Top Ten Most Anticipated Releases For 2016

I'm changing it form 'first half of 2016' to the entire 2016. I was struggling to find books (& movies) that are being released in the early half of 2016. I'm also including movies!

1. The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater
The conclusion to the Raven Cycle series. There are certain things that I know will happen in this book that I'm not ready to read. One) Gansey and Blue making out. Okay this one is a more I-wish-it-will-happen. Two) Gansey's death. Three) How everyone will react to his death.

2. The winds of winter by GRR Martin
Now this one does not even have a set publish date. But from most accounts, GRR Martin wants to release it before the 6th season of the HBO TV adaptation. So, hopefully it'll be out around April 2016 *fingers crossed*

3. Fantastic Beast and where to find them
I'm so excited for this movie. When there were news that they planned to make this into a movie, my friend and I freaked out. We. Freaked. Out. And when the teaser trailer came out. OMG. It looks amazing. I'm very excited for it. In case you miss the trailer: here it is. It didn't receive a whole lot of attention cause another Star Wars trailer was released the day before.

4. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story 
Speaking of Star Wars, there's apparently news that there will be a new Star Wars movie every year till whenever. This is the one planned for next year and I'm really really excited for it. The Force Awakens that was just released is amazing. If you haven't seen it, go and watch it!!! It's really good. Rogue One is suppose to fill the gap between the Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. It follows a band of Rebels as steal plans for the Death Star.

5. Bridget Jones's Baby
More Colin Firth? Why, yes please.

6. One would think deep by Claire Zorn
I just finished The Protected by Claire Zorn and it was an amzing contemporary read. I'm so excited for what else Claire Zorn can offer!!! Plus, she's an Australian author! #supportthemaussies

Vivian apple vs. the World by Katie Coyle; a review (of sorts)

Okay, so I just found this sitting in my notes app on my phone. I read it at the start of the year. Here we go:

My thoughts right after finishing Vivian Apple Vs. the World

• Who renames them self Gallifrey?!?!? Like the planet. Okay. Sure Mr. Planet. 
• Harper and Vivian are #friendgoals
• Also, how amazingly strong is Harper. 
• It's 100% totally plausible that people would do some crazy sh*t in the name of God. I'm also 100% terrified.
• OMG Goliath is so comical
• Is the author a socialist? or just very anti capitalism?
• I'm not ecstatic that everything boils down to this one giant evil corporation. 
• Some crazy ass fanatic Christian would have murdered Fick because of his interpretation of the bible. 
• why is the ending so ?????
• Probably going to be a sequel
• I'm probably not going to read it 

In short, the premise of the book is promising. However, the execution leaves something more to be desired. It's very unique though. I haven't come across a story like this one in the YA dystopian genre yet which is impressive considering there's so many recycled plots in said genre. 

I'm terrible

I'm really bad at managing blogging and uni. When there's uni, I just completely neglect my blog whereas when I don't have uni (ie I'm on holidays), I remember my poor abandoned blog. I really really want to try to make consistent posts. Initially, when I decided to start blogging again, I had very unrealistic expectations. I thought I could do two posts a week but that's just not going to happen if I'm being honest. So, I'll aim lower this time with at least one post every fortnight.

Another change that will be happening is that this is not going to be a dedicated book blog anymore. I'll still primarily talk about books as that is my one true love (i'm so sad, i know) but I'll sprinkle in some other cool (in my humble opinion) things as well like maybe my sewing projects, baking, my life, etc. The etc. is added to add an element of mystery, so now you're hooked and you're gonna want to keep on visiting this blog. Boom. Presto. Blog magic.

To get into the hang of blogging again, I'll start with a simple post. I'll catch you guys up on what I've been doing for the past 8 months or so. I'm looking through Carousel to remind myself what I have done....what is this terrible memory of mine.

I am done with second year!!! *pops confetti* There were lots of notes made, lots of studying and an insane amount of chocolate consumed.

I started journalling again. I mean, I have always journalled but in the past few years they weren't as 'artistic', they were just entries with huge chunks of paragraphs. Before, I used to do a lot of doodling and drawing and painting. I made more of a conscious effort to include more drawings/art in my journal. Mainly, I was inspired by the painting class I took in the summer and thejournalclub.tumblr.com.

I read books and visited bookstores. The two bookstore pictured are City Basement Books near Flinders and Book Book at Brunswick.

Many hours were spent on the train. I like taking the train. Yeah, sometimes during rush hour it gets so packed and it's really uncomfortable to be sandwiched between two sweaty men but I enjoy observing the myriad of characters I see on the train. I love telling train stories. If you have any train related stories, please share them ASAP!!!

I also learned how to use the sewing machine!!! And I made things!!! I'm proud of myself!!! I also realised that I love going to the fabric store. Who knew looking at fabrics could bring me such joy?!?! Did I ever envision myself as someone who would love going to fabric stores? No, I did not. But do I regret loving fabric stores? Heck no!!! (my my wallet does though).

