s Dog Days Are Over as her phone ring tone. My phone ring tone is Cosmic Love. Ha ha. Yay for Florence and the Machine ring tones!

Calling for Angels Playlist

Looking For Angels - Skillet

Under The Bridge - Red Hot Chili Peppers

(Still A) Weirdo - KT Tunstall

Pretty Eyes - The Cranberries

Everything Is Not Lost - Coldplay

Sparks Fly - Taylor Swift

Smile - Glee Cast

Just The Way You Are - Bruno Mars

The Heart Of Life - John Mayer

Sing - Travis

Little Wonders - Rob Thomas

Friends - Led Zeppelin

For Those Who Wait - Fireflight

Dog Days Are Over - Florence and the Machine

Yay! I finally got this out to you lovely people. Very exciting. I hope you had fun reading this post. See you soon. Keep it shiny!

About Books Blog 28: The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening

Author: L.J. Smith

Genre: Young Adult/Paranormal Romance

Favorite Line

“Everything inside her was contradictory. She didn’t want company, and yet she was achingly lonely. She did want to think, but now that she was trying to, her thoughts eluded her like mice running from a white owl.”

Summary (from The Vampire Diaries Wiki)

Elena is cool, blond and slender - the girl every boy wants and every girl wants to be. Always in control, no boy has ever stirred her innermost feelings - until she meets Stefan. Drawn to him with a frightening intensity, overwhelmed by desire, Elena knows that she must make Stefan hers.

However, Stefan is hiding a terrible secret. Centuries earlier, his love for another left him with a terrible legacy, the curse of living forever as a vampire. Aching to respond to Elena, he struggles to resist. For if, he and Elena should come together, he fears that his passion would demand the ultimate gift of love…

What I Thought of This Book

I guess I was one of those wacky people that didn’t know about this book until the television show was about to begin last year. Sadly, I didn’t have time to read the books before the show began. I decided since season two has started I’d try the books now.

The Vampire Diaries has that quality that keeps you reading. I couldn’t put it down. I loved the writers writing style. I simply enjoyed the way she expressed her ideas. The novel also had an element of intrigue and mystery inter-weaved in the in the plot that I didn’t expect. In addition, this book contains possibly one of the cutest first kiss scenes I've read in a long time. I was pleased with the historical flashback scenes, explaining the tragic love triangle between the two brothers and the vampire Kathryn. Flashbacks are just awesome in my book, and I’m starting to think I’m a total sucker for love triangles.

I had a few qualms with the lead character Elena Gilbert. My first impression of her was that she was bossy and expected all the boys to fall at her feet. I really didn’t like the way she played silly games, and engaged in a competition with her frenemie Caroline for Stefan’s heart. It was as if he was a prize to be had instead of a person... I mean vampire...Whatever. I also had issues with Elena’s best bud Bonnie, who literally thought EVERYTHING is romantic. I was thinking, “Good grief, I hope these girls grow out of this.” I don’t know if they exactly grew out of it, but I they did start to grow on me. I started to understand them better. The things that I once found annoying became endearing, and a little funny. Elena’s strong personality seemed to show potential in being channeled toward good leadership skills. Her love for Stefan started to improve her for the better.

I must say I found Stefan flipping adorable. I have a soft spot for a vampire with a tortured soul. I know it’s not the most original idea, but I felt Ms. Smith gave him his own flare with it. Damon rather amusing me. He’s quite obviously dangerous and not overly concerned about murdering and maiming, yet I still found him darkly delightful. I guess in general liked the male lead characters better than the girls. Perhaps this is because when you’re over 500 years old, you are less likely to act immature.

I’m completely ready to read the rest of the series. It is a fun pleasure read. Moreover, I kind of have to read the rest of the series since the darn book ended with a cliffhanger. A fact which I find rather cool and yet a little cruel.

Interesting Facts

This book actually has a video game. I don't know why but I find that rather funny.

