The Lost Symbol

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown was pretty darn cool. One of those books that really makes you think. It introduced me to this whole new science called Noetic Science. Or something. Basically it explains the idea that thoughts have mass and therefore have an effect on gravity, the weather, etc. It also taught me a bunch about Washington and the Stonemasons.

This thick book is set over a day. ONLY ONE DAY. That, and the fact that the chapters are super short, you zoom through the book pretty quickly. I’d been pretty keen on reading it because Papa has been reading it since march last year and therefore it’s been out and around a lot, taunting me.( if you are thinking ‘hey, he didn’t zoom through it!’ he did, actually. It’s probably the first book he has persisted with ).

There was this one bit which I’m going to tell you about despite the fact that it is in fact a spoiler. The main character guy was put in a fibreglass coffin and drowned. So at this stage you are all ‘what the actual fuck. You can’t kill the main character. That’s cheating’. Turns out it’s not water but some super substance you can breathe. WEIRD RIGHT?!. But I want to try it. I think it would be very much like being a fish. I want that experience.

I’m thinking 4 stars. It was pretty entertaining, but not brilliant. Dan Brown always makes me think and I do appreciate that.

Gone

Gone by Mo Hayder was genius. I love her writing. It’s so gory and graphic and unafraid. This was another Jack Cafferey book which is a brilliant thing as I love these characters. This one was different though because I could see it coming. Mo Hayder usually surprises me ( and to be honest, most thriller mysteries do ) but I guessed who it was before the end. I’m extremely proud of this fact.

I bought this book in Heathrow airport. I was so pissed with the situation I was in I was ready to break noses but I refrained. I’d just waited around for hours and the crappy bookstore was packed and they didn’t have the sequel of the book I just finished and GAH. Stab them all. I finished most of it on the plane.

5 stars because she is amazing and the book is amazing and the character development is amazing AND SO MUCH AMAZINGNESS. Read it. Or her other stuff. Or all of her stuff. NOW.

vampire academy

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead was an amazing series. Not only were they cheap books there was some quality writing in these. M and E have/are reading them and also like them. I started them while I was in Tamworth. I actually ran around unsuccessfully, desperately trying to find the next one for the train home.

The main character is kick-ass, which was definitely overdue since the books I’ve been reading lately have had really wimpy girls who rant and complain about shit all. She can win in a fight, stands up for what she believes in and doesn’t take other people’s drama.

It was a different take on the whole vamp saga. It’s an overdone genre, first to admit it. But I do love vampire fiction. They tend to focus on forbidden love too much though. Vampire academy had this but a whole different spin on it. It also had the mysticism and magik done in such a way that it was interesting and captivating.

I did not like the fact that the author assumed we are all thick and therefore had to spell everything out. Our ‘oh cool’ moment was two chapters before the characters ‘oh cool’ moment. So you did hate the characters sometimes, the whole ‘you idiot! It’s so flipping obvious!’ moments. But, in contrast, she did chuck in a bunch of extreme story line changes that I did not see coming from the beginning.

Weird fact I feel like sharing: one of the characters just randomly has a name change in the last book. Apparently the printing here and in the Americas wasn't in synch so we got two names for one guy. There was an explanation at the start of the last book, which was such an "ah, this is why the books are under 15$ and available at woolworths" moment.

5 stars, my friends. I’ll read it again and I’ll recommend it again. I may even lend it again like I did with E but I’ll probs read them again before that. They are that good. Especially because it’s not sugar coated. It’s realistic despite the fact it’s fantasy.

p.s. I've stopped counting the books I've read for the title. It's just making me a little crazy so titles it is. Also, on the train to and from uni I've been typing up about the books I've read and then just forgotten to post it when I get home. Which is just dumb. So that's why there are about 4 book related posts in a row...

book #11

When I was adventuring in Tamworth I did quite a bit of reading and therefore ran out of books to read before my multiple hour train trip home. I borrowed "Crawlers" by John Shirley to read on the way home. Just clearing the air, my Pop reads science fiction. And that's about it. I was tossing up between this and another about aliens in love with bacteria or something, so I went with this one.

