Top Ten Tuesday #3, and another apology.

So, another apology: I haven't been doing things on this blog as often as I would like. I know I keep saying I'll keep up with it. This summer shall be a bit different, with this Top Ten meme. I have little to do and more will to do anything at all.

With that said, this Top Ten might be a little difficult. Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the Broke and the Bookish. This week's theme is a freebie, so I thought I should mention my Top Ten Song-Book Character Matches.

(Or, the top ten songs that match a certain book character really well. Look at the title of this blog again, if you expected me not to take this opportunity to share great books AND music.)

As a side note, the music is written artist:song title, and each link goes to a video with lyrics. (Or most of them do, anyways.) If I don't list an author in my little summary, then it is either easily searchable or extremely popular.

1. Sebastian (Black Butler manga) -- Pirates of the Caribbean: Pirates Montage

Yes, it's a manga, not a book. But the difference between manga and novels is a post for another day. Sebastian, a demon butler, fits the suaveness of this piece really well. The adventure caught up in both the music and the manga fit together better than some puzzles. (Don't get me started on puzzles.)

2. Kelsier (Mistborn) -- Imagine Dragons: Ready Aim Fire

Kelsier is a true revolutionary in a dystopian future. The mood of both Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn series (specifically the first one, which is the only one I've read) and this song fit really well, and the lyrics do, too.

3. Katniss's Mum (The Hunger Games) -- The Civil Wars: Kingdom Come

I don't remember Katniss's mum's name. I know. But I like this song for her because you cannot tell whether she is good or bad. She is a very gray character; she is not at all the sort of stereotypical mom you usually find in media, but neither is she the demonized "bad" mom that you might also find. She's not high on drugs, but neither does she take care of her children. She cares for them -- she takes care of Prim while Katniss is away in the Games -- but her grief after her husband's death has subsumed her character. And this song (which, I know, is from the Hunger Games movie soundtrack) captures that grayness.

4. Lia (Wintergirls) -- Helio: To Write Love on Her Arms

Lia definitely deserved to hear this song. She was dark and sick; mentally ill. This song is made for the TWLoHA project (To Write Love on Her Arms), which is meant to help self-mutilators and raise awareness. This song both fits her and would have been an inspiration to her. Lia's anorexia and her grief after her best friend dies combine in a spiraling way, and this song both acknowledges the pain and the mental illness, and tries to comfort.

5. Jennifer Strange (The Last Dragonslayer) -- Superchick: Not Done Yet

Jennifer Strange is a very tough character, but not in the muscles-and-kicking-butt sort of way. She sticks things out and is always fair, even if that means being forced to kill a creature who is the last of the kind. She is one of the only people in Jasper Fforde's world who wants to stick out and give a dragon the fair end of the deal. And this song represents that willingness, in the same easygoing way that Jennifer herself has.

6. Maddy (Gamer Girl) -- Britt Nicole: Headphones

Now, Maddy is not a music person, and the song, of course, tells you to put on your headphones. But both are about that escapist healing. Maddy disappears and grows through her manga drawing and her video game, which this song captures so perfectly. Put on your headphones, pick up a video game, find something to distract you and make you happy! (This book is by Mari Mancusi, in case you want to read it.)

7. Luna Lovegood (Harry Potter) -- Owl City: Fireflies

Yes, I have to pair two famous, widely loved things. Luna and Owl City just go together. They both have that scatterbrained, chaotic splendor that makes them such compelling dreamers. Although they seem somewhat random (Fireflies? Nargles?), their randomness shows perfectly an undercurrent of emotion that speaks deeper than the practical characters around them.

8. Joe Zabbidou (Black Book of Secrets) -- One Republic: Secrets

Okay, this song is less Joe and more the people he deals with. He deals in secrets, and records them in a big, black book. (Hence the title.) F.E. Higgins wrote this quirky book, and it is quite a good read. The mysterious pawnbroker of secrets has a knack for making people feel that yearning to share what's on their mind, the same compelling that is behind this song.