The Television Show

Two words: LOVE IT! I was pretty much sold on the show before I even saw the first episode. Let’s just face it I love a vampire show. Angel, Forever Knight, Moonlight, Dark Shadows, Blood Ties, you name it I’ve watched it (except True Blood because I don’t have HBO). In addition, Nina Dobrev and Ian Somerhalder are in it. I’m a fan of both Degrassi and Lost so I had to give the show a go.

The writing and production for the show is quite brilliant. The show has a very cinematic look. In fact it is kind of like watching a short film every week. The acting is wonderful as well. The performers do very well at making you tap in to the emotions of the scenes. I only feel sorry for who ever watches it with me. I tend to get very into it and offer witty commentary between the actors lines. Ha ha.

Of course, there are considerable amounts of changes from book to show. Most notably the fact the Stefan and Damon’s back-story was updated from late 15th century Italy to 19th century American Civil War times. In the show, Elena was given a teenage younger brother, as opposed to her three-year-old sister in the novel. The vampire mythology from was tweaked a bit. Which was probably a good idea, because lets just face it if you saw the live action actors turn into animals it would be difficult to take seriously. I just wonder was it that big of a deal to people that actress cast as Elena wasn’t blond. I heard it was, but I say who cares. At least Nina can act unlike someone in the vampire movie that shall remain nameless. Wink, wink.

Vampire Diaries CW Youtube Channel

Music To Read By

This one was a musical shindig. My favorite albums were How to Save a Life by The Fray, I Megaphone by Imogen Heap, Lungs by Florence and The Machine, and I Am...Sasha Fierce by Beyonce. Yes, I know that last one sounds ridiculous, but it works I promise it works in a weird way. I also, enjoyed listing to Laws of Illusion by Sarah Mclachlan, and a little bit of Chris Cornell and Seal.

I can’t say I’m completely pleased with my playlist. I like it but it feels like it’s missing something. Oh well, maybe when I finish the series it will come to me. I’ll just fix it later. At least it is all music that I would have listened to while reading.

TVD: The Awakening Playlist

Drumming Song - Florence and The Machine

You Look So Fine - Garbage

Look After You - The Fray

In My Place - Coldplay

Smash Into You - Beyonce

Come Here Boy - Imogen Heap

Undisclosed Desires - Muse

Sweet Dream - Beyonce

Love Come - Sarah Mclachlan

Kiss From A Rose - Seal

Bloodstream - Stateless

Mission - Chris Cornell

Blood Brothers - Iron Maiden

Closer - Kings Of Leon

(Note: I heard actress Nina Dobrev say that Kings of Leon is one of her favorite bands. Ironically, vampire stories often make me think of this song for some reason.)

Well that is it my loves. I hope you'll forgive me if there are any mistakes in this review. I kind of made a deal with myself that I would have this review out by today no matter what. I taught 6 classes tonight. I'm choreographing a dance that I'm going to be in as well. We do a lot of lifts in it, so I am beat. I don't do my best proofreading when I'm tired. At least I ran it through spell check. I hope that this was at least readable. Man, I sure write a lot for a tired person. See you later. Keep it shiny!

About Books Blog 21: The Stand

Author: Stephen King

Genre: Post-apocalyptic/Horror/Urban Fantasy

Favorite Line

"Love didn't grow very well in a place where there was only fear, just as plants didn't grow very well in a place where it was always dark."

Summary

A government facility accidentally releases a deadly plague upon the world. The survivors are separated between the forces of good and evil to determine who will rebuild the world and society.

What I Thought Of The Book

The Stand was everything I've come to expect from a good Stephen King novel. It goes with out saying that there is a bit of gruesome violence and gruesomeness in general. That rarely bothers me as long as I don't let my imagination run too wild. I think it's great that Stephen always adds a few hilarious moments into the story to make you laugh out loud. There are also beautiful scenes that tug at your heart strings. I am always amazed by King's fabulous characterizations. I mean he even did a great characterization for the dog, Kojak, in this book. How does he do that? He has a way of make his characters seem almost like real people. You start talking about them as if they were real. In the preface, Stephen King stated that people often ask him what happened to characters in The Stand, as if he got letters from them now a then. I can see why.

