The Casual Vacancy

Little Brown has released information about JK Rowling's new book. It's gonna be called... THE CASUAL VACANCY and this is what the story is about, as revealed on the Little Brown website:

The Casual Vacancy

When Barry Fairweather dies unexpectedly in his early forties, the little town of Pagford is left in shock.

Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty façade is a town at war.

Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils...Pagford is not what it first seems.

And the empty seat left by Barry on the parish council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity and unexpected revelations?

Blackly comic, thought-provoking and constantly surprising, The Casual Vacancy is J.K. Rowling’s first novel for adults.

Little Brown, also, confirmed the international date of release - THURSDAY 27TH SEPTEMBER (so, I fear no midnight launches... *sigh*) - and the UK prices for hardback (£20.00), ebook (£11.99), audio download (£20.00) & CD (£30.00)

So, reactions? This is as far removed from Harry Potter and I love it! It's like The Archers, but darker! I CAN NOT WAIT!

GoodRead - The Miserable Mill

I have an odd relationship with Lemony Snicket. I like him and his writing, but I don't dip into his Series of Unfortuate Events often as… well… I kinda grew out of it. Plus, I dipped into the series in no real order, reading books 1, 2, 3, 10 & 13. But, after reading Pirates! In An Adventure With Moby Dick, I wanted to read something fast while I waited for a copy of The Last Echo (the third book in Kimberly Derting's The Body Finder series). And, somehow, my brain went "Let's read The Grim Grotto." This is the 11th book in the series (and probably the one I most want to read as I like the title the most!).

So, how did I read The Miserable Mill (the fourth book in the series) instead of The Grim Grotto? Well, there was one real reason: length. The Miserable Mill is under 200 pages while Grim Grotto is over 300 and as I knew The Last Echo would be coming in mere days (it came on the day I finished Miserable Mill), I wanted something extremely fast. That's why Miserable Mill won.

In this, the fourth book in the 13 book saga, the Baudelaire orphans are sent to their new guardian at the Lucky Smells Lumbermill, expecting a safe future from Count Olaf. Expect they didn't expect to work at the lumbermill. They didn't expect to have a guardian that cares more about profit than any health and safety. They didn't expect their guardian to want to be called Sir nor did they expect that their new guardian would smoke so many cigars that they will never see his face because of the thick cigar cloud. They expect to be live with the workers in tiny bunk beds, have chewing gum for lunch or to be paid in coupons. But they do expect that, sooner or later, Count Olaf to turn up in another disguise, with a plot to steal their family fortune…

Now, I wanted something fast and I read this within two days. TWO DAYS! So this could be seen as a good thing, but while reading this, I remembered that basics of the story had been repeated in the previous books and a few more times in the next few books.

I'm having a tiny problem with writing this review. Because the book was ok. Not great, not rubbish, but ok. I remember why I didn't read the series back to back and I dip in and out of the series.

Because I have no idea what to write, I will end the review here with my music choices. I think this book is good if you're a fan of the series. If you're starting the series, start with The Bad Beginning and work onwards.

Chris Weitz - Movie Director, Producer, YA Writer...

News has hit me that one of my fave directors, Chris Weitz, has signed a publishing deal with Little Brown to publish a "post-apocalyptic young adult trilogy" in Spring 2014. According to the EW article in question, the publishers feel that Chris's "...work on film adaptations of young adult titles makes him especially plugged into the genre."

The trilogy, The Young World, has been given the following information:

The Young World is the gripping first installment of a trilogy set in the not-so-distant future in a post-apocalyptic New York City following the catastrophic destruction of the world as we know it. An unknown trauma has left every child and adult on earth dead, but, for unknown reasons, teenagers are spared. Anyone between the onset of puberty and the age of twenty-one are in a world with no authority figures. And while that world would normally be a teenager’s fantasy, this world has no heat, running water, television, video games, phones, or Internet. Teenagers are the heirs to a world brought back to the Stone Age, and now they must learn to master it in order to survive.

