WHY READ BOOKS?

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So yeah.  Why read books?  There is a lot of stigma among my generation I feel like when it comes to reading books.  I remember that sometimes in my language classes being forced to read a book and hating it.  Then afterwards, I go back and reread it.  You know what happened?  I actually liked it! haha.

Weird right?  It still is something that has puzzled me for some time.  Why do I prefer reading on my own rather than reading for a class?  Some people might say it's because I have more free choice.

hmm, that might be it I guess.  I don't know.  The fact of the matter is, I don't particularly like reading text books.  And I'm a History Education Major.  I prefer to read Historical Fiction, or read stories about the actual historical figures - so biographies 😏  Most importantly, I prefer reading them on my own terms.  When I can set my own reading goals and find the book that I want to read, you can bet that I will read that book cover to cover, no problem.

I love to read.  I love reading multiple genres.  Right now I'm reading a lot of Fantasy Genre books.  This is because it helps me know what other people writing in that genre are doing.  I get to read the books that people liked and didn't, so I get to delve into those aspects.  Currently, I'm reading the Inheritance Cycle Books by Christopher Paolini (*WHICH I HIGHLY RECOMMEND*).

And books are everywhere!!  I don't care if you have a physical paper/hardback copy of the book or a digital e-book.  As long as you find something to read - especially something that you like - you'll do fine.

Did you know that if you read a book (or a book series), your knowledge of language will increase.  Your brain is an amazing thing.  Reading - and reading to a schedule - can help you with multiple skills.  Whether that is understanding words or phrases (cause even I sometimes have to look up words that I have no idea what they mean), time management skills (when it comes to reading to a schedule), or even being able to understand humanity a little better (after all, books/stories often reflect society - like songs).  Your brain is a fascinating thing!

Reading has definitely helped me become a better writer - whether that be for my stories or super long essay papers that I have to write for classes 😉  So find yourself a good book, and start reading.  There are thousands of them, and most are literally at your finger tips.

Here is a list of some of my favorite books or book series and why:


10. Ahsoka by E.K. Johnston

                   Yeah the Star Wars fan in me had to make this list 😆
           Ahsoka is about the former Jedi named Ahsoka, who was once the padawan of Anakin                        Skywalker (first introduced in the Star Wars the Clone Wars series [*A MUST WATCH*])               😃  It follows what happened to Ahsoka after the Clone Wars ended and during the rise of the            Empire, leading up to when she appears on the Star Wars Rebels TV show (*ANOTHER                  MUST SEE*)  on Amazon

9. A Narrative of a Revolutionary Soldier: Some of the Adventures, Dangers, and Sufferings of Joseph Plump Martin  (Also called Private Yankee Doodle).  It was written by the American Continental Soldier Joseph Plump Martin during the American Revolution (1775-1783).

               This was definitely one of those books that I hated reading for class, but went back and                      reread it.  I love this book now.  It also has been a valuable first source material for some                  of my research papers I've written at college.  It follows the life of Joseph Martin, and his                  adventures during the American Revolution.  It's a really good book, but it is also written in                old English (or would it be called Colonial English). on Amazon

8.  The Maze Runner Series by James Dashner.

                Now normally I would never recommend a dystopian book.  I really don't like them.                           However, The Maze Runner Series changed that for me.  James Dashner did a good job of                 presenting his characters and giving them beautiful development throughout the book.  The                 story as a whole was really well done.   on Amazon

7. Any of the Halo books by Eric S. Nylund

                If you didn't know, I am a huge Halo fan - you know...Halo Reach to Halo 3 (yeah those                       others don't exist 😁)  So if you liked the Halo game series and the lore, I am more than                       positive that you will love these books.  They are a little bit graphic in nature, but what war                   book isn't?  Eric Nylund does a good job of presenting the characters in his books, and                         giving a whole new emotional level to individuals normally considered enemies or inferior.  I                   hope to add his three Halo novels to my meager book collection some day.  on Amazon

6. April Morning by Howard Fast

                Yep, this is another American Revolution book.  Except this one is definitely an easier read                 than the memoirs of Joseph Plump Martin.  This book is historical fiction, and follows the                 Colonial boy named Adam, who lives in Lexington, Massachusetts.  And yes, you guessed                 it!  The book is about Adam experiences the first shots of the American Revolution at the                   Battles of Lexington and Concord.  It's a really good coming of age story.  on Amazon

