The Friday 56 (30) A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeleine L'Engle

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

For my 56 this week, I selected a quote from a book I recently read. (A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeleine L'Engle)

Synopsis from Goodreads...

When fifteen-year-old Charles Wallace Murry shouts out an ancient rune meant to ward off the dark in desperation, a radiant creature appears. It is Gaudior, unicorn and time traveler. Charles Wallace and Gaudior must travel into the past on the winds of time to try to find a Might-Have-Been - a moment in the past when the entire course of events leading to the present can be changed, and the future of Earth - this small, swiftly tilting planet - saved. A Swiftly Tilting Planet is the third book in Madeleine L'Engle's classic Time Quintet...

"Charles Wallace wrapped his arms about himself as though for warmth. "And you wonder that I'm frightened?" 

"Of course you're frightened. I'm frightened, too.""-- A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeleine L'Engle

What classic novel(s) have you read recently?

Movie Review: Jupiter Ascending (2015)

Title: Jupiter Ascending
Director(s): Andy & Lana Wachowskis
Produced by: Grant Hill, The Wachowskis 
Written By: The Wachowskis
Rating: PG-13
Release Date: February 6, 2015
Source: Rented from Redbox
Gifs & Movie Poster from the official Jupiter Ascending website (Check them out here)

Yes, I actually watched this movie from start to finish because I was curious to see what it was like. My initial thoughts—upon seeing the trailer—for Jupiter Ascending was that it was going to be a science fiction/fantasy film of epic proportions. But after watching the movie, I was more than a little disappointed by it.

Here’s the thing, Jupiter Ascending had a lot of potential to be great, but suffered from too many flaws.

Albeit, visually stunning, the movie fails in the story department. I felt like I was watching different, segmented scenes with transitions that couldn’t properly put them together. Thus, the entire movie felt like a video game with villains popping in and out—disappearing altogether once what they had to offer to the plot was over and done with. I would have liked to see more of a resolution, but instead, I was left feeling like I’d just sat through two hours of something that wasn’t complete—like it needed a sequel to further explore the world.

For one thing, this movie was incredibly long, and some of the scenes felt like they lasted forever, like they were fillers to take up some of the space. At several times I found myself a little bored by it. Now the detail put into the visual aspects were as I said above, nice—even stunning—especially the scenes directly involving space and the various planets featured in the movie—as well as the alien technology/Abrasax ships. And then there was Jupiter Jones (played by Mila Kunis), ugh, I felt like she just sort of had this I’m-kind-of-bored expression throughout the entire movie. And when she actually did something productive—being saved by Caine Wise (played by Channing Tatum) doesn’t count—that it seemed so out of character for her that it was almost entirely unbelievable. Her character could have been better if developed more. Caine Wise was a complete (not even borderline) dues ex machina. His presence was more than convenient, and he showed up whenever Jupiter seemed to be stuck, which happened way too often. Now the characters weren’t all bad and Diomika Tsing (played by Nikki Amuka-Bird) was probably my favorite character in the entire movie. She was the captain that oversaw the Aegis ship that was present in the movie—she was kind of awesome.

At the end of the day, Jupiter Ascending seemed like the kind of movie that would interest me, but the story itself basically destroyed my enjoyment of the film. If you want to see this movie I suggest renting it before buying it.

Quarterly Recap: April-June

Wow, would you look at that, it's already JULY. Anyway, welcome to what would have been the second trimonthly recap, but I'm renaming it to Quarterly Recap. (Its still going to remain as once every three months, so that's not changing.) As always, I’m going to give a quick summary of all of the things that happened on the blog from the beginning of April all the way through June. So, I’m just going to jump right into it, and start with reviews…

April Reviews:

• Howl's Moving Castle
• Seeker
• John Shaw's Guide to Digital Nature Photography
• Landry Park
• Headstrong: 52 Women who Changed Science and the World 

May Reviews:

• Rise by Amanda Sun
• Cookie Love by Mindy Segal with Kate Leahy
• Space Exploration for Dummies by Cynthia Phillips & Shana Priwer

June Reviews:

• Love Fortunes and Other Disaster by Kimberly Karalius
• Save Me by Jenny Elliott
• The Tapper Twins go to War (With Each Other) by Geoff Rodkey
• Inside Out (Movie Review)
• The Book of Spirits and Thieves by Morgan Rhodes
• Max (Movie Review)

In general, April was a relatively busy month. I did the first Trimonthly Recap for the January through March, and started doing a new type of post called Weekend Tidbits. I also participated in the Reading Habits Book Tag and a list post called Series/Novels I would Like to see on the Screen. And lastly, I took part in the Blitz for Awakening by Shannon Duffy and a release day post for Dragons Are People, Too by Sarah Nicolas.

I started off May with a much needed week long break before participating in the Release Day Blitz for The Wrath and The Dawn by Renee Ahdieh. I also did a Weekend Tidbit about the humming bird that was nesting right outside the window of my house. They were cute while they stuck around, but I never got a picture of them before they left the nest. Later in the month I participated in a Release Date Reveal for Victoria Scott's Titans and a short release day post for Lindsay Cummings Death Code.

And finally, we have June. At the start of the month was the cover reveal for Of Ice and Snow by Amber Argyle. On the fifth it was National Doughnut day and about a week or so later I posted a Weekend Tidbit about my day and the recipe I tried out. Later in the month I did an Interview with Kimberly Karalius, and entered Marissa Meyer's The Lunar Chronicles Bookmark contest.

I have to say that it's been a pretty productive three months, so the only thing I'm really looking forward to doing is maintaining my pace with blogging and reading.

Sale Alert: Fire & Flood by Victoria Scott

Psst, hey, you guys, Fire and Flood by Victoria Scott is currently on sale for only $1.99. Still not convinced that you need it? Well, check out my review for it HERE

Click here to Follow the Link to the sale!

Synopsis from Goodreads...

Time is slipping away....

Tella Holloway is losing it. Her brother is sick, and when a dozen doctors can't determine what's wrong, her parents decide to move to Montana for the fresh air. She's lost her friends, her parents are driving her crazy, her brother is dying—and she's helpless to change anything. Until she receives mysterious instructions on how to become a Contender in the Brimstone Bleed. It's an epic race across jungle, desert, ocean, and mountain that could win her the prize she desperately desires: the Cure for her brother's illness. But all the Contenders are after the Cure for people they love, and there's no guarantee that Tella (or any of them) will survive the race. The jungle is terrifying, the clock is ticking, and Tella knows she can't trust the allies she makes. And one big question emerges: Why have so many fallen sick in the first place?

Want to know more? Check out the links below. . .

Twitter     Website     Facebook     Goodreads

So Yeah, I'm Entering A Contest...

This is my entry for Marissa Meyer's Design a Lunar Chronicles Bookmark Contest. This is for contest purposes only. Don't take the image without giving me credit and linking back to the original post.

A little bit more about it...

I was really inspired by three things: Winter (the character), the moon, and the lunar palace. The primary colors I used are gray, black, and blue with a dash of color to the face (the three scars and the eye). I wanted to keep it simple in terms of color. Basically, I wanted the focus to remain on Winter.