Top Ten Musicals to Go See

I love musicals. I really do. I can’t read them but I do love to watch them. These are next ten are from my personal collection.

10. Wicked

The story of the Wicked Witch of the West.

9. Repo! The Genetic Opera.

Who loves rock operas? This is a post apocalyptic story about a girl who wants to see the world but she has a blood condition and an overprotective dad.

8. The Phantom of the Opera

I love this opera. I have several versions of if on dvd.

7. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Tim Burton, Johnny Depp, Helen Bonham Carter, musical, gore. Sweeney Todd is wanting justice against one judge who banished him from London.

6. Les Miserables

A man who has been on the run from the french police decides to take in a worker’s daughter.

5. The Wizard of Oz

Follow Dorothy as she tries to get out of Oz and back to Kansas.

4. The Sound of Music

Maria, a nun, is to become a governess for the von Trapp family.

3. Grease

Follow Danny and Sandy at Rydell High School.

2. Hairspray

Tracy Turnblad is a pleasantly plum girl who wants to be on the most hip show in town.

1. The Nightmare Before Christmas

One of my all time favorites from when I was a kid. Jack Skellington is bored with the same old routine, then he finds out what is behind the door shaped like a Christmas tree.

Now I haven’t seen all of the great musicals that are out there. This list may change in the future. Do you have a favorite that you think should be on this list?

It by Stephen King

My edition: Library book ISBN: 9780451169518
Pages: 1093
Rating: 3 stars
Synopsis:

The story follows the exploits of seven children as they are terrorized by an eponymous being, which exploits the fears and phobias of its victims in order to disguise itself while hunting its prey. “It” primarily appears in the form of a clown in order to attract its preferred prey of young children. The novel is told through narratives alternating between two time periods, and is largely told in the third-person omniscient mode. It deals with themes which would eventually become King staples: the power of memory, childhood trauma, and the ugliness lurking behind a facade of traditional small-town values.

Review: Okay so I had watched this movie when I was little. I couldn’t have been more than 5 or 6. My mom and dad were watching it when they thought me and my brother went to sleep. Well I wasn’t asleep and I sat there watching it. (Eventually I did get caught and was unable to see the rest of the film till I was 14.)

I wasn’t scared of clowns. It was actually the first time I ever really knew clowns existed. (Mom doesn’t like them.) Here I was, a little kid, thinking from my first experience of clowns was a horror movie so they must be like mom’s vampires. They just can’t be real. Well if memory serves me, I was taken to a circus the next week or so. Guess how I found out clowns were real.

I have long gotten over my fear of clowns. I still don’t like them but I’m not afraid anymore.

Now I do have people recommending me to read this. I have heard both good and bad reviews. My best friend’s mom hates this due to King’s use of the N-word. I don’t blame her. It was used a lot. Too much for my liking too. King tends to have very colorful language. I did have to put the book down a few times do to the language. I’m no saint when it comes to cursing. (Granted I am trying to stop.) But sometimes there is to much cursing for me.

Along with language I have found that in some novels of King’s he tends to drag on a bit. The story will pick up then it will hit a snag due to a drawn out scene. An example of this would have to be Stan Uris’s wife’s back story. I do mean the part about her hating that she was a Jew in high school. That doesn’t pertain to the story so who cares. I understand her back story with Stan but the self hate that she has I really couldn’t have cared about. It could have been taken out. There were a lot of scenes like this or that were drawn out that could have been shorten or even cut all together. A good 20%-30% of this book could have been cut out and nothing would have happened to the story.

With this being over a thousand pages it will be the longest book I have read to date. It has taken me about three to four weeks to read this. An abundance amount of people said that this book gave them nightmares, and it was on Goodreads 16 book that will give you nightmares. I did not get any nightmares. (No, I had to have dreams about work.) Was this book creepy? Yes, yes it was. It just didn’t affect me like it did other people. I will say that this is creepier than the movie. After reading this and then watching the movie, the movie just doesn’t compare. The movie isn’t even scary, but then again I love horror movies so it just might be that. (Granted the movie is also very lack luster.)

Now while this is about a clown, it’s not about a clown, dig? It’s really about good ole Pennywise the killing dancing clown. He is an entity of some sort. He’s IT. He captures and kills children. George Denbrough, brother to Stuttering Bill, being one of them. Poor dear old Georgie.

A group of kids out of school for summer in 1958 are being terrorized by IT. They fight together against IT and prevail or so they thought. Twenty-seven years later Mike Hanlon calls them all back to go up against Pennywise and end this terror once and for all.

