NewsRadio: Seasons 1 & 2
Starring: Dave Foley, Phil Hartman, Khandi Alexander, Maura Tierney, Andy Dick, Joe Rogan, Stephen Root, Vicki Lewis
Studio: Mill Creek Entertainment
Release Date: April 1, 2014
Retail: $14.98
ASIN: B00I099JUK
Running Time: 10 hours 12 minutes
Rating: Not Rated

Review:

Arriving on DVD earlier this month from Mill Creek entertainment is the first and second seasons of the  90s comedy series NewsRadio, starring Dave Foley, Khandi Alexander, Maura Tierney, Andy Dick, Joe Rogan, Stephen Root, Vicki Lewis and the late comedian great, Phil Hartman.

The series aired on NBC from 1995 to 1999 with 97 episodes produced over five seasons. It went into syndication for a few years before officially disappearing from the airwaves. However, the complete series made its way on DVD between 2005 to 2008, but all the season sets are now out-of-print. Mill Creek Entertainment acquired the rights of several Sony Pictures titles, including NewsRadio, in 2013.

NewsRadio is centered on the antics of the office staff of New York City's WNYX radio station, which is owned by Jimmy James (played by Stephen Root). The pilot introduces the new news director, Dave Nelson (played by Dave Foley), who has to fire the current news director on his first day at work. There is an instant chemistry between Dave and the reporter/producer Lisa Miller (played by Maura Tierney), but there is a slight problem - she wanted to be the new news director. Despite the tension between the two, they enter a relationship which they try to hide from the other employees, Bill McNeal (played by Phil Hartman), Beth (played by Vicki Lewis), Matthew Brock (played by Andy Dick), Catherine Duke (played by Khandi Alexander) and Joe Garrelli (played by Joe Rogan).

The episodes on the three disc-set are:

Though they were small, my local libraries were my best-friends when I was a kid. My love of reading has continued into my 30s, and of course when I saw a book titled The Ninja Librarians: The Accidental Keyhand, I eagerly signed up to review it on NetGalley.

This fantasy adventure centers on a young girl named Dorrie, who happens to love sword-fighting. Lets just say life is never boring for young Dorrie, who, along with her brother, Marcus, stumble into the Passaic Public Library. This isn't a regular library, as there is another library hidden within it. There is a magical portal that is the entryway to the Petrarch's Library.

The Girl Who Played with Fire: A Graphic Novel
by Denise Mina
Illustrators: Leonardo Manco and Andrea Mutti
Publisher: Vertigo Comics
Pub. Date: June 3, 2014
Retail: $29.99
ISBN: 9781401237578
Pages: 272

Review

The Girl Who Played with Fire is the graphic novel adaption based on the late Stieg Larsson's second installment in the Millennium series. All three books have been adapted into feature films in Sweden; while the first book, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, was adapted into a feature film in the United States in 2011, starring Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara.

After the events of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, computer hacker, Lisbeth Salander, mysteriously disappeared from Sweden. Her state legal guardian, Nils Bjurman, (who had raped her and in turn she sexually assaults him and then tattoos the words "rapist" on his chest and stomach) is searching for her, mainly because she is in possession of the videotape she had recorded of him abusing her.

Lisabeth is actually taking a long vacation on the Caribbean shores of Grenada, where she meets an American tourist, Dr Forbes, and his wife, whom he has been abusing. Lisabeth quickly gets involve with the situation.

Black Canary and Zatanna: Bloodspell
by Paul Dini
Illustrator: Joe Quinones 
Publisher: DC Comics
Pub. Date: May 27, 2014
Retail: $22.99
ISBN: 9781401210540
Pages: 144

Review:

The DC Comics Universe is full of a variety of male superheroes, but there are also many female superhero characters as well, including Superwoman, Batgirl, Supergirl, etc.. And of course, many of you have probably heard of the character Black Canary that has been appearing on the CW's Arrow this season. In the series, Black Canary's real identity is Sara Lance, while in the comic book it was her sister, Dinah Laurel Lance; though I do have a feeling that Dinah will become Black Canary 2.0 in near future.

