Random Fridays: Book/Movie Worlds I'd Like to Visit

http://bookworm716.blogspot.com

Most of us probably know the feeling: you read or watch an amazing book or movie set in a time and place different from our own, and when it ends, you can't help thinking, "Oh my pumpernickel, how I'd love to go there." That's what this week's Random Friday is all about: book and movie worlds you wish you could visit. These are the places I'd choose.

1. Middle Earth. I don't think this one needs explanation. Who wouldn't want to go to Middle Earth?  I'd especially want to visit Rivendell and the Shire.
2. Goldstone Wood (Tales of Goldstone Wood series). The Goldstone Wood series has one of my favorite settings of all time. At first, it seems very simple, but once you get deeper in, you see that though the setting may seem familiar, it's also quite different than what you might expect. I'd love to explore the Wood (provided I had a guide, a Path, or both) and the different worlds it connects. I'd also want to spend a very, very long time in Dame Imraldera's library. Once I went in, actually, I might never want to come out.
3. Narnia. Again, do I really need to explain? It's Narnia, after all.
4. Aria-Prime (The Sky Riders). This is another one of my favorite settings. I haven't read any other books set in floating cities, and I think it would be really interesting to explore the different levels and find out how things work. Plus, I'd love to see a Felrell if I could. 
5. Amara (The DragonKeeper Chronicles) or Algaesia (The Inheritance Cycle). These two are grouped together because my main reason for visiting them both would be the same: I want to see dragons that aren't evil. Of course, I wouldn't be at all opposed to visiting Vendela, Kale's castle (or Fenworth's, depending on the time period), or Kimen Falls in Amara, or Farthen Dur in Algaesia.
6. The Realm (The Door Within trilogy). The Door Within was one of the series that got me into fantasy, and I've visited the Realm hundreds of times in my imagination. I'd love to see if I was imagining it correctly.
7. Bayern (The Books of Bayern). This might just be because I just read Forest Born and so I'm on a Bayern kick, but I really want to go there right now. I especially want to visit the Forest and Tira. The Forest makes me think of the area where my family goes cabin camping every year, but better. And Tira just sounds really pretty, though also really hot during the summer.
8. The Character Conversations and Complaints Thread on the Underground forum. Ok, this isn't exactly a book or movie setting, but it's a roleplay thread setting, which is kind of similar. I mostly want to visit here so I could meet all my favorite characters from some of my friends' stories, but I also think it would be rather fun to see the CCC house for myself and find out exactly how big it was. (And yes, I'd probably end up dying multiple times, but it's not like injuries are permanent there.) 

 Well, that's my list! What about you? Where would you go if you could?

-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)

Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)

WWW Wednesdays 9/25/13

http://shouldbereading.wordpress.com

To join in, just answer the following questions:

• What are you currently reading?

• What did you recently finish reading?

• What do you think you’ll read next?

My answers:

• What are you currently reading? Rise of the Wyrm Lord by Wayne Thomas Batson. I'm also listening to Pride and Prejudice on Playaway.  
• What did you recently finish reading? The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien. 
• What do you think you’ll read next? I don't know. Probably Forest Born since I've been meaning to read it for the last few weeks and I want to find out how the Books of Bayern series ends already.

-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)

Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)

Random Fridays: Disney Songs!

http://bookworm716.blogspot.com/

Hello, everyone! This week's Random Friday topic is extra fun, in my opinion. Today, I'll be blogging about Disney songs! And who doesn't love a good Disney song? These are some of my favorites, in no particular order.

Let's start off with one from Tangled, my favorite Disney movie. 7 AM, the usual morning line-up . . .

I think I need to take lessons from Rapunzel in getting things done. All that in one day! Of course, I guess if you don't have anything else to do . . .

Liebster Award

The lovely Hannah from The Writer's Window has nominated me for the Liebster Award! Thanks, Hannah! To accept this award, I have to:

-Link back to the blogger who tagged me.

-Answer the ten questions she gives me.

-Nominate ten others and ask them ten questions.

-Let those nominees know they were tagged.

 And now that that's up, let's get started with the questions! Yay!

