Here’s what the Adaptation staff has been consuming this month:
Staff Recommendations – July 2016
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Category Archives: Monthly Recommendations
Staff Recommendations – April 2016
The Adaptation staff has started reading quite a few books this month. Here’s what we thought:
Staff Recommendations – March 2016
Our March recommendations are a little late (blame Kendyl), but the Adaptation staff has a few ideas about what you should check out now that it’s April!
Staff Recommendations – December 2015
While the holidays kept the Adaptation staff pretty busy, we took a break from the crazy to indulge in some fun and recommend it to you!
Staff Recommendations – November 2015
Through the busy month of November, the Adaptation staff were still able to find some things to recommend to you.
Staff Recommendations – September 2015
The Adaptation staff were a little obsessive about things last month. We strongly recommend you check them out.
Staff Recommendations – August 2015
In August, the Adaptation staff have been keeping busy with these great shows and books!
Staff Recommendations – July 2015
The Adaptation staff are keeping cool indoors with these entertaining recommendations for July!
Staff Recommendations – June 2015
Here’s what the Adaptation staff have been up to in the month of June!
Staff Recommendations – May 2015
The Adaptation staff have some top-notch recommendations for you in the month of May!
Staff Recommendations – April 2015
April got the Adaptation staff back to its book-loving roots! What have you been reading?
Breaking Sky by Cori McCarthy
Breaking Sky is a Young-Adult, fast paced thriller about a pilot whose impulsive and sometimes erratic behavior is the only thing daring enough to save all the few things left in her war-wrecked world worth saving. The heroine would surely be categorized as a part-time villain, if we asked the other characters but it’s her gritty logic and flaws that make her such a real character that you can’t help but empathize with and eventual, even love. Breaking Sky is the second novel by Cori McCarthy, a West Michigan based writer (woot! woot!).
-Nicole
Backstrom, Thursdays at 9pm on FOX
This is a “sure to be cancelled” show, according to online reviewers, but I love it and everyone should catch it while they can and boost the ratings so that it might last! It stars Rainn Wilson as Everet Backstrom, a slob, bitter, borderline crazy detective. He has a pretty bad diet and poor general health choices and is a total dick, but he can get inside the mind of any type of person as he, along with his mismatched team, and sometimes his gay fence (thief/art dealer) of a roommate, Valentine, played by Thomas Dekker. It is a quirky show, where our “hero” is a bit of an anti-hero who makes mistakes and bends the rules and is truly HUMAN. It is not your more common, cut-and-dry procedural. The show is based on the character Evert Bäckström from a series of books written by Swedish author Leif G.W. Persson.
-Dorin
His Fair Assassin by Robin LaFever
I just finished reading a YA trilogy called His Fair Assassin, by Robin LaFever, which takes place in the French region of Brittany during the region’s fight to remain independent from France. It’s a historical fantasy, really, and incorporates an interpretation of the old Breton deities as they were absorbed into the Christian church as “Saints.” So the series mainly focuses around a convent of the old religion that is composed of the daughters of Mortain, who was the god of Death. And all the girls who are brought up in this convent are trained as assassins and sent out to serve his “will” during the political upheaval. It’s really entertaining and fascinating how the author intertwines the (interpreted) historical events with the plotline and the lives and faiths of each of the three girls who are the respective heroines of the books.
-Jess
Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit by Nahoko Nuehashi
I’m currently rereading Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit by Nahoko Nuehashi. Moribito tells the story of Balsa, a female bodyguard on a quest to redeem eight lives lost for her sake. She is a master at the spear and sword…and she needs all of her skills to protect her newest client: the Second Prince, Chagum. Chagum has been chosen as the vessel for the egg of the Water Spirit. Balsa must help him deliver the egg to the sea, or the entire country will face devastating droughts. Along the way, they are pursued not only by assassins sent by the emperor himself, but also by the terrifying egg-eating monster, Rarunga. At this point, I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve read this book, but it makes no difference—I love it all the same. It’s exciting and gripping and (at times) delightfully creepy. Just to warn you, though: the Rarunga just might give you a nightmare or two…in a good way.
-Jenn
That’s it for us this month, but be sure to leave your own recommendations in the comments!
Staff Recommendations – March 2015
Television is in the air this March and the Adaptation staff have been watching these killer shows. What have you been up to?
