Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass

I finished reading Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass by Stephen King. It is actually a re-read for me. I read it many years ago, but back then it didn’t make sense to me because I hadn’t read the first three books. It does make sense now. Plus I had to re-read it because all I could remember was that Roland was in it and riddles. I couldn’t remember if the others were in it. There are eight books in the Dark Tower book series.

Warning: there is some violence and some disturbing scenes.

In this book, Roland and the others are on the train. They are supposed to be telling the trains riddles, but Roland makes a big speech to the train. He makes a deal where they will try to stump the train in exchange for their lives. Eddie ends up being the one who stumps the train. Once they are off the train, they discover they are in Kansas (not ours). The people of this Kansas is dead. (a super flu killed the people. Which is kinda scary right now with this new strain going on in our present.) They find a thinny at the end of the road. (a thinny is a door to other worlds. It reminds me of the Regulators because the thinnys grow.) The thinny has the sound of a musical saw. (I love that sound, but to hear it all day long can be hurtful to the ears.) Roland gives the others bullets to put in their ears to lessen the sound. They go through the thinny. They move safely away from it and make camp. While there, Roland tells them the story of his first love, Susan. When he was younger, Roland was sent away with his best friend and another friend to another town. Roland meets a girl (Susan) and falls in love with her. They discover a secret and dangerous plot that some of the town people are planning. Roland sees Susan get killed in a wizard’s glass. Roland and the others are transmitted in the land of OZ. In order to get back on the Beam, they have to witness something terrible in Roland’s life. When they get back to the Beam, Roland tries to get them to leave the quest to the Dark Tower. They all tell him no and so they follow the Beam again.

I loved this book. Now I’m listening to Smashed by Koren Zailckas.

You can get this book at Wordery.com, Kobo.com, and Downpour.com.

 

Good Friday

Happy Good Friday!!

This weekend is a busy weekend for me. Tomorrow Lily is going to the vet to get her shots. My mother and I got her a carrier. I’m hoping she will be ok in it tomorrow.

Then on Sunday I finally get to wear my dress!! My church has a Sunrise service. Then we are going to my uncle’s other church. Then we will be going to my great-aunt’s house.

The Big Boss

I watched The Big Boss yesterday. This is the last martial arts movie I taped. It has Bruce Lee, Maria Yi, Ying-Chieh Han, Tony Liu, James Tien, and Chia-Chen Tu.

Big Warning: lots of violence.

Before I begin my summary I did like this movie, but I didn’t like the sound effects. They were very distracting. I’m so glad that got rid of sound effects now.

In this movie, a man named Cheng Chao-an made a pact to not fight. He goes to a town where his cousins work in an ice factory. The owner of the factory is a drug lord. He is putting drugs in the ice. Cheng accidentally broke some ice and two of his cousins saw the drugs. They become “missing.” Actually, they were killed and put in ice. Then some more of Cheng’s cousins go missing. Cheng breaks his promise and fights. His cousins get killed. he ends up killing the owner of the factory.

Next week I’m watching Bulletproof Monk.

RedRum

I love the tv show How to Get Away with Murder. I use RedRum for the show instead of that long title.

I watched the season finale this weekend and it was good until the end. I may have to quit watching the show if it gets even stupider. They messed up their own timeline. The end suggests that Annalise’s son is alive. Well in past episodes Frank didn’t know the accident he caused hurt the baby until he saw Sam in the hospital. Then later on Annalise finds out Frank caused the accident and he left. If Frank knew about her son, why didn’t he tell her? In the season finale, Frank acted like he wasn’t surprised. Plus where had been all this time and who told him?

A better storyline would be that Wes faked his death. Earlier they were concerned because his body went missing for awhile.

Fearless (movie)

I watched Fearless yesterday.  It is one of the martial arts movies I taped. It has Jet Li, Li Sun, Yun Qu, Collin Chou, Hee Ching Paw, Nathan Jones, and Zhi-Hui Chen in it.

Warning: there is some violence and subtitles.

This movie is a documentary about a martial artist named Huo Yuanjia. (I think I have seen some parts of this movie before.) Huo Yuanjia was determined to learn to fight when he was younger. His mother had told him that there is a respect to Chinese martial arts. He learned that lesson after he killed another martial artist and had found his family was killed. He left his home and found himself at a village. They took care of him and found peace there. He went back home and fought in some competitions. He ended up gaining the respect of the Chinese and the world.

I really liked this movie. Next week I’m watching The Big Boss. Another martial art movie.

Spring is here!!

Happy Spring!!

My pansies have come up in their pots. Some other flowers have come up too. My neighbor is supposed to be giving some more flowers soon.

I keep thinking this coming Sunday is Easter, but it’s not. It is the next Sunday. I guess I’m excited to wear my new dress.

