ISAAC ASIMOV

I apologize for the many months I have ignored this blog... It's unfortunate that it had to begin with such a long hiatus, but I'm finally ready to come back! To begin again, I would like to start off with a post about one of my all time favorite science fiction authors, the great Isaac Asimov!

Isaac Asimov was a Russian born American novelist, short story teller, essayist, historian, and professor of biochemistry. He attended Columbia University, where he got his PhD in biochemistry. Not only was he considered one of the greatest science fiction writers of his era, but one of the most prolific writers of all time! 

Asimov's major works were his Foundation series, Robot series, and Galactic Empire series. Something very cool about these three series is that they all take place in the same fictional future universe!

My personal favorite is the robot series. I, Robot and The Caves of Steel... So good! Although I have to say, religious robots are pretty terrifying.

Fun Facts about Isaac Asimov:

-He was a claustrophile, meaning he enjoyed enclosing himself in small, tight spaces.

-He was afraid of flying, and only flew twice in his life.

-He contracted HIV from a blood transfusion and actually died of complications resulting from AIDS. This was kept secret for over a decade after his death, because of the strong prejudice against HIV present at that time.

-He wrote very little about aliens in the majority of his fiction because in the beginning of his career a story of his was rejected for portraying aliens as superior to human beings. After that, he decided that he would rather not write about aliens at all than constantly portray them as weaker creatures.

-He is credited with coining the word "robotic" and "robotics".

Cool, right? And here are some pictures of the sci-fi master himself:

I mean, really. The glasses, the bolo tie, the side burns... He is the epitome of awesome. If you haven't read any of his work, and you enjoy a good science fiction story, I highly recommend you get yourself to a bookstore PRONTO. That's all, folks!

-Calypso

My Books

Since we're still trying to get to know each other, I thought I might share something with you that is very, very important to me. My books. Specifically, the books that are currently inhabiting my room (they rotate, you see). Now this is a big step in our relationship... Are you ready? LET'S DO THIS.

I have lots of random stuff cluttering up my book shelves... I always mean to clean them up but I never get around to it. Oh well, it adds character... right? ;)

My sci-fi section. :D Or at least some of it...

My whole teeny tiny bookshelf in all its pathetic glory. I wish I had more space in my room. :(

And so this is where all my extra books go! In my sad little drawer...

As well as stacked up around the floor of my room, despite how much my mother hates this system.

Well those are my books... I'm really hoping to get more shelf space for them too! In fact, I've got a whole room remodeling plan that involves some super cool bookshelves from Urban Outfitters! Maybe I'll share them with you after I put them in... :)

I also apologize if this post just completely bored you, I realize how uninteresting my life can be. :P

I promise I will definitely be writing some actual book reviews in the near future!

From paper & pen to ink & skin

I have always liked tattoos, but I've never been able to imagine getting one myself. UNTIL NOW! That's right, I'm talking literary tattoos here. I first got into the idea after seeing a post about them on the lovely Miss Mixie's blog. Click here to see! Anywho, book-based tattoos are just beautiful. It's just a pretty thought: taking a beautiful book that moves or inspires you, and making it a part of your person...

So without further ado, here are some great tattoos that I've gathered from various corners of the interwebzzz:

Lemony Snicket! I have to say I never got totally into "A Series of Unfortunate Events", but I still think this quote and this tattoo are really beautiful.

From one of the best trilogies of five books EVER! I cannot express how much I adore these tattoos. Someday... I may quite possibly have to steal this idea.

From Fahrenheit 451!! Cool, right?

Harry Potter <3  This is the moment when Snape shows Dumbledore his doe patronus, proving that he still loves Lily. Dumbledore says, "After all this time?" and Snape answers, "Always." It's such a sad and beautiful moment.. And a great idea for a tattoo.

Lolita, one of my favorite books of all time! But I have to say, I really don't like the execution... It's very awkwardly placed. 

Slaughterhouse Five.

Alice and Wonderland! A great book for this kind of thing, but a little overdone...

