stripped to the core

When work doesn't consume me, I devour this and more.

Lord of the Flies

It has been years that I kept seeing this book across the shelves of numerous bookstores, and only now have I read it. I was pretty much devastated after reading this. There is nothing literal about the title. It's a story set during World War II about a group of schoolboys stranded in a deserted island who only have themselves to survive. The lack of society and societal rules is a struggle for the boys as they are confused as to who should be 'chief', who makes the fire and who hunts.

The minute details of death, sacrifice and hunting made me feel their pain and angst so I guess that's why this is the winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature. The symbolism in this story is true to the past as it is to the present. Think of it somewhat like the Lost series but only involving children. What an enjoyable read this has been.

“Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man's heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy.” (Chapter 12)

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner

I would be more interested if it was Jane's life really. I know this isn't much of a review but I find the story too bland. I guess teen fiction doesn't suit me anymore. For the exception of Hunger Games Series though.haha

literature calls me forward

It's an amazing intellectual mind-percolating feat for me when I finish a book. And when I finished 3 books in 2 months that was another step up the notch for me. I aim to read about 4 books a month (1 book per week which would equate to about 52 books a year! Ooooohhhh.) . But with all the college work, actual work and then the internet, I would either be too tired or too distracted.

I'm so glad the libraries here in Edinburgh have this  interconnected database system available online. I could just reserve a book and then collect it from my nearest library. When I attempted searching from their database, I was overwhelmed how they have it all. I couldn't stop searching all those classical literatures that I've always wanted to buy from a bookstore but I can't 'coz they were too expensive. Since it was too price-y to buy books, I eventually borrowed from libraries. My library card then gets worn out from the over-use. Oh the good times.

See how my real life is so exciting? Lalalala.

The universe is my limit. The sky is yours.

"Where did you get the idea you aren't allowed to petition the universe with a prayer? You are part of the universe, Liz. You're a constituent- you have every entitlement to participate in the actions of the universe, and to let your feelings be known. So put your opinion out there. Make your case. Believe me- it will at least be taken into consideration" - Eat. Pray. Love. by Elizabeth Gilbert

Austen-tatious

Lost in Austen: Create Your Own Jane Austen Adventure by Emma Campbell Webster

This is an extraordinary read and should not be read through from beginning to end. If you've read all 6 major novels by Jane Austen (which I did. hoorah!), then you'll be able to relate with all the intertwining characters, adventures and the path you take will depend on the choices along the way. I get to experience the story as Ms. Elizabeth Bennet, the heroine from Pride & Prejudice, as I jump from one page to another with the choices that I made. I smiled inside when I encountered other familiar characters because that just showed how I haven't forgotten what I've read all this time. My story ended happily but before I moved on to the next stage, I cheated as I peeked through the other choices I could have made just to know if I've really made the right decision. (I wish that's how life could be sometimes). I really like the twisted humor, the illustrations and the alternate endings.

Thanks a lot to Elys for lending this to me. It's the fun-est read I've had since those Goosebumps series way back when I was a kid.

On a good note, my IELTS exam results were released and I got a satisfactory band score. I didn't expect my writing to be the highest and to think I didn't even re-read what I just wrote down. Much thanks to the Atheneum center and to the Almighty. :) *high fives my 16-year old self through the space time continuum*

I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity. -E.A.Poe

After purchasing his complete works last year, I finally finished it today. Yes, it took me a year. 973 pages was a struggle especially when you squeeze in classes, graduation requirements and exams. What an accomplishment to actually read all his works and smother myself with his dark twisted stories. Another literary companion while I was reading that was a handy-dandy dictionary. It helps when I realized what the master of short stories was talking about.

I've highlighted some stories that were most riveting such as The Spectacles, The Pit and The Pendulum, Hop-Frog, The Oval Portrait, The Black Cat and a lot more. The Narrative of Gordon Pym of Nantucket is Poe's only full-length work and one fine adventure story ever written which gave me a handful of pirate and terrorism dreams for days. Originally, the ending lacked about 2 or 3 chapters so it's forever a mystery and it left me hanging. Maybe that's why my subconscious is trying so hard to complete it and transcend the ending in my dreams. Hmmmm... (Poe channeling himself through my dreams? Haha)

It was an adventure conversing with Poe and now I'm off to decide which book to read next.

the games i hunger

Thanks muchos to Jereme for being a good bookworm and sharing the fire that engulfed him and passed it on to a fellow nerd in the form of The Hunger Games Series.

The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay. A wonderful trilogy and a wonderful read. So wonderful that I now have a theme song stuck in my head, Colbie Caillat's I Never Told You. (thanks to Jer again for providing me a spoiler fan made video of the book. Hmmf!). I love it when at the end of the chapters there's some jaw dropping revelation and I can't stand not reading the next parts. Suzanne Collins captured my full attention and enhanced it with her details of the arena. It was a gripping ride. The ending was a bit of a snore for me but hey, at least I got one thing right about the romance.

