Picture of the Day - Starting Life in Another World

 

Hey there. I absolutely love Re:Zero. I am an anime only fan and I finally decided to change that and jump into the light novels to see where the story goes after the anime. My daughter picked up the first volume of Re:Zero for me on my birthday and I cracked it open for the first time this morning. I know... I know... I'm horrible. The thing is that I have been reading manga and books on my phone and it's a difficult to break the habit of reaching for my phone to read. Having to reach out for a book is starting to feel alien to me and I need re-train my brain to pick up a book to read.

Top Reasons Why Books Make a Great Gift

Hey there. Still looking for that last minute gift?  You can get all kind of small trinkets that will fit comfortably inside of a stocking but the problem with that is that they are small, impersonal items that your young ones will forget as soon as they receive them.  Why not put their imagination to work!  Give them a book!

"Metallman, you are a fool!  I don't want to read!  I want to play video games!"

I hear ya, friend.  But books can be just as awesome of games.  Books can be just as intense as an action packed FPS, they can be just as intriguing as a compelling RPG, and they can be just as terrifying as a survival horror game.  I, for one, love to read and I wouldn't mind receiving a good book under the christmas tree!  Still not convinced?  No problem, check out the infographic below for a few reasons why books make a great gift!

Purchase Couch Rebels and Help Give Water to African Communities in Need

Hey there.  Can you imagine a life without water?  We use water for soooooo many things.  We bathe in it, water our grass, clean the dishes, and most importantly, we drink it.  What if I were to tell you that there are many nations out there that do not have the water to drink?  Feels horrible, no?  We are fortunate enough to have water but let's be honest, not many people do.  That's why I love what the guys at CausePub and Blood: Water Mission are doing.  They have written a book that will go on sale tomorrow and the proceeds will go to help bring clean, fresh water to African comminities that need it.  How awesome is that?!  The book is called Couch Rebels and it is a collection of stories from people who had experiences that were outside of their comfort zone and how those expreiences changed them for the best.  An inspirational book for a worthy cause.

The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia Winner

Hey there. Check out this awesome picture that I received from Laura, The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia book winner!  Awesome picture, Laura!  Thanks!  Looks like you'll be holding that book dear to your heart!

Enter to Win The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia OR The Art of Bioshock Infinite

WIN THIS!!!

Hey there! It's time for another giveaway!  We had quite a bit of success of the "choosing of the prize" that I decided we're going to have another one in similar fashion.  The last giveaway allowed the winner to choose between 2 prizes, a game or a book, and ultimately, the winner chose the game.  But... there were many entries asking for the book so this time around, the winner WILL win a book.  Which book, you ask?  Well... How about The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia OR The Art of Bioshock Infinite!

Chuck & Beans - Books vs Internet

The book does have a point...  lol

The Hunger Games Movie Giveaway at Film Book

Hey there friends.  I saw The Hunger Games film not too long ago and even though I hear that the book is superior to the film, I enjoyed the movie quite a bit.  It may be the fact that I love competition and a competition to the death is right up my alley.  When I get a chance, I plan on reading the books.  Because I'm a Kindle Fire owner, I have access to the borrowing library at the Amazon book store.  It's great, I can borrow a book a month.  I grabbed The Hunger Games and my 11 year old daughter blazed right throught it!  She's already finished Catching Fire and is now reading Mocking Jay.  I guess these books are the real deal!  Anyways, our good friends at Film Book are offering The Hunger Games on Blu Ray.  The giveaway will run from now until Oct. 21st.  3 winners will be selected to receive their own copy of the The Hunger Games on Blu Ray shortly after that!  You can enter the giveaway by using the widget below.  You can also score additional entries and reading all the terms and conditions in the original post.

So tell me, which one of the 3 books is your favorite?  Or are you waiting to catch the story in movie theaters?  Later!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Not All of Them About Zombies: A Book Review

Hey there. I need to read more. I haven't read a good book since my last attempt to read literary classics. I bought 2 books that I have read and love, Siddhartha and Cather in the Rye, and that was about it. Now that there's a Kindle Fire in the house, I'm going to try this reading business again.  I think it's great that you can borrow books to read if you're an Amazon Prime member and I'm hoping to get some reading done using the service.  The first book up for review? Not All of Them About Zombies by Matthew Rowe.

Not All of Them About Zombies is a collection of short stories. The short stories range from humorous to horror. At 196 pages, it is a pretty short book that can be finished in a single sit through. Even though the stories are short, they are thought provoking and the absolute best part of the book is the introduction. It gives a glimpse of Matthew Rowe's train of thought of how the story came to be. It gives you that insight that makes you want to read the stories to see how they panned out.  I found that after reading the short introduction, I wanted to skip ahead to check out the story.  What twist did he add?  How was his interpretation of a thought was a conveyed?  What spin on a classic tale did he use?  The only problem that I had with the introduction is that all of the stories introductions were grouped together.  It would have been better if the intro were to be placed right before the story.  This would avoid having to go back and re-read the intro before reading the short story, like I did for each one.

