Top Ten TV Shows of 2015

It’s that time of year we are making all kinds of yearly overviews.

However, I can hardly make a top ten books post with my barely existing reading (ahem!) and blogging this year. All right, if I counted fanfiction, I actually read quite a lot: I think it would sum up to about 20 – 30 full-length novels at least.

But, never mind, in the spirit of the season and in hopes for a more prolific blogging in 2016, and since this blog is not dedicated only to book-ish fictional worlds but also to those brought to life by visual media, I decided to share the top ten TV shows that conquered my heart in 2015.  

1. The Originals
   To be honest, this dysfunctional family of original vampires and their friends, enemies, and frenemies has conquered my heart long ago, back in TVD days, but with the lack of other good shows and so many cancellations, it has now firmly solidified as my #1 show.
   
   
2. Agent Carter
   A show with a female lead who is more than your typical badass strong female character™. Peggy Carter remains feminine and vulnerable, while also kicking ass, of course. And, it’s Peggy Carter!
   
   
3. Killjoys
   Stunning cinematography and incredible world-building with well-developed characters. And it is set in space! What is there not to love?
   
   
4. Sense 8
   Another sci-fi show, with heart-wrenching characters’ stories that doesn’t shy away from the difficult real-life issues. I could just hug this show. And each and every one of the sensates.
   
   
5. The Last Ship
   This is actually what I’d call a ‘light’ summer show. The US-centric patriotism, among other things, is sometimes over the top to the point of being ridiculous. But, with a show that is supposed to be a summer entertainment, I can overlook its shortcomings, especially since it’s suspenseful enough to keep me interested, and the main characters totally grew on me.
   
   
6. Downton Abbey
   Another long-time favourite was a bit more low-key in its final season, but still, I loved following the conclusion to the stories of so many beloved characters of this period drama. Can’t wait for the Christmas special grand finale!
   
   
7. Constantine
   Snarky and sassy, exorcist and master of the dark arts, John Constantine is more of an anti-hero than a hero. I’m not a comic-reader, but I loved this gritty, intriguing show, and therefore, it had to be cancelled.
   
   
8. The Messengers
   Seven angels of the apocalypse working together and prevent the four horsemen of the apocalypse to end the world. I loved the well-balanced focus on each of the main characters and the relationships between them and I was absolutely intrigued by the show’s concept. Sadly, it was cancelled short after the beginning, but at least they aired the entire season despite that fact.
   
   
9. Dominion
   Do you see the pattern with the shows I watch here? I didn’t care much for the first season up to the finale, but the second season was a whole other and much better show, as it delved deeper into biblical mythology, spending less time on human politics, thus promising an even better third season. Alas, it was, guess what, cancelled. Yep.
   
   
10. Quantico
    A crime/action drama about the lives of new FBI recruits. This fledgling new show has hooked me right at the beginning. With only half a season behind us, I love it: the characters, the relationships, the suspense and mystery, all of it. I hope the second part of the season will be just as good and will get us another season.

What about your favourite TV shows?

Perhaps we have some in common. Or, you know, I’m always on the look-out for new goodies to watch, so please, feel free to comment away. 

Once Upon a Time in Wonderland (2013 – 2014)

CREATORS: Jane Espenson, Zack Estrin, Adam Horowitz, Edward Kitsis; CAST: Sophie Lowe, Michael Socha, Peter Gadiot…

SUMMARY: A spin-off of Once Upon a Time is based on Alice in Wonderland, but rather than retelling the story, it is cantered around a twist of its own. In Victorian England, nobody believe young Alice’s stories of her adventures in Wonderland. As she finds herself on the brink of a precarious decision with irreparable consequences, White Rabbit and Knave of hearts save her from a terrible fate and bring her back to Wonderland, where Alice sets on a new series of adventures, saving her friends, herself, and Wonderland itself.

MY THOUGHTS:

Firstly, let me admit that I haven’t read Alice in Wonderland yet (I still might in the future, though) – growing in a non-English speaking country, we read other, Slovene authors, as children.

This is one of the reasons, that although I have seen one or two film adaptations, and I have been watching Once Upon a Time (OUAT) since the beginning (although I only reviewed season 1) I have only caught up with Once Upon a Time in Wonderland (OUATIW) now, but I absolutely loved it, even more so that OUAT.

Here are the reasons why:

• Alice. She is a wonderful heroine, a “strong female character” written as she should be: yes, she kicks ass, but she is not invulnerable, not masculinised as many so-called strong female characters are; she saves others but needs saving herself, too,  she accepts help when needed, she makes mistakes, and she breaks when everything is too much. But in the end, she comes out stronger and victorious. She is good hearted and selfless, but I loved that she fights for her own happiness, contrary to the cliché of a heroine only putting others’ happiness before hers.
  
• Knave of Hearts. What a splendid male sidekick! Sassy and snarky (though, Alice is all that herself as well), and not always quite willing or capable to do what’s right, but the goodness inside him gets the better of him.
  
• No love triangles drama. Almost no love drama, period. Far from the usual norm of contemporary television which focuses on romance, in OUATIW, love is in the centre of the story but is also just a part of it at the same time.
  
• The villain(s). I loved the parallels the show draws of how differently life can take people who start with things in common: one may earn the error of their ways and try to do better while the other does not do so and suffers the consequences.
  
• And all other characters and subplots. There is just so much good I cannot possibly mention everything.
  
