100 of the best books ever

As an avid reader I go through a lot of books, I have a large personal collection and I am never not in the middle of a book. Yet it always astounds me at how much I haven't read, the countless books that I haven't even heard of and the ones that I have but just haven't managed to read yet. Due to this I enjoy looking at top 100 lists for books, the difficulty is finding a good one to follow. These lists float around all over the internet and I never seem to be able to find the same one twice. I get sent a new list every year from Dymocks and I always love going through and examining just how many on that list I have actually read. Since I was a bit disappointed with Dymocks list this year I thought I would provide you with one from BBC.

The top 100 books of all time.

1. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien
2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
3. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman
4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling
6. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
7. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne
8. Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell
9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis
10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë
11. Catch-22, Joseph Heller
12. Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë
13. Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks
14. Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier
15. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
16. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
17. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
18. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
19. Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres
20. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
21. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
22. Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, JK Rowling
23. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling
24. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling
25. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien
26. Tess Of The D'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
27. Middlemarch, George Eliot
28. A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving
29. The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck
30. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
31. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson
32. One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez
33. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
34. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
35. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
36. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
37. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute
38. Persuasion, Jane Austen
39. Dune, Frank Herbert
40. Emma, Jane Austen
41. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery
42. Watership Down, Richard Adams
43. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
44. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
45. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
46. Animal Farm, George Orwell
47. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
48. Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy
49. Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian
50. The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher

51. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
52. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck
53. The Stand, Stephen King
54. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
55. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth
56. The BFG, Roald Dahl
57. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome
58. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
59. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
60. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
61. Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman
62. Memoirs Of A Geisha, Arthur Golden
63. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
64. The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough
65. Mort, Terry Pratchett
66. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
67. The Magus, John Fowles
68. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
69. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett
70. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding
71. Perfume, Patrick Süskind
72. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell
73. Night Watch, Terry Pratchett
74. Matilda, Roald Dahl
75. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding
76. The Secret History, Donna Tartt
77. The Woman In White, Wilkie Collins
78. Ulysses, James Joyce
79. Bleak House, Charles Dickens
80. Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson
81. The Twits, Roald Dahl
82. I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith
83. Holes, Louis Sachar
84. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake
85. The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
86. Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson
87. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
88. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons
89. Magician, Raymond E Feist
90. On The Road, Jack Kerouac
91. The Godfather, Mario Puzo
92. The Clan Of The Cave Bear, Jean M Auel
93. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett
94. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
95. Katherine, Anya Seton
96. Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer
97. Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez
98. Girls In Love, Jacqueline Wilson
99. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot
100. Midnight's Children, Salman Rushdie 

Out of this particular collection I have read a total of 27 books. I would have liked to find a bit more of an advanced list for this post but it proved somewhat difficult, many included such works as '50 Shades of Grey' and while I won't deny anyone wanting to read it you will have a hard time convincing me that it belongs on a list of the best books of all time. 

I do have some books on this list waiting on my shelves but I will have to expand my collection yet again. How many books on this list have you read? And can you recommend me a better list? Until next time,

Catherine

The best of Christmas stories

Since Christmas is only two weeks away (eek!) I thought I would share some of my favourite Christmas stories. Most of these will be the ones you can read with your children on Christmas Eve but some will be novels that anyone, no matter how old, can read and thoroughly enjoy.

An Aussie Night Before Christmas, Yvonne Morrison

Being Australian myself this is a really fun alternative to the original 'Night Before Christmas'. It's absolutely brimming with Australian slang and motifs. Not to mention this one is set in the right season for us. Reading this one on Christmas Eve is a must, it'll put everyone in Christmas cheer. 

The Fir-Tree, Hans Christian Andersen

This is an old one but a good one. It tells the tale of a little Fir-Tree growing up in the woods then being used as a Christmas tree. Not much explanation needed but the story does go beyond him being used as a Christmas tree. All in all it is a sad tale but quite lovely.

A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens 

No Christmas list would be complete without a mention of 'A Christmas Carol', there are so many adaptations and rewrites of this novella that it's become a cliché to mention it at Christmas time. But clichés are clichés for a reason and this is a firm favourite of mine. I had to study Charles Dickens for a class last year and I fell in literary love. Dickens was quite fond of writing Christmas stories so you can often find collections of them as opposed to the individual stories.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Dr. Seuss

Dr Seuss, need I say more? 

None the less it's a good read but if you're more of a movie buff you may want to check out the film adaptation staring Jim Carrey.

The Shining, Stephen King 

Ok, ok not a Christmas story but it's set around Christmas time so that counts right? Still, no list of mine would be complete without an appearance by the horror king. But this would make a good alternate read for those of you with a darker Christmas cheer.

What are your favourite Christmas stories, let me know! Until next time,

Catherine

A name in blood

So this week I have another book review for you and once again I really enjoyed this one. It's not often I find books that I dislike but when I do I'll let you know. 'A Name in Blood' is written by Matt Rees and is historical fiction based on true events. 

Michelangelo Merisi (also known as Caravaggio after his home town) was one of Italy's most renowned artists in the late 16th century, not long after the original and better known Michelangelo. He was based in Rome and was commissioned by the Pope himself. His paintings, although highly praised, were very controversial and he often painted his works without the usual grandeur of other painters. His 'Death of the Virgin' contained no images of an ascent to heaven as most would and his 'Maddonna' was often dicpicted as a simple peasant woman. For this reason many churches rejected his religious work but many private buyers would seek him out.

However Caravaggio didn't look after his personal image either, he isolated many fellow painters who then tried to sabotage his reputation, then after murdering an adversary he fled to Malta with a price on his head. After another brawl he went from Malta to Naples. However from Naples it wasn't long before he received an offer of pardon from the Pope due to his work. It was during his travels from Naples to Rome that history lost sight of him. He died during his journey and while most sources agree that he seemed to have died from a fever no one really knows. After his death he seemed to pass from Italy's memory and from the rest of the world. Even to this day most would not know his name.

Matt Rees novel attempts to fill in the gaps to Caravaggios story and provide him with a proper, chivalrous ending. Caravaggios is a sad tale but one I'm glad I found, I think that 'A Name in Blood' is well worth the read. Until next time,

Catherine.

Burial Rites

Despite being a constant reader it isn't often that I find a book that keeps me up reading at night. That was until I read Burial Rites by Hannah Kent.

Burial Rites tells the tale of an Icelandic murderess and is based on the true story of murderess Agnes Magnúsdóttir. This is a story that has been written multiple times, sometimes protraying her as innocent and sometimes as guilty. Hannah Kents attempt was to tell a more ambigous tale which I think she managed quite well.

The story is told from Agnes's perspective as she relates her tale and surrounding events to the family forced to host her and her priest. Hannah Kent utilises translations and adaptations of letters and manuscripts in order to bring you out of the story at vital moments. She also portrays Agnes as guilty but gives her innocent reasons for commiting her crime.

This is a brilliantly written book that is well worth the hype. Have you found any addictive  books lately? Until next time,
Catherine.

Best and worst movie adaptations

This week I thought I'd change things up a bit by talking about my best and worst movie adaptations. Interestingly enough these actually come to be the same movie for me. I'm talking about 'Practical Magic' written by Alice Hoffman.

I started off watching the movie, oblivious that there was even a book. Being one of my favourite movies I decided to read the book once I found it. The book itself was one of the most horrible pieces of literature I have ever read. I do know that a lot of people really enjoyed it and that it did get a lot of high reviews but it just wasn't my cup of tea. I found the writing to be very simple and the plot to be jumpy. Years would pass without any warning and leave a lot of the story untold. Important characters were pulled in without any prior warning, even when they should have been mentioned before and the overall book was very dark.

