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24 Books and Movies I love since I’m turning 24

Hi everybody! As of today, I’m officially 24! I know it’s not a milestone birthday or anything like that but every year is worth celebrating in my opinion. In life update new, I finally got my own dog. Her name is Quinn and she is a five year old shih tzu. I’m a proud dog mom as she has already made so much progress in just a few days. It has definitely improved this year vastly already. I decided to give you all a list of some of my favorite books and movies that I have discovered over my lifetime thus far. I may have reviewed some of these already so feel free to check them out.

24 Books I still love after all this time (series and standalones included):

  • The Harry Potter series (I won’t be giving the author credit because you know who she is and I don’t agree with her views but the books are still close to my heart).
  • The Secret History by Donna Tartt
  • Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
  • Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
  • American Gods by Neil Gaiman
  • The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
  • The Percy Jackson Series by Rick Riordan
  • Dracula by Bram Stoker
  • The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller (Circe is a great book too)
  • Hamlet by William Shakespeare
  • The Sherlock Holmes series by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
  • The Shining by Stephen King
  • The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R Tolkien
  • Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
  • Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
  • The Song of Fire and Ice series by George R.R. Martin
  • This is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone and Amar El-Mohtar
  • The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
  • The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
  • The Illiad by Homer
  • Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
  • The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins
  • The Princess Bride by William Goldman
  • Redshirts by John Scalzi

24 Movies I love and that I think everyone should watch:

  • The Dark Knight (dir. Christoper Nolan)
  • Captain America: The Winter Soldier (dir. The Russo Brothers)
  • The Princess Bride (dir. Rob Reiner)
  • Jurassic Park (dir. Steven Spielberg)
  • Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of one Harley Quinn (dir. Cathy Yan)
  • The Phantom of the Opera (dir Joel Schumacher)
  • Star Wars: The Force Awakens (dir. JJ Abrams)
  • The Lord of the Rings series (dir. Peter Jackson)
  • Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (dir. Alfonso Cuaron) (this one is just my favorite out of the series but I love them all)
  • Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (dir. Gareth Edwards)
  • Avengers: Infinity War (dir. The Russo Brothers)
  • The Nightmare Before Christmas (dir. Tim Burton)
  • Heathers (dir. Michael Lehmann)
  • Spirited Away (dir. Hayao Myazaki)
  • Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse (dir. Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman)
  • Inception (dir. Christoper Nolan)
  • Shutter Island (dir. Martin Scorsese)
  • Raiders of the Lost Ark (dir. Steven Spielberg)
  • Skyfall (dir. Sam Mendes)
  • A Knight’s Tale (dir. Brian Helgeland)
  • Doctor Strange (dir. Scott Derrickson)
  • Wonder Woman (dir. Patty Jenkins)
  • Venom (dir. Ruben Fleischer)
  • Interview with the Vampire (dir. Neil Jordan)
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A kingdom, or this?: Reviewing Captive Prince (Book 1 in the Captive Prince trilogy) by C.S. Pascat

Hello everybody! I’m back and in an incredibly pessimistic mood, which is why I needed to escape into fiction again. I have read this book previously, but in the form of an e-book so I feel like I couldn’t properly absorb what was happening. I don’t know if anyone else feels that way about e-books, or if it just me. The Barnes and Nobles by me re-opened recently and this was my celebratory purchase. Time to talk about the Captive Prince.

Damen had everything as the legendary warrior prince, until his brother took the throne. He strips Damen of his identity and sends him off to Vere to be a pleasure slave, which has long been an enemy to his home country of Akeilos. While there, Damen learns that he will serve Prince Laurent, who is just as beautiful as he is deadly and cunning. Damen quickly learns of the danger that lies beneath the glamor of the Veretian court, meaning he has to hide his identity and make unlikely allies, or he faces a deadly end.

