Favorite TV Shows

The other day, I made a list of movies I go to when I need a pick me up. When movies don't cut it, I go to certain TV shows to help. Here is that list of shows that do just that.

1. Longmire
2. White Collar
3. Jericho
4. Fuller House
5. Full House
6. Home Improvement
7. Psych
8. Chuck
9. The Cosby Show
10. I Love Lucy
11. Merlin
12. Family Ties

Three Favorite Movie Characters

Yesterday, I made a list of my go to movies when I need a pick me up. There's a reason these shows made the list as some of my favorites. The plot lines of each movie is defiantly a factor, but another reason is the character development throughout the movie. Here are three of my favorite characters, the movie they're from, and why they're my favorite.

• Garrett from Quest for Camelot
• Garrett is the blind companion that Kayley meets on her quest to save her mother and the kingdom from the evil Ruber. Garrett was blinded by horses who were escaping from a fire at the royal stables in Camelot. After that, he went to live in the forest as a hermit. That's how and where Kayley met him. Despite having been scared in more ways than one by the people in Camelot when he was a child, he went back to save the same people. He also showed Kayley how to believe in herself, which helped her to save the day in the end.
• Millie from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
• Millie is the woman that the eldest brother, Adam, married when he went to town looking for a wife. She did this knowing nothing other than the mans name and that he lives up in the mountains above the town where she is working. The reason she's one of my favorites is because she stuck it out and practically civilized seven men single handed. Yes, she has the help of six other girls for the younger guys, but the only reason the younger guys got their girls was because Millie made them behave and act like gentlemen instead of like the juvenile adolescence the were acting like.
• Jack "Cowboy" Kelly from Newsies
• Anyone who knows of this movie knows that the original movie wasn't the best movie. BUT, if you watch the Broadway movie, you will find that it is much better than the original. All in all, the character of Cowboy is one to be admired. He has quite the long list of boys who depend on him to lead them. When the price for their papers rises, he leads the boys in a strike and has to keep the moral up when one of their own is kidnapped and hidden away. Through all of that, he figures out why Pulitzer is out to get him and confronts him. Jack's character is shown to be a young scared boy who is doing the best he can in the situation he's been thrown into.

Favorite Movies

Yesterday, I gave you a rather long list of movies and TV shows I watch on a regular basis. But did I mention which movies are my favorite to watch? Here is a list of movies that I tend to go to whenever I need a pick me up.

1. Polly
2. Polly Comin' Home
3. Balto
4. Newsies. The Broadway Musical
5. The Prince of Egypt
6. Fiddler on the Roof
7. West Side Story
8. Tuck Everlasting
9. The Great Race
10. Quest for Camelot
11. The Phantom of the Opera. The 25th Anniversary Performance.
12. On the Town
13. Anchors Aweigh
14. Brigadoon
15. Singing in the Rain
16. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

Favorite Places to Binge Watch Movies and TV Shows

In this day and age, many people have at least one online video streaming account. I am no exception to that stereo type. Not only do I have an account on one, but three separate accounts. For each site, I have certain shows and movies that I watch exclusively on that site. When the site no longer has a certain movie or show, I buy it on DVD and watch it.

Here is a list of what I watch and on what site I watch it. I've also included a list of my DVD collection just so you have a reference as to my likes. These lists are not complete, but this gives you a good indication of my movie and tv show knowledge. Keep in mind, these are the shows and movies that I have watched at least one time all the way through from beginning to end.