I can say that IT is by far the creepiest book I have read by Kind but it just didn’t scare me. Most of the book was actually kind of boring. Also I’m not a huge King fan. I do like some of his work but I am not one to read all of his books.

Halloween!!!

Hey yall,

What is going on? Hope everyone is having a great week. I have had a busy week.

Hope everyone’s reading is going well. I just finished two books this week. YAY! One I wasn’t a big fan of and the other was good but not spooky or scary. I am still reading IT by Stephen King so my luck may change and I will have a scary book this month. Have you read anything scary this month?

With Halloween being Monday, which is normally my busiest day I thought to make my Halloween post today. Halloween on a Monday…

No crazy costume parties on the actual day. But that’s alright we still have this weekend. But who is going to break out those classic horror movies for Monday and binge watch?

If any one is wondering I am going as a referee. What are you going as?

Be safe!

P.S. For those who live in the USA area of the world, BEWARE OF CLOWNS!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

 

 

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King

My edition: Library book ISBN: 9780868486725
Pages:224
Rating:3 stars
Synopsis:

Trisha McFarland is a plucky 9-year-old hiking with her brother and mom, who is grimly determined to give the kids a good time on their weekends together. Trishia’s mom is recently divorced, and her brother is feuding with her for moving from Boston to small-town Maine, where classmates razz him. Trisha steps off the trail for a pee and a respite from the bickering. And gets lost.

Trisha’s odyssey succeeds on several levels. King renders her consciousness of increasing peril beautifully, from the “first minnowy flutter of disquiet” in her guts to her into-the-wild tumbles to her descent into hallucinations, the nicest being her beloved Red Sox baseball pitcher Tom Gordon, whose exploits she listens to on her Walkman. The nature writing is accurate, tense, and sometimes lyrical, from the maddening whine of the no-see-um mosquito to the profound obbilgato of the “Subaudible” (Trisha’s dad’s term for nature’s intimations of God). Our identification with Trisha deepens as we learn about her loved ones: Dad, a dreamboat whose beer habit could sink him; loving but stubborn Mom; Trisha’s best pal, Pepsi Robichaud, vividly evoked by her colorful sayings (“Don’t go all GIRLY on me, McFarland!”) There personal associations triggered by a full moon, the running monologue with which she stays sane–we who have been lost in woods will recognize these things.

Review: Ever read a book that is hyped up, but when you read it, it doesn’t meet expectations?

I was recommended this book by my local librarian due to it being the only book written by King that has scared her. I don’t see it. I was bored through the first half of this book. When Trisha started having hallucinations I still wasn’t getting creeped out. While I was intrigued by the story, I just wasn’t scared.

This is one of the few King books that I have read, that I liked. I did want to know if she was going to die in the woods or if she was going to be found. This being the main reason why I continued on when the book was dull.

There were times when I thought Trisha was a complete idiot. If she would have made a different decision than what she made or went a different direction she probably wouldn’t have been out in the woods so long.

King really captured a mind of a kid really well. There was never a time when I thought that she sounded to much like an adult. It’s a great read for thriller but not horror.

 

Top 10 Plays to Read/Watch at Least Once

Last week I wrote the top ten books to read at least once in your life. Now I am doing the top ten plays to read or see at least once. Now these are plays that I have read, seen, or participated in. They are also from my personally collection. This does include musicals.

10. The Diary of Anne Frank (the Play)

In junior high, we were taken over to go see the high school preform the play of The Diary of Anne Frank. My high school did a wonderful job and if you don’t like to read and would rather watch then this is a play for it.

9. Brigadoon by Alan Jay Lerner

My senior year I was dating a guy who happened to be in this play. A wonderful Scottish tale about a town who wakes up every 100 years. No one can travel out of the town if they live there for then they will never wake up again.

8. Othello by William Shakespeare

Othello is about a man and woman who elope and ends with jealous and murder. I have read and seen this and it was amazing.

7. The Crucible by Arthur Miller

A play about the witch trials that went on in Salem. One of the darkest stains that has happened on US soil before it was the US. I read this senior year, had to act out a few parts and even watched the movie that stars Winona Ryder.

6. Macbeth by William Shakespeare

One of my absolute favorite plays by Shakespeare. One of the best tragedies.

5. Hamlet by William Shakespeare

To be or not to be.

4. Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

As much as I don’t like this play, it is still a play to read once.

3. Oedipus Rex by Sophocles

Another play I read in high school. Very amazing. One of the few plays besides Macbeth that sticks with me today.

2. Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare

My favorite play by Shakespeare. I love Puck.