W.I.T.C.H., concluded after Part XI
For March, I have been rewatching (for about the 100th time) the animated TV series W.I.T.C.H. Yes, I said animated–don’t judge me. It is based on an Italian comic book series of the same name, and it is one of my all-time favorite cartoons. W.I.T.C.H. is about five teenage girls–Will, Irma, Taranee, Cornelia, and Hay Lin–who are chosen to be the new guardians of the Veil, which is a magical barrier separating Earth from the evil land of Meridian. As guardians, they gain powers over the five elements so that they can protect the universe from evil forces. It’s a really good series that can appeal to audiences of all ages; it’s funny–really funny, sometimes–and it has a great diverse cast of characters. Plus, the voice actors for these characters are probably among the best I’ve ever heard–they really make the characters come alive!
-Jenn
Grantchester, concluded after Series 1
Grantchester is a detective drama set in a 1950s Cambridgeshire village of Grantchester near Cambridge, where local Anglican vicar Sidney Chambers (James Norton) develops a sideline in sleuthing—with the initially reluctant help of grumpy Detective Inspector Geordie Keating (Robson Green). The series is based on The Grantchester Mysteries books written by James Runcie. Series 1 is based on stories from the first book in the series Sidney Chambers and the Shadow of Death. It is griping, full of great characters and plots and everything you would hope for in a Masterpiece Mystery (BBC show), in a world where the wounds WWII are still fresh and it is hard to find their way back in a ‘normal’ world.
-Dorin
Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Season 3 starting this fall
I have finished Season 1 of Brooklyn Nine-Nine and am caught up with season two, waiting patiently for each weekly episode. Guys, this one is one of the funniest new sitcoms I have watched for a while. It tells of a police precinct in Brooklyn with some hilarious and interesting characters. The steadfast and straight-laced police chief who never smiles but delivers the funniest lines with a perfectly straight face, the constantly wisecracking detective, the big, buff but tenderhearted Assistant Chief…seriously, it’s hilarious. In fact, Andy Samburg, who plays Detective Peralta (the lead guy) just won an award for best actor in a sitcom because of this role.
-Jess
That’s it for us this month, but be sure to leave your own recommendations in the comments!
Staff Recommendations – February 2015
The Adaptation staff have spent their February with these lovely characters. How about you?
The World of Ice & Fire by George RR Martin
I’ve heard a lot of people say that there isn’t a lot of information in The World of Ice & Fire that you can’t get from the books, but despite the fact that there is a lot that we already knew, the book was worth buying for the extra information you do get, the excellent art work and the ability to have all the bits and pieces of this complex world all in one place. You could definitely just use it as a reference guide, but I sat down and read it cover to cover, not putting it down for days.
-Ryan
The Librarians, season 2 starting later this year on TNT
The Librarians started out as a series of TV movies, 10 years ago on TNT, about a “professional student” Flynn (played by Noah Wyle), who is hired as a librarian. The library is full of magical artifacts much too dangerous to be out in the world, and the librarian (there is only one) is the only person who can seek out and secure them. Since then they have made novelizations, comic books, and most recently a TV series that changes the game.
In the new series, the librarian (still Noah Wyle) finds that other librarian candidates who were not hired, are being hunted. He and his Guardian, Eve (played by Rebecca Romijn) go round up a three of the last candidates, played by Christian Kane, Lindy Booth, and John Kim. In the process the library is infiltrated and lost which sets the series off where Flynn decides to change the rules and have more librarians to fight the small magical disruptions, while he himself finds a way to recover the library. He leaves the new librarians in Eve’s capable hands and with the Library Annex and its caretaker, Jenkins (played by John Laroquette) only to appear when real danger is near. The whole franchise is a wonderful roller coaster ride.
-Dorin
Roswell, ended after 3 seasons
I’ve recently been rewatching Roswell, which is the epitome of 90s teen supernatural romantic dramas. The story focuses on a group of teens in Roswell, New Mexico a touristy town that plays on the 1947 UFO “crash” by having alien themed restaurants and a UFO museum. The series kicks off with a shooting in the local Crashdown Cafe that almost kills Liz Parker, until she is saved by secret teenage alien Max Evans. Yes, it’s cheesy as hell and tons of fun to watch. In fact, we’ve even created a drinking game.
1) Drink every time someone moodily (read: creepily) looks at someone else through a window.
2) Drink every time the weather symbolizes someone’s emotions.
3) Drink every time an alien and a human have to talk about how they can’t be together because they are just. too. different.
So you over-21s, drink up! And you under 21s? Just get some friends together and have a blast watching, laughing and eventually getting way too emotionally involved with these characters. By season 2, you’ll be crying when they cry.
