Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Wanna watch something hilarious?
Okay so I know that this isn’t even remotely related to anything booky but I’m currently a bit obsessed, just ask Nicole, with this YouTube clip of a failed TV show called Poochinski, I just have to share its goodness with everyone. But Romy you ask what is this Poochinski about exactly? Well I’m glad you asked, Poochinski (don’t you just love that name) is about a boorish cop killed in the line of duty whose soul is mystically transplanted into the body of his pet bulldog. The talking bulldog is taken in by his straight-laced partner and together they have to learn to live as wacky roommates while taking a bite out of crime *Giggles whilst falling off a chair*. Man whoever came up with this has one twisted and wacky imagination, oh pure genius this is, I can’t believe it was cancelled after only one episode. Now without further ado here is the fabulous clip, enjoy!
If you, like myself, thought to yourself gee I wish I could view the entire episode, well today is your lucky day because a wonderful person has uploaded the entire episode (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3) onto YouTube for all the world to bask in Poochinski’s absolute absurdity, praise!
Now I’m going to attempt to try and add something bookish into this post as this is a book blog so I was wondering if anyone has read any books where a character has been turned into an animal, at the moment I can’t think of any I’ve read but my brain is a tad mushy right now, something may turn up in my head later but for now I’ve got nothing, so please any thoughts?
Teaser Tuesday #26
Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
1. Grab you current read
2. Open to a random page
3. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
Today’s teaser is from The Opposite of Amber by Gillian Philip. Before last week I had never even heard of this book *face palm* but thanks to those wonderful folks over at Bloomsbury I was (surprisingly) sent a copy and I’m quite chuffed that I received this because whilst I’m only about 30 pages in so far I’m already hooked primarily due to the chilling prologue at the start and Philip’s beautiful prose which just rolls of the tongue, it’s like butter.
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“The traces from her body were gone, the ones that said his name, but she had an extra skin of ice that protected her. The water’s surface was an icy coffin lid, like the one that covered Snow White, and she looked perfect like Snow White, or nearly.”
p. 2-3, The Opposite of Amber by Gillian Philip
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For those of you who haven’t heard of the book before I thought I’d give you the blurby goodness…
‘They found the fifth girl right after the snow melted . . . the place where he left her was winter water, crazed with ice-feathers and dusted with snow. The traces from her body were gone, the ones that said his name, but she had an extra skin of ice that protected her and she looked perfect, like Snow White.’
Ruby and her older sister, Jinn, are on their own, just about making ends meet. Jinn is beautiful, with glittering blonde hair, and makes it her business to look after Ruby. They are horrified by, but try to ignore, the local newspaper stories of prostitutes who are murdered, their bodies eventually discovered underwater. Then the no-good Nathan Baird turns up on the scene – again – and Jinn starts to change and no longer has time to look after Ruby. And it seems to Ruby that Jinn herself needs looking after. Her beautiful glittering hair starts to lose its shine. And then Jinn disappears.
A deeply moving, chilling, and incredibly powerful thriller that celebrates the love two sisters have for each other and mourns the events beyond their control that will conspire to drive them apart.
Ruby and her older sister, Jinn, are on their own, just about making ends meet. Jinn is beautiful, with glittering blonde hair, and makes it her business to look after Ruby. They are horrified by, but try to ignore, the local newspaper stories of prostitutes who are murdered, their bodies eventually discovered underwater. Then the no-good Nathan Baird turns up on the scene – again – and Jinn starts to change and no longer has time to look after Ruby. And it seems to Ruby that Jinn herself needs looking after. Her beautiful glittering hair starts to lose its shine. And then Jinn disappears.
A deeply moving, chilling, and incredibly powerful thriller that celebrates the love two sisters have for each other and mourns the events beyond their control that will conspire to drive them apart.
Well there you have it, sounds good no? Come to think of it I want to pick it up now, bye!
Yippee for Cath Crowley!
