Rockin' Blogger and a Review

I got two Rockin' Blogger awards, I am just THAT cool! Or, should I say rockin'. (No worries, my head is not getting too large with all the excitement.) So, I am going to give my award to double the amount of people than Nymeth gave hers to, that means 8. Tonight, I decided that I would browse my blogs and get some ideas. I think blog world is going to be dead this weekend, because I swear, it was Harry Potter this and Harry Potter that. I know what all the book reviews will be! And then there is me, reading The Huntress by Susan Carroll. I feel uncultured... for a moment... ah, yes, back to thinking I am rockin'.

Anyways, I hate doing this because I like so many blogs. Like, the people that nominated me. I love both of them! Them being Kristina from Kristina's Book Blog and Nymeth from Things Mean a Lot. Rock on fellow bloggers!

My eight are just some of the blogs that I make sure and read each day. Sometimes I do not have time to read ALL the blogs I read, so I have my priorities. But, see, I wouldn't read you, if I didn't think you were rockin', right? So, all the blogs I read are rockin' (guys and girls).

Stephanie from Stephanie's Confessions of a Book-a-holic. Lots of everything to read on this blog. And to think, she didn't think she would have the time to do it, I think the blogging world is working out very well for her. A very fun blog to read.

Marg from Reading Adventures. She might not always read books that I want to read, but she always had interesting reviews, lists of the millions of books she has out from the library, and apologies for being loads of books behind on reviews.

Chris from book-a-rama. Well, for starters, she is rocking because she is from my neck of the woods, but also because she writes good reviews and has other interesting things happening on her blog.

Tanzanite from Tanzanite's Shelf and Stuff. Tanzanite reads historical fiction, which I enjoy, has her dog as the "mascot" for her blog, and has the Monday Mosaics that make Monday that much brighter.

Iliana from Bookgirl's Nightstand. I think one of the best things about her blog is how she has every excuse in the book for not reading. haha, just kidding. I find her posts very entertaining.

Rhinoa from Rhinoa's Ramblings. I find Rhinoa's blog very interesting. For starters, she named her cats Merlin and Morgaine, both very rockin' names. haha She writes very interesting posts, and has interests that make reading her blog fun.

Literary Feline from Musings of a Bookish Kitty. I like the way that she does reviews, a very nice and easy set up to follow, and she writes about other things that are worth the time to read all about.

Lastly, since I am so rockin', I made a special effort and reviewed John Rateliff's book tonight because people have been expressing an interest in it. I am glad people enjoyed my Thursday Thirteen idea. To read the review, just head on over to Twisted Kingdom. So, much for only reading one chapter a day!

Random Stuff, Thursday Thirteen and Booking Through Thursday

The other day I said that I would likely only read about a chapter of John D. Rateliff's book at a time, but that has since changed. I am actually almost done, would be done if I had more reading time, and I have learned a lot! I hope to finish it today, so expect a post on it as soon as I can. There is a sequel to it as well, it comes out in August. I like the fact that the framework is Mr. Baggins, The Hobbit, and Hobbits themselves, but that is not all that the author talks about. I do know one thing, now that I have read these older editions of The Hobbit, I hope to reread the published book to see all the changes for myself.

13 Things I have learned so far by reading The History of The Hobbit: Part One: Mr. Baggins is my Thursday Thirteen for the week.

1. Gandalf was not originally the name of a wizard, but of a troll.

2. The person that eventually became named Gandalf was not clearly marked as a wizard in the early stages of Tolkien's writing.

3. The One Ring did not get sinister until The Lord of the Rings. It was just a ring for invisibility.

4. Gollum was not described as a Hobbit in the beginning, his origin was unknown.

5. Tolkien was very thrifty with his paper, he would make corrections in pen over pencil and then just erase the pencil.

6. Tolkien's Goblins are closely like George MacDonald's goblins, but Tolkien's goblins like to sing and they do not have super sensitive feet.

7. Dwarves were more magical in the original manuscripts than they would become in the published version.

8. People thought that Tolkien followed an actual calendar when he was writing The Hobbit, but actually he makes several errors with the date in his early manuscripts that make this unlikely.

9. Elrond went through some drastic changes, I think, from the original character to the one that I know well.

10.The scenes that happen in the Misty Mountains are based on a near disaster that happened to Tolkien in the mountains of Switzerland.

11.Bilbo dreams about things that are going to happen very soon, while Frodo will eventually have dreams about the future. Tolkien was very big on dreams, it was one of his interests.

12.Bears were primary throughout his books because his first audience were his children and they liked bears.

13.I have seen a lot of how Tolkien's ideas are based on older writings, which makes the reading that much more interesting.

Booking Through Thursday Question for this Week.
Just Wild About Harry

1. Okay, love him or loathe him, you’d have to live under a rock not to know that J.K. Rowling’s final Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, comes out on Saturday… Are you going to read it?
- Probably not.

2. If so, right away? Or just, you know, eventually, when you get around to it? Are you attending any of the midnight parties?
- I might read it eventually, but totally not right away. More than likely on the night everyone is going Harry Potter crazy I will be waiting to hear if my friend had her baby or not as she is due this weekend.

3. If you’re not going to read it, why not?
- I am not a big Harry Potter fan. I have never been able to enjoy Rowlings writing style, but I might give them a try again one of these days. Just, not right now.

4. And, for the record… what do you think? Will Harry survive the series? What are you most looking forward to?
- I think she might have originally toyed with the idea that Harry would die, but now I think she wants to be able to continue the series later if she wants. After all the success she has had, she probably would not mind if she had this series to fall back on if her other projects do not work out.

The Coolest Part of my Monday

The best part of my Monday (yes, a good thing about a Monday) was a mystery package! My mother told me that I received a package from Harper Collins. I did not remember waiting for anything from them, but I figured that either a) she read the envelope wrong or b) I have a bad memory. It really was a mystery. After reading the envelope and finding that it did in fact come from Harper Collins, I assumed that I just forgot about a book. So, I ripped open the envelope, unwrapped the brown paper, and I think I might have done a little sceam of joy! It was a surprise book afterall, and it was a book that I really wanted, so I am THRILLED! Want to know what it is?

The History of the Hobbit: Part One: Mr. Baggins by John D. Rateliff.

In other words, Tolkien! I add all the new Tolkien related things to my 'list', so this one was on it. I was really happy that someone read my mind and sent it to me. I have already read the first chapter (chances are I will only read about a chapter a day) and I am really interested. I am regretting the fact that I still have not read Silmarillion. I own it, I have started it several times.... it is not that the writing is challenging, it is that I feel like I am reading The Bible. So, when he explains part of it I do not know what he is talking about, but the information on The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings is very interesting. In just the first chapter I read a part of The Hobbit that was never published. I learned that Gandalf's name was originally not Gandalf, who was originally named Gandalf, some interesting facts on geography, and learned about some previously unpublished maps.

I apologize in advance, but this book will likely be popping up throughout my posts until I finish it. Then, I think I will challenge myself to bit the bullet and FINALLY read Silmarillion.... Anyways, my thanks to Harper Collins! Is it not great when a publishing company knows your tastes!?!