Only issue I had was the length of the thing. I am one of those people who gets a sense of accomplishment from how far I am in a book. I did eventually get that happy sense of accomplishment...Around page 600. Haha. I am also a big fan of finishing a chapter before I do anything else. It is almost impossible to do when the chapters are so long. That is the nature of the book though. It would be unfair to ask anyone to write a post-apocalyptic drama with short chapters.

In a way, the length was a good thing. I got to live with the characters I adored for a long time. The price you pay for getting to hang with the good people is that you have to live with the sick, mentally insane, depraved, and down right evil people. I was a little stuck when I hit particularly long chapters the centered around the less savory characters. Not all the less than savory people hindered my reading. I actually felt a little sorry for them. They were not completely evil; they were just sadly misled to the dark side. However, some of them deserved to get there just deserts. As the story continued and the story lines started merging I found that, I wasn’t stuck on chapters as often.

Overall The Stand is a great book especially if you a fan of Stephen King's works. Just promise you will not do as I did, and start it when you are super busy. Wait to read it when you have a lot of free time. Unless you read super fast. I only read medium speed. I probably should warn you Stephen King tends to lean toward the idea that evil never dies. You might want to keep that in mind at the end. One more thing, my copy of the book has a few rather interesting illustrations. If you think you might be scarred by drawings of the dead and people warped by radiation, you might not want the illustrated publication.

Facts I Found Interesting

• The novel was originally released in 1978. It was later re-released in 1990 under the title The Stand: The Complete and Uncut Edition. In this version King changed the setting from the year 1980 to 1990, updated the pop culture references, reinserted material that was cut for brevity, and wrote a few extra tidbits that rounded out the characters' stories. This was the version I read. I talked with someone who told me some parts that were not in earlier editions. I couldn't believe the stuff that was cut, because I couldn't imagine the book without those parts. The extra stuff really does fill out the story and enhance your connection to the people in it. Therefore, it is worth getting the uncut edition even if it is extra long.

• The Stand is based on a short story Stephen King wrote called Night Surf. A story that involves teenagers who survive an outbreak of a similar deadly virus. A version of Night Surf is in his short story collection Night Shift. I own Night Shift, but I have not read it yet.

• Marvel Comics published a graphic novel of The Stand. I saw it at the bookstore once. I was very tempted to buy it but I didn't. I wanted to read the book first.

The Movie

I'm beginning to realize that I am one of those people that watches the movie before reading the book. Noooo! That is just not good to me. I want to be one of those people who always reads the book first. I was hard to avoid watching this one, because they show it almost every month on either the Chiller or Syfy channel. I love those channels. What is a girl to do?

In my experience adaptations of Stephen King novels, are either super great or super not so great. I find that many of the best ones are the ones that Stephen writes the screenplay himself, or the ones that are made into a mini-series. Since The Stand was both adapted by the author and is a mini-series it equals awesome in my book. I think the film manages to be as close to the novel's story line as you could get with a book that is over 1000 pages. Obviously, some story elements had to go for time purposes. A few characters were removed. Sometimes two characters where merged together into one character. The film ending is a little bit happier. I love the casting for the film. The actors are pretty close to the descriptions in the book. Awesome! In short, I love the movie.

The Stand Trailer

Music To Read By

Favorite Albums

These long books are always musical extravaganzas. The general favorite albums included The Invitation by Thirteen Senses, Only by Night by Kings of Leon, and This Is War by 30 Seconds to Mars. A lot of the music I liked for the book was very masculine driven so I injected the feminine in to the musical mix with Lungs by Florence and The Machine, Dilate by Ani Difranco, Abnormally Attracted to Sin by Tori Amos, and Fallen by Evanescence. I loved multiple albums and best of albums by these bands: Coldplay, The Who, The Blue Oyster Cult, R.E.M, and Muse. I wonder if Stephen King listens to Blue Oyster Cult while he is writing. It seems like many of their songs fit his books. He seems to be a fan of Bob Dylan as well. He's always quoting his songs somewhere.

