Yanery's bookshelf: read

Champion
That Summer
The Goddess Inheritance
Eleanor & Park
Prodigy
The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight
The List
The Maze Runner
NW
The Rosie Project
The Dead House
The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Code
Seizure
Virals
Crash
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
The Selection
Goddess Interrupted
One Little White Lie


Yanery's favorite books »

Wednesday 29 January 2014

PANIC PANIC PANIC I CAN'T BREATHE

Can I just say
Let me just
May I introduce
Okay Okay... *sobs*
I have watched this on EVERY electronic device in the house
I just can't.
Please watch and share this. Or run away and save yourselves.




Thursday 23 January 2014

Beyond words, reviewing The Book Thief movie

I am a strong advocate for great Australian authors and boy am I proud to claim Marcus Zusack and his brilliant imagination as ours. The Book Thief is one of my all time favourite books. I read it in two sittings –an accomplishment as the novel is a literary mountain. My eyes were hurting from lack of sleep and a constant stream of tears. Despite the sadness in the book, the unfairness of it all, I truly believe it to be a, “life affirming story,” as my little flyer said.

I’ve learnt over time to appreciate novels and movies as separate entities. With this in mind I had fun experiencing the story cinematically. There’s always an odd moment where you realise that what you are seeing is exactly what you thought you would see, a strange feeling of déjà vu overcame me as we entered Heaven Street and met Papa. Geoffrey Rush was incredible as was Emily Watson and our heroine, Sophie Nélisse.



There were so many beautiful cinematic moments such as the first look at the library. Liesel’s awe was a precious sight to behold. How the gold titles reflected in her eyes. Hans’ nickname for Liesel, “your Majesty,” melted my heart. The indoor snow fight complete with buckets for helmets and barracks was hilarious. Last but not least, our last look into the book thief’s life before the screen turns black *sigh* I knew the voice of Death, colours and faces would be forever burned into my memory.

My only critique was with the narration. Don’t get me wrong, I loved how direct narration was used sparingly –we all remember the Great Gatsby’s disaster narration, I felt like I waded through an entire book reading- but the voice of Death was not what I imagined, or liked. He was too polished, perfect. Not at all old, gravelly or sinister. It bothered me the whole time and I know I wasn’t the only one.

All in all, this was worth watching and I know it will grace my movie collection when released. Where were all the award nominations? But just a note, wear water-proof mascara and bring tissues. A whole box. To watch the trailer click here.


Let me know your thoughts. Was I too harsh on Death? Did you like the adaptation? Do you think it affirms life as such? I will definitely be responding to your comments J Ciao!

Friday 17 January 2014

All the things you can learn at camp (if you go to the right one)

I don't know about you but (I'm feeling 22. sorry about that...) I have never been much of a camper. Mosquitoes love my blood and I do not enjoy the layers of sunscreen, sweat, dirt and bug spray I have to peel off in an often cold shower. Although I was expecting and dreading all of these things when I left for the 2014 St Vincent De Paul Kids Camp, I was also tentatively-excited for what awaited me.

Basically, a bunch of volunteers from the age of 16 can sign up for a 3 day camp with disadvantaged children: these could be children with family issues, families with economic difficulties, young carers or anyone desperately needing a mini-holiday. Despite my lack of sleep the day before and throughout the camp, I had a blast.



To summarise my time I've made a little list of things you can learn at a kids camp if you open yourself to it. But please be aware, if you are there for 3 days, and you are buddied with 3 boys under 12 you can learn a lot of things.


  1. You can learn the best ways to find children's lolly stashes: follow the wrappers and the not-so quiet discussions of midnight feasts.
  2. You can learn how to love the least loveable children. The boys could pull my hair, climb on me for piggybacks, never listen to me, run over and under chairs and I still lost it when I we couldn't find them for 20 minutes.
  3. You will learn if you are a child whisperer or not. What a skill to have. We all watched in awe as some volunteers stopped tantrums with one look. How do you do that and can you teach me?
  4. You can learn a lot about karate and the fine art of Red Rover. 
  5. Anything can be a toy. A spoon is a catapult, a hat makes a fine frisbee and a seemingly innocent bandana turns into a child sliding/spinning device on slippery floors.
  6. The next day you can learn about the absolute necessity of sleep and generous servings of coffee on camp.
  7. You can learn that the best piggybacks are when you are going downhill. Scary and crazy but very very fun.
  8. You can even learn fun ways to climb back up hills.
  9. You can learn how to take some time for yourself and Zen out when you really have to.
  10. You can learn how to smile without it hurting. Smiling genuinely is easy with all the silly little things kids do. Some of my favourites were the eating competitions, playing with microphones, collecting 2 kilos of skipping stones and the underground lolly network which kids thought they could bribe you with. "If you don't tell them, I'll give you a mars bar," is a prime example.
  11. You can learn how to make a girl smile with funny dancing.
  12. You can learn how to make a boy blush by beating them at arm wrestling.
  13. You can learn how to make a boy giggle like crazy when you swing them around on a bandana.
  14. You can learn how to smile when a naughty boy tells another boy to stop swearing by swearing.
  15. You can blush when a volunteer compliments your patience just as you were gearing up for a full-scale telling off.
  16. You can learn to giggle like crazy when you sing camp songs at the top of your lungs.
There is so much you can learn at a kids camp like the Vinnies one. I strongly encourage you to get involved in your local Vinnies youth programs because the smiles on the kids faces are returned threefold to you. I feel like I made a real difference in someone's life and it was as easy as braving the outdoors for a few days.


