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Tuesday, March 31, 2015

March 2015 Updates

Here is what I've been reading and watching in March:
  • The 100 season 2 was the best thing ever. I'm not even exaggerating. I liked season 1, but season 2 was on a whole new level. It had literally everything I want in a TV show. A cool plot? Check. Complex and interesting characters? Check. A diverse cast? Check. The show has gone in such an exciting direction. I can't wait for season 3.
  • I am watching Elementary season 3 and I want Moriarty to come back. That is all I have to say about that.
  • I am currently watching Torchwood. I'm almost done with season 2. I am enjoying it, and I can officially say that it is the weirdest thing I have ever seen.
  • I watched Insurgent. Divergent is not my favourite book series ever, but I do like it. I personally thought the first movie was just okay, and I thought the same of the second movie. There were some good things about it and some bad things. Overall, I would say that, as a movie, Insurgent is about as good as Divergent. However, as an adaptation from the book, Insurgent is much worse than Divergent.
  • I read both books in the If I Stay duology by Gayle Forman, If I Stay and Where She Went. I liked both books, but I didn't love either of them. From all the amazing reviews they were getting, I thought that I would like these books better.
  • I read Fairest by Marissa Meyer, the prequel to the Lunar Chronicles series. I really enjoyed it, though it wasn't very long, which was a bit disappointing. I really enjoyed reading from the villain's perspective. Now I'm super excited to read Winter.
  • I finished the Darkest Minds trilogy by Alexandra Bracken with the final two books Never Fade and In the Afterlight. I enjoyed both, and, overall, I thought the trilogy was great. This science fiction series has an interesting plot and memorable characters. I would definitely recommend it.
  • I read Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard because literally everyone else in the world was reading it. I don't understand why everyone loved this book so much. It wasn't that it was bad, it just wasn't as extraordinary as I'd hoped it would be. I'm a bit disappointed, but I plan to read the rest of the books in the series whenever they come out.
  • I read The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski, sequel to the Winner's Curse. I enjoyed the Winner's Curse, but this book was incredible. I thought the plot and the writing were so much more interesting than in the first book. I can not wait for the final book in this trilogy to come out.
  • I read Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman, the long awaited sequel to Seraphina, and it was amazing. It's definitely my favourite book published in 2015 so far. I has literally everything I want in a book. Everything in it was amazing!!!

Saturday, March 28, 2015

Books I Wasn't Fond of (And Why)

This is a list of books that I have read, and that I didn't really enjoy. I didn't hate any of these books, because I have a policy of never hating books, but I did dislike them. If you like any of the books on this list I can totally respect that. Everyone has different opinions on books and everyone's opinion is equally valid. However, I would not recommend any of these books to you if you have not read them.

The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong: This is the first book in an urban fantasy trilogy. I read the whole trilogy two years ago, but I almost didn't. I can't actually remember why I didn't like it, and you see, that's saying something. Usually books leave me with a picture of them, or they leave a few scenes stuck in my head. This book left... nothing. All I remember is that is was very boring.

The Shakespeare Stealer by Gary Blackwood: I have no idea why I read this book. It was probably during that phase I had when I was twelve where I would only read things about Shakespeare. Anyway, it was awful. Characters that had no personality, a plot that made literally no sense and way too much random unnecessary information. I do not recommend it.

The Selection by Kiera Cass: I honestly don't understand why people like this series so much. I have read the first two books. I considered reading the third, but then I realized that I already knew what was going to happen. I'm not saying this book series is predictable, but, it's very predictable. And that's not even why I don't like it. I honestly don't mind if a book is predictable, as long as there are things to like about it, such as, oh, I don't know, interesting characters or a fascinating writing style. The Selection has nothing to like. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't an awful book. In fact, I even kind of enjoyed reading it. It's such a quick read. But overall, there was nothing good about this book, and so I couldn't bring myself to like it.

