Padfoot and Prongs

You're My Favorite Book - Stars

2012-01-11T08:07:00.002-05:00

Hey literary lovers. Prongs here bringing you what I think may be my future wedding song. Just an adorable little tune by the band Stars that is sure to crack open even the thickest of bounded hearts. The lyrics and the video follow as well. Do you have any great songs that involve reading, love, or that special connection between the two? We want to hear them!

'You're My Favorite Book' -Stars

I was always late
You, never afraid
That we could be falling
All our friends would say
That maybe we should wait
But they can't see what's coming

And to this day
When everything breaks
You are the anchor that holds me

And that is why we'll always make it
How I know your face
All the ways you move
You come in, I can read you
You're my favourite book
All the things you say
The way you shift your eyes
I never knew there was someone to make me come alive

When the days are long
And the thunder with the storm
Can always get me crying
Well you can make my bed
I'll fall into it
Shadowed but not lonely

'Cause I never knew home
Until I found your hands
And when I'm weathered
You come to me, you're my best friend

And that is why we'll always make it
How I know your face
All the ways you move
You come in, I can read you
You're my favourite book
All the things you say
The way you shift your eyes
I never knew there was someone to make me come alive

And when we're making love
I give everything up for your touch

How I know your face
All the ways you move
You come in, I can read you
You're my favourite book
All the things you say
The way you shift your eyes
I never knew there was someone to make me come alive

And when you go to work
All the day I wait
For you to come home
Recount our time
In our little place
Our little place

Long time, no blog.

2012-01-10T09:51:00.003-05:00

Hey there literary world. It's been too long since Padfoot and Prongs have graced you with our charming, witty, and at times down right sexy presence... far far too long. So much has changed with both the blogging world and our real world since the last post, however we are so very excited to be back and doing what we do best... loving literature!

2012 marks a big year of change for your favorite marauders. First off, we are now currently living in the beautiful and quaint city of Cork, Ireland. It's a small town in the south of Ireland filled with bookshops, baristas, and of course good beer. While here we are fortunate enough to have time to wile away hours sitting slowly tackling our TBR lists, and now that we have internet access, we can faithfully return to our blogging adventures.

While we are a bit late on the 'resolution' posts for our blog, here are a few that we are hoping to stick with for the upcoming year. As we are abroad, we know that blogging won't always be consistent (what's new) or even possible, however we resolve to return to what we love most about this humble site, book reviewing.

To old blogger friends, we have missed you, to new literary love, welcome to our site.

May this coming year be filled with lots of prose, dog eared pages, and of course mischief!!

Tattoo Tuesday-Special Edition

2011-07-19T18:30:00.004-04:00

Hey there Marauders!! It's our favorite time of the week once again!!

For those of you who are new to the site here's a bit of background. Tattoo Tuesday was started by our good friend Tara over at 25HourBooks and celebrates our love of literature plus the people like us who are obsessed enough to ink something literary on their body! Every week we feature a literary tattoo that interests or compels us. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the ink.

Helllo readers! It's certainly been a while.

We are currently recovering from the heartbreak/amazingness that is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2.

We got ourselves some Harry Potter related ink the night before, to mourn the death of our childhood.

Padfoot

"Time is making fools of us again"
-Dumbledore

Prongs

"It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live"
-Dumbledore

Watch did you think of the movie?

Remember, if you have a literary tattoo of your own we would love to see it! Just e-mail a photo along with a brief description of why you chose it to:
gbooks.inc@gmail.com

Tattoo Tuesday!

2011-06-21T10:59:00.003-04:00

Hey there Marauders!! It's our favorite time of the week once again!!

Padfoot, here.

Today is the start of summer classes (BOOOOO). But I'm currently sitting waiting for my Contemporary Lit class to start (YAYY).

Today's Tattoo comes from a repost on The World Made Flesh

From: Shel Silverstein’s “Underwater Land”

Who doesn't want to see an Octopus in a pirate hat, I mean come on!

Remember, if you have a literary tattoo of your own we would love to see it! Just e-mail a photo along with a brief description of why you chose it to:
gbooks.inc@gmail.com

Summer readin' had me a blast!

2011-06-18T15:55:00.002-04:00

Hey there Marauders. Padfoot and Prongs here bringing you a Saturday afternoon post. We figured since we are finally getting into the swing of summer, post graduation and mandatory reading assignments, we would celebrate the next few months of 'free reading' time with throwing up our list of planned books for the summer. Both Padfoot and Prongs have been trying to stretch their own literary canon by branching out in new authors, genres, and even mediums of literature.

Below you will find our combined list of fiction, non fiction, short stories, and graphic novels that we have on the TBR list for the next few months. Feel free to post your own list in comments, as well as any suggestions you might have for us. We would love to see your own Summer Reading posts, and if you decide to make one be sure to let us know so we can link you up.

Fiction:
American Gods - Neil Gaiman (BOOK CLUB CHOICE!)
Good Omens - Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
Hitchhicker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
Shutter Island - Dennis Lehane
Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet - Mitchell
The Book Thief - Zuask
Grat House - Krauss
The Snowman - Nesbo
Big Machine - LaValle
West of Here - Evison
The Painted Bird - Kosinski
White Teeth - Zadie Smith

Non-Fiction
The Warmth of Other Suns - Wilkerson
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks - Skloot
Rework - Fried
The Glass Castle - Walls
The Naked and the Dead - Mailer
Devil in the White City - Larsson

Short Story Collections
The Elephant Vanishes- Murakami
Smoke and Mirrors - Gaiman
The Martian Chronicles - Ray Bradbury
Jesus' Son - Johnson
The New York Trilogy - Paul Auster
The Pugilist at Rest - Thom Jones
Stranger things Happen - Kelly Link

Manga/ Graphic Novels

The Sandman Collection - Neil Gaiman
Watchmen - Moore
Scott Pilgrim 'Precious Little Box Sex'
20th Century Boys (manga)
Pluto Series (manga)
Monster (manga)

That's it for us. A bit ambitious but should make for an amazing literary summer. Now its your turn. Lets see those TBR lists!

-mischief managed-

NEW HARRY POTTER ANNOUNCMENT?

2011-06-16T12:07:00.002-04:00

Hey there Marauders. Padfoot and Prongs here bringing you a brief post on the latest magical news from J.K. Rowling.
As most of you hopefully know J.K. has launched a new site entitled
Pottermore
but has not released any real details on what is to come.
She also has put up a youtube countdown video letting us all know exactly when this exciting new development will be revealed.

So loyal fans, we want to hear from you. What do you think the big news will be? Here are just some of our speculations:

1. Dumbledore's History: We would love to see a 'prequel' chroincialling Dumbledore's adolescence/adult hood, his friendship and subsequent downfall with Grindelwald and more on his history with younger Voldemort.
2. A spin off with Harry's Children: As we all know from the epilogue, Harry and Ginny are married and have three children. We wouldn't mind re-visiting Hogwarts through the eyes of Harry's children. We can only assume they would all be on adventures with Ron and Hermoine's children as well.
3. Harry Potter from Snape's Point of View: While this seems like the least likely option, Padfoot wouldn't mind seeing the entire series re-told from Snape's perspective. We would get a big insight into the inner workings of the dark side, as well as get to see the entire series through new eyes.

4.) Harry Potter the Musical: Hey you never know.

Those are just some of our musings, but there are thousands of possibilities awaiting us fans. What are you placing your bets on?

-mischief managed-

Just a Little Hello

2011-06-11T19:50:00.007-04:00

Hello there faithful readers!

Padfoot and Prongs just finished with finals week, so our brains are a tad foggy here lately. But here's a nice little list of top 10 most disturbing books:

Top 10 Most Disturbing Novels

Between the two of us, we've read most of them and we'd have to say we agree!

What do you think?

Good Book Club is Back! Announcing: Pick # 3 American Gods

2011-05-26T18:39:00.008-04:00

Hey there all of you literary lovers!

We here at Good Books Inc. are flat our tired of reading amazing books and then not having wonderful, thought provoking discussions after we finish. Hopefully, there are those out there who share our sadness, so as a solution to the problem we now happily present you with Good Books Club!

This will be an online book club, which shall meet once every 3 weeks ish, and will be dedicated to reading contemporary lit, and having intelligent and meaningful discussions about the chosen works. The link for the live-chat is located on the left tool bar, and on the night of your discussion you will simply log in and join the fun.

As this is a new idea, we will be working out the kinks for the first few months, but we are really looking forward to providing any one who is interested, with a wonderful fun experience that centers around all our similar love: books!! Good Book Club

Month 3:
American Gods

Neil Gaiman

Summary: "The novel is a blend of Americana, fanatasy, and various strands of ancient and modern mythology, all centering on a mysterious and taciturn protagonist, Shadow." "The central precept of the novel is that gods and mythological creatures exist because people believe in them. Immigrants to the United States brought with them dwarves, elves, leprechauns, and other spirits and gods. However, the power of these mythological beings has diminished as people's beliefs wane. New gods have arisen, reflecting America's obsessions with media, celebrity, technology, and drugs, among others"

Why we chose this work: This year marks the 10-year anniversary of the release of American Gods (Thanks for the catch). Mr. Gaiman is going on a book tour to discuss his infamous work, and we thought it would be fun to join in the spirit of the discourse. On top to that, this book is considered to be a 'modern classic' and is numerous 'must-read' lists for readers of all ages, interests, and skill levels. We feel that it will provide an interesting and fun platform for getting a discussion going.

So now what: So now that you all have the information about the book, it is time to go out and find yourself a copy! We recommended checking around used book stores (we found used copies at half-price books in Ohio for just a dollar). Once you have your copy it is time to start reading! We encourage you to mark, write, take notes, or any thing that will help you keep track of ideas or opinions you have while reading.
We ask that every one participating find at least 3 of their favorite quotes and have them for the discussion date, so that we can all share our favorite parts!
It would also be helpful if any one participating left comments here and there letting us know your progress, so we can adjust in the future. If a work is too hard or long it is crucial adjust lists of future books. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please leave a comment on this post or e-mail us.

Things to Remember: This book discussion is open to any one and every one of all ages, places, races, and species. (If you can get your dog to join in then you get a prize!) That being said, please remember during discussions to be cautious about remarks that might be offensive to any one. Just be respectful and think before you type. No flaming or spammers, because then we will have to shut the whole thing down and no one wants that!

When to meet: This month we will be meeting June 25th (A Sunday) at 8:30p.m EST
The limit is 15 people per book. That's right just 15. So hurry and sign up while you can! Just use the MisterLinky and fill out your information to be signed up for this months book! We will give you more specific details about how to log into the chat room when we get closer to the discussion date.We are so excited for this event and hope that every one of you will contribute as much as your literary love as you can, so that we can all get a wonderful unique experience with each book! Happy reading!!

Sign up for the club by Sunday the 15th @7
How to sign up: You MUST do this so that we know you are going to be participating. Just click the Mister Linky banner below and add your name (and if you have a blog the link back to it). If for some reason it isn't working, just leave a comment with your name so that we can add it for you!

Tattoo Tuesday - E.E. Cummings

2011-05-24T21:28:00.003-04:00

This was done 24 hours ago, on 16th May 2011 at Self Sacrifice in London, UK. They are known for their amazing quality in tattoos and I went there highly recommended by many friends. It paid off; they were sweet and I’m so happy with how it has turned out.

It’s my- very polite- fuck you to the haters.
. Wow that is some seriously beautiful ink. We love the positioning, as well as the artwork above and below the quote... then of course the quote itself. What a great sentiment.
That's it for this week, but as always we are accepting submissions via e-mail for any literary tattoos of your own. Untill next time....

Happy End of the World Day!

2011-05-21T15:29:00.008-04:00

Hey Marauders. Padfoot and Prongs here, blogging live from the 'rapture'... nothing of interest to report yet, but we will keep you updated.

To celebrate the end of the world we are spending the day working on the HP re-read we are doing since the final movie is right around the corner.

This got us thinking, for those of you who even half heartedly kept a watchful eye on the news today, if you believed the end of the world was impending,

what would be the last book you would pick up to read?

Would it be an old favorite, something new and exciting? Or would you just start throwing out those hail marys fast and furious? We want to hear your thoughts!!

Clearly we have no other desire than to spend our last precious memories with Harry and all our old friends, but that shouldn't suprise any one.

-mischief managed-

Tattoo Tuesday is back!

2011-05-17T13:32:00.004-04:00

Hey there Marauders!! It's our favorite time of the week once again!!

This week we have a submission from one of our favorite readers! Here are tattoos from the lovely Babycakes:

pg.244

"The first book I ever read by Tom Robbins was Still Life With Woodpecker and it made such an impact on me that I went the next week and got this tattoo. The representation for me with this tattoo is simply this,
"Be a Seeker", seek out life instead of letting it pass you by and be authentic while doing so. Here is the paragraph that inspired the tattoo:

'How can one person be more real than any other? Well, some people do hide and others seek. Maybe those who are in hiding-escaping encounters, avoiding surprises, protecting their property, ignoring their fantasies, restricting their feelings, sitting out the Pan pipe hootchy-kootch of experience--maybe those people, people who won't talk to rednecks, or if they're rednecks wont talk to intellectuals, people who're afraid to get their shoes muddy or their noses wet, afraid to eat what they crave, afraid to drink Mexican water, afraid to bet a long shot to win, afraid to hitchhike, jaywalk, honky-tonk, cogitate, osculate, levitate, rock it, bop it, sock it, or bark at the moon, maybe such people are inauthentic, and maybe the jack-leg humanist who says differently is due to have his tongue fried on the hot slab's of Liar's Hell. Some folks seek, and seeking, when it's mindless, neurotic, desperate, or pusillanimous can be a form of hiding. But there are folks who want to know and aren't afraid to look and wont turn tail should they find it--and if they never do, they'll have a good time anyway because nothing, neither the terrible truth nor the absence of it, is going to cheat them out of one honest breath of earth's sweet gas.

