Article first published as Book Review: I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore on Blogcritics.

This book is the first in the Lorien Legacies series about nine alien kids with special powers, or Legacies, from the planet Lorien, who are hiding on Earth from the Mogadorians.

The Mogadorians are sinister beings who wants to kill them and destroy Earth like they destroyed Lorien. Three of the nine kids have been killed, and Number Four, the protagonist of this book, is next.

The mysterious author, Pittacus Lore, is described on the back cover of the book as Lorien’s ruling Elder and having been on Earth for the last twelve years, preparing for the war with the Mogadorians.

Now obviously this book is a work of fiction, but I like the idea that it could be true. Do I believe that there are aliens? Of course I do. The universe is so vast, I think we’d be arrogant to think that we’re the only intelligent life forms living in it.

Do I think that this particular story about the Loriens and the Mogadorians is believable though? Not so much, even factoring in suspension of belief and all that. I mean, forget about all the super powers, healing stones, shape-shifting animals, and all that stuff for a moment. It’s the simple details that gets me.

Firstly, every time Number Four and Henri, his guardian, had to move, they move within the United States. Why? Why can’t they move to some other country in some other continent? Wouldn’t that be more effective if they really wanted to hide from the Mogadorians? I understand that there are nine other Lorien Legacies and if they meet each other, the spell that they can only be killed off in the order of their numbers will be broken, but I’m quite sure that there are more than nine countries on Earth.

Secondly, just how clueless can Number Four be that he fails to notice that Bernie Kosar isn’t a regular dog? The dog runs into one part of the woods and then appears from the other side, don’t you think that’s more than just “peculiar”? Wouldn’t a supposedly intelligent person have guessed that there was more to Bernie Kosar, especially since he had already seen the Lorien animals in his dream-memories?

Also, the way the Mogadorians were described, and the way they killed so easily and so quickly before, with Numbers One to Three, you’d think that with so many of them surrounding Number Four and his friends, that they’d be killed just as easily.

Sure, the difference is that Numbers Four and Six have gotten their legacies already, but seriously, as ruthless and strong as the Mogadorians are, how are Mark and Sarah able to get close enough to hurt them, much less kill them, so extremely easily and without getting hurt themselves?

I won’t even go into character development, except to say that most of the characters were shallow and not very likable. I liked Bernie Kosar though; I thought he was the best character in the book.

There are so many problems with this book that make it hard for me to really enjoy it, but I won’t go into all of them. I’m sure it will make for a great movie with all the special effects and all, but I expected a lot more from the book.

The Last To Know by Melissa Hill

What is the book about? Oh, this one is so complicated I don’t even know how to explain it! Some people write a book and send it to Brooke, who is an editor, to let her know the truth about her background.

What did you like most about it? A very interesting story and exciting enough for me to want to read to the end to find out what happens.

What did you like least about it? The author is so full of gimmicks and deluded self-praise (you’ll understand why when you read the book) that I never want to read another one of her books again.

Who would you recommend it to? Anyone who likes stories in the vein of Jodi Picoult and has a higher tolerance level than me for gimmicks.

Any additional comments? The author is actually quite a talented writer if she would stop making it all about writing techniques and just tell the story. When you get to the end of this story, it’s so nonsensical that you just wonder, what was the point? I feel like she’s not using her writing to tell the story, but using the story to show off her writing.

Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler

This sounded like a promising book. A Jane Austen addict, Courtney Stone, falls asleep reading Pride and Prejudice, and when she wakes up the next morning, finds herself living in Regency England.

She’s in some other woman’s body, living some other woman’s life, and she doesn’t know when or how she’ll ever get back to her own time, or if she’d even want to.

I was intrigued by the storyline and I had high hopes for the book, but while it was quite entertaining, it wasn’t really all that well-written.

Courtney Stone is supposedly a Jane Austen addict, and as such, she would know the acceptable “modes of conduct” for a lady in Regency England, yet she says things like, “We haven’t even slept together yet” when Mr. Edgeworth asks her to marry him, and is surprised with his shocked response. I’d understand if she was going for the shock factor since she knows it’s not acceptable in that era, but it’s just stupid when she doesn’t get things that she should.

That being said, it doesn’t make me hate the book, just exasperated with it. I did feel that the ending was incomplete though, because we never really find out what happens to Courtney Stone.

It was definitely an interesting and fun read, and the journey was quite exciting. It’s only that I’m not sure the destination is worth it.

