Days Of Summer

Oh hi! Another month, another crappy attempt at keeping you updated with my life. This time it is no university keeping me occupied but books. Lots and lots of books. And TV and writing and just general laziness. Well, that last may not be true (who am I kidding, it totally is!) because it's not that I haven't bothered writing a post, it's that I haven't had anything to write about.

It's been a lazy month. I've been shopping, been to the cinema a few times, met up with friends, did more shopping, ate quite a bit and read a lot. I think this is the most I've ever read in such a short period of time! I'm actually really impressed with myself! Of course it does mean that I have to try really hard to keep up with reviews.

So, the real reason I'm writing today is that I'm going on holiday tomorrow. I'll be gone a week and a bit, not that anyone will really miss me, and wanted to write before it was August. I'm going away with my family, probably for the last time as my brother and I are getting older, and we are staying in a house in the Dordogne, an area in south-west France. We're driving, because me and mum hate to fly, so it's going to take us two days to get down there! Hot really looking forward hours on end in the car, but I'm definitely looking forward to being able to have a bath and my own room!

That probably needs an explanation. If you can remember, or if you've actually read my past entries, we normally go away in a motorcaravan. But this year, we downgraded so our new one only sleeps two: mum and dad. Thus, we are renting a property and I don't have to walk across a campsite to have a shower. That will be a welcome change.

Actually, that's practically the only thing I'm looking forward to on this holiday. Sure, the castles and château's we'll end up going to will be cool, but I'm really going to miss my boyfriend. And don't give me all that 'it's only a week, man up!' crap, I've had all that from my dad. But we've been together over 5 years, I think I'm allowed to miss him while I'm abroad!

This has turned into quite a ramble, hasn't it? I think I'll stop there. I'm sure that I'll have some interesting stories to tell when I get back. Until next time!

Ice Age 4

Last night, my boyfriend and I, plus some of our friends, went to see Ice Age 4, like the mature adults we are. I had high hopes for this film, I wanted it to be really good. And, of course, it was awesome! How do they manage to keep up the great story lines after 4 movies? Incredible!

The basic story of this one is that Scrat causes the continents to shift and Manny gets separated from Ellie and Peaches. On an ice-ship, Manny, Sid and Diego float around on the ocean, find Sid's granny hiding in a tree (don't ask) and encounter a pirate ship. After getting tied up and a nice sing-song to introduce everyone, they escape, majorly pissing off the Monkey Captain in the process because they broke his ship. Thus the main plotline: getting stalked by Monkey Captain, actual name Captain Gutt, who has sworn revenge on Manny and everything he loves. You can see where this is going, can't you?

The pirate crew was awesome: a little violent rabbit, an idiot seal voiced by Nick Frost, a badger that doubles as the pirate flag and a gorgeous white sabre called Shira. She was brilliant and tough and loyal, even though her captain was a... bad word. Of course, Diego was instantly interested. I've been saying since the second one that Diego needs a girl, and they finally listened! But I do have to mention, the siren scene - oh my God, that was hilarious!

Peaches is all grown up now. Voiced by Keke Palmer, which I did not get until the credits, she is a typical teenage girl embarrassed by her over-protective father. Even though she has terrible taste in men, I really liked her.  Quickly, I will mention that the group of mammoths she hangs out with are really annoying and once of the girls is voiced by Nicki Minaj, which is actually pretty funny.

Ok, I don't want to give too much away, because the film kind of wanders off from what the trailer suggests; as in, it is more complicated than that. But, finally, I will say that it is just as good, if not better, than its predecessors', and that I can't remember the last time I laughed so much at a film. Embrace your inner child and go see this film!

Books and Atlantis

Oh, hello! Seems like we haven't spoken in a while, but actually it's been, what, a week? Well, it seems like longer than that, but maybe that's just me. Lately my days have been going rather slowly, merging into one another, you know? I haven't been up to much, reading a lot, as book nerds do. I'm also looking after the house while the 'rents have gone to a 24 hour car race in France. Which means I'm in charge of cooking, cleaning and everything with my little brother. I say little, I mean 17 year old who has only just learned how to turn our oven on.

