By Freaks, For Freaks

Bad days make for good rantings and readings

2009-05-19T20:07:00.001-07:00

Well seeing as I have tried to start writing again I figured I would post my most currant readings:
Whiteout, by Ken Follet

Whiteout is the story of an ex-cop turned security director for a laboratory investigating new anti-viral vaccines. The basic gist of the plot is that Toni Gallo, the security director must face dealing with both her job responsibilities when crisis breaks out at the lab, and the emotional consequences of falling in love with her boss.
The story switches narratives and points of view from the protagonist to the antagonist to the innocent bystanders all of which interact in a high stacks and deadly game of cat and mouse as the story goes on.
I am in love with this book. It is a bit thrilling to read with simple language and a smart tone. You feel the cold of a Scotland winter and tremble with terror knowing what the enemy holds.
It is a very easy book to read and follow, which is nice.

It is also the first book I have actually *read* this year i.e. not spark noted for a test or quiz.
Oh, the joys of modern technology: literally the class before I had to take a huge quiz on 1984 I pull up sparknotes on my phone, tune out of geometry and briefly read a summary of thought crime and the trials faced by Winston as he tries fight the Party! It was marvelously evil. I knew the answer to every question on that filthy quiz.
Unfortuantly, I have lost my phone, but actually have interest in the book we are reading now:
Brave New World...
I have waited all year to read this book and finally at long last I am flipping through the pages and the words interest me instead of putting me to sleep.

Happy New Year!! belated is better than nothing

2009-01-05T17:24:00.000-08:00

What happened to all those avid readers out there?
So, I'm a little guilty of not having been the best little bookworm out there these past months (got pneumonia, could not move) but my English teacher has decided with the new year how better to break in than astonishing poverty!? We have started "Angela's Ashes" by Frank McCourt. Granted I have only skimmed the first few chapters. Neglected children and horrible living conditions really are not my cup of tea, say if someone where to be murdered and an intricate story plot arose from such a miserable and sorry town as the one in this Irish memoir, I might take a bit more fancy to it. Above is the movie poster for the cinema rendering of the tale.

To be fair I am not far enough into the book to hate it wholeheartedly.

I also have begun to delve into the John Grogan books, after my younger sister read "Marley and Me" then dragged my family to the movies to see it. She is one of those really really passionate dog lovers. "Bad dogs have more fun" is a collection of Grogan's columns for the Philadelphia Inquirer. So far the ones I've read where very well written and a pleasure to read.
Also Marley and Me was a really cute movie

The Book Thief

2008-12-08T17:40:00.000-08:00

Oh, god. This book will CHANGE YOUR LIFE, if you are like me. It made me cry so hard that I was wreck, and it wasn't really about the sadness of some of those parts. Just the emotion and feeling. And the frankness of the author, Markus Zusak.

I am pretty sure I got the recommendation from BAP...too lazy to go check. :D

Anyway, it is based at the time of World War II, the Holocaust, but for once it's not through the eyes of a Jew.
Liesel Meminger is a true blonde German. But when her mother drops her off to be adopted by the loving Hubermanns, the seven year old girl is haunted by her past. The poverty-stricken street that Liesel lives on is filled with vivid characters, who are hauntingly real. There are friends and midnight reading lessons.
When the Hubermanns accept a Jew into their basement, Liesels world changes and your attention will be demanded.
When the bombing starts it changes uncontrollably.
Through all the tragedy there is always love ready there for Liesel.
Follow Liesel's story, narrated by Death himself, from when she is a young girl through to her adolescent years. This is truly the most unique story ever.

Read it! Post your own! Be happy!

We have got to get better at this

2008-12-04T06:46:00.000-08:00

Our blog needs more attention, I don't know how to fix that problem though.

anyway the books I am reading currently have all been for school and they would be:
Cry the Beloved Country--a book I was supposed to finish weeks ago as well as write an essay for about the most important quote in the whole book, didn't happen.
Speak--actually finished on time, but got pneumonia so I missed the seminar.

Speak was a fast read, heavy subject matter though. Basically it takes you through the exposure of a highschool outsider and how she copes with a traumatizing event that happened at the end of the summer.

Cry of Beloved, still working on that one maybe I'll finish maybe I won't, hard to tell at this point.

Gilda Joyce

2008-09-06T16:52:00.000-07:00

Gilda Joyce is a series by Jennifer Allison.
The series is about a girl named Gilda Joyce who thinks she has Psychic powers.
The first book is called 'Gilda Joyce' and the second is "Gilda Joyce and the Ladies of the Lake" and the third one is "Gilda Joyce and the Ghost Sonata"

Of coursem her detective skills are nothing compared to those of the Irregulars, but it's still a nice series.

I know this post sounds terribly depressingly boring, but that's because that's how i feel at the moment. bored. so i should have posted a review at a differant time. uggh.

1-800-Where-R-You series by Meg Cabot

2008-08-15T16:55:00.001-07:00

This is series by Meg Cabot has about the least romance of all her books. Usually they're all about the girl always thinking about the boy, but her 1-800-Where-R-You series is different.

In the first book, When Lightning Strikes, Jess is walking home from school, when it starts thunder-storming and hailing. She doesn't feel like getting pelted by hailstones, so she escapes under the bleachers, even though she knows "never go under something metal during a thunderstorm." As the title suggests, she gets struck by lightning, but she didn't really feel any pain, though her friend Ruth saw it happen. Ruth keeps bugging her about because she thinks she'll have a heart attack or something so Jess consults her brother who says there would be a scar where the lightning entered her body. She checks her hands and feet, but doesn't see anything. Later when she undresses to go to bed she sees a star shaped scar on her chest. When she wakes up, she knows where these kids are. She has never heard of them ever. I can't say anymore without giving anything away. Read it!

The books in the series are:

When Lightning strikes
Code name cassandra (my personal favrorite)
Safe house
Sanctuary
Missing You

Hey everybody!

2008-06-23T10:08:00.000-07:00

So I just got back from the beach with my youth group and while I was there I started reading Catcher in the Rye, the famous coming age story where the kid falls for the older woman...I like it so far but it's not exactly my cup of tea. But of course my cup of tea has evolved over time from a book who's flavoring is more chai or black, to now a more mellowed out chamomile or green :)
also on the reading agenda: The Narrows, by Micheal Connelly
Adam, By Ted Deckker ( I have to read this one but parents don't think I will be able to handle the demon possession, but I've read all his other work so I really would like to read this one)
and The Jungle, Upton Sinclair--most boring repetative book I''ve ever read. I didn't even finish it. No one else in my english group read it either, they spark-notes-ed it and I skimmed the last chapter. Basically all you need to know is that Sinclair wrote tis fantastically depressing story about a small immigrant family who's hopes and dreams of the great American way of life are crushed by the bleak and hard life they strugle through in Packingtown, Chicago. Jurgis the main character is the father of the family who marries Ona (spoiler warning) who gives him children, both who die, then she dies and a bunch of other really unfortyunate events occur which leads to Jurgis's turn to Socialism, end of story, and somewhere in there, chapter 19/20 or something it talks about the gross conditions in which meats where packed.
yeah, that one definatly was not my cup of tea.

"Negative. Positive. It's how you look at it."

2008-06-08T23:36:00.001-07:00

This book has great cover art. It should only be read by 13+ It is one of the MOST touching books I've EVER read. It might not suit all reader's tastes, but I recommend that you give it a try if you can get your hands on a copy.

Now, about the story. I do not know any possible way of explaining the book properly without revealing the whole story. Yes,I know that this sounds horribly lame, but it's true. But I will try.

Broken Soup is all about Rowan Clark. An average 15 year old, who lives with a mother who's is an empty shell and a once loved but forgotten little sister named Stroma. Her older brother Jack died, two(?) years ago, which ultimately resulted in her parent's divorce. Rowan now takes care of Stroma and goes to school. One day whilst shopping for groceries, a boy comes upto her, claiming that she dropped the negative he was holding out for her. Embarassed by the sudden commotion, she grudgingly takes the negative home. From here, this is where Rowan's story beigins....

Here is a much better review to read. If I explain any more, I will spoil the story.

HUSH by Jacqueline Woodson

2008-05-26T02:44:00.000-07:00

HUSH is the story of Evie Thomas, a girl who was and still is Towsiah Green inside. Her whole family has moved from Denver, Colorado to some big city, where they can stay anonymous. The reason of why they had to move and become anonymous was a difficult and confusing one. Her whole family knows what her father had done was right. But its too hard for them to accept, especially for her older sister Anna, who used to be the popular cheerleader Cameron Green.
Evie's mother, a primary school teacher, has now become religious. Her father battles emotionally with himself over the fact whether or not he made the right choice for his family. Anna wants to runaway to college and Evie just wants everyone else to be happy, together as a family.

I found this book a really touching one. At first I thought it would be some boring book. After reading the novel, I think it's a unique story, something we can but can't relate to. At some points in the storyline, the book becomes 'slow', but all is made up with the 'fast' points of the book.
If I were to rate this book(which I am doing now, ha)it would be 8/10. This book is not a normal book. It's an 'independent' book (do you get me??). Even though it's not all ghouls, blood and fantasy, it's strange.

(This was my first post EVER on this blog. Woohoo. Please excuse my excitement ;))

"We're going to exorcise it"

2008-05-08T21:38:00.000-07:00

The Time of the Ghost by Diana Wynne Jones is an oddity, even by the woman's own standards. For one thing, it actually has somewhat of a clear cut ending. And if you're familiar with Diana's work, you'll know that getting a straight conclusion out of her is as elusive as getting Kiera Knightley to put on two pounds.

The Time of the Ghost is marketed as a novel for "older readers", meaning that it's a little darker, more twisted, gore-ish and with the more adolescent elements of crushes and infatuations (often the more dangerous kind). The whole thing is told from the point of view of a ghost. This ghost, far from being angry or tortured, is simply painfully confused. It doesn't know how it died, why it died, who she was or why she has ended up where she has. The only thing she seems convinced about is that she must be one of the four Melford sisters, whose parents run a private boarding school for boys in the English countryside. The ghost in question continues to observe the four sisters, almost in stalker-fashion, trying to find any spark of recognition or a clue that may let her know which sister she was while alive. And I'll have to end it there. It would be disgustingly improper of me to divulge any more of the plot than I already have. Like I've said before, the pure joy and thrill of reading a Diana Wynne Jones novel that you know nothing about, save for the blurb on the back cover, is discovering the plot on your own. Nobody weaves a plot quite like Jones, I think. Even in one of her shortest books, she manages to find a way to thoroughly befuddle the reader, using her good old ace up the sleeve ; the concept of time travel, which she utilises in a completely fresh way.

