The Last Day

This will be an update entirely about books.

I finished with the Grand Tour yesterday, and am now on the hunt for the third part, the Mislaid Magician, or Ten Years After. Too bad they don't have it in the libraries here, I'll have to find the cheapest bargain...

Now I'm finally reading Joe Abercrombie's the Blade Itself, the first part of his First Law Trilogy. It seems very good, but I have to read more to be entirely certain I like it.

I love these covers! :D But, sadly, just recently the bookstore I frequent switched for the covers with people on them. I don't like them at all, these were so much more stylish. I've borrowed it with these covers, and there's what the Guardian said about it printed there: "Delightfully twisted and evil." Now if that's not a good review, I don't what is!

Just yesterday I ran into an interesting-looking book.

The names is big cliché, but the first page seemed promising as I scanned it - but then again, so did Shadow's Son's. This one is a Gollanzc book, too, and I like to think they have a tendency to publish books I'm generally interested in. Another thing on the plus-side is that this is not Deas's first novel, though it would appear that he has only started publishing in 2009. However, I'm going to see what I can do to get my hands on this. They were only selling it as a hardcover, and I don't buy those for two reasons. One, they're impractical. Two, they're more expensive. And I'm really not into buying books when I have no guarantee of the quality of the interior.




Isn't that a nice amount about a book I haven't even read? ^^;
I'll now start with another post, featuring all the books I read in 2010!
See you very soon.
~Wilzo

A Seriously Delayed Entry

As is probably apparent, studies have kept me busy and have taken off the edge of keeping a blog. Now I'm trying to remedy the situation.

First of all I feel I should address the matter of the latest Harry Potter movie. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, part 1 had its premiere November 17th 2010, if my memory serves, and yes, I was there on the premiere night. And I have to say, I thought it great! It had sufficient amount of information, it had all the main things from the first half of the book, the actors have really grown up and gotten better, and there were no dull moments. In my opinion it's the best of the movies out, and I have high hopes for the last one. Part 1 has been cut off at a very reasonable point, and that scene works as a very suspenceful cliff-hanger for those who haven't read the books. Those who have read the books probably think with satisfaction: "Oh yeah, that's where all the FUN begins!"
If you haven't seen it yet, I sincerely recommend it. It's worth it, even for the Seven Potters scene alone! (Hint: My stomach was cramping from laughter. Both times I saw it.)

Just for the record, I wouldn't mind a keychain or necklace of the Deathly Hallows symbol. It's very nice and simple.

I've also seen two other new movies after my last update. RED - yeah, the one about retired CIA agents starring Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren, John Malkovitch and Morgan Freeman - didn't get good reviews, but I liked it. It was exciting and not in-your-face funny (like that stupid new Focker movie trailer, with the kid throwing up on Ben Stiller), and I loved it to bits. Though it might be worth noting that I'm slightly biased. The movie happens to feature Karl Urban in a suit, and, well... Yeah. He looks so darned good in that suit! Just look at him:

The gun helps too.

Lastly, there was Rare Exports. I was really excited to see it, because it's been talked about a lot here. It's Finnish, but it has gained a lot of international attention, and it's a very different kind of Christmas movie. It was entertaining, yes. It was great when you considered the fact that they had a very small budjet, yes. Did I like it? Yes. Did it impress me? Not so much. Though I have to say the well-placed contrasts of ordinary things and epic music was exceedingly hilarious!

So now I can progress to books. Let's start with Robin McKinley's Deerskin. It's a remake of the fairytale "Donkeyskin", and my, what a beautiful piece it is! I had read McKinley's Beauty before, but this was something completely different. First of all the style was much heavier than I'd expected, and so it took me quite some time to adjust to it. After that, I made fairly quick progress with it. The story is about a princess who, after being raped by her father, flees the castle she has lived in. The lady of the forest helps her by disguising her, and she loses all memory of what has happened. So she wanders the kingdom with her dog, a fleethound called Ash, looking for her place in life and trying to find out who she is. I fell in love with McKinley's descriptions of the dogs in the story. She must have had fleethounds herself, because she has managed to capture their behaviour splendidly.

Ah, now then. Sorcery and Cecelia, or the Enchanted Chocolate Pot by Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer. If I was younger, say 14, it would now be my favourite book. It's an epistolary, a correspondence between two cousins, Kate and Cecy, of whom the former is in London and the latter in the country, both encountering magical situations. It's regency romance married with fantasy, and it makes very delightful reading. I'm at the moment about a 100 pages into the sequel, the Grand Tour.

I just finished today with George R. R. Martin's A Game of Thrones. I have mixed feelings about it. On one hand I enjoyed it very much, and have actually already ordered the next part of the series, but on the other hand I don't think it will be a book I'll read over and over again. Then again, you never can tell, and I'm already quite fond of several characters and want to know what happens to them. There's also a TV series of it coming next spring, I think, and it'll be nice to see what they've done about it. A few of the actors I'm already familiar with - Sean Bean will be Eddard Stark, and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is to be Ser Jaime Lannister. Looking though the faces on IMDb, I have to say I'm rather pleased with the casting. After that, it's up to acting-skills, script-writers and the director.

I guess that's all covered now. I'll mention my studies again, because it has been my first term and it's all still a little exciting - I've been doing rather well in my courses (though I haven't gotten my grades for Global and Regional Variations, English Literature or Translating from Finnish to English) and have gotten so many new friends it's almost overwhelming. But yeah, I'm happy overall.

Now, on with the reading! As I got money for Christmas, I'll be going to some bookstores tomorrow to see what is for sale, and then to some antiquaries to bookhunt. And maybe have coffee with a friend, if she has time.

Actually, that reminds me. I went to see the latest Narnia film, the Voyage of the Dawn Treader, on Boxing Day. Now, I have never read the books, or even seen the first movie. I've seen Prince Caspian, and now this third one, and that's about it. But I liked this one better than Caspian, maybe because it wasn't as epically epic. Ben Barnes's beard was less hideous than in the pictures I'd seen, and the distribution of time between events seemed balanced. It was fun, and it didn't feel long. So I'd recommend it, even though it's not a bloweth-your-minde experience. Should probably mention that I saw it in 2D, and there was one single scene during which I slightly regretted not being at the 3D version. I'm opposed to 3D in general, at least until they find a way for us glasses-people to enjoy it without pain. But I digress - here's a pic:

Yes, it's pretty epic after all.

Dinner is ready! I'll be seeing you guys more often from now on. Hopefully.

Love, Wilzo

Very Very Sorry

It's been ages since I updated last! I'm terribly sorry, and I don't have an excuse!

