2016: A Year in Short Reviews

A bit late to the table, but I thought it would be nice to do a wrap-up of the books I read (or tried to read) in 2016, specifically because I finished two of them just this month.

Never Let Me Go / Kazuo Ishiguro

Status: incomplete

I was supposed to read this for a class in first trimester, but I never got around to finishing it because I was house-hunting/moving and chose a different text for my main assignment. From what little I read, I want to restart it and finish it in my own time. There was some interesting characterisation and the text dealt with some pretty heavy topics (organ-farming, anyone?).

Black and White / David Macaulay

Status: finished (more than once!)

Another one for class. I love a good picture book. This was so clever, and every time I re-read it I would notice new things. I think it's one of the most fun picture books I've ever read as far as piecing the different components of the story together goes.

One Hundred Demons / Lynda Barry

Status: incomplete

I focused on specific parts of this graphic novel, again for class. This example of 'autobifictionalography' consists of segments of the author's life which deal with personal demons. Again, some very heavy topics were covered and I cried at some point when reading the section called 'Resilience' after it struck a little too close to home. This is another one I want to go back and read in its entirety in my own time.

The Turning / Tim Winton

Status: complete

Another one for class. This is a collection of short stories by an Australian author, exploring the turning points in the lives on its characters. Exploring themes of love, loss, betrayal, and family (just to name a few), it was really interested to see how the characters were connected from one story to the next. Once again, heavy themes (I hated reading it at times).

Plains of Promise / Alexis Wright

Status: complete

For class, again. Another Australian story, this time by an Indigenous author. This novel traces the horrific treatment of Aboriginal people by white colonists, starting with St Dominic's Mission and a girl named Ivy. Along with the explicit depictions of racism, the novel also deals with suicide, sexual abuse, and the loss of identity. It also gave insight into Aboriginal spirituality and the meaning of family and community. As a decedent of European settlers, I tried my best to read this with an open mind, and I am deeply ashamed to think that the story depicted was likely true for many First Nation people (and, at least to an extent, still is).

The Dressmaker / Rosalie Ham

Status: complete

I started reading this one late in 2015 after watching the film, starring Kate Winslet and Liam Hemsworth. The book is vastly different to the film, more than I was anticipating. To be honest, I didn't like it. The writing felt disjointed and while it dealt with heavy themes, it made me cringe in a way that made me decide I wasn't happy with how those themes were dealt with. However, it was very well researched and the book gave detailed insight into the specifics of fabrics, fashion styles, and sewing, which the movie couldn't communicate in the same way. I powered through and finally finished it this month, but overall it was just okay.

Illuminae: The Illuminae Files_01 / Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Status: complete

My bestie secretly told my bf that he should buy it for me and I came home one day to find a hardcover copy sitting on my desk and I freaked out a little. I had been looking forward to it since I saw one of the authors talking about it at a writers event earlier in the year. I dug into it as soon as I finished my Honours thesis and finished it a week or so ago. Oh. My. God. Please go and read this book. 

When megacorporation BeiTech attempts to eliminate a competitor, a planet on the edge of the universe is targeted and a fleet of survivors consisting of three space vessels make an escape, with the enemy ship, the Lincoln, in hot pursuit. The story follows Kady (aboard the Hypatia) and Ezra (aboard the Alexander) as the fleet tries to reach safety and outrun the Lincoln. But a plague has broken out on the third space vessel, the Copernicus, the AI that controls the Alexander has gone rogue, and the Lincoln is hot on their tail. Uh-oh! But wait; there's more! This novel dares to push the medium, serving up the story in a dossier of interview transcripts, IMs, emails, military docs, medical docs, diary entries, and surveillance footage summaries (among other things). Overall, it's a rollercoaster, and I loved it. Cannot wait to read the sequel.

It wasn't the most dedicated year of reading for me, and admittedly I never get around to reading as much as I want to. But I hope these little summaries will make you add something to your reading list.

Have you read any of these books? 

Bonnee.

