Celebrating International Women's Day

Happy International Women's Day, everyone! I thought I would celebrate by linking to a post I did before highlighting some of my favourite female characters and adding some that I can not believe I left off!

First... go check out my previous post! I am amazed at how accurate that list still is for me. Amy Elliott Dunne, Vanessa Ives, Liv Moore! All of the ones on my previous list still resonate for me and are worthy of celebration. 

Now, here are a few more that I should have highlighted last time as well: 

Buffy (from Buffy The Vampire Slayer)

She was one of the first female characters that really resonated with me. She was small but mighty. She took the trope of someone (or something) stalking the pretty blonde down an alley and turned it on its head. She was one of teen me's heroes and she is a character who still means a lot to me.

Christina Yang (from Grey's Anatomy) 

Christina Yang was brilliant, driven, and unapologetic about it. She also happened to be a really great friend. She didn't let anything (or anyone) stand in the way of what she wanted and refused to diminish her greatness for others. 

Hermoine Granger (from the Harry Potter series)

Hermoine is the type of character who is proud of who she is. She is book smart, a loyal friend, and works hard for her success. She is a character that much younger me would have looked up to and that current me is happy to introduce my nieces to. 

I hope to add Brie Larson's Captain Marvel to the list. I'll be celebrating International Women's Day by going to see Captain Marvel (which I think is entirely fitting).

Who are some of the female movie and television characters that would make your own list? Let me know in the comments. There are so many amazing ones I cannot wait to see who everyone chooses!

New To My Book Closet

It's that time of the week again. Time to show you what bookish goodies made their way into my home and book closet (to be saved from the evil book eating cat monster named Aria). This is inspired by the various "mailbox" posts out there (eg. In My Mailbox by The Story Siren, and Stacking the Shelves by Tynga's Reviews)

A mix of goodies arrived in my mailbox this week! First up is a non bookish item.

I am a huge fan of The Walking Dead and immediately needed to devour this article. I am both terrified and excited for Negan's arrival and what it means for the show.

These next two, kind of, go together due to the magical world they share.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by JK Rowling, John Tiffany and Jack Thorne (goodreads)

I like so many people purchased Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. I have since devoured it and have plenty of thoughts and feelings about the plot within its pages. Hopefully I will have a review up soon.

I also couldn't resist and had to get a Newt Scamander Pop for my collection. Look at his cute little Hufflepuff scarf and briefcase! He's adorable.

This round of #otspsecretsister has come to a close and with it final packages have been sent. I had Tiff (from Mostly YA Lit) this round and had so much fun spoiling her. She sent me a little thank you package recently which was incredibly sweet and kind.

I intend to use that gift card to purchase some wine for The Walking Dead premiere. I have a feeling it is going to be required. Thank you once again, Tiff! Such a lovely surprise!

What bookish items made their way into your mailbox this week?

Happy Weekend and Happy Reading!

New To My Book Closet

It's that time of the week again. Time to show you what bookish goodies made their way into my home and book closet (to be saved from the evil book eating cat monster named Aria). This is inspired by the various "mailbox" posts out there (eg. In My Mailbox by The Story Siren, and Stacking the Shelves by Tynga's Reviews).

This week was a busy one in mailbox and I have lots to share this week.

First up, the amazing people at Penguin Random House Canada (RazorbillCA) sent me the following amazingness this week

When We Collided by Emery Lord (goodreads)
The Forbidden Wish by Jessica Khoury (goodreads)

Yes, there was flailing and screaming involved. Cannot wait to start the newest Emery Lord novel, and Jessica Khoury's Aladdin retelling is one I am very much anticipating. Thank you Penguin Random House Canada.

Next up, the lovely people at Simon and Schuster Canada sent me a copy of one of my favourite author's newest novel so I was quite excited to find it in my mailbox.

Cam Girl by Leah Raeder (goodreads)

I love how gritty, real and complex Leah's novels are and I am expecting this one to be no exception. Excited to start it. Thanks, Simon and Schuster!

I obviously pre-ordered Queen of Shadows and claimed the amazing pre-order campaign that Bloomsbury had offered.