In case you wanted to know. I guess there is a recording of “Baby Can You Dig You Man.” This is the song that the character Larry sings in the novel. Al Kooper recorded it for the film. I could not find the recording anywhere to save my life, so it is not on the playlist. The closest I could find was a song by Self with the same title. It uses the one of the lyrics that Stephen wrote for the song in the book. I liked how it flowed with the other music on my playlist so I put it on there.

I usually try to include all the musical references in the book in the playlist. This book had a ridiculous amount, so I had to stick to just the ones that I truly enjoyed. I tried to use quite a few of the ones that were directly quoted. I think to do a playlist for The Stand any justice you would have to do one for each character. I am so not going to do that. I just have to live with the songs on the playlist below.

The Stand Playlist

(Don't Fear) The Reaper - The Blue Oyster Cult

Baby Can You Dig Your Man - Self

Boogie Fever - The Sylvers

Jungleland - Bruce Springsteen

Crawl - Kings of Leon

Eve of Destruction - Barry McGuire

This Ain't The Summer Of Love - The Blue Oyster Cult

It's The End Of The World As We Know It - R.E.M

Don't Dream It's Over - Crowded House

You've Got The Love - Florence and The Machine

In The Garden - Bob Dylan

Join Together - The Who

Use Somebody - Kings of Leon

Back In The U.S.A - Chuck Barry

Shelter From The Storm - Bob Dylan

City Of Delusion - Muse

Outta Me, Onto You - Ani DiFranco

Angels and Spies - Thirteen Senses

Yes - Coldplay

Assassin - Muse

A Rush Of Blood To The Head - Coldplay

Won't Get Fooled Again - The Who

Riders On The Storm - The Doors

Butterflies and Hurricanes - Muse

Abnormally Attracted To Sin - Tori Amos

Night Of The Hunter- 30 Seconds To Mars

Haunted - Evanescence

Into The Fire - Thirteen Senses

Stand By Me - Ben E. King

Everybody Hurts - R.E.M

Apocalypse Please - Muse

This Is War - 30 Seconds To Mars

American Tune - Paul Simon or Eva Cassidy

Amazing Grace - Ani DiFranco

Yay! I finally got this review out. I bet you were wondering if it was ever going to happen. Haha. See you guys later. Keep it shiny!

Next About Books Blog: Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison

About Books Blog 19: Comic Book Tattoo Tales Inspired By Tori Amos

Authors: Various

Editors: Rantz A. Hoosley and Tori Amos

Genre: Graphic Novel

Summary

Comic Book Tattoo is an anthology graphic novel featuring 51 stories based on or inspired by a song by Tori Amos.

What I Thought of This Book

I did not enter the bookstore intending to buy this book. I was actually looking for the fourth graphic novel in The Sandman Series. Unfortunately, everyone else must have needed the fourth book too so all of them were gone. Considering it was the second bookstore I'd looked for Sandman in, I resigned to getting the book online. I decided to see if there was anything else that seemed interesting. I discovered they had Comic Book Tattoo. Though I had wanted to buy it eventually, it wasn't at that top of my list. There were many comics I intended to read first. However, the artwork in Comic Book Tattoo was just so awesome, and I am a bit of a Tori fan. I figured why not buy it?

