Internets!!

Internet!!

My gosh it's been too long without internet. It felt like. . . like there was just not as much to do as usual. I hope I don't have to deal with that again. Downside is that there's only 1gb of speed so it takes a bit longer for some things to load than I'm used to. And videos? Omg, if it's not in the lowest quality setting I have to wait longer than the length of the video for it to load. But I can browse pretty okay so alls. . .okay.

In other news: We're halfway moved to the shop. We got all the important things, beds, fridge, other stuff that we use often. We pretty much just have the craft room, garage and other small spaces to move, and the garden dirt, then we're done! I can't wait till then, I hate, hate, hate! moving. And then. . . then we start putting up the walls for the new house in the shop. I can't wait until that either!

Anyways, while I was away from the internets an amazing thing happened! I read and finished (the finishing part is very important here) four, FOUR books! I read Crank by Ellen Hopkins, finished Shatter Me by Tehereh Mafi, which was awesome, loved it!, and read the last two books of the Hunger Games series! Which was really awesome as well! I can't believe that! It's been so long since I've read and finished any books and it feels so great :D

And then I found out that the Hunger Games movie comes out next month! I mean, I knew they were making the movie but I thought it would be coming out late this year cause they always seem to talk about the movies like two years before they actually come out. So I will hopefully definitely be seeing that movie in theaters when it is released if I can scrape a bit of money together.

Also, the no internet thing gave me a jump start on my art as well. I got some stuff in the works for my book which I think I'll post here soon!

So, till next time!

:)

Something Wicked blogfest: My Favoite Spec-fic!

Go here to join in the blogfest and enter a contest to win a secret box of mystery. Their totally awesome. Seriously.


1. Harry Potter

Need I say more? I know that this may be on a LOT of other people's lists but I can't not list it. It's my favorite series, so inspiring and I love it to death!






2. The Kingkiller Chronicle

Consisting of The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss. Waiting for the third book. Well, the Kingkiller Chronicle is so awesome and real. Real as in the people, the characters, the world, it's all so real that it could exist. I mean, yeah there's 'magic' and a couple of creatures that don't really exist (the draccus, for example) but, it's just so realistic. These books are wonderfully awesome and inspiring. The level of realness these books have achieved is what I strive for in my writing and world building.

My third favorite is hard to choose. I can't think of any other books that I love as much as Harry Potter and Kingkiller, and I don't watch many TV shows but. . . There is this movie. . .


3. Pan's Labyrinth

A few months ago I saw some people talking about how awesome this movies was so I rented it and it is so awesome! It's like, a fairytale but dark and gritty and creepy and a little bit scary and so very dark and I loved it so much! It's a very inspiring movie especially if that's the sort of thing you like to write (which, I do)!




Why do I like spec-fic?

Well, I like spec-fic because of all the different worlds and ideas that can be created there that can't be in the 'real world'. And besides, I don't want to read about things that happen in the real world when I already live here. Much better to read about magic and strange lands and creatures (dragons) and magic.


Where do I see spec-fic going in the next few years?

Honestly I don't have a clue. The only thing is that perhaps spec-fic, namely sci-fi and fantasy may get a lot more popular than it is now. To me it seems like it's already getting noticed more so perhaps that notice will only grow, I don't know. *shrugs* 

Review: Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children

 Goodreads summary:

A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. And a strange collection of very curious photographs. It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children who once lived here—one of whom was his own grandfather—were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a desolate island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive.

A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows.

•  

First off, I love the title of the book. I mean just look at it: Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children. It's just delicious! And second, the cover is absolutely amazing.

Now, from the look of it, I assumed that the book would be very creepy and haunted, or eery somehow, but it wasn't. Not to say it wasn't good, it's just not what I expected.

I thought the story was really cool. I was able to pick up on many of the clues, though I don't know if that means I've become more perceptive or if they just weren't so well hidden. The photographs in the book give the story a nice touch, it makes everything come to life in a way that couldn't happen without them. Not to mention giving the book a slightly creepy feel that the story itself doesn't possess. Altogether unforgettable.

I'm also pretty sure that this will end up being a series given how the story ended and honestly I can't wait for the next book to see what happens left. Unfortunately the ending didn't feel as satisfying cause the ending wasn't. . . closed? The ending didn't resolve everything I suppose. I felt like it left too much hanging, but that's just me.

There's also a small touch of romance, but it's very small. And sometimes a little disconcerting every time you realize who it was the girl liked before. Plus I kept thinking part of the plot would be what is part of the plot in my book. But that hasn't happened. Yet anyway. I suppose it's still possible to happen in later books.

I would totally recommend this book to anyone who likes books with fantastical elements, cause it's awesome. And everyone please remember that this is only my opinion. Just because I wasn't completely satisfied with the ending doesn't mean you won't be :)

And this is pretty much my first time reviewing something. I usually avoid it at all costs unless it's to say "It's awesome, you should read it." I'm sure my reviews will get better the more I do them :)

Also, does anyone else think it looks like there's something peculiar in the background of the cover photo?

Do you see the creepy thing?

Too Many Books!!

