Day 25 – A character who you can relate to the most

Matilda Wormwood from Roald Dahl’s Matilda

If someone would ask me who Matilda is, I would really be disappointed. I mean hello guys, she’s like the best bookworm fictional character in the history of children’s book. Well, I guess that’s only my opinion.

And that is part of the reason why this character is the one I can relate to the most. Ever since I was child, I prefer reading book compare to playing dolls and whatever else. As I was growing up, my mom would always tell me that I behead my barbies because I hate them and that I sleep with those gigantic picture books of different fairy tales. And until now, my love for books never wither. There’s just so many worlds you can visit with just a flip of a page.

I also see myself in Matilda, with regard to how her family treats her. I mean, my parents are not exactly like the Wormwoods, literally. I have my parents and a sister, who’s a complete opposite of me. I am not really close with my parents, especially with my father, like Matilda. Also, my parent’s do not abuse me like what Matilda experienced. No. It is comparable in a way that my parents doesn’t appreciate the thing I like and enjoy the same way that Matilda’s parent’s regards her love of books as something freakish and weird. I always feel that my parents have a hard time accepting my weird and boring personality.

And also, I understand how Matilda feels when her parents are forcing her to watch the telly and act all normal. In my case, it’s my mom always frowning upon my every book haul and telling me to go out and be a normal teenager, socializing with my friends. It’s not that I hate my friends. It’s just that I really enjoy books so much that I could get lost in them for hours—days, even. 

Oh and not to seem boastful or whatever but like Matilda, I really am good in Math and Literature, both when I was a kid and until I am in highschool. Well, more of the Math, though. Call me geeky, but I do love numbers and their consistency. Ask me to recite the formula for the perimeter, area, surface area or volume of a shape and I can answer you. Hahaha. Okay, I am so lifting my own seat right now. But honestly, I love geometry! I can’t help it. Haha. Sorry.

And the only thing I cannot relate with this character is her telekenetic powers. Although, I would really love to have that talent. Imagine being someone who can control things using mind power. That would be awesome. But I still think time travel is way cooler than that.

Day 11 – A book you hated

My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares

I do not actually hate this book. There are good books but no bad ones enough to elicit hate, even the Twilight series. There just books with poorly written plots or characters. And I consider this book as one of those.

Ann Brashares is best known for her young adult series, The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants. I have read those books and quite enjoyed them way back. So when I saw this book, I thought to myself that it might be good. After all, it is tagged as an adult book, and the premise in the summary is interesting enough.

And that’s where I got it all wrong. From the first few chapters, it felt like another young adult book due to its overly written prose of the characters’ love and feelings. It’s just too much and I think that it would be better if the author left something for the reader’s own discernment.  In short, the writing was so detailed that it became so uninteresting. I was so bored that it’s a miracle I even finished the book.

Also, I felt that the attraction between Daniel and Lucy is too shallow. Even during their first encounter in their past life, I could not quite believe that Daniel fell in love with her the moment he saw her in the burning house. I mean, call me a non-believer of love at first sight, but I really think that it is a very superficial thing. And then there’s Lucy obsessing over Daniel without even knowing anything about the guy. I just think that their love lacks enough substance.

I also had a problem with the perspectives. The book was alternating with time elements and with Daniel and Lucy’s point of view. But then I cannot discern which voice is which. The writing style is very much similar that without the help of the names, I would have a hard time knowing whose narration it was. Daniel’s lack the masculinity and felt way more sensitive and contemplative than Lucy’s. He was so lost in his past that he could not appreciate his present life. Lucy’s perspective, on the other hand, is too shallow. She is so much engrossed with her feeling with Daniel that I wanted to skip pages so badly.

All in all, I think this should have been a young adult book for it would appeal to those who want mushy romance books. It’s like Twilight without the vampire stuff. This book would have been more appreciated by younger and more innocent readers. I would have liked it if I read it when I was a freshman or sophomore high school student. I guess, this book is just not my cup of tea. 

Book geek dilemma #8: Receiving the same book as presents from friends and not knowing what to do with the extras.

Especially when none of my friends wants to buy them. The books I like are too weird and boring for their taste. Haha.

While everyone is going out of town, spending their vacation at the beach or some place else, enjoying the summer heat, here I am, cooped up in my room for the whole day. And what do I do? I watch movies and TV series on my laptop, read piles of books and blog about staying indoor. That’s just pathetic,  and lame me. Sometimes I wonder why I still have friends. How could they possibly stand such a dull girl like me?

Dork? Geek? Weirdo? Yep. That’s me.

Look at what I’ve been up to for the past couple of hours. Yep, call me a dork or a weirdo, but this is how I spend my summer time. Covering tons of books. As I’ve said before, I am not one to go out and waste away, partying or travelling. I am not a social butterfly like most of my friends. I tend to keep with myself. I am very much a home-buddy and I have my ways to kill time. And this is one of them. 

It’s a common knowledge to some of you that I am very protective of my books. I take my time to cover them, and this is done very meticulously. I have this thing where I cannot read a book without me covering it yet. I dunno, I just feel more safe handling my books that have plastic covers. Yes, maybe I am a crazy person, but I am really really OC when it comes to my precious treasures. And mind you, this task does not bore me at all. In fact, I enjoy it very much. See? Total freak right? Oh well, I can’t do anything with how my brain goes. Oh I forgot! I also printed out little name labels for my books. It’s just a small one I stick on the bottom corner of each book. And it’s just my nickname. 

So far, I’m done with 9 books and I’m hoping to finish 6 more. I ran out of cover so I only have to deal with just these few remaining books. Maybe I’ll buy some more covers the next time I go out. 

Please tell me that I’m not the only one who does this kind of stuff.     

..and I wonder why I have such a non-existent love life. Pssssh. -_- 

The most boring yet very much mentally exhausting task: Writing a discussion for a formal report.

Ugh. And as always, this job was assigned to me. I cannot say no since it’s a group grade and much of it depends on the discussion part. I once made a mistake of giving this part to another member and we got a shitty grade. I’m not saying that I do not trust them, it’s just that I am more at ease when I am the one doing the crucial parts.

Back in my dorm.

Damn, I miss my house already. I’m alone and I am bored to death. My roommates won’t be back until tomorrow. What do I do? I already unpacked my stuff and cleaned my space. I really don’t want to go back to school yet. :|

Things I’ve done for the month-long sem break.

Tomorrow, I’d be going back to my dorm and classes would resume on Tuesday. As usual, I am not the type to go out and party during sem breaks. So here are the list of things I’ve accomplished this past month:

• Watched Season 6 and 7 of Grey’s Anatomy
• Read and finished 7 books out from my to-read list
• Re-watched all 8 Harry Potter movies
• Been to a few book hunts
• Watched The Addams Family, Remember Me, The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac and Amelie

Yes. I’ve buried myself inside the house, in my room. I do not go out much and that’s how I like it. This may seem boring to thers, but I enjoyed how I can waste my time without actually having to spend too much. I’m pretty scarce with allowance during vacations anyway. Haha.