Soooo yeah! I hope you liked the ink. I do. :) I have to admit... for the first time in my life I sort of want to get a tattoo... Hmmm... But what book would I quote? 

Anybody have any good ideas?

Songs From District 12

The Hunger Games Soundtrack was recently released and I am obsessed. It is one of the most beautiful soundtracks I have heard in a very long time, and it has great artists too. Taylor Swift, Maroon 5, Glen Hansard.... And Neko Case! I absolutely adore Neko Case, but I was surprised to see she was on such a big soundtrack. I've always thought of her as a very obscure artist and she hasn't produced any albums for a while.... so it was a nice surprise. :)

Why don't I get back on track... Heh. It's a great soundtrack and it has rekindled my hopes for the upcoming movie! I must admit that I was, and still am, very concerned that the movie will be a complete disaster. I find that I almost always hate it when great books are adapted into movies, because these movies can never do them proper justice! (I'm sure I share this opinion with most book lovers, am I right?) Either way, that is why I've been rather wary of the Hunger Games movie. But I've decided to embrace my inner fan girl and just be EXCITED for thursday night. Good or bad, I'm determined to have fun. I've got tickets for the midnight showing!! ;)

Well now that I've gone over my feelings about the upcoming movie, I think I'm going to talk about a few of the songs featured on the soundtrack.

1) "Eyes Open" by Taylor Swift
I first read about this song on Etienne's Journal (a very nice blog, might I add) and then discovered the full out soundtrack afterwards. This song is.... just.... beautiful. And perfect. In my opinion at least.... But I happen to really love and admire Taylor Swift, so if you dislike her, maybe you'd feel differently. She is a very impressive song writer though and a lovely singer, so I don't know how you can't like her. Unless you're one of those people who's all, "She's just so mainstream, maaaan. I only listen to obscure artists that nobody else likes." Then you can just go sip your organic, gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan soy latte in some obscure thrift store that we've probably never heard about. Go away, Mr. Hipster.

Returning to Taylor Swift, her gift for writing is proven in the songs she wrote for this movie. This one in particular just captures the book so well, and I love it to bits. One thing I really like about it is that it has lots of references to the books, but it's still subtle enough that it doesn't feel forced, you know? My favorite part is the very beginning and then the bridge at the end. Here are some lyrics for you to perrruuussseee:

"The tricky thing... is yesterday we were just children.
Playing soldiers--just pretending.
Dreaming dreams with happy endings.
In backyards, winning battles with our wooden swords.
But now we've stepped into a cruel world,
Where everybody stands and keeps score"

It's even more beautiful when you listen to it. So go! Go listen!

2) "Come Away To The Water" by Maroon 5, ft. Rozzi Crane

Ahhh I LOVE Adam Levine, and this song! While the other one was more about Katniss, this one is from the point of view of the game makers (or at least that's how I interpret it). It's beautiful, and eery and it also captures the mood that I envisioned in the book. Well done, Maroon 5, well done! Maybe you really do have moves like jagger. ;) *ANOTHER LAME JOKE BROUGHT TO YOU BY CALYPSO INDUSTRIES*

Here is a snippet of the lyrics from this song as well:

"Come away little lamb.
Come away to the water.
Give yourself so we might live anew.
Come away little lamb.
Come away to the slaughter.
To the ones appointed to see this through.
We are calling for you,
We are coming for you"

3) "Just a Game" by Birdy
I had never heard of Birdy before, but now I am going to have to check out more of her music. Her voice is just.... otherworldly. I feel that this song also perfectly captures the story and the mood of the Hunger Games, a bit subtly, and then you reach the end where the bridge just smacks you in the face in all its literary glory. It describes perfectly that moment when Katniss and Peeta are standing in the chariot, draped in flames and waving to a crowd who they know is itching to watch them die. I think the moment is captured simply and perfectly. Here are the lyrics describing it:

"Take my hand and my heart races
As flames illuminate our faces
And we are on fire.
Blow a kiss to the crowd,
They're our only hope now..."

