forget the reception...

...bust out the dancing during the ceremony, haha!



what a fun wedding party! unfortunately i don't think that our wedding will be quite like this one - i don't think justin and i can pull this off. let's be real here, we're asian...we can't dance. :)

thanks for the link, jen!

whirlwind weekend

friday night: harry potter and the half-blood prince
saturday: distillery district/st.lawrence's market/meandering through the streets of downtown/the old spaghetti factory/yorkville
sunday: cornerstone/lick's/markville

this weekend has left me feeling exhausted with a side of sore feet (so much walking on sat), but i had a lot of fun hanging out and meeting up with different friends at various points throughout. the best part though? spending the entire weekend with my favourite. :)

wizards vs. vampires

ahh, the infamous harry potter vs. twilight debate. with the release of the sixth harry potter movie, harry potter and the half blood prince (i am so excited for this!), there has been a lot of talk going on comparing the two franchises. it's actually a little funny how dramatic things have gotten and how, umm, passionate fans have become. for example, look at the picture someone (clearly a fan) made above: "only one can survive"? that's edward cullen in the picture not lord voldemort, silly!

anyway, since movies for both series are still being made, i feel i can only really have an objective opinion on the book series which are both finished. with that being said, i gotta say harry potter > twilight. hands down.

now don't get me wrong, i don't have anything against the twilight series and i actually thought it was alright - it just wasn't anywhere near as good as harry potter in my opinion (j.k. rowling > stephenie meyer big time.) think about it this way: in ten years i'll probably still be reading and re-reading my harry potter books and talking about how great they are meanwhile, the only thing i'll be saying about twilight is how hot robert pattinson was as a vampire in the movie, haha.

book nook: bloodsucking fiends

bloodsucking fiends: a love story
christopher moore

first was harry potter with the wizards and witches, then twilight with the vampires, then the mortal instruments with the shadowhunters/fairies/warlocks/demons/vampires/werewolves, and now bloodsucking fiends with some more vampires - hmm, i seem to be on some kind of fantasy reading kick. love this genre.

anyway, i came across this book at the library and read good things about christopher moore so i decided to give it a try. this story follows jody, a young woman in her twenties who is turned into a vampire one night. it basically takes you on her journey of discovering her new life and trying to adapt to being nocturnal while meeting interesting characters along the way. there are some funny parts and i found myself giggling at times which is always a plus. i did, however, think the ending was a little weak, but that's just my own opinion.

this book is kind of a meld of different genres: there are supernatural elements making it a little fantasy, some plot twists that make it a little mystery (to some degree), and it's a love story (see title) making it a little romance too. i guess if you're looking for an light read which is a melting pot of different genres, then this book could work for you.

generally speaking i thought it was an ok read. i didn't think it was outstanding, but i thought it was alright. overall, i'm glad i gave moore a chance...maybe i'll try reading another one of his books whenever i get around to it.

book nook: the mortal instruments

the mortal instruments
cassandra clare

this book series is a trilogy made up of three books: city of bones, city of ashes, and city of glass. considered part of the urban fantasy book genre, the story is set in modern day new york city and the plot centres around clary, a teenager and the main protagonist, who basically finds herself immersed in the world of shadowhunters, vampires, werewolves, warlocks, demons, and fairies after a series of events that happen one night and her mom disappears. the books outline her journey into that world while she tries to find and save her mom from whatever - or whoever - took her away with her best friend simon, befriends a trio of young shadowhunters (jace, isabelle, and alex), and uncovers secrets about herself and her life that she never even knew existed.

city of bones is clare's first novel and she did a great job setting up the scene for the rest of the series. the world she created was creative, the character development was good, the plot kept me interested, and her descriptions and writing style in general were really enjoyable to read. city of bones itself was full of action, suspense, romance, teenage angst (haha), and humour, and the rest of the series continued to be just as good, if not better. i'm already looking forward to reading her next series (a prequel to the mortal instruments) which is scheduled to come out sometime next year.

anyway, if you liked the twilight series then you absolutely should read this one because it is so much better (cassandra clare totally owns stephenie meyer, it's not even funny.) i definitely recommend this series to anyone looking for a short book series, easy reads, and a great story line. the mortal instruments has joined the harry potters as one of my favourite book series! :)