Deathly Hallows Movie Poster

I know that this poster is not new to anyone. But I was just flipping through the new pictures of the film on imdb.com when I saw this poster again. It brought tears to my eyes. This poster makes me feel so sad inside. My heart feels sad.

So I just wanted to share. I think that this poster is a great poster. Mugglenet.com has a great post from a few weeks ago that compares it to a poster for the first film, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I highly recommend comparing the two.

Definitely read that here.

Or you can simply compare them here. Mugglenet was kind enough to set that up!

Why I Prefer A Lot of Short Chapters Over A Few Long Chapters

Yes, it's true; I prefer it when the books I read have a lot of short chapters over a few longer ones. I've read a lot of books, so I've begun to notice when some things work better for me than others. I really like it when my books have short chapters. (Like the Maximum Ride series. Each of those books has well over 100 chapters. Crazy!) So I am compiling a list of why and posting about the awesomeness of really short chapters.

1. It sort of makes you feel like you're making a LOT of progress. Think about it; You're reading a book. You reach chapter 112. WOW! You've read 111 chapters already. SUCH progress! When really, you may only be on page 252 out of 10,000. (Yeah, I know that most YA novels are not 10,000 pages. It's called hyperbole.) Either way, it can help you, a modest reader, feel significantly more accomplished than when you started.
2. I usually read late at night, right before bed. So, when I'm really into, a really great book, I really don't want to put it down. Really. So, when I finish a chapter, but I don't want to stop, but I'm tired and I know I should stop, I check to see how long the next chapter is: if it's pretty short, I'll read it! If it ends up being 25 or 30 pages, I probably won't read it that night. (Unless, I'm only a little bit tired.) So, by reading a book with smaller chapters, I can read "more" than if the chapters were longer.
3. I like to break up my reading at chapters. If I know I have to go do something, like work, I'll try to stop at the end of a chapter. That way, I have a "lean beginning when I'm on break, or when I get home. It's so much easier to do that when the chapters are shorter. If I know I have ten minutes before I have to leave for work, or whatever, and I see that a chapter is two and a half pages, I know I can read that and maybe ANOTHER one! I'm more likely to get an entire chapter (or more) done on my 15 minute break when the chapters are shorter. And when I go back to work I don't feel like I left in the middle of a scene. I may still contemplate the novel and what happens next, but at least I stopped at what the author deemed an acceptable stopping point.
4. Shorter chapters are more likely to have one or two real scenes or ideas. Longer chapters will cover a lot more content and will make it more difficult to go back and find that amazing passage from chapter 7. You'll have to go through more types of scenes. Smaller chapters will, generally, have one scene. Only one place or trip will take place. In longer chaptered novels, there may be several scenes and different things covered. It may even have several "sections" separated by extra spaces to show shifts in time. (Good stopping points when reading longer chaptered books) In my opinion, those can usually become new chapters. But, sometimes they should not. It's a fine line.

And that, my readers, is the compilation of my thoughts on short chapters. Although, I may come up with some more.

Note: There is NOTHING wrong with long chapters. Sometimes they're fun! They have their place in literature; there's no doubt about it. I just, generally, prefer a lot of short chapters. (Check Maximum Ride if you want to see a lot of short chapters.)

Giveaway!

Imagination in Focus is doing an awesome giveaway that ends tomorrow night! So hurry up!

The prize up for grabs is an ARC of The Eternal Ones by Kirsten Miller

Here's the information:

You must live in the U.S. and a follower of Imagination in Focus and you MUST enter BEFORE August 9th at 11 central time. Yes, we're all aware how last minute of a post this is. (and how grammatically incorrect that last sentence appears.)

You can earn extra entries by doing cool things. So check it out!

Enter HERE!

Totally Unrelated

On a completely non-YA book note, I just HAD to share the following.

I've been wanting to see the movie Vanity Fair. My library does not have it. Well, guess what! Right now, you can watch it ALL for FREE on hulu.com! I am really excited. I fully plan on watching it tomorrow.

Watch it HERE!

Here's the synopsis straight from Tribute.ca

The daughter of a starving English artist and a French chorus girl, Becky Sharp (Reese Witherspoon) is orphaned at a young age in the early 19th century. Even as a child, she yearns for a more glamorous life than her birthright promises. As she leaves Miss Pinkerton's Academy at Chiswick, Becky resolves to conquer English society by any means possible.

She gains employment as governess to the daughters of eccentric Sir Pitt Crawley (Bob Hoskins) and not only wins over the children, but the family's rich spinster aunt Matilda (Eileen Atkins). The household comes to find her indispensable, and Matilda begins to confide in the bright young woman. But Becky knows she cannot be a true part of English society until she moves to the city.

When Matilda invites her to come live in London, Becky eagerly accepts. There, she is reunited with her best friend Amelia (Romola Garai), who - having grown up comfortably - does not share Becky's more brazen ambitions. A secret marriage, a disowning, a war - Becky continues through it all to realize her dreams, even though the ultimate cost may be too high.

Darklight

author: Lesley Livingston

published: December 22nd 2009

series: Wondrous Strange, Book 2 of 3

publisher: Harper Teen

format: hardcover

pages: 310

The following synopsis comes from Goodreads.com

Much has changed since autumn, when Kelley Winslow learned she was a Faerie princess, fell in love with changeling guard Sonny Flannery, and saved the mortal realm from the ravages of the Wild Hunt.

Now Kelley is stuck in New York City, rehearsing Romeo and Juliet and missing Sonny more with every stage kiss, while Sonny has been forced back to the Otherworld and into a deadly game of cat and mouse with the remaining Hunters and Queen Mabh herself.

When a terrifying encounter sends Kelley tumbling into the Otherworld, her reunion with Sonny is joyful but destined to be cut short. An ancient, hidden magick is stirring, and a dangerous new enemy is willing to risk everything to claim that power.

Caught in a web of Faerie deception and shifting allegiances, Kelley and Sonny must tread carefully, for each next step could topple a kingdom . . . or tear them apart.

My Thoughts:

The Cover: This cover looks really, really good next to Wondrous Strange and Tempestuous (to be released January 7th 2011). I like this cover more than Wondrous Strange's cover. This cover is warmer than the first (which was cold. It was pretty much tinted blue. You can see it here!) It's not that I didn't like the cover of Wondrous Strange, it just didn't STICK out as awesome. This cover looks awesome! I love her dress and she looks so great! It's "theme" is pink! And it's overall beautiful.

The Book: I liked Darklight more than I liked Wondrous Strange. And I really did like Wondrous Strange. You can read about that here!

Darklight picks up, I believe, six months after opening night of A Midsummer Night's Dream where Wondrous Strange left off. Kelley is now working on her role as Juliet in, you guessed it, Romeo & Juliet. Again, I was not entirely enthralled in the story until maybe a third of the way through, but when I did, I couldn't put it down! And I didn't! In this sequel, we see more of Fennrys who is actually, surprisingly and refreshingly comical. Also, Gentleman Jack is back and as sweet as ever! He is quite possibly my favorite "non-main" character and I really hope to see more of him in the third installment. Kelley and Sonny both have to overcome being separate from each other and the doubts that come along with the separation. They also both grow into themselves far more than I expected.

One of the best things about Darklight is that there are unexpected twists that will leave you desperate for more! (You really want to read this now, don't you? ;] )

This book was a great sequel to Wondrous Strange and definitely fulfilled my hopes for this series.

Tempestuous, the final installment of the Wondrous Strange series will be out on January 7th 2011!