'Looking For Alaska' to be made into a film.

John Green is currently at a wonderful point in his career. The first film adaptation of his New York Times Best Selling Novel is #1 and the book is still selling well. Shortly after production wrapped on #TFIOS, it was announced that another of his books, Paper Towns, was set to be made into a film.

John Green has just announced that his book Looking For Alaska has been picked up by a director too.  Sarah Polley is set to direct the coming-of-age tale about a young man moving to another state to go to boarding school. I'm looking forward to scenes with Takumi in the same humour style as the Night of the Broken Trophies scene from The Fault in our Stars. I always thought that Looking For Alaska would make a good film so let's see and hope that it's as successful as The Fault in our Stars.

The Fault In Our Stars: Review + Response (Movie)

Alrighty: this is a review and I am warning you. THERE WILL BE SPOILERS.
If you have NOT seen the film and do not want spoilers then please do not read anything beyond this sentence.

I always get anxious when a big hype is created around a film because sometimes the hype sets up far too many expectations. I therefore entered this film with that sense of hype. I began to worry: will I be disappointed by a film I've looked forward to for so long? I was such a fan of the book. In fact, at one point, I had four (yes, four) copies of the book in my tiny apartment... and a signed poster... and a TFIOS shirt. I can happily say that I was very pleased with how the film turned out.

 This film got to me; in fact I first cried within thirty seconds of the film starting as a single tear peeked through my eye as I realised I'd just signed up for a rollercoaster that only goes up... before plummeting down. Some scenes were cut out and other scenes didn't translate well to screen in the same way they translated on paper. What must be said, though, is that it was very faithful to the book. It's refreshing to see film-makers respecting the original source material. The eulogy scene was utterly heart breaking. If I had any say, I'd want to see Ansel Elgort get an Oscar nomination for his performance. The gas station scene was so utterly heart breaking and, yes, I started crying then too. It was perfect in the aim of depicting cancer not as a graceful struggle, but as a painful, awful disease that ruins lives. The night of the broken trophies scene managed to make the entire audience laugh. It was pitched and performed so perfectly. What I love about the book is that it's a romance, yes, but it reminds us that love happens regardless of circumstance. It reminds us that even the young get sick and have to live through something as horrible as cancer. The film will hopefully reach so many that haven't read the book and hopefully it will really raise cancer awareness and support. I know that a lot of people living with cancer have appreciated some sort of on screen representation. This film is powerful stuff and a real amuse bouche before all of the traditional summer blockbusters roll in. This is a feel-good/feel-sad indie flick that is not to be missed.

#TFIOS trailer released

It's here! It's here!

The trailer for The Fault In Our Stars has been released.

I've seen it - I got emotional.

I'm really looking forward to this movie as I loved the book.

"W"

Now that I'm into NaNoWriMo my focus is on writing for my novel more than here on my blog but I'm still hoping to fit in some reading so that I can bring you some book reviews.
The next few books I'm hoping to read and review for you are:

• Wildthorn by Jane Eagland
• Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green
• Written On The Body by Jeannette Winterson

I realise these books all start with a "W" which, I promise, is utterly coincidental. Sure, it may only be three books but I don't know how much else I'll be able to fit into the next few weeks as I'll be very busy.
Thank you for your patience, blog-ghosts.

The Fault In Our Stars movie gets release date

Yes, the wonderful film adaptation of The Fault In Our Stars by John Green starring Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort in the roles of Hazel and Augustus has been given a release date.

The film is set to be released on June 6th in 2014 and will quite possibly be the film of the summer for most people.

Author John Green has had a pretty hands on role that most authors don't seem to get when their work is adapted for the screen and he has posted some wonderful YouTube videos fom behind the scenes that contain no major spoilers.

I'm really excited and positive about this film. The cast and crew all seem so dedicated and caring towards the original source material so here's hoping it makes a great movie.

John Green on the set of The Fault In Our Stars movie.

