Hey guys! Was looking through my comments, realized that someone asked me to give some recommendations. Well, here are the books everyone should read. Hope you enjoy them! (And, if you've already read them, well done. You have good taste in literature.)
Harry Potter: I mean, seriously? This is the basis of all fiction literature. It's so realistic and... ugh. Enough said. Just read it.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: So good, so funny, so beautiful, always. I love these books! They're so addictive. You will love them. (After these, you can also read the Heroes of Olympus series. It's kind of like a continuation of the Percy Jackson stories.)
The Chronicles of Narnia: Just perfect and beautiful. The fabulousness of old books. Read it. You will love it.
And hey, if you want to see what I think of other books, I am on a dandy little website called Goodreads. If you don't have an account on Goodreads you should, it is perfect for any bookworm. So basically, what I am saying is, go ahead and follow my reviews.
http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/9977792-elizabeth-day
Sunday, September 1, 2013
Dreams
A few words about Harry Potter and dreams for you, everybody.
But before I begin, I must say: Harry has weird dreams, Percy (and all the other demigods) have weird dreams, Katniss has weird dreams.... May I just say that important people seem to have weird dreams? But hey, heroes get half their information from dreams. (Except for Katniss. Her nightmares are just weird.) So the day I start consistently having dreams that are important to my life, not just once or twice, then I'll know I have an ultra life-changing calling in the world.
Well, firstly, when I read the Harry Potter series the second time, I would doze off and dream I was reading Harry Potter. The dreams didn't make sense. All I saw was the page of a book. The storyline didn't make sense at all. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Hagrid just had conversations that didn't make sense. But those are some of the best dreams I've ever had.
The third time reading it I wanted this to happen again. And it didn't.... Except I started having real, totally-asleep dreams, and they weren't the same thing every time like last time (unless that happened once or twice), it was different. I remember Voldemort being in one. That's about it, but does this ever happen to you guys? I might sound insane right now, but firstly, hey, I'm a writer, all writers are insane, and secondly, you guys haven't gotten to enjoy this? Is that what you're saying? Unless you've experienced this sort of thing. At least all readers are crazy. I can take comfort in that much.
But... ah! The dream diaries in Harry Potter! So funny! Love how Harry and Ron just make up stories, using each other to form them and stuff.... Although they should be more organized about it though, Harry had himself drown twice, and probably die even more than that. But I always say: Divination would probably be fun if you did it the way Harry and Ron did it. It would be more like a creative writing class :)
But before I begin, I must say: Harry has weird dreams, Percy (and all the other demigods) have weird dreams, Katniss has weird dreams.... May I just say that important people seem to have weird dreams? But hey, heroes get half their information from dreams. (Except for Katniss. Her nightmares are just weird.) So the day I start consistently having dreams that are important to my life, not just once or twice, then I'll know I have an ultra life-changing calling in the world.
Well, firstly, when I read the Harry Potter series the second time, I would doze off and dream I was reading Harry Potter. The dreams didn't make sense. All I saw was the page of a book. The storyline didn't make sense at all. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Hagrid just had conversations that didn't make sense. But those are some of the best dreams I've ever had.
The third time reading it I wanted this to happen again. And it didn't.... Except I started having real, totally-asleep dreams, and they weren't the same thing every time like last time (unless that happened once or twice), it was different. I remember Voldemort being in one. That's about it, but does this ever happen to you guys? I might sound insane right now, but firstly, hey, I'm a writer, all writers are insane, and secondly, you guys haven't gotten to enjoy this? Is that what you're saying? Unless you've experienced this sort of thing. At least all readers are crazy. I can take comfort in that much.
But... ah! The dream diaries in Harry Potter! So funny! Love how Harry and Ron just make up stories, using each other to form them and stuff.... Although they should be more organized about it though, Harry had himself drown twice, and probably die even more than that. But I always say: Divination would probably be fun if you did it the way Harry and Ron did it. It would be more like a creative writing class :)
Hufflepuff
I would like to say that I was not inspired to write this because of my post last night where I defended the badgers against all possible Hufflepuff haters. This was a post I thought to write a long time ago.
For those of you who don't know, I am a Hufflepuff. You may have assumed from me defending it all the time. Well, I don't know about you guys, but when I help someone out, I feel pretty great. I think that's kind of what makes a Hufflepuff a Hufflepuff. They don't feel important when they do something really noble, or they show off their intelligence to others, or when their goal is accomplished. They feel important when they help someone else.
