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Cumberbabe

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About Cumberbabe

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  1. In some respects I'm a total book snob. But that is only because most of the mainstream YA fiction is terrible, and people find the need to defend the books even though they are terrible. But I would never ever voice these opinions to anyone. That's not who I am, but when someone tells me that Twilight is well written and interesting, I have to disagree with them. I've read them, the story had so much potential, but failed to live up to it. I'm quite a well read person, mostly because of my degree, but I enjoy nothing more than reading Harry Potter. I often feel like people are judging me when I read it on the bus because it probably looks weird to see and adult reading a kids book. But I don't care.
  2. The Notebook. The films is bitterly sad, but also amazingly beautiful. The book was kind of... Meh.
  3. When I'm stressed because I have a lot of things to do, I write a list of what needs doing. The feeling of crossing something off that lift is seriously so good. I tend to go to the gym when I'm feeling stressed, and work my anger/stress out. It's a double win, because you leave feeling significantly less stressed and it's good for you. Try writing down what is getting to you as well. I tend to find that my thoughts become more ordered and easier to work through when I put pen to paper. And remember, if all else fails, getting spectacularly drink often works wonders.
  4. I haven't read Alias Grace yet, but I loved The Blind Assassin. My favourite by her is probably Oryx and Crake and the sequel, The Year of The Flood. Yep! There's some really great actors in the cast. But I only have radio in my car, and one time when I took my sister horse riding, a horse gobbled by aerial so the radio no longer works. Suppose I'll have to listen on the Internet.
  5. I'm going to say Wuthering Heights. But not the love between Cathy and Heathcliff, because that was obsessional and a little (ok a lot) weird. I think that the love between Catherine and Hareton was what places it there for me. Cathy and Heathcliff had the passion, yes, but both were selfish and obsessive and many times I just felt like punching both of them in the kidneys. Catherine and Hareton, on the other hand, had a very gentle and mutually fufilling love which I admired far above what Cathy and Heathcliff had. I'm totally going to play devils advocate and say that all of Jane Austen is a load of rubbish. Yes, the stories are nice, but are they really about love? I'm not wholly convinced. I just think that the heroines had far more on their minds than finding love, especially in Pride and Prejudice. There seems to be something not quite right at the end, it's happy, sure, but it seems, to me, that everyone has tied the knot without really thinking about what they are doing. The only character who has any sense in P&P is Charlotte Lucas and she ends up with the most annoying man in the book.
  6. I had to read Jazz for a contemporary fiction module I did last year. Whilst I can appreciate how she questions the hybridity and mixed identity of the African American, I just really hated the book. It's far too difficult for easy reading, and for that reason I'm never going to pick up another book by Morrison again.
  7. John Donne is without a doubt my favourite. I love how deliciously cheeky he was with his typography and innuendo! And his divine poetry is simply breathtaking. It might sound morbid, but I'm definitely having 'Death be not proud' read at my funeral.
  8. I have Shakespeare's Sonnet 130 down 'my mistresses eyes are nothing like the sun...' Um Donne's 'Death be not proud' and 'The Good Morrow' I think I could also give 'Futility' by Owen a good go.
  9. I'm doing the Great War Poets as part of my dissertation I, personally, love everything written by Owen after his meeting with Sassoon. Exposure made me cry when I first read it. I love mental cases, strange meeting, apologia pro poemate meo, and the last laugh. Sassoon never really felt like a poet to me, he was a soldier and a great mind, but he never achieved what Owen did in his poetry. Saying that, counter attack is pretty decent. I'm not very well versed in the other war poets, but I'd like to be. The world wars are a period in history that really fascinates me.