The character was first introduced in 1947 and she is normally paired up with the Green Arrow; as you can imagine the character has had many different makeovers over the years, with the most recent occurring in the New 52 reboot. Another character that got a makeover was Zatanna, who first appeared in the DC Comic Universe in 1964. Both of these ionic characters are teaming up for the upcoming graphic novel, titled Black Canary and Zatanna: Boodspell.

Besides from watching Black Canary on Arrow, I'm not to familiar with the character; and I've never even heard of Zatanna before reading the digital graphic novel this morning, which I received from NetGalley. Unlike a few recent DC Comics graphic releases, this isn't a combination of past issues, but instead it is a one-shot, 144 pages issue; giving the readers a glance into the origin of how these two female characters first met.

Batgirl Vol. 4: Wanted
by Gail Simone
Illustrators: Fernando Pasarín, Daniel Sampere
Publisher: DC Comics
Pub. Date: May 27, 2014
Retail: $24.99
ISBN: 9781401246297
Pages: 192

Review:

Comic books may seem like the thing of the past, but thanks to a surge of superhero blockbusters and hit television series (Arrow), not to mention reality TV (Comic Book Men), comic books are starting to become popular again. Publishers have finally entered modern times with digital comic books. 

In the comic book world, superheroes never age, as the comics eventually get rebooted, giving franchises a brand new start. This is exactly what happened with DC Comics with the launch of their New 52 line in 2011, including everything Batman related.

Thanks to NetGalley, I got to review an advanced digital copy of Batgirl Vol. 4: Wanted, which consists of issues #19-25, as well as Ventriliquist #1.

Being a superhero has its ups and downs, and Barbara Gordon has hit the lowest-part of her crime-fighting career with the recent death of her brother, which her alter ego, Batgirl, had a part in his death. She is a complete mess and she has even turn to drinking to try to help with the pain. Nothing seems to help her do deal with what has occurred, even visiting a shrink isn't helping her. To make matter worse, her father, Commissioner Gordon, has a personal vendetta to hunt down his son's killer, Batgirl.

Probably almost everyone has heard about the famous so-called haunted house in Amityville, New York, where the Lutz family fled from their house after living there only 28 days in the middle 1970s. They claimed the house was haunted. In 1977, their experiences inside the 112 Ocean Avenue house was chronicled in the best-selling novel, titledThe Amityville Horror. Several non-fiction book sequel were later published, along with a few fiction titles as well. Ten film sequels were made, including a prequel and a remake. Another sequel is being filmed for 2015.

Thanks to NetGalley, I got my hands on an advanced readers copy of the new horror book, Amity, written by Micol Ostow. Now, I have read the original 1977 novel and I have seen all the movies, even the really low-budget ones, so naturally I was excited to read the new young adult take on the familiar storyline.

Amity is told from the point-of-view of two teens, but with a little twist, they are from different time-lines. Connor Webb's story takes place ten years before Gwendolyn (Gwen) Hall and her family moves into the house.

The book flips back and forth from the two teenagers' narrations, giving us readers a first-hand account of the dark madness that is hidden inside Amity!

Godzilla: The Complete Animated Series
Voice Cast: Ian Ziering, Brigitte Bako, Rino Romano, Charity James, Malcolm Danare, Tom Kenny
Studio: Mill Creek Entertainment
Release Date: April 29, 2014
Retail: $14.98
ASIN: B00I099JZK
Running Time: 14 hours 14 minutes
Rating: Not Rated

Review: 

Monster fans are patiently waiting for the release of the remake of Godzilla, but until then they can't get sink their teeth into Mill Creek Entertainment's DVD release of Godzilla: The Complete Animated Series.

