Chapter 8: Space and the Illusion of Childhood

I have been working on reading Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card for months now. Though in all honesty it has probably been more of a process of years. This has been, by far, the book I've received the most recommendations for. I'm not typically one to read a book slowly. If I don't finish it within the first week or so of picking it up, it remains unfinished for years if not permanently. I have a horrid memory and typically after a few days I forget the importance of characters or what exactly is happening or sometimes even the main goal of it all (serious memory problems, I'm telling you...). However, there was something different about this book. This was one of the craziest autumns of my life so there's a plethora of reasons why it kept being put down but every time I picked it back up again, I was drawn back in and I had no problems following what was happening. I wonder now if that made me enjoy the book more because just as Ender felt things around him moving at odd pace with sudden starts and stops, so was my reading experience.

It took me a while to be really absorbed into the story (possibly contributing to my slow reading of it). There are so many strange aspects to this world that are introduced but unexplained, leaving the reader to interpret it themselves (only to have their conclusions approved or voided later in the book). So it takes a little time to get used to your surroundings. Also at the beginning the characters are so defined by specific characteristics that they become almost caricatures. This follows Ender's own thoughts, understandable ones for children, but keeps you distant from the rest of the characters, perhaps accentuating how alone he feels even surrounded by others.

I couldn't resist! Saw this and could not stop laughing!

 The plots follows Ender Wiggin, a child of seven, who has been chosen by the government to join their military training academy in space where they prepare to fight the second invasion of an alien race called Buggers who came far too close to annihilating the human species the last time they came around. Once there he realizes he is not just another soldier there for training. The government has been watching him and has picked him to act as the commander over the invading forces. The book follows his years through battle school as they push him to the very edge of his abilities in their attempt to make him the perfect tactical machine.

And yes! A movie is finally on the way! IMDB says November 1, 2013

One of my favorite parts was actually the subplot where Ender's older siblings Peter and Valentine, who are also young children as well, take on alias's and invade the nets, spreading incendiary political theories, commentaries, and ideas. Peter, the more violent one, takes on the aspect of the more rational while Valentine, the empathetic one, takes on the more radical. These segments focus on her perspective as she tries to understand and condone what they're doing regardless of Peter's less than pure intentions.

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card (324 pages)

Judgement: Psychologically Stimulating (8 out of 10)

{Post-Holiday Ponderings (accompanied by excuses)}

So another huge gap... I'm sure none of you were surprised by this. I wasn't either. Just for the record, it's not that I haven't been writing because I haven't been reading. It's because I haven't *finished* reading anything other than the bazillion plays and essays and blah-de-blah I had to read for school. Luckily, I'm almost finished with that chapter of my own life, only one more semester left. What I'll do after that, I honestly have no idea right now. It's all a little scary and chest pain inducing at the moment. But anywho, I've been sloooooooooowly working my way through a couple of books. Now that I'm on vacation for a few more weeks, perhaps I'll be able to finally finish and get some nice posts up for you. In the mean time, here is yet another farm animal in boots! Because I know you liked it so much last time...

If you don't forgive Sorcha for her absence, I'll nom all your books!

It was a very busy holiday season this year. My grandmother moved to town, my parents moved apartments, and my fiance is moving this week. I had weird work hours so money was nowhere near as plentiful as I would have liked (perhaps I should have tried to get in on the whole seasonal retail thing again but after the literal physical torment I suffered last year I decided not even try...) and that was quite hard in getting presents for everyone. But this year was the first that I tried to host Christmas for my family and it was a crazy awesome success!

Sab cooked some delicious quiches, potatoes, and gingerbread pancakes for brunch while I played barrista. The food was phenomenal and everyone loved it. For presents I made everyone a personalized mug and a stocking that was mostly candy but had at least one big gift for everyone. I got some great stuff, apparently my family really gets me because they seem to always know just what I want. It was so much fun but now I feel a little exhausted and quite honestly, a bit lost. I have a couple weeks left with nothing to really do and that's such a daunting idea! What am I going to do with myself other than sit around eating the rest of the Christmas sweets, growing rounder by the minute, continuing my Star Trek Marathon?

I need projects, I need something to think about, I need something to keep my brain from rattling around my head going "WhatcanIdo? WhatcanIdo? Gimmesomethingtodo!" So maybe it's time to try for some new resolutions? This wasn't a bad year but I definitely wasn't at my best either. What can I try this year to make it even better?

I guess I'll just have to ponder that for a few days and get back to you. Anyways, as a Holiday bonus, here's a picture of me in my new bacon and egg scarf!

Happy Holidays and a Merry New Year!

