LET'S TALK ABOUT THE 50 SHADES OF GREY CONTROVERSY.

It’s time to talk about the controversy surrounding 50 Shades of Grey. I’ve taken my time, listened to podcasts, watched a lot of people on YouTube talk about it, and plenty of this type of research before coming to my own opinion regarding the statement people love to throw around lately: 50 Shades of Grey supports rape.

Before I get to this statement though I want to talk about why I refuse to buy the books, even though I’ve read the first one, because it has nothing to do with it.  When the books came out, it eventually came out that 50 Shades of Grey was a Twilight fan fiction, and EL James not only took the idea for a book from something that already existed, but took all the characterizations that weren’t her original ideas, and used them, only changing names in her story.  There are people who have claimed she stole parts of their stories on fan fiction websites, and used them in her book.

So I have a problem with EL James making money for an idea that wasn’t anywhere close to her own.  That is why I won’t buy the books, and when the movie came out it took a lot of thought to decide to go see it; eventually I decided to go because realistically very little of the $12 I spent on a ticket is going to EL James’ royalties.  My opinion is that Stephanie Meyer should be getting royalties for these books.

Okay now that that part is out of the way, we can get into this idea that the books/movies support rape and an abusive relationship. I want to put a disclaimer here that I have only read the first book, and I have seen the movie, so that’s what my opinion is based on.

I agree that Christian and Ana do not have a healthy relationship.  They don’t. He’s emotionally abusive, he sometimes stalks her, he belittles her with words, and when he gets mad he will at least say that he wants to hit her/spank her/etc.  There are scenes in the book that made me uncomfortable, reading Ana’s thoughts and knowing she wasn’t always okay with what was happening (i.e. the scene at his parents house after he makes her go outside and away from his parents).

All of this can be true without the story saying THIS IS A GOOD THING YOU SHOULD ALL ASPIRE TO BE CHRISTIAN AND ANA. 

Never has EL James claimed that this is a perfect relationship or that every girl should envy Ana or anything else of that sort. Yes Ana wants to change Christian, yes she wants to fix him.  This is problematic too, and we’re getting there, but this does not mean the book supports this relationship as perfect or healthy. Now, there are people who read a book, romanticize the situation in the book, and wish they were Ana and had a Christian. But that can happen with any book. There are books about serial killers and women who run away from their abusive partners and people do that with those books too; that doesn’t mean a book shouldn’t be written, it means an individual may need personal help getting through something they’re dealing with on their own.

So let’s talk about BDSM and the community.

The big thing people are mad about is that this book claims its showing BDSM, but its not really BDSM and its showing the general population wrong information.  I understand this feeling, and I think anyone who reads this and becomes interested in the BDSM aspect of it should then do their own research before tying themselves up at home.  There’s plenty of information out there, WE LIVE IN THE WORLD OF THE INTERNET PEOPLE.  In fact here’s a nice video about BDSM and it even talks about 50 shadesof Grey as well.

This all being said, this book never claimed to be the Guide to BDSM, or a how to on a BDSM relationship.  It’s an erotic novel written by a woman who loved Twilight and wrote a fan fiction about it and somehow managed to make a shit ton of money doing it.  The book, and author, shouldn’t be deemed as solely responsible for people mistaking this fictional erotic novel as a guide to a particular type of sexual kink.

BOOK REVIEW | More Than This by Patrick Ness

SPOILER FREE

First off let's get it out of the way that I gave this book five stars on goodreads.

I have never read anything like this before.  By the end of the first chapter I was already hooked, that's really all it took.  You watch the main character die in the ocean from his perspective.  With him you experience the freezing water, the absolute terror as he tries to get his face above the water to take another breath, and then the pain from both the cold but then later from crashing into the rocks under the current. It’s shocking and poetic and a completely new experience, reading that first chapter.

PLOT

The plot is very murky.  You spend a lot of time not knowing what’s real and what is really going on.  The main character woke up after his death in what seems like the post apocalyptic world.  Is he in limbo? Hell? Is this the actual world? We spend most of the book not having answers.  For this reason I can't really talk about characters or specific scenes in the spoiler free portion of this review.

PACING & WRITING

Because of the air of mystery, the pacing of this book was very quick; you just want to know everything! I really loved that the writing goes back and forth between the present, which is the main character in the new unrecognizable world, and then back to the past, showing important moments in the main character’s life.  That’s where you get all the information in the first third of the book.

Without giving anything away, all I can really say is that this is a definite must read.  Patrick Ness is a god, and I can't wait to get my hands on another of his books.