I went to the National Gallery with my friends. Art was seen and immersed in. Felt inadequate at the display of such beautiful things, questioned my own ability to create such things. Ultimately, art made me feel lots of things.

Top Ten Characters You'd Like To Check In With

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted over at TheBrokeandtheBrookish!

1. Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.

I just want to know everything about their little family. Is their your house messy or neat? Do their children fight among themselves? What do they do after dinner? What do they talk about during dinner? 

If I remember correctly, Ron runs the joke shop with George. I want to see Ron working, his tongue giving a little click whenever Hugo slips something into his pockets. 

I want to see Hermione at her job, working for the rights of non-human magical creatures. I want to see if Hermione changes her tactics when she deals with the underprivileged because let's be honest -when she was still in Hogwarts her tactics with SPEW were a mess. She kept imposing her idea of what's 'right' without taking into account what the house elves felt. Remember how the house elves stopped cleaning the Gryffindor common room because of Hermione? Yeah..I hope she learns. 

But still, I love both Ron and Hermione to death and would love to see their life post-Hogwarts!

2. Susan from Narnia

The great injustice that is Susan not being able to return to Narnia. So yeah, I want to check in with Susan.

3. Amy and Nick from Gone Girl

Again, I just want to see these two twisted people living their twisted life. And how they deal with bring an innocent baby into their twisted life. 

4. Holden Caulfied from The Catcher in the Rye

How's Holden holding up? Is he doing well? Is he still a patron of strange motels? Does he still watch little kids on the carousel? Is 'phony' still his favourite word? Does he still feel distant from his parents? Is he eating enough? 

5. The boy and his Grandmother from The Witches

If I remember correctly, we left the Boy as a mice with his Grandmother as witch hunters. Doesn't that sound amazing? I just want to follow this duo, an old lady and mouse, hunting witches around the whole world. How crazily amazing is that? 

I'm only doing 5 because in most of them I had two characters as one. What characters would you like to have a little peek into their life post-book?

March

 Left: I got a new coat! Sadly, it's still too warm in Melbourne to wear it. :( Come quick winter!!!

 Middle: this is my favourite pair of socks. I love the colour. It reminds me of rust.

 Right: egg themed nails for easter! 

I also saw some crazily amazing and simultaneously unreal clouds. Honestly, this looks like that opening scene from The Lion King.

How has your March been?

Anyway, Happy Easter!!! Hope you all have a great April!




Also, new Sansa excerpt!!!! Technically happened in April but who cares? New Sansa chapter!!!!

February favourites

Yo guys! I haven't been online much as you may or may not have noticed. I've been studying for a major exam that's due to happen in March. So, that's been taking up all my time pretty much. With the spare time that I have, I choose to spend it watching TV.

Anyway, I decided today to be a chill today. I woke up spending at noon then I went shopping. I got these beautiful books. Then I had nachos for a late lunch. I came home, watched some Friends. Then, I remembered I had a book blog and felt a little guilty so here I am!

When I didn't have my nose buried in some ginormous textbook, I had my nose buried in graphic novels. February was the month of graphic novels. My three favourite books from this month are The Encyclopedia of Early Earth, The Arrival and Seconds. All have beautiful illustrations and colouring.

I enjoy watching movies. I watch a lot of movies in one month. However, I've been obsessing over Kingsman: The Secret Service. Why should you watch this movie? One, Colin Firth. Two, spies. Three, gore. Four, it's freaking funny. 

Another movie that I can't stop thinking about is Birdman: Or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance). To be honest, this movie messed me up. I can't stop thinking about it. This isn't one of my utmost favourite movies ever, I didn't even like it that much it was just meh to me. However, I really can't stop thinking about it which is why it's on here. Maybe I like it more than I am willing to admit.

The soundtrack to my February, and most probably March as well, was/is the soundtrack of The Theory of Everything. The soundtrack is so beautiful. My favourites of it are Cambridge, 1963, Forces of Attraction, The Stairs and The Theory of Everything.

I've been eating lots of dates to curb my cravings for something sweet. Hey, anything that stops me from eating more Picnic bars is a plus in my book.

Other than that, I've watched The Shooting skit by SNL so many times this month. It's so funny. I laugh every time I watch it. February was the month I rediscovered my love for this brilliant skit.

And a special shoutout to online shopping! I haven't done any online shopping, more like adding stuff to my basket, looking at the total, weeping while looking at my bank account cause I'm poor and then closing the tab.

HPMOTW: Favourite Character

Harry Potter Moment of the Week is hosted over at uncorkedthoughts!

This week is a freebie so I decided to tell you guys about my favourite character! My favourite character is hands down Ron Weasley. Ron is quite a popular favourite character but he and all the other Weasleys if we are being honest, seem to be hated quite strongly by a select few in the fandom. Don't ask me why, I can't comprehend their hate... 

