Friday Link Dump: GIFs, The Princess Bride and Pretty Little Liars

-Because I totally don't spend enough time online (ahem), I went and started a new Tumblr. Full of GIFs! For all your GIF reaction needs. (Tumblr)

-I used to think my uni was pretty. Then I saw these Harry Potter-esque campuses. They shit all over the Duckpond Lawn at UOW. (BuzzFeed)

-I wish I could go to an awesome event like The Princess Bride with live commentary. At least I have bloggers to fill me in. (EW)

-The problem with "strong" female characters. Very thought-provoking. (New Statesmen)

-Some inside info on the big twist in Pretty Little Liars. I'm still thinking about it. (TV Line)

-John Green's latest vlog gave a sneaky look on the The Fault in Our Stars movie set. I still need to read that book. (YouTube)

-I kinda want these Lego libraries. (Book Riot)

-So John Stamos has a new web series in which he interviews celebs... about how they lost their virginity. Weird. But I will watch the shit out of it. (Junkee)

-Creative things you can do with your Instagram photos. If only mine were good enough to actually print. (BuzzFeed)

-This BuzzFeed list is me. It's scary but also kinda reassuring. (BuzzFeed)

-Animals jumping on trampolines. You're welcome. (BuzzFeed)

Review: Tales of the Macabre by Edgar Allan Poe

Tales of the Macabre is a collection of Edgar Allan Poe’s short stories, combined with gorgeous new illustrations. This was my first Poe experience and I have to say I am not a fan. I really enjoyed The Tell-Tale Heart – I thought it was atmospheric, tense, creepy and clever. But the rest of the stories I thought were either boring or downright awful.

The Black Cat in particular horrified me, and not in a good way. I just can’t handle animal cruelty. It truly sickened me. Instead of being deliciously terrified I was just offended and upset. I nearly stopped reading the book then and there.

I’m glad I continued for The Tell-Tale Heart, but not much else. Berenice was my next favourite but I didn’t love it. While there was some exquisite language scattered throughout the stories, overall I found them quite slow, predictable and incredibly repetitive. I got so over seeing a beautiful, ill woman in every story, who the protagonist loved or hated or both. It was very tedious to have basically the same thing happen again and again.

I did really appreciate the illustrations in this edition. They’re creepy and beautiful and complement the stories really well. Unfortunately the ebook I had was not well formatted for my kindle, and half of the illustrations – and some of the stories – were chopped up and all over the place across pages. This didn’t help my enjoyment of the book.

After finishing Tales of the Macabre, I looked up The Raven, to see if Poe’s other famous work (read: as featured on The Simpsons) was as good as the hype. And it is. I loooooved it. Maybe I should stick to Poe’s poetry and stay away from his prose. It’s just not my cup of tea.

Rating: 2.5/5

Fine Print
Published: 2012, Archaia Entertainment
Source: Netgalley
Get It:  Book Depository

Bookish Buys: Pretty Little Liars

This week's Bookish Buys is all about Pretty Little Liars, in honour of the show's summer finale and massive twist (which, if anyone watches it, can we please discuss?!).

Bracelet 

Charm bracelet

Tee

Emily nail polish

Aria's necklace

Hanna nail polish

Keyring

Aria nail polish

Necklace

Aria's necklace 

Notebook

Notebook

Onesie

Spencer nail polish

Sweatshirt

Tank

Top

Shirt

Bag

Tote

Tote

Top Ten Most Memorable Secondary Characters

1. Anyone from the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. Each character in these books are amazing. I love that nothing is black and white, and each character is complex and realistic – magic notwithstanding. Neville, Luna, Snape, Dumbledore, Hagrid, Dobby, the Weasleys, the Dursleys, McGonagall... there are so many I love, and love to hate.

2. Jeffrey Lu in Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey. Jeffrey was one of the highlights of Jasper Jones for me. I loved his cheekiness and positivity, and was rooting for him in the cricket match and beyond.