I'm all for stepping outside the norm every once in a while, but theres stepping and then there's leaping off the cliff of normalcy. This book started with a guy peeing himself because his mutant colleague is about to kill him. Yes. I was reading this on a train, next to a snobby old lady, trying not to laugh out loud at the ridiculousness.

The sad thing is I've read a book similar to this before. Nanotechnology taking over doesn't really have far to stretch out originality wise. Although this one used organic matter ( ie people ) as part of their make up and evolution process which was new. The idea of my parents being taken over by robots and then posing as my parents is mildly terrifying. It was decently written though. I ripped through it, so that's a plus.

I'm thinking 2.5 stars. Mostly because I want people to read it despite it's ridiculous nature. It's more a "read this, it's hilarious!", rather than a "read this, it's brilliant!".

book #10

So first off the numbers are so ridiculously wrong. The last one was 16ish books in one post minus the ones I already wrote about. Also, the drop down, you've already written this, helpful thing said #7 and then #9. So either the computer is fucking up or I've fucked up. I prefer to blame the computer.

Secondly, this actually about three books, just to confuse you further. I know it's a pic of one book but it's the Evernight series, right? named after the first book. So three books. Evernight, Stargazer and Hourglass. By Claudia Grey. Grandmother dearest bought me the third one so I felt compelled to read them all again.

The first reading is SO MUCH BETTER. Especially in the first one, about half way through you feel the need to actually yell WTF??!?!?!?! YOU TOTALLY GOT ME. But in the second reading you're like... I'm such an idiot for not realising. How did I not see that? Fuck. This is technically at least my third reading of the first one, but besides the point.

This series actually shits me. The guy and the girl are hopelessly in love, living in completely separate worlds but determined to make it work. ERGH. In my opinion relationships are made out of convenience in most circumstances. You're not going to go out of your way to date someone who wants to murder you're parents. Long distance at that. Did I mention that I'm really not a romantic??

There's another book, to be released next year. The third book was a slight cliff hanger but I was too busy yelling internally "FUCKING WHAT?? THATS ACTUALLY BEYOND STUPID. WHY WOULD YOU WRITE THAT?". So yeah. Great series. Nah, I just hate the direction it took. And the main character's sappiness. Which is another way of saying I just hate the main character and the story line. Hmph.

Ok. The HOLY SHIT I DID NOT SEE THAT COMING writing style. That I am quite a fan of. I am slightly convinced that I might be the only one who didn't see it though. Which is sad but there you go. I'm going to stop repeating myself now.

3 1/2 stars! yeah cool. I'm reading Harry Potter now. It's still pretty awesome, the 50th-ish time. I got called Harry on the train by some lads who hit on me and then tried to convince me to read the sports news in the paper instead. They said some other terrifying stuff but it shouldn't really be repeated. Ever. Oh, the exciting life I lead...

PS technically the author has some other name. Claudia Grey isn't her real name. My question is: If you went to the effort of putting a fake name on the cover of your book, would you tell everyone your real name at the end of the book? I'd think not.

MuchLove

book #9

So remember all that time ago, when I was gushing about how much I loved Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series?? Well I've finished them now. I think. It's mildly confusing as the author refuses to stop. So I might have to read more in the future. But for now, I don't. Which I'm actually grateful for. They ended up getting mildly repetitive and predictable. Each book was porn and violence with a lack of story line. It got frustrating after a while. Probably not one to recommend to young readers.

Also, the main character has this hang up with morality I couldn't relate to in the slightest. She runs around killing vampires, helping police with brutal murders and sleeps with about 12 different guys at once and then bitches a lot. We get that you have a conscience. I don't really care. Move on. I guess people with some sort of moral high ground would end up hating Anita if the author didn't include the "I may be a slutty murderer but I do it for the good of human-kind. Amen" bit.

