King Arthur Movie Tristan

I've been playing along with Weekly Geeks since it first started in 2008. (little know fact, I created a few of the WG buttons for Dewey, like Spock above) It's one of my favorite memes because the prompts are fun and I get to meet other bloggers in the process. When Dewey created WG, she knew what she doing. She was bringing book bloggers together, to discuss one of our passions, books!



This week's WG's asks:

Option 1: Write a post (or leave a comment) with suggestions for future weekly geek topics!

My suggestions would be:

*Favorite Book Quotes/Passages

*Favorite Book to Film Adaptations

*Photos of Your Favorite Reading Spot

*Play Matchmaker and get two of your favorite literary characters together on a date.

Where would they go? What would they do? The characters can be from different books, different genres...etc.

*Fake an interview with your favorite literary character.

*Post a Favorite Poem

*If you could live in any literary world, where would it be?

Option 2: Write a post about your genre prejudices or your genre allergies. (I tend to be allergic to westerns, for example.) Are there genres that you haven't read that you avoid at all costs? Are there genres that you don't take seriously? Would you be willing to try something new?

This is a fun question. I like to read wide variety of genres, and don't usually shy away from anything in particular. But I will say that I'm allergic to Harlequin Romance.


I'm not trying to bash this genre, I do enjoy reading romance and I have read a few HQ's in the past. But, for some reason, the book covers on HQ turn me off.



I'm also slightly allergic to self-help books. But I am willing to make the exception for these if they sound really good.


What about you? What genres are you allergic to?

I hope the title of today's post doesn't offend anyone. If it does, I apologize. It's Friday, It's been a long week and I wanted to post something with a little 'oomph' to it.



Today I wanted to discuss my favorite female villains in literature.


Villains are what makes the story 'pop'. Without the villains, the heroes would have nothing to do. The story would be boring without the bad guys or girls.

In no particular order, here are my favorite female villains in books. These are the ladies that we love to hate. They are ferocious, wicked and smart and these are the type of ladies no one wants to mess with. You go girls!






Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With the Wind


She is the ultimate brat, catty and spoiled, a smart business woman. What Scarlett wants, she gets. She lets nothing and no one get in her way. She'll even stoop as low as to steal her sisters fiancee in order to pay the bills. In a time when women were expected to sit home looking pretty, Scarlett was out running her own business.









Vittoria in the Twilight series

This vampire is on a mission to avenge her lovers death. Can you blame her for wanting to kill Bella? I sure don't.

I enjoyed seeing Vittoria being brought to life on the big screen. Those running scenes were pretty awesome.









Annie Wilkes in Misery

This psycho nurse is obsessed with her favorite author. She stops at nothing to keep him in her home so he can finish his book and give it the ending she always wanted. When she hobbles Paul, I cringed while reading.








The Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz

This witch is the ultimate meany. As a child, I was scared stiff by her.
What's more terrifying than a green witch and her flying monkeys?

In the film she's got one of my favorite death scenes.

"I'm melting....what a world, what a world....."









Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada

This lady is an ice queen, a cut-throat, shrewd business woman.
And she always looks friggin' fantastic.








Bellatrix in the Harry Potter series

This witch literally made me scream while reading. What an awful, demented woman! Truth be told, she belongs in an insane asylum.








Anne Boleyn in The Other Boleyn Girl

I saved the best for last since Anne Boleyn was a real person.

Full of ambition, Anne paid the ultimate price.
They say she seduced the king and convinced him to annul his own marriage to Queen Catherine. He soon tired of her and had her beheaded. King Henry wrote Anne 17 love letters that are preserved in the Vatican library today.





Those are a few of my favorites, who are your favorite villainesses a.k.a. bitches in literature? I wonder, if some of these characters were nicer, would they have gotten as far in life??

Enjoy your weekend! I'll be back next week with more book reviews and randomness.

Jillian asked if I'd post my favorite horror novels. I can never resist an invitation to discuss one of my favorite genres. Here they are, my favorite horror/thrilling reads listed in no particular order. These are the books that kept me up late at night wondering what that mysterious 'noise' was in the kitchen. These are also the books that made me afraid to go down to my basement alone. I read these wide eyed, biting my nails.



None of these are for the faint of heart.







10. The Ruins by Scott Smith


I randomly got this one at a library sale for 25cents. It's one of the scariest books I have ever read. Four young American tourist couples are vacationing in Cancun Mexico. They wind up going deep into the jungle and stumbling upon ancient ruins. Little do they know, the horror that awaits them once they set foot on these ruins. This one was fast paced and scary with no chapter breaks in between.











9. Misery


Retired psycho nurse Annie Wilkes 'rescues' her favorite author Paul Sheldon from a car crash and nurses him back to health in her home.
Remember the hobbling scene in the film? When she hobbles Paul in the book, it's much worse.











8. Heart Shaped Box


The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Stephen Kings's son seems to have inherited his fathers gift of telling a good scary story.


Famous musician Judas Coyne collects rare and grotesque items.
When his personal assistant tells him there is a ghost for sale on the internet, Jude buys it for $1000.00. The package arrives at his door, it is a black heart-shaped box, inside is a suit belonging to a dead man. Jude just puts the box away in his closet and forgets about it until one day he sees an old man in his home, wearing the suit. Sound creepy? It is.











7. Heartsick by Chelsea Cain

This books villain is Gretchen Lowell, a female serial killer.
Gretchen is the female version of Hannibal Lecter, minus the cannibalism. This is one of the best female villains I've read. The relationship between Gretchen and the detective on the case is intriguing to say the least.













6. The Taking by Dean Koontz

When a married couple living in a small town awakens one morning to a soft rain that just doesn't seem right, they soon realize there is an odd weather phenomena across the world. Before they know it, power lines are down, a strange fog has taken over and the townspeople get together in hopes of finding out what is going on. This is an end-of-the-world story that will send chills down your spine. One of my favorite Koontz reads.















