50 Books in 1 Year

So my goal this year is to read at least 50 books in 2017 ... Yes, I know that ain't gonna happen.  Mainly because I will be going back to school to go for my bachelors in education, and my reading will be textbooks.  But, sometimes goals just help me keep going.  I have a list of so far 33 books, and don't know what else I should read.  Yes, the Robert Langdon Series is on the list, I just love that series so much!  Here's what I got planned so far:

1.   Hidden Figures - Margot Lee Shetterly

2.   Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children - Ransom Riggs

3.   Hollow City - Ransom Riggs

4.   Library of Souls - Ransom Riggs

5.   Food - Jim Gaffigan

6.   Between the Bridge and the River - Craig Ferguson

7.   The Wizard of Oz - L. Frank Baum

8.   Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury

9.   Who Could That Be At This Hour? - Lemony Snicket

10. Zombie Survival Guide - Max Brooks

11. The Diary of Anne Frank - Anne Frank

12.  Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll

13.  When The Legend Dies - Hal Borland

14.  Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter - Seth Grahame-Smith

15.  The Last American Vampire - Seth Grahame-Smith

16.  Anatomy of A Murderer - Robert Traver

17.  Peter Pan - J. M. Barrie

18.  The Green Mile - Stephen King

19.  American On Purpose - Craig Ferguson

20.  Angels & Demons - Dan Brown

21.  The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown

22.  The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown

23.  Inferno - Dan Brown

24.  Sophie's Choice - William Styron

25.  Pride and Prejudice and Zombies - Seth Grahame-Smith 

26.  Holes - Louis Sachar

27.  Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West - Gregory Maguire

28.  The Color Purple - Alice Walker

29.  The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Steig Larsson

30.  The Girl Who Played with Fire - Steig Larsson

31.  The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest - Steig Larsson

32.  Night - Eli Wiesel

33.  Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens

If there's a book you think I should read, leave a comment below!  

How They Croaked

I know there was a large gap between review, over a year to be exact.  But that doesn't mean I didn't read.  Before I moved to Salem, I tried to read at least a few books during that period.  While I worked at an elementary school as a volunteer teacher assistant, I participated in a reading competition each year.  Usually I read my favorite series, The Robert Langdon Series by Dan Brown.  But last year I did read one other book, How They Croaked by Georgia Bragg.  So while I'm still reading Hollow City, here's an extra review just for you Cierra, the only person that reads these reviews!

If you scroll down, well, not right now, you'll see that I did another book by Georgia Bragg called How They Choked, a collection of historical facts about how historical figures screwed up in life, which eventually lead them to their deaths.  How They Croaked is basically the same concept, but about the bizarre deaths of famous historical figures.  Some of the people Georgia Bragg talks about are:  Cleopatra, George Washington, Albert Einstein, Henry VIII (in the other book they discuss his 2nd wife, Anne Boleyn), the famous beheading of Marie Antoinette, and even Pocahontas ... The real story, not that Disney crap!  Okay, before the hate mails come flying in, I have nothing against the movie, I love Pocahontas, but let's face it the Disney sequel was more historically accurate than the first movie.  

Just like Hidden Figures, it's really hard to explain a plot where there's more than 1 story.  But what I can say, Ike How They Choked, it's a fascinating book to read.  Now this books is mainly designed for pre teens, yes, I read those kind of books, and yes, I read books for little kids too.  I wil read The Day The Drayons Quit a million times and never get bored with it.  Before I get carried away, let's get back to the book.  This book is reallly made for anyone to read, because it discusses real things that happened to real people in a basic text.  Also, it talks about the way people died that kids would NEVER see today.  

Kids today will never really understand the struggle people lived in those times because mainly we hospitals and the technology to stop the crazy life threatening diseases.  Also, they will never experience the bizzare deaths that wasn't from illness.  Okay, yes, the last guillotine beheading execution was in 1977, about 40 years ago, but let's face it, kids today weren't even alive to remember that ... I was born 13 AFTER that happened.  What I'm trying to day is that, kids kind of have it a little easy with survival.  They don't have to witness an execution 3 blocks from their house, or play with their friends one day and out of nowhere one of the kids drops dead due to the cholera.  Yes, there is a lot of violence today, especially recently due to the 2016 election (not gonna get political at all), but trust me when I say this, it wasn't like back in the day.  And I think it's a good that kids learn about these kind of things, just so they don't make the same mistakes as our ancestors.

So there is another long review for you people.  I'm gonna try to get reviews posted here and there, I ain't a quick reader like I used to be.  But I will post some other random stuff here and there as well, just to let you all know I'm still alive and well.  Make sure to check out my other reviews and I will see you in the next one!

- BorenNerdy

Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children

My next book on my list of books to read this year is Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs, a bizzare story with a very uniqu approach to it.  So let's dive into this very "peculiar" story!  See what I did there?

Here's the story, Jacob Portman grew up listening to his grandpas crazy stories about living in a children's home after leaving his whole family in Poland, to escape the Nazi's Holocaust Camps during WWII.  Some of the children that lived there were a girl that could fly, an invisible boy, a boy with bees living inside of him, and a girl that could summon fire from her hands.  But like most kids, as Jacob got older, the stories became more of a fairytale, even though his grandpa was convinced they were real.  One evening, Jacob gets a call from his grandpa, who is hysterical and claiming the "monsters" had found him and were after him.  So Jacob and a friend go to his house to calm him down, thinking there were just mind tricks from the war getting to him.  Jacob discovers his grandfather dead in the woods and sees a horrific monster hiding, and his friend claims he never saw.

Some time goes by and Jacob goes into complete depression after witnessing his grandfather die in his arms, and everyone not believing what he saw and heard that night.  After discovering more secrets about his grandfather, he finds out that he was receiving letters from the headmistress of the children's home, Miss Peregrine, asking for him to come home to an island in the United Kingdom.  After some convincing, Jacob and his father go to the island, to see if he could get some closure.  Some time goes by and he finds the house his grandfather grew up in, only to find that the house had been destroyed from a Nazi air raid over 70 years ago.  Confused with what happened while inside the decaying house, children come inside calling his grandpas name, seeing if he returned.  Jacob chases after them and ends up going back to the village and it isn't the same, and finds out he transported back in time to the day of the air raid in 1940.  

The children find him and take him back to the children's home, surprisingly in one piece.  He meets the headmistress, Miss Peregrine, who tells him all the stories that his grandpa told him were real.  And that they've been living in a time loop that she conjures that relives September 3, 1940 everyday, so they can live safe and away from invisible monsters called the Hollowgast who can't enter the time loop, but only certain peculiar children can see, his grandpa being one of them, as well as Jacob himself.  He ends up spending most of his days there, discovering more of the life his grandpa had, and then returning to his own time, lying to his father that he was doing nothing all day.

Eventual weird things start happening in the village that set off red flags to Miss Peregrine, mainly the mysterious slaughter of sleeps in the village.  Threatened that a Hollowgast is nearby as well as a Wight, a Hollowgast that consumed enough Peculiars that it eventually gained a human form, but still showed signs of being different, Miss Peregrine puts the house on lockdown, forcing the children to stay in the house.