5. The Kent Family Chronicles by John Jakes

                John Jakes is by far the best Historical Fiction writer to ever live.  His work is                                   well...historical 😀  John Jakes was an inspiration for me when I first started writing my                   historical fiction stories.  The Kent Family Chronicles is by far one of my favorite                             historical fiction books.  It follows the family line of the Kent Family, from right around                   the time of the French and Indian War (Seven Years War) up to the 1890s right before the                   turn of the century.  John Jakes wrote them in honor of the Deceleration of Independence's                 Bicentennial.  Jakes does an excellent job of throwing curve balls, gut wrenching moments,                 and historical figures all into the mix to make this beautiful piece of art.    on Amazon

4. Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

                You may have watched the amazing movies by the same name, but I assure you that                           Jurassic Park the book is even more breath taking.  This book literally gave me                                 goosebumps.  😅  It is extremely well done, and has an even better story than the                             original movie with the same title.  I've always wanted to read Michael Crichton's sequel                   called the The Lost World and see how good that one was.  I highly recommend this book.                   on Amazon

3. Inheritance Cycle, specifically Eragon, by Christopher Paolini

                 I'm still on the first book, but rapidly approaching the end of it.  The book I am on -                         Eragon - is well written, especially since Paolini was rather young when he wrote it.  The                   story arc is great and I can't wait to see how the story goes throughout the other books.
                on Amazon

2. Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling

                Yes, naturally this made my list.  I love the Harry Potter books.  They were so well                           written, and knowing some aspects of J.K. Rowling's own story makes reading the books                   have an even deeper meaning.  Most know the story of the Boy who Lived, and have read                   through the seven books.  Each them are amazing, and start getting dark as each book ends.                 I would say that the Goblet of Fire is my favorite book in the series followed closely by                     The Half-Blood Prince.  Many aspects of the book series make them clearly better than the                 movies - even though the movies were amazingly put together well.
                  on Amazon
 

1. Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan

                This is number one on my list because it was the first book series I ever read and could not                 put it down.  This series is really good.  Rick Riordan portrays the characters perfectly,                     and you learn a little bit of Greek Mythology along the way.  I love Percy Jackson's                           character development throughout the series, and seeing the world from his eyes.  These                     books are probably the reason why I normally write from first person rather than third,                       more often than not.  So yes, really good book series.  The Battle of the Labyrinth is by far                 my favorite book, but The Last Olympian is really good too.
                  on Amazon

So yeah, to sum this up - go to your local library, or go online.  Get or buy a book - whether its paper/hard back or is an E-Book.  Read.  And maybe if you are daring enough

WRITE

Thanks for reading!

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Quotes

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I didn't really know what to say today, 

so here are just some quotes I found.  

Most come from Brainy Quote. 

Hope you enjoy!

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“Where now are the horse and the rider? Where is the horn that was blowing?

Where is the helm and the hauberk, and the bright hair flowing?

Where is the harp on the harpstring, and the red fire glowing?

Where is the spring and the harvest and the tall corn growing?

They have passed like rain on the mountain, like a wind in the meadow;

The days have gone down in the West behind the hills into shadow.

Who shall gather the smoke of the deadwood burning,

Or behold the flowing years from the Sea returning?”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Two Towers (found @ this site)

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"The only way to have a friend is to be one."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson (found @ this site)

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Solitary trees, if they grow at all, grow strong.

- Winston Churchill  (found @ this site)

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We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us.

- Joseph Campbell (found @ this site)

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I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.

- Jimmy Dean (found @ this site)

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Friends show their love in times of trouble, not in happiness.

- Euripides (found @ this site)

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One of the most beautiful qualities of true friendship is to understand and to be understood.

- Lucius Annaeus Seneca (found @ this site)

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There is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship.

- Thomas Aquinas (found @ this site)

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In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.

- Abraham Lincoln (found @ this site)

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Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose.

- Lyndon B. Johnson (found @ this site)

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Find a place inside where there's joy, and the joy will burn out the pain.

- Joseph Campbell (found @ this site)

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God never ends anything on a negative; God always ends on a positive.

- Edwin Louis Cole  (found @ this site)

Found @ this site

I would add to this:
Be somebody who makes everybody 
feel like a somebody, including yourself.

Found @ this site

Another really powerful quote.  
My parents may not have been rich with money, 
but definitely rich with love, and that is all I've ever needed.   