I can't imagine being Katniss Everdeen at all. I applaud her for her strong-willed-but-often-breaks-down-like-hell-and-yet-still-fighting-for-justice persona. In my head, she's the young post apocalyptic version of Alice from Resident Evil minus the infection.

I have always been in to the suspense, thrilling novels. And the only other authors that provided me that much thrill is Sidney Sheldon and Dan Brown... and then here comes Suzanne Collins. I can't wait to discover more.

Anyone care to recommend me more thrilling books? I sure do appreciate it.

Stephen King I Am?

I write like
Stephen King

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

Wow I didn't expect that at all! Well, at least I am comforted by the fact that I have an ingeniously dark and eerie side to my manner of writing. I mean come on, I've been reading the complete works of Edgar Allan Poe for goodness sakes (and it's a thick arse book), I'd eventually get a tip or two from all that perusal.

Ok so I've never read a Stephen King book yet.  My favorite authors as of the moment are Sidney Sheldon, Jane Austen, Paulo Coelho and Edgar Allan Poe.

Click there find out who your famous writer twin is: http://iwl.me/
So... who did you get?

there was but one woman to him...the late Irene Adler

"To Sherlock Holmes she is always the woman. I have seldom heard him mention her under any other name. In his eyes she eclipses and predominates the whole of her sex. It was not that he felt any emotion akin to love for Irene Adler. All emotions, and that one particularly, were abhorrent to his cold, precise but admira...bly balanced mind. He was, I take it, the most perfect reasoning and observing machine that the world has seen, but as a lover he would have placed himself in a false position. He never spoke of the softer passions, save with a gibe and a sneer. They were admirable things for the observer — excellent for drawing the veil from men's motives and actions. But for the trained reasoner to admit such intrusions into his own delicate and finely adjusted temperament was to introduce a distracting factor which might throw a doubt upon all his mental results. Grit in a sensitive instrument, or a crack in one of his own high-power lenses, would not be more disturbing than a strong emotion in a nature such as his. And yet there was but one woman to him, and that woman was the late Irene Adler, of dubious and questionable memory."

- From "A Scandal in Bohemia" (1892)

Percy Jackson

Date I started reading Percy Jackson and The Olympians: January 20, 2009

Thanks to a good friend who has lend me the first 4 books which, I have come to know the adventures of demigod, Percy Jackson. I really find this book humorous and paced with action. The first person POV and his sarcasm mix well that I find myself laughing and cringing with anticipation. I like this book because there are different reference to Greek Gods.
It's like learning mythology again but in an easier not dreadful way.

In Book 1, the funniest part would be meeting Cebrecus, and Percy hoping not to get squashed by the dog's hinds as Annabeth distracts doggie with a ball.

Oh Book 2, I can't imagine Percy holding on to those carnivorous sheeps. And the NOBODY scene was hilarious.

As for you Book 3, Apollo appears cooler than I thought. <3

Book 4 ain't half bad, especially reading the part where Percy has to clean up football fields filled with manure!

As for the movie posters, here they are:

Those posters are convincing too. Let's hope they pull this off nicely. The one on the top is my vote!

So, have you read the book yet? Or will you go beeline to the movie theaters?

Western meets Asian

Twilight: The Graphic Novel contains selected text from Meyer's original novel with illustrations by Korean artist Young Kim. A rare fusion of Asian and Western comic techniques is reflected in this black-and-white graphic novel with color interspersed throughout. Meyer consulted throughout the artistic process and had input on every panel.


source

order here.

Will you order one?

jane.

Jane Austen.

Yes, her. I wonder why her name was rarely mentioned during my Literature class? Oh well, that doesn't make her any less of a writer though. I'm going back to the classics now. I intend to read all 6 of her books: Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814) and Emma (1816). She wrote two additional novels, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion. In random order.

I was finished with Persuasion last week. It was an old flame of love in the most unsual form and most unsual way. But circumstances, led them back together again with rather different situations than before. Family affairs interfered but Anne Elliot's and Captain Wentworth's love, if it still is love blossomed. But it was love again indeed.

I'm currently reading Sense and Sensibility. I'll blog down my thoughts about it soon. I love how 2 of my Austen books are hard bound. I rarely see that in classics now adays. Hard bounded ones stand the test of time a lot more often than the soft bounded ones. But then again, it has the same contents, so yeah.

I'm gonna get my read on!

UPDATE: finished all 6 books by Austen. Favorite would be Pride and Prejudice and Emma. Most confusing would be Northanger Abbey.

xoxo

c.