Well, for the first time in a long while I went to town to do some shopping all by my lonesome. I left a little after eleven... but that's boring. You're really just interested in what I bought, aren't you?
Okay, at River Island I bought a t-shirt that says "Je ne comprende pas" on it. I love it! I also bought some fingerless gloves. I know what you're thinking. Waste of money, right? No, I got them so most of my hands will be warm as I type. My bedroom gets quite cold, so it's neccessary to keep as warm as possible. Fingers on gloves would be difficult to type with... and impossible to use an iPod with!
I then went on a fruitless hunt for The College Student's Introduction to Theology, which I need for my religion tutorials in college. I call this a Gabbo fail, for setting us a book that isn't available.
Ended up, after a long walk in a different direction, at The Gutter Bookshop. The staff member there was really friendly! It's an indie shop, run by a former book buyer in the shop I work. Didn't get to talk to him, but one of his two staff was delightful to talk to. I recommend a visit there (it's on Cow's Lane, in Temple Bar). I bought the BBC Shorty Story Awards 2009 book, and a notebook to write my Doctor Haik-Who into.
I just realised... I skipped my Muji stop. Muji's a fancy little Japanese retailer. Sells some stationary, and furniture... odd mix, I know. I bought a small pencil case and a fold up ruler. I am that cool.
And as I was leaving, I bought a double chocolate cupcake from Johnnie Cupcakes. It was delicious! The right level of moisture, perfectly sweet, and not too heavy either! I wish I had another one!
Oh, and in case you liked the Doctor Haik-Who so much that you want more already, there's some on my latest post on the Literary Den blog. You can view it here: http://literaryden.wordpress.com/2010/01/30/doctor-haik-who-and-a-giveaway/
Now, I think it's time to get some dinner. Cinema later. Take care!
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Friday, January 29, 2010
Doctor Haik-who
Last week I did some experimenting with some Haiku, themed around Doctor Who. Hence the dreadful title. Anyway, I thought I'd ask for some feedback from y'all. They're posted with the episode or particular element of Doctor Who in mind. The question is, are they any good?
Silence in the Library
Where is the way out?
Why are the shadows moving?
Who turned out the lights?
The Empty Child
Are you my mummy?
Or maybe just a Doctor?
Please help me, Mummy!
The Doctor
Who is this strange man
Always running ‘round about
Through London, and Time?
If the feedback is positive enough, I'll continue writing them. I have a few handwritten and not shared with anyone, even my familia or my friends. If BBC allow it, I'll be making a book out of them. I really hope they allow it!
Silence in the Library
Where is the way out?
Why are the shadows moving?
Who turned out the lights?
The Empty Child
Are you my mummy?
Or maybe just a Doctor?
Please help me, Mummy!
The Doctor
Who is this strange man
Always running ‘round about
Through London, and Time?
If the feedback is positive enough, I'll continue writing them. I have a few handwritten and not shared with anyone, even my familia or my friends. If BBC allow it, I'll be making a book out of them. I really hope they allow it!
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Nothing but a Memory
The world shook today, but not in quite the same way it did a couple of weeks ago. This was more of communal shudder of the grim variety; JD Salinger died, aged 91. You may not have read any of his books - I haven't, though I still want to - but if you know anything about books you know The Catcher in the Rye is perhaps one of the most finely written books of the twentieth century.
This blog post is something like jumping on the bandwagon - everyone is talking about Salinger and the as yet uncertain reasons regarding his passing. I haven't bothered reading more than the first link I saw, and that was only to confirm that it wasn't just an internet rumour.
At times like this, people often come out and say "He's nothing but a memory now." Those people are wrong. A fantastic writer by the name of Jeremy C Shipp taught me that in his book Vacation. Nothing and memory don't belong in the same sentence, he says. He's right. We are more than a memory when we pass on, and we're more than a body void of life and an idea of a soul fluttering away to destination unknown.
