Books!

So lately I've been on this massive reading kick and it doesn't seem to be going away which is AWESOME!
I used to read a whole lot when I was younger - mainly a lot of Enid Blyton books, like the Famous Five and the Adventure Series and things like that. I used to love stories about normal, young kids going off and having amazing adventures where smugglers and robbers and all these bad guys would hatch their plans, only to have them foiled by kids my age. I felt like I could be any one of them, hatching plans to stop the bad guys getting away with it. But as I got older, and as I discovered the internet, my reading started to fade and there was a period of a few years where I didn't read at all. I think that it was partly to do with a drying up of reading material. I was getting too old for Blyton and I didn't like the look/ sound of anything else. Oh how things change...

I find myself eager to read more and more, and I love it! I guess I have John Green to thank partly for it. I was given Paper Towns (and some of his other books) and that was when I really came into my love for it all. I realised there are exciting, thrilling books about life as I would like to live it - whether that be as a different version of myself in this reality, or as an ultimate version of myself in multiple different realities.
I've read 24 books so far this year, which is ridiculous considering I barely read 5 last year, if that. I consume books, like I would a good meal. Especially books that feed my imagination; Assassin's Creed, Eragon, Inkheart, Doctor Who, Frankenstein, The Hobbit... all have been read in the last year.
It's funny really. A year ago I was all about the movies, the DVDs which I still love. But... pages. Words. The smell of a new book, or a good old one. My second-hand copy of Inkheart smells delicious. As does my brand-new copy of Eragon. It's like all the smells that are described in the book, all the smells that are smelled by the characters leak out and mix into this overriding smell that defines the story. And I half believe it... 

I don't know why Paper Towns triggered me so much and caused me to start reading again so furiously. But I'm very glad it did. I've been missing out on a lot of great books...

Kermode: How to Take Life Too Seriously

I have a great deal of love and respect for Dr Kermode. But he needs to give the Pirates franchise a rest.

Having just watched an enormous argument he had with Jason Isaacs about why the Johnny Depp is terrible in Pirates of the Caribbean (which I totally disagree with) I feel like I want to comment on this. Regardless of my feelings, I love a good Kermodian rant and the video was pretty hilarious (see here).

I'm not possessed of this "stupid gene" of which he speaks; I "got" Inception on my first viewing. (Because we all know how hard that movie is to get.) But I like Pirates 1,2 and 3 (4 not so much). I know it's big, it's stupid, it's ridiculous and you know what? I love it. I love it for the simple reason that sometimes, when I go to the cinema, I want to be entertained. Shock horror, yeah!? The Devil's Double was shocking and hard to watch, but I can appreciate it as a shocking move. It's a movie that you wouldn't expect to be made. But when I go to the cinema I don't go for a lecture or for an artistic piece or for some piece of cinema that is avante garde. I go to watch something that entertains me. Pirates of the Caribbean may be a bit rubbish, but I love it because it is entertaining. It does what is says on the tin; they are pirates and they are in the Caribbean. You shouldn't expect much more from a movie with that title. 

Don't get me wrong though; On Stranger Tides was rubbish and they should have left it at a trilogy.

Review: Eragon

Eragon by Christopher Paolini

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



well, firstly I can understand why Eragon gets such a rough deal when it comes to reviews. It is very unoriginal; I warn any potential readers that you will find Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and a plethora of other fantasy novels/ series in here. However, that didn't bother me in the slightest. I found the book well written, I found it exciting, I found it engaging. Although the scenery was a but done, the characters were new if a little cliched (the farm boy, the old man that turns out to be a wizard and teaches the farm boy but then dies too early, the gruff, unexpected hero with a dark secret...) All that set aside, I cannot lie. I really very enjoyed this book and even gave me shivers at certain places.

Now, a word on unoriginality. There are three types of unoriginal: distractingly unoriginal, cherry picking and fan-fiction. Eragon falls into the second category. As I read it I didn't find myself going, "oop, there's some LotR... And there's some Potter..." etc and so on. It was only when I looked a bit more closely that I noticed the parts that were cherry picked from other great books. Now I have no issue with this. It makes a great story with it's own, individual characters. It was like building a lego set with pieces of other lego sets and placing your own, made up mini-figures inside it. I enjoyed the journey and I really look forward to reading Eldest (when I get done with Inkspell.)



