NovelSisters

watching, reading, and writing stories

Nov 25

I Love Youth Fiction

by lydiamhill

So for the past two months I’ve been trying to read a book, it’s a mix of historical fiction and romance. And I just can’t get into it. I’m still not even halfway through the book and it’s just not engaging. But in that same time I have read 3 youth fiction books! It only takes me a couple of hours or maybe one day if it’s longer to speed through a youth fiction book. They’re just so fun to read, so interesting and just enjoyable. It’s no wonder I’m writing in that same genre. So I thought I’d give you some short reviews from my most recent explorations into the youth genre and then give an update on my upcoming book.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/eckhartpubliclibrary/6887718935

 

First off I read Cinder. The final book of the Lunar Chronicles was just released and my sister bought it the day it came out. When she refused to do anything but read she suggested I read the first book in the series: Cinder. I don’t usually read the futuristic sci-fi kind of books, but I knew it was based on the classic Cinderella story so I gave it a chance. And it was great, plenty of action and good descriptions, funny characters and unexpected changes to the classic story. I was surprised when characters actually died and my happily ever after ending wasn’t fulfilled. I have a feeling I have to wait to read Winter to get the ending I crave. But the book opened up a new and interesting world with plausible realities and a great assortment of characters. I would highly recommend this book, and by the way I’m already reading the second book in the series: Scarlet.

The Tournament at Gorlan

Image Source: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/kids/return-to-the-world-of-the-rangers-apprentice-with-the-tournament-at-gorlan/

The next book I dove into was The Tournament at Gorlan, the first of the prequel series for Ranger’s Apprentice. I had been looking forward to this book after reading all of the other books in the Ranger’s series. And I did enjoy reading it and getting to see some of my favorite characters as their younger selves. However, it didn’t connect to me as much as Cinder did. I felt like a lot of the jokes I’d already heard before. For example Halt got thrown off his Ranger Horse just like every other Ranger when they were apprentices. I did enjoy the plot of trying to rescue the king and prince from Morgarath and I also loved the scenes when Halt and Pauline first meet. But it wasn’t my favorite book in the series and I may never read it again.

Cover of the first edition of How to Train Your Dragon

Image Source:

Then yesterday I read the first book of How To Train Your Dragon. I’ve loved the movies for years and have always meant to read the books, but I never did. Well now I can say I have read at least the first book in the series. It’s definitely meant for a younger audience, but it was an enjoyable read. I found it interesting how different the movie was from the book. There are several characters that never even show up in the movies, and a very different take on dragons. I did find it humorous that the vikings book on how to train your dragon has only one suggestion: Yell at it. I also enjoyed seeing the outcast young Hiccup and Toothless become the heroes of the story. I’m not sure if I’ll ever read the other books, but it was a fun and very quick book to read.

And lastly I’ll give a quick update on my upcoming sequel Finding Home: The Lost Brother. This month instead of writing a new book for NaNoWriMo, I’ve been editing each day. I’m hoping to print a test copy at the end of this month and get some more feedback from readers. But the book will soon be finished and I’m excited to get to share it with all of you.

Books Writing

Leave a comment »
Sep 14

Famous in a Small Town

by lydiamhill

Word Wrangler 2015 (2)

Like I promised, I wanted to write about my experience at the Giddings Word Wrangler Festival. It was my first time going and actually my first book fair too. It was quite the adventure and I thought I’d share some of the highlights from the trip.

On Thursday I headed out early to get to the Intermediate School with plenty of time to spare. I’ve had a few experiences with speaking to elementary age students, so I was excited to talk to the 4th and 5th graders about my book and the story of how I became an author. I had a slideshow all set up and a few little giveaways for the kids. Several ladies helped me with setting up the powerpoint and getting the preordered books all ready for pick up. We even got to put gold stickers on the front covers that said signed by the author. Then the first group of kids filed in, and the excited chatter began. One kid asked if I was going to show them How to Train Your Dragon, since I had the music playing. I said no, but it made me smile and I did tell him it was one of my favorite movies.

