Just finished work, I;m tired. anyway, yesterday i decided to give Cassandra Clare's CITY OF BONES another try. i started reading it last year and could not finish it because the characters were so..lacking.
Not much has changed. This time, I WAS able to finish it, but it was a torturous read LOL.
The plot was good, Clare is creative and everything made sense.
The writing was good as well, Clare can get quite witty.
The characters can suck my pole. Seriously, EVERY one of them. I'm going to take a minute, and try to think of a character i liked.
nope, there are none.
for one, they are ALL THE SAME. literally, all the characters have like, the same personality, the same voice, the same tone etc. their humour is the same - sarcasm overkill. It's sarcasm all throughout. Dont get me wrong, sarcasm is hilarious, i LOVE sarcasm. What i dont love is how every single character needs to be sarcastic 24/7. Even in intense scenes, where my interest has somewhat peaked, it is ruined by sarcasm. Do you view life with such disdain Clary/Jace/Isabelle/everyone in the book? They seriously cannot formulate proper thoughts or something. The sarcasm is funny though. I laughed at a few, but if you douse every page with that kind of humor, its boring. I reckon they shouldve stuck the sarcasm to Simon. He was funny until everyone abused his modus operandi.
The sarcasm also kills any epic scenes there are, becuase everyone just plays it off as a sarcastic joke.
Clary's a temperamental teenager who is in need of someone with half a brain to guide her. Her tone came off as very immature and emotionally undeveloped. She's 15. Actually yeah maybe thats why. maybe i would have enjoyed this book better at the age of 15. she wouldve made perfect sense. as would everyone else in the book.
this novel/series has a villian - Valentine. Throughout the book, he took on quite an ominous presence. I myself fell for this evil. Until he rocked up. He's a flipping pansy. I dont understand what the shit is going on. when he comes, its just like..chapters and chapters of conversation with Clary going 'you liar! urgh! :(' and him going 'oh heo no you did not just say that'. End story.
i will not be continuing with this series.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Sunday, August 26, 2012
BR: A Discovery of Witches - Deborah Harkness
I feel like I've just woken up after finishing this book. It's the first of the All Souls Trilogy and it is simply beautiful.
Setting the scene - Ok, forgive Harkness but she spends 200 pages setting the scene. I gave up on the novel when I reached page 200 (281 to be exact) and didn't touch it for days. But the cover was so pretty so I kept reading anddd trust me, it was worth it. It is set in Oxford, England. There is this scholar -Diana Bishop (in her thirties) who spends her days in some prestigious library researching the origins of alchemy because that's what she's decided to focus her life on. Quite literally, you get 281 pages of her doing that. I do not need that many pages to understand the concept of reading because, ironically enough, that's exactly what I'm doing. One day, she comes across this book that gives off a really weird vibe, which she decides to ignore. Turns out that book is pretty epic in the world of the supernatural. Soon enough, there are daemons, vampires and witches stalking Diana and overcrowding the library in hopes of uncovering her secret method of summoning the book. Unbeknownst to her, a magical tale unravels and an ancient vampire enters her life.
Don't roll your eyes at the vampires in this one. This novel is more mature fiction, so these vampires do not sparkle, stalk their loved ones, profess their continual undying love etc. This vampire is an intelligent scientist, who was a poet decades ago, a medieval knight centuries ago and a warrior millenniums ago. He has had wine with William Shakespeare, Henry VIII, and a whole string of famous historians and nobles I don't know.
The writing - Harkness' writing is flawless. It's so beautiful the way she weaves her words when she describes people, scents and scenery. She does it in a way where she doesn't try in vain to set an image in your head - instead, she creates the tone. She makes you feel a certain way about a tree, instead of making you see the tree for its every detail (she did not actually talk about a tree). Having said that, she does describe its appearance briefly, but she focuses on making the words form a feeling inside you. She creates an environment. I remember bursting into tears over her description of a kitchen that Diana returns to after a long time. You just feel like you're there, through everything.
She takes us from Oxford to France to ..some other place I can't pronounce nor name.
Her pacing was pretty good too, spare the first couple hundred pages..but there's the other 500 pages to make up for it. It was a blend of action, peace, suspense and tenderness. Her action sequences I found a tad lacking though. Before I could actually realize something big was going to happen, it had already happened. LOL. But then again, I could just be slow.
The characters - The plot is very much driven by the characters.
Diana is a witch, who spent most of her life suppressing all her powers in an attempt to lead a human life. The magical manuscript she uncovers kind of ruins things for her though. Challenged by the supernatural that find their way into her life, she has to learn to fight for herself with her witch prowess ;). She is likable, original, strong and she is readable. She lacks charm and quirkiness, but that's not to say she's uncharming or bland. Uncharming is not a word.
Oh one thing that did tickle my nerves a bit, was this thing she did. I can't recall what it was, but oh wait i do remember. Someone dangerous came, and she said like, a sentence or something to him. And then everyone was all 'hoooory shieeet she's so brave and courageous'. I was just like really? Really? It happened a few times. Like sometimes when she did something as self defense, there'd be an ALL HAIL for her brave actions. When it was more instincts than anything. Like, I could see she was a brave girl, Harkness did not need to try to make us see that through words she forcing other characters to say.
Matthew Clairmont is a French vampire who's been alive before a lot. He, in current time, is a scientist with a focus on figuring out the origin of life. Of not just humans, but vampires, witches and demons. He finds that after existing for so long, its the only question worth answering (dw, he's not depressed). When he is alerted of the sighting of the book/manuscript, he finds himself in Oxford, watching Diana like every other super being to see if she could do it again. And then, typical of vampiric traits, he becomes territorial of her, which transforms into lurrve. Vampiric is not a word.
He does something really cute btw. It's supposed to be sultry and sexy but I think its just darn adorable. He likes to smell wine- he says it brings him back to passages in the past and he reminisces and recalls memories and moments etc. All I can imagine whenever he does that though is a massive nostril suctioning all the smell from the glass of wine until it all evaporates up his nose. Mmn.
The side characters are awesome. I would not even call them sides, they're all separate entities and half of me wants to write about them all, but then this post will be as long as the book. They are not there to support Diana, they are there because they exist and they hold stories and motives and missions of their own. They have a life outside of Diana.
The plot - is divine. Like I said, it starts off slow, but I think that was necessary. It was like a massive, huge-ass quiet-before-the-storm. So that the reader, after reading the last page, can reflect and go 'oh my, what a journey. Diana's life was so blissfully quiet and peaceful until BAM'. The issues the characters come across in the novel are really ..I don't know how to describe it. It was one central issue that sparked others. Imagine a tree, with branches coming off. And they're all intertwined and it wasn't going to be a love conquers all kind of bullshit. And I don't know. I don't want to spoil anything. Twas a magical journey.
It involves, literally - KNIGHTS IN SHINING ARMOUR, FRANCE and ENGLAND, MOATS, TEA, CASTLES!!, TOWERS!!, SPELLS, PAST ROYALTIES, HAUNTED HOUSES, THE FRENCH LANGUAGE, BOOOKS OLD AND NEW, SCROLLS, MANUSCRIPTS, A PUSSYCAT, A LOT OF TREES (forest)
I've just been reminded of some inconsistencies in the book omg. Still love it. There was also a typo. Still love it.
Historical non-fiction - The author is a scholar and historian herself so she incorporates facts on alchemy, folklore and chemistry into the story. Her own beliefs shine through too, and she enhances all this with small tweaks that make it weave in seamlessly with the story. I learnt some interesting shit. Are alchemists classified as scientists btw? Every time I think of them, I think of people peeing into a jar then boiling it as a lame attempt to make gold. And they just mix stuff together and see what goes BOOM right? Surely that doesn't make them a scientist? I probably sound very naive and ignorant right now. I'll do some research. Yeah, according to the very reliable Wikipedia, alchemy blends in elements of metals, mythology, religion and spirituality. It is classified as a protoscience which is not the modern science we know today, but was an equivalent long, long, long, long, long, long, long ago. We have, since then, evolved and drawn away from the idea of a philosopher's stone/elixir of life/everything alchemy stood for. Harkness talks about alchemy as the central nerve of science quite a bit in the first 281 pages of the book, I so do not believe that! But my opinion is unfounded LOL.