The second one is from Jonathan Livingston Seagull. This book has been a huge inspiration in a lot of ways, but this one line speaks volumes.

"We can be free! We can learn to fly!" '

Thank you Babycakes for the lovely pictures!

Remember, if you have a literary tattoo of your own we would love to see it! Just e-mail a photo along with a brief description of why you chose it to:
gbooks.inc@gmail.com

Prongs 22nd Review - Invisible Cities

2011-05-16T17:41:00.010-04:00

WE'RE BACK!!!!!!

Hey there Marauders!!! Been awhile hasn’t it? Padfoot and Prongs here, same as always ready to bring you the latest in greatest in all things literary. We have been on a brief hiatus while we are both finishing up school and preparing for the next phase in our literary lives. However we have both missed the blogosphere greatly and are beyond excited to be returning to our internet duties.

Before we get started with a brand new REVIEWWWW just a few housekeeping things to take care of .

First, tattoo Tuesdays will be resuming first thing tomorrow morning, so as always, if you have a literary tattoo you would like to share with us, please send us an e-mail with a photo and brief explanation.

Next, while we are poised and ready to take up blogging again, our load posts will still be slightly less frequent due to some major changing’s going on in the lives of P&P. Finishing up college, getting jobs… and most importantly drum roll please……

Padfoot and Prongs are moving… TO IRELAND!!!

That is right our loyal readers. The one way tickets have been bought, and Padfoot and Prongs take Euroland

is scheduled for Oct. 4^th. We are anxious as can be to get across the pond to Dublin, Ireland and to a wealth of literary history. We will be starting up a second blog to update everyone on our adventures, so be on the lookout for that in the future.

Finally, we are happy to announce that we are for the first time accepting ARC of books, as well as previously published works for review. Since schoolwork will be gone in the next few weeks, we finally have time to devote to newer works and look forward to reading new authors. For more information on that, please visit the ‘About Us’ tab.

That about clears all the boring jazz up… now to the good part. Below is Prong’s 22^nd review. Make sure to check out all the gorgeous quotes over in our quote section as well. Hope you all enjoy, and thanks for stopping by!!

Invisible Cities

Italo Calvino

"It is not the voice that commands the story; it is the ear."

I’m so glad that I picked what might possibly be the most difficult book I have ever reviewed as a way to ease myself back into the literary world. As far as ‘novel’ idea’s go… Italo Calvino has certainty left his imprint on the literary mold, combining the best elements of prose and freeverse in his work, Invisible Cities.

The story reads as a back-and-forth between the explorer Marco Polo and the great Mongol ruler Kubali Khan as the men sit discussing the many cities that make up the rulers empire. On his brief visits, Marco Polo describes to the great emperor the destinations that he has come across on his expeditions, with the brief descriptions making up the majority of the novel. As neither men speak the same language, it is possibly important to question exactly who’s account we are reading. Is it the exact depiction given by the romanticized Polo or just the mystifying translations understood by Khan. Either way, as the two great but divergent minds of their time sit in the gardens of a palace, the men seem to find a common ground in the beauty of the multitudes that can only exist in foreign lands.

At times I feel your voice is reaching me from far away, while I am prisoner of a gaudy and unreliable present, where all forms of human society have reached an extreme of their cycle and there is no imagining what new forms they may assume. And I hear, from your voice, the invisible reasons which make cities live, through which perhaps, once dead, they will come to life again.

In simplest terms, Invisible Cities is a story about cities. In the most complicated it’s still a story about cities. However, in the brief 165 pages, Calvino manages to make a story about cities unfold and develop into a complex blueprint for the potential of imagination. With each new city we develop a new passage or corridor of possibilities that before might have been unimaginable. I can only compare his writing to an M.C. Escher painting for the world as a whole, beautiful and bewildering.

Polo describes Valdra, built on a lake where when arriving you see two cities, and where nothing exists or happens in one Valdrada that the other Valdrada does not repeat in it’s reflection. He takes us through Andria, built so artfully that its every street follows a planet’s orbit, and the buildings and the places of community life repeat the order of the constellations.

With his seductive prose, Calvino manages to bring the reader back to a time before Google Maps and Tom Toms, when the mysteries of the world seemed so inexplicable yet tangible. I had to stop every so many pages to sit and attempt to draw out what I was imagining, and I highly suggest you all try the same.

While the cities described by Polo are what gives this read it’s grasp in reality, it is the representation of cities as elements of human nature that make me want to shake Calvino and say ‘HOW ARE YOU SODAMN GOOD?!’ It becomes clear after the first few chapters, we are not only getting the imagery of distant cities, but of human conditions that feel as close as your own hometown. The invisible cities could be your own town, your backyard, it could be yourself.

"Arriving at each new city, the traveler finds again a past of his that he did not know he had: the foreignness of what you no longer are or no longerpossess lies in wait for you in foreign, unpossessed places."

If you are looking for a short but highly impactful read, this book could not come more highly recommended. Read it. Then read it again. Then spend an afternoon doing nothing at all but imagining an Invisible Cities of your own. You might be surprised by how many you already know.

Tattoo Tuesday: Readers Response!

2011-02-08T19:24:00.004-05:00

Hey there Marauders!! It's our favorite time of the week once again!!

"There's just so much I want to forget, Dan. I thought I was going to be a READ ONLY file. I never thought I'd be... interactive." I said "Don't worry about it, Karla. Because in the end, we forget everything, anyway. We're human; we're amnesia machines." - Douglas Coupland, Microserfs

Here is what she had to say about her brand new ink:

"In short, I've always been fascinated with memory and how it works, and that line sums it all up; it reminds us of our smallness while ascertaining the fact that we don't really matter, in the end. It's a reminder, to me, to stop taking things so seriously. But most of all, it sounds (and looks) effing cool. "

We love her interpretation of the quote and the reasoning behind it!! We want to thank Gabby so much for sharing her beautiful new piece with us and look forward to hearing what you all think.

Next week we will have yet another piece from one of our very own followers so be sure to check back in for that. Remember, if you have a literary tattoo of your own we would love to see it! Just e-mail a photo along with a brief description of why you chose it to:
gbooks.inc@gmail.com

Prong's Re-Reads: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

2011-02-04T11:00:00.001-05:00

*Doo Do Do Doo Doo Dooooo Dooo Do Do DO Do Do DOOOO*

Welcome Marauders one and all, to the very first post of the
HARRY POTTER RE-READ
brought to your by Prongs!!
As some of you may know if you have been following us on Twitter, Prongs has decided to re-read the entire HP series before the last and final (DON'T CRY YET) movie is upon us in July. One book each month until that fateful day. So for those of you playing at home that's 7 books, 7 months, finishing up just in time for the finale of quite possibly the most successful literary franchise EVER.
This post is a bit late since Jan marked the start of the re-read but none the less here a discussion of all things wonderful about book 1. If you would like to join in the festivities, feel free to discuss with Prongs via twitter or e-mail and we would love to get some guest posts going.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

By J.K. Rowling

A Short Summary: If you don't know the basic story of Harry Potter by now... I just... I don't even... *eye twitch*. However, just in case you have been living under a rock that a giant ogre has been sitting on, here is a BRIEF over view of the start of what I consider to be the best series. Ever.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone starts off as unassuming as any other book out there. We are introduced to The Dursley's, an uptight family determined to live as normal a life as

possible, and their 'great-oaf' of a son Dudley. The Dursley's dreams of meritocracy might been accomplished, if not for the unwanted presence of their orphaned nephew, Harry Potter.

Harry Potter has lived for nearly 11 years under the shadow of his hefty cousin, under the wrong impression of his parents death, and under the stairs in a cupboard with only his dreams to keep him company. That is until the evening of Harry's 11 birthday when his life is changed forever, and a literary empire was ignited. Harry learns that he is in fact the son of a witch and a wizard, making himself a wizard in turn. Not only that, the death of his parents marked one of the greatest moments in 'magical history', when the dark Lord Voldermort (quiver) was mysteriously defeated by a tiny baby who would come to be known as 'the boy who lived'.

As Harry is brought into a new world of dragons, spells, friendship, and of course magic, he learns more about the night that would forever leave a scar on his past, future, and of cou

rse forehead.

The first book also marks the first year that Harry attends Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and the year that he would make his 2 companions and best friends, Ron and Hermoine. The trios year is filled with studies, adventures, and of course mischief bond the three together forever. While a majority of Harry's introduction to his new life is filled for the first time with true companionship and love, a sinister undertone haunts the new found happiness that Harry has found. Harry's return to the magical world also marks the resurfacing of Lord Voldermort, and with that the realization of the fear that can from from true evil. S.Stone ends brings with it the promise of more years at Hogwarts and more adventures for both Harry and his loving readers.

The Good:

Hagrid's arrival: When Hagrid bursts into Harry's life, he brings with him the manifested idea of magic. Imagine being a child (both as Harry and as a lowley muggle reader) and discovering for the first time an entirely new world beyond your wildest imagination. Harry's induction into the world of magic is by far one of the most profound moments of the book, and of the series.

Quidditch: In book 1 we are introduced to quidditch, and finally to a sport that I can stand. Harry learns that he has an innate ability to fly on a broom stick and becomes the youngest 'seeker' Hogwarts has ever seen. Quidditch provides much of the action in the book, and Rowlings descriptions leave you on the edge of your broomstick.

The mirror of Erised / Dumbledore: It is a testament to Rowling's strength as a writer that she developed so many of these small but powerful scenes. Half way through his year at Hogwarts, Harry stumbles across a mirror that is able to show him for the first time his hearts true desire; the physical appearance of his parents. With the findings of the mirror comes Harry's first encounters with Dumbledore, and we get a preview of the great man and relationship that is to come.

The Bad:
Draco Malfoy: Before Harry is introduced to all of the good that the magical world has to offer, his basic sense of morality is tested when he meets the young Draco Malfoy. Besides Hagrid, Draco is essentially the first glimpse we have of members of the magical world, and the parallel between the two boys lives begins. Draco, a boy from a pure-blooded rich family, will be a constant representation of everything Harry is not for the remainder of the series.

Lord Voldemort: Book 1 wouldn't have been complete with out the appearancef Harry's arch rival. While Voldemort's presence isn't shown until the end, the fear that he commands is felt from the first chapters of the book, helping to assert himself as one of the greatest literary villains of all time.

Over - Protective - Parents: When the Harry Potter series first rose to acclaim, there was a bit of a controversy among somewhat close-minded parents as to the nature of the books. Witches, magic, blasphemy seemed to ring from every page, and S.Stone became one of the most frequently banned school books of all time. While the lessons of love, bravery, and friendship can be seen in book 1, it is not until the later books that parents seemed to realize the true virtues the stories had to offer.

The Magical:

-Talking portraits
-Bewitched Ceilings
-Owl Posts
-Invisibility cloaks

- Baby Dragons

-Oliver Wood's Smile

-Platform 9 and 3/4th

Favorite Quotes:

"It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live."
"It takes much bravery to stand up to our enemies but we need as much bravery to stand up to our friends."
"One can never have enough socks," said Dumbledore. "Another Christmas has come and gone and I didn't get a single pair. People will insist on giving me books."
"There is no good and evil; only power and those too weak to see it."
"As much money and life as you could want! The two things most human beings would choose above all - the trouble is, humans do have a knack of choosing precisely those things that are worst for them."
"You're a wizard, Harry."

Alright folks, that is all I have for book 1. I could go on for days about how this book rekindled a love of reading for millions the world over, but I think the reasons why can be better said in the words of the text. Hopefully you will all rush out and start re-reading yourself, and if for some god-forsaken reason you haven't read this before... you will start now!!

Just showing off...

2011-02-02T13:44:00.003-05:00

Padfoot here.

Nothing new here today, just showing off a gift from a friend.....

I think my professors are intimidated every time I open my Mac to take notes. As they should be! If I don't get an A they might get Crucio'd.

BE JEALOUS!!!!

If you want one, you can get it from this lovely shop on Etsy.

Tattoo Tuesday

2011-02-01T13:01:00.005-05:00

“Fear of Falling”

Sometimes you wake up. Sometimes the fall kills you. And sometimes, when you fall, you fly.

"If I’m going to put words on my body, I want people to be able to read it easily and understand it. This phrase truly speaks to me. It inspires me every time I read it, and I want it to inspire other people too. I decided to have it tattooed on my body so everyone I meet, whether Sandman fan or not, could draw inspiration from it as I have. :)"

Padfoot can't wait to start the next novel in the series, Volume 2: The Doll's House!

Alright folks, that is all for this Tuesday. Don't be too remiss, for we will return next and every Tuesday with a brand new literary tattoo for your viewing pleasure. We encourage every one to check out Tara's site as well, or even feel free to send us an e-mail with any tattoo's of your own!

The Stand by Stephen King, Padfoot's Lament

2011-01-29T19:12:00.006-05:00

Ok first, I just want to say, please do not toilet paper my house or put my hand in warm water or anything you crazy kids do these days. But just be prepared, The Stand lovers, to hear my severe disappointment with the book.

**********WARNING SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS**************

First, a short synopsis of the plot:

A super-virus created by the government is accidently released by one of its employees. About 99% of the entire population is wiped out, and the remaining survivors are brought together by similar dreams of an old black lady. They eventually meet in Boulder, Colorado, and begin to rebuild their lives. At the same time, they’ve been having dreams about a “dark man” who is building his empire in Las Vegas. There is a gradual split between the survivors, into “good” and “evil” groups. The rest of the novel is a showdown between these two groups, and it all ends with a bang.

