tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60940623618259426602024-03-13T02:30:49.021+00:00Alone. Together. Fact. Fiction.Sophiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10572915461004007383noreply@blogger.comBlogger96125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094062361825942660.post-21981914850622801372013-05-19T00:45:00.001+01:002013-05-19T00:45:15.926+01:00The Great Gatsby - Thoughts On The FilmI wrote a review of this novel way back last year (<a href="http://alonetogetherfactfiction.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/the-great-gatsby-f-scott-fitzgerald.html" target="_blank">which you can read here</a>) where I said that the Luhrmann Adaptation was to be released (last) December - Boy did they move that date! It came out here on Thursday and on Friday to celebrate the end of my degree I went to see it - in 3D no less!<br />
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First off I'll just say that I hate Toby Maguire can not stand him in anything, so this film was always going to be a challenge for me as he is cast as the protagonist Nick Carraway, and...he wasn't good, I'm sorry if you're a fan, but really his confusion and awkwardness throughout just made him so unnatural to me. I know Nick was the perpetual outsider in the novel but, ugh, I don't know, I just felt like he was there only to support Jay and Daisy, whereas in the book, that's the first feeling you get, but then Nick becomes a main character in his own right through his way of thinking and his calm understanding. I know that it's hard to turn that kind of character into someone big on-screen, but Luhrmann found a way to convey Nicks thinking through his typing up his memoirs, and he still wasn't believable for me. I just think different casting could have improved the film so much, in terms of Nick anyway.<br />
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Leonardo Dicaprio as Jay Gatsby, was pretty darn perfect. I didn't think anyone could get away with saying "old sport" so many times in 140 minutes, but he did! And he did it without being repetitive which is surely enough to merit praise in it's own right. For me, Dicaprio just nailed the act of the cool slick city gentleman, simmering with desire and complicated thoughts under the surface. Within his mysterious first few half appearances, you just knew the character was going to be the man you'd read about - and that's all I wanted. I also really loved the way Luhrmann kept taking us back to that green light and cementing in that hope that kept Gatsby going, it was such a nice way to implement his desire without giving him unnecessary dialogue or making him in anyway un-Gatsby through thoughtful monologues or anything twee like that.<br />
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Daisy was Daisy. Carey Mulligan played her well enough but she always was the least important character in the novel, it was Gatsby's infatuation of her that was important, not really the character herself.<br />
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The other lead females did well enough though Elizabeth Debicki was just beautiful as Jordan Baker, but she kind of lacked that spunkiness from the novel that makes her so memorable.<br />
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Isla Fisher as Myrtle was quite despicable as she should be, but again lacking. I think it's because so much was missing, smaller story lines were taken out so that the film could focus on this "bromance" between Carraway and Gatsby, which to me was not even one of the most important themes from the novel. I know that books are not always one sided and we each take from them what we will, but I just don't know what made Luhrmann and Craig Pearce, who was the other screenwriter, take this friendship to be the most important thing to show on screen.<br />
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Not that all of this means I didn't enjoy the film; far from it, it was <i>good</i>, it just wasn't a great adaptation. Probably the best thing about this film is just watching it, because Luhrmann as many know makes theatre production of films, and what better show to put on then one of the American Dream - the books ultimate theme. This gorgeous setting of a changing city free from prohibition and out to loose morals have a damn good time was just perfect for him to blow up on the big screen. The film truly is a visual delight, and especially in 3D, where you truly feel the magnificent splendour of a Gatsby Party. Another great thing about Luhrmann is the way he mixes modern music into these tales of long ago, (I'm sure we all remember Romeo's entrance to Radiohead's Talk Show Host *shivers*) and this is done well in Gatsby. The soundtrack is on-point and makes you wonder what else could possibly of been played during Gatsby's parties if not Beyonce overs or Kanye West.<br />
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Go and see this film, see it if you haven;t read the book and you'll probably come away more satisfied than if you have, but even then, it's still worth a watch just t better imaging that world where <span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars.</span></i></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></span>Sophiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10572915461004007383noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094062361825942660.post-85138162955570060452013-05-18T23:41:00.000+01:002013-05-19T00:49:48.391+01:00The Silver Linings Playbook - Matthew Quick<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I saw the adaptation of this book at the cinemas a while back and bought the book not long after. I started reading but ran out of steam about halfway through and put it back on the shelf, not starting again until a few days ago when I quickly got through it.<br />
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The Silver Linings Playbook is the story of Pat Peoples, a thirty something man who is just being released from a mental institution into his parents care as the novel begins. Pat is in the institution for a breakdown of mental health resulting from the dissolution of his marriage to College sweetheart Nikki. Pat and Nikki are having "apart time", a time for Pat to work on his body and mind so that he will be a better husband to Nikki once "apart time" is over, Pat's way of justifying a restraining order. While in the care of his anxious mother and stone-faced, sports obsessed father, Pat meets Tiffany - a similarly aged divorcee. Pat has a kinship with Tiffany who is also thought of as mentally unstable, and the two find a solace in one another that they cannot seem to get from other relationships. This is basically a story of recovery and discovery, letting go of the past and learning to see the silver linings in life, no matter how unlikely they may be.<br />
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The book is nothing like the film really, so if you weren't impressed by the adaptation please give the book a chance. In the book Pat reads Plath's <i>Bell Jar</i> which he at first is annoyed by and does not understand, but I see this book as a sort of modern, male version. Though it's not a memoir, and by all accounts not based on anything "real life", Pat's journey really does seem honest and like Pat says about "Esther" when he reads the book, he just wants to comfort her; that's what he ends up taking from it, and that's a very similar feeling to the one I got from his character.<br />
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I loved the style of writing, and being tied to Patrick and his emotions. There was a huge sense of things being hidden from him by the other characters and they were hidden from us too - the journey of this novel was a great one because we were so in-tuned to the protagonist in this way.<br />
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This is Quick's first novel which I think explains the very slightly "scattered" feeling of the narrative, but considering the subject matter I think this actually works really well and is probably one of the reasons the book was published. To me anyway, this is one of those rare books that deal with mental disorders that don't sound like they are coming from a "now-healed" mind, rather it's like we're seeing Patrick's world as he really feels and observes it during his recovery.<br />
