Halloween Gothic Thursday

It's Gothic Thursday, on Halloween. Or, what's left of Halloween. I've been busy.

So this week in my Gothic Fiction class we finished Frankenstein, which was an average read. We also watched Edward Scissorhands this week. We're (the class) is supposed to see the parallels between Frankenstein monster and Edward Scissorhands. Or, at least that's what she (the teacher) said. I just think she wanted to watch the movie. Which was good (my first time seeing it, I know, I'm so deprived), but I wish more people had died. I kind of wanted Edward to go crazy and kill everyone in that disgustingly happy town. So that's what we did this week. Test tomorrow. Next week, I think, we're starting Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. That will be interesting.

I was going to tell you about the "parallels" I saw between the monster and Edward but I am just fifty shades of too tired. If you've read the book and seen the movie then I think you'll be able to see them for yourself. Or maybe not.

So I'm really going to start posting more again now. I was really sick the past few weeks and now I'm better (except now I have a stupid ear infection, so maybe I'm not better, but I feel better). So I'll be trying harder now.

Update Thursday #Whatever (3 I Think?)

I am reading:

• Carrie by, well, do I really have to tell you. And yes. I am mostly reading it because the movie just came out. I don't know why though. I can't even get in because I don't have my license and my stupid theater doesn't take permits. 

• Gone. Yes. Still. 

• The Lincoln Lawyer. At this rate I'll never finish. 

Blog Updates: None

Polls: The two from a couple weeks ago are still up. Only seven days left to vote on one. 

Finished books this week:

• Just finished Frankenstein. No review to come. It was what I expected from a book written in that time period. Now I have a three page paper to write about. So bye. 

Television

It's Whatever Wednesday again and I think I might be getting back to my old self so I'll be posting more again. Today's whatever: my favorite TV shows.

So I've been watching a lot of TV lately, like, more than normal. And I watched a lot before. But I've found that over the last several months especially have been filled with TV hours. I think most of my favorite TV shows (most,but not all) follow the pattern of 'something bad happened and now we need to figure out what it is/who did it and how we can stop him/her/it from doing it again'. That being said, my favorite shows are (in no particular order): The Following (anyone else is that excited for that to come back soon?), Supernatural, LOST, Grimm (TWO MORE DAYS!!!!!!!!), NCIS, Shameless, Face Off (Go Tate), Psych, The Mentalist, Sleepy Hollow, Alphas (stop being cancelled and come back damn it), Revolution, Monk, Agents Of SHIELD, How I Met Your Mother, Scrubs, and then like a million and half more shows.

I don't see anything wrong with watching TV. I just think when it's too much TV it's bad. I'll be the first person to admit that I watch way too much TV. After a long day of work I would much rather come home and watch some Psych than read a book or write or even do anything productive. I think I need to make time for more reading and less TV. But I don't think TV is bad. It's more of a time management thing than anything else. I think, like most things, it's a balancing act.

So tell me what you think. What are your favorite shows? And is your balancing act a little lop sided?

I'm Bad At Life

I hope it's Whatever Wednesday, because I worked my Wednesday hours today. It's just been one of those days where I've been doing everything wrong. It took me like an entire minute to open the door to get out of one of my classes. Then I spilled coffee on myself. Then other stuff. On top of it, I barley saw my senpai today.

But it's not just today. That's the kind of week I've been having. Yesterday my bus was an entire two hours late. Come on school bus. Get your act together. And my mother went to Colorado (grrr) so it wasn't like she could just drive me to school. So I'm sorry that I haven't been doing my days, but give me a break. I'm having a rough day. I'm having a rough week. Hell, it seems like I'm having a rough life at this point.

Give me some time to recover and the days will start back up soon. Sorry not sorry.

You Suck

#DecidedToNotDoMyHomework #NowIHaveTimeToDoStuff. #DontKnowWhyImUsingHashtags. Yeah so basically I decided to not do any of my work so there will be a Quotation Sunday tonight (but probably still no Discussion Monday tomorrow). Today's quote:

"Remember to always be yourself, unless you suck." - Joss Whedon.