Mythology - I don't know if I should call it mythology. But Harkness/Matthew's take on vampires, daemons and witches is very interesting. He says '1 species, or 4?'. In like, every book and every story we read, we portray these creatures as exactly that. Creatures. Out-worldly creatures who do not belong with us. Matthew spends forever exploring the possibility that weeee are all part of one descendant. Harkness references some past journals that elude to this as well (throughout the entire book, she refers to real works that support what shes saying). Matthew explains how like we distinguish between each other based on race, gender etc, we should also distinguish each other based on habits. Vampires for example, have a habit of feeding on blood as opposed to cooked food. What if we all came from the same tree? Again with a tree reference LOL I can't stop :(.
Harkness is able to group humans, daemons, witches and vampires into five families. It's quite interesting.
The humans are rational beings who turn a blind eye to abnormalities around them in and choose to remain ignorant to the paranormal.
The daemons are mentally deranged but brilliant. They are poetic and romantic, but they're crazy, possibly due to their unknown origins as they are born human, then become daemon.
The witches are a close knit community who value family and draw from nature to craft spells.
The vampires are elegant and charming, which lures their prey. In the presence of blood, a darker, suppressed side of them is unleashed. They enjoy wine because it takes them to their pasts. so they sniff that shit up like its happy gas.
I thought those descriptions were nice. :). Funnily enough, the symbol for daemon is the symbol for pharmacy. The two snakes around a staff with wings. What's goin' on BP271?
I do not believe in witches, vampires or daemon btw. Just saying. I believe that people eat leaves and a placebo effect makes them feel a certain way. I believe some people crave blood in hopes that they'll be a 'vampire'/immortal. And I believe some people are just evil.
After that positive review, I would not recommend this book. It's a marvelous book. I dunno why though, I just don't think you'd enjoy it. It's fantasy, historical, adventure, romance, suspense in a big whirlwind. It's one of those books that are hard to get into. It doesn't leave a message relevant to us. If you're into paranormal/historical fiction, read it. It's a love/hate book.
But it's worth a read.
I'm not making sense again :( .
Just randomly, I have NO IDEA WHY, but throughout that book, I could not stop thinking about trees!! It was just a mental image stuck there zz.
Friday, August 24, 2012
hashtag firstworldcomplaints
hi blog. i beckkk. i pr0crastinatink LOL i dont know hwat im saying. Today my mid sem holiday has begun, but im stuck doing my assignment due toooooday. The weather has decided to freeze us all to death again. man this feels so useless i dont know what to say!
uni has been good. not good as in it was actually really good, but it was as good as uni can get. and i've been shit. not shit as in im going through a tough time, just shit cause i want to complain about everything but i cant cause that would make me a whiny bitch. erhmagawd.
ive been noticing that some people around me think very immaturely. their thought process is a massive mindfuck only a self absorbed, bratty brat doll can understand. complimenting yourself to boost your own low self esteem? (its not vanity or narcissism, its insecurity) digging for compliments and giggling over the flattery. treating everyone with disrespect becuase you are a king on your period (30 days a month). you are such a 'player' becuase drunk girls even bother look at you. you want to be a bitch because you think its a desirable quality. 'you are old enough to not make a single mistake in your life, but you are not old enough to make your own decisions'. your serious face is so serious i feel it deep in my soul-i swear. saying one thing, thinking the other. you are so inconsistent with your arguments and opinions, whats your real face? i caught your bluff.
LOL a mesh of my hate. ive become so unforgiving with the most random shit.
in other news, there is no news. 'no news is good news' - lemony snicket. breaking dawn is going to have an ending differnet to the one in the book. thats news. thats good news! the book ending was so horribe. LOL, like, i get that readers shouldnt expect butt clenching drama from a romance novel, but still, when you're swimming in its success, at least take your readers into account when you're concluding a saga that was once hteir life. haha i said butt clenching. ew.
i had macca's new lamb burger today, it was so shit! the mcangus burger was shit too! i think the m selection burgers arent my type. your face is my type. ;)
uni has been good. not good as in it was actually really good, but it was as good as uni can get. and i've been shit. not shit as in im going through a tough time, just shit cause i want to complain about everything but i cant cause that would make me a whiny bitch. erhmagawd.
ive been noticing that some people around me think very immaturely. their thought process is a massive mindfuck only a self absorbed, bratty brat doll can understand. complimenting yourself to boost your own low self esteem? (its not vanity or narcissism, its insecurity) digging for compliments and giggling over the flattery. treating everyone with disrespect becuase you are a king on your period (30 days a month). you are such a 'player' becuase drunk girls even bother look at you. you want to be a bitch because you think its a desirable quality. 'you are old enough to not make a single mistake in your life, but you are not old enough to make your own decisions'. your serious face is so serious i feel it deep in my soul-i swear. saying one thing, thinking the other. you are so inconsistent with your arguments and opinions, whats your real face? i caught your bluff.
LOL a mesh of my hate. ive become so unforgiving with the most random shit.
in other news, there is no news. 'no news is good news' - lemony snicket. breaking dawn is going to have an ending differnet to the one in the book. thats news. thats good news! the book ending was so horribe. LOL, like, i get that readers shouldnt expect butt clenching drama from a romance novel, but still, when you're swimming in its success, at least take your readers into account when you're concluding a saga that was once hteir life. haha i said butt clenching. ew.
i had macca's new lamb burger today, it was so shit! the mcangus burger was shit too! i think the m selection burgers arent my type. your face is my type. ;)
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
BLOG & BR: Hush Hush - Becca Fitzpatrick
This novel is a saga, that is equally as stupid as The Goddess Series. Why do I get myself into these messes?
Anyway, so, I read this ebook yesterday, and my gosh I do not understand the hype about this at ALL. Its been likened to Twilight, but seriously, Stephenie Meyer is Shakespeare next to this mess.
First things first, its about this girl - ummm I do not recall her name. Hang on. Nora Grey (thank you Wikipedia). Miss Grey here, starts out as a normal girl, with a hormonal best friend who seems to live off Nora's life (more on that later) and they become good friends with Elliot andddd I've forgotten his name..hang on. JULES. And they just yeah, become friends LMAO. And Nora finds herself the center of attention of this random dude in her class called Patch who constantly taunts her (omgosh thats so hot *faints on floor sarcastically*). OH YEAH, also, ever since she first meets Patch, she suddenly finds herself constantly followed, stalked and a mysterious figure wearing a ski mask (original) keeps trying to kill her. As jumbled up as my story sounds, the book jumbles it even more so. Random shit happens - and by shit I mean horrible, boring, contrived bullshit.
The characters - lololololololool. The protagonist has the IQ of a horse on dope. A masked male tried to kill her and instead of telling a more mature, intelligent adult of her circumstance, she goes home and tries to ADJUST to it. WHAAAT? == She tries to adjust to being stalked, and harrassed by Patch. Patch..he is as pathetic as his name. He constantly harasses Nora, and the silly girl gets attracted to it. He doesn't even do it in the 'bad boy' kind of way that so many teens love, he's more 'call 000 and get a restraining order ASAP'. Like seriously, he's out to kill her and she's just all 'omg my heart just skipped a beat'. Like come on, I will gladly stop your heart from ever beating again if I could. Anyway, as the novel progresses, obviously, SOMEHOW, Patch falls in love with Nora. Which probably means his IQ is even lower; cause she hasn't done a single thing to charm the pants off anyone. She just keeps driving around and getting 'the feeling that someone is watching'. The ENTIRE novel she's just all 'I felt someone's stare on my back'.
Her best friend, 'Vee Sky' makes Nora look like Einstein. This Vee girl, spends the entire novel going 'OMGOSH HES SO HOT' 'OMG HOT' 'OMG LETS CLIMB INTO THE CAR OF A STRANGER CAUSE HES HOT' 'OMG LETS GO INTERSTATE WITH THIS GUY CAUSE HE'S HOT' 'OMG IM DYING, BUT THATS OK, HES HOT'. There was this scene where she was having fun chilling out with Elliot and Jules and they were like 'lets go to high school and play hide in seek in there!' (cause how else would you spend a weekend. They're so cool!), she lets the boys chain up all the exits to the building. Her justification for her stupid senseless allowance was 'They said it was to make sure we stayed in school only during the game!'. Someone just shoot her. She's only there as a platform for Nora's character.
