30 October 2012

Leaves


This post should have been about Halloween, but that's tomorrow and what do I write about that anyway. But the leaves are ever present in my mind. I like them best when they're fresh green, spring green. New, full of hope.

They were still green a month ago, but it was becoming an old green. Other people were talking about how autumn had arrived and I was thinking thank you that it's still green. I love the green!

Then the colours changed. To the beautiful autumn russets, oranges filled the world for a few short weeks. And now they're nearly all gone. 

We're back to bare trees and it makes me sad. Winter is my least favourite of the seasons.

But I guess there's always spring to look forward to. Right?

Rowen

28 October 2012

Ecclesiastes 3:12

'So I realise that the best thing for them
 is to be happy 
and enjoy themselves as long as they live.'

This week has been long. I've had a multitude of deadlines thankfully they're all past now, with work submitted. It hasn't left a lot of time for me, but that's not the end of the world.

Yesterday I was able to go out for lunch with Robert. We talked and just spent time together it was good. Not to mention you've gotta love Mexican food!

I'm linking up with Your Sunday Best @ A Rural Journal

I hope you've all had good weeks. What've you been up to?

Rowen

23 October 2012

Pride and Prejudice - Screen Adaptations


My introduction to the story of Pride and Prejudice was perhaps a little unorthodox. I first saw the book when I was perhaps 8 or 9, it was a beautiful big leather-bound book, possibly fake leather I now realise, with bible thin pages. It contained all six of Austen's completed works.


It features in this picture of some of my favourite books which once upon a time was central in my blog header. At roughly that age I guess I had a vague understanding that it was a somewhat famous book and I read the first sentence. I then decided that maybe I'd come back to it when I was a bit older, I hadn't been reading 'real' books for very long at the time.

It then got pushed to the back of my mind until I was in high school. At this point I began to express an interest in period dramas. I liked, and still do, the pretty dresses, balls and strange words. I think I may have watched a bit of North and South with my mum, and for Christmas my parents bought me the boxset of the 1996 BBC TV adaptation. You know the one with the famous scene of Colin Firth walking out of the pond.

Me and my mum watched it on a day when it had snowed, I think both my siblings were playing outside and we spent the day with the fire and watched pretty much all six episodes. It was good, and it's one of the sparse times I can remember feeling really close to my mum, generally I have more in common with my dad. I was hooked and that day to this I've lost count of the number of times I've seen it. I'm pretty sure it reaches double figures though.

It was the third Jane Austen book I actually read, in year 11, and as I had all the books before I started I'm fairly sure this was more due to the prettiness of covers than anything else. It's actually not my favourite Austen, Emma is, but it comes a close second. And I actually prefer the TV adaptation to the book, a shock I know!

So when I recently acquired a secondhand copy of the Keira Knightly film I watched it. Because of comments various people had made I was fairly sure I wouldn't like it, but it wasn't that bad. It's not my favourite, I think the TV adaptation did better justice, mostly because it was three times as long. I also thought that the film was too crowded. But I found that the most interesting thing about watching it having watched the series so many times is that I was able to pick out a lot of the lines which were taken straight from the book. I think it was fantastic that this is possible. 

So hey a question or two. Which version of the book have you seen? Have you seen any? And which adaptation would you recommend, why?

Rowen

20 October 2012

Isiah 64:6

'All of us have been sinful;
even our best actions are filthy through and through.
Because of our sins we are like leaves that wither and are blown away by the wind.'

I love this time of year. I love the colours as the trees turn orange.

I don't particularly like the Bible verse I found for today, but I struggled with finding one which related to the changing colours of autumn. Maybe I should have gone with a poem instead.

In brighter news my boyfriend's been staying with me this weekend and we're having a form of Big Bang Theory marathon, on series two of the five box-sets I happen to own. It's looking good :)

I'm linking up with Your Sunday Best @ A Rural Journal.

What're you doing this weekend?

Rowen

Book Beginnings: Robinson Crusoe - Daniel Defoe

'I was  born in the year 1632 in the city of York, of a good family, though not of that country, my father being a foreigner of Bremen who settled first at Hull.'

I think I tried to read this book when I got it as part of a box-set aged about ten. I think at the time I found it a little dry, and to be honest it isn't the fastest paced I've ever read. But it's not far off what I'd expect.