WHAT ELSE?? the whole zombie bit got ignored SO much. I liked that bit. It seemed the bits I liked got brushed over a bit. LAME. OH!! the other thing that shits me about this series is that she's this kick ass character who can actually run and jump without passing out. WHY CAN'T I DO THAT?? Well technically I know the answer to that, so my real question is WHY CAN'T I WAKE UP TOMORROW WITH THOSE SKILLS?? please? Promise I'll bitch less than Anita did.

There was one book in particular which was the most terrible. I can't remember what the title was, but basically the whole story line was based on this awkward coincidence. It was really odd. I was expecting a 'jk, we actually did it on purpose, coincidences like that are SO ridiculous'. It didn't happen. And then my fav was... not sure actually. Maybe the last one? The ones without Richard in it. He is the most annoying character in the history of characters ever. SO GODDAMN ANNOYING. He just rocks up and fucks everything up. Not even exaggerating. All the other characters seem to grow. HE GETS WORSE.

I've probably complained enough now. 3 1/2 stars. It had redeeming factors. Like the first 6 books.

MuchLove.

movie #9

Second movie was Robin Hood. We weren't quite as excited for this movie as the first one. I was at that sleepy stage where I wasn't very good at following what was going on, and I needed to because I had no idea what was going on. I fell asleep for the epic battle scene near the end. There were archers and water and boats and people dying and I went to sleep.

I thought Robin Hood was all about taking from the rich and giving to the poor but this was before he got to the vigilante stage? I guess. It was sorta confusing. It could have been any olde english war story. And I didn't understand the whole relationship with Marian.

The ranga from ER was in it :) made me giggle. He was running around with a cross bow, not saving people in a hospital. Odd.

I'm thinking 2ish stars. I don't feel right judging it, in that I didn't pay close enough attention, as it was 3ish in the morning. And movie seats aren't the most comfortable. Although D letting me put my legs up and moving the arm rest helped ( THANKY!!! ). And don't think I'm cheating in not blogging about the last movie, it was Kick-Ass, which I've already seen! Twas fun seeing it the second time though.

book #8

Love and other four letter words by Carolyn Mackler was cute. The whole young adult fiction genre is odd in that you get some really intelligent complicated plot lines with memorable characters and themes and then you get books like this that have a just too happy ending. Nothing ever lines up that perfectly.

Actually, it was kinda scary. Flash backs to sixth grade, when I was most definitely going to be a writer. It was more of a FUCK OFF, STOP ASKING WHAT I WANT TO BE WHEN I GROW UP. FINE. I'LL BE A WRITER? DOES THAT MAKE YOU HAPPY/SHUT YOU UP? And then suddenly I'm writing stories and going to writing workshops and imagining what the cover of my first published book will look like. Anyway, this book reminded me of this idea I've had for a book. I've had this idea for a really long time. I'm kinda keen on starting writing and seeing where it goes.

Anyhoo... the book. I hate when I can relate to lame main characters. I was able to relate to this chick in some aspects but all the other aspects were SUPER LAME. I don't know what else to tell you. I love that she got to go to New York. She should have been more excited/grateful. Her friends' theory that people look like dogs was cute. I also try and imagine what animal a person would be, just not limiting it to breeds of dogs ( mostly because there are small dogs and big dogs and that's about as far as I get in telling them apart ).

So 3 stars? Yeah. 3 stars. Good stuff.

p.s. I've ben trying to blog about this for a while now. There was uni and then no picture on the net and then utter stubbornness to get my scanner to work. The stubbornness paid off though, I now know how to use it. It's ancient though.

p.p.s. I have decided that once I've finished reading the Anita Blake series I'm re-reading Harry Potter. I can't put into words how excited about this I am. I love Harry Potter. I've been reading fan fiction for too long though and need to get the original plot line straight in my head. And I have all the Harry Potter's so there won't be any interruptions while I seek out the next book :)

book #7

So I'm pretty sure this book is called Erasure. Or Fuck. Whichever. I'll know what you're talking about. It's by Percival Everett. And I did quite enjoy it, even though it was worlds away from what I normally read ( ie. young adult fiction ).

The main character's name was Thelonious. How amazing, right? I want an awkward never-before-heard name. Would be the MOST fun. Especially if I was an almost famous writer.

