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Monday, January 31, 2011
Centaur
(Greek - Kéntauroi or Kentauros)
"Piercing Bull"
Facts
- Said to inhabit the regions of Magnesia and Mount Pelion in Thessaly, the Foloi oak forest in Elis, and the Malean peninsula in southern Laconia.
- The Bronze Age is the suggested origins for these creatures
- Female Centaurs are called Kentaurides
- In Greek tradition there are two types of Centaur families: The unruly centaurs are more numerous, born of the king Ixion and a cloud that Zeus disguised as his wife Hera. The studious learned and sober families were fatherd by Chiron who was known for his skill in music, hunting, medicine and prophecy.
- Zeus would often send Centuars to punish humans and gods that offended him.
Centaur In Books
The Parthalon series by P.C Cast - The main character is a female Centaur
Percy Jackson and the Olympions by Rick Riordin - Percys teacher is in fact a Centaur named Chiron who helps Percy out when he discovers hes the offspring of a God.
The Faerie Convention by Brett Davis - Some of the main characters are Centaurs
Villians by Necessity by Eve Forward - Features a cast of supernaturals including a good Centaur spy/bard.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Bought
Fearscape by Simon Holt
Swap
None
Won
The Adventures of Annie Marmalade by Julian Vaughn Hampton (signed)
For Review
None
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Information
Title - Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
Author - Lisa See
Genre - Historical Fiction
Pages - 265
Format Read - Paperback
Description (from goodreads)
In nineteenth-century China, in a remote Hunan county, a girl named Lily, at the tender age of seven, is paired with a laotong, “old same,” in an emotional match that will last a lifetime. The laotong, Snow Flower, introduces herself by sending Lily a silk fan on which she’s painted a poem in nu shu, a unique language that Chinese women created in order to communicate in secret, away from the influence of men. As the years pass, Lily and Snow Flower send messages on fans, compose stories on handkerchiefs, reaching out of isolation to share their hopes, dreams, and accomplishments. Together, they endure the agony of foot-binding, and reflect upon their arranged marriages, shared loneliness, and the joys and tragedies of motherhood. The two find solace, developing a bond that keeps their spirits alive. But when a misunderstanding arises, their deep friendship suddenly threatens to tear apart.
Thoughts
Snow flower and the secret fan was a tradjic novel, sprinkled with ancient chinese culture. I enjoyed learning about the ways of ancient China and how women were looked upon by men and even other women. Women were worthless, only one thing could bring up thier worth: giving birth to sons, for sons were the loved children who would go out into the world and work the fields, they were head of household and what they say went. Women were expected to be demure, obediant and stay in the womans chamber away from the outer world of men.
In this book we follow Lily, the narrators life as she travels from little girl to Lady Lu, respected and wealthy woman. When Lily is a small girl at the age of 6-7 she is given a fan from her laotong (old same) who will remain her friend for many, many years.
We watch as Lily and Snow Flower communicate about thier foot bindings, a horrible painful process of binding the feet so that the toes break and reshape into a dainty point called 'golden lilys.' We learn about the ways of marriage and wifely duties. Throughout the book we see triumphs and tradjety. There are many deaths but also some joy. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is a beautiful book and should be read by anyone interested in chinese culture or fans of historical fiction.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Rules
1. Pick up your current read
2. flip t a random page (if your using an ereading device then just click ahead or behind a few pages)
3. choose (2) sentances to share.
4. No spoilers!
Title - Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
Author - Lisa See
Lines
"A true lady lets no ugliness into her life" she reapeated again and again, drilling the words into me. "Only through pain will you have beauty. Only through suffering will you find peace. I wrap. I bind, but you will have the reward."
The author is talking about footbinding in this part. The book is full of ancient chinese culture. It is interesting learning the ways of old, however badly women were treated and how painful a life they had.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Information
Title - Dhampir
Author - Barb Hendee
Genre - Paranormal/Fantasy
Pages - 384
Description (from goodreads)
Magiere has earned a reputation as the most formidable vampire slayer in the land. Villagers far and wide welcome her with both awe and disdain, grateful to her for ridding their towns of the undead menace, but finding themselves made poorer for their salvation. Magiere has always known she's dealing with simple folk who only wish to have their superstitions silenced, and she's never seen anything wrong with exploiting them for profit.
Now, tired of the game, Magiere and her partner, the half-elf Leesil, are ready to hang up their weapons and settle down in a place they can finally call home. But their new found peace will not last. For Magiere has come to the attention of a trio of powerful and dangerous vampires who recognize her true identity — even if she does not — and who fear the birthright that flows through her veins. And they will stop at nothing to keep Magiere from fulfilling her destiny
Thoughts
Magiere is a vampire slayer..sort of. Actually she just plays one as her partner, the half elf Leesil plays the part of the vampire. Both of them go from town to town using the villagers superstitions against them to fill thier pockets with coin. However Magiere is sick of the game and wants to start a new life, little does she know how hard that will be.
I enjoyed Dhampire very much. At the beginning Magiere was cold and annooyed me a bit with her callousness but after a bit she grew on me, she is not as hard as she wants people to think she is and she is really a good person. Leesil her partner personifies the 'fun side-kick' stereotype well, although he does have a dark past that i do want to learn m ore about. Then theres Chap, dear chap who is about the most loyal dog you could find, hes brave and loyal and helps the two wanderers fight against the Noble Undead (vampries)
The vampires in this book are not the bloodthirsty evil vampries you read about in other books, with the exception of Parko but he does not last long enough to be considered a true bad guy in this book. Each of the vampires: Rashed, Teesha and Ratboy have thier own motives and reasons for staying in town and for doing what they do during the book. Then there is poor Edwan, the ghostly husband of Teesha who was unjustly killed by Rasheds lord, I liked how in the end Edwan got some semblence of vengeance but it was also a sad moment as well.
The book flowed very nicely and there were hardly any akward moments in writing or places where you started scratching your head. I would very much recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a bit of fantasy, paranormal, humor and action. Best part of the book? NO swearing and NO sex! Its a good, clean read for adult and teen readers alike.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Rules
choose a random page from your current read. (If on an ereader then just click back or forwarda couple pages)
Take two sentances from the page and post them, you can post more but dont give away too much.
NO SPOILERS!
Post the title and author so people can check the book out.
Title - Graceling
Author - Kristin Cashore
Lines
A wave of tiredness swept over her. It was easier to follow Randa's orders when they begged or cried, when they gave her nothing to respect.
And Randa didn't care about his forests; he only cared about the money and the power. Besides, the forests would grow back one day. Fingers didn't grow back.
;;
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