And Yet Another Liebster Award!

I've lost track of the number of Liebster Awards I've been nominated for but here goes another one. This time Hamlette from Hamlette's Soliloquy nominated me.
Here's my answers to the eleven questions Hamlette asked me. :)
1. Are there any movies you like better than the books they were based on? No! That's sacrilegious! ;) Just kidding. Actually there is one... but only one. I liked the movie of The Book Thief better than the book. Sue me. ;)

2. Have you ever liked a remake better than the original film? I'm really racking my brain trying to think of a film where I've seen both the remake and the original. I even talked to my dad about it who is a movie genius and we could come to no conclusion on one. Part of it is I think it's unfair to include films based off of books but apparently that's what I'll have to go with. I prefer the 2015 version of Far From the Madding Crowd to the 1967 version and I prefer the 1995 version of Pride and Prejudice to the 1980 and 1940 versions but I do NOT prefer the 2005 version to the 1995 version... which if you're a long time reader of the blog you'll know already. :)
3. What movie do you enjoy introducing other people to? Seven Brides for Seven Brothers is fun to introduce to people because it's so odd.
4. Do you identify strongly with any movie characters? Anne Shirley, Catherine Morland, Jo March... which are all book characters also... cheating again!
5. Do you have any favorite film score composers? John Williams! I also adore Howard Shore's LOTR and Hobbit soundtracks.
6. What's the oldest movie you've ever watched? I've actually watched the first ever made movie, which if you've seen Hugo you'd be familiar with. It is about some scientists that travel to the moon and their rocket hits the eye of the man in the moon. It's.... odd.
7. What's the newest movie you've watched? Captain America: Civil War!!!!
8. Do you have any favorite movie-watching snacks? Popcorn for sure.
9. Whose movie recommendations do you tend to trust? My dad's.
10. What was the last movie you watched? Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.... My brother was watching it with a friend and I got sucked in because I can't get enough of Kenneth Branagh playing Gilderoy Lockhart!
11. What's the next movie you plan to watch? We need to finish rewatching the LOTR. Return of the King is next! :)

Steal the questions and consider yourself tagged if you have the mind!

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5 Male Characters Tag and 5 Female Characters Tag

I've been meaning to do these for awhile and then Olivia from Meanwhile in Rivendell tagged me in the 5 Male Characters Tag and I figured I might as well go ahead and do both. I'm not sure why they have different categories but they do.
AND, before you go any further, make sure to check out my two giveaways going on HERE and HERE!

5 Male Characters

Hero- Mr. Knightley... I just re-read Emma and then re-watched all of the movies so I'm on a huge kick Mr. Knightley kick right now! For me he embodies so much of what I would want in a husband. A man of moral integrity, someone willing to tell me when I am wrong, kind, generous and loving. He's also got a sense of humor. :) My second favorite would be Austen's Henry Tilney. He is similar to Mr. Knightley but is far lighter and so funny!!!  

Villain- Gollum. I like what Peter Jackson did with him in the movies actually, making him an even more complex character then he already was.

Anti-hero- I don't read a lot of books or watch a lot of movies with anti-heroes so this was hard for me to come up with. I think though I'd go with Han Solo from Star Wars and Malcom Reynolds from Firefly. They're actually fairly similar characters. I'd say they are the more hero like of anti heroes but it's what I could come up with.

Best book-to-screen adaptation- After much thought I have decided on Sir Percy Blakeney from The Scarlet Pimpernel and the screen adaptation is OBVIOUSLY the 1982 version.... aka the only version. ;) I think Anthony Andrews perfectly take the character from the books and dazzlingly brings him onto the screen much to my endless laughter! 

Best character perception- This one and the previous seem kind of similar but whatever! I'd go with Colin Firth's Mr. Darcy. Mr. Darcy is a very reserved character so taking him and acting him out would must have been hard but I think Colin Firth did it with so much perception. He just was Mr. Darcy because I think he understood the character. He will always be Mr. Darcy to me.

5 Female Characters

Heroine- I'm torn between Elizabeth Bennett and Molly Gipson so.... both

Villain- I tend to say I love to hate Professor Umbridge from Harry Potter. She irks me so much! Sure she's not the main villain in the series but that does not matter! I hate her so much more than Voldemort! 

Superhero- Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow! Basically she's awesome! 

That I would want to be friend with- I think I would have to chose Anne Shirley! So much imagination and fun! 