I realize that this book is rather controversial in its subject matter and not because of the Male/Male romance. For those of you who are not familiar with this novel, it does contain graphic sexual violence within the context of a society where slavery is commonplace. Maybe this does not shock me as much because I studied Rome and this reminded me quite a bit of Rome. Obviously, this isn’t to justify it and we have a main character, Damen, who is in the same mindset of the reader. This book is more about politics than anything, which I thought was the most interesting aspect. It actually has a very Game of Thrones feel to it where every character is trying to navigate through complicated politics in which they are trapped. Nothing can be done simply and that is what makes the novel so interesting. Again, I understand any reservations anyone else might have about the subject matter, but I personally enjoyed it. It was just steamy enough without being gratuitous and it leaves you wanting more. It felt like a reworking of some of the worst tropes that tend to pop up in erotic fiction. It certainly doesn’t feel like mom fiction or fan fiction. Pascat is very mature in the way she handles touchier subjects, while also bringing in some inclusivity in the LGBTQ+ genre of literature. Captive Prince is a unique take on a genre that has often been disregarded for so long.

Warning: The novel does contain moments of torture, graphic sexual violence (including assaults on underage characters), and mentions of blood and gore.

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Toss a Coin to Your Witcher: Reviewing The Last Wish (An Introduction to The Witcher) by Andrzej Sapkowski

Hello everybody! I am doing better and I hope you all are doing better as well. I just got done re-watching Avatar: The Last Airbender and felt a little inspired by Uncle Iroh. I made a cup of tea and hunkered down with a good book. In this case, I was inspired by my newest Netflix obsession, The Witcher. Now, I am really not much of a gamer so I can’t speak to the video game but (obviously) I am a reader who has been lacking in the fantasy series department for a while. I may have finally filled the hole in my heart left behind by Game of Thrones.

Geralt of Rivia is a witcher, a fighter who is skilled in magic and murder. Before hearing a call to destiny, Geralt must traverse across the country and battle dangerous monsters in this series of short stories.

I apologize now for the vague summary but it took me a minute to realize that this novel is not the first book in the series, but an introduction to the actual series. I found this to be the most interesting aspect of the novel and one of the most enjoyable. I like the way Sapkowski eases you as the reader into the world as, sometimes, adult fantasy can be rather jarring with its levels of violence and sex. While there is violence and sex in the novel, it didn’t feel gratuitous. It also didn’t feel like the story had to stop for violence or sex. There was still plenty of room for Geralt’s character development as well as interesting world building. I also thoroughly enjoyed the dry and understated humor that was sprinkled throughout the writing. Overall, I enjoyed this first step into The Witcher series and I absolutely bought the first novel before I even finished this one. (Also the Netflix series is fairly faithful, if you are interested.)

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Power Has Its Price: Reviewing The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

Hi everybody! I hope a lot of you are at least seeing some improvement in every day life. I’m from the US so I don’t have many positive things to say at this exact moment. It felt very serendipitous that the prequel to The Hunger Games be released now. I had almost forgotten it was coming out this year until I saw the display at the store where I work. Of course, I bought a copy immediately. In my opinion, The Hunger Games trilogy still holds up as I read it through adult eyes. Now, let’s relive our pre-teen/teen glory days as we talk about The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.

As the tenth annual Hunger Games approaches, a young Coriolanus Snow is desperate to restore his once great family name to glory. When he’s given the opportunity to be a mentor for the Hunger Games, he realizes the odds are stacked against him as he must face his better prepared classmates. His initial anger with being tasked to mentor the tribute from District 12 turns into an opportunity when he meets the enigmatic, charming, and spontaneous Lucy Gray Baird. With a new sense of hope, Coriolanus must make sure that Lucy Gray survives the dangers of the arena, while he tries to survive the dangers outside of the arena.

Like many fans of the original trilogy, I was nervous at the idea of a prequel coming out so many years later. I, however, quickly became swept up in the world of Panem once again. Coriolanus Snow is an interesting character study, given the impression we have of him from the original trilogy. The novel presents an interesting dilemma as it shows someone who is so close to the edge of compassion for the reader, but still manages to be unlikeable. He has an almost similar origin story to Katniss, but with a different approach to the systems that have been used to oppress a population. Some work against it from the outside, while others work for it from the inside. The world of Panem was still just as familiar, but Collins adds a level of uncertainty as the Hunger Games are still in its infancy in this novel. I found this to be a very compelling read with the same no-holds barred level of violence and brutal honesty from the trilogy. I would say that fans of The Hunger Games will find this an interesting addition that offers an even more complex look at the dystopia of Panem.