iPad: The Blog Killer

Two months ago, I bought my iPad, which is around the same time my last entry was posted. Do you see the connection? Every day I drove to work thinking that I will post something from my iPad today. However, every time I get a hold of my iPad, I am either reading, playing games, reading news...doing everything but blogging. Today morning I made a decision that I will write an entry the old school way - on my computer :)

After my rant, I am sure you have figured out why the title of the blog is "iPad: The Blog Killer."

Here is what all I have on my iPad:

1. Books: I uploaded tons of books on the iPad. I downloaded the apps iBooks, Kindle and Nook. I have used both iBooks and Kindle. All the classics books are free online. On top of that, Amazon has tons of free books, which include Tagore and historical non-fictions about India. I really liked the ability to highlight and comment on text and look up words in the dictionary while you are reading.

2. Games: I downloaded tons of games. The best ones are Fruit Ninja, Angry Birds, Sudoku, and Mahjong. What can I say? I am a nerd at heart.

3. Music: I love listening to music when I am doing chores around the house and having them on my iPad is definitely a plus. These two music apps, Shazam and SoundHound, recognize songs. It has happened many times when I have listened to a song on the radio and did not know the singer/band/album. Now I just record 30 seconds of it and let these apps figure out the song. It is awesome!!!

4. Photo editing apps: I am a sucker for photo shop and having the apps that make it easier definitely makes the whole iPad fun.

5. Other apps: I have news apps, entertainment apps (StumbleUpon), and social apps (Facebook and Twitter)

As you can tell, I love my iPad. Now if I can just find some cool noise-cancelling headphones :)

On to the books: I have read many books since my last book post. I am too lazy to talk too much about any of them.

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bend - 5/10 - Some books start off good but leave a bitter taste in your mouth at the end. This was definitely one of those.

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead (Audio Book) - 9/10 - This book is among the good books I read this year.

What is This Thing Called Love? by Gene Wilder  - 7/10

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman (Audio Book) - 10/10 - I am a fan of Neil Gaiman and love everything by him. This book was not an exception. I loved it. The book is actually based on the BBC show called "Neverwhere."

Serious Men by Manu Joseph - 9/10 - This was an excellent book. I felt this was better than The White Tiger.

I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak (Audio Book) - 7/10 - I am still so confused about the ending. If anybody knows what happened at the end, please let me know.

The Arabian Nights (Children version) - 10/10- I missed lots of stories but at the same time, the book brought back childhood memories. I remember reading Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves in grade school and some other stories. Someday I want to pick up the unabridged version of The Arabian Nights.

The Late, Lamented Molly Marx by Sally Koslow (Audio Book) - 8/10 - It is a chic lit - enjoyable.

Arranged Marriage by Chitra Divakaruni - 8/10 - I was so looking forward to Chitra Divakaruni's Arranged Marriage. It was good; however, I must warn you, the stories are depressing.

London is the Best City in America by Laura Dave (Audio Book) - 8/10 - Another chic lit- enjoyable.

Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok - 9.5/10 - This was a really good book.

The story deals with Asian American emigration experience. Kim, who immigrated to America, has to balance between work life (she is underage) and school life. She works to help her mother and make ends meet. It is really a touching story.

The Devil and Sherlock Holmes: Tales of Murder, Madness, and Obsession  by David Grann (Audio Book) - 8/10 - There are some topics that just appeal to me, and Sherlock Holmes is one of them. I have never read any of the mysteries but the books are definitely on my list. This book deals with real life events of "murder, madness, and obsession." I would listen to the stories and then check online afterwards for the full stories and the current status. I felt some stories did not relate; thus, I am giving it an 8. I highly recommend this book, along with other book that I rated above 7.

I read few more but I will talk about them in a separate posts.

I signed up the Audio Book Challenge last year. I chose the obsessed level, which was listening to 20 audio books. I had listened to 16 audio books before I took a hiatus. This post has five audio books, which puts me at 21 audio books. I just finished The M-factor, another audio book and will start The Hunger Games tomorrow. The total for this year is 23 audio books. I am done with the challenge. Yay!!!! This was fun. I am going to sign up again and will make a separate post.

P.S. I got my CPA license.

The Graveyard Book Movie

Awesome news for all Gaiman fans: The Graveyard Book is going to be a movie. There was a rumor that the project was dead. Neil Gaiman posted this article on his Facebook page last week. Here is a piece of the article related to the book:

The Graveyard Book is being adapted as a live-action feature to be written and directed by Neil Jordan (The Crying Game, The Brave One, Ondine). The story is Gaiman's nod to The Jungle Book where a young boy is raised by the ghostly, ghoulish occupants of a graveyard, instead of animals. It sounds like the project is moving forward the exact same as it was earlier this year. Wayfare Entertaiment, Framestore (the visual effects company) and Gaiman will also produce, and CJ will co-finance the film and distribute in Korea and Japan. "The projects we are developing together meet our shared goal of producing movies for the global audience," Columbus said. "We see this as just the beginning of many terrific movies together." I hope so!