In regards to the movie I think it is one of the few adaptations I have seen that changed the story to make it better. I think that the movie added in more detail to make the plot a bit more understandable and introduced important characters when it was meant to. I don't often see a movie that is better than the book but this was definitely one of them.

On the other hand the movie did not stick to the original plot line at all. It completely changed a lot of the story and a lot of the characters personalities. Even destinations were changed so that when characters were meant to move they stayed intead. This all makes it the worst adaptation I have ever seen as it did not follow the book at all.

It is rare that a movie can change a book's plot completely and end up making it better but this is one instance in which it happened. I highly recommend 'Practical Magic' to anyone who has not seen it as it is a wonderfully terrific movie. Until next time,

Catherine

A bookworms wish list

With Christmas coming up rapidly the time has come to start asking people for their holiday wish lists, and to benefit friends and family and perhaps even some of you looking for ideas I've decided to compile mine. 

My first pick interestingly enough is the 'V for Vendetta' graphic novel. Six months ago I would have never even looked at a graphic novel but over the past couple of months I've really gotten into them. I was reading this online but I enjoyed it so much that I would really love a copy of my own.

'The Princess Bride', William Goldman. I have loved this movie for years, in fact I had to study it when I was in year 7 which was one of the best assignments ever. I keep forgetting that there is a book but it is one that I am very eager to read.

'Heaven', Virginia Andrews. Due to my unfortunte luck I purchased the second novel in this series and I have my heart set on the first in order to correctly begin the series. I am a big Virginia Andrews fan and I do already have several of her novels.

'Time and Chance' and 'When Christ and His Saints Sleep', Sharon Penman. Once again I have the third book in this series and would prefer to begin with the first two. This is my favourite kind of historical fiction, absolutely packed with detail.

'The Mayan Prophecy', Steve Alten. I purchased the sequel to this not to long ago not realising that it wasn't a stand alone novel. I told you all I have bad luck with buying sequels!!

'Tournament', Matthew Reilly. Not only is this the very new Matthew Reilly novel (which makes it a must buy already) but this is set in the year 1546. Matthew Reilly and historical fiction, my dream combination. Naturally I am incredibly excited to see this come out.

Well that's all. Let me know, what is the one book you would love to recieve this Christmas? Until next time,

Catherine

City Adventures

Hello everyone, last week for my day off I headed into the city and I thought that I would share my fabulous day out with you all. I headed in a bit later than expected so my first order of business was lunch. I had been reading about a small cafe hidden away called The Manchester Press. It has brilliant reviews and the menu looked really good. It is located off of little Bourke street and despite being tucked away in an alley it was really busy. I highly recommend turning up early for luch. There is only communal seating available and as such it has a very vibrant atmosphere. The menu is quite small, it has a breakfast section however when it comes to lunch the options are between salads or bagels.

Despite the lack of option the food is really very good, fresh and flavoursome. The coffee that I ordered with my lunch was expertly prepared although for the size it was a little bit pricy. All in all I really enjoyed this cafe and am definitely looking forward to going back. My next stop was Target. Due to the fact that I have sensitive eyes and with summer coming I was in desperate need of new sunglasses which I found in no time. I also wanted to try out a brand called urban ritualle and from them I brought a perfume that smells like summer, fruity and floral at the same time.

Of course I had to visit a bookstore during my visit to the city so I went back to my favourite, The Book Grocer. The store has stopped moving around so much and the books are more consistent but they're all still $10 or under. I picked up 'Mary, Queen of Scots, and the Murder of Lord Darnley' by Alison Weir. I adore reading about Mary, queen of scots and despite this being a non-fiction piece I'm really excited about it. My other purchase was 'A Name in Blood' by Matt Rees, this is a historical romance with a mystery twist, right up my alley.

A quick trip to Lush to purchase some bath and body goodies and then back home. I hope you all enjoyed this post. Until next time,

Catherine

Current reads and piling books

My this week has gone quickly! Work has been keeping me very busy and very tired. None the less, in the time I've had to spare I've been reading 'Emma' written by Jane Austen. I was a bit stuck on what to read next, despite my piles of unread books, however that day I saw the very first episode of the web series adaptation of 'Emma' on YouTube and my mind had been made up. I'm really loving the book so far which is just a very typical Jane Austen, beautifully written and wonderfully descriptive. Not that there is anything at all typical about Jane Austen.

As for my other books they are still multiplying faster than I can read them. A couple of weeks ago I was at the market browsing the book stalls when I found a copy of 'The Scarlett Letter' by Nathaniel Hawthorne. I've been looking into this ever since the movie 'Easy A' came out so I was very much pleased to find it. 

The week before last I spent the day out with my mother, we went shopping and I found some more Wordsworth editions that I couldn't pass up. The first was a collection of some of Charles Dickens shorter novels including: 'Oliver Twist', 'Hard Times', 'A Tale of Two Cities', and 'Great Expectations'. I do already have a copy of 'Great Expectations' but none of the other three and the Wordsworth editions are such good prices. 

The second was a complete collection of all of Lewis Carroll's writings which I was also excited to see. I really do enjoy reading Lewis Carroll so this was another must buy. I have also recently discovered that I am due for a free book at QBD and recently I have really been wanting a copy of 'War of the Worlds'. I read about the radio hoax again about a week ago and I've wanted to read it for quite a while so I've decided to finally get it.

Well that's all of my news for this week. What are you guys currently reading? Until next week,

Catherine

Of beasts and beings

A couple of weeks ago I purchased the novel 'Of Beasts and Beings' written by Ian Holding. I was fairly excited to read this as it looked really interesting but I was very close to being disappointed. Up until about the last three chapters I was fully prepared to give this a negative review, I stuck with it because the events were interesting but it was almost boring to read.

Whilst reading this I found the characters incredibly dull and emotionless. The words were there but there was no passion, no connection behind them. The story is told in two different perspectives by two different characters. The first is a slave who tells his story in a very cold and distant way. None of his companions are given names and are just referred to as 'he', 'she' and 'them'. This distant way of narrative is confusing because at one point he speaks of losing emotion along his journey. However the emotion was never truely there in the first place.

The second nararator is a school teacher in the process of packing up his life, selling his house and moving on. The lack of feeling here is appropriate for two reasons. First, the narrative is told in a journal form which is kept mainly for the purpose of recording rather than revealing secrets and true emotions. The second is that with this character he is experiencing a lack of care and overall feeling for his own life. However there are times in which emotion should have been present and wasn't. 

Yet I stuck with it, determined to finish the book and I'm glad that I did. The end revealed an incredibly surprising plot twist which explained the overall style of the novel and why emotion was all but abandoned.  For the serious reader, this book will be a worthwhile read and the ending will be much appreciated as it was for me. Until next time,

Catherine

Reading confessions

Following on from last weeks post I thought that I would write up some more of my reading trivia for you guys.

1. I used to mistreat books horribly as a child. I loved them but I never took very good care of them. Now I can't stand to see dog-eared pages and even lending out my books gives my heart palpitations. 

2. Because I have now become obsessively protective over my books I always have to use a bookmark. However sometimes I don't always have one near me. I will use anything as a bookmark so long as it's not the page itself. I'll use dust covers, spare bits of paper, receipts even clean, folded tissues. 

3. I buy books about three times faster than I read them. And occasionally I will buy a book that I know I will never read properly just because it looks interesting or is cheap.

4. I have a lot of trouble getting rid of books that I don't like. I have several books that I hated to read but every time I go to give them away I somehow talk myself out of it, I convince myself that maybe I will go back to them.

5. I hate borrowing library books. I tend to borrow a lot each time and I never have time to get through them all. In addition I hate time limits when it comes to my books and I'm always changing my mind about what I want to read.