That I wish had better development- I'd have to agree with Olivia here and go with Buttercup from The Princess Bride. In the movie she's a bit better developed but in the book she's really just kind of there. :(

These are such fun tags! If you want to participate just steal them away! 

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Ultimate Harry Potter Tag

I wasn't actually tagged in this but me being me and me being a tag stealer I stole this tag from over at Jmill Wanders. I love Harry Potter so I couldn't resist. ;)

1. Favorite Book- It used to always say Order of the Phoenix but sometimes that one really annoys me because you have teenager love stuff in there and you know me and teenager love stuff. ;) There is a beautiful magic to The Sorceror's Stone due it to it being the first of them and the one that introduced it all. I love them all really. :)
2. Least Favorite Book- As I said, I love them all. :)
3. Favorite Movie- Third maybe? I like the first, second and third and then the books get so long that they start leaving out so much from them in the movies. :( 
4. Least Favorite Movie- I think the fourth. Four, five and six though all make me unhappy in different ways. I feel like the fourth leaves out huge amounts though and changes things... like Krum. :(
5. Favorite Quote- Curiosity is not a sin... but we should exercise caution... yes indeed. Goblet of Fire
6. Favorite Weasly- The twins! Fred and George are amazing and hilarious! 
7. Favorite female character- Luna Lovegood. She's so wonderfully quirky. :)
8. Favorite Villain- Umbridge! And Bellatrix Lestrange creeps me out so much! Helena Bonham-Carter plays her so creepily well in the films. 
9. Favorite male character- Remus Lupin 
10. Favorite Professor- I'm torn between Professor McGonagall and Professor Lupin but since I picked Lupin for the previous question I'll go with McGonagall for this one. :)
11. Is there any character you felt differently about in the movies vs. the books- I really felt like they did not do Ginny quite right and they severely underused Tonks!!! 
12. Is there a movie you prefer instead of the book- Ha! No! 
13. Richard Harris or Michael Gambon as Dumbledore- They're both good. We get so much more of Michael Gambon that it is harder to judge. I can't chose. :)
14. The top thing (person or event) which wasn't included in the movie that annoyed you the most- Ha! Ask my siblings and they will tell you that I scarcely stop talking during the movies because most of the time I'm saying some variation of "that wasn't in the book" or "They left this part out of the movie that was in the book". So yeah... a lot of things annoy me. I think though that so many of the memories and their significance are left out of the Half Blood Prince and that's just dumb. In the fourth I feel like chunks are thrown out all over the place and in the fifth too! 
15. If you could remake any of the Potter movies, which would it be- The fourth. As I said, it annoys me the most. That long hair on Ron needed to go. 
16. Which house was your first gut feeling you'd be part of- Hufflepuff :)
17. Which house were you actually sorted into on Pottermore (or other online sorting quiz?)- Hufflepuff... serendipitous is it not? ;)
18. Which class would be your favorite- Defense against the dark arts and I think potions would be pretty cool. I made the mistake of mentioning that to my Chemistry major brother though and he said that potions was basically chemistry.... suddenly all of potions' allure was gone. ;)
19. Which spell do you think would be the most useful to learn- Accio would always be useful! I'm pretty lazy. Once I'm in the recliner... I'm not getting up! ;)
20. Which character do you think at Hogwarts you'd instantly become best friends with- Luna! Awkward crazy people unite! ;)
21. If you could own one of the three hallows which would it be- The invisibility cloak! 
22. Is there any aspect of the books you'd want to change- As I said above, less teenage romance stuff... besides that... no. :)
23. Favorite marauder- Lupin :)
24. If you could bring one character back to life who would it be- SPOILERS!!!!!! Fred Weasley without a doubt! 
25. Hallows or Horcruxes- Hallows... duh! 

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Top Ten Favorite Heroines from Literature

For Broke and Bookish's Top Ten Tuesday meme, this week's theme is my Top Ten Favorite Heroiens from literature. Choosing favorites is always hard but here goes in no particular order. :)

1. Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
2. Fanny Price from Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
3. Anne Elliot from Persuasion by Jane Austen
4. Elinor Dashwood from Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
5. Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
6. Amy Dorrit from Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens
7. Lady Jane Grey from Coronation of Glory by Deborah Meroff- Kind of cheating because she is a real historical figure that I admire but there's a book about her so there! 
8. Molly Gipson from Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell
9. Precious Ramotswe from The No. One Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
10. Luna Lovegood from The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling- I know she isn't exactly the heroine of the story but I actually kind of prefer her to Hermione. 

