The Catch-Up

hi!

*cue Slim Shady music*

guess who's back? back again? Hanny's back.. tell her friends!

sheesh, i am so ghetto. srsly, though... it's good to be blogging again :) after promising to blog more (do you remember that?) i feel sheepish for abandoning you all for a little less than a month. *sigh* have i mentioned that school is evil? anyway, i have other purposes for this blog post besides grumbling about the awfulness of homework and suchlike, so let's get down to business ;)

firstly, did anyone notice that i left out an incredibly important component of my life a couple of blog posts ago, when i mentioned all the things i was grateful for? *shakes head in disgust* yes, friends, 'tis true... i COMPLETELY skipped out BOOKS! books are basically the love of my life. so i decided that to make up for my horribleness, i will give you all a list of my favourite books of 2008 and the start of 2009 :) ready? go!

#1 : BLUE LIKE JAZZ

by Don Miller

okay, so i don't even know what to tell you. just get the book and read it. and laugh, and cry, and agree and disagree. and laugh and cry some more, and repent a bit, and shake your head in amazement at the sheer coolness of this book. Don Miller is a freakin' genius. all i'm gonna say. (in case any of you were interested, he prayed at the Democratic Convention last year. good prayer, too... read it.)

joint #2 : THE HOST

by Stephenie Meyer

so. i was concerned when i first heard about The Host. with Stephenie investing so much in her Twilight characters, could she possibly come up with a completely different story and still make it brilliant? i decided to bite the bullet while in the US of A and got it. i have NO idea why i was so wary. Stephenie can do anything, as far as i'm concerned. (except fly... i'm not gonna recommend that. unless she has a Nimbus 2000 - then she can go for it.) The Host was absolutely one of the best reads i've had in a long, LONG time. i think the thing i love the most about Stephenie is that she is so amazingly talented at weaving relationships and emotion through her writing. it's compelling and beautiful, and i know that from now on, whether she writes about caterpillars crawling on daffodils or a guy delivering pizza, i'll enjoy it. so there, Mr Stephen King. bah to you.(plus, she used the word "squish" again. just sayin'. "SQUISH!" *squeals* i love that word.)

joint #2 : THE BOOK THIEF

by Marcus Zusak

this book broke my heart. the imagery, the history, the story line, the characters... everything about it took me in and changed the way i see literature, and the world in general, today. it was real and personal and affecting. plus, i fell in love with Rudy Steiner. i'm gonna stop there.

#3 (collectively) : THE GOOSE GIRL, ENNA BURNING and RIVER SECRETS

by Shannon Hale

Shannon Hale is a wonder woman. this series is the Bomb. as in, you have NO IDEA how fabulous they are, dahlings. her characters are really vivid and relatable. plus, it's fantasy... Hanny loves!

#4 : BREAKING DAWN

by Stephenie Meyer

aaah-HAH! i bet you thought that because i'd already put The Host on my favourites list, i was going to forget about Breaking Dawn! not gonna happen, friends. this book, although slightly different from my expectations, was the perfect way to end off the series! i'm not going to talk about too much of it's awesomeness since Chell hasn't read the series (love!) and all of you other awesome peeps probably have. so just go through all the awesomeness in your head, and know that's what i'm thinking, aight?

#5 : THE TWO PRINCESSES OF BAMARRE

by Gail Carson Levine

okay. admittedly, last year was not the first time i'd read this book. it was something like the zillionth. but since i hadn't read it for a year, or at least a couple months, i decided to read it again... and fell in love with it all over again. have i mentioned that Gail Carson Levine is super? if you're unfamiliar with her, i demand that you remove yourself from this blog at once!! no, wait... don't go just yet. i will allow you to continue reading if you do so solemnly swear to read: a) Ella Enchanted and b) The Two Princesses of Bamarre. of course, she's written other books of almost-equal coolness, but those are now law. so go read them, already!

#6 (collectively) : THE HERO AND THE CROWN/SPINDLE'S END

by Robin McKinley

*sigh* have i mentioned how much of a Fantasy Freak i am? this list is testament to my addiction to most things fantasy. (and when i say fantasy, i mean smart, sassy fantasy. but you knew that already, right?) well, Robin McKinley is something like the Queen of Fantasy. that's why i couldn't decide between two of her books... they are both so awesome. TH&TC is fabulous because the main character is an amazing, sword-wielding, dragon-slaying heroine with the most beautiful name in history (Aerin. *Hanny dies at its beauty!*) whom i relate to on the highest level in terms of many things, including co-ordination. and Spindle's End is fabulous because it is a COOLER (can you believe?) retelling of Sleeping Beauty. that is all.

before i end my Books section, can someone pur-lease tell Jamie T to write his book already? then i promise i will stop blathering on about him. for reals.

now that BOOKS are out of the way, i want to wish my lovely BFF Lauren an AMAZING 21st birthday! i feel like a jerk because her birthday was over a week ago and i didn't do ANYTHING except write her a little note online :P i AM going to send you a card, dearest, i PROMISE! in the meantime, i hope this is okay :)

this is the photo of Lauren and her Ted that i have up in my room. isn't she beautiful?

i also want to thank my wonderful friend Ana Cristina for the lovely bloggy award she gave me... squee! ...and i want to thank the most awesomest Nancy Face, who sent me a fabulous Valentines Day card in the post! thanks a bunch, Nancy! :)

speaking of Valentines Day.... Valentines Day is a big day at my school. on Valentines Day, everyone wears normal clothes (we usually have to wear a uniform - bleugh!) and gives eachother chocolates and teddy bears and mugs. i don't really like Valentines Day; i am the unofficial Scrooge of Valentines Day. i've never liked it because i've never had cause to like it. this year, though, since Valentines Day fell on a Saturday, we celebrated at school.. on Friday the 13th! tee hee. on the actual day, i had a hard time. my parents and i went to a funeral of a family friend and colleague of my dad's who died unexpectedly... i am not a fan of funerals. later on, the day got better, when i got to watch my favourite rugby team (the Sharks, baby!) play the Stormers - a rugby team from Cape Town - and WIN in one of the first games of the season! today, some friends of mine who are out of school had a crumpet party (where i got to hang out with my main man, Scott!) and Valentines Day came up. "we had a very rotic day yesterday," they said. "...by which you mean?" i asked, befuddled. "it was romantic without a man!" they replied. hee hee... i guess that'll be me next year, too, then :)

i am missing Sindi - we dropped her off at university (all of 13 hours away) last weekend. she is far far away... and i miss her.

lastly but not leastly, can you all do me a favour and click on the link below? even if you don't join SocialVibe, i will earn points from a click... and i am a points fanatic :) thank you!

that's all from me... i am outta here!