6. I don't think I will ever buy a kindle. I will read the occasional online novel however it is only out of complete desperation. I still hate reading on a screen and I do think that if I were to buy one it would spend far to much time sitting unused.

Until next time,

Catherine

7 deadly sins of reading

Hello everyone, I thought I'd try to think outside the box this week and do something other than a book review. I know this tag circulated ages ago but I love watching and reading tag responses so I thought it would be fun to do. So without further ado here are my seven deadly sins of reading.

Greed. What are the most expensive and most inexpensive books in your collection?

The most expensive book in my collection is probably 'The Element Encyclopedia of Vampires' by Theresa Cheung. These element encyclopedias usually retail for about $50 in store but they are well worth it, they are stocked with information! As for my most inexpensive I actually have a collection. A couple of years ago my schools library decided to downsize (horrible I know) and they tried to sell as many books to students as they could. Toward the end they were selling them at 5c each. I still remember walking the 20 minutes home trying to carry up to 40 books in various bags.

Wrath. What author do you have a love/hate realtionship with?

For me this is Cornelia Funke the author of the Inkheart series. I really adore this series and her writing however she is one of those authors that messed up an important detail within her own story and this annoys me endlessly.

Gluttony. What book have you devoured over and over again without remorse? 

For me this is not one book but a series. I tend to reread series more than single books because I am the type of person who cannot just read the newley released book in a series, I have to go back and reread everything that happened up until the new book. So for this question I will choose 'The Rangers Apprentice' series. This is huge, with about 11 books to the whole series and I've reread it so many times between books that I think it must be the most read in my collection.

Sloth. What book have you neglected reading due to laziness? 

A couple of months ago I was reading Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita and at the time I wasn't reading very often. It may sound bizarre but I got so frustrated that I was reading it slowly and I didn't want anyone to comment on how slowly I was reading it that I stopped and moved on to another book. I haven't gotten back to it yet.

Pride. What book do you talk about in order to make yourself sound like an intellectual reader?

Not so much one book but more of a selection. I will go on about my classics to make myself sound super intellectual. Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë, Oscar Wilde, the list goes on. I do genuinely enjoy reading them but I will bring them up to make myself sound smarter and more well read.

Lust. What attributes do you find most attractive in male or female characters?

Romance!! Most people who know me will know that I am a complete sucker for romance. However I always like to read about a strong female character. I talked ages ago about a romance book that I absolutely hated because the female character was so very weak willed, she pushed everyone away and spent time feeling sorry for herself. Wasn't a good read.

Envy. What book would you like to recieve as a gift?

I love a beautifully bound hardback. I've also really gotten into fairy tale collections during this past year. But I think that right now I would really love some more Jules Verne novels, I want to read them all!

Well that's all, let me know if your prefer these posts and what are some of your deadly reading sins? Until next time,

Catherine

The Day of the Triffids

Hello everyone, this week I thought I'd do a very quick review of John Wyndham's 'The Day of the Triffids'. Before I start I would like to say that in order to get the full impact of this book you must go into it without any knowledge of what it is about or the events that occur within it. So if you are a science fiction fan and you don't know what I'm talking about, stop reading and go buy this book. Don't even read the blurb, just delve into it.

Now for everyone that is left, I really enjoyed it. It is a very mysterious read, it starts off in a confused manner that throws the reader straight into the story and then continues to give hints about future events without elaborating further. For some this can be a very frustrating read however I love novels that do this. On reflection I do find the beginning quite ironic. After waking up blind to a silent world, Bill Masen is incredibly hesitant to taking off his blindfolds. Despite being told that that was the day they would come off he only removes them when the darkness begins to scare him, and he still removes them slowly. It is ironic because while he is hesitant about restoring his sight the majority of people at that time would love to rip their own blindness away.

This book is overall, quite a tragic read, mainly because it provides what I believe to be an accurate picture of our society, should it become blind overnight. The taking of lives due to an inability to cope, kidnapping sighted people just to get around and starving to death when help doesn't come all seem like potential realities to me. And we don't have Triffids. Strangely enough the triffids didn't worry me until toward the end when they started overwhelming people with sheer numbers. 

The only disappointing part about this book was in fact the end. After building up mystery after mystery you would expect John Wyndham to have created an ending that provides a complete resolution to the story. However he didn't. It almost seems like this book is missing a sequel, that this story was the attempt to restart life and it's missing the rebuilding of life afterward. None the less I think that it was a fantastic read and as always I would definitely recommend this. Let me know your thoughts, did you enjoy it as much as I did? Until next time,   

Catherine.

The Wordsworth Book of Horror Stories

I know that I have done a lot of author recommendations and I have done a lot of book reviews and thus recommendations but I don't think I've ever just said 'go out and buy this book' without first reviewing it. Well, now I will. The Wordsworth Book of Horror Stories (I don't think I'm typing all that again) is an absolute gem of a book, fantastic for any true horror story fan. It doesn't feature any modern stories but it features over 1000 pages of classic story telling.

Within this wonder anthology you will find writers such as Edgar Allan Poe, Charles Dickens, Oscar Wilde and it even features Dracula's Guest by Bram Stoker!! I was also very excited to find Vendetta by Guy De Maupassant in there. Overall it contains 103 tales by 39 different authors. A must buy and for anywhere between $5-$15 there is no reason not to purchase this.

 

So I have been buying far to many books again, I tried to stop buying so many which lasted for a little while but I'm back again. I currently work in a large shopping centre which has book sale stands every so often. And they're placed along the route I take to work. This is bad.

Tea for You, Tracy Stern. This is a book on the art of blending and creating teas. Being a heavy tea drinker when I found this I couldn't pass it up, mainly for the fear that I would never find it again if I did. This is a delightful little book with a wonderful design. It even has a section of biscuit and treat recipes to make with your tea and a list of flavour profiles for matching ingredients for blends. Very handy.

The Day of The Triffids by John Wyndham. This was a book recommended to me by a friend but also one I would have found on my own as it was mentioned during a favourite series of mine. I am currently reading it and it is absolutely fascinating. Incredibly mysterious and is always giving me two questions for every answer I receive. I'm really enjoying it.

One of the other down-falls (or bonuses) of working in a large shopping centre is knowing others that work there and getting discounts. Like book discounts. One of the girls I know was working at the book sale stand when I came up planning to purchase just one book. She then sends me back saying 'pick whatever you want and I'll get you a good deal'. Well how could I resist? 

Of Beasts and Beings by Ian Holding. Set in Africa it tells two people's stories, that of a man forced into slavery and a school teacher struggling to survive in Zimbabwe. I must admit that it was the title that drew me to the book and partially convinced me to read it but it sounds really good.

The Mayan Resurrection by Steve Alten. My curse strikes again! I found out after I brought it that this is actually a sequel to The Mayan Prophecy. That being said I had actually wanted to read The Mayan Prophecy so I am glad that I brought this because it will remind me to buy the first. Once again I mainly brought this because of the title. It's something about Mayan or Aztec based books that just fascinates me. 

Well that's all for this week. Leave some feedback in the comments please, I would really appreciate it. Until next week,

Catherine

Jules Verne

Hey everyone, I don't know what happened this week but I just have not been in the mood to write. I think I'm going to move my post day to Monday just because Sundays are generally pretty busy after work for me and I end up really tired. But this week I just kept putting the post off for whatever reason. But now that I'm finally getting it done my author for this week is Jules Verne. 

