Kyle Borland's Blog

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I know not a bad dilemma to have right? Anyways…

I recently locked in my application to the University of Alabama! ROLL TIDE!!! I'm so excited and can't wait for Fall 2011! I'll be majoring in Public Relations and getting a minor in either Political Science or History (but that is for a different post). Side note: Alabama has the #1 Public Relations program in the country. Epic. Win. :)

So my dilemma is this, since I decided to attend the University of Alabama my parents said I get to get a brand new laptop! I know…that's not REALLY a dilemma but choosing the right kind of laptop is a dilemma!!! Do I want a MacBook Pro with $1000-$1500 price tag but is amazing because its an Apple or do I want an HP laptop that has the $1000-$1500 price tag but has more memory. I'm torn. I really want a Mac because well its a Mac but at the same time the HPs are looking better and better too!

Help me out everyone! I need your input. Macbook Pro or an HP? Give your opinions. If you could link to the EXACT computers your talking about that would be AWESOME!

Now on to Ereaders! I have another dilemma: Kindle v. Ipad!!! I know…again its not really a "dilemma" but still. The Ipad is a no brainer why I want it…its a damn Ipad for crying out loud enough said. But is it too extravagent? Or do I want a Kindle just for e-reading? Is the eye-strain really that bad on the Ipad? You get the jist. So I need your inputs on this too.

So any discussion, suggestions, which team you play for, etc. comments are appreciated in the highest! To recap:

MacBook Pro v. HP laptops

-&-

Apple Ipad v. Amazon Kindle v. HP Slate (if it ever comes out).

Convince me :)

-KgB-

Reading

Memoirs of Cleopatra & Helen of Troy by Margaret George: Both of these historical epics are well done and fascinating reads. Both portray an amazing heroine who defied the odds that were set against her and showed the world that their names would live on for millennium after millennium.

The Tenth Parallel by Eliza Griswold: This book should be required reading for everyone in the Western…screw it the whole world. Griswold takes an in depth look into the fissure between Christians and Muslims along the 10th Parallel. Eye-opening and thought-provoking this book is absolutely amazing!

The Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare: It was okay. If you liked City of Bones you'll like this because it is basically the same book with different characters and some different vernacular since its in Victorian London.

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon: Fantastic historical fiction novel and a great start to a series. It's really long but totally worth it.

The Maze Runner by James Dashner: It's decent but I don't know what all the hype was about, nothing too special though its a interesting premise. I'll be reading the next two books in order to find out the mystery behind WICKED.

Writing

I'm up 6400 words in my novel version of Jayson. It's decent but its not great either. I need to crack down if I want to meet my goal of finishing it by the time 2011 rolls around. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Life

Life continues to be absolutely fantastic as a whole. It's October in Alabama and its GORGEOUS! The weather is amazing…I wish it was October all year round *le sigh*. Anyways life is also very busy. Today I have to bag at Winn Dixie, one of the many service organizations I'm in and then I have to work the football game tonight and its senior night…dumb. We're raising money for the Red Cross and Breast Cancer so its all good :) This weekend I'm heading to Atlanta for MUN at Georgia Tech! I can't wait!! Well that's all I have for now. I'll try to post more interesting topics more frequently but for now this is all I got.

Happy reading, writing and living!

KgB

Reading

Currently Reading: Memoirs of Cleopatra by Margaret George

So I've been doing a lot of reading lately so instead of doing individual review (that take up a lot of my blogging) I'm just going to skim over them…I know you're terribly heartbroken and I'm going to make it worse…I won't be doing anymore individual big reviews unless A) I really love the author or B) There's a giveaway or something else along with it. I know your tears are like Niagara Falls right now but we'll get...

ISBN: 0778303918

Series: #3 in Glass Trilogy (A companion trilogy to Snyder's Study Trilogy)

Genre: Fantasy

© Mira; Original edition (September 1, 2010)

Maria V. Snyder's Website

Rating: 5 stars

**Spoilers of first two books in this review**

Maria V. Snyder has done it again! I loved this book, it was the perfect ending to another series set in the Sitian/Ixian universe.  I received an early copy of Spy Glass for review, thank you so much! Now onto the review!

When the book...

After months of hard work by our AMAZING editors, Wendy Swore and Rita Webb, it is my pleasure, as one of the contributing authors to UNLOCKED, to say that our anthology is officially….RELEASED!!!

I'M SOOO EXCITED!!!

UNLOCKED is an anthology of 9 up-and-coming writers, including myself, and 10 stories that are all connected by one mutual theme: a key. Each other wrote a completely unique story with the idea of a key in mind. From Regency London, to Sci-fi worlds, to crop circles, to...

Hey everyone! So UNLOCKED, the YA anthology that I contributed the story 'Shoshanna' to, is coming out in a week! I can't wait! Anyways one of the wonderful editors of this anthology, Wendy Swore, is holding a contest on her blog Goddess of the Corn for a giveaway of THREE PHYSICAL COPIES of UNLOCKED!

Also, if you stop by her blog you'll see an early version of the UNLOCKED book trailer and it would be such a help if you could submit your input, make comments, and spread the word!

So...

ISBN: 0425232476

Series: Not a series but the author is working on companion novels (a prequel and a sequel).

Genre: Historical Fiction/Historical Romance

© April 2010, Berkeley Trade

Kate Quinn's Website

Rating: 5 stars

Available wherever books are sold!

This is the debut of, whom I foresee, to be the next New York Times Bestselling author: Kate Quinn. Mistress of Rome is a fast-paced, emotionally charged, sensual exploration of life in Ancient Rome during the reign of Emperor Domitian. From the ...

So recently, as in less than 12 hours ago, I posted a review of the ebook anthology: Menage a 20: Tales with a Hook. Which you can find here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/80207641 

Now I know most of the authors personally and took time out the past two days, 4+ hours of my time to be exact, to read and review each and every story in this anthology. There were 30 of them. I had read the other reviews and ratings of the anthology and they were all 4-5 stars, they all also happened to ...

"Scariest moment is always just before you start [writing:]. After that, things can only get better." – Stephen King

I've talked to a lot of people lately about Writer's Block. I have been suffering from it for about a week now and up till this point I was skeptical that this even existed. Unfortunately, I am sad to say, it is a very real thing.

The writers I've talked to have all said that it is peculiar that I can not get a book started, that that the beginning is supposed to be the part that ...

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The Sookie Stackhouse novels have been a favorite of mine ever since I bought the box set sometime last year. After Dead and Gone (book 9) I was very angry with this series and its author. The book seemed like a filler book and wasn't very good at all not to mention she killed off one of my favorite characters IMMEDIATELY after revealing that that character was pregnant. I was hoping she would come back as an angel in this book but I fear she might be dead for good because she didn't come b...