That is all. Hopefully you guys enjoyed a short post today :)
For those of you who don't know, I am a Hufflepuff. You may have assumed from me defending it all the time. Well, I don't know about you guys, but when I help someone out, I feel pretty great. I think that's kind of what makes a Hufflepuff a Hufflepuff. They don't feel important when they do something really noble, or they show off their intelligence to others, or when their goal is accomplished. They feel important when they help someone else.
That is all. Hopefully you guys enjoyed a short post today :)
Saturday, August 31, 2013
Camp Half-Blood Cabins and Hogwarts Houses
So, I was thinking about if demigods who were at Hogwarts were sorted into houses based on their demigod parentage, what house each cabin would be in.
Zeus: Zeus, in the Percy Jackson books, always kind of seems power-hungry to me, doesn't he? He isn't really anything else in the books. So the Zeus cabin would probably go in Slytherin.
Hera: Hera doesn't have any demigod children. So we don't need to argue about whether that cabin would be in Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw. Probably Hufflepuff.
Poseidon: Poseidon might be in Slytherin. Want to know what made me think of this at first? I'm not sure how true this really is, but I heard somewhere that each house has an element. Hufflepuff's is earth, Gryffindor's is fire, Ravenclaw's is air, and Slytherin's is... water. Poseidon being the god of the sea, this made sense to me. But if we went off of elements of the houses, then the Zeus kids would go to Ravenclaw. (Which actually kind of makes a little bit of sense too.) But, if we were to place the Poseidon campers, um... I'm just not sure. This guy just doesn't belong at Hogwarts. I guess there's a reason that demigods aren't wizards.
But I can't give up, so I sort the Poseidon into... Ravenclaw keeps coming to mind. I don't know, it just doesn't seem right! Whatever shall we do. Ugh. I don't know. Let's go with Ravenclaw. But Slytherin might work! But he... yeah, Slytherin. Slytherin is good.
Demeter: Well, this is tricky. Demeter doesn't play a gigantic role in the Percy Jackson books. So you don't know much about the campers. Demeter might be a Gryffindor. She kind of seems like an outgoing lady, and her child that we know of, Katie Gardner, seems pretty brave too.
Athena: Athena? Ravenclaw, no question. Knowledge is kind of the Athena campers' thing. Goddess of wisdom and all that? Yeah.
Hestia: Hufflepuff or Gryffindor, I think. Probably Gryffindor, if she had children. She gave up her throne on Olympus to keep peace between the Olympians. That's a pretty big sacrifice.
Apollo: Apollo is just kind of a fun-loving guy. Where do we put his children? Maybe we can put these kids in... I just don't see Hufflepuff. It must take a lot of wisdom to be in control of music, poetry and medicines. That could make them Ravenclaw. I don't see Slytherin, and could they be Gryffindor? Well, Ravenclaw is the best we've got. Hogwarts isn't for everyone, folks.
Artemis: Artemis may not have any demigod children, but she does have the Hunters, right? They gotta go somewhere to get their magical education. "But where to put you...?" --Sorting Hat. Well, I'll be honest, the first thing that comes to my mind is Ravenclaw. Maybe it's Artemis's whole goddess-of-the-moon thing, which kind of makes me think of blue and silver, blue being one of Ravenclaw's colors. Also, I can't remember if I've said before, but Ravenclaw and the Hunters seem to have the same sort of... snobbiness...... It just seems fitting.
Ares: Very ambitious, like the Slytherins. But even more ready to fight, which means that the Ares campers definitely belong in Gryffindor.
Aphrodite: These kids do nothing but look pretty and gossip and such. Hufflepuff and Gryffindor don't seem to fit. Slytherin a little, but I think the obvious choice is Ravenclaw. The Aphrodite campers aren't as brainless as they seem.
Hephaestus: Hard worker? Certainly Hufflepuff.
Hermes: The Hermes campers generally get along with everyone with a mischievous streak. Certainly seem like Hufflepuffs to me.
Dionysus: Dionysus! Not very smart, brave, or ambitious. Seems Hufflepuff is the place for these kids. (Remember, Hogwarts isn't the place for everyone.)
Hades: He's not so ambitious or brave. Not expecially loyal and hard working, either. Must be a Ravenclaw.
But what we must remember, readers, is that we are all individual people. We are not exactly like our family. (Like the Patil twins, for example.) So since everyone is different, why don't we sort our favorite Percy Jackson heroes?
Percy: Percy's really brave, but he would do anything to help out his friends. He might be a Hufflepuff. And I'm sure all you Percy Jackson fans are going "Noooo! Not Hufflepuff! Percy's too good for Hufflepuff!" But hey, guys. Stop hating on Hufflepuff. It's a good house.