But we're not here to discuss about people who hate Ron, we are here today to talk about why I love Ron Bilius Weasley so motherducking much.

1. Stayed at school during Christmas break for his friend that he (at that point in time) has only known for a few months. Let me emphasise that he stayed at school. 
2. Had a broken feet but still stood in between his friend and a presumed psychotic mass murderer. 
3. Ron just defends his friends without a second thought. Another example, when he decided to use that slug spell on Malfoy after he called Hermione a mudblood. 
4. Is really funny. 
5. His flaws are my flaws as well. The insecurity of never measuring up to other people's achievements, the thinking you're never good enough, always being overshadowed....I understood Ron. It was actually kind of scary to read my fears.
6. Loyal to his friends and tries to always be there for his friends.
7. So brave. Spiders are his worst fears but still went with his friend into a place filled with giant spiders. 
8. Just overall a 10/10 friend
9. I like to think of him as the heart of the trio. 
10. I'm just going to repeat again what a great friend Ron is. Ron is the kind of friend I want to have and aspire to be. 

The Arrival by Shaun Tan (review)

I am very much a list oriented kind of person. When I write a list, it gives me great satisfaction to cross something off that list. So yeah, when I wrote this Top Ten Tuesday post, I made it my mission to read most of the books on that list. I've gotten through 4/10 of the books on that list! Go me!! Woooo!!!

Today I'm only going to review one book.

The Arrival by Shaun Tan

Title: The Arrival

Author: Shaun Tan

Date published: 12 October 2007

My rating: 5/5 stars

*goodreads

*This review will contain spoilers. However, in the case of this book I don't think the spoilers I mention will detract from your enjoyment of the book nor are they very 'spoiler-y'. 

I love this book. I really do love this book. I want to show this book to every single human being on the planet. This graphic novel has no words, it's told entirely in pictures so language won't be a problem -you just have to be able to read facial expressions! If you're not very good at reading facial expressions, then I will explain the whole thing to you!!! 

Every single picture in this book is beautifully illustrated, take your time to look at each drawing. The book has a very vintage feel to it. The drawings all have a slight yellow tint to it reminiscence of old photographs.

This book affected me emotionally. My parents are immigrant as I mentioned in the aforementioned Top Ten Tuesday post. To a certain extent I am also an immigrant because I wasn't born in Australia but I'm young and malleable, I adapted with a lot more ease than my parents. I don't quite understand the hardship they went through and my parents aren't particularly keen on sharing. I don't resent them for that at all! But this book did help me understand them a little bit more; the struggle of leaving your family behind for a country where they screen you and ask you personal questions, a completely reasonable thing to do but does leave a person feeling emotionally and mentally drained; the struggle of experiencing a whole new culture -new food, new language, new everything; the struggle of finding a job; the struggle of missing your family.

Being an immigrant is hard which is the number one reason I want everyone to read this book -so they realise just how hard it is and that they'll be nicer to them. I want to punch every single person who rolls their eyes and gives an exaggerated exasperated sigh when talking to someone whose first language obviously isn't English.

However, being an immigrant isn't all bad as Tan reminds us. There are good people you meet along the way. People who invite you to dinner, who open up their family to you. People who tell you stories of their life and what they've been through and why they too left their country just like you did. The best feeling of all has to be being reunited with your family. Tan captures this emotion or should I say, emotions, perfectly. 

So pick up this graphic novel. It's a short read, it's all pictures but I guarantee that those illustrations will stir something deep within you. It's a story about immigrants that everybody, immigrant or not, will be able to relate to as the world Tan depicts is familiar yet strange. 

Top Ten Things I Like/Dislike When It Comes to Romance in Books

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted over at TheBrokeandBrookish

Likes:

1. Healthy relationship where one person isn't wholly dependent on the other person
2. Guys describe as being super hot. I just love it. Thank you @god for tight black shirts.
3. Unexpected twists that makes sense. For example, you don't expect A to end up with B but they do and it's totally plausible and not as if the author pulled that out of his/her ass
4. Just cute fluff. Like when the couples are just holding hand and they are embarrassed to do it. Or if they go on a cute date like picking out Christmas tree ornaments or something. I love those. Makes my heart so fluttery.
5. The build up. I. Love. The. Build up. I like the moment they start realising that they have feelings for each other and how their heart pounds when they see the other person in the room. And we, the readers, know that they both like each other and that the feeling is mutual but they don't  know and it's simultaneously frustrating and awesome. 

