Poetry Friday (13)

To whom it may concern:


Every Friday I'll post one poem that I wrote. Here's my poem for this Friday.


Loosing the Edge

A split tongue, the bitter slice,
choosing sides in Double Dutch,
or teeth dust.
Black sand, and tepid toes,
shale that snaps like toffee,
or snake fronds.
The road ahead spoons,
and my foresight 50/50.
But there are so many tomorrows,
until there aren't.
Thus conscious makes cowards of us all.


Later guys,
Adam

Poetry Friday (12)

To whom it may concern:


Every Friday I'll post one poem that I wrote. Here's my poem for this Friday.


Judgement Day Generation

Open the chasm to the fleeing flock,
wish well our muddied conscious,
prey to God and hope for handouts
of illumination and a better world.

Of what life is at the brink of death
so many say many varying things.
But reapers and saints are locked away
in dusty dank closets in the ground.

A blackness beyond, not a blackness within,
and the tunnel of light should be life.
Don't turn aside the foulest plights
for love of the eternal dead ideal.

Open heart for an open end is closed,
when good comes knocking locking
doors will shut out wishes and fears.
Don't break us all for your happy ending.


Later guys,
Adam

BEA and NYC

To whom it may concern:

I'm heading off to NYC! On the 27th of this month, I will be on my way to the Big Apple. I will be traveling with my girlfriend, Genevieve (Thursday of FiveAwesomeYAFans and Genevieve's Blog), and meeting up with Devyn (Monday from FiveAwesomeYAFans and The Faerie Drink Review) and Korianne from Korianne Speaks. We will be hosting the Teen Author Carnival at Jefferson Market Branch Library. I'm looking forward to meeting up with fellow book bloggers and visiting New York. I wont be updating while I'm in NYC, I don't know if I'll have any internet access. Expect some pictures when I get back, maybe even some video footage.

Until I write again,

Adam

Poetry Friday (11)

To whom it may concern:


Every Friday I'll post one poem that I wrote. Here's my poem for this Friday.

iWish

First is not necessarily strongest.

Only time can really tell

Right from wrong

Because

I

Don't think I

Didn't want

Everything I don't have. I

Never thought I would want what i do, or

Like the way this tearing feels.

One with, one wanted.

Valor vs vanity.

Everyone is better off not knowing.

Right?

Later guys,
Adam

Share the load!

To whom it may concern:

Hello everyone. It seems as though it has been awhile since I last posted, I don't actually think it has been that long in terms of days, but I have had a lot going on. It's getting near the end of the semester and everything seems to have piled up. It's weird how sometimes when you have so much going on it seems as though more time has past than really has. So I suppose if all of you are busy too, then it has been awhile since I posted.

Actually, on the topic of people's concept of time I will share with you a tidbit of wisdom from one of my English teachers. Bit of an odd fellow actually, but he had some funny, and some wise things to say. We were discussing immortality as a theme in literature, and the blessings and curses of living forever, and mentioned the he had determined the best way to live a long and happy life. All of his students wanted to hear this secret so he told us this: “You know how it feels like time moves more slowly when you are bored” class: “yes” teacher: “Well that's the secret. If you live your entire life being bored, it will feel like it is going much much slower than everyone else's. The only trick then is to find a way to be happy being bored, and you will live a long an happy life.” Take that as you will.

So I was talking to one of my friends yesterday, and we were reminiscing about a Lord of the Rings marathon we had had a while ago. It was a ten hour Lotr-fest complete with pizza and blankets, and with 12 good friends some of the random things that were said that night will go down in inside joke history. In our discussing this event we were talking about one of the inside jokes, a line we all found to be particularly funny, for no particular reason: Samwise Gamgee's “Share the load.” Of course there is no way to convey through writing the hilarity contained within this overly drawn out plea to help Frodo with the burden of the ring. In any case, I come to the reason I brought this up: to show you my work of art, referencing this line:



It is okay if you don't think it's funny. I do.

Anyway, I will have another review soon, until then,
Adam

Poetry Friday (10)

To whom it may concern:

Every Friday I'll post one poem that I wrote. Here's my poem for this Friday.



In Sevens

Is it dark where you are?

Are you standing in the shade?

Will your heart discover?

Can your smallest dreams be made?

Evil has a mistress.

Darkness has an only son.

You will be in distress,

when it all is said and done.

In the heated moment,

hopes and wishes fall like rain.

The closer to hellbent,

that much closer to the pain.

Are you frightened by me?

Am I feeding on your fears?

Should I set the truth free?

Will it cause too many tears?

Later guys,
Adam

The Sword of Truth review

To whom it may concern:

Hey guys,

Um... A bit tired today, so I'm going to cheat.

"How's he going to cheat!" they ask


Two ways-- One, I will be reviewing a series instead of one book. Two, It's a series I started a while ago.

