My Summer Immersion Into the Stargate Franchise

Now that I have finished my summer immersion into all things Stargate I suppose I should get my thoughts down. And I really do mean immersion I watched all 3 series back to back every night and weekend all summer that is 349 episodes of Stargate. I enjoyed the humor in all of them well SGU didn’t have much humor but SG-1 & Atlantis had just the right amount! All in all these shows were a great summer escape and SG-1 may be a yearly one!

I enjoyed all the incarnations however none lived up to the original SG-1, I enjoyed the chemistry of the original 4 they are SG-1 to me you just can’t go wrong with Sam (Amanda Tapping) Daniel ( Michael Shanks) & Teal’c ( Christopher Judge) & Of course Jack O’Neill ( Richard Dean Anderson), it took me awhile to warm up to Mitchell (Ben Browder) but I really enjoyed Vala’s (Claudia Black) character she was fun and spunky and was good for a laugh. I have heard these two Black & Browder starred in Farscape and that because I haven’t watched that series I didn’t get certain references in episode 200 which was hilarious by the way. So after I have watched Farscape I plan to go back and watch episode 200 again.I do think that Jack O’Neill (Richard Dean Anderson) became a bit a caricature of himself ala the 200th episode and more and more in his recurring roles in Atlantis & SGU. The movies Ark of Truth & Continuium closed up the stories left hanging in when the series ended.

I enjoyed Stargate Atlantis however they did sometimes feel like regurgitated SG-1 episodes. I however did love the Douglas Adams references! I of course liked Ronon Dex (Jason Momoa) especially since I watched this after he was Khal Drogo in A Game of Thrones and now he will be playing Conan, a movie I didn’t care about till I saw who was playing him!

*************Spoiler Alert**************


My other favorite character was Carson Beckett (Paul McGillion) and when sad things happened I was upset then relieved when happy things happened is that unspoily enough well I put a warning just in case



SGU is a much darker incarnation of the Stargate franchise although well acted it just doesn’t have what the earlier shows had but I am still hooked and wondered where it would go and then came the last episode…


******SPOILER ALERT******


****RANT ALERT**********



Really that’s how you’re going to end it they all go into stasis and we don’t know if Eli was able to fix the problem and go into stasis too????!!?? I think fans at least deserve a 3 years later movie come on give us something more!



All in all these shows were a great summer escape and SG-1 may be a yearly one!

Teaser Tuesday~The Weird Sisters

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"Instead, we'd do what we always did, the only thing we'd ever been dependably stellar at: we'd read."

~~The Weird Sisters by, Eleanor Brown

Rules of Civility by, Amor Towles

This was an interesting look at a single woman’s life in the late 30’s it also gave a look at New York City in this time period. This was a great period piece post flapper, post depression a time when things were looking up for some who had lost everything and were building it back and those who tagged along for the ride. Katey Kontent is a great character trying to make her way on her own but soon realizes that everything in her life happens because of different people she has known. Her roommate Eve is well lets us just say I didn’t like her much, and the man she longs for Tinker seems to always be just out of her reach.

This was really beautifully written and just kind of a narrative/snapshot of Miss Katey Kontent’s life in the 30’s. It was written in such a way that you could picture it all in your mind’s eye and the atmosphere of the time surrounds you. It’s the jazz clubs, Rolls Royce’s, and taxi cabs, the fancy penthouses to the women only boardinghouses. Love the end when she reads all the Rules of Civility by, George Washington I think some of these are still very relevant today!

Rebecca Lowman narrated this audiobook and did a really good job at all the different characters.

This was a good book that is getting a lot of buzz right now and I think it deserves it if you like historical fiction, the late 30’s and strong female characters give this one a go!

4 Stars

Variant by, Robinson Wells

Variant by, Robinson Wells

My Review:I’ll just start by saying I Want More!

This was a unique story, foster kid Benson gets a scholarship for a private school, thinking things are finally looking up he is excited to be given this chance, but as soon as he gets to the school everything changes and things are not at all what they seem.