The Maze Runner by James Dashner: Some people love this series, and I can understand why. But I didn't. Honestly, dystopian is not my favourite genre. I don't hate dystopian, it's just that I won't read books simply because they are in that genre (unlike with epic fantasy). There has to be something else interesting about them, or they have to come highly recommended. The Maze Runner did sound interesting, and it did come highly recommended. I actually liked the first book. The plot was interesting and suspenseful. The characters were boring, but I can forgive that. If there had only been one book, I would have liked it. But, unfortunately, there were two other books in the series and a prequel. In my opinion, the books just got worse and worse. The plot dragged on and on and characters died way too often. I don't mind character deaths, but I do mind them when they happen every other page. They become kind of meaningless. I could never get to know any of the characters because they just kept dying off. I honestly can't understand why some people say this series is better than the Hunger Games, but we all have our own opinions.

So You Want to be a Wizard by Diane Duane: This book is probably the worst book I have ever read. There are weird books, and then there are books that are just so weird that they make your head explode. And then there is this book. I don't even know how to describe it. The plot makes literally no sense. And the characters are made out of cardboard. Please do not read this book.

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick: Apparently some people really like this book. I could not finish it, and that's really saying something. In that past three years, I have only not finished three books. I'm not sure what exactly put me off this book. I think it was the male main character. He was literally the most annoying thing ever. I don't even remember his name.

Halo by Alexandra Adornetto: This book was, in one word, boring. I read about half of it. Nothing seemed to happen, and the characters were too perfect.

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen: This book was okay, but I found it boring. It's just about a guy surviving in the wilderness. I never would have read this book if it hadn't been a pick for a book club that I was in. This is really not my kind of book.

Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch: This book came out last year, and I was hearing such good things about it. I really wanted to like it. Unfortunately, I didn't. There are a few reasons why. First, there were several things in the book that didn't make sense. I'm not going to say anything specific, but the world just seemed really illogical. And, yes, I know it's fantasy. Second, the characters. Most of the characters had no personalities, and the ones that did made no sense. They would do things or say things and I couldn't understand why they were doing or saying those things. The final reason I didn't like this book was that IO found it quite boring and hard to get into. (I'm not listing this as one f the reasons I didn't like the book, but I guessed the plot twist from almost the beginning of the book.)

Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs: Some people really love this book. The thing is, it's just really not my thing. It was actually pretty good, but I just didn't like it.

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi: This is a science fiction book that I read a few years ago. I barely finished it. I don't actually remember what exactly it was that made this book unappealing. I just could not get into it. I was bored the entire time. I've considered the possibility that I was just not in the mood for this particular type of book when I read it, but I have not felt the urge to read the rest of the books in the series.

Magyk by Angie Sage: This is the first book in the Septimus Heap series. It's a children's fantasy series, and I actually read the whole thing. However, I didn't like it very much. It was written kind of weirdly and it was the most predictable thing I have ever read. I did actually enjoy reading parts of the book because some of the characters were quite amusing, but overall, I don't think this series was written very well.

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld: Some people love this series. Objectively speaking, I thought it was fairly good. But I just didn't enjoy reading it. The plot was interesting, but the characters were what made me dislike this series. It wasn't that they were under-developed exactly, it was that they were infuriating. I honestly hated all of the characters. I couldn't stand them. I read the entire Uglies series because I felt bad for disliking it. I've even considered reading some other books by this author. I just didn't really enjoy the Uglies trilogy.

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

The 100 Lists

The 100 is currently my favourite TV show, so here is a post all about it. All of these lists are in order with absolute favourites as number one.

