Personal || A Letter of Absence.

It's been a while, hasn't it? I feel like I owe you an update, so here that update is. As you know, I started community college but right now I'm just on an Engagement course. Level 1 doesn't start until January. It's called Animal Care. The reason why this impacted my ability to thing of ideas and to write them down was, well...I don't think there is much reason, but since starting college I haven't been reading either. My everyday sort of thing is that on Monday's, Tuesdays, and Fridays I walk two miles there and two miles back (and I usually don't eat till around 5pm, which I am changing because I need the energy). I'm in Wednesday too, except it's not 9am - 4pm, it's 9am - 12:15pm.

As you could probably tell from the last post, Austin and I broke up and he "ran" this with me. We had been together for two years, although it didn't come as a shock it was still a lot to take and still is. I'm coping fine, though. 

I was also having confidence problems in my writing skills (and again, I still am) so I'm probably going to turn this blog into more than what it is - much more than just books. I want to reach topics and talk about them (feminism, deforestation, that general road) to improve myself. It's going to be more like a blog of self-discovery, and I'll write on here when I want to more than scheduled. I think.

As you can probably tell, I'm still exhausted, I've been sick and feel pretty drained. Thank you for reading, I'll see you at...some point. 

- Loz.

Harry Potter And The Philosophers Stone Update #2

I'm on page 140 of 331, just about to start the chapter where Harry Potter meets the potions master up front for the first time, but I came across an intersting comment on my Facebook Page the other day. Usually, when I think of Potter books, I think of how Rowling wrote them like she was writing them for us and that when we grew up, we would be at the suitable age to read the next one. That's how I thought they were released. But them someone posted some 'mini reviews' and said how the book was suited for the age that Harry was in that book - I don't know why I never thought about it that way, but I didn't, I'm pretty sure everyone else has probably already thought of that, though. 

Anyway, I like how Ron is presented in the books far more then the movies. In the movies, he was a bit of a prick. For example, in "Goblet of Fire" when they were talking about the Yule Ball, he basically made fun of a girl because she was fat - and it made me think that in the movies, he never really liked Hermionie because of herself, he liked her because she was beautiful. In the books, I think I felt differently about that, although I can't be sure. 

Harry is also way more sassy. He still makes me laugh out loud! 

How are you getting along, if you're reading with me? If now, how are you enjoying it? 

- Loz x

Thoughts || "A Monster Calls" by Patrick Ness (Spoiler Free Unless Stated)

(I had the left cover, if you're interested in the edition I read)

I didn't think I would be writing this, because I was very emotional when I finished it and I thought my head would never be cleared up enough to be able to talk about it. It hit me hard, even though what Conor has gone through is something I never have gone through and hope to heavens I never will.

You've probably already read this, but in case you haven't, it's about a young boy called Conor who's mum has cancer. She's dying, it's obvious from the start. Every night, he is visited by a talking yew tree who tells him stories, but he demands to be told one from Conor, he demands to know what the dream is. I've heard about this plenty of times before, but before, I had no want to read this. It was only because I found it in a charity shop that I even picked it up in the first place.

The thought that crossed my mind when I heard about the book was "Oh, the monster is just going to be cancer or depression, something I have heard a million times before". You're dead wrong. 

It's extreamly rare I give five stars for a book. I'm a picky reader, that's no secret, but this one deserves 10/5. I seriously can't find very many flaws. Most of the 'flaws' I can find are because of personal preference. For example, *spoiler* how one of the stories was about how a woman managed to trick herself into the throne, but was portrayed as being evil - although I wasn't so much angry about this later when it was revealed that everyone is both evil and good, she wasn't entirely evil same as nobody can be entirely good, one of my favourite messages in that entire book apart from that ending *end spoiler*.



Another thing that really bothered me was how Conor was treated like a child incapable of doing anything for himself, like cooking his own meals and making up his own school bags and going a morning without his mothers' help. But, I also liked this in a way because it made the whole novel have this childlike quality - which is probably what made the ending such a heartcrushing experience.

This is one of those books where you have a little feeling you know where it's going, yet every corner will hit you with surprise. It's a story about the line between what's right and wrong, and how it's blurred. It's also a story about courage and doing what is right, even when that's the last thing you want to do. I can only hope Siobhan (I hope I have spelt her name right...) inspires Patrick Ness to write more things like this, the world needs more books like this. I'll even let you in on a secret, I cried like a baby when it was over. I also read it in one sitting. I sat down and intended to go to bed when I got to halfway but...that never happened.

Amazing, amazing book. Highly recommend.

Charity Shop Book Haul

    

 Until recently, I never fully appreciated the wonderful thing that is a charity shop's book section. In fact, I never really wandered into them at all. I stuck to discount stores and supermarkets. I found nothing in them of interest to me, though. Instead, I stopped by at the three charity shops in my town (there's more, but I'm lazy, I just wanted to hurry and get home).

"A Monster Calls" by Patrick Ness (£2).

Conor has the same dream every night, ever since his mother first fell ill, ever since she started the treatments that don't quite seem to be working. But tonight is different. Tonight, when he wakes, there's a visitor at his window. It's ancient, elemental, a force of nature. And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor. It wants the truth. 

First published 2011.

This edition published 2012. 

Awards won: Carnegie Medal, Kate Greenaway Medal, Galaxy National Book Awards, Red House Children's Book Awards, UKLA Book Awards.

Author of "Chaos Walking" trilogy. 

236 pages long. 

No damage to spine. 

Ripped on the front cover. 

Goodreads rating: 4.27 stars (49, 958 ratings).

