Note: You may be getting sick of me bragging about the new features of the third version of my blog. Fortunately, this is my last feature presentation post, and starting from tomorrow, I will be blogging normally.
Every summer, after I get off of school and get three months of break, I get bored. I usually pass the time up by meeting up with some local friends, vacationing to California, beginning a massive programming project online, practicing
Through the Fire and Flames on the guitar, playing an excessive amount of Tetris, or watching old episodes of Pokémon that I haven’t seen yet. This year, however, I have taken up a new hobby that I never really did much before: reading.
I discovered that reading gives me a good excuse to lay on a comfy couch in a cool, air-conditioned room for hours at a time and not be bothered by reality (unless my dog has to be taken out).
I’ve been finishing books at insanely fast rates lately, and decided that I would share the books I read on my blog. So, similar to the “Question of the Day” or “Photograph of the Day,” I’m going to introduce another section, “What I’m Reading.” (I didn’t pick “Book of the Day” because it didn’t really seem as appealing as I wanted it to be.)
What I’m Reading
Earlier this summer, I finished
Ark Angel, a book in the Alex Rider series, written by
Anthony Horowitz. Since I was in junior high school, I have been enjoying his other books about Alex Rider, particularly the book published immediately prior to this one titled
Scorpia.
After reading
Scorpia, I tried to get a hold of
Ark Angel back in 2006 when it was published, but due to the extreme popularity of the Alex Rider series, I was unable to read
Ark Angel for an extended period of time. Mixed in with my busy life and my slowly fading interest in reading, I didn’t get an opportunity to read
Ark Angel until four years after it was published.
The whole Alex Rider series is about a young teenage boy named Alex that is impossibly clever. He is the archetype of an invincible teenager that all adolescents aspire to be.
In
Ark Angel, Alex Rider finds himself in another dangerous adventure after a fellow patient in a hospital is placed in severe danger. Getting involved once again, Alex faces death in the eyes as he attempts to find out who is truly behind a vicious group of killers named Force Three.
I managed to finish reading this book in one day, and enjoyed it overall. If you are interested in reading this book and have not read the previous books in the Alex Rider series yet, I recommend reading the other books before reading
Ark Angel, as
Ark Angel makes references to characters introduced in previous books. For reference, the previous books are
Stormbreaker,
Point Blank,
Skeleton Key,
Eagle Strike, and
Scorpia.
Question of the Day
A question that I’m frequently asked, primarily by people who need to find a good book to read for a reading project, but also by book enthusiasts, is, “What is your favorite book?”
The straightforward answer to that question is that I don’t have a favorite book, I have three favorite books: Angels & Demons, The Da Vinci Code, and The Lost Symbol, all three written by
Dan Brown. These books form a series revolving around a Harvard symbologist named Robert Langdon. Throughout all the novels, Langdon encounters puzzles and other symbolic messages that he must decrypt to secure the safety of himself and others.
I originally read
The Da Vinci Code when I was in junior high school after many people recommended the book to me based off my personality. A year later, during my ninth grade freshman year in high school, I read
Angels & Demons for a book report and project. Finally, promptly after its publication, I read
The Lost Symbol during my twelfth grade senior year in high school for an independent reading project for my World Literature class.
If you’re into books with high levels of action, intricate plot interlacing, puzzles that make you scratch your head, and conclusions that make you say “OHHH,” these three books are for you. I highly recommend these books to anyone.
As for the movies, I have not yet seen either
The Da Vinci Code or
Angels & Demons, but when I get some time, I am interested in watching both. As for the other two books written by Dan Brown,
Digital Fortress and
Deception Point, I have read neither so far, but plan on reading both within the next few months.
And finally, unreleated to the main content from today but referring to the note at the top, this is my last presentational blog post. Starting from tomorrow, I will be blogging normally about things that happen on that respective day. As for any additional features that I decide to add to my blog after today, those will have to go without an introduction.
That’s all for today, humans; see you tomorrow.