Domestic Dimanche: My Story Ideas

I'm sure most of you know this already because even those of you who don't know me personally have probably already figured out that I'm the type, but I don't just read, I write as well. Or at least, I write occasionally. I hate that I've fallen into that grown up thing where I'm like "OMG! I never have time for anything!" when I've watched the first two seasons of Supernatural this week and I've gone a good chunk into the third (seriously, why did I wait this long to watch it? I should go back and slap my past self!). It's more of a matter of: I go to class, I go to work, I do homework (which is 99% of the time just reading so it turns something I love into a chore >.>), and then with the energy I have left I don't want to do anything productive. I just want to watch Sam and Dean exorcise things and throw salt everywhere for a few hours!

So, as a kind of way to kick myself in the pants about some of my writing projects I've decided to list each of them here with a bit of a description. Maybe having them gathered here will be a helpful reference and maybe some of you guys will poke me about ones you like so I'll have more motivation. Either way, here's some of the ideas that have been floating around in my head for a while. Oldest first!

Inbetween - Ella
This is probably one of my more complicated stories that I thought up. The main character, Ella, has dropped out of college in an attempt to finish the book she's been writing for years. She's almost done but can't get the ending quite right when she's in a car accident and falls into a coma. The story flips back and forth between her internal world which mirrors the world of her book except that it is continually being attached by shadows and whole pieces of the land go missing, and the external world where the taxi driver who was driving her when the accident happened is slowly falling in love with her and obsessively inserts himself into the lives of her friends and family.

I've been holding onto this plot idea since around 7th grade and it's changed in minor ways but for the most part, it still follows the original idea. The reason I've been so hesitant to start on it is I basically have to craft two worlds, the dream and the real, and figure out how to splice them together so they work. Not to mention I have a CRAP TON of characters I wanted to put into it and I keep getting distracted by trying to tweak them.

10,000 Miles Away - Pirates!
If you were to ask the people I know to tell you one fact about me, one you would hear a lot is that I love pirates. I'm obsessed with their history (which is freaking fascinating... maybe I'll write an article about that later...) and their "mythology" and their music! Which is how this story was born. It is based on a sea shanty called "10,000 Miles Away" in which the main character is a Navy sailor who leaves home and when he returns finds that his love is being taken away in chains and he wishes he was a strong/brave enough man to save her.

The story follows Meg and Liam. After Liam joins the navy his ship disappears and Meg turns pirate in an attempt to find him (as no navy ship would ever allow a woman on board). He makes his way back to England and becomes a high ranking pirate hunter. Who's his target? Meg! Does he know who she is? Nope! In the end one of them will have to choose a side because there no way that pirate and navy can coexist. Right?

Lisbon Corp - CATS!
Ok, so I'm not going to tell you what this idea was based on because 1) you'll think I'm crazy and mock me for one of my favorite childhood VHSs and 2) it's so far removed from the original that it's barely recognizable at this point.

There is a corporation called Lisbon Corp which specializes in immortality. They run a program called the Cat Program where, if you are extremely wealthy, you can have your consciousness transferred to a new body. No more will terminal illness, violent attack, or old age destroy you. However, you only have 9 chances at this. Some people are really good about taking care of their bodies, able to live around 900 years old! Some, called Body Burners, aren't so lucky. Garnet is one such person. About to lose her 9th body to the same disease that has been stalking her since body 1, she's desperate to get another chance. However, upon discovering the corruption behind Lisbon Corp she finds a way to destroy it and chaos ensues!

This is meant to be a collection of 9 short stories, each of which follows a different character and what happens to them as they begin to realize the immortality is no longer within their grasp.

The Vampire and The Ghost - Children's Story
This is my newest and quite possibly my cutest story idea XD There is a young girl named River who is lonely because she is a Vampire. She isn't allowed to go out in the daytime and none of the other kids are allowed to go out after dark. She really wants to go to school and be around other kids but she can't. While she's playing in the graveyard behind her house she meets Walker, a young ghost boy who becomes her friend and they learn they don't need to be normal because they're perfectly awesome the way they are.

This one is my current favorite. I don't think it will take me long when I actually get to writing it but I've been dawdling. I also need to get an artist to illustrate it for me. I know so many of those it can't be too hard right?

So, those are my stories ^^  I hope they were at least mildly entertaining. Let me know in comments what you think about them and if you like writing/if you have any projecting hanging around like I do.

Domestic Dimanche: The Best Game Series of All

I'm not ashamed to say. One of my first big crushes as a child was this guy.

Oh Link! My Link!

The only problem was, I was terrible at Zelda games! My Aunt had the classic Ocarina of Time on Nintendo 64 and every time I would visit my cousin and I spent hours in the basement playing. Despite all this (granted, we were often yelled at for spending too much time on it and booted outside) it was years before I even got to adult Link and not long after I beat the Forest Temple, the game was lost and we never got to finish.