Grover: Grover also should be put in Hufflepuff. He's a great protector and searcher, he was born to help people and he is as loyal as they come. The Percy Jackson fans are now saying "Find, GROVER I can accept being in Hufflepuff!" But just stop! Hufflepuff is a good house, and Grover is a good guy!
Annabeth: As I said above about all of the Athena campers, knowledge is kind of Annabeth's thing. Ravenclaw.
Luke: (Spoilers if you haven't finished The Lightning Thief) Luke kind of had that traitor problem, so Hufflepuff wouldn't work. But he was really brave (spoilers for The Last Olympian) when he saved Olympus by killing himself. He was always pretty ambitious, so that could put him in Slytherin. Hm, I don't know. He was a fighter. He might need to go in Gryffindor.
Thalia: Thalia was brave, loyal, ambitious and smart. She probably would be in Gryffindor.
Nico: He was pretty brave, extremely loyal, but never overly smart and ambitious. Doesn't quite have what it takes to be a Hufflepuff. (Don't say it doesn't take anything to be a Hufflepuff. It's not true.) So I guess it's Gryffindor for Nico.
Tyson: Brave and loyal. He has some Hufflepuff qualities, but Tyson can't go anywhere but Gryffindor. (Need any reasons? Refer to the scene where he faces Polyphemus in The Sea of Monsters or the Sphinx scene in The Battle of the Labyrinth.)
Clarisse: She was ambitious as they come. She was brave, but mostly ambitious. Slytherin it is.
Rachel: Our mortal friend Rachel! Very brave, so Gryffindor fits, but she also has the Ravenclaw sassiness about her. I know no one likes her because we're all Team Annabeth, but we still have to consider how brave she is to be thrust into this mythical world. Gryffindor it is.
Chiron: He is wise enough to be a teacher, so Ravenclaw could fit, but he is patient and loyal. I say Hufflepuff.
Hope you enjoyed that! Hopefully not only did you recognize a few of the greatest qualities of the Percy Jackson characters, but you realized that Hufflepuff isn't so bad.
Zeus: Zeus, in the Percy Jackson books, always kind of seems power-hungry to me, doesn't he? He isn't really anything else in the books. So the Zeus cabin would probably go in Slytherin.
Hera: Hera doesn't have any demigod children. So we don't need to argue about whether that cabin would be in Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw. Probably Hufflepuff.
Poseidon: Poseidon might be in Slytherin. Want to know what made me think of this at first? I'm not sure how true this really is, but I heard somewhere that each house has an element. Hufflepuff's is earth, Gryffindor's is fire, Ravenclaw's is air, and Slytherin's is... water. Poseidon being the god of the sea, this made sense to me. But if we went off of elements of the houses, then the Zeus kids would go to Ravenclaw. (Which actually kind of makes a little bit of sense too.) But, if we were to place the Poseidon campers, um... I'm just not sure. This guy just doesn't belong at Hogwarts. I guess there's a reason that demigods aren't wizards.
But I can't give up, so I sort the Poseidon into... Ravenclaw keeps coming to mind. I don't know, it just doesn't seem right! Whatever shall we do. Ugh. I don't know. Let's go with Ravenclaw. But Slytherin might work! But he... yeah, Slytherin. Slytherin is good.
Demeter: Well, this is tricky. Demeter doesn't play a gigantic role in the Percy Jackson books. So you don't know much about the campers. Demeter might be a Gryffindor. She kind of seems like an outgoing lady, and her child that we know of, Katie Gardner, seems pretty brave too.
Athena: Athena? Ravenclaw, no question. Knowledge is kind of the Athena campers' thing. Goddess of wisdom and all that? Yeah.
Hestia: Hufflepuff or Gryffindor, I think. Probably Gryffindor, if she had children. She gave up her throne on Olympus to keep peace between the Olympians. That's a pretty big sacrifice.
Apollo: Apollo is just kind of a fun-loving guy. Where do we put his children? Maybe we can put these kids in... I just don't see Hufflepuff. It must take a lot of wisdom to be in control of music, poetry and medicines. That could make them Ravenclaw. I don't see Slytherin, and could they be Gryffindor? Well, Ravenclaw is the best we've got. Hogwarts isn't for everyone, folks.
