Author Archives: Shanella

… written by Diana Peterfreund

Posted in Book Reviews, Bookish by

One of the most underrated writers I’ve read has to be Diana Peterfreund. I’ve read a few of her works and I LOVED them! But you don’t hear a whole lot of hype around her books.

In her Rampant series, she imagined a world where unicorns are not cute and cuddly, but highly dangerous, and only a certain group of girls can keep the beasts in check.

In her Stars series, she imagined world ruined by unchecked advanced technology, where society tries to strike a balance between what is what is good and what is dangerous while dealing with the descendants of those who were negatively affected by the bad technology. Does that make your head ache? Well, she does this while using two fantastic stories for her base plot, Jane Austen’s Persuasion and Baroness Orczy’s The Scarlet Pimpernel, and she executes it well.

Her first book in this series, For Darkness Shows the Stars, is one of my absolute favourites! I go back to different passages in that book from time to time – it does help that Persuasion is one of my favourite Jane Austen books.

I also appreciate that she doesn’t give you a lot of info-dumps while trying to get you to understand her worlds. I enjoy the fact that her stories are so vastly different and her worlds enchanting.

… written by Maureen Johnson

Posted in Book Reviews, Bookish by

I read a lot. And, I have a book blog – or, at least I had one until I couldn’t keep up with life and blogging about books a few years ago. I’ve always wanted to resurrect it, but I haven’t quite found the time, and, if I was being honest with myself, I want to blog about books AND more, so… I’m merging my sites. I’ll leave my book blog up, but I thought I’d highlight some books that I really enjoyed reading to start the transition to everything in this blog.

I’ve read several books by Maureen Johnson. I like her humour and her Twitter feed.

Of the books I’ve read by her, The Name of the Star is my favourite.  Take a girl from the United States, place her in an English boarding school, add some murder and mystery with a touch of Jack the Ripper and you’ve got The Name of the Star.

On the more contemporary front, 13 Little Blue Envelopes and The Last Little Blue Envelope, transports the reader to different cities across Europe, where a girl finds out about her aunt and herself. After reading the first book, I created a map of Ginny’s adventures, yes, that’s my creation, though, why Google Maps is telling me that I do not own the map any longer is really lost to me!

Another of her contemporaries is Suite Scarlett. This one is set in a hotel in New York – one owned and ran by Scarlett’s family.

Finally, there was a time when Zombies v. Unicorns was a thing in the not so distant past. Here’s a clip of Maureen Johnson, as Sarah Palin, talking about why Zombies are better.

I still don’t like running

Posted in Athletic, Vacations by

halfmarathon

I did it! It happened! I completed a 13.1-mile race, and I got a medal to prove it!

I survived my first 1/2 marathon, but I haven’t been bitten by the running bug. I do have a greater appreciation for those who can do this in half the time it took me to finish (3 hours 26 minutes), and I have come away with a better understanding of my running style. However, running is not the first thing I’d do for fun. I prefer walks – slow ones, where you can marvel about your surroundings, or your walking companion(s).

Now that I am free of pain I might do it again, as long as it’s another fun run and I am not expected to finish the course in less than 3 hours. I will most certainly train better next time.

diagonally

While the run was the focus of the weekend, I have to spend a few lines reflecting on the near-perfection of Diagon Alley.

I loved that it was hidden away, behind an unassuming building. I loved the fire-breathing dragon atop Gringotts! I absolutely enjoyed the new ride. I still love Frozen Butterbeer and Fizzing Whizbees. But most of all, I loved the use of interactive wands to bring a splash of wonder to the park experience. Great job, Universal! Not only do you have more people buying wands, you also added a layer of interactivity to the park. If only there were more sections!

Next stop, Universal Hollywood!

Snow. Five Things (17)

Posted in Bookish, Plateful, Thoughts by 
Miles ran: 17.1 | Miles cycled: 0 | Steps: 258,297

— Thing One —

On Friday night, a light snowfall began. The light of the moon reflected off the tiny flakes causing an ethereal glow. Have you ever considered the beauty in freshly fallen snow?

Of course, 24-hours later, back and shoulders burning from shoveling thrice in the same spot to see the ground, I considered a snowblower. The snow threw me off my running, but today I ventured out again, happy to see at least three other people running in the park with me and no snow/ice on the path.

