Tag Archives: Harry Potter

And Other Spooky Stories

Yesterday when my Husband called me to make sure I knew it was raining so I could open the windows, he also reminded me that this Friday would be the 13th. Personally I love Friday the 13th, but I know that a lot of people think it’s unlucky, and would much prefer to stay in. So if you have that opportunity, then I’d really recommend reading a book. I mean it would be just your luck that you’d get electrocuted turning on your DVR. Since Halloween is just around the corner, and Friday the 13th is a scary day for a lot of people anyway why not make that book a scary one?

I’ve decided to list out some of my favorite scary books that I completely recommend. There will be full reviews later. Most likely you can get these at your local library, or on nook or kindle if you really don’t want to go outside.

1. The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury

Really anything by Ray Bradbury, no one does Horror/Sci Fi like Bradbury. He is the king of creepy. Bonus: there was an episode of Criminal Minds based around the Illustrated Man

2. My Sweet Audrina by V.C. Andrews

If Bradbury is the King of Creepy, Andrews is the Queen of Demented. While not outright Horror, these books are scary, and straight up messed up.

3. Misery By Stephen King

I’m virturally 100% certain Stephen King has been called the Master Of Horror. I agree.

4. The Killing Edge by Heather Graham

Be careful which you pick up, she writes both Horror and Love Stories, I’m not a fan of the love stories, but the Horror are some of the best I’ve read. I adore her.

5. Video Kill by Joanne Fluke

Best known for her Hannah Swensen Series, Joanne Fluke does murder well.

That’s it for the Adult books, but I do have some YA books that fit into the Horror and Supernatural Category.

1. The Night World Series by L.J. Smith

These books are the right amount of Vampires, Witches and just a bit scary. Best known for The Vampire Diaries, L.J. Smith has some amazing Supernatural Fiction.

2. The Den Of Shadows Quartet by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

Barely older than me, Amelia Atwater-Rhodes publishes her first book at age 14, and they’re good.

3. The Wicked Series by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguié

Loved this series. So much that after finishing Witch in the first volume, I went back and bought the final two volumes in the set. There are 5 books in the series total, 2 in the first volume, 2 in the second and the third is the final book.

4. Fear Street Nights by R.L. Stine

I’ve been reading R.L. Stine since I was little and my grandmother much preferred me to be reading Sweet Valley High or Nancy Drew instead. While I liked those books (okay Loved Nancy Drew) nothing compared to the thrill I got from the Fear Street books.

5. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

This book (now a major motion picture) freaked me out. But more than this one, I recommend Alice Sebold’s Lucky. It’s the true story of her Rape and it’s aftermath. There is nothing scarier than reality, and that book made me afraid to go anywhere by myself at night for months.

Moving on to Childrens books. I don’t have as many of these as I do the others, I graduated from childrens books to YA completely by the time I was in 3rd grade. I actually read My Sweet Audrina in 1st grade (Boy was my mom pissed when she caught me putting it back on the shelves, then she was even madder when she found out at the end of our long conversation that her 1st grader fully understood what was had happened in such a dark and twisted book.) However these books are suitable for kids and will always hold a special place in my heart.

1. A Night In Terror Tower , Goosebumps Series by R.L. Stine

I adore Goosebumps, my 2nd grader is obsessed with the series right now, and not only are we absolutely devouring the books, but the series is on Netflix instant play. Know your kid before you hand these over though, even as an adult some of these still creep me out. My kid is all Ook and Spook, but if yours is more into faery-tales then these may not be for them

2. Grimms Faery-Tales by The Brothers Grimm

If you have the kind of kid that’s into Faery-Tales and you want something scary then this is the book for you. Bear in mind that this is not disney’s Cinderella and Snow White. Bad things happen in these books. Noses are pecked off, Bears eat people. These are the Originals.

3. Wait Til Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hann

I’ve mentioned this book before, I read this in 3rd grade and it is still my All Time Favorite book. Mary Downing Hann does Children’s Horror well, I recommend A Doll In The Garden and The Old Willis Place. I remember being warned that I would have nightmares, and my father had to call the school with the Hellraiser story (My mother put on Looney Toons for me when I was in Kindergarten, fell asleep and woke to find me laughing at pinhead. I still find him funny, a pin cushion is not a proper monster.)

Now for some Honorable Mentions:

The Mysterious Mr. Quinn by Agatha Christie
Bedlams Barde Series by Mercedes Lackey (And virtually everything else she wrote)
Dresdin File Series by Jim Butcher
Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan (Bonus this book was Banned from a lot of libraries, personally I don’t think any book ever should be banned. Especially not this one, it’s one of my childhood favorites, and I’d kill to have a copy of it now)
Encyclopedia of Vampires, Werewolves and Other Monsters by Rosemary Guiley
The Vampire Chonicles by Anne Rice
The Marbury Lens by Andrew Smith

And Last but not least the Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling, I don’t consider it horror, but my mother absolutely insisted it be included. When you think about it some absolutely terribly stuff happens to young Potter, and it certainly could be considered scary to some kids. Mostly I think it fits the Supernatural bill, but you might find it under action or adventure as well.

For more Horror Novel Recommendations I suggest you check out this video by Katie from Chapterstacks on Youtube.

What are some of your favorite Horror Novels?

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What I got for Christmas 2012

Today I decided to show you guys what I got for Christmas. Time for the Disclaimer: I’m not bragging, I’m just really excited about everything and wanted to show you guys, if you don’t like these kinds of posts then that’s your issue, personally I love reading/watching these kinds of things, and since there are a lot of them out there I figured I’m not the onliest one (I’ve been watching loads of Rugrats on Netflix with my son).

This isn’t everything I got but it is like 90% of it. I’m super happy and super grateful for everything that I got.

From my parents I got the Deborah Lippmann She’s Always A Woman which has My Prerogative, Putty In Your Hands and Raspberry Beret and a Harry Potter Tee Shirt. I’ve already had to wash the shirt twice I’ve worn it so much. My little brother bought me my two childhood favorite movies on DVD, which I’m really excited to watch. From my sister I got a spangly pen that has a lid that screws on instead of clicks which is awesome because I’ve been looking for a pen that I don’t have to worry about in my purse, and an m&m’s ornament (not pictured). My grandmother got me a Mulled Cider Candle set that smells amazing. And last but not least from members of my family my aunt Heather gave me a pumpkin cinnamon lotion from bath and body works that smells absolutely amazing.

My best friend O gave me the Harry Potter Boxed set that has all 8 movies, which I am insanely excited about because I haven’t even seen the last 2 yet. So I’m crazy excited to watch them all! Now I don’t have to rely on ABC Family for my The Harry Potter Weekends!

My son gave me a lovely necklace that has a heart and a key on it, and spiced Pumpkin Latte Philosophy Soap, he also gave me a fake rose (not pictured) because I love them but am allergic to real ones and the snuggliest socks ever (also not pictured).

Then from my Husband I got the Red Pajamas and Slippers, which per our tradtion he gave to me on Christmas Eve, the Victoria Secret Tote and perfume, lipgloss, lotion that was the promo this year, Lancôme‘s Flirty Red, a bunch of mini hand sanitizers from Bath and Body Works. He also gave me the best smelling candles from Bath and Body Works, London Calling which smells like tea and lemon and I may never burn it because it smells so good, and Moroccan Market which smells spicy and smokey. He also gave me Lancôme‘s Holiday Beauty Set the Champagne version I’ll insert a picture of everything at the end. And for my Big Present he got me an iPad and Kate Spade case for it which I’m absolutely in love with, and that is a big reason why this post is late. I’ve spent way to many hours playing the Brave version of Temple Run and Tiny Tower. I’m a bit ashamed that I’ve only been playing it again (I had it on my phone until it crashed and wouldn’t work again) for 3 days and I’m already to floor 17.

Inside the Lancôme gift set:

It has 3 eye shadows, 2 lipsticks, 2 lip glosses, eyeliner, 2 brushes, eye makeup remover, mascara, and a small Genifique Youth Activating Concentrate Serum.

I jused it for my makeup look on my husbands birthday and I’m absolutely in love.

That’s roughly everything I got for Christmas, and if you got me something and it’s not pictured or mentioned it just means I already put it way or to use, and I promise I’m just as grateful and thankful for that item as I am everything else I received.

On January first I’ll be starting a new project on my blog that I’ve mentioned I thought about before and am very excited for so come back then to see what that is. I hope you had a lovely Christmas and have a Safe but Fun New Years, and I’ll see you next year!

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Bonus blogmas: Christmas Day

I know Blogmas was meant to end on Christmas Eve, but since the posts for the past 2 days have been so short, I decided to throw in a bonus post.

I’m typing this out from my new iPad, which I’m super excited about. My husband got it for me so I could FaceTime with a close friend who unfortunately lives super far away (T and I miss you too much O!). Which I did as soon as she alerted me that she was up and about this morning. It was so good to see her, I can’t even tell you how much. Seriously this is the best Christmas present ever. Followed closely with the gift I got from O which is the complete years 1-7 Harry Potter DVDs, and my parents got me a Harry Potter tee shirt which I totally plan to wear with leggings while watching the movies. Lame I know but I adore the movies, the books, and the merchandise.

I’ll probably do a what I got for Christmas post soon, but I won’t promise it before the new year. I’m definitely going to be taking a few days off, and just hang out playing games and watching movies. Of course now that I said that, I’ll probably be back with a lengthy post soon.

