Trivia

I went to a fan party for a certain book at a bookstore that hosted a trivia game and debate questions.  Here are my trivia questions for you with images that will serve as helpful hints:


1) Name the store:

  2)  Name the book:

3) One of the participants in my group (we were divided up into districts) is trying out for the part of one of the characters in the movie that is slated to start filming in February.  Name what character he is trying out for:

4)  Guess what the girl who works at the store is saying to me while I am trying to get photographic evidence of being with this kid (in the event he gets the part)

5) Do you think he should play that part?  Here are a few more professional photos so you can see what he would look like on the screen:

In case I get in trouble for putting these pics up over here I want to make sure and give credit to this website.  I put the pics here instead of forcing you to follow the link because I didn't want to encourage middle-aged women to look at young male models, especially cuz he was a sweet kid and his mom was super nice, and I wouldn't want to make anyone go over there or anything.  

Answer to trivia:

1)  Borders

2)  Mockingjay of course

3)  Gale 

4)  "Um excuse me, you aren't allowed to take photos in the store."
5)    Yes.  He was really a nice and humble kinda person.  His mom was like "he is trying out for the HG movie" and the girls in the room recognized his name, I think he was a star in the high school play when they did To Kill a Mockingbird.  But anytime his mom would start to say something he would act super embarrassed because he didn't seem to want the attention.  I mean, except for the modeling and acting and all.  But it seemed sincere so he gets my vote. 

Obligatory Self-Promotion

So last year as you may recall, I gave you a sob story about getting the flu as a lousy excuse for my horrible orange creation during the Hunger Games Cake Decorating Contest.

This year let me give you a different excuse for voting for me:  I love my cake.  I think the craftsmanship is mediocre for reasons outlined below, but I had so much fun coming up with the idea and talking to my kids about it and teaching my husband about the book as I researched the different districts that I just was happy with the process of creation even if it didn't play out exactly as planned.

If you haven't read the book I highly doubt you would bother to keep reading this post because you will be running out to catch up with Hunger Games and Catching Fire prior to the release of Mockingjay at Midnight tonight but this year's contest is of course hosted by the one and only Jespy.  If you don't know about Jespy (known around here as jennyesp) than I feel sorry for you since she is truly a delightful person.  She has a great deadpan kind of humor and btw has kept me reading for the last year via both a blog and random texts, not to mention that we are super compatible on goodreads...and the rate at which she keeps up with iPhone games is one of the key reasons I miss that particular device.  She is kinda competitive, especially when her sisters get involved so keep your head down and don't make too many snarky comments if you are playing cards with them.

So back to me, the contest, I want you to know that I pulled into town at 4 pm yesterday, got my cake made, and was ready to move onto frosting when I realized I was out of both butter and powdered sugar.  Since I didn't have any untapped neighbors I decided to google search "frosting without powdered sugar" and sure enough I ran across a nice little Royal Icing that you can use for such occasions.  I had to boil sugar and cream of tartar until it hit 238 degrees F, whip up some egg whites to stiff peaks, and then mix the two concoctions together whipping constantly until cool.   A lot of work, eh?  But that is how dedicated I am to this contest.  And did I mention my kids started school this morning and we have been gone for 10 weeks?  So anyway the frosting didn't actually turn out to be stiff enough for detail hence my poor quality detail.  But it is shiny so that part worked out.

Down to biz.  Here is the cake.  Your job is to go to the site and vote... not even for my cake, just for the best one because honestly there are some really good ones.  But you have to give me SOME points for thinking it through, no?  I thought putting the numbers on there was kind of Captain Obvious/Oprahlike but I couldn't help but think there might be some who would be confused.

Need some help?

District 1?  They make luxury goods for the capital which is located there in the Rockies.
District 2?  Yeah those are the careers.  Training for the annual games because that is the way they roll.
District 3?  Explosives.  Want a close up?

District 4 is of course fishing.  Love my shiny lake?
Yeah so then you got Foxface showing her meano face in district 5
Factories/industrial district 8

Districts 9 is of course electricity
11 agriculture
10 livestock
and 13 we know is nuclear power.

SPOILER ALERT
District 12?
12?

It WAS the coal mining region but now....

There is no district 12.

Watch Ur Back

Regarding THIS post on Catching Fire. Spoiler ALERT do NOT follow that link if you haven't read the book.

In other news, anyone going to be in Chicago April 10-12? I am presenting at a conference and will have lots of down time. Someone come out there and join me, you can stay in my hotel room and everything and I will pick you up at airport. This applies to the ladies only.

Recommended Reading

In case you don't follow me on twitter, facebook, or read this blog frequently, I recently finished reading Catching Fire. I will be doing a review of it at the end of the month over here, but if you haven't read it, do it.

Also recommended reading:

Free by Chris Anderson. You can download it for free and it really is a fascinating listen. I didn't read it because I listened to it on my phone but it really, really changed my perspective. If you are into technology and/or business in any way you should give it a listen/read.

Also another GREAT read (I am only on chapter 3 but I can feel it) is Boys Adrift. This is about the recent phenomenon that girls are better than boys. It isn't really recent, but today there is actual data to support this theory. If you have sons you should definitely read it. I think I will have a major epiphany at the end of the book.

Another recent read which I highly recommend is Outliers. This reinforces the idea that hard work, not necessarily just born genius, is what pays off in the end. Good stuff. Especially the bit about Korean Air.

I have read a bunch of other stuff from the SRBC but it is all teenage romance fiction stuff (ie anything recommended by Stephenie Meyer.) I am not recommending this stuff unless you check out the blog.

In other news my daughter (3rd grade) read "The Girl Who Could Fly" and that amazed me. I gotta take her to the library now and get her reading some Judy Blume and Beverly Clearly.