I know! One of the most horrible fates to befall any gamer! But don't be too upset. See, I'm an adult now and as I'm quickly learning, that position comes with perks. My favorite of which is the ability to buy any game I want and play it as long as I want to. Last summer I bought my first game system (the rest of which had been handed down by my awesome brother), a little Game Cube named Merlot. Yeah, she's old and outdated and her internal battery is shot so she's constantly asking me to reset the time BUT for this, it's totally worth it.

Look! It's totally me ^ 3 ^ Malon is definitely my favorite character.

It took me a while and lots of screams of "Gaaaaaaaah! I hate Volleyball!" but I finally beat this game! I don't even think I could express to you how excited I was. It was like a little piece of my childhood that I got to revisit and give a satisfying ending to. It felt great. So what next?

"We got this?" "Yeah, we totally got this."

TWILIGHT PRINCESS! Sab got this one for me at the BEST ANNIVERSARY PRESENT EVER! (thank you!) and I beat it just before our next anniversary. In my defense, I took a bit of a break from it half way through but it was more because I got distracted and forgot than anything else. I'd played a little bit of this game after it came out (true story: my math teacher sold it to me for $30 in high school but the GC I played it on wasn't mine and the owner took my game with them when they moved... no, not bitter at all...) and I looooooved it! It was my first time really playing a game on my own and even though I didn't get very far the huge sense of accomplishment I got from killing my first big boss on my own was great.  Quite honestly, this is probably my favorite of the series.

So what distracted me from Twilight Princess you ask? It was when one of my friends was kind enough to lend me this! Ta da!

So jwoienflkgo freaking wmeoirjowei CUTE!! <3

Oh my god! Windwaker is one of the most adorable things ever! I love this game if for nothing more than the derpy pigs and SPLOOOSH sound effects and little bird girls that play harps and everyone nubby limbs! Though seriously, the gameplay was great too. My main problem was that the items were so different from typical LoZ games and I kept forgetting about stuff I needed to solve puzzles >.> Also, the Forest Temple is the most evil thing in the world. I literally lost my voice after screaming at the TV in rage (ask Sab if you don't believe me! o 3 o).

So, after beating all three of these I settled down into the thought that my time with Link was over for a little while. I was a little sad but I figured, hey, I've got some good memories and I can totally start replaying if I feel nostalgic. And then... *insert heavenly choir here*

I don't usually ship Link/Zelda but in this game, how can you resist?

Skyward Sword!! O 3 O I didn't think we had the money to get a Wii but once again on our anniversary Sab surprised me with video game goodness! I'd resigned myself to not being able to play this for another few years but I'm ecstatic I don't have to wait. I haven't been playing long and I'm not really used to Wii controls so I'm a bit awkward (you know that warning screen it shows to keep you from hitting people in the face? yeah, totally almost did that today trying to do a spin attack >.< Sorry!) but I'm having fun with it. Also the music and the graphics are beautiful.

So I wanna hear from the other gamers out there. Obviously, Legend of Zelda games are the best but what are some of your other favorites and your stories about them? I'm especially interested in games you felt kind of defined your childhood like Link did for me. See you in the comments!

Chapter 7: Whether there Will Be Weather

So, as I mentioned in my last post, this book was suggested to me by Felicia Day who is totally my role model. She's so cute and smart and talented *sigh*

At least I have the red hair going for me right?

Anyways, as I also mentioned before, I didn't have very high hopes for Ill Wind by Rachel Caine, the first book in the Weather Wardens series but I thought it looked like a fun book and something light that I could enjoy before jumping back into my lit classes (my semester started this week by the way and despite having 21 textbooks, it doesn't seem like it will be horrible...yet). And I was right!

The book takes place around the modern day but there is this society (semi underground semi not) called the Wardens who are responsible for keeping Mother Earth from swallowing us all whole (sometimes figuratively, sometimes literally!). Wardens come in three basic favors: fire, earth, and weather which I thought was an interesting touch on the traditional four elements ideas. People who have a talent in one can study it at the college level and then join the Wardens in a kind of environmental police type of capacity. The twist is that there are also Djins (think nontraditional genies) that have all three powers and are in service to Wardens so they can be used as an extra power boost. I won't give away too much of the actual plot since figuring that out is most of the point of the book but it starts with the main character, Joanne, running for her life and in a lot of trouble.

Now, I won't say this is the best book I've ever read but it was certainly fun! Joanne is really candid and sassy (hmm, reminds me of a few people I know) and the humor is great. I like the writing style a lot, there is definitely a lot of creativity in plot and word choice alike. I'm also a huge fan of the backwards story where you start in the middle of the plot and figure out what's going on later. It's kind of like jumping into a movie near the middle and you get to guess not just the end but the beginning.