Another aspect in which Jones excels herself this time around is through her characters. Having less than a dozen main characters, all entirely non-magical, totally normal homo sapiens, and it would be a pretty mammoth task to make each of them rich, memorable, unique and entirely themselves, as well as having their own quirks and tangled relationship dynamics with each other. But she pulls it off admirably, producing what I believe to be her single strongest cast of characters yet. Her descriptions of them, physical and otherwise, are so powerful, and have such an impact on the imagination, that all their little quirks and characteristics stay with you long after you've closed this book and started on something else.

Yet another aspect of The Time of the Ghost is the stark imagery, and the constant sense of underlying danger and foreboding, and also the knowledge that since there is a ghost floating around, has the worst scenario already happened or is there still a way to undo whatever doom awaits the ghost, whoever she is? Scenes like the exorcism with the knobbly blue candle, the Scrabble game, the sacrifice of the chicken, Cart's cornflake mayhem, and Fenella waving a carving knife with her hair tied in bloody knots are the kind of thing that will stay burned in your mind for months and months.
You had also better be sure that since she is generous enough to provide us with a relatively straight ending, that the road to that ending will be as confusing, ambigous and as littered with vague symbolism as possible.
All in all The Time of the Ghost comes highly recommended, and is living literary proof that sometimes the best things come with the smallest page count.

Warning: Mature Readers Only

2008-05-03T17:13:00.000-07:00

Like Hannibal, I give this book a rated R label due to blood, gore, cursing, and disturbing images.

John Dies at the End (or JDatE as it is called on the web) is probably one of the most popular online books in existance. With it's own movie coming soon and a publishing deal already, JDatE is probably going to come into your knowledge sooner or later. It begins with the main character, David (or Dave), fighting a monster. This is not the entire book, however. The real action starts when he begins to tell his tale to a reporter.
The story is riveting as David tells how he and his hetero-sexual partner, John ( of the title) accidentally took a drug called 'Soy Sauce' and are now able to see the other side of the world. . . The ghost side, the demon side. This is a horrible, terrible side that does not, contrary to popular belief, haunt houses. They haunt minds. That is what they do. And so now John and David (along with their fateful side-dog, Molly) fight the monsters whenever opprtunity arrises.

In my opinion, JDatE is one of the best amatuer books ever. It has an obvious 'spooky story' vibe and a 'new author' alert goes off in your head during the first chapter. But I was distubed by some of the detailings put forth and I would not advise anyone under the age of sixteen reading this without having a strong stomach.

-Lena

Back

2008-05-02T16:33:00.001-07:00

Lena ia back from a rather long grounding and then losing the e-mail address! I will soon be posting about a particularly weird book that is completely free to read. So, until then, I have to go. I'll be posting about John Dies at the End tomorrow!

My apologies

2008-04-27T16:02:00.000-07:00

Junior year is just all around terrible, you know? And mentally and emotionally...I haven't been feeling well this whole year. Mainly I spend most of my time feeling horrible about everything so...

Plus I actually haven't gotten a lot of reading time. It totally sucks, but there it is.

But right now I am reading something that qualifies as freaky, and I'm almost done with it, so I'll post thoughts about it when I finish it, sometime this week.

And since I use Google Reader, I very rarely leave comments. But I am reading!

Anilee

Vanished, what a great word

2008-04-26T18:59:00.000-07:00

There are sometimes which I truly wish I could.
Sorry for the disappearing act, I've been out of it, in the truest sense of the phrase.

My reading lately has consisted of my assigned reading from school and a few other notorious stories I picked up while on the road:

No Way to Treat A First Lady, by Christopher Buckley (funny inside-the-beltway jokes)

The Secret of Lost Things, S. Hay (ending was a given, plot good enough, but I don't recommend it for those who have an innocence to protect)

Fieldwork, Mishca (AMAZING, but really sad)

these would be my own choosing in school we're reading To Kill a Mockingbird, and we just finishd Night, by Elie Weizel, and All Queit on the Western Front, Enrich Marie Remarque. A good just thuroughlly depressing I must say.

Only Uphill Allowed from Here

2008-04-21T14:33:00.000-07:00

Okay, so it's pretty obvious that Bloody Awful Poetry and I have been the only freakybloggers posting around here. (New review on the way!) I believe that Theatre/Teen Vegan/LittleChar has officially vanished from the internet, and god knows where on earth CosimaCat, Spring, Lena, and Andori-Isilee have gotten to. (Spring, I saw the draft of your post- PLEASE, finish it and POST!!!) We are glad to welcome Sekrit7 to the Freakiest blog on the web, and I believe that she will actually help us keep up the posts here. I am going to politely but forcefully remind everyone that they are still part of the blog via comments. Maybe not so politely.

Sorry, I just reread my post. I guess this is a bit rude and perhaps mean, but we need to keep this up! I also have something REALLY important for our New Englanders that might happen. So, off to comment to you all. I won't sound so evil if you take a look at the past 10 posts or so. Tsk tsk.

The best thing to have hit trilogy-land since that dude named Tolkien dreamed up those things with hairy feet.

2008-04-17T22:33:00.000-07:00

Garth Nix is criminally underrated. In a world currently dominated by jeans-wearing bespectacled boy wizards (yes, you know who you are, Potty), a lot of so-called children's fantasy written decades before J.K Rowling (bless her golden stinking rich little heart) even thought about thinking about Harry Potter. Authors like Ursula Le Guin and (my hero) Diana Wynne Jones have had their works reprinted and re marketed to a whole new generation of readers who have a new found appreciation for this once-reviled genre. But in my not-so-humble opinion, a certain Aussie still isn't as appreciated as he deserves to be.
The man is responsible for writing quite possible the single best fantasy/sci-fi/adventure trilogy in the history of mankind. I leave the Lord of the Rings out of this; because it is virtually untouchable and also because technically LOTR isn't a trilogy at all- it's one very long story published in three parts. Ditto the movies.

Behold the Old Kingdom trilogy.

Go ahead. Feel free to take a minute and absorb the awesomeness of it all.

The Old Kingdom trilogy is a unique work of the imagination. I consider myself a pretty well-read young grasshopper, with some respectable knowledge of various genres, and I think Nix has borrowed and assimilated many elements from other fantasy novels and produced something totally original in context and execution.
To cut the blab ; the Old Kingdom is a fictional land, or country of sorts, where magic is not just part of everyday life, but the essence of Creation itself. This law, or Force (Star Wars anybody?) is referred to as the Charter, and this power is tapped into by residents of the Old Kingdom, to perform "magic" of their own. Charter Mages are those wise and powerful and talented and knowledgeable enough to have direct access to the power of the Charter. Necromancers are the bad dudes who want to manipulate all the power to achieve their own dodgy gains. The lesser people merely use it a sort of guideline to life and existence.
To the south of the Old Kingdom lies Ancelstierre, which is similar to our own world ;electricity, vehicles, buildings, etc. This is where the story picks up with the character of Sabriel. After fearing for her father's safety in the Old Kingdom, she decides to travel there herself to find him, and from there there's no turning away from the awesomeness that awaits you.

Themes of love, death, morals, ethics, betrayal, secrets, corruption, greed, the search for one's identity, the forces of good and evil, friendship etc all twist and mould and tie each other up in a great big knot that slowly unravels and then ravels itself back. But what makes these books so unusual and ingenious is Nix's portrayal of Death. Not death, but Death. Death is not merely a concept or theory or state of being, it's an actual, physical place, a trans-dimensional plane of sorts. The only human allowed to pass between the border of Life and Death at will is the Abhorsen, who acts as a guardian to the souls passing from Life to Death, and an exorcist whose job it is to "make sure the Dead stay dead". And you know how I love all that philosophical crap.
Oh and no prizes for guessing that Sabriel eventually takes over from the current Abhorsen, her father. The Abhorsen (there is only one at a time) are sort of the middle point between the "good" Charter Mages and the "evil" Necromancers. They work alone, using the power of the Charter Mages but the weapons and methods of a necromancer. Their job, their passing from Life to Death at will, is an oddity; they go against nature to preserve nature. A contradiction to their own existence.

Nix's characters take on a life of their own. Sabriel and Lirael are both completely and utterly not annoying, thank goodness. They manage to be strong female characters without ever grating on my nerves, losing thier humanity or their relatability. My favourite character happens to be a cat. A little white one named Mogget, reluctant assistant to the Abhorsen. Even Mogget isn't who he appears to be though. There's a lot that little kitty cat knows that the readers don't. He is incredibly ancient, despite his helpfulness, will not hesitate to kill his master to gain his freedom at the slightest opportunity. (Although I'm rather proud to say that I correctly guessed the true identity of Mogget halfway through the third and last book).

Despite its huge setting and wide scope, the Old Kingom trilogy never gets to heavy or difficult to keep up with. It isn't bogged down with too much historical information or extra detail. The dialogue is suitably not-verbose. Garth Nix does not bother explaining why certain things happen, or how something works, preferring to keep an air of mystique and vagueness about it, so that by the end of the three books you get the sense that this story has not even told you a fraction of the whole of the Old Kingdom saga. But to quote the god old Tenth Doctor "Once you know everything, you might as well just stop".

The trilogy is the closest thing to perfection I could possibly ask from a fantasy novel. Despite the fact that the second book, Lirael, takes place 19 years after the events of Sabriel, the story never lags or loses focus, and continues to build and grow, until Lirael ends in an infuriatingly suspenseful cliffhanger, and you're walking around the house at one in the morning, bleary-eyed, with the images of Charter spells and icy glaciers and Greater Dead demons still burned in your brain, pulling your hair and kicking yourself for not asking Michelle's sister if you could borrow all three books at the same time. And when you get your hands on Abhorsen, the final chapter, it wastes absolutely no time with introductions or story set-ups, but plunges right into the heart of the action, until it all rolls up into one last, screaming, rolling, fiery, hallelujah kick-ass final battle that makes Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows blush in embarrassment for its lack of awesomeness, against a villain that makes Lord Voldemort look like peanuts.

