Another Semester, another set of grades

Hello!
I hope you all had a fabulous holiday and are getting ready for New Years. I know I haven't been posting much, but I have been spending the break relaxing and playing the Sims 3 so nothing really to report. I did look at my grades and it was a pretty impressive semester

Statistics: A
Abnormal Psychology: -A
Japanese Art History: -A
Intermediate Fiction: -A
World Literature in English: -A

Let's just hope this can keep up until next semester!

Supernatural Season 2

*I will try to keep it as spoiler free as possible, but there will be some. You have been warned*

So if the first season of Supernatural is everything that can make you fall in love with a series, the second season is everything that makes you fall in love with the characters. I have cried, screamed, laughed, and about any other emotion you can think of during this season. It is so much more emotional then the first, probably due to the fact that they now had a fan base and were less scared of getting canceled. I don't know if I like it better then the first season, but it is just as addicting and amazing. 

Once again we join Sam and Dean on their quest to hunt demons and ultimately kill the yellow eyed demon that took their mother's and Sam's girlfriend's life. The season starts right where season one left off, the semi truck slamming into the side of the Impala. Sam and his father make it through the accident just banged up, but Dean, who was already pretty messed up, is in a coma. To save Dean's life his father makes a deal with the yellow eyed demon, his life and the colt for Dean's. The season progresses with the fight to find and kill the demon, but as Sam and Dean run into more and more physics like Sam, Sam starts to question himself and whether he should live. The first season was setting up the world and the characters, this season is most definitively about the brothers bond.  

We are introduced to a few new characters in this season. Ellen, Jo, and Ash all live in the Roadhouse, a bar that is owned by Ellen and frequented by hunters. Ellen's husband was a hunter and worked with John on a few hunts, including his last. Jo wants to follow in her father's footsteps and be a hunter, but Ellen isn't having any of it. The mother and daughter have a falling out midway through the season, which leads Jo out hunting away from the Roadhouse. Ash is a brilliant, if socially awkward, friend of Ellen's and Joe's that lives in the Roadhouse and set up an algorithm to find the yellow eyed demon from the data that John collected. I love Ash so much, he is adorable, and I also love Ellen, however I can't find it in myself to like Jo. Now I love the actress Alona Tal, but the character was just too...over the top I guess. I know a lot of fans like her, but she just didn't do it for me. 

My favorite episode has to be Tall Tales. I have a soft spot for Richard Speight Jr. after watching Band of Brother and he plays the Trickster so well. The season also plays up the relationship siblings have for one another. Sam and Dean have been through so much and yet at times it is difficult for them to even stand each other. I think the main reason I loved it was all the humor. Most Supernatural episodes have their share of laughs, but this one was mostly fun and less creepy, scary, hide under your bed stuff. Even if you don't watch Supernatural I am sure you will enjoy this episode. 

My least favorite episode is What Is and What Should Never Be. After the emotional roller coaster that was Heart I was expecting a lot of heart gripping, sobbing, and heart smashing in this episode, but it didn't get emotional until the very end. I know that it is setting up the last two episodes of the season, but even then I wanted so much more out of it. Maybe it was because Heart was so good that I expected it to be repeated, but it wasn't. Now I am not saying I hated the episode, but it was rather flat in my opinion.   

Overall a much more emotional season. The bond between the brother's is showcased more in this episode and having an older brother myself it was painful at times to watch Dean struggle as Sam asks him to kill him. Dean broke my heart so many times this season that I couldn't even take it. I am glad that Bobby came back for this season and that more hunters were introduced even if I didn't like some of them. As for a rating, I am giving it a 4.95 out of 5 because though it is amazing the first season beats it by a small margin.  

Eyes Like Stars

What? I have actually finished a book not related to my school work? Trust me I am just as shocked as you are, but it has indeed been done. Now this isn't the first time I have dived into the wonderful world of Theatre Illuminata in Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev, but the book is so good that really I could read every week.

The story revolves around Beatrice Shakespeare Smith, lovingly referred to as Bertie, who lives on the stage of the Theatre Illuminata. Theatre Illuminata is a magical theater that relies on the magic of The Book which binds all the players, who are not just actors, but the actually characters, to the theater. Bertie was brought to the theater by the Mistress of Revels when she was just a baby and ever since Bertie could wonder about her origins she has been trying to figure out who her mother is. However Bertie comes across more problems then her unknown parents when the Theater Manager tells Bertie she can no longer stay in the Theater due to her reckless actions and the effect she has on the players. Bertie convinces the Theater Manager to let her stay if she can restage Hamlet in Egypt and sell out the theater. However while Bertie tries to find her way as the newly appointed director with the help of her fairy companions in only a week to restage the play, the mischievous air elemental Ariel tries to complicate everything by attempting to escape the theater. Nate give Bertie a scrimshaw to protect her from Ariel's magic, but when she takes it off and Ariel steals The Book, Bertie's tears summon Sedna. The angry goddess of the sea tries to capture Bertie, but some magic protects her, so she takes Nate instead. Things become even more complicated when Ariel rips the pages out of the book and set the players free. Now Bertie has to repair the book, fix the Theater, restage Hamlet, and somehow save Nate.     

Bertie is a wonderful main character who is both funny, sarcastic, intelligent, and trying to find her way through her changing world. Sometime she can seem rather dense, but we you realize that the only world Bertie knows are those that she sees in the scenes created on stage it is more understandable. What I really loved is that in most coming of age stories the main character is trying to leave, but Bertie wants nothing but to stay in the theater. Bertie is not perfect, she makes mistake, and let her emotions overrun her better judgement, but that is what it is like to be a teenage girl. She is a character that is easy to want to be friends with and to cheer for while she faces the challenges in front of her. 

Now the two male leads in this act are Nate, a minor player from The Little Mermaid, and Ariel from The Tempest. Nate is Bertie's best friend as well as a steady personality while Bertie is all about impulse. Nate obviously cares deeply for Bertie, but it isn't until the play progresses further that we see it might be more then just friendship that the two feel for each other. Nate is by far one of the most likable pirates I have come across in novels and it still breaks my heart when Sedna takes him. That being said, Ariel is my favorite male lead. Ariel was Bertie's childhood playmate until Mrs. Edith told Bertie she could no longer play with him because she feared he had a bad influence on her. He is so human, well as human as an air elemental can be, with both his actions and his wishes. I wish I had words to properly describe Ariel, but there are none for his wonderful and complex character. I can't wait to see how Bertie's relationship with both boys plays out in the other two novels. 

However my favorite characters in the novel are the fairies that are Bertie's companions and best friends. Cobweb, Mustardseed, Peaseblossom, and Moth are players from A Midsummer Night's Dream from Shakespeare. They are the comedic relief, Bertie's support system, and all around difficult to not like. Now I don't remember what the genders are of the fairies in the actually play, if they are specified at all, but I liked how Peaseblossom was the only girl of the many band of fairies. They quickly capture your heart and unlike some other comic relief figures are not just for laughs.

