Saturday, April 12, 2008

About The October Country

Ok, so basically, the October Country is a collection of short stories all individually creepy and haunting. So far I'm up to page 150 and my favorite short story so far has to be the second chapter. It's about this woman Marie and her husband Joseph. They're on a vacation to Mexico on the Day of the Dead. The chapter starts out with them visiting a Mexican graveyard. The gravekeeper shows them several bodies hung up without a grave since their family cannot pay the fee to bury them. Marie counts the bodies as Joseph talks to the gravekeeper. All the bodies have different emotions and expressions on them.
One of the bodies is one of a woman who had this condition which makes her seem dead. This time, her sisters thought that she was really dead and had her buried. They paid 20 pesos and left her in the graveyard. A year later, the gravekeeper lifted the cover of the grave and found what happened. Shortly after being buried, the woman had woken up and had beat, scratched, and clubbed with her fists at the cover of the coffin. However, this only used up her precious air and the woman later died of suffication. Her face of agony and fear is still imprinted on the rotting corpse.
It turns that the fee for a permanent bureal is 100 something pesos, apparently something that the people of the town cannot pay. Temporary bureal for a year is 20 pesos.
After visiting there, the couple goes into town for the festivities of the day. Joseph buys two candy skulls to give to his friends at home, he has Marie hold them. In a daze, Marie drops the bag the breaks the candy skulls. Joseph is a litle angry at first but they go to eat enchiladas. Still creeped out by the "mummies", Marie refuses to eat anything. Joseph eats all of the enchiladas, and still not satisfied, he takes out one of the broken skulls and starts to eat it as well, commenting on how sweet it was. Marie noticed the name written on the skull. The name was Marie.
The next day, the couple prepares to leave Mexico when the car doesn't start. Joseph take the car to a mechanic. The mechanic says that it will take them at least 3 days before the car can be driven. Now panicked and desperate to leave Mexico, Marie asks if the mechanic can just use one day. Joseph says that it is not possible. Back at the hotel that they were staying at again, Marie has nightmares of the graveyard and it's "mummies". Unable to sleep, Marie begs one thing of Joseph.
"Promise me, if anything -happens, if anything happens to me , you won't let me be buried here in the graveyard over those terrible catacombs! Promise me so I can sleep. I can sleep only if you'd say you wouldn't let me be put there. I don't want to be put there."
Joseph promises and gives a laugh, saying how ridicious it is. And as he says this, a trickle of blood runs from Marie's clenched lips, her breathing now fast and rapid. Marie finally goes to sleep...
The next day, Joseph goes home. He pets the seat next to him...
...which is empty...

Sunday, March 30, 2008

The October Country

I kind of lost my Go Ask Alice book, so I went to the library and borrowed The October Country by Ray Bradbury as a sort of temporary book until I find my Go Ask Alice book.
Since I've read Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, I thought that this book might be a good read as well.
This book has 306 pages, so I should be done with it by the last week of April.
It's a horror book, I'll also be blogging on whether or not it's "bone-chilling" or not.

"A land of mists and shadows and strange shapes, of twilight terrors and midnight madness..."

Introduction

October Country... that country where it is always turning late in the year. That country where the hills are fog and the rivers are mist; where noons go quickly, dusks and twilights linger and midnights stay. That country composed in the main of cellars, sub-cellars, coal-bins, closets, attics, and pantries faced away from the sun. That country whose people are autumn people, thinking only autumn thoughts. Whose people passing at night on empty walks sound like rain...

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Go Ask Alice

I was unable to find Castle in The Air at the library, so instead I am reading Go Ask Alice right now. (Yes, I'm aware of exactly how many people are reading it...) It is a pretty good book so far, but I've been told by people that the book is sad and that the author was on drugs or something when he/she wrote this. I would type something about the author, but apparently I can't find the name or gender of the said author.
It seems that the main character is also on drugs or something. She keeps a journal (which is basically the book) and things.
I'm that far yet so hopefully it'll be better later on.

Sunday, March 16, 2008

The Lovely Bones


This is a picture that Nicole Seto photoshopped for me :D
I think that the girl towards the left is an angel because of the white wing like thing on her shoulder.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

The Almost Moon Review

REVIEW FOR THE ALMOST MOON
I did not like this book much. It wasn't as good as The Lovely Bones or Lucky.
I think, the book wasn't as good because she, herself, did not have experiance in the field of well... killing. For the Lovely Bones and Lucky, she already had prior knowledge (although it wasn't very enjoyable knowledge) in the field of rape.
If she knew how it was to kill a person, or perhaps to resent someone so much that they want to kill them in such a way and situation, I think that the book would have been much more interesting.
So, in all this book is a 2 1/2 stars out of 5. Disappointing, disappointing :(

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Castle in the Air

Three people voted in the poll :D
And the result is...
CASTLE IN THE AIR BY DIANE WYNNE JONES!
-claps-

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

The Almost Moon

All right then :D I have completed the Lovely Bones already and are continuing to read Sebold's books. Lucky I finished already in the past and so now I'm in the process of reading...
THE ALMOST MOON
So far, I've finished the first and second chapters and I'm on the third chapter right now. It's pretty good so far but its a little bit boring at some parts.
As usual Sebold is pretty visual with descriptions and details. It makes me feel like I'm there or I'm the one dying. (GAH SPOILER SUPREME!)
I hope that this book will be as good as The Lovely Bones or I will be pretty disappointed. It's a "hot pick" at the central library and I can only have it for 7 days. T^T

I'm posting this at school and I'm typing on a wobbly desk that is getting me pissed off.

Tomato-chan, logging out!