Spring Favorites

Happy June, y'all! Obviously I didn't keep y'all very updated during the spring semester, so I figured I'd do a quick rundown of all my favorite things I stumbled upon over the past few months!

The (original) Selection trilogy by Kiera Cass - Admittedly, I didn't read very many novels during the semester, but I got the box set for my birthday and devoured these! So many people have said that these are basically their guilty pleasure reads, but I don't feel any shame. These were fun and I really enjoyed them!

Fun fact: This past semester I started writing movie reviews for my university's official newspaper (I even won a few awards from competitions). That said, I watched a lot more movies during the semester than usual, because I had to review one every week. These are just a few of my favorites!

Sing Street - At its core, "Sing Street" is a movie about a young boy in 1980's Dublin who starts a band to impress a girl. It's a premise done time and time again—but never like this. This film is an homage to the eighties and to music and to growing up.

The Impossible - "The Impossible" is the kind of movie that is difficult to talk about because I don't want to give anything away—I just want people to experience it! Quite frankly, I thought this movie would be boring. I did not expect the suspense, the honesty, and the emotion. There was not a single second of this movie when I was unengaged. I sincerely believe that anyone who takes the time to watch this movie will be affected by it.

A Dog's Purpose - While it's admittedly strange to go on a journey of self-discovery with a dog, Halstrom manages to make it poignant and insightful. I think it would be quite challenging not to be charmed by this movie—trust me, I tried. If, for whatever reason, you need a good cry, this is probably the film you want to turn to. I experienced a lot of emotions throughout, but I left the theater feeling genuinely joyful and satisfied.

The Magicians - My dudes...this show is dark and magical and fracklin intense! If you like AHS you'll probably love this! Great characters, intriguing setting and worldbuilding. Ugh. I'm obsessed.

Stranger Things - I was a lil late to the party. Everybody has seen this already, I know. And if you haven't--DO IT. I was tentative, but I adored the first season!

Girlboss - I was actually really surprised by this one! I just clicked on it without knowing what it was about and it hooked me in! It was really funny and interesting, and I look forward to seeing where the series goes.

My Polaroid camera - My sister got me this for Christmas, along with a cute little case and other fixins' to go along with it. I really love it! It's always fun to take these adorable photos with my friends. And trust me, polaroid pictures can make literally anyone look heckin flawless.

My mermaid blanket - My sister got me this for my birthday haha! It' so adorable and everyone is always jealous of me when they find out I have one because who wouldn't want to sit on their couch and just be a majestic mermaid?

My family photo - Okay, so my friend photoshopped this picture and framed it for my birthday, and it's one of my favorite presents of all time!! That's me and Tyler Joseph and MY CAT!!! Like, I'm obsessed. I am proudly displaying this on the shelf by my bed right meow.

The Eclectic Corner #3: What I've Been Binge Watching

The Eclectic Corner is a feature on The Left-Handed Book Lover in which I talk about basically anything I want. A whole variety of topics! This is kinda like my chance to talk about non-bookish things. I came up with this idea because I really wanted to incorporate my love of TV shows and music somehow. This gives me a chance to connect with other readers and bloggers beyond similar taste in books.

If there is anything I love as much as reading, it's watching TV shows. Trust me when I say I get my money's worth from my Netflix account. And so, I decided to tell you about some of the things I've been watching recently. 

CURRENTLY WATCHING:

Netflix blurb: Fiercely independent single mom Lorelai raises gifted, Ivy League-bound daughter Rory amid a continual stream of quick-witted repartee. 

Seasons: 7

Where I'm at: Season 4, episode 7

My quick thoughts: This show is dialogue goals. It's clever and entertaining. This show introduces delightful, quirky characters and a charming small town you're going to want to live in. 

OTHER SHOWS I'VE BINGED RECENTLY:

Netflix blurb: Fast-talking city girl Zoe Hart winds up patching up the locals of a tiny town in the Deep South when she inherits a medical practice in Alabama, 

Seasons: 4

My quick thoughts: I've binge watched this series twice. It's kind of a guilty pleasure--not the most mind-blowing show I've ever watched, but I became addicted to the characters, the will-they-won't-they romances, and the most southern small town one could possibly imagine. 

Netflix blurb: In this new TV series sequel to the classic horror franchise, a cyber bullying incident in Lakewood leads to a murder with chilling echoes of the past.