I can't remember whether I've already told you guys how large my to-be-read book pile is, and my in-the-middle-of-reading pile. It's monstrous and has been so for at least a year and growing by the week. Actually I didn't even know how many books there were that I haven't finished yet. I am honestly surprised.

See, I was under the impression that I only had twenty some odd books I haven't finished. (Only twenty, she says!) It seems that I have more than that. In fact, I have more than twice as many unfinished books. There are 51, 51,  books!! 25 books are in the TBR pile, 22 are in the IMR (in-the-middle-of-reading) pile! I am actively reading only 4 books.

Here's the evidence of this atrocity:

(TBR pile)

(IMR pile)

(Currently reading)

 

So, yes, I have a problem. I'm a hopeless bookaholic! You see, what happens is that I buy a book and start to read but before I finish that book I see another interesting book and then start to read that one, then before I've finished either of those I see another book that I start to read and then forget about that first one, then another and another and before I know it, it turns into this!

So, I'm going to start getting these books read! What I'm going to do is completely read at least one book a month and review it on the blog. If I finish more than one book a month I'll also review them here. I think this'll help me stop myself from buying tons more books before I've finished the others.

At one book per month I might be able to finish all these by year 2015 O.O Gosh I better get reading. I wonder if it's possible for me to finish all these by this years end?

So, what about you guys? Are your TBR/IMR piles this out of control?  Please tell me I'm not the only one!

ROW80 Update 6/8

Hi! So. . ! Honestly, I haven't written too much, I've been busy, might have to move, those pesky real life things that always seem to get in the way. I will get back on track there just doesn't seem to be any time!

And I've gotten some books! I love the used book stores around here especially when they have what I'm looking for! I got Catching Fire and Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins, the last three books of the Earthsea series by Usala K. Le Guin and Shadowmarch by Tad Williams. I'm 200 pages into Shadowmarch right now and I like it so far. I haven't started on the others yet, I'll wait until I finish Shadowmarch.

And really I don't know why I've bought these books when I still have so many I haven't finished, but that's just the way it is. Maybe I'll try and read those soon.

What books are you reading right now? And how many?

The linky for other ROW80ers!

Meeting Patrick Rothfuss

When Patrick Rothfuss (author of The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man's Fear) had his book tour last month, I didn't go to his signing because, well, the drive was way too far. I kicked myself when I woke the day of his signing, already too late in the day.

But then, a miracle.

A couple unexpected signings. In April.

And one would be near where I live. Again.

And this time I went.

It was awesome!

First though, me and my mom had to drive four hours to get there when the book store opened at 9:00 am. Which meant we woke at 3am and left home at 4. And I didn't get a wink of sleep that night. And then, when we got there at 8 we were lucky that one of the workers were handing out the tickets for those who came early, lucky for us so we didn't have to wait an hour in the parking lot.

And then we had to wait.

You see, the signing wasn't to be until 7 pm. That means we were in an unfamiliar city with. . .11 hours before the signing.

The bookstore was near a bunch of other stores, so after eating me and my mom walked around to pass the time but we had already walked all the stores by about 12 and then there wasn't anything to do so we got back in the car and I started reading my book (I wasn't quite finished with his second book yet) and after an hour I could hardly keep my eyes open cause I was so sleep deprived so I took turns napping and reading until 3:30 at which time we moved into the book store to wait.

Thankfully we did because Patrick arrived early at five.

Patrick Rothfuss is a very inspiring person. He is so passionate about the world he has created and his story, he's also very careful not to spoil anything for those who haven't read his books yet. And he's downright funny. He read a humor column that he did for a newspaper back when he was in college and someone got him to sing. He sang You are my Sunshine. (I don't know why that's not on youtube yet since he let everyone record that). And it was just generally awesome and fun.

I ended up buying his series again since we had to buy something from the bookstore and I didn't have the US version of the books yet, and baught his Not For Kids fairytale book (The Adventures of the Princess and Mr. Wiffle) Which is pretty funny once you get to the end and then reread it and see all the signs. . .

I got two pictures with him and a hug.

Over all, totally awesome and giving me a huge inspiration boost!

Oh, and I met some guy there that had some really interesting theories about what might happen in the last book and now I want to reread his series, this time with my eyes peeled.

Happy reading and writing everyone!!

It's Finally Here!

Oh my gosh. I finally, just now, got the book The Name of the Wind in. It feels like I've been waiting forever! But I guess that's what I get for having to get the one from England. I haven't started reading it just yet since it just got here but I will read it in just a minute, I'm just trying to draw out the anticipation for as long as I can before I start reading. . .


I also got in those alchemy books that I talked about last post and, again, that is a subject that has defied my expectations. Alchemy is actually really interesting, like way interesting. I had not expected to get sucked into the subject for much more than a bit of research but I'm getting invested in the subject. If anyone has ever wanted to learn about alchemy I highly recommend The Complete Idiot's Guide to Alchemy. It's jam packed with information and easy to understand; I find that most of the Idiot's Guides are pretty good books for whatever subject you want to learn about.

Anyway, off to read that book!