The Story

Smashing Magazine is, imo, one of the best online magazines for web designers and developers. They have awesome articles, inspirational gallery posts, showcase great fonts and icons, and are just generally all-around useful and a fabulous resource. I’m subscribed to the RSS feed, and I go through the older posts on an almost daily basis for help with what I’m working on at that point in time.

The authors of Smashing Magazine decided (with the help of their readers) to put together a more in-depth book covering some of the big topics for successful websites. The book covers topics that anyone who is even remotely involved with website creation would find useful. The book covers user interface design, basic CSS layouts, typography, usability, colour, optimization, conversion rates and branding. It also has interviews with some of the better known web people, and the story behind Smashing Magazine.

The Review

First, the good: this book does go in depth into these topics. It’s not just some brief overview or a couple of pointers for great websites. It explains what things mean and why you should do things certain ways – for example, it explains that you don’t want to open links in new windows because it takes control away from the user, it makes the website operate in a way that they don’t expect, and it can basically make a user unhappy. And an unhappy user is a user who doesn’t stick around on your website. (I so want to lend this book to an old boss just for that chapter, as he has a bit of a penchant for opening every single link in a new window.)

Another good thing is that there are a lot of images involved to illustrate what they are talking about – especially helpful for the chapters on colour, conversion rates and branding. It’s especially nice that the images were high quality and that they were printed in colour &ndash not all books would do this, as it can be more expensive for printing, but it was definitely highly appreciated.

A fair amount of information I have read before, but it was a good refresher. And there were some things that I have marked off that I have already started putting into practice on my work’s website.

Now for the not-so-good: because the book was written by so many people it didn’t read all the same. Which wasn’t bad for a lot of it, but when there are multiple authors for certain chapters, and each section of the chapters read differently, it was a little distracting. For example, in the usability chapter the section on web forms gives stats on what is used how often, but the section on dropdown menus gave examples of why each option is good or bad. I would’ve liked to hear pros and cons for forms, or stats for dropdown menus, as well, just to keep it consistent.

The other not-so-good thing was that, while it’s awesome there were so many images, the images weren’t always near the text that was talking about it. In the chapter about branding, there were a number of times when the screencaps of websites described were a whole double page spread away from the text about it. Or, if the images couldn’t be closer, a URL to the website that was being spoken about would have been most helpful.

The Bottom Line

This book isn’t necessarily a must-have for web developers and designers – the majority, if not all, of the content covered in the book can be found online. That said, even if you’ve read the content before, it definitely is a good refresher, and there are parts that would come in handy if you prefer to get your info from a quick flip through to the right chapter as opposed to searching on the internet for what you’re looking for. Would recommend it as a read to those who are involved with creating websites – whether it’s the front end or the back end.

Other Reviews

Have you reviewed this book on your blog? Let me know and I’ll add your link.

Here are some of my all-time favourite opening lines. I know some of them are probably a bit cliche, but they really are that great and most certainly deserve to be considered a favourite.

1. “Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again” From Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca. Originally Published 1938. LT.
2. “If it had not rained on a certain May morning, Valancy Stirling’s whole life would have been entirely different.” From L.M. Montgomery’s The Blue Castle. Originally Published 1926. LT.
3. “Mr and Mrs Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.” From J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Originally Published 1997. LT.
4. “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” From Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Originally Published 1813. LT.
5. “I still remember the day my father took me to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books for the first time.” From Carlos Ruiz Zafón’s The Shadow of the Wind. Originally Published in Spanish in 2001; Originally Translated in 2004. LT.
6. “‘There are dragons in the twins’ vegetable garden.’” From Madeline L’Engle’s A Wind in the Door. Originally Published 1973. LT.
7. “Coraline discovered the door a little while after they moved into the house.” From Neil Gaiman’s Coraline. Originally Published 2002. LT.
8. “‘I’m dying,’ said the voice.” From Tim Bowler’s Frozen Fire. Originally Published 2006. LT.
9. “There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it.” From C.S. Lewis’s Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Originally Published 1952. LT.
10. “All children, except one, grow up.” From J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan. Originally Published 1911. LT.

So what are you all-time favourite opening hooks?