IMG_3136

The rest of the talk was a blur, with kids making comments, answering my questions, and asking their own questions. The funniest question I got was “What would you do if you saw a bug?” I said “I’d probably just leave it alone.” But the whole experience made me feel like a famous person. All these kids wanted to shake my hand, give me a hug or ask me a question. Luckily my mom was there keeping track of all the books and cash for me. Every once in awhile she’d hand me another book and tell me the name I was signing it to. Then it was back to more questions.

I remember this one girl who didn’t get a prize asked to see the extra giant pen I had with me. I let her hold it and told her it was broken. She asked to keep it anyway and I decided, why not, it’s broken. So she rushed back to class all excited. Then a couple minutes later she came back with the most distraught look on her face and said sadly, “I fixed the pen.” I assumed her teacher told her to return it. So I smiled and said, “You fixed it, you keep it.” And she left happy once more.

The couple hours at the school concluded and I packed up and eventually made it my next book fair destination: The Public Library. We had a Gala scheduled for Thursday evening, so I got there a bit early and began setting up my table, with a nice cover, some business cards, a few books, and the painting I had made for the cover art. It wasn’t the most extravagant book table but it was something. Then I joined all the other authors and sponsors of the book fair for a delicious dinner. I even got a little gift bag with all kinds of goodies! It was great to be treated so well.

IMG_3141

The next morning, the real Book Fair began, I barely had time to look around at the other tables before it was time to start. But I managed to pick out a few books I wanted to buy. The whole morning was taken up with busload after busload of students pulling up and hurrying through the library. Most of them had a sheet of paper to try to get autographs on. It felt like I was a celebrity the way these kids scrambled for autographs. I tried to make them a bit special by writing “Happy Reading,” before signing my name. But unfortunately my brain autocorrected to “Happy Birthday” a few times. A few kids got confused and asked why, but one little boy said, “How did you know it was my birthday?” So I guess it wasn’t a bad thing.

IMG_3146

Several of the kids, whose school I had visited the day before told me they had started reading the book. One girl said she was on chapter 8 already, which was very surprising. And I also had some kids who hadn’t gotten their book, come over and buy one. It was a wonderful experience and I’d love to be able to do it again.

And lastly, the Book Fair gave me the opportunity to meet a lot of other local Texas Authors. In fact I shared a table with one close to my age. Jamie S. Foley has already published 2 books, the first of which I’m reading now. And we got to give each other so much encouragement and tips from our own experiences. It was priceless! Plus I have a new friend now.

IMG_3144

And before I finish, I wanted to make sure that if anyone is reading this post, who picked up my business card and was hoping to read some of my book for free, you know how to do it. Just search in the categories for “sneak peek” and you’ll find all the sections I’ve posted form my two books. Happy Reading!

Books Finding Home Life Stories Writing

2 Comments »
Sep 8

My First Book Festival!

by lydiamhill

 

IMG_3139

This week I am heading out to Giddings, TX for my first ever book festival! I’m so excited to be speaking at their Intermediate School and then joining in the festivities at the Public Library. Although I have spoken at a few schools in the past about being an author and my published novel Finding Home: The Orphan’s Journey, I’ve never been to a book fair before. It’s exciting and a bit nerve wracking to try to remember all the things I want to bring with me… books, business cards, receipt slips, tablecloth, decorations, and more.

But in honor of this new step as an Author, I thought it was high time that my blog got a few updates. So last night my brother, who is great with website design, helped me clean up my page. If you’ve been following me for long, you might have noticed that the set up is a bit different and several of the unnecessary tabs are now gone. I’ve also added a link to my book on the side of my page, so all you need to do is press the picture of the book, and it’ll take you straight to Amazon to purchase it. I had toyed with the idea of changing the theme of my blog as well, but I just love this blue background so much. I can’t change it, at least not yet.

I’m not sure how everything will come together at the book fair, but I’m hoping to have a lot of fun, meet other authors from Texas, and maybe come home with a few new books of my own to read.