So, what interesting news do I have to tell you about? Been reading After The Snow; the colloquial language makes for some interesting characterisation of the narrator but God, does it make it difficult to read! Or maybe I just have no patience for that kind of thing. Yeah, that's probably it. Either way, I've been reading it for over two weeks, only just hit page 100! I've also been reading Undead by Kirsty McKay - amazing book but tell you what, making me really paranoid of zombie attacks!

Right now I'm watching Atlantis, that pretty old Disney movie. Actually, it's 11 years old. Huh. That doesn't make me feel old at all! Poor Milo, being bullied by the team! But god, do I love Audrey, the teenage engineer! I haven't watched this movie in ages, I'd forgotten how cool it was!

Ok, I've got to the bit near the end where Kida has gone all zombie blue eyes and the crystal wakes up. This is a pretty amazing story. Seriously, go watch this movie! It does remind me of a book though, A Quick Bite. It's a vampire book but Lynsay Sands writes it that vampires actually come from Atlantis and have these bug things that replace cells and cures their hunger and everything. Kind of clever and definitely a unique vampire legend!

Man, this has been another pretty crappy update hasn't it? Apologises for that. And that I haven't really said much of interest. So... until next time.

Catch Up (a.k.a. Sorry Guys!)

I don't really have much to say on this, the end of June. I've had a pretty lazy month since I finished second year at the end of May. I've gone shopping, had a couple of day trips out, been to the cinema a lot, caught up with friends; it's been good!

Speaking of cinema, maybe I should catch you all up on that. So, I've been to see Frankenstein, as per the last post, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, which turned out to be incredible but bloody scary! Snow White and the Huntsman, which I also wrote about before. Actually, Lincoln is the only one I hadn't written about. Oh well! I still want to see Rock of Ages, Ice Age 4, Brave and The Amazing Spiderman. Any other suggestions?

The other main thing I've been doing is reading. I've still got a huge pile of books next to my bed to be read (ha, awkward rhyme) and as I cannot stop buying books, the pile is not exactly lessening. But I'm getting there! For those interested, here is a link to my book review blog, where earlier today I posted about the books I plan to read next. Not everyone's thing, I know, but I'm afraid that's the best I've got today!

Sorry for the short post. Really, it's just because I noticed it's the end of June and I've only written 3 times this month! Hopefully I'll think of something more topical and interesting for next time. Until then!

Frankenstein

You may or not have been aware that Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller were in a production of Frankenstein last year. I was no aware of this so I won't blame you for not knowing. My point is, they filmed a show and played it in cinemas around the country. This is what my friend Sarah and I went to see the other night. 

Because there was an option, we chose to see Benedict Cumberbatch play Victor and Jonny Lee Miller play the Creature. Both were incredible, but I am glad we got to see Mr Cumberbatch with hair! 

Danny Boyle, the director person who wrote this version, decided to follow the creature's point of view, which meant there was a painful first 5 minutes where we watched him try to stand up, all alone. It really was heartbreaking actually, seeing the steampunk workers fear and hit him. And get chased away when he was just hungry.

For those who know, the book is from Victor's point of view, his letters and diary entries. Because the play is from the Creature's, we saw him kidnap William, learn English, get shunned from society which made me at least sympathise with him way more than I did when I read the book. It was especially impressive to see him learning to speak from the blind old man, although daunting that he quoted Paradise Lost when we, English Literature students, barely understand it! 

The ending was horrible, poor Elizabeth getting raped and murdered on her wedding night, Victor being too shaken up and weak to shoot his creation and chasing him all the way to the North Pole. It was an amazing show and I am really glad we saw this version, though I do not doubt Mr Cumberbatch would have been a brilliant Creature. The troubles with cloning, playing God, messing with humanity, what makes us unique were all potent themes in both the book and the production. I'm so glad we went to see it and even though it wasn't live, we did sit in plush sofas in the balcony!

Snow White and the (really hot) Huntsman

So, the other day my friend and I went to the local cinema to watch Snow White and the Huntsman. Yeah. That happened.

I wasn't all that fussed about watching it, partly because the trailer was all action-based and not necessarily my thing, partly because I have a thing against Kristen Stewart. I don't know what it is, it's nothing personal but since Twilight, I get the impression that she can't express ... expressions. I'm not gonna say she can't act because they were moments in the movie - Snow White that is - that she was really good at playing the innocent princess but a lot of the time, she has this seemingly permanent smirk on her face and it annoys me.

