tori_storydelver's reviews
625 reviews

This book mainly focusses on the success story of Markus "Notch" Persson's game and the struggles he faced before and after his game became a hit. It also takes a behind the scenes look into some of the other companies who produce video games. Most surprising to me was the fact that Markus Persson did not set out to have a popular or even successful game. He would continue to make games whether he was paid to do so or not. This passion for coding is what made such an incredible game possible.

As someone who loves playing video games (Minecraft included) , but has never delved into the technical or business sides of the gaming world, this book was really interesting. I learned a lot about how gaming companies typically operate, and even a little bit about how a game is developed. Woven throughout this look into the gaming industry is also a brief biography of Notch himself, a rare look at the creator's personal life. Getting a look at the humble, intelligent man who created Minecraft only makes me love his game even more!

When I first heard Invader Zim was going to be a comic series I was excited. I read an interview with Jhonen Vasquez where he said, "I'm always confused when people say how much they miss 'Invader Zim' because the show never stopped running in my head," and from that point on I was ecstatic!
When the first issue finally (okay, it was really only a couple months) came out I read it immediately, and was happy to see that it truly was like the cartoon had come back! I can hear all the character's voices while I'm reading. The stories are as funny and as messed up as ever. There are several stand alone stories in this volume, and as someone who loves playing video games the last issue was my favorite. I was really surprised to see that my favorite character from the show, Gaz, seems to be a much bigger character in the comics!

This is a very thoroughly researched account of the lives of conjoined-twins, Daisy and Violet Hilton. These twins lived a very eventful life together, sometimes hopeful but overall quite a sad history. They were talented vaudeville performers, but sadly their talents seemed to be overshadowed by the fact that they were conjoined twins.

Daisy and Violet's lives were almost story-like and makes this book a very interesting read. However, Dean Jensen often adds his own opinions and things that could not possibly be proved to have actually happened. Mixing speculation into non-fiction is never a good idea, so I felt I had to give this book 4 stars. Still this book was very informative and anyone interested in vaudeville and sideshow performers should definitely consider reading this book.

I really enjoyed the beginning of this story. It was a little creepy and very intriguing while everything was still shrouded by mystery. Not even a third of the way through the book, however the mystery is unfolded to reveal a not very interesting, unoriginal, and definitely not scary story. It also didn't help that I found the main character increasingly more annoying as the book went on. The "ending" or lack there of, was the final deciding factor that this book was undeserving of the hype surrounding it, and simply, not a great read.

That being said, this is a book for children, and 10-year-old me would have loved this book and immediately read its sequels. It doesn't shy away from things that might be too scary or depressing for young children. Which is exactly the type of book I sought out as a child, and ultimately why I rated it three stars instead of two.

Tomatoes are invading Earth and it is up to Dr. Schtickle to come up with a solution before the whole world is stained red. This book would be a good introduction to science fiction for younger children. However, I thought the narrative was lacking a bit. The artwork is very entertaining, you'll probably even recognize a few faces!

I don't know much about the spiderverse and I am not a huge Marvel fan, in fact I don't read very many super hero comics at all, but I really like this series! The artwork is nice, but the color scheme really makes it stand out. Some parts of the story I didn't entirely understand because my lack of previous knowledge. Overall, it held my interest and I really enjoyed reading it. I'm excited to read the next volume, and I hope these Spider-Gwen comics stick around for awhile.

This is my first time reading this book. As an adult, I have to say this book was aimed more towards children, but it was enjoyable none the less! The character development really stands out and is reason enough for this to be the classic it has become. Nearly every stereotype we associate with pirates today comes from this book from "pieces of eight" to their obsession with rum. It was really interesting to read this keeping that in mind. This is a great adventure story that readers of all ages would enjoy!

Good Omens is a hilarious story about the end of the world. It follows many different characters, angels, witches, witch hunters, the four horseman of the apocalypse, the anti-Christ and his adorable hell-hound, and the boy everyone thinks is the anti-Christ. (Yeah, that is a pretty big mix up...I'd hate to be the Satanic Nunn that messed that up!) Like I already said, this book was hilarious! It has been years since I read a book that I actually laughed out loud at, and there were numerous occasions this happened to me while reading this. Because the story is a comedy however, it does not mean that this book does not bring up some philosophical topics that make you pause and think. Overall I think it is a well-rounded, light-hearted portrayal of the apocalypse that most people would enjoy reading. Of course, if you take religion very seriously, I'm sorry to say, you will not be one of those people.

My actual rating would be 3.5 stars.

After completely devouring the first volume I was extremely excited for the next one. Unfortunately, this addition falls a bit flat. It just lacks that...that "invader zimness" that I was so happy came across in the first volume. most of the stories in this volume just didn't "feel" like the old cartoon. That being said, the last two issues in this collection did pick up a little, and I am hopeful the next volume will be better.