The Dragon Trelian

The Dragon Trelian by Michelle Knudsen.

 

Hardcover: 416 pages
Publisher: Candlewick (April 14, 2009)
ISBN-10: 0763634557

Product Description
Calen, a lonely young mage-to-be, never dreamed that Princess Meglynne would become his friend. And impulsive Meg never imagined that secretly tending a baby dragon would cause her to be “linked” to the winged beast — for life. Being attuned to a dragon’s thoughts and feelings is exciting but scary, especially when their destinies are tied (for better or worse). And now Meg’s sister is about to marry a prince to end a war between kingdoms, a celebration that only Meg and Calen know is endangered by a murderous plot. How can a girl, a boy, and a dragon merge their magic and strength to bring down a powerful traitor before it’s too late? From the author of Library Lion comes a classic middle-grade fantasy soaring with sorcery and suspense, spunk and adventure, friendship and first romance, and a cast of truly enchanting characters.

Well.. first off is the blame game recipient.. which would be Becky!  Now that I blamed her I will officially thank her!  Thank you Becky!!!  When you are done here you can read Becky’s wonderful review of the book here.

This has been the most enjoyable read I’ve had in a while.  Don’t get me wrong I’ve enjoyed the other books I’ve read.  But something about this book just made it seem right.  And I don’t even know what I mean by that!

The book has a castle in it.  It has princesses in it.  It has a Mage in it and a mage’s apprentice.  It has a dragon in it.  And it has an evil villain.  Nothing new there right?  You’d think this would be a ho-hum read right?

Then tell me why I couldn’t put the book down????  oh yeah, I enjoyed this book… a lot.   And I would recommend it to anyone who wants a light and easy read with really good characters, some kid stuff, some danger, some romance. 

I can’t say enough about this book.  It very much can be a stand alone book but the door was left open for other books should the author decide to do more with these characters… and I do hope she does!

 

When I was taking pictures of the book BooBoo decided to become a Dragon Slayer!

 

Books That Stand the Test of Time..

A few days back Susan, over at You Can Never Have Too Many Books  asked,not long ago:

So what books have you read over the past decade that stay with you? What are your favorites? If you’ve always kept a books-read list, is there a theme to what you end up liking the most, as in I usually pick fantasy or mystery as my top books of the year? There are so many books I could list that I thoroughly enjoyed in the past decade, and these are the ones that have had an affect on me. They are ones that come back to me, at odd moments of the day and the years, that I turn over in my mind and ruminate on.

I’ve only kept a list of books since 2007.. but I can tell you of some of my favorites since then….

 

2007 up to June 2009

Here There Be Dragons ( series.).. James A Owen 

Loving Dragons I was inclined to give this book a chance.  It wasn’t really about dragons.. but dragon ships.. and a very interesting concept that there is a place where children’s stories and fairytales are real!  I’ve read 3 books in this series, loved them all and am awaiting the next book to be released.

spanning a few years.. the Harry Potter series…J.K Rowlings. 

What can I say? This was such a great series of books.  The movies came along and made the books even better.  They totally put me into another time, another world, and like the young folks she wrote for, I could not wait for each book to come out… and I look forward to the adventure all over again when I reread them.  Can you believe that they are already celebrating the 10th anniversary of Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone?!!!

Gil’s  All Fright Diner.. A Lee Martinez 

Anything with Vampires or Werewolves can safely be classified as “out of my comfort zone”.  I  just do not enjoy reading about them, no matter what.  A Lee Martinez managed to bridge that gap and make me enjoy a book with a Vampire and a Werewolf that become reluctant heroes.  When a book can make me like it even though my mindset is to NOT to like it.. well.. that’s a darn good book!  This also is on my reread list!