Seasons: 1 (new season airs on MTV May 31)

My quick thoughts: This show contains some of the cheesiest moments I've ever seen on TV, and the acting isn't the greatest. And yet...there's something about this show that I just loved. It's fast-paced and a decent mystery (which I did end up predicting fairly early on), and it was interesting to watch the characters put all the pieces of the mystery together. It's not really scary, though. 

Netflix blurb: Rudderless without their missing leader, four formerly tight high school friends band together when a blackmailer threatens to spill their dirt. 

Seasons: 5 (for now)

My quick thoughts: This is another show that is like a guilty pleasure for me. I was utterly obsessed with this show for weeks. Again, not exactly the most quality example of television, but the plot is quick and can get really intense. It's fun trying to figure out WTF is going on, and I fell in love with the characters. 

Netflix blurb: After years in foster care, teenager Lux tracks down her real parents to authorize her emancipation. But she lands in their joint custody instead. 

Seasons: 2

My quick thoughts: I'm a bit more meh on this one than the other shows I've talked about. I mostly used this show to get over my TV hangover after Hart of Dixie. Still, this show has some very touching moments, and in the second season things get really intense and emotional (in a good way). 

Netflix blurb: A former superhero decides to reboot her life by becoming a private investigator.

Seasons: 1 (for now)

My quick thoughts: HOLY CRAP THIS IS SO GOOD. A bit of a slow start, but by the end of the first episode I was hooked. Jessica Jones is such a wonderful character, and David Tennant (major heart eyes) makes a villain you will love to hate. This show is delightfully gritty and touches on some really important, tough subjects. 

Have you watched any of these shows? If so, please discuss with me!! I want to know your thoughts. Also, if you have suggestions, I am all ears.

Top Ten OTPs

I know it's a day late, but this is one of my favorite things on the planet to talk about. My OTPs, the ships I will gladly go down with. THERE ARE SO MANY THOUGH. It's extremely hard to narrow it down when there are so many couples in my heart. The first half are book OTPs, and the second half are TV show OTPs.

Will Herondale & Tessa Gray from the Infernal Devices series by Cassandra Clare - Will is so sassy and so afraid of being vulnerable, but Tessa breaks down his walls, and no matter how much they fight it, they know they belong together. 

Noah Hutchins & Echo Emerson from Katie McGarry's Pushing the Limits - This is definitely an opposites attract situation, but they both have dark secrets, and they can only work through them with the help of each other. 

Aaron Warner & Juliette Ferrars from the Shatter Me series by Tahereh Mafi - Talk about a misunderstood bad boy! No one can see the good in Warner, and no one takes the time to see the actual human that is Aaron Warner--that is, of couse, except for Juliette. She gets Warner in a way nobody ever has before. It's beautiful and sexy at the same time. 

Teach & Anne from Nicole Castroman's Blackhearts - Their love story is doomed, but they are still so so so ship-worthy. They do whatever it takes to be with each other. 

Dimitri Belikov & Rose Hathaway from the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead - I can't even put into words why this is so great. They went through so much just to be together. They denied and fought their love for the longest time, but eventually they realized it was impossible for them to stifle it any longer. They make each other better and stronger. 

Emma Swan & Hook from Once Upon a Time - the roguish pirate with a dark history and the girl who refuses to let people in. Mmmm. They are so cute and I just need them to be together forever. 

Blair Waldorf & Chuck Bass from Gossip Girl - Their relationship transforms so much over the course of the series. It begins very unhealthy and destructive, but eventually they get to a place where they make each other better, and they're willing to do anything for each other. It's got passion and sincerity and deep, herd-earned love. 

Jim & Pam from The Office - OKAY THEY ARE MY ULTIMATE RELATIONSHIP GOALS, Y'ALL. No joke, they are perfect together in every way and I can't even put words to it. This is very much a case of marrying your best friend. It's just the most precious relationship in the entire world. 

Toby & Spencer, Ezra & Aria, Caleb & Hanna - Okay, so I'm definitely cheating here because I have 3 OTPs in this show. Each of the couples have been through so much and they just deserve to be happy (with each other) because we all know that's what they want. 

Rose & Ten from Doctor Who - If you're a whovian, you get this. If you're not, I can't explain it to you. Just know that they have such a beautiful relationship. 

Please tell me about your OTPs. I loooove talking about this! 

The Eclectic Corner #2: 90210

The Eclectic Corner is a new feature on The Left-Handed Book Lover in which I talk about basically anything I want. A whole variety of topics! This is kinda like my chance to talk about non-bookish things. I came up with this idea because I really wanted to incorporate my love of TV shows and music somehow. This gives me a chance to connect with other readers and bloggers beyond similar taste in books.

