I just finished the second book in the Uglies Series. This one was called Pretties.
Honestly. I've had a lot of experience lately with the first book of a series being great, and the rest of the series not being great (I loved the first book of Hunger Games, but that last one...).
So I was a bit nervous about Pretties, because I liked Uglies a lot.
Except the seconds book was very good!
I was pleased~
This book has some really great stuff in it.
In this world, whenever someone turns 16, they get an operation that makes them beautiful. That way no one ever feels inferior/superior about their appearance. And everyone looks forward to becoming beautiful and joining their beautiful friends in a world of parties and carefree-ness. Except the operation isn't as great as it seems.
One of my favorite parts of the book was near the end where Tally realized that you don't love someone becausethey're beautiful. But when you love someone, they become beautiful to you.
Aaah, that was such a great way to put it!
Aah, the ends of these books are intense too!
The end up Pretties gave me shivers.
Aah, I've read so many good books recently! It's great~
Hopefully it will last a while longer. ^-^'
By the way, the title of the blog post comes from the phrase "What happens when perfection isn't good enough." That's the tagline on the cover of Pretties.
And I think I'll do a post about taglines, because I've been thinking of a bunch for Katani.
~*~
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Testing, Testing!
Okay, let's see if this moves.
I've wanted one of these moving icons for ages XD
Yaay~
Here's the artist.
Sunday, April 26, 2015
Bloody Jack
I finished the fifth book of the Bloody Jack series.
I still wish the series had a better name though.
I started the series a long time ago. A family friend recommended it, so Mom bought the first seven books, I think. It looks like there are eleven books now. I wonder if the series is still going.
Mom finished them all a while ago, and said they felt fast-paced. But I'd just read Maximum Ride at the time, so Bloody Jack felt quite slow in comparison.
Now I know what she means though.
There will be spoilers following, by the way.
I didn't have much opinion of the series at first. But I like it more with every book. I think because the author pulls certain things off very successfully - things that I tried and failed to write in high school. I won't go into details, but in The Belly of the Bloodhound, when all of the girls were on the ship, they took the time to learn a lot of new skills. Both to keep their spirits up, and to aid in their escape. And that was one of the things I loved because it like something I tried and failed to do a long time ago...
And Jackie herself is always eager to learn new skills, which usually end up coming in handy.
Jackie is a very interesting character. She is widely loved and hated by the people in her world.
And the love and the hate is well deserved, on her part. She can be amazingly clever, or incredibly stupid. And her stupidity is punished in many different ways. At the same time, the friends and connections she makes are her salvation from many of her troubles.
In The Belly of the Bloodhound, one of Jackie's old foes, the fine lady Clarissa, comes back. Except this time, the two of them are forced to cooperate. It's great. Clarissa is such a jerk, but she's amazing too, in her own ways.
Because of her many foes and her ability to get into trouble, Jackie can be a very stressful character to follow. Even when things are going well, you know it won't last. I think I got especially paranoid during this book, because all the way up to the last sentence, I was expecting some other bomb to drop just as Jackie's heading to a safe haven.
One of the things I love about Jackie (also something that I love in other stories, and like to do with my own stories) has to do with her allies. Because she grew up in such poverty, she's always trying to help those who are worse off than her. For example, she funds an orphanage, to help kids like her. And she hires a homeless boy to help with her ship.
It reminds me of Jean Valjean, always trying to use his abilities to help others.
Although Jackie also uses her abilities to make trouble...
(Jackie was able to pull herself out of poverty, but Kvothe has been having a lot more trouble with that...)
Another thing the Bloody Jack books do are make allusions to other bits of history, and other novels that took place during the same time. Which inevitably make me crack up. There were hints of Oliver Twist, and Moby Dick. I wonder if I've missed many others.
There are real historical figures in the navy. And in Mississippi Jack, Jackie has a brush with Mike Fink (who I knew from the Disney Davy Crockett movies).
Fortunately that didn't end as badly as it could have.
Oh my god, poor Jamie! The author seems determined to keep the two sweethearts apart for as long as possible. TT^TT
That's another thing. All of the characters always seem to find their match. That ws a lot more obvious in this book. Heh.
