I have taken a break from the Janet Evanovich/Stephanie Plum series because I didn't want to get completely burnt out on Stephanie's antics and shenanigan's. I stopped after reading #10 and will pick the series back up again soon. Thanks to my wonderful sister, Natalie, I ended up switching over to Emily Giffin's books, starting with Something Borrowed. I love, love, love her writing style. There is something about it that is so simple yet it completely draws you into the story. I have never been more inspired to write than I am when I read her books. No other author has ever made me feel that way. I almost get jealous when I read her stories because I wish I was that good. She currently has five books out right now. They aren't a continuous series like the Twilight or the Sookie books (even though Something Borrowed and it's follow up, Something Blue are very much related), but each book relates back to another book in the series in a really clever way. I LOVE that. They also made a movie out of Something Borrowed, starring John Krasinski (yay!), Kate Hudson, Ginnifer Goodwin and Colin Egglesfield (holy handsome!). I promise, it's not your typical dramedy/rom-com. It's such an interesting story and it doesn't end up how you think it will. The movie comes out May 6th. I can't wait!
The new Sookie Stackhouse book, Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris comes out May 3rd. Hooray! There is also going to be The Sookie Stackhouse Companion, which comes out August 30th. It is going to have trivia (you know I love my trivia!), a tour of Bon Temps and surrounding areas, recipes; including Caroline Bellfleur's chocolate cake (which I think is super fun) and summaries and things of that nature. Should be interesting and I am looking forward to it.
Speaking of companion guides, the Twilight Guide was released on April 12th. It has a long interview with Stephenie Meyer, conducted by one of her author friends, Shannon Hale. It's semi-interesting but most of it contains things that we have heard her say before. There are in depth descriptions of every single character and an explanation of Stephenie's playlist's for each of the books in the series. All in all, I'm happy to have it on my shelf along with my other Twilight books but honestly, I would rather just have Midnight Sun.
Jeff and I have been watching Game Of Thrones on HBO (Sundays at 9pm) the last couple of weeks. I am not going to be able to give you a very good/accurate description of this show because I know almost nothing about it. I know that it's based on the book series by George R. R. Martin and I know that the show is fantastically well done. The acting is really good and the story itself is very intriguing so far. There is lots of mean/vindictive people, uhm.. lots of nudity and some really cute (Dire) wolves. Check it out, if for no other reason than to figure out what the heck I'm talking about. Also, I am told that the book series is really great. I am hoping to read those someday soon.
Speaking of HBO, just a reminder that our favorite Vampires and fangbangers return June 26th at 9pm. How excited am I for season 4 of True Blood? Extremely. How worried am I that they are going to mess up my favorite storyline in the series? Extremely. What does that add up to?? Lots of curiosity thrown in with some anxiousness. But really, I can't wait to spend my Sunday nights with my favorite Viking/Sheriff from Area Five.
One last thing, the final episode of America's Next Great Restaurant is this Sunday at 8pm. I really have enjoyed this show. The investors (Bobby Flay, Lorena Garcia, Curtis Stone and Steve Ells) are such good judges and give good, helpful constructive criticism. I hope it comes back next year. Also, I am pulling for Soul Daddy, he is the fella from Detroit (Jamawn Woods). I don't necessarily like his food the best but I like him and his whole work ethic the best. He just seems like he's a good guy.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Monday, April 4, 2011
A Top 5 List
Have you ever found yourself grumbling in disgust over a certain character while watching your favorite television show (or any TV show, for that matter)? Grumbling so much so that whenever he/she comes on screen, you immediately do an eye-roll, sigh and shout "I haaaaate insert random name here!"? This has happened to me a few times but no more so than this past weekend while watching a certain series that I love.
My hatred for this character inspired me to compile a list of my Top 5 Most Disliked Characters of All Time. I will give them to you in order from least hated to most hated. I would also like to throw out the typical *spoiler warning* for the following shows: Alias, Lost, Angel, True Blood, Fringe and Vampire Diaries.
5.) Kate Austin (played by Evangeline Lilly)- Lost
From the beginning of season one, I knew that Kate was going to drive me insane. She went from whiny and scared to trying to be heroic and helpful. Only problem was, every single time (EVERY TIME) she attempted to be "helpful", she mucked things up. Whether their characters were being chased by Others or they were going on a venture into the jungle, Kate always found a way to get them caught and/or put in an even more dangerous situation. By season 5, I was begging for the writers to give her the "time travel sickness". It never happened. She was always making Jack sad and leading Sawyer on. She was just flat out annoying. By the time the series finale came around, I had high hopes that she might head off into the enchanted light at the end of that tunnel and never return... But the unthinkable happened. Kate did something cool and lessened my intense dislike for her just a bit. In a scene that will go down as one of my favorites in Lost history, she shot Fake Locke and saved Jack. "I saved you a bullet!"