The Hound of the Baskerville’s… Arthur Conan Doyle

Yet another book that, more or less would be considered a classic of sorts.  As a young girl (was I ever young???) I watched many old black and white Sherlock Holmes movies and by far my favorite was always, The Hound of the Baskerville’s. But until last year I never read a book by Doyle.  It was a total enjoyment and another book that went on the reread list to be enjoyed over and over.

Touchstone:    Laurie R King. 

A mystery that takes place in England.  Once again.. mysteries were not my thing.  Laurie R King has changed that for me.  She made mysteries that I enjoyed.  Then she shifted from Mary Russell (married to Sherlock Holmes) to some new characters and a new “detective” ..and STILL she made me read and enjoy this genre . 

Water For Elephants :  Sara Gruen 

This was one of those “surprise” books.  This was about an older man in a place that takes care of the elderly, when not far from the place, a Circus is setting up.  What occurs is that you hear the old mans memories from when he was young.. and now and then it is brought back to the present and you hear snips of how the elderly are cared for… much of it is true.  It hit a nerve.  It hit home. 

Godmother :   Carolyn Turgeon

.. this one hit home with feelings of an older woman…  I don’t care for retellings of fairy tales but this one was that rare exception.  It’s a newer book, but I am betting it just grows as time goes by.

The Old Curiosity Shop:   Charles Dickens. 

This was the first Dickens I ever read.  I’ve seen movies but never read his actual writings before.  I have David Copperfield and A Christmas Carol still in my TBR pile.

Anyone who reads my blog regularly knows how I feel about Pern and Ann McCaffrey. 

If I were to write all the titles this would become a very long post!   I love this author.  I love these books.  Ann McCaffrey made a time and place where I would go, in a heartbeat, if I could.  ‘Nuff said huh? 

Inkheart: the series… Conrnelia Funke 

This Trilogy is basically about a man who, when he reads books, characters from the book come out of the book and someone or something goes into the book.  I loved this series and although they are new I already read the first two books over just before the third book came out.  A movie was made of book one, Inkheart.  It could have been better, but I still enjoyed it.

The Thirteenth Tale..  Diane Setterfield . 

This book was brought to my attention by Carl of Stainless Steel Droppings as a Gothic type mystery.  What a fabulous read this was!  I have already read it a second time and plan to reread it again this year.  It is “the” book that has made me try other “gothic type” books.

Stan & Ollie… Simon Louvish  

This was a biography about Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy.  I always enjoyed their movies when I was younger and thought I’d give this book a try.   It has to be one of the books that I would say is the “best read” that I’ve had.  It gave a lot of background to how they met and to the early beginnings of movies.  How things were in England when Stan was an actor, and what America was like when they were first paired to become one of the most beloved comedy teams of their time.

The Amulet of Samarkland/ The Golems Eye/ Ptolemy’s Gate… Jonathan Stroud 

I read this trilogy last year and I can’t get it out of my head.  They are a YA series but I totally enjoyed these books.  Very original.  Comical.  And a good story line throughout.   They are on my “re-read” radar as I write this!

Thanks to Carl’s challenges (and my own personal taste) I do read mostly Fantasy.  However… Carl puts out another challenge that I try to join in on around Halloween, called RIP challenge.  Thanks to this challenge I now also look for Gothic type mysteries. (This is where I found The Thirteenth Tale, a suggestion of Carl’s and I am profoundly grateful as I have read the book twice already and most likely will read it again for this years RIP challenge.

Why reread a mystery when you know the outcome? For the same reason you reread any book … to enjoy it again as you did before… and.. to pick up on small things you may have missed before… and.. depending on  your mood, you get different things out of the same book!

I also like a Biography or Autobiography now and then, something of which has always been a norm for me.  But overall it’s Fantasy that wins the most points for me.