• Despite the fact that the show wasn’t renewed for a second season, the story is perfectly wrapped up in 13 episodes of its first and only season and everything is nicely tied up. No cliff-hangers or loose ends.
  
• The fluff-tastic, but not corny, ending.

Finally, OUATIW does slightly overlap with its parent series (OUAT), but the references make sense even if you haven’t been watching OUAT.

Hence, there is no reason not to watch Once Upon a Time in Wonderland.

RECOMMENDATION: I think OUAT and Alice in Wonderland fans as well as fantasy lovers in general will tremendously enjoy this series.

Game of Thrones, Seasons 1–3

CREATOR: David Benioff, D.B. Weiss; CAST: Peter Dinklage, Lena Headey, Maisie Williams…

SUMMARY (from IMDB): Seven noble families fight for control of the mythical land of Westeros.

MY OPINION:

Obviously, A Song of Ice and Fire by G. R. R. Martin has been on my TBR list for ages. However, even though I have heard a lot of praise for it, I have been reluctant to start it, because those books look scarily thick.

Nevertheless, I started watching the TV-series based on it on a whim, and sped through it in about three weeks, because it is so good.

As I learned from a friend who read the books and watched the show, Game of Thrones is to a great extent faithful to the book series as far as the basics are concerned, but it omits details, which is understandable.
It has a lot of great characters, played by excellent actors: the good, the evil, and those in between; and you will both love and hate them. And let me reiterate the warning my friend gave me: do not get attached to any character to strongly because nobody is safe.

The plot is full of action, suspense, intrigues and drama both on personal and general scales, with many unexpected surprises along the way and twists one never sees coming.

The scenery and settings are absolutely stunning, worth watching all on their own. And I enjoyed the music on the show quite a bit.

Game of Thrones is not for people with weak stomachs, since there is quite some graphic violence present. This show is on HBO for a reason, so be warned. The same goes for sexually explicit scenes.

Overall, I fell in love with this show, and I can’t wait for season 4, starting in April. And one of these days I will certainly venture to my library and borrow the first book of A Song of Ice on Fire, since I want to learn the details the show may have left out and get perhaps a clearer, deeper look into this amazing world.


RECOMMENDATION: If you are a fantasy and history (since the world of ASoIaF resembles a medieval world) fan, this show is a must-see (provided you are a mature adult and can handle violence, of course), as is the book series a must-read (the advice I have to follow some day soon). 

Revolution as The Lord of the Rings

SPOILER ALERT: This post contains SPOILERS for both Revolution and The Lord of the Rings. And if you haven’t yet, go and watch/read those.

Have I mentioned Revolution is my (not-so-new) TV obsession? The show itself makes a couple of blatant references to The Lord of the Rings, namely with the pendant(s) and the latest mention of the Tower. Additionally, Eric Kripke (creator) specifically mentioned in one of the interviews that Revolution is supposed to be a LOTR-like quest to defeat the evil guys.

You know my love for LOTR. No wonder my thoughts got out of control once I started thinking about it, so here it is – a full-on (but only half-serious) Revolution/LOTR comparison (take it as seriously or as jokingly as you like).

I mentioned the pendant(s), right? Aka the One Ring/the rings of power (pun full intended)? This is a clearly Monroe = Boromir parallel, which is logical, since Monroe intends to use the power for the benefit of The Monroe Republic, as Boromir under the Ring’s evil influence wants to use it for the benefit of Gondor. I hope Monroe doesn’t meet an equally bitter end as Boromir, though. Besides, I have another parallel in mind for Monroe, but I’ll get there in a while.

   

(Source)

The aforementioned Tower could be Barad-dûr or Mount Doom. Since it appears to be the source of the blackout and also the place where they can turn the power back on, I would go for Mount Doom, as the One Ring (i.e. the source of Sauron’s power) is made and destroyed in it.

Now, Charlie, being the main protagonist, is obviously Frodo. Though, I don’t know who the Revolution version of Sam would be. It could have been Danny, but that is no longer an option, unfortunately.

   

This would make Miles parallel to Aragorn. I am not going to comment on that. Miles is Aragorn. A twisted, morally grey Aragorn, with a dark past. But he knows how to make things happen. And he is good at killing (as is Aragorn, isn’t he?). And he always finds a solution (even if it’s not the best one). So, end of discussion.

 

The show writers want to convince us the bad guys are Monroe and Randall. I agree with Randall being evil, maybe even the big bad, since he had everything to do with the blackout, which would make him Sauron. His recent alliance with Monroe suggests the latter as Saruman, with his obsession for power and weapons, and the Militia could be Orcs. however, I don’t like it. It may be logical and the writers obviously think we should see Monroe as a a big bad villain, but I refuse to accept it. I view Monroe more in the role of Théoden – that is the Théoden poisoned by Wormtongue’s influence before Gandalf opens his eyes and heals him. I can’t think of the Revolution versions of Gandalf and Wormtougue, but I think the person who could bring Monroe back to the good side would be Miles, thus also doubling for Gandalf in this case (once he gets over his resentment and guilt which he projects on Monroe). Again, I hope Monroe's ending will be better than Théoden's

 

Viewing Monroe as Théoden brings us to Jeremy as Eómer and the Militia as the Rohirrim. The rebels could be the men of Dunland, otherwise I have no idea what to do with them.

Naturally, Nora is  Eówyn, being a fierce fighter and having a (what seems unrequited) crush on Miles. This brings up a comparison of Rachel to Arwen which I don’t even want to think about. However, Rachel, especially when siding with the rebels, could be seen as Saruman (and the rebels his Orc army). It would make sense in terms of fighting for power against Randall and his people. Oh, look, I solved the problem where to put the rebels.

