[Glee]

I confess I'm becoming a Gleek.

[White or dark chocolate?]

I like solid chocolates. No soft centres. Those gift box ones with toffee/gooey fruit flavoured mix/caramel/praline/marzipan/fudge, yuck! A simple bar of chocolate will do, it can be milk/dark chocolate with or without nuts/dried fruits. I have tried chocolate coated strawberies and I liked them so plain fruit dipped in chocolate will be my exception. White chocolate and strawberies go well together. I've also tried a bar of dark chocolate flavoured with chilli, hot and yummy!

[The Last DVD you watched?]

Transformers 2, my 12 year old nephew's choice, I was having an aunty day. I couldn't finish watching it. Boring and pointless to me. We do enjoy some films and most books together though:)

[Your Monthly Book Spend]

I'm poor. My budget allows for less than

[What have you been watching at the cinema? (Cont..)]

The Princess and the Frog

 

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief

[What have you been watching at the cinema? (Cont..)]

I saw Precious. It was shocking and harrowing in places but there were times you could smile or even laugh. I can still hear the times the audience went ugh!

[Robin Hobb]

I recall coming across The Liveship Traders trilogy first years ago. I read the Assassins trilogy next and The Tawny Man trilogy last. Robbin Hobb has also written under another name, Megan Lindholm. My favourite characters are Fritz's wolf and the Fool. The Fool is sort of traditional in some old books/plays. He's thought of as an idiot yet he is wise, a bit of a mystic and very diplomatic.

[The last DVD you watched? (Cont..)]

Slumdog Millionaire

[The last DVD you watched? (Cont..)]

I watched Dorian Gray then Underworld; Rise of the Lycans.

[Adverts you like/dislike?]

Yup - you are correct. There is a complete ban on advertising or promotion of formula as an alternative for breastfeeding for newborns and babies up to the age of six months, which is why they created "follow-on" milk and they all have "when you're ready to move on from breastfeeding..." or "from 6 months old, your baby needs..." - it's to get around the guidelines.

 

The thing is experts will tell you a healthy child does not require any special type of milk once they are 6 months and over, regular milk will do and for those allergic to cow's milk any average soya milk product will do.

 

I can't stand seeing all those medicated advertisments especially contradicting ones within 15 minutes of each other. You'll get one for constipation then not long after one for diaorreah. One for insomnia followed by one to combat lethargy. Oh and those stomach bloating complaints. It just might be possible to cure that by eating less or changing when and what you eat but no we must medicate everything:irked: Danone bio-yogurts keep advertising their anti-bloating properties. If I want yogurt I'll chose it by taste not because of these claims.

[New Films You're Waiting To See]

I thought the Avengers film was already in motion, and that it has been confirmed that RDJ will be in it?

 

Either way, I'm looking forward to Iron Man II, the first film was pretty darn good and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next.

 

 

 

Is Percy Jackson a Harry Potter knock-off?

 

No, it a reworking of greek myth, you know Clash of the Titans, Percy is Perceus. I'd say any similarities would have to do with the producers being the same ones that brought Harry potter to the screens.

[New Films You're Waiting To See]

I'd like to see Percy Jackson and The lightening Thief, Ponyo and Precious

[Terry Brooks - Shannara/Landover]

I've read The Gypsy Morph over the new years holidays. That means I've finished the Genesis trilogy. I enjoyed it. I have not read all the Shanarra books but of those that I did read I noticed that these books were set in postapocalytic times from several hints mentioned.

[Why fantasy?]

I find fantasy and sci-fi can allow a writer to be abstract about ideas/concepts. It allows me to understand some aspects of politics, psychology/social constructs and even questions the world we live in. Yes it can sometimes be escapism but most often it is not. It can be a vehicle to take a look at some disturbing aspects of humanity. I've noticed that a lot of writers that write fantasy and or sci-fi have studied subjects like sociology, physchology, latin, philosopy, linguistics, literature, history, anthropology and some of the sci-fi ones may have studied a science subject or two. In writing fiction they get to play around using what they have learnt.

[Has anyone read...?]

I was doing some googling and came across this author. Has anyone ever read any of her work?

 

 

Yes,

I have. I've read the Xenogenosis series, republished as Lilith's Brood now. I've also read Kindred and Mind of my Mind.

[A new first line of current book]

On the whole, we're a murderous race.

 

Dead Beat by Jim Butcher

[Favourite Book Series]

I too like Terry Prachett's Discworld series. My other favourite is Ann Bishop's Blood Jewels and Octavia Butler's Xenogenesis (republished as Lilith's Brood). Other favourites are single titled books.

[Where is the Strangest place you have read?]

At my younger sis's graduation ceremony. As soon as she had passed by on the stage my nephew and I simultaneously took out books and began to read much to the amusement of the rest of the audience:readingtwo: Well we found the speeches boring and I had to read a book for an essay assignment for my uni course which was due the next day.

[Notice how many YA books are being made into movies lately?]

It seems a lot more are coming on the screen since Harry Potter. Yes I know that was not the first book to be given the movie treatment. It just seems to be a spate of them at present. We've had The Golden Compass, Inkheart and now Darren Shan's The Vampire's Assistant and Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief is out soon.

[Terry Goodkind.. good or bad books?]

Kreader - Zedd, short for Zeddicus Z'ul Zorander. If you liked the first ones, you'll like the last ones, they're very fast-paced. Easily you could skip from Faith of the Fallen to Naked Empire, and then read Chainfire, Phantom and Confessor. These three are almost a trilogy within the epic, and quite possibly the best three aside from Wizard's First Rule.

 

Thanks, I'll try that:)

[Terry Goodkind.. good or bad books?]

I liked The Wizard's First Rule and some of the books that followed it but by book 6 it all got too much for me. I like the character Zeb, I think that's his name.

[Help Me Decide on a Fantasy Series]

I'd recommend, Graceling, Symphony of Ages (even though it starts slow), Septimus Heap (YA book series), The Farseer trilogy, Memory, Sorrow and Thorn, Tinker and of course the already mentioned Black Magician's trilogy.

[Do you pick up unknown authors?]

Yes I do. Its a thrill to discover a new author. I do also read books from authors I've come to like but I like new ones too. I make full use of local libraries so I don't always have to spend money to make a discovery.

[Does An Author's Name Make A Difference?]

Sometimes I'll browse by name and other times I want to discover new authors.

[The Fiction section in bookshops]

I'm not against having different sections. Having all fiction listed alphabetically works if you know which author you're looking for. I wonder around all sections. I might feel like horror so I look at the horror section and I can compare books. I'd to the same for crime/mystery, fantasy, sci-fi, classics and yes I've noticed that sometimes there's now the a paranormal romance section in some places.

 

The trouble is that some books cross genres or are hard to classify and it gets comfusing. I've noticed that happens in some libraries too. That Kelly Armstrong book, Bitten, I've seen classified as horror in one place, paperback fiction in another and under fantasy/sci-fi elsewhere. I've seen books written by the same author in the same series and each book is in different sections some in romance some in sci-fi fantasy.