Eventually a Wight manages to get through the time loop and kidnap Miss Peregrine and another Headmistress that escaped an attack in her time loop, and they were kept in cage in their peculiar form of birds.  Jacob and the other children manage to save Miss Peregrine but the other headmistress was captured by a group of Wights, and leave for their headquarters.  And everyone leaves to find the secret headquarters of the Wights.  Which ends the book and starts the next book in the trilogy, Holllow City.

I know I left some things out, but this book was full of so much information, you just need to read it!  I LOVED THIS BOOK!  I will admit, I attempted to read this book before, but I couldn't get into it, and I had that problem when I read it again, and out of nowhere I couldn't put the book down!  I loved how there were so many twists and craziness in the book, which is the type of books I like to read.  You can tell I love books that are so bizzare and weird.  Also, another thing I loved was how Ransom Riggs used these old weird photos he collected and incorporated them into the story.  It was perfect and I was happy he did that in the other 2 books as well.  I will definitely be doing a Book VS Movie with this story, but it will probably be after I finish the whole trilogy, and I am excited to see the movie, just saying.  

So that ends my review, sorry of it was reallly long, but it made up for my very short review of Hidden Figures.  If you enjoyed this review, feel free to read my other reviews, and I will get my next one up as soon as I finish reading Hollow City.  If you have a book you think I should read up on, feel free to comment below!  I will see you in the next review!

- BorenNerdy

Hidden Figures

Here's a book that is just purely fascinating.  History books never mentioned African American women working for NASA, or even white women working for NASA.  But now their story is being told in Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly.  

The story takes place at the start of WWII, following the lives of 3 African American women, Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, and Katherine G. Johnson and their journey from working for the National Advisory Committee of Aeroautics (NACA) during the war, and transitioning to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the great space race during the Cold War.  These brilliant women worked at human computers with their advanced knowledge of mathematics and science.  It also talks about the struggle they went through while working for the government during the civil rights era.  Again, something history books would never mention.

There isn't really a whole lot to talk about especially plot wise because, well, it talks about the lives of 3 women instead of just one person.  And there is so much to mention in this review, I might as well say go buy the book and read it, which is true, buy the books and read it.  Now I have to pre warn you, the book has a lot of fancy math and science stuff that could be a little confusing to some people.  So if you want go see the movie, it has Octavia Spencer and Sheldon from the Big Bang Theory for crying out loud.  But if you wanna take a shot at it I say go for it!  If not, definitely see the movie, I know I will when I get the chance.

So there's my review for this awesome book.  Next one will be whenever I finish reading it.  Don't forget to check out alll off my other reviews I've done ... All 8 of them!  I'm just kidding, there's only 9!

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

So I'm back, I know it's been a while but it's been quite a few months.  Last August I moved out of Veneta, Oregon all the way to Salem, Oregon.  So the past few months I've been trying to adjust to the move, and let it all sink in.  BUT I did some reading since I moved, and I'm ready to get some reviews posted.  So let's get back on the bandwagon.   

Now I actually read this during my moving process, like I read it before I moved and finished it after I moved.  And I must say, this was quite an interesting book.  Now, this book was not written by The Queen of Quill and Scroll, JK Rowling, but that doesn't mean she wan't apart of the process. 

So here's the story, it's set right after the 19 Years Later chapter of The Deathly Hallows, Harry and Ginny got old and had kids, and they're sending their youngest son, Albus to Hogwarts.  Albus is having trouble finding himself in the world and like most 1st years, is nervous about which house he will be placed in.  He meets a new friend, Scorpius Malfoy, the son of Draco Malfoy ... I know right?  What are the odds?  And both end up being sent to Slytherin.  And it goes through his life being a troubled teenager with normal teenage problems.  

This story also goes through Harry's life, who is now working for the Ministry of Magic, hunting down the last death eaters that are still trying to find a way to bring back He Who Must Not Be Named.  Fear the He might return, he finds a lead involving Time Turners and manages to find one of the last ones now that they have all been destroyed.  One night before going back to school, Albus overhears a conversation between Harry and Amos Diggory, Cedric's son.  You remember, before he became the sparkly vampire living in Forks, Washington.  Amos begs Harry to use the last time turner to go back and save Cedric from his unfortunate death.  Albus meets his niece Delphi and helps him and Scorpius get the time turner and use it to go back in time to save Cedric.  And it ends up a series of wibbly wobbly timey whimey stuff ... I know that's Doctor Who, BUT a lot of people in the movies were in Doctor Who *cough* Barty Crouch Jr. *cough cough*.  But in the end of the everything goes well like all the Harry Potter Books.  The first 3 books, after that everyone started dying in the end, especially the last one.

So here are my thoughts about the book, I enjoyed it a lot.  I grew up reading Harry Potter, like 1st Grade was when I started.  So you can tell I was a hardcore fan, #HufflepuffPride.  Now, here's my reaction to all the haters of the book that stated that they got robbed, and that all the characters were too bland, and that it wasn't written like a book ... THATS BECAUSE IT'S A SCRIPT YOU STUPID BLOCKHEAD.  A few years ago they started production for The West End (the Broadway of London), and bringing back the Wizarding world onto the stage.  But since a majority of the world can't attend the play, they decided to do an extra promotion to bring more fans to see the show, by publishing the rehearsal script.  Of course, it was one of the top sellers of 2016, I bought it the day it came out.  But the way people have been treating it has not been fair.  One, JK Rowling approved of this, I mean, more money for her, and it helped expand the universe.  Now it's expanded even more with Fantastic Beasts and everything she writes on Pottermore.com.  Two, the reason you feel like the characters were so bland was because that's how most scripts are written.  I did theater for a long time and have read A LOT of scripts, and the best way to understand their feelings is by seeing it.  Stuff like this is made for the actors to portray the characters feelings.  Every line could be made into any expression, it's the actors and directors job to make it set into the right mood.  Some people can read scripts correctly and some cannot, and it seems like a lot of them couldn't.  So on that note, I recommend this book if you are up for the challenge.  I hear they're bringing the play to Broadway and if that's true, I might need to start saving money for a trip to New York.

So there's my review.  I'm gonna try to keep up with these, but if I don't post anything every now and then, don't be sad.  I have another review I'll be posting soon, and I'm already starting a new book.  So let's hope I keep to it.

Book VS Movie - the Hobbit

Yes, this is real!  In 1977 someone was actually crazy enough to make an animated Hobbit show for kids, in less than an hour and a half.  It wasn’t just any production company though.  It was a Raskin and Bass production that made it.  You know who they are, you watch their stuff every Christmas time.  That’s right, Raskin and Bass are the people that created the iconic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer claymation show, and other iconic claymation Christmas shows that we all know and for some reason watch with no explanation.  But we’re not talking about that today, we’re talking about the Hobbit.  BUT, not only is it an animated show, but it’s also a MUSICAL!  I am not kidding, it is a musical!  Now I am gonna be comparing this to the Jackson film, I’m gonna be comparing it to the book.  If I do mention the other film, it’ll most likely be because there might be some things that the Jackson film AND the book have in common that I liked that the cartoon didn’t have.  So wish me luck as we go into the ring again with this challenging topic.    

