Pages

Showing posts with label celebrations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label celebrations. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 28, 2020

Actorek: The Void

   My sister's new book is coming out! Check it out below! I'd say more about it, but my brain is mush from studying for a college term paper and all I have the brain capacity to talk about right now is Martin Luther's view on the Jews, so just see below for more information about this awesome book.

 


About the Book

 Which would you choose—save your sister or save the world?

 Emma Edsel’s first priority has always been protecting her blind sister Carla. So when Carla begins to develop science-defying abilities that threaten her life, Emma will stop at nothing to save her. With nowhere else to turn, she seeks help from Mitchell, the new boy at school who seems to know much more about it than he will admit.

 After his last mission went horribly awry, Mitchell Banks is relieved to have a simple task: seal a small, accidental portal between Earth and other worlds in the multiverse. He didn’t count on his growing feelings for Emma—and the dangerous levels of dimension energy contaminating Carla.

 Carla knows the voice in her head is evil. Manipulative. Feeding her with a strange energy she can control. She doesn’t know that she is the key to a coming global catastrophe and Mitchell’s boss will use any means possible to prevent it…including blackmailing him into murdering her.

 

Buy Now!

 

Add to Goodreads

 

About the Author



Morgan Elizabeth Huneke fell in love with sci-fi and fantasy at age seven when she first read A Wrinkle in Time and The Chronicles of Narnia. In the time since, she’s spent an inordinate amount of time exploring new realms and bygone eras through countless books, movies, and TV shows. She also spends a great deal of time talking to her imaginary friends and writing down their stories in books such as the Time Captives fantasy trilogy and Twisted Dreams, a sci-fi/fantasy Sleeping Beauty novella. On the occasion she remembers she lives in Georgia in the 21st century, she can be found working at the local library, playing and teaching violin and piano, singing along to Disney and Broadway soundtracks, making casseroles while blaring Casting Crowns, sewing her own clothes, turning pirouettes in the kitchen, and volunteering for political campaigns. 

 

Giveaway

Enter to win a signed copy of Acktorek: The Void! Giveaway open to U.S. residents only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


 Monday, October 26

·       Tour Announcement at Morgan Elizabeth Huneke

·       Book Review at Living Outside the Lines

·       Author Interview at Isamonkey Reviews

 

Tuesday, October 27

·       Book Spotlight at Jaye L. Knight

·       Author Interview at Living Outside the Lines

·       Interview with Emma at Morgan Elizabeth Huneke

 

Wednesday, October 28

·       Book Spotlight at The Music of a Story

·       Interview with Mitchell at Living Outside the Lines

 

Thursday, October 29

·       Book Review at Tricia Mingerink

·       Interview with Carla at Morgan Elizabeth Huneke

 

Friday, October 30

·       Tour Wrap-Up at Morgan Elizabeth Huneke

Wednesday, August 26, 2020

Poison's Dance Review

 

What are the Tattered Slippers?

The Tattered Slippers are six retellings of The Twelve Dancing Princesses by six different authors, each one fantastic and magical. You don’t want to miss any of them!

View the rest of the blog tour here: https://kendrasgiraffecrafts.blogspot.com/p/tattered-slippers-blog-tour.html



If he falls to the lure of the curse, the dance might trap him forever.

Alex has survived his first year as high king. The new counsel has improved cooperation between the kingdoms, and peace seems achievable. When the Tuckawassee queen sends him an invitation he can’t refuse, Alex must once again face his greatest threat for the sake of peace.

Princess Tamya of Tuckawassee, along with her eleven sisters, has danced from sunset until sunrise every night of her life. It is her gift and her curse. When Queen Valinda wishes to use the power their cursed dance gives them to rule all of Tallahatchia, Tamya must decide if she will do what is right even if it betrays her own sister.

Daemyn Rand has survived a hundred years' worth of battles. All he wants to do now is safely marry his princess. Will he be forced to choose between the love of his life and the high king he has loyally served for years?

They have faced certain death before. This time, they might not make it out alive.

Don’t miss this re-envisioning of the Twelve Dancing Princesses fairy tale.

My Review:

All right. This book clinched it. Alex is basically King Arthur (a la BBC). Not saying why until the end under a spoiler tag, but...yup. He's Arthur.

Alex has friends! Actual friends! I'm so proud of him! He's not lonely anymore! This book is definitely my favorite so far. So much Alex!

