PHASE 1 MARVEL-A-THON TBR

What better time to get back into blogging again than uni breaking up for the summer and an imminent move to the other side of the world? 

There was no way I was gonna pass up an opportunity to post about my two faves, the MCU and books, and Jamieson, the fantastic blogger behind jamishelves, provided me with the perfect opportunity to do just that. Click here to read all about the Marvel-A-Thon book challenge she created.

Now, I am a pretty slow reader and there's no way I'm gonna complete this challenge properly, but I'll be damned if I don't give it a shot. So, without further ado, here is my TBR for "Phase 1" of the readathon. 

Iron Man - Read the first book in a series

I have a whole load of options for this, including some I'm still yet to finish (looking at you guys, A Darker Shade of Magic and The Darkest Minds.) But, assuming I get these two finished before June, I'll be going with Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton. Everyone in my YA book club has read this book and I've been meaning to get round to it for ages! I'm also intrigued by the desert setting - I don't think I've ever read a YA with this backdrop before.

Hulk - Read a book with a green cover

My selection of books is pretty limited at the moment as I'm currently in London studying, while most of my books are back at home in the north of England. However, I do have a copy of a single book with me that fits this criteria: Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson. It seems a bit long but also like an easy read so hopefully this won't be too difficult to get through! 

Iron Man 2 - Read a book that's unpopular

I'm a firm believer in not wasting times on books that aren't very good because "life's too short", but then again I was a huge fan of the I Am Number Four series (until like book 4 lol), and they got some pretty shoddy reviews from influential bloggers. So, who knows, maybe I'll find my next fave through this challenge, although if I'm gonna give up one from this phase it will definitely be this one. I am tossing up a couple of options, but am leaning towards Wink Poppy Midnight by April Genevieve Tucholke. Reviews state that the writing style saves this book, but honestly I've never been that bothered by "poetic" or "purple" prose; for example, I did not enjoy Shatter Me. However, a love triangle with 2 girls instead of 2 boys changes things up a little... but I'm not a fan of pitting girls against girls so we'll see! 

Thor - Read a book that contains myth or mythology

I never read further than the first Percy Jackson book so I'm going to give the series another go and reread it!

Captain America - Read a book set or written in WWII

I recently read Orphan Monster Spy and really, really did not like it - and as such I don't know if I'll be in the mood for another WWII book so soon after. This may be my second skip - but if I'm in the mood, I'll read The True Story of Hansel and Gretel by Louise Murphy which I started all the way back in September of 2016 and never finished, despite it being pretty short! 

The Avengers - Read a book with multiple perspectives

My mind immediately went to Prodigy by Marie Lu, but since it's been a hot sec since I read Legend and I'll probably need to re-read it before continuing the series, I think I'll have to go with something else. So, staying faithful to Lu, I'll read The Young Elites instead.

So yep, that's me for phase 1. Phase 2 coming soon! 

Films to see in 2015

Hello!

I've decided to do a post about films that I am excited about seeing in 2015. Obviously we're already almost a quarter of the way through 2015 (what?? It's going too fast!) so it's quite late, but I thought I'd do it anyway. Here goes:

I'll start with the most obvious: Mockingjay Part II. Now, a quick confession: I haven't actually managed to make it through the first quarter of the third book. I've read the other two and I thought they were fantastic, but the third isn't quite working for me. I've started it and restarted it at least 4 times. However, I've heard that once you get through the first half or so it really picks up, so I might give it one more go. Unfortunately all of my friends *side glance at all my friends reading this* have spoiled what happens, but I don't really mind that much. But anyway. Mockingjay Part I was much better than I thought it would be, as I thought it would be slow like the book. And, if the second half really is much better, then the film should be bloody fantastic too. Roll on November 2015! 

Another quick confession: I don't love John Green's books that much. I mean, I think they're fine, but I'm not a mega fan or anything. I don't think I appreciate them like others do, however I do love his writing-just not necessarily the actual stories themselves. I've read three of his books: The Fault In Our Stars, Will Grayson, Will Grayson, and Looking For Alaska (which, John Green has just announced, is also becoming a movie.) Admittedly, I haven't read Paper Towns so I'm not 100% sure what it's about but I'll still see it. I'm actually quite excited about it and will probably but not definitely read the book first. 