My first term at the University started in September, and I'm much in love with the whole business. People are great, courses are great, everything is great! There's lectures, parties, random other events... Christmas Party is coming up in a couple of weeks and then a table party with roleplaying theme. I'm going to be Karthani bondsmage from Locke Lamora, yay! :D

Mooovies. I'm trying to remember what I've seen... Toy Story 3 was superb, I laughed myself silly and squealed at the familiar toys. Seriously, it's the animation of the year! Despicable Me is also great, though I would've enjoyed it more if I had seen it before Toy Story. I'm going to see RED today, so about that later on. Hopefully.

Wicked came to Finland this fall, and I went to see it with a friend. I've read the book, and I do prefer it to the musical, but either or is fine, I guess. They spoiled Fiyero for me though, he was much better in the book, but the again the song Dancing Through Life is so delicious that I forgive them. And I knew Antti Lang would be the perfect Boq! I was delighted by his performance!

What else? I've been reading coupious amounts - two last Harry Potters, Dangerous Liaisons, Shadow's Son, Privilege of the Sword again, and last night finished House of Many Ways. I could say a few words about Shadow's Son:

It's Jon Sprunk's first novel, published this year. Quite frankly, it wasn't very good. It had potential, yes, but it was like Sprunk had just tried to make it look like a great, well-thought-out world without really doing the work. The place, it's history and the characters did little to convince me, and I was very quickly confused with all the names and titles and occupations. I started to enjoy myself around page 135, which happened to be about the middle of the book. That's okay though, I know it takes time to introduce the people and the setting to the reader, and he got me almost liking the main character Caim, but towards the end I was just extremely fed up with the guy and the female lead Josey. I'm not saying you shouldn't read it - by all means do that, particularly if you're younger than me. I think I would've loved it if I was still 15, but now it seemed a little childish. I don't know what Sprunk's target group is, as a YA book that probably works. It can also be that because it's a Gollanzc book, I expected something closer to Locke Lamora in quality and was disappointed because of that.

That turned out longer than I wanted, and I didn't even summarise the plot. O_O Oh well.

I'm not waiting to get my orders from the library, Deerskin by Robin McKinley and Sorcery and Cecilia by Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer. The latter is fantasy of manners, and I'm very determined to find more books in that sub-genre. I'm on the hunt for such books as Through A Brazen Mirror, Tooth and Claw, the Serpent's Egg and so on. Also, Ellen Kushner told in her blog about Kathe Koja's latest book, Under the Poppy, and I'm simply dying to read it.

That's it for now, I think. I'm gonna head of to the movies to drool Karl Urban and then come home via the library. Hopefully my books arrive today, because I have nothing to read. (Except for school stuff, of course. I've got exams coming in a few weeks, and I haven't even opened A Student's Guide to English Grammar....)

With much love,
Wil

Dreams And Bunnies And Other Stuff

I've been meaning to update for a while now, but haven't for some reason. Oh well.

Because it's quite possibly the biggest thing in the cinematic world at the moment, I fell I should say a few words about Inception.

I went to see it after two friends had told me they liked it a lot. Well, I did too, sort of. The script was very good, and some of the details were intriguing, but I feel Christopher Nolan could've gotten more out of the idea. Leonardo DiCaprio did alright, I guess, though the character annoyed me to no end. And it was extremely interesting to see Joseph Gordon-Levitt in this kind of role - at least if you're used to the Third Rock From the Sun. The ending of the movie pleased me.
Yes, I am aware this is a bad review. It's been about three weeks since the movie, and the things I mention are the ones that have stuck with me. It wasn't sensational or a Best Motion Picture of the Year nominee, but it's entertaining. Take ear pluggs with you though, the effects are loud. Afterwards you may feel the need to have a big gun, just for the kicks. I know I wanted one.
Nolan should get a nomination for the script.
I like that poster, oh yes I do! It's so nifty! :D


A latter movie I saw - Miss Potter (2006).

As a Ewan McGregor fan I've been wanting to see this film, but never actually got to the cinema to see it. Now I'm glad I didn't - I cried my eyes out. Renée Zellweger was like she always is, this time a tone down from Bridget Jones and move like Barbara Novak. But oh, Ewan! He did such great work as Norman Warne! Even with the disturbing mustache. This is a short movie, only about an hour and a half, and it's very fresh and airy. I warmly recommend this. I found it to be of inspiration - Beatrix became an author despite what her family (well, her mother) thought of it, and was extremely successful, as we all know.
Here another sweet picture from the movie. I dare say it might be from my favourite scene:

You'll have to see it to know why I think it so sweet.



What else, what else? Books, maybe?
I read A Lion Among Men by Gregory Maguire, and came to the conclusion that yes, Wicked is the best one in the series. But this book gathered some loose ends from the two first ones, so I forgave almost all the politics.
After Maguire, I finally got my hands on the Fall of the Kings by Ellen Kushner and Delia Sherman. With much regret I have to say I didn't enjoy this one as much as the other Riverside books, maybe because there was some magic in this one. Don't take my wrong, it's not a bad book - you can read it to just enjoy the language. But it wasn't as intricate as I had hoped, and I was slightly disappointed with the ending. I think the Privilege of the Sword remains my favourite (though I have to read it again to be sure), and chapter XXI from Swordspoint my favourite chapter. (A thought - Katharine Talbert reminds me of Elizabeth the First.)
Now I'm rereading Pratchett's Going Postal, which is rapidly taking the Hogfather's place as my favourite Discworld novel. The reason for this second reading is the movie, of which I saw trailers and am now a little suspicious about, because good books usually don't translate to film so well. But I'm hopeful - the actors seem decent.

So after I'm not with Mr von Lipwig, it's finally time to reread all the Harry Potters. I intend to do that in less than two weeks for two reasons:
1) Orientation week starts in two weeks and
2) There's a series of Oscar Wilde lectures, the first one about the Picture of Dorian Gray, and I intend to read that wonderful book again before the lecture so I'm sure to remember everything.
And then I probably have so much school stuff to read I have little time for fiction, but I'll go through the Secret History by Donna Tartt somehow. A friend just read it and was thrilled, so I promised to read it as well, seeing as we have it.

That about covers it, I think. Now I shall turn to fanfiction and then go to gym - we're dancing latin at last, after a long pause. I'm so looking forward to it, zumba is getting boring.

With love,
Wilzo

One Ring To Rule Them All

I think it's time to show my obsession with the Lord of the Rings. It all started in late 2001 or very early 2002 - I can't be sure because I've lost that ticket - when my friend insisted I come watch the Fellowship of the Ring with her. I went, I watched it and fell in love. I read the Hobbit and then, for my birthday, I got a LotR of my own. I was done with it before the Two Towers was out. It took me about four months to complete, if my memory serves.

