Fangirl Fridays

Some of you are thinking to yourself right now, “I wonder what Missy and Jessica are Fan-girling out to this week.” 

Oh you’re not? Well, you are now. 

So we will tell you! You’re welcome. 

Check out our conversation below!

Or in this case we are tired and not really Fan Girling out about anything in particular this week so here is our attempt to do it… 

Missy: Catching Fire 

Missy: The woman that is playing Mags is perfect 

Jessica: yeah she’s adorable, I’m glad they cast Natalie Dormer she’s brilliant 

Missy: I love her in GoT 

Jessica: she’s great as Anne Boleyn in the Tudors 

Missy: not sure I like the casting of Julianne Moore 

Jessica: yeah me either, I think she looks too nice 

Missy: yeah she doesn’t fit with the franchise either 

Jessica: I always pictured Coin as dark 

Missy: I want her to be more gritty 

Jessica: me too! She’s basically just like President Snow 

Missy: yeah, I do like Phillip Seymour Hoffman because he can be equally creepy and heroic ya know 

Missy: and I love, love, love, Lenny Kravitz as Cinna he is perfect 

Jessica: hahaha his casting is old news 

Missy: well yeah but I am still applauding it, I mean he did great 

Jessica: indeed Missy: are you going to see the midnight premiere? 

Jessica: hell yeah I want to 

Missy: me too 

Missy: I still don’t like Liam Hemsworth. 

Jessica: well, for me it isn’t liking him so much as I don’t like the character he plays 

Missy: yeah, I don’t like either 

Missy: I guess he could be left out of both the movies and books and to me it would affect the story that much 

Jessica: well, if it wasn’t for him and his plan….prim wouldn’t have died 

Missy: asshat 

Jessica: and he went on the expedition to rescue Peeta 

Missy: yeah 

Missy: do you think people will dress up for the premiere 

Jessica: oh yeah people will def cosplay for the premiere 

Missy: is that the official term now? 

Missy: cosplay 

Jessica: yes, ma’am 

Missy: hum 

Jessica: stands for costume play 

Missy: are you going to cosplay for the premiere 

Jessica: no, cosplay is expensive!!!


We are weirdos. What are you fangirling over this week?!

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted for us book blogger types by the Broke and the Bookish. They provide a topic, and all of us participants post our answers on our blogs and we hop around checking out one another’s answers! This week’s topic is: 

Top Ten Most Memorable Secondary Characters

1. Fred & George Weasley from the Harry Potter series
Even before I started reading the books, these cheeky boys were my favorite characters.  Not to mention that the casting was near perfect in my opinion.

2. Isabella Linton from Wuthering Heights

She was whiny and self-serving (similar to Catherine) but she also managed to hold her own against Healthcliff.

3. The Woman in Black from The Awakening

This woman was a metaphor for the life without marriage during the time period of publication, and really helped exemplify to Edna what would eventually become her fate. 

4.  Felicity from the Gemma Doyle trilogy
She dared to be herself and love who she wanted in a time when it wasn’t accepted.  Sure she was a bit self-centered, but what Victorian girl wasn’t? 

5. Cade from Losing It 
I wanted so badly for Bliss to wake up and realize how in love Cade was and treat him better for it! He did get his own fantastic story in Faking It.

6. Cinna from The Hunger Games trilogy
He was the first to really help Katniss become the face of the Rebellion.  Plus, his costumes were brilliant. 


7. Jasper from the Steampunk Chronicles
He’s the only American character that appears in all three Installments, and I still feel like he has a ton of secrets yet to be revealed. 

8. V’lane from the Fever series
He is most definitely a prat to Mac, but I have to say that he was still one of the best parts of the series. 


9. Chuck from the Maze Runner series
This boy was endearing and much more important to Thomas’ development in the Maze than you’d think. Excited to see how this young man portrays him in the movie! 


10. Kat from the White Rabbit Chronicles
She was everything she needed to be for Ali and more.  She was strong willed, feisty, and intelligent.  

Who are some of your favorite Secondary Characters? 

Top Ten Tuesday!

Every week The Broke and the Bookish hosts a literary meme for book bloggers to share their responses to the weekly topic! This week’s topic is:

Top Ten Favorite Kick-Ass Heroines

1. Mackayla Lane : If you haven’t read Karen Marie Moning’s FEVER series then you definitely need to check it out so you will understand why Mac is my first choice.