 This was one of those books that I rarely run across where I just wanted to be reading it all the time! I was heartbroken when I had to put it down for work and anytime I ran to the bathroom, ate lunch, or hopped on the bus it was glued to my hand. Maybe part of that is there's only like 4 chapters so nowhere is a safe place to put it down! There's always more to know. I really appreciated that because it helped to remind me what a real love of reading can feel like. I love really deep, introspective, life changing books but sometimes you just need something light to make you smile and make you gasp and make you yell.

Let's just say this, I definitely want to read the next book in the series. However, the library is taking forever to get it to me so I've picked up something else to tide me over in the mean time. I've been told once I pick it up I won't be able to put down so hopefully you guys will have another article before too long!

Ill Wind by Rachel Caine (337 pages)

Judgement: Addictive Summer Read (7 out of 10)

Fictitious Fridays: Falling In Love Again

I could site lots of reasons for why this blog fell into a lull yet again and all of them would be true. I got really wrapped up in my internships this summer and had very little energy left for anything else, I was constantly encased in crippling worry over whether I would have money for rent and food (don't worry, I didn't starve), my relationships with both the people around me and my spirituality were crumbling... Overall, I did some great things this summer, I worked harder than I have in a long time and it paid off (for some idea of what I've been doing you can check out this project I worked on ^ ^). But, summers are never really good for me, no matter how many fun things I do. Maybe I have reverse SADs or something? Anywho, getting off topic, the real reason I let this blog dangle is, I'd fallen out of love with reading.

You've WHAT?!?!?

Think about it, I spend all school year being forced to read and read and read. Some of the material is great and I love and some of it gives me the same queasy feeling I get when there's a torture scene and someone pulls out pliers. *shiver*

"We can do this the easy way or we can do this the Milton way..."

It got to the point where I was only reading to finish a book, regardless of enjoyment factor, because I was always on a deadline! This mentality crept into my recreational reading and made it feel more like work than fun. So I stopped reading for a few months. I focused on my jobs, I started a role play, I got back into TCG's again, and I let my brain rest a bit.

What happened next was mostly due to Felicia Day! Felicia (who is what I want to be when I grow  up) has a vlog called The Flog which I absolutely adore. She has a segment that starts the show called Fave 5 (but now Fave 3 *sadface*) where she talks about some of her favorite things. One of those things was The Weather Warden series by Rachel Caine. Now, Felicia also has a book club that she runs called Vaginal Fantasy (awesome name right?) which is all centered around Fantasy Romance book, not a topic I have ever been interested in. However, Felicia is so cute and bubbly and charismatic, how could I say no?

Oh please no! No, make it stop! I'm too young! >.<

So, here's one thing you should know. I hate gratuitous sex in books. If I'm reading along and everything is great and then all of a sudden, people start taking off their clothes, I'm gone. It completely loses me. Maybe that's why I tend to stick more to YA because if there is sex (and it's rare) there is no throbbing, no quivering, no source of manly power, or any of that BS. So, I have no idea why I decided to pick up Ill Wind.

But I loved it! I felt my love of reading come back as I read it. I never checked how many pages were left, I didn't force myself to read just another 10 pages, and I felt that ache you get when you have to put down a book just as you're getting into it and you can't stop thinking about it ALL DAY! I'm not going to lie and say it was the best book I've ever read but it was fun and well written and engaging and I am so grateful to it for helping me find my love again. I'm almost finished so look out for another article coming soon.

P.S. Just in case you think I'm suddenly into really dirty books, no. There was only one sex scene in this book and was surprisingly very tame. I was so thankful for that, you have no idea how nervous I was about this.

Chapter 6: Damn You John Green!

*If there are any other Nerdfighters out there, I dedicate this post to you. Especially, to Esther.*

If you don't know about John Green, you're missing out. He and his brother Hank are some of the most influential YouTubers out there who run everything from their own Vlog Brothers channel to Crash Course, SciShow, Project for Awesome, Vid Con, and so much more. John specifically is also a writer and an amazing one at that. I was first introduced to him in the book Looking for Alaska in which the depiction of boarding schools (of which I have gone to two) is fantastic and hilarious. It remained my favorite book of his all through An Abundance of Katherines, Paper Towns, Will Grayson Will Grayson (Note: That is not a double typo, that is the name of the book), and I have yet to read Zombicorns. However, The Fault in our Stars has, without a doubt, absolutely stolen my heart and I will never be the same afterwards. I, being the huge John Green fan that I am, pre-ordered the book ages ago because John made a promise that he would sign every single pre-order (and yes, that was like a billion books, I don't know how that man still has muscles in his hand) but it sat around next to my bed for months before I finally picked it up. The only thing I regret is not picking it up sooner.

