SHARP OBJECTS by GILLIAN FLYNN

In need of a fresh start from rehab and a break in her career, Camille Preaker was unwillingly brought back to Missouri, her quiet hometown she didn’t feel much like at home, through her news assignment about two missing teenage girls. Staying with her mother, stepfather and sister who she felt very distant with was making it harder for her to adjust. In order to get a full grip of the case, she had to know what has become of everyone in her hometown and, more importantly, face her demons and her family’s history. Before she knew it, she was already caught in the middle playing an important role in the solving of the crime.

Sometimes if you let people do things to you, you’re really doing it to them. – Amma Crellin

Sharp Objects is another book that showcased a woman for a central character, another Flynn signature. Here, I saw a woman as a fighter but more as a struggler. It was baffling to read through something with a woman facing every tribulation and seeing her suffering eat away at her. I couldn’t help but feel pity for her. Majority of the characters were also women, women who weren’t winning in life either, women who became slaves and victims of their own flaws and environment. This book was just dark for women, and I was depressed the whole time.

Everyone has their own version of a memory. – Richard Willis

I have to admit that it seemed like it was taking longer than usual to get to the thrill. It was a bit slow-paced and sometimes dragging, especially from the beginning up to the first half of the book. It wasn’t that bad, though. It just took me a while to get a grasp of the story, but I also have to say that the remaining half more than compensated for everything else. Gaaaaaaahddd!

There were two scenes that stood out as the most poignant points for me. The motel scene between Camille and John revealed themselves as too weak and hopeless at that moment. Two vulnerable people finding comfort in each other didn’t seem a lot like anything helpful and consoling. When the revelation where Camille found the teeth brought back and connected all the circumstances in her family and town, it was all too much to take in because in the middle of everything is the death of three children and the trauma of two struggling daughters.

But children digest terror differently. – Camille Preaker

Haunting and gritty would be the perfect words to describe the general feel of Sharp Objects. I couldn’t make it a read before I go to bed because I was sure to have nightmares if I ever tried. It was horror but in real life. It’s the kind of story that has gotten under my skin, affected me in a way I was caught dumbstruck and left feeling sad for everyone in the end. The plot is of rare situation and nature, but it still managed to become all too relatable and consuming for me. It felt real, felt like a condition anyone can be in. Of course this was how it’s supposed to be knowing that this is all a product of Flynn’s genius, simply shocking. I was so affected that I wasn’t nearly done even after the last page. I had to stay silent for some time to contemplate what the hell just happened in the book because it was too twisted and unexpected.

Are you done reading this book? What are your thoughts? I’d like to know them! Feel free to share them below!

Photo source: http://gillian-flynn.com/sharp-objects/

The Bieb

Because:

• I think this is worth sharing;
• My sugar love Antoniette did this;
• This is my way of showing her how much this means to me;
• Just looking at it makes me so happy;
• I’m mababaw like this. BWAHA! J;
• What the hell, this is Justin Bieber hugging me for Chrissakes! (Hahaha!),

I am posting this beautiful and priceless sketch.

The funniest thing about this drawing is the impression it makes that while Justin so happily and tightly hugs me, I am just making that face as though I am annoyed by what he’s doing. AS IF. HAHAHAHA! I wonder whether Ago did that on purpose or what. Haha! Thank you, sugar!

#sorrynotsorry #yesiloveBieber #nohate #dontjudge #hahaha

Homeland

I am so all over Homeland!

An informant confided to CIA analyst Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes) that an American prisoner of war was turned. Ten months later, in a bunker during a military operation in Iraq, a group of soldiers discovered and rescued Nicholas Brody (Damian Lewis), a marine sergeant who had been held captive by the terrorists for eight years. Carrie is strongly convinced that this man is the traitor the informer was talking about. Now all she has to do is prove this theory. However, doing so is going to be anything but easy.

Sheeesh! I am still trying to recover from the heat of watching Homeland Seasons 1 and 2 for the second time. I gotta say, it is just as sick as the first time. Crazy awesome!

In the meantime, while waiting for Season 3, let me share with you my thoughts.

Homeland has only two elements – drama and action. If it’s not drama at the moment, it has to be action, and vice versa. Expect anything but a light moment. Either a scene is so intense you hear your own heart’s loud pounding or so heavy you actually shed tears. (Or maybe I’m just a crybaby. Haha!) The emotions and mood are so real and strong they seem to come right out of the screen. Frigging contagious!

The cast is a roster of, without a doubt, brilliant actors. They manage to be so believable and relatable that I often feel like sympathizing with or abhorring them depending on their roles. Salute to y’all! Haha!

Claire Danes is just asdfghjkl! How she plays and twists the very complicated Carrie Mathison role, it’s amazing and insane. Her acting is both remarkable and extraordinary. Let all her best actress awards do the talking, or slap you in the face if you’re a cynic. Hahaha! Two thumbs up! No, she’s too awesome two thumbs just won’t do it. Make it four. Toes included. Haha!

Among the other characters I like are those of Mandy Patinkin’s Saul Berenson, the ever composed and insightful man; and Morgan Saylor’s Dana Brody, the somewhat unruly daughter who’s always so blunt about her feelings. Attagirl!

This post will not be complete without me raving about how mind-blowing the twists are! There’s no way of knowing where they will lead the story. Two words – baffling and unpredictable. The development of the plot is strongly thought provoking. Every episode, every season, the unexpected turn of events just continues on giving me numbing goosebumps right up to my freaking head. Real goosebumps, just the way I like it! Wooooo! Hahaha.

I wouldn’t let this blog end without saying this, the second season finale was sick! There couldn’t have been a more intense cliffhanger than that. Too awesome for words!

Plot, cast, twists – Homeland is in every bit a kickass show!

This series returns on TV by the end of September, and I am sure all its followers, including me, are already too darn excited. One month feels like one year. Agree? Haha!

There is a lot to look forward to in the show. I already want to know how it’s going to end with Carrie and Nick (though I guess this season doesn’t have the answer yet). I just can’t wait for every mystery to be unraveled, every twist to be untangled and every complication to be solved. Barf! J

To those who haven’t watched this yet, find time! It’s worth every minute of your life. COME ON!!! Haha!

*Photo sources: http://www.sho.com/sho/homeland/home

                        http://www.huffingtonpost.com

                        http://collider.com/arrow-full-season-homeland-renewed-season-3/

THE HOST by STEPHENIE MEYER

The Host is one of my all time favorites! I love everything about it, EVERYTHING. ♥

The Earth has already been invaded by souls.  These souls take over humans with a new identity; leaving only a person’s body a vessel. Wanderer (Wanda), a soul, finds it hard to totally wipe Melanie, a resistant host, out. As they live together in one body, Wanda eventually learns to feel the same way Melanie feels about Jamie (Melanie’s brother) and Jared (Melanie’s lover). This led them to find the two in a cave along with other surviving humans. It has not been easy for Wanda because, though she is sincerely after the good of the humans, some are still not convinced she’s on their side. Among those who resist is Jared himself, which made everything complicated. The situation is also worsened by the other not-so-little-issues among them in the cave. Solutions wouldn’t come easy, for sure.

It’s not the face, but the expressions on it. It’s not the voice, but what you say. It’s not how you look in that body, but the things you do with it. You are beautiful. – Ian (♥)

The Host is a story about love – for family, for friends, for someone – that transcends humanity in all its sense. 

I think how Stephenie Meyer came up with this idea was brilliant, but how she had written it was genius. Brilliant idea since this is the first time I read something of this idea. Genius writing because I do believe it takes a lot of contemplation and imagination to write a novel of this kind. And, to make sure it is a story where readers can actually put themselves into is a different thing altogether.