So I was going through my daily ritual this morning of reading The Age whilst drinking my delicious chamomile tea and lo and behold there was an article on the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards 2011 and down the bottom of the article they mentioned that Victoria’s very own Cath Crowley won the Ethel Turner Prize for Young People's Literature for Graffiti Moon, congratulations Cath! Here’s what the judges had to say about Graffiti Moon:
Graffiti Moon, by Cath Crowley, and published by Pan Macmillan, is set in contemporary suburbia, and focuses on one memorable and action-packed night in the lives of three teenage friends. It is narrated from the distinctly different perspectives of Lucy, a dreamer who has just finished year 12; Ed, a graffiti artist; and Leo, a poet.
Lucy and Ed, the two apparently oppositional central characters, share their everyday joys and anxieties as well as their innermost thoughts and dreams, while Leo's poems are woven into their narratives. Lucy is obsessed with meeting the elusive Shadow whose graffiti art is everywhere. Ed, who is grieving for a dear friend and desperate to escape his stereotypes, promises to help her find him. Their passion for art inevitably changes their first impressions of each other. In evocative prose, Crowley
Well that just makes me want to read the book even more, luckily I already own a signed copy I just have to search for it in my huge TBR pile. For those of you itching to know more about the book there are some really great reviews in the book blogosphere from …
Nomes @ Ink Crush
Nic @ Irresistible Reads
Tye @ The Book Gryffin
Adele @ Persnickety Snark
Jess @ The Tales Compendium
Now go forthwith and get reading those reviews!
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Guess who’s been cast in The Hunger Games Movie …
So I was feeling very procrastinatey today and instead of doing work I decided to read the paper and lo and behold apparently the producers of The Hunger Games movie have found their Peeta and Gale. These were my thoughts whilst reading the article:
WTF!?!? When did this happen? Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth. Hang on Liam Hemsworth as in the Aussie whose brother was an “actor” (and I use that term lightly) in Home and Away (one of my favourite TV shows, it’s my shameful secret, well you all know now) and dated Miley Cyrus? *Looks down page* Oohhh look Xanadu the Musical is closing …
So if you can’t tell from my scatter brained thoughts that were alternating between the article and the ad for Xanadu the lucky boys that have been given one of the most coveted roles (I read somewhere that the roles were coveted) for any young actor in Hollywood are Josh Hutcherson as Peeta and Liam Hemsworth as Gale. Okay so I haven’t seen anything with either Josh Hutcherson or Liam Hemsworth (I know shock horror I haven’t seen The Last Song!) hence I can’t really comment on their acting chops but lets hope they are both up to it otherwise thee be mutiny by the many rabid Hunger Games fans of which I am one. Hmmm I wonder if Liam Hemsworth will keep his Aussie accent for the role, let’s hope not!
I give you Josh Hutcherson (Peeta) and Liam Hemsworth (Gale)
If you haven’t heard yet the role of Katniss went to Jennifer Lawrence from Winter’s Bone, I haven’t seen the movie but methinks it was nominated for an Oscar, apparently it was quite good I mean it was nominated. Personally for me Jennifer Lawrence wasn’t really what I had in mind for Katniss, first off Jennifer Lawrence is too old she’s already 20, but who knows and according to my movie maestros, Margaret and David from At The Movies (the best ever movie show in the ABC), she was fantastic in Winter’s Bone so lets hope she’s just as good in The Hunger Games.
Jennifer Lawrence (Katniss)
I’m going to leave you now with a pearl of wisdom from Miley Cyrus’ twitter account (Nicole this is partly for you because I know how much you love Miley).
“I can say the best news ever now! Dang word travels fast! Liam booked the role of Gale in Hunger Games! I gotta go read all the books now!”
Now Miley apart from your serious overuse of exclamation marks (I thought I was bad) that’s the most intelligent thing I’ve ever heard, yes you all should indeed read The Hunger Games.
Waiting on Wednesday: All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin
"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine, which spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" is:
All These Things I've Done (Birthright #1) by Gabrielle Zevin
Release Date: September 27, 2011
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Age Group: Young Adult
From the author of the critically acclaimed Elsewhere comes this brilliant novel about an impossible romance, a family living outside of the law, and the ties that forever bind us.
