--and immediately thought, "How come I have never asked myself this before?!"
The last book I read was Truth or Dare by Jacqueline Green. In the style of Pretty Little Liars, it's about a group of girls whose lives are being turned upside down by a mysterious, anonymous darer who seems to know all their darkest secrets and threatens to reveal them unless the girls carry out their dares. So, unless I could figure out a way to bear the brunt of my darkest secrets revealed and thus ignore the darer, I'd be pretty screwed like Tenley, Caitlin, and Sydney. Also I couldn't go swimming, because Echo Bay's waters are haunted by dead girls.
SCREWEDFACTOR: 4 out of 10 - It may be the end of my privileged social life (or maybe even my actual life), but at least I'm not being eaten alive by muttations.
What's the last book you read and how screwed would you be if you got stuck inside it?
We interrupt your regularly scheduled day with the best news since Veronica Mars was a TV show. Which is that THERE WILL SOON BE A VERONICA MARS MOVIE! Sorry for the caps. I just--I'm having trouble expressing myself, I am so excited. I love this show to pieces. The snappy dialogue, the chemistry between the characters, the just-a-little-bit-unbelievable noir element. Arguably my favorite show of all time. I talk it up to everyone.
A Veronica Mars movie has been in the talks for years, ever since the show was canceled. Now, however, with the glorious help of Kickstarter, it's going to happen! It's going to be funded by fans! There will be lots of rewards to reap, not least of which will be the ability to reunite this cast together on the big screen.
In case you're not yet convinced that this will be the best thing you'll spend your money on this month, watch this video, and please tell me I'm not the only one who squealed with everyone's appearance:
Rob Thomas, the TV show's creator, set a very modest Kickstarter goal of two million dollars. Well, that goal was easily met the first day, which means that the movie is for sure going to happen, with shooting this summer and a limited theatrical release next spring. And the donations continue to pour in. More donations means a bigger and better movie! There are also generous heapings of rewards and bonuses to all those who donate. Go check out Veronica Mars and this hugely worthy Kickstarter project!
For more about the Veronica Mars movie Kickstarter project and to donate, click here.
The speed of your Internet connection seems to be the limit to how fast bad news can travel. Because of that, I'm taking taking a leaf out of I Heart Daily's book and writing a post that's only full of things that make me happy.
Music
Mads Langer
Okay, I admit it: I discovered this sultry Danish singer through Castle. (That TV show offers up way too many great and underrated artists.) I've been obsessed with this song ever since. To me, it's seems to represent the romantic idea of love perfectly: the longing, the feeling that you will never be good enough to deserve the love of the one you love. The excruciatingly slow but delicious-in-its-slowness buildup to the risk, the jump, the fall. Replay.
The Civil Wars
Thank you, Hunger Games soundtrack, for introducing the greater world to The Civil Wars. There's nothing quite like listening to a song that contains eerie harmony, and these two singers' voices are so different, yet blend together for a simple but intense film that reaches into your very veins to stir your blood.
Postcard Sets
I used to collect postcards up until high school, but lately I have been really getting into sending them. I love how they are like little notes: they don't need the time commitment of a full-length letter, and they make people feel special when they receive one in their mailbox. My pointer finger itches to click on these glorious postcard sets and BUY them:
So, so much more. What, then, do you do with 500 postcards when you've given in to the urge to buy them all? Why, you join PostCrossing.com, of course, to connect to thousands of people around the world who also love to send and receive postcards. Let me tell you, it's SO COOL to carefully select the postcards you're going to send to a perfect stranger, and to open your mailbox and discover a postcard containing unique postage from a country you may have never even heard of before. Join if it sounds interesting to you, or leave a comment if you're interested in exchanging postcards with me!
Books
April has been a splendid month for me in terms of reading. I'm highly aware of the fact that my reading tastes are changing, and I have a lot less patience for stuff that I probably would have nicely pushed myself through in the past. I've also been carefully considering people's book recommendations to me, and have discovered these four new favorites:
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
My review of this book is going up soon (though it's already on Goodreads if you follow me there), contains the line, "At around 700 pages, The Name of the Wind is the perfect shape and story to sleep with." I also take a jab at hipsters in the review. (That's what writing a review at 3 in the morning does to you.) OH MY GOSH IT'S BEEN A MONTH SINCE I'VE READ THIS BOOK AND I STILL AM LIKE THIS ABOUT IT. It's... it's... it's... It's like when you read Harry Potter for the first time. At first you can be all, This is any ole thing, but before you even know it you're so far into the story you can't remember your life without it. Anyway. You need to read this.