So the filming of sensational young adult novel "The Fault In Our Stars" is currently going on and this video shows author John Green on the set of the film of his book. The close relationship that John Green has been able to have with the production of the film isn't something that all authors get and this film seems to have a positive, almost organic feel. It's being made, not by people who want to make a film to make money, but by people who love and understand the source material. I really enjoyed the book. I think it's such an important read for anyone. If you still haven't read this book, you simply have to. I'm excited that Sam Trammell of True Blood is a member of the cast and I'm excited to see Ansel and Shailene's on screen chemistry. As a whole I'm really positive so far about this project and urge you to read the book and, when it is released, see the movie.

Click on the widget below to find a copy of the book because it's simply beautiful, a must read:

Graduation.

Today I graduate from university with honours attached to my degree - and it's a damn good degree.
I'm an academic, a scholar, a bachelor of the arts.

It hasn't been an easy journey but I feel really proud of all the challenges ahead. I won't be blogging much today. Instead I'll be prancing around in a silly square hat and fancy robes clutching my degree.

This post is dedicated to all those who are graduating or have graduated this year from university. It's an uphill run and I applaud you.




Here are some commencement addresses from various influential people at past graduation ceremonies that you might appreciate:

• John Green's Commencement Address
• Neil Gaiman Commencement Address
• J.K Rowling Commencement Address
• Julie Andrews Commencement Address

Recommended Reads

Another Wednesday.
You know what that means?
Yes, here are my recommendations of things to read, look at, experience etc online in an attempt to cure your internet boredom. From this week onwards I'm now going to include YouTube videos in my Wednesday posts because I'm a bit of a YouTube addict.

• Author and YouTuber John Green may be on paternity leave - but here he is making pizza with Hannah Hart. I love John Green and Hannah Hart so a video with both of them is PERFECT. Also there's a dinosaur piñata and THE YETI
• How To Become A DJ - a basic guide for noobs. 
• Steam Retro on Etsy - beautiful jewellery and accessories. As I type this I am even wearing two SteamRetro rings. 
• Tits @ Download 2013 - an excellent article about sexism and the female body at Download Festival 2013.
• Lovely Dyed Locks - if you're as mad about coloured hair as I am then this is the blog for you. I'm constantly changing my hair colours so it's nice to head over to this blog to see where I could go next (I'm thinking Atlantis Blue from Directions)
• Speaking of John Green - someone turned his advice to new writers into a comic strip - Great advice for budding writers
• Do you like fashion? So does Natasha Bird so why not follow her blog as she discusses contemporary fashion. Natasha Bird is a UK journalist and previous editor of Woman This Month.
• Kickstarter.com! Kickstarter is so in and so fresh right now. If you've any pennies to spare why not put a small bit of money towards funding independent artists and creators on a project of your choice? I'm hoping to soon do a Kickstarter of my own so if you could take a look now that would be great. My Kickstarter, if I go ahead with it, shall be up next month. 

That's all for this week. I hope there's something of interest to you here.
See you this time next week, dear readers.

Le Freak? C'est Chic!

The recent rise of "geek chic" on high street clothing stores and mainstream fashion has been creeping into our conciousness for some time now. In fact I sit here now in a hoodie with the words 'Geek' emblazoned in big, varsity-style letters over the chest however I have a slight bone to pick with the recent commodification of nerds and nerd culture along with the new romanticised image of 'the Nerd'. John Green describes nerds as those who are 'unironically enthusiastic about stuff'

With the rise in popularity of superhero movies, The Big Bang Theory, the new Hobbit trilogy and shows focusing heavily on 'the importance of being different and being yourself' the re-appropriation and redefinition of 'Nerd' seems less like a group of outcasts and more of an all inclusive club. 
 A nerd is defined as:

1. - A foolish or contemptible person who lacks social skills or is boringly studious: "one of those nerds who never asked a girl to dance".
2. - An intelligent, single-minded expert in a particular technical discipline or profession.

