Top Ten Tuesday | Tonight, Matthew, I'm going to be...

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week's theme. You can find everything you need to know about joining in here!

This week's theme is a fandom freebie, so I'm going to talk about some of the characters I'd love to cosplay as. I love a good Comic Con, though I've never been able to go to the biggest one in the UK which is, of course, in London, but I haven't cosplayed since my teens. These are the characters I'd love to be for the day if I ever have the confidence to cosplay again!

(Sorry, I think only people who can remember Stars in Their Eyes will get the reference in my title...)

Sally from The Nightmare Before Christmas: This is one of my favourite films from my childhood and every Halloween I try to dress up as Sally before I go out for cocktails, but unless I want to try making her dress myself (which would be a terrible idea) her outfit is either too expensive or the cheap ones aren't made of very nice (or flattering) material. One day!

Katrina Van Tassel from Sleepy Hollow: Another much-loved film of mine, and to be honest the main reason I'd love to cosplay as Katrina is down to the dress she wears right at the end of the film - I call it her Beetlejuice dress.

Belle from Beauty and the Beast: My favourite film of all time, I love it so much. I actually had a fancy dress party for my 18th and dressed up as Belle in her ball dress, but I'd love to cosplay her in her blue dress; she looks most like herself in that dress.

Violet from Rat Queens by Kurtis J. Wiebe and Various Artists: This is probably my favourite graphic novel series and I just adore Violet, plus I think one of my friends would be a fantastic Hannah - I'll have to try and convince her to cosplay with me.

Alexia Tarabotti from the Parasol Protectorate series by Gail Carriger: I've only read Soulless (reviewed here) so far, but I still think Alexia is such a fun character and I could have a lot of fun putting together a 19th century outfit.

Evy Carnahan from The Mummy: If Beauty and the Beast is my favourite film, The Mummy is a very close second and most of that is down to Evy. As you can see, I have a thing for nerds and bookworms in films - I think The Mummy is the first time I saw a person a bit like me in an action movie, and that was quite a big deal.

Clarice Starling from The Silence of the Lambs: Another cinematic heroine of mine, though I enjoyed the book, too. I like Clarice because she's not perfect; so many women in thrillers are unrealistic because filmmakers feel the need to make a woman flawless to make her likeable, but they didn't do that to Clarice. She's still learning and she can make mistakes, but that doesn't take anything away from her successes.

Éowyn from The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien: This lady is the mother of the Warrior Princess trope, and she's fantastic. She's one of my favourite characters from The Lord of the Rings and I'd love to swish around in one of her dresses while also feeling bad-ass.

Alice from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll: This is another one of my favourite classic stories, and I think so much fun could be had with an Alice cosplay; you can be as innocent, as mad or as dark as you like, that's why the story's constantly being retold.

Rowena Ravenclaw from the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling: All I'd need is a medieval blue dress and the Ravenclaw diadem and I'd be set! I'm still waiting for Rowling to write me a book about the Founders to be honest...

What did you talk about this week?

The Cinderella Book Tag!

I saw Mel @ The Daily Prophecy do this tag and I just had to join in because it's adorable!

Evil Stepsisters

A book with a character you hate

Heathcliff is literally the worst. He's a fantastic character, but a terrible human being.

Prince Charming

A book with a gentleman

Atticus Finch: the original DILF.

Look at that dapper bastard

Cinderella

A character that is graceful, kind and defiant

I really like Agnes. She's often accused of not having enough gumption, but it's nice to see a heroine with a quiet kind of strength. When her family is destitute she becomes a governess, despite both her parents and her sister doubting her capability, and she sticks with the job even when it's tough. If you haven't read Agnes Grey I recommend checking it out, particularly if you're a fan of subtler classics like Persuasion.

Fairy Godmother

A character who always has someone looking out for them

If it wasn't for Samwise Gamgee - the ultimate hero - Frodo would have died as soon as he stepped foot out of The Shire. Thank God Frodo has Sam.

Helpful Creatures

Something that makes you happy when you're sad

It's not a book, I know, but I absolutely love The Mummy. Next to Beauty and the Beast it's my favourite film, and it always makes me smile. I could watch this movie over and over and never get bored, and it's never failed to cheer me up!

Ashes

A book you didn't care for

I really, really, really didn't like Legend. June and Day were basically the same person with different genitalia, and Marie Lu spent way too much time explaining what everyone was wearing. It just wasn't for me.

Pumpkin

A character with a transformation

We all always knew that Neville was a hero, but Neville's transformation was one in which he realised what he was capable of doing himself. He went from the little boy who was terrified of his Potions Professor to the young man who slays horcruxes in a cardigan because he's Neville Longbottom.

