SPEW Babble #42

[jenny b]

Um, September threads will be up and running tomorrow afternoon (well, my tomorrow afternoon. It might be tomorrow morning/this evening/middle of the night for some of you). I'm a bit behind this month. SO MUCH TO DO. I've actually been studying for uni instead of wasting time online though, so I guess it's a good thing. Last night I started an essay that isn't due until next Friday, and it's only 1000 words. How's that for commitment?! Usually I'd start it the night before it's due. xD

I wish I could leave SPEW and come back to get a pretty banner. But then you'd all probably run wild and not do your requirements.

I'd advise you on the book, Elene, but I'm not really into the whole fantasy thing. If you haven't read Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next series, though, then you should - they're kind of other-wordly, and there is the occasional vampire/werewolf. Also, they're AMAZINGLY funny.

You were twins with Hannah, Spire? Wow, I keep forgetting about who came to SPEW when. It's like with Emma, who I swear had been here for ages and then I checked and realised it was only a month or two. My memory is seriously terrible. x.x

*squishes SPEW*

[CoolCatElly]

Helooo Spew

Thanks to everyone for all the feedback, though I have to say I'm not really into Werewolves at all. They lack that dark allure that vampires and fairies (when written properly and for a young adult/adlut age group) have.

Jenny: I just looked for Jasper Fforde at Waterstones online and I found this new book of his called "shades of grey", which looks really good:

Hundreds of years in the future, after the Something that Happened, the world is an alarmingly different place. Life is lived according to The Rulebook and social hierarchy is determined by your perception of colour. Eddie Russett is an above average Red who dreams of moving up the ladder by marriage to Constance Oxblood. Until he is sent to the Outer Fringes where he meets Jane -- a lowly Grey with an uncontrollable temper and a desire to see him killed. For Eddie, it's love at first sight. But his infatuation will lead him to discover that all is not as it seems in a world where everything that looks black and white is really shades of grey ...

Sounds cool yes? They say it's kinda a mixture of Douglas Adams and George Orwell, which can only be a good thing. I'm saving that to my "have to buy" bookmarks. It doesn't come out till next year though, but I'm bearing that in mind.

Since I'm in a booky mood, does anyone know/love the Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld? It's my absolute favourate series - I love it even more than Harry Potter or Twilight (which is scary). You might also know the Midnighters series from him?

Hmm... so that's a lot of babble, but I don't do much except read at the moment before going off to Europe on a tour thingie. At the moment I'm on the last Shopeholic book (shopeholic and baby - I still need to buy mini shopeholic which only came out today) and then I'm going to re-read the Hunger games inc Mocingjay and then the Melissa Marr books and then Maybe HP again...

*wow this is a long post about books I like *

mwa

Love you guys

[TheCursedQuill]

Welcome Triplets!

Congrat Ariana, Vorona and CoolCat for making it in SPEW It's always great to see new people!

I really just popped in to say Howdy. I regrettfully must be on my way though.

Have a great day everyone!

OH! And go vote for a drabble for the Monthly TTB! You have to read all the drabbles.. and there's quite a few... but the more votes the better!

-Sarah

[lucca4]

Since I'm in a booky mood, does anyone know/love the Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld? It's my absolute favourate series - I love it even more than Harry Potter or Twilight (which is scary). You might also know the Midnighters series from him?

I LOVE the Uglies series! Although I still like Harry Potter better . They're amazingly written (except I didn't like Extras much and my favorite character is Zane, if that says anything without blatantly spoiling.). My friend read the Midnighters series, and she absolutely loved it, but I haven't read them yet. But yes, I love, love Uglies! .

Has anyone read the Mortal Instruments series? I love them . The author used to write Harry Potter fanfiction, and I think she got involved in some copy-write mess or something. I forget what she plagiarized, but at least it wasn't HP, right? Hm, what other series do I like, while we're on the topic of books. I recently read a book called Graceling and its companion Fire, which are super amazing. I would definitely recommend those!

I like werewolves, vampires, and magic, too, but I'm not much into romance in actual novels. I'm writing a vampire P. I. novel right now (well, very close to starting the actual writing: I'm still in the planning stage). I'll look Maggie Stiefvater up.

I really liked her book Shiver, but it's one of those books that might not appeal to everyone. It's written very poetically, with lots of abstract language and metaphors and such. I thought it was great, though.

I'm off to study vocab... We have the stupidest words this week, like juggernaut and fulcrum (which is something a LEVER SPINS ON. I'm definitely using that in my life.)

xx Ariana

[Vorona]

Since I'm in a booky mood, does anyone know/love the Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld? It's my absolute favourate series - I love it even more than Harry Potter or Twilight (which is scary).

Yes! I love those books, too, and like Ariana, my favorite character is also Zane. My current favorite series is The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. It's a nifty blend of crime noir and urban fantasy: the main character, Harry Dresden, is a wizard in Chicago. It's partly the inspiration for my current novel. In a lot of ways, it reminds me of the Uglies series, though, which is why I'm bringing it up, although I'm not sure how they're similar. I find a lot of "dark allure" in The Dresden Files -- there are definitely well-written fairies and vampires. There is the occasional werewolf, as well, but they're not really the focus, except in Fool Moon. Ha! I sound like an advertisement. But seriously: great books if you haven't read them yet.