Top 5 Episodes:
  1. Blood Must Have Blood
  2. Spacewalker
  3. Bodygaurd of Lies
  4. We are Grounders
  5. Remember Me
Top 5 Favourite Episode Titles (Because some of them are just so awesome)
  1. Murphy's Law
  2. Rubicon
  3. Bodygaurd of Lies
  4. Blood Must Have Blood
  5. I am Become Death
Top 10 Characters:
  1. Clarke Griffin
  2. Lexa
  3. Raven Reyes
  4. Octavia Blake
  5. Marcus Kane
  6. Anya
  7. Monty Green
  8. Lincoln
  9. Abigail Griffin
  10. Kyle Wick
Top 5 Romantic Relationships:
  1. Clarke/Lexa
  2. Lincoln/Octavia
  3. Kane/Abby
  4. Clarke/Anya
  5. Clarke/Raven
Top 5 Friendships:
  1. Clarke/Raven
  2. Clarke/Anya
  3. Monty/Jasper
  4. Clarke/Octavia
  5. Clarke/Monty
Top 5 Quotes:
  1. "I tried to be the good guy." "Maybe there are no good guys."
  2. "I bear it so they don't have to."
  3. "Maybe life should be about more than just surviving."
  4. "Victory stands on the back of sacrifice."
  5. "Who we are and who we need to be to survive are two entirely different things."

Saturday, March 21, 2015

Complete List of my Ships

Underlined ships I ship as friends, but not romantically. Bold ships are not canon.

Doctor Who: Rose/Doctor, Clara/Doctor

The 100: Clarke/Lexa, Clarke/Raven, Kane/Abby, Octavia/Lincoln, Clarke/Anya

Harry Potter: Harry/Hermione, Ron/Hermione, Harry/Luna, Sirius/Remus, Molly/Arthur, Remus/Tonks, Bill/Fleur

Percy Jackson: Percy/Annabeth, Hazel/Frank, Reyna/Nico, Annabeth/Piper

Avatar: Korra/Asami, Aang/Katara, Katara/Toph, Mai/Ty-Lee, Aang/Toph

Merlin: Merlin/Gwen

Elementary: Sherlock/Joan

Mortal Instruments: Tessa/Will, Tessa/Jem, Will/Jem, Magnus/Alec, Simon/Clary

The Raven Cycle: Blue/Gansey, Adam/Ronan, Gansey/Ronan

Legend: June/Day

The Lord of the Rings: Frodo/Sam, Tauriel/Kili, Bilbo/Thorin

The Winner's Curse: Kestrel/Arin

Throne of Glass: Celaena/Rowan

Torchwood: Gwen/Jack

Orphan Black: Cosima/Delphine, Felix/Sarah, Felix/Alison


Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Top 25 Favourite Characters #12

I've written eleven "Top 25 Favourite Characters" lists before, as it changes often. Here are the links to my first eleven:

My Opinion: The Top 25 Awesomest Book Characters

My Opinion: The Top 25 Awesomest Book Characters #2

My Opinion: The Top 25 Awesomest Book Characters #3

My Opinion: The Top 25 Awesomest Characters #4

My Opinion: The Top 25 Awesomest Characters #5

My Opinion: The Top 25 Awesomest Characters #6

My Opinion: The Top 25 Awesomest Characters #7

 My Opinion: The Top 25 Awesomest Characters #8

My Opinion: The Top 25 Awesomest Characters #9

My Opinion: The Top 25 Awesomest Characters #10

My Opinion: The Top 25 Awesomest Characters #11


25. Neville Longbottom from Harry Potter
24. Annabeth Chase from The Heroes of Olympus 
23. Amelia Pond from Doctor Who
22. Adelina Amouteru from The Young Elites
21. William Herondale from The Infernal Devices
20. Iroh from Avatar: The Last Airbender
19. Richard Gansey III from The Raven Cycle
18. Toph Beifong from Avatar: The Last Airbender
17. Cassie Sullivan from The 5th Wave
16. Merlin from BBC Merlin
15. Martha Jones from Doctor Who
14. Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games
13. Korra from Legend of Korra
12. Guinevere from BBC Merlin
11. Octavia Blake from The 100
10. Blue Sargent from The Raven Cycle
9. Joan Watson from Elementary
8. Rose Tyler from Doctor Who
7. Raven Reyes from The 100
6. Celaena Sardothien from Throne of Glass
5. Hermione Granger from Harry Potter
4. Lexa from The 100
3. The Doctor from Doctor Who
2. Clara Oswald from Doctor Who
1. Clarke Griffin from The 100

Sunday, March 15, 2015

Book-to-Movie Adaptations

Here is a complete list of the movie adaptations of books for which I have both read the book and seen the movie. I've also included two ratings. The first rating (the movie rating) shows my opinion on how good the movie was. The second rating (the adaption rating) shows how well I thought the movie was adapted from the book it was based on. Both ratings are on a scale from 1 to 5.

The Fellowship of the Ring: MOVIE: 5 ADAPTION: 5
The Two Towers: MOVIE: 5 ADAPTION: 5
The Return of the King: MOVIE: 5 ADAPTION: 5
An Unexpected Journey: MOVIE: 5 ADAPTION: 4
The Desolation of Smaug: MOVIE: 5 ADAPTION: 4
The Battle of the Five Armies: MOVIE: 5 ADAPTION: 4
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone: MOVIE: 3 ADAPTION: 4
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: MOVIE: 3 ADAPTION: 4
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: MOVIE: 3 ADAPTION: 3
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: MOVIE: 2 ADAPTION: 3
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: MOVIE: 4 ADAPTION: 3
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince: MOVIE: 3 ADAPTION: 3
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1: MOVIE: 4 ADAPTION: 4
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2: MOVIE: 4 ADAPTION: 3
The Hunger Games: MOVIE: 5 ADAPTION: 5
Catching Fire: MOVIE: 5 ADAPTION: 5
Mockingjay Part 1: MOVIE: 5 ADAPTION: 5
City of Bones: MOVIE: 3 ADAPTION: 2
Divergent: MOVIE: 3 ADAPTION: 4
Insurgent: MOVIE: 3 ADAPTATION: 2
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief: MOVIE: 1 ADAPTION: 1
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters: MOVIE: 1 ADAPTION: 1
The Maze Runner: MOVIE: 4 ADAPTION: 4
The Book Thief: MOVIE: 5 ADAPTION: 4
The Fault in Our Stars: MOVIE: 5 ADAPTION: 5
Eragon: MOVIE: 1 ADAPTION: 1
The Perks of Being a Wallflower: MOVIE: 5 ADAPTION: 5
The Invention of Hugo Cabret: MOVIE: 4 ADAPTION: 5
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: MOVIE: 2 ADAPTION: 3
The City of Ember: MOVIE: 2 ADAPTION: 2
Vampire Academy: MOVIE: 3 ADAPTION: 3
Ender's Game: MOVIE: 3 ADAPTION:  3
The Giver: MOVIE: 4 ADAPTION: 3
If I Stay: MOVIE: 5 ADAPTATION: 5

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

2014 Movies and TV

I did a thing at the end of last year where I chose my favourite books published last year in several categories. I decided to do the same for movies and TV shows, even though it's no longer 2014.