So.
If you haven't already guessed, I really really quite like these books, and I hope they never ever make it into movies. Oh Charter forbid they ever do that.

p.s I still adore J.K Rowling and the seven Potter books.

Update: A Poem that made me cry

2008-04-07T16:15:00.000-07:00

So, I was bored and searching that poem on Google. Apparently, the REAL original poem ended "He began to draw flowers with his crayons. They were red, blue, and orange."

It's WAY happier and all that crap-but I like the other version better. It just pulls out more feeling and makes you think more. It almost can change you in a small way. Like "Oh, wait. I remember that poem. Am I giving in to the molding of my brain? (Or am I possibly molding someone elses?)"

Just for those of you that may have had your heart ripped out for a few seconds there. (e.g. me).

"All children mythologize their birth".

2008-03-30T21:13:00.000-07:00

Go get this book now. As in, right now. Go out, to your nearest bookstore. Walk there if you have to. Get an advance on your allowance, if you must. Steal from your brother's wallet, if necessary.
You simply have to own a copy and read it.
It's been a long time since I last enjoyed a book so much. I sat down with it for 5 hours; during that time forgetting to eat, drink, answer phone calls, perform regular bodily functions and hold normal conversation. I barely looked up. If the roof had fallen in at the time, I'd have barely noticed. My only mission in life was to go to the next page, the next page, the next page, etc..

I am not even going to tell you what it's about.

Well, okaaaay I will. The story revolves around the prim and proper biographer Margaret Lea, who owns and runs a bookstore with her father. She receives a most mysterious letter from Vida Winter, allegedly the greatest living English novelist of the age (the time period of the story is never actually mentioned, but if I had to guess I'd say it was probably around the 1930s).

The aging Miss Winter wants Margaret Lea, of all people, to write and publish her biography, through many interviews and research processes at Vida Winter's home in the Yorkshire moors.
Miss Winter, being a masterclass storyteller and also, therefore, a phenomenal liar, is an exceedingly mysterious woman. Nothing is known of her birth or early life. Within a 20 year span she gives 20 very different, very wild and very imaginative accounts of her birth and life (all obviously not true). But she is prepared to divulge the entire truth to Margaret Lea, for some sinister reason.
And so begins Vida Winter's amazing tale, of her family, and her life, and her darkest secrets, while Margaret also learns to face her own painful past. The "Thirteenth Tale", so called because Vida Winter once had a book of short stories published under that title, but mysteriously the book only contained twelve stories, the pages of the thirteenth one being completely blank. I suppose you could assume that this elusive 13th tale is the chilling, disturbing and tragic narrative of Vida's own childhood. To call this book "freaky" would be both inappropriate and an understatement. It has the elements of ghosts, adultery, incest, obsession, disease, madness, the concept of twins having their souls torn apart and placed in two bodies, insanity, life after death, secrets, the fragility of family, the love of strangers, murder, arson, rape, religion. All these themes and concepts whirling about and tying each other up in knots and giving you rather unpleasant sensations of being watched (or maybe it was just me).And if you find it all too confusing or boring, even; take my word for it. This is one book you won't be putting down until you've devoured every word of every page.
Diane Setterfield is my new hero.

And one more thing; pay attention to the way Vida Winter refers to herself in the stories. The pronouns she uses; I, you, we, and so on.
That is all.

A Poem that made me Cry

2008-03-29T06:52:00.000-07:00

The Little Boy

Once a little boy went to school.

He was quite a little boy

And it was quite a big school.

But when the little boy

Found that he could go to his room

By walking right in from the door outside

He was happy;

And the school did not seem

Quite so big anymore.

One morning

When the little boy had been in school awhile,

The teacher said:"Today we are going to make a picture."

"Good!" thought the little boy.

He liked to make all kinds;

Lions and tigers,

Chickens and cows,

Trains and boats;

And he took out his box of crayons

And began to draw.

But the teacher said,

"Wait!"

"It is not time to begin!"

And she waited until everyone looked ready.

"Now," said the teacher,

"We are going to make flowers."

"Good!" thought the little boy,

He started to make beautiful ones

With his pink and orange and blue crayons.

But the teacher said "Wait!"

"And I will show you how."

She drew a flower on the blackboard.

It was red, with a green stem.

"There," said the teacher,

"Now you may begin."

The little boy looked at his teacher's flower

Then he looked at his own flower.

He liked his flower better than the teacher's

But he did not say this.

He just turned his paper over,

And made a flower like the teacher's.

It was red, with a green stem.

On another day

When the little boy had opened

The door from the outside all by himself,

The teacher said:

"Today we are going to make something with clay."

"Good!" thought the little boy;

He liked clay.

He could make all kinds of things with clay:

Snakes and snowmen,

Elephants and mice,

Cars and trucks

And he began to pull and pinch his ball of clay.

But the teacher said, "Wait!"

"It is not time to begin!"

And she waited until everyone looked ready.

"Now," said the teacher,"We are going to make a dish."

"Good!" thought the little boy,

He liked to make dishes.

And he began to make some

They were all shapes and sizes.

But the teacher said "Wait!"

"And I will show you how."

And she showed everyone how to make

One deep dish.

"There," said the teacher,"Now you may begin."

The little boy looked at the teacher's dish;

Then he looked at his own.

He liked his better than the teacher's

But he did not say this.

He just rolled his clay into a big ball again

And made a dish like the teacher's.

It was a deep dish.

And pretty soon

The little boy learned to wait,

And to watch

And to make things just like the teacher.

And pretty soon

He didn't make things of his own anymore.

Then it happened

That the little boy and his family

Moved to another house,

In another city,

And the little boy

Had to go to another school.

This school was even bigger

Than the other one.

And there was no door from the outside

Into his room.

He had to go up some big steps

And walk down a long hall

To get to his room.

And the very first day

He was there,

The teacher said:"Today we are going to make a picture."

"Good!" thought the little boy.

And he waited for the teacher

To tell what to do.

But the teacher didn't say anything.

She just walked around the room.

When she came to the little boy

She asked,

"Don't you want to make a picture?"

"Yes," said the lttle boy.

"What are we going to make?"

"I don't know until you make it," said the teacher.

"How shall I make it?" asked the little boy.

"Why, anyway you like," said the teacher.

"And any color?" asked the little boy.

"Any color," said the teacher.

"If everyone made the same picture,

And used the same colors,

How would I know who made what,

And which was which?"

"I don't know," said the little boy.

And he began to make flower.

It was red, with a green stem.

~Helen E. Buckley

A Very Premium Book and Its Equally Premium Movie

2008-03-16T19:35:00.000-07:00

So. After weeks with no word from my fellow freakybloggers, and a push from the International Mastermind, my boss who gives me the highest payment by reading what I've written and commenting on them, I have decided to be selfish and post yet again. In truth I miss freakyblogging, and reading what you guys are reading, and I hope the rest of you come back soon!

Until then I'll just draw your attention to a book I've wanted to read ever since it came out, but only got the chance to read very recently.

Everything Is Illuminated, by Jonathan Safran Foer, isn't a freakybook on the whole, but its many disparate and freaky bits and pieces create a tale that proves sometimes just regular everyday life can be freakier, stranger and more miraculous that any freaky product of the imagination. The book follows three points of view, across three different time periods; that of Jonathan, the young American author come to Ukraine to find his grandfather's wartime saviour(a woman named Augustine)while writing a rather magical account of the village and people of Trachimbrod ranging from the early 19th century to World War Two; that of the young Ukrainian translator and guide who describes and narrates the search for Augustine using his hilarious and endearing mangled version of English, and all these being attached to letters Alex sends to Jonathan.
It sounds a bit confusing but once the book is in your hands it really isn't all that daunting, even being rather short for a novel with such an epic scope. The problem with Everything Is Illuminated, as one critic so accurately points out, is that its first chapters are so hard to read, mainly because "..you burst out laughing every few sentences, lose your place, get tempted to call your friends and read out long sections of the prose, and then have to start all over again".
The novel excels at being a comedy; in fact the last time a book made me literally laugh out loud was Tom Holt's Earth, Water,Fire and Custard, but also is so incredibly touching, poignant and utterly miserable, only to make you bust a gut laughing again by the next page.
Most of the humour comes from a dog named Sammy Davis Junior Junior, a "blind" grandfather who apparently has no problem driving a car or reading road signs, and my personal favourite, Alex's mangled English,which surely must be some genius form of sentence construction. The dialogue is also sharp, witty, and almost insanely funny;

Jonathan: I'm a vegetarian.
Alex: You're a what?
Jonathan: I don't eat meat.
Alex: How can you not eat meat?
Jonathan: I just don't.
Alex: [to Grandfather, in Russian] He says he does not eat meat.
Grandfather: [to Alex, in Russian] Yes you do.
Alex: [to Jonathan, in English]Yes you do.
Jonathan: No meat.
Alex: Steak?
Jonathan: No...
Alex: Chickens!
Jonathan: No...
Alex: And what about the sausage?
Jonathan: Oh god, not the sausage,no.
Alex: [to Grandfather, in Russian] He says he does not eat any meat.
Grandfather: [to Alex, in Russian] Not even sausage?
Alex: [to Grandfather, in Russian] I know!
Grandfather: [to Alex, in Russian] What is wrong with him?
Alex: What is wrong with you?

In any case, Bloody Awful Poetry highly recommends. There is also a movie adaptation of the book,starring Elijah Wood and directed by Liev Schreiber, which, for once, I am very pleased to say, is almost as good as the book itself. This is for the simple reason that it does not stay with the book word by word, neither does it stray too far from canon, but it simply becomes its won wonderful story while staying true to the essence of the novel. For a little taste of it you can have a look at the trailer. It makes an equally premium movie, with a supremely premium soundtrack,which is really just the icing on a very premium cake, as Alex Perchov would say.

You can buy the book here or purchase the DVD here.

The Downfall of the Freakish Empire!

2008-03-14T12:42:00.000-07:00

Hello? Is anyone out there? I gotta say, this is really becoming sad. Have you all just completely FORGOTTEN this blog? Or are you just being lazy? I for one think that I am going to have to send out alert messages, if no one has posted in... *checks calendar* ...four days.

So, as my extreme and agonizing disappointment continues, I have one last thing to say. Not much really.

HELLO?!?!?!?!?!

And no, I'm not getting paid to do this.