This button set is AMAZING and the I HEART DORIAN button is my favourite. A huge thank you to Bloomsbury for the pre-order campaign.

Next up is a prize I won from Paper Lantern Lit in a Twitter contest they hosted. The prize is pretty awesome and I am excited to have a hardcover of this one.

Legacy of Kings by Eleanor Herman (goodreads)

Thanks to Paper Lantern Lit for hosting the giveaway and the notebook is adorable! Love the royal purple colour.

Last, but certainly not least, is my #otspsecretsister package for September. My 'sister' sent me a fall themed package and I love every single thing in it! I didn't have the Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them book, so that was amazing. I love the little 'additions' that Harry, Ron and Hermoine added to the textbook. The Harry Potter necklace promptly found it's away onto my neck and I love the adorable little bookmark that reminds me of England.

A huge thank you to 'Hermoine' and I look forward to getting that free cup of tea on a cold fall day! Hope your September was just as amazing.

What books made their way into your mailbox this week?

Happy Weekend and Happy Reading!

Weekly Obsessions

The awesome Kelly at KellyVision started posting a weekly post highlighting whatever she happened to be obsessed with that week. I LOVE this idea, so much in fact that I will be doing it myself every Saturday.

BOOKS

Harry Potter short stories

As per Entertainment Weekly J.K. Rowling is gifting the Harry Potter fandom with TWELVE short stories for Christmas. As per the article, at least one of them will feature Draco Malfoy. I am SO there. Now if she'd only write a Marauders prequel...

You'll be able to read these stories starting December 12th on Pottermore.

OTHER

Lyric Print Art

I found these on some Buzzfeed list and checked out the Etsy store, Letters By Linds, that these are from. I LOVE them. They are amazing and I would totally hang one in my house.

I would use "Darling, I am a nightmare dressed like a daydream" I think. You can visit this amazing Etsy shop and she does custom orders.

What are you obsessed with this week?

Saying Goodbye to Harry.... It All Ends

Tonight at midnight I will be watching the final Harry Potter movie. It's been over a decade since the first Harry Potter movie was released in theatres. It's hard to believe that we will be saying goodbye. It feels more like a goodbye than when the books ended as there were still movies to look forward to.

I am posting this before the movie as I have a feeling I will be in no shape to tackle this after I've watched it.

This video is a a brief gimpse at some of the last days on the Harry Potter set....



Daniel Radcliffe standing on the chair giving his speech - *DIES*. I was a bawling mess after. The whole thing is bittersweet for us and you can tell it is for the cast as well. The shot of Daniel, Emma and Rupert hugging after Dan's speech is my favourite thing about the video. You can tell they became really close.

Here is an amazing video with a lot of the cast offering a one word description of their Harry Potter experience....



Rupert Grint kills me. He's adorable and hilarious. Emma Watson's "it's got to be magical doesn't it?" makes me tear up. I chuckled at Matthew Lewis' "it's alright" comment. This whole video made me weepy. I can't believe we are saying goodbye to so many beloved characters.

The books were such a huge thing to me. I would go to midnight release parties, drive all my friends (and co-workers) crazy with theories, and devour them so quickly that I didn't have anyone to talk about them with.

Thank you JK Rowling for providing us with an exquisite literary experience that will continue to encourge everyone to read for years to come. Thank you Harry for always being there to save the day. Thank you Daniel, Rupert and Emma for bringing to life the trio, and thank you to the entire cast and crew for some of my favourite movie magic moments.

Excuse me while I go cry.... haha

Trailers and Posters..

The trailer for Kelley Armstrong's new book The Gathering was released. I enjoyed her previous YA series so I am looking forward to reading this one.



It's pretty awesome and the end left me curious as to what happened!

They also released the trailer for Gayle Forman's Where She Went. I loved If I Stay and am looking forward to reading this one when it's released.



I am a huge Harry Potter fan. Love the series and the movies. The last movie(sniff)is coming out later this summer and they released an amazing poster for it.



Amazing right? I am so excited and yet sad for this movie to come out. It's going to be so bittersweet.