Found @ this site

My best friend once told me, "You never know unless you try."
That has been a motto I have lived by ever since.  
And now I am on the path to becoming a teacher.  
I feel like it is a way that I can make a real difference in the world.  
To help kids see their potential, and realize that they 
were meant for something greater one day.

Found @ this site

Life will not be easy.
Any who say otherwise, have not lived.
But you don't have to walk your path alone.
There is so much more to life than the lonely broken road.

Found @ this site

I hope you guys enjoyed this, and hope that at least one of these quotes sticks out to you.
You guys are awesome, and I thank you for following my blog.
Have an epic day!

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Going Rogue

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Alrighty.  So if you've been following my blog for sometime now, you know that I'm definitely a Star Wars nerd.
                                                    *I believe it says that over here somewhere 😀-----------------------à

  Naturally I watched Rogue One: A Star Wars Story when it came out.  It was epic.  I watched it three times in the theater.  In my opinion it is my number three Star Wars Movie so far (1. Episode 5, 2. Episode 3, and 3. Rogue One).

I think that Rogue One was an excellent way to start off the Star Wars stand alone films.  There is a Han Solo stand alone coming out after Episode 8, and many more after that.

**SPOILERS AHEAD**


The Cons:

Star Wars Rogue One had a few cons.

The biggest one was not enough character depth.  However it is somewhat understandable, where in the Star Wars Saga Movies (Episodes 1-7) they develop the characters over multiple movies.  There is only so much character depth you can have in one movie.  And with the ending that Rogue One had...**MAJOR SPOILER**... with all the main characters dying at the end, it is rather hard to develop characters after death...unless your a blue force ghost or something...


The second con, which I think it was more of the Star Wars fan in me being a little upset, was that Bail Organa didn't speak that much.  I wish we could have heard the guy who basically is one of the main founders of the Rebel Alliance speak more.  It could have been a perfect opportunity to make even bigger connections between the Prequel Trilogy and the Original Trilogy.

But that was pretty much the only complaints that I had for Rogue One.  Now onto the best things that Rogue One did:

The Pros:

The Dark Times.  When Obi Wan says:

We realize what he was talking about in Rogue One.  The Rebel Alliance, by the time of Rogue One has only done small things to wound the Empire.  Imperial Officials would even classify the Rebels as terrorist insurgents.  You really see that in the fighting scene on Jedha, when Saw Gerrera's rebels attack the Stormtroopers.  And by the end of the movie, the Rebel Alliance council members are talking about breaking up the alliance, you realize that the Rebels are really close to falling apart.  And even the ending of the movie, what Jyn Erso says to the rebels she is leading to the Planet Scarif, "They've no idea we're coming. They've no reason to expect us. If we can make it to the ground, we'll take the next chance, and the next, on and on until we win, or the chances are spent." - from Wookieepedia.
It really shows that the Rebels are desperate and probably would not last much longer if Jyn and her Rogue One crew didn't go to Scarif.  It kinda goes back to what Princess Leia says in a New Hope:

Alright, the second Pro to the movie was how it cut from scene to scene.  You ever notice in the Star Wars Saga that from scene to scene it looks like it was put in a Microsoft PowerPoint slide show?  Well that doesn't happen in Rogue One.  In fact, where that would normally happen in a Star Wars movie, the story continues.  It's often in those moments that we have the best character development.  The best scene to do this was when the main characters were leaving Eadu, where Jyn's father - Galen Erso - dies.  When the characters leave Eadu that don't just leave it there.  They actually talk about what happened, causing conflict among the characters.  Plus it was a really sad scene when Galen dies, if you were following the movie entirely from Jyn's perspective.

The Third Pro was they brought Saw Gerrera to the big screen.  People who have watched Star Wars the Clone Wars TV series would recognize Saw as the Onderon Freedom Fighter.  This is what he looked like in the Clone Wars:

And this is what he looks like in the Movie:

And now he is going be in the second half of the TV show Star Wars Rebels Season 3 looking like this:

This was a really cool way to make the Star Wars the Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels seem more a part of the Star Wars Universe.

Another awesome part were all the Easter eggs in the movie.  There are too many to list, but one of my favorite ones was the fact that you see the Star Wars Rebels ship The Ghost fighting in the Space Battle of Scarif.

