Thoughtful Third Thursday #2

Amanda and I

I did one of the Thoughtful Third Thursdays a while back but then got really busy. Now I'm still busy but I've tricked myself into believing I'm not so you're going to get a post. Thoughtful Third Thursday is hosted by Selah at Bibliophile's Style. 
The rules are as follows: Every third Thursday of the month, create a blog post where you state what you’re currently reading (novel, non-fiction, short story, magazine, blog, manga, etc.), include a quote and/or a synopsis, and an outfit that you feel corresponds to your chosen quote.

eBeth and I

Right now I'm re-reading the Harry Potter series and I'm on The Goblet of Fire. Here is a quote from The Goblet of Fire that talks about friendship, which I think the Harry Potter books have a lot to do with. “We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided.” 

Anna and I

So I decided to include some pictures of me with my best friends eBeth, Amanda and Anna. :) Photo credit: Anna Jean Photography
 Now from these pictures you'd get the impression that I only have a normal friendship with eBeth but let me tell to not be deceived. Behind our smiles we are crafting diabolic plans that will blow your mind once we've figured them out ourselves. ;) That's kind of how it is in Harry Potter though right? They have their crazy moments but then there are those moments where they're smiling and looking all normal but they're really planning their next escapade.
I've had a lot of fun with these three throughout the years and I'm looking to so many more years of fun with them as we grow up and (try to) mature.
Deep thought all of a sudden.... it's a good thing they all watch Doctor Who or I'm not sure I could continue to be friends with them. ;)

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Bout of Books: Day 3

Yesterday I did an hour of reading on Dickens' Our Mutual Friend and that was it. It was a pretty busy day for me between school and then spending some time with my brother and friend before school catches up with me. That's it though. Hopefully today will be better. :)

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Bout of Books: Day 2

Yesterday was my first day of school for the semester so reading wasn't exactly on the front lines in my mind. I know, I know.... reading is more important than school! I guess I was just confused about priorities. ;)

So all I got done yesterday was (re)reading about an hour and a half in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. However, that's better than nothing!
Do you want to hear a little about how school is going? I knew you'd be interested!
I'm really liking my teachers so far. One of them is definitely about the best teacher I've ever had. He makes me laugh so hard! I know I shouldn't rate teachers off of how much they make me laugh but I do. Other than that though he is a really effective teacher and I really feel like I learned a lot even though I wasn't totally focused.
Hope everyone else's school is kicking off as well as mine and I hope y'all are reading more than me. ;)
P.S. Keep up with my progress in the Beat the Heat Readathon here.

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Bout of Books Day 1

Yesterday was my first day of bout of books and I aced it by starting and finishing one book. It was Val Mcdurmond's modern retelling of Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey. You can read my review of it here on Goodreads but frankly I thought it was badly done.

I also started re-reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, to go along with me re-reading marathon of the Harry Potter series. I probably got a good four hours or more of reading done yesterday!
Sure I should probably have been preparing for my first day of school (which was today!) but I preferred to leave my panic till the last minute. ;)

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Top Ten Books that People have been telling me I must read

The theme this week for Top Ten Tuesday is "top ten books that people have been telling me I must read". I've included eight books people tell me I must read for the first time and two that people tell me I should re-read.

Books people have been telling me I must read

1. Hunger Games by Susanna Collins: Everyone feels the need to tell me that I MUST read it... random people.
2. Divergent by Veronica Roth: Again, everyone tells me I should read it. To be clear, I am not into YA dystopian. I'm sure you enjoy it and I have heard good things about both of these books and I'm sure they have many good points but they're not for me. 
3. Wuthering Heights- Eventually I'm going to read it... I promise. 
4. Peralandra by C.S. Lewis
5. That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis- I read the first of C.S. Lewis's space trilogy and never got around to reading the rest. Not that I didn't like Out of the Silent Planet but life just got in the way. 
6. The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers- People tell me to read it and I tell myself to read it. I'm thinking it will be on my Christmas list this year so hopefully next year I'll be reading it. 
7. The Giver by Lois Lowry- I did actually mean to read it before the movie came out but obviously I failed at that. :( 
8. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell- Very popular in the book blogging community. 