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
I'm hesitant when it comes to Maggie's books (remember Shiver?), but this one was just exquisite and totally deserving of its Printz Honor. I love how the romance never overpowers the incredible, desolate, razor-edge fearful majesty of Thisby and the capaill uisce. So glad this one turned out so beautiful!
Among Others by Jo Walton
I was in a reading slump after The Scorpio Races, picking up books, reading the first few chapters, and putting them away with a sigh of disappointment. Then Aaron Vincent of Guy Gone Geek suggested I read characters who love books, and recommended me Among Others. I had heard of the title--it was nominated for a Hugo this year--and immediately downloaded that shizz for my Kindle. It's like I Capture the Castle, with a slightly fantastical element. Adorable. Mori primarily reads pre-1980s science fiction which goes way over my head but it's just fun to see her geek out in her journal without going into too much literary analysis. She's just a bookworm talking about books.
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
This book has been on my radar for months and MONTHS. Mostly because my dear blogger friend Chachic seems to go on and on about it on every single social networking platform I am on. And now, closer and closer to the US release date, more and more people are raving about this, until I finally caved in and bought a UK copy online. It's AMAZING. I love the narrator's voice, she manages to still be feisty even in her difficult situation. I have a feeling that, once I finish this book, I'll immediately flip back to the beginning to read it again. Love love love.
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Okay, I've blathered on for long enough, but fortunately I've made myself happy in doing so. So share with me, because the world can't have enough happiness: what things have made you happy lately?
Twitter is an amazing tool for spreading interesting/funny/memorable things that you find, but sometimes a blog post can help do that too. This post is mostly for if you're looking for laughs, giggles, and smiles.
First off, check out the cool photo-essay that was on Publishers Weekly featuring book-publishing industry people's book-inspired Halloween costumes. Of those who saw it with me last night on Twitter, the most votes goes to the group recreation of the Hush, Hush cover, but I'm pretty impressed by the guy dressed up as Edward Cullen. Not many people can pull off the pale and brooding look as well as he does in that picture! Now why didn't I have ideas like these, or know people who'd be up for ideas like these, for Halloween last weekend?
Next, my lovely blogger friend Khy (from Frenetic Reader) made me laugh endlessly she started quoting lines from the Twilight movie at me. She then showed me some great Twilight-inspired pictures:
(I hope you can click on it to enlarge it.) I thought that one was pretty funny--and then she showed me this:
(Again, click on it to get the full impact.)
Oh, Mean Girls. You will be forever a classic in must-watch movie history. Also, now you know that you can make me bust out into laughter by saying, "Say it...OUT LOUD" to me. Oh, gosh, I am so mature.
If you're like me and really like making lists for your personal enjoyment, then you should definitely check out this cool new site called5ft Shelf. Basically, you get five feet of virtual space on which to put your absolute essential best books, movies, and music albums. Create your own shelf, see what others have on their shelves, and see what the most popular items are. Not only is it individually fun, it's also an interesting way to see what people consider the "essentials" of modern media. And yeah, I think I'll go and put Mean Girls on the "movies" part of my shelf...
And then my lovely author friend Becca Fitzpatrick (Hush, Hush) had awesome news to share! Remember the beautiful cover of Hush, Hush, which is hands-down one of the best covers ever made? Well, she got to take a sneak peak at an early comp (that's like a rough-draft sketch) of Crescendo's cover (that's the sequel, coming out in Fall 2010) and apparently it iseven better than the cover of Hush, Hush. I can hardly believe it. I mean, can you even imagine that? I'm not an artistic thinker, so I'm just going to sit here and die a little as I impatiently wait for the release of the cover and, eventually, Crescendo itself.
Oh, and finally! I've been wanting to be a part of a book blogger Secret Santa-like thing since July, when winter was just an idea and not a looming reality. Now there is not one, but TWO opportunities for a blogger gift exchange! Kate at The Neverending Shelf is hosting a Secret Santa (get to it by following this link), which I'm definitely excited to participate in, and there's a Book Bloggers Holiday Swap that's not just limited to books that you can find here. But hurry! Signups for Kate's Secret Santa ends November 15, and the last day to join the Holiday Swap is November 12. This is international, so it can be a really cool way to receive some wonderful and surprising things for the holiday season. :)
Hope you guys check out and enjoy the links, news, and pictures!
