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Well, I've just finished reading Allegient by Veronica Roth.
I read all three books in the series in about 10 days so when I got to the end of the last book and felt oddly unsatisfied about it I thought that it was because I read through too fast and didn't get the all nuances or whatever but then I read this post and it summed up how I felt about the book.
I actually watched Divergent for the first time last month, before I'd read any of the books. This was a huge departure for me since I've always been fairly strict about reading the book before I watch the movie. Usually anytime I'd go to watch a book-based-movie I'd know how the story would unfold, no real surprises, it was more a question of execution, did the movie capture the essence of the book, how were the visual effects, etc.
But in this case, I had no idea about the plot, the characters, anything. All I knew was that the main character was called Tris and it was being hailed as 'the new Twilight", which is probably why I hadn't bothered to read the books in the first place.. So it was quite exciting to enter this new, unknown world, watching the opening scene, entering the city, listening to the voice-over and not knowing what was going to happen next. Right from the start I loved the soundtrack and the sense of freedom it invoked...the zip-lining scene was awesome and Run, boy, run- by Woodkid is my new anthem for getting in the zone when I need to get stuff done.
I enjoyed the movie so much I went out and got the books. I was interested to see how the book characters and plot compared to that of the movie. I was looking forward to reading about a strong, smart, brave young woman but I think movie Tris came across as much stronger than book Tris. In the books, Tris often struck me as less together, more whiny than movie Tris. I expected more from someone who left Abnegation of her own accord to go to Dauntless...she's supposed to be badass... And yeah, I get that book Tris is 16 while Shailene Woodley is 23-ish but still, that was annoying. I guess I'm still looking for a character who I can really relate to...starting to think I'm going to have to write her myself. But I like what Shailene Woodley has done with the character so I'm looking forward to watching the rest of the series.
SPOILERS!!! I should have known that Tris was going to die...Divergent was told solely from Tris's point of view and then its like halfway through writing the last book the author decided she would be killing off her main character but the story would need to go on for a bit after her death so she needed someone else to tell the story after Tris's death. So she just backtracks and inserts Four POV chapters as a kind of sleight of hand thing thing...but its so obvious in hindsight.
I think its more annoying because I like the idea, the premise, and I think it could have been better written, a different ending might have served the story better. I think I would have preferred Tris live but maybe the author killed her off as a way to set this story apart from all other dystopian-young-adult trilogies. I hope that's not the only reason though like, "Ok Katniss, Peeta, Gale, Bella, Jacob and Edward they all survive so I'm going to do something different. I'm going to kill off my main characters, so there! MwahahahahHAHAHAHAHAH!!!"
Also annoying was the fact that I kept getting confused about which characters POV I was reading. Tris and Four 'sounded' like the same person. You know how there's a voice in your head when you read, its a different voice for different characters but for me reading Allegient, this voice was the same, it didn't change between Tris and Four. They used the same words, I had to keep checking whose POV I was reading. Are they so in tune with each other, so perfectly right for each other that they even think the same way?? Nope, not buying it, this was a problem with the writing.
Having said all that, good on Veronica Roth for coming up with an idea and executing it, she's a published author and now has movies based on her books. That's quite an achievement. It gives me hope that I can one day get a book written and published, and secure a movie deal
I read all three books in the series in about 10 days so when I got to the end of the last book and felt oddly unsatisfied about it I thought that it was because I read through too fast and didn't get the all nuances or whatever but then I read this post and it summed up how I felt about the book.
I actually watched Divergent for the first time last month, before I'd read any of the books. This was a huge departure for me since I've always been fairly strict about reading the book before I watch the movie. Usually anytime I'd go to watch a book-based-movie I'd know how the story would unfold, no real surprises, it was more a question of execution, did the movie capture the essence of the book, how were the visual effects, etc.
But in this case, I had no idea about the plot, the characters, anything. All I knew was that the main character was called Tris and it was being hailed as 'the new Twilight", which is probably why I hadn't bothered to read the books in the first place.. So it was quite exciting to enter this new, unknown world, watching the opening scene, entering the city, listening to the voice-over and not knowing what was going to happen next. Right from the start I loved the soundtrack and the sense of freedom it invoked...the zip-lining scene was awesome and Run, boy, run- by Woodkid is my new anthem for getting in the zone when I need to get stuff done.
I enjoyed the movie so much I went out and got the books. I was interested to see how the book characters and plot compared to that of the movie. I was looking forward to reading about a strong, smart, brave young woman but I think movie Tris came across as much stronger than book Tris. In the books, Tris often struck me as less together, more whiny than movie Tris. I expected more from someone who left Abnegation of her own accord to go to Dauntless...she's supposed to be badass... And yeah, I get that book Tris is 16 while Shailene Woodley is 23-ish but still, that was annoying. I guess I'm still looking for a character who I can really relate to...starting to think I'm going to have to write her myself. But I like what Shailene Woodley has done with the character so I'm looking forward to watching the rest of the series.
