The beginning of the end?

Great news! For my birthday I got $300 worth of book vouchers, for Angus and Robinson, Dymocks and Borders. I was incredibly excited, since I have a year to buy as many books as I want-virtually for free! 'The power of Six', 'City of Fallen Angels', 'Everfound', 'Nevermore' and 'The bridge of Clay'-just to name a few that are not yet released. Thats ignoring all the fantastic books already out there! 

Now, some bad news... Borders and Angus and Robinson are being liquidated. They are closing down, so my book vouchers are no longer valid. 

My heart = broken. 

I still have $30 to spend perfectly at Dymocks, but still...  

Fortunately, my mum told me that I can still use my vouchers-as long as I pay that sum in cash as well. So, say I have a $20 voucher-I can still use it, but I will have to buy two books in order to do so. So really it is like a half price coupon. 

Knowing that thee bookshops are due to close soon, I went into Rundle Mall today and went on a buying spree! Here are the books I brought: 

'Delirium' by Lauren Oliver 

'The Forest of Hands & Teeth' by Carrie Ryan 

'The Gurnsey, Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society' by Mary Ann Shafer 

'The Maze Runner' by James dashner 

'The Last Days' by Scott Westerfield 

'Wings' by Aprilynne Pike 

'Her Fearful Symmetry' by Audrey Niffenegger 

'The Spooks Apprentice' by Joseph Delany 

Plus, my brother and mum brought three books each. This leaves me with about $100 left, which I will spend either tomorrow or Friday night. 

I am incredibly excited to read all of them-especially the first two! 

However, I do have a troubling question. Is this the end for bookstores. Due to kindles, e-readers and cheap websites like The Book Depository, will all bookstores close down for good? Many people seem to think so. It is rather upsetting, since I love being able to browse the shelves, and flick through the pages. I seriously hope book stores keep going strong for ages into the future... 

What do you think? 

Have you read any of those books I purchased? 

'Peeps' by Scott Westerfeld

science-fiction, 312 pages 

Published 2005 by Penguin

Dont have sex, because you will turn into a vampire, and die. 

Thats the message I picked up on in 'Peeps'. Funny, because Westerfelds other book, Uglies, the message was dont pollute the environment. A bit of a difference in moral there...

Anyway, I really enjoyed this book. It wins the 'Weirdest book I have ever read in my life' award. Scott Westerfeld has created a fantastic urban-fantasy, set in modern day New York. It is weird and strange, but utterly creative and highly unique.
Basically, vampirism is an STD, which the protagonist, Cal, has caught from a girl named Morgan, when they were....well, you know.
This makes Cal a carrier. He has the disease, but not the negative symptoms. He is a one in one thousand case. This means he doesnt crave human flesh all the time, but he can see in the dark and run super fast.
Unfortunately, every girl he kisses or has sex with, he infects, and turns them into a vampire. It is his job to hunt down all of those he has infected, and put them into custody.
But that is all backstory. The actual plot of this book is him trying to catch Morgan-the girl who infected him.

it is a weird book. Creepy and gross and times, but still very, very good. The author thought this through magnificently well. Let me say this: I prefer Scott Westerfeld's blood-thirsty, horny vampires in Peeps, over the sparkling ones in Twilight or the paranormal-love obsessed ones created by Richelle Mead. Ugh.

No words can do this book justice. I cant praise it more, because that would mean including spoilers. All I will say is this: I definatly encourage fans of  The Uglies Trilogy to try this book. Also, if you are interested in vampires and want to read a completely wacky take on the ancient creatures, read this!
Now I will go into repetitive mode: Scott Westerfeld thought this through very well! He explained why vampires and scared of the sun, why crucifixes ward them off, why they break mirrors when they look at their own reflection.
Plus, this is just 100% weird. In a great way. Its a perfect blend of adventure, action, horror and scientific education :)

I will end with my favorite quote from the book: "I lost my virginity to the apocalypse!" 

