Letters to Electra - Under Pressure

29/4/15

Dear Electra,

I am not able to be persistent at times like this. I am exhausted, exasperated and have the strong desire to be extricated. There are so many things happening that are not blog-worthy. The only things that are happening at this period of time is academic-related and highly mundane.

But somehow, I will continue with this blog post. I'm near the end of reading Anne Frank's diary, and I feel that this process has rather been tiring. I wish I couldn't cause offence to any fan of hers. Hiding in a cramped laboratory is uneventful but tragic at the same time, clutching onto the fear of being exposed as a Jew. I am glad that Adolf Hitler and his followers have perished.

The school musical is going to be held in less than two weeks! I am proud of the cast and crew's efforts to establish a wonderful production. To those of you who have already bought tickets, I hope your money is worth the performance.

With sincere affection,

- M ★

Letters to Electra - A Positively Captivated Marian

22/4/15

Dear Electra,

We are back from the holiday hiatus! My break was occupied with rehearsals for my school's upcoming musical and completing my house chores. I'm glad that I'm back to school to study and socialise again. The two-week break inhibited my brain matter with a void of emptiness.

By any means, my name is Marian Yao and I have a fixation for Tumblr. This fixation is as strong as an adult loves coffee. I cannot relax without having to check it at least six times a day. It unwinds me after a stressful day at school or an odd conversation with an associate. My main theme on Tumblr is 'Bones', but I also enjoy posting about Marina Diamandis and 'Anne of Green Gables'.

Speaking of 'Anne of Green Gables', I just began watching the movie series yesterday and I am captivated! The way I relate to Anne is unexpected: we both enjoy books, are fascinated with the world and do well at school.  I really wish that I had access to the books, that would be awesome. I also heard that the actor who plays Gilbert lost his life recently. R.I.P, Jonothan Crombie.


With sincere affection,

- M ★

Marian's 2015 Reads - 'Bones Are Forever'

via kathyreichs.com

Title: 'Bones Are Forever'
Author: Kathy Reichs
Publisher: Scribner
Published: 2012
Pages: 283 (excluding the bonus section of 'Forensic Files')
Genre: Crime

Forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan discovers infant remains in a decrepit apartment in Saint-Hyacinthe. The tenant of the apartment was a woman named Alma Rogers, according to the landlord. Shortly after discovering the owner, a man named Ralph Trees visits the crime scene to look for Alva Rodriguez. Who are these people? Or do these names belong to one woman?

Tempe, along with detectives Andrew Ryan and Oliver Hasty, head to the Northwest Territories, which are well-known for their diamond mines and also the place where Alma/Alva is located. This homicide investigation expands to a range of family issues and exhumations of other corpses.

I have to admit that Brennan and Ryan weren't well-written in this recent adaptation of Dr. Reichs' brilliant series. They argued a lot over the fact that Brennan's old flame, Oliver, joined them in solving this case. Ryan was being extremely overprotective of Brennan when Oliver tried to make moves on her, which I thought was very adorable. What I also found to be gruesome was that infants were murdered. When I face situations like these, fictional or real, I would ignore it and move on to another topic, but in this case I just had to face it head-on.

Let's compare this Dr. Brennan to the one they have on 'Bones'. I am aware that the TV Brennan is based on Dr. Reichs, but if this figure were to be in this novel, she wouldn't have a deep connection to the very young victims. The novel Brennan, however, experienced horrifying dreams about the babies and wanted to vent out to her friends and family. If I were to be either, I'd be the latter. It would be very difficult for me to solve this investigation without having the urge to take comfort in my peers or even writing my feelings in a diary.

I recommend this novel to people who are emotionally stable and/or are conspiracy theorists. I don't recommend this novel to people who have never read this series. I suggest that you start with Déjà Dead or a couple of books after that.


- M ★

Marian's 2015 Reads - 'Fatal Voyage'

via pinterest.com

Title: 'Fatal Voyage'
Author: Kathy Reichs
Publisher: Scribner
Published: 2001
Pages: Over 360 (I estimate)

I think you are getting sick of me reviewing Kathy Reichs books since you probably don't have a strong interest in forensic anthropology as I do. I promise that I will review a book by another author on the 27th of April.

'Fatal Voyage' pursues Tempe Brennan as she examines the corpses of plane crash victims in the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina. While in the forest, she finds a foot which she later identifies it to belong to a man who was not part of the plane crash. The murderer of the mystery foot victim influences a marathon of homicides involving Tempe's colleagues and an explosion of controversy about Dr. Brennan's professional path.

The conspiracy and history behind the man's foot were attention-worthy. The only way I can describe the murderer without spoiling the book is that s/he does not have such a strong position, but has caused chaos that even celebrities cannot handle. Most killers in any sense are friends, business partners or family members of their victims, but it still astonishes me that the woman who scans your groceries could be the culprit. And because of this, I applaud Dr. Reichs for her creative power of pulling the reader into the story.