I have had at least a million people recommend this book to me. Wait, not really recommend, but something more dramatic like “READ THIS BOOK YOU WILL LOVE IT FOREVER.” Also known as the best Stephen King novel of all time.

Well…I don’t get it.

The first 200-300 pages were EXCELLENT! I loved the eeriness of the plague, the wonder of “what is this, what the hell is going on?” But that just seemed to be ruined when the dreams came into play. The whole religious theme just didn’t seem to fit. I think it should have gone in another direction…

And the ending?!? Don’t even get me started…

That’s all I have to say right now; this isn’t really a review but a discussion. I want to hear some of your thoughts, let’s discuss amongst ourselves!

-mischief managed-

Prong's 21st Review : Death Note

2011-01-26T18:42:00.006-05:00

Hey there Marauders.

Prongs here brining you a review of my ‘Wild Card’ for Collections/Graphic novels. Since week 3’s reading (My Mother She Killed Me, My Father he Ate Me) was going a bit slow, I decided to pick up a graphic novel I have been ITCHING to get my hands on.

I own and am reviewing the ‘Black Edition’ from B&N, which contains Volumes 1& 2 of the series. Sadly, the other Black Editions are only available for pre-order and I will have to wait until May for more of the story. There are 7 Black Editions in all… aka. 14 volumes. The Death Note series was published between 2003 and 2006 in Japan, and has since spawned a TV series, multiple novel spin offs, and a full-length movie.

So now that you have a bit of back info… here is Prong’s short-but loving review of the new cult hit ‘Death Note’.

"I'm going to change the world."

Death Note

Story by Tsugumi Ohba Art by Takeshi Obata

Have you ever heard the old philosophical debate of how we know whether man is truly good or evil at heart? The argument goes something like ‘imagine you could be invisible for a day… what is the first thing you would do?’ For most people, the first thing that comes to mind is usually something not quite moral… a.k.a. spy on Mike Rowe in the shower. This concept is put to the test in ‘Death Note’ when high-school student Light Yagami discovers an abandoned supernatural notebook belonging to none other than the ‘death god’ Ryuk.

When Light comes into possession of the notebook, he also inherits the sinisteryet cataclysmic powers that come with being a ‘death god’. By simply writing the full name of someone and imagining their face, Light is able to cause the instantaneous fatality of any human of his choosing… thus making him a master of death, of good and evil. It isn’t long before Light, a highly intelligent and moral student begins a crusade to rid the world of evil by ending the lives of known criminals in mass. Since no one besides Light and the death god Ryuk know about the details of how the Death Note works, society is thrown into chaos as a seemingly benevolent crusader begins mystically taking down criminals one by one. Many dub this unknown dictator of death as 'Kira', and Light must work tirelessly to keep his true identity a secret.

As the story progresses, unknown aspects of the Death Note's powers begin to emerge, along with new challenges for Light to deal with, all while trying to remain a top student and honorable son. One of those aspects is the presence of Ryuk, the death god that only the possessor of the Death Note can see. Light continues his daily life with the invisible, but not silent presence of the frighteningly funny death god following his every step. Ironically enough, Ryuk's unnerving presence provides the comic relief for an otherwise truly dark story.

Issues of judgment and righteousness and who can decide that those words truly mean are obviously huge undertones of the story. As a teenage boy sets out to turn the world into a utopia, it becomes clear that not everyone is as supportive of Light’s idealistic exploits. Light's morality is tested further with the introduction of the mysterious 'L'; a secretive opposer of 'Kira' who seems to be Light's mental match in every way.

Apart from being a compelling story, the very nature of a graphic novel adds to this story in a way that print alone could not accomplish. With out the visuals the book provides, it might be easy to forget that behind this seemingly harmless high school student, lurks an evil force aiding our hero in his fatal quest. Some of my favorite scenes involve Light in a casual conversation with friends, while Ryuk hangs invisible just behind, not letting you forget even in quiet times the power that Light possesses.

While my experience with Manga is limited, I can safely say this is some of the more visually stunning art I have seen in a long time; couple that with a gripping story and it is obvious to see why Death Note became a sensation.

I am also including a bit of a tutorial for how to read Manga for anyone who has yet to discover this fascinating and beautiful genre.

As a reader, I am always looking for ways to expand my concept of ‘a novel’ and my definition of ‘literature’. I am so glad that I stepped outside of my comfort zonewith this work, and look forward to seeing where Light’s adventures will take him next. I HIGHLY and I mean HIGHLY suggest picking this one up.

Tattoo Tuesday

2011-01-25T18:14:00.003-05:00

Tattoo Tuesday

2011-01-18T18:00:00.002-05:00

Padfoot and Prongs: the story of a bookshelf

2011-01-15T11:05:00.007-05:00

Hey there Marauders!

Padfoot and Prongs here bringing you a quick post to make your Saturday a little more literary.

We bring to you the epic tale of Padfoot & Prongs and the Bookshelf: An underdog story.

Once upon a friday, a young Marauder had the idea to organize the intense chaos that has become her books in her apartment. The task seemed insurmountable as books laid scattered in closets, on night stands, even in bathrooms.

However all was not lost for Padfoot and Prongs were Marauders of the best kind, and braved a harrowing trip to Wal-Mart to aid them in their quest of organizing books.

Sadly... all of those readins of books doesn't translate to being able to read assembly directions since this was their result....

Just in case it's hard to see.... yeaa that's the bottom shelf.... upside down. I don't know why they don't mention more things like this happening in epic tales... since I'm sure it probably does.

But alas! An idea was had... a way to transform the bookshelf from a sad ugly duckling... to a beautiful sturdy bookshelf-swan that literary folk from far and wide would envy.

That is when Prong's had the idea to incorperate the 'Postcards from Penguin' that

have been sitting untouched in her quarters for so long.

Thus, for many diligent hours P&P sat toiling away with their scissors and rubber cement, pouring their blood sweat in tears into the final outcome.

Their result..... VICTORY!!

An upside-down bottom shelf was defeated, and Prongs now has a bookshelf that she will no longer be ashamed to show her fellow companions!!

The end....

Prongs 20th Review : The Blind Assassin

2011-01-14T11:50:00.013-05:00

"He was deciding whether to cut her throat or love her forever. Right. Yes. The usual choices."

The Blind Assassin

Margaret Atwood

As a part of my ’52 books’ project for 2011, I am determined to read titles by authors that I am frankly embarrassed I have never made it too. Margaret Atwood was high up on that list, so I was beyond excited when ‘The Blind Assassin’ was drawn as my first book of the year. Atwood is a celebrated Canadian author with numerous award-winning titles under her literary belt. Almost as an aside to my ‘trying to read new authors’ I am really trying to read more ‘new FEMALE’ authors, since I recently realized that apart from J.K. Rowling…. I have read almost none.

‘Ten days after the war ended, my sister Laura drove a car off a bridge.’ The novel starts off with this explosive sentence, and the rest of the novel is the slow delicate process of re-assembling the scattered pieces of the story leading up to that first blast. The largest portion of the novel focuses on the auto-biographical account of Iris Chase, a now elderly woman detailing the history of her and her sister Laura’s complicated relationship. Through her story, we are shown various chapters of Laura’s novel ‘The Blind Assassin’, a story about anonymous lovers conducting a secret affair, which rose to acclaim after the sisters tragic death. Within Laura's novel we are given a thrilling futuristic sci-fi story told by the nameless male to his devoted lover about a ‘blind assassin’ who falls in love with his intended target… a young damaged girl.

"Touch comes before sight, before speech. It is the first language and the last, and it always tells the truth."

The Blind Assassin is meta-fiction at it’s finest, however the beginning can feel a bit disjointed as we are introduced to multiple story layers. This un-comfortableness wears off quickly though as the story progresses and we begin to see the way that the seemingly non-related stories starting to reflect one another both in form and in plot. Small fragments of each story show up in it’s counterparts, giving the entire novel a connected fluid feel, each part working to enhance the substance of the others. If you ever have seen the movie ‘The Fountain’ I wouldn’t be surprised if you found similarities between the film and this story. Both involve 3 separate but intrinsically related stories, working together to tell a much grander story. The idea of interweaving stories is nothing new, but the way Atwood organizes her layers is truly innovative.

"In Paradise there are no stories, because there are no journeys. It's loss and regret and misery and yearning that drive the story forward, along its twisted road."

While reading this book it was easy to see why Atwood has risen to such approbation. Her writing is truly ‘crafted’ in a way that only a true talent could pull off. The complicated structure of the story is reflected in the intricate construction of her sentences, each word picked carefully and used with vigilance. I probably could have highlighted the entire book at the rate I started off at.

My only critique of this book is that I was personally so engrossed by the ‘story’ of the blind assassin, that I felt myself rushing to get to the brief points of the novel where his story is progressed forwards. So much of the work is devoted to Iris’s accounts of her and Laura’s childhood that I was becoming impatient to move past their part. However, to Atwood’s credit, what makes the minor characters so unforgettable is the slow account of the main story, giving form and meaning to the others.

Due to its complex nature, I feel that this is the kind of story that deserves multiple readings. Just by flipping back to copy my favorite quotes, I was surprised to notice subtle elements that had snuck it with out my knowledge, waiting for me to come back and find their poignant presence. It is hard to sum up a book that has so much going for it. It is even harder to sum up all of the thoughts that I had working through this title. I was intrigued, frustrated, intimidated, delighted, but above all impressed. From just this first title, I am confident in saying that Atwood is deserving of all the praise that she has received. I look forward to reading more from her.

Tat Tuesday - Mark Twain

2011-01-11T18:58:00.005-05:00

'Hey there Marauders!! It's our favorite time of the week once again!!
For those of you who are new to the site here's a bit of background. Tattoo Tuesday was started by our good friend Tara over at 25HourBooks and celebrates our love of literature plus the people like us who are obsessed enough to ink something literary on their body! Every week we feature a literary tattoo that interests or compels us. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the ink.

This week's tattoo comes from Amy from Contrariwise.org

Here's what she had to say about her tattoo, which is from Life on the Mississippi by mark Twain:

"it helps me to let go of guilt i have from the past, as well as not freak out about what is to come. i am a teacher. teaching is a wonderful profession, but can also be quite stressful. i am very hard on myself at times, thinking i should do everything perfect the first time around. this helps to remind me that am i forever learning, along with my third grade students. i struggled with the font. originally i wanted to use ‘american typewriter’, but then went with my own handwriting to make it more personal… it looks as though i scribbled on my wrist with a sharpie, but i like that."

Alright folks, that is all for this Tuesday. Don't be too remiss, for we will return next and every Tuesday with a brand new literary tattoo for your viewing pleasure. We encourage every one to check out Tara's site as well, or even feel free to send us an e-mail with any tattoo's of your own!

Very First Video Blog!!!!!

2011-01-08T17:27:00.010-05:00

ohmahgawd video blog!?!?!

You heard right marauders! Padfoot and Prongs here bringing your our very first...very rough...yet very original VIDEOOOO BLOGGG.

Since we have been masked in darkness for 2 years now, we thought it was time to show you all our mischievous faces and talk about our new obsession

GRAPHIC NOVELS

Below you will find our brand new Vlog, hot off the presses. In the brief clip we show off some of the graphic novel titles that have been recommended to us, and a few titles that we have found ourselves. The ones mentioned include:

Death Note - Tsugumi Ohba (technically a manga)
Sandman Series - Neil Gaiman
Watchmen - Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons
Sin City - Frank Miller
Mr. Punch - Neil Gaiman, Dave Mckean
The Twilight Zone graphic novels - Mark Kneece

We would love to hear some comments on what other titles to pick up, as well as thoughts on the ones that we already have. WARNING: THE AUDIO IS A BIT OFF.... SORRY WE HAVE NO IDEA WHY

Hope you enjoyed this nice little clip of your favorite marauders.... we hope to bring you lots more (and lots more thought out ones) in the future!!

-mischief DEFINITELY managed -

Tattoo Tuesday

2011-01-04T10:27:00.000-05:00

Hey there Marauders!! It's our favorite time of the week once again!!
For those of you who are new to the site here's a bit of background. Tattoo Tuesday was started by our good friend Tara over at 25HourBooks and celebrates our love of literature plus the people like us who are obsessed enough to ink something literary on their body! Every week we feature a literary tattoo that interests or compels us. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the ink.

This week we have a tattoo from a Peter Pan lover. Padfoot is extremely jealous of this week's tattoo!

From LiveJournal:

"I spent my entire childhood being totally enamored of the story of Peter Pan. I read the original until the book fell apart, and I took in every single media representation of the Pan story I could find. This persisted into my teenage years, and I never really got over the magic of it all.

So today I started a Peter Pan themed tattoo. It's Captain Hook's ship The Jolly Roger, as depicted in the Disney movie version of the story. I know that Disney sort of bastardized the story, but it was the first exposure to it that I had, and I think that has to count for something.

We're finished with the outlines now, and in two months or so I'm going to get the colors all filled in. My artist is pretty amazing though, and I tend to think that she is able to make even in-between work look like finished designs. "

http://community.livejournal.com/literarytattoos/900205.html#cutid1

Alright folks, that is all for this Tuesday. Don't be too remiss, for we will return next and every Tuesday with a brand new literary tattoo for your viewing pleasure. We encourage every one to check out Tara's site as well, or even feel free to send us an e-mail with any tattoo's of your own!

52 weeks / 52 books

2011-01-02T14:00:00.014-05:00

Hey there Marauders!

Prongs here bringing you something that I think is going to be one of the best things of my 2011 year. Recently, I was stumbling along my favorite site - Reddit/books - when I saw the idea for doing '52 Books in 52 Weeks'. Did you catch that? It means 1 book a week! On top of that, people were doing fun craft projects of printing out covers of their list and putting them on a deck of cards! ADORABLE!? As I am a sucker for lists, and because I am trying to develop a set reading schedule to carry me out past graduation, I have decided to play along.

