TMST: Authors for Dinner

No, I'm not eating writers...but I am talking about which ones I'd like to have over for dinner. This week's Tell Me Something Tuesday question is "If you hosted a dinner for authors, who are the six authors you would invite (alive or deceased)?" Thanks so much to Rainy Day Ramblings, who hosts these fun discussions. I can't wait to hear who you all come up with!
For my personal list, I didn't necessarily pick my favourite authors (although some of them are), but instead I picked people I would be interested to have discussions with for various reasons. I've tried to include some of the reasons why I think they'd be fun to sit down with.

1) Ann Radcliffe
- one of the first Gothic writers, and a woman
- an inspiration for many works, and she was popular throughout her life and after her death

TTT: Books I Read Because of Their Adaptations

Thanks to That Artsy Reader Girl, this week's Top Ten Tuesday is a "Page to Screen Freebie (Books that became movies/TV shows, movies that became books, great adaptations, bad ones, books you need to read before watching their movie/TV show, movies you loved based on books you hated or vice versa, books you want to read because you saw the movie or vice versa, etc.)". So for me, I wanted to do books that I read because I had seen, and enjoyed the movie. Enjoy!

Pride and Prejudice
I remember my mom watching this one day, and I curled up in front of the television with her to watch it as well. She had to explain several things to me, but I ended up falling in love with the story. It's been a favourite ever since, and I knew I had to read the book. It was maybe the third or fourth Austen book that I read, but it was the first one I was exposed to. Favourite version: 1995 with Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth

Wuthering Heights
I would definitely say that this was my introduction to Gothic movies and literature. This was something my mom and I would watch at like 1:00 in the morning when we couldn't sleep, and honestly that is the best time to watch it. It is dark and obsessive, and just plain wonderful. I didn't read it until many years later, but my love for the movie was certainly why I picked it up. Favourite version: 1992 with Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche

Outlander
For all of you who know my love of period dramas, it should be no surprise that Outlander appealed to me instantly since it takes place in two historically important periods. I watched the first episode knowing almost nothing more than a wartime combat nurse and science fiction time travel, and was really interested. I missed the next few episodes (insert long, unimportant story here...) and then learned that one of my best friends had actually been reading the series for a while and also loved the show. I just recently finished the fourth book myself.

The Hunger Games
The same friend who loves Outlander also took me to see The Hunger Games, and loaned me her copies of the books. In all honesty, I think I might have started the first book before seeing the movie, but I don't remember...and I at least started reading them because the movie was out.

TTT: Rainy Day Reads

Since I suggested this topic, I figure I have to do it, right? Haha, no I'm super excited that one of my suggestions was picked for this week's Top Ten Tuesday hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This one is perfect for April, since it's spring and generally full of rain. So, whether it's books that fit the rainy or stormy mood, or ones that cheer you up out of a weather slump, there are lots of good options for this topic.

Where I'm concerned, I generally gravitate to either one of two types of books when it's all sombre and rainy out: Dark/Gothic, or Sweet and Lovely. With that in mind, my list is going to be split between the two types this week! So, here we go:

Dark/Gothic

1) The Tennant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë

2) Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

3) Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier

4) The Infernal Devices series by Cassandra Clare

5) Vampire Knight manga by Matsuri Hino

6) The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

YA in Review: A Great and Terrible Beauty (Libba Bray)

This post will essentially be Spoiler Free, however comments by other users may possibly contain information that spoils portions of the plot, so read at them your own risk. This book is the eleventh one that I've completed for my 2018 TBR Challenge. One more to go!

libbabray.com

What it's about:

After the mysterious death of her mother, Gemma Doyle is whisked away from her home in India to the one place she has always desired to go - London, England. Immediately enrolled in Spence Academy boarding school, Gemma starts having strange and terrifying visions that she can't control. As Gemma learns more about what is happening to her, she discovers that her world is not exactly as she thought it was - that evil is lurking...and wants to find her desperately.

Rebecca (Daphne Du Maurier)

Need a Gothic novel that will keep you reading into the wee hours of the morning? Look no further than...

Hands-down one of the best books I've read in years, Rebecca is a Gothic novel written in 1938 by Daphne du Maurier. It is one of those novels that tells you everything and nothing in a single instant, and is a perfect study of jealousy, loyalty, and desperation. I went into this book knowing essentially nothing about it, just desperately needing to pick up a book that wasn't excessively long to get me through a few weeks.

What it's about:

A young woman, orphaned and unsure of herself is working as a companion to an American woman, Mrs. Van Hopper, for a living. Whilst on vacation in Monte Carlo, she meets the older widower, Maxim de Winter, the wealthy owner of the Manderley estate. The two form a friendship which quickly develops into more. When Maxim whisks her away from her mundane life back to his home at Manderley, she is haunted by the memory of his previous wife. Will she ever learn to escape the shadow of the beautiful, and beloved Rebecca?

Period Dramas: Fingersmith

Based on the Victorian crime novel of the same name by Sarah Waters, Fingersmith was turned into a mini-series in 2005. Filled with twists and turns that you won't see coming, it's a fun new addition to period drama that definitely breaks the mold.

www.bbc.co.uk

What It's About:

Sue Trinder is a Fingersmith - a thief living in the slums of London under the care of Mrs. Sucksby. Mrs. Sucksby, who takes care of unwanted and abandoned babies, is the closest thing that Sue has had to a mother since her own was hanged for murder. When Mrs. Sucksby's friend Gentleman appears one evening, and tells them of a scheme - and how if Sue helps him, he will give her £2000, it almost seems too tempting to resist. Yet Sue has some reservations when Gentleman tells her he plans to swindle an heiress out of her money, until Mrs. Sucksby encourages the plan. So off Sue goes, becoming the maid to the meek and troubled Ms. Maud Lilly, and eventually her friend. But what Sue didn't anticipate, was how deeply her feelings would run - and how could she betray someone she cares about so much?