Books people have been telling me I must RE-read

1. The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann Wyss- I read it a long time ago when I was younger and I just wasn't terribly taken by it. It was so different from the movie that I have always loved that it was hard to like the book. However, my two older siblings insist that it is an amazing book and that while the book and film are different they are both great in their own way. So I am going to try and re-read it. 
2. The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien- I found it enjoyable enough last year when I read it for the first time but my brother informs me I have to LOVE it and that I just need to re-read it. We'll see. 

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It's Monday: Back to School and Reading

Today is the first day of the a new school year for me. Thankfully though, my classes don't start until tomorrow so today I just work and stress out about the impending start of another semester. It's kind of scary to think that come this May I'll be graduating from nursing school and (granted I pass the NCLEX) be able to work as a nurse. Not to scare you into thinking I'll be a bad nurse and you should never be sick or injured within a state of where I work, I'm just nervous about actually working as a nurse. However, that's a year away so I think I should stop worrying about it and read for right now!

Read this Week

I finished The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank this week.  Additionally, I have been speeding through yet another re-read of the Harry Potter series and I'm through the first three, having just finished demolishing the third. I zipped through it Sunday using every spare second to read it. I'm going to outdo my Re-reading challenge this year it looks like. That is sort of unfortunate it though as that means I won't have any motivation to re-read the other books that I was interested in/should be re-reading.

Currently Reading

I'm still ploughing through Dickens' Our Mutual Friend, which I am enjoying but is quite long so it is taking me awhile to read. I am also still listening to an audiobook of Hamlet, and I have one act to go.

Reading Soon

Hopefully this week I'll read H.G. Wells' book The Time Machine, which was my selection from the most recent Classics Club spin.

Favorite blog posts this week (that you should really check out)

My Dad and I compiled an ultimate list of our favorite movies that I recommend you check out. 

I also got done one of the many book reviews I need to complete: Little Dorrit. 

I also signed up for the Bout of Books this past week, which is starting today.

To top it off I signed up for the Beat the Heat readathon, which started last week and runs for three weeks. 

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My Ultimate List of Favorite Movies (Plus my Dad's)

After making my top five list of movies for Five Friday Favorites I was accosted by all that I had forgotten this that and the other movies. Needless to say a more complete list is needed of my my favorite movies. My Dad, who is a movie expert (in his opinion and I suppose in mine as well) insisted on giving his top list too. Our lists are pretty similar but we differ on some points. However both of our lists  are similar in that the 1995 miniseries of Pride and Prejudice is our favorite movie. Besides that though, accept for Casablanca definitely being my Dad's second favorite movie, the movies are in no particular order.

These are movies that I would recommend pretty much without reserve. The only movies that I can think of with anything questionable sex wise in them are Groundhog Day, The Gods Must be Crazy and Serenity, and those would also be questionable language wise as well as Signs and Conspiracy Theory, and for violence Serenity, Conspiracy Theory, and Signs, but I would always recommend that you look at the content advisory on IMDB before watching a movie as everyones standards are different. As you can see, modern movies tend to more questionable. :) So here are the ultimate lists of my father and I. :)

My Top Twenty

1. Pride and Prejudice (1995 Miniseries) 
2. Mclintock
3. Charade
4. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
5. Singing in the Rain
6. National Treasure
7. The Scarlet Pimpernel (1982)
8. The Court Jester
9. My Man Godfrey
10. Star Wars: A New Hope
11. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
12. Arsenic and Old Lace
13. The Major and the Minor
14. You Can't Take it With You
15. The Princess Bride
16. The Incredibles
17. Casablanca
18. The Gods Must be Crazy
19. The Shop Around the Corner
20. Life with Father

My Dad's Top Twenty

1. Pride and Prejudice (1995 Miniseries)
2. Casablanca
3. Rear Window
4. Charade
5. The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby by the Royal Shakespeare Theater
6. The Incredibles
7. To Kill a Mockingbird
8. The Court Jester
9. It Happened One Night
10. Stalag 17
11. The Quiet Man
12. The Gods Must be Crazy
13. Life with Father
14. The Mark of Zorro
15. Mary Poppins
16. The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
17. My Man Godfrey
18. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
19. All About Eve
20. Sense and Sensibility (1995) 