Chocolate and coffee are illegal, paper is hard to find, water is increasingly scarce, andNew York City
Engrossing and suspenseful, All These Things I’ve Done is an utterly unique, unputdownable read that blends both the familiar and fantastic.
Chocolate and coffee are illegal, paper is hard to find, water is increasingly scarce, and
Engrossing and suspenseful, All These Things I’ve Done is an utterly unique, unputdownable read that blends both the familiar and fantastic.
Has anyone ever wondered what a world without chocolate and coffee would be like? Well you’re in luck, look no further than this little dystopian goody. Where do you even come up with a world without chocolate, I mean blow my mind Gabrielle Zevin! Would a world without chocolate even be worth living? There would definitely be a lot of cranky peeps in that world. Plus poisoned chocolate, who would do such a thing, sacrilegious! Anyways apart from my little chocolate obsession with this book the plot actually sounds really interesting and definitely unique (well for me anyway). I say bring on All These Thing’s I’ve Done so I can read it in all it’s dystopian chocolatey goodness!
Well that’s my “waiting on” pick, what's yours this week?
Monday, April 4, 2011
Guest Post: Rebecca Lim author of Mercy
Today I’m really excited to be posting my very first author guest post on my humble little blog written by the super talented and lovely Rebecca Lim, author of Mercy. For those of you who haven’t heard of Mercy before it offers a unique take on the angel genre by mixing an intriguing romance with a suspenseful mystery. Feel free to check out my review of Mercy HERE. I also posted an interviewed I did with Rebecca which you can find HERE.Now without further ado I give you Rebecca’s guest post …
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Demand More
As a reader, I really appreciate it when a writer treats me as if I am a sophisticated, intelligent, engaged person, who doesn’t mind being challenged.
In short, I am happy if a writer treats me – a female reader – as someone with a functioning brain.
As a writer, it’s the way I like to think that I treat my readers.
I’m even happier if what I’m reading reflects the diversity that is life itself in today’s world. It’s 2011, people. Women can save themselves. Women are not defined by the romantic love triangle, or love hexagon, they might happen to find themselves entangled in. I like to think that women in love still retain a modicum of intelligence – emotional as well as intellectual – and YA lit should perhaps reflect that a bit more than it does.
It’s my personal belief that writers have a duty to put positive reflections of the sisterhood out there. Enough horrific stuff happens to women in the real world – we read about it every day in the news, we can’t seem to escape the terrible, terrible stories. Women writers, in particular, should be empowering teens to not accept traditional stereotypes; even in fictional portrayals of women. We should be counteracting – with all the tools we have available to us as writers – the darkest aspects of human nature.
Stalking is not okay; assault is not okay. If it’s part of the story line, there should still be no surrender.
Demand more. Question everything you read. Don’t just go for the easy options and let your brain float off into romance land. Sure, YA lit exists to entertain and to take us away from the “every day”, but it should not reinforce the tropes of ancient history.
That’s why we all love the paranormal. There’s boundless possibility for everyone - not just the “hot” guy.
Rebecca Lim is the author of “Mercy” published by HarperCollins Publishers in Australia , NZ, the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth, and Disney-Hyperion in the United States
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First off, huge thanks to Rebecca for taking the time and writing this post, her very first guest post I believe, I think we can all agree she’s done a fantastic job.
Now I’m in complete agreement with Rebecca here, writers should put a stop to the traditional stereotyping of women as being weak and intellectually inferior, always needing to be saved by a man, clearly this is not the case nor has it ever been. I believe this is especially important for YA writers as young women are at that age where they are particularly susceptible to the views of the media from both traditional (books, movies, tv) and new media sources (internet) therefore it is important to portray women in a positive light where they can be strong, intelligent and caring.
We as women have been bombarded since childhood with society’s narrow minded views on how a woman should act and behave. We need to give women some more credit and agree that whilst we are all different we do however all have a brain and can think, women of today can do anything they put their mind to and they don’t need a man to achieve it! We deserve nothing less.
Both Rebecca and I would love your opinions on this issue, so please leave us a comment, thanks!