********SPOILERS BELOW********

CHARACTERS

For the first 25 pages of the book, you are not even aware of the main character's name - Seth - and then it takes all the way up to Part II before you find out he's not alone in the new world he's woken up in.

Enter Regine and Tomasz, the unlikely duo who not only will finally make you laugh while you read this great book, but also finally help Seth and you get some fucking answers about what's going on!  These two were the most heartwarming part of the story; after all without them what does Seth have to live for?

SCENES AND FAVORITES

In the early page 80's we get a surprising fact given to us about Seth before he died: he's gay, and part of the reason he killed himself was because of isolation after the whole school finds out about this.  I was so disappointed that the love interest, Gudmund, wasn't a happy ending in his story from his life; I really rooted for them as I got bits and pieces of their relationship throughout the story.

I wasn't surprised that Seth had killed himself; I remember as I read his point of view of him dying in the ocean that it was a shitty way to choose to go.  So when he then tries to kill himself again before he meets Regine and Tomasz, and then later when he admits it out loud, I was not surprised either time.  But it made me aware of how he might be feeling even when he wasn't explicitly thinking about his depression or feelings of helplessness.

I also was relieved to find out I was right in thinking that the situation surrounding Owen and the convict DIDN'T MAKE SENSE, and it was explained because the computer system couldn't completely fix it.  It made the anger towards Seth and the weird "oh Owen isn't right in the head" make sense because Owen isn't real HES DEAD.  I was very happy they made the confusing parts of that part of the story make sense.

MY ONE DISAPPOINTMENT

I didn't completely love the ending, or what the being all in black ended up being.  I felt like it was a bit of a let down after an entire book searching for answers to just end by going back into the system of false reality.  I don't think I would want a sequel, but I do wish the ending was different.  I don't know how I would prefer it I just didn't really like it. It felt so... flat. I don't know, I guess there's not really much you can do when the computer generated world is shit and the real world is shittier.

Comment down below your thoughts on More Than This by Patrick Ness and make sure to check out my Youtube Channel for more regular book talks :)

A MAKEUP HAUL | Target & Forever 21

I went to Target and Forever 21 recently and decided to buy some makeup!

Here's what I got:

There is a product I missed in photographing on it's own: the Neutrogena Primer. It's the gray package on the left. It doesn't have any spf in it.

I got a translucent powder from the Maybelline Fit Me line. 

As well as a lightly colored powder from the Physician's Formula line.  I have been loving this product lately. 

The second primer I got is from the Rimmel Fix & Perfect line, and it does have an SPF 15 in it.  I wanted to have both so I could decide when and when not to add SPF.

This is the only product I bought from Forever 21.  It's basically a knock off beauty blender. I haven't tried it yet, and I've never bought a beauty blender so I won't be making a comparison post on the two.

I also picked up the Maybelline Lash Sensational mascara.  I love the packaging, it's so classy!  I also loved a curved brush. 

 Lastly I picked up two Rimmel by Kate lipsticks.

This last picture is not in focus, but I wanted to post it anyway so you can see the colors. The pink is #20 and it has a slight sheen in it.

The orange is #12, and it is an exact dupe for Mac's "so chad" lipstick! I absolutely love this color, this is a repurchase.

And that is everything I bought in regards to makeup! 

What Happens After the Book Ends | Winter Biannual Bibliothon Challenge Day 7

HARRY POTTER

All the students were zoning out, snoozing in their history class as Professor Binns went on about something – the Second Wizarding War. Whatever that was.

            “Harry Potter was born on July 31 1980—“ Gasps from the classroom interrupted the lesson. From lounging and heads laying on books, to every back straight and all eyes wide.  Urgent whispers and short outbursts like “finally something interesting!” were zooming around the room as if somebody was making paper airplanes fly across to friends. “Excuse me, well excuse me you… you there! Quiet down! This is a classroom not a circus!”

            It wasn’t very often that Professor Binns acknowledged the class. In fact nothing really had changed in the history classroom of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizadry.  Professor Binns started his classes by coming through the blackboard, and droned on and on about everything without so much as noticing whether there was a group of students in his seats or not.  But this particular class of first years had been anxiously awaiting to hear about Harry Potter since school started, some even before then if they had older siblings or extended family who liked to talk about the Boy Who Lived and the Chosen One to learn about the famous Harry Potter. They were just young enough to have missed any opportunity to see Harry Potter speak about the Defense Against the Dark Arts but old enough to have family who had shaken Harry’s wrinkled of old aged hand.  It had been years since he died, living to be 102, but the glamour of his name was far from distinguishing.