You see it here in the bottom left, next to the Hammerhead Cruiser:



Also in the movie, you see it flying across the Rebel Command Ships view screen at least two times.  Though it is a small nod, it is a huge way to bring Star Wars Rebels into the Cinematic Star Wars Universe.

Another cool easter egg - and really his only line - was when Bail Organa and Mon Mothma were talking about Obi-Wan.  That was a pretty cool nod to Episode 4.  It was kind of a sad reminder that Bail Organa dies on Alderaan when the Death Star blows it up in Episode 4.


Another Pro of this movie was the villain.  Director Orson Krennic.  He was epic, and I believe that Ben Mendelsohn was the perfect actor to play him.  When Krennic talked to Vader on Mustafar, and everytime he tried to stand up and talk to Vader, Vader would just put him back in his place just by looking at him.  It was awesome.  Another cool thing was the color contrast between Krennic (wearing white) and his Death Troopers (wearing black).  It was cool how that matches up to Darth Vader (wearing Black) and the Stormtroopers (wearing white).  Just a little bit of symbolism.  Plus Krennic has a cape - and what good Villain doesn't have an awesome cape to go with them.

A great Pro of the movie was the casting.  All the actors did an amazing job.  They performed their roles perfectly.  The script for the movie wasn't too cheesy.  K-2SO was an awesome comic relief, reminding me somewhat of a Star Wars Legends character - HK-47.  I think another strong point of the movie was that there were no Jedi.  Because by now the Jedi are all but extinct:

And finally the best Pro was Darth Vader.  That after all is what sold tickets right? 😏
The first introduction to Vader was when Director Krennic went to Mustafar - yep the same planet where Vader and Obi-Wan had their duel, and where Padme died in epsiode 3.  It showed Vader's castle - which was a nice nod towards Star Wars Legends.  It also gave a revelation where in Star Wars Rebels season one, Hera says that Mustafar is the place where Jedi go to die:

Well I guess we know why now 😉

Just hearing James Earl Jones' voice as Darth Vader was just perfect.  And Vader's witty remark to Krennic that some people have complained was out of Vader's character, in my opinion fits well with him.  After, Vader does have witty remarks in the other films.

A strong point for the Rogue One movie, was not making Vader a present threat throughout the entire movie, as the main villain.  Director Edwards did a beautiful job of crafting Vader to being a looming threat throughout the whole film.  And then at last, we see the Darth Vader that we have always wanted to see.

That scene where he just emerges from the dark, turning on his blood-red lightsaber, was perfect.  It was an epic ending to an epic movie.  And it ties beautifully into Star Wars Episode 4 because Episode 4 literally starts off right where Rogue One ends.  I also loved - in case you didn't know - that this scene showed Vader combine both force powers and lightsaber ability together, instead of showing one or the other.  In fact, I'm pretty sure it is the only scene in the Star Wars movies where it shows a Jedi or Sith using both force powers and a lightsaber at the same time.

Anyway that is my review of Rogue One.  Go catch it in the theaters if you got the money and time, or wait for it to come out in late April 2017.  Also watch Star Wars Rebels.  It goes even deeper into the background context of the movies.  Star Wars Rebels returns this Saturday, Jan. 7.  Here's the season 3 mid-season trailer - It's GONNA BE EPIC!! 😃:

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New Year New Post

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So I've been on a long Christmas Break haha!!
Well, I have been working on something awesome that I wanna share with you guys.
It's my new map of Abatral.

I expanded it from a normal piece of white printer paper to a huge map with a grid on it.  Take a look as I explain the parts with the pictures I took as I created this piece of work.

The Original Map

So for starters, I took the original map and traced over the land masses.  I scanned that into my computer.  Then I inserted an 8x8 table over it, using Microsoft Word.  Then I took a screenshot on my computer to get this picture.  I printed it off to use as a visual guide.  

Then my dad, being the amazing guy he is, got me this huge roll of paper.  This was the worse part because I don't really like math.  haha.  At least I know how to do it though 😏
I had to figure out how big the little squares on my grid sheet that I had printed off was.  Then I incorporated that to the bigger map by multiplying by 6.  That was how I made the small squares.
To be honest, I guess the math wasn't the hardest part 😅
The hardest part probably was drawing a straight line!  Took me awhile and finally I just got a yard stick to help me out.