I wonder what the next book will be about. And how stressful I'll get on Jackie's behalf. @_@
I still wish the series had a better name though.
I started the series a long time ago. A family friend recommended it, so Mom bought the first seven books, I think. It looks like there are eleven books now. I wonder if the series is still going.
Mom finished them all a while ago, and said they felt fast-paced. But I'd just read Maximum Ride at the time, so Bloody Jack felt quite slow in comparison.
Now I know what she means though.
There will be spoilers following, by the way.
I didn't have much opinion of the series at first. But I like it more with every book. I think because the author pulls certain things off very successfully - things that I tried and failed to write in high school. I won't go into details, but in The Belly of the Bloodhound, when all of the girls were on the ship, they took the time to learn a lot of new skills. Both to keep their spirits up, and to aid in their escape. And that was one of the things I loved because it like something I tried and failed to do a long time ago...
And Jackie herself is always eager to learn new skills, which usually end up coming in handy.
Jackie is a very interesting character. She is widely loved and hated by the people in her world.
And the love and the hate is well deserved, on her part. She can be amazingly clever, or incredibly stupid. And her stupidity is punished in many different ways. At the same time, the friends and connections she makes are her salvation from many of her troubles.
In The Belly of the Bloodhound, one of Jackie's old foes, the fine lady Clarissa, comes back. Except this time, the two of them are forced to cooperate. It's great. Clarissa is such a jerk, but she's amazing too, in her own ways.
Because of her many foes and her ability to get into trouble, Jackie can be a very stressful character to follow. Even when things are going well, you know it won't last. I think I got especially paranoid during this book, because all the way up to the last sentence, I was expecting some other bomb to drop just as Jackie's heading to a safe haven.
One of the things I love about Jackie (also something that I love in other stories, and like to do with my own stories) has to do with her allies. Because she grew up in such poverty, she's always trying to help those who are worse off than her. For example, she funds an orphanage, to help kids like her. And she hires a homeless boy to help with her ship.
It reminds me of Jean Valjean, always trying to use his abilities to help others.
Although Jackie also uses her abilities to make trouble...
(Jackie was able to pull herself out of poverty, but Kvothe has been having a lot more trouble with that...)
Another thing the Bloody Jack books do are make allusions to other bits of history, and other novels that took place during the same time. Which inevitably make me crack up. There were hints of Oliver Twist, and Moby Dick. I wonder if I've missed many others.
There are real historical figures in the navy. And in Mississippi Jack, Jackie has a brush with Mike Fink (who I knew from the Disney Davy Crockett movies).
Fortunately that didn't end as badly as it could have.
Oh my god, poor Jamie! The author seems determined to keep the two sweethearts apart for as long as possible. TT^TT
That's another thing. All of the characters always seem to find their match. That ws a lot more obvious in this book. Heh.
I wonder what the next book will be about. And how stressful I'll get on Jackie's behalf. @_@
Thursday, April 23, 2015
Concert Night!
Our band concert was last night.
We always have a guest band play with us, usually either a nearby high school, or a community band. But I think this was the first time we had a middle school band. And they were very good. They sounded as good as some high school bands.
And our band was very good too~
I was actually on percussion for one song. Mr. G said it was because he could trust me to count. Which is rather unnerving, because if you lose your palce on a percussion piece, there's no way to find it again.
But I managed to not get lost, so that's good.
And we also played an arrangement of Frozen, for the middle school kids. That was fun. But it was slightly different from the movie music, so I kept getting thrown off during our first rehearsals of the piece.
The last song was what Mr. G dubbed our "project of the semester." It was a long piece, with a lot of dynamic changes.
And the whole first part is very quiet.
And during the entire 10+ minute piece, a little girl in the front row was coughing. Loud coughs, not trying to cover them up, or muffle them. And that was all I could hear for the entire song, because it was so loud, and cutting through every single quiet part of the piece - which as about half of the song.
And she hadn't coughed during any of the loud pieces. It had to be the quiet one.
The girl was about 10. And the mom was just sitting there, not doing anything. Why didn't she take the girl out? Where the heck is your sense of decensy and respect? We've been working all semester on this piece - our final song of the concert and our "project for the semester." And you let you kid just sit there, hacking the entire time. The girl may have needed help too.
