Books

Ender’s Game

What makes a book or a film so great is when the end is so unexpected but at the same time very plausible. In the last few days I read Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game. Earth has been invaded by a species called buggers twice. Humans are preparing for the third and the final battle. Ender Wiggin is their best hope. I’m looking forward to reading the sequels in the series from Speaker for the Dead. Nobody has yet to make a film out of it so far.

Harry Potter Film Wizardry

Harry Potter Film Wizardry, a book about the films, was released recently. I got the British edition which has a different cover than the American edition. The British edition got delayed for some reason. This is a huge book weighing  more than a kilo, 160 pages of pictures and writings about the films and some props from the films. The level of detail  they have gone into designing the sets and the props was always amazing. Harry Potter movie sets are like museums. There are tons of things to see and examine if you can.  Each object is meticulously designed or acquired specially. For example you may find a set of mismatching antique plates laid out on the dinner table gotten from some serious shopping in the secondhand shops. Some of these artwork is not even shown in the films or only get half a second glimpses. They had even designed a complete Quidditch World Cup programme. There were sculptures made from thousands of real tea cups and saucers of different shapes, colors and sizes in the Trelawney’s classroom. The book includes reproduction of some these props from the films notably the letter from Hogwarts, World Cup programme and folded Marauders’s map. I really don’t like the films but the film sets and the props are so amazing. The book is a great memento for the films.

The Other Side of Dawn

I’ve just finished all seven books in the Tomorrow series by John Marsden. It has been quite an experience reading these books. It feels so real. Like in real life, unlike in films, there are so many deaths of the heroes.  There are so many things going wrong and so many failures one after another. In fact some books are all about things going totally wrong.

Tomorrow, When the War Began

I have started reading Tomorrow, When the War Began. It is the first book in a seven book series from an Australian author, John Marsden. A group of teenagers go bush and when they come out of the wilderness everything has changed. Australia has been invaded by a foreign power. Their home town is occupied and their families are kept as prisoners. It is quite an interesting story.

Little Brother

My name is Marcus Yallow. I was tortured by my country, but I still love it here. I’m seventeen years old. I want to grow up in a free country. I want to live in a free country.
– Little Brother, Cory Doctorow

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow is a book everyone should read. Markus is a technology savvy kid who knows how to out smart the surveillance systems at school. He and his friends are apprehended by the Department of Homeland Security in the aftermath of a terrorist attack in San Fransisco. They are held and tortured at a place similar to the Guantánamo Bay detention camp. After Marcus gets out he realizes the city has become a police state. He’s determined to go after the Department of Homeland Security and protect the freedom and the rights of the people. Although the story is fictional there is nothing out of ordinary from what is happening today.

You can read it FREE. The book is available in every format you can think of. Read it and if you like it spread the message.