Emerging Writers' Festival (Pt. 2)

I thought I should probably mention the other three events I went to as a part of the Emerging Writers' Festival, though it seems like ages ago now!

On Thursday 29 May, I met with a friend and we went to an event together at The Wheeler Centre. The event was a talk about sex in writing, given by Sam George-Allen of the online magazine, Scum. She spoke a great deal about how pornography, especially online, has a great influence on how people perceive sex. As writers, we are capable of making people perceive things the way we want them to be perceived, and here I'm not just talking about sex. But as writers, we also have the power to destroy misconceptions. Because of the plethora of pornography readily available to us through a few taps on the keyboard and a few clicks of a mouse, a lot of people (especially the young and inexperienced) get a completely wrong idea about sex. Sam spoke to us about writing truthfully, and this can be applied to anything we write about. Not every experience we have, sexual or not, is beautiful and perfect and all that jazz. In writing about sex, we often forget to write about the awkwardness, the fear, the humour, the accidental elbow-to-eyeball contact, bad or unsatisfying experiences instead of just the good stuff. And the interesting thing was, she wasn't talking to us specifically about writing erotica, because sex isn't limited to erotica, just like a good fight-scene isn't limited to an action/adventure genre. She was talking to us about writing a universal human experience that could occur in any genre, in any context. I thought it was a good little talk.

A few days later, I went to an event they called Night of the Living Novella, at which Hologram and Seizure both launched a handful of novellas by new writers. I met up with another friend for this one, and my friend had done a bit more research than I had and already bought a couple of the novellas and read them. Each of the authors read a segment from their novella to the audience and I quickly fell in love with Elisabeth Murray's The Loud Earth, which was one of the books my friend had already read and loved. I bought a copy of her book at the launch and my friend and I both got our copies signed after the readings. I started reading the novella on my way home on the train and didn't want to put it down. Our unnamed protagonist is a recluse, living in the mountains away from the town she grew up in when one night, Hannah shows up on her doorstep, not knowing the stories the townsfolk tell that make this woman an outcast. It was a really good short read and you should all read it!

The last event I went to was a poetry reading and the launch of the twelfth edition of Rabbit poetry journal. Originally, one of my housemates was going to come with me, but she was unwell. Instead, I showed up by myself and first of all bumped into my poetry teacher, who had already been at the venue the hour beforehand for another event and already had a few glasses of red wine in him. So we chatted for a little, and then I wandered around making new friends and met a guy from England who had studied philosophy (which I am also studying as a second major) so we hit it off pretty well. Then I sat back and listened to the Rabbit contributors do their thing and bought a copy of the new edition on my way out the door. I love poetry.

Overall, I'm very glad I made it to a few of the Emerging Writers' Festival events this year and hopefully I'll make it to a few more for the Melbourne Writers Festival.

Have you been to any writerly events lately?
- Bonnee.

Books That Make You Cry

I have never read a book that actually made me cry that I can recall. I mean, I've read plenty of books that are sad, and books that have made other people cry when they've read them. I thought The Fault in Our Stars by John Green would be my undoing after the hype about how sad it was that I was told by all my friends and the internet, but sad though it was, I didn't cry. I felt a little traumatised in my Children's Literature class yesterday when we read through Home and Away by John Marsden and Matt Ottley, or when one of my teachers back when I was six years old read Jenny Angel by Margret Wilde and Anne Spudvilas to the class, but I never cried.

There are a couple of songs that have made me cry. F**kin' Perfect by P!nk, The A Team by Ed Sheeran, Snuff by Slipknot. Even that list is fairly short, considering how much music I listen to on a daily basis.

What have you read, watched, or listened to that has made you cry? 
- Bonnee.

Review: A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin

I finished reading this a couple of weeks ago. It is probably the longest book I've ever read and it was amazing.

