Miscellaneous Mondays: Collectable Penguins

Last week's poll asked whether or not you collect things. Most of us do, but none of the voters admitted to being heavy collectors/pack rats! Very interesting.

This question came to me after helping my fiance move his childhood stuff out of his mother's house. Now, when I was a teenager we moved twice in the span of a year or so, and in that process I donated/sold/threw away most of my toys and things to make the moving process easier, so I just don't have very much of it anymore. Certainly nothing compared to his collections. He's got tons of toys--Sesame Street, the Muppets, Rugrats, Marvel action figures, the list goes on...plus books, games, movies, posters. Basically my reaction was "Holy crap!" I felt both envious and pitying, but my primary reaction was panic as to where we're going to keep it all--because apparently we're keeping quite a bit of it.

Now, I've collected a few things over the past few years--things that I particularly love. I have the penguins, of course, and I have my books. Even with the books, though, I only keep the good ones. They still overflow the shelves, but that's because I read so many good books! I have these guys--

--who I feel look really nice along side all of my fantasy/paranormal books. Who doesn't need a vampire doll and her werewolf boyfriend? So I guess I'm just as guilty of wanting to keep a few pointless objects, but I try to be sane about it.

What sort of things do you hold on to? Sentimental stuff? Knickknacks? Every book/movie you've ever read/watched? Nothing at all? Share your collections in the comments!

Miscellaneous Weekly Updates:

I finally got Josh to watch Tangled--and he loved it! A good Disney movie is a wonderful thing.

In TV news:

• I watched the newest Supernatural and LOVED it, even though I could call the end just from the previews. Dean seems to always be the one to fall in neck deep with the monsters.
• I'm still keeping up with Grimm, and enjoying it alright, but my GOD the overarching plot is moving slow. I hope it's building toward something climactic and awesome, because right now it's a B show for me.
• I've been watching Merlin online, trying to catch up with it. I tend to multitask when I watch this show--I don't feel too attached to it, but it's nice to have on it the background. I'm not a huge nerd when in comes to Arthurian/Camelot legends, but I used to be. I think if your in an Arthur phase at present you'd really like this show, so I do recommend it. 

Don't forget that the 300 followers giveaway is still going on!

Lastly, the new poll is up--we're asking what types of movies you enjoy! Don't forget to vote! Happy Monday, and Happy Reading!

Miscellaneous Mondays: Happy Holidays!

So first off, I hope all of those who celebrated Christmas had a good one! I know I did! I've been blessed with a family, both blood relatives and acquired ones, who always make my holidays warm and happy.

This is Mr. Penguin Hat, which was a present from Mom. Being a hat lover by nature, I was pretty excited about this one. I think I'm going to make it my official reading hat.

I've mentioned before that I'm collecting the Monster High dolls, so Josh got Toralei for me. She's pretty awesome. I was never really into dolls as a kid--Barbie just never caught my interest. These, on the other hand, are full of imagination and pure awesome. You might say I'm making up for lost time.

We got so much stuff, ranging from the practical to the silly. I think the gift Josh and I are most excited about is The Muppets Monopoly. Every family has one cut throat Monopoly enthusiast, and that's me. I've been a fierce Monopoly competitor since I was old enough to count the money. Combining that with Josh's love of The Muppets is beyond awesome.

My big non-present related tradition is cookie baking. I'm a decent cook, but baking is my real skill, and cookies are the top of the list. I made 8 varieties this year, for a total of roughly 32 dozen cookies. Cookies for everyone! I'm not surprised that our weekly poll revealed that an overwhelming number of people prefer chocolate chip. They are the go-to cookie that everyone likes, and they're really easy to make.

How are you celebrating the holidays? Did Santa bring you anything special?

Next weeks poll is up! We're asking what qualities you think are essential in a book hero. You can select as many as you like (or tell me about all the ones I forgot about, in the comments). Next week's primary discussion will be on heroes, so don't miss out!

Miscellaneous Mondays: Celebrating the Supernatural!

Welcome to Miscellaneous Mondays! Happy Halloween! As you might guess, Halloween is probably my favorite holiday. Unfortunately, I'm not doing much to celebrate this year due to time and money constraints. But, in place of the costumes and candy deal, I'm going to talk about some of the creepy/cute/fun supernatural stuff in my life!

Monsters!

This week's Supernatural revisited another classic motif of the show: The bad guys pretending to be our heroes, and thus getting them in a ton of trouble. Personally I think shapeshifters that have the ability to look like anyone are freaking terrifying. Hunting monsters that look like monsters would be bad enough. Hunting monsters that might look like your brother or your best friend or your grandmother? That seems impossible.

In other monster news, here is my updated Monster High doll collection.

The three new dolls are Draculaura, Clawd, and Holt Hyde. All were birthday presents from Josh.

Fairy Tales!

Watching the premier of Once Upon a Time kind of got me on a fairy tale kick. It appears to be a show that's going to mix fairy tales with contemporary drama. It remains to be seen how successful the blend will be, but I love the concept.