I'm linking up to Book Beginnings @ Rose City Reader, also I'd like to apologise for this post having been in draft for over 24 hours. 

I have a vague idea of what happens in this one. It should be good, what d'you think?

Rowen

18 October 2012

The Accidental Mother - Rowan Coleman

This story is really quite a sad one. At it's heart is isolation, bereavement and a lack of trust. Two sisters aged three and six lose their mother, the only parent they have around, about six months before the start of the book. Their Godmother, the central character in the story, effectively inherits them as she was named legal guardian in the will.

She is someone who has no idea how to deal with children, who has built herself a life of comfortable loneliness, and who has no idea her best friend is dead until a social worker turns up offering her the children.

The book ensues with hilarity as she learns how children work, and they learn to trust her. There are many hilarious incidents which rotate around her insular flat and the chaotic children. Everything becomes a lot more serious once the father of the children is located and returns to take on his responsibilities. 

As she falls in love with not just the children but their father as well she comes to realise how empty her life has been, and eventually she fixes it. My only criticism of the story was Bella, she's supposed to be six years old, but her vocabulary and actions speak of someone who could more be considered pre-teen.

I'd very much like to read the next book about Sophie Mills, 'The Accidental Family'.

What was the last emotionally wrenching book you read?

Rowen

17 October 2012

What can you do with M&M's

So last weekend I visited my friend. We're perhaps somewhat juvenile, but we managed to amuse ourselves for the better part of an hour making pictures with M&M's...

 The whole packet.
 Separated into colour groups.
 A 'Perfect' group.
 All the perfect groups.
 A Bar chart with the least perfect on the left and the most perfect on the right. My friend told me she was taking no portion of the blame for that one.
A sun created using all of the 'warm' colours. 
 All the 'cold' colours.
 A Tree made using all the 'cold' colours.
 The tree and the sun together.
A Giraffe.

When was the last time you gave in to your childish side? Isn't it fun?

Rowen

14 October 2012

Luke 12:34


'Your heart will be where your treasure is.'

I've come back home for the weekend for the first time this academic year. I'm lucky because it's not too far and I don't like being away from home, although I cope better than I used to.

The painting above was done by my sister for her GCSE's, it's of the cherry tree which is outside the Science labs at the high school we went to. It hangs above my bed.

In other news my student finance finally came through mid-week and I spent most of yesterday doing Scout Leader training, and then in the evening I went to the district Scout Swimming Gala. I met several new people during training yesterday, and in the evening I saw people I hadn't seen in a while.

It was fun. 

I guess that's why I love home.


What's your week been like?

Rowen

11 October 2012

Dance With Dragons: Dreams and Dust - George R. R. Martin

I have mixed feelings about these books, and they grow the more of them I read. I love the story, it's literally epic and I love the fact that it has so many strands, that we have so much scope to see what's happening in this world, but at the same time the number of strands decreases my reading speed. 

By the end of a chapter I'm always into what's happening with the character in point, but it leads to a reluctance to read about the next character because I'd rather carry on finding out what's happening with this character first. The reluctance isn't aided by the fact that the chapters are so long. With each Chapter nearing 30 pages it means it can take me up to an hour to get through it, due to the fact I like to read my chapters in one sitting it limits the times I can sit down with this book. 

My third criticism with this book isn't actually a fault with the book. I simply wasn't ready to read it, I was planning on reading it in the new year while I had a bit of free time, but my mum started to read these books over the summer and she wanted to read this soon, I've been quite proud that I'm ahead of my mum with this series and it leads to a reluctance to let her read my book before me. 

As far as the actual story goes I'm loving it. Tyrion is still one of my favourite characters; he may be an 'imp' and a little bitter about it but he's hilarious, chivalrous and downright the nicest character in the book. So what if he committed patricide. So what if he's married to a woman who doesn't love him. So what if he rejected the one woman who actually did love him leaving him with a lifetime of scars, he's brilliant!

Jon and Daenerys both have very interesting storylines as well, but I'm a tad confused why Daenerys is just sitting still, I had come to expect her to be more proactive. There're very few characters in this book I dislike in fact, but I do dislike that there are many characters I like very much who don't put in a single appearance. I'm looking forward to part 2 and catching up with Jaime, Arya and Sansa!

What're you reading?

