Sunday, October 31, 2010

October Post Failure :(

I am so sorry, but the Nightmare Novels posting to celebrate October and Halloween seems to have been a bust. In the end, I only got the chance to read about 3 novels, because life has just been so overloaded this month!

First of all, its my bday month. Which does, indeed, take up a lot of my time and thought process (I'm one of those completely weirdo kids that enjoys indexing their bday list to the point of ridiculousness). So I celebrated, and definitely ignored my reading obligations in the process.

Secondly, school has been mental. For instance, at least an hour of every single day of the past two weeks has been spent working on an essay of some kind. In short: monumentally lame. But it could be worse: I'm only taking AP English and AP US History, but my friends are taking AP Chem as well. So, I could be in their shoes, which would probably be very tight and uncomfortable.

Anyways, Happy Halloween! Hopefully your month has been more fruitful than mine. Eat some candy, and don't smash anyone's pumpkins. Because that would be mean.




Saturday, October 23, 2010

Nightmarish Novels #s 2 & 3 - Frankenstein & Hound of the Baskervilles

Thank my AP US History teacher, for giving me multiple essays; my AP English teacher, for giving me even MORE essays; and my Journalsim teacher, who is teachng us Co-Editors-in-Chiefs how to lay out a newspaper; for the lack of time I've been able to spend reading. Well, not true. While I do get time to read, I do not necessarily get time to write. I'm usually too emotionally and physically drained by the other things I'm forced to write to write anymore (Also, my Mom's been using my computer for her Master's classes, soI guess I have to thank her teachers, too).

However, non-sarcastic thanks to my Chem teacher for extending the due date on our homework, so I actually have time to write! ( Before rushing to finish an AP US History essay as well as memorize a Spanish essay and revise a AP Eng project...)

Anyways, Nightmare Novels #2, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. This is actually a reread, namely because I thoroughly enjoyed the book the first time, and because last weekend was the PSAT around here. The book had all its 625 SAT words highlighted and defined. (Even though, of course, the reading section is my best section :) ). Anyways, I love the old-time classic horror stuff, and this book always fills the bill. I rememeber that the first time I read this book in the 9th grade, I was confused because of all the differences between the book version of the Frankenstein Monster, and the movie and pop-culture version that everyone is acquainted with. While the book's monster was yellow-skinned, black-lipped, had long black hair, and was originally designed to be a handsome fella (turning out horribly wrong), there are no bolts in his neck, he is not green, and his head is not flat-topped and rectangular as other representations give me cause to believe. Not to mention that he develops to be quite eloquent, instead of that whole groaning-and-broken-words type vocab. In my head, the book version is much scarier, so since it seems the world is currently undergoing a sort of Monster-Renaissance, would someone please make an accurate cinematic representation of the book? For me?

The third Nighmare Novel I read, Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, was also a reread but with less a lengthy interval between readings: I originally read it earlier this summer, stemming from my introduction to the Sherlock Holmes book series. Of course I enjoyed the book, duh, seeing as though I love mystery and horror, (though in nowhere near equal parts), but the combination is absolutely perfect. The entire thing was great. It was also a suitable launching point for me into the world of Holmes & Watson, though I am a little upset that I can't find a good movie version anywhere...

So thats what I've been reading. I'm running out of time, as well as suitable Halloween reading material. Soon enough November will be upon us, Washington will manage to get even rainier (ha, Washington, rainier, Mt. Rainier, haha, nevermind), and I'll be able to start working through all the "fall" books that have been piling up during my foray into the realm of fear-fiction.

I feel the need to bake something with pumpkin in it.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Nightmarish Novels #1 - The Island of Dr. Moreau

For the month of October, I'm devoting my precious reading time to all things scary, spooky, creepy, and terrifying. Face it, it's the best time of the year to read this sort of stuff! On a dark and stormy night, sitting at home all alone, while the spindly, twisted limbs of trees outside reach to you for relief of an unseen pain, creaking and moaning as they suffer... their brown, shriveled departed leaves skitter along the ground, whispering among themselves about what is to befall you... the moon calmly watches high above, having watched you many times before, while the neighborhood stray cat slinks away from its gaze...

Okay, so yeah, October is definitely my 2nd favorite month. Its entirety is spent in preparation for Halloween, and is easily symbolized by the cracked, mad smile of a glowing pumpkin. Candy pours from everywhere, and SyFy manages to get even wierder with a slew of "horror" movies you can't help but openly laugh at. How can you NOT get into the spirit?

First book on the list is The Island of Dr. Moreau, written by H.G. Wells in 1896. Even if you don't enjoy it along with buckets of candy corn or a mug of Pumpkin Spice Latte, this book packs a punch, for all its 140 pages. Though not officially classified as a horror novel, it's a pretty freaky one, and was released into protests and claims of blasphemy and evil. Where the Time Machine showed the more wonderous aspects of future sciences, this one shows its capacity for horrible misuse, by the infamous Dr. Moreau. Some of its images of "Beastly Monsters" stay with you.

It really was a good book, and one of the first ones to really freak me out in a while. Like, a little bit less than Nightmare level, but definitely above Avoiding the Anatomy &Physiology Classroom. At any rate, it was a good start to October. Now for even more terror... bring it on! MWAHAHAHAHA