List of movies and TV shows I have seen published last year
  1. Mockingjay Part 1
  2. Divergent
  3. The Maze Runner
  4. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
  5. The Fault in Our Stars
  6. Guardians of the Galaxy
  7. Vampire Academy
  8. The Giver
  9. If I Stay
  10. Legend of Korra
  11. The 100
  12. How to Get Away with Murder
  13. Elementary
  14. Broadchurch
  15. Doctor Who
  16. Sherlock 
  17. Orphan Black
Favourite Male Main Character:
  • Bilbo Baggins from The Hobbit: the Battle of the Five Armies
  • Augustus Waters from the Fault in Our Stars
  • Sherlock Holmes from Elementary
  • Sherlock Holmes from Sherlock
  • The Doctor from Doctor Who
Favourite Female Main Character:
  • Katniss Everdeen from Mockingjay Part 1
  • Avatar Korra from Legend of Korra
  • Clarke Griffin from The 100
  • Raven Reyes from The 100
  • Octavia Blake from The 100
  • Joan Watson from Elementary
  • Clara Oswald from Doctor Who
  • Sarah Manning from Orphan Black
  • Cosima from Orphan Blaxk
Favourite Side Character:
  • Tauriel from The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
  • Asami from Legend of Korra
  • Lexa from The 100
  • Danny Pink from Doctor Who
  • Kira from Orphan Black
Favourite Villain:
  • President Snow from Mockingjay Part 1
  • Kuvira from Legend of Korra
  • Rachel Duncan from Orphan Black
  • Missy from Doctor Who
Favourite Relationship:
  • Korra and Asami from Legend of Korra
  • Clarke and Lexa from The 100
  • Clara and Danny from Doctor Who
  • Cosima and Delphine from Orphan Black
Favourite Friendship:
  • Christina and Tris from Divergent
  • Bilbo and Thorin from The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
  • Clarke and Raven from The 100
  • Joan and Sherlock from Elementary
  • John and Sherlock from Sherlock
  • Clara and The Doctor from Doctor Who
Favourite Actor:
  • Peter Capaldi
  • Benedict Cumberbatch
  • Martin Freeman
Favourite Actress:
  • Jennifer Lawrence
  • Tatiana Maslany
  • Jenna Coleman
  • Eliza Taylor
  • Viola Davis
Best Plot:
  • Legend of Korra
  • The 100
  • How to get Away with Murder
  • Doctor Who
  • Orphan Black
Best Episode of a TV Show:
  • The Last Stand (Legend of Korra)
  • Spacewalker (The 100)
  • The Night Lila Died/ It's all my Fault (How to get Away with Murder)
  • Dark Water/ Death in Heaven (Doctor Who)
  • By Means Which Have Never Yet Been Tried (Orphan Black)
Most Anticipated Movie or TV Show of 2015:
  • Mockingjay Part 1
  • Paper Towns
  • The 100
  • How to get Away with Murder
  • Doctor Who
  • Orphan Black
Best Adaptation from a Book:
  • Mockingjay Part 1
  • The Fault in our Stars
Best Movie:
  • Mockingjay Part 1
  • The Fault in Our Stars
  • The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
  • If I Stay
Best TV Show:
  • Legend of Korra
  • The 100
  • Doctor Who 
  • Orphan Black

Saturday, March 7, 2015

The Last Airbender and the Legend of Korra Lists

I recently finished watching Legend of Korra and I am currently obsessed with Avatar, so here is a post dedicated to it. All of these lists are in order with absolute favourites as number one.

Top 15 Episodes:
  1. Sozin's Comet
  2. The Crossroads of Destiny
  3. Light in the Dark
  4. The Last Stand
  5. The Day of Black Sun
  6. Venom of the Red Lotus
  7. The Siege of the North
  8. Endgame
  9. Korra Alone
  10. The Southern Raiders
  11. The Blue Spirit
  12. The Deserter
  13. Tales of Ba Sing Se
  14. Beginnings
  15. Zuko Alone
Favourite Seasons:
  1. Legend of Korra season 4
  2. Last Airbender season 2
  3. Last Airbender season 3
  4. Legend of Korra season 2
  5. Legend of Korra season 3
  6. Last Airbender season 1
  7. Legend of Korra season 1
Top 10 Characters:
  1. Korra
  2. Toph Beifong
  3. Iroh
  4. Katara
  5. Zuko
  6. Jinora
  7. Asami Sato
  8. Lin Beifong
  9. Tenzin
  10. Opal
Top 5 Villains:
  1. Zuko
  2. Azula
  3. Kuvira
  4. Zaheer
  5. Ozai
Top 5 Romantic Relationships:
  1. Korra/Asami
  2. Aang/Katara
  3. Mai/Ty-Lee
  4. Opal/Bolin
  5. Zuko/Mai
Top 5 Friendships:
  1. Zuko/Iroh
  2. Zuko/Aang
  3. Katara/Toph/Aang/Sokka
  4. Koora/Asami/Mako/Bolin
  5. Aang/Toph
Top 5 Fights
  1. Katara and Zuko vs. Azula in Sozin's Comet
  2. Korra vs. Vaatu in Light in the Dark
  3. Aang vs. Ozai in Sozin's Comet
  4. Korra vs. Kuvirain The Last Stand
  5. Aang and Katara vs. Azula and Zuko in The Crossroads of Destiny