I’ll try to write a post about how the book fair goes next week.

Books Finding Home Life Writing

Leave a comment »
Aug 4

My Top 5 Inspiring Book Series Authors

by lydiamhill

So I’ve enjoyed a lot of good books in my life that have influenced me and inspired me. Some were novels; one good book that I really enjoyed, but often I’ve found myself engrossed in a series of books. Which is fine with me because I get to read more about the characters I’ve already connected with and see an author expand on their universe. There are several authors who have written a series that has a special place in my heart and impacted my own writing. I could read them again and again. So, here we go with a count down for My Top 5 Inspiring Book Series Authors.

Number 5 is C.S. Lewis for his Chronicles of Narnia series.

Monochrome head-and-left-shoulder photo portrait of 50-year-old Lewis

Image 1 Source

I’ve grown up with these books and enjoyed rereading them on several occasions. I love the characters, especially Lucy and Eustice. But all of the characters are so wonderful. And I enjoy the British accent I can easily slip into if I read it out loud. But I also just love the way these books connect to my life as a Christian and getting to see the themes of Christianity woven throughout the seven books. I especially love the way Lewis describes what heaven is like in the last book. In any case, I could reread this series at the drop of a hat and it’ll always have a special place in my heart. And I hope that in my own work my beliefs will come through just as they did for Lewis.

Number 4 is Brian Jacques for his Castaways of the Flying Dutchman series.

Image 2 Source

I didn’t discover this series until I was older, in high school I believe. I had read one or two of Jacques’s other books about the mice. But I never got caught up into that series. However, with Castaways I couldn’t help myself, these books were full of adventure, excitement, a boy and dog going on amazing adventures and joking with each other along the way. I’ve reread them, especially my favorite parts over and over and it has influenced my own writing as well. It’ll always have a place on my bookshelf and I hope that my own writing is just as full of adventure.

Number 3 is Rick Riordan for his Percy Jackson series.

Image 3 Source

I didn’t hear about this series till I was in college, but as I saw the kids I helped with at a middle school reading them, I was intrigued. Riordan has a comedic style of writing that keeps his audience giggling, yet he also comes up with the most fantastic adventures. He’s continued his writing with several other series, though I haven’t read them all. Percy will be a classic for me and I hope to reread the series sometime soon and perhaps learn something new from Riordan’s style of writing and incorporate it into my own.

Number 2 is John Flanagan for his Rangers Apprentice series.

Image 4 Source

Another great series that I was not aware of till after college, I quickly became a fan and read all twelve books in one summer. I’ve also had the pleasure of meeting the author and it was a great experience. In any case, all of these books are enjoyable to me and the characters’ development are so well done. Though I may have written them a bit differently if I was the author, I cannot help but be impressed and hope that my own writing and character development may eventually be just as good.

And finally number 1 is Michael and Jeff Shaara for their Civil War series.

Image 5 Source

Image 6 Source

In contrast to all of the other books I’ve mentioned these are meant for adults and would not be categorized as youth fiction. All of Shaara’s books are historical fiction. But boy can these guys bring the past to life. History books have nothing on these fantastic novels. I started with Michael’s “The Killer Angels” and soon got wrapped up in the prequel and sequel that Jeff wrote. And since then I’ve read every single book that Jeff Shaara has written. I’m currently reading “The Fateful Lightning” and it’s just as good. Though the style may not be what I’m going for in my own writing, I hope to become better at researching for my own books and bring some realism to my own work.

Looking back at this list of authors gives me much encouragement. Many of these authors have inspired movies and although the quality of the movies may not compare to the original writing, it is still impressive to me. I hope one day my own books will inspire other authors just as these ones have inspired me to write.