We were given point of view chapters from Tyrion, Bran, Theon, Davos, Catelyn, Sansa, Arya, Daenerys, and Jon Snow. I would consider Tyrion to be the main character of this particular book, although the others are all masters of their own story-lines. I don't think there was nearly enough Daenerys in this book, but that's just me personally. Bran chapters actually began to serve a purpose rather than just to use more words, which was nice. It's hard to pick between Tyrion and Jon Snow for my favourite characters in this particular book, because I really loved both story-lines for different reasons, so I'll say I loved them both. Arya is pretty great too. My least favourite chapters were probably Theon's, because he's just such a jerk! And that's putting it nicely. I didn't fancy Davos much either, but that was mostly because his chapters were very descriptive. The Battle of the Blackwater was pretty good from his POV for that reason though. Point of view characters aside, George, seriously, soooo many named characters here that are so hard to keep track of, especially during battles.

Overall, I think this book moved along pretty slowly, though not to the point where it was boring. Things picked up nicely during the Battle of the Blackwater. My favourite part was probably between Jon Snow meeting Ygritte, and Daenerys's adventure in the House of the Undying. Again, for completely different reasons, which makes it hard to choose between them.

The setting is much the same as it was in the first book, with the exception of Jon Snow and his entourage moving north of the Wall. It has been explored a little in the first book, but it went a little deeper with details and further from the Wall this time. Daenerys is still on the other side of the Narrow Sea and ends up in the beautiful city of Qarth after a voyage across a desert. And with the introduction of Davos as a point of view character, we have had some insight into where Stannis Baratheon has been in Dragonstone, and we are also introduced to the castle at Storm's End. Catelyn introduces us to the Riverlands around her home in Riverrun and the Twins where the Lord Frey lives. Theon's point of view chapters take us to the Iron Islands and Pike, which has a very different feel to the rest of Westeros. It made me think of pirates. Many of Arya's later chapters are set in Harrenhall, which I think she is brilliant at portraying with its superstitions and all. Martin does a great job portraying all of his settings, both continuing from the previous book and new in this book.

His overall style was as good as it was in the first book, with phenomenal worldbuilding, far too many characters to keep track of in one scene, and too much description of what people are wearing. Most if not all other details contributed to the awesomeness of the book.

A little pet peeve I have developed: when he describes something 'like so many (noun)'. I don't know why. I think the first time struck me as cliche, and every time after that it just irked me more and more. Maybe I'm just crazy, but I thought I'd mention it.

Also, I have a favourite quote from this book:

"Strike hard and true, crow, or I'll come back and haunt you." 

That whole scene with Jon Snow and Ygritte made me so excited. I mean, I already know what happens, because I've seen the t.v show (does most people say it the other way around? :p ), but I still loved reading that scene for the first time.

Overall, great book, and I can't wait to get stuck into the next one. Now, I should probably go to bed and get some much needed sleep. Ressie o-week has gone, and the university o-week is about to begin!

Have you read A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Marin? What did you think? 
- Bonnee.

Here Be Dragons

You'd think you were looking into a volcano full of fire and brimstone, but that is actually one of the three local open cut coal mines on Monday night. This one in particular fell in the path of the local fires when preventative measures were not taken. Not so sure how they're planning to put that out, but they better think fast! 

Seeing this pictures made me think of dragons, and dragons made me think of a conversation I was having with my boyfriend regarding genres. 

Basically, my boyfriend thinks that naming one of the genres 'fantasy' is silly, because one of the definitions is simply 'to imagine the occurrence of', and isn't that what ALL books that aren't non-fiction are? Of course, I had my disagreement and specified that the genre is named for the other meaning of imagining the impossible or improbable. 

Well, I heard him out, and he asked me what sort of things make something 'fantasy'. My initial response was an alternative world with mythical creatures like fairies and unicorns and dragons. Then he pointed out that not all books with alternative worlds are considered fantasy, and that not all books with mythical creatures are considered fantasy either. Like I don't consider my own manuscript WALLS a fantasy, although it's in an alternative world, and the Hunger Games is considered Young Adult/Dystopia (and that has mockingjays and mutts, so they count as mythical creatures). Then he asked if I consider creatures like vampires and witches and werewolves fantasy, and I realised that no, I class them as supernatural. Then he asked me what genre I put the Harry Potter series in, and I said fantasy. When I said that, I stopped for a moment and frowned at myself, because Harry Potter has witches and wizards and vampires and werewolves, which I class as supernatural, but I consider those books fantasy. 