Monday, March 2, 2015

Book Titles with the Same Words

This post is really random. I searched through my books on Goodreads and found books that all included the same word (or a form of the same word).These lists include books that I haven't read yet but that I plan to read.

Under the Never Sky
The Burning Sky

Fire
City of Heavenly Fire
Catching Fire
Heir of Fire
Throne of Fire
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
The Girl of Fire and Thorns
Fyre

Throne of Glass
Throne of Fire

Crown of Midnight
The Crown of Embers

Clockwork Princess
Princess Academy

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
The False Prince
Clockwork Prince
Prince of Shadows

Red Queen
The Queen of Air and Darkness
Queen of Shadows

The Demon King
The Iron King
The Runaway King
Falling Kingdoms
Bitter Kingdom
The Raven King
Return of the King
King Lear

Shadow and Bone
Shadow Scale
Silver Shadows
Shadow Kiss
Prince of Shadows
Queen of Shadows
The Serpents Shadow

Shadow and Bone
City of Bones
Daughter of Smoke and Bone

The Diamond of Darkhold
Gathering Darkness
Darke
The Darkest Part of the Forest
The Darkest Minds
The Queen of Air and Darkness

The Name of This Book is Secret
This Book is not Good for You
Book of a Thousand Days
The Book Thief
A Book of Spirits and Thieves

The Girl of Fire and Thorns
Chain of Thorns
A Court of Thorns and Roses

Harry Potter and the Chanber of Secrets
The Name of the Book is Secret

Ender's Game
The Hunger Games

Bitterblue
Blue Lily, Lily Blue

Red Queen
Red Rising
Chasing Redbird
The Red Pyramid
Blood Red Road

The Raven Boys
To all the Boys I've Loved Before
The Golden Boy

The Girl of Fire and Thorns
The Coldest Girl in Coldtown
The Girl at Midnight

Walk Two Moons
The Two Towers

I am Number Four
Four: A Divergent Collection

Five Little Pigs
The Fall of Five
The 5th Wave

The Rise of Nine
Red Rising
Ruin and Rising

City of Ashes
Ash
Snow Like Ashes
An Ember in the Ashes

The Crown of Embers
The City of Ember
An Ember in the Ashes

City of Bones
City of Ashes
City of Glass
City of Fallen Angels
City of Lost Souls
City of Heavenly Fire
The City of Ember
City of Savages

Throne of Glass
City of Glass

City of Fallen Angels
The Fall of Five
Falling Kingdoms

Clockwork Angel
City of Fallen Angels

City of Lost Souls
The Lost Hero

The Iron Trial
The Scorch Trials

The Death Cure
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Death on the Nile
Speaker for the Dead
The Enemy of Death

Eona: The Last Dragoneye
Last Sacrifice
The Last Olympian
The Last Star

The Fault in Our Stars
Days of Blood and Starlight
Number the Stars
The Last Star

In the Afterlight
The Lightning Thief
Days of Blood and Starlight

Bloodlines
Blood Promise
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Days of Blood and Starlight
Blood Red Road
The Blood of Olympus

Book of a Thousand Days
Days of Blood and Starlight

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Palace of Stone

Golden Lily
Blue Lily, Lily Blue

The Titan's Curse
The Winner's Curse

The Sea of Monsters
The Perilous Sea
The Infinite Sea

The Lighting Thief
The Dream Thieves
The Book Thief
A Book of Spirits and Thieves

The Dream Thieves
Dreams of Gods and Monsters
A Midsummer Nights Dream

The Sea of Monsters
Dreams of Gods and Monsters