Overall I give this book a 5 out of 5. I wish I could go into more detail, but I refuse to ruin the book for anyone by giving away the end. From a student trying desperately to learn how to write young adult fantasy I am even more deeply in love with the author Lisa Mantchev's work. She creates a world that is so easy to believe even though it makes the most loved characters from plays into a very everyday world. The dialogue is absolutely wonderful and so realistic that this has to be one of the most quotable books I have come across. I can not rave enough about this novel and I can't wait until I get the other books in the series to see how Mantchev pulls the whole story line together. 

Purple Hibiscus

If I had to put my feelings about this book into one word it would be this, rage. Pure and unbridled rage.

The story is centered around Kambili and her brother Jaja. Both children live in a strict catholic family with a father who is not only overbearing, but also abusive. When Kambili and Jaja visit their aunt they are opened to a new world of love and openness that they have never experienced before. While Jaja takes to this new environment right away, Kambili is shy and timid and it takes the provocation of her cousin Amaka and the friendship of the local priest, Father Amadi, for Kambili to finally come out of her shell. When the siblings return to their father's house it is far from a easy transition and soon everything starts to become difficult. 

Why does this novel make me so angry? Because the father is abusive and uses religion to try and justify his horrible actions. He causes his wife to have two miscarriages, breaks his sons finger, burns his daughters feet, beats her until she ends up in the hospital, and yet says it was because of love he does these things. In class some people tried to use the fact that he was an upstanding man in the community to say he wasn't a monster, but I had a hard time the whole novel. ** spoiler alert** When I found out that the mother has poisoned him I might have cheered a little. I don;t care what he did for the community, he brutalized his family and that is unacceptable. 

Overall, I am sure you have guessed, I despised this book and I doubt I will ever pick it up again unless I am forced to for another class. It had nothing to do with the writing of the novel, the imagery was beautiful, but the content. It gets a 1 out of 5

Nervous Conditions

I will get caught up on all these books so help me! Alright the next book I had to read for World Literature in English was Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga.

We finally left India and are now focusing on Africa. This brought on a map quiz of Africa in a literature class, which I wasn't overly happy about, but I think I did alright on it. The novel itself focuses on Tambudzai, referred to as Tambu, and her journey to achieve education. She is born to a lazy father and a poor family, however her Uncle is well educated and wealthy from being taught by the missionaries. Tambu's brother is taken by Babamukuru to the mission and educated, however he dies of an illness while at the mission. Because of this Tambu is given the opportunity to further her education at the mission.

This story isn't just about getting to go to school and learning, it deals with colonization, feminism, religion, and many other complex and difficult issues. Tambu's cousin Nyasha is kind of a teacher that teaches Tambu not to just follow others blindly, but to think for herself. However Nyasha, who lived for five years in England, can not fit into the mold of a proper African girl that Babamukuru wants her to which leads to much hardship for Nyasha.

I rather liked this novel and even though at parts it seemed repeating the same thing and annoying, it had a good message and still interesting. Tambu was a character that you could easily identify with even if you had never been in her situation. It is easy for the reader to get angry with Tambu about how the men at the homestead do nothing, yet they blame everything on lack of money. Overall I will give this novel a 3 out of 5. I wouldn't have picked it up if not for this class, but I am not opposed to reading it again.    

Rich Like Us

Once again I am falling behind in my posting, but I am going to try my best to keep up. Alright so for the most aggravating class this semester, as known as World Literature in English, I have recently had to read Rich Like Us by Nayantara Sahgal.

The novel is told in two point of views, first person when we are following Sonali, and third person when we are with Rose. Rose is and English woman who was taken from her life if hard work in the lower classes for England to India by Ram, who already had a wife. When the reader is following Rose's story we see that though Rose is English she is much more Indian then her own husband and wins the love of both Ram's father, who hates everything English, as well as ram's first wife Mona. However Mona's son Dev, who Rose now lives with due to Ram's stroke, hates Rose. She does not hold her tongue when she sees Dev working with the corrupt government to set up a factory. This brings Sonali into the story who losses her job because she does not approve the factory being brought in from England. Sonali's part of the novel focuses more on current problems in India, such as the Emergency. By intertwining the two characters stories we see both the past and the present easily.

I really don't have much to say about this novel. I didn't hate it, but I didn't exactly like it either. It was an easy read and talked about important issues, yet I couldn't really get into Sonali's part of the narrative, I was much more interested in Rose. This might be because I knew about what Rose was talking about, England and WWII, where as I have little knowledge about the Emergency. If you are interested in India or the Emergency in general I think it is worth a read, but otherwise I don't recommend it. Overall it gets a 2.5 out of 5.

Procrastination at its finest

I have so much I have to do before next Tuesday, yet here I am talking to all of you. I have a midterm in my Intermediate Fiction class that I need to start writing, a book to finish for World Literature in English, and a chapter to finish and then study for History of Japanese Art since my test is on Tuesday. The only class that isn't having me do back flips Tuesday is Abnormal Psychology. This is just normal college bitching and I should be happy that I am here and furthering my education, but sometimes I just want a weekend where I don't have to do anything. 


Now that I written this I feel stupid and whiny. I have no right to complain. Just the motivation I need to get this stuff done. 

Inspector Lynley - Playing For The Ashes

I literally stumbled upon this Mystery! show by pure chance one night when I had my TV on in my room before bed. It this was before we had cable so I only had five channels. I can't remember which episodes PBS was showing that night, bur within the few minutes I had it one while I was getting changed it sucked me in. I watched the end of that episode and tried in vain to watch it next week, but I didn't understand how Mystery! worked and that it wasn't the same show every weekend. I now know better, but I also own a few on DVD.

All that being said I have recently been informed that this is based off novels and watching the beginning credits, which I must have not before, I see that indeed they are. I must get my hands on one of these to see if I enjoy them as much as the show. Anyway the story follows Detective Inspector Lynley and his partner Detective Sargent Havers as they run down and catch criminals. Simple enough and done on many other programs, but I think the reason I like this so much is the dynamic between Havers and Lynley. There is a partner, slightly romantic, kind of awkward, brother and sister, I don't even know relationship that pulls the story along. I have to say though if you haven't watched any British programming before it might take you a while to warm up to the characters.

This episode centers around the death of a famous cricket player and a radical group stealing dogs that are going to be used in testing. Now I know absolutely nothing about cricket and it makes no sense at all to me, but the episode still made perfect sense. Now I felt no sympathy for the man who died, he was divorcing his wife who had three children, shaking up with his agent, and also living with a wealthy woman. However I really was surprised at who the actual culprit was and though the dogs had nothing to do with the death it was needed to piece everything together. It was a brilliantly woven together crime and solution that was really fun to watch.

The relationship between the wealthy woman and her daughter was really touching and extremely heart breaking in the end. Olivia was so confused and so alone and had no idea what to do. Finally her and her mother are reunited and then everything goes wrong. I felt so bad for Olivia and wished that in the end something would have been done to help her. I also felt for the cricket players wife and son. The wife couldn't admit that he was leaving her and her children while the sixteen year old son was trying to take care of his family the best he could. There was a lot of heart in this episode which you didn't realize until the end. 