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The Man Who Calmed the Sea

See the stricken boat
As it is tossed upon the sea
Hear the fearful cries
That wake the man from Galilee
He stands before the raging
Speaks peace and harmony
Winds and waves obey
He is the man who calmed the sea

Hear among the crowds
A desperate father's anguished plea
"Heal my dying child"
He begs the man from Galilee
With words that banish sorrow
"Don't fear, but just believe
Daughter - live again!"
Commands the man who calmed the sea

And as she stands before them
What joy from agony
He's the Master and the Maker
He's the man who calmed the sea

Feel the bitter pall
That shrouds the hill of Calvary
High upon the cross
There hangs the man from Galilee
The earth it quakes with sorrow
The sky grows dark with grief
All creation mourns
To lose the man who calmed the sea

But, no, death could not hold Him
The stone is rolled away
For He's the Master and the Maker
He's the man who calmed the sea

Now I hear the call
That echoes down through history
“Come, deny yourself
Take up your cross and follow Me
Through every joy and sorrow
My grace is all you’ll need
Trust me in the storm
For I’m the man who calms the sea.”

No fear shall overwhelm me
For Lord, I do believe
You're the Master and the Maker
You're the man who calms the sea

I’ll trust You for tomorrow
And seek You for today
For You're the Master and the Maker
You're the man who calms the sea

*

I don't know if anyone reads this blog. I don't know if anyone that reads this blog is a Christian. But I don't really care about that right now because I need to express this.
There are moments in my life when I sit back and think about how amazing God is and how enormous his love for me is. It's usually just after reading something in the bible or listening to a song that I get this realisation; it's like a little of the cloudiness of human consciousness gets displaced and I see a little more of God's glory than I normally do. And it overwhelms me. I get so full of awe at how massive God is and how immense the gift of his son was that I can't control it and I just have to let myself be awestruck. It happened when I was listening to this song earlier on, at the parts I've boldified. I can't understand why I was chosen to benefit from this great plan, because I'm pretty worthless. I'm this tiny insignificant human that is so weak and fails at living for God so frequently. So why should I be the one to benefit from God's greatness, from Jesus's sacrifice? I literally cannot grasp it; I am so totally undeserving of what Jesus Christ did for me. But that doesn't erase the fact that he did it for me, personally. It's just so amazing that there is nothing in me that is adequate in praise, in love, in worship or anything.
I cannot express the enormity of what I am feeling right now. Just... the utter astonishment; greater love than I know how to deal with; such deep gratitude to Him.
I am totally overwhelmed tonight. My tiny human head can't handle all this greatness.

ReadIt1st - Hank Green's Poor Idea

So Hank Green - someone whom I admire a great deal - came up with an idea in a recent video that, from the outset, I felt somewhat unsure about and now, having watched a few reaction videos, I know why. From Hank's screen shots that have been posted on Tumblr it looks as if Nerdfighters will sign a pledge to read the book before watching the movie. See, I would generally agree that the book is better than the movie and I would prefer to read the source material before I see the movie. That's my general preference, yes, and so from that point of view alone you would think I agree with the idea of the site, yes?

Well... not entirely.

You see, I feel there's a silent feeling in nerdfighteria that no one really talks about but a lot of us feel and that a feeling of "I'm not a real nerdfighter unless I've ~done/read/see/enjoyed X thing~". No one is any less of a nerdfighter than anyone else if they haven't, say, read Harry Potter. I've never read Harry Potter but I enjoyed the movies. That doesn't make me less of a nerdfighter than any Potterhead who can recite passages and knows about what the different wand cores actually mean and... all that jazz. But, see, this is the bad part about ReadIt1st; it elevates one point of view and implies it to be superior to all others. I know that Hank isn't saying that anyone that doesn't enjoy a book over a movie/ anyone that reads the book after the movie is wrong or should sort their act out and get in line or anything like that, of course he isn't.
But Nerdfighteria is the community in which every point of view is to be valued and respected (which is a bit of a pipe dream) and Hank creating this website which places one opinion above all others is a very un-nerdfighterish thing to do. I feel that Hank has, for a brief moment, forgotten to be awesome.