Impossible

A book with an ending you didn't see coming

Just Breathe

Something that inspires you to be courageous

Something else that isn't a book, but is based on a book! I love the music from the Little Women musical, and this song in particular has always filled me with gumption.

Happily Ever After

A book with a perfect ending

Everything about Signal to Noise is perfect, and I desperately want more people to read it because it's so good.

I tag:

Natalie @ Orchestrating a Sea Change

Mallory @ The Local Muse

Deanna @ Deanna Writes

Micheline @ Lunar Rainbows

Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight

Top Ten Tuesday | Inspiring Quotes

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week's theme. You can find everything you need to know about joining in here!

This week's theme is 'Top Ten Inspiring Quotes From Books'. I had a lot of fun putting this list together, so without ado, here it is!

This is one of my favourite ever quotes from one of my favourite classics. If I ever got a tattoo, I'd get this quote tattooed somewhere on my body because I just love it.

There are plenty of quotes from Harry Potter to choose from, but I've always loved this one; it's such a good message for children, because when we're younger we'll often do a lot of things we don't want to to impress people. It took me a long time before I learned it was okay to tell my friends 'no', at which point I decided to go and make some better friends.

I'm not even the biggest fan of Wuthering Heights, but even I can't deny that this quote - and so many others - is just gorgeous. Cathy and Heathcliff's obsession with each other is so twisted, but it's fascinating.

I've always loved this quote. There's something so adventurous about it that makes me want to go and explore.

I don't think this is a quote from a book, but it's about books so that counts, right? I've always loved this one. That stunning piece of dragon art can be found here.

I'm going to be surprised if I don't see this on several lists today. Jane Eyre is just such a quotable classic, and this quote in particular is wonderful.

Macbeth is my favourite of Shakespeare's plays, and Lady Macbeth has some fantastic lines. This one has always been my favourite.

I've never actually read Uncle Tom's Cabin, but I love this quote.

I couldn't leave out Anne if I was going to mention Charlotte and Emily! Agnes Grey is full of lovely quotes. This one's one of my favourites.

I love this quote so much that I actually opened my MA reflective essay with it. I'm not the biggest fan of Woolf's fiction, sadly, but she's just so fantastically quotable.

What are some of your favourite quotes?

Top Ten Tuesday | Bookish Places to Visit

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week's theme. You can find out everything you need to know about joining in here!

This week's theme is 'Ten Places Books Have Made Me Want To Visit'. At first I didn't think I'd manage to think of ten places, but as soon as I started my list I discovered there were more places I wanted to visit than I thought, so let's dive in!

Hogwarts from the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling: This is bound to be on pretty much everyone's list, right? I don't think I have to explain myself. I'm a Ravenclaw through and through and I want to go to Hogwarts!

Hogsmeade/Diagon Alley from the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling: I'm not going to go to Hogwarts and miss out on a few trips to Hogsmeade. I want to try out butterbeer and fire whiskey and go shopping in Flourish and Blotts!

Wonderland from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll: I love this book (I'm sure that's no shock given the state of my blog) so I'd love to go to Wonderland, but I wouldn't want to stay there too long - it's such a bizarre place that I don't think it'd take me long to get homesick and go mad.

Narnia from The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis: There are talking animals in Narnia. Why wouldn't I go?

The Garden from The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett: I love The Secret Garden, and there's something that sounds so peaceful and cathartic about the garden that I'd love to take a picnic and spend an afternoon there.

Stormhold from Stardust by Neil Gaiman: Any place where the Queen is an immortal star I want to visit. Yvaine's awesome.

The Shire from The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien: This is going to sound odd, but for a couple of years of my childhood I lived in an area of the UK that was sort of similar to the Shire. No it wasn't full of hobbits (boo!) but it was, as were all the places I lived during my childhood, in the countryside. We lived in an area where there were a lot of open fields and farms - in fact my older sister dated a farmer's son for a little while and I got to meet some piglets. Then in North Yorkshire, where I'm originally from and spent the majority of my childhood, each year there was a show where people entered their animals, from guinea pigs to horses, into competitions and sold their produce and homemade jewellery. There's just something about the Shire that reminds me of my childhood and I'd love to go there. Plus if I went anywhere else in Middle Earth I'd probably get stabbed.

Helford River from Frenchman's Creek by Daphne du Maurier: First thing's first, Helford River is a real place so I can go there one day (woohoo!). I've been to Cornwall before, some years ago now, but recently I've had a real desire to go there again and reading Frenchman's Creek convinced me that I need to go back. 