So let’s talk about the characters, well, they’re interesting.  Gandalf was portrayed well with the voice casting of John Huston, he managed to make you believe he was an all powerful wizard.  The dwarfs were … I guess you can say dwarves.  They took more of a Snow White and the Seven Dwarves look instead of the Jackson ones.  They looked old and just a little silly, not hot at all.  Thorin was ok, he seemed like more of a cranky old king than a leader till the very end.  Smaug was okay as well, although I don’t remember dragons having hair and looking like a giant fat cat with wings.  My only problem with the character portrayal was Bilbo.  Voiced by Orson Bean, this character basically drove me nuts, I hated him.  He seemed more like a jerk, and like he never really wanted to be there.  In the book he shows that it’s not easy just deciding to leave everything behind and go with these strangers across Middle Earth, and also have to pretend that he’s a skilled burglar on top of all of that.  In the cartoon, he brags WAY too much.  He also acted like he didn’t really care about the others, as long as he got out alive.  The whole time watching it I kept thinking, “Wow Bilbo, you’re kind of a jerk.  I hope you die!”  I was not a fan at all.

The movie did a really good job with making Middle Earth, look like what Middle Earth could be.  It’s hard to make a grand looking world with animation.  But they did very well with what they were working with, especially since this was made in 1977 where computer animation wasn’t really thought of just yet.  They even attempted to make the characters their own.  Although I wasn’t a fan of how the elves looked, they looked a little too weird for my taste.  Let’s just say, they weren’t no Legolas.  

The story was very close to the book, closer than the Jackson ones.  The only thing they didn’t put into the cartoon was the story plot of the Arkenstone, which was the real reason Thorin wanted to return to the Lonely Mountain.  But I think it was a good thing taking that out, cause they way the Arkenstone made Thorin while he was trying to find it, it isn’t really “kid friendly”.  But it does simplify the story of The Hobbit as best as Raskin and Bass could, which in my opinion is a very good thing.  But the book obviously has more of the good stuff, like more battle scenes, and all of that fun stuff,  time to tell the whole story and not having to worry about rushing through it.

My personal opinion, even though the book is pretty graphic and sometimes gets into some dark stuff that might not be for kids, the show is a little too kid friendly and is more like some over the top Disney Special where they don’t let the kids experience the serious stuff.  And let’s not forget, JRR Tolkien wrote The Hobbit as a bedtime story for his son when he was little.  And eventually his son took over the Middle Earth franchise, and he turned out fine … I think.  I have to go with the book, because it has the fun and seriousness that makes a great adventure story.  But the cartoon is always a good way to show to your younger kids that  you think aren’t ready for the Jackson films.  The cool thing about something both films has is the songs.  They both have the Bilbo Baggins Hates song and the Misty Mountains songs in both films, even though they aren’t the same music, but they have the same lyrics.  It’s a great way to introduce your child to the world of Middle Earth movies and books.  Don’t think I just changed my mind right there, I still say the book won, by a landslide of course.  

So that is my final Hobbit theme review … Until next week when I take on The Lord of the Rings series with The Fellowship of the Ring.  And I’d like to give you a heads up, the next couple of months will be a LOTR theme.  Lots of Book reviews, and Book VS Movie review, INCLUDING the Ralph Bashki film.  So stay tuned for a couple of months of fun.  If you have a particular book you’d like for me to take on, please leave a comment below, OR tweet me @BorenNerdy.  I will see you next week, and until then, read a book why don’t you!

- BorenNerdy

Book VS Movie - The Hobbit

In 1937, a simple novel came out that changed the world of fantasy literature forever.  In 2012, a film series came out that kind of changed the world of fantasy film forever.  So when I thought I could put these 2 things into the boxing ring, I didn’t know how hard this was going to be.  This week, I am talking about The Hobbit or There and Back Again VS The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, The Desolation of Smaug, and The Battle of Five Armies.  Now if you remember before I stopped doing reviews, I actually reviewed the book, and thought it was great, and I still do.  And recently I bought and watched all 3 Hobbit movies, which took me 3 days to manage to watch.  I still can’t believe someone would make 3 movies, a total of about 9 hours of film, based on a book that would probably take less than 9 hours to read.  So wish me luck and please bear with me.  

Now, let’s start off with the character portrayals, I LOVE MARTIN FREEMAN!!!!  I think he made an excellent Bilbo Baggins, especially since he looked like a young Sir Ian Holm, who played the older Bilbo in the LOTR movies, and also in the beginning and end of the Hobbit series.  Sir Ian McKellen, came back as Gandalf the Grey, pre Gandalf the White, and of course he was wonderful as well.  Richard Armitage was amazing as Thorin, and really handle the good and ugly side of Thorin, from a kingly leader to a power hungry man who wanted his gold.  I also liked the guys that played, Balin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Dori, Dwalin, Fili, Gloin, Kili, Nori, Oin, and Ori.  Radagast the Brown, who was played by the 7th Doctor himself, Sylvester McCoy, did a great job … even though he wasn’t in the book!  I will say, it was weird seeing Saruman being a bad guy, since we all clearly know that he goes over to Team Bad Guys.  Everyone else was very good, even Bill Connolly’s CGI cameo.  Everyone’s portrayal was pretty spot on, even Bennedict Cumberbatch as Smaug.  I probably wouldn’t change a thing. 

The look of the film is spot on as well.  It looks just like I came back to the same Middle Earth from the LOTR movies.  The books are really hard to envision how grand and beautiful Middle Earth is, but when I see the movies, Peter Jackson really used New Zealand’s amazing sceneries and made you believe that this place was real, and really grand.  Guilliermo del Toro did a great job designing the look and feel of the movie, although he only did the 1st 2 films, and then there was some disagreement with Jackson, and he was only credited with co-writing the 3rd one, which you can totally tell in the 3rd film that he wasn’t apart of the look design.  But besides of that, it looks great.

Now … the story!  About 1/4th of the story is accurate from the book.  The rest was made up.  There was no Radagast bunny chase with the creepy wolf things, no fight with the 9 mortal men vs the good guys and Saruman.  And, there was NO LEGOLAS!  I know he was a popular character in the LOTR movies, but trust me when I say this, he wasn’t in the book.   I’m sorry to break your hearts ladies.  Speaking of hearts, there was no love story between Tauriel and the brother dwarf, I forgot his name, I just know it was either Kili or Fili.  Although, there was one moment in the end of the 3rd one when I did get emotional over the love story, I won’t spoil it for those that haven’t seen it, but it’s pretty sad.    

Before I end this I have one thing I have to say.  In the end of the Battle of the Five Armies, the Elf King jerk tells Legolas to go north to meet a young ranger named Strider, obviously Aragorn who is in the LOTR movies.  But here’s one thing about this that doesn’t make sense, well to me at least.  The events of the Battle of the Five Armies happened over 60 years before the Fellowship of the Ring was formed, in the movies.  In the books, it’s WAY longer than that.  If we’re talking movie wise, that would mean that Aragorn should be an old man in his mid to late 80’s in the LOTR movies.  Not a young hot guy in most likely his late 30’s.  It doesn’t make sense to me at all.  Apparently I wasn’t the only one that noticed this either, a coworker of mine also noticed it.  Another coworker of mine also noticed it and tried to explain it to us how it’s possible that he’s still young and gorgeous, but I forgot because we tend to change conversation topics very easily.  So if you know why, good for you, it still doesn’t make sense to me.