Review: Assassin's Creed: Book 3

Assassin's Creed: Book 3 by Oliver Bowden

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Here we go then. This was, as I thought from the start, a preface, shall we say, to the new game and book coming out in November: Assassins Creed Revelations. It reads as the recounting of Altair's story by Niccolo Polo told to Maffeo Polo, his brother. It goes from Altair's experiences as a young child born into the order, his missions against the Templars (and the betrayal he faces in the wake of this), his return to the Order and his ascent as the Assassin Master. It also brings to light how the Piece of Eden, The Apple, was brought to the knowledge of the Assassins, how Altair learned its secrets and wrote the Assassin Codex, how the Codex was lost and how the Creed was brought to the east.



Another Assassin's Creed book knocked back and I am left feel at once satisfied and hungry for more. This books was a brilliant insight into the life of the greatest of Master Assassins. Released as a bit of a pre-buffer to Revelations, hinting at items called "keys" that, I can only assume, with feature as the main quest driver for the new game. The body of the book is, as I said, Niccolo Polo recording telling Altair's story to his brother Maffeo in his journals. In the prologue and the epilogue the reader is shown that these journals are being read by a Master assassin, <spoiler>later reveled to be Ezio Auditore whom is on his way to Constantinople in search of these scattered and hidden "keys", whatever they may be for.</spoiler>



It was exciting; each chapter left me wanting to turn to the next and learn more. Altair's story was woven so well, throwing up new twists when you felt sure that the bulk of his story was drawing to a close. As the final climax of the story built up I could not put it down: I had to finish it.

And not only was the storytelling engrossing, but the quality was much improved on Bowden's previous work. As always, some klunky writing was present, however the story felt like a whole. It felt like it had a solid beginning, a solid middle and a solid end, whereas Renaissance and Brotherhood did feel kind of like the end was rushed and tacked on as an after-thought. Not with Crusade; it was solid, steady, exciting, engrossing and satisfying while teasing you with enough information and tips about what might come, enticing you as to what the next instalment of AC might bring. I can't wait for Revelations now.



Very good read, if you're willing to overlook some slightly less-polished moments.



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Summer in the City

Nope, this isn't going to be a about Summer in the City; the huge youtube gathering that goes on in London. As much as I would like it to be...
Today, I spent about 6 hours in Norwich, which was really nice. I really like going into the city when I have no particular reason to because I can just roam and explore. Best thing about summer in Norwich? The buskers. Some of them are... well, I'll be honest, they're pretty rubbish to be honest. There was this one guy that was obviously homeless, poor bloke, and he had a tin whistle. Problem is... he could only play one tune, and then not that well. But we do seem to have a good crop of street performers. There's a guy who plays the mandolin outside Waterstone's, the guy that was playing the Hurdy Gurdy sometimes we get Swervy World (who are always good). Today I happened across a young lady, name of Jade playing down London Street. I heard her as I was walking up that way and really liked her sound (I have a real soft spot for female vocalists; if they're good, I can't help but listen). So, I propped up the front of Costa for a bit and had a listen, which was fine. But one of the thing's I found was... I couldn't stop listening. I just wanted to listen to her all afternoon. Before too long she popped down her Uke and waved me over. After thanking me from my patience and attention she produced a CD from her bag (which I can safely say, is really great).
A quick chat was had and, before long, I was residing on the bench nodding along to a few originals and some King Blues, Nirvana and Cranberries covers, done Ukulele stylee! Absolutely fantastic way to spend an afternoon; great music, fun company. :)
If anyone read this (and that's pretty unlikely) I would totally recommend you get to youtube and check out Myself Me Ukulele.

***

Today was a really great day; bright, warm, chilled out. I managed to get a little caching in, although I went for a couple that I couldn't find. Either there seemed to be nowhere for it to hide (i.e. the St Peter Mancroft church) or there were too many muggles, and seemingly drunk ones at that (i.e. Haunted Norwich - Maddermarket). However I managed to find Peace Pole and Isengard... which, technically, Gemma and I placed it but it had to be moved and I didn't actually know where it was). I was very pleased with how well we hid it; it's very clever. :P
I missed Gem today, it was weird, I was just sat in Mc Donald's eating lunch and I was just thinking "hmm. This is a really nice day. I'd like to hang out with someone. Gem would like today. I miss Gem. Hmmm". I could have done with her cache finding skills... :P

Overall; today was great. Great weather, great city, great music, great company, and I read a great book for about an hour in Chapelfield Gardens (AC: Renaissance).

Oh, and I found John Green's books in Waterstones. Yes, I left a note in one of them. It was cool.