There's also a really weird medical incorrectness in the novel. This Nora chick has anemia. So she takes Iron tablets, fair enough. Ms Fitzpatrick, it won't kill you to do a little research. She writes Nora to take 2 capsules 'few times a day'. TWO capsules FEW times a day. And whats even more stupid is that Nora doesn't even take it few times a day. She takes them like, EVERY FUCKING HOUR. She just keeps swallowing them. Like, whenever Patch harasses her, she'll be all *omg :( self pity* then swallows 2 capsules of iron tablets. And during a SUPER INTENSE SCENE *sarcasm*, she starts suffocating and finding it hard to breathe and her airways were constricting or some shit. And she goes 'Omg Patch, get me my Iron tablets, I need them' then Patch gives them to her, she takes two capsules, then THE BOOK LITERALLY SAYS 'I stood for a few minutes to let the iron absorb'. 1. Your symptoms sound more like asthma than anemia 2. You cannot use words tablets/caplets interchangeably 3. Bitch I have anemia, I take 1 tablet daily WITH FOOD. If you're taking like a bottle a day, you should probably be on some alternative form of treatment...
The plot...lol the plot. Its basically a girl getting bullied by this boy and the more he tortures her the more she falls in love and then he falls in love too because why not? And then every character in the novel does something stupid and it somehow all ties up to Nora because shes SUPER IMPORTANTE.
I do not see how someone can be a fan of this. It objectifies sex, portrays adolescents as horny beasts constantly wanting to tear each other apart in heated passion, and it condones bullying, taunting, harassment and stalking. It promotes keeping your issues to yourself until you get yourself killed. It insults science, belittles school education (a lot of the novel centres around Nora's biology classes where they quite literally talk about what they look for in a sex partner ==) and the horror component is just horrible.
i must now go and write up 600 words for my assignment. :( too many of my blog posts are about books, its suffocating me (QUICK, GET MY IRON TABLETS) (ahhh i can totally feel those tablets just FULL ABSORBING INTO MY BODY AND SHIZZZ) if you guys noticed, i wrote that book review with CORRECT PUNCTUATIOANERGJER :) it was a pain. but one i can live with. anyways, nothings been new with me. just reading my time away, WHICH I SHOULD REALLY STOP but its just so addictive.
today i ate two hotdogs. bye
Sunday, August 19, 2012
What you should read
so im procrastinating again. got a mid sem tmr. meh lol. anyways, i thought id write a little blog.
a lot of my friends ask me to recommend a good book to read. and a lot of the time - 99% of the time, it leaves me stumped. i really dont know what to recommend. Because not every book is for everyone. most of the time all i would say is 'Read the Hunger Games', cause i know its appreciated by a wide audience. im surprised anyone would consider my opinion taken into account that i spent a good 2-3 years obsessed with twilight trash. (i love edward!) so i thought id dedicate this post on how to choose books to read. cause i dont trust my recommendation. there are all kinds of different genres, writing styles and authors! get out there and explore it yourself! its like shopping for clothes, find your style(s).
#1. Don't know where to start? everytime im lost, i head to http://www.dymocks.com.au/ and http://www.collinsbooks.com.au/ just to see the top ten best sellers as of late. From there, if something tickles my fancy, ill google it for a review from http://www.goodreads.com/. (Join goodreads.com, you select genres you enjoy, select books you enjoy, authors you like, and they recommend you heaps of books that are similar) and its accurate enough that id use it continually. i did an update just now on books ive read and liked reacently, and goodreads bounced off it, recommending me a series of books, quite a few of which ive been meaning to buy. *clapclap* you see other people's ratings of novels you've read/been meaning to read too. and you can rate EWEWEWEWEWE for the books you didnt like, and goodreads steers clear of any reocmmendations related to that novel's style. neat huh? you can also write and read reviews on it. and create vitrual bookshelves like - books ive read, books i want to read, books i want to buy, books i love etc.
Ive also tried watching youtube videos made by the booklovers community - its just normal people like us making videos of books they liked, what their bookshelf looks like (is it sad that i love wtahcing those?) and 'book hauls' LMAO. It very quickly shows you what books are about to break it in the best sellers cause you see people start reviewing the same books, loving the same books, buying the same books. I have, however, been sorely disappointed on a few cases, so ive stopped relying on them. Its mainly American and English ytbers.
#2. the price. this is a personal theory of mine. YA (young adult) fiction is written for us - young adults. They usually have prices from $15-$25. Adult fiction that would appeal to us would also have that price range. We're predominantly full time students with part time jobs. Its what we can afford/would be willing to buy. Publishers wouldnt stretch it by trying to rip us off and discouraging us from buying anything else from them. A book over $30, i would stay away from because it most likely is targeted for a demographic of full time workers/retired elderly. Which means it deals with themes that generally dont appeal to us.
Hardcorvers are a different story, but you'd be looking at $25.
#3. Genres like adventure, romance (if you're female), action, humor and maaybe fantasy tend not to be such hit-or-misses. theyre genres that can appeal to a wide audience. you might not enjoy one adventure novel, but you might LOVE another. theyre okay to read, to persist with, to not steer clear from.
Fantasy isnt so bad, cause once you immerse yourself into this fantastical world, it becomes your reality, so a flying wombat wont seem so retarded.
Ont he other hand, i find the whole mystery/crime thriller novels to be very specific witht heir audience. If you dont enjoy a crime novel, you most likely wont enjoy the others. They've got the same undertone, same structure and the same element. I've read a few authors who excel in this genre; james patterson, kathy reichs, patricia cornwell and ive kind of felt the same way about all of them. apart from kathy reichs, but thats cause my mind is forcing me to love her cause she inspired the tv series BONES. lol. I'm currently trying to read Laura Lippman's mystery thriller 'Another Thing to Fall' and tbh, i dont think ill ever ifnish it.
Dan Brown is a different story i guess, i LOVE his books, but i consider his books more action/adventure, since he doesnt do that whole zz thing where you question suspects or watch your back every second of the day and then get stabbed (in the back) in the last few chapters.
#4. do not be fooled by the words 'BEST SELLER'. i say this even though i still fall into the trap. but if you can fight it, STAY AWAY LOL. like, if it says new york #1 bestseller list, then yeah, its made it into the top 100 of something. but if it says BEST SELLER , or something like RUTH ROTHWELL'S BEST SELLER, then put it back down. people like me see 'best seller' and go, OMG popular book ! must be a great read!
but no. WRONG. best seller just means that the book you're holding is the author;s best selling book. so it might have only sold 10 copies but itll be a best seller if the previous books only sold 8. *sigh*.
#5. if you're a teenager/high schooler, the books targeted for you/in your library that are really good will have gold stickers declaring its awards. i suggest you heed those and read books that drown in them. i enjoyed all of those. Nick Earls, Isobelle Carmody, Maureen McCarthy, John Marsden, Garth Nix, Sonja Hartnett, Melina Marchetta, Lisa Shanahan.
#6. John Marsden. Melina Marchetta. Scott Westerfield. Dan Brown. Stephenie Meyers (:P). Richelle Mead. If you like an author, read all their other books :D Especially if they write stand alones. For series authors, their stand alones might be a bit shit since they dont have another 100 books to woo you.
#7. With YA fiction, romance and dystopian novels are popular. I dont know why our kind like dystopia, but yeah, maybe give that a go. Like Hunger Games. Divergent - which ive been waiting patiently to arrive. we also like paranormal/fantasy romance. vampires, demons. maybe? give? that? a? go? Sounds questionably gay.
#8. When youre reading a shit book, just remind yourself that an author labored over this for months on end, got it editted, then rewrote it. Maybe it might motivate you to finish it. The notion gets old after a ton of shit books, but yeah. LOL.
#9. Get a library card. Or get a book saver's card or whatever htey call it if you're buying. It's a great feeling everytime your bookshelf expands. it looks beautiful. and everytime you see the book you really enjoyed, your heart goes WEEE.
#10. Enjoy!
Every book presents an alternate reality, a new world so its a great feeling when you find your niche. cause from tehre you go on fantastic journey after fantastic journey. until you realize your own life sucks.
a lot of my friends ask me to recommend a good book to read. and a lot of the time - 99% of the time, it leaves me stumped. i really dont know what to recommend. Because not every book is for everyone. most of the time all i would say is 'Read the Hunger Games', cause i know its appreciated by a wide audience. im surprised anyone would consider my opinion taken into account that i spent a good 2-3 years obsessed with twilight trash. (i love edward!) so i thought id dedicate this post on how to choose books to read. cause i dont trust my recommendation. there are all kinds of different genres, writing styles and authors! get out there and explore it yourself! its like shopping for clothes, find your style(s).
