Night Circus: What's Black and White with Hints of Red?

“The circus arrives without warning.

No announcements precede it, no paper notices on downtown posts and billboards, no mentions or advertisements in local newspapers. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not.”

The whole idea of the Night Circus is simply charming. That is honestly the best word I can use. I’ll have you know, however, that charming just barely beat out about 10 other words: mysterious, intriguing, beautiful, elegant, ethereal, magical, provocative, dreamlike, captivating and exciting. These are only some of the words that could describe this book. There are hundreds more, but I highly doubt someone would want to read several paragraphs of synonyms. If you do, go outside, man. Stop going on thesaurus.com and go live your life. 

The idea for the Night Circus starts when wealthy and eccentric businessman Chandresh Lefèvre decides to hold these magnificent Midnight Dinners, to which he invites some people with unusual, if not extraordinary talents. Mme. Ana Padva is a former Romanian prima ballerina who now has a unique and gorgeous eye for fashion, Ethan Barris  is an amazing architect and engineer who can create almost anything, Tara and Lainie Burgess are jacks of all trades (dancers, librarians, consultants, actresses etc) who create a sense of atmosphere, Mr. A.H. is a mysterious man in a gray suit and Tsukiko is a contortionist of unparalled talent. Together, they create Le Cirque des Rêves. 

I had heard the book described as a mysterious circus and people wear red to distinguish the true enthusiasts  but the book is so much more than that. Marco and Celia are two children picked to be rivals by two opposing magicians, but “magicians” is an understatement. Prospero the Enchanter, also known as Hector Bowen, has a talent for magic that is beyond tricks and illusions. It’s….well, it’s more like magic, really.  His daughter is chosen to compete in a game of skills against Marco, a young boy selected by Bowen’s main opponent, Mr. Alexander H. (usually just A. H.). It is a test to see if more unconventional methods and the practical application of magic works better than a more studious and academic approach through books. However, as Celia and Marco compete through this circus, everyone’s lives in the circus becomes more and more tangled in the competition and the stakes constantly rise.

The great thing about this book is that the writing juxtaposes the theme and the purpose of this book perfectly. The writing is so graceful and descriptive, yet subtle at the same time. This is the Night Circus; it is not ostentatious or outlandish, but it is beautiful, rich and elegant. Everything Erin Morgenstern describes is just stunning: the food, the clothing, the locations, the circus, the tents and the acts within them. Describes isn't even the right word. She paints it for you. The foods at the Midnight Dinners sound so delectable. Every word she chooses is perfect and makes you hungry at the same time. I’m getting hungry just thinking about it! Oh wait, it’s 7:15 and I am currently making dinner. Whoops.

Seriously, I just ate and I'm hungry again. What the hell?

The circus she creates out of words seems so real, and again, the descriptors are chosen with great contemplation. It’s just a beautifully written book for a beautiful circus. But that doesn't do it justice, because the circus is so much more than that! It’s mystery, it’s something that some of us may dream of at night, it’s a place to escape to, somewhere beyond the natural confines. Such an imagination deserves applause in my book, but I am a bit biased as I like to think of myself as imaginative as well. Look, I’ll create something imaginative right now! Uh, this group of humanoid mythical beings go on a quest to defeat a dragon and claim the treasure! And there’s a wizard there, and trolls, and elves and…. Oh crap. That’s the hobbit. No wait! Okay, how about toys that wake up when their owners are gone and they have adventures and stories and maybe a fight and…. That’s Toy Story.

Moving on.

I could not put this book down, and I would heartily suggest you pick it up and give it a go. It is also nothing like Water For Elephants if that's what you're worried about. Except it has a love story and takes place in a circus... but that's beside the point. Who wouldn't want to read an enchanting tale about a magical circus, two young lovers, exotic locations, fascinating characters, an ongoing battle and impossible acts? I know I would. Wait, I just did. 

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe: Don't Panic. Continue Not Panicking.

“The Story so far:

In the beginning the Universe was created.

This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move.”

-The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, Douglas Adams

Could there be a more perfect beginning to this book? No, there is not. The opening to the book, perfectly combining humor, satire, history and science (I’m being facetious here) sets the bar pretty high for Douglas Adams’ sequel to the brilliant Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Luckily, he set the bar himself and knows how to vault over it like the literary genius/comedian that he is.

I do not think I can summarize the plot of this book, if the difficulty of wrapping the first book up into a neat little abstract has anything to say about it. The best I can do is give you a short play-by-play of the highlights of the book, so about every other paragraph (and that’s just an average). I think just the best of the best will suffice.

The introduction of Ursa Minor Beta, or “one of the most appalling places in the known Universe,” is just genius. It “is excruciatingly rich, horrifyingly sunny…[and] it can hardly be insignificant that when a recent edition of Playbeing magazine headlined an article with the words ‘When you are tired of Ursa Minor Beta you are tired of life,’ the suicide rates there quadrupled overnight.

Not that there are any nights on Ursa Minor Beta.”

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (also known as Milliways), is a pretty hilarious concept, too, but only because your preconceived notions of the context of the word “end” here are shattered. When he writes “end” in the same phrase as “universe,” we all think of physical end, as in location, but Douglas Adams means “end” as in “destruction.” The restaurant is protected by a time bubble that resets itself every meal period so the diners can witness the end of the Universe. As it is a “time location” and not a “location location.” This way, you can come back multiple times.

As usual, Douglas Adams likes to shoot all your ideas about time travel and relativity to hell. Also, he introduces an amazing new tense that tells you how “to describe something that was about to happen to you in the past before you avoided it by time-jumping forward two days in order to avoid it.” Of course, that means that you must describe the event differently depending on if you’re talking about it in the future, the past, natural time, etc. It is known as the Future Semiconditionally Modified Subinverted Plagal Past SubjunctiveIntentional. This is to replace the “Future Perfect.” I cannot even describe this tense. It is practically a new language even J. R. R. Tolkien might be a little proud of.

"Legolas! What wioll haven do your elf eyes willan seen?"
"They're willing taken the hobbits to Isengard!"

