Lucky 7 and the VB award

So because these two have been making the rounds quite a bit, I've decided to combine them into the one post. Lack of time may be an issue as well but I'm sure those two uni assignments will writes themselves. Eventually.

So, to start off, the other day I was given the Versatile Blogger award by the wonderful LoopyLoo! AND AGAIN by Marisa. Check out these girlies blogs if you like all things fun and interesting!

So here are the rules (of course):

1. Thank and link the blogger who awarded you 

2. Share 7 random facts about yourself

3. Spread the love by passing the award to five other bloggers, and be sure to let them know

Seven Random Facts:

This is hard because there is a fair bit of randomness going on up in here. But I'll try to narrow it down.

1. I never finish my entire drink. Doesn't matter what it is, how yum and/or expensive it is, I can never finish that last mouthful. I've tried. It didn't go well.

2. I have a lot of different personalities. I'm a clean-freak oddball at work and the ultimate extrovert. At home, I'm lazy and introverted and GET THE HELL OUT OF MY ROOM! Around my close friends, I'm pretty relaxed and consist mostly on coffee. And on my blog, I can let all the pent-up psychosis run free.

3. I buy books based on their covers. A LOT of the time. I've read less than 40% of the books on my bookshelf because the other 60% I buy with no intention to ever read. EVER.

4. Sarcasm is my default mode. When it comes to any situation that has the potential to be emotional, or too DEEP for my liking, I revert back into the sarcastic swamp monkey and scare those mothers away. Then, I hide in a book.

5. I seriously think someone should consider making a procrastination award with my face on it.

6. I'm surprisingly unafraid of death. But the things I really fear - as in, freeze my chest, forget to breath, fear - are; failure, never getting a book published, drowning, zombies, and not being happy with my life. Now do you see why death is way down on my list?

7. I don't believe in soul mates but I do believe in two personalities complementing each other perfectly. And I'm pretty sure I've the one that brings me alive.

The five people I've chosen to nominate are:

Bec @ http://worklovelifewrite.blogspot.com.au/

Catherine @ http://thebookparade.blogspot.com.au/

Laura @ http://strangerthanwriting.blogspot.com.au/

Carole @ http://www.thelifeoffiction.blogspot.com.au/

Jennifer @ http://readingandwritingurbanfantasy.blogspot.com.au/

Next for the Lucky 7 meme.  I was tagged by LoopyLoo.

The RULES (again):

1. Go to page 77 of your current MS (Or a fave book)
2. Go to line 7
3. Copy down the next 7 lines, sentences, or paragraphs, and post them as they're written.

4. Tag 7 authors
5. Let them know.

From my current WIP. Between Jenna and her sister Vivien. Just so it makes a little sense, Jenna is pretty OCD when it comes to her room and paranoid about a lot of things. I was surprised when I realised my seven lines were mostly dialog but you get that.

“No!” I launched myself across the room and slammed the bolt back into place.

“What the hell? It reeks in here.”

“I don’t care.”

“What is that?”

“Bleach.” 

“Bleach? Are you crazy? Just open the window.” 

I leant against it. “No.”

She stared at me, eyes wide, for a whole five seconds. “Whatever. But next time you want to get high, I hear metho works better.”

She snatched my ribbon off the desk, tied it around her bun and left.

Only then did it occur to me I may have overreacted. *

*I may have cheated and included an extra line. But the dialogue is short so I figure this was allowed :P

Now, my seven people you pass this on to are as follows:

Bec @ http://worklovelifewrite.blogspot.com.au/ (hopefully this will get you to open them again lol)

Jennifer @ http://readingandwritingurbanfantasy.blogspot.com.au/

Laura @ http://strangerthanwriting.blogspot.com.au/

Catherine @ http://thebookparade.blogspot.com.au/

Sonia @ http://thestoryqueen.blogspot.com.au/

Nikki @ http://abscondituscreations.blogspot.com.au/

Carole @ http://www.thelifeoffiction.blogspot.com.au/

I'm looking forward to reading what you guys come up with!!!

Reaping Week presents - THE GAMES REVIEW IS HERE!

Review for the Hunger Games Movie!

That’s right, it’s finally here. We can all stop wetting ourselves with excitement because THE MOVIE IS FINALLY OUT! Now, after the midnight screening, I have to admit I was a little disappointed by the movie. Just slightly. I knew it would never meet my high expectations but I just expected a little more. I saw it today for a second time though and it was just SO MUCH BETTER! I don’t know if it was because my eyeballs weren’t falling out from tiredness, or I knew what to expect this time, but I’m glad I gave it another chance.