That's right friends... yours truly will be plowing through 1 whole book a week and then crossing it off the wonderful list I have provided you. We would LOVE to see some people play along, but we know this could be quite a commitment. I decided to break my suit categories up into different generes, but you could do it how ever you please! I have seen some people order their 2-K in order of hardest/fattest books.

At the start of every week I will be drawing a random card from my deck (and as long as it's not in the middle of a series) and that will be my book for that week! Helps keep it somewhat unbiased on my part.

Make sure to click the brand new tab at the top (^^^^ up there^^^^) to see my progress as well as find links to reviews and pictures along the way.

Here's to 2011! Let's hope I don't quit on week 2.

Italics - Currently Reading
Bold - Finished

(Diamonds) Fiction
Ace: WILD!! - White Jazz - Ellroy
2: Everything is Illuminated - Foer
3: The Blind Assassin - Atwood
4: Blood Meridian - McCarthy
5: Bad Things Happen - Dolan
6: The Book Theif - Zuask
7: World War Z - Brooks
8: Invisible Cities - Calvino
9: The Yiddish Policeman's Union - Chabon
10: Music for Torching - Homes
J: This is Where I leave You - Trooper
Q: Nemesis - Roth
K: Great House - Nicole Krauss

(Hearts) Non Fiction
Ace: WILD!!
2: The Naked and the Dead - Mailer
3: The Icarus Syndrom - Beinart
4: The Lost City of Z - Grann
5: The Accidental Billionares - Marrich
6: Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks - Skloot
7: Stiff - Roach
8: Rework - Fried
9: The Warmth of Other Suns - Wilkerson
10: The Devil and Sherlock Holmes - Grann
J: The Glass Castle - Walls
Q: Rise of Theodore Roosevelt - Morris
K: On Writing - King

(Clubs) Short Stories/Collections
Ace: WILD!!
2: My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me - Bernheimer
3: Machine of Death - North
4: The New York Trilogy - Auster
5: Stranger Things Happen - Link
6: What Will the World look Like When all the Water Leaves Us: Van den Berg
7: Full Dark, No Stars - King
8: A Short History of Nearly Everything - Bill Bryson
9: The Martian Chronicles - Bradbury
10: Sherlock Homes Collection - Doyle
J: The Elephant Vanishes - Murakami
Q: Smoke and Mirrors - Gaiman
K: Jesus' Son - Johnson

(Spades) Graphic Novels/Series
Ace: WILD!! --- DEATH NOTE - Tsugumi Ohba (WEEK 3)
2: Blankets - Thompson
3: Hunger Games - Collins (week 2)
4: Catching Fire - Collins
5: Mockingjay - Collins
6: Girl who Played with Fire - Larsson
7: Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest - Larsson
8: Drinking at the Movies - Julia Wertz

9: Oryx and Crake - Atwood
10: The Year of the Flood - Atwood
J: Watchmen - Moore
Q: Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes -Gaiman
K: Darkness Take My Hand - Lehane

Happy New Years!

2011-01-01T08:26:00.003-05:00

Hey Marauders!
Padfoot and Prongs here wishing you magical thoughts for the start of 2011! We will be returning to the blog this week and can't wait to start the year off right with tons of fabulousss posts.
Until then here is hoping your year will be filled with good friends, good timse, and especially GOODBOOKS!

"May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you're wonderful, and don't forget to make some art -- write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself."- Neil Gaiman

Happy Blogiversary to us!!!!!!

2010-12-23T16:09:00.007-05:00

Hey there Marauders.

Padfoot and Prongs here bringing you a very special post. That's right, 2 years ago today P&P were sitting in pretty much the same positions in front of our CP's writing our very first post. Crazy right!?! We are amazed, shocked, and proud to have been producing literary posts for this long with no end in site.

We thought in honor of our 2 years it would be fun to kind of 'recap' some of our favorites things we have done for you all and talk about what we are looking forward in the next 2 years of our blog life.

Favorite Posts

Padfoot: One big moment for me had to be when we opened up our Etsy store. I was incredibly proud of the items we made, and also so happy that we got such a great response. Although the store is on hiatus, I look forward to bringing it back in the near future and to continue making the best literary items we can :).

Prongs: This is probably a favorite moment+favorite post. When I turned 20 I sent Ray Bradbury a 'love letter' after finishing 'Something Wicked This Way Comes'. In it I told him about how Bradbury and I have birthdays 1 day apart, just like the 2 main characters in his book. He responded with a fabulous Birthday Card for me, that I still cherishhhhh.

Favorite Books:

Padfoot: An obvious choice for me would be Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. This was my first reading of the book, and has become one of my favorite books of all time. Also, even though I never wrote a review for it, I'd have to say Paradise Lost by John Milton. I read it for the first time in a Milton class that I took here at Ohio State, and although it was VERY hard to read (even with help of the class) I still think it is one of the most beautiful books I've read lately.

Prongs: It is crazy to look back at the reviews and remember some of the wonderful titles I have gotten through over the past few years.

I'd have to say the 2 that stand out most in my mind are East of Eden by John Steinbeck and Cat's Cradl e by Kurt Vonnegut. Both titles has a strong visceral impact on me, and their lessons and words have stayed with me till this day. They are also 2 of the reviews that I am post proud of.

Favorite Moments:

Padfoot: I'd have to say my moment would be meeting Ernest Hemingway's grandson. If you would harken back with us to this post here you will remember what a grand old time we had drawing pictures and not paying attention to his crazy stories. And also again, opening up our Etsy store!

Prongs: I'm not sure if I would say 'favorite' as much as 'memorable', but all of the Harry Potter moments that we have shared together, plus with other bloggers have been some of my favorite memories. I remember writing 'this' nerd note about the ending of HP and it is still s true today as it was back then. It has been fantastic to be apart of a community that can share in our similar love.

Another favorite moment was designing our first 'Good Books Inc' shirt. Little did I know that sitting and making a simple design would be the first step into making 'Good Books Inc' a reality, and it is amazing to see how far we have come since those early days.

2 years+ and beyond....

Being the new year + our blogiversary, it seems only fitting that we discuss what we have planned for the blog in the future. If you have been following us at all you know some brief tidbits about our plans, but here is a better look of what is in store for your favorite marauders....

- A 'Good Books' podcast, hosted by yours truly. We will discuss various literary topics, books, and just generally anything new going on in the literary world.
- Good Books Inc 'Ready is Sexy Calender 2012'. Over the next year we will be hard at work compiling a calender for all you literary lovers featuring various 'models' from the literary world in some alluring poses while doing the thing we love best... READING!
- Interviews with authors, bloggers, and literary folk in general. We plan on doing some interesting interviews here in the near future with some exciting interviewees you are sure to love.
- More reviews, posts, and of course contests!!!

There you have it folks, so much to look forward to in 2011. Padfoot and Prongs will be taking the next few weeks off to holiday it up at home, and to start preparations for the new year. We will return with everything we have mentioned and more, including your old favorites 'Tattoo Tuesdays' and 'caption contests'.

From the bottom of our mischievous hearts we want to thank you all again soooo much for an amazing 2 years of literary goodness. We had no idea when we started this blog what kind of wild ride we were in for, and we couldn't be happier.

read and rock on guys!

Tattoo Tuesday!!

2010-12-21T15:33:00.005-05:00

Hey there Marauders!! It's our favorite time of the week once again!!
For those of you who are new to the site here's a bit of background. Tattoo Tuesday was started by our good friend Tara over at 25HourBooks and celebrates our love of literature plus the people like us who are obsessed enough to ink something literary on their body! Every week we feature a literary tattoo that interests or compels us. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the ink.
This week one of our lovely readers, we have a tattoo from Molly, on one of our favorite sites, Contrariwise.org

Personally, this is one of the coolest tattoos we've seen in a long time!

Here's Molly story of her tattoo:
"This tattoo was inspired by a trip to Bread Loaf this summer, where I studied poetry with Ellen Bryant Voigt. I have always admired the ways we can re-imagine poems outside of typical lineation, how poems can become sculptures and books can be objects of art with textures and breath. A bit of fortune converged with my desire: I have a dear friend in my MFA program whose husband happens to be a tattoo artist, and that husband just so wanted to spend some time on a letterpress, and I had just acquired a Kelsey platen press. A trade was proposed, and Shawn designed the whole thing with wings in mind, something that would also resemble lungs and breathing and the lift of freedom at the end of Sharon Olds‘ oft-studied “I Go Back to May 1937.” The poem is there, on my arm, in its entirety. Olds is my most beloved living poet, and this poem speaks to me with my own work–taking life experiences and professing: “Do what you are going to do, and I will tell about it.” Olds once said that poetry comes out of her lungs, and now I have this reminder, this collection of gorgeous language, that tells me again and again: don’t forget to breathe, don’t forget who you are."

Alright folks, that is all for this Tuesday. Don't be too remiss, for we will return next and every Tuesday with a brand new literary tattoo for your viewing pleasure. We encourage every one to check out Tara's site as well, or even feel free to send us an e-mail with any tattoo's of your own!

Bronte Sisters: Action Figures!!

2010-12-15T12:01:00.003-05:00

Hey there Marauders. Padfoot and Prongs here just giving you something hilarious for your humpday. Hope your weeks are going well! P&P are hard at work on stuff for the blog/the literary world in general. We have so much in store for you guys and we can't wait to share!
Until then... enjoy these HILARIOUS literary video.

Tattoo Tuesday: Bradbury

2010-12-14T09:50:00.004-05:00

The tattoo text is taken from the first lines in Ray Bradbury's poem: 'Byzantium' Which happens to be Prongs 2nd favorite poem of all time. It can be found in the introduction of Bradbury's book 'Dandelion Wine.'
The poem is about Bradbury's relationship to his hometown, and plays off of the poem of the same name by Yeat's (which is one of my other all time favorites).

And lucky you... today we have the whole poem for your reading pleasure!

Byzantium, I come not from,
But from another time and place
Whose race was simple, tried and true;
As boy
I dropped me forth in Illinois.
A name with neither love nor grace
Was Waukegan, there I came from
And not, good friends, Byzantium.
And yet in looking back I see
From topmost part of farthest tree
A land as bright, beloved and blue
As any Yeats found to be true.
So we grew up with mythic dead
To spoon upon midwestern bread
And spread old gods’ bright marmalade
To slake in peanut-butter shade,
Pretending there beneath our sky
That it was Aphrodite’s thigh…
While by the porch-rail calm and bold
His words pure wisdom, stare pure gold
My grandfather, a myth indeed,
Did all of Plato supercede
While Grandmama in rockingchair
Sewed up the raveled sleeve of care
Crocheted cool snowflakes rare and bright
To winter us on summer night.
And uncles, gathered with their smokes
Emitted wisdoms masked as jokes,
And aunts as wise as Delphic maids
Dispensed prophetic lemonades
To boys knelt there as acolytes
To Grecian porch on summer nights;
Then went to bed, there to repent
The evils of the innocent;
The gnat-sins sizzling in their ears
Said, through the nights and through the years
Not Illinois nor Waukegan
But blither sky and blither sun.
Though mediocre all our Fates
And Mayor not as bright as Yeats
Yet still we knew ourselves. The sum?
Byzantuim.
Byzantuim.

Beautiful right? The first 3 lines are high up on Prongs list of tattoos to get. Were you just as inspired?

Alright folks, that is all for this Tuesday. Don't be too remiss, for we will return next and every Tuesday with a brand new literary tattoo for your viewing pleasure. We encourage every one to check out Tara's site as well, or even feel free to send us an e-mail with any tattoo's of your own!

Let it Snow!!

2010-12-12T13:57:00.004-05:00

Photo Credit: Yserbius123 on Twitter. To see this scenario happen in real life,
please hashtag #gaimanbubblebath.

Good afternoon ye ol' readers!

Padfoot here, playing on my brand-new early Xmas present: Macbook Pro! I cannot peel my eyes away from the computer screen, and it's snowing like crazy out, so I thought I'd do something productive and share with you a nice little walk down memory lane. Here it is, the best selling children's books of all time!

http://www.infoplease.com/ipea/A0203050.html

Paperback

Here are the best-selling children's books of all time (through the end of 2000), with author and year of initial publication, compiled by Publishers Weekly. OP means the book is no longer in print.