My personal thoughts, I think the book sticks to the main story plot very well, but the movie has more to show off it’s grandness, and also show the sides of emotion that a book can’t show.  Like right after Thorin dies in Bilbo’s arms and the dwarves are having there moment, Bilbo is just sitting there when out of nowhere Gandalf pulls out his pipe and is trying to get his smoke on, and it’s just a couple of minutes of awkwardness of how they are both reacting to what had just occurred.  Not only did they just go through a freaking brutal battle, but one of their good friends just died.  Yes, he was a jerk towards the end, but he was still their friend, and they both are trying to find a way for them to mourn in their own way, in Gandalfs case, smoking, as if he’s had this happen before.  But for Bilbo, it hasn’t, he’s spent a majority of his life living in a quiet hole on the side of a hill, and then out of nowhere he goes through a journey that not only shows him the joy and wonder of adventure, but the sacrifice and torment it can also bring.  For some reason that one 2 minute scene really hit me, and I hope it made sense to you guys.  It made sense to me at the time when writing this in the middle of the night.  But stuff like that you can’t really grasp in a book.

So who wins, definitely the movies.  Even though they added a ton of nonsense, it’s still full of epicness that will make you want to read the book, and not only that one, but the sequel books and movies as well.  Peter Jackson really knows how to visually tell you a story, and it works here for sure.  I’m pretty sad that he’s done with the Hobbit/LOTR books, but maybe he’ll go onto the other Middle Earth books that JRR Tolkien wrote.  Maybe he will, maybe he won’t.    Although, just because I’m going with the movies, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t read the book, it’s a great book.  So go to a store and buy both, I know you won’t regret it.

So that is the end of a very long Book VS Movie, just like the movies!  Next week I will be taking on another Book VS Movie, The Hobbit VS The Animated Hobbit.  If there is a particular book you’d like to see me take on, please comment down below or tweet me @BorenNerdy.  Make sure if you like it to share with everyone you know.  And for goodness sakes, read a book why don’t you!  I will see you next week my preciouses!

- BorenNerdy

The Jedi Doth Return

We have to end off the Star Wars review trilogy with The Jedi Doth Return.  The last book to end the original trilogy and the Star Wars Saga, until December of 2015 when JJ Abram’s Star Wars film comes out, which I’m super stoked about seeing!  But we’re not here to talk about that, we’re here to talk about the films, we’re here to talk about William Shakespeares The Jedi Doth Return.  Now I spent most of last weeks review praising its amazing awesomeness and it’s cleverness to bring Star Wars a whole new fan base, so I’ll will try to keep my fangasm to a minimum, but I can’t promise you anything.  So let this review begin.

So here is the story:  We return to the planet of Tattooine, home of our main character, Luke Skywalker.  He and his friends have been searching for the palace of Jabba the Hutt who has been holding Han Solo, who is still frozen, hostage and used as his … living room decoration?  Weird!  Any-who, Luke and his friends managed to get captured by Jabba the Hutt, ON PURPOSE!  And rescue Han from his cold prison, and kill Jabba, thanks to Slave Leia, and fly off to rejoin the Rebellion.  While the others return to the Rebel Base, Luke goes back to finish his training with Master Yoda.  But alas, Yoda has reached the end of his life, and is not able to help Luke finish his training.  Before he goes on to the next life, Master Yoda informs Luke something very important:

YODA These final words now

With my last breath I utter:

O hear well, brave Luke

This is our hope: there

Is another Skywalker.

The rest silence is.

After some council with Obi-Wan, Luke discovers that Leia is his sister.  It would’ve been better if he found that out before they made out in The Empire Striketh Back.  And he also realizes that he must destroy the Empire and bring the force back into balance.  So he returns to his friends at the Rebel Base with his own plan.  They find out that the Empire has started making ANOTHER Death Star, and that the Emperor is on board overseeing the final installments of the station.  May the Bothans Rest in Peace for their bravery!  They head to the Forest Moon of Endor, where they destroy shield protecting the Death Star.  Long story short, they destroy the Death Star, Darth Vader is brought back from the Dark Side and destroys the Emperor by taking his own life in the process, and they all lived Happily Ever After … Until December 18, 2015!

What is there to say that I haven’t said for the past 3 weeks.  This is a great series!  It’s in my top 10 favorite series of all time.  It’s written great, knows how to bring the Shakespeare writing and still make sense to the common person.  If you are a true Star Wars fan, you have to read this series.  The last thing I have to say is … WHAT ARE YOU DOING STILL READING THIS?!  GO GET THE BOOKS AND READ THEM, DO IT NOW!!!

So that is the end of another great book series.  There is another William Shakespeares Star Wars trilogy of the first 3 films, and I’ll probably wont review those until the end of this year since the last one, The Tragedy of the Siths Revenge, won’t be out until September.  Make sure you stick around until then.  If you like what you had just read, share and tweet this to all of your friends, family, and neighborhood hobos.  Well, I don’t know how a hobo would be able to read this, so just your family and friends.  If you’d like to see me review a certain book, please leave a comment below OR tweet me @BorenNerdy.  Next week I’ll be back with another Book VS Movie from a book I reviewed a while back, The Hobbit, and it’s going to be a fun one!  Until then, may the force be with you!

- BorenNerdy

The Empire Striketh Back

After the 1st Star Wars film came out in 1977, everyone was obsessed and wanted more.  When  Ian Doescher’s William Shakespeare’s Star Wars came out, a lot of people were obsessed and wanted to see more, hence, The Empire Striketh Back, a sequel to the popular book, based on the popular movie.  Oddly enough, people love the idea of making a Star Wars book with the same story, but as if William Shakespeare came up with the idea.  If you don’t understand what I mean here’s an example.  In 1994, the famous movie The Lion King came out, everyone said it was the most original idea ever written.  Sadly it’s not, the film was inspired by the story of Hamlet, which if you remember way back in High School English, it was written by Shakespeare.  See, you get another Star Wars themed review AND a little history lesson.  So let the review begin!

So what’s the story … A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, we return to the story of Luke Skywalker, who has joined the Rebel Alliance with his friends Han Solo, and Chewbacca.  After their secret base was … well, no longer a secret, and attacked by the Galactic Empire, Han, Leia, Chewy, and C3P0 manage to escape and head to the Cloud City to repair their ship.  Until suddenly they are captured by Darth Vader.  Luckily they manage to escape, except Han who now is frozen and taken to Jabba the Hutt.  While that whole shenanigan is going on, Luke goes to find Master Yoda, a powerful Jedi Master to help him complete his training in the power of the force.  But, he then leaves before finishing his training to go help his friends.  Once he gets to the City of the Clouds he realizes that Darth Vader is there ready to capture him as well as his friends.  Some awesome sword fighting happens, and then Luke learns the most important thing in his life that will change everything.  This is the best part of the whole story, so I’m just gonna post the quote on here so you can see it’s pure awesomeness:

VADER [aside:] The boy doth admirably keep his head, 

But now I shall unleash the final blow.

[To Luke:] If thou but newest all the power of 

The dark side.  Obi-Wan hath never told 

Thee of what happen’d to thy father, Luke.

LUKE O, he hath spoken much.  And he hath told

Me of the truth – that thou didst slay hm, aye,

And without cause or mercy, murderer 

Most vile and wretched!

