1. Bounce by Natasha Friend
I have read Lush, and Perfect both by Natasha Friend, I am really obsessed with her. Sure, her books are really short, but they are extremely good. I was especially impressed with Lush, which is about a girl who’s dad is an alcoholic and getting out of control. I can connect to this, and this novel made me cry 4 times. I read twice in one day, and I wanted to read it a third time. I couldn’t get enough of it. Perfect is about a girl my age with an eating disorder, and it was really eye opening, and it made me not want to be self contious(sp?). Anyway, I’m not even really sure what Lush is about, but Natasha Friend really captivates what it’s like to be a girl my age, and her novels are extremely touching.

2. Burned by P.C and Kristen Cast
Burned is the 7th or 8th book in the House Of Night series. I love these books. I’m not really big on vampire books, but P.C and Kristen have an interesting take on vamps. Instead of bitten, they are marked, and they go to a school of vampires basicaly to teach them of living life as a vamp and through the eyes of their Godess Nyx. Only a lot happens, and they are just really, really, reallllyyyyy good.

3. Can You Keep A Secret? by Sophie Kinsella
Sophie Kinsella is my favourite author when it comes to easy, hilarious books. I’ve read every other book by her (The Confessions of A Shopoholic books, Remember Me?, The Undomestic Goddess, and Twenties Girl) and they were all laugh out loud funny. I’m also waiting for Minnie Shopoholic to come out, which is a book about Becky Bloomwood from the Shopoholic novels daughter.

4. Captivate by Carrie Jones
This is the sequal to the novel Need. Need blew my mind. I picked up the book expecting it to be like Twilight (not good) but it was different. Pixies?! Who writes about pixies? Carrie Jones apparently. And she does a damn good job too. A fantasy novel about pixies, and wares, mixed with the whole highschool sucks theme, and a bit of romance in there, who wouldn’t want to read Need? Need was so good, I can’t not read the sequal.

5. City Of Bones by Cassandra Clare
While reading reviews for the novel Hush, Hush (which should also be on this list, but it wouldn’t let me upload the picture…so I guess I’ll just wait until next time), I found a link to this book, and during the first sentence of the summary, I was interested. I know nothing about this novel except for the fact that people get murdered, and some how it’s a fantasy novel. I like.

6. Classic by Cecily Von Zeigesar(sp?)
The next book in the girly Gossip Girl spinoff, The It Girl. These novels focus on Jenny from Gossip Girl at her new school, and I love them. I liked Gossip Girl, but I LOVE these. Just another funny, girly book so I don’t have to read anything of actual substance

7. For Keeps by Natasha Friend
Another Natasha Friend, novel. Pretty much self explanitory. This one is about a girl with family issues, and boy problems, only the cover doesn’t follow the same theme as the others, so I’m expecting something different. Interesting, though. Can’t wait to read it!

8. Liar
I’m not even going to bother with the author’s name. Her last name is way to complicated. Anyway, I’m doing this for my novel study, and I am very excited to read this. It’s about a girl who lies, and when her so-called boyfriend (which she may be lying about) dyes, she is blamed. Only while reading this book you don’t know what is truth and what isn’t. Ahhh, it sounds like such a good book! I’m going to buy it this weekend

9. The Other Side Of The Island by Allegra Goodman
I found this book on the dining room table, and just the cover caught my eye. I asked my mom about it, and she was like “READ IT, IT’S AMAZING!” and my mommy usually has a pretty good taste in books. By the sounds of it, it seems kind of like The Uglies, only I think it takes place now, and on an island where everything is perfect, and everybody fits in. So it has the whole a perfect world wouldn’t work, kinda theme you know? Anyway, I’m going to start it tonight.

10. Perfect Mistake by Kate Brian
The third book in The Privilege series, which is a spinoff to the Private novels, which I’ve never read. But these are really, really good books. They are about a girl who was in a mental facility, and long story short, escapes and  kills a girl and pretends to be her. Only a lot of stuff happens.

