30 Days of Books, Day 26: A book that changed your opinion about something

I can't really cite one book that's changed my mind on one issue. But we'll go with this one, as it shuttled me down the road to where I currently am now.

[Yes, the Bible is a massive one for me, but that's changed many aspects rather than one.]

I, to a certain degree, consider myself a feminist.
I am not one of those who aims for a matriarchal society, I am not one of those who believe that 'testosterone is a rare poison'. I am, essentially, just a woman living in Western society and I believe that God sees me on par with men ("There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus," says Galatians 3:28), and ideally, society should as well. I look for equality rather than dominance of either gender. As soon as that begins happening, we're regressing.


When I was a few years younger, I agreed with Germaine's ideas more than I do now. I thought, from what I'd read of her essays on the internet, that she had some decent ideas with how to get society functioning as it ought. Once I moved to Brisbane with access to a decent public library, I immediately checked out The Female Eunuch, expecting to have my beliefs reconfirmed. 


They weren't, and I began to wonder. With some of the statements Greer makes, I wondered how I'd misplaced my goals for the world. Why dominance in any respect? Surely that would make us as oppressive as the men we, as true followers of a Greer-brand feminism, enjoy dismissing. As I read on further, I noticed that I was disagreeing with an awful lot of what Germaine said.


Don't get me wrong - what Germaine Greer and other feminists of her era have done for society is great, and I know that in order to make the smallest step of progress, you need to want to move the furthest. And my desires for the world could only come about in Paradise. But for books that changed my mind, it was this. Progress for the sake of progress, at the risk of hurting others, isn't progress. 

[Insert witty title here]

I'm in Brisbane until... probably Thursday! Maybe tomorrow, if I feel like changing my bus ticket. Probably won't happen as I am very lazy, but these things happen. I've been up here writing for Discerning Bride again, and today I went on a photoshoot.
"These things get sort of boring, don't they?" the stylist said sympathetically to me as I clutched 6 red balloons in one hand and a plastic bag in the other.
But for my very first shoot, I found it brilliant. It was beautiful. The dresses were amazing, the location divine. The dresses were designed by Wendy Makin - who is absolutely lovely - and were shot at Enoteca in Woolloongabba. Enoteca is in my favourite building ever, the Moreton Rubber building, so it was an added bonus.

When I arrived here on Sunday, I felt bleak. I didn't really want to be up here. Maybe it was stress over a new job the next day, maybe it wasn't. I felt homesick, and I desperately wanted to curl my arms around Tuscany's neck and breathe in her doggy smell (as nauseating as it can be at times). Though, as I curled up on a bus seat on the way back from the Gabba, I felt it again. The feeling that this city has beauty, and that I do love it. I don't think it'll be my home forever (at least while I'm alive), but it will for 2 years more.

I've gotten in a few shopping trips - of course - and I snuck in a trip to Koorong as I left the shoot. (My boss, who dropped me off there, also turned out to be a Christian. Things like that amaze me, just considering how God's got it all sorted.) In lieu of any sort of review, I'll post up my purchases.

This is because while I know a variety of words in Spanish, I suck at stringing them together in a coherent way. According to my grandfather, I would be embraced by Chileans everywhere, because they face the same issue and welcome the gringos who cannot speak to save their lives.
I can't help but think that if I rocked up to an interview in any Spanish-speaking country with my currently level of fluency, I would be laughed out the door.

While I love Nicholas Sparks, I must say that I have become less enamoured with him since reading A Walk to Remember.
This isn't because I disliked that book - it's because I loved it so completely and fully that anything he's written before or after has paled in comparison. The love isn't as perfect as Jamie and Landon's, and that makes me sad.
On the whole, I did like this book. It was a good read and a nice way to end the day.

I had no real purpose in buying this book - that is to say, I didn't intentionally look for it. But I feel it's what I need. I find I get myself into better habits of reading my Bible when I'm in studies and whatnot, and as I have felt a bit distanced from God, I want to change that. Immediately. This book looked interesting and useful, so I'll see how we do.

I bought this for similar reasons to the previous book, except I actually went to Koorong with the intention of buying it. I signed up for an online Bible study with Melissa Taylor, and this is the book they're studying from.

It's in week 5 and I've just bought it now. Bad Tash is bad? Yes. But Bad Tash will catch up!

I can't help but notice I've bought books with a very orange theme. 

Regardless, can we all whoop because in four days there's a new Coldplay album yes yes? I think there should be whooping all over this place.

Tomorrow I have the day at home/Chris's place, depending on what I do. The highs of freelancing - I can work at home, and watch Dr Who (of which I have recently acquired all 6 seasons, or what there is of it so far).

Anyway, I'll get back to normal scheduling soon. Goodnight - or morning, if you're in the Welshie land.

Updates galore!