Charlotte's Web, E. B. White; illustrated by Garth Williams (1974)
The Outsiders, S. E. Hinton (1968)
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Judy Blume (1976)
Love You Forever, Robert Munsch; illustrated by Sheila McGraw (1986)
Where the Red Fern Grows, Wilson Rawls (1973)
Island of the Blue Dolphins, Scott O'Dell (1971)
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, J. K. Rowling (1999)
Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret, Judy Blume (1972)
Shane, Jack Schaeffer (1972)
The Indian in the Cupboard, Lynne Reid Banks (1982)
A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L'Engle (1974)
Little House on the Prairie, Laura Ingalls Wilder; illustrated by Garth Williams (1971)
Little House in the Big Woods, Laura Ingalls Wilder; illustrated by Garth Williams (1971)
The Incredible Journey, Sheila Burnford (1984)
The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1968)
Johnny Tremain, Esther Forbes (1969)
Just Me and My Dad, Mercer Mayer (1977)
Go Ask Alice, Anonymous (1976)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. J. K. Rowling (2000)
Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great, Judy Blume (1976)
Blubber, Judy Blume (1976)
The Witch of Blackbird Pond, Elizabeth George Speare (1972)
Superfudge, Judy Blume (1981)
Bridge to Terabithia, Katherine Paterson (1987)
Freckle Juice, Judy Blume (1978)
On the Banks of Plum Creek, Laura Ingalls Wilder; illustrated by Garth Williams (1971)
That Was Then, This Is Now, S. E. Hinton (1972)
Sideways Stories from Wayside School, Louis Sachar (1985)
The Catcher in the Rye, J. D. Salinger (1951)
Farmer Boy, Laura Ingalls Wilder; illustrated by Garth Williams (1971)
Just Go to Bed, Mercer Mayer (1993)
Where the Wild Things Are, Maurice Sendak (1984)
Goodnight Moon, Margaret Wise Brown; illustrated by Clement Hurd (1977)
The Long Winter, Laura Ingalls Wilder; illustrated by Garth Williams (1971)
The Berenstain Bears' New Baby, Stan and Jan Berenstain (1974)
By the Shores of Silver Lake, Laura Ingalls Wilder; illustrated by Garth Williams (1971)
Little Town on the Prairie, Laura Ingalls Wilder; illustrated by Garth Williams (1971)
The Berenstain Bears and the Messy Room, Stan and Jan Berenstain (1983)
The Pigman, Paul Zindel (1978)
The Yearling, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (1961)
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, E. L. Konigsburg (1973)
Merry Christmas, Mom and Dad, Mercer Mayer (1982)
Just Grandma and Me, Mercer Mayer (1975)
Just for You, Mercer Mayer (1975)
Sarah, Plain and Tall, Patricia MacLachlan (1987)
When the Legends Die, Hal Borland (1984)
Bunnicula, James Howe (1980)
James and the Giant Peach, Roald Dahl; illustrated by Nancy Burkert (1988)
The Berenstain Bears Go to School, Stan and Jan Berenstain (1978)
The Night Before Christmas, Clement Hurd; illustrated by Douglas Gorsline (1975)
These Happy Golden Years, Laura Ingalls Wilder; illustrated by Garth Williams (1971)
All By Myself, Mercer Mayer (1983)
Stuart Little, E. B. White; illustrated by Garth Williams (1974)
The First Four Years, Laura Ingalls Wilder; illustrated by Garth Williams (1971)
Hatchet, Gary Paulsen (1988)
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, Barbara Robinson (1979)
The Cay, Theodore Taylor (1970)
Kristy's Great Idea (Babysitters Club #1), Ann M. Martin (1986)
The Berenstain Bears and Too Much Junk Food, Stan and Jan Berenstain (1985)
Then Again, Maybe I Won't, Judy Blume (1973)
I Was So Mad, Mercer Mayer (1983)
The Berenstain Bears Meet Santa Bear, Stan and Jan Berenstain (1984)
The Giver, Lois Lowry (1994)
The Berenstain Bears and Too Much TV, Stan and Jan Berenstain (1984)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl (1988)
The Berenstain Bears Forget Their Manners, Stan and Jan Berenstain (1985)
The Berenstain Bears Learn About Strangers, Stan and Jan Berenstain (1985)
Julie of the Wolves, Jean Craighead George (1974)
The Berenstain Bears Visit the Dentist, Stan and Jan Berenstain (1981)
The Berenstain Bears and the Truth, Stan and Jan Berenstain (1983)
Gremlins, George Jipe (1984) OP
Stone Fox, John Gardner; illustrated by Marcia Sewall (1983)
I Just Forgot, Mercer Mayer (1988)
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, Judith Viorst, illustrated by Ray Cruz (1976)
How to Eat Fried Worms, Thomas Rockwell (1975)
The Mouse and the Motorcycle, Beverly Cleary (1980)
When I Get Bigger, Mercer Mayer (1983)
The Berenstain Bears in the Dark, Stan and Jan Berenstain (1982)
500 Words to Grow On, Harry McNaught (1973)
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, Mildred Taylor (1984)
Merry Christmas, Amelia Bedelia, Peggy Parish; illustrated by Lynn Sweat (1987)
Number the Stars, Lois Lowry (1990)
The Trumpet of the Swan, E. B. White; illustrated by Edward Frascino (1973)
The Cricket in Times Square, George Selden; illustrated by Garth Williams (1970)
Misty of Chincoteague, Marguerite Henry (1956)
It's Not What You Expect, Norma Klein (1976) OP
Matilda, Roald Dahl; illustrated by Quentin Blake (1990)
The New Baby, Mercer Mayer (1983)
The Chocolate Touch, Patrick Catling (1984)
Corduroy, Don Freeman (1976)
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis (1970)
The Berenstain Bears Go to the Doctor, Stan and Jan Berenstain (1981)
The Berenstain Bears Get in a Fight, Stan and Jan Berenstain (1982)
Sounder, William H. Armstrong (1972)
The Return of the Indian, Lynne Reid Banks (1987)
The Kitten Book, Jan Pfloog (1968)
Dinosaurs, Peter Zallinger (1977)
Wee Sing Children's Songs and Fingerplays (1977)
The Truck Book, Harry McNaught (1978)
Barney's Hats (1993)
The Sign of the Beaver, Elizabeth George Speare (1984)
Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself, Judy Blume (1978)
The Berenstain Bears: No Girls Allowed, Stan and Jan Berenstain (1986)
Farm Animals, Phoebe Dunn (1984)
Richard Scarry's Please and Thank You, Richard Scarry (1973)
Rascal, Sterling North (1964)
Claudia and the Phantom Phone Calls (Babysitters Club #2), Ann M. Martin (1986)
Just Me and My Mom, Mercer Mayer (1990)
Me Too! Mercer Mayer (1983)
A Wind in the Door, Madeleine L'Engle (1974)
Iggie's House, Judy Blume (1976)
Meet Samantha, Susan Adler; illustrated by Dan Andreasen (1986)
Poems & Prayers for the Very Young, Martha Alexander (1973)
The Farm Book, Jan Pfloog (1964)
The Berenstain Bears and the Sitter, Stan and Jan Berenstain (1981)
Just Me and My Puppy, Mercer Mayer (1985)
Welcome to Dead House (Goosebumps #1), R. L. Stine (1992)
The Chocolate War, Robert Cormier (1986)
Chocolate Fever, Robert K. Smith (1978)
Say Cheese and Die (Goosebumps #4), R. L. Stine (1992)
Meet Addy, Connie Porter; illustrated by Dahl Taylor and Melodye Rosales (1993)
Frog and Toad Are Friends, Arnold Lobel (1979)
The Alphabet Book, P. D. Eastman (1974)
The Berenstain Bears Get the Gimmies, Stan and Jan Berenstain (1988)
Rumble Fish, S. E. Hinton (1976)
The Little Duck, Judy Dunn; photos by Phoebe Dunn (1976)
A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Madeleine L'Engle (1979)
The Secret of the Indian, Lynne Reid Banks (1990)
Curious George, H. A. and Margret Rey (1973)
The Velveteen Rabbit, Margery Williams (1979)
Good Work, Amelia Bedelia, Peggy Parish (1996)
The Berenstain Bears and Too Much Birthday, Stan and Jan Berenstain (1986)
The Zoo Book, Jan Pfloog (1967)
101 Dalmatians, Dodie Smith (1976) OP
The Berenstain Bears and the Trouble with Friends, Stan and Jan Berenstain (1987)
The Berenstain Bears and the Week at Grandma's, Stan and Jan Berenstain (1986)
In & Out, Up & Down, Michael Smollin (1982)
Amelia Bedelia, Peggy Parish; illustrated by Fritz Siebel (1983)
The Berenstain Bears Go Out for the Team, Stan and Jan Berenstain (1987)
The Berenstain Bears Go to Camp, Stan and Jan Berenstain (1982)
Amelia Bedelia and the Baby, Peggy Parish; illustrated by Lynn Sweat (1982)
Just Shopping with Mom, Mercer Mayer (1989)
Richard Scarry's Find Your ABC's, Richard Scarry (1973)
Grover and the Everything in the Whole Wide World Museum, (1974) OP
The Runaway Bunny, Margaret Wise Brown; illustrated by Clement Hurd (1977)
Sunshine, Norma Klein (1976) OP
Deenie, Judy Blume (1974)
The Berenstain Bears and Moving Day, Stan and Jan Berenstain (1981)
Meet Kirsten, Janet Shaw; illustrated by Renee Graef (1986)
Clifford the Big Red Dog, Norman Bridwell (1985)

Holy crap, I'm feeling old! Berenstain Bears?!?! Superfudge!?! Time to do some Googling and relive my childhood...

Which ones on the list, or not, were your favorites??

Prongs 19th Review : The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

2010-12-10T14:08:00.009-05:00

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Stieg Larsson

Preface: As some of our older readers may know, for the past 2 years or so I have been devoting myself to the reading of ‘Classics’ or at least what I consider to constitute classics. It is only recently that I have taken off the modern blinders I have been wearing (aka. My hand physically hiding titles when I walk into bookstores) and begun to play catch up on the last 15 years or so of literature. I have made a brief but succinct list of titles that are essential modern works and once those are done I can finally rejoin the rest of the world in embracing new releases. The ‘Millennium Trilogy’ was high up on the list of titles due to its international success as well as intriguing background of the now deceased author. Assuming that most of you have read at least the first book in this series, I will tell you right now there are some SPOILERS, but nothing that will absolutely ruin the story for you.

As I have only read the first part in the ‘Millennium Trilogy’ I was hesitant to write a review on a book that is meant to be accompanied by two other works. However, I have made the executive decision that while ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’ is meant to be read with its sequels, the novel can stand on its own as a piece of writing complete in all areas of ‘literary checkpoints.’ From the beginning author Stieg Larsson sets us on a slow, complicated journey with Casanova-journalist extraordinaire Mikael Blomkvist into a world of Swedish secrecy, seduction, and above all scandal. Scorned professionally after losing a brutal ‘libel’ case against a powerhouse industrialist, Mikael is given the perfect opportunity to reestablish his reputation when he meets the intriguing Henrik Vagner, ex-tycoon and devoted uncle to the 40-years missing Harriet Vagner. Henrik hires Mikael to aid him in the solving the seemingly impossible case of his missing niece and in return guarantees Mikael a way to win back his integrity at Mikael’s failing ‘Millennium Newspaper’.

Under the false pretenses of writing the ‘Vagner Family History,’ Mikael begins to blunder his way through the records of the intricate Vagner clan, unintentionally uncovering family secrets which have been buried for years. Mikael’s quest begins slowly but picks up speeds as our modern day heroine Lisbeth Salander’s story makes itself known. Working as a private eye, the ‘dragon tattooed’ Lisbeth Salander enters the story gently but makes soon her presence roughly felt proving herself to be a feminine force to be reckoned with. A friend of mine made the comment that Lisbeth seemed almost like a surprise to the author and I would have to agree. While the work seems to focus originally on Mikael, Lisbeth’s allure is undeniable as her character quickly becomes the unexpected femme fatale that literary lover’s dream of. Larsson takes his time uniting Lisbeth and Mikael, but once the two characters are finally brought together the story races ahead with full force keeping the reader on edge until the very end.

“In her world, this was the natural order of things. As a girl she was legal prey, especially if she was dressed in worn black leather jacket and had pierced eyebrows, tattoos, and zero social status… On the other hand, there was no question of Advokat Bjurman going unpunished. Salnder never forgot an injustice, and by nature she was anything but forgiving.’

The supporting characters all lend a hand in the complicated web that the Vagner family has spun. Unless you have a proclivity for distinguishing Swedish names, I would suggest copying the family tree down and keeping it handy. The motivations of all characters, even minor ones, is essential to understanding the events that unfold and the justifications for almost every plot point. With out the complexity of every single characters morals, this book would easily have slipped off into 'thriller genre' obscurity.

This is the second book in a row I have read where the author seems to forgo elaborate prose for the sake of detailed action. The plot moves along at a slow simmer burning up the pages with its violent bursts of sexual and physical aggression that culminate at the big reveal. “Eighteen percent of women in Sweden have at one time been threatened by a man.” From these first words you know that this book is going to be brutal. The writing has a distinct ‘European’ feel, especially when Larsson tackles issues of sexuality and violence. Not a fan of the euphemism, Larsson writes explicitly about the sexual conquests and retributions of a variety of characters, laying out events in a blunt fashion that can set even the strongest of stomachs on edge. From Wikipedia I read that “Larsson, who was disgusted by sexual violence, witnessed the gang rape of a young girl when he was 15. He never forgave himself for failing to help the girl, whose name was Lisbeth.” Through this story Larsson is able to empower that young girl as well as himself, creating an environment for him to seek vengeance on the ‘men who hate women’ (Which is the Swedish translation of the books title.)

Apart from the two major plot lines, ‘Dragon Tattoo’ is riddled with side stories and commentary about the state of political, economic, and moral affairs in Sweden. Larsson does a superb job in collecting bits of historical trivia and references to tie in the fact with the fiction, helping to immerse the reader in to a perhaps unmerited view of modern day Swedish life. With enough of the fantastical to keep it interesting, and enough of the factual to make it plausible this modern day mystery seems like it could be found on the headlines of tomorrows news. It is the kind of story that keeps entire towns discussing theories for days, the kind of events that ignite discussions. This is the book that the ‘Da Vinci Code’ wishes it could be.

I was impressed by ‘Dragon Tattoo’ for accomplishing all of the things I hope to walk away from a story with. Suspense, intrigue, style, and integrity; this work stands alone in the abundance of mystery-thrillers that can never seem to pull off all of these elements at once. As soon as I turned the last page I rushed to Amazon to order the next installment. If that work shows half of the command that ‘Dragon Tattoo’ did… I am sure I will be reviewing it too.

Just a quick wave Helllo

2010-12-07T12:54:00.004-05:00

Hello favorite readers!

Prongs is currently with her long lost New York bff, and it's Padfoot here trying not to drown in the numerous final essays I have to write for school. But I thought I'd take a short break and tell you about an interesting Reddit link I found.

http://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/egp83/does_any_one_else_thing_that_the_harry_potter/

Should Harry Potter be written again in Hermoine's perspective?? We want to know what you think! Personally, I'd say Snape, but when I think about it I don't think my heart could take that.

