What I'm Reading
I'm trying to get through as many witchy books as I can right now, so at the weekend I read Witch Hill by Marcus Sedgwick, which is a middle grade novella. It was a fun read, but I felt as though it could have been better.
Then I came across an old, battered copy of Terry Pratchett's Equal Rites for just £1. I'm about a third of the way through it now and I'm really enjoying it - it's so much fun!
What I'm Writing
Progressing with my novel has had to stop for now, as I now have two months left to put together my 30,000 word MA portfolio. I have a few new scenes I need to write, but mostly I have a lot of rewriting to do. A lot.
What Inspires Me Right Now
It's been really warm and sunny here lately, and it's a lot easier to get out of bed when the sun is shining outside!
What Else I've Been Up To
Since last week I've seen The Fault in Our Stars and How To Train Your Dragon 2, and I enjoyed them both. It took me a while to convince myself to go and see TFiOS, and in the end I decided to see it because I was interested in seeing how it was adapted, and I think it was done well! However, I still can't help feeling a little put out that Shailene Woodley claimed in an interview that she isn't a feminist because she 'likes men'.I just think it's sad when women who are in a position where other women, and young girls, will listen to them, decide to pull the whole 'anti-feminist' thing. There are people who claim to be feminists and basically ruin the name for everyone else, but the majority of feminists - myself included - just want to live in a world where women are considered as people, not objects, and where they're not blamed for being sexually harassed and made to feel guilty if they choose to have an abortion.
Anyway, there's my mini rant over!
How To Train Your Dragon 2 isn't officially released in England until July 11th, but for some reason there were showings on at my cinema last weekend so a friend of mine and I went to see it! I really enjoyed it; the animation and the music are gorgeous, and the story was great, too. I just wish I had a Toothless of my own!
What's new with you?
YAY DRAGONS!!! I love that film. I wish they'd just release it over here instars of doing so many previews. Weird.
ReplyDeleteBest of luck with your portfolio :)
I have to admit I've never been much of a dragon person, but these films really make me wish I had one!
DeleteThank you! :)
I'm not ready for TFiOS. I don't think I will ever be but I keep hearing great things about it, so I'm glad that this adaptation wasn't as bad as other book adaptations have been. Sometimes they fall short so I'm always a little wary of them. I didn't know there was a second How to Train Your Dragon movie (I live underneath a rock), I saw parts of the first one and enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your portfolio. I hope you get all that needs to be rewritten done.
Yeah, some film adaptations are bloody awful, but I think they did a pretty good job with TFiOS. I definitely recommend checking out How To Train Your Dragon 2!
DeleteThank you! :)
I wasn't sure about seeing TFIOS at first either, because I knew I'd cry like a baby through the whole thing, but I was really glad I went. I loved HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON and I'm looking forward to seeing what shenanigans Hiccup gets up to in the sequel. I'd love to have my own Toothless too! Hope work on your MA portfolio is going well and that all your rewriting will be a breeze once you have time for it again. :)
ReplyDeleteI think everyone wants their own Toothless - he's adorable, isn't he?
DeleteThank you! ^_^
I enjoyed TFIOS but I had to separate myself from the book in order to really sit back and appreciate it. I enjoyed your rant on feminism though! My cinema is doing the same thing with Dragons screenings, they're doing it again this weekend so i'm hoping to head along and catch a screening then! I love witchy books - got any favourites?!
ReplyDeleteHaha, thanks! I hope you manage to see it - I really enjoyed it, and even though he's animated I think puberty has been very kind to Hiccup. ;)
DeleteI really like Corrag by Susan Fletcher and The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe. :)
Staaaahp with all the summer talk, it's making my sun-deprived skin shrivel! *sigh* Call it the winter blues, but I really miss any hints of the sun, even a warm wind would be nice! This morning I woke up to my car frosted over. Not a great start to the day!
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen TFiOS yet, because while I know it'll be amazing, I also kind of want to preserve my interpretation of the book and have everyone the way I imagined in my head, you know? I know I'll probably give in as soon as it's out on DVD though ;)
Have a wonderful week, Jess!
- Caitie
Haha, if only we could swap places - I'm actually more of a winter person myself!
DeleteSometimes it's nicer to just read the book - there are plenty of book adaptations I wish I could unsee.
Thanks, you too! :)
Terry Pratchett's books are always great fun! I need to complete my Discworld collection at some point - I have about 14 of them, I think!
ReplyDeleteI need to watch both those films! Toothless is awesome. :D
Best of luck with the portfolio! :)
Thanks! :)
DeleteI've only read a couple of discworld books. I need to get back to them. I was reading the ones about the police guard...can't think of the names right now, but someone told me they were a good place to start. Then I keep hearing about all these other characters. What a cool world!
ReplyDeleteI think one of the reasons I stayed away from the Discworld books for so long is because I had no idea where to start, I'm really enjoying Equal Rites so far, though - I'd recommend it as a starting place, especially if you like witches and wizards and magic. :D
DeleteI was beyond thrilled with the book to movie adaptation of TFIOS. So good! It didn't even matter that I ended up crying in the middle of a theatre because everyone else was crying too. Solidarity FTW. LOL. Good luck putting together your MA portfolio. Hope that goes quickly and smoothly so you can get back to those scenes you need to write. Have a great week, Jess! :D
ReplyDeleteThank you, you too! :)
DeleteI loved Equal Rites!
ReplyDeleteI'm enjoying it so far. :)
DeleteHi Jess! I saw both 'How to Train your Dragon' movies while I was in Kansas, and I can't read anything about them without thinking about Jaylen, Adam, Brett, and the other great friends I made over there. (And Astrid, love her in both movies. ;) )
ReplyDeleteIf you're looking for fun witch books, I have to suggest "Witch Week" by Diana Wynne Jones, from the Chrestomanci books. It's a crazy fun ride for readers of all ages, set in a nasty school in a world not quite like ours, where being a witch can get you in a lot of trouble, but that doesn't stop a lot of witchy stuff from happening!
Hi! :) I do actually have a copy of Witch Week, I should get around to reading it!
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