Do you like this feature? You should also check out Librarian’s Book Reviews’ Listless Monday and A Bookshelf Monstrosity’s Books By A Theme.

The Story

Kat comes from a long line of con artists. Her biggest con, however, is when she cons her way into the best boarding school. Unfortunately, not long after she gets kicked out of the school – she has been framed for completely totaling the headmaster’s car. What she soon learns is that her long-time friend and former partner con artist, Hale, has gotten her kicked out of school for a reason: her father is under suspicion of the theft of five paintings from a private collection. If the person who owns the paintings does not get them back within fourteen days, then he will personally go after Kat’s father, and everyone that Kat holds dear.

It’s now up to Kat, Hale, and a few other members of her group, to find the real thief, steal back the paintings that had been stolen in the first place, and clear her father’s name, all before time runs out.

The Review

This was an adorable book, but I didn’t enjoy it nearly as much as Carter’s other books. I think the Gallagher Girls books are much more adorable and girl-power, and the Card books are books I personally can relate to more. So while this was adorable, it’s not my favourite of Carter’s stuff.

When not comparing it to her other books though, it was good. It kept me company during the last hockey game of the olympics, and I’m not typically a person who can read and watch tv without getting distracted – surprisingly, I did NOT get distracted while this book was in my hands.

What I really liked about this book was how it explored the history of how artifacts really did get stolen during the German occupation in WWII. It explored how some of these things still haven’t been found, the search that is going on, how some of these things HAVE been found, but haven’t been reunited with the people they belong to because these families didn’t survive the war. I love that Carter introduced that little bit of history into her books.

The book works as a standalone, but it’s also definitely been set up so that it’s the beginning of a series. Not sure whether I will read more in the series yet. Probably not as this one really hasn’t stuck out too much in my mind as far as being omg best book evah.

The Bottom Line

A cute book. It’s definitely something that teen girls would love. It’s a nice, quick read that is engrossing while reading, but unfortunately it wasn’t as awesome as I had been hoping it would be.

Other Reviews

Reverie Book Reviews, Lauren’s Crammed Bookshelf, A Chair, A Fireplace and a Tea Cozy. Have you reviewed this book on your blog? Let me know and I’ll add your link.

Here are ten that I’ve stumbled across:

1. Viola in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. Written 1601-1602. LT.
2. Alanna of Trebond in Tamora Pierce’s Alanna: The First Adventure. Originally Published 1983. LT.
3. Polly Perks in Terry Pratchett’s Monstrous Regiment. Originally Published 2003. LT.
4. Dona St. Columb in Daphne du Maurier’s Frenchman’s Creek. Originally Published 1942. LT.
5. Romilly MacAran in Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Hawkmistress!. Originally Published 1982. LT.
6. Éowyn in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. Originally appears in The Two Towers; originally published 1955. LT.
7. Mary Faber in L.A. Meyer’s Bloody Jack. Originally Published 2002. LT.
8. Haruhi Fujioka in Bisco Hatori’s Ouran High School Host Club manga. Originally Published 2003. LT.
9. Sarah Louisa in Ann Rinaldi’s Girl In Blue. Originally Published 2001. LT.
10. Penelope Creed in Georgette Heyer’s The Corinthian. Originally Published 1940. LT.

What other books can you think of that have girls (or women) disguised as guys (or men) in them?

Do you like this feature? You should also check out Librarian’s Book Reviews’ Listless Monday and A Bookshelf Monstrosity’s Books By A Theme.

The Story

Sir Richard, looking ahead to a loveless marriage, stumbles upon a young Penelope Creed escaping out of her bedroom window one evening. Pen has disguised herself as a boy and is planning on escaping to her country home, and even though Sir Richard is extremely inebriated, he knows that a girl her age should not be traipsing around the countryside on her own. And so, he decides that he simply must accompany her.

Of course, there are all sorts of crazy hijinks that ensue – the stage coach gets turned over, they come into close contact with a thief, a friend of Sir Richard’s gets murdered, and Pen is convinced that her aunt will come chasing after her to take her back and force her to marry Pen’s cousin.

And of course, as with any of Heyer’s regency books, there is a dash of adorable and delicious romance.

