My Queen in the North

If you haven’t been living under a (Casterly) rock you know that the final season of Game of Thrones was… divisive isn’t quite the right word, unless it refers to the divide between the showrunners and good storytelling. While we may see more of Westeros if George R. R. Martin ever finishes the series, for now its watch has ended and most of us who have followed it for so many years are reflecting on it.

I certainly have a lot of criticisms about the series finale, the final season, and the show (and book series) as a whole, but there’s one moment in the last episode that completes a storyline I have cared so deeply about throughout, and it’s the one I keep coming back to when I think about Game of Thrones’ place in the canon of fantasy. Spoilers for all of Game of Thrones from here on out: Continue reading “My Queen in the North”

Every Book I’ve Read So far in 2017, Ranked

Every year I set my Goodreads Reading Challenge goal at 52, an average of one book a week for the entire year. Ideally I would like to spread out my reading in just that way, reading one book each and every week. Of course, that never happens. Sometimes I fly through three books in three months; sometimes it takes me just as long to read a single, long, dense book (for example, last year’s reading choice of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susannah Clarke). Sometimes life gets in the way—I’ve read as almost twice as many books in the month I’ve been home as I did in the nearly three months I spent on the road. However, I’m more or less on track; last night I finished reading Anne Helen Petersen’s Too Fat Too Slutty Too Loud and Goodreads informed me that I have finished 27 books and am therefore halfway to my goal. Next up is Amelia Gray’s latest novel, Isadora, but first, here is a ranking and short review of all the books I’ve read so far this year.

Note 1: I’ve read two series or multiple volumes of a series this year; I’ve grouped them together rather than ranking each separate book.
Note 2: Books published in 2017 marked with a *
Note 3: You’ll notice that I say mostly positive things about all the books on this list. I’m pretty good at this point at guessing whether I’m going to enjoy a book before I pick it up, so I don’t tend to start many duds (which is good, because I’m also determined to finish even a dull book once I’ve opened it). 

Continue reading “Every Book I’ve Read So far in 2017, Ranked”

Late to the Party: Broad City

I’ve written a lot about how much I love the ladies of Parks and Recreation, and one of the reasons I love the show is Ann and Leslie’s friendship, which reminds me so much of my relationship with my best friend Erin. We always say that we’re just like them, so much so that when I saw a Buzzfeed quiz titled “What TV BFFs are you and your best friend?” I almost sent it to her without taking it to say that of course we already knew the answer. Then I decided to take it anyway, made my choice for the last question, and waited as the results, Leslie and Ann from Parks and Recre… wait, what? Abbi and Ilana from Broad City?

Suddenly I had to reevaluate my life.*

*I did not. If a Buzzfeed quiz forced me to reevaluate my life, I would immediately have to re-reevaluate my life.

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Continue reading “Late to the Party: Broad City”

Ovaries before Brovaries: The Awesome Ladies of Parks and Recreation

Tonight is the season finale of an epic season of one of my favourite television shows, Parks and Recreation. I’ve heard that they’ve filmed two versions of the ending: one where Amy Poehler’s smart, perky go-getter Leslie Knope wins the election to city council, and one where she doesn’t. However, whatever happens, one thing is certain: Parks and Recreation has a collection of some of the best female characters on television.

I originally wrote this essay for my Science and Philosophy of Sex and Love class last semester, and I’ve updated it for this blog according to recent events on the show, and recent developments in Leslie Knope’s overwhelming awesomeness. Parks and Recreation airs tonight on NBC; check it out.

Continue reading “Ovaries before Brovaries: The Awesome Ladies of Parks and Recreation”

Fantastic Fictional Females (via CampusCalm)

I am currently blogging on several sites in addition to this personal blog. One of them, CampusCalm, is a webite promoting women’s leadership and empowerment. I may be posting links to articles I post on that site’s blog from time to time. 

Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss in The Hunger Games

One of the (admittedly few) downsides to living in Spain is the fact that, although there are plenty of theatres here that show American films, they are usually dubbed rather than subtitled. Since I can’t stand dubbed films (I hate when the actors’ mouths don’t match up with what they are saying!) this means I am going to have to miss out on a film I have been waiting for for a long time: The Hunger Games. Katniss Everdeen is one of my favourite female characters to come out of Young Adult fiction recently. In honour of the film’s release (and because it’s always nice to kick back with some light reading), here are five of my favourite awesome fictional ladies from YA books:

 Read more here at CampusCalm!