Have no fear of perfection - you'll never reach it.

In January this year I signed myself up for the Goodreads Reading Challenge. Set yourself a target of books to read in 2011 and see if you can reach it. Now, I enjoy reading. I generally have at least one book on the go. And when I was 10, I once read 60 books in just over a month. Because of all these factors, I decided that a target of 200 wouldn’t be too bad. It would be difficult but definitely not impossible.

Six months later and witness my impending failure.

We’re halfway through the year, and I’m floundering at a measly 39 books. According to my stats, I should have read almost 100 books by this point. That’s not a great statistic and it’s certainly not a good omen.

I’m still hoping to hit 200, although its now sitting on the ‘never in a million years’ side of impossible. But I shall soldier through, possibly picking some slightly shorter books along the way (it’s not cheating, right?).

Anyway, wish me luck and, hopefully, I’ll at least break 100.

You may delay, but time will not.

So we had a bit of a last minute cancellation of Book Club last night. There were too many of us that either couldn't make it, or couldn't really stay for too long that we decided it was best to postpone. Beloved will now be discussed 10th July, making this our second two-month book (also, both two-months have been for my books. Odd that....). Hopefully, this means that everyone will have read the book and have a lot to say about it - even if its not all good!

I've seen him on the news. John Smith, out there, on the run. To the world, he's a mystery. But to me...he's one of us.

Yesterday I received an amazing little present in the post; a hardback proof copy of The Power of Six, the second in the Lorien Legacies series by Pittacus Lore. I adored the first book and have been anxiously awaiting this second offering.

If you haven’t read the first book, I Am Number Four, be aware that this review may contains Spoilers.

Nine of us came here. We look like you. We talk like you. We live among you. But we are not you. We can do things you dream of doing. We have powers you dream of having. We are stronger and faster than anything you have ever seen. We are the superheroes you worship in movies and comic books—but we are real.

Our plan was to grow, and train, and become strong, and become one, and fight them. But they found us and started hunting us first. Now all of us are running. Spending our lives in shadows, in places where no one would look, blending in. we have lived among you without you knowing.
 
But they know.
They caught Number One in Malaysia.
Number Two in England.
And Number Three in Kenya.
They killed them all.
I am Number Four.
I am next.

John Smith is Number Four and the death of yet another of the Garde, Number Three, has caused him and his guardian, Henri, to flee their home and find another, this one in Paradise, Ohio. John’s special abilities, or Legacies, begin to develop, bringing with them chaos and exposure.

As the battle between John and the Mogadorian scouts sent to kill him approaches, Number Six arrives, a blonde girl with a feisty attitude. Both decide that the plan to keep all the children apart will only destroy them eventually and battle the Mogadorians so that they can escape to find the others. Six and John leave, taking Sam Goode, a human ally, with them.

Power of Six follows on the story, but instead of John, we are focussed on Number Seven, a girl named Marina. Living in a convent in Spain, her guardian has abandoned her for God and Marina is forced to cope alone as her Legacies arrive, and with them, the threat of the Mogadorians.

I skipped through this book in all of about four hours, enthralled by the action and intensity in the writing. The extraordinary is definitely the key with the pacing, as each storm cloud, or night time excursion, brings with it the possibility of more Legacies or Loriens being revealed.

It is intriguing to read through Marina’s (Seven) story, and her fascinations with John Smith, and know all we know about the other characters. It pulls the reader in, as every moment that we’re involved we’re waiting for them all to find each other. Marina is a brilliant character on her own, but, from witnessing more scenes between Six and John, it will be great to see the dynamic this group pulls in once they’re all together.

This novel definitely feels more cinematic than the last, and perhaps that’s because of the reception of the first. There is a plan for six books, but, after the failure that was the first film, I don’t think the film franchise will happen alongside. I didn’t mind the first film, but whereas the book can cater to adults and teens, the film industry tends to feel it has to pick one age range. It went for teen and, unfortunately, ended up losing a lot of the subtly and maturity of the novel. On a visual point, the cover pictured is not the cover I had on my proof. Mine was white with a blue, embossed symbol. Much simpler and I definitely preferred it.

Battling against my rational brain at this point is, however, my disdain for author James Frey. The pseudonym Pittacus Lore covers James Frey and Jobie Hughes, and, to be honest, I have issues with Frey as a genuine author. After the scandal with A Million Little Pieces, I can’t really have any respect for that author. On a personal note, I really wish bookshops and libraries would stop promoting it as a memoir, because it’s mostly rubbish.

Either way, Power of Six definitely makes a great sequel to I Am Number Four. I’m super excited to see where the series goes after this!

So..Bloggers gone crazy...

I do have a review of Power of Six by Pittacus Lore to upload but for some reason, Blogger has gone crazy with my formatting and images so I can't upload it at the mo. As soon as it can, it shall happen.

Grrr.

Make no mistake, we are artists. We are athletes. We are bobble-heads.

Hellcats has been cancelled!

Now, I know this show didn’t exactly have a lot of intellectual merit but it wasn’t trying to be smart. It was trying, and succeeding in my opinion, to be a fun, frivolous little snippet of T.V., perfect for those wanting to relax and switch off their brains. I liked this show, I mean, my favourite film is Bring it On! so this was always going to be right up my street. And that’s exactly the market it should have been aiming at.

As far as I’m aware, it was being shown on the right kind of channels (UK = MTV, US = The CW) and the ratings weren’t atrocious. As the series progressed, they fell but, by that point, the episodes were more serious in nature and had a lot less dancing cheerleaders flying around the screen.

I was really interested in the story, and with the whole series ending in such a cliffhanger, I’m quite disappointed I’m not going to see how it plays out. Thing is, any show like this is an aspirational one; people watch it because they want to emulate the characters on screen and seeing them do things you can’t do (flip, dance, fly ten foot in the air and land safely back on the ground) is all part of that. By making Hellcats like every other CW drama, they took away its main appeal and it became just a slightly sub-par teen drama.

I am definitely realising it takes a lot to get a show renewed. Last year, I got into Privileged, which then got cancelled, and this year it’s been Hellcats that’s got the axe. I’m not saying that either of them were perfect but they could at least finish up the endings of the seasons.

On a positive note however, the CW is FINALLY letting go of One Tree Hill. That show has been dead since Peyton and Lucas skipped town, now all that’s left to do is bury the rotting carcass.

Who you are is five words, Dead Girl In a Trunk.

Just a quick one to reinforce all my twitterings about the fabulous The Killing. An American remake of a Danish drama series, it's completely brilliant and, at least in my opinion, is very similar in structure and tone to a lot of British crime serials. Shows like Waking the Dead and Silent Witness follow one case through multiple episodes, intriguing the viewer just as much with the lives of the suspects as with the detectives. The Killing is very similar and it does it so unbelievably well.

To be honest, I'm a little bit in love with it. It's a serious, intelligent, unsensationalised, american crime drama and it is a absolute breath of fresh air. In amongst all the predictable, over-the-top stuff, it really stands out.

Go watch it. Seriously, it's amazing.

The Greatest Movie Ever Sold