Book Review: Dreamhouse Kings #1 : House of Dark Shadows

Title: House of Dark Shadows
Author: Robert Liparulo
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Category: Young adult, suspense

My Rating:****

House of Dark Shadows is Robert Liparulo's first young adult title and the first in a series called Dreamhouse Kings. I was pleasantly surprised with his debut and am looking forward to reading Book 2.

The story follows fifteen year old Xander King and his family as they move from Pasadena to Pinedale, Ca. At first, Xander and his brother David are upset about leaving the big city and all their friends to move to a small town in the middle of nowhere, but the house that the Kings decide to buy quickly entrances the two boys with its mysteries. The shadowy figure of a large man who appears out of nowhere, tricks of sound, and secret passageways make this just creepy and scary enough to be interesting without being too much for a young adult audience. At first I thought it was too fantastical, but Liparulo was eventually able to bring me to a place where my disbelief could be suspended. The book is heavy on movie and television references, which bothered me at first, but it really suits the main character, so I got over it.

I thought House of Dark Shadows was gripping, a page-turner, unexpectedly frightening at times and a great story.

Thankful

25 things I am thankful for this year:

• a faith that is sure of what I hope for and certain of what I do not see
• my salvation that I know I do not deserve
• a fiance who supports me and encourages me
  
• my family who have always been there for me
  
• loving and uplifting relationships with my friends
• a full-time job
• the education I'm receiving at NYU
• books
• freedom
• God's creation
• the people in my fellowship group
• Apple products
• Google
• Redeemer Presbyterian Church and Tim Keller
• the chance to live in New York and my awesome house
• great roommates
• the Tahoe
  
• the Internet
  
• triangle eared dogs
  
• delicious creamers that make my coffee tasty
  
• cell phones
  
• the colors of fall
  
• piano lessons at home
  
• great deals at Ikea
  
• Netflix
  

Book Review: The Faith of Barack Obama

Title: The Faith of Barack Obama
Author: Stephen Mansfield
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Category: Non-fiction

My Rating:***
There is no shortage of information out there about president-elect Obama, but I really appreciated Stephen Mansfield's fairly objective pre-election portrayal of our 44th president and his faith. Mansfield provides well-reserached details about Obama's life, family background and encounters with different religions, and he describes to the best of his ability what it is Obama believes and has faith in. The fact is, we all have faith in something, and Mansfield makes it pretty clear that Obama does believe in God and Jesus, and to him that means carrying out Jesus' mission to help the poor and needy and to fight social injustice. Mansfield tackles the controversial issues of Rev. Jeremiah Wright's influence on Obama as his pastor of many years and Obama's voting record and stance on abortion rights. He tries to highlight both sides of the arguments and provides a foundation of facts for the reader to make up his or her mind. One of my favorite chapters profiled the "four faces of faith in politics:" Hillary Clinton, John McCain, Barack Obama, and George W. Bush. Though Mansfield tries to stay objective about Obama's faith, he does make the point that the political landscape in regards to faith and religion is changing, including the emergence and growth of the Religious Left.

Halloween and Sweeney Todd

On Thursday before Halloween, there was a costume party at work. Dustin went as Indiana Jones, and I went as Snow White the Avenger. Neither of us won an award, but we had fun all the same.


This Halloween, I stayed home with roommates, passed out candy to the very few trick-or-treaters who came by (w00t for leftover candy!), watched Sweeney Todd and made chocolate ghost lollipops. We still have leftover ghosts, which is fine by me as they make great after school treats :-) Also, I have since been listening to the Sweeney Todd soundtrack practically non-stop at work, at home, on runs. I only bought a few songs from iTunes, so I listen to the whole thing on imeem whenever I'm online. I wonder which will come first: will I eventually learn all the words or get sick of it?

Smelly knowledge

Two things:
1. Admire the irony that I am posting this quote on a blog
2. Forgive me for indulging in watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer

I was watching an episode from season one of Buffy, "I, Robot... You, Jane," and I really liked this conversation about books vs. computers. Jenny Calendar is the computer teacher, and Rupert Giles is the librarian.

Jenny Calendar: Honestly, what is it about them that bothers you so much?
Giles: The smell.
Jenny Calendar: Computers don't smell, Rupert.
Giles: I know. Smell is the most powerful trigger to the memory there is. A certain flower, or a whiff of smoke can bring up experiences long forgotten. Books smell musty and rich. The knowledge gained from a computer is a - it, uh, it has no texture, no context. It's-it's there and then it's gone. If it's to last, then the getting of knowledge should be, uh, tangible, it should be, um, smelly.

Philip the Emperor Penguin

Today, I arrived at my desk to find a large box in my chair. In the box was a large stuffed penguin! One of my customers orders bulk quantities of Our Iceberg is Melting for his business, and they apparently have lots of these penguins for promotion, so he sent me one :-)

Naturally, I named him right away- Philip (as it was the only decent name of an emperor that starts with a P that I could find). I showed Philip around the office, introduced him to co-workers, and made him feel at home. He got right to work...

Philip meets Cathy

Philip sends a fax

Philip answers the phone

Philip tries out the office chair

Philip sends an email

Philip checks out the free book piles

Philip contemplates his day at the office.
It was a good one!

work buddy AKA D-man AKA Ross AKA Papa Bear

so, it is thanks to Dustin that I have a job. He was hired at Macmillan in June. When he heard there was another opening, he offered to give them my résumé. Voilà! I now sit this close to him (see above) Monday-Friday from 9-5. Did I mention we also live in the same house and are both in the NYU Publishing program? Fortunately, we only have one class together this semester, which provides him some respite from my exuberance.

On a side note, election day is just eight days away, and I hope you are all voting. I actually registered in New York, and though I don't think my vote counts as much here or in Arizona as it would if I lived in Ohio or Virginia or some other close call state, I'm still excited to take part in another historical election :-) BTW, if McCain doesn't win, and Sarah Palin decides to make a major career switch, there are several producers ready to make her an offer. Just imagine: The Sarah Palin Show or The Palins. Oh my!