Let me know how you want to help others this year in the comments. Follow the link to see how you can get involved. Ciao!

http://www.vinnies.org.au/



Monday 13 January 2014

Review of 'The Moon and More' by Sarah Dessen

I got this book for Christmas and I was so pumped to read it. Lying in the sun with a book is my favourite holiday activity, handy really. The Moon and More lived up to my high expectations. There was romance, awkwardness, future talk and then, clarity. The sort of clarity you get after demarcation. Currently stuck in the limbo between high school and college myself, I found Emaline’s story empowering.




As always, Dessen’s characterisation was the hero of a beautiful dish. Emaline was awesomely kick-ass. Theo was hilarious. Benji was super duper cute. Morris, ah Morris. Every character was flawed and perfect, the relationships between them were dynamic and authentic. They make you laugh and empathise, all the things that characters should do.

Should I mention the crossovers? Crossovers are a notable part of Dessens work; although her novels are standalones, Colby is the hub of so many stories. Sarah Dessen is pretty much fuelling my obsession. The crossovers with Along for the Ride and Last Chance made me squeal. It was like seeing old friends for the first time in years, a phenomenon only a true booklover will understand.

The quote, “I will give you the moon and more,” resonates as Emaline is presented with a murky future. Should she pine for Columbia or be happy with her local college? Should she be aiming higher, or in a different direction? The concept was clear throughout and led to a really satisfying end.

Have I convinced you yet? Go read this book, discover Colby. Be happy.


Favourite quote:

“The mistakes you make now count. Not for everything, and not forever. But they do matter, and they shape you.


First book of 2014. Done.


Thursday 9 January 2014

The Goodreads Challenge

“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only once.”

There's a little something called the Goodreads Challenge. This happens annually and it is basically a commitment to read a certain number of books in that year. Last year I read a grand total of 84 books smashing my goal of 75 books in mid November. When I get stressed, I read... a lot. 2013 was stressful therefore many books were read.

I'm not sure how this year is going to go but I would really like to match or beat last year's set challenge. As it's my first year at university, I don't know how my study load is going to be and I have no idea how my weekly readings are going to be allocated. My aim is to again read 75 books. For the sake of the environment, I aim to include at least 20 eBooks.

You can see my progress on the right sidebar, over there, no further, there you go. It looks like this so far...


Let me know what you have challenged yourself to whether it be books or other New Year's resolutions. Ciao! 

Sunday 5 January 2014

2013 in Review Tag (Part 2)

Welcome to 2014! It feels completely unnatural to write that. We made it! Hooray! We survived the supposed apocalypse and everything! Huzzah! This is part 2 of my “2013 in review tag.” I hope you enjoy and have fun responding to some of these.


Me and my sister just before New Year's Day.

Best song
I See Fire by Ed Sheeran. Ed Sheeran also wins Best ginger.

Best TV show
As I don’t really watch TV anymore (Youtube addiction) I will have to say an old classic that our family watches on the holidays. The Cosby show.

Best novel (stand-alones only)
AHHH. Scrolling through my Goodreads, I realise this was a big year of books for me. Apart from The Fault in Our Stars- which we have heard enough about- I’m going to say The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephan Chbosky.

Best playscript
I only read one but screw it, I loved Macbeth.

Best series
In terms of the series I’m most excited for, it is definitely The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey or the Diviners by Holly Black. In terms of a complete series I read this year, my favourite was the Harry Potter series. I read it this year for the first time, no judgement.

Best last book/ finale
Ooooh there’s so many! I will go with Clockwork Princess, my highest anticipated read. I wrote the date in my calendar and that day after school went and got the last copies on the shelf. I even did my cramming session for my exam two nights before in order to read my book as soon as I got it. Dedication.

Best present (birthday or otherwise)
A graduation gift from my parents was to send me to Italy for 2 weeks. I’d never been overseas without my parents or to Europe and I had the greatest time.


Best movie
Catching Fire was amazing. If you haven’t seen it what are you doing with your life?

Best photo I took
Just Italy being beautiful. This was taken in the Basilica of St Francis, Assisi.


Best wake up
We woke up to the tinkling of a harp iPhone alarm, the smell of fresh croissants and a view of a Venetian grand canal out our window.

Best day
The last day of school. There were hilarious speeches, heartfelt captaincy handovers, balloons and hugging.

Best week
The week of Venice in Italy.

Best month

December. It is the only one I have clear recollection of :) Also... Christmas.

Link me some of your responses or post them here. Happy New Years again and ciao for now!