Books Writing

Leave a comment »
Jul 6

Sneak Peek #4

by lydiamhill

Finding Home

I haven’t posted a sneak peek for my upcoming book Finding Home: The Lost Brother in some time, so I thought it was time to throw another out there. This section gives a peek into the past but from a new perspective. If you haven’t read the first book, Finding Home: The Orphan’s Journey then this will just be a look into what Josiah has gone through. I hope you enjoy it either way. And if this gets you interested in the first book, you can find it on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Finding-Home-Orphans-Lydia-Hill/dp/1490556427/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1436212902&sr=8-1&keywords=finding+home+the+orphan%27s+journey&pebp=1436212902963&perid=1KRF1D6XS0B1DA0XBG9E

Enjoy!

* * * * *

The wagon creaked as it bounced over the rocky terrain. Tall rocky cliffs rose beside the road’s edge. Josiah sat next to his brother, Joshua in the wagon glancing up at the cliffs. Suddenly out of the corner of his eye, a dark object moved but when Josiah focused on the spot, nothing was there. Josiah shivered.

Joshua turned to look at him, “What’s wrong Josiah?”

“Nothing… my eyes are playing tricks on me.”

Joshua glanced up at the cliff tops and frowned. “Josiah, I want you to go to the back of the cart.”

“Why?”

“Just do it, hide in the silk linens and don’t come out till I say so.”

Josiah felt another shiver run down his back, but he obeyed. After maneuvering around his other brothers to the back of the wagon, he curled up in a corner and pulled one of the silk linens over his head.

It was stuffy under the linens and Josiah began to sweat. The clip clop of the horses’ hooves continued steadily echoing off the cliff walls. Josiah was beginning to wonder if Joshua was playing a prank on him, when he heard his father say, “Hurry up boys, I want to get through here as quick as possible.” The wagon bounced as the speed increased. Josiah’s heart began to beat faster, as his father yelled “Run” and the wagon jolted with the increased speed. Then suddenly it stopped.

Muffled voices suddenly turned to yells and screams. Josiah’s heart beat wildly but he stayed frozen. “Joshua said to stay hidden,” Josiah reminded himself. He closed his eyes tightly, blocking out the noises and praying that the nightmare would end.

After what seemed an eternity, a thick silence was all that remained. Josiah waited and waited but no one came to tell him everything was alright. He was just thinking of peeking out of his hiding place when he heard steps and unfamiliar voices approaching. He held his breath and waited.

Suddenly the satin sheet was pulled back to reveal a rough looking man. He stared down at the frightened Josiah. “What we got here?” the man said with a sneer.

Josiah was too terrified to say a word, he just sat there paralyzed.

Other men soon gathered around the wagon with questions and comments of their own.

“What is it?” one asked as he craned his neck.

“It’s just a kid,” one of the taller men said.

“Should we kill him?” the man who had made the discovery asked gruffly.

“We can’t kill him, look at him,” the tall man replied.

“Well what do we do with him then?” the short man asked.

“Just leave him here,” the gruff man replied.

“But he could die out here on his own,” the tall man said defensively. “Besides, he knows what we look like now, what if he told someone about us, then we’d be done for.”

“You don’t know that,” the gruff man said.

“We could take him with us,” the tall man suggested.

“Yeah, I’ve always wanted a servant,” the short man agreed.

“Well I ain’t taking care of him,” the gruff man replied with a huff. He picked up the bundle of silks, “Fight over him if you want, I just want the loot.”

A couple men started arguing with him about the silks, but the thunder of hooves in the distance cut short their argument.

“Someone’s coming,” the tall man said anxiously. “Let’s get out of here!”

Josiah’s brain finally switched out of frozen mode as he realized his chance to save himself. He leapt off the wagon and darted down the road towards the sound of approaching riders.

“Grab him!” the rough man yelled.

Josiah didn’t get far, as soon as he saw the carnage of the fight his legs turned to jelly. “Papa,” he started crying.

The tall man grabbed Josiah’s arm tightly, and lifted him to his feet. “Come on kid, you’re coming with me.”