This story kept me on the edge of my seat it was intriguing and action packed however it ended too soon and left me wanting the 2nd book right now! The writing was good and kept me guessing right along with Benson. I don’t want to give anything away so I will say I highly recommend this new Young Adult series and I believe Robinson wells is an author to watch out for!

This book was kind of a cross between Lord of the Flies and The Hunger Games but I don’t really feel it is dystopian because I think it is happening in our time and I got the impression that the world outside the school is normal to our present standards.

Full Disclosure: I received this eBook from Net Galley

4 Stars

Books I've Read So Far in 2011

As a bit of an introduction to myself I thought I'd list what books I've read so far this year and what I rated them.

#1-Room by, Emma Donoghue audiobook narrated by,Michal Friedman, Ellen Archer, Robert Petkoff, Suzanne Toren 1/5/2011 4 Stars

#2-The Eyre Affair by, Jasper Fforde 1/6/2010 5 Stars

#3-Wicked Appetite by, Janet Evanovich Audio narrated by, Lorelei King 1/7/2011 4 Stars

#4-The Demon Trapper's Daughter by,Jana Oliver 1/9/2011 3 ½ Stars

#5--Paper Towns by, John Green audiobook narrated by, Dan John Miller 1/10/2011 3 Stars

#6-Revolution by, Jennifer Donnelly audio Narrated by Emily Janice Card, Emma Bering 1/14/2010 5 Stars

#7-Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by, Helen Simonson audiobook narrated by, Peter Altschuler 1/21/2011 4 ½ Stars

#8-I Shall Wear Midnight by, Terry Pratchett 1/22/2011 5 Stars

#9-Bloody Valentine by, Melissa de la Cruz 1/23/2011 3 ½ Stars

#10-Live To Tell by, Lisa Gardner audiobook narrated by, Kirsten Potter, Rebecca Lowman, Ann Marie Lee 1/26/2011 4 Stars

#11- A Northern Light by, Jennifer Donnelly audiobook narrated by, Hope Davis 1/28/2010 4 Stars

#12-Hungry for Happiness by, James Villa 2/2/2011 2 Stars

#13- Storm Front by, Jim Butcher audiobook narrated by, James Marsters 2/2/2011 3 ½ Stars

#14- You Know When the Men Are Gone by, Siobhan Fallon audiobook narrated by, Cassandra Campbell 2/3/2011 4 Stars

#15-Left Neglected by, Lisa Genova audiobook narrated by, Sarah Paulsen 2/7/2011 4 ½ Stars

#16-The Nobodies Album by, Carolyn Parkhurst 2/9/2011 4 ½ Stars

#17-Seer Of Sevenwaters by, Juliet Marillier 2/13/2011 4 ½ Stars

#18-The Sherlockian by, Graham Moore- Audio narrated by, James Langston 2/15/2011 3 ½ Stars

#19-If I Stay by, Gayle Forman audio narrated by, Kirsten Potter 2/18/2011 2 ½ Stars

#20-You Had me At Woof by, Julie Klam audio narrated by, Karen White 2/21/2011 4 ½ Stars

#21-The Reversal by, Michael Connelly audio narrated by, Peter Giles 2/23/2011 4 Stars

#22- Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man by, Fanny Flagg 2/23/2011 5 Stars

#23-My Bonny Light Horseman by, L.A. Meyer audiobook narrated by, Katherine Kellgren 2/28/2011 4 Stars

#24-Madame Tussaud:A Novel of the French Revolution by, Michelle Moran 3/11/2011 5 Stars

#25-I Am Number Four by, Pittacus Lore audiobook narrated by, Neil Kaplan 3/11/2011 3 Stars

#26-River Marked by, Patricia Briggs 3/15/2011 5 Stars

#27-A Discovery of Witches by, Deborah Harkness audiobook narrated by, Jennifer Ikeda 3/18/2011 4 ½ Stars

