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 Halloween Book Tag!

I saw Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight doing this and had to have a go of it myself, so here goes!

Heebie Jeebies

Favourite Scary Story

I think Susan Hill's The Woman in Black is one of those iconic scary stories. It's been a long time since I read the book, but what really scared the bejeezus out of me was the play, which I went to see while I was at school. It's a fantastic play, and I'm pretty sure I slept with my light on for about a week after seeing it. I do think the book's worth reading, but if you get the chance to see the play go and see it!

Scream

Favourite Book with a Murdery Mystery Plot

This has made me realise that I need to read more murder mysteries. To link in with the Halloween theme, I think I have to go with My Life as a White Trash Zombie by Diana Rowland; it's the start of such a fun urban fantasy series, featuring zombies as you probably haven't seen them before - check it out!

Casper

Favourite Book with a Ghost

It has to be The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters, which is one of the best books I've read this year and has a firm place on my list of favourite books. It's fantastic.

Monster Mash

Favourite Paranormal Supernatural Book

I decided to change the wording of this one a little because, to me, paranormal means something that might be explained by science - like ghosts or aliens - and I don't tend to read many books about aliens and I've mentioned two books with ghosts already, so I think it's best I talk about something else! In terms of the supernatural, my favourite book is probably Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu, a pre-Dracula 19th century novella featuring vampirism. It's so good, and it's a great place to start for anyone who finds classics intimidating.

Halloween 2007 Remake

Favourite Retelling

The Lunar Chronicles, of course! I know this is probably cheating, but I can't pick just one book from the series because I think Marissa Meyer has done such a good job at mixing these tales together into one big story while also fitting each retelling so wonderfully into the narrative. I love the way she's reimagined traditional fairy tales for a sci-fi setting, and Cinder is one of my favourite heroines.

Female Character You'd Most Want to Dress Up As

Okay so she's not a book character, but one day I'd love to dress up as Sally from The Nightmare Before Christmas. It's one of my favourite films - I watched it religiously as a child - and I just think it'd be a really cool costume.

Male Character You'd Most Want to Dress Up As

I think Sirius Black could be pretty cool, especially Sirius as he's seen in his wanted poster. He has long hair, so I wouldn't need to cut mine, and it'd just mean making myself look a bit grimy and unwashed. Plus I bet everyone would know who I was!

Favourite Villain

This is a tricky one because I feel like a lot of the books I really love don't tend to have villains in the traditional sense. A lot of the time the villain is circumstance or even the protagonist's own decisions. I do love Mrs. Danvers from Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca, though. That woman is terrifying!

Fun Size

Favourite Short Story/Novella

For Halloween that'd have to be 'The Lottery' by Shirley Jackson. It's so worth a read if you haven't read it yet, it'll only take five minutes!

What's Your Favourite Scary Movie?

I don't tend to watch horror movies that much because I'm a bit of a wuss, and also because some of them are just gratuitous for the sake of it. One film I really love though, and one that's perfect for Halloween, is Sleepy Hollow. It's historical, which is right up my street, it's got Johnny Depp in it, also right up my street, and it's directed by Tim Burton, who's one of my favourite directors. I love it!

If you want to do this tag then consider yourself tagged! Happy Halloween!

My Favourite Halloween Films!

Spooky season is upon us, that means it's time to cuddle up with a pumpkin latte and a cosy blanket and watch something spooky. Personally I'm a massive wuss; I've loved ghost stories since I was a little girl even though the good ones still give me the heebie jeebies, so I tend to stay away from the genuinely horrific films at Halloween. You'll never find me watching anything from the Saw franchise.

As a child who was raised on the Brothers Grimm, Tim Burton and Roald Dahl, though, there are a few films I just can't resist watching when October rolls around!

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

I watched this film religiously when I was younger, and with characters created by Tim Burton and direction from the glorious Henry Selick it's really no surprise. The great thing about this film is that it's as much a Christmas film as a Halloween film, which is perfect for someone like me who loves Christmas an extortionate amount, and it's so much fun. It has a lot of heart, too, and Jack Skellington remains probably Tim Burton's most famous creation. If you've never seen this film, what are you waiting for?

The Witches (1990)

And now for a film that scarred many of my childhood friends for life - I'm sorry to any of you who I invited home after school to watch this, because I remember it made one of my friends cry. Oops. I must have been a lot less of a wuss when I was younger than I am now because the witches in this film didn't bother me at all, though I did really hate the story of the girl who was trapped in the painting and aged and died there. This is another fun one, based on Roald Dahl's book, but unlike The Nightmare Before Christmas I wouldn't recommend watching this with any little children - they'll pee their pants.

Hocus Pocus (1993)

Another film with witches, and another film I watched religiously; I can remember watching this with my sisters, which is funny considering there are three of us. Dun dun duuuuun... I'm so excited to watch Hocus Pocus this year because it's been quite a while since I last watched it, and I love it. It's funny and entertaining and such a perfect Halloween film. If you haven't watched it you're missing out on a fantastic performance from Bette Midler!

Sleepy Hollow (1999)

More Tim Burton, this time one of his many films with Johnny Depp. What would my formative years have been without these two? I would describe Sleepy Hollow as more of a gothic film than a horror film, but it's still the one film on this list I wouldn't recommend you watching with children unless said children are completely unfazed by spooky stories. It's not gratuitous in any way, but a lot of heads get lopped off throughout this film and there are a few jump scares, so younger children should probably stay away from this. I love Ichabod Crane in this movie, and Christina Ricci is a lovely Katrina van Tassel. This is a very fun film to watch with friends while you share some leftover Halloween sweets!