Most people who grew up as a 'nerd' typically fell into that second definition. Being a nerd was about liking whatever you liked without bowing to societal pressure. It was a term for those who acted in ways or liked things because they wanted to and not because their peers forced it upon them. Here it is acknowledged as something stemming from intelligence. The term 'nerd' seems like a title many of us earned through years of being bullied for our differences whereas now it's a title people are all too quick to claim. 

The shirt depicted on the right illustrates how mainstream fashion is attempting to claim 'nerd chic' for their own. Shows like Doctor Who and Sherlock has popularised the want to be intelligent and shows like Glee tell us that it's OK to be different. The mainstream appropriates this not by actually being different, but by forcing themselves into other pre-existing groups under the guise of self exploration and understanding.

I wear my 'Geek' hoodie not because it's fashionable and I want to be perceived as intelligent, but because it's a term I wear with pride in a wonderfully British and almost self-deprecating manner. I was the girl on the bus who was ridiculed for wanting to read instead of talk to those around me. I was the one who travelled across the country to watch the season premières of Game of Thrones the past two years. I was the girl sat at the front of the cinema when Return of the King came out and practically weeping as the film ended and I realised our adventures in Middle Earth were over (and then rejoiced at the announcement of the Hobbit movies) 

 "Nerd" is a title that some of us have earned. During the times when popularity was sought over originality, were we not the ones sitting at the front of a bus buried in a book rather than conversation? Were we not the ones more interested in comic book escapades than teen romance novels? Were we not the ones appreciating foreign films, anime and manga despite criticism of such interests? 

“…because nerds like us are allowed to be unironically enthusiastic about stuff… Nerds are allowed to love stuff, like jump-up-and-down-in-the-chair-can’t-control-yourself love it. When people call people nerds, mostly what they’re saying is ‘you like stuff.’ Which is just not a good insult at all. Like, ‘you are too enthusiastic about the miracle of human consciousness’.”
- John Green

The image of the female nerd has been particularly fetishised within our culture. Similar to Marx's theory of commodity fetishism we see gamer girls/geek girls represented as objects of lust, women of intelligence but ultimately reduced to and defined by their bodies. It can be said that part of the popularity of geek chic is due to the fetishisation of the 'geek girl' who can game, read comics, watch movies whilst also being attractive: seemingly the ultimate male fantasy. They're made to appear unobtainable, desirable and therefore does this suggest that women dressing in 'geek chic' clothing sold on the high-street is a sign of internalised misogyny pressing them to dress in the new, sexually appealing way? Whether it's nerds, Goths, gangstas - the less a minority group is portrayed and represented within our societal consciousness the easier it is to fetishise and commodify it and sell it back to the ever trend-hungry public.

Response & Review: Looking for Alaska by John Green / Post 100!

Here it is! Blog post number 100! It seems good to hit 100 blog posts by doing my first ever review & response to a book or novel. I've said for some time that I was going to start reviewing books that I read, so let's get going. John Green is a writer I've mentioned many times before. Having watched his vlogbrothers YouTube videos for some time and read his recent hit novel 'The Fault in Our Stars' and thoroughly enjoyed it I decided to read all of his novels. Several weeks back I bought "Looking for Alaska" looking for something new and different to read after slaving away at my university dissertation and here is my response/review.

Looking for Alaska follows Miles Halter, a rather apathetic teen obsessed with the last words of famous people, as he moves from his family home to a southern boarding school called Culver Creek.
The book presents several wonderful characters, I particularly enjoyed the interesting proxemics between Miles and his room mate known as 'The Colonel'.

The book builds up an air of suspense from the first page with the book in sections, all labelled "One Hundred and Thirty Six Days Before" thus prompting us to read in pursuit of the question: "before what?"

It made me nostalgic as I cast my mind back to my teens and fun times I had in high school. For a moment this book made me feel a lot younger since my high school days feel a long time ago, but not long enough that I can't remember how they made me feel. I found myself wishing I'd gone to more school sporting events or spent more time just appreciating my time there because it was such a brief period in what I hope my life will be overall.



