The Inside Of My Head

happy__squirrel @ 2009-07-28T03:38:00

2009-07-28T02:40:23Z

Dear swine flu,

You suck. Go away now plzktnx.

No love,
Stacey

happy__squirrel @ 2009-07-14T00:04:00

2009-07-13T23:15:04Z

Ok, this is me sort of ranting about Torchwood, major spoilers for Children Of Earth so don't read it if you haven't seen it yet.

Why I Want Ianto Jones Back For Series Four

There’s something called the Kübler-Ross model, most people know it as the five stages of grief. First up is our good old friend, denial. And yep, true to form when I was watching the horrifyingly beautiful and devastating death of Ianto Jones I was screaming through my tears, “No! It’s not true! You can’t!” I was completely unwilling to accept that this was actually happening, that my favourite character was dying in Jack’s arms or that he wasn’t going to suddenly sit up and everything would be alright again. But yeah, that’s the thing about denial, doesn’t stop it from being true.

Next up is anger. And ho, boy was I angry. Through yet more sobbing, and I’m serious about this I sobbed for two days straight, I started to be absolutely furious. Ianto Jones was brutally torn from us and I was pissed. I ranted and raved, still every few hours I start pacing around venting my fury that they could dare to do this to him. But again, anger isn’t going to get us anywhere, shouting and swearing at the people who gave Ianto to us in the first place is not exactly going to make me seem like a sane and sensible person with a valid point of view and after all I am immensely grateful for Torchwood as a whole. It is a fantastic show that I have been watching and loving since the first episode aired and Children Of Earth was simply spectacular, I loved every second of it, even the parts that made me feel like my world was ending.

So then we come to bargaining. And this stage, well this one is not very practical for real life grief; we can’t contact a higher power to beg for our life or that of a loved one. That’s the wonderful thing about television, the higher powers are real people with real addresses that can be written to, they can have vast amounts of coffee come through their letter boxes to tell them that the fans are not happy. Bargaining might actually work. So you know what, I’m going to fully embrace this stage of grief and hope that maybe we can join the fans who saved Daniel Jackson and Carson Beckett, who got Serenity made after the cancelling of Firefly and who have managed to keep Chuck on the air. In short, I am going to join in the coffee plan.

So why do I want Ianto Jones back? Well there are a number of reasons, the first of which is the proximity of Ianto’s death to those of Toshiko and Owen. You see, with Exit Wounds I could accept that the show needed it. It is often remarked that people working for Torchwood do not live to anything approaching old age and so the deaths of Toshiko and Owen confirmed this, we got a taste of what it really means to work for such a place, the cost in human life for saving the world. I grieved for them, I cried my tears, but I could get over it and I may even have gained a bit more respect for the show for taking such a bold step. But this time it is different. In the space of five episodes we lost three main characters to tragic deaths and further than that, in the sixth we lost Jack too. Losing 80% of the characters in such a short time is just too much, it was a punch in the stomach and it left me with nothing to cling on to and a feeling of despair. Bringing Ianto back in series four would bring a much needed beacon of hope.

More important though is that he is my favourite character on the show and possibly from any show, and judging by my experience of forums and websites over the last few years, he is a lot of other peoples favourite too. Basically, his very presence is a large part of what I watch Torchwood for. Right from the first moment he graced our screens I knew that he would be someone to watch, that he would be someone special. And not because he was brave or bold but because he was in the background, working away while the others played hero. Ianto Jones was so much more than the Torchwood coffee boy, he was the heart, the very core, the spine whose absence causes the body to crumble. He was finally being given more to do, we were finally being given more information about him, learning about his family and his past when he was killed and this is unsatisfactory. Why bother to give us little snippets and hints that won’t be followed through, clues to things we will never learn? His character has so much more potential to be explored.

The relationship between Jack and Ianto has been another large part of the appeal of this show from the start, the growing connection between them changing from casual flirting to genuine emotional attachment and finally to the wonderful couple that they were just starting to become. This has been one of the most honest and beautiful relationships on television today, partly because it was never about the fact that they were both men, they were just two people with very real feelings for each other and a connection that could be felt through the screen. John Barrowman and Gareth David Lloyd have both shown their wonderful acting ability through this relationship and it has been a true joy to watch. Its loss would be of great detriment to the show and also to the character of Jack.

Let’s be honest, most people started watching Torchwood after falling for our Captain Jack Harkness when he was in Doctor Who; that cheeky, handsome man who kissed both Rose and the Doctor in the exact same way and died fighting for humanity. He has of course changed a great deal since then, becoming immortal will do that to you I suppose, but he still had the same core, the same cheekiness and same heroic streak that shone through any amount of angst that was heaped on him. But I could see something in his face throughout Day Five that looked uncomfortably like a lack of hope, like despair. Jack loved Ianto and when they died in each other’s arms I think it was clear that Jack didn’t want to wake up. This allowed him to make the terrible decision to sacrifice his grandson to save the millions of children across the world but also left him with no reason to stay. So if there is a fourth series, which I really do hope there is, and Ianto doesn’t come back, then neither will Jack; at least not the Jack that we know and love. He has been broken one too many times.

If there is no series four then devastating as his death was I could live with it; I could see it as a beautiful and tragic thing and appreciate the time that we had him on screen. But if there is a series four then Ianto is needed. What it really all comes down to is this, the reason that I want to see the return of Ianto Jones is that without him, for me at least, there is no Torchwood.

happy__squirrel @ 2009-06-25T17:18:00

2009-06-25T16:34:31Z

Reply to this meme by yelling "Words!" and I will give you five words that remind me of you. Then post them in your LJ and explain what they mean to you.

sarah_1228 gave me:

The Goonies - This is one of the films I used to watch all the time with my sister when I was younger and I still love it. It is made of win, it has everything. Who doesn't love this movie? Crazy people who hate fun, that's who!

Serenity - I waited so long for this movie that it was the most amazing thing in the world to go to the cinema with my friend and see it, several times I might add. And oh man did I cry. From when they go back and find Book right through to the end of the film I was just in floods of tears, and I am not a crier when it comes to movies. Joss Whedon is made of win and Fox needs to burn in hell. And Jayne is a sexy beast.

David Tennant - The Tenth Doctor. My Doctor. I refuse to accept that he's leaving, it's not true. NOT TRUE!! *cries like a little girl* Plus I loved him even before he was The Doctor, he was a great Casanova too. Amazing actor and gorgeously geeky. I was in the audience when he was on The Friday Night Project and he is such a nice funny guy. I may love him a slightly unhealthy amount. He's the guy on my lj banner. He plays The Doctor on Doctor Who which is my favourite show of all time, ever. And he is not allowed to leave. *sulk*

300 - Awesome graphic novel, awesome movie. Every panel of the graphic novel and every frame of the movie is just gorgeous. Love it. I even have a talking Leonidas figure.

The Neverending Story - Another childhood favourite that I used to watch all the time. And I waited so long for the dvd because it was scheduled to come out and then it got pushed back by like a year and then got pushed back again and again. I was so happy when I finally got that dvd in my hands. And my three fish are named Bastian, Etreyu and Falkor after the characters in it. The book was good too.

happy__squirrel @ 2009-06-25T13:57:00

2009-06-25T15:25:04Z

I don't post here at all now. It's been like two months. Whoops. Must try harder. But anyway, update on my life. Not much has happened, my life remains as dull as ever, still a crazy hermit. My mum's aunt died a couple of weeks ago so the family has been a bit hectic. My mum had to go down south for the funeral for a few days and came back with some nice jewellery; her, my aunt and their cousins were told to pick some things that they liked. Also my sister, my cousins and I each got an envelope with a cheque for £150 from my great uncle Peter that we have been told to buy something fun and frivilous with so I'll probably get some books and dvds or something. He is one hundred percent my relative, apparently he was counting the books in their house and gave up when he got to 4000.

And Frankie the cat has cut open his poor little foot and so now he has a limp and keeps looking all sorrowfully at me and getting me to carry him down the stairs. He is so milking it for all it's worth cheeky bugger that he is.

I just booked my ticket to see Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince on the day it comes out. Yay. Although I am still pissed off at the stupid studio people who put off the release for no good reason. And I will hopefully go and see Transformers next week. And then Public Enemies. And I still haven't gotten around to going to see Star Trek. Or Terminator. Damnit, there are so many films I want to see this year.

Anyway, I'm watching Wimbledon, the only sporting event that I find entertaining although I'm getting annoyed because they stopped showing Andy Roddick's match half way through. What. The. Frack. I wanted to watch Roddick! All anyone cares about at the moment is Andy Murray which is starting to irritate me. He's good yes, but I don't care that much. And I find it hilarious that every other sport it's all about England but when it comes to Wimbledon, because we have no good English players, it's suddenly all about Britain. And the whole grunting debate thing is so funny, it's a big part of why I don't particularly like women's tennis, it's uncomfortable to listen to some of them. Oh, Roddick's match has reappeared, about bloody time tv people. I mean seriously, he is the sixth seed and is playing on court one so show the damn match.

But anyway, here's what I've been reading...
Another book update, this time May and June up to now. I'm really behind on my goal but hopefully I'll start to catch up now.
30/150 so far this year.

January:
Sebastian Darke: Prince Of Fools by Philip Caveney
Storm Front by Jim Butcher
The Rose Labyrinth by Titania Hardie
Fool Moon by Jim Butcher
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
Grave Peril by Jim Butcher

February:
The Master And Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
Summer Knight by Jim Butcher
Montmorency by Elanor Updale
Martyn Pig by Kevin Brooks

March:
Death Masks by Jim Butcher
Shakespeare by Bill Bryson
Best Friends by Jacqueline Wilson
Blood Rites by Jim Butcher
Verdigris Deep by Frances Hardinge
Kiss by Jacqueline Wilson
My Secret Diary by Jacqueline Wilson
Candyfloss by Jacqueline Wilson
All Quiet On The Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

April:
My Sister Jodie by Jacqueline Wilson
Coffee At Luke's: An Unauthorised Gilmore Girls Gabfest

May:
The Weirdstone Of Brisingamen by Alan Garner - This is one of those classic kids books that I really should have read but for some reason had never heard of until I watched a documentary thing about fantasy books. It looked really interesting so when I saw it at the library I grabbed it and I'm glad I did. The basic story is that a brother and sister are sent to stay on a farm and fall into a magical adventure when they meet a wizard who is guarding a sleeping army destined to save the world from a big evil guy but has lost the Weirdstone that is an essential part of the process. Ok, it's much better than I'm making it sound, it was really very good. The part when they were trapped underground was especially brilliant, really creepy and exciting with a real sense of danger. And Cadellin Silverbrow, the wizard, was made of win. Now, if I could just find the sequel...