Gah! I'm not sure how much I can talk about this book without spoilers. My favorite part was at the end!

Alex is growing so much. He's earning his people's respect and working hard and pulling the nation together...

Daemyn's actually starting to grow pretty close to Alex, which makes me happy. Friendships are give and take, after all.

Was there more to this book than Alex? Yes. Do I care? No.

I really loved the portrayal of love in this book. Not saying much because spoilers, but single lady representation, people. It's super rare in books. I really appreciate that it's here in this book.

SPOILERS

Gah, so the part where Alex drank the hemlock? EPIC. Such an Arthur thing to do. Remember that episode with the unicorn where there's a glass of "poison" and Merlin tries to tell Arthur to let him drink it, but Arthur says, "You know me, Merlin. I never listen to you," and drinks it anyway? Yeah. Basically this. Daemyn's like, "I knew the other shoe would drop, I've died multiple times, it's better that I die anyway, I'm not the High King, just give me the poison," and Alex goes, "Nope," and downs it all. I'm so proud of him and that is definitely my favorite part, but AAA! He came so close to dying, y'all! I once read a Dear America book where a bunch of little kids got poisoned by water hemlock, so I knew the potency of the poison and that there's NO FREAKING ANTIDOTE. NONE. And yet this guy drank the poison. Wow.

END SPOILER

Just read this book. You won't regret it.

Buy the book here: https://www.amazon.com/Poisons-Dance-Dancing-Princesses-Retelling-ebook/dp/B0873YZKZS/

Add Book on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53251983-poison-s-dance?

Tricia Mingerink is a twenty-something, book-loving, horse-riding country girl. She lives in Michigan with her family and their pack of pets. When she isn't writing, she can be found pursuing backwoods adventures across the country.
Find her online at: Website ||  Goodreads || Facebook || Twitter || Instagram || Amazon 

 

 




Thursday, July 4, 2019

America, Spread Your Golden Wings...


   Once upon a time, there was a massive empire. They had just fought a hard war against one of their greatest enemies with the extensive help of thirteen of their most loyal colonies. The people in these colonies had bled and died, as they had been on the front lines of much of the war's fighting. When the time came to pay for the war, the legislatures of these colonies were ready to write laws on new taxes as soon as the crown asked them to. After all, they were English citizens, and all taxes on them had to be levied by their representative body, as guaranteed by the Magna Charta and the English Bill of Rights. They were ready and willing to pony up according to well-established laws and traditions. Whenever the king wanted to levy a new tax on the colonies, he asked the colonial legislatures to pass one, and they always complied.
   However, the king did not ask the colonial legislatures to levy a tax. Instead, the English Parliament voted on a tax on the American colonies. This angered the colonists. They had no representatives in the English Parliament. Furthermore, it would be incredibly impractical to ever have American representatives in the English Parliament, as London is so far from the shores of the New World. Parliament had no power to levy taxes on them. Since Parliament had no power to levy taxes on the thirteen colonies, the "taxes" were not obligatory or legally binding. So, the colonists simply refused to pay them, sending advocates all the while to England to remind them that the English Parliament had no power over them.
   Parliament, however, thought their overseas subjects were nuts. The colonists weren't English citizens, but a second class of subjects in thralldoms, and of course they had the power to levy taxes on them. A few MPs were on the side of the colonists, but they were outshouted and outvoted. More and more taxes were levied on the thirteen colonies.
   The colonists took more and more drastic action to avoid or outright refuse the taxes. They were English citizens, after all, and from the time of King John to the Glorious Revolution, they were never ones to surrender their freedoms quietly. Even more, they had lived for several generations in a harsh wilderness, alone except for their God and their ingenuity. After years of independence and self-reliance, they weren't going to bow down now. When the Stamp Act was passed, colonists burned anything with the king's stamp on it. Parliament repealed it, but in their repeal stated that they had full power to do whatever they wanted to the colonies.
   Parliament had gone too far. All they had had to do was ask them to tax themselves and they would have done it. This posturing was absolutely ridiculous. Whisperings of war and even more drastic action were being passed around in the most radical circles. And when British soldiers were sent to Boston to try and enforce the supposed laws, the angry colonists started drilling in militias from snowy Massachusetts and New Hampshire to humid Georgia.
   A radical group went a little too far protesting the tea tax. All the colonies thought it might be a good idea to pay reparations for the thousands of pounds in damage. However, the furious British Parliament decided to shut down the colony in which the offense was committed, shut down their largest source of revenue, and starve the inhabitants to make them suffer.
   The colonies arose in outrage. They banded together to help their sister colony in her time of need, holding hands and becoming one for the first time ever. Even more people joined the militia. The British Army attempted to shut down colonial legislatures. They completely ignored them, instead meeting in local taverns. The colonies skirted the army and ignored Parliament, hoping the king would see the oppression and stand against the illegality. Offense after offense by Parliament and the army piled up. Until one day, it all became too much. The fatal straw had come.
   General Gage sent his troops to destroy the store of ammunition and gunpowder in Concord, Massachusetts. The local militia got wind of the plan and stood in their way with their guns, hoping to deter them without firing. But British soldiers got too eager and charged the men at Lexington. Somebody fired, then everybody fired, and eight men died. The militia swore they hadn't begun the fight, but they would finish it. They couldn't stop the British from their mission, but they hid behind fences, trees, and barns, shooting at the soldiers until they were terrified and running for Boston. For a year, they fought hard, losing battles with an army they refused to call the King's Army, for surely the king they had been loyal to for so long couldn't condone this.
   The colonial legislatures the army had tried to disband voted to send representatives to a congress of all the colonies, the First Continental Congress. This congress sent pleas to the king in hopes that this war could be ended when it had barely begun, in hopes that only Parliament was the problem. Their hopes were dashed in the spring of 1776. The colonists were forced to acknowledge the fact that King George III was behind all the machinations and oppression of Parliament.
   This knowledge rocked the colonies. In the spring of '76, spurred on by this knowledge, a new identity began to emerge. The colonists were seeing themselves not as British, but as Americans. And an idea that had been tossed around for a while by the Continental Army's new commander-in-chief began to be talked about by everyone.
   Through prayer and a miracle, on July 2, 1776, the Second Continental Congress formed the United States of America, the thirteen colonies collectively declaring independence from Great Britain. On July 4, they told the world exactly why.
   The war had just begun. Five long years of hard fighting followed. Without prayer and praise and the Hand of God, the Revolutionary War would not have been won. After another two years of sporadic fighting and tense negotiation, a treaty was signed between the United States of America and Great Britain, ending the war.
   And the rest? Well, it's history.
   