-Kendyl
That’s it for us this month, but be sure to leave your own recommendations in the comments!
Staff Recommendations – January 2015
The Adaptation staff have started the new year off right with these recommendations for January! What have you been into this month?
Void by Rhiannon Lassiter
I have been reading through Void, which is a compilation of three novels published in the 90s. The first one is called Hex, and I’ve just finished that one. The basic premise is about a dystopia future where certain people – called Hexes – are being rounded up and exterminated because they have special abilities to control technology. It’s almost a psychic connection with the World Wide Web. Anyway, one of these is a particularly gifted Hex named Raven, and she and her brother are on a search for their younger sister, who was separated from them years ago and who may or may not have just come on the government’s radar as being a Hex herself.
-Jess
Agent Carter, Tuesdays on ABC
I have to recommend Agent Carter! I didn’t really get into Agents of S.H.E.I.L.D. sadly, but I knew I would love this. It’s fab, so good. She’s a fabulous powerful woman who uses the sexist norm of the 40’s against all the men. I love it. And, and, AND! Holy crap Chad Michael Murray! I did not recognize him for so long, they styled him so well, and he is suited to this part so well. So many good people in this show and I was hooked by first episode.
-Dorin
Fledgling by Octavia Butler
I’m reading Octavia Buterly’s Fledgling, it’s a novel about Shori genetically altered part human (African American) vampire. An attack on her human/vampire compound leaves her badly injured, without her memory and the only survivor. I read a portion of this I college and now I started from the beginning again, but this book lives in grey areas so I’m having mixed feels.
-Nicole
The Princess and the Queen by George R. R. Martin
A short story from the A Song of Ice and Fire universe, this story is part of an anthology called Dangerous Woman edited by George R. R. Martin. When King Viserys dies, he leaves a daughter, Princess Rhaenyra, from his first marriage and a son, Price Aegon from his second. The queen wishes her son to take the throne, but as his first born Princess Rhaenyra feels it is her birth right, resulting in a civil war between the Targaryens that results in the supposed extinction of the dragons. The story has great background information for Targaryen fans and is pretty fast-paced for Martin’s normal writing style.
-Ryan
Cutthroat Kitchen, Season 7 starts February 15th on the Food Network
Being a rather busy bee, I’ve been watching a lot of shows that I don’t have to focus all my attention on. Unfortunately, although I don’t have to watch every second of Cutthroat Kitchen, I always end up wanting to anyway. Hosted by Alton Brown, four chefs are eliminated in three rounds, each with its own theme, like they all have to make chili or muffins or sausage. They each start with $25,000 and every round several things are auctioned off to them that will either make it easier for the winner or harder for their opponents. For example, they can take away the privilege of using a muffin pan or be the only one allowed to use a sausage stuffer. It’s pretty entertaining to watch the chefs screw each other over and really interesting to see how they get around the obstacles.
-Kendyl
That’s it for us this month, but be sure to leave your own recommendations in the comments!
Staff Recommendations – December 2014
The Adaptation staff have been relaxing over the holidays with the following. How about you?
Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
My recommendation is Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. It’s a comedy about the apocalypse (yes, you read that right), and about an angel and a demon who are trying to stop it because they’ve come to like the earth too much. It is freakin’ hilarious, and for Supernatural fans out there, there is a demon called Crowley.
-Jess
Good Omens on BBC Radio 4
Capitalizing on Jess, my recommendation would be the BBC radio play of Good Omens starring the voices of Peter Serafinowicz and Mark Heap! Only 3 weeks left to listen to the first couple episodes. You can find all 6 episodes via this link!
-Dorin
Columbo, Concluded after 10 Seasons
I recently watched through some episodes of Columbo, which is an old police procedural series. It stars Peter Falk as Lieutenant Columbo, a seemingly bumbling police officer whose talent for observation is nothing short of Sherlockian. Each episode starts off the same: we as the viewers actually see how each crime–most likely a murder–is committed, and by whom, so there is always a sense of dramatic irony. The fun part, though, is seeing exactly how Columbo works out what we already know–which he inevitably does in the course of the episode. It’s a really interesting show, and pretty darn funny too, which is always a good thing.
-Jenn
Lost Girl, Sundays on Showcase
I just recently caught up on Lost Girl, which follows a succubus, Bo, as she navigates the world and rules of the Fae after not knowing what she was or how her powers worked for most of her life. The show is really great at pulling out really obscure faery myths for Bo and her friends to tangle with, and though there are a few characters that fall flat for me, the other ones completely make up for it. I got stuck at the end of season 3 for a while because I wasn’t entirely interested in what was happening, but watching season 4 showed me that it was a mistake to stop. I felt like the writers finally hit their stride and the end of the season had me openly sobbing several times. If you’re into kick-ass female characters, empowering female sexuality and weird mythological creatures, be sure to check it out! I’m off to start season 5!