Today was pretty perfect. since we did both family parties yesterday, we stayed in our christmas pjs all day (mine are of course Victoria’s Secret), had chili for dinner, and now were going to watch some Christmas specials. I hope you are all having a happy Christmas and that you spent these past few days with the people you love.

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Blogmas Day 3: Holiday Traditions

It’s Blogmas Day 3 and for today’s post I’ve decided to write about my family’s Christmas/Holiday Traditions. I am a huge fan of Traditions and doing things the way they’ve always been done. I’m not opposed to progress either. I support Gay Marriage wholeheartedly, but family Traditions, if they work, I think they should be kept.

Our Holiday Traditions start with putting up our Decorations on Black Friday. They start with putting up the tree, and the lights, running out for more lights and finishing with The Grinch. We always put it up in the same way with the most special ornaments going on the tree last.

Then the very next weekend my husband and I take our son our local mall. First we go to Macy’s to mail his letter to Santa and then we always buy one of the Yes Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus ornaments. Next we make a stop at the Angel Tree to pick out a child’s name to buy a present for. This is probably my favorite part of this Tradition, because then my son picks out a present for the other child, and I get warm fuzzy this is so adorable feelings. After all this is done we go see Santa for his pictures. Sometimes this gets down out of order, and depending on how people feel and how busy places are.

Another favorite Tradition I have is one that’s all my own. A few days before Christmas I stay up after everyone’s gone to bed and wrap presents and watch my favorite Christmas movies. This usually involves spiked eggnog and is usually done on a Friday so I can sleep in the next morning.

Somewhere in here is ABC Family’s Harry Potter Weekend, and when that comes around I cancel all my plans and curl up with my son to watch as many of the movies as we can cram in. I love Harry Potter and the first movie makes me feel so Christmas-y. I’ve watched this every year since the movies started coming out. Surprisingly I don’t own the movies. I really want them though and you can buy all 8 here for $33.

Then comes Christmas Eve and the pajama exchange. I love this, we’ve done this every single year since our son was born and it’s definitely my favorite. I love picking out different pajama’s for my son and husband and I love seeing the pajama’s my husband picked for me. It makes me feel warm and cozy to go to sleep in fresh pajamas and wake up on Christmas morning.

Another tradition from when I was growing up, that has held out and my family loves is the one where I fall in the tree every year. It always happens no matter how hard I try not too. Last year I even sorta caught it on video, fast forward to about the 8:30 mark, it happens soon after that. This has to do with how klutzy I am and somewhere along the way members of my family noticed it happening and started waiting for it.

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Emma Watson, Perks of Being a Wallflower

Today has been a lovely day. I slept in, went grocery shopping and I don’t know about you but there’s something about buying fresh organic vegetables and apple cider and Nylon, just because Emma Watson’s on the cover, that makes me insanely happy.

So first thing after putting my groceries away was curl up with my magazine. I have an insane amount of love and respect for Emma Watson, as a person, as an actress and as a fashion icon. I love that she says it took doing a movie like Perks to make her want to act. I adore that she wants to legitimately act and have substance behind her roles, rather than just be a prop to make the clothes look good in whatever film she’s in. I know that a lot of people judged her because she said she wasn’t sure if this was what she wanted to be doing anymore when she was on the promo tour for the final Potter film, but you do have to think that she was just sort of thrown into this very young and into a film series that was much bigger than I think any of the actors grasped at the time. It’s hard to be that famous that quickly, to not get to screw up all on your own with no one watching your every breath. I respect her that much more because this amazing script landed in her lap, and she made it happen. This story is epic, better yet infinite.

I’ll admit I haven’t seen the movie yet, but I’ve read the book. Many times, in fact. Because of that I can say that this isn’t a movie saying no one should bully anyone ever. This isn’t a happy easy teen flick where no one gets their heart broken and everything magic in the end. This is the story that say it’s okay to be different, and shows you how being different works out. Charlie is real, I read a review on the book that said they felt the characters were one dimensional. I couldn’t wrap my head around that, a story book character has never felt more real to me than Charlie. All I could think was the writer of that review was never one of those kids in high school. The writer of that review somehow either had it easy, or glorified their high school days, I don’t envy them either situation. Every moment of my life has given me a choice and it’s those choices that have made me who I am.

From what I’ve seen of the actors previous work, the film could not have been better cast, and Emma Watson as Sam is the most ingenious move that has ever been made. I don’t think she could have been better cast than if the actual Sam had stepped out of the book. If you’ve seen anything Emma’s ever been in, if you’ve read even a few chapters of the book then you know what I mean, she just fits. Her reluctance to be famous on the level America takes it’s actors too, and factoring in her lack of a normal teen experience, makes her the perfect fit for Sam.

The movie has just recently been released to a wider market and I can’t wait to find out if it’s in a Theater near me. If not I’m willing to travel a hour out of the way to see it. I think I’d feel like I failed if I didn’t see it.

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