Pretty sure everyone, at this point, has heard of "A Monster Calls", and on multiple reviews that I have read, it is said to be not as good as his "Chaos Walking" trilogy...in my case, I haven't read that trilogy so I'm hoping that this will be an advantage for the overall enjoyment of this read. I haven't read anything from Patrick Ness before, this book might just be a 'make or break' in terms of whether I read the trilogy or other works by him - I don't feel like wasting my time on anymore bad books.

"Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl".(£2)

Remains the most poignant true-life story to emerge from WW2. 

In July 1942 Anne Frank and her family, fleeing the horrors of the Nazi occupation, hid in the back of an Amsterdam warehouse. Anne was thirteen when the family went into the Secret Annexe and, over the next two years, she vividly describes in her diary the frustrations of living in such confined quarters, the constant threat of discovery, the hunger and fear. Her diary ends abruptly when, in August 1944, she and her family were finally discovered by the Nazis. 

Anne Frank died in March 1945, aged fifteen, in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany. 

First published in GB by Viking in 1997

This edition published 2002. 

A girl called Gabrielle Jenkins wrote inside the book in a glittery purple pen her name and drew a flower, underneath a quote in pencil says "Jirus (or Sirius, it's unclear) is upset. I wonder what he wants with Jesus". 

First page slightly ripped, nothing important to the book missing. 

Spine moderately damaged. 

335 pages long. 

Goodreads rating: 4.07 stars (1, 506, 273 ratings).

Likewise, everyone should know the story of Anne Frank and the secret annexe by now. Sad that that's what it has become now, a story, but all my thoughts on this book will be said when I have re-read and analyzed the book in closer detail. I have a stolen school addition (sorry, high school, my fourteen year old self didn't have the money to buy it) but it's a tiny hardback with stiff pages and is just too...'schoolastic' to be enjoyed. I wanted my own copy. I saw one a short while ago, but it was a terrible edition, and I'm glad I waited. I like the cover of this a lot better.

"A Little Princess" by Frances Hodgson Burnett (Puffin Classics Edition). (£1.35)

When Sara Crewe's father is made bankrupt, Sara is reduced from enormous wealth to terrible poverty. At Miss Minchin's school, where she had been a privledged student, she is now forced to work as a servent. But Sara has a loving heart and a quick imagination, and she knows that with the right spirit, she can remain a princess inside. 

First published 1905.

This edition published 1994. 

No damage to book whatsoever. 

296 pages long. 

 Goodreads rating: 4.19 stars (159, 593 ratings).

When I was a child, one of my favorite authors was Jacqueline Wilson. In her books (the one springing to mind right now is Cookie), she mentions some of her most loved books, including Anne Frank's diary and "A Little Princess". Even since my childhood, I have been keen to find this book but not so keen to spend a lot of money on it, because it's probably going to be a book I read once and once only. However, that was before I read what it was about. I'm highly interested in the movie, too, now that I know it's a movie.

"Harry Potter and the Dealthly Hallows". (£2.99)

No description needed. 

First published 2007.

This edition published 2008.

First edition paperback. 

607 pages long. 

No damage to book whatsoever. 

Goodreads rating: 4.58 stars (1, 400, 326 ratings).

I bought it simply because it was a 'first edition' paperback of the novel. I already have three books in 'first edition' hardback and this will make it three books in 'first edition' paperback. The only book I don't have the original cover for is "Goblet of Fire". The need to buy this was more of a need for my book collecting side then actually needing the book - I, of course, already have a copy of it.

"Shadow of the Titanic" by Andrew Wilson (50p, 2 for a £1 offer)

In the early hours of 15 April 1912, the Atlantic Ocean was alive with the sound of screaming as 1,500 passengers of the once majestic liner titanic struggled to stay alive in the icy waters. 

The echoes of that night reverberated through the lives of each of the 705 survivers, and shadow of the titanic tells their extraordinary story. 

Although we think we know the story of the titanic, little has been written about what happened to the survivors after the tragedy. How did they cope? How did they remember that terrible night? Today, one hundred years after that fateful voyage, this book sheds new light on an enduringly fascinating story, seen through the eyes of those who survived. 

Mild damage to spine. 

Small pen marks in pages. 

Published 2011

This edition published 2012.

350 pages long. 

Goodreads rating: 3.84 stars (801 ratings).

When I was younger, I used to have a huge interest in the tragedy of the Titanic disaster. It was one, and still is, of the few historical dates that I remembered. It's a reason unknown to myself, but my great interest in this 'tale' continues today. The 1900's (if you couldn't guess if you've been here a while) is one of my favorite topics to read about. I would hate to live there or be a part of it, but I would love to go back in time and watch them as a bird watches crowds, it would be a dream. I'm going a bit off topic, but the idea of this book interested me and I can't wait to see how it reaches expectations.

"Wuthering Heights" by Emily Bronte (£1, 2 for £1 offer)

Cathy and Heathcliff, childhood friends, are cruelly separated by class, fate, and the actions of others. But uniting them is something even stronger: an all-consuming passion that sweeps away everything that comes between them. Including death. 

No spine damage. 

Pen marks, dog-eared pages. 

First published 1847. 

This edition published 2009. 

331 pages long. 

Goodreads rating: 3.79 stars (765, 259 ratings). 

Again, bought mostly because it was a classic I heard about a lot as a child. I'm not a fan of love stories, especially one's in the past, but I might just be pleasantly surprised. I just remembered I saw "Jane Eyre"...let's hope that's still there when I go look for it, shall we (huge turn off, by the way, that the front of the book had a reference to Twilight by saying that this was Bella and Edward's favorite book...uh, I hope not).

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I did writing it.