While science fiction is not my favourite genre I do enjoy it and I am a huge fan of Jules Verne, the original science fiction author. I got my first Jules Verne novel when I was around 10 years old and I absolutely loved it. It was a copy of '80 days around the world' and somehow it got misplaced sometime in the years that passed. A couple of months ago I rediscovered him with 'Journey to the centre of the earth' which I enjoyed immensely. I am planning on buying the rest of his books and ModCloth has a beautiful hardback collection of some of his works which I would love to get. http://www.modcloth.com/shop/books/collected-works-of-jules-verne

Journey to the centre of the earth is a truly fantastic book. Here Verne introduces possibly one of the first fictional 'mad scientists' and his very reluctant nephew who find a note within a book claiming a passage to the centre of the earth that is survivable. Before and during the writing of this novel many new scientific discoveries and theories were being placed forth. Verne plays on this a lot and some of these theories made the basis for his novels. This book is not at all comparable to the movie aside from the fact that two people and their guide go on a journey to reach the centre of the earth. Otherwise most of the details are wrong and some of the story line. Got us again Hollywood! 

I do plan to read the rest of what he has written and highly recommend his books for any science fiction fan. They are not as action packed as more modern novels but they are fascinating and the language is not as dense as most 19th century writers which makes it more accessible to most people. Until next week,

Catherine

The Lizzie Bennet Diaries

Hello everyone, this week I thought I'd let you all know about a fantastic online Jane Austen adaptation. The Lizzie Bennet Diaries were a Pride and Prejudice adaptation created by Hank Green and Bernie Su and featured on YouTube. It formed a series of video diaries by the main character Lizzie Bennet and eventually many spin off video diaries by other characters arose. 

This is a brilliantly planned and produced idea that recreates many of the original concepts of Pride and Prejudice in a modern and relevant way. It actually produced quite an addictive viewing experience for myself and I was very disappointed to see it end. This series was so successful it won an Emmy award for Original Interactive Program. It has also began fantastic careers for many of the actors and crew involved.

Fortunately for all the fans this is not the end of Hank Green's and Bernie Su's work. The next series to be produced was a work called Welcome to Sanditon. This was based on Jane Austen's unfinished novel Sanditon. Because it was an unfinished novel this series featured a lot more viewer interaction which did make it a bit less popular than The Lizzie Bennet series. This adaptation revolved around Gigi Darcy (who also appeared in The Lizzie Bennet Diaries) and featured scenes with William Darcy (also from the original series).  This series has just finished and although it has not received any awards yet I keep my finger crossed for the future!

And what's next you ask? Well currently in production is the online adaptation of Emma! So get reading fans, hopefully we'll be seeing episodes soon! To investigate The Lizzie Bennet Diaries for yourself follow this link, http://youtu.be/KisuGP2lcPs 

But be warned, addictive is just the beginning. Hopefully you enjoyed reading about some more of my addictions. Until next time,

Catherine.

The picture of Dorian Gray

Hi everyone, a little while ago I read 'The picture of Dorian Gray' by Oscar Wilde and I thought I'd do a quick review on the book for you. This was the only novel that Oscar Wilde published as he mainly wrote plays, poems and short stories. As I've mentioned previously I had wanted to read this for a while after it had been mentioned to me by a friend.

This book was a fantastic read, the writing was poetic and the plot riveting. It tells the story of a vain young man who has his portrait painted by a friend. Afterwards he realises that while he will grow old and lose his looks the portrait will always remain the same. He wishes that it would be the opposite and after a while realises that the portrait has indeed changed and is ageing while he remains the same.

I love the way that this book explores the ideas of perfection and how it condemns people to a life without change. Throughout the book Dorian travels and attempts to find hobbies that interest him. He spends a fortune indulging in hobbies that interest him for only short amounts of time. Throughout the novel Dorian becomes increasingly more paranoid about his ever changing portrait, coming to dread leaving it for any length of time and even suspecting his manservant of sneaking around the portrait.

This is brilliant and definitely worth a read. It's Oscar Wilde, gothic horror and a classic. In short, just read it! Until next time,

Catherine

Bookshelves??

Hello everyone. So this week I will admit that I have been very lazy. Well, not quite. I've been very hard pressed to come up with a topic for this weeks post and after quite a lot of thinking, I've come up with nothing. It's actually quite strange when I think about it because I do have several post ideas but none of which were for this week. Either I've just done a similar post and don't want to do two almost identical posts in two consecutive weeks or I haven't finished or started that particular book yet.

Therefore I have, after much deliberation, come up with this weeks post ( and as I said its quite lazy of me). Over time I have built up a huge collection of bookshelf images and this week I thought I'd show you my favourites. I love reading and looking at these posts. It sparks my interest and to tell the truth, I love looking at book collections. I'm the person who will walk into a book store and even if I have something specific to buy I will do a lap around the store just looking at the books. Unless I'm with someone. Then it's just strange.

So here you go, a collection of bookshelf images from around the Internet. These range from unknown pictures, famous libraries, famous bookstores (like Shakespeare and Co. in Paris where I really want to go!), book collections from famous people and even a couple of my own images. Enjoy! 

Lovely little reading nook isn't it?

Lets face it, this just looks incredible.

Americana book shelving.

Dutch artist, Job Koelewijn created this. I'm not entirely sure how to get to the centre though.

I love this rotating bookshelf, I don't have much bookshelf space so this is perfect.

Strahov philosophical hall, Czech Republic

Library of the Benedictine Monastery of Admont, Austria 

Shakespeare and Company, Paris

Trinity College Library, AKA, The Long Room, Dublin, Ireland

I used to love Borders, mainly because of the comfy arm chairs they provided, I was sorry to see them go out of business.

An image from The Book Grocer, not captured by me. I do love the layout of this store.

Karl Lagerfeld's library, it's just big. That's all.

A very cute little spiral bookshelf. Makes for nice wall decor as well.

Not very practical but good for those with lots of empty wall space. It does look nice though.

Not entirely sure where this is but doesn't it look phenomenal?

Another lovely reading room.

Mine!! (And mums) 

And finally, one of my pictures that pretty much sums me up.

Hope you enjoyed my selection. Until next time,

Catherine

Introducing... Seth Grahame-Smith

Hello everyone, this week I thought I'd do another author introduction although this time with someone a little better known. Seth Grahame-Smith recently wrote a few books that fit into the recent monster mash-up genre, taking classic or well known stories and adding a few monsters here and there. Example? Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. I did discover him a couple of years ago through his book Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter which has recently been made into a very awesome movie. He has remained a favourite writer of mine ever since. 

For a start he is a brilliant writer, his expression in fantastic and I find I just sink straight into his books. He also has a remarkable talent of being able to mimic other writers styles. For instance, for those of you who have read the entire Pride and Prejudice and Zombies trilogy will know that the first and third were written by someone else and the writing styles vary greatly between the books. The first and third have a very modern writing style with some older words thrown in here and there. However Seth Grahame-Smith's book remains very true to Jane Austen's writing style with some additional zombies thrown in. His books are adventurous and full of gory scenes which I think I love a tad too much.

Books:

I'll start with the ones I own

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. I've already said heaps about this, it's an awesome book but I will say that it's a bit more Jane Austen than zombies, some reviews will make you think that it's packed with brain eaters but it does stay quite true to the original Jane Austen. I personally like that a lot.

Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter. This is another genius book but this one is a bit more vampirish. It sticks with Abraham Lincoln's tale but completely changes his reasons for doing everything that he does. It is incredibly well thought out and very well written. If you did happen to see the movie, it did not do the book justice. The book is very different but a lot better then the movie. So go and read the book!

Unholy Night. This book was incredible. It is the story of Mary and Joseph and the birth of Jesus. But in this version the three wise kings are actually skilled thieves on the run. This delves a lot more into how things were in the time before Jesus, both in terms of religion and society. It makes for a great read and is very fast paced. But be warned, it can get pretty gruesome!

