On the Bookshelf

Jessica Day moves to the town of Bixby, Oklahoma where she finds things to be pretty strange. For starters, the water tastes really funny and time freezes at midnight. Only a small group of her fellow students are aware of the secret hour that occurs each night and each is gifted with an ability to help protect them from the dark creatures that haunt the secret hour. As long as the Midnighters never got in the way of the darkling creatures they were safe but Jessica's presence has the darklings riled up. She must discover her Midnighter ability before the darklings have a chance to stop her.

This one was a reread for me. I wanted to refresh my memory before going on to read the second book in tha Midnighters series, Touching Darkness. The book is very enjoyable. I would not have bothered to read it again or even bothered with the sequels if I did not like it the first time around. I am still going to stand behind my previous statement that Peeps is my favourite Westerfeld book so far. That said, I think that the thing that I like more about Peeps is that the characters are older than the characters in Midnighters. As a twenty year old, I find it easier to relate to the maturity levels of nineteen year old Cal than fifteen year old Jessica. Or maybe it is just that I am so very over high school.

I particularly liked all of the thirteen letter words Westerfeld slings at you and the funny combinations he comes up with: "Purposely Hyper-Inflated Individuality." I don't know about anyone else, but I got suspicious and often when I saw a long word I would wonder if he was sneaking in more thirteen letter words and pause reading to count. Focus! I really must learn to focus!

I really like the idea of the secret hour, a twenty fifth hour in every day that is rolled up so tight that only people born at the exact moment of midnight can experience it, and seeking the history behind it and Bixby. A similar concept of the moment in time that occurs between one day and the next, I hear, is explored in Persona 3, a video game released in 2006 (Japanese release date), but no one fires any gun like objects at their heads in the Midnighters series to invoke powers...

The Midnighters, aside from Jessica, are a bit stereotypical in the looks department with dyed black hair and Rex being a trench coat kind of guy, not to mention that they are a mite bit antisocial, but the stereotype contrasts with Jessica's normalcy and how very "11:59" she is. Their looks did not really bare too much impact either as Westerfeld spends the time to build their personalities. Their gifts are a major factor into their characterisation. I found myself particularly liking Dess. I wish that I could be a polymath! I suck at maths. Although, defying gravity would be pretty cool too.

Overall, it is a pretty entertaining read. You will also be seeing a review from me on the next book in the trilogy very soon, partially because I am looking forward to getting stuck into it and partially because it is due back at the library in a couple of days, so keep an eye out!

Terra

As much as I love books I also love music. Now, maybe it is just me but when I part ways with my hard earned money so that I can attend a concert, the main thing that I am concerned with is seeing some quality music performed live. Why would I pay so much money to hear lip-synching? If I wanted to hear a band perform prerecorded then I only need to pop a CD in my CD player after all.

Apparently, though, it is not just me. Reports are claiming that a number of fans walked out on Britney Spears' Perth performance the other night. No, I am not posting about this to take a jab at Britney Spears, honestly. Perhaps I am old fashioned, but my idea of a good concert is getting to see the band perform live, maybe a bit of smoke and lights but rarely anything extravagant. It seems as though these days musical artists are going way over the top to impress crowds. If I wanted to see a circus act then I would go to the actual circus. I cannot help but feel that between lip-synching and acrobatics the significance of the music, the live band, and the intimacy between performer and audience is being over shadowed.

The other thing is, that to be able to afford all this glitter and pizazz they drive the ticket costs up. I know that if I am paying more then I at least want to see the performer doing what it is that they put at the top of their resume - singing! Not hanging off a trapeze, not doing stunts, not even trying to pull off fancy dance moves. If they cannot sing live can they even really sing at all? Are they just relying on technology to clean their voice up in a studio? A musician could be up there turning water into wine for all I care but if the music isn't real then I would feel like I had been ripped off.

But apparently some people don't care about this but why you would spend so much money on a singer and not care about whether or not they can actually sing honestly baffles me.

Terra

So, I was wondering, where is everyone's' favourite place to hideaway for a few hours to read? Do you have a favourite chair? Maybe a beach or a park where you like to go?

On a nice sunny day I love to go and pull one of the chairs over by the back garden into a sunny spot to read in. If we actually had any cushioning on the deck chair by our pool I would probably claim that. When it is not so warm I lie on my bed to read. My bedroom window faces out west and I get all of the afternoon sun keeping my room a nice cozy spot to curl up in with a book.

You might have guessed that I love the sun and hate the cold. One day when I am, of course, very rich I am going to live half of the year in the Southern hemisphere and half of the year in the Northern hemisphere and skip winter all together.