4.) Olivia Dunham (played by Anna Torv)- Fringe
I was crazy excited about Fringe when it first came out. A J.J. Abrams concept, paired with Joshua Jackson? You couldn't go wrong... unless you added an incredibly bland, monotone, all around plain lead character to head the show. Olivia was just unlikable to me. I couldn't relate to her, I couldn't bring myself to care about her character whatsoever. Even so, I hung on that first season and watched the whole thing. The stories were interesting enough and every other character on the show stood out. She was a background character as far as I was concerned. Nothing about her was compelling to me. Her voice was off, her hair drove me crazy and all she ever did was tell people to "STOP!" and point her gun at them. I watched the second season premiere and found myself actually excited that they may kill her off. A show where they kill off the main character??? How interesting would that be?! Alas, they did no such thing. Apparently there are 2 Olivia's now. No. Thank. You. It pains me to say that I stopped watching. It only pains me because I love Joshua Jackson and it makes me sad that I can't watch him every week because of her.
3.) Lauren Reed (played by Melissa George)- Alias
Any Alias fan you talk to will tell you that one of their favorite things about the show was the Sydney/Vaughn relationship. He was her handler, friend and eventually he became her boyfriend. People were ecstatic when they got together. Ok, *I* was ecstatic. It was 2 seasons in the making and it was fun and refreshing... Until the last seconds of the season 2 finale, when you saw that Michael Vaughn was wearing a wedding ring. Not only was he wearing a wedding ring but Sydney had been missing for two years. In that 2 years, Vaughn got married. To Lauren. WHAT. She ended up working with them (you know, to create tension and whatnot) and drove fans crazy because Syd and Vaughn couldn't be together. I would cringe whenever I had to watch them hug or kiss on screen. They were NOT supposed to be together! However irrational my ranting may seem, Lauren ruined that season for me... until we found out she was evil. It almost made having to endure the first half of the season with her making googly eyes at Vaughn ok. Almost. I don't think i'll ever be able to get over her addition to the cast. It's one of the few times I felt betrayed by the creators.
2.) Tara Thornton (played by Rutina Wesley)- True Blood
There is such a difference between the Tara in Charlaine Harris's books and the Tara on True Blood that I can't even count them as the same character. The Tara in the books is quiet, reserved and responsible. She comes from a crappy family but she bettered herself because of it. The Tara on the show is cringeworthy. She is loud, obnoxious and whiny as all get out. She is always shouting at someone and always going on and on about how awful her life is. She is constantly getting herself into insane situations and then blaming Sookie for how they turn out. Not to mention the fact that she constantly judges the decisions Sookie makes, instead of taking a look at her own trainwreck of a life. When last season ended, they showed her driving off into the distance. I say "good". I say "have a nice life, Tara"!
1.) Connor (played by Vincent Kartheiser)- Angel
Where do I begin? First off, I would like to thank Nichole and Jeff for enduring my ranting and raving about Season 4 of Angel. "It will get better" Nichole kept telling me. "Hang in there" she said. All the while I was inundating her with texts that mainly said "I HAAAAAAAAATE CONNOR". Never ever have I disliked a character so much. If ever there was something to mess up, Connor would mess it up. He was supposed to be a whiny, dark, teenager and let me tell you, this kid perfected the art of whining. There are no redeeming qualities about his character. I can't even tell you that he made any of the storylines better because he didn't. He made them worse. Every time he would come on screen, I would literally get angry. Why oh why did they create this character? Now, I am a late-comer to Angel, so I don't know what the fan reaction was to Connor when he first aired. All I know is that I found him to be a miserable addition and he did nothing to make the show better creatively. I finished season 4 a few nights ago and actually shrieked for joy when it ended because I was so happy that I wouldn't have to deal with his stupid face and his stupid hair and his stupid whining anymore. I have yet to start season 5, so who knows? Maybe I am in for more Connor goodness, but for crying out loud, I hope not.
Some honorable mentions: Bonnie on Vampire Diaries (I used to hate her a whole lot but she has actually redeemed herself a bit this season. She's much more likable being paired with Jeremy than she is alone), Mohinder Suresh from Heroes (he was supposed to be this super smart guy but in reality, he was just stupid), Faith from Buffy The Vampire Slayer (she irritated me because she was always in competition with Buffy and I hated her stupid saying. "I'm 5x5, B" but she ended up being semi-ok) and Hannah on Bones (I hated her simply for the fact that Booth shouldn't have been with her. Also, she was a terrible actress).
My hatred for this character inspired me to compile a list of my Top 5 Most Disliked Characters of All Time. I will give them to you in order from least hated to most hated. I would also like to throw out the typical *spoiler warning* for the following shows: Alias, Lost, Angel, True Blood, Fringe and Vampire Diaries.
