Merry (Belated) Christmas!

Hey Everyone! 

So I knew I'm a few days late on this, but Merry Christmas! I hope everyone reading this enjoyed a wonderful holiday, whether it be Christmas, or Hanukkah or whatever you guys celebrate. I also hope all students reading this are enjoying their holiday break. I know I am...not, haha. I'm so bored. That's partially why I decided to post again after so long (sorry, guys, with finals and...personal issues, I couldn't find much time for blogging.) But here I am! 

So, since the last time I posted I have not read any books, unfortunately. I have new books, I just haven't read them. Shame on me, I know. On the other hand, I got a new Barnes & Noble Nook HD for Christmas, so that's really great. Now I can (hopefully) spend less money on books! Although I do enjoy visiting B&N, and do so often. I also unexpectedly got Beats headphones this Christmas, so that's exciting. I can't wait to use them. 

ANYWAYS...I do read FanFiction, and that's what I've been doing instead of reading books. I like to read Greek myths, especially the more...romantic ones, like Eros & Psyche and Hades & Persephone. And this FanFiction I'm reading, Quietus, based on the Hades and Persephone myth, is AMAZINGGGG...but it's been almost a month and a half since the author has posted a new chapter or even a preview on DeviantArt and it's really frustrating me. I'm still checking daily for any updates but I'm kind of tired of waiting. I hope the next chapter she posts is especially good to make up for the long wait. 

In my last post, I talked about a book I had read, Wither, by Lauren DeStefano. Even though the book itself didn't hold my interest for too long, I have to admit I'm obsessed with the Linden/Rhine pairing, and have been since I've read the book. It's constantly on my mind, I admit. I'm dying to read the last novel just to find out what happens with Linden, Rhine and Cecily and Gabriel. I will be horribly upset if Linden does not end up with Rhine and Rhine only (I can't stand Cecily). In my opinion, they are meant to be. They seem cuter together than Rhine and Gabriel do. I've also been following Lauren's Facebook, and she wrote this quote that I really, really like, that I will post on here (all credit belongs to Lauren DeStefano). 

I think that sometimes, as humans, it's in our nature to fall out of love with things. The more the day we live resembles the day we lived before, the less excited we become. And really, I don't think the problem is that we need more grandiose things to hold our interest and reignite the spark we forget we even crave. Maybe we just need to be reminded sometimes that life is brutal and wonderful and terrifying. We need to be reminded that what we have is poetry in living motion. What we have is fleeting and fragile, but it's brilliant. We need to be reminded of the way the leaves catch fire in the sunlight and words sit patiently on pages, always whispering and waiting for us to listen. We need to be reminded that there at least ten thousand ways to fall in love with what we foolishly think is ordinary. 
                                                                                                        - Lauren DeStefano 

And with that inspiring quote I leave you guys today. I hope you all have an amazing New Year spent with dear friends and family! 

Back to Books!

Hey all! Long time no see! I know, it's been some time, I've been insanely busy with school and I haven't been reading much for fun. 





However, in English this year our class, we've read The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien, which I must say, was phenomenal. I loved the book. It's about the war in Vietnam, and the soldiers' experiences during the war. At first, I believed I would detest the book, since war stories are not usually my type of book. On the contrary, I couldn't put down this book! I'm glad we got to read it in class. 

We finished TTTC in mid-October, and now we're reading a graphic novel called Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi. It is a good novel. I was also surprised I liked this book so much, since I can't force myself to read a novel that's mostly pictures and few words. This book, however, has a decent amount of words, which I think kept me into the book. The book is about a young Marjane Satrapi experiencing the drastic changes in her life due to the Islamic Revolution in Iran, such as having to wear the veil, the Iran-Iraq war, etc. It's pretty fascinating, and very humorous at times. There is a second part to this novel as well, which I would like to read once I'm finished with the first novel. I'd suggest this book to anyone who doesn't mind diverging into a little bit of history while enjoying a comic at the same time. I actually have to a presentation on this book, and I have a topic in mind as my theme for the presentation. I don't know when the date of my presentation actually is, but wish me luck!!! 

