Scrapbook - Monthly Edition -> March

[lilcrickee]

I apologize for this being a little late. Life just got a little busy, but I do have the time to do this now. Huzzah!

Scrapbook 2012 - March Edition

♥Book Recs



The Book of Awesome by Neil Pasricha → ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

• The thing that I liked the most about this book is that it's so relateable. Like, seriously, I found myself agreeing to a lot of the things that Pasricha mentioned in the book, which is basically a compilation of every single little awesome thing out there in the big, bad world. It's a reminder to look at everything in life and just savor everything. It's definitely a book that I'll be keeping for the rest of my life and I know I'll be reading it a lot.

♥Movie Recs



The King's Speech → ★ ★ ★ ★ 1/2

• With the Oscars coming up in February, I decided that maybe I should get around to seeing last year's Best Picture winner. And boy, am I glad that I did. It was terrifically funny and lovely and it just made me love Colin Firth more than I already did. There's just the right touch of surrealism to it that makes you want to keep watching.

The Artist → ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

• Also, during the month of February, I realized that with one week before the Academy Awards, I'd only seen one Best Picture nomiation. So I buckled down Friday and Saturday and watched five more movies, The Artist included. I loved the throwback into the silent and black and white age and I found that the movie itself was very captivating. It let you run free with your imagination a little but kept you on track with well placed and not over-used captions. I thought it was really well done and was quite pleased to discover it won on Sunday.

Hugo → ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

• Hugo was the last Best Picture nominee I watched, on Sunday while the Oscars were on, actually. Unfortunately, I never had time to read the book before I saw the movie, but Asa Butterfield is such a cute little actor that I will definitely be enjoying the book reading now that I get to imagine him as Hugo. The story itself was very creative and I loved the setting of the train station. The only thing that confused me a little was the random switches between animation and live action and how obvious it was. I don't know. It just didn't really click with me.

♥TV Recs



Smash

• I've only actually seen one episode of Smash because my PVR was being a dick and didn't tape the second and now I'm behind, but I've been waiting for this show for ages now and I'm pleasantly surprised that it's quite good. I like the idea behind it and Katherine McPhee gets to show off her awesomeness at singing and just being generally lovely. I think it's a really good show to give a chance to and hopefully I'll like it even more as the season continues (and as I catch up).

Glee

• I'm definitely not the first person to mention that Glee has been lacking since its premier, but I do like some of the directions that it's taking this season. Besides the, erm, oddity between Finn and Rachel, I'm quite liking some of the developments, namely the character Sebastian Smythe (and not just because Grant Gustin is ridiculously hot). The show was definitely lacking a villanous figure after the departure of Jesse St. James, but Sebastian is quite good at being a bitch. His attitude in recent episodes has sort of confused me, but yeah. Great job with him.

Parenthood

• This show always makes my feelings flop around because I'm always torn between telling everyone to shut up, getting Lauren Graham's character's son more screen time and just drowning in the fluffiness that is sometimes the Braverman family. This show has a good touch of humour to lighten the drama and the cast is fantastic. I strongly recommend checking it out.

♥Music Recs

Rolling in the Deep - Adele

• With the Grammy's in February, I decided to take the opportunity to start listening to Rolling in the Deep again just because Adele is pure awesomeness and this song is like Jesus in music form.

Right as Rain - Adele

• I was hungry for more Adele so I took a look at her album 19 and found this totally awesome jazzy tune. I quite enjoy the lyrics too, which have just enough edge to let you see what Adele would produce on 21.

My Same - Adele

• I like this song because it's got the same jazz feel that Right as Rain does. It has such a groove and the bass line is delicious and unf. Love it.

I Should've Kissed You - One Direction

• Definitely not their best song, but I'm guilty when I say that I like pretty much everything that 1D puts out there. The chorus is quite catchy though and it reminds me a bit of Tell Me a Lie in terms of its melody and whatnot.

Mean - Taylor Swift

• When this song first came out, I didn't really like it; it just didn't really sound like Taylor in the beginning. Now, I love it. The lyrics are cute and the country vibe to it is nice considering that that's what Taylor is: a country star. It's nice to see some more of that twang in there.

Learn to Fly - Action Item

• I find the vocals on this song a little ... I don't know, but overall, it's got a great beat and a catchy melody and nice lyrics. I've liked it pretty much since I first listened to it, but I never really got into it until recently.

♥Fic Recs

PE by Tonzura123
FF.net | Narnia | PG-15 | ~132,000 words
It's the first term at Hartbee's School for Young Men, and the prestigious institution is about to experience the full enigma of the eccentric Pevensie brothers. A nonslash brotherfic rated for intense action and frightening nightmares.

• I haven't actually taken the time to completely read every single word in this story, but Tonzura is a great writer that seems to capture the bond between the Pevensie brothers very well. I found it a little mushy at times, but overall, I didn't mind. There was also a really great plot to keep the story going and I'm so glad that I read this fic when it was close to being finished (the first time. I read it again recently which is why it's on the list) because I was always anxious to keep going.

Seasons of Love by celcette
FF.net | Glee | NC-17 | ~64,000 words
| Pair: Mike Chang/Quinn Fabray |
The thing about being in love with your best friend? Sometimes, it takes years to know you are, in fact, in love with your best friend. And a few more years to get it right. A story about young love and its life and tries. QuinnxMike: Fabang. AU

• I'll never understand where I fell in love with this pairing, but Mike and Quinn are my favourite Glee pairing ever and nothing will ever change the fact that I want them together like I want the Canucks to win a Stanley Cup. The story is cute and the characterizations are great. The only problem I have with it is that it switches between tenses and I think the other rushed the chapters out because I feel like some of them aren't proof-read very well, but it's a great story that any Mike/Quinn shipper should read.

Maybe by redwheeler
FF.net | Beyblade | G | ~11,000 words
| Pair: Max/Mariam |
They can't deny their past, but why should that stand in the way of their future? MaxMariam. ABC Challenge Collection.

• RedWheeler is pretty much the reason that I write Max/Mariam fic. In fact, you can probably thank her that I'm writing period, because her stories made me want to write for this pair and post them up and the rest is history. Anyway, I love the way she writes this pairing; she seems to nail their characterizations perfectly. And the little stories are very realistic. I mean, I can totally see some of these in episode form.

♥Product Recs

Pokemon SoulSilver

• I bought this the day it came out. I was in Hawaii and I spent thirty-some odd dollars on it. And you know what? I've never beat the game. It sounds stupid, but I've never played all the way through. Haven't made it to Kanto. Never even made it to the Elite Four. That's about to change though (and not just because I finally caved and bought White). I love Pokemon games because they are truly a game for all ages. I also love the no-stress factor to it. A lot of the time I play a video game and I completely stress myself out because you're trying not to die or crash your car or whatever. Not with Pokemon. It's great. Plus, it's a remake of Silver (which I never played), and is supposedly quite a good remake at that. So yeah. Here's hoping I can beat it.