Artemis: Artemis may not have any demigod children, but she does have the Hunters, right? They gotta go somewhere to get their magical education. "But where to put you...?" --Sorting Hat. Well, I'll be honest, the first thing that comes to my mind is Ravenclaw. Maybe it's Artemis's whole goddess-of-the-moon thing, which kind of makes me think of blue and silver, blue being one of Ravenclaw's colors. Also, I can't remember if I've said before, but Ravenclaw and the Hunters seem to have the same sort of... snobbiness...... It just seems fitting.
Ares: Very ambitious, like the Slytherins. But even more ready to fight, which means that the Ares campers definitely belong in Gryffindor.
Aphrodite: These kids do nothing but look pretty and gossip and such. Hufflepuff and Gryffindor don't seem to fit. Slytherin a little, but I think the obvious choice is Ravenclaw. The Aphrodite campers aren't as brainless as they seem.
Hephaestus: Hard worker? Certainly Hufflepuff.
Hermes: The Hermes campers generally get along with everyone with a mischievous streak. Certainly seem like Hufflepuffs to me.
Dionysus: Dionysus! Not very smart, brave, or ambitious. Seems Hufflepuff is the place for these kids. (Remember, Hogwarts isn't the place for everyone.)
Hades: He's not so ambitious or brave. Not expecially loyal and hard working, either. Must be a Ravenclaw.
But what we must remember, readers, is that we are all individual people. We are not exactly like our family. (Like the Patil twins, for example.) So since everyone is different, why don't we sort our favorite Percy Jackson heroes?
Percy: Percy's really brave, but he would do anything to help out his friends. He might be a Hufflepuff. And I'm sure all you Percy Jackson fans are going "Noooo! Not Hufflepuff! Percy's too good for Hufflepuff!" But hey, guys. Stop hating on Hufflepuff. It's a good house.
Grover: Grover also should be put in Hufflepuff. He's a great protector and searcher, he was born to help people and he is as loyal as they come. The Percy Jackson fans are now saying "Find, GROVER I can accept being in Hufflepuff!" But just stop! Hufflepuff is a good house, and Grover is a good guy!
Annabeth: As I said above about all of the Athena campers, knowledge is kind of Annabeth's thing. Ravenclaw.
Luke: (Spoilers if you haven't finished The Lightning Thief) Luke kind of had that traitor problem, so Hufflepuff wouldn't work. But he was really brave (spoilers for The Last Olympian) when he saved Olympus by killing himself. He was always pretty ambitious, so that could put him in Slytherin. Hm, I don't know. He was a fighter. He might need to go in Gryffindor.
Thalia: Thalia was brave, loyal, ambitious and smart. She probably would be in Gryffindor.
Nico: He was pretty brave, extremely loyal, but never overly smart and ambitious. Doesn't quite have what it takes to be a Hufflepuff. (Don't say it doesn't take anything to be a Hufflepuff. It's not true.) So I guess it's Gryffindor for Nico.
Tyson: Brave and loyal. He has some Hufflepuff qualities, but Tyson can't go anywhere but Gryffindor. (Need any reasons? Refer to the scene where he faces Polyphemus in The Sea of Monsters or the Sphinx scene in The Battle of the Labyrinth.)
Clarisse: She was ambitious as they come. She was brave, but mostly ambitious. Slytherin it is.
Rachel: Our mortal friend Rachel! Very brave, so Gryffindor fits, but she also has the Ravenclaw sassiness about her. I know no one likes her because we're all Team Annabeth, but we still have to consider how brave she is to be thrust into this mythical world. Gryffindor it is.
Chiron: He is wise enough to be a teacher, so Ravenclaw could fit, but he is patient and loyal. I say Hufflepuff.
Hope you enjoyed that! Hopefully not only did you recognize a few of the greatest qualities of the Percy Jackson characters, but you realized that Hufflepuff isn't so bad.
Friday, August 30, 2013
Percy's First Swordfighting Lesson
So, remember the first swordfighting lesson, where Luke was using him as an example, and Percy was getting pulverized? Well, let me tell you: at this point in the book, Rick Riordan pulled a J.K. Rowling.
When they were taking a break, Luke poured some water on his head. Percy thought that looked like an excellent idea so he did too. Suddenly he felt a ton of energy and he was ready to get started again.
Do you realize what just happened?! Want to know what we find out later? We find out that Percy is a son of Poseidon, the god of the sea! Percy poured water on his head and he felt better! Ahh! We find out later in the books that water can heal him and give him strength. But at this point we had no idea who Percy's parent was! He was foreshadowing, half of us didn't even know it the first time or the only time we read it! It was one of those that's harder to catch! This might be one of the reasons that Percy Jackson is placed next to Harry Potter as one of the most loved fandoms. Percy Jackson is so good, there's just no denying it.
