Numb Weight - A "I'm Not Sure What This Is" Work

There’s a numbness in my heart,
That’s weighing me down,
Making it almost impossible to carry me around,
So don’t throw me off a cliff, my darling,
Cos the freefall will feel strangely superb,
But the crashing into the ground will bring the numb back.

There’s a numbness in my heart,
And it spreading into my head,
Crushing the brain within my skull,
So, please, my darling, don’t take me to the river’s edge,
Because the drowning will feel so wonderful,
But the drowned won’t feel at all.

There’s a numbness in my heart,
In my head and now in my veins,
Chilling me in ways that warmth will never reclaim,
So don’t take me to the bonfire, my darling,
Because the burning will be exquisitely beautiful,
But the smell of burnt flesh might be too much.

There’s a numb weight within me,
I’m a dead weight in your fragile arms,
So leave me on the ground in a small tiny ball,
Go, my darling, and live your emotion-filled life,
For then I’ll live inside this strange empty void,
Till the tears of the stars wash this numbness away…

GoodRead - UK Cover Vs US Cover

Am very excited about this blog entry on UK Cover Vs US Cover! Just... aw! It's the third book in the Hunger Games trilogy, "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins!

So, here is the UK cover (just revealed yesterday!)



And here is the US cover.



Now, after months of knowing the US cover and annoying ScholasticUK with tweets, we have a UK cover. And I love it! I adore the UK cover! I like the US cover, but the UK cover...

Sorry, but it's been so long waiting...

BeforeUGo - May 2010 Recommendations

So, later than normal, here is May 2010's recommendations! Enjoy!!!

KATE MILLER-HEIDKE - http://www.myspace.com/katemillerheidke
FLORENCE + THE MACHINE - http://florenceandthemachine.net/
LET'S BUY HAPPINESS - http://www.myspace.com/letsbuyhappinessuk
BRAND NEW - http://www.myspace.com/brandnew or http://www.fightoffyourdemons.com/
WHITLEY - http://www.myspace.com/whitleymusic

Sorry for my lateness. ENJOY THE MUSIC!!!

GoodRead - UK Cover Vs US Cover

It's been a while, but I have just found a UK cover for a book series that I have recently got into (not reading book 4 yet! And awaiting the collection of short stories then am overdosing myself on this series!) The series is Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz and the book cover is for the fifth book in the series, "Misguided Angel".

So, here is the UK cover...


And here is the US cover...


US cover for me on this one. I like the UK cover, but there's something about the US cover that I quite like.

But what do you think? US cover or UK cover?

NOTE - Misguided Angel won't be out in the UK till 7th October 2010 and will be published by Atom Books.

GoodRead - Prophecy Of The Sisters

It's quite a bit late and I can not go to bed without quickly reviewing the book (okay, audiobook) I have literally finished half an hour ago. It's called “Prophecy of the Sisters”, debut novel from Michelle Zink.

This is a slow building Gothic fantasy (though that comes a far bit into the book) set in 1890 and follows twin sisters, Lia and Alice. Their father has died, leaving them orphans but leaving far more behind than either of them realise. They soon discover that they have roles in a very old prophecy which has turned sister against sister throughout the ages. One of the side of good, the other on the side of evil. Living with their aunt and their disabled brother, the two soon discover that they don't know who to trust. Expect that they can't trust each other.

This is a slow book. You have to give it time. It's not one of the books I have been read over the last few months where something happens within the first few chapters. And with the first few chapters, you have to get use to the style of writing (remember this story took place in 1890). And this is where an unabridged audiobook comes in useful...

Am getting sidetracked. Once you get into the story, you find yourself getting sucked in. You see the character development, which Michelle uses the first part of the book to do. She developed, not only the mystery of the Prophecy, but the characters. We see that Lia and Alice isn't as cut dry as we think.

Then, we get into the fantasy element. There were a few times I did jump (not tell you.) and one time I actually got serious angry at the book (again, not telling, but if you've read the book, you know what I mean).

This is a slow building story that I have slowly grown to love. Plus, it's part of a trilogy! The second book – Guardian of the Gate – will be out later this year, around the same time Prophecy of the Sisters will be released in paperback.

I will be wait for the sequel. Or annoy Michelle Zink on Twitter for information. One or the other...

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Also, a new thing I think I should do with a Book Review blog, is to put a piece of music. So, I have one video and one link. I suggest you check out the link.

