Curious Squid & Other Tall Tales

Chris Wooding

2008-04-23T21:57:00.000-07:00

Interested in Chaos engines, personal universes or unimaginably terrible wych-kin that can turn your wildest nightmare into reality? Chris Wooding's books have it all. I have read three of his books- Storm Thief, a brilliantly pictured adventure about two slum kids fighting for freedom away from ruling Thief Lords and the unpredictable Chaos Engine, generating probability storms where anything is possible. Moa and Rail (the slum kids) get unlikely help from a Golem, Vago, who is tormented by a past he doesn't know anything about. The three of them struggle to break free from a future that was knotted into the past.
The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray is another inspiring read. Based in London, sometime in an alternative past, wych-kin dwell and feast on human pray. Yet there is a plot whiring up some far more fearsome foes. Wych-kin Hunter Thaniel finds himself teamed with a motley crew determined to stop nightmares capturing the city. I liked this book for its quirkiness and interesting ideas, and the ending is sublime- the extreme last bit. Out of three books,Poison is the one I enjoyed the least- not to say it isn't good. I think because this book is so much more different from the others; it plays more with the idea that your whole life is a story, and you cannot know what is real and what is not. Based in an land possessed by gruesome creatures, Poison, a rebellious teenager sets off to rescue her sister, kidnapped by a monster. While this might sound cheesey it's not a bad read, and doesn't come across nearly so corny.
All of Chris Wooding's book are written with flair and capture interest immediately. Plots twist and turn and the one thing i love above all else in these books is that you never know what is going to happen. Definitely recommended!
Other books by Chris Wooding: The Broken Sky Series- Crashing, Endgame, Kerosene and Catchman. Click here for the official site.

Our Universe

2008-04-15T00:00:00.000-07:00

Here's a few theories about the universe, and sorry if its not explained satisfactorialy- i'm doing my best to wrap my head around the theories. Quirky fact number one is we know that the universe is expanding because of the colour of the stars. Confused? let me explain...the stars at night have a slight red tint to them- not very visible, but it's there. Red is very low down on the colour spectrum, so the stars are moving away. If the stars were coloured with somthing higher on spectrum we would be able to tell they were moving towards us. This is called the Doppler Shift.
Another quirky fact is about a sort of Multiverse theory (that there are many universes) and black holes. It involves that instead of Black Holes just eating up matter and squashing it down really, really tightly, matter in black holes is actually shooted out to make another universe.

Jellyfish

2008-04-14T02:58:00.001-07:00

Jellyfish! what funny little blobby things! Ok, so, not too technical...But here's some real stuff: Jellyfish belong to the class Scyphozoa and they are invertebrates. They live in EVERY ocean around the world and even in some freshwaters. Basically, they are made up of bell-shaped jellyish flesh substance (ectoplasm) plus some tenticles...lovely. And get this: Jelly fish LACK a brain and organs, but they do have a nervous system that allows them to respond to stimuli (light, sound, prey -yummy-, predator-eeek-) effectivley. In other words, they have no brain, but...Jellyfish have feelings too!

The End

2008-04-12T02:20:00.000-07:00

Lemony Snicket's novels, A Series Of Unfortunate Events, have become a huge hit, not just because of the movie...especially not because of the movie....
The books are about the Baudelaire Orphans, who are time and time again pursued by Count Olaf, who wishes to steal their fortune. The fortune was left by their rich parents, who died in a fire lit by 'mysterious' circumstances. However, there is also a secret society involved, but it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. The Orphans are sent to all sorts of weird relatives, or secret society members, all of whom end up being murdered by the Count Olaf.
After reading the first one i was interested. Not hooked, but interested. By the thirteenth book i was fed up with the unbelievable plot line, 'evil' counts and 'evil' deeds that were supposed to be so horrific...the thing is, if you are going to write a scary book, you are going to have to make it scary, instead of just writing during various points, "this book is so sad you aren't going to want to read it. You should put it down."
Increasingly throughout the series the books lost their unique touch, and long lists were compiled in them, simply, i thought, as page fillers. I can say that the first few books are OK as some light reading, but honestly i wouldn't inflict the rest of the series on anybody.
If you're still interested, here's the official site.

