Bookworm | Why Has Every Book I've Read in the Last Month Contained a Shitty Kid?!

All right so. Life has been busy and stressful and generally an emotional roller coaster. I'll explain once I am out of it. Also...wedding.


I've read, like, two books this summer. Both of them are part of my proclaimed favorite series. Both of them did not meet my expectations. The biggest reason is because our favorite heroes procreate and have shitty children. Let me rant review.


Drums of Autumn (Book #4 of the Outlander series)

I heard somewhere that Gabaldon admitted that she doesn't write linear, and I completely believe that. This is the first book where I really had to take a step back and wonder how neither her nor the editors caught the inconsistent pacing. I mean, we spend pages on medical exposition (and as a newbie to that sort of thing, I don't mind in the least), but half a page on important scenes such as Jamie meeting Brianna. OR, even worse, is sometimes we don't even get the big scenes at all!!!! Claire, Jamie, and Brianna mention important conversations that happened off screen---something that should NOT happen with a 800+ page tome! C'mon now.

Second, my biggest issue is with the characterization. Brianna is an asshole. Here's my main point. Yes, she originally was upset when Claire first told her everything that had happened. Even then I thought she was a brat, but it was at least a bit more understandable. HOWEVER, then when she (spoilers, obviously) goes back in time, she's STILL an asshole--especially to Jamie. Look, I know he's not your wuv wuv Daddy Frank, but show him some respect. Also, just because Gabaldon keeps telling me that Brianna and Jamie are alike, does NOT mean that I believe it!!!!! Yea, they have tempers but at least Jamie isn't intentionally cruel.

Also Claire is a wet blanket that both Jamie and Brianna take turns wringing out throughout the book. I don't know where her personality went but I hope I find it again in The Fiery Cross.


Because, despite all that above, I still love the series and will continue to read it. Rant over.


Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Apparently it's Book #8. I refuse to believe this)

Look, I get it. I know it's not completely written by J.K., it's just a screenplay, etc. But what a hot, hot mess for the people who will consider it canon. Yes, the screenplay contained parts that maybe were okay (re: the Malfoys), but everything else felt gratuitous and forced. Albus Severus is actually the worst---no, perhaps Rose is. Much like Brianna above, he knows everything that happened to his parents and still whines like a spoiled brat. Scorpius is honestly the only reason why I didn't throw the book across the room. The Trolley Witch felt like a bad acid trip. As the years went by (which also felt weird as hell!) I felt like they were attempting some sort of paralleled trio thing between Albus, Scorpius, and Rose but it didn't work. Speaking of the trio, Harry, Hermione, and Ron all seemed completely out of character (and yes I'm defending Ron. He's never been my favorite, but he was not a complete idiot in the series like he is in this play). The parallel universes were ALL gratuitous--the Albus scene was uncomfortable, the Snape scene was better but still felt weird, everything with Cedric felt bizarre and an issue that we all dealt with three books ago. And what an insult to the character of Hermione Granger to write that she would be a bitter, resentful bitch if she didn't end up with Ron Weasley. Utterly unbelievable.

The biggest thing? The plot holes. They were so big that I could step in and out of them like hula hoops. Please don't try and convince me that things happened behind the scenes of a book that always already published. I won't believe them. And don't try to convince me that Bellatrix slept with Voldemort. Because...no. AND please do your homework for your own book because half the jobs that our favorite characters had at the end of Deathly Hallows were NOT the same ones in Cursed Child!

If you want to write a new, original play, then please write a new, original play. Using the same characters and revisiting the same plots creates issues for the characterizations, the fans, the canon, and the magic of the world that seems to be completely undermined.

*drops mic*



I'm going to go read books that will make me happy now.

Musings | Nerd Weekend

Stars: nature, traveling, wanderlust

Books: writing, reading, knowledge

Bowties: Freakin' Doctor Who.

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Wanderlust | Och aye! I be oot and aboot in Scotlahnd!

Hello from Scotland!

Wanderlust | A Weekend of Exploration

"An ocean might separate us, but we are bonded under the same sky."- Unknown

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When I went to Spain four years ago, I felt unsettled. My group wasn't the best, and I was constantly worrying and longing to be home. Looking back I wish that I was more appreciative of the opportunity, since I know now that it was once in a lifetime. Now, I am once again given a fantastic opportunity, and I have been waiting all weekend for that familiar sense of dread to creep up inside of me--screaming at me to go home. I don't have it. I feel completely and utterly at peace. I feel at home.

That being said OF COURSE I already miss my wonderful parents, family, dog, friends, sisters..(do I even have to say Ryan? I mean c'mon). If I could bottle them all up and bring them over with me, well, that would be fantastic. However, that is not the case, so I am forced to be stuck within two worlds, of being in my true place yet without my closest people. It also doesn't help that the intranet is not working and I am forced to lay on the ground of my room to text people. So, if you want to contact me, the best way is through FB. But alas!

Now onto my travels!

Traveling, A History

I suppose the whole point of a blog is to frequently blog, correct? I guess I should get down to business. Here's a brief history of my traveling experience...

Long ago, in a house not far from mine, I was sitting on a pea-green couch watching Oprah. The Harry Potter kids walked on stage, and little seven year-old me was simply floored that their British accents were real...I literally thought that they were faking it. And somehow, out of that, my love of England and travel was born.

When I was fourteen, my parents and I visited London for a week. I was fangirling the WHOLE time. It was quite the travesty when we had to return home. When I was sixteen, I got the incredible opportunity to spend a month in Spain. Previously, I had no real interest in Spain, but MAN do I miss it now. I fully intend to travel back there in the fall. Here are some of the highlights from both trips, and apologies for the crappy photo qualities...I was sixteen, remember?