What I Was Into in February

Another month has come and gone...a month filled with movies, books and plenty of TV watching - because this month has been absolutely beyond dreary and when that happens, you just need to escape. Whether that be through reading a good book, having a binge on a TV show or seeing a few good movies, you just have to make do when the weather is so pitiful! So, the things I was into in February!

Books I Read

Labor Day by Joyce Maynard - Absolutely an excellent book! I literally finished it on February 1st in the early hours of the morning; I mean, if you consider 8:15 AM the early hours of the morning. Which I do. Especially on Saturday. The book is a coming of age story told from the point of view of Henry, the young son of Adele. They take in a stranger over Labor Day weekend and their lives are forever changed by letting him into their lives. I was really trying to get this book finished before I went to see the movie and I did; so score a point for me! I'd definitely recommend this book; it was excellent! The movie is also good but that's further down in the post - and as a general rule, I always say: the book is almost always better than the movie.

Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin - This book is a long one, no doubt about it...clocking in at 745 pages and yet another book I was trying to finish before I made it to the movie, which I did not do. Oh well! I have to say that the book was so much better than the movie and heavens...I do know that the movie diverged quite a bit from the book. The book was so descriptive; colorful and fantastical but still grounded in the gritty city of New York. The author's descriptions of the city of New York and the town of the Lake of the Coheeries in the winter was so vivid, it gave me chills...ha-ha! The characters were so intense; almost fantastical but just like the setting, perfectly grounded within their story. I thoroughly enjoyed the book! The movie though...

Excellent book - so descriptive and beautiful!

Beyond the Wall edited by James Lowder - Nerd alert! This book is a series of essays on the book series A Song of Ice and Fire; which the HBO show Game of Thrones is based on. The essays touch on feminism in the fictional Westeros, the use of symbolism and foreshadowing, the ways that the inconsistent seasons affect the timeline of the stories and so many other things. I won't bore you with the details because if you aren't a fan of the series then these books would bore you silly. I am a HUGE fan and I just lap up all the essays. So yes, nerd alert!

Winning the Game of Thrones by Valerie Frankel - Yes, another nerd alert book! This book is all about the books and the TV show Game of Thrones; it discusses the characters and their motivations, the similarities and nods to other fiction within the books and the exploration of the hero's journey and which characters are on a hero's journey. Hint - Joffrey is NOT one of them. And if you've never read/seen Game of Thrones, that last sentence will make no sense to you. The most interesting part of this book to me was seeing all the nods that George R.R. Martin makes to other works of fiction; an example of this: Daenerys' husband in the first book is named Khal Drogo - Frodo's father in the Lord of the Rings series is also named Drogo. Coincidence? I think not! I devoured this book in about five days - probably because the closer the new season gets, the more my interest starts to peak again!

Books in the Queue

Wideacre by Phillipa Gregory - This book is set in England and (from what I've read on the back of the book, because...hey, I haven't read it yet) and tells the story of Beatrice Lacey, who will use whatever means necessary to save her family home, Wideacre. I've read several of Gergory's books before, I'm especially a fan of her books about the Tudors of England. This is the first of her books that I've bought that has nothing to do with the Tudors, so here's hoping it's good!

It looks intriguing....here's hoping I'm right!

Grace for the Good Girl by Emily P. Freeman - I don't really know what this book is about...but my friend Nickolee has been telling me to read over and over and over. My Mom bought it for me for Christmas and it's been sitting in my stack of books. So, I suppose this will make the list for March and I'll see what it's all about!

The Next Best Thing by Jennifer Weiner - Another writer that I love; I've read all of her books and I haven't been disappointed by a single one, so I'm expecting this one to be no exception. This book is about a young woman who up and moves to LA to fulfill her dream to be a screen writer - but when her sitcom pilot is picked up, she begins to realize that sometimes the dream you had in mind isn't all it's cracked up to be and you might be better off with the next "best" thing. I can't wait to read it!

I need a pool like that...and a lawn like that....with a view like that...

Can't Miss Television

The Winter Olympics - Hello, I had to watch some Olympic action and support good ol Team USA! Not to mention, when the Olympics are on there really isn't that much else on because the whole word unites in programming harmony and we all agree to watch NBC for two weeks, right? My favorite event besides figure skating (because hello, I figured that much was obvious...I'm very typically girly about my Winter Olympic sports...) was actually snowboarding - which didn't end well for Shaun White, but the US pretty much owned the rest of the snowboarding events. Go figure!