3. Anyone in David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. My favourite thing about Dickens is the quirky collection of characters in all his books, but David Copperfield is a particular fave. Betsey Trotwood, Mr Micawber and Uriah Heep (shudder) are some of the most memorable literary characters ever.

4. Finnick and Cinna in the Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins. I couldn't pick between these two. I love them both and they make me want to cry.

5. Jimmy in Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta. One of my fave characters ever. I missed him in The Piper's Son, so I was super excited when Marchetta said Jimmy had popped back in her head and would be in an upcoming book!

6. Matthew Cuthbert in Anne of Green Gables. I can't say anything more because I will start to cry. Not even joking.

7. Squire Hamley in Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell. The old fashioned, rough-around-the-edges squire with a big heart is great on the page, but even better as portrayed by Michael Gambon in the 1999 mini-series. Fave line: "I'm not saying she was very silly, but one of us was very silly and it wasn't me."

8. Mrs Bennet from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I know Mrs Bennet isn't everyone's fave, but she just makes me laugh - especially when combined with her weary but witty husband.

9. Mia's family from If I Stay by Gayle Foreman. Another one that makes me cry. It was so nice to come across a genuine, close family in a YA book. Of course, they don't stay that way... sigh.

10. Hareton in Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. Heathcliff who? Seriously, I am so not a fan of abusive abuser Heathcliff. Hareton on the other hand, is an actual puppy dog who I want to adopt.

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

Review: Mind Your Mental Health by Kaz Cooke

 
Mind Your Mental Health is a small ebook that is basically an extract from Kaz Cooke’s larger guide to life (for ladies), titled Women’s Stuff. When I saw it on Netgalley I was immediately drawn to the subject matter and hoped it would be enlightening. I suffer from an anxiety disorder myself and while I’ve read a helluva lot online about it (ah, the joys of compulsions), I haven’t actually read any books on the topic.

Maybe because I already know a lot about the subject, I didn’t really find anything that I wasn’t already aware of in Mind Your Mental Health. It briefly covers various aspects of mental health – including depression, anxiety, eating disorders, personality disorders and grief. The problem is, it’s not in depth enough to provide any real help for someone suffering from a particular issue. For that reason, I think it’s probably of more use to people wanting to get a quick overview of mental health problems rather than a deeper understanding of one area in particular.

With frequent references to Women’s Stuff, Mind Your Mental Health at times felt like nothing more than a hook to get people to read the larger book. But it does contain some useful information. What I liked most were the many quotes from women who had particular conditions or had experienced certain circumstances. It’s always reassuring to know that there are other people out there going through the same thing – and, even better, have come out the other side. I also liked the extensive reference lists at the end of each chapter, featuring helplines and places to go to get more information. It’s the sort of thing that’s good to have on hand, especially when dealing with such topics. Overall, Mind Your Mental Health is a good introduction to the subject matter but I wouldn’t recommend it for people wanting extensive information and/or guidance.

Rating: 3/5

Fine Print
Published: March 2013, Penguin Books Australia
Source: Netgalley
Get It: Amazon

Review: Lost Cat by Caroline Paul, Illustrated by Wendy MacNaughton

At the risk of getting kicked off the internet, I have a confession to make: I'm not a cat person. I mean, they're cute and all, and I'm sure they make great pets... for other people. But I prefer the loyal adoration of dogs over the hot-and-cold independence of cats. That's just me.

What drew me to Lost Cat was the possibility of finding out what pets do when their owners aren't around. In humorous, touching anecdotes and adorable and clever illustrations, Lost Cat reveals how the author, Caroline, dealt with the disappearance and reappearance of her cat and the feelings of loss, betrayal and hope that went along with it. It also explores her depression as a result of an injury and also her grief over another type of loss. It sounds like heavy stuff, and there are some very sad moments, but more than anything it's a funny, heartwarming tale. I think this comes down to the first-person, conversational language. Caroline isn't afraid to poke fun of herself and her outrageous behaviour - like using spycams and GPS to track her "cheating" cat. Her affection for her little family is also incredibly clear, and the feelings of betrayal at the disappearance of her cat, the grief over the loss of another, and the ultimate acceptance that a cat's gotta do what a cat's gotta do, are beautifully rendered.

