Every Monday I post whatever song I can't get out of my head or just can't get enough of because Mondays can often be less than marvelous, and music is happy--even when it's sad. If you'd like to join the party, just make your own Musical Monday post and leave a comment!
Valentine's Day is this Sunday. To celebrate--and because I can't give you all a box of candy hearts and a "Thank you for being one of my fabulous bloggy friends" valentine made of construction paper and glitter--Musical Mondays this February feature love songs in varying degrees of cheesiness.
This week's songs are "Must Have Done Something Right" by Relient K and "My Skeleton" by Crystal Thomas. "Must Have Done Something Right" is fabulously cheesy and great for car sing-alongs. "My Skeleton" isn't outright romantic but it is about love. (It's also quirky, catchy, and musically fun.)
Happy [Early] Valentine's Day! There are many kinds of love, and I hope you all get to have an enjoyable day with your favorite people.
Spring Semester started on Thursday and my homework pile is quickly becoming as tall as me. Between that and my library clerk adventures my online (and reading for fun) time has been much tinier this week, and I haven't read and commented on as many of your lovely blogs as I'd like to. I've also received some wonderful blog awards, which I will acknowledge and pass on at some indeterminate time in the future when. . .well, when I have time to do it. Until then, please understand that I'm not ignoring you because I think it's fun.
Summary: Zara and her friends knew they hadn't solved the pixie problem for good. Far from it. The king's needs grow deeper every day he's stuck in captivity, while his control over his people gets weaker. It's made him vulnerable. And now there's a new king in town.
A turf war is imminent, since the new pixie king, Astley, is moving in quickly. Nick nearly killed him in the woods on day one, but Zara came to his rescue. Astley swears that he and Zara are destined to be together, that he's one of the good guys. Nick isn't buying it, though Zara isn't as sure -- despite herself, she wants to trust the new king. But it's a lot more than her relationship with Nick that is at stake. It's her life -- and his. (From Amazon.com) ___________________________________________ Captivate is the sequel to Need which debuted in December 2008. I tried to read Need but couldn't connect with the story and put it down halfway through. I did, however, read far enough to get to know the characters and become curious about where their stories would go. For this reason--and because the cover of Captivate is SPECTACULAR--I decided to break a personal rule and read a series book out of order. I have no regrets.
Captivate is an absorbing novel; I was drawn in by Zara's (the main charater's) humorous first-person narration and stayed for the deliciously thickening plot, which involves romance, action, and a handsome, mysterious new pixie king named Astley who is convinced that Zara is meant to be his queen. Zara expresses her annoyance:
Pixies and their ridiculous queen obsession. I'm so tired of it.
Zara may not initially agree, but Astley is one of the most likeable and entertaining characters I've ever met. Author Carrie Jones gives him a unique, believable speaking voice and every scene he appeared in was my new favorite of the novel.
Jones writes beautifully, peppering Zara's descriptions with interesting, funny, and often gorgeous similes. Between the expressive prose and Astley large sections of the book are un-puttdownable. I was addicted to Captivate.
While I enjoyed Zara and her voice, though, I never connected with her: I didn't cry when she cried, feel frightened when she did, or even smile when she was happy. I liked her, but I didn't care about her, and since I knew the other characters (Astley included) through Zara, I didn't care about them either.
As the plot builds Zara deals with the potential for destruction that we're all born with, and the lack of reader-character connection is awkward. From what I read of Need, I feel confident saying that Captivate is more serious than its predecessor. Zara is confronted with awful events and makes some difficult decisions, growing up significantly in the process.
Unfortunately, not connecting with Zara didn't stop me from being annoyed and slightly nauseated when she and her main love interest, Nick, called each other "baby" on every other page. It came across as a little too cheesy and unbelievable. Moreover, I came close to ditching Captivate about eighty pages from the end when the plot begins to drag painfully. I was bored, and it was a battle to the end of the book, which--thankfully--wrapped up this installment of Zara's story perfectly.
Captivate is an enjoyable but at times tedious read. I recommended it for readers of faery stories, anyone who enjoys their stories with touches of mythology, and for anyone looking for something different--this series is nothing if not unique. Jones deftly inserts enough backstory for readers new to the series to enjoy Captivate but be curious about Need, and I intend to give the book a second chance.
Every Monday I post whatever song I can't get out of my head or just can't get enough of because Mondays can often be less than marvelous, and music is happy--even when it's sad. If you'd like to join the party, just make your own Musical Monday post and leave a comment!