I am too excited and cannot wait for this movie.

 

I finished As It was Written by Sujatha Hampton today in lunch time and will review it soon. I also started The Last Time I Saw You (Audio Book) by Elizabeth Berg this morning.

    

Now back to work, something I get paid to do.

Coraline Graphic Novel - Neil Gaiman

Another Neil Gaiman...well not really. I listened to the audio book of Coraline last year. I enjoyed the audio book so much so when I saw the graphic novel, I checked it out. I felt it was a very good depiction of the original book. I think the "Other Mother" in the movie was designed after the "Other Mother" from the graphic novel.

I had imagined the events in the book certain way. So when I watched movie, I was disappointed in a way. The book and the movie are very different. The graphic novel is very true to the book. I enjoyed reading it. I give this book 9/10.

More Neil Gaiman - M is for Magic

Neil Gaiman has become one of my favorite authors. I think I have said that enough times and I will continue to say it until I am done with all his books. So far I have read the following:

1. Coraline (Audio CD)
2. Odd and the Frosted Giants (Audio CD)
3. The Graveyard Book (Audio CD)
4. M is for Magic - Hardcover (Reviewing now)

Currently I am reading Coraline Graphic Novel. I can't wait to check out his other books.

Well...here is a review of M is for Magic. The book is a collection of short children stories. Before I start on the content of the stories, I must say one thing. I feel that Neil Gaiman books are better in audio cd format than paper format. I think Neil Gaiman brought the other books to life by narrating them. When authors are writing the novels, they have a certain personality in mind for each character. Neil Gaiman got a chance to portray those personalities through the audio books. So when I read M is for Magic, it didn't have Neil Gaiman's "magic" in it. For some reason I couldn't connect with the stories as I did with his other works. I strongly believe that was due to Gaiman narrating the stories.

Here are the titles of the short stories (courtesy of Wikipedia) and my short descriptions after them:

• "The Case Of The Four And Twenty Blackbirds" - This story is about the death of Humpty Dumpty, which was actually a murder. Little Jack Horner is hired to solve the mystery. I personally didn't enjoy the story as much. It was okay.
• "Troll Bridge" - Also printed in Smoke and Mirrors by Neil Gaiman - This story is about a Troll who lives under the bridge. A little boy meets him and promises to come back if the troll doesn't eat him. He promises to come back again and again. Readers have to read to find out if he goes back or not. I didn't enjoy it as much either.
• "Don't Ask Jack" (Smoke and Mirrors) - The story is about Jack in the Box that sits in an attic waiting. As per my description, you can probably tell that this was my least favorite of all. And I am starting to think that Gaiman really likes the name Jack.
• "How To Sell The Ponti Bridge" - Members of the Rogues Club in the Seven Worlds are suppose to be biggest cons around. However, a man name Stoat tells them how he pulled off biggest and easiest (according to the members) scam of all time. This was definitely one of the best stories in the entire book. I enjoyed this one very much and was wondering how Neil Gaiman would portray each character especially Stoat.
• "October In The Chair" - Twelve months are sitting around the fire in the month of October. Since it is his month, he sits in the Chair. Each month tells a story and "month of the month" tells his story last. However, October goes ahead and tells his story first. His story is about a little boy who runs away from home because he is not appreciated at home. He meets a ghost boy. There is more to the story but I don't want to spoil it. I enjoyed this story.  All I have to say that story leaves the readers wondering.  
• "Chivalry" (Smoke and Mirrors) - Mrs. Whitaker purchases a silver goblet. Knight Gaalad arrives at Mrs. Whitaker's door, time and again, with varied offerings in exchange for the "Holy Grail", which he needs to complete his quest. Mrs. Whitaker is finally convinced to trade for the ancient items. This was an interesting story. I am still unsure how I felt about this story. I enjoyed it but at the same time there was something missing.
• "The Price" (Smoke and Mirrors) - A Black Cat arrives at a man's house and stays. Every morning the man notices that the cat has scratches and marks and is hurt. He figures that the cat had a fight with another animal during the night. One night he decides to stay awake and find out what or whom the black is fighting. This was my 3rd favorite after "Sunbird."
• "How to Talk to Girls at Parties" (Fragile Things) A boy who is too shy to talk to girls ends up at a party of girls. As his friend Vic says, "They're just girls," ... "They don't come from another planet." Right? This was a weird story. I didn't like it that much. As per Gaiman's website, this story was nominated for Hugo Award 2007. Read it to find out why because I don't know why.
• "Sunbird" (Noisy Outlaws) - An Epicurean Club with five distinguished members have tasted all sorts of creatures except for Sunbird. One member says he knows how to get his hands on the creature - in Egypt. They successfully catch the bird and even cook it. But then something happens...I won't say anymore. I really liked the concept of this story. I think this could easily be converted into a book. Shall I say any more...
• "The Witch's Headstone"  - This story is part of The Graveyard Book; thus, I did not read this story. I highly recommend The Graveyard Book.
• "Instructions" (first published in Wolf at the Door) - a Poem. It is a set of instructions of what to do if you find yourself inside a fairy tale. Quite interesting.