It is spring here and today was pretty warm and sunny so I found a nice warm spot in the backyard and pulled up a chair. Mum had even turned on the little water feature so I ending up having a very nice little spot to relax in. Usually I am pretty good at being sun smart but today I forgot to put on any sunscreen and now have bright red shoulders! Yeowch! My first sunburn of the season and hopefully the last. So not a smart move. Always remember to slip, slop, slap kiddies!

Terra

It just would not be right for me to join a challenge just as it was starting. For some reason I always have to join sometime in the middle or the tail end of things. This challenge is hosted by Trish of Trish's Reading Nook. Trish had the fantastic idea that we should all work out together. Okay, so we cannot actually be physically together but we sure can cheer each other along!

The goal of this challenge is to "travel" 100 miles between October 1st and December 31st. It's heading in to summer over here and this sounds like just the kind of kick up the bum that I need to get me up and exercising. Bikini season is fast approaching and my stomach hardly looks tone after a winter of curling up in front of the heater with my books and eating nice warm comfort foods. Eeeek!

To find out more head on over to the 100 Mile Fitness Challenge Blog!

Terra

The pounding in my skull and the drowsy sinus tablets both tell me that I should be sleeping right now. My desire not to fail at NaBloPoMo tells me that I should post instead. However, should this review descend in to gibberish that might just pass as English if you squint and turn your head to just the right angle, you know why. I will probably entirely rewrite this review in the morning but I am posting it now to make it count. In fact, it may be best just to ignore this post until then...

Seeing as it is the fifth of November I decided to review one of my favourite movies, V for Vendetta.

Summary from Amazon.com as I do not feel up to writing my own at the moment:
Set against the futuristic landscape of totalitarian Britain, V For Vendetta tells the story of a mild-mannered young woman named Evey (Natalie Portman) who is rescued from a life-and-death situation by a masked man (Hugo Weaving) known only as "V." Incomparably charismatic and ferociously skilled in the art of combat and deception, V ignites a revolution when he urges his fellow citizens to rise up against tyranny and oppression. As Evey uncovers the truth about V's mysterious background, she also discovers the truth about herself - and emerges as his unlikely ally in the culmination of his plan to bring freedom and justice back to a society fraught with cruelty and corruption.

Written by the Wachowski's (I don't think we are supposed to call them brothers any more from what I have heard,) of Matrix fame and directed by James McTeigue, V for Vendetta is based on Alan Moore's graphic novel by the same title.

What makes this film truely amazing is Hugo Weaving, who plays the role of V. For the entirety of the film, Weaving is hidden from head to toe behind a Guy Fawks mask and black clothing. You see nothing of his face, his eyes are completely obscured, and yet the character of V is brought to full life on the screen.

V's dialogue is also by far the most entertaining. Just try keeping track of all those words starting with the letter v!

"Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of Fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is a vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished. However, this valorous visitation of a by-gone vexation, stands vivified and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin van-guarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition. The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta, held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous. Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose, so let me simply add that it's my very good honor to meet you and you may call me V."

Half the fun is in breaking down such speeches and learning that vichyssoise is "a thick creamy potato soup flavored with leeks and onions, usually served cold." (From dictionary.com)

I suppose, that Natalie Portman should get a most admirable shout out for getting her head shaved on screen. Yikes! Though, am I the only one who finds it absolutely hilarious that the complaint "you cut my hair!" is what she complains about before "you tortured me!" because, if it were me, torture would be number one on my list of complaints.

I also appreciated that the film began with a brief scene, set to the famous "remember, remember the fifth of November..." to educate those of us not from the UK about Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot. (Robert Catesby who lead the conspirators, as always, is forgotten however it is intended to be a very brief "oh, look see - this is Guy Fawkes.) Here in Australia Bonfire night has been tragically long forgotten mostly due to the fact that fireworks are mostly banned for average Joe.

I would like to go in to the whole totalitarian dystopia plotline and of course the role V as either a terrorist or a freedom fighter but my brain just really isn't churning out the words for me right now to say much more intelligent beyond "Hugo Weaving good, braaiinnss...." Let's also not forget the whole "eggy in the basket" issue. I am scratching my head trying to remember a great little bit that V tells Evey about anarchy in the graphic novel.

I am going to go ahead and post this even though this post is going to get a major overhaul tomorrow, just so I can get my post in for the day. Bleh. Aren't I just terrible? If you like, you can blame Nanowrimo which has caused me to silence my inner editor who would normally be all over this post for quality control.

Ow. My head. =(

Terra

Nineteen year-old Cal's first sexual encounter changed his life forever, and not in the way that you might think. The one night stand left him infected with a parasite that is spread through biting and sex. Now Cal spends his time working for the Night Watch, hunting down the people that he unintentionally infected before being discovered, eating stacks of meat to satisfy his new found appetite, and snapping an elastic band on his wrist to try distract himself from his now ramped up sex drive seeing as he is not allowed to act on it.