My Honorable Mentions

Bringing up Baby
The Ex-Mrs. Bradford

Rear Window

The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickelby by the Royal Shakespeare Theater

To Kill a Mockingbird

Stalag 17

The Quiet Man

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

The Avengers

The Mark of Zorro

The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)

All About Eve

Sense and Sensibility (1995)

A Night at the Opera

Witness for the Prosecution

Up

My Fair Lady

Groundhog Day

Anne of Greengables (1985)

On Moonlight Bay

By the Light of the Silvery Moon

Laura

The Parent Trap (1961)

That Darn Cat

The Lady Vanishes

Signs

Rachel and the Stranger

Temple Grandin

The Man Who Came to Dinner

Gunga Din

Dial M for Murder

Ivanhoe

It's a Wonderful Life
Much Ado About Nothing (1993)
Little Dorrit (2008)
Wait Until Dark

My Dad's Honorable Mentions

Bringing up Baby
A Night at the Opera

You Can't Take it With You
Witness for the Prosection
The Shop Around the Corner
Singing in the Rain
Up
Searching for Bobby Fisher
Snow White and the Seven Dwarves
On Moonlight Bay
By the Light of the Silvery Moon
My Fair Lady
Mclintock 
The Lives of a Bengal Lancer
Ivanhoe (1982)
It's a Wonderful Life
Gold Rush
City Lights
David Copperfield (1935) 
The Lady Vanishes
Anne of Green Gables (1985) 
Groundhog Day

The Scarlet Pimpernel (1982)

The Princess Bride

Signs

The Man Who Came to Dinner

I Remember Mama

Conspiracy Theory

The General (1927) 

The Fiddler on the Roof

The Ex-Mrs. Bradford

Dial M for Murder

Beau Geste

Gunga Din

Serenity

Rachel and the Stranger

Zulu

Star Wars: A New Hope

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

The Avengers

Arsenic and Old Lace

Temple Grandin

Needless to say making these lists inspired a longing in both my Dad and I to watch these movies and my Dad has now declared that he is going to have a movie watching marathon now. :) If you want a more complete list with ratings and a quick synopsis my Dad actually has a master list so contact me if you're interested. :) For right now... just watch these movies! 

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Five Friday Favorites: Five Favorite Films

It's been awhile since I've done five Friday favorites but since I'm back and at it blogging I'm excited to do it again. :) Five Friday Favorites is hosted by Amanda at Book Badger. The theme this week is five favorite movies and thank goodness I was just talking with my cousin about this the other week or I don't know if I could have come up with these on the spot like this. To start off, hands down my favorite film is the 1995 miniseries of Pride and Prejudice but I have been informed by people that it is not a movie but a miniseries so it doesn't count. Whatever! Therefore, without further ado, here are my five favorite films (not miniseries) in no particular order (and I really hope I didn't miss something obvious). :)

1. Charade- Considered the most Hitchcock like non-Hitchcock, Charade is a hilarious, fast paced mystery film starring Cary Grant and Audery Hepburn. 
2. National Treasure- An action adventure movie which I do not recommend you learn your history from but is tons of fun. It stars Nicolas Cage and Diane Kruger searching for a hidden treasure while being thwarted by the villain played by Sean Bean. 
3. Mclintock- A western film with one of my favorite duos John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara married and at each others throats. :) 
4. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers- My favorite musical starring Jane Powell and Howard Keel that draws from the Roman legend of the Sabine women. 
5. Singing in the Rain- My second favorite musical about when films turned from silent to talkies starring Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds and Donald O'Conner. 

