Shelfari & Sarah's Key

I signed up for Shelfari (sorta of a book club recently bought out from Amazon where you can categorize your book collection and/or explore books of interest) last year but I hadn’t been to my account since. Last week I got a notification that someone was following my account and I decided to take a second look. I’m glad I did since I didn’t even know they had book clubs. The groups I’ve joined aren’t very active but what I like about it is they have their own bookshelves that I can view once I’ve joined the club. I am only very vocal about political and historical issues so I don’t think I would be very active anyways.

Currently, a friend lent me Sarah’s Key. I haven’t finished the book yet but everyone is eager to get my opinion on the novel as I have always had an interest in the Holocaust. Why the Holocaust? Every race has gone through some kind of oppression throughout history and it’s mostly been the nations in power oppressing other poorer and less developed nation. The Holocaust is memorable for being horrendous and happening where people didn’t expect it to, within the powerful nations. It was keep secret for a long time and people had to fight hard to make sure it got on the curriculum and exposed the horrors of the Holocaust to world. The concept of ethnic cleansing though did not start in Europe. It was practiced in the United States shortly before. Mentally retarded individual were sterilized in the United States to prevent the genes from passing along into the next generation.

What I like about Sarah’s Key is that aspect of the unexpected. Instead of the Germans arresting and having Jews in horrible conditions, it is the French. As much as I’ve read about the Holocaust, I didn’t even know about this event in history. It’s a great reminder that even your own country can turn on you. Remembering the Holocaust is not about shaming the French or the Germans. Every nation has secrets in their closet. What is important is to learn from our past and continually work hard to provide a better future for ourselves. A better future seems so far away judging by the recent events in history. As they say, history always repeats itself, just in a different form. Whether this is true or not, only time will tell. That will be another long and heated discussion though.

Since my last writing I’ve finished reading:
The Queen of Water by Laura Resau (I’ll be posting about this shortly)
Vampire Academy Book 4- Blood Promise by Richelle Mead
Vampire Academy Book 5 - Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead
Vampire Academy Book 6 – Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (Yes, I plan to watch the movie, out on 03/23/2012)
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Currently reading: Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

Video Game Addiction – The Tribe

For those of my readers that have never seen The Tribe, I will provide a brief summary below.

The premise behind The Tribe is a world without adults. An infectious disease has broken out that only affects adults, leaving children and teenagers to fend for themselves. As a means of survival, the kids and teenagers have formed tribes and laid claims to certain sectors of the city (I am unaware of what city they are in). Some tribes want peace and equality while other tribes seek to conquer and dominate.

You can visit the official tribe page at www.tribeworld.com.

This TV show from New Zealand The Tribe depicts video games as a form of brainwashing. The tribe named the “Technos” has come up with an alternate reality in which you can become whoever you want and go wherever you want. All of your fantasies become reality. For the leader of the Technos I can see how this is a world he would never want to escape from, as in real life he is paralyzed needing a wheelchair to move around. Despite this fact he knows better than to become addicted to this virtual world. Several of the characters within the TV show though are depleted to a state of zombies as a consequence of playing the video game for too long. The street has become vacant and most of tribes are only interested in playing the game.

If a game like that existed, I would happily trade in 4-6 hours of my day accomplishing the dreams that I know I can never have in real life. Instead of watching superman on TV fly, I would love to fly. Unfortunately, there is no such video game. Nintendo, Playstation, X-Box, etcetera, get working.

Drama Fanfare

Well obviously everyone has their preference but since this is my blog I will list MY FAVORITE DRAMAS of ALL TIMES below. Please feel free to throw your opinion in the comments section but remember it’s my list. FYI- For this list I consider TV show series dramas for American television. I have no interest in the never ending American dramas such as Days of Our Lives.

1 ◙ Coffee Shop Prince (Korean)
2 ◙ Al Diablo con Los Guapos (Mexican)
3 ◙ The Rose (Taiwanese)
4 ◙ Meteor Garden (Taiwanese)
5 ◙ My Queen (Taiwanese)
6 ◙ Juana La Virgen (Venezuelan)
7 ◙ Rebelde (Mexican)
8 ◙ Fall in Love (Mainland China)
9 ◙ Mei-chan no Shitsuji (Japanese)
10 ◙ Que Sera Sera (Korean)
11 ◙ Alborada (Mexican)
12 ◙It Started with a Kiss
13 ◙It Started with a Kiss II
14 ◙ Absolute Boyfriend [Zettai Kareshi] (Japanese)
15 ◙ Koishite Akuma (Japanese)
16 ◙ Autumn Tale (Korean)
17 ◙ Amor Real (Mexican)
18 ◙ Yo Soy Bea (Columbian)
19 ◙ Meteor Garden II (Taiwanese)
20 ◙ Esmeralda (Mexican)
21 ◙ Rebelde Way (Venezuelan)
21 ◙ Rubi (Mexican)
22 ◙ Fated to Love You (Taiwanese)
23 ◙ Cinderella Man (Korean)
24 ◙ Maria la del Bario (Mexican)
25 ◙ Aishiteru to Itte Kure (Japanese)

Of course you always have to be on the look-out for websites that have the content in HD and updated. Over the years these have been my favorite sites.

