As you know if you read my blog a lot then you will realise that I absolutely love reading. I am always on a constant hunt for books, I love reviewing them and I just like losing myself in the internet looking for books/reading about books and just generally books.
Therefore the best website for me to do this is Goodreads. I created an account absolutely ages ago, but in all honestly with the business of life forgot all about it, until today. SO if you would like to see what I am currently reading, what I have read or what is on my to-read list then head on over to this link HERE.
Showing posts with label read. Show all posts
Showing posts with label read. Show all posts
Wednesday, 10 July 2013
Sunday, 7 July 2013
Pet peeves of a fiction obsessed sixteen year old
I have probably done plenty of these posts that either tell you more about me or more to the point what annoys me, but this time I'm going to make it more topical. I am going to talk about things in literacy, films and music that irritates me to the end of the earth and back again.
1. When people bend the page of their books and/or bend/break the spine on their books.
Okay, I do think I have a slight OCD when it comes to looking after books and if you look at about 95% of my books in my bookcase, despite having read each book several times, you will not find a single break in the spine or a bend in a page. (Apart from the dreaded initial break that you get just from opening it, but even that one is so faint you can barely see it). Literally whenever I see anyone doing either of those things I just want to slap the book out of their hands and repair the damage immediately. This is also why I very, very rarely lend my books to people unless I know they can be trusted to treat it carefully. This is also another reason why I cannot deal with library books and have never ever read a book from the library because they are always so tatty and broken that it just takes the enjoyment out of reading for me. The care of books is something I do not take lightly, my friend.
2. When there is a misprint or spelling error in a book.
This is just careless on the publishers part; although, granted, its a very rare thing to happen and even more rare with printed books. However, I've noticed especially on E-Books there can be careless mistakes and it takes you a few time to read over the sentence to understand what was trying to be said. It's extremely frustrating because the amount of times that a book is read and re-read and re-re-read before its published silly mistakes should be seen and sorted out.
3.When films based on adaptations just get the casting all wrong.
I know that everyone has their own ideas about what a certain character looks like when they are described in a book. For example, when I read a book I imagine most of my characters as cartoons and so I find it hard to describe a character to another person who is not inside my head. However, sometimes I really do question if the casting people have read the books at all; take the new Divergent movie for example, Shailene Woodley and Theo James look nothing, absolutely nothing like how I would have imagined them (you know if my brain wasn't weird and turned everyone into cartoons) I just feel like its disappointing for the fan of the books. I understand that it would be impossible to find an actor that everyone loves and imagines in the place of their favourite character but at least attempt it. Harry Potter is a fine example of brilliant casting and costume; you can just tell that the casting people took the time to read the books and study the characters with detail. I am just left feeling like that in today's Hollywood, film companies are more interested in whacking out as many films as possible without really investing too much time into them.
p.s I'm sure these actors mentioned above are good, I've yet to see them in anything but this comment is made purely on their looks (vain, I know right).
4.When books could have been finished but the author tries to milk it.
This is extremely frustrating when you find a decent new book series, you read the first few and it seems that all of the events have been rounded off well and nicely, however, then the author keeps writing new books with weaker plots. This makes the series loose its integrity and makes the reader get bored and disengaged with the writing. Authors need to know when its best to put a series to bed: know when to quit, go out on a high. Particular examples of this are The House of Night series and The Mortal Instrument series. The House of Night currently has 10 books in the series when realistically they could have stopped writing them at about book 5/6, I really cannot be bothered to continue reading the rest in the series because it is getting boring and silly. The Mortal Instruments could have been finished on book 3, that would have left the reader wanting more but not really needing it, the 4th book was lacking compared to the others and took me a long time to get through it. What I am trying to say is that if you want to write a successful book series then you need to know when enough is enough, you want the reader to want more but that they don't necessarily need to have any more because the story is strong enough without it.
5.When films change what happens in the books in a very sucky way.
