Friday, April 29, 2011

Top *Number* List

I am going to write a blog about all the Hunger Games casting eventually, but am just really unmotivated to write about anything related to books right now. So instead, I am going to do a list of my favorite musicians!

I have extremely random music tastes. I really will listen to just about anything and everything depending on my mood. I really enjoy music from the UK and as a result, end up listening to a lot of stuff on YouTube and BBC Radio 1. The UK charts just fit with my style more, though I still listen to a lot of Top 40. Anywho...on with the list! In descending order.

1) Hanson--Oh, you've heard of them? Back in the 90s? You think they only sing Mmmbop? You are wrong. Well, not wrong about Mmmbop, they do sing that and often, but they are so much more. I have seen Hanson in concert three times and each time was better than the last. They give great concerts. They play a wide variety of old and new stuff. They structure the set list to have a journey. They always play Mmmbop, often acoustic. And they always always always look like they are having fun. And they do great charity work. If you are not listening to Hanson, you should be.
Songs to listen to: "Thinking 'Bout Something" off their new album or "Penny & Me"/"If Only" for some old school

2) McFly--Oh, you've never heard of them? Not surprising! I'm not sure how I became obsessed with McFly. I think I just kept hearing them on UPop when I had satellite radio. They also were in a Lindsay Lohan/Chris Pine (Captain Kirk!) movie called Just My Luck. You should watch it! It is trashy fun. But yeah...I love McFly a whole lot. Their sound has progressed since they started. From rock/pop to more rock/dance now. They get lumped in with boybands in the UK even though they write all their own music and play their own instruments and are a rock band.
Songs to listen to: "Party Girl" if you like Lady Gaga or "Shine a Light" if you like Taio Cruz or "Transylvania" for old school

3) Adele--I am overly obsessed with Adele at the moment. Her voice is amazing. A. Ma. Zing. She had more passion in her voice than anyone else ever. Also, I love her as a person. She is so charming and funny in interviews. And is a really great role model for how comfortable she is with being and looking like herself. She seems like a genuinely awesome human being and I want to be best friends with her.
Songs to listen to: "Someone Like You" preferably a live version or "Rumour has it" or really anything by Adele

4) Bruno Mars--I have been harboring a hardcore crush on all Bruno Mars music for a while now. His songs are amazingly catchy and breezy. They make me think of summer and laying out in the sun and chilling. And besides all the stuff he sings himself, he has also been involved in writing "Nothin' on You" by B.o.B, "Billionaire" by Travie McCoy, "Right Round" by Flo Rida and "Fuck You!" by Cee Lo Green. What? Awesomesauce! Also, his performance at the Grammys with B.o.B. and Janelle Monae was beyond amazing.
Songs to listen to: "Marry You" or "Grenade" Grammy performance
**Special note...if you don't know who Janelle Monae is, get on that asap!

5) Enrique Iglesias--I have to admit that back in the day when Enrique Iglesias was first popular, I knew his songs, but didn't particularly care about him. But now I love him big time. I am particularly found of his new stuff because it is soooo dancey, but I also have been listening to his older stuff and I like that too. I just think his voice is pleasent and he is fun. And he doesn't take himself seriously at all in interviews.
Songs to listen to: "I Like It" or "Tonight" (NSFW if you listen to the uncensored version. The radio version is SFW)

6) Pitbull--I have to admit that most of Pitbull's songs are highly inappropriate, shouldn't not be listened to at work or around kids, and are probably semi-offensive. But dude, are they catchy! He has a ton of songs from his albums, but he is probably more famous/popular for being featured on other artists songs notably "I Like It" (Enrique) and "DJ Got Us Falling In Love" (Usher) and "Hey Baby" (T-Pain). I like that even though he is a rapper, he definitely has an authentic latin flair to his music.
Songs to listen to: "Fuego" or "I Know You Want Me"

7) 3Oh!3/Ke$ha--I am putting these two together because I started listening to both around the same time and they are fairly similar styles. They are both rather inappropriate, but fun and good to dance around to. Also, my favorite songs of both artists are ones that have both. Just seems easier. I don't have much explanation for why I love either so much, but if I am stressed and need to dance around my house, I am putting 3Oh!3 and Ke$ha on.
Songs to listen to: "My First Kiss" or "Blah Blah Blah" both have both artists; Ke$ha: "Kiss N' Tell"; 3Oh!3: "Holler Till You Pass Out"