2008-02-17T20:49:00.000-08:00

Since we agreed, originally, to branch out into freaky music and movies as well as books, I thought I might as well get the ball rolling a bit, eh? Also I'm really excited to get you Freakybloggers into this band, which is why I'm taking the luxury of posting twice this month, instead of once, which is what I usually do for the sake of politeness.
I have already raved about these guys on my other blog ,so you might wanna check that post out first for more info on the band. Basically Sigur ros are an Icelandic quartet, a bunch of four skinny white dudes with impossible sounding names who one day decided that they would much prefer to hole up in a studio and make strange, wonderful sounds together rather than go to school, which is what they should have been doing.

They recorded their first album way back in the mid to late nineties, making a deal with the studio owners to paint the outside of the building in exchange for permission to use the equipment. For their second album, the members of Sigur ros glued and put together the CD casings on their own, resulting in most of the CDs being useless because of glue deposits on them.
But what makes them freaky, you ask?
They're freaky in a good way. The lead singer's voice is so high-pitched, ethereal and spine-tingling , that you would be graciously forgiven for thinking the voice came from a woman's throat, or the throat of someting that wasn't even human. They sing in a language that doesn't exist. Even their own countrypeople don't understand them, most of the time. According to keyboardist Kjartan Sveinsson, the lyrics aren't important to them. They aren't interested in tagging each of their songs with a message or a story. They would, in fact, much prefer the listener to interpret and understand and "feel" the sounds in whatever way they feel.
And what a sound that is. In various reviews, the music of Sigur ros has been described as everything from "irrelevantly pretentious" to "the sound of God weeping tears of gold from heaven" .
They have been tagged with almost every musical genre imaginable ;post-rock, progressive rock, avantgarde, new-age, world music; when in reality the sheer size and scope and depth of their sound defies any attempt to categorize them. They are an acquired taste, like blue cheese or raisins (for me, anyway).
I raved about them constantly to one of my friends and whined about how difficult it was to find their stuff. But Annmarie came through spectacularly, and dropped by at my crib with a copy of Sigur ros' 2005 release, Takk...
I now take this opportunity to thank Annmarie, very publicly, on Blogger.

Takk is easily the band's most musically accessible record. Most of the songs remain under 10 minutes long (which is unusual for Sigur ros, but we don't mind) and have a definite structure. They tend to start out slow and soft and tinkly before exploding in a magnificent wall of sound that is predictable but still wondrous. Despite their huge, ethereal, apocalyptic soundscape, the songs aren't about God and Heaven and Hell and Judgement or angels and monsters, but simply about walking in the rain, or admiring the sunrise, or jumping in puddles, or holding hands with someone special, or smelling grass.
At some point, words fail to describe or do justice, when it comes to this band. In the same way that they defy being pigeonholed into a specific genre, they also defy the limitations of language to fully grasp what they have done to music as we know it.

Glosoli (from the album Takk.., also probably my favourite music video of all time).

Hoppipolla

Sigur ros live in Philadelphia (you gotta watch this, I'm telling you)

The trailer for their new (gorgeous) tour film, Heima.

Buy their albums here.
Stream their stuff here.
Download (free and legal, don't worry.) mp3s here.
Visit their official site.
Check out their MySpace.
Read other (better) reviews here.
Have a look at their Youtube channel.

The official site of their new tour film, Heima.

I think I've pretty much covered everything. Please please please do give them a try, in the spirit of Freakishness! And let me know what you think, regardless of whether you like them or not.

(International Mastermind also recommends!)

edit :International Mastermind, who is something like our Boss here (except that we don't get paid) is adamant that I add more freaky details about Sigur ros. But I'm a wee bit lazy to do that. Soo...if you are interested in learning more freakish trivia on this wonderful wonderful band please head on over to my humble blog and stuff yourselves with all manner of weird and wonderful gifts, talents, behavioural problems and disabilities that make this band true Freaks in their own freakish right! And if you still aren't even a little bit interested in trying their music out, well then I really cannot help you there.

American Gods

2008-02-12T00:26:00.000-08:00

If Stephen King is the King Of Blatant Shameless Freakishness, then Neil Gaiman is the Emperor of Subtle Fine Freakishness.

Neil Gaiman doesn't do sharp teeth or gooey ickiness or wet warm blood. He does it in a way that's so subtle and refined and quiet that you forget it's supposed to be freaky. And then you remember. And then you get a wee bit scared.
Take this excerpt for example.

"The telephone in Shadow's apartment was still silent and dead. He thought about getting it connected, but could think of no-one he wanted to call. Late one night he picked it up and listened, and was convinced that he could hear a wind blowing and a distant conversation between a group of people talking in voices too low to properly make out. He said, 'Hello?' and 'Who's there?' but there was no reply, only a sudden silence and then the faraway sound of laughter, so faint he was not certain he was not imagining it."

Shadow, in question, is a convict. Days before his release from prison, he is told that his wife has died in a mysterious car crash. Numb with grief and confusion, he gets on a plane home, where he meets the enigmatic and decidedly odd Mr Wednesday, who claims to be a former god. Shadow, having nothing else left to live for,agrees to work for Mr Wednesday. So they embark on a strange journey across the United States, from New York to Las Vegas, from South Dakota to San Francsico, while a so-called "storm" breaks out, and a war of supernatural and divine proportions is poised to break out.
Shadow meets multititudes of the most remarkable people, all at one time who were gods, brought over from their native lands in the minds and hearts of the people who migrated to the New World.
While Shadow himself struggles with his true identity, and that of the "gods" around him, and his dead wife's corpse who keeps returning to him.
It may not sound like much, but the fact that I am blogging about this book before I have even finished it (just 200 pages to go!) gives you an idea of how good it is.
A great deal of research is necessary in reading American Gods. Neil Giaman features gods, deities and mythological figures from practically every known civilization; Norse, Native American, Bavarian, African, Asian, Arabic, Egyptian. Hindu gods, Chinese gods,Greek gods, Roman gods, even Jesus Christ is given a mention. The process of finding out the stories and details behind the myths and legends, and drawing parallels and lines and connections to the story, are just as fascinating as the book itself.
However if you are familiar with Norse and Scandinavian mythology, to a certain degree, the plot will be quite obvious to you. But Neil Giaman is a fabulous enough author to not let your knowledge of what should happen next spoil the read.
In any case, Bloody Awful Poetry highly recommends.

Edge by...Michael Cadnum

2008-02-09T16:13:00.000-08:00

Ugh. This is definitely freakish. In the BAD way.

It starts out with Zachary, a high-school dropout living in a bad area. The first chapter is a blur-a brawl of crazed, drunken teens, that ends up blood spattered cloud of tear gas. Zachary finds himself stowing away a hard, steel gun.
Suddenly his life is falling apart, his father is in the hospital with a bullet in his spine, his girlfriend's mother is a bit too friendly with him, and all he has to hold on to is the revolver.
No one knows who shot his father.

It sounds much more exciting than it really is. The plot could have been great, but the author writes it in such a depressing way. I know that it is meant to have tear-jerking parts, but we are seeing this through Zachary's eyes. And Zachary sounds like he's on heavy meds.

Alas, as an avid reader I am compelled to read the rest of the book, even though it sucks. Oh well.

UPDATE: This is the first book that I have officially abandoned. Of course, I abandoned it to read three fantastic books that I have, stacked up and waiting for me. Midnighters 2: touching darkness, Midnighters 3: (forgot the name), and Specials. Got to love Westerfeld!

2008-02-03T20:45:00.000-08:00

UPDATE:
Review of the whole midnighers trilogy in progress and coming ASAP! (which might be a while but still...

Dreamcatcher

2008-01-30T22:19:00.000-08:00

Stephen King is the undisputed King Of The Freaks, in my humble opinion. Heck, it's even in his name! The King of things that go bump in the dark, that are born out of your nightmares, gooey and icky and full of teeth and eyes made out of the night, tapping on your window by moonlight, asking very nicely if you could please let them come in, just for a little while? They only want to play, and they're not really all that noisy.

Dreamcatcher, in my opinion, is one of Mr King's freakiest works. His wife, Tabitha King, in fact often refers to it as "the one with the shit-weasels".

Basically it is the story of four men who were once boys. And as young boys they did something noble and good, but one that would end up altering their lives beyond belief and comprehension. An alien invasion in the woods of Maine, unexplainable powers, and the one little boy with Down's Syndrome who links these four friends and everything that happens around them.
I won't go into the plot much. I bought the book knowing next to nothing about the story, and I think I enjoyed the little flashbacks and revelations much more that way. It is one of the joys of a Stephen King novel. Step into it, as clueless as possible, expecting nothing and everything, and just let that man, the storyteller, do his job. My only complaint is that the novel is just a tad too long. At least a hundred or so pages could be cut off, really.
But apart from that, this book was a godsend for me. I had flu and a throwy-uppy virus for about a week, and Dreamcatcher (along with warm orange juice) was my constant companion on those long, feverish, sweaty nights, when sleep was as far away as the chance of Jessica Simpson winning the Pulitzer Prize.
It goes deep into the depths of human psyche and awareness and psychology without you ever realizing it at first. It plumbs at your fears so tactfully and unobstrusively that you almost never realize what's going on. And not just fears of what's hiding in the shadows or what's going to pop out at you from behind those bushes. But also the fear of losing your grip on that line between reality and fantasy, and losing the people you love, and losing that carefree innocence of your childhood, and losing yourself in the overwhelming insanity of the world around you.

Stephen King may never be considered as particularly intelligent literary reading material, but you cannot deny the fact that the man makes his characters so very human that it's almost ridiculous. Their thought processes, their fears, their minds and hearts become part of you, that's how powerful it is.
All in all, Dreamcatcher is another extremely satisfactory King reading experience, with one of those ambiguous you-decide-what-the-ending-is finishing touches. Bloody Awful Poetry highly approves.

There is also a movie version of the book, starring the likes of Morgan Freeman and Thomas Jane. Apparently it is quite good, but all I'm saying is that, compared to the novel, the movie ending supremely sucks.

PRETTIES ~Scott Westerfield

2008-01-22T13:56:00.000-08:00

Somebody has probably already posted on this book, but I love it so much! I just finished it, and I loved UGLIES (book 1 in the series) almost as much.
Westerfield has created a future world, where you are divided by how you look. When you are young (a.k.a. 'Littlie') you live with your parents in 'Middle pretty Town'. (Ignore the crappy city names!) When you are twelve, though, you are sent to 'Uglyville' (again with the stupid names,). There you are raised by computers, fed, clothed, and taught by a hole in the wall. You are also taught to think of yourself as a hideous creature who can't wait to turn 16.