Little Men by Louisa May Alcott - This is the sequel to Little Women and Good Wives, set some years later when Jo has opened a school and has several children of her own. It follows the life at the school through a few months, starting with the arrival of Nat, a boy that Teddy has found and decided to help, showing through his eyes each of the different characters. Each of the children has a different fault, ranging from lying to having a bad temper, and through various events they each learn to be better and help each other to overcome these. This was a quaint little book, not quite as good as Little Women but still entertaining and it was great to revisit some of the characters I loved so much from the Little Women, especially Teddy who has become a devoted father which was adorable. Yet another book I need to find the sequel to.

The Turn Of The Screw And Other Stories by Henry James - This is yet another book that I have been meaning to read for years, it's one of those stories that everyone else seems to know and so I was thrilled to finally get around to reading it. There were a few other stories before Turn but none of them particularly memorable, although one about a young woman being haunted to punish her mother was quite good. But of course the main attraction was The Turn Of The Screw, the tale of a young governess and the two children in her care who appear to be being haunted by the ghosts of a man and woman who used to work in the house. This was pretty good, fairly creepy and left me thinking when I finished it. There is some question about the reality of the ghosts and the sanity of the governess but I didn't really even think about that until after I had read it and looked at some stuff online, I'm of the opinion that it was just a ghost story although it is certainly an interesting thing to think about and gives you a different perspective on the whole thing. I'll need to reread this at some point.

June:
The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow And Other Stories by Washington Irving - I was so looking forward to reading this book, it has such a reputation as a classic piece of the genre but quite frankly it was dull. Pure and simple, dull. Sleepy Hollow was not a ghost story or scary in the slightest, it was just talking about Ichabod Crane for pages and pages and pages and then had a little mention of the legend and then someone chased him and then it was over. I mean really? Are you kidding me? And yet another disappointment was Rip Van Winkle which was another pretty dull story. I was really not impressed. So thank god for The Spectre Bridegroom which was a fun, entertaining little story which made me think that maybe there was something worth my time to read in this book. I also liked The Wife which made me smile. So basically I was very disappointed but there were a few little glimmers of gold in there.

Bloodline by Kevin Brooks - This was a novella, really short, only took me an hour to finish. It is basically about a teenage boy who is sat with his father, grandfather and great grandfather in a dark room watching the tv and bored out of his brain, the same thing he does once a month. But then a girl runs in with a gun and a bag full of cash and the police are outside and suddenly the day is not quite so dull. This was pretty good, Kevin Brooks is such a wonderful writer for young adult fiction and I have yet to read anything of his that I haven't liked. Not my favourite of his but well worth the read.

Sharp Teeth by Toby Barlow - I've been putting off reading this for a long time because the idea that it was written in free prose made me a bit skeptical because I hadn't really read anything like it before. But I am so glad that I gave it a shot because it was such a good book. It follows several members of a pack of werewolves, a cop, a dogcatcher and two sinister men as their lives become entangled with each other as wolves fight amoungst themselves for dominance. Plenty of blood and sex meant this was not one for the kids but it never felt too gratuitous. And frankly I'm just glad to find some more good werewolf stories, vampires dominate the genre and it irritates me, they are overrated to an insane degree. Give the werewolves some love people.

War And Peace by Leo Tolstoy - Oh yes, I finally finished this frickin monster of a book, all 1300+ pages of it. I took a really long break between volumes 2 and 3, a good month when I didn't read any of it and then went back and read the last 700 pages in four days. And boy was it worth it. This book was epic not only in size but in story and scope. The story spanned fifteen years, dozens of characters, the invasion of Russia, the defeat of Napoleon, friendship, love, heartbreak, death, birth, marriage, religion, betrayal, fear, destiny, free will, purpose and of course both war and peace. Through the book we mainly follow three familys, the Rostovs, Bolkonskys and Bezukhovs and a multitude of their friends, rivals and peers as well as many historical figures from military leader to the Tsar and even Napoleon as his forces invade Russia. And apart from that there is so much more going on, far too many subplots to explain what exactly this book was about. Just read it. One of the few books I've read that truly deserve their reputation and title of classic.

Cookie by Jacqueline Wilson - After finally finishing W&P I really needed to read something light and easy so I went to the always reliable Wilson. This is about a girl called Beauty who is picked on at school and at home by her vocally abusive father. One day after her father does something especially awful Beauty and her mother run away to the seaside and make a new life for themselves and of course everything comes out beautifully in the end. This was a cute story but also fairly dark because of the father character who, although he never actually laid a hand on his daughter, still made me angry enough that I wanted to reach into the book and punch him in the face. I'm glad to see that Wilson continues to write about stuff like this while still keeping it kid friendly.

Dead Beat by Jim Butcher - The seventh book of the Dresden files finds Harry being blackmailed by Mavra, the black court vampire, who has some rather incriminating photos of Murphy and wants something called the Word Of Kemmler. And, as is perfectly fitting with Harry's luck, he is not the only one after it and so must also contend with some insanely powerful necromancers and their hordes of zombies. Hells bells indeed Harry. I had forgotten just how much I love this series, it is so much fun and this was no exception. Sue the zombie T-Rex was a thing of pure genius. And Mouse the dog has been a great addition, making me smile almost every time he was mentioned. And also, so many levels of glad that Thomas has become more of a main character, I always liked him and he is just growing on me more and more. And Butters was awesome, polka will never die!! And I laughed so hard when Butters thought Harry was gay, I could just picture the three of them. Pure popcorn goodness.

Currently Reading:
Proven Guilty by Jim Butcher

And also, today is my best friend's birthday so I send good thoughts out into the universe for her even though she is silly and not on lj.
And Torchwood: Children Of Earth, hurry up and be on TV.

happy__squirrel @ 2009-04-26T16:02:00

2009-04-26T16:13:48Z

Another book update, this time March and April.
21/150 so far this year.

January:
Sebastian Darke: Prince Of Fools by Philip Caveney
Storm Front by Jim Butcher
The Rose Labyrinth by Titania Hardie
Fool Moon by Jim Butcher
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
Grave Peril by Jim Butcher

February:
The Master And Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
Summer Knight by Jim Butcher
Montmorency by Elanor Updale
Martyn Pig by Kevin Brooks

March:
Death Masks by Jim Butcher - The fifth book of the Dresden Files series found Harry Dresden up against a brand new group of bad guys, the Denarians, who are a mixture of human host and Fallen Angel and also in a duel against a red court vampire that's determined to see him dead. Add in the return of a certain woman, a missing shroud and a headless corpse that died of every disease known to man and Harry has his plate pretty full. I really enjoy these books, they are the book equivalent of a popcorn movie, lots of fun to read despite the often gruesome subject matter. I'm looking forward to where some of the things set up in this book are going to be taken as the series progresses.

Shakespeare by Bill Bryson - This was a pretty short book about the life of William Shakespeare, giving the facts about what little we actually know about him, which I was suprised to find was so little. The whole thing about him being born and dying on St. George's day? There is no record of Shakespeare's birth, only his baptism so this charming little piece of info that people have is actually just an educated guess. There are years of his life that we know nothing about at all and even the ones we have records of are vague at best. It goes to show how much times have changed that back then even the man now regarded as the greatest playwright who ever lived was just a man, nobody thought to write down anything about him. Good, interesting book though.

Best Friends by Jacqueline Wilson - Someone was talking about Jacqueline Wilson a few months ago and so I started thinking about her books that I read when I was younger and got all nostalgic and then when I was at the library I went and had a look and there were a whole bunch of her books that I have never read so I grabbed the lot. This was a really short one about two girls who have been best friends since birth and they are both devestated when one has to move away. It then followed the one left behind as she tried to cope without her friend there and how the relationship changed. It was short and sweet, not one of my favourites from Wilson but a decent story that reminded me of when I moved at 14.

Blood Rites by Jim Butcher - Sixth of the Dresden Files, this was one of my favourites so far. Hilariously it is set on the set of an adult film, where the people have started to die in very bizarre ways. Someone is killing the people with a death curse and Thomas, the white court vampire Harry met a few books back asks him to stop it. This book has some major plot twists in it, things that Harry found out that are going to affect everything. I was sort of guessing what the major twist was going to be about why Thomas has been helping Harry but what it actually was was slightly different and I was shocked. I love Thomas, he is epic. Also Harry gained a dog called Mouse. I have the next four to read now.

Verdigris Deep by Frances Hardinge - This was a book that I saw on the Redhouse website ages and ages ago and thought looked interesting but they only had the hardback so I didn't buy it, so when I saw it at the library I picked it up. It is about three kids who one day get stuck in a town where they aren't supposed to go because they don't have enough money for the bus fare home. So one of them climbs down the wishing well and gets some money to pay. And then weird things start to happen; Ryan grows eyes on his hands like warts; Chelle starts saying other people's thoughts uncontrollably; Josh starts making lightbulbs explode. Turns out that the well was a real wishing well and now the kids have to grant the wishes from the coins they took or the well witch will get them. This was a pretty decent read, it had a good idea behind it and worked well. The powers that the kids get were well done as each was connected with the personality of each character and the way it changed them was interesting. Overall a good children's book.

