“When you're in the middle of a story, it isn't a story at all but rather a
confusion, a dark roaring, a blindness, a wreckage of shattered glass and
splintered wood, like a house in a whirlwind or else a boat crushed by the
icebergs or swept over the rapids, and all aboard are powerless to stop it. It's
only afterwards that it becomes anything like a story at all, when you're telling
it to yourself or someone else.”
Narrator, The Stories We Tell.
Sunday, 5 April 2015
Wednesday, 25 March 2015
Quote of the Day...
"Angel?" I said. "Baby penguins eat a regurgitated mixture of partially digest fish, krill, and an oily substance from their father's stomachs. Are you willing to eat a bunch of raw fish and krill, then barf it back up into a baby penguin's cute cheeping mouth? Like, every hour?"
~ Max, Maximum Ride.
~ Max, Maximum Ride.
Thursday, 19 March 2015
Current Reads
So I've been pretty much MIA for a while, when it come to this blog, due to starting university and a few little meltdowns, but I can tell you this:
So far, university is actually really great. Most of my classes require a whole lot of reading, and I spend a lot of time travelling, so whatever tome I'm not doing homework (6 hours per elective is insane, can I just let you all know?) I spend either reading or sleeping (mainly sleeping), which means I don't have a whole lot of time to update.
I will, however, try my hardest to update as frequently as possible, because if there's one thing I love, it's sharing my thoughts.
As it stands, I am currently reading two very amazing books from completely different genres: Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, and This Shattered World by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner.
Heart of Darkness, from what I've read at this point, is proving to be a rather illuminating expression of thoughts. It more or less delves straight into an interesting experience -through the character of Marlow- of the colonization of South Africa, and doesn't even assume to hide the racism or imperialism of the times.
In any case, it's a fantastic read so far, and I'm not disappointed. It's interesting, and even though I may have to write an assignment on it later, I'm finding it less challenging than I expected.
So far, university is actually really great. Most of my classes require a whole lot of reading, and I spend a lot of time travelling, so whatever tome I'm not doing homework (6 hours per elective is insane, can I just let you all know?) I spend either reading or sleeping (mainly sleeping), which means I don't have a whole lot of time to update.
I will, however, try my hardest to update as frequently as possible, because if there's one thing I love, it's sharing my thoughts.
As it stands, I am currently reading two very amazing books from completely different genres: Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, and This Shattered World by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner.
 |
| "Both interesting and thought provoking..." |
In any case, it's a fantastic read so far, and I'm not disappointed. It's interesting, and even though I may have to write an assignment on it later, I'm finding it less challenging than I expected.
 |
| 'Heart of Darkness', by Joseph Conrad |
The second book I'm reading at the moment (and have been reading for weeks), is a part of The Starbound Trilogy, and so far I am loving it. Though it's taken some time, due to having to re-prioritize my reading list, I've finally managed to get halfway through it, and This Shattered World is just as enthralling as the first in the series. Now, I have a hard time reading sci-fi (I don't often understand it, to be quite frank, which makes it hard to stick with) but as soon as I picked up the first in the series I knew I needed to read more of it. I think I'm also kind of just taking it slow so I can get the third as soon as it comes out and get straight into it without having to wait.
 |
| 'This Shattered World', by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner |
All in all, my current reads are both interesting and thought provoking, and it's good to be enjoying them both so immensely.
What is/are your current read/s? Are you reading anything for the purpose of study? Or maybe you've read one of these two lovely novels? Let me know what you think of them in the comments!
Whelp, I'm off to finish some sociology homework that I may have forgotten about, and an assignment I have due on Monday. Enjoy your weekend, and if you've got any ideas for what I could read next, feel free to drop me a line on Twitter, Instagram or in the comments; I'm always open to suggestions.
Happy Reading!
-Em x
Quote Of The Day...
"They were conquerors, and for that you want only brute force - nothing to boast of, when you have it, since your strength is just an accident arising from the weakness of others."
-Marlow, Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
-Marlow, Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
Sunday, 1 February 2015
A Novel Review: Eleanor and Park
Hey Bookworms!