Once you are 16 you are sent to an operation. An operation where they sand off your face, smash all your bones, and then make you look beautiful. Pretty. You look like everyone else in 'New Pretty Town', sweet, innocent, and vulnerable. And gorgeous.
In this new world, killing animals and trees was considered barbaric. You instead used metal.

All Tally ever wanted was to be a Pretty. She was always tricking the technology, to sneak into New Pretty Town to watch the partying and fun going on with the pretties. (Did I mention that that was all Pretties had to do? Have fun?) But then she is told what terrible things that the operation can do to you, and she changes her mind a bit about turning 'Pretty'.
I can't tell about Book 2, without giving away Book 1!

Go. Read. It.

2008-01-13T14:52:00.000-08:00

two very different header options for IM's other blog!

update to yee

2008-01-09T13:49:00.000-08:00

I had two reviews already done and I was working on several more. I HAD. Now I don't know where the notebook is and I never got around to typing them up....

I'm really awful at this, aren't I?

PS. Bloody Awful Poetry - I. Love. Timeline. It's actually one of the two things that made me interested in quantum physics (the other's the Wikipedia entry on Schrodinger's Cat). (and I'm kinda nuts about quantum physics... um...)

PPS - to everyone else.... HEY, IS THAT A DEMONIC DUCK OVER THERE?! *runs away*

Jurassic Park

2008-01-06T05:43:00.000-08:00

I am very serious when I say that Michael Crichton's book, Jurassic Park, is one of my favorites. I usually don't go for the gory books of death and destruction, but this one was intriguing.
It starts off with a young boy who has been ripped up by something, being shipped to a hospital. Read it!
Then it goes to a young girl and her parents, traveling to a deserted beach. She is studying wildlife, when a small birdlike reptile attacks her arm. That is one of my favorite parts.

And so launches the gory, tragic, horrifying, and freaky...Jurassic Park.

I am starting another Crichton book, and it has started off the same way. A guy comes into a hospital, puking blood. (Sorry for any visuals!)

I will post about Timeline (the above book), soon!

Happy New Year!

2008-01-03T18:41:00.000-08:00

Well yes. We all have been just a tad lazy haven't we,Theatre? We embarrass ourselves. Anyway, I have indeed had the chance to finish a couple of books between Christmas and New Year's. Right now I'm halfway through Zadie Smith's On Beauty and Mark Haddon's Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-time. But for now I thought I'd settle for Audrey Niffenegger's extremely unconventional love story.

The very beginning of the novel presents a rather complicated scenario. The first time Claire meets Henry,she is 5 years old and he is 36. But the first time Henry meets Claire,he is 28 and she,22. If that alone doesn't at least slightly set your freakybook senses tingling,I don't know what will.
As the narrative unfolds,told from the first person's POV of both Claire and Henry,we learn that the hero of the tale suffers from a rare genetic disease,which the author refers to as Chrono-Displacement. Henry,at any moment of the day,can be literally sucked and thrown back and forth in time. He usually appears in his new surroundings completely naked,and must wander around and make do with what he can steal or scrounge until his cells decide to return to his proper timeline again. Very dangerous,and very inconvenient.
But it explains why Claire has known him all her life,whereas the 28 year old Henry hasn't the slightest clue as to who she is (he doesn't actually start going back into Claire's childhood and teen years until he himself is 36,remember?)
Told you it's complicated.

There are particularly touching scenes when Henry ends up visiting his daughter in the future,after his own death,and when he goes back in time and witnesses the death of his own mother countless times. Despite its freakishness which qualifies it for a spot in this blog,the characters in the novel are merely trying to hold on to a normal,real existence. It is particularly painful for Claire,who has to contend with her husband's sudden and often lengthy disappearances,wondering where he is o r if he's hurt and maybe,just maybe,this is the one time when he might never actually come back.
In one sadly comical scene,Henry pulls one of his Chrono-displacement disappearances moments before his wedding to Claire,but by a stroke of insane good fortune an older time-travelling Henry shows up to take the younger Henry's place.
Don't get me wrong,it's a rather fabulous book, but at times the sweet charming magic of "everything will work out somehow" tends to grate on my nerves. Because Henry can travel forward into his own future,he can basically be sure of how and when he gets married,his children,even the house they end up living in. And so the couple are wrapped in a somewhat lukewarm blanket of security,knowing that some part of their future lives are already mapped out and set. Indeed,for someone who is so disconnected from his own timeline, at times I feel like this Henry dude really gets it too easy.
In any case,this is definitely one for those warm fuzzies,and the Freaky Book Hall O' Fame.

If you're interested, a movie adaptation of the novel is also due this year,starring Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana.

We have got to get better at this

2008-01-02T22:53:00.000-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEARS; CHRISTMAS; CAUCUS NIGHT; dudes what is with the silence surely at least one of us has finished a book or two of worth this Christmas? So I'm kinda in the middle of two different books both interesting one freaky (The Historian) and the other informative (French Women Don't Get Fat)

So whats with the sleeping you guys? I'm probably the last credible person to even bring up such a topic as posting regularity, but still, reading you guys' input is really a highlight, I think, in the blogosphere or at least our little corner of it (that is actually self contradiction statement somehow)

The Tales of Beedle the Bard

2007-12-15T05:06:00.000-08:00

Apparently J.K. Rowling has released another Wizarding World book!

In "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" there was mention of a fairy tale book that all wizard born children (like Ron Weasley) have heard. "The Tales of Beedle the Bard" helped Harry and the others to...well, that is another story.

Anyway, she hand wrote seven copies. Six of them she gave to various lucky peeps who helped with the series. The seventh, though, is what is causing the commotion...

She auctioned it off. It was bought for $4 million! I have heard rumors that Amazon.com bought it. All of the mney will be donated to a charity that, "campaigns for children's rights across Europe, especially in Eastern Europe, where many children and teenagers grow up in institutions." Hmmm...

I think that these stories should be published SOMEWHERE for the world to see!!!

2 HOURS LATER: Hurrah!!! Check out Amazon.com!!!

Thanks to Anankas Diary for the extraordinary news!

Hello? Anyone there?

2007-12-08T12:40:00.000-08:00

I know that ya are, so listen up. Theatre, and Andori Isilee are going to submit a book in the beginning of January for the Freaky Book Award (perfect name?). I even was bored so I was drawing seals for the cover of the book. (Like the Caldicott and Newberry ones) Ananka sadly can't do it, so who wants to? If nobody does, I will.
Y'all need to tell me what your book choice is!!! Happy Chanukka!

Coolness!!!

2007-12-03T13:44:00.000-08:00

As you can see, our poll is closed. If anyone has any heartfelt objections, speak up now. Meanwhile, we will start compiling a list of our favorite books. I know we are all avid readers here, (no, duh!) but please limit yourself to two or three favorite books. (That is the choice that won.) I have chosen:

Coraline
Kiki Strike: Inside the Shadow City
Death On the Nile

Yay! Also, that is an awesome header, Theatre! Feel free to put it up. It is really cool and it matches. (Ooo...matches....I am not a pyromaniac!!!)

Any ideas for a book award name? What about "Freaks Choice" or something?
If we do an award, we would all have to read EVERY book submitted, to vote. Eight books a month? I don't think so. How about Andori-Isilee, Theatre, and Ananka (totally random) start us off, if they want to submit a book. My head hurts.

We are all sad to say goodbye to Edge, who has left us due to the pressure of college. Goodbye and good luck! *sniff, sniff*

New Header?

2007-11-26T13:37:00.001-08:00

It's all swished but it's bigger and beautiful hope y'all like it :)

What do YOU think?

2007-11-22T11:50:00.000-08:00

I don't know about you, but I was getting a little bit sick of our old green color. Tell me if you disagree with the blue, and tell me what you would prefer. (I will listen!)
Also we were talking about stuff to stick on the sidebar. (taken from "blog classification and a query")

5 comments:

International Mastermind said...
I think that each of us should do a seperate kiki strike review. It would be cool to hear each other's opinions!

October 7, 2007 1:33 PM
theatre said...
i totally agree

we should compile a list of all of our favorite books and stick it on the sidebar or something

October 7, 2007 7:51 PM
CosimaCat said...
And maybe do a list of books we´d each like to read

October 8, 2007 8:09 AM
bloody awful poetry said...
or maybe a list of all the authors we've reviewed so far,with links to their official pages,and stick that on the sidebar?

October 9, 2007 12:53 AM
CosimaCat said...
Or all of the above?

October 9, 2007 4:32 PM

So, I ask if you would rather have a list of: favorite reads, books that we want someone to review, links to cool author sites, or favorite authors.

Try to choose. Any more ideas? tell me. But please don't.

Hey, I was also thinking, (there is a first!) what if we did a book award on here? You know, we nominate a few books, and vote on the best one. Then we could give it an award, like the "Freakiest Book of the Month" or something less crappy than that. We would have to then all read the winner. Maybe we could put the list of winners on the sidebar, with links.

I have probably overloaded your brain, but just tell me what you think of everything.

Dr. Franklin's Island

2007-11-19T19:00:00.000-08:00

For my first review, I'll be using a book that is VERY dear to my heart. I first picked it up last year and still find myself pining for it. I eventually had to buy it because there were times when I just couldn't feel at home without looking at the wonderful cover. I still love this book. In fact, this is my second favorite book. Being second only to 'Hannibal'. But I do not wish to review that for this blog mainly because of it's content.

Dr. Franklin's Island.

Dr. Franklin's Island starts with a young teenage girl named Semi at the airport. We discover that she has won a special contest and will be flying off to some random place near Madagascar to study animals. The plane ride goes just fine for Semi, the girl next to her (named Miranda) and the other teens.
Until something goes wrong, and Semi finds herself suddenly having to swim to stay alive. She eventually finds herself on an island with two other survivors. Miranda and a redheaded boy named Artie. No one, to Semi's knowlege, is on the island. Except, of course, the sharks and octopi. Semi and her two new friends find comfort in each other and in their nightly Tree cutting ceromony.
Until Artie disappears and Semi finds his machete behind the waterfall. One thing leads to another and Semi and Miranda find themselves in the grasp of a completely psycho named Dr. Franklin (Hence the title.). Who is a specialist in Genetic engnieering.