Let me conclude with some minor, more superficial guesses who could be who. For example, Strausser could be compared to the Wraith-King, especially considering his (not really untimely) end.

Julia might be a dark Galadriel. Because that lady knows things.

Tom would be Denethor, protecting the Republic/Gondor while potentially wanting to usurp/usurping the throne. Hence, Jason, a disobedient son, can be Faramir. Hey, this even makes my Nora/Jason (crack)ship work out in LOTR version, lol.

These are all the parallels I could come up with. It was fun for me, and, hopefully, for you as well.

If you’re familiar with Revolution and LOTR, what do you think? Agree? Disagree? Any alternative or additional suggestions? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the photos/gifs used in this post.

Bookie Brunch: Trick or Treat! – My Top Five Favourite Paranormal TV Shows

Welcome to Bookie Brunch: Trick or Treat!

On each blog stop from now through Halloween, a blogger or vlogger will have a handpicked Halloween treat to share with you - it might be a video clip, or a feature about great spooky films, a playlist of great, creepy songs, a recipe for treats, or a gallery of witches.

It might be anything! But it's sure to be something fun, so feel free to drop by each day from October 23-31, to pick up some cute treats to put you in the Halloween mood. All the treats will be added into the linky at the end of this post, so feel free to browse.

My treat for you is:
My Top Five Favourite Paranormal TV Shows

As many of you may already know, or at least suspect, I love reading and watching about all things paranormal, so here is a Halloween-appropriate list of five TV shows I was (or still am) addicted to at some part over the last decade and a half (listed in order of airing):

1. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
   I was in high school, so about the same age as the main characters, when it first aired and this series was one of the first things that made me fall in love with paranormal genre, so it will always have a special place in my heart.
   
2. Charmed
   Three witch sisters, ghosts, demons, and angels were something I just couldn't miss.
   
3. Angel
   Naturally, I equally loved this Buffy spin-off, though I still haven't seen the last two seasons. But I'm planning to have a re-watch of both series some day and then finally catch up.
   
4. Supernatural
   Although I saw some episodes at its beginning, I actually only got fully caught up and addicted to it this spring. There's every monster and other paranormal entity you can imagine (and those you can't), together with an abundance of mythology, so it just doesn't get more supernatural than Supernatural.
   
5. The Vampire Diaries
   And so much more than just vampire diaries. I'm pretty sure I've already raved about TVD on this blog and elsewhere quite enough, so I'm just going to shut up. Do I need to say I love it?

Photo credit: CW, edits found here and here.

Have you watched any of the shows or read the mentioned books? If so, what did you think of them?

Also, if there is any other paranormal show/book/ book series you enjoy, please let me know, I'm always looking for recommendations in this area.

Feel welcome to express your thoughts in the comments!

About Bookie Brunch: Trick or Treat!: The first blog hop was a Bookie Brunch special event for Halloween, and it was a lot of fun, so we're just continuing the tradition. Bookie Brunch was a weekly book discussion founded by Sasha Soren, the author of Random Magic. Browse archive.

Video Week: 'Random Magic' by Sasha Soren

Also this month - drop by for Video Week: Random Magic, from Oct. 21-30, featuring an entertaining week of cool reviews and creative features from vloggers around the world. They're featuring the book Random Magic by Sasha Soren. Visit the YouTube page for the schedule in infobox.

If I had to choose a Random Magic character for Halloween, I would definitely be Winnie, because she's brave and resourceful and never gives up, no matter how tough the situation is. Also, what better costume than a quirky doodle witch can you imagine?

 

Credit: Photo found here.

Find Random Magic Print | Kindle

If you stopped by for Halloween, here's what you'd find in your treats bag:

Credit: Photo found here.

Roasted chestnuts may seem boring but this is the delicacy that makes me look forward to autumn every year. Yum!

Gilmore Girls Books

One of the most important reasons I loved Gilmore Girls was that I could relate to Rory's love for reading. The other day I came across a list of books mentioned in the show. I am not challenging myself to read all of them, but I thought it might be fun sharing which books I have read and which ones I am planning to.

• Bold – read
• Bold and italicised – probably read, but I am not sure
• Italicised and underlined – started but did not finish
• Italicised – definitely planning to read
  

