2010 Awards

BEST OF 2010 

The Best book: "The Book Thief" by Marcus Zusak

The Best Trilogy/series: "Chaos Walking" by Patrick Ness 

Best Main Character: Robert Langdon from "Angels and Demons" 

Best supporting Character: Finnick Odair from "Catching Fire" 

Best Villain: Annie Wilkes from "Misery"   

Best Idea: "Pastworld" by Ian Beck

Christmas Haul

  
I haven't blogged for the last few days, due of course, to Christmas. 
It was a very busy Christmas for me-frantically buying presents on December 23, lunches and gatherings with all my family. There was hardly time to breathe. 
And in the few hours that were relaxing, I spent in my pool. It made me laugh, thinking about Europe-how almost every major city there was covered in snow, and here I was, perfectly content, relaxing my the water. 
Anyway, for Christmas this year I received five books:
1) Reckless by Cornelia Funke 
2) For one more day by Mitch Albom 
3) A Gathering Light by Jennifer Donnelly (in USA, its a Northern Light) 
4) I am number Four by Pittacus Lore 
5) Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare  
Also, my family got an iPad as a joint present-so I have already downloaded loads of ebooks, including: A Christmas Carol, The wind in the Willows, The Return of Sherlock Holmes, The Phantom of the Opera and The Odyssey 




So tell me, what was your Christmas like? 
What books did you get? 

Specials by Scott Westerfield  

Science Fiction , 372 pages 

Published 2006 by Simon Pulse 

Sequel to "Pretties"

Note: I am considering this book the finale of a trilogy, because Extras was an un-planned addition.
It is finally time for me to deal with Specials, the final book in the trilogy that began with
Uglies. I have put of this review for a couple of days, because I honestly dont know how I feel about this one.
I think the main problem for me, is the fact that Specials is the conclussion to a trilogy, yet id certainly did not seem that way when I was reading it. Allow me to explain:
The Hunger Games Trilogy: In both The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, Collins builds up the intensity, making it clear from the first moment who the good guys and bad guys are. She keeps us in suspence, and ends Catching Fire on such a note we are desperate get Mockingjay-eager to find out weather Katniss or The Capitol prevails, to find out how everything concludes. If she chooses Gale or Peeta? The point is, the first two books set up for an epic finale.
Chaos Walking Trilogy: Much the same, The Knife of Never Letting Go and The Ask and the Answer build up our excitement, desperate to see which side wins. Again, we know that Monsters of Men will finish everything in a breathtaking manner.


This comes to my problem with Specials. It does not seem like a grand finale to the trilogy, but more like any ordinary book. There was a beginning, a middle and an end. The major plot twist came half way through, as oppose to the previously mentioned finale's, when the beginning is book one, middle is book two and the end is book three. We know what to expect from #3, and know that so much is at stake.
Maybe this is the fault of Uglies and Pretties. Whilst very, very good, those two books did not build up our excitement enough, and the vibe of an exciting,fast conclusion is missing, and is instead replaced by a normal plot.
That is how I saw it anyway.
I hope that makes sense. It does, at least in my mind.


Anyway, it was an enjoyable book, just not what I expected.
I found the major action scene in the armory a little hard to follow, and there were many paragraphs through out the book that I had to re-read, just to make sense of.
However, the last half of this book was excellent. It certainly had the trilogy-epic-finale feel about it.
The action was great, as was the descriptions and emotion. Especially, involving the death scene of a certain-character. In my opinion, the finale of all trilogies/series must have the death of an important character. Westerfield wrote that particular scene very well, and it felt very real-the characters reactions were amazingly believable.


Also, the final showdown with Dr. Cable was great. Very visual and well written. The action in this scene was fast-yet very clear.
Infact, the second half of this novel was wonderful. Brilliantly paced and highly addictive. I stayed up until 3AM to finish it.


Its not as good as Uglies, though its better then Pretties. 
Final Mark: 3.5 stars  

How Aussie are you?

So I was on http://regansreadsx3.blogspot.com/ a few moments ago, and found this: A check-list of "how Aussie are you". I thought it was pretty cool, so I copied it onto my blog and filled it in for myself. 
The lines colored in RED are are the things that I have done. 
Copy and Paste this onto your blog, or let me know how many Aussie things you have done in the comments section!  

