Megan and Emma Booktalks: The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks

Thursday 29 April 2010 at 1:37 pm Another Xtranormal Episode! This time Megan and Emma discuss E. Lockhart's Printz honor book, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks.

The iPad. Fall of Apple? Or Start of a New breed?

Wednesday 24 February 2010 at 10:35 pm

The New Apple iPad.

Ingenious Plan? Or The Next Newton?

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Mockingjay: or Hunger Games #3

Monday 15 February 2010 at 11:43 am

When the title and cover for the third Hunger Games book were announced late last week, I was underwhelmed. But as I thought about it more, I started to feel differently.

First. The title is Mockingjay, and this is what the cover looks like.

I still find the blue of the cover jarring. The picture fits the progression of the other three books. The mockingjay, a hybrid bird created from a mockingbid and a piece of government spy technology called a jabberjay, on the 3 book covers progresses from the enslaved characters of the first book to the characters fighting to break free, which is what it seems like the 3rd book will be about.

The cover makes sense.

So what's my problem?

Well, I have built up this series in my mind that any cover or title would probably disappoint me. She could have called it Super Awesome Super Book of Awesome! and I would have been disappointed. So it's probably my own excitement for the series that dampened this very exciting news.

Of course, online speculators guessed the book would be called The Victors, a title I find far more epic, but equally fitting. Both The Victors, winners of past Hunger Games, and the mockingjay have become symbols of resistance, a major theme of the series. Mockingjay is just a sillier word, for a series that is far from silly.

Like I said before, I am underwhelmed by title and cover, but wonder if anything would have lived up to my expectations. And as the old adage goes, "Don't judge a book by its cover." So I am still excited for the third book, but maybe a little disappointment now will increase my actual enjoyment of the book later.

So what do you think of the title and cover?

Uh, 100 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs?

Thursday 04 February 2010 at 12:05 pm

So I caught this story on Stereogum yesterday about VH1 and their top 100 greatest hip-hop songs. Now, I know these songs were chosen by viewers, and they probably had to have a video for the show that will be on VH1, but this list is all kinds of ridiculous.

First, there are good songs on the list. "The Message" by Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five and "Rapper's Delight" by The Sugarhill Gang paved the way for rap and hip-hop in popular culture. And they are still great songs. Some argue Public Enemy has better songs than "Fight the Power," but I think the passion, fury, and political unrest in that song embodies their best work. And of all the LL Cool J songs to pick, "I Can't Live Without My Radio" is probably the best. And how is Digable Planets - "Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)" at 62? I will never get tired of that song. It is better than most of the top 10.

However, the list features a lot of strange choices. For instance, "Push It" in the top 10? What? That song is meh, at best. Even though I did have a crush on Salt n Pepa in middle school. Also songs like "U Can't Touch This" by MC Hammer or "Jump Around" by House of Pain don't really deserve their place on the list. Sure I know all the words to "Jump Around" and "U Can't Touch This" had unprecedented success on the charts, but neither has aged well. Kanye West deserves to be in the Top 20, but "Through the Wire," "Jesus Walks," "Can't Tell Me Nothing," and "Heartless," among others, are better songs than "Gold Digger." And I'm glad "Parents Just Don't Understand" by Will Smith and DJ Jazzy Jeff made the list, instead of something like "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It." But the coolness of "Summer Time" would have been a better choice, and brought back all that warmness that Will Smith and DJ Jazzy Jeff created. "What They Do" by The Roots is a great display of what they do, especially of ?uestlove's drumming, but how about "You Got Me" w/ Erykah Badu, which features more of The Roots at their unpredictable best, and why more hip-hop needs to feature live instrumentation. It also features a mind-blowing video that I haven't forgotten since it came out (why are those people laying on the ground?). I'm also glad to see The Beastie Boys make the list, because I think they are often over-looked, especially because Paul's Boutique is a ground-breaking album. In that vein I would have included a personal fave, "High Plains Drifter" or the song with a video, "Shadrach." 