Top 5 fictional characters of all time

This is a quick countdown of my favorite fictional characters of all time. Wether they be from a book, Tv show or film-my all time favorites are here: 

Starting the countdown, at number five: 

5) Euphegenia Doubtfire-Mrs. Doubtfire film

Robin William's best role, ever. He plays a divorced father, and the only way to see his kids is to get a job as their mum's housekeeper. To do that he need a house keeper disguise. He names the disguise Mrs. Doubtfire, and commence thousands of hilarious antics  :) Its amazing. If you haven't seen the movie, go buy it right now. Euphegina is hilariously funny and immensely quotable. "My first day as a woman and i'm already getting hot flashes!" (whilst on fire). 

4) Skulduggery Pleasant-Skulduggery Pleasant books 

Whats not to love about a skeleton detective, who is not only super smart, but also kicks-butt, has a fantastic fashion sense, amazing super powers, and is full of more hilarious and snappier remarks then Jace Wayland? The answer: Nothing.

3) Haymitch Abernathy-The Hunger Games books 

From the moment I met him I was head over heels about Haymitch. He's both the comic relief, and serious mentor. I love every thing about him, from his attitude to his backstory. Haymitch is amazing, and if he is not portrayed my Robert Downey Junior in the upcoming film, I will be devastated. 

Sue Sylvester-Glee TV series  

Amazing. Hilarious. Sensational. Brilliant. She should be at #1-I debated long and hard wether or not to put her there. The internationally respected cheerleading coach has me in stitched every time she opens her mouth, with her subtle humor and insults. For your enjoyment, here are some of my favorites: 

"I dont trust a man with curly hair. I can't help picturing small birds laying sulfurs eggs in there and I find it disgusting!" 

"I will go to the animal shelter and get you a kitty cat. I will let you fall in love with that kitty cat. And then in some cold, dark night, I will steal away into your house and punch you in the face!"

Severus Snape-Harry Potter books/films

Is Snape not the greatest character ever? For the first three books we are convinced that he is pure and utter evil. Then in the fourth and fifth, we being to question him, change our judgment of him and even give him a second chance. Then in the sixth book, we detest him more then anyone else we have ever read about. Finally, at the end of the seventh book, after just one chapter of his life story-he is an all time favorite. We know why he did what he did, we find out about his lost love and how he was an ultra awesome double agent. I could write an essay about him. Dark, mysterious, deep, amazingly cool. We'll leave it at that. Severus Snape is a legend. My favorite character EVER!!!!

School goes back for a new year in less then 24 hours. 

I will be starting year ten, which is both exciting and nerve racking. On the upside I am in a class with my three best friends for the first time since 2008. On the down side I will have to wake up at 6:30, go to bed earlier, pay attention, wear uniform and worry about my appearance every morning. All are things I haven't done for the past nine weeks.  

Because I am so gloomy, I thought I would share a song with you: 

It is called 'Volcano' by Damien Rice, featuring Lisa Hannigan. I am sharing this for three reasons: 

1) It is amazingly awesome 

2) I am too gloomy about school tomorrow to do anything else 

3) Out of the six/seven songs on my writing inspiration playlist, this is number one. I listen to this to get in the 'writing mood'.  
Just listen to that cello at the beginning and tell me that not utterly beautiful. I dare you.  

I guess you dont have to listen to it. Not by any means. But if you did, what do you think?

January Awards

Okay-so I noticed I picked up a few more followers recently :) Thank you for following! 
Anyway, I am borrowing this little feature from Amelia's blog: Imagination in Focus. Basically, its a summery of all the books I read in January: 

Books finished: Five
Favorite book: I am Number Four, with City of Bones at a very close second
Least  favorite book: Reckless
Favorite character: Isabelle Lightwood, City of Bones. If she was real, we would be the very best of friends :) I can tell.
Best villain: The Government in The Running Man 
Story world I wish I lived in: City of Bones
Best idea: The Running Man- a much darker, scarier and more thought through version of The Hunger Games 

Movie adaption I'd love to see: The Running Man-done correctly, this would be AMAZING! There is a movie version already, though the whole plot has been changed :(. 'City of Bones' would make a terrific film as well. 

Favorite cover (my editions): Reckless. The book sucked, though the cover is great :)

Ratings:  

Reckless by Cornelia Funke: 2/5

The Running Man by Stephan King: 4/5

Extras by Scott Westerfield: 3/5

I am Number Four by Pittacus Lore: 4/5

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare: 3.5/5 

Final rating for January reads: 3.5/5