The link, is Kenneth Zink. Yes, this is the author's son and he is STUPIDLY talented (me? bitter? No! Of course not!). He has made a score the Prophecy of the Sisters (as if it was a film) and some of the tracks are wonderful! PLEASE CHECK HIM OUT! http://www.myspace.com/kennethzinkmusic

GoodRead - The Girl Who Chased The Moon

I want say one thing before I go any further: This isn’t my usual read. This is the type of book I can see my Mum or my sister reading on a sunny, beach holiday. Not me. This is the type of book I would usually stay perfectly clear from, or running away screaming, “It’s a chick lit! Oh dear God, it’s a chick lit! It burns!”

So, why did I read it? Well, a friend of mine, who has fallen in love with Sarah Addison Allen’s two previous books (Garden Spells and The Sugar Queen [she prefers Garden Spells]) got a copy of the book from the USA (from a site I use. And no, it’s not a US website. It’s a UK based site) and read it. Though she loved the story, she found the ending a tad frustrating and after she told me about the basic plot (and sneaking a quick look on Amazon), I offered to read it (much to her surprise, I’ve only now discovered!)

So, here is the basic plot to The Girl Who Chased The Moon. After the death of her mother, Emily Benedict moves to Mullaby, North Carolina, to live with her grandfather who, not only is a real life giant, but who she didn’t know existed till after her mother’s death. And moving to Mullaby, Emily discover that her new home is a place of oddities. The wallpaper in her room changes depending on her mood, strange lights dance across her back garden at midnight and the biggest mystery is of her mother and the terrible deed that she did so many years ago. To a family whose son she is slowly falling for…

All the while, her next door neighbour, Julia Winterson, bakes cakes. She bakes them to satisfy the town's sweet tooth – a man who she fall in love him when she was sixteen - but also in the hope of sending a message to someone she fears might be lost forever…

Because this is a book that’s outside my “comfort zone”, I might be more judgemental with this story, but I found this book a fast, comfortable read. It is chick-lit – I’m not going to deny that – but Sarah Addison Allen gently pushes the magic into the story that it doesn’t feel like your typical chick lit. But she puts not too much magic in to you make you groan and think this is a fantasy story. A bit like the dusting of icing sugar on a cake (yes, be warned, this review might have cake references in it).

And, although this story is Emily’s, you also follow Julia’s and her story I found the most interesting. I seemed to relate to her more than Emily. But both stories are good stories to follow.

Now, the ending. The thing my friend wanted the opinion on. Well, not the ending exactly, but the final chapter. To me, it fitted the story completely and I liked how the story came to a close. To my friend, she found it frustrating. She even went onto Facebook and asked the author out of curiosity if there was going to be a sequel. The author said that she didn’t have plans for a sequel. But who knows… but treat this as a stand alone novel.

Now, best way to describe this book: as a slice of cake. Light, fluffy and addictive. But be warned, some people will get a sugar low when they finish the book.

“The Girl Who Chased The Moon” by Sarah Addison Allen is already published in the US and will be published in the UK on 5th August 2010.

Something I Randomly Discovered

I discovered this in my drafts on Facebook and, remembering what this is for (it was a draft of a story that I never finished), I've decided to upload this you all to read. Enjoy!

It was the ghostly fingers made him aware that what he was seeing wasn't real. They felt real, but they felt as if they were made of plastic, not true human fingers. And he kept hearing voices, but they were always in the background, as if he was in one room and the voices were in another.

But they didn't matter.

He was stuck in, what he was sure was, a memory. The last memory he had before it happened. The last true memory. Something solid for his mind to hold onto.

She was there. Beautiful as always. Her blond hair tied back in an odd ponytail, her pale eyes watching him, her lips curve into a gentle smile.

“I love you,” she whispered.

And that was when the memory ended.

Sin - A Short Story

QUICK AUTHOR'S NOTE - This story isn't a story. Yes, I know I say it is in the title. But this idea came to me yesterday as I was driving. I have no idea what made me question the idea of sin, but what I found more interesting is the "voice" this story took. It seems so different from how I usually write, I decided to challenge myself with it. I hope you like...

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Sin.
Every person knows of the seven deadly sins. And every person is capable of them.
There is no sight of a sin affecting a person. There is no aura, no sight, no sound, no warning sign.
We all have the capable to commit one of the sins, and we all trick ourselves. We believe that Biblical demons are tempting us. We believe that for every sin, there is a virtue to redeem ourselves.
Because we want redemption once we cause the sin. Because we don’t see the act of the sin itself. We see only the effect and only the aftermath. And we try to fix the damage we have caused.
But we must remember. We must remember that there is a difference between sin and evil.
An act of sin is redeemable. An act of evil isn’t.
Every human on this planet we call Earth is capable of an act of sin. Very few are capable of an act of evil.