After the long process of drawing the squares, I finally moved on to draw the shapes of the continents and islands on the big map.  I even added smaller islands to fill the white spaces on the map to make it feel more realistic.  Then, of course, I drew my weird compass  😅

After that, it was straight to work.  I started with the Saphid Kingdom's stuff first.  The shaded portion on there are actually little circles to represent trees.  So all the shaded parts you see on this picture and the rest of the pictures represents forests or woodland... there was a lot 😧

Here's a closer look at the Aona Islands controlled by the Saphids.

Here is the Great Library.  The location is supposed to be where all knowledge is stored by the Dragons and other intelligent creatures.

This is the Viius Islands.  The three islands are kind of the biggest symbolism in the world.  The island called Bos is the one in the Northeast, with the volcano and barren lands.  The Island called Dor is the one in the Southwest, with the forests and river.  The remaining island is called Viius Island, where the Temple of Viius is located, the most sacred place in the Realm.

To give you an idea of the maps progression, here's what the whole map looks like from an overhead view so far.

Here is the Goryon Kingdom in the Far North.  The location is where the Goryon live.  Goryon's are humanoid Creatures born of a humanoid race and a Dragon Lord (Dragon Lords have the magical ability to morph into other creatures - I kinda think of the Dragons as the Greek Gods and the Goryon as Demigods).

Here's another look at the whole map.

This is Dokel, the island where the Okreds live.  Take note that there are three active Volcanoes on the island.  The other large chunks of islands were supposed to originally be a part of the main island of Dokel but broke off due to violent earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions.  It is mostly a barren landscape, except for the southern part of the island.  

Here's another look at the whole map.  It was coming along pretty well.  Right about here, I took a break for a couple days because it was Christmas weekend.  

And then I moved on into the biggest landmass.  I was concerned about how long it would take me to do this, but I got 'er done 😏
The Fields of Darkness have their own history.  If you read some of my previous posts about the history of Abatral you'd recognize the name because it is deeply connected to the Abatral God Lumir and the Aidis.
The Elvish Kingdom is surrounded by the Mountains - I have yet to name them 😊
Their capital is tucked neatly within the mountains, though, giving them a natural border and wall.  Take notice that a wall was constructed by the Elves in the Northeast.  Also, I decided to add a river and a lake, to get rid of some white space.

Then I kinda went on spree 😏
I drew the Dwarvish Kingdom first.  Then I drew the huge river and the multiple lakes.  I even connected the river running from the Elvish Kingdom to the river that ran from the Dwarvish Kingdom.  I put some hilly area in the Northern part of the Human Kingdom.  Then I added the four major cities from the original map on the bigger map.  Then I added the Capital city of Enochai.

Then came the most annoying and hardest part of the map.  Drawing all the trees.  If you didn't know, drawing a ton of little circles is ridiculous.  There was a point where I almost gave up even.  But I looked at the entire map and saw all that I had done, and I was like, "Well I've come this far.  Might as well finish it."  😏😆
So I did.  I added a few other small towns to the map, to fill in the white spaces.  Then I went back through the entire map and added bridges that crossed over the rivers.

And finally, I had my end result.  I decided to color in the rivers across the map, to make them pop out.  I was almost ready to color the trees in with a green color, to distinguish them as trees, but I knew that if I did that, then all that shaded-in area on the map would look a nasty color.

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So yeah.  It was a ton of fun, and being able to look at it now is amazing.  I love it and know that I'll be able to use it for my stories.  I plan on using pictures of individual locations (i.e. the Elvish Kingdom) when I write the history of the people.  I've already started on working on the history of Mankind.  I'm writing it, using the timeline of events given by the different Aidis', as most the things that happen in the Realm of Abatral often revolve around the Aidis.  The coolest thing I did while writing the history of Mankind was naming the different locations on the map.  I probably use some picture editor to write in the locations on the map.

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My biggest and only mistake that I feel like I made was writing the names of the places in black marker.  This is because I know that I could have just put the pictures on my computer and then add the names of places with some cool font or something.  Oh well.  I love and think it looks cool.  Take a look at the old and new map:

Hope you all had an epic Christmas and New Years!!

I plan on going back to my regular post schedule,

if you can call it regular 😁

Have an awesome day!!

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All parts of the map are drawn by me (and I'm pretty proud to say that 😏)

However, a big shout out to Microsoft for their Word Program,
And an EPIC SHOUT OUT to Fantasy Name Generators and their Map Creator.  I took a couple of their items for mountains and stuff and taught myself how to draw them.  So huge shout out to that website.