From then on I've been a fan. Sometimes I don't even think about this magnificent book for a long while, but something always brings it back to my attention. At the moment I'm participating a LotR One Shot Contest in Quizilla, so some research is in place.

Anyway. The amount of money I've put into LotR merchandise is ridiculous, but we have to remember I was only 12-13 at the time, and I regret none of it. So here goes, with pictures.

There are the books I've got in Finnish. Unfortunately I haven't got the illustrated guide to the Fellowship of the Ring, but I saw that in a second-hand bookshop and am contemplating of buying it... It's in English, though. But maybe I could trade my Finnish books for the English versions? Anyway. There's also The Book itself. The back almost came off about a year ago, but I taped it back together. The three books at the bottom of the picture are:
- Brian Sibley: the Lord of the Rings Official Movie Guide
- Chris Smith: the Lord of the Rings: Weapons and Warfare
- Brian Sibley: the Lord of the Rings: Making of the Movie Trilogy
The middle one is quite possibly my favourite, with awesome pics of swords, armour, bows, spears... There's lots I didn't know, about the LotR-verse as well as the weapons themselves. Very enlightening, I can recommend it.

Oh, what is that the books are lying on? Why, it's my LotR sheets! :D My clever cousin gave me them for Christmas around 2002, and I've loved them ever since. And what's more, they go well with the other colours in my room - green, white, brown.

Sorry about that - stupid computer refuses to let me rotate the picture. But yeah. There's Frodo, Aragorn, Gandalf and Saruman on it, even though you can only see the first one here. And the Ring-pillow case. Pure love.

We were in New Zealand 2008 with a friend of mine, on a language course. As luck would have it, there was a trip to Hobbiton, and we signed as soon as we got the chance. The weather was merciful and it didn't rain, the guide was great and we had cameras - it was perfect. It was also my 18th birthday, and I got to spend it under the Party Tree!
So that means I have some random LotR merchandise as well. There are postcards, magnets, a T-shirt... I even brought my brother a cap. I didn't take pics of all this, though, because I'm a little lazy. ^^;

My mission in NZ was to buy LotR in English. I found these beauties - well, FotR and RotK, at least. The bookstore didn't have TTT with this cover, but I'm determined to find it somewhere, some day. I don't even know what it looks like, but it will be very easy to recognise if I stumble on it.

Of course I have all the music from the movies. I also have all the films on VHS, but only FotR and TTT on DVD - extended versions but no extras. I really want to buy that special deluxe extended edition (or whatever it is called) box, with all the extra material possible. This is the trilogy that got me into movies, after all.

Favourite character? Éomer. All my friends know this painfully well. I have posters, cards, quotes, and even a Karl Urban shirt my friends made for me. It's a little faded now, but I still use it from time to time.

Only slightly obsessed. ^^; I used to be into horses, which is probably part of the reason I first took to liking Éomer, but after reading TTT and RotK for countless times I'm certain that he's the best.
...Though I've lately taken a liking to Faramir as well. The ultimate quote from RotK has to be:
"Do not scorn pity that is the gift of a gentle heart, Éowyn!"
*sighs*
They should've cut Arwen from the films and replaced her with Glorfindel and some proper Faramir/Éowyn. Arwen is very unnecessary.

I think that's about it. Before I go, a picture of some random stuff:

There's the Éomer bookmark I got from a German pen pal (though we only ever exchanged two letters), playing cards (well used), the Evenstar necklace I bought from Greece, the bag to keep it in, the box it came in (currently filled with my collection of LotR trading cards) and a badge I bought from the Finnish Tolkien Society's table at Finncon. It says "Not all those who wander are lost". It's not attached to my bag, because I realised after buying that people will think I'm a fan of Lost the tv-series. I've never watched one episode. Oh well.

Elen síla lúmenn' omentielvo.

Lol, I can still do that. xD
Professor Tolkien was a genious. My prep course teacher saw me reading his biography and told me a friend of his studied under Tolkien. I looked like this: O.O
What can you say when someone tells you something awesome like that? Nothing.
Speechless.
What did Sheldon say about 'being rendered speechless'? There was some scientific ground for it.
I forget what that was.

I'll stop here.

Namárië.

~Wilzo

You'll Only End Up Like Rimbaud - Get Shot By Verlaine

I took a look at the pictures I took at the con - they're bad, so I won't post them here. The only decent ones were taken back at Helsinki, and are of the signed books. But, because Photoshop decided to hate me today, you won't see them, either. Maybe when my brother comes back I'll post them, PS likes him better.

But now I'll tell you about the little pile of second-hand books I bought when we went exploring all the little shops and flea markets with my friend. The thing about doing that is that it's very dangerous; there are so many interesting, beautiful, old, cheap books that you can't possibly buy all of them. My mission was to find a copy of Pride and Prejudice, which I did. It's so beautiful! <3 I also found the Professor by Charlotte Brontë, a book I had never heard of. Such beautiful cover, I fell in love instantly!

I'm looking forward to reading it. I also bought Dangerous Liaisons by de Laclos and the Wizard of Oz, though these two are in Finnish. (For some reason I don't have a pic of them, I think I remember the light being bad...)

My bookshelf is getting fuller and fuller. ^^; There's a gap at the moment, what with both my Lynches absent and the removal of - and I'm very smug about this, too - one of my entrance exam books. I didn't like that book. Too bad I can't burn it, it's a tad too valuable.

There are the Finnish books, also. And the CD I bought at Jyväskylä! The latest record by the Loved Ones, Distractions. Good punk, methinks. I'm exceedingly happy about how my Riverside-books look like now.

Under Privilege of the Sword there's the Tenant of Wildfell Hall, a copy from 1923 that my dad gave me. It's delightfully pretty, like most old books. Under that, there's the Albatross Book of Living Verse. I've never been big on poetry, but for some reason I find 1500-1800's English poetry interesting. In that book I found a poem of John Suckling's that reminds me of Twilight and thus makes me giggle:

Why so pale and wan, fond lover?

Prithee, why so pale?

Will, when looking well can't move her,

Looking ill prevail?

Prithee, why so pale?

Why so dull and mute, young sinner?

Prithee, why so mute?

Will, when speaking well can't win her,

Saying nothing do 't?

Prithee, why so mute?

Quit, quit for shame! This will not move;

This cannot take her.

If of herself she will not love,

Nothing can make her.

The devil take her!