If you don't love Joss Whedon then you are wrong. I like this quote because I don't think that anybody is really themselves, therefore, we all suck. What I mean by that is everyone is constantly being made into something they're not. When you're a child your parents (if they aren't terrible) teach you how to act around people and how to behave properly. And school tells you how to act. And work tells you how to act. So basically your entire life you're told how to act around people and what not to do. I think we are a very conditioned people. Which kind of sucks. I don't think anybody is who they're really supposed to be. Even if you're the biggest rebel possible you still suck because you're just rebeling against what they want you to be and if they weren't there you wouldn't be a rebel.

In conclusion, I suck, you suck, and so does everyone else. To be honest, I don't really mind sucking. I'm happy with my life the way it is.

Sorry Guys

Sorry guys. Clearly there was no Fandom Friday yesterday. There will not be a Ship It Saturday tonight. I will also not being doing Quotation Sunday or Discussion Monday this week. Sorry. I 'm just too busy for the next few days. Topics will start up again on Top Seven Tuesday (hopefully).

Update Thursday #2

I am reading:

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley for my English class. We're just about done with it at this point. 

Gone by Micheal Grant. Again, so far not so good. I might just put it down for a while. Every time I try to read it I just get angry. 

The Lincoln Lawyer by Micheal Connelly. I think I might restart it because I haven't had time for it and I keep forgetting whats happening. 

Blog Updates: None

Polls: Don't forget to vote! Two polls are up now. Did you like to read as a child, and which of my days is your favorite. 

Other: I am now taking review requests again. 

School and Class Rank

There are 152 kids in my senior class. Guess what number I am. I'll give you a second to stop and actually think about it. I asked my co-workers and one of them said, "One?" "Close," I told her. "151," I concluded. Yes folks, I am 151 out of 152. I did good. I have yet to find 152, but a good friend of mine is 150. Bottom three club. I don't really look at it as being the second worst, but the 151st best. I don't understand why people get so worked up about their class rank and GPA (mine is a 1.7). I don't think that actually really reflects my intelligence or work ethic or anything really. Clearly I'm not a stupid kid, I mean, I read (reading is not a sign of intelligence either, I'm just making points that I cant defend). I just don't like school. That doesn't make me a bad person or bad student, I mean all my teachers love me. Even the ones I sass.

Speaking of teachers I sass, my related teacher gets it (not really). So far this year I haven't turned in a single assignment to him. He like gave me a speech about how it was good that I was standing for something. Clearly he is over thinking this. I'm not standing for anything, I just don't feel like doing his work. I have A's and B's in the rest of my extremely easy classes. I love my related teacher, he's a great guy, but I'm not doing college level work if I'm not going to college.

I'm not going to college (you can stop emailing me now, stupid expensive private colleges I don't want to go to). I've never wanted to. I feel like most people go because their parents want them too, or they feel like they have to. I think that's societies fault. Kids are being taught at an early age that the goal is to get to college. Well, for some people that just isn't the case. I'm one of those people. I want to be a writer. I always have. I don't need college for that, I mean it would be helpful, but I don't need it. My mom was heartbroken when I told her I didn't want to go to college. When people ask me where I'm going next year I tell them "I'm not going anywhere," and my mom says, "she's going to be taking some writing classes." Are you paying for those, mom, because I'm not.

I don't think school is teaching kids right. We learn to remember for the test, and then we forget. So we never really learn. And I don't think college is for everyone. If you don't want to go, then don't go. I think it's time for a change in the American education system. And I think it may be time for a change of values. But hey, that's just me.

Top Seven Favorite Authors

It's Top Seven Tuesday again. The day I talk about my top seven of something. Today, my top seven favorite authors.

7) James Patterson. I think any author that can write that many books deserves some major props.

6) Rick Riordan. What can I say? While I can honestly say that I think Percy Jackson will be the only series of his that I'll love, it was still something. Percy Jackson is really the series that started my love of reading. I don't think there is anything better an author can do than give the gift of a great book to someone like me.