John (left) and Hank (right) being awesome Nerdfighters.

The premise is simple, it's about a girl who is dying. Hazel has terminal, practically untreatable cancer. There have been some drugs which have kept her alive up until now, her 16th year, but she and her family know that she's not likely to make it to adulthood. The story picks up with her meeting a boy named Augustus Waters who loves laughing in death's face, sci-fi books, and Hazel, at her cancer kids support group and everything changes from there. They go on an epic quest to find the true ending of Hazel's favorite book and they end up finding a lot more than they were looking for.

This is not an exaggeration!

 There are no words to really describe to you how beautiful this story is. It was funny and sweet and unexpected but all those descriptions really just fall short. This definitely goes on my list of top books you must read in your lifetime. You will not go away from it thinking about life the same way as you went in. Also, just a quick warning - be careful about where you read this because the last third of the book has been known to make people burst into spontaneous tears. I, who NEVER cries at anything, was sobbing so hard by the end that I could barely see the page through the tears. Seriously, I was laying on my back while I read it and there were pools of tears in my ears! Be careful!

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (336 pages)

Judgement: Heartbreakingly Wonderful (10 out of 10)

~ Domestic Dimanche ~ The Science of Homelessness

So, pretty much the biggest thing in my life right now is I work here! *points down*

St. Louis Science Center!

Well, ok, I intern but that doesn't mean I don't work, it just means I don't get paid. I actually don't mind though because I'm really, really enjoying it which, quite honestly, I didn't think I would. I'm working in the Research and Evaluations department as a Visitor Studies Intern. This basically means, I'm doing lots of data entry from visitor surveys as well as getting out on the floor and handing out comment cards. Yes, I know, this sounds horrible doesn't it? BUT IT'S NOT! It's actually really fun and entertaining. There is probably something wrong with me if I enjoy coding but oh well! I was so worried I would be stuck all summer doing something I hated but now I'm really just relieved. All the people I work with are super nice and really fun.

Also, this is the guy that guards my office. That triceratops deserved it for trying to access private files.

 Also, fun perk is that I'm encouraged to explore the museum whenever I want to. The other day they ran out of stuff to do so I got to go look at the Star Trek exhibit which, despite my never having watched more than clips of that show, I really enjoyed. They had a lot of neat props and costumes from the show as well as some cool information about the technology of Star Trek and how close we are to making it happen. If any of you guys are in the STL area I would definitely recommend stopping in before it leaves after Memorial Day. Also, every Saturday they're playing the new Star Trek movie in the omnimax. How cool is that? I am also encouraged to go see all the omni shows so I can take a nice 45 minute break and watch some adorable polar bear babies. Quite relaxing!

The other, more troublesome, thing that I have going on right now is I'm essentially homeless! I finally got to move out of the crappy student apartments and I will be moving into my own...next week. So that means until then all of my stuff is neatly piled into boxes and wedged in my mom's apartment. Oh how I hate living out of a suitcase but I've done it often enough, I'm a suitcase pro. On top of that, last weekend I packed up all the stuff in my room at our actual house so I officially have nowhere to call my own for the next couple of days. It was a little saddening actually, I didn't really expect it to affect me as much. Though, by the end I was about ready to throw all my belongings in the garbage if it meant I didn't have to pack another box. We're back again this week to clean up some more stuff for my parents but that should be the last of it. I'm looking forward to some more relaxing weekends later on this summer.

Fictitious Fridays: Etsy Spotlight

For this Fictitious Friday (see, I told you guys it was a thing, there's more than one now!) I'm going to be focusing on one of my favorite Etsy sellers. I kind of just stumbled onto Hesed Books/Bookish Charm by accident but they have proved to be nothing less than excellent.

If anyone wants to get me a present, this is my favorite Tolkein quote ^ 3 ^

I did a trade with the lovely Erin a couple of years ago, sending her one of my origami crafts in exchange for a lovely inkwell necklace that unfortunately it looks like they don't make any more, maybe more in the future...

I had to buy this card, it's hanging around in one of my books as a bookmark

Their cards and journals are also lovely. The journal I got for my Dad as a Christmas present a few years back. Their prices are very reasonable and the quality is excellent. Go ahead, peruse, enjoy. There's something there for the bookish in all of us!

Hesed Books and Gifts & Bookish Charm both @ Etsy.com

Oh so embarrassingly true...