8) Gaelic Storm--Back to more appropriate music! I love Gaelic Storm. Yes, you've heard them even if you don't know it. They were the third class band in Titanic. The one that Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet dance to. See, you do know them! I love all sorts of Irish/Celtic music, but Gaelic Storm is my favorite at the moment. Nothing makes a day better than some fun Celtic music!
Songs to listen to: "Johnny Jump Up" or "The One" or "Nancy Whiskey" or "The Beggarman" or go watch them in Titanic again

9) Darren Criss--Really, if you aren't in love with Darren Criss than you obviously don't watch Glee. If you are not a fan of Glee, you should still listen to Darren Criss sing.
Songs to listen to: Anything he has recorded

ETA: Honorable Mentions (aka people I totally forgot about while writing the list): Mika, Blake Lewis, Jesse McCartney

Yes, my music taste is random. Sometimes inappropriate. Yet all fun!
What music do you love?

Friday, April 22, 2011

The Problem of a Good Book

I have noticed that sometimes I don't like when I finish a really great book. That sounds kind of crazy at face value, and in some ways it is, but hear me out. I love reading books that completely consume me. I like feeling like I am in the book, part of the plot, the main character, watching it unfold. I love that feeling of reading just a solidly great book.

And then I finish the book.

I have such issue picking out the next book because nothing will be as great as the book I just read. Obviously, that is not true. But I get that feeling. I finish a great book and all I want to read is more of the same book. It works out well sometimes to have a series of books, but that is almost worse. After reading a ton of books in a series, I am solidly in the world and have it all fleshed out in my head and really then have more trouble picking the next thing to read.

I have a couple tricks that I use to get into the next book. One is that I sometimes read a book that I've read before because I already know that I like it. Or even reading an author I know that I like. Anything Meg Cabot usually is a good choice. But also, I love Meg Cabot so I find picking a book after any of her books is difficult. Even if it is a book I've read before. Another strategy is to pick a book that I'm not sure I'll get totally into. Going into it expecting to not be fully engrossed can help with the panic of "Oh no! How will anything live up?" Since I am not planning on it living up, there is no pressure on that book. Another strategy that I've found is just to not read for a bit. This is rather hard since I always read before bed. But I have found that if I read a magazine or short story instead of a book for a while, it helps cleanse the palette for the next book to come along. And lastly, sometimes I just force myself to read another book and tell myself to stop being so weird about it.

I finished To Tame a Highland Warrior last night (it was so good, even though the main guy kind drove me crazy with his concern that the main chick wouldn't like him if she knew his "true nature", but she was totally fine with it because she was awesome. Give the girl some credit, dude!) and now am at a loss at what to read. I grabbed a book on my way out of the house this morning, but am not sure I want to read it. So now on to the various strategies to find the next book.

Monday, April 18, 2011

Weekend Reading/Watching

For such a blah week, I was terribly productive in my reading of books and watching of tv/movies this weekend.

First, what I read: I finished The Wedding Girl by Madeleine Wickham and OMG was it good. It was absolutely nothing like I thought it was going to be. The story went in a completely different direction from what I was expecting and I loved it. All of the characters were complex and had motivation for their actions. There were a ton of overlapping story lines and they all worked. Usually in a book with this many story lines you start with separate characters and stories and they all come together by the end, but The Wedding Girl started with one main character and all of the story lines went out from there. It was cool and the book had a whole lot of heart.

I started reading To Tame a Highland Warrior by Karen Marie Moning. Have you not read Karen Marie Moning? You should. Well, if you like romance novels and/or fun vaguely sci-fi/fantasy novels and/or Scottish Highlands and are not offended by fairly frank descriptions of sex you should read Moning. I was in the mood to read some light trash and was lucky enough to be at my friend Sarah's house and was able to borrow Highland Warrior from her. It is the second in a series, though it isn't really a sequel. I definitely stayed up far later than planned reading. And now I only have about a third of the book left. It is so good.

