Princess Orchid
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Posts posted by Princess Orchid
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I can't remember if I've already posted in this thread! Anyways, my main favourites (that I can remember) are:
The Malory Towers Series
The St Clares Series (Both Enid Blyton)
The Chalet School Series
The Sadlers Wells Series
The Vampire Diaries (LJ Smith)
Fear Street books (RL Stine)
Anything by Christopher Pike...
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I refuse to watch Private Practice. I'm not saying why, but I won't. It's a matter of principle.
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I think the only reason I make it through Christmas without gaining any weight is the skiing. I eat of a week, then I ski for a week. It's amazing what 8 hours of exercise a day manages to stave off!
Last year, my 2 cousins-in-law (both girls married cousins of mine in the last 2 years) made a massive Christmas spread for the family - there were 10 of us at the meal, and we had:
A Christmas turkey
A Christmas ham
Roasted tatties
Sweet potatoes
Vegetable soup
Roasted veg (parsnips, carrote, etc, all honey glazed)
Stuffing, Gravy, Cranberry Sauce, Mash, Brussels Sprouts with PLENTY of butter
A Japanese Spinach dish
Christmas pudding
Christmas cookies
Apple pie with ice cream
Mincemeat pies
...and it continued on for days...
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Korrie, I don't mind at all! Actually, I'd like to know where you managed to find books 1 and 2 of the Vampire Diaries, as this is something I'd definately want to re-read. And I'm 28, so I'm probably outside their target'd age bracket as well. Hee.
And Kell, I remember Point Horror! Wow, I hope my mum hasn't given away all my old books...(although I couldn't blame her if she did , as they were taking over the house...)
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Me too! I think my fixation started with the Lost Boys (the film), and "The Vampire Diaries" (a series by LJ Smith), which I remember reading as a kid. Apparently the books are about to be re-published, which is definately something I plan to look into.
There's something nice I think about re-reading books I remember from childhood. I was quite into my young adult horror when I was in primary school (aged 8-10). A lot of Christopher Pike (Remember Me, Sati, Midnight Club, The Return, Spellbound, Bury me Deep, The Visitor...) and R.L. Stine (the Fear Street series).
Ah...memories! Of blood and gore and murder! I think I had a bit of a misspent youth...
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Not a book, but I really have to post this. Tonight, somewhere in the world (unfortunately not here, more's the pity), a show I very much want to watch will be premiering. Thankfully, it is being TiVo'd by my lovely parents in Toronto, so I'll be able to watch the episodes of it back-to-back-to-back when I go home for Christmas.
It's got vampires. Really sexy vampires. In designer suits. And Jason Dohring from Veronica Mars (a show I am still mourning the loss of, don't laugh at me!). And VAMPIRES - I love vampires! Anyways, the show is called Moonlight, and I shall most likely be reading recaps all weekend rather than anything in book form. Because I'm a geek like that.
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I miss Veronica Mars, but I've still got parts of seasons 1 and 2 to watch so I'm not too upset just yet.
I've been watching Grey's Anatomy, the new eppys of CSI Miami, some CSI NY (I've seen all the vegas ones already)...and I'm quite enjoying Mock the Week.
Oh, and New Scrubs, House, and My Name is Earl.
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What's ftira?
I'm having rigatoni with greek meatballs (I hit the farmers market yesterday after work, and that's where the beef meatballs came from!)
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I'm almost finished the 3rd Malory Towers book. REALLY enjoying them again.
I've also started Extra Large Medium (Helen Slavin), which was really good to begin with, but I'm not sure if it's because my lunch was getting cold or what, but I've sort of lost interest a bit since the protagonist switched from a narrative to a slightly more introspective POV.
Anyways, the book is about Annie, who can talk to dead people. She says thay are full of the mundane, and they are always dressed in chocolate brown. The first few chapters, right up until she meets and marries Evan Bees, are witty and well put together. After Evan disappears, the story kind of goes downhill, and this was the point I started to drift a bit - which is unfortunate, as the journey she takes (metaphorical) after Evan vanishes is the premise for the book.
Ah well. I shall report back when I get further into it.
Oh, and I also started (and finished) Was she pretty? (Leanne Shapton). Great idea for a book, but I actually didn't realise it was a...um...I can't really describe it as a picture book, but it's not really crammed full of text, if you know what I mean. Imagine those simple line drawings in Alice in Wonderland, or maybe Le Petit Prince, then remove the detailing...and add maybe a line or two of text per illustration.
Basically, the author had the thought that everybody you see walking down the street is somebody's ex. I'll not refute that for now. She interviews friends, and sort of sums up their exes in a sort of (disjointed) chain, which I think is a really interesting idea if done well. In this case, it's more cute and twee than anything else. A mini coffee table book.
Maggie O'Farrell did something like this awhile back, from what I remember (preying on our innate curiousity about our partner's exes), called "My Lover's Lover". I think it's a theme best explored with some form of narrative, and I was disappointed with the lack of substance in this picture book.
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Spaghetti with garlic, olive oil, and tiger prawns. The hassle to make this last night was ridiculous - I had no running water so had to fill the pasta pot with what little water was left in the kettle.
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Yeah, that confused me as well. They do a main dish (usually chicken or fish), and then you get the choice of 2 sides. The choices were: vegetable chow mein, egg fried rice, bean sprout salad, and spicy pork meatball. I thought it was a typo, but no. Apparently you only get the one ball.
