Top Two Movies

So next up in the series we have my two favorite movies. (I realize that absolutely no one cares what a I think. Seriously.) Anyway, I don't really watch very many films, but there are a couple that I really, really enjoyed:

1. Fantastic Mr. Fox

Claymation? Check. Incredible story line, humor, and acting to boot? Checkity check check. What a wonderful wonderful movie.

2. Godspell

I love everything about Godspell - the musical is also my favorite musical. (If that makes sense.) The acting is endearing, the singing is wonderful, and so is just about everything else. Go watch it.

So there you go. I genuinely hope you watch both of these movies, and love them as much as I do. Bye!

Top Two Books

My two favorite things is a new series I am going to try to do. It is rather self-explanatory, but here we go: I will list two of my favorite things. Let's get started? Books first, since I feel like I need to update my list for you guys; my first post conceded the same thing and it sorely out-dated.

Two favorite books:

1. The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet
2. Cloud Atlas

Both books were written by David Mitchell, who I honestly believe is the cleverest, talentedest, and briliantest (oh yeah, those are totally words) author writing today. You should read all of his books, because they are wonderful.

Later gator.

Let's Change it Up.

Favorite television programs. It certainly isn't literature related, huh? Ha-ha. Nevertheless, we proceed on through the tumultuous waters of the moving pictures on the small screen. I currently watch two shows on television:

1. Parks and Recreation
2. Face-Off

They are so different, and so great. So, so great.

Parks and Rec is a "spin-off" of The Office. However, it should not be known as such; it is superior to its original in every way (at least in my opinion. Which, granted, isn't a very significant opinion at all). Every character on the show is wonderful, from Ron Swanson to April Ludgate. And it is hilarious. So hilar.

Face-Off is the stupidest show ever, but seriously it is so good. It is pretty much a poorly-made American Idol, but the contestants don't sing - rather, they apply special effects make-up. And let me tell you, it is crazy. The stuff they make is so amazing (and terrifying), it is incredible. But also so, so, so stupid.

Anyway, there are my favorite television shows. What are yours?

The Man Booker Prize

So I have been reading a ton of book by David Mitchell, who is an English author (although he lives in Ireland...or maybe Japan. He is very mysterious). Anyway, as I started each one of his novels, they all seemed to have something in common - they were all nominated for the Man Booker Prize. I had never heard of this literary award before, but being the wiki-pro I am (oh yeah), I quickly found the details.

Spoiler alert: The Man Booker Prize is one of the most prestigious in literature, and is awarded for the best novel written in English, authored by a citizen of Ireland, Zimbabwe, or the Commonwealth of Nations.

Anyway, I am about to read a book called The Sisters Brothers which was shortlisted for the 2011 Man Booker Prize. The weird thing: it was written by a Canadian author. His name is Patrick deWitt, and The Sisters Brothers (a comic western...oh yes I am so excited) is only his second novel. Even so, it has been getting wonderful reviews, and I am immensely excited to read it.

My Favorite Nine.

My favorite albums of 2011 -

9. Mutemath, Odd Soul

8. Son Lux,We Are Rising

7. Seryn, This is Where We Are

6. Gungor, Ghosts Upon the Earth

5. St. Vincent, Strange Mercy

4. John Mark McMillan, Economy

3. The Civil Wars, Barton Hollow

2. Josh Garrels, Love & War & The Sea In Between

1. James Vincent McMorrow, Early in the Morning 

I Recently Finished a Short Story...

...And it was "published" on Teen Ink. You should read it (and rate it five stars, of course... of course).

http://teenink.com/fiction/all/article/397526/The-Case-of-the-Helpless-Guineafowls-A-Boo-Boo-and-Slither-Mystery/

Inheritance

I just finished Inheritance. Here are some thoughts. There are spoilers. Don't read this if you are going to read the book. Seriously. The book will be ruined. Alright.

 Writing wise, it is CP's best. You can certainly sense the maturity he has gained with age. The dialogue is better than any of the other books, and his descriptions are amazing.

Despite these positives, I believe there are two major flaws -

A cruel, thoughtless, and unnecessarily sad ending, both to Eragon and Arya's relationship, and to the series in general. Eragon's reasons for leaving were weak, but Arya's reasons for staying were...weaker, to put it lightly. Even so, I thought the ending was touching, in a weird sort of way.

Secondly, too many interesting and crucial plot points were left unexplained. The Menoa Tree, Tenga...the list goes on and on.

However, if CP writes a future installment (book 5) wrapping up all the plot lines and allowing a more satisfactory conclusion to Eragon and Arya's relationship, my opinion would drastically change. If we find out that  Eragon is somehow able to eventually return to Alagaesia, I think Inheritance would shine as the best book out of the Cycle.