What I watched: I watched many things this weekend, beginning with a week's worth of Jeopardy! I DVR Jeopardy every night and watch it all at once over the weekend. Yes, I realize that is incredibly nerdy, but it makes me happy and for how much people mock me for it, everyone always wants to watch it with me. So there!

I also watched the last three episodes of Being Human (the SyFy channel version, not the BBC version). OOoooo it was so good! If you don't know, Being Human is about a ghost, a vampire, and a werewolf who live together in Boston. And both the werewolf and the vampire work at a hospital as a nurse and an orderly respectively. There is definitely some soap opera type stuff about how hard it is to be supernatural, blah blah blah. But it is also just really fun. There is a ton of violence, lots of killing, not a lot of blood really and a ton of light and funny moments. I seriously enjoyed the entire series, but the last three episodes really rocked. I now want to watch the original BBC version.

Also watched, John Tucker Must Die. I've seen it before but really enjoyed the repeat viewing. First of all, I think it is a really underrated teen romantic comedy. It is really funny but also ends up having some sort of message. And even the jerk character is really likable. Also, it has Penn Badgley in it. With longish curly hair! Fun. And it has the most amazing soundtrack. Seriously good music in that movie.

I also satisfied my craving for all things British by watching many episodes of Little Britain. It says something about how funny a show is when it is set in a country I have never been and I still find it super funny. It is a sketch show about really strange people in Britain and mocks pretty much everything. The best thing though is that Anthony Head, aka Giles from Buffy, is the Prime Minister. And really, the scenes that he is in are the funniest of the show. The whole show is like if you took the weirdest Monty Python sketches and made them slightly more inappropriate. Very weird and very funny.

And last, neither a book nor a movie nor a tv show...I played Just Dance on Wii. It was awesome. I got super sweaty because what is the fun if you aren't going to get into the moves? I am much better at Just Dance than I am at DDR. Most fun part of my weekend!

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Dilemma

I am in a reading dilemma. I am currently reading "The Wedding Girl" by Madeleine Wickham, aka Sophie Kinsella. I am not terribly far into it and I am enjoying it, but also very worried that I'm not going to like it. Now, that doesn't make total sense. I am currently enjoying the book but I'm worried that I'm not going to enjoy it. Mental, no?

Here is my problem. I liked the set up. I liked the prologue. I like some of the things that the main character, Milly, does. I'm worried that I'm not going to end up liking the main character. I have had some mixed feelings on Kinsella books before. I love love love Twenties Girl, Remember Me, and Undomestic Goddess. But I couldn't even get half way through Confessions of a Shopaholic. So I am a bit worried that I'm going to hate Milly and not being able to read all of The Wedding Girl. Which is silly because I really want to read it.

I am also concerned because I'm not actually sure if the guy she may end up with is the guy I want her to end up with. Milly is engaged, but a guy from her past who knows a secret about her just showed up. See...normally in a chick lit, if the main character is engaged, it is to someone who is wrong for them. And Milly's guy is really nice. He isn't perfect, but neither is she (she acts like someone else around him, which makes me hate her just a little bit). I'm worried that she is going to end up with the new guy and her current beau is going to end up being screwed over, which he doesn't deserve because he is really nice. It is kinda like in The Notebook (yes I've read it, no I didn't really like it, no I haven't read any other Nicholas Sparks books). The fiance of the main chick gets screwed over for the "real love", but he was really nice and didn't deserve the treatment he got, all of which made me kind of hate the heroine a bit.

I'm going to keep reading, at least for a bit more, to see where the story goes. Maybe it will end up being one of my favorite books ever, but mostly I am just hoping that it doesn't disappoint.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Challenged Books

The American Libraries Association has released the list of the most challenged books of 2010. I was going to actually comment about it, but I don't have time right now as the time I was going to spend blogging turned into time I used to read the blog of an author that I now want to read all the books of. So....the list
http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/news/ala/and-tango-makes-three-waddles-its-way-back-number-one-slot-america-s-most-frequently-challe

My biggest question...Hunger Games...sexually explicit? Really? When was that? I don't remember anything sexually explicit about Hunger Games. If there is sexually explicit material in it, I may need to reread.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Reading and rereading (and rereading)

Some books you read and enjoy and never pick up again. And some books you read over and over again. This top six list is about the books that I have read many, many times. There are a ton of books that I've read twice, but not a ton that I have read a bunch of times. I enjoy rereading, but also really like new materials, so I like to balance it all. This list is not books that I've read more than once, as that last would be ridiculously long. There is no specific order, nor is there much rhyme or reason to the list.