I liked this book for its odd composure. I just spent 5 mins trying to think of the right word. It's still not right. I shall explain: The author switches between first person to letters to a book within a book and back again. It makes for an interesting read. Ooh and the paper changed with the changes. I found that quite cool.

Little things annoyed me. And then over analysing them annoyed me further. I couldn't work out if the author included these little things to bring attention to the issues or because that was his opinion on the issue.

I have a hard cover version of this book. I don't understand why, but reading hard cover seems more fun. WHY? That's just silly.

4 stars. I enjoyed it but the ending threw me. And they kept chucking in not-english. ARGH, I SPEAK ENGLISH. Not whatever this italicised ness is. WOAH. Ness is a word, according to spell check!? Sorry, so easily side tracked.

death by balloon

List update ( which will slowly but surely turn into a bitch about how crappy I feel about everything at the moment ):

I figured 31). would be cool for when people do World's Greatest Shave or 40Hour Famine or along those lines. But yes, I've been approached about helping someone I went to school with and the whole thing was really vague but I think there was a God angle and at the time I had no money. Like, at all. Like, oh, your hungry? wait til you get home or drink some water because you can't spare the 2$. But the reason I'm thinking about this is because of something I saw on facebook. There was an awareness gathering whatsit in England for Cystic Fibrosis where they were going to release a shit-load of balloons to remember those who suffered and/or died from the disease. Now, I'm not totally heartless, I don't think ( close, but not quite there ), because I had a reaction. Rarely do I feel strongly about anything. The last time I remember getting thingy about an issue that was completely seperate from myself was when Madonna got divorced from Guy Ritchie and they had some ridiculous amount of money that everyone wanted to know about. I got really angry about this. No one should have that kind of money. You can live above and beyond your means with half the money they were talking about. The amount of shit that happens in this world that can be avoided with a bit of money is silly. I'm convinced that Madonna alone could like, halve world hunger. But yeah, passionate about things out of my control, balloons released into the air that looks all pretty and whatnot, BALLOONS ARE MADE OF PLASTIC. Anyone who knows me, knows that I don't really care too much for animals. But the balloons go up, and then they pop, and then they go in the ocean and kill dolphins and whales and penguins. And the people who know me also know I hate talking to strangers. But I emailed them and told them. I told them find better balloons or don't do it. I acted. And I feel good for it. I want them to respond though, that would make me feel better.

On a less serious note, becoming ambidextrous for 42). would be mighty convenient. I could sit on whatever the fuck side of the lecture theatre I wanted. Before I post, I go through my list and make notes on what one's I can write about to pretend I've done something for them, and I've started writing it right-handed. It's really rather messy. But I feel I got my grip on the pen right this time. I'm not patient enough for this. I like writing because it's fast and neat and efficient. I can't write fast nor neat with my right hand. I guess if I get it neat and it feels comfortable I'll be able to cross it off but I don't ever see myself being able to write right-handed fast. At least not in the next 930ish days.

I'm catching the train 3 days a week, which means spending money 3 days a week. Which means I'm getting 20c pieces 3 times a week, so Happy Froggy is filling up fast. I'd take a pic of him to show you all how amazing he is BUT I've temporarily misplaces my SD card ( it's so frikin tiny!! It's asking to be lost and you know it. ). But I recently glued his sides together because he kept splitting. And the 20c pieces come up to his mouth almost.

So I just did a typing test to see how amazing I am at typing to see how far off I am for 69). ( I can't believe I picked typing of all things for 69). How boringishly lame ). I got to type all about Baseball and Astronauts. I typed better about Baseball than I did about Astronauts, which is kinda LOL-able. I got around 40ish wpm for each. Which is crap. I type impressively well. If I didn't compare myself to my freakish mother I'd say I was fast even. 40 wpm is not fast. Maybe I should do it again and to hell with mistakes. And punctuation. No one likes that shit anyway. Do I look at net or gross? I think gross becuase 47 is much more impressive than 39. Why did I pick instructions? that's even worse than Baseball. AGAIN. The Wizard of Oz. No. oh, 49 and 39. I thought I was better than this!! ergh. I have to double my typing speed, practically. You won't even see my fingers, that's how lightning they'll be. Kudos to http://www.typingtest.com/ for telling me just how crap I am.