In the end, I decided that it was down to themes: what the emphasis is on and what kind of emphasis is put on it. Supernatural is dark and scary and you want it to go away (we discussed where the line between supernatural and horror was, but I won't go into that now because I don't want to creep myself out again). Fantasy is meant to leave you in awe of the world you've been presented with. 

We came to the conclusion that we need to make some sort of graph to decide where books fall along the line of fantasy, and that fantasy needs to be renamed 'Here Be Dragons'. Of course, I reminded him that his favourite fantasy book(s), The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss, very deliberately doesn't have dragons. And no, the draccus does not count! 

So what are you thought on genres and where do you draw the line between ones that are similar? 

- Bonnee. 

Review: 'The Fault in Our Stars' by John Green

An awesome friend I made living on the residency at my university last year gifted this book to me for Christmas and I devoured it in the first couple of weeks of January. Taking this book on holiday with me when I went to the beach for a week with my boyfriends family was about as smart as reading Bridge to Terabithia on the train on my way to Melbourne a few months ago.

Augustus and Hazel are beautiful characters who I loved and hated and loved again while I read this book. Some of the things they say to each other are stupid and insensitive, but the two are just so perfectly, typically, teenager-y and human. If you've read so much as the blurb before you start the first chapter, you already know that Hazel is a terminal cancer patient, and her future looks glum from the very first page. Augustus shows up at support group one day and turns her world upside down very quickly. He is a survivor and an amputee, healthy, and single. Their story is so tragic, but not in the way you might have first expected when you started reading the book. 

My favourite part of the plot was Amsterdam. Hazel had wasted her wish on Disneyland when she was thirteen, pre-miracle, but Augustus still had his and decided to use it to take her to meet her favourite author of a book she had made him read, An Imperial Affliction. The trip isn't perfect and the author is an arse in person, but the intentions were so perfect and Gus was really sweet and I could gush about it all day, but let's move on. 

The majority of the story is set in Indiana, US. The worldbuilding tells us what we need to know, though I am wondering if the park they went to really exists, with the strange bones sculpture. What wasn't set in Indiana was set in Amsterdam, and it was lovely. Again, we were only told a few things, but Green set the scene and the mood for their overall stay with a few sweet descriptions (and the locals who thought their coupling was cute). 

While I found the style of Green's writing annoying at a few points, I have to commend him on his efforts. The reason his style annoyed me was because he had gotten into the head of a teenage girl who was for the most part, gushing over Gus or being moody or both, and he did an accurate job of portraying the inner thoughts and feelings in that way. The way she said, thought, and did things annoyed me because she was just such a typical teenage girl (I have to live with myself 24/7, so I know!) with dying of cancer on top of it all, so I guess it was more Hazel annoying me than Green's style. 

This book stands out from others because it rips your heart out over and over again and never quite lets you put it back in, even at the end. There is a fine balance between humour, romance, and tragedy, along with some dark philosophical thinking about life and death and dying that even made me the reader stop and have a think about things. This book is depressing and there is no happily ever after, even if it is a beautiful story from start to finish. It didn't reduce me to tears like a few people said it did for them, but it certainly struck a few chords and if I read it again I'd probably get a little closer to crying each time.

Review reference credit again goes to Lynda R. Young. 

If you haven't read it, go on, do it. You know you secretly love feeling miserable because of the tragic lives of fictional characters. 

Have you read The Fault in Our Stars? 

- Bonnee. 