Overall I think that it was a wonderful mystery that kept me on my toes. This might be because of my lack of knowledge of the cricket world, but I don't think that could be all. I always love a good mystery as well as crime show and I have always loved British programming so it isn't hard to see why I fell in love with this series. It might also have to do with the fact that if I ever became a cop I would probably be a lot like Havers.

Avatar: The Last Airbender - Book One Water

So after hear everyone rave about this anime, even my best friend who usually doesn't like this sort of stuff, I finally sat down and started to watch it. I can say that it pulled me in quickly and now that I am done with the first book I am excited to move on to see what happens next. A quick run down goes like this...the fire nation is trying to take over all the other nations (water, earth and air). The war between the nations has been going on for almost 100 years and the air nation has already fallen to the fire benders. The avatar is the only person who has any chance of bringing the fire nation down, but he has been missing since the war started. We join the story as the Avatar, Aang, is rediscovered in an ice berg by Katara and her brother Sokka. Soon they set off to get Aang masters so Aang can bend all the elements and fulfill his destiny. 

Aang is the avatar so obviously he is the main character, but there is a lot of growth in his character through out the first book. When we first meet Aang he is only a fun loving boy of twelve who wants nothing but see the world and explore all the fun it possess. However as soon as he sees what the fire nation has been doing in his absence he starts to embrace his destiny slowly and works towards mastering the elements. Aang is lovable as well as someone that your heart goes out to. It is a lot of responsibility for a twelve year old to handle. 

Katara is the heroine in this anime and sometimes it feels as if she is the main character. Katara is the voice of reason and logic from the beginning as well as the only water bender left on the South Pole. As she tries to protect Aang she also has to grow up herself. She is so engrossed by learning to water bend and use her power that on more then a few occasions it gets the group into trouble. Sometimes I found myself a little upset with Katara, but then I had to remember that she is only a kid as well and even though she acts much older she is still subject to childish impulses. 

Sokko is usually used as the comical relief in this series, but he also does so much more. Unlike in many other cartoons where he would only be there for laughs Sokka is very important to the story. He is not a bender like most of the other characters that they encounter, yet he fights and holds his own when he needs to. The relationship between him and Yue was adorable. I knew what was going to happen because I saw the live action version *shakes head* but I still felt sad when Yue and Sokka kissed for the last time. Sokka quickly became one of my favorite characters because while Katara and Aang are all high hopes and ambitions, Sokka is grounded and practical.

Zuko, though he is seen as the bad guy for most of this season, is by far the character that develops the most. I have a hard time deciding whether he or Sokka is my favorite character in this first season. He has a wonderful heart and great passion, but he is torn between his loyalty and love for his father and doing what he thinks is right. Though this is only the first season, by the last episodes you can see that he is really confused about what he should do with his mission to capture the avatar.

Now a little time has to be given to tree very special characters. Iroh, Appa, and Momo really are important secondary characters even though two of them are animals. Iroh is just plan badass, there is no more to say then that. When you first meet him you think he is just a sweet old man, but as the season progresses you learn just how wise, powerful, and smart he is. He is the reason Zuko is half that man he is and will become. Appa is Aang's animal guide and kind of badass. He is all cute and flying until the Bato of the Water Tribe episode where he fights the bounty hunters beast. You can't watch this and not love Appa. The same goes for Momo who is comic relief. He is just so freaking cute! 

Now usually I pick my favorite and least favorite of a season, but I can honestly say that there are none that stand out from the pack as really good or really bad. Now don't take that the wrong way, I mean they are all awesome that there are none that I this is much better or worse then all the rest.

Overall I think that this is a rather deep show for what is supposed to be a child's cartoon. Watching it as a nineteen year old it deals with deep issues and though you can watch it for pure entertainment you can also learn a lot from it. This is probably the reason it is still so popular with a wide range of ages and they are making another series (which I am super excited for!) It is much like a Disney movie in the sense that there is a lot of things that is thrown in for the older audience and I love when they do that. This gets a 4.9 out of 5. 

Supernatural Season 1

This is the second or third time I have rewatched the first season and it is still freaking awesome. I can't even put into words how brilliant I think the writers are and the acting is wonderful. Of course is always help to have two sexy leads, but even if they weren't drop dead gorgeous I think the show would still work. Now I am a giant baby when is comes to horror movies and I admit that some of the episodes scared me, but this show has just the right balance of humor and creepy that is should work for almost anyone. However if you are like me I suggest not watching it for the first time at night, with the lights off, home alone. 

To put the show into a sentence it is two brothers who hunt demons. However there is a lot of internal and external conflict between the brothers as well as they father who they are searching for most of the first season. You learn more about each brother as well as their childhood as the series goes on, but the first season is both of the brothers getting to know each other again after being apart for the four years Sam was away at college. It would take far to long to go into each episode so I will just highlight my favorite and least favorite after a few character introductions   

Sam Winchester is my favorite of the Winchester boys, but what can I say I have always had a thing for the nerdy ones. Sam is 22 when the series starts and reluctant to go back out hunting because he is trying to have a normal life. However after the same demon that kills his mother also kills his girlfriend Sam goes with Dean to find their father and kill this demon once and for all. Throughout the first season we get to see Sam and his difficult relationship with his father as well as Dean, but we also see how much he loves both of them. A lot of people don't like Sam, but I think he is a lot easier to relate to then Dean at the very beginning. Maybe it is just because I have always thought Jared Padalecki was drop dead sexy, but if you had a normal life with a woman that you were thinking about marrying why would you want to go out hunting for things that went bump in the night? As the season progresses Sam develops a kind if psychic ability in which he as visions that come true. I love Sam's character and he kind of reminds me of myself when I get together with my older brother.

Dean Winchester reminds me a lot of the people I usually have as my best guy friends as well as my own older brother. Flirty, smart ass, yet deep down really good guys. He is 26 at the beginning of the series, but it's Sam who is the serious one. Dean is all badass, great lines, and a whole lot of mess up your day attitude. I love Dean so much and even though he isn't my favorite brother I get a lot more emotional when Dean gets angry or tears up then when Sam does. Dean is trying to hold everything together when it just wants to fall apart and I love him for that. I also can't handle how much he loves his dad and Sam, he is always saving him and looking out for him even when Sam doesn't know or appreciate it. I wish I could put Dean into a more clear statement, but I can't. He is a very believable character in a series that is about hunting demons which is saying a lot.  

My favorite episode has to be, and this was a very tough choice, has to be Hell House. The playfulness between the brothers, the Ghostfacers, everything was really well done. The fact that the brothers are playing pranks each other through out the episode already gave it a fun and up beat feel, but then you add the two dorks trying to do paranormal investigation and it is just amazing. Also the creature in this episode is a really interesting thought about being created just because people believed it was real. It was one of the 'lighter' episodes of the season and even though a lot of other episodes came really close (Something Wicked being the runner up) this has to be my favorite episode. Not to mention there is Sam in only a towel, what isn't there to like?