Netflix

1. Movies
1. Beauty and the Beast (2017)
2. Outlaw King
3. The Flintstones (1994)
4. Becoming Jane
5. Shrek
6. A Cinderella Story
7. Despicable Me 1, 2, and 3
8. Sing
9. Pocahontas
10. Hercules
11. Tarzan
12. Baby Boss
13. Guardians of the Galaxy VOL. 1 & 2
14. Balto
15. Atlantis
16. Newsies. The Broadway Musical
17. All of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies
18. The Grinch
19. Hoodwinked
2. TV Shows
1. The 100
2. Cheers
3. Friends
4. Arrow
5. The Flash
6. Supergirl
7. Legends of Tomorrow
8. The Last Kingdom
9. Doc Martin
10. Frontier
11. The Shannara Chronicles
12. Hawaii Five-O (Newer series)
13. Longmire
14. White Collar
15. Once Upon a Time
16. Fuller House
17. Stranger Things
18. Jericho
19. The Mysteries of Laura
20. Heart of Dixie
21. Dark Matter
22. Beauty and the Beast (2016)

Hulu

1. Movies
1. The Swan Princess
2. Holiday in Handcuffs
3. Centurion
4. The Prince of Egypt
2. TV Shows
1. Full House
2. Home Improvement
3. Timeless
4. The Librarians
5. Boy Meets World
6. The Rookie
7. Manifest
8. Quantum Leap
9. Seinfeld
10. The Golden Girls

Amazon Prime Video

1. Movies
1. Regarding Henry
2. Fiddler on the Roof
3. Return to Me
4. Dancers
5. The Last Samurai
6. Tuck Everlasting
7. Gnomeo and Juliet
2. TV Shows
1. Poldark
2. Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman
3. Psych
4. Grimm
5. The Cosby Show
6. Monk
7. Bones
8. ABC's Beauty and the Beast
9. I Love Lucy
10. Defiance
11. Chuck
12. House

DVD

1. Movies
1. The Moon-Spinners
2. Mighty Joe Young
3. Picture Perfect
4. The Great Race
5. It Takes Two (Olsen Twins)
6. Behind the Waterfall
7. The Giant of Thunder Mountain
8. An American Tail Trilogy
9. Cinderella - 2015
10. The Mighty
11. Honey, I shrunk the Kids
12. Honey, I Blew Up the Kid
13. Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves
14. That Darn Cat
15. Now you see him, Now you don't (Kirt Russell)
16. The Strongest Man in the World
17. The computer Who Wore Tennis Shoes
18. The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit
19. Coyote Summer
20. Barbie as the Nutcracker
21. Barbie as Rapunzel
22. Fairytopia
23. Barbie as the 12 Dancing Princesses
24. Barbie as the Island Princess
25. Magic of the Rainbow
26. Barbie and the Diamond Castle
27. Mariposa
28. Barbie in a Christmas Carol
29. Mariposa and the Fairy Princess
30. All 14 Land Before Time Movies
31. Polly
32. Polly Comin' Home
33. Quest for Camelot
34. Les Mis
35. The Phantom of the Opera, the 25th Anniversary Performance
36. Cinderella (with Brandy, Whitney Huston, and Whoopi Goldberg)
37. The Unsinkable Molly Brown
38. Cathy Rigsby's Peter Pan
39. West Side Story
40. Ester and the King
41. David and Goliath
42. Annie (Victor Garber)
43. Cats
44. On the Town
45. Brigadoon
46. An American in Paris
47. Anchors Aweigh
48. The Harvey Girls
49. For Me and My Gal
50. Summer Stock
51. In the Good Old Summertime
52. The Band Wagon
53. Meet Me in St. Louis
54. Singin' in the Rain
55. Easter Parade
56. Show Boat
57. Annie Get Your Gun
58. Kiss Me Kate
59. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
60. Australia
61. The Librarian Trilogy
62. The Mummy Trilogy
63. Back to the Future Trilogy
64. All Four of the Indiana Jones Movies
65. Jurassic Park #1
66. The Count of Monte Cristo
67. The Man in the Iron Mask
68. Me Before You
69. The Young Victoria
70. Gigi
71. Mrs. Miniver
72. Casablanca
73. Planet of the Apes Legacy (the original movie series)
2. TV Shows
1. Family Ties
2. Merlin
3. Spartacus
4. Fraiser
5. Numbers
6. Robin Hood
7. The Mentalist
8. BBC Sherlock
9. The Young Riders
10. Around the World in 80 Days (Pierce Brosnan)

My "To Read" List

This week, I've been talking about books. All of those books I've read multiple times and have fallen in love with. It's great to talk about books I love and have read multiple times, but what am I doing about expanding my list of books read? Here is my list of books I'm either currently reading or want to read in the near future.