So there's a few words of wisdom, Jacob Black. Think about that.

Oh well. I finished Austen's Emma a couple of days ago, and then devoured Maguire's Son of a Witch practically in a day. I think I started from page 74 yesterday and was finished with the 500 pages by 1:30am.  So now I've got only the Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romance to go before I can get my claws on the Fall of the Kings. After that I think I'm either going for Joe Abercrombie's the Blade Itself (something I've been meaning to read for almost a year...), Maguire's Lion Among Men or the re-reading of the entire Harry Potter series. We'll see.

But now I gotta go take a shower and then head to the bank to pay my University membership stuff. Ugh, I hate banks.

Anyway, I'll be back with movies, since we're having a movie night tonight and I watched the Omen yesterday. Oh, and I also saw the Disaster Movie and (FINALLY!) Star Wars episode III.

Bye!

~Wilzo

So Many Happy Feelings

Oh, so much to tell. Let's do this in some kind of order. (I'll add pics when I get them loaded up and if they're any good.)

Finncon was a definite success. We didn't get lost (much) on the road, I didn't wreck the car and we found free parking space in Jyväskylä. Yay for that! The con was so great, I felt at home. The first panel we participated was Introduction to Mannerpunk - I laughed so much! And I may have squealed just a little at Ellen Kushner's mentioning Scott Lynch as a male mannerpunk author. I missed the GoH speech of Ellen's, because I chose Adult Fantasy and later wished I hadn't. The Gate Theory of Young Adult Literature -panel was a disappointment so we left it early on, which gave me the opportunity to go get my Swordspoint signed. I swear, Ms Kushner was so nice and I made a total fool out of myself, speaking bad English due to my nerves and was going all fangirly. But I'm eternally thankful for the opportunity to buy the Fall of the Kings - if the authors ever stumble upon this somehow, you need to know it was equal to the best moment of my summer (of which I will tell about a little later). Thank you so much!

Sunday started much earlier than Saturday, at 10. I went to the Orwell's 1984 Here And Now -lecture and got slightly paranoid. After Big Brother it was time for the vampire panel, which I liked very much. I wish I was more confident, because I think the panelists would've been amused to hear that Stephenie Meyer is planning on writing about time-travelling mermaids next. (The discussion led to speculation of what might be the next big thing - one of the panelists expressed interest in Näkkis.) Then there was the Bimbo Panel, which made me roar with laughter. The theme was dirtying all the childhood favourites from Disney to My Little Pony to Star Trek. I think that affected both me and my friend quite a lot, for the next couple of days were spent pointing out everything twisted in stuff meant innocent.
Ellen Kushner's reading was just the perfect thing. She read from Swordspoint (having read Thomas the Rhymer at length the day before) and then the Man With the Knives. She had grown men in tears after that one, and I was so close to crying myself.
After the reading I met up with my friend again, and ran into my high school art teacher. We talked for a while, until it was time for me to go hear the vampire book tips. I got interested in a couple of books, so it wasn't all wasted time.
The last panel I participated was Dreaming of Reality with Cheryl Morgan, Ellen Kushner and Pat Cadigan. It was a riot and I swore to find Ms Cadigan's books somehwere, she was so funny! It also came up that Ms Kushner would like to see a film made out of Swordspoint, and that she felt Ben Wishaw (Keats from Bright Star) would be a good Richard. Now, I think Privilege of the Sword would make a better movie, and I'm not all too sure about Wishaw as Richard, but I would definitely go and see the movie.

Our arrival back our summer house about four hours after we left the con was grand - windows down, Elvis blaring. We had a great time, and discovered that Disney is good music for driving.

We came back to Helsinki on Monday night. On Tuesday happened what we'd been dreading - the results from the University arrived. But fortunately, this became the thing in my summer rivalled only by the delightful writers of the Fall of the Kings - I got in.
I'll start my studies on English Philology in September in the University of Helsinki. I'm so excited!

But this is turning into quite a long update. I probably forgot something, but I'll just tell about it in another post if it was important. The bottom line is that it was a great con and that my July has been awesome. I hope it stays that way.

<3: Wilzo

Fairies On Steroids

Okay, so I said I'd say a couple of words about the newest Twilight movie, Eclipse.

(I chose this picture 'cause there's no Edward, lol. xD)
Sooooo. Eclipse. It wasn't as bad as New Moon, but not as good as Twilight. The way the vampire backstories were cut pleased me. That was probably partly due to the rating, PG-13, because I think I remember there being more blood in the book. The three stars still can't act to save their lives, though now that I'm watching Robert Pattinson do this with the knowledge that he hates Edward and is playing him through that emotion I enjoy his performance a lot more. (Does that sentence make sense? o_O) About the werewolves I'm a bit torn - I'm not sure whether I like them or not. They are always together and with my poor facial memory it's hard to tell who is who, but I understand and accept that there's no time in two hours and ten minutes to get into each one of their characters too deeply.
My favourites are still Billy Black and Charlie Swan. The only moment Kristen Stewart gets some life in her eyes and acting is when Bella and Charlie have the awkward birds-and-bees conversation.
Oh, and I liked Jasper in this one. Maybe because he took charge and was all cool and stuff. I don't know what Jackson Rathbone did there, but I liked it.

All in all, a little too long a movie, pretty average. I still think they would've been better off if they had kept Catherine Hardwicke directing the whole saga - her style is so great for adolescent movies!





Then a few words about the Ghost Writer. I naturally liked Ewan McGregor, though he wasn't at his best, but Kim Cattrall really amazed me. Not a trace of Samantha to be seen! Polanski did alright work, as well as Brosnan, but not much else to say. It was an okay thriller, and didn't look like it was filmed for TV (like the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo...), and the ending still bugs me so I guess it was a good one. I'd maybe give the movie 3.5/5.

I'm off to town in a minute to meet up with a friend. Yay, leaving for Finncon the day after tomorrow. Can't wait, I'm so excited!

Love,
Wilzo

+30 degrees Celsius

It's so frickin' hot. Our balcony is like a sauna, and flowers were about to die when I arrived with the water. I hope they survive.

RUISROCK. It was so much fun. We arrived to Turku aroun 3pm, said buh-bye to my dad and brother and went off to find some food and the bus stop. We found both, but then realised we had no idea how often the busses would be going and decided that the weather was nice enough for a walk. Actually it was very warm (though not as warm as today) and the walk was several kilometers and we had too little water with us, but we survived. ^^

So we hung around the festival area looking at the stands and drinking free, ice cold Coke. We watched half of Negative's show (Jonne Aaron sure isn't as young as he was five years ago...), saw some of Tarot's (they were great) and Arch Enemy, and waded around in the water next to the beach stage. It was so cold and nice.