FROM THIS POINT FORTH THERE WILL BE SPOILERS. POTENTIALLY BIG ONES. IF YOU HAVEN’T READ THE BOOK OR WISH TO GO INTO THE MOVIE COMPLETELY UNAWARE THEN LOOK AWAY NOW. AND ONCE YOU’VE SEEN IT, COME BACK AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOUR THOUGHTS ARE J

My Review:

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure how to tackle this because there was a LOT I wanted to comment on. I think I’ll break it down into a list of likes and dislikes then give it a rating out of five. LET’S DO THIS!

Ultimate Awesomeness:

1.    The acting. Every last cast member (bah one, actually) blew my expectations out of the arena. JLaw was perfect with everything she did. The emotion was there but she didn’t overact. That girl is pure Katniss. Josh and Liam were phenomenal (even though you see Liam for all of two seconds *sadface*) and you’ll never believe this BUT, JoshactuallygotmelovingthePeets! The careers were all spot on (especially that Alexander Ludwig), and of course Rue shone on the screen. I’d just like to take a moment to say how amazing Willow Shields was as Prim. Holy mothercussin’ Moly, that girl can act. She brought out the only tears I shed in the movie.

2.    The tracker jacker scene. All you need to know is it was there and it was AWESOME!

3.    The Capitol and all people there. It’s exactly like you’d imagine in the book, and Elizabeth Banks and Stanley Tucci really bring the people alive. I even love the little scenes they added between President Snow and Seneca Crane.  They really made the total disregard for human life believable.

4.    The three finger salute in District twelve and the reaction from District eleven. The riot is more intense than the games, I think.

The Parts to be Sword-Bladed:

1.    Rue’s death. I can’t believe I’m writing that here but the aftermath of her death is so much more moving than the actual death. The lack of music in this part, and when Prim’s name is first called, really detracted from the scene. There was a lack of emotion (NOT by the actors) that prevented the tears from coming. It was as though I was watching from the Capitol and realised I’d just lost a bet. Shallow emotions like that are NOT what you want when those scenes in the book tore my heart out!

2.    I also hate to say this but… Haymitch. Woody Harrelson just did not get this character at all. He’s less of a tortured drunk with a big soul, and more of a drunk who just pissed me right off. Also, (there is a HUGE chance I’m wrong here, since I didn’t reread the books) but wasn’t Haymitch’s advice to them “Stay alive”?  It doesn’t happen in the movie even though in those two words it completely sums up his character. His sarcasm. The fact that was missing seriously brought the movie down.

3.    The Hunger Games. Again, I KNOW! But the thing here is, there was so little fighting. I think it was this more than anything that disappointed me on first viewing. But on second viewing it was okay because there was a lot of focus on the characters and their development. Instead of being an insane action flick (that could have totally happened) they kept the emotion and fighting as raw as possible which worked, but in a completely different way. It was a very sad movie; though it should have been a lot sadder.

There were a few technical things that Lionsgate did that I didn’t agree with. I won’t get right into the camera angles and the reasoning behind them, or why they had a soundtrack BUT DIDN’T USE ANY OF THE MUSIC IN THE MOVIE, but yeah. If you notice that type of thing, be prepared to be annoyed.

Really, I think it’s best to sum it up with a rating. I wanted to give it a three but then I realised it only deserved that if I was comparing it to the book. So I’m giving it two scores. As an adaption, I’d say a three and a half (because it’s a whole lot better than any I’ve seen) but as a stand-alone movie it would get a four. I seriously enjoyed it once I managed to get past the things that had been changed. AND ONCE I DIDN’T HAVE TWO VERY ANNOYING FRIENDS MAKING SNIDE COMMENTS.

I’m pretty sure this is a movie anyone would love – even the fans of the book. And there are parts that I think just about everyone will hate/be irritated by.

Either way, I encourage you to see it and make up your own mind. It’s definitely worth it. And please, stop on by and let me know what you thought! If you blog about it, leave a link in the comments because I haven’t heard any other opinions as yet and am keen to see what the rest of you think!

As for right now, I’m going to go whine about how Catching Fire (and Finnick) are still over a year away!

Let the Reaping begin!