1984 by George Orwell
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser
Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
Archidamian War by Donald Kagan
The Art of Fiction by Henry James
The Art of War by Sun Tzu
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
Atonement by Ian McEwan
Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy
The Awakening by Kate Chopin
Babe by Dick King-Smith
Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women by Susan Faludi
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
Beloved by Toni Morrison
Beowulf: A New Verse Translation by Seamus Heaney (different version)
The Bhagava Gita
The Bielski Brothers: The True Story of Three Men Who Defied the Nazis, Built a village in the Forest, and Saved 1,200 Jews by Peter Duffy
Bitch in Praise of Difficult Women by Elizabeth Wurtzel
A Bolt from the Blue and Other Essays by Mary McCarthy
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Bridgadoon by Alan Jay Lerner
Candide by Voltaire
The Canterbury Tales by Chaucer
Carrie by Stephen King
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller - Started, didn’t finish
The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White
The Children’s Hour by Lillian Hellman
Christine by Stephen King
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
The Code of the Woosters by P.G. Wodehouse
The Collected Short Stories by Eudora Welty
The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty by Eudora Welty
A Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare
Complete Novels by Dawn Powell
The Complete Poems by Anne Sexton
Complete Stories by Dorothy Parker
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas père
Cousin Bette by Honor’e de Balzac
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber
The Crucible by Arthur Miller
Cujo by Stephen King
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende
David and Lisa by Dr Theodore Issac Rubin M.D
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol
Demons by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
Deenie by Judy Blume
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson
The Dirt: Confessions of the World’s Most Notorious Rock Band by Tommy Lee, Vince Neil, Mick Mars and Nikki Sixx
The Divine Comedy by Dante
The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells
Don Quijote by Cervantes
Driving Miss Daisy by Alfred Uhrv
Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
Edgar Allan Poe: Complete Tales & Poems by Edgar Allan Poe
Eleanor Roosevelt by Blanche Wiesen Cook
The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe
Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters by Mark Dunn
Eloise by Kay Thompson
Emily the Strange by Roger Reger
Emma by Jane Austen
Empire Falls by Richard Russo
Encyclopedia Brown: Boy Detective by Donald J. Sobol
Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
Ethics by Spinoza
Europe through the Back Door, 2003 by Rick Steves
Eva Luna by Isabel Allende
Everything Is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer
Extravagance by Gary Krist
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Fahrenheit 9/11 by Michael Moore
The Fall of the Athenian Empire by Donald Kagan
Fat Land: How Americans Became the Fattest People in the World by Greg Critser
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson
The Fellowship of the Ring: Book 1 of The Lord of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien
Fiddler on the Roof by Joseph Stein
The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
Finnegan’s Wake by James Joyce
Fletch by Gregory McDonald
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
The Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem
The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Franny and Zooey by J. D. Salinger
Freaky Friday by Mary Rodgers
Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut
Gender Trouble by Judith Butler
George W. Bushism: The Slate Book of the Accidental Wit and Wisdom of our 43rd President by Jacob Weisberg
Gidget by Fredrick Kohner
Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen
The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels
The Godfather: Book 1 by Mario Puzo
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Alvin Granowsky
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
The Good Soldier by Ford Maddox Ford
The Gospel According to Judy Bloom
The Graduate by Charles Webb
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
The Group by Mary McCarthy
Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J. K. Rowling
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders by Vincent Bugliosi and Curt Gentry
Henry IV, part I by William Shakespeare
Henry IV, part II by William Shakespeare
Henry V by William Shakespeare
High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon
Holidays on Ice: Stories by David Sedaris
The Holy Barbarians by Lawrence Lipton
House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III
The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende
How to Breathe Underwater by Julie Orringer
How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss
How the Light Gets in by M. J. Hyland
Howl by Allen Gingsburg
The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo
The Iliad by Homer
I’m with the Band by Pamela des Barres
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
Inferno by Dante
Inherit the Wind by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee
Iron Weed by William J. Kennedy
It Takes a Village by Hillary Clinton
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare
The Jumping Frog by Mark Twain
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
Just a Couple of Days by Tony Vigorito
The Kitchen Boy: A Novel of the Last Tsar by Robert Alexander
Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Lady Chatterley's Lover by D. H. Lawrence
The Last Empire: Essays 1992-2000 by Gore Vidal
Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
The Legend of Bagger Vance by Steven Pressfield
Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis
Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke
Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them by Al Franken
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens
The Little Locksmith by Katharine Butler Hathaway
The Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Andersen
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Living History by Hillary Rodham Clinton
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
The Lottery: And Other Stories by Shirley Jackson
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
The Love Story by Erich Segal
Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
The Manticore by Robertson Davies
Marathon Man by William Goldman
The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter by Simone de Beauvoir
Memoirs of General W. T. Sherman by William Tecumseh Sherman
Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
The Meaning of Consuelo by Judith Ortiz Cofer
Mencken’s Chrestomathy by H. R. Mencken
The Merry Wives of Windsor by William Shakespeare
The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
The Miracle Worker by William Gibson
Moby Dick by Herman Melville
The Mojo Collection: The Ultimate Music Companion by Jim Irvin
Moliere: A Biography by Hobart Chatfield Taylor
A Monetary History of the United States by Milton Friedman
Monsieur Proust by Celeste Albaret
A Month Of Sundays: Searching For The Spirit And My Sister by Julie Mars
A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway
Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
Mutiny on the Bounty by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall
My Lai 4: A Report on the Massacre and It’s Aftermath by Seymour M. Hersh
My Life as Author and Editor by H. R. Mencken
My Life in Orange: Growing Up with the Guru by Tim Guest
Myra Waldo’s Travel and Motoring Guide to Europe, 1978 by Myra Waldo
My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult
The Naked and the Dead by Norman Mailer
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin
Nervous System: Or, Losing My Mind in Literature by Jan Lars Jensen
New Poems of Emily Dickinson by Emily Dickinson
The New Way Things Work by David Macaulay
Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich
Night by Elie Wiesel
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism by William E. Cain, Laurie A. Finke, Barbara E. Johnson, John P. McGowan
Novels 1930-1942: Dance Night/Come Back to Sorrento, Turn, Magic Wheel/Angels on Toast/A Time to be Born by Dawn Powell
Notes of a Dirty Old Man by Charles Bukowski
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Old School by Tobias Wolff
On the Road by Jack Kerouac
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The Opposite of Fate: Memories of a Writing Life by Amy Tan
Oracle Night by Paul Auster
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
Othello by Shakespeare
Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens
The Outbreak of the Peloponnesian War by Donald Kagan
Out of Africa by Isac Dineson
The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton
A Passage to India by E.M. Forster
The Peace of Nicias and the Sicilian Expedition by Donald Kagan
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Peyton Place by Grace Metalious
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Pigs at the Trough by Arianna Huffington
Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi
Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain
The Polysyllabic Spree by Nick Hornby
The Portable Dorothy Parker by Dorothy Parker
The Portable Nietzche by Fredrich Nietzche
The Price of Loyalty: George W. Bush, the White House, and the Education of Paul O’Neill by Ron Suskind
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Property by Valerie Martin
Pushkin: A Biography by T. J. Binyon
Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw
Quattrocento by James Mckean
A Quiet Storm by Rachel Howzell Hall
Rapunzel by Grimm Brothers
The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe
The Razor’s Edge by W. Somerset Maugham
Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by Kate Douglas Wiggin
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
Rescuing Patty Hearst: Memories From a Decade Gone Mad by Virginia Holman
The Return of the King: The Lord of the Rings Book 3 by J. R. R. Tolkien
R Is for Ricochet by Sue Grafton
Rita Hayworth by Stephen King
Robert’s Rules of Order by Henry Robert
Roman Holiday by Edith Wharton
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf
A Room with a View by E. M. Forster
Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin
The Rough Guide to Europe, 2003 Edition
Sacred Time by Ursula Hegi
Sanctuary by William Faulkner
Savage Beauty: The Life of Edna St. Vincent Millay by Nancy Milford
Say Goodbye to Daisy Miller by Henry James
The Scarecrow of Oz by Frank L. Baum
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand
The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir (read parts of it)
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
Secrets of the Flesh: A Life of Colette by Judith Thurman
Selected Hotels of Europe
Selected Letters of Dawn Powell: 1913-1965 by Dawn Powell
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
A Separate Peace by John Knowles
Several Biographies of Winston Churchill
Sexus by Henry Miller
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Shane by Jack Shaefer
The Shining by Stephen King
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
S Is for Silence by Sue Grafton
Slaughter-house Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Small Island by Andrea Levy
Snows of Kilimanjaro by Ernest Hemingway
Snow White and Rose Red by Grimm Brothers
Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy: Lord and Peasant in the Making of the Modern World by Barrington Moore
The Song of Names by Norman Lebrecht
Song of the Simple Truth: The Complete Poems of Julia de Burgos by Julia de Burgos
The Song Reader by Lisa Tucker
Songbook by Nick Hornby
The Sonnets by William Shakespeare
Sonnets from the Portuegese by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Sophie’s Choice by William Styron
The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
Speak, Memory by Vladimir Nabokov
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach
The Story of My Life by Helen Keller
A Streetcar Named Desiree by Tennessee Williams
Stuart Little by E. B. White
Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
Swann’s Way by Marcel Proust
Swimming with Giants: My Encounters with Whales, Dolphins and Seals by Anne Collett
Sybil by Flora Rheta Schreiber
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Tender Is The Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Term of Endearment by Larry McMurtry
Time and Again by Jack Finney
The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
To Have and Have Not by Ernest Hemingway
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The Tragedy of Richard III by William Shakespeare
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
The Trial by Franz Kafka
The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters by Elisabeth Robinson
Truth & Beauty: A Friendship by Ann Patchett
Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
Ulysses by James Joyce
The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath 1950-1962 by Sylvia Plath
Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
Unless by Carol Shields
Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann
The Vanishing Newspaper by Philip Meyers
Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
Velvet Underground’s The Velvet Underground and Nico (Thirty Three and a Third series) by Joe Harvard
The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett
Walden by Henry David Thoreau
Walt Disney’s Bambi by Felix Salten
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
We Owe You Nothing – Punk Planet: The Collected Interviews edited by Daniel Sinker
What Colour is Your Parachute? 2005 by Richard Nelson Bolles
What Happened to Baby Jane by Henry Farrell
When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka
Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf by Edward Albee
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire
The Wizard of Oz by Frank L. Baum
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

Read: 43 of 339 books. Not bad, I think. I am sure I will read more of them over the years.

What about you? Have you read any of these? Are you planning to?

Once Upon a Time Season 1

Note: This review contains mild SPOILERS.

CREATORS: Adam Horowitz, Edward Kitsis; CAST: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Morrison, Lana Parrilla…

SUMMARY (from IMDB): Emma Swan gets the surprise of her life when Henry, the son she gave up 10 years ago, arrives on her doorstep. Returning the boy to his adoptive mother becomes complicated when Henry reveals a stunning theory to Emma. Everyone in Storybrooke, Maine is a fairy-tale character under a curse, and Emma – as the long lost daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming – is the one who can save them all. The story unfolds; interweaving scenes of the drama in the sleepy New England town and the inhabitants' past lives in the world of fairy tales. The timeless battle of good vs. evil is ready to begin again.

MY OPINION:

Prior to starting watching it I was intrigued, but at the same time I thought it might be a little boring. After all, I had been familiar with a lot of fairy-tales already. I could not have been more wrong.

While Once Upon a Time is fairly loyal to the traditional fairy-tales, the way it combines them makes everything look fresh. It is like when you are eating a cake and a memory of that delicious cake your mom made when you were a child echoes in your memory. Thus, Once Upon a Time evokes a childhood nostalgia, and at the same time numerous edgy little twists keep things interesting.

