See Europe From Your Own Computer

Happy 4th of July!
I knew that my family and friends would want to know every detail from my recent trip to Europe, so I decided to create a slide show with my pictures from the trip. Then I got the idea to talk about my trip on The Bookshelf. However, instead of writing a long, run-on post (remember the last post?), I decided adding the slide show would be a good way to communicate the events of my trips to my readers. Unfortunately, since I won't be there with you, I won't be able to tell you about the places that I visited. There are captions, but you still may not know what the things in the pictures are, so I would be glad to answer any questions from you. If you have a question (or comment), just leave it in the "comment section". I'll try to respond as quickly as possible. Unfortunately (again), the font I had originally used, is not compatible with Blogger, so I had to use a default font. A few other things weren't compatible either, but it doesn't distract from the slide show.

I hope you like this slide show, and enjoy seeing France and Spain through your computer screen.

Long Time, No Post

Hi everyone,
I'm sorry that it has been so long since the last post, but I have been very busy, and very tired the past five days. Since it has been so long since the last post, I have decided to make one big post with everything I've been meaning to tell you. I will number each new topic:

1. My trip to Europe:
As I mentioned in previous posts, I was on a school trip to France and Spain from the 19th to the 28th. While in France, I traveled to Paris and Provence. Provence is located in south France, and is known as a region or department (these are similar to states). Our group then traveled to Barcelona, Spain. I enjoyed visiting all of these places in Europe, and will talk about them more (and add more pictures! :D) in later posts.

2. What I read in Europe:
Nothing. Of course, I read signs, menus, and price tags, but I did not have any time to enjoy a book. Two posts ago, I told you about two books that I was going to read on the trip. Unfortunately, I never picked one of them up, because we were waking up at 6am, and going to sleep at 11pm. With this busy schedule, we were happy if our feet didn't have blisters. We wouldn't know what to do if our tour director told us to take an one-hour break. I'm not saying that we didn't have fun, but there was never a moment when our group had nothing to do.

3. What I've been reading:
Since getting home, I've read Android Karenina, one of the two books mentioned two posts ago. It's the same as Anna Karenina, but with added robots. It's published by the same people who created the Jane Austen mash-ups (remember Pride and Prejudice and Zombies?). I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys sci fi, and anyone who is skeptical to read the 800+ page, soap opera-like original by Leo Tolstoy.

4. Book Ends:
Recently, my gifted teacher has started a summer enrichment program. One of the options to choose from this program is a book club, called Book Ends. I was unable to attend the first meeting, because I was on my trip, but I plan to attend the next on Tuesday, the 6th. The first book that the club will be reading is His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik. Click the link to learn more about the book. While I don't think that I'll be able to finish the book by Tuesday (since I only have three days, one of which is a holiday), I will certainly start it, so I know what my classmates are talking about. I will publish another post on Tuesday, after the meeting.

5. What I'm reading next:
A little bit of His Majesty's Dragon, the next Book Ends book, and Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin.

6. Three Cups of Tea:
Published in 2006, this book became a worldwide phenomenon. It tells the story of Greg Mortenson, and how after he made a failed attempt to climb K2 (second highest mountain in the world), found his way into a Pakistan village. He made a promise to come back to that village and build a school for the villagers. After completing that school, Greg went on to build 54 more schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan, many for girls. I plan to write a review for this book once I finish it.

7. My messed-up sleeping and eating schedule:
There's a six hour time difference between here and France/Spain. Since returning to the States my sleep and appetite have been very strange. On the first day that I arrived home, I went to sleep at my normal time (10pm,) and woke up at 11am! On the following day I went to sleep at 7pm, and woke up at 3:45am! Since I woke up at 3:45am, that meant I was hungry for breakfast then, and wanted dinner at about 3:30pm. Luckily, after five days, my sleeping and eating schedules are becoming more normal. There still not normal, just more normal. :)

8. Poll results:
You can see them under the "about me" section. There not exactly accurate (read previous post), but they're close enough. Remember that's only the results from "part 2" of Poll #2.

I think that is all I have to say for right now. I'm sure I'm probably forgetting something, but I'll just have to put that in another post. Wow, this is probably the longest post I've ever wrote (2nd being Enter the World of eReaders)! Be on the lookout for posts about my trip to Europe, the Books Ends book club, and Three Cups of Tea.

Thank you for your patience on the length of time between posts!

Vacation Reads

It's always good to bring reading material with you on a vacation. But, it's especially good when you're vacationing in a foreign country, where all the bookstores sell books that appear to be in gibberish. For my trip, I'm bringing two books: 1 long (600+ pgs.), 1 short (just shy of 200 pgs.).

The long one, Android Karenina, is a mash-up of the original Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, but with added robots. It's from the same series with the mashed-up Jane Austen books. Here's the publisher's synopsis:

As in the original novel, our story follows two relationships: the tragic adulterous romance of Anna Karenina and Count Alexei Vronsky, and the much more hopeful marriage of Konstantin Levin and Kitty Shcherbatskaya. These four, yearning for true love, live in a steampunk-inspired 19th century of mechanical butlers, extraterrestrial-worshiping cults, and airborne debutante balls. Their passions alone would be enough to consume them-but when a secret cabal of radical scientific revolutionaries launches an attack on Russian high society's high-tech lifestyle, our heroes must fight back with all their courage, all their gadgets, and all the power of a sleek new cyborg model like nothing the world has ever seen.

The short one, The Prince of Mist, is an internationally acclaimed, award-winning book. This book was originally published in 1993 by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. However, it was not published in the U.S. until this past May, due to many legal issues between the author and publisher. Publisher's synopsis:

It's war time, and the Carver family decides to leave the capital where they live and move to a small coastal village where they've recently bought a home. But from the minute they cross the threshold, strange things begin to happen. In that mysterious house still lurks the spirit of Jacob, the previous owners' son, who died by drowning.

With the help of their new friend Roland, Max and Alicia Carver begin to explore the strange circumstances of that death and discover the existence of a mysterious being called the Prince of Mist--a diabolical character who has returned from the shadows to collect on a debt from the past. Soon the three friends find themselves caught up in an adventure of sunken ships and an enchanted stone garden--an adventure that will change their lives forever.

When I get back from my trip (28th), I will write reviews/recommendations for these two books (If I get a chance to read them-I don't know how much reading time I will have.).

This will probably be last post before I leave for my vacation to France and Spain. So, au revoir and adios!

Poll #2: Reading in the Skies

In less than one week I'll be aboard an airplane, traveling to Paris. It's going to be a long flight (depart at 7pm, arrive at 8:30am), and for the few hours when I'm not asleep, I'll need something to do. Usually when going on an airplane, I bring my ipod, magazines, and, of course, books. However, despite my love for books, I sometimes find it difficult to read on an airplane. Maybe it's the loud, roar of the engine, or the distracting view outside the window. Or maybe, it's the movie playing during the flight. The movie, while silent to those with no headphones, can still be distracting. The last time I was on a plane, Spider Man was playing, and I couldn't help but look up at the screen every 2 or 3 minutes.

All this talk of airplanes leads to my poll question: Do you read on an airplane? The question is followed by four answer options. Like last time, you can find the poll under the "about me" section. Please vote; I enjoy seeing how my readers' opinions differ from my own.

As I said earlier, I'll be vacationing in Paris. I'll also be going to Provence, France and Barcelona, Spain. I'll be going with my French teacher, and some of her other students. Unfortunately, I'll be gone from the 19th to the 28th, so there will be ten days with no posts! I promise to publish double my usual amount of posts when I return! :)