1. The Shadow Throne. This is book #3 of The Ascendance Trilogy.
2. Robin and the King. This is the sequal to Sherwood.
3. The Count of Monte Cristo
4. The Shannara Chronicles: The Elfstones of Shannara
5. The Shannara Chronicles: The Wishsong of Shannara
6. The Sword of Shannara
7. The First King of Shannara
8. The Fall of Shannara: The Black Elfstone
9. Extraordinary
10. The Necklace
11. Chiveis Trilogy
12. Hunting Prince Dracula
13. Stalking Jack the Ripper

Five Books Everyone Should Read

Over the last few days, I've listed several books that have made my list of favorites for the plot and other books for the characters who've made my favorites list. I decided that it's probably a good idea to give a list of books I'd recommend that I haven't mentioned within the last few days.

• The Ascendance Trilogy by Jennifer Nielsen
• I mentioned this trilogy in my post about my favorite characters. I just started the third book in the series and I am loving it so far! I defiantly recommend this series to young men who probably don't enjoy reading very much. This trilogy deals with a 14 year-old boy, Sage, who is trying to figure out why he was chosen to become a replacement prince in one of the nearby kingdoms.
• Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne
• There are many different adventure stories out there, but this one is a classic. This story is about a British gentleman who makes a wager with other British gentlemen about how long it will take him to circumnavigate the globe. The bet he made was that he could do it in 80 days. He employs his new French butler to join him and they go on an adventure of a lifetime! People who would best enjoy this book would be those who can keep up with writing that consists of many complex sentences with a large vocabulary. Regardless of whether or not you read the abridged or unabridged version of this book, you will enjoy the adventure.
• Sherwood by Parke Godwin
• How many people love the story of Robin Hood? I certainly fall into that category. This book retells how Robin became Robin Hood. His relationships with the people on his land, Marian, and his arch enemy are all told here in this book. I highly recommend this to people who are looking for more detail into the story. (Hint, it also has a sequal that I am looking forward to reading)
• Love Come Softly Series by Janette Oak
• This is a Christian series of a family who lives in the Wild West in the 1800's. It starts with a woman who's husband is killed when he fell off a horse and hit his head on a rock. She marries a widower to help him raise his daughter over the winter. In return, he'll pay for her way back east to her family. In the end of the first book, she ends up staying because she found out that love comes softly. The rest of the series follows this new couple and their children throughout the years.
• Echoes From The Edge Trilogy by Bryan Davis
• This is a trilogy that will satisfy anyone's sci-fi itch. These three books follow a young musical prodigy as he tries to figure why his parents, an investigator and a world renown violinist, are murdered. He thinks it has something to do with his fathers last case. He's left with a mirror and the notes his father had collected, from there he goes on an adventure of a lifetime to find out exactly what's going on.
• This trilogy held my attention until the end. I've never read books like this, which made my curiosity spike all the more as to how the story would end.

Three Favorite Book Characters

As a lover of books, I have several characters who have made it difficult for me not to fall in love with them. As someone who is working towards becoming a author, I admire how well the authors developed the characters to be loved by so many people, not just myself. Remember, this is not an exclusive list, but it is one filled with good characters.

