Netflix Recommendations

A brief insight into what I’ve been watching;

Stranger Things

You’ve most probably heard of, if not watched Stranger Things. It’s arguably one of the most popular TV shows to not just come out of Netflix, but also generally in recent years. If you’re into science fiction and find the idea of an alternate universe existing that is like our own but not, then this one is for you. Complete with pop cultural references to the 80’s, need I encourage you more…

Gilmore Girls

A heart-warming series focusing on Lorelei and Rory Gilmore, who are not just mother and daughter, but also best friends. If you’re looking for characters to fall in love with and something light-hearted to watch, the Gilmore Girls are for you.

The Crown

Series one was good, but series two, even better. A telling series all about Queen Elizabeth II’s reign and the people around her through to modern-day times. A fascinating watch. And made all the better with Claire Foy playing Queen Elizabeth II, who I think takes on the role fabulously.

A- Typical

My curiosity drove me to start watching this series, as I find it interesting to see how things like autism are represented through the media. The series focuses on 18-year-old Sam, who is on the autistic spectrum and ready for romance. A heartfelt and thought-provoking watch.

Thank you for reading! 

Let me know your recommendations in the comments below!

Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams: Initial Thoughts

After seeing numerous advertisements for the first episode titled “The Hood Maker”, and seeing that Richard Madden who you may well know as Robb Stark from Game of Thrones was playing the male lead in it, I decided to give it a go.

I recognised Philip K. Dick as the author of The Man in the High Castle (a book I still haven’t got round to reading) and from seeing his name lurking around in the Science Fiction section at Waterstones, so I was interested to see what Electric Dreams would be like.

To summarise, Electric Dreams is a 10 part anthology series, based on short stories written by Philip K. Dick, with each episode focusing on a different story. The first episode which aired last night at 9PM on Channel 4, was based on the story titled “The Hood Maker”, which was originally published in an American fantasy and science fiction magazine in June 1955, which looked like this;

The first episode starred Richard Madden as Agent Ross and Holliday Grainger as Honor. The original story was adapted by Matthew Graham (Life on Mars, Ashes to Ashes) for Channel 4’s televised version, and so does as expected appear to differ from the original. Anyway, the plot basically takes on an ‘us vs them’ concept, which I admit is quite commonly found in the sci-fi genre. The narrative follows Agent Ross in the fight against the hood maker, who first appears when a man is seen wearing the hood in a protest against an Anti- Immunity Bill. The significant thing about wearing the hood is that it prevents the characters with telepathy (also known as Teeps) from reading their minds, while wearing it. Honor, one of the Teeps, is utilised by the state and becomes Ross’s sidekick in figuring out what the Hood Makers are plotting. But with this, we also learn that the Teeps are conspiring and relationships are tested between Ross and Honor when a unexpected twist is revealed.

The Hood Maker definitely reminded me of Humans, which also aired on Channel 4, with the whole humans versus ‘the others’ concept. But that didn’t hinder my enjoyment, and i’m definitely looking forward to next week’s episode “The Impossible Planet”.

I would also like to read the original of The Hood Maker, so I can look further into how it differs from the TV version, (one that I know of being that the original hoods were actually more like metallic headbands) and to see if the endings are different.

Anyway, thank you for reading! Let me know in the comments if you have any thoughts on Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams so far!

                                                                             🙂

The Three Ws: Bookish Questions

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Taking On A World of Words.

And these three W’s that the title has so ambiguously referenced are three book related questions;

1. What are you currently reading?
2. What did you recently finish reading?
3. What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading:

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. I’m not sure how I feel about it thus far, as I only started reading it last night. But it seems pretty gripping. It’s something I’ve had on my TBR pile for a long time so at least i’ve finally got round to it! My mum reckons it is something you definitely have to concentrate on whilst reading it, so I guess no reading it when i’m half asleep!