And then it was time for what I'd come for: Rise Against. It was a great show, they played a lot of songs I didn't think they would but always hoped, like Survive and Entertainment, and of course one of my ultimate faves, Give It All. The band seemed to be having fun, which made me happy. They seem to have taken a liking for circle pits, because last October in Helsinki Tim said they wanted to see "that Finnish circle thing" and now he announced in a speak that he wanted to see one again. (Damn, how can it be I don't remember which song that was? Something off Siren Song, I think. Or maybe Revolutions Per Minute.)

After RA we went to see NOFX, and found that we both like them. I got a shirt, and I've been humming Don't Call Me White since then. After that we just hung around, talking and joking around (playing with Finnish language a lot, yes, we were very tired) and then it was time for the last show - Ozzy Osbourne. Irene's a fan, and I was curious as to whether he would stay on his feet for the whole show. It was fun.

Around 1:30am it was all over and we tried to be cunning and take a shortcut to get ahead of the main crowd getting out. Our endeavour ended with me having my left hand shoe stuck in a ditch in mud. The whole shoe was muddy inside out, and was slightly uncomfortable to walk in. Anyway, we decided to walk back to town, since there was so much crowd trying to get into the busses. We were at the bus station a bit after 3am, about ten minutes after the bus we had intended to take had left. So we had to wait for an hour for the next one. Thank gods we had the sense to buy breakfast when we first arrived to Turku... Our bus left 4am, we were in Helsinki about 7am, and I got to bed at 7:45am.

So altogether a very good trip. :D My shoe still leaves my heel and ankle dirty, but I'm washing it once more before leaving to Jyväskylä and Finncon next weekend.

Ruisrock ends.

We'll be leaving again on Thursday, and at the moment plan on coming back to Helsinki on Tuesday - the day we both get to know whether we got into University or not. I'm a bit scared of that, because I really would like to get in but don't feel I did good enough in the exam. But I have my fingers crossed, and it won't be the end of the world if I don't get in this year, but... Yeah.

I think that's all there's to say. I have no pictures from Ruis, because I didn't have my camera, but I'll ask my friend if I could post some of her photos here.

I'm gonna go eat ice cream now and watch Breakfast Club. <3
Next update's probably coming when I get back from Finncon.

Lotsa love and ice cubes,
Wilzo 

Am I loud and clear or am I breaking up?

Soooo, one of the days I've been waiting for is finally here - the Friday and first day of Ruisrock! :D I'm only going to be there today, because beloved Rise Against is playing. It'll be so very awesome. Irene should be here in about half an hour, and then we'll be off. I've packed, now I only need to change my clothes and put on some make-up.

I've been listening to RA quite a lot for the past week, just to ensure I know every song by heart. xD I've been trying to decide which one of their albums is my favourite, and I only know it's (probably) not the Sufferer and the Witness. Well, it's good to know I like everything they've made so far.

At the moment there are two songs in my head - the Strength To Go On and Historia Calamitatum.
 "What we are is the sum of a thousand lies

  What we know is almost nothing at all

  But we are what we are 'til the day we die

  Or until we don't have the strength to go on"

 "When it rains it pours like summer storms

  These skies as grey as leaves

  The rivers flood the banks and spill into the streets

  But the people laughed and swore that they'd restore the city piece by piece

  And then the clouds gave way as if to agree

  When it rains it pours"

The latter one would be great to hear live, particularly if it would start raining then. I doubt they will play it, though the rain is highly possible - it's been almost subtropic here and a proper rain would help a lot. (Or thunder, which I've been waiting for.)

About other stuff - I'm currently reading Austen's Emma, saw the Ghost Writer and Eclipse in the cinema and watched Penelope and the Curse of the Golden Flower yesterday with friends. I'll possibly say something more about the movies, especially 'bout the Twilight.

Now I better go get ready and make sure I have everything I need with me.

Am I loud and clear, or am I breaking up?

Am I still your charm, or am I just bad luck

Are we getting closer or are we just getitng more lost?

I'll show you mine, if you show me yours first

Let's compare scars, I'll tell you whose is worse

Let's unwrite these pages and replace them with our own words

We live on front porches and swing life away

We get by just fine here on minimum wage

If love is a labout I'll slave til the end

I won't cross these sreets until you hold my hand

I've been here so long, think that it's time to move

The winter's so cold, summer's over too soon

Let's pack our bags and settle down where palm trees grow

I've got some friends, some that I hardly know

But we've had some times I wouldn't trade for the world

We chase these days down with talks of

The places that we will go

We live on front porches and swing life away...

~Rise Against: Swing Life Away

<3: Wilzo

Finally!

The Finncon 2010 programme is finally here! :D I've been waiting for it for so long... This is going to be my first Finncon, so I'm excited about it. Here's what's going to be going on:
Finncon 2010 programme

Friday's fine, not much that I want to attend to. Saturday, however, poses a problem: adult fantasy, the debate about whether Avatar sucks or not and the Guest of Honour speech of Ellen Kushner's are all at the same time. Right now I wish I could split in three, because I would love to be there for all of those. But I guess I'll just decide it when the time comes and see which one is most appealing. At least I get to go to the Introduction to Mannerpunk, the one I'm most excited about.
Sunday's more or less fine, though there seems to be the decision between the imaginary creatures of folk mythology and the new coming of vampires, but I can skip either one. Oh, and it seems that the kaffeeklatch with Ellen Kushner is at the same time and the vampire booktips, but I'm not sure if I'm brave enough to go sit in a café with an awesome author and some other fans who are probably smarter than me. ^^;

Another thing I'm really looking forward to is this: destroying genre favourites of our childhood! :D I expect that includes stuff like laughing at the ambiguous lines in Moomins and Biker Mice From Mars and such.

Anyway, I'm hyped. I can't wait! Still about two weeks to go! Luckily it's only a week til Ruisrock and RISE AGAINST!  I'm excited about that, too.

Reading matter. I borrowed Gregory Maguire's Wicked from a friend of mine (in exchange, he got the Lies of Locke Lamora. I'm just dying to discuss that book with someone else than my brother) and I liked it. It's the sort of book that grows on you; I didn't find it beautifully written like Kushner's books, or witty like Lynch or Wilde, but there was something that drew me. The musical is coming to Helsinki, and I'm definitely going to see it, even though I've understood that it's not quite the same as the book. I also plan on reading the sequels, Son of a Witch and Lion Among Men.