No, this isn't the 1978 Hanna-Barbera cartoon, but instead this is the 1998 animated series, which servers as a direct followup to the 1998 Godzilla flick that started Matthew Broderick. The film was a box-office hit at the time, but Godzilla's new look was criticized by critics and Godzilla fans alike. Nevertheless, the movie still spawned an animated series that lasted for only two seasons consisting of 40 episodes.

Picking up exactly where the 1998 film left off, Godzilla has been destroyed, but Dr. Nick Tatopoulos (voiced by Ian Ziering) is worried that a few of the creature's offspring has survived. Along with the Humanitarian Environmental Analysis Team (H.E.A.T.), Dr. Tatopoulos locates the last offspring, which the creature becomes emotionally attached to him. Nick becomes sorta like a adopted father to the new Godzilla.

Suddenly, there are strange giant monster reports all over the world. The only weapon that can protect Earth is Godzilla!

If you want schedule next week's post, click here to find the next prompt question. To submit a question, fill out this form.

What to do:

1. Post on your blog answering this question:

  This week's question is submitted by Elizabeth!

 

Do you answer the Book Blogger Hop questions in advance and have them scheduled or do you write your post the night before or the day of the Book Blogger Hop?

2. Enter the link to your post in the linky list below (enter your Blog Name and the direct link to your post answering this week’s question. Failure to do so will result in removal of your link).


3. Visit other blogs in the list and comment on their posts. Try to spend some time on the blogs reading other posts and possible become a new follower.  The purpose of the hop is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, befriend other bloggers, and receive new followers to your own blog.

  

My Answer: 

Typically, I setup the Book Blogger Hop either on a Wednesday or Thursday night for the current week. When I have some extra time, I'm going to schedule as many weeks as possible.

10% Happier
by Dan Harris
Publisher: It Books
Pub. Date: March 11, 2014
ISBN: 978-0062265425
Pages: 256
Buy Link: http://ow.ly/vOtHE
Blog Tour: http://litfusegroup.com/author/dharris

Review:

As many of my readers already know, I don't read very much non-fiction; mostly due to the fact that most true-to-life stories are depressing and I would rather read a fictional tale with a happy ending. However, I do occasionally read a self-help or spiritual book, which is one of the reasons why I signed up to review 10% Happier by Dan Harris, plus, the author is news anchor, which even further my interest in reading this.

Instead of giving a quick summary of the plot, like I do with my other reviews, I am going straight to my thoughts on the book. By the title and the cover jacket, you would think this would be a self-help novel, but it was far from it. Instead it is a semi-memoir, focusing on the author's entry into the ABC news world, which lead him to drugs and other addictions to help him keep his mind clear due to his heavy work load.

Dan Harris' life changed when he had an on-the-air meltdown on ABC's Good Morning America in 2004, eventually the incident lead him to seek out other healthier ways to reduce stress in his life; mostly medication.

Gamera Legacy Collection 1963 - 1999
Studio: Mill Creek Entertainment
Release Date: April 29, 2014
Retail: $14.98
ASIN: B00I099JO6
Running Time: 16 hours 29 minutes
Rating: Not Rated

Review:

The summer blockbuster season began earlier this year with the release of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, but one of the most anticipated summer films of 2014 is Gareth Edwards' remake of Godzilla. You would think there would be several DVD/Blu-ray releases of the older Godzilla flicks, but surprisingly only King Kong Vs. Godzilla has been released this year; though there are a few other titles scheduled for release in May. Until then, monster fans can enjoy Mill Creek's Entertainment DVD release of Gamera Legacy Collection 1963 - 1999, featuring 11 movies, minus 2006's Gamera the Brave.

After the original Godzilla (Gojira) film was released in 1954, there were a surge of monster films being released, including many sequels to Godzilla. Out of these monster flicks came the giant flying turtle, Gamera, the guardian of the universe and friend of all children!


Yes, a flying turtle may seem a little far fetch and a ripoff of Godzilla, but the Gamera became successful; though I'm surprised there was never a Godzilla Vs. Gamera ever produced.

The films on the Gamera Legacy Collection four-disc set are: