NaNoWriMo

November is National Novel Writing Month. The rules are write at least 50, 000 words during November. And it can't be one word (or two I am assuming) repeated over and over and over and over and over and over and over again. There are no prizes except the feeling of achievement on the first of December (some people have had their novels published though). To join up, click here.

The Time Traveller's Wife

I read The Time Traveller's Wife today. I saw the preview for the movie and it looked great (starring Rachel McAdams and Eric Banna) and I hate to see a movie without reading the novel first. I really liked the way it started off. It was excellent and I was hooked. I loved the first part of it but toward the end, I found my self disliking; probably, because I knew that it couldn't end well. Even though I hoped to the end.... Also it may have been because I could relate better during the beginning. Clare and Henry were younger, in their twenties and it focused a lot on the time that Henry spent with Clare in the Meadow, when she was a child. As the book progressed, the themes became more adult, describing pain I couldn't begin to imagine (how clichéd!).

The movie... even from the two minutes of the trailer I saw, looks rather different. Clare looks less accepting of Henry's 'condition' and it looks very lovey-dovey but at the same time 'how can you do this to me?' and like the whole film is going to be very packed full of emotion. I'm hoping that it will be very different to the book. Why? I hate it when books are kind of the same but not the same enough. It is better when they are so different that you can view them as completely different works with a crazily similar story line.

Sister Talk

Ater watching Welcome to the Gilmore Girls with my sister Sam, she annouced that apparently, we talk really fast to one another. Her friend had pointed it out the other day, saying how it was kind of annoying because though we speak at a normal speed to other people, sometimes she can hardly unerstand what we are saying to each other. Now that felt very cool. Though most of the time I am more annoyed at my sister than nice to her, I do love her a lot and that we have this special connection to each other feels very... reassuring. Like even if no one else gets you, she'll always be there to understand my really fast speech

Looking back, there ehave been times when my mum has said, 'slow down, I didn't get anything you just said' but I have understood and I translate for them. But I am sure I will forget how special this feels and how much I do love Sam the minute she starts to annoy me or I want some quiet time to read.

I like the way you walk....

Ever noticed that the way you walk is sometimes determined on what you are wearing. Tonight, for example, I am wearing a skirt, t-shirt and cardi with Converses. After arriving home with Mum from a movie (Julie & Julia) I skipped merrily down the drive way and burst in the door. Last night, I went to go see a play (I’m sad to say, High School Musical 2, my friend was in it, don’t be too harsh) and over-dressed a little. I wore a cute little dress with high-heeled boots and very funky tights and a coat and I sort of, strutted down the drive way, feeling very cool and sophisticated.

I am a little on the short side and whenever I wear heels, I just sort of feel… special? I’m not sure but, maybe a little more important, a little cooler. Like I could be admired.

Make-up used to feel the same way. And then I got really bad acne and it just became a way to feel normal. Or semi-beautiful instead of spotty and pus. Because sometimes it becomes hard to tell yourself that everyone gets pimples because all around you there are ads and magazines showing you that, no, people don’t get pimples. At least not people worth noticing. So , therefore you are not worth noticing. Even the cool people at school don’t have acne. Maybe its just because they are all on the pill so the don’t get pregnant from sleeping around with one another.

Julie & Julia was good. My mum, friend and friend’s mum really enjoyed it (thank you CineAds, we really enjoyed the free tickets. Q: Why didn’t we get free booze and a name tag like everyone else? Goddamnit I love name tags!) I’m not sure if I enjoyed it; I think that Julie reminded me to much of myself. And since everyone was calling her a self-centred narcissistic bitch, it’s not a god thing. Also, the happiness portrayed between her and her husband, Eric, was marred for me because I was looking it up online and her second novel was about how she cheated on him with a butcher.

Apparently, I am a literary genius, as is my little sister, who is twelve. And all because I wrote a poem for her before I took her into town and took her to see a movie. I have been feeloing clever today though. Spotted a lot of mundane things that I am not going to bother explaining. You really want to know… okay then.

1. Grace, at my mum’s work, just announced she is pregnant. She is already showing at 10 weeks. My suggestion, she has already been pregnant.
2. At the movie. Emily asks ‘why the name tags?’. I reply ‘so the servers know who gets free wine and canapés’.

And there was something else that I just can’t remember. Oh.

Emily: ‘How much do you think the drinks will be?’

Me: ‘More than three dollars.’

Emily: ‘Why?’

Me: ‘Because they offer them as a special deal for three dollars so obviously they are more. I say four.’

Guess how much? $4.

And that was my very interesting day today. Hope you enjoyed.

Book Blogger Appreciation Week Meme

So I suppose it is a little late for this but I am going to do it anyway.

Do you snack while you read? If so, favorite reading snack?

Always. Whatever I can get at the time, but generally some chocolate or a spoonful of Nutella.
Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of
writing in books horrify you?

In books for classes.
How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears?

A scrap of anything on hand. Or I just remember where I am. I hate dog-ears, especially in my own books.
Laying the book flat open?

Yes, all the time.
Fiction, Non-fiction, or both?

Fiction
Hard copy or audiobooks?

Hard copy first. Audio books are okay if I have already read the book.
Are you a person who tends to read to the end of chapters, or are you able to put a book down at any point?

At a point where the book is a little dull. I try for end of chapters though.
If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop to look it up right away?

Sometimes. Sometimes I just write it down to look up later.
What are you currently reading?

Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger
What is the last book you bought?

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (for my little sister)
Are you the type of person that only reads one book at a time or can you read more than one at a time?

Multiple books... but only if they don't have my super interested. If I like a book, it is usually finished within 24 hours.
Do you have a favorite time of day and/or place to read?

Wherever. Whenever.
Do you prefer series books or stand alone books?

Either. Series books don't leave you wondering about the characters. You also get to know the characters (which is why Hermione Granger is my best friend) but it is annoying when you have to wait for the next one to come out.
Is there a specific book or author that you find yourself recommending over and over?

Generally whatever I am reading at the time I love. On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta is a book I always come back to.
How do you organize your books? (By genre, title, author’s last name, etc.?)

Wherever they can fit in my bedroom. Series stay together but other than that.... there is no order.

The Sweet Far Thing

So I was very quite late on the last Wednesday of term. And it was because I sat in town reading until i had finished my book even though I told very cool Mr. Jones that it was because I slept in after staying up too late reading. Oh, I also went a little crazy and bought my sister $50 worth of books for no reason apart from the fact I love her. I am saving two of them for Christmas. Anyway, Mr. Jones said I had to have a review of the book that i told him was 'very engaging' on his desk by the end of that day. Instead, I went home and like the little nerd girl that I am, wrote the review. And i have to share it somewhere... so here it is.

The Sweet Far Thing

By Libba Bray

Dymocks, $27.95 (hardcover)

Gemma and her friends return in the third instalment of Libba Bray’s Gemma Doyle Trilogy. As their days at Spence Academy come to end, Gemma and Felicity prepare to become ladies of society and Ann resigns herself to the role of governess. Gemma still has a long journey of self-discovery ahead – we can only hope that a certain Indian boy will come by soon to give her a helping hand.

In the realms, the forest creatures stir, coveting Gemma’s power. The Winterlands are dangerously quiet; its creatures remain unseen. Pippa, trapped forever, continues to gnaw at Gemma’s conscience, as does a returning teacher of the Order. Advice some from every direction but unsure of the truth, Gemma turns to an enemy, supposedly dead, for answers. The magic has become a burden and the creatures of the realm are restless, anxious for their share. The magic, safely bound to Gemma is freed, threatening to release chaos into the realms and rigid Victorian society.

The story progresses slowly, 800 pages drag and the beautiful Kartik is slow to appear. London society has become tedious, not only to Gemma with her new feminist opinions but also to the readers, as Simon Middleton is seen as infrequently as British sunlight. Gemma, Felicity and Ann have rather modern views for girls of the 19^th century and successfully free themselves from the strictures of society – despite this, they remain rather untouched by the events of the trilogy. A Great and Terrible Beauty and Rebel Angels make Libba Bray’s series enjoyable but The Sweet Far Thing provides a slow ending and is a far cry from the New York Time bestseller standard of her previous novels.

Oh My God!

OH MY GOD!!!!!!!

NEXT YEAR WE ARE GOING OVERSEAS!!!
i am so excited!!
eeeeeeeeeek!!
damn! i just laughed like claire does. stupid cheese.
i am one very happy "sick" girl!!!

Europe here we come!!!!!!!!
i can't wait!!!