I could go on and on with things that I don't think should be on the list. But instead I wanted to add my two cents about songs or artists that I think are missing. Danger Mouse and his experimental mashup of The Beatles "The White Album" and Jay-Z's "The Black Album" may be the best rap album you've never heard, and should have had a showing on the list. Same with Kid Cudi and Wale, two rappers who released exceptional albums last year, both of which have songs that should top this list, but don't. I'm a little surprised Cudi's "Day and Nite" wasn't even there. Where's Lupe Fiasco? Maybe his skateboarding anthem, "Kick, Push." The more I go through this list, the more I see missing. Also missing is the UK form of rap known as Grime. Maybe Dizzee Rascal's awesome "Fix Up, Look Sharp," which has found life on DJ Hero. Or England's other import, and one of rap's best storytellers, The Streets. Check out "Blinded by the Lights" or the hilarious "Heaven for the Weather." I would've also liked to see more independent rappers make the list, like Aesop Rock's nightmarish funhouse "None Shall Pass," or anything from Cannibal Ox's The Cold Vein.

I've included as many of the songs as I could below. These are rap songs, so use your judgment as they do have language, etc.

Check the Stereogum comments for some of their thoughts, and also more suggestions on songs. And tell me what you think some of the best Rap/Hip-Hop songs are.

Holiday Break Reading Activity #14: Top 9 of 2009

Thursday 31 December 2009 at 10:25 pm Alright, let me level with ya, I haven't read a lot of 2009 books, so I felt like maybe this list was a bit of a lie. But when I started to look over books I've read this year, a few from 2009 really stood out to me. So this isn't a "best of" list, it's a "favorite of" stuff I've read in 2009, that's from 2009. Because it's 2009 and as a part of the Holiday Break Reading Challenge, I have chosen my Top 9.

I did have to make some tough choices, even though I've only read 15-20 books published in 2009, there were about 14 that could have made this list. Also, I read a few of my favorite books of all time this year, a couple of which I read earlier this year and thought I'd plug. City of Thieves by David Benioff and Kendra by Coe Booth. Both are highly literary and underrated, and worth your time.

Ok--So on to my Top 9 of 2009:

9. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (published September 1, 2009):

The much-hyped and much-anticipated follow-up to The Hunger Games was, for the most part, worth the wait. The beginning, which some found boring, was a reality television fans delight, giving an insightful look into what players might be like outside of the game. And the action of the second half was more thrilling and inventive than that of the first book. The ending, however, felt rushed and left me unsatisfied. Good thing a 3rd is coming out in 8 months.

8. Going Bovine by Libba Bray (published September 22, 2009):

It feels almost irreverent to call this the funniest book about a dying sixteen-year-old ever written. But it is. Hilarious and imaginative. Bray is clever and imaginative, but manages to ground a totally-bonkers-no-holds-barred-anything-goes-fun-house road trip, making it both believable and poignant. It would be higher on the list, but sometimes Bray pushes her hyper-reality Juno-ishness over its tipping point, taking me out of the story completely.

7. The Storm in the Barn by Matt Phelan (published September 8, 2009):

This is the point where things got tricky. I really liked 8 & 9, but felt they were flawed. I didn't really feel the same about the next 7. Starting with Matt Phelan's magical The Storm in the Barn. Using beautiful watercolors Phelan tells a dust bowl story that is heartbreaking (the protagonists younger sister has never seen rain) and mixes in folklore to bring the story to an amazingly awe-inducing conclusion.

6. Boneshaker by Cherie Priest (published September 29, 2009):

You know how sometimes when you are working on vocabulary and your teacher asks you to use a word in a sentence. Well, this book was like your teacher asking you to use the word "awesome" in a sentence. Zombies and Airships and Steampunk, Oh My!

5. A Drifting Life by Yoshihiro Tatsumi (published April 14, 2009):

I just finished this one, I will have my review up tomorrow (it's done, but I don't quite have an ending.) Anyway, this epic cinematic manga-memoir is about post-WWII Japan, a history of modern manga, and the story of one of my favorite artists, Yoshihiro Tatsumi, growing up and pushing himself, and manga, to become better.