Sucky isn't the most sophisticated adjective but it describes what I am talking about in the best way possible. When a film is based on an adaptation, I understand that somethings have to be changed so that they make it cinematically pleasing but when they completely change the way an event happens in the book to something that to anyone who has read the books just does not make sense, then you know you have a problem. Take Harry Potter (probably the first time I am criticising it on my blog, take note because it wont happen very often, haha) in the last film (Deathly Hallows part 2) Harry snaps the Elder Wand in half and throws it away... however, in the book, Harry uses the Elder Wand to repair his old trusty wand and then returns the Elder Wand back to Dumbledore's grave. According to the film Harry no longer has a wand after he does what he does because it does not show him fixing his previous wand. To any fan of the books this will come as a very large annoyance, it would have taken the film makers literally about 2 minutes to show what happened in the book but instead they decided on a scene that is just stupid.
1. When people bend the page of their books and/or bend/break the spine on their books.
Okay, I do think I have a slight OCD when it comes to looking after books and if you look at about 95% of my books in my bookcase, despite having read each book several times, you will not find a single break in the spine or a bend in a page. (Apart from the dreaded initial break that you get just from opening it, but even that one is so faint you can barely see it). Literally whenever I see anyone doing either of those things I just want to slap the book out of their hands and repair the damage immediately. This is also why I very, very rarely lend my books to people unless I know they can be trusted to treat it carefully. This is also another reason why I cannot deal with library books and have never ever read a book from the library because they are always so tatty and broken that it just takes the enjoyment out of reading for me. The care of books is something I do not take lightly, my friend.
2. When there is a misprint or spelling error in a book.
This is just careless on the publishers part; although, granted, its a very rare thing to happen and even more rare with printed books. However, I've noticed especially on E-Books there can be careless mistakes and it takes you a few time to read over the sentence to understand what was trying to be said. It's extremely frustrating because the amount of times that a book is read and re-read and re-re-read before its published silly mistakes should be seen and sorted out.
3.When films based on adaptations just get the casting all wrong.
I know that everyone has their own ideas about what a certain character looks like when they are described in a book. For example, when I read a book I imagine most of my characters as cartoons and so I find it hard to describe a character to another person who is not inside my head. However, sometimes I really do question if the casting people have read the books at all; take the new Divergent movie for example, Shailene Woodley and Theo James look nothing, absolutely nothing like how I would have imagined them (you know if my brain wasn't weird and turned everyone into cartoons) I just feel like its disappointing for the fan of the books. I understand that it would be impossible to find an actor that everyone loves and imagines in the place of their favourite character but at least attempt it. Harry Potter is a fine example of brilliant casting and costume; you can just tell that the casting people took the time to read the books and study the characters with detail. I am just left feeling like that in today's Hollywood, film companies are more interested in whacking out as many films as possible without really investing too much time into them.
p.s I'm sure these actors mentioned above are good, I've yet to see them in anything but this comment is made purely on their looks (vain, I know right).
4.When books could have been finished but the author tries to milk it.
This is extremely frustrating when you find a decent new book series, you read the first few and it seems that all of the events have been rounded off well and nicely, however, then the author keeps writing new books with weaker plots. This makes the series loose its integrity and makes the reader get bored and disengaged with the writing. Authors need to know when its best to put a series to bed: know when to quit, go out on a high. Particular examples of this are The House of Night series and The Mortal Instrument series. The House of Night currently has 10 books in the series when realistically they could have stopped writing them at about book 5/6, I really cannot be bothered to continue reading the rest in the series because it is getting boring and silly. The Mortal Instruments could have been finished on book 3, that would have left the reader wanting more but not really needing it, the 4th book was lacking compared to the others and took me a long time to get through it. What I am trying to say is that if you want to write a successful book series then you need to know when enough is enough, you want the reader to want more but that they don't necessarily need to have any more because the story is strong enough without it.
5.When films change what happens in the books in a very sucky way.
