Nopurpose.org
Caught In The Whirlwind
Book 35: Black Powder War (Temeraire #3)
Dec 10th 2010
Author: Naomi Novik
Genre: Historical Fantasy
Pages: 400
Summary
The third book in the wonderful (In my opinion of course) Temeraire series. Temeraire and Laurence return from *mumblemumble* on orders to collect a fire breathing dragon egg (the first one that England will have) from the Turks. But the plan goes awry when they arrive to find the deal has fallen apart under mysterious circumstances.
Notes
Out of the three books in the series this book, to me, seemed to be the least interesting. As much as book #2 was a travel log, so was this one, but instead of straight on through with the promise of character development at the end, things stay largely static here.
Temeraire and crew stumble from one prison to another in their attempts at getting home, to the point where towards the end I was thinking “Again?”
Even though I sound down on the book, it was still an good read, only paling a bit in comparison to the other two books in the series. The interplay between the dragons and Temeraire’s innocence and desire for equal rights for dragons produced some great dialog. My beef is just with the slightly stale story. The new dragon introduced here makes the whole journey worthwhile. And I hope she continues to play a prominent role in future books.
Next Book
I’m continuing onwards with the Temeraire series, reading Empire of Ivory by Naomi Novik.
Challenges
Dec 9th 2010
I was commenting on my friend Mauraea’s blog (http://fromthesidekick.wordpress.com/) about how I want to try to get away from just posting every day “and so I had breakfast and then read the paper for a little while” sorts of blog posts and she suggested that we both get into a weekly photography challenge thing together.
And since I can’t do anything without having a challenge to do it seemingly, I’m in. So starting 12/29 I’ll be following along weekly with shutterboo.com’s weekly photo challenge.
Heading back in time for a little bit, the one huge thing I miss about Vox is the Question of the Day and it’s long lost sibling the Vox Hunt. That little prompt, back before they became advertising shills for HP products really kept me interested and posting about stuff that wasn’t just “what are you doing” sorts of things. Vox Hunt especially, having a weekly target to take a photo of was really fun.
And I’m hoping this will channel some of that energy back, along with giving me an excuse to really keep going at my photography hobby and keep improving my skills. So I’m excited to get this going..
Signs
Dec 7th 2010
I’ve been working today on getting my final assignment for my photography course done and I thought I’d share a couple of my final images. The assignment this time was signs. In a nutshell, finding interesting signs or interesting ways to photograph signs. The assignment also had to be done in duotone which is a technique that uses 2 colors of inks to create the final product. So these images are going to look a little different.
So..here we go then:
I liked how the angles of everything in this one pay off against each other. It also ends up lookings like something out of a video game, like Team Fortress 2-ish. I took this one at work, where we’ve got a big battery thingy in the back room. Hence the high voltage and the chain link fence.
And the other one I was working on today. I took this in Boston, where we happend upon a Shell station with a pretty interesting/unique looking sign. I took the colors all post-apocolyptic because the subject was more industrial and the sickly green kinda goes along with what our dependance on fossil fuels is doing to the environment and all that. I also took some of the gigantic Citgo sign (the one that’s visible over the fence at Fenway Park) but we were a little far away and it ended up turning into a skyline shot which I haven’t done any post-processing on yet.
Still need one more sign, but I’m hoping to grab that tomorrow and finish up the assignment by friday’s due date.
Speaking of which, I’m also submitting my final portfolio images too since the class is pretty much over with and I had to get some prints. I ended up settling on using a service called WHCC and they’ve been really great to work with so far. When you set up an account they make you get 5 free sample prints to make sure your monitor settings and their printers are acccurate. I had those 8×10 prints sitting on my desk today at work and my bosses wandered by and wanted to know if I had taken up a new hobby. Hopefully it’ll be a little more than a hobby someday. Everybody who ended up looking at them seemed impressed. So that was unexpectedly cool.