2. Katniss Everdeen : I’m almost positive that most people have either read The Hunger Games trilogy or have at least seen the movie.  I don’t really need to justify this.

3. Tris Prior : Tattoos, Bravery, Intelligence, and she beat up a lot of guys to get to her top spot in her faction. Yes.

4. Alice from Alice in Zombieland : Adored this novel and cannot wait to see Alice kick more zombie ass in the sequel.

5. Tessa Gray : She reads, she morphs, she is amazing.

6. Clary Fray : After five books of the Mortal Instruments, I will be sad to read the final book next year. But there are the movies to look forward to!

7. Tally Youngblood : Ultimate Special.

8. Finley Jayne : In a time of steampunk, clockwork things…she has so much strength and just enough femininity.

9. Karou : Blue hair, supernatural abilities, and artistic ability.

10. Kelsey Hayes : Not your stereotypical heroine, but a girl who stepped up and became a warrior.

Who are some of your favorite kick-ass heroines?

Top Ten Tuesdays!

Every week The Broke and the Bookish hosts a weekly meme called Top Ten Tuesday! Every Tuesday has a different Top Ten Topic (posted ahead of time for participants) and this week’s topic is:

Top Ten All Time Favorite Characters In Books

These characters are in no particular order, and they are in GENERAL my favorite characters!  (There are so many that didn’t make the list, but I can’t let everyone in the Top Ten!) 

1. Alice from Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

I can’t help it…Alice in Wonderland is one of my favorite books of all time, and the whimsical themes capture me every time I read it 🙂 

2. Finnikin from Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta

Finnikin is a stubborn, know-it-all who has to be right, and I love him for it.  He is a strong yet vulnerable character that Marchetta has created.  I can’t help but love him and love every choice that he makes no matter how irritated I get with him (that is the true sign of a great character!)

3. Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

I realize that Heathcliff is most famously known as an anti-hero in Victorian literature, but his absolute, unending love for Catherine Earnshaw never ceases to capture my heart.  In fact, I’ve even tweeted before, “Where is my Heathcliff?” 

4. Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I think this one is somewhat self-explanatory. 

5. Sookie Stackhouse from the Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris 

Anna Paquin has definitely embodied Sookie Stackhouse the way that I imagined her, and I can’t imagine another actress who could do her justice.  I’m not going to lie, though, still disappointed that they haven’t explored the Sookie/Eric relationship to its full extent! 

6. Tessa Gray from The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare

She loves books, she has great taste in men, and she lives in the Victorian Era. Need I say more? 

7. Tris Prior from Divergent by Veronica Roth

Tris, quite possibly, has all the bravery that I wish I’ve had throughout my life!  (And her love interest is wonderful. FOUR!) I’d like to think that if I was Divergent…I’d have similar choices to Tris.  I identify with her on so many levels. 

8. Edna Pontellier from The Awakening by Kate Chopin

Edna Pontellier is one of the quintessential women of the late 19th and early 20th century.  Not only did she defy the social fabric of the time, but she was sexually and emotionally liberated through the course of the novel!  And, it is really great to look at from a literary critic’s standpoint.  

9. Jericho Barrons and/or MacKayla Lane from the Fever Series by Karen Marie Moning. 

I couldn’t choose between the two, so I choose both.  They are both sexy, smart, sarcastic, and they fight so hard against each other when they love one another.  I can’t help it.  I love them both. 

10.  William Herondale from The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare

I couldn’t put Tessa on here without putting Will!  As much as I love Jem (I do, I swear!), Will is Tessa’s true soulmate.  They both love books, they are both sarcastic and somewhat pessimistic…I can’t help but to root for them.  I do love him.  

Who are some of your favorite Characters? 

Happy World Book Night!

Happy World Book Night!  Two of us here at A Midsummer Night’s Read are participating “givers” and we want to encourage you to sign up to give next year!  Cheryl is giving away 20 free copies of The Hunger Games to students at Central Cabarrus High School and Jessica Lee is giving away 20 free copies of Ender’s Game to students at The University of North Carolina at Charlotte! 

What is World Book Night?  Here is some information from the website:

What is World Book Night?

World Book Night is an annual celebration designed to spread a love of reading and books. To be held in the U.S. as well as the U.K. and Ireland on April 23, 2012. It will see tens of thousands of people go out into their communities to spread the joy and love of reading by giving out free World Book Night paperbacks.

World Book Night, through social media and traditional publicity, will also promote the value of reading, of printed books, and of bookstores and libraries to everyone year-round.