Miss you all, and once finals is over, we won't be such hermits!

Winter Reading: What's on your list?

2010-12-04T19:54:00.008-05:00

Winter Reading: Padfoot and Prong's Piles!

Hey there Marauders! We are just doing a quick post to welcome you all to December, the holidays, and best of allll

our winter break from school!

You all know what that means.... tons of time to read!

Above we have included some pics of our winters lists

Just in case they are too hard to see here is a list

Padfoot:

The Stand - Stephen King

Four Past Midnight - Stephen King

Shutter Island - Dennis Lehane

Ease of Eden - John Steinbeck

The Master and the Margarita - Mikhail Bulgakov

The Mysterious Benidict Society - Trenton Lee Stewart

The Graveyard Book - Neil Gaiman

Prongs

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson

The Naked and the Dead - Norman Mailer

Bad Things Happen - Harry Dolan

The Book Thief - Markus Zusak

Everything is Illuminated - Foer

The Hunger Games - Susanne Collins

So what do you think? Where should we start?

Now we have a mission if you choose to accept it:

We would love to see photos of your own TBR winter book lists!! Take a photo and post it here, on twitter, on your own post, whatever! Just spread the love and make sure to let us know so we can check it out!!

Read and rock on guys!

Reading is Sexy: 2012 Calendar

2010-12-02T12:14:00.004-05:00

'Reading is Sexy' 2010 Calendar?

Hey Marauders! - Since Padfoot and Prongs have sadly had to slow down the printing business for awhile due to location/lack of office... we have been feeling the itch to create.

With the new year coming we were discussing the new calendars we will be purchasing and the lack of variety for literary lovers (Found one of Cats who loves book...not at cool as we hoped it would be).

This sparked the idea for a 'reading is sexy' calendar. You know.. hot men or women on a bearskin rug reading a tattered copy of '1984'? Maybe a photo of Neil Gaiman reading in a bubble bath?

As a completely unbiased 3rd party we want to hear your thoughts? Is this something you would consider buying for the book lover in your life? Would you like a mix of male/female or 2 separate calendars? What would you be willing to pay? We have decided we want about 50% of the proceedes to go to the American Library Association.

We want some feedback before we go full steam ahead with this new project!

Good or bad we want to hear it. You all rock!!!

Prongs 18th Review : Battle Royale

2010-12-01T14:28:00.013-05:00

Preface: While I clearly do not consider myself to be the most read person in world, I will admit that I have a few more notches on my literary belt than most. That is why it is both rare and exciting when I get a book recommended to me that not only have I never heard of, but quickly jumps to my top 10 favorite of all times list. Going solely off the passionate endorsement of a friend, I purchased the hard to find- 600 page clunker- that is BATTLE ROYALE. If only I knew what I was getting myself into….

"You must realize what you are worth on your own"

Battle Royale

by Koushun Takami

So everyone do me a favor. Raise your hand if you have read a 600+ page book consisting of 42 Asian named characters, 15–year-old obligatory killers, and only 1 way out of a truly horrifying situation. No body? Me either. That was until I came across Koushun Takami’s cult classic novel Battle Royale. The controversial book was written in 1999 and has since been adapted into both a movie and Manga series. All versions of the story differ slightly on various characters, plot points, and explanations, however they all have one central story line in common: kids killing kids.

Often referred to as a modern ‘Lord of the Flies,’ Battle Royale follows the journey of a class of 42 Japanese students who are picked randomly by the government to participate in ‘The Program.’ The students are essentially kidnapped while on a fieldtrip and brought to a remote island seized by the government and used specifically to carry out their agenda. The rules of the program are simple.

1. You do not talk about Battle Royale. Wait… no.

1. 42 students are brought to an island, given a randomly selected weapon along with some basic provisions and a map of the area.

2. They have 3 days to become the last one standing by forcibly killing their own classmates. The winner is allowed to return to their home with asmall stipend and an autographed portrait of Japan’s ruler.

3. If more than 1 student remains at the end of 3 days, everyone will be terminated, no questions asked.

At first the children are horrified, rebellious, even skeptical of what they are being told will take place.

However, they along with the readers are in for a brutal reality shock when many of the students make the instantaneous decision to play the game and ensure their own survival.

I’m sorry did you catch that? I mean WITHIN MINUTES THEY START ATTEMPTING TO KILL EACH OTHER OFF. 15 year old students who were moments ago joking, laughing, and anticipating a fun weekend with their friends, almost immediately and with out remorse let their animalistic impulses take over. They begin to fight savagely to the death in any way that they can. Some students are given guns, some knives, and some are given almost ‘joke’ weapons to try and even the playing field. However the kids make these items work in the best ways that they can, leading to almost 600 pages of gut wrenching, shoulder tensing, teenage onslaughts.

What I found remarkably interesting about this fictional future ‘government program’ is that not only are the events that occur known to all of Japan’s citizens, the actions are accepted. Some parents react with horror to the choice of their children, while other accept the decision with a quiet consent to the strong-arm of dictatorship. As a somewhat twisted allegory of oppressive life in Japan, the events and actions on the island reflect the pinnacle of what humans are willing to accept from government authority.

“The police came and killed my father. No warrant, nothing. They just came in without a word and shot him dead. I can still rememeber it clearly. We were in the kitchen. I was still small. I was sitting at the table. My mother held me tight. Then I grew up and ate my meals at the same table.”

While not for the faint of heart, this story is not without its touching moments either. It is easy to disregard the age of the characters due to their extreme intelligence and will power, however Takami gives us a few quiet moments in the midst of all the devastation where we are forced to stop and remember that at the root of the story these are very frightened, very young children who are attempting to make the best out of the worst situation imaginable.

There are some tender moments between characters where they express what may have once been trivial secrete teenage feelings now amplified due to the extreme circumstances. With nothing else to cling to besides the possible hope of human compassion from each other, the doomed children reach out to anything and anyone that might be able to make their last moments worthwhile.

“You wear nice clothes, you seek respect, you make a lot of money, but what’s the point? It’s all pointless. Of course, this kind of meaninglessness might suit this crappy nation. But…but, you see, we still have emotions like joy and happiness, right? They may not amount to much. But they fill up our emptiness."

The major downside of this work is the somewhat stagnant and simple language that is used. So much of the story is devoted to action that any possibilities for imagery or character building seem to fall by the wayside, (along with almost all of the children in the book). It is possible that some of the language was lost in translation, however what remains is a fast-paced, action-packed, no-holds bar fight to the death that keeps the pages turning faster than you can recognize.

(Tip: I wrote down all of the names along with a character trait or their weapon to help keep the names straight. It got a lot easier as I went on though so don't get discouraged.)

As I found myself nearing the end and reflecting back on the horrific yet disturbingly entertaining events in the book, I was forced to consider what my own role would have been in ‘The Program’. Would I have waved the white flag of surrender to my fellow classmates and citizens, essentially dying for the sake of morality, or would I have chosen to fight an impossible battle to win what would be left of my life after succeeding at the deaths of my friends? It is a difficult question for anyone to answer, let alone a group of 15-year-old students which is what makes this book a true stand out.

I would recommend Battle Royale to anyone looking for a fast paced, easy read but especially to those who are looking to have their morals, their views, and their emotional thresholds challenged.

Tattoo Tuesday: Battle Royale!

2010-11-30T15:12:00.004-05:00

Hey there Marauders!! It's our favorite time of the week once again!

This weeks tattoo is a nice little teaser for Prong's latest review of Battle Royale which is being

posted tomorrow!! We don't want to give too much away but it is basically a RAVE so if you are still looking for gifts to add to your christmas lists, we would suggest stopping back tomorrow to be convinced!

This tattoo belongs to James Favata and Prongs potential new husband. James tattoo is a bit more in reference to the movie based off of the book, however we are counting it as literary anyways.

James says on his blog:

"My tattoo artist Alfie did a fantastic job and his shop had an incredibly professional and hygienic atmosphere. Even though the 3+hrs of dull pain started to get to me, all in all it was a great life experience."

For those of you who have never heard of Battle Royale, trust me when I say this is one story that is worth immortalizing on your body forever. Excited to read the review yet? Good!!! I

C'mon people it's Tattoo Tuesday!

2010-11-23T09:29:00.004-05:00

“To die will be an awfully big adventure.”

- Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie

Gorgeous tattoo, and one of our favorite quotes in literature. If any of our readers have not read this wonderful book, we definitely recommend it.

Do Bloggers Dream of Electric Sheep? : Prong's 17th Review

2010-11-08T12:27:00.010-05:00

Hey there Marauders! Prongs here bringing you a brand spanking new review!! What's that... a review you say!? I know, trust me

it has been quite awhile. It appears as though Philip K Dick. will be the one to end the dry spell of decent/but not review worthy books.

This review will work a little differently then past ones as I will be comparing both the book and the movie, some

thing I hope to make sort of a theme in the next coming reviews. We would love to hear your take on either one in the comments especially if you disagree with me. Who doesn't love a good book vs movie debate eh?

Before we begin the review I just want to remind everyone that we are getting DANGEROUSLY close to Harry Potter time and I hope you are all preparing with a re-read or at least a sob in the fetal position.... I know we are!!

As always is you are interested in some of my fav. quotes from the book check our quote section here. Also, feel free to leave comments with your own favorites so we can add them!

So with out further ado.... he is my review of.......

"I like her; I could watch her the rest of my life. She has breasts that smile."

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

By Philip K Dick.

As far as science fiction writing goes, authors are allotted endless latitudes to take their stories and ideas to inconceivable and unrealistic heights. At times these leeways can be so obscure that a reader can become discouraged or even aggravated at the impossibility of a plot that they give up on the work all together. In any science fiction work there is a dangerous line between the fantastic and the frustrating, the probable and the unpromising. However what makes sci-fi writing so popular is the advantage that a truly gifted author has of combining the fantastic with reality, the possible with the promising; avenues that aren’t always possible in the realm ofpure fiction. Few authors were better capable at using these advantages than Dick, both in his writing and in his life.

In the 1968 novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep Philip Dick uses all of the elements of science fiction to the extreme when tackling the question: What makes a human… human? Such a powerful questions requires an equally commanding setting and plot, which Dick brings out in full force. The setting is the year 1992, sometime after ‘World War Terminus’ has rendered Earth almost completely barren. Many humans have emigrated to new planets, those that remain on earth are often thought of as stupid or ‘chicken heads,’ staying on our planet out of some flawed sense of loyalty. In this future world, animals have been almost completely wiped out due to radiation affects from the war, making a live animal a prized status symbol among the elites of the remaining humans. For those that can’t afford the luxury, they have the shameful option of purchasing an ‘electric’ animal.

The plot follows Rick Deckard, a bounty hunter whose sole job is to ‘retire’ human-like androids who have escaped from slavery and return to Earth under the guise of real people. The problem for bounty hunters such as Deckard is that that these androids are completely equivalent if not superior to humans except for their lack of empathy. Deckard must spend his days isolating the androids and determining their ‘humanness’ based on tests of empathy that not everyone agrees are accurate.

It is through Deckard’s missions of finding and eliminating androids that the main philosophical questions of what it truly means to be a human are explored. How do we determine empathy? Can a machine learn to feel? And ultimately, how can we be sure that what we experience is enough to qualify us as humans from an outsiders perspective?

"Because, ultimately, the emphatic gift blurred the boundaries between hunter and victim, between the successful and the defeated."

Quite possibly one of the most haunting scenes comes when Deckhard and another bounty hunter are casually debating the idea that neither one has a sure way to knowing if they are truly a human or a machine at heart. One believes that he has true feelings of love for an animal, a desire to see it happy, but is that enough to make him 'real'? The writing is quick, explosive, and evocative, leaving the reader grasping at their own perceptions of the human nature.

Overall, for a book with such complex and profound questions on life and love, I was disappointed that Dick chose to try and fit so many elements into such a short work. The book hits just over 200 pages, scarcely enough time to combine all of the fundamental philosophical musings with the unconventional plot points. I personally would have loved to see this book expanded into a work of epic proportions. Fortunately for myself, and those who feel similarly there is Blade Runner.

Blade Runner is the classic cult movie inspired by Dick’s novel, which stars Harrison Ford as Deckard. Although the movie is only based loosely around the novel, all of the main elements are captured and displayed in a way that the novel was unable to achieve. While the book touches more on the philosophical ideas, Blade Runner is able to bring to life the desolate and mortal future that isn’t quite achieved in the novel. For anyone left craving a bit more after you finish the book, I HIGHLY suggest renting the movie. It is rare that similar story mediums can stand so soundly apart in comparison and still retain a unique identity.

So where does this leave me after reading the book, watching the movie, then sitting for an hour lost in thought? It leaves me in a mental place much further and more remote from my thoughts before either work came into my life. The ideas behind Philip K Dick’s work will leave any reader questioning, haunted, and just a little bit nostalgic for the days when humanity seemed so black and white. Don’t worry if this happens you can always set your mood organ to #481: Awareness of the manifold possibilities open to one in the future.

Harry Potter interview!!

2010-11-04T12:58:00.004-04:00

Hey there Marauders!!

So as I am sure you all know 'unless you've taken refuge at the bottom of a garden pond or something similar' this month is the MONTH THAT SHALL NOT BE NAMED!! That's right loyal readers, in a mere 16 days the first installment of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be being viewed by not only your 2 favorite bloggers, but hopefully the rest of the world as well.

Over at 25 Hour Books, our good friend Tara has been doing some magical Harry Potter related posts, including doing some interviews with bloggers on various HP topics! Below we are happy to show you the little interview we did for her! Hope you enjoy!!

p.s Caption Contest will be returning next week! Hope you all have your quote ideas ready!!