1. Which fictional character has inspired you the most to be a better person?
Hmm. That's really hard to say, as I'm not sure there's one particular character who's inspired me in that way. I guess maybe Aidan Thomas from The Door Within, since he reminds me both of who I am and who I'd like to be.
2. What landscape do you love the most (desert, rain forest, snow, grass-fields, mountains, etc.)?
Hmm . . . forests or mountains . . . is it cheating if I say forest-covered mountains?
3. Name your #1 Literary Crush.
Another hard one . . . I've had a lot of Literary Crushes, which often tend to fade and then resurface depending on how long it's been since I've read the book. The top one . . . Maybe Howl from Howl's Moving Castle? Or possibly Eanrin from Tales of Goldstone Wood?  
4. If you were in a book, what name would you give yourself, what role would you play, and what would you look like?
My name would be some variation on Leilani Sunblade. I like to think I'd be the heroine of the book, but in good writing, every character thinks they're the main character. More likely, I'd be one of those characters who tends to accidentally get the others in trouble, but still ends up playing an important role, like Pippin from The Lord of the Rings. As for what I'd look like, I'd probably look the same as I do in reality, only I'd be a few inches taller, and I'd wear a cape all the time.
5. If you could have any superpower (flying, strength, far-sight, etc.) what would it be?
Control of either light or fire. I can't pick which. 

WWW Wednesdays 9/18/13

http://shouldbereading.wordpress.com/

To join in, just answer the following questions:

• What are you currently reading?

• What did you recently finish reading?

• What do you think you’ll read next?

My answers:

• What are you currently reading? Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien. I'm about halfway through. 
• What did you recently finish reading? The Door Within by Wayne Thomas Batson. 
• What do you think you’ll read next? Probably Forest Born, Pride and Prejudice, or Rise of the Wyrm Lord, but I really don't know for sure. It depends on my mood and how long it takes me to finish Return of the King.

-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)

Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)

Top Ten Tuesdays: Fall TBR List

http://brokeandbookish.blogspot.com

Hey'a, everyone! Time for another Top Ten Tuesday! This time, the theme is the top ten books on my fall TBR list. I don't exactly have a reading list for fall, so I'll just list some books I want to read between now and Christmas.

1. All the books I meant to read in the summer but didn't. That means Return of the King, Pride and Prejudice, Rise of the Wyrm Lord, The Final Storm, and The Cantral Chronicles.
2. Forest Born by Shannon Hale. Because I read the rest of the series this summer and want to find out what happens to Isi, Enna, Razo, Finn, and the rest.
3. The Dark Sea Annals book 3 by Wayne Thomas Batson. Its release has been pushed back a year already; I don't want to have to wait any longer.
4. The Captive Maiden by Melanie Dickerson. It'll be released in October. Huzzah for Cinderella retellings! (Interesting fact: my spellchecker accepts "huzzah" but not "hurrah".)
5. The Royal Ranger by John Flanagan. Apparently there's a twelfth book in the Ranger's Apprentice series, which also comes out in October. Also, apparently someone's died, and I have two very nasty suspicions about who it is. Here's hoping I'm wrong.
6. Hamlet by William Shakespeare. I recently sat in on an Intro to Literature class, and the lesson was on part of this play. Now I want to find out the whole story.
7. The Selection by Kiera Cass. A friend reviewed this book on her blog and it sounds interesting. If the library has it, I'll probably try it sometime.
8. Ring of Secrets by Roseanne White. Because I got it out this summer and still have yet to read it.

I honestly don't know what else should be on there. I learned this summer that if you plan out reading lists that consist of much more than the new books coming out during that period of time, you can easily end up getting distracted. This is especially true since I'm constantly finding new books I want to read, and I can't really spend all day reading anymore. (Though that's probably a good thing, since it keeps me from running out of books.) I think what I have here will be manageable, though, and if anyone has suggestions of anything I've forgotten (or something I should read this fall- suggestions of new books are always welcome!), feel free to let me know in the comments! Thanks for reading!

-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)

Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)

Random Friday: Hairstyles!

http://bookworm716.blogspot.com/p/random-fridays_6.html

Hey'a, everyone! Random Fridays is a new blog feature started by Emma of Bookworm/Future Author. It's pretty simple: every Friday, there's a new random topic, and anyone who wants to participate can join Emma in blogging about it. I've tried to do it for the past two Fridays, but it didn't work out either time. Thankfully, I got started a good bit sooner this time. This week's theme is pretty/awesome hairstyles. Since there are a lot of cool 'dos out there, I'm going to stick with ones I've worn in my own hair.

 

1. The Katniss Braid

This is actually a lot simpler than it looks. I can do it on myself without too much trouble. That's saying something, since I'm not exactly the best hairstylist in the world, especially not on myself. Anyway, this style is both pretty and easy, and I like wearing hairdos from movies I like.

