Top Ten Tuesday-- Favorite Literary Couples!

It's Tuesday once again, which means it's time for the Top Ten List, hosted by The Broke and the Bookish! This week's list is favorite fictional couples in books! I had so many it was terribly hard to narrow it down! But I finally did it! Here they are:

1. Ron and Hermione from The Harry Potter Series- I knew in book two that these two were meant to be together. Nobody believed me, but I had the last laugh! These two are just adorable, I can barely stand it!

2. Edward and Bella from The Twilight Saga- Once again, I don't care what anyone thinks, Edward and Bella have an undying love that will live on in the hearts of girls and guys all over the world! And it didn't get to be that way because Edward is a stalker.

3. Lena and Kostos from The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants- Of all the girls, Lena had the most epic love story of them all. It was tragic and beautiful, and in my heart, they are together forever.

4. Jesse and Suze from The Mediator Series- Absolute perfect. A girl that can kick butt and a guy that is devilishly romantic. They relied on each other through all travesties and not even Paul Slater could tear them apart.

5. Catherine and Mr. Tilney from Northanger Abbey- Everyone else chose Emma and Knightley or Elizabeth and Darcy, but the meeting scene between Catherine and Henry was just the most precious and adorable scene Austen ever wrote.

6. Grace and Sam from The Shiver Series- Grace and Sam are so perfect for each other and I refuse to believe that they won't find a way to be together forever in the final book of the series.

7. Remy and Dexter from This Lullaby- It took me a while to figure out which of Dessen's love birds was my favorite, but after much deliberation, I had to admit that it was these two. Dexter complete admiration for Dexter is almost unbearable, it is so sincere.

8. Ada and Inman from Cold Mountain- They didn't have much time together, but it didn't take them long to realize that they were made for each other. Inman fought to get home to Ada and she fought to survive the Civil War so he would have a place to come home to.

9. Fenchurch and Arthur from The Hitchhikers Series- The movie made Arthur and Trillian out to be soulmates, but these two are bizzarely perfect for each other. I was heartbroken when Fenchurch disappeared, but Arthur will never stop searching for her!

10. Angel and Michael from Redeeming Love- As they were in The Bible, these two were put together by a Lord that knew exactly what they needed. These two are a match made in Heaven, literally.

Who are you favorite literary couples?

xoxo,

Vicky

Gearing Up for NaNoWriMo

Yes, Ladies and Gentleman, I am finally participating in NaNoWriMo!! I'm so excited, I can barely contain it!! I haven't been writing for about the last three months, which has been really hard. But I just haven't had any time!! However, about a week ago, I got a brilliant idea for a new novel! So, I sat down and signed up for NaNoWriMo!

I'm so psyched! I'm going to be telling the story of a situation I was in recently that could have very dramatically gotten out of hand had the situation been just a little different. And thanks to the works of fiction, this situation is going to get WAY out of hand. I just hope I don't offend any of my friends, who will be starring in my manuscript.

Anyway, so I'm already preparing, outlining and getting to know my characters. I know that I'm not really supposed to be gearing up until October, but how can you stop the creative juices?? The only problem with having all this stuff running through my head is that I can't so anything about it!!

So, are you doing NaNoWriMo this year? Don't worry, it's my first time too.

xoxo,

Vicky

Fictional Character Friday--Kermit the Frog

Tell me something... why are there so many songs about rainbows, and what's on the other side? Heck yeah! This week's Fictional Character is Kermit!! I've loved Kermit since I was a kid. I never actually watched The Muppet Show, but I LOVED The Muppet Movie, which was something that helped me get through my parents' divorce when I was nine.

Not only is Kermit just the cutest, sweetest little puppet known to man, but he also stand up against racism!! Not only did he make the album, It's Not Easy Being Green, but he was also married to a pig, which totally blurred the boundary lines between inter-species marriages!! Hehehe.

My favorite part that Kermit played as someone other than himself is his role as Bob Cratchett in A Muppet Christmas Carol. There is nothing sweeter than watching Kermit as Bob sing and walk through town with Tiny Tim on his shoulder. He was even cute on Muppet babies!!

