Monday, June 21, 2010

Sons of Destiny to Lord Loss(Cirque du Freak Series to The Demonata Series)

As of last Wednesday, Marvel and I completed the Cirque du Freak series by reading the conclusion to the thrilling series, Sons of Destiny.
We are now going to begin reading the Demonata series by Darren Shan.

The Demonata #1: Lord Loss: Book 1 in the Demonata seriesSynopsis(from http://www.bn.com/)


Grubbs Grady has stiff red hair and is a little big for his age, which means he can get into R-rated movies. He hates history and loves bacon, rats, and playing tricks on his squeamish older sister. When he opts out of a family weekend trip, he never guesses that he is about to take a terrifying journey into darkness. Hungry demons and howling werewolves haunt his waking nightmares... and threaten his life.




Publishers Weekly(taken from http://www.bn.com/)

The author of the popular Cirque du Freak books launches another no less gruesome series with this first installment in the Demonata books. Readers meet teen narrator Grubitsch Grady ("Grubbs") in a bad spot-he's in the principal's office, caught smoking cigarettes-but things are about to get far worse. Grubbs seeks revenge against the informant, his sister, Gretelda, by smearing her bath towels with rat guts. He feels guilty about this when, just a few pages later, Gretelda, Mom and Dad are killed in appalling fashion by Lord Loss, a "demon master," and his grotesque familiars-Vein and Artery. Grubbs is sole witness to his family's execution and his narrow escape, by means he doesn't quite understand himself, nearly drives him mad. He goes to live with insensitive Uncle Dervish, who regales his newly orphaned nephew with stories about the "long and bloody history" of the house that Grubbs will now call home. Written mainly in sentence fragments with an excess of exclamation points, the narrative is a mish-mash of occult motifs. Halfway through the story, werewolves make an appearance. It's tough to take any of this seriously: the cartoonish villain stages high-stakes showdowns that mix slasher flick-style battles with chess matches. The author introduces threads about rare books and a missing treasure, then drops them, presumably to pick them up in the following volume, due out next year. Ages 15-up. (Oct.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

You are welcome to read the series along with us...we will commence in August.

Words

http://www.dictionary.com/.
This doesn't relate directly to books, or does it...? Well, anyways, I was on dictionary.com, and I saw this, and so I thought, "Hey, why don't I enlighten the rest of the world?":

furfuraceousdisportjugalschadenfreudepneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis

The word, in addition to being the largest word held on Dictionary.com, is: "an obscure term ostensibly referring to a lung disease caused by silica dust, sometimes cited as one of the longest words in the English language," as quoted from http://www.dictionary.com/.

So, if you ever have the urge to get back at that coughing fool who never coughs into their shoulder like a good sensible person but into the open air, inviting others to become ill like them, say, adopting concern, "Do you have pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis?" But remember to have the definition down, 'cause they might just ask, "What does that mean?"

Today's word of the day(on Dictionary.com), by the way, is heliolatry, which means, "worship of the sun."

Friday, June 11, 2010

Cirque Du Freak-Complete Box Set

I am considering purchasing the entire Cirque du Freak series, and therefore am searching for a box set. Unfortunately, according to my present research, such a thing does not exist.
Let's see...
well,
Barnes and Noble offers two four-book sets...now let's look at Amazon...

Oh, I just found...a box set combining the two previously mentioned; a.k.a. having books 1-8.

Hmph; that's very disappointing. I was hoping to buy the entire series as a box set...ah well.

The last book of the Cirque du Freak series is, once again, Sons of Destiny. I'm to acquire the book tomorrow! I cannot wait!


Cirque Du Freak #12: Sons of Destiny: Book 12 in the Saga of Darren Shan (Cirque Du Freak: the Saga of Darren Shan (Mass Market))-Cover of Hardcover Version(Sons of Destiny by Darren Shan)

Summer Begins for Some and not All :-(

Hello one and all it is I, Marvel

This is my first post in a while, and my first one this summer, hopefully there will be more to come.

First of all, I am in charge of the Monthly Mix at the bottom of the page, and would like to ask if you have any recommendations for appropriate songs that represent the month of June.

Next, I would like to go over some new releases and current bestsellers.
 
After looking over Barnes and Noble's bestseller list, I have concluded that the Twilight craze is still high what with The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner coming out about 6 days ago.  Also, with the third book in the Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins coming out in August, many readers are pre-ordering it or reading the series for the first time (which I would recommend because the series is AMAZING, no joke).  A number of the books on the list are books from the series of Pretty Little Liars, those who are now starting the series are probably reading because of the t.v. series premiere on ABC Family.  Other books on the list include the Necromancer (Book 4 of The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel), Spirit Bound (Book 5 of the Vampire Diaries), and Burned (Book 7 of the House of Night Series).

Now, I would like to input my own current reads and reviews.

Like Medallion, I have been reading the Cirque Du Freak series which I was pleasantly surprised with.  I had heard many glowing reviews on the series, and although the first book was a little slow for my taste, the rest of the series was filled with twists and turns that I sometimes could not foretell.  I am now highly anticipating my reading of the last book in the series Sons of Destiny.

 I realize that I'm a bit behind the times with this review, but I feel as if I should post on my thoughts concerning Fang.  I was shocked at the ending, especially after previous events in the Maximum Ride series, and I am waiting for the next book so the event that took place can be justified.

Recently, I received Pride and Prejudice as a present for my birthday, and even though it is a classic and not new, I want to emphasize the fact that this novel is a treasure, and should be read by everyone who thinks themselves a reader, even those people who do not. :-)

 Hopefully, my posting has affected you in some way, and I hope I will be able to do this again soon.

Until then,
Adieu,
Marvel

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Cirque Du Freake-Where are We?

Hi,
in this post I aim to update y'all on Marvel and I's status regarding the Cirque du Freake series.
Less than an hour ago I completed Lord of the Shadows, the eleventh book out of 12 in the series...it was FANTASTIC!
Really, when-oh wow, I was going to release a huge spoiler. Shame on me. OK. Well, you guys have been saved due to my quick reflexes.
Marvel has started the book(Lord of the Shadows) but she has not completed it yet...she's occupied at the moment but I'm going to make sure she finishes it as soon as she can so we can begin the conclusion of the Cirque du Freake series-SONS OF DESTINY.

Wait, now that we're on the subject of Cirque du Freake, have any of y'all watched the movie "The Vampire's Assistant"?
I already have low expectations for it.

Medallion