5. The Shining

(see a recurring S.K. theme here?)



Recovering alcoholic Jack Torrence, takes the job of caretaker of the 'Overlook Hotel' for a few months in the winter. His family will be in complete isolation in the hotel with no quick way to leave and barely any contact with the outside world. Once the snow falls they will be stranded. This hotel is located in Colorado and is famous for housing some famous people. It's also known for a triple murder/suicide that occurred there from the previous caretaker who suffered from 'cabin fever'.
Just the idea of being isolated during a blizzard in a haunted hotel with someone who is slowly going insane is terrifying.













4. Interview With the Vampire
Beautifully written and dramatic. Anne Rice's vampires are deliciously wicked, gorgeous and flamboyant.



I developed a crush on the vampire Louis while reading. This one has a child vampire within the story, Claudia, that really creeped me out.
The New Orleans setting was great, the story was better, and some of the vampires have a touch of humanity that makes you root for them.










3. Salem's Lot

Stephen King's vampires scared me to bits. Again, King makes the story believable.
Writer Ben Mears returns to the town he was born Jerusalem's Lot in Maine.
He wants to write a book about an abandoned mansion in town called the Marsten House which is now inhabited by a vampire. Little by little, the townspeople are all becoming vampires.








2. Undone by Karin Slaughter

I had to include Undone on my list. This book has everything a good crime thriller should have. A sadistic serial killer, complex characters and plot twists and turns.
This one had me on the edge of my seat while reading, I was unable to put it down.














1. Pet Sematary

This is the scariest book I have ever read.
With a horrifying plot and well written characters Pet Sematary had me hooked from the start. S.K. makes this story almost believable, I think that's what makes it so terrifying. Turning the pages felt scary to me, I feared what was next while reading this book, but I just couldn't stop reading.
I don't know which was worse, the grave robbing or the creepy Zelda.




Those are some of my favorite scary reads. As the years go by, I hope to add plenty more to the list.

Have you read any of these? Can you recommend any scary reads?

This weekly geeks challenge has four parts:



1 - I would like to make you all parents and send you over to Save The Word.org to look at all the words that are either not being used enough or are due for a cull probably within the next couple of years. Adopt a word.

2 – What is your pet peeve word? – the word that makes you grind your teeth with either it’s over use or being used out of context.

3 – What is a word you adore, or a word that you feel is not used enough. Irrespective of meaning or even era it’s a word that you just love.

4 - Lastly what is your opinon on word culling or the rise in "text speak" that's happening now.




I like this week's topic, here are my answers:



1. I adopted the word 'Senticous' which means prickly or thorny.





2. I dislike it when people over use the word 'like'.
"Then I was like....and she was like....and they were like..."


I also dislike it when people say 'duh'. It just irritates me.









3. A few words I like are:

Passionate

Unrequited

Adonis

Incandescent

Serendipity

Trifecta

Voracious

Sweetheart

Bewitch

Romantic




4. I'm guilty as charged when it comes to text-speak. I do it myself since I text everyday. Only because when I'm texting, I'm trying to keep my messages short and to the point.




What about you? What are your thoughts on this topic of words we like and dislike?

You may know that I'm a big fan of romance. I enjoy romantic books, films, poetry...you name it.



In order for me to enjoy a romantic book or film, the hero has to be fantastic.
He's got to have that certain 'something' that makes him stand out.



In no particular order, here are the Top 10 Qualities in a Fictional Hero that I look for.






10. He has to have class.

I like a hero who is suave, good looking and sure of himself.

A hero who is self confident without being cocky and who is successful, is hard to resist. These are the type of heroes that will take you out for a night on the town and wine and dine you and make you swoon.

examples: Don Draper (Madmen) & Rhett Butler (Gone With the Wind)














9. Passionate


I always like heroes who are intense and have a bit of an edge. These heroes are not easily forgotten. They can border on the obsessive, which in turn makes them very close to crossing the line between love and hate.

examples: anti-heroes Heathcliff (Wuthering Heights) & The Phantom (The Phantom of the Opera). Also in this category: Romeo (Romeo & Juliet)









8. A Good Sense of Humor

I like a hero that can make me laugh one minute and swoon the next.

example: Westley/Dread Pirate Roberts (The Princess Bride)








7. Physically strong and brave

What better than a strong hero who can save you if need be?

There is nothing sexier than a man who will fight for your honor and look good doing it.

examples: Aragorn (The Lord of the Rings), Leonidas (300) & Indiana Jones









6. Sensitive

A man who is not afraid to share his feelings and even shed a tear is always nice.
He should be in touch with his feminine side, not overly, but just enough.

example: Tristan (Legends of the Fall) & Jerry (P.S. I Love You)











5. Gifted

I love it when a hero has a talent like playing the guitar, piano or writing poetry.

examples: Edward Cullen (Twilight series)








4. Intelligent

If the hero is not smart, forget it. An intelligent man is very sexy.

These are the heroes who are great conversationalists and will discuss politics and current events one minute, then sweep you off your feet the next.

example: Edmond Dantes (The Count of Monte Cristo)








3. A Gentleman

A strong hero always treats his lady right. Period.

example: Mr.Darcy (Pride & Prejudice), as well as all of Jane Austen's heroes.







2. Good kisser

Strong lips are a must. His kisses should leave his lady breathless. I like seeing a passionate kiss on the big screen or reading a great kissing scene in a book.









1. Foreign accent

I must admit, I like my heroes with foreign accents. Scottish preferably.

example: Jerry (P.S. I Love You)





Those are just some of the qualities I look for in a fictional hero. What about you? What qualities do you look for in your heroes?