True Blood author can suck no more out of vampire series
Charlaine Harris has announced that the final novel in her Southern Vampire Mysteries series will be published next year

Alison Flood
guardian.co.uk

Mourning has broken out among fans of the telepathic Louisiana waitress Sookie Stackhouse after author Charlaine Harris announced that next year would see the publication of the final novel in her Southern Vampire Mysteries series.
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...write a response to it from your character's point-of-view/pertaining to your character!

Does this prompt have anything to do with this song? :D

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Tell us about a triumph, and about a failure.

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Ciel's inspiration on this photo.

I remember the night that we went to Paris. You were done with your meetings, I was done with my show and we were free. France didn’t know me yet and you didn’t stand out enough for the fans to catch on. It was good. The way your hand tightened on my shoulder as you dragged me down these little tiny streets; it was magical. The way the language blossomed around us as mothers tucked their children in for bed or lovers parted for the evening just made everything so amazing and it made me wonder why my mother had never taken me to Paris before; why we’d never been back to the country she was born in.

There was something that I said to you, I don’t quite remember what it was, but I do recall that you laughed at it and I made some sort of defensive manoeuvre before forgetting everything that I’d been attempting to say.

The sight was amazing. The Eiffel Tower has been seen all over the world in films and photographs but this, this was just amazing. The ability to see it with my own eyes, to see it in person… I’ll never be able to thank you for dragging me away that night and making sure that I got a chance to see it. You always laughed about the fact that I didn’t want to really go out and explore France until I got the chance to experience that euphoric moment of seeing Paris light up at night but now I know what you mean. You’ve never really had a chance to experience a place until you see the most amazing sights with your own eyes.

Thank you, Jamie. You’ve helped shape my world one sight at a time.

Emil's POV on this picture: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pablocarrascosa/7190080610/


Paris, spring 2011

"It's an odd color for a hostel

I smirked as I helped carry in the last of our bags. "One thing is for sure, we won't be able to miss it, even if you lose your sense of direction and the rest of us end up blind drunk." 

Marce smacked my arm while Ida and Mark merely laughed. "It's lovely and quaint. Kind of like straight out of 'Pride and Prejudice', I think," Ida said. 

"I don't think they were painting houses in this shade of blue during Austen's time," Mark chimed in. "Even here in France." 

While Ida and Mark debated the merits of 19th century architecture, Marce and I went to the concierge to check in and get our room keys. "This is going to be one insane trip, Emil. Are you sure you don't want to fly home yet?" Marce kidded me. 

"I'm more worried about driving you insane than vice versa," I said as I got the hostel logbook. "Anyway, I've always wanted to go on a sort of Grand Tour, to see all the things we read about in school." 

"That, dear, is a very old-fashioned thing. Especially when you have the Internet." 

"Not the same as seeing it with your own eyes." 

Marce grinned as she handed the logbook to the concierge, then exchanged a few words with her in French before getting our keys. "Why must you always be right about these things?" 

"I just have good timing," I said before going to remind the bickering duo that it was time to get settled in upstairs. 

Go to the Flickr Last 7 Days page, and hit reload until you find a picture a) that has blue as a dominant color and b) that you like.

Then write a response to it from your character's point-of-view/pertaining to your character!

A fictional memoir based on a real-life spy, brilliant literary fiction with a gay flair but not much excitement.

Victor Maskell has been betrayed. After the announcement in the Commons, the hasty revelation of his double life of wartime espionage, his photograph is all over the papers. His disgrace is public, his position as curator of the Queen’s pictures terminated… Maskell writes his own testament, in an act not unlike the restoration of one of his beloved pictures, in order for the process of verification and attribution to begin.

( Kind of like John Le Carré without the suspense. )

Verdict: I remain lukewarm about most literary fiction, and decidedly lukewarm about John Banville, who writes circles around most genre writers but fails to give me characters I care about or a story that engages. This fictional memoir is a finely-crafted piece of historicized fiction, and Banville is a writer to study and appreciate for his gifts, but even though I like spy stories, I was left admiring but not enjoying The Untouchable.