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<br />Sophiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10572915461004007383noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094062361825942660.post-90655737788571633672013-05-14T22:30:00.001+01:002013-05-14T22:30:19.118+01:00The Madman's Daughter - Megan Shepherd<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I mentioned a while back that I was interested in reading this book because it is a sort of sequel to H.G. Wells' <i>The Island Of Dr Moreau</i>, which I was reading at the time (<a href="http://alonetogetherfactfiction.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/the-island-of-dr-moreau-hg-wells.html#comment-form" target="_blank">see review here</a>). Anyway, turns out this book is pretty tricky to track down for us Brits if we don't want to pay a huge shipping fee, so I downloaded the eBook and an app for my phone to read it on. I wasn't too keen on the idea, I'm one of those "paper books over kindle" types, but surprisingly I only put two bookmarks in this file and finished it in as many sittings, so I guess it was pretty easy to read. I'll try not to reveal anything major about either books should you choose to read them; Wells' should always be heard first hand.<br />
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I really enjoyed Wells' original tale of scientific horror and intrigue and I hoped this would be just as good but... I was kind of disappointed. The story centres around Dr. Moreau's daughter who believes him dead. Cast out from society after her fathers public shame surrounding his scientific experiments on animals, the daughter; Juliet, now works in a medical college as a cleaner until one night a professors unwelcome advances are met by a swift injury, causing Juliet to be out of a job.<br />
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Fate connects her with old family servant Montgomery, an original from the Wells' tale, though sexed up to fit the new audience. Montgomery admits that Juliet's father is still alive and that he is returning to him presently, a journey Juliet begs to accompany him on to find out the truth about her father. This is where the story kind of looses focus. While on the ship carrying Juliet, Montgomery, his strangely deformed servant and a slew of exotic animals to Moreau's island, the crew come across a dinghy in the ocean. Like the original story, Montgomery gets the man aboard and agrees he must come to the island, seeing as the crew are likely to throw him overboard and there are no other ships. Once on the island Juliet then must confront her feelings which are scattered between the two men.<br />
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This is what I didn't like; this story did have potential but I feel the author just flipped it into a love triangle as soon as she could to make it an easier, lower (age) rated book. The horror from the original is all but stripped away and what's left is a teenage love story where the "heroine" is too wrapped up in men to see any danger around her. Even when the "big reveal" comes out at the end, she still lacks depth or any real connectivity with the audience. It just felt like Shepherd was more keen on trying to put her spin on the teen-supernatural-romance craze than creating good characters and well written story. I thought the main relationship in the book would be between Juliet and Moreau but that takes a major back-seat so that romance can be explored. I did like the sense of poetic justice in the end but it didn't really salvage the story for me.<br />
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Overall I think I'm feeling like one of those people that sigh at Hunger Games lovers and tell them to look at Battle Royal instead. Just read the original; there isn't any romance, but it's a damn good story which is more than I can say for this.<br />
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*sorry it's been so long, but I'm finished with Uni now and should be posting regularly again now that I'm not too stressed out to actually pick up a book.<br />
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<br />Sophiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10572915461004007383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094062361825942660.post-35296270636721911142013-04-08T00:51:00.001+01:002013-05-06T00:46:22.096+01:00One Day - David Nicholls<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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One of those charity shop books that you buy because you went into the shop with high bookspectations (I'm coining that) and were let down. Basically, I wanted to buy <i>something</i>, and I'd heard of this. Let's just say I'm glad I got it cheap because I don't think it's worth its printed price.<br />
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<i>One Day</i> is the <i>loooong</i> and arduous story of Emma and "Dex" and their friendship as they grow from students into middle age. When I first started reading this I was actually quite caught up as the first chapter takes on the pairs graduation night, and I myself am rapidly approaching that phase of my life. But, it all went downhill from there.<br />
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The most important thing in a novel for me will always be the characters and their development, because if I don't care about the characters then why am I reading the book? I'm not emotionally invested and therefore nothing that happens can make me care, and unfortunately this book really lacked good characters.<br />
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Strangely enough, I did quite like the character of Emma at times, though I did feel the author made her a little too confused and that she lacked direction. I say strangely, because the author is male, but; in this book anyway, he seems to make a much more relatable connection with his female characters. The character of Dex is one of the worst I've ever read. He had no redeeming qualities whatsoever and I actually really wanted something awful to happen to him just so there'd be some development. Sadly though, he stayed his awful, aggravating self throughout the whole of the novel, and - *SPOILER ALERT*, Nicholls kills off the wrong character. He ends Emma's time in the novel at about 3/4 of the way through, just as the couple finally decide to be together romantically, which I just can't understand. I thought at that point that this was going to be the point of Dex's character progression because he's have to adjust without the emotional crutch of his best friend and lover, but no; HE STAYED THE SAME. Did you get bored halfway through writing Nicholls? I mean, I honestly can't understand why this book got published. (And became a bestseller?!)<br />
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I have however seen this type of story done well. Cecilia Ahern's <i>Where Rainbows End</i> has this same type of story arc: two young friends who grow older and are separated by thousands of miles, other relationships, family hardships, and still manage to come together in the end. If you ever consider buying <i>One Day</i>, please put it down and seek this out instead - you'll be much happier when you turn the last page, trust me.<br />
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I know there's an adaptation with Anne Hathaway but I don't even think she could redeem this story for me, we've gone too far together now.<br />
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<br />Sophiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10572915461004007383noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094062361825942660.post-76881918080114059582013-04-05T17:32:00.000+01:002013-04-05T17:32:07.867+01:00<br />
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Watching: <i>Game of Thrones </i>Season 3 (Lord yes), <i>New Girl</i> Season 2. Everything else seems to be on Hiatus.<br />
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Listening To: Kate Bush, Johnny Cash, Sound City.<br />
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Thinking About: Family, health, the future<br />
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Loving: Being overly dramatic in my script project, which results in over the tp title pages based on blacked out government letters.<br />
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Reading: HTML & CSS 6th Edition, Build You Own Website The Right Way Using HTML & CSS. :(<br />
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Making Me Happy: Plenty of tea, quilting. (I'm only in my 20's I swear.)<br />