Kiss by Jacqueline Wilson - Went on a bit of a spree with the Jacqueline Wilson book and this was next up, the story of Sylvie who has been best friends with the Carl, boy next door, for pretty much forever, they hang out, call each other boyfriend and girlfriend and have their own imaginary world. But then Carl starts to change, they seem to be drifting apart and turns out he has never kissed her. And Carl has a sudden new obsession with Paul, a boy from his school. I think that the "twist" was pretty damn obvious, boy doesn't want to kiss girl but is obsessed with boy. What do you think? Yup, it was obvious and yet all the characters bar one seemed completely oblivious. I found myself getting annoyed at the characters for getting the bloody obvious. But then this was actually quite good, I read it in a day and it was much more grown up than any of Wilson's other books I'd read. And I suppose if I had read this at a younger age it might not have seemed so obvious. I dunno.

My Secret Diary by Jacqueline Wilson - Ok, another of her books, this time about her own teenage life containing excerpts from her own diary she kept as a teen, this was pretty interesting after reading Jacky Daydream which was when she was younger. This time her mind is starting to be occupied with boys and clothes and dances. Read this really quickly, in an evening I think and it was interesting to read about her herself rather than characters. And there were photos which are always a plus. Pretty good.

Candyfloss by Jacqueline Wilson - Yep, yet another one. This one was about a girl called Floss, her step-dad gets a get job offer in Australia so the family is going to live there for six months or something but Floss decides that she can't and won't leave her dad so goes to live with him in his greasy spoon cafe. But turns out he is in major debt and he ends up losing the cafe and moving into his friends house while he is away visiting his son. And of course Floss' evil friend starts to pick on her and Floss learns that real friends aren't like that and makes friends with the nice girl and her and her dad make friends with a woman from the fair. This was a pretty standard Wilson book but was still pretty enjoyable, I liked the dad character, he was lovely. I like that Wilson deals with actual issues that kids deal with like divorce and moving and losing your home or your friends, that was why I loved her books when I was younger.

All Quiet On The Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque - This is one of the 1001 Books To Read Before You Die and so I read it. It is about a group of young German soldiers in WWI and the absolute horrors that they lived through and witnessed. This was a pretty short book, it's less than 300 pages, but even so I couldn't put it down and read it straight through even though I didn't start reading it until about midnight. This was such a tragic, beautiful, heart breaking book showing how these boys went from school boy to hardened soldier so quickly and how awful it was for them. It deals with the terrifying ordeal of being at the front with the noise and the mud and the blood, the horrible deaths and injuries that were inflicted upon them and then contrasts it with the calm when they went home on leave, the lack of understanding of what it was really like. I loved this book and even shed a few tears towards the end of it. Very deserving of it's place on the 1001.

April:
My Sister Jodie by Jacqueline Wilson - And another one. This time about two sisters, Pearl the younger quieter sister and Jodie, the loud and often trouble making elder. They move with their parents to a boarding school when the parents are hired as caretaker and cook and so spend the summer there with the couple of children and staff left behind. Pearl makes friends with Harley and starts to really come into her own, making more friends and doing well in class while Jodie doesn't get on with any of the kids in her class and starts to become more and more miserable and get into more and more trouble as the term starts. And then something tragic happens. Ok, I did guess the tragic thing pretty early on, there was plenty of foreshadowing and it wasn't to hard to guess although I wasn't sure how far it was going to be taken, was it going to be tragic but fixable or tragic and forever? It is a kids book after all. I applaud Wilson for writing the ending that she did, not shying away from it because children will read it, kids can deal with a lot more than people give them credit for. This was another fairly standard book from her but I did enjoy it the most out of the ones I've read recently.

Coffee At Luke's: An Unauthorised Gilmore Girls Gabfest - I just watched the complete seven seasons of Gilmore Girls in a massive marathon and so bought this book with my birthday money. It is a book of essays about aspects of the show. Overall I did really enjoy this, there were one or two of the essays that I zoned out a bit reading them, the one about Old Money I glazed over a bit especially but there were also some that were really well written and interesting. In Defence Of Emily Gilmore was a good one in particular as was the one about how the Stars Hollow businesses would do in real life. But my favourite was probably the one about the three father figures in Rory Gilmore's life and how mathematically they shaped up as fathers and how add the three together and you get a pretty decent father. And not just because I'ma math geek. I also liked the one about the part food played in the series and the one about books. Overall an interesting collection that I enjoyed.

Currently Reading:
War And Peace by Leo Tolstoy
The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow And Other Stories by Washington Irving

happy__squirrel @ 2009-03-16T19:11:00

2009-03-16T20:34:22Z

Ok, to start off I shall give you two pieces of information about me; firstly I have a phobia of fire and secondly I have an anxiety disorder. So when my toaster caught fire this afternoon it was not my favourite thing ever. Stupid toaster. Stupid mini burger bun things that needed to be toasted cause they were too heavy. And stupid lack of a breeze that means the kitchen still smells like smoke.
*scowl*

But now I have a lemon French Fancy and a glass of Diet Coke so the world is on it's way to being right again. And I ordered some dvds last night that will be here soon. And I bought a webcam that was really cheap the other day and now am contemplating spamming the world with the wonder that is me since becoming re-addicted to Youtube. You know you want to know what I look and sound like, don't deny it =D

But anyway, now for my awesome book readingness. This year I am attempting to read 150 new books (ones that I have never read before) since last year I read 100. Not doing great so far because I got distracted by the final two seasons of Stargate Atlantis and the previously mentioned reoccurence of my love of Youtube. But anyway....

January:
Sebastian Darke: Prince Of Fools by Philip Caveney
Storm Front by Jim Butcher
The Rose Labyrinth by Titania Hardie
Fool Moon by Jim Butcher
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
Grave Peril by Jim Butcher

February:
The Master And Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov - This is another of the 1001 Books To Read Before You Die. It is set in Stalinist Russia and is the story of Satan coming to stay in Moscow, bringing with him a few of his demonic friends including a talking black cat. Running alongside this is also the story of Pontius Pilate written by the title character, The Master. I have to admit that I don't know that much about this time period in Russia, I was never taught about it in school and so I read it without much understanding of what Bulgakov was writing an allegory of and yet I still did enjoy this. This was so bizarre, profound, funny, sad, poetic and everything else all in one. It was a very interesting look at the time period, which I really do need to research a little, and a good look at the relationship between good and evil. I am glad I read this even though my lack of knowledge probably means that a lot of it went straight over my head.

Summer Knight by Jim Butcher - The fourth book of the Dresden Files again meeting Harry Dresden in an adventure, this time with the faerie courts of Summer and Winter. Leading on from Grave Peril, Harry is approached by the Winter Queen who has bought Harry's debt from his Godmother and offers him a deal; if he fulfills three requests then his debt is cleared. The first request from her is to discover who has killed the Summer Knight, mortal fighter of the Summer court who has just been murdered. The Winter Queen is being blamed and the two courts are about to go to war which would be very bad for everyone, especially the humans. So Harry sets out to find the killer. Woohoo. Ah, Harry, will you ever not have a whole bunch of people trying to kill you? I mean really. I really enjoyed this one, it was a proper murder mystery thing but with faeries. Jim Butcher continues to write perfect popcorn fiction. Loving it.

Montmorency by Elanor Updale - This was a children's book that I randomly picked up when I was at the library, it looked interesting. It is about a guy, we never learn his real name, who is a criminal in Victorian London. During a burglary he falls through a roof and gets horrifically hurt and so gets arrested. An upcoming doctor fixes him up and shows him off to the scientific community. He is given the name Montmorency and spends his time in prison or being paraded around like a prop and so hears a lecture about the new sewer system in London and decides that he will use it to get away with his criminal activities and so gain the wealth to become a gentleman. When he is released from prison he does just that, taking on two different personas, Montmorency the gentleman and his servant Scarper. This was a good book, I read it in a few hours, and it was an interesting story. The characters were colourful and the world appropriately dreary and glorious by turns. Looking forward to reading the next one.

Martyn Pig by Kevin Brooks - I read my first Kevin Brooks novel last year, Black Rabbit Summer, which I thoroughly enjoyed and so was really excited about reading this. This is the story of a boy, Martyn Pig, who lives alone with his alcoholic abusive father and finds solice only in his friendship with the beautiful girl from across the street and in watching and reading murder mysteries. Then one night everything changes when Marytn's father hits his head and dies and Martyn is presented with a choice; tell someone and go and live with his awful aunt, or hide it and make his own decisions for his life. This was another great page turner, read it in one sitting. I really felt for Martyn and found mysel rooting for him even when he was making stupid, teenage decisions. And even though I had my suspicions about something for most of the book, I knew there was something off about one of the characters, I completely did not see the twist coming until it was already happening and then I was just wincing inside as it unfolded. Damn you Kevin Brooks and your awesomeness.

happy__squirrel @ 2009-02-01T15:19:00

2009-02-01T16:31:46Z

So yeah, I haven't updated on book in a while so....

Amsterdam by Ian McEwan - This was a weird book, one of the 1001 books to read before you die and my first McEwan. It's about two guys who are both ex-lovers of the same woman who just died and they fall out over some photographs of another of the woman's lovers, a politician they both hate. One wants to publish them and the other wants to keep private. I enjoyed this and read it pretty quickly and it was a great look at morality of certain things like assisted suicide and ignoring a crime. I will definitely be checking out some more of his books in future.

The Good People by Steve Cockayne - This was weird as feck. This old bloke is writing to his nephew or something about his childhood and how he has a magical kingdom. It was more about mental health than about fantasy and some parts of it were really dark, far more bloody and adult than I was expecting from the blurb on the back.

Journey To The River Sea by Eva Ibbotson - This is one of the childrens books that I never read and lots of people told me that I should so upon finding it at the library I did so. It was pretty good, nice and cute story of a girl who goes to live with relatives in the Amazon who turn out to be not very nice. Adventures of course ensue and she suffers bravely and then gets a happily ever after.

The Highwayman's Footsteps by Nicola Morgan - This was good, about Will, the son of a wealthy but cruel man, who runs away and meets Bess who has assumed her dead father's position as a highwayman. They help a young soldier who has deserted and fight against the evil gentry, determined to make Will's father pay for his wicked ways. It's based on the poem The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes. I enjoyed it, a solid YA book.