My Favorite sites to watch dramas
◙ Youtube
◙ Viki
◙ Mysoju
◙ Dramafever
◙ Crunchyroll

Must I say? Yes, I am a drama addict.

Editing Week!

I read a blog on writing, one of my favorite things to do and one of their suggestions was to make your blog grammar and spelling perfect. Well, as near perfect as you can make it. This is by far the best advice on any piece of writing someone can give. I do not intend to make my writing impeccable, but this week I will be revising my blog for obvious spelling and grammatical errors. When there are several noticeable errors it disrupts the flow of writing. For a blog to be striking and interesting, one of the key elements is a spelling and error free blog.

I haven't been writing since I've been consumed by some popular fiction lately. I have finished reading a number of books since my last post. I have listed below all the books I have completed, in no particular order.

1. After Ever After by Jordan Sonnenblick
2. Boot Camp by Todd Strasser
3. The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson
4. Parrotfish by Ellen Wittlinger
5. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
6. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
7. Vampire Academy, Book 2 - Frostbite by Richelle Mead
8. Vampire Academy, Book 3 - Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead
9. Vampire Academy, Book 4- Blood Promise by Richelle Mead

Currently Reading
Vampire Academy Book 5- Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead
The Queen of Water by Laura Resau

Hasta a La proxima!

Parrotfish

Title: Parrotfish
Author: Ellen Wittlinger

Publication Date: July 10, 2007
Genres: Fiction
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
ISBN-10: 1416916229
ISBN-13: 9781416916222

** This review is for readers that have already read Parrotfish.

I must say that I indulged myself into this novel. The subject was a bit touchy but Wittlinger did a great job of making me feel at ease with the various dialogues Grady comes up with. Her internal conversations bring lay out the foundation for the novel. It’s a way of addressing what popular media portrays transgendered persons as and defying those definitions.

What I loved about the novel the most was its humor. It makes the book easier to read and at the same time gave the book a feeling of optimism.

I usually don’t like reading novels that feel constructed but I love comedy in all its forms. I especially love reading about topics that are taboo. The taboo subjects interest me the most because as Wittlinger points out, why does society restrict us into such cookie-cutter categories? Despite all the reforms we’ve been through, it seems that our society is not as tolerance as we should be. It was interesting to learn how Native Americans portray transgendered persons as “free spirits.”

Despite this being a realistic novel, I did not, for one moment, believe this could be a true account. The transsexual girl who the most popular girl in school likes, lives in the Christmas house, and was home schooled until high school. Her life seems like a fairy tale when inspected closely. Her family members at most were average. They could also be defined as flat characters.

There was an attempt at not making the ending a Cinderella story yet it was. Again this is the construction that I was speaking of. I almost wish the story was more complex but as this is a novel meant for young adults its okay. The problem is, I don’t love okay, what I love is exceptional. Yes I enjoyed the book but I would have LOVED it, if it has more depth.

After reading other reader reviews I was amazed to find out that “PARROTFISH is one of the first young adult novels to address transgender issues” (http://www.teenreads.com/reviews/parrotfish). For being one of the few I must give credit to the Wittlinger for exposing young minds to this subject. I hope other authors also follow in her footsteps and can engage us in novels that enrich our understanding of ourselves, stereotypes, and how to deal with them.

I'm Back

Guess what? I’m back. I was reading my cousin’s blog and I decided to continue this blog. It was inspiring to read her blog and find that you don’t need your blog to center around a specific theme. As long as it’s enjoyable to you, it will be enjoyable for others to read. I scare myself with the way I make rush decisions sometimes but in my experience, sometimes in life, you have to take chances. I don’t want to say to myself one day, I wonder what would have happened if…. I don’t want that to be the story of my live. Just letting opportunities pass me by.

One of the opportunities I never pass by is traveling. I LOVE TO TRAVEL. One of my favorite places to visit is Dominican Republic. On my last trip there I vowed I would go the beach and I don’t regret it. I went in January with my sister, father, my aunt, and cousins. I forget the name of the beach but it was in Puerto Plata. It’s amazing to get a glimpse of it from far away. It’s breathtaking.

On my last trip, I went on a Chinese bus tour to Maine. Yeah, there are a plenty of funny stories from that trip. I know I’m peculiar but I love diversity. I am definitely the type of person that embraces differences in people.

I would like to take a trip back to Santo Domingo one day. Last time I was in the capitol, all I saw was just so much poverty everywhere. I hope that with short economic boom DR had recently, living conditions have improved. I can only hope. There was also a huge drug problem last I was there… Not sure if the drugs are coming from Columbia or Mexico. I know it was coming in from Columbia and then being sneaked into the USA.

End Note: I’m so glad to be back. Yes, I love you all too (whoever reads this). Hasta la proxima!

Creating a new Blog

So I have decided to follow my heart and write a blog about my favorite TV Novelas and dramas. Although I wanted to write often on my Bonifacio, Dominican not Italian blog, I have not been writing nearly as much as I would have liked to. I do love all the artwork that I have posted on here though.

In summary, this is my last entry. No worries, I will be merging posts from this blog to the new one. I believe I have had one reader, my husband. I might show the blog to my new kitten but I doubt I will.

Cya in my new blog!