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Sophiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10572915461004007383noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094062361825942660.post-5485819891850565302013-04-01T16:23:00.001+01:002013-04-01T16:25:50.833+01:00The Host - Stephenie Meyer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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When Twilight (the movie) was released back in 2008, I was a girl of 17, the same age as the lead character; Bella Swan. Needless to say I, like millions of other teenage girls, fell immediately in love with the story and rushed out to buy all of the books in the series. At the time, I would argue for the story's integrity to anyone who would listen because, <i>hello</i>, Bella & Edward were <i>in love</i> didn't you know? ... But I'm not 17 any more I'm 22 and I don't... can't, look at the story the way I used to; it took me a while but I finally did see the heavily implied, thinly veiled messages in Twilight. Firstly, the whole series is an advertisement on abstinence and Mormonism (the religion of the writer) and this bugged me ... a lot. I know it's a really old trick to stamp religious propaganda all over stories and fables, but wow, did this one do the trick. Millions of teenage girls suddenly convinced waiting for marriage is the right thing without even realising they've been persuaded into thinking that way from a YA novel, this sits really uneasily with me. The second thing that now bothers me about the story is that actions I perceived as a young girl as loving and caring, are actually barbaric and downright demeaning. Think about it, if a boyfriend told you that you were no longer allowed to go certain places, see certain people, drive your car etc, you'd go <i>mad</i>. Their relationship is basically one of domineering control and a really bad example to set up for young girls.<br />
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Because of all this, I was a little reluctant to read Meyer's other novel The Host, but I found it on eBay for £1 and I thought it might help out with some dystopian research I was doing so I bought it, ad I'm so glad I did!<br />
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Basically, this book is nothing like Twilight. There is no real sense of danger where you expect it, and the protagonist; Wanderer, makes the right choices for her life, not the choices men want her to make, which makes her a much stronger heroine than Bella Swan.<br />
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The story is set in the future, where an alien race has invaded earth and taken over human bodies to live in. The majority of the population are now these "aliens". There is a small human resistance, of which one member is a young girl in her 20's; Melanie. Melanie leaves her lover and young brother to enter a city at night looking for a cousin she believes to still be human. When Melanie is caught by the "seekers" (aliens who search for the human resistance) she runs and attempts suicide so the aliens may not have her body. However, they have extensive medical advances and are able to save Melanie's body, putting alien Wanderer inside.<br />
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Wanderer, like the rest of the aliens, is a gentle soul. They do not believe in, nor are capable of violence or anger. They all work, but money is not used in their world, they simply take what they need and pay for it by putting work into the community. Wanderer works as a teacher, but finds her concentration more and more distant as she begins to hear a voice in her head. Melanie's voice.<br />
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The rest of the story is about the struggle and friendship of these two souls locked inside one body and the prejudice's they face against each others races. I really liked this story, and better, I liked the characters. It was really interesting to read something dystopian about invasion but not to have any real outside fear to pace the story. There is no government or "big brother" watching Wanderer, and the pace comes from her character development alone which works really well.<br />
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The adaptation is released in cinema's either this or next week I think and it will be interesting to see if they have made it a true adaptation of the books... or just created a blockbuster love story touted on Meyer's name. We'll see.<br />
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<br />Sophiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10572915461004007383noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094062361825942660.post-80555478592277008172013-03-27T00:47:00.002+00:002013-03-27T00:47:56.222+00:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Top Ten Books I Recommend The Most</div>
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1) <i>We Need To Talk About Kevin</i> - Lionel Shriver. Thebes book I read last year, absolutely stunning and you just can't put it down, I wish everybody would read this.</div>
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2) <i>The Perks Of Being A Wallflower</i> - Stephen Chbosky. Beautiful, soulful and ageless. Ignore the hype about John Green because I think this beats anything he's ever done.</div>
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3) <i>Fight Club</i> - Chuck Palahniuk. My very favourite Palahniuk, and one of my most loved contemporary romances, I love this book.</div>
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4) <i>ASOIAF</i> Series - George R.R. Martin. I don't think there's any reader who wouldn't enjoy this series -- it has everything! Dragons, war, death, sex, wolves, beautiful northerners, king's, queen's, imp's, intrigue, betrayal....Read it!</div>
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5) <i>Wuthering Heights -</i> Emily Bronte. The best love story ever written.</div>
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6) <i>Pride & Prejudice</i> - Jane Austen. Because Mr. Darcy.</div>
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7) <i>Lolita</i> - Vladimir Nabokov. I had to have one banned book on this list, and this is one of my very favourites. I think before you read it it can be an easy tale to judge, but once immersed you'll wonder why you ever saw any problem with it.</div>
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8) <i>Fiesta/The Sun Also Rises </i>- Ernest Hemingway. One of my favourite novels, and I think a game changer for those who say they dislike Hemingway's writing.</div>
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9) <i>The Most Beautiful Women In Town</i> - Charles Bukowski. This was the first Bukowski I read and I've never looked back.</div>
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10) <i>The Bell Jar</i> - Sylvia Plath. I think it's really important for young women to read this book. Everyone always talks about coming of age stories and recommends <i>The Catcher In The Rye, </i>and while it's a great book, I think it's very easy to grow out of and I think it's important to have a female presence in that genre. The Bell Jar feels like it will be with me always, while now I'm at an age when I just want to tell Holden to grow up.</div>
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Sophiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10572915461004007383noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094062361825942660.post-6262721055363936132013-03-21T02:18:00.000+00:002013-03-21T02:18:30.123+00:00Worst Book Cover Re-designsI saw that Jana over at <a href="http://brokeandbookish.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/how-do-you-feel-about-cover-re-designs.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+blogspot/JywQY+(The+Broke+and+the+Bookish)" target="_blank">The Broke & The Bookish</a> wrote a post on cover re-designs and I thought, wow what a perfect opportunity for a rant! Here my favourite, worst redesigns;<br />
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This one really makes me cringe. Everything from the glaringly obvious terrible sales pitch to the image are just wrong. One, a rose? really? There couldn't have been a less appropriate flower to use, and it's thriving and bold, so unlike the dire and desperate landscape of the novel. Poor show. (Also, a love that never dies? It did die, along with Heathcliff.)</div>
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Oh yes show a vain girl putting on her make up! Because this book was really all about how polished and pretty Plath was.<br />
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"The most romantic story ever written"....between a prostitute and a gay man.<br />
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If Mill's and Boon did the 1920's.<br />
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Some re-designs really do pull it off though...<br />
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This is probably my favourite re-design ever, well done Penguin! (it's 1984 if you can't see it!)<br />
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<br />Sophiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10572915461004007383noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094062361825942660.post-40684008360978980262013-03-19T19:07:00.001+00:002013-03-19T19:07:57.476+00:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Top <strike>Ten</strike> Five Books I HAD To Buy...But Are Still Sitting On My Shelf Unread<br />
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I got pretty good at reading my accumulated book pile last year so I don't actually think I have 10!</div>
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1) <i>The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test</i> - Tom Wolfe. This book sounded like something I'd love, it was my favourite era/setting etc, but ... I read <i>I am Charlotte Simmons</i> first and realised what a terrible author Wolfe was, so this is still unread.<br />
