Book Trailer: Hollow City (Miss Peregrine Book 2) by Ransom Riggs

I have not read the first book Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children but I've had it on my TBR pile for quite a while. After seeing the trailer for the second book Hollow City. I'm thinking I better move it on up the TBR line.














      





Here is a trailer for Hollow City which comes out 1/14/2014






And if you have not already seen it here is a trailer for the first book.

Harry Potter Moment of the Week #47

                                   

Ok so this might be #47 but it is my first one. If you would like to take part head on over to Uncorked Thoughts and take part in the fun!


Favourite moment in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Oh boy is this one a tough one to answer. This was the book that probably made me the angriest as I could not stand Professor Umbridge. I know I know no one else could stand her either. I thought she was a perfect kind of villian. She wasn't Voldemort but a different kind of evil. She got off on the pain and suffering of others. He Who Should Not Be Named was all about being the most powerful. Umbridge was a different sick sort of beast. I LOVED when Fred and George set off all those fireworks. All of them racing down the halls and the teachers calling on Umbridge to take care of it. So that was probably my favorite moment.


My second favorite would be the formation of Dumbledore's Army. I loved how Neville grew to so confident because of this. It started to show the potential for what a true hero he was. His courage and heart is something I love. This is the start of his transformation from bumbly chubby lovable boy to a confidant fight to the death man. 

 

Hodgepodge

Ok so it has been a while since I've done one of these. Alright it has been a very long time.  Anyway here are my answers for today's hodgepodge.

1.  Every January 1st since 1976 Lake Superior University has published a list of words they'd like to see banished from the Queen's English.  Words may be banished due to misuse, overuse or just general uselessness (go here to read more about how the words were chosen).  Here are the words/phrases they'd like to see banished in 2014-

selfie, twerk/twerking, hashtag, Twittersphere, Mr. Mom, T-bone, _______on steroids, the suffixes-ageddon and -pocalypse added to anything and everything, from the world of politics the words-intellectually/morally bankrupt and Obamacare, and from the world of sports the words-adversity and fan base

Which of these words/phrases would you most like to see banished from everyday speech and why?  Is there a word not on the list you'd like to add?

I'd love to see Mr. Mom gone. It is such an antiquated notion. It belittles the men who stay home and take care of their children. I get it back in the 1980s it was amazing to see a stay at home man. But come on it is 2014 haven't we moved beyond the fascination? I can name at least 5 stay at home male bloggers off the top of my head.

2. What one unfinished project nags at you begging to be

completed in this new year?

Right now that would be to finish writing my book. I'm not having writers block so much as I'm just not writing at the moment. Too much other stuff going on in my life right now.

3. When did you last have a bowl of soup?  What kind? Homemade or from a can? What's your favorite soup?

Last time was monday. Had a horrible stomach virus all last week so I was pretty much just eating soup and apple sauce. Monday I had chicken noodle from  a can. My favorite soup is well I love so many hard to narrow down to one. Love chicken noodle, clam chowder, split pea, lentil, black bean...I could go on and on LOL. 

4. Snowed in, snowed under, snow job...which one most applies to your life in recent days, figuratively speaking?

Hmmmm...snowed under. I have so much housework to catch up. Yesterday was the first time since before Christmas that I was able to do laundry.

5. What's the funniest movie you've ever seen, or at least one of the funniest?

Of course when my brain is fuzzy I now have to think up some movies. Love some of the classics like Court Jester, Arsenic and Old Lace, Bringing up Baby. Newer movies I admit I enjoy raunchier ones like Old School, Superbad, Shaun of the Dead, Hangover.

 
6. In general, would you say you're clumsy?

Let's just say that my husband USED to have a Coke glass collection...emphasis on the word USED. I'll let you guess what happened to them.

7. Elvis Presley was born on Hodgepodge Day (January 8th) back in 1935.  Are you an Elvis fan?  What's your favorite Elvis tune?  If that's too hard, which Elvis tune do you dislike the least?  Click here for a list of his songs.

Eh, I'm ok with Elvis. I'm what you would call a radio listener. I know the ones they play on the radio but move beyond that and I don't know them. I don't actively seek out Elvis songs but I don't necessarily change the radio when they come on. I don't have a favorite Elvis song. I like Blue Christmas, Jail House Rock, and Suspicious Minds

8. Insert your own random thought here.

 

Taught my son a lesson on keeping your anger this morning...not that I was intending to. My son had been home the last two day sick with the stomach bug his father and I had last week. Well this morning was to be his first one back. Got him fed and was in the middle of finishing getting him dressed when the bus came. I signaled to the bus driver to wait one minute while we scrambled with shoes, jacket and bookbag. Apparently the driver didn't see us and left just as we were heading outside. Well I came back in steaming mad. I threw my sons bookbag across the room and onto the floor and I stewed and cursed. It is very cold outside and I don't drive which would mean a very cold 15 minute walk to the school. Fortunately hubby works from home so he drove us to the school. As for the lesson well when I threw the bag the juice packet I had packed for my son's snack exploded. After cleaning up the mess I explained to him that mommy shouldn't have gotten mad and that things like this happen when we don't control our anger. 