VADER - No, I am thy father!

LUKE Nay, ‘tis not true!  It is impossible!

VADER Pray, search thy feelings, Luke.  Thou knowest it 

Is true.

LUKE -Nay!

That is how awesome this book is!  You take an iconic and quotable scene in the history of everything, and make it into something awesome … Well, I think it’s awesome.  And I bet all of those Shakespeare nerds think its awesome too, I hope so at least.  

Now my thoughts on the book, GO BUY IT.  Not just buy it, but read it over and over again.  Read it until your eyes start bleeding!!!!  Ok, I know that’s a little extreme, I currently reading the Lord of the Rings books right now, and my mind has gotten a little medieval and violent, thanks JRR Tolkien!  Anyway, if you wanna be a true Star Wars fan, definitely read this masterpiece, it’s totally worth it.

So that is my book review for this week, I hope you enjoyed my extreme nerd out.  If you enjoyed this please share this with all of your friends and family, even your father!  If you’d like for me to read a book, please leave a comment below, or tweet me @BorenNerdy.  I look forward to seeing you next week when I take on the last of this wonderful series, The Jedi Doth Return.  Until then, may the force be with you!

- BorenNerdy

Book VS Movie - Star Wars VS William Shakespeare's Star Wars

In this corner, the king of pop culture, the only hope for all nerd kind … STAR WARS!  And in this corner we have the father of English and Literature, the man that made grown men dress up like women instead of having actual women be in the plays, which is pretty messed up.  The one the only WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE … Well actually, William Shakespeare’s Star Wars, but you know what I meant.  Now you’re probably all thinking that I have gone crazy since the movie is clearly better, which you are wrong.  The movie is always better!  But why can’t I have some fun … and some time to get some extra reading time for upcoming reviews.  So let the battle begin!

Now usually I review movies that are based on books, and since this is the complete opposite, I’m gonna talk about which side does a better job.  With the characters, the movie does a great job showing the emotions of each person.  You know when they’re sad, happy, scared, while in the book, the characters  ramble on and on about how they feel.  It’s nice knowing how they feel,  but I don’t need to know about some sun fading in the distance, when basically you could just say, “I’m sad.”  But each character is portrayed very well in the book, Han Solo as the scruffy looking nerf herder pirate, Luke as the bright eyed boy eager to learn his true potential, Leia as the princess that can kick butt, and R2D2 as the droid that no one understands.  That’s right, R2D2 has speaking parts, but only when he is monologuing to himself, then he is beeping and squeaking … He has a really bad potty mouth if you think about it.  

Also something positive about the movie that the book lacks is the setting.  When you’re sitting there and watching the movie, you can experience all the amazement of this one mans imagination.  In the book, it doesn’t really explain the setting very well.  I think because the movie came out first, Ian Doescher (the author) didn’t really need to explain the setting, because the only people that would read it are the same people that have seen the movie over and over again, to the point that they remember every single second and detail of the movie and don’t need an explanation of the setting or scenes.  So the book kind of had a win on that part.

My personal opinion, if you haven’t seen the movie or read the book, do it!  It’s so worth doing both.  And if you think about it, the story of Star Wars sounds like it could be from Shakespeare.  It has great characters, great villains, great setting, and it’s just plain great.  I heard a rumor that there is going to be a staged play of the book coming out sometime in the near future.  I really hope its true, cause I’d enjoy spending every penny to see that!  Better yet, let’s make it into a movie … James Earl Jones is still alive, he could use some more Star Wars fan love before he dies.

So that is my Book VS Movie, I had fun doing it.  I was planning on doing a Book VS Movie with the rest of the book trilogy, but then I realized that I would be saying the exact same thing two more times, but with a different story.  Oh well, but I promise I’ll do another review when the next Star Wars Trilogy comes out, which probably won’t be till the end of the year when I get to those.  Anywho, please leave a comment below if there is a book you’d like to see me tackle, and also, please share with your book loving friends.  I’ve missed doing these and I can’t wait to do more of these to come.  I will see you next week when I review the next William Shakespeare Star Wars book, The Empire Striketh Back.  Until then, may the force be with you!

- BorenNerdy

P.S.  HAPPY STAR WARS DAY!  May the 4th Be With You!

William Shakespeare Star Wars

Alright let’s talk about two historical things that made an impact to the world … William Shakespeare and Star Wars.  William Shakespeare is the man that basically is the father of literature and made notable works like Julius Caesar and Romeo & Juliet.  It is also the one topic most kids today totally hate learning about.  Star Wars is the #1 thing that EVERYONE knows about.  If you haven’t seen Star Wars yet, then you’re Al Queda. So what do you get when you combine these two things?  You get Ian Doeschers, William Shakespeare’s Star Wars, Book the Fourth, Verily A New Hope … I know, that’s a long title!  Who would have that thought that someone could make Star Wars be a Shakespearean tale.  So let us dive-eth in!

So what’s the story well, it’s Star Wars.  A space opera about a young boy named Luke, travels with a crazy old man who says that he was once a knight in the Jedi Order, that was destroyed after the Republic of the Galaxy had fallen and the new Emperor destroyed the Jedi with Execution Order 66 with the help of the Sith Emperors apprentice, Darth Vader.  They take their droids and get help from two Space Pirates to go save a Princess who is apart of a Rebel Alliance against the Empire.  Along the way, Luke learns that like his father, he has the sacred art of the Force flowing through him.  By the end of the series Luke, and his now new friends learn their true potential in the help of ending the Galactic Empire once and for all, in a galaxy far, far away.

Now I know what you’re all thinking, “BorenNerdy, didn’t you just describe the movie Star Wars?”  Alas, you may think I did, but I really was describing William Shakespeare’s Star Wars … Two completely different things.  The difference between George Lucas’ Star Wars (Technically now, it’s Disney’s Star Wars), and this version is that it’s in that fancy Shakespeare writing that doesn’t make sense when you’re a young kid in school.  I’m sorry, I did not get Shakespeare when I was in High School.  Probably because when I was learning about it, I was missing a lot of school due to medical problems, so I didn’t really get to understand what in the world ole Bill was trying to say.  But after reading this book, I totally got it!  I think that Ian Doescher was on to something when he wrote this book.  Trying to get people to understand the true art of early English writing by using a story that is a big part of the pop culture of the world.  

Honestly, there is nothing wrong with this book.  Its basically a great fan fiction based around the huge Star Wars franchise.  It’s also not a very long book, only 169 pages, which is light, light, light reading for me.  You could finish the book in a day if you wanted to.  I totally recommend reading this book, not just because I said so … OK, because I said so.  I give it a million stars!

So that is my review of an awesome book, and start of an awesome book series.  Now just because I feel like it, instead of doing the next Star Wars Shakespeare book, I’m gonna do a Book VS Movie review next week.  So come back next week for some fun!  Please leave a comment down below or tweet me @BorenNerdy for a book you’d like to see me read.  I’ll see you next week, and may the force be with you … Always!

- BorenNerdy

How They Choked

For my 1st review back, I thought it’d be appropriate to talk about dead people that failed at life.  Hence the book, How They Choked by Georgia Bragg and Illustrated by Kevin O’Malley.  This book follows the failures of famous people throughout the history of mankind.  It’s kind of that question that goes through your head, “They were so cool, where did they go wrong?”  Well we’re gonna find out!

