*pokes head in*

Sorry! Sorry, I've been gone for ages! I've just been busy with studying and other bits and bobs, my apologies. I've still got three exams left, but they're all a bit more packed together. My next one is tomorrow...so as soon as I've written this and a new entry for my story blog, I'm hitting the books again. I'll be glad when this is all over.

Not a great deal of interesting stuff has happened to me lately...I've been getting a lot of reading done, which is good. And my English exams are out of the way so I can actually read for pleasure again, finally. Am I the only person who hates The Great Gatsby? I mean the book, not the film. Mind you, most of the people who have seen the film probably haven't read the book. But I found the book so boring and I just don't want to watch the film because I hate the book so much.

I've been watching a fair bit of Supernatural when I've been on study breaks. I've just started season 7 and things are getting...well, I have mixed emotions. There are times when I don't know whether to laugh or cry, but most of the time, I just end up crying anyway. --SPOILER-- The main part was when Cas's body was taken over by the Leviathans and they do some really weird head thing and creepy smile when they say that Cas is gone, that he's dead. The acting made me want to laugh, but the words broke my heart. Urgh, it was horrible. --END OF SPOILER--

Anyway, I need to get this story blog entry done and then get on with some revision. Toodles!

As I mentioned in my previous blog, I went to MCM this weekend. What's interesting is that I thought it was fantastic, but when I browsed their Facebook page, there was a lot of hate about it being too crowded. Yes, come to think of it, it was a tad busy, but if you want to avoid that, you just have to pick the right times. You shouldn't hate that other people share your passion and ask the organisers to limit how many people can attend - that takes the fun out of it for a lot of people.

So while I was there, I met quite a few YouTubers. For one, I met TomSka, who I've been dying to meet basically since I started watching his videos over a year ago. I got a his autograph and a photo with him and I feel like an idiot for not talking to him more - I just got embarrassed, I guess. I also met Jack Howard and Dean Dobbs from OMFGItsJackAndDean - again, people I've been eager to meet for a long time. I actually went to see them twice; the first time I was alone because my friends Marcus and Tim hadn't arrived yet, but when I told Jack and Dean that, Jack said I had no friends. So, of course, when Marcus later wanted to meet them, I went with him and showed off to Jack that I did in fact have friends. To which, of course, he accused me of picking a random off the streets. It was all in good nature, of course, and I got photos and autographs from them as well, and I bought one of their t-shirts.

I also bought some Doctor Who posters and a signed Stupid Fox book. (By the way, for anyone who doesn't know who TomSka, Jack and Dean, or Stupid Fox are - I'll pop links to their YouTube channels/websites at the bottom. If you haven't heard of Doctor Who...well, I'm afraid you're buried too far under that rock for me to help you out there.) 

On an unrelated note, I also have a YouTube channel, and after having abandoned it for about a year, I uploaded a new video today - a cover of 'Chasing Cars' by Snow Patrol - again, I'll put the video down below. I've made quite a few cover videos, if you're interested in checking them out. I used to make vlogs, but I recently deleted them because I didn't like them. I'm thinking about making new videos though, not vlogs necessarily, but some comedy videos or something like that, but I'm waiting until I can afford a new laptop that is better suited for video editing.

Anyway, I shall leave you with the promised links and video! See ya!

TomSka's YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/TomSka
OMFGItsJackAndDean: http://www.youtube.com/user/OMFGItsJackAndDean
Stupid Fox: http://stupidfox.net/
My YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/GoldenFireWolf

Let's get the reading stuff out the way first, shall we? I've been reading a lot lately - or maybe I've just increased my reading speed. So I completed three books today. I finished Long Time Coming and The Death and Life Of Charlie St. Cloud, and I also managed to read the entirety of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens on the journey to and from my school today. I'm not going to talk about all of them because I feel like this blog is turning too much into a reading blog and I want to write about other stuff to. I suppose my favourite of the three novels was Long Time Coming. I loved the mystery and suspense behind it, and it definitely got better as I progressed - a lot more engaging nearer the end.

But no, I'm not going to go on and on and books this time. I have other stuff I do in my life. Don't look so surprised! Okay, so this weekend I'm going to the MCM Expo Comic Con in Excel London - if you don't know, it's a convention where lovers of anime, video games, and more gather and buy and sell stuff. Most people decide to cosplay, which is where you dress up as a character. I, myself, will also be cosplaying; I'll be dressing as Misa Amane from the anime/manga Death Note. It's a costume I bought a couple of years ago and it still fits so I thought, hey, why not? It sure cost enough to wear more than once. Anyway, I'm going on Saturday, so I'll talk more about that when I've been.

On Sunday I'm finally going to see Ironman 3 at the cinema. I haven't actually seen the first two yet, although I do plan to. I was going to watch them before I watched the third one, but I decided that it's been so long since I went to the cinema, it'd be nice to see it on the big screen, and I might not still be in the cinema by the time I'd watched the first two. Again, I'll discuss that once I've seen it.

Righty-ho, I believe that's all I have to say for today. Ciao!