The moment the song was over, she fled with the girl. No, she couldn't do that at the beginning of the song. She had to wait until the second it was over to take her noisy kid out.
Oh my freaking god. Use your damn brains, people.
So, that cast a rather sour note to the end of our concert.
And usually I'm so excited after performing...
We always have a guest band play with us, usually either a nearby high school, or a community band. But I think this was the first time we had a middle school band. And they were very good. They sounded as good as some high school bands.
And our band was very good too~
I was actually on percussion for one song. Mr. G said it was because he could trust me to count. Which is rather unnerving, because if you lose your palce on a percussion piece, there's no way to find it again.
But I managed to not get lost, so that's good.
And we also played an arrangement of Frozen, for the middle school kids. That was fun. But it was slightly different from the movie music, so I kept getting thrown off during our first rehearsals of the piece.
The last song was what Mr. G dubbed our "project of the semester." It was a long piece, with a lot of dynamic changes.
And the whole first part is very quiet.
And during the entire 10+ minute piece, a little girl in the front row was coughing. Loud coughs, not trying to cover them up, or muffle them. And that was all I could hear for the entire song, because it was so loud, and cutting through every single quiet part of the piece - which as about half of the song.
And she hadn't coughed during any of the loud pieces. It had to be the quiet one.
The girl was about 10. And the mom was just sitting there, not doing anything. Why didn't she take the girl out? Where the heck is your sense of decensy and respect? We've been working all semester on this piece - our final song of the concert and our "project for the semester." And you let you kid just sit there, hacking the entire time. The girl may have needed help too.
The moment the song was over, she fled with the girl. No, she couldn't do that at the beginning of the song. She had to wait until the second it was over to take her noisy kid out.
Oh my freaking god. Use your damn brains, people.
So, that cast a rather sour note to the end of our concert.
And usually I'm so excited after performing...
Saturday, April 18, 2015
The Name of the Wind
I recently finished a book called The Name of the Wind, by Rothfuss.
And it was very good.
I was just saying how few fantasy there are that I like, but I'll definitely add this one to the list!
I've got the second book already, so it will be fun to start reading that.
The world of this book is great. There's a lot of cool culture, and folklore, and biology. And an elaborate magical system.
The characters are good too.
Kvothe is one of those characters who can't stay out of trouble for long, and I kept getting very anxious for him. Those are the kind of books that drive me crazy as I'm reading them, though I love it in hindsight.
I don't think any of you guys have read this yet, so I don't want to talk about it in much depth.
You can check out the book on tape though! That way you can listen to it as you drive/draw/clean.
And it was very good.
I was just saying how few fantasy there are that I like, but I'll definitely add this one to the list!
I've got the second book already, so it will be fun to start reading that.
The world of this book is great. There's a lot of cool culture, and folklore, and biology. And an elaborate magical system.
The characters are good too.
Kvothe is one of those characters who can't stay out of trouble for long, and I kept getting very anxious for him. Those are the kind of books that drive me crazy as I'm reading them, though I love it in hindsight.
I don't think any of you guys have read this yet, so I don't want to talk about it in much depth.
You can check out the book on tape though! That way you can listen to it as you drive/draw/clean.
Friday, April 10, 2015
Book Reviews
I'm pretty sure I've mentioned this before, but I like to review new movies on my blog.
And yet I don't write very many book reviews.
Even though this is supposed to be a writing blog.
Maybe I just find it easier to write about movies? Because I'm much pickier about books than movies. Or I can watch movies faster than I can read books.
Admittedly, a lot of similar things apply between books and movies - there's characters and plot and world, ex.
And people are more likely to have seen a new movie than read a new book... unfortunately.
Most of the time I talk about books, it's in those posts where I list what I've read recently, with just a few comments for each thing.
I'm thinking of putting together some book reviews.
Although it might not happen too often, because I'm generally pretty picky about books. For a lot of them, I probably won't have more than a few comments to make (which can still go in my general reading list comments).
Luckily I seem to have found a few good books recently.
I wrote about Seraphina already.
And today, I finished The Name of the Wind.
Which was a very good book. And I got the second volume~
So I'll have to write some more about this book, though I've mentioned is a bit already.
And yet I don't write very many book reviews.