Anyway, the whole point of this journal entry is- WTH? I feel like I've been duped with the POV Chapters in Allegient switching between Tris and Four. Like, I should have known... SPOILERS!!! SPOILERS!!! SPOILERS!!! SPOILERS!!! SPOILERS!!! SPOILERS!!! SPOILERS!!! SPOILERS!!! SPOILERS!!! SPOILERS!!!
SPOILERS!!! SPOILERS!!! SPOILERS!!! SPOILERS!!! SPOILERS!!! SPOILERS!!! SPOILERS!!! SPOILERS!!! SPOILERS!!! SPOILERS!!!
SPOILERS!!! I should have known that Tris was going to die...Divergent was told solely from Tris's point of view and then its like halfway through writing the last book the author decided she would be killing off her main character but the story would need to go on for a bit after her death so she needed someone else to tell the story after Tris's death. So she just backtracks and inserts Four POV chapters as a kind of sleight of hand thing thing...but its so obvious in hindsight.
I think its more annoying because I like the idea, the premise, and I think it could have been better written, a different ending might have served the story better. I think I would have preferred Tris live but maybe the author killed her off as a way to set this story apart from all other dystopian-young-adult trilogies. I hope that's not the only reason though like, "Ok Katniss, Peeta, Gale, Bella, Jacob and Edward they all survive so I'm going to do something different. I'm going to kill off my main characters, so there! MwahahahahHAHAHAHAHAH!!!"
Also annoying was the fact that I kept getting confused about which characters POV I was reading. Tris and Four 'sounded' like the same person. You know how there's a voice in your head when you read, its a different voice for different characters but for me reading Allegient, this voice was the same, it didn't change between Tris and Four. They used the same words, I had to keep checking whose POV I was reading. Are they so in tune with each other, so perfectly right for each other that they even think the same way?? Nope, not buying it, this was a problem with the writing.
Having said all that, good on Veronica Roth for coming up with an idea and executing it, she's a published author and now has movies based on her books. That's quite an achievement. It gives me hope that I can one day get a book written and published, and secure a movie deal
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Who will write the 1000th comment?
1 min read
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ACEO's...or not...
1 min read
I had a brilliant idea last week: Why not start making and selling those trading cards that I see once in while on here??! I already have everything I need. How hard can it be?
So I measured and cut up the last two pages from my last 300gsm watercolor pad...but it was only when I was holding one of those cards in my hand that I realised how small they are. Those things are TINY!! I have a new found respect for those artists who manage to fit so much detail on their cards.
I have a stack of about 50 cards now and dont really know what to do with them... I need smaller brushes maybe, a steadier hand, talent...
So I measured and cut up the last two pages from my last 300gsm watercolor pad...but it was only when I was holding one of those cards in my hand that I realised how small they are. Those things are TINY!! I have a new found respect for those artists who manage to fit so much detail on their cards.
I have a stack of about 50 cards now and dont really know what to do with them... I need smaller brushes maybe, a steadier hand, talent...
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Happy New Year!! I'm back... :)
4 min read
So I'm back after a long while away, spent a relaxing three week holiday planting corn, beans and cabbages and rockmelon (loooove rockmelon!!). I also pulled all my old art (from highschool and the two years I was unemployed...)out of storage so I may upload some here, if I can find a good scanner.
Not much else happening in my life at the moment, I started work again on Monday, I'm not feeling too great about this year...just uncertain about a lot of things. I started work on Monday, walked into the office and the first thing anyone said to me was "You must have eaten a lot over the holiday, you got fat.....Happy New Year!"
Huh? *&#*&%#$ W.T.F?? Like, I was going to ask how your holiday was but that just died in my throat. Some people are just so shallow. I know I'm not 'fat', I'd say I'm maybe 5-10 kg overweight but I can live with that, I don't obsess about my weight, I walk everywhere, eat mostly healhy, homecooked meals etc but I hate.(H.A.T.E!!) when you don't see someone for a while and then the first thing they say when you meet again is 'You've gained weight' or another one that I get a lot 'You lost weight, are you sick?'. The problem is that my face is always the first place change so even if I've only lost/gained 2kg, its always obvious.
And the funny thing is, she's heavier than me...well, I'm probably slightly heavier since I'm about 15cm taller, but she's no wisp...