Review: 'A Game of Thrones' by George R.R. Martin

First on the agenda: a Merry Christmas to all of those out there who celebrate. I hope you all ate as much as I did. One of my friends gifted me a copy of The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, which I will be reading in the New Year and I have just downloaded a NaNoWriMo donor freebie as a Christmas present to myself: the StoryWonk lecture on structure. I will review both book and lecture at some point next year after reading/watching them.

This post will be about a (part of a) gift I was given for my birthday back in September, when a bunch of my writerly friends from uni gave me the A Song of Ice and Fire book-set so far. I finished reading the first book, A Game of Thrones, a couple of nights ago after trying to ignore it throughout November while I was busy writing instead. I'll refer again to the post from Lynda R. Young's blog about reviewing, while I write this one. Warning: Review contains spoilers.

I think the characters in A Game of Thrones are brilliant. With each chapter told from the point of view of either Eddard, Catelyn, Sansa, Arya, Bran, Jon Snow, Tyrion, or Daenerys, these characters become well established very quickly and begin to develop. Daenerys has been my favourite character since I started watching the TV adaption and in this first book she remains so. At the start she is a repressed child being controlled by her brother Viserys and by the end she has become a headstrong (perhaps a little too headstrong for her own good) khaleesi who is prepared to lead an army back to the Seven Kingdoms herself. The character who rose up my list of 'most-loved' since reading the book would have to be Jon Snow, because I love reading about his inner conflicts regarding his place as a bastard in house Stark and who his mother is, and whether he should desert the Night's Watch to join his half brother Robb when he calls the banners to march against the Lannisters or honour the vows he made when he took the Black. Khal Drogo was pretty awesome too and admittedly I was more upset by his death than by Ned's death, though I didn't see either of them coming when I first watched the series. My least favourite character would have to be the combination of Cersei and Joffrey. Viserys would have made this list too, if he had survived the book, but he didn't, so... Joffrey is, of course, a little brat who thinks he can get anything he wants and once he is on the Iron Throne there is little to nothing to stop him. The whole story just becomes more and more twisted with Cersei whispering in his ear, though he does what he wants regardless of her say. They're both pretty sick, though they definitely make the story interesting. Having said that, I'll also say that the reason I don't like them is because they are the worst of the bad guys, not because I don't think they're excellent characters: they are great characters and play a really important role in the story.

My favourite part of the plot would be along Daenerys's story-line, when khal Drogo finally gives Viserys his golden crown, as promised. Those of you who have read the book or seen the show know exactly what I mean by that. In fact, that whole chapter, right from Daenerys eating the horse heart to Viserys getting his crown, was my favourite part. I think George R.R Martin moves things along throughout the book at a nice pace for the most part, though here and there things slowed down and I just wanted to get to the next action scene. However, the slow parts served their purposes too: I talked a few posts ago about narrative intensity and the purpose served by low-intensity parts of a story between high-intensity parts. George Martin slowed down to explain things to us and develop plot where it was necessary. Without those slower parts, the fast-paced high-intensity parts would have been confusing and less appreciated.

The setting for A Game of Thrones changed depending on whose point of view the story was being told from. The prologue set the scene for beyond the Wall, where dark creatures lurk and the men of the Night's Watch have started to venture without returning. As the story starts up, we are swept into the Stark's place in Winterfell, where the plot that becomes the main focus for the first book begins to unfold. In contrast to Winterfell is King's Landing, where it is warmer than the Starks are accustomed to and they do not hold the same power they did in Winterfell (especially not compared to the Lannisters). After Jon Snow goes to the Wall with his uncle Benjin, we start to return slowly to the things that were shown in the prologue: a colder, darker, crueler place than Winterfell, where neither the fact that Jon Snow is a bastard nor the son of a Stark means anything to anyone. Daenerys take us away from Westeros to the Free Cities and the Dothraki Sea, where the people are just as different as the land compared to where the rest of the story is told. Martin provided appropriate and often elaborate descriptions of all of the places the characters visited, showing how different they are to one another and setting them apart from places in other books.