The most notable characters are Emma, Henry, and Regina. Regina is a gloriously malicious evil queen I love to hate and hate to love. She is very powerful and her strikes are brutal. However, learning the reasons why she has become the way she is and why she is doing all those bad things, I cannot help but spare her a pinch of compassion.

I like the contrast between Regina and Emma, which does not exist only in terms of good vs. evil. Regina is all about use and abuse of power, strongly immersed into the world of magic she came from. Emma, on the other hand, is a very grounded person, trusting only physical evidence, and a position of power does not corrupt her. In that aspect, Henry is not only caught between them as an adopted/biological child, but also as someone who is able to reconcile the reality of this world with the the belief in the fairy-tale land and its magic.

Mr. Gold/Rumpelstiltskin is also a very intriguing character, always hiding an ace up his sleeve, so you never know what he is up to. He is basically no better than Regina, but as well as her backstory his makes me feel some sympathy towards him. Actually, I quite like him.

Another character I liked was Sheriff Graham, and I was disappointed when he was killed off.

Although Snow and Charming are central characters, I have mixed feelings about them. In the beginning, I loved them a lot and was rooting for their story to end happily. But then everything stared to drag too much, and they did some things I do not approve of, so I became more or less indifferent towards them.

Basically each and every character in Once Upon a Time has an interesting backstory and traits worth analysing, but it would take too long, so if you want to know more, you will just have to watch the show.

The finale wrapped up the season's story arc quite well, but it left enough open space to make me want to know what happens next.

Here are my predictions and questions for season two:

• Due to old grudges and the information newly acquired by Mr. Gold there will be an open war between Regina and Mr. Gold with everyone else caught in the crossfire.
• Regina will continue trying to get rid of Emma and hurt Snow.
• Henry will remain the driving force behind solving whichever problems that arise.
• Will we learn the identity of Henry's father? Could it be Bael, Mr. Gold's son? He got out of the fairy-tale land before the curse, so it could be a possible coincidence.
• Is August going to be okay? Might there be a romance between him and Emma?

Overall, I enjoyed this series. It was predictable to an extent and sometimes annoying (mainly Regina – but it would be something wrong with me if I were not disturbed by her actions), but not enough to put me off watching it. I am definitely looking forward to season two.

RECOMMENDATION: Once Upon a Time offers an intriguing take on numerous classic fairy-tales. If you are a fantasy type, you will like it. However, I would not recommend it to younger audience due to violent scenes which are at times quite graphic.

Downton Abbey Season 2 (2011)

CREATOR: Julian Fellowes; CAST: Hugh Bonneville, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter…

SUMMARY (from IMDB): Lord Crawley sees his family heritage, especially the grand country home Downton Abbey, as his mission in life. The death of his heir aboard the Titanic means distant cousin Matthew Crawley, a Manchester lawyer, suddenly is next in line and accepts moving onto the vast estate with his even more modernist, socially engaged mother, who clashes with his lordship's domineering, conservative ma the dowager. Marrying off the daughters is another concern. Meanwile the butler presides over a staff which serves the family but also lead most of their entire lives in the servants’ quarters, intriguing amongst themselves.

MY OPINION:

World War I changes the world, and the changes do not go past Downton Abbey. Its inhabitants have to face fear, death, shortage, and basically any other suffering the war brings along.

In the midst of everything they continue struggling with their personal problems. In one way or the other every character has to overcome some sort of a difficulty and face the past before they can go on with their lives.

Fortunately, the changes are not all bad. For some characters, such as Sybil, the changing world brings her the opportunity she was searching for to finally get to live the life she wants.

The characters in Downton Abbey are diverse, and each of them is complex in their own way. They all have their good and bad sides, and the show excels at showing how it is up to an individual to decide what kind of a person they want to be.

Hence, I cannot say I dislike any character in particular (with the exception of Bates’s wife). Even Thomas and O’Brien are quite sympathetic, as long as they do not engage in any plotting, because that never has a good outcome. It would be best if they just did not listen to one another, I think, because separately they are just fine. However, I think their past actions will come back to haunt them.

The one person I did not expect to like is the Dowager Countess. I warmed up on her already in season one, but I really liked her this season. She reminds me of my late grandma a little. She sticks to her ways, but can adapt to the situation when it is best for her family. And she is hilarious, her lines are so clever and funny, spoken in her dignified manner, that they almost always make me laugh.

I do not even know where to start on Mary and Mathew. I will just say I love seeing their relationship change in so many ways. They have to deal with a lot, both personally and in terms of family and war matters, and they come out as winners. I love them. And that ending. Tears. My heart melted. That is it. I will stop now.

RECOMMENDATION: Downton Abbey is a wonderful, hear-felt series, portraying a life of a family in the early 20^th century England. It draws you in and makes you live their lives with them while watching. I cannot wait for the third season. 

Terra Nova Season 1 (2011)

CREATORS: Craig Silverstein, Kelly Marcel; CAST: Jason O'Mara, Shelley Conn, Christine Adams …

SUMMARY (from IMDB): Centers on the Shannons, an ordinary family from 2149 when the planet is dying who are transported back 85 million years to prehistoric Earth where they join Terra Nova, a colony of humans with a second chance to build a civilization.

MY OPINION:

I think the problem with this show is it being categorized as science-fiction. All right, the premise of travelling through time from 100 years in the future to a parallel Earth 80 million years back is science-fictional. But that is it. Unfortunately, the sci-fi categorization makes people get wrong expectations of something along the lines of a Jurassic park series version, so they are consequently disappointed. What Terra Nova is really about is family, nature, and humanity in general. 