Black Rabbit Summer by Kevin Brooks - I loved this book, it was fast paced and kept me guessing for almost the whole story. It's about a group of teenagers who have been best friends since they were kids and decide to have one last night together before they go off to college or work or whatever. They meet up in their secret den and go to the fair but then everything goes wrong. The main character Peter loses track of his best friend Raymond who is a bit odd and then finds Raymond's rabbit killed. Raymond is missing but so is Stella, a girl that they went to school with who is now famous, and people are more concerned about her. So Pete tries to figure out what has happened to his friend. This was a great mystery, pulling you in fairly quickly and then refusing to let go as Pete faces the reality that one of his friends might be a murderer, but was also a good look at how childhood friends drift apart. The characters were believable and interesting, especially Raymond who was my favourite and was rather crazy, he talked to his rabbit and it talked back.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman - Neil Gaiman is a good. Simple as. This was another fantastic book from him about a boy who is brought up by ghosts in a graveyard because the man Jack is out to kill him for an unknown reason. It is really a series of short stories in feel as the chapters could easily stand alone but there was a nice arc over it all. And Silas is epic win.

Bareback by Kit Whitfield - I have much love for werewolves, in my opinion they are really under-rated and not given the attention that people lavish on vampire stories. So I was excited to find this book and get my much needed werewolf fix. This is set in an alternate world where the majority of people are born feet first and so are Lycos, they change into a wolf at the full moon. The minority are born head first and are nons, second class citiziens who are forced to work for DORLA and risk their lives patrolling the streets at the full moon to capture any Lycos roaming the streets. The protaganist is a non lawyer Lola who starts to investigate the truth after one of her friends and colleagues is mauled by a Lyco and then a few days murdered with a silver bullet. She uncovers some dark truths and there is a lot of darkness in this book, murder, torture and sexual assault. The non children of Lycos for example are forced to spend full moons in nurseries where the electricity is produced by a generator and cruelty abounds. This is a great look at what it means to be considered lesser than the majority.

Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy - Skulduggery is a magician who died and came back as a skeleton. It is epic. He and a young girl Stephanie are caught up in adventure when her uncle dies and the bad guys are after something he left behind. Exciting and funny adventure ensues and there is magic aplenty. Loving it.

Skulduggery Pleasant: Playing With Fire by Derek Landy - Second Skuldugery book, more evil people are out to end the world and Skulduggery and Stephanie, now known as Valkyrie Cain, are in the way. High jinks and fighting vampires and a crazy ass Frankenstein monster thing. Woot.

Oroonoko by Aphra Behn - 1001 books but wasn't that great, an African prince falls in love with a woman, marries her but then the King guy wants her and so he sneaks into her room and she gets sent off as a slave. He then gets taken by an evil white guy and goes off to be a slave and is reunited with his love. But then every goes wrong and the slaves revolt and there is a great deal of not good.

Life On The Refrigerator Door by Alice Kuipers - Really interesting book told entirely through notes left between a mother and daughter on the fridge. They start out as silly things like 'get milk' or 'I'm going to so and so's for a sleepover' but then they change when the mother is diagnosed with cancer. This took me less than an hour to read but really got to me, I was in tears at the end. We really do need to communicate more face to face with the people we love and this was a touching reminder of just that.

M Is For Magic by Neil Gaiman - Short stories from the Gaiman, good as usual. The one with the toy box creeped me out.

Memoirs Of A Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin - Naomi falls down the school steps and wakes up with no memory of the past six years. She can't remember her best friend or whether or not she has a boyfriend, she has no recollection of her parent's divorce or her new house. But the guy who rides with her in the ambulance is gorgeous and intriguing and soon she is head over heels. This is about how she deals with not remembering and how she decides to live her life, coming to terms with who you are and whether or not you like how you act or the people you hang out with. Pretty good but a bit mushy for my tastes.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury - Burning books is very bad, I think most people would agree, but for this fireman it's just his job. When books are found he and his group go and burn the house to the ground. But when he keeps a book rather than burn it he starts to question everything he's known and goes on a journey to save culture and escape the intense rigidity of life in this dystopia. This is a cult classic and I can see why. This world is actually my worst nightmare, no burning of books plzkthx.

Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons - Ok, this is supposed to be a hilarious book and though I did chuckle a few times for the most part it was just weird. A girl goes to live with relatives on Cold Comfort Farm and sets out to shape them all into lovely people. This of course involves taming the beautiful daughter and defeating the crazy grandma. It was ok but not that exciting for me.

The Future Of Modern Policing: 1981 Edition by DCI Gene Hunt - Gene Hunt = God. A look at the police in the eighties in a wonderful and funny light. Poor Gene Genie is not too happy with how the police are treated after the great ride he had in the seventies. *hugs the Gene Genie*

Sebastian Darke: Prince Of Fools by Philip Caveney - Sebastian, the son of a great Jester now has to go and become a Jester, except he is not funny. At all. So along with Max the talking buffalope and Cornelius the mini warrior he goes and saves the beautiful princess and fights against evil slave traders and corrupt rulers. This was pretty funny and Max was great. Will be picking up the sequel if the library gets it.

Storm Front by Jim Butcher - Harry Dresden is the only wizard in the Chicago phone book so it him that gets the call when people are murdered in a very unnatural way. These books are great popcorn reads, quick and exciting with great characters and a talking skull. When I was half way through this I ordered the next five in excitment. Loving Harry Dresden.

The Rose Labyrinth by Titania Hardie - This took me forever to read and even when I was finished I still didn't understand a lot of it, went completely over my head, lots of stuff about history that I had no idea about. At it's heart there was a mystery about a family legacy and the importance of certain numbers and words and keys. And there are some evil religious guys. My head hurts just thinking about this....

Fool Moon by Jim Butcher - Harry Dresden faces off against a lot of very angry werewolves. Yay.

Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell - This was a book in a book in a book in a book in a book in a book. Or something like that. Each of five stories were split in half and..... well it was like 1 2 3 4 5 6 5 4 3 2 1..... like that. Yeah. And they were all connected. And yeah.... it's hard to explain. But it was good. And one of the 1001.

Grave Peril by Jim Butcher - Harry up against ghosts and vampires and faerie godmothers. Hellz yeah. Harry really needs a hug.

happy__squirrel @ 2009-02-01T14:40:00

2009-02-01T14:41:08Z

It's snowing!!!

=D

And I have tea.
Life is good.

happy__squirrel @ 2009-01-31T23:43:00

2009-01-31T23:49:52Z

Just got back from seeing Valkyrie with my mum and sister and I have to say that it was a damn good film, thoroughly enjoyable throughout. There was a lot of really good tension which is quite an achievement considering that anyone who hasn't been under a rock for the last 60 odd years knows how it's going to turn out, and there was a serious wealth of great British actors. And also, a film in which I liked Tom Cruise, now there is an achievement. I am not usually a fan but he was great in this, plus, loving the eye patch look. And that's the first film ticked on my list of films to watch this year. Woot.

And there was a trailer for Watchmen on before it and I got excited becasue it was the first time I'd seen it on a big screen. But then my sister was just like, "What the hell is that?"
Sometimes I wonder if we really are related.
*le sigh*

And also, on the way in there was a poster for the upcoming Star Trek movie with Spock on it and my sister pointed and asked why Sylar was on a poster and I got excited again and babbled about Star Trek and then said that I have to see it and that Simon Pegg is going to be Scotty and babbled some more. The cinema ticket taking guy laughed at me >.> What? It's exciting!

happy__squirrel @ 2008-12-25T00:03:00

2008-12-25T00:05:16Z

Merry Christmas Everyone
Hope You All Have A Good One
<33

happy__squirrel @ 2008-11-28T20:33:00

2008-11-28T20:35:20Z

Woohoo!! I have now written 50,000 words of utter crap!!!
But I don't care I love it anyway!!
Go me!!

happy__squirrel @ 2008-10-13T04:30:00

2008-10-13T04:50:23Z

I got Guitar Hero III Legends Of Rock for PS2 on Saturday and I can officially say that it is the best thing in the history of ever. That may be a slight exaggeration but it is exceedingly awesome. I've been driving my mum a bit crazy with it though, she doesn't understand the awesome and it most definitely not her kind of music. So far I've only played on the easy setting, more than three buttons and I'll get confused and fail dismally, I don't have that much coordination. Plus, I really need bigger hands, I can barely reach the two end buttons at the same time.

And also on the new obsessions front we can find Criminal Minds. I have watched the first two and a half seasons in the past week, am seriously wanting to buy the dvds and just ordered the first tie-in novel so it can be safely assumed that I am obsessed. Especially with one Dr. Spencer Reid who I am majorly crushing on. Seriously, the whole geeky, vest-shirt-tie combo wearing, random knowledge spouting thing? Yes please. I can has Reid now? <33

Cranford And Other Stories by Elizabeth Gaskell - Having a major Elizabeth Gaskell binge at the moment since discovering her work recently. She is a wonderful writer and really doesn't get the credit or attention she deserves which tends to be directed instead at Austen or the Brontes. This was a collection of three of her shorter novels, Cranford (including The Cage At Cranford), Mr Harrison's Confessions and My Lady Ludlow. They were all wonderful; Cranford tells of the nosy female inhabitants of Cranford, the amazingly quaint town where nothing has changed in a long time, everyone knows everything about each other and some of the most major events involve a cat eating some lace and a cow becoming bald; Confessions was funny, with a young doctor finding that he has unknowingly made several of the local women think he wanted to marry them when he actually wants to marry the vicar's daughter; My Lady Ludlow is about a woman who is stuck in the past and doesn't want the poor to be taught to read or write because of the events of the French Revolution. Overall I love Gaskell's writing and her stories but of the lot Cranford remains my favourite, so amazingly quaint. And the BBC series was also amazing, combining all three stories into one.

Is It Just Me Or Is Everything Shit? by Steve Lowe and Alan McArthur - Yes, everything is shit. Or at least according to this book. Very funny in places and completely going over my head in others, this did make me laugh and only took me a few hours to get through. And man, I really did agree with some of them.

The Intimate Adventures Of A London Call Girl by Belle de Jour - I've been reading Belle's blog for a while now and I like the tv show with Billie Piper so I thought I would give this a try. As usual Belle is very witty and her exploits rather funny and very sexual. Much the same as her blog but with some interesting extra parts, I enjoyed it and I would quite like to read the others.

