Cypress Gardens

I got a new camera for my birthday last year but hadn't really taken it anywhere to test out all the functions...then on Christmas Day we went to Legoland Florida. The park used to be called Cypress Gardens, and Legoland have still kept a small corner of the botanical gardens - a perfect place to go take pictures!  It's so tranquil in that part of the park, and there are some absolutely beautiful plants - not to mention the supernatural-looking banyan tree!

Holiday Reads

A few weeks ago I went to Menorca for a holiday with Matt's family.  The most important part of going away is planning the books that you're going to take, right?

To take with me I picked two books that had been sitting on my bedside table for about 5 months, Station Eleven and The Bees and then a book that I'd recently picked up from the bookshop at work, Signal to Noise.  As a backup, I also had downloaded Frostbite by Richelle Mead if I wanted something a bit more light and fluffy.

I didn't get as much reading done as expected, as the Villa we were staying in was kitted out with a  ping-pong table and a pool table, plus we would spend the evening playing cards which was super fun (while laying your winning hand you had to sing The Terminator theme tune - something that Matt and I have always done when playing cards but have now passed over to his family).

I started reading The Bee's but after 50 pages realized that this wasn't perhaps the best book to start with.  I plan to pick it up again in the future, but my relaxed holiday brain couldn't wrap itself around the hive concept.

I then basically devoured Frostbite - which is crazy to me because normally I hate reading on my Kindle Fire.  It was okay - I wouldn't recommend it, it's pretty much everything I would normally hate in a book, but I knew that going in.

Thinking that I better actually read one of the physical books I brought with me, I started Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel, and it surprised me by not being at all like I thought it was going to be.  From the blurb, I had initially pegged Station Eleven as being set completely within a dystopian world- post major event - the whole way through, but this only makes up small sections of the novel.  Instead, the story explores how one man's life can impact others around him.  I really enjoyed it and wished it was longer in some ways...which is always good.  I liked the fairytale, and I liked this depth of sadness that followed throughout the whole narrative.

Next up, was Signal to Noise, which again turned out to contain a different story to what I expected.  There were vibes of The Craft, but, to be honest, the magic isn't that big of a deal within the story, and again the real story is more about the relationships between all of the characters. I loved all of the angst of Meche and Sebastian and also their relationship - how much they both loved each other but how crappy teenage stuff got in the way of them realizing that.  I liked how Meche hated Seb for chasing after the popular girl, and actually recognized that she was doing the same thing by chasing after the popular boy.  Lovely little read, and was a great way to cap off the holiday!

Top Ten Books I'd Love To See As Movies/Tv Shows

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and The Bookish.  I did the whole "books I'd like to see as movies/t.v shows" topic for TTT in 2013 and none of them have been put onto either the big or small screen as of yet, so I thought I'd shake things up a little bit (a.k.a I can't think of anything new).  Instead of books I'd like to see, I'm going with 4 adaptations that I'd like erased from history because they are awful, and then 6 adaptations that are surprisingly good.

The Worst:

1. Northern Lights/The Golden Compass
I cannot express how disappointed I was with this movie.  It came out not long after I had to read Northern Lights for my Children's Literature Module at Uni - so I was super hyped for the movie!  All I can remember is thinking that it was super long and completely sucked anything good from the source material.  Also **SPOILER**- no we cannot go to sleep!  You are supposed to be dead!

2. The Time Traveller's Wife
I didn't want to see this movie.  However, my boyfriend knew that this was my favorite book and was all like, we should go...I really wish I had told him flat out no.  I know that adaptations are just that - adaptations and not literal copies - but you still have to maintain the essence of the text (see below for good examples of this).  The film changes too much, plus there is an utter lack of chemistry between the two leads, and I just can't.

3. Sookie Stackhouse Mysteries/True Blood
I never got the True Blood love...I thought it was so cheesy!  Add that to too many changes, and I didn't make it past episode five.

4.The Dresden Files
Don't mess around with Bob!  He is perfect in the books.  Don't mess with perfection!

The Surprising:

1. Warm Bodies
I know there were a few changes, but this film is so cute and has a great soundtrack too!

2. We Need to Talk about Kevin
The film is not an easy watch but is an outstanding adaptation that doesn't sanitize the unsettling nature of the source material.

3. Harry Potter Series
I can't think of a reason for this one.  The first films are cheesy as a desert course for those who don't like sweet things (apparently they exist...I am not one of those people.  Chocolate cake forever!), but they are still endearing and it's somewhat lovely to watch everyone grow up on screen.

4. Hunger Games
I'm not a fan of The Hunger Games, but I've got to admit that the first movie is a pretty good adaptation.  I even got bored in the same bit of the movie that I did in the book!

5. Girl With the Dragoon Tattoo
Both the Swedish and the American adaptations are awesome - go watch them!

6. Gone Girl
I think David Fincher has gotten that it's all about essence - and Gone Girl had the unhinged in suburbia down pat.  I think I may also have it figured out that it's all about distance...the more time I have between finishing the book and seeing the movie often leads to me actually liking the film.

Where my ladies at?

I am currently reading Beneath The Bonfire by Nickolas Butler, a collection of ten short stories, for work's book club this month.  I don't normally talk about book club reads before I have sent in the review, but there was something about this one where I just had to get my thoughts out of my head.

I've read five of the stories so far, and I can't help but notice the negative light in which the female characters are portrayed: the interchangeable girlfriends who will sleep with anyone; the absentee mother; and then the nagging wife.  The only female character who has been portrayed in a positive light so far is a recently deceased mother -who would fed and nurture her son with copious amounts of indulgent food - because that's not a stereotype at all...