This week's topic is the TV show that I have been addicted to lately, 90210 (the new one)!

Okay y'all, I am way way WAYYY too obsessed with this show. I finished at least the last 3.5 seasons in a week, and I just have so many feelings and I need to talk to people about them. So if you watch this show, please discuss with me! I don't have any friends in my non-blog life who have watched this show, so I'm relying on you people. Just a warning, though, there are going to be super major spoilers.

To kick off this discussion, I'm going to discuss (in detail) my feelings on the characters.

Annie

I like Annie, I do, but I don't know that I have a lot to say about her. For some reason, she just wasn't my favorite, but I was still rooting for her SO HARD. She was half of my favorite ship in this show (which I'll talk about more later), and she grew a lot over the course of the show. I wasn't really a fan of her for that brief period of time she went crazy, but I totally understand why she did. She picked herself up, though, and turned out to be a pretty good girl who had made some really big mistakes.






Dixon

I liked Dixon at first, but as the series progressed, I liked him less and less. I thought he was mostly just a giant whinebag. In my opinion, he didn't have a whole lot of depth.










Naomi

Naomi turned out to be one of my favorite characters! She wasn't a particularly wonderful human being, but she owned it! It was impossible not to enjoy her character. She grew so much by the end of the show. I was on her side pretty much every step of the way after like the second season.










Adrianna

OH MY GOSH Adrianna is literally my lease favorite character on the show. She was a horrible person, but she didn't even freaking realize it. I am so pissed off that she got her happy ending. Any time anything good happened to her, I got angry and I screamed at my TV because she didn't deserve happiness.








Silver

I liked Silver a lot by the end of the show. She wasn't necessarily my favorite, but I still respected her character and wanted the best for her. I am so sad that she got really screwed over in the end. They left her in an extremely dark place and it broke my heart for her. She didn't deserve that while Adrianna got every fucking thing she wanted.








Navid

I loooved Navid throughout every single season. I thought he was really sweet and he always tried to do the right thing, and it rarely turned out for him. It was definitely a "nice guys finish last" sort of thing for him. I also just think he's adorable. I'm glad he found happiness in the end, but I hate how that happiness came from Adrianna.








Liam

His addition to the show is the best thing that ever happened to it. He is my all-time favorite character because I am a sucker for the couldn't-give-a-crap sweetheart. AND LOOK AT DEM ABS. He is actual perfection.










There are a lot of other minor characters, but I don't feel like going into detail on them. I liked Kelly, Mr. Matthews, and Teddy! I didn't particularly care about Ivy. I didn't dislike her, but I didn't like her either. I didn't mind Raj, but his character fell flat to me. It's like he was on the show just to be the guy who has cancer.

NOW, SHIPS!

Favorite ships: 

Liam & Annie - OMG THEY WERE EVERYTHING. I'm so obsessed with their relationship and the way things ended and gaaahhh.

Navid & Silver - I thought they had a really great relationship, which is of course why it had to come to an end. They were very strong together and had a mature dynamic.

Naomi & Max - I thought they were sooo cute together. They complemented each other so well. He made Naomi a much better person, and she added a little excitement to his life. When they got married, it was everything I ever wanted, and I hate that they had to separate. It broke my heart.

Least favorite ships: 

Liam & anyone who wasn't Annie - I think this one explains itself.

Adrianna & Dixon  - I don't know who thought this was a good idea but they should probably never write anything again because it was horrible.


STORIES

Favorite season: 3. I felt like everything hit the freaking fan in this one, an there were so many things I never saw coming.

Favorite story lines: 
~ the "Annie is dating a psychotic guy named Jasper" story line - for some reason I just found this so incredibly interesting. He was crazy and it felt like she was never going to escape his influence.

~ Silver discovering she is bipolar - it was like out of nowhere she went insane. I found it really exciting.

~ a teacher raping Naomi - Don't get me wrong, I don't think that kind of thing is cool. It's absolutely awful, but it was an exciting story in this show.

Least favorite story lines: 
~ Liam getting kidnapped by a crazy fan - like, what? Where did that even come from?????

~ Adrianna stealing songs from a dead guy - bitch stop. I probably just hated it because I hate Adrianna.

~ Raj having cancer - I said it earlier, but it really bothered me how Raj was just thrown in there to be the character who has cancer. I feel like we never learn anything about him except that he has cancer.

Please, please, please talk to me about this show. Tell me your opinions on everything. Argue with me!