The Unrivalled Spangles by Karen Wallace - Circus girl falls in love with rich doctor's son, sister falls in love with a rival circus owner's son, sister dies, girl falls in love with sister's lover. All live happily ever after. Really quick read, quite adorable if very predictable children's story.

Sugar Rush by Julie Burchill - I love the tv show of this, watched both seasons and was seriously annoyed when the third was cancelled in favour of Big bloody Brother. This is the story of Kim, a teenager who moves to a rough comprehensive school after her mum runs off with a younger man. Her she meets Maria 'Sugar' Sweet and falls completely in love with her. And so many antics and much teenage angst ensues. This was a bit different from the show but that was good because it meant that I didn't know what was going to happen next. Really enjoyed this and am now on the look out for the sequel.

Batman: The Ultimate Guide To The Dark Knight by Scott Beatty - It was in the library and it had Batman on the front and I was running out of Batman comics to read. Moth. Flame. Lots of nice shiny pictures and random pieces of info on everyone's favourite tights wearing vigilante and his various cohorts. Man, I love Batman. And the Joker. And Gordon.

Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell - This was quite depressing really, which isn't suprising considering that it is set in the poor mill workers district of Manchester in the 1840s where poverty was rife and people regularly died for want of food. Mary Barton is a young woman, living with her widowed father, who rejects her childhood friend Jem's offer of marriage only to realize that she loves him moments later. Then the wealthy man who was courting her, with dishonourable intentions, ends up shot dead and she has to prove that Jem wasn't responsible. This was Gaskell's first novel and dealt with some quite ground breaking things, not least of which was the character of Mary's aunt, a prostitute, who is portrayed with sympathy and shown to act in a selfless manner. I did enjoy this although it was slightly predictable. I didn't find Mary to be particularly compelling but the characters around her made up for it.

Nice Cup Of Tea And A Sit Down by Nicey and Wifey - This book was so written for me. A whole book about having a cup of tea, a nice biscuit and a sit down. My idea of perfection. This was a really funny book, filled with little chunks of information about the most beloved of English things. Ranging from the worst cup of tea that the author ever had and the wonder of the Rich Tea biscuit, to how to buy a teapot or organise your biscuit tin, this is a must read for all tea drinkers. I may have to get a copy of this for my grandad for Christmas....

Gothic Tales by Elizabeth Gaskell - Another Gaskell, this time a bunch of short stories and novellas with gothic elements. Some of these were really creepy, the one with the girl who has an evil other made me shiver a couple of times and the one about the Salem witch trials was horrid, I really hated the horrible little girl who pretends to be being magically attacked by the protaganist. I did love Curious, If True which took a bunch of fairytale characters having a party and added a man who got lost. Gaskell is fast becoming a favourite of mine.

The Seventh Tower: The Fall by Garth Nix - I love you Garth Nix, you genius of a man, you. Seriously, this man seems to be incapable of writing anything that I don't adore. This is a series that is being rerealeased and the second one just came out so I read the first two together. This is the story of Tal, a boy who lives in the seven towered Castle, where the Chosen manipulate light, the most valued commodity since the world is cloaked in darkness as a result of the Veil which is blocking out the sun. Tal's father is missing and he needs to find a new primary sunstone inorder to save his mother and become a full chosen but while trying to steal one he falls from the Red Tower and meets people called the Icecarls, though he has been told his whole life that there isn't anything beyond the castle. So with the help of Milla, a girl who wants to kill him, he starts back to the Castle to uncover the plots and save himself and his family. Oh yes, epic indeed. Loving it.

The Seventh Tower: Castle by Garth Nix - Back at the castle and being chased by sinister forces, Tal and Milla get captured and have to fight to survive and find a sunstone with the help of Tal's eccentric Great-Uncle Ebbitt. More epic awesomeness. Garth Nix, I bow before your awesomeness. Please hurry up and rerelease the rest so I can read them and know what happens <333

happy__squirrel @ 2008-09-05T17:02:00

2008-09-05T17:41:19Z

Another lot of books I've read in the last month and a bit, be warned I tend to ramble, hence lj-cut.... And a new default icon <333 Just cause I was bored.... and have Doctor Who and Narnia obsessions and it suddenly occured to me...

Tithe by Holly Black - I didn't get this book at all. It's about a teen girl, Kaye, who's mother is in a band. One of the other members tries to stab her mum so they go back to live with her grandmother where the girl used to be friends with little fairy people. And then she finds out that they were real and there are some evil fairy people and she has to pretend to be a sacrifice so that they can be free. And there's a fairy guy who works for the evil queen person who is 'omg so hawt!!!11!!!one!!!' It really seemed to skip about far too much, one page they are talking or watching tv and then on the next they have found the evil fairy lair. The idea was good but I think that the way it was written wasn't very enjoyable and it didn't flow properly. I don't think that me reading the sequels is likely to happen.

The Plot Against America by Philip Roth - This is another of the 1001 Books To Read Before You Die so I checked it out when I saw it in the library. This is a very interesting concept; what would have happened if Lindbergh was elected president of the United States instead of Roosevelt when Hitler was rising to power and WWII was beginning. This really was quite harrowing, the believability of what the book shows, the ease with which America could have been made sympathetic to the Nazis if led by an antisemite, this really did quite horrify me. We tend to think about the Nazis as evil monsters, not as the western civilized people that they were to start with. It would have been just as plausable for them to have become the dominant power in America or even England if circumstances had been different. We see all the events of the book through the eyes of a child, Philip Roth himself, witnessing his world shattering around him as his brother sides with those his father considers enemies, and his cousin runs away to join the fight against the Nazis only to lose a leg and return home a deeply damaged man. This did take me quite a while to read and it isn't the kind of book that I usually read but I am glad that I read it.

Jumper by Steven Gould - I saw and liked the film, although there was way too much of Davy obsessing over the girl, and I had heard that the book was really different so I thought I would read and compare. The book was actually suprisingly good, the story of Davy, a boy who's mother left years ago leaving him to the mercy of his abusive father. One day Davy discovers that he can jump, teleport to another place that he has been before and picture in his mind so he runs away, robs a bank, meets a girl and sets out to find his mum. He finds her but she soon gets killed by terrorists so Davy vows to destroy the people who killed his mum. And now the government is after him. I really did enjoy this, it was fast paced and the characters were believable, even if some of the events were a little far fetched even for a world in which people can teleport. The relationship between Davy and Millie is much better, more depth is given to it and there is an actual escalation of their feelings and they just act more like real people would. I was a bit disappointed that Griffin wasn't in it though, he was so the best thing in the movie. And the idea behind jumping was good, the descriptions of it and the effect on Davy's life were some of the best bits of the book. I must now find Griffin's Story.... Griffin for the win <33

Five Children And It by E. Nesbit - I loved, loved, loved the BBC production of this when I was little, the psammead with his swelling belly when he grants a wish is so many levels of adorable and grumpy. So, once again, my trusty library came through for me and I grabbed this off the shelf the second I noticed it. This is the story of Cyril, Anthea, Robert, Jane and baby Lamb who move away from London to go to live in the White House next to which is a gravel pit where they meet the psammead, a sand-fairy who will grant them one wish a day that will disappear at sunset. And of course many adventures ensue ranging from the children growing wings to the house turing into a besieged castle. I love this story, it is a big part of my childhood. Psammead is love <333

The Return Of The Psammead by Helen Cresswell - I was given this by my godfather when I was really young because of my love for Five Children And It. This is the story of a different group of children who go to stay at the White House when their twins brothers catch scarlet fever. They of course meet the psammead and have many wishes and adventures. This time it's trips into the future and fighting smugglers. This isn't as great as the original, but that is to be expected. The psammead is still perfect in his grumpyness.

Make Lemonade by Virginia Euwer Wolff - This was a random book that I picked up just because. It's told through the eyes of a teenage girl who starts babysitting for a young single mother of two kids and the relationship that develops between them as she sees how hard it is for the mother and so strives to help her. This was really short and it was written as a stream of conciousness so it took very little time to read but by the end I had quite connected with the characters and their individual plights. Not my usual kind of book but well worth the time I spent reading it.

Stravaganza: City Of Secrets by Mary Hoffman - I love this series, it is made of win. This time we meet Matt, a dyslexic teen boy who goes to the same school as the characters we have previously met. He gets given a book token and uses it to buy an old book in the antique store where Georgia found her horse statue, and falling asleep he finds himself in Padavia in the printing presses of the university where Luciano is currently a student. And of course there are some di Chimici to be dealt with, some evil plots to be foiled and some friendships to be formed. Matt soon finds himself part of the group of Stravaganti as he waits to find out why he is there. This series is just plain awesome, the characters are great, the plots exciting and even the romance is low key enough to not annoy me. Luciano and Arianna are finally engaged and she is now secretly visiting him dressed as a boy *squee*. But in this one the di Chimici take psychotic to a new level, they way that they try to kill Luciano is seriously fecked up. I hope she writes more soon.

Back Home by Michelle Magorian - This was written by the same woman who wrote Goodnight Mister Tom so it promised to be good. Rusty was sent to America during WWII as an evacuee and has been living with a wonderful American family for years so when she returns to post war England she finds it very hard, missing her American 'family' and finding England drab and wet and boring. She barely remembers her mother, she has a little brother she has never met before and her father returns to a situation he doesn't know how to deal with so Rusty gets sent to boarding school, which she hates. We see her struggle to belong, her desire to run away back to America and her final realisation of where she belonged. This was great, well written with great plot and characters. I really felt for this girl who didn't belong anywhere and how hard she found everything that was so different. There isn't enough written about the children who were evacuated and then were expected to just go back to people and places that they could barely remember. Good read.

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens - I have a soft spot for Dickens. He is made of win. And I was intending to read Mister Pip which is about people reading Great Expectations so I thought I should read this first to avoid spoilers. Loved it. The story of Pip, an orphan who lives with his sister and her husband, who goes to spend time with the specteral Miss Havisham in her time trapped house with the beautiful Estella, his rise to fortune, and his adventures with his mysterious benefactor. This is a classic for a reason. Miss Havisham is one of Dickens' greatest creations, trapped in the moment when she was left by her fiancee. Estella is deliciously cruel, Joe wonderfully warm and Pip perfectly human. Dickens is steeped in symbolism and this is him at his best. Wonderful.

Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones - This was on the Richard and Judy booklist. This is set on an island besieged and without aid from the world, where the only white man becomes the teacher of the children with only a copy of Great Expectations. This book totally broke my heart, it was all quite happy and pleasant and then all of a sudden it was all 'death, blood, destruction rawr!!' It was most distressing.

The Perks Of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky - This was wonderful. I really felt a connection with this book that I have found very rarely before. I really understood the main character and his confusion at the world. I have panic attacks, depression and anxiety, I can barely comprehend the world around me a lot of the time, I just don't get people and I've always been kind of on the outside, on the edge, even when I was in school with a great group of friends I was always a bit reluctant, very much the wallflower of the group. This is told through letters the protaganist Charlie writes to someone we know nothing about, no name, no age, not even a gender. Charlie opens up his heart, trying to come out of himself more and slowly unearthing a terrible betrayal from his childhood. This was a wonderful book. Really touched my heart.

After The Death Of Alice Bennett by Rowland Molony - This was really sad, a young boy convinces himself that his recently deceased mother can be contacted by text message and so sends a message to a number she left on the kitchen notice board and so begins communicating with a man who wants to help this child so obviosuly in pain. There is nothing sinister about this book, it was a story of people with nothing but good intentions and of dealing with loss. Great children's book.

happy__squirrel @ 2008-08-14T19:10:00

2008-08-14T19:28:02Z

Comment on this post. I will choose seven interests from your profile and you will explain what they mean and why you are interested in them. Post this along with your answers in your own journal so others can play along.

These interests were chosen from my profile by dj_intheuk

Samurai Champloo
This is an anime series about two Samurai, Mugen and Jin. Jin is a ronin, very traditional, calm and very skilled with a sword whereas Mugen is more instinctual and has a short fuse and they pretty much hate each other but after they are saved from execution by a waitress called Fuu they set out together to help her track down a samurai who smells like sunflowers. It sounds random, and it is, but it is awesome, the animation if beautiful and the fight sequences are put together like dances. It blends modern with historic very well and has a lot of hip hop and r&b mixed with traditional music. And it's from the guy behind Cowboy Bebop so it was pretty much destined to be awesome which is why I watched it in the first place. This was one of the first anime series I watched and remains one of my favourites.

Marmite
You either love it or you hate it, and I love it. Like, an insane amount. I have an old marmite poster hanging up in my room with a little girl carrying a massive tray of marmiteand bread. It isn't appreciated enough. Especially cheese and marmite sandwiches, the idea of which has made a good few people I know look like they just ate a raw lemon. And then that Paddington Bear advert came along and now it's all acceptable even though Paddington would never eat anything except marmalade sandwiches. Shame on you advert people, shame!! Ok, I went on a bit of a tangent there but never mind.

Hayao Miyazaki
I love this guy's films, they are gorgeous. I have a bit of a thing for anime that started a few years ago when I was at university with my friend Heather and Hayao Miyazaki is pretty much the greatest animation director in Japan and is the man behind Studio Ghibli which has produced so many wonderful films. They are always beautiful with great characters and plots, the most famous ones being Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle of recent years. And his film My Neighbour Totoro is possibly the cutest film ever made ever. And he holds true to the old ways of animation, he won't let more than about 10% of any of his films be computer generated. And he's an anglophile which means he has great taste.

Advent Children
I love Final Fantasy and this movie was a continuation of FFVII, generally accepted as the best of the games. It is gorgeous. Sheer eye candy. I could watch this over and over again and not get bored. The soundtrack is pretty spiffy too. Witness the epicness of the English trailer, although I do vastly prefer watching the movie in the original Japanese...

Death Note
This is my favourite ever manga, which is just a fancy way of saying Japanese comic book. It's 12 volumes long and tells of a guy called Light Yagumi who finds a note book dropped by a shinigami (death god) and finds out that anyone's name written inside it will die. So he starts killing off criminals and soon attracts a lot of attention and so a secret guy known only as L is sent in to find out who is behind it. This is basically a massive game of cat and mouse between two geniuses....genii.... two really really clever people. It is epic and very intelligently thoughout, the plot constantly twists in completely unexpected ways. And not too long ago got adapted into two movies and an anime. And L is one of my favourite characters of all time, he is made of win.

Browncoats
This is the term used to refer to fans of the short lived series Firefly, a reference to the soldiers of the losing side of a war against the evil Alliance. Fellow Browncoats I've meet are wonderful people and you can strike up a conversation with a complete stranger upon discovering this shared bond. It is hard to describe how much Firefly really means to a lot of the fans, those who campaigned for years and finally were rewarded with the release of Serenity. It's a shared bond that really makes you feel a part of something and I am constantly recruiting people I know to the Browncoat way.

River Tam
River is a character from Firefly, a girl who was sent to a school for gifted children by her parents at 14 which was run by the Alliance. Her she was experimented on and driven insane and finally rescued by her brother Simon which is how they came to be aboard Serenity, the main setting for Firefly. She is wonderfully portrayed by Summer Glau who is a wonderful actress and amazingly graceful, she was going to be a ballet dancer before she hurt herself and turned to acting. River is so crazy but so much fun and everything she says is completely cryptic but usually important so you really have to pay attention to her. She is delightfully child like one second but then will turn round and do or say something incredibly creepy. This is one of my favourite scenes of hers...

happy__squirrel @ 2008-07-29T19:06:00

2008-07-29T18:14:29Z

Just went to see Batman: The Dark Knight with my sister, who I am slowly turning into a geek *insert evil laughter* I am so glad that I avoided spoilers to an insane degree because it was so many levels of awesome. My sister has probably never read a comic book in her life so she gave me a strange look when I started rambling on about Two Face and Arkham.... but I continued to ramble anyway.

Heath Ledger was amazing as The Joker, really an excellent role to be his last, I really hope he does get that Oscar people have been talking about. I love The Joker in the comics, he is such a psycho.... especially in Arkham Asylum.... man that is one fecked up comic book.

Is it bad that I want to turn right around and go back and watch it all over again?

My inner geek is having joyspasms.
And there was a trailer for Hellboy 2 <3333
Bring on the comic book movies!!!

happy__squirrel @ 2008-07-24T16:34:00

2008-07-24T17:32:13Z

I feel like crap so I shall make a post about books because books make everything better....

Stravaganza: City Of Stars by Mary Hoffman - Second of the Stravaganza series, the basic premise of which is that there is a parellel world, a few centuries behind us where the names of countries and towns are different but they are still recognisable. And people called Stravaganti can travel from our world to there using a talismen. This book introduced another Stravaganti from our world, a girl called Georgia who has an evil step-brother, no friends and a small horse statue she buys from a local antique shop that transports her to Remora, the parellel version of Sienna. Here she meets Luciano; the Stravangte from the first book who got stuck there, dying in our world. And she just so happens to go to the same school, have had a major crush on him and to top it all off, his mother is her piano teacher. This was another great book, very exciting and fast paced. There were a lot of new and interesting characters introduced, including two brothers of the di Chimici family who aren't evil murderers (a rarity in their family) and a flying horse. I loved the idea of the city split into twelve sections, each with it's own allegiances and enemies, very interestingly done. This was probably my favourite of the first three, I haven't read the fourth book yet.....

Stravaganza: City Of Flowers by Mary Hoffman - The third book introduces Sky, a boy with an ill single mother and an absent rock-star father. He finds a blue glass perfume bottle on his front step and this transports him to Giglia, the parellel Florence, where he is passed off as a friar in training. And then there is the major events of the four di Chimici weddings that are about to take place, and their rivals aren't going to let it be a peaceful day. And then he finds out that the fierce best friend of the girl he has a major crush on is another Stravangti; Georgia. And so this book was epic. All the previous characters and all the new came together all at once in a very complex and interweaving story. And there was blood. Much more violent than the previous books. And a lot of the time I really wanted to bang some of their heads together. But the end made me totally squee in an extremely fan girly way. Oh yeah, I'd been waiting for that since the first book. Bring on the fourth..... which is sat on my to read pile.

The Thing With Finn by Tom Kelly - This is a children's book but it was brand new and shiny in the library and I was the first person to check it out so I don't care. You are never too old to read anything. So there. Anyway, this was a really...odd book though really quite sad. Some of the things that would have made me laugh when I was younger just made me roll my eyes or look confused but the main portion of the book was enjoyable. It wasn't particularly linear in the way it was told, a lot of the time the narrator skipped backwards or forwards to something else before returning and continuing. But the main hook of the book was to find out exactly what did happen to the narrator's twin brother Finn who is very noticably absent, and you know it is going to be something tragic. It was quite touching throughout as he met people who helped him along with his journey of discovery. I especially loved the old lady with the signs to tell people off for littering and talking on their phone in the car. She was epic in awesomeness. The last, like sentence or two really confused me though. I was like, huh? But maybe I'm just stupid *shrug*

Jacky Daydream by Jacqueline Wilson - I loved Jacqueline Wilson's books when I was younger, I still have a few of my favourites, because she dealt with real issues in a way that was easy to understand as a child when the idea of divorce etc was a distant horror that just seemed incomprehensible, until it happens. My father had an affair and left when I was eleven and this was just when I found her books like Illustrated Mum and Suitcase Kid and it really made an impact. I could totally relate to these characters and suddenly here was this author who seemed to really remember what it was like to be a kid. So when I found her own story in the library I decided I really wanted to read it, to know more about this unique woman and what her childhood was like. And it was great. Lots of the things that happened in the books really happened to her. She wasn't taken into care or anything but her story was just as interesting as her characters. I loved how at the end of each chapter there was a question about which of the characters had experienced something similar and then there was a page or so about that character and his or her story which is a great idea for kids. And when she was talking about the books she read I was just grinning from ear to ear, realising that someone else read the same books I did. She is a great woman, and she was a great kid. Very interesting read.

