Summer Reads...

You're Next by Greg Hurwitz- 4 stars ****

This book was a nice change from the stuff I usually read, in that it was a thriller/ horror. It begins by using a 'Then' and 'Now' scenario, to give some background to Mike, the main character. Abandoned as a child, Mike has no idea about his past, or even his real name. Now he is a successful businessman with a family of his own, and has closed off that chapter of his life after years of searching in vain.

However, one day, a mysterious man starts talking to him at a party, and he soon realises that this man knows more about him than he is letting on. Quickly dismissing it, it is not until the talk develops into threats and attacks, that a nightmare ensues. So begins a life on the run, where Mike can trust noone, and has to try and protect his wife and young daughter from the imminent danger that stalks their lives.

The author has a true talent for creating edge of your seat suspense, and when the whole plot unravelled towards the end, I did not see it coming at all. It made reading it all the more worthwhile, as I wanted to find out what would happen so couldn't put it down! It is well written, and captures the relationships between Mike and his family extremely well- I really believed in his pure love for his wife, and the daughter he swears he will never leave as his father did to him.

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants something a bit more taxing on the brain, and a dilemma to work out. A word of caution though, if like me you live alone, you may not want to read this in the dead of night as I did!

Inspired by escapism

The Many Faces Of Skye McKinty (part 2)

The woman, I later found out to be named Brenda, assured me that all men are stupid sometimes, and he’d come after me if he knew what was good for him. I thought this was rather an ambitious promise to make someone she’d been chatting with for barely thirty minutes.

For the remainder of the train journey I conjured up some extra gems of information. It seemed that once I began, I just couldn’t bring myself to say anything that related to my real life.

“So now I’m going to have to go to the wedding alone.” I finished, after a particularly imaginative tangent. At this point Brenda had turned in her seat to face me, and was nodding with a look of sheer sympathy in her eyes.

“Well, at least you can dance with the best man now without feeling guilty, that’s what the bridesmaids are supposed to do aren’t they?” She sighed, signalling that she was desperately clutching for the next positive thing to say about being single. “And I’m sure your sister will have kept the receipt for the suit he was going to wear. Men have loads of friends, so I’m sure they’ll find another usher without a problem, you shouldn’t worry about it.”

The food trolley came around, and Brenda insisted on buying me a cup of tea, apparently with the aim of cheering me up. She offered me a sweet from a packet she had in her handbag, and proceeded to tell me about the first boyfriend who had dumped her, and all the good it did her to, “Finally get shot of him”. It certainly perked up the train ride.

I appreciated the turn of conversation onto her, as I had begun to realise how difficult it was to be convincing when lying for a while. It gave me a new admiration for husbands that had affairs behind their partners’ backs. If you can call it admiration.

The familiar next stop announcement rang out through the carriage. “Well, this is me.” I stood; ready to lug my bag onto the platform. I was surprised, and a little shocked, when Brenda got up as well. She placed her arms around me in a loose hug, thrusting the remaining bag of sweets into my hand. “For the journey back home,” she said with a smile, and sat back into her seat. “It was lovely meeting you, best of luck with your sister’s wedding. And your future, of course. Don’t let him come crawling back!” I nodded, and then walked to the door, my hand sliding slightly on the rail as the train jolted to a stop.

It was once I’d got home, and was back in my usual spot lying on my bed staring at the ceiling, that I actually considered what I’d done. I could bump into Brenda anywhere, and the whole scenario would backfire on me. It had given me a huge rush though. I had found myself almost believing the untruths I was spinning at the time.

It appeared that there could be benefits for others that came from making up stories too. It probably made Brenda feel good to offer some personal advice, even if it did cost her £1.20. She would go home, safe in the knowledge that her jewels of wisdom had been planted in an impressionable mind, and then perhaps go back and relive past memories of her exes, laughing at her naivety. Where is the harm in faking a personality for an hour, if it results in tea and sympathy?

Realistically, I knew I would have to plan these things if I were to do the same again, and I’d have to be selective with how far I pushed my stories, as I couldn’t have them getting too similar. I would need to check train routes and times so that the same people weren’t likely to be around. I would change certain aspects of how I looked each time, so that even if someone did happen to be in the same place twice, it wouldn’t be obvious straight away. I’d start listening in to other people’s stories and twist them, or peruse gossip magazines for morsels that I could manipulate into something useable. There would be no hint of the real me, that nondescript twenty one year old from my party.