The existence of a spaceship so black you cannot make out its shape or even tell how close you are to it, let alone distinguish any of the controls in the ship. Because it’s black on the inside, too.

Then there's the almost-paradox of writing the guidebook: “The simplistic style in which [the statistics of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy] are written is partly explained by the fact that the editors, having to meet a publishing deadline, copied the information off the back of a packet of breakfast cereal, hastily embroidering it with a few footnotes in order to avoid prosecution under the incomprehensibly tortuous Galactic Copyright laws. It is interesting to note that a later and wilier editor sent the book backward in time through a temporal warp, and then successfully sued the breakfast cereal company for infringement of the same laws.” Amazing. Simply amazing.

I hesitate to disclose my favorite part of the novel, the end, but truthfully, I don’t think you can really have spoilers in a Douglas Adams book. Each sentence is not so much a an event not to be disclosed to non-readers, but more of another piece of an adventure. A stepping stone, if you will. If each Douglas Adams book were a ladder, each chapter is simply a piece of wood (or metal, depending on the type of ladder you’re imagining) that makes up the ladder. If you remove a splinter or even a rung, the entire ladder will not fall apart, but it does take away from the ladder’s essence.

So when I tell you my favorite part, it does not make the story unreadable. In a way, it’s like the universe itself; the story and the universe are infinite and could continue in any direction indefinitely.

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe ambled along, delighting me with every page, but the best (and funniest) part was the ending. Arthur and Ford end up on this spaceship, Ark B, to find millions of bodies in suspended comas. What kinds of people are they? “‘Hairdressers, tired TV producers, telephone sanitizers, insurance salesmen, personnel officers, security guards, public relations executives, management consultants, you name it.’” Why, you ask? And actually, Ford and Arthur essentially ask it themselves. “‘The idea was that into the first ship, the ‘A’ ship, would go all the brilliant leaders, the scientists, the great artists, you know, all the achievers; and then in the third, or ‘C’ ship, would go all the people who did the actual work, who made things and did things; and then into the ‘B’ ship–that’s us–would go everyone else, the middlemen.’” As funny as it is, it just keeps getting better. The planet they came from, Golgafrincham, sent Ark B off to “rid themselves of an entire useless third of their population. The other two-thirds stayed firmly at home and lived full, rich and happy lives until they were all suddenly wiped out by a virulent disease contracted from a dirty telephone.” Oh, the irony.

Of course, the downside to sending a colony of people such as these off to a new planet is that some things hold precedence over others. For instance, hairdressers electing to create curling tongs instead of developing fire. And in creating the wheel, the marketing department must first decide on a color. And instead of exploring the area, their film producers make a documentary on the indigenous cavemen in the area.

  

"I've always been told hairs before bears. As in protecting yourself from bears. You'd be surprised
 how much perfectly styled tresses can ward off danger."

But the most hilarious of all, and most satirical, is that they develop a fiscal policy. Ford wants to know how they can have money when they don’t make money. As a response to saying it doesn't grow on trees, the management consultant says “‘Since we decided a few weeks ago to adopt the leaf as legal tender, we have, of course, all become immensely rich… But we have also run into a small inflation problem on account of the high level of leaf availability, which means that, I gather, the current going rate  has something like three deciduous forests buying one ship’s peanut.’” So, to revalue the leaf, they are going to burn down all the forests. I cannot stress how loudly I laughed at this point.

I think Douglas Adams just sat in his room and decided to make fun of everyone he could think of. And as they say, the pen is mightier than the sword. The worst part is that I can actually see this playing out in similar situation, if to a lesser degree. I am just glad that Adams has commemorated it on paper. And, er, Ebook/tablet screen.

The book ends with Arthur trying to teach the cavemen to play Scrabble with rocks, “‘but they only word they know is grunt and they can’t spell it…. [He’s] probably spelled crzjgrdwldiwdc again, poor bastard. I keep on telling him there’s only one g in crzjgrdwldiwdc.’” Man, on a triple word score, that word would be pure gold.

A Natural History of Dragons: Quit Dragon Your Feet and Read This Book Already!

Look at the cover! It's so pretty!

If you’re anything like me, and I pray to God that you’re not, then you are horrified by the thought of just purchasing something without having “sampled” it yet. And in this case, I am of course referring to books and movies. Only on two occasions have I purchased a book because I thought it might be good and it turned out to be a BIG MISTAKE. And I mean “big” in the sense that I wasted several hours of my life attempting to read and like these books, but failing. And more than that, my competitive streak deflated at the thought that I was not returning to finish those books. Since then, I have not bought anything I haven’t read, seen, tried on, sampled, whatever.

It’s a good thing, then, that recommendations exist! I would feel much more at ease buying a book or movie from a source I valued, and such was the case of this book. Hank Green (for those of you not familiar with Nerdfighteria/Nerdfighters, Vlogbrothers, YouTube or John Green, the author of several best-selling Young Adult fiction novels, is an entertaining and pretty geeky vlogger whose videos I watch, and you should too) recommended several books in an early April VEDA video. Now, the other two were science fiction novels, and true sci-fi literature is something I have not delved into too deeply. But the third piqued my interest, partly because it had the word “dragons” on the title. Ever since How to Train Your Dragon, I have been started loving dragons. Hank Green's recommendation was interesting, as well. He described A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan as “If J. K. Rowling, Charles Darwin and Jane Austen had a baby, that would be impossible. That would be a messed up baby. But if they wrote a book together, it would be this book.”

Is that not one of the strangest combinations of writers you've ever heard of? Okay, maybe not "ever". I could wrap my head around the Jane Austen and Charles Darwin part of it, and the Jane Austen and J. K. Rowling part, but could not fit all three of them together coherently. So I got it. And I read it. And I liked it.

One of the hardest questions I've ever had to answer. 

A Natural History of Dragons: A Memoir by Lady Trent by Marie Brennan is about a Victorian Woman named Isabella, and she is fascinated by dragons. Because dragons exist in her world, which is also Victorian England, but it’s called Spirling, but Brennan isn't fooling anyone, and she knows it. The just knows that Spirling is basically England, but with dragons. Isabella is fascinated by the anatomy and engineering of dragons. She wants to know how they work, how they behave, what they eat, what their lifestyles are like, where they live, everything. She is scientific, curious, headstrong and adventurous, a combination which often leads her into trouble and danger.