(aren’t you amazed that I wrote a post without pictures?  heh)

Fablehaven

Fablehaven: Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary by Brandon Mull

 

Hardcover: 528 pages
Publisher: Shadow Mountain (March 24, 2009)
ISBN-10: 1606410423

Product Description
Brace yourself for a shocking secret. Two hidden artifacts have been found. Three more remain unrecovered. More preserves face destruction as the Society of the Evening Star relentlessly pursues new talismans. Reading in Patton s Journal of Secrets, Kendra learns the location of the key to a vault housing one of the artifacts. In order to retrieve it, the Knights of the Dawn must enter a death trap a dragon sanctuary called Wyrmroost. The mission cannot proceed without stealing a sacred object zealously guarded by the centaurs. Anybody seen Seth? The race is on to acquire all five of the artifact keys to the great demon prison. Will the Knights of the Dawn conquer Wyrmroost? Who can stop the Sphinx? Can Vanessa be trusted to help? What artifact will be found next? Find out in Fablehaven: Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary.

Ok… I have one thing to say…. this is the BEST Fablehaven “episode” so far!!!!

Right from the beginning it is nonstop action! 

Every place they go to and everything they see is described without fault!  You can feel as if you are right with the kids wherever they are and doing whatever needs to be done!

In this book they are getting a little older and a little more mature.  Well.. Kendra is.   Seth is another story )  But I like him all the same.

I’ve enjoyed this entire series but I do have to say that Brandon Mull just gets better with each book that he writes!  This book will not disappoint anyone who likes the Fablehaven series!!

I don’t generally like to give out much information because I don’t like to ruin anything for anyone but this once I will say that I most enjoyed Raxtus who is a “runt” of a dragon.  I won’t say more, but I think Mr Mull made Raxtus to try to make me a bit happier than I have been!

This is a must read for any who have read the other books in the series.  And I defy you to say it isn’t the best book yet!!

Decisions, Decisions…

As I still try to organize this small apartment I came across a real chore.

I found I had over 350 vhs movies.. so I decided to get rid of some and “clean up my act”… so I did.  But I still have over 200 vhs movies!

You can’t see it but they are 3 rows deep…

….and 88 dvds… this is like trying to squeeze my fat ass into a size 8 !   It’s not working real well..

On a brighter note.. I think Dead Fred is looking so good ..

that I’ve decided to pull one of my old favorite photo’s of DeForest, as a cowboy, out of mothballs and hang it near Fred..

the picture is 16×20 and I have to buy a wooden frame for it.. but it’s been over 10 yrs since I’ve seen this picture and, like Dead Fred, I think it’s time to bring it out into the light again.

This picture was a “center of attraction” in my apartment in California..

Surrounding it are other pictures of movie cowboys, such as Harry Carey Jr (signed) Richard Widmark, John Wayne etc..   This apartment was also a one bedroom but for whatever reason it was much larger than what I am in now.

The picture was actually a picture of De and Audie Murphy riding quite fast in a movie called Gunfight at Comanche Creek.  I bought the photo  and then took my own photo of it by zooming in on just De.  When he saw the photo he loved it and asked for the negative to make prints which I gladly gave him.

 

(original pic ..it’s really black and white.. I had them printed in sepia)

On yet another note…  I talked with Chris (Stuff as Dreams are Made On) on Sunday.  We hit upon many subjects and yes once or twice the subject was books. (big surprise huh?!) We both chuckled at the sizes of our tbr piles and both of us blamed blogging and the great reviews everyone writes.   I finally finished Fablehaven so tomorrow should be a review post. It was good to talk to him and hear his voice.. he really needs to do a few more of the video blogs..those were/ are pretty neat!

Well I guess that’s all I can think of talking about right now.  I’ll take a picture when the De photo is up on the wall… until then ….

Pairing at the Pond

Well, well… my new bird book just came in pretty handy!

Yesterdays photo’s of the Anhinga… I failed to mention that it was a male.  Today I took a picture when I say an Anhinga on the floater.. this one did not have a brown neck and head.  The book tells me this is the female!!  Hello?  How cool would it be one day to see baby Anhinga’s out there!! woohoo!