— Thing Two —

Being stuck indoors can be a drag, but I’ve recently picked up my reading again and managed to finished two books while stuck indoors. The Malediction Trilogy was recommended by a reliable reading source, and it wasn’t until book two in the trilogy that we both realized that book three will not be released until May!

It’s nothing entirely different from the typical YA fantasy lot – curse, creatures with magical powers and a protagonist who isn’t aware of their special abilities – but what did make it stand out from its compatriots was the lack of the dreaded love triangle and insta-love that seems to plague the shelves and turned me off of YA fantasy for a little while.  After finishing the second in the series, I started looking for other reads and have since pre-ordered four books (book three included). One of which downloaded this Thursday and which I have already finished.

— Thing Three —

I have also been catching up on Doctor Who. I have two episodes (excluding the special) that I need to watch, but I’m afraid to finish watching them because I’m so sad about what happened in Face the Raven.

— Thing Four —

In other attempts at being healthy – or eating well – I have joined Blue Apron and received my first package this week. It was a bit of an inconvenience – the address mix up and all – but I finally got the box delivered to my home and made two meals from the three.

If there is one thing that Blue Apron teaches you, it’s that cooking isn’t difficult and making delicious dishes isn’t a hard task.

— Thing Five —

I helped a friend out this week, and it involved taking out my guitar – which I belatedly realized needing its strings changed, badly! That night, I felt a strange buzzing energy pushing through my weariness, it has been a while since I played/lead in this way, and it felt really good. Coming from a period where I have contemplated quitting, I think this was the best thing that could have happened. I have to think on this more, but it’s quite a thing.

~*~

Five Things (16)

Posted in Athletic, Fashionista, Media, The Telly by 
Miles ran: 14 | Miles cycled: 0 | Steps: 146,506

I’ve gone and done another crazy thing …

— Thing One —

This week, while complaining about signing up for a half marathon, I decided to sign up for the 5 Boro Bike Tour. I think I’m sabotaging myself. I did it six years ago, on a borrowed bike, having no training, so I don’t believe that it would be a problem. At least, this time, I do cycle some (though no miles logged this year).

I’m riding with a team, a total of seven people. I’m certain it will be great. (She says, as she tries to convince herself that riding forty miles, after a few weeks of running thirteen would be great).

— Thing Two —

The Symphony Chorus is back in rehearsals, and my heart is happy! Last October I joined this group of singers and instrumentalists, all volunteers who sing in churches across New York (and other places). A friend of mine introduced me to the group and the first time I sang in a concert with them, I felt a strong sense of contentment. I’m looking forward to our Spring concert and the other concerts along the way.

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— Thing Three —

I had the pleasure of breakfast with friends. Getting up early and running is one thing, but getting up earlier to run so that I could meet with a friend for the best meal of the day is pleasing. I’m not a morning person, but I can get behind meeting people for pancakes, or omelettes.

I’ve also had the pleasure of sharing a free lunch with colleagues. We ordered from Maple; I got the chicken with roasted carrots and quinoa. It was delicious. I’m certainly going to order from Maple again. If you’re in Manhattan I suggest you check them out!

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— Thing Four —

In an attempt to continue using products that contain ingredients that occur naturally, I found a site, Meow Meow Tweet,  that makes deodorant creams. I can make my own, but seeing as I just finished the batch that I made, I thought I’d try their version. So far, I like it! I think I might try to use shea butter in my own mixture when I decide to make it again.

I found the deodorant cream in (what I can only call) an alternative pharmacy – which is a new favourite place of mine – called Stanley’s Pharmacy. I tried their sore throat tea – it was delicious – I think I’ll try others from them as well.

— Thing Five —

This week in pop culture, I saw the first two episodes of the new Shadowhunter series and the new Tarantino movie, Hateful 8.

I liked the little changes they did (from the book) in the Shadowhunter series; I think it was a good move. A lot of the story (in the books ) focused on the romance than the rich and vibrant world of the Shadowhunters – which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. However, I don’t think it gives a film/show much material to work with, so adding a some new characters and stories fleshes things out a bit more.

Moving on to Hateful 8. It sits at #4 in the list of six Tarantino films I’ve seen, but it still had all the key factors that make a Tarantino film great.  He does an excellent job with the visuals and the directing, as well as in the stories that he created.

~*~