She and her husband join a small observation party, to study the rock wyrm(dragons) in Vystrana. This country is essentially Russia or some similar Eastern European country, but it’s hard to place it exactly. Lately, there have been dragon attacks, and this hardy group decides to find out the cause and stop the dragon attacks.

There is a good deal of intrigue and mystery as to why these dragon attacks are happening, and it’s not as simple as it would seem.  I love mystery, and often books with mystery have kept me up until early hours (6 a.m. one time) in a desperate attempt to finish the book. This book had enough intrigue to keep my attention, but not enough to stay up  too late (early?). I would gladly sacrifice several hours of sleep for the right book, but this was not such book.

The characters themselves are likable, and I liked that Isabella was adventurous. However, because this book is largely plot-based and mystery-driven, none of the characters have very strong personalities. They do not do outrageous things, have hilarious sayings, have a lot of character development or develop strong relationships. In fact, it was fitting to the writing style, given the fact that this book is set in Victorian times and Isabella is compared to Charles Darwin. In this sense, Brennan wrote it in a Victorian English style, but not so much that if Jane Austen were to rise from the dead and for some reason decide to pick up this book, she would not confuse it with one of her peers’ works. That might drive away some readers who lack the patience or tolerance for a less-than-dynamic writing style/voice.

The ending, too, wrapped a little too quickly and neatly for my taste. It was confusing, especially since the book is largely plot-based. I mean, I can understand wanting to finish a book that has already been going on for 300 pages, but this was a little too simple. It is just a book for entertainment, and Brennan knows that her readers are not expecting some profound declaration about the current state of society. In a way, the ending is satisfying.

There are some really gorgeous works of art by Todd Lockwood; he does fantastic fantasy art found here and here. If you like art, then I would suggest checking out his stuff.

Just of a few of the, well, few illustrations in the book. 

All in all, it was something you might like if you like scientific, adventurous and a little bit of dry humor, (“Between that and the abseiling, I think I left enough skin behind on those rocks to cover an entire person”), then you would not be remiss in reading this book. I mean, come on! It has dragons in it! If that’s not enough to convince you, then I don’t know what is.

A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Just Don't Panic

Thank God I have WiFi so I can update this blog post about sci-fi!

Was that too forced? Yeah, I thought so, too. But it is true, if it is corny. Speaking of sci-fi and humor, it’s time to review a book! This week: Douglas Adams’ A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy!

I realize that it has been around for a long time, what with being published in 1979 and all, but I only got around to reading it a month or so ago. And now that I have read it, I don’t know what took me so long to start reading it! It made me laugh out loud, and the plot and characters were interesting and compelling enough to keep me hooked. To get the humor, I would have to say you have to like slightly sarcastic, very silly, and at times dry British wit. As I mention later, if you like Doctor Who or Monty Python (or if you have good taste, you like them both), you would like this 5 book series.

I found I was pleasantly surprised by how the book moved along and didn't know much about it beforehand, so I would recommend just closing out of this web page, getting your hands on the nearest copy of this book and digging in. It’s not that long of a read, anyway! I really don’t want to ruin anything for you. Or you could just let me spoil the unadulterated joy of reading something unique and completely new fiction. It’s your choice.

Have you read it yet? Or do you need your interest piqued a bit more?

Ugh. FINE. I’LL LET YOU INTO SOME OF MY INSIGHTS. But don’t say I didn't warn you. Er, recommend to you. You know what  I mean.

Arthur Dent, a middle-aged British man is dragged on an interstellar adventure by his eccentric friend, Ford Prefect. They meet up with Zaphod Beeblebrox and Trisha Macmillian(the only other Earthling) and travel through a series of hilarious hi-jinks that lead to the ultimate question: What is the meaning of life?

If the names above don’t put you off (and you haven’t even read the names of other planets, races and alien characters), then strap in for a hilarious and ever twisting ride, because there isn't really any other way to describe it. It’s like Monty Python and Doctor Who in book form with a character resembling any other character played by Martin Freeman, who usually plays a slightly annoyed guy who gets dragged into adventures over and over in different genres, and for that reason is cast as Arthur Dent in the movie.

To be fair, he plays that role REALLY well. 

I could try to separate the plot and the humor, but they just go hand in hand so well together! For starters, the whole thing starts off with Arthur’s house being torn down to make way for a new highway. Then the Earth is destroyed to make way for an inter-galactic highway system; oh, the irony. That’s exactly the kind of thing Douglas Adams does in his book: he mercilessly pokes fun at anything and everything. It’s honestly some of the most brilliant stuff out there! A depressed robot? People being tortured by having to listen to some awful poetry? The answer to the meaning of life being 42? Totally brilliant! I mean, who thinks of this stuff? He is truly inspired.

I think my favorite part was when they have the Answer to the meaning of life, but now they have to find the Question to the Answer, and as it turns out, the Earth was the final computer to calculate the Question, and it was just moments away from discovering the Question before it was destroyed to make a hyperspace bypass. Amazing.

Don’t even get me started on the infinite improbability drive! Just bloody brilliant.

I have been reduced to fragments and incomplete clauses, that’s just how great this book is. I can’t even- I just can’t describe it to you. You’ll just have to take my word for it and read this hilarious and intriguing book, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, in bookstores since 1979.

Edit: I've just seen the movie, and maybe it was just me, but I wasn't very impressed. I think it’s just one of those things that your imagination can get perfectly, but there isn't yet a way to get that onto the screen just right. 

Game, Set, Matched

Okay, I lied. I'm too eager to just post one book review a week. Do you know how many books I've read recently that I can review? At least 6! That means this thing would last about a month and a half, and that's not even including the books that I will read! (I'm really hoping this isn't a phase and that I will continue to review books at least once a week, but given my track record, I can't promise ANYTHING. 

Oh my God! It's the main character of the book! It all makes sense now!
Note to readers: if you can't picture the main character, just look at the cover. Also, I do have to give props to the designer of the cover, but it's a bit of a stretch to say it's the representational of the theme of the book. 

