Warning: Harry Potter Rant Ahead

Today I made a Pottermore account. I used to have one, but I forgot my username and password. All was well and good up until I took my Sorting test.

I got sorted into SLYTHERIN! Slytherin house members are known for being cunning, ambitious, and evil. I can see cunning and ambitious, but evil? I’m not that bad! I mean, I can be sarcastic, but I’m not intentionally mean to people. It’s not like I take lollipops from babies, or anything terrible like that….(smirks evilly)

Just kidding!

Or am I?

I was sort of upset about my result until I read my welcome letter, which actually made Slytherins sound kind of cool. Then I saw the awesome common room (it’s underwater) and I realized that Slytherin had the most points out of all the houses. Now I’m actually kind of proud to be a Slytherin. Not about the evil part, of course.

My friend is actually a lot more bothered by it than I am. She wants me to delete my Slytherin account and make a Gryffindor one, because that’s the house that she is in. But I will not! I am a Slytherin, and I am proud! Mostly, anyways.

I think all the houses have good and bad traits. Gryffindor just gets the spotlight because that’s the house that Harry Potter and his friends are in. The other houses tend to get overlooked, or portrayed in a negative light, like Slytherin.

I know I’m a total geek, but I think geeks have the most fun anyways.

My Smart Question of the Day

In Spongebob, how does the squirrel get oxygen to her house? And how did she come to live in the ocean in the first place?

*Insert Witty Title Here*

Sitting here, I just realized that (almost) every time I post about books, it’s to tell you guys how much I love a book, or how epic a certain book is. Therefore, this post is dedicated to non-awesome books.

Firstly, I really don’t like the book Eragon. The other was only 15 when he wrote it, so maybe I should cut him some slack, but to me it seemed like a pretty bad book. It was full of cliches and there were pages of description. A little description is good, but this was just way too much. I couldn’t even get through the book, but I seem to be in the minority here- most of my friends love it. Maybe I’ll try reading it again, but I’ll skip over the description.

Next is Twilight. Wait, I've already talked about this! To read my rant on Twilight, see the post, “Why Do Vampires Sparkle?”.

Romeo and Juliet. Actually, I’m not sure if I like this book or not, because of the fact that it’s super hard to read. I tried looking up a modern translation online, but it takes forever to read both that and the old version. But it’s a classic, so it should be pretty good.  It’s been around for this long, so obviously someone likes it.

A YA series called the Trylle Trilogy is next. The protagonist of this series, Wendy, is a troll ( trylle) but she’s not cool or Shrek-like at all. For some reason, trolls look exactly like humans, except more dazzlingly gorgeous and talented. Like fairies. Or Edward Cullen.

I’ll read almost any genre, except for a few. I don’t like mystery. I don’t like steam punk. For those of you that don’t know, steam punk is a type of fiction that is generally set in Victorian England, except it has all sorts of machines and automatons. A type of alternate history, I guess. I don’t like the books, but I have to admit that the covers usually look amazing.

I mean, look at this cover! Isn't it stunning?

My Smart Question of the Day

How do people who work at bubble-wrap factories resist the temptation to pop all the bubbles? I don’t know about you, but it would drive me insane.

Yay!!!

     A few months back, I entered the Scholastic Art and Writing contest for teenagers. I didn't have a lot of time to prepare or anything. I kind of just threw a story together and sent it in, not really expecting anything to come of it.
     Well, the results came back today.... AND I GOT AN HONORABLE MENTION!
     Cue happy dance! *does amazingly awkward dance* This is my first writing contest, so I'm really happy. There are three types of awards- gold, silver, and honorable mention.
     Next year, I should send in a bunch of entries instead of just one. I can work on them throughout the year. Maybe I could even get a gold award.
     If there are any teens out there who like to write, you should enter too! They have lots of categories. I entered a fiction category, but they have poetry and nonfiction categories as well. The awards are given by regions at first. If you get a gold award there, yours can get judged on the national level. All teens in grades 7-12 are eligible to compete.

My Smart Question of the Day
    How is a raven like a writing-desk?

GRRRR!

The other day, I realized something terrible- People think that I’m not fun!

How did I reach this conclusion? Well, first of all, I was at Girl Scouts. My friend said jokingly, “You’re no fun!” The following conversation ensued:

Me- I’m offended! I’m a fun person! (turns to other girls in troop) Right?