My least favorite episode is, again very hard choice, has to be Faith. Now before you take me out behind a building and beat me, let me explain. The reaper is one of my all time favorite creatures, I mean he is totally badass and the whole idea of the episode is awesome. However the whole dynamic between Dean and Layla makes me so sad. She is such a good person and she can't be healed because Dean and Sam have to stop the reaper. The end of the episode made me tear up the first time I watched it. I like the episode, but the awkward confrontations with Layla's mom and the overall sad tone of the episode make it my least favorite. 

Now let me just say that every time I get to the last episode of the first season I go "OMG WHAT THE HELL! WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT! WHAT HAPPENS! WHY?!?!" even though I know perfectly well what happens next. It is by far the most aggravating ending to a season I have yet to come across in all of my TV show experience. I really can't say enough about this show and I am pretty sure I am going to bawl my eyes out when it actually finishes. Rating of 5 out of 5 for sure. 

World Literature In English = UGH!

Alright so I took this class to fulfill a requirement for something, a major or general education I can't remember, and I really am starting to wish I hadn't. I hate the books we are reading, the professor is a nice lady but I hate her teaching style, and I am pulling a solid B- in the class because I never have any idea what she wants us to write about in our papers which is the only thing we are graded on. I am just so frustrated with it and yet there is nothing I can do. I can't talk to her because she seems very set in her thinking and refuses to bend not to mention she kind of annoys me. It isn't a hard class, but I am going to get a mediocre grade in it because of the unclear nature of the essays. People have even asked her to clarify, but it doesn't make any more sense. *sigh* that's college I guess.

Psychic Dectective Yakumo

I actually stumbled upon this anime by pure chance a long time ago, almost two years I think. I watched the first few episodes, but then got side tracked by other things and never finished. I recently ran across something about it on my tumblr and decided that I should finally finish it since there is only 13 episodes.

I am a big fan of anything that has to do with the paranormal, which is odd because I am a giant baby when it comes to scary things. What really struck me about this show was that Yakumo couldn't fight the spirits only talk with them. The main story revolves around Yakumo's parentage and the events leading up to his birth. We find out early on that as a child Yakumo was almost killed by his mother. As the anime progresses we find out that his father was a man that kidnapped his mother and held her captive. There are a lot of other interesting developments in the case as well as how Yakumo and the other characters are connected. 

The dynamic between all the characters is really complex and interesting, which gives the series another layer of mystery other then the base story line. They are all connected by unknown connections or by new relationships, which is a very Buddhist principle, the red string of fate. Due to my History of Japanese Art class I have learned a lot about Buddhism and I feel like I understood a lot more of this anime, especially Isshin, because of it. There was a lot of depth to this anime which I really liked. 

Yakumo is a rather fun hero in this anime because he acts as if he doesn't like anybody which leads to a lot of fun dialogue. He is a lot like a cat, but Harika finds little bits, like the fact that he is ticklish, that make him more human. He is also very dark and even though he appears to always be in control you can never really tell. With everything that he faces it is easy to believe that sometimes he gives into his hate and despair. The inner turmoil that he faces by not being able to do anything but talk to the spirits is another interesting part of this series. He wasn't the normal happy go lucky main character really was a nice change. 

Haruka is the normal heroine in an anime, cute, a little ditsy, but caring and sweet. She is the first person not scared of Yakumo's red eye that let's him see spirits, which is a first for Yakumo. I was really upset that she never really took on the situation herself besides in the episode in the cabin. She always needed pushed or proded by someone to go to Yakumo's side which really made me mad. Even in the very end she needed Gotou to tell her to go to Yakumo. I liked Karuka, but like most females in anime I think she needed a little common sense knocked into her. 

Now another thing that I really like about is that the police aren't depicted as idiots and are actually a big part of this anime. Gotou and Ishii completely believe in Yakumo as well as help him with his own personal issues while Yakumo helps with investigations. They worked through all the cases and really were apart of the series instead of side characters to push the plot forward. Gotou, his wife, and Nao was the most adorable thing in this series. Nao in general is just super cute. 

The ending was sad, but a good ending for an anime about death and the spirits of the dead. I would have like Yakumo and Haruka at least hug at the end, but saying that he would protect her was enough I guess. I wish that it wouldn't be left open but with the manga ongoing I guess they left it open so they could make a second series if they wished. Overall it is a really interesting series and I will probably look into the manga when it is finished. I try not to start a manga that is ongoing so I don't forget what is going on or forget what is going on. Rating of 4.2 out of 5

A Hundred Years of Solitude

This book has to be the most entertaining I have read for World Literature in English as well as the most bizarre. The story follows a family line who were the founders of the imaginary town of Maconco. This novel is written in the style of magical realism so everyday things are paired with the fantastical, such as washing laundry and then being taken by the wind up to heaven. When reading the novel you really just need to go with the flow and not stop to think about how weird or gross some of the events are or you are never going to get through the entire novel. There is a lot of incest, sex with random women, illegitimate children all over the place, and just plain odd stuff.  

I enjoyed the ending of the novel. It came full circle, like Ursula had has been saying the whole novel, back to the gypsies and the scrolls. To be honest at this point and time I was just happy that the book was over, 417 pages of all that nonsense was a little much, but looking back it was a good way to end the novel. I also enjoyed the fact that the thing Ursula feared the most, the dreaded pig tail, was on the child that would have saved the line if he had lived. We talked a lot in class that all the mental instability in the family was actually the pig tail and the child born with the actual tail would have been sane. However you never find out since the father totally abandons the child after the mother's death and the child is eaten by ant (yes you read that right, ants) 

Now the most confusing thing about this novel was that every male in the novel had almost the same name or at least a name close to that of his father. In the first couple of generations it wasn't a huge issue, but with all the children, grand children, and onward it was extremely difficult to remember who belonged to who and which geberation the person belonged to. By the fourth generation I just gave up and kept reading thinking that I would get a marker somewhere to know which person it was. 

Overall it was fun to read, but I don't think I will read it again for a long time. Maybe over the summer if I am truly bored I will go back and take my time reading through it. Rating wise I give it a 3.5 out of 5 due to confusing parts, names, and overall just being much too long. If you are interested in Latin America or magical realism give it a read, but allow yourself time and don't get too frustrated. After a while it will either start making sense or you will just go with the flow. 

Sherlock - The Great Game

I have finally found the time to sit down and watch the final episode from the first season of Sherlock, if you don't count the unaired pilot.

I am glad that it I didn't get into the series right away so I don't have as long to wait for the new episodes, but at the same time why are there only three episodes in a series? I find that cruel and unusual punishment. The Great Game is the first time that Sherlock and Moriarty battle wits that Sherlock is actually aware of. Moriarty straps bombs to innocent people and then sends Sherlock off to solve cases that the police aren't even looking at. Sherlock only has so many hours before the bomb goes off to solve the puzzle. Sherlock solves all the cases, but when an old blind woman tries to tell Sherlock about Moriarty she gets killed. It is a rather fast paced episode because so many cases are solved. 