            Boy, dystopian futures are all the rage right now, huh? You can almost certainly pin it on the Hunger Games trilogy in 2008, and ever since then, it’s been a jump-on-the-bandwagon-sci-fi-YA-fiction freak fest. Okay, the freak fest part I don’t mean, because I do happen to enjoy a healthy dose of sci-fi, but I really wanted to end that very hyphenated phrase with alliteration.

             Matched, by Ally Condie is no different than several other YA dystopian futuristic novels; it has a teenage girl who is a little more special than everyone else somehow in a society with a strict, orderly and oppressive government in the future, but so far in the future we've found life on other planets, just renamed countries and odd names and stuff. Oh, and there’s a boy she likes. And another that she did, but doesn't.

The point is, this book wasn't special enough to separate it from all the others in its field. I mean, she has a crisp writing style and paints a picture of the world Cassia is living in well enough, but not so much that you want to beat your head against the wall as you exclaim, “WE GET IT. YOU CAN DESCRIBE STUFF.” However, we never really get to know the main character. Even after 369 pages (heh heh), I’m still not entirely sure what her personality is. I know she loves her family, is really good at sorting, and really likes this guy named Ty.  Other than that, what else do you know about her? Not a whole lot, which doesn't bode well for this book. Aren't dystopian futures about the people in that universe and the events that occur? She doesn't do a great job of letting us get to know Cassia. That is, unless Cassia is a vapid airhead, in which case, she does a great job of fleshing out the main character. I mean, Condie puts in a few places that Cassia’s personality test predicted some rebellion and fierceness, but we never really get that! OK, so she secretly broke a few rules, but not in a way I would truly classify as rebellious.

           And then there’s the other characters: Xander, whom we get a good idea of him as a 2-D character: handsome, smart, rule-follower, affectionate, a real golden boy. Ty, the other love interest, is quiet, very smart but hides it by acting perfectly mediocre, tormented by his past, and mysterious. He’s probably the only truly likable character; that is, he’s the only one you really feel anything for at all.

            The plot moves along well, but all this “Oh my goodness, I love this one guy but am matched to another” junk was starting to fray my nerves. Unfortunately, it’s a pretty substantial part to the story.

The best thing about this book is the possible future she creates; the perfect society run by the government (literally called The Society) which regulates everyone’s lives to a tee to ensure a perfect and equal life for everyone. I thought she could have really expanded on this idea, the balance between a world without diseases and obesity, a world without unemployment, really old age or depression/strife, but also a world without the freedom of choice, creativity, or rebellion. Now there’s a topic I was really interested in: is it worth it to trade cancer for a government assigned job and mandatory relocation when necessary? Is it worth it to trade diabetes and obesity for tasteless food perfectly designed to your body’s needs? (Obviously, no one wants to be obese, but would you choose to be perfectly fit if that meant you had to eat bland porridge for three meals a day?) Well, you get the point. But that whole trade offs of personal freedoms for a perfect society intrigues me.

           All in all, if you’re a sixteen-year-old girl, which I am not, you might enjoy this more than me. Unless you like Twilight and obsessive teen girls, then this is less your style, but more than the Hunger Games. (My point is that she at least didn't go over the top with the lovey-dovey “let’s just be together forever even though we’re 17” sort of stuff.) However, I would recommend the Hunger Games if you have been living under a rock or in a hole, or God forbid, under a rock in a hole.  *Shudder* Or Divergent/Insurgent, which I thought were pretty decent, even other people didn't like those two. At least there was no love triangle, though! 

Bossypants: A Review

      Upon the shocking revelation that I will be reviewing books (Whoa! Your like totes the first person ever to review books online or in general!!! OMGZ lolololol you shuld b an editor!) Yes, that was poor grammar and spelling ON PURPOSE.

            Here goes nothing!

            Anyone who has any sense of humor or has any respect for American sketch comedy has heard of Tina Fey. If you haven’t, and I highly doubt that, I would suggest holing up in your room, locking the door, popping some popcorn and watching several straight hours of the best of SNL. The nineties edition. And then watching all 7 seasons of 30 Rock, because that show is amazing. She says in her book that they didn’t have many viewers, and that honestly shocked me. I love that show, and I can’t imagine why more people didn’t watch it! Probably off watching The Big Bang Theory. Losers. (Now, it’s not like The Big Bang Theory hasn’t made me laugh, but just because it’s about three scientists and an engineer does NOT make it a smart comedy. Plenty of people have written about this, and I do not have the energy to get into an argument about this. You can read some other people's extensive rants about it here and here.  

            But I digress. The point is that if you love comedy or have a sense of humor, you would love Tina Fey’s book! She’s funny, fresh, funky, fantastic and all other words beginning with “f”! Okay, not all words, but you get my point. The book chronicles important moments (i.e. hilarious things that happened to her and not so much the sentimental ones) from her childhood to current day, but not so much that you have to take a break.

            If you like reading and learning about how it is that she went from awkward child in Pennsylvania to an awkward adult in New York, and along the way worked in sketch comedy and became a writer for SNL. I adore SNL, so I was extremely curious how one goes from just an average person to someone working for a major network, especially on a big hit show like SNL.

            I know a lot of you are thinking that you already don’t have enough time to read, let alone waste your time actually reading nonfiction, but I can assure you, it’s still entertainment, and you get to pick up little funny Fey tidbits along the way!

            Just buy it, alright? Or get it from your local library! Because everyone knows I hate paying for stuff, so I prefer the library.

Next week: I review the third Percy Jackson Heroes of Olympus, Mark of Athena. See ya then!

It's Book Reviewing Time

How long has it been since my last blog post? A while? Don’t remind me.

However, I would like to offer this exciting piece of news! I am going to be posting weekly book reviews of books that I am reading. You see, for a while, I was the type of person who would make semi-passionate speeches about how e-readers are destroying our culture and the book industry, blah blah blah. It was exactly the type of argument a ranting and not-quite-believing person with a case of sour grapes would make. I would like to point out that I do not actually believe in that argument; in fact, I believe e-readers are perhaps enabling people to read more, such as having an iPod might cause you to listen to music more often. It is the sort of speech I would make though, as I often try to rationalize why I do not want what I want. Needless to say, it rarely works. (Once, when I was a very immature person in eighth grade told my best friend that, when she got a cell phone, she was going to get cancer because I read an article about it in the New York Times. Wasn't I horrible eighth grader??)