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2) <i>Underworld</i> - Don Delillo. This was an author I'd wanted to get into for a long time, and when I finally got Underworld cheaply on eBay I was really excited to read it ... but it's still unread!<br />
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3) <i>Invisible Monsters Remix</i> - Chuck Palahniuk. The reason I've not yet started this one is because I want to re-read the original again first, and I just haven't gotten around to it yet.<br />
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These next two are kind of cheats because they actually just came today but:<br />
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4) <i>The Host </i>- Stephanie Meyer. Research for my dystopia project.<br />
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5) T<i>he Handmaid's tale</i> - Margaret Atwood. Research also.<br />
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Sophiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10572915461004007383noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094062361825942660.post-64545196629420194872013-03-15T14:48:00.002+00:002013-03-15T14:48:54.768+00:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 21px;">I have always, always said that I would love to see Chuck Palahniuks Haunted adapted because I think it would make an amazing series. There are so many stories, revelations and plot twists, I think it would be great. Who would I cast? I have no idea, I'd just love to watch it!</span></span></span></div>
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Sophiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10572915461004007383noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094062361825942660.post-32100747248313237292013-03-14T00:35:00.000+00:002013-03-14T00:35:20.898+00:00Dystopian Overload.I've been very lacking in terms of this blog over the last few weeks, so I'm sorry for that! I seem to have no problem wasting my time away from the computer but every time I am on here I feel guilty for blogging when I have so much work to be getting on with! I'm in the process of writing a script for my final (!) Uni project right now so although I am reading a lot, it's either textbooks/pdf's on scriptwriting or a few chapters/pages at a time from several books.<div>
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See, I've decided where I want to take this script is into dystopia, and because I've never written anything like that before, I'm researching quite a bit. The writing process/story and characters are fine, I know I can write well and can form good characters but adding such an important setting and background and having it be basically a character in its self is a little daunting. I'm pretty much going dystopia-crazy trying to research.</div>
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So far I'm looking at:</div>
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<i>The Long Walk</i><br />
<i>Cloud Atlas</i><br />
<i>Mockingjay</i><br />
<i>The Children Of Men</i><br />
<i>The Handmaid's Tale</i><br />
<i>Lord Of The Flies</i><br />
<i>1984</i><br />
<i>Hey Nostradamus</i><br />
<i>The Road</i><br />
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But if any of you have any suggestions that you think might be helpful, (books, films, radio plays...anything) then please let me know in the comments I'd really appreciate it!<br />
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Sophiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10572915461004007383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094062361825942660.post-11553509118991387732013-03-07T18:08:00.002+00:002013-03-07T18:08:49.877+00:00<br />
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Watching: <i>Game Of Thrones Season 2, </i>I bought the box set yesterday as I had a cheeky discount and it's so good to have Westeros back in my life!<br />
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Listening To: Lana Del Rey, David Bowie, Cillie Barnes, Leonard Cohen.<br />
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Thinking About: Being lazy; I've just had my knee tattooed so all I want to do right now is give it time to heal.<br />
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Loving: Having the excuse of my upcoming uni project of a dystopian drama to buy lots of new books as "research"!<br />
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Reading: <i>The Long Walk - </i>Stephen King.<br />
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Making Me Happy: James Fanco's Instagram, eBay, eating out.<br />
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Sophiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10572915461004007383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094062361825942660.post-1687611042432493052013-03-02T16:47:00.000+00:002013-03-02T16:47:14.462+00:00The Island Of Dr. Moreau - H.G. Wells<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I'm sure the story of this book is known vaguely by a lot of people, at least I had some knowledge of it prior to picking it up, but I hadn't gotten around to reading it until I read a review on a book called <i>The Madman's Daughter</i> a few weeks ago.<br />
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<i>The Madman's Daughter</i> is a sequel of sorts to <i>Moreau</i>, though penned by a different author, it tells the story of Moreau's daughter and her quest to find her father. The review made it sound like such a great read, but I thought I had better start off with the original, which I've just finished.<br />
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Without saying too much, <i>The Island...</i>is the story of Pendrick, a man who survives a shipwreck and is saved by another boat, only to be thrown from that one when it makes it's next stop to allow fellow traveller Montgomery to disembark to an island.<br />
On this island, Montgomery introduces Pendrick to a Dr. Moreau, a secretive man, and they decide Pendrick will have to stay, as boats do not often pass by them.<br />
Pendrick is unable to leave the mysterious of the island alone, he is too curious and oddly disgusted by the other inhabitants of the island, dark faced people with strange gaits, and what is all that screaming coming from Moreau's "room"...<br />
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As I've said I already had some vague ideas as to what the book was about, and because of that the pulp of the story was not a surprise to me. I think these kind of stories, especially by Wells, rely on that shock factor, that moment where the audience and the protagonist's thoughts align as they come to the big realisation of the story together, but I missed out on that having already known or guessed what the inhabitants of the island were.<br />
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Saying that though, the writing and the pace are fantastic, and the amount of mystery, and wells decision to unveil slowly rather than one big "Ta Da!" in the climax works really well and balances the story on a precipice so that even in the last few pages, you're wondering if something's going to change to tip the story the other way.<br />
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I'm not a big sci-fi reader really, but I'm embarking on the challenge of writing a dystopian script right now so I felt this book could only help!<br />
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Have you read this book, or it's "sequel"? What did you think?<br />
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<br />Sophiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10572915461004007383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094062361825942660.post-13449239948920437672013-02-28T16:23:00.001+00:002013-05-18T23:49:45.739+01:00New York<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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I've not posted in a while as I've been in the states! I went to NY with a huge group of almost 50 people from my Uni, for 5 days. I feel like I've done so much in that time that it feels longer though! The day we landed was so tiring, having thought I hated planes and then being pleasantly surprised and finding the whole experience beautiful, I thought I was off to a great start, but once off the plane it was a wait in immigration for about 3 hours. Not Fun. After that we had a bus journey into the city (you are all crazy drivers, and your radio stations sound like Grand Theft Auto) and checked into the hostel, which was again a long wait. Our room was..."quite" all right The TV didn't work, the next door neighbours were LOUD teens from Essex who enjoyed banging on our walls and our light was motion censored ..which we couldn't turn off. That made for a lively night. We went out to eat that night, (New York pizza - yum.) and then just headed back to sleep.<br />