They aren’t here all the time so I don’t know where they would nest, but if they do I hope they bring the babies back here to fish!

 

Another notice… now there are two adult Moodhens!  And one keeps chasing the young ones away!.. I do think some hanky-panky is in the future here!

 

And least but not least.. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve gotten aching arms trying to get a picture of the dang Mullet that jump all the time in the pond!  All the time EXCEPT when I am camera ready! 

But I got one today!  It’s not the best and I’ll keep trying for a better shot but there just no telling when or where in the pond they will jump!  Sometimes they look as if someone has shot them out of the water with a sling shot!

BigFoot~

I know I posted baby Moorhens big foot the other day and then the next day Mama and babies came up out of the pond and on to the path..

……. so I got a good shot of her feet!

(”I take a size 8 but a 12 feels so good!”)

She even lifted it up for you to see better… big huh?

I got the baby shots too and there you can really see how “green” their legs and feet are.

Even baby cooperated and lifted his foot for you!

“A pedicure please!”..

I got lucky twice with the birds today.. the Anhinga had disappeared for over a week and I saw him drying his wings on the other side of the pond..

the zoom lens lets me get out there pretty far, but then they aren’t as clear even though the camera “says” it’s focused.

(above is the Anhinga pretending to be an eagle)

I wish they had whatever they put there for the bird on my side of the pond so I could get better photo’s.. oh well… at least you can see his duck like feet that help him swim underwater.  Sometimes I think he’s drowned because he hardly ever sticks his head and neck up for air!

Well, that’s it from the Pond for today.

Around the Pond & Boo

Boo.. in search of a lizard to watch.

one of the very hot evenings produced this “sunset” on the pond..

“Woody” the resident Wood Stork came back for a visit..

…he’s still not “pretty”! But he does let me take good pictures of him.

I thought this was interesting… when Woody is feeding in the pond, what he does is: takes one step, then lifts and resets the foot down a few times to stir things up on the bottom… then he lifts one wing so he can block the sun from reflecting and he can see.. then he reaches in and gets his snack!

This last picture is blurry .. the baby Moorhen was close by and dashing about I thought I had it focused but then the camera focused on the plant it was under.. ah well.. but it does show something I wanted you to see!.. the unusual big feet the bird has!  I’ve been trying to get a picture of Mama Moorhen on the paved path so you can see her green legs and big feet but so far I haven’t had any luck.. eventually I’ll get one!

An Honor.Two Surprise Deliveries…A Contest.. and (of course) Birds

Susan, over at You Can Never Have Too Many Books, has given me an award.

I don’t know how creative I’ve been, especially lately.  I’ve been a slacker and posting photo’s so that I don’t have to think.   Well, that and my mush brain has me reading the simplest of books at a snails pace so it’s hard to write reviews when reading has slowed down so badly.

Thank you Susan for this award!  I have already placed it on the side bar to be seen by all !!

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Tuesday My sister in law sent me a book on Birds so that I could maybe identify some of the birds that I have been posting about.. (Thanks again Pat!)

The book is absolutely beautiful!

… and already somewhat helpful!…  I do think my one fellow with head feathers is a tricolored Heron!

Of course since the book arrived not  one of those birds has made an appearance!

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When I opened my door to go check my mail on Wednesday I was surprised to find a box from Amazon.  Don’t get me wrong… Amazon boxes don’t surprise me… but I hadn’t ordered anything!

When I opened it I was totally shocked to find a Terry Pratchett Trilogy! I’ve been wanting to try some of his books but where to begin and how many books are involved was always so daunting for me. 

So.. here was this book.. from whence did it come????

When I finally got to the small print I found that my “sister” in England, Cath, had sent me this book!  

I was not expecting anything but there it was!.. so of course I called her right up to yell at her for sending me a book!  (not that I have any plans on sending it back of course!)

It was a very special surprise .. thank you so much Cath!