I don't like slating books or anything that anyone put a lot of effort into make - art, music, poetry, anything. But, unfortunately, I was rather disappointed by Disconnected. There was very little to the plot line, to be quite honest. Maybe I'm being judgmental; from the cover (the "never judge a book by its cover" thing is rubbish - that's the point of a cover), I'd estimate the book to be aimed more at fourteen to sixteen year olds, so maybe I was just expecting too much. I still liked the style, though, as I said before - I love it when authors try a new style of writing. It's a brave thing to do in the world of writing. I respect that.

Anyhow, I've begun my next real book: The Death and Life Of Charlie St. Cloud by Ben Sherwood. I think it's been turned into a movie, hasn't it? The Zac Efron one? Yeah, it has. I just Googled it. Charlie St. Cloud is what the movie is called. I haven't seen it yet, but if I enjoy the book I might watch it. I'm about a quarter of the way through the book so far. Here, this is what the blurb says, in case you don't know what it's about: "When he was a boy, Charlie St. Cloud almost perished in a car crash that killed his little brother, Sam. Years later, Charlie is still trying to atone for his loss. It is only when he meets Tess Carroll, a captivating, adventurous yachtswoman, that he is faced with a choice - between death and life, the past and the present, holding on and letting go. The Death and Life Of Charlie St. Cloud is a romantic and exhilarating novel about second chances and the liberating power of love." I'm enjoying it so far. I suppose my only teeny, tiny complaint is that, as a reader, I didn't get much time to make an emotional connection with Sam, so his death didn't have much of an emotional affect on me. But hey, maybe that was Sherwood's intention. I like to get emotionally connected with characters; it helps me really sink into the story. But as I said, maybe that was his intention.

In non-reading news (yes, I do other stuff), I've recently gotten quite into Boyce Avenue, the band. They mostly do covers of songs, and some of them are absolutely gorgeous. One of my favourites is their cover of Snow Patrol's Chasing Cars. But some of their covers just feel a bit bland to me, especially some of their older works. Still, I recommend listening to them. I'll pop a YouTube video of their Chasing Cars cover and their cover of Fast Car by Tracy Chapman (another beauty) for you at the bottom of this post.

Since I'm on the topic of music: mini rant coming up! Do you know what I hate? When someone goes through my iPod, sees some of the artists are listen to, and say "Oh my God, I can't believe you listen to (insert artist they disapprove of)". Um, excuse me? Since when did your music taste have any connection whatsoever to mine except for the possibility of a few coincidences? You decided to scroll through my music library. Don't have a go at me if you find songs or artists you don't like. Why do you even care anyway? I didn't shove my headphones into your ears, crank the volume up, and play each song you disapprove of repeatedly while laughing manically. No. The music on my iPod is for me to listen to. Not anyone else. Thank you very much. -End rant-

If you do not watch Doctor Who, you may as well stop reading now because this final bit won't make sense to you.


WHOVIANS! HI! So, I was at the Londond Aquarium today, and there was like this huge ice wall-type thing and people could leave their hand prints on it and stuff. And guess what I saw... BAD WOLF. RED ALERT, GUYS, ROSE TYLER WAS AT THE LONDON AQUARIUM. Yeah, that was all, really. I took a picture of it and Mum gave me a weird look because she doesn't watch DW, so I had to explain that it was a reference.

Anyway, after that unexpectedly long post, I shall sign out now. Sam, out.

When I created this personal blog, my initial plan wasn't to blog on consecutive days - and it still isn't; I just realised I forgot to mention my reading. I mean, I'm a writer, after all. If you don't kind of expect me to discuss the books I'm reading occasionally...well, then, you're reading the wrong blog. Go and find some 13 year old girl's blog about her dying love for Justin Bieber, or the blog of an emo kid who is just depressed with everything. This is my blog. I like books. I shall blog about books.

So, I finished reading Between Shades Of Gray. Absolutely loved it! Definitely recommend it to Historical Fiction fans. Have you ever had a moment while reading a book where something so sad and shocking happens that you want to cry, but you're just sitting there thinking to yourself "This is not happening... I am not reading this" and don't let the tears come? Yeah, there's one of those moments near the end. My Mum walked in just as I was reading it. She asked what was wrong when she saw the sad look on my face and I just pouted and pawed at the page and whimpered about what was happening (which I will not tell you because if you do decide to read it, I don't want to spoil it for you!). 

I haven't progressed much with Long Time Coming. I don't know why, but I just haven't been reading as much on the bus or train or whatever. I'm quite content to just have my headphones in and gaze out the window while I listen to my music. I need to be reading my Kindle more...