A few of the comics differed from what I interpreted the songs to be. This bothered me for a few seconds. Then I realized that everyone interprets a song differently. That is the beauty of music. I read more on the concept behind the book, which made the stories make more since. All the graphic artists were asked to created something that reflected the way the song made them feel, not how the song could be interpreted. Sometimes the way songs make you feel has nothing to do with what the song is about. When you think about it, Tori's songs can occasionally be down right difficult to interpret. I will never forget when my mom and I spent many hours trying to decipher the lyrics on one of her albums. It made my brain hurt a little, but the music was still great.

As I said the artwork done by a off the artists is beautiful. I was expecting that I would like that. As I expected one or two of them to be just a little too weird for me. I didn't expect that the stories based on the few songs I don't like would be some my favorite stories. On the other side of the coin, some stories based on my favorite songs were good but not quite my favorite. These stories are cute, meaningful, reflective, and many have awesome sci-fi/fantsy plots. As you can guess, some of these comics contain mature themes. However, if you are old enough to watch the shows on Showtime or HBO you probably won't have a problem with this.

The only little inconvenience with this book is that it is huge. I read almost all of this during an all night black out due to rainstorms and flooding in our area. I had to hold the book at weird angles to read by candlelight. Because of the size of the book, by the time I finished it the outer cover completely came off. Fortunately, the binding of the pages held together. All I can say is that if you are going to get it you might want to invest in the hardback copy. Aside, from this I enjoyed Comic Book Tattoo very much. It was a great way for me to pass time when I had no television, internet, or you know electricity in general.

Facts I Found Interesting

The title of Comic Book Tattoo comes from the song Flying Dutchman. The song was written about editor and graphic novelist Rantz A. Hoosley who is Tori’s close friend. Rantz also introduced Tori's music to fellow graphic novel creator and writer, Neil Gaiman, by giving him a demo tape of hers before her first album came out. He told Neil that Tori had written a song about him on it and asked him not to sue her. Ha ha. The tape actually lead to Neil calling her on the phone and them becoming friends. Neil Gaiman wrote the forward to Comic Book Tattoo. Ironically, I went to the bookstore to get a book in the Sandman Series created by Neil Gaiman. Therefore, in a round about way I still ended up with something Neil related.

Art of Comic Book Tattoo

Here is a link to an image gallery on my favorite Tori fan site hereinmyhead.com which feature some of the art in Comic Book Tattoo.

Comic Book Tattoo Images

Music To Read By

I bet you're thinking I listened to every Tori Amos album ever while reading this. In fact, you would be wrong. I didn't listen to any music at all. Part of it was that each story is prefaced by the lyrics to the song it is based on. It can be hard to read lyrics to a song while listening to a different song. My other reason is the aforementioned black out. I wasn't sure how much charge I had on my Mp3 player, and with no electricity, I couldn't charge it. The playlist below features all the songs featured in the book in order

  Comic Book Tattoo Playlist

Flying Dutchman

Bouncing Off Clouds

Girl

Merman

Take To The Sky

Mr. Zebra

Little Earthquakes

Marianne

Crazy

Programmable Soda

Toast

Jackie's Strength

Little Amsterdam

Here, In My Head

Suede

Sugar

Teenage Hustling

Father Lucifer

Snow Cherries From France

The Waitress

Caught A Light Sneeze

Winter

Baker Baker

1000 Oceans

Space Dog

The Beekeeper

Siren

Iieee

Silent All These Years

Leather

Gold Dust

Precious Things

Glory of the 80's

Honey

Crucify

God

Pandora's Aquarium

Scarlet's Walk

Beauty of Speed

I Can't See New York

Upside Down

Northern Lad

Roosterspur Bridge

Cornflake Girl

Pirates

Hey Jupiter

Devils And Gods

Past The Mission

Sweet The Sting

Ribbons Undone

Pretty Good Year

I thought it might be fun to share with you a Tori Amos Tribute video I edited a long time ago. I made it when I was in a deep Tori phase. I still like her now, but I don't think I'm quite as obsessed as I was. Haha. Anyway, I mixed footage from some of her music videos and one of her live performances. I think it's pretty good. It's edited under my screen name Scarlet Cherry.

