Currently Watching | TV Shows

Although this is indeed a books blog, I've found myself growing addicted to Netflix/binge-watching TV shows as of late... so I decided it might be fun to share what I've been enjoying! Most of these I watched with my younger brother, Luke, although one of them I am currently watching has been by myself.

+ Recently Watched/Finished

No. of Seasons: 4

Genre: Comedy

Overview: A dysfunctional family and their day to day antics.

My brother and I watched all four of the seasons on Netflix and we really enjoyed it. Lots of laughs from us, and some inside jokes of our dad's that we finally understand fully! This was really what started our binge watching on Netflix journey.

No. of Seasons: 1 (may be more in the future!)

Genre: ???

Overview: Three orphans try to avoid an evil man after their inheritance.

Can I just say that the casting on this one was perfect? I adored Neil Patrick Harris as Count Olaf, and the child actors were great too, especially the actor for Klaus. My brother has never read these books but he liked this show just as much as I did, and we can't wait for the next season (if there is one, which hopefully there will be!)

No. of Seasons: 1, soon to be 2

Genre: Science-Fiction

Overview: An 80s sci-fi throwback following a group of kids whose friend has gone mysteriously missing.

We watched this one on our dad's recommendation, and he ended up watching it with us as well. We binge watched this, like seriously binge watched this. I'm pretty sure we watched the entire season in one weekend. I'm not the biggest science fiction fan of the family, but even I really loved this show and I can't wait for the next season to come out!

+ Currently Watching

No. of Seasons: 6

Currently On: Season 2, Episode 3

Genre: Period Drama

Overview: It follows a rich family named the Crawleys, as well as their servants, before, during, and presumably after the events of the first World War.

So, my brother isn't watching this one with me, just me! And I feel kind of inherently bad for watching and enjoying this show, but it's just so easy to binge and I have a lot of feelings about a lot of the characters! I'm even beginning to like O'Brien...

No. of Seasons: 6? I think?

Currently On: Season 1, Episode 12

Genre: Survival? Mystery? ish?

Overview: After a plane crash, the survivors must learn to live on a mysterious deserted island.

This aired so long ago, but my brother and I are just getting around to watching it. We actually watched the first few episodes with our other brothers as well, so it was just an entire viewing party going on. This was the choice of the brothers, so I wasn't anticipating enjoying it since it's not my thing but it's really growing on me!

So, those are the shows that we have watched in the past few months/we are currently watching - out of them, I'm not sure which is my favorite, but it might be A Series of Unfortunate Events? I really loved that one despite the somewhat mixed reviews it's been getting.

I'm thinking of maybe doing a separate blog post on each of these shows or one of these shows if anyone's interested in it, talking about my favorite characters and episodes and things. I'd probably even be able to get my brother(s) to chip in!

I hope everyone's been having a great week and if anyone has a TV Show recommendation, I'd love to hear it...

Friday Reads [#13] + Camp NaNoWriMo Plans

Hello, hello, again! It's been awhile (a ... long while, actually) since I have done a "Friday Reads" post, but I'm actually reading three books this lovely Friday, so I figured it would be as good a time as any to post a new segment!

I'd also like to include my Camp NaNoWriMo/current writing plans, but first... the books!

 ***

1. Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo - The first and possibly most exciting of the bunch! While I've been reading this for a little while now, due to school and general busyness getting in the way - I've really been enjoying this conclusion to the duology and all of the characters are my precious beans who I love (and who could most certainly kill me. Or at least con me.)
   
2. Mindset by Carol Dweck - A non-fiction book revolving around psychology and specifically growth mindsets vs fixed mindsets. I'm reading this for my Psychology class and while it can get a bit repetitive with examples and things, it's still quite interesting and pretty short!
   
3. The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams - Again, for class, this time for English. It's a play and we're only on Scene Four but it's okay so far? All the reviews on Goodreads are positively glowing so I'm guessing it'll get even better as we go along!

***

As for writing... still plugging away at that November novel for NaNoWriMo. It's the first in a planned four-book Fantasy series about girl gangs and dark magic. With some dragons and pirates thrown in for good measure.

It's at around 160k words at the moment and almost none of them are good words. So, for Camp NaNoWriMo in April - I have set my goal as "50 Hours of Revision". I'm so pleased with this goal because I know it's achievable, but it'll be so incredibly difficult for me. I'll definitely be happier when I'm done though, since this rough draft/first draft has become very rambly and there is much cutting down and even reordering to do!

Is anybody else participating in Camp this year? What are you working on?

January & February | Reading Wrap-Ups

Well, it's been a minute and a half since I posted a reading wrap up of any sort. I have been writing reviews for every book I read over on my Goodreads page if you want to see how my last half of 2016 went or if you want further details on my thoughts on these books!

In January and February, I read a total of 7 books, so without any further ado I'll get right into them!

JANUARY:

1. A Torch Against the Night, by Sabaa Tahir - Just as thrilling as the first book in my opinion. Though I preferred the first book's plot and worldbuilding, this one was still a very strong addition, especially as we got the addition of a narrative voice to the book that I was incredibly happy to get. In fact, the third narrartor quickly became my favorite character. I'm so hyped that this series has been extended, because I could read so many books about these preciouses and their unfortunate adventures.
2. The Amateurs, by Sara Shepard - A young adult mystery novel with some fun twists and turns. It's by the same author of the Pretty Little Liars series, and while I have never read those books, I know the author's works have a reputation for being fun to just sort of binge or fly through and that's how this book was for me. I did read a spoiler ahead of time, though... otherwise I may not have ever guessed the mystery!
3. Found, by Margaret Peterson Haddix - A re-read from when I was in Middle School... I finally finished it this time around though. And that ending was literally.... it was not what I expected, I'll just say that much about it. But in all honesty this book is such a great, action-packed read that I simply devoured!
4. PostSecret by Frank Warren - I actually participated in my library's "Blind Date with a Book" challenge this month and the description on the wrapping paper was too intriguing for me to resist picking this up. And I'm glad I did. I read it in one sitting and while it isn't a novel, it really is a piece of art.

FEBRUARY:

1. The Vanished Knight, by M. Gerrick - A self-published Fantasy novel that I really enjoyed. I liked the characters, and their relationships with one another. This gave me some Chronicles of Narnia vibes, but with it's own unique elements mixed in there as well. It was so much fun and was a temporary relief from the reading slump that has been plaguing me for months now!
2. Angels & Demons, by Dan Brown - The first Dan Brown novel I've ever read. It's a thriller that had to do with some historical stuff. It was kind of scary at times just because I'm superstitious about certain things. Although fast-paced, it did take me a little while to read just because I was reading all three of these books at the same time...
3. Gemina, by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman - OH MY GOSH. I loved this book every bit as much as I loved the first book in this companion series, Illuminae. In fact... I may have liked this one more? The characters did remind me a lot of the other characters in the first book but that didn't lessen my enjoyment. Also shoutout to Marie Lu for those amazing illustrations.

TOP THREE:

So, my top three of the past two months would have to be...

• Gemina
• The Vanished Knight
• Found

All of them kept me hooked and reading for so many hours on end. I loved all of the books I read in these past months however - I've been getting quite lucky so far!

Until next time, happy reading!