   Happy Independence Day, fellow defiant rebels! Today, let's celebrate our amazing country and her glorious birth. Remember, rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God. Let freedom ring!

Monday, June 10, 2019

New Time Captives Covers!

   Today's the day, the sun is shining, the tank is clean, and we are getting out of... *gasp* The tank is clean! (#sorrynotsorry)
This isn't the right fish (and sea stars aren't fish), but anyway
   (You didn't think you'd get the covers that easily, now did you?)

   My sister has new covers for her Time Captives trilogy and they're super awesome!!! Here they are!!!


   Nope.
   Okay, I'll stop playing around, here they actually are:






   “No one can mysteriously disappear leaving no trace. It isn’t realistic.”
   “You’re right, Emily,” her grandfather said thoughtfully. “It isn’t realistic. However, a good many things happen in this world that are not realistic, things supernatural.”
   Emily, Allan, Jill, Joey, and Anna have grown up on their grandfather’s tales of ancestors who mysteriously disappeared from Creighton Hill, the plantation home that has been in their family for centuries. When Grampa’s death forces them to move into Creighton Hill, the truth about the supposed disappearances is the first thing on their minds. Allan, Jill, Joey, and Anna’s, that is. As for Emily, why must they keep at their supernatural hogwash?
   Could it be that their family really does just have an unusual history of early deaths? Most people seem to think so. But Grampa’s research has uncovered something different.
   When mysterious writing matching descriptions found in ancient accounts begins appearing to the children, they know something’s up. They must find out what really happened to their ancestors, and work together to discover the reason behind the mysterious writings.

   Creighton Hill is the first book of the Time Captives trilogy, a tale of faith, family, fantasy, and a fight for truth and freedom.








   “M’lady, it has been fairly well confirmed that the Redona was hidden away by the merfolk at the conclusion of the Great War instead of destroyed as was commanded. My brother has confirmed to me Joseph’s belief that it was concealed at the Crossways.”

   Toarna pressed her fingertips together in thought. “It must be recovered and destroyed as was at first intended.”