WWW Wednesday 9/11/13

 http://shouldbereading.wordpress.com/

To join in, just answer the following questions:

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

My answers:

• What are you currently reading? I'm not technically reading anything at the moment due to severe Unsurius Debatius (commonly known as Indecision), but I'm listening to The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien.
• What did you recently finish reading? The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien.
• What do you think you’ll read next? As I'll be busy over the next few days, hardcovers are heavy, and I need something I can easily carry in a small backpack, I decided to save Return of the King and Forest Born for next week. Now I'm leaning towards Pride and Prejudice. Or possibly Howl's Moving Castle, depending on my mood.

-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)

Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I'd Like to See as Movies

 http://brokeandbookish.blogspot.com/

Hey'a, everyone! Time for another Top Ten Tuesday post! This week's theme? Books I'd like to see turned into a movie/tv show (assuming that the people making the movie didn't totally ruin it). Of course, several of these will technically be series I'd like to see as movies/tv shows, but let's not worry about that little technicality, shall we?

1. The Dark Sea Annals by Wayne Thomas Batson. Technically, this would have to be seven movies, as there's going to be seven books. And that's kind of a lot. But I'd be ok with that as long as they were done well. Plus, the battle scenes would be absolutely epic.
2. Echoes From the Edge by Bryan Davis. Once again, this would be a trilogy, but I think the movies would be awesome. They'd be a bit creepy too, with Mictar and the dream world and all, but it would be one creepy movie I'd totally watch.
3. Entwined by Heather Dixon. I've said before that I love fairy tale remakes, and Entwined is one of my favorites. Also, Keeper's pavilion would be so incredibly pretty (for the most part), so I want to see what it would look like. I also think, for some reason, that this might make a good musical. For those who've read Entwined, what do you think?
4. The Homelanders series by Andrew Klavan. So action movies aren't exactly my thing. I'd definitely want to see the Homelanders movies. And if they stayed true to the books, they would be fairly clean action movies.
5. Castaways of the Flying Dutchman series by Brian Jacques. I'm not sure if this would make a better movie series or TV show. Either way, I think it would be great.
6. The Summer of Cotton Candy by Debbie Viguie. Ok, let me make something clear: I am not the kind of girl who watches a lot of chick flicks, and this would definitely be a chick flick. However, I think it would make a really fun movie, perfect for lazy summer afternoons. (Or even winter days when you need to remember what summer feels like!)
7. Princess of the Midnight Ball and its sequels by Jessica Day George. These, like Entwined, would be fairy-tale remakes, but we've already established how much I love these kinds of books and movies. They'd be slightly darker, less humorous movies than Entwined would be, but they'd be some of the more epic fairy-tale remakes, I'm sure.
8. The Sky Riders by Christopher Hopper. This book just came out today, but I got to read it early, and it is awesome in so many ways. And with its edge-of-your-seat plot twists and absolutely magnificent steampunk setting, it would make an amazing movie. (And yes, I admit it: this was partially a shameless plug for one of my favorite author's new books.) I'd also like to see how they portray Aria Prime, because it sounds pretty incredible.
9. The Penderwicks series by Jeanne Birdsall. I had to include at least one book-to-movie for the whole family, and that's where The Penderwicks comes in. We've listened to all three books at least once each on trips. They're fun, lighthearted books that would translate into perfect movies for a summer family movie night.
10. The Door Within Trilogy by Wayne Thomas Batson. This trilogy was a big part of what got me into fantasy, and I would love to see it in movie form. 

Hope you enjoyed this post! What books would you like to see in movie form?

-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)

Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)

My Lorien Cape!

Guess what! I made a cape! It's modeled after the Lorien capes from The Lord of the Rings. Of course, mine obviously isn't made of elven cloth, and the style is a bit different (it's longer, for one thing), but I'm still very happy with it.

Full view of cape, hood up

WWW Wednesday 9/4/13

Hey'a, everyone! Sorry for not doing Top Ten Tuesday yesterday, but the topic (books that should be on required reading lists) wasn't one I felt I could participate in. This is mostly because I don't know what books are already on required reading lists, so it's hard for me to say which ones should be on there that aren't. Today, however, I'm going to be doing the first post in another weekly blog feature, WWW Wednesdays! This feature is from Should Be Reading.

To join in, just answer the following questions:

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

My answers:

• What are you currently reading? The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien. I'm in the first half, otherwise known as my favorite half of the book.
• What did you recently finish reading? River Secrets by Shannon Hale. It was excellent. I'm not sure if I liked it or Enna Burning better. I do think I like Razo just a bit better than Enna. He's funny.
• What do you think you’ll read next? After I finish The Two Towers, I'll probably read either Forest Born or The Return of the King, depending on when I finish TTT and what I feel like reading first. 

I hope you enjoyed this new feature!

-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)

Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)