I enjoy many genres of music, but as it gets harder to keep track of all the sub-genres that are popping up nowadays, I find it easier to simply divide music into two categories: "good music" and "bad music." Some people enjoy only one or two types of music, but I enjoy all kinds, as long as it fits into the "good music" category, that is. In addition, as musicians, my band mates and I enjoy playing many different styles of music.

That's why I was intrigued when I came across Laura Pursell's Somewhere In This Room. The album is a collaboration between singer and lyricist Laura Pursell and composer Andrew Bonime, and is a unique project for two reasons. The first is that it consists of songs in many different musical styles; there's jazz, rock, blues, bossa nova, gospel, and even a children's song. As a music lover, I admire Pursell and Bonime for making no distinctions among different music styles for this album other than the "good music"/"bad music" distinction.

The second reason it's unique is that the album isn't so much "a collection of songs" as it is "a book made up of songs." You have to listen to it from beginning to end. It even has an overture and a finale arranged by famous composer, arranger, and pianist, William Pursell, who is also Laura's father. Every single song has a story to tell, and while I was listening to the album I had the curious feeling that I was reading rather than listening to it. It was as if I were reading a book of short stories, and the songs were the chapters of the book, and the book was Laura Pursell's diary.

Set to Bonime's music, Pursell's lyrics are based on her experiences and her accounts of those experiences in her diaries. From falling in love, in the rock number "It Might As Well Be Magic," to heartbreak in the dark and somber "Not Much To Lose," and running away from love in the bittersweet ballad "Skywriting Neon Lights," and from the death of a close friend, in "My Heart Knows You Were Here," to her experiences as a child trying so desperately to fit in, in "A Maple Tree," Pursell tells her stories in her meaningful lyrics. My favorite tracks are the title track, "Somewhere in This Room," and "When You Come Down," which both tell very interesting stories.

Pursell's talent for writing beautiful lyrics is matched perfectly with Bonime's ability to create beautiful music and melodies, resulting in an incredibly unique album that is such a pleasure to listen to. The only thing I thought could be improved upon was Pursell's singing.

Fortunately, Pursell is blessed with an unusual voice; there's a happy, joyful tone to her voice that few singers have. When I was younger, my father, who's also a music lover, pointed this trait out to me while we were listening to The Corrs, my favorite band at the time. Andrea Corr, the lead singer, has that joyful tone in her voice that comes out even when singing sad songs; although you can hear the somber emotion in her voice, the joy is also there. The only other singers my father knew with that tone, before he heard Andrea Corr, was legendary Chinese singer Teresa Teng, and the equally legendary Karen Carpenter. Now we can add Laura Pursell to that exclusive list.

Unfortunately, while she has that tone, she doesn't seem to know how to use it as well as the other singers I mentioned. I thought that her singing was quite flat and emotionless at times. Her lack of color and dynamics are most apparent in the song "It Might As Well Be Magic" - or perhaps she's just not meant to sing rock songs. I do hope she cultivates her singing talent though, it would be such a shame to waste that wonderful voice of hers.

Stephen L. Gibson's novel A Secret of the Universe is a story of love, loss, and the discovery of eternal truth. It focuses on two friends, Ian and Bill, and their quest for this truth and faith. Brought up in a dominantly Christian society, Ian looks elsewhere for answers that his faith can't provide after some tragic events. Bill, on the other hand, finds that his Christian faith gives him the answers and the comfort he needs. This book takes us with Ian and Bill on their journeys, exploring and discovering the truth about their faiths. Gibson tells us this story steeped in facts about Christianity and the Bible much like how Jostein Gaarder told us about philosophy with Sophie's World.

A Secret of the Universe isn't an easy read though. There were many philosophies which I didn't agree with, and a lot of times I just wondered what Gibson's point was. There were times that I just really wanted to give up on it, and it wasn't until the end that I finally understood what the secret of the universe was supposed to be, and then I thought about Gibson, "You made me read more than 500 pages just to tell me this?!"

Don't get me wrong, this book is really more about the journey than the destination, and the information we learn on the journey is very interesting, but because the conclusion is so unbelievably simple, you wonder why you had to walk 500 miles to your destination when all you had to do was take the five mile shortcut. The truth is that most of us already know what Gibson is trying to tell us with his conclusion, so this so-called "Secret of the Universe" is in fact, not much of a secret at all.

However, with that being said, if you don't care about the destination, the ride Gibson takes us on is a extremely enlightening, but only for Christians or for people living in Christian societies. Other than the interesting facts about contradictions in the Bible, and the theory that Jesus Christ may not be a real person, this book just went over my head. All the talk about being Christian and believing in the word of the Bible meant nothing to me, and calling a revelation about Jesus Christ "a secret of the universe" seemed very narrow-minded to me. It would be a huge secret, yes, and an earth-shattering one, maybe, but not a secret of the universe because the rest of the universe who aren't living in Christian societies just wouldn't care.

