Top 10 Tuesday – November 15th, 2016

Happy Tuesday, everyone! It’s time for another Top 10 Tuesday list. This is an original weekly blog meme created over at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week, there is a new bookish topic for bloggers to create a list about. If you want to know more about Top 10 Tuesday, click here!

This week’s Top 10 Tuesday topic is a movie freebie, so I’ve chosen to do my top ten favorite movies of all time. As well as being a major book lover, I am also quite a big film lover. And though there are tons of newer films I love, I am a particular big old movie fan. Even though it’s incredibly difficult to narrow down my list, I absolutely love sharing my favorite movies with people and hearing what theirs are (and fangirling over common favorites!). So this post is going to be a bit less bookish today, and more of a personal, get to know me type post! 🙂

The Birdcage

This has to go on the list as my number one favorite movie of all-time. This movie is a classic to me and my family. Watching this every year (or multiple times a year, really!) when my aunt and uncle are in town has been a long-standing tradition in our family, and it was a sort of “rite of passage” thing when I was old enough to watch it with them for the first time. It is absolutely hilarious, and even though I’ve watched it a thousand times, I will never get tired of it!

Back to the Future

This is another movie that I can watch over and over again and never get tired of. I fell in love with this movie (or the whole trilogy, actually) when I was a little kid, and it has been a huge favorite of mine ever since.

To Kill a Mockingbird

I’m sure none of you are surprised by this one! My favorite book of all-time and, of course, one of my favorite movies. It is a brilliant adaptation of the novel—very faithful to the story—and the casting is top notch.

Little Miss Sunshine

This movie. Words cannot express how much I adore this movie. So many feels. ❤

It’s a Wonderful Life

This is my absolute favorite Christmas film. Not only is it an incredible movie in general, but it is also such a unique tale for the holiday season. While it has an ultimately happy ending, it’s quite a dark story overall. This has been a long-time favorite of mine, ever since I was a little kid.

Rear Window

I am a MAJOR Hitchcock fan and a MAJOR Jimmy Stewart fan, so of course, this is one of my favorite films of all time. Fantastic cast, fantastic and gripping storyline—I just love this movie. Never gets old!

Rebecca

Again, another Hitchcock favorite and another book to movie adaptation, though I have yet to read the novel. It’s the perfect mix of dark, mysterious, and romantic, with another stellar cast.

The Lego Movie

Everything is awesome…about this movie (heh…see what I did there?)! This is such an adorable, hilarious, fantastically quotable movie and I have been completely obsessed with it since I first saw it. Such a fun and feel-good movie.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Okay, so really every single Harry Potter film is a favorite movie of mine, but this is my all-time favorite from the series. I’ve said before, from what I typically hear, I think I’m in the minority with this one, but Chamber of Secrets has always been my favorite of both the films and books (and the videogames!)!

The Avengers

This one was so difficult to choose because I absolutely adore every Marvel movie ever (or at least every Marvel Studios/recent Marvel character movie ever). But after much thought, I had to choose The Avengers because it is the film that reinvigorated by love of Marvel from when I was a little kid. And even though I don’t think it is the absolute best of the recent films they’ve made, it has a very fond place in my heart. I will always completely adore this movie! ❤

What are some of your favorite movies (book related or otherwise)? Do we have any top favorites in common? Let me know in the comments!

 

The Harry Potter Tag

I was tagged to do the Harry Potter Tag by the lovely Kai from Black Cat Kai. Thank you so much for the tag, Kai! Make sure to stop by and check out her blog! 😀

This awesome tag and all of the corresponding art was created by two fantastic book bloggers—Lashaan and Trang from Bookidote. The only rule of the tag: you cannot use Harry Potter books for any of your answers.

Let’s get this tag started!

A book where you found the theme interesting, but you’d like to rewrite it.

The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone by Adele Griffin

The concept of the novel was incredibly interesting—it was intended to be formatted in a way that was sort of like found footage movies, but in book form. That style, along with a plot focusing on a murder mystery while making a commentary on celebrity culture, should have theoretically made for a great novel. However, there was no mystery, the characters felt too much like stereotypical caricatures, and the text itself was like reading paperwork. I’d definitely rewrite this to fix those elements. Click here to check out my full review of The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone!

