Saturday 30 April 2016

Saturday 4 Show: Best Mums Ever!

It's saturdayyyyy, it's the weekend! Wee-hoooo. Dance-Party!!! And this weekend we have a special dance-party in honour of our beloved mums. Thank you girls, for giving us life!

In my native language I can remember a lot of  songs or poems to quote in honour of this day, but english isn't my mother tongue so I will refrain from posting that kind of thing and make a fool of myself. If you do know a song or poem related to mother's day, leave it to me in the comments! That way, I can use it next year (wink wink).

Anyways, let's do this! Let's honour the mums that grace our tv shows, mums we would like to have or that are so so so so cool. My number 1 is a super-mom, my number 4 is also a super-mum so like... this top has no preferential order whatsoever (but Abby is my fav anyways):


1. Abby Griffin in The 100
 
 
Abby is a super-mum! Eventhough she is Clarke's mum, she is actually mother of all of us. Yes, even of us, viewers. When she understood that things were wacked up there in space, she wasted no time in trying to create a spaceshift that could bring her to Clarke and since she has been on earth she has done everything she could to help her daughter and her friends, the Deliquents....even if sometimes they speak crazy. Abby trusts, loves and supports everyone and she is my fav mum ever (even if right now she is doing questionable choices).


2. Catelyn Stark in Game of Thrones


Cat!!!! Who doesn't like this lady? She accepted Ned's bastard and took care of all of her children with love and fondness. She was an attentive mum who had a very sad final (as per usual in this show, anyways) that she didn't deserve in the slightest. I am sure that if she was still alive, her heart would be hurting a lot nowadays seeing all her children separated and in pickles. She's a mum who is no longer amongst us but who is still a hell of a mum!

3. Meredith Grey in Grey's Anatomy

 
Meredith doesn't win the mum of the year award or anything, especially because her kids don't even show up that much and I'm 80% certain that she spends half her life at the hospital. But I like her and I think she is sweet and she has been able to be a good mum  even if she, herself, had the worst mum ever. And even after Derek died, she was able to stand strong for her kids instead of drowing herself in Tequila like she used to do in the first seasons.

4. Melissa McCall in Teen Wolf


Okay, so I haven't watched Teen Wolf in ageeeeeees but I loved (still love) Melissa! She is that kind of mum who is your friend and is always there for you. She is besties with her son and his best-friend and let's be real, she trust them a lot to believe every wacked thing that comes out of their mouth and help them! Melissa is simply this: fantastic!

These are my choices for the day! So if you do this, leave your blog's link on my comment box so I can check it out and see which mum's are your favs. Next week I'll bring you: Shows that I never ever ever plan on watching. Might be a cool post!

Friday 29 April 2016

Wednesday 27 April 2016

Top 5 Wednesday: Maternal/Mother figures

It's wednesdayyyyyyy....which means it's Top 5 Wedneday day!!!! I haven't done one of these in a long while because I've been a little busy but also because I haven't got any book for any of the past topics.

If you want to know everything about this T5W, you can click in this amazing link which will take you to Goodreads. This Y5W was created by Lainey but is now managed by Samantha!

Today's topic is the best mums or best maternal figures we have found in books! This is a perfect topic because this week is gonna end in this great and amazing day that is Mother's Day! So these weeks posts are dedicated to all the great mums who have carried us in their belly for 9 mums! (Thank you, mum!!!! <3)

This was such a difficult list because I feel like there aren't enough decent motherly figures in fiction??? Am I reading the wrong books? Either ways, we need to have more great mums in books!!!! So I'm only going to do 4 books today.

And here are my choices:

1. Jenny Fraser in Outlander

Jenny isn't the main character, she is actually Jamie's sister but it just so happens that she has a gazillion kids! So she is a mum and is qualified to be here. She also happens to be the most kickass woman to have ever existed. I think she even kicks Claire's ass, and I love Claire! The fact is Jenny does everything a man does and then some... she is bold and strong and she manages the house, the farms and if needed, she will fight. All this while taking care of her football team like babies and sometimes, pregnant with the next goalie.