Noughts And Crosses

2008-04-11T01:21:00.000-07:00

Society has been reversed. Its an alternate course of history, and the simple swap of making white people (noughts) discriminated against and black people (crosses) have the majority of power powerfully demonstrates the unfairness of such discrimination, and the stupidness of rascism. The message that I got is that people are people no matter what colour skin they have, how old they are, where they come from. It doesn't matter. Irrelevant, and anybody who takes such differences to be a blight or mark is nothing more than a school yard bully on a grand scale.
Noughts And Crosses, written by Malorie Blackman is the most emotional book I have ever read. I cried at the end. Persephone Hadley, or Sephy, is a cross, and friends with callum. As their friendship deepens and evolves into a ferice love they are met with society's block. What will prevail; their love, or the social barrier that has been constructed?
People are driven to the extremes in this book because society cannot accept that each race is equal to another, and somebody pays the ultimate price.
I cannot see how anybody can NOT get anything out of this book, even if love stories aren't your thing, because i found this book briliantly written and confronting in opinions and social injustices. Read it!

Twilight

2008-04-11T01:08:00.000-07:00

Twilight is one of my favourite books. Written by Stephanie Meyer (click here for the official website) It is the highly realistic teenage love story- with a catch. Unique Bella Swan, the main character, is in love with a vampire. The 'vegetarian' vampire, Edward Cullen, feeds off animals instead of humans and a relationship with Bella takes most of his self control. He is terrified by the possibility of ever hurting Bella, and the book portrays all the emotions superbly. I found it one of those rare books that you literally can't put down, and it was very well written with light humour and a captavating plot. It is the first in the series, followed by New Moon, Eclispe, and the lastest is to be released on the 2nd of August. Stephanie Meyer is releasing another book, The Host, which also sounds like a great read.

The Running Man

2008-04-11T00:52:00.000-07:00

The Running Man, by Michael Gerard Bauer, is a book about a hunated vietnam survivor and his slowly and awkwardly developing firendship with an aspiring young artist, Joseph. The pair both have dark secrets which they hope to keep hidden, but have to confront in order to continnue their lives...at least, thats what the book is supposed to portray, with powerful conviction and feeling. I found the book drear and it was a struggle to convince myself to finish reading it. Although the book is not long, it is slow reading and i find that there is not much of a climax. It would be of more intrest to younger readers, and although as a powerful story it doesn't get very far, it does effectivley make a mental picture of the huantings war survivors have to face, and is an insight to the horrific repricutions of war, spread far beyond the battlefeild.
The Running Man was shortlisted for the NSW Premier's Literay Awards and was also shortlisted for The Childrens Book Council Of Australia. Michael Gerard Bauer has written other books, apparantly funny ones...

Naked Bunyip Dancing

2008-04-09T22:54:00.000-07:00

Naked Bunyip Dancing is a book of free verse poems. DON'T be discouraged. Steven Herrick, the author, has written many award winning books (also free verse), although i have only had the pleasure of reading two. Naked Bunyip Dancing is a collection of poems about a year at school including friend issues, the awkwardness between divorced parents, baffling teachers, you name it. It's impossible to read it without laughing your head off and there's plenty of quirky ideas to go in with the mix. its only short and won't take long to read, but every page is worth it. Official website is http://www.acay.com.au/~sherrick/ where you can also order the books. By the river, another book of Herrick is extremley emotionally powerful and compelling, but not as funny. It is a book targeted more at teens while Naked Bunyip Dancing could and SHOULD be read by anyone.

2008-04-09T22:42:00.000-07:00

Once in a blue moon- its a term most people use. Whats it actually mean, though? A blue moon is actually when a full moon occurs twice within one month.

2008-04-09T22:41:00.000-07:00

Create your own visitor map!