* * * * *

Books Finding Home sneak peek Stories Writing

Leave a comment »
Apr 27

Sneak Peek #3

by lydiamhill

I haven’t posted any sneak peeks for my new novel “Finding Home: The Lost Brother” in quite awhile, so I thought I’d share one of my favorite moments from the new book. If you haven’t already read them, there are two other sneak peeks: https://lydiamhill.wordpress.com/2015/02/10/another-sneak-peek/  and  https://lydiamhill.wordpress.com/2015/01/12/a-sneak-peek/
You should probably read them first, so this scene will make more sense. And if you haven’t read the first book in the series yet “Finding Home: The Orphan’s Journey,” check it out on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Finding-Home-Orphans-Lydia-Hill/dp/1490556427/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1430152065&sr=8-1&keywords=finding+home+the+orphan%27s+journey

And now without further ado, a sneak peek:

Finding Home
Caleb sighed audibly. “I hope this doesn’t take too long.”

Adrian shrugged and turned towards the house.

Caleb reluctantly followed Adrian inside the worn structure. “You know we can’t wait on that kid too long, only a few minutes.”

Adrian sighed, “I know.” He began to study the home’s interior quietly. He touched an old wooden-framed bed and the stones of the soot-filled fireplace.

Caleb looked at the poorly furnished home and wondered what was so special about it. He looked at Adrian for some kind of clue. After seeing Adrian smile at odd objects, like spoons and a wooden sword, Caleb spoke up. “This is where you grew up, isn’t it?”

Adrian nodded as he held a worn bowl in his hand. He glanced around the small room. “It hasn’t changed much.” He set down the bowl.

Caleb nodded but didn’t say anything for several minutes. Finally he broke the silence, “I’m sorry Adrian.”

Adrian turned to look at Caleb. “What for?” he asked, confused.

“I didn’t realize this was your home…. I shouldn’t have pushed you to leave. I know it can be hard… to say goodbye.”

“That’s alright Caleb, you didn’t know.”

Caleb studied Adrian’s face. “So are you alright?”

Adrian nodded. “Yes, I just…” he trailed off.

Caleb waited.

“I just don’t want to forget them…. With all the running around, getting ready for the coronation, and clearing the land of any remaining Unguls, I’ve felt like I’m losing them again… it’s like I don’t have a family.”

Caleb waited for a minute, then hesitantly said, “But you do have a family; King Richard.”

Adrian smiled. “Yes, I know. And I’m thankful for that… but it’s different. I don’t know. Does this make sense at all?”

Caleb shrugged his shoulders. “Makes sense to me. When you were growing up you had a father, a mother, several brothers… wait did you have a sister?”

Adrian laughed, “No, I did not. Serina says that’s why I have horrible table manners.”

Caleb nodded, then continued, “So you had this big family, and now you just have Richard. And I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with Richard, but he is just one man. I think it’s understandable for you to feel like you’ve lost your family.”

Adrian nodded. “Thank you Doctor Caleb. Now what do I do about it?”

Caleb shrugged. “Not a clue. But I’m sure you’ll figure something out.”

Adrian shook his head and laughed. “Thanks Caleb.”

Caleb stepped back outside, “You know everyone’s waiting on us.”

Adrian sighed as he followed his friend, “Yeah I know. I just don’t want to break a promise.”

Caleb nodded. “I understand… but it is my job to get you to the coronation and… well we are running out of time.” He climbed onto his mount and looked expectantly at Adrian.

Adrian nodded, “You’re probably right. He walked over to Midnight and prepared to hop on.

“Wait!” Alex’s voice called from down the hill.

Adrian stopped and smiled up at Caleb, “Right on time.”

Caleb rolled his eyes, “I guess we can wait a few more minutes.”

Alex soon crested the top of the hill with another boy right beside him.

Josiah suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Adrian too froze in place.

Alex glanced from one to the other with a huge smile plastered on his face. “Surprise!” he yelled.

Caleb looked on confused. “Adrian?” he said quietly.

Adrian paid no attention to Caleb’s words, “Josiah?” he said so quietly, it might have been only to himself.

Josiah blinked and rubbed his eyes, making sure what he was seeing wasn’t one of his imaginations. But when he looked again, Ben was still standing there, staring back at him. Suddenly the world melted away, and Josiah was running.