So, I mentioned a while back (and yes, I'm purposely being vague out of guilt) that my Internet isn't the happiest of chappies at the moment. After awarding me far too many bills, I'm cutting back slowly. Hear that, Optus? I'm trying!
Anyway, some things have been happening, and I thought I'd share.

• I'm back writing for Discerning Bride. This time, however, I'm writing wedding stories. Yes, about actual weddings with pretty dresses. Swoon. It's very interesting; I'm getting a ton of resources for the bridal blog Maija and I have tentatively started.
• Maija and I have started a bridal blog! Okay, 'started' is a loose term. We set up the blog sort of haphazardly, then I got my first massive bill. The project is on a brief hiatus, but it'll be appearing, AND IT WILL BE AWESOME. *ahem*
• My time in the southern, newer portion of Wales is coming to a close. I'm getting sad to say goodbye - daylight savings has just begun, and it is undoubtedly my favourite time of year. However, more frequent posts will occur when I return to les Bris, because I'll be living with an IT person who knows where cheap yet expansive Internet can be found.
You have been warned.
• I've read some rather decent books lately, and some that were a bit questionable.
Decent:
~ The Mercy, by Beverly Lewis. Christian romance of the Amish variety, but if that be your kettle of fish, they're very excellent. Of course, this is the final novel in the Rose trilogy (the novels being The Thorn, The Judgement & The Mercy).
~ Blood Promise, by Richelle Mead. New series, and also a spinoff from Vampire Academy. This spells very good news indeed.
~ The Siren's Song, Miranda Darling. Great read, newish release. I'll be doing a proper review when I have better net.
Slightly Questionable Reads
Okay, only one. Jaid Black's novel Deep, Derk & Dangerous was just... Words cannot accurately describe. I know I should have refused to read the book, but an old teacher of mine asked my opinion. Sigh. Put it this way, if you're a fan of having your intelligence catered to whilst reading, and not having your gender demeaned constantly, I would advise against this book. I mean, it's not just women that get the dodgy deal (though they are referred to as, quote, 'chattel' repeatedly). The men in this novel - I know it'd make men I know cringe at being associated with them, however thinly.

Anyway, brief update. I'm off to write some articles and indulge my rom-com fix.
Goodnight, todos!

Review: The Name of the Star, Maureen Johnson

As of about two minutes ago, I finished this book.





If you're lucky and live in the Northern Hemisphere, you can stroll into a bookstore and grab this book all willy-nilly. (Please pay for it, though.) If, like me, you're in Australia - sorry, you're apparently waiting til October.

I'd heard a lot about this book via Twitter. I follow Maureen Johnson and John Green for literary and general lulz. Various People of the Internet posted that they'd gotten their paws on the book.
I trotted into work and found the reader's copy of it, claimed it as my own, and devoured it.

Louisiana native Aurora - sorry, Rory -Deveraux has just started at a boarding school in England when the first murder strikes. Not only are they absolutely horrific, they mimic the Ripper murders in a really distressing way. Everyone is possessed with fear. Who is this new Ripper? The police, of course, haven't a clue. No leads. No witnesses. CCTV cameras, pointed directly at the murders, only capture the victims.
But Rory, somehow, has seen the suspect they're searching for. But no one else can see him.

London becomes quite a different London than my head likes to picture it when I read this book. It's almost as if the pictures I have stored in my mind have been brushed over with a Victorian-tinted paint (yes, it's sepia). And while this book is set in the here and now, Maureen Johnson so perfectly takes you into the depths of Rippermania, the levels that Victorian London would have shivered in. There is something that changes so subtly as you wade deeper into the pages - what appears to be a normal teen boarding school novel at first, fraught with those typical teen emotions, gradually becomes more sinister as you progress. Maybe I'm weird, but I've always viewed books with colour. Reading this, we began with glorious Technicolor. We moved to slightly brown tinges, credpig along the edges of the page. And at the end - I felt blackness. It was amazingly done, the progression to each colour so minute, I couldn't even pinpoint where each staged morphed into the next.

Characters are always what will get me hooked in a novel, and Maureen Johnson's are no exception. I adore Rory from the moment I found her leaping from the pages.

"In my town... hurricane preparations generally include buying more beer, abs ice to keep that beer cold when the power goes out. We do have a neighbour with a two-man rowboat lashed on the top of the porch roof... but that's Billy Mack, and he started his own religion in the garage, so he's got a lot more goin on than just an extreme concern for personal safety."

Jazza's quirks were instantly endearing too. Maybe it's just that I want an awesome British pal, but seriously:

"Aside from being the kind of person who used 'whom' correctly while gossiping..."

"'On Saturdays I sometimes treat myself to a sandwich and a cake.' ... Everything was a tiny celebration with her."