Even though this is supposed to be a writing blog.
Maybe I just find it easier to write about movies? Because I'm much pickier about books than movies. Or I can watch movies faster than I can read books.
Admittedly, a lot of similar things apply between books and movies - there's characters and plot and world, ex.
And people are more likely to have seen a new movie than read a new book... unfortunately.
Most of the time I talk about books, it's in those posts where I list what I've read recently, with just a few comments for each thing.
I'm thinking of putting together some book reviews.
Although it might not happen too often, because I'm generally pretty picky about books. For a lot of them, I probably won't have more than a few comments to make (which can still go in my general reading list comments).
Luckily I seem to have found a few good books recently.
I wrote about Seraphina already.
And today, I finished The Name of the Wind.
Which was a very good book. And I got the second volume~
So I'll have to write some more about this book, though I've mentioned is a bit already.
Tuesday, April 7, 2015
So Stressful to Know
I'm actually in the middle of 2 good books right now, which is a rare treat.
But the thing about both of these books is that the main character is incredibly stressful to follow.
First we have Jackie Faber, in Mississippi Jack (from a series called Bloody Jack, which I think I'll write a blog post about).
And second, we have Kvothe, from The Name of the Wind.
(DA link)
Both of these guys never seem to keep out of trouble for long. It seems like they would be incredibly stressful people to know, for their friends, and for people reading about them in a book.
Over the course of a couple days, there were several instances where I went "OH MY GAAAWD, NOOO! Don't do it." TT^TT
Man, these books have an impresive way of keeping the stakes high, and breaking your heart with every threat to the stakes.
It's the kind of thing that really drives me crazy, and impresses me at the same time. Stop tormenting me so much! Waaaaah!
I wonder if I need to improve the suspense in my writing. I should ask around.
It's easy to go overboard though. The end of Bolt made fun of this. There's so much completely crazy stuff going on all on top of each other, so in the end all of it seems completely unimportant. And the readers lose interest.
Good suspense drags readers on. Intense suspense drives the reader crazy while still dragging them through, gasping and sweating.
No suspense, or too much lame suspense, chases people away.
And I just went to look for pictures of Kvothe. Oh maaan, there's so much amazing art of him. O__O
He must be a very loved character.
So, after a long art distraction, I return to finish this post.
And I'm definitely going to write a post about The Name of the Wind, once I finish the book.
(DA link)
But the thing about both of these books is that the main character is incredibly stressful to follow.
First we have Jackie Faber, in Mississippi Jack (from a series called Bloody Jack, which I think I'll write a blog post about).
And second, we have Kvothe, from The Name of the Wind.
(DA link)
Both of these guys never seem to keep out of trouble for long. It seems like they would be incredibly stressful people to know, for their friends, and for people reading about them in a book.
Over the course of a couple days, there were several instances where I went "OH MY GAAAWD, NOOO! Don't do it." TT^TT
Man, these books have an impresive way of keeping the stakes high, and breaking your heart with every threat to the stakes.
It's the kind of thing that really drives me crazy, and impresses me at the same time. Stop tormenting me so much! Waaaaah!
I wonder if I need to improve the suspense in my writing. I should ask around.
It's easy to go overboard though. The end of Bolt made fun of this. There's so much completely crazy stuff going on all on top of each other, so in the end all of it seems completely unimportant. And the readers lose interest.
Good suspense drags readers on. Intense suspense drives the reader crazy while still dragging them through, gasping and sweating.
No suspense, or too much lame suspense, chases people away.
And I just went to look for pictures of Kvothe. Oh maaan, there's so much amazing art of him. O__O
He must be a very loved character.
So, after a long art distraction, I return to finish this post.
And I'm definitely going to write a post about The Name of the Wind, once I finish the book.
(DA link)
Sunday, April 5, 2015
Cinderella
I saw the new Cinderella - the live action Disney one.
It was a good movie.
I think I'll like it more the second time though.
Because my first impression was that I was hoping for some kind of twist. Something that made this version of Cinderella unique from all the others. Like they did with Maleficent.
There were a bunch of little unique things, but nothing big and noticeable.
So, I think I'll appreciate it a lot more the next time I see it.