I think that is enough on this book. Overall, I found it so-so. I give this book 7/10. I might try this out in audio just to see/feel/hear the difference.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

After listening to Neil Gaiman present The Graveyard Book, I have concluded that he is one of the best storytellers. Again, he did an excellent job creating the characters.

Here is the summary of the book:

Nobody (Bod) Owens is raised by the ghosts of the graveyard. His family was murdered by the Man Jack when Nobody Owens was a baby. He learns the ways of the graveyard such as fading, dreamwalking, etc. However, his ghost family cannot always protect him or shield him from the outside world. 

This book was awesome. There are short incidents of Bod's life such as his graveyard teachers from early 16th and 17th century, his days in school, Silas who is his guardian, and his encounter with the Man Jack. There is so much more than these few mentioned above. Readers will find out the reason behind the murders and other supernaturals. There are ghouls, vampires, werewolves, sleers, and ofcourse ghosts. There is so much that it leaves the readers hungry for more in the end. I have no comments about the ending. It was bitter-sweet for me which made me like this book even more.

I discussed this book with a colleague and we both concluded that we would love a sequel. There is so much more things to imagine. We want to meet Bod again and hear more about his life. I want to say so much more but I am afraid that I might give away some spoilers.

What's more exciting is reading about a possible movie for this book. Here is Neil Gaiman's journal entry about the movie. I am excited. I wonder if it will be an animated movie like Coraline. I would love to see this movie as real people with computer-generated imagery.

I will give this book 9.5 out of 10.

This book qualifies for the Audio Book Challenge.

Neil Gaiman is back!!!

I finished Odd and the Frosted Giants by Neil Gaiman today on my way back home. It was read by Neil Gaiman and I think he is one of the best readers out there. He did an excellent job.

Summary: "Winter is lasting forever in the far north. But when 12-year-old Odd helps a trapped bear, he meets an eagle and a fox – all of whom are actually Norse gods trapped in animal form by the frost giants who have conquered the city of the gods. Odd must reclaim Thor's hammer, outwit the giants, and release the gods." Source: Audio Editions

I enjoyed the book very much. Neil Gaiman is an excellent storywriter and storyteller. His voice makes the listeners believe in the characters and I felt that he himself was enjoying reading the book. I look forward to his other works. I give this book 9 out of 10.

This is it. This is the last post of the year. Time to head to the party!!!

I hope next year brings lots of happiness and success to everybody.

Coraline - Neil Geiman

During our daily walk, Christina and I discussed Coraline by Neil Geiman when she was listening to it. The story captivated me. I had seen trailers of the movie, and wondered if which is better: book or the movie. Well, I found out as I finished the book mid-week last week and watched the movie over the past weekend.

The book is a children's novel. It is a cute horror book. The story is about Coraline, which is obvious. The family moves into a home, and Coraline, who loves to explore, is bored. She decides to explore the house and finds a secret door, which is closed. At night, the brick wall disappears and the secret door leads to a different world, which is copy of Coraline's real world. However, in this other world, Coraline has an "Other" mother and an "Other" father. The world is fun and exciting. The difference between her real parents and her "other" parents is that her "other" parents have buttons for eyes. They tell Coraline that they have been waiting for her and would like her to stay with them forever with one condition, which is that Coraline lets them sew buttons on her eyes. Coraline refuses and goes back to her real world. The other mother, who has constructed this other world for Coraline, kidnaps Coraline's real parents to lure her back. Coraline goes back to save her parents, and my summary ends here. I won't reveal the end, or what happens to the characters.

I didn't find the "buttons for eyes" creepy. However, I did find the mice's song creepy. I will give this book 8.5 out of 10. I look forward to listening to The Graveyard Book by Neil Geiman in near future.

I watched the movie over the weekend. I was not disappointed as the movie stayed very close to the book. I enjoyed the movie. I missed the songs that were in the audio book, but not in the movie. The movie also added a new character, a little boy, but I think that was to make the movie longer as the book is very short. In conclusion, the book was better than the movie.