Other girls- Wellllllll…….

Girl- It’s just that we don’t know you very well.

Girl 2- You’re too quiet.

Girl 3- You can be fun sometimes, I guess.

Sometimes? What was that supposed to mean? Somehow, I managed to forget about the incident, until a few days later, when I went to sailing. I was taking another girl out on a boat with me.

New kid- (to girl on my boat) Be careful. You might be bored to death.

Me- Why?
New kid- You’re too quiet.

It was all I could do to keep from going into total rage mode. Just because I am quiet does not make me boring! I do have a sense of humor. It’s called sarcasm.

My Smart Question of the Day

When asked what they would take to a deserted island, how come people don’t say, “A boat”?

The Fault in Our Stars

My thoughts are stars I can’t fathom into constellations.

-Augustus Waters, The Fault in Our Stars

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you The Fault in Our Stars (otherwise known as the saddest, most depressing book in the history of the universe.) Before I read it, all my friends told me I would cry at the end. I chose not to believe them, or at least, I tried not to. So I read the book hoping for a happy ending that never came.

Don’t get me wrong, it was a really good book. It’s actually one of the most popular YA books right now. It was a New York Times Best Seller. The book is just really, really tragic. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to read it a second time; I don’t want to put myself through so much pain again.

That said, the book wasn't entirely sad. It made me smile at points. I even found myself chuckling after the depressing part, which made me feel slightly guilty. The main character was incredibly witty and had such a dry sense of humour. Her love interest was endearing and over dramatic.The story is about Hazel, a sixteen-year-old girl who is dying of cancer, and her relationship with Augustus Waters.

I know what you’re thinking. You’re already thinking, “the girl bites it”.

Well, I guess you’ll just have to read and find out.

My Smart Question of the Day

Why do people like sad books? Does reading about other people’s sadness make us feel better about our own lives, or does it just make us feel worse?

Why do Vampires Sparkle?

I just finished reading the sweetest romance novel. It was awesome!
Romance is actually one of my favourite genres, but none of my friends like it. Personally, I think that they like it, but they're just too embarrassed to admit it. After all, someone has to like romance, otherwise there wouldn't be a gazillion YA books about it.
And before you ask- no, I don't like Twilight. I mean, the vampires sparkle, for goodness sake! Fairies are meant to sparkle, not vampires. I couldn't even make it halfway through the first book. Here's all I can remember from it:
Bella stares at the rain. Bella trips. Bella stares at Edward. Oh, look, he's a vampire (sparkle sparkle). 
That's seriously it. In the movie Edward looks like somebody dumped a bucket of glitter on him. So, as I mentioned before, I do like romance books, as long as they don't have vampires or any other strange, supernatural creatures turned friendly.
Sorry if you like Twilight, but that's just my opinion.

My Smart Question of the Day
Who's brilliant idea was it to name the fruit orange, anyway? That's really the best thing he could come up with?

Harry Potter

     The other day, I went to Starbucks and ordered a Butterbeer. Yes, you read that correctly. I ordered a Butterbeer, which is what Harry and his friends drink in Harry Potter. Not real beer, of course.

     And oh my gosh.... I can't believe that I've been missing out on it for so long.

     It's a Frappuccino with caramel syrup, toffee nut syrup, and caramel drizzle. That's how you have to order it. You can't say Butterbeer, as the muggles don't know what it is. It was magically delicious! I loved every sip. If you ever go by Starbucks, you should try it. I guarantee that you will not regret it. Just search the recipe; it's pretty easy to find.

     Harry Potter was actually the reason I started writing seriously. You see, I'd always loved the books, and a year or two ago I met some friends who were just as obsessed with them as I was. They wrote Harry Potter fanfiction (fiction written by fans of books, TV shows, etc) on a site called Quotev. My two friends were always talking about their stories. I felt kind of left out, so I made a fanfiction as well.That's when I discovered how much I liked writing. You can sit in front of the computer, or your notebook, and finally put down all the thoughts that are crowding your head. 

     I was pretty decent at writing, too. Before then I had written short stories and such, but I had never considered writing as a career. Fanfiction changed that. Without it, I probably wouldn't have got into writing. 

     

     My Smart Question of the Day

     Why does Hawaii have interstate highways?