Welcome, welcome. It’s going to be a big, big, big week! The 74^th Hunger Games is upon us and in the spirit of the Games, I am going to offer up four tributes for dissection. Today, will be the original Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Tomorrow, Catching Fire. Wednesday, Mockingjay. And Thursday I will come to you fresh (and tired) from the midnight release with a WHOLE LOT OF SPOILER-IFIC info on the movie and its potential awesomeness.

So, without further ado, let the Games begin!

The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins

It was years ago. The buzz had already started and suddenly, everyone was talking about something called the Hunger Games. I checked out a wikipedia synopsis, joined a few Team Gale/Peeta chats and took off to Borders to buy the book. At this time, the cover was super lame and very MG/Sci Fi looking. I almost didn’t pick it up, but then I remembered the forums, the synopsis, and headed to the registers with the book face down.

I already had a vague idea of what would happen and how it’d end. I had no idea how great it would be.

I should probably note here that I have read the Hunger Games once, years ago, and my review is based on what I remember. I don’t want to reread it before the movie because I did that before six of the eight Harry Potter movies and with the comparison in my mind, the movies were seriously sucky.

I think this will turn out to be an awesome movie so I don’t want to pick on the specifics.

Now moving on.

My Review:

At face value: Lame; seriously, wickedly lame. I was too embarrassed to carry that cover anywhere and I’d seen it on the shelf before I’d heard of what it was. The newer ones are okay, but if I wasn’t already into the series I doubt I would have picked those up either.

Immediate Reaction: From memory, I wanted Catching Fire like, yesterday.

High Five: Only a four. There are reasons. Promise.

I’m not going to include a ‘favourite quote’ section because I can’t remember any that really stood out to me. I did have two favourite parts, though so I’ll talk about them. First, predictably, is ‘Rue’s scene’. That broke my heart into a thousand, million pieces. The second part that I remember loving was the chariot ride. Cinna changed Games history then and there and I could feel it with every word Collins wrote.

I’m not going to bore any one with a recap on the book because by now, EVERYONE IN THE FRIGGEN STRATOSPHERE has heard of, and is bombarded by, the Hunger Games.

Katniss is awesome. Gale is a schmexy beast. Peeta is… I don’t want to say for fear of death. But I should clearly state that I was a Gale-gal from the start and that hasn’t changed. I’ll reread Catching Fire and Mockingjay with a much more open mind but I doubt that will make a difference. I’m really hoping Joshie Hutchinson can change my mind and be all swoonworthy and shiz but I’m yet to see any evidence of this.

The premise is the ultimate awesomeness. It’s a cross between ‘The Condemned’ and ‘Survivor’ but is ACTUALLY INTERESTING, you guys. This is a book that focuses on real characters and their emotions, the way they deal with the guinea-pig experiment that is their lives. It’s the first story in a long time that has smacked me in the face and made me PAY ATTENTION to the things going on around me. It made me question things; it made me look at the world around me in a different way. It made me look at the world around me, period.

Out of the tributes, there were a few that caught my attention. Rue, obviously, but Foxface was probably the main one I remembered. She was smart and cunning and probably could have outlasted the others if she hadn’t been tricked with those damn berries. The others formed a big, ambiguous blob. I forgot about Thresh completely until the end.

Then there were the really cool aspects. The tracker-jacker attack, the mutts, the sadistic Careers, and the fire. The cornucopia was also imbedded in my memory and I know exactly what I expect it to look like. Considering the movie has made it a completely different colour to the book can’t be a good sign. But we’ll see.

Now for the not-so-awesome. The main one was the lack of emotion in Katniss and Peeta’s relationship. I didn’t buy it. Peeta seemed like a creep. Katniss was forced into a relationship through the manipulation by Peeta, Haymitch, and the Capitol, and from the very beginning it was a relationship she didn’t want. She resented it because of the Games but even when they were over she didn’t immediately rush to Peeta’s side. And yeah I get it, Peeta is a massive babe, right? He was just so sweet WHAT HE DID WITH THAT BREAD. How he WATCHED KATNISS FROM AFAR AND NEVER EVEN BOTHERED TO SPEAK A WORD TO HER. That he seemed to know so much about her but NEVER ASKED HER A THING ABOUT HERSELF. How he teamed up with the Careers to protect her.

SPEW. BLAH. GROSS.