The novel’s being a very unique story makes it all the more interesting and riveting. It gives readers a lot of new things to ponder. And since it is far from reality, the ‘hows’ and ‘whys’ within the story would surely bug the minds of those who’re reading. Earthworm-like creature in the head, eh?

More reasons to love The Host: it is ultimately a fictional story, yet it is still able to touch and play with its readers’ emotions. Readers are supposed to find it hard to relate to the book because the story is next to impossible, but it still effectively and convincingly found its way to the readers’ hearts. Stephenie Meyer made great use of this unlikely romantic story to show people what all-encompassing love can do and how far it can take a person. It’s amazing. How she made it possible is beyond my reach. Thanks to the author. J The Host is a moving story, so moving it lets all your emotions out. It is one that breaks your heart, and then makes it whole again. That’s what’s really good about this book. It doesn’t leave you sad, it doesn’t leave you hanging. Can I just say I love the happy ending for everybody! Very satisfying and sooo full of hope!

I knew it would begin with the end, and the end would look like death to these eyes. I had been warned. – Wanderer / Wanda

This is already the second time I read the book, but the way I was affected felt like it was just the first time. Oh, how I cried buckets and buckets of tears felt like I never had any idea what was going to happen next, like I didn’t know the story yet. This novel made me realize how much of a tearjerker I am. HAHAHA.

I also doubt it if you’ll ever get bored reading this. It just has a lot of complications, like really. You have here the struggle of Wanda and Melanie being in one body, Wanda’s being on the side of the humans, the Seeker’s never-ending hunt for them, Melanie’s love for Jared, Wanda’s feelings for Jared and Ian, and a lot of other sub-complexities. J

P.S.

The film adaptation of The Host is set to hit theaters by the end of March. I am both intrigued and scared. I am not sure if they can give justice to this fave of mine. I wish they wouldn’t make a mess of it. J

P.P.S.

Big thanks to Kreng for lending me her book. Love you, Kreng!J

Right now, if I was given the choice between having the world back and having you, I wouldn’t be able to give you up. Not to save five billion lives. – Jared (kilig!!!)

*Poster source: http://readinguntildawn.blogspot.com

THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET’S NEST by STIEG LARSSON

070112. sunday.

the last book in the trilogy of Stieg Larsson.

the moment i finished reading The Girl Who Played with Fire, i opened The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest right away. there was no stopping or else i’d be left hanging. they are so connected that i actually consider the two books as one. HAHA.

this book gave a clearer view of who really were involved in the many events of the story – who did what, who murdered who, who conspired with whom, who helped who. HAHA.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest is a game of outwitting each other. one must be one step ahead from the other. as Blomkvist and Salander unravels the truth, the Section tries to prevent the truth from coming out. what really made the story more exciting is the fact that there are also other parties who intervene in the turn of events. each party has to decide which side they’re taking, Lisbeth’s or the Section’s. this is not just about Lisbeth and Zalachenko anymore. HAHAHA.

but the coolest thing about it, as for me, is the HACKING skills of Lisbeth. i’m amazed! (or am i just not really that good in computers that’s why i feel this way? hahaha!) it is so easy for her to dig into the computers of other people. thanks to her friends who are just as great in hacking. hahaha! i love it when she contacts her colleagues from the Hacker Republic and asks them for help to access/copy/destroy data in someone’s computer. what’s even more fascinating is the fact that they, at Hacker Republic, don’t know each other personally but they can count on every one when they need a hand. HAHA. suspension of disbelief – can a group with such great hacking skills exist and can hacking really be that powerful and easy for these people? HAHA.

tactics and resources, that’s what the characters used to play with in the story. the Section and Lisbeth made use of all the possible ways to win, even doing things they never thought they’d do, up to their last resorts. HAHA.