Although Martin's descriptions of people and place are often elaborate, his style of writing is simple and easy to understand without being dull. Of course, there is a lot of jargon about castles and knights and monarchy and all of that, but once you get your head around those sorts of things I found the book was really easy to read. The only thing I got sick of as far as descriptions went was describing exactly what people were wearing every time they appear. I mean, cool if the knight's got some shiny armour on or the Lannisters have lions sewn into their clothes, but I think most readers started to assume those things after the nth time such a paragraph appeared, so I find the whole paragraphs of such descriptions to be a little pointless and repetitive. Repetitive. Repetitive. Rep-- sorry. I just think that there were a few instances where what he said in a paragraph would have been more appropriately said in a couple of sentences, if they had to be said at all. Also, I think I nearly tore some hair out after the number of times I saw the word 'spit' when it should have been 'spat'. Other than those little qualms, I really enjoyed reading it. The style was simple, yet satisfying.

As far as originality goes, I haven't read anything like this before. The only other epic fantasy set in an alternative universe that I've read before is The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, and this is very different, though still awesome. If the Lord of the Rings movies are an accurate reflection on the books, which I have not read yet, than I would say it is also nothing like LotR, minus of course the presence of Sean Bean in the screen adaptions. I think the different story-lines that are playing alongside each other in book one of the ASOIAF series are all really original and told well. I can't wait to see how they all come together in the end and I'm really enjoying playing the guessing game.

Overall, I loved this book and I can't wait to continue onto A Clash of Kings some time in the new year (once I've finished reading The Watchmen and The Fault in Our Stars).

One last thing... did anyone else who has read this book noticed how Ned sometimes reflects on Lyanna's death and thinks about telling Jon Snow about his mother at the same time? In his reflections, he always remembers Lyanna saying "Promise me, Ned." But what's the promise?! It's never said. I've heard (thanks to a certain friend responsible for me receiving the box-set of books for my birthday) that there is a theory going around that Jon Snow is actually the son of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen and since I noticed that little coincidence myself while reading this first book, I'm starting to understand. I shall leave my fellow readers to think on it.

My next review will be on the TV series Breaking Bad, which I have also recently finished, but I might leave that one for another week or two while I try and figure out how I feel about it.

Have you read A Game of Thrones or seen much of the TV series? Please feel free to share a little review of your own in the comments as I'd love to know what others thought of the first part of the story. A merry Christmas and a happy New Year to everyone out there. 

- Bonnee.

The Gifts of Writing

It's my birthday later this week. People keep asking me what I want for my birthday, but to be honest, I don't want all that much. I'm a writer, so I like writerly things. So what are some things you could buy a writer friend for their birthday? Here are some suggestions, and for all the writers out there, here are some ideas you could give to your loved ones when they ask you what you'd like for your birthday:

1. Vouchers. Namely for bookstores, but I'm sure some writers like vouchers for stationary stores too.

2. Books. Buying your writer friend the book they really want to read but don't have is always a nice gesture and it saves them the trouble of buying it themselves.

3. Books. Again. If there's a book you think your writer friend might really like that they haven't read yet, gift it to them.

4. Notebooks. If your writer friend likes to draft longhand, or carry something around in their backpack/handbag for jotting down ideas, or if they're a visual thinker and like to have something to physically draw mind-maps etc. on, cute and awesome notebooks of all shapes and sizes with fun and colourful covers might be an ideal little gift. Leather-bound/moleskin covers are really cool too.

5. Sticky-notes. Not just ordinary sticky-notes, but cool and quirky sticky-notes. This is especially for if your writer friend is a visual thinker or likes to jot down little ideas and reminders for later and stick them all over their writing space. Exciting sticky-notes with smiley faces and pretty pictures are always great.

6. A proofread. I think I saw someone suggest this as a gift before on another blog, but if your proofreading skills are decent, most writers will agree that it doesn't hurt to have a second pair of eyes go over your work, or at least a part of it.

