Some of you may remember my blog post about the John Barrowman book signing. In it I said I would soon be giving my review of Hollow Earth. You may have thought that I'd forgotten all about it (or you may have forgotten yourself) but don't worry, I remember and though this is a little later than 'soon', I'm giving this post over to my review.
Saturday 23 March 2013
Friday 15 March 2013
Red Nose Day
Just a short post today in honour of Comic Relief.
I have a few fond memories of Red Nose Day. At school it was one of my favourite days in the year because we got to dress in 'home' clothes and do something fun, like wear a wig. One year our teachers all came to school in their pyjamas. We did have fun and we used to raise quite a bit of money too.
I have a few fond memories of Red Nose Day. At school it was one of my favourite days in the year because we got to dress in 'home' clothes and do something fun, like wear a wig. One year our teachers all came to school in their pyjamas. We did have fun and we used to raise quite a bit of money too.
Sunday 10 March 2013
So You Want to Work in Publishing?
Week six of my second trimester is almost over (yes, really!), so now seems like the time for some good old reflection. Before I started my MSc Publishing course I knew we would be required to participate in 'live projects', producing a book and a magazine. During our first trimester our work was all geared to providing us with the skills needed to complete these projects. The individual proposals we all worked on for the book live project had me imagining an exciting collaboration to produce a beautiful, interesting book. There were so many good ideas and I couldn't wait to get started on it.
The reality, as is so often the case, has been somewhat different.
The reality, as is so often the case, has been somewhat different.
Tuesday 5 March 2013
Book Review: The Fault In Our Stars
This is my first attempt at a book review since I was in high school, so please forgive me if this sounds rusty.
I'm sure you've all heard of The Fault In Our Stars by John Green. It's one of those books that is so famous, lines of it exist independently. You know what I mean - "the world is not a wish-granting factory" and "I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once." To be honest, it is not my usual type of book. In fact, I probably would never have read it had it not become such a big thing on tumblr and had several of my friends not recommended it. I approached it with a bit of trepidation, unsure, exactly, what to expect, but as it turns out I actually really enjoyed the book.
A book that deals with teenagers suffering from cancer has the potential to be unbearably sad, but John Green has managed to interweave tragedy and humour into a punchy, heart-rending and yet heart-warming narrative. I defy you not to like Hazel, the protagonist and narrator. She was witty and fiesty and made me think about what it must be like to be in her situation. Her anger at the way people respond to kids with cancer was interesting and made me contemplate what my own reaction would be. I think it's true that we can drown cancer sufferers in pity and we do talk about their bravery and how hard they seem to fight. We do it, perhaps, because we can't imagine what they arre going through and we admire them. But until reading TFIOS I never considered how this might seem to someone with cancer. Hazel doesn't see herself as brave and she doesn't want to be; she just wants to be 'normal' and treated like her old high school friends.
It is Hazel's relationship with Augustus Waters that forms the main heart of the story, and I found it a refreshing love story. Augustus is charming and humorous and I think the reader ends up falling a little in love with him along with Hazel. I loved their trip to Amsterdam to visit Peter Van Houten, author of Hazel's favourite book. It was such a romantic gesture for Augustus to spend his wish on the trip and I found the descriptions of Amsterdam enchanting. I think it makes the (spoiler alert; although, to be honest if you don't know this, where have you been?) return of Augustus' cancer all the more of an emotional punch.
Green does not shy away from describing the brutality of the disease. We see how it eats away at Augustus and experience through Hazel and those around her the pain that it causes to the patient and their loved ones. I had a lump in my throat at several points, but Green never gets bogged down in the sorrow. Hazel maintains her wit and her bursts of anger at the universe and the people in it struck me as realistic. I came away from this book with a different perspective on what it must be like to suffer from cancer. This book will make you laugh and cry. Don't let the subject matter put you off. I can promise you that you won't regret picking up this wonderful book.
Annette xx
I'm sure you've all heard of The Fault In Our Stars by John Green. It's one of those books that is so famous, lines of it exist independently. You know what I mean - "the world is not a wish-granting factory" and "I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once." To be honest, it is not my usual type of book. In fact, I probably would never have read it had it not become such a big thing on tumblr and had several of my friends not recommended it. I approached it with a bit of trepidation, unsure, exactly, what to expect, but as it turns out I actually really enjoyed the book.