This isn't meant to be Christian-bashing or anything, it's just that when a book tells me that I'm going to find the secret of the universe in between its covers while supposedly fostering a truth-driven thinking, whatever your faith may be, and then focuses solely and completely on Christianity and the Bible, made it seem really narrow-minded to me. I understand that Gibson is telling this story from the point of view of Christianity, and like I said, it's a very enlightening journey for Christians. But to anyone else who isn't interested in Christianity beyond basic knowledge, Gibson's A Secret of the Universe is probably a waste of time.

If you are a Christian in search of truth, however, or if you're just interested in learning more about Christianity and some of the contradictions in the Bible, this is a must-read. The information provided within this book is staggering and extremely eye-opening, and you will have to stop once in a while to digest all the information, but it will make you see things that you might never have thought of. You will get upset with some of the views he explores, and you will sometimes feel like throwing the book across the room and stomping on it. Do stick to it until the end though, and you will understand it better when you do, and don't just believe everything you read, do your own research and find your own truth, that's what A Secret of the Universe eventually tells you. There's no any one truth, the truth is what works for you. You can visit the website to find out more about it.

Ultimately, while I didn't agree with many of the philosophies in this book, particularly the part where Ian's family discouraged their mother from going to a faith healer (because I think you stop having the will to live when you stop having hope), it did open my eyes to a lot about Christianity, and it piqued my interest so much that I am now reading a chapter of the Bible every day. Just for curiosity's sake, you know. I am all for truth-driven thinking, as the book promotes, but I think emotion-driven thinking has its place as well. That's why we have both our heads and our hearts, and not just one or the other after all. Kudos to Gibson for making me think so much until my head hurts. I'm going to need to play at least 72 hours of mindless video games after this.

I was very impressed with Aiden's story when I heard about them. Two years ago, they were virtually unknown, but now they have been featured on the covers of Alternative Press, Metal Edge, Kerrang! and others, won Kerrang!'s Best International Newcomer Award, and Metal Hammer's Best Newcomer Award, and have even shared the stage with the likes of Linkin Park and Marilyn Manson.

They signed on the Victory Records in 2004, before two of the five members that make up Aiden had even graduated from high school, and their last record, Nightmare Anatomy was the best selling debut in all of Victory Record's history! How could I not be intrigued? Of course I had to get their latest album, Conviction, I had to hear for myself what it was that made them so popular.

The unfortunate truth, however, is that their latest album disappointed me. They still sound like a high school band that haven't had enough exposure, and their music sounds unoriginal. No doubt they have a lot of energy, and energy translates well in live performances.

Their energy comes across in the CD too, but they tend to use the same techniques over and over again with their songs in Conviction, like the overdone pick scratch in "She Will Love You." It was originally one of the songs I liked, but the more I listen to it, the more I get bored of hearing the pick scratch. Although some of their songs aren't bad, they have no unique sound, and you get the feeling that they don't put a lot of effort into their song arrangements.

The worst song by far in the album is "The Sky is Falling," it just reeks of laziness. Everything in this track, from the melody to the arrangement tells me that they didn't put any effort into it at all. It's really dissatisfying because I'm sure they can do much better than that. "Teenage Queen," "One Love" and "Believe" are a few of the better songs in this album, and they give me a glimpse of their potential, but only a glimpse. Aiden has the potential to be great, but they still have a long way to go to before achieving that greatness.

They need to expose themselves to more styles and techniques because their songs are in danger of sounding the same. If they don't do something, they will end up becoming like Michael Learns to Rock whose later songs are boring and sound alike. Aiden hasn't found a unique sound of their own yet, but they are young and they are skilled, and with a little more exposure and effort, I'm sure they'll get there. Their latest album, Conviction is a disappointment, but Aiden can only get better as they grow and mature, so hopefully their next album will exceed expectations.

I work from home, so whenever I need a break, I plop down on the couch and watch TV for a while. Sometimes a good show will be on, and I'll be entertained for a half hour or so, other times there won't be anything showing that interests me at all — but I always wonder who makes the decisions to air these particular shows, and how they decide.

I don't really ponder it too much, but when a couple of my favorite shows got canceled, my ire towards television networks and the people who canceled my shows popped up. I wouldn't do anything except mutter under my breath about my dissatisfaction, but watching The TV Set makes me think that any protest I make would be futile anyway.