Sucky isn't the most sophisticated adjective but it describes what I am talking about in the best way possible. When a film is based on an adaptation, I understand that somethings have to be changed so that they make it cinematically pleasing but when they completely change the way an event happens in the book to something that to anyone who has read the books just does not make sense, then you know you have a problem. Take Harry Potter (probably the first time I am criticising it on my blog, take note because it wont happen very often, haha) in the last film (Deathly Hallows part 2) Harry snaps the Elder Wand in half and throws it away... however, in the book, Harry uses the Elder Wand to repair his old trusty wand and then returns the Elder Wand back to Dumbledore's grave. According to the film Harry no longer has a wand after he does what he does because it does not show him fixing his previous wand. To any fan of the books this will come as a very large annoyance, it would have taken the film makers literally about 2 minutes to show what happened in the book but instead they decided on a scene that is just stupid.
Wednesday, 29 May 2013
Irritation for the human race
The human race can be the most obnoxious, irritating and just damn right rude things you will ever encouter in your life. Yes, we have good things, but this post is going to focus on the bad: call me a pessimist, I don't care.
Down below I have complied a list of things that people do that really make me want to lose all of my morals and punch the person in the face. I am not saying I am not guilty of doing all of these things because lets face it I have probably done all of these things, but they still annoy the crap out of me.
*disclaimer; may be some foul language but it is kept to a minimum and also this is not my best writing, instead it was written as a rant, I apologise, half decent blog posts will resume as normal shortly*
Down below I have complied a list of things that people do that really make me want to lose all of my morals and punch the person in the face. I am not saying I am not guilty of doing all of these things because lets face it I have probably done all of these things, but they still annoy the crap out of me.
*disclaimer; may be some foul language but it is kept to a minimum and also this is not my best writing, instead it was written as a rant, I apologise, half decent blog posts will resume as normal shortly*
- people who think they are better than everyone else
Why? Who gave you divine right to think you are better than anyone else? Who do you think you are? Just because you may have a better upbringing/more money/better morals etc, so what? You are just a bad a person as they are but just for a whole different reason.
- stubbornness
I respect morals and holding your ground, but there comes a point where its just like, COME ON, loosen up stop being selfish and ignorant. Because that's what stubbornness effectively is it's just being selfish, when it gets to the point where you actually stop others for having fun because you wont do things any other way except your own.
- when you can actually smell the bulls**t when someone is sprouting a story to you
(excuse the potty mouth, but I believe it was necessary)
I don't understand why you would want to tell a story that is completely made up just to make you look good. NO, just don't do it, don't lie, you WILL get caught out and end up looking like a complete idiot. Just don't do it, if you feel yourself wanting to tell a story of lies, go into another room and put a bin on your head.
- people who kiss ass
Look, I get it, you like this person but the sun does not shine out of their ass. You just sound like an idiot when all you do is compliment them, especially when what you're saying is complete rubbish. Stooooop it please, for your sake if not my own because I will sit on you.
- people who make fun of others just because they are different and make them uncomfortable
Welcome to high school this should be renamed as. Seriously, what gave certain teenagers the right to make others feel unnecessarily uncomfortable just because they don't want to go out and smoke weed and get drunk but would rather do other things? The amount of times someone in my school would take the mick out of me for liking Harry Potter or anything else remotely nerdy was ridiculous: so what if I don't like the same things as you, chances are I probably think you're a dick, so just stop talking to me if you're going to be a douche about me.
- people who just constantly have to be right about everything
Let me just tell you one thing; you are never right all the time, so my dear, just accept that the probability of you being wrong is possible, just accept it and move away. Especially if there is evidence to prove you are wrong, don't for the love of God keep arguing because you look like a ninny.
- those that have so much anger towards a person but never confront the person
What is the point of just being angry with someone and never telling them? If you tell them they might realise that they are being annoying and stop or if they don't agree with you then they will just leave your life, after all if you have so much anger towards them you wont care if they leave. Don't be bitchy behind their back because you will be caught out and you will look like the bad guy. So step up and stop getting walked all over please, have some self-respect.