9. Devon (After) -- Linkin Park: What I've Done

I wasn't overly fond of Amy Efaw's novel, After. Devon is a very unlikeable character, but I am not sure that is why I didn't like this novel. In any event, she is a very complicated young woman -- the book revolves around the aftermath, as she waits for the trial to convict her of putting her newborn in the trash. And, while the Linkin Park does not match the atmosphere of this novel -- Linkin Park has a darker, deeper, timeless quality to their music, where After has a much more contemporary feel to it -- I think the message behind this song does match an undercurrent to Devon. "Let mercy come/and wash away/what I've done" and all that.

10. Doctor Who -- Celtic Woman: A Spaceman Came Traveling

Okay, this is totally cheating. Doctor Who may be a TV show, but I feel that there is enough fanfiction written and published on this show that I can sneak this one in last. Really, this song is perfect for Doctor Who; the background singers are even wearing TARDIS blue! I can imagine a fanfiction somewhere about the Doctor showing up at the birth of Jesus.

Those are my Top Ten this week. What're yours? Leave a comment!

    

Friday Music

Yes, it's almost the end of November! (I'd add an extra exclamation point there, except I hate exclamation points on principle. So perky and self-satisfied. Only when I am truly meeping about something would I add another, and while the expected relief of December would certainly constitute a perky, self-satisfied feeling, it is not quite as meepful as, say, Doctor Who. Or BBC's Sherlock.)

That was an awfully long parenthetically enclosed aside. But I don't care. Every inch is true. And it's Friday -- I deserve a few long asides. Of course, here in the U.S. it's Black Friday, but I don't go anywhere on this day of the year, so it feels like a normal Friday.

And to demonstrate my normal Friday feeling, there is this song. A perky, almost meepful piano rendition by Michele Mclaughlin called "the Clurichaun".

(See also by Michele Mclaughlin: Across the Burren, the Eternal City, and Carrowkeel.)

Have a blessed Friday.

Happy September!

It's the first of September! You know what that means?

1. I start school in two days, right after Labor Day. My senior year, as it happens.  College planning, here I come. :(
2. It's a month of black and gold. Queenly colors. (And don't ask where this came from. I have a color associated with each month, paired with black. Because black is good any month. Just the word September conjures up a metallic gold to go along with that black.)
3. It's Artemis Fowl's birthday! Ahem. Yea, I know I'm an absolute nerd, knowing a fictional character's birthday, but in my defense, the 7th AF book takes place on his birthday. September 1st.
4. The Legend of Korra, season two -- Sept. 13th!

It's going to be a busy month for me. Not only does school start up, but I have a TBR pile literally twenty books long, and I'm finishing up the latest draft of my story. Wow, it must be, what, my third or fourth rewrite? Plot is very difficult to iron out, ladies and gentlemen.

And, yes, two of those four good points are fandom-ish. AF and TLoK, goodness gracious! (I have a T-shirt with a Doctor Who quote on it and a Pinterest board dedicated to all the fictional goodness of everything. Just to keep myself from painting my room TARDIS blue and dressing up like a Kyoshi warrior. Yes, I am a supreme fangirl.)

How about you? What does September bring about -- new TV shows, school, or novels? Have a blessed day, and a blessed Labor Day for those who pay attention to that particular day!

Follow Friday #8

Yay! Did you know that the number 8 is my favorite number? :) It's so... even. You divide it in half, you get four, which is an even number, and you can divide four in half to get two, another even number. That's a lot of even numbers!

Sorry, I love even numbers. A lot. So, Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Alison Can Read and Parajunkee. This week's question is...

Q: Summer Reading. What was your favorite book that you were REQUIRED to read when you were in school?

Ohmygoodness. Uh... I liked the Crucible by Arthur Miller from this past year (my 10th grade year). I thought it was hilarious how they were all running around and pointing at random people, screaming, "WITCH!!" :O That's a play, but it still counts, right?

I loved The Odyssey (by Homer, of course) during my ninth grade year, as well as the Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. Those two were kind of weird, and we didn't read the entire Odyssey (just quite a few passages of it, and then my teacher summarized the chapters we skipped). But they were still really fun to read.