The TV Set, starring David Duchovny and Sigourney Weaver, is a satire about what happens behind the scenes of our beloved dramas and sitcoms in the television industry. It isn't 'laugh-out-loud hilarious' as much as it is 'smirky-sarcastic', but it does give us a pretty good idea of the problems and trials the people behind the television networks face.

David Duchovny plays television writer Mike Klein, who writes a script that has personal meaning to him. He sells it to a network and they seem to love it. However, network president Lenny, played by Sigourney Weaver, wants him to make some changes to the script that compromise the original premise of the story. Mike Klein's wife (Justine Bateman) is pregnant with their second child, and he has to decide between standing up for his ideals and being out of a job, or compromising his script and getting it on air. His optimistic manager (Judy Greer) wants her client to be happy, but she also wants his script to air, so she encourages him to go with the changes Lenny wants him to make. The only person who seems to understand Mike's ideals is the network president's second-in-command, Richard McAllister (Ioan Gruffudd), but even he doesn't dare stand up against Lenny.

As the movie proceeds, we see Mike make more and more compromises to get his show on the air, and eventually the show ends up becoming entirely different from what Mike started out with. The TV Set is a very realistic portrayal of the inner workings of network television, and although it's meant to be a comical portrayal, it also comes across as a little bit sad. Mike's experience is funny, but so very sad, because many of us have had to sacrifice our ideals for one reason or another at some point in our lives. Whether it is because the boss said you had to, or your significant other asked you to, or maybe your parents guilted you into it, most of us have had this experience, and it's sad. Perhaps that's what makes The TV Set so poignant.

While I wouldn't call The TV Set the best comedy I've watched in a while, I did enjoy the moral behind it, and the cast's performance was simply superb. David Duchovny, Sigourney Weaver, and Ioan Gruffudd portrayed their characters really well, but that's no surprise. Lesser known actor Fran Kranz, who played the lead actor in Mike Klein's sitcom, was a very interesting surprise; I thought his different portrayals of his character's character was hilarious, and Lindsay Sloane, who plays the female lead in the sitcom, reacts beautifully to his antics as well.

Special features on the DVD include a featurette of "The Making of The TV Set", audio commentaries by writer and director Jake Kasdan, David Duchovny, Lindsay Sloane, and producer Aaron Ryder on the making of The TV Set, and Jake Kasdan and executive producer Judd Apatow on the inspiration for The TV Set, and a deleted scene of small talk at the network's event before the introduction of Mike Klein's sitcom.

Laurel Dewey's debut novel, Protector, is an exciting crime thriller that has a hint of the sixth sense. Detective Jane Perry is a disturbed individual who is struggling with demons from the past, and more recently the loss of the family she and her partner were protecting. Jane tends to take her job too seriously, and it hits her hard when the family dies in front of her eyes.

Spiraling slowly out of control, she is saved when nine-year-old Emily Lawrence enters her life. The child is put under Jane's protective care after both her parents were found brutally murdered in their home. Believed to have witnessed her parents' murders, Emily is in danger when the killer makes another attempt on her life.

What follows is an excellent tale of suspense that intensifies as the bond between Jane and Emily grows stronger and the killer takes more and more desperate measures. You can watch the trailer at Laurel Dewey’s website.

Protector seems to be almost too intense for a debut novel, but it is surprisingly realistic in depicting the darkness of the human psyche. Dewey captures the flawed personalities of the characters really well, especially that of the heroine, Detective Jane Perry.

Jane Perry is not your average likable heroine, in fact Dewey's personification of Jane's bad attitude is so realistic that there were many times when you just want to slap that sarcastic mouth of hers and make her show a little respect to her superiors and colleagues.

However, you realize that Jane is a troubled human being just like anyone of us, and is in the process of healing from her past. Jane's and Emily's journey through helping and healing one another in the midst of danger is a touching and emotional process.

There were a few things which bothered me though, among them Dewey’s tendency to be too obvious and repetitive when describing reading people from their body language, I believe that subtlety might have worked better in this case. There were also a few other details which didn’t exactly make sense to me and seemed unrealistic and unlikely.

It may be that Dewey is used to writing non-fiction, having written two non-fiction books, a variety of investigative reporting, celebrity journalism and alternative health research, but she has a knack for storytelling and was nominated for a Silver Spur Award for her western novella, In the Name of the Land. I enjoyed her debut novel immensely and I believe that with time and a sequel to Protector on the way, Dewey can only get better.