2. Ma in Room


Ma is Jack's mum, in Room. I don't think her name was ever mentioned in the book but to be truthful, I haven't finished reading this book. I watched the movie and it was one of my favorites from Oscars 2016 but when I picked this book up, I was so disappointed. Still, Ma is one hell of a mum, raising her child in the room and doing everything she could to protect him and save him.

3. Mary Boleyn in The Other Boleyn Girl


I have raved about this book in the blog countless times because this is one of my favorite Philippa Gregory books. When one was a part of the court, one couldn't simply live with their kids but Mary Boleynn didn't stand for it. When her children were taken from her, she gave everything up to be with them: she gave up on the King and the court and even the wealth. And that makes her a hell of a mum! (Even if only in fiction).

4. Margaret McLachlan in The Beauty Trilogy


This trilogy is one of my favorites because it's so fun and light and sweet (even if the covers make it look very 50 Shades. It's not!!!!). One of my favorite characters is Margaret because she is so funny and brings this book into a whole new dimension. She supports her children a 100% but she also provides her daughters in law with advices to tame them. I liked her so much, I laughed so much because of her.

And voilá! It wasn't easy at alllll.... C'mon, book writers, let's give mums more space in novels, shall we?!

Saturday 23 April 2016

Saturday 4 Show: Couples who make me eww

It's Saturdayyyyy, it's the weekenddddd, it's TV Shows list dayyyyy! Weeeeee.

Today, I bring you the top4 couples who make me EWWWW. We all have those couples that we simply hate to see on screen and who make us wonder why the heck did anyone think they were a good idea? They bring nothing new to the series, they don't even look good together and just....why?!

I thought of this topic because of some stuff I bumped into on tumblr, even from series that I no longer watch (but of course then I had to check them out again just to see if this was true or not). This is an offence to love, I tell you. These couples...oh, no....these couples.
But let's find out, who my top4 are!


1. Spencer and Caleb from Pretty Little Liars

I gave up on Pretty Little Liars because the whole A drama was too much and it wasn't even gullible anymore, like I could honestly write a whole rant of PLL because this series that I loved so much turned BORING. Anyways, several years went by in my life and then I saw there were these new epis where the girls were grown up and I got curious so I checked the show out again and urghhhh. That's when I found this couple....this awful, awful couple: Spence and Caleb. That's right. What the heck?? I think it's weird because we went from 6 seasons where Toby+Spencer and Hannah+Caleb were a thing to.... Spencer+Caleb??? I just don't even like them together...even if, okay, they have some stuff in common but urghhh. It hurts my eyes.

2. Asher and Bonnie of How to Get Away with Murder

Asher and Bonnie are my two least favorites characters of HTGAWM. And I kind of like Asher now but when he dated the annoying, silly and not-interesting-at-all Bonnie, he lost all of my respect. I haaaaaaate Bonnie. I honestly do. Now, in the last few episodes of season 3 (?? I think), Asher begins dating somebody else and I didn't even see those two people together at first but then I kind of liked them and also, I like it the most because Bonnie is out of the equation. She was so mumsy to Asher and when they were together, they put me to sleep... still, with the rhythm of the series I suppose it was good to have a moment to catch my breath (and a wink).

3. Bellamy and Clarke in The 100
(source)

This is a impopular opinion, I know!!! And they are not even a couple as of yet but I don't even see it?? Fine, Bellamy mighttttt have feelings for Clarke but Clarke is in love with Lexa. And I'm fine with it, because I love Bellamy and I don't like Clarke. I may be one of the few people who dislikes Clarke but she is soooo annoying and she takes all these decisions by herself without consulting her "partner in crime" but whenever Bellamy messes up she comes and judges him? At least he didn't run away when things got hard, Clarke!!! And then she goes 'I need you, Bellamy'....oh please, give me a break. No, no, no.