Book Review: Donald Duck and the Super-Sticky Secret

Ah yesterday I pulled out a really old book to read to my son. So old that it was actually one of mine from when I was a little girl. The last time I read this was about 10 years ago when I read it to my stepdaughter and before that it had been at least 18 years since I had last read it. It was not one of my particular favorites as a child but there is always something special about going back and rereading something from your childhood.


The book starts with a brick falling off of the house. Donald is determined to glue it back in place. He creates a sticky concoction and is so satisfied with his work that he decides to open his own fix-it shop. The only problem is his sticky glue doesn't last. So he continues to try different recipes as classic Disney characters stop looking for him to help repair their broken items. During this whole thing his nephews observe and point out they know what would work.

My son enjoyed this book especially since he is a fan of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. He didn't seem to notice or mind that the drawings of Mickey and Donald and the rest of the gang were not like what he sees on the TV show. Which goes to show that some things just translate universally. His favorite part was when Donald Duck becomes stuck to one of the chairs he repairs. Over all it was a good read for him. Not overly wordy but still had enough of a story to keep him interested. The illustrations have the classic feel of Disney which may be off putting for some children.

I give this 4 out of 5 stars.

Book Review: Kobee Manatee by Robert Scott Thayer

I received a copy of this book from netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

It looks like my son caught the nasty stomach bug that plagued my husband and myself all last week. So I figured since he has a sick day home today that I'd read him a few books. I was excited to see this book as I have always been a manatee lover. Ever since middle school I was fascinated with them and even dabbled with the idea of being a marine biologist because of them. I collected books, stuffed animals, glass figurines...well just about anything that had a manatee. While I no longer collect manatees I'm still fascinated by these gentle creatures.

Kobee Manatee is the story of a manatee leaving the chilly waters of Massachusetts to head home to the warmer Florida waters for the winter. Along the way he makes friends with a hermit crab and a seahorse. The three new friends have an adventure on their way south.

I loved this book. The illustrations were absolutely adorable and the story was one that my son was easily able to follow. Through out the book facts are interspersed. I'm glad that they were included as an aside. It didn't over complicate the story making it easier for readers with shorter attention spans. Yet the facts are there for those who want to learn more or those who are a good with sitting through the facts. I read a few of the smaller facts to my son but skipped reading the longer ones to him. Because of his learning disability I knew not to push it too much and found that reading only a few was perfect for him personally. I did go back and read them for myself and each one was fascinating and corresponded with what was currently happening in the book.

My son loved this book. He loves the color blue and was focused on the gorgeous saturation of colors especially blue. He loved Kobee and loved the journey he and his friends made. His favorite part was when Pablo was looking for a new shell.

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.

Book Review: Life is a Bowl Full of Cherries by Vanita Oelschlager

I received a review copy of this book from netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion. This is not the first time I have reviewed a book by Vanita Oelschlager but this one was by far my favorite so far.

This wonderfully illustrated book is all about idioms or those phrases we use that have nothing to do with their meanings such as "two peas in a pod", "life is a bowl full of cherries", or "cold turkey". This is a very hard concept to teach to children but this book does a fairly good job at giving examples.

This was still a little too over my son's head but he still really enjoyed the book. His favorite being "one bad apple". The book was simple enough for him to follow along even if he didn't get what exactly an idiom is. We both enjoyed the illustrations and he asked me to read it to him again.

I would give this a solid 4 out of 5 stars.

Comic Book Review: The Last Christmas by Gerry Duggan and Brian Posehn

I received a review copy from netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion. I finished this comic last week but due to a stomach virus and the holiday madness I'm just now finally able to put up my review.

Have you ever wondered what would happen to Santa and his dear elves in the event of the Apocalypse? Well the sick minds of Gerry Duggan and Brian Posehn have. What came about is a hilariously dark comic fit only for those with the sickest of sick humors.

The Apocalypse has arrived and Santa goes on a bender after the death of his beloved Mrs. Clause. After turning his back on Christmas forever the earth is filled with nothing but evil. Save one lone boy who still believes in the magic of Santa. Can he make Santa believe in Christmas again? Can the world recover after the apocalypse?

Ok I LOVED this comic. But be warned this is not a comic for everyone. You have to have an extremely sick and twisted sense of humor to get and love this comic. Fortunately (or should that be unfortuantely?) I'm one of those people who just gets it. One of my favorite moments is a nod to Star Wars. Sick and twisted there were so many moments I found myself laughing out loud that my hubby kept asking me what was so funny. I finally had to let him read the comic as well. He is just as sick and twisted as me because he found it hilarious as well.

So if you are not weak of stomach, thin of skin and love sick twisted humor than this is the comic for you! I give this a solid 5 out of 5 stars for my final read of 2013!