How to Survive a Horror Movie. This was a bit difficult to track down but I eventually got it as a gift. I really love this book, it's no so much a novel but rather a guide book. It's a very lighthearted read and as it says, tells you how to survive being in a horror movie. First he helps you figure out if you are in one, what kind of horror movie you're in and then goes through your basic survival methods. He then has chapters dedicated to each type of horror movie and the best ways to survive each one. Because of this it can sometimes get repetitive but otherwise it is a really fun read.

That's the end of the ones I own but just a quick look at the ones I don't.

The big book of porn. This is a delve into the history of on-screen pornography including major events and biographies on the mega-stars of the industry. Not really an interest for me nor is it on my reading list. It was his first book and many reviews recommend it for bachelor/bachelorette parties.

The Spider-Man handbook. Similar to How to Survive a Horror Movie but this time with superheroes. Any young boys dream I'd imagine.

Pardon My President. This is supposed to be a book of apologies to various people and party's from anyone who voted for President Bush. The description says to sign, stamp and send. This was one of his books that I hadn't heard of and I'm not surprised. It doesn't sound like anything that would interest me but it may be an amusing read for Americans.

Did you know? Seth Grahame-Smith also writes screen-plays. His include Dark Shadows, Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter and the next Fantastic Four due to come out in 2015.

Wow, he is one busy guy. I highly recommend any of his books, I think he is a fantastic writer. Well that's all for this week. Until next time,

Catherine

My wish list

Hello everyone, this week I thought that instead of making a list of books that I have, I would write up a list of books that I don't have, a bookworms wish list. I am an avid book collector and have quite an extensive personal library but I'm always finding new books. It seems like I just don't have enough time to collect and read them all. So here is a list of books that have been on my list for a while.

Now I am just abut heartily sick and tired of the sparkling vampire genre however I do still enjoy a good, dark vampire tale. Recently I read 'food for the dead' which was an anthropologists study of real vampire cases in Rhode Island. This was filled with vampire fiction and non-fiction recommendations which have made it onto my list.

The vampire in Europe by Montague Summers. Another study of vampire folklore, especially from ancient civilisations in Europe.

The apprenticeship of Lucas Whitaker by Cynthia Defelice. A fictional tale of a man whose family is taken by consumption. He finds an apprenticeship with a doctor and discovers supernatural folk remedies that could have saved his family.

The haunting of Carrick Hollow by Paul Sledzik and Jan Burke. A short story based on true tales that investigate the vampiric practices of New England.

The plague and I by Betty Macdonald. Not exactly about vampires. The author writes about her nine months in a sanatorium to cure her tuberculosis.

Funk and Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology, and Legend. A big book of mythology and legend. I want it.

Vampires by Norine Dresser. An exploration of vampiric roles and symbolism in America.

Danse macabre by Stephen King. A series of essays on horror fiction and typical horror archetypes. I've wanted to read this for a while.

As you can see, lots of vampire related stuff. Recently I've also gotten very much into biographies. I recently picked up one on Jane Austen but there are a couple more that I would like to have. 

 Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light by Patrick Mcgilligan. I am a huge fan of Alfred Hitchcock and have several of his anthologies. Since the movie Hitchcock came out I've been wanting to find out more about him so I'm looking forward to buying this. 

Dracula: A Biography of Vlad the Impaler 1431-1476 by Radu Florescu, Raymond T. McNally. I have been fascinated by Vlad the Impaler for a very long time and read everything I can about this iconic figure. A biography would be fantastic to have.

And now for some extras.

Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens. By Charles Dickens, need I say more?

And the mountains echoed by Khaled Hosseini. This books has fantastic reviews. A father tells his children a folk tale and the next day they leave for Kabul. The story follows tales of their descendants, spanning decades.

Burial rites by Hannah Kent. A young Icelandic woman is accused of murder in the year 1829. I am obsessed with historical fiction and mysteries. This is a must for me.

The war of the worlds by H. G. Welles. I loved the movie and have really wanted to read this for quite some time.

 The red queen by Maragret Drabble. Narrated by a queens ghost it tells the tale of her unhappy marriage and end. Based on true events.

The master and the margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. A satire about soviet life under the rule of Stalin.

V for Vendetta by Alan Moore. Although technically not a book I will include it. I've recently grown to love graphic novels and this is one I became obsessed with. I started reading online but now I want my own copy! 

As you can see I have a serious problem. And this isn't even a complete list! This was just the ones featured in my notebook, I have other lists in other spots. So what are some of the books that made it onto your extreme reading list? Until next time,

Catherine

My top 5 Stephen King novels

Oops, missed another Sunday. I spent most of yesterday at work and had to open this morning so when I got home last night all I could think about was bed. But hopefully this makes up for it.

I am a huge Stephen King fan, I love horror novels and think that he's just an amazing writer in general. And fortunately for me Stephen King has written so many books that I can make a list of them. Be warned though, these books made it into my top 5 by being gruesome and gory, for the most part.

The first on my list is The Shining. This was one of the first Stephen King books that I read and it has remained a firm favourite through the years. The novel isn't too gory but it has its moments, mainly it's just a good supernatural read. It focuses on a very young boy who frequently experiences visions and his abusive father. The family spends the winter taking care of an isolated and very haunted hotel where the father is slowly taken over by the spirits who reside there.

The next book is Misery which must truly be every writers worst nightmare. Novelist Paul Sheldon finds himself in a car accident and is found and taken in by a nurse. A very psychopathic nurse who happens to be his number one fan and is very disappointed that he killed her favourite character. This I found to be a truly gruesome book for beginning to end but a fantastic read. Definitely one for the hardcore Stephen King fans out there.

Third on my list is Desperation. This is a deeply creepy and bloody tale about several people who find themselves stranded in the desert with a cop turned psychopath. Unfortunately for them there is so much more going on then a crazed cop.  Recommended for those with strong stomachs. 

Ok, next in line is The Green Mile. This is not a particularly gory novel but it is creepy none the less. It is narrated by an old death row warden and tells the story of three death row prisoners and their wardens. I think that it questions our ideals of innocence and guilt particularly well and shows that not all evil can be seen right away. This was originally  released as a serial novel and even though I have it bound as one novel I can see how brilliantly he built suspense. I wish I had been able to collect each instalment as they came out but I was only one when they started.

Last on my list is Gerald's Game. This one is not recommended for everyone because it is not only gruesome but very deeply disturbing. A woman and her husband drive out to their summer home to spend the weekend together, her husband fond of power games while she's very much over them. When he doesn't listen she kicks him away, he hits his head and dies. Leaving her chained to the bed. At first I was dubious, I didn't quite know how 300 pages of a woman stranded on a bed in the middle of nowhere would be but yet again, Stephen King was brilliant. Once again, disturbing and a very creepy ending. Not for the faint of heart but if you read Stephen King I'm guessing that you're not.

Well that's my list. I kept it quite short because I have only read a limited number of his books. That being said to put them in a list was very hard. I had to become quite choosy and forced myself to give reasons to the books being here other then 'but i loved it'. So now it's your turn, are you a Stephen King fan and if so what's your favourite novel? Until next time,

Catherine

My favourite Melbourne bookstores

Hey everyone, over here in Melbourne it is very, very cold but I did find the motivation to go all the way into the city for this post (the life of a blogger is so hard). I had wanted to do a post like this for a couple of weeks now because I love reading them. It will of course mainly be for Melbournians but it will make a good read for any bookworms coming to Melbourne or someone who just likes lists.

Now I did visit a new store hoping to put it on this list but unfortunately Kay Craddock's fine and rare books did not make the cut. It is a very beautiful store found on Collins Street with a huge selection of beautiful books but the service was not great. I went in to get one of my books looked at, not to be valued but so I could get a bit more of a history on it. I had found it in an opportunity shop but couldn't even find a published date on it. When the staff found out I wasn't in there to buy anything they were a bit dismissive, I was willing to pay for the research but didn't have to, mainly because there was none done. Kay herself had a quick glance, gave me a published date around the 1940's and pretty much sent me off, the other information she gave me could be found in the book itself. Beautiful store but unless you're going to buy something don't bother. A shame, I really wanted to give this store a good review.