7. A combination of the above turned into a sort of mini-hamper. Especially if there is a group who want to get a present for someone. Everyone put in a little bit of money to get a few little things that make something big and special.


Earlier this year, I was watching the Game of Thrones television show as the new episodes of season 3 aired. One of the guys I've become good friends with through my course hinted that he was going to get the first book of the A Song of Ice and Fire series for my birthday, because I NEED to start reading them.

On Monday, I was presented with a large slab of something in colourful wrapping paper. It did not look like a single book, nor was it from just that one friend. It was a collaborated gift from six of my writer friends...

My academic success is over. I have been provided with the ultimate distraction. 

And this was the card they gave me.
People have been saying to me all year that I look like Daenerys Targaryen
or at least Emilia Clarke (the actress). I don't see it, but I'm not complaining! 

I love having other writers as friends. Like, seriously, THANK YOU SO MUCH to the six beautiful people who contributed to that amazing present. You guys are the best. Ooh and the poster of Westeros and the Free Cities that came as a freebie in the box-set is now up on my wall. I'm a very happy birthday girl. I love you guys!

While I'm on the topic of A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones, I have been DYING for an excuse to share this video with my fellow bloggers and I think this might be the opportune moment. WARNING: anything ASOIAF/GOT related is bound to contain strong violence, course language, and sexual themes, but this is funny so you should watch it anyway.

Have you received any really awesome writerly presents? Have you read any of the A Song of Ice and Fire books? Thoughts on the Game of Thrones Ultimate Birthday Rap Battle? 

- Bonnee.

Aliens vs Zombies: 'The Host' and 'Warm Bodies'

I watched a couple of movies last night for the fun of it and noticed some similarities and other little things that I thought would make for a good blog post. Since reading the Twilight Saga by Stephanie Meyer, I've always meant to read her book The Host, which I've been told is much better. It's on my to-do list, but last night I found myself watching the newly released film adaption. There were several points where I sat there thinking, I'll bet this scene was SO much better in the book. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed it! Afterwards, I decided I wasn't sleepy enough for bed, so I watched Warm Bodies too.

I'll warn readers now that this post may contain spoilers.

Overall, there are no HUGE similarities, but aside from both being post-apocalyptic, I couldn't help thinking that there was an underlying theme that they shared: the acceptance and co-existence of species that are different and formerly considered enemies and the ability for the 'bad' species to change and become good.

In The Host, this was shown through the alien Soul Wanderer's (Wanda's) ability to empathise with her human host, Melanie Stryder, who was still trapped and alive inside her body. Wanda was able to see Melanie's memories and hear her voice inside her head, sometimes letting Melanie control their shared body. Melanie was able to convince Wanda to go to the other humans who are in hiding, where they are reunited with Melanie's brother and lover. While at first the majority of humans were not accepting of Melanie's body acting as Wanda's host and they did not believe that Melanie was still alive and trapped inside, some of the other humans realise that Wanda was empathetic of what her species was doing to them and begin to love Wanda and Melanie simultaneously. Eventually, Wanda agreed to free Melanie's body although she believed she would die. But the humans had learned to love Wanda too and found a way to preserve her in another human body that had already otherwise died, meaning that both Wanda and Melanie had their own bodies and Wanda could live with the humans. (Also, Jarad and Ian could both be with the women they loved without the awkwardness of them sharing the same body.)

In Warm Bodies, the theme is shown through the zombie R's ability to save a human girl, Julie, from the pack he was hunting with and try to keep her safe. Although he ate her boyfriend's brain, Julie eventually forgave him and even missed him when she returned to the other uninfected humans her father had built a wall to protect. When R showed up inside the walls, wanting to prove to her that he loved her, Julie was amazing to see that he and the other zombies were coming back to life because of whatever she'd triggered inside him. Julie's father took some convincing, but when he realised that R could bleed (zombies can't bleed), he told the other humans that there'd been a change in circumstances and welcomed R and the other zombies-coming-back-to-life into the city. They ended up working together to kill the skeletons who were trying to kill them all, which was apparently a good bonding activity.