My parents liked it a lot. Dad was gushing about it the whole way home. And Mom said that it was her favorite version of Cinderella.
A couple things that were annoying:
When Cinderella arrived at the dance, every person in the entire ball stopped and stared at her for a very long time.
So, she had a fancy dress, and she arrived late. I don't think that's enough to freeze an entire room full of ladies in fancy dresses. It felt really cliché.
Cinderella also felt a lot like Aurora, from Maleficent. Although that opinion may change when I see it again.
Also, the dress Cinderella wore for most of the movie... was really distracting. It's like they wanted to show of as much as possible of her neck,shoulders and chest as possible without being indecent. And they seemed very proud of that fact. Although, I suppose this is something they do a lot in movies, but it doesn't suit Ella.
And on a side note. I wonder how on earth the prince could dance with a girls who has such a floofy dress? How does he not trip all over it? @_@ I'm sure it's done plenty in real life. It must take a lot of practice. Whoo. I'm glad I won't ever have to worry about that XD Considering I'd be the one in a dress... and I'd never feel mobile in a very floofy dress.
There are a lot of versions of Cinderella - both movies, and written fairytales. I've read several versions of it, and I have no idea which one came first. In one version, Cinderella's step sisters actually cut off parts of their own feet to fit into the shoe. And in another, the ball lasted several nights, and Cinderella was late leaving the last night, which was when she lost her shoe.
I think I've seen three different movies. Though there's another one I want to rent.
I like the 1997 one a lot. Maybe because I love a lot of the songs. Or that I liked the Prince and his parents - although neither of them look like they could be his parents (Whoopi Goldberg was great, of course). And also at the end, Cinderella basically realized, "I know I promised Dad that I'd look after the family, but step mother has changed so much that I can't stay here anymore." She was ready to leave that place and be independent. Except of course the Prince came to her rescue.
Oh, I also liked the step sisters. They were still mean, but they also had their moments with Cinderella. like "oh, that's so romantic. Say it again."
It was a good movie.
I think I'll like it more the second time though.
Because my first impression was that I was hoping for some kind of twist. Something that made this version of Cinderella unique from all the others. Like they did with Maleficent.
There were a bunch of little unique things, but nothing big and noticeable.
So, I think I'll appreciate it a lot more the next time I see it.
My parents liked it a lot. Dad was gushing about it the whole way home. And Mom said that it was her favorite version of Cinderella.
A couple things that were annoying:
When Cinderella arrived at the dance, every person in the entire ball stopped and stared at her for a very long time.
So, she had a fancy dress, and she arrived late. I don't think that's enough to freeze an entire room full of ladies in fancy dresses. It felt really cliché.
Cinderella also felt a lot like Aurora, from Maleficent. Although that opinion may change when I see it again.
Also, the dress Cinderella wore for most of the movie... was really distracting. It's like they wanted to show of as much as possible of her neck,shoulders and chest as possible without being indecent. And they seemed very proud of that fact. Although, I suppose this is something they do a lot in movies, but it doesn't suit Ella.
And on a side note. I wonder how on earth the prince could dance with a girls who has such a floofy dress? How does he not trip all over it? @_@ I'm sure it's done plenty in real life. It must take a lot of practice. Whoo. I'm glad I won't ever have to worry about that XD Considering I'd be the one in a dress... and I'd never feel mobile in a very floofy dress.
There are a lot of versions of Cinderella - both movies, and written fairytales. I've read several versions of it, and I have no idea which one came first. In one version, Cinderella's step sisters actually cut off parts of their own feet to fit into the shoe. And in another, the ball lasted several nights, and Cinderella was late leaving the last night, which was when she lost her shoe.
I think I've seen three different movies. Though there's another one I want to rent.
I like the 1997 one a lot. Maybe because I love a lot of the songs. Or that I liked the Prince and his parents - although neither of them look like they could be his parents (Whoopi Goldberg was great, of course). And also at the end, Cinderella basically realized, "I know I promised Dad that I'd look after the family, but step mother has changed so much that I can't stay here anymore." She was ready to leave that place and be independent. Except of course the Prince came to her rescue.
Oh, I also liked the step sisters. They were still mean, but they also had their moments with Cinderella. like "oh, that's so romantic. Say it again."
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