i don't want to talk about it

Let's just not even mention my aim, OK? The book a week thing?

Yeah. TOTALLY not going so well.

It's been over two weeks since I started Cloudstreet, but although I quite like it, I'm not enthralled. I just don't pick it up when I'm bored the way I do when I find a book I love. Actually, when I find a book I REALLY love, I pretty much just read, all the time, without doing other vital things. When I got Paper Towns by John Green from the library, that's what I did. Just read, all the time.

Actually, I still have that book. I need to return it to the library... now I've probably got a fine...

I had an OK weekend, I watched the telecast of Jessica Watson coming home on TV on Saturday (and read a bit while I was doing that), and went shopping for clothes for work experience (which will undoubtedly be mentioned here more soon because the position I've got is really relevant and I am SO SO SO excited about it!!!). Then I watched a movie with my family on Saturday night, so I didn't read then. Sunday, I did some homework and spent time with my sister, then went to church. So no reading there.

Anyway, I've got over 30 views on my video on YouTube! And although I think a large majority of them are me, I'd like to thank anyone who did actually watch the video. I really appreciate it, particularly as it wouldn't make sense to you unless you had read the book.

Which I sort of recommend, but sort of not... It's ok, it's just not the best book I've ever read. It feels a tiny bit like it's dragging. Apparently there's a play of it that goes for 6 hours. I don't know if I could stay focussed for that long. I had trouble staying focussed in the movie of Robin Hood and that's only 2 hours!

Tomorrow, I have a PIP lesson, and I think I'll try and finish the book tonight or tomorrow morning on the way to school and write the review in the lesson. I was worried at first that the filter on the school server that blocks sites like Facebook :( and flash games would block my blog, but luckily it didn't, so I can work on that at school. I'm also planning on emailing some high-profile bloggers and vloggers to ask them to check out my project, and hopefully even endorse it for me, so stay tuned for that!

And I promise I'll get off this book soon so you can start reading my boring entries about another book :)

family fun

EXAMS ARE OVER! YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! HOORAYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

OK, that's out of the way and I'm not going to talk about exams again, I apologise for all my complaining.

SO what's been happening... Well *the thing that must not be named* was eating into all my reading time but that will not happen anymore. I've got a pretty empty weekend so I'll try and finish Cloudstreet by Sunday, maybe even before if I actually try and do it, but right now I just want to bask in the fact that I have NO MORE... Oh wait. Sorry. No more I promise.

The book is very very good. But what I find confusing is the characters. So the book is about two families that move in together in this one big house, and one family has five kids, the other seven, and it can get REALLY confusing trying to figure which kid belongs to which family!

So to help myself I've drawn a rather epic family tree, which you can now see me drawing in the following, rather epic (if I do say so myself) video. It took me rather a while to do. The music in the background is I've Got Nothing by the Chartjackers. Enjoy it!

mid-exam high!

I'm at that stage where more than half my exams are over, I'm finding it REALLY hard to concentrate on studying and all I want to do is relax, hang out with my friends, play guitar, watch episode after episode of Gilmore Girls and read.

Unfortunately, I cannot, because although I have done my science exam (which was actually WAY better than I expected and I am so so so relieved), PDHPE exam (which everyone finished in half an hour and was really easy) and French exam (which was just a speaking exam that I think I did quite well in), tomorrow I have Maths, which should be nice and hard and on Wednesday I have Geography.

Today while we were waiting around after the PDHPE exam for the French exam, I realised that I could be using this time to keep reading Cloudstreet (which, incidentally, I have nearly half finished!), but I was with some of best friends at the time and I REALLY didn't feel like going down to my locker to get the book and then effectively ignore them for the next hour. So I didn't read.

But looking back on that event, I've started to realise something. If I'm going to get through 26 books by October 31st, there are going to have to be times when reading comes before incidental hanging out. Like, I might be REALLY close to finishing a book and we have a bludgy period because it's raining and we're meant to have PE and the teacher can't be bothered making us do yoga in the hall (hypothetical situation, we play hockey inside when it rains and it's actually one of the better times I have in PE) and all my friends will be chatting and I'll have to say "sorry, I've just got to read for a bit, THEN I'll talk".

I know I got myself into this, and I love to read, but that situation just doesn't appeal to me. I guess if I stay on top of the reading that won't have to happen, but at the moment, when I'm struggling to finish a book in two weeks, it looks quite likely.

Sigh... Oh well, this time in 48 hours all my exams will be over! I can't wait.

doing slightly better at reading, not so much at science!

I have read quite a bit more of Cloudstreet, and I'm finding it incredibly good!

Last night I read for about 45 minutes, which felt SO SO good after studying pretty much all afternoon. Science still doesn't make any sense, and I just feel really overwhelmed by the amount of stuff I have to know. If anyone has a really good, simple way of explaining the nitrogen cycle in terms that I will understand, please tell me! I really need to learn it.

But I'll tell you what I DID learn today: I learnt that Psycho is a REALLY scary movie. We were watching it in music because we are studying film music (so much fun!) and I spent the entire "shower scene" facing the opposite direction, staring at my best friend while she told me what was going on. It was fun.

And THAT was completely unrelated to the project, but I am trying to make this blog post nice and long so I can spend lots of time writing it so I don't have to go back and revise simultaneous equations (maths is not as bad as science, but still pretty bad!)

BACK to Cloudstreet... WOW Tim Winton is good! The writing is really simple but he is such a good storyteller. I am so attached to the characters, particularly to Quick Lamb. Quick's younger brother Fish was in an accident and suffered some form of mental trauma or brain damage, and Quick is such a caring older brother, who just wishes his brother was OK again. Quick blames himself for Fish's accident, which is heartwrenching considering how much he cares about Fish. There is a particularly poignant section that tells of Quick's habit of cutting out stories of refugees and people in natural disasters and sticking them on his wall so he could remember how lucky he was not to have suffered like them, or like Fish did.