Dislike:

1. The whole 'it's so cute that he likes me so much that he stalks me'
2. The whole 'it's so cute that he likes me so much that he becomes so possessive of me!!!'
3. The whole 'I can't live without you'. I get that it's suppose to be sooo romantic but just the idea of needing someone till the point of losing them makes you want to die...? that doesn't sound like a very healthy relationship. I mean metaphorically this sentiment is okay with me but sometimes in YA they portray it literally and I'm like.....uh no?
4. The whole love triangle thing. I like a good love triangle. I mean, love triangles are so exciting!!! But I hate it when it's so obviously unnecessary and just distracting from the main plot. Like, dear author our main protagonist is in the middle of a revolution she doesn't have time to entertain two different guys declaration of love. Also, I want to know more about the revolution rather than the love triangle.
5. The whole 'we're the only ones left in this world so we should be together'. I get that surviving the apocalypse or whatever is a great boding experience but like do they always have to have romantic feelings for each other?? Can't I have a platonic apocalypse buddy kinda story?

HPMOTW: Worst Harry Potter death

Harry Potter moment of the week is a meme hosted over at uncorkedthoughts!

There are a lot of deaths in Harry Potter. There's a whole list of all the deaths in the books over here. I interpreted this week's moment in two ways: one) the character that had the worst way of dying or two) the character whose death I handled the worst. 

For the first, I think the worst way of dying would be to be burned alive. So Crabbe's death from the seventh book is horrible. It's also a little ironic how he was the one who caste the Fiendfyre curse and the only person it consumed was himself. Death by fire is in my opinion, terribly painful. Apparently with drowning, you get a moment of serenity right before death. I don't know how true that is but I would pick drowning over being burned alive. Did I mention Crabbe was alive before the fire got him? Yeah, he was. 

On the other hand, for the character whose death I handled the worst is Hedwig tied with Cedric. 

God JK Rowling didn't even dramatise Hedwig's death. Maybe she wanted to make it seem like Hedwig's death happened really fast and it was really fast. It made me really sad. I was like 'wait, Hedwig HEDWIG HEDWIG got hit!?!?!'. When I realised what it meant that Hedwig got hit by a killing curse I was sobbing so hard. Hedwig wasn't just an owl, she was also Harry's friend. Hedwig's death symbolised the end of Harry's and also in a way mine, because I was turning into a teenager when I read it. I just get very emotional about Hedwig, okay?

Now on to Cedric Diggory. There were deaths before Cedric but the one who died were always the 'bad guys'. For example, Quirrel and Diary!Tom Riddle. Cedric was the first character who was good and who died. It makes no sense that Cedric had to die. He was such a good guy. He was never mean to Harry and he even tried to get people to stop being mean to Harry. It was then that little me realised that sometimes good people die for no good reason. That epiphany hit me hard. 

Top Ten Graphic Novels I Can't Believe I Haven't/Want To Read

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted over at TheBrokeandBrookish. 

Also, let's just pretend that I didn't have a Top Ten for last Tuesday...I was busy and didn't manage to come up with ten books. :(

Anyway, this week it was Top Ten Books you want/haven't read from X genre. My genre this week, as you can see from the title, is graphic novels!!! I love graphic novels but sadly I don't own many cause they are expensive and my local library doesn't have the best selection. So my option is to go all the way to the city library for a graphic novel. As a result, there are a lot of graphic novels I want to read and that I can't believe I still haven't (shake my head @myself) read.

one

Title: The Arrival
Author: Shaun Tan
Date published: 12 October 2007
My rating: -
*goodreads








I found this graphic novel accidentally while looking up the other books on my list on goodreads and this was on the recommendation thing at the side. Out of curiosity, I clicked on it because there's a freaking chameleon on the cover.

According to goodreads, this story follows an immigrant. I love stories about immigrants. It's just a subject that's so close to my heart. To see what my parents gave up -family, friends, a stable job; just so they can move to another country that they presume will provide me with more opportunities for a better future. I can't comprehend what that must feel like and my parents don't really enjoy bringing that joyful *sarcasm* topic up so I'll try to understand through my favourite medium -books.

two

Title: The Encyclopedia of Early Earth
Author: Isabel Greenberg
Date published: 29 October 2013
My rating: -
*goodreads








Head on over to the author's website to look at just how pretty the illustrations are. It's mostly black and white with mostly one colour to accentuate each story.

From what I've read about this book, I've gathered that it's a story about stories. It's also a love story?? I don't really understand how the love story fits in but the two lovers can't touch. I love Pushing Daisies and if you've watched Pushing Daisies then you know the two love interest, Ned and Chuck, can't touch. So yeah, I dig the whole no touching thing.

three

Title: Ghost World
Author: Daniel Clowes
Date published: April 2011
My rating: -
*goodreads








This graphic novel details a friendship growing apart. It's just really sad to watch people are best friends become just acquaintances. Losing a friendship sucks.

I expect that I'll be crying lots because of this book. So yeah, really looking to crying my eyes out. Sometimes crying can be very cathartic.

