Archive for the Books Category

The Hobbit: Trailer #2 – Getting Psyched!

Posted in Blog, Books, Movies, Tolkien, Video with tags on September 21, 2012 by slateman

This has been a pretty good week. The Yankees are playing last-place teams, which gives the sense of great success. I’m currently joy puking my face off. The Resident Evil 6 demo hit (thoughts soon) and a new trailer for The Hobbit has surfaced. I’m rather thrilled about all of these things but of course, I’m exceedingly excited to see what Peter Jackson has done with my beloved J.R.R. Tolkien novel.

I picked up Lord Of The Rings in the late 90s after a lifetime of desiring to read it. Considering my collection is massive (I should take a pic), it’s safe to say I love his stuff. I love the LotR film trilogy. Obviously I’m looking forward to The Hobbit.

The new trailer is exciting and gives a real glimpse of the light-hearted nature of the book. I’m curious to see Radagast, though through all my readings, I know (and care) rather little. The only real downside is knowing there are two other films, so Smaug and the massive Battle Of Five Armies aren’t shown. However, it also means that those two things should be given proper attention and not glossed over at all. Man…I’m even more psyched now that I got thinking about it! Definitely re-reading this soon, or, in the very least, listening to the audio book on the way to work. Less than three months!!!



The Hobbit Poster (100th Post)

Posted in Blog, Books, Movies, Tolkien with tags , on July 8, 2012 by slateman

The Hobbit (Pt 1)

Drooolll…

What I’m Reading: May 2012 Edition

Posted in Blog, Books, Game Of Thrones on May 13, 2012 by slateman

I most certainly do not have time to read as much as I’d like. It’s quite sad, as I used to read a ton. In my Tolkien days, I was out of control. However, even with four children, I try to find time here and there. Currently I’m reading three books. None are coming along too quickly…

Spoiler Free BTW.

Book #2

The first Hunger Games book was enthralling. It was not well-written, but for what it was, I loved it! All my students were reading it and so I grabbed it. It took me just a few days to tear through the tale of Katniss and Peeta. It was a pretty basic story but was compelling and a fun romp. Katniss was a likeable character and the buildup to the final climax was quite exciting. The final decision made against the Capital was something I didn’t see coming and made a sequel possible. I’ve been hesitant about Catching Fire but my students swear it’s great and while I’m only a few pages in, I look forward to getting back into the swing of things.

An English Classic


I have always wanted to read Beowulf. In fact, I’m embarrassed that I never got around to it. Seeing as how it is a classic and a basis of so many modern tales, it is a must. That it was a great influence on Tolkien really doesn’t hurt. As with Catching Fire, I have barely started this, but it doesn’t look to be a very long read. The Heaney translation came highly recommended and the illustrated edition is actually quite cool. Culling from all sorts of medieval artifacts, it really adds depth to the reading and gives contextual visuals to a world that is oh-so-different from what is familiar.

Book #1


After watching season 1, I was sold. I went out and grabbed this book on sale back in August and only got 200 pages into it. Unlike The Hunger Games, this is HEAVY reading. Even being familiar with the character, it was a struggle sometimes. However, it adds so much depth that the show can never capture. More than halfway into season 2, I’m noticing how lacking the show is on details. It’s not a negative, it’s a necessary part of making a TV show out of such a magnum opus! If I can get through this first book, I will surely get A Clash Of Kings. Until then, I have a lot of reading to catch up on!!!