I also like Rose Pickles, a girl in the other family. She seems to have a very honest view of life, and I think, particularly as she grows older, she could turn out to be a fascinating character.

Anyway, Cloudstreet is a really beautiful book (so far) and I'm looking forward to finding out what happens! I'm also really excited about moving onto my next book ASAP, which should be The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta, if I can get a copy by the time I need it. If not, I'll probably have to read Tales from Outer Suburbia or Wuthering Heights because I have Looking for Alaska on reserve from my local library but it hasn't come in yet (much to my frustration).

Please keep commenting, suggesting books and following!

death to genetics

I know I'm made up of cells, and I know I should be interested in how I am put together, but SERIOUSLY! I just want to READ!

So my exams are next week, and I have been studying like crazy this afternoon. Cloudstreet is sitting on my bedside table, tempting me every time I look at it, because it is so much more interesting than mitosis and meiosis and haploid cells and diploid cells and... OH NO... does mitosis happen in diploid cells or haploid cells???

Haha just kidding, I do know. Mitosis goes with diploid cells. I bet you're glad you know that!

I really would much rather be reading about the adventures of the Pickles family and the Lamb family as they move in together, but at least for now, unfortunately, exams must take priority. I will TRY and read (and blog) but I make no promises. As soon as they are over, you can expect to hear from me a lot more regularly (and in a lot more depth about the books).

Anyway, quadratic equations beckon! I have some serious studying to do, and my study timetable that I am trying in vain to stick to informs me that I am already 4 minutes late for starting to revise maths, my second-least favourite subject. (Science and PE tie for number one).

boats vs books

It's May 1st!

I woke up this morning and looked at the calendar app on my iPod, and I thought to myself, 'hey! Today is the first day of the month! I have a legitimate excuse to pinch and punch my friends!'

And then I thought 'hey, today is the launch of twenty-six stories!'

So... welcome to book one of the project: Cloudstreet by Tim Winton, recommended to me by both my mum and my aunt.

Today my family (and another family) went out to an island in the harbour for a picnic. We were on boat for 40 minutes to get there and back, and while we were heading out, I was LONGING for the book to read, because there are only so many times you can look at the Harbour Bridge and still get excited about it. In the evening things were slightly different. Everything is so pretty at night with all the lights turned on!

Anyway, I have read the first chapter of Cloudstreet and so far I'm enjoying it. The writing is really, really good, and the characters seem set to be enthralling. I am looking forward to seeing where the book goes.

I shall write again soon, updating you on my progress. I have exams the week after next so I have to balance my reading with studying at the moment, and I can't wait until after exams when I can just focus on reading! (and homework and assignments, of course... :P)

Please keep suggesting books and commenting, I have really enjoyed reading your comments!

my favourite books ever (yes, i am still filling in time...)

OK. I no longer regret starting this blog early because I have realised that I get to write random entries that have not a lot to do with the project until May 1st!

And though this is literary-related and would actually have been an acceptable use of this blog during the project, I have decided to write this blog NOW just so you don't suggest these books to me, because I've already read them. Also, if you know other books like these ones that I may enjoy, then suggest them!

SO, in no particularly order, my favourite books EVER.

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
This book is about an eccentric girl who really goes against the crowd and changes her entire school. The book is narrated from the perspective of a boy named Leo. The cover of my copy is bright pink, and so I don't think many boys would want to read it, but that's a massive shame because it's not a 'girly' book at all. It's really well-written.
Ages 12+ (not because of anything inappropriate, but it's set in a high school and younger kids may not find it that interesting)

Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta
One of my friends gave me this book as a present in year 6 and I am SO grateful! It's absolutely wonderful. The characters in this book seem so realistic and the plot is relatable. I'm really excited because the sequel/companion to this book, The Piper's Son, has just been released and I'm probably going to read it as one of my twenty-six books.
Ages 13+

Joel and Cat Set the Story Straight by Nick Earls and Rebecca Sparrow
This book is HILARIOUS! I only read it quite recently but it's so funny and the characters are so realistic. It's a tandem novel, meaning Nick Earls writes one chapter then Rebecca Sparrow writes the next one, but the way the plot is carried throughout the entire book is so clever. Each author has a character, and both characters are flawed, but very lovable.
Ages 14+

I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
Dodie Smith is best known for writing 101 Dalmations but this book is nothing like that one! It was written in the 1940s and is the diary of a 17-year-old girl named Cassandra who lives in an old, tumble-down castle. It's incredibly romantic, Cassandra's diary entries are never dull and the setting is vividly evoked. When I was reading this book I desperately wanted to visit the castle and the area of England in which it is set. A movie has been made out of this which is not as good as the book, but it's OK.
Ages 12+

Harry Potter (all of them!) by J.K. Rowling
How cliched I am... These books are just so clever in their plot development. I'm generally not a fan of fantasy but I make an exception for Harry Potter. Being my age, (15), I didn't really get into the books until after the fourth one was released, but I preordered my copy of Deathly Hallows and got it on the day it was released, and then finished it the next day. It was very exciting!
Ages 9+ for first few books, then getting up more towards 11 or 12 for the last few (they get a bit dark)

Finding Grace by Alyssa Brugman
This book is not very well-known but it is absolutely fantastic. It tells the story of a girl named Rachel who has just left school and is given a job looking after a fairly recently brain-damaged woman named Grace. Rachel is a really funny character and the plot is really beautiful.
Ages 14+

So that's my list of my favourite books of all time! I really recommend all of these books.

Please keep the suggestions coming! I'm deciding on my first five books within the next two weeks. I think I know (mostly) what these first five will be and I'll announce it soon!