Queen for a day

It has been a while since I posted anything but honestly, I didn’t really have anything to say. Until now. While flicking through old tracks such as my beloved green day I had a realisation. Like Helsinki will always love HIM, I will always love green day. They are my rock. My soul. And my reminder of who my friends are. Green day, for me, was the founder of how I came to be in my group of friends. I focus all my life around my friends because they are everything to me. One song in particular seems to get us all up for a dance looking like complete idiots but none the less we all connect and have a good time, due to this song

King for a day

I listen to it all the time whenever I’m feeling down because it’s a reminder of who I’ve got even if the male species are being mean. It always seems to cheer me up every time I hear the words “princess by dawn...in a leather thong” because that’s the point in the song where I am usually pushed in the circle and I spin and spin until I feel dizzy and giddy.
The point of this post is to give a shout out to all my friends who mean so much to me. Even though this song isn’t a song to everyone in the group as some people joined after it still goes out to them because they still mean so much to me as much as the girls who I share this image with.
Thank you for putting up with me for 5 years! Plenty more years ahead for me to annoy you guys...and spin some more!

Giddily yours

Jinx xx

p.s I want his crown

TAFE: MY NEW HOME

It’s amazing how much a piece of paper can mean to someone.

A book

a passport

a birth certificate...or even acceptance into a TAFE that in 3 years will make me a publisher. That’s right! I got into my course!
How excitement I am. I kind of knew I was in because all I needed was 25 in English but it makes you feel even better when it’s formally written on paper saying for sure that you’re in.
Congratulations to all my other peeps out there! I hope you all got into what you wanted!

Oh and Helsinki, so you don’t feel left out...congratulations for...for...being you? She is in the photo above

And now I shall look through the paper to look up all of you who accepted to publish your course in the newspaper...except for Tim...who didn’t publish it *shakes fist* yeah you know why I’m shaking my fist boy! He is also in a photo above, the dude on the left looking tough :P looove you don’t hurt me! *hides*

Jinx xx

Love is hell...but with Ash its wonderful

One of the things I love about short stories is that they’re quick, yet their stories can still affect you as much as a large novel. Love is hell is an anthology of short stories written about love in a supernatural setting. The authors are incredibly good at what they do and I knew it was right up my alley as I love fantasy...and who doesn’t love...love!? But I didn’t realize I’d enjoy it to its full extent because seriously, the cover put me off, look how corny it looks! And plus, I’m not one for love stories...not full romance anyway. In fact the only thing that grabbed me was the authors, being scot westerfeld, his lovely wife and of course Melissa Marr. If that doesn’t make me order the book then what does!? Through reading it however, I actually got a little annoyed and found a downside to reading. Yes I know, I was surprised as well. But! How is it that books can do the following to you...and it still is fair?
Make you incredibly turned on!
And ok, we’ve all been there. The sexual tension, the heart racing when you hold hands etc. But reading books seems to enhance it because it’s your own imagination and you’re picturing your perfect idea of a guy in your head and imagining him holding your hand and putting his coat around you, kissing you, holding you as you fall asleep in his arms bla bla bla.
All in all, not a happy kitten. I have absolutely no one to release this urge upon...so I sit there and I read it and I enjoy it and give it 5 out of 5 for each story being different with the same prompt in mind (supernatural meets forbidden love) but I not a happy kitten...because I not have someone to hold hands with.
Which brings me to Sunday. Sunday is my usual shift to work at the bookshop. The bookshop is a wonderful place that conveniently is always empty on a Sunday and so all that is left to do is...dance!
Ash (pictured) is just one of the people that understand my pain. A late bloomer on the twilight series she understands how addictive a read is, yet annoying that you can’t just jump through the pages and go “excuse me tally but Zane is mine! Go back to David where you belong!” (Sorry guys had to slip in Scott westerfeld somehow) and so on lonely Sunday working days we dance, we eat, we gossip about our friends and we snitch about boys. I am positively a girl when I get to work on Sunday. Oh and we serve the occasional customer.
With runs to Gj’s (Gloria jeans) for man candy in between, it is a great day to work! Mustn’t forget about the man candy!

Jinx xx

Christmas and Jackie French clash!

Christmas books make me angry. The reason being that not one of them told the “true” story of Christmas. And ok, I’m not a big religious person but it would be nice to get away from the commercial stuff of presents and actually focus on what it’s actually meant to be about. Sadly though, the general public don’t look for babies in mangers and gifts being only from wise men. No, they are interested in OTHER stories. The funniest example would have to be Jackie French’s new book that was about celebrating Christmas and everyone getting in the spirit, except for one character, the Bunyip. This then makes all the other characters in the story work extra hard to get this Bunyip in the spirit. This story was so happily named “Emily and the BIG BAD Bunyip”
I’ve been told that I look like Emily, the emu that looks like she drank 3 cans of red bull instead of the recommended 2...ok so I might look like her then. But only when I am excited about such things. Which, when looking at this story I certainly was not.
It was the most pointless children’s picture book I have ever seen, no wonder we never sold them. I would have felt better giving my kids brussel sprouts pretending they were Easter eggs rather than giving this book to my kid pretending it was a Christmas book. Ok, sure, the message was ok. But she could have done a better story with the same message.
Why am I reviewing a children’s book? Because I can. And because it annoys me that around Christmas people either don’t have the spirit in Christmas, or they had too much spirit and told us off because we didn’t have Christmas books that told the “real story of Christmas”. Sorry, but I don’t order in the books. And even though I would like to see them in the local bookshops, let’s face it, when have they ever sold well when children are more interested in the fat dude and crazy emus! I even tried reminding a customer that technically Santa is a religious symbol because he’s originally St. Nick.
So yes, it would be nice to see some REAL Christmas books in the store but it saddens me that people are so used to the pointless crap they use as Christmas stories that the real story won’t be appreciated anymore.
As I said to many complaining customers. The Christian bookshop is sometimes the better option.

