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! 

Mother's Day!!

Soooo today was hectic as all hell, I am so tired right now! None the less I have a duty and I will not forsake it. I am a fan of Mother's Day, mainly because my mother is an amazing woman and I love to pamper her. Speaking of which I love to pamper everyone, you should have seen my friends 17th. The day began with an early start, bacon, eggs and mushrooms cooked for mummy. Then the Mother's Day gifts were handed out. Fortunately for me my mother is quite easy to buy for. For a start she provides a very generous list of potential gifts for every gift event. Despite this I do try to get her something unexpected. She is also a kitchen guru and really loves working in the kitchen so gifts for that are always welcome.

Then the day was hers, trips were made, money was spent and work was done by everyone else. And the time to prepare dinner came around. A roast chicken, roast veggies and peas were made for the first course and then for dessert a chocolate fudge cake. Now I went shopping for everything last night and as my luck would have it everyone was somehow sold out of fudge, except for one store (as it turns out) which closed when I got there. Literally, employees were just leaving when I got there. So I had to do a rush inventory of cupboard contents and make my own. Which worked quite well I must say.

So that was my Mother's Day, or rather my mothers Mother's Day. Fun, stressful and all worked out (eventually). Hopefully everyone else's worked out the same way. I will of course provide recipes for the roast chicken (which was magnificent) and the fabulous chocolate fudge cake along with fudge for emergencies. Provided someone actually wants them, so leave a comment and my next blog will include recipes.

All the best,
Cathy :)

Cornelia's mistake

Imagine with me for a minute will you. You're reading the final book in a series. Written by a writer you adore and written so brilliantly you're devastated that this is the last book. And finally you reach the climax of the book, where everything comes together. Where the most important plot point in the series, a plot point that has taken up the last 700 pages is finally resolved. You're reading the final showdown, the writings magnificent and the speed is thrilling and then...


The writer forgets their own story and writes the wrong thing.

Yeah, this happen to me recently. Let me tell you what happened. (Spoiler alert)

As most of you will know weeks ago I had began reading the Inkheart series and about three quarters through the second book, the hero of the story bound a book of immortality for the villain in exchange for the release of himself and other prisoners. However the catch was that three words could be written into the book to break his immortality. They were Heart, Spell and Death. Now these three words formed the plot line and governed the actions of the characters for about the next 700 pages or so, so you'd think that the author of this particular story would have remembered them. Not so. When the time came for the hero to write the words to kill the villain he instead wrote Heart, Blood and Death. Now I'm not being a stickler for details (I hope) but this was an important point and it does disappoint me that no one, not the author, not the publisher, realised what had happened. Being the Cornelia Funke fan that I am I can forgive her however I sincerely hope that this never happens again.

Oh who am I kidding, it happens all the time. However it does annoy me. If I can remember these details why not the person writing them. Shouldn't they be more involved then I am, especially when they create a whole new world. Or they could take notes. Now I do have an exceptional memory when it comes to stories (something that helped me tremendously in Literature classes) and I tend to remember the small things, even in life. Thus I don't expect everyone to be as observant as me but authors should be, always.

Moving on, I do recall (haha) promising the read 'The Princess Bride' and 'The Perks Of Being A Wallflower' over the past month and giving an opinion of them both however alas, this has not happened. Unfortunately making promises to read books is also conditional on having the money to buy said books. However I did read one for the dragon fans out there.

Seraphina, by Rachel Hartman
Now I can't really say too much about the plot of this book simply because it is one of these books that starts off in complete and utter mystery. I will however give you the blurb:
Dark betrayal and a sinister plot: a kingdom at war
The brutal murder of the prince of Goredd has shattered the fragile peace between humans and dragons.
Seraphina, a talented musician, is drawn into the murder investigation- and soon her own life is in terrible danger as she fights to hide the secret behind her amazing gift.
Can one girl unite two warring world?
Sounds exciting doesn't it. Now I can reveal that dragons and humans formed a peace treaty after a long a terrible war however most humans still distrust dragons. The fact that dragons can shape shift into humans only worsens the distrust. This book drew me in from the beginning and still hasn't let me go. The plot can be slow in some places however it built wonderfully and I am excited about book two, anticipated next year unfortunately. It got a wonderful review from Christopher Paolini ( something that encouraged me to read it) and I personally would recommend it to any dragon, adventure, or other world lover. It is truly magnificent.

The book I am currently reading is 'The Book Of General Ignorance' by John Lloyd and John Mitchinson. I love unexpected facts, I am the person who can tell you that dolphins rape 16 people every year, that we spell biscuit wrong (it means cake in the original French, to be biscuit it needs a k not a c) and that butchers were the original inventors of the high heel. So for me this book is fantastic and although I do disagree with some of the ways their facts are measured I would highly recommend it to any fact enthusiast.