Music Monday 11

Haven't done one of these in a while...meme originally hosted by Zakiya at Walking Butterfly Feet.

I ADORE Florence & The Machine! I can't believe we have to wait until Nobember for their next album to be released...but at least until then we have this. What The Water Gave Me.

Allie

Story Jamming and SftW...

The new logo - the site got
majorly revamped
a while ago!

Just promoting a site of some friends of mine...Stories From The Web (SftW) are an organisation who run a fantastic website and some other projects encouraging kids and teenagers to read and write. And it's not just the old 'Reading is something everyone has to do' or 'Write because it'll help you at school' stuff, either. (Which, in my experience, doesn't actually help, but that's another blog-post-slash-rant entirely.)

They have activities and kick-starts which develop imagination and the desire to read, but as well as trying to get children to read and write more, they provide a place for kids who are already writers and readers to express themselves. That's the main reason why I love it. Because sometimes kids find it hard to say that they like to read or write, and they need somewhere to start off and get feedback. I know I did. Now I'm completely confident in what I want to do, and Stories From The Web was one of the first places where I felt like that.

The lovely team there moderate and create new things for members all the time - you can just send in your work, everything from stories to poetry to reviews  - or you can take part in the competitions, discussions, polls, read the author interviews and look at the advice section (Another of my favourite parts - they have everything, from podcasts byAli Sparkes to tips from everyone from Malorie Blackman to Anthony Horowitz to Maggie Stiefvater, and so many more I could mention, but you'll have to go on the site to find otu because it would take me all day to list them here!) - and put an incredible amount of work into the site. They are also very, very cool to boot.

The website is a safe online environment with different sections for different ages groups, and if there are any young readers of this blog (who haven't been scared away by our insanity) I urge you to GO CHECK IT OUT - NOW!  Last year it became a members only site, but it can be accessed through libraries (there's a list of which ones signed up and everything for you!) and schools, and the blog is open to everyone. Stories From The Web really helped me when I was writing first, and it really deserves to be more widely known.

Here's the all important link  for the Stories From the Web Blog. from there you can find out everything you need to know (that I haven't told you already) - I hope you take some time to look around.

Which brings me onto another part of Stories From The Web - Story Jamming. It's a brand new spin-off site - where some of SftW's members post chapters of stories they've written based on a Story Start by author Emily Diamand. Every week the new chapters will be put up, and I'd really appreciate if y'all could help get if off the ground. You can email the team if you want to join in for the next round, so it's well worth a look. You can read the first chapters, and see Emily Diamand's Story Jamming blog here!

Anyway, enough of my rambling - I'm sure you have plenty of links to follow...

And no, that was not a hint at all. No way.

Allie

And, oh my Lord, I have just posted twice in one day? It really must be Christmas after all...

It's September. THEREFORE IT IS NOT CHRISTMAS.

Just saw a Christmas episode of a TV show that shall remain unnamed for it's own safety. It's not a programme I watch, but even flicking through the channels and seeing all the sparkly fairy lights and Christmas trees and perfectly wrapped presents and completely unbelievable and pointless Christmas-themed plotlines makes me shudder.

Now, don't get me wrong, I LOVE Christmas. If I didn't actually have to go outside the house into the cold and horrible weather sometimes it would be my favourite part of the year. Mostly it's an excuse to stay inside and read, and drink hot chocolate and/or eat food that's terribly bad for you but everyone's eating it anyway so why not me? - a win-win situation - but still, it's not supposed to happen until December. Could they pass a law that stops any Christmas-y things happening/being sold until mid-November at the earliest? It's like going shopping and seeing Back To School signs everywhere when the summer term hasn't even finished.

So I escaped here to avoid the onslaught of ridiculousness that happened to be gracing one of the TV channels. And that's my rant for today done.

Dang. Just realized it was basically all about Christmas.

Allie

Inspirational Images (2)

OK, so this is sort of inspired by the Daily Dose Monday meme I saw on Erika Breathes books. But since we already have a meme for Mondays that I would like to keep for the time being, I'm reincarnating it under the working title Inspirational Images. Since there re no days of the week beginning with I, I'm not setting a particular day for us to do it on, it'll just appear whenever we see something, well, inspirational. Or pretty, or beautiful, or funny, or magical. Whatever takes our fancy.

Allie

Who told you that there's no such thing as a Gothic Hippie? They have mislead you thoroughly in the ways of life. Demand compensation.

Book...reveiws? Don't worry, I don't have any. Ha. Unlike sister dearest, I'm a selfish reader. I read for myself and me only. I can't recommend many books, or reveiw them on paper.













There we go.

You know, Obsessive-Twins-Like-To-Have-The-Last-Say disorder is going to get the best of us with these pictures.

Love, Tora.

Book Review - The Year The Gypsies Came, by Linzi Glass

Isn't the cover pretty?  It's ever so
exotic, but also peaceful-looking.

Sorry for the lapse in posts, everyone! I've written a few reviews for you to keep the blog alive while we try to get back into the swing of things again.