Dorne from A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin: Okay, I'm cheating a little here because while I watch Game of Thrones I have yet to read the books. To be honest I'd rather stay away from Westeros entirely, but there's something about Dorne that sounds like a lot of fun.

Luna from The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer: Luna might not be the best place to visit - Levana's crazy - but if there's a colony on the moon then hell yeah I want to see it!

Where would you visit?

My Top Fifteen Songs From Musicals! (Part One)

I love musicals, though sadly I don't get to see them as often as I like. The best place to see musicals in the UK is London, but it's just so expensive. That doesn't stop me from listening to the music, though! And I listen to it a lot.

I was going to make a top ten list of my favourite songs from musicals, not only to share my love of musicals but also to try and showcase some of the lesser known musicals out there, but as I was compiling my list I realised I couldn't narrow it down to just ten songs, so instead I have fifteen! 

This post is the first of three, so without further ado, here are the first five of my top fifteen songs from musicals!

(These are in no particular order, I just love them all!)

Home - Beauty and the Beast

I mentioned a little while ago that Beauty and the Beast is my all time favourite film, and the music from the Broadway production is just gorgeous. Sadly I've never seen the musical, but I'd love to. If I'm perfectly honest I love pretty much all the songs from this musical (in fact I love pretty much all the songs from all the musicals I'll be mentioning!) but this one in particular is very special to me.

People Will Say We're in Love - Oklahoma!

Contrary to what I just said, this is probably the one musical on this list whose soundtrack I've never listened to in its entirety. I should really get on that! This song is so much fun, and to be honest it's on this list purely for Hugh Jackman the lyrics: "Don't stand in the rain with me; people will say we're in love", which I think are beautiful.

The Cat and the Moon - The Lord of the Rings

This is a really, really fun song! If you're a fan of folk music that gets people dancing and you haven't listened to this song then you need to listen to it right now. Now, go on!

Shadowland - The Lion King

This is the one musical in part one that I have actually seen! My parents took me to London when I was ten years old, which was very exciting for someone who'd never been before; while we were there we decided to see a show and my parents let me pick one, so, being the Disney lover that I am, I obviously chose The Lion King. And it was amazing. In fact I really want to go and see it again. 

This song is gorgeous - I love that there's more of Nala in the musical than there is in the film - and it's stunning live, too. If you ever get the chance to see this show then you have to see it!

Some Things Are Meant To Be - Little Women

We finish part one with a more melancholy song, but it's still beautiful. I love the story of Little Women, and it's just as great in musical form!

I've always had a fondness for Beth because I played her in an amateur dramatic production of Little Women when I was eighteen, but a lot of the time I think she's seen as a tool for Jo's story (which, in some ways, she is). I love this musical because each of the sisters is given a voice, and this song in particular does a wonderful job of expressing the love that Beth and Jo feel for each other. I have two sisters myself, and this song just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy and sad.

I'll be back soon with the rest of my list!

J.

Top 5 | Fictional Friendships

A couple of months ago I wrote a post about my Top 5 Fictional Siblings, and in that post I said I wanted to write more like it to celebrate the relationships in fiction which are often forgotten in favour of romance. So today I'm going to share with you my Top 5 Fictional Friendships!

Harry, Ron and Hermione, from the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

"Why is it, when something happens, it is always you three?"

No list like this would be complete without the inclusion of the Golden Trio. A lot of the time in books our protagonist will have just the one best friend, and in a lot of these books that friendship is often forgotten and brushed over so our protagonist can concentrate on their love life. Harry, however, has two best friends, and they're both fantastic.

What I love about the Harry Potter books is that friendship is so much more important than romance. There's such an emphasis on friendship and loyalty and comradery; even though it could mean the death of them, Ron and Hermione pack up their bags, leave Hogwarts and follow Harry into the big bad world so that he doesn't have to face Voldemort alone. What are friends for?

Lirael and the Disreputable Dog, from The Old Kingdom series by Garth Nix

"I am the Disreputable Dog. Or Disreputable Bitch, if you want to get technical. When are we going for a walk?"

Here we have another book in which romance is forgotten entirely, resulting in one of my all time favourite fictional friendships. Most of us, at some point in our lives, will have wanted a pet, and the only thing better than a pet is a pet than can talk.

Of course the Disreputable Dog isn't a pet, but she is a talking dog. A hilarious talking dog. Her relationship with Lirael is one of the most beautiful things in The Old Kingdom series, and that's saying something because this series as a whole is amazing. If you haven't read it yet I highly recommend it; Nix is a master at writing female-led fantasy that doesn't focus on romance for a second.