• Samwise Gamgee from Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings
• When I first read The Lord of the Rings, I fell in love with Sam. He was the one character who had to go through many trials, but proved time and time again that he was a trustworthy friend and a 'man' of integrity.
• Think about it, Sam had many opportunities to turn back, leave Frodo, take the ring for himself, and just give up. Not to mention Frodo actually sent him away towards the end. But through all of the temptations he faced, he stayed at Frodo's side and never gave up on helping him finish what he started, no matter how hard it was for him; and he never showed how hard it truly was for him until the very end. After the ring was destroyed, he actually let Frodo in to see the type of hobbit he is. His desires for what he wanted in life were much different than always being at Frodo's beck and call, yet he stayed loyal and true.
• Sage from The False Prince
• Sage is from a book series I'm currently reading. The False Prince is the first of  The Ascendance Trilogy by Jennifer Nielsen. Sage is a 14 year-old boy who lives on the streets as a thief. He's smart and very talented. So far, throughout the series, he's proven himself to be very resourceful and a great leader. I have yet to finish the books, so I won't give away anything else other than to recommend you read these books as well. I'm thoroughly enjoying the series so far.
• Puddleglum from Lewis' The Silver Chair
• This might be a strange choice of favorite character, but it's true. Let me back up a little. Of all seven books in Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia, my favorite book is The Silver Chair. It has the elements of mystery and adventure that I've always loved. Now, speed back up to where I started. Of all of the characters in this book, my favorite is Puddleglum the Marsh-Wiggle.
• Puddleglum is a glass-half-empty type of guy. He's always giving a sort of negative spin on the events of the adventure. Now you may be wondering why I'd choose a johnny rain-cloud character as one of my favorites. But think about the whole story and how he used his negativity as their journey progressed. His negativity pointed out what they had to lose at that part, but then he seems to turn the situation around and become brave and, in a way, save the day. At the end of the story, he actually proves his bravery and saves the two kids he's with for real; that's what makes him such a lovable character for me.

Favorite Book Series

While there are solo novels that can stand the test of time, there are book series that also stand the test of time. The books within the series can stand alone as pillars of the written community, but they also hold up other books to create a series that changes the way people see the world.

Below, you will find a list of series that have changed the way I have related to people and helped me to make friends I may not have made other ways. This list is by no means exclusive, but it is a good starting point if you'd like to make your reading list a bit longer.

• The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
• I'm not going to lie about this, the only reason I first read these books was in order to watch the movies. My dad loves these books and movies, which is a reason that I was interested in them as well. He told me, since I was such a book nerd at the time, that I had to read the trilogy and The Hobbit before I could watch any portion of the movies.
• I'm pretty sure I don't have to give an explanation about what these books are about.
• The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
• This book series was one that I read only because of the cartoon movie of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe which was released in 1979. After having watched the VHS (yes, I am that old), I happened to be looking at the books on the bookshelf and found the box series. Knowing I had the time to read all seven books, I started reading the first one of the series and have never looked back since. 
• Just so you know, I am one of those people who believe that the books should be read in chronological order, not publication order. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, just Google it.
• The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau
• If you don't already know, I was homeschooled K-12 along with my other siblings. Part of our school work included visiting the public library once a week. When my siblings and I were old enough, we got our own library card and checked out our own books. This helped us with responsibility and reading. On one of the days my siblings and I were looking through the Young Adult Fiction section, we came across the first of these book. I can't remember which one of us checked the book out first, but we soon all checked it out and read it.
• This series is all about an underground city called Ember. The first book is about two 14 year old kids, a boy and a girl, who are trying to figure out why their city is deteriorating and the electric lights are always going off. That's when they find out that they're underground. The rest of the series is about what happens after they figure everything out.
• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
• To be honest, this is another book series I read in order to watch the movies. My sister was the one who read it originally (her college roommate recommended it to her) and she told us all about this amazing new book series that was about to be made into movies. She shared her Kindle book with us and we all went to town reading it. We all fell in love with it and finished the first book before the movie originally came out. We made a sibling day of going to watch the movie in theaters.
• Of course, this is a series I hope I don't have to explain to my readers.
• Bonnets and Bugles by Gilbert Morris
• When I was younger, I wasn't much of a reader (I know, shocker). I was a quite the tomboy when I was in elementary school (being homeschooled allowed me to be outside a lot of the day during good weather). Most of my friends during this time were boys, so reading really wasn't something I did for recreation.
• My older sister actually tried to get me to read more by suggesting this series at the church library. When I finally cracked and started reading the books, I fell in love with reading about the kids who helped in the Civil War.
• The Adventures of Nathan T Riggins by Stephen Bly
• These books were another series in the church library that I checked out in middle school and early high school that helped me catch the reading bug.
• Nathan Riggins is a young teenager who is trying to figure out how to adjust to life in a small town in the Wild West. He finds a wolf and an Indian pony along the way of befriending several kids in town and the local Indians.
• The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner
• These books are some of the reasons I fell in love with reading. I remember back in elementary school (remember, I was homeschooled) when my siblings and I would sit around and take turns reading a chapter at a time of the first book of this series. When we finished the book, we would spend days upon weeks pretending that we were the kids in the book who were living in a boxcar to get away from the people who took us in.
• From there, my siblings and I would rush to the church library in order to check the next book of the series out before the others, that way we would be the first one to read ahead.