Things this book has taught or reminded me:

• What a bufriedo is (and if I wasn't trying to lose weight I'd totally try one)
• It reminded me of that old high school feeling of community, but with a combined dissonance; being unified, but different.
• I have never seen a green limousine, but I want to.
• Liquor shops are places that attend to our 'spiritual needs' - I'll hear no argument about it.
• That I wish I had played more pranks on people when I was younger and able to get away with it.
• That I totally want a fox hat like Takumi.
• The importance and impact of subtle foreshadowing. 
• This book reminded me of the importance of changing your surroundings - I went to two primary schools, two secondary schools and I moved across the country for university and I wouldn't do any of it over. This book shows that taking risks and changing your surroundings to 'seek a Great Perhaps' may be just what you need.
• A lot of famous last words

I totally recommend this book to teen readers, especially anyone currently in high school who is unhappy as this book really reminds you that you do not have to put up with being unhappy with your current situation. If you're currently in a school where you are bullied or unhappy this book serves as a wonderful reminder that you can have an active role in your life and education despite youth and that you can change your circumstances. If you're not happy in your current surroundings, migrate. It's a big world and there's space for you somewhere.


Though a lot of people find themselves drawn to the character of Alaska Young I think I'd have to say that my favourite character was Takumi. It took me some time to really get into the book but once I was about a third of the way through I found myself really beginning to enjoy it more. I'd like to say a lot more about some of the later events of the book, but do not want to give out any spoilers. This is definitely a book I would urge you, especially teen and young adult readers, to explore personally. It is a book that reminds us to have fun, but to care for those around us and to be attentive to the problems of our friends.

As a writer this book reminded me of the importance of crafting interesting characters. Every character
seems interesting in some unique way. I particularly like Miles and his interest in the famous last words of different people. This is something John Green apparently conceived when redrafting the novel and it has become one of the most important and favourable aspects of the story overall thus illustrating the importance of really crafting your writing. John Green has a way of masterfully articulating basic human experiences we may not even take the time to notice. There is a real dry humour throughout this book and the essence of real, fun experiences. It serves as an interesting tale that encapsulates a sense of youth and self exploration and, for us older readers, invokes a sense of nostalgia for our younger days.

Definitely read this book if you enjoyed The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger, Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen by Dyan Sheldon, etc or shows/films that follow the lives of teenagers like Glee, The Breakfast Club, Easy A. 

Or if you've not read the books above, but enjoyed Looking for Alaska, then I highly recommend looking them out.

Links:
Click here to buy Looking For Alaska on Amazon UK Reader
Click here to buy Looking For Alaska on Amazon.com
John Green/Vlogbrothers on Youtube
JohnGreenBooks.com - Official Website
John Green on Twitter

Wowza!

Wow guys - a new record. Previously the highest amount of page views I'd had in a single day was 69 (Be cool guys. Be cool)

Yesterday we beat this record... with 77 page views!
An hour later and the page is still getting views.

I expect the blog will hit 800 page views by the end of the day.

Having only really started blogging properly this month I have to say I'm rather proud. My next blog post will be my 100th blog post; it'll be my long awaited review & response to John Green's "Looking for Alaska"

Hold steady, guys, continue to be awesome.

John Green, NaNoWriMo

So I just watched John Green's video about NaNoWriMo (link at the bottom of this article) and it got me thinking about my own writing challenge ahead. For those of you who don't know about John Green you're probably living under a rock - his recent book The Fault in our Stars has been on bestsellers lists for weeks now, he recently did a sold out UK book signing.
Sold out BOOK SIGNING? How often do you know of book signings selling out? This man is the real deal. I have read The Fault in Our Stars and it is a sweet, humble tale with a wonderful narrative voice. I own three (until I gave one to my sister) copies of TFIOS signed by John Green plus a posted signed by him. He's a wonderfully funny guy, as is his brother Hank Green. Links below.