The first book in a series that got you hooked.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I haven’t read all that many series so far in my life, and since I can’t use Harry Potter here, that narrows my list even further! However, The Hunger Games immediately comes to mind here because it was the first series I really got excited about after Harry Potter ended. I absolutely devoured this book, and it quickly made this one of my all-time favorite trilogies!

A book you wish you could have right now.

Heartless by Marissa Meyer

This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab

I can’t decide between the two—I’m so excited for both. Not only are these books by two of my auto-buy authors, the stories themselves sound absolutely fantastic. I need them in my hands ASAP!

A killer book. Both senses. Take it as you like.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Well, doesn’t this just fit here perfectly! Seriously, this book is killer. It’s by far the most captivating, well-written, and brilliantly plotted book I’ve ever read. Click here to check out my full review of Gone Girl!

A book that you found really confusing.

The Boy with the Cuckoo-Clock Heart by Mathias Malzieu

I read this a couple of years ago and to this day I’m still not certain how I felt about it. The concept for the plot was intriguing, but the actual execution of it was not the smoothest. I found that the story jumped around far too much, making it choppy and hard to follow. On top of that, it at times felt like the author was unsure of where he wanted the story to go. Overall, it unfortunately ended up being a jumbled and unsatisfying read.

Your spirit animal book.

Vicious by V.E. Schwab

Is anyone surprised by this? 😀 My brain is essentially solely comprised of superheroes and supervillains, so this book is everything a nerd like me ever wanted and more. Morally ambiguous characters are my favorite to both read and write about, as well as the intriguing psychology elements that inevitably come into a plot along with them. Between the vivid characters, fascinating storyline, and stellar writing, there is no doubt in my mind that Vicious is my spirit animal! Click here to check out my full review of Vicious!

A dark, twisted book.

Alice by Christina Henry

I absolutely love reading dark stories and have read tons over the years, but this is definitely the darkest and most twisted one I’ve come across so far. If you enjoy those kinds of book though, I would highly recommend it because it was fantastic! I will actually have a full review of this up on here one day, I promise!

A book that surprised you in a great way, reveals to be more than it is.

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

Whenever I think of books that surprised me, this instantly comes to mind. I was expecting a much different type of story than what it turned out to be, and I think that made me love it even more. There are so many layers, so much complexity in what is an outwardly simple and straightforward story. It is a remarkably beautiful piece of literature. Click here to check out my full review of A Monster Calls!

Heather @ The Sassy Book Geek

Anna @ My Bookish Dream

Ashleigh @ A Frolic Through Fiction

Jessica @ The Awkward Book Blogger

Yasmin and Paige @ The Wild Readers

Kayla @ Bookedsolid1989

The Orang-utan Librarian

Emma @ The Terror of Knowing

Michelle @ The Sapphire

Top 5 Wednesday – April 20th, 2016

Top 5 Wednesday was created by Lainey at Gingerreadslainey. Every week, book reviewers all over the world are given a bookish topic and respond with their top 5 books (or elements of books) that relate to that topic. Click here for the Goodreads group if you would like to learn more about Top 5 Wednesday and join in!

This week’s Top 5 Wednesday topic is the top five books that you’re intimidated by. Though I am an avid reader that will gladly read (almost) anything you hand to me, I get intimidated by books fairly easily. This never prevents me from picking up the books and giving them a go, it just makes me put them off for ages. Most times, my fear is caused by the length of the novel. I’m a relatively slow reader who loves fantasy and sci-fi, which can by a problematic combination, at least for me! Hype surrounding novels can also make me nervous, and since I take forever to get around to popular series, this is a major issue for me as well. And of course, let’s not forget about the potential of massive quantities of feels…

Okay, let’s get into that list! 😀

5. Under the Dome by Stephen King

Two words: Page. Count. 1000+ pages definitely freaks me out, even if it is a book by an author I love. Also, the copy I have to read is my dad’s hardcover edition, which (probably due to the troubles I have lifting it up!) is psyching me out even more. I’m very interested in both this novel and the television series, having heard fantastic things about both. I may have to get a copy on Kindle—that might help…