4. Jo and Alex in Grey's Anatomy

Ahhhh, Jo just needs to chill. At first I really liked Jo because she understood Alex and they have the same background and they came from similar places in life but then they started dating and Jo became a pain in the ass. She is so whiny, she always thinks everyone is against her and she always manages to bring personal life into work-related situations. I don't know why the writers always find the worst girlfriends for Alex because he certainly doesn't deserve that and I haven't lost hope that Jo will get better and win my love and affection again but as of right now... I just can't figure her out. And I don't think Alex can figure her out. Maybe Jo needs to figure herself out, first.

And that's ittttt. That's my top4 of eww couples. If you do make your own top4, link me so i can check it out. Next weekkkkk, it's Mother's Day  in Portugal so I'm going to bring you Top4 Motherly Characters to spread the looooove.

Thursday 21 April 2016

TAG: The Outlander Book Tag

Sing me a song of a lass that is gone, say that that lass could be IIIIIIII..... That is right my friends, I am here to talk to you about Outlander!!!

 

I basically saw this on some blogs and then I went on youtube and watched a bunch of videos with this TAG but the person who created it was abookutopia. I love, love, love Outlander, I'm currently reading the 3rd book (Voyager) and I adore Jamie and Claire and everyone so much and I wanna marry this book and they are my ultimate OTP so obviously I couldn't let this TAG pass me by.

I have never done one of these TAGs but basically there are a few questions based on the book and I'll answer them with what I see fit. I'll try to not reply 'Outlander' to every single one of these questions butttttt....bare with me.


Here we go!



  
1. You touch some standing stones and get transported back in time, what year would you hope to land in?


The history geek inside me would like to be transported to a. World War I; b. dictatorship times butttt the human inside me is currently hitting the history geek in the head. I would like to be somehwere in the 17th century because of the dresses and Louis XIV and yeah... just like, the lazy life of a woman who had no respect or rights whatsoever *note the sarcasm*.

2. Claire is a very good nurse, what type of skill would you want to have that a fictional character excels at? 


I'm going to go with Blimunda from Baltasar and Blimunda (José Saramago). She has this gift of seeing people's aura and if they are truly good at their core and I think that would be quite cool, it would be cooler than to be a kickass master. And like, she only has this gift if she doesn't eat so it's very controlable and I can avoid things going wrong.

3. Jamie and Claire are ultimate relationship goals, who is your favorite fictional couple?


JAMIE AND CLAIRE. Oh wait, I have to choose another? My 2nd OTP is honestly a tie between Simon and Caroline (Wallbanger, by Alice Clayton) and Emma and Aidan from this little indie book called The Proposition by Katie Ashley which is soooooo good and cute and sweet and the reason why I thank whatever platform Katie Ashley chose for allowing to publish this book (I mean...I've only re-read it like 4 times!).

4. The ending of Outlander was shocking, what is one book you read that totally blew your mind?


Since I am trying to get out of my typical choosen books I am not going to go with Allegiant (which, I reckon, would be more wow if I hadn't been spoiled!), I'm going to choose Father Unknown by Lesley Pearse because... WHAT THE HECK IS THIS BOOK???? At first I was like 'Okay, Leslie, nice stuff' but when I got to the middle I'm like WHAT IS HAPPENING!!!! This book surprised me so much and I still remember it nowadays, eventhough I read it while I was in highschool (aka, a lifetime ago).

5. Scotland has lots of castles and we see quite a few in Outlander, what fictional kingdom would you want as your own (castle included)?


Hiiiiii, Cinderella, do you need a roomate??
Either that or Hogwarts. I never read Harry Potter but since it's a school, I suppose I could learn a thing or two between all the drama Harry creates.

6. Outlander has some very steamy scenes, what is your favorite romance novel?



I really like the Beauty trilogy written by Georgia Cates. It may start off really steamy but it's not like that at alllll, it's just a really cool romance between Jack and Laurelyn. The covers might give the wrong idea since this is not a 50 Shades book AT ALL. Also The Proposition/The Proposal by Katie Ashley is love.

7. The Jacobite Rising is a huge plot point in the Outlander series, what book has your favorite battle in it?


I am a very relaxed person who does not like fights, however if you bring me into a fight....oh boy, be prepared. So. For my favorite battle, I'm going to go with....Divergent. Like all the battles divergents have with the top guys. It's hard for me to choose a battle because a. I kind of forget some bits of the books; b. I usually read fluffy romances or historical things with few to none battles.