But right now I'm going through Kushner's Swordspoint, and I have my fingers crossed I'll get Fall of the Kings from Science fiction flea market at the con. And I'm planning on reading all the Harry Potters again, because after reading some fanfiction I fell in love with it again.

I guess that's all for now. The July has begun, and adventures lay ahead. (Only 20 days until I get to know whether I got into University or not!)

~Wilzo

PS: Digged up the list of possible actors for the characters of Privilege of the Sword:
  Lord Ferris - Alan Rickman/Daniel Day-Lewis
  Lucius Perry - David Tennant
  Lydia Fitz-Levi - Jennifer Love-Hewitt
  Alcuin - Orlando Bloom
So I obviously didn't get all my ideas right in the last post. ^^ I'm still trying to figure out who would be a good Mad Duke or St Vier, though I think Day-Lewis would be a great Alec if he was a bit younger. Or maybe John Malcovitch? (I seem to like St Vier the most, so it's hard to think of anyone who would be good enough.)

I also forgot to tell that I went to see the Finn-Brit Players production of the Dangerous Liaisons. It was unbelievable, I enjoyed myself immensely. I'll be sure to see them again when they get the next play out!

UPDATE 11/12/10: What on earth have I written "Lydia Fitz-Levi" in both this and the last update? It's Artemisia Fitz-Levi, Lydia is a Godwin! >.< 

Short Booky Update

I got through Privilege of the Sword in three days. I was slightly surprised I got so into it. At times it felt like a teenage harlequin, and that was a lot of fun. My only problem with the main character, Katherine, was that she was around 15 years of age, so I found her a little naive and silly. Fortunately she matures through the story.

I suck at summaries, but let's give it a try: Katherine Talbert, a country girl, is invited to the city by her uncle the Mad Duke. The uncle intends her to learn the art of wielding a sword. Katherine meets new people, of whom few are what they seem. Tension, masks, drama and the voes of teenage girls in need of husbands. Like Austen combined with swashbuckling.

Anyway, I was very happy with the book. It is apparently number two in the Riverside-series (someone correct me if my understanding has failed me), but I don't think reading the books in order is necessary, at least I didn't have any trouble understanding things.

Something happened with this book I wasn't suspecting. I don't usually start planning a Hollywood casting for books, because no one ever looks like I think the character should, but this time it just came to me like *snaps fingers* THAT. So here goes:

the Mad Duke - Daniel Day-Lewis
Lord Ferris - Alan Rickman
Lydia Fitz-Levi - Jennifer Love-Hewitt
Alcuin - Orlando Bloom

...The last one is half a joke. xD I think I had one more suggestion, but it's in my notes somewhere and I don't feel like digging it up as I just tidied my room up. (With this book, a piece of paper and a pen is a good idea. There are so many names that pop up when you least expect them, and it's a bitch trying to remember who the hell they were and why it is so scandalous all of a sudden. I'm usually good with names, but I think the pace in which I read was too quick for them to sink in.)

Wow, that has to be the longest bit I've written about a book in years! o_O Shows just how much I enjoyed and analyzed it, I suppose. Anywho, I recommend it warmly, though maybe not for people under 13 or something.

Now I'm going to start getting ready - it's graduation day, and I've got two parties to attend to and later a gig of my friend's band Eternal Struggle. Fun music! :D

I'll be back later. I'm continuing with Red Seas Under Red Skies, which I started during the Lynch-hype about two posts ago. It's such a great book. <3

~Wilzo

PS: Ah, so this is the third Riverside book. My apologies.

"We'll take the next bus, destination: setting sun"

The entrance exams were a week ago, and I've been enjoying my vacation since. Life seems slightly empty now that I don't have to study anymore, but I'm trying to fill it up with random stuff.


Here's what I've gotten to keep me busy:

So I finally started watching Star Trek TOS, though I'm doing it in the wrong order - I've watched almost half of the second season and none of the first. I don't think that matters, though. ^^ It's very enjoyable, at the moment my favourite episode is I, Mudd. The crappy special effects are wonderful! :D Can't wait for the next movie, which will be out in June 2012, according to IMDb.


The Privilege of the Sword is something I bought just because you can't get it from any library here. Ellen Kushner is one of the guest authors coming to FinnCon in July, so I decided it would be wise to read some of her works. I've browsed the book and read the first page, and I think I'm going to like it. Maybe not Lynch-like-it, but enjoy anyway.

Those are what I've been reading lately. I've had the Mammoth Book of Fantasy since April and I still haven't finished it. -_- At the moment there are some 100 pages to go. The short stories are not bad, but it's a little hard to concentrate when there's no continuous plot. But I've been introduced to some authors I hadn't heard of or known I might be interested in them, such as Michael Moorcock or Patricia McKillip.

The Tough Guide, then. I had to order it, but haven't regretted for a second. It is constructed like any travelling guide, and if you're familiar with the fantasy genre, you'll laugh like hell all the way through it. I've earned some curious stares giggling in the bus. Diana Wynne Jones is actually one of my favourite authors, even though I've read very little by her.

Oh, movies! There isn't much to tell, I'm afraid. The latest one I've seen is Bright Star, and I can recommend it to anyone who likes Austen. It was very interesting, beatiful in colour and full of drama. What impressed me the most, however, was possibly the choice of soundtrack during the credits in the end. But I'm not going to spoil that to anyone who might stumble upon this blog.

And what became of my Bastards and the Knives? Well, it seems to have finally arraived at the bookstore, but the one I ordered (the cheaper paperback version) won't be in until November. I'm going to go there today to see whether they have it shelved, but most possibly won't purchase it yet. I guess I can wait, I already have a pile of books to read this summer. Just for fun, let's list them:
1) The Mammoth Book of Fantasy
2) Ellen Kushner: The Privilege of the Sword
3) Jane Austen: Sense and Sensibility (or Pride and Prejudice, if I can find my copy)
4) Joe Abercrombie: Blade Itself
5) finnish rereading Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch

I have a busy week ahead of me. I'm going dancing today and tomorrow, on Wednesday we'll go see the Prince of Persia with a couple of friends, on Thursday there's the picnic with friends, only Friday remains free. I think I'm going to gym then, but we'll see.

Maybe that will suffice for a while. I'll be back, hopefully a little sooner this time. :)

~Wil

May's on it's way

This is just a short update. Fangirl warning, definitely.

If the websites of Amazon and Akateeminen kirjakauppa are to be trusted, the two novellas from Scott Lynch will be available tomorrow.