   Emily, Allan, Jill, and Joey have been reunited with their long lost ancestors. But with that reunion comes the true beginning of their quest: free the rightful king of Calhortz so that he may be restored to his throne. The Redona, the only object that can free him from his long imprisonment, is rumored to be concealed in The Crossways, a mountain across the sea which cannot be entered.
   A slave since birth, Adriel’s resentment and hatred towards the strytes only grows as his family is continually ripped from him. He longs for the freedom the Time Captives are prophesied to bring, but he doubts their existence, just as he doubts God’s love. Circumstances in Calhortz are so dire. How could they ever improve?
   Who can enter The Crossways? Will the king ever be freed? Or will the slaves of Calhortz lose all hope of freedom before it is even offered to them?

   The Crossways is the second book of the Time Captives trilogy, a tale of faith, family, fantasy, and a fight for truth and freedom.








   God, please look after Adriel. Keep him safe and keep him from acting foolish. And please help him to be able to find me. Rae knew she could trust God to look after both of them. It was all she had now.

   The Time Captives have been reunited. The rightful king has been freed. Now all that remains is to defeat the strytes who still hold a tyrannical rule over the people of Calhortz. But with their lack of soldiers, it’s a task that is easier said than done. They need allies, but are they worth it when it requires facing ghosts from their pasts?
   Returning to his home country only brings the loss of Adriel’s family to the forefront of his mind. His determination to find Rae has never ceased, but now that determination could potentially destroy all that he and the Time Captives have been working towards. And his new-found faith may not be able to withstand the challenge.
   Will they be able to set aside their personal struggles for the sake of the freedom of all or will they allow their pasts to consume them? Will they manage to win back Crannig Castle from the rule of the strytes? The fate of Calhortz hangs in the balance.

   Crannig Castle is the final book of the Time Captives trilogy, a tale of faith, family, fantasy, and a fight for truth and freedom.




Giveaway
Morgan will be giving away a complete set of brand new Time Captives books! Be sure to enter! Giveaway open to U.S. residents only.

Rafflecopter code:

Tuesday, January 8, 2019

My Year in Books

   As a voracious reader, I measure my year in books. Also, by political happenings, because I'm involved in politics. I started a Goodreads account late in 2017, so this is the first time I can track my reading throughout an entire year.

January
    In January, I reread the Dragonkeeper Chronicles, the inspiration for my all-time favorite series ever, Ilyon Chronicles. I really missed the characters (namely Bardon the Amazing), so it was nice to be able to come back to them. I finished rereading A Wrinkle in Time so I could review it before the new movie that I didn't want to watch came out. I reread The Lost Stories (Rangers Apprentice) and By Darkness Hid, because I really love both of those stories (though The Lost Stories is not my favorite Rangers Apprentice). I read Wonder for the first time, and loved it. I also read The Poison Kiss, a couple of Star Wars books, the last three Series of Unfortunate Events books, four books about biological warfare (for writing research, obviously), an indie published zombie book, and October, which is very impactful and unforgettable. 
Book of the Month: October.

February
   I read twenty books in January. In February, I read two. That's right, two. And one of them doesn't even count, because it was a drawing book. I checked out How to Draw Incredible Ocean Animals so I could draw an otter for a logo of a book review blog I'm probably not going to keep up. Also, I read Auggie and Me. It was good, but I have no idea why it took up the entire month. I really enjoyed Julian's chapter, and how he wasn't being mean to Auggie because he hated him, but because he was scared of him. 
Book of the Month, by default: Auggie and Me.








March

   I returned to my voracious book devouring in March. I read my first Beverly Cleary YA book, and I don't know why I waited so long. Her YA books are even more amazing than the Ramona and Henry Huggins books. I finished a longer book about biological warfare (I told you, writing research) and read an Andrew Clements book about kids who just want to sit and read all day (#me) and it was amazing. Almost all the books he mentioned were longtime friends of mine. Great book. I read an okay Shannon Hale book. Also, I read the last five Betsy-Tacy books, though I'm fairly sure I read those in February and just shelved them in March, which would explain why Goodreads says I only read two books in February. I read Lysbeth: A Tale of the Dutch (and was rooting for Adrien the entire time), the entire Moonlighters series because I got the first and third ones for my birthday, and reread Exiles. Because it's a comfort read of mine.
Book of the Month: Exiles. Because Exiles. 😍😍😍😍😍😍