Today is the first day of February; the 14th of February is Valentine's Day. To celebrate--and because I can't give you all a box of candy hearts and a "Thank you for being one of my fabulous bloggy friends" valentine made of construction paper and glitter--the next four Musical Mondays will feature love songs in varying degrees of cheesiness.
This week's songs are "So Do I Love You" and "Well I Mean What I Mean, and I Mean What I Say" by musician/poet Bradley Hathaway. "So Do I Love You" is a song full of similes that make me smile: "Like a baker loves dough/like a philosopher loves to know/like a comic loves laughs/like a toddler loves a bubble bath/so do I love you." The other song is honest and sweet. Bradley Hathaway sings out of tune (when his vocals can be called singing) but that's part of the charm. Enjoy!
I'm following Myrna's order to answer the following questions with only one word--it wasn't easy. I mostly followed the one-word rule :)
Your Cell Phone? Essential Your Hair? Confused Your Mother? Close Your Father? Trustworthy Your Favorite Food? Cheerios Your Dream Last Night? Blank Your Favorite Drink? Water Your Dream/Goal? Art What Room Are You In? Computer Your Hobby? Numerous Your Fear? Bees Where Do You See Yourself In Six Years? Content Where Were You Last Night? Home Something That You Aren't? Neat Muffins? Blueberry Wish List Item? Books Where Did You Grow Up? South Dakota Last Thing You Did? Work (library) What Are You Wearing? Sweater Your TV? Heroes, Project Runway Your Pets? Cat. But they won't let me keep her in my dorm room. Sigh. Friends? Dear Your Life? Full Your Mood? Cheerful Missing Someone? Skyler Vehicle? Focus Something You Aren't Wearing? A cape Your Favorite Store? Bookstores Your Favorite Color? Rainbow When Was The Last Time You Laughed? Today Last Time You Cried? Yesterday Your Best Friend? Skyler One Place You Go To Over And Over Again? Hebrews 11:1 Facebook? Yes Favorite Place To Eat? Bagel Boy
If you read this, you are automatically charged with the task of answering these questions yourself. But only if you want to.
**Book reviews and final Italy posts will appear this week. I promise.**
Every Monday I post whatever song I can't get out of my head or just can't get enough of because Mondays can often be less than marvelous, and music is happy--even when it's sad. If you'd like to join the party, just make your own Musical Monday post and leave a comment!
I hope you all haven't had enough of Italy-themed posts yet, because this week's songs are both in Italian! I have a 10-12 page piece of travelwriting and a presentation to put together by Wednesday, and two books to finish reading as well (Christopher Duggan's A Concise History of Italy and Frances Mayes's Under the Tuscan Sun. Thank goodness I finishedJohn Berendt's City of Falling Angels in December. It's not that these are terrible books, it's just that I wouldn't normally select them.) I'll be mentally in Italy until all that's finished. And all those posts about the trip? Total procrastination aids, and yet they've been helpful for organizing my thoughts. Thanks for visiting and commenting and forgiving me for allowing my blog to masquerade as a travel journal.
Anyway. One afternoon my travel buddies and I took a load off at the hotel and watched a little Italian MTV. Most of the songs were in English, but every now and then something Italian besides the commercials played, including today's songs. (American music was everywhere--stores, restaurants, etc. Does this bother Italian people? Because I'm sure it would bother me if all the music I heard around my hometown wasn't in my native language. If you live outside the U.S. feel free to share your thoughts about music and language. I'm curious.)
This week's first song is "Baciami Ancora". It's apparently from a movie of the same title, and listening to it makes me wish for summer. It was playing in supermarkets and restaurants, and we heard it a lot.
The second song is "Casa Casa Mia" by dARI. It amuses me, mostly because the people singing it are wearing copious amounts of eye makeup. If you speak Italian and these songs say anything crass or inappropriate, I apologize and plead ignorance. I only understand every twelfth word.
Originally hosted by LiveJournal, Bookduck is a place to document my reading life, share my love of books with others, and discuss anything else I find interesting.
Why is it called "Bookduck"? My name is Sarah, which starts with an "S". Add a simple beak and a dot for the eye, and cursive "S"s look like ducks! I also love books. Hence, the name "Bookduck".
Thanks for stopping by!
About Me
Sarah
I am in my second year of college as a double major in English and Art with a History minor. When I'm not busy doing that I work as a part-time library clerk and volunteer as a docent at a historic home and museum.
I love music, books, and art of all kinds!