I first read this book a few years ago. I didn't really know what to expect (it was Glass's debut novel, and the cover doesn't give too much away) but I knew I wanted to read it. I hadn't heard of it at all, but that didn't matter. I've read my copy so many times by now - it's one of those books that will just keep temtping you back. Not because its a fantastically paranormal YA romance, or a roller coaster action adventure, but because it's a simple story with many layers, dealing with soemthing that has been dealt with in many books and in many people's real lives, woven together with lyrical words clearly coming from a very talented writer. It's understated, detailed and powerful, and will imprint its memory on you from the very first read.

Set in 1960s South Africa with a backdrop of harsh apartheid and spreading urbanisation, it tells the story of Emily Iris and her family - her affluent parents and her older sister Sarah, whom she idolizes. They have nightwatchman, Buza, an old wise black man; he is the mnost intelligent and knowing character in the book, and yet he has the least power and influence. His tales of Zulu warriors and old myths and legends help Emily get through the days - her parents have a stormy relationship, their screaming matches often causing Emily to hide out in Sarah's room as they wait out the fights, or retreat to the garden where Buza resides.
When things get really bad, her parents invite complete strangers to stay with them, as though ths mooth exterior that must be created to keep up appearances will somehow become deeper and more permanant and mend the cracks that are so obvious when the huge house is filled with echoes of arguments and frosty silences.

In this novel the guests are a family of travellers, a man and a woman, a menagerie of exotic possessions, animals and stories, and their two sons, Otis and Streak. Emily forms a friendship with Streak, but a devastating and tragic event changes the course of Emily's life, and that of every person around her.
Linzi Glass provides plenty of vivid descriptions and relatable anecdotes, little incidents that mkae you stop and think and re read the lines she has just portrayed to you. The book is colourful and so easy to imagine, she might as well have filled the pages with pictures and not words. The writing can sometimes seem detached and distant, but otherwise, it's a pleasure to read. I personally especially enjoy reading Buza's tales, which are as deeply researched as they are provacative. I think that's the main message of this book; it's thought-provoking, and struck a chord with me, for many reasons, but firstly and most prominently, it struck me as an excellent book, written by a master storyteller.

For me if there is one downfall, it's that of the characters, who for me are sometimes just unrealistic and hard to like, (but I do have a favouite - Buza) and  it does have the earmarks of a debut, and perhaps Linzi Glass would have changed some elements or small parts of it, as I'm sure any published writer would if they had a chance to edit their novel after it had been released, but over all I think it's great, and though it may not be for everyone, it's defintiely worth just trying it. You never know, it may appeal to you even if other books of its genre haven't.

Re-readability: 4.5/5
Writing: 4/5
Plot: 3.5/5
Characters 3/5
Overall: 3.5/5
In five words: thought provoking, beautiful, dream-like, lyrical.

Allie

Inspirational Images...

OK, so this is sort of inspired by the Daily Dose Monday meme I saw on Erika Breathes books. But since we already have a meme for Mondays that I would like to keep for the time being, I'm reincarnating it under the working title Inspirational Images. Since there re no days of the week beginning with I, I'm not setting a particular day for us to do it on, it'll just appear whenever we see something, well, inspirational. Or pretty, or beautiful, or funny, or magical. Whatever takes our fancy.

 

Allie

Music Monday 10

Meme borrowed from Zakiya at WBF....

Lady Luck by Jamie Woon

This is just a really cool song...really easy listening, and so unique!

Allie

Music Monday 9

Meme borrowed from Zakiya at WBF....

Today's song:

Everywhere I Go, by Lissie - Live version by Lissie and Ellie Goulding

This is a haunting and beautiful song...it's sad and kind of happy, and always strikes a chord with me whenever I listen to it...

Allie

Well, if I'm going to get all inspirational....

....I might as well do it properly.

Allie

Waiting On Wednesday #3 - Shatter Me, Tahereh Mafi

'Waiting On' Wednesday is a meme taken from Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Today's book: Shatter Me, by Tahereh Mafi
Publication Date: November 15th 2011

OK, so you've probably heard all the hype about this book - and I really hope it's true. I can't believe its long until its out! Fingers crossed I get myself  a copy as soon as possible...

I'm looking forward to this book because: the plot sounds brilliant, and even if it only half-lives up to expectations it'll be a fantastic read. It's exciting, dark, and dystopian - what more could a YA reader wish for? I wish had the kind of talent Tahereh Mafi does to have created this kind of story; it's going to be a stunning debut - and I'm pretty sure it'll have me on tenterhooks the whole way through. If what I've read about it is to be beliveed it'll be a rollercoaster ride full of lyrical words and powerful images...*dreamy sigh*

(Description from Goodreads.com): Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days. The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old-girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don't fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color. 

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war- and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she's exactly what they need right now. 

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior. 

In this electrifying debut, Tahereh Mafi presents a world as riveting asThe Hunger Games and a superhero story as thrilling as The X-Men. Full of pulse-pounding romance, intoxicating villainy, and high-stakes choices, Shatter Me is a fresh and original dystopian novel—with a paranormal twist—that will leave readers anxiously awaiting its sequel.

If this post gets the Shatter Me news out to even one new person, than my mission shall be complete...

Allie

Music Monday 8

Meme borrowed from Zakiya at WBF...

Today's song:

One Big Family, by Templecloud

This is such a simple song, but from the moment I heard it on that ad I wanted to hear the full version. I think the lead singer (yes it's a band!), Hannah Symons, has a great voice....it's just easy listening, y'know?

Allie