April
   In April, I finished a lot of school books. Advanced math (of which I will have no more until college algebra), physics, an incredibly dumb book about Christopher Columbus, Man, Economy, and State, Desiring God, The Normal Christian Life, Human Action, Much Ado About Nothing (It really is about nothing; it was the most boring Shakespeare play I've read), Standish of Standish, Monezuma's Daughter (of which I read half in one day), The Fifth of March, The Real Benjamin Franklin, and Voyager's Tales, from which book I remember almost nothing except some Muslim government official paid one guy quite a bit in gold to stand by him all day and occasionally hold his cloak. I want a job as easy as that. On the fun side of things, I finished rereading the Blood of Kings trilogy, reread The Royal Ranger and didn't hate it so much this time (but I will never forgive John Flanagan for killing her), and reread a sweet short story collection about two people falling in love. I read the entire Maze Runner trilogy, accidentally stumbling into another zombie book. I keep doing that, which is weird, because I don't really like zombie fiction. The series was honestly pretty disappointing. My favorite book was the prequel with none of the main characters in it. I also read If I Live (another good Terri Blackstock book), a bunch of picture books, and reread Mary Ware in Texas and A Captain's Heart (or at least most of it). 
Book of the Month: Montezuma's Daughter. Because "Heart to heart, though far apart" doesn't really count if you've been chosen as a sacrificial victim by a bunch of Aztecs. Also, Henry Rider Haggard does the whole "Native-American-culture-being-destroyed-by-outsiders-as-witnessed-by-the-European-adopted-into-the-tribe" story line better than most people.

May
   Once upon a time, an innocent young reader picked up the book The Kestrel from the library and read it, unaware that it was the second book in a trilogy. Needless, to say, I was hopelessly confused, even after reading the first and third books. I later bought the first and third books at a library book sale (but frustratingly, they didn't sell their copy of The Kestrel. If they had, my whole set could have matched), but for the longest time could not find the second. Last year, I finally got it, and, for the first time, read the whole series in order, which happened in May. It makes so much more sense now! I also read a couple of books for a research paper about British soldiers during the American Revolution, another amazing Beverly Cleary YA book, and a picture book and a Lois Lowry book I bought at a library book sale. At the very end of the month, I reread Cinder and Scarlet because I bought Cinder at a library book sale and I love Kai. I read the books where Nanny McPhee came from, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (which would have been so mysterious if everybody on planet Earth didn't know the big plot twist), The Summer of Broken Things, The Penderwicks at Last (Baffrey forever!), and Dagger's Sleep. Dagger's Sleep was so good. It's basically a genderbent Sleeping Beauty in a fantasy world with a Native American feel. So cool. Even though I totally shipped the wrong ship with this one, I enjoyed it anyway. It's so beautiful. And I want more Alexander. Also, I started reading War and Peace this month because I made a New Year's resolution to myself to read it over the summer. 
Book of the Month: Dagger's Sleep. This isn't the cover I read it with, but I love this one so much more.

June
   I started out this month reading Cress and Winter (my poor Wolf baby 😢😢😢😢), and War and Peace, of course. I read the second Elsie book and a picture book, listened to The Penderwicks at Point Moutte (poor Jeffrey), and listened to an audio drama of The Fellowship of the Ring. AND TOM BOMBADIL WAS CUT OUT AGAIN!!! WHY DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING???? Also, it was really weird for Ian Holm to play Frodo. My sister brought home The War That Saved My Life, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The Bottle Imp was a very interesting short story by Robert Louis Stevenson. My mom made me read When God Writes Your Love Story and it was great. And I beta-read Bitter Winter and it was amazing.
Book of the Month: Bitter Winter. Because Ilyon. And Jace is my baby.