Also by John Banville: My review of The Sea.

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My complete list of book reviews.

Archduke Franz Ferdinand has been assassinated, putting Europe on a march towards war. On one side lie the Darwinists (including Great Britain), who have used their knowledge of genetic manipulation to create giant beasts ideally suited for war. On the other side sits the Clankers (such as Germany), who ride into battle on giant war machines that walk on two legs. In the middle of this are two teenagers, Prince Alek, who is still recovering from the death of his parents, and Deryn, a girl who disguises herself as a boy to join the British Air Service.

Leviathan is the fourth book that I have read by Scott Westerfeld, and the first book in the Leviathan trilogy. While none of his works have really blown me away, I have to admit that there are certain things that Westerfeld does very well. With the Uglies Series, I really enjoyed how the author was able to create a rather plausible, and therefore terrifying, dystopia based on our obsession with physical attractiveness and popularity. Leviathan has equally inspired worldbuilding. Using the beginning of World War I as a backdrop, Westerfeld crafts a fascinating, steampunk fueled alternate history. I enjoyed how just a handful of changes in history (for example, Darwin’s discovery of DNA) could lead to a very different past. It also resulted in a book with some really interesting visual elements, and some great action sequences.

Like many young adult books published these days, Leviathan alternates back and forth between two protagonists. I found I connected to Deryn quite well right away, as I’ve always enjoyed stories about girls who disguise themselves as boys in order to infiltrate areas that are otherwise barred from them. I found some of her attempts to hide her gender (such as the shaving scene) to be rather humorous. Alek on the other hand, didn’t grab me as much. At first, he just seemed to do a lot of running around. Fortunately, once the two characters meet, and the Darwinists and Clankers begin to interact, the book really picks up.

After hearing that actor Alan Cumming was narrating, I knew that I had to give the audiobook a try. I was quite happy with the results, as the Cumming does a really good job of creating a variety of accents. I can see why his performance has won awards. Although it took a little while for the book to grow on me, I’m glad that I ended up picking it up. Leviathan is an all around solid adventure story filled with tons of action and drama. For those (like me) who prefer their stories well contained, I must warn you that not much is resolved by the end of Leviathan, making it at times feel like more of a set up for later books in the trilogy. Still, I found it to be an overall satisfying novel and plan on picking up the second book, Behemoth, in the future.

Rating: four stars
Length: 448 pages
Source: Lewiston Public Library
Other books I've read by this author: Uglies, Pretties, Specials, Extras

Next I will be reviewing Fables Vol 6: Homelands by Bill Willingham and Timeless by Gail Carriger

xposted totemporaryworlds, bookish, and goodreads

Tell us about a triumph, and about a failure

I'll discuss the failure first, to have it over with. My mother hosted a party once to try and impress some high society people, and the son of a minor baron was in attendance. Mother insisted I try to make friends. I did my best, but. . .well, we had absolutely nothing in common. Every topic of conversation I offered up, he shot down, and every topic he offered up, I knew almost nothing about. I also think he knew my mother told me to talk to him, which couldn't have helped matters. He walked out of the party unimpressed with me and my family, and I got a lecture from Mother on my lack of proper male interests.

As for a triumph. . . I really don't like to play piano in front of crowds, but I have managed it. Mother brought some people over after I'd been having lessons for about a year to hear me play. I was terribly nervous, but I managed to get through all the songs I learned without making a single mistake. I was very proud of myself. Mother even told me I'd done a nice job. I begged her not to make a habit of it, though. Fortunately, she didn't -- I think mostly because Father sensed that music was a more private thing for me and talked with her as well.

It seems like someone on the internet might find this useful - I log my spending compulsively, which means I know exactly what I spent on the Japan trip. (Except for the Ramen Alley incident.)

( The total is $3,049.60. )

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