5) Malia Ann Haberman. Really nice woman. I've talked to her a few times and she's just so polite and perfect. I love her books so much. I wish I could have half of her writing talent.

4) Ally Condie. Matched trilogy author. Another series that I don't think I could have lived without. Fabulous books. The last one blew my mind. This girl has got a talent.

3) Scott Tracey. Keep writing books with good gay leads and I'll continue to read. Tracey's Witch Eyes books continue to play in my mind, even months after reading them.

2) Suzanne Collins. Oh Suzanne. Author of my all time favorite book series. One would think that with me being such a huge Hunger Games fan that she would be my number one, and she almost was. But if I could only read one book for the rest of my life, it would be hers. (Catching Fire, obviously.)

1) John Green. I don't even know how to explain it. I've only read one of his books, unless you count Zombicorns, then two. I think it's because of his videos. I think it's because when I watch his videos I find myself going "Yes John, I agree. You are right." I agree with him 99% of the time. And he's more than just an author to me. He does so many good things and he's just perfect. I wish I could marry him. Like I'm being dead serious. I love this man. Which is probably why he is my number one author.

White Horse by Alex Adams

I do not recommend this book

White Horse by Alex Adams, a book so bad I didn't even bother to really learn the main characters name. Even now as I write this I have to go back and look. That is how bad this book is. I don't even care about the characters. When a book fails to make you care about the characters  it fails as a book.

Zoe. Her name was Zoe. And Zoe was probably one of the most boring characters I have ever had the misfortune of reading about. Zoe is haunted by a nightmare about a jar, which she believed caused the end of the world. Bad plot right there. Skipping that, because at this point why even bother with something as stupid as that lack of a plot. Zoe is like all the other characters, bland. You couldn't pay me to read this book again.

And what about that terrible style it's written in? The author uses a style in which I found not only unneeded but somewhat confusing. Adams switches things a lot. By that I mean one second Zoe will be talking about what she's doing in the end of the world, then the next she will be talking about what she was doing before. I think this could have been done well if someone else had done it. Adams lacks something. The writing is often over fluffed and misguided.

I give this book one star

101 Ways to Find a Ghost by Melissa Martin Ellis

Mixed Feelings

101 Ways to Find a Ghost (and a ridiculously long subtitle). More like, 101 ways to look for ghosts. Two very different things. Instead of being a book about how to locate ghosts, like I believed it was going to be, it was more of a book about ways to conduct a paranormal investigation and how to form a team. While I really enjoyed some of the information this book had to offer I find myself feeling cheated. Interesting topic. Not a very interesting book.

It was a decent book and a decent read, especially with Halloween getting closer. I think if it wasn't for such misdirection the book would have been good. It wasn't so much of a story, just an instruction manual. So if you're interested in becoming a ghost hunter then this book may be for you (and no, that's not a stupid career choice). Just looking for something to read? Maybe you shouldn't pick this up.

I give this book three stars

Why Do We Ship

Well, it's too late to do a real Ship It Saturday (not really but I just worked 8 and half hours so I'm tired). So today I'm just going to talk about why I think people ship in one short paragraphs.

I ship because I have to. I don't know about other people but I feel the need to pair people (fictional characters) together. Example: I just started watching Sleepy Hollow (great show, must watch). Lets be honest, who else didn't instantly ship Abbie and Ichabod. It just happens. It's an involuntary action. I think everyone does it because they feel the need to.

That, and, it's a socially correct thing to do now, so why not.

The Hunger Games Fandom

Fandom Friday? Last week I told you I finally picked what I was going to do on Friday's. This is it. So every Friday I'm going to pick a Fandom that I'm in to talk about. I'm going to try to stick to book fandoms, but I might go into TV, movie, or band fandoms. This weeks fandom? Hunger Games.