Sherlock in the beginning of this episode was absolutely brilliant and even though I have never heard of Benedict Cumberbatch before this series I am madly in love with him. He is a brilliant actor and plays the role wonderfully. When he is playing the grammar police against the inmate at the very beginning I couldn't stop laughing and then when he didn't know the solar system I was laughing to hard I was shaking. It also shows that Sherlock doesn't know everything, which is a different view of him from the perfect model we see in a lot of other adaptations. I loved the fact that John keeps making fun of him for not knowing about the solar system. Sherlock also shows a large range of emotions in this episode, one of which being sadness when the old woman is killed, and fear when John is strapped to the bomb. It shows that there is a lot of depth and heart to Sherlock even though not a lot of people think so. 

John again grew to be a lot less of a push over at the same time as being a helpmate to Sherlock. He gets upset with Sherlock, yet at the same time realizes that his mind does not work like the rest of us. He runs the social side of the case, talking to Lestrade when Sherlock refuses and anyone else that they come into contact with. In this episode we see John slowly falling into the role that he played in the original series. However he still is not the fat doctor that follows Sherlock around like a lost puppy. John works the missile case by himself, or so he thinks, and comes to conclusions about it. Even though he is wrong it shows that Sherlock is influencing and teaching John just as much as John is influencing and teaching him. Though I am not smitten with John the way I am Sherlock I love him dearly. 

*I did not make this gif credit to maker in bottom right corner*

I would also like to take this time to admit that I have a slight crush on Moriarty. I know I am not the only one so stop making those faces at your screen. At first I thought his voice was odd, but then I realized he was doing that on purpose and after he dropped it I was rather taken with him. I mean he is an evil genius and kills people, but I always like a man with a lot of personality and character. If I liked Sherlock though I was bound to like Moriarty since he is his opposite. He wasn't what I expected at all however I was pleasantly surprised. I can't wait to see him appear again in the second series. 

The only problem I had with the episode was the man standing on the same street corner, in the same place for all those hours and no one taking notice. I mean honestly a normal person maybe not, but didn't police notice this poor guy crying and standing in the same spot? The one in the car was understandable, as was the old lady in her house, but that one rang false. Also the cliff hanger ending really isn't a cliff hanger because we know he comes back for a second series so Sherlock and John can't die. Was I upset that it ended there, of course, but I am not fearing for John and Sherlock's life. Overall I give this episode a 5 out of 5 because it was extremely witty and wonderful and Lestrade was back (I have a soft spot for him)

What is this?

Dear Pittsburgh,
I hate to inform you that you are supposed to be a city that has four season, one of which is fall. I know that you are very excited for winter with the snow and watching all the college students bundle up like Eskimos to get to class, but please show a little restraint. It is not even Halloween yet so I would like to not be wearing a coat and have it threatening to snow. I am sure being as reasonable as you are you see how unfair this is for us who like wearing a sweater and not a coat for these few months before the cold of winter hits. I would ask you to refrain from this cold and rather unpleasant weather for a few more months when it would be normal for you to freeze us all the moment we step out of houses or dorms.
Thank you,
Me

American Short Fiction

This is a journal for, as the title suggests, short fiction and I had to read for a project for my Intermediate Fiction class. I happened to come across that 51 Issue and I am really glad that this was the issue our bookstore had because it was absolutely amazing.

When they said that they only accept the best I thought they were just saying that, but after reading all these stories I am convinced that they really meant it. All five stories were amazing, but the two that really stuck out to me were Marie Tells All by Ann Claycomb and The Wrong Chemicals by Matthew Baker.

Marie Tells All takes the fascination America seems to have with celebrity dating shows and puts us inside the head of one of the girls that lived it. The story starts after the show is over and Marie is telling us this story because we never watched the reality show so it was okay to tell us. It is not told in a linear matter, but through out the story we are told about Marie's experiences on the show as well as what got her there. Her sister, Teena, convinces her to go on the show after their father dies of cancer so they both can get some money and forget there fathers slow decline. Marie was the one who stayed with their dad and took care of him, but after finding out that their father cut Teena out of the life insurance Marie agrees to go onto the show. Though a lot of the story is told in the context of the show, by they end we learn it was never about Jesse or the show, but about Marie getting rid of her memories about her father and separating herself from her twin.

The Wrong Chemicals was rather slow and confusing to start with, but after I got into the story and understood what was going on it became really interesting. The narrator is depressed, but we don't understand why. Time in this piece is a big factor as it runs backwards and we see a man in his deep depression before we even learn what made him that way. However at the end of the story we learn that he witnessed the World Trade Center get hit as he worked in one of the towers, but was out for coffee, and that his children were killed inside and their bodies were never found. By the end of the piece we feel so much for the narrator who is rather annoying that the beginning of the story. It was an extremely moving piece and I suggest everyone at least gives it a read. 

The Curse of the Pharaohs

The second book in the Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters is just as good as the first. For some reason the first book has a very special place in my heart, even though it is not the first book of this series I read, so even though I really love this one as well it can not top it. Because of the start of the school year it took me entirely too long to finish this book, but luckily because I have read this book before I had knew what was going on. I loved all the new characters that Elizabeth Peters created, my favorite being the journalist Mr. O'Connell who reappears in later novels. I had a soft spot for him ever since the beginning, I don't know if it was because of his happy go lucky attitude or the fact that I rather like Irishmen and redheads, but I could help but love him. 

In this novel we start in cold and dreary England and learn through the wonderful narration of Mrs. Amelia Peabody Emerson that after the birth of their son Ramses, which is a nickname due to his resemblance to the pharaoh is looks and attitude, she has not been back to Egypt. However events that are happening in Luxor, namely the death of quite a few members of a tomb evacuation, makes a former acquaintance of Emerson's to come and ask him to head the excavation. Soon more deaths, work of the curse of the pharaoh, happen at the tomb and Amelia must work to save her husband from an unknown murder. Among the list of suspects is a horrid woman who believes she was a lover of Emerson's in a past life, an American who has sites on the widow of Lord Baskersville and his tomb, a villainous Egyptian who murder his daughter, and many other interesting characters.     

One thing that I admire as an amateur writer is the characterization that Elizabeth Peters achieves with every character she introduces. Whether it is a main character or someone only in that narrative for a few paragraphs it is not hard to picture the person. I was especially impressed with Lady Berengeria in this novel because you couldn't help but cringe at the pictures Peters creates. You can't help but dislike her and when a writer can get that type of response from a writer she is doing something right. Also as a parallel she makes Lady Berengeria's daughter so likable that you can understand how they are related. 

Now this series combines everything I love (Victorian times, Egyptology, adventure, romance, mystery, and humor) and is by far my favorite series. Even if you don't care about the archaeology part of the novels you can still get wrapped up in the mystery of the events unfolding around the Emerson family as well as fall in love with them. If nothing out writing style is entertaining enough to keep someone reading because it is done as if it was a personal journal. I give this book a 5 out 5 and recommend not only it but the entire series.