The Review

Rachel and I read this together and then decided to blog about it together.

Courtney: I haven’t read any Georgette Heyer in a while and I’m always pleasantly surprised by her books when I pick them up just because of how fun they are. I found The Corinthian to be a lot more fun than some of the others I’ve read just because of the crazy hijinks that were involved – girls dressed as boys getting into scrapes, murder, theft, running away in the middle of the night, oh joy! What a great escapist novel, and how perfect for the February blahs. You’ve been devouring your way through her books – how did you find this one compared to the others that you’ve read?

Courtney: Yes, she does tongue in cheek very well. One thing that I noticed with this book is how much the quality of her writing improved from earlier books – this one is about 20 years into her career as a novelist, and you can really tell the difference. There’s more depth, more maturity in the writing (not necessarily the content, but certainly the writing style), etc. That’s one thing that is so much more noticeable when you can pick and choose your way through an author’s whole catalogue of books, as opposed to having to wait for the next one to be released.

Courtney: I just had to look up “verisimilitude.” Google tells me that it is “the quality of seeming to be true or real.” But I can really see how this applies to The Corinthian. It does appear that she knows a lot of what is going on in the regency period, and it is sometimes surprising (in the case of this book, for example) to realize that she didn’t experience it herself. While this was a fun romp, it still does touch on some of the issues that would have been relevant at that point in time – specifically expectations of women who spent unchaperoned time with men, the difficulties families face with financial issues, and the necessity of women to make a good marriage. As much as I love reading regency books, I really don’t think I’d want to live in a time where it was depended on me to marry well just so I could secure my family’s financial stability!

Courtney: Well, that plus he was completely smashed when he came across her attempting to run away in the first place. That might have had something to do with it, haha. I love the relationship that Penn and Sir Richard have right from the beginning in this book – she’s adventurous and naïve, and he is amused by her and knows that she needs protection in her wild and crazy schemes. I love that she puts him in situations he doesn’t feel comfortable with at all (hello, stagecoach?) and that he lets her do this. And that he goes out of her way to protect her without caging her in or patronizing her for her naïveté.

Courtney: Mmm. I was just watching The Wedding Date last night and he is in it. He would definitely be able to pull off the rogue aspect, and we’ve already seen him in that same sort of time period in Pirates of the Caribbean. He could pull off being Sir Richard. What about Penn?

Courtney: Is that Sally Sparrow? She looks a bit old for the role… I don’t know too many young females in acting, so this part is a little hard for me. What about Alexa Vega or Eliza Bennett? Actually, Eliza Bennett probably looks a little bit too young. Oh, what about Rachel Hurd-Wood? She’s rather adorable.

Courtney: Yeah, I remember thinking that quite a bit when I read her name in the credits for Inkheart! Oh, Jennifer Ehle is such a wonderful actress. And Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy, mmm… Anyway! Tangent! I hate to say this, but I think if they were to make a movie out of this, it would actually be better as a 2 hour movie than a 4 hour miniseries. As much as was going on, it felt like not everything was necessarily needed to make this a good story. Not that it dragged on, but it just wasn’t all that important to furthering character development or pushing the story to a climax – like the meeting between Penn’s aunt and Sir. Richard.

Courtney: He really does have a delicious voice. And I imagine Sir Richard would too, especially when he is amused at Penn. And Jack Davenport could totally pull off Sir Richard’s bored attitude that seems to intimidate those he doesn’t care a fig about. Mmm, I totally want to rewatch all the Pirates of the Caribbean movies now, darn it!

What did you think of all the secondary characters? I loved me the thief they met in the stage coach. He was a lot of fun.

Courtney: The sister’s husband?

Courtney: Yeah, he was pretty awesome. They were all mostly awesome; in fact, there were only two characters that I DIDN’T like – Penn’s childhood friend (again, the name is not coming to mind) and the girl he’s in love with. I have no patience for silly little people like them. I was especially aggravated when whats-her-name told her father that she met Penn for a romantic rendezvous instead of whats-his-name. This girl came across as being way too flakey, and I have no stomach for characters like that.

Before I start going on a rant, I need to change the subject.