I have read some books for fun this semester so far (I can't keep myself from buying books at Barnes & Noble, haha), one of which includes the Chemical Garden Trilogy by Lauren DeStefano. I can't say much for this series, unfortunately. The setting and the plot should be quite interesting to me normally, but I couldn't quite keep myself interested in this series. 

This series takes place in the future of North America (which is all that's left of the world after a catastrophic world war that wiped out all the other continents), in which girls only live until the age of 20 and males die at 25 at the hands of some incurable virus. As a result, in order to keep the human race going and for families to keep their family lines/names going on, girls are abducted and sold to men with the intent of impregnating them. In this story, the protagonist, 16 year old Rhine Ellery, is one of these kidnapped girls forced to marry 21 year old Linden Ashby, along with two other kidnapped girls, Cecily & Jenna. In Linden's world, everything is not what it seems.  Linden's father, Housemaster Vaughn, is sketchy. And then there's Gabriel, a servant whom Rhine finds herself growing attracted to. Meanwhile, she desperately plots her escape from this world of illusions to return to her twin brother, Rowan. After reading the first novel, Wither, I decided to give the second book, Fever, a chance. I only got until half the book until I was completely bored with it. The only reason I stuck with this series for so long is because of the love triangle between Rhine Ellery-Ashby, the servant Gabriel, and Rhine's husband, Linden. I know it sounds odd to want Rhine to end up with Linden, the man who kidnapped her from everything she's known and forced her to marry him, but he's kind to her, and wants to protect her. He's painstakingly oblivious to the goings-on of the world around him, and that makes me pity him, makes me want Rhine to love him as he loves her. Even though she looks like Linden's dead first wife, Rose, I think Linden loves her for a different reason. I just never felt any chemistry between Rhine and Gabriel, even though I have a sickening feeling that they are going to be together at the end of this series. The last book, Sever, is set to release next February, and I will force myself through the book, if only to read the Rhine-Linden scenes and find out who she ends up with. 

Lastly, I read another novel recently called Stolen, by Lucy Christopher. I. LOVED. THIS. BOOK. I loved it so much that I'm going to reserve a whole post just for that novel itself. Therefore, my review of this book will come in a later post, which will hopefully be soon. In the meantime, I suggest to those who haven't read it yet to go to their local library/bookstore and PICK IT UP ASAP. I'm dead serious. This novel will have you experiencing the exact same feelings as the protagonist, which is utterly freaky considering the situation. I won't ramble on and spoil it. Go read it! I mean it! 

Until next time! :) 

Dukan Diet Study

Hello All!

I know I haven't gotten on Blogger for over a month. I apologize. The start of the school year has been unbelievably stressful. 

My topic for today is the Dukan Diet. You guys might have heard of it - Kate Middleton was reportedly on the diet while getting ready for the wedding of the century. 

And no, if you all are wondering. I'm not going on the Dukan Diet. However, for biology, our class received a project to study a diet plan of our choice and explain our discoveries. I chose the Dukan Diet - mainly because I read celebrity gossip and I recalled Kate Middleton's diet when I got this project. 

It would be extremely appreciative, if any of you are currently on the Dukan Diet or have been on the Dukan Diet at some point in the past, to answer some of my questions about the diet.

1. Why did you choose the Dukan diet to begin with? Does it work? Does it satisfy? 

2. Do you have cravings for certain foods either allowed or prohibited by the diet? Do you plan on following the diet indefinitely? 

I will love you guys to infinity and beyond if you share with me your experience with the Dukan Diet. 

Hope to hear from all you Dukan dieters soon! :) 

Summertime Sadness

Well, I'm deeply saddened to say that I am leaving Spain tomorrow afternoon, after two relatively quick months here. What this also means is that school is going to start very soon, which is something that rather disturbs me, because the school year never flies by as quickly as summer does. My summer is technically over with my arrival in America, because I have to frantically finish reading that damn book my Spanish teacher assigned us for the summer (I'm on chapter 8 out of 30+ chapters, yeah, not good, I know). The book kills my eyes. It may be a classic, but it's boring as hell and difficult to read. I also think I have to read a second book in English...