Now on with the good ones. My first is the Hill of Content bookstore, I go there because my grandmother gives me gift cards that can be redeemed there and it's the closest place I can use them. It can be found on the corner of Exhibition and Bourke street. It's a large store with a very big selection. With most of their books they will only have one or two copies (like most stores I suppose) so they can be tricky to find if you're not to familiar with their layout. That being said the staff are wonderful and always very helpful, not always busy like in some stores. The books are typically priced, you won't find any big discounts but its a lovely store in its own right.

My second store to mention is Dymocks. Now Dymocks does have two stores in Melbourne but the one I go to is located on Collins Street, on the ground floor of Boutique Place. It's a huge store and I love Dymocks anyway. I've always found them to have great customer service, they order in books not matter where the come from, reserve books and the have a wonderful rewards program. Now some other book stores offer good service too but I like Dymocks. They can tend to be cheaper then other book stores and if you are a member you can be privy to some fantastic discounts and rewards.

Now the Victoria State Library is not a bookstore but they do have one inside. The library is huge and absolutely gorgeous. It's not just a library but also a gallery and they hold exhibitions all the time. Found on Swanson Street across from Melbourne Central Station. And also located right next to my favourite chocolate cafe, San Churro. You can't borrow books from here, for relatively obvious reasons but its well worth a visit and with the store you can still leave with some goodies.

Now for my absolute favourite Melbourne bookstore, The Book Grocer. I adore this bookstore and now I have even more reason to. This is a bookstore that is always changing, they have a consistent penguin classics sections but aside from they you will hardly ever find the same book in there twice. They always have new books in and are always changing the set up around. Last time I went there they had an awesome philosophy section which has been replaced with a history section. You have to go in with money because if you find a book you love, you can almost guarantee that you won't find it again. Most of their books are also quite obscure, not always things that you can find in typical bookstores. For instance I remember going in, completely broke, for a look and finding an awesome hardcover book on etiquette for $15. Never saw it again. On that note, the prices had always been fantastic but when I went in on Thursday I noticed that now, no book is over $10. Yep, that's right, all books $10 and under. Already my favourite book store, now even more so. You can find it near the corner of Bourke and Russell street.

Now being a bookworm with high expectations for my self control I went into the city to investigate and update my notes on my bookstores with the idea that I wouldn't buy anything. Yeah right! All was going well until I got to The Book Grocer and saw the 'all $10 and under' sign. And then I brought three. Which isn't bad but I only escaped with three because I almost ran to the counter so I couldn't see any more books. I ended up buying a book called Heartstone, set in the time of Henry VIII, a book on history's warrior queens and a Jane Austen biography.

Now before I wrap up (almost finished, I swear) I would like to give a special mention to Secondhand Books. This used to be a wonderful second hand book store outside Flinders Street Station. Unfortunately it closed down about 6 months ago but it deserves a mention. All of the books were in good condition and you could even buy some brand new books for secondhand prices. It was one of those little cramped stores with a rickety old bookcase ladder and everything smelt like old books, I adored it.

Well that's everything. I hope you enjoyed reading some of a bookworms favourite resources. Leave your own favourite stores listed down below. Until next week,

Catherine. 

  

     

Replace previous post with this

Ebooks or the real thing??

No, I'm sorry, this has never been a real argument for me. Reading books is an experience combined of many elements that ebooks cannot provide therefore i think that ebooks are great and all but they will never beat real books. So I guess this post is just telling you why. 

Ok, first things first, books smell amazing! If you are a reader, you will know this. If you live with or know a reader watch them around books, they will eventually smell them. And just a little bit of science for you, this smell is not due to dust. A compound in wood called lignin related to vanillin which when made into paper, breaks down over time and causes a smell vaguely like vanilla. I love this smell and when in a second hand bookstore I will subtly smell the books before buying. An ebook just does not provide the scent and short of spraying it with paper passion (the aforementioned book perfume), which is expensive and will probably ruin your electronics, it's just not something you can replace.

Now you can curl up with a book but you can't curl up with an ebook. It's uncomfortable and depending what you're reading on, if you move the screen will swivel and personally I hate having to lie a certain way because my screen may shift. 

In regards to the readers, I am an iPad user and don't have a kindle but I find that after reading on the iPad for a while it really strains my eyes. I can dim the screen but for some reason I can never read on my iPad for any length of time. My friend does have a kindle and I hate the controls on it so I'm not investing in one.

On the other hand, ebooks have some definite advantages. Books are getting more expensive every day but an ebook will generally be at least half the cost and there are so many free versions out there that are not illegal to download. So for an avid reader it will save you so much money. In addition, books take up a lot of room! In a handbag and in a room, you need so much space to keep books. And do you remember going out, finishing a book and having nothing else to read? Well ebooks prevent that problem.

In the end, I am a reader who loves books, i love visiting book stores and smelling old books. Ebooks will never replace this experience for me so I will happily stick to traditional books and continue to build my library. Because at the end of the day a big library is more impressive to me than an electronic.

Until next time,

Catherine

   

Introducing Stephen Laws

You haven't heard of Stephen Laws? I'm not surprised. Despite being a fantastic writer he is not too well known. I have never seen his books in book stores and even when researching him he is not the first result to appear. This being said his lack of fame is quite astounding, he has written quite a range of novels and short stories, all of which have been reviewed quite highly.

Now recently I rediscovered one of his novels on my bookshelf, Spectre, which is an amazing piece of writing. It focuses on an old group of friends who go their separate ways during adulthood and are brought back together to fight a force that started killing them off one by one. It is fantastic, a little bit scary and has a well thought out plot. Laws writes almost as good a horror story as Stephen King.

So go and pick up a copy, I only have one of his novels that I found in a sale at a downsizing library (downsizing, so sad) but I'm planning on buying more. I realise that this is such a short post but I really just wanted to tell your about this magnificent author. So let me know, had you heard of him, and do you have any of his books? Until next time,

Catherine  

A book haul??

Another week, another post. This week I thought I'd do a bit of a book haul (can you do those?). Over the past two weeks I have brought quite a few books, some for me and some for others and I thought I'd share them with you. Now of course everyone is currently having a mid-year sale and Dymocks is currently having a three for two deal on most of their orange penguin books. I do love the penguin books because they have an amazing range and lots of older, more obscure books for amazing prices. So how could I go past their sale?

When I went in I had my eyes set on The Great Gatsby, Breakfast at Tiffany's and 1984. Unfortunately they didn't have 1984 in stock and they had moved all of their Great Gatsby novels to the front counter due to the movie release so they weren't in the penguin section either. I found Breakfast at Tiffany's and chose two new novels, got back to the counter and saw The Great Gatsby. Not being able to chose which one to put back I just got the four. I wanted to get The Great Gatsby due to the movie which I do want to see (stars Leonardo DiCaprio and directed by Baz Luhrmann, yes please!) but I wanted to read the book first. I am currently reading it and it is really good, it has a nice pace to it and is well written but not as glamorous as you would expect. Breakfast at Tiffany's was next on my list as I had heard a lot about it and I have read Truman Capotes work before so I was very happy to get this.

The two unexpected books (well one book, one poem) that I picked up were The Picture of Dorian Gray and Beowulf. A friend of mine read The Picture of Dorian Gray as part of her year 11 literature classes and she highly recommended it to me. In addition the summary she gave me really intrigued me so I am quite happy with that. Beowulf has been something that I've wanted to investigate for some time now. I'm constantly seeing it mentioned in other works and I've been seeing the movie on tv for years but never really knew what the legend was about so when I saw that it was an immediate decision to get it.