Frickin' tomorrow. Seriously, I've been waiting for Bastards and the Knives for what seems like ages! (Curious, seeing as it was only about a year ago that I first started reading tLoLL...) Sadly, the bookstores will be closed tomorrow since it'll be May Day, but gods damn it, I'm going to be there first thing on Sunday to bug all the shop assistants! Me wants it, me needs it... and me probably won't allow me to read it before the entrance exams are over. >.<

But still. I borrowed the Mammoth Book of Fantasy from the library (edited by Mike Ashley) about a week ago, and haven't even been reading it, 'cause guess what? I just had to start rereading Red Seas Under Red Skies. I can't help but giggle at the beginning of chapter one, it's just... There're no words for it. I really feel more people should read the series, I really do.

And the bookshop page also said that the third book, the Republic of Thieves, would be out February 22nd 2011. I really hope that's true - the date has been postponed a couple of times, and the official fact is that it'll be out 2011. So fingers crossed that there'll be less than a year to go!

But more about the books when I get it. I'll make sure to post a pic, a little like a proud aunt posting pictures of the nephew or niece. (This is going to be a nephew, I feel. But we'll see.)


Clouds should go away so that we may enjoy vappu. The day after tomorrow - an attack to the bookstore. They better have it there, I don't want to order one and wait for another two weeks to get it...

(What happened to the "No New Books When There's No Room In The Bookshelf" principle? Lynch is an exception.)

~Wilzo

Good Omens of Spring

Hello!


You'll never guess what I saw on my way to the library! The first wagtail of the spring! :D So that means there's only a little to go until summer is here! Party!

Though it's pretty hard to see how the summer is so close. True, snow has mostly melted - the doors to our yard are openable again - and the birds are singing, but it's so gray and cloudy and wet in the wrong way.
*sigh*


Hum hum. I read my first Austen a few days ago. Northanger Abbey, oh my! I enjoyed Miss Jane's style and the lovely early 1800s grammar. Connexion, indeed. Are not you delighted?


The reason I went to the library today was, not to study as other, probably smarter, people my age do, but to fetch my next book. Humphrey Carpenter's Tolkien: A Biography. I finally decided to give it another go. My first attempt was when I was way too young, thirteen perhaps, and found the background of professor Tolkien's parents so boring I gave up after a few pages.


I also re-started Good Omens once again. It still has the powah to make me laugh every other page. I earned some weird and interested glances at the movie theater before the movie as I cracked up at this:

"Somewhere around Chiswick, Aziraphale scrabbled vaguely among the scree of tapes in the glove compartment.
'What's a Velvet Underground?' he said.
'You wouldn't like it,' said Crowley.
'Oh,' said the angel dismissively. 'Be-bop.'
'Do you know, Aziraphale, that probably if a million human beings were asked to describe modern music, they wouldn't use the term "be-bop"? said Crowley.
'Ah, this is more like it. Tchaikovsky,' said Aziraphale, opening a case and slotting its cassette into the Blaupunkt.
'You won't enjoy it,' sighed Crowley. 'It's been in the car for more than a forthnight.'
   A heavy bass beat bega to pump through the Bentley as they sped past Heathrow.
   Aziraphale's brow furrowed.
'I don't recognize this,' he said. 'What is it?'
'It's Tchaikovsky's "Another One Bites The Dust",' said Crowley, closing his eyes as they went through Slough.
   To while away the time as they crossed the sleeping Chilterns, they also listened to William Byrd's 'We Are The Champions' and Beethoven's 'I Want To Break Free'. Neither were as good as Vaughan Williams's 'Fat-Bottomed Girls'."

This bit is courtesy of Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman - read the book, it's GOOD!



What else, what else? My prep course started yesterday. I'm applying to University to major in English Philology (hence Tolkien's biography - I'm hoping it will be of inspiration) and am attending a course to have someone make me do something about the entrance exams. 14 sessions, about 4 hours each. The teacher seems very nice and so do the other students, so I think I'm going to like it.

And so, I must go study now. (Well what do you know, the preview of Kick-Ass will start in 12 hours from now! Yaaaay!)


Buh-bye!

~Wilzo

And the Oscar Goes To...

It has apparently been a while since I've last written... Please excuse me. ^^;

First of all, I want to tell me opinion about the movies I've seen.
The Wolfman would've been alright if they hadn't felt the need to scare the audience every five minutes. The movie itself isn't scary, and even though there were some intestines dropping out from people and severed arms and such, it wasn't disgusting. So, the director had to resort to sudden movements and semi-unexpected loud noises. It took half the experience away, having to keep your guard up in anticipation of a hairy creature jumping from some direction roaring loudly. The music gave it's cues, of course. Plotwise I liked the thing, though I'm still pissed at the woman involved and what happened with her - it would never work that way! Casting was great, Benicio del Toro and Anthony Hopkins did great.

Men Who Stare At Goats, then. I thought they would've had more fun with the whacky, psychic soldiers, but sadly they didn't. It was amusing, and I did laugh, but it wasn't exactly the film experince of the year. Even Ewan McGregor didn't save this movie for me, though it made me giggle hearing him ask "What's a jedi?" I'm not sure most of the audience got the irony, but then again, why should I care? I had fun.
But I'm not going to see that movie again. Jeff Bridges was good, George Clooney was good. Not much more to say about it, I'm afraid.

I also went to Orion to see Pillow Book for the first time. It was strange, and I think it requires several reruns before you really get it, but I fell in love with McGregor's jealous/mad Jerome. If only he didn't attempt to speak other languages... French was alright, but I think he tried Japanese - and if that was Japanese, he shouldn't speak it.


The release of Scott Lynch's third book, the Republic of Thieves, has been postponed again. They're talking 'bout spring 2011, which for me seems way too long. I hope at least Bastards and the Knives is on schedule this year.

The Academy Awards are tonight, and I'm as excited as perusual. This year is a little different - I've never stayed up with so many friends! Usually I've been by myself or one friend at most, but this year we're going to be four or five! :D I'm looking forward to it, it's nice to have company. Here, far far away from Hollywood, the gala starts around 3am, so watching it live is always a little task. I, however, enjoy seeing everything there is, and not the shortened, subtitled version you can see two days later.

I wish best of luck for Mr. Tarantino and his crew. If Christoph Waltz doesn't get an Oscar, no one deserves it.

Some movies once again

I reserved tickets to a couple of movies a few minutes ago. I'm finally going to see this:

 

I'm a werewolf fan, so I've been waiting for this - and I intend to enjoy it, no matter what the critics say. Though my image of a werewolf doesn't walk on two legs or have any other human-like qualities, it's going to be fun anyway. 