Honorable Mentions

1. Arsenic and Old Lace- A hilarious dark comedy with Cary Grant and Priscilla Lane
2. The Lord of the Rings films- If you're not familiar with these films I'd be surprised. Based off of the epic fantasy trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien and starring a lot of people but the first that come to my mind are Ian Mckellen, Viggo Mortenson, John Rhys-Davies, Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Orlando Bloom and Sean Bean.
3. The Avengers- Again, if you're not familiar with this film, I'd be surprised. Probably my favorite superhero film with lots of fun lines, a solid plot and good action scenes. Stars, Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlette Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston and Mark Ruffalo. 
4. Star Wars: A New Hope- The classic science fiction film starring Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford. 
5. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back- The sequel to the classic science fiction film starring Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisehr and Harrison Ford. 

Just as I mostly read older books, I mostly watch older movies, though there are many newer movies I enjoy. These movies are some of the most quoted in my household and I pretty much never would grow tired of watching them over and over again. :) In fact, whenever someone suggests we watch a movie, almost 100% of the time I say "Let's watch National Treasure!" I'm a sucker for that movie. :) Everyone one of these, except The Lord of the Rings I suppose, is a comedy and has made me laugh countless times. Try them out! I promise you that you'll laugh at least once. ;) 

So what are your favorite films?

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Book Review- Little Dorrit

Little Dorrit just about my favorite of Dickens novels and I am shocked it is not more popular and as talked about as others of his works. To bring you up to speed with a little of what goes in the book here is the synopsis off of Goodreads. 

When Arthur Clenham returns to England after many years abroad, he takes a kindly interest in Amy Dorrit (Little Dorritt), his mother's seamstress, & in the affairs of Amy's father, William Dorrit, a man of shabby grandeur, long imprisoned for debt in the Marshalsea. As Arthur soon discovers, the dark shadow of the prison stretches far beyond its walls to affect the lives of many, from the kindly Mr Pancks, the reluctant rent-collector of Bleeding Heart Yard, & the tipsily garrulous Flora Finching, to Merdle, an unscrupulous financier, & the bureaucratic Barnacles in the Circumlocution Office. A masterly evocation of the state & psychology of imprisonment, Little Dorrit is one of the supreme works of Dickens's maturity.

All of the characters have a great amount of depth in the story. I fell in love with Arthur and Little Dorritt and ground my teeth at Mr. Dorritt, his children and Mrs. Clenham. The story touched me and humored me at the same time. All in all it had everything that I want in a book. While it was long, as Dickens books often are, I was kept engaged throughout. Amy reminded me a lot of Fanny Price from Jane Austen's Mansfield Park. I have always loved Fanny for her sweetness, patience and kindness and I love Amy for the same reasons. Arthur stuck with me as someone who always was trying to do the right thing by people and continued to love and visit his mother even though she rejected him countless times. The circumlocution office made me laugh several times and sometimes it humorously but sadly reminded me of my job at the pig farm. :)

I watched the 2008 BBC miniseries soon after reading the novel and I enjoyed it a lot as well. It differed but a little from the book and only once where it annoyed me. All in all it is a great adaptation and I would highly recommend it. It effectively brought to life the characters much as I imagined them and also showed me aspects of their personalities that I had missed in reading the novel. 

Little Dorrit was one of the easiest of Dickens' novels to read actually so if you're looking for one to start out with I'd highly recommend it. 


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Beat the Heat Readathon

I must be in a super reading mood because I'm signing up for another Readathon! This is the "Beat the Heat" readathon that is hosted by Novel Heartbeat and Phantasmic Reads. 

Here are the rules for the readathon. 

• The readathon runs from August 11th at 12:01 AM to August 31st at 11:59 PM.
• There will be four mini challenges  - a cover guessing challenge, a book blending challenge, an unscramble challenge, and a book guessing challenge. They will start on different dates and the challenges will only be open for a week, so be sure to check the challenge schedule (right below this section).
• Feel free to tweet about it with us and start a discussion! Use hashtag #BtHReadathon when tweeting.
• There will be a grand prize drawing that will go live on August 31st and stay open until September 7th. This should allow you enough time to do a wrap up post if you choose to.
• Remember, to participate in the grand prize giveaway, you MUST be signed up for the readathon. Readathon signups will stay open until August 24th. Sign up HERE or HERE.
• Some sort of progress post will be required for the grand prize giveaway. You can add your progress to your sign-up post if you made one, or make a new post. (You’re welcome to use the format in this post!)
• All challenges are optional, but there will be bonus entries for participating in them in the final giveaway. Feel free to participate in as many (or as few) as you’d like. The main goal of Beat the Heat is to READ and enjoy yourself!