I haven't read the Midnighters series, though, and I'm vaguely interested in his version of vampires in Peeps, which I also haven't read yet.

Ariana - I have not read the Mortal Instruments series. What are they like? And who wrote Graceling and Fire?

Also:

I really liked her book Shiver, but it's one of those books that might not appeal to everyone. It's written very poetically, with lots of abstract language and metaphors and such. I thought it was great, though.

I love that kind of thing! I'll definitely check that out.

Sarah - I'm hopping over to read and vote shortly!

[lucca4]

Ariana - I have not read the Mortal Instruments series. What are they like?

How am I supposed to describe them nicely after you just gave that really fancy summary? But I'll try my best!
The Mortal Instruments series is urban-fantasy; it's dark, but the darkness doesn't cloud the premise. There are fairies and werewolves and vampires--all written very believably. The author (Cassandra Clare) does a brilliant job with mixing humor in at all the right times, and her characters are completely intriguing and interesting to read. It's not a book I'm in love with, like Harry Potter where there are all these really deep messages...but I do love the series...if that makes any sense!

And who wrote Graceling and Fire?

Kristin Cashore. If you liked The Hunger Games, I'd definitely recommend this. It's one of those fantasy books set in another land--and just as I'm reading that sentence over I'm cringing...it's not as horrible as I'm making it sound. It's as if it's written in the Far East somewhere during the 1700s. Or something...

And I'll definitely be looking into The Dresden Files--it sounds almost like the Mortal Instruments series!

I just ate the most delicious crêpe I've ever had in my entire life. It was made with whipped cream and strawberries and Nutella, and it was so so so superbly delicious. Probably not worth the $8.50 I spent on it, but oh well! It was heaven while it lasted .

xx Ariana xx

[Vorona]

Ariana - the Mortal Instruments series is now definitely on my TBR (To Be Read) list. They sound fantastic! I'll keep my eyes open for Cristin Cashore, too, although *blushes*, I haven't read The Hunger Games yet.

Crepes (sorry for the lack of accent--not sure how to do it on here and too lazy to put it into a word processor at the moment) and Nutella . . . mmmm . . . And then, whipped cream and strawberries, too? Sounds amazing!

On the topic of desserts, my mom recently made a peach crisp from our local peaches. It was to die for. We have the best peaches, and we're nowhere near Georgia. Unfortunately, the ones we have right now are a little too ripe.

[Amortentia x]

Welcome back, Hannah! It's nice to meet you! I'm Emma

Aw, Emma has no SPEW sibling Though I think Alyssa came very shortly after me…?

I'm back to school now, and officially depressed. Where did my three months of summer holidays go? I'm starting night study this week, so I won't be online as much. I've also forgotten how awful doing homework is. French will be the death of me. It's so scary being back because they're all talking about the exams and getting college forms sorted out and choosing things which are going to affect the rest of my life. Eeep. It's so weird being a sixth year, which is our last year of secondary school. I think because most of my friends outside school are a few years older than me, I still feel pretty young. But I'm eighteen in three months, so I'm on the countdown, haha. I guess the only good thing about being back at school is that I really appreciate the glory of weekends. Living for the Weekends is now my mantra in life

I also just realised how much I love my friends. I have days where I could literally AK each and every one of them for annoying me in some way (why does two o'clock mean half four to you guys?) but I honestly love them. Besides the awful school side, I think this year could be a good one

I'm obsessed with Newton Faulkner's cover of Foundations by Kate Nash. Honestly, it is pure love. And the Arctic Monkey's cover of You Know I'm No Good by Amy Winehouse. Hooray for new musical obsessions! I've also got back into Justin Timberlake, haha. I don't care if it's cringey to like him, I love him. I need a new tv obsession though. Desperate Housewives isn't back on Irish telly until like February. I'm so upset about this. What else am I supposed to look forward to on a Tuesday night? The Inbetweeners is back soon though, so Emma is very happy about that. If you haven't watched it before, you seriously have to. I mean, the humour is so blunt and rude it's just hilarious. And the characters! I love that programme. So much.

Much love for my SPEWlings!

--Emma

[CoolCatElly]

Hello Hello

Emma, oh school, it has so many ups and downs, but at the end of the day I do miss it, so enjoy it while you can.

Yes! I love those books, too, and like Ariana, my favorite character is also Zane.

OMG ME TOO!! I love Zane, I always wanted him and Tally to get together. I did like Extras though.

I haven't read the Midnighters series, though, and I'm vaguely interested in his version of vampires in Peeps, which I also haven't read yet.

Midnighters is good, not as good as Uglies but still good.

Peeps, I would NOT recommend. I have it and have read it, but it let me down severely. The plot was quite lame, and the characters fairly one-dimensional. I had high expectations from the book, but oh well.

If you're looking for an amazing Vampire series I would highly recommend Melissa De La Cruz's Blue Blood series. Its an amazing series which is like a cross between Gossip Girl and .... well and any dark Vampire novel really. But yes.

oxoxoxox
Elene

[Kuri]

Good Lord I haven't had Internet in a month or so. That's a pain when you're doing research, folks. Anyway, although I might not be round this month for uni reasons, I am back online. God, withdrawls and panics much? Anyway, somebody mentioned 'triplets'? I am seriously one of three ... the oldest, not that it matters. If I'm getting too personal, tell me, but that's my little brag. It has been in and out for the past 22 years. Anyway, back online.