I know it's been sluggish to update, but I've finally finished reading my novel of the week (although, it did take me two weeks, because of reasons). So grab a cup of tea, sit back, and enjoy the thrilling recount of what my impression of Rainbow Rowell's Eleanor and Park.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with this piece of literary genius, Eleanor and Park is a young adult fiction novel which follows the experiences of two teenagers, a girl (Eleanor) and a boy (Park), as they meet and slowly fall in love.
Of course, it's never that simple, and there are many challenges the pair must face, but it's an incredible heart-warming journey (even if it doesn't have a conventional happily ever after).
So, with the basics out of the way, let's move on to my thoughts, and what this novel meant to me.
To be honest, this book didn't speak to me like some of my other favourites, but it was still a really fun and interesting read. It had been suggested to me by multiple people who all held it in high regard, and I was really excited to get my hands on a copy, but I think this excitement and the regard of others lead me to have extremely high expectations, rather than being able to read it and enjoy it for what I myself believed it to be.
So, all in all, while it was still a fantastic piece of literary work, for me it was a little too slow paced and somewhat compared to what I was expecting.
Another reason I may have been underwhelmed by the novel is that, within the first few chapters, I was reminded not only of several books I has to read for school purposes, but also of my own ill experiences at the entertainment of my peers.
So, that was less impartial on my part.
I did, however, enjoy the last several chapters or so, as there was just so much happening and I was probably in a much better mindset for that side of things - rather than the slow build romance of the teens, and their various differences.
So, as it did take me two weeks to complete (and a further few weeks to review), I can't say that it was the greatest book I've ever read, but it really was something special, and to me that's still very important.
I will definitely be reading this particular gem again, because it really is a fantastic piece of fiction, even if I wasn't in the right mind to enjoy it the first time.
Have you ever fallen in love? What is your opinion about 'young love'? Can it withstand the test of time? Let me know in the comments what you think!
I have to apologize again for how long this took me to update, but I've been without a computer and a lot of the time my internet is a little shady. Next review shouldn't be too long, though, as I've finally got a new laptop and a bucket load of inspiration.
Enjoy going back to work and school, for those of you who do. I'll continue to sit here drinking tea and reading whatever comes into my hands next.
-Em xx
I know it's been sluggish to update, but I've finally finished reading my novel of the week (although, it did take me two weeks, because of reasons). So grab a cup of tea, sit back, and enjoy the thrilling recount of what my impression of Rainbow Rowell's Eleanor and Park.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with this piece of literary genius, Eleanor and Park is a young adult fiction novel which follows the experiences of two teenagers, a girl (Eleanor) and a boy (Park), as they meet and slowly fall in love.
Of course, it's never that simple, and there are many challenges the pair must face, but it's an incredible heart-warming journey (even if it doesn't have a conventional happily ever after).
So, with the basics out of the way, let's move on to my thoughts, and what this novel meant to me.
To be honest, this book didn't speak to me like some of my other favourites, but it was still a really fun and interesting read. It had been suggested to me by multiple people who all held it in high regard, and I was really excited to get my hands on a copy, but I think this excitement and the regard of others lead me to have extremely high expectations, rather than being able to read it and enjoy it for what I myself believed it to be.
So, all in all, while it was still a fantastic piece of literary work, for me it was a little too slow paced and somewhat compared to what I was expecting.
Another reason I may have been underwhelmed by the novel is that, within the first few chapters, I was reminded not only of several books I has to read for school purposes, but also of my own ill experiences at the entertainment of my peers.
So, that was less impartial on my part.
I did, however, enjoy the last several chapters or so, as there was just so much happening and I was probably in a much better mindset for that side of things - rather than the slow build romance of the teens, and their various differences.
So, as it did take me two weeks to complete (and a further few weeks to review), I can't say that it was the greatest book I've ever read, but it really was something special, and to me that's still very important.
I will definitely be reading this particular gem again, because it really is a fantastic piece of fiction, even if I wasn't in the right mind to enjoy it the first time.
Have you ever fallen in love? What is your opinion about 'young love'? Can it withstand the test of time? Let me know in the comments what you think!
I have to apologize again for how long this took me to update, but I've been without a computer and a lot of the time my internet is a little shady. Next review shouldn't be too long, though, as I've finally got a new laptop and a bucket load of inspiration.
Enjoy going back to work and school, for those of you who do. I'll continue to sit here drinking tea and reading whatever comes into my hands next.
-Em xx
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