Lost Cat is a quick and enjoyable read, and the illustrations, drawn by Caroline's partner Wendy, really enhance the story. I liked Wendy's inclusion in the story - she wasn't a cat person, either - until Caroline converted her. I'm still not quite converted into wanting to actually own a cat, but I was nevertheless affected by this story. A pet is a pet at the end of the day, and no matter what animal it is, the love and affection you feel for them is the same. They are with us for such a short period of time and it makes you think WHY DO WE DO THIS TO OURSELVES - until you remember that they create more awesomeness in 10 years than some people create in 100. That, more than anything, is what Lost Cat is about.

Rating: 3.5/5

Fine Print
Published: 2013, Bloomsbury
Source: Netgalley
Get It: Book Depository

Related
And now for a cat gif party, because reasons...

OK, I may be a little bit converted.

Friday Link Dump: Trailers, Bookshelfies and Mash-ups

-The best fictional libraries. I want all of them. (Paste)

-Now this is a selfie trend I can get behind. Bookshelfies. As in, selfies with your bookshelf. Love it. (Tumblr)

-This fundamentalist preacher accidentally used an image of Modern Family for the cover of his self-published book and was quite concerned when he found out it was a show that featured a gay couple. So in his eyes, homosexuality is wrong, but using Google images to source a cover for your book, thereby publishing something you don't own the rights to, is totally OK. Riiiiight. (BuzzFeed)

-Aziz Ansari is releasing a book and I for one can't wait. (EW)

-Where do you stand on the New Adult genre? The Huffington Post published opinion pieces for and against. Both make good points. (The Huffington Post)

-Flavorwire lists 40 trashy books that are "worth reading", although they have a very loose definition of trashy. (Flavorwire)

-The Toast did some awesome mental illness-related essays this week, including this discussion on medication and this personal story about how reading Georgette Heyer helped the writer to cope with anxiety. (The Toast)

-If you don't mind the illusion of movie magic being destroyed a little, check out this peek behind the scenes of the special effects on Game of Thrones. (Jezebel)

-After watching Orphan Black over one weekend recently, I am totally obsessed with the show and its actors. So I'm super excited that Tatiana Maslany has been cast in Parks and Recreation (Vulture) and Big Dick Paul Dylan Bruce is going to star in... wait for it... Flowers in the Attic as none other than Bart Winslow! (The Huffington Post)

-So many trailers were released this week. I am most excited about The Book Thief, which is one of my favourite books. I was really nervous about it being adapted, but from the trailer it looks brilliant (YouTube). The Divergent teaser looks decent. (YouTube). And Zac Efron looks mighty fiiiine as a doctor, (Just Jared) and Jon Snow's abs revealed themselves in the teaser for Pompeii (YouTube).

-I know I'm relieved that Alexander Skarsgaard (and his penis) will return to True Blood next season (AV Club). And in case you were wondering (I know it's the reason you were looking really closely at the screen), this is the book he was reading in THAT scene. (EW)

-What do you get when you cross Beyoncé songs with Cinderella? Amazingness. Meanwhile this Disney Dudez video amused me way too much. (YouTube)

-I am obsessed with this Mean Girls musical parody. I wish a Mean Girls musical would really happen. It would be so fetch. (YouTube)

-These comics shed light on exactly what the creative process feels like. (BuzzFeed)

-Nine shows that really should have quit while they were ahead. (The Vine)

-I really need to use some of these internationally-sourced insults in my life. (BuzzFeed)

-I love me a mash-up - especially when it's as awesome as Mad Rock (Mad Men + 30 Rock). (Tumblr)

-Some amazing comedians auditioned for roles on The Office - and didn't make the cut. But you can watch their auditions here! (Junkee)

-Vintage photos that make you go "WTF". I just wish this was a Tumblr instead of a Twitter. (Twitter)

-Baby + dog = cutest friendship ever. (BuzzFeed)