Next is the Bond film, Spectre. JAMES BOND!!!! The franchise is a bit of a guilty pleasure for me. My dad is a massive fan and used to own all of the films pretty much, and at first, when I was 7 or 8, I didn't like them that much: we watched ones such as Dr. No and Goldfinger and I didn't understand them properly. However when Casino Royale came out I decided to go see it, fell in love with Daniel Craig as Bond and went back and watched a few older ones. Unfortunately Quantum of Solace was a massive disappointment: I can't even remember what the plot was now, possibly because there wasn't one. Then, Skyfall. Wow. I watched it in the big room at UGC De Broukère in Brussels. The room is ornate and (looks like) it's made of beautiful stone carvings. It's massive and lovely and the cinema was packed. I went to watch it the day it came out so there were floods of people. Part of me feels like it did so well because it was about 100x better than Quantum of Solace and as a stand alone film isn't necessarily amazing; but I definitely enjoyed it. I hope Spectre doesn't fail like Quantum of Solace, but I think there are such high expectations for it after Skyfall that it may just fall short of the mark, but we'll see.
A plus is that Andrew Scott is going to be in it. He plays Moriarty in Sherlock. And anyone who knows me knows that I am a massive fan of Sherlock. Exciting times!

Next is one you're less likely to have heard of: Suite Française, based on the book by Irène Némirovsky. I haven't actually read the book yet but I bought it about a month ago at a second hand book shop in Brussels for only 1,50€. Brussels isn't big on second hand stuff et cetera so this was a pretty good find. Anyway, because I haven't read it I'm not entirely sure what it's about, but it's set in France during WWII during the German occupation, and I'm pretty certain it's got romance in it, between a French woman and a German soldier. I can't wait to read it: I do love historical fiction, particularly if it's set during WWI & WWII. Another exciting aspect is that Sam Riley will be in it, who played Ian Curtis (lead singer of Joy Division) in the film Control- which is a beautiful despite slow film about Ian's life before his tragic demise. Ruth Wilson will also be in it- I recognise her from the TV film of Small Island we watched at school. 

Okay, this one I'm quite unsure about. It's called Crimson Peak and it's directed by Guillermo Del Toro (The Orphanage, Biutiful, Pan's Labyrinth), who is famous in the world of dark fantasy and gothic horror. I first heard about it because of Tom Hiddleston, who I adore to pieces. He's just so charming. The latest I've heard is he's doing stuff for Comic Relief, and he does loads of other charity work too. Anyway, I'm going off topic here, but yes, I noticed the film because of him. And yes, I am quite drawn to it, but I'm doubtful as to whether it will be shown in Belgium, and I don't know if anyone I know will want to come and see with me. I don't want to see it alone because it's a horror film and I'm quite bad at dealing with stuff like that. But I do have some- few, admittedly - gothic-like tastes, so I might enjoy it. We'll see.

Finally, the live-action Cinderella film. I was always a massive fan of Disney princesses as a young girl but I can't say that Cinderella was really one of my favourites. However I'm so happy this is coming out! The costumes and sets look so lovely- just look at that blue dress. It's gorgeous. And I do like a bit of romance sometimes, and princes and princesses, and ball gowns and jewellery and glitter and magic. I don't know how magical this will be, but from the trailer it looks beautiful and well-crafted. 

I'm sure there are other films I've missed but these are the main ones I could think of. 

Hope you enjoyed this blog post!

India x

First blog post

Hello!

So this is my first ever blog post. I'm not entirely sure where I want to go with this blog, but I just thought it would give me something a bit productive to do (as well as teaching myself the piano...).

I will mostly use this blog to talk about my favourite things: books, films, music, clothes, piano, Sherlock, make up and nail varnish, as well as the occasional essay (if they're at all interesting...) amongst other things.

So yes! I hope you find this blog interesting, and feel free to add suggestions in the comment section. I will reply to everything and everybody.

India x