Long story short, I was allowed to have my mom’s old Nook Color (she got a Galaxy tablet for her birthday, and man, that thing is the bomb!) and I immediately set about buying any book I have read and liked or any book I was interested in reading. So now, having read quite a few books (6 exactly, not including re-reads) in 2 weeks), I have decided to start reviewing the books and leaving them here on my blog for other people’s enjoyment. I cannot promise that there will be any sort of pattern or genre that I will choose (I like pretty much anything, as long as it is well-written), but I can promise weekly book reviews!

Feel free to leave your thoughts about the book or about my review, whether you agreed, disagreed, whichever. Also, I love getting suggestions for books, so feel free to leave recommendations! 

Just how geeky/nerdy are you?

Ah, the age-old question. We all want to quantify that part of us that everyone has (I'm looking at you, snotty girls in my eighth grade class) in different degrees. Insert binary joke because... well, because NUMBERS. Being "geeky" or "nerdy" has recently has become more acceptable, what with the internet so rampantly consuming our lives. Not that I'm complaining; I love the internet. The only problem is, how do we define "nerd" or "geek"? We all have different things that qualify us as one of those two things. For instance, things on my own personal nerd list include: obsessing about tv shows/books and the characters in or on them, Doctor Who, Supernatural, Star Trek, certain board games (Settlers of Cattan cough cough) and playing certain video games (World of Warcraft, Dungeons and Dragons, League of Legends, Warhammer). Now, doing or liking these things doesn't make you a nerd, but I would qualify those things as nerdy or geeky. I spend a lot of time looking at art online(especially comic book art- it's so cool!) and know a lot of superheros and superheroines. I know random facts, am a big fan of Certain Gameboy/Ninento games (Pokemon, Legend of Zelda, Mario, Kirby), obsess over TV shows, and own a wand from Harry Potter world. Do those things make me a nerd? Maybe. It's up to you to choose I think. There is a lot of stuff I haven't done that I qualify as nerdy. But you know what? I'm proud I wore a Batman shirt today. I am happy that I can freak out over plotlines with my friends. I am less proud that I speak in memes sometimes, but hey, we take the good with the bad.

Here are just a few geek or nerd quizzes you can take if you want to find out, even though the numbers and scores are kinda irrelevant, if you really think about it.

http://hellogiggles.com/quiz-are-you-a-nerd
http://www.matthewbarr.co.uk/geek/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baEnrIQko9k
http://www.nerdtests.com/ft_nq.php

Some of the questions in various quizzes have to do with math and science things, some are about unpopular things that you might do/have, nerdy activities you might have partaken in, or things that you like that are considered geeky. It really is up to the person, seeing as how I've gotten different scores depending on the quiz. And I would say I am a Nerdfighter. So to sum it all up, John Green and Simon Pegg, take it away!

A Hair to Remember

Recently, I got a haircut for the first time in 6 months because everyone was telling me my hair was really long. All I noticed were all my darn split ends and how difficult it was to brush it everyday.  When I finally decided to get a hair cut, I of course did that girl thing where I ask all my girl friends what girl hair cut I should get and what girl thing I should try. Girl.

One of my friends suggested I tell my stylist (that sounds way too fancy. Hair cutter? Salonist? Woman wielding the scissors?) to surprise me. That was received with a lot of "No!"s. Firstly, I am definitely not that adventurous to try out something like that! Sure, I'll walk on a frozen lake. Sure, I'll loosen my seat belt on roller coasters to catch more air. Definitely, I'll go talk to that guy just because my friends told me they didn't think I could. Yes, I'll stay up all night on a school night because... well, the same reason as the previous example, come to think of it. So the moral of the story is to get me to do something, just tell me you don't think I can do it. But ask me to ask someone to "surprise me"? Do you realize how semi-permanent a hair cut is? That takes real commitment! I don't get my hair cut but once every 6 months, so that's 6 months of dealing with my decision! No, I don't think I'm being too dramatic! This whole thing makes me want to- SET MYSELF ON FIRE. 

Yes, I stole a joke from the amazing show Arrested Development. 

The point is, I can't just say "surprise me!" So after a fun day of my friend and me taking measurements of our faces to determine our face shapes (here's the website I used) and then using various apps to put different styles on my head, it came down to bangs or layers. Bangs, as it turns out, require a lot of upkeep, so I chose layers to frame my face.

"I'd like to look like her. No, not just her hair, I meant everything. Can you do that?"

The point is, I miss my long hair. I tried to side braid it, and the layers kept sticking out and making it look ridiculous.

Now I can't have my hair blow black in the wind like Pocahontas, can't put it up into a messy bun the same way, can't side braid it. But with the hair cut, I get to have more stylized hair, i get to flip it without looking like a moron, there are no more split ends, it doesn't get messy or tangled as easily and I don't have to use as much shampoo or time brushing it. 

It's the constant pendulum swing, much like our political system in America. I have donated my hair to Locks of Love more times than 3 times. It's the constant push and pull between long and short(er) hair. I want the benefits of both long and shorter hair and styled hair, but I don't want the downsides of either of those. The fact that I've cut off twelve inches of my hair several times before and still have had long hair a few times after that is a constant reminder that HAIR GROWS BACK. Sure, styles go in and out. 

Some styles should never have come in. (COUGH COUGH EIGHTIES I'M TALKING ABOUT YOU COUGH)

But despite that, hair grows back, and if you look back at some photos in which you have a bad haircut, who cares? Everyone has embarrassing photos! I have plenty because for some reason I think it's better to look unattractive on purpose than on accident. Hence all the silly faces. Who doesn't look back at pictures and go "Oh my God, I can't believe I let you guys talk me into wearing that dress!" or think they really should have tried harder that day. It doesn't matter, because in 10, 20, even 30 years it's going to be outdated anyway. There are so many women who are posting on the internet about what they should do with their hair.  This girl's blog is even asking strangers on the internet what haircut she should get!