#28-The Peach Keeper:A Novel by, Sarah Addison Allen 3/21/2011 5 Stars

#29-Love You More by, Lisa Gardner audiobook narrated by, Kirsten Potter, Katie Macnichol 3/24/2011 5 Stars

#30-Winter Ghosts by, Kate Mosse 3/27/2011 2 ½ Stars (barely)

#31-The Bluest Eye by, Toni Morrison 3/31/2011 2 Stars

#32-Year of Wonders by, Geraldine Brooks audiobook narrated by the author 4/1/2011 5 Stars

#33- The King's Speech: How One Man Saved the British Monarchy by, Mark Logue, Peter Conradi Audiobook narrated by, Simon Vance 4/5/2011 5 Stars

#34-Water For Elephants by, Sara Gruen audiobook narrated by, David Ledoux, John Randolph Jones 4/10/2011 4 stars

#35-Changeless by, Gail Carriger audiobook narrated by, Emily Gray 4/13/2011 4 ½ Stars

#36-The Murderer's Daughters by Randy Susan Meyers 4/13/2011 3 Stars

#37-Skellig by, David Almond 4/16/2011 4 Stars

#38-Blameless by, Gail Carriger audio edition narrated by, Emily Gray 4/18/2011 4 Stars

#39-O Pioneers! by, Willa Cather audiobook narrated by, Kate Reading 4/20/2011 4 Stars

#40-Crunch Time by, Diane Mott Davidson audiobook narrated by, Barbara Rosenblatt 4/25/2011 4 Stars

#41-The Bird Sisters by, Rebecca Rasmussen 4/28/2011 5 Stars

#42-Lost in a Good book by, Jasper Fforde audio narrated by, Emily Gray 4/29/2011 3 ½ Stars

#43-The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot audiobook narrated by, Cassandra Campbell, Bahni Turpin 5/4/2011 5 Stars

#44-Rapture of the Deep: Being an Account of the Further Adventures of Jacky Faber, Soldier, Sailor, Mermaid, Spy by L. A. Meyer audiobook narrated by, Katherine Kellgren 5/9/2011 4 Stars

#45-Dead Reckoning by, Charlaine Harris 5/9/2011 4 Stars

#46-Look me in the Eye by, John Elder Robinson 5/13/2011 4 Stars

#47-The House at Riverton by, Kate Morton audiobook narrated by, Caroline Lee 5/17/2011 4 Stars

#48-Maisie Dobbs (Maisie Dobbs, #1) by, Jaqueline Winspear audiobook narrated by, Rita Barrington 5/23/2011 4 ½ Stars

#49-Water Witch by, Deborah LeBlanc audiobook narrated by, Xe Sands 5/25/2011 3 ½ Stars

#50-The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly audiobook narrated by, Natalie Ross 5/27/2011 3 ½ Stars

#51-Running With Scissors by, Augusten Burroughs 5/27/2011 3 Stars

#52-City of Bones by, Cassandra Clare audiobook narrated by, Ari Graynor 6/6/2011 2 ½ Stars

#53-Trespasser by, Paul Doiron 6/9/2011 5 Stars

#54-Life by, Keith Richards audiobook narrated by, Johnny Depp & Jon Hurley 6/10/2011 4 Stars

#55-Bossypants by, Tina Feyaudiobook narrated by the author 6/13/2011 3 Stars

#56-Abby Cooper Psychic Eye by, Victoria Laurie audiobook narrated by, Elizabeth Michaels 6/17/2011 4 Stars

#57-The True Meaning of Smekday by, Adam Rex audiobook narrated by Bahni Turpin 6/24/2011 5 Stars

#58-Smokin' Seventeen by, Janet Evanovich audiobook narrated by, Lorelei King 6/28/2011 4 stars

#59- Still Life by, Louise Penny audiobook narrated by, Ralph Cosham 7/1/2011 3 ½ Stars

#60-Praise Jerusalem! by, Augusta Trobaugh 7/3/2011 3 ½ stars

#61-Immortal beloved by, Cate Tiernan audiobook narrated by, Kelly Lintz 7/7/2011 4 stars