Skin Hunger by Kathleen Duey - I saw this in the RedHouse catalogue of children's books. Children's books are often amazing and people totally pass over them because they think that you have to read books for your age. Well screw that, if a childrens or teen book looks interesing I'm going to read it damnit. And this book was brand new, never read in the library which made me want to read it even more, because, you know, I'm weird. But anyway, man this was awesome. Really, really dark story in a lot of ways, teenage boys are allowed to starve to death, so if you were expecting happy, magicalness then you would be disappointed. There are two stories taking place, firstly that of a girl called Sadima living in a world where magic is outlawed and very underground and her father hates everything to do with magic because her mother was left to die by a magician after her birth. Secondly a boy called Hahp, second son of a rich merchant sent to learn magic inside dark caves with nine others, his room mate the only poor boy among them, where they are given no food that they do not create themselves by magic and only one of the ten pupils will graduate and leave the caves. These two stories are intimately linked though it is not revealed at first how, seperated as they are by generations. When I got to the end I was just so annoyed because the second isn't out yet. I want to know what happens!!! My library better get it pretty quickly.

Perfume by Patrick Suskind - This book was epically awesome. This is one of the 1001 Books To Read Before You Die and it so deserves it's place. This is the story of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, born and abandoned in Paris but possesing an amazing, inhuman sense of smell. As he grows up unloved and unwanted by anyone he develops his sense of smell and becomes obsessed with possesing the most beautiful smell of all, that of a young virgin girl. He is a complete sociopath, without empathy or remorse for anything he does but he is such an intriguing character. No matter how much revulsion I should be feeling for what it is he is actually doing, I could not help but want to keep reading, to know more about this man. The way it is written is so perfect, so rich as it describes the many everyday smells that we barely even notice. The end was a bit out there.... like really, but somehow it fit in with the rest of the book. I order everyone in the world to go buy this book right now. And then read it. And then read it again. Go on. You know you want to.

The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle - Ah, my dear Sherlock how I love your amazing mind. This is a collection of short adventures and intrigues ranging from murders to missing brides. And I think I solved one before the end. How is it that after more than a hundred years these stories can still baffle us until Mr Holmes reveals all in his perfectly logical manner with a clever disguise and a little help from his dear friend Mr Watson. I really must read Hound Of The Baskervilles at some point. And this is another tick on the 1001.

Girl With A Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier - Not really my kind of book but I wanted to know what the fuss was about with the film and everything. It was quite an interesting idea, the story of the girl in the painting who nobody knows who she is. I liked that it never went over the threshold into an actually love affair, and that it was more about how she had such love and respect for him but that he saw her as little more than something to paint. And that one child was evil!

The God Of Small Things by Arundhati Roy - Yet another of the 1001, this was quite good but not something I would want to read again. The story is of a family in India who have suffered tragedies that aren't revealed until very late in the book, we are told early on that the girl Sophie Mol dies but we don't know how or why it had such a huge impact on the rest of the family's lives. The majority is about the twins, one boy and one girl, who are seperated as children and then reunited in their thirties, though there are many off shoots about others members of the family. The book is told completely out of order so important details are cleverly hidden from us yet teasingly mentioned as the story slowly untangles. It was beautifully written although some parts left me a bit bored or confused, especially when it talked about politics which just went totally over my head. Anyway, another tick.

Weaveworld by Clive Barker - This book is of epic proportions, over 700 pages of awesome. The premise sounds a little weird, it's about a world that hid from their enemies by being weaved into a carpet. But seriously, actually read it and it makes perfect sense. This story was so complex, so detailed and so gloriously magical that I read it within a few days despite it's size. The main characters are Cal and Suzanna, two people who have never met and yet are destined to be the saviours of the Fugue, the world woven into a carpet in Suzanna's estranged grandmother's house which Cal stumbles upon when trying to recapture one of his father's escaped racing pigeons. It would be pretty much impossible to explain the story to anyone, it has far too many characters and events worthy of mention from the cruel Imacolata and her wraith sisters to Nimrod, the libidious man posing as a baby when we meet him. This book was amazing. Fantasy of epic awesomeness.

Being Impossible by Hiawyn Oram - Another kid's book that was brand new in the library... and the cover had a cat playing a trumpet so I had to read it. It's the story of a Logan, a twelve year old girl who feels abandoned by everyone when her mother is in Australia with her father who has broken his hip, her father is locked in his studio with a 'do not disturb' sign on the door and her sister is staying with a friend, leaving her to deal with the new housekeeper and her child hating parrot. Then she meets Tiff, a magical talking, piano playing cat and her life becomes much more exciting. Read this in a couple of hours, this was a great kid's book, very magical and exciting. And who doesn't love a talking cat?

Lost Souls by Poppy Z Brite - Someone on Gaia has an obsession with this book so when I saw it in the library I decided to give it a go. This is not the kind of thing I would usually pick up, this is about vampires and bands and drugs, sex and alcohol. These vampires are not made, they are born. If they bite a human they can't change them into a vampire, it doesn't work like that. Vampire child Nothing comes into the world, killing his human mother with his birth and is left on the doorstep of a human family and grows up knowing he is different but not knowing why. When he is fifteen he runs away and meets a trio of bloodthirsty vampires who spend all their time killing, drinking, taking drugs and have sex. And then there are Steve and Ghost, who are the band Lost Souls? whom Nothing feels a connection with. This is the start of a story soaked in blood, very explicit in terms of violence and sex, and yet it totally drew me in. I really grew to care what happened to Nothing and Ghost especially, despite my revulsion at some of the things that were happening. Not for the faint of heart but if you have a reasonably strong stomach then this is a good read. Emo teens will love it.

Self-Made Man by Poppy Z Brite - Collection of short stories, I got this because one of them is about Ghost and Steve from Lost Souls. Lots more blood, guts, gore and sex. Some of the stories really made my skin crawl but they were so well written that I couldn't put it down. Poppy Z Brite is someone I will probably be reading more from.

S.T.O.R.M. The Black Sphere by E L Young - Third in the super kids series, this time investigating why a group of scientists have been killed in Switzerland. More great gadgets and evil villians, this series is totally a guilty pleasure of mine. And exploding ink is an awesome idea!!!

Mister B. Gone by Cliver Barker - Very interesting idea. The opening sentence of this book is "Burn this book". The reader is being spoken to by Jakabok Botch, demon trapped inside the book, pleading, threatening and entreating you, trying to get you to burn it. He tells you his tale of how he came to the world from hell, how he travelled and murdered, how he found a great secret. And all the while he asks you to burn the book and be done with it. It's not interesting he says. I'll slit your throat he says. I'll give you a big house he says. But you know that it's just a book, right? Well a few times I did get a little freaked out, when he tells you that he can feel your fingers on the pages, he's watching your eyes reading the words, that for every page you turn he is taking another step towards you. Very creepy. This isn't horror exactly as it is described, but it was nicely atmospheric and creepy. And a nice look at the battle between Heaven and Hell. I'm glad I read it.

happy__squirrel @ 2008-07-05T22:25:00

2008-07-05T21:30:03Z

It's been almost three hours since the end of season four of Doctor Who
and I still keep randomly getting teary.
I am pathetic but I don't care!!
*sniffle*
I shall now cling pathetically to my Doctor doll.
And sulk like a little girl.
And wait for it to be Christmas.

happy__squirrel @ 2008-06-27T01:28:00

2008-06-27T00:30:28Z

Went and saw Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian.
I approve. So does Aslan.
*nodnod*
That is all.

happy__squirrel @ 2008-06-19T17:00:00

2008-06-19T16:02:26Z

Lookit what I won *squeal*

happy__squirrel @ 2008-06-19T00:19:00

2008-06-18T23:37:24Z

Just got back from a really long day in London. Woke up at nine (yuck....daylight is not good... no it is not....) but my lovely mummy made me a cup of tea to make my brain fuzzy-feel-good. Then it was off to the train station and two hours later it was London baby!! Wandered around Piccadily Circus and Trafalger Square for a bit, had a subway cause.... yum. And then.... the reason for London....

I WENT TO SEE JOSEPH!!!!!!!!! WOOHOO!!!!! *does a happy dance of joy*

ahem....

Well I have been waiting to go since I was four years old and deemed "too young to go" with my mum and sister when they saw it with Jason Donavan. I had sulked for a good seventeen years about this until on my 21st in april I unwrapped the perfect and wonderful tickets for me and my mum to go see it. And man, it was so worth the wait. I know every word to every song (except the one sang by the pharoh between Stone The Crows and Those Canaan Days that seems to have been added to give the guys playing the brothers time to change from pharoh servant people back into Joseph's brothers). I watched in awe as they danced with swooshy robes and dresses, as Joesph gained and lost his precious multi-coloured coat, as the Pharoh became Elvis....right up to the spectacular remix at the end when all the cast, dressed in white, dance to the whole show in condensed form until Joseph arrives and levitates up, right in front of where I was sat. Yep, there were many children in the audience (and on stage), and for two hours I was so one of them. Musicals have the power to turn me back into a five year old, wide eyed in wonder at these magical people singing and dancing.

And I got a nice shiny programme and brochure thing and a poster. Spiffy.
And my mum bought me a cuddly Joseph camel. Ho-yes, you know you are jealous of my awesome camel. And I shall name him Joseph. Oh yes, I am indeed original and creative. Rawr.

And then I had a panic attack in a crowed tube train.... that was less fun. And then on the train home there was a random drunk guy who was being weird and drunk and kept asking me and my mum the same questions over and over again. Weird little man. And then we missed the last bus. But we got a taxi so it was ok. And now I am home with my lovely little Kisa cat and a twix. And now I shall heat up some milk. Yay.

All in all..... great day.

happy__squirrel @ 2008-05-31T21:37:00

2008-05-31T21:37:10Z

WOOHOOSPASMFLAILOMGBBQ!! Jodie won I'd Do Anything and I am very pleased. I have been rooting for her since her very first audition and I think that she is fantastic, just how I have always pictued Nancy to be. And Gwion was totally my favourite Oliver... he was all adorable and Welsh <333

EDIT: And I just watched Britain's Got Talent final and George won!! Yay!! I am a happy tv-watcher right now! Although, I am very annoyed to find that there is currently a lot of hate towards him on the internet right now >.> Leave him alone, he's 14 and he was bloody brilliant!! He deserved to win.