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The next day we did Central Park (well, the lower end) which included a long walk, playing in the park, and ice skating, before a trip round the National History Museum, and a film in the planetarium, which was AMAZING. We then hit up the local supermarket where I proceeded to buy necessary items to bring home, such as oreo's and cake mix...and then went out for Mexican.<br />
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The next day was my birthday! We went to Times Square and bought copious amounts from Hersheys, and then to a post-production house on Hudson St, which was pretty cool. A quick trip to IHOP and then we went to the top of the Empire State Building at sunset, just as it began to snow - magical. That night we went to Rocky Horror in Chelsea and it was amazing, I wish we had that show over here because I'd love to be a regular! What a birthday.<br />
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The next day we visited the public library (!) though I was dissapointed with the actual lack of books...(I was picturing Beast's Library from Beauty and the Beast). I then went to get a little souvenir tattoo, and tried to get to the Top of the Rock, but it wasn't open due to lack of visibility :( That night we went out to a bar where lovely Jimmy the bartender was kind enough to introduce us to Cafe Patron...<br />
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The next day we visited ground zero, and took a boat out to see Ellis Island and The Statue Of Liberty. After that we walked to Wall St. and into Chinatown, where we were lucky enough to catch a parade!<br />
That was our last full day, and so that night was just spent in the hostel lounge watching the Oscars.<br />
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The last morning we finally got to the Top of the Rock, did some last minute shopping and then got back on the bus to the airport!<br />
I had such an amazing week, and even managed to pick up a few paperbacks in the airport!<br />
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Sophiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10572915461004007383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094062361825942660.post-43761599784126979792013-02-17T17:48:00.000+00:002013-02-17T17:48:18.198+00:00Girl, Interrupted - Susanna Kaysen<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0i2YDJfO2tk/UPfMHUm6lmI/AAAAAAAABhI/AYetQgich2A/s1600/1283593_1263521230.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0i2YDJfO2tk/UPfMHUm6lmI/AAAAAAAABhI/AYetQgich2A/s1600/1283593_1263521230.jpg" /></a>Not at all what I was expecting from this little book! I took this to Uni with me the other day as I had a late afternoon tutorial and a few hours to kill after an earlier meeting. I managed to get about 3/4 of this finished in that few hours, and read the rest in about half an hour at home, so a short read, but quite a good one.<br />
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So Girl, Interrupted isn't a novel, but more of a memoir of author Susanna Kaysen's time in McLean Hospital in the late 60's. McLean is a psychiatric hospital which boasts a list of several well known previous residents such as Sylvia Plath, and Ray Charles. Kaysen began having recollections of her time at the hospital while writing another of her novels, and then began researching her time there. Her findings and memories are the basis for the book.<br />
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Something I really like is that there are copies of Kaysen's files from the hospital in the book, which is of course proof that she was there, but also really solidifies the horror of her situation.<br />
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Kaysen herself was admitted for a "Borderline Personality Disorder" which is as broad as it sounds, and basically something that allowed girls who really needed simpler help to be institutionalised. Other girls on her ward are there for reasons spanning from eating disorders, to promiscuity. One thing his book really does is make you appreciate the world we live in now. These days, you can sleep with more than three people without being locked away, you can openly discuss your problems with family, friends, charities or even doctors, without the fear of either being deemed a social pariah, or locked away. I think that's why I'd say this is a rather important book, for girls of a certain age especially, because Kaysen really goes into depth in terms of her thoughts and feelings, what she thought made her "crazy", but are really just (mostly) normal thoughts we all go through at that point of growing up and choosing our own path, sadly for Kaysen, bringing these thoughts up landed her in McLean, but today, something as simple as knowing someone else has gone through what you have is help enough.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LJ7dPkJmc3w/USAE2v3v06I/AAAAAAAABx8/a-ReHWcVZio/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LJ7dPkJmc3w/USAE2v3v06I/AAAAAAAABx8/a-ReHWcVZio/s1600/images.jpg" /></a>I know a lot of people have seen the film adaptation of the same name and though I think it's a really great film, the book is very different and a little deeper. The character of Lisa, played by Angelina Jolie in the film, is really different, as is Brittany Murphey's character Daisy. There is also a kind of switch up of the happy ending. In the book, Kaysen (played by Winona Ryder) is deemed "cured" and leaves the institution, but all of the other girls stay helplessly inside. In the book there's a little more resolution with the characters and of course with Kaysen herself, as she clearly has been successful and is now a writer.<br />
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Like I said, I feel it's quite an important read, so pick it up if you can. For girls, I think this is definitely a great coming of age that is almost on par with The Bell Jar. Happy Reading!<br />
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<br />Sophiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10572915461004007383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094062361825942660.post-90311309855356526762013-02-16T21:23:00.001+00:002013-02-16T21:23:33.368+00:00Today's post is brought to us by the letter I, for infuriating.There is a new plague infecting the streets of Britain, a plague which strikes me to my core with anger and revulsion. This particular affliction seems to have infected young girls particularly, and mainly ones who shop in the mind numbingly dull pavilion of same-ity, the clone maker that is...Topshop. Yes that's right, this is a rant about <i>those</i> t-shirts.<br />
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I am seeing these things everywhere at the minute and it's really irritating to me, partly because I wish people would be a little more original, and not simply buy any overpriced scrap of fabric just because it's in a shop that's popular, but mostly because of the words emblazoned on the fronts.<br />
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Why are girls so keen to slam themselves with words that are, to me anyway, derogatory? What is a geek? Why can't we just be who we are without having to separate ourselves into these little cliques of people? It's just so <i>childish. </i>I'm a huge fan of the photo-sharing app Instagram, but more and more on there I'm seeing things like photo's of 3 books of a shelf and the caption, "I'm such a geek!" Why are you? A "geek" is defined as;<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">An unfashionable or socially inept person.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">So you are socially inept because you can read, and/or enjoy reading? No, you are average. With that in mind, here are, what I consider to be improved, versions.</span></span><br />
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What do you think Topshop? A marked improvement I'm sure. This has been a post.<br />