I thought this similarity was cool. But that might just be me.

While I'm talking about Warm Bodies, I had the biggest WAIT A MINUTE moment when Julie realised that R was in the city. She was sitting on her balcony and he called up to her. And later they ended up in a pool together. R and Julie. Romeo and Juliet. Did anybody else notice this?! I thought it was clever! Ha ha :)

I've also just found out that Warm Bodies is a book, written by Isaac Marion. I must had this to my to-read list.

Who else has seen 'The Host' and 'Warm Bodies'? What is your opinion on the books, if you've read them? Do you prefer aliens or zombies? And would you rather a zombie apocalypse or an alien invasion of planet earth and your body? 

- Bonnee.

Catching Fire - Review

Well I read the second book in The Hunger Games series, Catching Fire. While I hold much of the same criticism I gave for the first book (too simplistic for the themes, character relationships could have been better developed, poorly proofread, etc) I still have to say that I loved it.

At this point, I couldn't tell you if I preferred the first book or not, but I certainly disagree with those who say that Catching Fire was poorly done. The bottom line is that there was no way Suzanne Collins could have ended the series after the first book. Katniss had caused too much damage with her 'Nightlock' stunt for there NOT to be a sequel... or two.

I couldn't put this book down. I would have to credit this to the way, just like in the first book, every chapter ends on a cliffhanger. For example, *SPOILER ALERT* when Peeta and Katniss were doing their victory tour and made their stop in District 11 where they made a more personal speech than they were supposed to for Rue's family and Thresh's family, the old man in the crowd whistled Rue's four-note song and everybody in the crowd gave Katniss the District 12, three-finger salute. I was going to put the book down at the end of this chapter, but then it ended with the man who'd whistled being dragged onto the stage and shot in the head. Of course I had to keep reading! *SPOILER OVER*

I have to say a lot more things happened in Catching Fire than what happened in the first book. This is probably because the first book gives more of a spotlight to the Games themselves, while Catching Fire is supposed to be about the aftermath of Katniss's actions in the Game of the first book. This quick-paced action of new event after new event, shock upon shock, kept me hooked. And sure enough, the ending of Catching Fire consisted of the perfect twist to leave room for the third installment, Mockingjay.

Katniss is growing on me more and more. I think she's a great heroine, and the inner conflict we are exposed to through her rings rather true to life. Peeta, I feel is both helping them in the eyes of the Capitol and digging a hole for them both with some of the stunts he pulls. I cannot believe what happened to Cinna, or at the very least what was implied! I actually really loved Cinna, though I didn't give him much of a mention last review. I no longer know how to feel about Haymitch... I guess I'll let you know when I review the next book, which I have already started reading.

What were everyone else's thoughts on Catching Fire?

- Bonnee.

Rainbow Books

I actually really, really, HATE highlighting, annotating or otherwise making a mark in a book that I've read or am reading. I feel like I'm degrading the author's masterpiece and destroying something that was perfect every time I do such a thing. But for the sake of my own education, my copy of Twelve Angry Men by Reginald Rose has been transformed into a rainbow, because SOMEBODY decided not to give the character's names, which wouldn't bother me so much if it weren't for the fact that I need to write a text response on this book later this month, which means I have to know which character said what. Colour-coded jurors for the win!!!

I'm just saying, 11th Juror is awesome.

10th Juror: Bright? He's a common ignorant slob. He don't even speak good English.
11th Juror: Doesn't even speak good English. 

Aah the irony of the German immigrant having better English skills than everybody else.

11th Juror: I beg pardon...
7th Juror: "I beg pardon?" What are you so polite about?
11th Juror: For the same reason you are not: it's the way I was brought up. 

Owned :)

I like this play, if you couldn't tell.

What are your thoughts on making markings in a book? I want to shoot myself a little more every time I do it. How does it make you feel? 

- Bonnee.

P.S - Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there!