Alistair, Boo, Callum, Stephen. All amazing characters, all sketched out in enough detail. I found myself impatient to find out more about Stephen, and thank you, Maureen, I was given it. Rory noticing Boo's way of speaking made everything more real. Callum and the tattoo - oh, the backstory we could have!
The only character I wasn't overly impressed with was Jerome, but I found his creepy fascination with Rippers new and old extremely disturbing. Even for a journo. Even though I do the same for bridal magazines. I did find it amusing when he knew exactly how to goad Jazza into sneaking out, however.

I won't say much else in fear of destroying plot (and also, I am rather sleepy). But honestly, you must read this book. First in a series! Hooray!

And, because I cannot say it any better than Holly Black, I'll part with her words:
This book made me want to give up everything, move to London, and fight ghosts.

Even if I'm quaking in my ghost-busting boots the entire time.

(No links today. On the phone makes this rather difficult.
In the next few days - definitely during this coming week - look out for my review of Miranda Darling's latest novel, The Siren's Sting. I received it on Thursday from the kind folks at Allen and Unwin. Not only does it look to be a rockin' good read, but it's also part of this year's Get Reading campaign. So if you buy it from the 1st - 30th of September, you'll receive a free book! Awesome, right?
Anyway, more on that in the review post.)

See you soon!

About the lack of posting...

Although few of you read this, I'm going to explain my absence that we're in the throes of, and that we will be in for the next couple of months.

I have no Internet beyond what's on my phone, and I haven't had it for a little while now. However, I stumbled upon this awesome concept called tethering. How fun is tethering! I said to myself as I expertly surfed the net at pretty fast speeds. I will tether forever!

Then Optus sent me not one, but two, $500-600 bills (because I apparently do not learn).

I have learnt my lesson now, and thus will be sticking to le Fachebook (gosh darn it, Voldy) and Twitter via their apps. Apparently, that's free.

So sayonara for the next while, sans a few reviews from time to time!

Hey, remember that time I said I'd do the truths posts?

I lied. Well, not really lied. I'm doing them all in one hit now. I might go and do that 30 Days one at some stage, but I found this one courtesy of the lovely Belinda on Facebook. (As a result, I'm going to have to find another quiz to earn Binda's forgiveness again for this theft.)

Away we go into the abyss of truthtellingandwhatnot!

WHAT WAS YOUR: 

1. Last beverage: Some disgusting concoction with lemon and sugar. It didn't go down to well. 

2. Last phone call: The chocolate-making school my parents want to go to when we visit Melbourne. Conversation as follows:

"Hey, I'm from [school], I received your booking last night and have a few things to discuss with you all."
"... I have no idea what you're talking about."

3. Last text message: Sent - to Nick, about some funky funding thing for gamers. Received - Dad, about when the bed they're trying to get rid of left the house.

4. Last song you listened to: Would be out of Coldplay, 'Hurts Like Heaven', or 'Salaam Namaste' or 'What's Going On', both from the Salaam Namaste soundtrack.

HAVE YOU EVER:

6. Dated someone twice: Nope.

7. Been cheated on: I have presented no opportunity for this to occur.

8. Kissed someone & regretted it: Nope.

9. Lost someone special: Yes, most definitely, and it sucked.

10. Been depressed: See the majority of my teenage years.

11. Been drunk and threw up: Oh lulz. I have not.

LIST THREE FAVORITE COLORS: 

12. Red

13. Black

14. White

THIS YEAR HAVE YOU: (2011) 

15. Made a new friend: Yessir, yessir.

16. Fallen out of love: I believe not.

17. Laughed until you cried: Oh yes. So many times. 

18. Met someone who changed you: It happens, yep. Sometimes it's not very pleasant. Grr to those unpleasant ones.

19. Found out who your true friends were: Yes. It was not pretty. (Wait, lies. It was pretty sometimes.)

20. Found out someone was talking about you: HAHAHAHAHAHA. It's life, of course that happens. 

21. Kissed anyone on your fb friend's list: Nope.

GENERAL: 

22. How many people on your fb friends list do you know in real life: All but two, I believe.

23. Favourite band: Coldplay.

24. Do you have any pets: Two dogs. They make life interesting. 

25. Do you want to change your name: I've always been fascinated with those coming of age ceremonies where your name gets changed, marking your new life as an adult. If that were to happen, I would be Natalia. Similar enough to my own name, but sounds slightly more classy.

26. What did you do for your last birthday: Ran around Brisbane.

27. What time did you wake up today: 8am, I think.

28. What were you doing at midnight last night: DANCING!

29. Name something you CANNOT wait for: Next year. Or, as Binda phrased it, life in general.

30. Last time you saw your Mother: Last night.

31. What is one thing you wish you could change about your life? My tendency to make stupid decisions.

32. What are you listening to right now: The dulcet tones of Offspring Season 1, Episode 2. DEAR WORLD THE SECOND SEASON IS OUT NEXT MONTH

33. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom: Oh wow. I don't think so, or at least not in a while.