Take To The Sky: A Tori Amos Video Tribute @ Yahoo! Video

Next About Books Blog: So B. It by Sarah Weeks

About Books Blog 9: American Gods

Author: Neil Gaiman
Genre: Urban Fantasy

Favorite Line

"He hoped he would live through this, but he was willing to die, if that was what it took to be alive."

Summary

The idea of summarizing this book scared me, but none of the summaries I found on the Internet worked for me. It seemed like they just gave to much away. Hence, I am going to do my own three sentence summary.

Shadow is released from prison two days early due to his wife's death. There after he meets the mysterious Mr. Wednesday, who offers him a job. Little does he know that by taking this job he will be joining the battle for the soul of America.


What I Thought of This Book

Okay, I'm going to tell the truth. I'm so sorry for saying this Neil Gaiman, I love you, but the first time I tried to read this book I didn't really care for it. I couldn't figure out what the heck was going on in the story. All I did know was that I thought the lead character, Shadow, was pretty awesome. I gave up on reading it after the first few chapters.

Then my mother explained to me that American Gods is very much like television serial dramas such as LOST or Heroes. You like the show much better if you don't try to figure out what going on, and just enjoy the little reveals that come along the way. This turned out to be the best advice ever when it came to reading this book. I found it quite a excellent story once I stopped trying to explain what was going on and just read the words on the page.

The best thing about this book is that it is memorable. It took me at least two or three months to finish it, because I was so busy. I thought for sure when I didn't look at the book for three weeks that I would have forgotten everything that had happened. Fortunately, this was not the case. This story is so adorably weird that it's almost impossible to forget.

Warning: This is a complex novel. There are tons off beat characters, mythological gods, flashbacks, side stories, alternate universes, trips to the underworld, introductions to characters that don't come into play until much later in story, people that come back from the dead (because you know nobody in fantasy ever just stays dead), and mysterious men in suits. I love all that stuff. However, it you do not like a least three or more of the things listed above this may not be the book for you.

If you're confused when you read this book I think Wikipedia will help. I don't suggest going to the wiki page until you've finished the book though, since the plot summary included is full of spoilers. However, if you scroll past that part I think you will find the external links quite beneficial.

Facts I Found Interesting

1. Shadow got his name from an Elvis Costello song.

2. Many of the towns and tourist attractions featured throughout the novel are actually real places in America.

3. Tori Amos' song "Wednesday" is said to be a reference to the character Mr. Wendnesday in American Gods. I personally never really saw how the song related to the book until I read a couple comments she had made about the song. Since, the song seems to be about being in a relationship with a man with many secrets, and Mr. Wendsday is depicted as a bit of a philandering conman I suppose I can see how Tori could have been referencing him in the song.

The Movie

No movie. I'm torn on whether I'd ever want one to be made. There are so many elements to it. I don't think you could fit it into a two hour feature. I do think that a lot of things at the end of the book would be cool to see visually.

Music To Read By

Favorite Albums

Best album for this book for me was Sun and Moon by The Bravery. The feel of the music just fits the story. I can't explain it.

I was also fond of 808 & Heartbreak by Kanye West. I believe this is because a few of the songs remind me of Shadow's relationship with his wife.

My other favorite albums where Viva La Vida by Coldplay, A Beautiful Lie by 30 Seconds To Mars, Run Lola Run Soundtrack, and Absolution by Muse.

American Gods Playlist

This playlist was pretty easy since a few of the songs on here are actually mentioned in the book. Thanks Neil for making my life easy.

