30 Day Writing Challenge- Day 3! My Favourite Series

Day 3 of my 30 Day Writing Challenge

The topic is my favourite series.  Myfirst thought was, can I write about Harry Potter again? Or The Hunger games again?

Well its my blog so I guess I can. You know how much I love HP. And there will be a ton of other posts about HP, so I am not going to this time…  

A series that I love is Ellen Hopkins Crank trilogy featuring: Crank (#1), Glass (#) and Fallout (#3).  This series follow Kristina and her downfall into the monster (crystal meth/crank/glass/ice-what have you).  In the second book she tries to clean up for the sake of her son, but he force of the monster is too strong so she falls back in harder and deeper. The third book is written in 3 perspectives, 3 of the 5 of Kristina’s kids.  

You should also know I love this author. I’m not a fan of poetry usually because maybe the poet was just talking about a red wagon and not some angst childhood.  So, I’m not even sure why I picked this book up in the first place. Musta been the drugs. That’s what it’s about. Not me being on drugs at the time… Awkward.

This series is hard. Not in the effort or brain power it takes you to read it, but hard in the sense that it tugs at you emotionally. Hopkins writes in a way that you can identify with exactly what each of the characters are going through, even if you have never done drugs before. She makes you empathetic to them, as well as sympathizes with them simultaneously.  Its not for the weak hearted and a far cry from being sugar coated. The stuff she talks about is real shit that teenagers go through.

I’ve told you again and again, go pick up an Ellen Hopkins book. You won’t be disappointed.

30 Day Book Writing Challenge---DAY 2!

Back to my 30 Day Book Writing Challenge! Now on Day 2!

The topic of choice is: A book I have read more than 3 times.

A reading confession is now needed. I re-read things all the time. That’s not the confession.  The confession is that when the next book in the series comes out, I MUST re-read the prior books before reading the newest installment.  This isn’t a bad thing when I buy the whole series as once and knock them off in a weekend.  Its bad (well not bad, but time consuming at times) when they come out every year. Like Harry Potter.  Another side of the confession, is that when the book comes out as a movie, I must re-read the book before going to see it. 

So all you mathematicians out there trying to calculate how many times I may have read Harry Potter. There are 7 books.  8 movies.   That means I have read the first Harry Potter about 14 times. (I didn’t actually do the math ---it’s only 8 am!--- I’m guesstimating). And you know what? I still love it. I can never tire of it.

 

 

 

30 Day Writing Challenge: Day 1- The Best Book I Read Last Year- The Hunger Games

I read a lot of really really good books last year. Its hard to pick one.  However, I do believe this honour goes to THE HUNGER GAMES!

If you have been living under a rock you may not have heard of this little ditty written by Suzanne Collins. If you have been living under a mountain you may not have heard of the movie.  And you need to get a life. Go. The movie is actually a pretty good adaptation.(Pretty good, as I wish like all book to movie adaptations they would be 5 hours long and include every single event)


I remember receiving this for Christmas from my sister (2011) and was like " I have never heard of this in my life...thanks". She said all her kids in her class were talking about this new series and well, that usually sells me on something. I am a bit of a contemporary follower.  And her students were right! She must be teaching them something! (love you!)

Ok, so synopsis (according to goodreads):

 

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister’s place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before—and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender.

If she is to win, she will have to start making choices that will weigh survival against humanity and life against love

 

 

First, why is this my favorite book of the year? Because what a fucked up concept it is. Put 12 kids in an arena and have them fight to the death! Who thinks of this shit?! Ms. Collins does. And thank god! What a great story.  There were more than one climatic event (as there should be...hehehe), that it was so hard to put down. You just had to keep turning the pages until you finished the book.

 

I also love Katniss and would secretly love to be her. Okay, maybe I secretly just want to be Jennifer Lawrence. Because seriously, do you see me running? With a bow? (I'm sure Garett is just laughing at the imagery now) Suzanne Collins made Katniss believable, you thought exaclty what she was thinking, in the same sarcastic tone. I loved it!  She was a survivor and totally kicked ass at it.

  

 

I started writing a rant on the whole Team Gale vs. Team Peeta debacle, and well I thought I had a strong leaning towards Gale, but then I just couldn't decide. Katniss was playing the part in The Hunger Games, she was just to stupid to see that Peeta actually wasn't. She did also entertain the idea of Gale being more than 'just friends'.  Both guys kinda got shit on by Katniss actually. Hmm... In the end I would vote for Gale, mainly because she friendzoned him, made him watch her 'act' being in love with the 'rich' guy and he still watched after her sister and mom. There's a keeper!

 

 

On that note... Yup, Hunger Games was my favourite book of last year (2012). Followed by the other two books in the series.

 

 

 

30 Day Book Writing Challenge

 Okay, here is the thing sometimes I get hooked on posting pictures and not actually writing anything of purpose. I fall into a trap and I was browsing through some other book blogs and came across this little challenge. A 30 days of book topics. I did do one of these on my other blog and I felt that it really kept me in focus, so when I cam across a bookish one I have to admit I was pretty excited! Now I can rant!  I am not going to do in every day for 30 days straight. I will however try  to do one every week. Thats 30 weeks of goodness my friends! In the end I will  most likely put these as a standalone page. Most likely.

 

 

Here’s the list:
Day 01 – The best book you read last year
Day 02 – A book that you’ve read more than 3 times
Day 03 – Your favorite series
Day 04 – Favorite book of your favorite series
Day 05 – A book that makes you happy
Day 06 – A book that makes you sad
Day 07 – Most underrated book
Day 08 – Most overrated book
Day 09 – A book you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving
Day 10 – Favorite classic book
Day 11 – A book you hated
Day 12 – A book you used to love but don’t anymore
Day 13 – Your favorite writer
Day 14 – Favorite book of your favorite writer
Day 15 – Favorite male character
Day 16 – Favorite female character
Day 17 – Favorite quote from your favorite book
Day 18 – A book that disappointed you
Day 19 – Favorite book turned into a movie
Day 20 – Favorite romance book
Day 21 – Favorite book from your childhood
Day 22 – Favorite book you own
Day 23 – A book you wanted to read for a long time but still haven’t
Day 24 – A book that you wish more people would’ve read
Day 25 – A character who you can relate to the most
Day 26 – A book that changed your opinion about something
Day 27 – The most surprising plot twist or ending
Day 28 – Favorite title
Day 29 – A book everyone hated but you liked
Day 30 – Your favorite book of all time

 

 

Day 1 will come tomorrow...See how good I am at procrastinating already