Friday Favs #2

I cant believe another week has flown by!

How has your week been? Mine has been work, and enjoying my lunch breaks. Now that i have finally found a new home, my lunch breaks are not filled with looking at rental properties and dealing with pesky real estate agents. I have enjoyed being able to sit back and relax reading my book, or some blogs, and other wonderful tidbits of freedom from my desk.

I finished reading Neverwhere. Total disaster. I wish I had another book like it to read. I really want to write a post about it, but for now, to compensate myself for my loss, im on the hunt for the the TV series. And since im already on books...

Books
A couple of weeks ago I stubled across The Guernsey Literary and Popato Peel Pie Society in a charity shop, and, as it had been highly recommended by the lovely Emma from Adventures of a London Kiwi, I picked it up. Im about a third of the way through at the moment. I have taken an instant liking to the main character, and a character she most certainly is. I'll reserve the rest of my opinion though till ive finished reading it.

Youtube
I saw this video on travel and it rang so, so true, and was so simple and inspiring I just had to share. I hope you like it.



Blog Post
I always enjoy reading Emma's (Adventures of a London Kiwi) blog and one paticular post caught my eye this week. Its a short post about her favourite book - her passport. I cant say I disagree.

Catch ups
Its always lovley to me, to have the chance to catch up with fellow bloggers. After the business of summer, I finally had the chance to catch up over a coffee with the ladies behind Adventures of a London Kiwi and Happy Ever After Bride. We found a quiet cafe and chatted away. It was a really nice way to spend an evening.

Photo
I would love to visit Russia - this photo just makes it look so surreal, like something out of a fairy tale.

What little moment of escape did you enjoy this week?

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In search of words...

Imagine you worked in a library. (Go with me for a second on this one.) Imagine you worked in a library and one very normal, average day, you came across a box sitting on a shelf and no idea how it got there. Inside that box was this.

The Poet Tree (Poetree). This is the book sculpture that started it all. The first book sculpture was found at the Scottish Poetry Library.

It is a gift, and an anonymous one at that. It is entirely made from paper and is incredibly delicate and beautiful.

But it doesn't stop there, over the course of a year, more book sculptures mysteriously pop up at other libraries, museums and even an old cinema. Each one carries a message and the media goes into a frenzy. Who is this book sculptor? Why is she leaving these all over Edinburgh? How is she getting them in without anyone noticing? Will there be more? Where will the next book sculpture be left?

Gramophone and coffin. The second book sculpture, one of the 10 sculptures that was not on display - source

In the months between March and November 2011 there were a total of 10 book sculptures left all over Edinburgh. The mystery and artistry of the book sculptures got so much attention that people were dropping into these libraries and museums just to see the sculptures. They even went on tour towards the end of 2012. At the end of the tour, a 13th book sculpture appeared at the Poets Library, back where it all started.

So much detail in this one, be sure to look closely. The third book sculpture - Cinema, found at the Edinburgh Film house

But that wasn't to be the end of the story. The artist was commissioned for 5 book sculptures as part of Book Week Scotland in late 2012 (I didn't get to see those though) and last year two more sculptures showed up at the Scottish Poetry Library and Leith Library. Despite the media and the commission, the artist has maintained her anonymity.

Who hasn't grown up with stories of dragons? The 4th book sculpture - Dragon's Nest, The Storytelling Centre

I had read about these sculptures a couple of years ago but completely forgot about it until late one night while seeking things to do in Edinburgh, I came across it again. So I got myself a map and went on a literary hunt to find them all.

"Nothing beats a nice cup of tea (or coffee) and a really great book...except maybe a cake as well" The 5th book sculpture, Tea, cake and a book, Edinburgh International Book Festival

Who hasn't been lost in a good book? Book sculpture 6 - Lost in a good book...left at Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature Trust

Notice the E crossed out below? Cheeky comment on funding cuts. The 7th sculpture - Magnifying glass, Edinburgh Central Library

The feathers made from paper actually look like they might be soft to touch. And how cute is the bumblebee on the glove? The 8th book sculpture -Cap and gloves, Scottish Poetry Library

The 9th book sculpture roars and charges out of The Lost World - Dinosaur, National Museum of Scotland

The 10th book is a little Jekyll and Hyde. Street Scene - Edinburgh Writers’ Museum

During my quest for the book sculptures of Edinburgh, I detoured to Greyfriars Kirkyard to say hello to Bobby and Old Jock again and stop for a bite.