I also watched the premier of Grimm online, since it's on at the same time as Supernatural. This one seems to be a crime show mixed with fairy tale characters. Again, I love the concept, but I have no idea if it will be something that the writers and cast can continue to make interesting week after week.

All of this called back to mind one of my favorite obscure shows--The Tenth Kingdom. This was a miniseries that aired back in 2000. It's basically about young woman named Virginia who, along with her father, gets sucked into a world where fairy tales are real. It was a fun show that didn't take itself too seriously--it's delightfully awkward and cheesy. It is also, unfortunately, very hard to actually find. If you can track it down online to watch it, it's totally worth it. I introduced it to Josh, who enjoyed it quite a bit. We're both bummed that there was no sequel or follow up of any kind.

Weekly Poll Results: Beauty and the Beast Wins!

I chose this poll because of my aforementioned fairy tale kick. Here's what the results look like in pie form!






It was a pretty close race between Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid, but in the end Beast prevailed. I love all fair tales, but yes, Beauty and the Beast is my favorite too...

See, I have evidence!

  ...This is from last Halloween. Yep, you never quite outgrow the awesomeness that is Beauty and the Beast. And yes, before anyone seeks to educate me in this matter, I realize that all fairy tales have been around long before Disney came along and sanitized the hell out of them. But it was the Disney version that I saw first, so that's what started my affection for it.

Leaving aside cartoons for a moment, beauty/beast stories are used pretty frequently in romance novels. Sometimes it's as a deliberate  retelling, such as in When Beauty Tamed the Beast. But in other cases, it's a subtler thing. One of my favorite examples is J.R. Ward's Lover Awakened. You have a hero who is horribly and permanently scarred, and has zero social skills. The heroine, seemingly his opposite in every way, has a herculean task in even getting him to trust her. In the end, the story is surprisingly touching. Do you have a favorite beauty/beast book? Do share!

In keeping with the fairy tale theme, this weeks poll is Favorite Disney Heroine. Please take a second to vote, on the right of your screen. Happy Reading!

Miscellaneous Mondays: On Buyings Ghosts

Yep, it's that time again: Miscellaneous Monday, the post chalk full of topics you may or may not care about!


The Secret Circle

Well, after watching episode 5 (Slither), I've decided I'm done with this show for now. When a primary character dies, or even "dies" as is typical in paranormal shows, and all you feel is apathy, it's time to throw in the towel. Why did this show fail for me? The first and most pressing issue is that I really don't care for the characters. Cassie still feels bland, even after going through so much stuff that should have helped her develop. So, until I have more free time to waste or I get word that the show is improving, I'm done.

Supernatural

Ah, I love the witch ones. Witches have been a "staple monster" in the show since their first appearance in season three. I find them pretty scary and fascinating in that they kill from a distance, leaving magical booby traps in your home and cursing you from the comfort of their cozy suburban mini-mansions. This particular episode featured a husband and wife, both witches, hell-bent on taking each other down with magic. I found this one pretty amusing.



Sweeney Todd

My fiance and I went to the local production of Sweeney Todd. I love the movie version, but that can obviously never compare to the fun of seeing a live production, even a low budget one. The actor playing Todd pulled it off really well, with the perfect look and voice for the part. Our Mrs. Lovett was decent as well. The actor cast in the role of the Judge was less than impressive, but no one was going to live up to Alan Rickman standards anyway. The bottom line is, if you haven't seen the movie version, I highly recommend it. That recommendation is doubled if you have the opportunity to see it live. It's good, dramatic, and horrific fun.

The Monster High Crew Welcomes Spectra and Clawdeen

First, I added two new dolls to my collection: Clawdeen and Spectra. I'm super excited to have a werewolf doll of any sort. The only major crisis was that her ears make her a bit too tall to stand on the shelf where the others live, so she has to stand. Josh found Spectra for me, and I was incredibly excited because she's pretty hard to come by. So now I have a Frankenstein, a sea monster, a zombie, a werewolf, and a ghost doll. It's geektastic.

I also got Ghoulia a new outfit. In the webisodes, Ghoulia is a comic book geek. The extra outfit comes with a t-shirt, action figure, and tiny comic book.

Weekly  Poll: What helps you choose a book?

According to the poll, the most important factors are author and series. That's certainly true for me. If an author is new to me, I look him/her up and figure out what single title or series most interest me. I'm far more inclined to read series with several books already out. I also rely pretty heavily on reviews, when I can find ones that seem reliable. So to everyone out there who strives to write good thorough reviews, keep it up!

"New Weekly Poll: What's Your Favorite Fairytale? "can be found on the right side of your screen. Please take a second to participate!

Miscellaneous Monday: Gnomes and Other Magic Acquaintances

Welcome again to Miscellaneous Mondays, the post where I share my non-book related thoughts and activities.

Meet Krebs

Krebs is my very own foot gnome (named after the Krebs cycle, because I'm a geek). He's been with me for several years now, and is my favorite tattoo.