Successfully launched in the U.K. in 2011, World Book Night will also be celebrated in the U.S. in 2012, with news of more countries to come in future years. Please join our mailing list for regular World Book Night U.S. news. And thank you to our U.K. friends for such a wonderful idea!

Additionally, April 23 is UNESCO’s World Book Day, chosen due to the anniversary of Cervantes’ death, as well as Shakespeare’s birth and death.

Are any of you participating?

Top Ten Tuesday!

Every week over at The Broke and the Bookish a weekly meme called Top Ten Tuesday is held!  Every Tuesday has a different Top Ten Topic (posted ahead of time for participants) and this week’s topic is:

Spring Fever: The Top Ten Books I’d Play Hooky With

1. Shadowfever by Karen Marie Moning (Fever #5)

This book may be almost 600 pages long, but it is 600 pages that I read in one day the first time around, and skipping work and class to read it again is just what the doctor ordered for Spring Fever! (Fever…Fever…hehehe) Plus, how did I go this long without reliving the hot relationship between Barrons and Mac?

If you haven’t read the Fever series, go pick up the first one, DARKFEVER now!

2. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

The main reason I love this novel is that it was the first book that ever gave me proper nightmares.  Vera’s noose? C’mon, one of the most haunting scenes in modern murder mysteries! In addition, I still can only read this book during the daylight, because it still freaks me out a little.

3. Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta

With the release of the second novel in her Lumatere Chronicles, Froi of the Exiles, I want to sit down and re-read Finnikin of the Rock in all of its brilliant glory.  Not only was Finnikin my first Marchetta book, but it is probably my favorite.  (I haven’t read Froi yet) Where better to escape during a hot Spring day than laying in a beach chair reading a fantasy novel?

4. Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt

Tuck Everlasting might not be long enough to encompass an entire day of reading, but it is a book that everyone should sit down and re-read.  Not only does this novel explore the theme of immortality (which is so popular in Young Adult fiction today), but it conquers the topic of first love and loss.  Heartbreaking and memorable, you need to read this if you haven’t!

5. This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen

Dessen is the master of contemporary Young Adult realist fiction.  Not only does she live in my home state of North Carolina, but she is talented to boot.  Whenever I need a pick-me-up I turn to Dessen’s This Lullaby, which is a love story between two unlikely teens, Remy and Dexter.  One of my favorite quotes about love comes from this novel, and it lightens my heart everytime I re-read it.  I’d definitely play hooky to get to read this again!

6. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

For the past year I have been working on finishing my Master’s thesis, which is on the subject of dystopia in Young Adult literature focusing specifically on Collins’ Hunger Games trilogy and Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies series.  I’d love to have a day to sit down and enjoy The Hunger Games for its brilliance and story telling rather than to sit and dissect it for political and social commentary.  I need to enjoy this story for itself again and not for its political significance!

7. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll

I’m a notoriously huge fanatic of Alice in Wonderland and all of its characters.  But, since I’ve been in grad school, I’ve seriously neglected my favorite childhood heroine and I regret it!  Sometimes when the weight of the world is on my shoulders, I need a little bit of Alice’s nonsense to help lift the weight.  If you’ve never read the original novels, you should, because no movie version does them justice. 

8. Tangled Tides by Karen Amanda Hooper

I’ve loved mermaids since I saw The Little Mermaid as a kid, and Hooper’s Tangled Tides made me love the lore just as much as the Disney version.  Not only does this novel have a wonderful love story, (ahhh, Treygan), but it conquers topics of family, self acceptance, and trust.  If you haven’t read it, go read it.  You’ll want to play hooky like me to read!

9. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

Not only is Bronte’s novel considered a timeless classic, but it is an epic story of heartbreaking loss and the redemption that comes along with it.  Catherine and Heathcliff are such great characters (“I love my murderer, but yours, how can I love yours?”) and they go through so much considering Catherine only lives through about halfway through the novel.  Young Catherine and Hareton are so great for each other.  If you haven’t read this classic, do it. You haven’t lived! \

10. Blood Red Road by Moira Young

Young’s debut dystopian novel deserved a chapter in my Master’s thesis, but alas, I did not discover her amazing novel until after the chapters had been approved.  Just as powerful as The Hunger Games, Blood Red Road also tells a story based on the importance of family, the discovery and development of friendship, and understanding your purpose.  I’m yet to read it a second time so I can try to pick up on more details than I did the first, so it is definitely worth playing hooky for!

What books would YOU play hooky for?