Birthday: Sir Walter Scott

Sir Walter Scott

Birth: August 15, 1771

Death: September 21, 1832

I’ve posted about him: http://austenitis.blogspot.com/search/label/Sir%20Walter%20Scott

It’s his 235^th birthday!

You know him because – he’s a well-known author, having written Ivanhoe and Waverley.

Awesome Lisa Bergren Book Giveaway!

For those of you who may not yet know, I'm a huge fan of Lisa T. Bergren, ever since her River of Time series. She came out with Glamorous Illusions this spring, and I'm super excited to read it! So when I saw this giveaway, I had to enter. Make sure you do too! You could win Glamorous Illusions.

Just go HERE to enter!

Lord of the Rings Wallpapers

Before we start, let me specify that none of these were made by me or owned by me at all. But they're all pretty cool. :) Let's go!

Looooooovvvvvveeeeeeee all of those. :)

Birthday: Sarah Brightman

Sarah Brightman

 

Birth: August 14, 1960

It’s her 52^nd birthday!

You know her because – she’s a good singer. Not all her songs are great, but some good ones include Anytime Anywhere, I Don’t Know How to Love Him,  and What You Never Know.

The Grimm Legacy

Author: Polly Shulman

Genre: Fantasy, fairy taleish

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 8.5

Type: Fiction

Number of pages: 325

Time period: Present

My overall opinion: The concept for this book is definitely one an author could have fun with! Here’s the deal: there’s this library type of building in New York. Except they don’t just lend books – rather, you can check out almost anything. Clothes (costumes), kitchen utensils, shoes, tools…all there and available for checking out. But there are also the special collections: fairy tale items (like a mermaid’s comb, the twelve dancing princesses shoes, or Snow White’s evil step-mother’s mirror) or I think there’s a science fiction section too (it wasn’t mentioned much, but I think it’s H. G. Wells type stuff – a time machine etc). Doesn’t that make you curious? This book is about the Grimm Collection, all those fun fairy tale things. Now the thing that really makes them interesting is that they actually work. The mermaid comb makes your hair luxuriant. The mirror actually replies to you, if you talk in rhyme. See how this is a fun book? I enjoyed it a lot. The only drawback that there might be is that there is some teen romance, but not a lot, and I didn’t have a serious problem with it.

Mary Magdalene

Author: Diana Wallis Taylor

Genre: Life

Series: Ms. Taylor has written other books based in Bible times (Martha and Journey to the Well), but they’re not a series.

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 8.5

Type: Historical fiction

Number of pages: 292

Time period: Bible times

Passage from book: Long maligned as a prostitute or a woman of questionable reputation, Mary Magdalene's murky story seems lost to the sands of time. Now a portrait of this enigmatic woman comes to life in the hands of an imaginative master storyteller. Diana Wallis Taylor's Mary is a woman devastated by circumstances beyond her control and plagued with terrifying dreams--until she has a life-changing confrontation with the Savior.
Lovers of historical and biblical fiction will find this creative telling of Mary's story utterly original and respectful as it opens their eyes to the redeeming work of Christ in the lives of those who follow him.

My overall opinion: I greatly enjoyed this excellent piece of Biblical fiction. Obviously, a lot of the story of Mary Magdalene had to be fictionalized because the Bible doesn’t tell us that much. But the book was very well-written, and seemed accurate to the time period. It was very interesting to learn about how a person who was basically crazy would have been treated at that time! The way Jesus was described seemed a bit…average (?) to me. Wavy, shoulder-length hair, etc. Maybe that just bugged me – it’s not necessarily a bad thing, it just annoyed me a bit. Other than that, I thought it was a pretty great book! Definitely kept me reading the whole way through! I have Martha on my to-read pile, and can’t wait to start it. Recommended for anyone who enjoys Biblical fiction.

**I reviewed this book for Revell publishers. A good review was not required, and I was not reimbursed for this review other than a free copy of the book. This is my honest opinion of the book.**

The Wide-Awake Princess

Author: E. D. Baker

Genre: Fairy tale

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 9

Type: Fiction

Number of pages: 261

Time period: Fantasy

My overall opinion: What a fun kids’ book! I enjoyed it a lot. :) The story was clean and delightful! It’s mostly a spin on Sleeping Beauty, but also incorporates a few other fairy tales into it. Highly recommended if you enjoyed Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine or other fairy tale retellings.

Shadow Over Kiriath

Author: Karen Hancock

Genre: Fantasy, adventure

Series: Legends of the Guardian-King

Number in series: 3^rd

My rating on a 1-10 scale: Probably a 7.5 or 8…I’m going with a low 8

Type: Fiction

Number of pages: 463

Time period: Fantasy

My overall opinion: I admit, I’m still not entirely sure what to think of this series. They’re different from most other books I’ve read! Some of the fantasy is a little weird, and the author’s writing style isn’t my favorite. They’re books that I mostly enjoy while I’m actually sitting there reading them, but don’t desperately anticipate coming back to. There’s one book left in the series which I will read. However, Karen Hancock isn’t making it onto my (extensive) favorite author’s list.