1) The Phantom Tollbooth--It is a kid's book, but if you have never read it, you should get on that pronto. I have read this one so many times I cannot even count. It was my favorite book when I was a kid and it continues to be one of my favorite books. It is a nerdily entertaining book and is funny while also being weighty.

2) Size 12 is Not Fat--I know that it is sort of weird to reread mysteries because you already know who the killer is and why, but I enjoy it. First, if it has been a while, you can forget the who and why, so you can discover it again. And if you know, it is fun to notice the subtleties that point to the killer long before it is revealed. Also, Meg Cabot books are always good for rereadings.

3) Harry Potter Series--This one could almost be left off the list due to the "no duh!" nature of it. I would probably reread the series more if it weren't for my obsession with having to read the entire series and not just certain books. I would probably enjoy reading the Goblet of Fire more often, but I can't read it without reading the first three first. But still...I've read them a lot.

4) Princess Bride--I've seen the movie enough to be able to quote the whole damn thing. And I've read the book enough times to be able to read a bit of it, set it down for months, pick it up to read a bit more and know exactly what is going on. And you know, it holds up every time. I will never get enough Princess Bride goodness!

5) The View from Saturday--I'm a huge E.L. Konigsburg fan and I think that View from Saturday is her best work. It is about a quiz team (much like Academic Superbowl which I did all four years of high school! Made it to state twice, what up!) and their lives and how they all connect. Every time I read it, I notice something that I didn't before. Some subtle connection that I had missed.

6) The Castle in the Attic (and to a small extent the Battle for the Castle)--I'm not sure why I was so obsessed with Castle in the Attic when I was younger. This is the only book on the list that I haven't read in the past few years. But I remember reading it so many times. It is kind of a scary book what with all the evil characters, battles, giant effing rats, and threat of death. I really enjoyed the whole idea of transforming and being stuck in a magical place and having to fight your way out. All sorts of fun adventure!

Mostly kids books and series, strangely enough. I've read quite a few series twice through, like Southern Vampire Mysteries and The Cat Who books, but never read an entire series more than twice except for Harry Potter. I am planning on rereading SVM before I read the new book, but I haven't done so yet.

Are you a rereader? What books have you read the most times?

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Hunger Games Casting News

Gale and Peeta have both been cast for the Hunger Games movie. Gale is going to be played by Liam Hemsworth and Peeta by Josh Hutcherson. I'm going to discuss Gale's casting first and then Peeta's casting.

Gale Hawthorne...I don't want to get all whiny about any sort of "whitewashing of movies", but seriously? Gale is said to have the common Seam working class look: olive skin, dark hair, gray eyes; Liam is rather run-of-the-mill Anglo. Not that he isn't hot because he is quite an attractive dude. Also, he is slightly older than Jennifer Lawrence, which works with the characters. I can't really judge his acting at all because I haven't seen him in anything. I know who he is for two reasons...he dated Miley Cyrus and was in that one movie with her that I didn't see because I have better taste than that and his brother is Thor and George Kirk! So, I suppose if he can act, he should be fine, though I really saw someone of a more diverse background in the part.

Peeta Mellark...Ok, so I am totally good with this casting. Peeta is described physically as rather middling build and kind (I also pictured him as quite hot, but in a sweet/adorable way and not in a heartthrobby kind of way). I think that Josh Hutcherson will do well in the role. He is rather young (just 18), but he has a rather extensive filmography. And though the only thing that I've actually seen him in is Zathura, I've heard good things about him in The Kids Are Alright. I think that he should be able to bring something very nice to the character of Peeta. Also, he's just rather adorable!

I am looking forward to how they fill out the rest of the cast. I am hoping that they get some really strong supporting characters for the other important roles like Haymitch, President Snow, Effie, Rue, and Cinna. I am not expecting The Hunger Games movie to be that great, but I am still hopeful that it can be good.

What do you think about the casting of the main boys?