July
   I read some really good books this month, and one REALLY awful one. You know, the kind where the more you think about it, the more you hate it? It wasn't even remotely scientifically plausible, or written well, but it was still horrific and will haunt me forever. It's supposed to turn people against abortion (how? abortion is illegal in the world of this book), but all it really accomplishes is scaring people away from organ donation. Seriously? The underlying message of this book? "Organ donation is creepy because if you give someone a kidney they'll share your soul." Um, what? Enough about Unwind, though. I read the sequel to The War That Saved My Life (so good), On the Far Side of the Mountain (kind of lame, and I hated the stupid decision of letting Frightful go free. She's lived all her life as a pet! She'll die on her own), Clifford's First Autumn (don't ask why, I don't remember), and reread To Kill a Mockingbird out loud with my family. To Kill a Mockingbird is so good, and not actually about racism or Tom Robinson or his trial. It's about Scout Finch growing up and about Boo Radley. And it's amazing. I beta-read Lacy, which is really good even though it didn't have Jace in it. Here's my full review, if you want to read it. I reread The Lightning Thief and Old Yeller, then read the sequel Savage Sam for the first time, in which Travis get tortured by Indians! Also, I was still reading War and Peace, obviously. My grandpa told me this month I'd be thirty before I finished it, but he was proven wrong. Not this month, though. It is over a thousand pages, after all. I'm no Charlie Brown.
Book of the Month: To Kill a Mockingbird, because it's amazing. Honorary mention of Lacy, because Ilyon.

August
   School started back, so I read several books because of that this month. Are You Liberal, Conservative, or Confused? (confused; labels can mean anything nowadays), The Second Treatise of Government (though I would have read that one for fun), The Children of the New Forest (gotta love classism), and Savior or Servant? Putting Government in its Place (disappointingly, the book never delivers on the title). I reread The Destiny of a Galaxy, The Arm of a Starfish (I love Adam Eddington), and Tarzan of the Apes (more classism and some racism, but I love the book anyway). We read My Side of the Mountain as a family, and it wasn't as big a hit as To Kill a Mockingbird. I had read the book myself a while ago, but the rest of my family hadn't. I read The Official SAT Guide 2018 (riveting, I know), The Worth of a King (which I beta-read most of), Orphan's Song (I finally finished it! I'd been meaning to read it for years), Love Defined (Dear non-fiction authors: please stop asking me to do activities at the end of each chapter; it's not going to happen), The Unexpected Life of Oliver Cromwell Pitts (which I did not know was part of at least a duology until I reached the end and it was a ciffhanger), A Little House of their Own (what can I say? I've never cared for the Caroline series), The Player King (I love books that bring back into memory obscure history stories I forgot), and The Battle of Hackham Heath. Yes, this was the first time I read it. I was avoiding it, afraid it would be boring, but the rest of my family suddenly got into Ranger's Apprentice for the first time, so when my sister brought it home from the library, I couldn't not read it. It wasn't as boring as I thought it would be, and I love spending time with Halt, Crowley, Duncan, Abelard, and baby Gilan.
Book of the Month: The Battle of Hackham Heath. Because Halt and Crowley. 'Nuff said.

September
   School books: Planned Chaos (snorezilla), The Real Thomas Jefferson (I relate to this guy: when he heard his house burned down, he immediately asked if his books were okay; sadly, they weren't), The Emergence of Liberty in the Modern World, a.k.a. when people finally stopped building theocracies, and The Real George Washington. I admire that man so much. He single-handedly saved America. Don't believe me? Just imagine what would have happened if he had taken up Alexander Hamilton's offer to lead the army against Congress and become king of America. The Red Fox Clan came out this month, and I'm glad John Flanagan's writing is getting better again, though we need more Will and Horace together. Sheesh. I reread From the Dark to the Dawn again, because I can't get enough of good stories about Ancient Rome. I read Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker and The Empire Strikes Back (don't judge). Wow, George Lucas is such a terrible writer! I can definitely see where the idea to put Leia in a metal bikini came from. Yeesh. But, it still being Star Wars, I enjoyed it nevertheless, especially the references to backstory that so clearly and obviously changed when George wrote the prequels. Also, Luke's nickname being "Wormy" never gets old. And I finished War and Peace! If you're wondering, yes, it's a novel, and yes, it's worth it. The story is all about the characters, though Tolstoy can philosophize a bit too much. I wasn't very happy that a certain character died, but it led to a better relationship than the current one, so I'm happy. Also, legitimizing illegitimate sons of nobility so they can inherit titles is a wonderful idea which I think certain authors should bestow on certain beloved characters.
Book of the Month: War and Peace. It's really good and it's really worth it.