#1. Don't know where to start? everytime im lost, i head to http://www.dymocks.com.au/ and http://www.collinsbooks.com.au/ just to see the top ten best sellers as of late. From there, if something tickles my fancy, ill google it for a review from http://www.goodreads.com/. (Join goodreads.com, you select genres you enjoy, select books you enjoy, authors you like, and they recommend you heaps of books that are similar) and its accurate enough that id use it continually. i did an update just now on books ive read and liked reacently, and goodreads bounced off it, recommending me a series of books, quite a few of which ive been meaning to buy. *clapclap* you see other people's ratings of novels you've read/been meaning to read too. and you can rate EWEWEWEWEWE for the books you didnt like, and goodreads steers clear of any reocmmendations related to that novel's style. neat huh? you can also write and read reviews on it. and create vitrual bookshelves like - books ive read, books i want to read, books i want to buy, books i love etc.
Ive also tried watching youtube videos made by the booklovers community - its just normal people like us making videos of books they liked, what their bookshelf looks like (is it sad that i love wtahcing those?) and 'book hauls' LMAO. It very quickly shows you what books are about to break it in the best sellers cause you see people start reviewing the same books, loving the same books, buying the same books. I have, however, been sorely disappointed on a few cases, so ive stopped relying on them. Its mainly American and English ytbers.
#2. the price. this is a personal theory of mine. YA (young adult) fiction is written for us - young adults. They usually have prices from $15-$25. Adult fiction that would appeal to us would also have that price range. We're predominantly full time students with part time jobs. Its what we can afford/would be willing to buy. Publishers wouldnt stretch it by trying to rip us off and discouraging us from buying anything else from them. A book over $30, i would stay away from because it most likely is targeted for a demographic of full time workers/retired elderly. Which means it deals with themes that generally dont appeal to us.
Hardcorvers are a different story, but you'd be looking at $25.
#3. Genres like adventure, romance (if you're female), action, humor and maaybe fantasy tend not to be such hit-or-misses. theyre genres that can appeal to a wide audience. you might not enjoy one adventure novel, but you might LOVE another. theyre okay to read, to persist with, to not steer clear from.
Fantasy isnt so bad, cause once you immerse yourself into this fantastical world, it becomes your reality, so a flying wombat wont seem so retarded.
Ont he other hand, i find the whole mystery/crime thriller novels to be very specific witht heir audience. If you dont enjoy a crime novel, you most likely wont enjoy the others. They've got the same undertone, same structure and the same element. I've read a few authors who excel in this genre; james patterson, kathy reichs, patricia cornwell and ive kind of felt the same way about all of them. apart from kathy reichs, but thats cause my mind is forcing me to love her cause she inspired the tv series BONES. lol. I'm currently trying to read Laura Lippman's mystery thriller 'Another Thing to Fall' and tbh, i dont think ill ever ifnish it.
Dan Brown is a different story i guess, i LOVE his books, but i consider his books more action/adventure, since he doesnt do that whole zz thing where you question suspects or watch your back every second of the day and then get stabbed (in the back) in the last few chapters.
#4. do not be fooled by the words 'BEST SELLER'. i say this even though i still fall into the trap. but if you can fight it, STAY AWAY LOL. like, if it says new york #1 bestseller list, then yeah, its made it into the top 100 of something. but if it says BEST SELLER , or something like RUTH ROTHWELL'S BEST SELLER, then put it back down. people like me see 'best seller' and go, OMG popular book ! must be a great read!
but no. WRONG. best seller just means that the book you're holding is the author;s best selling book. so it might have only sold 10 copies but itll be a best seller if the previous books only sold 8. *sigh*.
#5. if you're a teenager/high schooler, the books targeted for you/in your library that are really good will have gold stickers declaring its awards. i suggest you heed those and read books that drown in them. i enjoyed all of those. Nick Earls, Isobelle Carmody, Maureen McCarthy, John Marsden, Garth Nix, Sonja Hartnett, Melina Marchetta, Lisa Shanahan.
#6. John Marsden. Melina Marchetta. Scott Westerfield. Dan Brown. Stephenie Meyers (:P). Richelle Mead. If you like an author, read all their other books :D Especially if they write stand alones. For series authors, their stand alones might be a bit shit since they dont have another 100 books to woo you.
#7. With YA fiction, romance and dystopian novels are popular. I dont know why our kind like dystopia, but yeah, maybe give that a go. Like Hunger Games. Divergent - which ive been waiting patiently to arrive. we also like paranormal/fantasy romance. vampires, demons. maybe? give? that? a? go? Sounds questionably gay.
#8. When youre reading a shit book, just remind yourself that an author labored over this for months on end, got it editted, then rewrote it. Maybe it might motivate you to finish it. The notion gets old after a ton of shit books, but yeah. LOL.
#9. Get a library card. Or get a book saver's card or whatever htey call it if you're buying. It's a great feeling everytime your bookshelf expands. it looks beautiful. and everytime you see the book you really enjoyed, your heart goes WEEE.
#10. Enjoy!
Every book presents an alternate reality, a new world so its a great feeling when you find your niche. cause from tehre you go on fantastic journey after fantastic journey. until you realize your own life sucks.
Friday, August 17, 2012
BR: Anna and the French Kiss - Stephenie Perkins
Its a romance novel, obviously. But don't worry, it does not center around this 'french kiss'. its a very light, breezy, cute cloud nine novel. I enjoyed reading it, it bought a few smiles to my face.
its about this girl with a famous author for a father. one day, he unprecedentedly tells her that shes going to a boarding school in France so that he can polish his image as a best selling author. And when in Paris what does one do? Fall in love! she does just that, and its a very cute, non-intense story. lovely read! There are complications mind you, but the overall tone is romantic.
Admittedly, i got so annoyed by the characters sometimes. you know how love always does this thing where its not just
person A: i like you
Person B: i like you too omg! lets fall in love and live happily ever after?
every love story always has that twist where they feel the attraction but neither side speaks out etc.
yeah thats what fustrates me. the protagonist was quite annoying sometimes because of her desperation for this man. but shes so endearingly cute so its acceptable.
The man, btw, is Etienne St Clair. He'sss an American boy who was raised in London and boarded in France. Sounds so enticingly foreign! a downside though is that he's short for a guy. that kind of ruined the immersion for me cause short guy? NOO i like them tall and towery. Especially if in France. (how typically female of me)
anyways yeah. Its a very endearing book :). I would read this on a bad day. its not hype-worthy, but its fluffy and cute.
BR: The Goddess Series - Aimee Carter
1. The Goddess Test
1.5 The Goddess Hunt
2. Goddess Interrupted
First off, stay away from this series. :)
ill start with its highlights since there are so few.
The concept is very enticing. i was like woaah why has no one done this before? its basically a mesh of our real world and greek mythlogy. just the thought of it is great. Greek gods and goddesses made readable! It;s basically about this young girl, our age i guess (the reason why i dont know shit about her ill get to later) who moves with her mum into this small town. Her mum is on her last stretch of life after battling cancer for years and the girl thought she'd move with her mum to the place she wants to pass away in peace. There, without any preamble or buildup, she meets this young, mysterious, Edward-like guy who randomly goes "yo, come live with me, if you survive for 6 months through a series of tests, ill make you my goddess and give you immortality". The guy is Hades, God of the Underworld. but for some reason, the author decides to rename him Henry. Because every Greek God should totally have an English name instead. and from there, you have your story. i was meant to blurb it up enticingly to show you the novel's upside, but no, it just sucks too much.
which brings me to the downsides...oh boy the downsides. *rage
IM SO LET DOWN BY THIS BOOK. I was expecting like, some amazing mythic story, with great battles. like come on! Zeus hallllo? where are thy lightning bolts and whatnot? But no, its quite literally a girl being too righteous and worthy.
Lets start with the girl. i cant even recall her name. its something mediocre. Kate! i just spent a while looking that up. Kate Winters. Anyway, yes this girl. NOT ONCE do we get a proper description of what hse looks like. i think at one stage they mention something about short hair. but THATS about it. with any novel, descriptions are necessary, even if you drabble on for ten pages about a tree, ill yawn but at least ill know what the goddamn tree looks like. So with no description, this 2D girl expects me to follow her 2D journey? I did anyway, feeling hopeful about a riveting read.
which brings me to the hero of the story. Henry Something. He getrs a description. a horrible one. brace yourselves for this once guys. its epic, and its used continually throughout the series. Henry every single time gets described as having "eyes of moonlight". okay, 1. what? 2. what does moonlight look like? 3. im imaginign his eyes just being massive balls of white with no pupil. which is really creepy. but she keeps bring these moonlight eyes up as if itll give me nosebleeds. HOW DOES AN EYEBALL LOOK LIKE MOONLIGHT? WHAAT? IS HE A TORCH?