I've also picked up two novels for a birthday coming up which to be honest I am quite eager to read myself. I did end up finding a copy of 1984 in another book store, one of my favourites called QBD, and I also got the latest Dan Brown novel, Inferno. Dan Brown seems to be an author that people either love or hate. I personally love his works, I find them well written and exceptionally well researched. In fact I've just finished reading his novel The Lost Symbol (which I adored). 

Well that's all of my books for the past couple of weeks, I'll let you know how they all go. And let me know, what books have you brought recently? That's all for this week. Until next time,

Catherine  

To university or not to?

So recently I thought my life was relatively figured out. I have a job that I really enjoy, a university placement waiting and a path I wanted to follow. It wasn't perfect but it was a set plan for the next couple of years. Until the other day that is. I was having a conversation with my parents when it was mentioned that I didn't necessarily have to go to university to get a good job in this day and age. Now I knew that there were options, a lot of them, but I never thought about me not going to university. University is pushed on us from the day we enter school, it's almost assumed. But the fact is is that most people don't go to university, only about one in 6. So where does this leave me (or you for that matter)? 

Well for one thing it is an incredibly liberating idea. Instead of going from school, to a temporary job, to more school and then to a career, all of a sudden I can go straight to a career. It may be a slower route and I will have to climb my way up instead of being boosted but it saves me another 4-6 years of school with thousands of dollars of debt with an uncertain way to pay them off. And what if, after all of that, I change my mind? 

On the other hand, the idea itself is petrifying. I had had everything worked out (I'm a planner, not obvious at all...) and all of a sudden I'm back to where I started. As for career opportunities, I'm not too worried. As I said, it may be slower to work my way up in a company but I can go to TAFE (a much cheaper and underrated version of university), and some companies will even pay for you to do some courses, such as management. 

So how do I (or you) figure this out, how do we choose between university or just working? Well that depends, why do you want to go? Are there other courses (back to TAFE again) that you can do that would be faster? Do you even need to do a course for your line of work? And finally, are you sure you will enjoy the job that you are studying for? Now I want to study psychology. There are no TAFE courses to become a psychologist and I don't just want to be a councillor, I do need to do a course but I'm not sure if I will enjoy it or be any good at it. I'm a very empathic person so the big question is, can I take on all so much of other people's troubles and not be severely affected? Fortunately for me, there is a solution. There are many life-lines and help lines that take on volunteers and give them a short course in counselling. So problem solved. If I like counselling I will go on to university and if I hate it I will do something else. Probably business.

I'm not discounting the experience of university, I think it will be great. I just think that I'm not spending that much money on an experience if I don't need it. So what about you guys? What are your thoughts on university and do you want to go. Thanks for reading, don't forget to comment. Until next time, 

Catherine 

Paper passion and other things

Well hello everyone, yes it is Monday and yes, I was supposed to upload a post yesterday. I have been so sick it's ridiculous and my mind just hasn't been working properly for the past two days. So yes, I forgot and you have my deepest apologies.

Now on with the show.  It is no secret that I am a colossal bibliophile but there are still some out there who are more infatuated with books than I am. There is a perfume out there that is supposed to smell like the pages of a book. Now I admit, when I heard about this I was quite eager to get some. I am less so now. The perfume is supposed to actually smell like books and have quite a nice scent anyway. The packaging is a hardcover book containing texts from Karl Lagerfeld,Günether Grass, Geza Schoen and Tony Chambers. It is a beautiful idea and is carried out to perfection. However, it is very expensive! It has a retail of $98 for 1.75 fluid ounces or around 50 ml. This for designer perfume is fairly standard however this is supposed to be not very long lasting at all. That being said I am still very intrigued and should I suddenly come in to a lot of money I think I will find it hard not to invest. For all of you who do have that kind of money I give you a link to amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Paper-Passion-Perfume-Geza-Schoen/dp/3869305010

The same perfume here is about $65 so you will be saving some money.

For those of you who are equally mad but have no interest in perfume I give you the book candle! Light it and you room will be fragranced with the delicate scent of books. This products however is very similar in execution to the perfume. Don't let the word candle fool you about the price! Once again the packaging is lovely and the glass holder contains quotes. However, yet again this is a very expensive products. Online it retails for $49 for 195g (I could be wrong about that) and despite my thrifty ways I cannot find you a cheaper version, sorry! None the less, for those of you still eager and rich as anything I provide you with the link:

http://www.assouline.com/9782843234590.html

The company who makes these candles also has a range of scented candles including leather and wood. An interesting product for yourself or as a gift, if you can justify it that is.

Well that's it, the two book related products that have astounded and intrigued me over time. I would like to point out that neither of those links are sponsored, I haven't been blogging long enough for them to be but should that time come I will always inform you first. I do apologise for the delay, feel free to leave all sorts of comments about my ability and memory. Until next time,

Catherine

Reviewing 'The Historian'

Hello everyone, so last week I had promised you another book review and I shall deliver. I do apologise as this will be quite short due to the fact that it is extremely late at night and I am extremely tired. So this weeks book is 'The Historian' by the extremely talented Elizabeth Kosova. Now I must warn you this is a vampire novel, however it is not the 'young adult' rubbish that we are finding more and more of today. This was published in 2005 two months before 'Twilight' and is nothing like it. This novel is intelligently written (a must for me as you will well know) and entirely captivating. 

Now 'The Historian' has been referred to as the sequel or an update of Stokers 'Dracula' however this is not the case. While Stoker merely used the name Dracula, taken from ruler Vlad Tepes Dracula, Kostova forms a tale following Vlad Dracula from the grave and the family who holds a terrifying bond with him. Her story is one with a more historical nature than 'Dracula'. 

That being said the narrative of Kostova's story is similar to two of the most famous horror stories ever written, 'Dracula' and 'Frankenstein'. Much like 'Dracula' the narrative is formed through different sources, letters and verbal accounts. However unlike 'Dracula' the story is retold through one main narrator instead of several. This being said the novel is also very much like 'Frankenstein' in that one persons story is told by another with the addition of their own which in turn is told by another. In short, three main narratives all being recounted by the one person in layers.

This book is immensely well written and captivating from the first page. In fact it has one of the most wonderful beginnings that I have ever read. 

"The story that follows is one I never intended to commit to paper. Recently, however, a shock of sorts has prompted me to look back over the most troubling episodes of my life and of the lives of several people I loved best. This is the story of how as a girl of sixteen I went in search of my father and his past, and of how he went in search of his beloved mentor and his mentor's own dark history, and of how we all found ourselves on one of the darkest pathways into history. It is the story of who survived that search and who did not, and why. As a historian, I have learned that,in fact, not everyone who reaches back into history can survive it. And it is not only reaching back that endangers us; sometimes history itself reaches inexorably forward for us with its shadowy claw." *

Oh, wasn't that wonderful? 

And with that I leave you. I highly recommend this to everyone, especially if you are a bit of a history buff or loved 'Frankenstein', 'Dracula' or both. Until next week,

Catherine

* This is not my work, it belongs to Elizabeth Kostova. I have only included this for the sake of providing an example of her tremendous writing.

The hopeful notes

Hi everyone, so this week I was going to write about something completely different but this morning I came across a YouTube video that really got me excited so I thought I'd share it with you. Now I am subscribed to a lovely English vlogger by the name of Carrie Fletcher, I highly recommend her, I think she is witty, intelligent and charming. So today she was discussing the acts of kindness we perform and how, unfortunately, some of these acts are only done when we want something in return. 