While I'm on the topic of body issues, something a bit more positive...I was out shopping with one of my cousins during Christmas and shops were packed as they usually are at that time of year. I was walking ahead of my cousin and passed this absolutely beautiful woman, her skin was flawless, perfect eyebrows, amazing bone structure, gorgeous hair, toned body etc, in short, everything that I wish I was (when I bother to think about my appearance), I walked past her thinking "God, I really hope she's with someone who treats her right." Ok, I'm female and straight so that's kind of a weird thing to think but I've seen/heard so many stories of women in abusive relationships and I hoped that she was in a great relationship not just because she was completely beautiful but also, she seemed so chill and natural, wasn't dressing like 'look at me, I'm so hot!'... I walked on for about a minute before I realised that my cousin wasn't right behind me so I turn around and there she is, chatting with the amazingly beautiful woman.
Turns out we were neighbours a few years ago, but I had no idea. So Amazingly beautiful woman comes over to say hi. She then proceeds to explain how she's always been a 'fan' of mine for years, always admired how I dress and the way I carry myself etc, 'none of the skanky girls in this town come close, you are cool, just keep being awesome' etc. Maybe it sounds weird and stalker-ish the way I've written it her but the way she said it, it was so genuine and honest...and I'm standing there in shock, never having recieved a complement like that before.
This beautiful woman thinks I'm beautiful?? Wow, I... that's...awesome! ...it made me feel good in a different way. Its one thing to get a complement from some random guy or even some guy who has an 'interest' in you, its another thing when family and friends compliment you, but a compliment from another woman is something else altogether. I've read about it somewhere but never experienced it before, living my whole life in a small town, all the compliments I ever received were from my mums friends.
Anyway, I rarely feel great about myself so thats one I'm storing away for future reference
Hope you all have a great year!
Not much else happening in my life at the moment, I started work again on Monday, I'm not feeling too great about this year...just uncertain about a lot of things. I started work on Monday, walked into the office and the first thing anyone said to me was "You must have eaten a lot over the holiday, you got fat.....Happy New Year!"
Huh? *&#*&%#$ W.T.F?? Like, I was going to ask how your holiday was but that just died in my throat. Some people are just so shallow. I know I'm not 'fat', I'd say I'm maybe 5-10 kg overweight but I can live with that, I don't obsess about my weight, I walk everywhere, eat mostly healhy, homecooked meals etc but I hate.(H.A.T.E!!) when you don't see someone for a while and then the first thing they say when you meet again is 'You've gained weight' or another one that I get a lot 'You lost weight, are you sick?'. The problem is that my face is always the first place change so even if I've only lost/gained 2kg, its always obvious.
And the funny thing is, she's heavier than me...well, I'm probably slightly heavier since I'm about 15cm taller, but she's no wisp...
While I'm on the topic of body issues, something a bit more positive...I was out shopping with one of my cousins during Christmas and shops were packed as they usually are at that time of year. I was walking ahead of my cousin and passed this absolutely beautiful woman, her skin was flawless, perfect eyebrows, amazing bone structure, gorgeous hair, toned body etc, in short, everything that I wish I was (when I bother to think about my appearance), I walked past her thinking "God, I really hope she's with someone who treats her right." Ok, I'm female and straight so that's kind of a weird thing to think but I've seen/heard so many stories of women in abusive relationships and I hoped that she was in a great relationship not just because she was completely beautiful but also, she seemed so chill and natural, wasn't dressing like 'look at me, I'm so hot!'... I walked on for about a minute before I realised that my cousin wasn't right behind me so I turn around and there she is, chatting with the amazingly beautiful woman.
Turns out we were neighbours a few years ago, but I had no idea. So Amazingly beautiful woman comes over to say hi. She then proceeds to explain how she's always been a 'fan' of mine for years, always admired how I dress and the way I carry myself etc, 'none of the skanky girls in this town come close, you are cool, just keep being awesome' etc. Maybe it sounds weird and stalker-ish the way I've written it her but the way she said it, it was so genuine and honest...and I'm standing there in shock, never having recieved a complement like that before.
This beautiful woman thinks I'm beautiful?? Wow, I... that's...awesome! ...it made me feel good in a different way. Its one thing to get a complement from some random guy or even some guy who has an 'interest' in you, its another thing when family and friends compliment you, but a compliment from another woman is something else altogether. I've read about it somewhere but never experienced it before, living my whole life in a small town, all the compliments I ever received were from my mums friends.
Anyway, I rarely feel great about myself so thats one I'm storing away for future reference
Hope you all have a great year!
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Taking a break...
1 min read
Well it looks like I won't be on here as often as I'd like. I'm going to be away for a little while, a month or so...Starting a new project next week. I'm not really looking forward to it but I just have to suck it up and do my job.
I'll miss you all
I'll miss you all
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