Book and Film Update

Here are some of the books and films I've read recently as well as some I've recently added to my collection or my wishlist. Reviews coming soon!

Books I've Read Recently:

Well, I say recently, but some of these I read quite a while ago but haven't gotten around to reviewing yet.  

My Top Ten Christmas Films

One of my favourite things to do at this time of year is to get cosy on the sofa in my pyjamas (preferably with a nice mug of hot chocolate) and put on a fun, festive film to get me in the mood for Christmas. There are so many Christmas films around now, but I always seem to come back to my old favourites and it just doesn't feel like Christmas without them.

Below is a list of my top ten Christmas film recommendations. I hope you enjoy.

Thoughts on the casting of Hermione: Does the race of an actor really matter?

After today's casting announcement for the 'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child' stage play, it seems that a lot of fans are up in arms about Hermione being played by black actress, Noma Dumezweni. I've been reading through a lot of the comments and it's got me thinking about how much the race and general appearance of an actor matters when casting an iconic role like this.

Top Ten Films I'm Looking Forward to in 2016 (with trailers)

2016 looks like a fantastic year for films. Some of my favourite franchises are releasing sequels this year and I'm so excited to see them already. Although with a new baby, we'll probably have to wait for them to come out on DVD.

Here's a list of the films I'm most anticipating for 2016:

V is for Violet #AtoZChallenge

Today I'm continuing with the A-Z Blogging Challenge. This year I'm doing an A-Z of Colours. I'll be doing a variety of posts, including haikus and poems, arts and crafts, fashion and beauty, recipes and more!    

For the letter 'V' I have chosen the colour Violet. Violet is a bright, vivid shade similar to purple that takes its name from the violet flower. Unlike purple, violet is a true colour because it has its own wavelength on the spectrum of visible light, while purple is only a composite colour (made from mixing red and blue).

Keep reading to discover the symbolism behind this colour and read a character spotlight.

E is for Emerald Green #AtoZChallenge

Today I'm continuing with the A-Z Blogging Challenge. This year I'm doing an A-Z of Colours. I'll be doing a variety of posts, including haikus and poems, arts and crafts, fashion and beauty, recipes and more!    

For the letter 'E' I have chosen the colour Emerald Green. Emerald is a gorgeous deep green colour with a faint bluish cast, named after the precious stone. Check out these Pinterest boards for a lovely selection of examples of emerald in nature and fashion. 

Keep reading to discover the symbolism behind this colour and learn more about the Emerald City in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

Feature and Follow Friday (1) TV show or Movie?

This is my first time participating in Feature and Follow Friday, a meme hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read. The idea is to make friends and gain new followers, as well as discovering some awesome new blogs to follow yourself.

To take part, all you have to do is sign up on the linky below then create a blog post linking back to the host's post. Then visit as many other blogs on the linky as you can to introduce yourself and follow them, remembering to follow back anyone that follows you!

Top Ten Tuesday: Favourite Movies or TV Shows

Today is Top Ten Tuesday, a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish!  Every week they post a new top ten list and everyone can join in and share their own picks. If you'd like to take part, hop on over to the blog and sign up with the linky. If you don't have a blog, feel free to post your answers in the comments.

This week's topic is: Favourite Movies or TV Shows. As I have way too many favourites, I've had to split them into several different categories to make it a bit easier.

S is for Sherlock Holmes

Today I'm continuing with the A-Z Blogging Challenge. The aim is to write a post for every day of the month except for Sundays, with each post representing a different letter of the alphabet. This year I'm doing an A-Z of Great Britain, covering as much as I can about British music, literature, TV and film, food, wildlife and culture.

For the letter 'S' I have chosen Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by the British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Holmes is famous for his fantastic logical reasoning and methods of "deduction", forensic science skills and the ability to adopt amazing disguises.

J is for James Bond

Today I'm continuing with the A-Z Blogging Challenge. The aim is to write a post for every day of the month except for Sundays, with each post representing a different letter of the alphabet. This year I'm doing an A-Z of Great Britain, covering as much as I can about British music, literature, TV and film, food, wildlife and culture.

For the letter 'J' I have chosen James Bond. The James Bond films are based on twelve books by the British author Ian Fleming- who also wrote Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang! He based the character of James Bond on several secret agents and commando types that he met during World War II.

The 23 Bond films made by Eon are the longest continually running film series to date, as well as the second highest grossing film series-only beaten by Harry Potter. The first film was Dr. No starring Sean Connery in 1962. Since then, like Doctor Who, James Bond has been played by numerous other actors: George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig. My favourite is Sean Connery, because he's just awesome.

H is for Humour

Today I'm continuing with the A-Z Blogging Challenge. The aim is to write a post for every day of the month except for Sundays, with each post representing a different letter of the alphabet. This year I'm doing an A-Z of Great Britain, covering as much as I can about British music, literature, TV and film, food, wildlife and culture.

For the letter 'H' I have chosen Humour. Much like our standards of etiquette, British humour can be hard for 'non-natives' to grasp. There's no 'magic formula' for what British people find funny-we're all different and amused by anything and everything. But generally speaking, British humour tends to focus on silly slapstick, witty wordplay and steely sarcasm.

D is for Doctor Who

Today is the fourth day of the A-Z Blogging Challenge! The aim is to write a post for every day of the month except for Sundays, with each post representing a different letter of the alphabet. This year I'm doing an A-Z of Great Britain, covering as much as I can about British music, literature, TV and film, food, wildlife and culture.