4. Amulet 2: The Stonekeeper's Curse by Kazu Kibuishi (published September 1, 2009):

It was a good year for sequels. Amulet 2: The Stonekeeper's Curse was also one of my biggest suprises. I love Kibuishi, his artwork and stories are whimsical, fantastic journeys, but the first Amulet was disappointing. So I didn't expect too much from the second volume. However, Kibuishi surprises with a more epic, more visionary, and more, well, more betterer. It floored me. It's impressing, Kibuishi turned a series I probably would have finished, because I like him, into a series I can't wait to finish.

3. When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead (published July 14, 2009):

Another big surprise. Stead earned a lot of praise for this book, so I figured I may like it, but I didn't think I'd love it. If anything, I felt it was underhyped (of course, people disagree with me). It's one of those books that will have its proponents and opponents. It's a delicate tale of childhood friendship, but the real kicker is mind-frying ending. It's mostly telegraphed, but it still hits all the right emotional notes, leaving me breathless.

2. The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness (published September 8, 2009):

I loved, loved, loved The Knife of Never Letting Go. Loved! But after reading The Ask and The Answer I can't tell you why I loved the first book in the Chaos Walking series so much. It pales in comparison to the second installment. The Ask and the Answer uses a dual narrative to look into the psyche of both Todd and Viola to tell an explosive and thought-provoking story of the divisiveness of war. It is the best, most honest, and truthful look at those involved in war of our time. And that from a book for teenagers. This is the kind of book that proves YA deserves to be held as highly as any adult lit.

1. The Photographer: Into Afghanistan with Doctors Without Borders by Emmanuel Guibert (published May 12, 2009):

This book left me speechless. A mixture of real photographs and great drawing from Guibert, this book follows photographer Didier Lefevre as he documents a Doctors Without Borders mission into Afghanistan. It's fairly unpolitical, and gives a fascinating look inside a country that we only generally see one-side of.

Oh->Post Script: I am currently reading two amazing 2009 books right now, Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld and Boilerplate: History's Mechinical Marvel by Paul Guinan and Anina Bennett, but I probably won't finish either of those until this weekend. So they couldn't make the list, at least that made making the list easier though.

Holiday Break Reading Activity #7: Best and Worst Book to Movie Adaptations

Thursday 24 December 2009 at 12:10 pm

This Activity is completely and totally based on your opinion. 

1 - You need to choose the BEST Book-to-Movie Adaptation you've seen and the WORST Book-to-Movie Adaptation you've seen.

2 - Post the pictures of the book cover next to the movie poster for each pair.

 

There are a ton I could do. There are a million good book-to-movie adaptations and a million bad ones. So I decided to stick with one director, who has made a couple really great book to movie adaptations, and one monumentally bad one. The director's name is Alfonso Cuaron, and he is one of the most acclaimed directors working today. In 1995 he was tapped to adapt Frances Hodges Burnett's classic, A Little Princess, the film was beautiful and magical. It absolutely caught me up in it's since of wonder and after I watched it for a film class, I immediately went out and bought it. I got strange looks, because I was a 19 year-old boy buying a children's movie, but it had to be done. It is still one of my favorite book to movie adaptations of all time

 

 

 

A few years ago, he was given the chance to direct a big-time movie, you may have heard of it, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I was excited. One of my favorite directors directing a film series I thought had potential. The book & movies use of time-travel, however, left me cold as I thought it was a weak storytelling device. But that came directly from the book, what really made it a disappoint for me, was the fact that the Hogwarts' kids seemed to look like they were suddenly in Cold War Russia rather than a slightly altered version of the present that the other movies had given us. It wasn't until after the last book came out that J.K. Rowling told us the kids may have been living in a time closer to Cold War Russia than the slightly altered version of the present had presented. Still, if you watch all the movies together, one stands apart from the rest, and it is this one, because of poor/strange directorial choices.

 

 

 

 

A couple years after his brief debacle stint as Harry Potter director, Cuaron would again bring his good name back to movie adaptations, with a loose but amazing adaptation of P.D. James's Children of Men.