I  need to make a decision... I know! I'll ask the internet!

This other girl couln't spot a troll a mile away. 

I just think girls get a lot of crap about caring too much about hair and fashion and all that for a reason: if you are a girl and you've can't relate to this blog post AT ALL, my hat is off to you. How many guys post on the internet or rave to their friends about what haircut they need to get? The answer is not many. They describe haircuts with numbers and don't often switch it up. True, they get haircuts more often so aren't stuck with their decision for a long time, but still. Look at the evidence.

Jokes

Whoa, guys! I'm actually writing for the second day in a row! I figured, I'm in England right now, so why not write about things? Besides, if this is something I want to do in the future, I should probably practice. Probably.

I am normally a person who makes TERRIBLE jokes or has terrible delivery or timing, but will still laugh at my joke while others roll their eyes or groan or even fake laugh (but it's okay when they're my friends. Or is it? DUN DUN DUN!), but lately, I think I made some good jokes! For instance, last night, a friend from uni and I were watching the stand up comedian Michael McIntyre (or check out this video and try not to laugh) and he made a joke about someone mistaking a BLT to mean bread, lettuce and tomato. In that case, a G&T would be a glass and tonic, right? So we were laughing, and earlier I had asked her if people called others gits, to which she replied that you wouldn't call people of your generation a git, but you might call an older person a git (if you were trying to be rude). "Grumpy old git" is a phrase they might use to describe an old curmudgeonly person like that. So if a G&T is a glass and tonic, a GIT might be a glass, ice and tonic. Could you imagine walking up to a bartender and saying "I'll have a GIT, but it better be old and grumpy!" Okay, maybe it was funnier back then.

Then today my friend was separating the water from her spaghetti, and I asked if she called the device a colander or a strainer. She said she usually called it a strainer, but sometimes referred to it with the former term. I replied, "Strainer things have happened."
"I guess the truth's strainer than fiction."
"Have you seen what I consider the two best movies? Pirates of the Caribbean  On Strainer Tides, and Strainers on a Train."


Haha PUNS.

Just a Few Recommendations

So I'm still studying abroad in London (for those few followers out there) and I wanted to just write something. I have a blog, too, but I didn't feel like studying or writing on that. 

Here are some things I recently read/watched/heard and I would like to recommend them to you!
The Divergent/Insurgent series by Veronica Roth. My friend/roommate said I should read them a while back, but I didn't have time and didn't have money to buy them, but recently I read them on her Kindle and they're very good! If you liked the Hunger Games, you'd like this book series. 
The Hobbit: close to the book, stunning visually, great acting, great action scenes, good comedic bits, some pretty attractive dwarves, enjoyable story line etc. Just go see it. 
Skyfall: Better than Quantum of Solace, Daniel Craig is hot, a throwback to the sixties sort of and just a good time. 
Infinity scarves: Never know how to wear your scarf? Do I loop it or sort of tie it? The infinity scarf solves all your problems! Or, as they call them here, a snood. Also, I know these have been out for a while, I just haven't bought any until sort of recently. 
Nutella: Because that's always enjoyable. Ain't nobody that don't like Nutella! (+1 for those who read that sentence like Eddie Murphy)
The Hobbit soundtrack and War Horse soundtrack: AMAZING MUSIC. So beautiful. Just listen. 
Fingerless Gloves: because why not?
English Breakfast Tea: SO GOOD. If you like black tea, that is. If not, I can't help you there. 
Michael McIntrye: He's a British comedian, but he's really funny. 
Fuzzy socks: When, in the history of ever, has anyone ever put a pair of fuzzy warm socks on their cold feet and said "This is not helping my problem. I am not comfortable or happy." Plus, you can do that Risky Business scene if you want! Moonwalking is a lot easier with soft socks and a "slidey" floor. 

And that's it for me! If you have any recommendations for me, comment with them below and I will consider them and have a good Christmas! 

DFTBA

Epic Music

Ah, music. William Shakespeare once said (or wrote) "If music be the food of love, play on." As Gideon Graves from Scott Pilgrim vs. The World said "Music to my earholes." How true they are. The point is that music is one of the best things. The New York Times reported that music can in fact improve your productivity because melodious release dopamine in the brain and music can prevent a wandering mind, which is an unhappy mind. Read the article, it's actually very interesting. Think about how productive or pleasant life could be if you had your very own soundtrack to your life. An original soundtrack, that is.

Yes, this is how I listen to all my music all the time. How do YOU listen to YOUR music? You square. 

[PROTIP GUYS: If, for some reason, you're not a soundtrack nerd like me and can't think of what these songs sound like, click the links for Youtube! Hooray!] Going for a run? For some people that haven't yet achieved runner's high (AKA me), running is boring unless I'm distracted by a game (volleyball, basketball, soccer (or football if you're in the UK) or TV. Add the Sherlock Holmes soundtrack by Hans Zimmer and suddenly you're Sherlock Holmes (I prefer the Robert Downey Jr. version, please don't kill me BBC Sherlock fans), running down the street to catch a large opponent or running from an explosion. You have fled on a flight of fury! Or, if you prefer something a little calmer, you can transform a simple walk through a field into a leisurely stroll through the British countryside with the simple addition of the 2005 Pride & Prejudice soundtrack. Or it's a windy day, and I mean really windy. The kind of windy that sends some girls into a panic about their hair, while the rest of us either do nothing or spend every moment trying to get the wind to blow their hair back. I know it can't be just me. Add Colors of the Wind from Pocahontas and you're suddenly a Native American girl caught up in a whirlwind romance (thanks, thanks, I really tried. I didn't.) with a foreign man.

Disney: creating attractive 2D animated men since... I would say 1959 with Prince Philip in Sleeping Beauty. 