You may notice a Jane Austen theme here and I do not apologize. ;) She is my favorite author. :)
P.S. If you haven't already be sure to check out my newest project: The 1000 Book List!

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Top Ten Books I Wouldn't Mind "Santa" Bringing This Year

Books are always, always, ALWAYS an acceptable gift for me.... yes that's a hint. ;) I'm really trying to bolster up my personal library right now as even though my parents have thousands of books I'm trying to get my own copies of all of my favorites.

1. The Valley of Vision... I actually asked for this for Christmas so hopefully I will get it. I haven't read it yet but I'm looking forward to it. 
2. The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer
3. Any Dickens (except Barnaby Rudge, David Copperfield and Our Mutual Friend because I already have those). 
4. Coronation of Glory: The Story of Lady Jane Grey by Deborah Meroff- One of my favorite books and one of my most re-read books. 
5. Gods and Generals by Jeff Shaara... I already have Killer Angels but I'd love to have it's prequel as well. They're both great. 
6. Any Agatha Christie except the ones I have... which I can't recall the titles so just be psychic and don't get them for me. ;) 
7. Any P.G. Wodehouse
8. Mary Poppins or any in that series
9. The Prisoner of Zenda by Anthony Hope
10. Any of the Harry Potter series except four and five as I already have copies of those. 

Linking up with Broke and Bookish 

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Top Ten Tuesday- Top Ten Characters You Wish Would Get Their Own Book

This week for top ten tuesday the topic is "Top ten characters you wish would get their own book".

1. Luna Lovegood from J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series
2. Merry and Pippin from J.R.R. Tolkien's LOTR
3. Gandalf from J.R.R. Tolkien's LOTR
4. Aragorn from J.R.R. Tolkien's LOTR
5. Legolas and Gimlie from J.R.R. Tolkien's LOTR
6. Mr. Collins from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice... can you imagine the potential for a satirical novel on Mr. Collins... and Lady Catherine de Bourgh too of course??? :)
7. Reepicheep from C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia 
8. Jane Bennet from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice
9. Tom Bombadil from J.R.R. Tolkien's LOTR... though actually I am pretty sure there is a book about him but I haven't read it yet so let's pretend I'm still in ignorance. ;)
10. Eomer from J.R.R. Tolkien's LOTR

As you can see, my LOTR and Jane Austen love shines ever bright. ;)

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Book Review- Harry Potter (Re-Read)

For my re-reading challenge this year I re-read all of the Harry Potter books, not that I needed to, I've done it many times before. However, I also had to write a review for them for my my re-reading challenge and that is something I have never done before. I have mixed feelings on so much from these books but I also love them so much. Therefore, my review may be jumbled. Basically, I'm going to talk about the aspects I didn't like and assume I loved everything else. :)

First things first, I am a Christian and yes I read Harry Potter. I happen to think that the Christians that don't read Harry Potter have somewhat valid concerns, however, in my opinion if you read them with a discerning mind knowing that these books are just like any other fantasy... not real, there is little there for concern. I will probably not give my young children Harry Potter... I will probably wait until they are older or at least if they are younger read it with them so we can talk through some of the issues it presents. I read them when I was a teenager and I think that was a good age to enjoy them at while still being discerning.

So a few thoughts on the books. One of my least favorite aspects of the later books (starting in the fourth book) is their incorporation of teenager love stuff. Not that I mind there being romance in the books, just that it was too mushy, silly and over the top. On that note, I am glad that everyone ended up marrying who they did. Ron and Hermione were meant for each other no matter what J.K. Rowling says! Harry and Ginny were nice together as well though I agree with my brother in that Luna Lovegood and Harry could have worked together. I'm not sold on Ginny... I think Hermione telling her to move on from Harry was a good idea but then dating multiple other guys to get to him seemed a little ridiculous to me. However, it all turned out in the end and I'm happy with it. :)

Now I would love to hear your opinions on Snape. All through the series J.K. Rowling drove you crazy trying to figure out if he was good or bad. His story shocked me at the end I must say but I liked it. However, I don't get people liking Snape and thinking he was so romantic loving Lilly Potter all these years because frankly I thought it was rather creepy and I thought all the time that he knew her when she was living he was kind of creepy about her. Yes, he was very brave and he made the right decisions in the end, but did he make them for the right reasons? Food for thought.