So this is the last assignment in this course. I mentioned (or not) that I’m going to be taking General Drawing next semester. I’m simultaneously looking forward to and dreading that course. I’ve wanted to see if I could improve my drawing skills for the longest time now, but…I’m pretty awful at it to start with so it’s going to be a bit of an uphill climb. I hope I can learn a little more though. This class feels a little more intimidating because I’m roommates with Wassy now who is EXTREMELY talented in the drawing department. Last time I took a drawing course I didn’t know her that well. We’ll see how it goes! Half of it is perspective drawing which I can do pretty well. Second half is more still life things which…I’m not so good at.
Books 30-34: The Catchupening
Dec 6th 2010
Book 30: Summer Knight (Dresden Files Book 4)
Author: Jim Butcher / Genre: Fantasy (Urban) / Pages: 371
The Dresden Files gets good. Real good. Characters have been introduced, annoying werewolf based storylines have been put down and the real fun begins. I really enjoyed this book, needless to say. The journey into the spirit realms to figure out what’s causing all the uproar is really well done, along with the continuing effects of the events in past works. Good read. Butcher’s writing style is great and he’s good at building new adventures which continue to add layers to the world of the novel. The character of Michael was introduced in this book and he quickly became one of my favorites. I love the conflict between him and Dresden as they’re both trying to do what’s right but with sometimes very different methods.
Book 31: His Majesty’s Dragon (Temeraire #1)
Author: Naomi Novik / Genre: Historical Fantasy / Pages: 365
New series for me. The premise is basically a what if. What if dragons were real, and, if not as common as house cats, common enough to be tamed and used as weapons. This book is set in the Napoleonic wars. An English ship captures a French ship carrying an egg that hatches before it can make it to land. As such, ship captain Will Laurence is forced to leave the navy and join the aerial corps. The writing is great and it’s obvious the author knows a lot about the historical context, enough to add dragons of all things into the established military history and have it all make sense. Highly recommend this series if you’re into dragons or historical fantasy at all.
Book 32: Throne of Jade (Temeraire #2)
Author: Naomi Novik / Genre: Historical Fantasy / Pages: 432
So as to not spoil anything, Temeraire and Laurance are forced to go on a long journey by boat in this book, into a situation which may rip the pair apart against their wishes. I felt this book was good, but not quite as good as the first novel in the series. The journey from England to *mumblemumble* was kinda plodding in places, the pacing a bit uneven. There’s more political intrigue in this book than the first and less discovery of draconic abilities which makes sense given the plot. It was still a good read but my attention was wavering in points through the middle. The ending though has enough character development to make up for the long haul to get there and then some.
Book 33: Death Masks (Dresden Files Book #5)
Author: Jim Butcher / Genre: Fantasy (Urban) / Pages: 352
I switched back to the Dresden Files for this book and wasn’t disappointed again. This time Harry faces a multitude of threats including vampire duels, trying to find the Shroud of Turin and dealing with extremely powerful demons to boot. I was happy to see that some of the threads planted in previous books have come around to be tied off in this one. I like how the author is able to tell entirely new stories every time so that a new reader could follow it but include enough stuff from past books to make it feel like a cohesive series. Looking forward to continuing onward.
Book 34: How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe
Author: Charles Yu / Genre: Science Fiction / Pages: 256
It’s been a while since I’ve read a straight Science Fiction book and this one was a doozy. It’s a time travel book that’s hard to explain in a short blurb. But basically the main character, Charles Yu (also the author) ends up killing his future self, placing him in a time loop while he tries to search for his missing father. The book wavers between being deceptively deep and being actually deep. I’ve settled on the opinion that there’s a lot of content here, and overall I enjoyed the read. It’s a VERY dense book, so those looking for a quick, fun read might want to steer clear. But if you can invest some time and energy into it, it’s very worthwhile.
Next Book
Phew, all caught up. The book I’m currently reading right now is the third book in the Temeraire series, Black Powder War by Naomi Novik.
Long Overdue
Dec 6th 2010
I haven’t updated this blog in over a month now. I blame NaNoWriMo. It sucked my writing energy for everything except working on my novel.
I’m happy to report that I have, indeed, won. I finished my wordcount while I was over visiting with Kris and Marcy in Boston Thanksgiving weekend. The book isn’t finished yet as I need to actually write the ending, one flashback scene and then rewrite the beginning to match up with the ending. But I’m planning on finishing it. I’m taking a little writing breather break. After spending that many days in a row writing so much, I need a little time off.