Next we have personality. Kate is very bland and 2D. this character, has no character. From start to finihs, shes all "OH I MUST SAVE THE LIFE OF EVERYONE I LOVE. OH THIS GUY WHO IVE KNOWN FOR ONLY 1 HOUR? ILL KILL MYSELF FOR HIM TOO!" she literally kills herself for everyone like wtf? be a bit real. and shes too righteous. shes very, this girl, will jump in front of a car for an ant crossingthe road. and she does it in a very unjustifiable kind of way. and shes a shit story teller. like, theres no transition or character growth or anything. she'll wake up one morning and start mourning over the fact that henry doesnt love her FOR NO REASON WHATSOEVER. LIKE WHAT?theyre meant to be in love? thanks for the lead up. and throughout the whole series, shes just so pathetic. "WHY WONT YOU LOVE ME HENRY. HOLD MY HAND. HOLD MY HAND. HOLD. MY. HAND. OMG YOU HELD MY HAND. LOVE ME. STOP LOVING THE GIRL YOU'VE BEEN LOVING FOR THE PAST ETERNITY. LOVE ME GRR. *STOMP* LOVE ME. like stfu and go save that ant crossing the road.
and then we have Henry. oh henrry, you so hot. jks. picture a God. now picture a god of the underworld. where the dead transit into their after life when they die. That is what Henry/Hades is in charge of. He rules that underworld. Interesting enough of a character right? WRONG. MY GOSH SO WRONG. Henry spends the entire series walking around. HE JUST WALKS AROUND HIS HOUSE. occasionally he goes "oh Kate, dont leave me!" and then when he feelsl ike it "oh Kate! im trying so hard to love you! give me time!" to which kate replies with "OH BUT HENRY, IVE TRIED SO HARD, I LOVE YOU! PLEASE, LOVE ME! HOLD MY HAND" or some shit like that. == massive face palm. Do your job and be a Greek God. He acts a lot like your average angsty teenager, except the writing is so atrocious that Henry just comes off as childlike.
Which is my next point. The writing. oh gosh, the writing. eyes of moonlight. enough said?
Greek mythology. does the average reader know about every Greek god and goddess ? i sure dont. it wouldve been nice if the author elaborated on why everyones so stunned when someone like Demeter (renamed Diana) walks into the room. That thing iffs me too. the author renmaed all the greek immortals with very common names that just deducts from their 'powerful aura'. theyve got no powers or anything either....all they do is be a slave to Kate. im not even exagerrating. one of them eats Kate's food before just to make sure its not poisoned. LOL == WHO CARES JUST KILL THE BITCH. oh and they spend the entire series going "oh kate, dont worry! Henry loves you so much holy cow he loves you like SOO MUCH, he even looked at you OMGOSH!"
The plot. the plot, had a lot of potential. like i said, greek mythology and the real world! a series of tests a girl must pass in order to become a goddess of the underworld and live FOREVER. you would have an amazing story with amazing subplots and amazing characters and amazing Gods. but omg. throughout the entire novel, you just hate everyone so much for all being so monotonous and identical that every moment they're still alive is painful to watch. i mean read. the plot is very reliant on good characters. there were no good characters. the plot itself was very undeveloped. it was very point A to point B, no in betweens. the tests were so stupid too. GREEK GODS TESTING A MORTAL GIRL HERE, the tests were to quite literally: study for an exam, not sleepwith anyone, share your wardrobe with 1+ person, and not eat a lot of food. there you have it folks, i officially spoiled the entirety of the novel for you. and as stupid as it sounds, that literally was the goddess test. can you see why im so enraged? and btw, that examthat she studied for as part of her goddess test..she failed it LOL, and then she full started crying and throwing herself into a river. until Henry comes along and randomly starts going "no kate, please stay, ill try to love you" like what? and then kate goes "okay Henry, hold me" or osme shit. to which im also like whaat?
And theres this massive battle against THE TITANS, who are much stronger than the Gods. like they're epically strong, (author's description of them: thick fog -yeh wtf right?) and the gods spendtwo months planning this epic battle. you know what Kate, whos POV we have to follow, does the entire two months? she plans to initiate a kiss with henry for the first time. and she complains about the epic battle that might kill him for getting in the way. LOL like hwat? im interested int he batle here, not your barren love life. whats even funnier is that she was motivated to kiss him becuase she busted him kissing the girl he'd loved for the past eternity of his immortality. can you be any more pathetic?
LOL and then once hte battle begins, she randomly gets all "I MUST SAVE THE DAY, NOBODY CAN STOP ME, I SHALL ENTER THIS BATTLE AND SAVE THE LIFE OF EVEYRONE I HARDLY KNOW". whats even funnier is that the battle is in place because she randomly walked into another battle earlier. like, earlier she had reached this palce where she saw the drama and she was like OMG MUST SAVE EVEYRONE I LOVE AND EVERYONE I HARDLY KNOW! and her Godly friends were all NO KATE YOU MUST SAVE YOURSELF, STAY HERE AND WE'LL GO IN AS SACRIFICIAL LAMB to which she goes ok, ill wait outside here for ytou guys. and then she does, she waits two hours and then a girl holding a bunny rabbit goes by and says 'why arent you saving your friends? you can do it!" and she goes NO I CANT DO THAT, I MUST WAIT FOR THEM TO RETURN DONT YOU KNOW ANYTHING? I HAVE NO POWER IN ME, I AM WEAK I CANT DO SHIT I SHALL SAVE EVERYONE I LOVE AND EVERYONE I HARDLY KNOW BY STANDING HERE AND CONVERSING WITH A GIRL HOLDING A BUNNY. as stupid as it sounds, this is a very accurate summary of what she says. and then the girl witht he bunny says 'Kate wow youre so strong! you deserve hte underworld!! and Henry!!" to which kate goes OMG I MUST GO IN THERE AND SAVE THE LIVES OF EVERYONE I LOVE AND EVERYONE I HARDLY KNOW so she goes in there and almost kills everyone which is why theres the second epic battle. and when the battle finally happens, it sounds pretty interesting but no, the entire time, we're stuck with kate going OMG IS EVERYONE DYING? HOW CAN I SURVIVE? I SHALL CRY MY HEART OUT. give that thing two minutes then she gets all OMG HENRY I LOVE YOU LET ME SAVE YOU. OUR LOVE WITH NEVER DIE, I WILL INITIATE A KISS WITH YOU EVEN THOUGH YOURE BLEEDING OUT OF YOUR ARSE. MUST SAVE THE LIFE OF EVERYONE I LOVE AND EVERYBODY I HARDLY KNOW.
and then yeah.
thats literally it. the plot is ridiculously cut down to the bone and overly simple. This happens, then This happens, the end.
oh and the ending, its a real cliffhanger. im ont he edge of my seat, just dying to read the next book. im like omgoshomgosh WILL SHE FINALLY DIE?
but seriously, i would not read this series if i were you.
and if you read my entire post to get to here, thank you so much :D
i also forgot to add, the side characters..are hardly side characters. theyre all chaperones for Kate and her HENRY HOLD MY HAND I LOVE YEWWWWWW HUNNY BUNNY BOO moments. like omg, they might as well just be shit under her shoe.
and yeah. im not one to rate a book unless its so amazing that i want to give it 11/10!! But ill rate this one. i give it a -500/10. and im being nice.
seriously, urgh.
1.5 The Goddess Hunt
2. Goddess Interrupted
First off, stay away from this series. :)
ill start with its highlights since there are so few.
The concept is very enticing. i was like woaah why has no one done this before? its basically a mesh of our real world and greek mythlogy. just the thought of it is great. Greek gods and goddesses made readable! It;s basically about this young girl, our age i guess (the reason why i dont know shit about her ill get to later) who moves with her mum into this small town. Her mum is on her last stretch of life after battling cancer for years and the girl thought she'd move with her mum to the place she wants to pass away in peace. There, without any preamble or buildup, she meets this young, mysterious, Edward-like guy who randomly goes "yo, come live with me, if you survive for 6 months through a series of tests, ill make you my goddess and give you immortality". The guy is Hades, God of the Underworld. but for some reason, the author decides to rename him Henry. Because every Greek God should totally have an English name instead. and from there, you have your story. i was meant to blurb it up enticingly to show you the novel's upside, but no, it just sucks too much.
which brings me to the downsides...oh boy the downsides. *rage
IM SO LET DOWN BY THIS BOOK. I was expecting like, some amazing mythic story, with great battles. like come on! Zeus hallllo? where are thy lightning bolts and whatnot? But no, its quite literally a girl being too righteous and worthy.