I can't tell you my middle school favorites, because middle school is a blur in my mind, to be honest. I remember disliking, like two books from 6th grade and then the rest of middle school reading is hazy. So, my three answers are up there, and they'll suffice. I couldn't pick a favorite from them - I only somewhat liked them - so you get three answers.

And BTW - I was watching Doctor Who just earlier. It was the one where the Doctor (David Tennant, not Matt Smith) was with Donna in the biggest library in the universe. It was as big as the planet! Nobody was in there because the alien shadows were killing them. Don't you just love Doctor Who? The world's biggest and most dangerous library... my happy place (without the shadows, of course). ^.^

Have a blessed day and keep writing. :)

This is a picture quote I made myself, using Paint and fotoflexer. I also posted it on my Tumblr, though I've never gotten around to posting the link to my Tumblr on my blog. 

FF #6

Feature & Follow is a weekly meme hosted by Alison Can Read and Parajunkee. This weeks question is:

Q: What drove you to start book blogging in the first place?

Honestly, I haven't really been blogging about books... but I started blogging about writing because I would read other blogs that really helped me. I started blogging on my own to help get my words/experiences out there, just like they did/do. (I'm not sure where I found those first writing blogs. Possibly on Inkpop before the merge.)

As for books, now I think I will, simply from this question and the sheer number of book blogs that I follow. Now I'm excited about it - over the weekend, I'll mess about with the blog and add a rating system and other stuff. I'm thinking of devoting Mondays or Wednesdays to a book review. Any comments or suggestions?

Have a blessed Friday and keep writing! <3

Friday Favorites

I'm posting this and the Follow Friday seperate this time, because the Follow Friday is focused on way more.

My week has been pretty lazy. I read books and blogs and I lay on my bed and daydreamed. As well as the normal necessities of life - eating, sleeping, using the bathroom. Overall, I haven't really done anything productive, except for my chores earlier this week and going out once to see Brave.

What did I read this week? I've mainly read Eon by Alison Goodman. Or should I say reread? I decided to read a second time because I recently got the 2nd book, Eona. I love this series so much - it's a perfect blend of Chinese/Eastern mythology (especially of the dragons, and the New Year's cycle of animals), and of an epic high-fantasy world.

I came across this awesome quote the other day, which really got my brain a-working.

"Books are like mirrors: if a fool looks in, you cannot expect a genius to look out."
~J. K. Rowling

So true! Anyways, here are a couple others:

"The greatest minds are capable of the greatest vices as well as the greatest virtues."
~Rene Descartes

"When governments fear the people there is liberty. When the people fear the government there is tyranny."
~Thomas Jefferson

"Our deeds determine us, as much as we determine our deeds."
~George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans)

I did some research on wikipedia about the last name there, May Ann Evans or "George Eliot", and it turns out she was a novelist during the Victorian Era in England. According to wiki:

Mary Anne (alternatively Mary Ann or Marian) Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880), better known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, journalist and translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She is the author of seven novels, including Adam Bede (1859), The Mill on the Floss (1860), Silas Marner (1861), Middlemarch (1871–72), and Daniel Deronda (1876), most of them set in provincial England and well known for their realism and psychological insight.
She used a male pen name, she said, to ensure her works would be taken seriously. Female authors were published under their own names during Eliot's life, but she wanted to escape the stereotype of women only writing lighthearted romances. An additional factor in her use of a pen name may have been a desire to shield her private life from public scrutiny and to prevent scandals attending her relationship with the married George Henry Lewes, with whom she lived for over 20 years.

I find it amazing that a woman during the restrained times of this period could find the audacity to write more than what was expected of her. I've never read her books, but just the fact that she'd publish under a guy's name to avoid being stereotyped is an indication that she was a real-life heroine of her time.

That is pretty much it. I'll just post a couple pictures now.

(I know - Pirates of the Caribbean, Harry Potter, and Doctor Who, all in one post. I am so proud to call myself weird!)