Anyway, the movie was still pretty good. Chris Hemsworth was brilliant. I will admit, he is the main reason I watched this film. The evil queen was sufficiently creepy, her brother was just pervy and the seven dwarfs were adorably tough. Did you know that Blackbeard was one of them? That was a pleasant surprise!

Oh, I have to tell you this. At one point near the beginning, Snow White runs away from the evil queen by slipping down the sewer which opens out half way down a cliff into the sea. As she is tying up her skirts and preparing to jump, my friend leaned over and said 'No, don't do it Bella!' Don't know about you, depending on whether you've read or seen New Moon, but I found this hilarious!

In other news, I got some marks back after finishing second year. My core exam was pretty poor but considering I suck at exams, it wasn't that surprising. Still got a 2.1 overall, which I am pleased with. Also got my last essay of the year back: 58. Not too bad, considering I forgot to use secondary sources! Again, still got my 2.1 overall, so I'm happy =D

I believe that is about it. Hopefully, I will be going to see Benedict Cumberbatch play Frankenstein in an encore performance of last year's production on Thursday. It's a film, though, so we can't see him at the stage door or anything, which kind of sucks but still, it's Benedict Cumberbatch! So, with any luck, I will have an amazing review to give you next week. Until next time!

Balls and boats

Ah, the month of June is upon us already which for me, and I'm sure many a university student, means that the summer has begun. Or it would have if English weather hadn't decided to make it rain! And as I have finally finished my second year of university and no longer have essays to deal with, I thought I would regale you with an update of the fun-filled weekend I started the summer off with.

Friday 1st
Haircut, met boyfriend for lunch, the normal stuff that I'm sure you are not all the interested in. It was a full-on day though. The parents drove me into Bath to my friend Sophie's house where I would be spending the night after the Summer Ball. But more on that later. First, we walked into town, had dinner at Wetherspoons and wandered to Waterstones where Cassandra Clare, of The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices, was giving a talk and signing books.

This was my first book event since I went with my family to see Caroline Lawrence, of The Roman Mysteries, many years ago and I fainted. Not dramatically or anything, but from the heat in the museum. Anyway, I was looking forward to seeing Cassie Clare, even though I hadn't quite finished her first book yet. So although the spoilers for her newest book (City of Lost Souls) were lost on me, I had a really good time. She was entertaining and adorable and I got my book signed without making a fool of myself.

Then, Sophie and I had to rush back to her's because we had to get ready for the Ball! And I do mean Ball, even though it turned out to be a marque in a field. We got dressed up and everything! I got blisters from my heels and trod on my dress and got elbowed so many times but it was really fun! We danced and drank and no one threw up, which is always a plus. And finally, my long day was over, collapsing in bed around 2 in the morning.

Saturday 2nd
As you can imagine, my Saturday was mostly spent sleeping off the effects of Friday night. Good times though, good times.

Sunday 3rd
Ah, yes. The Diamond Jubilee. Mum had made plans for us to go up to London to see the floating pageant thing down the Thames. We were all dubious at first, especially after our train got cancelled and we got separated on the next available, very crowded, train. But we finally made it, had lunch at Paddington station before setting off for Chelsea, our logic being we would be able to see all the boats set off. We soon realised that our logic had failed us. Even though the boats were not set to sail for another hour, it was packed. Like, there were at least 5 rows of people between us and the river. So, once the 1000 boats were floating past us, I was torn between looking behind us at the giant TV and sticking my camera in the air, hoping to get a focused picture of the river. It was fun though. We made friendly conversation with most of the people around us, chatting with them for most of the afternoon as we tried to watch the Queen and the royal family and the Mayor and other important people float past.

Didn't find out until this morning that we missed the boat with John Barrowman on. So disappointed.

Anyway, we walked up to The Mall, the giant road leading to Buckingham Palace, because Mum wanted a picture, when it started raining. Like proper chucking it down. For an hour. So not only did my legs feel like there were about to fall off but now I was soaked through my coat. Then of course, we couldn't find a taxi until we reached Piccadilly. Just go get a map of London to see how far we walked. In the rain. With aching feet.

So yeah, that was my weekend. I am still pretty tired so I'm taking it easy, reading and catching up on YouTube videos. Talk to you when something else interesting happens. Don't hold your breath though.