Let's Talk About [Books], Baby!

Books! LET'S TALK ABOUT BOOKS!

I've posted before about books... including my long delayed 30 Day Book Challenge posts... I really need to get up to date on those... woops!(it's even worse because I do have some typed up already), but today I am bringing up the topic of books for a different reason.

Today I am packing- my books that is. The hundreds of books with thousands of pages between them are going into storage because I will be moving overseas for a while. As a result all of my books(with the exception of 5- my friends put a limit on how many books I may take with me) will be boxed up and placed in storage in my parents garage. 

It's not so much the packing of the books that makes it difficult. I love my books but I have had to pack them before so that I could move- It is the fact that I will not be accessing these books for a significant period of time, and therein lies the problem.

With previous moves, I have just packed the books into boxes, got on with it, moved and unpacked. As such the only order in packing my books came as a matter of:

- what size books fit effectively in this size box?

   and

- How can I minimise the space required for storage.

This time my problem is how to effectively pack these books in such a manner that if I decide I really want to take a particular book with me and I have packed it away, I can quickly locate it and access it. I am also trying to keep my book series together. I read a lot of series and am fans of particular authors work whether as part of a series or otherwise, as such I have probably 10+ authors where I have 5 or more books by that author. Not to mention the few such as Christine Feehan, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Clive Cussler, John Marsden, Tamora Pierce, and Patricia Cornwell of whose books combined could fill a box alone. This makes it a challenge to pack my books, especially when I have both hardcovers as well as soft covers for a few of these authors.

As such I have come up with a plan. 

- I will label boxes(I never label boxes) with the authors name

- I will put as many series in a box as possible in order to minimise the amoutn of boxes I may find myself raiding in the next 5 weeks.

- I will try to leave certain books until last. If not because I want to take them with me, but because Garth Nix and Matthew Reilly are both going to be at Supanova this June and I haven't got all my Matthew Reilly books signed or any of my Garth Nix books signed.

In the meantime I shall drink my Kossu and try to not get to too depressed over the packing away of books, after all- It's just temporary and it's a sign of change in my life. Bring on Finland!

~~Random Logic~~

Castle Season 4 Finale Time!

So today was the much awaited, highly anticipated, finale of season 4 of Castle. The episode is titled Always and there has been much speculation amongst fans about this episode over the past few weeks.... Maybe even months. And it ends what has proven to be a season that has left many on edge at various stages throughout.

---- WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW ----

Season 4 started with Kate Beckett (Stana Katic) being rushed into surgery after having been shot in the season 3 finale. Richard Castle (Nathan Fillion) had ended that season for us with the three words we had been wanting to hear him say to Beckett forever. He told her he loved her as she lay bleeding on the ground. She later told him she didn't remember anything about being shot and we find out she did indeed know.

Season 4 was full of tension. There were many moments where I, and I'm sure other fans thought that Beckett would reveal her feelings to Castle (4x07: Cops and Robbers) only to be cut off or distracted by something else. But we had to wait, and finally in this finale, we get what we have been waiting for.

This episode had, I think, some of the most brilliant acting I have seen throughout the entire series. Whilst Stana Katic and Nathan Fillion never fail to deliver in any episode, it will be hard to top this most recent one. We have in impassioned declaration by Fillion as Castle openly declares his love for Beckett and begs her not to pursue the current case, a case which has ties back to her own shooting as well as the murder of her mother. His secrets are revealed and she shoots him down. He declares that he is walking away, refusing to watch her let herself be killed. Both had tears in their eyes through this scene, and I must admit so did I.

We also get to see some other brilliant acting from Beckett. The confrontation between herself and the man who shot her (Tamoh Penikett), who we finally have a name and a face for, even if that name- Cole Maddox - is most likely just an alias. That showdown was great, and although his part was just small I'm looking forward to seeing him back in Season 5. The best part of that showdown however, was the end. Beckett hanging by her fingertips from a building and facing her own mortality once again as her shooter gets away. Someone calls her name, she thinks it's Castle coming, turns out it's just Ryan, and some other cops all geared up. Oh, and Captain 'Iron' Gates.

