Awesome - Zing

Another challenge, I say!! Somebody stop me. Medeia has signed up for this one too. As I understand it you are to read 52 books in the time that passes during 2008. One title for each letter of the alphabet and one author as well. Very cool and Neanderthal simple. So follow the black and pink link (failed Wizard of Oz theme) and find something that's interesting to read. Chances are that either the title or author's name starts with a letter. My list and progress will be viewable on the side once I start making progress and I hope to see yours on your own individual progresses in net-pursuit (blogs, livejournals, etc.). And expect some reviews *cough, cough* 52 *cough, cough* from the Maelstrom we call home.

Hunting Down a Dictionary and Ransacking the Local Library,
*Aella Siofra*

Challenge

I lurve challenges. Don't you? Doesn't everybody? All the same, I have been click-crazy all day and have joined three challenges *blush*. But I'll post about only the first on this particular fine evening.
So. The YA Challenge 2008. It's an awareness and inspiration thing. People tend to read more if they are lured to do so. And that's what this is all about. You sign up at the site, pick 12 books, post about them and review them as you go. Very, very simple. Just read those selected and you're all set. And it is a cause of sorts. And in the name of pursuit of odyssey, go forth and read.
Here's my 12. Hold me to 'em.

2008 YA Book Challenge

1. The Book of Mordred by Vivian Vande Velde
2. The Dark Elf Trilogy by RA Salvatore
3. Birdwing by Rafe Martin
4. The Shamer’s Daughter by Lene Kaaberbol
5. Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier
6. King Dork by Frank Portman
7. Sabriel Series by Garth Nix
8. If I Should Die Before I Wake by Han Nolan
9. Over A Thousand Hills I Walk With You by Hanna Jansen
10. City of Flowers by Mary Hoffman
11. Tunnels by Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams
12. Flora Segunda: Being the Magickal Mishaps of a Girl With (and so on) by Ysabeau S. Wilce

Feeling gladiator-like and reading numero uno,
*Aella Siofra*

The 1,000

We may not be from Sparta, but we still have 1,000 views!!! *cheering from a far-off crowd*. And all I have to say is this... Yay! So cheers and Auld Lang Syne and all that good stuff, because its like a new year at Maelstrom. Okay. Not really. But we're still pretty excited. So thank you to all contributors of hit-countage. This is a proud moment in our history. And we hope for a 1,000 more!! (or 2 or 3...or 300)

With confetti and hooligans (the good kind) in the streets,

*Aella Siofra*
and ~Medeia Senka~

Snow + Fireplace = Cheesy Post

I have discovered that there is nothing like sitting next to a fireplace as it snows rabidly outside your window. Of course, this picture wouldn’t be complete without a few *cough* dozen *cough* books at your side and a mug of mint hot cocoa consisting mainly of rapidly melting whipped cream (personal preference). Now, I understand that this may seem frightfully similar to most settings for either dreadful Christmas specials shown on family channels or to “The Shining” (rarely shown on family channels), but it is worth the sentimentality. So here’s my list of six books that are great for next-to-fireplace reading (not necessarily all top 5 list of Aella Siofra AGGH-this-is-the-19^th-time-I’ve-read-this material).

1. Poison by Chris Wooding

• Glorious macabre. It’s just to great to be reading about bone witches and fairytale non-conformists as banshee winds scream outside

2. Fly By Night by Frances Hardinge

• Political intrigue and stuffs. Very good for intensity.

3. The Bloody Jack Series by LA Meyer

• Piratical, hilarious, and full of banditry. Need I say more?

4. Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury

• More remnants of my nail-biting shelf. It took me three years to read this, but as I look back it’s not too scary. But Ray Bradbury + evil carnivals of doom = awesome at any age.

5. Anything (As in- in general or whatever you can steal from the library- not a book title) by Eva Ibbotson

• Connect with your inner child... before it’s too late

6. Airborn by Kenneth Oppel

• Set up is reminiscent of 19th century airships. A bit like Treasure Island with a female protagonist added in for a sterling display of sheer awesome

So, whether your house looks like an arctic hazard right now or you live in a place where no one has even heard of a snow day, tell us your biggest chimney corner choices. They don’t necessarily have to be your favorite books, just something that is ideal for such flicker-lighted moments.

Feeling heinously sappy and eying logs for spider holes,

*Aella Siofra*

E-Books

Yesterday as I was calmly waltzing through the internet for no apparent reason I came across a fascinating device known as the Kindle on Amazon. Apparently you can download novels onto this invention and read them simply by clicking a button to move you along. Fascinating. But it also struck me as impersonal and cold.

Now. E-books. Are they a fate or a release? I’m inclined to believe the former. While some may delight in staring at a screen (such as on a Kindle) for hours and soaking in the advantage of good writing I have found that it is harmful to the retinas. I enjoy leafing through pages, knowing from experience how many of them are left, sensing how close I am to a climactic battle *cough, cough Cry of the Icemark*. Call me crazy, but I also get pleasure from the smell of old book shops (unless they are occupied by scary old book-sellers). Is there soon to be an end to that familiar sensation of turning pages and seeing that tomato sauce you spilled on page 126 last time you read the novel in your hands? Or is this simply a wonderful new invention that marks the end of a “dark age” in reading and the beginning of literary progress?

Pondering and Halting Technological Advancement,

Aella Siofra

We have decided...

To give you a poll!! After all 10 of your brilliant suggestion we have narrowed it down to our favorite four. Two of which did not exist in the comments. Kind of.

So hear goes! In your typing fingertips lies the fate of the Maelstrom rating system. And the winner could win *gameshow voice*...

Our undying gratitude.

Choose wisely as to prevent world-wide cataclysmic events,
*Aella Siofra*