8. Jamie and Claire get married very unexpectedly, what fictional character would you want to marry on a whim?


JAMIE! Obviously, duh.
Alright... other than Jamie...I'd hook up with Four from the Divergent. He is a nice boy, a little whiny sometimes but still okay. I wouldn't say no to Colin from See Me (Nicholas Sparks)

9. Scotland is a beautiful place, what is one fictional world you would love to visit? 



Okay, so I don't read a lot of fiction and the fiction I read is mostly dystopias where the world has either ended or is a complete mess so I wouldn't want to go near those worlds, anyways. I'm going to go again with Harry Potter.... just because it seems pretty neat.

10. If you could change the past, would you?



I....would. I don't know, on one hand I believe everything happens for a reason but on the other hand I feel like if I hadn't acted a certain way towards certain people or situations, different outcomes could have happened. I don't know. I probably wouldn't change anything just because if I did things a certain way, it was because I had reasons to??? I don't know.

11.Tag somebody!

I am tagging my friend Laura because she is a book lover like moi, and she is the only person I know with a blog. So, there.

And now, I'm going to watch Outlander. Obvi.

(All the pics, I found in Google and I think belong to Starz and they are allllll season 1. So, no spoilers!)

Monday 18 April 2016

Reading Challenge - A Book Based on a True Story

It has been quite a while since I have updated the blog with posts about books I read recently. Truth to be told, I have been struggling with my readings because I don't find books interesting enough or because I have been busy with my never ending search for a job or even just....lazines.

Last week, I was virtually strolling on goodreads and I checked by TBR list and I found this one book that I have been meaning to read foreeeeeever. So of course I immediately googled it and found this online version of the book. This is a book based on a real story because...it's a diary! So maybe it doesn't fit the criteria all that well but still. True story!!!!

Andddd the chosen book is: "Diary of Frida Kahlo - An Intimate Self-Portrait".

Frida is one of my favourite artists and she is one of the women that I love the most, because she had such a difficult life with health problems and love problems. She was a fierce communist who dressed in bright colours to hide her pain and suffering.

Whoever starts this diary believing this is just a traditional diary (e.g.: like Anne Frank's) will end up really disappointed. This diary doesn't have daily routines or love letters. Because she was a paintor, this diary ends up being a graphic diary more than anything although, in the few words that Frida wrote we can understand her life of suffering (she tells stories of her amputated leg, for example) and even a few poems Frida wrote for Diego, her greatest love.

I would reccomend this diary to every fan of Frida, or even of art in general, because we get to infiltrate her head and see her tought. And she even explains the story behind one of my favorite paintings of hers: The Two Fridas. However, I found that some diary entries made no sense whatsoever so that bummed me out a little....it's these entries, though, that make for a quick read.

A little love quote that I found in this diary and fell in love with, is my quote of the book:
"You too know that all my eyes see, all I touch with myself, from any distance, is Diego. The caress of fabrics, the color of colors, the wires, the nerves, the pencils, the leaves, the dust, the cells, the war and the sun, everything experienced in the minutes of the non-clocks and the non-calendars and the empty non-glances, is him."

(14 of 50)

Sunday 10 April 2016

Saturday 4 Show: My Favorite Villains

Okay so what if it's not Saturday anymore? It's still okay to do my top4 Saturday for show!!!

Truth is, yesterday I couldn't do it and I forgot to schedule it so here I am, with my top4 picks of my favorite villains. Mwuaha. This one is very exciting because there's really not an interesting show where the villain is meeh, right?