Anyway Doctor Who Spoilers!!

Doctor Who was amazing tonight, even more so than usual but then it was written by Stephen Moffat who has written my favourites of the new series, Girl In The Fireplace, Empty Child, The Doctor Dances and Blink. I now have to add the dark to the list of things Doctor Who has made me afraid of along with people in gasmasks and angel statues *shudder*
I had completely forgotten that this weeks episode was going to be the first of a two parter so I was totally shocked when it left us on that cliff hanger with Donna and everything. I really can't wait a week, it just isn't fair. And what is up with that woman? How does she know the Doctor? Intrigued. And all the stuff with the little girl, very interesting, especially when the psych guy told her that The Library is real. Oh my poor little brain. Seven days....... *le sigh*

And books I have read.............

Doctor Who: Aliens And Enemies by Justin Richards - Another great book with many pretty pictures and snazzy information about the Doctor's greatest enemies, mainly aliens, who he has encountered and invariably defeated awesomely. Daleks and Cybermen obviously are a large feature, they have turned up a lot over the years. And I love how each alien has a section that includes the episodes they were included in, when they aired and who wrote them. Great source of info.

Doctor Who: Creatures And Demons by Justin Richards - See above.

Across The Nightingale Floor by Lian Hearn - This is the first in a trilogy set in a fantasy world based on feudal Japan where there are several rival clans including The Hidden, a peaceful clan who are being persecuted and murdered by the evil Tohan clan who want to rule over everyone. The main character is a member of The Hidden and the book opens with the massacre of his village of which he is the sole survivor. He is saved, whisked away and adopted by a mysterious man who belongs to the Otori clan, Shigeru. Anyway, turns out that he is all magical and destined to belong to The Tribe who are a group of these magical people who can make themselves invisible, hear amazingly well and be all stealthy and other such wonderous things. And then of course mayhem and mystery and violence ensues. This was pretty good for a book aimed at teens, just the right levels of romance and action and all that. I will read the other two books in the trilogy if I can get them from the library. Thumbs up.

World War Z by Max Brooks - Ok, only one word to describe this book; amazing. Really didn't know what I was expecting from this but I know that what I got wasn't it. Basically it is an oral account of the war that almost obliterated humanity; people started to die and then get back up and kill those around them. Zombies were taking over the world and it didn't take long. We weren't ready and inevitabley panic ensued. There are several sections, each consisting of interviews carried out by the author with people who were in the thick of it, from the Chinese doctor who examined 'patient zero' to people in the armed forces who were trying to defeat the zombie hoards. Even interviews with a young Japanese otaku who didn't even notice that his town was over-run by zombies and his parents missing until the internet servers went down. I have spent hours since reading this contemplating what I would do if this happened, how I could fortify my house, get food, save my cats and preferably not get eaten. Really horrifically, disturbingly wonderful book. Does Max Brooks know something that we don't? I might be buying lots of canned food in the future..... and a baseball bat...

Sharpe's Victory: The Story Of A Hero's Triumph by Rachel Murrel - Much love, I adore everything about Sharpe, both the books and tv series. This is basically the companion guide to the original 14 episodes from Rifles to Waterloo with information about the stories, characters, making of the show and the actual history. Nice book. Although I was very annoyed when I took if off my shelf and found that many of the pages were stuck together. I had to pull them apart so some of them are now damaged =( *emo tear of woe*

Stravaganza: City Of Masks by Mary Hoffman - First in a trilogy about a teenager, suffering from cancer in our world, who falls asleep in a hospital bed and finds himself in another world in the city of Belleza, this other world's version of Venice where all unmarried women over 16 must wear masks in public. Turns out he is a stravagante and can travel between the two worlds by falling asleep holding a notebook his father gave him. Nice fantasy with interesting characters and a complex world, my favourite characters are Rodolfo and Arianna. Lots of mysterious plots and twists and turns in the story kept me interested throughout and the realism coupled with the slightly magical twist was keeping it grounded and emotional. I have the second book ready to read today.

Doctor Who: Starships And Spacestations by Justin Richards - Same as the other Doctor Who books but this time looking at the spaceships rather than the aliens, looking at when humanity has used them or been attacked by them. Again, nice pictures and information although I enjoyed this a little less than the other books in the series.

happy__squirrel @ 2008-05-14T22:43:00

2008-05-14T21:55:56Z

Just went to the Chinese State Circus which was awesome. The whole thing was telling some of the histry of China and the finale was about the Olympics taking place in Bejing this year. All the individual acts were stunning from the acrobats to the diablo girls. There was a traditional Lion Dance which was really funny and great to watch. My favourite bit was the Aerial Silks act which was just beautiful. There was a man and a woman and they were so graceful, flying around. Fantastic. And I got a paper chinese dragon which is going on my shelf <33
There was a really annoying couple of middle-aged drunken men two rows in front of us who were with their barely legal girlfriends who kept shouting and standing up, annoying the girls in the row behind us who then couldn't see. And inevitably at one point there was a shouting match >.> I hate people. And especially those who reek of alcohol. But they did calm down a bit after the interval.
And there were people jumping through hoops and plate spinners and a contortionist. And shaolin martial artsy people. All very awesome. All in all a great evening out courtesy of one of my mum's work friends who got given some free tickets and gave them to us.

And yet more books....

2008-05-14T04:30:33Z

As of the start of May I have read:

On Beauty by Zadie Smith - Read this because it was on the 1001 Books To Read Before You Die list which I am insanely hoping to complete at some point in the next however many years. I was pleasantly suprised that I actually quite enjoyed it as this isn't usually the kind of book I read; it was the story of a family and it follows their life over several years through various heartbreaks, affairs and triumphs. Although, some of the sex scenes were a little unneccesarily..... descriptive for my tastes. Oh, and I loved the mother of the family, she was an awesome woman and a force to be reckoned with. Well, that is another one ticked off of my list.

The Color Purple by Alice Walker - Another of the 1001 and again, not the kind of book I usually go for. Really interesting way of telling a story, through her letters to God and then to and from her sister. I found it a little hard to understand in parts but that was probably due to it being set in America as much as the way it was written. I read this in almost one sitting, I did have to go to sleep when I was about a quarter way through but then read the rest in one go. Sad and uplifting at the same time with a few larger than life characters, well worth my time. Tick.

Life On Mars Official Companion (Series 1) by Guy Adams and Lee Thompson - Ok, well I love Life On Mars an insane amount and I was watching my dvds before I watched my Ashes To Ashes dvd so I thought I might as well read the companion books that were sat on my shelf for about a year, practically untouched. And I am glad that I did. They aren't written quite like any other companion book I've ever read. Each section is accompanied by a part of the story of Life On Mars from the point of view of the creators who have joined the world of Life On Mars through a train crash. And they interview each of the main characters; Sam Tyler, Gene Hunt, Ray Carling, Chris Skelton and Annie Cartwright. Obviously various levels of hilarity ensue, especially Chris's interview where he tries to convince them of his martial arts skills >.< Nice behind the scenes pictures and interviews and a general feeling of the love that went into this fantastic show. And the front cover, under the dust jacket, looks like one of those annuals you got back then. So many levels of win.

Life On Mars Official Companion (Series 2) by Guy Adams and Lee Thompson - Much of the same as above but taken further, the story of the creators continues and there are more glorious pictures and wonderful information than you could shake a truncheon at. Again, win.

The Rules Of Modern Policing 1973 Edition by DCI Gene Hunt - Ok, this may well be the greatest thing in creation. Like really. Gene Hunt..... in book form!! This whole book is hilarious as Gene Hunt explains to us exactly how to be a successful copper in 1973. And with some very funny annotations courtesy of Chris Skelton it just gets even better. And each section has a 'test yourself' at the end so you can know just how good you would have been. Gene Hunt, I bow down to you.

S.T.O.R.M. The Ghostmaster by EL Young - Second in this children's series sees the return of Will, Andrew and Gaia as the super kid team STORM, out to save the world from dastardly criminals and so on and so forth. This time a 'ghost' is stealing things in Venice and children are going missing. And there is a spooky island complete with haunted castle. Oh yeah, Scooby Doo eat your heart out! Awesome gadgets and lots of danger. Great stuff.

Doctor Who: Monsters And Villains by Justin Richards - Love. Doctor Who means automatic win. Lots of nice pictures and information on various monsters and villians that The Doctor has encountered over the years. Will now read the other three realeased so far.

happy__squirrel @ 2008-05-14T04:33:00

2008-05-14T03:53:52Z

I was tagged by sarah_1228

List 10 fictional characters you wouldn't kick out of bed (in no particular order)

01. The (10th) Doctor (Doctor Who)
02. Captain Jack Harkness (Doctor Who + Torchwood)
03. Ianto Jones (Torchwood)
04. Jayne Cobb (Firefly + Serenity)
05. Richard Sharpe (Sharpe Books + TV Series)
06. Gene Hunt (Life On Mars + Ashes To Ashes)
07. Sam Tyler (Life On Mars)
08. Wolf (The Tenth Kingdom)
09. Kakashi (Naruto)
10. Bernard Black (Black Books)

*ahem*

And I shall now stop drooling.....

happy__squirrel @ 2008-05-07T05:33:00

2008-05-07T04:46:06Z

Was tagged by sarah_1228

List seven songs you are into right now. This isn't about being hip, it's just to see what's turning you on, no matter what the genre or whether it is any good. Could be songs without words, a classical piece, whatever, as long as they are songs you're really enjoying now, songs that are shaping your spring. Post these instructions in your LJ along with your 7 songs. Then tag 7 other people to find out what songs are circulating with them.

1. Life On Mars? - David Bowie
2. Jean Genie - David Bowie
3. Live And Let Die - Paul McCartney and Wings
4. Doctor Who Theme (series 4)
5. Doctorin' The TARDIS - The Timelords
6. My Sharona - The Knack
7. Ace Of Spades - Motorhead

I can't think of 7 people so if I am on your flist feel free to tag yourself for me <33