Cinder and Iko, from The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

"See? Injustice. Here we are, risking our lives to rescue Kai and this whole planet, and Adri and Pearl get to go to the royal wedding. I'm disgusted. I hope they spill soy sauce on their fancy dresses."

I knew I wanted to include The Lunar Chronicles in this selection, but I have to be honest it took me a while before I decided who to mention because I love them all. I love Cinder's relationship with Thorne - male/female relationships that stay purely platonic make me incredibly happy - and I love her relationships with Scarlet and Wolf, too. In the end, however, I just had to include Cinder and Iko, though to be honest Cinder, Iko and Thorne also make a fabulous little trio.

Iko is there for Cinder most when no one else is; in fact she's been with Cinder since the latter was just a little girl, and despite the fact that they're very different (not only in personality, but also in what they actually are) they make a great duo. Iko might be an android, but she's incredibly loyal and there's genuine affection between the two of them. Considering the amount of crap Cinder goes through, she needs a friend like Iko.

Legolas and Gimli, from The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

"Forty-two? Oh, that's not bad for a pointy-eared elvish princeling. Hmph! I myself am sitting pretty on forty-THREE!"

Legolas and Gimli: the ultimate bromance. All joking aside, however, I love the friendship that blossoms between these two for many reasons (even if I am cheating a little because I haven't actually read The Lord of the Rings yet). I think most of us are probably friends with someone now who, years ago, we never thought we'd be friends with - it's funny when things work out that way. These two are a beautiful example of overcoming prejudice; they both come from a race of people who despise the other, and yet by the end of their adventure they are willing to die side by side. I love these two.

Katniss Everdeen and Johanna Mason, from The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins

"I don't care if you're knocked up. I'll rip your throat out."

If that doesn't scream best friends forever, then frankly I don't know what does. Katniss and Johanna are my favourite characters from The Hunger Games trilogy, and I've always been slightly disappointed that we didn't get to see more of them together; in fact by the end of Mockingjay Johanna seems to just... disappear. 

Everyone in the trilogy was impressed with Katniss, as, of course, they should be, but I love how Johanna doesn't give her any special treatment. She treats her exactly how she treats everyone else, and I think that's something Katniss needs - she never wanted to be a 'celebrity' in the first place.

Do you have any favourite friendships?

J.

Author Shame!

No matter how much we read there are always going to be those books that we just haven't gotten round to yet. Don't worry. It happens to the best of us.

However, there are a few authors out there that I'm ashamed to admit I haven't read yet, and today I'm going to share some of them with you so you can judge me from afar!

J.R.R. Tolkien

I think Tolkien is the one author on this list I am most ashamed at not having read yet. I've been meaning to read The Lord of the Rings for years - I actually mentioned it in my 2014 Booket List! - because I absolutely love the films. I love the story, but I've always been rather intimated by the book/s themselves (I have a boxset with three separate books, but I know some people prefer The Lord of the Rings as one entire volume).

I'm determined to at least start read The Lord of the Rings this year!

Daphne du Maurier

Like The Lord of the Rings, Rebecca has been on my TBR for a long time now, and earlier this year I acquired a second hand copy in excellent condition from a charity shop, so now I really have no excuse not to have read any du Maurier.

Honestly I'm not entirely sure why I haven't read any of her novels yet. I suppose it could simply be that I didn't want to pay the full price for a book (books seem to be getting more and more expensive!) that I probably wasn't going to read straight away. I'm eager to read Rebecca now that I finally have my own copy, and I'd love to read Frenchman's Creek and some of du Maurier's short fiction, too!

Robin Hobb

Robin Hobb is a well known name in the fantasy genre, and I'm ashamed to say that it wasn't until last year that I realised she's a woman! This realisation has made me even more eager to read her books, because it's a rarity to come across entire shelves in the fantasy section taken up by the works of a female author. It's a sad fact, but it's true.

Hopefully I can get my hand on one of her books this year and read it - I'm particularly interested in her Rain Wild Chronicles!

H.G. Wells

I love me some Victorian Literature - in fact when it comes to classics I turn to the Victorians more than any other era, so I'm sure you can imagine just how ashamed I am to admit I've never read any Wells. One of the big reasons for this is, until this year in particular, I haven't been all that interested in science fiction. Now that I'm becoming more interested in the genre, however, I'd love to read some more classic science fiction - after all, one of my favourite classics of all time, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, is considered to be the very first science fiction novel!

I'm not too bothered about picking up The Time Machine - no idea why - but I'd love to read The Island of Doctor Moreau soon!