How about the last moment when Penn and Sir Richard finally both admit and realize that the other is in love with them? It is up there with the awesome endings of Rilla of Ingleside and North & South, as far as my favourites go.

Courtney: Oh, he obviously loved her from the beginning. And she was in love with him from that point too even though she didn’t realize it until later. But all-in-all a satisfying end to a good book then. Yay!

The Bottom Line

Read this book. Reeeaaad it!

Other Reviews

A Work in Progress, Bookfoolery and Babble, Becky’s Book Reviews, Ex Libris. Have you reviewed this book on your blog? Let me know and I’ll add your link.

The Story

Beth Randall has been living in Caldwell, New York, working at an unsatisfying job at the local paper. Being kept away from the large stories, Beth is starting to feel like she needs a little bit of adventure in her life. Enter Wrath, one massive, gorgeous and dangerous purebred vampire.

Believing that she is an orphan, whose parents died shortly after she was born, Beth has always thought she was a normal human being. But when Wrath tells her that her father was a vampire who just got killed by a group of lessers (vampire hunters), her world is turned on its head. Neither Beth nor Wrath expect to fall in love with each other while they adjust to the changes their lives are taking, but things don’t always happen as you would expect them to…

The Review

Let us just take a moment to reflect on a couple of things. First, what have I stated over and over again that I am totally sick of?

1. Urban Fantasy books that centre around romantic vampires

And what are the biggest things that I absolutely hate in books?

1. Depthless women who are essentially Mary Sues
2. Brooding and/or emo male leads.
3. Books where the plot seems to revolve around characters trying to have as much sex as possible, to the detriment of real plot and real character development.
4. Women who will give up all their morals or personality as soon as omg hot guy comes along.
5. Vampire sex. Lots and lots of vampire sex. Because omg vampires are so romantic and sexy and not scary at all.
6. Books where the main character comes across something that TOTALLY BLOWS THEIR MIND (omg, vampires are real?! And I’m turning into one?!) but a page later is totally okay and awesome with it, and doesn’t have to struggle with the fact that omg everything they thought wasn’t true totally is.

Basically I don’t like flakey characters or stories that focus solely around sex without any plot or character development or romantic vampires. So…. if this book had most of the stuff that I don’t like or am sick of, WHY COULD I NOT PUT IT DOWN?!

What is it about this book that made it consume my brain from the moment I started it until the moment I finished it? What on earth is in this book that has done this to me? OMG brain is blown.

Because I don’t know what it was that I loved about this book! I feel like a hypocrite loving it! And it’s a little embarrassing admitting exactly how much I loved it. Because I did. Even though there was so much about it that I hated. Like! Like the two main characters!

There are SO MANY people who LOVE this series and I have a feeling I’m going to get some comments telling me about how awesome this book is and how awesome Beth is and omg how could I think she isn’t a strong kick-ass female? But… I just didn’t get that from the book. As soon as Wrath came into her life, it was like her whole world all of a sudden revolved around him instead of around the sun. She lost her individuality in the span of a day.

And Wrath… can we say “tortured hero”?!? How much did he remind me of Heathcliff? And how much do I hate Heathcliff?!

But… but for every thing that I hated about this book, there was something in it that kept me from putting it down, that kept me turning the pages and actually wanting to know how things turned out.

The only thing that I can put my finger on that I loved was Butch, Beth’s cop friend. Even after Beth hooked up with Wrath, after he met Marissa, he still cared so much for Beth’s safety and well-being. He had nothing in life to live for, but his character growth when he met the Black Dagger Brotherhood was awesome.

I think that if the book was not about Wrath and Beth that I would enjoy it. And so the fact that the other books in the series don’t seem to have Wrath and Beth as main characters seem like a positive to me. Let’s just see if I can get over the whole “romantic vampire” bias that I’ve got going on.

The Bottom Line

This book consumed me while I was reading it, and yet I still cannot figure out why. It actually embarrasses me how much I loved it. I have a feeling I’m going to continue on with this series, but will probably take a break for the time being and attack some of those other books that have been sitting on the TBR pile for a while.