October
   School books: The Social Contract (yikes), The Articles of Confederation (double yikes; not for the same reason, though, just...no wonder the country almost fell apart under these!), Walden (OHMYGOSH, why does this book exist? Read my review here), Liberty of Conscience, Common Sense (wow), Christian View of Men and Things (doesn't exactly deliver on the title, but I really enjoy philosophy, so I liked this book), The 5000 Year Leap, and Silas Marner. The part on the back cover doesn't happen until near the end. I really think it needs a new description. I read a lot of picture books, because my dad brought home a big box of free ones from his work and I read through them to decide if I wanted them. Also, my sister brought home Cat & Mouse: A Delicious Tale from the library just so we could see how bizarre it was. And it is bizarre. It's the strangest book I've ever read. Perhaps Jill and Eustace should have started craving Puddleglum after seeing Marshwiggle in the giant cookbook? And why call it a "delicious" tale? Is the prospect of eating your friends delicious? So weird. I finished Martin Chuzzlewit, which I'd been working on for a while. I didn't appreciate how he portrayed Americans, but other than that, it was a pretty good book. David Copperfield is still my favorite Dickens book, though. Also, we finished reading The Education of Little Tree as a family. It was certainly an interesting book.
Book of the Month: Cat & Mouse. Not because I liked it --I would never read this to a little kid-- but because it's just so bizarre it's ridiculously memorable. It's worth a read just to laugh and shake your head at. Also, Martin Chuzzlewit, because it was actually pretty good.

November
   School books: The Making of America, a wonderfully informative book about the US Constitution, Uncle Tom's Cabin, a good book that sadly furthers certain stereotypes, Democracy in America, a book that makes my eyes bleed because while de Tocqueville has great things to say, it's REPUBLICANISM, not DEMOCRACY, for crying out loud, and In the Valley, a riveting book about a Dutch New Yorker in the middle of the Revolution who is unfortunately somewhat racist. I read three Fancy Nancy books because I bought them from Goodwill, a picture book my sister bought about a fox traveling to Noah's Ark. I also read Bitter Winter again (an ARC this time), and Decree, the unexpected Christmas present from Tricia Mingerink, a.k.a., The Lost Stories of Acktar. IT WAS SO GOOD! I missed Leith and them so much, and love seeing their future. (Read my full review here.) And I'm beyond pleased there's going to be a sixth and seventh book to the series.
Book of the Month: Decree, because it was absolutely fantabulous and I can't pick Bitter Winter twice.

December
   School books: On Liberty, The Discovery of Freedom (amazing book), On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection Or The Preservation of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life (what can I say? I like long titles), and The Federalist Papers. Also, the Anti-Federalist Papers, but I didn't add that one to Goodreads. I started research on Poland for a paper I'm writing, and read Poland and Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe 1945-1953 for that. I read Lacy again (ARC), read From the Mouth of Elijah (and started planning out a scathing review that I unfortunately have to finish the series to write), and Precisely Terminated, a really good book that the rude library people neglected to buy the sequels to. Don't they realize they're there so poor students don't have to buy good books? I reread Children of Exile and Children of Refuge so I wasn't totally lost when I read Children of Jubilee, which was fantastic, by the way. I received some free books I won in July, among them After, yet another zombie fiction I stumbled into. I really enjoyed this one, especially as this one was set in a fantasy world, so there's an excuse why they're not calling them zombies. Another one was Cora and the Nurse Dragon, a delightful children's book about raising dragons. I read Reflection, Part of Your World, A Whole New World, and As Old As Time, all part of the Twisted Tales series about AU plot threads in Disney movies. I really liked Reflection and Part of Your World, but hated A Whole New World (read my review here). As Old As Time was okay. I read The Girl With 500 Middle Names, which means I have only two more Haddix books to read before I've read them all. I read A Christmas Carol, as I do every Christmas season. It's a great way to spend Christmas Eve. I got Wonder for Christmas, so I read it again. After that, I read The Mysterious Benedict Society, because I had to read it since I just got it, and Mary Poppins, because we watched Saving Mr. Banks and Mary Poppins. The last book of 2018 was Tales of Ever After, another free book. It was a short story collection of fairy tale adaptations and very enjoyable.
Book of the Month: Precisely Terminated. The worst/best dystopian I've read. Panem's got nothing on this. At least Katniss has sunlight.

   And that's it! I could always have written my year in politics instead, but that would be stressful, not fun. Even more stressful is the new year in politics. The presidential campaign has begun, after all. Bookswise, I don't know. I hope to read many good books, and not suffer another Unwind. Ugh. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everybody!