11. Purge by Sarah Littman
I found this book in the Library a couple weeks ago, and it reminded me of Perfect by Natasha Friend. I didn’t end up getting it, because I had signed out like 8 books, and I only have so much time to read them all. Anyway, its about a  bulemic(sp?) girl who brings herself to a treatment facility, and it’s about her journey to getting healthy again.

12. Winter Girls by Laurie Halse Anderson
I really liked Speak, and Twisted by Laurie, so I just have to read this one. Not all her books grab my attention, but this one does. I’m not positive, but I think it’s about a girl who’s best friend dies or something. But I really want to read it.

So, yeah…this is what I am going to read probably from now until the end of May. I read a lot, and really fast, so who knows. Whoever reads this post, please comment if you’ve read any of these, and tell me what you think! It’s pretty late…so I think I’m going to get to bed, and read a bit of The Other Side Of The Island. I’ll update on which of these I have, and haven’t read. Ahbuhbye!

*I do not own any of these images.

Anyway, I think I’ll talk a bit about the lyrics in Music Stops. I wrote these lyrics, and if you listen to them you’ll actually find they are fairly depressing.

Music Stops by The Troll Bridge

Verse 1: Over, over, over, over
again, again, again, again,
You think I don’t know what your doing
So I’ll just pretend.
The lies are killing me,
the way you say that it’s okay
the time you’ve spent acting all normal
One day you just run away.

Chorus 1: The music stops
And I try to say
But you won’t
hear me.
Thats right,
I won’t fight
I just don’t
Understand.

Verse 2: Going, going, going, going
Needing more and more and more
Wanting nothing else but to go all out
and lose some more.
I’m sick of hearing you,
Saying that you’ll be alright
But I know that your not trying
yes or no it’s now or never

Chorus 1: The music stops
And I try to say
But you won’t
hear me.
Thats right,
I won’t fight
I just don’t
Understand.

(Guitar bridge)

Chorus 1: The music stops
And I try to say
But you won’t
hear me.
Thats right,
I won’t fight
I just don’t
Understand.

Verse 3: You know that you have the power
You know you can make it better
And I know that you can stop
ruining your life,
Forever.
I know that you’ve tried before
And I know you have failed
but I know with determination
You can go, and you won’t bail.

Chorus 2: In a trance
The time of your life
Thats not, true.
I know that
You’ll do it again
‘Cause not all is great
And life’s not a dance.

So those are the lyrics. I generally don’t write about nothing, my songs, stories, poems, anything all have meaning. This song in particular is about my sister and her drug addiction and alcoholism. It’s about how sometimes I don’t feel like I have complete faith in her recovery, and my permanent fear that she’ll relapse. It’s about how sometimes I feel like its my job to stop her when I can, and its about me telling myself and her telling me that everything is okay, when it’s not. But it’s also about how when she does try, she does great.

I used to be afraid to tell people about my sister. But I know when I talk about, even just breifly like I did there. She hasn’t heard this song yet, but when she does, if she listens to the lyrics I think she’ll realize that its about her, and it’ll effect her greatly.

Actually, right now, she’s doing awesome and I’m not worried. There hasn’t been a problem in a long time and I’m extremely proud of my older sister.

This has nothing to do with the lyrics, but the third verse might sound sloppy as well because it was a last minute change to the melody. So I didn’t really know how to sing it…but yeah…

I think I’ll post more about my lyrics more often. But I don’t write everything. Maddy writes alot of the songs, and theres a few we’ve done together as a band.

www.myspace.com/thetrollbridge

“My name is Maddie, or Cadet Bateman. I love making, studying, and watching movies/listening to music, and I hate led and bleach.” And then everyone looked at me funny, because they all had things like “I hate dogs” or one girl said “I  hate lonely people” and I just said like, two inanimate objects. Loooool. Anyway, its Valentines Day today which is both good, and kind of depressing. But…I’m going to call Holly right now, and ask if she wants to hang out today, because I’m hoping she gets just as bored as me.

www.youtube.com/TheTrollBridge
www.youtube.com/wonkydonkeyfilms
www.myspace.com/TheTrollBridge
www.wix.com/thetrollbridge/the-troll-bridge

Anyway, here is our track list for the demo CD

1. Claustrophobic
2. Forgive and Forget
3. Music Stops
4. Can’t You Say
5. Nobody’s Listening
6. Tearless Goodbye
7. Claustrophobic Acoustic

And we are planning on covering PoP! from Music and Lyrics because it’s the most amazing song in the world, but I don’t think thats going on there. Those are all original songs, btw, the only ones we need to work on are Nobody’s Listening, and Music Stops.

