Wednesday, January 20, 2016

The Mandatory Fandom Post...

"Fandom is a term used to refer to a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of empathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest." (from Wikipedia, because I'm pretty sure it's not a real word . . . yet.)

This post is going to be a bit different than my normal posts. Fandoms are not my life. But it would be a lie to say I don't have my fangirl moments :) And what's a good blog without some pop culture posts every now and again? So without further ado, here are some "mini-reviews" (spoiler free) of some of my current favorite books, movies, and TV shows. 

BOOKS

The Giver Quartet by Lois Lowry. I had read The Giver before, but for Christmas I got the entire series. It's already been established that I'm a bookworm, but finishing four novels in about a week is pretty impressive even for me. These might possibly be my favorite fiction books ever, along with Lord of the Rings. I'm attracted to artfully crafted literature, and Lowry is an absolute expert at making her words sing. Her books are original, not really fitting into any existing genre, and are just plain beautiful. They are also extremely thoughtful, touching on deep moral, ethical, and philosophical issues. Because of the depth of content, I would suggest the quartet for high-schoolers and up. Oh, and don't just read the first book. Read the entire series. It will blow your mind! At first, the books may seem unconnected, but by the end of the series it all makes sense. These books are brilliant. (The movie, not so much in my opinion. It's fine as a movie, but doesn't do Lowry's works justice).
The pictures represent The Giver, Gathering Blue, Messenger, and Son, from top to bottom.
The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling. I'll be honest, these books/movies were a touchy subject growing up, so I never read them until now. And they aren't my favorite books ever. But judging from the fact that I'm now in the middle of the fifth books (which is nearly 900 pages long), they must be pretty good :) For me, the Harry Potter books have been a bit predictable, the plot lines a little too repetitive, and the characters not dynamic enough. However, Rowling always does throw at least one big surprise at me each book, and I guess that's what keeps me reading them. And at the end of The Goblet of Fire the pages wouldn't turn fast enough as I stayed up late into the night getting through the intense ending! Perhaps the thing I like most about these books is the character of Hermione (pronounced her-my-on-ee). She reminds me a lot of myself (and did I mention she has a cat?).


 MOVIES

War Room. I really enjoy all the movies made by the Kendrick Brothers. My favorite is still Courageous, but I think they did a great job with their most recent installment: War Room. This isn't a movie you'd watch for entertainment necessarily. But it is quite inspiring/though-provoking on the topic of prayer, which is really what the movie is all about. I saw it once with my parents in the theater, but I'm really wanting to watch it again now that it's on DVD...


Star Wars. So, I had friends who wanted to go see The Force Awakens in theaters. This is actually how I get dragged into most fandoms :) The problem? I hadn't seen any of the Star Wars movies in, like, 10 years. I was never a big fan of them, but I thought I'd give them another chance. And this time I really enjoyed them! And then I saw the newest movie in theaters....twice. It's quite good in my opinion. Not super original, but I liked the retro feel of the movie and the fact that they brought the old actors back. BB-8 (the new droid) is awesome, and they created a more complex villain in this episode, which I appreciated. Because of all the Force mumbo-jumbo, the Star Wars movies need to be watched with caution, but the spiritual elements are not sketchy enough to be a big turn off for me. I've had tons of fun watching the entire saga with my brother over Christmas break :)

TV

The Flash. I was never much of a TV person. The only three TV series I have every really gotten into are Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., BBC's Sherlock (more on that in a minute), and The Flash. My brother showed me the first episode of this DC superhero series at the beginning of Christmas break, and the rest is history. I watched the entire first season over break. Yeah... kind of obsessive, but what's a college student supposed to do when you don't have work or school, and you live 30 minutes from the nearest town? ;) I really, really enjoyed this show. The Flash has all the action, super-powers, and plot twists that one would expect from a superhero show, while being just a bit more . . . human. Sure, some of the relational/emotional drama is a bit cheesy, but I appreciate the fact that it is there. The Flash is also more lighthearted than most comparable shows I've seen. There are some questionable elements that I don't want to ignore, but overall, I think DC did a great job with this one!


Sherlock. See? I told you I'd get back to everyone's favorite super-sleuth! Well, maybe not everyone's favorite, but he certainly is mine! BBC's Sherlock is the first TV series I ever watched all the way through. Granted, it is more like a series of movies than anything (there are only a few episodes, and each is 1 1/2 hours long), but still. Sherlock is just brilliant. The detective and the show named after him. BBC's retelling of Doyle's classic stories is set in modern-day London instead of the 19th-century, which adds a neat dynamic to the show. The episodes all have really great story-lines and character development, and are just extremely well-made. The acting is also superb :) Anyway, this post is getting rather long so I'm gonna resist saying any more here...
TV Reviews: The Flash and Sherlock


Anyway, that's that!

And I figured I should also mention that today is the first day of my second semester at Bryan! And... it was a snow day! How crazy is that?

I have another post planned, and then I will have met my goal for 4 posts in January!

How are you all coming on your New Year's Resolutions? And do you have any thoughts on the movies, books, etc. I reviewed here? Do you have other you'd add to the list?

4 comments:

  1. I really need to read The Giver. And Sherlock is always awesome!!!

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  2. Your mind and writing are gifts to the world. thx.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for reading it! I really do enjoy writing and sharing my thoughts when I make the time for it :)

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