Which book is your favorite in the series? Is it also your favorite movie so far?

Prongs: Oh my god that is like picking a favorite child. I honestly could never choose although I will say my least favorite was 6. I can however pick a favorite movie. 5 hands down. I saw it in theatres 6 times.. 3 in IMAX. That’s how much I LOVED it. Everything was perfect, especially the fight scene in the end. Draco’s performance in the 6th movie almost makes me love it more. ALMOST.

Padfoot: Prongs is crazyyyyyy my favorite is 6, and 7!! I love each one more in the order they came out. Sadly, The 6th movie was so disappointing to me. I’ll go with Prongs, 5th is DEFINITELY my favorite. So angsty and wonderful. But others, I’d say definitely 4, and 2 is a good one. Gilderoy Lockhart just kills me, he’s so hilarious.

Who is your favorite character?

Prongs: Hm this is like picking another favorite child. Thankfully I would have no problem doing that if I ever had kids. My favorite character is Dumbledore handssss down. He is powerful, hilarious, and adorable. Not easy traits to pull off. A friend once asked me: if you could bring back any person in history from the dead, who would it be. With out skipping a beat I said DUMBLEDORE. Her response was… you would bring back a literary character before a real person…… Me: Obviously.

Padfoot: Definitely not Harry Potter. He’s one of my least favorite characters. He’s so whiney! It’s funny how that works, the supporting characters in stories are usually so much better than the main one. At least that’s what I’ve found…

Snape is probably my favorite, he’s such a jerk but you can help for love him/feel sorry for him. His death was the saddest part in the book for me. Also, Dumbledore obviously, and then Professor Umbridge is just too evil not to love!

What is your favorite spell?

Prongs: Haha you know I never really thought about it. I’d have to say ‘Expecto Patronum’ for a few reasons. First, the latin of the spell literally means ‘I expect or await a protector.’ That in itself is beautiful. Also, the whole point of the spell is to think of the most powerfully happy memory that you have, and this thought alone will protect you from harm. That is such a beautiful sentiment to me, and sums up many of the powerful lessons of the book.

Padfoot: Agree with Prongs on this one. Would love to have my own patronus, I think it would be a kitty cat.

Which House are you a member of?

Prongs: Gryffindor biatch!!! 10$ says Padfoot gets Slytherin. Or Hufflepuff… who the hell is in Hufflepuff any ways?

Padfoot: Oh lawdy, Prongs is right. Slytherin definitely. I find something crazy sexy about slimey, long haired angry people? Draco, Lucious, and Snape are all so HOT to me.

What is your favorite Hogwarts class?

Prongs: That’s easy. Defense against the dark arts!!! Who doesn’t want to be an auror? Besides that I think I actually would have rocked potions since I enjoy following recipes. Plus I am not scared of Snape -_-

Padfoot: History of Magic! …………..

JK. Definitely anything taught by Gilderoy Lockhart. My favorite book is Magical Me…

Will you be having or attending a Harry Potter party? (Or dressing up for the midnight premier?)

Prongs: Hmm this will all depend on my current Flu Powder situation. Padfoot and I have yet to miss a movie premier so that will absolutely be happening, however parties will depend on where we are. In the past we have both ‘party hopped’ and gone between multiple bookstores tackling kids out of our way to get to the press on scar tattoos and Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans. That part about tackling wasn’t a joke sadly.

Padfoot: ^ definitely want to dress up this year….

Out of Print Monday

2010-11-01T15:15:00.001-04:00

Hey there Marauders! Padfoot and Prongs here. Thought we would give you the gift of literary t-shirts on this fine Monday afternoon. Below you will find the selection of literary tattoos from one of our all time FAVORITE companies Out of Print clothing.

Not only do they have the most kick-ass literary shirts around, but for every sale they donate 1 book to a community in need. How cool is that?!

So what is your favorite shirt?! We want to hear your thoughts!

Happy Monday marauders!

Animal Farm	The Outsiders
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest	Lord of the Flies
Catcher in the Rye	On the Road
Brave New World	1984
Hound of the Baskervilles	Of Mice and Men
Catch-22	Streetcar Named Desire
Wisdom of the Heart	Tales of the Jazz Age
Master and Margarita	Naked Lunch

Catcher Fleece

TatTEW Tuesday

2010-10-19T22:38:00.004-04:00

Tattoo Tuesday!!

2010-10-12T22:37:00.003-04:00

Seeking: Literary Magazine Submissions

2010-10-11T19:16:00.003-04:00

Hey guys, Prongs here. Some of you might already know this but I am currently a publishing major at Ohio University. As part of one of my senior class I am starting up a new literary magazine called 'Branded.' The idea of the magazine is to get submissions be it prose, poetry, non-fiction, anything writing to do with tattoos, the art of tattooing, or body modification. If it is about a literary tattoo you get bonus points.

Even if you are tattoo-less and have an idea for a fictional work regarding tattoos, or if you are a tattoo artist who just wants to talk about your experiences... I want to hear from you!

Also, I wanted to ask if anyone would be interested in having their artwork or tattoo photos published in the zine. As this will be the first issue I still don't have a pinpoint on what I want, but as I have loved almost every tattoo posted here I would love to see them all!

If any one is interested in submitting a piece or a photo or if you have qu's PLEASEEE contact me at pnpprinting1@gmail.com There is no due date but I am hoping to wrap this all up by the end of Nov so the sooner the better.

I would appreciate this more than you guys know, and it will be pretty exciting to see it all come together! Until then, I will be keeping everyone updated!!

Thanks again guys. Read and rock on

Caption Contest Week 5

2010-10-08T13:10:00.003-04:00

Here is what the end result will look like: Last Week's Winner

"Clever as the devil, and twice as pretty."
- Holly Black, White Cat

This fantastic caption was submitted by our good friend GABBY!!!!!

Great job Gabby. You picked a great week to enter since like we said before, the prize is EXTRA SPECIAL.

In honor of Banned Books Week (last week) as a prize we are offering up your choice of ANY BOOK OFF THE AMERICAN LIBRARY'S LIST OF 100 MOST CHALLENGED/BANNED BOOKS!!!!!

To claim your prize, just send up an e-mail with your mailing information and the title of your choice!!

FYI - TO PAST WINNERS: Sorry we have taken forever to send past prizes! They are all being mailed tomorrow and should be in your kitchens/your books by next week!

Congrats again to Gabby and thanks to all those that entered. It was a great way to finish up Banned Books Week.

Now back to the contest.

Lets break it down. Essentially this new feature will be a weekly 'literary' caption contest participated in by you all and "refereed" by us. Each week we will provide you all with a fun and interesting photo which is in dire need of some sort of caption.

Here is where you come in. It will be your job as loyal readers and literary lovers to scour your brains, books, and Google to find a quote or passage from any novel, play, short story, essay etc. that might compliment the picture.

The rules are simple: as long as it's literary, it counts.

You can leave a comment with as many options as you like, however, we'd suggest bringing your A-game since only the very best captions will be rewarded. Also, please be sure to include the name of the work and if possible the author.

What's the reward you ask? Well depending on the week (and our budget) it will range from a virtual high five to anyone of our fabulous GoodBooksInc. items!

We encourage you to check out the Tumblr mentioned above to get ideas on how to be creative with this, as well asGoodReads for a huge collection of quotes from every book imaginable. Good luck and happy searching!

*Caption Needed*

Tattoo Tuesday

2010-10-05T18:13:00.004-04:00

Caption Contest Week 4 (Banned Book Edition)

2010-09-30T18:38:00.002-04:00

Here is what the end result will look like: Last Week's Winner

"With every word she was drawing further and further into herself, so he gave that up, and only the dead dream fought on as the afternoon slipped away, trying to touch what was no longer tangible, struggling unhappily, undespairingly, toward that lost voice across the room."

- F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

This fantastic caption was submitted by JSpeed29 !! This week was seriously TOUGH. All the submissions were great and P&P had a really hard time choosing. For their great submission JSpeed29 will be recieveing a GoodBooksInc Mug!!!

So lets break it down. Essentially this new feature will be a weekly 'literary' caption contest participated in by you all and "refereed" by us. Each week we will provide you all with a fun and interesting photo which is in dire need of some sort of caption.

The rules are simple: as long as it's literary, it counts.

What's the reward you ask? Well depending on the week (and our budget) it will range from a virtual high five to anyone of our fabulous GoodBooksInc. items!

However this weekend is a little bit different!!!

The prize is going to be EXTRA special due to our celebration of 'Banned Books Week', so if you have considered entering before, now would be the time to do it!

We encourage you to check out the Tumblr mentioned above to get ideas on how to be creative with this, as well as GoodReads for a huge collection of quotes from every book imaginable. Good luck and happy searching!

*Caption Needed*

Banned Book Week : Day 3

2010-09-29T09:07:00.004-04:00

Hello there Marauders! Happy Banned Book week to all. Sadly we are coming up on halfway through the week which means all the banned bookness is gone. Mrrrr.

However there are still a few more dirty little days to go . Make sure to hurry up and pick your selections for last weeks caption contest and get your submissions in. Tomorrow we will be drawing a winner as well as announcing an extra special challenge for the coming week. Also Friday make sure to check back for an extra steamyyy post, as well as Saturday for a final roundup of some literary links.

Today we are discussing the American Library Association's list of 100 most frequently banned or challenged books. Hopefully everyone out there has read at least 1 or 2 books on these lists. Possibly you had to read them in school (which rocks) or maybe you went out on your own and found them. Either way just having read 1 means that you have read a book that has caused controversy and discussion in literary land, which makes you o.k in our books.

Below you will find THE LIST. How many of these have you read. Between P&P we clocked in around 48.

1. The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald
2. The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
3. The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck
4. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
5. The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
6. Ulysses, by James Joyce
7. Beloved, by Toni Morrison
8. The Lord of the Flies, by William Golding
9. 1984, by George Orwell
10. The Sound and the Fury, by William Faulkner
11. Lolita, by Vladmir Nabokov
12. Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
13. Charlotte's Web, by E.B. White
14. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, by James Joyce
15. Catch-22, by Joseph Heller
16. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
17. Animal Farm, by George Orwell
18. The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway
19. As I Lay Dying, by William Faulkner
20. A Farewell to Arms, by Ernest Hemingway
21. Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad
22. Winnie-the-Pooh, by A.A. Milne
23. Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston
24. Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison
25. Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison
26. Gone with the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell
27. Native Son, by Richard Wright
28. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, by Ken Kesey
29. Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut
30. For Whom the Bell Tolls, by Ernest Hemingway
31. On the Road, by Jack Kerouac
32. The Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemingway
33. The Call of the Wild, by Jack London
34. To the Lighthouse, by Virginia Woolf
35. Portrait of a Lady, by Henry James
36. Go Tell it on the Mountain, by James Baldwin
37. The World According to Garp, by John Irving
38. All the King's Men, by Robert Penn Warren
39. A Room with a View, by E.M. Forster
40. The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien
41. Schindler's List, by Thomas Keneally
42. The Age of Innocence, by Edith Wharton
43. The Fountainhead, by Ayn Rand
44. Finnegans Wake, by James Joyce
45. The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair
46. Mrs. Dalloway, by Virginia Woolf
47. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum
48. Lady Chatterley's Lover, by D.H. Lawrence
49. A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess
50. The Awakening, by Kate Chopin
51. My Antonia, by Willa Cather
52. Howards End, by E.M. Forster
53. In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote
54. Franny and Zooey, by J.D. Salinger
55. The Satanic Verses, by Salman Rushdie
56. Jazz, by Toni Morrison
57. Sophie's Choice, by William Styron
58. Absalom, Absalom!, by William Faulkner
59. A Passage to India, by E.M. Forster
60. Ethan Frome, by Edith Wharton
61. A Good Man Is Hard to Find, by Flannery O'Connor
62. Tender Is the Night, by F. Scott Fitzgerald
63. Orlando, by Virginia Woolf
64. Sons and Lovers, by D.H. Lawrence
65. Bonfire of the Vanities, by Tom Wolfe
66. Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut
67. A Separate Peace, by John Knowles
68. Light in August, by William Faulkner
69. The Wings of the Dove, by Henry James
70. Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe
71. Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier
72. A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams
73. Naked Lunch, by William S. Burroughs
74. Brideshead Revisited, by Evelyn Waugh
75. Women in Love, by D.H. Lawrence
76. Look Homeward, Angel, by Thomas Wolfe
77. In Our Time, by Ernest Hemingway
78. The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas, by Gertrude Stein
79. The Maltese Falcon, by Dashiell Hammett
80. The Naked and the Dead, by Norman Mailer
81. Wide Sargasso Sea, by Jean Rhys
82. White Noise, by Don DeLillo
83. O Pioneers!, by Willa Cather
84. Tropic of Cancer, by Henry Miller
85. The War of the Worlds, by H.G. Wells
86. Lord Jim, by Joseph Conrad
87. The Bostonians, by Henry James
88. An American Tragedy, by Theodore Dreiser
89. Death Comes for the Archbishop, by Willa Cather
90. The Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame
91. This Side of Paradise, by F. Scott Fitzgerald
92. Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand
93. The French Lieutenant's Woman, by John Fowles
94. Babbitt, by Sinclair Lewis
95. Kim, by Rudyard Kipling
96. The Beautiful and the Damned, by F. Scott Fitzgerald
97. Rabbit, Run, by John Updike
98. Where Angels Fear to Tread, by E.M. Forster
99. Main Street, by Sinclair Lewis

100. Midnight's Children, by Salman Rushdie

So there you have it marauders! Not too shabby. How does your own personal list shape up? Any books you are surprised, not surprised, offended to see on our list? Be sure to check out our other banned booked theme posts from earlier this week, and keep stopping by for more literary goodness!