Who is your favorite Muppet?

xoxo,

Vicky

#SPEAKloudly

I read Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson when I was 18, in my Creative Writing class. My teacher looked at me and said, "What do you mean you haven't read Speak?" Then she proceeded to pull a copy from her filing cabinet, thrust it into my hands, and say, "Read it. Now." Because I dearly loved this teacher, I did as she asked and read the book. When I was down to the last thirty or so pages, I left it in my locker at school and had to sweet talk a coach to let me back so that I could finish reading it over the weekend.

If you don't know what Speak is about or haven't read it, I suggest you do so.

Speak didn't touch me for the same reason it touched some other people. I've never been raped, sexually abused, physically abused, emotionally abused, neglected, abandoned, or anything like that. I'll be the first to admit that I've lived a blessed life. My father divorced my mother when I was 9, after being physically abusive to my sister and no one else. I lived with my mother until I was 10, when she remarried and I moved in with her and my step father. My father is still active in my life. My older sister lives with him, with her husband and child, and he has stopped his abusive ways, even if he is still a jerk. I had never been in an abusive relationship or even had my life or virtue threatened in any way. I've never been hurt like Melinda has; I've never been hurt like the young people who opened up to Laurie and the world when they read this book.

But I've felt pain, like any other human, and that's why Speak touched me. Because I'm human, and I have emotions.

I'm a scaredy-cat. I'm terrified of leaving work at night alone, sleeping alone in my house, heck, I get nervous when I walk my dog in the middle of the day. I'm a healthy, pretty, 19-year-old girl that lives in a bad neighborhood in the world we live in today. Now tell me I don't have a reason to look over my shoulder every once in a while. I don't live my life hidden behind a rock, but I get scared when a truck slows down and the guy in the front seat stares too long. I have pepper spray in my purse and a bat by my bed, and I've taken self-defense classes.

I sure as heck hope I'm never attacked. And I pray to the Lord every day that one of my good friends won't call me in the middle of the night because she needs my help with something like this. I pray that I won't have to one day handle being the mother of a rape victim. But Speak helped me prepare for a day like that. Someday, if one of my friends is raped or I'm raped, I'm going to know how to handle it. I'm going to be strong, and it's going to be because of this book.

My daughter WILL read this book, my friends WILL read this book, and I WILL stand up to anyone who wants to tell me that it's somehow blasphemous. The Lord hates sin, which means he hates rape and abuse, which means that he doesn't want us to be victims to it. Yes, I believe that the Lord allows it to happen for His own reason, but that doesn't mean he wants us to shield our eyes from what's going on in the world.

I greatly respect Laurie Halse Anderson, for the amazing woman she is. Other writers I know of who have gone through this are Ellen Hopkins and Sarah Dessen. They are all fabulous women who have made a difference to teens out there who need help.

On her blog, Laurie tells you what you can do to help keep Speak from being banned.

I know I don't have an amazing survivor story to tell, and I thank God for that, but here is one that you should read if you need more motivation. This is what Speak is to the world, and if it will help even one young girl or boy cope with being raped or abused, then I believe it was inspired by God.

If you believe in this cause, do what you can to help.

xoxo,

Vicky

Top Ten Tuesday-- Books I'm DYING to Read

This week's Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, is super exciting because I have TONS to put on it. It's going to be hard to get it down to ten, considering there is about 50+ books on my TBR list. Anyway, this week is ten books I;m dying to read!! The reason this list is so easy for me is because I can't afford books!! ...unless they're on the clearance shelf at Half Price Books. I went into Barnes and Noble and almost died at all the beautiful covers I've only seen on my computer screen. I got to touch them! Anyway, onto the list!

1. The Eternal Ones by Kirsten Miller- I saw this cover on about a million different blogs when this was first being advertised, and I wasn't interested in it at all. I honestly just thought it was another vamp novel, of which I'm getting tired. But then I read the inside flap at Walmart and immediately added it to my TBR list.

2. Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick- This is yet another one that I thought might be overrated, but then I started to gear up to write my own angel novel, and I knew I had to read this one! I still can't wait to get my hands on it!!

3. Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson- I added this to my list the second I read the first synopsis. I just love stories like this!!

4. Matched by Ally Condie- Come on...how awesome does this novel sound??

5. The View from the Top by Hilary Frank- Even though this book is getting terrible reviews, I still want to read it. I've been waiting years for Hilary Frank to write another novel as epic as her first two, and I'm going to love it, no mater what.

6. Maybe This Time by Jennifer Crusie- It's killing me that I haven't been able to afford Jennifer Crusie's last two novels!! I was heartbroken when I found out this was released in hard cover and I couldn't buy it!

7. San Francisco Earthquake, 1906 by Kathleen Duey- So here's the story of this book. When I was very young, at my first trip to Half Price Books, I saw this book, and for some reason, didn't beg my mother to buy it for me. I've been looking for it ever since.

8. Where Roses Grow Wild by Patricia Cabot (Meg Cabot)- This is the only one of Meg Cabot's historical romances that I haven't been able to find, and I'm dying to get my hands on it!!

9. Burn by Linda Howard- Everyone knows how much I adore Linda Howard, but I can't afford to buy Burn or Ice. Suck.

10. The Girl with the Mermaid Hair by Delia Ephron- Somehow I still haven't gotten my hands on this book. I've been drawn to it the first time I saw it on the shelves, but I still haven't made it mine!!

So, what books are you just DYING to read?

xoxo,

Vicky

Fictional Character Friday--Hermione Granger

The reason I chose Hermione this week is because of the Top Ten Tuesday list this week. It was about kick-butt female characters, and it seemed like I was the only one who participated that didn't put Hermione on their list. That's not because I don't love Hermione, because I certainly do. However, she is not one of my top ten. But she is definitely pretty awesome. I grew up with Hermione, and I have a lot of respect for the smart, independent woman she became.

When we were first introduced to Hermione Granger, the muggle-born teacher's pet, she was a stuck-up know-it-all who was all about showing everyone how smart she was. It was a little annoying, but it was also freakishly adorable. Beginning in The Sorcerer's Stone, Hermione was always there to save the day with her genius ideas and her awesome courage.

By the time The Deathly Hallows came around, Hermione was a fierce woman. She didn't take crap from anyone, she was willing to put her life and her pride on the line for her friends and family, and she stood tall in a battle to the death. Hermione is one incredible character, and she was magnificent on paper and on the screen.

What female character brings out your inner warrior?

xoxo,

Vicky

Booking Through Thursday (2)

Ok, so here is the deal with Booking Through Thursday. Every week at the site, they ask a question that has to do with literature, and if you want to share it, you can put it on your blog, or you can just join in the fun by leaving a comment!

This week's question is: Even though it’s usually a mistake (grin) … do movies made out of books make you want to read the original?

My answer is...YES. But here's the thing about that. I ALWAYS read the book first. If I see a preview of a movie that looks REALLY good and it's based off a novel, I will go and read the novel first. The only time I don't is if I know it's going to be super sad.

The reason I started doing this was because when I was younger, I didn't. Well, I learned my lesson. It started with Tuck Everlasting. I saw the movie and LOVED it!! Then I read the book...and immediately got rid of my copy of the movie because I was so horribly disgusted at what they did to the book! The same thing happened a few years later with The Princess DIaries and Ella Enchanted. From then on, I decided that if I saw a movie and later found out it was a novel, I would not read the novel, in fear of losing my love of the movie. This is the reason I refuse to read Stardust or The Count of Monte Cristo.

However, I don't have extremely high standards when it comes to movie adaptations. I realize that movies and novels are different medias and I'm pretty open to based-on-a-book movies. Some of my favorite are Twilight, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Lord of the RIngs and Harry Potter. Even though they aren't perfect and they may even change the story a little, it doesn't mean I can't like them!!

Anyway, what's your take on the subject?