Posted by Adrienne on September 26, 2006 under Books | 
The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan
How much do you know about Greek myths? You don’t have to know too much to enjoy The Lightning Thief, but it sure makes it more fun if you do! Percy Jackson is not a terribly normal kid; he’s been to six schools in six years, has major dislexia, and strange things seem to happen to him all the time. (If this is starting to make you think of Harry Potter, it’s kind of similar, but not a clone by any means) Turns out, Percy is even more not normal than even he thought; his dad is one of the Greek gods. You know, Zeus and Ares and Poseidon and all those guys (and gals). So Percy is a demigod, and he’s sent to a camp for other kids like him, located on Long Island. He has an adventure/quest to go on with two good friends, and after some twists and turns, makes it to the end of the book. Riordan peppers the book with references to different myths and traditions about the Greek pantheon, which make the book even more fun. My favorite was Percy’s sojourn to the Lotus Casino – he “loses track of time” playing games and eating great food, only to find that he’s spent 5 days in the casino without noticing – an homage to the Lotus Eaters section of Homer’s Odyssey that I was forced to read as a freshman.
The Lightning Thief is a great adventure with likeable characters and some neat twists. The best part? It’s Book 1 of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, so there’s more to come!
I found out about this book by reading Unshelved the online comic strip about a library. They review all kinds of books by writing and drawing a comic about them! Check out the one for The Lightning Thief here: http://www.overduemedia.com/archive.aspx?strip=20060903
Posted by Adrienne on September 24, 2006 under Random Thought |
I start my masters program in library science at the University of Washington tomorrow (Monday the 25th). What fun to be back in school!
Posted by Adrienne on under Arsenal, Seahawks |
On Saturday, Arsenal played Sheffield United at Emirates Stadium (or whatever it’s called). What with one thing and another, I wasn’t able to watch the match, but I saw the result: Arsenal 3, Sheffield 0.
On Sunday, the Seahawks played the New York Football Giants at Qwest Field (which is kind of a silly name). Since this is the last game I’ll probably be able to watch live for awhile, I made a point of watching it, and I love the result: Seahawks 42, Giants 30. Now the ‘Hawks are 3-0 on the season.
It was a pretty good weekend for football of all kinds.
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Posted by Adrienne on September 23, 2006 under TV & Movies |
…I’ll just plug my second favorite show (after the Stargates) which is House M.D. When Fox says “Viewer Discretion Advised,” they probably mean something like “Don’t watch this show while you’re eating dinner.” I’d add especially not when you’re eating raspberry jell-o. You see, House is one o’ them doctor shows, and they can get a bit realistic with their medical shots, that is, the stuff you see. Things like sending the camera into the patient’s body are par for the course on House. Now, I’m not too into medical shows (never watched ER or Bones or anything like that) so I don’t watch this for that aspect. No, the real draw for me on House is Gregory House himself, Mr. Hugh Laurie. Laurie is a funny, funny man. Also, he’s British (although he plays an incredibly sarcastic and thus hilarious American). Definitely give House a go, and enjoy the rapier wit of Hugh Laurie!
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Posted by Josh on September 22, 2006 under TV & Movies |
David Palmer is the MAN!
Well, he’s certainly not perfect. I’m not pleased with his last decision at the end of season 1. Though I’m not really sure what the best alternative was. Regardless, through the rest of the season he had integrity oozing out of him to anyone who paid attention, and he honestly cared more for his family than you’d expect from someone in his shoes, and he hated “the system.” I also now begin to fully grasp what was so stunning about the beginning of season 5.
I had the opportunity this week while staying at home sick for two days to watch the first season of 24 (after watching season 5 as it aired live earlier this year). Thanks to Alex for letting me borrow it. I hope I was ambiguous enough so as not to spoil the show for those who have not yet seen it but intend to. It was nice to not have cliffhangers, though I missed the “scenes from next week’s episode.”
In other news, the mid-season finales of Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis are tonight! I’m excited!! I’m not looking forward to the lack of Stargate between now and March, but at least it’s not over yet!