The Shadow Lines

I have finished yet another book for World Literature in English "The Shadow Lines". I enjoyed this book a lot more then I did "The Untouchables" even though the writing style was a bit confusing. The narrator doesn't tell the story in chronological order, which I enjoyed, but he jumped both time and place multiple times within a page if not a paragraph without breaks or warnings.

The narrator relates almost his entire life, and some before his life, mostly focusing on the partition in India as well as the differences in English and Indian culture. We also learn a lot about him life and why he has such a wonderful imagination because of his Uncle Tridib. As the book progresses and we also become introduced to the Price Family,  family friends who live in England, we see just how much two families miles apart can be intertwined. 

The reason I liked this story was because it was written in a more entertaining fashion was well as also having to deal with events that I knew something about, WWII for instance, that it was a lot easier for me to ground myself in what time period it was. I don't really know what else to write about it because if the round about writing style. It was entertaining and I would have never picked it up on my own, but I also don't think I will read it again. I rate it about a 4.5 out of 5.

Dragon*Con 2011

I know this is extremely late, but with catching up on school work and then becoming sick I haven't had the time or energy to write this out. Because it is so late I know I am going to forget something, but here is a rather quick rundown of my weekend.

*Photo taken by a line buddy that I made waiting for this panel, Caren*

I had no idea there was even going to be a Boondock Saints panel until I was flipping through the program guide Thursday night. It was really the only thing that I wanted to go see on Friday (if I couldn't get in to see Tom Felton) so I decided to go just for the hell of it. I made some really awesome friends in line (all the pictured featured are from one of them) It was really one of the most fun and down to earth panels I have ever been to. Both Norm and Sean where fun and I think if they could they would have gotten off the stage and come down to hang out with us. A man in the audience gave both of them as well as the moderator Jameson. It was just a lot of fun and then I went back to the dealers room to earn my registration.

*picture taken by a extremely nice person I met in line with a much better camera then I do, Caren*

On Saturday I went to see Misha Collins. After a much of line aggravation I got in to see him and I am so glad that I waited. Misha Collins is extremely hilarious and I kind of want him to be my best friend. His panel was so entertaining and he was really a very down to earth guy. At one point during the panel the fire alarm went off and none of us really moved. Misha made sure everything was alright and we could stay before assuring us that since he was god we were all going to heaven if we did burn to death in a fire. I have started following him on twitter haven't regretted it for a minute. I can not imagine what it would be like to be on set with him, Jensen, and Jared. I would probably not be able to work with them because I would laugh during every scene. Misha is also extremely good looking and has a very nice voice. I really want to go to a Supernatural Con now just to get to see Jensen and Jared as well.

I also went to a puppet slam on Saturday night, which was fun, but not exactly what I thought it was going to be. I thought it would be much more offensive and more audience interaction, but it was still well done. It was also the first year that one was put on so maybe in the following years it will be better.

*this one was taken by me, see the difference XD*

Sunday morning I woke up early to go wait in line for quite some time to see the lovely Tom Felton. The people I was in line for were nice to talk with and made the time go by rather fast, we were discussing Doctor Who, so it wasn't all that bad. He is one of the sweetest people I have ever heard speak. It is so obvious that being in Harry Potter, or any other movie, has in no way has gone to his head. I never really thought about him before, but after hearing him talk and interact with his fans he quickly climbed far up in my esteem (not that my esteem counts for much) and I also follow him on twitter. He greeted everyone who came up to ask him a question and after each question was answered he said "Thank you lovely". I am not a hardcore Harry Potter fan so I didn't know if I deserved to go, but I am so glad I did.

Those were just the panels and other events I went to. I also went to the parade on Saturday morning as well as went to look at costumes on a few of the nights. I bought three Supernatural necklaces (one of which I have lost) a Supernatural poster and Usa-chan from Ouran High School Host Club. We also ate at the same restaurant every night and the one waiter was super attractive. I spent an obnoxious amount of time in the airport on the way home (5:30 until 8:40) then flew back to Pittsburgh and went to my last two classes of the day. As always it was the most amazing weekend and totally worth missing a few days of classes.

Sherlock - The Blind Banker

Alright so I seem to have caught up enough in my class work to take an hour and a half off to watch another episode of Sherlock. After the first episode I have very high expectations for this one and it very much fulfilled them. With in the first five minutes I knew I was not going to be disappointed. The whole scene with Sherlock fighting the man with the sword while John was out doing the shopping was wonderful. I also loved that shift in the "crime element" that Sherlock and John were hunting down. Also with only having three episodes in a series I think they did a wonderful job of developing the characters.

My love for the adorable awkwardness that is Sherlock in this series was magnified quite a lot in this episode. When he is bouncing around the bank office like a little child while all the workers watched was rather adorable.  Then when he pretending to be the neighbor downstairs I wanted to tackle him it was so cute. I will try to keep my Sherlock fangirling to a minimum, but at times he is really too much cute to handle. Stepping away from that Sherlock was a lot more angry and short in this episode then in the last one. He was also a good deal more manipulating, but dear god did he make that all black outfit look good. We also see that Sherlock isn't just the brains, but he is more then able to handle himself in a fight, which is sometimes forgotten in adaptations. We also get a little more into his back story, just a bit, when Sebastian talks about them at university.

John was also changed just enough in this episode. He has gotten over how brilliant Sherlock is and is starting to get a little fed up with him. Especially when John gets in trouble with the spray paint we can see and when Sherlock doesn't let him into the apartments, that his patience with Sherlock is wearing a bit thin. The fact that neither of them have jobs is also addressed in this episode, it bothering John more then it is bother Sherlock, which gives me high hopes that it is going to be on for a long time. I also love John and Sarah's interaction as well, it really showed that unlike Sherlock he wants romantic interaction and a somewhat normal life.

As for the actual case, if you haven't watched it yet skip this paragraph, was extremely interesting to me. It focused a lot more on Sherlock's brain power, but also that even he needs a little help to solve his cases. It was also a far more reaching case then the Cabbie Killer in the first series to a complete organization. Also working with the new Detective Inspector made Sherlock assert himself, which caused him to be more harsh then usual. From taking detective fiction I know that the little cases, the murders, are locked room cases. These were a favorite of Sir Arthur Conan Dole so I was glad that they were featured so early in the series. A weird thing I noticed was that John is always the only one who eats when him and John are out.

Overall I loved this episode. It had a lot more danger, I felt, then the first one. Also even though we know who the culprit was quite a bit before the end of the episode I didn't feel at all disappointed. I really did enjoy the part with the tea pots and the museum as well as the cipher. Everything was well done and I can't wait to have a bit of time to watch the last episode.  

World Literature In English

I could tell from the very beginning of the first day that this was going to be one of "those" classes. You know the ones that are frustrating to no end, yet you feel as if  you are learning nothing. Then it comes time to write a paper and you are looking at the blank document completely lost about what you are supposed to write about. Yeah it is totally one of those. The professor seems nice enough, but she is scatter brained as well as unorganized and I feel as if she spends half the class repeating herself, yet not making it so we can understand. She has a strict absent policy so it isn't even like I can save myself the headache some days and not go. Sometimes I do get some great information about the book, but most of the time it is the Professor talking in circles. There is no or little eye candy either so it really is a depressing prospect to go to that class everyday. Good thing it is a requirement for General Studies or I would really think about dropping it. I also spent way too much money on books to drop the dumb course.