Adrian could hardly believe what he was seeing, but once Josiah began running towards him, his hesitation disappeared and he ran too.

The two collided in a massive hug, with Adrian lifting Josiah off the ground. They both held onto each other tightly, too overcome with emotion to say a word.

Caleb cleared his throat and turned to Alex, “Who is that?”

Alex giggled, “Isn’t it obvious? They’re brothers.”

Caleb looked back at the two with wonder, “But that’s impossible.”

Books Finding Home sneak peek Writing

2 Comments »
Mar 30

The Warriors Series

by lydiamhill

Image Source: http://cloudwolfanime.deviantart.com/art/Warrior-Cats-Cover-Pictures-of-First-Series-281530096

Recently I’ve been rereading the Warriors series by Erin Hunter. I did not get to enjoy these books when I was a young reader, but in college when I worked with a 6th Grade reading program at a local middle school, I got to see a few kids enjoying this series. My younger sister got into them as well and so eventually I did read them too.

I don’t know why I got the urge to pick them up again this past week but it was fun to read the story again. I love the world the authors created and how they describe this world from a cat’s perspective. They call humans “two legs” and think of cars as “monsters.” I also enjoy the Clan life they’ve created with it’s different roles for cats. There are warriors that protect and hunt, a leader and deputy that run the clan, a medicine cat for treating the sick and injured, apprentices that are learning to be warriors, queens that take care of kits, and elders that are too old to fight or hunt but are still taken care of. Plus the intriguing story of a cat from the pet world entering into the forest cat’s home is perfect for helping us discover the new world with him. I’m really enjoying how the larger story of Fireheart, our protagonist, faces off against his nemesis Tigerclaw. That storyline is weaved throughout the book series.

If you’ve never gotten to read this series and you like a good quick read, or if you’re looking for a good gift for a younger reader, I’d highly recommend the Warriors series. However, there are several series that have been written within this “Warriors” collection. I’ve enjoyed the first series and so has my sister. I think it is both our favorite. There are at least 2 other series after this one and several stand alone books. From what my sister has told me the later series begin to lose their appeal. The writing isn’t as good and contain more misspellings and grammar problems . Also the storylines become less compelling and even seem to go against what we would expect from our favorite characters. It’s as if the authors were just trying to pump books out so fast that they could not keep up with the same quality. So if you do decide to read this series, definitely start with the first one. The first book in the first series is called “Into the Wild.”

And here’s what it looks like. Happy reading!

Image Source: https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9C%D7%95%D7%97%D7%9E%D7%99%D7%9D

Books

Leave a comment »
Jan 12

A Sneak Peek

by lydiamhill

So I’ve been working on a sequel to my first novel Finding Home: The Orphan’s Journey. And I’m still in the editing phase of the book. But for the few of you out there who have read my first book, I thought you’d appreciate a sample of the next one in the series. This book will be titled Finding Home: The Lost Brother and I hope you enjoy this little sample from Chapter 1. Who knows, I may post a few more sneak peeks before I publish this next book.

Finding Home

Josiah stepped into the weather-beaten barn. The small lantern in his hand illuminated a damp structure with several stalls where quiet animals stood staring back at him. It was more unnerving in the dark than it ever was when he had to feed the animals in the light of day. Josiah clung to the thick blanket in his other hand and took a deep breath. “Alright, nothing to be afraid of in here,” he tried to reassure himself.

The wooden panels creaked as a sharp gust of wind came in from the sea. Little streams of air whistled through the cracks in the siding.

Josiah gulped and took another step inside. He jumped as the wind slammed the door shut behind him. “Calm down,” he said quietly. “It’s just wind, it can’t hurt me. He settled down on the damp hay of an empty stall and snuggled in his thick blanket. Josiah wasn’t sure he’d be able to fall asleep in the dark barn, but he tried to get comfortable all the same. It’s nothing like sleeping on the hard ground, and I’ve done that plenty of times….