Rowen

9 October 2012

Scouts Speak Up


This past weekend I went to Birmingham. One of the main objectives was to see a friend who I went to Explorers with, but the other was that we were going to the Conservative party version of Scouts Speak Up. An event where Scouts under the age of 25 are invited to speak to politicians. It's a fairly open event and you have to apply to go.

For me this was a bit of a surreal experience and a situation I wouldn't normally put myself into, but I actually kind of enjoyed it. The event officially lasted for 2 hours, although I'm fairly sure it probably extended a couple of hours either side of the time-scale. The first hour of the event we were put around tables in groups of roughly 10 and were able to speak to conservative MPs and ask them their opinions about current political issues and get our viewpoints across. 

On the table where my friend and I were sat the main topic of conversation was Uni tuition fees. Both of us, as well as a couple of others at the table, are at University on the lower fees of approximately £3600, but there were 3 at our table who were planning on going to University next year with the new higher fees of approx £9000. It raised some interesting points. Firstly someone asked what extra they would get for the £6000 extra they're paying, to be honest the answer was not much. They're paying much more for exactly the same courses people in my year were able to take, and the reason why is that the Government wants more money to fuel into different directions. It was also suggested that maybe too many people from my generation are being herded into higher education, a point I'd agree with, much though I wanted to go to Uni I definitely felt pressure to attend. We also wondered why with the fees being so high more courses aren't offered which run through the summer. I love having a four month summer, it's brilliant, it allows a lot of opportunities I'll never get again, but It does question whether we're getting as much from our time as we could be. One guy even said that he's a part time student and hour for hour his course costs him £50 for every hour he spends there, with lectures running a standard of 50 minutes that's £1 for every minute!

We talked about some other topics which I found less relevant and didn't really stick with me so much. But then in the second hour we listened to a guest speaker who spoke about his journey into politics and his ambition for there to be more volunteer schemes and clubs run from school buildings which he thinks should be open for free to such groups. I think this would be fantastic. There are a lot of clubs who need the rooms and have to spend a huge part of their funding hiring spaces. 

All in all it was an interesting Sunday!

What are your views on these topics?

Rowen

8 October 2012

1 John 2:17


'The world and its desires pass away,
but whoever does the will of God lives forever.'

This week I was away from my computer for the entire weekend, hence my Sunday post going up on a Monday. I went to Birmingham to visit my friend, and attend a Scout event. The above picture is of Birmingham New Street.

In other news my Student Finance still hasn't come through, but I've been to see my Uni and it should do in the next couple of days.


Rowen

5 October 2012

Book Beginnings: Catch-22 - Joseph Heller

'It was Love at first sight.'

Not really what I expected as the beginning to a book about a man who, according to the blurb, 'is furious because thousands of people he has never met are trying to kill him.' 

I have few preconceptions about this book beyond that it's supposed to be fairly fast-paced. I guess I'll find out more about it tonight.

I'm linking up to Book Beginnings @ Rose City Reader.

Let me know what you thought of this book? And was it made into a film? I'm not sure...

Rowen

4 October 2012

Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins

Mockingjay is a book I didn't enjoy as much as the previous two in this trilogy. I still enjoyed it a lot but it was a little bit sad to tell the truth. In fact there were several very sad moments and even the happy ending was somewhat bitter-sweet.

Mockingjay was as fast-paced, if not more so, than the two previous books and the events in it felt in many ways more natural. Perhaps because it wasn't inside an arena where contestants fight to the death. 

I was glad however that Suzanne Collins didn't start to shy away from the difficult moral questions while writing this ending, she maintained a balance which included facing the question of large scale technological warfare.

It was a fitting ending, it just pulled at my heartstrings a tad too much. And I don't think I can be the only one who thinks Katniss and Peeta deserved their chance together!

I'm linking up to Speed Date Night @ The Book Swarm.

What're you reading?

Rowen

For related posts:

2 October 2012

Sometimes

Sometimes I feel listless. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it. I was planning on writing an interesting post tonight but an amalgamation of things means that hasn't happened. 

I'm stressing a little at the moment because my Student Finance hasn't come through yet. It should have done, it's been approved and I've been registered, but what this does mean is that I currently have little to live on and my tuition fees havn't been paid.

Fun times!

Anyways, tell me something interesting about your life instead?

Rowen