Intermediate Ficition

Once again I am trying my hand at the art of writing. I walked into class and soon almost my entire Introduction to Fiction class came in after me (minus the very cute boy who I really liked get figure). The Professor (or lecturer since she isn't actually a professor) is rather pregnant, but not due until after this semester. She is a lot more outgoing and easy to talk to then my previous professor, but she is also a little intimidating. As always I am really nervous to share my work with others, usually I just write for myself or friends, but if I want to so anything on a larger scale I am going to have to get use to this as well as rejection when they don't understand my works of genius. Either way it is going to be a fun, difficult, interesting class that hopefully I get a good grade in since I want to major in Fiction English Writing.

Untouchable

I know I still have a bunch of posts to catch up on, but keeping in the theme of reviewing a book right after I finish it I am going to do things a little out of order. I promise I will make a post about Dragon*Con as well as first day reactions to my other two classes very soon.

This story follows the life if a sweeper-boy, Bakha, through a day in his life. It is set in India during British occupation and the influence of the British has a strong influence on Bakha who has adapted their clothing. As a sweeper Bakha cleans the latrines and the streets of excrement that the upper-caste members leave. However this job makes him seen as unclean by the other members of the Hindu religion and he is no allowed in their homes, to touch them, and a number of other actions without the member interacted with being purified. This of course leads to a lot of conflict and shame in Bakha's life. The story ends with words from a Christian missoriany, Ganhdi, and a poet who all have different ideas about how the Untouchables can raise above their fate. 

I personally found the story interesting in subject matter, but boring in the way it is written. I know little to nothing about India besides that it was a colony of the British Empire for quite some time so it was interesting to get a look into the culture. However following one character mostly for just one day was rather boring and after a while I found myself uninteresting in what was going on. I also felt that the entire meaning of the story was crammed into the last ten pages or so. I would have much rather we start or have a small  lead up to the three ways to escape untouchable status and then see what Bakha does with this knowledge. The style was rather slow and even the action sequences were not all that exciting to read. 

If you are interested in Indian culture and way of life I recommend you read this, it is a little dated obviously since there is no toilets in the town where Bakha lives, but still an interesting incite into the culture. If you aren't interested in that sort of thing, well, it would be a good idea to leave this book alone. Maybe it is just me, but if I didn't have to read this for World Literature in English I would have felt like I wasted my time reading the 156 or so pages. I found the preface more interesting then the actual book. It gets a 1.5 out of 5. 

Art of Japan

Of course the only class I don't have in the same building is the only class I have fifteen minutes to get to. Honestly it is going to be a bitch in the winter. However the building that the class is housed in is extremely beautiful. with a garden in the center and paintings all over the place. However my room was hidden and I had to take this shady back stairwell to the second floor which wasn't nearly as nice.

I was really surprised by how many males there were in the class. I think that it might be the only class I have ever had were the is more or an equal amount of males to females. I totally wasn't expecting that at all, especially in an art class. I was in class early so I watched a lot of them walk in and there are a few that are rather nice looking. One was an adorable Asian guy who sat in the front row, there was also a tall blonde that decided shoes were not needed for class and a few others. There was also a lot of guys wearing loafers which I found rather odd. I guess I am not up to date with male foot wear.

The class itself looks as if it is going to take a lot of my time, but it will be interesting. The professor reminds me of two teachers I had in high school mixed together. She seems nice enough, but is very stringent on us coming to lecture, which doesn't really matter since I always go to class, but there aren't a lot of points and there is a lot of memorization. Also for a girl that can hardly spell her own name in her own language it is going to be extremely difficult for me to remember the Japanese words. I will figure it out somehow though and if nothing else at least there is nice things to look at in lecture.  

Abnormal Psychology

Seeing as I want to double psychology and English writing this is a course that I should not only be interested in, but I have to do well in since it will pertain to my major. I don't see why I would have any difficulty with it since as with any psych class it will just be reading and remembering terms and such, and the subject matter is at least interesting. My professor is a little...I don't even know the word. She seems extremely nice, but her voice reminds me of a little girls which makes it very difficult for me to take her seriously as well as it being a bit annoying. She showed us all the places she worked and what her research is pertaining to, but her voice! *sigh* You can't then all I guess and as long as the class is easy I can put up with the voice issue. The first class didn't give me much hope of my lecture being entertaining, but I could be wrong. If not I will just have to take a mountain dew to class to insure I stay awake.

Sherlock - A Study In Pink

Alright so after hearing my English friend rave over Sherlock and seeing it pop up multiple times on my Tumblr I decided to give it a try. Since this episode was an hour an thirty minutes I thought it deserved its own post. I have no idea if they are all this long or not, but I guess we shall see. Anyway I have to say that I extremely enjoyed it. The writing was wonderful and I loved how the updated it without totally butchering it. Sherlock is still antisocial so he texts everyone instead of calling them, I love that. I loved when he was sending the mass text messages in the press conference that just said "Wrong". It so fit the character of Holmes while blending it into the present time. I also loved how they showed the texts beside the person as well as how Sherlock's mind worked while they were running thorough the streets trying to catch up with the taxi.

The story line was also well written, though I figured out who the murder was or at least his occupation very quickly, I would have never gotten to the conclusion the way Sherlock did. However it is nice to think that you are as smart as Sherlock Holmes every once and a while. There are a string of three suicides that have happened in, all took the same drug in a location they were not supposed to be in. The police don't believe they are murders but they also can't ignore the fact that they are related. Soon a forth victim is found who is different from the others and this is when they call in Sherlock Holmes to investigate. I hate when a good mystery story is ruined so I won't tell you the ending, but it is rather good and very Sherlock Holmes.

Now he first thing that really struck me was the setting up of Watson's character. In all the other Sherlock Holmes adaptions I have seen it is Watson who is a solid rock to counter the insane genius of Holmes, but not in this series. John is a veteran returned from Afghanistan after sustaining a gunshot wound. He has not gotten use to civilian life and feels as if nothing is happening. This is very different from the upstanding physician that Watson is usually portrayed as, but I rather like the change. Watson usually has had some military background, but you never see the effects of that. Not only that but John was a lot more sassy then in a lot of the adaptions, the most recent movie aside. He goes with what Sherlock asks him to, but he also talks back and gets lippy. it took a little longer for John to grow on me, but by the end of the first episode I really liked him.

I have always loved Sherlock's humor, quick wit, and wonderful remarks so it did not take me long to like Sherlock in this series. I also didn't hurt that he has lovely eyes. When he got all excited about the fourth death I seriously couldn't handle how cute it was and then when he totally destroyed the forensic expert and the bitchy detective was amazing. The fact that he no longer smokes a pipe, but has nicotine patches I though was a wonderful way to update the piece as well as bring up the fact that he was a former addict. I really do love Sherlock in this series. I haven't decided if I like the fact that he has a brother or not yet however. Sherlock usually has no back story or family so I was a little thrown off. We will have to see after I watch a few more. 

