Book Review #8: The Casual Vacancy

When Barry Fairbrother dies in his early forties, the town of Pagford is left in shock.

Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty façade is a town at war.

Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils ... Pagford is not what it first seems.

And the empty seat left by Barry on the parish council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity and unexpected revelations?

Without knowing exactly what the book was about, I was really excited to start reading it. Why? Because it is written by J.K. Rowling and her writing of the Harry Potter books has been flawless. I was aware beforehand that it was an adult book so it would be totally different from what I've read before (from her, but also quite in general).

The beginning of the book inroduces you to so many different characters, that my head spinned a little. It was hard to remember who was family of whom again and which story belonged to which character. Some of the stories stood out to me from the beginning, others seemed to be less intresting. It went on like this for quite a while and I started to loose my intrest for a little. Not because of her writing, because the descriptions were great, but I started to doubt if it the book maybe just wasn't my cup of tea.

I read on anyway, and I'm really glad I did. About halfway through the book the story really started to develop and I was sucked into the world of this tiny town that hid so many different stories of which you are quite aware, actually happen in the world.

By the end of the book I was a brawling kid, and wished the book hadn't finished here. I would give it 4 out of 5 stars, that one single star missing because it took me so long to get sucked into the book. Nonetheless, I would say give it a try, it is really good once you are captivated by it!

Music confession: That song I secretly love

I listen a lot of music that a lot of people hardly know I guess, but now and then there is this song stopping by in my playlist and I'm really thinking, if anyone hears me singing along with this song....



One of those songs is What makes you beautiful by One Direction. I'm not a fan of the band at all, I hardly like any of the songs, to be fairly honest I'm not a boyband type anyway, never have really been actually. The thing with this song is that I knew it before I actually heard of the One Direction hype. I loved the song before I knew the band, so does that make up for something? I have heard a while back a slowed down version of the song, which makes it even nicer actually.

Besides the fact that I really like this song, and the lyrics (I mean I can't be the only one to feel like happy dancing through my room on this song right?) there is a moment linked to it in my memory that makes it even more special. I guess some of you know that I went to a convention of 'The Vampire Diaries' earlier this year and this was one of the songs that was played during the evening ball. When this song was played, one of the actors from the show lip syncined it to one of his female co-players (Nathaniel Buzolic to Malese Jow for those wondering) and that was just absolutely so cute that that is carved into my brain forever when I hear this song.

Any of you that have a music confession of a song they actually really like, but kind of wish they didn't?

Book Review #7: Being Elizabeth Bennet

Love the books of Jane Austen? Fell in love with Mr. Darcy? Always wanted to be Elizabeth Bennet from Pride & Prejudice? This book is for certain a must read then, because it truly throws you in the world of Jane Austen's books in a whole different way.

Elizabeth Bennet is the wittiest and most attractive heroine in English literature. And for the first time, in "Being Elizabeth Bennet", you are given the opportunity to star in the most popular novel in the English language: "Pride and Prejudice". You will be faced throughout this book with delicate challenges and dangerous choices. Whether you're accepting Mr Darcy the first time he professes his attachment, deciding to elope with Mr Wickham or avoiding a murderous Lady Catherine de Bourgh, this is a chance to rewrite Austen's most famous book. You decide who to marry and when. And if you have always preferred Mr Knightley's sophistication or have a sneaking admiration for the odious Mr Elliot then you can marry them instead. However, make choices with caution: "Being Elizabeth Bennet" is packed with characters and plot twists to thwart your happy union with Pemberly's most eligible bachelor. You must complete five stages - and successfully negotiate your way through Austen's five other novels - before can choose to accept Mr Darcy. But if the outcome does not suit, simply return to page 1 and create a new Jane Austen adventure.

I own a copy of this books already for quite some years and I've read it already a couple of times, not fully, but at least parts of it. I've always loved Pride & Prejudice, read the book a couple of times, seen the movies god knows how many times, so this book was an absolute must have for me.

The book has so many turning points where you can choose what Lizzie has to do, I loved it. There a few questions where you really have to guess (turn left or right?), but most of them are a lot harder to think about. Accept invitations, elope with Mr. Wickham and I can go on like this for quite a while. Obviously, if you don't like the outcome, turn back to the decision moment and pick another answer (yes, that's what I did as well till I ended up at the marriage with Mr. Darcy), but it is great to see in what different ways you can end up.

I guess for those that never liked Pride & Prejudice, don't even start on it, you will be bored to your wits, but those who loved it, has seen the movie(s) many times and so on, do pick up a copy ones, you'll love it! Anyone who ever read/played the book?

The fashion touch to my room!

 

I do like fashion and actually, I like it a lot, though my wardrobe won't be the most fashionable on the planet, by far. That doesn't mean, however, that it doesn't play a role in my life. I love to skip through fashion magazines, see the latest trends and to have a look at all those clothes I will never ever afford to by. But besides that I really do like magazine ads, a little weird maybe?

As you can see in the pictures above I took a few fashion ads from magazines that I liked a lot and put them on my magnetic board in my room. For me it is a nice way to change the look of that wall now and then and I just really like the vibe that fashion ads show.

New Blog Look: Winter is coming!

(made in 2010)

It's a Winter Wonderland! Alright, snow hasn't fallen yet and it is not even that freezing cold outside, but it feels like winter is coming (hopefully), so therefore it felt right to do the layout make-over for the blog in winter style.

I know I have been highly absent lately at my blog, but that was mostly because I either couldn't find the time or didn't really feel like blogging due to the amount of school work and preperations for my exams. I've hardly read any books or did anything really interesting, so that's why.

By now I promise the blog to be more active again. Let me know what you think of the look and if there is anything in particular you find interesting for me to blog about (movies, tv series, books, writing, fashion, cities etc.) let me know!