Llamas

2007-11-21T00:57:00.000-08:00

Llamas are pack animals with long necks and funny looking fur. Despite appearances they are intelligent. They can weigh from 127 kilograms to 204, and the can carry from 20-30% of their body weight. Llamas spit in order to establish rank within their herds, and they are sociable animals- and they're super awseome because (DUN DUN DUN) they're LLAMAS!

The originated from North American around 40 million years ago, but now over 100 000 live in South America. Their biological name is (hehehe) lama glama. They also feature in the completley fantastic Llama song!

Moon

2007-11-19T00:10:00.000-08:00

Because the moon takes approximately a month to orbit the Earth, and the earth spins on its axis (23.5 degrees is the tilt angle) while orbiting the sun, we only ever see one side of the moon.

Borrowed Light

2007-11-18T23:45:00.001-08:00

An honest, emotional and down to earth story, twisting mysteries of the moon and stars into the painful experiences of a sixteen year old girl, Borrowed Light is written with grace and has a unique style to it.
Callisto May is named after a moon, and a night she gazes up at the twinkling stars, thousands of years old, perhaps already dead. She could tell you something you didn't know every day, but when it comes to being herself she has no idea. She calls herself a moon: a borrower of light, and tries to fit in, blending her personality, her appearance, to those around her. A disaster at sixteen shakes her out of this boring way of life, but she finds she has been as distant as the furthest galaxy, and there's no one to help. Throughout this book she deals with her family and its foggy secrets, licked with dust but always there, and the realization that there's no one to be except yourself.
Anna Feinberg writes with piercing sensitivity and skilled perception of every day life that makes this book one of my favourites. It's completely believable and beautifully touching, and has been shortlisted.

Of Butterfly and French

2007-11-18T01:13:00.000-08:00

Here's a random fact, with not much importance, C: If you are a person who studies butterflies (formally known as a Lepidopterist), and find youself in Spain with no idea where the local butterfly's are, the Spanish word for butterfly is mariposa.
If you happen to travel to France with your cat, which unexpetedly gets run over by a car, you would say "Mon chat est mort," meaning, "my cat is dead." However, if you are a evil scientist with questionable methods and you find yourself in France, you'll need to say "Mon chat etait mort," meaning "my cat was dead," because obviously, as an evil scientist, you'll have the means to bring it back to life.

The butterfly shown in this picture is known as the Blue Morpho butterfly, or Morpho menelaus

UnLunDun

2007-11-17T18:15:00.001-08:00

UnLondon needs a hero, fast. Evil genius Smog, aka a huge chemical creation formed by London and the rest of the world's pollution, is trying to take over UnLondon, and the rest of the ab citites- Parisn't, Lost Angeles, Hong Gone, Helsunki, No York, Sans Franciso and Romeless. It's world that's quite similar, but quite Unlike our regular world. Milk cartons have a life of their own, and the Umbrellaisimo has dark secrets to hide with his army of broken brolls.
Our junk from this world seeps into the Odd then out the other side, into Unlondon and other abcities but this includes pollution.
So while our world is unknowingly feeding th Smog, unlondeners are fretting away about the prophecy: a hero is to come and save them, the Chosen One. Perhaps what they really need is an UnChosen One.
Zanna and Deeba stumble into the fantasmagorical world of Unlondon, get swept up in the city's ancient wars, and strive to find a way out again. One of them might return sooner than she thought...

This is China Meiville's first book for young readers, and is incredibly funny with original ideas (black windows of Webminster Abbey) right the way through. It gets a bit dragged out towards the end, but it's still incredibly enjoyable and recommend it for a great read! C: Also, after reading this we're pretty sure there has to be a sequel, so heads up.

link to the official website: http://www.randomhouse.com/delrey/unlundun/index.html

Our Say

2007-11-17T15:53:00.000-08:00

Hello curious squid enthusiasts! For the few of you with high intellect, you'll know that Curious Squid is from Jingo, one of Terry Pratchett's funny books about the Discworld. So this blog has reviews and random facts about a few of our all time favorite books (and a couple of old classics, ones we know we won't like, and the even funnier ones about how to cook banana smoothies so we won't know how to review them!) and some other random stuff that has nothing to do with books- enjoy!