Being Human - This show is something of a blast from the past for me; it originally premiered in 2011 on SyFy and I was hooked on the first season but then I moved into my house where I had no cable for over a year, I lost track of it and only recently acquired the first three seasons and remembered that I now have SyFy to be able to watch the fourth season. I mean - whoosh - take a breath after that explanation. I have been playing catch-up and it's easy to remember why I liked this show in the first place! The premise is that a vampire, a werewolf and a ghost are all living together in Boston, doing their best and realizing that "being human" is much harder than it looks. I was initially drawn in by Sam Witwer, who plays the vampire Aidan; he was fresh off a stint on my long time favorite show Smallville where he played the big bad, Doomsday. The best part? I normally think everything that comes on SyFy looks like it is about a hundred shades of crazy but Being Human is only about five shades of crazy and they are all the good kinds of crazy. And I do love the good kinds of crazy...and Sam Witwer's washboard abs....and Sam Huntington's doe eyes.

The Lady Killer, The Free Spirit & The Wild Man

Downton Abbey - Well, things down at the Abbey started to get downright interesting but they never got very far past getting interesting and I gotta say, the fourth season has not been nearly as intriguing to me as the first three seasons. *Gasp* I know, I'm awful to say that, right? I have two small rants with this season though: 1) I really wish they would cut Edith a break; seriously, she just stays on the struggle bus...as in, sitting in first class on the struggle bus and I am about tired of it. 2) It kills me how quickly all these men just fall in love with Mary overnight! It took three seasons to build the epic romance that was Matthew and Mary and suddenly every man that comes in contact with Mary falls madly in love? Can we give things a little time to develop...because if someone is going to be Matthew's replacement, I'm going to need more than a night rescuing pigs or a walk on the grounds of the Abbey as all it takes to trigger eternal love....and now that the season finale has aired, oh my goodness. Y'all - it seems like nothing was resolved! Mary is still wishy-washy when it comes to choosing between Blake & Gillyweed. (I know, it's Lord Gillingham, but just...yeah....) Edith is still heart-broken and sad, which makes me sad, Tom is still hanging around the Sarah girl (who can go away now - thank you very much) and Thomas is still a big honking jerk. Although - Carson & Ms. Hughes holding hands at the beach was precious.

Sherlock - Oh my, what a finale! I think it's just cruelty that Sherlock only has three episodes but I must say, all three episodes always deliver and the season finale was no exception. My jaw dropped over and over and at one point I literally almost fell off the couch - a direct result of edging down the couch toward the TV as the episode progressed until I scooted a little too far and almost crashed into the floor. Of course, the last sixty seconds of the episode completely blew my mind and oh me, if we have to wait for two+ years for Series four, well...I guess we'll all wait, won't we? And I seriously doubt we'll get Series four quickly since Cumberbatch and Freeman are already committed to multiple projects that will have to be completed before they can get back to Baker street. Oh well, I certainly enjoyed three weeks of excellent television while it lasted! *Update - apparently Cumberbatch just backed out of one of his movie commitments, so maybe it will only be a year and a half...not two years. Ha-ha!*

Reign - I cannot say enough about how glad I am that I chose to check this out when it premiered back in the Fall; it has easily become one of my favorite new shows. I think one of the things that makes me love it so much is because Lindsey and I both watch it and talk back and forth about it from week to week - it's the little things that make you feel close to family when they're far away, you know? Beyond the running weekly commentary that Lindsey and I keep going, I do love historical fiction; certainly this takes quite a few liberties with history but it's still fascinating and makes learning about what really happened even more intriguing (history nerd alert). The actors that play Mary, Queen of Scots, Prince Francis and Sebastian are all great in their roles but I have to say, Meghan Fellows as Catherine De Medici steals the show - she is one wicked queen! Also, in case you didn't know - Meghan Fellows played Anne of Green Gables; talk about a complete role reversal! This show is great and since it was just renewed for season two, I can't wait to see what's to come!

Hmmm Mary...who are you going to choose?