My google searching tells me that there is also a movie adaptation. I might do a book & movie comparison.

four

Title: Locke & Key, Volume 1: Welcome to Lovecraft (Locke & Key #1)
Author: Joe Hill, Garbriel Rodriguez (artist)
Date published: 29 September 2008
My rating: -
*goodreads








I know nothing about this book except that it's horror (I'm trying to step out of my comfort zone) and that it has keys which open a door to something that I assume will be terrifying. Hopefully, I don't get too scared and not pee for like ten days.

five

Title: Seconds: A Graphic Novel
Author: Bryan Lee O'Malley
Date published: 15 July 2014
My rating: -
*goodreads








Finally, a new Bryan Lee O'Malley graphic novel!!! I'm so excited!!!! Plus, look at the girl on the cover, how adorable is she?!?!

The premise also seems promising. The Seconds in the title refers to second chances. One thing after another goes horribly wrong in Katie's life and Katies wishes that she could get a second chance. And Katie gets instructions on just how to obtain those second chances.

six

Title: Fun House: A Family Tragicomic
Author: Alison Bechdel
Date published: 8 June 2006
My rating: -
*goodreads








This book was so freaking hyped back in the day. I'm hoping that I finally get to read this graphic novel 9 years later (god, I'm so old now).

I feel like I should confess something right now: I like going into books knowing almost nothing about it. I like feeling surprised as I'm reading a book. I hate spoilers. I never read ahead, not even the last line of the book as some people do. I just don't do that. I go through the book in an orderly fashion, from the cover to back. Sometimes when I find out a lot about a book before I read it, I form expectations of what the book will be like which often differs from what the book actually is. I always end up disappointed.

The only thing I know about Fun House is that it deals with homosexuality. That's it.

seven

Title: Akira (Akira #1)
Author: Katsuhiro Otomo
Date published: 26 Decembed 2000
My rating: -
*goodreads








The anime adaptation has a cult following which is how I found out about the manga through that adaptation. Fun fact, the anime and manga are both by the same person -Katsuhiro Otomo.

From the cover, the manga looks very dystopian. I know the main character rides a cool as red motorcycle because the same motorcycle is feature in the movie poster.

eight

Title: Persepolis 2 (Persepolis #3-4)
Author: Marjane Satropi
Date published: 2 August 2005
My rating: -
*goodreads








I've read the first two novels in the series and enjoyed it immensely. I don't know why I haven't read the rest. The first two books followed the story of Marjane growing up in Iran. It's just so interesting to see the lives people lead in different countries.

nine

Title: Hark! A Vagrant
Author: Kate Beaton
Date published: 27 September 2011
My rating: -
*goodreads








This graphic novels has short little comic strips that tells an event in history in a very humorous way. I've read a few pages here and there. I really need to finish the whole thing. I've just kind of been in a book slump.

ten

Title: The Complete Maus (Maus #1-2)
Author: Art Spiegelman
Date published: 1 October 2003
My rating: -
*goodreads

By the Swastika on the cover, you can tell that this book is a story about the horrors of the Holocaust.

I was studying about World War II in school. When I am learning something in school, I like to pick up storybooks or watch movies that relate to what I'm currently learning which is how I came across this graphic novel.

My local library finally has this book so yay, I can finally read it!

HPMOTW: Best Joke From the Series

Harry Potter moment of the week is a meme hosted over at uncorkedthoughts.

I feel like a lot of people will have the same 'best joke' as me.

In my opinion, the best joke in the entire series has to be the ear related joke between Fred, George and Mrs. Weasley in the seventh book.

'How do you feel, Georgie?' whispered Mrs Weasley.
George's fingers groped for the side of his head.
'Saint-like,' he murmured.
'What's wrong with him?' coraked Fred, looking terrified. 'Is his mind affected?'
'Saint-like,' repeated George, opening his eyes and looking up at his brother. 'You see... I'm holy. Holey, Fred, geddit?'
Mrs Weasley sobbed harder than ever. Colour flooded Fred's pale face.
'Pathetic,' he told Geroge. 'Pathetic! With the whole wide world of ear-related humour before you, you go for holey?' 

The seventh book started so intense. It was Harry you have no more protection, polyjuice potion, slight humour with the transformation, oh no turns out Voldy knew their plan all along!!!, boom Hedwig's dead, Harry feels guilty about the danger he puts everyone in, and then this joke comes along and lightens everyone's' mood. I was crying so hard when Hedwig got hit but at when Geroge started going on about being holey I was laughing and crying at the same time.

So yeah, this is the best joke from the series because the timing was perfect and the humour was well needed not only by the characters but also by me, the reader. Thanks George and JK Rowling.

Is everyone hanging out without me by Mindy Kaling [audiobook] (review)

Title: Is everyone hanging out without me? (and other concerns)
Author: Mindy Kaling
Narrator: Mindy Kaling
Length: 4 hours 37 mins // Num of pages: 222 pages
Publisher: Crown Archetype
My rating: 4/5 stars
*goodreads
*audible





I love Mindy Kaling. I truly truly do! I first heard of Mindy Kaling through The Mindy Project. I highly recommend watching The Mindy Project. Why? 1) it's hilarious and 2) it's hilarious. The show is really really funny!