1. Calamity Jane by Charles Freeman

This is my aunt’s favorite play. Another one that I don’t like but definitely one to watch/read.

 

Masquerade by Cambria Hebert

My edition: Kindle Unlimited
Pages: 360
Series: Heven and Hell #1
Rating: 3 stars
Synopsis:

I’m disfigured. Scarred. Ugly.
When I look in the mirror, I see a tranger. Whn I look over my shoulder, no one’s there…
Yet I feel watched. Hunted. Afraid.
And then he tells me I’m beautiful.
He tells me I’m safe.
I believe him.
Until someone tries to kill me.
Secrets abound, danger is near, and still… m heart desires a boy with whiskey-colored eyes and far too many secrets.
Secrets that could cost me my life.
To stay alive I hat to look deep, beneath the masks everyone wears, to find the truth.
To find myself.

Review: “You’re scars do not define you, young lady. Your actions do.”

I really liked the Hashtag series that Hebert wrote, so I decided that I should try out another one of her books. Since it is around Halloween I saw this one tagged as supernatural. I thought ‘Why not?’ and got it.

Heven was attacked one night while coming home from the library. She doesn’t remember anything about the attack. She has scars on the left side of her face. The girl she once was, confident and wears the stylish clothes is gone. A girl who wears baggy clothes and want to become invisible has taken her place. She doesn’t feel safe, even in her own house. Until Sam comes along.

This story has something I’m not a big fan of in it. The trope of girl meets boy. Boy seems to fix all problems. Granted that her anxiety doesn’t just go away, it’s still there but she feels safe around Sam even though she barely knows him.

The story has four P.O.V.s, Heven, Sam, the Hate, and the Hope. It is mostly Heven’s P.O.V. As a female lead I don’t like Heven. She just turned me away with how bad she thinks of everybody. Not in a mean way. She just thinks everyone can only see her scars and that she is ugly and disfigured. Most of her friends just gave her her space and left her alone till she came back around.

I did like the supernatural, paranormal element going on. I loved how Hebert kept me guessing. When Sam reveals his secret I didn’t expect for him to be what he is. I was thinking he’s a demon or a werewolf but turns out he’s different from that. Close but different.

Kimber, Heven’s best friend wasn’t my favorite either. After Rimmel and Ivy, these two girls didn’t quite live up. I wasn’t a big fan of Kimber’s jealousy of Heven. Not because it wasn’t realistic because face it we all envy or are jealous of one friend even for a tiny reason. It was just the way Kimber was written that I didn’t like. I really don’t know how to explain it.

The end did have me curious to know more but not in the needing the second book right now. Even though this did have an insta love I was happy that there wasn’t any sex. I am glad that it is a relationship that is growing and it is the guy who wants to wait till the time is perfect.

Starting the next book. Here I go.

Besides, what a shame it would be to taint such beauty with such a beast.

Top Ten Books Everyone Should Read

Everyone has a list like this. One list of books they think everyone should read at least once. I have been thinking about making a list like this for a while but didn’t know what books to put on it. So I compiled a huge list with all the books I had loved or has stayed with me.

10. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

A story about two men who are looking for work and find some in California. George and Lennie are wanting to own land of their own. They come to a bit of a snag when Lennie doesn’t know his own strength.

9. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Narrated by Nick Carraway, we are led through the lives of Jay Gatsby, who has wild parties and his green light, Daisy Buchanan, who loves the lavish lifestyle. The story is told when the roaring 20s were underway.

8. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Who hasn’t heard of little Scout? This is one of my favorites from high school. So glad we had to read it at school. A wonderful story that deals with children. We get a take on innocence, cruelty, racism, and the out look of the world through the eyes of a small child.

7. The Outsiders by S.E. Hilton

Follow a young greaser named Ponyboy through his journey of events that will change his outlook of how the greasers and the socs live. Another favorite from school I had to read.

6. The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

Even if you aren’t a history nut like me, this is still a good book to read at least once. Anne Frank is one of the biggest voices if not the biggest, of the Holocaust. The book is really Anne’s diary of when she was in hiding from the Nazis.

5. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

One of my favorite coming of age stories. Charlie is a socially awkward freshman trying to navigate through life.

4. North of Beautiful by Justina Chen

Another coming of age novel that I love. Terra is a girl who is not hard to notice. Tall, blonde, oh and she has a port wine stain on her face. Terra who is very self concious of her mark tries to cover up all the time. When she meets Jacob, a goth handsome boy, she starts to look differently on life.