So, here are my top4 fav evil evil characters, where number 1 is my favorite villain of all (and soooo disgusting that I have to skip scenes where he is in) and my number 4 is just a villain that is mean but not that mean and could be corrupted to be good:

1. Jack Black in Outlander

So Jack Black is this commander of the Red-Coats (the british army during the 17-somethings) and he is the most DISGUSTING person ever. Seriously. He makes me tremble just for being on my screen. He is my favorite villain because he is just so evil but at the same time I can kind of understand where he is coming from....during the show (and more so, during the books) we can understand a bit of Jack Randall's past. Still, the things he does to Jamie makes me irk. There were scenes where I literally skipped and covered my face to not watch. He takes the number 1 spot because he is the most evil person eveeeeeer.

2. Ramsay Snow in Game of Thrones

Okay so I watch Game of Thrones even though I'm not one of those huge fans of the show who know all the theories and what everyone is up to. In fact, I had to google who Ramsay was because I didn't remember his name.... I do remember his character veeeeeery well because he irks me so much! He is that guy who I want to punch every time he shows up! Everything he does is AWFUL. Like... I am certain he never did something good in his life. I bet he came out of the womb already mean and spitting venom. Urgh. Hope someone kills him soon.

3. Malcom Merlyn in Arrow

Okay so Malcom is a proper jackass when he wants to be one but when he finds out he has a daughter (this is something that happens on season 3, I think, so I'm not going to reveal who she is), he kind of cares for her and tries to do his best and he even kind of mends his ways towards Oliver. So I am putting him on my list but he shows up at number 3, because I think that his daughter (if she wanted to) could corrupt him into coming back to the good side of the world.

4. Tyrell Wellick in Mr. Robot
 

Wowwww okay.... Tyrell. How does one even begin to discribe Tyrell? To be quite honest, I haven't exactly figured him out just yet but he is, for me, one of the villains of Mr.Robot but he comes in 4th because I think he is 'evil' just because his wife pushes him into things and because he is so ambitious that he can't tell right from wrong sometimes. I do think he feels really guilty sometimes so he is not a proper villain....he has a little heart somewhere inside of him (I am so excited to see what will become of him in season 2!!!)

Okay so this is my list! If you made your list of your top4 villains, leave me the link bellow!!! Next week I'mma bring love to my blog with a Top 4 of the most odd, weirdest and no-no couples, in other words "Couples who make me eww".

Wednesday 6 April 2016

Top 5 Wednesday: Rainy Day Reads

It's Top 5 Wednesday! Yaaaaaaaay. Mini Dance Party!

Alright, so this week the top5 wednesday is: Rainy Day Reads! I don't exactly know what this means but I suppose it's those books you always turn to when you're very mellow and don't feel like thinking too much or reading something too complex. For me, these are days where I grab a book that I have read before or a book by an author that I think is very easy to read and that will provide me a good time.

Now this challenge was created by Lainey and you can check out the group here, here, here (and join because it's super fun!).

And now for my top 5:

1. Breathe by Kristen Ashley


Sooooo.... okay basically Kristen Ashley writes these badboys alpha male lads that are super hot and her books have a little bit of sexy times but I feel like it's not a Fifty Shades of Grey kind of book. I have read Breathe only once but I just loved it so much, you guys! I love Faye, who is the main girl, and she is like 29 and she is a super fangirl and she reads a lot and works at a library and then the town badboys who everyone wants falls for her and this has an amazing story of a lost child that they help out. Urgh. perfect for rainy days!

2. The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks


Now, Mr. Nicholas Sparks is the perfect read for a rainy day!! His books are just so simple and so easygoing.... okay, there's a drama but it's not a major drama and it doesn't make your head spin. I basically have every single book of his and I have loved them all, I don't exactly recall loving Best of Me more than any other book but I looked at my collection and picked the coolest cover. So there.

3. Tangled by Emma Chase


This wasn't one of those wowzah books but I had such fun reading it and it was soooo easy and I adored Kate! I'm pretty sure I have written a post about this book somewhere on this blog but oh God, I remember that I picked the second book right after because I liked it so much and I had such a good time (plus, I usually read in the morning train so a very good read for slow mornings where you just need to wake up!)

4. Livro by José Luís Peixoto

Livro is literally "Book". Now, I always like to add, when I can, a portuguese book because I think we have such great authors and they need to be known more. So I'm doing my part promoting my favs. This book is legit poetry, it's sooooo good. I adore how the author uses the words and how he puts them together. Urgh. He is the kind of author I want to be when I grow up.