Movies I Watched

Labor Day - As predicted, I saw this movie pretty much the minute it came out - it came out on Friday, January 31st and I was in the theater to see it on Saturday, February 1st! I really enjoyed this movie, except for the one or two minor deviations from the book that I honestly thought weakened the movie a little bit. That being said, the movie was really great - Kate Winslet is always fantastic in whatever she does and the young man that played Henry (Gattlin Griffith) was absolutely exceptional. If I've really enjoyed a book (which hello, see above review) then I always have high expectations for the movie - this film did not disappoint and if it's still out in theatres, then I recommend going to see it post haste!

Excellent movie - go see it!

Winter's Tale - This movie was a huge disappointment to me...and I hate to say that, but sadly it's true. I'd read about three-fourths of my way through the book and I really thought I had a pretty clear picture of what to expect from the film...and I was looking forward to it. The story started out just fine and the love story between Peter and Beverly was delightful and romantic...but then things just veered so far off course from where I ever thought the movie would go and I just sat in the theater in confusion. Jessica Brown-Findlay and Colin Farrell were great in their roles and I thoroughly enjoyed the love story portion of the movie but the rest of it....no thanks. Sadly, I cannot recommend this movie and it also serves to cement my feeling that the book is almost always better than the movie!!

Pompeii - Oh my goodness, I really loved this movie. I did! I've been intrigued by it since last Fall when I saw the picture of Kit Harington (from Game of Thrones) in his costume for the movie and just thought "well, hello abs!" If a movie has drama, romance, some action and it's all set against some crazy historical catastrophe - I mean, sign me up! Also, have I mentioned Kit Harington's abs? I do love Kit Harington period because he portrays Jon Snow on Game of Thrones and let's be honest, if you've read even a couple of my posts then you know I do love my Game of Thrones and by extension, my Game of Thrones people. The premise of the movie is that an enslaved gladiator must break free from the arena and then fight against mother nature itself to rescue the girl he has fallen in love with, all while trying to escape the destruction being rained down on them. A bit dramatic - maybe, but it's right up my alley - I do love this type of movie. If you like drama, romance and action set against a historical backdrop, then definitely go see this but if you think it's all cheesy (which, you gotta do you...but also, BOO to you) then I'd skip it. I definitely loved it.

Loved it - really loved it.

Those abs though...I think he needs a new costume on Game of Thrones, don't you? Although I guess he'd get cold in the arctic tundra that is the North....

Music I Listened To

Savage Garden - Oh my goodness, I have rarely bought a CD that I could say I loved all the song and I bought this CD back in 1997 at the ripe old age of thirteen and must have played it a thousand times. It's funny that when I listen to it now, some of the songs...suffice it to say that I am pretty sure I had no clue what they were singing about, ha-ha! I rediscovered the CD on iTunes, downloaded it and have been listening to it on pretty much a constant rotation since I bought it. What can I say - I know what I like and I like Savage Garden!

Echo by Jason Walker - I love this song, mostly because it's like someone crawled into my head and wrote lyrics based on the way I feel about being single/alone/far from my peeps. I won't get too deep into that because it would probably make all involved sad and because the song pretty much lays it all out. It's a good song though, very pretty.

Yummy in my Tummy

Italian Ravioli Carbonara - I dedicated a whole post to this crazy delicious comfort recipe that I stumbled upon and whipped up in my own way. Definitely so yummy that I might have made it twice in a week! I mean, I needed to use the leftover ingredients...and it's SO good. So good. Go make it yourself.

King Cake that someone (one of the companies we do business with) sent to the office. I need King cake like I need a hole in my head, but it's absolutely delicious and I've enjoyed it while it was at the office. Yum!

Chocolate covered strawberries that my sweet parents sent me for Valentine's Day, so absolutely yummy and delicious. And I was kind of enough to share...thankfully only a few people actually accepted one. :) Ha-ha!

What I'm Looking Forward to in March

SPRING!!! Seriously, some Spring and some sunshine would be absolutely fantastic because I am not even into anymore gray, dreary days. I cannot take anymore of it and I am not sure how people who deal with this kind of gray crappiness on a daily basis don't go crazy. I enjoyed visiting Forks but I could never live there - this weather of late has proven that to me.

And...that's all for now! I don't know about you, but I'm happy to be saying adios to February and hola to March!