Favorite Books

As an English teacher, I have several books that I love to read. These are books that I always want my students to read and will jump at the chance to recommend to someone who needs something new to read. Granted, most, if not all, are classified as Young Adult novels, but that's part of my career. If I don't know these books inside and out, then my job would be nonexistent, at least nonexistent for me.

Here is a detailed list of the books that I go to at any moment with the reasoning I give each time.

• The Witch of Blackbird Pond
• When I started high school, one of the things I learned about in history was the Salem Witch Trials. This brought about a desire to read about what exactly could have gone on during that time in American History.
• This book, as I've hinted at above, is about a "witch" in Massachusetts. Her parents and grandfather have all died by the time she was sixteen. Our main character grew up in Barbados, therefore she grew up being able to swim well, whereas the people in the American colonies in the 1600's didn't swim if they weren't a sailor. Even then, the sailors didn't swim very well. This is why she's been called a witch. While learning to adapt to life with her aunt and uncle, she makes friends with a fellow "witch", an elderly woman named Hannah. Our protagonist has to figure out what's exactly expected of her in her new life and how to fit in with her new community and family.
• I recommend this book for two reasons. One, it deals with showing young women how to stand up for what they believe is right. Two, it show the reader how to be a good friend and family member in spite of extended family members and friends making it difficult.
• Mara, Daughter of the Nile
• How many of you went through a phase in your life where you were obsessed with Ancient Egypt? I for one went through several phases where I was obsessed with that time period. When I was in middle school, my mom found this book and gave it to me and my sisters to read as something to encourage our interest in this subject.
• This book is about a young girl named Mara who lives in Ancient Egypt during the 18th dynasty (1479-1425 BC). She ends up finding out a secret threat to the Pharaoh and has to figure out how to stop the people behind it while bringing it to the attention of the Pharaoh's security.
• I recommend this book to anyone who is an Egypt nerd AND a fan of mysteries. I always enjoy reading this book and am taken to another world with each read.
• Farewell to Manzanar
• I hadn't ever heard of this book until my senior year of college. I was doing an observation at a local high school with one of the English teachers there. They were reading a book on the days I was observing called Farewell to Manzanar. 
• This book is a autobiography of a Japanese-American woman who was taken to an interment camp during WWII. She wrote about what it was like to live there for two years and the aftermath of returning to the outside world of post-WWII America as a Japanese-American.
• I recommend this book because it opens my eyes to multiple lessons I can learn every single time I read it. Some of the lessons I always see deal with racism, prejudice, pride, and many others.
• To Kill a Mockingbird
• How many of you read this book in 10th grade English? Perhaps you read it in another English or history class while in high school. Or, you might have watched the movie starring Gregory Peck.
• This book is narrated from the perspective of a woman looking back on her life in a small county in Alabama in the 1930's during the Great Depression. Her father is one of the, most likely the only, town lawyers. He ends up representing an African American who was falsely accused of raping a white girl. The entire book talks about what life was like in the deep south during a time of great upheaval in our country. There's quite a bit of racism, prejudice, classism (i.e., the rich look down on the poor), people with disabilities are seen as inferior, etc. Our young narrator has to figure out what she actually believes and why.
• I recommend this book for the same reasons I recommend Farewell to Manzanar. This story deals with racism, prejudice, pride, and other issues that have arisen in this country over the last 100 years or more.