-Kendyl
That’s it for us this month, but be sure to leave your own recommendations in the comments!
Staff Recommendations – November 2014
The Adaptation staff have some recommendations for you from their November exploits!
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Concluded after 1 Season
I’ve been watching through Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, starring Matthew Perry, Amanda Peet, Bradley Whitford, and many more. It’s a show about a sketch comedy show (think Saturday Night Live) that is in a bit of trouble in its prime-time slot. The executive producer had a bit of a meltdown on air, and the network is trying to recover from its downfall by bringing in the wonder team: new producer Danny and writer Matt, not to mention an ambitious and liberal new network president, Jordan. They’ve got their work cut out for them though, with a eclectic and opinionated cast and the media set against them! It’s a really clever and entertaining show. Set primarily as a drama, but with plenty of comedy thrown in, the characters are endearing and three-dimensional. I still can’t believe it was cancelled after only one season! It’s like Firefly all over again!
-Jess
Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier
For NaNOWriMo, I’m writing a fantasy story that is an adaptation and combination of two lesser-known fairy tales (as you can tell, I’m a sucker for this genre) and since I haven’t been able to read much this month, I figured I would recommend something I’ve read before that is similar to what I’ve been writing. One of my favorite adaptations that also combines multiple fairy tales into one story is Wildwood Dancing, by Juliet Marillier. This book takes and expands on the tale of The Twelve Dancing Princesses, told from the point of view of Jena, the second eldest of five princesses. Wildwood Dancing also successfully weaves in certain elements from The Frog Prince as well, in the guise of Jena’s constant amphibious companion, Gogu. For years on the full moon, Jena and her sisters–and Gogu–have been able to travel to the enchanted world of the Other Kingdom through a secret portal in their castle–a portal that only they know about. But their idyllic existence is threatened after their father falls ill and their controlling cousin, Cezar, is put in charge of their care. It’s a story of magic and love and trust and–you guessed it–‘once upon a times’ and ‘happily ever afters’. I guarantee that you will be hooked by this story within the first couple of pages. And if you don’t want your own Gogu by the end of it…well, then we’re clearly not reading the same book.
-Jenn
Constantine, Thursdays on NBC
I wasn’t sure about Constantine at first because I loved the film version with Keanu Reeves and Rachel Weisz and in the TV version Weisz’s character left after the first episode. Maybe we will see her again, but I don’t know. However, after allowing the show to progress with a new girl companion, who is clairvoyant and not as easily scared away, I have realized that it is an amazing show. Instead of Keanu’s own brand of snark, we get Matt Ryan, a Welsh actor, who gives us an even snarkier, “I work alone” type, smoking, drinking, guilt-ridden Liverpudlian (i.e. from Liverpool, England) and Master of- or as he likes to say “dabbler” in- the Dark Arts. He’s a bit of a sorry excuse for a man, but that’s why the character is so great! It has really great writing and lines that make you giggle in the middle of it all, much like Supernatural, and honestly, if you liked the film version with Keanu Reeves, you will LOVE this! And if you didn’t like the film, you will STILL LOVE this.
-Dorin
Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Tuesdays on ABC
So far this fall television season, the standout favorite for me has been Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., which is a bit of a surprise since last season I would only begrudgingly watch if I was caught up on all my other shows. But the show has really hit it’s stride now and I’m always eager to watch the new episode. Agents follows a team put together by Phil Coulson, of Marvel Cinematic Universe fame, as they track down advanced, often alien technology (and sometimes humans infused with the tech) to keep it out of the hands of those who are up to no good and protect humanity. The end of season 1 coincided with the events in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which (without spoiling) gave the team a whole new dynamic that has really worked in season 2. Coulson is simultaneously always good for a one-liner and to make you feel all the feelings, May is possibly the best kick-ass female character I’ve ever seen, and scientists Fitz and Simmons are awkward, fast-talking and brilliantly lovable. If you’re into Marvel, or just the MCU, I don’t know why you haven’t already been watching, but trust me, the world-building of having a show coincide with the films will make you giddy. And if you’re not into Marvel, this show will still appeal to you if you’re into action, weird alien tech and great characters.
