Boys Rule Boys Read!: I Was Not Sick, errr, I Was Mortally Wounded!!!

Friday, January 18, 2008

I Was Not Sick, errr, I Was Mortally Wounded!!!

Hello, all true believers out there in the Land of Blog, it is I once again the great and terrible Darth Bill. I must apologize (geez, I must be slipping Sith--never apologize!) but I fell really terrible that I missed giving my Beowulf program this past Tuesday. I was really jazzed about doing it but you are never going to believe what happened to prevent me from doing so. Let's just say what prevented me had long pointy teeth, two furry ears and a deceptively cute nose. Sounds pretty innocent, doesn't it? But I warn ya, its extremely dangerous!!!!! Lets just take a closer look at this great monstrosity, but don't say I didn't warn you if you do happen to have nightmares after looking!!!!!! Last chance to look away. I'm warning ya!!!!!

Yes, while hunting down lowly Jedi in the Outer Rim, I ran across this "innocent looking creature." I proceeded to calling it all sorts of ugly names when all of a sudden it flew through the air, its huge, hideous, great long pointy teeth going straight for my throat!!!!! I drew my lightsaber just in time to deflect it's try for my throat. All I can say is that for 3 days and 3 nights we fought a great battle. How did this epic battle, much greater than that between Beowulf and Grendel, end? Lets just say that now I have a brand spanking new lucky rabbit's foot! However I was wounded most grievously and thus I was forced to stay home mending, using great Sith magics, to pull myself from the brink of death. Thus I missed doing my Beowulf program. But do not be unduly sad as the Beowulf program has been rescheduled for Tuesday, January 29 at 2:00. Hope to see you there. Also don't forget about the Heroes and Villains Festival Tuesday, January 22 starting at 2:00.

Well enough about my recent adventures, lets talk about some good reading material, me buckos!!!!

Two really good books I have read recently concerning Beowulf are:

Beowulf by Charles Keeping and Kevin Crossley-Holland - This retelling of the Beowulf hero tale is really a great mix of exciting narrative and illustrations. In this version of the tale a stranger wanders into the great hall of King Hygelac of the Geats. This stranger tells the King and the men in the hall about the monster Grendel and his savagery toward the Danish people. One man within the hall listens to the tale with great interest. He is so impassioned by the tale that he vows to sail to Denmark and vanquish this foul beast. The man's name, of course, is Beowulf. This is a really great version of the tale of Beowulf and if you think Grendel is the only monster Beowulf must contend with, think again.

Another great version of the Beowulf story is:

Beowulf adapted and illustrated by Gareth Hinds - This retelling of the Beowulf legend is equal parts text and illustrations. Mr. Hinds uses cool illustrations to not only enhance this great story, but at times the artwork alone is the tool in which the story is told. One great example is the battle between Grendel and Beowulf. Told strictly through illustrations without a single word, this battle scene will leave you breathless. I highly recommend this book!!!!!!

And now for something completely different!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just wanted to talk briefly about 2 Graphic Novels that are brand new to the library and I recently finished reading.

R.L. Stine's Goosebumps: Scary Summer - This is the third in the line of Graphic Novel adaptions of popular R.L. Stine's Goosebumps stories. The stories included in this volume are "Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes", "Ghost Beach" and "The Horror at Camp Jelly Jam." Each story is adapted and illustrated by different and very talented individuals. I found "Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes" and "The Horror at Camp Jelly Jam" to be more humorous than scary and that was cool as I like funny as well as scary. However if you want scary, "Ghost Beach" should do a pretty good job of leaving you with a good case of the creepies. Very well done, so check it out!!!!!!!

Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures Volume 10 - Hey, hey, hey!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The newest volume in the Star Wars Clone Wars Adventures has just hit the library system and it rocks!!!!!! Like the rest of the Graphic Novels in the series, the new one has 4 great stories included. My favorite story in this volume stars Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker. They find themselves in a particularly bad situation, trapped in a Canyon, appropriately named Death Canyon, by a bunch of intergalactic bounty hunters. The only way out is through a stretch of of ravines named Thunder Road. Obi-Wan is sure they are doomed as he watches young Anakin patch together a "classic" (Obi-Wan calls it a piece of junk) Land Speeder. This story is both exciting and funny as the two try to escape through Thunder Road using the beat-up Land Speeder. Man, I just love it and know you will also. The rest of the stories are awesome, so this one is a must read.

Well, little cow pokes, until next time,

Bill

No comments:

Post a Comment

Here's How Our Blog Works

If you don't know how to post comments or reviews to our blog or if you want to read what we and other boys have written, here's what you do:

1. Every post has a place underneath it that says "Comments". Click on it and it will take you to a place in which you can write something. When you're done, click on a way to identify yourself. You don't have to create a Blogger/Google account (unless you already have one); you can click on "Name/URL" or even "Anonymous." Then click "Publish Your Comment." We try to get your comments and reviews posted right away, but sometimes we get busy with other duties. So, if you don't see your comment right away, don't panic. We'll post it soon.

Don't forget--any boy can get a free book the first time he writes a review. If you live too far away to come to the Myers Park library, go ahead and write to us anyway. We'll try to find a way to get a book to you. Besides, all the other boys out there would love to hear from you.

When you tell us about a book, please give the title, author, what the book is about, and why you did or didn't like it.

2. Blogs go "front to back"; that is, the newest post comes up first and the older ones are put further back. You click on the "Blog Archive" to read older articles. The posts for this month have the titles listed. You can click on other months to catch our other posts. (Our introduction is in June of 2007; if you're new to this blog, you might look it up.)

3. Underneath each post you'll see a line that says "Labels" and several other words such as "graphic novels" or "Andrew Clements." These extra words are links to a subject; for instance, if you clicked on "graphic novels," it would pull up all the posts about graphic novels. There's also a section below on some of our best posts on the most popular subjects

4. Did you notice that the posts from last year don't show up month by month as they did before this year? If you click on the triangle next to the previous years, the months will drop down and you can go back and see what we and your fellow readers have written.

The Iron Guy's Review Policy

1. Since the Iron Guy works for the terrific Charlotte Mecklenburg Library, I review only books that the library already has or will get soon.
2. If you are an author or publisher or agent and think you have a book that boys will go crazy over, please leave me a comment (with your email address so I can contact you) under any post. I will look and see if we have the book. If not, and if the book looks good, I will contact Those Who Order Books and see if CML would be interested. (Please note--CML does not usually order self-published books) PLEASE do not just send me a book! I appreciate the offer but but first I want to see if CML has it or will get it soon.