So, hrm, what happened last month. Not much to speak of other than writing really. At least not that I can remember. Time to pull out my Facebook status updates.
My roommates who were searching for a house to buy found one that they really liked and put in an offer at the beginning of the month which was accepted. Unfortunately things have been going pretty slowly ever since thing with various things. The lawyer found a potential issue with a possible buried oil tank on the property but the eventual environmental inspection revealed that they hit solid concrete when they went down to inspect it so it looks like if there was a tank there, it was taken care of properly. The next delay ended up being with the roofer. The roof needs replacing in several spots on the house and the roofer my roommates got took weeks (and counting) to get back to them with the final report so they could request repairs. The seller finally got another roofer to look at it, but things are kinda in limbo at the moment. The projected close was the end of this month but that’s probably not happening at this point with the delays.
(UPDATE: It looks like my roommates are backing out of the house. The environmental inspection ended up not being done how they asked and everything is kinda falling apart. So it looks like this house is officially 100% dead. Blargh.)
Moving on…
There’s been no change with my work situation sadly, and it’s really bumming me out. At the beginning of the year I promised myself I would make something happen to get myself in a better situation (ie, out of this job) but nothing has panned out and it doesn’t look like anything is going to any time soon. I don’t know what to do really. It kinda sucks feeling stuck. I’ve just been feeling kinda blah in general over the past week or so realizing exactly how little has changed over the past year.
I am still continuing with classes though. I’m finishing up the basic photography course this week and next semester I’m enrolled in General Drawing. Wish I could take some of the Graphic Design theory courses but they’re all at times I absolutely cannot take right now :-/
Heading in a totally different direction now though, as I mentioned before I went out to Boston again to visit with Kris and Marcy. This time no big concert drew me there, just plain old visitation. I had a lot of fun, hung out, played Rock Band, found an awesome little tea shop that I’ll be ordering some stuff from in the near future. Kris had some car issues which cast a shadow over the visit but overall, I enjoyed it a lot and I’m looking forward to the next time I can visit in that direction.
I never thought I’d say this about the Boston area (even the outskirts) but I’m starting to really like the general area. It’s become one of the few places on my list of areas that I might end up living someday. No plans to leave the state now or anything, but down the road, maybe it’ll happen.
Hmm, I think that’s pretty much it as far as personal activities. Just marching onwards to December and hoping 2011 is better. In my 50 in 365 challenge, I’ve read books 30-35 since I last posted a book update. I’ll be combining those into one big huge update coming up next just to get it out of the way. I’m a good chunk into book 36. Looking like I’ll be missing the 50 book deadline but 36+ ain’t bad.
National Novel Writing Month
Nov 1st 2010
If you haven’t been seeing my twitter/facebook feeds recently, I should mention that I’m participating in National Novel Writing Month this year. Basically, it’s a sprint to try and write a small novel during November. 50,000 words by the end of the month.
My chances of actually finishing are slim, as are my chances of producing something that’s worth reading, but I’ve always wanted to give this a shot since I’ve heard about the event and I’ve wanted to get into writing a bit more than I have so I’m giving it a shot.
The novel I’m writing is basically exploring the past of an original character I’ve come up with. It’s going to be in the urban fantasy genre as this character can use magic. Basic rundown is that she’s the daughter of a russian stage magician who traveled around Europe with his family performing. They were very close and when he suddenly took ill, she discovered that his magic tricks weren’t really tricks after all and he had the ability to use real magic. And she did too. He started teaching her but he died before she learned complete control. The emotional turmoil of his death caused her to lose control of her newfound abilities and nearly kill her mother as well. She fled her family, eventually making her way to England where the novel will take place. Or where it starts. I might have her move to the US somewhere in there…still not sure where this is going exactly, but I’ll figure it out. It’s intended to be a story about her past and how she’s dealing with that self doubt and grief in the present and finding a way to escape her getting mixed up with some bad people who want to take advantage of her fragile state.
So anyway, I’ll be trying to write a novel. Probably won’t finish because I’ve got other stuff I need to do. But I’m going to give it a shot anyway.
