Procrastination

I've missed a few of the weekly memes and have been uninspired to write a new blog in the last couple of days. I have no doubt that this is because I have two reviews to write up (one for the blog and one for The Book Bag) which I can't seem to get done. And when I say, 'I can't seem to get them done,' I mean, 'I can't stop procrastinating.' Obviously my Book Bag one is a little more important than the one for my blog (as I owe it to the publishers, the author, and the good owners of the Book bag site to complete it by Monday) but I just can't concentrate.

I have had quite a few days of horrid sleeping patterns which may be the leading cause to why I haven't been writing. I want to do my reviews. I enjoy them. I want to finish them so I can write a bit of my novel. But I've discovered that there are a few things I'd rather be doing:

1) Watching the Vlogbrothers on YouTube. Yes, I've officially become a Nerdfighter. I've been hearing about John Green and his brother, Hank, for some time now and have recently discovered their videos and fallen in love. I also have John's books on my Amazon wishlist now which (although I don't make a habit of reading YA fiction) I'm excited to read. If his books are anything as good as his videos, I'll love them.

2) Reading. When I can't write, I read. But reading is also becoming a problem lately. As I've finished Will Jellyfish Rule the World? which The Book Bag so kindly gave me to review, I have to move on to reading Breaking Up Blues which is not only turning out to be the most depressing book in the history of the world but so full of heinous crap about relationships, I almost want to rip it up. The writer is a psychoanalyst who is divorced which means her theories seem to be that trying the good old-fashioned approach of working on the problems in a relationship/marriage is pointless and wastes time and you should just get it all over and done with which'll be incredibly tough and upsetting but luckily you have her book to help you through it.

Enough said about that.

It's 2.45am here and I think I might just be a little too sleepy/cranky to think about anything serious. An hour ago I scoffed down a whole tub of glace cherries which proceeded to give me a whopping headache, as well as hallucinations, so I think it's safe to say I'm coming down from that sugar crash.

I might just do a fun meme and go to bed. Trying again tomorrow is always good. And there's a much more relaxed, optimistic approach to doing anything on a Sunday, isn't there? I wonder why that is.

If you haven't already checked out the Vlogbrothers YouTube channel, I'd recommend doing so straight away. I love that as a child I was made fun of but as an adult, nerdiness, geekiness and freakishness is cool. If anyone's ever read anything by John Green, let me know what you think of him.

Ending with yet another meme stole from A Striped Armchair.

A book that made you cry: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. The first book to make me cry when ****spoilers**** Rochester finally declares his love for Jane.

A book that scared you: The Shining by Stephen King. That book is about three hundred billion times more scary than the films are.

A book that made you laugh: And God Created the Au Pair by Pascale Smets and Benedicte Newland. This book, incidentally, has nothing really to do with au pairs. It's set out in a form of email letters between two sisters over the course of two years. It's a light read and wonderful for something quick and easy to cast your mind on.

A book that disgusted you: Would it be fair to say Breaking Up Blues? I didn't think so. We'll see how I feel about this when I finish it. I can't really think of anything that's truly disgusted me though. Maybe I need to read a few books about those who believe global warming's just a scam.

A book you loved in elementary school: Elementary school ... Umm, I'll count that as 'Infant school' here. I can't remember any books from back then other than one called Doing the Pools which was about a dad always doing his crossword puzzles. I remember it because one of the earliest memories of my dad is him doing his own crosswords.

A book you loved in middle school: I was a big fan of Roald Dahl so probably Matilda. I remember seeing the film and being horrified at its alterations (I was nine at the time).

A book you loved in high school: I think I drifted off from a lot of reading in comprehensive school but later picked it up again in college. We did get to read Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (which I still love) and I also fell in love with the play Blood Brothers by Willy Russell and Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice.

A book you hated in high school: I don't remember really hating any books. Then again, I still don't have too many books on my 'hate' list to this day.

A book you loved in college: The Color Purple by Alice Walker. It was the first book we did on my Literature course and I loved it. It was our introduction into books written in Black American English.

A book that challenged your identity: The Journals of Sylvia Plath. I credit Plath with wanting to make me write. As I read her journals, her different experiments with style inspired me to keep my own journal and explore my own writing and who I wanted to be as a young woman writer.

A series you love: I don't really have any series that I follow but I love Philippa Gregory's series of Tudor novels. While they're not the most historically accurate, I love that time period and really enjoy getting to go back to the Tudor court through her stories.

Your favorite horror book: This is a hard one. I love horror. Yikes. Probably Dracula by Bram Stoker. It's probably the best written one I've ever read. Then again, I also really enjoyed The Shining.

Your favorite science fiction book: I don't read science fiction but I guess The Time Traveler's Wife was much more than a love story. It was about time travelling, of course!

Your favorite fantasy: I don't read fantasy but let's hope I get too one day through my personal 'reading dangerously' challenge.

Your favorite mystery: I don't read mysteries either. Though a lot of horrors and thrillers are 'mysterious'. Does that count?

Your favorite biography: Extreme by Sharon Osbourne (because the Osbournes are too awesome) or The Journals of Sylvia Plath.

Your favorite “coming of age” book: I'm extremely tired. And can't seem to think of any. At all. *sigh*

Your favorite classic: Jane Eyre.

Your favorite romance book: Any of Jane Austen's novels. I don't like romance too much but there's something about the way Jane writes that makes me melt.

Your favorite book not on this list: A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess. That book is incredible and challenges your perspective on everything to do with what society wants you to believe. It challenges you to think for yourself.