{Dramatic Plot Twist!}

I'm soooo sorry for the lag guys. [If you'd like I can insert here a list of the reasons why I haven't posted in a good 1,000 years. This will include things like school, having a social life, being too tired to care about anything, writers block, and much more!] To make it up to you I have included this picture of a tiny pig in rain boots. Stare at his adorableness and forget all grudges you bear against me!

So we're friends now? Good, I'm glad we cleared that up. Now, we have some business to attend to. I'm going to be changing a few things around here. "What's wrong with you Sorcha? Your blog is perfect! How dare you make us try something new after your abandonment we-" Woah, woah, woah guys! We're past that remember? Tiny pig, tiny red boots. Let's not start having convenient memories now.

New Changes to ExLS:

1. Quest Length - You may or may not have noticed this already (probably depends on whether you read this on the blog or on a reader) but this is no longer the quest to 10,000 pages, it's the quest to 100,000 pages! Dun dun dun! I realized that in 5 posts I should not have gotten 1/10th of the way through my goal, that's way too fast. So I've upped the goal, mostly for the privilege of being able to talk to you lovely people for a much longer time.
2. Fun Reads Only - I am no longer allowing myself to count school readings towards my goal UNLESS they are something that has already been on my to-read list OR something that one of you guys has recommended for me. Besides, I only have one more year of school left (HUZZAH!) so this rule probably won't even be in play for too much longer (hopefully) but this way you'll probably have some more interesting reviews to read on stuff you're more likely interested in and I won't be such a cheater about it.
3. New Post-y Things - As you guys know we've had one Fictitious Friday and I had intended for a lot more but that didn't work out so well. But it will! I'm planning to post a lot more of those as well as a couple of other new features. There's also probably going to be a Movie Monday where I can talk specifically about movie adaptions of books (which I've actually seen getting better over the last couple of years as well as more numerous) that I hope you'll find interesting. Also, I've decided to start doing Domestic Dimanche (which means Sunday in French; I decided to go with this a. because I like being fancy and b. alliterations with S suck) which will kind of be my free post. I'll use that to talk about things that are going on in my life, anything that's particularly important to me, a hodge podge essentially.

I hope some of these new ideas sound good to you guys. Feel free to let me know what you think in the comments or if you have any other new ideas I'd love to hear them. I'm looking forward to seeing you guys around some more. <3

Chapter 5: When Good Monks Go Bad

(We're going to ignore that part where I should apologize to you about my lack of posts for the last month or so. I'm pretty sure we're past that part in our relationship. Plus, I'm sure you've pretty much seen through my B.S. and know I am unreliable as this crazy spring weather we're having.)

I've told you already about my Gothic Literature class and the crazy stuff we've been reading. However, when we got to The Monk by Matthew Lewis the crazy levels just went off the charts. I don't want to give away too much in my review but hopefully I will give enough that you will be influenced to go pick up this book because even though I'm still not sure if I actually liked it or not, it's definitely one of the most fascinating things I've read in a while.

The story follows three distinct couples. There is Ambrosio and Matilda. Ambrosio is this monk who has been sequestered away from the real world his entire life, the furthest he's been into the outside world the monestary is to preach in the attached church. Therefore, he prides himself on his purity and sinlessness. However, he finds out that one of the newer monks to join the ranks is actually a woman in disguise who did it out of a desperate desire to be near him. Matilda has been in love with him for years but claims she is content to just be near him in an unromantic capacity but if he forces her to leave she will have to kill herself. Now with the though of a woman so close, Ambrosio starts feeling things he knows, as a pure monk, he shouldn't.

The next couple is actually the first one you see in the book. Antonia, is much like Ambrosio in the respect that she has been highly sheltered from the world by her protective mother and there is a comment made that she doesn't even know the difference between men and women! (Of course at this point her crazy aunt starts trying to describe it for her which is quite hilarious.) Lorenzo, a young sword she meets in church while waiting to hear Ambrosio speak, is completely captivated by her beauty and is determined to do anything he can to be able to claim her as his wife. In an effort to not reveal too much here, Antonia is the typical gothic heroine, whatever can go wrong, will and her perspective of the story sucks! It's like watching a train wreck.

The last group is Raymond (a friend of Lorenzo) and Agnes (Lorenzo's sister). They are the couple who are always making plans and always failing. The first thing you learn about them is that Agnes has become a nun out of despair of Raymond's abandonment but now they have reconciled but she cannot just leave the nunnery. Oh, and he gets her pregnant in the cloister gardens. Then she goes into this big annoying spiel about it's all his fault and he should have protected her virtue cuz she's a weak woman, blah, blah, blah. It takes two to tango lady! (Lewis had some interesting ideas about women and if you don't know that yet, you will by the end of this book.) Anyways, the Prioress finds out and flips her lid and fakes Agnes' death. Raymond spends the majority of the book doing everything he possibly can to find and free Agnes.