This might actually be one of my favorite songs ever. It just makes me feel so many things... I strongly advise you to listen to it.

Listen to them all, they are amazing! They'll tie you over till Friday, trust me. Speaking of Friday, anybody else going to the midnight showing? ANYBODY GOING TO DRESS UP?? I am!!! I need to pour all my pent up midnight-releasal-craziness into something. Ever since the last Harry Potter movie came out, I've had nothing to do with it! Nothing! So I will definitely be going all out. And my brother is going to be Cinna! He's going to let me do his gold eyeliner... <3

How 'bout you? Have any big Hunger Games plans? Tell me!!!

A prologue, so to speak.

Welcome to my new blog!

I'm just going to jump into this: 

I love reading. I love writing. And I love books.

That is why I have made this blog and I have to say... I am really, really excited!! Now why don't I introduce myself a little bit? My name is Calypso for all intents and purposes. Maybe you've seen one of my other blogs? If not, they are conveniently placed to your right on the little side bar thingy. Assuming you're not reading this upside down. (Then it would be to your left.) You're welcome, all you upside-down-readers.

I am a teenager living in a very rainy city in the US. But I love this city, not only because I happen to love rain, but because it is home to the greatest, biggest, most SPECTACULAR independent book store in the US. Powell's City of Books... and it is one of my most favorite places on Earth. And it's greatness is not a matter of opinion, IT IS SHEER FACT. It takes up a whole city block and has four glorious floors that people are always getting lost in. They even make maps to help people get around, isn't that fantastic?? A new and used city of books that actually requires a map to aid navigation. <3 Trust me, there will be many, many posts devoted to the place, so stay tuned. ;) 

Continuing on with meee.... When it comes to writing, I have a slight tendency to overuse commas and capital letters. You will definitely notice. When it comes to reading, I love all kinds of styles, all kinds of genres. Sci-fi, dystopian, mystery, poetry, classic, historical, fiction, non-fiction... I know it sounds cheesy, but I really do love them all. Some of my favorite authors are: the Bronte sisters (Charlotte and Emily, really, I've never read Anne before), Isaac Asimov, Nabokov, Douglas Adams, Ayn Rand (though I don't agree with any of her ideas, she is an INCREDIBLE writer), Agatha Christie, Laurie Halse Anderson, Ernest Hemingway, John Steinbeck and... ohhhhhh, finnneee.... F. Scott Fitzgerald. I say this last name with gritted teeth because I honestly used to hate this author. I always thought his characters were jerks and his issues--the woes and worries of the upper class 20s--boring. I still think these things, but my admiration for his incredible knack for description and writing in general have taken over. I just can't help myself... I still hate his characters and his horrible portrayal of women though, don't worry. :P

Now I feel I ought to tell you a little of what I intend to do with this blog. I hope to write a full out book review once or twice each week, but school is a handful and truthfully... I probably won't. But I'll give it my best! I also want to devote full posts to poetry, fabulous authors, literary quotes, excitingly weird and obscure new book genres, lessons in literary devices, my fancy book purchases, my book store explorations, and plenty of other things that I just haven't come up with yet. Basically, I want this to be a place where all book lovers--whether they prefer Ringworld or Wuthering Heights--can come and share with me the joys of reading, writing, and everything in between.

As to the title of my blog... I'm actually not sure why I called it "Paper Palaces" and I don't even know whether or not this will be its permanent name. I guess I chose it 1) because I have to admit I LOVE alliteration, 2) because I love books and they are my "palaces" made of "paper". Yeeeah. The cheese just keeps coming.

Well, I think that's all for now. Anything you want to tell me? As Kenneth says, "There's a reason God gave us two ears and one mouth. Listening is more important than talking. But he gave us ten fingers... He must REALLY want us to poke things!"

Yeah, I know. I just quoted a TV show of all things on my blog about BOOKS. Sue me. 

-Calypso