4. The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson

I find the entire Mistborn series pretty daunting, but actually less so than the other series I have on this list. This intimidation comes purely from page count. Based on what I know about these novels, I have a feeling that I will not have a difficult time actually getting into the story and the writing. I am determined to get through at least this first book before the end of the year. Now if I can just find the time…

3. The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

Once again, I must address my shame at never having read any Tolkien books or seen any of The Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit films. I intend to finally fix the film part this year, as well begin reading the LOTR trilogy, but I definitely feel intimidated. I’m certain that I will love it—I can’t imagine not adoring these stories! But I still feel pressure since these are such well-loved classics. To be honest, I’m also pretty nervous about trying to remember everyone’s names as well!

2. A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

All right, so I’m intimidated by this entire series, but I’ll just stick with the first one for now since I haven’t even gotten through that yet! I’ve already started watching the television show (which I know is a bad book nerd move!), and I absolutely love it, so I’m sure that I will enjoy these books. They are definitely worth the time and effort…but that page quantity though. Since I’ll be traveling a bit this summer, I figured that might be a good time to get started. I am going to feel so accomplished when I finally finish this series (or at least what’s been released)!

1. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

This is right up my alley in terms of subject matter, but holy page count, Batman! My main concern is that this novel might be hard to get into, which is more likely to discourage me with a book this size. Nevertheless, if everything I have heard about this book is true, it is certainly worth the read!

What are some books that have intimidated you guys? Do we have any in common? Are there any books that you were nervous to pick up but ended up loving? Let me know down in the comments!

-Ariana

Top 5 Wednesday – February 10th, 2016

Top 5 Wednesday was created by Lainey at Gingerreadslainey. Every week, book reviewers all over the world are given a bookish topic and respond with their top 5 books (or elements of books) that relate to that topic. Click here for the Goodreads group if you would like to learn more about Top 5 Wednesday and join in!

This week’s Top 5 Wednesday topic is the top five books you were spoiled for. I actually had a fair amount of trouble thinking up books for this list today, which I guess is a good thing! This got me thinking about spoilers and how they affect me and my reading experience (or viewing experience with movies and TV shows). I have come to the realization that they don’t really bother me all that much. Sure, I definitely prefer avoiding them, but I’ve never felt like they have ever completely ruined my personal experience with the content.

I would also like to thank Lainey for giving me a shoutout in her video today. It was incredibly kind of you to do that, and it completely made my day; I haven’t stopped smiling since I saw it! And to everyone who has come over from her video, welcome! Thank you so much for stopping by and checking out my posts, and for all the follows as well. You guys rock! 😀 ❤

So, without further ado, here are a few books that I was spoiled for prior to reading them. Side note, I will not be revealing any of the specific points of these novels that I was spoiled on. In fact, for a couple of these, if you have read them, you will probably know exactly what those plot points were!

5. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

As you are about to see, many of the books I’ve been spoiled on—actually maybe all of them—are due to the fact that I am insanely slow getting around to popular novels. Gone Girl falls into that category, as I only just read it last year. For this one, I was accidently spoiled on arguably the most important plot point of the entire novel by overhearing people talking about it. It was unavoidable, and though I do wish I could find out what my reaction to this story would have been without knowing anything ahead of time, it absolutely did not ruin my experience. I completely adored this novel—it was one of my favorite reads of last year. And I’m fairly certain I acquired a Gillian Flynn addiction in the process…

4. A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

Okay, so this one was entirely my fault. I still have not read this book yet—though I do intend to begin the series this year—so obviously, I’m quite late to the party with this one. Not only have I been massively spoil due to…well…the Internet, I have also already started watching the television series. However, the spoilers have not ruined my viewing experience with the show, and I’m sure it will be the same way with the novels. I’m going to enjoy getting to dive into these stories for myself no matter what!

3. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

This is another one that was entirely my fault. This was always an option on reading lists for school and, though I kept meaning to choose it, I never actually got around to it. In fact, I just read it for the first time last month (and absolutely loved it, not surprisingly!). So, not only was I spoiled on a few bits just from the fact that I took so long to get around to reading it, but I may or may not have also gone to see the movie beforehand… I know, I know! Bad Ari! My excuse is that my best friend was home visiting and wanted us to go see it together. I blame her! 😀

2. The Legend Trilogy by Marie Lu

Specifically, I was spoiled on some important plot points in the second novel and the end of the final novel. However, this once again did not at all ruin my enjoyment of this trilogy. I accidently read this spoiler, just after finishing Legend, in a review that did not have a spoiler alert on it. This is one of the best examples I can give for this topic because I was genuinely upset and rather disappointed when I learned of this plot point. I was worried that it would end up negatively affecting my enjoyment of the novels, but thankfully that has so far not been the case at all.

1. Allegiant by Veronica Roth

I feel like this one is going to be on a lot of people’s lists today. This was another combination of me taking forever to read a popular series and being a book nerd with access to the Internet. Now, Allegiant is the only one that I’ve not yet read, and at this point I am unsure if I am going to. This actually has very little to do with the spoilers and more to do with the fact that I just really did not enjoy Insurgent when I read it last year. I do hate leaving series unfinished and I feel bad because I absolutely loved Divergent, so those things may sway me toward finishing this last book one day.

How much do spoilers tend to affect your reading experience? What books have you been spoiled for? Let me know in the comments (but remember…no spoilers! 😀 )!

-Ariana

The Autumn Book Tag

Winter is coming (Sorry! Had to!) and my favorite season of the year is drawing to a close. So, to finish off the season, I thought it would be fun to reflect back on the best parts of autumn! I was tagged by Windie at Geek Apprentice to do The Autumn Book Tag. Thank you so much, Windie, for the tag! 🙂

What is your favorite thing about autumn?

I love the weather being cool but not freezing, making it perfect for cozy sweaters and boots. And I love the changing leaves and beautiful colors. And pumpkins…I love pumpkins!

What book reminds you of your school days?

Once again, I’m going to have to bring up my favorite novel because To Kill a Mockingbird is the novel that reminds me the most of my school days. It was a book that I, like many people, discovered through school and it is by far one of the best books I have ever read. After studying it for the first time in middle school, I ended up reading this book at least once a year every year following that.

What cover reminds you of autumn?

Beastly Bones by William Ritter – I love the nice warm color scheme of this cover, and the contrast between it and the cooler color scheme of Jackaby. And let me just say (for the millionth time), this series’ covers are insanely beautiful!

What is your favorite horror or Halloween story?

My all-time favorite horror story is The Shining by Stephen King. This is one of the most incredible and terrifying horror stories ever, and it was the only novel I have ever read that has come anywhere close to actually scaring me. I very highly recommend giving this a read if you have not!

What is your favorite horror or Halloween film?

As always, I can’t choose just one! Related to the last answer, my favorite horror “film” is The Shining, but the miniseries version with Steven Weber, not the actual movie version. My favorite Halloween film, on the other hand, is Hocus Pocus!

What fall book release are you looking forward to?

 

All of the fall book releases I have been looking forward to have already come out. However, I have not yet had a chance to read most of them, so the fall release that I am most looking forward to reading is Winter by Marissa Meyer. I feel like this is definitely many people’s most anticipated fall release, and I am so excited to read this and see how the series wraps up. A very close second would be Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo; it sounds fantastic!

What autumn movie release are you anticipating?

  

I have been slacking off on my movie watching, so I have not yet had a chance to see any of my most anticipated autumn releases. However, the ones that I am most excited for (and hoping to see soon) are Spectre, Mockingjay, and The Peanuts Movie.

What are the three books you plan to read this autumn?

Since autumn is ending very soon, I figured I would list the three books that I am definitely planning to finish before the end of the year. Chances are I will finish some or all of these in autumn! 🙂

  

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Vicious by V.E. Schwab

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

I Tag:

Everyone who is reading this and wants to do it! 🙂 If you do, please link me to your post so I can check it out!

-Ariana

Top 10 Tuesday – November 10th, 2015

Happy Tuesday, everyone! It’s time for another Top 10 Tuesday list. This is an original weekly blog meme created over at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week, there is a new bookish topic for bloggers to create a list about. If you want to know more about Top 10 Tuesday, click here!