The Troll Bridge is unique, because not only do we use the obvious intruments: both Acoustic and Electric guitar, bass, and well, vocals but also tons of different kinds of precussion, woodwind instruments like flute, and clarinet, we have some piano and we are experminenting with synth.

The Troll Bridge is: (or is it are?)

Maddie:
Vocals, and occasional piano/synth, and clarinet (the clarinet hasn’t happened yet but it will, lol) and various precussion (shaker and whatnot)

Holly:
Bass and various precussion (shaker and whatnot)

Maddy:
Guitar, and occasional flute (and she helps with the piano and stuff) and various precussion (shaker and whatnot) 

All song lyrics are written by The Troll Bridge except for Forgive and Forget which are by Maddy and Music Stops which is by moi, lol

YAY, I am officially very happy because I beat Elite Beat Agents on easy, and I’m on the last level on medium. But the last level on medium, is like omg, ridiculous. It’s so hard! I can’t get it right. Always after the second cut scene, I die, and I’ve tried like a million thousand and a half times. It’s really quite depressing. The picture I used from flickrr, and is the characters on medium (only the guy in the middle, the one with the blonde creepy hair changes every difficulty level) and the commander when he says “Agent’s are…GO!” and it’s very amusing. Basically, The Elite Beat Agents are dudes who come and help people when they scream help by dancing. It shows each persons story before you play. And then like, you play. OMG, GUESS WHAT? OUR LADY PEACE IS COMING TO OTTAWA AND THEY ARE GOING TO PLAY ALLLLL OF THE CLUSMY ALBUM, WHICH IS CLEARLY THEIR BEST ONE BECAUSE ITS BEFORE RAINE WENT ALL STUPID AND CHANGED HIS VOICE FOR THE RECORD LABEL. Rawr, rawr, rawr, I HAVE to go. HAVE to. My mom likes them, we should go together. I got a hair cut. It’s rather wonderful, if I do say so myself. I need to change my wardrobe to match though, I’m getting sick of allt eh colourfulness. I need more rockish clothes, because I’m in to that now. Ughhh bored. It’s almost first break, and I have nothing else to write so for the last 5 minutes I’m going to go bug Holly. Toodles!

Anyway, I actually just continued to write this post, because I went to walmart to buy my brother some shirts, and my grandma needed shoes, and then we went to the mall where I bought 10 pairs of socks, and a book. The book is an It Girl novel, which is one of those stupidly easy reads that are completely shallow and also very entertaining. It’s a Gossip Girl spin off. That kinda sums it up. But they are actually reeeeealllllllly good, I swear.

My mp3 player ran out of batteries, and I didn’t bring my charger. And I was like, oh, I won’t bring any CD’s because I have my mp3 player. I’m depressed. Emooooo. Technoligy is depressing. I KNEW I should’ve stuck with CDs. And though I still listen to my CD’s all the time even though I could just use my mp3 player, I still regret falling into the fad. Mp3 players are really useful for walking in stuff though–that I won’t deny. I love mine, because I can walk around with it, and its pocket sized. But I don’t like the idea of them. Cds are collectors items. You get a pretty booklet and everything! But mp3 players just hold hundereds of songs. No CD. No booklet. No pretty pictures . As old school as this sounds, I kinda like diskmans. They don’t fit in your pocket but a purse would do, right? But I still LOVE LOVE LOVE my mp3 player. I just wish the digital stuff wasn’t so…necassary nowadays.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go try and beat Elite Beat Agents.