So here’s the story … or stories.  Each chapter follows the life’s and failures of people that everyone has at east heard of once in their lifetime: Marco Polo, Isabella of Castile, Montezuma II, Ferdinand Magellan, Anne Boleyn, Isaac Newton, Benedict Arnold, Susan B. Anthony, George Armstrong Custer, Thomas Alva Edison, Vincent Van Gogh, J. Bruce Ismay, Joseph Jefferson “Shoeless Joe” Jackson, and Amelia M. Earhart.  All the chapters start off by their backstory and then followed by the events that made them famous.  Now I don’t wanna spoil some of these stories, so I am gonna write one for you guys based on a famous person right now to show you how the book works.

Justin Drew Bieber was born on March 1, 1994 (don’t go away yet … keep reading), in the friendly country up North from us, Canada.  He started posting videos of himself singing songs on YouTube and was discovered by Scooter Braun, and managed to introduce him to the “founder” of Justin Bieber, Usher.  After that the world was diagnosed with Bieber Fever … Until the year 2009.  His catchy “Baby” themed songs started to bore with the older community that clearly hypnotized the younger generation known as the “Bieber Believers”, the “Beliebers”, or my personal favorite, the “Bieber Brats.”  Once Justin’s reign of terror was coming to an end, he started causing trouble in the United States after he turned 18.  He was caught throwing eggs at his neighbors house, getting arrested for drag racing on the streets of Miami while driving under the influence of alcohol, and having his bodyguards attack people.  Petitions went out  trying to get him deported back to Canada and away from our beloved country.  While people were trying to get rid of them some people took opportunity to place Bieber back into reality, like Germany taking Justin’s monkey from him and keeping the monkey in Germany, and everyone’s new God, Orlando Bloom, who punched him in the face!  After the Comedy Central Roast of Justin Bieber, Usher realized that he wasn’t the founder of Justin’s success, and he then need to end the reign of Bieber.  So he created a cruise full of the Bieber Brats and placed Justin Bieber on the cruise and sent it to Antartica.  While on the Cruise, Justin was mauled to death by his own fans, while the fans froze to death trying to get locks of Justin’s now dead hair.  Thus ending an era that will without a doubt, be forgotten.

That is basically how the book is, but not as creative as mine!  As I read the book I realized something.  The reason why these people are famous is because they were either really stupid, or they were just jerks!  Like J. Bruce Ismay, he was the owner of the company that built the Titanic.  He hired a captain that had a history of causing trouble with boats, he took away a ton of lifeboats because they made them look ugly, didn’t tell anyone that the boat was sinking until the very last minute, locked the gates so the 3rd class couldn’t escape cause he didn’t want poor people on the upper deck, AND THEN instead of going down with his ship, he got a lifeboat claiming that there were no more women and children to come aboard, which clearly is a bunch of bologna.  WHAT … A … JERK!!!!  The only one I didn’t feel was quite accurate was the Vincent Van Gogh chapter, no mention of the Doctor at all, #TheFeels!  Most of the people though you will not have sympathy for them at all.

So my thoughts on the book, it’s a pretty good read.  Although, I got this book at a Scholastic Book Fair while I was helping out at the elementary school I work at.  And the chapter about Anne Boleyn, Henry the VIII’s 2nd wife wasn’t really “kid friendly.”  But other than that, it’s a good way for kids to learn about the mistakes of others, so they don’t make those.  But they most likely will, I could totally see some kid in the future give gruesome sacrifices to bring back the sun the next day!  Hopefully I am not around when that happens.

That is my 1st review back, and it felt pretty good.  I promise to bring out more reviews as much as I can.  If you have a book for me to review, please leave a comment down below, and I will try to get the book done as soon as I can!

- BorenNerdy

I'm back!

Why hello there my fellow bookworms, what have you been up to?  It has been literally been over a year since my last book review, and I feel like I need to come back and do some more reviews for you guys!  Now I won't be doing the intense weekly reviews like I did last time, because I have work, and my personal life.  So I'll post reviews once I have finished a book.  And I'll also review books that I read over the past year since my last one.  I hope you keep coming back to check out what I have to say, and let me know if books you'd like me to read and rant about!  I'm back and ready to go ... Are you?

The Lost Symbol

When I heard that Dan Brown was going to write a third Robert Langdon book based in Washington D.C., I was freaking out!  As a sequel to Angels & Demons and The Da Vinci Code, we didn't know if it was going to be epic, or it was going to suck.  But being a devoted fan, I didn't care at all and I was first in line at the bookstore the day it came out.  And I must say, it was $30 well spent!  It is one of those books that I can read over and over again and never get bored with at all.  So let's take look at, The Lost Symbol.

So what's the story, Harvard Symbologist, Robert Langdon, has been asked by his long time friend, Head of the Smithsonian Institute, Peter Solomon, to give a lecture at the U.S. Capitol Building.  He was also asked to bring an unopened package that was given to him by Peter years ago.  Once there, he discovers that there was never a lecture scheduled, but he unexpectedly finds something there waiting for him ... A human hand!  But not just any hand, the hand of his friend, Peter Solomon!  The CIA comes in and Langdon is then interrogated by the OS Director, Inoue Sato, saying they're trying to find Peter, when their actual plan is to find whatever the kidnapper is looking for and give it to him.  They discover that the hand is representing the Hand of Mysteries, an invitation to find the Freemason's biggest secret, The Lost Word, which is said to be hidden somewhere in Washington D.C.  After finding part of a pyramid in the Capital Building, and the golden capstone to the pyramid inside the unopened package, Langdon escapes from the CIA and get's hep from Katherine Solomon, Peter's sister.  The book goes across our Nation's Capitol, solving ancient Masonic clues and find The Lost Word before the kidnapper, known as Mal'akh, kills Peter and releases a secret that could end the respect for the Freemasons forever.

I love this book!  The reason that I love this book is because a year before the book came out, I went to the East Coast for my A.P. History class, and one of the places we went to was Washington D.C.  When I was reading it for the first time, I got excited because I remember going to most of those places in the book!  And now when I read it, it reminds me of all the good times I had while on my trip.  Hopefully I'll be able to go back someday!

This book has great characters, a creative plot, and the villain ... OH MY GOSH!  I got chills every time he was on the page!  I don't understand why they haven't made this into a movie yet.  It's so good that it needs to be made into one.  Although, I would cry every time I'd watch it.  Every time I got to Chapter 103, I'd instantly cry my eyes out!  And if you want to know what happens in Chapter 103, you're just going to have to find out.  I give this book 5 stars, *****!

So that's my review.  If you have a book you'd like for me to read, please leave a comment below.  Come back to see more reviews!  I am @BorenNerdy on Twitter, I hope you have a great day, and I will see you next time!

- BorenNerdy

Book VS Movie: The Da Vinci Code

When Dan Brown's novel, The Da Vinci Code, came out in 2003, it became a huge phenomenon by 2004.  And usually in Hollywood standards, when a book becomes extremely popular, they do whatever they can to get a movie out as quick as they can ... Hence the 2006 film of The Da Vinci Code.  Remember, this is based on my personal opinion, and let me just say, this is going to be a tough review!  So let the review begin.