When they were taking a break, Luke poured some water on his head. Percy thought that looked like an excellent idea so he did too. Suddenly he felt a ton of energy and he was ready to get started again.
Do you realize what just happened?! Want to know what we find out later? We find out that Percy is a son of Poseidon, the god of the sea! Percy poured water on his head and he felt better! Ahh! We find out later in the books that water can heal him and give him strength. But at this point we had no idea who Percy's parent was! He was foreshadowing, half of us didn't even know it the first time or the only time we read it! It was one of those that's harder to catch! This might be one of the reasons that Percy Jackson is placed next to Harry Potter as one of the most loved fandoms. Percy Jackson is so good, there's just no denying it.
Sectumsempra
All right, another one of J.K. Rowling's genius moments. If you haven't read Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, you might not want to read this.
So Harry has this potion book that the Half-Blood Prince wrote notes in, right? Some of those notes were spells of the Prince's invention. Harry discovers the spell "Sectumsempra" labeled "for enemies". He wants to try it out on Ron, but Hermione is sitting right there, and since she doesn't like Harry's little book he has there, he doesn't do it.
Guys, do you realize how crazy this is? I realized this only the third time reading it. Harry wanted to use Sectumsempra on Ron. What if he had done it? He could've killed his best friend. Harry had no idea what that spell was. He only learns what it is after he uses it on Draco and accidentally slashes his chest open. Luckily Professor Snape saved him, but just think if Harry had used that spell on Ron right then. And Harry didn't even think back to that moment when he did the spell on Draco, or after he did it. J.K. Rowling just leaves the reader to figure it out for themselves, if they can. It might take a rereading, or a reading of this post, to figure it out. I mean, it took me three times and by that time I knew the Harry Potter facts like the back of my hand. But I just think that's crazy.
So Harry has this potion book that the Half-Blood Prince wrote notes in, right? Some of those notes were spells of the Prince's invention. Harry discovers the spell "Sectumsempra" labeled "for enemies". He wants to try it out on Ron, but Hermione is sitting right there, and since she doesn't like Harry's little book he has there, he doesn't do it.
Guys, do you realize how crazy this is? I realized this only the third time reading it. Harry wanted to use Sectumsempra on Ron. What if he had done it? He could've killed his best friend. Harry had no idea what that spell was. He only learns what it is after he uses it on Draco and accidentally slashes his chest open. Luckily Professor Snape saved him, but just think if Harry had used that spell on Ron right then. And Harry didn't even think back to that moment when he did the spell on Draco, or after he did it. J.K. Rowling just leaves the reader to figure it out for themselves, if they can. It might take a rereading, or a reading of this post, to figure it out. I mean, it took me three times and by that time I knew the Harry Potter facts like the back of my hand. But I just think that's crazy.
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Good Reading Memories
These are basically the best book memories I remember. They're about the two favorites, Harry Potter and Hunger Games. (Although, guys, I must say, Percy Jackson-- and this is not quite a popular idea, but-- Percy Jackson is better than Hunger Games. Ahh!)
This one is the best, the Harry Potter one. I used to read Harry Potter every night during the middle of the night. Who needed sleep? I could survive on about five hours. Looking back on it, I just think, Those were the good old days.
My second memory is me reading the Hunger Games for the first time. Now any of you who have read Hunger Games will remember this experience. I would come home from school, do my homework, take a shower, and read Hunger Games. I would only do the homework due the next day. My friend was reading the Hunger Games at the same time as me, but she was a book behind me when she did this. We would text each other while we read about what was going on in her book and how much she loved the books. I would just sit there and stroke my hair and read Hunger Games. Maybe this is only a good memory for me, but that's enough, isn't it?
Hope you guys liked these bookreading memories, they're good to think about :)
This one is the best, the Harry Potter one. I used to read Harry Potter every night during the middle of the night. Who needed sleep? I could survive on about five hours. Looking back on it, I just think, Those were the good old days.
My second memory is me reading the Hunger Games for the first time. Now any of you who have read Hunger Games will remember this experience. I would come home from school, do my homework, take a shower, and read Hunger Games. I would only do the homework due the next day. My friend was reading the Hunger Games at the same time as me, but she was a book behind me when she did this. We would text each other while we read about what was going on in her book and how much she loved the books. I would just sit there and stroke my hair and read Hunger Games. Maybe this is only a good memory for me, but that's enough, isn't it?
Hope you guys liked these bookreading memories, they're good to think about :)
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