The other movie I'm going to go see is Men Who Stare At Goats. I like goats, so I always thought the name was somewhat fun but didn't think I'd go see it. Then I realised that there's going to be Ewan McGregor. ^^; I hope it's not as bad as I've heard...

This promises to be a year of McGregor. First Phillip Morris, then Goats, and in April there's going to be The Ghost Writer. I quite like the poster:

 

That's all I have today. Two weeks 'til the Oscars! :D I'm so excited! If Christoph Waltz doesn't get to be the Best Actor In A Supporting Role I don't know who I'm going to hang. But we'll see.

~Wilzo

I Certainly Love Phillip Morris

I saw I Love You Phillip Morris last night. I'm a Ewan McGregor fan, so that was reason enough to pay for it - I didn't expect to like it as much as I did.

It isn't exactly a "good movie". It was funny, but then again, you can see it as just a sweet love story. It works both ways, though some moments are so clearly comedy you may feel annoyed when they interrupt a tender lovey-dovey scene. It's not Jim Carrey at his best, and it's not Ewan McGregor at his best, but you'll be entertained. Particularly if you're into conmen, gays and McGregor like I am. ;)
For all you McGregorists out there who are suspicious of this film - it's worth it! Ewan is insanely adorable in this one!

 

Yes, I'd love you too, Phillip Morris! ^^

I've also seen two other new movies during the last couple of weeks.

Sherlock Holmes was better than I thought. It wasn't how I like my Conan Doyle, but it was entertaining. Just try to forget the fact that it's the Sherlock Holmes, and imagine it's just someone with the same name. Jude Law was a surprisingly good Watson, but don't get me started on Rachel McAdams, her American accent and those darned there'll-be-a-sequel hints.

Princess and the Frog had a preview, too. And my, did I like it! It fits in well with all the old Disney classics and got me all emotional. Some rather good songs, and not one but TWO great minor characters. (I was very fond of Charlotte. She's what every girl gets like inside sometimes, even if they don't want to admit it.) Prince Naveen was rather annoying, though.

And I finally saw Dorian Gray. It was much better than I thought. I'm not sure whether Ben Barnes was acting or being himself, but either way, I enjoyed him as the naive, innocent Dorian of the beginning. Colin Firth did also very well, only a slight hint of Mr. Darcy from time to time. (He has been doing better lately, I'm happy for him!) The bits that followed the books were good, and those that didn't were simply unnecessary. We didn't need Lord Henry's daughter to mess with Dorian - or Dorian falling in love, for that matter. Props on the time skip though - no annoying "a few years later" text!



I think this pretty much sums up my latest seen movies.

Just A Random Day

Noticed I haven't been updating for a while. Interesting.

I came home from gym about an hour ago - I'm still half asleep. (It's about 1:30pm now.) I'm trying to get a grip of myself and start reading English. I know I like it, I just have to begin. Those who don't know this - I'm aspiring to get into the University of Helsinki this spring, majoring in English Philology. Three books to read, I'm not even halfway through the first one. >_< But it's interesting, so I'll manage.

Yesterday there was a free lecture (first of six) on Shakespeare. I was there, and enjoyed my self a great deal, even though I knew most of what the lecturer told us beforehand. Next week we'll discuss Hamlet and its translations, which I think will be interesting. The same woman is giving a lecture on Wilde's Picture of Dorian Gray on Monday, and I'm hoping to participate. The unfortunate part of all this fun is that I've got a driving lesson at the same time, and I can't move it around too much because I'm having my inspection drive on Tuesday. But we'll see what I can do. (Which reminds me that I've forgotten to call my driving teacher about it...)

Driving! It's so much fun! I had my winter driving thingie on Tuesday. We drove about an hour to get to the course and then got to try driving 40kmph and making sudden brakes. It was so much fun and I enjoeyd myself - particularly when I got the car to spin one and a half rounds.

My friend's having a fancy dress party tomorrow night. I still have no idea what I'm going to go as. Oh well.

~Wilzo

The Booklist

So, during 2009 I kept a list of the books I read. Now I'm going to publish it here.

BOOKS READ 2009
Stephenie Meyer: New Moon
     -This was bad, but it could be taken humorously. The reason I okayed it might have been the werewolves.

 
Terry Pratchett: Maskerade

Terry Pratchett: Going Postal
     - Fell in love with this. So hilarious!

Neil Gaiman: Stardust
     - Better than the movie. 

Terry Pratchett: Making Money
     - Sequel to Postal. This wasn't quite as good, but very entertaining anyway.

Oscar Wilde: The Picture of Dorian Gray

Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman: Good Omens (x2)
     -One of my all-time favourites. You don't get bored with this one, no matter how many times you read it! 

Merja & Marvi Jalo: Pappilan ponitytöt ja rokkiromanssi

Merja Jalo: Ponisaaren kirous
     -Both of the above are horse-books directed to 10-year-olds. They made good summertime reading.

Scott Lynch: The Lies of Locke Lamora
     -The find of the year! Great book, read it! 

Robin McKinley: Beauty

John William Polidori: The Vampyre

Jasper Fforde: The Eyre Affair

J.K. Rowling: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
     -First re-reading after publishing. Still cried like a fountain.

Scott Lynch: Red Seas Under Red Skies

Anthony Burgess: A Clockwork Orange
     -I was pleasantly surprised. I liked this book immensely. 

Henrik Ibsen: Villisorsa
     - The Wild Duck.

George Orvell: Nineteen Eighty-Four

Diana Wynne Jones: Howl's Moving Castle

Diana Wynne Jones: Castle in the Air

Toby Barlow: Sharp Teeth

Henry N. Beard & Douglas C. Kenney: Bored of the Rings

Terry Pratchett: Wyrd Sisters
     -A great one! 

Oscar Wilde: The Happy Prince and Other Tales

Oscar Wilde: Lord Arthur Savile's Crime and Other Stories
     -I like these stories very well, best one's being Lord Arthur Savile's Crime and A Sphinx Without A Secret 

Stephenie Meyer: Eclipse 

     -It's hard to believe, but this was even worse than the ones before. I'm seriously considering not reading the last one, though a friend (who finds these equally Gods-damned awful) said it's worth a try.

I left two books unfinished this year: Cirque du Freak by Darren Shan and Heart-Beast by Tanith Lee. The first one was boring and intended to someone younger than me, and with the second I'm not sure. It just didn't sweep me off my feet, which is quality I feel a good book should have.

Currently I'm reading Macbeth (my first Shakespeare in English!) and have Pratchett's Night Watch coming. Finally.

So it's 2010 now, and there are loads of books to read! :D

~Wilzo