What I have been and shall be doing...

It is officially the end of the second term of Grade 9 SHOCK HORROR which means the end of June exams and the beginning of the daunting task of subject choice.

Despite the fact that I had to study, I read some excellent books this term two of which were Time Riders and The Book Thief.

Time Riders - Alex Scarrow
This is possibly one of the best Sci-Fi/time travel/counterfactual history related books I've read and I would definitely read it to those of you that are whovians.

The Book Thief - Markus Zusak
Best. Book. Ever. and Markus Zusak has Tumblr!

I also read Will Grayson Will Grayson and again I cannot compliment John Green enough, and David Levithan is an author I am going to pursue.

My sister and I have been watching Fargo this term and I am in a constant debate about whether I should love or hate Lorne Malvo because yes, he is a serial killer but his character is so *shudders at the colloquialism* awesome! We have just got up to the episode where Lester frames his brother and I don't think he is smart enough to get away with it.

I also bought two more albums which were:

The Smiths - The Smiths
Morrisey. That is all I can say.

and

Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not - Arctic Monkeys
I think Riot Van and Mardy Bum are two of my favourite songs ever. Mardy Bum also caused my dad to consider them as a good band :) (and they said it changes when the sun goes down ;) )

I also bought this EP

and I have come to the conclusion that Despair in the Departure Lounge is the best song on it.

I watched The Fault in our Stars and there are no words to describe it.

I also watched We Bought a Zoo again with my little sister and it is unironically (yes, I realise this is not a word) one of my favourite movies.

This holiday my book list includes Eragon, Artemis Fowl and the Eternity Code, Inkspell and Wolf Brother.

Live Long and Prosper

izzy

(P.S. who can name which episode the above picture is from?)
(P.P.S. *SPOILERS* it's Amok Time - Season 2 Episode 1)

2013

On the 31st of December last year I was at a friends house playing Xbox without any expectations for the year to come. Highschool was a not so distant prospect I didn't want to think about and exams did not even dare to be considered. Fangirl was a term I was unfamiliar with and shipping was transporting something from one place to another.

If you'd asked me who Arctic Monkeys were I would have looked at you funny. Miles Kane was just a name and The Last Shadow Puppets would have sounded like the name of a childrens book.

John Green was a just another auther I thought I would never read and The Perks of being a Wallflower was a book I'd heard of but never thought I'd read.

Sherlock was just a book, Star Trek was for nerds and Matt Smith was still the 11th Doctor.

Mandela was still alive, as well as Lou Reed, Paul Walker and Cory Monteith. The Boston Bombings were about to shock a nation and Malala Yousafzai was still recovering from being shot.

The galaxy S4 was yet to be released, the DSTV explora was unheard of and Proton Beam cancer treatment was still being perfected.

Tumblr was a website for people with no life and was about to crash with Yahoo and Danisnotonfire was some person who obviously had no idea what a space bar was.ju

I only downloaded the Arctic Monkeys song "2013" in November but it really does sum up this year.

Here's to 2013 and may 2014 be as good a year as this one has been.

Live long and prosper internet :)

izzy

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas internet! I hope you are all having a wonderful time and got to see "father christmas" travelling around the world on google maps :D I logged on when he was in Jizan, Saudi Arabia of all places ;D

Here is the fandom crossover christmas card I made :)

 

 

Sherlock and Spock agree that the hats are impractical and illogical and Castiel does not understand their significance :)

izzy

Hello again

Well the torturous process one reffers to as exams are over, although I cannot say mine were as terrible as some of the older grades (*cough* 6 hours art prac for the grade 11's *cough*) ;) . The only thing the end of exams has signified is that I can now vegetate without feeling guilty about it although he odds seem to be ever in my favour as the end of exams coincided with the premier of catching fire which I had a fangirl moment about earlier.

I will not be doing a Christmas countdown this year as I will not be in an area with feasable internet (GASP) for the first few days of December but I will obviously be posting more consistently.

Izzy

1 year

Today is the 1 year 1 day-aversiary of my blog. Who would have thought I'd be annoying the internet for a year! It's madness!

I thought I'd go through some highlights and lowlights and what I've enjoyed the most about blogging :)

HIGHLIGHTS

• I did spar ladies (which I did yesterday BTW).