Now I've done this, I've made my dad coffee when I wanted a lift somewhere etc. However I often go out of my own way to make someone feel good or to make their lives easier. An example, I went out with a friend the other day just to catch up. We're both extremely broke however her more so than me. That day all she could bring for lunch was a musli bar. Now I being less broke brought her lunch. Something she was incredibly grateful for. She's done it for me as often as I have for her. It may seem simple but I now have $5 in my purse until payday. Now I'm not complaining, and I'm not trying to make out as if I'm a perfect friend, I certainly am not. I'm forgetful, terrible at keeping in touch and could really work on listening. But I do have another friend whom I don't see or speak to often who would never do the same for me though I would do it for her. And yet another one who only ever speaks to me when she wants something. 

These differences really intrigue me however its not really what I was talking about (way to go off on a tangent!) what Carrie was suggesting was that we, as a community, start something called 'the hopeful notes'. Leaving notes or post its around with positive messages for others to find. Go and check out her video, she probably explains the concept a lot better than I will http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=u2OYwkUUPQI. Now being a community thing she has set up a twitter account for the purpose of documenting this. Of course you can do it by yourself but should you want to join in leave @thehopefulnotes at the end of your message and then jump on twitter and post where you left it and what you wrote, simple!   https://mobile.twitter.com/search?q=thehopefulnotes&s=typd

Now, for everyone who may be dubious, I do not know Carrie Fletcher, I have not been asked to recommend this and I'm not getting anything out of it. I just think its a nice idea. On other notes, I have a book review coming up for you, it's one that I've just started reading but absolutely love so keep an eye out for that. As you may have noticed you can now subscribe to my blog so of course do that! I hope that you are all well, I've been a bit under the weather lately and my foots swollen! I hit it only a couple of hours ago and it's been giving me a whole heap of grief! Until next week,

Catherine

Hans Christian Andersen and Brothers Grimm

Hi everyone! So this week I thought I'd go through some of my personal favourites when it comes to my books. Now of course it would take me so much typing space to go through them all so this will be an ongoing topic for whenever I dig up an old favourite from my bookshelf. Today I thought I'd cover fairy tales because as a kid I was (and still am) a huge Disney movies fan. I loved Cinderella, Mulan and Hercules and unfortunately I don't really have much of an excuse to watch them any more, or at least until I have children of my own. However I do have the printed versions, which are somehow a lot more appropriate for my age. 

Many fairy tales found in original print were in fact for adults. There were some that acted as warnings for children and others that passed down ancient knowledge for everyone, however a good majority of fairy tales were created with adults in mind. This is fairly obvious to those who will read the original tales because some of them can get quite graphic in a number of ways. None the less they form beautifully written tales. The tales recorded by The Brothers Grimm can get a bit simplistic because they are recorded folk tales, created so everyone can remember them. However I will recommend Hans Christian Andersen for anyone who loves fairy tales and beautiful writing. His first works were rewrites however he wrote many tales himself. One of the first original tales by Andersen that I read was 'The Little Sea Maid' or as we now know it 'The Little Mermaid'. This was admittedly a shock to read as I wasn't aware of the huge difference between Disney versions and the originals. I won't spoil it by talking about events but it was the most wonderfully written story and with such a lovely plot line!

Of course I cannot talk about fairy tales without having a proper reference to The Grimms Brothers. I have to say their tales are much more horrific then Andersens, the last name Grimm seems only too appropriate. The folk stories can get very gruesome and very shocking, some even remind me of NCIS episodes (ok, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration). However it wasn't all drama for The Grimms Brothers, a lot of their recorded stories discuss morals and the power of love, so not all bad. As I said, some of their stories are simplistic but still wonderful and entertaining. It was quite a shock however to be in Dymocks the other day (I do love dymocks) and see a bound version of Grimms Brothers tales for children. Obviously they had selected stories but considering their intended audience, it's quite interesting to consider the social change.

Of course their are many more collectors and authors of fairy tales out there but these are my two favourites. One of the reasons I really love these old collections is the bindings. I'm a sucker for a beautiful book binding. In fact I do own the most lovely version of 'The Complete Illustrated Stories of Hans Christian Andersen', green linen with gold print! My copy of 'The Brothers Grimm' I like less so, simply because they are original tales however the cover gives the impression that they are for children which some of them certainly are not! 

Well I hope you enjoyed this weeks discussion. Let me know, what do you think of fairy tales and which are your favourite stories? Until next week,

Catherine

Insecurities

So today I'm going to do a more personal blog, I did have plans to write something different but I think I'll save it for next week. My plan for the next couple of weeks is to build up a better relationship with my audience and hope that you will provide me with your own opinions. As such for this week I'm going to be discussing my own insecurities, and boy do I have a lot. I know that everyone does and it's always interesting to think of how these came about. Understandably our culture has a lot to do with it, we are surrounded by all these expectations: the perfect body, the perfect skin, and of course everything to do with our personal lives. So it's not surprising that we end up so self conscious.

Now being a sensitive person I am incredibly susceptible to things like this. My biggest worry at the moment is that I'm not dating. I know how ridiculous this sounds but its true. I am a very quiet person so I don't attract very much attention as it is and all my life I've struggled with image issues so the fact that evidently no takes much of an interest in me is really not helping that. Now I'm not very social which I am aware is a big factor in this but I'm working on it. Something else that doesn't help is that my best friend happens to be getting married, and I am the maid of honour. We've just gone dress shopping and wedding preparations have begun which leaves me feeling more vulnerable then ever. Don't get me wrong, I adore my friend and her fiancé and I'm so glad that I'm so involved in the wedding however my feelings continue to hit me with that loneliness.

Over the past couple of years my insecurities about my looks and my body shape have decreased tremendously. I no longer feel like I need to cover up my face with makeup or freak out about how clothes fit on my body. This decreased worry about my looks has really increased my confidence and helped improve my communication skills with other people. This is because I'm no longer worrying about how I look and I can start really thinking about what they're saying and of course it gives me the confidence to go up to others. This change started by some advice that i got. Everyday when I looked in my mirror I had to find something I liked about myself. Simple but obviously effective.

Another of my big insecurities is actually to do with my writing. I started this blog as a way to get my opinions out there and to become a part of the major online community. I wanted to provide intelligent musings and create something that people looked forward to reading every week. I suppose I have set really high standard for myself because I've only had this running for a couple of months and I feel as though its not going so well. However I do suppose that I almost expected rating to boom within a couple of weeks. As such I am always looking for ways to improve my blog and attract more readers. And I am constantly looking to get feedback on it. I know I ask this frequently but if you could just take a minute to say something, anything about my blog that would be great. Tips, suggestions, questions and ideas are so very welcome!

As I said I have many insecurities and I have provided you with my main ones but I have a lot of small and really ridiculous ones I thought I'd share as well. Now I am a fast reader most of the time but sometimes I like to take my time with my book and I take longer to read it. Now a while ago someone just made a really innocent remark about how it was taking me a while to read a book and ever since then I've felt this obligation to finish a book within a certain time frame. Almost as if I have a deadline or that people are judging me on how fast I read a book. I also hate feeling stupid in front of people, so when in new company I rarely say anything for fear of looking like an idiot. Even if its people I've known for a while, I am so reluctant to share an opinion on a subject in case it's the wrong one. Yeah, a wrong opinion.

So those are just some of the things that keep me up at night with worry. If you'd like please feel free to share your own or even some of your solutions for helping to getting rid of these feelings. As I said this is an incredibly personal topic which obviously I am very sensitive about so if you do comment, please no hate. I have not written this to gain pity, I'm not fishing for compliments. I'm writing this to build a relationship with my audience. Or you rather. And please once again do comment and give feedback or I will be once again left in the dark as to how this post was received. On that note I leave you for another week, may yours be wonderful!