Lets start with the girl. i cant even recall her name. its something mediocre. Kate! i just spent a while looking that up. Kate Winters. Anyway, yes this girl. NOT ONCE do we get a proper description of what hse looks like. i think at one stage they mention something about short hair. but THATS about it. with any novel, descriptions are necessary, even if you drabble on for ten pages about a tree, ill yawn but at least ill know what the goddamn tree looks like. So with no description, this 2D girl expects me to follow her 2D journey? I did anyway, feeling hopeful about a riveting read.
which brings me to the hero of the story. Henry Something. He getrs a description. a horrible one. brace yourselves for this once guys. its epic, and its used continually throughout the series. Henry every single time gets described as having "eyes of moonlight". okay, 1. what? 2. what does moonlight look like? 3. im imaginign his eyes just being massive balls of white with no pupil. which is really creepy. but she keeps bring these moonlight eyes up as if itll give me nosebleeds. HOW DOES AN EYEBALL LOOK LIKE MOONLIGHT? WHAAT? IS HE A TORCH?
Next we have personality. Kate is very bland and 2D. this character, has no character. From start to finihs, shes all "OH I MUST SAVE THE LIFE OF EVERYONE I LOVE. OH THIS GUY WHO IVE KNOWN FOR ONLY 1 HOUR? ILL KILL MYSELF FOR HIM TOO!" she literally kills herself for everyone like wtf? be a bit real. and shes too righteous. shes very, this girl, will jump in front of a car for an ant crossingthe road. and she does it in a very unjustifiable kind of way. and shes a shit story teller. like, theres no transition or character growth or anything. she'll wake up one morning and start mourning over the fact that henry doesnt love her FOR NO REASON WHATSOEVER. LIKE WHAT?theyre meant to be in love? thanks for the lead up. and throughout the whole series, shes just so pathetic. "WHY WONT YOU LOVE ME HENRY. HOLD MY HAND. HOLD MY HAND. HOLD. MY. HAND. OMG YOU HELD MY HAND. LOVE ME. STOP LOVING THE GIRL YOU'VE BEEN LOVING FOR THE PAST ETERNITY. LOVE ME GRR. *STOMP* LOVE ME. like stfu and go save that ant crossing the road.
and then we have Henry. oh henrry, you so hot. jks. picture a God. now picture a god of the underworld. where the dead transit into their after life when they die. That is what Henry/Hades is in charge of. He rules that underworld. Interesting enough of a character right? WRONG. MY GOSH SO WRONG. Henry spends the entire series walking around. HE JUST WALKS AROUND HIS HOUSE. occasionally he goes "oh Kate, dont leave me!" and then when he feelsl ike it "oh Kate! im trying so hard to love you! give me time!" to which kate replies with "OH BUT HENRY, IVE TRIED SO HARD, I LOVE YOU! PLEASE, LOVE ME! HOLD MY HAND" or some shit like that. == massive face palm. Do your job and be a Greek God. He acts a lot like your average angsty teenager, except the writing is so atrocious that Henry just comes off as childlike.
Which is my next point. The writing. oh gosh, the writing. eyes of moonlight. enough said?
Greek mythology. does the average reader know about every Greek god and goddess ? i sure dont. it wouldve been nice if the author elaborated on why everyones so stunned when someone like Demeter (renamed Diana) walks into the room. That thing iffs me too. the author renmaed all the greek immortals with very common names that just deducts from their 'powerful aura'. theyve got no powers or anything either....all they do is be a slave to Kate. im not even exagerrating. one of them eats Kate's food before just to make sure its not poisoned. LOL == WHO CARES JUST KILL THE BITCH. oh and they spend the entire series going "oh kate, dont worry! Henry loves you so much holy cow he loves you like SOO MUCH, he even looked at you OMGOSH!"
The plot. the plot, had a lot of potential. like i said, greek mythology and the real world! a series of tests a girl must pass in order to become a goddess of the underworld and live FOREVER. you would have an amazing story with amazing subplots and amazing characters and amazing Gods. but omg. throughout the entire novel, you just hate everyone so much for all being so monotonous and identical that every moment they're still alive is painful to watch. i mean read. the plot is very reliant on good characters. there were no good characters. the plot itself was very undeveloped. it was very point A to point B, no in betweens. the tests were so stupid too. GREEK GODS TESTING A MORTAL GIRL HERE, the tests were to quite literally: study for an exam, not sleepwith anyone, share your wardrobe with 1+ person, and not eat a lot of food. there you have it folks, i officially spoiled the entirety of the novel for you. and as stupid as it sounds, that literally was the goddess test. can you see why im so enraged? and btw, that examthat she studied for as part of her goddess test..she failed it LOL, and then she full started crying and throwing herself into a river. until Henry comes along and randomly starts going "no kate, please stay, ill try to love you" like what? and then kate goes "okay Henry, hold me" or osme shit. to which im also like whaat?
And theres this massive battle against THE TITANS, who are much stronger than the Gods. like they're epically strong, (author's description of them: thick fog -yeh wtf right?) and the gods spendtwo months planning this epic battle. you know what Kate, whos POV we have to follow, does the entire two months? she plans to initiate a kiss with henry for the first time. and she complains about the epic battle that might kill him for getting in the way. LOL like hwat? im interested int he batle here, not your barren love life. whats even funnier is that she was motivated to kiss him becuase she busted him kissing the girl he'd loved for the past eternity of his immortality. can you be any more pathetic?
LOL and then once hte battle begins, she randomly gets all "I MUST SAVE THE DAY, NOBODY CAN STOP ME, I SHALL ENTER THIS BATTLE AND SAVE THE LIFE OF EVEYRONE I HARDLY KNOW". whats even funnier is that the battle is in place because she randomly walked into another battle earlier. like, earlier she had reached this palce where she saw the drama and she was like OMG MUST SAVE EVEYRONE I LOVE AND EVERYONE I HARDLY KNOW! and her Godly friends were all NO KATE YOU MUST SAVE YOURSELF, STAY HERE AND WE'LL GO IN AS SACRIFICIAL LAMB to which she goes ok, ill wait outside here for ytou guys. and then she does, she waits two hours and then a girl holding a bunny rabbit goes by and says 'why arent you saving your friends? you can do it!" and she goes NO I CANT DO THAT, I MUST WAIT FOR THEM TO RETURN DONT YOU KNOW ANYTHING? I HAVE NO POWER IN ME, I AM WEAK I CANT DO SHIT I SHALL SAVE EVERYONE I LOVE AND EVERYONE I HARDLY KNOW BY STANDING HERE AND CONVERSING WITH A GIRL HOLDING A BUNNY. as stupid as it sounds, this is a very accurate summary of what she says. and then the girl witht he bunny says 'Kate wow youre so strong! you deserve hte underworld!! and Henry!!" to which kate goes OMG I MUST GO IN THERE AND SAVE THE LIVES OF EVERYONE I LOVE AND EVERYONE I HARDLY KNOW so she goes in there and almost kills everyone which is why theres the second epic battle. and when the battle finally happens, it sounds pretty interesting but no, the entire time, we're stuck with kate going OMG IS EVERYONE DYING? HOW CAN I SURVIVE? I SHALL CRY MY HEART OUT. give that thing two minutes then she gets all OMG HENRY I LOVE YOU LET ME SAVE YOU. OUR LOVE WITH NEVER DIE, I WILL INITIATE A KISS WITH YOU EVEN THOUGH YOURE BLEEDING OUT OF YOUR ARSE. MUST SAVE THE LIFE OF EVERYONE I LOVE AND EVERYBODY I HARDLY KNOW.
and then yeah.
thats literally it. the plot is ridiculously cut down to the bone and overly simple. This happens, then This happens, the end.
oh and the ending, its a real cliffhanger. im ont he edge of my seat, just dying to read the next book. im like omgoshomgosh WILL SHE FINALLY DIE?
but seriously, i would not read this series if i were you.