34. What's getting on your nerves right now: Darn cramps. I hate your face.  

35. Most visited webpage: Blogger, Facebook, Twitter, Gmail. Also, varying Tumblrs.

36. Whats your real name: Natasha Carolina Pavez. Carolina is Caroleenah.

37. Relationship Status: Single, baby.

39. Zodiac sign: Aries. We do things with style.

40. Male or female? Female.  

41. Elementary? Was awesome.

42. High School/College: Was painful.

43. Uni/College: Was awesome, and at QUT.

44. Hair colour: Brown.

45. Long or short: Long by my standards.

46. Height: The exact same height as Reese Witherspoon. Same birthday, too. Kooky.

47. Do you have a crush on someone? Creepily, yes. How do you know these things?

48: What do you like about yourself? I know how to write and draw, and my eyes make me happy.

49. Piercings: Earlobes, and a small puncture wound where that stupid dog decided to bite me yesterday for ignoring her. I might put a stud there to make it seem less attackish, more stylish.

50. Tattoos: I fainted when I accidentally got a cut from a dog. Tattoos are not high on my priority list.

51. Righty or lefty: Right!

FIRSTS : 

52. First surgery: I'm sure there was something around the time of my premmie birth. Or maybe not! I do recall an endoscopy. That was fun, being drugged... I shouldn't say things like that, you'll lock me up.

53. First piercing: Ears

54. First best friend: Alyssa.

55. First sport you joined: Cricket. UGH WHY

56. First vacation: Uh... "I don't even remember five minutes ago. Back to your skulking."

57. First Pet: Inca. She doesn't bite.

58. First pair of trainers: Were cute. Mum has a photo of me wearing them. 

RIGHT NOW 

59. Eating: Cookies.

60. Drinking: Water.

61. I'm about to: start making dinner.

62. Listening to: Nina's ringtone on Offspring.

63. Waiting on: life.

YOUR FUTURE

64. Want kids? Yup, they will hopefully be awesome.

65. Get Married? Please.

66. Career? WRITERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrrrRRRrrr *ahem*

WHICH IS BETTER IN OPPOSITE SEX 

67. Lips or eyes: Eyes.

68. Hugs or kisses: Hugs.

69. Shorter or taller: Taller. I don't think I could find anyone shorter than me.

70. Older or Younger: Around about the same age as me.

71. Romantic or spontaneous: I have not experienced either.

72. Nice stomach or nice arms: Due to Ryan Reynolds, I'm going to have to admit to my sad abs obsession and say stomach.

73. Sensitive or loud: *shrugs*

74. Hook-up or relationship: Relationship. 

75. Trouble maker or hesitant: *shrugs*

HAVE YOU EVER

76. Kissed a stranger: Nah.

77. Drank hard liquor: I believe not, as I don't drink.

78. Lost glasses/contacts: Glasses, many a time.

79. Had sex on first date: Nope.

80. Broken someone's heart: I highly doubt it.  

81. Had your own heart broken: If I said yes, it'd be too dramatic for what really happened. Let's just say my heart fell over and skinned its knees.

82. Been arrested: Nope. Taaame.

83. Turned someone down: Yes.  

84. Cried when someone died: I think I exhausted my tear ducts.

85. Fallen for a friend? He wasn't really a friend-friend, so no. He was sort of in my group of friends, but not technically. BABBLE.

DO YOU BELIEVE IN

86. Yourself: At times.

87. Miracles: Yesh indeedly. God does a daily one with me.

88. Love at first sight: Oh, there are so many things going either way. I would say definite interest can be formed.  

89. Heaven: Heck yes.

90. Santa Claus: Nah.

91. Kiss on the first date: Cannot accurately say either way.

92. Angels: Of course.

ANSWER TRUTHFULLY: 

94. Had more than 1 girlfriend/boyfriend at a time: Not a snowball's chance in the nether regions of hell.

95. Did you sing today? Mimed into a microphone. I'm so eighties.

96. Ever cheated on somebody? That's just cruel and cheap.

97. If you could go back in time, how far would you go? Jane Austen Era, or the fifties, or pioneering era. Perhaps even way back to Roman times. 

98. If you could pick a day from last year 2010 and relive it, what would it be: Stanfield's Cookie Bonfire.

99. Are you afraid of falling in love? I suspect yes.

100. Posting this as 100 truths? NO! HAHA!

Wordless Wednesday (the third)

Yes, I get that it's words. But they're in a picture. *looks hopeful*
Okay, this Wednesday's a fail. Shusssh.
Also, I apologise. Darn Blogger failed at uploading last night.