the real battle begins at the trial. this is the time when Lisbeth’s side starts firing their evidences and counterstatements. they (particularly Lisbeth) have been silent for quite a while. just when the prosecution thought they’d nail it, they screwed up like hell! they underestimated the power of the defense. HAHA.

i just can’t help but notice, Blomkvist really has a thing for women. he just can’t seem to resist them and vice versa. HAHA. in the three books i read, he’s had issues with Berger, Lisbeth, Cecilia, Harriet, and Figuerola. HAHA. you playful thing. HAHA.

i always find the relationship of Lisbeth and Blomkvist cute. HAHA. in this book, they don’t really get to see each other. their correspondence was only through the net but they always had the understanding. he always gets what she wants to say. she doesn’t say much most of the time but he got used to her and started to see right through her. HAHA.

thumbs up for the trilogy! HAHA. no regrets in exerting effort to finish the books! HAHAHAHA!

THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE by STIEG LARSSON

061612. saturday.

another book i couldn’t seem to drop the moment i got a hold of everything that’s inside it - The Girl Who Played with Fire.

it’s the second book of the trilogy, following The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

i love how everything looks as if nothing’s wrong, like everything goes according to plan and all of a sudden something shocking happens to bring chaos. HAHA. well, there’s where everything gets exciting i assume. thriller, right? HAHA.

this time the story mainly revolves around the interesting character and past of Lisbeth Salander. she had been subjected to a lot of injustices and wrong accusations. this fact is what makes it distinct from the first book. the first book dealt with a wholly different story. in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, she could be considered an outsider to the case had she not been contacted by Blomkvist. i so love Lisbeth Salander. HAHA.

here, Blomkvist and his colleagues only wanted to expose those who were involved in Sweden’s sex trafficking business. Bjurman wanted to get rid of Salander so he could be free again. then, Salander got caught in between. she became a suspect. her past was dug up. all her efforts to be unnoticed for all of her life had flown away. Blomkvist came to her rescue. (that’s the only gentle part. HAHA. there’s a love story but a love story that is far from the flicks we know. HAHA. cute in its own sense.)

the chapters narrated the never-ending hunt – Lisbeth hunting Zalachenko, Zalachenko hunting Lisbeth, the police hunting Lisbeth, Blomkvist hunting Lisbeth and Zalachenko.

on a more serious note, i was so affected while i was reading. i don’t know. maybe because of Lisbeth, maybe because she’s a woman, maybe because she has suffered from injustice in the most cruel way. i know none of this is real but what the hell? i know in the outskirts of wherever there’s a Salander in so many women, those who suffered and were not treated. seems like the story’s totally gotten into my nerves, huh? HAHA. look who’s talking? who am i? i talk like i’m a women’s rights advocate. hehe. no, i just care. i’m a girl, too. would you believe? HAHA.

another thing, i know this is already a cliché but it is what it is. the book also tells us that no matter how hard we try to keep a secret, it will always find its way out, doesn’t matter if it’s for the good or bad. and that it will put itself where it should be so that things would start to fit the situation. in the book, this fact lead to the discovery of a lot of things about Lisbeth’s life and a secret agency’s operation.

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO by STIEG LARSSON

051812. friday.

when i first tried to read the book, i thought i wouldn't understand so i just closed it. but i badly wanna read this so i opened it the second time and seriously run through the pages. 

i love it! stieg larsson didn't disappoint me! (like i'm someone great who he didn't wish to disappoint? hahaha!) i enjoyed it even if it was a long read.

yes, it's a thriller. what made me like it more is the fact that the story revolved around a chaotic family's mystery (the crime and the murder). how Blomkvist dug into the family members' secrets and history added to the excitement of it. other novels would usually deal with a murderer who kills people with a pattern (at least with those that i've read). the same goes with this only that it's within a family which makes it a more intimate matter(though there are a few outsiders involved as well). that fact spiced up the story! HAHA.