The unsuprising result of this is that Javier Esposito and Kate Beckett get put on administrative leave by the no-nonsense Gates. The suprising thing- Kate resigns.

The episode definitely ends fantastically as well. Alexis is graduating High School and giving her speech at the ceremony, this is intespersed with scenes of Kate as she packs her desk and the chilliness of the bromance gone sour between Esposito and Ryan who were at odds from the moment the case was revealed to be linked to Beckett's shooting.

I think one of my favourite parts of the ending is with Beckett sitting on the swing in the rain. You can just see her processing what has happened and where she wants to be as well as remembering the conversation with Castle in the first episode of the season where she talks about the brick wall she has built up around herself.

But by far my favourite scene and the one we have all been waiting for waiting for was the very final scene between Beckett and Castle. She turns up at his loft, soaked, and with a tear stained face to apologise and tell him she wants him. Fantastic.... and FINALLY!

So what will next season hold? I have no idea!

As things stand at the moment:

• Beckett and Castle are finally together .
• Beckett has resigned.
• Esposito is on administrative leave.
• Ryan is getting the cold shoulder from Esposito for going to Gates.
• The mysterious Mr Smith, one of Montgomery's friends, is facing the end of his blackmail on those who tried to kill Beckett.
• There is most definitely still a hit out on Beckett and she will have to face that again next season.

I do hope we get a bit more on Castle's father next season. This season touched on the fact that he may have been a CIA agent... whether there is truth in this we are yet to see. I also hope to see Beckett's mother's murder finally wrapped up. This finale has shown that while it's definitely still a driving force behind why she does what she does it is no longer the be all and end all for her. I think to drag it on for much longer would be just a little much even if all of the related episodes have been simply brilliant.

So here's to Andrew Marlowe, his brilliant creation and all those who make this show what it is. Let's hope season 5 starts off with a bang!

~~ Random Logic ~~

Joss Whedon is God!

So it's almost midnight here in Sydney, and I just got home not long ago from watching The Avengers.

This movie is BRILLIANT!

I have to say I'm not the first person to go out and watch the latest movie based off comic books or cartoons be it superhero or not. Spiderman, Superman and Batman have never really done anything for me for the most part. I've never seen a Hulk film and I hadn't seen the first Iron Man movie until the second had been and gone from the cinema. I had however watched Thor when it came out at the cinema, and then Captain America when it too came out. I enjoyed them both and the trailers for the Avengers had me wanting to see it from the first moment I saw them.

They do not disappoint.

 

Joss Whedon(Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, Serenity, Dollhouse, Dr Horrible's Sing Along Blog) has done amazing things with this movie. He is known for having a cult following for his tv shows, which brilliant as I, and many of his other fans think they are, always seem to get cancelled.With The Avengers he hits all the right spots. The dialogue wasn't forced, the interaction between characters was fantastic and the whole thing was just thoroughly entertaining. I posted on my facebook page he is god and had a friend comment that she read somewhere that this film is a giant "F*** YOU!" to anyone who had ever cancelled a Joss Whedon show. I would have to agree. He inserts humour without it being over the top and makes it all enjoyable. The movie is never dull and there is no over-emphasis on any one character which is something that could have happened considering the fact that you have six superheroes in one film.

This film will, I daresay, go down as having been the best film of the year. It's definitely the best one I have seen this year and probably even last year and I only hope they keep Whedon on if they make a sequel. They'd be stupid not to!

~~ Random Logic ~~

Hyvää Ystävänpäivää!

So, I've said it before and I'll say it again. Friends make the moments... even when there aren't moments they still make the non-moments into moments.

And on today I felt it rather appropriate to write another post celebrating the friendships I have created with people from all around the world.

You rock. All of you.

Hyvää ystävänpäivää to every single one of my friends around the world. If I could I would message you all individually with a little message of awesomeness and thanks for the friendship we have.

I really think that Finns have this Valentines Day thing right. Sure it's great to celebrate the loves in our life but too often people forget to celebrate those friends that make life possible.

