mmmm

Things are going slow... but everything is passing by so fast... oh well.

The Harry Potter depression has lifted. I'm sure JK will think of something in the last book that can make up for it. (hopefully)

Why are we always hungry for praises? (Or is it just me again?)

Why do we always interpret a situation and assume that everyone else thinks the same way? (Why am I asking rhetorical questions???)

Why do I want things I can't get? Where is the one for me??? Where is HE???

Sorry... I just had to get that out...

OK... I miss everybody. I'm here but nobody is really with me... 'cept my mom who is starting to feel like she's everywhere... hehe

I need to talk to someone.

KJ

I'm depressed

I am so depressed. I just finished reading Harry Potter 6 (don't worry, no spoilers)... For those who've read it, you'd understand. For those who haven't, hurry the hell up and read it so you can comfort me!

Stories that can't be contained in just one novel...

Ok… Sit back and relax. This post is about books, so I think this’ll be a bit long…

I just got myself the last two books of the Ender Saga by Orson Scott Card… I just love it when I have in my hands a complete set of a series. My mother’s graduation gift to me was the whole set of the Chronicles of Narnia. And when I’m about to go crazy trying to find the last book, I send an e-mail to my dad and he buys them. (What supporting parents you have, Karen)

I’m a collector at heart. I scavenge through booksales hoping to find parts of my collection. Anywho, this post is really about a list… You see, I have only 2 OC (obsessive compulsive) traits. One is to read everything written in a book, I mean everything… The other one, only few have noticed, is to make lists… I have this journal-like notebook that’s full of lists. Names of friends, favorite books, crushes, songs etc.

So I’ve decided to post one of my favorite lists here. This is a list of books whose story can’t be contained in just one novel. I’ll include a brief review since I can never keep my opinions to myself… :P Click on the titles to get the synopsis.

The Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis – They call me Queen Ava in the land of Narnia and I’d be dethroned if this book isn’t first on my list… If you love the books, join the club! The Philippine Order of Narnians. The movie is coming out and it looks promising. Lewis wrote the story as if he was there in front of you telling you about the adventures. My only regret is that I didn’t get to read the book when I was a kid.


The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien – It’s Tolkien, man, there are no words… He’s like the master of creating a whole new world… mmm, sounds kinda familiar… I loved the prequel best (The Hobbit).





Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling – 2 more days to go and I’ll have Book 6 in my collection! :D My favorite character is Professor RJ Lupin, so it kind of follows that my favorite book is the third book. I used to buy the paperbacks but thanks to Groliers, when I ordered the Harvard Classics their gift was the hardbound set from book 1-5! :D

Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander – Prydain is one of my favorite worlds. I dreamed of being Princess Eilonwy and meeting my Taran someday. It’s like a Lord of the Rings for young adults. There are 6 books and I’ve got them all! BWAHAHAHA!






A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle – I collected the companion books and I’ve got all 5 of them!!! BWA BWA BWAHAHAHA! (What’s with the laugh, Karen?) My favorite is Many Waters and it focuses on the twins. This book started my love for science fiction. I really hate science. The only science I can tolerate now is fiction. :D





Ender Saga by Orson Scott Card – It started with Ender’s Game and I was hooked. I saw the last two books and even though I was saving up for Harry I just had to get my hands on them. Orson Scott Card is a genius. Reading his books makes me feel like I’m one too…






Obernewtyn Chronicles by Isobelle Carmody – Sad to say I have not completed this book yet. I have only books 1-3. It’s a story of misfits. They live in a time after the great white destroyed the world and a few have survived. Some of the kids have acquired special abilities and they must keep it to themselves or they’ll be persecuted. A few have heard of the books and they’re really hard to find.


Stephanie Plum Series by Janet Evanovich – this isn’t a science fiction book… Stephanie is the worst bounty hunter in the world. The books are really funny because of her antics. I’ve got 10 out of 11 books. Only two of them were bought new, the rest I plowed through different booksales and thrift shops around the region. :D I can’t wait to read the last one because she’s torn between two men. I’m rooting for Joe Morelli.


Aria by Brian Holguin – This is a graphic novel (the scientific name for comics…) This is the coolest of all the comics I collect. The cover art is done by Jay Anacleto (Filipino :D) In the first few series Anacleto did all the art. Kildare is a 300 year old faerie living in the modern world. I’ve still to collect all the issues and save up for the sketchbook, but I've got #2-4 of Uses of Enchantment, #1 of Summer Spell, #2-3 of Soul Market.


Sandman by Neil Gaiman - This is another of my favorite graphic novels. I bought my first volume when I was in college. I spent my allowance for the whole week and had to eat canned foods the whole time... But it was so worth it! I wished so hard to win the complete set, but the stars weren't aligned right at that time... LOL... So I guess, I'll wait till my birthday...


Losing Christina Trilogy by Caroline B. Cooney – Cool young adult horror. The books are titled, The Fog, The Snow, and The Fire. It’s pretty good. It was scary when I was in high school. I reread it recently and I just got frustrated at the adults for being so dense.





Christopher Snow Series by Dean Koontz – Christopher has a genetic disorder, but that doesn’t stop him from being a hero. I got my favorite motto from this book, Carpe Noctem… Seize the Night. And that’s exactly what I plan to do coz I’ve got two exams on Friday…









See, now that wasn’t too long, was it?
Ava_Irune

Neil Gaiman in Manila

On Friday night, I packed the books I was having signed. I checked and rechecked my pass. I picked out the clothes I was going to wear. I practiced my charming smile...
On Saturday, I lined up at 10 am for my number... I thought I was still early and my eyes grew big at the sight of my number... I got 262.