And I'm not just talking about listening to music in my headphones, because that's honestly the most obvious solution. Maybe, perhaps, it would be played from the sky somehow? Speakers are still too tangible; it has to sound like it's all around me and is REALLY good quality, so that everyone could hear it and feel the same way. I wish someone could compose a movie soundtrack for me, but the question would be: who would do it? I love John Powell's music, which is very lighthearted and unique. But then John Williams could compose an epic and adventurous score, even if my life isn't epic and adventurous. Hans Zimmer composes similar music, but it seems a little less adventurous, more dangerous and exciting in that manner. Then again, there are so many brilliant composers to consider (as if I were seriously considering this): Alan Silvestri (The Avengers, Forrest Gump, Captain America, Back to the Future), Thomas Newman (Finding Nemo, Cinderella Man, Wall-E, Skyfall), Harry Gregson-Williams (Shrek, Chronicles of Narnia, X-Men Origins, Prince of Persia, Cowboys & Aliens), James Newton Howard (Liar, Liar, Atlantis, Dinosaur, Treasure Planet, Defiance, Bourne Legacy, Hunger Games, Green Lantern, Batman Begins/Dark Knight), Howard Shore (Lord of the Rings soundtracks, AMAZING), James Horner (Titanic, Avatar and the Amazing Spider-Man), and Randy Newman (Pretty much all the other Pixar movies). The funny thing is that I don't have any training in music or anything, I just judge the scores based on how they fit the movie and if I like the songs. Kind of a "does the music make me feel like I could be in the movie or does it give me goosebumps" rating system.

Don't get me wrong; I listen to a bunch of other music. The only place I really draw the line is hardcore rap, country, dubstep, techno, metal, crazy stoner music and super teeny-bopper music (like One Direction). Other than that, I'll listen to about anything. I will even admit I still find "Call Me Maybe" enjoyable. Hey, it's catchy, okay? Even still to me. But then again, I didn't listen to the radio as much as other people, so maybe it's still kind of novel and not overplayed to me. But the point is, scores are more moving for me than lyrical songs sometimes. I guess it just depends on the mood. But next time you're watching a movie, pay attention to the orchestral music; it won't do you any harm.

Space Cowboys

When someone tells me I need to watch or listen to something, I usually resist until I discover that thing on my own. For some odd reason, I don't immediately listen to people's suggestions, yet I get frustrated when I suggest things to people and they don't immediately take me up on it. I'm weird.

But this isn't about me (ha ha procrastination), it's about space cowboys. Hence the title.

"But there aren't any cows in space!" you might say, or even "Have you seen Cowboys and Aliens? Not a good movie." To the first sentence, I say... um... there isn't enough conclusive evidence. To the second, I would have to admit that I haven't, but I really wanted to, and even if you say it's not a great movie, I'm probably going to watch it sometime anyway without high expectations.

Look at all those attractive people representing 3 different ethnicities. 

I am referring to the magnificent show, Firefly. And before I get a backlash of people saying that show has been all over the internet and has been out since 2002 and what am I doing with my life, I would like to counter with- WHAT ON EARTH IS THAT????

[peeks out] Are they gone? Who's left? Only you? Excuse me while I heave a deep sigh and look exasperated. Alright, you'll have to do. As I was saying, I know the show has been out for a while, but to be fair, I wasn't properly introduced to the internet until 2010 or 2011! I know! Yeah, I had been one of those kids who watch Homestar Runner (if you haven't already seen any of this, I recommend you do if you like the internet in general, but then again, maybe you won't. I don't know you! It may also still be funny to me because I watched it when I was younger and have that nostalgic tie to it. You never know.) and watched Youtube occasionally, but my senior year of high school I was introduced to DeviantArt and then my freshman year of college, I was introduced to... the REST of the internet. Well, the go-able places. I have yet to visit the underbelly of the internet, like 4Chan, but that's something I plan to put off as LONG as possible. [shudder]


So excuse me while I rant and rave about Firefly because I watched the entire show (not difficult since there was only one season of 14 episodes, CURSE YOU JOSS WHEDON! It's ok, I still love you for the Avengers) and the follow up movie, Serenity.


Space. Cowboys. What a brilliant idea. I know the movie Cowboys vs. Aliens wasn't so good, but the concept is great! I'm all for mixing things to that respect; my mom can't stand anachronisms, so watching Moulin Rouge with her (modern songs sung in the 1900's really pushed her buttons), but I love that they can have the best (and worst) of the past and future. My father also loves Western movies, like the Magnificent 7, Tombstone, Silverado, any movie with John Wayne. Personally, I draw the line at John Wayne (I don't think he's THAT good of an actor), but I, too, like Westerns. I also like space and sci-fi, so this is the perfect marriage of space and the West.

ESPECIALLY the Wild Wild West. Go on Will Smith, get jiggy with it!

Now let's talk more specifically about the characters. Silly Wash, flippant/handsome/headstrong smuggler Malcolm Reynolds, the kickass take-no-crap-from-anyone Zoe, the sweet and loveable Kaylee, the crazy and unintelligent Jayne, the beautiful Inara, the wise Shephard Book, the handsome/unflappable/proper Simon and his crazy and slightly morbid sister, River. All these different characters means everyone can pick their favorite! I don't know who my favorite is; I love them all and the interactions between them, but I think a better representation of good writing is that I don't hate any of them; I enjoy them all for different reasons, and depending on the episode, I love some more than others. River kind of annoyed me at first because she couldn't keep it together, but she's grown on me.

I also love the writing; the jobs they pull, the subtle relationships between characters and thankfully, the lack of love triangles. If I see one more show with a love triangle as the main plot point, I will go to Hollywood just to strangle some writers. I think it's great that they sometimes mumble in Chinese; a lot of people may not know about the very large Asian community that settled in the West. And the one-liners, how those lines fill me with joy. There's even an entire video dedicated to the best Firefly quotes!

I should also put in that I am not a big "drama fan", and not in the sense of those annoying girls who complain that they just HATE drama, but then they start talking behind their friend's back the next possible opportunity. I mean I hate drama in the sense that I actually hate drama. I hate it when my friends are mad at each other, I don't like when people blow things out of proportion, I really don't like conflict and I despise shows that thrive on drama, such as soap operas, the last few seasons of Alias, Gossip Girl, CBS dramas etc. That being said, it's a good guess that I'm a bigger fan of adventure and comedy, for instance, light hearted shows about people who have adventures and get into shenanigans while they crack jokes and each episode usually ends happily. Hence the reason I love Doctor Who and another guilty pleasure was the TV series Avatar: The Last Airbender. Not the movie. I've never seen the movie, nor do I plan to.