So, what do you guys think? This reminds me vaguely of the TV show, The Tribe (Not heard of it? Here's the Wiki Info), but am intrigued over what Chris writes.

What are your reactions?

SMILE - I Want My Cat To Do This On My Birthday...

My thanks to ICanHasCheezburger.com

GoodRead - The Pirates! In An Adventure With Moby Dick

Earlier this year, I read The Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists (not read the review. Here you go!). And I really liked it. I couldn't stop smiling it when I read it. And, because of that (and the Pirate Captain's luxuriant beard), Ian from Bloomsbury was awesome and kind as he gave me books 2, 3 and 4 in the series. And I didn't even ask for them! So, I owe him a big thank you and I plan to read them over the course of the summer till the DVD release of The Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists and, also, when book 5 in the series, The Pirates! In an Adventure With Romantics is released.

The Pirate Captain can't seem to keep out of trouble, can he? After he splashes out on the fancy new ship, the Lovely Emma, he finds himself spending six thousand doubloons he doesn't have. In debt to the beautiful but deadly Cutlass Liz, who will happily cut them easily in two, he and his crew must get the cash. And fast!

Along the way in their desperate race to find the cash before time runs out (Cutlass Liz gave them an hourglass, filled with the sands that are actually grounded-up bones from pirates who didn't pay on time), the Pirate Captain and his crew go from Nantucket, Las Vegas and then in search of a mythical white whale...

Now, I really have high hopes for this, and though it wasn't up to par with Scientists (am going to use shorthand, if that alright), it is just as mad, bonkers and funny as its predecessor. (Although from chapter 11 onwards, I started see Black Bellamy as Jeremy Piven... not sure if Black Bellamy is meant to be a hottie, but whoever rocks your boat... [just realised, after quick research, that he's the voice of Black Bellamy in the movie. How did I not know that?])

And, this series was written for adults in mind... Apparently. But you guys will get the stupidness of the Pirate Captain!

MY FIRST EVER INTERNATIONAL CONTEST!

You read that right! After how ever many months of me going "I'm Going To Do An International Contest soon...", "Still Soon" and "Right after I eat this Orea Cheesecake" (one of my old work chums makes the most amazing Oreo Cheesecake!), I am finally getting my finger (and credit card) and to give you guys this contest as a small thank you for reading my blog, chatting to me on Twitter and general making reading and review a fun (yet at times, hair raising) experience. And I wanted to give you all an Easter treat...

So, what am I giving away? Well, I am giving you £15 of books through the Book Depository, as they will ship books to most places ROUND THE WORLD (if you're not sure if they ship to you, quickly go there now and check. If they do, BRILLIANT! You can enter!).

And what you do with the £15 (or what that equals up to in your local currency) is up to you. You can order a book that you are dying to read, get a book preordered, get the book that's linked to the latest movie, get a different country's version of a book you love or treat yourself to a book that's not available in your country...

I could list books that you might like or want, but I won't. The list will be long and there's no point as, if you win, the choice of whatever book you want (within the price range) will be yours!

So, if you want to enter, check if The Book Depository to see if they send books to your country, fill in the form below, and good luck! The competition will close on Easter Sunday at 9pm BST (so, after the UK [and I] finish watching Once Upon A Time]). Again, Good luck and thank you!

SMILE - Where's Wall-E?

Not sure how I discovered this but thank you to whoever you are!

Once Upon a Time Tweet-A-Long

Yesterday, I told you guys that I will watch Once Upon A Time's first ever episode on Channel 5 and I will be tweeting as it go. I warned you that it won't be good, so you have been warned... and here it is. Enjoy (or laugh)!

