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Bookshelf: The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

 

Rating and overall thoughts
3.5 out of 5
The 5 star rating is a little deceiving since a 3 looks low but it really means (to me) a good book. So, yes, I thought The Thief was a good book especially the last half. Finally! The action that I thought the book would have appeared! And it was good action and great twists. Sorry I can’t say the same for the first half. Other than that, the story was fun, the characters were interesting and I’m excited to read the next book in the series called The Queen of Attolia.

Weakness
The lack of action in the first half was definitely the biggest weakness. I thought that a book called The Thief would be way more action packed. I thought we would see more stealing and less travelling. The waiting-for-action was what kept me reading.

Strength
If you like mythology like I do then you liked all the myths about the Gods and the creation of the world. I felt that part of Turner’s world building was well done and added a cultural depth to the book – something that I think is skimmed over in a lot of other books. I also like how she brought them about by having them shared through campfire story telling. Whalen doesn’t do a bad job of scenery either. I thought that was well done. I had an entire map made in my head (is it weird that I made the map Game of Thrones opening credit style?). The revelation of characters and their backgrounds was interesting. Since you’re reading from Gen’s point of view, it all comes out slowly and eventually just dropped on you. I thought that was fun!

Also, the cover is super pretty.

Source: meganwhalenturner.org

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Game Night: Game of Thrones

Last week my friends and I played the Game of Thrones table top game. What we learned very quickly was that this game has a lot of elements to it which made it a little hard to understand and get into right away. It took us about 3-4 hours to get through one game (with learning and discussing game rules and such). We were losing steam by the end of the game but it was still fun.

Yesterday we played it again and it was so much more fun since we knew all the rules. Usually with the regular 3, we play fairly friendly games – very little aggression and competition. When our other friends join, well, things can get a bit more serious (you can really see personality types come through in games). With 3 people, it took us maybe 2 hours to get through one game and will probably be even longer when we have more people join.

Me as the Lannisters

I avoided posting about this because I was pretty bummed but as you know by now the Canucks were eliminated from the playoffs which means this is going to be a loooooong off season. But it will be alright. I’ve got NHL12 to keep me company.

 

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Geek Out: Game of Thrones – The Table Top Game

In the last couple of years or so my friends and I have gotten into playing table top games. We designated Friday nights as ‘Game Night.’ Usually, we’ll crack open a couple of games and end the night with a movie. However, in more recent get-togethers, we’ve been watching movies and youtube videos since some of us in our group of friends have gone out of the province. Playing with three people is tough and when you’ve been playing the same games over and over, well, it can get boring.

A few weeks ago my friend discovered the Game of Thrones table top game. This couldn’t be more perfect for us since 1) we love table top games and 2) we love Game of Thrones 3) we’ve been looking for a new game to play. So I headed out to my favourite table top game store called Craving for a Game. This little store is amazing. If you live in Surrey and you love table top games, you need to check this place out. The store owner is a great guy and the place is loaded with awesome games. Anyway, I went there, found the game, and brought it home.

I tweeted this picture to my gaming buddies. She's a beauty!

I figured I should read through the game manual so that at least one of us knows how the game works when we get together. As I started to read the manual, I quickly realized: I need a video tutorial. The game has so many elements that I can barely keep up. YouTube, you are one of the greatest creations.

Yeah, a one hour video tutorial/review of the game. According to my calculations, that means this game is awesome.

I can’t wait for our next game night.

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Goodbye, Friend

On April 4, 2012, I had to say goodbye to my cat/friend/roommate, Scsi. She was technically my brother-in-law’s cat but since they weren’t allowed pets in their apartment, she stayed behind and I took care of her.

You don’t realize how much your pet becomes part of your life – of your daily routine until they are not there anymore. For the past 7 years that it was just me and her, I would wake up to her meow and she’d following me around the house as I got ready for work.  The morning after she was gone was the hardest and I noticed the difference in my day right away. Everyone in the house did. It was a very sad and empty morning.

As the days go by, the memory of her is less painful and I remember all the joy she brought into my life. Thank you for being my companion, Scsi. I really miss you. Don’t be bossy to Diego.

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March Photo a Day – Day 2: Fruit

I’m allergic to a lot of fruit. It’s easier for me to name all the fruit I can eat rather than all the ones I can’t. Pears are delicious, unfortunately, I cannot eat them without my tongue itching and my lips swelling. However, I can eat pears from our backyard which leads me to think that there is something about market fruit (probably all that chemical goodness) that sparks my allergic reaction.

Bananas are one of my favourite fruits (of the few that I can eat). Since they have a mild flavour, you can stick it into anything like yogourt and it makes your meal even tastier. It’s also very yummy raw!

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New Toy

My new toy

During university I complained that school prevented me from reading since I was doing enough of that for class.  Now that I’ve been out for a few months, I’ve been able to get back to reading my novels.  And now that I’ve been working and making all the dough, I thought I’d treat myself to a new toy.

I love my Kindle.