Leaving on Tuesday AM to go to the Chicago region so if I don't blog before then, ttfn.

Not So Smart Remarks

I think the Hunger Games is probably my favorite book ever.

I loved the characters and the plot, the writing, etc. It was probably the first book I actually read cover to cover. Don't get me wrong-- I read like crazy and have read a TON of books in my life. But I fly through pages that have lengthy descriptions and end up having to reread pages when I become interested in the story at some later date. (Examples of books I loved but skimmed: Watership Down, Count of Monte Cristo, Genesis, etc.)

I was on a dizzying review of it last night online until the kitchen/baby/costumes/bread/upstairs neighbor tv viewing interrupted so there isn't much to add really to those smart ladies and their 90s lyrica.

For those who have not read the book here is my summary:
-Strong female character who is probably pretty but doesn't really think about it is on the REAL survivor- meets -Truman show in a post-apocalyptic depiction of government oppression of the masses.

Interesting characters include: baker's son who sacrifices his all for love, alky older man whose money has just embittered him further in a sense of spiraling hopelessness, a wimpy younger sister who makes herbed goat cheese and a hardened street fighter whose survivalist lifestyle made him a man by age 12 whom the author does a brilliant job developing through the thoughts of the female lead. Oh and the girl who gave away the mockingjay pin. What are the chances of her being a lead character in the next installment? 95%

I need another book like this and feel that of the millions out there surely there is one other that can make my heart beat prior to September of 09 for the love of all that is holy.

Books I've Read

So I read all the time but am always looking for more. I wasn't planning on recommending any of them, but not all authors can have the talent of Suzanne Collins so I thought I should at least give people some ideas of decent reads. I don't recommend something with overkill on profanity or sex so as a result I find most of my reads show up on young adult fiction. They aren't all totally pristine but for the most part they all get a PG rating or less. My star rating is:
* One star. I read it and finished it because it was entertaining enough for me.
**Two stars- I read it, finished it, and I am not embarrassed about it.
***Three stars- I read it, finished it, and recommend it.

I would appreciate it if other people would make some recommendations for me, btw, so that I could have some ideas on what to do to fill my time while waiting for Stephenie Meyer to produce something else.

1. The Ungarnished Truth: A Cooking Contest Memoir- Elie Mathews-This is a not a great read but has interesting details about the Pillsbury Bake Off winner of 1993 who won a million. I totally can't relate to her character but I do love the bits about the food and the behind-the-scenes look at someone who wins a contest with little or no personality. Very clean cut. **

2. Great and Terrible Beauty, etc. the Gemma Doyle trilogy-Libba Bray- Great read, interesting, some other-worldly stuff to add to a mysterious gypsy love interest. I think there might be a few weirdo things in there for people who like strictly G-rated but it probably is not more than PG-13. ***

3. Silver Bough- Lisa Tuttle- this seems like a summary of a really great story that accidentally left out the best parts. It has an interesting premise. Uses the word lust a lot but doesn't have any detailed unsavory parts. Takes place in Scotland with mainly American characters. *

4. Stolen Child-- Keith Donohue a bizarre account of a kid who gets stolen by changelings and the changeling who took his place. Very engaging with some trollish kind of characters. Probably one of the better reads of that mediocre crop from the library.***

5. The Blue Blood series- these are more high school vampire stories but a little bit racier since the main characters seem a bit less moral, particularly the "popular" female lead character. But the main one is nice enough and so far they are entertaining. Don't expect great literature but fun enough. **

6. And Only To Deceive, A Poisoned Season, Fatal Waltz-- Tasha Alexander- These are super fun Austen-style heroine romance mysteries. Main character super moral and likeable plus a feminist for her day (refusing to marry for money, etc.) ***

7. Silent in the Sanctuary and some other book that precedes it- Deanna Raybourne. Lady Julia Grey mystery, a chica with her own money and mystery, again Austen-style heroine. ***

Do NOT read:

Anything by Nora Roberts- started to read one of her stories until the main character's body was possessed by a prostitute. What the..? Who writes this kind of smut? Nora Roberts, thats who.

Lost Boys by Orson Scott Card-- I usually love his stuff but this one is weirdo. Seriously I only made it two pages, since it seemed like he was taking lessons from Nora Roberts but with a creepy angle.

Almost Moon by Alice Sebold. She actually did a good job with Lovely Bones if you don't mind the creepiness of a dead girl following around her murderer from a cloud and her watching him with another victim. I only got through a few pages of Almost Moon before I realized that the book is about a woman who kills her mother. That is no spoiler by the way since that is what she says on the first page. I should have read the back of the book.

Post D-day

The due date is excruciating because you have to sit around and wait with nothing else to do while disappointing people.

The day after? Awesome! Because you can do whatever the heck you want and no one cares. My agenda today:

- Watch episodes 1-8 of season one, Prison Break (my favorite show and it would be yours too if you ever saw Wentworth Miller)- all the violence of 24 without the neo-cons around

- Put all my work emails into a folder so when I am out all the email in my inbox will be manageable when I come back

- Watch the Ballad of Sarah Palin

- Reread most of Breaking Dawn (yes I had already read Twilight- Eclipse in the last week)

- Read Midnight Sun (is it just me or is that her best one yet aside from a need for some editing?)

- Take a shower

-Go to open house and give an impromptu schpiel for the parents in English and 'spañol.

-Eat cheesecake

-Eat ginger lemon cookies from Costco

-Put together the new Pack N Play to motivate said child to be born already

So yeah, awesome day and I expect tomorrow to be equally mindless. If only I had episodes 9-12 from netflix already...