You Know What They Do To Guys Like Us In Prison - My Chemical Romance
Coldest Winter - Kanye West
Believe - Franka Potente (Run Lola Run Soundtrack)
Walking After Midnight - Patsy Cline
Time Won't Let Me Go - The Bravery
Bad News - Kanye West
42 - Coldplay
Who Loves The Sun - The Velvet Underground
Immigrant Song - Led Zeppelin
(I couldn't find this song in it's entirety for the player below. I'm too lazy to look for it, so if you want to hear more that 30 seconds of it you'll just have to go by some Led Zeppelin. You won't be wasting you money I promise you.)
Help - The Beatles
Viva La Vida - Coldplay
Cells - The Servant
This Is Not The End - The Bravery
Many Funerals - Eisley
Re-evolve - 30 Seconds To Mars
Other Side - Red Hot Chilli Pepers
Sleep - My Chemical Romance
Apocalypse Please - Muse
Believe - The Bravery
Buterflies and Hurricanes - Muse
A Modern Myth - 30 Seconds To Mars
Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood - Nina Simone
Across The Universe - Jim Sturgess originally performed by The Beatles
Finally Woken - Jem

Well that's all folks. I hope to be back soon with the next blog. Keep is shiny!

Next About Books Blog: Winter Of Fire by Sherryl Jordan

About Book Blog 6: Twilight

Author: Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Young Adult/Supernatural Romance

Introduction

Twilight is the first in a four book saga. I will eventually do blogs on the other books, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn. I thought about doing one for the entire series. Then I realized it would be the longest blog I’ve ever written. This is already the longest blog I’ve ever written, which is why I’m only going to do one book at a time.

Summary

17 year old, Bella Swan, moves to the small rainy town of Forks, Washington. There she discovers that the vampire myth is… well… not so mythological. She later realizes she is falling in love with said vampire, Edward Cullen. Relationships are always fun when the one you love is tempted to drain your blood. Not!

What I Thought Of This Book

I was not at all surprised that I loved Twilight. Why, you may ask. It has vampires in it. Anybody who knows me well knows I’m a sucker for almost anything dealing with vampires. (Pun completely intended.)

For me Twilight’s appeal centers around the fact that it is an excellent escape from reality. The world in which it is set and its mythology are intriguing. The characters are engaging and beautifully flawed. Stephenie Meyer’s writing style has the witty sarcasm of comic books, a type of humor I adore.

Even though the books are marketed to young teens, it is a story that communicates to all ages. The novel’s fan base is generally female, but I think men will like it too, if they give it a chance. They would merely have to get past the book’s one minor snag. Bella has this habit of describing how beautiful Edward is a bit too much in the first book. Skim past it as I do, and you’ll be fine.

A warning before you read. Twilight can be highly addictive. This can be proven by the fact that I have read it four times within the span of two years. I’ve also been given the nickname “Twilight Pusher” since I started letting my dance students borrow my second copy of the book. Can you say obsessed?

Facts I Found Interesting

1. The idea for Twilight came from a dream Stephenie had on June 2, 2003. She wrote the events of the dream down and later it became chapter thirteen of the book.

2. Bella’s physical appearance is not described in detail. Meyer felt that by doing this, it would make it easier for the reader to step into Bella’s shoes.

3. Meyer has stated the apple on the book cover represents the forbidden fruit of Genesis. It represents the choice Bella has, of partaking of the “forbidden fruit,” Edward, or choosing not to see him.

The Movie

I apologize for this rant. I do realize that this is a book blog, not a movie review. However, I must state my opinion because the quality of this film frankly disturbed me.

I am not one of those Twilight purest people. Things are going to change when books become films. I have seen many film adaptations of books that were nothing at all like the novel, and enjoyed them immensely. When I say that I dislike the film, it is not because I had some misguided delusion that it would be exactly like the novel. It is simply not a good film in general for five reasons.

1.The screenplay was mediocre at best. I suppose it followed a very basic summary of the source material, but it was filled with plot holes, cheesy dialogue, and half-formed sub-plots.

2. I was not fond of the directors vision for the film. It seemed unorganized to me. At points it reminded me of a very bad production of Romeo and Juliet I saw in 9th grade.