Keeping it Real e-Reader, Keeping it Real

Looking for a Great College? Don't Pass Up on Walden University

Hey there.  Believe it or not, one of the books that I enjoyed reading during high school was Walden by Henry David Thoreau.  I just thought that the idea of man removing himself from society to gain perspective was intriguing.  Young minds need perspective and what better place to gain that perspective than through the university named after the man that went out to seek it, Walden University.

Attention All Geeks! Use Geek Alerts for All Your Geeky Needs

Hey there friends.  I'm a geek at heart.  I love all things tech, I'm the "computer guy" of the family, I play video games, and I love geeky movies like the Cube series.  So when I stumbled across Geek Alerts, I knew I found a new home to satisfy my taste for all things geek.

Last Snow video Trailer

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Zeitghost for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Hey there.  I've been telling myself that I need to read more books and I started with a 2 classics, but now, I think I'm off to read something a little more on the unconventional side.  I stumbled across this book, Last Snow, at the book store and I think I'm going to end up buying it.  The author is Eric Van Lustbader and he's the same person that wrote The Bourne Legacy novel.  You know, the one that inspired the the films that star Matt Damon as Jason Bourne.

The Joys of Knuffle Bunny

Hey there. You know, children are funny, little creatures. lol The most mundane of things will keep them entertained and happy. Me, being "funny daddy" and all, take advantage of that knowledge all the time by doing quirky little things around the house. With my youngest daughter, we have mini dance offs. We do the robot together all the time. With my oldest daughter, we've been having a "flinch contest" for the last week or so where we try to make each other flinch (I'm winning because I have awesome ninja focus!). lol With my oldest, well... he's kinda a preteen now and little quirky moments don't affect him as much as much as the younger kids. He does, however like it when I create absurd movie trailers and they usually begin with, "In a world..." lol Yeah, they definitely like that those.

Anyways, I bring up those little quirks because yesterday, I was reading a book to my daughter.  You know, they (or you) need to read a book every night for homework?  Yeah, that.  So I pulled out the book that was chosen and it's this book:

I recognized it from when my oldest daughter brought it for her "read at home" homework and she claims it's one of her favorite books.  I've read it a few times this year already since they keep sending it home to read so I decided to have a little fun with the reading.  It's an awesome little story of a young one that can't speak words yet and travels with her favorite stuffed toy, Knuffle Bunny.  The toy gets lost and the adventure begins.  It's definitely for the younger readers and the book has few words, as well as some baby babble.  When I read the book, I did voices for the characters.  The young one in the book had a "monster" voice, I did Bean's voice, from KROQ Kevin & Bean fame, and I just did a regular "mommy" voice for the mom.  The kids loved the Bean and monster voices.  lol  But I think it's because I ad lib some of the lines.  lol  Yeah, I'm cool like that.  The oldest, which was in his room watching Dragon Ball Z or something, came out and chuckled and said, "Dad, what are you doing?"  lol  So even my voices got his attention and the girls asked me to read it again cause he wasn't there from the beginning.  Kids...  lol

So, do you guys do anything of that sort with your kids?  Am I the only doofus that will change a story and make it their own for a few innocent laughs out of the kids?  Do you have any stare contest with the kids?  Dance offs?  Or any crazy, quirky things for a laugh.  Kids are awesome.  lol  I love my munchkins, cupcakes, and goofballs.  lmao!  Later!

Classics V. Technology

Hey there.  You know, I was thinking about nature and what not and have decided that I want to start hiking.  Maybe even write about what I see and do while out and about with the family.  The problem?  If you don't have tough, rugged equipment, you will find your stuff torn by the elements.  Rocks, branches, brush... they will all nip and tear at your bags and what not.  I was telling myself that if I were to play a Henry David Thoreau type person, I would need my laptop to write about nature.  Hey, it's the 21th century.  lol  While Mr. Thoreau may have used ink and quills, I'm using a laptop.  Just at a glance, I would need a laptop messenger bag that is built for the elements. Something that will stand against nature or at least give my laptop a fighting chance of surviving.  How else am I going to write the next Walden without my laptop?

I've been on a mission recently to read more literary classics.  So far, I've read Catcher in the Rye and Siddhartha.  While more books are coming my way, I started to think how these classics would be written today.  Going back to Thoreau's Walden, I don't think we would be able to create such a masterpiece of solitude today.  There is technology everywhere.  Cell phones, laptops, smartphones, tablets...  Pen and paper have been replaced with keyboards and software.  Would Sheldon be so full of angst if he could take it out on a game of Angry Birds?  Would Siddhartha use GPS tracking to navigate through the jungles to find himself and total bliss? 

It's awesome that tales from the past rely heavily on the art of story telling.  So while I'm trekking across rugged terrain, I can stop, look at my kindle and read up on some classics.  What books do you recommend?  There are still a few that I would like to own, like Billy Budd.  It's a short story but a good one nonetheless.  Later!