Anyway, after watching The Mindy Project, I decided I was in love with Mindy Kaling. I needed to watch everything she's ever done. So, during the last winter break, I sat and marathoned all 9 seasons of The Office (US). Honestly, The Office is amazing.

Back to the audiobook. I've actually read this book before! This is my second time reading it. The first time, I read the physical copy. It's great as I've mentioned in this post. I've seen reviews that said the audiobook is great. Since my love for Mindy Kaling is so strong, I decided to try out the audiobook as well.

This is the first audiobook I've ever listened to and 'Is everyone hanging out without me?' is a great start to the audiobook world. It's narrated by Kaling herself. It felt like Mindy (yea, we're on first name basis) is my super cool, older best friend while listening to this book. I've seen people complain that they didn't enjoy Mindy's narration, and that her voice is 'screechy'. Personally, I didn't have a problem with Mindy's voice but give the audio sample a try before buying the audiobook.

The book details Mindy's life, from childhood right to her experience working in television. She sprinkles in advice here and there. Her book is filled with hilarious anecdotes. I should also mention that Mindy Kaling references a lot of things from popular culture. So, if you don't really immerse or consume popular culture, many of these references will be lost on you and as a result, your enjoyment of the book might be affected.

The writing of the book is simple. It reads and listens like a friend talking to you over an extensive catch-up session. It's not poetic writing, nor is it factual writing -it's just casual. This book is an easy, lazy afternoon read.

Again, I highly recommend this book if you are a Mindy Kaling fan, enjoy funny books or are looking into getting into TV comedy. (Is TV Comedy the right phrase???)

My questions for you:

Have you read this book? What are your thoughts on it? Do you have any other audiobook recommendations as I want to get more into audiobooks this year?

HPMOTW: Best spot to chill at Hogwarts

This is a meme hosted over at uncorkedthoughts!

If there was one fictional place that I would just kill to go to -it's Hogwarts! Definitely Hogwarts. No question asked, I don't even need to think about it. I could be doing the dishes and someone come

s up and ask me, 'hey buddy, what fictional place would you most like to go to'. I don't even need to stop scrubbing the dishes or wipe my hands. It's Hogwarts.

Hogwarts has always fascinated me. A castle!! Moving stairs!!! Secret common rooms!!! Anyway, that long as intro is just to tell you guys that I had a hard time picking just one spot for today's moment.

Do I go with the divination classroom, what with it's cozy fireplace, drapes that block the sunlight and air thick with incense and perfumes. It sounds like a nice place to take a nap on a cold winters day.

Or what about the kitchen where the house elves will willingly and happily whip up any dish that I demand. I love eating and that scenario sounds like heaven.

Or what about the Ravenclaw common room! I'm a Ravenclaw. Here just listen to this description from the last book:

"...Ravenclaw common room was wide, circular room, airier than any Harry had ever seen at Hogwarts. Graceful arched windows punctuated the walls, which were hung with blue and bronze silks: by day, the Ravenclaws would have a spectacular view of the surrounding mountains. The ceiling was domed and painted with stars, which were echoed in midnight-blue carpet. There were tables, chairs and bookcases..."

Honestly, how cool does a "ceiling painted with stars" sound like.

Or what about the library! I'm a real book nerd (duh, if not I wouldn't have started a blog about books) and chilling in the library sounds like an awesome idea! A library with a restricted section to boot! Come on, everybody knows that for a library to be a cool library, it needs to have its own restricted section filed with books that give a blood-curling scream when you open it! Other than that, just think about the books that the library holds. Books about dragons, curses and hexes and potions and so much more. I would love to peruse the Hogwart's library for days on end. I just hope that Madam Prince, the librarian, isn't constantly breathing down my neck as she seems to do that a lot to the trio in the books haha.

You see my problem? So many cool spots to chill at Hogwarts. I just can't pick one. It's a feat in itself that I've managed to narrow it down to 4 places. My initial list had like ten spots in it.

What are your favourite spots to chill at Hogwarts?

Top Ten Book-to-Movie Adaptation

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted over at TheBrokeandBrookish!