3.There are an excessive amount of technical problems with the cinematography and editing. Examples: The over use of slow motion, lopsided camera shots, the lack of audio/visual synchronization, and lighting which revealed the ring around the actors contact lenses.

4. I did think that some of the actors are rather talented. However, because of the things listed above they occasionally looked like they were floundering. The poor things. It’s not their fault. I blame it all on the director and poor editing choices. The actors actually did fairly well considering the terrible dialogue they had to say.

5. There are hardly any vampires in it. As a vampire film enthusiast, I was annoyed. The whole movie seemed to focus on Bella’s relationship with her father and her human friends. That (while mildly amusing) is not the core story of Twilight. I wanted vampires dang it!

On a whole I can only describe the film as a few moments of brilliance, surrounded by several ridiculous, and down right terrible moments. I’m disappointed because I love the book so much. On the bright side it’s not boring. If you are a Twilight fan already, I suggest you see it at least once. If you are not a fan yet, please, I beg of you, read the book first.

Sigh…I feel better now. Keep in mind that this was all just my personal opinion. Here’s the trailer. I think the trailer is really good. If only the film had been as fabulous as the trailer.

Twilight Teaser Trailer

Music To Read By

Favorite Albums

My hands down favorite album for Twilight is Version 2.0 by Garbage. Many songs are about the dark obsessive side of love, a theme that is explored in the novel. The song Temptation Waits might as well be Edward’s theme song.

I often find myself listening to Confessions on a Dance Floor by Madonna when reading Twilight. It doesn’t seem like it would work but trust me it does.

Any album by Linkin’ Park is wonderful as well. Stephenie Meyer claims that the unnamed band Bella listens to in chapter 7 is Linkin’ Park. Of course, as with all works written by this author, you are always safe if you listen to Muse.

Twilight Playlists

Here are the links to Stephenie Meyer’s playlist for Twilight, as well as a fan site that features songs that fit the novel.

Stephenie Meyer's Playlist

His Golden Eyes Playlist

My Twilight Playlist

My goodness this is a long play list. I didn’t mean for this to happen.

Embryonic Journey - Jefferson Airplane
Why does it Always Rain On Me - Travis
Strange and Beautiful - Aqualung
The Walk - Imogen Heap
Crashed - Daughtry
Dumb - Garbage
(Note: I wasn’t going to put this on the playlist. Then I heard this lyric: “A masochistic lamb to slaughter.” I couldn’t resist. You’ll see why when you read the book.)
Clair De Lune - Debussy
(Note: Edward and Bella listen to this song in chapter 5.)
Rainy Days and Mondays - Emmy Rossum originally performed by The Carpenters
The First Taste - Fiona Apple
Flutter Girl - Chris Cornell
Session - Linkin’ Park
Hero/Heroine - Boys Like Girls
Temptation Waits - Garbage
Fast As You Can - Fiona Apple
Insomniatic - Aly & AJ
(Note: Obviously insomniatic is not a real word. Aly & AJ have defined it as: A state of mind where one becomes addicted to the deprivation of sleep caused by an epic revelation of joy.)
You Look So Fine - Garbage
Friday I’m In Love - The Cure
Chasing Cars - Snow Patrol
Endlessly - Muse
Blush - Plumb
Forbidden Love - Madonna
Lay Down Beside Me - Allison Krauss ft. John Waite
Lullaby (Goodnight My Angel) - Billy Joel
Sleep - Imogen Heap
My Big Secret - Michael Nyman
Yellow - Coldplay
Hunter - 30 Seconds To Mars Originally performed by Bjork
Run - Snow Patrol
Closing In - Imogen Heap
Forever May Not Be Long Enough - Live
Time Is Running Out - Muse
Time Of Dying - Three Days Grace
In Your Eyes - Peter Gabriel
Lullaby - The Spill Canvas
Dreams - The Cranberries
Love Song - The Cure

Thanks for reading this incredibly long blog. Keep it shiny!

Next About Books Blog: Stardust by Neil Gaiman