Kitten Stocking, Part 4

Haven't been able to get as much done as I'd like. There has been grading and a Halloween costume to make. In November, I'll be participating in Nanowrimo which means I'll be writing a lot. I'll have to figure out how to balance the two. This week I have to put the costume first since it's under a week until the day it will be needed.





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A Surprising Author Visit

Awesome store, go there!

I was lucky enough to find out about one of my favorite YA authors coming to town through what many would consider a surprising place. It wasn't publicized on any of the author tour lists, not on the publisher's website, or any other well known site. This author, like many, maintain their own website, but trying to keep up with all the authors' sites can be overwhelming, if not impossible (depending on your range of tastes and number of favorites). I only found out about this tour because Scott Westerfeld (@ScottWesterfeld)  is on Twitter and was discussing his upcoming tour for Behemoth. Twitter's purpose isn't the same as other social networks like Facebook. Facebook is excellent for staying in contact with friends and family, while Twitter is more aimed toward accessing large amounts of information in small doses and growing your professional network.

Signing away

During the course of his tour, Mr. Westerfeld isn't visiting large book store or chains, but small local bookstores. I had never heard of the Blue Willow Bookshop before, but fell in love with it while I was there. The staff is very friendly, very knowledgeable about books, and obvious bibliophiles. They had two school groups there for this author signing, and have all the visiting authors sign their wall. The students were the first to get their books signed. Mr. Westerfeld's book signing was only one of several author visits scheduled last week. Rick Riordan was scheduled for the following day. I wish I lived closer, or had a similar store on my side of town. They do special orders, and even offered to ship me a copy of Behemoth since they had run out before I arrived.

Sadly, we missed Mr. Westerfeld talking about his book and what inspired him to become a writer. Between a doctor's appointment that was delayed a couple of times and Houston traffic, we arrived late. He was very gracious while signing his books. He was also very friendly, and patient with the kids (even the ones that hadn't read any of his books yet, like mine). I am starting Behemoth later today, the girl started reading the Uglies that evening. She is loving the book, can't stop reading it even in class (wags finger at daughter in motherly disapproval). My daughter and I have now met two authors, not counting my husband that is, I plan to meet more. It is very interesting to meet the person that penned the words of a book you have read. They often do not look like you imagined them, or even like their publicity photos. You also see a different side to their personality than you see in their writing.

Enjoy whatever book has your attention currently, if you aren't, grab a new one. There are a shocking number of them available.

Kitten Stocking, Part 3

Making steady progress, but wish it was going a little quicker. Still have to detail my other stocking, back them both, and deliver them.




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First Class Reward of the Year

My 1st period rocks. They already earned a cake. They voted on German Chocolate for the flavor. The fact that the class is mostly boys is shown by the fact that the winning theme was a battlefield. I topped the cake with buttercream icing, letting the top layer of the cake mix with the icing to create more of a dirt look. For the combatants, I used plastic army men.


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Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

I really enjoyed the first three books of the Uglies series by Mr. Westerfeld, so I was very excited to read another of his works. Though I really enjoyed the other books, I was a bit unsure about this one. Steampunk has a very different pace than other forms of science fiction and I wasn't sure if his writing style would translate well into the new genre. I have to admit, I picked this book up partly because he wrote it and partly because the book is so beautifully designed. I've converted to mostly reading e-books (I love the convenience and the savings.), but if publishers would create more bound books of this quality, I'd buy both versions instead of just one. The dust jacket, the map on the end covers, and the illustrations are brilliantly executed.

The story starts off with the assassination of Arch-Duke Ferdinand of Austria in 1914, who is survived by his 15 year old son Alek.This diverges from the history that we all know. Austria and it's allies are the Central Powers, Clankers, people that rely on mechanical technology. In fact, Alek is awoke in the middle of the night by his father's loyal retainers. He thinks they are going on a night training exercise since his mother is out of town and does not approve, when in reality his parents are already dead. Alek is on the run from his own countrymen as well as his country's enemies.

Deryn Sharp is a young girl pretending to be a boy, Dylan, in order to enter the British Air Service. Britain is a part of the Entente Powers, aka the Darwinists. The Darwinists genetically engineer creatures to serve as messengers, weapons, and transportation.

The Clankers and Darwinists are strongly at odds politically, and scientifically. The Clankers consider the genetically mutation animals to be abominations against nature and God. While the Darwinists consider the Clanker's machines clumsy and wasteful.

Both Deryn and Alek are dealing with the loss of a parent, or both parents. They are adjusting to their new place in the world, and learning new skills. The action is fast paced from the very beginning, I don't think I ran into a single slow spot in the whole story. Westerfeld's descriptions of the creatures and machines are vivid. There is good character development, especially considering that it is the first volume of a trilogy. My only frustration was the sudden ending. I was not expecting the story to end so abruptly, the cliffhanger ending was deliberate. I really wanted the tale to continue, luckily the second volume is due out next month.

If you enjoy steampunk, or if you enjoyed the Uglies series, I'm sure you would enjoy this book.