Neil Gaiman (who is a British author by the way) got there at 3:30 and he read an excerpt of his upcoming book. Then he started signing. And My wait began...

5 hours later my number was called to the end of the line.

At exactly 10:00 pm I got to the stage and I was thinking about what I was going to say to him... All that kept popping in my mind was "I love you..." And I thought, man, I'm going to be so embarrassed if that came out of my mouth...

When I got to him. Thank God all I said was "This is going to be my first autographed book" and he said (with British accent and all) "Oh yeah? And it's signed by me... This deserves a big star" and he drew a star and wrote my name...!!! And the whole time he was writing, all I kept saying was "OHMIGOD" like a pathetic idiot... Then I asked him to pose for a picture... which I'll download soon. And then afterwards he said "Do you want a hug?" and I was like yes of course and he says "I thought you would." AND HE HUGGED ME!!!!!!! And I'll never wash my shirt again.. hehe just kidding.

Yun lang po, and if you're a book lover, you would know how priceless it is to meet a favorite author...

Neil Gaiman is so polite and very funny. At 9 something, he let the kids and pregnant ladies get in front of the line… That was really nice of him. I looked at my stomach to see if it would pass for the 5 months stage… but, hey, I'm not that fat!!! :P

Some of my friends whose numbers were 500+ finished at 1:00pm. And the last number that was given out was 700... Man, too bad he’s not ambidextrous, then he could alternate between hands…

This tops my list of Favorite Moments! I love God! He’s so nice to me! He lets things that make me happy happen! :D

The Philippine Order Narnians

"Ohmigod! Ohmigod! Ohmigod!!!"

Say 'Stardust' :D

Chiqui dressing up as 'Death'

I'm Not Normal

This is my long due post that’s neither about books or films… or something stupid.
This post is due to Alt’s (P******e) comment about me being crazy… hehe, you got me in this mood, girl… (Alt, dear, I've edited out your non-existent name) :D

Nobody’s normal, right? I used to think that I was once normal… That was when I use to be a human chameleon or a wallflower. I thought, hey, if no one thinks you’re something, then you’re normal… Normal is something that doesn’t digress from the ordinary, now that I think about it, being normal is really dull… And who am I kidding, I was never normal… I think nobody ever is. There’s always this ‘something’ in someone that defies normality. There’s always this factor that makes a person want to be noticed. Basically, we’re all just competing with each other. And that’s the fun part. Or that could easily turn into the annoying part...

Anyway, I’ve dropped my ‘I’m Normal’ plea and am now a proud owner of a green “I’m Not Normal” pin. And the best days of my life are spent with not normal people, my family and most of my friends. We’re not normal most of the time that it’s normal. :P

Yeah, yeah, I know. It’s time to shut up…

I’m crazy, I’m not normal, I’m just being me. You should be too.

Ava_Irune

Digital Fortress by Dan Brown

Yeah, I know I was supposed to do a review on Ender's Game first... But I’ve read that book a hundred times so that can wait...

How did Dan Brown and I meet? We met at the Louvre Museum and we had this adventure about Da Vinci's paintings... but that's all in the past and I hardly remember it...

But just a couple of days ago, I stumbled into a second hand Digital Fortress. I was so happy. I've been talking myself out of buying an original book for like weeks and thank God I did, cause then you’d find me on my knees in front of Booksale screaming in anguish…

Man, the story was great and in my opinion even better than Da Vinci Code. It's coz I'm a sucker for romance and intelligent gals who kick ass... But it's a computer buff's dream book. (Not that I'm a computer buff or something... OK OK, I am, but don't tell anyone :D)

The gist of the story: Susan Fletcher is summoned to NSA (National Security Agency) offices for an emergency. They've encountered an unbreakable code and her fiancé, David Becker, travels to Spain in order to retrieve the pass key. David runs around Spain, tailed by an assassin who leaves no witnesses alive, as the pass key is forwarded to another, David is always one step behind… Susan and David’s love are tested as they try to save American Secrets from getting into the hands of the enemy.

The twists in the story are something to look forward too. However, the book did tend to be a bit predictable… If it weren’t for that really unexpected twist and the relationship between Susan and David, I wouldn’t have written this. I liked David’s adventure more than what Susan had to go through… Hope you guys read it!

Ava

Fanfiction.net

Hafadai, everyone... Have you guys heard of Fanfiction.net? Well, it's a website full of stories made by fans... And basically, what I'm trying to say is that I've got some stories posted there :D It's going a bit slow because of a little thing I call mental procrastination... (a bit like mental block but on purpose...) But, somehow I've gotten over that phase and am now going to promise to write more chapters...

Was just wondering if you guys wanted to read my stories... um I'm a bit shy, but what the heck... It's a waste if people don't read what you write, right? Go easy on the reviews... if you hate it so much then I'm sorry, but if you love it... Thanks :D

Here's the website... oh yeah, the story is Final Fantasy 8 based. I also have one from the Stephanie Plum series... Don't really have much time to make a lot of fanfiction coz I'm currently working on two original fiction stories... So, there, enjoy! :D

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2243090/1/ - Final Fantasy 8 (Change of Heart)

Ava_Irune