I absolutely love the cast of this movie, especially Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon.  Someone I work with said that casting Tom Hanks was the stupidest decision ever made ... I almost cried right there!  If you read my last Book VS Movie Review of Angels & Demons, I stand by what I said about Tom Hanks being the perfect person.  He can play anyone and be amazing, I mean, he was Walt Disney for goodness sakes!  The supporting cast was a great choice as well: Audrey Tautou as Sophie Neveu, Sir Ian McKellen as Sir Leigh Teabing, Paul Bettany as Silas, Alfred Molina as Bishop Aringarosa, and Jean Reno as Captain Bezu Fache.  Honestly, I wouldn't change anyone, everyone owned their part.

The plot was more close to the book than Angels & Demons was to that book ... if that makes sense.  Probably the #1 thing I hate is when a movie is not even close to the book, it makes me crazy.  The world would be a better place if they just went by the book.  I hope you're taking notes Hollywood!

The pacing of the film was ... UGH!  The book is full of intensity and boom, boom, boom, while the movie was kind of slow and boring.  About 20 minutes into the movie I kept thinking, "C'MON DO SOMETHING!"  I also felt like the camera guy put on a dark lens filter, everything looked so dark and dull. Luckily they did suck a better job with Angels & Demons, and hopefully they keep it up with Inferno.

Now my thoughts, it's hard to talk about a film I watched a lot and actually liked.  Around the time the movie came out on DVD, I had gotten Acanthamoeba Keretitis.  A parasite had gotten into the cornea of my left eye and started eating it, making me completely blind in that eye, which I still am 8 years later.  While I was at home, laying in bed, exhausted from the pain and medications I was on, I would watch The Da Vinci Code over and over again.  This movie kept my mind off all the horrific things that was happening to me.  It was like Tom Hanks was helping me overcome the nightmare I was going through.  Even though, I see all of these problems, it doesn't make me want to never watch it again.  I honestly think they should remake it.  If they had just taken the time to make a really great script and kept all the actors, it would've been an amazing film.  But no, Hollywood just quickly put something together and made an "eh" film.  So the winner is ... The book!

So that's my review, I hope you liked it.  Remember, if you have a book for me to review, please leave a comment below.  Also, come back every Wednesday and Saturday for a new post.  I am @BorenNerdy on Twitter, I hope you have a great day and I will see you next time!

-BorenNerdy

The Da Vinci Code

It's time to talk about the "#1 Best Selling Novel of All Time" ... Of 2003!  It's Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code.  As a sequel to Angels & Demons, this contains action, mystery, art, suspense, symbols, history, codes, French people, and a huge conspiracy that to this day people still argue about.  This book was put into the "Top 100 Books to Read Before You Die" ... Well I've read it about 100 times, which probably means that I am going to die soon, I hope not!  Let us now travel to Paris and dive into The Da Vinci Code.

So what's the story, we return to our Harvard Symbologist hero, Robert Langdon, a year after the events at the Vatican City.  While visiting Paris for a lecture, he is picked up by the DCPJ, the French police, and is sent to the Louvre Museum to "help" solve the murder of the head curator, Jacques Sauniere.  He meets one of the DCPJ's Cryptologist, Sophie Neveu, and she informs Langdon that he is not there to help them, he's there to confess for killing her grandfather, Jacques Sauniere!  The book follows Langdon and Sophie trying to escape from the police, and prove Langdon's innocence by finding the real killer and learn the truth behind the murder.  While on their search they learn that Sauniere was part of a secret society called, The Priory of Sion.  They are a group devoting their lives to protect the secret of the Holy Grail that could effect all of Christianity as we know it!  Langdon and Sophie travel across Europe using clues by Da Vinci, Sir Isaac Newton, and others to find the body of Mary Magdalene and documents containing names of the Royal Bloodline of Mary Magdalene and Jesus Christ ... AKA, the Holy Grail.  By now, you should know that I never reveal the end, because most of the time it's always to amazing to ruin!

This book is a wonderful book, but because of a certain topic I will soon talk about, the book has people that praise it ... and people that absolutely hate it, especially super religious people!  The book is banned in some countries in this world due to the controversy that Jesus was or was not in a relationship and also supposedly having a child with her, ruining the divinity of his life and legacy.  Now, I'm a religious person, and this book didn't destroy or make me change my belief at all.  Also, I wasn't there 2,000 years ago, and I know for a fact that everyone of you wasn't there either, unless you have a time machine!  It might have happened or it didn't, we won't know the truth until we die and then we can just ask him ourselves.  I'm not saying that you should read it and believe everything that is said in the book, I'm just saying that you should read it with an open mind, I think you will be fine if you do that!  It has great characters, a great plot, and a creative villain, making it a good read, 5 stars *****!

That's my review, make sure you come back on Wednesday for my Book VS Movie Review of The Da Vinci Code.  And yes, I promise there will be a winner, and let's just hope it doesn't turn into an ugly review!  If you have a book for me to review, please leave a comment below.  Also follow me on Twitter @BorenNerdy.  Have a great day and I will see you nest time!

- BorenNerdy

Book VS Movie - Angels & Demons

For my first Book VS Movie Review, I knew it had to be Angels & Demons.  If you wanna know what the plot is, go check Wikipedia ... Or save yourself some trouble and just scroll down to my last review.  Before I do a quick explanation, let me talk about the layout of these reviews: character portrayal, plot, pacing, and my final thoughts including the winner.  So let me explain how the movie series is lined up.  It goes, Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons, and Inferno which will be out in 2015.  Although the book order is Angels & Demons, Da Vinci Code, The Lost Symbol, and Inferno, which is weird that they rearranged it.  Imagine if they did that with Harry Potter!  Now remember, this review is based on my personal opinion ... And if you don't like that, go make your own blog!

So when Angels & Demons came out, we already knew that Robert Langdon would be played by none other than Tom Hanks.  And I will say, that's a great move!  It's like he was born to play Robert Langdon.  He does a great job playing him, and I'm not just saying that cause I LOVE HIM!  The supporting cast also did a great job: Ayelet Zurer as Vittoria Vetra, Stella Skarsgård as Commander Richter, Pierfrancesco  Favino as Olivetti, Nikolaj Lie Kaas as the Hassassin, Armin Muller-Stahl as Cardinal Strauss, and ... Ewan McGregor as the Camerlengo!  Every time the Camerlengo came on, I was a very happy person!  HE'S SO GORGEOUS!!!  Now that I got that out of the way, there's just one problem I have with the characters.  Why did they change the names?  In the book there was no Richter, Olivetti was in charge of the Swiss Guard, but instead they made him in charge of the Vatican Police.  Also in the book, the Dean of College of Cardinals name was Moriatti, not Strauss.  I don't understand why people do that.  It's like in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland when they said it was called Underland instead of Wonderland ... REALLY?!  Just stick to the book!

For the plot, I thought it was kind of close.  I do understand that somethings had to be either changed or taken out due to a reasonable amount of time before people start to get bored ... Or they could always do what Peter Jackson did and make it into 3 films!  I love how the movie kept me interested the whole way through!  There were some moments I wish they kept like Cardinal "Strauss" becoming the Pope and having the last Preferiti just die ... Don't judge me!  Luckily the changes really didn't effect the main plot at all, which is ok by me.