Thursday, July 5, 2018

Thirteen statements from the United States (The Declaration of Independence by Google Translate)

   I'm a big fan of Malinda Kathleen Reese's Google Translate videos, and, in honor of Independence Day, I decided to send the Declaration of Independence through many different languages in Google Translate and see what came out. Enjoy!


   July 4, 1776, in parliament.
   However, in the suit that the event supposed to separate the bonds of some of the political characters between them seems to be separate from the station deserves another opinion of the earth, in the nature of the natural forces, US Congress, which has been confirmed. This type of program can only be displayed. .
   All human beings, including the search for freedom and equal rights of creators from certain felicitas.- to ensure this right. Try this truth clearly so that the government provides people with the approval of the power of observation and design, the self - not, the people, the government, the end of harm to form edited or deleted, it is theoretically included in the new auto mode in a database, every time the power has access to safety, it is fun, they have to be affected. The previous system of injury history, which is the current history of King Grandbituuzo ball, must meet all the requirements for the torture of this situation in full. Prove that, in reality it will be presented in the same world.
   He abandoned consent in October, but most importantly, it was very important for the community.
   In order to delay the submission of a case before Adoption of an individual, the law is linked to a quick and essential basis for Adoption administrators. They have been suspended, will not be able to cure.
   He encouraged large people, but only the right of presentation on the market and in the Congress, there was no need to pass the law on human will and the poor matrix.
   Organizations are called laws, damage to the population and the loss of a common control of public policy, not paying fidelity.
   A typical room bouts heavy legal lawn of troops.
   However, it is after a disaster, a long time, does not want to choose people. God's law, the power of God always exists. Because it can not be said, because, as a rule, it will return to people to practice. the threat of time for all attacks from overseas remains, that is, there is a pond.
   He is not in any way trying to make the population invisible to the public. Foreign citizenship law to encourage foreign naturalization due to cultivate new land, forgotten creation drugihov.
   Perfect justice has been beaten, refused to accept legal position in order to establish manageable authority.
   In order to determine the desire, the zodiac Quorum and the paid wages that are able to maintain.
   Need to, established a new office, we do a lot of ministers of the wild goats here.
   At the time of the pirates, this constant field was occupied among us without the consent of the military. Neptatuhaan because of its electrical transmission, in addition to the law of its external authority from the government or civilian, the shift can be attributed to other rights, for example, we have learned. so-called law of the contract of action:
   Our army is a good neighbor:
   In order to protect them against malpractice, patent protection should apply to older people:
   Worldwide we have damaged our business:
   Unauthorized taxes
   In many cases, the jury limits the test facility:
   We will try to let them take them out of the ocean
   Administrative law is an example of ridicule with the free English system and any maximum limit as a means of entering the same network of colonialism:
   Take your word and clear the most famous laws and changes based on our leadership:
   Take a legislative meeting and report your investments in all areas.
   He condemned the government, announced and instructed state insurance.
   Destroy our ocean, destroy our enemies, burn our city and destroy our lives
   Our citizens are armed weapons against states with a harbor who take friends or brothers or fall into their hands.
internal confrontations between us representing our people Savile Savages Indian, a familiar war for all ages, sexual destruction, and undesirable circumstances.
   The following conditions apply at all levels of this discount: Requirements are repeated only on frequency. The character of the prince is characterized by all the features that can be freely identified and are not equal to the loyal masters.
   Do we want to ignore British demolition? From time to time we draw attention to unacceptable claims. Here we remember the immigration situation and the decision. We have emphasized the right administration, justice and the elimination of our age for young adults, which will lead to our relationship and correspondence. They are deaf to the words of justice and expertise. That is why we must recognize the need to divide ourselves and the declaration if we continue to overcome peace, war and enemy peace.
   The implementation of the British Crown as part of global disarmament and the ending of the national and political solidarity of the United Kingdom as a free and independent state can fulfill all the other tasks and the ability of the last generation to fight and peace and persecution of the Treaty and the establishment of exchanges or not. This hypermetropic statement has a strong defense for the weekend, which means we all believe in the fate of Lakeahna and St. Anagaotna.


For reference, here is the original text:
   In Congress, July 4, 1776.
   The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
   We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
   He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
   He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
   He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
   He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
   He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
   He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
   He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
   He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
   He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
   He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
   He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
   He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
   He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
   For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
   For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
   For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
   For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
   For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
   For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
   For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
   For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
   For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
   He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
   He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
   He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
   He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
   He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
   In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
   Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
   We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.