Welcome To The Hellmouth
Opened: August 8, 2008
Welcome to Emily The Vampire Slayer, my name is Emily (surprised?) & this is my personal webspace that is free for me to say as I like in. You don't agree with my ramblings? That's fine, leave. I'm not out to offend or upset anyone but, like most, I'm very opiniated... that can often get in the way of my desire to be friends with everyone I meet because I won't drop my beliefs for anyone. Why should I? But feel free to take a look around and comment my blogs. Any questions, issues or complaints can be addressed here.
Meine Buche Liebe
04.07.09
Yeah, 'my book love' if you didn't know. I'm not sure that this is the exact correct translation because my German was always a bit iffy, but anyway it'll do and I'm sure everyone will get the general idea. I'm going to write about the books I love, in fact my 3 favourites of all time to be precise, and why you simply have to read them at some point in your life. Afterwards I may attempt to ramble on a bit about my own life, but for now, bring on the literature.
George Orwell: Nineteen Eighty-Four
Many people have read this book, and even those who haven't have at least heard of it because Nineteen Eighty-Four is one of the most clever and talked about classics. It is set in a dystopian future (as all the best books are) and Orwell expresses the dangers of a society run by a totalitarian government. Throughout is life, Orwell wrote novels and essays against Totalitarianism and Communism and also brought to light the fact of how similiar the two were in practice. In this book, everyone is being watched: by big brother, by secret police and even by their colleagues and family. This allows the government to establish full control over the state. Amongst this, a man and woman seek out an affair with each other, highly forbidden and extremely dangerous. The beginning sets the scene of dystopia, the twists and turns of events throughout make for an interesting and nail-biting plot, but the ending is the most spectacular of all. The final fate of the protagonist is shocking, whatever you were expecting - this was not it. To sum it up: read this book now.
Margaret Atwood: The Handmaid's Tale
I said above that the best novels are set in dystopian futures, I was mildly joking but this book only serves to further highlight the pattern. It is set in a future America where the former Government has been overthrown and replaced with a society that believes in Theocracy (that the state is ruled by a God or higher being). It tackles issues of feminism, Christianity and Islam and mocks many past political outcries and protests. The future presented in the book is one where women are not allowed to own property, have a job or generally have any control over their lives. Atwood uses many biblical references to portray this society and many of these are excuses as to why things are the way they are. The handmaid's are supposed to offer themselves as an object of no sexual interest to the commander's in order to reproduce, this comes from a passage in Genesis about Rachel and Jacob. The novel is intense, disturbing and well thought-out. It will probably disgust you, anger you and make your skin crawl... but even so, it is this which makes it by far the best book I have read in a long time.
Emily Bronte: Wuthering Heights
Without a doubt the greatest love story of all time. Simple as that. I fell in love with Heathcliff the first time I read it, I thought he was the sexiest man in all of literature despite the fact that his character is largely evil on the whole. It's strange how, though he is evil, you are led to adore him and pity him through the strength of his undying love for Cathy Earnshaw. The changes in his character are amazing, he begins as a lost street urchin taken in by the kindly father of Catherine and Hindley; his obsession with Cathy begins during childhood and never stops throughout the whole of his life. At one point, Heathcliff overhears part of Cathy's conversation and misunderstands what is being said, thinking that she is saying she could never love him. Driven by despair, Heathcliff leaves and only returns several years later when Cathy is married. Now Heathcliff is wealthy and mocks Cathy's husband, Edgar Linton, whilst Cathy battles with the emotions she feels. The death scene of Cathy is heart-breaking, especially as it is followed by Heathcliff's famous cry of : "You said I killed you, haunt me then".
There you have it, my 3 favourite books. And my life? Well, I went to Cambridge University and it was... beautiful. The most beautiful place I have ever seen with all these gorgeous, old-fashioned buildings - it looked like something out of Harry Potter. Especailly King's College, it looked amazing. I reccommend that everyone vist Cambridge at some point in their lives, no matter where you live you have to see it. I was a little bit out of it for part of the day, though, because I was out at the pub quiz with Katie and Liz the night before and we came second, which won us some Malibu and lemonades. In Cambridge it was really cool because we went punting on the river, except Julia nearly took mine and Robert's heads off under the bridge and Ross caught sunstroke and ending up being sick on the way home. Oh, and my god, this has nothing to do with Cambridge but I have to share it. Yesterday, my mum found a baby bird in our back garden and she couldn't see any nest to put it in, so it's in my room in a makeshift nest of cotton wool and living off some cat food and water/milk in a syringe. I really hope it will be okay because I've become pretty attached to it... it's name is Chuck.
Okay, finally, in not nice news but something I really want to share because it's been getting to me a bit is that I found out the other day that my Grandad has lung cancer. Apparently from passive smoking around my Nanna. I was really upset and I'm not sure what's going to happen now. He's been for a scan to check to see if the cancer has spread and we're awaiting the results. But I'm worried. Even assuming the cancer hasn't spread, the normal procedure would be to remove his lung, but my Grandad has Emphycema so I have no idea how he'll be able to cope with one lung. I keep thinking about the situation and I'm not reaching many good possible outcomes. But I have hope, I'll continue to have that.
9th July - Trip To Howarth
26th August - Lancaster University Open Day
1st September - Work Experience Meeting
6th October - York University Open Day
© Copyright Emily The Vampire Slayer, 2008-2009. All rights reserved. Do not use without permission. Hosted by Skylineillusions.
We Built This City
The Handmaid's Tale
Humid
Tea
James
Deadlines
Peter Kay