This book asks the limits of survival, the ethics of screwing with DNA, Human Vitality, and the willingness to stay truely human. My review does no true justice to the novel. In fact, I am brain dead, so mine isn't very good at all.

Thank you.

Sorry, Theatre

2007-11-18T06:23:00.000-08:00

I do not like to steal ideas, but I have to post Robert liparulo's review of his own book, Germ.

If you breathe...It will find you.

The list of 10,000 names was created for maximum devastation. Business leaders, housewives, politicians, celebrities, janitors, children. None of them is aware of what is about to happen--but all will be part of the most frightening brand of warfare the world has ever known.

The germ--an advanced form of the Ebola virus--has been genetically engineered to infect only those people whose DNA matches the codes embedded within it. Those whose DNA is not a match simply catch a cold. But those who are a match experience a far worse fate. Within days, their internal organs liquify.

Death is the only escape.

The release of the virus will usher in a new era of power where countries are left without defense. Where a single person--or millions--could be killed with perfect accuracy and zero collateral damage. Where your own DNA works against you.

The time isn't coming. It is now. Pray the assassins get you first.
Amazing, huh? I have it memorized by heart. Wow.

If you like

2007-11-16T06:08:00.000-08:00

blood, horror, and freaky Viking assassins with monster wolf-dog hybrids, then I highly recommend Comes a Horseman, by Robert Liparulo. His other freaky book that I have not read but plan to Germ, looks just as thrilling. Alright so back to Horseman the hook, line and sinker, on the back of the book and inside plan reveals to us that the main characters are on a mission to investigate and pursue death itself to reveal societies and horrible cover-ups thru-out history, no this isn't a time travel murder investigation, no this book is so much more then a sci-fi sketch deal or your regular mystery (if there is such a thing) it takes you deep into the darker side of life and death challenging your beliefs and stirring emotions for those lost and gone forever. "What really comes next?" isn't the plot line and isn't even a main idea, but it does have those teasers that will really make you feel hollow inside if you live with out salvation. And the plot itself! Wow, simply amazing, Mr. Liparulo takes you on such a journey and expedition for the truth, it's just amazing when you get to see all the little pieces fall into place! You will love this book, and I have three other family members and a couple acquaintances who will swear by it. You just have to read it for yourself.

Does anyone have any good suggestions on biographies of Cleopatra? I'm doing a project (we have a LOT of those apparently at this new school, and this ones for English, in History we're writing an essay on comedy and using the Simpson's as a research tool *gag*)

Other books I read this week (or I guess last) that I meant to read in OctOber (my spelling's getting better) but totally was swamped with end of the quarter exams and other random assignments all the teachers were dumping on us:

Thank You For Smoking, by Christopher Buckley (YES IT WAS A BOOK BEFORE not a dumb book..." IT WAS A MOVIE !!!! I can't tell you how many times I was asked if the book itself was based after the movie, I had to restrain from smacking some of them, "Hey Thank You for Smoking is a moovie, not some dumb book..." grrr, our culture is a sad sad representation of all our higher learning here in America--there is seriously a reason why Korea and Japan and practically every other world power has higher test scores in English and Mathematics then us...sorry for rambling I'm sick and haven't had enough coffee)

Little Green Men, also by Christopher Buckley (sooo funny! it was really good and the setting was my hometown so I was all smiles every time he'd put someone in a certain location or had then drive across a bridge that routinely see or cross or whatever-yes and Mr. Buckley has an knack for coming up with awkward romances, and given it's an adult comedy some scenes are down right hysterical)

and I'm still trying to finish The Man in The Brown Suit, by Agatha Christie who I am totally in love with, and have a dozen other books by her on my bookshelf. So yeah I've given you alot today and before I depart I am going to give my bedside (and by "Bedside" I mean not coming with me anywhere beyond the limits of my house) reader for the month: The Art of Seduction, by Robert Greene. Yes it is exactly as it's title suggests and I stole it off my dads shelf (he read it a couple months ago I think, but most of his reading along with my mom's have been reverted to presidential biographies and a bunch of great political reading for the up coming election, which of course when they are done with I'll steal as well) but yeah the book is actually very interesting, all about deception and pshycologly behind the great seductors-resses of our time and from history, giving you insight on various aspects of seduction as an art in it's self.

yes that was definatly longer then I intended, but still.
Adieu.

Because I Have So Much Time On My Hands

2007-11-14T23:39:00.000-08:00

It's been a while ey? Exams,people. Exams which will dictate my future and the rest of my life and which I have to do well in or risk bringing eternal shame and dishonour upon my family.

But I can always make a little time for blogging.

Anyway, it was my birthday some weeks ago, and I was utterly delighted to receive books from most people who actually remembered it was my birthday! And in addition to that I splurged around two hundred buckaroos at MPH bookstores,so what I have now is a proper treasure trove of the freakiest most brilliant books around!

(By the way,forgive my rather poor writing-or blogging- standards this time around. It's hard to be all intelligent and witty and verbose and captivating when you've spent the last four days having your brained mashed into a pulp by History and Math and stuff in a big silent classroom and with another week of the same joy awaiting you.)

In any case, the only book I had time to read before the massive paper chase started was Neil Gaiman's latest offering(or I think it's his latest. I'm not very up-to-date at the mo').

One of the first books to be talked about on this glorious website was,of course, Mr.Gaiman's Coraline,where people had buttons for eyes.
How....cute.
But we all love Neil Gaiman. He da man! The epitome of freakishness! And this book is ah-may-zing for the simple fact that,even though not all the stories in it are brilliant,it's simply unputdownable.
As the title suggests,and the blurb on the back says, "..all are fragile things made out of just 26 letters arranged and rearranged to form tales and imaginings..".
When it comes to fantasy fiction nobody does it quite like Neil Gaiman. His good friends Diana Wynne Jones and Susanna Clarke (I have reviewed both ladies' work in previous entries so go have a look-see) are geniuses as well, but Neil somehow manages to interweave the fantastic and the nonsensical and the weird with the real world in a way that seems so natural and haunting at the same time.
There are wolves,aliens, devils,demons, God in a suit and pince-nez glasses, ships made out of the fingernails of dead men, sun birds, cannibals and even some pointers on how to talk to girls at parties.
I won't give away too much about the plot of each short story, but the Monarch Of The Glen,which is really a weeny bit too long, is really just Beowulf in Scotland without Angelina Jolie.
Or something like that....
I had actually mistaken Monarch Of The Glen for the BBC series of the same name and I wondered when Neil Gaiman had suddenly got into a TV drama set in the Scottish Highlands.
In any case, if I haven't said it already, Fragile Things is a wunnerful piece of work and a brilliant way for new readers to get familiar with the man's style.

You can check out his other work here and his scandalously Scandinavian new movie Beowulf,which has a rather cool soundtrack I must say. Although we all know who the boys will be drooling over.

And aren't you guys just bloody awful glad to have me back?

And have you noticed that "I won't give away too much of the plot." is fast becoming a catchphrase of mine?
Bad..gotta stop saying that.

The Hollow Kingdom by Clare B. Dunkle

2007-11-13T19:00:00.001-08:00

I'm not really sure what I think about this book.

Kate and her younger sister Emily come to Hallow Hill after their father dies. But the two orphans can find no peace in the country of England, for Hallow Hill lies right in the middle of the goblin kingdom, and the goblin king is determined to have Kate as his bride. Duh duh duh.

This story kind of seems like two separate stories in one. You have Marak (the goblin king) trying to successfully kidnap Kate (who of course puts up quite a fight), and then you have the story about what happens after. So in way, it seems like nothing much happened, or that nothing very detailed happened, which isn't true at all. The book isn't boring. It's just weird to describe.

The writing was beautiful, but the narration...was not. Clare B. Dunkle used the omniscient third person to tell her story, and though at times I enjoyed the insights such a narrator allowed, I thought the story would have been much better had it been told in the limited third person from Kate's point of view or the first person from Kate's point of view. But I loved the characters. (Okay. I admit it, I have a slight crush on Marak, though my heart will always belong to Finn from Books of Bayern.) I loved the settings. I loved just about everything about this book other than the narrative.

Definitely it's a very worthwhile book to read, though I shall always prefer The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope, if only because Elizabeth Tudor is a minor character. ;)

The Hollow Kingdom is the first in The Hollow Kingdom Trilogy followed by Close Kin and In the Coils of the Snake which I do plan on reading.

River Secrets

2007-11-13T16:16:00.002-08:00

by Shannon Hale

Okay. I know, I know, I finished this book a while ago - but since I did an Enna Burning review, it seemed quite right to do this one too (it does have some creepy stuff in it, I admit, such as weird murders and such like that).

Characters: Razo, Enna, Finn, Dasha

Settings: Mostly in the country of Tira

"Romantic Couples": Razo and Dasha, Enna and Finn

So... Razo starts out as one who isn't the most tall or athletic type of guy - but hey, he's great with a sling! And he's also good with his eyes, which helped him to accompany Talone and the rest of the *chosen ones* to Tira, where they would accompany Geric's cousin who was an ambassador for Bayern (getting a little ahead of myself).

Okay, slowing down a bit: There are still bad feelings toward Bayern from Tira's side, resulting of the blood-red war explained in Enna Burning. The two countries have come toward an agreement, though: they'd send an ambassador to the other country, and see what happens there. Well, the "what" could determine whether or not there would be another war - no pressure, of course.

But when unexpected burned bodies show up, things start to heat up. Razo acts as a spy to look out for unusual actions of any sort, just in case something might slip by the others. Alas, Razo cannot help falling head-over-heals for the Tiran ambassador's daughter, Dasha, while he's spying and working for Bayern. It's a tough time - for you really don't know who to trust anymore.

Okay, I think I may have said too much, but erase everything in your minds right now and go read River Secrets!! It is sooo worth it...

*If any information I have provided is inaccurate, please comment about it, thanks : )

Other books you should read by Shannon Hale:
"Bayern Books"
~ The Goose Girl
~ Enna Burning
More Fantasy
~ Princess Academy
~ Book of A Thousand Days (I have yet to read this! ~but I have a feeling it's gonna be great : )
Other - But Pretty Awesome!
~ Austenland

Since ya beggin'

2007-11-13T11:51:00.000-08:00

REFUGEES, by Catherine Stine, is amazing. It has really tugged at my emotions.

