Exciting News!

I am very excited to have found out about the new Fairy Tales that were found in Regensberg Germany.  Although the news is no longer new, it is still very cool!  Here is a link to the news article:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/mar/05/five-hundred-fairytales-discovered-germany

I am personally looking forward to getting my hands on a translation or even just a copy.  Sadly, it seems that noone local is carrying them, not even the universities.  Hopefully that will change, but in the meantime, I'll just have to stick to reading twisted and other fairy tales that are published.

Percy Jackson Mind Map

Hi everyone!
So, the third book for the Heroes of Olympus is coming out in two days!  This is very exciting news for those of us who love Greek mythology series.  In celebration of this, I have created a Percy Jackson Mind Map.  It is saved as a PDF.  If you use Foxit Reader, you will need to disable Safe Mode and use the Hand Tool in order to access the links.  Adobe does not seem to have any problems!  I hope you find some new books out of this document!  Happy reading!

In order to view the document, click on the link below:
Percy Jackson Mind Map

The Selection Book Review

The Selection by Kiera Cass

Published by Harper Teen, 2012

This is the first book of a planned trilogy.  In the American state of China, the royal family selects 40 girls from the population for the royal prince to choose to marry.  When America is selected, she is heartbroken as she has been secretly dating someone for about two years who is below her caste.  The ones, basically royalty, are on top and the eights are on the bottom.  However, this is her chance to not only better herself, but help her family and she strikes a deal with her secret boyfriend.  This book is a combination of the TV show The Bachelor and The Hunger Games.  While not everything is recorded and broadcasted like in The Hunger Games, particular events and interviews are broadcasted.  Unlike The Hunger Games, there are rules in the house and if these rules are broken, then the offender gets kicked out.  This book is suggested for those who like dystopian novels, romance, love triangles, series and suspense.  I suggest ages 16 and up as that is the age of the Selected.

P.S.  There’s supposed to be a televised series of the books, so keep your eye out!

Death of a Good Author

It is with much sadness that I announce that Donald Sobol has died.  I knew him from my own childhood and as a jumping point into mysteries.  The Encyclopedia Brown series is still one of my favourite and perfect for starting off in mysteries.

Here is the CBC article:  http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/story/2012/07/16/obit-sobol-donald-encyclopedia-brown.html

My Apologies

I can’t believe that it has been two months since my last post!  I’ll try to explain why that is.  Just when I settled into my new routine which didn’t necessarily include working Saturdays, I got a new job closer to being a librarian.  However, the hours are odd and I’ve been trying to pick up extra cash by working extra hours which tend to be scattered all over the place, not to mention taking up extra time to figure out how to get there by public transportation.  I’ve also been applying for actual librarian jobs that are part-time permanent.  This means there will be interviews coming my way and this will unfortunately disrupt my schedule.

There is also this horrible heat wave and this seems to suck the very energy right out of your body.  My house has air conditioning in the two bedrooms on the top floor and I don’t particularly want to work in a bedroom.  Anyways, I just wanted to apologize for not updating as regularly as I should be.  Hopefully my new plan will work and I should be up and running more regularly until the next slew of interviews!

Movie Review 1: The Adventures of Tintin and The Muppets

Hi everyone!  Sorry it's been awhile since my last post but suddenly life just got a little too busy.  So here's my first set of movie reviews.
The Adventures of Tintin
I thought this movie was pretty good.  If you have read the graphic novels, then you will see the differences between the two formats for sure.  However, I thought that the changes were rather good.  The Uncanny Valley effect was minimal and seemed limited to some of the more realistic looking people.  The more cartoony the character was, the less the effect.  I highly suggest watching this whether or not you've read the graphic novels.

The Muppets
This movie was absolutely hilarious!  This movie was not above poking fun at itself and I rather enjoyed the conventions that were used and satirized (especially the bit where they say "We'll travel by map!).  This movie is definitely a true family film.

Fairy Tales in Popular Media

      I have to say that I can't help but notice a trend in TV shows and films.  Not only one TV show, but two, have come out in one season that are both based on fairy tales.  It is my hope, though perhaps vain, that these two shows will help people realize that fairy tales aren't just for children.  The idea that fairy tales are just "kid's stuff" is something of a recent trend, when in fact these tales used to be for adults.
   
     Once Upon A Time is based heavily on the Grimm and Perrault set of tales, it is not above poking fun at itself once in a while or taking dark twists that you really don't expect.  Since it is produced by ABC channel, that means some of the Disney characters that you know and love will be making an appearance, although maybe not in ways you would expect.
   
     Grimm is also heavily based on the Grimm tales.  This show is a crime drama with fairy tale twists.  It is dark and gritty.  I would suggest this particular tv show for people who are interested in the darker side of fantasy and for horror fans.  One of the things that gets me hooked is the quote at the beginning.  I always Google it so I can see which tale it is going to be based on.  This is how I discovered that not all of the episodes are based on the Grimm set of tales.  One of the episodes, titled  "Beeware", has the quote from a film called The Queen Bee.  Another of the episodes, "The Thing with Feathers" is actually based on Hans Christian Anderson's The Nightingale.  I had never read that tale so I went and got it.  It's actually quite an interesting story about freedom.
   
     If you are not familiar with fairy tales, there are so many variations for each tale.  Each culture has its own version of Cinderella, Snow White, Little Red Riding Hood.  If you like darker versions, I highly suggest that you try to track down the gypsy versions.  Seriously, someone in my oral storytelling class told a gypsy version of the Twelve Dancing Princesses and it was super creepy and adult.  Definitely not for children.
   
     If you want child friendly versions, I suggest you check out the children's section of your local library.  Grimm, Perrault and Anderson are all very popular, but see if you can find some versions from other cultures.  I know it may seem weird if you are in adult in the children's section, but the librarians don't mind!  398.2 is the fairy tale section in the public library.

     Also, two films are coming out this summer, both based on the Snow White tale:  Mirror, Mirror and Snow White and the Huntsman.  Personally, I think that Snow White and the Huntsman looks like a far more interesting version than Mirror, Mirror, but I tend to like films with a feminine twist (i.e. heroine kicks butt) much better.

Happy Reading (and watching)!

Blog Reboot

I think it's time that I rebooted this blog.  It has been over a year since I last posted.  However, all those posts were various assignments for a class I took in library school.  Now, I'm going to post reviews or just general thoughts on what I've been reading.  I'll also be posting links to websites that are of interest to whoever and just general news that I believe will impact the reading world.

Happy Reading!