1h - "Sorry I'm late." I'm here now! So Once Upon A Time time/tweetalong
1h - CGI on the vanishing act! And now, present day USA. Where are we going, @onceon5?
1h - What an interesting way to get to know Emma Swann. A blind date! [Edit: well, a job but still...]
1h - GET HIM! HE Ruined a LOVELY DRESS!
1h - Oh, this is me playing catch up on my Once Upon a Time tweetalong. So, BEAR WITH!
1h - "I'm your son." WTF?!
1h - This kid knows too much. Not normal for a 10 year old. And she's having a panic attack. So much for a badass bounty hunter...
1h - Storybrooke, Maine. I know Maine is famous for its lobster. And Jessica Fletcher. Oh God, the body count!!
1h - "Let me talk to ... him." worried much?
1h - "For our child." I never thought Snow had a child. I imagined her as a teenager.
1h - "Because you're in this book." Be worried, Emma...
1h - Is Charming the Prince's first name or his surname? Anyone know?
1h - Time is a prison. It's sounds like Sapphire and Steel.
1h - "No more happy endings..."
1h - On it's 28th birthday... and how old is Emma?
1h - Oh. Not good. NOT GOOD!
1h - So, ladies & gentlemen. How is @onceon5 for you?
1h - And the first ad for @onceon5 is MIRROR MIRROR. Why am I not surprised?
57m - Now I think of it, the MIRROR MIRROR advert had music from @MarinasDiamonds... Me like!
57m - And we're back! Part two of four for @onceon5 Pilot episode. So... where were we?
56m - "Time's frozen here." Or the clock's broken??
54m - And which fairytale are you, Archie?
54m - His shrink? And Jiminy Cricket? Pardon?
53m - I knew there was a catch with this tree
52m - Apple cider? NO! DON'T DRINK THE CIDER!!!!
51m - OH! OH! She's the QUEEN! BADDIE ALERT!
51m - And who's the sheriff meant to be?
51m - AWKWARD!
50m - I love Emma's car. Does that make me weird?
49m - This show is different to how I thought it would be.
48m - "What's 28 years when you have eternal love?" awww! [Edit: or vomit. depending on you.]
48m - Ding dong the witch is... not dead! NOT DEAD!
48m - Who fancies a curse today?
44m - I wonder how many of you lot are wondering what the hell is happening to my twitter feed... blame @onceon5!
42m - Oh! A mix of characters. Fairy tales and real.
41m - OH! THE TEACHER'S SNOW WHITE!
41m - Oh, this feels like the Disney film. And she has a pear...
40m - And Emma gets a warm welcome...
39m - "What do you think stories are for?" ... "A way to deal with our world." I love these lines!
39m - I like this May more and more...
38m - And now they make the connection...
37m - And with Emma giving up Henry, history repeated itself with Snow and Charming...
36m - Just thought. We've seen Snow... so where's Prince Charming in real life?
35m - There is NO WAY he can be dead! NO WAY! ... right?
32m - Am saying nothing about David Tennant advertising Virgin Media's TiVo. But the thoughts that are running through my head...
31m - Fourth and final part of @onceon5. And we have a mock castle. Will the wolf huff and puff and blow Henry's life down?
28m - Hasn't Snow gone through enough?!
28m - True love doesn't break this curse this time...
27m - "Somewhere horrible..." Are you saying Maine is horrible? Good work @onceon5...
26m - Regina is acting like any mother is at the moment...
25m - "I will destroy you if it's the last thing I do..." Oh, repeat and repeat again.
25m - Mirror Mirror, On The Wall...
24m - Hello again May. AND THERE HE IS! PRINCE CHARMING... in a coma? What kind of fairy tale is this show?!
23m - And are they Little Red and Grandma?
23m - Creep alert for Mr Gold!
22m - "Welcome to Storybrooke."
22m - oh! is that it? Is it over? BUT I WANT MORE!!! @onceon5, PUT MORE EPISODES ON NOW!

So, my tweetalong for Once Upon A Time wasn't that great. But I think I will like this show A LOT!