Sunday, April 3, 2011
In My Mailbox #26
In My Mailbox is a meme hosted by Kristi @ The Story Siren once a week which explores the weekly contents of your mailbox and books bought.
Hello everyone, I hope you guys all had a great week. Now I know I said this like last month and then failed to update for another month but hopefully I will be back and into the swing of blogging again, I’ve been very remiss, so apologies. I’m really missing talking books with everyone. I don’t think things are going to slow down with uni but I’m definitely going to try and write at least one review a week again, I’m not sure yet if this is realistic but we’ll see. But enough of my excuses lets get into the good stuff, the books!
For Review:
Demonglass (Hex Hall #2) by Rachel Hawkins (Hyperion Books/March 1, 2011)
Sophie Mercer thought she was a witch.
That was the whole reason she was sent to Hex Hall, a reform school for delinquent Prodigium (aka witches, shapeshifters, and fairies). But that was before she discovered the family secret, and that her hot crush, Archer Cross, is an agent for The Eye, a group bent on wiping Prodigium off the face of the earth.
Turns out, Sophie’s a demon, one of only two in the world—the other being her father. What’s worse, she has powers that threaten the lives of everyone she loves. Which is precisely why Sophie decides she must go toLondon
But once Sophie arrives she makes a shocking discovery. Her new friends? They’re demons too. Meaning someone is raising them in secret with creepy plans to use their powers, and probably not for good. Meanwhile, The Eye is set on hunting Sophie down, and they’re using Archer to do it. But it’s not like she has feelings for him anymore. Does she?
That was the whole reason she was sent to Hex Hall, a reform school for delinquent Prodigium (aka witches, shapeshifters, and fairies). But that was before she discovered the family secret, and that her hot crush, Archer Cross, is an agent for The Eye, a group bent on wiping Prodigium off the face of the earth.
Turns out, Sophie’s a demon, one of only two in the world—the other being her father. What’s worse, she has powers that threaten the lives of everyone she loves. Which is precisely why Sophie decides she must go to
But once Sophie arrives she makes a shocking discovery. Her new friends? They’re demons too. Meaning someone is raising them in secret with creepy plans to use their powers, and probably not for good. Meanwhile, The Eye is set on hunting Sophie down, and they’re using Archer to do it. But it’s not like she has feelings for him anymore. Does she?
I finished reading this only a couple of days ago and really enjoyed it. These books make for such fun reading and Sophie sure has a sharp tongue.
Thanks to International Book Tours
Bought:
These Things Hidden by Heather Gudenkauf (Mira/March 18, 2011)
After reading so many glowing reviews with words like compelling and moving novel I just had to find myself a copy.
This has been on my wishlist for about a year, it has finally arrived, yay! Bring on the contempy goodness!
Lament by Maggie Stiefvater (Scholastic/January 3, 2011)
If this is anything like Shiver I know I’ll love it! Plus I’m still slightly obsessed with anything faery, I know I know I’ll grow out of it one day but that’s not today.
Blood & Flowers by Penny Blubaugh (HarperTeen/March 1, 2011)
Pretty cover = enough said!
Afterlife (Evernight #4) by Claudia Gray (HarperCollins Children’s Books/March 3, 2011)
Final in the amazingly nutty, mind bending Evernight series, I’m obsessed and I don’t know why, I just have this compulsion to read it.
Bloodfever (Fever #2) by Karen Marie Moning (Dell/August 26, 2008) [Adult]
I was sucked in by Darkfever the first book in the series (like everyone else I’m intrigued by that fine man Barrons, what is he?) and had to go straight to the bookstore to find myself the second book in the series.
Dreamfever (Fever #4) by Karen Marie Moning (Dell/October 26, 2010) [Adult]
Now you may (or may not) be wondering why on earth did I procure the 2nd and 4th books in the Fever series and not the 3rd? Well they didn’t have the 3rd book at Borders, very irritating, and seeing as I had to use up my entire balance on my Borders gift card (it’s a long story but basically Borders in Australia is in deep financial trouble) I thought I might as well buy both and find the 3rd book somewhere else, so there you go.
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