5. Wallbanger by Alice Clayton


I'm pretty sure none of you are surprised that this is making an appearance here because I am an Alice Clayton fangirl, I would read her grocery list, I would braid her hair if she told me stories and I worship her to no end. And this book is one of my favorite books eveeeeeer and I have read it like a thousand times and it's on my bedside table for when i'm sad and blue and awwww. I love you, Alice Clayton. I love you, Wallbanger. I love you, Simon and Caroline. I just love everyone.

Saturday 2 April 2016

Saturday 4 Show: Female Characters I love

Besides loving to read, I looooooooove from the bottom of my heart to watch series! I am perfectly capable of binge watching a tv show in two days.... this because my self control is close to none whereas cliffhangers are concerned.

So, in an attempt to post more here and to talk about other things than books, i have decided to create Saturday 4 Show which is basically going to be a top4 related to tv series (which sometimes (a lot of times) are to blame for me not reading).

This top4 was created by me and I invite you all to participate and link me your blogs in the comments so I can check your tops!

This week it's "Female Characters I love", those characters that make me say "man, I wish I was like her when I grow up" so from my favorite of favorites (I reaaaaaaally want to be like her) to my least of favorites (I kind of want to be like her), I present you my top 4:

1. Lagerther from the "Vikings"


Lagertha is the reason I created this challenge because I was watching an episode of Vikings and I was thinking "I just love you so much". And it's true! For me Lagertha is sugar, spice and everything nice because she is independent and she knows what she wants and runs to get it. Nobody messes up with her! She is one of the most famous shieldmaidens and she kicked her husband's ass when he cheated on her (You go girl!!!!!). What I love the most is that she doesn't let feelings get in the way of what she needs to do and for me, there is this thing where she still likes her ex-husband but she can live perfectly without him. She suffers but at the same time she makes suffering her bitch.

Simply put, Lagertha to Queen of the World!

2. Claudine from "Versailles"
 (source)

Okay so you are probably done with me talking about my new favorite series "Versailles" but I can't help but adore it! Well, Claudine is a female doctor in Versailles and if you haven't watched the series but plan to do it, I warn you that in the next few lines there are some ******SPOILERS******....so, now that you've been warned: this characters is a 2nd in my list because I love her determination and how she stands up to discrimination against female doctors, and she goes as far as opposing her own father. I think it's quite "funny" (not really) how a man who knows medicine and anatomy is considered a doctor but a woman who knows medicine and anatomy is considered a witch. Our buddy Claudine, here, ends up saving the Queen in the first couple episodes and Louis XIV, who was clearly ahead of his time, elects Claudine to be the officially doctor of his court. You go girl, destroying steryotypes!

3. Claire from "Outlander"


 Are you sensing a certain pattern of historical series here? Well....yeah. Claire Frase is the main character in Outlander which is simply my favorite show of all times (and that I deeply reccomend!). She is a time travelled and she goes from 1945 to 17-something where she finds herself in the middle of a civil war and instead of whining and crying about it she uses her fantastic brain to find a way out. She is bold, strong, confident and brisk and she is so cool, the top of the top of the top that she ends up with the top lad in Scotland: Jamie Fraser. A lot of people would say Jamie is the main character but, for me, Claire is just point of the show (or well, obviously Jamie plays an important part) and she is the Queen of both 1945 and 17-something.

4. Raven from "The 100"
 (source)

So, I used to love this show and then not as much but one of the reasons why I keep watching this show is Raven! She is an engineer and she isn't affraid to show her value and to be arrogant because she is just that good. At a point in the story, her leg gets aparalyzed but she doesn't let that fact stop her from doing what she wants to do, with more or less difficult, with more or less pain, she just kicks ass. Raven appears in this list because she can always overcome a problem and she is a cupcake so she deserves the best success in this unfortunate show!


And that is that! These are my top4 ladies. Next week I bring you:..... my top4 villains! mwuahah