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<br />Sophiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10572915461004007383noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094062361825942660.post-68113115934795539052013-02-12T19:21:00.000+00:002013-02-12T18:00:31.133+00:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Top Ten Favourite Romances</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">(And yes, I'm putting all the ladies before men)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">1) Kathy & Heathcliffe <span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">♡</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;"> <i>Wuthering Heights</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">"If he loved you with all the power of his soul for a whole lifetime, he couldn’t love you as much as I do in a single day."</span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">2) Elizabeth Bennett & Mr. Darcy <span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">♡</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;"> <i>Pride and Prejudice</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">"I cannot fix on the hour, or the spot, or the look or the words, which laid the foundation. It is too long ago. I was in the middle before I knew that I had begun."</span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">3) Julia & Winston <span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">♡</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;"> <i>1984</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">"We shall meet in the place where there is no darkness."</span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">4) Dolores & Humbert <span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">♡</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;"> <i>Lolita</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">"Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta. She was Lo, plain Lo, in the morning, standing four feet ten in one sock. She was Lola in slacks. She was Dolly at school. She was Dolores on the dotted line. But in my arms she was always Lolita."</span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">5) Brett & Jake <span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">♡</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;"> <i>The Sun Also Rises</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">"Oh Jake," Brett said, "We could have had such a damned good time together."</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">Ahead was a mounted policeman in khaki directing traffic. He raised his baton. The car slowed suddenly, pressing Brett against me.</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">Yes," I said. "Isn't it pretty to think so?"</span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">6) Anais Nin & Henry Miller </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">♡ (As authors not characters) </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">"Henry to Anais on March 21, 1932</span></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">Anais, I don't know how to tell you what I feel. I live in perpetual expectancy. You come and the time slips away in a dream. It is only when you go that I realize completely your presence. And then it is too late. You numb me. [...] This is a little drunken, Anais. I am saying to myself "here is the first woman with whom I can be absolutely sincere." I remember your saying -"you could fool me. I wouldn't know it." When I walk along the boulevards and think of that. I can't fool you - and yet I would like to. I mean that I can never be absolutely loyal - it's not in me. I love women, or life, too much - which it is, I don't know. But laugh, Anais, I love to hear you laugh. You are the only woman who has a sense of gaiety, a wise tolerance - no more, you seem to urge me to betray you. I love you for that. [...] </span></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">I don't know what to expect of you, but it is something in the way of a miracle. I am going to demand everything of you - even the impossible, because you encourage it. You are really strong. I even like your deceit, your treachery. It seems aristocratic to me. </span></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;" /></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;" /></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">Anais to Henry on March 26, 1932</span></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">This is strange, Henry. Before, as soon as I came home from all sorts of places I would sit down and write in my journal. Now I want to write you, talk with you. [...]</span></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">I love when you say all that happens is good, it is good. I say all that happens is wonderful. For me it is all symphonic., and I am so aroused by living - god, Henry, in you alone I have found the same swelling of enthusiasm, the same quick rising of the blood, the fullness, the the fullness ...</span></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">Before, i almost used to think there was something wrong. Everybody else seemed to have the brakes on. [...] I never feel the brakes. I overflow. And when I feel your excitement about life flaring, next to mine, then it </span></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">makes me dizzy."</span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">7) Juliet & Romeo </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">♡ <i>Romeo and Juliet</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">"Love is heavy and light, bright and dark, hot and cold, sick and healthy, asleep and awake- its everything except what it is!"</span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">8) Scarlett & Rhett </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">♡ <i>Gone With The Wind.</i></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">9) Ygritte & Jon <span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">♡ <i>ASOIAF.</i> </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">"I know I want you," he heard himself say, all his vows and his honour all forgotten."</span></span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 16px;">10) Isolde & Tristan </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">♡ <i>The Romance of Tristan and Isolde</i>. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">"Fold your arms round me close and strain me so that our hearts may break and our souls go free at last. Take me to that happy place of which you told me long ago. The fields whence none return, but where great singers sing their songs forever."</span></span></blockquote>
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Sophiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10572915461004007383noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094062361825942660.post-7892273372369801772013-02-11T18:43:00.002+00:002013-02-11T18:46:37.721+00:00The Crimson Petal And The White - Michael Faber<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It has taken me a while to finish this book. I think this is a combination of my recent wish to do absolutely nothing, and the fact that this book is <i>damn</i> long. I finished last night at about 4am after deciding enough was enough, and finally pushing myself to get to the end. Despite all this though, I did really enjoy this book.<br />
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The Crimson Petal takes place in 1800's London, and is primarily about prostitutes (If you're thinking 'Ugh, another Ripper novel?' Then worry not, it's before his time.) Fanciful cuckold William Rackham, though long since a man, is still of a mind of a University student. He refuses to take over his fathers perfumery and soaps business preferring instead to scribble meaningless prose in hopes of one day being published and announced the greatest writer that ever lived. Poor Williams life is troubled, in that he refuses to accept in life anything other than the social construct of "normal", unlucky then considering his "mad" wife Agnes who is a constant source of aggravation and worry. William, however has a lucky run in with a prostitute named Sugar, who is not only a match for him in wits and knowledge, but has the utmost faith in him and his abilities. With Sugar's backing, William takes over his fathers company, is awarded with more riches than he could of dreamed, and is in the high graces of the majority of the London gentry. A happy ending. Well, not quite.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Crimson Petal...</i>was adapted a few years ago by the BBC, starring Romola Garai and Chris O Dowd.</td></tr>
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You see, this story is not William's or Agnes's, but Sugar herself's. Forced into prostitution by her mother while only a child, Sugar is rightfully dissolusioned with life, which she tries to make justifiable by using her 'experiences' for the basis of a novel, which she believes will shine a light on the true life of a prostitute. William however offers Sugar a way out. By taking her as his paramour and installing her securely in his life, Sugar is no longer the girl to be spat at and propositioned in the streets, but a lady. A place in life she'd rather die than loose.<br />
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I think what I like best about this book is that it was written by a male, as it contains so much contempt for that sex. Men in this novel are cruel and snivelling little beasts, who take what they want and throw away whatever possession is no longer deemed useful, even if that 'possession' is a human being.<br />
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You are rooting for Sugar the whole way through the 800 or so pages, and although the story veers for her in a way you'd not imagined, the ending is so clear to the reader and you sit, devouring the words with baited breath, praying for this characters happiness, in whatever way, even if you feel like a traitor to the rest of the story for accepting one so quickly as it's clearly such an unlikely turn of events.<br />