My Goals

I hope to read ten books during this readathon. I have a goal of five books for my Bout of Books readathon so that leaves five books for the remaining two weeks. :) 

My Progress

Week 1

Monday 8/11

Currently reading:
Time spent reading today:
Books completed today: 

Tuesday 8/12
Currently reading: Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone, Our Mutual Friend, Hamlet
Time spent reading today: Approx. 3hr
Books completed today: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

Wednesday 8/13
Currently reading: Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone, Our Mutual Friend, Hamlet
Time spent reading today: Approx. 1 ½ hr
Books completed today: none

Thursday 8/14
Currently reading: Our Mutual Friend, Hamlet, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Time spent reading today: 1 1/2 hr
Books completed today: Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone

Friday 8/15

Currently reading: Our Mutual Friend, Hamlet, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Time spent reading today: 1 hr

Books completed today: none

Saturday 8/16
Currently reading: Our Mutual Friend, Hamlet
Time spent reading today: 1 ½ hr
Books completed today: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Sunday 8/17
Currently reading: Our Mutual Friend, Hamlet
Time spent reading today: 3 hr
Books completed today: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban 

Week 1 summary

Total time spent reading this week: 11 ½ hr

Books I completed this week: The Diary of a Young Girl, Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban 

Week 2

Monday 8/18

Currently reading: Our Mutual Friend, Hamlet, Harry Potter and the Gobblet of Fire
Time spent reading today: 4hr
Books completed today: Northanger Abbey by Val Mcdurmond

Tuesday 8/19
Currently reading: Our Mutual Friend, Hamlet, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Time spent reading today: 1 ½ hr
Books completed today: none

Wednesday 8/20
Currently reading: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Hamlet, Our Mutual Friend
Time spent reading today: 1hr
Books completed today: none

Thursday 8/21
Currently reading: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Hamlet, Our Mutual Friend
Time spent reading today: 1 ½ hr
Books completed today: none

Friday 8/22
Currently reading: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Hamlet
Time spent reading today: 1 ½ hr
Books completed today: Our Mutual Friend

Saturday 8/23
Currently reading: Hamlet, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Time spent reading today: 1 hr and 20 min
Books completed today: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Sunday 8/24
Currently reading: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Time spent reading today: 40 min
Books completed today: Hamlet

Week 2 summary

Total time spent reading this week: 7 1/2
Books I completed this week: Hamlet, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Our Mutual Friend, Northanger Abbey

Week 3

Monday 8/25

Currently reading: The Bridge on the River Kwai, Peter Pan, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Time spent reading today: 1hr

Books completed today: none

Tuesday 8/26
Currently reading: The Bridge on the River Kwai, Peter Pan, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Time spent reading today: 1hr
Books completed today: none

Wednesday 8/27

Currently reading: Peter Pan, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Time spent reading today: 1 hr

Books completed today: The Bridge on the River Kwai

Thursday 8/28
Currently reading: Peter Pan, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Time spent reading today: 2 hr
Books completed today: none

Friday 8/29
Currently reading: Peter Pan, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Time spent reading today: 1hr
Books completed today: none

Saturday 8/30
Currently reading: Peter Pan, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Time spent reading today: 1 hr
Books completed today:

Sunday 8/31

Currently reading: Peter Pan, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, The Time Machine

Time spent reading today: 1hr

Books completed today: none

Week 3 summary

Total time spent reading this week: 8hr 

Books I completed this week: The Bridge on the River Kwai

Final Summary 

Total Time Spent Reading: 27hr

All Books Completed: The Bridge on the River Kwai, Hamlet, Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Our Mutual Friend, Northanger Abbey, The Diary of a Young Girl
TOTAL OF NINE BOOKS!!!! 

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