We are the sum of our accomplishments and failures. We are every word we ever wrote, every word we ever spoke, every sound we uttered or screamed and every sigh of relief we make. We are the people we loved, and the people we hated, the ones we hardly knew and the ones we never knew. We are our actions and our thoughts. And a memory. We are always a memory, but never just a memory. And we're always people. Dead or alive, we are always people.
The literary world, and the friends and family, and friends of family, will all mourn the death of the reclusive writer who chose not to publish for the last half of his life. But he never really needed to. His voice, his perfect literary achievement, was already out there in the world, the modern classic, the cult fiction piece, the fantastic piece of coming of age literature; it is perhaps one of the greatest books ever written, and I'm yet to get past two pages of it. Does that mean it was bad? Not at all. It means I wasn't in the right mind set for the book.
As a homage to the late author, I encourage you to give his book a read, and pay your own silent respects for him. The world of books lost one of its finest in the craft.
RIP JD Salinger, the Man, the Memory and the Life Lived.
This blog post is something like jumping on the bandwagon - everyone is talking about Salinger and the as yet uncertain reasons regarding his passing. I haven't bothered reading more than the first link I saw, and that was only to confirm that it wasn't just an internet rumour.
At times like this, people often come out and say "He's nothing but a memory now." Those people are wrong. A fantastic writer by the name of Jeremy C Shipp taught me that in his book Vacation. Nothing and memory don't belong in the same sentence, he says. He's right. We are more than a memory when we pass on, and we're more than a body void of life and an idea of a soul fluttering away to destination unknown.
We are the sum of our accomplishments and failures. We are every word we ever wrote, every word we ever spoke, every sound we uttered or screamed and every sigh of relief we make. We are the people we loved, and the people we hated, the ones we hardly knew and the ones we never knew. We are our actions and our thoughts. And a memory. We are always a memory, but never just a memory. And we're always people. Dead or alive, we are always people.
The literary world, and the friends and family, and friends of family, will all mourn the death of the reclusive writer who chose not to publish for the last half of his life. But he never really needed to. His voice, his perfect literary achievement, was already out there in the world, the modern classic, the cult fiction piece, the fantastic piece of coming of age literature; it is perhaps one of the greatest books ever written, and I'm yet to get past two pages of it. Does that mean it was bad? Not at all. It means I wasn't in the right mind set for the book.
As a homage to the late author, I encourage you to give his book a read, and pay your own silent respects for him. The world of books lost one of its finest in the craft.
RIP JD Salinger, the Man, the Memory and the Life Lived.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Sleep
I find that since Christmas, sleep isn't coming as easily as it ought to. It's likely to do with the late nights I spent during that break watching movies and whatnot, and waking up at ten in the morning, carefree, relaxed, easy going...
Now I'm paying for it, big time. I got to bed at eleven or half eleven most nights, and I'm due to wake up at a quater to eight every morning, except Wednesdays when I'm up at seven. I have one hour to get ready for college, before I arrive fifty minutes early for my lectures, and get home before half four in the afternoon. At this point, I've been awake for sixteen hours and have had at least one cup of tea, usually.
I'm also not that tired.
In the mornings, I wish I could sleep on for another hour or two at least. At night, like when I write this, I'm tired. When I finally get into bed, I'm not. I just can't sleep.
I think I'm actually descending into a state of zombification, and immaturity as a result of it. The rude, inappropriate, yet often hilarious things I say (hilarious for the shock value, mainly) at college are all characteristic of this increasingly exhausted Me. And you know what? I still drink a cup of tea before bed.
I know - caffeine before bed? This guy's a nutter! He also left out the inverted commas, so he's referring to himself solely in the third person. Crazy!
I can manage that though. A cup of tea before bed has been ritual for me even in the days I best slept. As far as I'm concerned, it's the best thing for me before bed. Food is too heavy, milk leaves that awful film in my mouth come morning time (you know, when it feels like you've eaten the mythical spider everyone says you eat at night), water makes me need to use the toilet in the middle of the night and soft drinks don't go down well before trying to sleep. Tea for the win.
I don't want to risk not having tea, either. I'm always thirsty as I head to sleep if I don't have anything (such as right now - I haven't drunk anything since my dinner four hours ago). I'm actually in a situation where the only thing I can drink before bed is tea. And apparently that doesn't help getting to sleep.