First of all, I would like to start out by thanking everyone who has been liking and commenting on my posts and following my blog these past few months. I have just passed 100 followers this week and I am completely astonished, and thankful for each and every one of you! Thank you for taking the time out of your day to visit and read my posts. In just a short period of time, I have already met so many incredible and lovely people to nerd out about books with! You are all absolutely fantastic and amazing and awesome! 🙂 ❤

Now, time for today’s list! This week’s Top 10 Tuesday topic combines two of my greatest passions: books and film! The topic is the top ten book to movie adaptations you’re looking forward to or the top ten book to movie adaptations you still need to watch. The two things that I am worst at keeping up with are my “to be read” list and my “to be watched” list! So even though I have a number of upcoming book to movie adaptations that I am looking forward to, I thought I should do something a little different for my list today.

I ended up choosing five book to movie adaptations I still need to watch and five book to movie adaptations where I have watched the film but still have to read the book. So without further ado, I will take myself on a little TBR and TBW guilt trip!

Click on the pictures for links to either the IMDb or Goodreads pages.

Top 10 Book To Movie Adaptations I Still Need To Watch

1. Gone Girl

 

If you’ve read any of my other posts I’m sure you know that I almost always manage to mention this book somehow! This has become one of my favorite novels and I can’t believe I haven’t watched this yet. It’s at the top of my to be watched list for sure.

2. Mockingjay (Part One)

 

This is another one I can’t believe I haven’t gotten around to watching yet, since this is one of my favorite book and film series of all time. I definitely need to get caught up before the last one comes out (which could also technically be on this list, but I have a much better excuse for not having seen that one!).

3. The Martian

 

Now, I’ve not actually read this book yet but I desperately want to, and I really want to see the film as well. I’ve been hearing nothing but fantastic things about both, and I am so eager to see what I think of this story.

4. Divergent

 

I read Divergent last year and loved it, but I missed it when it was in theaters and I’ve still not yet had a chance to sit down and watch it. I also have not yet seen Insurgent, but I figured I would list this one since it’s the first. I definitely plan on watching both and catching up pretty soon.

5. Hugo

 

I read The Invention of Hugo Cabret last year and absolutely loved it. I have never seen the film Hugo and I didn’t know much about it, so it took me far too long to figure out that this was related to the book! I’ve heard great things about this movie, so I’m interested to see what it’s like.

Top 10 Book To Movie Adaptations I’ve Seen But Still Need To Read

1. The Book Thief

 

I went to see this with my best friend back when it first came out and completely adored it; this is an utterly incredible and beautiful film. I have already mentioned many times my intense book guilt over not having read this yet, and I do also feel pretty guilty for having watched the movie first. But I will read this soon, I promise!

2. The Hundred-Foot Journey

 

I went to see The Hundred-Foot Journey when it was in theaters, and it was magnificent; one of the best films I saw last year. I actually didn’t realize that it was a novel until afterward, and I was extremely excited to find that out. I cannot wait to read this and experience the story all over again. And if you have not seen this film yet, I would very highly recommend it!

3. Rebecca

 

This movie. Oh my goodness, this movie! One of my favorites of all time. I cannot even count the amount of times I have watched this, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. It’s taken me far too long, but I’ve finally picked up a copy of this novel, and I definitely intend to read it some time next year.

4. Misery

 

Misery is my favorite Stephen King film adaptation and one of my favorite films in general. I saw this for the first time many years ago and yet I have still not read the book! This is the novel that my dad, a massive Stephen King fan, is always recommending to me, and it will definitely be my next Stephen King read.

5. A Tale of Two Cities

 

I have a major dilemma with Charles Dickens: I love his stories but do not enjoy reading them. I think this film (specifically the Ronald Colman version) is fantastic, and I feel the same of every adaptation I have seen of his other works, such as A Christmas Carol and Great Expectations; they are some of my favorite films/stories. Now, I will admit, it has been quite a few years since I last read one of his novels, so I do intend to give this and some of his other novels and short stories another try at some point. I am hoping now that I’m older and my reading taste has matured, I will find it easier to get through his work.

There you have it! I am definitely feeling the book/film guilt! What book to movie adaptations do you still need to watch? Which ones have you seen but not read? Are there any new ones you are particularly looking forward to in the coming year? Let me know in the comments!

-Ariana