But that’s purely just my close-minded side of things. There are legions of Peeta fans EVERY WHERE I GO. I’ll bet a 90% of the people who read this will be Peeta fans. And that’s cool. I promise I am trying to like him but he just makes it so damn hard.

Coming tomorrow: Catching Fire. Let’s see if Peeta brightens in my eyes…

Liebster Award - wha'?

That's right friends; I got gifted the Liebster award. And out of all the people in the blogosphere the person who awarded me this is - wait for it - A Zombie Enthusiast. That made me lol a little bit, and if you've read any of my other posts you'll know exactly why.

That said, I really enjoy Danielle B's blog. Know why? Because it's awesome. Her blog is currently filled with all things Hunger Games, Zombies and books. It's worth a visit to Entertaining Interests just for the terrifying (and oddly cool) pics she has of zombies. Even if I do need to bleach my eyeballs afterward.

Now, this award is given to bloggers who have less than 200 followers. It is given in order for more people in the blogosphere world to find your blog. And now for 'the rules'.

1. Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them.  

2. Nominate up to five (5) others for the award.  

3. Let them know via comment on their blog. You can even send them a tweet!  

4. Post the award on you blog.  

Geeky Tendencies continued a fifth rule via inspirenordic. 

5. Follow my blog and at least consider signing up for the A to Z Challenge. It is a great way to find new and interesting blogs, it help people find your blog, and meet new bloggers. Who knows? You might reach the 200 follower mark.

 Okay, so the fifth rule I've elected not to do just because I don't think I'll be able to blog every day - I'm having enough trouble with 'Blogspiration' :(. As much as I'd love too, life keeps on messin' up my plans.

Now, without further ado, here are the five blogs that I'm passing this award on to:

First goes to a new blog. It only has a few posts but I've read some of Bec's other work and trust me when I say it's going to be a good one. She is one creative woman and I don't see this blog being the exception. Work Love Life Write. Check it out!

Second goes to Laura at Stranger than Writing. I love fellow writers and it's really easy to connect with her through her blog posts - she's a writer-to-watch, I'd say. Always a pleasure to read!

Third is for Catherine at The Book Parade. She's just joined the Dystopian reading challenge (which I've had my eye on) and posts some awesome book reviews!

Fourth, A Trail of Books Left Behind. This is a really cool looking blog and you can tell she has put a lot of work into it. Another writer-to-watch.

And lastly, (but these were done in no particular order), goes to Rae Lynn at RaeLynn Writes!. Firstly - those shoes in her DP are HOT(EXCLAMATION MARK) and secondly, because her 'about me' section is one I most relate to. She posts reviews on books, movies, and has some of her stuff up there. There's also a handy little section called 'writer tools' that's always worth checking out.

So that's my list. Thanks again to Danielle B, and to my five - you guys deserve it!

It's like my birthday's come early...

Anyone around these parts will know I'm a Marissa Meyer fan girl. Cinder is a-maz-ing! So imagine my surprise when I stumbled upon this link to an AWESOME little prequel of my most beloved book. I almost wet myself with excitement!

Link for Glitches:

http://www.tor.com/stories/2011/12/glitches

Now, if you haven't read Cinder that's totally cool because it doesn't give anything away. But I warn you - if you read this, you will love Peony. Complete and utter love.

I read this. It broke my heart. Poor, poor Garan. Poor, poor Peony SPOILER - looking into the future like that and she doesn't even realise it.

It even made me feel sorry for Adri and I thought THAT would be impossible!

AND LASTLY, second most awesomest of the night is this interview with Marissa Meyer (yes, I squeed a little), over at Read Me, Bookmark Me, Love Me.

http://readmebookmarkmeloveme.blogspot.com.au/2012/02/valentines-blog-event-author-interview_22.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+ReadMeBookmarkMeLoveMe+%28Read+Me+Bookmark+Me+Love+Me%29

 You guys should seriously check this shiz out.

Legen-wait for it-dary!

Book review for Legend by Marie Lu

Once known as the western coast of the United States, the Republic is now a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors, the Colonies.

Born into an elite family in one of the Republic's wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a military prodigy. Obedient, passionate, and committed to her country, she is being groomed for success in the Republic's highest circles.
Born into the slums of the Republic's Lake Sector, fifteen-year-old Day is the country's most wanted criminal. But his motivations may not be as malicious as they seem.
From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths - until the day June's brother, Metias, is murdered, and Day becomes the prime suspect. Now, caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family's survival, while June tries desperately to avenge Metias's death.
But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths to which their country will go to keep its secrets.