All considered though, he could actually be a lot worse off. Cal is just a carrier of the parasite, one of the rare few who do not have their minds warped by the infection and begin munching on human flesh and hating everything they ever loved as a normal person. But Cal won't be satisfied until he finds the infected woman who passed on the parasite to him but in trying to track her down Cal makes a disturbing discovery.

I really enjoyed this book. In fact, of all the Scott Westerfeld books I have read so far and having only just closed it's pages five minutes ago, I think that it is my favourite of his.

Peeps puts a fascinating new twist on vampires. In this book, parasite positives, or peeps for short, are the basis for the vampire legend. They are not vampires as you might normally imagine them to be. Indeed, while reading the book I never really thought of them as vampires as all. Vampires are just what people came up with to try and explain what was happening. Peeps are not suave or aristocratic and instead of specifically needing to drink blood to survive it is flesh that peeps are after. Westerfeld does an excellent job of taking the vampire legend and weaving the old superstitions in to what are really the survival instincts of the parasite. For example, why are rats associated with vampires? Because rats are a major vector for parasites and disease! Peeps hate what they used to love so if a peep used to be religious then, yes, they can be repelled by a cross. Likewise, if your peep used to really love Elvis then some posters of the King and a few of his albums are just what you need.

All of the even numbered chapters contained interesting information about different parasites, going into how they travel from host to host, what their goals are, and what role they play in balancing out nature. But don't fear that you are going to get bored with text book entries, these informative chapters continue in the same perspective as the rest of the book, as though Cal is just casually boosting your knowledge of parasites. Indeed, I felt very "S-M-R-T" smart when while flicking through a health magazine it mentioned one of these parasites and I could say that I knew exactly what they were talking about. Thanks Scott!

Naming the secret organisation that hunts peeps the Night Watch made me wonder if Westerfeld is a fan of Sergei Lukyanenko (and actually I will be reviewing Night Watch sometime in the nearish future,) but more than likely I am guessing that it is just a coincidence.

So, if you are looking for Scott Westerfeld book to try out I definitely suggest that you give this one a go. Peeps doesn't really feel like a vampire book so even if you are not in to vampire stories you may find yourself liking this one. It has a good balance of fiction and science and the story comes together in a great twist at the end.

Terra

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Terra

Hamlet's father has died and his mother quickly remarries. One cold night he is roused from his sleep by Horatio and Bernardo who claim that the have seen the ghost of Hamlet's father walking the grounds. The drag Hamlet from his bed to encounter the spirit, seeming indeed to be that of his father, who claims to have been murdered by the very man who has claimed the crown and married Hamlet's mother - Hamlet's uncle and his father's own brother!

This claim of foul play settles darkly in Hamlet's mind and over time he becomes more greatly disturbed. He knows he must seek revenge for his father's death, but can he do so without bringing tragedy upon all those around him, including himself?

John Marsden was one of the authors who influenced me the most throughout my teen years. When I heard that he had dared to tackle a retelling of Shakespeare's Hamlet I knew that I had to at least give it a go.

I am afraid that I have not read Shakespeare's original or seen it performed (I do not think that the Simpsons version counts!) to be able to say how closely Marsden has followed the story as it was first told by the Bard, what lines or scenes have been kept, changed, moved around, or discarded entirely.

Marsden's attempting to make the story more contemporary has resulted in an uncomfortable sense that the setting and speech is disjointed in time. It was as though Marsden himself could not decide whether or not he wanted us to believe if the story was set in the past or in modern day. Unfortunately, this inconsistant shift back and forth between modern speech and lines closer to that of Shakespeare's own, the shifting modes of dress with Hamlet even wearing jeans at one point in the novel, are ultimately the novels downfall. This inconsistency left me with a sense of unease throughout so that I could not enjoy what would otherwise have been an excellent retelling.

Time confusion aside, Hamlet is written in Marsden's usual style that I associate with him, flowing with ease on the pages and I read through all 228 pages in just a few hours. Being one of Australia's best YA authors, Marsden takes Hamlet and creates a tale of teenage torment and angst and sexuality. A few odd moments aside, that is. Was the line "He found a lavatory and sat on it emptying his bowls in an exhausted rush" really something that I had to read?

If only Marsden had been consistent in contemporising Hamlet it surely would have been excellent. It seems that Marsden is at his best when his writings are entirely of his own creation rather than having to deal with the rules set when playing in another persons sandbox. As it stands, I would say that Marsden's Hamlet is still a good way to introduce the resistant student to Shakespeare (and surely with Marsden's history in education this is what he had in mind,) but it is disappointing in the knowledge that, coming from such a seasoned author, Hamlet: a novel could have been so much better.

Terra