Anyhow, I've started my next real book. Disconnected by Sherry Ashworth. It's quite short - only 219 pages. I've been reading it for about forty minutes and I'm over a quarter of the way into the book. What do I think so far? I like the style... it's interesting... it's set out in a series of notes addressed to various characters. But so far, not much of a story line has developed. I mean, all that's happened so far is that Cathy (the main character) has finally got fed up with school work (she's a teenager - she took her sweet time!) and is getting a crush on a guy. Not a lot of action going on. But, hey, it's still quite engaging because I like the characters. Especially Taz, the guy she likes. He seems cool. If he were a real character, I think I'd like to meet him. Cathy seems a bit bland herself, to be quite honest. But hey ho, I shall trudge on. I predict a late night tonight, just going to keep reading, so I may very well finish the book tonight as well, but we'll see.

Until next time. Adios!

*crawls into view* Hello there again. No, I'm not dead. Well, not quite. My first exam is tomorrow so I've been revising. It's a shame, to be honest. I really enjoyed the majority of my AS English course, yet I've managed to fail it twice. Well, "third time's a charm" as they say. We'll see.

Part of my course is studying Christina Rossetti and, as weird as it sounds, I actually enjoy studying her poems. I mean, a lot of people enjoy reading poetry, but not studying it, and in most cases, I'm the same, but her work is just so interesting to analyse. Oh God, I sound like such a nerd. Shut up, Sam, your popularity level is dropping. Haha, who am I kidding? I have no popularity level.

Aside from that, I was introduced to Snapchat today. BIG MISTAKE. I was taking pictures of myself pulling stupid faces and sending them to a friend when I was supposed to be revising. It was all his fault, of course. Okay, I added him...BUT HE SENT THE FIRST MESSAGE, THEREFORE BEGINNING THE CHAIN OF PHOTO MESSAGES AND, no, who am I kidding? It was all my fault. Sorry, Andrew. 

Other news...other news...hm...OH. PARAMORE. YES. I really, really love Paramore, and they are coming to the UK in September. I got an email from their website and was like "Holy Mother of Cheese, Paramore are coming to the UK!" But then I remembered that I'm supposed to be saving my money up for car insurance (when I actually GET a car), so I'm sorry, Paramore, maybe next time? Fun fact: My favourite Paramore song (which I've previously been addicted to, alongside 'Here's To Never Growing Up' by Avril Lavigne) is 'Ain't It Fun'. Seriously. Addicted. Those two songs are basically the only songs I've been listening to the past few days. You'd think I'd be fed up with them by now. Ahahahahahahaha, no.

Begin story blog? Check. Create personal blog? Check. Write introduction? Check. Make first post? Crap. Now what the hell do I write? Um, shall I begin with what's happened to me over the last few days? Oh yeah, I'm talking to a computer screen. I'll just...do that then...

So on Thursday I finished college. Well, kinda. I've still got exams to do. The first one being this Friday. Crap. I really should be revising... Pfft. Anyway, so I've essentially finished school forever now - unless you count university as school? Oh yeah, that reminds me: I'M NOT AMERICAN. I am British. So when I say college, it doesn't mean the same thing as in America, okay? Okay. College/Sixth Form in Britain is for 16-18 year olds. The last years of high school I guess? I don't know. The American vs. British education systems are so confusing. I've spent endless hours trying to deduce it with my American friends. No luck. So yeah, I've finished college. After my exams I'll be heading off on holiday to Devon - a quiet little place in South West England - and then to California, America. But I'll talk more about them when I get there.

What else? Oh, yeah, I like reading, so maybe I could tell you what books I'm reading at the moment? Aside from the college texts for English Literature, I'm reading two books. I always read two books leisurely - one real book for bedtime, and one on my Kindle for travel. My real book at the moment is Between Shades Of Grey by Ruta Sepetys. I'm only halfway through it so I can't tell you exactly what happens, so here's what the blurb says: "One night fifteen-year-old Lina, her mother and young brother are hauled from their home by Soviet guards, thrown into cattle cars and sent away. They are being deported to Siberia. An unimaginable and harrowing journey has begun. Lina doesn't know if she'll ever see her father or her friends again. But she refuses to give up hope." I've only recently gotten into Historical Fiction. Well, about a year ago. Does that count as recently? My English teacher suggested I read The Book Thief by Markus Zusak - fantastic book! I also read The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini as one of my set texts for college last year - I think it's the only set text I've ever been able to leisurely read since studying it.

As for my Kindle book, I'm reading Long Time Coming by Edie Claire, which is about a woman called Joy who has just returned to her home town. She left to get away from the death of her best friend, Jenny, and upon her return, is faced with blatantly falling for the guy she's blamed for her Jenny's death for years (who was also Jenny's boyfriend at the time) and doesn't seem to realise it (at least, she hasn't yet), as well as this other guy, Ox, clearly wants to get it on with Joy, and so his deranged ex-wife starts stalking Joy. Again, I'm only about half-way through, but I'm still really enjoying it.

It's Monday tomorrow... duh, Sam, Monday generally follows Sunday. It feels really weird knowing I don't have to go into school ever again...(with the exception of my exams, but that doesn't count). It's scary...if I don't get into university, I'm actually going to have to get a job. A full-time job. That makes me an adult. Technically, I'm already an adult - I'm 18 - but being at college didn't feel like being an adult. It sure as hell does now. Crap.