Like I said before, still not sure if I actually liked this book or if it just fascinated me. There's so much going on and everything moves so quickly from bad to worse you just can't look away. If you read it, the ending will definitely surprise you. Just remember, in all Gothic novels, the bad guys always get what's coming to them. And how!

(Yes, the creepy bastard in this picture is Ambrosio. Foreshadowing anyone?)

The Monk by Matthew Lewis (496 pages)
Judgement: Fascinatingly Disturbing (8 out of 10)

Ficticious Fridays: In Which Harry Potter Sings a Ditty

I still remember the first blissful notes of Wizard Rock (or wrock as it is more commonly referenced). I was about 12 years old so it had been two years since I'd discovered Harry Potter purely by accident one night when I was kicked out of my bed and slept under the living room bookshelf. My sister was going to art school in the city and getting to have a sleepover with her in her dorm. Oh the wonders of iTunes sharing, and my world was forever expanded!

There's no shortage of creativity inside the Harry Potter community. A simple google search will yield pages and pages of fanfiction (some of which should be read with caution), fan art, jewelry, clothing, poetry, films, costumes, furniture, and of course music. I've been a devoted HP fangirl since that initial reading (a self proclaimed Ravenclaw if you must know but sometiems I wish I was a Hufflepuff) and having gone to religious schools most of my life, I've spend a good deal of my time defending my passion. However, now that I'm older I realize it's not so much about the stoires themselves (though I'll always hold up the books as an example of great literature) but it's important because of the impact it had on its fans. It inspired us in so many ways and connected us together, one of the few books to create a true community.

So after all this rambling I should get back to my intended topic: wrock. Harry and the Potters were the ones that first taught me a book could be so much more than a book. They were the start of the whole movement, teaching us you don't really have to have a whole lot of musical talent to make unforgetable songs and inspiring a whole new group of musicians to pick up where they left off.

I'll post below a list of my favorite wrock bands. I hope my fellow HP fans among you will enjoy and get as inspirited as I have. Nox!

- Harry and the Potters
- The Remus Lupins
- Tom Riddle and Friends
- The Moaning Myrtles
- Gred and Forge
- The Whomping Willows
- The Quaffle Kids
- Ginny and the Heartbreakers

Chapter 4: Gothic Introductions

A possible reason for my sudden influx of posts is that I have recently started school again. For most this might cause a decline in reading but as an English major I find it quite the opposite. One of my more interesting classes that I've enrolled in is a study of Gothic Literature. Having gone to my first two classes I've realized how little I've known of this genre up until now. My only exposure so far has been Poe (and who doesn't like a little Pit and Pendulum?) and assorted Victorian poetry. To me, the word Gothic brought up pictures in my mind of ghosts and monsters and damsel's-in-distress (a la the intro sequence to Masterpiece Mystery which I used to both love and fear as a child). However my first forrays into the genre have revealed some things I wasn't quite expecting.


The first story I read was The Old English Baron by Clara Reeve and I hated it. Granted, it was an early Gothic novel and one that was trying to be minimalist about its Gothic elements but it was soooo boring. It really felt like one of those old courtly romances where all the characters are stock and perfect and way too obsessed with honor to do anything interesting. There were tiny glimmers of supernatural with a few ghostly visitors but they didn't even inspire interest in the characters, let alone me. I can see how it was important for setting up the boundaries of the genre but if I have to go through another 30 pages of epilogue and castle hopping I might go mad.

The Old English Baron by Clara Reeve (176 pages)
Judgement: Dreadfully Dull (1 out of 10)

The next one I read, which I later learned should have been the first if I was to read chronologically, was The Castle of Otronto by Horace Walpole. This, was a crazy book! If you're looking for complete ideas and fulfilled plot points this is probably not the book for you but there is certainly a good deal of excitement to be found, especially noting the giant helmet that falls from the sky and crushed a boy about halfway through page two. This became almost a humerous meme in my Gothic Lit class, along the lines of "Well, it wasn't like being crushed by a helmet but..." The author was a bit all over the place and it had a feeling of being unfinished but there was a lot of fun and humor (sometimes probably intentional). There were ghosts and spirits and miracles galore as well as love triangles and fights and revenge. It had the distinct feel of a Shakespearian play and I would suggest it as a fun, light read to anyone who's a fan of the bard. All in all, not one of my favorite books but definitely not the worst I've ever read for a school assignment (see above).

The Castle of Otronto by Horace Walpole (176 pages)
Judgement: Ridiculous but Readable (6.5 out of 10)

Chapter 3: Monsters, Vikings, Dragons... Oh My!