For the letter 'D' I have chosen Doctor Who. The science fiction series is a significant part of British popular culture and has become a cult favourite in the US and elsewhere. You can tell a lot about a person from which Doctor is their favourite. Mine is Tom Baker. What does that say about me? That I have exceptional taste in scarves of course.

I've no real direction for this post (what can I say about Doctor Who that hasn't been said already?) so I've decided to  provide a collection of random links and facts associated with this great series.

Z is for Zombies #atozchallenge

[Image by Jeremy Keith, CC-BY-2.0]

Today I'm continuing with the Blogging from A-Z Challenge hosted by Arlee Bird and his team of awesome bloggers. My theme is: Elements and features of speculative fiction and entertainment. So throughout April I will be blogging about characters, objects and themes that appear in sci-fi, fantasy and dystopian series. Today's post is all about Zombies.

Zombies are undead beings, often portrayed as rotting corpses risen from the grave. In legend and folklore they are said to feed off the brains of the living. Lacking their own, they wander mindlessly and clumsily with vacant expressions on their faces, often making a groaning sound.

X is for Xenology #atozchallenge

[Image by Denis Bourez, CC 2.0. Source]

Today I'm continuing with the Blogging from A-Z Challenge hosted by Arlee Bird and his team of awesome bloggers. My theme is: Elements and features of speculative fiction and entertainment. So throughout April I will be blogging about characters, objects and themes that appear in sci-fi, fantasy and dystopian series. Today's post is all about Xenology.

Xenology is the scientific study of all aspects of extraterrestrial (alien) life, intelligence, and civilization.

W is for Werewolves #atozchallenge

[A Mexican grey wolf by HOTN Stock]

Today I'm continuing with the Blogging from A-Z Challenge hosted by Arlee Bird and his team of awesome bloggers. My theme is: Elements and features of speculative fiction and entertainment. So throughout April I will be blogging about characters, objects and themes that appear in sci-fi, fantasy and dystopian series. Today's post is all about Werewolves.

Werewolves are legendary humans that are cursed to transform into wolf-like creatures, usually on the three nights of the full moon.

V is for Vampires #atozchallenge

[Lady Vampire 8 by Marija-Buljeta]

Today I'm continuing with the Blogging from A-Z Challenge hosted by Arlee Bird and his team of awesome bloggers. My theme is: Elements and features of speculative fiction and entertainment. So throughout April I will be blogging about characters, objects and themes that appear in sci-fi, fantasy and dystopian series. Today's post is all about Vampires.

Vampires are legendary 'undead' creatures who drain the life or energy of humans, usually by drinking their blood. The term vampire was popularised in the early 18th century when Eastern Europeaners brought their superstition and folklore into Western Europe. John Polidori's 1891 novella The Vampyre, first depicted vampires as charismatic and sophisticated (rather than rotting corpses), and eventually inspired Bram Stoker's Dracula. The success of Dracula spawned a distinctive vampire genre, which is still popular today in literature and entertainment.

U is for Unicorns #atozchallenge

[by A V Brown, using stock images.
See here for full list of sources.]

Today I'm continuing with the Blogging from A-Z Challenge hosted by Arlee Bird and his team of awesome bloggers. My theme is: Elements and features of speculative fiction and entertainment. So throughout April I will be blogging about characters, objects and themes that appear in sci-fi, fantasy and dystopian series. Today's post is all about Unicorns.

Unicorns are legendary animals from European folklore that resemble white horses with large spiral horns on their foreheads. They appeared first in ancient Greek natural history, rather than Greek mythology, as the Greeks were convinced that unicorns actually existed, believing that they came from India. Unicorns also appear in Chinese mythology and in The Bible.

T is for Time travel #atozchallenge

['Chaos Clock' by jayaprime on DA]

Today I'm continuing with the Blogging from A-Z Challenge hosted by Arlee Bird and his team of awesome bloggers. My theme is: Elements and features of speculative fiction and entertainment. So throughout April I will be blogging about characters, objects and themes that appear in sci-fi, fantasy and dystopian series. Today's post is all about Time travel.

Time travel is the concept of moving between different points in time-either back into the past or forward into the future. It has been a key feature of the sci-fi and fantasy genre since the 19th century, when H.G Well's novel The Time Machine popularised the idea.

S is for Superpowers #atozchallenge

[modelled by sunshine114 on DA,
photography by Mike Conner]

Today I'm continuing with the Blogging from A-Z Challenge hosted by Arlee Bird and his team of awesome bloggers. My theme is: Elements and features of speculative fiction and entertainment. So throughout April I will be blogging about characters, objects and themes that appear in sci-fi, fantasy and dystopian series. Today's post is all about Superpowers.

Superpowers are abilities that go beyond normal human limits. Many originated from Marvel and DC comics before entering more mainstream sci-fi TV shows and films. Those who possess superpowers can be heroes or villains, using their powers for good or evil. They may be traditional 'superheroes' or paranormal creatures such as witches and wizards, vampires and werewolves.

R is for Robots #atozchallenge

['Asimo' by Honda. GNU FDL]

Today I'm continuing with the Blogging from A-Z Challenge hosted by Arlee Bird and his team of awesome bloggers. My theme is: Elements and features of speculative fiction and entertainment. So throughout April I will be blogging about characters, objects and themes that appear in sci-fi, fantasy and dystopian series. Today's post is all about Robots.

Robots are mechanical or electrical inventions (usually controlled by computer programs) and designed to mimic human form or behaviour in order to help with certain tasks. There are several different types of robot, including androids (robots designed to look like humans), cyborgs (humans with significant mechanical enhancements) and replicants (genetically engineered or artificial beings designed to be an exact replicas of a particular human being ).