-The real places that inspired Disney movie settings. Gorgeous. (BuzzFeed)

-Tumblr gets deep - and weird - at night. It's all documented for our amusement here. (Tumblr)

-I love the Teens React series, and this week they discuss Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines" with funny and impressive results. (YouTube)

-Reality Bites is being adapted for TV and I'm not sure how I feel about it. (Gawker)

-Chocolate. Peanut Butter. Cupcakes. I need these in my tummy right now. (Bakerella)

-These parents win at Facebook. (BuzzFeed)

-Bunny Mamma is my new favourite Instagram. And I really, really want a bunny. (Instagram)

-1999 really was the best year for summer songs. (BuzzFeed)

-These corgi gifs made my week. (BuzzFeed)

The Movie Was Craptastic: The Mortal Instruments - City of Bones

Note: I wrote this post on Tuesday night straight after watching the movie, but everyone was under embargo until today. So here it is!

Wow. That was bad. That was really, really bad. I just watched The Mortal Instruments - City of Bones and it was laughable. Like I literally laughed out loud in several places. When I don't think I was meant to. But even though it was terrible, it was still pretty entertaining. 

What I liked

• I thought the cast were pretty great and fit their characters well. Lily Collins is GORGEOUS and a great Clary, and even Jamie Campbell Bower, who I had my doubts about, was good as Jace. He did have the whole angelic/lion-like thing happening, although I didn't find it particularly attractive. My one gripe with the cast is that the actors playing Isabelle and Alec, although talented, look like they're about 30. No way can they pass as teenagers, even the Hollywood version of teenagers.
• There's a line inserted that makes the big twist less WTF-worthy. Though it's still pretty WTF. And the line didn't make sense with what followed. But whatevs, I think they needed to include something like that.
• The action scenes were well done. Isabelle with a flame-thrower thingy (I'm all up on the weaponry terms, clearly) was awesome.
• There's some funny dialogue. Intentionally funny. But there's also a helluva lot of unintentionally funny dialogue, which brings me to...

What I didn't like

• There are many laughably bad moments. Including some awful, awful dialogue and characters doing really stupid things. It really dragged the movie down.
• It's completely action-packed, with major events jammed in all together, which is fun, but it also means there's not a lot of emotional depth. I didn't get a good sense of Clary's worry about her mum, her shock at discovering the Shadowhunter world, or her feelings building for Jace. It all happens too quickly.
• The soundtrack is pretty bad, and there's one scene in particular (the greenhouse scene) where the music is overbearing and completely ruins the mood, rather than enhancing it. It was so cheesy, and I was laughing when I wanted to be swooning.
• The steles looked plastic. Hodge's bird looked like a puppet. The greenhouse... don't even get me started on the fake flowers and general terribleness.
• Valentine has these terrible fake plaits attached to the back of his head for no apparent reason and they made me irrationally angry.
• Watching it on screen, the Harry Potter stealing influence was more obvious than ever.

I was still entertained, but it was one of the worst movies I've seen this year. And I've watched Sharknado. If you're a fan of the book you'll probably like it. I think it was actually better than the book (although looking back, I gave the book three stars - I think I was more patient and generous back then, ha). Otherwise, maybe wait for DVD. And take a drink every time someone says or does something stupid or cheesy. You'll be passed out halfway through.

Rating: 2/5

Top Ten Things That Make Book Blogging Easier

1. Goodreads. I loooove Goodreads. It's great for connecting with fellow book-lovers and cataloging books. I have a ridiculous amount in my TBR pile and on my wishlist, and it would be impossible to keep track of everything without Goodreads.

2. Booko. This is my one-stop search engine for book buying. It finds all of the available outlets a certain book is at, and ranks them from least expensive to most expensive, shipping including. Brilliant.

3. Netgalley. Netgalley is wonderful for access to e-galleys for review. It brings many books to my attention that I may not have noticed otherwise. Too many, even - I always end up with way more than I have time to read. Must. Stop. Requesting.

4. Bloglovin'. I only just started using this thanks to the demise of Google Reader, and I actually took the time to organise the blogs I follow into categories. It has made blogging life so much easier, I am obsessed with it.