Anyway, it's time to reflect on my trip to Spain. There are definitely some things I would do differently should the opportunity repeat itself or if I could turn back time (which is something I'd love to do). For example, I would change the fact that I didn't go out to hang out with people as much as I should have. 

I won't go on and on and on about my summer, because while it had it's fun moments, a lot of it was boring, all alone in the town. 

Anyway, if anyone reads this, please comment on how you spent your summer and what things you would do differently if given the chance. 

I hope the rest of everyone's summer is spent fabulously, and that summer 2012 can be ended with a bang! :) 

Tres Metros Sobre El Cielo

So, the other day, while spending a lazy late evening with my cousin and her boyfriend in Spain, a movie that's apparently wildly popular with teenagers here in Spain comes on TV, most likely because the sequel to the movie had just been released in theaters. It's called Tres Metros Sobre El Cielo (Three Meters Above Heaven - English translation always useful)


It's about this schoolgirl, Babi (and no offense to her or anything, but what kind of a name is that? It sounds like a name given to a blonde bimbo - trust me, I've never heard that name in Spain or in the USA) who lives with her strict mother and her more laid-back father. She's supposed to be innocent, and she was disciplined and has to behave properly at all times. She meets rebellious bad boy, motorcycle-riding hottie Hugo (who goes by Hache) and obviously, the star-crossed pair fall in love. The two come from very different worlds, but are madly in love with each other. It's romantic, and cute. 

I caught the movie fifteen minutes after it started, so I don't know the beginning of the movie. This movie sort of reminds me of Fifty Shades of Grey, just in a teenage version. Not in the fact that Hache is a kinky bastard, but that he tries to protect Babi (and she doesn't really like it that much - like when Babi is about to fail a class and Hache goes and threatens the teacher to not fail Babi) and does little romantic things for her like when he takes her to the beach house and paints Tres Metros Sobre El Cielo on a bridge. There's more romantic stuff he does, but I can't name them all. Also, Hache can get violent, like Christian, and both don't like their pasts very much (I didn't understand it all, but apparently he doesn't get along with his parents - I don't know if his mom was a whore - like Christian's birth mother - or what, but that is similar) The similarities aren't that big, but I couldn't help noticing. 


Let's just say that like Romeo and Juliet, this movie has a tragic ending - although not as tragic as Romeo and Juliet. 


Last night, I went to see the sequel to this film, Tengo Ganas de Ti - I won't talk about the film in this post, but I will in the next. 

I haven't started my Spanish homework reading of Madame Bovary - and I really really should, but I'm just so lazy! I have half a mind to read it in English and do the chapter summaries based on the English version. It's kind of stupid, considering Madame Bovary is a French book, written by a French author, not Spanish, and we're reading it in the Spanish Literature class. 


To conclude this post on a happy note, SPAIN WON THE EUROPE CUP THIS YEAR! Everyone was so thrilled here, myself included - we partied until one AM and we dressed up in Spanish colors of red & yellow and we painted the Spanish flag on our faces and after the game we honked our car horns all around town and flew the Spanish flag out the window - oh, it was a blast. But 4-0, what a brilliant final game for Spain! 

YO SOY ESPAÑOL, ESPAÑOL, ESPAÑOL!!!

Rapture

BEWARE: SPOILERS! 


If I have one word to describe the final book in Lauren Kate's Fallen series, it would be...bittersweet. I felt sad at the end of the book, even though it was supposed to be a happy ending. I won't reveal too much about the book, though. I'll probably have to reread the book myself, as I flew through it in one day just to find out what happens to our favorite lovebirds, Daniel Grigori and Lucinda Price. 


This novel takes place immediately after the events of Passion, so there's not much of a break or catch up. I'd suggest re-reading Passion before reading this book. It is revealed that Lucifer, AKA the evil one, plans to rewrite history to his own liking. We don't understand why he would want to do this, but the fact is Luce and Daniel and all the other Fallen Angels have only 9 days (the angels fell for 9 days) to stop Lucifer from erasing the several thousand years that have passed since The Fall and therefore, if Lucifer succeeds, all of Luce's and Daniel's history together will be gone. The curse would begin all over again. 