This week's Top Ten Tuesday is a freebie. So I decided to go with top ten, in my opinion, best book-to-movie adaptations. I love books and I love movies. I feel like my list is quite extensive, so I'm going to use bullet points. Shoot me (pun slightly intended).

one

book:

Title: Gone Girl
Author: Gillian Flynn
Date published: 24 May 2012
My rating: 4.5/5 stars
*goodreads

movie: 

Title: Gone Girl
Director: David Fincher
Release date: 2014
My rating: 9/10 stars
*imdb
*trailer 

• Gillian Flynn wrote the screenplay herself. Of course the adaptation is a faithful one but when I heard the news I was kind of worried because writing books is not the same as writing screenplays. But Flynn totally pulled it off. Warning: obviously there are differences between book and movie but the changes are reasonable to suit the format of a movie. I have no complains.
• David Fincher (the director) is amazing. He has movies such as Black Swan, Fight Club and The Social Network under his belt. 
• Rosamund Pike is amazing as Amy Dunne. Freaking. Amazing. (pun not intended). Ben Affleck is great as well but Pike just steals the show. 
• I prefer the movie over the book. The characters are very unlikable. Reading the book puts you inside the head of these twisted characters and that's not a very enjoyable experience. Watching these crazy characters instead of being in their head is preferable to me. 

two

book:

Title: Submarine
Author: Joe Dunthorne
Date published: 25 March 2008
My rating: 3/5 stars
*goodreads








movie:

Title: Submarine
Director: Richard Ayoade
Release date: 2010
My rating: 9.5/10 stars
*imdb
*trailer

• The movie is sooo sooo pretty. Every single frame is just gorgeous. I wish there was a photobook for this movie. This movie is my aesthetic.
• The movie is funny. The book less so because some of the jokes in there fell flat. 
• The soundtrack of the movie is amazing. I mean, what else can it be as Alex Turner was in charge of it.
• Again, I preferred the movie. 

three

book:

Title: The Maze Runner (The Maze Runner #1)
Author: James Dashner
Date published: 6 October 2009
My rating: 3/5 stars
*goodreads








movie:

Title: The Maze Runner
Director: Wess Ball
Release date: 2014
My rating: 7/10 stars
*imdb 
*trailer

• I feel like I should just state this outright, I'm not a fan of The Maze Runner series. 
• The first book is good. It made me want to find out more.
• I'm not a fan of Dashner's writing style. He writes so factually, like a textbook. For example, so and so did this and so and so felt that. 
• But God, the sequels are terrible. It made me want to bang my head against a wall and I'm usually a pacifist. 
• That said, I do prefer the movie over the book but only slightly.
• The movie does miss out on what I thought were key things in the book. The movie still works without these elements, but it left me feeling *shrug shoulders*
• However, the redeeming quality of the movie in my eye are the actors. Each role is cast perfectly. So, ten points to the casting team. 
• I really liked the diversity in both the books and the film. Thank God there wasn't any white washing in the movie.

four

book:

Title: Angus, thongs and full-frontal snogging (Confessions of Georgia Nicholson #1)
Author: Louise Rennison
Date published: 31 May 2000
My rating: 4/5 stars
*goodreads

Title: On the bright side, I'm not the girlfriend of a Sex God [US title]; It's OK, I'm wearing really big knickers! [UK title] (Confessions of Georgia Nicholson #1)
Author: Louise Rennison
Date published: 10 April 2001
My rating: -
*goodreads






movie

Title: Angus, thongs and perfect snogging
Director: Gurinder Chadha
Release date: 2008
My rating: 8/10 stars
*imdb
*trailer

• I've only read the first book and not the second one. So any comment referring to the book applies only to the first one.
• The book is so funny. It made me laugh out laugh many times, like out loud out loud. As I read it, I kept reminiscing over the dumb things I did as an early teen. Gosh, my emotions at that age were always so extreme! I definitely relate to Georgia quite a bit. 
• However, Georgia does way more embarrassing things than I ever did. I get secondhand embarrassment from just reading/watching about her antics. 
• I really enjoyed the first book which makes me wonder why the hell haven't I read the next one?!?!
• The movie is not an academy award winning movie or anything so don't expect that. It's just a funny and easy movie to watch. 

five

book:

Title: Battle Royale
Author: Koushon Takami, Yuji Oniki (translator)
Date published: 26 February 2003
My rating: 2.5/5 stars
*goodreads








movie:

Title: Battle Royale
Director: Kinji Fukasaku
Release date: 2000
My rating: 8/10 stars
*imdb
*trailer

• In my opinion, a lot of the essence of the original book is lost in the translation. I can't give any logical argument to back this opinion up but it's just something I feel in my gut.
• The writing/translation is the weakest point of the book. The characters are A+, the action and the plot are also A+.
• Premise of both book and movie: each year a class in Japan is selected to compete in a 'Battle Royale'. A 'Battle Royale' is where the classmates are forced to kill each other to be the only one remaining
• You might be thinking "wow, that sounds a lot like The Hunger Games". I'm here to say that yes, yes it does. There was a debacle on whether Suzanne Collins plagiarised Battle Royale. While, the whole 'only one survive' thing is similar. Battle Royale and The Hunger Games are completely separate books. Both authors took the same concept in different directions.
• But Battle Royale is definitely more brutal and gruesome than The Hunger Games.
• The movie adaptation is great. It cut out the thing I disliked the most about the book -the writing/translation
• The cinematography of the movie is also *hearts eye emoji*
• 10/10 would recommend both book (if the writing/translation doesn't bother you) and movie.

six

book:

Title: Scott Pilgrim 1-6
Author: Bryan Lee O'Malley
Date published: 2004 - 2010
My rating: -
*goodreads








movie:

Title: Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World
Director: Edgar Wright
Release date: 2010
My rating: 8.5/10 stars
*imdb
*trailer

• the movie is a great adaptation.
• they really translate the whole comic/graphic novel experience into a movie. 