I don't really have a favorite of the novels. I really love them all. The fifth was my favorite for a long time but I just can't chose anymore. I think maybe I do prefer the later ones though, despite my quibbles with their romanticism that I mentioned above. J.K. Rowling could have definitely done some tighter writing to make them shorter though... maybe left out some mushy yuck? ;) The first one though always has a special place in my heart. I feel it has more of the british humor in them that I so enjoy. It's lighter, it's more magical, it's that first glimpse into the whole magical world that Harry is entering and it's our first glimpse as well. That line "You're a wizard Harry" was the beginning of such a great adventure!

As for the movies I want to re-watch them again now that I've re-read the books but I don't really have time (which never seems to stop me though). However, from what I recall, I like the first and second, the third is pretty good but then as the books get longer the movies start having trouble accommodating, which isn't necessarily the filmmakers fault... there was a lot to incorporate into the films but maybe they should have done two parters with others besides the last. Four was okay, five made me mad and six didn't make me happier but I felt that the seventh was pretty well done as they did it in two parts. There was just too much left out of five and six and it came back to bite them later.  There was too much left out of all of them in my opinion and it came back to bite them for those too but especially in five and six. All in all though they are pretty good films. I am a book purist so don't listen to me when you want an opinion on a book to film adaptation as normally it's negative. ;) One specific note I want to make on them are that I think they didn't do justice to Ron's character and that makes me unhappy. :(

So there's my thoughts on Harry Potter. :) I'd love to hear your thoughts too so please comment!

P.S. Check back tomorrow for an important post!

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Ultimate Book Tag

I was tagged by KayCee K at Wonder Struck to do the Ultimate Book Tag! Thanks KayCee K!
I'm going to tag: Smiling Shelves, Once Upon a Twilight, Chased by My Imagination, Nut Free Nerd, Spoonful of Happy Endings, Caffeinated Life, Reviews from a Bookworm, Jayne's Books, I Wished I Lived in a Library, Turn the Page Reviews, and Ravens and Writing Desks. If I didn't tag you but you'd like to join in feel free to! :)

1. Do you get sick while reading in the car?


Not normally.


2. Which author’s writing style is completely unique to you and why?

J.R.R. Tolkien definitely! He really gave birth to modern Fantasy.


3. Harry Potter series or the Twilight Saga? Give 3 points to defend your answer.

Harry Potter - 1. I haven't read Twilight. ;) 2. The characters are really well developed and well written. 3. The plot is interesting and keeps you guessing until the end.


4. Do you carry a book bag? If so, what is it in (besides books…)?

A backpack yes, a bag just for my books... no.


5. Do you smell your books?

Absolutely! I love the smell of old books. :)


6. Books with or without little illustrations?

I don't care. If it has illustrations that's fine and if it doesn't that's fine too. :)


7. What book did you love while reading but discovered later it wasn’t quality writing?

There are definitely some children's books that have stuck with me through the years and have superior writing but there are some that reading back over them after being older I see their inferior writing. Those would probably be The Homeschool Detective Books, The Boxcar Children books and The Happy Hollister Books... I guess probably The Hardy Boy books too but I don't want to admit it! I still would re-read those books. :)


8. Do you have any funny stories involving books from your childhood? Please share!

I can't think of any off the top of my head but I'm sure there are.


9. What is the thinnest book on your shelf?

Doctor Seus's ABCs... I got my own copy at an antique shop earlier this year. :)


10. What is the thickest book on your shelf?

My copy of Little Women is I think the thickest... not sure why.


11. Do you write as well as read? Do you see yourself in the future as being an author?

Yes. Not really at all right now besides my bog as I'm busy with school.


12. When did you get into reading?

Since birth practically. My parents read to us until we could read, which I was starting to around three or four. By around five or six I was reading pretty much exclusively on my own.


13. What is your favorite classic book?

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien.


14. In school was your best subject Language Arts/English?

Probably. I didn't really have a best subject. What I liked the best was reading, history, Spanish and English. I still think it is weird I ended up in a science field. :)


15. If you were given a book as a present that you had read before and hated…what would you do?

People that give me books normally know me well enough to not give me one I will hate. If they did, I guess I would just put it on my shelf and someday when I was bored, if I felt like it was worth giving it a second chance, I would read it again. If not, there it would stay most likely.


16. What is a lesser known series that you know of that is similar to Harry Potter or theHunger Games?

I haven't read The Hunger Games but I have read Harry Potter and I guess a lesser known series that I would say is somewhat similar to it is The Binding of the Blades series by L.B. Graham.


17. What is a bad habit you always do (besides rambling) while blogging?

Probably not being consistent with my blogging.