and if you read my entire post to get to here, thank you so much :D
i also forgot to add, the side characters..are hardly side characters. theyre all chaperones for Kate and her HENRY HOLD MY HAND I LOVE YEWWWWWW HUNNY BUNNY BOO moments. like omg, they might as well just be shit under her shoe.
and yeah. im not one to rate a book unless its so amazing that i want to give it 11/10!! But ill rate this one. i give it a -500/10. and im being nice.
seriously, urgh.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
phone snooping, shame on you
hello all! how is everyone? the weather has been very cold and rainy today (by our standards: shit). my hair got a good dousing of acid rain. nothing like some more chemicals to help me bald a little faster.
but anyways, i don't understand phone snooping. a few friends have been looking through my phone messages these past weeks, months i dunno and i am darn right annoyed. and im annoyed at myself too for having such a delayed reaction to it. and for even giving them the benefit of the doubt.
what shits me the most though isnt that you're going through my texts - i've got nothing to hide. Its the fact that you attempt to cover it up. like 1. im not that stupid and 2. you're not being suspicious at all. not only that though, but it tells me that you're breaching your own values, that you KNOW what you're doing is wrong, but you're doing it anyway. and you're doing it to ME. thank you for that confirmation of our mutual trust, comrade.
dont complain about not being able to trust or respect people when you cant even respect my trust and respect in you. a huge part of me wants to go "please dont look through my messages, why?" *RAGE, but the part that controls my actions wants to let it go. in friendship, relationships, anything, you shouldnt have to voice something as simple as that. i want to see how low you can go. cause actions like these say a lot - a lot more than hugs and kisses would. if you respected me enough, or respected me at all, simple things like this shouldnt have to be said.
(its like..cheating. when you have a boyfriend for example, you shouldnt have to keep an eye on him or tell him to be faithful. if he cheats, dont evne bother to stop it. just discard. someone who respects you enough wont, orr the bastard will at least break up with you first. lol massive side track)
your attempt at covering up is an admission of fault. you know you just did something iw ouldnt appreciate. that kind of shits me. if you were clueless about how people perceive text scouring to be a breach of privacy, then okay, ill drop it like its nothing. but to know and do it anyway? it says a lot about who you are as a person. im not a wonderfully perfect friend or anything - im far from it, but i still can't even fathom looking through my friend's texts in that kind of way, or even looking through his/her phone in general. its like..so blatantly obvious that you just dont do that shit to a friend. (trolling i can understand - a bit too well)
and i question your motives. let me assure you: no i do not work for the government, no i dont text any famous people, no im not spreading hate about you, no im not a social butterfly with deets on the next party, no 'messages - inbox' is not the same as 'safari', no i do not know the President Barack Obama (i can see why you'd thinkwe're bffls though), and no my friends wont appreciate you reading my texts with them. if you like reading so much, go read a book. maybe a spicy detective novel could pique your interest? or 50 shades of grey? (spoiler: theres a phone snooping scene. she feels horrible for doing it, but it was an accident. argument ensues anyway)
under this layer of mandatory annoyance that i feel, i silently feel weirdly entertained too. are you insecure? whats wrong bub?
or maybe you want my weaknesses? ill just list em right here for your convenience: i will most likely die if you stab my vital organs, other than that im superman. ive never really though about my weaknesses.
dont you dare hurt my friends.
or maybe you want to know my friends. feel free to! just as a quick tip, i think they keep texts for their eyes only
or maybe you're just bored. even then, covering it up makes it all look a bit i dunno. you cant blame me for going huh? (followed by URGHHHH ARGH)
and yeah. i feel so much better. it didnt make me sad or anything, just highly frustrated by your actions. and now i feel better. i feel, free from worry. and btw, if you're gonna keep prying when you think i dont know, feel free to keep doing so, just know that ill know. no one should really have to control the way someone treats their trust. so im not gonna attempt to change you. you wont be seeing a lot of me though.
and by 'you', i dont mean you personally. unless you're reading this and feeling guilty and/or enraged that ive insulted you..then yes, you is you. and if youre feeling enraged, HOW DARE YOU! i trusted you! we're over! lol jks, bit too dramatic. but srsly, why are you angry?
and not to sound so pompous and shit (bet that made me sound pompous and shit) but i forgive you. as in i dont hate your guts or any of that shit. you're the one losing your face here, not me. i will not however, forgive your actions. ill remember it.
but anyways, i don't understand phone snooping. a few friends have been looking through my phone messages these past weeks, months i dunno and i am darn right annoyed. and im annoyed at myself too for having such a delayed reaction to it. and for even giving them the benefit of the doubt.
what shits me the most though isnt that you're going through my texts - i've got nothing to hide. Its the fact that you attempt to cover it up. like 1. im not that stupid and 2. you're not being suspicious at all. not only that though, but it tells me that you're breaching your own values, that you KNOW what you're doing is wrong, but you're doing it anyway. and you're doing it to ME. thank you for that confirmation of our mutual trust, comrade.
dont complain about not being able to trust or respect people when you cant even respect my trust and respect in you. a huge part of me wants to go "please dont look through my messages, why?" *RAGE, but the part that controls my actions wants to let it go. in friendship, relationships, anything, you shouldnt have to voice something as simple as that. i want to see how low you can go. cause actions like these say a lot - a lot more than hugs and kisses would. if you respected me enough, or respected me at all, simple things like this shouldnt have to be said.
(its like..cheating. when you have a boyfriend for example, you shouldnt have to keep an eye on him or tell him to be faithful. if he cheats, dont evne bother to stop it. just discard. someone who respects you enough wont, orr the bastard will at least break up with you first. lol massive side track)
your attempt at covering up is an admission of fault. you know you just did something iw ouldnt appreciate. that kind of shits me. if you were clueless about how people perceive text scouring to be a breach of privacy, then okay, ill drop it like its nothing. but to know and do it anyway? it says a lot about who you are as a person. im not a wonderfully perfect friend or anything - im far from it, but i still can't even fathom looking through my friend's texts in that kind of way, or even looking through his/her phone in general. its like..so blatantly obvious that you just dont do that shit to a friend. (trolling i can understand - a bit too well)
and i question your motives. let me assure you: no i do not work for the government, no i dont text any famous people, no im not spreading hate about you, no im not a social butterfly with deets on the next party, no 'messages - inbox' is not the same as 'safari', no i do not know the President Barack Obama (i can see why you'd thinkwe're bffls though), and no my friends wont appreciate you reading my texts with them. if you like reading so much, go read a book. maybe a spicy detective novel could pique your interest? or 50 shades of grey? (spoiler: theres a phone snooping scene. she feels horrible for doing it, but it was an accident. argument ensues anyway)
under this layer of mandatory annoyance that i feel, i silently feel weirdly entertained too. are you insecure? whats wrong bub?
or maybe you want my weaknesses? ill just list em right here for your convenience: i will most likely die if you stab my vital organs, other than that im superman. ive never really though about my weaknesses.
dont you dare hurt my friends.
or maybe you want to know my friends. feel free to! just as a quick tip, i think they keep texts for their eyes only
or maybe you're just bored. even then, covering it up makes it all look a bit i dunno. you cant blame me for going huh? (followed by URGHHHH ARGH)
and yeah. i feel so much better. it didnt make me sad or anything, just highly frustrated by your actions. and now i feel better. i feel, free from worry. and btw, if you're gonna keep prying when you think i dont know, feel free to keep doing so, just know that ill know. no one should really have to control the way someone treats their trust. so im not gonna attempt to change you. you wont be seeing a lot of me though.
and by 'you', i dont mean you personally. unless you're reading this and feeling guilty and/or enraged that ive insulted you..then yes, you is you. and if youre feeling enraged, HOW DARE YOU! i trusted you! we're over! lol jks, bit too dramatic. but srsly, why are you angry?
and not to sound so pompous and shit (bet that made me sound pompous and shit) but i forgive you. as in i dont hate your guts or any of that shit. you're the one losing your face here, not me. i will not however, forgive your actions. ill remember it.
