Tomorrow, when the war began movie

I've just found out recently that the book Tomorrow, When the War Began
by John Marsden is to be made into a movie! Filming hasn't started yet, as the movie has just been anounced but apparently Caitlin Stasey (Rachel from Neighbours) is to play Ellie, and Lincoln Lewis (Geoff from Home and Away) are set to play Ellie and Kevin.

You can find the IMDB entry here where they have a little bit of info about the movie and also a forum for questions/comments and news. You can also see some of the cast listed here although most of them aren't listed on IMDB yet so I'm not sure if it's the final list.

For those who don't know Tomorrow, When the War Began follows the journey of Ellie and a group of seven others who band together to fight when Australia is invaded by an unknown enemy. Renowned screenwriter Stuart Beattie, whose credits include Australia and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, will write and direct.

A Reading Meme

I found this meme at Tanzanite's Shelf and Stuff a Historical Fiction blog that I read and thought I'd give it a go. It's part of the 2009 Book Blogger Appreciation Week. Give it a go if you like.

We encourage you to be creative with this!
Please choose one or two questions to answer or try to answer all the questions in five words or less.
Or choose a picture to answer a question!
Brevity is the goal of today!

Do you snack while you read? If so, favorite reading snack?
Sometimes. I like picking at things so rice crackers etc.

Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you?
No I hate marking books. I won't even write my name in it. I just feel like it ruins them and will niggle at me everytime I read it.

How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears?Laying the book flat open?
I'm terrible with this, I dog ear my books and occassionally leave it lying flat open. I've tried to use bookmarks in the past but I just lose them or forget to use them.

Fiction, Non-fiction, or both?
Both, but mostly fiction.

Hard copy or audiobooks?
I prefer hard copies, but I've taken up walking and have tried a couple of audio books which I've found quite good.

Are you a person who tends to read to the end of chapters, or are you able to put a book down at any point?
I can put the book down at any point, I have to read to the top of the next page though.

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop to look it up right away?
No

What are you currently reading?
The White Queen by Philippa Gregory

What is the last book you bought?
The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

Are you the type of person that only reads one book at a time or can you read more than one at a time?
I only read one at a time.

Do you have a favorite time of day and/or place to read?
I love curling up in bed at night and reading before I go to sleep, but I can and do read in other places and at other times.

Do you prefer series books or stand alone books?
I don't mind, either is fine.

Is there a specific book or author that you find yourself recommending over and over?
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

How do you organize your books? (By genre, title, author’s last name, etc.?)
My newest and favourite books go on the top shelf and then I work down from there.

The Ruby Ring review

The Ruby Ring
Diane Haeger
2005
Rating: Good

The Ruby Ring begins in 1520 Rome, a city in mourning for their beloved Raphael Sanzio. Raphael, a mastro painter was well loved in Rome and now lays in state in the Pantheon. Meanwhile a young woman, Margherita Luti seeks refuge in a nearby convent. She, who was born a bakers daughter in a humble neighbourhood on the Tiber, is now an outcast with many powerful enemies. Margherita was Raphael's beloved, his mistress and his model for many of his Madonna paintings. Theirs was a true and lasting love, but now that Raphael is gone the convent is Margherita's only hope for a safe and peaceful life. The Mother Superior finally agrees to allow Margherita to stay, despite her reputation, but with one catch. She must give up the ruby ring she wears, which was given to her by Raphael and the ring that she wore in Raphael's scandalous 'wedding portrait'. As Margherita makes her choice she thinks back over the years she spent with Raphael, and their love.

Despite the slow start, The Ruby Ring is a beautiful love story about two people, from vastly different backgrounds, who were truly and deeply in love. I loved reading about Raphael's passion and the sumptuous era which included characters like Leonardo DaVinci, Michaelangelo, Pope Leo X and more! As I mentioned earlier though, the book did start off slowly and felt like it took a while to read, in comparison to other books. The writing got a little dull in places and the couple a bit over the top in their romance, but it was interesting and enjoyable to read about Rome at that time and the powerful figures who surrounded them.

New to my 'to read pile'

Ah, third time lucky for this post! I've seen quite a few posts around called In my Mailbox where people blog about what books they've received in the mail. I wanted to do a similar thing, but because most of my books don't come in the mail I'm going to post about which books are on my to read pile. These are books that I've either bought or borrowed from my public library.

Bought:
The White Queen by Philippa Gregory
The first in a stunning new series, The Cousins War, is set amid the tumult and intrigue of The War of the Roses. Internationally bestselling author Philippa Gregory brings this family drama to colourful life through its women, beginning with the story of Elizabeth Woodville, the White Queen The White Queen tells the story of a common woman who ascends to royalty by virtue of her beauty, a woman who rises to the demands of her position and fights tenaciously for the success of her family, a woman whose two sons become the central figures in a mystery that has confounded historians for centuries: the Princes in the Tower whose fate remains unknown to this day. From her uniquely qualified perspective, Philippa Gregory explores the most famous unsolved mystery, informed by impeccable research and framed by her inimitable storytelling skills.

Borrowed:
Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson
As the Revolutionary War begins, thirteen-year-old Isabel wages her own fight...for freedom. Promised freedom upon the death of their owner, she and her sister, Ruth, in a cruel twist of fate become the property of a malicious New York City couple, the Locktons, who have no sympathy for the American Revolution and even less for Ruth and Isabel. When Isabel meets Curzon, a slave with ties to the Patriots, he encourages her to spy on her owners, who know details of British plans for invasion. She is reluctant at first, but when the unthinkable happens to Ruth, Isabel realizes her loyalty is available to the bidder who can provide her with freedom. From acclaimed author Laurie Halse Anderson comes this compelling, impeccably researched novel that shows the lengths we can go to cast off our chains, both physical and spiritual.

Magic Flutes by Eva Ibbotson
Spring, 1922 Tessa is a beautiful, tiny, dark-eyed princess - who's given up her duties to follow her heart, working for nothing backstage at the Viennese opera. No one there knows who she really is, or that a fairytale castle is missing its princess, and Tessa is determined to keep it that way. But secret lives can be complicated. When a wealthy, handsome Englishman discovers this bewitching urchin backstage,Tessa's two lives collide - and in escaping her inheritance, she finds her destiny...

River Secrets by Shannon Hale
Razo has never been anything but ordinary. He's not very fast, or tall, or strong, so when he's invited to join an elite mission escorting the ambassador into Tira, Bayern's great enemy, he's sure it's only out of pity. But when they arrive in the strange southern country, it is Razo who finds the first dead body. As they try to learn more from the Tirans about the ever increasing murders, Razo is the only Bayern soldier able to befriend both the high and low born, including the beautiful Lady Dasha. And as Razo finds allies among the Tirans, he realizes that it may be up to him to get the Bayern army safely home again.

The Star of Kazan by Eba Ibbotson
In this award-winning novel, set in pre-World War I Vienna, a young servant girl learns that she is actually an aristocrat whose true home is an ancient castle. There, Annika discovers that all is not as it seems in the lives of her newfound family.

Veronika Decides to Die by Paulo Coelho
In this fable-like novel Veronika decides to kill herself when faced with all that is wrong with the world and how powerless she feels to change anything. Although she survives her initial suicide attempt, she is committed to a mental hospital where she begins to wrestle with the meaning of mental illness and whether forced drugging should be inflicted on patients who don't fit into the narrow definition of "normal." The strength and tragedy of Veronika's fictional story was instrumental in passing new government regulations in Brazil that have made it more difficult to have a person involuntarily committed. Like any great storyteller, Coelho has used the realm of fiction to magically infiltrate and alter the realm of reality.