“A journey is rather measured by friends than miles”

A friend posted this on her Facebook status just now and I couldn't help but be struck by the truth of this. Without friends what is a journey? They make life better. They make life fulfilling. And I'm not talking about the type of friends on facebook who you only have on there for a game or because they added you because you went to school together and barely spoke to each other in that time. I'm talking about true friends. Friends with whom you can talk on all sorts of subject matter. Friends with whom you can share your thoughts, worries, and joys. People who when you think of them you can't help but think of then with a smile on your face. Friends who even though you may never have met each other in person have struck and stuck to your life in some manner.

So here is my message to my friends:

 I love you guys.

You make life worth living. 

 

You make happiness from nothing.

You make experiences worth having

You make the journey worth sharing.

Thank you.

~~Random Logic~~

30 Day Book Challenge- Day 4

I did say I would have another one up in a couple of days... and here it is!

Day 4: Book That Makes You Cry. 

This is a book that is written by my favourite author, John Marsden. It is the first book in the Ellie Chronicles which is a continuation on the end of the Tomorrow Series. It is set after the events of the Tomorrow Series as the country is piecing itself back together. I chose this book out of several I could have chosen from for this category because the first time I read it, and many times since it has made me cry within the first few pages with deaths occurring that set the tone for the series and greatly affect the mental state of the main character. John Marsden is not an author to pull punches to appease his readers and I think that for this reason he is such a successful and loved author for young adults around the world. I only hope that between his other endeavours that he has in his life that he continues to write and produce these fantastic stories for younger people.

If you haven't read the Tomorrow Series or any other John Marsden books I suggest you do. Fantastic reads no matter your age.

~~~

That is all for today. More again tomorrow... or in a few days. You never know with these things and it is the weekend after all.

~~Random Logic~~

30 Day Book Challenge- Day 3

Okay, so I'm months behind on this and it's appalling. I'm ashamed of myself but as I'm on a train for the next 6 hours I figured I would give myself time to write out some of these blog posts.

Day 3: Book That Makes You Laugh.

This book is part of a series I love a lot. It's the fifth book of the series and definitely not the only one to make me laugh but it is the one that makes me laugh the most. It introduces a whole host of new characters from diverse backgrounds ranging from a former child actor to a Gamorrean pilot into the series. These characters chosen for their piloting skills second behind other skills which combined make them ideal for infiltration missions somehow mesh together and with a notorious prankster in their midst they get up to all sorts of mischief and pranking of not only each other but their enemies too. One of the most memorable involves Ewok humour and continues through into later books.

All in all it is a fantastically written book by Aaron Allston who continues the series in such a way as to be worthy of the preceding books as well as with more humour than any of those books.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

And that is all for Day 3. I will have another post up hopefully tomorrow or later this week. I do have several that need to be typed up first.

10 Years- We Remember

It hardly seems like 10 years since the hijacking of four planes and the attack of the World Trade Centres and the Pentagon. Yet 10 years later we remember 9/11.

There are many things that have occurred in the past 10 years; War in Afghanistan, war in Iraq, attacks in London, bombs in Bali, and the death of Osama Bin Laden which was a moment that many had been waiting for since the attacks. But the biggest change is the sense that none of us are safe. The attacks shook the world and the sense that we in western nations are safe is one that will probably never be regained fully.

I guess the one thing that really comes to mind at the moment when talking about that sense is a quote from Tomorrow, When The War Began by John Marsden

"But I've learnt something now. Corrie, we were still innocent. Right up to yesterday. We didn't believe in Santa Claus but we believed in other fantasies. You said it. You said the big one. We believed we were safe. That was the big fantasy. Now we know we're not, and like you said, we'll never feel safe again, and so it's bye-bye innocence. It's been nice knowing you, but you're gone now."   (pg.107.)

It's definitely a changed world we live in now. I can't imagine what it is like for those who were born after the attacks on this day. They will forever share a joyous occasion with one of the most heinous acts. I can only hope that they will come to understand the whole story behind the date.

May all those who died in the attacks both directly and as a result of actions to help those in the attacked buildings be remembered. May the family's of those once again come to know joy and move on from this tragedy.

May we around the world remember and work towards a better and more peaceful world.