Don't get me wrong; I actually like Butler's writing style.  His prose is highly evocative and is extremely effective in this short form  Plus his male characters aren't really portrayed in a positive light either.  However, this doesn't take away my unease over the use of obvious female character tropes.

I'm really hoping that at least one of the last five stories surprises me... but while musing on the lack of interesting females in Beneath the Bonfire so far, it has got me thinking about my reading habits this year.

I had become aware in March that the majority of the books I had read so far this year had been written by women.  I honestly hadn't done this intentionally.  Although I completely agree with the diverse reads movement, I am normally driven to pick up a book by a combination of story and how I am feeling at that point in time (and yes, because I'm shallow, a pretty cover always helps).

Here are my stats for this year so far:

27 out of the 32 fiction books/non-fiction books/graphic novels I've read this year have been written by women.

Out of the 24 fiction books I've read this year:

15 had a female protagonist written by a female writer
1 had a female protagonist written by a male writer
3 had a shared male/female protagonist written by a female writer
1 had a male protagonist written by a male writer.

So this got me thinking - if I hadn't of had such a female-centric reading year so far, would I have noticed the portrayal of women in the first five stories of  Beneath the Bonfire?  Or am I just hyper aware because I've noticed my stats and am now jumping on this because the author happens to be male?  Would I have said the same if the stories had been written by a female?  This I'm not so sure about.  I've read plenty of books this year written by women with problematic female characters, and I've been okay with it because I've rationalized it as light and fluffy - so am I being a hypocrite?  Most probably yes - but if I'm aware, then shouldn't I be able to change this behavior for the better?  Or will these types of book be my junk food with the justification that because they've been written by a woman that it's okay?

All very interesting...I'm going to read some more of Beneath the Bonfire (and grab a sandwich too) and see how the next five stories unfold.

Bookshop Spree

I haven't been able to find much at my favorite bookshop, Brook's Books (a.k.a the staff bookshop), recently.  I don't know if it's because Matt moans at me every time I bring home new books, or if the novelty has just worn off - but I'm thinking that the warehouse staff just aren't finding damages of the books I want to read...

Saying that, I found so much today and spent a grand total of £3.00 (I had one book of my allowance left to use, and two were in the proof section which means freebie!).

• Marco Polo New York & Lonely Plant USA - a girl can dream, right? I think I only get travel books to look up where's good to eat - everything else is irrelevant.

• Cat Out of Hell - Lynne Truss - I got serious Hell Train vibes from the title alone.

• Under My Skin - James Dawson - I really liked Say Her Name, so thought I'd try out some more Dawson!  Not that I don't have enough Dawson in my life already (Creek, Books, etc etc)

• The Well - Catherine Chanter - This is a birthday present for my Mum, as the book I had originally intended to get her was out of stock.  I liked the cover, and it sounded interesting so home with me it came.

• The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkein, Illustrated by David Wenziel - I had reached the point where I had picked up a lot of books and needed a distraction for Matt.  I have found that if I bring him home a book, he's much happier to let five others in to the house....He loves The Hobbit so this was perfect. 

Top Ten Books You Would Classify As ALL TIME FAVORITE BOOKS from the past 3 years

 Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and The Bookish.  This week the topic is "books that you would classify as all time favorite books from the past 3 years".  I thought that it would be more difficult to compose a list of just ten, especially considering I read some pretty amazing books through book club last year!  However, looking at my Goodreads, my five stars are reserved for very few books...and it was pretty easy to compile a top ten.

1. Locke and Key - Joe Hill & Gabriel Rodriguez

2. Blackbirds - Chuck Wendig

3. Ready Player One - Ernest Cline

4. Lies We Tell Ourselves - Robin Talley

5. Saga - Brian K. Vaughn & Fiona Staples

6. Cress - Marissa Meyer

7. The Moth - Various

8. NOS4R2 - Joe Hill

9.  The Book Thief - Markus Zusak

10. Doctor Sleep - Stephen King

The Selection

The blurb: In a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels THE SELECTION is the chance of a lifetime to compete for the gorgeous Prince Maxon's heart.  But for America Singer it means turning her back on her secret love and leaving home for a price she doesn't want.

Then America meets Maxon and all her plans start to crumble.  Can the life she's always dreamed of compare to a future she never imagined?

I've had my eye on Kiera Cass's The Selection for a while, but it never seems to be on the shelf at the library, and I've never wanted to read it that much to go through the effort of ordering it in.  So, when I found a copy in the library a couple of weeks back, I thought it was now or never (well, probably not never because I'm sure I would have found a copy eventually).

I had just finished Kim Curran's Shift, and had that "I MUST FIND A NEW BOOK TO START" high and thought a couple of pages of The Selection would be a good idea.  Cue to three hours later and I had finished the whole book!

So let me start of with stating that this book isn't perfect, in fact it's a bit generic in the terms of YA dystopian world building; but I found my self squealing with joy - good thing I was home alone - but bad thing that I was in the living room as we live on the main road so people walking by must have thought what a weirdo!  I couldn't believe that I'd found a YA book that is all about the smoochies that I actually enjoyed.

The reason why?  Because feelings are allowed to develop!  Okay, okay, they develop in an inevitable way, and thinking back on it the timeline is a little condensed but I'm a sucker for development!

The second book in the trilogy, The Elite, is waiting for me at the library - I've just got to get my lazy butt in gear and venture into the city to pick it up - and I'm hoping it sucks me in and keeps me hooked!

Rating: I liked this more than Where She Went but less than Omens.