I don't think I've had a chance to mention my love of tattoos on this blog yet. I really, really love getting tattooed. Fortunately I have good restraint (and limited financial means) so I'm not covered in them. At present I have four small tattoos, one of which matches my mother's. Have I ever mentioned how awesome my mom is?

Anyway, I have these girlie little tattoos, and I get asked about them a lot. First, everyone always wants to know if they're real. I guess because I don't seem like the type to have real tattoos? Then everyone always asks "Did that hurt?" Which strikes me as silly; it's done with a needle, of course it hurts a little. Truth be told, Krebs is the only one that really caused significant pain. Turns out there are a ton of nerve endings in your feet, especially near your toes.

You'd think I'd have a penguin tattoo by now, but sadly, I don't. I'm pretty sure that will be my next one, if I can ever settle on a design.

Episode 2 of The Secret Circle...

Was bland. Seriously, nothing of particular interest happened in this episode. It rehashed the same issues and situations from episode one. It was all filler and repetition. Very poor writing. I understand that not every episode of a show can be filled with big revelations and intrigue, but I do expect a little more effort than this. I'm hoping that, because this episode ended with the introduction of the new status quo for the circle, that the next few episodes will have better, more self-contained plots.

Supernatural, Season 7, Episode 2

This one was super angsty. We have the apparent death of a much beloved character, all kinds of psychological torment for everyone, plus possible references to self-mutilation. Oh boy. Now, one of the things that makes this show work for me is that it can have story arcs that are very serious and emotional, but also occasionally have some humor and silliness. I'm really, really hoping for a little silly to balance out the angst sometime soon.



 Frankie and Lagoona


It's official, I'm collecting Monster High dolls.

I just found Frankie Stein on sale at target. Josh and I had an extensive discussion on whether she is the daughter of Frankenstein or Frankenstein's monster.

Lagoona Blue was an early birthday present from my mother. I like her particularly because she is wearing a lab coat.

To finish off this week's miscellaneous Monday, have a video.

Miscellaneous Monday: Teens, Monsters, and Teen Monsters

Miscellaneous Monday is my new weekly post in which I will talk about things that I'm doing or am interested in that are not related to books, or in many cases, are only vaguely related to books. I'm going to keep it as a journal throughout the week and post on Monday mornings. I'll try to stay organized, but it may get a bit "rambley", so feel free to read, reply, or ignore at your heart's content.

Welcome Home, Ghoulia

First up, I want to mention Ghoulia Yelps--the Monster High doll I received as a present from my fiance. I'm not sure how long Monster High has been around, but I just noticed them a few months ago and instantly thought they were adorable. And your never too old for toys, right? Ghoulia is a zombie, and is currently my one and only doll. I display her proudly.

I've been to MonsterHigh.com, which has games and character bios and that sort of think. I recommend watching the webseries, if you're at all inclined to watch cartoons. There are a lot of episodes, but they're only about 2 minutes long each. A few of them are actually quite clever.

There are also Monster High novels. I'm considering ordering the first one just to give it a try. From the description I think they're meant for preteens/young teens, so it would be outside my usual genre.

The Secret Circle

Out of curiosity, I watched the pilot of The Secret Circle. This new show is based on the book series by L.J. Smith. I have no intention of reading the books at this time. I read her Vampire Diaries books before the show first aired, and to be honest, did not care for her writing style. I also never got around to watching the show, though I intend to.

Anyway, for a pilot, I thought this was a pretty good episode. We meet Cassie, our main character, who is honestly a bit bland. We establish that magic is real (and can be kind of pretty--aw, floating water drops). We meet the other two corners of the love triangle (or possibly square, not sure yet)--Diana and Adam. And there's a whole host of shady characters and villains. This includes Faye who, so help me God, I wanted to drop a rock on. The actress's performance is so over the top, I kept thinking it would be more efficient to have her wear an "I'm An Evil Bitch" T-shirt. But it's the first episode, so I'll cut them all some slack for being new to the parts. It's probably too early to say whether the show is going to be hit or miss for me, but I will say that I'm inclined to like it.

Most girls go through a witch phase. For me, it was Charmed, and to some extent Harry Potter. I know there are lots of books and movies about witches that are geared toward teens. Point is--there is always a market for this kind of show.

Supernatural Season Seven

I'm a huge fan of the Supernatural TV show. Never heard of it? Here, have a link! Seriously, I don't watch much TV--there are maybe two or three shows that I actively follow. This is one of them. It's urban fantasy at it's core, with the entire show based on the idea that urban legends and myths are real--and generally unfriendly.

Incidentally, there are Supernatural novels, but I gently caution against reading them--unless you're a huge fan of the show and a very patient reader.

Anyway, Friday's season seven premier was interesting in that it put our heroes in kind of a helpless position where the "monster" is a close friend who they really don't want to have to kill. After six seasons, we're starting to see some repetition in theme and character development. So it wasn't the best episode, and it wasn't the worst.