So what do I do? How the heck can I get more sleep without resorting to mid-day naps? (because seriously, they would mess with me even more!)
And sleeping later into the morning won't help - I essentially carpool. Okay, I get a bus, but it's with my brother in the same college, so I have to leave at the same time as him. Or risk the traffic. Which I refuse to do. That's a bad thing.
Now I'm rambling. Help!
Now I'm paying for it, big time. I got to bed at eleven or half eleven most nights, and I'm due to wake up at a quater to eight every morning, except Wednesdays when I'm up at seven. I have one hour to get ready for college, before I arrive fifty minutes early for my lectures, and get home before half four in the afternoon. At this point, I've been awake for sixteen hours and have had at least one cup of tea, usually.
I'm also not that tired.
In the mornings, I wish I could sleep on for another hour or two at least. At night, like when I write this, I'm tired. When I finally get into bed, I'm not. I just can't sleep.
I think I'm actually descending into a state of zombification, and immaturity as a result of it. The rude, inappropriate, yet often hilarious things I say (hilarious for the shock value, mainly) at college are all characteristic of this increasingly exhausted Me. And you know what? I still drink a cup of tea before bed.
I know - caffeine before bed? This guy's a nutter! He also left out the inverted commas, so he's referring to himself solely in the third person. Crazy!
I can manage that though. A cup of tea before bed has been ritual for me even in the days I best slept. As far as I'm concerned, it's the best thing for me before bed. Food is too heavy, milk leaves that awful film in my mouth come morning time (you know, when it feels like you've eaten the mythical spider everyone says you eat at night), water makes me need to use the toilet in the middle of the night and soft drinks don't go down well before trying to sleep. Tea for the win.
I don't want to risk not having tea, either. I'm always thirsty as I head to sleep if I don't have anything (such as right now - I haven't drunk anything since my dinner four hours ago). I'm actually in a situation where the only thing I can drink before bed is tea. And apparently that doesn't help getting to sleep.
So what do I do? How the heck can I get more sleep without resorting to mid-day naps? (because seriously, they would mess with me even more!)
And sleeping later into the morning won't help - I essentially carpool. Okay, I get a bus, but it's with my brother in the same college, so I have to leave at the same time as him. Or risk the traffic. Which I refuse to do. That's a bad thing.
Now I'm rambling. Help!
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
YouTube Giveaway
I knew today that I would have something to blog about, I just didn't know what.
But now I know! I'm doing a giveaway on YouTube, of The Literary Den Book of New Fiction 2008. The video can be viewed here:
But now I know! I'm doing a giveaway on YouTube, of The Literary Den Book of New Fiction 2008. The video can be viewed here:
The info in the "sidebar"
Subscribe and answer to enter:
What's your favourite children's or young adult book, and why?
The book: http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback...
The charity: http://www.lauracranetrust.org/
The group: http://literaryden.wordpress.com/
Deadline: Feb 10th 2010
Good luck everyone! (remember, comments on the video, not here!)
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Review - Above the Veil
I've spent the day reading, for a change, and I've gone through the entirity of Above the Veil
by Garth Nix. Book four of the The Seventh Tower series, the story follows the Chosen Tal and the Ice Carl Milla as they attempt to get a Sunstone each for Tal's family and Milla's clan. Well, four books in, and things are a little different. Now it's less of a family issue, more an apocalypse pending.But enough of that. How did the book compare to the others in the series? Honestly? I thought it was one of the best so far. Particularly the point about moving away from such a small thing as family (okay, so family is big, but without a world to put it in... I think you get the picture). And Tal was developed quite well from when we first meet him in The Fall. He's not a stuck-up Chosen all the time, and he's learned to keep his mouth shut.
How does it compare to others books in its field? That's arguable. I think the story's fantastic and lots of kids will love it, but at the same time, not everyone will like this. It's fantasy, that's the genre guarantee.