Overall I thought it was brilliant and very well done and I hope all the episodes are this wonderful. I was excited, but also a bit disappointed that I figured it out so quickly. I hope the next one will be a bit more of a challenge. The characters are wonderful and BBC did a wonderful job with production. I give it a 4.8 out of 5
.

Statistics

So I had my first Statistics lecture today, which was oddly enough in the same lecture hall I had my Vampire class, and the verdict is still out. The Professor seems pretty cool, actually I would probably be a lot like him if I was a professor, and it is either his first year with the University or his first year as a professor. I couldn't really make out which. Either way he seems really cool and down to earth and if I do have problems, unlike with my Trig professor, I feel like I can go and talk to him. I mean when he uses the phrase gobbledygook to describe something how bad can he be? He wants us to call him Jason, but I always find it weird calling my professors by their first name so if I ever talk to him hopefully names are not necessary.

Since I basically took this course in high school (AP Stats whoop whoop) I am not overly worried about this course, but there does seem to be a lot of work so I hope I can keep up. I am worried because I am missing one lecture because I am going to Dragon*Con again this year, but it is the beginning of the year so it shouldn't be that big of a deal. The kid who sat in front of me had really pretty blue eyes, but his hair was gelled to look like he just got out of bed, but he was still cute. I also chatted with a boy named Ben who lives on the 10th floor of my building in the elevator.

Plans for the rest of the day are to get everything ready for tomorrow, go get my work study papers, have lunch with my brother, and then do something productive like go get those last few books I need to read ahead in Stats.

Clockwork Angel

Now I have been a fan of Cassandra Clare since I read City of Bones, which is the first book in her Mortal Instrument series. Clockwork Angel is the first book of the Infernal Devices series, which is set in London, with the same magical world she set up in the first series but with different main characters. This series is set hundreds or so years before the first book in Victorian Times. However the characters that are present are relatives or somehow present in the first series and a few do show up in the Mortal Instrument series.

The story follows Theresa Grey, called Tessa, and her life after she comes to London to find her brother Nathaniel. She is first met by the Dark Sisters who say that they are friends of her brothers. However Tessa soon finds out exactly what the Dark Sisters are, warlocks, and they train Tessa to change into people by holding onto objects that they own, such as clothes or watches. Tessa does whatever they ask because they hold her brother captive and threaten to kill him if she does not obey. Tessa thinks there is no escape until William Herondale appears in her room. She is soon wist off to the Institute where she learns a lot in quite a short amount of time. Soon she is going to vampire parties, disguised as a vampire, fighting with Shadowhunters, running from mechanical men trying to kidnap her, a mysterious Magister who wants her, falling in love, and learning that she is more special then she even cared to realize. Soon Tessa is questioning her humanity, her brother, her feelings, and just about everything around her. 

Now though I did enjoy the book, it didn't hold the same pull as The Mortal Instrument Series did. I wasn't finding myself having to keep reading to find out what happened next except in a few places. I don't know whether it was because it was a different set of characters or whether it was because a lot more explaining is done in this book, about the world that Cassandra Clare created along with Victorian London, then is given in the first series. This series is supposed to stand on its own, but also help understand certain aspects and actions that take place in the other series so the explanation is necessary, but I think it might have slowed down the pace compared to the other books. 

I am a sucker for Victorian Times, maybe just because I think I would look good wearing a corset, so that really did interest me and I like how she kept their language as if it was from that period. I also loved how she describe all the clothes because not only did it give a clearer picture, but it put us more in that time period. I especially liked the uneasiness Tessa felt seeing Charlotte dressed "as a man" in her Shadowhunter gear. I also like how they had a very striking example of a Lady in Jessamine. She wants nothing to do with fighting or Downworlders, she just wants to have a nice house, nice clothes, and a man to dote on her.

Alright, time for some girl talk. The leading male characters are certainly easily likable and you find yourself soon drifting to one or the other depending on your taste in men. I personally liked Jem (James) a lot better then Will. I know you are supposed to, Will being the dark and brooding male, but even knowing that Jem was just so smart, sweet, and kind. He was intelligent and reassuring and I just liked that about his character. His illness might have also lead me to soften up to him a lot more then Will who was basically the picture of health. I felt for William and at times found myself liking him as well and maybe I will like him better when we get a bit more of his back story, but I have always enjoyed the quite intelligent type over the loud and obnoxious ones. If Jem dies I will be extremely and utterly upset. 

As for Tessa, I liked her but also found her a bit annoying. I have a brother myself so I felt for her in trying to help and protect him, but it was a little over the top. Maybe it is another one of those things that was lost in the era, but the blind trust she had in a brother she knew was weak and easily manipulated was a bit foolish. In her situation, finding out so much about yourself and your parents in such a short time, I might not blame her for clinging onto the one thing that was from her normal life. However after I found out about what he had done, I probably would have strangled him with my own hands.

Overall I did enjoy the book, but it took me longer to read then the other books by Cassandra Clare. I am waiting for the next one because I have a feeling the further I get into the series the more I will enjoy each book. The battle scenes were wonderful and the few intimate scenes were extremely well written. Oddly enough I also liked that people well known and liked by the reader died. Most of the main characters survived all throughout the Mortal Instruments and it was nice to see that Clare wasn't scared to take out characters. Not everyone can survive battle. For some reason however I could not dive into it as I did City of Bones. It gets a 4.3 out of 5.

Move in - Complete

Well I have made it back to Pittsburgh all in one piece, which would so much more impressive if you have ever driven with my father. He falls asleep when he sit for more then like 3 minutes so you can imagine how terrifying driving with him is. My mom literally saves my life every time we drive with him, yes he says he doesn't have a problem

Anyway the day started as they always do, I was woken up before I could get into the bathroom so there was no point in waking me up at all, my dad swore at every object he tried to pack into the car, and we left a half an hour after my mom wanted to. After we got on the road (after the above mentioned near death experience) the trip was alright until we got to the university. Then my dad couldn't find anywhere to park, which was of course my mothers and my fault, and ended up in a parking garage. After that it went pretty smooth. The dinning hall was twelve sorts of packed, but I got food and didn't stab a freshman so it is all good. 

The new roommate seems really cool. She sent a request for us to get a new fridge because it smelled like something died in the one we had. I had brought mine so as of right now we have two fridges in our room and until they tell me we can't it is going to stay that way. It is under my bed so it is super nice since I am super lazy. We talked for a bit and I think even if we don't become friends we will be able to live together. 

I also set up my printer, however I haven't tried to print anything yet so we will see if that worked out as it is supposed to soon. I then spent a good hour trying to get connected to the Internet with my Ethernet cable because we don't have wireless in the dorms. I was so frustrated, but I obviously succeeded. I think that is everything that has happened so far, well worth talking about anyway, so I will leave you for now