#62-Save Me by, Lisa Scottoline 7/7/2011 3 ½ Stars

#63-Heartless by, Gail Carriger audiobook narrated by, Emily Gray 7/12/2011 4 ½ Stars

#64-Dragon's Time by, Anne & Todd McCaffrey 7/15/2011 4 Stars

#65-Forever by, Maggie Stiefvater 7/17/2011 4 Stars

#66-The Twentieth Wife by, Indu Sundaresan audiobook narrated by, Sneha Mathan 7/25/2011 2 ½ Stars

#67-The Idiot Girls' Action-Adventure Club: True Tales from a Magnificent and Clumsy Life by Laurie Notaro,audiobook Narrated by, Hillary Huber 7/27/2011 4 stars

#68-I Love Everybody (and Other Atrocious Lies): True Tales of a Loudmouth Girl by, Laurie Notaro audiobook narrated by, Hillary Huber 7/29/2011 4 Stars

#69-The Legacy by, Katherine Webb 7/31/2011 5 Stars

#70- The Autobiography of a Fat Bride by, Laurie Notaro audiobook narrated by, Hillary Huber

#71-Go the F**k to Sleep by Adam Mansbach audiobook narrated by, Samuel L. Jackson 4 Stars

#72- Freaks a Risoli & Isles Short Story by, Tess Gerritsen

Teaser Tuesday ~~Variant by, Robinson Wells

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!


I wasn't anything special. I was just another kid- a prisoner or a test subject or who knows what- and I wasn't going to be the last.
[eBook from NetGalley]

The Legacy by, Katherine Webb~~Review

The Legacy by, Katherine Webb coming in September 2011
Synopsis:
In 1903, New York heiress Caroline marries a cattle rancher and moves with him to rural Oklahoma, where she finds herself wholly out of her depth. Unable to adjust to the isolation of the vast prairies, Caroline grows increasingly frightened and unhappy. Driven to the edge of reason she commits a terrible crime from which she flees, all the way to London, to start a new life as the wife of English aristocrat Henry Calcott. She moves to Storton Manor in Wiltshire, but soon finds that the repercussions of her actions have crossed the Atlantic with her, and will not be so easily forgotten. In the bitter winter of 2008, following the death of their grandmother, Erica Calcott and her sister Beth return to Storton Manor, where they spent the summer holidays as children. As she begins to sort through her grandmother's belongings, Erica is inundated with memories of her childhood, and of Dinny, a local boy whom she idolised. She also remembers her spiteful cousin, Henry, whose disappearance from the manor tore the family apart. Convinced that she should remember what happened to Henry, Erica sets out to uncover the truth. She is reunited with Dinny, and finds herself as drawn to him in adulthood as she was as a child. Haunted by emotions and suspicions, Erica delves deeply into her memories, revisiting the people and places that shaped her childhood, and bringing to light a truth more shocking than she had ever imagined.

My Review:
This is a beautifully weaved multi-generational story of family secrets and the people those secrets created. Katherine Webb weaves these stories together so artfully each story told at the perfect pace, with a slow crescendo of curiosity to a very late night of I can’t put this book down!

The way she shows the path that was chosen, the choices made and the secrets they kept and how it affected everyone in their lives. This is also a story of sisters and mothers and daughters and how each generation affects the next.

I cared about all the characters and even had some sympathy for the cruel grandmothers. Our two sisters Beth & Erica were beautifully written, the sadness and the taut tension were palpable. And the childhood friendship that meant so much but was over so long ago the childhood feelings bubble up but so much time has passed is it really still the same. Caroline’s time in America was so well written her unhappiness leaked off the page in waves.

I really loved this book such beautiful writing and I highly recommend it!

If you are a fan of Kate Morton I would give Katherine Webb a try. I look forward to reading anything else this author writes, definitely an author to keep your eye on.

Full Disclosure- I received this book from LibraryThing Early Reviewers Program

5 Stars

crossposted to:http://www.nrpl.blogspot.com/