Just look at how the characters get a little box with their info in it, it's just like the books!

Not to mention, the sounds effects. 

Also, look at the fight scene!!!! 

• my favourite scott pilgrim book is the 3rd and the 5th one! the comic/graphic novel is super easy to read and are a breeze to go through

seven

book:

Title: Stardust
Author: Neil Gaiman
Date published: 29 August 2006
My rating: 4/5 stars
*goodreads








movie:

Title: Stardust
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Release date: 2007
My rating: 8/10 stars
*imdb
*trailer

• The book is awesome
• The movie is awesome
• The book is not as child friendly as the movie. I mean, I would still recommend the book to my 7-year-old cousin but it deals with slightly more mature themes than the movie
• The movie has a faster pace than the book. 
• I really do love the movie. For a few good months, it was the only movie I watched over and over again.

eight

book:

Title: Howl's Moving Castle
Author: Diana Wynne Jones
Date published: 5 March 2009
My rating: 3.5/5 stars
*goodreads








movie:

Title: Howl's Moving Castle
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Release date: 2004
My rating: 10/10 stars
*imdb
*trailer

• I'm a huge Studio Ghibli fan. I own the boxset and have watched every single thing they've made. 
• Do yourself a favour and watch everything that they have made! All their movies are so good. Even if some have weak plotlines, the animation more than makes up for it.
• I should mention that I prefer watching it in the original Japanese audio with subtitles instead of the dubs. I can't take it when the words don't sync with the mouth movements. 
• Howl's moving castle is no exception! The background for each scene is always so beautifully animated and detailed even though most viewers don't pay that much attention to them. For example, just look at this frame of Howl's bedroom from the movie:

source

• The movie is very different from the book. Both have the same characters but the plots of each vastly differs. Miyazaki added a 'war' aspect to his books while Jones focused more on Sophie and Howl. They are both very good despite their differences. I wouldn't worry about spoiling yourself if you've read the book or watched the movie first before trying the other.

nine

book:

Title: The Great Gatsby
Author: F. Scott Fitzgerald
Date published: 1925
My rating: 4/5 stars
*goodreads








movie:

Title: The Great Gatsby
Director: Bax Luhrmann
Release date: 2013
My rating: 9/10 stars
*imdb
*trailer

• I haven't watched the older movie adaptation, the one with Paul Rudd 
• I really enjoy the 2013 adaptation. I like Leonardo DiCaprio, he plays a great Gatsby (ha!ha!ha! i am so funny).
• I think Carey Mulligan really shines as Daisy. Everybody in the same shot as Mulligan pales in comparison, even my beloved Leo. 
• The soundtrack is also bomb. I think it might be a problem for some to be hearing modern music when the movie is set in the 1920s but I feel like it provides a nice contrast and a point for modern viewers to relate to as well.
• Do I even need to talk about the book here? I feel like everybody and their mother knows about it. 

ten

book:

Title: Catching Fire (The Hunger Games #2)
Author: Suzanne Collins
Date published: 1 January 2009
My rating: 2.5/5 stars
*goodreads








movie:

Title: Catching Fire
Director: Francis Lawrence
Release date: 2013
My rating: 7/10 stars
*imdb
*trailer

• I'm just going to say this: I'm not a fan of The Hunger Games series. These books were so hyped about and I went into them with high expectations and was sorely disappointed. They are good books, but just don't expect them to be earth shattering and super de duper amazing.
• The second movie in the franchise is a great adaptation as far as adaptation goes. It stayed true to the book. While the first movie was extremely and unnecessarily shaky (as in the camera work), the second movie is beautifully shot.
• I especially love framing of the last scene with Katniss's face filling up most of the screen, allowing us to see Jennifer Lawrence's top notch acting abilities.
• Honestly, the Catching Fire adaptation is great argument as to why movie adaptations shouldn't stray too far from the book.

Honorable mention:

The dreamwork adaptation of Cressida Crowell's How To Train Your Dragon series. I love both HTTYD 1 and 2! Such good movies!!!! The animation (screams!), the characters (screams!!), the storyline (screams!!!), the music (screams!!!!)...just everything about both movies.

This is an honorable mention because I didn't feel that it was fair to put this on the list as I've not read the actual books. I own them but they are just sitting on my shelves gathering dust.