I'm not sure how it had escaped me, but I forgot about Edinburgh's most famous writer. As I was sipping my coffee and watching people walk by on the street my eye caught a sign, this sign.

To digress for a moment; there are two interviews with JK Rowling that talk about her writing in cafes Edinburgh. The famous cafe everyone knows is Nicholsons (which is now Spoon Cafe). But in a very early interview, she is interviewed in The Elephant. I stopped in there for a peek later and it was busy, full of people writing, friends chatting and Harry Potter tourists. Of course JK Rowling isn't Edinburgh only famous writer, there is Ian Rankin (who received his very own book sculpture), Sir Walter Scott, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Kenneth Grahame to name a few.

Not part of the original 10 sculptures, this one is more recent and was found in May 2013.

Possibly my favourite. This sculpture was presented at the end of 2012 after the original 10 sculptures completed their. A Child's Garden, Scottish Poetry Library

Anyway, if you are a book worm or literary enthusiast, Edinburgh has a lot to offer. You can seek out the book sculptures, visit the Writers Museum, do a literary tour (departs from the writers museum), visit the Decon Broadie pub or cafe, say hi to Greyfriars Bobby, write in a cafe JK Rowling wrote and much more. Heck, why not visit during the Edinburgh Book Festival which starts in a week?

If you are interested in seeing these sculptures for yourself, you'll find book sculpture map of Edinburgh on this page, my tip is to start at the Scottish Poetry Library and work your way up the Royal Mile (or vice versa) rather than trying to see them in order.

Would you travel for a literary fix? 

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Book Review: Catching Fire and The Mockingjay (The Hunger Games Trilogy)

I wrapped up reading the last book in The Hunger Games Trilogy last night. I tore through these there books at an insane pace. To me that shows brilliant writing that makes a book easy to read, and great story telling so you cant put a book down and just have to know what happens next.

If you have only just come in to my posts, look here for my review of the first book, the Hunger Games. Major spoiler alert, if you haven't read any of the books make sure you stop reading here.

Book Two: Catching Fire


Overview
At the end of the Hunger Games Katniss finds out that she isn't safe despite winning the games. Her almost double suicide with Peeta in the games is seen as an act of rebellion and that some of the districts are rebelling. To keep the people she cares about safe, she spends the Victory Tour trying, and failing, to convince President Snow that it was an act of love, Peeta even proposes but the both of them are thrown back into the games as part of the Quarter Quell twist along with other previous victors.

She is intent on getting Peeta out alive this time but little does she know that there is a rebel plot operating behind the scenes. After knocking out the arenas force field she wakes up in the hospital of District 13, a district that till then she thought no longer existed. Her home, district 12 has been burned to the ground and while her mum and sister escaped and became refugees in 13, not everyone else did. Peeta was not saved and is in the clutches of the capitol.




Thoughts
Katniss slightly develops here, not as much as i thought she would. She improves but her cluelessness still grates a bit. Mainly because i expected her to develop into a stronger person in the take action, no bull shit department. Instead the focus is on how she is mentally coping with the terrors of the first game and trying to keep her family and Peeta safe. Its a different kind of strength, and honestly, while its not the way id have liked her to develop, its a way which is very real and relateable. Chances are if you put a 16 year old girl in a situation that forces her to kill or be killed, the reality is, she is going to be seriously traumatised and it'll be a miracle if she can function normally again

The book is definitely the bridge between the two stories.  Its necessary to show the cruelty of the Capitol, the beginning of the uprising, tie up the last book and lay the groundwork for the next.