My classic Cheetos and lemonade midnight snack.
The lemonade isn’t in the picture, though. -__-
What I’m Reading
A few days ago, I finished reading a book titled City of Bones, the first book in the Mortal Instruments series, which consists of four books written by Cassandra Clare.
I chose to read this book because it was rated as the #1 book in my high school this past school year, and I thought it was worth reading if so many of my peers enjoyed it.
The main character in the story is a teenage girl named Clarissa Fray more commonly referred to as Clary. On a seemingly normal day, Clary discovers, while at a party, that she has special powers that no normal humans have. After investigating these abiities, Clary soon finds herself involved in a world of Shadowhunters, demons, werewolves, vampires, and fairies. Secrets of her past quickly unravel as she tries to learn the true identities of her parents.
In my opinion, the book was pretty good, even though it didn’t really catch my attention. Basically, it wasn’t a edge-of-your-seat page-turner, but it was still worth the time to read. I would recommend it mostly to high schoolers that have an interest in generic fantasy-themed books.
What I’m Reading
A little while ago, I finished reading a book titled Deception Point by Dan Brown.
After finishing four of Dan Brown’s other books, I knew that this book was going to be a good read. Dan Brown has built an excellent reputation in my mind, and Deception Point only solidified his standpoint. Like his other books, Dan Brown wrote Deception Point as a thriller mystery, with multiple different conflicts occurring at the same time. The chapters switch back and forth from different scenes of the plot, putting equal emphasis on the importance of each of these events. This style of writing also helps the reader understand how the events occur chronologically.
The main character in this book is Rachel Sexton, the daughter of a senator running to become the next president of the United States. As the novel begins, Sexton finds herself in the Artic Circle observing the extraction of a massive rock, supposedly identified as a meteorite from outer space. As NASA investigates the meteorite, they find that there are fossils embedded in the meteorite, proving that extraterrestrial life exists.
Before the world has an opportunity to celebrate, Rachel Sexton and a few other civilian scientists discover some flaws with the meteorite, and begin to question its authenticity. As NASA’s discovery takes a sharp turn in the other direction, Sexton and her friends find their own lives in danger when they find out three mysterious individuals are out hunting for their lives.
In addition to being a good read, this book comes with lots of factual information interlaced in a fictional storyline, making it educational as well as entertaining. All of the technologies described in the book are real and could be used today for the same purposes as they are used in the book.
Also, this is an excellent book for the readers who don’t like finishing a book because they want the story to continue longer. When it seemed like the story was about to come to a conclusion, I checked how far I had gotten and noticed that I was only about half way through the book. With plenty of unexpected twists and turns creating new problems and magnifying old ones, this is a book that will definitely keep you alert and thinking.
Question of the Day
Today is a combination of various different questions I’m asked about my choice of drink: “What is your favorite thing to drink?”
As a direct answer to the question, I would have to say my favorite thing to drink is either lemonade or Mountain Dew. No, it does not matter if the lemonade is yellow or pink.
Some variations of the question are “this or that” questions: Coke or Pepsi? 7-Up or Sprite? Gatorade or Powerade? Honestly, although I will pick one or the other if I’m asked, I don’t really care what my two options are. I am one of those people that are able to taste distinct differences between similar products with different brand names (such as the comparisons mentioned above), but any drink is good, as long as it’s not bitter or alcoholic. Which leads me to the next two questions…
… the first one being, “What is your favorite type of coffee?” If you’re expecting a normal Parkzer answer with sugar measured down to the last milligram and cream measured down to the last quarter ounce, you’re wrong. I hate coffee. Unless I’m stranded and dying on a desert with nothing else to drink, I always pass when offered coffee.
The second is, “What’s your favorite alcoholic beverage?” First of all, I have to mention that in order to have a favorite of a particular item, one has to try various different types of the item in question and identify which type he or she favors most. Seeing as the legal drinking age in the United States of America is 21, and I have lived in the United States all my life, stating my favorite type of alcohol would essentially be a public announcement that I have broken the law. I have no desire to announce myself as a criminal on my own public blog, so the question remains unanswered.