• I got 1000 Pageviews!
• I made a mom and baby monster.

• I managed to complete Photo A Day.

• I revamped my blog and made it look AMAZEBALLS.

• I learnt to speak fangirl ASDJFKGL!

• I read. A lot. Why is that a highlight you are probably wondering? Because I'm wierd. That's why.

LOWLIGHTS

These are so aweful they don't deserve photos!

• I didn't blog for four weeks in October.
• I didn't blog for two months this year.
• My first few posts were cringeworthy.
• I just said cringeworthy ugh.
• My photo quality used to be TERRIBLE.

WHAT I'VE ENJOYED MOST

• I get to practice writing (that sounds so LAME)
• The rest of the world gets to see what I do with my life.

• I have always wanted a blog.

Thanks for putting up with my rambling nonsense for a year (but obviously it's entertaining rambling nonsense or else I would not be writing this now.)

Izzy

The Fault in our Stars review

Book Review

Title: The Fault in our Stars

Author: John Green
Main characters: Hazel and Augustus
My rating: 4 ½ / 5

 

Hazel Grace Lancaster is seventeen and living with terminal lung cancer. Her mother is convinced that Hazel is depressed as she reads the same book over and over again and almost never leaves the house. Because of this her mother sends her to a weekly support group at their local church.

Hazel cannot stand it until Augustus Waters begins to attend the same support group. Augustus is a one-legged recovered cancer patient and the complete opposite of terminal Hazel. The two become very close friends and Augustus manages to make contact with Peter Van Houten. He is the author of Hazel’s favourite book who became a recluse in Amsterdam shortly after publishing the book.

Hazel desperately wants to meet Mr. Van Houten so she can ask him what happened to the characters in his book at the end and whether he wrote a sequel. Augustus organises a trip to Amsterdam, but Hazel becomes very sick and the chance of her being well enough to fly to Amsterdam is very slim.

After spending a week in ICU, Hazel is able to return home. Her mother tells her that her doctor has managed to convince her medical team to let her visit Amsterdam. Augustus, Hazel and her mother fly to Amsterdam where Hazel and Augustus finally get to meet Mr. Van Houten.

He turns out to be a drunk who wants nothing to do with the pair. The only reason he met them was because of his assistant, who thought it would be good for him to meet some of his fans. Augustus promises Hazel he will write her a sequel for the book that is better than anything Mr. Van Houten could write. They visit the Anne Frank house together and it is there that Hazel realises that she loves Augustus.

In the last few days of their trip, Augustus tells Hazel he has had a recurrence of cancer all over his body.  He was diagnosed while she was in ICU.

 
As soon as they get back to America Augustus has to start with the cancer drugs. Hazel helps his family take care of him but each day his state deteriorates. On his last good day Augustus calls an emergency support group meeting for Hazel and his friend Isaac where they read eulogies for him.

A few days after this, Augustus dies in hospital. Hazel is devastated. At the funeral she sees the Peter Van Houten and is appalled he would dare attend. He tells her that Augustus said he would forgive him if he attended his funeral.

Hazel stays in contact with Augustus’ parents and they help her look all over their house for Augustus’ sequel. Hazel wants something of his to hold onto but finds nothing. She believes he got too sick to write anything. 

Hazel’s state begins to deteriorate towards the end of the book. She receives an email from Mr. Van Houten’s assistant with a letter Augustus sent to Mr. Van Houten attached. In the last few paragraphs of the book Hazel reads the letter and then it ends. The ending is an awakening reminder about the nature in which cancer affects people.

The Fault in Our Stars is a cancer book but does not glamorize having cancer. It also does not make the reader so terribly unhappy that illnesses such as cancer exist that they cannot go on with normal life. It is beautifully written and has you hanging on to every word. I hate to be cliché but in this instance the pages do turn themselves. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys realistic fiction because it is a highly relevant book as it is written in our time period and is very true to how cancer and illness can affect people’s lives emotionally and physically. It also makes the reader realise that, as terrible as it is, not every story has to have a happy ending. This is a book that will keep you thinking about it long after you have read the last words. I would expect nothing less of John Green.

I hope you guys enjoyed that. Please comment on whether I should post more reviews

Izzy