* * * * *

“Josiah? Come on, we’re moving on, you can’t sleep anymore.”

Josiah saw his father leaning over him. He yawned and wiped his eyes, “Where’d our roof go?” He asked confusedly.

His father laughed, “We don’t have a roof out here. We’re not at our house, remember?”

Josiah stared up at the trees, “Oh yeah. When will we get to go back?”

“Soon, very soon…. Come on now, up you go.”

Josiah sat up and looked around at his brothers also stirring out of their slumbers. He tried to focus on their faces, but they all looked fuzzy, and the harder he looked, the more blurred they became. Soon everything around him was nothing but a haze of colors.

* * * * *

Josiah opened his eyes, everything was dark. “Father?” he whispered.

Something stirred next to him.

Josiah turned and his eyes adjusted to find a chicken snuggled up next to him. “Ah!” he yelped as he jumped up.

The chicken clucked and flapped away.

Josiah sat back down with a sigh, “It was just a dream.”

Books Finding Home sneak peek Writing

Leave a comment »
Jan 5

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

by lydiamhill

Image Source: http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/The_Hobbit:_The_Battle_of_the_Five_Armies

So I finally got through the holiday busyness and had time to go see a movie. I had been wanting to see the Hobbit for quite some time. Since I saw it so late, I inevitably heard people’s opinions about it, before I could see it for myself. One person basically said, “If you liked the others, you’ll like this one,” but wasn’t too impressed with it. Another friend hated it, but mostly because her favorite characters died, which was true to the book. And someone else commented on the movie’s simple message, “Don’t be greedy.”

So as I watched the movie, these opinions stayed with me. And now it’s my turn to add an opinion. I agree that this film is on the same standing with the other Hobbit films. They were good movies, but I connected more with the Lord of the Rings trilogy than this one. I think the characters in the Lord of the Rings were based more on the books, whereas a lot of the Hobbit characters weren’t even in the Hobbit, like Legolas, Saruman, and Azog. And certain relationships weren’t ever in the book either, like Fili’s romantic interest. I think that Peter Jackson tried to add so many extra storylines to the Hobbit, that the original story and it’s charm got a little lost.

But even with these separations from the book, I still liked seeing the same characters from the first two movies develop and the action of the story come to a satisfying end. I may not have connected with the Hobbit as much as LOTR, but I will say I enjoyed the movie. I liked seeing Bard kill the dragon, which I originally thought would be the climax of the second movie. And I particularly enjoyed seeing when Bilbo went home and his neighbors were buying all of his stuff because they thought he had died. And I really enjoyed how Thorin’s greediness was portrayed as coming from the dragon and even melded Cumberbatch’s voice with Thorin’s to show the connection to Smaug.

And at the end of the Hobbit trilogy, I can say Bilbo is my favorite character; his courage and wit, loyalty, and wisdom make him a lovable character. And can I say his face expressions are priceless! So if you haven’t seen the Hobbit movies yet, I hope you do.

Books Movies

Leave a comment »
Oct 9

Poem in Honor of Blood of Olympus

by lydiamhill

 

Image Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blood_of_Olympus

I’m really excited about the last book in the Heroes of Olympus Series by Rick Riordan. I will probably start reading it today. So in honor of it’s release, I’ll post a poem I wrote about how reading a good book can be like a marathon.
Enjoy!

The Marathon

A novel is tricky.
It looks so calm,
lying there on the table,
teasing you with the thought
that by reading
you can relax.

Once the covers open,
the race begins, and if you’re
not careful, you might get caught
in the plot, heart beating faster,
unable to stop the action,
trapped in the quick pace.
One more chapter, one more mile;
the characters push you forward.
Anxious to discover the truth
or finish before your friends;
you keep running.
Chapters fly by, through
forests, castles, entire lives.
You cannot stop until
the last line,
the finish line.

Better stay in shape though.
The sequel will be out soon.

Books Poetry

Leave a comment »
«Older Entries
Newer Entries »
Blog at WordPress.com.