Random Landscape Photo
Oct 26th 2010
Just dropping this in here since I never actually posted it. It’s one of the pictures I took for my landscape photography assignment. I liked how it turned out:
Book 29: Grave Peril (Dresden Files Book 3)
Oct 26th 2010
Title: Grave Peril
Author: Jim Butcher
Genre: Fantasy (Urban)
Pages: 378
Summary
Harry Dresden, Wizard for Hire returns, this time battling an epidemic of agitated ghosts and an entity known as the Nightmare, a very powerful ghost hellbent on taking down Dresden and his allies.
Notes
I really enjoyed this one. More than book 2 for sure. The mystery in this one seemed to come out of nowhere a bit (involving a character that dresden did something to in the past that we never saw) but it was satisfyingly complex with the twists and turns which was kind of lacking in the previous book.
I enjoy how these books are fairly self contained but some of the events that happen in previous books carry over into the new ones. There’s a bit of continuity which makes things seem that much more realistic.
Next Book
I thought that I’d be moving on to something else for a Dresden break, but I ended up reading right on through to the next book in the series, Summer Knight by Jim Butcher
Book 28: Fool Moon (Dresden Files Book 2)
Oct 22nd 2010
Title: Fool Moon
Author: Jim Butcher
Genre: Fiction (Urban)
Pages: 352
Summary
Harry Dresden returns in the second book of the series. This time the subject is warewolves of all shapes and sizes. The police encounter a murder and Dresden discovers a paw print at the scene. This launches him into yet another situation where he’s in over his head and needs to find some way out.
Notes
After blowing through the first book in the series, I decided to continue onwards with the second.
Everything I loved about the first book was there but about halfway through I kinda lost interest a bit. Sure it doesn’t help that werewolves are probably one of my least favorite supernatural creatures. But I got to a point where I really didn’t care what was going on and wanted it to just…end.
I was told to expect this, that the first few books could be a bit rocky, so I knew it was coming and I finished it off anyway. I’d give this book 3.5 stars if I had to rate it. The beginning part was just as good as the first book, but then it seemed to just drag out for me.
Next Book
Finally caught up! I’m currently reading Book 3 of The Dresden Files, Grave Peril by Jim Butcher. I’m roughly 49% of the way through right now.
Book 27: Storm Front (Dresden Files Book 1)
Oct 22nd 2010
Title: Storm Front
Author: Jim Butcher
Genre: Fantasy (Urban)
Pages: 384
Summary
Harry Dresden, Chicago’s only wizard for hire has a lot of free time on his hands recently. Aside from the work he gets from the police department investigating supernatural phenomena, his main business of finding lost items and investigating paranormal activities (basically a supernatural private eye) has been dead for months.
As he contemplates how he’s going to pay his rent, he suddenly becomes much busier than he ever wanted to be when a woman comes in asking to locate her missing husband and his friend at the police, Murphy, calls to inform him there’s been a murder done with magic.
Dresden works to solve both cases, all while under close watch (and threat of death) by the White Council, the governing body of wizards, for dabbling in the dark arts.
Notes
This series came highly recommended to me by a friend and, yeah, it was worth it. Basically it’s a private eye type mystery book but with magic. And it’s a great combination.
The mystery in this particular book was fairly straightforward, with no huge surprising twists, but that’s ok really as this book largely serves as an introduction of Dresden and his friends. While there’s a few twists and turns, the real fun of the book is figuring out how the heck Dresden is still alive. He stumbles from situation to situation, surviving most of the time based on pure luck as much as skill. He has a very sharp mind, but he also has a tendancy to get himself into situations which he shouldn’t.
I really liked that the author used a first person perspective. It’s like the book is Dresden telling you about his life. He doesn’t reveal everything either. There’s several places where he flat out says something like “Well this is really interesting but you’re better off not knowing about it, so I’m not going to tell you.” He also talks a lot about how he does his magic and how everything works which makes sense if he was speaking to the reader personally. It’s a situation that works well. The entire story is told from his perspective.
Next Book
I’m behind writing these again. The next book I read was Fool Moon, Book 2 of the Dresden Files
Recent Comments