Heard a kookaburra in person. (Plenty of times)
Slept under the stars.
Seen a koala.
Visited Melbourne.
Watched a summer thunderstorm.
Worn a pair of thongs. (Heck, I can run in thongs. Thats how Aussie I am)
Been to Uluru (Ayer’s Rock)
Visited Cape York.
Held a snake.
Sang along with Khe San.
Drank VB. 
Visited Sydney.
Have seen a shark.
Have used Aussie (and NZ) slang naturally in a conversation.
Had an actual conversation with an indigenous Australian (Aboriginal)
Eaten hot chips from the bag at the beach. ( I thought everyone did this?)
Walked/climbed over the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Used an outside dunny, and checked under the seat before sitting down.
Seen Chloe in Young & Jackson’s.
Slept on an overnight train or bus.
Been to Sydney’s Mardi Gras
Have gone bush-bashing.
Taken a sickie.
Been to see a game of Aussie Rules football. (Hundreds of times. Ive even been to a Grand Final) 
Have seen wild camels.
Gone skinny dipping.
Done a Tim Tam Slam.
Ridden in a tram in Melbourne.
Been at an ANZAC day Dawn Service.
Watched a sunrise or sunset.
Held a wombat.
Been on a roadtrip of 800km or more
Seen the Great Australian Bight in person.
Had a really bad sunburn.
Visited an Aboriginal community.
Seen a redback spider.
Have watched Paul Hogan. (In movies yes, but not live)
Seen Blue Poles in person.
Eaten Vegemite. (ILY Vegemite!) 
Thrown a boomerang. (It didnt come back :[ ) 
Seen the Kimberleys.
Given a hitch-hiker a lift.
Been to Perth.
Have tried Lemon, Lime and Bitters. (it is the most delicious drink in the history of the world!)
Tried playing a didgeridoo. 
Seen dinosaur footprints.
Eaten Tim Tams.
Been to Darwin.
Touched a kangaroo.
Visted the Great Barrier Reef.
Listened to Kevin Bloody Wilson.
Killed a Cane Toad. (No, but ive raced them)
Gone to a drive-in theatre.
Have read and own books by Australian authors.
Visited Adelaide. (Thats where I live!)
Know the story behind “Eternity”.
Been camping.
Visited Brisbane.
Been in an outback pub. (sort of. It wasnt outback, but it wasnt anywhere near city/suburbia either...) 
Know what the term “Waltzing Matilda” actually means.
Gone whale watching.
Listened to Slim Dusty.
Own five or more Australian movies or TV series.
Sang along to Down Under.
Have stopped specifically to look at an historic marker by the side of the road.
Eaten a Four N Twenty pie.
Surfed at Bondi.
Watched the cricket on Boxing Day.
Visited Hobart.
Eaten kangaroo.
Seen a quokka.
Visited Canberra.
Visited rainforests. (Daintree FTW!)
Used a Victa lawnmower.
Travelled on a tram in Adelaide.
Used a Hills hoist.
Visited Kata Tjuta
Used native Australian plants in cooking.
Visited the sno.
Chosen a side in Holden VS Ford. (Yes, Ford, though I could'nt care less.)
Visited the desert.
Been water skiing (on year 8 camp. I pulled a muscle whilst getting pulled up, yet still managed to last a minute standing in extreme pain. There's my amusing story for the day)
Read The Phantom.
Visited Parliament House. (both old and new)
Gone spotlighting or pig-shooting.
Crossed the Nullarbor.
Avoided swimming in areas because of crocodiles.
Listened to AC/DC. 
Called someone a dag.
Voted in a Federal Election. (I'll be voting in a few years. I would have gone for Howard, and Abott)
Have been swimming and stayed between the flags.
Had a possum in your roof.
Visited the outback.
Travelled over corrugated roads.
Hit a kangaroo while driving.
Been well outside any mobile phone coverage.
Seen an emu. 
Have woken to the smell of bushfires.
Subscribed to RRR.
Patted a pure-bred dingo. 
Seen the Oils live. (Peter Garrett's dancing is epic!) 

Recently Purchased

 In the past two months, I have brought the above books. 

"Everything's Eventual" by Stephan King. Second hand. 

"Pastworld" by Ian Beck. New 

"Uglies box set" by Scott Westerfield. New. (For only $30! Bargain!) 

"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" by Steig Larsson. New 

"Neverwhere" by Neil Gaiman. New. 

Have any of you read any of the above books, and if so, what did you think of them?