It is no secret to my family and friends (and probably my roommates as well who have to see the poster outside my door everyday) that one of my favorite movies of all times is How to Train you Dragon. Yes, I realize how much I fail at being an adult. When I was younger and my mom caught glimpses of what I was reading she would always make comments about how, though she appreciated that I liked children's or young adult literature, she wished I would read some books for adults some time. When I told her about my blog last night and that I was planning to write this article she seemed really excited but a little confused for a moment. Then out of nowhere she said, "You really do have a passion for adolescent literature. Maybe that's something you should pay attention to." That really meant a lot, thanks. If you're reading this now, hi mum!

Anyways, review! Anyone who enjoyed the movie and thinks they want to read the book I should put up this comment that the plot is nothing like the movie. In some ways I think that makes it better. In the movie, it's set up where all the vikings have a hatred of dragons and Hiccup is the first one that considers the idea that they could be trained. In the book, all vikings have a pet dragon that they train to fight and fish for them however their method for training comes from a book where the only advice is "Yell at it!" Hiccup develops a new way of training that involves learning dragonese and talking with them. Both are great stories and I loved that though I already knew most of these characters I got to explore them in a new world and with different circumstances. It was a whole new adventure. I personally think more book-->movie productions should be done that way, it keeps people from complaining about how important parts were left out, blah, blah, blah.

How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell is one of the best children's books I've read. It's one of those stories that makes you laugh out loud with its ridiculous disregard for history, descriptions of characters so stereotypical they become caricatures, and silly details of viking life. The characters in this story really stand out. Though they may be vikings that lived thousands of years ago all of them are people you could recognize today. Everyone knows a Fishlegs, that asthmatic, allergy ridden, too talkative, nerdy kid whose good intentions don't always work well. Snotlout is another recognizable figure, that one person who is good at all the things you fail at and has no qualms about rubbing it in your face. My favorite was probably Old Wrinkly, and not just by hilarious name alone. He's Hiccup's grandfather who fancies himself a prophet purely on the grounds of his age, not that any of his predictions ever come true.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it's one of those series I want to buy every book of and someday read to my children. I'd recomend it to anyone who has an appreciation for the ridiculous and satire and, of course, dragons. Though, I have to admit that I didn't exactly "read" this book, I listened to the audiobook which is read by David Tennant (not kidding guys, I almost just wrote Doctor Tennant there XD) and I highly recommend it. He is great at doing voices and the way he does Toothless's voice is nothing short of hilarious. I've heard from some people that because I didn't read from the book itself I shouldn't be able to count it towards my word count but my response is, this is my blog. I say it counts.

How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell (240 pages)
Judgement: Ridiculously Impressive (9 out of 10)

Note - I know I've been doing a lot of really impressed reviews here at the start but I've read some crap in the last couple of months so I promise some bad reviews are on their way!

Another Note - There was a mix up with scheduling last week, there should have been a special Friday article that was never posted (thanks a lot blogger...) but I've hopefully fixed it and there will be fun things next week! Sorry about that guys!

Chapter 2: Once More Baking... With Feeling

Since my last book was one I chose for myself, I decided this time to go with a recommendation. Perhaps that will be the pattern I will follow with the rest of this blog. This recommend came from one of my favorite yet probably most over looked resource - Genevieve. She recomends books, movies, and music to me all the time but saddly I think I only get around to about a quarter of them. Maybe after this book I'll pay more attention because it was, in a word, fantastic.

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender was one of the best books I've read in a long time. It was the kind of book that I literally could not put down. I ate all my meals one handed, precariously with an unprecidentedly large number of ranch dressing related incidents, so I could hold the book open, I navigated via perepheral vision down the sidewalks with surprising success, and there were a couple of days where I didn't even open my laptop. Lemon Cake (as I have been reffering to it in my head and will continue to do here for the rest of the article) tells the story of a young girl who discovers, unhappily, on her birthday that she can taste the emotions of the people who prepare her food. It is through her chocolate frosted, lemon, birthday cake that she learns of her mother's crippling depression. The story follows her as she grows up, learning so much more about the people around her than she'd like to. Her "gift" or "curse" alienates her from others and reveals, frighteningly, the fragility of her own family.

I loved this book because it was such a unique and interesting concept told by such a striking narrator. The prose is beautiful and all the details just click and make perfect sense. Being an Empath in my own way, I can understand how hard it is for her to be bombarded constantly with the emotions of others but I can only sympathize with the entrapment she must feel being completely unable to escape it. I would highly recomend it to anyone who has an interest in psychology and tales that are slightly morbid.

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender (304 pages)
Judgement: Eye Opening (9.5 out of 10)