Time to talk about the pacing of the book and the movie.  They're both excellent!  They both kept me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end.  Although it was more like I was lying on the edge of the couch because I was sick while watching the movie on this past Sunday.  Because of the intensity of the plot, it never really dragged on at all.  If you like that kind of stuff, you should definitely read/watch them!

My final thoughts ... It's hard to choose a winner!  I just love both.  The book is full of historical stuff which I love, while the movie has action, explosions, and of course Tom Hanks and Ewan McGregor!  Even though the movie wasn't exactly like the book, doesn't mean that I absolutely hated it.  So the winner is ... a tie!  Remember, this is my personal opinion, it's not like it's the end of the world.

So that's my review, I hope you liked my first Book VS Movie Review.  If your have a book you'd like to have me read and review, please leave a comment below.  I hope you have a great day and I will see you next time!

- BorenNerdy 

Angels & Demons

Now it's time to talk about my favorite author of all time, Dan Brown.  Famously known for writing Digital Fortress, Deception Point, and a little series called the Robert Langdon Series.  And for the next 4 weeks, I shall be talking about the Robert Langdon books.  And yes, some will be followed by a Book VS. Movie Review.  So let's dive into the first book, Angels & Demons.

So what's the story, Harvard Symbologist Professor, Robert Langdon, is awoken to find out that an ancient ambigram from a secret society has come out from the shadows ... and happens to be branded on a dead CERN Scientist (if you don't know what an ambigram is, scroll back up to the picture and turn whatever you're reading this on upside down).  After unknowingly traveled to Switzerland, Langdon discovers that the Illuminatti, an ancient group that devoted their life to science and was despised by the Catholic Church, has come for their revenge.  Langdon then meets the dead scientists daughter, Vittoria Vetra, and is informed of their project which involves proving the Big Bang Theory ... no, not the show!  They created a canister containing Antimatter, and once it touches Matter, it creates a huge exploding annihilation.  Vittoria realizes that the canister has been stolen and has less than 24 hours before the battery dies and then BOOM!  They find out that the antimatter is located somewhere in Vatican City during Conclave, which is the voting process for a new Pope.  After receiving a phone call from the Illuminatti, they now have 5 hours to find the antimatter, and the 4 missing Cardinals that were the favorite to become the next Pope.  The book goes all across the City of Rome finding clues to the location of the Church of Illumination involving the 4 Elements: Earth, Air, Fire, and Water.  I can't spoil the end because of all the crazy plot twists.  All I can say is that it's AMAZING!

This is one of those books that I can just easily get sucked into.  It has a great hero, a great villain, and has a great plot.  This book only took me a couple of days to read, and trust me when I say this, it's not a short book at all!  And I promise this review will be followed by a Book VS. Movie Review, which I know will be a tough choice for me.  So I give this book 5 stars, ***** , because I say so!

Thank you for reading this weeks review, and if you'd like for me to read a specific book please leave a comment below and I will get to it as soon as I can!  Don't forget to follow me @BorenNerdy, and I will see you next time!

- BorenNerdy

The Hobbit

This week let us travel to a world called, Middle Earth.  What!?  You’ve never heard of it!?  Well then, you’re just weird!  And now it gives me the perfect opportunity to talk about on of the books about Middle Earth, The Hobbit.  Written by J.R.R. Tolkien, yes the guy that wrote The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, and if you wait before you check Wikipedia, this was actually written BEFORE the trilogy.  Also, this was written for his kid to read at night before he went to bed, I know, shocking!  So let’s go on a journey, an … Unexpected Journey!  See what I did there!?  Let’s look at The Hobbit.

So what’s the story, a hobbit, named Bilbo Baggins, is tricked into throwing a party for a bunch of Dwarves.  He finds out the that dwarves need him to help them get back their gold that was taken from them by a dragon named, Smaug.  And he’s located in the mountains, clear across Middle Earth.  After thinking how crazy this idea is, Bilbo decides to go.  During their journey they face trolls, elves, wizards, humans, and even a gollum named Smeagol.  While on their quest Bilbo realizes of all the things he’s capable of that he never knew he could do … While everyone else thinks he’s this amazingly talented burglar, even some of the dwarves just call him nothing but, Burglar.  I wont spoil the end, but I will say that Bilbo eventually finds a magical ring that is famously known as the, One Ring To Rule Them All.

I really liked this book, I loved how it just went to the point, instead of dragging on and on!  Now I say, I haven’t seen the movies yet, I’m waiting for the last one to come out so I can watch the all at once, which will probably take 3 weeks since they’re so long.  I still don’t get how the LOTR books were each made into one movie, but the smallest book that was a prequel, was split into 3 films!  I think Peter Jackson was starting to run out of his LOTR’s money.  Once I watch them I’ll do a Book VS Movie review.  For those that want to know what’s better, the Book or the the Animated Film … The book!  I’m not even gonna give it a second thought, and trust me, I have seen the animated film with the stupid musical numbers!  So I give this book 4 stars, **** … please don’t judge me!

So that’s my review, if there is a book out there that you’d like for me to review, please leave a comment below!  Thanks for reading and I will see you next week.

-BorenNerdy

Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter

For my next review I decided to review a book I read a while ago, but still remember it, Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter!  We are living in a time where the whole Vampire trend is fading away (THANK GOODNESS).  And I will admit, this is a vampire novel done RIGHT!  Now being a big fan of history and things just different, I was so excited when I found the only copy of this book at the book store, cause I’m too cool for buying it online … Well, back then, now I buy books more online then at an actual store!  But back to the vampires, there really isn’t a sparkly, werewolf, Kristen Stewart themed book.  Now let my review begin:

So what is the story:  At the age of 6 years old, our future 16th President of the good ‘ol USA, finds out that Vampires are real *GASP*!  After learning that his mother was not killed by milk sickness, but killed by … A VAMPIRE (insert Craig Ferguson dun DUN audio clip here), young Abraham decides to dedicate his life to nothing but killing Vampires, and his first kill is to be the man that killed his mother.  So then there’s some filler about his training, and then his 1st kill at the age of 12.  Then it goes on to his adult years about meeting his vampire killing trainer, who is oddly enough, a vampire!  He learns that the Vampires are being chased out of Europe and is now taking control over the slave trade.  If you didn’t figure it out from the last sentence, it is the reason the Civil War happened … you’re welcome conspiracy theorist hippies!  Then it talks about the war between the mortals and the vampires.  And if you didn’t pay attention in history class, I wont spoil the end for you!

Now let me talk about the style of this book, part of it is written as if a story, and then every now and then you get journal entries from Abraham Lincolns journals.  Now the reason for that is to make it seem like it actually happened, and coming from me … By the end I really thought it happened!  Seth Grahame-Smith did an excellent job creating a realistic illusion that Lincoln was a vampire killing machine, AND president!  I got hooked in the first couple pages, and that has to be a really good book for me to get sucked into, cause I’m a picky reader!

So my thoughts, I love it!  Five stars, *****, and I want everyone to read it!!!!!  In the next couple of days I’ll do my first What’s Better: The Book or The Movie.  Trust me when I type this … It ain’t gonna be a pretty review!

Soooo that’s my review, and if you have a specific book for me to read, leave a comment below and I shall get to it as fast as I can read!

- BorenNerdy