- indirect statues/tweets
Oh God, if there's one thing that makes me want to crumple up the internet over it is indirect statues or tweets. To start off, if you are never going to say it to their face then please DON'T just say it over the internet. Be a grown up about it all and tell the person instead of just hiding behind a computer screen. If you feel like doing an indirect, write it out, then delete it and step away from the internet until you have calmed down.
- when people suddenly start caring when something happens but didn't give a crap about you before
For example, a boy in my year's father has died from a long battle of cancer; no one cared before he died, now all of a sudden everyone is trying to pretend like they know him. Well no, I'm sorry but if you didn't care before, I'm pretty sure that the boy only wants his friends around him at this sad time. I encourage people to pay their respects but don't over step it and act like their best friend when you have barely uttered a word beforehand. Its like the same thing with suicide; no one cares when they are alive, but as soon as they are dead, suddenly they were the best thing since sliced bread. If you really thought that, how about telling them when they can still respond to you.
- people who say they didn't study/revise when they actually spent months revising. WHAT IS THE POINT IN LYING ABOUT THAT?
There is no shame in revising, everyone does it at some point. You don't seem more smart just because you say you haven't revised and then get full marks, you just look like a liar. You're not Einstein so please do not try to fool me that you are.
- people who never ever say sorry even when they know they are wrong
All it is is one word, if you know you are in the wrong, swallow your pride and say sorry because otherwise you drag the argument out longer than it needs to be and you end up looking like a bellend. In the end people will respect you more for admitting you're wrong that being arrogant and insisting you're right.
That will be all for now, but my God if you had seen the first draft of this it was just a collection of obscenities and keyboard smashes because these are the most annoying and irritating traits that people have. There are obviously many more, but these are the collection that have been annoying me recently. I can only apologise but this was written when I was in rant mode, so I apologise for the lack of good writing, but its good to have a moan everyone once in a while, especially when then human population is as annoying as it it.
Tuesday, 28 May 2013
Billy and Me- Giovanna Fletcher book review!
Last Friday (May 23rd) saw the debut novel from Giovanna Fletcher hit book stores. Giovanna is married to Tom Fletcher from McFly and has a brother (Mario) who stars in British scripted reality television show The Only Way is Essex. Despite Giovanna trained in the profession of acting, even attending young theatre school Sylvia Young (where she also met her husband, Tom) she has tried her hand at writing a novel. It has obviously generated a lot of celebrity support but not without reason.I downloaded the book on publication day on my Kindle and immediately started reading, all pretences of revision down the drain: I knew right from the first sentence that I would enjoy the book.
The novel is from Sophie May's perspective as she meets the man of her dreams when he pops into the small tea shop where she works; this character is of course Billy Buskin. An actor who turns up unexpectedly in the small village named Rosefont Hill, filming for an adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. The book goes through Sophie's present, future and her very traumatic past; she loses loved ones and gains a love. Although as with any chickflick book which this undoubtedly is; it is not an easy ride and Sophie has many bumps and turns along the way. The novel explores the ups and downs of dating a person in the public eye: which I'm sure Giovanna is in the perfect position to get an accurate representation of this considering she has been with Tom Fletcher throughout his rise to fame with the band. This gives the book a very personal feel to it and in short helps you to get more connected to Sophie and what she is feeling.
This book is an extremely easy read and you can quite easily finish it in several hours once you get sucked it. It is well written and flows nicely; it's not a ground breaking hard-hitting novel: but then I don't suppose that was its purpose. I have recommended my mother and my nan to read it as I know this will be right up their alley. If you know anyone who enjoys reading books from Milly Johnson or Sophie Kinsella then get them to read this book immediately as they all follow a similar style of writing. It is emotional, happy, sad and makes you feel good at the end: a perfect summer read. Giovanna has proved herself in the literacy world and I for one can't wait until her next book.
Tuesday, 2 April 2013
Doctor Who
After a recent purchase of the first 4 series and the return of Doctor Who back on TV I have decided to make an entire post dedicated to the show. I am going to show you my opinions of the Doctors and their companions but please note although I realise that Doctor Who has been going on for 50 years and there have been other doctors whom I'm sure were fab I haven't actually seen the older episodes so I will only be talking about the 'modern day' Doctor Who starting with....