-Kendyl
That’s it for us this month, but be sure to leave your own recommendations in the comments!
Staff Recommendations – October 2014
See what the Adaptation staff have been reading and watching in the month of October!
Hustle
I recently started watching a 2004 BBC show called Hustle, which is about a group of con artists in London, and each episode features a new and intricate sting. It’s fascinating, and you definitely have to pay close attention to what’s happening if you don’t want to miss anything. If you like the Ocean’s movies, you’ll love this show, too. It pits the characters in that awesome gray area where they’re criminals, but you root for them anyway. This is helped along by the fact that they usually target the rich, mighty and corrupt, so it’s satisfying to see the mark fall.
-Jess
Gotham
Gotham is a great twist on the classic Batman story. Following Detective James Gordan as he begins his career in the Gotham PD, he is put on the case of the murder of Thomas and Martha Wayne where he first meets Bruce and they form a friendship that acts as an origin story of sorts for Batman. Along the way, Gordon also comes up against the crime rings currently plaguing the city as well as future Batman villians like Selina Kyle and Oswald Cobblepot. We are so used to the super villains that are slightly outlandish characters (though we love those characters) and now we get to see a real Gotham with real corruption issues. I am thoroughly enjoying it!
-Dorin
Fables by Bill Willingham
I’ve been reading through the Fables comics published by Vertigo. This comic series features a slew of characters from fairy tales and fables who were forced to flee their homeland after being attacked by the mysterious villain, the Adversary. They take cover in New York City and form a clandestine community called Fabletown, where they live side-by-side with us normal, mundane people. The story arcs in this series are imaginative and diverse, including anything from murder mysteries to animal rebellions to prophecies–all involving fairy-tale characters who are perhaps not as familiar as we would expect.
-Jenn
From Dusk till Dawn: The Series
I watched From Dusk Til Dawn: The Series on Netflix, which is an extension of the film and comic franchise. It follows the Gecko brothers as they elude Texas Ranger Freddie Gonzalez and the FBI, commandeer an RV owned by the Fuller family and end up at a strip club full of vampires, where they have to fight for their lives- say it with me now- till dawn. That satisfied both my horror and hot guy quotas for the month (Wilmer Valderama = baby daddy, HOLLA).
-Sarah
Horns by Joe Hill
The only piece of non-Adaptation-related media that I’ve consumed this month was Horns by Joe Hill, which I reviewed for River Ram Press. So I’m going to be a little lame this month and just link you to that review here. But be sure to stick around the Adaptation blog because next week I’ll be reviewing the film counter-part to the novel starring Daniel Radcliffe.
-Kendyl
That’s it for us this month, but be sure to leave your own recommendations in the comments!
Staff Recommendations – September 2014
It’s time again for the Adaptation staff to tell you what they have been enjoying in the month of September!
Orphan Black
A fascinating sci-fi series about a streetwise girl (Sarah) who witnesses a woman commit suicide– a woman who happens to look just like her. So to escape issues in her own life, she takes the identity of her lookalike (Beth) and becomes embroiled in a situation she never saw coming. Turns out, there aren’t just two of them who could be twins–there a several across the world, genetic clones created in a secret experiment twenty years ago. And someone is systematically killing them off. The true highlight in this series is the actress who plays all the clones, Tatiana Maslany. She acts so well in the different personas, you forget it’s the same person!
-Jess
Sleepy Hallow
My mother was adamant that I binge watch the first season, so that I could watch up to date episodes of the second as it airs. She was right to do so. I wasn’t sure at first how I was going to feel about it, but I’m hooked. Ichobod Crane faced the headless horseman in the American Revolution, where both were slain. He then wakes up in a cave in present day, only to find that the Horseman has as well. So he teams up with a local policewoman whose Sheriff and friend, has just been beheaded by said horseman. As they solve these supernatural crimes, they come to realize that there is much more to them and to who the horseman really is and why he has returned. It seems that their fates had been entwined over two centuries ago. The second season just began Monday, September 22 at 9pm on Fox, and now that I have to wait a week between each episode, it’s frustrating because I just want to keep watching!
-Dorin
The Falling Kingdoms series by Morgan Rhodes
I recently finished reading the first two books- Falling Kingdoms, and Rebel Spring. The third book, Gathering Darkness, is supposed to come out December 9. These books rotate narration between characters from the three adjoining kingdoms of Auranos, Limeros, and Paelsia, as well as giving the point of view of the Watchers–the mysterious, immortal beings who–you guessed it–watch over everything that occurs. As with many books of this genre, this series is based around an ancient prophecy regarding a reborn sorceress and powerful items known as the Kindred which, when combined, could determine the fate of all three kingdoms. With such power up for grabs, all three nations get pulled into the conflict in different degrees, leading to tragedies and alliances on every side. While I (obviously) have yet to read the third book, the first two books are excellent. They are well written, and the story is absolutely fascinating. I can’t wait to read the third!