How about other books by the author? If I'm honest, the series isn't my favourite of Nix's, but I still love the books. However, if you're looking for something for older readers and with more depth, I recommend firstly The Abhorsen Trilogy and secondly The Keys to the Kingdom series. That's if you're looking for a series, of course. For a fantastic stand-alone, I recommend Shade's Children.
Looking forward to the next book? I am. I have it on my shelf already, just waiting to be read... probably next week before I can do that. I don't think I can wait that long to find out what happens when Tal and Milla go Into Battle. (see what I did there? That's puntastic use of the title of book five in the series!)
Saturday, January 23, 2010
I got new books
Well, if that wasn't a self-explanatory title, I don't know what is! As you know, if you've been following my blog for a long time, or stalking me, I work in a book shop. I'm quite happy with that fact - I want to write, I love to read, and I don't have a lot of money. So 30% off books is great for me (i.e. my staff discount).
Today, I went a little bit overboard (ha - no such thing as overboard with books!). I got... 7 books? Okay, so two weren't really books, and one wasn't for me.... I digress.
I'll start with the ones that aren't books. StoryWorld: Stories of the Sea and StoryWorld: Animal Tales. I have the other three decks of cards as well, so it made sense to complete my collection... unless they plan on releasing more packs... then I have to spend more money. I hope to make use of these cards both with my own writing and, if it's allowed, on YouTube. (see, this is me always thinking about how to use my resources to my advantage).
Next, the book that wasn't for me. See, I already have my copy, and this one is for my twin. Children's Minds, by Margaret Donaldson is a book we need for college. It's supposed to be good... I suppose I better read it, then.
Then the rest... Toy Stories, by James May, to share with my brothers. We all loved the show, and the book was 70% off - it made sense to invest in familial bonding this way. The Little Black Book - Books, because I like books. And it cost me €2. Ka-ching! I'll make use of it, I promise... Into Battle, by Garth Nix, because I love his books. I still have to read Above the Veil, though... silly me. And finally, but not the least important by any means, Hunger, by Michael Grant. Loved Gone, now to try the sequel. Can't wait! (except I have to, because I'm behind on college reading, and stuff)
Believe it or not, they aren't the only books unread in my collection that I can see. Seriously, I have dozens of books bought but not read. A small fortune went into my mini-library. This summer is reading summer, I think. And writing summer. And the summer of keeping up with friends old and new. And hopefully the summer I get to spend editing a book based on a publisher's recommendations for it. (a man can dream, can't he?)
What are your reading lists like?
Today, I went a little bit overboard (ha - no such thing as overboard with books!). I got... 7 books? Okay, so two weren't really books, and one wasn't for me.... I digress.
I'll start with the ones that aren't books. StoryWorld: Stories of the Sea and StoryWorld: Animal Tales. I have the other three decks of cards as well, so it made sense to complete my collection... unless they plan on releasing more packs... then I have to spend more money. I hope to make use of these cards both with my own writing and, if it's allowed, on YouTube. (see, this is me always thinking about how to use my resources to my advantage).
Next, the book that wasn't for me. See, I already have my copy, and this one is for my twin. Children's Minds, by Margaret Donaldson is a book we need for college. It's supposed to be good... I suppose I better read it, then.
Then the rest... Toy Stories, by James May, to share with my brothers. We all loved the show, and the book was 70% off - it made sense to invest in familial bonding this way. The Little Black Book - Books, because I like books. And it cost me €2. Ka-ching! I'll make use of it, I promise... Into Battle, by Garth Nix, because I love his books. I still have to read Above the Veil, though... silly me. And finally, but not the least important by any means, Hunger, by Michael Grant. Loved Gone, now to try the sequel. Can't wait! (except I have to, because I'm behind on college reading, and stuff)
Believe it or not, they aren't the only books unread in my collection that I can see. Seriously, I have dozens of books bought but not read. A small fortune went into my mini-library. This summer is reading summer, I think. And writing summer. And the summer of keeping up with friends old and new. And hopefully the summer I get to spend editing a book based on a publisher's recommendations for it. (a man can dream, can't he?)
What are your reading lists like?
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