The most important issue Terra Nova deals with is also the most obvious one: the consequences of mankind’s attitude to the environment. In 2149, our planet is over-populated and destroyed by pollution. The air is too poisonous to breathe unfiltered, the Sun is dimmed by gasses, new lethal diseases are plaguing the people, and there is general shortage of food. Only the rich can afford to live in clean air under domes. This is the picture of the world which may soon come to be if we do not change our life style. For this warning alone the series should get a lot more appreciation than it does.

Next, there is the issue of human nature. Even on the verge of extinction, there are people who would exploit a new chance for survival for their personal gain. Greed knows no boundaries. Again, the show sets an important reminder that if people do not start working together and stop being selfish, there is no future for us.

But in all this bleakness, there is hope. People will always have their faults, but they can change and improve if being given a chance. And that chance is something worth fighting for.

In the end, it all comes down to a family and an individual: the choices one makes affect everybody, be it in a positive or a negative way. A family can help an individual make the right choices and make-up for the bad ones to eventually create a better life for everyone.

In addition to powerful environmental and moral messages, Terra Nova has an interesting, fast-paced plot, at least through the second half of the season. Although, I admit that a few episodes in the beginning seemed disconnected from the rest.

Also, there were some surprising personal story arcs. For example, I really liked Skye’s development, which had some unexpected turns, as well as Mira’s. The Shannons are perhaps a little predictable, but they show us what it means to be a family, and I like how each of them stands their ground. They also show us how we need a support of a family even, or especially, when we make a mistake. 

Finally, I just want to say I was sad to learn Fox had cancelled the show just this week. I hope some other network picks it up and brings it back for the second season. I would like to see the loose ends tied up, since season one ended on a cliffhanger. And I hope someone kicks Lucas Taylor’s ass.

RECOMMENDATION: This is an excellent series focusing on environmental and moral aspects people have to deal with. Give it a chance. Keep your mind open. Do not just wait to be entertained. Take a fragment and think about it. Because that is what this show is about – making you think about your contribution to preventing the awful future it depicts from coming true. 

Downton Abbey Season 1 (2010)

CREATOR: Julian Fellowes; CAST: Hugh Bonneville, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter…

SUMMARY (from IMDB): Lord Crawley sees his family heritage, especially the grand country home Downton Abbey, as his mission in life. The death of his heir aboard the Titanic means distant cousin Matthew Crawley, a Manchester lawyer, suddenly is next in line and accepts moving onto the vast estate with his even more modernist, socially engaged mother, who clashes with his lordship's domineering, conservative ma the dowager. Marrying off the daughters is another concern. Meanwile the butler presides over a staff which serves the family but also lead most of their entire lives in the servants’ quarters, intriguing amongst themselves.

MY OPINION:

Downton Abbey is a period drama, set in England in the beginning of the twentieth century. The years before WW I were an era of the world starting to change into a semblance of the world we know today.

For the people living at that time the change was difficult for both the young and the old, the rich and the poor. The rich and the old, settled in their ways, found change unwelcome, whereas for the young and the poor, striving to make the best of their lives, the change was not happening fast enough.

Downton Abbey deals with a wide spectre of social, family, and personal issues. It brings a lot of things we are taking for granted at present, such as women’s rights to inherit and vote, to the viewers' attention. It also tackles ambition, making one’s own fortune, crossing social class differences, sibling rivalry, gossip, revenge, and much more.

Unfortunately, the show deals with all the above mentioned things somewhat superficially. Often, it does not use well the potential of certain premises and/or characters. The characters do develop, they grow and change, but I miss something I cannot quite put my finger on. It is not that there is no depth, because there certainly is. Perhaps, everything is just dealt with too fast, leaving too many gaps the viewers has to fill in by themselves.

Still, the show is delightful to watch. There are some characters that are easy to connect and sympathise with. I love how the villains are multi-dimensional, so I cannot just hate them but have to understand them and feel for them on several occasions.

Also, I like how the Crawleys are basically good employers, kind to their employees, allowing them time off and rest when they need it, and how they care about their well-being. Even though this kind of presentation might be slightly unrealistic, it is within the limits of possibility, and it is one of the show’s strong points.

Rounding up the whole picture, there is a stunning setting and beautiful costumes. The acting is very good. These things combined make the viewer forget it is all an illusion and enable a smooth transfer into another kind of world for a while.

RECOMMENDATION: Lovers of period drama would certainly enjoy this genuine insight into the life of an aristocrat’s family and their servants a century ago.

The Vampire Diaries as The Lord of the Rings

If you read this blog regularly you know how much I love The Lord of the Rings. You probably also know I am a big fan of The Vampire Diaries. The other day, I was reading this post at The Salvatore Boarding House where Stephanie compared TVD to LoTR :

Stephanie: Do you think if we got wizards to replace the witches it’d make the show 100x better? I mean wizards HAVE to be more competent than witches, right? I mean Gandolf the Grey totally became The White Wizard because he got shit done.
Cin: Stephanie, you keep talking about LoTR’s and I’m going to find you and kiss you. Seriously.
Stephanie: LoTR’s and TVD are pretty similar, right? I mean Stefan is obviously Frodo, Klaus is Golum (but a hot one at that), and that damn necklace is the ring that must be destroyed. I could probably make comparison’s to LoTR’s all day

Presented with this fabulous idea, I could not resist thinking about it and making comparisons on my own.