 

 

 

3. Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

Of course I was going to put this on here. Even if you think you won’t like Harry Potter, open your mind and try it once. Most of my favorite quotes are out of these books. Rowling’s writing is amazing. Even as I reread the series I end up finding things that I didn’t notice before.

2. Carrie by Stephen King

A story of a girl who is an outcast and the horrible prank that was pulled at on prom. I actually like the book better than the movies. The book goes into Carries childhood as well as during what led up to the prom.

1. The Devil’s Prayer by Luke Gracias

This book still haunts me to this day. I still have dreams or find myself think about it. A thriller in which has given me nightmares.

 

Tool by Sabrina Paige

My edition: Kindle Unlimited
Pages: 349
Series: A Step-Brother Romance #2
Rating: 3 stars
Synopsis:

I call him “Tool” because he’s a dick.

Gaige O’Neal is nicknamed “Tool” because of what he’s packing. Rumor is, he’s well equipped.

I wouldn’t know. I’ve never had the pleasure.

He’s cocky, entitled, insufferable a**hole who’s as reckless with women as he is with that stupid motorcycle he races.

He’s also my step brother. Lucky me.

It’s been four years since I’ve seen him. Four years since he’s made me so frustrated I could scream. Four years since he’s given me that look, the one that makes me instantly wet.

So it’s just f**ing fitting that the first time I see him in four years, he’s buried beneath three scantily clad blondes.

Now I’m stuck her under the same roof with him while he recovers from a racing injury. An injury that clearly hasn’t affected the use of his tool.

The problem is, as much as I despise him, I just can’t help myself. I want to find out what kind of tool he’s working with.

Review: 

I wasn’t very impressed with Gaige’s “tool”. This was better than the first book, Prick. I wasn’t a big fan of Delaney. She got annoying. But luckily by the end when she finally was able to stand up to everyone.

Now unlike in the first book I like the hero. This is the type of my man I like. He didn’t care if people caught them. He just wanted to be with Delaney. I’m very happy he wasn’t like Caulter.

I loved the bickering between Delaney and Gaige. Their relationship started out slow but really had a fire when it started.The pranks they pulled on each other were funny as well. Gaige’s present on Delaney’s first day of work made me laugh out loud. The story flowed well. There were a few issues that were stated in the beginning but were fully explained till the end.

The ending was cute. I liked it. I thought this book was better than the first one. I hope the rest in the series are like this book.

 

The Vision by Dean Koontz

My edition: Library book ISBN: 9780399120633
Pages: 287
Rating: 2.5 stars
Synopsis:

DON’T CLOSE YOUR EYES
He’s watching you. He knows what you’re doing. He knows what you’re thinking. He’s coming after you.

DON’T CLOSE YOUR EYES
He has a knife. The steel blade gleams. Whenever you close your eyes, you can see it–the tip of his knife, pointing at your chest.

DON’T CLOSE YOUR EYES
He’s closing them for you.

Review: Mary Bergman is a clairvoyant. She helps in murder cases to help police catch a killer. There is a serial killer on the loose. Mary is getting visions on who he was going to kill next. Along with having to face the serial killer, Mary will also have to face her past. To what had happened to her twenty- four years ago.

I wasn’t very much of a fan of this book either. I didn’t like Koontz writing in this all that well. The heroine was way to dependent on her husband Max and acted like a spoiled brat. I think another reason why I didn’t like this was because Koontz didn’t do well to hid the killer. Yes he tried to steer you in an other direction but it didn’t work on me. It was to obvious to who the killer was.

Behind the Wooden Door by Emily Godwin

My Edition: Owned (Kindle)
Pages: 156
Rating:2.5 stars
Synopsis:

When an army of soldiers marches through her castle doors, Princess Lanie is plagued with thoughts of blood, death, and sorrow. War is something she never fathomed happening in her lifetime. Falling in love with the army’s commander, Tristan, wasn’t part of the plan either. He’s smart-mouthed, arrogant, and everything her tyrant father would disapprove of. After all, Tristan’s place is on the battlefield, not a thron.

After the kingdom’s fortune teller predicts a deadly outcome, Lanie knows her secret romance is an execution waiting to happen. She has to do something- fast- because the war path has redirected toward her.

Review: Lanium (Lanie) is the princess of Rattonim. Tristan is a leader of his own army. Lanie’s father has called upon Tristan for his help with a war. A war that Lanie’s cousin has started.

I am not a big fan of this one it was very boring. I really couldn’t connect with the characters. Lanie and Tristan’s love came out of no where. It wasn’t all that believable. The end wasn’t great either. This book seemed a bit rushed and could use a little more adding to.