Other Reviews

Love Vampires, Best Fantasy Stories, 25 Hour Books, ReadingAdventures, Bitten By Books. Have you reviewed this book on your blog? Let me know and I’ll add your link.

The article says that the book

takes place 12 years after the high school series, when the twins and their friends are in their late 20s and early 30s. It will, according to publisher St Martin’s Press, see “the real world intrude after a perfect childhood”. “I’ve had thousand of queries from fans over the years wondering what Jessica and Elizabeth would be like as adults. Well, Sweet Valley Confidential should give them all the answers,” said Pascal, who was originally inspired to write the series by the experiences of her three daughters. “And I can guarantee they will be very surprised. Actually, more like shocked.”
Source

The book will be published by St Martin’s Press and is scheduled for release in early 2011.

Anyway, this has gotten me thinking about all of the books that I’ve read (or want to read) where twins feature a prominent role, and so this week’s listed is about ten sets of fictional twins.

1. Elizabeth & Jessica in Francine Pascal’s Sweet Valley books. Series created in 1983.
2. Fred & George in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. Originally appear in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone; originally published 1997.
3. Louise & Caroline in Katherine Paterson’s Jacob Have I Loved. Originally Published 1980.
4. Emmeline & Adeline in Diane Setterfield’s The Thirteenth Tale. Originally Published 2006.
5. Viola & Sebastian. in Shakespeare’s The Twelfth Night. Written 1601-1602.
6. Nan & Di in L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables series. Originally appear in Anne of Ingelside; originally published 1939.
7. Sandy & Dennys in Madeline L’Engle’s Time Quartet. Originally appear in A Wrinkle in Time; originally published 1962.
8. Lia & Alice in Michelle Zink’s Prophecy of the Sisters. Originally Published 2009.
9. Albert & Frederick in Christopher Priest’s The Prestige. Originally Published 1995.
10. Simon and Jared in Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black’s Spiderwick Chronicles. Originally appear in The Field Guide; originally published 2003.

What other fictional twins are out there that you’ve enjoyed reading about?

Do you like this feature? You should also check out Librarian’s Book Reviews’ Listless Monday and A Bookshelf Monstrosity’s Books By A Theme.

So! Why should FotR win March Madness?

Because it’s more than just a good book. It’s a great book. And I don’t mean this in the “hey, I love this book, omg it’s so awesome!” kind of way (though it is great in that way too), I mean it in the “hey, this is a book that has had such an impact on the fantasy that is popular today” and the “hey, this book is just as, if not more, relevant today than it was when it was originally published in the 1950’s” kind of ways.

Did you know that this book is one of the most translated of and most influential books in twentieth century literature? Did you know that it had a huge impact on the fantasy genre in the ’60s? That it helped forge a way for high fantasy?

Did you know the trilogy this book is a part of inspired not only that awesome Peter Jackson trilogy, but numerous other movie/tv adaptations, plays and even a musical? Did you know that Cassandra Clare (then “Cassandra Claire”) wrote the awesome Very Secret Diaries?

And did you realize that every time you go back and reread The Fellowship of the Ring, there’s something new to discover? Or that the themes in it are just as applicable to today’s world as they were when the book was originally published? And have you taken a look at the world that Tolkien created? I mean, man, you can tell some authors have put their fantasy worlds together really well, but gosh! How many of them have creation myths for you to read, or have made up full languages for their books?

So, tell me, how could a book like this one not deserve to win the HarperCollins Canada March Madness?

(Are you a Canadian blogger? You should totally join in too. Contest runs until April 2nd.)

The Story

In an alternate history, airships travel the skies regularly. Matt Cruse is the cabin boy on luxury liner the Aurura, the airship that he has been working on since his father died when he was twelve years old. Now 15, he is on the lookout the night a pirate ship is spotted in the skies and changes the course of their luxury liner dramatically. After a damaging typhoon that followed closely after the plundering from the pirates, the Aurora finds herself shipwrecked on a deserted island.

The Review

Hmm. This took me much longer to get through than expected – I started it, and put it aside of a long while and finally picked it up again yesterday and whisked through the last half of it. Although I found it thoroughly enjoyable, it just didn’t grip me until that half-way point. And I’m not sure why it didn’t grip me, because it had so much that I enjoy in a book – pirates? Steampunk? Kick-ass girl characters? Yes please on all accounts!