So that's me, being the Slowpoke meme. I'll let this picture say 1,000 late words for me.

Guy Fawkes Day

This may be late in regards to when Guy Fawkes Night actually was (if you can't remember what day that was, check Facebook statuses), but I figure later is better than never right?

False. Contracting a disease is better never than later.

Bonfire Night means that here in the UK, people drink, watch fireworks, set up a bonfire and sometimes burn an effigy of Guy Fawkes. For everyone else, it means watching V for Vendetta and posting a status about it, usually a quote from the movie. "Remember, remember the 5th of November!"  "Beneath this mask there is more than flesh. Beneath this mask there is an idea, Mr. Creedy, and ideas are bulletproof."

He's just misunderstood, like the Phantom of the Opera! He should totally be allowed to kill people and or blow up stuff! I bet Michael Bay would love to re-direct this one....

Now I'm not saying that I don't think these are good quotes or that V for Vendetta is a bad movie; on the contrary! I quite like that movie; I think the acting is incredible, the concept is refreshing and the writing is very good. However, I don't like that suddenly, just because it's November 5th, everyone from the US thinks it's their time to shine as anarchists and take someone else's writing and make themselves seem more intelligent. I mean, I do that with comedy shows and comedians all the time to make myself seem funnier, but that's a totally different ball of yarn. They're COMPLETELY different. Just believe me, okay? People steal jokes in comedy all the time! That makes it ok, right?

But on a lighter note, I didn't do anything for Guy Fawkes Day and I'm in the UK! Two years ago, while visiting a friend, we threw a Bonfire Night, and that involved drinking mulled wine and burning thrift store clothes stuffed with straw in a garbage can. We're so badass, guys! We burn effigies and drink mulled wine in moderation! Somebody stop me! I'm kidding though. We drank way more than just mulled wine! We also drank Mike's Hard Lemonade.

So those are my thoughts on Bonfire Night. Totally not relevant because that was at least 4 days ago. Damn my procrastination!

Reflections from Bath

Love at first sight might be a controversial issue to some people, but I am in full agreement with it- when it comes to places. There are many cities that take me a while to get used to before I find that it has snuck its way into my heart. Bath, on the other hand, was love at first sight. I loved it all: the Roman-Gothic architecture, the city center full of shops and enticing smells, the everyday hustle and bustle of people out on a Sunday. As you walked farther from the center of town, the excitement gave way to a quiet, natural beauty. The beautiful fence-lined streets with the antique-styled street lamps faded to old wooden fences with small doors built in them, occasionally hidden behind trees covered in colorful autumn leaves.

The enchanting walkway behind the Royal Crescent,
photo taken by my talented friend Nicole Lovold

A street in Bath, taken by my friend Erin Mc Pherson

The juxtaposition within one town (or city, I'm not sure which) was so incredible to me. I loved that Bath had this variety, and I can only imagine what it's like in the summer. It is hard to put into words how much I loved visiting and seeing everything I could in such a short time. 

For all those who don't read Jane Austen novels, who only watch the movies recreationally, or who just don't obsess over her like my roommate, Jane Austen spent about 6 weeks in Bath when she was in her early 20's and later moved there in the late 1800s. The first time she was there, she absolutely loved it and found it quite diverting. She even stages her first published novel, Northanger Abbey in Bath, where the protagonist Catherine Morland finds it just as enjoyable as I do. She writes, “They arrived in Bath. Catherine was all eager delight; - her eyes were here, there, everywhere, as they approached its fine and striking environs, and afterwards drove through those streets which conducted them to the hotel. She was come to be happy, and she felt happy already.” Living there, however, had its drawbacks and cast a less than favorable light on the city. Jane Austen lived in Bath between 1801 and 1805, but this time, the experiences she had there were rather unproductive and unhappy. She set her last published novel, Persuasion, there and it is a more biting satire about the superficial social life of Bath.

Having only been there a day and not four weeks, let alone in the present day and not in the 19^th century, I still found it to be a beautiful and fascinating place. The shopping areas and streets lined with Gothic Architectural elements made me feel like I was a Regency Era woman going to town to spend an exciting day full of busy people and interesting shops. The parks and green space made me feel like sitting underneath a tree and appreciating nature, reading a book, or writing. The best part was that I could have both of those feelings in the same day without a lot of hassle. Excitement and peace in the same day? Count me in! It truly felt like the best of both worlds. 

All I needed to make this trip feel like a time travelling expedition were Regency Era garb and the 2005 Pride & Prejudice soundtrack. However, had I been there during the week-long Jane Austen Festival in September, I would have been elated. Jane Austen fans flock there from around the world to see everyone in 18^th century costume and many themed events such as dancing and etiquette lessons, concerts, talks, and even a costumed masked ball!

The day spent there, even without a costume promenade, was still wonderful. I can only hope it doesn't turn out to be a Jane Austen situation; I hope Bath is a nice city to not only visit, but to live in.  

Drink in the nature, everyone. Drink it in.
Photo again by my friend Nicole Lovold

The city, while vibrant and vivacious, is nicely offset by the quiet rolling hills and sun dappled dirt paths, with large trees with gnarled roots obscure the buildings. It is a place to feel inspired, creative, calm, captivated, curmudgeonly, classy and comforting. Wait. That third to last adjective didn't fit. Let's try connected. You can feel connected with nature. That sounds about right.

 So the next time you find yourself in the UK and you need a break from London, might I suggest Bath? It has interesting shops, some great places to get a tasty Cornish pasty, original Roman Baths and the Grand Pump Room, the Coeur de Lion, which is the smallest pub in Bath, some wonderful nature trails, the Jane Austen Centre, and even Pulteney Bridge over the River Avon, which has been preserved since 1774 and is lined with shops. Don’t take my word for it, though; go see it for yourself.