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! :)

michael jackson (1958-2009)

still can't believe he's gone. the news of his passing was shocking although i guess to some extent it wasn't entirely a surprise since he didn't look that healthy towards the end. justin and i spent a good chunk of time yesterday flipping back and forth between news broadcasts covering the story totally speechless. we couldn't believe it...so tragic.

even though he was one wierd dude, his music was and continues to be phenomenal - you just can't help but move to his beats. his death is definitely a huge loss for the music world. so tragic.

rip mj, rip.

click here to view the greatest music video of all time.
(youtube has disabled embedding for this one.)

twilight and the mortal instruments

bahaha, this comic says it all: it's a pretty good depiction of what happened to me (and i'm sure countless others) when i first started reading the twilight series. ok it's not entirely 100% accurate, but the gist of things is there. as i've said before the writing is bad, but somehow you still get sucked into everything anyway. :P

click on the comic to make it bigger. and readable.
speaking of book series, i recently got around to starting the mortal instruments series by cassandra clare and so far i'm really liking it (although sometimes it can get really dark and a little scary). clare writes so much better than meyer and i find myself wanting to read more which always a good sign, although a little inconvenient when reading during the early hours of the morning. i just finished reading the second book a couple of days ago and have been itching to read the third, and last, one ever since. unfortunately there are a whole crapload of holds on the the book at the library and i don't want to buy the hardcover version, so i'm waiting for the paperback version to come out (release date is july 6th) so i can buy it and devour the pages. until then, i'll probably just reread the first two books...or make a trip to chapters to read that third one. hahaha. :P

musicophilia

ok this isn't from the book (which is still sitting on my shelf, waiting for me to read), but here's an interesting article about music and the brain from good ol' scientific american. :)

book nook: the wednesday letters

the wednesday letters
jason f. wright

after reading the twilight series, i was in need of a change in pace (a 25 year old can only read so many teen fiction books in a row before it starts becoming a little ridiculous, haha) and this book was definitely just what i needed.

the 'wednesday letters' refers to letters written by a husband (jack) to his wife (laurel) every wednesday from their wedding night until their passing. when these two characters pass away, jack's letters are unearthed by their adult children (matthew, samantha, and malcolm) and the novel basically follows the discovery of these letters and the uncovering of hidden family secrets while also following the 'present dramas' in the lives of the grown children.

i found myself getting caught up in the story line, sympathizing with characters, and tearing up at the ending - all signs of a good book. from family drama to forgiveness, this story touches on many things. it's a nice and wholesome, and will probably leave you feeling the warm fuzzies when you turn over the last page. a great book if you're looking for an easy read that won't take you long to finish. :)

thinking about september...

ok, now it's starting to sink in even more: i'm going back to school. yah i'm pretty excited, but now some nerves are starting to kick in as well. it's been three years since i've been a full-time student...what if i've forgotten how to do it? (what is this homework business?) the fact that i don't know anyone at mac is a little daunting as well. o_O plus, i have the feeling that the switch between music therapy and occupational therapy is going to be really different and challenging for me (it'll be one steep learning curve), but i think this change will be worth it. this is the hope anyway because it has to be. good grief, please be worth it!

p.s. anyone have any friends going to mac who are looking for housemates this september? :)

p.p.s. today is the last day before my provisional acceptance at mac becomes firm and my hopes of going staying in toronto are crushed. to be waitlisted at your first choice, but accepted everywhere else is on one hand really good, but at the same time it really sucks! :P oh uoft, i guess you and i just weren't meant to be...

the fu wedding

a beautiful day for a beautiful couple. congrats clinton and evie! :)

the final decision

after flipping back and forth, thinking long and hard, and mulling over this decision again and again, i've decided to provisionally accept my admission offer at mac.

a part of me is still hoping that a miracle will happen and i will somehow get into UofT before june 12th (which is when all provisional acceptances become firm and my name is taken off toronto's waitlist), but either way it's a win-win situation. at the end of the day, i honestly think that mac's program can and will offer me so much and really, no matter where i end up the end result is the same: i'll get a MScOT. :)

now i can really let it all sink in. i'm going back to school for occupational therapy! :D