No promises where on the TBR list it will find itself.  I would like to do it justice and have my brain working a little more than it is.  I do think there’s been a small improvement.  I’ve noticed while reading Fablehaven that a little more is sticking with me and I’m reading a few more pages before setting it down.  If that sounds bad, it is! Possibly why the doctor is trying to get me on an antidepressant.  I’ve been on them before and they do help!… my worries are: 1: that doctors no longer seem to try to get you off any medication once they get you on it.. and two: this particular medicine is not one you “just stop taking” because it can do some nasty things like give you convulsions and such.  I’ve bought the meds but haven’t taken any yet… need to talk to the doctor one more time.

Anyway.. I am not rushing into this book because I do want to enjoy my first Terry Pratchatt!

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Meanwhile.. a minor miracle has occurred!  I won a contest over at Libra Touches! I won a book.  One I’ve wanted to read so this is great news!  I won A Charmed Life by Diana Wynn Jones.  It seems to be a book week for me!!  I also wound up having a nice IM chat with Shanra after I  gave her my address. I found out she is still in College and lives in the Netherlands!  It never ceases to amaze me that we can meet people from other countries and act like they lived right next door!

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And just so there aren’t too many posts without birds in them.. have a look at this…

…. this is the top of the little tree outside by the pond.  I was feeling a bit like Tippi Hedren when she first noticed The Birds gathering near by..heh.

Other than large birds this is the only bird I’ve seen around here!  They are “crows” of a sort.  (note the “black bird” to the left) The other birds are young ones that haven’t turned black yet.

It’s very odd that I haven’t seen any other small birds.  Even the sky’s are void of small birds.  I can see a hawk or Osprey now and then flying but no small birds like Sparrows or Blue Jays… or the equivalent there of.

Oh well, at least mama Moorhen and her babies are still at the pond… even if they are ignoring me!

My Kingdom for an ARC!

Ok.. here’s the deal..

I would KILL for an ARC of this book!  Anyone have any ideas how one goes about getting a specific ARC such as this???

The View From the Bridge: Memories of Star Trek and a Life in Hollywood (Hardcover)

by Nicholas Meyer

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This title will be released on August 20, 2009.

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Of course many who know me are probably smiling in the midst of calling me a “Trekkie” because of the book..  but they are only partially correct.

I do like Trek (duh) and love the Old Trek (double duh).. but I don’t read as much about it as one might think.  I do, however.. really want this book and I’d love to read it NOW ..because Nicholas Meyer wrote it.

You see.. a long time ago I met Mr. Meyer.  And I met him at Paramount Studios while on the set of him directing The Undiscovered Country. 

I can even tell you the exact scene I was watching being filmed.  I was when Kirk and Bones get beamed OFF of Rura Penthe only to arrive on the ship to find some of the crew members dead.

But before I watched that scene being directed by Nicholas Meyer, DeForest kindly brought him over to meet his guests,I of course, was one of.  

Now, there are two key factors here, and I have told the story of meeting Nicholas Meyer before.  One is that DeForest likes to play jokes, and the second fact one must know is that Nicholas Meyer is… well.. short.

DeForest was in a playful mood and when my turn came to be introduced he hemmed and hawed and pretended he forgot my name.  Seeing what he was doing I thought I would “get even” real quickly and instead of just shaking Mr Meyer’s hand I said aloud that “hugs are so much better to get to know someone”.. and I hugged Nicholas Meyer (much to his surprise). 

Nicholas Meyer is short.

I think his nose wound up in between my breasts somewhere!

DeForest thought it hysterical.

I cringed.

Nicholas Meyer was heard to say as he walked away that he had to meet more guests!

So.. you see.. I’ve had a fondness for Nicholas Meyer ever since.. and when I discovered this book I felt that old “GOTTA HAVE IT” urge strike me!  Aaaargh!… I don’t want to wait until the end of the summer to read it!!!!!