5.) Kate Austin (played by Evangeline Lilly)- Lost
From the beginning of season one, I knew that Kate was going to drive me insane. She went from whiny and scared to trying to be heroic and helpful. Only problem was, every single time (EVERY TIME) she attempted to be "helpful", she mucked things up. Whether their characters were being chased by Others or they were going on a venture into the jungle, Kate always found a way to get them caught and/or put in an even more dangerous situation. By season 5, I was begging for the writers to give her the "time travel sickness". It never happened. She was always making Jack sad and leading Sawyer on. She was just flat out annoying. By the time the series finale came around, I had high hopes that she might head off into the enchanted light at the end of that tunnel and never return... But the unthinkable happened. Kate did something cool and lessened my intense dislike for her just a bit. In a scene that will go down as one of my favorites in Lost history, she shot Fake Locke and saved Jack. "I saved you a bullet!"
4.) Olivia Dunham (played by Anna Torv)- Fringe
I was crazy excited about Fringe when it first came out. A J.J. Abrams concept, paired with Joshua Jackson? You couldn't go wrong... unless you added an incredibly bland, monotone, all around plain lead character to head the show. Olivia was just unlikable to me. I couldn't relate to her, I couldn't bring myself to care about her character whatsoever. Even so, I hung on that first season and watched the whole thing. The stories were interesting enough and every other character on the show stood out. She was a background character as far as I was concerned. Nothing about her was compelling to me. Her voice was off, her hair drove me crazy and all she ever did was tell people to "STOP!" and point her gun at them. I watched the second season premiere and found myself actually excited that they may kill her off. A show where they kill off the main character??? How interesting would that be?! Alas, they did no such thing. Apparently there are 2 Olivia's now. No. Thank. You. It pains me to say that I stopped watching. It only pains me because I love Joshua Jackson and it makes me sad that I can't watch him every week because of her.
3.) Lauren Reed (played by Melissa George)- Alias
Any Alias fan you talk to will tell you that one of their favorite things about the show was the Sydney/Vaughn relationship. He was her handler, friend and eventually he became her boyfriend. People were ecstatic when they got together. Ok, *I* was ecstatic. It was 2 seasons in the making and it was fun and refreshing... Until the last seconds of the season 2 finale, when you saw that Michael Vaughn was wearing a wedding ring. Not only was he wearing a wedding ring but Sydney had been missing for two years. In that 2 years, Vaughn got married. To Lauren. WHAT. She ended up working with them (you know, to create tension and whatnot) and drove fans crazy because Syd and Vaughn couldn't be together. I would cringe whenever I had to watch them hug or kiss on screen. They were NOT supposed to be together! However irrational my ranting may seem, Lauren ruined that season for me... until we found out she was evil. It almost made having to endure the first half of the season with her making googly eyes at Vaughn ok. Almost. I don't think i'll ever be able to get over her addition to the cast. It's one of the few times I felt betrayed by the creators.
2.) Tara Thornton (played by Rutina Wesley)- True Blood
There is such a difference between the Tara in Charlaine Harris's books and the Tara on True Blood that I can't even count them as the same character. The Tara in the books is quiet, reserved and responsible. She comes from a crappy family but she bettered herself because of it. The Tara on the show is cringeworthy. She is loud, obnoxious and whiny as all get out. She is always shouting at someone and always going on and on about how awful her life is. She is constantly getting herself into insane situations and then blaming Sookie for how they turn out. Not to mention the fact that she constantly judges the decisions Sookie makes, instead of taking a look at her own trainwreck of a life. When last season ended, they showed her driving off into the distance. I say "good". I say "have a nice life, Tara"!
1.) Connor (played by Vincent Kartheiser)- Angel
Where do I begin? First off, I would like to thank Nichole and Jeff for enduring my ranting and raving about Season 4 of Angel. "It will get better" Nichole kept telling me. "Hang in there" she said. All the while I was inundating her with texts that mainly said "I HAAAAAAAAATE CONNOR". Never ever have I disliked a character so much. If ever there was something to mess up, Connor would mess it up. He was supposed to be a whiny, dark, teenager and let me tell you, this kid perfected the art of whining. There are no redeeming qualities about his character. I can't even tell you that he made any of the storylines better because he didn't. He made them worse. Every time he would come on screen, I would literally get angry. Why oh why did they create this character? Now, I am a late-comer to Angel, so I don't know what the fan reaction was to Connor when he first aired. All I know is that I found him to be a miserable addition and he did nothing to make the show better creatively. I finished season 4 a few nights ago and actually shrieked for joy when it ended because I was so happy that I wouldn't have to deal with his stupid face and his stupid hair and his stupid whining anymore. I have yet to start season 5, so who knows? Maybe I am in for more Connor goodness, but for crying out loud, I hope not.
Some honorable mentions: Bonnie on Vampire Diaries (I used to hate her a whole lot but she has actually redeemed herself a bit this season. She's much more likable being paired with Jeremy than she is alone), Mohinder Suresh from Heroes (he was supposed to be this super smart guy but in reality, he was just stupid), Faith from Buffy The Vampire Slayer (she irritated me because she was always in competition with Buffy and I hated her stupid saying. "I'm 5x5, B" but she ended up being semi-ok) and Hannah on Bones (I hated her simply for the fact that Booth shouldn't have been with her. Also, she was a terrible actress).
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