Graduation Day (The Testing 3)

I finished reading Graduation Day by Joelle Charbonneau. It is the third and final book of the Testing book series.

Warning: If you can’t handle The Hunger Games, then this book is not for you.

In this book, Cia does become a spy for the rebellion. She is assigned to work with the President. She discovers that the first assignment the President gives her is a test. While on a test set by the University, Cia realizes that someone is living on an airbase. She and Tomas go back to the airbase and find out the rebels were there. She also finds out her brother is one of the rebels. Her testing guide tells her that the rebels are set to attack within a matter of days. They need info to give the President to get The Testing to stop. She and another student go to the airbase to take the info to Cia’s Testing guide. He gives it to the rebel’s leader and is killed. She finds out the rebel factions are designed to kill each other and Dr. Barnes will continue The Testing. She tells this to the President which ends up being a bad thing. The President gives an assignment to kill twelve people who are part of The Testing. She enlists some other students to help her. She goes behind the President and decides to kill only five people on the list. In her task, she finds out that the people that are Redirected aren’t killed. They are experimented on. (I thought this is what really happened ever since she said the animal she killed looked human.) When she goes to kill Dr. Barnes, she learns that the President really wanted The Testing to continue. Cia was tested on if she really could kill Dr. Barnes. She doesn’t, but another student does and tells the President that Cia did it. The President lets Cia visit the place they experimented on the students that failed. She finds two of them unharmed and brings them home. (I was glad they were unharmed. I was afraid one of them was the one she killed.) The President keeps her promise and gets rid of The Testing. But Cia isn’t convinced and she heads out to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

Even though there were some sad parts, I really enjoyed this book. Now I’m going to read The Wizard and Glass by Stephen King. It is the fourth book of the Dark Tower series. It is a reread for me.

You can get this book at Wordery.com, Kobo.com, and Downpour.com.

Master of the Drunken Fist Beggar So

I watched Master of the Drunken Fist Beggar So yesterday. It is one of the martial arts movies I taped.  It has Zhi Hui Chen,  Jun Cao, and Ying Wang in it.

Warning: there is some violence and there are subtitles.

Before I begin I should say that I had been studying Shaolin Kung Fu via youtube. One of the various forms is the drunken fist. I actually tried it. It’s a pretty cool form because it confuses the opponent.

In this movie, a man named So Chen is a wealthy military scholar. While the other scholars wait for the Emperor to show up, So sneaks in the kitchen to steal some food. He hides under the table and finds another thief. This thief knows the Drunken Fist form and he frames So in a big conspiracy. So’s family gets exiled and killed. So becomes a beggar with a beggar sect.  He learns that thief that framed him is the leader of the sect. Instead of killing him, he joins the cause to bring down the man who ordered his family killed.

I really liked this movie. Next week I’m watching Fearless. It is another martial arts movie.

Independent Study (The Testing 2)

I finished reading Independent Study by Joelle Charbonneau. It is the second book of The Testing book series. It is a YA book. There are three books in the book series.

Warning: Like I said previously if you can’t handle The Hunger Games, this book is not you.

In the book The Testing, the students have their memories erased after the Testing. Cia had recorded some of her memories on a device she stole (borrowed) from her brother. After the memory wipe, she discovers the recording.  In this book, Cia doesn’t know if she can trust the recording. She does have dreams about what happened but doesn’t trust them either. The students take more tests to see what field they go into. Cia wants to go into Mechanical Engineering, but she doesn’t get it. She gets Government Studies instead. Tomas get biological studies. Another student gets redirected. Cia finds out that redirected means dead. Her Testing guide tells her that there is a rebellion happening that will put a stop to The Testing. She ends up becoming a spy for the rebellion.

I really really enjoyed this book even though it does have a sad part near the end. Now I reading Graduation Day by Joelle Charbonneau. It is the third and final book of the book series.

You can get this book at Wordery.com, Kobo.com, and Downpour.com.

The Testing

I finished reading The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau. It is the first of a three book series.  My hairdresser suggested this book last year. I decided to read it since I’m getting my haircut Tuesday.  This book is a YA book.

Warning: If you couldn’t stand reading or seeing The Hunger Games, this book is not you. But this book does make you think.

This book is like The Hunger Games. In this book, when kids graduate high school, they are selected to do a thing called The Testing. The government makes the students do it. Once a student passes The Testing, they can go to the university. A girl named  Cia is picked to do the Testing. Her colony hasn’t picked a candidate in ten years. There is a reason why which revealed later in the book. Cia learns from her father that The Testing is more than a test. Cia does pass the written and hands-on tests. She and Tomas barely make out alive in the final test.

I really really enjoyed this book. It does make you think about leaders and what could happen in the future. Now I’m reading Independent Study by Joelle Charbooneau. It is the second book of the book series.

You can get this book at Wordery.com, Kobo.com, and Downpour.com.