Jinx xx

Helsinki news

A new update on blogs and the like. Helsinki has continued blindsisters but in a different format. Her new site of everything English and more is http://www.helsinkisheadspace.blogspot.com/

And hey, just because she’s on the other side of the world doesn’t mean we're not connected. See, even our minds are connected in starting our own blogs but them being the same sort of idea. So nyeah!
In other news, if anyone is an anime fan they would know the movie "Howls Moving Castle" directed by the wonderful Hayao Miyazaki who also directed such movies like "Spirited Away".
As usual I was searching through the teen fiction and came across this wonderful tale! How did I not know it was a book before watching the movie?! Don’t ask me because I am ashamed. However I keep telling myself that even though I work in a bookshop, I can’t be expected to know EVERY book that's out there. And besides that. The cover sucks. Tisk tisk to these Australian covers. When I’m a publisher I will make covers so win, Germany covers will look dull.

Jinx xx

Taking Pictures

Best 12 bucks I’ve ever spent on a book. Work these last few...ok months! Have been so...boring! Not to mention empty. Everyone seems to be more interested in going to Doncaster...or even Northland...why? Because my work is a hole.
Meanwhile, people like me who work in retail have to find ways to entertain themselves seeing as we do all the jobs in the morning because there is nobody in the shop to serve and badger into buying a book...”for the love of god just buy something!!” and one day...I will say that!
So cleaning up the bargain table (nobody even wants bargain books) I came across this title “Taking Pictures” and admittedly I only took it up the front to read because of the cover...they say “never judge a book by its cover” but come on...we all do it! Bunny, you may insert your argument in a comment!
“Taking pictures” is about women from all over the world expressing their feelings about men. Their lack of understanding and at times even, understanding them too well. All short stories are written by the same author Anne Enright but every woman is so different and interesting. It reminded me so much of the book “Bombshells” where the theme was “women on the edge.” The reason being because like all the women in bombshells, the women in Taking Pictures all seem to be enraged by the end of their story. It’s gothic in its language which surprised and pleased me at the same time because it seemed so much like a chick-flicky book. You know like Kathy Lette’s “how to kill your husband (and other handy household tips)” or even Cecilia Ahern’s collection of stories.
All in all, if you liked Bombshells you’ll love this one. For such a bargain book I think I won with an easy quick read to get me through the day. Plus, unsurprisingly I could relate to some of the characters which makes every book all the better.
However, 4 out of 5. Why, because honestly, it wasn’t amazing. It certainly wasn’t a bad read and quite frankly I’m happy it’s OKAY considering I paid 12 bucks for it! But no stand out story...and one I wouldn’t ever pay $32.95 for...which is what it originally was.

Jinx xx

A cage of butterflies

I read this fantastic tale when I was storming through my reading material one summer. It was a few years ago so I didn’t remember much of it until I decided to buy it recently to re-read it. Yes that’s right. Jinx re-read something!
Surprisingly I didn’t remember much of it at all. I knew the motive...but reading it a few years later I could see the gothic, darker side to the story even more. For something that is usually studied in school I found it very confronting, however the story proves to be both beautiful and challenging at the same time. Which is what we all want in a story right!?
It’s powerful, in the sense of explaining love, passion, pain and most of all the strength of the human spirit. Set in an institute for kids with special gifts the story moves quickly to explain each character and their gifts as well as their secrets, motivations and what really makes them tick. These characters are called the “think tank” and they are pulled into another world when one character is being contacted by other characters in the same institute called “babies”. The “babies” are toddlers with a very special gift, and they need help.
This story by Brian Caswell is one of my favourites because of the writing style being so interesting to follow. It was different and I got so much more out of it the way it changed from different times, to different characters points of views, even different stories all together, just to confuse you...which is what Brian Caswell is famous for!
To end, I give this tale 4 out of 5. A point taken off for being difficult in some places to fully grasp the meaning, as well as being annoying with only telling you half of it...yet never concluding some things! *shakes fist*

Jinx xx

welcome!

There have been complications with http://www.blindsisters.blogspot.com/

the blog that was once shared by Helsinki and Jinx is now dying. Due to school and Helsinki moving to England for a year it is now hard to keep this website. So I have decided to start up my own one. Basically the same reviewing of books but also anything else I wanted to ramble on about!
Enjoy! And welcome to “A book unfinished”
Jinx xx