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I'm rambling but I really don't want to give anything away because the ending is just so lovely. Please read this book if you get the chance.<br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-r3c3hujOYMs/UMKGKsws7xI/AAAAAAAABJg/LPnajtmMamw/s1600/Capturesig.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-r3c3hujOYMs/UMKGKsws7xI/AAAAAAAABJg/LPnajtmMamw/s1600/Capturesig.JPG" /></a>Sophiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10572915461004007383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094062361825942660.post-8791059819975334652013-02-07T15:13:00.001+00:002013-02-07T15:13:07.551+00:00<br />
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Watching: <i>Girls, 2 Broke Girls, </i><i>New Girl, </i>(Geez, what's with that word lately?!) <i>The Big Bang Theory, Pretty Little Liars.</i> All the shows I watch are back after a hiatus over Christmas and I couldn't be happier. Last weeks episode of Big Bang <i>killed</i> me. I think the noises I was making were the definition of "chortling".<br />
I have also been loving Ripper Street on BBC1, mainly because it stars the beautiful Matthew McFadyen...but it's also great drama.<br />
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Listening To: The Postal Service, The Doors, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Icona Pop, Jimi Hendrix<br />
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Thinking About: NEW YORK, less than two weeks to go now!<br />
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Loving: Deciding what to pack, coffee, and baths.<br />
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Reading: <i>The Crimson Petal And The White</i> - Michael Faber. This is a pretty hefty tome, so it's taking me a while to get through it.<br />
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Making Me Happy: My dog, thoughts of the next few weeks, and upcoming tattoo appointments.<br />
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Sophiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10572915461004007383noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094062361825942660.post-24076186712305598442013-02-05T00:45:00.001+00:002013-02-05T00:45:11.424+00:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Top Ten Best Bookish Memories (waiting in line for a new release, meeting an author, or some sort of great experience with a particular book that was unlike others)</div>
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1) Getting a book signed by my favourite author; Chuck Palahniuk. I got the book as a Christmas present a few years ago from the site St. Helens Bookshop, which has sadly now closed down. Having a personally inscribed book from this author means so much to me, definitely a treasured possession.</div>
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2) Twilight. I know, I know and I don't want to hear it! I read these books when I (like Bella Swan) was 17 years old and they were huge to me. I will always remember that feeling I had when reading this series and discussing it with my best friend.</div>
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3) Bedtime Stories. My mum used to read to me brother and I every single night before bed. Our favourites were <i>Old Bear</i> and Roald Dahl's <i>Tales Of The Unexpected.</i></div>
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4) Meeting Jacqueline Wilson. If you're about my age or younger and you grew up in the UK, you read this authors books, it's just what you did. Once, she was coming to our local bookshop, and those of us who wanted to go and meet her (I was about 9) got the day off school to do so! I ended up taking all of my hardback Wilson books but unfortunately she was only signing her new release, <i>Vicky Angel</i>....I still have it somewhere.</div>
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5) Dying my hair silver so I could be like Daenerys Targaryen. (Seriously, after watching the show, who didn't want to be called "Silver Lady"?!)</div>
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6) All of the wonderfully fantastic adaptations that have been released over the years. There's something so special about watching something you've only seen in your head, come to life right in front of you. </div>
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6) It's not necessarily bookish, but he was a poet, so: The first time I heard <i>The Doors</i> music. Jim Morrison's words hit me really powerfully, weather he's speaking or singing and I can remember, about four years ago, the very first time I sat down with my second hand "Best Of The Doors" compilation, bought in a charity shop because my mum thought they were "my kinda thing", and listened to <i>The Crystal Ship.</i> I'm still in a daze for their music.</div>
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7) Being Dorothy Gale for the entirety of my childhood.</div>
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8) <i>Romeo & Juliet</i>. I'm not sure how I'm construing this as a memory, but it's always struck a chord, plus I can recite the prologue from memory, so...</div>
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9) The first time I read Fight Club (At 16 I think). My first ever transgressive novel, or novel of any sort outside of classics and YA really, and boy, did it blow my socks off.</div>
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10) Starting this blog!</div>
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<br />Sophiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10572915461004007383noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094062361825942660.post-15820858585779225332013-01-29T12:29:00.000+00:002013-01-29T12:29:40.735+00:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #333333; line-height: 20.796875px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Top Ten Most Frustrating Characters Ever</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">1) Inspector Javert -<i> Les M</i></span></span><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 17px;"><i>iserables</i>. Self explanatory, the man obsessed over one man for his entire adult life. I mean, there was a revolution happening right under his nose, and he had one of it's leaders within his grasp, but why do his job and keep peace on the streets when he could be chasing down Valjean for the mighty debt of stolen bread. Go home Javert, you are clearly a mad man.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">2) Scarlett O'Hara - <i>Gone With The Wind.</i> Oh Scarlett, you just couldn't see a good thing when you had it. Rhett Butler is one of the best men in classic fiction, and I love his character, but ugh, Scarlett. She obsesses over sickly looking Ashley who wants nothing to do with her, and throws Rhett's love away, she only wants him after he'll no longer have her, she's such a brat. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">3) Alex DeLarge - <i>A Clockwork Orange.</i> Why do you do it Alex?! Better yet, why do I feel sympathy for you?! I just wish Alex had had the change of heart on his own, and redeemed himself, instead of feeling remorse through the experiments.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">4) Cersei Lannister - <i>ASOIAF</i>. There is nothing that will make this character redeemable. She has been locked up, paraded through the streets of Kings Landing naked, lost her husband, lost her children, and still she feels no humility! </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">5) Mrs Bennet - <i>Pride & Prejudice</i>. Her nerves. Her nerves give me bad nerves, I swear. I hate the way she just forgives Lydia with not so much as a reprimanding look, just forgives her and accepts her happilly becsause she has a ring on her finger, and I hate the way she treats Lizzie as her least favourite. Speaking of Lydia...</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">6) Lydia Bennet -<i> Pride & Prejudice.</i> What a scheming child she was. Forgetting the fact that Wickham and Lizzie were a kind of thing - she just vanished with him, not sparing a single thought for her reputation or the reputations of her 4 unmarried sisters, so selfish.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">7) Frodo Baggins - <i>TLOTR. </i>I know his weakness is humanity and it's supposed to make us empathise with him but god, every time he puts that god damn ring on I get so mad, then there's the most frustrating moment of all (for me), when he puts on the ring to "hide" from the ring wraiths, and then JUST LIES EXACTLY WHERE HE WAS, THUS THE STABBING. Yes they can see him anyway, but he clearly didn't know that, he could have rolled to the side or something ATLEAST.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">8) Holden Caulfield - <i>The Catcher In The Rye.</i> He just makes so many bad decisions and he's halfway between acting how he wants and how he thinks he should at all times, I wish he'd just commit to one. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">9) Kathy - <i>Never Let Me Go</i>. Just feel something will you Cathy?!</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">10) Amy March - <i>Little Women</i>. For burning Jo's manuscript. I will never not hate you for that Amy. </span></span></div>