The 9th Doctor
played by Christopher Eccleston (2005)
When fans talk about this doctor they refer to him as the doctor who was full of 'sass' with his no messing around attitude. His devotion to Rose was clear and although he isn't my favourite doctor he certainly kicked off the new series of the 'modern day' Doctor Who and set the bar (which was reached) for the next person to fill his shoes.
Rating: 7/10
The 10th Doctor
played by David Tennant (2005-2010)
Certainly a fans favourite and the longest running doctor so far, Tennant is the best doctor in my opinion and him and Rose were the perfect partnership, I loved that this doctor showed emotion and fantastic acting ability who was able to make you laugh and cry in the space of about two seconds. In my eyes no one will compare to him, and that final episode The End Of Time has defiantly gone down as one of the saddest episodes in TV history.
Rating: 10/10
The 10th Doctor
Played by Matt Smith (2010-present)
The present doctor has certainly had a huge job to replace David Tennant and I think he has done a wonderful job bringing to the character a new lease of life. My favourite thing about the way Smith portrays the doctor is how one minute he is completely serious and the next minute he is acting like a three year old hyped up on sugar, he's completely bonkers and completely loveable.
Rating: 8.5/10
And of course none of these doctors ever travelled alone for very long.
Rose Tyler
played by Billie Piper (2005-2006, appearing again in 2008 for 6 episodes and again in 2010)
Rose is the pairing of the century with the tenth doctor and her final episode 'Doomsday' is also another in the history books for saddest goodbye. She was the original companion and was clearly devoted and irreversibly in love with the doctor however, she didn't fall behind in the doctors shadow and was the most compassionate of the companions in my eyes.
Rating: 10/10
Martha Jones
played by Freema Agyeman (2006-2008 appearing again in 2010)
My least favourite companion purely because she flirts with the doctor even though he clearly isn't over Rose and when I watch it I am still hung up on Rose and therefore I would have always hated the companion that came next. However, I do think that she is exactly what the doctor needed to help him get over Rose but she will never be able to replace her.
Rating: 5/10
Donna Nobel
played by Catherine Tate (2008-2010)
Catherine Tate is surprisingly my favourite companion, I think she is by far the funniest and the most independent she is fiercely loyal but stands up for what she thinks is right. The doctor needed Donna more than he could say as she was someone who was there for him with no romance involved she was just a best friend.
Rating: 10/10
Amy Pond
played by Karen Gillan (2008-2012)
"The girl who waited" I really like Karen as a companion because again she wasn't in it romantically for the doctor because she loved Rory, so I think the doctor sees her as a sister or a best friend someone he can rely on who will be waiting for her. Of course her final episode was not only super scary because the angels are the single most terrifying things (minus the Dorocha in Merlin) but extremely heart wrenching because she finally made her choice between Rory and the Doctor.
Rating: 9/10
Rory Williams
played by Arthur Darvill (2008-2012)
Very much the same as with Amy he is a friend to the doctor and his love for Amy is clearly obvious in the way that he waited 2000 years for her. I think it was good for the doctor to see a real relationship and learn about it through others, it was also interesting to see a male companion.
Rating: 7/10
Clara 'Oswin' Oswald
played by Jenna-Louise Coleman (2012- present)
Now Jenna has only been in four episodes but her current series is airing as we speak so therefore I am going to reserve my judgement on her until this series is over, however, and I do hope I'm not jinxing myself by saying this but she looks set to be a fantastic companion and maybe a possible love interest for the doctor which he hasn't had for a few years...who knows? (except Moffat)
Rating: To be decided
So that is my opinion on the main cast of Doctor Who, of course there have been several other minor roles like Wilf and Mickey etc but I'm not going to go into them too far, so for now I will leave you with some pictures found on tumblr of random moments of the previous stated, enjoy!
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