Now you have knowledge you can hold against me in future - oh no! Are there any authors you're ashamed not to have read yet?

J.

Top 5 | Fictional Siblings

When it comes to the relationships in the books we read I think romantic relationships tend to get the most focus, which often means that other relationships - whether they're platonic or familial - are forgotten. This is a real shame, because there are so many amazing friends, brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles and grandparents in fiction that deserve to be celebrated.

This is the first in a small series of blog posts celebrating the underappreciated relationships in fiction. So, without further ado, here are my personal top 5 favourite fictional siblings!


Bellatrix, Andromeda and Narcissa, from the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

At number 5 we have a set of characters who are rather different from the other siblings on this list, because we don't know an awful lot about them. The majority of the siblings I've chosen for this list I've chosen because I love the way they interact with one another, but in the entire Harry Potter series we never see all three of the Black sisters together. We meet each of them individually - and indeed Narcissa and Bellatrix are still on speaking terms - but we have no idea how the three of them acted around one another when they were younger.

These three are some of my favourite characters in the series, and while I would love to have known more about them I can understand why we don't learn everything. Their relationship is not integral to Harry's journey.

What I love most about these three is that everything they do, they do for love. Bellatrix's unhealthy obsession with Voldemort drives her crazier than she already was, and she does things for him no sane person would ever do. Andromeda defied her family and ran away so that she could spend her life with a muggleborn, distancing her from the sisters who, at some point in her life, she must have loved. And then we have the fantastic Narcissa, who lies to Voldemort's face to save the life of a young boy because she's a mother, and she knows that if the tables were turned she'd hope Lily would do the same for Draco.

I just love these three a lot.



 Boromir and Faramir, from The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

At number 4 we have the only brothers on this list! While I was compiling this little list I began to notice how few books I actually own that include brothers. I had plenty of sisters to choose from, but I really had to look hard to find any brothers on my shelves who I felt strongly about.

Technically I'm cheating a bit here, because while I adore The Lord of the Rings I haven't actually read the books yet, but as I mentioned in my 2014 Booket List I'm hoping to cross The Lord of the Rings off my TBR list this year!

I am a huge fan of the films though, and I love the relationship between Boromir and Faramir. What I love about these two is that they so easily could have been a pair of siblings who hated each other; Denethor's favouritism could have distanced the two of them so much, but instead Boromir takes good care of his little brother. In fact Boromir acts like more of a father to him than Denethor does, and Faramir in return loves his brother unconditionally.

These two make me wish I had a brother.


Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy, from Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

At number 3 we have a set of sisters I couldn't possibly leave out of a list like this. This book and its characters are on many of my favourites lists; it's one of my favourite classics, includes one of my favourite heroines and one of my favourite fictional friendships. While I love Jo's friendship with Laurie and her relationship with Professor Bhaer, it's her relationship with her sisters that I love the most.

What's lovely about these four is that they're all so different, so each of their relationships with each other is different, and yet they all compliment each other beautifully. There's a sister for every kind of person; in fact for a 19th century author Alcott does a pretty wonderful job of portraying women who are desperate for independence and women who are desperate to be married, and treating all of these women with equal respect.


Georgia and Shaun, from the Newsflesh trilogy by Mira Grant

At number 2 we have a fairly recent discovery of mine. I read Feed, the first book in the Newsflesh trilogy, just last week and I absolutely adored it, even though it broke my heart.

I'm glad I came across this book when I did because I've been wanting to compile this list for a while, and yet I noticed I had a distinct lack of important brother and sister relationships in the books I read. Then I read Feed, and fell completely in love with Georgia and Shaun.

What I love about them is not only are they funny - so funny, I love their banter - but they're also not at all ashamed that they're close. They love each other absolutely and they will defend each other until the ends of the earth.


Katniss and Prim, from The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins

At number 1, it really just had to be the Everdeen sisters. 

When it comes to The Hunger Games I find a lot of people tend to argue as to whether or not they're on Team Peeta or Team Gale, but for me the real love story in The Hunger Games is between Katniss and Prim. In fact nothing that happens in these stories would have happened if Katniss hadn't had a little sister that she loved more than anything else in the world. Katniss enters the Games to save Prim, and she ultimately ends up becoming the Mockingjay to avenge Rue, who reminds her of Prim.

For such a popular trilogy the relationship between these two is incredibly underrated, and personally I feel as though Peeta gets a lot of the credit that really belongs to Prim. Katniss wasn't a closed, cold young woman until Peeta came along; Prim is proof that everything Katniss does comes from a place of fierce love.

Who are some of your favourite siblings in fiction?