18. What is your favorite word?

I got through cycles of having favorite words. It was "beguiling" for awhile,


19. Are you a nerd, dork, or dweeb? Or all of the above?

I'm not up on all of the differences between these so I'm just going to go out on a limb and say geek... even though that's not on the list. I'm just getting into sic-fi with Doctor Who and Stargate: Atlantis and of course I've always enjoyed Star Wars. I also like fantasy such as Lord of the Rings.


20. Vampires or Fairies? Why?

Fairies. Because I don't like Vampires and I had to chose. ;) Besides that though, I read a lot of fairy tales growing up so I've always enjoyed reading about them. :)



21. Shapeshifters or Angels? Why?

Weeping Angels... Sorry, just went all Doctor Who on you guys. :) They're one of my favorite "villains" from Doctor Who.


22. Spirits or Werewolves? Why?

Werewolves! Cause of Doctor Who. Tooth and Claw is a great episode!


23. Zombies or Vampires?

Neither?


24. Love Triangle or Forbidden Love

No love triangles please! I'm not crazy about forbidden love either though but when it comes to choosing I guess it's forbidden love.


25. AND FINALLY: Full on romance books or action-packed with a few love scenes mixed in?

Action packed with a few love scenes mixed in.


If I tagged you, or if you just want to hop in and answer the questions anyways, please answer the questions in a blog post and comment with a link so I can see what you said. :)
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Top Ten Places Books have made me want to Visit

Now this is a subject I feel passion about! Best part of it is that it can be real or (bum bum bum) FICTIONAL!!!!

1. Middle Earth- Read Lord of the Rings and oh my I just want to go there! The movies' beautiful scenery doesn't help my longing. 
2. England- All of Jane Austen's novels and any other novels set there. I want to go there so bad!!!!!!!
3. Oz- From of course The Wonderful Wizard of Oz series. Those were my favorites as a kid! 
4. Hogwarts- From the Harry Potter series. :)
5. Redwall, Salamandastron, ect- From Brian Jacques's Redwall series Another favorite from when I was young. 
6. Scotland- From G.A. Henty's In Freedom's Cause
7. Botswana- From The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
8. Mary Poppin Land- Is that a place? Just wherever Mary Poppins goes... it's always amazing! 
9. Narnia- From C.S. Lewi's Chronicles of Narnia
10. Neverland- From J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan. I'd never have to grow up! Wishful thinking I know. However, growing up I must do, much as I do not want to. On a more serious note, I think a serious problem with our society is people never wanting to grow up. Thoughts on that?

So many of these are fictional... obviously I'm not fond of reality. ;)

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Top Ten Books for Readers who like Character Driven Novels

I don't normally pay attention to whether books are plot driven or character driven (or whatever other "driven" they are) so this prompt actually made me really think about that.

1. Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling- The characters in my opinion are some of the best aspects of the novels. :)
2. Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card
3. Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maude Montgomery
4. Any Charles Dickens novels- Special thoughts towards Little Dorrit, Nicholas Nickelby and David Copperfield, as I remember them having especially interesting characters. 
5. All Jane Austen novels- My favorite obviously being Pride and Prejudice. :)
6. The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
7. P.G. Wodehouse novels- Jeeves and Wooster... enough said. :)
8. Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain (Samuel L. Clemens)
9. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
10. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

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Top Ten Book Characters that would be Sitting at my Lunch Table (back to school theme)

I've been back to school for two weeks now! This back to school thing is a lie! ;)
Anyways...
Here are my top ten book characters that I would be super duper happy to have sitting at my lunch table. Maybe not all of them at the same time though. :)

1. Elizabeth Bennett- From Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice
2. Henry Tilney- From Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey
3. Mr. Knightley- From Jane Austen's Emma (I would be able to have a serious conversation with all three of these Austen characters listed here and above but they would still interject witty comments in occasionally to make me laugh.)
4. Bertie Wooster- From P.G. Wodehouse's Jeeves and Wooster novels (Who knows what Bertie will say!) 
5. Anne Shirley- From L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables series 
6. Bilbo Baggins- From J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings (His stories, songs and poetry will be one of my favorite parts of the table conversation)
7. Sherlock Holmes- From Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories (He'll annoy everyone at the table with making deductions about them.)
8. Mr. Collins- From Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice (I know he's really annoying but he's also really funny because of that!)
9. Mr. Bennet- From Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice (He'll mostly sit and listen but every once and a while he'll pop up with a witty comment that will make me laugh.)
10. Luna Lovegood- From J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series (I'm sure I'd hear about some interesting things from her.) 

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