I'm in the Hunger Games fandom for many reasons. One, because the books were amazing. Two, because the fans don't suck. I try to stay away from the fandoms where all the fans are crazy. I will not listen to One Direction because I do not want to be associated with their fans. I don't mind when I tell people I'm a Hunger Games fan.

At this point I think everybody who wanted to read The Hunger Games books has done so, or is in the process of doing so. I love these books. And I even really loved the movie. I cant wait for the Catching Fire movie. I love Jennifer Lawrence. I love all the actors. I love being apart of this fandom. Every day I go to work with the pin on my uniform. For me this is more than a fandom, it's a family.

Vampires

It's Gothic Thursday again. Today's topic: Vampires. So my Gothic Fiction teacher got an expert on vampires to come in yesterday and talk to her classes. This expert was Dr. Micheal Bell. I had read a couple of interviews he had done so I was really excited for his presentation.

I think everyone, thanks to twilight (yuck, not necessarily a bad story, just really terrible writing.) has some kind of image of vampires in there head. I'm not interested in those kinds of vampires. I want the blood thirsty ones. I want the ones like Dracula. Those were, unfortunately, not the kind of vampires Dr. Bell discussed with us. He was more interested in talking about the ones that could be proven false with scientific facts. Not really a surprise but many people who were thought to actually be vampires just had, wait for it, tuberculosis. Kind of lame. So I'm not really interested in those "vampires" either.

What I was interested in was how people thought they could get rid of vampires. In the true story of Mercy Brown, a girl with, you guessed it, tuberculosis, died. Other people in her town started getting tuberculosis, so clearly that meant vampires. So they dug up her grave and she wasn't decomposed so, you know, clearly she was a vampire. So they took her heart out and burned it and then fed the ashes to her brother who was suffering from, well, do I really need to say what? Not surprisingly, he died.

It's just interesting to me how much the definition of vampire has changed. From something that doesn't even rise from the grave, to Bram Stoker's Dracula, to Twilight. Literature has changed vampires. Maybe not for the best. I personally would like to start seeing more vampire books about vampires that kill. I'm sick of the romanticizing that the creature receives. Lets leave the horror in the stories.

The Ambrose Beacon by Alena Gouveia

I don't know how I feel

*I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.*

I think a lot of things were done right with this book, but still, a lot of things were done wrong. I don't know though. I seem to be the only one giving this book a somewhat negative review. I think this is one of those books that you're going to need to make up your own mind about. Don't just take my word for it. Read it yourself.

Let's start with the right. Gouveia manages to create a fairly interesting and original story. The plot was interesting. In general it was something that i was interested in and wanted to read. His writing is very good and easy enough to read. Gouveia was always clear in his narrative. There was never a part that made me go "huh?". There's a decent balance between detail and dialogue, which is something I find is hard to do so I admire this skill. Yet, I still find myself feeling distant from the book and the characters.

Maybe it's because it's in third person. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I just don't like books in third person. It's not that they're bad. It's just not how I like to read. Maybe it's because it had a prologue. Not a fan. Never have been. Never will be. It's just one of those things that I don't get. Maybe it was the characters. In the first chapter we're introduced to Jerry and Larry. This is probably what turned me off from the book, that and it taking place in Colorado (there's nothing wrong with Colorado. It's a lovely state. But I just have some demons there that I was trying to forget. Thinking about it makes me angry, and in turn, so did this book), but I won't even get into that here. The names were just so cheesy. I couldn't take it.  Maybe it was the slow beginning. It does pick up towards the end, but if the beginning is slow that sets a mood for the whole book.

Then again. Something keeps taking me back. I think I might have to reread this one. Maybe not right away, but soon. I have some super mixed feelings about this book. I think you should check it out. I'm interested in what everyone else is thinking. Maybe I'm just like broken or something. I'm totally rereading this sometime within the next few months. If my opinions change I'll let you know. For now, I'm stuck with mixed emotions.

I give this book two and half stars

Sorry, again...

I'm sorry. I've just been really busy this week. My bad. I'll start really posting again tomorrow. I promise. Now I have to do the rest of my math homework. So. Bye.