Recently Finished:

One Day by David Nicholls. I absolutely loved this book! So much so, I’m going as far as to say it’s one of my favourites! I completely fell in love with the two characters, Emma and Dexter who the story is centered around. The book is basically separated into yearly accounts spanning across twenty years on the same day of 15th July. If you haven’t already, I highly recommend you give this one a read!

Next read:

So i’ve got three books that I know I want to read in the near future and these include;  The Order of the Pheonix by J.K Rowling, Step Back Into Time by Ali McNamara and Van Gogh’s Ear: The True Story by Bernadette Murphy.  So it’ll be one of them that I will be reading next.

 

 

Thank you for reading! I do enjoy doing these smaller, question and answer style posts but I’ll certainly be writing more in-depth posts like in the style of my Conceptions of Freedom post again soon!

🙂

 

The Game of Thrones Tag

So, I have yet again not actually been tagged in this but i’m a GOT enthusiast to say the least, so I thought I’d give it a go.

Here’s the tag which I found originally: http://www.taniamichele.com/2015/06/a-game-of-thrones-tag.html?m=1 

1.How did you discover the series?

I think it’s actually my Dad who first mentioned it to me. But that was few years ago when I was way to young to watch the series, (I was probably about 13/14 i’m guessing). But it’s actually my sister, and two of my close friends who got me into the show really.

2.Who is your favourite house, other than the Starks and Lannisters?

House Mormont. One reason being Lyanna Mormont who is an absolute badass and a gem for female representation. But also because of Jorah Mormont. I’ve loved him from the start.

3.Who is your favourite character from House Stark?

This is quite a tricky one, as Stark is actually my favourite house. But probably Arya, she’s another good one for female representation, and she’s just a badass let’s face it, yes she’s murdered quite a lot of people but this is Game of Thrones were talking about, not Downton Abbey.

4.Who is your favourite character from House Lannister?

Tyrion! My love for his character has grown throughout the seasons. He has many admirable characteristics; he’s quick-witted, humorous, clever, and unlike the rest of the Lannisters, he has a strong moral compass.

5.Who is your favourite character?

Okay i’m simply not even going to try and pick one favourite, that’s just not going to happen. So here are my favourites; Jon Snow, Daenerys Targaryen, Arya Stark, Ned Stark,  Jorah Mormont, Davos Seaworth,  Brienne of Tarth and of course, Tyrion Lannister.

6.Who is your least favourite character?

I’m going to go for the standard answer here and say Joffrey Baratheon. Of course Ramsey Bolton was a horrible person too, but Ramsey was more love to hate, whereas Joffrey it’s just full blown hate with me.

7.What are your thoughts on the series?

I freaking LOVE IT! A couple of years ago I wouldn’t have imagined myself calling Game of Thrones my favourite TV show, let alone watching it. But I can’t personally think of anything else out there that consumes my brain so much. It’s just top of the game in my eyes.

8. If you could be one of the characters, who you would you be and why?

I’m not quite sure specifically, but I think I’d like to be a wildling for a bit, you know just try it out for a couple of days or so. Speak all broad Northern and wear fluffy clothing.

9.What is your favourite episode/season?

I’m going to go with the latest season, season seven. It’s the first season I’ve watched as it’s aired, week by week, and I think that’s actually added to the enjoyment of it. Not to forget the fact that this season has been consecutively outstanding!

10.What House would you be in?

I feel like I resonate with House Stark more than any others, and I’ve said this from watching the first season. I love the sigil of the grey direwolf and the fact that Winterfell is in the North, as I’m actually Northern myself, which makes me love the house even more.

11.What are you most looking forward to in the upcoming season?

~Spoiler alert! Stop reading now if you haven’t watched the newest season!!

• Jon Snow / Aegon Targaryen finding out his true identity
• Finding out where this leaves the relationship between Jon & Daenerys
• Watching Cersei (hopefully) get her comeuppance
• Seeing the aftermath of the destruction caused in the last episode by the army of the dead, they’ve destroyed the wall, so what happens now?
• And actually seeing who sits on the IRON THRONE at the end of it all!!

Thank you for reading!