Coraline (2009)

Another book adaptation, and a pretty fantastic one at that! I'll be talking more about this film in a Book vs. Adaptation post this month, so look out for that. I love Coraline; it's another one of Henry Selick's films, so perhaps I was bound to love it, and the guy certainly knows how to make a good stop motion film. I'm hoping one day he might somehow realise my desire for a stop motion adaptation of We Have Always Lived in the Castle. This is another film that can be watched with children, but one that might creep some children out - the Other Mother is not a pleasant character!

I'll definitely be watching some of these this month! Which films do you like to watch as Halloween approaches?

Top Ten Tuesday | Favourite Movies/TV Shows

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 'Top Ten Favourite Movies or TV Shows' - it's a chance for us bookworms to share some of our other favourite stories which happen to be told through a different medium. 

I decided to stay away from any book adaptations, even though there are a few that I love, so without further ado, here's my list!


Beauty and the Beast (1991)

I am a Disney nut, so obviously at least one Disney film was going to be on this list and it had to be this one. Why? Because not only is Beauty and the Beast my favourite Disney film, it's my favourite film period. I love this film so much and I'm never going to grow out of it; in fact people who claim they've grown out of Disney are just as bad as people who claim you can grow out of YA. Stories are stories no matter how old you are.

Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005-2008)

Honestly a lot of the films and shows on this are going to be ones from my childhood/teens that have stayed with me, and this is one such show. Can you believe it's turning ten years old next year? This show may be animated, but it's not only for children. This show is just gorgeous and it explores some really mature themes without talking down to its audience. If you love character-driven shows and you haven't watched this yet then I recommend it. It's just beautiful story-telling!

The Mummy (1999)

This film is another one of my all time favourites, and it's just so fun. When it was originally released I was only eight and I don't think I watched it until I was at least ten or eleven, which was probably for the best; the scarab beetles terrified the life out of me when I was younger.

The Mummy has a little bit of everything. It's got action, adventure, humour, romance and a fantastic female lead - what's not to like? Plus Brendan Fraser and Arnold Vosloo aren't too bad to look at, either.

Firefly (2002)

I didn't actually get around to watching Firefly until this year, but I always knew I was going to love it. Who knows why I waited this long to watch it; perhaps because I'm very lazy when it comes to tv shows (I really have to force myself to watch them sometimes) or maybe because the show was cancelled, and I was reluctant to become invested in something that was going to end sooner than I'd like.

Usually when I watch shows with a relatively big cast of main characters I'll have one or two that are my absolute favourites, but what I love most about this show is that I love all the characters and I'm not sure that I could pick a favourite. This show is so much fun and there's a character for everyone - if only it hadn't been cancelled!

The Tudors (2007-2010)

This show is the kind of show that polarises people. There are those who love it despite its flaws and there are those who are too invested in historical accuracy to enjoy it. Now I love me some historical accuracy in my fiction and dramas, and I'm well aware of this show's flaws - in fact I'm as willing to point them out as someone who hates it - but what I love about this show is the way it humanised all six of Henry VIII's wives.

When it comes to famous historical figures it's so easy for us to look at old, stiff portraits and think we know everything about the person in the picture. What this show did was give Henry's wives, and Henry himself, as many likeable qualities as unlikeable ones. This show reminded its audience that these people, though they lived 500 years ago, were still people, and as someone who writes historical fiction I can't help but appreciate that.

Friends (1994-2004)

It's so bizarre to think that this show started a month before I turned 3 years old. 20 years on and it's still being enjoyed and watched, and if that's not the mark of a good show then I'm not sure what is.

I discovered Friends during my teens, a couple of years after the show finished, and my best friend and I watched it and loved it whenever I slept over. Like Firefly, this show is another show in which there's a character for everyone, but I love them all. It still makes me laugh, and if I'm ever feeling down, sad or depressed all I have to do is stick on an episode of this and I feel better.

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

Did this film really come out 11 years ago? Bloody hell.

I feel very lucky in that, as a child of the 90's, I got to witness the releases of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings, the Harry Potter series and the Pirates of the Caribbean films during my childhood and adolescence. I've no doubt in my mind that these films were formative.

The Pirates films are so much fun. I know I've said that for several of the films/shows on this list, but I guess that's just what I enjoy to watch. If something isn't fun then why watch it? These films made pirate stories cool again, and they introduced me to Captain Jack Sparrow, my one true love.

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Here we have another Jack, and this one sparked my life-long admiration for Tim Burton's work. I was only 2 years old when this film came out so obviously I can't remember its release, but watching it is a constant memory throughout my childhood. I loved this film when I was little (and still do) and I can't remember a Halloween or Christmas when I didn't sit down and watch it.

To this day it's still my favourite of Tim Burton's films, despite the fact that he didn't direct it, and I'll be watching it again as soon as October rolls around!

Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

I don't think I've met anyone who watched this film and didn't love it. Watching this film reminds me of the feeling I got reading Grimm's Fairy Tales when I was younger; it's dark, spooky, melancholic and hopeful, and frankly I don't watch enough non-English speaking films.

I think Guillermo del Toro's a brilliant storyteller, and I continue to love his work.

Orphan Black (2013-present)

Orphan Black's another show I didn't start watching until this year - in fact I accidentally marathoned the entire first season in the space of 3 days - and I'm in love with it. Tatiana Maslany is amazing at what she does and, like Firefly and Friends, I love all the clones so much that I find it hard to pick a favourite.

What I really love about this show is how it's addressing themes such as a woman's right to her own body and what she does with it, and right now I think it's so important that we're talking about it; especially when there are still people out there who think they have the right to shame women into having or not having abortions, or think that it's justified to blame a woman when she is a victim of sexual abuse.

I just think this is a very important show, and it addresses all these issues so beautifully while maintaining an excellent story and gorgeous character progression.

So what are some of your favourite films and/or shows?

J.