Tag: Narnia

Ta-da! Yet another tag, made by me. :) Having covered some of Jane Austen and Lord of the Rings, I figured it was Narnia's turn...here we go!

Who’s your favorite Pevensie kid? Peter – and he always has been my favorite. He’s the oldest (like me), he’s brave (not quite so like me), he’s strong (physically and leadershiply), and he’s pretty awesome (if a little stubborn and occasionally stupid – yes, I admit that). 

List the other three Pevensie kids in order according to how much you like them. Include a few details. Lucy, Edmund, Susan. Lucy is such a sweet little girl! And she’s pretty brave too. Then Edmund – he was quite bad for much of the The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, but in the end, he’s good. And Susan I’ve never really liked, though according to quizzes I’m most like her. After she stops believing in Narnia, well, that’s just sad.

Who’s your favorite Narnian (other than Aslan)? I do love Tumnus the faun. He’s such a funny little guy!

Which child are you the most similar to? Either Peter or Susan. Both are bossy (I am), both think fast.

Have you read the books? Yes, multiple times. But the reason I know them so well? The Focus on the Family dramatizations. Amazing!

Which book is your favorite? Why? Silver Chair. The whole underground thing has always interested me. (Fact: most underground things do. The Mines of Moria, caves, other mines, etc.) The Lady of the Green Kirtle is also very interesting, and the giants, and everything!

List the books, with the first one being your most favorite and the last being your least favorite. Silver Chair, Voyage of the Dawn Treader (a VERY close second…it was my favorite for years), The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Magician’s Nephew, Horse and His Boy (that book never seemed to fit in the series for me – great book, but not as essentially Narnia and Pevensie as some of the books), Prince Caspian (always one of the “boring” ones, I thought), and finally, Last Battle (never have liked this one much at all – it doesn’t fit as well either, I guess! But the happy ending is good.)

Have you seen the movies? If so, which is your favorite? And which do you like least? Yes, all three! I think Prince Caspian is my favorite and my least favorite, though I love them all! I really like Peter and Caspian in PC, and the battles are pretty amazing. However, the black magic scene should not have been played up so much, and I always skip it. And Caspian and Susan’s kiss shouldn’t have been added.

Tell us some general thoughts about the movies – what you liked or disliked about them. LWW has some really awesome battle scenes, and the music in the first two films especially is amazing! It gives me goose-bumps every time, with some of the camera angles in LWW. But the kids are so young! VDT is also pretty awesome – I do really like Lucy in that one. The soundtrack is great there too! I admit, these movies are some of my all-time favorites.

Did you get to see any of the movies in the theater? Which one(s)? Yes! I saw PC and VDT in the theater, VDT twice (once 3D). Incidentally – those are the only movies I’ve ever seen in the theater.

Have you gotten to read the amazing movie guides for LWW and PC? Yes, and I own them! They are amazing, and I really love them too. The LWW one is best, and I recommend it most highly. The PC one is good, but the LWW is amazing and very nicely done.

If you had to live in Narnia for one day – one day from any of the books as any of the characters – which day/character would you choose? Why? I would be Lucy in VDT. They had some really amazing adventures in that book, and I would love to have been along for almost any of them! Any of the good ones, that is.

Check out my Narnia related posts and reviews!

• Movie: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
• Movie: Prince Caspian
• Movie: Voyage of the Dawn Treader
• Movie: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (1988)
• Movie Companion for The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
• Cameras in Narnia
• Spotlight: Aslan
• Spotlight: Peter
• Spotlight: Lucy
• Spotlight: Edmund
• C. S. Lewis Day: The Books
• C. S. Lewis Day: The Movies

Cover Focus: Under a Desert Sky

Under a Desert Sky by DiAnn Mills

Book blurb from goodreads.com : “When Eva Fortier's grandfather is murdered, her attorney urges her to leave New York and take refuge in the high desert area of New Mexico. Leaving her life of wealth behind, Eva attempts to make sense of the tragedies in her life. Navajo David Benally has his hands full taking care of his people's medical needs. But when his father asks him to help fulfill a vow made to Eva's father, he has no choice but to oblige. He views Eva as a spoiled rich girl...until he sees her strength in the midst of life-threatening danger.”

Read my review: http://austenitis.blogspot.com/2011/08/under-desert-sky.html

Why I like this cover: You know, my cover is actually different from this cover. Because yes, I own this book, just not with this cover. But I like this one. Probably one of the things that attracts me most about it is the focus that the photographer has on Eva’s hair! It’s an angle and focus that you don’t see very often on book covers. I love that you can see her mouth and a bit of nose, but not her eyes. It adds mystery, I think. And I’m glad that they included that bit of horizon down at the bottom of the picture. It’s perfect…the whole cover wouldn’t be the same without it. All in all, I think this is a really neat cover! And I recommend the book…I liked it.