-Jenn
Can’t Buy Me Love (1987)
Remember that movie from 2003 with Nick Cannon? Love Don’t Cost a Thing? THIS is the original. High school nerd Ronald, played by a young Patrick Dempsey, works hard all summer to save up to buy a $1,000 telescope, but at the last second, his plans change. What he really wants is to be one of the popular kids and in an effort to do so, he offers cheerleader Cindy the money in exchange for a month of pretending to be his girlfriend. Unfortunately for Cindy, she has gotten herself in a bit of a jam and the money would fix it, so she agrees. But in order for Cindy to be seen with Ronald, he’s going to have to make some changes. And he does. By the time the month comes to an end, Ronald has adopted not only new clothes and mannerisms, but a new arrogant attitude. Maybe by now this story seems familiar, even over-done, but this film is so sweet, quirky and adorable that it is worth every minute (and I’m not just talking about Dempsey, who is priceless in this role).
-Kendyl
That’s it for us this month, but be sure to leave your own recommendations in the comments!
Staff Recommendations – August 2014
Welcome to our first monthly recommendations blog where the Adaptation staff tells you lovely readers what we’ve been loving in the month of August!
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
I just finished reading Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. It’s about an incredibly nerdy girl, Cath, in her first year at college (a girl after my own heart, actually). She suffers from severe social anxiety and agreed to go to college with her more sociable twin sister, Wren, only to have her twin disappear into a new social life, leaving her feeling alone and lost. Meanwhile, Cath retreats into her dorm room and a fictional world, writing fanfiction for her favorite Harry Potterish-book series until she slowly starts to emerge from her shell with the help of her aggressive, gruffly lovable roommate, Reagan, Reagan’s ex-boyfriend and Cath’s eventual love-interest, Levi (who’s also probably the friendliest and most sociable person I’ve ever read about), and her fiction-writing professor. It’s a fascinating read, and I felt like I could really relate to Cath throughout a lot of the book.
-Jess
Hell on Wheels
This TV series brings back that familiar love of cowboys and the wild-wild west, while expressing new ideas of the reality for those who built the first continental railroad and those who tried to stop them. A battle of races, cowboys vs. Native Americans and blacks vs. whites, as well as a battle of government persuasions that take place in the first frontier towns, complete with respectable whore houses and saloons for the tireless railroad workers. In a time when the new citizens of America are still recovering from the Civil War, old neighbors have to learn to put aside their old alliances of North VS South to unite and reestablish this developing country. Let’s just say there is nothing simple about this series and the sub-plots engage just as much as the plot of racing railroads. If you can handle gore and a series full of handsome cowboys and Native Americans, what are you waiting for?
-Kristin
How To Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell
I’ve been listening to the How to Train Your Dragon audiobooks, which is read by David Tennant, and I just finished book 6, A Hero’s Guide to Deadly Dragons. This series tells the ‘memoirs’ of the renowned Viking hero Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III from when he was just a teenager–and not at all what you’d expect a Viking hero to be like. Helping him along the way is his best friend, Fishlegs, and his hunting dragon, Toothless–who is the smallest, laziest, whiniest dragon, making him ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE. I would definitely recommend actually listening to the audiobooks for this one, rather than reading them. David Tennant is a wonderful narrator, and he really endears you to the characters.
-Jenn
Gilmore Girls
I just finished a complete rewatch of all seven seasons of Gilmore Girls and even though it was probably the fifth or sixth time around for some episodes, it was just as enjoyable as ever. The show focuses on Lorelei Gilmore who left her upper-crust, blue blood Connecticut family when she had a baby at 16 and refused to follow the path her parents set out for her. Now she lives in a quirky small town with her 16 year-old daughter, Rory, who has inherited her mother’s coffee addiction as well as her ability to talk a mile a minute throw out even the most niche of pop culture references. In addition to these two admirable characters, Stars Hollow is populated with a host of other lovable, occasionally insane characters from gruff diner-owners and power-mad town leaders to sarcastic Frenchmen and former Broadway dancers. Gilmore Girls is funny, charming and inconspicuously heart-felt.
-Kendyl
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