So began a dangerous habit.

Weekly Update!

Sun, Cupcakes & Frisbee!

This week was my first proper week back at uni since Easter. It has been awesome catching up with everyone, and the weather for once has been lovely!

On Monday after a gloriously unproductive day, Chris came to mine for tea, and we had pork steaks with pasta salad and guacamole- it was delicious, and nice and light for a warm summery day. On Tuesday I walked into town to run a few errands, before going onto campus to use the gym (though I was still aching from Saturday's session!) and then in the evening I chilled out in front of the telly before catching an early night.

Wednesday was a lovely day, as I went to watch The Hangover Part II, followed by a Yummy Cupcake Company visit (white chocolate and raspberry if you were interested) and then in the evening all my friends came round and I made a huge lasagne with garlic bread for us all to munch on. It was a late and rather drunken evening, which was a great way for me to catch up on everything I've been missing in Lancaster.

On Thursday I slept in quite late, and after washing up the mountains of dishes from the previous night, settled down for an Apprentice marathon, as I hadn't seen any of this series so far. Another nice lazy day, as I was making the most of not feeling guilty about revising due to my exams still being a week away.

I gymmed again on Friday, before meeting my dad and his friends who had come up to visit for the day/ night. One drink in the Pendle Witch with them then turned into a bar crawl from there to Yate's, The George and Dragon, The Water Witch and ended with shot sticks in Revolution. We had a cheeseboard and wine in The Water Witch which was amazing, and it was only £12.95 for 3 big wedges of cheese, tomato chutney and homemade bread and butter, so not bad considering it fed 5 people.

Yesterday I wandered home from Chris' (I'd had to stay there as all the beds were taken in my house!) and then after a quick change I went to sit on the University of Cumbria field with some friends in the sun. We had a little makeshift picnic, played a bit of frisbee, and I managed to get a nice little tan going! In the evening I tagged along to a friend of a friend's birthday night out, as I wanted to enjoy my last weekend of freedom before revision kicked in. They had a strange oxygen bar in Sugarhouse, which although I tried, I have to say wasn't too impressive.

Today I've been rather hungover in bed, but I'm looking forward to a nice chicken casserole and some roasties later on when Chris is coming to stay. You can't beat a bit of comfort food to perk you up the day after a night out!

Summer Views...

The Hangover Part II- 4 stars ****

I loved the first Hangover film, and so when I heard they were making a sequel, I was eager to get straight to the cinema when it was released. I had heard from a few people that it was pretty much a repeat of the original, but that didn't put me off.

This time it is dentist Stu (Ed Helms) who is getting married. After all plans of a bachelor party are quashed by the groom, the group head across the water to Thailand, where the wedding is taking place. Having been persuaded by the group to invite Alan (Zach Galifianakis) to the event, who caused the chaos in the first film by spiking the men's drinks, Stu is relieved when everything seems to be going swimmingly. Two nights before the ceremony, all the boys go for a few drinks around a fire on the beach.

The following morning Stu, Alan and Phil (Bradley Cooper) wake up in an apartment, missing Doug (Justin Bartha) and the bride's teenage brother Teddy (Mason Lee), and with the addition of a facial tattoo for Stu, and a shaved head for Alan. They have no recollection of the night, and it soon becomes apparent that Alan has been up to his old tricks again. So begins a crazy trip around Bangkok in order to piece together their lost night, and recover those missing from the group.

In this way, it is similar to the first film, but that is not to say that there is a lack of comedy or action in any way. I definitely think that the shock factor has been played upon in this film, as it is ruder, cruder and more X-rated than its predecessor, and it is this coupled with the same screenwriters that make this such a good watch. The acting is second to none, with familiar faces such as Mr Chow (Ken Jeong) providing a great majority of the hilarious moments, and newbies such as Paul Giamatti adding a more serious tone to the piece. At the end a guest appearance by Mike Tyson really puts the icing on the (wedding) cake. Not for the prudish, but great for a laugh-a-minute night in.