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Moonlight. Which is NOT on in the UK, but my lovely parents have agreed to TiVo it for me for when I go to Toronto to visit in December.
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I had the Indonesian fried chicken from the canteen today. With chow mein. Surprisingly tasty for cafetaria food.
Oh, and a meatball.
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I was organising an event at Dynamic Earth, so we had catered nibbles. Mini pizzas, overfilled sandwiches, veggie pakoras and chicken satay sticks. And scrummy strawberry tarts. They really outdid themselves this time!
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Andrea Marr (Girl - Blake Nelson)
Thursday Next (Jasper Fforde)
Isabel Dalhousie (Alexander McCall Smith)
James Potter (Harry Potter - and don't ask why!)
I'm sure more will come to me later...
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I have a few favourites - mostly reds.
Inexpensive (around £6-10)
Sancerre (white, and always decent)
Marius (Spanish - red)
Crozes Hermitage (French - red)
Mid-range (£11-19)
La Roque (French - red, and possibly my 2nd favourite wine of all time)
Hermitage (French - red, and always a safe bet)
Expensive(ish) (£20+)
Brunello (Italian - red, and my favourite wine, hands down!)
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I had to eat on the run today, so I made a sandwich last night: a soft white seeded roll, some M&S BBQ chicken fillets, a sliced nectarine, and some very strong cheddar. Yum. Poultry and fruit are perfect together.
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I hate bad tv. I can't stand shows like Big Brother (just most reality shows in general - unless the contestants are there to actually do something, like on Masterchef). I can't understand why the networks let some shows run on for season after season after oh-god-kill-me season.
Some examples of this are: 7th Heavan, Dawson's Creek, 90210 + all the spinoffs, Big Brother, Ally McBeal, Felicity, California Dreams (and all the similar sort of Saturday morning craptacular shows, like Malibu something-or-other, and that one with the American high school in Europe), One Tree Hill, The Osbournes, any "celebrity" "reality" show inspired by the Osbournes...to name a few...
I'm also a little bitter as the networks cancelled my favourite show after 3 seasons, when I can't even count how many seasons 7th Heavan has been allowed back on to pollute the airwaves. There IS such a thing as bowing out gracefully (ie the OC, Sex and the City, Will and Grace...)
So, good shows that went before their time? Veronica Mars (*sniff*), Futurama, My So-called Life, Jake 2.0...
Why why why???!!! Is there a conspiracy to keep good programming off the telly or something???!!!
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I may watch a few eppys of the show simply because Kristen Bell is doing the VO. Not sure if that could carry it tho.
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Definately do! She'd not an author I've ever really thought about before reading this book (off my radar, I guess), but I'll definately be looking for more of her work!
I don't get online much during the weekend, so to bring things up to speed, I started and finished the first 2 books in Enid Blyton's Malory Towers Series. I haven't read these since I was in Primary school (so probably around the age of 9). I still remember random events though, so it's quite a thrill to suddenly realise I *do* know what happens next! I loved these books when I was a kid, and they're just as pleasing now.
I also started and finished Dead Girls (Janet Lee). Janet Lee is a Canadian author, and tbh I think I must have picked up this book thinking it was about something else. Oh, and it was one of the recommended Canadian Fiction items in Pages when I was last in Toronto.
First, I'll mention what I considered the good points. The book is actually a series of short stories set in and around Vancouver, but they've all got in the background a common news story about a serial-killing dentist (bodies of several dead prostitutes were found buried in his yard). I should add here that the serial killer is in no way a main part of any of these stories (in most it's just mentioned that this is on the news, or it is on the telly in a hospital room). The style in which Janet Lee writes is quite, for lack of a better word, fluid. Nothing is really in sharp focus, all the characters feel quite dreamy and...vague...
Tha brings us to the bad points. I don't know if this was used as a device to sharpen up the writing, or to oversensualise the characters, but there was a quite gratuitous use of sex as a common theme between the stories. Only in 1 of the stories did I find this justified. Maybe she was trying to contrast the dreamy and vague style of writing with..um...a lot of graphic sex. I just don't think it worked.
I don't think I'm terribly prudish, and in some cases using the description of sex as a device is necessary, and adds to the character of the book. Not here. And I found her characterisations too vague - I want to sympathise with the characters I'm reading, and I don't feel like I got to know the ones in this book at all.
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It's chinese food day in the canteen at work, so whatever's on offer. Stirfry of some sort, I'd imagine. And noodles. God I looove noodles.
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I read the Jackson Brodie one that was set in Edinburgh (can't remember which it was) and I loved it. Couldn't put it down. The pacing was perfect, and the way all the stories tied in together was seamless.
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Anything by David Sedaris. Also, anything by Bill Bryson.
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I read both as a child - my parents took me to London for school holidays, and I came back with loads of UK childrens books every time. I also had all the Chalet School books, and the Sadlers Wells series as well.
Gossip Girl Books by Cecily von Ziegesar
in Children's / Young Adult
Posted
See, the premise for the show is a bit crap. Then again, wasn't the OC along similar lines, and that turned out to be surprisingly successful.
Tbh, I reckon folk will tune in to watch it because it's just rife with pretty teenagers (male AND female), and that sort of thing appeals to the general public. I don't think a lot of people will be discerning enough to care though.
Like I said, I might watch an episode or 2 just because Kristen Bell is the Voice of GG. Other than that, I wouldn't go out of my way to watch it.