So I know I said follow three blogs for 76). but I'm all up in the blogging spirit and am following about 5 now. It's the best form of procrastination. Next to MLIA of course.

I need to cross off 78). because I worry too much about money and coping. So I figure if I have a job, I'll have less time to think about my lack of money, less time to spend my money and have more money. win win win. It's tricky getting a job when you don't know where you'll be living in the next month though.

I talked to T, my list adjudicator, and he thinks it's reasonable I write about a series for 93). once I've finished the series. Rather than a ridiculous amount of repetitive blogs. I'll still blog about the first in the series, and then at the end of the series. yay.

And Blogger, I love you right now. I just somehow clicked a link and got taken to a different page ( the pretty dress I want from SES I bookmarked ) and frantically clicked back and expecting the worst but NO! DRAFT PULLED THROUGH AND SAVED THE DAY! So much relief. But stop spacing things weirdly. It's pissing me off.

MuchLove.

book #6

Circus of the Damned by Laurell K. Hamilton is the 3rd book in the series. And still beyond amazing. These blog posts are redundant as they are so darn predictable. You know full well by now that if it's an Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter novel I'm going to be gushing. And I will be continuing to gush for a while to come as there are 15 I believe. I decided to read them in order without other books in between because a) I'm really enjoying them and b) I'd hate to distract myself from the story line. My tendency to pick up vampire books, even unintentionally, might end up being confusing if I start jumping series.

I've put off writing this because I couldn't really think of anything new to say. I'd have to use thesaurus.com to find synonyms for 'amazing' and 'fantastic'. Putting off writing about this one hasn't stopped me from reading though. I'm now up to 6.

You know what? READ IT. Why did I put this on my list? Can I alter it? Can I write about the entire series once I've finished it? I think that would be amazing. After a strange convo with B about not cliff jumping, musicals and other list related activities I realised I need someone to check I'm not cheating. That person is T. He has a list. I see him daily. If I don't see him during an entire day, we've at least talked on the phone, texted or talked while one of us was half asleep and therefore too lazy to open eyes to actually see the other. So yes, I shall talk to T, see if I can be lazy this way. It would benefit all involved I believe. I promise extra long reviews. Comment your opinions on this matter, if you please.

5 stars. Obviously.

I found the right cover this time. I'm quite happy about that :)

book #5

The Laughing Corpse by Laurell K. Hamilton was just as amazing as the first. Honest to goodness. I love this series so much. Which is convenient because there are still so many to read.

This one had killer zombies. And voodoo. Much the coolness. Although, I'd much less like to live this world after. It was pretty gruesome and pretty descriptive. I guess I get to combine my love of gory thriller books, vampire anything and mystery. MUCH YAY.

This cover isn't the same as the one I read. Which has frustrated me intensly. But still, it's the same book so you get the idea. The cover of the book I read was yellow with her face taking up one side and a zombie hand and a ghostly figure on the other. That was probably completely unnecessary info but there you go. I'm just a sharing kind of person.

5 stars for definite. LOVE LOVE LOVE.

book #4

A kindly lent me Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K. Hamilton. First off, THANKY RACH! she recommended this book to me ( Well, A did first, but that was before I started my list and therefore wasn't compelled/forced to read all recommended to me ) and I loved it. So much. I'm already ripping into the second one. I apologise in advance because the next several book reviews will be me pretty much gushing over how fucking UHMAZING this series is.

It's quite similar to the Sookie Stackhouse series, which I also Loved. Yes it's capitalised. Love might be a strong word but it's not conveying just how mindblowingly special these books are. I'm such a vampire series junky. haha.

No but this one is different! It's got zombies too, and other un-dead and lycanthropes which is trippy speak for Were-creatures. The main character, she's so cynical and bad-ass and honest to herself. Which is going really well with my love affair with honesty I'm having atm. I'd quite like to live in her reality, which Hamilton paints so beautifully. Not many people can write like she can.