We want to hear from you!!

Tattttttttttooooooo Tuesday! Banned Books Week Edition

2010-09-28T19:23:00.008-04:00

Hey there Marauders!! Welcome to a very special edition of Tattoo Tuesday!! In honor of Banned Book week, we are highlighting a few stand out books that come directly from books that have found themselves on the banned or challenge lists across the country. Having a literary tattoo is kick ass in itself, but having on that is from a book whose ideas have been challenged, discussed, and debated at length makes you even more kick ass! So we hope you enjoy this special installment; feel free to share your own tattoos and thoughts in the comments!!

Here's what he had to say about his tattoo:

"I started reading at age three (I'm 23 now) and since then it's been a huge influence on my life. My father, a Catholic school graduate, actually introduced me to several banned books--Animal Farm, Lord of the Flies, and Slaptick--that he read in school. Slapstick, while not Vonnegut at his finest, really struck a chord and I devoured (and purchased) everything Vonnegut I could get my hands on; it's turned out well. While Slaughterhouse-Five has been banned for being an "anti-war" book, it's never been such to me. In fact, it was the first thing I ever read that let me know it was okay to love America, love and respect the military, and still feel conflicted about (particularly young) Americans getting shipped off to war.
To me, this tattoo encompasses both everything I love about Vonnegut as well as an important motto by which I live. I love that the quote can be either pessimistic or optimistic depending on your circumstances. Many thanks to Vonnegut, banned books, and the librarians/teachers that keep their legacy alive and the thirst for knowledge strong."

Very, very cool portrait tattoo. We all know Prongs is having a bookgasm from all the Vonnegutness.

Our next submission comes from a girl on LiveJournal as well:

These tattoos are both from Harry Potter...and obviously we are no strangers to that series. Excellent, excellent tattoos. For our thoughts on the HP ban, make sure to read yesterdays post.

And our final tattoo comes from Contrariwise:

“…I was a Flower of the mountain yes when I put the rose in my hair like the Andalusian girls used or shall I wear a red yes and how he kissed me under the Moorish wall and I thought well as well him as another and then I asked him with my eyes to ask again yes and then he asked me would I yes to say yes my mountain flower and first I put my arms around him yes and drew him down to me so he could feel my breasts all perfume yes and his heart was going like mad and yes I said yes I will Yes.”

Although neither of us have read Ulysses, it is definitely a classic banned book, and it is on list of TBR books in Europe.

Here's the link:
http://www.contrariwise.org/2008/06/08/james-joyce/

Alright folks, that is all for this Tuesday. We hope you enjoyed this special edition and make sure to check back next week for another exciting installment. Also make sure to check back tomorrow for more banned bookness.

Banned Books Week : Monday

2010-09-27T18:57:00.008-04:00

Hey everyone. Padfoot and Prongs here bringing you a very special post in honor of National Banned Books Week sponsored by The American Library Association.

All week long we will be bringing you various posts highlighting some of our favorite aspects of ‘Banned Books’ including special editions of Tattoo Tuesday and our new weekly Literary Caption contest. We encourage everyone to participate in those posts; we also hope that you will join the buzz in various media outlets such as other blogs, twitter, and media articles that have tons more interesting and entertaining sides to this controversial story.

At the end of the week we will be compiling a round up of ‘Banned Book’ links including blog posts, videos, and lists to share with everyone. If you have come across an interesting read this week, re-discovered a banned book that you previously disregarded, or wrote a kick-ass blog posts on the subject:...we want to hear from you!! So feel free to leave any and all links in the comments, our twitter page, or our e-mail and we will be sure to link back to you!

Now, to kick this week off we bring you a short, sloppy, yet sentimental little essay by Prongs discussing the importance of the relationship between banned books and readers, as well as readers and their superiors (parents, teacher, what have you). Hope this gets you in the mood to go pick up a banned book for yourself... or at the very least discuss one!

Harry Potter and the Silencing Spell: A Brief Rant about Censorship

A short essay by Prongs.

"Books won't stay banned. They won't burn. Ideas won't go to jail. In the long run of history, the censor and the inquisitor have always lost. The only weapon against bad ideas is better ideas. The source of better ideas is wisdom."~Alfred Whitney Griswold.

At the risk of losing a potential advantage at winning ‘America’s Next top Model’ I will admit to you all that I had a fairly decent childhood. In fact I would say that it was down right amazing. My home was filled with laughter, love, and fortunately for me, literature; I was truly blessed to have parents that not only taught me to love all things literary but more importantly, taught me to think for myself. Our home was filled with dialogue about a range of topics in movies, literature, even notes from friends, with the notion could never be so disgusting or controversial that it was not worth discussing.

Unfortunately not everyone in America grew up at my house.

As an advocate for “Banned Book Week’, I am here to admit to something I find much more dangerous than pure censorship, that is censorship with out reasoning. The other day I heard a really poignant metaphor on S.V.U. about the dangers of restricting children. They likened it to ‘showing them a swimming pool full of other people having fun then barring them from participating'. Then as mentors we expect them not to dive in head first when our backs are turned, to see for themselves what all the fuss is about. Even worse than the idea of showing them the pool would be to ignore the pools existence all together. What will happen the day that child discovers this pool all on their own? They will drown.

This figurative pool is not unlike the banned books being discussed during the events of this week. What's the old saying... 'because I said so... that's why?' Even worse than telling a child they are prohibited to do something, is denying them with the dogmatic rules of a God with out the perspective or concern to at least give a good reason. So it goes with literature. Tell someone that a book is banned is one thing, not bothering to discuss the reasons why is another. This idea of suppressing discussion and inquisitive thoughts will eventually build up enough pressure to crack the damn of mental ignorance in any mind given enough time. Then all the unfortunate individual, country, or species will be left with is a flood of information and no resources to help decide right from wrong.

It should come as no shock to any of you that I am a devoted, die-hard fan of the literary sensation that is Harry Potter, however it might come as a shock

to a few of you to learn that Harry Potter has been on countless ‘banned books’ lists all across the world. ‘Witchcraft, sorcery, blasphemy’ – all words that once ignited a feud so disheartening to readers that many parents forbid their children to pickup the books with out bothering to read what it was they were outlawing. This idea of banning with out reading, or even banning with out discussion is where I feel the genuine terror at the heart of this week lies. To think that a book whose message focuses solely on virtue, friendship, and the undying magic of love could be disregarded with out rational discussion or explanation is truly frightening.

As a blogger I believe that I have a responsibility to others and to myself to be as open and honest about the books I review as I can possibly be. As parents, teachers, and humans, we all have the responsibility and fortunately the right to discuss ideas freely amongst each other, with out fear of repercussions. That is with the exception of many children worldwide; as minors, many children are not allotted the voice to speak and discuss from themselves. Our literary world was built on ideas that challenge the ordinary; our country was built on ideas that challenged the expected. What part of our diverse and rebellious history has taught us that repressing ideas is going to work out for the best? Imagine the not so unimaginable idea that there are pieces of information that the government has decided for our own best interest to keep from us. No discussion, no reasoning, but they do us the service of letting us known there is something we are being kept from. Would this sit right with you? I hope not because it would make me mad as hell. It would make me even madder plenty of others out there discussing the secret just behind a door that I can see.

It is not so much the idea of censorship that I am against, but more so that the idea ‘ignorance is bliss.’ Not many disagree that there are certain things that children should be sheltered from at any given age, and even fewer will disagree that there is ‘art’ and then ‘shock value posing as art’. But no one should be under the impression that the way to handle these types of situations is by ignoring the subjects at all costs. We are not discussing parents stopping their child from seeing an R rated movie, we are not discussing a teacher restricting overtly provocative art in a classroom. We are discussing bans on literature. A ban means a total 'prohibit especially by legal means or social pressure' of a book, an author, and idea. Bans mean ignorance. Ignorance is hell.

To this day I maintain that I grew up to be the introspective, rational, curious person that I am today as a direct result of my freedom to explore and discuss literature as a child. Sure I had to wait to see 'Scream' until I was 15, and sure I had to look up the definition of 'nigger' when I first read 'To Kill A mocking Bird'. Luckily what I never had to do was feel afraid to question and grow through literature and all of the controversial ideas that come with it.

So go ahead. Take a swim in the proverbial pool of literature. There is an ocean of information out there just waiting to be shared, discussed, and even potentially prohibited if the situation warrants it. Just make sure you encourage others as well as yourself to never stop questioning and discussing the ideas that will arise when you surface. After all… books are old, the idea to burn them, even older. Fortunately the ideas and discussions that stem from these books will continue to ignite our world long after we are gone.

-Prongs.

Caption Contest: Week 3

2010-09-24T14:05:00.005-04:00

"All people want is someone to listen". - Hugh Elliott

This fantastic caption was submitted by Margaret !! What a perfect quote to go with that don't you think? We loved all of the submissions but this one just seemed to perfect! As a reward we will be sending Margarets her very own GoodBooksInc Bookmark !! Thanks to all that entered, we loved what you came up with. Make sure to check the previous post if you would like to see some of the other submissions.

The rules are simple: as long as it's literary, it counts.

What's the reward you ask? Well depending on the week (and our budget) it will range from a virtual high five to anyone of our fabulous GoodBooksInc. items! We will announce the winner from the previous week at each new instillation of the weekly... so make sure to check back and see if your caption was picked!

Now that you understand the rules, below you will find the next picture that is in need of captioning. Like we said, anything will count... but the more clever and appropriate the quote, the better your odds are of winning! We encourage you to check out the Tumblr mentioned above to get ideas on how to be creative with this, as well as GoodReads for a huge collection of quotes from every book imaginable. Good luck and happy searching!

*Caption Needed*

Tattoo Tuesday!!

2010-09-21T19:29:00.002-04:00

Hey there Marauders!! It's our favorite time of the week once again!!
For those of you who are new to the site here's a bit of background. Tattoo Tuesday was started by our good friend Tara over at 25HourBooks and celebrates our love of literature plus the people like us who are obsessed enough to ink something literary on their body! Every week we feature a literary tattoo that interests or compels us. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the ink.

This week one of our lovely readers, Matthew, sent us a picture of his "Angels and Demons" tattoo.

Here's what he had to say:

"When I came across the Illuminati Diamond depicted in Dan Brown's "Angels & Demons", the detail and configuration of being able to read the wording from any angle amazed me. I have always loved to read and thought that getting a tattoo of the Illuminati Diamond would be a good representation of that. I brought it to my boy's cousin, who is a tattoo artist, and explained to him what it was and the story behind it - he then added certain illustrations and designs around the diamond to symbolize the elements (I think he did a fantastic job). This piece is definitely my favorite of the tattoos that I have. It's nice when someone sees it and knows what it is... it usually opens up a good conversation about favorite novels and authors."

We think this was a good choice, and we're glad to hear that it is literary conversation starter! Thanks Matthew!

Alright folks, that is all for this Tuesday. Don't be too remiss, for we will return next and every Tuesday with a brand new literary tattoo for your viewing pleasure. We encourage every one to check out Tara's site as well, or even feel free to send us an e-mail with any tattoo's of your own!

Caption Contest Week 2

2010-09-16T11:07:00.002-04:00

Hello Marauders! Padfoot and Prongs here bringing you a BRAND SPANKING NEW weekly feature that we are sure will shock and amaze you. Ok maybe but not that, but it will be fun, we promise. Inspired by the fabulous tumblr Slaughterhouse90210 we gals over at GoodBooksInc have thought up a fun new literary game for us all to play together and we hope that every single one of you will get the urge to participate.

Here is what the end result will look like: Last Week's Winner
"Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them." - The Little Prince

This fantastic caption was submitted by Babycakes !! What a perfect quote to go with that don't you think? We loved all of the submissions but this one just seemed to perfect! As a reward we will be sending Babycakes her very own GoodBooksInc mug!! Thanks to all that entered, we loved what you came up with. Make sure to check the previous post if you would like to see some of the other submissions.

So lets break it down. Essentially this new feature will be a weekly 'literary' caption contest participated in by you all and "refereed" by us. Each week we will provide you all with a fun and interesting photo which is in dire need of some sort of caption.
Here is where you come in. It will be your job as loyal readers and literary lovers to scour your brains, books, and Google to find a quote or passage from any novel, play, short story, essay etc. that might compliment the picture.

The rules are simple: as long as it's literary, it counts.

You can leave a comment with as many options as you like, however, we'd suggest bringing your A-game since only the very best captions will be rewarded. Also, please be sure to include the name of the work and if possible the author.

What's the reward you ask? Well depending on the week (and our budget) it will range from a virtual high five to anyone of our fabulous GoodBooksInc. items! We will announce the winner from the previous week at each new instillation of the weekly... so make sure to check back and see if your caption was picked!

Now that you understand the rules, below you will find the next picture that is in need of captioning. Like we said, anything will count... but the more clever and appropriate the quote, the better your odds are of winning! We encourage you to check out the Tumblr mentioned above to get ideas on how to be creative with this, as well as GoodReads for a huge collection of quotes from every book imaginable. Good luck and happy searching!

*Caption Needed*

Tattoo Tuesday!!

2010-09-14T18:35:00.003-04:00

This week's tattoo is from Ashley at Livejournal
http://community.livejournal.com/literarytattoos/850724.html#cutid1

Here's what Ashley has to say:

"My first I got about two months ago on my right foot. It's from Shakespeare's "As You Like It" as many of you probably know. The SW15 in the g is the postal code of which I lived in while I studied in London. I fell in love with the city in just under four months while I was there and this is my tribute."

We've never seen a tattoo with a cityscape before. Ashley has a very unique tattoo and this makes us even more excited to visit London on our trip to Europe!