So anyway in John Green's video about NaNoWriMo he discusses how he feels that it is impossible to write a decent novel of around 50,000 words in just a month. I have to say that I agree with this. He's right. Everything he says about drafting and crafting work is true. Despite this he still decided to take part

So this year I will be taking part in NaNoWriMo for the first time however, as I've mentioned in previous post, I will be somewhat cheating. My plan is to start writing about now because.... well...because I know myself and it takes ridiculous amounts of time for me to do, well, anything. That said I feel really positive about myself as a writer and where I'm going from this point onward. If you asked me a year ago if I could write 50,000 words I'd probably think "No, of course not. I'd be distracted by something shiny or not how to end a novel" however I've just written a dissertation of around 11,000 words. All I have to do is write, like, five dissertations and I'm there. Also I know where my novel is going and I have almost all year to finish it.

I would encourage you all to try this. If you've never written before it's an incredibly curative way to spend time. If you do write, please get into contact with me as I'd love to discuss the writing process and your work with you.

So with that said it's time to make a mug of green tea and start tapping away at this old keyboard for a while.


Hank Green on Twitter
John Green on Twitter
Vlogbrothers (John and Hank Green on YouTube)

The "To Read" List.

After my last Bucket List style post I decided to write down books from my existing "To Read" list and some more than I've considered in the past but hadn't added until this point. Any suggestions for good books? Leave them in the comments, I'll try to get around to reading them.

1. The Wolf Gift - Anne Rice
2. Tipping The Velvet - Sarah Waters
3. Metamorphosis - Franz Kafka
4. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
5. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
6. Last Exit to Brooklyn - Hubert Selby
7. When I Was Five I Killed Myself - Ernst Kemmer
8. Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas - Hunter S. Thompson
9. Looking For Alaska - John Green
10. Nineteen-Eighty Four - George Orwell
11. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
12. The Unbearable Lightness of Being - Milan Kundera
13. The Help - Kathryn Stockett
14. The Perks of Being a Wallflower - Stephen Chbosky
15. The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
16. The Witching Hour - Anne Rice
17. Violin - Anne Rice
18. Angel Time - Anne Rice
19. The Feast of All Saints - Anne Rice
20. The Virgin Suicides - Jeffrey Eugenides 
21. Paper Towns - John Green
22. An Abundance of Katherines - John Green
23. Will Grayson, Will Grayson - John Green
24. Rebecca - Daphne du Maurier
25. Animal Farm - George Orwell
26. Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
27. Mort - Terry Pratchett 
28. Good Omens - Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
29. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
30. Mrs Dalloway - Virginia Woolf
31. The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
32. The Goddess Experience - Gisele Scanlon
33. A Street Cat Named Bob - James Bowen
34. Twilight Time - Simon Crump
35. Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man - Fannie Flagg
36. The Book Thief - Markus Zusak
37. Unfinished Tales - J.R.R Tolkien
38. Children of Hurin - J.R.R Tolkien
39. Life of Pi - Yann Martel
40. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson
41. Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons (Well, I just want to finish it)
42. The Small Hand - Susan Hill
43. Beloved - Toni Morrison
44. Unless - Carol Shields
45. The Hero Always Wins - Robert Eaton
46. Does This Baby Make Me Look Straight? - Dan Bucatinsky
47. Merrick - Anne Rice
48. The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest - Stieg Larsson
49. The Girl Who Played With Fire - Stieg Larsson
50. The Beauty Detox Solution - Kimberly Snyder (started, but want to finish)

I also want to sit down and re-read The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Hobbit and maybe the Harry Potter series as they have brought me so much joy. 

I also intend to complete George R.R Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" series. I never wanted to read ahead because I have enjoyed the suspense of the show so much, I'm not even someone who watches that much television, but I can't deal with all the spoilers on the internet or people assuming I've read it and blurting out a massive plot spoiler from later books. It shall be done.

What was the last book you read?
Best book you ever read?
Any books to recommend?