  10. Shakespeare John Webster Harold Pinter Samuel Beckett (even though he is difficult, I have a thing for the theatre of the absurd) August Strindberg
  11. Without a doubt, Twelfth Night is the best play from Shakespeare's 'comedy' arsenal. It's the best crafted of them all, anyway. I voted Henry V for history, because I loved the Kenneth Branagh adaptation of it! Though I did miss Falstaff quite a lot And tragedy was hard, because it's my favourite of the Shakespearian genres. In the end I voted for Othello, purely because of Iago. But it was definitely a three way tie between Othello, King Lear and Macbeth. I never really cared much for Hamlet, Titus Andronicus was too early for me, and doesn't feel like Shakespeare, and Romeo and Juilet was only a tragedy (in my mind) because mercrutio died half way through.
  12. I'm sorry, op, but no one can teach you how to enjoy reading. You either connect with a book or you don't. It's a matter of simply persevering and finding one that you're interested in. There are some great recommendations on this site though! Think about what you're interested in, or what genre grabs your attention most and check out the sub forum for it and see if there's anything that grabs your interest. Also, don't think of reading as a chore. It's meant to be something fun, something to escape to.
  13. Oh that's so cool! I'm on the brink of slipping into nerdfighterdom lol. I've always loved John and Hank, and started watching them ages ago, but I kind of lost interest in YouTube and haven't watched anything in about 2 years! I'm making my way back though, one vlog at a time. Well, Midnight's Children is a re-read, but I agree, it's very good. The hobbit and LotR is something that I've always wanted to read and I finally got round to buying them with my Christmas waterstones vouchers lol
  14. I know I'm pretty new (ok, really new), but I quite liked this idea. I already keep a personal log of what I've read, but I loved reading your reviews and decided to share my reading! So far in 2013: The Fault in our Stars by John Green Rating: 7/10 would recommend Favourite quote(s): 'I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once' 'All representations of a thing are inherently abstract' 'My thoughts are stars I can't fathom into constellations' My thoughts: I honestly felt like setting myself on fire after reading this. I enjoyed it, but it was sad and had a shock ending (well, I didn't see it coming). Warnings for child cancer triggers. Wonder by R.J Palacio Rating: 6/10 Favourite Quote(s): 'I like how words you don't understand explain things you can't understand' 'It's not a contest about whose days suck the most. The point is we all have to put up with the bad days' My thoughts: it seemed like Oscar bait to me. It's about a child who has a deformed face going to school for the first time and the reactions of the people around him. I enjoyed reading it, but it's not ever going to get read again. Heroes of Olympus: The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan Rating: 5/10 Favourite quote(s): n/a My thoughts: well, I love Percy Jackson and always find it entertaining. This one was no less entertaining than the others and I'm looking forward to the next instalment. But you can so tell that these books are written for Tweens. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky Rating: 8/10 would recommend Favourite Quote(s): 'we accept the love we think we deserve' 'And in that moment, I swear we were infinite' My thoughts: a book that I have had on my reading list for some time, but never got to. I'm glad I did, because I really did enjoy it. The main character, Charlie, made me really angry for some reason I can't really explain. In a weird sort of way, the novel was about nothing, but at the same time about something very important. Idk if that made sense, I'm tired. Currently making my way through The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series by Douglas Adams. Oh! And Pat Barker's regeneration trilogy, which is what my dissertation is about Reading list (at the moment) Cloud Atlas Life of Pi Surfacing Alias Grace Anna Karenina The Long Song Midnight's Children Alice in Wonderland The Great Gatsby Huckleberry Finn Treasure Island Oliver Twist The Woman in White Mansfield Park Emma The Hobbit The Lord of the Rings trilogy A Song of Ice and Fire
  15. Thanks for the welcome! Everybody seems rather spiffing! Yes...I just figured that the other version wouldn't really be appropriate for a username lol. Yep, tumblr is my go to! Though, I spend far too much time on there than I really should! <3333 Heathcliff, and have done since my first reading of WH Benedict* lol On tumblr there is a scale of attractiveness for Benedict Cumberbatch ranging from not attractive...attractive in sherlock, and then at the other end 'so attractive you get angry looking at him', and I am at that end of the spectrum hahaha. I just find him wildly attractive, and unf! The new Star Trek film is going to have me weeping at his beauty. Oh man, I'm such a Cumberbabe.
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