            “As I was saying, Harry Potter was born July 31, 1980 to Lily and James Potter.  Neville Longbottom was born the same day, and so there were two children who matched the description of the prochecy. But—“

            “What prophecy?!” exclaimed a student with the colors of slytherin on his ruffled tie, sitting near the back of the room.

            “Well Mr. … uh young man, if you’d been listening, you would know that it was the Seer Sybill Trelawney’s prophecy that stated "The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies [...]” and it continued on but that is all the death eater told Tom Riddle aka Lord Voldemort in 1979 when it was prophesized.

            Moving forward, on October 31, 1981, Voldemort attempted to end the prophecy by killing Harry Potter.  He instead made the prophecy truth by marking Potter as his equal, by attempting to kill him with the Avada Kedavra curse; Potter is the only known wizard to survive this curse.  We now know the reason Potter survived was because of the power in the magic Lily Potter left on her son, sacrificing herself for him.  Potter was also turned into a living horcrux; an 8^th of Voldemort’s soul rested in Potter until the night of the Battle of Hogwarts and the end of the second Wizarding war.”

            A girl sitting toward the front  whispered to her friend, “what the bloody hell’s a horcrux,” and in other circumstances, students may have snickered, but they all wanted to know the answer so badly they just looked to Professor Binns for an answer.

            “That is a question for your Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. I only deal with the history. As I was saying….”  And so it went.

             

Top 14 Books I Read in 2014

14. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

            I just recently read (and saw the movie adaptation) of Gone Girl. It was amazing! The story is riveting and it has so many great plot twists. I do have to say that it is not something I would probably ever feel the need to reread though.

13. Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman

            This is the non-fiction memoir by Piper Kerman that the tv show (which I also love) by the same name is based on.  The memoir was much less sexual and much more “dry” – not as much exciting story line – than the tv show is, but I found that listening to the audiobook was still entertaining while I drove on long car rides.

12. The Giver by Lois Lowry

            This was a reread for me this year, because I hadn’t read it since I was in 7^th grade and knew that I loved it. I didn’t remember the main characters being as young as they are, but the story is such a classic, and I will definitely be continuing with the series.

11. Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt

            This was such an unexpected story for me! The main character is young, and so some of the language he used was odd, but ignoring that, I absolutely fell in love with the very real and painful living situation he lives in, and I love the fact that art plays such an important role.

10. We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

            This book was overhyped, and so there is some stigma surrounding it, but I found that the plot twist and the big reveal of what happened with the group of main characters was so shocking, that I was just so emotional. And that is always a very good thing for me.

9. Warrior Heir by Cinda Williams Chima

            The world building in this first novel of the Heir Chronicles is glorious! I loved the protagonist, and his friends who play a big role in the story. There are some hilarious moments in the story as well as dramatic moments.

8. Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly

            This was a book that I started without having ever heard of it, I was just looking for a Jennifer Donnelly book. And I was most definitely not disappointed. 

7. Wonder by R.J. Palacio

            This was just a feel good book to the max.  The main character and most of the other important characters are very young – in 6^th grade – it doesn’t feel like only young children should be reading it.  It was for me.

6. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

            This was a beautiful story.  It was weird, and it crossed between the real and an unnatural world and it was fascinating for it.

5. Across the Universe by Beth Revis

            This plot was glorious! They went into such detail, talking about the evolution of the language used on the ship years after they’ve left earth, and about how nobody looks like different races and everything else.  I just couldn’t get enough.  I cannot wait to continue with the series.

4. Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

            The writing in this story was beautiful.  I’ve said it before in videos but it was like reading a dance.  That’s how it felt. There wasn’t much of a plot, it was more about the descriptions of the circus that only came at night and what magic went on there. It was amazing.

3. Winger by Andrew Smith

            This one was heartbreaking for me, but it was wonderful nonetheless, and it just hits hard.  The characters were very real to me and it was beautiful.

2. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

            This entire world was just – wow – I still can’t believe how real it seemed, and there were so many layers to the world, the characters, and everything else that’s involved with this story. It really makes you think about where our future is headed.

1. Vicious by V.E. Schwab

            THE SUPERHERO STORY.  I thought this was going to feel too young for my taste, but it was an adult superhero story at its finest.  The characters are well developed, twisted, and there were no good men in the game. There were no black and white good or bad guys.  Everyone was a little fucked up and it was simply a matter of who was more fucked up. Amazing.

BONUS: The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler

            This is a written play of short stories that Eve Ensler heard from real women and then performed as a one woman show all together in one play.  I think every woman, but really every human should read (or go see it live!) this book! It just tells a whole lot about women and how well we may or may not know our vaginas.