Obviously, 5 stars. I'd read this again and again and again... etc. until the pages fall out and its no longer a book but worn pages that resemble a book. I'd also recommend it to anyone and everyone. So, yeah, go read it! you most likely won't regret it ( because nothing is certain in this world; who am I to know you're not a spaz who can't/won't appreciate an excellent book? )

book #3

Fangland by John Marks is an odd book. One of those ones that when you finish you sit back and go... wtf just happened?! It was pretty cool though. I think I've mentioned before that I love the whole vamp genre for the different ideas and consequences of immortality. THIS BOOK DELIVERED. I was fascinated by how it explored death and the brutality of murder and how suffering is affected by time.

I love reading diaries. It's no secret. If there is a book that is set out like diary entries I will read it so fast you won't have time to blink. Well, no, not really, but I will read it pretty darn fast. I guess it's because of the personal nature, the honesty. This one had diary entries = ) it also had emails. and then from different people's perspectives. And then broken up into 15 'books'. It kept me hooked, even through in parts I couldn't follow.

Favourite bit was the frazzled mother-of-two accidently blowing her self up. It was just so obscure and unexpected. Probably not meant to be, but I found it hilarious in a twisted sort of ironic way. I also like how real events like 9/11 were included in it. Just made it a tad more relatable.

I'm giving it 4 stars. It got me thinking in new ways. I now just have to work out who it belongs to so I can return it...

book #2

Mac Slater, Cool Hunter 2 by Tristan Bancks was pretty cool for your basic young adult 'and-the-moral-of-the-story-is' novel. It was most likely aimed at much younger audiences but the cover was pretty and I found it at a charity book sale so yes. I bought it, I read it, I regret nothing. Except maybe carrying it around hornsby with me and then losing my place.

I loved the inclusion of all the inventions and ( another ) secret society. I found it slightly unrealistic that these teens could afford said inventions, or actually have the ideas and innitiative to create them in the first place.

I really need to go to New York. It's not a want anymore, it's now a need. I can't even properly describe it.

I realised half way through that this is number 2. If I happen across the others in this series I shall read them but I'm not going to go out of my way.

3 out of 5 stars. I wanted more from it. Plus the whole moral what's right what's wrong dilemma was annoying. Make a decsion, then stick to it people!

book #1

First book I started and finished reading this year: Labyrinth by Kate Mosse. This is a thick pretty book that I've wanted to read for a long while. I don't really have a 'type' when it comes to books because I'm ridiculously open-minded but this was definitely different. Maybe I've never read a book like this before, maybe it's so unique that it's impossible. I don't know. All I know is that it left me saying "eh?".

Most annoying thing about this book is the random French and Occitan. I needed a straight translation every time they used the words, not just the first time. My memory for random phrases of languages isn't that good. And as much as I hate flicking to a glossary I tried it a couple of times, but no, it's a select glossary. Not so helpful.

I loved the fact that it was all secret societies with weird rituals and underground sanctuaries and forgotten treasures. I want in on a secret society. I'm not so keen on devoting my life to find a book though. That was a little weird.

Following the weird train of thought: the whole "oh yeah, I'm 800 years old, and I'm sick of living, but whatever I'll do it anyway" was hard to believe. I accepted that you were 800 years old with difficulty but trying to make me believe you hadn't seriously considered suicide when you had nothing to live for was stupid. But then I think immortality is a curse, not a blessing. So maybe that view is interfering a bit.

Coolest thing about this book was the fact that I learnt all about the history of Southern France in the 13th century without a text book. The whole thing made me cranky though. Religious wars seem like an oxymoron to me. War kills the innocence and purity and isn't that what they're aiming for?? I don't know enough for a religious debate but honestly, I can't be the only one who thinks that it's mad.

I give it 3 out of 5. I liked it enough that I read it pretty quickly, but not enough to recommend to all my friends.

There is a list of books in the back for 'further reading'. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown is on there. I liked that book. I'm seriously considering trying to find and read the others on the list. As long as I can avoid the random French...