"The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" is actually a story where one  event becomes linked  to another event. Vanger used Blomkvist's weakness to make him work for Vanger's agenda. it's a story where two problems need to be solved - Blomkvist's unfinished expose and the disappearance of a Vanger. 

i love the character of Lisbeth Salander, that anorexic antisocial who happens to hate knowing that she has a photographic memory (wish i'm the one who got it)! HAHA! i like how physically she wouldn't look as if she's capable of doing anything genius. she just doesn't care about anything and she's the boss of her own life. she works only when she wants to, she's not after the money. investigating other people's dirty lives is just a hobby to her. she's doing it to satisfy her call to solve it. i like how that girl with the dragon tattoo becomes vulnerable all of a sudden when it comes to Blomkvist. Salander has feelings too. HAHA. 

it wasn't so hard for me to picture out the lead characters since there is already a motion picture for this novel. every time the scenes play in my head i'd just have to think of Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara's faces. HAHA. 

now i can't wait to see the movie. i wanna see how they played with the novel and how they put the details in the film. usually, people feel bad 'coz the books are way, way better than the movie. let's see if the same goes with this one. i hope not. :)

MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA by ARTHUR GOLDEN

i just finished reading "MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA" by Arthur Golden. it took me more than three days to finish because it really is quite long and even the chapters are lengthy too which makes me feel as though i've been stuck in every page (that is something psychological i guess). hahaha!

big thanks to dervs for lending the book! haha! 

i love the story! haha! seriously. it is not similar to the genre of novels that i'm fond of but i still was able to enjoy reading. the story revolved around culture, history, life, and love. 

it's about culture and history. what's cool is i learned a lot of things about japan and geishas as well. i barely know a thing about geishas, but afterwards, i was able to  understand what they are, what they do, and what it takes to be one of them. by reading the novel, i learned that being a geisha is actually no simple thing. it is more complicated than it seems. part of the story happened during the second world war, so the novel showed how japan was like before and after it.

another thing, by reading memoirs of a geisha, i felt like i got  oriented with japanese customs and culture. i learned that just like us Filipinos, they also are superstitious even with little things. i even encountered japanese words too, nihonggo. haha! it feels nice to not just be thrilled by the story but also by acquiring something you've not known about a certain culture, race or place. every time i learn something from what i watch, hear, or read, there's this certain enrichment i get. it's something that only my psyche can understand. i don't know if you get me, but that's how it really is. haha.

it's about life. and since the story was told through the perspective of Sayuri, a woman, it was easier for me to understand and sympathize with her struggles. it felt as though someone you  hardly know suddenly became close to your heart while she was revealing for the first time the story of her love and her life. every bit of event in Sayuri's course had something to do with her present and her future. her feelings were so contagious that whenever she is experiencing pain, i am also saddened by it; whenever she succeeds, i feel happy for her too. and since it started from her childhood days, i witnessed all the ups and downs she encountered, as in all! haha!

and of course, it's about LOVE. haha. what else would be more interesting than love. haha. Sayuri proved how much love can change and influence your actions and behavior. that's how i see her character. sometimes, she lets other people interfere with her love, but sooner she realizes that she won't get the contentment she's looking for until she does something to make things possible.

her eyes really are amazing. they are very distinct that anyone who sees her quickly takes  notice of her eyes. they are blue-gray. very uncommon. i have come to appreciate the beauty of her eyes while reading. haha.

i don't know. i just like it. i love how memoirs of a geisha was told. i was a voyeur for a moment as i sneaked to see everything that happened in her life. 

as i was going through the novel, these words made an impact to me.

I don't think anyone of us can speak frankly about pain until we are no longer enduring it. 

                                 --- Sayuri-san

what i learned from memoirs of a geisha? hmm, lemme think. haha. making things possible through your will, letting hardships shape you to be stronger, listening to what you really feel and going for what you really desire.

it is not really about what i learned. i am just glad as hell to witness her story. haha. that is it. :)


now, i am looking forward to see the movie. haha. soon.