This book's events circle around the mission to find three crucial objects that lead to locating the site of the first Fall, which was forgotten by the angels. The angels will have to go there to intercept and stop Lucifer from initiating the Fall a second time. Along the way, Luce and Daniel encounter the Scale, sort of like Heaven's policemen (or high school principals, according to Daniel), the Elders (and Miss Sophia) and yes, Lucifer and God (The Throne) themselves.  


Yes, there are deaths in this book, and some angels and other beings alike perish (I won't give names.) 


Many shocks are thrust upon us in this book, such as the history of Luce and Daniel's love, and Lucinda's true nature. One of the biggest shocks arrives at the end of the novel, and it involves Lucifer and Lucinda. Can you guess? 


The end was kind of sad, in my opinion. No, Luce and Daniel don't die - but let's just say they're no longer the beings they used to be. I felt bad, for Luce and for Daniel - it was romantic, to see them fall in love over and over again. It would've been better if they could both be immortal and in love forever. 


The epilogue was funny, with everyone watching Luce and Daniel as if they were a reality show. Hey, you gotta entertain yourself somehow for eternity, huh? 


Like many of us, I would like to see a spin-off with Cam as the main character. He was an interesting character - not to mention HOT. I don't remember ever reading about the story of Cam's long lost love, or the story of Arriane's scars, unless I was reading so fast that I missed it completely. Somehow I doubt it, but was Luce Cam's love, the girl that broke his heart and caused him to side with Lucifer? I know Luce cares about Cam in her own way, and in turn Cam cares about Luce, but I don't think he loved her in that way. 


Anyway, this book did have a happy ending, in many ways. It just didn't feel like the right ending for them, you know? I felt that they deserved much better than that, for all they sacrificed and suffered because of the curse. And I felt bad for Callie - I mean what will happen to her? Does she completely forget about Luce or does everything remain the same, but always wondering what happened to her best friend? 


I don't have another book to read for the summer in mind until the end of July, when Sara Shepard's Hide and Seek comes out. I can't wait! Well, there's my Spanish homework assignment - read Madame Bovary and write a summary for EVERY SINGLE CHAPTER. What's the point of that? I'll probably procrastinate for as long as possible on it, even though I REALLY shouldn't. 


As they say in Spain, ¡Hasta luego! 

UPDATE: I reread Passion and let's just erase that part about Luce being Cam's love. The woman who broke Cam's heart was Lilith, not Luce. After Lilith left him, he argued with Daniel and joined Lucifer.

Overseas

As of tomorrow evening, I will not be in the United States for the next two and half months or so. It's kind of exciting, don't you think? Today's my last day to enjoy a real burger and things like Dr. Pepper and movies/TV in English - coincidentally, I went to go see Snow White & the Huntsman yesterday - although I liked the movie, I remember thinking when Snow White cheated her imminent death by the hands (or magic, whatever you want to think) of Queen Ravenna by escaping the castle, there just happened to be a beautiful white horse waiting to be ridden on - I mean, let's be realistic - what are the odds of that happening in real life? Slim to none. 


I spent some quality time with my mother, of course, who won't be going with me to Europe. Although she's super cranky these days, with my trip and everything else going on. But it doesn't matter. While I understand that she can't go with us to Spain, I'll miss her. 


School is over, and I'm ecstatic to say that I got all As this semester, as was my goal. Even in chemistry, which was almost hell this year, thanks to my nonexistent teacher, who didn't teach us anything all year. 


Nevertheless, I still have homework, due to IB. I have to read a book in Spanish and write chapter summaries for EVERY SINGLE CHAPTER. What is the point of this, I ask? Maybe I'll pay someone in Spain to do my homework for me...hmm....


One thing that bothers me is the fact that I can't buy books on my Nook in Spain. I've got tons of books I want to read this summer - that's so stupid, that I can't purchase books from over there. Thankfully, I can buy songs on the United States iTunes store from Europe :) 


I'll also have the opportunity to go to France to my cousin's wedding - which I will definitely take, of course - I love France! I love all of Europe in general - I want to live there one day. 


I hope all of you have a fantastic summer and I'll try to post again when I can!