5. Spare time. Book blogging takes up a lot of time. If I had more of it, it would be so much easier.

6. Awesome books. They are the main reason I read and blog, after all.

7. The library. Free books. Nuff said.

8. Fellow bloggers. The book blogging community is amazing. I've made so many wonderful friends.

9. My kindle, Betsy. While I still adore physical books, my kindle is so convenient for acquiring and transporting books.

10. Audiobooks. OK, I've only "read" one so far, but I plan on getting into them big time. So easy and fun!

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and The Bookish.

Friday Link Dump: Flowers in the Attic, Adorable Dogs and Nutella

-The big news in the YA book world this week was the release of the Vampire Academy: Blood Sisters teaser trailer. (Yahoo!) If that isn't enough for you, here are some stills (Weebly), and here are author Richelle Mead's thoughts on the teaser (Dhampir Life). All I want to know is, why the hell is Dimitri wearing granny knickers?!

-There is a Nutella recipe book. I want to go to there. (Book Depository)

-I totally want this gorgeous book of illustrations of famous literary heroines. (Refinery 29)

-Even Stephenie Meyer is sick of Twilight. Really. (Variety)

-Cuddlebuggery created some memes about the woes of being a Big Book Blogger. Lulz. (Cuddlebuggery)

-The book isn't always better than the movie - at least according to the authors who wrote these ones. (Cracked)

-If you haven't seen the OCD poetry performance that's been doing the rounds, go watch it. Now. (YouTube)

-This is what Teen Wolf looks like to a Tumblr user who hasn't actually seen the show. Spoiler: It's hilarious. (Hypable)

-The history and magazine nerds inside me are both very happy with this post about the first issues of famous mags. (Mental Floss)

-People who think The Onion articles are true are silly. And hilarious. (Thought Catalog)

-The Toast had a Flowers in the Attic day and it was amazing. They interviewed editor Ann Patty, who also wrote her own account of how the book came to be. They also published some fan art and this insightful piece on "disability horror" - coz V.C. Andrews is about more than incest. Ahem. (The Toast)

-In other V.C. Andrews news, Kiernan Shipka (a.k.a. Sally Draper) has been cast as Cathy in the upcoming Flowers in the Attic movie and I don't know how to feel about this. (Deadline)
 
-Hypable lists their fave Shakespeare movie adaptations. I like that 10 Things I Hate About You made the list. (Hypable)

-I've been reading Tales of the Macabre by Edgar Allen Poe this week and it made me curious about how accurate The Following is in its portrayal of Poe. Apparently not very. (Vulture)

-The 10 types of writers you probably resent. (The Toast)

-I can't decide whether to laugh or cry at these emoji versions of famous artworks. Laugh. It's laugh. (Tumblr)

-I am really excited to watch A.C.O.D. Although it will be odd to see Amy Poehler play Adam Scott's step-mother. But awesome. (Yahoo!)

-The trailer for Cory Monteith's last movie, McCanick, looks great but it's incredibly haunting. It makes me wonder if playing a drug addict triggered his own addiction. So sad. (YouTube)

-GQ lists the key horror movies to watch this year. Although their definition of horror is quite loose. (GQ)

-Tina Fey is working on another TV show and it's the best news I've heard all week. (AV Club)

-Do you ever browse the web and find yourself thinking, "if only every single photo on this page was Ryan Gosling"? No? Well, there's an app for that anyway. (Hey Girl)

-Take this hearing test to see how good your ears are. Mine are "under 40". Yikes. (YouTube)

-These dogs are cat people and although I am not cat people I am all for interspecies friendships. I am also all for dogs who sometimes forget how to be dogs and get themselves into hilarious positions. But most of all I am for dogs who are really excited about being dogs. (BuzzFeed)

-Meanwhile this dog knows how to play with himself (get your mind out of the gutter!). (YouTube)

-I love seeing pictures of Marilyn Monroe that I haven't come across before. Like these. (Vintage Everyday)