A book that deals with teenagers suffering from cancer has the potential to be unbearably sad, but John Green has managed to interweave tragedy and humour into a punchy, heart-rending and yet heart-warming narrative. I defy you not to like Hazel, the protagonist and narrator. She was witty and fiesty and made me think about what it must be like to be in her situation. Her anger at the way people respond to kids with cancer was interesting and made me contemplate what my own reaction would be. I think it's true that we can drown cancer sufferers in pity and we do talk about their bravery and how hard they seem to fight. We do it, perhaps, because we can't imagine what they arre going through and we admire them. But until reading TFIOS I never considered how this might seem to someone with cancer. Hazel doesn't see herself as brave and she doesn't want to be; she just wants to be 'normal' and treated like her old high school friends.
 | |
| The Fault In Our Stars cover |
It is Hazel's relationship with Augustus Waters that forms the main heart of the story, and I found it a refreshing love story. Augustus is charming and humorous and I think the reader ends up falling a little in love with him along with Hazel. I loved their trip to Amsterdam to visit Peter Van Houten, author of Hazel's favourite book. It was such a romantic gesture for Augustus to spend his wish on the trip and I found the descriptions of Amsterdam enchanting. I think it makes the (spoiler alert; although, to be honest if you don't know this, where have you been?) return of Augustus' cancer all the more of an emotional punch.
Green does not shy away from describing the brutality of the disease. We see how it eats away at Augustus and experience through Hazel and those around her the pain that it causes to the patient and their loved ones. I had a lump in my throat at several points, but Green never gets bogged down in the sorrow. Hazel maintains her wit and her bursts of anger at the universe and the people in it struck me as realistic. I came away from this book with a different perspective on what it must be like to suffer from cancer. This book will make you laugh and cry. Don't let the subject matter put you off. I can promise you that you won't regret picking up this wonderful book.
Annette xx
Saturday 2 March 2013
Meeting John Barrowman
It's been another really busy week, but the highlight was attending a book signing on Wednesday at Waterstones by THE John Barrowman. That's right, Captain Jack was in Edinburgh to sign copies of Bone Quill, his newest novel, and there was no way I was going to miss the chance to see him in person. I've never met anyone famous (anyone exciting anyway) and I've loved John since the moment I first saw him on Doctor Who. Plus, I'm making it a point of attending as many book/publishing related events as I can, and a book signing is definitely publishing related.
Needless to say, Waterstones was chock-a-block with fans, but luckily my friend, Jen, arrived early and got a spot near the start of the queue for us. The level of excitement and impatience amongst the crowd as we waited was almost tangible, and when John and his sister, Carole (who co-authors the books with him) started to descend the stairs everyone cheered. Immediately phones were whipped out as people tried to get pictures. I attempted to take some myself, but I was shaking through sheer excitement so much that they came out a bit blurry! Still, as Jen pointed out, they are proof that we did indeed meet him.
Both John and Carole were so nice. Carole asked me how I was, which I thought was really sweet of her. And John was so gracious when I embarrassed myself and asked him if he'd be interested in teaming up with Merchiston Publishing for a potential e-book. I was coerced into asking this by my so-called friends (thanks guys) and my excited tutor who found out I was attending the book signing. I am still in a state of utter horror that I actually asked him about it; sorry, John! But the silver lining is that I actually spoke to him and he was lovely. He's just like you see him on TV; completely down-to-earth. It was a brilliant, if slightly surreal experience, and now I have two books signed by one of my favourite actors. As days go, that was pretty darn good!
I shall be reading Hollow Earth (the first of the two books) next, so stayed tuned for my review at some future date.
Annette xx
Needless to say, Waterstones was chock-a-block with fans, but luckily my friend, Jen, arrived early and got a spot near the start of the queue for us. The level of excitement and impatience amongst the crowd as we waited was almost tangible, and when John and his sister, Carole (who co-authors the books with him) started to descend the stairs everyone cheered. Immediately phones were whipped out as people tried to get pictures. I attempted to take some myself, but I was shaking through sheer excitement so much that they came out a bit blurry! Still, as Jen pointed out, they are proof that we did indeed meet him.
 | ||
| John & Carole Barrowman |
Both John and Carole were so nice. Carole asked me how I was, which I thought was really sweet of her. And John was so gracious when I embarrassed myself and asked him if he'd be interested in teaming up with Merchiston Publishing for a potential e-book. I was coerced into asking this by my so-called friends (thanks guys) and my excited tutor who found out I was attending the book signing. I am still in a state of utter horror that I actually asked him about it; sorry, John! But the silver lining is that I actually spoke to him and he was lovely. He's just like you see him on TV; completely down-to-earth. It was a brilliant, if slightly surreal experience, and now I have two books signed by one of my favourite actors. As days go, that was pretty darn good!
 |
| One of my signed books |
I shall be reading Hollow Earth (the first of the two books) next, so stayed tuned for my review at some future date.
Annette xx
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