"Yes, I did hate her."

"I am scared, Dawn."

Dawn is a 16 year old foster girl, currently living at Louise and Victors. She is hot tempered, because of all the years, first living at Epiphany group home, then at a home where she was beaten, then returned to Epiphany, and sent off, and re-returned. Now all that she allows herself to care about is her flute music and her best friend, Jude. But when Louise goes to the afghanis aid, she and Jude run away, to NYC. Refugees.

Johar is a 15 year old orphan who lived at his aunt Maryams with his brother Daq, and baby cousin, Bija. (In Afghanistan.) The taliban and Al Queda terrorize his people, capturing his aunt, then his brother. He carries Bija to Camp Suryast, in search of refuge.

Suddenly, in NYC, the World Trade Center is attacked by terrorists. Dawn is launched into the devastation, and is soon left alone by Jude. When she calls Louise at last, in Afghanistan, Johar picks up the phone. Soon the two refugees are closer friends then ever. Through email, Johar and Dawn share thier true feelings. Fear, mostly. But also their hobbies, Dawns music and Johars poetry.

"It will be okay, Johar"

"Thank you, Dawn"

People!

2007-11-13T07:57:00.001-08:00

All right, the day of doom is here. Reckoning time has arrived.

In other words, it's been over a week since anyone posted. Come on, my fellow bloggers! There are nine of us! Surely we can do a couple posts a week.

Thanksgiving break should be a great time to write. Right? :-) I'm out of books and don't know what to get. Tell me!

Storm Thief by Chris Wooding

2007-11-05T10:10:00.000-08:00

I picked up Storm Thief at the library on a hunch - the cover. The artist should be given a hefty raise. It screams 'intrigue and mystery'.

Rail and Moa are teenage thieves for Anya-Jacana, a thief mistress in the land of Orokos. This country is unique in that it is built on a massive plane of rock - in the middle of an ocean. Years ago, the builders of the city set up machines in the water to shred any outgoing escapee boats. Probability storms - storms in which children can turn to glass, eye color can change, and streets can be rearranged - ravage the city, creating a constantly changing environment. During one of these storms, Rail's lungs stopped working. Anya-Jacana saved him by giving him a respirator. (see picture)

Their story begins during a theft Anya-Jacana told Rail and Moa to commit. While eluding half-human creatures called Mosgaz, Rail finds an artifact like a ring from the time of the Fade, hundreds of years ago when human technology was at its peak and bogglingly complex. He hides the artifact from the thief mistress. Knowing Rail was not giving her the whole spoil, she sends another thief to collect the artifact. Rail escapes when Moa puts on the artifact and discovers its power: it opens temporary holes in walls, floors, and anything else.

As they flee Anya-Jacana, they encounter a golem, a half-human, half-mechanical creature that someone made.

After enduring a series of trials, Rail, Moa, and the golem reach an underground city at the edge of Orokos. Moa's acquaintance in charge of the community, Kittiwake, tells them of a plan to evade the skimmers (machines that shred boats). The odds are not with them, but at least one-third of them would be able to escape. Rail does not want Moa to risk suicide. Moa does not want to stay in Orokos any longer.

Then the golem disappears, and Rail and Moa discover he was made by the Protectorate, the only ruling party of Orokos.

Overall, Storm Thief is a top pick. Rail and Moa are rich characters, and although it's clear they are close to each other, there is little emphasis on romance. Wooding's writing is rich. In the case of his spatial descriptions, sometimes a little too rich. A few times, when he was describing buildings or cities, I'd have to close my eyes and squint to picture the place correctly. Besides that and a few slow parts, Storm Thief is one of those books you wish you could sneak into class to finish reading.

Don't make any assumptions about that last sentence. I would never sneak a book into class.

Welcome!

2007-10-31T14:28:00.000-07:00

Hi, International Mastermind here.
If you are a Kiki Strike fan that would like to join, just give me your email adress, and I will invite you. (For more info check out the first post!) Wahoo!

Creepy

2007-10-22T01:30:00.000-07:00

I know Theatre already posted about Ted Dekker, but I'm reading Skin right now, and I must comment on it: it's so cool. Creepy, too. Creepy crawly, up your spine sort of creepiness. Yes. This is actually the first book I've read by Dekker, and it's pretty good - except that I must admit: it sort of drags on and on in the middle. Overall, though: enjoyable.

Comment on the cover: if you stare at it long enough (stare at the face in the sand), then it sorta creeps you out. Creepy crawly, blah blah. Or maybe it just seems more fake. I dunno. This was totally random : )

Other books by Dekker (which I haven't read - and can't wait to read):

"Circle Trilogy"

Black

Red

White

~~~

Chosen

Obsessed

Saint

Thr3e

House

Showdown

~~~

"Martyr's Song Series"