Book Three: The Mockingjay

Overview

The rebellion is in full swing and Katniss needs to do her bit. She films propos of her doing various things to inspire and motivate the rebels and irritate the Capitol. As is her habit, she does get into a few fights by running away from her minders and injures herself in the process.

The book continues the theme of her trauma and ability to deal with what has happened and she spends a lot of time, running, hiding and in hospital. Especially difficult for her the knowledge that Peeta is being tortured. He is rescued but has been brainwashed into thinking she is the enemy to the point where he tries to kill her.

In the final battles in the Capitol, Katniss runs away with a team to assassinate President Snow. In a very ugly scene, children, including her own sister, are blown up in front of her eyes (I hated Prim dying). A puppet to the end, she is taken away dressed handed and arrow to kill Snow after his trial in public. Instead she kills President Coin from District 13, the leader of the rebellion. It finally clicks to Katniss that it was not in Snows interest to kill the children and it would only benefit the rebellion. Also, only Coin could authorise her sister to be a medic in the war zone.

Katniss is tried in absentee and released to go back to district 12. Her mother doesn't return and the loss of her sister has her mute and unable to do anything. Eventually she starts a book for all those who died and slowly learns to live and function again. The Epilogue highlights how she really is a survivor. She has rebuilt her life back to "normalcy" with Peeta and even has two children who, she is thankful, like all other children don't have to worry about the Hunger Games or the cruelty of the Capitol anymore.

Thoughts

I'm not sure what Suzanne's aim was with the story, but i can only assume that she wanted to show the very real effects of war on peoples lives, mental state and how the deaths, destruction, and torture lingers on. Its actually quite a mature book "for kids".

The other aim she might have it to show what survival really is. Katniss doesn't develop into a tough heroine, she is still everyone's puppet and in The Mockingjay is almost useless aside from being a motivational/inspirational person. But it really shows her trying to hold on to her humanity despite all the destruction around her and what she herself went through.

The whole trilogy makes an impact and made me feel much more than other books have which is the whole aim of writing, to make the reader relate. Still, i wish some things could have been different. I'm someone who likes happy endings - i think life is too full of sad endings that i don't really go out of my way to find more - and yes, in essence the trilogy does have a happy ending, but its also very bitter sweet and I'm not quite satisfied with it. Then again, i wasn't quite satisfied with the ending to the Great Gatsby but that's the sign of a really good book, it evokes some feeling in you, gets you to think and is memorable. The Hunger Games trilogy is all those things.

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Book Review: The Hunger Games

I thought I'd change the pace this week and post a Book Review of the Hunger Games. If books are not your thing, come back next week for the next travel installment.

My battered copy of The Hunger Games

I guess I'm a teensy bit behind everyone else when it comes to The Hunger Games trilogy written by Suzanne Collins. I haven't read the books, I haven't seen the movies. I'm a Hunger Games virgin. Or so I was till my friend lent me the trilogy...

I started reading book one and slipped right into Katniss's world. Only 26 pages in and I was on the verge of tears. I finished that book in one day. I kid you not. And yeah, I might have teared up again once or twice.

The Hunger Games trilogy

I absolutely love books like this. Books you cannot put down and just know when you reach the end, you'll be bummed its over, but you just cant help yourself anyway. The Hunger Games is like that. And it has substance. It has courage, sacrifice and power struggles. It touches on loss, poverty and morals without being preachy.

Its heroine, Katniss, is a refreshing character, she is tough, independent, honest and endearing. I did find her cluelessness a bit too much to be believable though, even for a 16 year old. But, I cant wait to see how she grows through the remaining two books, Catching Fire and The Mockingjay. Once I'm done with the books, I'm going to check out how Hollywood interpreted it onto the screen. Not sure if i want to see Rue die though.

The Hunger Games emblem

Anyway, if you haven't read the Hunger Games, take it from me, give it a go. Its not "just a children's book" and I'm sure you will find it a great read. "May the odds be ever in your favor".

If you have read it, what did you think?

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