Feel free to do this tag yourself! I therefore tag anyone who wants to do it!

🙂

Twenty Questions Booktag!

So, I’ve not actually been tagged in this but I love books and fancied doing a tag post so I thought why not just go for it!

The link to the original tag is here https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/18219846-twenty-questions-booktag 

1.How many books is too many books in a book series? 

I’d say more than six or seven, I’ve not really read an entire book series though so I don’t quite know what I’m basing that on!
2. How do you feel about cliffhangers?

They normally result in me shouting at the book because I’m just begging to know what happens! So many unanswered questions just fly around in my head! But as long as the story is going to be continued at some point after said cliffhanger I’m okay with them!
3. Hardcopy or paperback?

Paperback. Simply because they’re lighter to hold.
4. Favourite book?

Can I have four? 1984 by George Orwell, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky and Reasons To Stay Alive by Matt Haig.
5. Least favourite book?

A Midsummer Nights Dream by William Shakespeare. Purely because I did it as part of my English Literature AS level coursework and I could not even force myself to like it, or understand it. I now only associate AMSND with bad memories…
6. Love triangles, yes or no? 

They annoy me at times I must admit, I used to think that I couldn’t read a book without there being a love triangle in it. But the more I’ve read as I’ve grown up, the less I’ve noticed them.
7. The most recent book you just couldn’t finish?

The Noise of Time by Julian Barnes. I however did finish it, because I hate giving up, but I had to keep re-reading bits of the book multiple times because I got confused and struggled to follow the plot. Interesting concept though all the same.
8. A book you’re currently reading?

A Game of Thrones by George R.R Martin. I’ve nearly finished, 96 pages to go!
9. Last book you recommended to someone?

The Diary of Anne Frank. I recommend it to my sister, as I believe it’s something everyone should read.
10. Oldest book you’ve read? (Publication date)

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, published in 1597. I read it at school so I’m not sure if that counts. But the oldest book I’ve read for enjoyment is The Sign of the Four by Arthur Conan Doyle, published in 1890.
11. Newest book you’ve read? (Publication date)

Girl Online: Going Solo, by Zoe Sugg, published in November 2016.
12. Favorite author?

I’m torn. Part of me wants to say John Green, firstly due to the fact that I love metaphors and secondly because he is the only author I can claim to say that I’ve read all of the books of. But I also adore F. Scott Fitzgerald’s writing style. I’m not sure, ask me again in a year.
13. Buying books or borrowing books?

Definitely buying books, but second-hand as there’s something wonderful that I can’t quite pin-point about pre-loved books.
14. A book you dislike that everyone else seems to love?

Hmm, I can’t actually think of one!
15. Bookmarks or dog-ears?

I had to google what is meant by dog-ears! But if it means folding pages, I definitely opt for the dog-ear approach when saving my page.
16. A book you can always reread?

I don’t tend to re-read much, as I’m all about finding new stuff, but I’d have to say The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. I absolutely love that book no matter how many times I’ve read it before, I re-read it a couple of months ago one afternoon actually.

17. Can you read while hearing music?

I can read to calming instrumental music, especially piano. I did this last week actually on the train to block out noisy passengers.
18. One POV or multiple POV’s? (POV’s = Point of views)

Multiple POV’s. A Game of Thrones, which I’m currently reading is told through alternating character viewpoints, and I love the way it works. As a series which has tons of characters, it can be easy to lose track on who’s who and what all the characters positioning’s are in the plot, so it’s great in this way.
19. Do you read a book in one sitting or over multiple days?

Multiple days normally. However, when I did English Literature at college and I got assigned books to read, I used to spend my Sunday mornings reading the books in one sitting.
20. Who do you tag? (You can invite them to the group to do the tag)

Anyone who wants to do this tag themselves!!

 

I hope you enjoyed this book tag, my mission for the next day is to finish reading A Game of Thrones! I’m really enjoying it but I’m pretty sure it’s the longest book I’ll have ever read!

🙂