This is what I've come up with:

SPOILER ALERT: This post from now on contains SPOILERS for both LoTR and TVD – that is, for those of you who haven’t read LoTR and aren’t watching TVD.

Let’s start with the evil of all evils – Sauron. My whole TVD-isation of LoTR is based on who the TVD variety of Sauron is. I’m going with the theory of big bad so far seeming to be Mama Original Witch, also known as Esther, or her spirit.

As the power of Sauron lies in the Ring, Esther’s power lies in her necklace. Hence, the necklace, just as the Ring, must be destroyed.

The mission to destroy the Ring falls upon Frodo. Stephanie suggested Stefan as Frodo. However, Frodo inherits the Ring from Bilbo, who stumbles upon the Ring by accident/fate. Now, Stefan acquired the necklace by accident after Rebekah had lost it, so that would pretty much make Stefan Bilbo, not Frodo. But as Stefan doesn’t retire in a home (read: Rivendell) I wouldn’t make him Bilbo. But first, let’s see: who did Stefan give the necklace to (just as Bilbo gave the Ring to Frodo)? Elena. So, I’m going with Elena as Frodo.

 

Frodo wouldn’t achieve much without some help from Sam. Elena definitely needs her own Sam. Well, considering that it’s Elena, she could use not one, but two Sams. Who can think of anyone always tailing Elena, getting her out of trouble (and into trouble), I ask you? But of course: the Salvatore brothers. Yep, I've just degraded the Rippah and his crazy, impulsive brother into hobbits. Hey, they should be flattered; Sam is a kick-ass hobbit. Besides, Stefan and Damon could also stand in for Merry and Pippin, who often do something stupid, but save the day in the end.  

 

The Ring/the necklace is connected with two more characters. Sauron gave rings to mortal men who turned evil and became the Nazgûl with their leader, the Witch King of Angmar, also known as the Wraith-King. Esther gave her necklace to Rebekah, who in my opinion will not think twice about siding with mommy even if it meant turning all evil, thus paralleling the Wraith-King.

Next, the Ring was long possessed by Gollum, a not-thoroughly evil creature, who is hated by everybody, rejected by his family, miserably lonely. Reminds you of someone? Someone like a bastard son, for a long time one of his kind, longing for friendship and family, but lacking skills to form true bonds with other people, therefore wrecking havoc and bringing violent death everywhere he goes? Klaus. In the end, Gollum is the crucial factor for the destruction of the ring – led to this by stalking Frodo. I can certainly see a possibility of Elena having to join forces with Klaus to beat the greater evil, which will probably be fatal for Klaus just as it is for Gollum (though, I wouldn’t mind keeping Klaus and his charming villainy around forever).

 

Moving on, we need some more people on the good side. First of all, someone must call the meetings, head the discussions, organise fundraisers and expeditions, make sure the tradition is recorded and properly observed. In short, someone with nothing better to do to but chair the Council. We need Elrond. Who better and more experienced in looking important and giving speeches than….ta-da: Carol Lockwood!

 

Then, Frodo and his friends need someone who can handle weapons; after all, there are orcs or enemy vampires or, even worse, Klaus’s hybrid army all around. In other words, they need someone as skilful as Legolas. It would be great if he were in good spirits, too. Can you imagine someone like that, whistling away on the road in the morning after having a shot or two of bourbon for breakfast: “…merrily, merrily, merrily, I’m walking through the forest / I’ve got a bow and a quiver full of wooden arrows…Wait! What’s there? Let’s shoot some orcs, I mean vampires, I mean… whatever!” SPROINK! *THUMP* It’s Alaric! Who else?! So, now we know why he doesn’t have to eat (too often), he’s an Elf, a sip of miruvor (the Elvish drink they brew in Rivendell) = bourbon is enough to sustain him.

 

Speaking of someone able of handling weapons, the Wraith-King needs a lesson about underestimating  women. It’s Eówyn who defeats the one whom no living man can kill. I-’m-angrier Caroline would do the job more than well, I believe.

 

Some TVD characters are rather difficult to associate with LoTR, but I’m making some speculations, anyway. 

Jeremy could sort of parallel Gimli and his love for pipe weed and axe wielding (though Jeremy is much nicer to look at).

Katherine could be a twisted version of Galadriel – the kind of Galadriel who would take the Ring.

Then there is Denethor, with his bad parent I-am-disappointed-in-you attitude. Rings a bell? I’m thinking Bill Forbes.

The hundred dead witches might equal the Sleepless Dead, although the latter are much more efficient.

Boromir and Tyler have some things in common, both (subconsciously) doing what they know is bad.

Could Bonnie go all evil, thus becoming like Saruman?

Gandalf is…unparalleled. This is the biggest problem. I don’t think there is anyone in TVD who could equal Gandalf. So, we will have to wait and see if there appears someone worth and capable of Gandalf’s greatness.

Do you think I’ve forgotten someone? For instance, Aragorn? I haven’t. But I had to save the best for the end.

Finally, there has to be someone who possesses great knowledge, someone to guide the hobbits (and all other helpless creatures), someone brave to lead the armies, someone to kindle hope when everyone despairs, and someone moral to rule over the free people of the world in the end. Who would that be? There is only one who can be all that: ELIJAH!  

 

That's it. I had so much fun doing this. So, if you’re familiar with LoTR and TVD, what do you think? Any suggestions?

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the photos used in this post.

Note: I’ve been inspired by posts and comments from all over the place, but especially: The SBH, Vampire-Diaries net, Thomas Galvin’s blog, and Vampire Diaries Online.