I recommend this story to people who have read Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta series. Let's see who is the finer author, shall we?

Bonus Willow Pape reaction:

Since my friends have never read crime novels and tend to grab each other's books to scan, they found it odd that Dr. Reichs began the story with a cataclysmic beginning.
'I stared at the woman flying through the trees. Head forward, chin raised, arms flung backward like the tiny crone goddess on the hood of a Rolls-Royce. But the tree lady was naked, and her body ended at the waist.'
"What the heck are they talking about? Ew!" Jayden gasps as he closes the book.
It's great to have friends who have distinct tastes.

- M ★

Letters to Electra - Estoy Aburrido

1/04/15

Dear Electra,

Happy April Fools' Day! It's also my friend's birthday, but I can't be bothered to greet him. It's quite odd that the pupil at my school didn't mention this 'vivacious' day.

Lent is almost finished! I searched on Google for the end of Lent and it said that it finishes tomorrow. It was challenging for me to give up 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' and chocolate since every rehearsal I attend of my school's musical provides chocolate-themed treats; on the other hand my female friend from Spanish class is a huge fanatic of the 'Buffyverse'.

I feel contrite for skipping the 'Marian's 2015 Reads Book Review' of this week. I promise to release it next week. Spoiler alert: The following three book reviews are from the 'Tempe Brennan' series.

 I don't have much happening in my life right now except that the first school term of the year is ending this week. This term has been a productive beginning to 2015. Cheers to the holidays and a successful term one!


With sincere affection,

- M ★

Letters to Electra - 'Cause I'm a Primadonna Girl

27/3/15

Dear Electra,

Yesterday was horrifying because of one irrational event:
I LOST MY MOTHER'S STUD EARRING!
Here's the full story: I was frantically revising for my maths test until I decided to take my earrings off. I took them off one by one until I examined an earring and noticed that the stud grew crooked. I tried to adjust it but accidentally dropped them onto my robe. I grew very busy and eventually focused on my homework until it was time to eat dinner.
I came back into my room after dinner and felt my robe for the missing earring. I couldn't feel it.
I looked frantically on my bed -  no earring.
I went to my desk - no earring.
I began to scream at every sound I could hear including my dad and my sister's voices. Oh, gosh. I felt like I was wasting my time looking for an item instead of being productive.
After thirty minutes of only searching in my bedroom, I expanded my horizons. I headed to the dining table and finally found the earring! By then it was time to stop homework and prepare for nighttime rest.

The boys in my maths class cluster asked me about some personal sentiments. First, they started off by talking about who they would mate within the class (you don't know how nervous I felt about this) and regular male matters. Second, they asked me when I would lose my virginity (this was the moment I wanted to say, "I beg your pardon?" and smash their faces). I replied with, "I haven't decided yet. I plan to have no husband."
"Who would you lose it to in this class?" They ask.
"No one!"
The conversation goes downhill maturity-wise.

Music was lovely. Charisma played 'Primadonna' by Queen Marina and I sang along. Some people noticed like Gwen, Sammi and Anna. Jayden, Mary and Regina weren't present to experience our quintessential talent.

With sincere affection,

- M ★

Marian's 2015 Reads: 'Life in Outer Space' by Melissa Keil

Title: 'Life in Outer Space'
Author: Melissa Keil
Publisher: Hardie Grant Egmont
Published: 2013
Pages: 305

Let's have a rest from the 'Bones' series and review a high-school-themed novel.

This novel follows Sam Kinnison, a 16 (going on 17)-year-old geek who meets a girl named Camila Carter, an Australian who has come back from England with her journalist father. This book is set over the course of a year. Sam reckons that Camila is a beautiful girl who would disrupt him from his geeky world, so he tries to ignore her only to find out that Camila is somehow attached to him. I have to be honest about the fact that the ending is very predictable - typical high-school life.

My favourite character is Sam. I can relate to his vocation of staying single and rather have a deep passion for maintaining healthy grades and movies (well, for me it's 'Bones'). We also share the characteristics of awkward behaviour and staying strong but careless when facing situations of derision.

What I enjoyed most about this book is the message we also learned in physics: like-poles repel, but opposite poles attract. I liked the fact that before these two fell for each other, there was a friendship story. If you know me personally you'll assume that I do not believe in 'love at first sight' and that I believe in learning the other individual's personality before jumping to conclusions.

I think that this book shares the same plot as 'Geek Charming', a movie I watched when I had an obsession with Disney movies. A movie geek finds this fashionable girl and eventually sparks up a connection with each other.

Nevertheless, I recommend this book to teenagers who struggle to fit in socially at school (like me). That is unless you don't mind underage drinking and a mild level of profanity.

- M ★