The Martyr's Song

When Heaven Weeps

Heaven's Wager

Thunder of Heaven

~~~

Note: the order of the series and trilogy may be incorrect

The Book of Lies

2007-10-19T03:23:00.000-07:00

I have got to say, there are good and bad aspects of this book. James Moloney's book has a great, twisty, gotta have a sequel plot. But in my opinion, he was being a too, um, detailed writer. He was using a lot of complex words and complex phrases-just bein too good of an author.

Writers (and readers!) know that a book can either have an amazing plot, or very good writing technique. Both, as I have just experienced, is suffocating.

On to the reviewing. This book is about a boy who is dropped off at Ms. Timmins Home for Orphans and Foundlings in a very, strange fashion. He wakes up the next morning, knowing nothing about the past 12 years of his life. A small girl who hides in the shadows tells him one thing: "your name is Marcel."

Once I was two thirds into the book, I realized that I had no idea who Marcel could trust, or what his past was. Because when you forget that, your left pretty helpless and gullible. Actually, I'm still not so sure about who he should trust. But I will wait for the sequel

READ THIS. enough said.

Platinum by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

2007-10-18T10:52:00.001-07:00

So this book isn't necessarily "freaky", but since the main character has the supernatural power of the Sight and is worried that if anyone finds out she'll be branded a freak...

Lilah Covington. She's more than Golden: she's Platinum, the uncontested ruler of Emory High. But at the moment, Lilah's world is falling about. Her second-in-command might just be plotting to steal Lilah's place and her boyfriend. If that's not enough, Lilah's worried she's a freak: she's having these weird visions of the past as well as being followed by a mysterious ghost that only she can see (and she might actually be in love with said ghost). Something supernatural and freaky is going on, and it's Lilah's job to find out what exactly it is.

I loved Platinum. Jennifer Lynn Barnes is one of my favorite authors simply because her narrators are always so wonderfully realistic, and Lilah's my favorite. Lilah is the girl you'd hate in real life, but knowing her--her thoughts and feelings and everything that makes Lilah Lilah--makes you like her because you see exactly where she's coming from. This book is lots of fun, a quick read, with good characters and decently written. I'd recommend reading Golden first, but Platinum stands well enough on its own.

A Goody-Two-Shoes Freak

2007-10-16T01:10:00.000-07:00

Hey, so glad I could join : ) Anyway, this blog is for freakish types of books (mostly)... and for "plain good" books too! I think I lean more on the "good books" category, but of course: if I ever do come across a freakishy good/good freakish book, I will be sure to post ASAP...

I guess this is more of a post about me: a bookworm, a maniac bookworm, a fanatical bookish type bookworm, a freakish bookworm, if you know what I mean : ) Visit my other to blogs (if you want): Personal Prattle and A Day's Worth - found in my profile.

I guess I should share a really good book, since I'm posting anyway:

Enna Burning by Shannon Hale

(*Of course, this includes spoilers -both subtle and very irritating - so I apologize for this*)

Characters: Enna, Finn, Razo, Isi, Geric, Sileph, Talone (the most major characters)

Settings: The countries ~ Bayern, Tira, (mention of Kildenree); a Tiran campsite, out in the wilderness (major settings)

"Romantic Couple(s)": Enna and Finn, Isi and Geric, Enna and Sileph (doesn't turn out well)

I really love this book, obviously, since I love basically almost every book ever made! It's about a girl who finds a new talent, and tries to control it, but has to tackle challenging obstacles. But Enna also has to find out what her life holds for her, what she's meant to do. She has to follow her heart, listening to her conscience ~ the best conscience of all: good, trustworthy friends.

She's loyal to her country, but a smooth talking Tiran soldier tries to convince her to betray her home. Of course, her good friend Isi helps Enna in subtle ways, help saving yet again another war from doing any more damage.

Once you get into this book, you can't get out. I rate this: 8.5 out of ten. Pretty good, eh?

*If any information I have provided is inaccurate, please comment about it, thanks : )

Other books you should read by Shannon Hale:

"Bayern Books"

~ The Goose Girl

~ River Secrets

More Fantasy

~ Princess Academy

~ Book of A Thousand Days (I have yet to read this! ~but I have a feeling it's gonna be great : )

Other - But Pretty Awesome!

~ Austenland

Must Visit Links: Squeetus ~Enna Burning

Ehem???

2007-10-11T16:30:00.000-07:00

Does no one want to join me in my Save the Greyhounds mission???
Go to my post farther down!!! One spy cannot accomplish this alone! Please help!

Imogen Heap, Headlock

2007-10-08T11:30:00.000-07:00

so this isn't anything having to do with books but I think the song/video are sweet and freaky in general

recomendations for Octuber reading (or reading that I plan on finishing):

Hallowe'en Party, Agatha Christie
Comes a Horseman, Robert Liparulo
Evil: an investigation, Lance Morrow

Blog classification and a query

2007-10-06T13:45:00.000-07:00

Well this is an utterly inefficient way of sending a message to my fellow blog-peoples but here goes:

I am planning on publishing the semi-weekly book reviews I do for school. Why the semi-weekly book reviews? Because I go to school in a mexican public school and they teach *very* basic English, which is utterly useless to me, but I struck a deal with the teacher.
However, my first one was on Kiki Strike: Inside the Shadow City, and it seems like something rather idiotic to publish on a blog where the author / main character depending on your mindset posts.
But people might not've read it...
Also, I'm debating whether the books I read normally are freaky enough. I suppose at least most of them are... And the Uglies trillogy is, to someone not used to it, plain weird. After all, the image-oriented culture that much...

If public opinion is against publishing the Kiki Stirke review (I should probably rewrite it anyway, it's my first book review, ever, so it's pretty bad, but the teacher doesn't speak English that well) my first review will be of Peeps... perhaps if the whole world reads it (eventually, says probability, everyone who reads english, has a computer and is bored, will end up reading this, I think... this may take a trillion billion [insert prefix]llion years though...) people will get the nuclear peanut butter joke. (page 136 of the paperback with the canon-inaccurately eyes). I can hope.

Okay, I stop babbling now.

Save the Greyhounds!!!

2007-10-06T11:28:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know this has absolutely nothing to do with books, but I know this is a more viewed blog. Today at a county fair I observed the largest pumpkin in the world, a freakishly warped bunny, an elephant, and many organization stands. One of which was a save the greyhounds petition. Greyhounds are used to race in tracks all over the world. They provide great entertainment, but have you any idea what a horrible life they live?

They are kept in cages just big enough for one of them, but to small to stand up or turn around in, for more than 20 hours a day. The other few hours are devoted to racing while thousands of humans gawk at you.

Many of these dogs are injured, (skull injuries, paralysis, broken bones,) during racing. When they are, they are usually killed, or sent to a pound, where they are killed if no one wants them. (Would you want a paralized, or injured dog, when there are cute little beagle puppies in the next cage?)

This is a completely unfair and tragic life. At the fair, I saw some ladies asking people to sign a petition to stop greyhound racing. I wanted to, but couldn't, because I am not a registered US voter. My newest international mastermind mission is to mysteriously inform registered voters of the greyhound petition. You are all invited to join me in this mission. I will deliver info via mailboxes, bulletin board notices, and mouth.

Info to include on forms: website: www.petitiononline.com/bgr/petition.html , the terrible conditions of the dogs (mentioned above,) and the fact that you have to be a registered voter.

Free the Greyhounds!!!

Are we aloud to add urban myths??

2007-10-05T02:59:00.000-07:00

I am anyway, since this ones freaky enough to spook my English teacher, who smiled the entire time she told us about "The Hook"--I already knew that one but her smiling was just weird--and then she told us about the dude who got hung in the woods above his girlfriends car when they where hooking-up and he went to look for help, but he doesn't come back, and all the chick knows is theres this scrapping on the hood of the car; which in the morning the police find is the boyfriend's toes scraping against the metal--I'd heard a similar story different version though. Anyway, I don't know what this ones called only that I heard it and forgot where, and that it creeped out my English teacher (who wheres a skull ring and silver bangles pretty much religiously) so here we go:

One dark and cold night a couple decided they wanted to go out to diner and called the babysitter to come over and watch the kids. When she arrives she finds the kids already tucked into bed and a note on the refrigerator saying "we'll be back before midnight, call if you need anything" so finding herself alone with sleeping children she goes and checks to make sure everythings were it should be upstairs with the children. As she climbs the stairs she can hear the blowing wind and rain crashing and see it illuminated by eerie lightning. The children are safe, and warm asleep in bed, but our baby sitter is feeling uneasy and scared so she goes to the parents bedroom and calls the parents asking them if they could come home early. They answered by telling her of course and just to wait in their room. The baby sitter feeling relieved, but still oddly uneasy asks if she can put a blanket over their clown statue in the corner. They don't reply for a minute..."We don't have a clown statue..."

In the morning the police find the baby sitter dead clutching the phone and the parents in the garage.

Take The Ending How You Will

2007-10-02T23:44:00.000-07:00

Look at that cover.
Just look at it.
An eye. A passage from an ancient book about Royal Sacrifices. A sprig of hemlock. Two vases which jointly from the words "Nowhere".
A cello.

Oh goodness gracious! Not a cello!

Doesn't it scream, I mean scah-reeeam the very essence of freakishness for which this glorious blog,and and all it's freaky-as-hell contributors stand for?
And we are freaky,let me tell you that. I do not claim to know any of my fellow bloggers personally,but one of them thinks she's a cat....

Anyway. Fire & Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones.
I adore Diana Wynne Jones so watch out for more!

Most of this story is in flashback mode. 19-year old Polly,who is packing to leave for Uni, is suddenly struck by memories she never knew existed. For some reason she is reminded of a fellow named Tom.
Tom,who was her best childhood friend,memories of the games they played and the stories they made up,and memories that these games and tales had a most uncanny,sometimes terrifying habit,of coming true at some point. But nobody seems to remember Tom. It's almost as if he's been erased from existence entirely,and Polly has a nasty feeling that she might have had something to do with it...
It's a modern retelling of the ballad of Tam Lin,or Thomas the Rhymer,made chilling and freaky and utterly original.
I won't give away too much of the plot. Most of the joy and frustration of reading a Diana W. Jones book is the way the plot builds,thickens, layers itself,twists,turns,U-turns,goes inside out,loop-de-loops,ties itself in ribbons,meshes itself and finally presents itself in a glorious and sometimes not entirely satisfactory mess.
The thing about Jones is that she rarely,if ever, ties up all the loose ends and presents all the answers in a nice package with a bow-on-top. It's up to the poor reader to figure out everything on their own really. Ms.Jones certainly expects her readers to be most intelligent folk.
The ending of this one is particularly confusing and very open to interpretation. After 6 re-reads I am still unable to fathom what the shallow graves and shimmering music is supposed to mean.
I hope it doesn't mean I'm stupid.

Ted Decker

2007-10-01T15:07:00.001-07:00

Okay so these are just a taste of his writing (my male hero Ted Deckker--second to Jesus, and Cary Grant) and it is just so beast I can't begin to tell about the heart stoppage and page-turning-ness. Small towns in the middle of nowhere under attack from the next best thing to Hell, a trained and deadly killer, a mind bending reality flip, and many other details flourish in pages of honor and splendor, all presented for you between two neat little covers, just waiting to be rifled through in the dead of night with your flash light under the covers...

The Saviours Of English Magick

2007-10-01T01:35:00.000-07:00

For my very first post on By Freaks For Freaks (yay! Thank yooo International Mastermind!) is quite possibly the freakiest book ever written.
Set in historical times, when a certain Napoleon dude was trying to make as much trouble as he possibly could,two unlikely heroes turn up to resurrect the past glory and fabulousness-ness of English Magick.
It's quite impossible to give away the entire plot, due to the very size and scope of this novel(it's over a thousand pages long). Let's just say it is full of insane kings, mirrors that lead to other lands,houses that never look the same way twice, lovely ladies being resurrected from the dead,a certain woman's pinky finger, eternal ballroom dancers, creepy bells,Scottish boglands, Belgium turning up in Boston,lots and lots of books, the essence of madness,and old woman and her cats, even some traces of werewolf-ery, and the Duke of Wellington. Add such romantic and hoplessly chilling names like End-Of-All-Hope House and the Tower Of The Plucked Eye and you get 1000 pages of the most stunningly freaky piece of literature you're ever likely to read.
The prose style is rather 19th century and might not appeal to most,but persevere and thou shall be rewarded-eth.

You can buy a copy of the book and read other reviews here
http://www.amazon.com/Jonathan-Strange-Mr-Norrell-Novel/dp/0765356155/ref=pd_bbs_2/102-2940480-2576144?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1191228501&sr=1-2

Oh. And loads and loads of ravens.
Many many many many ravens.

Coraline (by Neil Gaiman)

2007-09-30T08:20:00.000-07:00

Coraline is a book I read about two years ago, and it's still one of my favorites. (I read so many books that being a "favorite" is a very big thing.)

Coraline is about a girl who finds a door in her home, a door that leads to an alternate world, where the mother and father have buttons instead of eyes. They seem friendly, until they want to sew buttons over her eyes and call her thier daughter...

All of my friends agree, Coraline is a good book...and very creepy.

A Great, Creepy Book

2007-09-30T06:37:00.000-07:00

Very cool. I get to contribute! Anyway, here's my first recommendation for the freaky book club. I just finished Laura Schlitz's book, A Drowned Maiden's Hair. It's about an orphan who's adopted by three very odd old ladies and then finds herself being introduced to their family "business." (I'll let you guess the nature of that business. Let's just say that they aren't exactly upstanding citizens.)

I'm not the sort of reviewer who likes to give a lot away, so I'll just add that I loved this book!

JOIN NOW!

2007-09-28T15:52:00.000-07:00

This blog is open and if you would like to join the Freaky Book Club tell me in your comment, and I will add you to be able to post here. (If you have a blog) And if I approve. I'll tell you if you "qualify"! Enjoy!

By Freaks, For Freaks

Bad days make for good rantings and readings

Happy New Year!! belated is better than nothing

The Book Thief

We have got to get better at this

Gilda Joyce

1-800-Where-R-You series by Meg Cabot

Hey everybody!

"Negative. Positive. It's how you look at it."

HUSH by Jacqueline Woodson

"We're going to exorcise it"

Warning: Mature Readers Only

Back

My apologies

Vanished, what a great word

Only Uphill Allowed from Here

The best thing to have hit trilogy-land since that dude named Tolkien dreamed up those things with hairy feet.

Update: A Poem that made me cry

"All children mythologize their birth".

A Poem that made me Cry

A Very Premium Book and Its Equally Premium Movie

The Downfall of the Freakish Empire!

And no, I'm not getting paid to do this.

American Gods

Edge by...Michael Cadnum

UPDATE:Review of the whole midnighers trilogy in progress and coming ASAP! (which might be a while but still...

Dreamcatcher

PRETTIES ~Scott Westerfield

update to yee

Jurassic Park

Happy New Year!

We have got to get better at this

The Tales of Beedle the Bard

Hello? Anyone there?

Coolness!!!

New Header?

What do YOU think?

Dr. Franklin's Island

Sorry, Theatre

If you like

Because I Have So Much Time On My Hands

The Hollow Kingdom by Clare B. Dunkle

River Secrets

Since ya beggin'

People!

Storm Thief by Chris Wooding

Welcome!

Creepy

The Book of Lies

Platinum by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

A Goody-Two-Shoes Freak

Ehem???

Imogen Heap, Headlock

Blog classification and a query

Save the Greyhounds!!!

Are we aloud to add urban myths??

Take The Ending How You Will

Ted Decker

The Saviours Of English Magick

Coraline (by Neil Gaiman)

A Great, Creepy Book

JOIN NOW!

UPDATE:
Review of the whole midnighers trilogy in progress and coming ASAP! (which might be a while but still...