Sunday, August 5, 2012
The Fault in our Stars - John Green
spoilers. lots of it. all of it. so dont read. i just want to blog.
my good friend Kath lent me her book this Friday. I'd given John Green a go before - Looking for Alaska. it was boring. The guy spent most of the book (by most i mean the entire book spare the first few pages where he doesnt know her) obsessing with the girl. So i was quite skeptical about this one. Until i read it. I fell in love from the very first paragraph. how often does that happen? but i fell head first in love with the book. its beautifully written. i havent read a beautifully written book in a while LMAO.
and like, you could tell it wasnt a book to make you smile. like, from the start, there was this sense of impending doom and unforgettable, torturous memories. my heart was broken. like, it was a given the protagonist was going to die, but to kill off the hero before so? what hope left is there
The loss of Augustus was a great loss. it was os heartbreaking, becuase he was so lively. he was EVERYWHERE. her world was bleak, until he came along. and from there, he basically wrote out her happiness for her, his phone calls, his plans, his Wish, his love, his cured cancer. he set down everything for her and you see this girl liven up and become stronger. you see a streak of happiness midst her doomed for life, and then he dies. and oh god, he does not just die either, he loses himself before he dies. he becomes useless, lifeless, he vomits. vomitting always does it for me. i hate the notion of vomitting. its disgusting. he puked all over himself. that was so devestating. his path to death was so scary and sudden. the descriptions of his demise was so horrific and subtle in a graphic kind of way.
this isnt a book i want to forget, but im never reading a john green book ever again! its so depressing! like, this goes down as one of the greater novels i've read, and im glad to have read it, BUT ITS SO TRAGIC. i cannot read it a second time. i want to but i wont. its so sad.
i want to jot down some moments that really hung on to me. cause im never touching this book again but i dont want to let it go. theyre not particularly gripping scenes, but it just really stood outfor me. am i allowed to quote?
"Some infinities are larger than other infinities" math applied to life :O from 1 to 2 = an infinite of numbers. eg. 1.1, 1.1111, 1.11111111, 1.12222 etc. and then we have the concept infinity. an infinity inside an infinity. so you have a time in which you know someone. me and you lets say, we know each other 1 year. so from 0 to 1 year = infinite time. which is our little infinity inside an infinity.
"I sat down on the bed expecting him to join me, but he hunkered down in the dusty paisley chair. That chair." - that chair made me cry. dont know why. that rhyyyyyy(mes)
"I lit up like a Christmas tree, Hazel Grace. The lining of my chest, my left hip, my liver, everywhere." i dunno, the imagery.
'He puked, without even the energy to turn his mouth away from his lap' he vomitted. the entire scene was tragic. its weird, reading knowing that he and she will die, but reading on anyway.
The fact that he wrote a eulogy for her before he died.
And yeah. Its so tragic, and the end of the novel doesnt even provide any comfort or hope for us either, just with the resounding message of death. you canbe a great person, and then you can die. and when you die, some people will remember you, but they will die too.
my good friend Kath lent me her book this Friday. I'd given John Green a go before - Looking for Alaska. it was boring. The guy spent most of the book (by most i mean the entire book spare the first few pages where he doesnt know her) obsessing with the girl. So i was quite skeptical about this one. Until i read it. I fell in love from the very first paragraph. how often does that happen? but i fell head first in love with the book. its beautifully written. i havent read a beautifully written book in a while LMAO.
and like, you could tell it wasnt a book to make you smile. like, from the start, there was this sense of impending doom and unforgettable, torturous memories. my heart was broken. like, it was a given the protagonist was going to die, but to kill off the hero before so? what hope left is there
The loss of Augustus was a great loss. it was os heartbreaking, becuase he was so lively. he was EVERYWHERE. her world was bleak, until he came along. and from there, he basically wrote out her happiness for her, his phone calls, his plans, his Wish, his love, his cured cancer. he set down everything for her and you see this girl liven up and become stronger. you see a streak of happiness midst her doomed for life, and then he dies. and oh god, he does not just die either, he loses himself before he dies. he becomes useless, lifeless, he vomits. vomitting always does it for me. i hate the notion of vomitting. its disgusting. he puked all over himself. that was so devestating. his path to death was so scary and sudden. the descriptions of his demise was so horrific and subtle in a graphic kind of way.
this isnt a book i want to forget, but im never reading a john green book ever again! its so depressing! like, this goes down as one of the greater novels i've read, and im glad to have read it, BUT ITS SO TRAGIC. i cannot read it a second time. i want to but i wont. its so sad.
i want to jot down some moments that really hung on to me. cause im never touching this book again but i dont want to let it go. theyre not particularly gripping scenes, but it just really stood outfor me. am i allowed to quote?
"Some infinities are larger than other infinities" math applied to life :O from 1 to 2 = an infinite of numbers. eg. 1.1, 1.1111, 1.11111111, 1.12222 etc. and then we have the concept infinity. an infinity inside an infinity. so you have a time in which you know someone. me and you lets say, we know each other 1 year. so from 0 to 1 year = infinite time. which is our little infinity inside an infinity.
"I sat down on the bed expecting him to join me, but he hunkered down in the dusty paisley chair. That chair." - that chair made me cry. dont know why. that rhyyyyyy(mes)
"I lit up like a Christmas tree, Hazel Grace. The lining of my chest, my left hip, my liver, everywhere." i dunno, the imagery.
'He puked, without even the energy to turn his mouth away from his lap' he vomitted. the entire scene was tragic. its weird, reading knowing that he and she will die, but reading on anyway.
The fact that he wrote a eulogy for her before he died.
And yeah. Its so tragic, and the end of the novel doesnt even provide any comfort or hope for us either, just with the resounding message of death. you canbe a great person, and then you can die. and when you die, some people will remember you, but they will die too.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
i cannot focus atm.
too much shit to learn. i wave my white flag, pharmacology cannot be crammed. we'll see how i fare tmr. i want nothing more right now than to eat or sleep or watch yt or read or just chill. i think one usually calls this a "break". i want a break. i want a break up. no one to dump goddammit. (when the test is over tmr though, none of this crimetalk remains valid)
i really want to just lay in bed and read. sigh. i dont usually struggle so fucking much with cramming, but nerves, for some odd reason, ALWAYS screw me over. from the first time i learnt baout them till now, eveyrthing is just so new. you could tell me the same information every year and although itll sound the same to my ears, itll be a whole different story in my head.
so, somatic nervous system issss i cant even remmeber that. voluntary control? the other branch escapes me. peripheral? yeah, im screwed for tmr. and like, its not even worth that much marks i dont think. i just dont want to fail. i dont want to do badly. even if im bad at it, i dont want to do badly. lol. i just dont want to do badly. i dont expect perfection, but i always expect something.. not bad. pharmacology ended up being my lowest scoring subject last semester (seven two parrrcentto). this semester, i will sit here, do nothing, then try for something a little higher. i say 'little higher' cause imbeing conservative (accounting life lesson), and cause i know im setting an unattainable goal. someone make leisure time less enjoyable so that i can find some solace in studying pleaaase. even now when i should be studying, im blogging about studying. i only have another 8 lecture slides to go, BUT I CANT GO ONNNN, my brain is crawling all over trying to find some strength atm. but alas, i am defeated. i feel like i should crack an ironic 'nerve' joke somewhere, but i cant even muster any strength for that. i can only talk. via my fingers. LOL what does that even mean. it means typing.
i want to add a picture here to finish off. something extravagant and day-making. but my brain is telling me to not be so ambitious.
BOOM SHAKALAKA
i really want to just lay in bed and read. sigh. i dont usually struggle so fucking much with cramming, but nerves, for some odd reason, ALWAYS screw me over. from the first time i learnt baout them till now, eveyrthing is just so new. you could tell me the same information every year and although itll sound the same to my ears, itll be a whole different story in my head.
so, somatic nervous system issss i cant even remmeber that. voluntary control? the other branch escapes me. peripheral? yeah, im screwed for tmr. and like, its not even worth that much marks i dont think. i just dont want to fail. i dont want to do badly. even if im bad at it, i dont want to do badly. lol. i just dont want to do badly. i dont expect perfection, but i always expect something.. not bad. pharmacology ended up being my lowest scoring subject last semester (seven two parrrcentto). this semester, i will sit here, do nothing, then try for something a little higher. i say 'little higher' cause imbeing conservative (accounting life lesson), and cause i know im setting an unattainable goal. someone make leisure time less enjoyable so that i can find some solace in studying pleaaase. even now when i should be studying, im blogging about studying. i only have another 8 lecture slides to go, BUT I CANT GO ONNNN, my brain is crawling all over trying to find some strength atm. but alas, i am defeated. i feel like i should crack an ironic 'nerve' joke somewhere, but i cant even muster any strength for that. i can only talk. via my fingers. LOL what does that even mean. it means typing.
i want to add a picture here to finish off. something extravagant and day-making. but my brain is telling me to not be so ambitious.
BOOM SHAKALAKA
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