Even though there has been so much steampunk out on the market recently, this one felt very original. It has less ties to the fantastical that seems to be present in a lot of the more recent steampunk-type books. And that originality was refreshing.

I think my biggest problem with the book is that Matt Cruse never jumped out of the pages at me. He’s a good character – you can see his flaws, his motivation, and his fears… but there’s no real spark that drew me to him, that made me really CARE about him. Even when he was once again saving the ship, it just felt like that was going to be the obvious outcome just because he’s saved the ship from scrapes before, and just because he’s the main character. Not like there’s any really driving force to his needing to save it… if that makes sense.

But there were certainly redeeming qualities. As mentioned, there was a kick-ass female character – Kate. Yay for a lack of flakey females! Yay for girls who rebel against the constraints of society just because they want an education and the scientific community to take them seriously too gosh darn it. Definitely would be a good female for young girls to read about.

On a side note, I really liked that, although this book is the first in a series, it also works well as a standalone. I’ve mentioned before that books in series that leave things off as a major cliffhanger will be the death of me. Urgh, that utterly horrid wait until the next installment is NEVER fun. So the fact that there is closure in this was soooo refreshing.

The Bottom Line

There’s certainly something in here for everyone – steampunk, pirates, scientific discoveries, shipwrecks and romance. I can see why it is a dearly loved book to so many people, and would definitely recommend it. That said, I’m not sure if I will read the others in the series.

Other Reviews

Nose in a Book, Bart’s Bookshelf, One Librarian’s Book Reviews, Jen Robinson’s Book Page, Stella Matutina, A Book a Week. Have you reviewed this book on your blog? Let me know and I’ll add your link.

The Story

Over the past almost-decade, Black has had a number of short faerie stories published in various magazines and collections. The Poison Eaters is a collection of these stories – along with two new never-before published stories.

The stories in this collection include:

• The Coldest Girl in Coldtown
• A Reversal of Fortune
• The Boy Who Cried Wolf (This did not appear in the ARC)
• The Night Market
• The Dog King
• Virgin
• In Vodka Veritas
• The Coat of Stars
• Paper Cuts Scissors
• Going Ironside
• The Poison Eaters

(There is also one additional story in the finished collection, but it isn’t included in the ARC and is just titled “Unititled”.)

These stories, while all faerie stories of some sort, tell everything from stories of fey, to a story of a deal with devil, to a story about a boy who lives with a unicorn.

The Review

I typically have a hard time with short story collections – not the case with The Poison Eaters. For the most part, all the stories in here were both very different and very enjoyable. In fact, there were only two stories that I didn’t particularly like – Going Ironside and Virgin. Virgin I found to be a little bit boring, and I simply couldn’t get into the narration style of Going Ironside.

The others, I found, were quite exciting. Even though they are short stories, Black makes you feel like you know the characters well. There are so many good things to say about each of the others, and I can’t even pick which ones are my favourites.

I really enjoyed The Poison Eaters, The Coat of Stars and The Night Market because they read a lot like traditional fairy tales. I loved that The Coldest Girl in Coldtown showed raw vampirism (as opposed to shiny vampirism) and the obsession that people have with vampires; same goes for The Dog King’s different take on werewolves. A Reversal of Fortune in which the main character bet the devil she could eat more candy than him was definitely a rather humourous concept. And then there was In Vodka Veritas, which had an awesomely evil Latin club who pretty much poisoned the whole prom.

And okay, maybe I lied when I said that I couldn’t pick any favourites… because really? Paper Cuts Scissors kind of shows what every book lover would love to do. A party with your favourite fictional characters? The Hogwarts crew, the Scarlet Pimpernel, all the Jane Austen characters? That would be freaking awesome. So maybe that story wins just for that fact.

The Bottom Line

So definitely a very solid collection of short stories that I would highly recommend to either Holly Black fans or urban fantasy fans.

Other Reviews

Rat’s Reading. Have you reviewed this book on your blog? Let me know and I’ll add your link.