Okay, here we go:

Today I am reviewing the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind. And I guess I have to say right off the bat, one of the reasons I've wanted to review this series is that I want to have atleast something on my blog that gets five stars. If you haven't read it, read it! If you have read it, love it!


Summary from Barnes and Noble.com (for book one):

"In the aftermath of the brutal murder of his father, a mysterious woman, Kahlan Amnell, appears in Richard Cypher's forest sanctuary seeking help ... and more. His world, his very beliefs, are shattered when ancient debts come due with thundering violence.

In their darkest hour, hunted relentlessly, tormented by treachery and loss, Kahlan calls upon Richard to reach beyond his sword-- to invoke within himself something more noble. Neither knows that the rules of battle have
just changed ... or that their time has run out.

This is the beginning. One book. One Rule. Witness the birth of a legend."



The first book starts off this action packed series with a resounding bang that left me realing. And for the most part, the books only get better from there on out. You fall in love with the characters. You feel swept up in the events and it is almost as though you are transported to Goodkind's beautifully described landscapes and settings. Not only is the series an excellent example of premier fantasy but it is thought provoking and deep and has themes that almost every person in the world can associate to.






This series gets a solid five stars from me. Because it really did change the way I look at life. Some of the books themselves are not five star worthy but as a collected whole, the series is probably some of the best literature I have ever read.










One Star:


The story line. It is hard enough to write a story that is interesting and cohesive in one 600 page novel. But Goodkind did it in eleven. And it is not as though there are eleven separate but interesting stories, all of the books have one overarching storyline which is epic, endearing, exciting, and lasting.







Two Stars:

The Protagonist. Richard is the most respectable, interesting, and all around awesome character I've ever read. And on top of that, he is never annoying. Ask me about annoying protagonists sometime and I can give you a two hour rant that ranges from Luke Skywalker to Harry Potter. But you never want to smack Richard upside the head, for not seeing something you saw in the plot line or for making irrational emotional decision that you as the reader would never see anyone doing. And most of all, he doesn't whine about having to be the hero.





One Star:

The other characters. Not only does Sword of Truth have an amazing protagonist, but the rest of the cast of characters are so lifelike and full fill their roles perfectly. From the comical ever hungry wizard Zedd to the stunning, intelligent and charming Kahlan, and the terrifying, blood chilling characters of Darken Rahl and Jangang. The characters of The Sword of Truth are the stuff of dreams (in a good way).





One Star:

The philosophical aspects. I mentioned in my Paper Towns blog that John Green's books are like philosophy in a bottle. And the reason I like that style of writing is because of The Sword of Truth. I found myself, while reading many of the books, stunned that the book could be a fascinating story and a, at times, chillingly accurate social commentary.





I've read books that have philosophy in them but most of them tend to include the philosophy of the the narrator and shove their opinions down your throat. But The Sword Of Truth allows its philosophical concepts to be expressed by the characters in situations, allowing you to form your own opinions about what is happening. By the way, does anyone know a synonym for philosophy? Because I've used a variation of the word 'philosophy' seven times in the paragraph and a nice synonym would do me a world of good.









I suppose this post is going to have to be long than I originally thought that it was going to be. I guess 'cheating' did me no good. But I can't justify writing a blog about The Sword of Truth without mentioning the new television series, Legend of the Seeker, that is based on The Wizard's First Rule (the first book in the series if you didn't catch the title from the picture).





The Legend of the Seeker suffers from based on book syndrome as do many other popular movie or television adaptations from literature. If you read the books, and then proceed to watch the TV show, you will be either slack jawed in disbelief or angrily throwing things because the writers for the show use the plot of Wizard's First Rule like Barbarossa uses the Pirates Code: it's more of a guideline than actual rules (Pirates of the Caribbean reference!). The only thing that maintains some accuracy to the books are the characters but Legend of the Seeker Richard (Craig Horner) falls short of my expectations for Richard. Kahlan (Bridget Reagan) and Zedd (Bruce Spence) are good. If you know the books well, you'll be very disappointed. However, that being said, the series in itself is interesting and well paced. If you view it as a standalone piece, separate from the books, it is quite good.




Okay, that's all. Please do read Sword of Truth if you haven't (a tall order for all of you slow readers out there, sorry!).


Until my next blog.


Best Wishes,


Adam

Poetry Friday (9)

To whom it may concern:

Every Friday I'll post one poem that I wrote. Today's poem is a shorter one, but I hope you like anyways. Here's my poem for this Friday.



Ideas

The most brilliant idea came to me today.
A story that will drop the softened jaws of critics.
A tone and mood that would play the virtuosos' strings.
It fell through my memory like black sand through a sieve.
I don't have it anymore.


Later guys,
Adam