First let me show you what I've made recently with Craft Fantastic products! I used a heart base and glass that I got as a gift from my last order and an image i loved of part of a map. I used them to make a heart necklace. I have a fondness for maps, in fact I make my own maps for my fictional world which I keep in a sketchbook. If you look close enough you can see the N which of course stands for North. The North star has always been a point of great interest. It will always guide you. And in my necklace it says to me you will always be my north star.
The second necklace i made took a bit more time. The image isn't one I bought from Craft Fantastic. Instead, I got an image I liked and worked in word to get it exactly 1 in by 1 in. I then filled the page with the 1 inch images and printed them out. Then I followed the steps of putting glue on the glass, putting the glass to the image and pressing down, using a q-tip to clean up excess clue and then cutting it out and sticking it in the base with the double stick dots. This is perfect for the Fourth of July, and with all the images I printed out I can make many many more. The great thing about Craft Fantastic jewelry is you don't have to use their images, you can print out and use your own! ( they do not recommend not using thick photo paper)As many in my area know, January means one thing ( besides my birthday). It is time for the Adult Reading Program for our local library district. I look forward to this every year. I was very sad when I turned to old to participate in the teen reading program. But we have an adult one so it makes it alright. I started reading a book today for the reading program that I had checked out awhile ago and hadn't gotten down to. The book is: The Lost Civilization of Suolucidir by Susan Daitch.
The premise and idea of this book is an interesting one. A civilization long lost. Most of the archaeologist community doesn't even believe it exists but everyone who goes looking for it ends up imprisoned or dead. The narrator finds the city accidently but before they can finish excavating it, war interrupts and they are forced to flee the country with stolen artifacts.
The book itself, however, is not well written. It uses the right grammar, the right language, the right words but that is all that it has going for it. The story is flat. The dialogue is almost non-existent. I have read first-person books before, and if done right you can have a wonderful story. In this, the narrator mostly just tells you what the conversation was about. You learn the narrator had a wife, and her name was Ruth. But you could not care less about Ruth or the others in the story. You don't feel for the narrator, you don't feel for this characters. You don't hate the villains, cry for the victims, root for the hero...
You feel nothing. Writers are always being told, "Show don't Tell" This book is a prime example of someone simply telling a story and not showing. It does not make you want to stay and read it. It does not make you want to care for the characters at all. Its simply as plain as a textbook.
After such a let down and the mental effort it took to finish such a poorly written novel, I decided to ready something else today as well. I chose A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness. In the introduction, he states how the story began as an idea from Siobhan Dowd. Before she could write the book, however, she died leaving just the idea, the characters, and a beginning. Patrick stated he felt it would be wrong to try and mimic her voice, so he rather focused on telling a story he thought she would have liked to read.
A Monster Calls is truly an amazing story. I bought the collectors edition from my local Costco. The had drawn images throughout are truly amazing an where The Lost Civilization of Suolucidir failed, this book succeeds. You come to care for Conor so much. I guarantee this book will leave you sobbing. You follow the story of Conor, quickly realizing his mother is suffering from some kind of cancer though they never actually say. The monster comes each time to tell him a story. 3 to be exact. The monster claiming the 4th Conor will tell him. And if he does not tell his truths, then the monster says he will die.
Although short, the story doesn't lack at all in what it is telling. It pulls you in quickly and soon you are feeling what Conor is feeling and suffering. I highly recommend this book to any and all! I could not put it down. The collectors edition, besides the story, also includes the following:
* enlightening new essays by the author (who also wrote the screenplay)
* interviews with the director, cast, and crew
* stills from the movie
* exclusive behind-the-scenes content
* previously unpublished early sketches by the illustrator, whose artwork inspires animated scenes in the film
Another point i should add, about why i loved the book so much is while the monster is telling his 3 tales. Each time Conor acts like a normal human being and boy. He makes remakes and questions what the monster says and the monster reacts. All of this is in the book and makes it more like a real story. You truly do care for Conor in the end.
That is all for today lovies. Have a great evening!
J.K. Van'Ellessad
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