So by now if you haven't heard of this book, you're pretty much living with your head shoved in the sand. Or in the cloud of a dust bomb. Way before the paperback even hit the shelves, there was so much hype I have no idea how Marie Lu is still sane (obviously based on the assumption she is). The movies rights have already been sold to CBS (one of the top ranking television networks), and Penguin had practically sold the SHIZ out of this book already.

And to be honest, when a book has this much hype, I'm determined to hate it. I don't know why but when someone recommends a book to me saying 'this book is the ultimate awesomeness' and 'I've never laughed/cried/loved/*insert adjective here* a book as much as this one', and worse still 'you have to buy this' (cue shoving in hands and nudging towards the registers), I do everything in my power to avoid the damn thing. I get this certain stubborn streak that IS GOOD FOR NOTHING, but I just can't help it. So, with all this in mind, I dragged my feet through BIG W, feeling as though everyone was waiting for me to pick up the book so they could point, judge, laugh at me, and bought it. 

On release day.

And... I didn't hate it.

My Review...

At Face Value: I probably would've picked it up based on the cover alone, but it would have ended up unread, on my shelf with countless others. 

Immediate Reaction: Like most 'first' books, the ending wrapped up nicely. But it didn't leave me wanting more. I can wait for the next book.

High Five: First half, a four. Second, a three.


 Let me start off by saying this book's premise is no where near original; it was inspired by Les Miserables and contains a very Romeo and Juliet love story. That said, no story is original these days and Lu develops her characters and world to a height that makes Legend stand alone.

 Legend is told from the perspectives of both main characters, June and Day in alternating chapters but instead of letting her character's voice come through, either Lu or Razorbill decided to give them different fonts. This helps simplify who's who but was bloody annoying to begin with (mainly because I'm just a little picky and seriously didn't like Day's font. It made me want to punch him for looking like a Goosebumps novel). 
June is tough, stoic, and at times, annoyed me with her 'I'm so much smarter than everyone else' mentality that the Republic has basically stamped her with. But she becomes more emotionally driven towards the end. And she kicks arse. Day is a 'rebel' but to be honest, the crimes everyone is in a tizzy about are pretty underwhelming. At first, I didn't understand why they were so crazed to catch a fifteen-year-old that had gone a little wild with the spray paint but Lu makes it work. And suddenly there is a REASON I can go with.
 
 As I was reading this book, I put it down a couple of times for ridiculous things like work, food, coffee but where ever I went the characters followed me so I have to give Lu kudos for that. It's not often another author's characters push my own out of the way but the struggles June and Day are put through (I love when authors don't baby their characters), were enough to keep me wondering. There was emotional connection with the characters which I haven't found in a few books I've read lately and I fell in love with Metias (June's wicked cool big brother) who literally existed for all of about one chapter. DEVASTATED. MUCH.


I loved Day's break in to the hospital, I loved little Tess (can I have a baby sister like her, please?) and I loved Kaede whose vine tattoo sounds seriously awesome. I think Thomas could have been developed more and I well and truly loathed Commander Jameson (which was pretty much the point); really though, someone needs to sword-blade that woman's eye. The idea of the Elector Primo was also awesome and his son, mentioned way briefly was actually someone I remembered and hope will play a bigger part in the sequel.


 My main complaint though, and the reason the book didn't get a high five (especially in the second half), was things seemed a little too coincidental. Now, I get that there are coincidences in all books - mostly they're the catalyst or a way for the plot to move forward - but some of the things were a little too easy. Like, I can buy into how Day was at the same Skiz fight June was, but I don't buy into the 'numbers' he finds in places he's been at a gazillion times before. My first thought was "some high-risk criminal, his observation skills clearly need work" and I'm pretty sure that wasn't the reaction Lu intended. I can also buy into June being some super-smart freak of a girl, but I don't care how many times I read it, her figuring out the anagram that leads her to a super secret website will never make sense to me. NEVER.


 Overall, if you can get past these little nuances that my picky brain just won't move on from, and you like Dystopian novels, you'll love the shiz out of Legend. It's crazy-fast paced, has some hotter than hot characters and gives the sense of danger in just about every choice. Throw in some OMG shocks, a little bit of loving, and someone getting their head blasted off and I'm pretty sure it covers all bases. 


 It also makes me really want to write a Dystopian novel.