Either way, my theory is that drinking alcohol is the equivalent of committing suicide, just that it’s a lot slower than methods such as shooting yourself in the head or 
I visited the website on that truck, and that company generally does mass document shredding for businesses that want to save money by giving their documents to a third party instead of wasting money on employee income while the employees spend their time at work shredding documents.
So if a tiny residential house calls one of these massive shredder trucks to their house, they must have top-secret documents that must be obliterated. They could have originally outlined a destructive plot that apparently failed.
Such as sending a herd of cows dressed as pirates stampeding through the White House.
What I’m Reading
Note: I have stopped placing copyright notices on pictures I take of the books that I’m reading. Apparently, some people thought the copyright notice on the bottom right-hand corner of the image was me claiming copyright of the actual book, not only the picture. To avoid all confusion, I will no longer place my copyright information on photographs of specific products created or manufactured by other people.
Not long ago, I finished this book, Digital Fortress by Dan Brown. I originally decided to read this book because my three favorite books are Angels & Demons, The Da Vinci Code, and The Lost Symbol, all of which are written by Dan Brown. I went to the fiction section of my local public library and found Dan Brown’s area, and grabbed the two books he wrote that I had not read yet: Digital Fortress and Deception Point.
Digital Fortress‘ main conflict occurs within a secret area of the government dedicated to cracking codes and keeping an eye on the American people by intercepting their electronic communications and making sure no terrorist activity is found.
Obviously, in modern times, a majority of us are concerned about our privacy. We’re worried that people are spying on us and finding out pesonal information that we would rather keep to ourselves. Many people become furious when told that the government can track an individual’s location by their cell phone, and tap in to an individual’s phone and electronic mail conversations. This issue of privacy intricately weaves itself into the main plotline, affecting both the heroes and the villians.
I managed to finish this book in one day, and I thought it was a good read. I particularly liked this book because of its close connection with modern-day technologies and issues of the modern-day electronic world. Anyone with an interest in and general background knowledge of computers should love this book, as they will have an insight as to what is going on.
I remembered reading a book about this big red dog about fifteen years ago, and I thought long and hard to try to remember the name of this peculiar dog.
After much trouble, I finally concluded that its name was Charlie.
Then I looked at the juice box again and saw that the big red dog was wearing a big white name tag with the word “Clifford” on it.
The dog’s name is Clifford.
Not Charlie.
I so knew that.
What I’m Reading
About a week or so ago, I finished reading the seventh and final installment of the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
Although managing to get a hold of the book and reading it over three years after its long-awaited release, and hearing from other sources about what had happen in the seventh book, the storyline still captivated me enough that I was able to finish the entire book in two days.
Ever since I was a first grader, I have been reading J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books with interest and amazement, and the books have only gotten better as the years progressed. Although an intimidating 759 pages and about two inches in thickness, every minute I spent reading it was well worth the time.
In this final piece of Harry’s epic journey, the reader learns the struggles Harry and his two best friends go through as they search for and destroy the Horcruxes, an action required to put a final end to the evil Lord Voldemort.
As expected, and like any other fantasy novel, our hero succeeds; but at what cost? Harry inadvertently places the lives of others around him in mortal danger as he attempts to kill the man responsible for both his parents’ deaths. Who will live and who will die? And what is the ultimate fate of Harry Potter?
Finishing this book gave me a sense of relief as it put a close to a journey I have been following for more than ten years. My two favorite things about this book are the fact that it reveals the true story behind Snape (who has secretly been my favorite character all along, as I knew there was more to him than just a mean professor), and the epilogue at the end.
The movie of the seventh book will come out in two parts, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II; the first part will be released on November 19, 2010, and the second part will be released on July 15, 2011. I can’t wait to see both parts of the movie, and they will be the final visual addition to Harry Potter, the story about a boy that I will remember for the rest of my life.