If anyone knows how or where to ask for a copy of an ARC for this book… pahleeeeze let me know!

(below are two photo’s I have with Nicholas Meyer in them)

…and in case you are wondering… if I’d “kill for and ARC” of his book… you’d be amazed at what I’d do for Nick’s Autograph on it! heh..damn !

Of course, even if I can find a way to get an ARC of this book.. it’s a “must have” in hardback when it’s released ! 

Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Day

Sci-fi author Sharon Lee has declared:

“So! In my Official Capacity as a writer of science fiction and fantasy, I hereby proclaim June 23 Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Day! A day of celebration and wonder! A day for all of us readers of science fiction and fantasy to reach out and say thank you to our favorite writers. A day, perhaps, to blog about our favorite sf/f writers. A day to reflect upon how written science fiction and fantasy has changed your life.

So … what might you do on the 23rd to celebrate? Do you even read fantasy/sci-fi? Why? Why not?”

 

Ohhh, yes I do, yes,yes, yes, I do read fantasy (and a little sci fi). 

Fantasy really grabbed a hold of me when my brother bugged me to death about reading a little book called, The Hobbit, by J.R.R Tolkien. 

When I found myself stirring my spaghetti sauce with the book in my hand and reading non-stop I figured there was something special about this book and Fantasy in general.

  

J R R Tolkien, author & Scholar.

This is the cover of the first Hobbit book I had.  I have had others since then, including a nice green hardback in its own protector cover.

…long before Peter Jackson came along and did his glorious rendition of Lord of the Rings (and soon to be producer of The Hobbit), there was Rankin/ Bass who put out this musical/ cartoon version of the Hobbit, along with a book of pictures from it (this was yet another copy I have of the Hobbit).

It was followed quickly by reading the trilogy that followed, The Lord of the Rings. 

    Although I remained a bit confused on my first and even second reading of them, having a few names so close to each other I’d have to backtrack to see who I was reading about Saruman or Sauron. Very different characters but since I was putting my own pronunciation on them they suddenly became confusing to me.  Eventually I figured it out!

It led me on a wild ride after that.  I couldn’t get enough Fantasy books.  I got deeply involved in The Dragonlance series, written by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman,

and then David Eddings came along with his Belgaraid series,

then came probably the love story of my life… Anne McCaffrey wrote the Pern series!

There have been many other books.. but these were the ones, in the beginning. I will always be grateful to these authors and their glorious imaginations.  For taking the time to write it all down, and fighting the odds of getting them published and then waiting to see if the public liked what they wrote.

I can only tell you about this one public… and I loved them all ! 

They gave me hero’s and heroines and characters I could only dream about meeting in person.  And then they gave me dragons.  Glorious dragons. (the good ones of course)  Anne McCaffrey, Anne McCaffrey, Anne McCaffrey.. I can’t cry her name enough.  Thank you for the dragons.

Has reading fantasy changed my life?  I doubt it. 

But it has given me moments of joy I would not have had otherwise. 

It has given me things to reflect on.

It has given me …. dreams. 

I want Gandalf to be real..

I want to live where there is magic…

I want to talk to a dragon…

I want to meet MasterHarper Robinton, and Lessa and F’lar..

I want to live on Pern!

Glorious Fantasy Books …. they take me to places I’ve never been but want to go to…  and there is no such thing as Impossible!

Now, many will say that these authors are not writers who have not done well.. that they are very recognizable but the truth is.. that (other than Tolkien) these books came out a long time ago… and today’s younger readers (and I don’t mean 9-12 yr olds) don’t know who they are or that the books they wrote are so wonderful !

And so I put the names of:  David Eddings and Margaret Weis/ Tracy Hickman and Anne McCaffrey out there as Authors that are soooo worth remembering and are more than worth the time of a new reader to become entranced and enamored with.  If you have never read their books.. do yourself a favor and try them.  My feeling is that you won’t be disappointed.