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Sophiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10572915461004007383noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094062361825942660.post-20886199900864244532013-01-28T13:33:00.000+00:002013-01-28T13:37:43.740+00:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Sophiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10572915461004007383noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094062361825942660.post-18382155208621228562013-01-27T13:22:00.002+00:002013-01-27T14:11:19.003+00:00Candy - Luke Davis<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As I mentioned in my mini haul last week, I bought this book on eBay after seeing it for a ridiculously cheap price, sometimes it can be really hard to get imports over here, especially for Australia, so when I saw this for sale without the huge shipping rates attached, I had to get it. <i>Candy</i>, I thought for a long time, was just a movie; a little indie Heath Ledger flick about drugs and love, but when I first saw the book a few years back, I thought it might be something I'd really enjoy and I was right!<br />
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<i>Candy</i> is a story of a love triangle between the unnamed male narrator, his wife Candy, and their mutual vice; Heroin. The story is part fiction part memoir, and recalls Davies own past and history with the drug and his then wife Megan Bannister, and reading the book you definitely realise there is truth to the authors words. Davies way of describing his all consuming, selfish, bright hot lust for the drug is so realistic that it can't be fiction, it's first hand experience with loosing everything and becoming only about the heroin, and that's what makes it such a great read because you're really experiencing something with the narrator as you read.<br />
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This isn't the first book I've read about this kind of addiction but I think it's definitely the most authentic and truthful, when I compare the novel to another well know piece of fiction about this addiction, <i>Trainspotting</i>, <i>Candy</i> just sits a rung above it, because of the narrators honesty. Though we as an audience are internally screaming at him every time he gives up the detox and injects the drug once more, this is what makes him and his experiences real, that this drug has such a hold on him that noting can make him stop, not even for a happy ending now when you look at <i>Trainspotting</i>, it seems Renton gets off a little easy, he fails detox once then suddenly he's free from the grasp of the drug in enough time for us to see him sort his life out. In <i>Candy</i>, life is much less hopeful.<br />
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<i>Candy</i> is a really great book. It takes you through the dizzying heights and unexplainable blissful bouts of euphoria, and then hurtles you to the other side of the drug, the deep desperation of the human soul when it is grasped by a lover so cruel it will strip away everything but need. If you can get your hands on this I'd definitely recommend it.<br />
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<br />Sophiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10572915461004007383noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094062361825942660.post-88503929894970346162013-01-22T10:20:00.000+00:002013-01-22T10:20:11.690+00:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="line-height: 20.796875px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Top Ten Settings I'd Like To See More Of (Or At All)</span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 20.796875px;">1) <i>England </i>- I realise there are<i> a lot</i> of English-set novels, </span></span><span style="line-height: 20.796875px;">particularly of the classic variety, but I'm talking more modern here. I think I've read 2 modern English novels in the past year and I'd really like to read more this year.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 20.796875px;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 20.796875px;">2)</span></span><i style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 20.796875px;"> New Orleans/The Bayou - </i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 20.796875px;">I have a little </span></span><span style="line-height: 20.796875px;">compulsion when it comes to this setting, and I tend to be drawn to books that are set there...more please.</span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 20.796875px;">3) <i>The Past (Medieval) </i>- We all know I'm a big huge massive fan of ASOIAF, and I feel like I need a little something else to obsess over in case GRRM does the unimaginable and breaks my </span></span><span style="line-height: 20.796875px;">heart</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 20.796875px;"> by taking away my beloved best character :(</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 20.796875px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">4) <i>The Past (Romanticism) </i>- I'm talking Austen, Bronte, etc..you can never have too many books set in this era.</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 20.796875px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">5) <i>The Past (Victorian/Georgian/Edwardian)</i> All those romantic poetic men like Tennyson and Elliot...yes please, more.</span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 20.796875px;">6)<i>The Past (Post Modern - 60's/70's)</i> - My favourite decades! And I barely ever find books set in them, I think </span></span><span style="line-height: 20.796875px;">I've</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 20.796875px;"> read 6 or 7 max, and none were exactly top notch.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 20.796875px;">8) <i>Boats/</i></span></span><strike style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 20.796875px;"><i>n'Hoes</i></strike><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 20.796875px;"><i>Ships</i> - I really like novels set on boats, especially if they're done cleverly and sound authentic, </span></span><span style="line-height: 20.796875px;">because</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 20.796875px;"> then you're learning something too. I once wrote a script set a ship using only information I'd garnered from novels. So handy.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 20.796875px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">9) <i>Hollywood</i> - Classic Hollywood, why aren't you in more novels? I love classic Hollywood, the language, the style, the feel, everything. </span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 20.796875px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">10)<i> Planes </i>- Like the boats, I like having a book set on one confined space, because then they have to be really character driven, which I love. Look at <i>Life of Pi</i>, Pi had only his imagination and a life boat - yet Martel gave us a story that felt huge.</span></span></div>
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Sophiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10572915461004007383noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094062361825942660.post-73084774742608557132013-01-19T12:41:00.000+00:002013-01-19T12:41:49.430+00:00I let my tape rock 'til my tape popped<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;">♥ Watching "<i>Like Crazy</i>" with Lo </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;">♥ Book deliveries! </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;">♥ 15 year old soulmate at the bus stop (both wearing Harringtons) </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;">♥ Booked my knee tattoos for March! </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;">♥ The ice was no match was me </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;">♥ </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;">♥</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;"> "I love my dog" face </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;">♥</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;">Another busy week of finalising a project! I handed in my script yesterday and all went well, just one more major project to go and then I'll be a graduate! </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;"><br /></span>Sophiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10572915461004007383noreply@blogger.com0